Zoekresultaten

RFID in Retail: New approaches, new viewpoints

RFID technology is a promising technology currently finding its way into the field of customer interaction strategy, supply chain accuracy and inventory management. Primarily, RFID tags are seen as substitutes of traditional barcodes, yet they can add a lot of value and functionality. Where barcodes require a scanning device to be placed directly in front of the tag to be read, RFID tag readers are able to scan all tags that are in the proximity of the scanner . The next difference is that whereas barcodes usually are the same for all articles of the of the same type (i.e. a jar of peanut butter of brand x), RFID tags will be unique for each individual product occurrence. This opens up the possibility of tracking the entire history of a specific occurrence of a product. Moreover, due to the nature of the scanning technology, it suddenly becomes achievable for manufacturers to track individual products through all stages of production and base inventory management and front office planning on real-time data at item level from production facilities.

Back2Basics

Een bekend probleem: je hebt je net op een nieuwe dienst geabonneerd of een nieuw apparaat gekocht en je krijgt bepaalde functies niet aan de praat. Of, je hebt een nieuw softwarepakket aangeschaft, dit op je PC geïnstalleerd en er duikt allerlei narigheid op. Bijvoorbeeld, die handige integratie van het net gekochte elektronische woordenboek met Microsoft Office op je Windows XP-machine komt niet tot stand. Erger nog: Office gedraagt zich plotseling instabiel. Hoe los je als gebruiker dit soort problemen op? De dienstinstructies, de handleiding van het apparaat of de helpfuncties van de softwarepakketten bieden geen uitkomst. In FAQ’s zoeken op de websites van leveranciers en producenten levert ook geen antwoord op. Bellen met helpdesks en de winkel geeft na vele minuten van irritante wachtkamermuziek ook geen uitkomst. E-mailen leidt uitsluitend tot nietszeggende, door een mailrobot vervaardigde antwoorden. Of tot helemaal geen antwoord. Kortom: dit moet beter kunnen. En anders bedenk je je een volgende keer minstens tien keer of je die nieuwe dienst, dat nieuwe apparaat of dat nieuwe softwarepakket eigenlijk wel wilt hebben.

Back educators to boost internationalisation for all

When it comes to integrating internationalisation in the curriculum and ensuring internationalisation for all, the true impact of our efforts is being fully committed to supporting our educators. As the key players in creating purposeful and inclusive internationalisation, educators need to be properly equipped with expertise, resources, research and policy supports.

CyberParks - the interface between people, places and technology

Ethnographic strategies for making the familiar strange: Struggling with ‘distance’ and ‘immersion’ among Moroccan-Dutch students

Ethnographic fieldwork is a balancing act between distancing and immersing. Fieldworkers need to come close to meaningfully grasp the sense-making efforts of the researched. In methodological textbooks on ethnography, immersion tends to be emphasized at the expense of its counterpart. In fact, ‘distancing’ is often ignored as a central tenet of good ethnographic conduct. In this article we redirect attention away from familiarization and towards ‘defamiliarization’ by suggesting six estrangement strategies (three theoretical and three methodological) that allow the researcher to develop a more detached viewpoint from which to interpret data. We demonstrate the workings of these strategies by giving illustrations from Machteld de Jong’s field- and text-work, conducted among Moroccan-Dutch students in an institution of higher vocational education.

Reporting Intellectual Capital to Augment Research, Development and Innovation in SME's

In December of 2004 the Directorate General for Research and Technological Development (DG RTD) of the European Commission (EC) set up a High-Level Expert Group to propose a series of measures to stimulate the reporting of Intellectual Capital in research intensive Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). The Expert Group has focused on enterprises that either perform Research and Development (R&D), or use the results of R&D to innovate and has also considered the implications for the specialist R&D units of larger enterprises, dedicated Research & Technology Organizations and Universities. In this report the Expert Group presents its findings, leading to six recommendations to stimulate the reporting of Intellectual Capital in SMEs by raising awareness, improving reporting competencies, promoting the use of IC Reporting and facilitating standardization.