bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stiffness optimization for two‐armed robotic sculpting
Authors: Owen William , Croft Elizabeth , Benhabib Beno
Published: February 2008

Purpose

Recent research has considered robotic machining as a dextrous alternative to traditional CNC machine tools for complex sculptured surfaces. One challenge in using robotic machining is that the stiffness is lower than traditional machine tools, due to the cantilever design of the links and low‐torsional stiffness of the actuators. This paper seeks to examine this limitation, using optimization algorithms to determine the best trajectories for the manipulators such that the stiffness is maximized.

Design/methodology/approach

The issue of low stiffness is addressed with an integrated off‐line planner and real‐time re‐planner. The available manipulator stiffness is maximized during off‐line planning through a trajectory resolution method that exploits the nullspace of the robot machining system. In response to unmodeled disturbances, a real‐time trajectory re‐planner utilizes a time‐scaling method to reduce the tool speed, thereby reducing the demand on the actuator torques, increasing the robot's dynamic stiffness capabilities. During real‐time re‐planning, priorities are assigned to conflicting performance criteria such as stiffness, collision avoidance, and joint limits.

Findings

The algorithms developed were able to generate trajectories with stiffer configurations, which resulted in a reduction in the actuator torques. The real‐time re‐planner successfully allowed the process plan to continue when disturbances were encountered.

Research limitations/implications

Simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.

Practical implications

Addressing the limitation of stiffness in serial‐link manipulators will enable robots to become more suitable for machining tasks. The real‐time re‐planning approach will allow robots to become more autonomous during the execution of a given task.

Originality/value

An integrated off‐line and real‐time planning approach has been applied to robotic machining.
Metaheuristic scheduling of multiple picking agents for warehouse management
Authors: Rubrico J.I.U. , Ota J. , Higashi T. , Tamura H.
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to develop a scheduler for multiple picking agents in a warehouse that takes into account distance and loading queue delay minimization within the context of minimizing makespan (i.e. picking time).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses tabu search to solve the scheduling problem in a more global sense. Each search iteration is enhanced by a custom local search (LS) procedure that hastens convergence by driving a given schedule configuration quickly to a local minimum. In particular, basic operators transfer demand among agents to balance load and minimize makespan. The new load distribution is further improved by considering a vehicle‐routing problem on the picking assignments of the agents with relocated demands. Loading queue delays that may arise from the reassignments are systematically minimized using a fast scheduling heuristic.

Findings

The proposed tabu scheduler greatly improves over a widely practiced scheduling procedure for the given problem. Variants of the tabu scheduler produce solutions that are roughly of the same quality but exhibit considerable differences in computational time.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed methodology is applicable only to the static scheduling problem where all inputs are known beforehand. Furthermore, of the possible delays during picking, only loading queues are explicitly addressed (although this is justifiable, given that these delays are dominant in the problem).

Practical implications

The proposed approach can significantly increase through‐put and productivity in picking systems that utilize multiple intelligent agents (human pickers included), e.g. in warehouses/distribution centers.

Originality/value

The paper addresses a practical scheduling problem with a high degree of complexity, i.e. scheduler explicitly deals with delays while trying to minimize makespan (generally, delays are ignored in the literature to simplify things). In the tabu implementation, an LS procedure is introduced in the metaheuristic loop that enhances the search process by minimizing non‐productive time of picking agents (travel time and delays).
DaimlerChrysler installs new robot‐based flexible assembly line
Authors: Bogue Robert
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to describe a new flexible, robot‐based welding line, installed at an American DaimlerChrysler vehicle assembly plant.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper first considers the motivations behind flexible manufacturing strategies (FMSs) and then describes a system installed at the Sterling Heights DaimlerChrysler plant.

Findings

This paper shows that the adoption of robot‐based flexible assembly allows different models and model variants to be assembled on a single line, yielding operational, commercial and financial benefits.

Originality/value

This paper illustrates the value of adopting an FMS at a vehicle assembly line.
Segmenting manufacturers' investment incentive preferences for international logistics zones
Authors: Lu Chin‐Shan , Liao Chun‐Hsiung , Yang Ching‐Chiao
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This study aims to empirically identify investment incentive preference segments for international logistics zones from the manufacturer's perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

Eight critical investment incentives were identified, based on the following factors: cost, agglomeration, resource, port, policy, political stability, location and transport, and economic. Cluster analysis was subsequently performed to group respondents on the basis of their factor scores. Three groups or segments were identified: firms that preferred political stability and location factors; those which preferred low‐cost and port‐related factors; and those which preferred agglomeration effect and resource factors. Six factors, i.e. cost, agglomeration effect, resource, port, policy, and political stability, differed significantly across the three segments.

Findings

Results suggest that political stability is the most important incentive, followed by corporate tax incentives, government administration efficiency, labor cost, and energy cost.

Originality/value

This study is a first attempt to understand investment incentive preferences for an international logistics zone from the manufacturers' perspective and to segment investors into different groups.
Unpacking gendered professional power in the welfare state
Authors: Wrede Sirpa
Published: February 2008

Purpose

Recent scholarship reveals the imagery of the professional as the “ideal citizen”. The linkage between professionalism and citizenship is here approached from the perspective of democratic social justice in order to examine the persistence of gendered inequalities in the health care system. The paper aims to examine the ideas framing professionalism, both in sociological theory and historically, asking what gendered hierarchies mean in modern health care systems, and why and how they persist in the conditions of liberal democracy.

Design/methodology/approach

The question is approached through both sociological literature and an analysis of historical framings of professionalism; the Finnish health care system is employed as a case. The reason for keeping the discussion close to a specific case is that different professional fields, countries and historic contexts differ from each other in democratically relevant respects.

Findings

Traditional sociological theory assumed that professional privilege was based on essentially neutral expertise that benefits democracy only if protected from bureaucracy and politics. The recent theoretical turn reframes professional knowledge as socially defined, but the destabilisation of professional knowledge claims is not without problems. The paper refers to the persisting tensions between changing governance and gendered hierarchies in health care and argues for new approaches that suggest ways through which professional expertise can be democratically represented in politics.

Originality/value

The interdisciplinary framework uses political theory on social justice to examine how health care politics frame professionalism.
Gendering migration flows: physicians and nurses in Portugal
Authors: Sousa Ribeiro Joana
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This article aims to explore the gendered dimensions of the heterogeneous path of non‐native graduates in nursing and medicine in the Portuguese National Health Service, including institutional factors like the process of credential recognition, the professional integration and internal labour market segmentation.

Design/methodology/approach

Biographical interviews with nurses and physicians (23 males and 35 females) from Spain and from some Eastern European countries who migrated to work in Portugal were conducted, and additionally semi‐structured interviews with 12 institutional participants to contextualise the experiential data.

Findings

The research highlights complex intersections between gender and the resources for action. Institutional conditions, like legal frameworks and the self‐regulatory mechanisms of the professions, and individual characteristics shape successful translation of foreign credentials into a new social and cultural context. The specific configurations may create gender traps that push women into low status professional segments and also new forms of inequality in the professions.

Research limitations/implications

The development of successful professional action and agency in a socio‐culturally different health care labour market can be differentiated by gender, place of graduation and citizenship status. The factors identified in this small‐scale qualitative study would need further investigation.

Practical implications

The findings highlight new demands for integration policies for foreign‐trained professionals, such as policies to promote equal opportunities for women and men in the workplace.

Originality/value

The article reinforces women as professional participants in the international migration process and examines the opportunities for successful integration.
Reinventing gender in higher education
Authors: Blättel‐Mink Birgit
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This article aims to address topical issues in the debate on gender (in)equality in higher education in Europe and beyond, and highlights future perspectives of research and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

It is based on a conference report of the 5th European Conference on Gender Equality in Higher Education that was hosted by Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, 28‐31 August 2007.

Findings

Number matters (“wore women into science”), but quality matters more: more women are needed in top positions in higher education, science, technology and engineering, and more female participation in higher education decision‐making processes. It is necessary to reveal gender biases of recent strategies in higher education. Exclusion happens also among women; an intersectional approach is therefore called for, which includes primary and secondary educations as well as labour market and careers in the academe.

Practical implications

Equality programmes have to consider the diversity of gender in higher education and to strengthen women's lobbying in European education and science politics.

Originality/value

This conference brought together about 350 participants from 56 countries. Thus, it provided an excellent opportunity for knowledge exchange with European scholars and beyond, which is reported in this paper.
Perceived conditions of workers in different organizational settings
Authors: Langston Craig , Song Yu , Purdey Brian
Published: February 2008

Purpose

Research into office design and its effect on employee satisfaction and performance has attracted considerable contemporary research interest. However, most studies have tended to concentrate on the impact of the built environment on human performance, ignoring the actual needs of employees working in different organizational settings. This paper hence aims to investigate the nature and extent of occupant satisfaction with the built environment in different organizational settings in Australia for a range of climates.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted in Australia from 2004‐2005, comprising 41 buildings, including six government buildings, 14 educational buildings and 21 commercial buildings. The Kruskal‐Wallis H test was used to explore whether there are differences in the mean ranking of office environment satisfaction amongst the three organizational settings, and the Mann‐Whitney U test was employed to further test whether there are differences in the mean ranking of office environment satisfaction between any two groups.

Findings

Significant differences were found in aspects of air, temperature, space suitability, flexibility, usability and controllability. Employees in commercial settings seem to be more satisfied with their physical work environment than employees in other organization types. Employees in educational settings showed the highest satisfaction with most variables in the workspace design and management category. Government employees showed a lower level of satisfaction with their physical work environment and workspace design and management.

Originality/value

Moreover, the government and educational groups showed more similarity with each other, while the commercial group displayed significant difference.
Building log books and online building information
Authors: Liddiard R. , Jones P. , Day A.R. , Kelly D.
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to establish the level of usage and how building log books are perceived within the UK non‐domestic buildings sector, and to identify potential benefits resulting from the use of building log books and internet‐based building information systems.

Design/methodology/approach

The method employed was the distribution and analysis of market survey questionnaires, distributed primarily via a professional body.

Findings

There is limited use of building log books, plus varying degrees of perceived usefulness, especially between the designer/contractor sector and the facilities management sector. Internet‐based information management systems appear to be largely acceptable. The quality of building information is likely to depend on who provides it. There is a significant perception within the designer/contractor sector that building regulations are not enforcing the availability of building log books in relevant buildings.

Research limitations/implications

Only a limited literature review was undertaken, and there may be limitations due to the nature of the distribution of the surveys and sample sizes. More research into the effective provision, management and utilisation of useful building information is required.

Practical implications

The paper demonstrates that regulations may not necessarily lead to practical implementation and that there is significant room for improvement in the provision and maintenance of building information which is useful to those operating buildings.

Originality/value

The paper expands understanding of the need for useful building information and proper management of that information, both for the facilities manager and as a means of feeding forward into new building designs.
Competitive priorities for service providers: perspectives from Thailand
Authors: Phusavat Kongkiti , Kanchana Rapee
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to examine and describe competitive priorities for service providers in Thailand. This research responds to the need expressed by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) for understanding these priorities. This study is part of a planning session on future enhancement of its members' competitiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

The survey, developed by Takala, was modified to gather feedback and opinions from top executives of ten service providers. These companies mainly provided technical services to customers. This survey consisted of six criteria or competitive priorities with a total of 31 dimensions. The analysis and computations were on both relative and global weights of the responses, derived from the analytical hierarchy process.

Findings

Quality represented the most important competitive priority. Quality was given the highest weight of 36.4 percent, while service provision, customer‐focus, and know‐how were at 20.4, 12.9 and 12.5 percent, respectively. The remaining weights were 9.8 percent for costs, and 8.0 percent for flexibility.

Practical implications

The awareness on competitive priorities was beneficial to the future organizational development of service providers in Thailand. These findings also helped reassure the FTI's current efforts on promoting quality among its members.

Originality/value

The knowledge on competitive priorities potentially helps companies formulate future strategies and action plans. It serves as feedback and a milestone for the FTI's effectiveness on promoting quality among the members in its service‐related clusters.
Information needs in the outsourcing lifecycle
Authors: Weimer Gero , Seuring Stefan
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify information needs in the outsourcing lifecycle, and to prioritize them according to their importance for governing and controlling the external provider.

Design/methodology/approach

A three‐round Delphi study was conducted, where 17 and 16 outsourcing experts answered, respectively.

Findings

The evaluation ranked “service reporting” as the number one information need for governing the external provider.

Research limitations/implications

The paper aims to shed light on a so far little‐considered research field and to create the basis for deeper analysis. Future research activities should examine in further detail how to effectively design “service reporting” in theory and practice.

Practical implications

This involves documentation of information needs in the outsourcing lifecycle which are the major prerequisite for making decisions to govern an outsourcing project.

Originality/value

While there is a rapidly growing body of literature on outsourcing, there is hardly any account regarding what information needs have to be fulfilled in outsourcing projects along their lifecycle. This is the major contribution of the paper.
Hybrid analytical hierarchy process model for supplier selection
Authors: Sevkli Mehmet , Lenny Koh S.C. , Zaim Selim , Demirbag Mehmet , Tatoglu Ekrem
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a new approach called “analytical hierarchy process weighted fuzzy linear programming model (AHP‐FLP)” for supplier selection.

Design/methodology/approach

A hybrid method of supplier selection, AHP‐FLP is applied to a real industry case. The weights of the various criteria, taken as local weights from a given judgment matrix, are calculated using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) that are also considered as the weights of the fuzzy linear programming model. This new model is compared with the classical AHP method.

Findings

This study concluded that the AHP‐FLP method outperforms the AHP method for supplier selection with respect to restricted supplier selection criteria. Drawing on a real case, Supplier 1 was identified to be the best supplier through the AHP model under no restrictions, which contradicts the finding that Supplier 2 was selected as the best supplier by the AHP‐FLP model subject to constraints.

Research limitations/implications

More research is definitely called for within the context of studying a more complex supply chain with multiple supply network and nodes. There is also a crucial need for investigating other hybrid methods to find the optimum supplier.

Practical implications

The findings of this study indicate that the weights of supplier selection criteria calculated by the AHP‐FLP model are in line with the actual supplier selection decision of purchasing managers. Since the AHP‐FLP model is relatively more difficult to implement compared with the crisp AHP, its application will be more appropriate for high‐value components where stringent purchasing criteria are required. In contrast, AHP remains an appropriate approach for relatively lower value components (C class).

Originality/value

The novelty of this study lies in the application of a hybrid approach to a real industry case. This study has dealt with one of the most important subjects in supply chain management, providing a better decision for supplier selection using appropriate quantitative techniques.
Managing “keep” factors of office tenants to raise satisfaction and loyalty
Authors: Appel‐Meulenbroek Rianne
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to add to behavioural property literature and improve the landlord‐tenant relationship, through exploring the effect of office (location and building) “keep”, push and pull factors on satisfaction and loyalty of tenants.

Design/methodology/approach

Structured face‐to‐face interviews with 38 office tenants are used to identify the important push, pull and “keep” factors and their effects. The results are placed within marketing theories on competition and customer intimacy, and translated into management implications.

Findings

The analyses indicate that retaining a tenant requires more relationship efforts than competing through offering a good price/quality ratio. A lot of subjectivity is involved in the tenant's valuation process of “keep” factors, which are mostly functional. Push and pull factors are mostly technical, but can only raise satisfaction up to a certain level.

Research limitations/implications

The sample was confined to two multi‐tenant buildings with small tenants in one region. In the future, the approach should be extended to other regions and tenant types and repeated in time to get longitudinal results.

Practical implications

The empirical results can assist landlords in managing their office buildings better. Landlords can also use the structured interviews as a customer‐relationship management instrument.

Originality/value

This paper gives more insight in “keep” factors and how they can help benefit the relationship between landlord and tenant(s). Also it places studies on tenants' choices and building factors within existing marketing theories on competition.
A simple finite rotation formulation for composite shell elements
Authors: Wagner W. , Gruttmann F.
Published: February 2008

In this paper we derive a simple finite element formulation for
geometrical nonlinear shell structures. The formulation bases on a direct
introduction of the isoparametric finite element formulation into the shell
equations. The element allows the occurrence of finite rotations which are
described by two independent angles. A layerwise linear elastic material
model for composites has been chosen. A consistent linearization of all
equations has been derived for the application of a pure Newton method in the
nonlinear solution process. Thus a quadratic convergence behaviour can be
achieved in the vicinity of the solution point. Examples show the
applicability and effectivity of the developed element.
A quadratic element for upper bound limit analysis
Authors: Yu H.S. , Sloan S.W. , Kleeman P.W.
Published: February 2008

This paper presents a new finite element formulation of the upper bound theorem. The formulation uses a six‐noded linear strain triangular element. Each node has two unknown velocities and each corner of a triangle is
associated with a specified number of unknown plastic multiplier rates. The major advantage of using a linear strain element, rather than a constant
strain element, is that the velocity field can be modelled more accurately. In addition, the incompressibility condition can be easily satisfied without
resorting to special arrangements of elements in the mesh. The formulation permits kinematically admissible velocity discontinuities at specified
locations within the finite element mesh. To ensure that finite element formulation of the upper bound theorem leads to a linear programming problem,
the yield criterion is expressed as a linear function of the stresses. The linearized yield surface is defined to circumscribe the parent yield surface
so that the solution obtained is a rigorous upper bound. During the solution phase, an active set algorithm is used to solve the resulting linear
programming problem. Several numerical examples are given to illustrate the capability of the new procedure for computing rigorous upper bounds. The
efficiency and accuracy of the quadratic formulation is compared with that of the 3‐noded constant strain formulation in detail.
Optimal design of multiple load case structures using an evolutionary
procedure
Authors: Xie Y.M. , Steven G.P.
Published: February 2008

The structural optimization presented in this paper is based on an
evolutionary procedure, developed recently, in which the low stressed part of
a structure is removed from the structure step‐by‐step until an
optimal design is obtained. Various tests have shown the effectiveness of this
evolutionary procedure. The purpose of this paper is to present applications
of such an evolutionary procedure to the optimal design of structures with
multiple load cases or with a traffic (moving) load.
Finite element methods and material processing technology
Authors: Brännberg N. , Mackerle J.
Published: February 2008

This paper gives a review of the finite element techniques (FE) applied in the area of material processing. The latest trends in metal forming, non‐metal forming and powder metallurgy are briefly discussed. The range of applications of finite elements on the subjects is extremely wide and cannot be presented in a single paper; therefore the aim of the paper is to give FE users only an encyclopaedic view of the different possibilities that exist today in the various fields mentioned above. An appendix included at the end of the paper presents a bibliography on finite element applications in material processing for the last five years, and more than 1100 references are listed.
Effect of particle shape on the strength and deformation mechanisms of ellipse‐shaped granular assemblages
Authors: Ting John M. , Meachum Larry , Rowell Jeffrey D.
Published: February 2008

This paper presents the results of a Discrete Element Method study on the influence of particle shape on the strength and deformation behaviour of two dimensional assemblages of ellipse‐shaped particles. Assemblages of particles with varying individual particle aspect ratio were formed with a preferred bedding plane, isotropically compressed with varying isotropic confining stresses and then sheared with biaxial compression. The results indicate that Discrete Element analysis using two dimensional ellipse‐shaped particles produces mechanical behaviour which is similar both quantitatively and qualitatively to the behaviour of real granular materials. Even small particle out‐of‐roundness increases the observed macroscopic strength significantly. In systems composed of flatter particles, particle rotations are greatly inhibited. Decomposing relative contact displacements into contributions due to particle rotation and translation demonstrates that most of the displacements in round particle systems are due to individual particle rotation.
A flexible boundary for three‐dimensional dem particle assemblies
Authors: Kuhn Matthew R.
Published: February 2008

An algorithm is presented for creating a flexible boundary to analyse three‐dimensional assemblies of spheres. It can be used to study localization phenomena in particulate materials. The boundary is composed of adjoining triangular plate elements which are connected at their corners to the centres of neighbouring spheres. The applied external boundary stresses create traction forces on the plates, which are distributed among the plates’ particles. The boundary performed favourably in tests on a large assembly of particles when only contact and rotational damping were used. Plane strain compression tests on assemblies with flexible and periodic boundaries revealed a lower strength with the former. This result could be due to the greater restraint on particle movements produced by periodic boundaries or to the early development of a column buckling failure pattern of the assembly with flexible boundaries. No shear bands were observed in the assembly.
A linear complexity intersection algorithm for discrete element simulation of arbitrary geometries
Authors: Williams J.R. , O’Connor R.
Published: February 2008

We present an algorithm for contact resolution that is valid for a wide variety of polygonal two dimensional shapes and is of linear computational complexity. The algorithm is designed for use in discrete element analysis of granular and multibody systems exhibiting discontinuous behaviour. Contact detection usually consists of a spatial sorting phase and a contact resolution phase. The spatial sorting phase seeks to avoid an all‐to‐all body comparison by culling the number of objects which are potential contactors of a given object. The contact resolution phase resolves the details of the contact between two given objects. The algorithm presented here (called DFR) addresses the contact resolution phase and is applicable to convex geometries and to a restricted set of concave geometries. Examination of the algorithm establishes an upper bound linear computational complexity, of order O(N), with respect to the number of points (N) used to define the object boundary. The DFR algorithm is combined with a modified heapsort algorithm for spatial sorting of M bodies which has complexity O(M log M) and is applied to a baseline granular simulation problem to test its efficiency.
Fully stressed topological design of structures using an evolutionary
procedure
Authors: Hinton E. , Sienz J.
Published: February 2008

An automated fully stressed design approach based on the Xie and Steven
algorithm is presented. With this algorithm a fully stressed
design is obtained by a gradual removal of low stressed material. By applying
this evolutionary procedure a layout or topology of a structure can be found
from an initial block of material. A fully integrated, interactive program is
presented which incorporates automatic mesh generation, finite element
analysis and the fully stressed design algorithm. The feasibility of the
approach is demonstrated using several examples.
Parameter sensitivity of elastoplastic response
Authors: Kleiber M. , Hien T.D. , Antúnez H. , Kowalczyk P.
Published: February 2008

The general problem of sizing, material and loading parameter sensitivity of non‐linear systems is presented. Both kinematic and path‐dependent material non‐linearities are considered;
non‐linear sensitivity path is traced by an incremental solution strategy. The variational approach employed is quite general and can be employed for studying sensitivity of various path‐dependent highly
non‐linear phenomena. Both the direct differentiation method (DDM) and adjoint system method (ASM) are discussed in the context of continuum and finite element mechanics. The merits of using
the consistent tangent matrix and the necessity of accumulation of design derivatives of stresses and internal parameters are indicated. Aspects of sensitivity problems in metal forming are also discussed. A number of
examples illustrate the paper.
Computational issues arising in multidimensional elliptic inverse
problems: the inverse problem of electrocardiography
Authors: Olson Lorraine G. , Throne Robert D.
Published: February 2008

We compare a recently proposed generalized eigensystem approach and a
new modified generalized eigensystem approach to more widely used truncated
singular value decomposition and zero‐order Tikhonov regularization for
solving multidimensional elliptic inverse problems. As a test case, we use a
finite element representation of a homogeneous eccentric spheres model of the
inverse problem of electrocardiography. Special attention is paid to
numerical issues of accuracy, convergence, and robustness. While the new
generalized eigensystem methods are substantially more demanding
computationally, they exhibit improved accuracy and convergence compared with
widely used methods and offer substantially better robustness.
Comparison of two higher order finite element models for composite
materials and experimental validation
Authors: Tchiftchibachian A.
Published: February 2008

Two displacement‐based higher‐order models are analysed.
The in‐plane displacements are a cubic variation of the thickness
coordinate for the first model. The other cubic model is simplified without
second order term. In the beginning, comparisons are realised in exact
solution cases. Then to improve the accuracy of the above process,
computations of these two models are compared to the measures of laminated
complex beam bending experiments.
Collaboration to improve local business services
Authors: Rader Olsson Amy
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test the effectiveness of collaborative dialogue to support small business development in small communities.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employs a case study involving collaboration using both an interpersonal network structure and an inter‐organizational project structure.

Findings

the paper finds that collaboration mobilizes local resources to fill structural and relational gaps in the local institutional environment for SMEs.

Research limitations/implications

The research agenda for collaborative planning should include studying institutional factors that can hinder some actors such as small businesses from participating.

Originality/value

The paper provides practical experience of banks as community development actors, and identifies a potential conflict in normative collaboration theory between inclusiveness/diversity and a “higher level” institutional focus.
The affective underpinnings of psychological contract fulfilment
Authors: Guerrero Sylvie , Herrbach Olivier
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an empirical study of the link between psychological contract fulfilment and affective states at work. The paper argues that perceived organizational support is the key attitudinal intervening variable that arises from the cognitive assessment of the exchange relationship between employer and employee and is in turn related to the generation of affective states at work.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper tests this assumption using a manager sample of 249 participants and a longitudinal design.

Findings

Perceived organizational support mediates the relationship between psychological contract fulfilment and workplace affect.

Research limitations/implications

Affect was not measured in real time, but through self‐reports. Future research could study how and under what conditions psychological contract fulfilment generates perceived organizational support.

Originality/value

One of the few studies that have sought to research the affective dimension of the psychological contract.
Job‐demand for learning and job‐related learning
Authors: Loon Mark , Casimir Gian
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of the research is to examine whether need for achievement moderates the relationship between job‐demand for learning and job‐related learning.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained from 153 participants full‐time. The scales for job‐demand for learning and job‐related learning were developed for this research, whilst the scale for need for achievement was obtained from an external source. Hierarchical regression analysis was used in testing the hypothesized moderating effects.

Findings

It was found that need for achievement moderates the relationship between job‐demand for learning and job‐related learning. Specifically, although job‐demand for learning is correlated positively to job‐related learning for both the high and the low need for achievement groups, this correlation is stronger amongst the high group.

Research limitations/implications

The use of a cross‐sectional design in this study prohibits inferences being drawn regarding the causal relationships between job‐demand for learning, need for achievement and job‐related learning.

Practical implications

Job‐related learning can be facilitated through increasing the need for achievement by allowing employees to establish their own learning and performance goals rather than by imposing such goals on them. The redesign of jobs to create challenges for employees is an equally important practical consideration.

Originality/value

This research provides a succinct view of the relationship between an external factor, job‐demand for learning, and an internal motivator, need for achievement. It emphasizes the degree to which organizations can facilitate learning through design of challenging jobs, to the extent of the individuals' motivation.
Nano‐ and micro‐filled conducting adhesives for z‐axis interconnections: new direction for high‐speed, high‐density, organic microelectronics packaging
Authors: Das Rabindra N. , Egitto Frank D. , Markovich Voya R.
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of epoxy‐based conducting adhesives in z‐axis interconnections.

Design/methodology/approach

A variety of conductive adhesives with particle sizes ranging from 80 nm to 15 μm were laminated into printed wiring board substrates. SEM and optical microscopy were used to investigate the micro‐structures, conducting mechanism and path. The mechanical strength of the various adhesives was characterized by 90° peel test and measurement of tensile strength. Reliability of the adhesives was ascertained by IR‐reflow, thermal cycling, pressure cooker test (PCT), and solder shock. Change in tensile strength of adhesives was within 10 percent after 1,000 cycles of deep thermal cycling (DTC) between −55 and 125°C.

Findings

The volume resistivity of copper, silver and low‐melting point (LMP) alloy based paste were 5 × 10−4, 5 × 10−5 and 2 × 10−5 Ω cm, respectively. Volume resistivity decreased with increasing curing temperature. Adhesives exhibited peel strength with Gould's JTC‐treated Cu as high as 2.75 lbs/in. for silver, and as low as 1.00 lb/in. for LMP alloy. Similarly, tensile strength for silver, copper and LMP alloy were 3,370, 2,056 and 600 ψ, respectively. There was no delamination for silver, copper and LMP alloy samples after 3X IR‐reflow, PCT, and solder shock. Among all, silver‐based adhesives showed the lowest volume resistivity and highest mechanical strength. It was found that with increasing curing temperature, the volume resistivity of the silver‐filled paste decreased due to sintering of metal particles.

Research limitations/applications

As a case study, an example of silver‐filled conductive adhesives as a z‐axis interconnect construction for a flip‐chip plastic ball grid array package with a 150 μm die pad pitch is given.

Originality/value

A high‐performance Z‐interconnect package can be provided which meets or exceeds JEDEC level requirements if specific materials, design, and manufacturing process requirements are met, resulting in an excellent package that can be used in single and multi‐chip applications. The processes and materials used to achieve smaller feature dimensions, satisfy stringent registration requirements, and achieve robust electrical interconnections are discussed.
The process and pastes for the via hole plugging of HDI PCBs
Authors: Suppa Manfred
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the materials and process considerations and solutions that enable the safe use of plugging pastes in high density interconnection (HDI) printed circuit boards (PCBs) designed to operate at higher temperatures.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper introduces the concept of microvia plugging and the issues that are important in influencing HDI PCB reliability. Plugging pastes and their properties are discussed along with the various plugging processes that can be used. The advantages and disadvantages of each type of process are compared and contrasted.

Findings

The creation of via holes and the filling of these interconnection holes or buried vias and their subsequent copper plating is one of the key processes in HDI technology. In future, the importance of plugging will increase, particularly on account of the growing demand for copper plating and dimensional stability.

Research limitations/implications

The paper highlights the importance of making the correct selection of materials and processing methodologies and details the implications of these choices.

Originality/value

The paper describes the different approaches that can be used for filling microvias and details the issues, advantages and disadvantages of the various approaches. The paper particularly focuses on the special demands on plugging pastes used in higher temperature range applications.
A review of liquid crystal display technologies, electronic interconnection and failure analysis
Authors: Smith C.A.
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the chemistry of organic compounds with a liquid crystal phase and their application in flat panel electronic displays.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a review of liquid crystal display (LCD) technology. It provides an introduction to liquid crystals and LCDs, with an emphasis on their historical development, various LCD technologies employed, their electronic interconnection to driver circuitry and failure analysis.

Findings

The current world market for LCDs is being driven by flat panel television sales. As well as their use in television sets, they are to be found in aircraft cockpit instrumentation, computer monitors, mobile phones and digital cameras, all of which would not exist in their present form without liquid crystals.

Originality/value

The paper provides an introduction to LCDs for electronic engineers working in this area, who may be unfamiliar with the chemistry of liquid crystals, LCD technology, electronic interconnection and failure analysis.
Micro‐level determinants of poverty reduction in Sri Lanka: a multivariate approach
Authors: De Silva Indunil
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The main purpose of this paper is to construct a poverty profile for Sri Lanka, and examine the micro‐level determinants and correlates of poverty.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on the latest Sri Lanka Integrated Survey commissioned by the World Bank. The unconditional poverty profile was constructed using three different poverty measures (poverty headcount, average poverty gap and squared poverty gap), nested in the Foster‐Greer‐Thorbecke index. The conditional poverty profile was constructed on the basis of a multivariate analysis of poverty correlates. Partial correlates of poverty are computed using two comparable methodologies. First, a logistic regression was estimated, with the probability of a household being in poverty as the dependent variable and a set of economic and demographic variables as correlates. Second, the quantile regression approach was utilized to examine the correlates of per capita consumption at different points on the distribution.

Findings

The empirical findings are broadly encouraging. The estimation results show that the education of the household head, being salary employed and being engaged in business have a significant positive effect on the standard of living. The probability of being poor increases with the household size, household head being female, living in a rural area, and being a casual wage earner. These findings indicate the importance of a set of policies which are super pro‐poor, namely increasing school enrolment and achievement, effective family planning programs to reduce the birth rate and dependency load within households, and granting priorities for specific cohorts (children‐, elderly‐, rural‐ and female‐headed households) in targeted interventions.

Originality/value

This is the first study that examines the probable determinants and correlates of Sri Lankan poverty in a multivariate framework employing both logit and quantile regressions.
The effect of abortion costs on adoption in the USA
Authors: Medoff Marshall H.
Published: February 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically estimate the effect the costs of an abortion have on the supply of infants relinquished for adoption in the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper, using pooled time‐series cross‐section state data, over the years 1982, 1992, and 2000, empirically estimates an adoption supply equation based on the rational choice economic model of fertility.

Findings

The empirical results find that increases in the price of an abortion and the enforcement of a Parental Involvement Law decrease the number of infants available for adoption in a state. States that do not fund Medicaid abortions do not have higher rates of infant relinquishment.

Research limitations/implications

One implication of the results in this paper is that to have an abortion or relinquish an infant for adoption are not considered to be substitutes by women with unwanted pregnancies and that for poor women with unwanted pregnancies either an abortion or raising an infant is preferable to relinquishing an infant for adoption. It would be of interest to see whether comparable results occur in other countries which have changed their abortion policies.

Originality/value

If the goal of society is to increase the number of adoptable infants, the conclusions reached in this paper suggest ways to accomplish this goal.
An empirical investigation of relationships between official development assistance (ODA) and human and educational development
Authors: Lin Moe Tun
Published: February 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between official development assistance (ODA) and human and educational development in countries in Southeast Asia.

Design/methodology/approach

In the study described here, empirical evidence was used to investigate the relationship between ODA provided between 1990 and 2004 and its impact on the human and educational development of countries in Southeast Asia.

Findings

A review of efforts made over the past 15 years in providing developmental aid reveals that there still remain gaps in the human development dimensions – income, education, and health – within and between countries. Second, real gross domestic product and foreign direct investment have significant associations with human and educational development, while, at the aggregate level, ODA has a significant positive association only with human development. Third, ODA that is targeted to support socio‐economic development has a significant relationship with human development. Fourth, ODA allocated to unspecified levels of education, or post‐secondary education, shows a significant association with human development, while ODA provided for basic education, secondary education and post‐secondary education has a significant relationship with educational development.

Research limitations/implications

The study focuses on countries that have a medium level of human development, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Philippines, Laos and Vietnam.

Practical implications

The findings and results are useful guidelines for major stakeholders, including donors and the governments of recipient countries, for designing aid systems and effectiveness.

Originality/value

This paper draws the attention of donors and the governments of recipients to the effectiveness of aid and its targets.