Search results
1 – 10 of 327Presents a review on implementing finite element methods on supercomputers, workstations and PCs and gives main trends in hardware and software developments. An appendix included…
Abstract
Presents a review on implementing finite element methods on supercomputers, workstations and PCs and gives main trends in hardware and software developments. An appendix included at the end of the paper presents a bibliography on the subjects retrospectively to 1985 and approximately 1,100 references are listed.
Details
Keywords
A handful of models and measures currently exist for the purpose of assessing student capacity for leading social change. Ample research suggests that students of different racial…
Abstract
A handful of models and measures currently exist for the purpose of assessing student capacity for leading social change. Ample research suggests that students of different racial and gender identity groups exhibit various understandings, motivations, and behaviors related to social engagement and transformation, yet few studies take into consideration the potential for diverse students to interpret social-change-related survey scale items differently. Using a critical quantitative approach, this study compares factor loading patterns of the Social Issues Advocacy Scale (SIAS; Nilsson, et al., 2011) across eight race/gender subgroups to test the extent to which the factor structure remains invariant. Findings suggest that intersections of race and gender do influence how scale items cluster together. This study lends support for critical quantitative research designs that examine social phenomena using a specific-group approach, and calls for scholars to consider the cultural validity of scales used to measure capacity for social justice leadership.
James S. Baldwin, Peter M. Allen and Keith Ridgway
The purpose of this is to add both to the development of complex systems thinking in the subject area of operations and production management and to the limited number of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this is to add both to the development of complex systems thinking in the subject area of operations and production management and to the limited number of applications of computational models and simulations from the science of complex systems. The latter potentially offer helpful decision‐support tools for operations and production managers.
Design/methodology/approach
A mechanical engineering firm was used as a case study where a combined qualitative and quantitative methodological approach was employed to extract the required data from four senior managers. Company performance measures as well as firm technologies, practices and policies, and their relation and interaction with one another, were elicited. The data were subjected to an evolutionary complex systems (ECS) model resulting in a series of simulations.
Findings
The findings highlighted the effects of the diversity in management decision making on the firm's evolutionary trajectory. The CEO appeared to have the most balanced view of the firm, closely followed by the marketing and research and development managers. The manufacturing manager's responses led to the most extreme evolutionary trajectory where the integrity of the entire firm came into question particularly when considering how employees were utilised.
Research limitations/implications
By drawing directly from the opinions and views of managers, rather than from logical “if‐then” rules and averaged mathematical representations of agents that characterise agent‐based and other self‐organisational models, this work builds on previous applications by capturing a micro‐level description of diversity that has been problematical both in theory and application.
Practical implications
This approach can be used as a decision‐support tool for operations and other managers providing a forum with which to explore: the strengths, weaknesses and consequences of different decision‐making capacities within the firm; the introduction of new manufacturing technologies, practices and policies; and the different evolutionary trajectories that a firm can take.
Originality/value
With the inclusion of “micro‐diversity”, ECS modelling moves beyond the self‐organisational models that populate the literature but has not as yet produced a great many practical simulation results. This work is a step in that direction.
Details
Keywords
The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains…
Abstract
The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.
Details
Keywords
André de Waal, Karima Kourtit and Peter Nijkamp
The purpose of this paper is to identify whether there exists a relationship between the level of completeness of a strategic performance management (SPM) system implementation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify whether there exists a relationship between the level of completeness of a strategic performance management (SPM) system implementation and the advantages and disadvantages an organization experiences from this system.
Design/methodology/approach
Advantages and disadvantages encountered during the implementation and use of an SPM system are collected from the literature and tested during extensive interviews at 17 prominent Dutch organizations (with 52 interviewees in total). During the interviews the level of completeness of the SPM system implementation is also assessed. Subsequently, the advantages, disadvantages and level of SPM system implementation completeness are related.
Findings
The research results show that organizations that have fully completed the SPM implementation gain more financial and non‐financial advantages and experience less disadvantages than organizations that are still in the process of implementing such a system. Organizations that have almost completed the implementation of the SPM system already gain qualitative advantages from this system, but they experience fewer financial advantages.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of the research is that the number of organizations investigated is limited in number and they are all profit sector companies from The Netherlands. Preferably, the number, sector and country coverage of the organizations should be increased in order to get a better spread of SPM system implementation completion stages and the experienced advantages and disadvantages.
Practical implications
Management now knows which advantages are to be expected at which stage of SPM implementation completeness, and can use the research results to convince staff that an SPM system will only yield full benefits to the organization when it has been completely implemented.
Originality/value
The need for efficient and effective SPM systems has increased over the past decade and the successful implementation and use of these systems have become of paramount importance to organizations. In this respect, one issue has been underexposed in the literature thus far, namely: the relationship between the level of completeness of the SPM implementation and the benefits organizations experience. This paper provides an overview of the main advantages and disadvantages to be expected at various stages of SPM implementation completeness.
Details
Keywords
Teodor Sommestad, Henrik Karlzén, Peter Nilsson and Jonas Hallberg
In methods and manuals, the product of an information security incident’s probability and severity is seen as a risk to manage. The purpose of the test described in this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
In methods and manuals, the product of an information security incident’s probability and severity is seen as a risk to manage. The purpose of the test described in this paper is to investigate if information security risk is perceived in this way, if decision-making style influences the perceived relationship between the three variables and if the level of information security expertise influences the relationship between the three variables.
Design/methodology/approach
Ten respondents assessed 105 potential information security incidents. Ratings of the associated risks were obtained independently from ratings of the probability and severity of the incidents. Decision-making style was measured using a scale inspired from the Cognitive Style Index; information security expertise was self-reported. Regression analysis was used to test the relationship between variables.
Findings
The ten respondents did not assess risk as the product of probability and severity, regardless of experience, expertise and decision-making style. The mean variance explained in risk ratings using an additive term is 54.0 or 38.4 per cent, depending on how risk is measured. When a multiplicative term was added, the mean variance only increased by 1.5 or 2.4 per cent. For most of the respondents, the contribution of the multiplicative term is statistically insignificant.
Practical Implications
The inability or unwillingness to see risk as a product of probability and severity suggests that procedural support (e.g. risk matrices) has a role to play in the risk assessment processes.
Originality/value
This study is the first to test if information security risk is assessed as an interaction between probability and severity using suitable scales and a within-subject design.
Details
Keywords
Michael Gerges, Mohammad Mayouf, Peter Rumley and David Moore
The purpose of this paper is to investigate human behaviour under a situation of fire in high-rise residential buildings and identify the factors that motivate people to evacuate.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate human behaviour under a situation of fire in high-rise residential buildings and identify the factors that motivate people to evacuate.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review was conducted to identify different factors of human behaviour during a situation of fire and identify challenges during the evacuation. Through a mixed research method approach, the paper identifies human background, experience and knowledge with fire safety. The paper discusses the challenges occupants face during evacuation based on previous evacuation experience and what occupants were doing during the fire alarm.
Findings
The paper has identified the challenges and the factors that affect occupants’ decision during fire emergency in high-rise residential buildings. It is clear from the findings that occupants have limited knowledge and skills on how to deal with fire emergencies. Occupants tend to depend on other evacuation routes. Occupants tend to ignore the fire alarm and usually they investigate if it is true or false.
Originality/value
The paper provides the knowledge and findings of occupants during fire emergency to fire engineers, facility managers, owners, and other professionals to assist during the design phase, and modify designs based on this findings of this research.
Details
Keywords
The economic depression of the mid‐1970s gave reasons to question many presuppositions taken almost for granted earlier. This was the case with the welfare state too, which was…
Abstract
The economic depression of the mid‐1970s gave reasons to question many presuppositions taken almost for granted earlier. This was the case with the welfare state too, which was seen to be in crisis. This study focuses on one particular aspect of the welfare state, namely, its acceptability or legitimacy among the citizens of Finland.
Details
Keywords
Robin Jonsson, Kerstin Nilsson, Lisa Björk and Agneta Lindegård
This study aims to describe and evaluate the impact of a participatory age-management intervention on the knowledge, awareness and engagement of line managers and their HR…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to describe and evaluate the impact of a participatory age-management intervention on the knowledge, awareness and engagement of line managers and their HR partners from six health-care organizations in Sweden.
Design/methodology/approach
The learning workshops consisted of lectures, discussions, feedback and exchange of experiences with colleagues and invited experts. A total of 19 participants were interviewed six months after the final workshop, and qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyze the transcribed interviews.
Findings
The intervention design produced promising results in improving line managers’ and HR partners’ knowledge and increasing awareness and engagement. On some occasions, the participants also initiated changes in organizational policies and practices. However, the intervention primarily became a personal learning experience as participants lacked resources and mandates to initiate change in their daily work. To stimulate engagement and change at the organizational level, the authors believe that an intervention must receive support from higher managers, be anchored at the workplace and be aligned with the organization’s goals; moreover, participants must be provided with sufficient resources and mandates to coordinate the implementation of age-management strategies.
Practical implications
Prolonged working life policies and skill shortages are affecting organizations and societies, and for many employers, there are strong reasons for developing strategies to attract, recruit and retain older workers.
Originality/value
This study offers lessons and guidance for future workplace interventions to attract, recruit and retain older workers.
Details
Keywords
Since the first Volume of this Bibliography there has been an explosion of literature in all the main areas of business. The researcher and librarian have to be able to uncover…
Abstract
Since the first Volume of this Bibliography there has been an explosion of literature in all the main areas of business. The researcher and librarian have to be able to uncover specific articles devoted to certain topics. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume III, in addition to the annotated list of articles as the two previous volumes, contains further features to help the reader. Each entry within has been indexed according to the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus and thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid information retrieval. Each article has its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. The first Volume of the Bibliography covered seven journals published by MCB University Press. This Volume now indexes 25 journals, indicating the greater depth, coverage and expansion of the subject areas concerned.
Details