bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Daily intake of a formulated tomato drink affects carotenoid plasma and lymphocyte concentrations and improves cellular antioxidant protection
Authors: Porrini Marisa , Riso Patrizia , Brusamolino Antonella , Berti Cristiana , Guarnieri Serena , Visioli Francesco
Published: February 2005

The salutary characteristics of the tomato are normally related to its content of carotenoids, especially lycopene, and other antioxidants. Our purpose was to verify whether the daily intake of a beverage prototype called Lyc-o-Mato® containing a natural tomato extract (Lyc-o-Mato® oleoresin 6 %) was able to modify plasma and lymphocyte carotenoid concentrations, particularly those of lycopene, phytoene, phytofluene and β-carotene, and to evaluate whether this intake was sufficient to improve protection against DNA damage in lymphocytes. In a double-blind, cross-over study, twenty-six healthy subjects consumed 250 ml of the drink daily, providing about 6 mg lycopene, 4 mg phytoene, 3 mg phytofluene, 1 mg β-carotene and 1·8 mg α-tocopherol, or a placebo drink. Treatments were separated by a wash-out period. Plasma and lymphocyte carotenoid and α-tocopherol concentrations were determined by HPLC, and DNA damage by the comet assay. After 26 d of consumption of the drink, plasma carotenoid levels increased significantly: concentrations of lycopene were 1·7-fold higher (P<0·0001); of phytofluene were 1·6-fold higher (P<0·0001); of phytoene were doubled (P<0·0005); of β-carotene were 1·3-fold higher (P<0·05). Lymphocyte carotenoid concentrations also increased significantly: that of lycopene doubled (P<0·001); that of phytofluene was 1·8-fold higher (P<0·005); that of phytoene was 2·6-fold higher (P<0·005); that of β-carotene was 1·5-fold higher (P<0·01) In contrast, the α-tocopherol concentration remained nearly constant. The intake of the tomato drink significantly reduced (by about 42 %) DNA damage (P<0·0001) in lymphocytes subjected to oxidative stress. In conclusion, the present study supports the fact that a low intake of carotenoids from tomato products improves cell antioxidant protection.
Strategic approaches to digital libraries and virtual learning environments (VLEs)
Authors: Joint Nicholas
Published: February 2005

Purpose

Argues that the successful introduction of digital libraries in the 1990s has important lessons for the successful implementation of e‐learning strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

An opinion piece based on current and recent trends in digital library and e‐learning development.

Findings

Pragmatic information strategies have important parallels with potentially effective strategies for introducing VLEs. Information strategies were marketed as tools for pursuing more efficient ways of conducting existing forms of research and teaching. Initially, e‐learning platforms may well be best marketed as tools for facilitating existing forms of teaching carried out with transmission‐based pedagogies.

Research limitations/implications

An expression of belief about what may prove to be likely methods for implementing virtual teaching and learning tools. Offers potential for exploration via more in‐depth research.

Practical implications

Offers a concrete strategy for successfully implementing in everyday academic teaching practice, and bases this firmly in the lessons to be learned from practice in library and information management.

Originality/value

The suggestion that by taking a pragmatic approach to the introduction of virtual teaching and learning tools, one based on the acceptability of existing pedagogic practice, many of the more “blue skies” ambitions of e‐learning may be eventually achieved, thereby encouraging deep‐seated and long‐lasting changes in educational delivery.
The paradox of using tacit and explicit knowledge
Authors: Jasimuddin Sajjad M. , Klein Jonathan H. , Connell Con
Published: February 2005

Purpose

This paper contrasts two perspectives on the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge: on the one hand, the perspective that categorises knowledge as belonging to either one or the other class; and, on the other hand, the perspective that views knowledge type as a graded continuum.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explores the extensive literature on the topic, and from this literature engages in conceptual development.

Findings

The paper adopts the view that the continuum perspective, in which knowledge in a particular context has both tacit and explicit characteristics, is of particular value when considering the knowledge strategy of an organisation. Whereas the former perspective presents a well‐known dilemma, the continuum perspective permits the specification of a strategy in which the advantages of both tacit and explicit knowledge can, in principle, be obtained. One such strategy might be one that renders organisational knowledge as internally explicit, but externally tacit.

Originality/value

The paper develops a view of the explicit/tacit dilemma that leads to a possible way forward in resolving the dilemma for organisations.
Dealing with the uncertainties of environmental change by adding scenario planning to the strategy reformulation equation
Authors: Walsh Philip R.
Published: February 2005

Purpose

This paper serves to discuss the benefit of applying scenario‐planning techniques to more traditional approaches to strategy development in helping firms deal with uncertainty and evolutionary change in their surrounding environment. Assessing this environment provides insight into the unique changes, the implications these changes have on a firm's strategies, and the creation of special techniques required to understand them. One of these special techniques is scenario planning. Any study of the relationship between strategy, environment and performance must include variables that involve business scope and resource commitments.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of the research literature on the use and benefits of both the traditional approaches and the scenario approach to constructing the future strategy of a firm in a changing environment is undertaken.

Findings

The results suggest that a better understanding of the performance of firms within a changed environment can be achieved using the combination of a PESTEL analysis, internal resource analysis and the use of scenarios. This reformulation equation creates a model of a possible environment in which the firm must operate and an investigation of the strategic implications of various scenarios to the firm.

Originality/value

This paper is unique in that it marries the traditional approaches to strategy development with the application of scenario planning. It is of benefit to managers and strategic planners by illustrating how a firm may better develop insight into how it should formulate and implement its strategy in order to retain or create a competitive advantage in the changed environment in which it operates.
Strategic alliances and models of collaboration
Authors: Todeva Emanuela , Knoke David
Published: February 2005

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to engage in a comprehensive review of the research on strategic alliances in the last decade.

Design/methodology/approach

After presenting a typology of diverse alliance governance forms, reviews recent analyses of alliance formation, implementation management, and performance outcomes of collaborative activities.

Findings

Strategic alliances developed and propagated as formalized interorganizational relationships. These cooperative arrangements represent new organizational formation that seeks to achieve organizational objectives better through collaboration than through competition.

Practical implications

The paper provides future research directions on partner selection, networks patterns and processes, understanding the integration in alliances through fusion, fission, and how to manage developmental dynamics.

Originality/value

Concludes with some future directions for theory construction and empirical research.
A correlation of servant leadership, leader trust, and organizational trust
Authors: Joseph Errol E. , Winston Bruce E.
Published: February 2005

Purpose

Aims to explore the relationship between employee perceptions of servant leadership and leader trust, as well as organizational trust.

Design/methodology.approach

Uses Laub's Organizational Leadership Assessment along with Nyhan and Marlowe's Organizational Trust Inventory.

Findings

Perceptions of servant leadership correlated positively with both leader trust and organizational trust. The study also found that organizations perceived as servant‐led exhibited higher levels of both leader trust and organizational trust than organizations perceived as non‐servant‐led.

Originality/value

The findings lend support to Greenleaf's view that servant leadership is an antecedent of leader and organizational trust, and to aspects of other servant leadership models.
Leadership style
Authors: Yu Hui‐Chun , Miller Peter
Published: February 2005

Purpose

Western researchers have concluded that generational groups of workers have different work characteristics and prefer different leadership styles. This paper investigates whether Western research applies equally to generational groups in Taiwan's workplaces, specifically in the higher education sector and manufacturing industry.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 20 higher education institutions and 148 manufacturing SMEs in machinery manufacturing in Taipei were identified. After operational definitions for constructs were defined, a questionnaire was developed and administered. After data had been processed through editing, coding and tabulation, a statistical technique was selected where research expectation tests could be conducted. In order to test construct validity, factor analysis was also performed. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to test for any significant differences between the variables under investigation.

Findings

The research shows that generational groups in manufacturing industry have different work characteristics and require different leadership styles, while there were no differences in work characteristics and preferred leadership style for generational groups in the education sector.

Originality/value

The results of this research provide some direction for leaders and researchers. Leaders should recognise the different work characteristics between generational groups and apply leadership styles that will positively contribute to employee motivation.
Shadow delivers first hand
Authors: Kochan Anna
Published: February 2005

Purpose

To provide a concise briefing on a robot hand.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is to present briefly the development and features of a robot hand by the Shadow Robot Company for one of its customers.

Findings

Finds that the robot hand replicates the characteristics of a human hand as far as possible, being of a similar size with the same balance of strength and movement.

Originality/value

The paper provides information of value to those interested in developments in the robotics industries.
Optimum gripper using ant colony intelligence
Authors: Abu Zitar R.A.
Published: February 2005

Purpose

The problem of estimating the minimum forces extracted by robot fingers on the surface of a grasped rigid object is very crucial to guarantee the stability of the grip without causing defect or damage to the grasped object. Solving this problem is investigated in this paper. Moreover, the optimum sets of parameters used to tune the algorithm are also studied here.

Design/methodology/approach

Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), which is a swarm intelligence‐based method, is used in this work to solve this problem. The problem under scope is a complex, constraint optimization problem. We develop our own approach to calculate those minimum forces. Ants ability to reorganize and behave collectively is modelled here. The required forces are a result of the final ants distribution around the fingers contact points. Ants move from contact point to another following the maximum pheromone level direction until they settle on a solution that accomplishes the given criteria. Ants number on a contact point constitutes the total force exerted by a finger on that contact point. The process is repeated until optimum solution is found. Simulations are repeated to track down most suitable ACO parameters for this type of problems and with different fingers configurations.

Findings

The results show that ACO can find optimum fingers forces for grasping rigid objects. These objects could be any polygon with or without friction between the fingers tips and the object surface. The method is computationally acceptable and can be applied with different fingers configurations and with different friction coefficients. We found that the optimal set of parameters used to tune ACO is independent of the initial number of ants on each location.

Originality/value

In this paper we present a very original, new, and interesting technique used to solve the optimum grasping forces of rigid objects. It is a well‐known fact that standard optimization techniques have their own requirements and limitations. This technique is based on swarm intelligence. This work opens the door for further investigations on how nature based methods can be used to solve complex problems. ACO offers a simple, yet structure approach to solve nonlinear constraint optimization problems.
Spatial grasp synthesis for complex objects using model‐based simulation
Authors: Liu Yanbin , Starr Gregory , Wood John , Lumia Ron
Published: February 2005

Purpose

Selection of an effective grasp of a complex object using a multifingered gripper is a challenging problem because of the many possible grasp positions that are typically available.

Design/methodology/approach

Given the geometrical description of the particular object feature to be grasped, all feasible grasps are performed in offline simulation using a geometrically accurate model of the desired gripper. The six‐dimensional convex hull for each grasp is computed and archived. This convex hull indicates the span of forces and torques that the grasp can resist. When a grasp is needed the force/torque due to the total object weight is estimated and the best grasp is selected. The selected grasp has minimum peak contact force consistent with equilibrium.

Findings

Experimental trials with several complex object show the method is capable of producing grasps which can support the object and resist external force/torque.

Research limitations/implications

An accurate geometrical description of the feature to be grasped must be known in advance. This would typically be a cylindrical or prismatic portion of the object.

Practical implications

There are many environments in which a dexterous multifingered gripper must be used due to the variety of objects which must be grasped. The results indicate that effective grasps can be selected for complex objects from a database of simulated grasps.

Originality/value

The primary contribution of this paper is the use of a database of simulated grasps on simple graspable features to synthesize grasps on complex objects.
Fixture‐based industrial robot calibration for silicon wafer handling
Authors: Tao Zhang Mike , Goldberg Ken
Published: February 2005

Purpose

Semiconductor manufacturing industry requires highly accurate robot operation with short install/setup downtime.

Design/methodology/approach

We develop a fast, low cost and easy‐to‐operate calibration system for wafer‐handling robots. The system is defined by a fixture and a simple compensation algorithm. Given robot repeatability, end effector uncertainties, and the tolerance requirements of wafer placement points, we derive fixture design and placement specifications based on a statistical tolerance model.

Findings

By employing the fixture‐based calibration, we successfully relax the tolerance requirement of the end effector by 20 times.

Originality/value

Semiconductor manufacturing requires fast and easy‐to‐operate calibration systems for wafer‐handling robots. In this paper, we describe a new methodology to solve this problem using fixtures. We develop fixture design criteria and a simple compensate algorithm to satisfy calibration requirements. We also verify our approach by a physical example.
Tactile sensing in intelligent robotic manipulation – a review
Authors: Tegin Johan , Wikander Jan
Published: February 2005

Purpose

When designing hardware and algorithms for robotic manipulation and grasping, sensory information is typically needed to control the grasping process. This paper presents an overview of the major grasping and manipulation approaches and the more common hardware used to obtain the necessary sensory information.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents an overview of tactile sensing in intelligent robotic manipulation. The history, the common issues, and applications are reviewed. Sensor performance is briefly discussed and compared to the human tactile sense. Advantages and disadvantages of the most common sensor approaches are discussed. Some examples are given of sensors that are widely available as of today. Eventually, some examples of the state‐of‐the‐art in tactile sensing application are presented.

Findings

Although many sensor technologies and strong theoretical models have been developed, there is still much left to be done in intelligent grasping and manipulation. This is partly due to the youth of the field and the complex nature of safe control in uncertain environments. Even though there are impressive results when it comes to specific examples of advanced manipulation, there seems to be room for great improvements of hardware and especially algorithms when it comes to more generic everyday domestic tasks.

Originality/value

This paper presents a review of sensor hardware while also giving a glimpse of the major topics in grasping and manipulation. While better hardware of course is desirable, the major challenges seem to lie in the development and application of grasping and manipulation algorithms.
Evaluation of UK car insurance brokers’ web sites: some preliminary findings
Authors: Li Shuliang , Holeckova Klara
Published: February 2005

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to: determine which criteria of the car insurance brokers' web sites are important or unimportant; establish how well those criteria are presented on the car insurance brokers’ web sites; and find out whether the consumer’s final decision to purchase the product is influenced by the web sites' characteristics, the price, etc.

Design/methodology/approach

The evaluation method employed in this study is the extended web assessment method (EWAM), which is an evaluation tool specifically created for the assessment of electronic commerce applications. A double questionnaire survey has been undertaken to collect data from 28 finance advisers in an independent financial advisory firm in the UK.

Findings

The preliminary findings suggest that the majority of the assessed web site criteria fall in the categories of “maintain strategy” and “no immediate improvement necessary” with certain web site features considered as “strategic overkill” or “improvement necessary”. It is also found that the web sites are utilised as a tool for shopping around for quotes but the final purchase would be made by most consumers via the telephone.

Research limitations/implications

It is important to mention that an empirical study with a sample of 28 insurance advisers in one financial advisory company can only reflect a limited picture of current practice in the UK car insurance brokers market. Therefore, the findings reported in this paper are tentative and preliminary. To test or confirm relevant findings reported here, further evaluation work with a larger number of assessors having different backgrounds may be necessary.

Practical implications

While the majority of the assessed web site criteria fall in the “maintain strategy” and “no immediate improvement necessary” fields, efforts should be made by practitioners to improve site maps, site search, and insurers’ details for quotes.

Originality/value

This paper provides useful information for UK car insurance brokers and web sites developers.
Logistics information systems
Authors: Helo Petri , Szekely Bulcsu
Published: February 2005

Purpose

To review the development of software applications and their functionalities/benefits in relation to supply chain management and present scenarios on future development.

Design/methodology/approach

A range of recently published academic and non‐academic pieces of work that can be classified as pertinent to the area in question. These sources employ both theoretical and practical views on the topic of supply chain co‐ordination software and related functionalities and resulted benefits.

Findings

There is a significant overlap regarding the functionalities of software applications and the trend of convergence is about to intensify. At the same time the need for real time information will become crucial, putting emphasis on flexible IT‐systems that can deal with large amounts of data and are easy to interconnect. In turn this will lead to the growing importance of system integration software and the process of creating standards.

Research limitations/implications

As a result of continuous development and convergence of IT‐solutions and turbulent business environment more applied research will be needed in the area of product configuration, RFID‐technology, standards in relation to interoperability of software applications (EAI technologies). This scrutiny is based only on written resources and no consultants or manager interviews were employed. Therefore the views of companies are not presented on the issues covered.

Practical implications

The selection of the appropriate software solutions for a company will need more time, expertise and money and the role of suppliers of software packages will become more significant.

Originality/value

This scrutiny stipulates the way the functionalities of software applications evolve with overlap one another and thus helps both researchers and companies to gain a clearer view on the development of supply chain software applications.
An efficient 4‐node 24 D.O.F. thick shell finite element
with 5‐point quadrature
Authors: Groenwold Albert A. , Stander Nielen
Published: February 2005

A 4‐node flat shell quadrilateral finite
element with 6 degrees of freedom per node, denoted QC5D‐SA, is
presented. The element is an assembly of a modification of the
drilling degree of freedom membrane presented by Ibrahimbegovic
et al., and the assumed strain plate element presented by Bathe
and Dvorkin. The part of the stiffness matrix associated with
in—plane displacements and rotations is integrated over the
element domain by a modified 5‐point reduced integration scheme,
resulting in greater efficiency without the sacrifice of rank
sufficiency. The scheme produces a soft higher order deformation
mode which increases numerical accuracy. A large number of
standard benchmark problems are analyzed. Some examples show
that the effectiveness of a previously proposed “membrane
locking correction” technique is significantly reduced when
employing distorted elements. However, the element is shown to
be generally accurate and in many cases superior to existing
elements.
A dynamic explicit/rigid‐plastic finite element formulation
and its application to sheet metal forming processes
Authors: Jung D.W. , Yoo D.J. , Yang D.Y.
Published: February 2005

In the present work a rigid‐plastic finite element
formulation using a dynamic explicit time integration scheme is
proposed for numerical analysis of sheet metal forming
processes. The rigid‐plastic finite element method, based on
membrane elements, has long been employed as a useful numerical
technique for the analysis of sheet metal forming because of its
time effectiveness. The explicit scheme, in general, is based on
the elastic‐plastic modelling of material requiring large
computation time. The resort to rigid‐plastic modelling would
improve the computational efficiency, but this involves new
points of consideration such as zero energy mode instability. A
damping scheme is proposed in order to achieve a stable solution
procedure in dynamic sheet forming problems. In order to improve
the drawbacks of the conventional membrane elements, BEAM
(abbreviated from Bending Energy Augmented Membrane)
elements, are employed. Rotational damping and spring
about the drilling direction are introduced to prevent a zero
energy mode. The lumping scheme is employed for the diagonal
mass matrix and linearizing dynamic formulation. A contact
scheme is developed by combining the skew boundary condition and
a direct trial‐and‐error method. Computations are carried out
for analysis of complicated sheet metal forming processes such
as forming of an oilpan and a front fender. The numerical
results of explicit analysis are compared with the implicit
results, with good agreement, and it is shown that the explicit
scheme requires much shorter computational times, especially
when the problem becomes more complicated. It is thus shown that
the proposed dynamic explicit rigid‐plastic finite element
enables an effective computation for complicated sheet metal
processes.
Order statistics for some common hazard rate functions with an application
Authors: Pal Surajit
Published: February 2005

Purpose

The problem is to devise a life‐test acceptance procedure of an electrical item that has a Weibull failure distribution with an increasing hazard rate. The test‐bed facility has some constraints on the number of test samples and testing time.

Design/methodology/approach

The life‐test plan is obtained using censoring of experiments and the properties of order statistics. In this article, the author has derived expressions for order statistics and their moments for some commonly used hazard‐rate functions; for example, constant, linearly increasing, exponentially increasing, power function, etc. and the same is used in planning the life‐test acceptance procedure.

Findings

Results and findings are discussed in full. It is postulated that further research in this direction will definitely bring some fruitful results that have immense importance in the field of reliability analysis and life‐testing experiments.

Originality/value

The same methodology can be adopted for devising life‐test acceptance procedure using censoring of experiments.
Steady‐state modelling of basic unipolar PWM AC line matrix‐reactance choppers
Authors: Korotyeyev Igor Y. , Fedyczak Zbigniew
Published: February 2005

Purpose

Focuses on steady state modelling of basic unipolar non‐isolated PWM AC line matrix‐reactance choppers (MRC). Their single‐phase topologies are similar to well‐known basic DC/DC converter ones. The MRC are built up through the adaptation of DC/DC converter topologies, which are based on the substitution of self‐commutated unidirectional switches by bi‐directional ones.

Design/methodology/approach

Presents an approach to modelling of the MRC with averaging operator different to the one used in averaged modelling of the DC/DC converters. There is running averaging of each switching period in the proposed approach. Following this, there is a demonstration of the solutions convergence of the state space and averaged state space equations for infinitive switching frequency.

Findings

The running averaging of each switching period should be used if averaged state space method is applied to the analysis of presented choppers. A circuit averaged model build‐up procedure of the presented choppers is the same as for the DC/DC ones.

Originality/value

Presents a quantitative assessment of accuracy for the averaged models of the presented MRC for finite switching frequency.
Position control of induction motor a new‐bounded fuzzy sliding mode controller
Authors: Senol Ibrahim , Demirtas Metin , Rustemov Sabir , Gumus Bilal
Published: February 2005

Purpose

The aims of the paper are to improve the dynamic response of an induction motor based position servo system and to remove the chattering problem in the sliding mode control theory by using fuzzy logic principles. The obtained results are also compared with conventional sliding mode controller to show its performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The main method used for the research is to form a thin boundary layer neighboring the switching surface by using fuzzy logic. The sliding mode control law is inherently discontinuous naturally. Therefore, there are some difficulties such as so many switches occurring between the control bounds, which cannot be carried out by real controllers. Therefore, fuzzy logic is used in the thin boundary layer to determine the control signal current. Thus, the chattering is eliminated.

Findings

The results show that the designed controller has superior performance. But, there are also some difficulties. It is difficult to obtain fuzzy rules. The rules can be obtained by using genetic algorithms without expert's knowledge. However, sliding surface slope C can be optimized to increase system's dynamic performance.

Originality/value

A new boundary layer consisting of the fuzzy rules in the sliding mode control is formed.
Exploring the overall behaviour of solutions of recursive computational models
Authors: Hämäläinen J.S. , Aunola M. , Malm S.R.
Published: February 2005

Purpose

To determine and/or examine overall behaviour of simulation models with large input using as few parameters as possible. To introduce a methodology describing stability of the partitioning of simulation results and the corresponding parameter space.

Design/methodology/approach

Partitionings of the parameter space are performed using real‐valued mappings called measures of merit. Tools for examining evolution of partitionings and correlations between different partitionings are developed. These tools are applied in two case studies within the field of electrical engineering.

Findings

The presented approach provides tools for systematic analysis of parametrised models. Since the classification of results is based on measures of merit, a good choice both simplifies the analysis and improves the stability of partitioning. Included case studies highlight these conclusions.

Research limitations/implications

The present form of the methodology is targeted at recursive simulations. Use of more complex partitioning procedures could be the topic of further research.

Originality/value

Solid framework for handling and analysing complex parametrised simulations.
A FEM method for eddy current analysis in laminated media
Authors: Bíró Oszkár , Preis Kurt , Ticar Igor
Published: February 2005

Purpose

This paper aims at developing a computational technique to take account of the laminated nature of iron cores when computing their eddy current losses.

Design/methodology/approach

A method is presented to compute three‐dimensional eddy current distributions in laminated media by means of the finite element method. In a first step, the laminated medium is assumed to have an anisotropic conductivity with zero (or very low) value in the direction normal to the laminations. In a second step, the eddy currents within the laminates are computed by solving the quasistatic electromagnetic field individually in each sheet. In these essentially two‐dimensional analyses, the boundary conditions are taken from the three‐dimensional field distribution determined in the first step.

Findings

Comparisons with results obtained from a finite element model taking account of each laminate prove the validity of the method.

Research limitations/implications

The method is presented for linear media only. Taking account of nonlinearity is an important future topic.

Originality/value

Taking account of the laminations by treating the magnetic field distribution obtained from a homogenised model is a novelty of potential benefit to researchers developing methods of loss computation in laminated media.
The optimisation of induction heating system based on multiquadric function approximation
Authors: Zgraja Jerzy
Published: February 2005

Purpose

The investigation of the efficiency of optimisation technique based on approximation of objective function by multiquadric (MQ) function, used for induction heating devices was the aim of the paper.

Design/methodology/approach

The optimisation package based on Matlab language and using Flux2D commercial program for calculation of electromagnetic and thermal fields was built. It allows the use of different optimisation techniques for induction heating devices, e.g. based on MQ function approximation. In the paper two algorithms of approximated points generating have been tested.

Findings

The efficiency of MQ optimisation method strongly depends on the applied algorithm of approximated point generating. To ensure high efficiency of MQ optimisation method, the stochastic element of the algorithm of approximated point generating should have a significant role.

Research limitations/implications

The efficiency of elaborated algorithms of MQ function approximated point generating should be proved in other applications.

Practical implications

The efficient optimisation technique of induction heating devices has been proposed.

Originality/value

The two new algorithms for generation of MQ function approximated points have been proposed. The paper could be useful for designers of induction heating devices.
Taking donations in cyberspace
Authors: Holt Glen E. , Horn George
Published: February 2005

Purpose

To illustrate that potential donors often can have difficulty in determining how to give to libraries and offer solutions that libraries can employ to eliminate those barriers.

Design/methodology/approach

Uses real‐life examples to illustrate various ways donors can give to libraries and presents options libraries can use to make giving simple and easy.

Findings

Libraries currently under‐use the potential of online donations. This can be overcome by prominently posting donation options on the library's Web home page, and make donating to the library simple and easy.

Originality/value

Suggests options for libraries to incorporate that can simplify the online giving process.
International retail divestment activity
Authors: Alexander Nicholas , Quinn Barry , Cairns Patricia
Published: February 2005

Purpose

The research presented here initiates the process of the detailed analysis of international retail divestment activity through the identification of the volume of global divestment activity and the characteristics of that activity during the timeframe of 1987‐2003.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology followed here is essentially historical in nature and draws on a wide range of contemporary periodicals, reports and other sources.

Findings

The paper reports findings on: the form and extent of divestment activity; the year of divestment; divestment by retail sub‐sector; divested chain size; length of time spent in the market of divestment; divestment by retail sub‐sector; and the market of origin of divesting retailer.

Originality/value

This paper provides an initial indication of the volume and nature of international retail divestment in the period considered. Such material has not been available previously. International retailing research has primarily focused on the internationalisation process rather than retail divestment from international markets. However, divestment from international markets is an issue of increasing importance within the competitive global environment. Previously research into retail divestment has focused on individual company experience. For the first time, the research presented here attempts to build a picture of the scale and dimensions of international retail withdrawal. The paper shows that patterns of international divestment are discernible.
Goals, management practices, and performance of family SMEs
Authors: Kotey Bernice
Published: February 2005

Purpose

To examine differences between family and non‐family SMEs in business goals, management practices and performance as they grow.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was based on 233 small non‐family and 362 small family firms. Medium firms comprised 305 family and 341 non‐family firms. Chi‐square tests and t‐tests were used to investigate the hypotheses formulated.

Findings

Small family firms were less likely to pursue growth compared with similar non‐family firms. Although medium family proprietors desired growth, their actual growth was lower than similar non‐family firms. Management practices were less formal in family firms and the gap between family and non‐family firms in this area widened with growth. Small family firms achieved greater profits than their non‐family counterparts, although this disparity disappeared at the medium level. Exports were low for both firms at the small level. However, medium family firms were less likely than similar non‐family firms to export.

Research limitations/implications

Firms in the various size groups examined were independent of one another. A longitudinal investigation of family and non‐family firms as they progress through various growth stages should complement the findings.

Practical implications

The findings should assist policies makers, advisers, owners and management in designing policies and programs, providing advice and managing the two ownership types. Informal management procedures and the associated flexibility may enhance performance of small family firms but may impede their performance at larger sizes.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates that the relationship between goals, strategies and performance varies between family and non‐family firms and the variations change with firm size.
“It's in the way they talk”
Authors: Rigg Clare
Published: February 2005

Purpose

To illustrate methodologically and conceptually how understanding of entrepreneurial management can be enhanced through a discourse perspective which focuses on discourse as both noun and verb, encompassing discursive resources and discursive practices.

Design/methodology/approach

An ethnographic study of SME managers and their companies, which deployed a discourse perspective to managing, organising and learning. Through two case study companies the paper explores how managers' formal management learning influenced their organisation practice.

Findings

Demonstrates how significant communicative acts are to understanding a company. Illustrates how apparent organisation dysfunction might be analysed and sense made of it.

Research limitations/implications

By differentiating between discursive practice and discursive resource it shows that entrepreneurship research can be enriched through ethnographic study of both the content of communication between organisation members and their communicative practices.

Practical implications

Illustrates a method of gaining insight into dysfunctional organisational processes. Provides new ways of understanding and researching the interconnections between learning, knowledge and management in small enterprises.

Originality/value

In the small firm sector there are still few empirical discursive analyses of organization and managing. Discursive organization studies have also tended to be undervalued as “an obsession with talk” and “an intellectual luxury”. This article addresses both these gaps, both offering evidence of the practical utility of the methodological approach for advancing organisation understanding and providing a rare empirical discursive study of managing in SMEs.
Towards a definitive model of the corporate identity management process
Authors: Stuart Helen
Published: February 2005

Various writers have developed conceptual models of corporate image formation and corporate identity management. These models reflect the way in which corporate identity and corporate image have been conceptualised over the past three decades. This paper explores the significance of the various models as a rich foundation for the conceptual thinking on corporate identity, and draws from these models a more definitive model of the corporate identity management process. The model developed reflects current thinking, which places greater emphasis on organizational culture, corporate strategy, corporate communication and integrated communication. The implications for managers and consultants are discussed. A significant implication for both is that the increase in complexity of the model indicates that more variables need to be systematically taken into account when planning a corporate identity program.
The development, function and future of Compacts
Authors: Nixon Peter
Published: February 2005

Examines reasons for Britain’s economic decline and sets the context for a partnership between education and industry. Examines the benefits of a work‐invested curriculum with particular reference to the primary sector. Seeks reasons for and the consequences of the haphazard approaches that have characterized some of these links. Against this backcloth undertakes a case study to determine the content and economic concepts which might characterize a curriculum to include economic awareness. The models proposed were devised as part of the curriculum development in the author’s school explaining the process and planning of its implementation within a preconceived curriculum framework. Concludes with an appraisal of the benefits of the initiative and the wider implications of links between education and industry.
Corporate identity and corporate communications: creating a competitive advantage
Authors: Balmer John M.T. , Gray Edmund R.
Published: February 2005

Recent environmental trends are forcing senior managers to give greater import to corporate identity and corporate communications. They are discovering that conventional methods of redressing identity problems are becoming progressively less effective because, in our opinion, the traditional focus has viewed corporate identity and corporate communication as functional rather than as strategic. We suggest a much broadened view that looks at corporate communication as a three‐part system process – primary, secondary and tertiary. In many companies these three are out of balance. Primary communication should present a positive image of the company and set the stage for a strong reputation. Secondary communication should be designed to support and reinforce primary communication. Tertiary communication should be positive and result in a superior reputation if the other two stages of corporate communication are properly conceived. The authors postulate that senior managers who implement this can invest their organisation with a competitive advantage.
Worker Reciprocity and Employer Investment in Training
Authors: Leuven Edwin , Oosterbeek Hessel , Sloof Randolph , Van Klaveren Chris
Published: February 2005

Standard economic theory predicts that firms will not invest in general training and will underinvest in specific training. Empirical evidence, however, indicates that firms do invest in general training of their workers. Evidence from laboratory experiments points to less underinvestment in specific training than theory predicts. We propose a simple model in which a firm invests the socially optimal amounts in general and specific training if the worker is sufficiently motivated by reciprocity. A reciprocal worker may be willing to give the firm a full return on its investment. We present empirical evidence that supports the proposed mechanism. Workers with a high sensitivity to reciprocity have 15% higher training rates than workers with a low sensitivity to reciprocity.
End‐to‐side nerve repair in the upper extremity of rat
Authors: Bontioti Eleana , Kanje Martin , Lundborg Göran , Dahlin Lars B.
Published: February 2005

Abstract  The end‐to‐side nerve‐repair technique, i.e., when the distal end of an injured nerve is attached end‐to‐side to an intact nerve trunk in an attempt to attract nerve fibers by collateral sprouting, has been used clinically. The technique has, however, been questioned. The aim of the present study was to investigate end‐to‐side repair in the upper extremity of rats with emphasis on functional recovery, source, type, and extent of regenerating fibers. End‐to‐side repair was used in the upper limb, and the radial or both median/ulnar nerves were attached end‐to‐side to the musculocutaneous nerve. Pawprints and tetanic muscle force were used to evaluate functional recovery during a 6‐month recovery period, and double retrograde labeling was used to detect the source of the regenerated nerve fibers. The pawprints showed that, in end‐to‐side repair of either one or two recipient nerves, there was a recovery of toe spreading to 60–72% of the preoperative value (lowest value around 47%). Electrical stimulation of the end‐to‐side attached radial or median/ulnar nerves 6 months after repair resulted in contraction of muscles in the forearm innervated by these nerves (median tetanic muscle force up to 70% of the contralateral side). Retrograde labeling showed that both myelinated (morphometry) sensory and motor axons were recruited to the end‐to‐side attached nerve and that these axons emerged from the motor and sensory neuronal pool of the brachial plexus. Double retrograde labeling indicated that collateral sprouting was one mechanism by which regeneration occurred. We also found that two recipient nerves could be supported from a single donor nerve. Our results suggest that end‐to‐side repair may be one alternative to reconstruct a brachial plexus injury when no proximal nerve end is available.
An alternative tandem affinity purification strategy applied to Arabidopsis protein complex isolation
Authors: Rubio Vicente , Shen Yunping , Saijo Yusuke , Liu Yule , Gusmaroli Giuliana , Dinesh‐Kumar Savithramma P. , Deng Xing Wang
Published: February 2005

Tandem affinity purification (TAP) strategies constitute an efficient approach for protein complex purification from many different organisms. However, the application of such strategies for purifying endogenous Arabidopsis multi‐protein complexes has not yet been reported. Here, we describe an alternative TAP (TAPa) system that successfully allows protein complex purification from Arabidopsis. In our newly generated TAPa tag we have replaced the tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease cleavage site with the more specific and low‐temperature active rhinovirus 3C protease site. In addition, the second purification step can now be performed through two different affinity tags: a six His repeat or nine copies of a myc repeat. To examine our purification procedure we generated a C‐terminal fusion between the TAPa tag and CSN3, a component of the multi‐protein COP9 signalosome (CSN) complex. Subsequent analysis showed that CSN3‐TAPa could rescue a csn3 mutant, and that the components of the CSN complex could be co‐purified with CSN3‐TAPa. As part of our long running interest in light signaling in Arabidopsis we have generated Arabidopsis transgenic lines harboring, both N‐terminal and C‐terminal TAPa fusions of many different light signaling pathway regulators. Molecular characterization of these transgenic lines showed fusion expression in 88% of the genes analyzed and that this expression is largely independent of the fusion orientation. Mutant complementation analysis showed that most of the TAPa fusions analyzed retained function of the wild‐type proteins. Taken together, the data demonstrate the suitability of the TAPa system to allow efficient multi‐protein complex isolation from stably transformed Arabidopsis.