M. Botz and P. Hagedorn
A number of computer codes are available for the automatic generation of the equations of motion of multibody systems formed by rigid bodies. Systems containing deformable…
Abstract
A number of computer codes are available for the automatic generation of the equations of motion of multibody systems formed by rigid bodies. Systems containing deformable components generally cannot be treated readily by these programs. Demonstrates how multibody systems containing both rigid and deformable components can be handled with the aid of Autolev, a symbol manipulator for dynamics, when such components are discretized by a Rayleigh‐Ritz procedure. A computer code called Ritz was written to perform this task interactively with Autolev, and a Fortran program is generated automatically for the numerical simulation of motions of the system under consideration. The numerical results are then converted to Matlab format, so that plotting routines and other facilities available in Matlab can be used to process the results further.
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This article examines research on the socio‐economic changes that have generated new offending patterns in the United States and a proliferation of the ‘gang’ phenomenon in that…
Abstract
This article examines research on the socio‐economic changes that have generated new offending patterns in the United States and a proliferation of the ‘gang’ phenomenon in that country. Evidence is presented that there have been analogous socioeconomic changes in the UK and these may have outcomes that produce similar, if culturally distinct, manifestations of youth criminality.
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Focuses on contemporary law enforcement institutions, in Canadian and US cities, to illustrate the service limitations and public conflicts that are increasingly being generated…
Abstract
Focuses on contemporary law enforcement institutions, in Canadian and US cities, to illustrate the service limitations and public conflicts that are increasingly being generated into violent encounters by the failure to move beyond the authoritarian organizational operational model. The capacity of public policing institutions to provide effective, non‐violent police services to meet the needs of the communities is determined by the nature of the police institutional and/or organizational model employed. This analysis assesses the appropriateness of current police training models, race relations training, non‐violent conflict resolution training and all other police training that may be grounded and generated from a paramilitary authoritarian hierarchical composition. This applied approach discloses much needed systemic and policy reformation by considering a more expanded understanding of this prominent social agency, the actors and the interconnectedness with other institutions.
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Jan Stentoft, Kent Adsbøll Wickstrøm, Anders Haug and Kristian Philipsen
The digital transition process is an important strategic initiative for manufacturing companies to ensure continued competitiveness. The purpose is to investigate the relationship…
Abstract
Purpose
The digital transition process is an important strategic initiative for manufacturing companies to ensure continued competitiveness. The purpose is to investigate the relationship between firms' additive manufacturing (AM) readiness and product and process innovation and how this process is mediated by firms' make-or-buy decisions regarding performing AM processes internally or buying AM services from external partners.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a questionnaire survey including full answers from 157 small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies.
Findings
Results show a positive relationship between AM readiness and both product and process innovation. Results also reveal that firms with higher readiness invest more in in-house AM, which in turn promotes innovation. There was no significant association between AM readiness and the use of external AM services. Nonetheless, buying external AM services is still associated positively with innovation.
Research limitations/implications
Data in the questionnaire survey are provided by single respondents from each company and are only based on Danish respondents.
Practical implications
The results indicate that firms' product and process innovation benefits from higher AM readiness derive from increased investment in in-house AM rather than from increased use of external AM services. This also signifies that firms with lower levels of AM readiness buy external AM services and derive the innovation benefits hereof.
Originality/value
The paper delivers new, empirically found knowledge about how small- and medium-sized manufacturing can improve innovation by both making and buying AM services.
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Kira Isabel Hower, Holger Pfaff, Christoph Kowalski, Michel Wensing and Lena Ansmann
Measuring attitudes of healthcare providers and managers toward change in health care organizations (HCOs) has been of widespread interest. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Measuring attitudes of healthcare providers and managers toward change in health care organizations (HCOs) has been of widespread interest. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the psychometric characteristics and usability of an abbreviated German version of the Change Attitude Scale.
Design/methodology/approach
The Change Attitude Scale was used in a survey of healthcare providers and managers in German hospitals after the implementation of a breast cancer center concept. Reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling and bivariate analysis were conducted.
Findings
Data from 191 key persons in 82 hospitals were analyzed. The item-scale structure produced an acceptable model fit. Convergent validity was shown by significant correlations with measures of individuals’ general opinions of the breast center concept. A non-significant correlation with a scale measuring the hospital’s hierarchical structure of leadership verified discriminant validity. The interaction of key persons’ change attitude and hospitals’ change performance through change culture as a mediator supported the predictive validity.
Research limitations/implications
The study found general support for the validity and usability of a short version of the German Change Attitude Scale.
Practical implications
Since attitudes toward change influence successful implementation, the survey may be used to tailor the design of implementation programs and to create a sustainable culture of high readiness for change.
Originality/value
This is the first study finding that a short instrument can be used to measure attitudes toward change among healthcare providers and managers in HCOs.
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Benjamin Fleury-Steiner, Paul Kaplan and Jamie Longazel
There has been a tremendous decline in the use of the death penalty in the United States. Recent research using county-level data shows that a small minority of locales in the…
Abstract
There has been a tremendous decline in the use of the death penalty in the United States. Recent research using county-level data shows that a small minority of locales in the country account for death sentences and even fewer for executions. Drawing on theoretical work that seeks to account for why these locales continue to use capital punishment, we provide in this chapter a thick description of Maricopa County, Arizona, one of the most active death penalty locales in the contemporary United States. In doing so, we demonstrate how capital punishment operates in a field of violently defended racial boundaries. Our chapter shows the roles of various local actors across time in fortifying such racial boundaries through historical white terrorism and more recent reinforcement of zones of racial exclusion that are embodied especially in communicated fears of “illegal immigrant gangs.” We contend that the case of Maricopa County points to the importance of attending to racist localisms as a catalyst for the continued implementation of the death penalty in the United States.
Larry Hearld, Allyson Hall, Reena Joseph Kelly, Aizhan Karabukayeva and Jasvinder Singh
The purpose of this study was to examine the organizational context that may support learning and change readiness climates that previous research has found to be conducive to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine the organizational context that may support learning and change readiness climates that previous research has found to be conducive to implementing evidence-based interventions.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory, mixed method evaluation that included 15 rheumatology clinics throughout the United States was performed. Quantitative data were collected using a web-based survey completed by 135 clinic members. Qualitative data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 88 clinic members.
Findings
In general, clinics reported strong, positive learning and change readiness climates. More complex organizations (e.g. multispecialty, academic medical centers) with rational/hierarchical cultures and members with longer tenure were associated with less supportive learning and change readiness climates. The authors’ findings highlight opportunities for organizational leaders and evidence-based intervention sponsors to focus their attention and allocate resources to settings that may be most susceptible to implementation challenges.
Originality/value
First, the authors address a deficit in previous research by describing both the level and strength of the learning and change readiness climates for implementing an evidence-based shared decision-making aid (SDMA) and examine how these vary as a function of the organizational context. Second, the study examines a broader set of factors to assess the organizational context (e.g. organizational culture, organizational structure, ownership) than previous research, which may be especially salient for shaping the climate in smaller specialty clinics like those we study. Third, the authors utilize a mixed methods analysis to provide greater insights into questions of how and why organizational factors such as size and structure may influence the learning and change readiness climate.
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Haya Bahyan, Mian M. Ajmal and Hussein Saber
The present study investigated organizational resilience (OR) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE’s) energy sector to identify impactful technological and human variables and assess…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study investigated organizational resilience (OR) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE’s) energy sector to identify impactful technological and human variables and assess the hermeneutic effect of digital transformation on value co-creation and OR. The study also investigates the mediating role of value co-creation on a few covariates of OR.
Design/methodology/approach
The questionnaire was sent out to 311 professionals in the energy sector, all affiliated with governmental organizations, using quota sampling. A total of 206 collated responses corresponding to the tested variables regarding the influences of digital transformation, employee resilience, innovation readiness, cyber resilience and value co-creation on OR were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Accordingly, a model of eight constructs and their 27 indicators was tested.
Findings
Instituting flexibility and adaptability to technological advancements, as well as cyber resilience, was found to enhance digital transformation. The sense of self-efficacy of the professionals who participated in the study led them to develop innovation readiness and thus embrace creativity and encourage co-creation while maintaining collaborative efforts with customers and stakeholders. This mediated several technological and human variables, such as the importance of managers' understanding of customer needs, preferences and pain points, which involves actively seeking and valuing customer feedback to inform decision-making.
Practical implications
When iterative prototyping, continuous learning, and OR are integrated into an organization’s culture, they create a robust foundation for a customer-centric mindset. This mindset becomes ingrained in how employees approach their work and make purposeful decisions.
Originality/value
The present study drew empirical insights into OR in the UAE’s energy sector from a resource-based theory perspective. By identifying potential vulnerabilities and implementing appropriate mitigation measures, organizations can reduce the likelihood and impact of disruptions, which can ultimately help them maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty.
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Jette Ernst, Anette Lykke Hindhede and Vibeke Andersen
The purpose of this paper is to examine, first, how social capital was crafted and transformed from a theoretical concept to an organizational tool for public sector improvement…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine, first, how social capital was crafted and transformed from a theoretical concept to an organizational tool for public sector improvement that was adopted by a Danish region and implemented in all regional hospitals. Second, the paper examines the application of social capital in one of these hospitals and, further, in a department of the hospital with the purpose of showing how it was applied by the managerial levels and responded to by the nurses of the department.
Design/methodology/approach
A Bourdieusian ethnographic approach was used for understanding the local and subjective understandings of social capital as well as the wider context in which the new tool was crafted.
Findings
Social capital as a tool for organizational improvement was constructed in a gray zone between science and consultancy. The paper demonstrates that the application of social capital in practice is connected with paradoxes because the concept is inherently ambiguous and Janus-faced in that its official representation is “soft” and voluntary with a working environment focus yet, it envelopes concealed steering intentions. These contrary working features of the concept produce a pressure on the department management and the nurses.
Originality/value
The explanatory critical framework combined with the ethnographic approach is a useful approach for theorizing and understanding social capital as an example of the emergence and consequences of new managerial tools in public organizations.