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1 – 10 of 126Cara Greta Kolb, Maja Lehmann, Johannes Kriegler, Jana-Lorena Lindemann, Andreas Bachmann and Michael Friedrich Zaeh
This paper aims to present a requirements analysis for the processing of water-based electrode dispersions in inkjet printing.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a requirements analysis for the processing of water-based electrode dispersions in inkjet printing.
Design/methodology/approach
A detailed examination of the components and the associated properties of the electrode dispersions has been carried out. The requirements of the printing process and the resulting performance characteristics of the electrode dispersions were analyzed in a top–down approach. The product and process side were compared, and the target specifications of the dispersion components were derived.
Findings
Target ranges have been identified for the main component properties, balancing the partly conflicting goals between the product and the process requirements.
Practical implications
The findings are expected to assist with the formulation of electrode dispersions as printing inks.
Originality/value
Little knowledge is available regarding the particular requirements arising from the systematic qualification of aqueous electrode dispersions for inkjet printing. This paper addresses these requirements, covering both product and process specifications.
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Kai Zhuang, Jieru Xiao and Xiaolong Yang
The purpose of this paper is to show that the droplet impact phenomenon is important for the advancement of industrial technologies in many fields such as spray cooling and ink…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show that the droplet impact phenomenon is important for the advancement of industrial technologies in many fields such as spray cooling and ink jet printing. Droplet bouncing on the nonwetting surfaces is a special phenomenon in the impact process which has attracted lots of attention.
Design/methodology/approach
In this work, the authors fabricated two kinds of representative nonwetting surfaces including superhydrophobic surfaces (SHS) and a slippery liquid-infused porous surface (SLIPS) with advanced UV laser processing.
Findings
The droplet bouncing behavior on the two kinds of nonwetting surfaces were compared in the experiments. The results indicate that the increasing Weber number enlarges the maximum droplet spreading diameter and raises the droplet bounce height but has no effect on contact time.
Originality/value
In addition, the authors find that the topological SHS and SLIPS with the laser-processed microwedge groove array produce asymmetric droplet bouncing with opposite offset direction. Microdroplets can be continuously transported without any additional driving force on such a topological SLIPS. The promising method for manipulating droplets has potential applications for the droplet-based microfluidic platforms.
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Jonas Boström, Helene Hillborg and Johan Lilja
The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe the perspectives and reasoning of senior development leaders in healthcare organizations, when reflecting on design as theory…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe the perspectives and reasoning of senior development leaders in healthcare organizations, when reflecting on design as theory and practice in relation to more traditional methods and tools for improving quality and support innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a qualitative interview design with five development and innovation leaders from separate healthcare regions in Sweden. They have, to varying degrees, applied design theory and practice for quality improvement and innovation in their organizations. The interview transcript was analysed using a content analysis together with an interpretive approach.
Findings
The major findings are to be found in the balancing act for leadership and organizations in healthcare when it comes to introducing and combining different theories and practices for improving quality and support innovation. The balance is between the change in power dynamics and pushing traditional boundaries in a complex healthcare world.
Practical implications
The narratives from the leaders' experience of applying design theory and practice for improving healthcare quality can help us create readiness and knowledge about how we prevent and/or facilitate planning and implementing design theories, practices, methods and tools in a healthcare context.
Originality/value
The study provides a unique insight when it captures and illustrates five different organizations' experiences when applying design for developing healthcare quality.
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Ondřej Bublík, Libor Lobovský, Václav Heidler, Tomáš Mandys and Jan Vimmr
The paper targets on providing new experimental data for validation of the well-established mathematical models within the framework of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), which…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper targets on providing new experimental data for validation of the well-established mathematical models within the framework of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), which are applied to problems of casting processes in complex mould cavities.
Design/methodology/approach
An experimental campaign aiming at the free-surface flow within a system of narrow channels is designed and executed under well-controlled laboratory conditions. An in-house lattice Boltzmann solver is implemented. Its algorithm is described in detail and its performance is tested thoroughly using both the newly recorded experimental data and well-known analytical benchmark tests.
Findings
The benchmark tests prove the ability of the implemented algorithm to provide a reliable solution when the surface tension effects become dominant. The convergence of the implemented method is assessed. The two new experimentally studied problems are resolved well by simulations using a coarse computational grid.
Originality/value
A detailed set of original experimental data for validation of computational schemes for simulations of free-surface gravity-driven flow within a system of narrow channels is presented.
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Shanabhoga M.B., Krishnamurthy Bommaiah, Suresha S.V. and Shivani Dechamma
The purpose of this paper is to consider the climatic variables and evaluate the role of non-climatic factors that delicately influence agriculture. This study has come across…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider the climatic variables and evaluate the role of non-climatic factors that delicately influence agriculture. This study has come across various adaptation strategies such as modification in cultivation practices such as shifting planting dates, water-saving techniques and strategic nutrient management. Meanwhile, we are trying to forget the ground reality that a majority of the farmers are not aware of climate-resilient production technologies. However, farmers modify themselves in this climate change scenario for sustainable production. The practise of these adaptation strategies helps to reduce vulnerability to improve their “socio-economic status” and the “quality of life”.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study was attempted to document all the indigenous practices, which are practised by paddy-growers over time for confronting the climate crisis in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region of Karnataka state, India. A cross-sectional and questionnaire-based survey was conducted to collect primary data. The pre-tested interviewing questionnaire consisted of 7 sections with 51 questions. A total of 90 paddy-growing farmers of the region was selected as respondents for the survey. The descriptive statistics was used to analyse the collected data.
Findings
In respect of adopted strategies, the vast majority (96.67%) of the farmers had used crops as livestock fodder as they fall back in case of failure, followed by the majority (72.22%) of the selected appropriate varieties. Cent per cent of the farmers adopted the construction of waterways along the slope for safe disposal of rainwater. An overwhelming portion of the farmers adopted levelling of the land in between the bunds (96.67%) and construction of bunds to conserve moisture (95.56%). The majority (76.67%) of the farmers intensified agricultural activities on irrigated land. Nearly half of them (47.78%) paddy growers were practising zero tillage to save time and money.
Research limitations/implications
The current study was carried out in a few districts of Karnataka. Hence, any policy framed based on the outcomes of this study may not conform to the policy specification needs in general to other parts of the country. The farmers did not maintain record books for updating various records. Therefore, the accuracy of data depends on the memory of the respondents. However, the researcher had made every possible effort to make sure that the data collected are the best of the knowledge of the respondents and bear minimal distortions.
Practical implications
The major constraints to applying agricultural adaptation strategies in the study area have been a general lack of knowledge, expertise and data on climate change issues; a lack of specific climate change institutions to take on climate change work and the need for a better institutional framework in which to implement adaptation. Actions to address these gaps include, namely, training programmes for local government officials, dedicated research activities and post-graduate courses and the initiation of specific institutional frameworks for climate change. Furthermore, improving and strengthening human capital, through education, outreach and extension services, improves decision-making capacity at every level and increases the collective capacity to adapt.
Social implications
Hyderabad-Karnataka is already under pressure from climate stresses, which increases vulnerability to further climate change and reduces adaptive capacity. The adverse effects of climate change have a devastating effect particularly on paddy cultivation, which is the mainstay of most Hyderabad-Karnataka Region. This has affected food production with its resultant effect on widespread poverty. Farmers in the study area have developed traditional agricultural adaptation strategies to cope with climate variability and extreme events. Experience with these strategies needs to be shared among communities.
Originality/value
Though the many literatures were available on the adaptation strategies for climate change this research is one of the few studies to document the farmer led adaptation strategies. This study provides a better understanding of the importance of farmer led adaptation strategies which in turn helps to develop or modify the existing adaptation technologies to cope up with climate change. The authors have come across various adaptation strategies such as modification in cultivation practices such as shifting planting dates, water-saving techniques and strategic nutrient management. Meanwhile, we are trying to forget the ground reality that the majority of the farmers are not aware of climate-resilient production technologies. However, farmers modify themselves in this climate change scenario for sustainable production. The practise of these adaptation strategies helps to reduce vulnerability to improve their “socio-economic status” and the “quality of life”. Therefore, farmer-led adaptation strategies to confront with a change in climate require to be recorded.
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This study aims to create a better understanding of how practitioners implement and work Agile while balancing the tensions arising between stability and change.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to create a better understanding of how practitioners implement and work Agile while balancing the tensions arising between stability and change.
Design/methodology/approach
A grounded theory approach was used to explore what happens in practice when software development teams implement and work Agile. The empirical data consists of twenty semi-structured interviews with practitioners working in fourteen different organizations and in six different Agile roles.
Findings
As a result, a substantive theory was presented of continuously balancing between stability and change in Agile teams. In addition, the study also proposes three guidelines that can help organizations about to change their way of working to Agile.
Research limitations/implications
The inherent limitation of a grounded theory study is that a substantial theory can only explain the specific contexts explored in that study. Thus, this study's contribution is a substantial theory that needs to be further developed and improved.
Practical implications
The proposed guidelines can help organizations about to change their way of working to Agile. They can also assist organizations in switching from “doing Agile” to “being Agile”, thus becoming more successful.
Originality/value
The new perspective that this study contributes is the fact that our discovered categories show that several inherent processes are ongoing at the same time in order to balance the need to have both stability and change.
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Carin Lindskog and Monika Magnusson
The purpose of this study is to apply the concept of organizational ambidexterity as a conceptual lens to increase the understanding of tensions between exploitation (continuity…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to apply the concept of organizational ambidexterity as a conceptual lens to increase the understanding of tensions between exploitation (continuity) and exploration (change) in Agile software development (ASD) project teams, and particularly the balancing (ambidextrous) strategies utilized.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual framework was constructed from interdisciplinary sources on ambidexterity. A literature review of publications on ambidexterity in ASD was then performed, and the results from the selected publications were classified according to an extension of the conceptual framework.
Findings
Contextual ambidexterity in ASD is affected by the four basic coherent concepts: time, task, team and transition. The study found that most ambidextrous factors and strategies were task and team-related. In addition, a mixture of hard (performance) strategies and soft (social) strategies is needed in order for people/teams to (be able to) become ambidextrous.
Practical implications
To provide a better understanding of ASD, it is important to identify a broader set of ambidextrous factors and strategies that can impact ASD project teams. The expanded conceptual framework can serve as a basis for future empirical research and provide insights to practitioners on how to strengthen ambidexterity in ASD projects.
Originality/value
The contribution is of great importance for ASD research and practice, as ASD methods are a popular method for managing projects within ASD and in other nonsoftware organizations. In addition, as more and more organizations struggle to deal with rapidly changing environments, interest in the phenomena of paradoxical tensions and the strategy (ambidexterity) to deal with these tensions increase.
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Binyue Kang, Qiuyu Shao, Hengkang Xu, Fengyan Jiang, Xiaoting Wei and Xinqing Shao
Grassland in Qinghai as the main type of ecosystem in this region is located in arid and semi-arid areas. The ecosystem is fragile and sensitive to climate change. Grassland…
Abstract
Purpose
Grassland in Qinghai as the main type of ecosystem in this region is located in arid and semi-arid areas. The ecosystem is fragile and sensitive to climate change. Grassland ecosystem not only provides essential ecological and life functions for human society but also plays a vital role in mitigating and adapting to climate change. The empirical literature on grassland ecosystem services value (ESV) does not consider the impact of climate change and regional economic development level factors, which prevents policymakers from making appropriate decisions. This paper aims to analyze the influencing factors of grassland ESV assessment, and, based on the meta-prediction model, account the grassland ESV in Qinghai province.
Design/methodology/approach
To understand the value of grassland ecosystem services in China under climate change, this paper used 61 research literature on the evaluation of grassland ESV in China, including a total of 564 value observations to establish a value transfer database. Based on the meta-analysis method, this study has constructed a value transfer model, to evaluate the grassland ESV in Qinghai province, and an interpretation model, which can analyze if the independent variables affect the grassland ESV significantly.
Findings
The study finds that the evaluation methods, types of ecosystem service functions, climate change and grassland types can affect the grassland ESV significantly. Based on the meta-regression prediction model to evaluate the grassland ESV in Qinghai is US$1,542.67/ha/year. It indicates several targeted approaches to increase the grassland ESV, and climate change also has a specific impact on the value of grassland ecosystem services.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides a scientific basis for grassland management related to the development of grasslands and ecological compensation, as well as promote the sustainable development of grassland ecosystems.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the field of grassland ESV assessment in at least three aspects; first, it innovatively introduces the meta-analysis to carry out an integrated analysis of previous research results; second, it includes a broader set of influence variables in the analysis, including meteorological and economic factors; and third, it establishes a methodological basis for the field of grassland ESV accounting.
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The study aims to explain the relationship between accounting and finance through measuring the effect of rational working capital management on profitability.
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to explain the relationship between accounting and finance through measuring the effect of rational working capital management on profitability.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing the methodology of semi-structured interviews with sixteen financial managers.
Findings
The findings pointed out the relationship between accounting and finance is complementary, since it supports the accountant by the critical skills and information, like project evaluation, managing the company funding resources and working capital management. These skills put the accountant up to the financial manager stage. The working capital investment and financing policies have the most significant impact on profitability. These policies related to risk and return theory; since the conservative policy will reduce both the risk and return and the aggressive one will have the opposite impact.
Originality/value
It recommends accountants to be in professional stage and increase the profitability of the company to grab both accounting and finance information and skills.
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Esteban Otto Thomasz, Ana Silvia Vilker, Ismael Pérez-Franco and Agustin García-García
In Argentina, soy and maize represent 28% of the total country exports, affecting the balance of payments, international reserves accumulation and sovereign credit risk. In the…
Abstract
Purpose
In Argentina, soy and maize represent 28% of the total country exports, affecting the balance of payments, international reserves accumulation and sovereign credit risk. In the past 10 years, three extreme and moderate droughts have affected the agricultural areas, causing significant losses in soybean and maize production. This study aims to estimate the economic impact generated by different drought levels for soy and maize production areas through a financial perspective that allows the estimation of the cash flow and income losses.
Design/methodology/approach
By analyzing the extreme deviations in yields during dry periods, the losses generated by droughts were valuated among 183 departments nationwide.
Findings
The aggregated results indicated a total loss of US$24.170m, representing 57.45% of the international reserves of the Argentinean Central Bank in 2021. This estimate shows the magnitude of the climate impact on the Argentinean economy, indicating that severe droughts have macroeconomic impacts, with the external sector as the main transmission channel in an economy with historic restrictions on the balance of payments, international reserve accumulation and sovereign credit risk.
Originality/value
This study analyses the macroeconomic impact of drought on Argentinean soybean and maize production.
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