Implementation guidelines for mass customization: current characteristics and suggestions for improvement

Interest in mass customization (MC) is increasing in both industry and academia. Academic research on MC implementation guidelines (IGs) has, however, lagged behind other research streams in the MC literature. The present article reviews the existing literature on MC-IGs and inductively derives a classification scheme for prior research findings to identify potential areas for further research. While the issue of what enables MC has been intensively researched, investigation of several questions is still required, such as which enablers should be implemented and in what sequence, depending on the specific context in which MC is pursued. Other areas for future study of MC-IGs include applicability context specifications, as-is analysis tools, hindrance factors and required resources. This article complements previous MC literature reviews by providing an overview of MC-IGs available in the literature, identifying the building blocks of MC-IGs and proposing a definition of MC-IGs that can be used as a basis for future research in MC implementation.     

Unions and social media: Prospects for gender inclusion

The emergence of web 2.0 technologies led to optimistic predictions that social media (SM) might alter traditional gendered patterns of member participation in trade unions. Greene, Hogan, and Grieco and others suggested that the forms of communication and engagement these technologies offered to unions and their members had the potential to foster gender inclusion and contribute to union diversity, arguably central to effective representation. This article reports on a survey of union members’ experiences with and perceptions of their union's SM services, to identify whether there is a gendered dimension to members’ use. The findings indicate that for most union members regardless of gender, more traditional communication channels such as face‐to‐face contact and email remain the preferred means of communication. However, the findings also show that women are just as likely as men, if not more so, to engage with union SM. Given that historically, women largely participated less in union activities than their male counterparts, this broad parity of use by women supports the conclusion that SM has substantial potential to improve women's participation in unions.     

Vacuum erection device in treatment of organic erectile dysfunction and penile vascular differences between patients with DM type I and DM type II

The aim of this study is to investigate changes in the vascular system and hemodynamics between patients with organic erectile dysfunction (ED) (DM type I and II), as well as to compare the quality of sexual life between those two groups after the treatment with vacuum erection device (VED). Study enrolled 50 males with DM, aged from 35 to 67 years, who have attended the urologic clinic due to inability to attain and maintain an erection of the penis sufficient to permit satisfactory sexual intercourse. Patients were using VED and six months later were assessed for therapy results. The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) was used to quantify erectile dysfunction. Alprostadil injection test was also used, with Doppler color flow imaging system, to evaluate the peak systolic velocity (PSV) and diameter of cavernosal artery (DCA). Significantly higher values of PSV were obtained in patients with DM type II. Also, DCA showed significant difference between two groups of patients. There was significant improvement in three items of IIEF after six months of treatment among both groups of examinees. Patients with DM type I had more serious risk for development of arteriogenic ED. VED could be a good alternative therapy for patients who denied peroral therapy.     

A geometric time-series model with an alternative dependent Bernoulli counting series

In this article, we first introduce an alternative way for construction of the generalized binomial thinning operator with dependent counting series. Some properties of this thinning operator are derived and discussed. Then, by using this thinning operator, we introduce an integer-valued time-series model with geometric marginals. Some conditional and unconditional properties of this model are derived and discussed. Some estimation methods are considered and for some of them, asymptotic properties of the obtained estimates are derived. Performances of the estimates are discussed through some simulations. Finally, a real data example is considered and the goodness-of-fit of this model is compared with the models based on the binomial, negative binomial, and dependent binomial thinning operators.     

An extension on INAR models with discrete Laplace marginal distributions

The main theme considered in this article is an integer-valued thinning operator with both positive and negative values, its properties, and a new time series with skew discrete Laplace marginals. Some properties of this model are discussed, as well as estimators of unknown parameters, similarities and differences with some other existing models, applications in real-life situations, and identification and approximation of latent processes affecting the concerning process.     

EU ideology

The idea of Europe was radically transformed after the accomplishment of the idea of European unification. The European Union (EU) and Europe at the beginning of the twenty-first century were defined by a broad common ideology that consists of ideologies such as antinationalism, social democracy, pacificism and environmentalism. These ideologies are presented by pro-EU scholars and politicians as ideologies rooted in European history and parts of European identity and as being mostly absent in the American policies. The emergence of EU ideology is traced in the relaunch of European integration in the mid-1980s and in Delors’ conflict with Thatcher. It is argued that the emergence of EU ideology is the result of two long-term historical developments: the deepening and enlargement of European integration; and the changing relations between the USA and Europe. It is concluded that the emergence of EU ideology resembles the emergence of nationalism and national ideologies.     

Who are the Supporters of Croatian Membership in the European Union and NATO? Predictive Value of Personal and National Well-Being

Like many other Central and Eastern European countries Croatia has passed through substantial political changes and transition processes from state to liberal market economy in the last two decades. The next important step is accession to EU and NATO, and public opinion about joining these associations is divided. The aim of this study is to investigate the predictive value of subjective well-being measures in explaining attitudes of Croatian citizens toward accession to NATO and European Union. In particular, the prognostic utility of SWB is tested over and above usefulness of basic socio-demographic variables in explaining those political opinions. The research was conducted on a huge and representative sample (N = 4,000) of Croatian citizens in the spring of 2009. As a measure of subjective well-being, Croatian version of International Well-Being Index (IWI; Cummins in International Wellbeing Index, Version 2 [online]. Available from: , 2002) was used. IWI includes National and Personal Well-Being scales where each scale consists of several personal or national well-being domains. Socio-demographic variables used in this survey were gender, age, and level of education. Hierarchical logistic regression was applied to test the unique contribution of National and Personal well-being domains in predicting attitudes toward accession. The results show that National well-being index is useful in predicting attitudes toward accession of Croatia to EU and NATO, and has an even higher predictive value than basic socio-demographic variables. National well-being domains that significantly improve prediction were satisfaction with government and satisfaction with national economic situation. Higher satisfaction with national government is related to support of accession to both alliances, whereas higher satisfaction with national economy is associated solely with supporting the EU membership. The personal well-being index and belonging domains were not useful in this political attitude prediction. Possible theoretical explanation of observed relations between NWI and political opinion were further discussed.