Critical factors for transferring and sharing tacit knowledge within lean and agile construction processes

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to investigate the critical success factors (CSFs) associated with the effectiveness of transfer and sharing of tacit knowledge in lean and agile construction processes. Design/methodology/approach The study identifies ten CSFs that initiate the transferring and sharing of tacit knowledge. The CSFs are validated through quantitative study. This study recruited project managers, executives, consultants and other managers that are directly involved in the management of a construction project. It recruits the respondents those have background and experience from disciplines such as lean construction, agile construction, construction supply chain (CSC) and knowledge management in lean, agile and CSC. The data collected through self-administrative questionnaire are categorised as ordinal data to analyse in SPSS with frequency and Kruskal–Wallis H test, Spearman’s correlation analysis and a rank-order analysis is done to establish the level of importance of those factors. Findings Initially, “Trust between construction organisations” is identified as the foremost CSF. Moreover, other CSFs such as motivation, leadership capabilities, business strategies and organisational capabilities follow trust. Originality/value This is the first study that investigates and establishes the CSFs that are essential to initiate transferring and sharing tacit knowledge in a lean and in an agile construction processes

Safety hazards associated with the charging of lithium/sulfur dioxide cells

A continuing research program to assess the responses of spirally wound, lithium/sulfur dioxide cells to charging as functions of charging current, temperature, and cell condition prior to charging is described. Partially discharged cells that are charged at currents greater than one ampere explode with the time to explosion inversely proportional to the charging current. Cells charged at currents of less than one ampere may fail in one of several modes. The data allows an empirical prediction of when certain cells will fail given a constant charging current

Double Exponential Instability of Triangular Arbitrage Systems

If financial markets displayed the informational efficiency postulated in the efficient markets hypothesis (EMH), arbitrage operations would be self-extinguishing. The present paper considers arbitrage sequences in foreign exchange (FX) markets, in which trading platforms and information are fragmented. In Kozyakin et al. (2010) and Cross et al. (2012) it was shown that sequences of triangular arbitrage operations in FX markets containing 4 currencies and trader-arbitrageurs tend to display periodicity or grow exponentially rather than being self-extinguishing. This paper extends the analysis to 5 or higher-order currency worlds. The key findings are that in a 5-currency world arbitrage sequences may also follow an exponential law as well as display periodicity, but that in higher-order currency worlds a double exponential law may additionally apply. There is an "inheritance of instability" in the higher-order currency worlds. Profitable arbitrage operations are thus endemic rather that displaying the self-extinguishing properties implied by the EMH.Comment: 22 pages, 22 bibliography references, expanded Introduction and Conclusion, added bibliohraphy reference

Chemical analysis of charged Li/SO(sub)2 cells

The initial focus of the program was to confirm that charging can indeed result in explosions and constitute a significant safety problem. Results of this initial effort clearly demonstrated that cells do indeed explode on charge and that charging does indeed constitute a real and severe safety problem. The results of the effort to identify the chemical reactions involved in and responsible for the observed behavior are described

De la confession à l'entretien individuel : un parallèle troublant

International audienceCe chapitre met en parallèle la confession auriculaire au sein de l'Eglise d'un côté, et l'entretien individuel au sein de l'entreprise de l'autre. Ceci permet de saisir la force du colloque singulier pour imposer des valeurs qui servent l'efficacité de l'institution dans laquelle il est réalisé. Néanmoins, cela « fonctionne » dès lors que la confession comme l'entretien sont inéluctables car l'individu ne peut s'y soustraire au risque d'une désintégration sociale. D'autre part, la confession peut s'opérer car elle repose sur une croyance dans le sacrement de pénitence et son pouvoir quasi-magique, mais contribue également à renforcer cette croyance. L'entretien individuel, repose quant à lui sur l'idée que l'individu est porteur de compétences indépendamment du collectif dans lequel il exerce et de l'organisation dans laquelle il se trouve, et contribue également à véhiculer cette idée

Valoración ecológica de los servicios ecosistémicos prestados por el suelo en fincas cafeteras de la Cuchilla de San Juan, municipio de Belén de Umbría, Colombia

Para la valoración ecológica de los servicios ecosistémicos prestados por los suelos en el municipio de Belén de Umbría (Colombia), se colectó información en dos periodos diferentes sobre las propiedades físicas, químicas y biológicas de los suelos de 15 predios, con coberturas asociadas a los sistemas de producción de café. Se delimitaron 3 unidades de análisis (área marginal alta, área óptima y área marginal baja) denominadas ventanas donde se determinaron 6 servicios ecosistémicos (disponibilidad de nutrientes, capacidad de enraizamiento, resistencia a la erosión, sumidero de dióxido de carbono, disponibilidad de agua y disponibilidad de actividad microbiológica). Con base en fuentes primarias y secundarias se definieron las variables con mayor peso en la variabilidad de los servicios ecosistémicos y se realizó un proceso de estandarización para el manejo adecuado de la información. Después, mediante la ponderación de los valores de los servicios se determinaron tres índices (óptimo, de comportamiento y de gestión). Los resultados permitieron identificar que la disponibilidad de nutrientes y la disponibilidad de actividad microbiológica es baja, la resistencia a la erosión y sumidero de dióxido de carbono muestra un comportamiento bajo y medio, en tanto la disponibilidad de agua y capacidad de enraizamiento presentó una valoración medio y alto. El predio El Consuelo, perteneciente al área marginal óptima fue la que obtuvo el mejor resultado en la valoración de los servicios; La Mirla, Los Pinos y El Progreso fueron los predios con menor valoración

Edge-illumination X-ray dark-field imaging for visualising defects in composite structures

Low velocity impact can lead to barely visible and difficult to detect damage such as fibre and matrix breakage or delaminations in composite structures. Drop-weight impact damage in a cross-ply carbon fibre laminate plate was characterized using ultrasonic C-scan measurements. This was compared to the results provided by a novel X-ray imaging technique based on the detection of phase effects, which can be implemented with conventional equipment. Three representations of the sample are provided: absorption, differential phase and dark-field. The latter is of particular interest to detect cracks and voids of dimensions that are smaller than the spatial resolution of the imaging system. The ultrasonic C-scan showed a large delamination and additional damage along the fibre directions. The damage along the fibre directions and other small scale defects were detected from the X-ray imaging. As the system is sensitive to phase effects along one direction at a time, the acquisition of an additional scan, rotating the sample 90 degrees around the beam axis, provides information in both fibre directions. These two techniques enable access to a set of complementary information, across different length scales, which can be useful in the characterization of the defects occurring in composite structures

Profit generation or community resource? Studying attitudes to the operation of a post office by a charity

Purpose: For the past decade sub-post offices in the UK have been subject to intensive pressures to marketise their business. Actual or threatened closures have led charities to become involved in projects to preserve community post offices. This research investigated the attitudes of the trustees and staff involved in six charity-backed post offices (POs) to answer the research question ‘Do those involved with charity-backed POs prioritise profit generation or community resourcing?’ Prior work: There are few peer-reviewed studies of the potential of sub-post offices as sites for social enterprise, and none (that we could locate) on the role of charities. In this study, we contest Liu and Ko’s view (2014, p. 402) that the key task is “to install market-oriented managerial beliefs and values into the charity retailer’s decision-making”. We offer a counter view that trading can represent a further diversification of the innovations used to support charitable endeavours. Design / Methodology: This research adopted a neo-empiricist stance on the collection and interpretation of data. We treated ‘attitudes’ as real phenomena that are subjectively experienced and concretely expressed through activities in an objectively real world. Data was gathered from four or more people in each of six POs by sampling their services and conducting face to face interviews. The emphasis was on achieving verstehen – a rich understanding of a specific approach to social enterprise grounded in interpretations of human activity under conditions of naturalistic inquiry. Findings: We found that charity-backed POs were focussed on preserving POs as a community resource but articulated this by framing profitability in three distinct ways: as a PO generating a surplus that can be gifted or reallocated to a (parent) charity’s other activities; as an activity that offsets a charity’s fixed costs or enables or promotes its public benefit aims. Originality / Value: This is the first academic study to confront the complexities of differentiating ‘profitability’ from ‘profit generation’ in charity-backed POs. The subtleties in the articulation of this difference by study participants helped to account for the findings of the study and to make sense of the strong consensus that POs should be seen primarily as a community resource whilst responding to marketisation pressures