Hakan Göçerler, Bernhard Pfeil, Friedrich Franek, Christoph Bauer, Eugenia Niculescu-Morzsa and Stefan Nehrer
The paper aims to focus on the individual contribution of water to the lubrication regimes in articular joints because understanding of these regimes is crucial not only for the…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to focus on the individual contribution of water to the lubrication regimes in articular joints because understanding of these regimes is crucial not only for the treatment of diseases like osteoarthritis but also for the development of new implants to have a longer service cycle.
Design/methodology/approach
Cartilage specimen and the synovial fluid were both isolated from bovine knee joints that are enclosed by a synovial membrane under sterile conditions of a biosafety Level 2 (BSL2) cabinet. Subchondral bone was removed from the cartilage because it not only creates a stable base to place the specimen on the holder, but it also acts as a primary shock absorber protecting the overlaying cartilage under high-impact loads. A specimen holder specially designed for tests and was attached to the linear oscillation (SRV) test machine. The SRV test machine provides a reciprocating sliding motion between the cartilage samples that are submerged into the selected biological media. The entire system can be mounted on the BSL2 cabinet, sealed with the convoluted gaiter and transported to the SRV machine with a specifically designed handle for the entire system. The process ensures sterile conditions for tests on biological samples that are highly sensitive to the environmental conditions.
Findings
A remarkably low coefficient of friction value for distilled water constitutes more evidence to support the assumption of the impact of water in the friction behaviour of the cartilage-against-cartilage contact. As the fluid in articular cartilage (AC) effectively serves as a synovial fluid reserve and 70-80 per cent of its composition is distilled water, it can be stated that the tribotest system mimics the natural working conditions of an actual knee joint adequately.
Research limitations/implications
Time and limited availability of the animal-driven samples led to a focus on certain parameters mentioned in the approach. A planned scan of parameter matrix, such as variation of load and speed, would allow deeper knowledge on the lubrication regimes.
Practical implications
Study of relevant tribological contact in human joints might give ideas on new designs for artificial joints.
Social implications
Understanding of lubrication regimes is crucial not only for the treatment of diseases like osteoarthritis but also for the development of new implants to adapt motion of related joint.
Originality/value
Exclusion of water and application as the primary lubricant in the test system brings a new perspective to joint lubrication.
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Heather Straughan and Michael Buckenham
This paper reports outcomes from a holistic, recovery‐based, user‐led group training for people with DSM‐IV bipolar disorder. Drawn from professional therapies and personal…
Abstract
This paper reports outcomes from a holistic, recovery‐based, user‐led group training for people with DSM‐IV bipolar disorder. Drawn from professional therapies and personal experience of the illness by the user‐researcher, the training was delivered over 12 weekly sessions. Using a case‐study approach, an experimental design incorporated pilot (eight participants), main study (five) and control groups (six). Self‐report scales measured mood, coping, empowerment and quality of life pre‐, post‐ and six months post‐training. Semi‐structured interviews noted individual change within the same time frame. Interviews with mental health professionals, medical note analysis and user‐researcher observations also informed the study. Findings from self‐report questionnaires indicated that participants experienced improved mood stability, symptom severity, coping and quality of life and greater empowerment. Out of the six controls, two indicated slight but slow recovery, four continued to use poor coping skills, and two of these four experienced major relapses.
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Christoph Ernst, Andreas Mladenow and Christine Strauss
Emergency managers face coordinative challenges that require a high degree of mobility, flexibility and the ability to interpret heterogeneous, location-dependent information of…
Abstract
Purpose
Emergency managers face coordinative challenges that require a high degree of mobility, flexibility and the ability to interpret heterogeneous, location-dependent information of various sources and quality. Recent information and communication technology-driven developments like crowdsourcing or social networks have opened up new organizational possibilities for emergency managers. To make quick but solid decisions, and improve the coordination of activities performed by crowdsourcees during disaster response, the authors suggest the use of collaborative features from crowdsourcing and inherent availability of resources from social network effects. In this paper, the idea of considering collaboration and crowdsourcing as drivers for flexibility in the design of business processes in the context of emergency management is prepared, the meaning of location-dependent tasks for volunteers is investigated, and the added value of social network effects is substantiated.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is part of an ongoing research project in the field of crowdsourcing. It represents conceptual work that builds on relevant literature.
Findings
In terms of emergency management, the paper sheds light on what emergency managers may consider when coordinating activities performed by volunteers and how they may benefit from social network effects. Furthermore, it is shown how they can exploit information using collaboration-based and tournament-like crowdsourcing, how they can benefit from invoking additional resources using weak ties from social networks, and how visualization of information may support decision-making.
Practical implications
Exemplary applications to exploit crowdsourcing and social network effects to support improvisation and to respond flexibly in disaster response are given.
Originality/value
This paper suggests novel collaborative approaches to support emergency managers in their decision-making. Based on social network analysis, the value of weak ties is elaborated, and based on a taxonomy from crowdsourcing, distinct collaborative alternatives are developed and proposed for application in emergency management.
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Susanne Leitner-Hanetseder, Othmar M. Lehner, Christoph Eisl and Carina Forstenlechner
This article ties in with current debates on the digital transformation of society and the consequent work changes. Using an artificial intelligence (AI)-based accounting context…
Abstract
Purpose
This article ties in with current debates on the digital transformation of society and the consequent work changes. Using an artificial intelligence (AI)-based accounting context, the focus of this paper is on actors, roles and tasks and related skills on an individual level. The authors look at the effect of AI-based “smart” technology on the workforce in the broader accounting profession taking an intrafirm perspective, yet acknowledging that the digital transformation encompasses a much larger field in the financial sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a Delphi study to identify the new roles and tasks in future accounting. In addition, the authors use expert workshops to clarify the related tasks and skills and determine whether either humans or AI-based technologies perform the roles or collaborate in professional accounting occupations.
Findings
The results show that tasks and skills for existing professional occupations in the broader acounting context will be subject to major changes in the next 10 years due to (AI based) digital technologies, while “core” roles and tasks will continue to exist in the future, some will not be performed by humans but by AI-based technology. For other “new” roles, humans will need to make informed use of digital technologies and, to some extent, collaborate with AI-based technology.
Research limitations/implications
The authors look at the effect of AI-based “smart” technology on the workforce in the broader accounting profession, taking an intrafirm perspective.
Practical implications
This article ties in with current debates on the digital transformation of society and the consequent work changes. Using an AI-based accounting context, the focus of this paper is on the new and adapted roles and tasks.
Originality/value
The comprehensive analysis based on the Delphi study and expert workshops provide ample innovative ground for future research on the impact of AI on organisations and society.
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Christoph Becker, Luis Faria and Kresimir Duretec
This article aims to evaluate a new architecture for scalable decision-making and control in preservation environments for its ability to address five key goals: scalable content…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to evaluate a new architecture for scalable decision-making and control in preservation environments for its ability to address five key goals: scalable content profiling; monitoring of compliance, risks and opportunities; efficient creation of trustworthy plans; context awareness; and loosely coupled preservation ecosystems. Scalable decision support and business intelligence capabilities are required to effectively secure content over time.
Design/methodology/approach
We conduct a systematic evaluation of the contributions of the SCAPE Planning and Watch suite to provide effective and scalable decision support capabilities. We discuss the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of advancing the state of art and report on a case study with a national library.
Findings
The system provides substantial capabilities for semi-automated, scalable decision-making and control of preservation functions in repositories. Well-defined interfaces allow a flexible integration with diverse institutional environments. The free and open nature of the tool suite further encourages global take-up in the repository communities.
Research limitations/implications
The article discusses a number of bottlenecks and factors limiting the real-world scalability of preservation environments. This includes data-intensive processing of large volumes of information, automated quality assurance for preservation actions, and the element of human decision-making. We outline open issues and future work.
Practical implications
The open nature of the software suite enables stewardship organizations to integrate the components with their own preservation environments and to contribute to the ongoing improvement of the systems.
Originality/value
The paper reports on innovative research and development to provide preservation capabilities. The results of the assessment demonstrate how the system advances the control of digital preservation operations from ad hoc decision-making to proactive, continuous preservation management, through a context-aware planning and monitoring cycle integrated with operational systems.
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Christoph Barmeyer and Ulrike Mayrhofer
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether characteristics of French organizations can be found in the Airbus Group, ancient European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether characteristics of French organizations can be found in the Airbus Group, ancient European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) Group, and how these characteristics have evolved over time in comparison to German ones.
Design/methodology/approach
This article presents an in-depth case study by using a contextual approach, considering influential factors which are likely to influence the evolution of organizations.
Findings
The analysis shows that the Airbus Group reflects characteristics of French organizations: the importance of strategy, the principle of honour, centralization of decision and power, the role of the state in the capital and its influence via professional networks of its elite coming from the Grandes Ecoles. These findings confirm a relative continuity of national peculiarities over time. The recent evolution of the company also highlights the German influence, notably in terms of shares and management positions.
Research limitations/implications
The case study demonstrates that the Airbus Group has become a multinational company where contextual elements and organizational structures regulate intercultural relationships of interests, influence and power.
Originality/value
Five contextual factors are proposed, which allow to understand and structure the peculiarities of French organizations, in comparison to German ones as well as power distribution within the Airbus Group.
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Empirical evidence on the labor market performance of immigrants shows that migrant workers suffer from an initial disadvantage compared to observationally equivalent native…
Abstract
Empirical evidence on the labor market performance of immigrants shows that migrant workers suffer from an initial disadvantage compared to observationally equivalent native workers, but that their wages subsequently tend to increase faster than native earnings. Economists usually explain these phenomena by spot markets for labor and investments into human capital. By contrast, this chapter proposes a contractual model. This alternative has important implications for integration policy, because it suggests investing into the transparency of foreign educational credentials. Also contrasting human capital theory, the model suggests that permanent migrants never earn higher wages than equally skilled temporary migrants.
Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely…
Abstract
Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.
Rico Piehler, Michael Schade, Ines Hanisch and Christoph Burmann
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of explanation and compensation, as specific accommodative management responses to negative online customer reviews, on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of explanation and compensation, as specific accommodative management responses to negative online customer reviews, on potential customers.
Design/methodology/approach
The scenario-based online experiment with 306 participants investigates the effects of explanation and compensation on potential customers’ purchase intentions in the hotel segment of the hospitality industry.
Findings
The results reveal that combining an explanation with compensation is the most effective management response; providing neither an explanation nor compensation is the least effective. The effects of management responses that entail providing only an explanation or compensation do not differ significantly.
Research limitations/implications
Continued research should investigate the effects of specific accommodative management responses in other service industries and other cultural settings and consider different kinds of explanations and compensation.
Practical implications
Hotel managers in the hospitality industry should reply to negative online customer reviews by combining an explanation with compensation. Service providers that currently lack structures and procedures to identify service failures and their causes or that cannot take corrective actions should provide compensation. Service providers that currently have limited financial resources should provide explanations.
Originality/value
This study analyses the effects of explanation and compensation on potential customers’ purchase intentions. In addressing the effects on potential customers, instead of on complainants, the conceptual framework represents a novel combination of management responses from service recovery research with signalling theory, the search-experience-credence framework and risk reduction methods.