Jan Bröchner, Per Adolfsson and Marcus Johansson
The use of external providers, multiple or single, for peripheral support services has expanded during the 1990s. Thisinvestigation analyses patterns of support service…
Abstract
The use of external providers, multiple or single, for peripheral support services has expanded during the 1990s. This investigation analyses patterns of support service outsourcing against a background of industry and national differences. Questionnaires and interviews with managers of three Swedish and three UK process industry plants (chemical, newspaper and steel) show to what extent facilities management (FM) and FMrelated services were outsourced in 2000 and expectations for the next two years. Why process industries tend to rely less on outsourcing than other manufacturing industries can be partly explained by the consequences of process interruption. The UK tendency to outsource is stronger than in the Swedish cases, probably owing to stronger ties between employers and employees in the Swedish process industry. The management of skills and tacit knowledge also emerge as explanations. Lower population density in Sweden may contribute to a higher degree of integration in companies.
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Päivi Adolfsson, Pia Ek and Õie Umb Carlsson
The purpose of this paper is to investigate registered dietitians’ (RDs) experiences in consulting to adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Sweden.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate registered dietitians’ (RDs) experiences in consulting to adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Sweden.
Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive study using a study-specific web-based questionnaire was administered, comprising both multiple-choice questions with a space for comments and open-ended questions. The open-ended answers and comments from 53 respondents were analysed with systematic text condensation.
Findings
Four categories were identified: RDs’ experiences from the first meeting; explanations for late initial contact; the actions taken by RDs; and necessary measures for more sustainable nutrition care. Ten sub-categories described the challenges that RDs experience in more detail.
Practical implications
It is necessary to provide adults with ID and their supporting staff with individually tailored nutritional information. Individuals with ID must be actively involved in lifestyle changes that affect their everyday life. The RD must be included in the interdisciplinary team supporting adults with ID. If a new practice is to be implemented, it should be compatible with the existing values of adults with ID and their staff and must be feasible to implement in the everyday life of the individual.
Originality/value
This paper identified several barriers that should be overcome in relation to the preparation of RDs for consultation with adults with ID about nutritional health issues. A systematic structure, knowledge about nutrition and knowledge about adults with ID and their living situations are needed. An assessment instrument may meet health promotion needs and facilitate longitudinal follow-ups of nutritional problems.
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D. Roy Mahapatra, S. Suresh, S.N. Omkar and S. Gopalakrishnan
To develop a new method for estimation of damage configuration in composite laminate structure using acoustic wave propagation signal and a reduction‐prediction neural network to…
Abstract
Purpose
To develop a new method for estimation of damage configuration in composite laminate structure using acoustic wave propagation signal and a reduction‐prediction neural network to deal with high dimensional spectral data.
Design/methodology/approach
A reduction‐prediction network, which is a combination of an independent component analysis (ICA) and a multi‐layer perceptron (MLP) neural network, is proposed to quantify the damage state related to transverse matrix cracking in composite laminates using acoustic wave propagation model. Given the Fourier spectral response of the damaged structure under frequency band‐selective excitation, the problem is posed as a parameter estimation problem. The parameters are the stiffness degradation factors, location and approximate size of the stiffness‐degraded zone. A micro‐mechanics model based on damage evolution criteria is incorporated in a spectral finite element model (SFEM) for beam type structure to study the effect of transverse matrix crack density on the acoustic wave response. Spectral data generated by using this model is used in training and testing the network. The ICA network called as the reduction network, reduces the dimensionality of the broad‐band spectral data for training and testing and sends its output as input to the MLP network. The MLP network, in turn, predicts the damage parameters.
Findings
Numerical demonstration shows that the developed network can efficiently handle high dimensional spectral data and estimate the damage state, damage location and size accurately.
Research limitations/implications
Only numerical validation based on a damage model is reported in absence of experimental data. Uncertainties during actual online health monitoring may produce errors in the network output. Fault‐tolerance issues are not attempted. The method needs to be tested using measured spectral data using multiple sensors and wide variety of damages.
Practical implications
The developed network and estimation methodology can be employed in practical structural monitoring system, such as for monitoring critical composite structure components in aircrafts, spacecrafts and marine vehicles.
Originality/value
A new method is reported in the paper, which employs the previous works of the authors on SFEM and neural network. The paper addresses the important problem of high data dimensionality, which is of significant importance from practical engineering application viewpoint.
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Rikke Torenholt, Gitte Engelund and Ingrid Willaing
The purpose of this paper is to examine the use and applicability of cultural probes – an explorative participatory method to gain insights into a person’s life and thoughts – to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the use and applicability of cultural probes – an explorative participatory method to gain insights into a person’s life and thoughts – to achieve person-centeredness and active involvement in self-management education for people with chronic illness.
Design/methodology/approach
An education toolkit inspired by the ideas of cultural probes was developed and feasibility tested in 49 education settings in Denmark. Questionnaires, interviews, and observations were used to collect data, which were analysed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and systematic text condensation.
Findings
Educators emphasized the applicability of the toolkit, and between 69 and 82 per cent of educators reported that the toolkit supported them in facilitating person-centred education and active involvement to a high or very high degree. Most educators (81 per cent) reported that they would like to apply the toolkit again in future education to a high or very high degree. Five categories of educator experiences were identified: interaction and activity; person-centeredness; group dynamics and synergy; openness; and light and cheerful atmosphere. Educators talked significantly less in situations where the toolkit was applied. This indicates the ability of the toolkit to facilitate talk among participants and thereby let participants become the focal point of education. Applying cultural probes in patient education targeting people with chronic illness seems to be a useful method to achieve patient-centeredness and active involvement in patient education and to support educators in facilitating this process.
Originality/value
Introducing fully flexible education toolkits inspired by cultural probes may, in the future, lead to improved self-management patient education among people with chronic illness.
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Jon Bokrantz, Anders Skoogh, Torbjörn Ylipää and Johan Stahre
A common understanding of what events to regard as production disturbances (PD) are essential for effective handling of PDs. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to answer the…
Abstract
Purpose
A common understanding of what events to regard as production disturbances (PD) are essential for effective handling of PDs. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to answer the two questions: how are individuals with production or maintenance management positions in industry classifying different PD factors? Which factors are being measured and registered as PDs in the companies monitoring systems?
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal approach using a repeated cross-sectional survey design was adopted. Empirical data were collected from 80 companies in 2001 using a paper-based questionnaire, and from 71 companies in 2014 using a web-based questionnaire.
Findings
A diverging view of 21 proposed PD factors is found between respondents in manufacturing industry, and there is also a lack of correspondence with existing literature. In particular, planned events are not classified and registered to the same extent as downtime losses. Moreover, the respondents are often prone to classify factors as PDs compared to what is actually registered. This diverging view has been consistent for over a decade, and hinders companies to develop systematic and effective strategies for handling of PDs.
Originality/value
There has been no in-depth investigation, especially not from a longitudinal perspective, of the personal interpretation of PDs from people who play a central role in achieving high reliability of production systems.
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Anne S. Kelly and J. Burdeane Orris
Public education accountability rests almost exclusively with schools rather than governments. This paper explores its three dimensions: economy, efficiency, and effectiveness…
Abstract
Public education accountability rests almost exclusively with schools rather than governments. This paper explores its three dimensions: economy, efficiency, and effectiveness. Performance indicators of these dimensions were developed which facilitated testing of significant differences in means over time using analysis of variance. Only salary and wage expenditures per instruction personnel exhibited greater economy. Instructional equipment per pupil was related to increased efficiency. Several indicators suggested enhanced effectiveness. Student/teacher ratio declined and top performers in public schools improved in achievement. Graduation rate, an indicator of achievement and participation, significantly rose in recent years. In summary, several effectiveness indicators revealed encouraging trends with school accountability. The absence of government accountability was associated with limited progress in the remaining dimensions of economy and efficiency.
C. Ovrén, M. Adolfsson, B. Hök and T. Brogårdh
The rapid advances in recent years made within the field of fibre optics and opto‐electronics open up new opportunities within many areas.
Romy Chammas, Jessy El-Hayek, Mira Fatayri, Reine Makdissi and Christelle Bou-Mitri
The development and commerce of functional foods (FF) is complex, expensive and risky. Besides technological obstacles and legislative aspects, consumer demands also need to be…
Abstract
Purpose
The development and commerce of functional foods (FF) is complex, expensive and risky. Besides technological obstacles and legislative aspects, consumer demands also need to be considered. The purpose of this study is to assess the Lebanese consumer’s knowledge, attitudes and acceptance of FF and functional ingredients.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study recruited a convenience sample of adults living in Mount Lebanon in 2015. An interviewer-based questionnaire assessed socio-demographic factors, medical status, consumption and knowledge of FF and FI ingredients. The data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences.
Findings
Out of 251 respondents, 40.6 and 32.0 per cent were knowledgeable about FF and FI, respectively, and 67.3 per cent consumed them. Calcium (48.0 per cent) and omega-3 (38.6 per cent) were identified as the most important FI. The consumption of FF was mainly owing to their nutritional benefits beyond basic nutrition (44.2 per cent); however, fearing artificial additives and their side effects (33.4 per cent) were reasons for rejecting them. FF knowledge was higher among young (p = 0.005) and single individuals (p = 0.002) and those going to the gym (p = 0.001), whereas willingness to learn about them was only associated with higher education (p < 0.001). Prebiotic yogurt consumption was higher among gym visitors (p = 0.017) and knowers of FF (p < 0.001). The consumption of protein bars and shakes was higher among males and those going to the gym (p < 0.001). The consumption of cereal bars was higher among young individuals, single, with high income, going to the gym and knowledgeable about FF (p < 0.05).
Originality/value
The findings are useful for market orientation, development and successfully negotiating new market opportunities of FF for both food industries and policymakers.
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Young people in rural areas often face barriers when accessing participation opportunities in their municipalities. This affects their voices being heard and their ability to…
Abstract
Young people in rural areas often face barriers when accessing participation opportunities in their municipalities. This affects their voices being heard and their ability to create change. Even though almost half the world’s population lives in rural areas, rural young people’s activism is often overlooked in the literature. In addition, when young people’s activism is explored in empirical research, conceptualisations of activism and methods are often not tailored to rural areas. This chapter, thus, adds to our understanding of young people’s activism in rural municipalities by drawing on a mixed methods case study including thirteen focus groups (FGs; n = 35) and a questionnaire (n = 106) with young people aged 13–17, and semi-structured interviews (n = 11) with teachers from one secondary school in a rural municipality in Germany. Five of the FGs were conducted and analysed by Year 10 students, adding unique insights into participants’ experience of activism. In this chapter, activism is conceptualised as one of the multiple dimensions of citizenship. Activism includes demanding systemic change, individually or collectively, which may include refusing to do things, aiming to prevent laws, raising awareness, and making consumer choices. Rather than being full-time activists, the young people in this study were engaged in only a few forms of activism, often carried out ad-hoc, part-time and in connection with other citizenship activities such as volunteering. Spaces for activism included online, the local municipality, everyday spaces such as the supermarket, and school. Participants experienced multiple barriers when engaging in activism including narratives of non-activist young people, age restrictions, power imbalances and few opportunities for creating change, particularly at participants’ school and in their municipalities.
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Babruvahan Pandurang Ronge and Prashant Maruti Pawar
– This paper aims to focus on the stochastic analysis of composite rotor blades with matrix cracking in forward flight condition.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to focus on the stochastic analysis of composite rotor blades with matrix cracking in forward flight condition.
Design/methodology/approach
The effect of matrix cracking and uncertainties are introduced to the aeroelastic analysis through the cross-sectional stiffness properties obtained using thin-walled beam formulation, which is based on a mixed force and a displacement method. Forward flight analysis is carried out using an aeroelastic analysis methodology developed for composite rotor blades based on the finite element method in space and time. The effects of matrix cracking are introduced through the changes in the extension, extension-bending and bending matrices of composites, whereas the effect of uncertainties are introduced through the stochastic properties obtained from previous experimental and analytical studies.
Findings
The stochastic behavior of helicopter hub loads, blade root forces and blade tip responses are obtained for different crack densities. Further, assuming the behavior of progressive damage in same beam is measurable as compared to its undamaged state, the stochastic behaviors of delta values of various measurements are studied. From the stochastic analysis of forward flight behavior of composite rotor blades at various matrix cracking levels, it is observed that the histograms of these behaviors get mixed due to uncertainties. This analysis brings out the parameters which can be used for effective prediction of matrix cracking level under various uncertainties.
Practical implications
The behavior is useful for the development of a realistic online matrix crack prediction system.
Originality/value
Instead of introducing the white noise in the simulated data for testing the robustness of damage prediction algorithm, a systematic approach is developed to model uncertainties along with damage in forward flight simulation.