105 research outputs found
The relevance of intangible assets in German SMEs
No full textPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the perceptions of the advisors and valuers of German associations regarding the relevance of intangible assets in general, and for the purpose
of company succession in particular.
Design/methodology/approach – To perform this study German associations were examined, which play an essential role in company succession in Germany, from both sides of the process.
Conducting a web-survey, 51 answers were received (response-rate 1⁄4 42.5 per cent) which could be used for the analyses.
Findings – Amongst others, the study showed that intangible assets are of a moderate relevance.
However, a large proportion of respondents expect intangible assets to be of greater relevance in the future. The study highlighted that intangibles do have a great impact on the decision-making process of an investor.
Research limitations/implications – The total population of German Association is 135.
The author received answers from 51 associations, which did not fulfil the statistical size to conduct advanced statistical methods. The specific relationship of German associations with small- to
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is rather unique compared to similar institutions around the world, therefore, the results may not be replicable in other countries.
Practical implications – The results of this study will help practitioners as well as academics to better understand the relevance of intangible assets in SMEs.
Originality/value – This paper is pioneering in the analysis of the influence of intangible assets in German SMEs for the purpose of company succession.
Keywords Small to medium-sized enterprises, Intangible assets, Investors, Succession, Germany
Paper type Research pape
Disciplinarity and literate activity in science: tracing pathways of becoming, writing and practice
No full textIn 2013, the Next Generation Science Standards outlined eight practices or “habits of mind” that students must possess in order to “do science”. Rather than accept these practices as truth, this dissertation explores, from the perspective of the university scientists, how they came to engage in scientific inquiry on-the-job and across various sites of engagement. Furthermore, I sought to understand how science is taken up in classrooms that are enacting curriculum undergirded by these nationally legislated standards. Specifically, this project focused on the literate practices of participants in the scientific community and in one secondary science. Using a variety of ethnographic methodologies included retrospective accounts, drawing protocols, tracing practice across sites of engagement, and auto-ethnography, this research provides a deep dive into how participants engage in science and create knowledge across sites. Findings from this study suggest a renewed attention to representations of scientific practice that recognizes and grapples with the breadth of resources, both linguistic and semiotic, that adult scientists and students in science classes exhibit in the construction of scientific knowledge.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2021-08-01The student, Sarah Durst, accepted the attached license on 2019-05-14 at 15:17.The student, Sarah Durst, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2019-05-14 at 15:21.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2019-05-20 at 10:38.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #13974 on 2019-11-26 at 13:00:49Made available in DSpace on 2019-11-26T20:48:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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Design von Al-Mg-Si-Mn-Legierungen mit Zn-, Cr- und Sc-Zusätzen mit besonderem Verfestigungsverhalten
No full textAn excellent combination of the properties of Al, high strength-to-weight ratio, good formability, good electrical mass conductivity, unique corrosion behavior, and recycling potential make it the essential material for different fields of application. The growing demand for more fuel-efficient and ecological vehicles to reduce energy consumption and air pollution is a challenge for the transport sector. Al is the second most used material of the total weight of the car. Each 1 kg of Al is able to replace about 2 kg of steel or cast iron, more and more types of car parts and components are produced from Al. The automotive industry in Europe has tripled the average amount of Al used in cars during the last three decades. A unique feature of Al alloys is that they can be cast by all known casting technologies. The high pressure die casting (HPDC) is the most useful casting technique; about 50% of the total amount of the castings from light alloys are produced by this method. The aluminium-intensive car body structures have a great demand of the thin-wall HPDC structural parts. However, the currently available HPDC aluminium alloys do not meet all the requirements of car bodies. First of all, the most commonly used aluminium alloys have insufficient levels of ductility that is essential for joining casting parts with sheets and extruded parts. Basically, the consumer properties of HPDC alloys are determined by alloy composition, defect levels and microstructure.
Al-Mg-Si alloys are well known as alloys capable of providing an excellent combination of high strength and high ductility levels. The Al-Mg-Si system always attracts the attention of researchers since its solidification and precipitation processes are very complex and sensitive to chemical composition. However, the existing studies on the Al-Mg-Si alloys are mainly focused on the wrought alloys (with low Mg and Si content) and hyper-eutectic casting alloys. Therefore, the development of high-strength, high-ductility Al-Mg-Si based alloys for the HPDC process can be very valuable for improving the quality of automotive components.
The present study was carried out to the alloy design for the HPDC process in order to satisfy the requirement of mechanical properties, in particular, ductility for the application in automotive body structure. The effects of Sc, Cr and Zn on the solidification and microstructural evolution and the mechanical properties of hypoeutectic Al-5.7Mg-2.6Si-0.6Mn base alloy have been investigated by the combination of thermodynamic calculations and the experimental validation.
A comprehensive literature review of the features of the structure and mechanical properties of commercial Al-Mg-Si wrought and cast alloys is given in Chapter 1. In this chapter also an extensive review of the strengthening methods and especially of the precipitation strengthening as the main one for Al-Mg-Si alloys is represented. Fundamental differences between cast and wrought alloys of the Al-Mg-Si system that allow additional alloying of the cast Al-Mg-Si alloys to enhance the precipitation strengthening effect were established. In addition to a literature review on the structure and properties of the studied system, Chapter 2 provides an overview of the analysis of the Al-Mg-Si phase diagram, as well as the possible effects of various alloying elements and their concentrations on the studied system. To select alloy compositions for research, phase diagrams and also solidification curves of alloys were calculated by Thermo-Calc software with TCAl2:Al-alloys v2.1 database.
Chapter 4 deals with the detailed characterization of the microstructure with scanning electron microscopy, the structure of α-Al dendrites with transmission electron microscopy and common (hardness, tensile test) and local (microhardness) mechanical properties of the studied alloys in as-cast state. Chapter 4 describes the effects of Sc, Cr and Zn on the solidification behavior, microstructural changes, the relationship between the mechanical properties and the microstructure. In addition to the formation of new intermetallics, the Zn addition leads to the formation of nanosized strengthening precipitates in the α-Al dendrites. Zn-containing precipitates can form even in the as-cast state that promote significant strengthening effects.
Chapter 5 deals with the detailed characterization of the alloys after heat treatment. Two types of heat treatment were applied to the studied alloys: artificial aging from as-cast state (one-step heat treatment) and solution treatment with subsequent artificial aging (two-step heat treatment). Cr-containing alloys did not show any significant differences in the mechanical properties in comparision to the base alloy. Sc-containing alloys showed the most prominent increase in strength after one-step heat treatment. Zn-containing alloys showed the most interesting combination of the properties after two-step heat treatment. Differences in the character of changes in the mechanical properties were explained based on the TEM results and the strengthening mechanisms in the designed alloys. It has been shown that in the states in which alloys have the highest values of hardness and strength, the structure of α-Al dendrites contains a significant amount of nanoscale precipitates.
Current research was founded by German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and was done in cooperation with TU-Darmstadt.Die hervorragende Eigenschaftskombination von Al, hohe spezifische Festigkeit, gute Verformbarkeit, gute elektrische Leitfähigkeit, einzigartiges Korrosionsverhalten und das Recyclingpotenzial machen es zum unverzichtbaren Material für viele Anwendungsbereiche. Die wachsende Nachfrage nach effizienteren und umweltfreundlicheren Fahrzeugen zur Reduzierung des Energieverbrauchs und der Luftverschmutzung ist eine wesentliche Herausforderung für den Industriebereich Automotive. Al ist das am zweithäufigsten verwendete Material gemessen am Gesamtgewichts des Autosmobils. Je 1 kg Al können etwa 2 kg Stahl oder Gusseisen ersetzt werden, mehr und mehr Autoteile und -komponenten werden aus Al hergestellt. Ein einzigartiges Merkmal von Al-Legierungen ist, dass sie mit allen bekannten Gusstechnologien gegossen werden können. Druckgießen (HPDC) ist die gebräuchlichste Gießtechnik, mit diesem Verfahren werden ca. 50% der Gesamtmenge der Leichtmetall-Gussteile hergestellt. Für aluminiumintensive Karosseriestrukturen besteht ein hoher Bedarf an dünnwandigen Druckguss-Bauteilen. Die derzeit erhältlichen Aluminium-Druckgusslegierungen erfüllen jedoch nicht alle Anforderungen für Karosseriebauteile. Vor allem weisen die am häufigsten verwendeten Aluminiumlegierungen ein unzureichendes Maß an Duktilität auf, was aber für das Verbinden von Gussteilen mit Blechen und extrudierten Teilen wesentlich ist. Grundsätzlich werden Eigenschaften von Druckguss-legierungen wie etwa die Duktilität durch die Zusammensetzung, das Defektniveau und die Mikrostruktur bestimmt.
Al-Mg-Si-Legierungen sind als Legierungen bekannt, die eine hervorragende Kombination aus hoher Festigkeit und hoher Duktilität bieten können. Das Al-Mg-Si-System ist interessant für die Forschung, da die Erstarrungs- und Auscheidungsprozesse sehr komplex sind und empfindlich auf die chemische Zusammensetzung reagieren. Die bisherigen Studien zu Al-Mg-Si-Legierungen konzentrierten sich jedoch hauptsächlich auf Knetlegierungen (mit niedrigem Mg- und Si-Gehalt) und hyper-eutektische Gusslegierungen. Daher kann die Entwicklung hochfester, duktiler Druckguss-Legierungen auf Al-Mg-Si-Basis für die Verbesserung von Kraftfahrzeugkomponenten von großem Wert sein.
Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit dem Legierungsdesign von Druck-gusslegierungen, um die Anforderung an mechanische Eigenschaften, insbesondere Duktilität, für die Anwendung in der Karosseriestruktur zu erfüllen. Die Auswirkungen von Sc, Cr und Zn auf die Erstarrung und die Entwicklung der Mikrostruktur sowie die mechanischen Eigenschaften der hypoeutektischen Al-5.7Mg-2.6Si-0.6Mn-Basislegierung wurden durch die Kombination von thermodynamischen Berechnungen und experimentellen Validierungen untersucht.
Der Stand des Wissens über Struktur und mechanische Eigenschaften handelsüblicher Al-Mg-Si-Knet- und Gusslegierungen bildet Kapitel 1. In diesem Kapitel wird auch eine umfassende Übersicht über die Härtungsmechanismen und insbesondere über die Ausscheidungshärtung als Hauptmechanismus bei Al-Mg-Si-Legierungen gegeben. Grundlegende Unterschiede zwischen den Guss- und Knetlegierungen des Al-Mg-Si-Systems, die ein zusätzliches Legieren der Al-Mg-Si-Gusslegierungen zur Festigkeitssteigerung durch Ausscheidungshärtung ermöglichen, werden aufgezeigt. Nach der Literaturübersicht über Struktur und Eigenschaften des untersuchten Systems bietet Kapitel 2 einen Überblick über das Al-Mg-Si-Phasendiagramm sowie über die möglichen Auswirkungen verschiedener Legierungselemente und deren Konzentrationen auf das untersuchte System. Zur Auswahl der zu untersuchenden Legierungszusammensetzungen wurden Phasendiagramme sowie Erstarrungskurven mit Thermo-Calc unter Verwendung der Datenbank TCAl2: Al-alloys v2.1 berechnet.
Kapitel 4 befasst sich mit der detaillierten Charakterisierung der Mikrostruktur mit Rasterelektronenmikroskopie, der Struktur von α-Al-Dendriten mit Transmissionselektronenmikroskopie und den globalen (Härte, Zugversuch) und lokalen (Mikrohärte) mechanischen Eigenschaften der untersuchten Legierungen im Gusszustand. Dieses Kapitel beschreibt den Einfluss von Sc, Cr und Zn auf die Erstarrung, auf das Gefüge und auf den Zusammenhang zwischen den mechanischen Eigenschaften und dem Gefüge. Neben der Bildung neuer intermetallischer Verbindungen führt die Zugabe von Zn zur Bildung nanoskaliger, Festigkeit steigernder Ausscheidungen in den α-Al-Dendriten. Zn-haltige Ausscheidungen können sich bereits im Gusszustand bilden und signifikante Verfestigungseffekte fördern.
Kapitel 5 beschäftigt sich mit der detaillierten Charakterisierung der Legierungen nach der Wärmebehandlung. Bei den untersuchten Legierungen wurden zwei Arten der Wärmebehandlung angewendet: Warmauslagerung im gegossenen Zustand (einstufige Wärmebehandlung) und Lösungsglühung mit anschließender Warmauslagerung (zweistufige Wärmebehandlung). Cr-haltige Legierungen zeigten im Vergleich zur Basislegierung keine signifikanten Unterschiede in den mechanischen Eigenschaften. Sc-haltige Legierungen hatten nach einstufiger Wärmebehandlung die stärkste Zunahme der Festigkeit. Zn-haltige Legierungen wiesen nach zweistufiger Wärmebehandlung die interessanteste Kombination der Eigenschaften auf. Die Änderungen der mechanischen Eigenschaften wurden auf Grundlage der TEM-Untersuchungen und der Härtungsmechanismen in den entworfenen Legierungen erklärt. Es hat sich gezeigt, dass in den Zuständen, in denen Legierungen die höchsten Werte für Härte und Festigkeit aufweisen, die Matrix der α-Al-Dendriten eine signifikante Menge nanoskaliger Ausscheidungen enthält.
Die vorliegende Arbeit wurde vom Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienst gefördert und erfolgte in Kooperation mit der TU Darmstadt
A plea for responsible and inclusive knowledge management at the world level
No full textPurpose – This essay aims to draw attention to the idea of a new research approach to knowledge management (KM) labelled responsible KM (rKM) as a possible answer to not only address the consequences of the pandemic but also other present and upcoming societal challenges. Design/methodology/approach – This essay has been prepared by a KM researcher who shares their own personal views and opinion regarding past and current societal developments and based on that offers a potentially new KM direction. Findings – Switching the focus to rKM may help address current and upcoming social challenges that can only be addressed jointly by the global community and which would also involve a new consideration of the“knowledge” resource. Originality/value – The essay proposes a new alternative approach to KM called rKM that is based on ideas that to the author’s knowledge have not been discussed in this way in the contemporary literature on KM.CC BY 4.0Article publication date: 30 December 2021Corresponding author Susanne Durst can be contacted at: [email protected]</p
Universal labeling algebras as invariants of layered graphs
No full textIn this work we will study the universal labeling algebra A(Γ), a related algebra B(Γ), and their behavior as invariants of layered graphs. We will introduce the notion of an upper vertex-like basis, which allows us to recover structural information about the graph Γ from the algebra B(Γ). We will use these bases to show that several classes of layered graphs are uniquely identifi ed by their corresponding algebras B(Γ). We will use the same techniques to construct large classes of nonisomorphic graphs with isomorphic B(Γ). We will also explore the graded structure of the algebra A(Γ), using techniques developed by C. Duff y, I. Gelfand, V. Retakh, S. Serconek and R. Wilson to find formulas for the Hilbert series and graded trace generating functions of A(Γ) when is the Hasse diagram of a direct product of partially ordered sets.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Susan Durs
Durst, Anne, \u27The Union of Intellectual Freedom and Cooperation\u27: Learning from the University of Chicago\u27s Laboratory School Community, 1896-1904, Teachers College Record, 107(May, 2005), 958-984.
No full textExamines teaching and curriculum-planning in Dewey\u27s Laboratory School with comparisons to author\u27s experiences today
The effect of environmental turbulence on cyber security risk management and organizational resilience
No full textEven though there is a plethora of research on the role of environmental turbulence in organizational performance in general, little attention has been paid to the effect of environmental turbulence on cyber security risk management and further - organizational resilience. Drawing on the resource-based view and contingency theory, this study investigates how technological and market turbulence influence organizational cyber security risk management (CSRM) and then organizational resilience. Using a data set from 150 European companies, the study findings show how the two types of turbulence have different effects on CSRM in the companies studied. Technological turbulence directly impacts the firms’ cyber security risk maturity while market turbulence has a direct positive affect on firms’ cyber security risk perception. The study also determines the interplay between risk perception and risk maturity and subsequent resilience.CC BY 4.0Corresponding author: E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Durst).The study was supported by a research grant from the National Science center (Poland) in the context of a research project ’Knowledge risks in modern organizations’ (No. 2019/33/B/HS4/02250).</p
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