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E-Commerce Supply Chain Risk Mitigation and Online Sales Performance
Get PDFThis thesis explores the relationship between a retailer's commitment to risk mitigation through adoption of web features and functionalities and its impact on online sales performance. While previous research has examined the impact of various retail service offerings on online sales performance, this study takes a focused approach by investigating the impact of transactional, logistics, and post-sales service offerings.
To build a model that incorporates these three service areas, this study employs e-customer journey mapping. The resulting model proposes three major hypotheses, which are empirically tested using hierarchical multiple linear regression and further tested for robustness using binary logistic regression technique. A sample of 398 top retail companies operating in North America is used for the study.
The findings of this study reveal that there is a positive relationship between a retailer's commitment to risk mitigation and its online sales performance. Specifically, the results indicate that retailers who proactively adopt risk mitigation strategies are more likely to be categorized as leaders rather than followers in the market.
This study contributes to the existing literature on retail and risk mitigation by highlighting the importance of proactive risk mitigation by adoption of web features and functionalities in the context of online retail services. It also provides guidance for practitioners and managers in assessing their market position and directing their risk mitigation strategies accordingly. By adopting effective risk mitigation strategies, retailers can enhance their online sales performance, which is becoming increasingly important in today's digital age. Ultimately, this study emphasizes the need for retailers to prioritize risk mitigation to achieve success in the competitive world of e-commerce
Community-Based Workers’ Health and Wellness: Supporting Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence
Get PDFAn individual’s working conditions are a key social determinant of health. Community-based
workers (CWs) provide vital support to survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV); they are
directly and repeatedly involved in serving those who experience harmful acts of violence, which
may subsequently affect health. By using a salutogenic orientation, this qualitative descriptive
inquiry explores the health and wellness of CWs employed in non-profit settings who support
women survivors of IPV in the Niagara Region, Ontario. A total of 19 CWs (n = 19) from four
organizations participated in individual semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis
generated five interconnected themes: (1) mental processing and alternations includes how CWs
internalized their work from processing women’s trauma which interfered with their way of
being; (2) unmanageable structural challenges considers the challenges that were not within the
CWs’ control which influenced their ability to view their work as manageable and pushed their
health and wellness toward the ill end of the health continuum; (3) women empowering women
encapsulates how women empowerment was shared between female CWs who supported
women survivors, and how CWs’ work enhanced health and wellness by providing them with a
sense of meaning and inspiration to self-reflect and grow from their personal struggles; (4)
unique ways of coping describes CWs’ personal ways of coping which assisted them in dealing
with stressful work-related experiences; and (5) recommendations for system improvements
which captures CWs’ recommendations for structural changes to promote health and wellness.
The study contributes knowledge to the IPV field as the findings demonstrated several ways in
which supporting survivors influenced the health and wellness of CWs in non-profit
organizations in the Canadian context. The findings have implications for nurses to be leadersin
raising public awareness, advocacy, and promoting better health outcomes for CWs. They also
have implications for strategies involving intersectoral collaboration as a means to promote
community awareness about CWs and the services they facilitate, and to support the needs of the
IPV CW workforce
Self-Reported Focus of Attention During Different Batting Conditions in Varsity Baseball Players.
Get PDFThe motor learning literature has demonstrated that one’s focus of attention, whether internal or external should be dependent on the task objective, which is referred to as goal- instruction coupling. The present study was the first study to investigate baseball batting focus of attention strategies across different environmental conditions while also comparing the participants responses to their coaches interpreted instructions. The present experiment examined Ontario University Athletics level baseball batters focus of attention (internal, external, or ‘other’) across three different batting conditions (practice, on deck and in game), compared to their coaches interpreted instruction (interpreted by the athletes) under the practice and in game conditions. The participants completed a questionnaire identifying their focus of attention strategies under the different batting conditions as well as their coaches interpreted focus of attention instruction under the practice and in game conditions. The results showed that a condition that favours an internal focus had the participants predominately report using an internal focus of attention (practice condition), while as a condition that favours an external focus had the participants report using an external focus of attention (in game condition); therefore, supporting the goal-instruction coupling theory. A majority of coaches also preferred a focus of attention strategy depending on the batting condition and task objective, except for the coaches interpreted focus of attention strategy during the in-game at bats. Overall, these findings demonstrate the value of goal-instruction coupling for optimizing one’s focus of attention strategy selection as well as demonstrating that participants were more likely to share a similar focus of attention strategy with their coaches preferred focus of attention
Lie-telling during adolescence: A multi-method approach
Get PDFLie-telling commonly occurs in interpersonal interactions. Lie-telling has been suggested to be most prominent during adolescence, as research suggests that lie-telling frequency increases throughout childhood, peaks in adolescence, and decreases during adulthood. The goal of my dissertation was to use a multi-method approach to explore this peak in lie-telling during adolescence by examining the frequency, characteristics, and patterns of adolescent lie-telling, as well as aspects of individual differences and social development that relate to lie-telling. Study 1 used an experience sampling method to examine adolescent and young adults’ lie-telling across a one-week period, examining both the overall frequency of lie-telling as well as the recipients, reasons, and topics of lies. Study 2 used a longitudinal approach to examine the association between children and adolescents’ evaluations of lies for autonomy and their lie-telling frequency. Study 3 used a latent class analysis to identify groups that differed in patterns of lie-telling, as well as individual differences that predicted group membership. The results provide support for the u-shape developmental trend of lie-telling, but only in some contexts; specifically self-serving lying to parents was more common in adolescence than young adulthood (Study 1), and frequent lying to parents was more likely for older than younger adolescents (Study 3). The results also demonstrate the importance of considering individual differences and social development when examining and understanding adolescent lie-telling. Variation in lie-telling was explained by individual differences, including relations with others (Study 1, Study 3), lie evaluations (Study 2), well-being, and externalizing problems (Study 3). Furthermore, the importance of adolescent social development for lie-telling was demonstrated across all three studies. Specifically, social context (lying to parents vs friends) was found to be important for understanding the development of lie-telling frequency as well as individual differences associated with lie-telling. Taken together, the results of my dissertation demonstrate the ways in which adolescent lie-telling is unique, the variation in lie-telling that exists during adolescence, and the importance of accounting for social context when understanding the development of lie-telling
Maria Spelterini poster, c. 1877
Get PDFMaria Spelterini (1853-1912) was an Italian tightrope walker. She is best known for being the only woman to walk on a tightrope over the Niagara gorge in July 1876. This feat was performed as part of the celebration of the United States centennial. She followed her initial performance with several variations, including walking with peach baskets on her feet, blindfolded, and with her ankles and wrists shackled.A poster of coloured drawings depicting tightrope walker Maria Spelterini. There is a portrait of Spelterini with her name in the middle of the poster, surrounded by 10 sketches of her performing. These sketches depict her performing various feats on a tightrope including sitting, cycling, kneeling, pushing a wheelbarrow, standing on a chair; firing a cannon; walking with a sheet covering her face; sitting at a table with a cup in her hand; and walking with buckets on her feet
The effects of creatine, lithium, and co-supplementation on total creatine concentration in muscle from male and female rats
Get PDFCreatine (Cr) is an element necessary to maintain muscle function in tissues with high energy demand. This is because Cr and phosphocreatine (PCr) play a critical role in cellular energy provision and intracellular shuttling through the Cr-PCr immediate energy system. Cr can be synthesized endogenously, as well as consumed exogenously via diet or supplementation. Literature supports the potential for increased Cr uptake to augment several factors of human performance – most namely muscle function in sports related to strength, speed, and power. Moreover, recent research suggests potential for lithium (Li) to upregulate Cr uptake and Cr transport into cells. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the individual and combined effects of creatine monohydrate (CM) and lithium chloride (LiCl) supplementation on Cr content in rat cardiac and skeletal muscle in vivo. Potential sex-specific effects were also explored. 64 Sprague-Dawley rats (32 males, 32 females) were randomized into four experimental groups: control (CON), creatine (Cr), lithium (Li), and creatine-lithium (Cr-Li). CM (5 g/L) and LiCl (0.2 g/L) were provided to rats via drinking water. All groups were provided ad libitum access to their respective drinking water (all supplemented with 0.5% sucrose for palatability) and AIN- 93G rodent diet. When males and females were examined together, intramuscular total creatine concentration ([TCr]) was greater (p<0.01) with CM supplementation compared to LiCl supplementation and tended to be greater (p=0.0706) than CON in cardiac muscle. There were no significant main effects for treatment in any of the skeletal muscle outcomes examined. A main effect for sex revealed that male rats had greater [TCr] than female rats, in extensor digitorum longus (EDL) (p<0.01). In soleus (SOL) and EDL, female rats had greater total glycogen synthase 3 beta (GSK3β) protein expression compared to males (p<0.05), but there were no significant effects of treatment observed. Protein content of the creatine transporter (CrT) was greater in males than females in cardiac muscle (p<0.05). It was also greater in CON rats compared to Li (p<0.01) and CrLi (p<0.05) supplemented rats, in SOL. In conclusion, supplementation with CM, with or without LiCl, altered TCr concentrations in a tissue-dependent manner
The Effect Of Vibratory Noise Input On Postural Responses To An Unexpected Loss Of Balance
Get PDFVibratory noise input applied to the foot sole has been shown to improve static balance
control across various populations (i.e., younger adults, older adults, individuals with diabetic
neuropathy etc.). However, there is little research on whether vibratory noise improves reactive
balance control. This is concerning because falls typically occur when an individual is unable to
quickly recover from a loss to their balance. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis was to examine
whether vibratory noise input affects postural responses following an unexpected surface
translation. A secondary aim was to examine the effects of vibration on static balance
performance to replicate previous findings. Eighteen adults (10 females and 8 males) completed
six quiet standing trials and 28 surface translation trials. For all trials, participants stood barefoot,
while blindfolded and wearing headphones. Three vibrating elements were placed directly
underneath each foot (i.e., one each at the first metatarsal, fifth metatarsal and at the heel). For
each standing trial, participants were instructed to stand quietly. For each surface translation trial,
participants were instructed to recover their balance without stepping in response to a unexpected
surface translation. Participants were unaware of which trials did or did not have vibration
applied to the foot soles. Static and reactive balance control were quantified using various
kinematic, kinetic and electromyography (EMG) measures, while the ability to recover balance
was quantified through the measurement of EMG and body kinematics. Results indicated that
vibratory noise input did not influence most measures of static and reactive balance control. This
suggests that the application of vibratory noise input to the foot soles is not beneficial in younger
adults. Future studies should replicate this study with clinical populations to determine whether
the benefits of vibratory noise input are limited to individuals with worsened balance ability
Letter by Winfield Scott to John Haney, June 21, 1813
Get PDFFort George, situated on the west side of the Niagara River in Niagara-on-the-Lake, served as the headquarters for the Centre Division of the British Army during the War of 1812. On May 25, 1813, the Americans launched an artillery attack on the Fort, destroying most of the buildings. Two days later, the Americans invaded the Town of Niagara and occupied Fort George. Winfield Scott commanded the first brigade in the Battle of Fort George. The Americans remained in the Fort for almost seven months, but suffered defeats at the Battle of Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams. Only a small number of militia remained stationed at the Fort. Fearing an attack by the British, the Americans retreated back across the Niagara River in December, 1813. The Fort remained in British possession for the rest of the War.A letter written by Winfield Scott, Adjt. Genl US Army, to John Haney, Dep. Adjt. Genl., British Army, dated at Fort George, June 21, 1813. The letter was written shortly after the Americans had captured Fort George from the British and concerns British prisoners. Scott notes that wounded prisoners will be returned to the British army by a cartel ship. It is also noted that although Lieut. Col. Christopher Myers will not be returned, the Americans will treat him well. The text of the letter follows:
“Since writing the accompanying letters of this date Major Genl Dearborn influenced rather by considerations of humanity than the example of the Enemy, has consented to the removal in parole of such sergeants & rank & file prisoners at this place as have been maimed or otherwise badly wounded. As many of that description therefore as can be removed with safety will accordingly be delivered to Capt. Irvine on board the cartel. It is deeply regretted by the General commanding that considerations above suggested do not permit him to grant a like permission in the case of Col. Myers who would otherwise be entitled to every indulgence. However whilst this Officer shall remain in our hands no attentions towards him shall be pretermitted which it may be in our power to bestow.
Open Pedagogy
Get PDFChapter in the book Scholarly Communication Librarianship and Open Knowledge
Editors: Maria Bonn, Joshua Bolick, and William Cross
Publisher: The Association of College Research Libraries
Year: 202
Examining Types and Performance of Urban Green Space: Case Studies of Toronto, Milan, and Isfahan
Get PDFCities have significant impacts on sustainability and sustainable development. In the context of global development, especially in developing large metropolitan areas, the urban population is growing resulting in social and environmental challenges that threaten the sustainability of cities. One of the challenges of this modern urbanization addresses urban green spaces (UGS) regarding their quantity and performance. UGS are essential parts of urban areas lack of which can compromise urban ecology and human well-being. Enhancing UGS is an approach to overcome some of these challenges. Little research has been done on the UGS typologies and different variables affecting their performance, and also the literature on comparing this feature in hugely different contexts is missing. This paper intents to compare UGS categories in the three selected cases, which are the cities of Toronto (Canada), Milan (Italy), and Isfahan (Iran), and analyze their performance variables