Much has been written about theory and practice in the law, and the tension between practitioners and theorists. Judges do not cite theoretical articles often; they rarely "apply" theories to particular cases. These arguments are not revisited. Instead the Essay explores the working and interaction of theory and practice, practitioners and theorists. The Essay starts with a story about solving a legal issue using our intellectual tools - theory, practice, and their progenies: experience and "gut." Next the Essay elaborates on the nature of theory, practice, experience and "gut." The third part of the Essay discusses theories that are helpful to practitioners and those that are less helpful. The Essay concludes that practitioners theorize, and theorists practice. They use these intellectual tools differently because the goals and orientations of theorists and practitioners, and the constraints under which they act, differ. Theory, practice, experience and "gut" help us think, remember, decide and create. They complement each other like the two sides of the same coin: distinct but inseparable.

Of Theory and Practice

The increasing integration of the Internet of Everything into the industrial value chain has built the foundation for the next industrial revolution called Industrie 4.0. Although Industrie 4.0 is currently a top priority for many companies, research centers, and universities, a generally accepted understanding of the term does not exist. As a result, discussing the topic on an academic level is difficult, and so is implementing Industrie 4.0 scenarios. Based on a quantitative text analysis and a qualitative literature review, the paper identifies design principles of Industrie 4.0. Taking into account these principles, academics may be enabled to further investigate on the topic, while practitioners may find assistance in identifying appropriate scenarios. A case study illustrates how the identified design principles support practitioners in identifying Industrie 4.0 scenarios.

/pdf/design-principles-for-industrie-4-0-scenarios-3z7bfvbmm7.pdf

Design Principles for Industrie 4.0 Scenarios

https://findresearcher.sdu.dk:8443/ws/files/116118561/reverse_logistics.pdf

Reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chain: A comprehensive review to explore the future

Internet evolution has affected all industrial and commercial activity and accelerated e-learning growth. Due to cost, time, or flexibility for designer courses and learners, e-learning has been adopted by corporations as an alternative training method. E-learning effectiveness evaluation is vital, and evaluation criteria are diverse. A large effort has been made regarding e-learning effectiveness evaluation; however, a generalized quantitative evaluation model, which considers both the interaffected relation between criteria and the fuzziness of subjective perception concurrently, is lacking. In this paper, the proposed new novel hybrid MCDM model addresses the independent relations of evaluation criteria with the aid of factor analysis and the dependent relations of evaluation criteria with the aid of DEMATEL. The AHP and the fuzzy integral methods are used for synthetic utility in accordance with subjective perception environment. Empirical experimental results show the proposed model is capable of producing effective evaluation of e-learning programs with adequate criteria that fit with respondent's perception patterns, especially when the evaluation criteria are numerous and intertwined.

https://ir.nctu.edu.tw:443/bitstream/11536/10843/1/000243797800008.pdf

Evaluating intertwined effects in e-learning programs: A novel hybrid MCDM model based on factor analysis and DEMATEL

Quality function deployment: A literature review

The analytic network process (ANP) is presented as a potentially valuable method to support the selection of projects in a research and development (R&D) environment. This paper first discusses the requirements of the R&D project selection problem, which requires the allocation of resources to a set of competing and often disparate project proposals. Among the factors complicating this task is the need to make the decision within the framework of an enterprise's strategic objectives and organizational structure while considering and integrating financial and strategic benefits of each project. The paper discusses the use of the ANP, a general form of Saaty's analytic hierarchy process, as a model to evaluate the value of competing R&D project proposals. A generic ANP model developed by the authors, which includes in its decision levels the actors involved in the decision, the stages of research, categories of metrics, and individual metrics, is presented. The paper concludes with a case study describing the implementation of this model at a small high-tech company, including data based on the actual use of the decision making model.

R&D project selection using the analytic network process

The concept of sustainability has become increasingly important for organizations and has permeated a number of managerial and organizational decisions. Sustainability, as defined by its ‘triple-bottom line’ factors of economic, environmental, and social dimensions, is the underlying framework we use to develop and apply a strategic justification tool for project evaluation with sustainability implications. An activity-based management methodological framework is used as a vehicle to frame decisions using corporate sustainability. An illustrative application of this technique demonstrates how an organization could select between two competing reverse logistics providers. This process requires that we introduce issues relevant to three major sustainability factors (and their sub factors) and how they are influenced by a reverse logistics provider decision. The dual contribution of this paper includes investigating the design and development of the strategic sustainability evaluation framework and introduci...

A strategic sustainability justification methodology for organizational decisions: a reverse logistics illustration

This paper provides a review of the literature on Reverse Logistics (RL). It provides an overview of definitions, research and research opportunities in this field. It is a timely and important concept with significant international research under completion at this time. Ample opportunities exist for the growth of this field due to its multi-functional, and interdisciplinary focus. It also is critical for organisations to consider from both an economic and environmental perspective. All these issues are discussed and summarised in this paper.

The theory and practice of Reverse Logistics

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology and framework to assist construction firms and contractors in incorporating sustainability measures into their benchmarking efforts.Design/methodology/approach – A methodology that incorporates both strategic and activity‐based criteria for identifying areas for benchmarking is developed by modifying an existing methodology of enterprise performance management. The benchmarking framework makes use of aspects from well‐established management practices such as activity‐based management, balanced scorecard, and multi‐attribute decision models. It allows for the integration of sustainability measures into more conventional measures of construction practice.Findings – The paper finds that activity and strategic metrics can be integrated into a framework for benchmarking. Additionally, metrics specific to sustainability can be incorporated with more traditional measures to provide a holistic analysis of construction practices.Practical implications...

Adrien Presley

Papers

R&D project selection using the analytic network process

A strategic sustainability justification methodology for organizational decisions: a reverse logistics illustration

The theory and practice of Reverse Logistics

Benchmarking for sustainability: an application to the sustainable construction industry

Incorporating sustainability into contractor evaluation and team formation in the built environment