Measuring Dislocation Density in Aluminum with Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy

Dislocations in a material will, when present in enough numbers, change the speed of propagation of elastic waves. Consequently, two material samples, differing only in dislocation density, will have different elastic constants, a quantity that can be measured using Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy. Measurements of this effect on aluminum samples are reported. They compare well with the predictions of the theory.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Prime beef cuts : culinary images for thinking 'men'

The paper contributes to scholarship theorising the sociality of the brand in terms of subject positions it makes possible through drawing upon the generative context of circulating discourses, in this case of masculinity, cuisine and celebrity. Specifically, it discusses masculinity as a socially constructed gender practice (Bristor and Fischer, 1993), examining materialisations of such practice in the form of visualisations of social relations as resources for 'thinking gender' or 'doing gender'. The transformative potential of the visualisations is illuminated by exploring the narrative content choreographed within a series of photographic images positioning the market appeal of a celebrity chef through the medium of a contemporary lifestyle cookery book. We consider how images of men 'doing masculinity'are not only channelled into reproducing existing gender hierarchy and compulsory heterosexuality in the service of commercial ends, but also into disrupting such enduring stereotyping through subtle reframing. We acknowledge that masculinity is already inscribed within conventionalised representations of culinary culture. In this case we consider how traces of masculinity are exploited and reinscribed through contemporary images that generate resources for rethinking masculine roles and identities, especially when viewed through the lens of stereotypically feminised pursuits such as shopping, food preparation, cooking, and the communal intimacy of food sharing. We identify unsettling tensions within the compositions, arguing that they relate to discursive spaces between the gendered positions written into the images and the popular imagination they feed off. Set against landscapes of culinary culture, we argue that the images invoke a brand of naively roughish "laddishness" or "blokishness", rendering it in domesticated form not only as benign and containable, but fashionable, pliable and, importantly, desirable. We conclude that although the images draw on stereotypical premeditated notions of a feral, boisterous and untamed heterosexual masculinity, they also set in motion gender-blending narratives

Identification of core competencies for exercise oncology professionals: A Delphi study of United States and Australian participants

Introduction: Integration of exercise into standard oncology care requires a highly skilled workforce of exercise professionals; however, competency requirements have not kept pace with advancements in the field. Therefore, the aim of this study was to obtain consensus on core competencies required for an exercise professional to be qualified to work with adults undergoing active cancer treatment. Materials and Methods: A three‐round modified electronic Delphi process was used. In Round 1, an international group of 64 exercise oncology stakeholders (i.e., exercise oncology professionals (n = 29), clinical referrers (n = 21), and people with lived experience (n = 14)) responded to open‐ended prompts eliciting perspectives regarding competencies needed for an exercise oncology professional to work with adults receiving active cancer treatment. Subsequently, only exercise oncology professionals participated, ranking the importance of competencies. In Round 2, professionals received summary feedback, ranked new competencies generated from open‐ended responses, and reranked competencies not reaching consensus. In the final round, professionals finalized consensus ranking and rated frequency and mastery level for each. Results: Consensus was reached on 103 core competencies required for exercise professionals to be qualified to deliver care to adults undergoing active cancer treatment. The core competencies represent 10 content areas and reflect the needs of clinical referrers and people with lived experience of receiving cancer treatment. Conclusions: The core competencies identified reflect significant advancements in the field of exercise oncology. Results will underpin the development of education, certification, and employment requirements for exercise oncology professionals, providing a critical step toward achieving routine integration of exercise into standard oncology care

Consumo e Marketing dei Servizi. L'evoluzione verso esperienze e soluzioni

Il libro si propone di di contribuire all'evoluzione degli approcci di marketing dei servizi, facendo riferimento ai processi di co-creazione con i clienti per la realizzazione di esperienze e soluzioni

Valore per il cliente e controllo dei costi: una sfida possibile. Approccio integrato per le imprese di servizi

Le sfide competitive imposte dalla complessit\ue0 delle relazioni tra impresa e mercato fanno emergere la necessit\ue0 di coniugare la ricerca della soddisfazione del cliente con il contenimento dei costi aziendali. Questo richiede di superare le tradizionali separazioni funzionali che impediscono una lettura integrata delle problematiche attinenti al marketing e al controllo di gestione. Il riferimento fondamentale per la realizzazione dell\u2019integrazione tra le due discipline \ue8 rappresentato dal valore per il cliente: dal punto di vista competitivo emerge come prioritario al fine di acquisire la fedelt\ue0 dei clienti; per il controllo di gestione \ue8 alla base del corretto dimensionamento delle risorse aziendali e del governo dei costi. Questo lavoro propone un approccio metodologico per realizzare l\u2019integrazione delle due prospettive. Se il valore per il cliente costituisce il presupposto per l\u2019integrazione tra le due discipline, le condizioni che operativamente ne consentono l\u2019attuazione sono due: il riferimento alle attivit\ue0, e non ai centri di costo, come dimensione intermedia di aggregazione dei costi; il riferimento agli attributi dell\u2019offerta, e non al prodotto/servizio, come oggetto finale di imputazione dei costi. L\u2019approccio metodologico proposto \ue8 illustrato con riferimento ad alcune imprese di servizi, nelle quali la ricerca dell\u2019integrazione appare particolarmente critica in relazione all\u2019immaterialit\ue0 delle prestazioni, che rende pi\uf9 complessa la correlazione tra prezzi di vendita e costi di produzione

Il management dei servizi al servizio dell'arte

Il capitolo affronta il tema delle relazioni delle istituzioni culturali con la domanda. L'analisi si basa sull'utilizzo dei modelli sviluppati nell’ambito della letteratura sul service management che sono utili in particolare con riferimento ai contesti delle performing arts. E' affrontato anche il caso delle industrie culturali identificando alcune problematiche gestionali tipiche

Le istituzioni culturali: definizione e tassonomia

Il capitolo analizza l’eterogeneità dei soggetti che operano nel settore, si propone di dare una definizione di istituzione artistica e culturale e di profilare i diversi ambiti in cui le istituzioni e le imprese possono essere suddivise

“How to Facilitate Immersion in a Consumption Experience: Appropriation Operations and Service Elements"

An entire research current has taken on the mantle of analysing the growing quest on the part of the contemporary consumers for immersion into varied experiences. It remains that there has been little empirical analysis of this process of immersion and the experience it produces. This paper introduces and develops the subjective operations that consumers undertake in their efforts to be immerged in the consumption experience. It uses empirical research based on introspective reports filed by consumers who attended a series of classical music concerts. The results suggest that rather than being an immediate process, the immersion in a consumption experience is more of a progressive one. To facilitate this progressive process greater attention must be paid to the management of those service elements that will have an impact on the so-called operations of appropriatio

Profitability and customer satisfaction in services. An integrated perspective between marketing and cost management analysis

This work suggests defining an approach aimed at understanding the relations between client satisfaction and business profitability, with specific reference to services management. The paper makes use of the analysis of the reasons for the separation of the client satisfaction and cost containment orientations - a separation which is a weak point in the case of service businesses. It then develops a methodological approach for bringing together client satisfaction research and cost optimisation, the application of which is presented by means of a business case concerning a firm which offers a database service. This approach makes it possible to put in relationship the utility perceived by the customer with reference to the different attributes of the offer and the price which the customer is prepared to pay to obtain the utility. At the same time it makes it possible to compare the price thus determined and the effective cost of the activities which determine the services delivered. Research into the compatibility between competitive and financial success is therefore allowed by reference to analysis of the service characteristics. These permit a joining together the external and internal processes of the company, or rather the value as perceived by customers (the relationship between utility and price sustained) and the cost sustained by the company in the generation of this value

La fruizione di prodotti artistici e culturali

Il capitolo affrinta il tema della fruizione di prodotti artistici e culturali, all fine di costruire un quadro delle motivazioni che possono spingere le persone verso le varie forme di arte. La gestione delle imprese artistiche e culturali deve tenere in attenta considerazione la domanda, che non può essere semplicemente analizzata con riferimento al concetto di bisogno ed interpretata con i modelli più classici di consumer behavior, incentrati sulla razionalità del consumatore e sulla ricerca di risposte funzionali ai propri bisogni