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Experimental research was conducted on the effects of surface roughness on ultrasonic non-destructive testing of electron beam melted (EBM) additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V. Additive manufacturing (AM) is a developing technology with many potential benefits, but certain challenges posed by its use require further research before AM parts are viable for widespread use in the aviation industry. Possible applications of this new technology include aircraft battle damage repair (ABDR), small batch manufacturing to fill supply gaps and replacement for obsolete parts. This paper aims to assess the effectiveness of ultrasonic inspection in detecting manufactured flaws in EBM-manufactured Ti-6Al-4V. Additively manufactured EBM products have a high surface roughness in “as-manufactured” condition which is an artifact of the manufacturing process. The surface roughness is known to affect the results of ultrasonic inspections. Experimental data from this research demonstrate the ability of ultrasonic inspections to identify imbedded flaws as small as 0.51 mm at frequencies of 2.25, 5 and 10 MHz through a machined surface. Detection of flaws in higher surface roughness samples was increased at a frequency of 10 MHz opposed to both lower frequencies tested.

The approach is to incorporate ultrasonic waves to identify flaws in an additive manufactured specimen

A wave frequency of 10 MHz gave good results in finding flaws even with surface roughness present.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this was the first attempt that was able to identify small flaws using ultrasonic sound waves in which surface roughness was present.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of structural autonomy in the relationship between innovation strategy and performance of international technology services ventures (ITVs).

Data were collected from 200 ITVs serving markets outside their country of origin. Instrumentation followed standard procedure by adapting validated and parsimonious items from existing literature. Factor and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were applied to examine the hypothesised relationships.

The results indicate a significant relationship between innovation strategy (namely service products innovation, process innovation and administrative innovation) and performance of ITVs. Structural autonomy moderates the relationship between process innovation, administrative innovation and performance. There is no moderating effect of autonomy in the association of service products innovation and performance.

The study corroborates the argument that service firms have more to gain by granting autonomy. In the context of ITVs, such gains are directly linked to performance through enhanced innovation in service products, processes and administration. It adds to the growing suggestions and rebuttals in the literature of a trade-off between innovation and communication; and between exploration of new knowledge and exploitation of existing knowledge in organisations when there is autonomy.

Management can increase innovation and performance by granting greater autonomy to employees. Managers who are concerned that autonomy’s capacity to increase innovation capability may come at the expense of intra-organisational communication can be assured that intra-organisation communications can exist in the face of autonomy, and there is no real trade-off after all. Similarly, there is no basis for any concern for potential trade-off between exploration of new knowledge and exploitation of existing knowledge in organisations.

Research suggests that autonomy of subsidiaries, units, groups or individuals encourages innovation, and that innovation strategy can enhance organisational performance. However, there is a counter-argument that same autonomy potentially hinders exploitation and performance of innovations. The study sheds more light on these anecdotal views based on data from ITVs.

This “mini-case” summarizes the beloved Chicago Cubs' many years of futility and remarkable turnaround in the early teens of the twenty-first century. Central to the case is the concept that despite being an incredibly popular, billion-dollar franchise holding a special place in the hearts of Chicagoans for more than a century, the organization's sale from the Tribune Company in 2009 to the Ricketts family effectively required a full reboot of the company's infrastructure, akin to a startup or to a “carve-out” situation popular in the private equity world. The case resonates because the brand is easily recognizable in an industry with the unique dynamics of professional sports, and yet the company's situation features similarities to any lower-profile organization trying to build or rebuild its SG&A infrastructure from scratch.

This study attempts to probe within a multi‐dimensional perspective the nature and type of daily innovation practices of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) located in Taiwan. The relationship between innovation and organizational performance will also be explored.

Data of interest were collected through a telephone survey. From the 2000 Directory of Manufacturing and Service Industries in Northern Part of Taiwan, companies with a total employee number less than 200 (the definition of an SME in Taiwan) were the population. Telephone calls to 877 firms were successfully completed with a response rate of 87 per cent.

Eighty per cent of the surveyed companies conducted some sort of innovation, the two major types of innovations were technological and marketing innovations. Innovation has a weak link with company sales. Administrative innovations have surfaced to be the most crucial factor in explaining sales rather than technological innovations.

Creating a successful innovation platform to serve as a base for non‐technology‐related innovations may prove to be the most critical catalyst to capitalize on innovation efforts. The research results also provide some insights for companies that are not sure how to integrate innovation into their business operations.

This study unveils the innovation practices of this novel economy and particularly focuses on the less explored SMEs in an Asian context.

Purpose – The purpose of the chapter is to provide the reader with an overview of the “Pocket Tutor” project. This project created and implemented read-aloud enhanced podcasts into a University Reading Clinic. The authors provide suggestions for creating, implementing, and modifying the project.

Methodology/approach – The chapter is organized from rationale to creation to implementation. The chapter then makes recommendations for future projects.

Practical implications – The chapter demonstrates how a University Reading Clinic implemented read-aloud enhanced podcasts. These are inexpensive to create and host on free websites for families to access.

Originality/value of paper – As many struggling readers need motivation to read independently outside of school, the Pocket Tutor project provides a viable resource for engaging these readers. Not only are they listening to text at their instructional level, they are also being provided with metacognitive comprehension prompts.

We can think of those with a cynical turn of mind who might consider not a little of the present output of the parliamentary machine as “harem scarem” law, but the indecent haste, the freak urgency of some politically inspired laws apart, it is only too obvious that law is being made under rush conditions, and the reasons are not far to seek. A hectic, over‐active party executive, feverishly pushing ahead with its policies produces impossible working conditions for the parliamentary draftsmen. Law, whether it is statute or regulation, has never been more complex than it is today; time allowed for parliamentary debate is completely inadequate; too many and varied interests have to be taken into account, to say nothing of the vast range of delegated legislation. The urgency of some legislation is doubtful; it is difficult to see the need for all the hurry; a little more time in proper debate would prevent some of the loopholes which subsequently appear and render the law more comprehensible; incomprehensibility and justice are rarely compatible. As Diplock L J., said in the Court of Appeal in Rex. v. Industrial Injuries Commissioner ex parte Cable (1968) 1 A.E.R., 9, a few months ago—“Judges have been at their wits' end to know what some of the provisions mean. It would be a good thing if time could be found to remedy the blemishes.”

Entrepreneurship has been widely recognized as having greatly influenced the United States. Its influence has especially been documented over the past 20 years. Paralleling our societal interest in entrepreneurship has been increasing interest in entrepreneurship education. While our interest in entrepreneurship education has grown considerably over the past two decades, this field of study continues to have critics both within and outside of schools and colleges of business (Kuratko 2004). In spite of these criticisms, some researchers suggest that the United States is still far ahead of other regions of the world in terms of entrepreneurial education (Solomon et al. 1998).

Using entrepreneurship education in the United States as a point of departure, this article uses a case study to analyze the efforts of a private university in Bogota, Colombia, to create a new program in entrepreneurship. The Colombian Legislature passed Law 590 in July 2000 as a means to promote and develop entrepreneurship in the nation. Shortly thereafter a private university in Bogota started a new program in entrepreneurship. At the university's invitation, a small number of faculty from U.S. universities participated in the school's “kick-off” efforts. The paper offers analysis and recommendations based on five criteria: 1) What is taught, 2) Why it is taught, 3) How it is taught, 4) How well it works, and 5) Leadership support. In addition, rather than simply adopting a U.S. or European model of entrepreneurship education, the authors propose that they should develop a center that integrates lessons from other models with elements that are relevant to the local situation.