Sixty-four years of informetrics research: productivity,impact and collaboration

This paper analyses the information science research field of informetrics to identify publication strategies that have been important for its successful researchers. The study uses a micro-analysis of informetrics researchers from 5,417 informetrics papers published in 7 core informetrics journals during 1948–2012. The most productive informetrics researchers were analysed in terms of productivity, citation impact, and co-authorship. The 30 most productive informetrics researchers of all time span several generations and seem to be usually the primary authors of their research, highly collaborative, affiliated with one institution at a time, and often affiliated with a few core European centres. Their research usually has a high total citation impact but not the highest citation impact per paper. Perhaps surprisingly, the US does not seem to be good at producing highly productive researchers but is successful at producing high impact researchers. Although there are exceptions to all of the patterns found, researchers wishing to have the best chance of being part of the next generation of highly productive informetricians may wish to emulate some of these characteristics.     

Ein Konzept zur Wirkungsgradoptimierung von Einzylinder-Dieselgeneratoren mittels Optimalsteuerung und Extremum-Seeking

In this contribution the problem of maximizing the efficiency of a hybrid power unit at a specified output power level by optimizing the generator current trajectory as well as the design variables that can be chosen during the machine design process is investigated. The concept is demonstrated based on a hybrid single-cylinder diesel engine that is coupled to an electric generator. By developing a model of the system and using open-loop optimal control the optimal operating strategy and the optimal machine design are determined. Besides that, the problems occurring in the application of this strategy to a test rig are discussed. For this purpose, a model-free real-time optimization concept based on extremum seeking control is presented. The effectiveness of both the model-based and the model-free concept are demonstrated by simulation and experimental results.     

Megasonic agitation for enhanced electrodeposition of copper

In this paper we propose an agitation method based on megasonic acoustic streaming to overcome the limitations in plating rate and uniformity of the metal deposits during the electroplating process. Megasonic agitation at a frequency of 1 MHz allows the reduction of the thickness of the Nernst diffusion layer to less than 600 nm. Two applications that demonstrate the benefits of megasonic acoustic streaming are presented: the formation of uniform ultra-fine pitch flip-chip bumps and the metallisation of high aspect ratio microvias. For the latter application, a multi-physics based numerical simulation is implemented to describe the hydrodynamics introduced by the acoustic waves as they travel inside the deep microvias.     

Azimuthally oscillating membrane emulsification for controlled droplet production

A novel membrane emulsification (ME) system is reported consisting of a tubular metal membrane, periodically azimuthally (tangentially) oscillated with frequencies up to 50 Hz and 7 mm displacement in a gently cross flowing continuous phase. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis showed consistent axial shear at the membrane surface, which became negligible at distances from the membrane surface greater than 0.5 mm. For comparison, CFD analysis of a fully rotating ME system showed local vortices in the continuous phase leading to a variable shear along the axis of the membrane. Using an azimuthally oscillating membrane, oil‐in‐water emulsions were experimentally produced with a median diameter of 20–120 μm, and a coefficient of variation of droplet size of 8%. The drop size was correlated with shear stress at the membrane surface using a force balance. In a single pass of continuous phase, it was possible to achieve high dispersed phase concentrations of 40% v/v. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 3607–3615, 2015     

Trends and periodicities in observed temperature,precipitation and runoff in a desert catchment: case study for the Shiyang River Basin in Northwestern China

The Mann–Kendall test, wavelet analysis was used to analyse the long‐term trends and periodicities in temperature, precipitation and streamflow in China's Shiyang River Basin since 1950. The Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to quantify the impacts of climate change and human activities on water resources. The annual mean air temperature has increased, consistent with increasing global temperatures. The annual precipitation fluctuated but has generally increased since the 1990s. The air temperature and precipitation showed changes on periods ranging from 2 to 28 years. The correlation between annual runoff and precipitation variation was 0.61 (P < 0.05), indicating precipitation is the main source of the runoff. Human activities played the dominant role in the lower reaches, accounting for 58.5% of the total effect. The results have important implications for water resources management to support harmonisation of the relationship between humans and nature to combat the effect of climate.     

Motivation,commitment and the use of incentives in partnerships and alliances

The use of incentives in partnering and alliancing has been seen as an important way of reinforcing collaboration in the short term and helping to build trust between clients and contractors in the long term. Yet only rarely has the impact of incentives on such relationships been discussed, let alone subjected to systematic investigation. This is despite a wealth of theory and research which brings into question the use of incentives and reinforcers as ways of generating motivation and commitment. Drawing upon this theoretical knowledge base and using evidence from a number of case studies of partnerships and alliances, this paper demonstrates how a number of important cognitive and social dimensions affect the use and impact of incentives, sometimes in ways contrary to those intended. The conclusion drawn is that there are important limitations to the use of incentives as means of reinforcing collaboration and developing commitment and trust, and that this raises questions more generally about the assumptions that underlie many of the practical ‘tools and techniques’ commonly associated with partnering and alliancing.     

Tunnel vision? Brunel's Thames Tunnel and project narratives

Looking at historical projects has much to offer our understanding of project management, for both research and practice. However, there are important challenges in how alternative narratives about such projects are reconstructed and related to each other. To explore these challenges, this paper uses the example of the Thames Tunnel project, completed under the direction of Marc Brunel in 1843, and reputed to be the first tunnel to be built under a major river. In telling the story of the project, we focus on five alternative discourses: technico-rational; practice; networks of people, things, and ideas; politics; and society. The common response to such variety is either to attempt to construct an overarching meta-narrative, or to explore the differences as a way of highlighting the localized and contingent nature of knowledge about projects, or adopt some intermediate position somewhere on the spectrum between these two extremes. Instead we seek a different route grounded in a sociology of knowledge that acknowledges simultaneous, provisional, and contested processes of division and stabilization in the ways that epistemic communities constitute knowledge through their own narratives and practices. These have implications for the stories that are told about project management and, crucially, the activities and interests that both shape and are shaped by such narratives.