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1 – 10 of 115Albert Vasso, Richard Cobb, John Colombi, Bryan Little and David Meyer
The US Government is challenged to maintain pace as the world’s de facto provider of space object cataloging data. Augmenting capabilities with nontraditional sensors present an…
Abstract
Purpose
The US Government is challenged to maintain pace as the world’s de facto provider of space object cataloging data. Augmenting capabilities with nontraditional sensors present an expeditious and low-cost improvement. However, the large tradespace and unexplored system of systems performance requirements pose a challenge to successful capitalization. This paper aims to better define and assess the utility of augmentation via a multi-disiplinary study.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypothetical telescope architectures are modeled and simulated on two separate days, then evaluated against performance measures and constraints using multi-objective optimization in a heuristic algorithm. Decision analysis and Pareto optimality identifies a set of high-performing architectures while preserving decision-maker design flexibility.
Findings
Capacity, coverage and maximum time unobserved are recommended as key performance measures. A total of 187 out of 1017 architectures were identified as top performers. A total of 29% of the sensors considered are found in over 80% of the top architectures. Additional considerations further reduce the tradespace to 19 best choices which collect an average of 49–51 observations per space object with a 595–630 min average maximum time unobserved, providing redundant coverage of the Geosynchronous Orbit belt. This represents a three-fold increase in capacity and coverage and a 2 h (16%) decrease in the maximum time unobserved compared to the baseline government-only architecture as-modeled.
Originality/value
This study validates the utility of an augmented network concept using a physics-based model and modern analytical techniques. It objectively responds to policy mandating cataloging improvements without relying solely on expert-derived point solutions.
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L. Vercellesi, M. Colombi, M.T. Pesenti, N. Baroni, A. Cambini, P. Coccia, G. Miranda, M.T. Nava, M. Ponti and T. Zorzi
A study was set to define a suitable procedure of quality assurance, aiming to define quality measurements and develop assessment questionnaires. The exercise started with a…
Abstract
A study was set to define a suitable procedure of quality assurance, aiming to define quality measurements and develop assessment questionnaires. The exercise started with a survey of products and services offered by individual centres. The need for a mission statement emerged as a prerequisite to any quality definition. Objectives for a hypothetical drug information centre were drawn. Essential common quality indicators adequate to the full range of products were identified. Specific quality indicators for each product have also been produced. Recommendations on assessment techniques were defined and follow up measures were indicated. Overall assessment of the service was not tackled as resourcing was considered critical for the production; individual parameters were not weighted, as the weakest ring in a quality chain defines the overall quality of the product. The understanding of needs and queries of customers emerged as crucial to the achievement of quality; indications were given as how to proceed in case of a direct contact with end customers being impossible. Drug information professional's responsibilities were also stressed, particularly in the case of a ‘negative’ answer.
Mario Pontieri and Angelo Paletta
Organizational wellbeing is a multidimensional construct that looks at the individual and the totality of the organization. It is a broad and complex concept that has considerable…
Abstract
Organizational wellbeing is a multidimensional construct that looks at the individual and the totality of the organization. It is a broad and complex concept that has considerable implications on the personal and professional life of the worker and, consequently, on their work performance. This chapter will analyze how these factors influence organizational wellbeing in an organization as large and complex as the University of Bologna (UniBo), with over 3,000 administrative employees and 3,000 researchers and professors. The chapter concludes by arguing that regulatory provisions and consequent actions, although inspired by noble principles, are not enough. On the other hand, cultural and structural factors that lead to new organizational models must also intervene, leading to a rethinking of organizational welfare.
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Alma D. Rodríguez and Sandra I. Musanti
This chapter discusses the findings of a qualitative study conducted on the US–Mexico border to investigate preservice bilingual teachers’ understandings of the effective…
Abstract
This chapter discusses the findings of a qualitative study conducted on the US–Mexico border to investigate preservice bilingual teachers’ understandings of the effective practices needed to teach content in bilingual classrooms. Specifically, participants’ understandings of teaching language through content to emergent bilinguals and the role of academic language in a content methods course taught in Spanish for preservice bilingual teachers were explored. The results of the study show that preservice bilingual teachers struggled to internalize how to develop language objectives that embed the four language domains as well as the three levels of academic language into their content lessons. Although participants emphasized vocabulary development, they integrated multiple scaffolding strategies to support emergent bilinguals. Moreover, although preservice bilingual teachers struggled with standard Spanish, they used translanguaging to navigate the discourse of education in their content lessons. The use of academic Spanish was also evident in participants’ planning of instruction. The authors contend that bilingual teacher preparation would benefit from the implementation of a dynamic bilingual curriculum that: (a) incorporates sustained opportunities across coursework for preservice bilingual teachers to strengthen their understanding of content teaching and academic language development for emergent bilinguals; (b) values preservice bilingual teachers’ language varieties, develops metalinguistic awareness, and fosters the ability to navigate between language registers for teaching and learning; and (c) values translanguaging as a pedagogical strategy that provides access to content and language development.
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Andrew Greasley and Chris Owen
The purpose of this paper is to provide a contribution to the area of behavioural operations management (OM) by identifying key challenges in the use of discrete-event simulation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a contribution to the area of behavioural operations management (OM) by identifying key challenges in the use of discrete-event simulation (DES) to model people’s behaviour in OM.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review method is undertaken in order to assess the nature and scale of all publications relevant to the topic of modelling people’s behaviour with DES in OM within the period 2005-2017.
Findings
The publications identified by the literature review reveal key challenges to be addressed when aiming to increase the use of DES to model people’s behaviour. The review also finds a variety of strategies in use to model people’s behaviour using DES in OM applications.
Research limitations/implications
A systematic literature review method is undertaken in order to include all publications relevant to the topic of modelling people’s behaviour with DES in the OM domain but some articles may not have been captured.
Originality/value
The literature review provides a resource in terms of identifying exemplars of the variety of methods used to model people’s behaviour using DES in OM. The study indicates key challenges for increasing the use of DES in this area and builds on current DES development methodologies by presenting a methodology for modelling people’s behaviour in OM.
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This study aims to seek to demonstrate how explicit teaching of SFL metalinguistic and multimodal “grammars” enhanced 8-9-year-old children’s deeper understanding and production…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to seek to demonstrate how explicit teaching of SFL metalinguistic and multimodal “grammars” enhanced 8-9-year-old children’s deeper understanding and production of multimodal texts through critique of the construction of mini-documentaries about animals: the information, language of narration, composition of scenes and resources to engage the viewer. It also seeks to demonstrate how a knowledge of metalinguistic and multimodal “grammars” contributes to students achieving both content knowledge and understanding of the resources of semiotic modes.
Design/methodology/approach
A design-based approach was used with the teacher and author working closely together to implement a unit of work on mini-documentaries, including explicit teaching of the metalanguage of information reports, mini-documentary narration (aka script) and multimodal resources deployed to scaffold students’ creating their own mini-documentaries.
Findings
The students’ mini-documentaries demonstrate how knowledge of SFL written and multimodal SFL-informed “grammars” assisted students to learn how meaning was created through selection of resources from the written, visual, sound and gestural modes and apply this knowledge to creating multimodal texts demonstrating their understandings of the topic and how to make meaning in a multimodal mini-documentary.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to the outcomes from one group of students in one class. Generalisation to other contexts is not possible. Further studies are required to support the results from this research.
Practical implications
The linguistic and multimodal SFL-informed grammars can be applied by educators to critique multimodal texts in a range of mediums and scaffold students’ production of multimodal texts. They can also inform assessment criteria and expand students’ conception of what is literate practice.
Originality/value
Knowledge of a linguistic and multimodal metalanguage can provide students with the tools to enhance their critical language awareness and critical multimodal awareness.
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Quick fashion formulas can be described as a product/service characterised mainly by its potential to supply retailers with a range renewal service that is produced at short time…
Abstract
Quick fashion formulas can be described as a product/service characterised mainly by its potential to supply retailers with a range renewal service that is produced at short time gaps. The purpose of this paper is to examine the hypothesis that by adopting new quick fashion formulas clothing manufacturers can at least in part integrate the different factors that traditionally contributed to the success of operators in different strategic groups. In the case of the Italian firm analysed here, the range renewal service and consequently the development of a new production management model are integrated with construction of a strong brand identity, which has resulted in increased performance. The development of new quick fashion formulas appears symptomatic of transition from a production‐driven to a market‐driven characterisation of the apparel manufacturing sector. The development and success of quick fashion formulas such as those analysed in this paper may have important implications not only for the evolution of clothing distribution, but indeed for the whole supply chain upstream of the retailer, including textiles manufacturers who produce yarn and fabric.
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Matilde Milanesi, Simone Guercini and Alexandra Waluszewski
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the changes of the Italian textile district of Prato, considered an exemplary case of the industrial district (ID) model, using a business…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the changes of the Italian textile district of Prato, considered an exemplary case of the industrial district (ID) model, using a business network perspective. The “Black Swan” metaphor is used to address the changes in the Prato textile district in order to understand whether such changes have been an unexpected and unpredictable phenomenon, or they can be explain with a different theoretical tool-box, namely, that developed by the industrial network approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper utilizes already published studies on the changes of the textile/fashion companies located to the Prato area. Both studies that have been carried out within an ID approach and those carried out with an Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) point of departure are considered in the research. Both types of studies were utilized to identify empirical observed changes of the producer, respectively user setting that the Prato located companies was related to, including identification of changes affecting both the local setting and the larger network it was related to.
Findings
The utilization of the IMP model proposes a learning ground that exceed the local context and open ups of investigations of opportunities and threats stemming from interactions across spatial borders. Analysed from an interactive point of view, in the specific context of Prato, the exploitation of the opportunities given by establishing relationship between natives and migrants actors goes through the creation of interactions among actors representing specific resource combinations and activity structures – within and outside the local community.
Originality/value
The paper concerns how the same research object – the changes of the Prato district – appears from another perspective different from the ID theory, namely, the industrial network approach developed by scholars of the IMP Group.
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Paola Bertola and Jose Teunissen
The on-going transition of societies and economies toward different organizational paradigms deeply informed by digital technologies is at the very center of current debates…
Abstract
Purpose
The on-going transition of societies and economies toward different organizational paradigms deeply informed by digital technologies is at the very center of current debates, involving scholars and impacting on a broad context of disciplines, ranging from humanities to science and technology. Therefore, the so-called “Fourth Industrial Revolution” has been described as a model where new modes of production and consumption will dramatically transform all major industrial systems; it has been targeted by many governmental plans as a goal for a sustainable future. While general frameworks describing 4.0 paradigm are codified and accessible, implementation strategies and their implications on specific local and sectorial systems are largely unexplored. Starting from this assumption, this paper aims to provide insights on the current state of the art and major trends of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”, possibly identifying its impacts on the textile and apparel industry.
Design/methodology/approach
From a methodological standpoint, the study approaches the topic from the perspective of fashion domain experts which can contribute, with a positioning essay, to better understanding Industry 4.0 (I4.0) implementation within their specific domain. This experts’ perspective is enriched by several descriptive case studies (Yin, 1984) offering examples and insights on possible implementation of I4.0 solutions in fashion industry, also showing the potential of a design driven perspective.
Findings
Starting from a synthesis of I4.0 framework and principles, the paper aims at showing their impacts on business units, processes and components within the specific context of the fashion industry. Through emerging evidences detected by experts’ domain perspective and exemplified by several descriptive cases, it offers a comprehensive overview of the potential implications of the Forth Industrial Revolution on this specific business. The picture drafted clearly shows how digital transformation, properly driven, could reshape the fashion industry into a more sustainable and truly customer-driven business. But, it also underlines criticalities and slowness of adoption by traditional established brands and companies. As a result, being focused on on-going phenomena, highly unexplored, it shows possible trajectories, enabling an effective transformation of textile and apparel industry embracing the I4.0 paradigm.
Originality/value
The paper has a broad perspective and could offer insights to different audiences, which could effectively contribute to a positive transition, to scholars and academics, who might want to better address the implementation of I4.0 model into real economic and social context, focusing on medium – long-term implications and showing innovation pathways which are still unexplored, second to practitioners, who are usually immersed into strict silos of competences and business functions and can start to build new bridges and interconnection within the system, taking advantages of I4.0 potential, finally to policy-makers who can better shape development frameworks targeted to specific industries whose features require peculiar approaches and actions.
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Z. Ren, V. Chrysostomou and T. Price
The purpose of this research project is to reduce the carbon emissions of construction processes by Measuring, Mapping, Modelling and Managing (4Ms) the carbon performance of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research project is to reduce the carbon emissions of construction processes by Measuring, Mapping, Modelling and Managing (4Ms) the carbon performance of construction activities. This particular paper presents the research work and major findings in the first two stages: measuring the carbon footprint of construction activities in building projects; and mapping the carbon emissions from construction activities.
Design/methodology/approach
A hotel project in South Wales was selected as a case study where the carbon emissions from six categories of construction activities (i.e. management, operations, visitors, deliveries, plant and utilities) were monitored by using carefully designed data collection methods throughout the construction process. Both qualitative and quantitative analysis methods were adopted to distil and map the emissions with construction activities.
Findings
This study provides a benchmark for the carbon emissions from construction processes. The results show that construction activities generate more carbon than expected. Of the CO2 emitted, materials delivery, operational activities and plant operation account for more than 90 per cent of the total emissions. Activities from management, visitors and utilities only contributed 10 per cent of the CO2 emissions. Carbon emissions from construction processes can be best managed through project planning/scheduling where carbon emissions should be considered as a new criterion for project planning along with time, cost and quality.
Research limitations/implications
There are some limitations with the data collection methods adopted in this study. For example, the fuel/CO2 emission conversion rate for plant was obtained from online sources. This rate needs to be validated and adjusted on‐site with CO2 measurement gauges for different equipment. Similarly, the fuel efficiency adjusting rates for vehicles also need to be checked and verified constantly.
Practical implications
The on‐site carbon emission methods, the mapping approaches between the emission and construction activities, and the online system developed in this study (www.constructco2.com/default.aspx) are all embraced by the industry. So far, 76 projects have already subscripted to the online system.
Originality/value
This study developed a set of systematic and feasible approaches to measuring and analysing carbon emissions from construction activities. Unlike the existing studies which mainly focus on recording the carbon emissions on‐site, this research measured the emissions, and mapped the emissions with construction activities. The online system developed could analyse the data collected and support the contractor to decide in which aspects they should make effort to control the carbon emissions.
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