To save content items to your account,
please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies.
If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account.
Find out more about saving content to .
To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org
is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings
on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part
of your Kindle email address below.
Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations.
‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi.
‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
We live in an era of globalization, in which most producers operate internationally on a global scale. We, as consumers, are affected by events taking place on distant shores – to say we live in an age of interconnectedness is a cliché, but it is still true. Just check out the labels on the clothes in your closet. Your shirts, sweaters, jackets, and jeans were probably not produced in the United States. More likely, they were made in China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, or Mexico. The same is true for your shoes.
You may not know it, but the tomato has always been the subject of controversy. Botanists debate whether the tomato is a vegetable or a fruit (it is actually a fruit). Linguists debate whether it is pronounced as to-may-toe or to-mah-toe (who cares!). Meanwhile, agricultural economists debate where the best place to produce this nutritious and delicious crop might be.
Mathematical optimization models are mathematical means to find the best possible solutions to real-life optimization problems. They consist of three parts: decision variables that describe possible solutions, constraints that define conditions that these solutions need to satisfy, and an objective function that assigns a value to each solution, expressing how “good” it is.
In all the optimization problems discussed so far, we treated the quantities in the problem description as exact, but, in reality, they cannot always be trusted or assumed to be what we think. Uncertainty might negatively affect solutions to an optimization problem in the following forms:
Estimation/forecast errors (increasingly important in an ML-driven world):
– in a production planning problem, future customer demand is a forecast;
– in a vehicle routing problem, travel times along various roads are real-time updated forecasts;
– in a wind farm layout problem, power production levels are based on wind forecasts.
Measurement errors:
– a warehouse manager might have errors in the data records regarding current stock levels;
– the concentration level of a given chemical substance is different from expected.
Implementation errors:
– a given quantity of an ingredient is sent to production in a chemical company, but due to device errors, a slightly smaller amount is actually received;
– electrical power sent to an antenna is subject to the generator’s errors.
Strategy and Organizational Forms argues for the importance of closely considering the environment in which globally operating firms are embedded, along with the pressures that shape organizational orientations, strategies, and forms. It recognizes the primacy of context and explains how the forces of global integration and local responsiveness shape organizational orientations, strategies, and forms. Major organizational forms in multinational enterprises are described. The ways in which organizations grow includes a particular focus on acquisitions and strategic alliances including joint ventures. Approaches to global business by small- and medium-size enterprises are explored. Trends in organizing related to digital transformations and lateral collaboration are identified.
Engagement theory recognises that a student’s engagement with education is impacted by factors external to schooling. It is argued that this relationship starts at birth and is continually influenced by family, community, media and individual characteristics in both positive and negative ways.
This chapter investigates the various external factors that influence student engagement. It explores an ecological approach to engagement focusing on personal, family, community and social factors. It reviews the impact of key indicators of health, wellbeing and development on student engagement and highlights what teachers can do to recognise these influences and accommodate them where possible.