The problem of multiple criminal prosecutions: building an effective EU response

No abstract available

Knowledge assimilation processes of rapidly internationalising firms: longitudinal case studies of Scottish SMEs

<p>Purpose – The accumulation of knowledge and learning by firms has been identified as being critical to their internationalisation. This paper aims to explore the knowledge assimilation processes of rapidly internationalising small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).</p> <p>Design/methodology/approach – This is a qualitative enquiry in two stages. First, four case studies were selected from firms that were participating in an internationalisation programme run by Scottish Enterprise, the regional development agency. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with chief executive officers (CEOs) and programme providers, and archival data. Second, two focus groups were held with six CEOs participating in the programme.</p> <p>Findings – The findings indicate that knowledge sharing is important for rapidly internationalising SMEs and that firms adopted high levels of formality in assimilating knowledge. Two key aspects of formality were identified as important; formal planned events to share explicit and tacit knowledge and the codification of tacit to explicit knowledge. Knowledge may be assimilated less formally by the retention of tacit knowledge as tacit, while utilising elements of formality. The paper finds that learning for internationalisation can be transferred to support domestic growth.</p> <p>Practical implications – It is important for firms to develop appropriate knowledge assimilation processes within their management systems to support internationalisation. The CEO and management team need to take the lead in marshalling commitment to learning processes and in cultivating an organisational culture that is supportive of learning.</p> <p>Originality/value – This research contributes to international entrepreneurship by providing insights into the knowledge assimilation processes employed by rapidly internationalising SMEs to manage the tensions between the need for greater formality to be efficient at learning, and informality to enable speedy decision making.</p&gt

Ordinary magic, extraordinary performance: psychological resilience and thriving in high achievers

Although resilience has been referred to as 'ordinary magic' (Masten, 2001, p. 227) that is more common than once thought, the majority of research in this area has sampled individuals who have been required to react to potentially traumatic events outside of their control. The findings of this work, however, are not easily applicable to those who actively seek to engage with challenging situations that present opportunities for them to raise their performance level. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to identify and explore resilient qualities that enable high achievers to thrive and perform at extraordinary levels. Thirteen high achievers (9 male and 4 female) from eleven professions were interviewed in the UK, and interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to identify resilient qualities that enabled the participants to thrive in pressured environments. Results revealed six superordinate themes that characterized resilience and thriving: positive and proactive personality, experience and learning, sense of control, flexibility and adaptability, balance and perspective, and perceived social support. The data highlights the multifaceted nature of resilience comprising a constellation of personal qualities that enable high achievers to excel in demanding contexts. The themes are discussed in relation to previous research findings and in terms of their implications for practicing psychologists. It is anticipated that these themes will provide practitioners with an insight into the distinct features of resilience and thriving in high achievers and help individuals to attain success and well-being in their careers

SCAN DATA RESEARCH: THE STATUS

Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Main rotor-tail rotor intraction and its implications for helicopter directional control

Aerodynamic interference between the main and tail rotor can have a strong negative influence on the flight mechanics of a conventional helicopter. Significant unsteadiness in the tail rotor loading is encountered under certain flight conditions, but the character of the unsteadiness can depend on the direction of rotation of the tail rotor. Numerical simulations, using Brown's vorticity transport model, of the aerodynamic interaction between the main and tail rotors of a helicopter are presented for a range of forward and lateral flight trajectories. Distinct differences are predicted in the behavior of the system in left and right sideward flight that are consistent with flight experience that the greatest fluctuations in loading or control input are required in left sideways flight (for a counterclockwise rotating main rotor). These fluctuations are generally more extreme for a system with tail rotor rotating top-forward than top-aft. Differences are also exposed in the character of the lateral excitation of the system as forward flight speed is varied. The observed behavior appears to originate in the disruption of the tail rotor wake that is induced by its entrainment into the wake of the main rotor. The extent of the disruption is dependent on flight condition, and the unsteadiness of the process depends on the direction of rotation of the tail rotor. In intermediate-speed forward flight and right sideward flight, the free stream delays the entrainment of the tail rotor wake far enough downstream for the perturbations to the rotor loading to be slight. Conversely, in left sideward and quartering flight, the free stream confines the entrainment process close to the rotors, where it causes significant unsteadiness in the loads produced by the system

Probability distribution functions of gas in M31 and M51

We present probability distribution functions (PDFs) of the surface densities of ionized and neutral gas in the nearby spiral galaxies M31 and M51, as well as of dust emission and extinction Av in M31. The PDFs are close to lognormal and those for HI and Av in M31 are nearly identical. However, the PDFs for H2 are wider than the HI PDFs and the M51 PDFs have larger dispersions than those for M31. We use a simple model to determine how the PDFs are changed by variations in the line-of-sight (LOS) pathlength L through the gas, telescope resolution and the volume filling factor of the gas, f_v. In each of these cases the dispersion sigma of the lognormal PDF depends on the variable with a negative power law. We also derive PDFs of mean LOS volume densities of gas components in M31 and M51. Combining these with the volume density PDFs for different components of the ISM in the Milky Way (MW), we find that sigma decreases with increasing length L with an exponent of -0.76 +/- 0.06, which is steeper than expected. We show that the difference is due to variations in f_v. As f_v is similar in M31, M51 and the MW, the density structure in the gas in these galaxies must be similar. Finally, we demonstrate that an increase in f_v with increasing distance to the Galactic plane explains the decrease in sigma with latitude of the PDFs of emission measure and FUV emission observed for the MW.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, 7 tables, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ