P.M. Leplat, B. Lemaire‐Semail, S. Clenet and F. Piriou
Proposes to compare two models ‐ finite element method and “magnetic” equivalent scheme ‐ for numerical modelling of electromagnetic systems. Both these approaches coupled with…
Abstract
Proposes to compare two models ‐ finite element method and “magnetic” equivalent scheme ‐ for numerical modelling of electromagnetic systems. Both these approaches coupled with electric circuit equations take into account saturation effects. Uses a machine of 5.5kW as a model to show the validity of these approaches. Compares the results obtained from numerical calculation with experimental ones.
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Ebenezer Adaku, Nii A. Ankrah and Issaka E. Ndekugri
The prevention through design (PtD) initiative places a duty on designers to originate designs that are inherently safe for construction, maintenance, occupation and demolition…
Abstract
Purpose
The prevention through design (PtD) initiative places a duty on designers to originate designs that are inherently safe for construction, maintenance, occupation and demolition. In the UK, legislation has been introduced creating a new statutory role called the principal designer (PD) to ensure that PtD occurs during the design process. To realize this objective, PDs under the regulations must have appropriate skills, knowledge and experience (SKE) of occupational safety and health risks as they relate to construction products. However, there is a paucity of knowledge, in the extant literature and in practice, regarding what specifically constitutes PDs’ SKE of PtD and how to measure the same.
Design/methodology/approach
The study undertook a systematic review of meanings of SKE and carried out content analyses to provide robust conceptualizations of the constructs SKE. This underpinned the development of nomological networks to operationalize the constructs SKE in respect of PDs’ ability to ensure PtD.
Findings
PDs’ SKE of PtD are presented as multidimensional constructs that can be operationalized at different levels of specificity in three theoretical models.
Practical implications
The models indicated in this study can assist project clients to clarify the PtD SKE of prospective PDs in the procurement process. Correspondingly, PDs can look to these frameworks to identify their SKE gaps and take steps to address them.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the PtD literature by providing theoretical frameworks to clarify the PtD SKE of PDs. The study provides a basis for future research to empirically test the attributes of these as they relate to PDs’ competence to ensure PtD.
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Prashanth Rajivan, Pablo Moriano, Timothy Kelley and L. Jean Camp
The purpose of this study is to identify factors that determine computer and security expertise in end users. They can be significant determinants of human behaviour and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify factors that determine computer and security expertise in end users. They can be significant determinants of human behaviour and interactions in the security and privacy context. Standardized, externally valid instruments for measuring end-user security expertise are non-existent.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire encompassing skills and knowledge-based questions was developed to identify critical factors that constitute expertise in end users. Exploratory factor analysis was applied on the results from 898 participants from a wide range of populations. Cluster analysis was applied to characterize the relationship between computer and security expertise. Ordered logistic regression models were applied to measure efficacy of the proposed security and computing factors in predicting user comprehension of security concepts: phishing and certificates.
Findings
There are levels to peoples’ computer and security expertise that could be reasonably measured and operationalized. Four factors that constitute computer security-related skills and knowledge are, namely, basic computer skills, advanced computer skills, security knowledge and advanced security skills, and these are identified as determinants of computer expertise.
Practical implications
Findings from this work can be used to guide the design of security interfaces such that it caters to people with different expertise levels and does not force users to exercise more cognitive processes than required.
Originality/value
This work identified four factors that constitute security expertise in end users. Findings from this work were integrated to propose a framework called Security SRK for guiding further research on security expertise. This work posits that security expertise instrument for end user should measure three cognitive dimensions: security skills, rules and knowledge.
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Om P. Kharbanda and Ernest A. Stallworthy
In the continuing endeavour to work towards ever better management,experience plays a crucial role. We learn from success, but we can learnmuch more from failure. Further, it is…
Abstract
In the continuing endeavour to work towards ever better management, experience plays a crucial role. We learn from success, but we can learn much more from failure. Further, it is far better and cheaper when we learn from other people′s failures rather than our own. This monograph assesses the requirements of project management in relation to industrial projects, illustrating the factors that can result in failure by means of a series of case studies of completed and abandoned projects worldwide that have failed in one way or another. The key roles played by project planning and project cost control in meeting and overcoming the practical problems in the management of industrial projects are examined in detail. In conclusion the lessons that can be learned are evaluated and presented, so that we may listen and learn – if only we will.
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Based on the belief that it is behaviour which constitutes risk rather than procedures, the paper focuses on the awareness of behavioural aspects in risk management techniques and…
Abstract
Based on the belief that it is behaviour which constitutes risk rather than procedures, the paper focuses on the awareness of behavioural aspects in risk management techniques and the consequences that arise out of this awareness. It questions the traditional thinking that risk management is predominantly a set of procedures in the control of risk. The paper also considers the part played by public policy in managing risk and changing behaviour. The paper concludes that it is behaviour, and not the set of procedures, which is the risky factor; therefore in risk management there is need to focus on developing human behaviour that is capable of being flexible in an event.
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Patricia Hornby‐Atkinson and Susan Hornby
Historically the profession of information work has been related to the collections or where they are stored, for example, librarians worked in libraries; today this idea is…
Abstract
Historically the profession of information work has been related to the collections or where they are stored, for example, librarians worked in libraries; today this idea is becoming more complex and is changing and developing. Information work is more about a process, the collection, dissemination and utilisation of information and knowledge.
Annie Goudeaux and Germain Poizat
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the professional activity development of prop makers. These professionals are responsible for creating a huge variety of objects for the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the professional activity development of prop makers. These professionals are responsible for creating a huge variety of objects for the stage, ranging from furniture and soft furnishings to weapons, statues, jewelry and animated models. A feature of the work is to create objects that are new almost every time. In Western Switzerland, there is neither initial training nor continuing education for the profession of prop maker. Therefore the aim of this study is to better understand the professional practices and informal learning of prop makers at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
Design/methodology/approach
Given their interest in the details of how work is learned and carried out, the authors used ethnographic methods to study the prop makers' working practices. These methods place an emphasis on the detailed observation of practices through intensive, long-term involvement. The fieldwork began in November 2005 and ended in May 2007. This period was organized into three phases articulating direct observation and participant observation. The data were processed according to the methodology of grounded theory. Theoretical sensitivity came from a number of sources; however, French-speaking ergonomics, and particularly the course-of-action theoretical framework, have largely determined our conception of activity and workplace learning.
Findings
The results allowed the authors to identify the core of a substantive theory of prop makers' activity and self-construction. Three components formed the core of this theory: conservation, invention, and distribution (CID). These three components are essential to understanding how prop makers are able to achieve, maintain and develop professional expertise both individually and collectively in the near total absence of initial and ongoing training and in a context of constant demand for high technical performance.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the limitations of this study and the need for caution, the study seems to have two main implications. First, it leads to the reaxamination of the concept of informal learning and to assume the self-constructive dimension of activity. Second, it encourages studies to question the triple developmental process: technical, individual, and collective. Further studies are needed to better understand the triple process of individuation (technical, individual and collective) that operates in work situations and to test the heuristic power of this notion to account for learning and development in the workplace.
Originality/value
The originality of this work is to address the issue of professional development in relation to the work of Simondon Gilbert on technical invention and his theory of individuation.
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Didier Jourdan, Carine Simar, Christine Deasy, Graça S. Carvalho and Patricia Mannix McNamara
Health and education are inextricably linked. Health promotion sits somewhat uncomfortably within schools, often remaining a marginal aspect of teachers’ work. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Health and education are inextricably linked. Health promotion sits somewhat uncomfortably within schools, often remaining a marginal aspect of teachers’ work. The purpose of this paper is to examine the compatibility of an HP-initiative with teacher professional identity.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research design was adopted consisting of semi-structured interviews. In total, 49 teachers in two school districts in the Auvergne region in central France were interviewed in depth post having completed three years’ involvement in a health promoting schools initiative called “Learning to Live Better Together” (“Apprendre a Mieux Vivre Ensemble”).
Findings
Teachers in the study had a broad conceptualisation of their role in health promotion. In keeping with international trends, there was more success at classroom than at whole school level. While generally teachers can be reluctant to engage with health promotion, the teachers in this study identified having little difficulty in understanding their professional identity as health promoters and identified strong compatibility with the HP-initiative.
Practical implications
Teachers generally viewed professional development in health promotion in a positive light when its underlying values were commensurate with their own and when the context was seen as compatible with the school mission. The promotion of health in schools needs to be sensitive to professional identity and be tailored specifically to blend more successfully with current teacher identity and practice.
Originality/value
The promotion of health in schools needs to be sensitive to professional identity and be tailored specifically to blend more successfully with current teacher identity and practice.