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21 – 30 of 66Petr Vrchota, Ales Prachar, Shia-Hui Peng, Magnus Tormalm and Peter Eliasson
In the European project AFLoNext, active flow control (AFC) measures were adopted in the wing tip extension leading edge to suppress flow separation. It is expected that the…
Abstract
Purpose
In the European project AFLoNext, active flow control (AFC) measures were adopted in the wing tip extension leading edge to suppress flow separation. It is expected that the designed wing tip extension may improve aerodynamic efficiency by about 2 per cent in terms of fuel consumption and emissions. As the leading edge of the wing tip is not protected with high-lift device, flow separation occurs earlier than over the inboard wing in the take-off/landing configuration. The aim of this study is the adoption of AFC to delay wing tip stall and to improve lift-to-drag ratio.
Design/methodology/approach
Several actuator locations and AFC strategies were tested with computational fluid dynamics. The first approach was “standard” one with physical modeling of the actuators, and the second one was focused on the volume forcing method. The actuators location and the forcing plane close to separation line of the reference configuration were chose to enhance the flow with steady and pulsed jet blowing. Dependence of the lift-to-drag benefit with respect to injected mass flow is investigated.
Findings
The mechanism of flow separation onset is identified as the interaction of slat-end and wing tip vortices. These vortices moving toward each other with increasing angle of attack (AoA) interact and cause the flow separation. AFC is applied to control the slat-end vortex and the inboard movement of the wing tip vortex to suppress their interaction. The separation onset has been postponed by about 2° of AoA; the value of ift-to-drag (L/D) was improved up to 22 per cent for the most beneficial cases.
Practical implications
The AFC using the steady or pulsed blowing (PB) was proved to be an effective tool for delaying the flow separation. Although better values of L/D have been reached using steady blowing, it is also shown that PB case with a duty cycle of 0.5 needs only one half of the mass flow.
Originality/value
Two approaches of different levels of complexity are studied and compared. The first is based on physical modeling of actuator cavities, while the second relies on volume forcing method which does not require detailed actuator modeling. Both approaches give consistent results.
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This chapter aims to enrich knowledge about cluster initiatives acting as intermediaries primarily between members in a cluster or in regional context. This is a practically…
Abstract
This chapter aims to enrich knowledge about cluster initiatives acting as intermediaries primarily between members in a cluster or in regional context. This is a practically oriented manuscript written to contribute to refinement of existing policies by proposing recommendations based on recent empirical studies regarding funding, actors’ and activities’ content, as well as cluster initiatives’ assessment. It is proposed that public support should be balanced, targeting new as well as established, well-functioning cluster initiatives. Furthermore, regional authorities should encourage multifaceted collaboration (e.g., Triple Helix), stimulate variation in activities to maximize the benefit of cluster initiatives as well as define and communicate success factors that make it possible to evaluate cluster initiatives from a holistic perspective. These recommendations are primary aimed for regional authorities and reflect a bottom-up perspective where both logic of initiatives’ actions and their development are captured. Yet, even national authorities can make use of the recommendations in this chapter to improve governance of cluster initiatives and to determine further directions of regional policies.
The implementation of whistleblowing policies is emblematic of the reforms undertaken by international sports organisations in the aftermath of major governance and integrity…
Abstract
Purpose
The implementation of whistleblowing policies is emblematic of the reforms undertaken by international sports organisations in the aftermath of major governance and integrity scandals. However, sport has particular organisational and cultural characteristics that reduce the likelihood of whistleblowing behaviour. This article looks at the quality of reporting policies in sports to assess how far the reporting mechanisms encourage whistleblowers.
Design/methodology/approach
A whistleblowing policy quality assessment system was built and applied to 45 international sport organisations.
Findings
The research identified 23 reporting mechanisms but, despite marked differences between them, most policies are of low quality. In particular, whistle-blower protection regimes and promotion strategies are lacking.
Research limitations/implications
The research suggests that reporting mechanisms currently in place are not likely to encourage whistle-blowers and questions the performance of these mechanisms as well as the objectives of the organisations, which may reflect “window-dressing” strategies. This may have implications for other areas of “good governance” reform.
Practical implications
An assessment questionnaire for sport reporting policies has been created and tested. It was sent to international sport organisations to assist them in identifying policy gaps and improving their policy.
Originality/value
The analysis does not limit itself to the presence or absence of “good governance” measures. It also explores their quality. It proposes a comprehensive assessment grid for whistleblowing policies in international sport that practitioners and researchers may wish to use in future.
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Gabriel Baffour Awuah, Desalegn Abraha Gebrekidan and Aihie Osarenkhoe
The purpose of this study is to provide deeper insights into the extent to which an independent actor(s) actively collaborates with the internationalizing firm so as to jointly…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide deeper insights into the extent to which an independent actor(s) actively collaborates with the internationalizing firm so as to jointly determine the choice of market, the mode of entry and the level of investment committed in the market to be entered and even after the entry (i.e. the ongoing activities).
Design/methodology/approach
Against the previous purpose section, a qualitative research approach is selected to guide the exploratory nature of this study. Thus qualitative data are used to build the two case studies because case studies are generally a more appropriate approach when “how” and “why” questions are being posed and when the investigator has little control over events.
Findings
Based on two multiple case studies, one major finding of the study shows that independent actors, with their interconnected networks, have played and are still playing a major role in influencing the internationalization processes of each of the two firms in this study.
Originality/value
This is an original paper developed based on two case studies which have not been published in any journal before. The paper highlights the role of external independent actors in internationalization, which is not mentioned at all or stressed in the extant literature.
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Gunnar Aronsson, Eva Charlotta Nylén, Lars Ishall, Petra Lindfors and Magnus Sverke
Social welfare work contains elements that may be difficult for employees to put out of their minds when the working day ends, which may affect the recovery. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Social welfare work contains elements that may be difficult for employees to put out of their minds when the working day ends, which may affect the recovery. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the length of recovery in relation to different work characteristics and to two types of welfare work.
Design/methodology/approach
All 1,365 employees, excluding managers, of two municipality administrations were invited to a survey study. Of these, 673 (49 percent) responded. After adjusting for partial missing, the effective sample included 580 employees (43 percent). Retrospective ratings of four recovery windows were analyzed: recovery after one night’s sleep, weekends, shorter holidays and vacations.
Findings
Employees with a university education were less recovered than those with a shorter education. For those with a university education, the long arm of the job mainly involved failures regarding qualitative job demands (task difficulty). For those with a shorter education, quantitative job demands (too much to do) were most prominent for their prolonged recovery. Feedback from managers had consistent and positive associations with all four recovery windows among employees with a university education, but not among those with a shorter education for whom instead having too much to do and social support had significant spillover effects.
Originality/value
The identified differences may relate to employees with a university education having more problem-solving tasks, which may result in a higher need of work-related feedback but also in difficulties detaching from work. Thus, education and job characteristics have differential associations with self-rated recovery.
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Magnus Carlsson, Abdulaziz Abrar Reshid and Dan-Olof Rooth
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there is unequal treatment in hiring depending on whether a job applicant signals living in a bad (deprived) neighborhood or in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there is unequal treatment in hiring depending on whether a job applicant signals living in a bad (deprived) neighborhood or in a good (affluent) neighborhood.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a field experiment where fictitious job applications were sent to employers with an advertised vacancy. Each job application was randomly assigned a residential address in either a bad or a good neighborhood. The measured outcome is the fraction of invitations for a job interview (the callback rate).
Findings
The authors find no evidence of general neighborhood signaling effects. However, job applicants with a foreign background have callback rates that are 42 percent lower if they signal living in a bad neighborhood rather than in a good neighborhood. In addition, the authors find that applicants with commuting times longer than 90 minutes have lower callback rates, and this is unrelated to the neighborhood signaling effect.
Originality/value
Empirical evidence of causal neighborhood effects on labor market outcomes is scant, and causal evidence on the mechanisms involved is even more scant. The paper provides such evidence.
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Therese Hellman, Fredrik Molin, Tomas Eriksson and Magnus Svartengren
The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe the perspective of the management group regarding how they reasoned when deciding to engage in a model focussing on systematic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe the perspective of the management group regarding how they reasoned when deciding to engage in a model focussing on systematic work environment management, and what motives that influenced their decision.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study with semi-structured interviews includes 18 representatives from the management groups in 18 Swedish municipalities. Data were analysed with a constant comparative method.
Findings
The participants described two aspects that were of importance when making the decision; establishing commitment before making the decision and establishing strategies to legitimise the decision. Furthermore, they expressed motives that were linked both to their individual expectations and wishes and to policies and facts in their organisations. The participants experienced the model as a valuable tool in their organisations to increase employee participation and to provide structured support to their first-line managers.
Practical implications
The managers’ motives were linked to individual expectations and external directives. These were often intertwined and influenced their decisions. When implementing this type of model, it is important to discuss decisions in a larger group to avoid building an organisational initiative on one person’s expectations. Furthermore, it is important to support the management’s work to establish commitment for the model in the municipal organisation.
Originality/value
This study adds to knowledge of the complexity of deciding and implementing models to support systematic work environment management in organisations.
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Ragnar Audunson, Svanhild Aabø, Roger Blomgren, Sunniva Evjen, Henrik Jochumsen, Håkon Larsen, Casper Hvenegaard Rasmussen, Andreas Vårheim, Jamie Johnston and Masanori Koizumi
The purpose of this paper is to examine the shaping of public libraries as an infrastructure for a sustainable public sphere through a comprehensive literature review.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the shaping of public libraries as an infrastructure for a sustainable public sphere through a comprehensive literature review.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to capture the whole picture of this research field, we utilize comprehensive review methodology. The major research questions are: first, to what extent have research topics regarding libraries as public sphere institutions expanded and diversified? Which theoretical perspectives inform research? Second, which challenges and topics does the research focus upon, such as: social inclusion and equal access to information; digital inequalities; censorship and freedom of expression; and access to places and spaces with a democratic potential and the role of libraries in that respect? Third, what influence has social media exerted on libraries in the context of the expanding digital world?
Findings
The authors identified mainly four themes regarding the public library and public sphere, such as: the importance of public libraries by using Habermas’s theory; the function of meeting places within the public library and setting those places in the center of the library in order to enhance and encourage democracy; the relationship between social inclusion and public libraries and its functions in current society such as diminishing the digital divide; and the emerging electronic resources and arena of SNS in public libraries and utilizing them to reach citizens.
Originality/value
Capturing the recent history of this research field through comprehensive review is valuable.
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Christopher von Koch and Magnus Willesson
The purpose of this paper is to review the literature that measures the concept of firms' information environment (IE) with focus on the validity of proxies used to measure IE.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the literature that measures the concept of firms' information environment (IE) with focus on the validity of proxies used to measure IE.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the IE literature using theoretically based categories and analyzes the contextual meaning and use of IE proxies. The review is based on a selection of 284 research articles from 51 journals between 2000 and 2018. A total of 37 different proxy measures of IE are found and analyzed with respect to causality based on categories and the use of IE variables as dependent, independent and control variables.
Findings
The study indicates that the IE measures are heterogeneous and there is a lack of consensus regarding their use. The different conditions used to study IE explain part, but far from all, of this heterogeneity. Furthermore, we find that the use of IE measures is only briefly discussed or motivated among the studies in the sample. These findings suggest a necessary discussion about causality in the use of IE as dependent, independent or control variables.
Originality/value
This study contains new and significant information on IE and IE proxy measures. It provides an extensive literature review and provides a novel typology to analyze IE.
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