Improving internal communication via channel optimization

This report provides an analysis and evaluation of the information flow within Verstraete IML. Open communication is one of Verstraete IML’s core values. The managerial team attaches great importance to this value as it allows a flow of energy and creativity throughout the company. Today, not all messages catch the attention of those interested. Investing in the optimization of the communication strategy will benefit Verstraete IML, as research has shown that effective employee communication is a leading indicator of financial performance and a driver of employee engagement. Research methods include internal focus groups with operators, white-collar workers, team coaches, process owners and management. The focus groups’ aim was to uncover the pain points regarding internal communication experienced by the different parties. Additionally, an external benchmark was performed to check on the communication tools used by other production companies. Multiple researchers have defined internal communications in a different way. To enable the use of one definition in the data collection, a simplified version of literature has been adopted: “internal communication can be seen as the sharing of information horizontally and vertically within the organization”. Unfortunately, literature does not yet provide a specific framework on how to organize internal communication. In general, a lot of opportunities exist to supplement prior research in this field of study. Analyzing the data gathered in the focus groups, resulted in three key findings. Firstly, there is a commonly shared negative perspective on the fact that there is no clear overview on which channel to consult, when in need of discovering information on a certain topic. Secondly, the lack of consistency in the usage of communication channels was pointed out. A third key finding concerns the suggestions for improvement made by the interviewees. The creation of a clearly structured portfolio of appropriate channels and guidelines on how to use them, is the first improvement opportunity. The second opportunity for improvement is related to changing the attitude of the employees consulting the tools. As for the external benchmark, the overall conclusion is that, compared to the companies interviewed (Ontex, Renson, TVH and Aleris), Verstraete IML is a pioneer in internal communication. At some points, Verstraete IML could fine tune its communication strategy learning from Aleris. The most important recommendation to optimize the communication practices at Verstraete IML, includes the appointment of an internal communication manager keeping a helicopter view over the various communication channels. This individual will stimulate communication throughout the company and become the point of contact for employees. The appointment of this internal communication manager will also be vital for the successful completion of the second recommendation, namely the centralization of information within the organization. To enable this centralization, three new channels can be installed. Firstly, a customized SharePoint communication site will offer easy access to news topics and events. Secondly, installing an internal social medium, Yammer, will create higher connectivity throughout the company. It allows to share opinions and ideas on a central location. Lastly, implementing communication boards in production will prevent the sense of information overload. A third recommendation concerns the retention of printed communication to address the production departments. Inevitably, this research carries some limitations as well. Collecting data through the use of focus groups is, according to literature, the best way to assess the employees’ needs and expectations. Downsides to this research method are that on the one hand shy employees might be hesitant in sharing their true opinion, on the other hand ‘group thinking’ could occur. In this research project, this effect is countered by a small survey at the end of each focus group, and by the usage of multiple moderators paying attention to non-verbal communication. As analyzing a focus groups is fairly labor intensive, the number of focus groups is limited. In addition, by solely selecting enthusiastic employees willingly to engage in the project, a bias could occur. Another limitation is linked to the scope of the project. As the scope of this research project is limited, suggestions related to for example personal feedback could not be addressed. Overall, this report offers a new communication strategy and plan for a growing company. All channels have been reviewed and optimized to enable better information sharing throughout the company. Following this plan will allow Verstraete IML to take communication to a next level

The Influence of Conjugated Polymer Side Chain Manipulation on the Efficiency and Stability of Polymer Solar Cells

The stability of polymer solar cells (PSCs) can be influenced by the introduction of particular moieties on the conjugated polymer side chains. In this study, two series of donor-acceptor copolymers, based on bis(thienyl)dialkoxybenzene donor and benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (BT) or thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole (TzTz) acceptor units, were selected toward effective device scalability by roll-coating. The influence of the partial exchange (5% or 10%) of the solubilizing 2-hexyldecyloxy by alternative 2-phenylethoxy groups on efficiency and stability was investigated. With an increasing 2-phenylethoxy ratio, a decrease in solar cell efficiency was observed for the BT-based series, whereas the efficiencies for the devices based on the TzTz polymers remained approximately the same. The photochemical degradation rate for PSCs based on the TzTz polymers decreased with an increasing 2-phenylethoxy ratio. Lifetime studies under constant sun irradiance showed a diminishing initial degradation rate for the BT-based devices upon including the alternative side chains, whereas the (more stable) TzTz-based devices degraded at a faster rate from the start of the experiment upon partly exchanging the side chains. No clear trends in the degradation behavior, linked to the copolymer structural changes, could be established at this point, evidencing the complex interplay of events determining PSCs’ lifetime

Amplifying the response of soft actuators by harnessing snap-through instabilities

Although instabilities have traditionally been avoided as they often represent mechanical failure, here we embrace them to amplify the response of fluidic soft actuators. Besides presenting a robust strategy to trigger snap-through instabilities at constant volume in soft fluidic actuators, we also show that the energy released at the onset of the instabilities can be harnessed to trigger instantaneous and significant changes in internal pressure, extension, shape, and exerted force. Therefore, in stark contrast to previously studied soft fluidic actuators, we demonstrate that by harnessing snap-through instabilities it is possible to design and construct systems with highly controllable nonlinear behavior, in which small amounts of fluid suffice to generate large outputs.Engineering and Applied Science

“You have to keep track of your changes”: The Version Variants and Publishing History of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas

In 2003, David Mitchell’s editorial contact at the US branch of Random House moved from the publisher, leaving the American edition of Cloud Atlas (2004) without an editor for approximately three months. Meanwhile, the UK edition of the manuscript was undergoing a series of editorial changes and rewrites that were never synchronised back into the US edition of the text. When the process was resumed at Random House under the editorial guidance of David Ebershoff, changes from New York were likewise not imported back into the UK edition. In the section entitled ‘An Orison of Sonmi~451’ these desynchronised rewritings are nearly total at the level of linguistic expression between UK and US paperbacks/electronic editions and there are a range of sub-episodes that only feature in one or other of the published editions. Within the constraints of copyright on contemporary fiction, this article sets out this textual variance and visually plots the re-ordering and re-writing of the Sonmi section of the novel across versions. Further to this, I also signal here a number of reasons why critics might need to consider the production processes of contemporary fiction in order to deal with the multiple and different editions of this text and other contemporary novels

A review of source tracking techniques for fine sediment within a catchment

Excessive transport of fine sediment, and its associated pollutants, can cause detrimental impacts in aquatic environments. It is therefore important to perform accurate sediment source apportionment to identify hot spots of soil erosion. Various tracers have been adopted, often in combination, to identify sediment source type and its spatial origin; these include fallout radionuclides, geochemical tracers, mineral magnetic properties and bulk and compound-specific stable isotopes. In this review, the applicability of these techniques to particular settings and their advantages and limitations are reviewed. By synthesizing existing approaches, that make use of multiple tracers in combination with measured changes of channel geomorphological attributes, an integrated analysis of tracer profiles in deposited sediments in lakes and reservoirs can be made. Through a multi-scale approach for fine sediment tracking, temporal changes in soil erosion and sediment load can be reconstructed and the consequences of changing catchment practices evaluated. We recommend that long-term, as well as short-term, monitoring of riverine fine sediment and corresponding surface and subsurface sources at nested sites within a catchment are essential. Such monitoring will inform the development and validation of models for predicting dynamics of fine sediment transport as a function of hydro-climatic and geomorphological controls. We highlight that the need for monitoring is particularly important for hilly catchments with complex and changing land use. We recommend that research should be prioritized for sloping farmland-dominated catchments

A review of source tracking techniques for fine sediment within a catchment

Excessive transport of fine sediment, and its associated pollutants, can cause detrimental impacts in aquatic environments. It is therefore important to perform accurate sediment source apportionment to identify hot spots of soil erosion. Various tracers have been adopted, often in combination, to identify sediment source type and its spatial origin; these include fallout radionuclides, geochemical tracers, mineral magnetic properties and bulk and compound-specific stable isotopes. In this review, the applicability of these techniques to particular settings and their advantages and limitations are reviewed. By synthesizing existing approaches, that make use of multiple tracers in combination with measured changes of channel geomorphological attributes, an integrated analysis of tracer profiles in deposited sediments in lakes and reservoirs can be made. Through a multi-scale approach for fine sediment tracking, temporal changes in soil erosion and sediment load can be reconstructed and the consequences of changing catchment practices evaluated. We recommend that long-term, as well as short-term, monitoring of riverine fine sediment and corresponding surface and subsurface sources at nested sites within a catchment are essential. Such monitoring will inform the development and validation of models for predicting dynamics of fine sediment transport as a function of hydro-climatic and geomorphological controls. We highlight that the need for monitoring is particularly important for hilly catchments with complex and changing land use. We recommend that research should be prioritized for sloping farmland-dominated catchments

A deconvolutional Bayesian mixing model approach for river basin sediment source apportionment

Increasing complexity in human-environment interactions at multiple watershed scales presents major challenges to sediment source apportionment data acquisition and analysis. Herein, we present a step-change in the application of Bayesian mixing models: Deconvolutional-MixSIAR (D-MIXSIAR) to underpin sustainable management of soil and sediment. This new mixing model approach allows users to directly account for the 'structural hierarchy' of a river basin in terms of sub-watershed distribution. It works by deconvoluting apportionment data derived for multiple nodes along the stream-river network where sources are stratified by sub-watershed. Source and mixture samples were collected from two watersheds that represented (i) a longitudinal mixed agricultural watershed in the south west of England which had a distinct upper and lower zone related to topography and (ii) a distributed mixed agricultural and forested watershed in the mid-hills of Nepal with two distinct sub-watersheds. In the former, geochemical fingerprints were based upon weathering profiles and anthropogenic soil amendments. In the latter compound-specific stable isotope markers based on soil vegetation cover were applied. Mixing model posterior distributions of proportional sediment source contributions differed when sources were pooled across the watersheds (pooled-MixSIAR) compared to those where source terms were stratified by sub-watershed and the outputs deconvoluted (D-MixSIAR). In the first example, the stratified source data and the deconvolutional approach provided greater distinction between pasture and cultivated topsoil source signatures resulting in a different posterior distribution to non-deconvolutional model (conventional approaches over-estimated the contribution of cultivated land to downstream sediment by 2 to 5 times). In the second example, the deconvolutional model elucidated a large input of sediment delivered from a small tributary resulting in differences in the reported contribution of a discrete mixed forest source. Overall D-MixSIAR model posterior distributions had lower (by ca 25-50%) uncertainty and quicker model run times. In both cases, the structured, deconvoluted output cohered more closely with field observations and local knowledge underpinning the need for closer attention to hierarchy in source and mixture terms in river basin source apportionment. Soil erosion and siltation challenge the energy-food-water-environment nexus. This new tool for source apportionment offers wider application across complex environmental systems affected by natural and human-induced change and the lessons learned are relevant to source apportionment applications in other disciplines

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