Dominion (United States)

Purpose Supply chain innovation (SCI) represents a complex construct, capturing the interest of practitioners and researchers alike. There is no commonly accepted definition for the term, field research on the construct appears to be highly fragmented and industry examples demonstrate diverse ways in which it occurs. Design/methodology/approach Reviewing definitional literature and top winners of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ Supply Chain Innovation Award, this manuscript identifies salient points about SCI to guide continued research and industry practice. Findings Seven points are made about SCI. These pertain to its multiple definitions, technology, relationships, performance outcomes, conceptual boundaries, hierarchy of scope and degree of innovation. Practical implications Managers should recognize that SCI is predicated on technology and relationships and that various types of innovation alongside SCI have applicability in the supply chain context. A fuller, more systemic and integrative understanding of SCI can broaden innovation opportunities and foster meaningful, enduring impact across supply chains. Originality/value Identifying seven points concerning SCI, we aim to provide conceptual clarity to the construct. Our treatise characterizes SCI as a distinct form of innovation whereby a focal firm leverages both technology and relationships to achieve efficiency and effectiveness outcomes through supply chain-related changes that range from incremental to radical in nature.

Background/Objectives: HPV vaccination is safe, effective, and recommended at ages 11-12, yet uptake remains suboptimal. Serious video games may offer an innovative strategy to deliver brief, engaging education during clinic visits. This qualitative paper, embedded within a mixed-methods study, examined adolescents', parents', and healthcare providers' (HCPs') perceptions of the acceptability, usability, and perceived clinical applicability of HPV Detective, a tablet-based digital game designed to provide HPV-related education to parent-child dyads during pediatric clinic wait times. Methods: Eight adolescent-parent dyads (N = 16) and three HCPs from university-affiliated pediatric clinics participated in 30-60-min semi-structured Zoom interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed by two coders, with discrepancies resolved by consensus and reviewed by a third researcher. Results: Participants identified five key dyadic themes and four HCP themes. Adolescents described the gameplay as intuitive and enjoyable, highlighting interactive challenges and realistic avatars. Parents valued the clarity of HPV information and noted that the game helped initiate health-related conversations. Both adolescents and parents suggested enhancements including voice narration and greater customization and agreed that the game was well suited for 10-15-min clinic wait times, with text messaging preferred for follow-up. HCPs emphasized challenges such as parental hesitancy and competing clinical demands and viewed the game as a feasible adjunct to support vaccine-related discussions. Conclusions: Findings suggest the acceptability, usability, and perceived clinical applicability of a brief, clinic-based digital game for HPV-related education and engagement among adolescents and their parents.

A growth in the popularity of interconnected banking systems that make use of the Internet of Things (IoT) has occurred as a result of the rise in the acceptance of digital financial services, which has become increasingly ubiquitous. The Internet of Things devices, despite the fact that they make banking operations more efficient and improve the experience for customers, also make them more vulnerable to hackers on the other hand. It is the case that this is the situation, despite the fact that these devices are advantageous to customers. The goal of this study is to investigate the Internet of Things (IoT) technology in order to determine whether or not it has the capability of enhancing the cybersecurity of financial institutions by means of the implementation of real-time threat detection and protection strategies that are based on blockchain technology: this is the purpose of this research. By deploying sensors that are connected to the Internet of Things in conjunction with analytics, it is feasible to perform continuous monitoring of the activity that occurs on the network, the patterns of transactions, and the interactions that occur between devices. It is projected that as a result of this research, a decentralized security model that makes use of technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain will be built. This is something that is anticipated to happen. The objective of this study is to ensure that all of these things are achievable in order to guarantee that the flow of data is as transparent as possible, that it is not subject to tampering, and that transaction records cannot be altered. This enables the solution to be implemented. This is accomplished through the use of the IoT. The distributed ledger is the component of blockchain technology that is responsible for guaranteeing that audit trails and transaction data are protected from unauthorized changes or fraudulent activity. This responsibility falls under the purview of the distributed ledger. A superior predictive analysis is produced as a result of the incorporation of algorithms based on artificial intelligence into the ecosystem of the Internet of Things.

Abstract Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) offers potential solutions to educational challenges by personalizing learning experiences for diverse learners. However, it also introduces complexities around issues of ownership of learning. As an indicator of empowered learning, ownership is a multifaceted but underexplored concept. In this study, the authors adopted a mixed-methods multiple-case study design to explore non-traditional online students’ perceived ownership of learning when using ChatGPT for instructional design. The authors adopted the psychology ownership construct consisting of self-efficacy, accountability, belongingness, and self-identity as the theoretical framework. Findings revealed students’ prior AI experiences and educational levels played a significant role in their perceived ownership. In contrast, no significant differences were observed for students in different learning modalities (synchronous vs. asynchronous) or with different neurodivergent conditions. This multiple-case study also explored how students used ChatGPT within and outside the courses, perceived challenges, and the role of GenAI in promoting educational equity from students’ perspectives. As one of the first studies exploring students’ ownership of learning in GenAI-facilitated educational contexts, the implications for practice and research were discussed.

In energy-constrained residential contexts, particularly following disasters such as hurricanes, effective load scheduling and comfort-aware energy management become critical, yet detailed appliance-level and aggregate load profile data may not always be available. This paper proposes a smart home energy management system (HEMS) that integrates an M<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">t</inf>/G/∞ queueing-based synthetic load model to address data unavailability, enabling criticality-aware appliance scheduling alongside a comfort-based smart thermostat. The proposed CACHE-EMS-QUENCH framework aims to maintain user-defined thermal comfort, mitigate the lack of actual load data, and prioritize critical loads under constrained energy conditions typical of post-disaster scenarios. The system employs an M<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">t</inf>/G/∞ queueing model to generate realistic synthetic load profiles. Load categorization and prioritization are accomplished using mixed-integer linear programming (MILP), ensuring high-priority appliances receive energy allocation while maintaining indoor temperature within user-specified comfort bands. The HVAC system employs band-based operation, significantly penalizing deviations from the comfort zone to enhance occupant comfort and safety while prioritizing other critical loads. The effectiveness of the proposed system is demonstrated via a case study of a residential setting in Puerto Rico over a 72-hour period, using a solar-plus-battery energy setup and quadratic binary optimization implemented in Julia’s JuMP framework. Simulation results confirm the system’s capability to replicate realistic load curves, efficiently allocate limited energy to critical appliances, manage HVAC operations effectively, and support overall residential energy resilience.

Research capturing the experiences of disabled people in physical education (PE) is on the rise. However, the available literature has given less consideration to disabled people representing various racial and ethnic groups. As such, the purpose of this study was to examine the intersubjective experiences of inclusion of Latina and Latino blind and visually impaired students in PE and the meanings ascribed to those experiences. The research approach was interpretative phenomenological analysis. Seven adults (two females and five males; 18–29 years of age) who identified as Latina or Latino, blind or visually impaired, and had previous experiences in integrated PE in the United States or its territories participated in this study. The analytical thematic development followed a four-step approach informed by the research design. Based on the analysis, the following three interrelated themes were constructed: (a) “They didn’t know what to do with me”: Teachers as barriers to feelings of inclusion, (b) “I wanted to be part of the group”: Social interactions, peer relationships, and sense of belonging, and (c) “Making my life easier is the best option”: Self-agency and empowerment to experience inclusion. The findings reported in this retrospective study are consistent with those in other geographical regions. Nonetheless, one key aspect is that some participants demonstrated resistance toward their experiences of exclusion, leading to a self-agency to demonstrate their presence in PE.

Background/AimsThe effectiveness of colonoscopy largely depends on the quality of bowel preparation. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is commonly used but has certain limitations. This review evaluates whether combining PEG with linaclotide improves preparation efficacy and safety compared with PEG alone.MethodsA search was conducted in Medline, Embase, and ClinicalTrials.gov up to October 2024. Only randomized controlled trials comparing PEG combined with linaclotide versus PEG alone and reporting adenoma detection rates (ADR) or polyp detection rates (PDR) were included. Mean differences (MDs) and risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported.ResultsA total of eight studies, including 3,071 participants, were included. Pooled analysis indicated that PEG combined with linaclotide was significantly associated with a higher ADR (RR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.03–1.28), higher Boston bowel preparation scale score (MD, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.02–0.61), and greater willingness to repeat colonoscopy (RR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.08–1.24). Although PDR (RR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.89–1.24) was numerically higher in the intervention group, the difference was not statistically significant. Additionally, the intervention significantly reduced the incidence of nausea, vomiting, bloating, and abdominal pain.ConclusionsPEG combined with linaclotide is a safe alternative to PEG alone, improving ADR, bowel preparation quality, and patient comfort.

Abstract Hardening of Alloy 690 has been observed in some recent investigations into the potential for long range order (LRO) to form after accelerated thermal aging, even when characterization of the material did not identify any evidence of LRO. To enhance the understanding of long-term aging behavior of Alloy 690 and associated weld metals Alloy 52 and Alloy 152, this work was conducted to amass and summarize the most recent industry research on high-Cr Ni-base alloys and assess the industry consensus related to the likelihood and degree of embrittlement in such alloys during the lifetime and operating conditions of a light water reactor plant. The conclusions drawn from the review of recent research were supplemented with statistical analyses conducted on a curated database of aged high-Cr Ni-base alloy material to identify any statistically significant relationships between the hardening response of the specimens and several variables such as composition, thermo-mechanical processing, and aging temperature and time. Based on the results from recent literature and the statistical analyses, the relevance of LRO forming in commercial Alloy 690 material during light water reactor (LWR) plant operation is minimal.