An exploratory investigation into knowledge management in Western Australian knowledge-intensive small businesses

From a knowledge management (KM) perspective, organisational effectiveness depends on the organisation’s capacity to effectively perform a range of processes that include identifying, acquiring, sharing, and storing valuable knowledge. The literature suggests that the growth of interest in the field of KM is largely centred on large organisations. Small businesses have not received much attention in the literature. This is surprising, given that small businesses (however defined) represent the majority of businesses in most countries and, as is the case in Australia, make a major contribution towards business activity, economic development and employment generation. This study employed a qualitative exploratory design to investigate two aspects of KM. These are: (1) the processes of identifying, acquiring, sharing and storing knowledge; and (2) the adoption of critical success factors (CSFs) in the KM processes. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with eight owners/managers of knowledge-intensive small business in Western Australia. Findings of the study reveal that knowledge-intensive small businesses have a moderate level of KM understanding. Technology was perceived to be the most common enabler of KM processes, and organisational culture was viewed as the most important factor in fostering KM processes. Overall, the findings of the study provide a preliminary guiding framework for those small businesses that lack KM awareness. Implications of the study findings for small business owner/managers, small business development agencies and KM practitioners are explained. Furthermore, limitations of the study and avenues for future research are discussed

Statistical Prediction of Rate Constants for the Pyrolysis of High-Density Plastic Waste

Poster presented at MULTIPHYSICS 2022, a conference organised by The International Society of Multiphysics, in Oslo, Norway, 15-16 December 2022. https://www.multiphysics.org/home.The 400 million tons of waste plastic are disposed of around the world. A study reported by SINTEF estimates that the Norwegian fishing fleet dumps around 380 tons of plastic material in the ocean each year. This waste is increasing at an alarming rate, threatening aquatic life, polluting the environment, and causing serious diseases. Since this waste includes hydrocarbons and is a massive source for economically producing pyrolytic oil that can replace traditional fuels. To obtain Liquid fuels and gases from the thermal destruction of high-density plastic (HDP) pyrolysis using empirical rate constants is costly and time-consuming. A commercially sustainable quantity of liquid fuel is not achieved. As a result, predicting statistical rate constants (k) which are based on a suitable combination of activation energy (Ea) and frequency factor (Ao), and investigating their sensitivity is a need of time that has not been documented. This study can provide a better insight into the reaction mechanism of HDP and assess the suitable combination of Ea, Ao, and k that can play a significant role in the effectiveness of liquid fuels and gases at a commercial scale. In this study, H-abstraction, chain fission, polymerization, and β-scission reactions have been chosen from literature due to the majority of free radicals. The Arrhenius equation is implemented in R software to predict temperature-dependent rate constants at a fixed temperature (340°C to 370°C). In MATLAB (R2020a) the second-order differential equation solver has been employed to assess how changes in temperature, Ea, and Ao affected the efficiency of species such as oil, gas, and waxes

The carbon nanotubes growth study under catalytic decomposition of ethylene over F 2 O 3 /Al 2 O 3 catalyst

In this study, F2O3/Al2O3 catalyst was prepared by using co-precipitation method. This catalyst was used to grow carbon nanotubes (CNTs) bundles by catalytic decomposition of ethylene in a floating catalytic chemical vapor deposition reactor. It was noticed that nanotubes yield increased with an increase in F2O3/Al2O3 weight. The carbon yield obtained with different weights of F2O3/Al2O3 was ranging from 68-93%. However, the surface defects in the grown tubes were also increased with an increase in the catalyst weight. High yield with the low surface defects and impurities was found for 0.3 g catalyst. The formation of CNTs bundles was attributed to the well-dispersed Fe particles at the catalyst surface. These Fe particles were acting as nuclei for the CNTs growth. The van der Waals forces were acting between the as-grown individual CNTs. These forces make them to grow in the same direction in the form of bundles

Effect of Gas Flowrate on Nucleation Mechanism of MWCNTs for a Compound Catalyst

Activation of the catalyst particles during a CVD process can be anticipated from the carbon feeding rate. In this study, Fe2O3/Al2O3 catalyst was synthesized with uniformly dispersed iron over alumina support for onward production of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in a fluidized bed chemical CVD reactor. The effect of the ethylene flowrate on catalytic activity of the compound catalyst and morphology of the as-grown MWCNTs was also investigated in this study. The dispersed active phases of the catalyst and optimized gas flowrate helped in improving the tube morphology and prevented the aggregation of the as-grown MWCNTs. The flowrates, below 100 sccm, did not provide sufficient reactants to interact with the catalyst for production of defect-free CNT structures. Above 100 sccm, concentration of the carbon precursor did not show notable influence on decomposition rate of the gas molecules. The most promising results on growth and structural properties of MWCNTs were gained at ethylene flowrate of 100 sccm. At this flowrate, the ratio of G and D intensity peaks (IG/ID) was deliberated about 1.40, which indicates the growth of graphitic structures of MWCNTs

Statins Decrease Oxidative Stress and ICD Therapies

Recent studies demonstrate that statins decrease ventricular arrhythmias in internal cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients. The mechanism is unknown, but evidence links increased inflammatory and oxidative states with increased arrhythmias. We hypothesized that statin use decreases oxidation. Methods. 304 subjects with ICDs were surveyed for ventricular arrhythmia. Blood was analyzed for derivatives of reactive oxygen species (DROMs) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Results. Subjects included 252 (83%) men, 58% on statins, 20% had ventricular arrhythmias. Average age was 63 years and ejection fraction (EF) 20%. ICD implant duration was 29 ± 27 months. Use of statins correlated with lower ICD events (r = 0.12, P = .02). Subjects on statins had lower hsCRP (5.2 versus 6.3; P = .05) and DROM levels (373 versus 397; P = .03). Other factors, including IL-6 and EF did not differ between statin and nonstatin use, nor did beta-blocker or antiarrhythmic use. Multivariate cross-correlation analysis demonstrated that DROMs, statins, IL-6 and EF were strongly associated with ICD events. Multivariate regression shows DROMs to be the dominant predictor. Conclusion. ICD event rate correlates with DROMs, a measure of lipid peroxides. Use of statins is associated with reduced DROMs and fewer ICD events, suggesting that statins exert their effect through reducing oxidation

Statistical prediction and sensitivity analysis of kinetic rate constants for efficient thermal valorization of plastic waste into combustible oil and gases

Sensitivity analyses of rate constants for chemical kinetics of the pyrolysis reaction are essential for the efficient valorization of plastic waste into combustible liquids and gases. Finding the role of individual rate constants can provide important information on the process conditions, quality, and quantity of the pyrolysis products. The reaction temperature and time can also be reduced through these analyses. For sensitivity analysis, one possible approach is to estimate the kinetic parameters using a MLRM (multiple linear regression model) in SPSS. To date, no research reports on this research gap are documented in the published literature. In this study, MLRM is applied to kinetic rate constants, which slightly differ from experimental data. The experimental and statistically predicted rate constants varied up to 200% from their original values to perform sensitivity analysis using MATLAB software. The product yield was examined after 60 min of thermal pyrolysis at a fixed temperature of 420 °C. The predicted rate constant “k(8)” with a slight difference of 0.02 and 0.04 from the experiment revealed 85% oil yield and 40% light wax after 60 min of operation. The heavy wax was missing from the products under these conditions. This rate constant can be utilized to maximize the commercial-scale extraction of liquids and light waxes from thermal pyrolysis of plastics

Sensitivity Analysis of Thermal Degradation of Plastic Waste Using Statistically Assumed Exponential Factors and Activation Energies

The rise in the production of plastic waste has prompted the exploration of various recovery options instead of landfilling, burning, and other unethical ways of decomposing. The experimentally generated rate constants for the thermal processing of plastic waste do not yield enough liquid fuels and gases for commercial-scale usage. It is imperative to predict kinetic rate constants statistically using an appropriate combination of activation energies (Ea) and frequency factors (Ao) for the optimized thermal valorization of plastic waste. This approach also assists in controlling the selectivity and quantity of the pyrolysis products. A statistical kinetic model was tested to find the best combination of rate constants from different combinations of Ea and Ao to pyrolyze the high-density polyethylene. Two series of Ea and Ao were first assumed using R software. These series were then used to predict kinetic rate constants and analyze their sensitivity independently using MATLAB. The rate constants were varied from their originally predicted values during the sensitivity analysis. It was found that the rate constant k(7) dominated the other predicted rate constants where high oil and gas yields were concerned. The gas yield increased from lower to higher extreme positions in the range of 60%–74% with the first series and from 65% to 81% with the second series. The maximum oil content was found around 74% and 65% with the first series and second series, respectively

A narrative synthesis of the impact of primary health care delivery models for refugees in resettlement countries on access, quality and coordination

Introduction. Refugees have many complex health care needs which should be addressed by the primary health care services, both on their arrival in resettlement countries and in their transition to long-term care. The aim of this narrative synthesis is to identify the components of primary health care service delivery models for such populations which have been effective in improving access, quality and coordination of care. Methods. A systematic review of the literature, including published systematic reviews, was undertaken. Studies between 1990 and 2011 were identified by searching Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Australian Public Affairs Information Service-Health, Health and Society Database, Multicultural Australian and Immigration Studies and Google Scholar. A limited snowballing search of the reference lists of all included studies was also undertaken. A stakeholder advisory committee and international advisers provided papers from grey literature. Only English language studies of evaluated primary health care models of care for refugees in developed countries of resettlement were included. Results: Twenty-five studies met the inclusion criteria for this review of which 15 were Australian and 10 overseas models. These could be categorised into six themes: service context, clinical model, workforce capacity, cost to clients, health and non-health services. Access was improved by multidisciplinary staff, use of interpreters and bilingual staff, no-cost or low-cost services, outreach services, free transport to and from appointments, longer clinic opening hours, patient advocacy, and use of gender-concordant providers. These services were affordable, appropriate and acceptable to the target groups. Coordination between the different health care services and services responding to the social needs of clients was improved through case management by specialist workers. Quality of care was improved by training in cultural sensitivity and appropriate use of interpreters. Conclusion: The elements of models most frequently associated with improved access, coordination and quality of care were case management, use of specialist refugee health workers, interpreters and bilingual staff. These findings have implications for workforce planning and training