Performance of perforated FRP stub beams subject to static transverse actions

This paper presents an experimental programme designed to investigate the failure mode and ultimate capacity of pultruded glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) cellular profiles subject to transverse loading. Presented in this study are the results of the characterisation of twenty six GFRP 152 × 76 × 6.4 mm I stub beams, 300 mm long. The beam specimens were categorised as plain for the control tests and those with circular or rectangular openings, centrally positioned. The specimens were subject to different loading configurations, noted as End Bearing with solid ground (EB), Interior Two Flange (ITF), Interior Bearing with solid base (IB) and End Two Flange (ETF). Results indicate a reduction in load-carrying capacity of the specimens with the opening when compared to the control specimens. The reduction was up to 20% for the specimens with circular openings and up to 25% for specimens with rectangular openings. The study revealed that loading configuration IB and ITF exhibit larger nonlinear behaviour and deformability than loading configurations EB and ETF. Various research has been conducted on its mechanical properties, connections, pultrusion techniques and web crippling behaviour of thin-walled GFRP section. Limited research can be found in the literature on the behaviour of pultruded GFRP beams with large perforation, subject to transverse static loadings.<br/

Gouvernance démocratique et circulation des savoirs : Quels dispositifs de gestion ?

International audienceDes entreprises de l’ESS revendiquent un fonctionnementdémocratique dont l’articulation avec la gestion d’uneactivité économique concurrentielle est source de tensionsmanagériales. L’article traite d’une tension spécifique, liée àla différenciation des savoirs et des compétences entre lesmembres, qui fait courir le risque d’une déliquescence de lagouvernance démocratique. L’étude du cas d’une entreprisede plusieurs centaines de membres permet d’explorer laconception de dispositifs de gestion adaptés, organisant lacirculation des savoirs et les apprentissages

Gouverner sans les instruments ? La difficile construction des politiques relatives à la perte d'autonomie des personnes âgées

National audienceEngagée dans un processus de vieillissement démographique jusqu'en 2060, la France, comme l'ensemble des pays occidentaux, cherche à déployer des aides et des services pour les personnes âgées en perte d'autonomie et leurs proches. Cette politique publique est encore en voie de construction et souffre particulièrement d'une difficulté à organiser une gouvernance adaptée à l'implication d'acteurs hétérogènes et situés à différents niveaux d'intervention. Nous proposons tout d'abord un état des lieux de cette problématique avant d'offrir des perspectives pour répondre au double défi du vieillissement de la population et de l'organisation de ces politiques multi-parties prenantes, représentatives des mutations de l'action publique contemporaine et de ses incertitudes

Qualification et gestion de la tension différenciation-intégration des savoirs dans les entreprises démocratiques

Certaines entreprises de l'ESS revendiquent un fonctionnement démocratique dont l'articulation avec la gestion d'une activité économique concurrentielle est source de tensions managériales. L'article traite d'une tension spécifique, liée à la différenciation des savoirs et des compétences entre les membres, qui fait courir le risque d'une déliquescence de la gouvernance démocratique. L'étude du cas d'une entreprise de plusieurs centaines de membres permet d'explorer la conception de dispositifs de gestion adaptés, organisant la circulation des savoirs et les apprentissages

Analyzing and comparing Professional Service Firms over services, time and space. Proposition of a foundation framework

International audienceResearch on professional service firms (PSFs) has been quickly developing over the last twenty years, especially emphasizing both PSFs' distinctiveness and their current challenges. Recent efforts by PSFs scholars have focused on the issue of understanding differences between PSfs regarding ongoing tensions (eg. tension between Partnership and Corporation) or to organizational differentiation over geographical boundaries and professional activities. Although these contributions shed light on different factors of heterogeneity between PSFs, there is still a lack of an integrated and actionable framework which would help analyzing PSFs changes, heterogeneity and distinctiveness over services, time and space. We propose a foundation framework which interconnects two dimensions, namely " governance " (composed of two sub-dimensions " objects " and " means ") and " operations " (composed of " resources " and " coordination "). This framework provides with dimensions to analyze changes in and differentiation between PSFs. It is then completed by the interactions with different dimensions of the environment which may explain changes and differentiation inside and between PSFs, namely regulation, clients, competitors and the socio-technical environment. Such a framework offers several contributions by representing comprehensively the organizational dimensions of a PSF and their coherence, by relating issues which are often considered separately and by arguing that organizational patterns are not simply deterministic but also depend on professionals' initiatives

The odyssey of "alternative firms": new organizational propositions from a case-study

International audienceLately, "conventional" firms have been roughly criticized for both the legitimacy of shareholder value and the production of negative externalities that affect society. In the crisis context, "alternative" firms are often presented as candidates to design renewed organizations. However, there is a high risk of arousing as much initial enthusiasm as following disillusion. In this paper, we address the issue of the organizational dynamics of such corporate projects over time. After a (brief) historical overview of alternative firms, we discuss the limitations of dominant approach which sustains the "degeneration thesis." We then elaborate a new analytical framework that raises the issues of alternative firms in another fashion to go beyond traditional tradeoffs between democratic functioning and financial performance. The framework is then used to longitudinally analyze the story of Garden Concept, an alternative firm operating in artistic gardening, over seven years. Our findings show how the building of dynamic relations between members, common purpose and organizational devices are at the heart of the alternative firm's project. So doing, we explore a larger redefinition of these three elements and depart from a close association of "alternative" project to strict democracy. Contributions to "alternative firms" as well as research perspectives on professional and artistic organizations are eventually considered

Les sites à traces de pas de vertébrés du Trias à l'Hettangien : contenu et interprétation

Footprints are numerous in France where they found from Carboniferous to Quaternary levels. Those of Middle Triassic (Anisian-Ladinian) are especialy interesting because they are tridactyl footprints made probably by first dinosaurs. First skelettons are known from Upper Ladinian / lower Carnian

Signification des aires à empreintes de pas de vertébrés des Grands Causses (Biologie et Physiologie)

Numerous footprints areas has been found, since 1962, in Permian, Triassic and Hettango-Sinemurian. All show precised oriented trackways. So that they were undestood like walking ways but their precise meaning is still enigmatic

StakeS-holder Management and Crisis Resilience A case study in a public transportation company

International audienceStakeholder perspectives on crisis management provide a useful descriptive framework for analyzing crises and making crisis narratives. However, their "actionability" for crisis management, i.e. possibility to use stakeholder management models into operational crisis management processes, remains an under-investigated question. The purpose of this article is to discuss the operational value of stakeholder frameworks for crisis management. Drawing on a qualitative case study of a successful crisis management process in a public transportation company, we investigate the activities set up by the crisis cell to manage internal and external stakeholders during the crisis. In our case, successful stakeholder management relied on: 1) good diagnosis capabilities for the design of an appropriate corporate positioning; 2) an ability to manage coherently a set of emerging and heterogeneous issues involving stakeSholders ; 3) the capacity to set up a tightly coupled form of organization, involving both crisis cell members and various "anchorage points", i.e. specific actors involved in the project before the crisis, who were already in contact with key stakeholders as part of their day-to-day activities. We then discuss the practical and theoretical implications of this analysis and the potential value stakeholder perspectives for crisis management

Organizing sustainable democratic firms: processes of regeneration as the design of new models of cooperation

Proceedings are available online at http://www.euram2013.com (authentification requested)International audienceIn a period of economic and legitimacy crises for firms, there is a current appeal on alternative firms to the conventional capitalist and hierarchical one, especially ones with a democratic form such as cooperatives. But for a long time the "degeneration" pattern of democratic firms, namely their economic failure or the abandonment of democratic functioning, has been pointed out. Even if such a deterministic rationale has been contested, the main difficulty for democratic firms remains their capacity to overcome degeneration crises. This paper investigates this question through the case of a 400-member democratic professional service firm, studied during three years with an intervention research method. It shows how such a firm designed organizational outcomes to a twofold crisis of performance and governance. It contributes to a better understanding of the conditions of sustainability of democratic firms by emphasizing the possibility of designing new models of cooperation, which integrate various constraints and do not compromise between antagonist logics within the firm