AN INNOVATIVE VISCOELASTIC TREATMENT FOR THE INTERNAL NOISE REDUCTION IN A REGIONAL AIRCRAFT

The improvement of interior comfort is becoming an increasingly required target in the transport engineering field, with particular attention to the aviation one. Generally, an aircraft is affected by several noise sources, from the engine power unit to the broadband components, related to the turbulent boundary layer (TBL). In this contest, the leading industries, in cooperation with research centers and universities, are actually employed in the development of innovative passive/active solutions for the internal noise as well as vibrations control: such technological implications must, on the one hand, satisfy these design requirements as well as meet the current airworthiness regulations. The paper deals with the vibro-acoustic testing activity on a typical turboprop fuselage subjected to different external load conditions: the damping ratio and the transmission loss characterization has been performed for several materials, including two innovative viscoelastic treatments too. The results highlighted a very good behaviour of the novel viscoelastic foams in terms of both acoustic and thermal performance when compared to standard blanket supported by extra viscoelastic treatments offering a very interesting self-embedded solution with a good weight to performance ratio

Developing corporate communications: insights from the Italian scenario

Purpose - Based on business manager perceptions in large firms, this paper explores the emergence, growth and importance of corporate communications and how it is evolving and creating competitive advantage in Italian firms. Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative approach is deployed, comprising depth interviews with senior managers from corporations from a broad spectrum of industries including: energy, telecommunications, automotive, transport, retail chain, appliances, technology and engineering, private shipping, government-owned holdings, marketing consultancy, and construction. Findings - The paper provides insights of corporate communication (corpcom) practices in the sampled companies. The research shows that corpcoms involves a complex range of activities leading to performances managed and implemented under CEO direction. Practical implications - Corpcoms is perceived as a strategic concept with effective application relative to managing corporate image and reputation. The findings offer insights for communication professionals who deal with corpcoms, branding, and marketing communications. Originality/value - Corpcoms can be viewed via lens of social actors’ perspectives, i.e. via practitioners – including brand managers and senior executives as they possess practical knowledge of contextual business setting and the managerial capacity to design and implement integrated corporate communications

How to boost place branding leveraging on community relations: an exploration of the banking sector in Ghana

Purpose - This paper aims at exploring the relationship between community relations (CR) and the concept of place branding (PB) by analysing several companies in a developing sub-Saharan country – Ghana - and developing a framework that links the selected concepts together. Design/methodology/approach - The paper provides an analysis based on a multiple case study approach, with an interpretivist analysis of secondary and primary data derived from archival documents and in-depth interviews of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and brand managers from purposefully selected cases of private financial institutions. The data gathered were qualitatively analysed to identify and interpret common themes about CR, PB and other relevant factors such as culture. Based on analysis of the qualitative data, a comprehensive framework for CR and PB was formulated. Findings - Findings show that, in the developing sub-Saharan country Ghana, the process of establishing a place brand is complex, due to influences exerted on CR practices by culture, management agenda of private organisations, government intervention, and the fragmentation of efforts to generate a coherent dialogue with numerous stakeholders. Practical implications - The study shows that managers can leverage on an array of CR elements, including moral and ethical obligations of the company, provision of economic benefits, integration, common goals between corporation and its communities, responsibility to stakeholders, proactive action, partnerships across sector lines, and active leadership, to boost PB. Thus, this research will help policymakers, country brand managers and communication professionals in structuring a proper PB starting from the efforts made in the CR field. Originality/value – This research can be considered one of the few studies undertaken with a view to understanding and developing a CR framework that links with PB in a developing country. The study identifies several important moderators of PB and factors influencing CR. All issues are approached from the viewpoint of PB that promotes economic, commercial and political interests at home and abroad

The value and significance of corporate community relations: an Italian SME perspective

Purpose – This paper investigates the link between community of place and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lombard industrial districts in Italy. Design/methodology/approach – A brief literature review of international authors from the stakeholder approach and Corporate Community Relations field is presented. This paper refers to a survey of Lombard industrial districts conducted by ALTIS. The data was collected via a telephone survey from 834 firms. Findings – The main finding is that managing Corporate Community Relations (CCR) is of major importance for company success. The results of the survey show that there are some tools and actions that Italian industrial district SMEs uses to interact with their particular communities of place to develop effective and coherent relationships with their stakeholder groups. Moreover, although the survey shows that though SMEs do implement different CCR activities, they are not able to communicate these effectively through systematic communication strategies. However, the narrow sample includes only a sample of some Lombard districts. Nonetheless, the findings indicate that effective CCR seems to confer competitive advantage based on stakeholder responses and rewards sought. Research limitations/implications – The framework could assist in supporting CCR developments between industrial districts as various players would know how to improve CCR activities. One further suggestion is that University and Research Centres could have a role to play in creating and communicating codified knowledge concerning community relations in industrial districts, while other public players still have to develop specific tasks in improving infrastructures. Originality/value – This study is in line with the main focus of CCR, which is in striving to meet stakeholder and societal needs. However, industrial district SMEs have to learn how to communicate their CCR activities from the examples set by large Italian companies. The paper links the notion of CCR with tools and actions to develop meaningful relationships with both community of place and interest. Moreover, considering the survey results, a new framework for local player roles is proposed

From CSR to CSI: analysing consumers' hostile responses to branding initiatives in social media-scape

Purpose - The paper analyses consumers’ hostile responses and ‘creative’ re-interpretation of a proactive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) brand communication campaign on social media by a leading Italian company in the energy industry that came to be perceived as a reactive Corporate Social Irresponsibility (CSI) performance. Design/methodology/approach - Taking Palazzo and Basu’s framework of scapes (2007) as a starting point, the paper explores the intersection between branding and CSR studies. After consideration of the lack of empirical studies on this subject, a content analysis of tweets generated from the campaign ‘Guerrieri’ of Enel is performed. Findings - Findings show the dialogic bottom-up approach results are ineffective due to the hijacking of original intent of the company in implementing its CSR communication initiatives. That is to say that corporate brand (CB) strategies can be easily re-interpreted in social media-scape in an opposing perspective, raising the risk of digital hijacking and boycotting initiatives. Practical implications - From a practical standpoint, the study informs managers so that they can evaluate complex problems implicated in the creation of CSR activities aimed at engaging consumers and virtual communities. Besides, the paper would like to aid managers when they face discontent or activism, suggesting they should turn the attention of their stakeholders through a re-evaluation of relevant CSR activities, potentially leveraging on a loyal public which has completely interiorised CB values and can act as brand ambassadors. Originality/value – The paper is one of the first attempts to study the nexus between CSR and CB in digitally-empowering contexts, clarifying the crucial role of social media-scape

Automotive Materials: An Experimental Investigation of an Engine Bay Acoustic Performances

Abstract In this work an extensively experimental analysis aimed to verify the sound insulation properties of the engine bay of a commercial passenger car is carried out, evaluating the possibility to adopt different sound absorbing materials, to be applied under engine cover nylon skin, in the place of commonly used polyurethane foams. Experimental tests were performed on the vehicle at different stationary operating conditions, employing typical pressure microphones for far field measurements, according to the related prescribed standards. A limited number of materials has been initially selected through a preliminary analysis, and then employed for creating different engine cover configurations, which were subsequently tested in real engine operating conditions. For a good understanding of the obtained results, an experimental investigation through an innovative in situ impedance method aimed to assess acoustic properties of each considered material has been also performed. Among all the tested materials, only one able to ensure better acoustic performance at mid and high frequencies with respect to the already existing cover configuration, has been finally identified, after considering other selection criteria such as an adequate high temperature resistance and the most cost-effective solution. Future analyses will regard investigations on the use of additional materials, for solving problem in attenuating engine noise also at low frequencies

Rethinking Bernstein communication wheel: a re-visitation of a communication tool

Purpose – The aim of this conceptual paper is to review Bernstein’s communication wheel in order to make it a tool that can be used in the selection of a corporate communication mix. Design/methodology/approach – A critical analysis of Bernstein’s communication wheel shows it to be a checklist, a starting point in the examination of corporate communication mix, but it is not as such of great help to the decision-maker. Findings – The findings of reviewing literature highlight that the principle of a clear distinction between strategic decisions and operational decisions is applicable also in the field of corporate communication. For each stakeholder relationship, our framework suggests typical combinations of activities and means to be employed. These combinations are useful to experiment with expert systems which are functional to the choices of corporate communication mix. Research limitations/implications – The analysis of communication gaps gives directions for formulating strategic decisions. In our framework tactical decisions concern the components of the communication mix architecture (or communication chain): activities, means and vehicles of communication. On the contrary, Bernstein’s communication wheel includes only generic channels (or media) and gives no indications as to the architecture of the communication mix. Originality/value – This study illustrates the hierarchy of decisions relating to corporate communication mix, the communication wheel could also be useful in communication planning. If this assumption is held to be true it then becomes possible to lay out a framework for a progressive decision-making path that means making sequential choices (first strategic, then tactical). In the stakeholder approach, the aim of strategic decisions is to choose the stakeholder groups on which a firm has to focus its corporate communication activities

From fragmentation to collaboration in tourism promotion: an analysis of the adoption of IMC in the Amalfi coast

The fragmentation in decision-making among different stakeholders severely influences the effectiveness of tourism promotion, also in well-known destinations. Through the lens of collaboration theory, the paper empirically aims at exploring how an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) approach may be preferred to traditional communication programs to boost collaboration of different players. Depth interviews from tourism body stakeholders, organisations and other local government associations from the Amalfi coast region of Italy are conducted to identify incentives and barriers to adopting an integrated approach of communication to tourism promotion. The findings underpin the development of an implementation model aimed at pushing local stakeholders to attain the main benefits of creating and maintaining a network of relationships, implemented as a way to overcome uncertainty in tourism. The paper thus advances IMC in a tourism context, supporting the need to help economic actors to overcome boundaries that hinder them from joining their forces

Substituent and Surfactant Effects on the Photochemical Reaction of Some Aryl Benzoates in Micellar Green Environment^†

In this study, we carried out preparative and mechanistic studies on the photochemical reaction of a series of p-substituted phenyl benzoates in confined and sustainable micellar environment. The aim of this work is mainly focused to show whether the nature of the surfactant (ionic or nonionic) leads to noticeable selectivity in the photoproduct formation and whether the electronic effects of the substituents affect the chemical yields and the rate of formation of the 5-substituted-2-hydroxybenzophenone derivatives. Application of the Hammett linear free energy relationship (LFER) on the rate of formation of benzophenone derivatives, on the lower energy band of the UV-visible absorption spectra of the aryl benzoates and 5-substituted-2-hydroxybenzophenone derivatives allows a satisfactory quantification of the substituent effects. Furthermore, UV-visible and 2D-NMR (NOESY) spectroscopies have been employed to measure the binding constant Kb and the location of the aryl benzoates within the hydrophobic core of the micelle. Finally, TD-DFT calculations have been carried out to estimate the energies of the absorption bands of p-substituted phenyl benzoates and 5-substituted-2-hydroxybenzophenone derivatives providing good linear correlation with those values measured experimentally.Fil: Siano, Gastón. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Hidratos de Carbono. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones en Hidratos de Carbono; ArgentinaFil: Crespi, Stefano. University of Groningen; Países BajosFil: Bonesi, Sergio Mauricio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Hidratos de Carbono. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones en Hidratos de Carbono; Argentin