On management of 2nd generation Virtual Organizations Breeding Environments

Nowadays, in a wide variety of sectors from production-based to service-oriented, temporary collaboration among organizations in the so-called Virtual Organizations (VOs), is the trend adopted by most, and in particular by small and medium enterprises. Pre-existence of long-term associations/clusters of active and competitive organizations, the so-called Virtual Organizations Breeding Environments (VBEs), is shown to greatly enhance dynamic creation of VOs. A number of VBEs have been formed world-wide during the last decade, mostly among organizations located in a common region, with common business culture, and primarily focus on specific lines of activities. This paper however addresses the 2nd generation VBEs that are not bound to geographical regions or specific activities. These VBEs shall play an active role in the society/market as competitive entities, and need to effectively support agile configuration and establishment of dynamic VOs. Furthermore, the 2nd generation VBEs require enabling ICT infrastructure and tools, to facilitate their daily management activities as well as supporting the collaboration among their member organizations. The paper introduces a number of models, methodologies and tools designed and developed to support 2nd generation VBEs.     

A comprehensive modeling framework for collaborative networked organizations

Collaborative networked organizations (CNOs) are complex entities whose proper understanding, design, implementation, and management require the integration of different modeling perspectives. A large number of modeling tools and theories that have been developed in other disciplines have a potential applicability in this domain. Therefore, an identification of the most promising approaches is made and mapped into four dimensions of an endogenous perspective of collaborative networked organizations: structural, componential, functional, and behavioral. But a comprehensive modeling of such complex dynamic systems requires also an exogenous perspective, the life cycle dimension, and a stratification of models according to the modeling purpose. Thus a comprehensive modeling framework is therefore proposed as a first step towards the elaboration of a reference model for collaborative networks.     

A systematic approach for business service consolidation in virtual organizations

Various forms of partnerships have increasingly emerged among organizations, in both the manufacturing and service industry. In one type of structured partnership, called the Virtual Organization (VO), the member organizations share with each other a part of their capacities and capabilities, so that together they can seize a bigger market share and more opportunities. However, to excel the VO’s potential, the participating organizations must become fully informed about each other’s particular abilities and competencies, as represented by their shared business services (BSs). Our approach proposes the creation of a common shared pool of integrated BSs, and further optimizing it through consolidating similar and related BSs, to reduce the size of this shared pool and enhance its learning curve by the VO partners. To this end, we extend and adapt a Business Process merge technique to make it more suitable to BS consolidation and VO applicability. In this paper, a semiautomated methodology is introduced that creates an optimized, clean (i.e., anomaly-free consolidated model), and valid (i.e., approved by domain experts) set of consolidated BSs in the VO context. Design science principles are applied to this research, and a systematic literature review is also performed. Furthermore, a real case study from the construction industry is conducted to validate the introduced methodology.     

Synthesis and characterization of $$\hbox {BaNiO}_{3}$$ using a solid-state thermal decomposition method and the preparation of its stable aqueous suspension

In the present study, the preparation of \(\hbox {BaNiO}_{3}\) nano-oxide is reported via simple solid-state thermal decomposition of \([\hbox {Ba(en)}_{4}][\hbox {Ni(H}_{2}\hbox {O})_{2}\hbox {(NCS)}_{4}]\) precursor complex for the first time. As-prepared nano-oxide was coated by citric acid to form a stable aqueous magnetic suspension. The precursor complex was characterized by conductivity measurements, ultra violet–visible spectroscopy, elemental analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The composition of the perovskite was confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis and the hexagonal structure was supported by powder X-ray diffraction. In addition, monotonous morphology of the nano-oxide was illustrated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy. Superparamagneticity of the nanoparticles were detected using a vibrating sample magnetometer. Finally, the hydrodynamic size as well as the zeta potential of the pristine and surface-treated \(\hbox {BaNiO}_{3}\) nano-oxide were measured in deionized water via a dynamic light scattering analyzer and they were compared. Results show the excellent stability of the surface-modified magnetic oxide compared to the pristine.     

Advancing the Water Footprint into an Instrument to Support Achieving the SDGs – Recommendations from the “Water as a Global Resources” Research Initiative (GRoW)

Water Resources Management - The water footprint has developed into a widely-used concept to examine water use and resulting local impacts caused during agricultural and industrial...     

Numerical simulation of mixing process in T-shaped and DT-shaped micromixers

Recently, numerous studies have been done on the micro- and nano-scale equipment because of their importance and wide range of application. Micromixers are among the equipment in which two or more fluids are mixed and have applications in the processes, such as chemical synthesis. In this research, a numerical investigation using finite volume approach is done on mixing two incompressible fluids in 3D mixers with T- and double-T-(DT) shaped geometries in the range of Reynolds numbers 75–400. One of the important parameters for the quantitative analysis of the mixing performance of micromixers is the mixing index. So, the effects of different geometries, Reynolds number and channel length on this parameter are studied. The results show that, at different Reynolds numbers, the mixing index of fluids in the DT-shaped channel with 90° is less than the corresponding one in T-shaped mixers because changing the flow regime occurs at higher Reynolds numbers in the DT-shaped channels. The amount of mixing index increases by decreasing the angle of branches in the DT-shaped channel. It is observed that the mixing index of fluids increases along the channel, which tends to a constant value far away from the inlet.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Ferromagnetic BaFe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> Nanocrystals Using Novel Ionic Precursor Complex [Fe(opd)<Subscript>3</Subscript>]<Subscript>2</Subscript>[Ba(CN)<Subscript>8</Subscript>]

The following investigation reports the synthesis of novel complex [Fe(opd)₃]₂[Ba(CN)₈] and preparation of BaFe₂O₄ nanoparticles through thermal decomposition without using any surfactant. The complex was characterized via Furrier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), ultra violet-visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), conductivity measurement and elemental analysis. The synthesized crystals of inorganic precursor complex was transferred to furnace, where they were calcined under normal atmosphere condition at 900 °C for 4 h. Formation of BaFe₂O₄ was supported by FT-IR and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. Hexagonal structure of nano-oxide was confirmed on powder X-ray diffraction. Furthermore, uniform morphology of nanocrystals were reported by scanning electron microscopy. The saturation magnetization (22 emu/g), remanent magnetization (6 emu/g) and coercivity (400 Oe) reported on vibrating sample magnetometer curve illustrates the promising industrial and medicinal applications of prepared mixed oxide.     

Synthesis of Xanthene Derivatives over Acid Activated Clay in Kerman Province and Kinetic Modeling

14-aryl-14H-dibenzo[a,j]xanthenes are extensively used as dyes, pH-sensitive fluorescent material for visualization of biomolecules, and in laser technologies. The synthesis of aryl-14H-dibenzo[a,j]xanthene derivatives is studied using acid activated clay as reusable eco-friendly catalyst under solvent free condition. The reaction is carried out by hydrochloric acid activated clay. Clay is supplied from Kheirabad mine in Kerman province, Iran. Activation is done by 1, 2, 3, and 5 mol/L HCl. Among these catalysts, clay activated by 3 mol/L HCl was found to be a better catalyst which could be reused without any further chemical treatment eliminating the effluent disposal problems. The procedure offers advantages such as shorter reaction time, excellent yields, inexpensive catalyst, environment-friendly, and reusability of catalyst. The reaction obeys the Eley–Rideal type of mechanism. A theoretical kinetic model was developed for the evaluation of this slurry reaction. The effects of various parameters on the rate of reaction were evaluated. The reaction was found to be intrinsically controlled and there were no intraparticle as well as interaparticle mass transfer limitation on the rate of reaction.     

Advantages of asymmetrical over symmetrical cells for detection of under deposit CO2 corrosion using electrochemical noise

Electrochemical noise (EN) measurements were done on symmetrical and asymmetrical cells after immersion in 3.5% NaCl solutions saturated with CO₂ and containing different concentrations of sodium bicarbonate to get a better interpretation of the under‐deposit corrosion of mild steel. The symmetrical cell was constructed from two sand‐deposited electrodes and the asymmetrical cell was prepared from one sand‐deposited electrode and one bare electrode. The combination of the standard deviation of partial signal (SDPS) plots arising from wavelet analysis and recurrence plots for analyzing the EN signals obtained from symmetrical and asymmetrical cells confirmed the higher detective ability of the asymmetrical cells in comparison with the symmetrical cells for measuring the under‐deposit corrosion of mild steel. Both the SDPS and recurrence plots arising from symmetrical cells showed no significant change in the corrosion severity of the steel alloy with adding sodium bicarbonate. In contrast, the SDPS and recurrence plots of the asymmetrical cells proved that the corrosion severity decreased initially with adding the bicarbonate and thereafter remained constant with increasing the bicarbonate concentration. The optical microscopy images of the sand‐covered electrode surface confirmed the latter result.     

Effect of Low-Pressure Nitrogen DC Plasma Treatment on the Surface Properties of Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene, Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) and Polyvinyl Chloride Films

In this study, commercial biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films were treated with nitrogen plasma over different exposure times in a Pyrex tube surrounded by a DC variable magnetic field. The chemical changes that appeared on the surface of the samples were investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR- FTIR) spectroscopy after treatment for 2 min, 4 min and 6 min in a nitrogen plasma chamber. Effects of the plasma treatment on the surface topographies and contact angles of the untreated and plasma treated films were also analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a contact angle measuring system. The results show that the plasma treated films become more hydrophilic with an enhanced wettability due to the formation of some new polar groups on the surface of the treated films. Moreover, at higher exposure times, the total surface energy in all treated films increased while a reduction in contact angle occurred. The behavior of surface roughness in each sample was completely different at higher exposure times.