bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Particle-in-cell modeling of magnetized argon plasma flow through small mechanical apertures
Authors: Sefkow Adam B. , Cohen Samuel A.
Published: May 2009

Motivated by observations of supersonic argon-ion flow generated by linear helicon-heated plasma devices, a three-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) code is used to study whether stationary electrostatic layers form near mechanical apertures intersecting the flow of magnetized plasma. By self-consistently evaluating the temporal evolution of the plasma in the vicinity of the aperture, the PIC simulations characterize the roles of the imposed aperture and applied magnetic field on ion acceleration. The PIC model includes ionization of a background neutral-argon population by thermal and superthermal electrons, the latter found upstream of the aperture. Near the aperture, a transition from a collisional to a collisionless regime occurs. Perturbations of density and potential, with millimeter wavelengths and consistent with ion acoustic waves, propagate axially. An ion acceleration region of length ∼200λD,e–300λD,e forms at the location of the aperture and is found to be an electrostatic double layer, with axially separated regions of net positive and negative charge. Reducing the aperture diameter or increasing its length increases the double layer strength.
Thermal conductivity modeling of copper and tungsten damascene structures
Authors: Lü Xiang
Published: May 2009

Thermal conductivity of copper and tungsten nanowires, copper damascene structures are modeled theoretically on the basis of Boltzmann transport equation. The size-dependent thermal conductivities of the nanowires are obtained by taking into account interface scattering, grain boundary scattering, and interface roughness effect. Expressions for the thermal conductivity of thin films including the above mechanisms are extended to the case of rectangular cross-sectional nanowires. The fractal model is also used to predict the contribution of interface roughness to the thermal conductivity of nanowires. It is shown that the interface roughness is important for the nanowires with lateral dimensions down to the sub-30 nm region. Calculated thermal conductivities are in good agreement with the experimental data for copper and tungsten nanowires. Furthermore, it is found that the titanium nitride barrier layer obviously leads to further thermal conductivity reduction in the copper damascene structures.
Enhanced thermoelectric figure of merit in nanocrystalline Bi2Te3 bulk
Authors: Yu Fengrong , Zhang Jianjun , Yu Dongli , He Julong , Liu Zhongyuan , Xu Bo , Tian Yongjun
Published: May 2009

Nanocrystalline Bi2Te3 bulks were synthesized via a nanostructuring method that included steps of ball milling, cold pressing, and sintering. In the temperature range of 325–525 K, nanocrystalline Bi2Te3 bulks exhibit good thermoelectric properties with a peak ZT of 0.94. The experimental results suggest that the partially coherent boundaries allow the maintenance of low grain growth rate and low resistivity. The enhancement of ZT comes from a large reduction in the phonon thermal conductivity and a strong suppression of the bipolar effect at high temperature.
Coherent transition radiation from a helically microbunched electron beam
Authors: Hemsing E. , Rosenzweig J. B.
Published: May 2009

The coherent transition radiation emitted from an electron beam with higher-order spatial microbunching is analyzed. The characteristic angular and phase dependence can be used to identify the dominant bunching structure of such beams, which can be generated during the harmonic interaction in optical klystron modulators and free-electron lasers, and used as tunable sources of coherent light with orbital angular momentum.
Structures of metal nanoparticles adsorbed on MgO(001). II. Pt and Pd
Authors: Goniakowski Jacek , Jelea Andrei , Mottet Christine , Barcaro Giovanni , Fortunelli Alessandro , Kuntová Zdenka , Nita Florin , Levi Andrea C. , Rossi Giulia , Ferrando Riccardo
Published: May 2009

The structure of metal clusters on MgO(001) is searched for by different computational methods. For sizes N≤200, a global optimization basin-hopping algorithm is employed, whereas for larger sizes the most significant structural motifs are compared at magic sizes. This paper is focused on Pt and Pd/MgO(001), which present a non-negligible mismatch between the nearest-neighbor distance in the metal and the oxygen-oxygen distance in the substrate. For both metals, a transition from the cube-on-cube (001) epitaxy to the (111) epitaxy is found. The results of our simulations are compared to experimental data, to results found for Au and Ag in the previous paper (paper I), and to predictions derived from the Wulff–Kaischew construction.
Weakly nonlinear dust ion-acoustic shock waves in a dusty plasma with nonthermal electrons
Authors: Berbri Abderrezak , Tribeche Mouloud
Published: May 2009

Weakly nonlinear dust ion-acoustic (DIA) shock waves are investigated in a dusty plasma with nonthermal electrons. A modified Korteweg–de Vries equation with a cubic nonlinearity is derived. Due to the net negative dust charge μZd and electron nonthermality, the present plasma model can admit compressive and rarefactive weak DIA shock waves. The effect of increasing μZd is to lower the critical nonthermal parameter βc above which only rarefactive DIA shock waves are admitted. Our investigation may help to understand the nonlinear structures observed in the auroral acceleration regions.
Valence band energy in confined Si1−xGex (0.28<x<0.93) layers
Authors: Afanas’ev V. V. , Stesmans A. , Souriau L. , Loo R. , Meuris M.
Published: May 2009

Using internal photoemission of electrons we monitored the composition dependent shift of the valence band in Si1−xGex (0.28<x<0.93) films confined between two layers of SiO2, as prepared by the condensation technique. As referenced to the bottom of the oxide conduction band, the increase in Ge content results in upshift in the valence band top with respect to that of pure silicon. This shift occurs nearly linearly with Ge concentration x and can be approximated as δEv(eV)=(0.55±0.05)x.
Infrared spectra of SF6−⋅HCOOH⋅Arn (n=–2): Infrared triggered reaction and Ar-induced reactive inhibition
Authors: Schneider Holger , Takahashi Kaito , Skodje Rex T. , Weber J. Mathias
Published: May 2009

We present the infrared spectra of SF6−⋅HCOOH⋅Arm (m=0–2) complexes. We find that the binding motif involves a single hydrogen bond between the SF6− anion and the OH group of the formic acid, with the CH group weakly tethered to a neighboring F atom. Similar to the case of hydrated SF6−, the SF bond involved in the (OH–F) bond is significantly stretched and weakened by the attachment of the HCOOH ligand. The bare complex undergoes reaction upon infrared absorption in the CH/OH stretching region of the formic acid moiety, leading predominantly to the formation of SF4−+2HF+CO2. The reaction can be inhibited by attachment of two Ar atoms. We discuss a likely reaction mechanism in the framework of ab initio calculations, suggesting that reaction proceeds via tunneling through the potential barrier.
Energetic recoils in UO2 simulated using five different potentials
Authors: Devanathan Ram , Yu Jianguo , Weber William J.
Published: May 2009

This report presents the results of classical molecular dynamics simulations of the diffuse premelting transition, melting, and defect production by 1 keV U recoils in UO2 using five different rigid ion potentials. The experimentally observed premelting transition occurred for all five cases. For all the potentials studied, dynamic defect annealing is highly effective and is accompanied by replacement events on the anion sublattice. The primary damage state after ∼15 ps consists of isolated Frenkel pairs and interstitial and vacancy clusters of various sizes. The average displacement energy varies from ∼28 to ∼83 eV and the number of Frenkel pairs is different by a factor of 3 depending on the choice of potential. The size and spatial distribution of vacancy and interstitial clusters is drastically different for the potentials studied. The results provide statistics of defect production. They point to a pressing need to determine defect formation, migration, and binding energies in UO2 from first principles and to develop reliable potentials based on this data for simulating microstructural evolution in nuclear fuel under operating conditions.
DNA origami impedance measurement at room temperature
Authors: Bobadilla Alfredo D. , Bellido Edson P. , Rangel Norma L. , Zhong Hong , Norton Michael L. , Sinitskii Alexander , Seminario Jorge M.
Published: May 2009

The frequency response of triangular DNA origami is obtained at room temperature. The sample shows a high impedance at low frequencies, e.g., at zero frequency 20 GΩ, which decreases almost linearly with the logarithm of the frequency reaching a low and flat value at 100 kHz where the impedance turns from capacitive to resistive, concluding that DNA can be used for transmission of signals at frequencies larger than 100 kHz. It is also found that characteristics of DNA cannot be completely disentangled from the characteristics of the substrate on which it is deposited, making the design of molecular circuits more challenging than the design of circuits with present lumped devices; this is a natural feature at the nanoscale.
Growth of AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN double heterojunction field-effect transistors and the observation of a compositional pulling effect
Authors: Chen Z. , Pei Y. , Newman S. , Brown D. , Chung R. , Keller S. , DenBaars S. P. , Nakamura S. , Mishra U. K.
Published: May 2009

Field-effect transistors (FETs) were grown on both GaN and AlGaN buffers. X-ray reciprocal space mapping and ω-2θ scans showed that the AlGaN barriers grown on these two buffers had different Al compositions and growth rates, which was attributed to the compositional pulling effect. AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN double heterojunction FETs exhibited lower output conductance and better pinch-off due to the improved electron confinement resulting from the increase in the effective back-side barrier height. Thus, this device is promising for highly scaled transistors. This device also demonstrated a state-of-the-art power added efficiency of 53.5% and an associated power gain of 9.1 dB at a drain bias of 20 V at 30 GHz.
Separation of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin and immunoglobulin G by a miniaturized size exclusion chromatography column
Authors: Yang Yongmo , Chae Junseok
Published: May 2009

This report describes a miniaturized size exclusion chromatography column that effectively preseparates raw samples for medical point-of-care testing (POCT) devices. The minicolumn is constructed of polydimethylsiloxane fabricated on a glass slide. The minicolumn separates 300 ng/ml of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) from an immunoglobulin G (IgG)-rich solution (100 μg/ml) in 7.7 min, with 2.23 resolution and 0.018 mm plate height. The complete analyte discrimination shows potential for the sample preparation stage of POCT devices for cancer screening, prognosis, and monitoring.
Sidewall shunted overdamped NbN–MgO–NbN Josephson junctions
Authors: Senapati K. , Barber Z. H.
Published: May 2009

A sidewall shunting method is demonstrated to realize overdamped (i.e., nonhysteretic) current-voltage (IV) characteristics in superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junctions. Unlike the conventional layout of shunted SIS junctions, patterning a normal metal shunt on one of the sides of the junction considerably reduces the parasitic inductive path and leaves more area on a chip for active components. Using a conventional optical lithography route we have fabricated sidewall shunted SIS junctions of various sizes from NbN–MgO–NbN trilayers on MgO and oxidized Si substrates. In our experiment the effective shunting resistance is realized by a tunnel contact between the shunt metal and the base electrode via a thin layer of insulating MgO. The results of our electrical measurements verify the overdamped nature of the junctions shunted in this manner.
DNA looping provides stability and robustness to the bacteriophage λ switch
Authors: Morelli Marco J. , ten Wolde Pieter Rein , Allen Rosalind J.
Published: May 2009

The bistable gene regulatory switch controlling the transition from lysogeny to lysis in bacteriophage λ presents a unique challenge to quantitative modeling. Despite extensive characterization of this regulatory network, the origin of the extreme stability of the lysogenic state remains unclear. We have constructed a stochastic model for this switch. Using Forward Flux Sampling simulations, we show that this model predicts an extremely low rate of spontaneous prophage induction in a recA mutant, in agreement with experimental observations. In our model, the DNA loop formed by octamerization of CI bound to the
O

L

and
O

R

operator regions is crucial for stability, allowing the lysogenic state to remain stable even when a large fraction of the total CI is depleted by nonspecific binding to genomic DNA. DNA looping also ensures that the switch is robust to mutations in the order of the
O

R

binding sites. Our results suggest that DNA looping can provide a mechanism to maintain a stable lysogenic state in the face of a range of challenges including noisy gene expression, nonspecific DNA binding, and operator site mutations.
Drug efflux pump deficiency and drug target resistance masking in growing bacteria
Authors: Fange David , Nilsson Karin , Tenson Tanel , Ehrenberg Måns
Published: May 2009

Recent experiments have shown that drug efflux pump deficiency not only increases the susceptibility of pathogens to antibiotics, but also seems to “mask” the effects of mutations, that decrease the affinities of drugs to their intracellular targets, on the growth rates of drug-exposed bacteria. That is, in the presence of drugs, the growth rates of drug-exposed WT and target mutated strains are the same in a drug efflux pump deficient background, but the mutants grow faster than WT in a drug efflux pump proficient background. Here, we explain the mechanism of target resistance masking and show that it occurs in response to drug efflux pump inhibition among pathogens with high-affinity drug binding targets, low cell-membrane drug-permeability and insignificant intracellular drug degradation. We demonstrate that target resistance masking is fundamentally linked to growth-bistability, i.e., the existence of 2 different steady state growth rates for one and the same drug concentration in the growth medium. We speculate that target resistance masking provides a hitherto unknown mechanism for slowing down the evolution of target resistance among pathogens.
Multifrequency discrimination of fish and mysids
Authors: Axenrot Thomas , Ogonowski Martin , Sandström Alfred , Didrikas Tomas
Published: May 2009

Axenrot, T., Ogonowski, M., Sandström, A., and Didrikas, T. 2009. Multifrequency discrimination of fish and mysids. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1106–1110. The opossum shrimp (Mysis relicta) is common in many lakes in the northern parts of Eurasia and North America. The shrimp is often an important link in the foodweb for fish, either throughout life or in early life stages. Generally, quantitative measurements of mysids in large volumes of water are difficult to obtain with traditional sampling methods. In this pilot study, measurements of volume-backscattering strength (Sv) at 38, 120, and 200 kHz were used to separate backscattering from fish and mysids. Mysids were sampled with trawls. Where mysids were caught, the correlations between mysid biomass (dry weight) and mean Sv at 120 and 200 kHz were positive (r2 = 0.89 and 0.81, respectively). Where mysids were abundant, the Sv exhibited a characteristic frequency response. This was not found where mysids were scarce or absent. Therefore, areas with great abundances of mysids can be identified, and their biomasses estimated from data collected during ecosystem monitoring.
Kea (
Nestor notabilis
) consider spatial relationships between objects in the support problem
Authors: Auersperg Alice M. I. , Gajdon Gyula K. , Huber Ludwig
Published: May 2009

The ‘Support Problem’ is a benchmark test to investigate the understanding of spatial relationships between objects. We tested kea parrots' performance in a paradigm that has previously been studied in primates. Kea perform comparably well to tamarins when they are confronted with a choice between two support devices, one of which has a reward resting on it and the other slightly next to it, or when given a choice between a continuous and a disrupted support. Kea did better than chimpanzees in some tasks in which the perceptual connection of the food to the support was altered. The results indicate that kea are capable of assessing the spatial means–end relationships of this problem spontaneously and in a way that is comparable with primates.
A quantitative threshold for nest-mate recognition in a paper social wasp
Authors: Cini Alessandro , Gioli Letizia , Cervo Rita
Published: May 2009

Nest-mate recognition is fundamental for protecting social insect colonies from intrusion threats such as predators or social parasites. The aggression of resident females towards intruders is mediated by their cuticular semiochemicals. A positive relation between the amount of cues and responses has been widely assumed and often taken for granted, even though direct tests have not been carried out. This hypothesis has important consequences, since it is the basis for the chemical insignificance strategy, the most common explanation for the reduction in the amount of semiochemicals occurring in many social parasites. Here we used the social wasp
Polistes dominulus
, a model species in animal communication studies and host of three social parasites, to test this hypothesis. We discovered that different amounts of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC) of a foreign female evoke quantitatively different behavioural reactions in the resident foundress. The relation between CHC quantity and the elicited response supports the idea that a threshold exists in the chemical recognition system of this species. The chemical insignificance hypothesis thus holds in a host–parasite system of
Polistes
wasps, even though other explanations should not be discarded.
Open Partial Nephrectomy for Pediatric Renovascular Hypertension
Authors: Ashley Matt S. , Moneta Gregory , Daneshmand Siamak
Published: May 2009

Pediatric renovascular hypertension is typically managed with revascularization, angioplasty, or radical nephrectomy. We describe the case of a 13-year-old boy with medically refractory renovascular hypertension who presented to our institution after a failed arterial bypass. Subsequent angiography and renin sampling of the segmental renal veins suggested that the lower pole of the kidney was affected exclusively by the relative hypoperfusion. We proceeded with an open partial nephrectomy in order to excise the affected region of the kidney, while preserving maximum renal function. The patient was normotensive off all antihypertensive medication and without complications 8 months postoperatively. We believe that partial nephrectomy is a reasonable treatment for children with renovascular hypertension secondary to segmental hypoperfusion, and it should be considered as alternative therapy.
Informing practice: information experiences of ambulance officers in training and on‐road practice
Authors: Lloyd Annemaree
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present findings of an enquiry into the use and experience of information, in learning to become an ambulance officer. The paper aims to explore how the information environment is constituted for novice and experience practitioners. The paper also aims to consider what type of information is considered important by novice and experienced practitioners in learning about practice and profession.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is approached from an information literacy (IL) perspective, where IL is viewed as the catalyst for learning about work and professional practice. It draws on constructivist‐influenced grounded theory method to explore how an IL experience is constituted for the worker.

Findings

Three modalities of information which inform practice are described. IL is illustrated as more than just an experience with text or skills‐based literacy. It is viewed as socio‐cultural practice which is shaped by discourse.

Research limitations/implications

The research was limited to an in‐depth exploration of one professional group in one geographic location.

Practical implications

The study highlights the value of an IL approach to understanding how information is experienced in a workplace context.

Originality/value

This paper reports original research of significance to information professionals and educators.
Describing engineering documents with faceted approaches
Authors: Wild Peter J. , Giess Matt D. , McMahon Chris A.
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the difficulty of applying faceted classification outside of library contexts and also to indicate that faceted approaches are poorly expressed to non‐experts.

Design/methodology/approach

The faceted approach is being applied outside of its “home” community, with mixed results. The approach is based in part on examination of a broad base of literature and in part on results and reflections on a case study applying faceted notions to “real world” engineering documentation.

Findings

The paper comes across a number of pragmatic and theoretical issues namely: differing interpretations of the facet notion; confusion between faceted analysis and faceted classification; lack of methodological guidance; the use of simplistic domains as exemplars; description verses analysis; facet recognition is unproblematic; and is the process purely top‐down or bottom‐up.

Research limitations/implications

That facet analysis is not inherently associated with a particular epistemology; that greater guidance about the derivation is needed, that greater realism is needed when teaching faceted approaches.

Practical implications

Experiences of applying faceted classifications are presented that can be drawn upon to guide future work in the area.

Originality/value

No previous work has reflected on the actual empirical experience used to create a faceted description, especially with reference to engineering documents.
Towards “metacognitively aware” IR systems: an initial user study
Authors: Gorrell Genevieve , Eaglestone Barry , Ford Nigel , Holdridge Peter , Madden Andrew
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe: a new taxonomy of metacognitive skills designed to support the study of metacognition in the context of web searching; a data collection instrument based on the taxonomy; and the results of testing the instrument on a sample of university students and staff.

Design/methodology/approach

The taxonomy is based on a review of the literature, and is extended to cover web searching. This forms the basis for the design of the data collection instrument, which is tested with 405 students and staff of Sheffield University.

Findings

Subjects regard the range of metacognitive skills focused on as broadly similar. However, a number of significant differences in reported metacognition usage relating to age, gender and discipline.

Practical implications

These findings contribute to the long‐term aims of the research which are to: develop a model of the actual and potential role of metacognition in web searching, and identify strategic “metacognitive interventions” that can be built into an intelligent information retrieval system, driven by the model, capable of enhancing retrieval effectiveness by compensating for metacognitive weaknesses on the part of the searcher.

Originality/value

The value of the paper lies in: the consideration of metacognition in the context of web searching, the presentation of an extensible taxonomy of metacognitive skills, development and testing of a prototype metacognitive inventory, finding of significant differences in reported metacognition usage according to age, gender and discipline, and reflection of the implications of the results for future research into web searching.
Building a virtual branch at Vancouver Public Library using Web 2.0 tools
Authors: Cahill Kay
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the work undertaken by Vancouver Public Library (VPL) in an effort to convert its website into a true virtual branch, both through the functionality of the website itself and by extending its web presence on to external social networking sites.

Design/methodology/approach

VPL worked with its development partners to conduct a thorough community consultation to ensure that the new VPL website would be truly user‐focused. Since the site's launch, VPL has made strategic management of both its internal and external web presence a key organisational priority, reflected in its creation of two new professional positions which include co‐ordination of VPL's internal and external web presence as part of their job specification.

Findings

VPL has demonstrated that it is possible to take a systematic, integrated, thoughtful approach to the adoption of Web 2.0 tools and technologies in order to enhance web services without sacrificing quality or control.

Originality/value

As many public libraries consider their options with regard to the integration of Web 2.0 tools and technologies, VPL offers an example of good practice in strategic selection and management of these tools to optimise the delivery of web‐based library services.
Implementation of RFID technology in University of Pune Library
Authors: Bansode Sadanand Y. , Desale Sanjay K.
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of a radio frequency identification (RFID) system in Pune University Library.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides a brief overview of background of the project, barriers faced and changes that have been experienced after the implementation of the technology.

Findings

At the initial stage the library is facing problems with regard to the lack of availability of technology experts in the library for the RFID system and also for the software. Later on the library applied some solutions and tried to minimise the problems and now it has proved to be a boon for the library.

Originality/value

The paper provides insight for other academic libraries wishing to implement an RFID system.
Contract labour mobilisation in Chile's copper mining and forestry sectors
Authors: Durán‐Palma Fernando , López Diego
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of recent developments in employment relations in Chile, focusing on recent episodes of contract labour mobilisation in the forestry and copper mining sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a consolidation of existing evidence from a range of primary, secondary and tertiary sources.

Findings

The paper demonstrates the inadequacy of Chile's employment relations institutions to protect vulnerable workers and shows the capacity of contract workers to overcome such limitations by recurring to mobilisation. It argues that contract labour mobilisation rather than a shift left in government seems to offer a more plausible explanation of current developments in Chilean employment relations.

Research limitations/implications

The paper identifies salient issues but further research is necessary to understand the actual social processes of collective action involved in recent episodes of contract labour mobilisation.

Practical implications

This information could contribute to better policy making, better management of the employment relationship, and informing the revitalisation of labour movements.

Originality/value

There are few studies on contract workers' collective action particularly in developing countries, and a contribution is made to critical debates on the sustainability of Chile's neoliberal socio‐economic and employment relations system.
Evidence on the role of age in team performance. A comparative study in Peru and Spain
Authors: Morales Carlos , Marquina Percy
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to contribute empirical data around the under‐researched area of the relationship between age and team performance by comparing Latin‐American and European contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a quantitative approach. In total 205 surveys were conducted both in Spain (118) and in Peru (87).

Findings

Main results show that age does not have a predictive value on perception of performance when performance is measured with teamwork variables; and, at the same time, the perception of the diversity degree moderates the relationship between age and performance.

Originality/value

An extensive bibliography already exists on age, tenure and performance, which explicitly accepts that age and tenure do and do not have an impact on team performance. At the same time, empirical evidence shows differences and similarities between people of different ages in company performance. However, there has been little research comparing Latin American and European contexts, on how age affects the perception which teams have of their own performance. This paper describes the similarities and differences in organisations from two culturally, politically and economically diverse areas, which at the same time are united by a common history.
The origins of employee wellbeing in Brazil: an exploratory analysis
Authors: Renwick Douglas
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to detail the origins (or antecedents) of employee wellbeing (EWB) in Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines and analyses historical data in diachronic mode to reveal the origins (antecedents) of EWB in Brazil, and details factors from them arising.

Findings

Numerous factors emerge regarding the origins of EWB in Brazil, including, inter alia, traditions of landed estates employing slaves and countryside workers; historical social protest movements; a lack of free association for labour movements and rights associated with them; union recognition providing freedoms and protections in the employment relationship; pro‐worker political institutions emerging; worker campaigns for better quality of working life; a history of exclusion of worker interests by state bodies (and worker resistance to it); a need for worker representatives to gain political office to increase worker‐related discourse; contradictory results arising from relatively recent government policies; and new concerns, and enabling/restricting factors in EWB.

Research limitations/implications

The paper provides a backdrop within which the context of, and future prospects for, EWB in Brazil can be assessed. Limitations are issues of cultural translation apply to the Brazilian context.

Originality/value

Historical data to contextualise EWB in Brazil, an under‐researched topic, is provided in the paper.
Finding a philosophical framework in support of “Presence”
Authors: Branson Christopher M.
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a coherent, comprehensive and complete philosophical framework that can not only validate but also guide the implementation of the organisational development strategies proposed inPresence: Exploring Profound Change in People, Organizations and Society.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the paper situates the processes presented in the text within the overall context of current organisational development theory. Then, since no current widely supported philosophical framework can provide validation and support to the fundamental assumptions inherent within the text's proposals, a new philosophical framework is described. Finally, the unique insights gained from this new philosophical framework are used to offer prerequisite considerations for employing the processes proposed here.

Findings

Unless explicit and individualised attention is directed to helping each employee first develop deeply self‐reflective processes, the organisational insights and practices, as presented in the work cited above, cannot be attained.

Practical implications

Through applying the theoretical insights gained from the particular philosophical framework presented herein, the paper provides very clear and specific guidelines for the professional development of employees so that they can act according to the precepts presented in the work cited above.

Originality/value

The paper provides a unique perspective on the key understandings presented in the work cited above. It also provides practical ways for successfully engendering these within an organisation's culture.
Distinguishing between transformational and servant leadership
Authors: Parolini Jeanine , Patterson Kathleen , Winston Bruce
Published: May 2009

Purpose

Although transformational and servant leadership has been in existence since the 1970s and theoretical assumptions about the differences began in the 1990s, this paper seeks to relate the first empirical investigation distinguishing between the two leaders, which was conducted recently by the first author.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a review of the literature, the first author established 19 semantic differential scales and two self‐typing paragraphs to differentiate between the two leaders. The scales and paragraphs were formed into an online survey, reviewed by an expert panel, and distributed to 56 randomly selected contacts where 514 participants responded.

Findings

Through discriminant analysis, five statistically significant (p=0.000) discriminant items were found that differentiated between transformational and servant leadership.

Research limitations/implications

The paper proposes that the five statistically significant items revealed by the first author's research be brought into future definitions, discussions, and research on transformational and/or servant leadership.

Practical implications

The five items proposed should also be integrated into leadership and organizational development practices, the literature, and future research.

Originality/value

The paper discusses the first empirical research study investigating the distinctions between transformational and servant leaders, two leadership styles that have existed and been discussed by scholars and theorists since the 1970s.
Control methods for exoskeleton rehabilitation robot driven with pneumatic muscles
Authors: Xiong Caihua , Jiang Xianzhi , Sun Ronglei , Huang XiaoLin , Xiong Youlun
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the control methods of the exoskeleton robotic arm for stroke rehabilitation.

Design/methodology/approach

The robotic arm is driven by the pneumatic muscle actuators. The control system provides independent control for the robot. The joint axes of the robotic arm are arranged to mimic the natural upper limb workspace.

Findings

Findings are the classification of training modes and control methods of rehabilitation training, and the characters of both the instant spasm and the sustaining one.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is a preliminary step in the control system and the kinematical characteristics should be analyzed to achieve high precision of movement.

Originality/value

Based on a hierarchical structure, the control system allows the execution of sequence of switching control methods: position, force, force/position and impedance. Patient‐active‐robot‐passive and patient‐passive‐robot‐active (PPRA) training modes are also presented in this paper. In PPRA mode, the robotic arm can provide pre‐specified resistances on the patient's arm. Both instant and sustaining spasms are taken into account for safety.
The call of the city: using design methods to attract families
Authors: Buschmann Kristian , Coletta Carol
Published: May 2009

Purpose

For the first time in 50 years, young people are coming back to cities. But what happens when they have children? Convention seems to dictate they move to the suburbs where they can find big houses, big yards and good schools. This paper aims to describe how CEOs for Cities and students from the Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute of Design took a fresh look at how cities can better serve families.

Design/methodology/approach

By studying the behavior of pioneering urban parents in Chicago, New York and Philadelphia, the research team uncovered ways they overcame obstacles to living in the city. Using these insights, they developed ways for urban leaders to leverage inherent city strengths in three key areas of safety, space and schools.

Findings

Pioneering urban parents showed the research team that a small shift in thinking could turn a city into a backyard bigger than any found behind a house, that busy streets create a feeling of safety, and that the vibrancy of cities is an important factor in education their children. Surprisingly, the research even uncovered suburban parent fears in isolating their children from the culture and diversity of urban areas.

Originality/value

There is a growing number of parents who want to raise families in cities. They are coming back, but slowly. Urban leaders have an opportunity to accelerate this new market of city dwellers using the natural assets their cities already possess.
How tangible is your strategy? How design thinking can turn your strategy into reality
Authors: Holloway Matthew
Published: May 2009

Purpose

Improving your company's ability to execute its strategy requires increase alignment, greater agility and a singular clarity regarding the desired outcomes. This paper aims to describe how the SAP Design Services Team uses design thinking and its principles to improve the organization's ability improve its ability to execute strategy and even evolve the way SAP identifies and defines its strategic vision.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper examines both the value of the design thinking approach as well as the organizational practices employed to insure its success.

Findings

The study has found a number of best practices for the development of artifacts to make strategies tangible, as well as the organizational requirements for the wide spread adoption of design thinking as an approach for the entire organization. Applying the principles of design thinking the Design Services Team has developed the means to analyze, refine and convey business strategies in the form of artifacts or prototypes. While demonstrating what the final offering will be from a customer's point of view, these objects also express the strategic planning as well as external market forces and risks within their narrative. Going beyond traditional communication channels this approach not only expresses the vision and intent behind the strategy but also an eventual end‐state; in short this method allows everyone across the organization to understand the real meaning of your strategy by knowing what success will look like when its achieved.

Originality/value

By reexamining both how they identify and develop their strategies as well as how those strategies are communicated and refined in implementation, organizations can increase their effectiveness and decrease time to execution. Today most strategies are conveyed as broad visions that lack any specifics regarding how the goals are to be achieved allowing it to be disintegrated at the point of execution. Combining the aspirational message with tangible examples of the end‐state makes the message and the mission clear and actionable.
Cultural innovation in software design: the new impact of innovation planning methods
Authors: Bernard Chris
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe innovation planning methods used at Microsoft.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines the cultural environment and changes that needed to occur to implement these methods and looks at a selection of product development efforts at Microsoft that used these methods and were successful.

Findings

This paper shares the steps taken to enable innovation planning methods to be successful organizationally and describes the specific approaches that were most successful from a product development perspective.

Research limitations/implications

The findings demonstrate that innovation in the large enterprise is a repeatable and reproducible process when the right environment and methods are utilized.

Practical implications

Because enterprises are increasingly being called on to provide breakthrough and disruptive innovations innovation planning methods are increasingly becoming a necessary core discipline that is required in the enterprise.

Originality/value

This paper is valuable to all readers and organizations that want to enable innovation planning methods in large enterprises.
The discipline of product discovery: identifying breakthrough business opportunities
Authors: Melanie Joh Jooyun , Mayfield Matthew
Published: May 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to cover the authors' experience with applying the latest methodologies in identifying and articulating product opportunities within a large, global corporation and dynamic marketplace.

Design/methodology/approach

The study conducts a course of multiple explorations in identifying and articulating product opportunities within a large, global corporation and dynamic marketplace.

Findings

The paper finds that identifying product opportunities is a large and at times fuzzy activity. As experts bring insights and improvements to light, the application of those within a large corporate context can be daunting. Over the course of multiple explorations key lessons emerge to improve the reliability of such endeavors. Building a repeatable process to identify new product opportunities requires the use of multiple methods from a range of fields to minimize blind spots that each inevitably have. The process also requires a non‐linear approach to allow the company's context and data at hand to shape the exploration. And finally, the process requires discipline and follow through from managing bias to “actionable” documentation to ensure effectiveness.

Originality/value

By reflecting on the application of theory to practice, this paper articulates improvements and field tested techniques that can make the activity of identifying product opportunities more reliable and ultimately more valuable.
Innovation is good, fitness is better
Authors: Hackett James P.
Published: May 2009

Purpose

Academic journals and the popular business press are filled with articles praising innovation. But innovation is not enough. This paper proposes a higher purpose – that survival of our business systems relies on achieving a new level of fitness – and aims to suggest that design thinking is one of the keys to becoming more fit.

Design/methodology/approach

Ever since Darwin argued “survival of the fittest,” social scientists have worked to determine winners and losers in a wide range of complex systems. The paper asserts that there is value in applying the concept to the survival of business systems and provides examples of how successful companies have worked to overcome inertia and reinvent portions of their business model.

Findings

The paper finds that dominant systems have a hard time accepting the need for change, even though the very attributes that made them successful now threaten to drag down their long‐term fitness. Design thinking is a framework that provides the opportunity to study all aspects of complex issues, and instead of driving for simplicity, design thinking requires that we embrace the richness that complexity provides.

Originality/value

By considering the need to move beyond innovation, the paper provides insight into the critical thinking needed to drive for a higher level of fitness in a business system and offers a brief look at the model used by one industry‐leading company.
International income distribution: comparing new ICP and the existing data
Authors: Ram Rati
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comparison of data on real (purchasing‐power‐parity – PPP) gross domestic product (GDP) per capita recently released by International Comparison Program (ICP) with the numbers reported in World Development Indicators (WDI) and Penn World Tables (PWT) which have been used by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of researchers over many years.

Design/methodology/approach

A descriptive comparison is first provided by listing cases of largest absolute and percentage differences between ICP and WDI and PWT numbers. Second, well‐recommended measures of cross‐country inequality in real GDP per capita are computed, and inequality in terms of ICP data are compared with that based on WDI and PWT data.

Findings

First, there are huge differences for numerous countries between the ICP numbers and the WDI and PWT data. Second, many of these differences are much larger than the highly publicized cases of China and India. Third, since ICP numbers are more accurate, existing WDI and PWT data are noted to substantially understate intercountry income inequality. Fourth, comparison of ICP with WDI shows a pattern which is similar to that indicated by a comparison of ICP and PWT. Fifth, the huge discrepancies in data provided by highly reputed sources, and used by numerous researchers, in such a prime indicator of economic and social well‐being seem to reflect a notable phenomenon.

Originality/value

First, this is apparently the only attempt to provide a comparison of the new ICP data on country‐level real GDP per capita with that reported in the highly reputed and widely used WDI and PWT. Second, the enormous differences for numerous countries should suggest much caution to researchers in using the existing WDI and PWT data series. Third, the substantial understatement of intercountry income inequality by WDI and PWT data should be noteworthy. Fourth, although authors of WDI and PWT will probably identify reasons for the differences and reformulate their PPP data series, the present study may suggest need for some reflections on the context in which such large‐scale discrepancies in a variable of primary economic and social significance have existed for many years.
Policy ethnography and conservative transition from plan to market
Authors: Fforde Adam
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illuminate change processes in Vietnam, China, and the USSR.

Design/methodology/approach

“Policy ethnography” may be used to examine the emergence of policy rationalities that may or may not be locally feasible. Through the use of a conceptual heuristics to interpret practice, this paper contrasts approaches in the development of “conservative” transition rationalities suited to the shift from plan to market whilst retaining a ruling Communist Party in power. Comparison is made between Vietnam, where a successful “conservative” transition occurred, and a failed policy experiment in the Soviet Union. The discussion extends to China, where, as in the case of Vietnam, a policy‐oriented policy rationality of transition may be observed.

Findings

Through the use of a conceptual heuristics to interpret practice this paper, contrasts approaches in the development of “conservative” transition rationalities suited to the shift from plan to market whilst retaining a ruling Communist Party in power. Comparison is made between Vietnam, where a successful “conservative” transition occurred, and a failed policy experiment in the Soviet Union. The discussion extends to China, where, as in the case of Vietnam, a policy‐oriented policy rationality of transition may be observed.

Research limitations/implications

Further research into the development of conservative policy rationalities in other context is advised.

Practical implications

The paper concludes that attaining a successful heuristics amongst policy consumers is likely a necessary condition of a managed conservative transition, and that this heuristics does well to define system changes as a process, rather than a discrete step, in constructing a cognitive basis for policy rationality.

Originality/value

The paper consistently avoids realist arguments about policy, which would suggest judgments as to whether policy is “correct” or “incorrect”, and focuses upon the creation of policy rationalities.