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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 October 2022

Diego Vega, Ala Arvidsson and Félicia Saïah

This study investigated how organizations can maintain their supply chain (SC) resilience in situations where high-impact shocks cannot be absorbed and what capabilities are…

2941

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigated how organizations can maintain their supply chain (SC) resilience in situations where high-impact shocks cannot be absorbed and what capabilities are needed. The article is an empirical exploration of a socio-ecological view of resilience in the SC context.

Design/methodology/approach

The case under study in this article is that of Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) and MSF's reconfiguration of its supply management processes in response to the supply shocks during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In total, 503 internal documents and ERP extractions from six databases from late 2019 to September 2020, 43 semi-structured interviews and a 3-round policy Delphi process were used to investigate this phenomenon.

Findings

The authors' results show that throughout the pandemic, MSF adapted its procurement and supply processes to cope with supply shortages at both the international and local levels of the SC. This was possible due to the organization's capacity to use its exploitation and exploration capabilities of the organization at the same time.

Research limitations/implications

This research is based on the single in-depth case study of a medical aid organization. Further research should investigate this phenomenon in commercial companies with similar or different organizational structures.

Originality/value

This study constitutes a first attempt to empirically demonstrate that the four phases of the adaptive cycle put forth in the panarchy theory constitute a suitable representation of the reconfigurations that SCs follow in response to a high-impact shock. The study also adds to the growing body of knowledge on resilience by including ambidexterity as a mechanism to achieve resilience.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 43 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 March 2023

Kartik Venkatraman, Stéphane Moreau, Julien Christophe and Christophe Schram

The purpose of the paper is to predict the aerodynamic performance of a complete scale model H-Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) with end plates at different operating…

1445

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to predict the aerodynamic performance of a complete scale model H-Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) with end plates at different operating conditions. This paper aims at understanding the flow physics around a model VAWT for three different tip speed ratios corresponding to three different flow regimes.

Design/methodology/approach

This study achieves a first three-dimensional hybrid lattice Boltzmann method/very large eddy simulation (LBM-VLES) model for a complete scaled model VAWT with end plates and mast using the solver PowerFLOW. The power curve predicted from the numerical simulations is compared with the experimental data collected at Erlangen University. This study highlights the complexity of the turbulent flow features that are seen at three different operational regimes of the turbine using instantaneous flow structures, mean velocity, pressure iso-contours, blade loading and skin friction plots.

Findings

The power curve predicted using the LBM-VLES approach and setup provides a good overall match with the experimental power curve, with the peak and drop after the operational point being captured. Variable turbulent flow structures are seen over the azimuthal revolution that depends on the tip speed ratio (TSR). Significant dynamic stall structures are seen in the upwind phase and at the end of the downwind phase of rotation in the deep stall regime. Strong blade wake interactions and turbulent flow structures are seen inside the rotor at higher TSRs.

Research limitations/implications

The computational cost and time for such high-fidelity simulations using the LBM-VLES remains expensive. Each simulation requires around a week using supercomputing facilities. Further studies need to be performed to improve analytical VAWT models using inputs/calibration from high fidelity simulation databases. As a future work, the impact of turbulent and nonuniform inflow conditions that are more representative of a typical urban environment also needs to be investigated.

Practical implications

The LBM methodology is shown to be a reliable approach for VAWT power prediction. Dynamic stall and blade wake interactions reduce the aerodynamic performance of a VAWT. An ideal operation close to the peak of the power curve should be favored based on the local wind resource, as this point exhibits a smoother variation of forces improving operational performance. The 3D flow features also exhibit a significant wake asymmetry that could impact the optimal layout of VAWT clusters to increase their power density. The present work also highlights the importance of 3D simulations of the complete model including the support structures such as end plates and mast.

Social implications

Accurate predictions of power performance for Darrieus VAWTs could help in better siting of wind turbines thus improving return of investment and reducing levelized cost of energy. It could promote the development of onsite electricity generation, especially for industrial sites/urban areas and renew interest for VAWT wind farms.

Originality/value

A first high-fidelity simulation of a complete VAWT with end plates and supporting structures has been performed using the LBM approach and compared with experimental data. The 3D flow physics has been analyzed at different operating regimes of the turbine. These physical insights and prediction capabilities of this approach could be useful for commercial VAWT manufacturers.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 33 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 16 November 2023

Kari Sippola, Jukka Pellinen, Antti Rautiainen, Toni Mättö and Vesa Voutilainen

This study aims to explore the formation of municipal risk management (RM) and the reasons for the differences of RM practices between the seven biggest cities in Finland.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the formation of municipal risk management (RM) and the reasons for the differences of RM practices between the seven biggest cities in Finland.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical data of this comparative qualitative case study comprises 33 interviews conducted with municipal managers. Supplementary material includes documentary material on municipal rules governing RM as well as annual reports and risk tools used in the municipalities.

Findings

This study found differences in cities with respect to when, how and why RM practices had evolved. The results indicate that differences in RM practices and development paths between cities are largely explained by the differences in the original reason to initiate RM, time span since its introduction, professional and educational backgrounds of risk managers, local risk events and accounting infrastructure such as RM tools developed in a city. These findings also suggest that even within the same municipality, different functions can be at different phases regarding RM.

Originality/value

This study reports on RM as a new form of accounting in the field of Finnish municipalities. This highlights how fairly uniform considerations at the field level lead to variation in the elaboration of RM practices at the municipal level. The study finds that different paths in the development of local RM involve iterative evolution between the phases of emergence, largely explained by contextual differences. This study contributes to understanding the emergence of new accounting forms in a municipal RM context.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 35 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 October 2021

Ingunn Aase, Eline Ree, Terese Johannessen, Elisabeth Holen-Rabbersvik, Line Hurup Thomsen, Torunn Strømme, Berit Ullebust, Lene Schibevaag, Hilda Bø Lyng, Jane O'Hara and Siri Wiig

The purpose is to share strategies, rationales and lessons learnt from user involvement in a quality and safety improvement research project from the practice field in nursing…

1410

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose is to share strategies, rationales and lessons learnt from user involvement in a quality and safety improvement research project from the practice field in nursing homes and homecare services.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a viewpoint paper summarizing how researchers and co-researchers from the practice field of nursing homes and homecare services (nurse counsellors from different municipalities, patient ombudsman and next-of-kin representatives/and elderly care organization representant) experienced user involvement through all phases of the research project. The project included implementation of a leadership intervention.

Findings

Multiple strategies of user involvement were applied during the project including partnership in the consortium, employment of user representatives (co-researchers) and user-led research activities. The rationale was to ensure sound context adaptation of the intervention and development of tailor-made activities and tools based on equality and mutual trust in the collaboration. Both university-based researchers and Co-researchers experienced it as useful and necessary to involve or being involved in all phases of the research project, including the designing, planning, intervention implementation, evaluation and dissemination of results.

Originality/value

User involvement in research is a growing field. There is limited focus on this aspect in quality and safety interventions in nursing homes and homecare settings and in projects focussing on the leadership' role in improving quality and safety.

Details

International Journal of Health Governance, vol. 26 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-4631

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 June 2023

Tadej Dobravec, Boštjan Mavrič, Rizwan Zahoor and Božidar Šarler

This study aims to simulate the dendritic growth in Stokes flow by iteratively coupling a domain and boundary type meshless method.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to simulate the dendritic growth in Stokes flow by iteratively coupling a domain and boundary type meshless method.

Design/methodology/approach

A preconditioned phase-field model for dendritic solidification of a pure supercooled melt is solved by the strong-form space-time adaptive approach based on dynamic quadtree domain decomposition. The domain-type space discretisation relies on monomial augmented polyharmonic splines interpolation. The forward Euler scheme is used for time evolution. The boundary-type meshless method solves the Stokes flow around the dendrite based on the collocation of the moving and fixed flow boundaries with the regularised Stokes flow fundamental solution. Both approaches are iteratively coupled at the moving solid–liquid interface. The solution procedure ensures computationally efficient and accurate calculations. The novel approach is numerically implemented for a 2D case.

Findings

The solution procedure reflects the advantages of both meshless methods. Domain one is not sensitive to the dendrite orientation and boundary one reduces the dimensionality of the flow field solution. The procedure results agree well with the reference results obtained by the classical numerical methods. Directions for selecting the appropriate free parameters which yield the highest accuracy and computational efficiency are presented.

Originality/value

A combination of boundary- and domain-type meshless methods is used to simulate dendritic solidification with the influence of fluid flow efficiently.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 33 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 August 2021

Carlo Vermiglio, Guido Noto, Manuel Pedro Rodríguez Bolívar and Vincenzo Zarone

This paper aims to analyse how emerging technologies (ETs) impact on improving performance in disaster management (DM) processes and, concretely, their impact on the performance…

8500

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse how emerging technologies (ETs) impact on improving performance in disaster management (DM) processes and, concretely, their impact on the performance according to the different phases of the DM cycle (preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation).

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology is based on a systematic review of the literature. Scopus, ProQuest, EBSCO and Web of Science were used as data sources, and an initial sample of 373 scientific articles was collected. After abstracts and full texts were read and refinements to the search were made, a final corpus of 69 publications was analysed using VOSviewer software for text mining and cluster visualisation.

Findings

The results highlight how ETs foster the preparedness and resilience of specific systems when dealing with different phases of the DM cycle. Simulation and disaster risk reduction are the fields of major relevance in the application of ETs to DM.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature by adding the lenses of performance measurement, management and accountability in analysing the impact of ETs on DM. It thus represents a starting point for scholars to develop future research on a rapidly and continuously developing topic.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 30 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 April 2022

Shichao Jiang, Xinliang Lu, Hongliang Wang, Kai Song and Yuanyuan Jiang

Detection of hidden defects of aluminum alloy plate with damping coating is a challenging problem. At present, only a few non-destructive testing methods exist to address this…

Abstract

Purpose

Detection of hidden defects of aluminum alloy plate with damping coating is a challenging problem. At present, only a few non-destructive testing methods exist to address this engineering problem. Without the restriction of skin effect, remote field eddy current (RFEC) overcomes the interference caused by the damping coating. The RFEC, which has potential advantages for detecting the hidden defects of aluminum plate with damping coating, can penetrate the metal plate to detect buried depth defects. This study aims to test how thick the RFEC sensor can penetrate the metal plate to detect the buried defects.

Design/methodology/approach

The magnetic field distribution characteristics are analyzed, the magnetic field intensity distribution is calculated, and the structure and parameters of the coil, magnetic circuit and shielding damping are determined through the two- and three-dimensional finite element simulation methods. Optimal excitation frequency is obtained, and the distance between the excitation coil and detection coil is determined by analyzing the relationship between excitation frequency and remote field points.

Findings

Simulation and experimental results verify the feasibility of applying the RFEC detection technology in detecting the hidden defects of aluminum alloy plate with damping coating.

Originality/value

In this paper, the RFEC testing model of hidden defects in aluminum plate sample with damping coating is established by using the finite element method.

Details

Sensor Review, vol. 42 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0260-2288

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 February 2023

Jiale Zhang, Farzana Quoquab and Jihad Mohammad

This study aims to present a comprehensive knowledge mapping and an in-depth analysis of plastic and sustainability research to understand better global trends and directions in…

4288

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to present a comprehensive knowledge mapping and an in-depth analysis of plastic and sustainability research to understand better global trends and directions in this field that emerged between 1995 and 2022.

Design/methodology/approach

This study presents a visual analysis of 1933 research articles listed in the Web of Science (WoS) databases between the years 1995 and 2022 related to plastic and sustainability. The knowledge mapping based on CiteSpace and VOSviewer presents the current research status, which contains the analysis of the collaboration network, co-citation network, references with citation bursts and keyword analysis.

Findings

The results reveal that China and the USA are the most prominent countries in exploring the notion of sustainability and plastic. The Chinese Academy of Science is the most prominent institution. Chai Qiang, Friedrich Daniel, Sahajwalla Veena and Ok Yong Sik are the most prolific authors in this field. Furthermore, circular economy, bioplastic, sustainable development, polyester and bioplastics are the highly discussed issues in recent years. Not surprisingly, COVID-19 is the latest topic of discussion started in 2021 due to its negative impact on plastic pollution and the challenges it posed to sustainability.

Originality/value

This study is among the pioneers to shed light on the current research status of plastic and sustainability using the bibliometric method and the newest data. This study also suggests that collaborations between scholars and institutions require to be enhanced for better management of plastic pollution and to contribute to sustainable development.

Details

Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, vol. 42 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-9899

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 November 2023

Yangyiwei Yang, Patrick Kühn, Mozhdeh Fathidoost and Bai-Xiang Xu

Confronting the unveiled sophisticated structural and physical characteristics of permanent magnets, notably the samarium–cobalt (Sm-Co) alloy, This work aims to introduce a…

Abstract

Purpose

Confronting the unveiled sophisticated structural and physical characteristics of permanent magnets, notably the samarium–cobalt (Sm-Co) alloy, This work aims to introduce a simulation scheme that can link physics-based micromagnetics on the nanostructures and magnetostatic homogenization on the mesoscale polycrystalline structures.

Design/methodology/approach

The simulation scheme is arranged in a multiscale fashion. The magnetization behaviors on the nanostructures examined with various orientations are surrogated as the micromagnetic-informed hysterons. The hysteresis behavior of the mesoscale polycrystalline structures with micromagnetic-informed hysterons is then evaluated by computational magnetostatic homogenization.

Findings

The micromagnetic-informed hysterons can emulate the magnetization reversal of the parameterized Sm-Co nanostructures as the local hysteresis behavior on the mesostructures. The simulation results of the mesoscale polycrystal demonstrate that the demagnetization process starts from the grain with the largest orientation angle (a) and then propagates to the surrounding grains.

Research limitations/implications

The presented scheme depicts the demand for integrating data-driven methods, as the parameters of the surrogate hysteron intrinsically depend on the nanostructure and its orientation. Further hysteron parameters that help the surrogate hysteron emulate the micromagnetic-simulated magnetization reversal should be examined.

Originality/value

This work provides a novel multiscale scheme for simulating the polycrystalline permanent magnets’ hysteresis while recapitulating the nanoscale mechanisms, such as the nucleation of domains, and domain wall migration and pinning. This scheme can be further extended to simulate the part-level hysteresis considering the mesoscale features.

Details

COMPEL - The international journal for computation and mathematics in electrical and electronic engineering , vol. 42 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0332-1649

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 June 2022

Eijaz Ahmed Khan, Md Maruf Hossan Chowdhury, Pradip Royhan, Sunaina Gowan, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman and Mehregan Mahdavi

Sustainable development goals and the climate change agenda are becoming widely promoted topics of research for the 21st century. The role of cities is increasingly recognised as…

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Abstract

Purpose

Sustainable development goals and the climate change agenda are becoming widely promoted topics of research for the 21st century. The role of cities is increasingly recognised as central to investigating these topics. Yet, the field of informal sector entrepreneurship which so many urban entrepreneurs in developing countries depend upon is seldom considered. To redress this imbalance, this study aims to develop a decision model in accordance with institutional theory (IT) and resource dependency theory (RDT) for city managers to deploy. The model identifies and prioritises optimal strategies to address the three areas of sustainability requirements environment society and economy within the study context of Bangladesh.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a mixed methods research design. In the qualitative part, the authors identified the three areas of sustainability requirements (i.e. environment, society and economy) and their corresponding strategies involving the informal sector that operates within the urban environment. In the quantitative part, the authors applied fuzzy quality function deployment (QFD) integrated with the 0-1 non-linear optimisation technique to identify optimal strategies.

Findings

The findings show that strategies such as legitimate frameworks, waste management, allocation of urban public space and training programs contribute in important ways to the three areas of sustainability requirements.

Practical implications

The proposed decision model will assist policy-makers and city managers to prioritise sustainability requirements and implement optimal strategies to address those requirements.

Originality/value

Through the integration of IT and RDT, the decision model developed in this study is unique in its application to urban-based informal entrepreneurship in the context of developing countries. The effective application of the fuzzy QFD approach and the optimisation model in the context of urban-based informal entrepreneurship also offers unique contributions to the field of study.

Details

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-8692

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 5000