Thin catalytic coatings on microreactor walls A way to make industrial processes more efficient

Current trends in the development of microstructured reactors with thin catalytic films (from 100 nm up to several microns) that have self-assembled nanostructures are discussed. A major technique that is used to prepare such films is sol-gel processing. This involves depositing a complex fluid on a microstructured substrate by dip, spin, or spray coating, followed by surfactant removal to form the porous nanostructures. A novel methodology has been developed by which a uniform coating containing controlled amounts of (poly) metallic nanoparticles can be obtained. This elegant strategy is based on the condensation of metal oxide species by self-assembly in the presence of metallic colloids. The potential microreactor applications brought forth by this innovative protocol are placed in perspective in the light of its versatility.

Chlorobenzenes in rivers draining industrial catchments

Eleven chlorobenzenes (out of a total of 12 in the congener series) were monitored weekly on four industrialized rivers (Aire, Calder, Don and Trent) of the Southern Humber Catchment in whole water samples. 1,2- and 1,4-dichlorobenzene were present at relatively high levels on both the Aire and Calder, having mean concentrations of approximately 30 ng/l. They were both at lower concentrations on the Don and Trent, although the 1,4-isomer dominated. All other chlorobenzenes monitored were routinely found on all the rivers, with the exception of hexachlorobenzene, which was only regularly detected on the Trent. Again, the rivers fell into two classes with respect to their total chlorobenzene concentrations, with the Aire and Calder being more polluted. The higher levels of chlorobenzenes (excluding hexachlorobenzene which was used widely as a agricultural pesticide) on the Aire and Calder, and the dominance of the 1,4-dichlorobenzene congener (accounting for 60-70% of sigma chlorobenzenes) on the Don and Trent, indicated that the Aire and Calder were predominately contaminated with chlorobenzenes through industrial sources, while the Don and Trent were mainly contaminated through domestic sources (1,4-dichlorobenzene is widely used as a toilet deodorant). 1,4-Dichlorobenzene dominated flux, with the Aire, Don and Trent exporting 52.5 kg/year into the Humber estuary, followed by the 1,2-dichlorobenzene at 38.8 kg/year. Sigma chlorobenzenes exported to the Humber was 133 kg/year. This is the first study to calculate chlorobenzene fluxes to the North Sea from a UK catchment.

Inscribing value on business model innovations: Insights from industrial projects commercializing disruptive digital innovations

In this paper we seek to show how marketing activities inscribe value on business model innovation, representative of an act, or sequence of socially interconnecting acts. Theoretically we ask two interlinked questions: (1) how can value inscriptions contribute to business model innovations? (2) how can marketing activities support the inscription of value on business model innovations? Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with the thirty-seven members from across four industrial projects commercializing disruptive digital innovations. Various individuals from a diverse range of firms are shown to cast relevant components of their agency and knowledge on business model innovations through negotiation as an ongoing social process. Value inscription is mutually constituted from the marketing activities, interactions and negotiations of multiple project members across firms and functions to counter destabilizing forces and tensions arising from the commercialization of disruptive digital innovations. This contributes to recent conceptual thinking in the industrial marketing literature, which views business models as situated within dynamic business networks and a context-led evolutionary process. A contribution is also made to debate in the marketing literature around marketing's boundary-spanning role, with marketing activities shown to span and navigate across functions and firms in supporting value inscriptions on business model innovations.

Affective disruption: Walter Benjamin and the 'history' of Ireland's industrial schools

What role do organizations play in writing history? In this paper, I address the part played by organizations in the enactment of large-scale violence, and focus on the ways in which the resulting histories come to be written. Drawing on the case of Ireland's industrial schools, I demonstrate how such accounts can act to serve the interests of those in power, effectively silencing and marginalizing weaker people. A theoretical lens that draws on ideas from Walter Benjamin and Judith Butler is helpful in understanding this; the concept of 'affective disruption' enables an exploration of how people's experiences of organizational violence can be reclaimed from the past, and protected in a continuous remembrance. Overall, this paper contributes a new perspective on the writing of organizational histories, particularly in relation to the enactment of violence. 

The Maturation of Agile Software Development Principles and Practice: Observations on Successive Industrial Studies in 2010 and 2012

The agile model of software development has been mainstream for several years, and is now in a phase where its principles and practices are maturing. The purpose of this paper is to describe the results of an industry survey aimed at understanding how maturation is progressing. The survey was taken across 40 software development companies in Northern Ireland at the beginning of 2012. The paper describes the design of the survey and examines maturity by comparing the results obtained in 2012 with those from a study of agile adoption in the same region in 2010. Both surveys aimed to achieve comprehensive coverage of a single area rather than rely on a voluntary sample. The main outcome from the work is a collection of ‘insights’ into the nature and practice of agile development, the main two of which are reported in this paper.