Francesco Romanò, Mario Stojanović and Hendrik C. Kuhlmann
This paper aims to derive a reduced-order model for the heat transfer across the interface between a millimetric thermocapillary liquid bridge from silicone oil and the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to derive a reduced-order model for the heat transfer across the interface between a millimetric thermocapillary liquid bridge from silicone oil and the surrounding ambient gas.
Design/methodology/approach
Numerical solutions for the two-fluid model are computed covering a wide parametric space, making a total of 2,800 numerical flow simulations. Based on the computed data, a reduced single-fluid model for the liquid phase is devised, in which the heat transfer between the liquid and the gas is modeled by Newton’s heat transfer law, albeit with a space-dependent Biot function Bi(z), instead of a constant Biot number Bi.
Findings
An explicit robust fit of Bi(z) is obtained covering the whole range of parameters considered. The single-fluid model together with the Biot function derived yields very accurate results at much lesser computational cost than the corresponding two-phase fully-coupled simulation required for the two-fluid model.
Practical implications
Using this novel Biot function approach instead of a constant Biot number, the critical Reynolds number can be predicted much more accurately within single-phase linear stability solvers.
Originality/value
The Biot function for thermocapillary liquid bridges is derived from the full multiphase problem by a robust multi-stage fit procedure. The derived Biot function reproduces very well the theoretical boundary layer scalings.
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The accounting scandals and the war on terrorism have produced special challenges for this year's crop of strategists.
Erwin Folmer, Martin Matzner, Michael Räckers, Hendrik Scholta and Jörg Becker
Governmental institutions must cooperate with other organizations across institutional boundaries to achieve high-quality service offerings. The required cooperation may lead to…
Abstract
Purpose
Governmental institutions must cooperate with other organizations across institutional boundaries to achieve high-quality service offerings. The required cooperation may lead to complex networks, including several of the thousands of public administrations in the many federal layers of a single country. This paper aims to address the key challenge of the proper management of the information exchange between networked actors, which is generally conducted by means of forms.
Design/methodology/approach
Following the design science research paradigm, this research develops a method that assists in the design and maintenance of forms in public administrations.
Findings
Discussions in the project’s focus groups add evidence to the researchers’ expectation that the method developed in this study improves the quality of forms while reducing the effort required for their design and maintenance.
Research limitations/implications
This paper includes an evaluation of the approach based on qualitative feedback from the project’s stakeholders, although the implementation of the workflows and procedures is subject to future work that evaluates the approach in a variety of practical settings.
Practical implications
The method developed in this paper allows public administrations and legislative authorities to design and manage forms in a cooperative way. Software developers can assume the existence of information structures. The approach extends the BOMOS standardization framework to the operational level.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this paper is the development of a novel method that will change how information exchange is managed in public administrations.
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Davide Di Fatta, Francesco Caputo and Gandolfo Dominici
Analyzing the entrepreneurial ecosystem related to the ARCA consortium, the purpose of this paper is to study the relationships among the start-up firms inside an incubator.
Abstract
Purpose
Analyzing the entrepreneurial ecosystem related to the ARCA consortium, the purpose of this paper is to study the relationships among the start-up firms inside an incubator.
Design/methodology/approach
Thanks to the adoption of the relationships concentric model and the density concentric model, the paper highlights the role of relational conditions for innovative projects in partnership among the incubated firms. Reflections herein are tested via a qualitative research approach based on a single case study: the ARCA consortium.
Findings
This research found that about 32 percent of relationships inside the incubator support the emergence of short-term relationships among the incubated firms. Furthermore, about 18 percent of the relationships support the emergence of strong collaborative strategies for the implementation of long-term relationships resulting in innovative pathways: innovative projects in partnership.
Originality/value
The most interconnected firms inside the incubator are those that play a central role also in the innovation pathway developing the higher number of innovative project in partnership. This finding emphasizes a correlation between collaborative relationships and innovation inside an incubator ecosystem.
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Kaisa Kurkela, Anna–Aurora Kork, Anni Jäntti and Henna Paananen
This study observes the organisational environment of fostering citizen participation in the context of local government. Creating systems of influential citizen participation…
Abstract
Purpose
This study observes the organisational environment of fostering citizen participation in the context of local government. Creating systems of influential citizen participation requires the consideration of organisational prerequisites. This study asks which organisational elements contribute to successful citizen participation in local government.
Design/methodology/approach
The data consist of interviews with 14 key actors who work for the city of Helsinki. The interview content was subjected to abductive content analysis and reflected in the analytical framework based on previous literature on citizen participation. The analysis complements and adds insights to the existing literature.
Findings
This study illuminates three crucial elements of influential citizen participation: organisational structures, organisational culture and adequate resources. Additionally, the results revealed management to be a crucial enabling element. The findings highlight the importance of seeing citizen participation as an issue of governance and as a systemic part of the administration requiring intentional management efforts.
Originality/value
The study illustrates the key elements (structures, culture and resources) that should be considered when creating an influential citizen participation system. Additionally, the empirical analysis highlights the importance of management, which has been understudied in previous studies concerning citizen participation.
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Tomi J. Kallio, Kirsi-Mari Kallio and Annika Blomberg
This purpose of this study is to understand how the spread of audit culture and the related public sector reforms have affected Finnish universities’ organization principles…
Abstract
Purpose
This purpose of this study is to understand how the spread of audit culture and the related public sector reforms have affected Finnish universities’ organization principles, performance measurement (PM) criteria and ultimately their reason for being.
Design/methodology/approach
Applying extensive qualitative data by combining interview data with document materials, this study takes a longitudinal perspective toward the changing Finnish higher education field.
Findings
The analysis suggests the reforms have altered universities’ administrative structures, planning and control systems, coordination mechanisms and the role of staff units, as well as the allocation of power and thus challenged their reason for being. Power has become concentrated into the hands of formal managers, while operational core professionals have been distanced from decision making. Efficiency in terms of financial and performance indicators has become a coordinating principle of university organizations, and PM practices are used to steer the work of professionals. Because of the reforms, universities have moved away from the ideal type of professional bureaucracy and begun resembling the new, emerging ideal type of competitive bureaucracy.
Originality/value
This study builds on rich, real-life, longitudinal empirical material and details a chronological description of the changes in Finland’s university sector. Moreover, it illustrates how the spread of audit culture and the related legislative changes have transformed the ideal type of university organization and challenged universities’ reason for being. These changes entail significant consequences regarding universities as organizations and their role in society.
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K. Matthias Weber, Effie Amanatidou, Lorenz Erdmann and Mika Nieminen
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of research and innovation futures, sketch the landscape of recent findings in this field with a focus on new ways of doing and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of research and innovation futures, sketch the landscape of recent findings in this field with a focus on new ways of doing and organizing knowledge creation and position the contributions to this special issue within that landscape.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper includes a review of literature on the embedding of research and innovation in society, outlines the main domains of current drivers of change and summarises the contributions to the special issue.
Findings
Recent controversies about the future of research and innovation draw on a long-standing trajectory of debate about the role of science, technology and innovation in society, and the balance between autonomy in striving for scientific excellence on the one hand and the quest for social and economic relevance on the other. Six major domains of current and expected future changes in research and innovation are identified, and serve as the backdrop for positioning the more specific contributions to this special issue.
Originality/value
The main value of this contribution is to provide a condensed and original look at emerging directions of change in research and innovation practices and their organisational and institutional embedding in society.