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Article
Publication date: 8 May 2024

Jana Stefan, Alison Hirst, Marco Guerci and Maria Laura Toraldo

This paper aims to help workplace ethnographers navigate and reflect on primary access negotiations by scrutinising two of the concepts mentioned in the call for papers on this…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to help workplace ethnographers navigate and reflect on primary access negotiations by scrutinising two of the concepts mentioned in the call for papers on this special issue: workplace relations and tensions. We introduce the frames of reference (FoRs) concept as used in the field of employment relations to the ethnographic community. We propose that the implicit frames of gatekeeper and researcher influence what they deem interesting for research, thus influencing the content of access negotiations. Moreover, we propose that tensions typically emerge when gatekeepers and ethnographers do not share the same frame of the employment relationship (ER).

Design/methodology/approach

We explore the ER through Fox’s (1966, 1974) framework, taking inspiration from Budd et al. (2022), who applied FoRs to employer–employee relations. We adapt the framework to the relationships between workplace ethnographers and gatekeepers by theorising the characteristics of ideal types of gatekeepers and workplace ethnographers and exploring possible implications for when they meet in access negotiations. We distil lessons learnt from previous research by drawing on illustrative examples from the literature to suggest strategies for interacting with gatekeepers when tensions emerge, providing a pragmatic application of our contribution.

Findings

Assuming that their FoR of the ER contributes to what they find to be of practical relevance/academic interest, we suggest that a (mis)match of gatekeepers’ and workplace ethnographers’ FoRs can lead to tensions between workplace ethnographers and gatekeepers, either remaining latent or becoming salient. We propose three possible strategies as to how to navigate these tensions during primary access negotiations.

Originality/value

Whilst previous research has mainly focused on the ethnographer as an individual who needs to give gatekeepers a reassuring and enticing impression, we discuss how an important structural factor, an organisation’s ER setup, may influence access. We thus bring an important yet hitherto neglected aspect of organisational life into the debate on the pragmatic realities of ethnography, contributing to the discussion of how to navigate the tension between the “practical” need to convince gatekeepers and the need to fulfil one’s own standards of rigorous research and ethics.

Details

Journal of Organizational Ethnography, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6749

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 May 2023

Jana Grothaus, Sören Köcher, Sarah Köcher and Stefan Dieterle

This study aims to investigate how the open discussion of infertility-related topics on public social media platforms contributes to the well-being of individuals affected by…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how the open discussion of infertility-related topics on public social media platforms contributes to the well-being of individuals affected by infertility.

Design/methodology/approach

For this study, the authors used a netnographic approach to analyze 69 YouTube videos (>21 h of raw data) produced by infertility vloggers and more than 40,000 user comments.

Findings

The authors identify two ways in which infertility patients benefit from public discussions of the topic on social media: through watching videos and engaging in discussions, patients satisfy their infertility-related needs (i.e. the need for information, emotional support and experience sharing); and through reaching people who are not affected by infertility, vloggers help to de-taboo the issue as well as sensitize and educate society.

Practical implications

To providers of tabooed services, this study’s findings emphasize the potential of incorporating social media in the consumer support strategy.

Social implications

This research highlights the value of the public discussion of infertility-related topics on social media platforms for consumers affected by the issue.

Originality/value

In this study, the public discussion of infertility-related topics through video blogs is presented as a valuable tool to enhance the well-being of individuals confronted with infertility as these vlogs satisfy related needs of the consumers and contribute to de-tabooing.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 37 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 August 2023

Štefan Karolčík and Michaela Marková

This research study explores the perceptions of the importance and meaning of innovation in education by qualified teachers. The authors deliberately selected geography teachers…

1596

Abstract

Purpose

This research study explores the perceptions of the importance and meaning of innovation in education by qualified teachers. The authors deliberately selected geography teachers for the research because the extraordinary dynamics of changes and innovations the teacher has to deal with are significantly reflected, particularly in geography teaching.

Design/methodology/approach

The main aim of the research was to determine geography teachers' views on the importance, role and meaning of innovation in teaching. The research group consisted of 12 qualified teachers, and a semistructured interview was chosen as the research method. The research was conducted over six months, from October 2020 to March 2021.

Findings

This research confirmed the interest in introducing innovations into teaching by the teachers interviewed. Teachers mainly think of innovation as new ways of teaching that aim to revive and make teaching more attractive, to increase the motivation of all actors in the learning process. While teachers with more ample teaching experience connect innovations mainly with presentations, education games, and excursions, teachers-beginners and teachers with shorter teaching experience understand innovations mainly as the application of new trends in education, such as research projects and working with GIS and digital technologies. The research confirmed that lectures supported by presentations are the most frequently used teaching method for explaining the geography curriculum in primary and secondary schools. Presentations in which teachers focus on linking relationships and explaining connections more deeply replace existing textbooks and teaching texts for most teachers interviewed.

Research limitations/implications

The number and qualifications of the teachers involved in the research.

Practical implications

Teachers see the quality of the school environment and the education system as the significant barriers to providing better geography education. They often come to innovations through their own study and activities and feel a significant lack of available materials for the practical application of innovations in teaching. They also perceive the support for creation by state authorities and educational institutions as insufficient. Most teachers interviewed would welcome regular training courses and vocational education on the appropriate introduction and use of innovations in the classrooms in the form of practical examples and developed methodologies.

Originality/value

The selection of teachers for the research was deliberate and included active teachers of both genders working in primary and secondary schools. The selected teachers had varying teaching experiences and studied different combinations of teaching subjects with geography.

Details

Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2397-7604

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 June 2020

S. Sarkar, R.N. Jana and S. Das

The purpose of this article is to analyze the heat and mass transfer with entropy generation during magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) flow of non-Newtonian Sisko nanofluid over a…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to analyze the heat and mass transfer with entropy generation during magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) flow of non-Newtonian Sisko nanofluid over a linearly stretching cylinder under the influence of velocity slip, chemical reaction and thermal radiation. The Brownian motion, thermophoresis and activation energy are assimilated in this nanofluid model. Convective boundary conditions on heat and mass transfer are considered. The physical model may have diverse applications in several areas of technology underlying thermohydrodynamics including supercritical fluid extraction, refrigeration, ink-jet printing and so on.

Design/methodology/approach

The dimensional governing equations are nondimensionalized by using appropriate similarity variables. The resulting boundary value problem is converted into initial value problem using the method of superposition and numerically computed by employing well-known fourth-order Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg approach along with shooting technique (RKF4SM). The quantitative impacts of emerging physical parameters on the velocity, temperature, concentration, skin friction coefficient, Nusselt number, Sherwood number, entropy generation rate and Bejan number are presented graphically and in tabular form, and the salient features are comprehensively discussed.

Findings

From graphical outcomes, it is concluded that the slip parameters greatly influence the flow characteristics. Fluid temperature is elevated with rising radiation parameter and thermal Biot number. Nanoparticle concentration is reported in decreasing form with activation energy parameter. Entropy is found to be an increasing function of magnetic field, Brownian motion and material parameters. The entropy is less generated for shear-thinning fluid compared to shear-thickening as well as Newtonian fluids in the system.

Originality/value

Till now no study has been documented to explore the impact of binary chemical reaction with Arrhenius activation energy on entropy generation in an MHD boundary layer flow of non-Newtonian Sisko nanofluid over a linear stretching cylinder with velocity slip and convective boundary conditions.

Details

Multidiscipline Modeling in Materials and Structures, vol. 16 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1573-6105

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 September 2021

S. Das, A.S. Banu and R.N. Jana

In various kinds of materials processes, heat and mass transfer control in nuclear phenomena, constructing buildings, turbines and electronic circuits, etc., there are numerous…

Abstract

Purpose

In various kinds of materials processes, heat and mass transfer control in nuclear phenomena, constructing buildings, turbines and electronic circuits, etc., there are numerous problems that cannot be enlightened by uniform wall temperature. To explore such physical phenomena researchers incorporate non-uniform or ramped temperature conditions at the boundary, the purpose of this paper is to achieve the closed-form solution of a time-dependent magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) boundary layer flow with heat and mass transfer of an electrically conducting non-Newtonian Casson fluid toward an infinite vertical plate subject to the ramped temperature and concentration (RTC). The consequences of chemical reaction in the mass equation and thermal radiation in the energy equation are encompassed in this analysis. The flow regime manifests with pertinent physical impacts of the magnetic field, thermal radiation, chemical reaction and heat generation/absorption. A first-order chemical reaction that is proportional to the concentration itself directly is assumed. The Rosseland approximation is adopted to describe the radiative heat flux in the energy equation.

Design/methodology/approach

The problem is formulated in terms of partial differential equations with the appropriate physical initial and boundary conditions. To make the governing equations dimensionless, some suitable non-dimensional variables are introduced. The resulting non-dimensional equations are solved analytically by applying the Laplace transform method. The mathematical expressions for skin friction, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are calculated and expressed in closed form. Impacts of various associated physical parameters on the pertinent flow quantities, namely, velocity, temperature and concentration profiles, skin friction, Nusselt number and Sherwood number, are demonstrated and analyzed via graphs and tables.

Findings

Graphical analysis reveals that the boundary layer flow and heat and mass transfer attributes are significantly varied for the embedded physical parameters in the case of constant temperature and concentration (CTC) as compared to RTC. It is worthy to note that the fluid velocity is high with CTC and lower for RTC. Also, the fluid velocity declines with the augmentation of the magnetic parameter. Moreover, growth in thermal radiation leads to a declination in the temperature profile.

Practical implications

The proposed model has relevance in numerous engineering and technical procedures including industries related to polymers, area of chemical productions, nuclear energy, electronics and aerodynamics. Encouraged by such applications, the present work is undertaken.

Originality/value

Literature review unveils that sundry studies have been carried out in the presence of uniform wall temperature. Few studies have been conducted by considering non-uniform or ramped wall temperature and concentration. The authors are focused on an analytical investigation of an unsteady MHD boundary layer flow with heat and mass transfer of non-Newtonian Casson fluid past a moving plate subject to the RTC at the plate. Based on the authors’ knowledge, the present study has, so far, not appeared in scientific communications. Obtained analytical solutions are verified by considering particular cases of the published works.

Details

World Journal of Engineering, vol. 18 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1708-5284

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 December 2020

S. Das, S. Sarkar and R.N. Jana

To amend the efficiency of engineering processes and electronic devices, it is very urgent to assess the irreversibility in the term entropy generation (EG). The efficiency of…

Abstract

Purpose

To amend the efficiency of engineering processes and electronic devices, it is very urgent to assess the irreversibility in the term entropy generation (EG). The efficiency of energy transportation in a system can be improved by minimization of the rate of EG. In this context, the aim of the present study is to estimate irreversible losses of an unsteady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of a viscous incompressible electrically conducting non-Newtonian molybdenum disulfide-polyethylene glycol Casson nanofluid past a moving vertical plate with slip condition under the influence of Hall current, thermal radiation, internal heat generation/absorption and first-order chemical reaction. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanoparticles are dispersed in the base fluid polyethylene glycol (PEG) to make Casson nanofluid. Casson fluid model is considered to characterize the rheology of the non-Newtonian fluid, whereas Rosseland approximation is adopted to simulate the thermal radiative heat flux in the energy equation.

Design/methodology/approach

The closed-form solutions are obtained for the model equations by using the Laplace transform method (LTM). Graphs and tables are prepared to examine the impact of pertinent flow parameters on the pertinent flow characteristics. The energy efficiency of the system via the Bejan number is studied extensively.

Findings

Analysis reveals that Hall current has diminishing behavior on entropy production of the thermal system. Strengthening of the magnetic field declines the velocity components and prop-ups the rate of EG. Adding nanoparticles into the base fluid reduces the EG, whereas there are an optimum volume fraction of nanoparticles for which the EG is minimized. Further, the rate of decay of EG is prominent in molybdenum disulfide-polyethylene glycol in comparison to PEG.

Practical implications

The results of this study would benefit the industrial sector in achieving the maximum heat transfer at the cost of minimum irreversibilities with an optimal choice of embedded thermophysical parameters. In view of this agenda, this study would be adjuvant in powder technology, polymer dynamics, metallurgical process, manufacturing dynamics of nano-polymers, petroleum industries, chemical industries, magnetic field control of material processing, synthesis of smart polymers, etc.

Originality/value

The novelty of this study is to encompass the analytical solution by using the LTM. Such an exact solution of non-Newtonian fluid flow is rare in the literature. Limited research articles are available in the field of EG analysis during the flow of non-Newtonian nanoliquid subject to a strong magnetic field.

Article
Publication date: 6 May 2020

S. Das, R.R. Patra and R.N. Jana

The purpose of this study is to present the significance of Joule heating, viscous dissipation, magnetic field and slip condition on the boundary layer flow of an electrically…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to present the significance of Joule heating, viscous dissipation, magnetic field and slip condition on the boundary layer flow of an electrically conducting Boussinesq couple-stress fluid induced by an exponentially stretching sheet embedded in a porous medium under the effect of the magnetic field of the variable kind. The heat transfer phenomenon is accounted for under thermal radiation, Joule and viscous dissipation effects.

Design/methodology/approach

The governing nonlinear partial differential equations are transformed to the nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) by using some appropriate dimensionless variables and then the consequential nonlinear ODEs are solved numerically by making the use of the well-known shooting iteration technique along with the standard fourth-order Runge–Kutta integration scheme. The impact of emerging flow parameters on velocity and temperature profiles, streamlines, local skin friction coefficient and Nusselt number are described comprehensively through graphs and tables.

Findings

Results reveal that the velocity profile is observed to diminish considerably within the boundary layer in the presence of a magnetic field and slip condition. The enhanced radiation parameter is to decline the temperature field. The slip effect is favorable for fluid flow.

Originality/value

Till now, slip effect on Boussinesq couple-stress fluid over an exponentially stretching sheet embedded in a porous medium has not been explored. The present results are validated with the previously published study and found to be highly satisfactory.

Details

Multidiscipline Modeling in Materials and Structures, vol. 16 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1573-6105

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 September 2010

Aldónio Ferreira, Carly Moulang and Bayu Hendro

Increased awareness regarding environmental issues has encouraged organisations to use environmental management accounting (EMA), which has been said to deliver many benefits to…

13280

Abstract

Purpose

Increased awareness regarding environmental issues has encouraged organisations to use environmental management accounting (EMA), which has been said to deliver many benefits to users, including an increase in innovation. There is, however, little evidence to consubstantiate this claim and thus this paper aims to investigate the issue. It also seeks to examine the role of strategy with EMA use and innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a survey designed and administered to management accountants and financial controllers in large Australian businesses.

Findings

The analysis suggests that EMA use has a positive association with process innovation, but not with product innovation. It also finds that the effect of strategy on innovation was driven by the level of commitment to research and development. However, no statistically significant relationship between strategy and EMA use was found. The key driver of EMA use was industry.

Research limitations/implications

The small sample size is the most important limitation of this study and affected the statistical power of the analysis conducted. The results need to be interpreted with caution.

Practical implications

The study suggests that EMA use is associated with process innovation, implying that economic benefits may be realised by using this technique, while simultaneously enhancing environmental performance.

Originality/value

This is the first study to provide cross‐sectional evidence of the relationship between strategy, EMA use and innovation. It is also the first to propose a research instrument to measure EMA use as a multi‐item construct.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 23 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 December 2009

Karin Schittenhelm

Education and employment are important elements of successful integration for immigrants in a host country. In Germany, young immigrants and members of the second immigrant…

Abstract

Education and employment are important elements of successful integration for immigrants in a host country. In Germany, young immigrants and members of the second immigrant generation have only limited access to higher education pathways and academic careers. Their trajectories are shaped mainly by the vocational training system, if they obtain any qualifications at all. Social risks for young people with immigrant backgrounds, and women in particular, such as being unemployed or having unstable careers, have frequently been pointed out by researchers, but little has been said about more qualified pathways available through privileged apprenticeships or academic qualifications. This article explores the social risks in trajectories of female immigrants following middle‐range or higher educational pathways in Germany. The cases discussed focus on young women who arrived in Germany during childhood or adolescence. The paper will first discuss the institutional settings of the German education system, focusing on their impact on pupils with immigrant backgrounds and how they overlap with existing gender inequalities in the recipient country. Discussion of the particular methodological approach will follow, before presentation of the findings of the case studies on female immigrants' transitions from education to work. The concluding discussion considers potential means to support participation in education and work for young women with immigrant backgrounds.

Details

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, vol. 5 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-9894

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 December 2020

S. Das, Akram Ali and R.N. Jana

In this communication, a theoretical simulation is aimed to characterize the Darcy–Forchheimer flow of a magneto-couple stress fluid over an inclined exponentially stretching…

Abstract

Purpose

In this communication, a theoretical simulation is aimed to characterize the Darcy–Forchheimer flow of a magneto-couple stress fluid over an inclined exponentially stretching sheet. Stokes’ couple stress model is deployed to simulate non-Newtonian microstructural characteristics. Two different kinds of thermal boundary conditions, namely, the prescribed exponential order surface temperature (PEST) and prescribed exponential order heat flux, are considered in the heat transfer analysis. Joule heating (Ohmic dissipation), viscous dissipation and heat source/sink impacts are also included in the energy equation because these phenomena arise frequently in magnetic materials processing.

Design/methodology/approach

The governing partial differential equations are transformed into nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) by adopting suitable similar transformations. The resulting system of nonlinear ODEs is tackled numerically by using the Runge–Kutta fourth (RK4)-order numerical integration scheme based on the shooting technique. The impacts of sundry parameters on stream function, velocity and temperature profiles are viewed with the help of graphical illustrations. For engineering interests, the physical implication of the said parameters on skin friction coefficient, Nussult number and surface temperature are discussed numerically through tables.

Findings

As a key outcome, it is noted that the augmented Chandrasekhar number, porosity parameter and Forchhemeir parameter diminish the stream function as well as the velocity profile. The behavior of the Darcian drag force is similar to the magnetic field on fluid flow. Temperature profiles are generally upsurged with the greater magnetic field, couple stress parameter and porosity parameter, and are consistently higher for the PEST case.

Practical implications

The findings obtained from this analysis can be applied in magnetic material processing, metallurgy, casting, filtration of liquid metals, gas-cleaning filtration, cooling of metallic sheets, petroleum industries, geothermal operations, boundary layer resistors in aerodynamics, etc.

Originality/value

From the literature review, it has been found that the Darcy–Forchheimer flow of a magneto-couple stress fluid over an inclined exponentially stretching surface with heat flux conditions is still scarce. The numerical data of the present results are validated with the already existing studies under limited cases and inferred to have good concord.

Details

World Journal of Engineering, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1708-5284

Keywords

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