Kubernetes (K8s) defines standardized APIs for container-based cluster orchestration so it becomes possible for application managers to deploy their applications in a unified manner across different cloud providers. A practical problem is however feature incompatibility between different K8s vendors, who offer commercial K8s products based on the open-source K8s distribution. A large number of documented features in this open-source distribution are optional features that are turned off by default, but can be activated by setting specific combinations of parameters and plug-in components in configuration manifests for the K8s control plane and worker node agents. However, none of these configuration manifests are standardized, giving K8s vendors the freedom to hide the manifests behind a single, more restricted, and proprietary customization interface. Therefore some optional K8s features cannot be activated consistently across K8s vendors and applications that require these features cannot be run on those vendors. In this paper we present a unified, vendor-agnostic feature management approach that bypasses the proprietary customization interface of K8s vendors in order to consistently activate optional K8s features across a federation of clusters hosted by different Kubernetes vendors. We describe vendor-agnostic reconfiguration tactics that are already applied in industry and cover a wide range of optional K8s features. Based on these tactics, we design and implement an autonomic controller for declarative feature compatibility management across a cluster federation. We found that the features configured through our vendor-agnostic approach have no impact on application performance when compared with a cluster where the features are configured using the configuration manifests of the open-source K8s distribution. Moreover, the maximum time to complete reconfiguration of a single feature is within 100 seconds, which is 6 times faster than using proprietary customization interfaces of mainstream K8s vendors such as Google Kubernetes Engine. However, there is a non-negligible disruption to running applications when performing the reconfiguration; this disruption impact does not appear using the proprietary customization methods of the K8s vendors. Therefore, our approach is best applied in the following three use cases: (i) when starting up new K8s clusters, (ii) when optional K8s features of existing clusters must be activated as quickly as possibly and temporary disruption to running applications can be tolerated or (iii) when proprietary customization interfaces do not allow to activate the desired optional feature.

Globally, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) were responsible for 41 million deaths in 2016, with the majority of these occurring in low and middle-income countries. These diseases were on the rise as a result of unhealthy, low-quality, and unbalanced diets, which resulted in overweight and obesity. The National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) was created to regulate the foods sold to schoolchildren. To ascertain school management teams' perspectives on the relationship between the NSNP and the development of lifestyle diseases. A phenomenological qualitative study using Focus Group Discussions among 16 purposively selected members of the School Management Teams were conducted in Mt Frere, Eastern Cape in 2016. The narrative data was analyzed using Tesch's eight-phase thematic analysis approach. The data analysis revealed two themes (NSNP and the vendor system) and six sub-themes. The NSNP was viewed as making a significant contribution to children's food security, thereby improving academic output. However, reengineering of the NSNP was need through improved budgeting and inclusion of breakfast in the menu to control NCDs risk factors. The current implementation of the vendor system did not support reduction of NCDs risk factors. Improved implementation of the guide to vendor system is needed.

The framework of product life cycle (PLC) cost analysis is one of the most important evaluation tools for a contemporary high-tech company in an increasingly competitive market environment. The PLC-purchasing strategy provides the framework for a procurement plan and examines the sourcing strategy of a firm. The marketing literature emphasizes that ongoing technological change and shortened life cycles are important elements in commercial organizations. From a strategic viewpoint, the vendor has an important position between supplier, buyer and manufacturer. The buyer seeks to procure the products from a set of vendors to take advantage of economies of scale and to exploit opportunities for strategic relationships. However, previous studies have seldom considered vendor selection (VS) based on PLC cost (VSPLCC) analysis. The purpose of this paper is to solve the VSPLCC problems considering the situation of a single-buyer-multiple-supplier. For this issue, a new VSPLCC procurement model and solution procedure are derived by this paper to minimize net cost, rejection rate, late delivery and PLC cost subject to vendor capacities and budget constraints. Moreover, a real case in Taiwan is provided to show how to solve the VSPLCC procurement problem.

The classical joint economic lot-sizing (JELS) policy in a single-vendor single-buyer system generates an equal production quantity in all cycles, where the input parameters remain static indefinitely. In this paper, a new two-echelon supply chain inventory model is developed involving a hybrid production system that simultaneously focuses on green and regular production methods with optimal allocation fraction of green and regular productions. Unlike the classical mathematical formulation, each cycle is independent from the previous one, and consequently, the input parameters can be adjusted to be responsive to the dynamic nature of demand rate and price fluctuation. A rigorous heuristic approach is used to derive a global optimal solution for a joint hybrid production system. The model accounts for carbon emissions from production and storage activities related to green and regular produced items along with transportation activity under a multi-level emission-taxing scheme. The results emphasize the significant impact of green production on emissions. That is, the higher the allocation fraction of green production the lower the total amount of emissions generated by the system, i.e., the system becoming more sustainable. Adopting a hybrid production method not only decreases the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions dramatically, but also reduces the per unit time total cost when compared with regular production. One of the main findings is that the total system cost generated by the base closed-form formula of the proposed model is considerably lower than that of the existing literature i.e., 33.59% (16.13%) lower in the first cycle (subsequent cycles) when the regular production method is assumed. Moreover, the optimal production rate generated by the proposed model is the one that minimizes the emissions production function. Illustrative examples and special cases that reflect different realistic situations are compared to outline managerial insights.

The airport ground handling service (AGHS) equipment vendor selection (AGHSEVS) problem is critical for ramp work safety management, because AGHS equipment malfunctions affect airport ramp work safety. Appropriate vendor selection can prevent aircraft damage and delays in airlines schedules, and ensure reliable and high-quality ground handling service. The AGHSEVS problem is a time-consuming and complex process that requires professional knowledge and experience to make judgments. Specifically, AGHSEVS is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. Previous research has seldom integrated MCDM methods with linear and goal programming to solve the AGHSEVS problem. The objective of this study was to develop a new system evaluation model for AGHSEVS by considering both qualitative and quantitative methods. We test the proposed approach on an AGHS company in Taiwan.