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1 – 10 of over 6000This chapter gives one version of the recent history of evaluation case study. It looks back over the emergence of case study as a sociological method, developed in the early…
Abstract
This chapter gives one version of the recent history of evaluation case study. It looks back over the emergence of case study as a sociological method, developed in the early years of the 20th Century and celebrated and elaborated by the Chicago School of urban sociology at Chicago University, starting throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Some of the basic methods, including constant comparison, were generated at that time. Only partly influenced by this methodological movement, an alliance between an Illinois-based team in the United States and a team at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom recast the case method as a key tool for the evaluation of social and educational programmes.
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Mohamed Osman Shereif Mahdi Abaker, Lindsey Kemp, Boo Yun Cho and Louise Patterson
The purpose of this article was to investigate the employee perceptions of diversity management and employee performance. To achieve this, employee respondents’ perceptions and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article was to investigate the employee perceptions of diversity management and employee performance. To achieve this, employee respondents’ perceptions and perspectives have been tested, and findings are discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
To address this study's purpose, survey data were collected from 250 employees of two organizations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Data were analyzed by age, gender and nationality for two variables: diversity management and employee performance.
Findings
Results showed that respondents perceived an improvement in employee performance when diversity was managed for employees of different age groups, females/males working together and a workplace composed of employees from various nationalities.
Research limitations/implications
The implication of this limited study is that further studies on the perception of diversity management for employee performance in the Middle East region needs to be conducted. The social implication is that organizational leaders can initiate diversity management to improve employee performance. The research is limited by the geographical context and access to the collection of data during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Social implications
The implication of this limited study is that further studies on the perception of diversity management for employee performance in the Middle East region needs to be conducted. The social implication is that organizational leaders can initiate diversity management to improve employee performance.
Originality/value
The contribution to academic knowledge from this research is two-fold: findings from a novel study conducted in the Middle East evidenced diversity management improved perceptions of employee performance. The value of the study for praxis is to incorporate employees' belief in diversity management for its potential to improve employee performance.
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Mads Hvilshøj, Simon Bøgh, Oluf Skov Nielsen and Ole Madsen
The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the interdisciplinary research field, autonomous industrial mobile manipulation (AIMM), with an emphasis on physical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the interdisciplinary research field, autonomous industrial mobile manipulation (AIMM), with an emphasis on physical implementations and applications.
Design/methodology/approach
Following an introduction to AIMM, this paper investigates the missing links and gaps between the research and developments efforts and the real‐world application requirements, in order to bring the AIMM technology from laboratories to manufacturing environments. The investigation is based on 12 general application requirements for robotics: sustainability, configuration, adaptation, autonomy, positioning, manipulation and grasping, robot‐robot interaction, human‐robot interaction, process quality, dependability, and physical properties.
Findings
The concise yet comprehensive review provides both researchers (academia) and practitioners (industry) with a quick and gentle overview of AIMM. Furthermore, the paper identifies key open issues and promising research directions to realize real‐world integration and maturation of the AIMM technology.
Originality/value
This paper reviews the interdisciplinary research field, autonomous industrial mobile manipulation (AIMM).
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Mads Hvilshøj, Simon Bøgh, Oluf Skov Nielsen and Ole Madsen
The purpose of this paper is to present experience from a real‐world demonstration of autonomous industrial mobile manipulation (AIMM) based on the mobile manipulator “Little…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present experience from a real‐world demonstration of autonomous industrial mobile manipulation (AIMM) based on the mobile manipulator “Little Helper” performing multiple part feeding at the pump manufacturer Grundfos A/S.
Design/methodology/approach
The necessary AIMM technologies exist at a mature level – the reason that no mobile manipulators have yet been implemented in industrial environments, is that research in the right applications have not been carried out. The paper proposes a pragmatic approach consisting of: a commercial‐off‐the‐shelf (COTS) mobile manipulator system design (“Little Helper”), a suitable and comprehensive industrial application (multiple part feeding), and a general implementation concept for industrial environments (the “Bartender Concept”).
Findings
Results from the three days of real‐world demonstration show that “Little Helper” is capable of successfully servicing four part feeders in three production cells using command signals from an Open Process Control (OPC) server. Furthermore, the paper presents future research and development suggestions for AIMM, which contributes to near‐term industrial maturation and implementation.
Originality/value
The paper presents a full‐scale demonstration of a state‐of‐the‐art COTS autonomous mobile manipulator system with particular focus on industrial utilization and application.
Petra Tenbült, Nanne K. de Vries, Ellen Dreezens and Carolien Martijn
New food technologies are of increasing importance but not a lot of research into how people react to these technologies has been conducted. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
New food technologies are of increasing importance but not a lot of research into how people react to these technologies has been conducted. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into how implicit measurements in addition to explicit measurements give insight into how well an attitude towards a food concept, in relation to its familiarity, is predictive for behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
An implicit measurement (EAST) and an explicit questionnaire were used to investigate people's attitudes and attitude strength towards two food technologies (genetic modification and organic production). Correlations between the two measurements were calculated to determine whether familiar food technologies are more predictive for behaviour than relatively unfamiliar food technologies.
Findings
Implicit measurements showed negative associations with genetic modification. Explicit measurements showed neutral associations with genetic modification. In contrast, implicit and explicit measurements showed positive associations with organic production. When a food technology is well known (e.g. organic production), significant correlations between the two measurements were present suggesting that attitudes were predictive for behaviour. In contrast, when a food technology is not well known (e.g. genetic modification), significant correlations were not present suggesting that attitudes were not predictive for behaviour.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine the relation between intuitive and explicit reactions in relation with the novelty of food technologies.
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Explains the problems and opportunities created by the production of gas by decomposition in landfill sites. Describes the infrared and electrochemical methods by which gas can be…
Abstract
Explains the problems and opportunities created by the production of gas by decomposition in landfill sites. Describes the infrared and electrochemical methods by which gas can be detected and the typical manner in which these methods are applied. Also describes a PC‐controlled programmable sample system from Crowcon, which is designed for use in landfill sites.
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