Search results

Purpose – This chapter reviews planning and design approaches for cycle traffic in order to direct future thinking towards the critical aspects of network design that will have a beneficial impact on the utility and nature of the environment for cycling.

Approach – This chapter provides a critique of the approach of adopting a so-called hierarchy of solutions frequently adopted in western countries with low levels of cycling use.

Findings – The guiding principle for designing routes for cycle traffic is that the bicycle is a vehicle capable of speed and, as a consequence, links and junctions need to be designed according to appropriate geometric design standards. In addition, owing to the nature of the cycle and rider combination, the oft repeated Dutch characteristics for good design for cycle traffic of coherence, directness, attractiveness, safety and comfort remain firm.

Practical implications – The practical implications of the outcomes from the chapter are a method of approach for planning infrastructure for cycle traffic which starts with an analysis of demand and works through to the creation of suitable networks for cycle traffic which are grounded in, and extended from, suitably regulated existing highway networks.

Social implications – An extensive transport system suitable in nature for cycle traffic will attract a wide base of users and consequently allow for the benefits of cycling to be captured.

Value of chapter – The value of the chapter rests in its emphasis on the need to treat cycling as a distinct transport mode and, consequentially, planning and engineering needs to be undertaken in a way conducive to providing the basic necessary infrastructure for such a distinct mode.

The optimal location of plants by a global firm is analyzed for the first time using measures of distance along the spherical surface of Planet Earth. With a uniform distribution of customers an optimal location strategy will normally seek a space-filling configuration of identical areas that are as near circular as possible. The hexagonal space-filling solution for location on an infinite plane cannot be generalized to the surface of a sphere. Different spatial patterns are required for different numbers of plants; these may be based on triangles, squares, or pentagons. The chapter reviews the current state of knowledge on the topic, drawing on theories of spherical geometry and regular convex polyhedra, and on applications in physics, chemistry, and medicine. Overall, there appears to be no general solution to the problem; only a set of quite different solutions for various special cases. The lack of any general solution to this central problem in international business illustrates the “impossibility” referred to in the title of this chapter.

The railway track system is the platform by which loads from moving trains are transferred to the underlying soil or supporting infrastructure such as bridges. The most common type of railway track system is ballasted track, which has been in use for over a century. Ballasted track has proved versatile. It can be constructed using locally available materials and with modifications to the rails and sleepers, crossings transferring trains from one route to another can be created. The structure of a ballasted track system consists of two main parts. The upper portion, termed the superstructure, comprises the rails, fastenings and sleepers. It is formed of components whose shape, stiffness and strength are designed and closely controlled. Below the superstructure is the substructure, which comprises the ballast and sub-ballast. Although the materials used in the substructure may have been specified, their engineering properties and geometric placement are less well controlled. In this chapter, we will explore how a typical ballasted track system transfers load to the ground and the ways in which the track form deteriorates, requiring maintenance and eventually renewal.

This paper deals with the organizing of interactive product development. Developing products in interaction between firms may provide benefits in terms of specialization, increased innovation, and possibilities to perform development activities in parallel. However, the differentiation of product development among a number of firms also implies that various dependencies need to be dealt with across firm boundaries. How dependencies may be dealt with across firms is related to how product development is organized. The purpose of the paper is to explore dependencies and how interactive product development may be organized with regard to these dependencies.

The analytical framework is based on the industrial network approach, and deals with the development of products in terms of adaptation and combination of heterogeneous resources. There are dependencies between resources, that is, they are embedded, implying that no resource can be developed in isolation. The characteristics of and dependencies related to four main categories of resources (products, production facilities, business units and business relationships) provide a basis for analyzing the organizing of interactive product development.

Three in-depth case studies are used to explore the organizing of interactive product development with regard to dependencies. The first two cases are based on the development of the electrical system and the seats for Volvo’s large car platform (P2), performed in interaction with Delphi and Lear respectively. The third case is based on the interaction between Scania and Dayco/DFC Tech for the development of various pipes and hoses for a new truck model.

The analysis is focused on what different dependencies the firms considered and dealt with, and how product development was organized with regard to these dependencies. It is concluded that there is a complex and dynamic pattern of dependencies that reaches far beyond the developed product as well as beyond individual business units. To deal with these dependencies, development may be organized in teams where several business units are represented. This enables interaction between different business units’ resource collections, which is important for resource adaptation as well as for innovation. The delimiting and relating functions of the team boundary are elaborated upon and it is argued that also teams may be regarded as actors. It is also concluded that a modular product structure may entail a modular organization with regard to the teams, though, interaction between business units and teams is needed. A strong connection between the technical structure and the organizational structure is identified and it is concluded that policies regarding the technical structure (e.g. concerning “carry-over”) cannot be separated from the management of the organizational structure (e.g. the supplier structure). The organizing of product development is in itself a complex and dynamic task that needs to be subject to interaction between business units.

Are the statements which we make true?…and, if they are true, how do we know that they are true? To address these two questions let us first note that this book is interested in two types of truth: mathematical truth and scientific truth. Mathematical truth applies to statements within a mathematical theory. A statement is true within a theory either if it is one of the axioms of the theory or if it can be deduced from the axioms of the theory (see Chapter 3). Scientific truth applies to statements about the real world. A statement about the real world is true if it corresponds to what happens in the real world. A theory about the real world is true if all of its statements correspond to what happens in the real world. Given a mathematical theory which is consistent (i.e. true within itself) or a specific statement which is true within the theory, we can enquire whether or not the theory or statement is true in relation to reality.

This chapter is focused primarily on the detailed analysis of a segment of a single classroom exercise involving the use of a worksheet to reinforce the teaching of “surface area” by a seventh grade mathematics teacher and the classroom context in which the exercise occurred. The analysis examines traditional teaching and the engagement and respect for students’ own constructive capacities in relation to the individual teacher’s consciousness and motivation. The larger issue though is to better understand teaching as a unity in the person as a whole. How does the unity of connection to subject matter, deeper motivation for teaching, and care for student learning manifest in the classroom? This chapter looks at how one teacher goes about it.