Edge-to-edge matching - The fundamentals

The basis of the present authors' edge-to-edge matching model for understanding the crystallography of partially coherent precipitates is the minimization of the energy of the interface between the two phases. For relatively simple crystal structures, this energy minimization occurs when close-packed, or relatively close-packed, rows of atoms match across the interface. Hence, the fundamental principle behind edge-to-edge matching is that the directions in each phase that correspond to the edges of the planes that meet in the interface should be close-packed, or relatively close-packed, rows of atoms. A few of the recently reported examples of what is termed edge-to-edge matching appear to ignore this fundamental principle. By comparing theoretical predictions with available experimental data, this article will explore the validity of this critical atom-row coincidence condition, in situations where the two phases have simple crystal Structures and in those where the precipitate has a more complex structure.

Crystallography of carbide-free bainite in a hard bainitic steel

The convergent beam Kikuchi line diffraction technique has been used to accurately determine the orientation relationships between bainitic ferrite and retained austenite in a hard bainitic steel. A reproducible orientation relationship has been uniquely observed for both the upper and lower bainite. It is [GRAPHICS] However, the habit plane of upper bainite is different from that of lower bainite. The former has habit plane that is either within 5 degrees of (221)(A) or of (259)(A). The latter only corresponds with a habit plane that is within 5 degrees of (259)(A). The determined orientation relationship is completely consistent with reported results determined using the same technique with an accuracy of +/- 0.5 degrees in lath martensite in an Fe-20 wt.% Ni-6 wt.% Mn alloy and in a low carbon low alloy steel. It also agrees well with the orientation relationship between granular bainite and austenite in an Fe-19 wt.% Ni-3.5 wt.% Mn-0.15 wt.% C steel. Hence it is believed that, at least from a crystallographic point view, the bainite transformation has the characteristics of martensitic transformation. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of Cu addition and milling contaminations on the microstructure evolution of ball milled Al-Pb alloy during sintering

Al-10 wt.%Pb and Al-10 wt.%Pb-x wt.%Cu (x = 0-7.0) bulk alloys were prepared by sintering the mechanically alloyed powders at various temperatures. The microstructure changes of the as consolidated powders in the course of sintering were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy. It has been found that, with respect to the Al-10 wt.%Pb-x wt.%Cu alloy, CuAl2 and Cu9Al4 phases formed in the milling process, and the amount of CuAl2 phase increased while the Cu9Al4 phase disappeared gradually in the sintering process. In both Al-10 wt.%Pb and Al-10 wt.%Pb-x wt.%Cu alloys, the sintering process results in the coarsening of Pb phase and the growth rate of Pb phase fulfills the Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner equation even though the size of the Pb phase was in nanometer range. The Pb particle exhibits cuboctahedral morphology and has a cubic to cubic orientation relationship with the Al matrix. The addition of Cu strongly depressed the growth rate of Pb. Contamination induced by milling has apparent influence on the microstructure of the sintered alloys. Al7Cu2Fe and aluminium oxide phases were identified in the sintered alloys. The cuboctahedral morphology of Pb particles was broken up by the presence of the oxide phase. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Precipitation studies on alloys from the system copper chromium zirconium

The precipitation reactions occurring in a series of copper-based alloys selected from the system copper-chromium-zirconium have been studied by resistometric and metallographic techniques. A survey of the factors influencing the development of copper-based alloys for high strength, high conductivity applications is followed by a more general review of contemporary materials, and illustrates that the most promising alloys are those containing chromium and zirconium. The few systematic attempts to study alloys from this system have been collated, discussed, and used as a basis for the selection of four alloy compositions viz:- Cu - 0.4% Cr Cu - 0.24. Zr Cu - 0. 3% Cr - 0.1% Zr Cu - 0.2% Cr - 0.2% Zr A description of the experimental techniques used to study the precipitation behaviour of these materials is preceeded by a discussion of the currently accepted theories relating to precipitate nucleation and growth. The experimental results are presented and discussed for each of the alloys independently, and are then treated jointly to obtain an overall assessment of the way in which the precipitation kinetics, metallography and mechanical properties vary with alloy composition and heat treatment. The metastable solid solution of copper-chromium is found to decompose by the rejection of chromium particles which maintain a coherent interface and a Kurdjumov-Sachs type crystallographic orientation relationship with the copper matrix. The addition of 0.1% zirconium to the alloy retards the rate of transformation by a factor of ten and modifies the dispersion characteristics of the precipitate without markedly altering the morphology. Further additions of zirconium lead to the growth of stacking faults during ageing, which provide favourable nucleation sites for the chromium precipitate. The partial dislocations bounding such stacking faults are also found to provide mobile heterogeneous nucleation sources for the precipitation reactions occurring in copper-zirconium.

Intragranular nucleation of austenite

The mechanism of intragranular nucleation of austenite in a duplex stainless steel (Fe-23.1 Cr-6.1 Ni-3.1 Mo-O.165 N-0.017 C, wt.%) weld metal and heat-affected zone (HAZ) has been examined. In the weld metal the acicular austenite is found to nucleate intragranularly on inclusions and subsequent plates form sympathetically resulting in a fine interlocked microstructure. Austenite plates adopt the Kurdjumov-Sachs orientation relationship with the ferrite matrix and grow with diffusion-controlled mechanism as evident from partitioning of substitutional alloying elements. At least one set of fine intrinsic dislocations on the austenite/ferrite interphase interfaces is observed suggesting that the boundaries are semi-coherent. The high cooling rates involved in the HAZ result in a supersaturated ferrite matrix where precipitation of intragranular austenite occurs as a result of reheating associated with subsequent passes. Austenite particles in the HAZ nucleate preferentially away from gain boundary austenite allotriomorphs indicating that intragranular precipitation is favoured by the supersaturated matrix.

Strengthening mechanisms in nanostructured copper/304 stainless steel multilayers

Nanostructured Cu/304 stainless steel (SS) multilayers were prepared by magnetron sputtering. 304SS has a face-centered-cubic (fcc) structure in bulk. However, in the Cu/304SS multilayers, the 304SS layers exhibit the fcc structure for layer thickness of =5 nm in epitaxy with the neighboring fcc Cu. For 304SS layer thickness larger than 5 nm, body-centered-cubic (bcc) 304SS grains grow on top of the initial 5 nm fcc SS with the Kurdjumov-Sachs orientation relationship between bcc and fcc SS grains. The maximum hardness of Cu/304SS multilayers is about 5.5 GPa (factor of two enhancement compared to rule-of-mixtures hardness) at a layer thickness of 5 nm. Below 5 nm, hardness decreases with decreasing layer thickness. The peak hardness of fcc/fcc Cu/304SS multilayer is greater than that of Cu/Ni, even though the lattice-parameter mismatch between Cu and Ni is five times greater than that between Cu and 304SS. This result may primarily be attributed to the higher interface barrier stress for single-dislocation transmission across the {111} twinned interfaces in Cu/304SS as compared to the {100} interfaces in Cu/Ni.

The impact of service orientation on relationship quality and future intentions

This paper examines the impact of service orientation (SO) on relationship quality, and its consequences for consumer behaviour in the travel industry. Specifically consumers' positive behavioural intentions, perceptions of switching costs, and consumer activism are examined as consequences of relationship quality (RQ). A sample of leisure and business travellers on a cross sea ferry were surveyed using a consumer intercept methodology. We find that SO has a significant and positive impact on RQ and that RQ has a positive impact on positive behavioural intentions and perceptions of switching costs. Both RQ and switching costs were found to reduce consumer activism. The implications of these findings for service managers and academics are discussed and directions forfuture research presented.

Visitor relationship orientation of destination marketing organisations

The proposition underpinning this study is engaging in meaningful dialogue with previous visitors represents an efficient and effective use of resources for a destination marketing organization (DMO), compared to above the line advertising in broadcast media. However there has been a lack of attention in the tourism literature relating to destination switching, loyalty and customer relationship management (CRM) to test such a proposition. This paper reports an investigation of visitor relationship marketing (VRM) orientation among DMOs. A model of CRM orientation, which was developed from the wider marketing literature and a prior qualitative study, was used to develop a scale to operationalise DMO visitor relationship orientation. Due to a small sample, the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method of structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. Although the sample limits the ability to generalise, the results indicated the DMOs’ visitor orientation is generally responsive and reactive rather than proactive.

In pursuit of tourism destination brand loyalty : visitor relationship management orientation of destination marketing organisations

The proposition underpinning this study is engaging in meaningful dialogue with previous visitors represents an efficient and effective use of resources for a destination marketing organization (DMO), compared to above the line advertising in broadcast media. However there has been a lack of attention in the tourism literature relating to destination switching, loyalty and customer relationship management (CRM) to test such a proposition. This paper reports an investigation of visitor relationship marketing (VRM) orientation among DMOs. A model of CRM orientation, which was developed from the wider marketing literature and a prior qualitative study, was used to develop a scale to operationalise DMO visitor relationship orientation. Due to a small sample, the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method of structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. Although the sample limits the ability to generalise, the results indicated the DMOs’ visitor orientation is generally responsive and reactive rather than proactive.

The relationship of entrepreneurial orientation, Vincentian values and economic and social performance in social enterprise

This study focuses on the managerial question “should social enterprises become more entrepreneurial?” It adapts the Covin and Slevin (1989) entrepreneurial orientation scale to measure the adoption of entrepreneurship by a social enterprise, and develops a scale that combines a Vincentian based focus to serve the poor with a propensity to take a more entrepreneurial approach toward business as a measure of a social value orientation (SVO).

Strategic Sales Process Adaptation: Relationship Orientation of the Sales Process in a Business-to-Business Context

Although previous research has recognised adaptation as a central aspect in relationships, the adaptation of the sales process to the buying process has not been studied. Furthermore, the linking of relationship orientation as mindset with adaptation as a strategy and forming the means has not been elaborated upon in previous research. Adaptation in the context of relationships has mostly been studied in relationship marketing. In sales and sales management research, adaptation has been studied with reference to personal selling. This study focuses on adaptation of the sales process to strategically match it to the buyer’s mindset and buying process. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for strategic adaptation of the seller’s sales process to match the buyer’s buying process in a business-to-business context to make sales processes more relationship oriented. In order to arrive at a holistic view of adaptation of the sales process during relationship initiation, both the seller and buyer are included in an extensive case analysed in the study. However, the selected perspective is primarily that of the seller, and the level focused on is that of the sales process. The epistemological perspective adopted is constructivism. The study is a qualitative one applying a retrospective case study, where the main sources of information are in-depth semi-structured interviews with key informants representing the counterparts at the seller and the buyer in the software development and telecommunications industries. The main theoretical contributions of this research involve targeting a new area in the crossroads of relationship marketing, sales and sales management, and buying and purchasing by studying adaptation in a business-to-business context from a new perspective. Primarily, this study contributes to research in sales and sales management with reference to relationship orientation and strategic sales process adaptation. This research fills three research gaps. Firstly, linking the relationship orientation mindset with adaptation as strategy. Secondly, extending adaptation in sales from adaptation in selling to strategic adaptation of the sales process. Thirdly, extending adaptation to include facilitation of adaptation. The approach applied in the study, systematic combining, is characterised by continuously moving back and forth between theory and empirical data. The framework that emerges, in which linking mindset with strategy with mindset and means forms a central aspect, includes three layers: purchasing portfolio, seller-buyer relationship orientation, and strategic sales process adaptation. Linking the three layers enables an analysis of where sales process adaptation can make a contribution. Furthermore, implications for managerial use are demonstrated, for example how sellers can avoid the ‘trap’ of ad-hoc adaptation. This includes involving the company, embracing the buyer’s purchasing portfolio, understanding the current position that the seller has in this portfolio, and possibly educating the buyer about advantages of adopting a relationship-oriented approach.

Shame, intimacy and self-definition: An assessment of the emotional foundation and intimate relationship consequences of an introjective personality orientation.

The current study sought to elaborate and test a theoretical proposition that introjective personality functioning, which has been implicated in various psychological difficulties (e.g., self-critical depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder), has an emotional foundation in the self-conscious emotion of shame and is supported by dissociation. Moreover, introjective functioning was predicted to be associated with reduced interpersonal intimacy. To test the model, a Web-based survey design using path analysis was used. Three hundred and fifteen university students were assessed with measures of self-conscious emotions (i.e., shame, guilt, and embarrassment), introjective (self-definition) and anaclitic (relational) personality style, pathological dissociation, and interpersonal intimacy. Introjective personality was found to be associated with increased shame and reduced interpersonal intimacy. However, the path between pathological dissociation and introjective functioning was not significant. The results are discussed with reference to the moderating influence of introjective functioning between shame and reduced interpersonal intimacy.

Revisiting the relationship between marketing capabilities and firm performance: The moderating role of market orientation, marketing strategy and organisational power

This paper extends original insights of resource-advantage theory (Hunt & Morgan, 1995) to a specific analysis of the moderators of the capabilities-performance relationship such as market orientation, marketing strategy and organizational power. Using established measures and a representative sample of UK firms drawn from Verhoef and Leeflang’s data (2009), our study tests new hypotheses to explain how different types of marketing capabilities contribute to firm performance. The application of resource-advantage theory advances theorising on both marketing and organisational antecedents of firm performance and the causal mechanisms by which competitive advantage is generated.