The goal of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of different upper subcritical limit (USL) calculational methods for loosely coupled and novel neutronic systems. This study varied the separation ...distance over five center-to-center separation distance intervals for four loosely coupled models and explored seven single-system neutronic models. Each of these 27 systems was simulated using MCNP6.2 with 200 randomly perturbed, continuous-energy ENDF/B-VII.1 cross-section files that are in the TENDL 2019 library. The distribution of the
$${k_{eff}}$$
k
eff
values from these perturbed runs was used to calculate stochastic 99/99 USL values for each model iteration. USLs were also estimated for these 20 systems using the Whisper 1.1 code, and the Whisper-identified relevant benchmarks were used to further analyze the relationship between the region-wise USL calculation and the overall system USL calculations. Sensitivity data files were produced using MCNP6.2 and then used with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory TSURFER and USLSTATS methods to estimate USLs for a cross-method USL comparison. A
$${c_k}$$
c
k
windowing study was performed when using the USLSTATS method to determine the efficacy of the method using datasets with differing degrees of similarity to the given application case. The results show that USLs for each of the loosely coupled system models were higher USLs than the calculated stochastic USLs. The single-system uranium models also displayed a consistently lower stochastic USL as compared to the USL calculational methods, while the single-system plutonium models showed close agreement between the stochastic USLs and the other USL calculational methods.
•We have developed modeling framework in a Loosely Coupled System.•The hydrologic cycle components are modelled using Soil and Water Assessment Tool.•Land use conversion due to human action is ...developed using Agent-based Modeling framework.•Climate change scenarios predict higher streamflow.•Combined climate and land use change scenarios project to reduce sediment load.
Climate and land use change are the two primary factors that affect different components of hydrological cycle as well as sediment transport in the watershed. Quantifying potential impact of these two stressors enables decision makers to formulate better water resource management strategies to adapt to the changing environment. To that end, we have developed an integrated modeling framework employing an Agent-based approach to simulate land use conversion that then serves as input to the Soil and Water Assessment tool (SWAT) in a loosely coupled fashion. The modeling framework was tested on the Neshanic River Watershed (NRW), 142 km2 area in central New Jersey that contains mix of urban, agricultural and forested lands. An ensemble of 10 different global climate models (GCMs) for two different greenhouse gas emission scenarios including representative concentration pathways-4.5 and 8.5 (RCP-4.5 and 8.5) were employed to model future climate from 2020 to 2045. Land use conversion for 2040 was developed based on six driving factors including distance to residential lands, agricultural lands, roads, streams, train stations, and forest using three land use transition potential models and further, the best transition potential model accompanied with some local land use restrictions.
The study evaluated various components of hydrological cycle and sediment transport for the three different scenarios one-at-a-time including climate change alone, land use change alone, and combined climate and land use change. Results indicate that the changing climate will have a larger effect on the hydrologic cycle than intensifying urban land uses in the study watershed. The climate change scenarios, either alone or in composite with land use change, predict higher streamflow (32% and 36% increase over baseline, respectively), overriding the effect of land use change which predicts a decline of 5% in streamflow. The increase in streamflow results in an increase in sediment loading, presumably due to an increase stream downcutting. Conversely, the effect of land use change (in this case the conversion of agricultural land to low density residential uses), is predicted to decrease sediment load. When modelled in composite, the effect of changing land use (in this case the conversion of erodible agricultural fields to suburban development) appears to override the adverse effect of climate change, enhancing watershed resiliency by reducing sediment load and thereby improving health of the downstream aquatic ecosystems.
A small-world simulation model of a regional innovation system combining the strength of the intersubject relationship of the regional innovation system with the loosely coupled system is ...constructed. We use a simulation to observe knowledge flow within the regional innovation system under relationships of varying strength. The results show that when the relationship between the subjects of the regional innovation system reaches a certain strength, the system will exhibit high module independence and high network integrity, forming a loosely coupled system. The knowledge flow in the system exhibits the emergence of a fast flow rate, a high mean value and little variance. When relationship strength is at other levels, the emergence of knowledge cannot be identified.
Purpose
This study aims to examine the development of service ecosystems literature and its four premises as follows: the characterization of service ecosystems as loosely coupled systems, the ...existence of shared institutional arrangements among actors, the occurrence of resource-integrating interactions among actors and value co-creation as the stated purpose of service ecosystems.
Design/methodology/approach
With a systematic literature review, the paper identifies and analyzes 98 articles on service ecosystems. An examination and a cross-check of the central elements of the articles reveal gaps and limitations in the analysis of service ecosystems. These results lead to the formulation of four propositions and suggestions for further research.
Findings
The four premises of service ecosystems are constrained by overly optimistic perceptions that prevent theoretical advancements. These premises overlook possible tight coupling; power asymmetries; divergent interpretations of institutions and institutional arrangements; divergent interpretations of actors’ resource-integrating actions, intentions and abilities; and the co-destruction of value. Four propositions are formulated to address these challenges.
Research limitations/implications
The shortcomings reflect the systematic literature review, which only covers a specific area of the extant knowledge base, namely, English-language articles published in peer-reviewed international journals.
Originality/value
This study extensively and critically investigates the premises of service ecosystems for the first time, proposing a more holistic, dynamic and realistic understanding of them. In so doing, it paves the way for renewed conceptualizations of service ecosystems.
The conceptualization of construction as a loosely coupled system has been widely used to explain behaviour within the industry. In this article, we revisit the concept by exploring what it means to ...work at the micro-level within this system. Adopting a practice lens, this study focuses on the daily work of site managers, a category of workers who often have been described to have a hub-like role in construction projects. The findings highlight how their work consists of activities that can be seen as mundane, yet simultaneously fill an important coupling function in the projects, which we conceptualize as coupling work. Coupling work denotes a managerial work practice through which site managers use slack from the parent organization to tighten site-activities. However, they do so in a particular way that tightens the projects closer to their own authority which, in turn, sustains organizational loose coupling. The study contributes to debates on change and development in construction by showing how coupling work is produced and reproduced to preserve the autonomy and control of site managers.
Real-time flight controllers are becoming dependent on general-purpose operating systems, as the modularity and complexity of guidance, navigation, and control systems and algorithms increases. The ...non-deterministic nature of operating systems creates a critical weakness in the development of motion control systems for robotic platforms due to the random delays introduced by operating systems and communication networks. The high-speed operation and sensitive dynamics of UAVs demand fast and near-deterministic communication between the sensors, companion computer, and flight control unit (FCU) in order to achieve the required performance. In this paper, we present a method to assess communications latency between a companion computer and an RTOS open-source flight controller, which is based on an XRCE-DDS bridge between clients hosted in the low-resource environment and the DDS network used by ROS2. A comparison based on the measured statistics of latency illustrates the advantages of XRCE-DDS compared to the standard communication method based on MAVROS-MAVLink. More importantly, an algorithm to estimate latency offset and clock skew based on an exponential moving average filter is presented, providing a tool for latency estimation and correction that can be used by developers to improve synchronization of processes that rely on timely communication between the FCU and companion computer, such as synchronization of lower-level sensor data at the higher-level layer. This addresses the challenges introduced in GNC applications by the non-deterministic nature of general-purpose operating systems and the inherent limitations of standard flight controller hardware.
Acts of terrorism can be harrowing and cause extensive damage, yet they occur far too frequently. How do terrorist groups organize and coordinate their attacks? What makes those groups simultaneously ...cohesive and flexible in a hostile environment? Different academic disciplines have contributed to a better understanding of the proliferation of terrorist acts in recent years. With very few exceptions, however, extant psychological research on terrorism has almost exclusively focused on the individual terrorist. We leverage the team literature to better understand how a team of terrorists radicalizes, organizes, and makes decisions. Drawing from the work of Weick (1976), we characterize terrorist teams as loosely coupled systems. Examples of different terrorist attacks from the last 15 years illustrate how loose coupling in terrorist teams is especially powerful because of the high familiarity and intimacy among members of terrorist teams. Loosely coupled structures have led to highly adaptive and resilient teams whose actions are fluid, unpredictable, and often lethal. We conclude by discussing implications for counterterrorism and for future research.
Organizational Couplings Arango-Vasquez, Leonel; Gentilin, Mariano
Innovar : revista de ciencias administrativas y sociales,
2021, Letnik:
31, Številka:
79
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The loosely coupled systems (lcs) perspective emerged as a new way to understand the organizational structure from the field of Organization Studies. The purpose of this article is to present the ...main features of previous research studies that have addressed the perspective of loosely coupled systems. This article is based on a systematic literature review of 76 papers published during a 36-year period (1983-2019). The findings indicate that the main concepts studied around this perspective have been loose coupling, tight coupling, decoupling, degree of coupling, and coupling mechanisms, which are analyzed considering the dialectical relationship between distinctiveness and responsiveness. Likewise, the study of organizational couplings has been extensively developed through qualitative methodology with case studies, interviews and documentary reviews. In particular, there are two theoretical frameworks broadly used along with this perspective, the sociological new institutionalism and the theory of normal accidents, which give rise to future research on topics such as decoupling and the normality of accidents, among others. This article contributes to the discussion of organizational ties by highlighting the contemporary relevance of the LCS perspective, its usefulness for understanding current and future organizational issues in the field of Organization Studies, and encouraging greater adoption of LCS analysis in Latin America. Additionally, this paper provides conceptual clarity on the main categories of organizational couplings and its operationalization.
la perspectiva de los sistemas débilmente acoplados (LCS, en inglés) surgió como una nueva forma de comprender la estructura de las organizaciones desde la óptica de los estudios organizacionales. Por ello, este artículo busca describir las principales características de dicha perspectiva a partir de una revisión sistemática de 76 artículos publicados durante un período de 36 años (1983-2019). Los hallazgos indican que los principales conceptos estudiados en torno a los sistemas débilmente acoplados han sido el acoplamiento débil, el acoplamiento fuerte, el desa-coplamiento, el grado de acoplamiento y los mecanismos de acoplamiento, los cuales han sido analizados con base en la relación dialéctica entre singularidad y capacidad de respuesta. Así mismo, se evidencia que el estudio de los acoplamientos organizacionales se ha desarrollado a través de metodologías cualitativas y el uso de estudios de casos, entrevistas y revisiones documentales. En particular, existen dos marcos teóricos ampliamente utilizados junto con este enfoque (el nuevo institucionalismo sociológico y la teoría de los accidentes normales), dando lugar a investigaciones futuras en temas como el desacoplamiento y la normalidad en la ocurrencia de accidentes, entre otros. Este artículo contribuye a la discusión alrededor de los vínculos organizacionales en tanto reconoce la importancia de los sistemas débilmente acoplados y su utilidad para la comprensión de los problemas actuales y futuros de las organizaciones desde el campo de los estudios organizacionales, promoviendo una mayor adopción de los fundamentos de esta corriente en Latinoamérica y precisando las categorías esenciales de los acoplamientos organizacionales y su funcionamiento.
a perspectiva de sistemas fracamente acoplados (LCS, na sigla em inglês) surgiu como uma nova forma de entender a estrutura organizacional a partir do campo dos Estudos Organizacionais. O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar as principais características de pesquisas anteriores que abordaram a perspectiva de sistemas fracamente acoplados. Este artigo baseia-se em uma revisão sistemática da literatura de 76 artigos publicados durante um período de 36 anos (1983-2019). As descobertas indicam que os principais conceitos estudados em torno dessa perspectiva têm sido “acoplamento fraco”, “acoplamento forte”, “desacoplamento”, “grau de acoplamento” e “mecanismos de acoplamento”, que são analisados considerando a relação dialética entre distinção e responsividade. Da mesma forma, o estudo dos acoplamentos organizacionais tem sido amplamente desenvolvido por meio de metodologia qualitativa com estudos de caso, entrevistas e revisão documental. Em particular, há dois marcos teóricos mais utilizados juntamente com essa perspectiva, o novo institucionalismo sociológico e a teoria dos acidentes normais, que dão origem a futuras pesquisas sobre temas como o desacoplamento e a normalidade dos acidentes, entre outros. Este artigo contribui para a discussão dos laços organizacionais ao destacar a relevância contemporânea da perspectiva do LCS, sua utilidade para a compreensão das questões organizacionais atuais e futuras no campo dos Estudos Organizacionais e incentivar uma maior adoção da análise do LCS na América Latina. Além disso, este artigo fornece clareza conceitual sobre as principais categorias de acoplamentos organizacionais e sua operacionalização.
La perspective des systèmes faiblement couplés (LCS) est apparue dans le domaine des études organisationnelles comme une nouvelle façon de comprendre la structure organisationnelle. Le but de cet article est de présenter les principales caractéristiques des études de recherche précédentes qui ont abordé la perspective des systèmes faiblement couplés. Cet article se fonde sur une revue systématique de la littérature de 76 articles publiés pendant une période de 36 ans (1983-2019). Les résultats indiquent que les concepts principaux étudiés autour de cette perspective ont été le couplage lâche, le couplage étroit, le découplage, le degré de couplage et les mécanismes de couplage, qui sont analysés en tenant compte de la relation dialectique entre le caractère distinctif et la réactivité. De même, l'étude des couplages organisationnels a été largement développée à travers une méthodologie qualitative avec des études de cas, des entretiens et une revue documentaire. En particulier, cette perspective emploie surtout deux cadres théoriques, le nouvel institutionnalisme sociologique et la théorie des accidents normaux, qui donnent lieu à de futures recherches sur des sujets tels que le découplage et la normalité des accidents, entre autres. Cet article contribue à la discussion sur les liens organisationnels en soulignant la pertinence contemporaine de la perspective LCS, son utilité pour comprendre les problèmes organisationnels actuels et futurs dans le domaine des études d'organisation, et encourage une plus grande adoption de l'analyse LCS en Amérique latine. De plus, cet article apporte une clarté conceptuelle sur les principales catégories de couplages organisationnels et leur opérationnalisation.
This article aims to study whether exercises contribute to learning that can be useful in actual emergency work. It reports the findings of a study about professional emergency personnel's ...perceptions of the impact of collaboration exercises. Surveys were distributed and collected from emergency personnel in conjunction with three collaboration exercises that took place in
S
weden in spring 2012. The survey included personnel holding different positions within the police department, fire department and ambulance services. Among them were also operational personnel such as officers. A total of 94 professional emergency personnel agreed to participate by answering the survey. The response rate was 95%. The study shows that collaborative elements in exercises contribute to perceived learning (
R
2
= 0:53), and that learning, in turn, has a perceived beneficial effect on actual emergency work (
R
2
= 0:26). The perceived results of collaboration, learning and their impact on actual emergency work, however, are moderate. The exercises were characterised by long waiting times and gave few opportunities to practise different strategies. Only a few respondents felt that they learned something about the collaborating organisations' ways of communicating and prioritising. Many also thought that the exercises were more useful for command officers than for operational personnel. Thus, the study shows that by strengthening the collaborative elements of the exercises, the perception of the participants' actual emergency work can be developed.
How can global team leaders effectively span boundaries between highly diverse and distant team members, manage cross-cultural conflict, and foster team performance? Global team leadership continues ...to face persistent challenges, and while the boundary spanning literature has identified relevant characteristics, traits, competencies, and skills of effective boundary spanners, it says little about boundary spanning activities. This paper proposes new contributions to this question through an ethnographic case study of a highly successful global R&D project team. Over the course of the 2-year project, three conflict situations were resolved through cross-cultural boundary spanning activities. From an ethnographic perspective, the dynamics at work are described in detail. To better understand these dynamics, the paper draws on loosely coupled systems theory by asking how structural and cultural coupling can facilitate boundary spanning activities. In doing so, the paper extends the theory of boundary spanning and global team leadership and connects boundary spanning with loosely coupled systems theory. The contributions relate to four main propositions: effective global team leaders span intra-team boundaries through coupling activities; task-related “structural coupling” and relationship-related “cultural coupling” are interdependent; effective boundary spanning combines tight structural and loose cultural coupling; and boundary spanning objects and agents enhance coupling activities.
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