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The aim of this work is the development of a procedure able to model the highly irregular cellular structure of metallic foams on the basis of information obtained by X-ray tomographic analysis.

The geometric modelling is based on the feature “pore” characterized by an ellipsoidal shape. The data for the geometric parameters of the instances are obtained with a methodology which is driven by the pore volume distribution curve. This curve shows how much the cells, whose diameter belongs to a given dimensional range, contribute to the reduction of the total volume.

The presented methodology has been implemented into a CAD tool consisting of a Matlab routine identifying the instances of the feature “pore” and a CATIA's macro modelling the closed cells foam.

The presented methodology allows to obtain in an automatic way the CAD model of the complex structure of closed cell aluminium foam approximating by considerable accuracy both the density and the volume distribution of the real foams.

The purpose of this paper is to address the relations between religiosity and mental health (MH) among the immigrants living in Brasília, as per the perceptions of MH service professionals.

It is grounded in empirical qualitative research based on semi-structured interviews with 12 professionals – six psychiatrists and six psychologists working in MH services throughout Brasília. The experiences and perceptions of these professionals were analysed in the light of phenomenological assumptions, and temporally situated in the historical context of the construction of Brazil’s capital city.

Results show that these professionals recognize the importance of immigrant support services paying attention to issues of religiosity connected to those of MH, in spite of never having received training on the theme in their qualification course work. They are critical of the oppressive aspects of some religions, but recognize the predominance of positive effects of religiosity.

Albeit exploratory by nature, and with a limited number of study subjects, the study opens the way for more in-depth investigations of this rarely addressed MH issue and recommends its application to greater numbers of professionals and other contexts.

The results can contribute to the MH policy decision-making processes for the immigrant population in Brasília and also for training the professionals working in providing care for this population.

To contribute to the development of a new MH model in which professionals can adopt a more open posture in regard to the traditional pathologizing models used to address the question of religious phenomena.

Albeit exploratory in nature, this study makes a contribution by opening the way for the issue of religiosity and its impacts on MH to become the object of more in-depth investigations conducted from a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective, targeting greater numbers of MH professionals and extended to other internal and external migratory contexts.

Management research has begun to explore how cultural entrepreneurs use established or declining societal traditions to create distinctive new ventures and products. In this study, we propose an alternative pathway for creating entrepreneurial opportunities, that is, through leveraging extinct societal traditions. Extinct societal traditions yield opportunities to create highly distinctive products and ventures, yet their use entails substantial challenges. To understand how entrepreneurs can successfully leverage extinct societal traditions, we investigate the case of The Merchant of Venice, an Italian venture established in 2013 that produces luxury perfumes based on the perfume-making tradition that flourished in Venice between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and disappeared afterwards. Our study illuminates how cultural entrepreneurs can leverage extinct societal traditions by (a) exhuming lost knowledge and practices, (b) validating them as an authentic and appreciable tradition of a given community and territory, and (c) elevating their meaningfulness as core to place identity. Our study contributes to the literature on cultural entrepreneurship and traditions by revealing the distinct challenges that resurrecting extinct traditions entail, enriching the understanding of types, goals, and processes of cultural entrepreneurship, and widening current knowledge of the roles of tradition custodians.

The present study aims to provide new evidence regarding the factors that determine the survival of firms in the Spanish wine industry and to improve the understanding of sector dynamics.

The empirical analysis, conducted over a representative sample of wineries in the DOC Rioja wine industry, is based on non-parametric (Kaplan–Meier graph) and semi-parametric survival models (Cox proportional hazard model).

The empirical model finds that wineries with a higher number of networks with institutions enjoy better survival prospects. This study also shows that a winery’s previous performance affects the winery’s survival probability; therefore, successful wineries in the past encounter a smaller hazard of exit. Although spending on R&D and exporting are factors likely to improve wineries' efficiency and competitiveness, these factors did not contribute significantly to the survival of DOC Rioja wineries.

This paper makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the determinants of wineries' survival and has important policy implications. In order to raise the probability of survival, policy makers should promote the networks that link wineries and institutions. Moreover, this study is based on survival analysis which, although frequently used in medical and behavioural sciences, has rarely been applied to wine economics. Finally, it uses a unique data set obtained from primary data collection, which previous studies have not analysed in relation to the probability of winery survival.

This study aims to focus on relational social capital in family wineries. Relational social capital is influenced by the family nature of the business and is at the same time a key antecedent of winery performance. The aim is to analyse these relationships in the qualified denomination of origin (DOC) Rioja wine industry (Spain).

Using a final sample of 110 family wineries, a Baron and Kenny approach was performed to investigate the causal and mediating relationships between the generation in control, relational social capital and family winery performance.

Using a final sample of 110 family wineries, the study demonstrates that later generations show a higher level of relational social capital, that the positive relationship between relational social capital and performance is maintained in a family firm sample and that the generation in control sequentially influence on performance through its influence on relational social capital.

The main limitations are that empirical data were obtained only from DOC Rioja wine family businesses and a cross-sectional study was conducted.

This study provides policymakers and family managers responsible for succession with a better understanding of the effects of transferring the business to the next generations in terms of relational social capital and performance.

To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study to examine the sequential relationships between generation, relational social capital and performance in DOC Rioja family wineries. The context of the DOC Rioja wine industry is particularly noteworthy for two reasons. First, in this industry, family-controlled firms predominate. Second, the DOC Rioja wine industry is focussed on the small-to-medium context, which has conventionally provided a very good area for the development of social capital theory.

On 2 January, 1984 the American Library Association will inaugurate Alanet, a new electronic mail and information service. Subscriptions will be available to all ALA organisation members.

ASIS Annual Meeting. The 46th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Information Science was held from 2–6 October 1983, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, in Crystal City, Virginia, just the other side of the Potomac River from Washington, DC.

This study aims to investigate the implementation of lean human resource management (HRM) practices in manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and explore how various factors interact to influence their successful adoption. By exploring the interplay among these factors, the research seeks to identify key drivers affecting the adoption of lean HRM in manufacturing SMEs. Ultimately, the research intends to provide insights that can guide organisations, practitioners and policymakers in effectively implementing lean HRM practices to enhance operational efficiency, workforce engagement and competitiveness within the manufacturing SME sector.

The study combined total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) and Matrice d'Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée à un Classement (MICMAC) analysis. TISM helped in understanding the hierarchical relationship among different factors influencing lean HRM implementation, whereas MICMAC analysis provided insights into the level of influence and dependence of each factor on others.

The research revealed that “top management support” emerged as the most independent factor, indicating that strong support from top management is crucial for initiating and sustaining lean HRM practices in manufacturing SMEs. On the other hand, “employee involvement and empowerment” was identified as the most dependent factor, suggesting that fostering a culture of employee engagement and empowerment greatly relies on the successful implementation of lean HRM practices.

While the study provided valuable insights, it has certain limitations. The research was conducted within the specific context of manufacturing SMEs, which might limit the generalizability of the findings to other industries. Expert opinions introduce subjectivity in data collection. Additionally, the study may not cover all critical factors, allowing room for further exploration in future research.

The findings have practical implications for manufacturing SMEs aiming to implement lean HRM practices. Recognising the pivotal role of top management support, organisations should invest in cultivating a strong leadership commitment to lean HRM initiatives. Furthermore, enhancing employee involvement and empowerment can lead to better adoption of lean HRM practices, resulting in improved operational efficiency and overall competitiveness.

This research contributes to the field by offering a comprehensive exploration of the interplay among factors influencing lean HRM implementation. The use of TISM and MICMAC analysis provides a unique perspective on the relationship dynamics between these factors, allowing for a nuanced understanding of their roles in the adoption of lean HRM practices in manufacturing SMEs. The identification of “top management support” as the most independent and “employee involvement and empowerment” as the most dependent factors adds original insights to the existing literature.

Purpose – We survey the export propensity of firms during the period of economic recession. Our aim is to complement existing literature, by considering the influence of home-country characteristics (corruption, bureaucracy, current financial situation, competition intensity) as predictors of firms’ export decisions.

Methodology – Combining diverse theoretical perspectives, we argue that firms’ export strategy can be reasonably modelled by integrating elements from the environmental determinism theory and the resource-based view of the firm. Research evidence on the factors impacting on export decisions is based on a sample of 136 (local and foreign) firms operating in Greece. A logistic regression model was run with export propensity being the dependent variable.

Findings – Our results indicate that not only firm-level variables (technological competencies and country of origin) are significant determinants of exporting, but considerable attention should also be placed on specific characteristics of the domestic environment. In particular, bureaucracy and the current financial situation seem to influence the managers’ decision to export.

Originality/value – This paper contributes to the field by highlighting the impact of the domestic factors on export propensity, which have been neglected among the micro-level export studies. Further, we present evidence for export propensity in an ‘intermediate-level’ EU peripheral economy during the current economic era.

Implications – Given that this study is based on a country hard hit by the economic recession, it provides useful implications for managers and policy makers.

The main purpose of this research was to investigate whether there is a relationship between religiosity and ethical behavior of salespeople.

To investigate this association, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used; also, both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were undertaken to examine a scale measuring salespeople's ethical behaviors. The context in which the study was conducted was in Iranian retail specialty stores.

The results revealed for the first time the impact of religiosity on ethical behavior of the seller, a key entity in the buyer-seller dyad, that had been virtually ignored in extant empirical work.

The study focused solely on retail salespeople in Iran. Future research should examine the religiosity-ethical behavior nexus using other kinds of sales personnel and those practicing other kinds of religion than the Shia Muslim faith investigated here. The investigation examined the association between religiosity and ethical behavior. Future work could include additional measures of religion (e.g. religious orientation) as well other individual, cultural, and organizational factors that may have an influence on salespeople's ethical conduct.

Sales managers should try to convince salespeople to behave ethically. Also, sales managers should not establish unachievable sales objectives for salespeople and try to employ more religious individuals as salespeople. Multinational corporations (MNCs) should treat Shia Muslim salespersons with the utmost of respect, relying on their word. Similarly, MNCs should incorporate ethical guidelines into their training classes in order to be able to communicate conveniently with local salespeople and persuade them to act more ethically.

The authors believe that this research can arouse managers in retail stores to set specific plans for evaluating their ethical behaviors. This research also has managerial and research implications for designing and formulating operations strategy in providing ethical standards for sales force.