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This article explores several aspects of service quality for the provision of higher education. Alongside the trend of the massification of higher education over the past two decades, higher education institutions are required to review quality across a range of outputs, besides teaching and learning. The study was undertaken within the undergraduate placement programme of a UK higher education institution and investigated aspects of service quality through students' surveys conducted over a five-year period and staff questionnaires and interviews. The findings of the study point out that, amongst other factors, the increase in student numbers implies a deterioration of higher education service quality. Based on the findings, several areas that can potentially improve the quality of higher education services in modern universities are identified.

We explore how professional legal services and their supply chains can be modularised. Based on a review of the service modularity, supply chain modularity and supply chain strategy literature, we posit that the scope of service modularisation should be determined by, and aligned with, the supply chain strategy of a firm. We develop a conceptual framework that links the service and supply chain modular architectures with the supply chain strategy of service firms. The framework provides the foundation for an empirical confirmatory analysis through in-depth multiple case studies in 10 law firms in the UK. We identify the current status quo of service and supply chain architectures of professional legal services and then explore several options for their modularisation. Our findings show that legal services are currently over-customised, offering significant opportunities for the application of modularity across their supply chains. We generate insights to show how service modularity can be applied to the service offering, processes and supply chain levels of law firms. We also demonstrate the effects of each level of modularisation on the selection of appropriate interfaces and on the decomposability of services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the key dimensions and value-adding elements of a supply chain delivering cockpit modules to an automotive assembly operation in the United Kingdom. The findings demonstrate that supplying on a modular basis is influenced by the initial design decisions of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), the capabilities of the Module supplier and the ability to offer greater levels of customisation in a high-volume environment. The research articulates the findings through the concept of the 'Dimensions of Modularity' which seeks to demonstrate the key decision areas in a modular context and extend the concept of 'Value Transfer Activity' within a modular context. Our research provides insights into the specific dynamics of a module supply chain from OEM through to Modular supplier and a supplier of sub-modules. From this research, those involved in developing modular solutions can determine the multi-dimensional issues that need to be addressed to ensure that the supply chain is effectively connected and value transfer implications are accommodated and maximised. By adopting a single supply chain approach to exploring the impact of modular practices this paper provides valuable observations into an area of supply chain and operations management that is becoming increasingly relevant to both academic and practitioner communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to present research which explores the application of modular practices and principles within a construction sector supply chain to demonstrate the degree to which supply chain practices are aligned with modular construction. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses an exploratory case study approach to examine a construction supply chain from module manufacturer through to module client. Each member of the supply chain was involved in the provision of a modular hospital in the United Kingdom. Findings - The findings suggest that there is a need to increase supply chain integration to ensure that modular solutions can compete more effectively with traditional, on-site solutions and overcome some of the negative attributes associated with modular buildings. Research limitations/implications - The study has focused on the key stages of a modular supply chain in order to identify the application of supply chain practices within the context of modular operations. Suppliers need to balance the inherent limitations associated with modular product architecture with the increasing needs of module clients for more bespoke modular solutions. Practical implications - The paper provides useful insights into the dynamics of modular supply chain operations, which illustrate the difficulties associated with integrating modular operations and competing with the traditional on-site construction, which currently dominates the sector. Originality/value - The main theoretical argument put forward in this paper centres on the need for greater levels of supplier integration amongst suppliers to the modular construction industry. The study is one of the first to explore supply chain integration through the lens of a single modular supply chain and contributes to knowledge in this growing area through the development of a number of tools to position potential and current module suppliers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preservation of natural assets is nowadays an essential commitment. In this regard, root systems are endangered by fungal diseases which can undermine the health and stability of trees. Within this framework, ground penetrating radar (GPR) is emerging as a reliable non-destructive method for root investigation. A coherent GPR-based root-detection framework is presented in this paper. The proposed methodology is a multi-stage data analysis system that is applied to semi-circular measurements collected around the investigated tree. In the first step, the raw data are processed by applying several standard and advanced signal processing techniques in order to reduce noise-related information. In the second stage, the presence of any discontinuity element within the survey area is investigated by analysing the signal reflectivity. Then, a tracking algorithm aimed at identifying patterns compatible with tree roots is implemented. Finally, the mass density of roots is estimated by means of continuous functions in order to achieve a more realistic representation of the root paths and to identify their length in a continuous and more realistic domain. The method was validated in a case study in London (UK), where the root system of a real tree was surveyed using GPR and a soil test pit was excavated for validation purposes. Results support the feasibility of the data processing framework implemented in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a sustainability performance measurement framework for supplier evaluation and selection, using the Analytic Network Process (ANP) method. Even though the literature is rife with studies that deal with the supplier selection problem, companies that actively pursue sustainability strategies may need to add metrics that show suppliers' sustainability performance. Existing models for measuring sustainability performance are limited in that they either evaluate the environmental and social performance separately, do not consider the inter-relationships between metrics across the three dimensions of sustainability, or utilize metrics that are difficult to obtain and evaluate accurately. To overcome this deficiency, we use the ANP method, that takes into account the interrelations between quantifiable and easy to obtain sustainability-related evaluation metrics. First, through an extensive literature review and feedback from an experts' panel, we select and classify salient sustainability performance metrics related to supplier evaluation. With data collected through an extensive survey amongst 144 supply chain professionals in the UK and France, we develop the interdependencies between several sustainability metrics and determine the most critical metrics by calculating their relative weights. Results show that the selected socio-economic metrics carry the most relatively important role in supplier selection. Based on the findings of the study, we discuss implications for theory and practice. The proposed evaluation system can provide details on observing sustainable supply chain performance. It can also help to get a clearer insight into sustainability with a well-established quantitative decision-making process so that business strategies can be developed with more concerns on supply chain sustainability. • We develop a sustainability performance measurement framework for supplier evaluation. • We classify salient performance metrics related to sustainable supplier evaluation across all three dimensions of sustainability. • We utilize the Analytic Network Process method to prioritize sustainability metrics and incorporate the inter-relationships between them. • We generate insights about aligning the the sustainability performance of suppliers with a company's sustainability strategic goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aggressive fungal and insect attacks have reached an alarming level, threatening a variety of tree species, such as ash and oak trees, in the United Kingdom and beyond. In this context, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has proven to be an effective non-invasive tool, capable of generating information about the inner structure of tree trunks in terms of existence, location, and geometry of defects. Nevertheless, it had been observed that the currently available and known GPR-related processing and data interpretation methods and tools are able to provide only limited information regarding the existence of defects and anomalies within the tree inner structure. In this study, we present a microwave tomographic approach for improved GPR data processing with the aim of detecting and characterising the geometry of decay and cavities in trees. The microwave tomographic approach is able to pinpoint explicitly the position of the measurement points on the tree surface and thus to consider the actual geometry of the sections beyond the classical (circular) ones. The robustness of the microwave tomographic approach with respect to noise and data uncertainty is tackled by exploiting a regularised scheme in the inversion process based on the Truncated Singular Value Decomposition (TSVD). A demonstration of the potential of the microwave tomography approach is provided for both simulated data and measurements collected in controlled conditions. First, the performance analysis was carried out by processing simulated data achieved by means of a Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) in three scenarios characterised by different geometric trunk shapes, internal trunk configurations and target dimensions. Finally, the method was validated on a real trunk by proving the viability of the proposed approach in identifying the position of cavities and decay in tree trunks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]