The study described in this article aims to investigate the use of out-of-class communication between students and instructors using Facebook as a means of interaction for learning. How often/how much students use such an online social network and the clarification as to the reasons for online communication are the two exogenous variables used to measure the perceptions that students have about the impact of online social networking on their learning. How students perceive the quality of the content of student–instructor interaction on Facebook is treated as a mediating variable in the research model. How students perceive their performance is used as a proxy for their learning outcomes and is treated as the endogenous variable. A questionnaire was developed and used, and the analysis of the data gathered from the questionnaire was conducted using a measurement model and a structural model. The results of the study revealed that how often/how much students use an online social network and the reasons that they give for using online communication have a significant positive impact on how they perceive the quality of the content of student–instructor interaction on Facebook. In addition, the results demonstrated that the use of Facebook has a negative impact when it comes to the students’ perceptions of the quality of the content of student–instructor interaction on their perceived performance.

PurposeThe main objective of this paper is to provide a systematic literature review (SLR) and structured insight into last mile delivery, ultimately identifying gaps in current knowledge and proposing a framework for future research direction in terms of sustainability in the area.Design/methodology/approachThis paper identifies and synthesizes information from academic journals and examines “Journals and Publishing place,” “Geographic location,” “Year of Publication,” “University and Author Affiliation,” “Themes and Sub-themes,” “Theory,” “Research Design, Methods and Area” and “Industry Involvement.” A collection of online databases from 2005 to 2020 were explored, using the keywords “Last mile delivery,” “Last mile logistics,” “Last mile transportation,” “Last mile fulfillment,” “Last mile operations” and “Last mile distribution” in their title and/or abstract and/or keywords. Accordingly, a total of 281 journal articles were found in this discipline area, and data were derived from a succession of variables.FindingsThere has been significant growth in published articles concerning last mile delivery over the last 15 years (2005–2020). An in-depth review of the literature shows five dimensions of the last mile: last mile delivery, transportation, operations, distribution and logistics. Each of these dimensions is interrelated and possess clustered characteristics. For instance, last mile operations, last mile transportation and last mile delivery are operational, whereas last mile distribution is tactical, and last mile logistics possess strategic characteristics. The findings also indicate that even though the sustainability concept can be incorporated into all levels of the last mile, the current literature landscape mainly concentrates on the operational level.Research limitations/implicationsThis review is limited to academic sources available from Emerald Insight, Science Direct, Taylor and Francis, Springer, MDPI and IEEE containing the mentioned keywords in the title and/or abstract/or keywords. Furthermore, only papers from high-quality, peer-reviewed journals were evaluated. Other sources such as books and conference papers were not included.Practical implicationsThis study dissects last mile delivery to produce a framework that captures and presents its complex characteristics and its interconnectedness with various related components. By analyzing last mile delivery in its entirety, the framework also helps practitioners pinpoint which levels of last mile delivery (operation, tactical or strategic) they can incorporate the concept of sustainability.Originality/valueThe research findings enrich the contemporary literature landscape and future work by providing a conceptual framework that incorporates the “economic,” “environmental” and “social” pillars of sustainability in all dimensions of the last mile delivery.

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To address the lack of insights into the engagement of tertiary students to manage knowledge at a course level, a knowledge management approach is proposed to allow students to interact with lecturers inside and outside a large lecture hall to create, disseminate, use and evaluate knowledge. The proposed approach was applied to an undergraduate business computing related course conducted at the offshore campus of an Australian university in the third trimester of 2012. The proposed KM approach was evaluated using quantitative analysis. The findings show that the majority of the students agreed that the computerized tool (Facebook) could enhance their learning experience by allowing students to ask for, share, discuss, and extend knowledge. In particular, the KM approach provided additional channels and platforms for the first-trimester students who were passive and preferred not to seek help from lecturers directly for cultural reasons.

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