Anders Larsen, Mathias Stolpe and J.H. Hattel
The purpose of this paper is to determine the magnitude and spatial distribution of the heat transfer coefficient between the workpiece and the backing plate in a friction stir…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the magnitude and spatial distribution of the heat transfer coefficient between the workpiece and the backing plate in a friction stir welding process using inverse modelling.
Design/methodology/approach
The magnitude and distribution of the heat transfer coefficient are the variables in an optimisation problem. The objective is to minimise the difference between experimentally measured temperatures and temperatures obtained using a 3D finite element model. The optimisation problem is solved using a gradient based optimisation method. This approach yields optimal values for the magnitude and distribution of the heat transfer coefficient.
Findings
It is found that the heat transfer coefficient between the workpiece and the backing plate is non-uniform and takes its maximum value in a region below the welding tool. Four different parameterisations of the spatial distribution of the heat transfer coefficient are analysed and a simple, two parameter distribution is found to give good results.
Originality/value
The heat transfer from workpiece to backing plate is important for the temperature field in the workpiece, and in turn the mechanical properties of the welded plate. Accurate modelling of the magnitude and distribution of the heat transfer coefficient is therefore an essential step towards improved models of the process. This is the first study using a gradient based optimisation method and a non-uniform parameterisation of the heat transfer coefficient in an inverse modeling approach to determine the heat transfer coefficient in friction stir welding.
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Zaza Nadja Lee Hansen, Samuel Brüning Larsen, Anders Paarup Nielsen, Anders Groth, Nicklas Gregers Gregersen and Amartya Ghosh
While forward logistics handles and manages the flow of goods downstream in the supply chain from suppliers to customers, reverse logistics (RL) manages the flow of returned goods…
Abstract
Purpose
While forward logistics handles and manages the flow of goods downstream in the supply chain from suppliers to customers, reverse logistics (RL) manages the flow of returned goods upstream. A firm can combine RL with forward logistics, keep the flows separated, or choose a position between the two extremes. The purpose of this paper is to identify the contextual factors that determine the most advantageous position, which the paper refers to as the most advantageous degree of combination.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper first develops a scale ranging from 0 percent combination to 100 percent combination (i.e. full separation). Second, using the contingency theory the paper identifies the contextual factors described in RL-literature that determine the most advantageous degree of combination. The set of factors is subsequently tested using a case study, which applies a triangulation approach that combines a qualitative and a quantitative method.
Findings
The results show six distinct contextual factors that determine the most advantageous degree of combination. Examples of factors are technical product complexity, product portfolio variation, and the loss of product value over time.
Practical implications
For practitioners the scale of possible positions and set of contextual factors constitute a decision-making framework. Using the framework practitioners can determine the most advantageous position of the scale for their firm.
Originality/value
Much RL-research addresses intra-RL issues while the relationship between forward and RL is under-researched. This paper contributes to RL theory by identifying the contextual factors that determine the most advantageous relationship between forward and RL, and proposes a novel decision-making framework for practitioners.
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Joel S. Rutstein, Anna. L DeMiller and Elizabeth A. Fuseler
Drawing on in-depth interviews and observations in Denmark and the United States, this chapter compares discourses and experiences of young unemployed professionals engaged in…
Abstract
Drawing on in-depth interviews and observations in Denmark and the United States, this chapter compares discourses and experiences of young unemployed professionals engaged in networking. Common across both sites is the kind of emotional labor perceived to be required for effective networking, with workers frequently drawing on romantic dating as a key metaphor. However, engagement in such emotional labor is more intense and pervasive for American jobseekers, while Danish jobseekers express greater concern about potential exploitation of the other party, corruption, and pressure to conform to norms of marketability. The chapter discusses possible links among networking experiences, hiring practices and political-economic contexts in the United States and Denmark.
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Carina Saxlund Bischoff and Anders Ejrnæs
International migration is a global challenge affecting peoples and nations all over the world. In the advanced economies and welfare states of Western Europe, integrating…
Abstract
International migration is a global challenge affecting peoples and nations all over the world. In the advanced economies and welfare states of Western Europe, integrating migrants presents political, social as well as economic challenges. Over the past 50 years, Denmark has made a remarkable U-turn on the immigration question. Once the author of one of the most liberal immigration policies in Western Europe, Denmark presently has one of the strictest. This chapter addresses the causes behind the Danish policy U-turn, and how it has affected the social, economic and political integration of immigrants in Denmark. The chapter shows how Danish immigration politics have turned from low to high salience and have undergone radical changes resulting in a tightening of both internal and external immigration policies. It has become far more difficult to obtain residence and citizenship in Denmark. These measures have limited influx although international refugee crises are difficult to control at the borders. Moreover, Danish integration policies have focused increasingly on obligations and incentives, primarily by cutting benefits. The Danish case however shows that reduction of social benefits only has a marginal positive short-term effect on employment but with some negative side effects. When it comes to education, the Danish welfare state has been relatively successful in integrating immigrants and descendants in the educational system.
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Åge Diseth, Ståle Pallesen, Anders Hovland and Svein Larsen
The present study seeks to compare scores on factors from the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) with scores on an abbreviated version of the Approaches and Study Skills…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study seeks to compare scores on factors from the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) with scores on an abbreviated version of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) and examination grade among undergraduate psychology students. The purpose is to investigate the relationship between course experience and approaches to learning, and to examine their relative importance as predictors of academic achievement.
Design/methodology/approach
Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modelling were utilised in order to find measurement models for each of the constructs and to test hypothesised structural relations between these constructs.
Findings
The original CEQ and ASSIST factors were reproduced. A model in which course experience factors predicted SAL was supported, but the same model did not provide evidence for any indirect or mediator effect between course experience, approaches to learning and academic achievement. Indirect empirical support for a hypothesised causal link between course experience and approaches to learning was found.
Research limitations/implications
Weak relations between the predictor variables (course experience/approaches to learning) and academic achievement limited the possibility of identifying mediator effects, and future research should address this issue.
Practical implications
Lecturers and course designers should take into account that students' approaches to learning are influenced by course experience, especially with respect to the adoption of a surface approach to learning.
Originality/value
This paper included a comparison between course experience, approaches to learning, and academic achievement, whereas most previous research has not included academic achievement. The utilisation of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling gave a stronger test of construct validity than exploratory analyses, and it facilitated the testing of hypothesised structural models.
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Tino Bech-Larsen, Jessica Ascheman-Witzel and Viktorija Kulikovskaja
The increased acknowledgement of the problems associated with food waste has triggered a number of social and commercial initiatives for the re-distribution of suboptimal foods…
Abstract
Purpose
The increased acknowledgement of the problems associated with food waste has triggered a number of social and commercial initiatives for the re-distribution of suboptimal foods (SOFs). This paper aims to explore a variety of such initiatives and discuss their prospects, considering the commercial contingencies of the food supply system.
Design/methodology/approach
The exploration is based on a multi-country study of cases representing three initiatives related to the reduction of waste from SOFs, i.e. social supermarkets (SSMs), food banks and expiration date-based pricing practices. The collected data comprise expert interviews, store-check observations and secondary material; the data are analyzed from a marketing practice perspective.
Findings
The analyses indicate that the distribution and re-distribution of SOFs are moving toward normalization, that the diffusion of expiration date-based pricing through all food retailing formats is likely to continue, that food banks – despite reports of dwindling supplies of SOFs – are likely to increase their expansion and that SSMs face a variety of challenges, e.g. as regards their supply of SOFs and their customers’ preferences for stable assortments.
Originality/value
By synthesizing data from various European implementations of re-distribution practices, this article contributes to the understanding of the viability of such practices. Developing this understanding should benefit social and commercial entrepreneurs, as well as policymakers, when designing and implementing initiatives for the reduction of waste from SOFs.
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Thim Prætorius, Peter Hasle and Anders Paarup Nielsen
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how and with which mechanisms health care professionals in practice design for collaboration to solve collective hospital tasks, which…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how and with which mechanisms health care professionals in practice design for collaboration to solve collective hospital tasks, which cross occupational and departmental boundaries.
Design/methodology/approach
An in-depth multiple-case study of five departments across four hospitals facing fast to slow response task requirements was carried out using interviews and observations. The selected cases were revealing as the departments had designed and formalized their daily hospital operations differently to solve collaboration and performance issues.
Findings
Local collaboration across occupational and departmental boundaries requires bundles of behavioral formalization elements (e.g. standardized plans, resource allocation decisions, assigned formal roles, and handoff routines), and liaison devices (e.g. huddles, boards, and physical proximity), which are used in parallel or sequence. The authors label this “designed collaboration bundles.” These bundles supplement the central organizational structures, processes, and support systems less capable of ensuring fluent coordination at the front line.
Practical implications
Health care professionals and hospital managers can consider designing bundles of organizational design features to proactively develop and ensure collaboration capable of solving collective tasks and bridging departmental and occupational silos to improve health care delivery.
Originality/value
This research paper addresses the fundamental organizational challenge of how to achieve efficient collaboration by studying how formal structures and processes are used in combination on the hospital floor, thereby going beyond previous research that studies these mechanisms individually.
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Nanouk Verhulst, Arne De Keyser, Anders Gustafsson, Poja Shams and Yves Van Vaerenbergh
The purpose of this paper is to discuss recent developments in neuroscientific methods and demonstrate its potential for the service field. This work is a call to action for more…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss recent developments in neuroscientific methods and demonstrate its potential for the service field. This work is a call to action for more service researchers to adopt promising and increasingly accessible neuro-tools that allow the service field to benefit from neuroscience theories and insights.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper synthesizes key literature from a variety of domains (e.g. neuroscience, consumer neuroscience and organizational neuroscience) to provide an in-depth background to start applying neuro-tools. Specifically, this paper outlines the most important neuro-tools today and discusses their theoretical and empirical value.
Findings
To date, the use of neuro-tools in the service field is limited. This is surprising given the great potential they hold to advance service research. To stimulate the use of neuro-tools in the service area, the authors provide a roadmap to enable neuroscientific service studies and conclude with a discussion on promising areas (e.g. service experience and servicescape) ripe for neuroscientific input.
Originality/value
The paper offers service researchers a starting point to understand the potential benefits of adopting the neuroscientific method and shows their complementarity with traditional service research methods like surveys, experiments and qualitative research. In addition, this paper may also help reviewers and editors to better assess the quality of neuro-studies in service.