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Discusses the book of guidelines for environmental impact assessment on human health published by the Flemish Government in an attempt to introduce conformity in environmental impact statements. Outlines these guidelines and how they should be used in an assessment. Discusses the interrelationship between the environment and human health.

The first purpose of this paper is to identify – by an inverse problem – the unknown material characteristics in a permanent magnet synchronous machine in order to obtain a numerical model that is a realistic representation of the machine. The second purpose is to optimize the machine geometrically – using the accurate numerical model – for a maximal torque to losses ratio. Using the optimized geometry, a new machine can be manufactured that is more efficient than the original.

A 2D finite element model of the machine is built, using a nonlinear material characteristic that contains three parameters. The parameters are identified by an inverse problem, starting from torque measurements. The validation is based on local BH‐measurements on the stator iron.

Geometrical parameters of the motor are optimized at small load (low‐stator currents) and at full load (high‐stator currents). If the optimization is carried out for a small load, the stator teeth are chosen wider in order to reduce iron loss. An optimization at full load results in a larger copper section so that the copper loss is reduced.

The identification of the material parameters is influenced by the tolerance on the air gap – shown by a sensitivity analysis in the paper – and by 3D effects, which are not taken into account in the 2D model.

The identification of the material parameters guarantees that the numerical model describes the real material properties in the machine, which may be different from the properties given by the manufacturer because of mechanical stress and material degradation.

The optimization is more accurate because the material properties, used in the numerical model, are determined by the solution of an inverse problem that uses measurements on the machine.

The use of multiple-capacity rail-guided vehicles (RGVs) has made automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) optimization more complex. The paper performs dual-RGV scheduling considering loading/unloading and collision-avoidance constraints simultaneously as these issues have only been considered separately in the previous literature.

This paper proposes a novel model for dual-RGV scheduling with two-sided loading/unloading operations and collision-avoidance constraints. To solve the proposed problem, a hybrid harmony search algorithm (HHSA) is developed. To enhance its performance, a descent-based local search with eight move operators is introduced.

A group of problem instances at different scales are optimized with the proposed algorithm and the results are compared with those of two other high-performance methods. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can efficiently solve realistically sized cases of dual multi-capacity RGV scheduling problems in AS/RSs.

For the first time in the research on dual multi-capacity RGV scheduling in an AS/RS, two-sided loading/unloading operations and collision avoidance constraints are simultaneously considered. Furthermore, a mathematical model for minimizing the makespan is developed and the HHSA is developed to determine solutions.

Following the “Patient Quality and Safety Contract” launch by the Belgian Federal Authorities, Belgian hospital web sites were scrutinized. The aim of this paper is to assess the presence of some sort of quality management strategy within Belgian Acute Care Hospital digital external communications.

Digital communications were assessed using a pre‐established grid focusing on direct quality improvement testimonies, like a quality manager presence, a quality committee, a specific strategy, etc.

Two hypotheses explain the poor results: structured quality improvement exists in organizations but senior managers do not feel the need to transparently communicate the subject; and quality improvement does not exist in a sufficiently structured way to allow open communication.

The proposed Federal Contract should improve both quality initiative quality and frequency as well as transparent communication to healthcare workers and patients.

The paper underlines the urgent need for Belgian healthcare executives to be aware of structured quality management strategy's importance and to be eager to openly communicate the strategy.

To design an optimal active shield for the mitigation of the magnetic stray field around an induction heating device.

The active shield consists of several compensation coils in series and generates a counter field opposite to the main field. One extra compensation winding – the “generating compensation winding” (GCW) – is positioned close to the excitation coil and works as the secondary winding of a transformer. The power in this winding is used to drive the other compensation coils (the active shield), which are the load of the transformer. A circuit with passive components is inserted between the GCW and the other compensation coils. The shield is optimal if it achieves a high field reduction, while the energy dissipation is low. By using a genetic algorithm (GA) that minimizes an objective function, the optimization algorithm finds the optimal geometry and the optimal current for the GCW and the other compensation coils. The objective function uses time harmonic and axisymmetric finite element calculations.

The transformer driven active shield reduces the magnetic field effectively. It is cheap and easy to build, but it works well only for one frequency.

The shield is sensitive to tuning of the passive circuit and to changes in the frequency of the induction heater.

This transformer driven shield is an alternative for the classical active shield with external power supply.

An active shield that does not need an external power supply is a cheap solution for the shielding of magnetic fields.

This paper aims to give an overview of the public management process in France and tries to explain why it is specific as compared to other countries.

The paper is based upon a sociological and comparative methodology. It reports the empirical findings of a European survey.

Management reforms in France are fragmented and do not fit in a general doctrine or a new philosophy of the state. The French managerial reform style is due to the domestication of management tools by Napoleonic structures. Nevertheless, management innovations are used in order to draw new frontiers within public administration between what is the centre and what is the periphery.

The methodology as well as the findings of the paper could be used for a more systematic comparative work in order to understand why and how public management tools fit in national political as well as professional traditions. There is scope for connecting public management research with broader historical and sociological studies of public administration.

The paper shows that both political values and work practices have to be taken into account in order to understand why public sector management reforms are easier in some countries even within the Napoleonic tradition.

The aim of this paper is the experimental validation of an original time‐domain thin‐shell formulation. The numerical results of a three‐dimensional thin‐shell model are compared with the measurements performed on a heating device at different working frequencies.

A time‐domain extension of the classical frequency‐domain thin‐shell approach is used for the finite‐element analysis of a shielded pulse‐current induction heater. The time‐domain interface conditions at the shell surface are expressed in terms of the average flux density vector in the shell, as well as in terms of a limited number of higher‐order components.

A very good agreement between measurements and simulations is observed. A clear advantage of the proposed thin‐shell approach is that the mesh of the computation domain does not depend on the working frequency anymore. It provides a good compromise between computational cost and accuracy. Indeed, adding a sufficient number of induction components, a very high accuracy can be achieved.

The method is based on the coupling of a time‐domain 1D thin‐shell model with a magnetic vector potential formulation via the surface integral term. A limited number of additional unknowns for the magnetic flux density are incorporated on the shell boundary.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

There is scientific consensus that employees' attitudes have a fundamental impact on customers' experiences. This paper seeks to focus on how to create favourable employee attitudes that are relevant for the creation of the service brand. In this context, the aim is to develop a framework that combines the concept of the perceived employer brand with employee outcomes that are relevant for service branding.

Empirical data were collected from a sample (n=2,189) of a worldwide operating insurance company. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modelling.

First, the findings underpin the idea of a relationship between the perceived employer brand and service branding. Second, the influence of particular drivers for employee attitudes is determined.

Research is based on data from only one company. Furthermore, customer outcomes are not investigated directly. Thus, research needs to be taken further by investigating the creation of a service brand, simultaneously exploring employees' attitudes and customers' experiences.

Influencing customer experiences is a complex process that involves interactions among several stakeholder groups. In order to raise efficiency, it is proposed that companies focus on creating a strong employer brand as this constitutes an efficient way of service branding.

This paper highlights the influence of the perceived employer brand on employees' attitudes, which is especially important in service settings. The investigation of customer‐relevant employee attitudes emphasises the significance of creating a strong employer brand. Furthermore, long‐term effects are considered by investigating the influence of the perceived employer brand on potential employees' identification.

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.