Sustained Tension Research Articles

Long-term relaxation analysis of steel cables based on viscoelastic model

Steel cables, renowned for their lightweight and high-strength properties, stand as ubiquitous building materials in large-span structures. Serving as crucial load-bearing elements, cables endure sustained tension throughout the structure's lifecycle. To further investigate the long-term relaxation characteristics of steel cables and provide more theoretical basis for structural relaxation calculations, this paper introduces a long-term relaxation constitutive model for steel cables, formulated through theoretical derivation, experimental validation, and data fitting techniques to establish time-dependent constitutive relationships. By employing the Bingham and Kelvin viscoelastic models, a relaxation model for steel cables is presented and optimized accordingly. Experimental investigations involve long-term tests on steel cables with three different sizes and detailed fitting analysis on collected internal force relaxation data. The findings emphasize the indispensability of structural relaxation behavior and the significance of altering internal forces, particularly in large-span cable-strut structures. The developed numerical model enables accurate simulation and prediction of long-term time-dependent performance in such structures, serving as a springboard for future studies in this domain.

Firms’ Resilience During Crises as a Function of a Paradoxical Approach to Sustainability Tensions

Firms’ Resilience During Crises as a Function of a Paradoxical Approach to Sustainability Tensions

Sustainability of the use of critical raw materials in electric vehicle batteries: A transdisciplinary review

The expected growth of electric mobility will have major sustainability implications in societies across the globe due to a global reliance on primary natural resources and the uneven distribution of benefits and impacts. There has been a call for comprehensive assessments that account for the complex causalities between technological, environmental, social, economic, and political aspects of electric mobility. We present a literature review examining the interconnections between aspects of sustainability in the use of critical materials in electric vehicle batteries. With a holistic review of social sciences, materials science, environmental policy, and innovation management literatures, five domains of sustainability tensions were identified: 1) resource sufficiency, 2) geographical distribution and global value chains, 3) regulation and policies, 4) circular economy, and 5) emerging battery technologies. The framework explicates the wickedness and complex causalities involved in the interdependencies of multiple sustainability dimensions and the related tensions. This study extends the examination to cover political aspects and adds to techno-industrial research on battery materials, supply chains and industrial policies and land use, electricity consumption and governance in EV battery production. This study proposes pathways forward that consider various sustainability interdependencies.

Justice and Sustainability Tensions in Agriculture: Wicked Problems in the Case of Dutch Manure Policy

ABSTRACT In recent years, there has been tension between farmers and the Dutch government regarding sustainability policy (in the efforts to reduce the harm caused by manure surplus) and how implementing this policy affects farmers (in the form of justice concerns). We interviewed Dutch farmers to uncover how they view manure policy. We identified four types of injustices: procedural, contributive, distributive, and intergenerational. We propose that a multi-tiered approach is required to overcome these kinds of ‘wicked problems’, avoid paralysis from lack of action, and overcome the flaws by overestimating the effectiveness of top-down policy.

Greenhouse gas neutrality: A qualitative analysis of perceived sustainability tensions in the German chemical industry

The chemical industry plays a critical role in achieving climate neutrality. While several recent studies have concluded that a greenhouse gas-neutral chemical industry is technically feasible, implementation seems to lag behind. This study addresses this issue and contributes to the literature on corporate sustainability by providing a contextual perspective of tensions. Specifically, this study investigates perceived tensions of sustainability managers in their chemical firms' quest to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and how they react to these tensions. The study thereby draws on paradox theory. A qualitative content analysis of interviews with sustainability managers from 22 chemical companies in Germany identifies six tensions, of which four occur very frequently. The responses are grouped into four categories: Business success vs. GHG savings (1), Missing availability (2), GHG savings vs other ecological impact (3) and Desire for sustainability vs. actual behaviour (4). Energy is identified as an overarching topic through which the tensions are linked. Therefore, it is concluded that the response to tensions, as well as the framework conditions around energy, determine if the tensions are either amplified or reduced.

ESTABLISHING AND CONTROLLING A STABLE MORAL AND PSYCHOLOGICALCLIMATE IN FOREIGN DIPLOMATIC INSTITUTIONS AS A KEY SECURITYCOMPONENT

This article addresses the issues of forming and controlling a stable moral and psychological atmosphere in the foreign diplomatic institutions (FDI) of Ukraine, as well as preventing and localizing potential negative markers in FDI and their impact on security. The role of management and security officers (FDI SO) is emphasized. Modern negative global trends such as increased competition for natural resources, sustained tension in certain states and regions, acceleration of the arms race, manifestations of terrorism, organized crime, smuggling, drug and arms trafficking, illegal migration, human trafficking, the threat of escalation of frozen conflicts, and the emergence of new sources of international tension, including the undeclared aggressive hybrid war by the russian Federation against Ukraine and the activation of its intelligence services, impose on Ukraine's special bodies the task of most effectively ensuring the national security of the state, including the security of Ukrainian foreign diplomatic institutions, their staff, and family members, as well as Ukrainian state secret holders sent abroad. The comprehensive nature of addressing security issues in FDI, especially the potential impact of negative signs within diplomatic teams on their security, necessitates thorough scientific analysis. The results of such work will serve as a foundation for further improvement of state political and legal acts, departmental orders, instructions, and relevant practical recommendations for leadership and FDI SO for the proper fulfilment of their duties.

Investigating sustainability tensions and resolution strategies in the plastic food packaging industry—A paradox theory approach

AbstractIncreasing food waste, natural resource depletion, and climate change issues have forced plastic food packaging (PFP) companies to align their business strategies with sustainability aspects. At the same time, however, companies operating in the food packaging industry continue to face tensions while pursuing divergent sustainability goals simultaneously. Drawing on paradox theory, this study aims to examine paradoxical sustainability tensions in the PFP industry and propose potential resolution strategies to resolve diverse tensions arising from addressing competing social, economic, and environmental concerns simultaneously. To this end, we employed a qualitative research methodology and interviewed 15 senior corporate managers and consultants in the PFP industry. Based on the empirical data, we develop categories of sustainability tensions related to operations and supply chain, recycling, and external stakeholders associated with performing, organizing, learning, and belonging paradoxes. Further, we propose resolution strategies including multi‐stakeholder collaboration, research and innovation, circular economy, and use of integrated business strategies which are aligned with the acceptance, spatial separation, temporal separation, and synthesis approaches of the paradox theory. To the best of our knowledge, it is one of the early studies that embrace a paradox lens to investigate the sustainability tensions and resolution strategies in the PFP industry. Further, the study results could guide practitioners and policymakers in the PFP industry to comprehend underlying paradoxical sustainability tensions and promote resolution strategies to address divergent yet desirable economic, social, and environmental considerations simultaneously.

“An Otter’s Temporary Resting Place”: Michael Longley’s Western Landscape

ABSTRACT This article discusses the western landscape in Michael Longley’s poems, a physical, imaginary, and aesthetic space that displays some of the most sustained tensions between self and other, the ecological and the political in his work. Drawing on Timothy Morton’s ideas such as intimate strangeness, interconnectedness, and difference, this article argues that the sense of interconnectedness in Longley’s poems values an ecological interdependency that emphasizes defamiliarization, instability, strangeness, and difference. It informs a philosophy of co-existence that stands against fixed dwelling and rigid identity categorisation both within and beyond the Northern Ireland situation.

Sustainable HRM, training for employability and organizational outcomes: the moderating role of competitive intensity

PurposeThe present study connects the literature on sustainable HRM with that on employability to investigate the relationship between sustainability-oriented human resource actions and organizational outcomes. More specifically, this study explores how training for employability affects the employer–employee relationship and employee retention. Furthermore, this study considers competitive intensity as a potential moderator in these relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe analyses draw on the fourth European Company Survey (ECS 2019) with a sample of 21?869 firms with more than ten employees. Two separate logistic regression models were used to test the hypothesis.FindingsThe results show that training for employability contributes to improving the employer–employee relationship and that competitive intensity positively shapes this relationship. Contextually, training for employability reduces the overall employee retention of the firm.Originality/valueAlthough this study supports the potential win–win nature of employability support, especially for companies that operate in competitive markets and an uncertain environment, it also highlights the existence of paradoxical sustainability tensions that should be managed by employers.

The dark side of sustainable packaging: Battling with sustainability tensions

The sustainable packaging industry plays a significant role in tackling the major sustainability challenges of municipal waste and plastic consumption. While innovative sustainable packaging products offer alternatives to plastic packages made from fossil fuels, their production also poses sustainability problems, defined as tensions in this study. This study explores the different tensions of sustainable packaging production using the field of biobased packaging as an example of an innovative emerging industry. Moreover, the study illustrates different management strategies companies adopt to avoid, lower, and facilitate the identified tensions by taking the paradox management theory perspective. Based on qualitative, semi-structured interviews of 14 international companies working in various supply chain phases of the industry, this study identifies 20 distinct types of economic, structural, psychological, and behavioral tensions, demonstrating their characteristics and 12 strategies companies have adopted to manage these tensions. High investment and operating costs, lacking standards and guidelines, varying regulations among countries and regions, changing regulations, lack of knowledge of policy makers, consumers and end of life management companies are found to be causing most of the tensions. Joining associations, partnering with NGOs, obtaining labels and certifications, conducting LCAs are found to be among the most popular management strategies to the tensions. Overall, this study contributes to the emerging literature about the dark side of sustainability and answers the call for empirical research on the unintended consequences of sustainable production and their management; especially in the emerging industries. From a managerial perspective, this study provides insights into potential management actions of sustainability tensions and situations where government intervention is needed.

Numerical modelling of plate anchors under sustained load: The enhancement of capacity from consolidation

Embedded plate anchors can be used to moor floating offshore facilities. In taut mooring systems, a sustained tension carried by the anchors affects their long-term capacity due to consolidation effects in the soil surrounding the anchor. The resulting gain in capacity provides a potential basis for more efficient anchoring system design. To quantify this effect, and to understand the underlying mechanism, a systematic numerical study has been performed, to capture the effect of sustained loading and consolidation on soil failure mechanisms around an embedded plate anchor. The modified Cam clay model is used, to capture the effect of consolidation on soil strength, and also to faithfully model the process by which a water-filled gap forms under the plate, due to a loss of contact between the plate and the soil, with seepage into the gap zone. A critical observation is the load transfer process when such a gap forms beneath the plate after the applied tension causes the effective stress to fall to zero. The formation of this gap is shown to depend, in a systematic way, on the sustained tension, or preload, the soil strength ratio, the relative sharing of the anchor load between compression above the plate and tension below, as well as the embedded depth of the anchor. Simple relationships that capture these mechanisms are provided, linking the net change in soil strength above and below the anchor to the change in undrained capacity. As an example, it is shown that in soft normally-consolidated clays, a sustained preload of 60 % of the initial capacity, can create a 25 % gain in capacity, at which point the factor of safety is raised from 1/0.6 = 1.67 to 2. This gain is only available for anchors embedded by more than twice their diameter. At shallower embedment, the loss of strength in the unloaded soil beneath the anchor outweighs the gain in strength in the smaller zone of soil above the anchor, and the consolidation process causes a net weakening.

Education as a site of contestation among Nagas in Manipur: politics of language and cultural assertion in the school curriculum

ABSTRACT This article is an attempt to understand education in light of the complex multiethnic relationships and politics prevailing in the state of Manipur. With the sustained tension between the Nagas, Kukis, and Meiteis over the matter of identity, education in the state remains massively divided along ethnic lines. That said, the Meiteis, as the ethnic majority, have been systematically influential in prioritising their identity and development in education, as its control remains in their purview. The subsequent claim and counterclaim regarding the imposition of the dominant Meitei language and culture in the school curriculum have further worsened the ethnic relationship. Consequently, the perceived sense of alienation by the tribal minorities in this sense has added to their sectarian aspirations and detachment from the state. Thus, through fieldwork and a review of literature, this paper presents the various discourses concerning the complex tussle over the control of resources and governance in the education system of Manipur.

Business models for sustainability and firms' external relationships—A systematic literature review with propositions and research agenda

AbstractIncreased focus on sustainability has made firms' value creation increasingly boundary spanning and complex. This begs the question of how business model research describes firm's external relationships, motivating us to undertake a systematic literature review. In analyzing 49 articles, we discuss and problematize four conceptualizations of external relationships—collaboration, alliances, networks, and ecosystems—arriving at nine propositions that clarify their meaning and refer to either firm‐centric or collective business models for sustainability. In combining these findings with review results from conventional business model research we identify three main blind spots in extant business model for sustainability research, regarding coopetition, wider inter‐organizational and sustainability tensions, and power. Based on these blind spots, we sketch a research agenda that could theorize business models for sustainability without neglecting their inherent tensions and contradictions.

“A Refugee from Belief”: Agha Shahid Ali’s Poetics of Rupture

AbstractThis article attempts a reassessment of the political aspirations within Agha Shahid Ali’s poetics through a close reading ofThe Country without a Post Office.Although Shahid’s formal innovations have often been prioritized over his political commitments within scholarly evaluations of his work, I contend that in this collection, Agha Shahid Ali practices a “poetics of rupture”: holding themes of coherence and disruption, continuity and breakage, the global and the local in sustained tension with each other throughout the volume. Forged through a political commitment to represent Kashmir in crisis, his poetics of rupture is simultaneously formally founded on breakage and discontinuity, and itself ruptures, as I eventually propose, the very binaries (poetics versus polemics, personal versus political, local versus global) that shadow political poetry. I demonstrate the specifics of Shahid’s poetics of rupture through an analysis of his work with literary allusions and poetic forms. Eventually, this article contends that recognizing the political import of his poetics of rupture has consequences for our recognition of the crisis in Kashmir itself and the ethical and formal possibilities surrounding the representation of this crisis.

Conceptualising active management of paradoxical tensions in corporate sustainability: A systematic literature review

AbstractDespite the growing literature on paradox theory in corporate sustainability (CS), there is a lack of systematic analyses of both the antecedents and the maintenance of the active strategy for managing paradoxical tensions. This systematic literature review examines the individual, organisational and inter‐organisational antecedents, hereinafter roots of paradoxes (RPs), behind the active strategies aimed at managing paradoxical tensions in CS. The paper also analyses the active and defensive strategies used to manage paradoxical tensions at the organisational level, considering the role of both organisational strategic levels (corporate, business, tactical and operational) and inter‐organisational relationships. This review provides an integrative framework of the individual, organisational and inter‐organisational RPs and practices favouring the adoption of active strategies for managing paradoxical tensions. The analysis of the dynamics of transition from active to defensive strategies also highlights that the long‐term implementation of the active strategy requires its stratification within the organisational strategic levels. This study contributes to the literature on paradox theory in CS by understanding the mechanisms that sustain active management. Managerial implications are also illustrated.

Tensions and outcomes in corporate sustainability: The moderating role of paradoxical frame

Tensions are an unavoidable experience for companies dealing with social and environmental issues because of their inherent complexity and diversity. Paradox and sustainability literature are proposing the crucial role of cognitive frames in effectively managing sustainability tensions. Indeed, denying and suppressing them can spur vicious downward spirals that paralyze actions, reduce their effectiveness, or lead to unintended consequences. On the contrary, recognizing the interrelation and the persistence of opposing sustainability elements and accepting the inherent conflicts can generate virtuous cycles, where the potential of these tensions is released and superior outcomes achieved. Existing literature is providing the first qualitative empirical evidence regarding the potential of a paradoxical cognitive frame for corporate sustainability. However, research on the role of paradox as organizational cognitive frame in fostering sustainability outcomes is still underdeveloped, and moreover, quantitative research to make such evidence more generalizable is missing. Therefore, this study aims at quantitatively investigating whether organizations embracing paradox as collective frame – i.e. accepting contradictions by accommodating competing yet interrelated elements simultaneously, and continuously integrating them – to address sustainability tensions are able to improve their sustainability outcomes – i.e., going beyond compliance in limiting their impact on social and natural systems and preventing social and environmental crises. Based on original survey data regarding how firms perceived the experience of sustainability tensions, how they frame such tensions, and how they perceived their social, environmental, and financial outcomes, results reveal that framing sustainability tensions as paradoxes fosters firms' social and environmental outcomes; however, they also highlight the limitations of this approach. Indeed, a paradoxical organizational cognitive frame supports companies in achieving higher social and environmental outcomes, but not economic ones. Thus, this research contributes to paradox literature by providing a better understanding of the role and the nature of paradox as potential organizational frame to cope with sustainability complexity.

Circular solutions in developing countries: Coping with sustainability tensions by means of technical functionality and business model relevance

AbstractTo foster sustainable development, transition to circular economy should happen globally. Lately, however, the implementation of circular solutions has been particularly slow in the developing countries where these solutions could bring about particularly positive changes. A successful circular solution couples technical functionality with business model relevance. In developing countries, the implementation of circular solutions reveals sustainability tensions that originate in resource scarcity, institutional voids, and market affordability. We have studied implementation of circular solutions that small companies operating in these conditions have developed. The systematic analysis of 79 cases shows how sustainability tensions influence on companies' everyday business conduct and their long‐term strategic orientation toward circular economy. We have also identified commonly applied business model features that allow companies to cope with the sustainability tensions. These features include: (1) locally tailored value proposition, (2) collective action approach in value creation, and (3) creativity in value capture. Ultimately, locally functional, embedded, and widely accepted circular solutions have potential to facilitate wider socio‐technical transitions toward more sustainable business practices.

GAME OF GREEN THRONES. Sustainability Tensions and Power in Global Value Chains

A rising literature suggests the benefits for organizations to take a paradox perspective toward tensions emerging when aiming at increasing corporate sustainability performance. We suggest that if companies have not full agency in responding to such tensions, the effectiveness of this approach can be heavily undermined. We argue this is especially the case of suppliers part of Global Value Chains (GVCs), which characterize an increasing number of industries. Suppliers are significantly constrained by their powerful lead firms in deciding how to address sustainability challenges, so that even if they are willing to manage sustainability tensions, they might finally not to, resulting in poor sustainability performance. By the mean of an in-depth analysis of a specific tensions, we investigate the role of agency in coping with sustainability related tensions using a paradox lens and adopting a multi-level perspective, considering the different actors part of the chain. Our analysis suggests that considerable tensions are generated by working in GVCs, because of the different framing of sustainability of buyers and suppliers, worsening the overall sustainability outcomes of the system despite the best intentions and effort of the actors engaged. Furthermore, we show that the management of such tensions depends on the agency of the actors, resolving in actions that emphasizes one pole of contradiction – the one of the most powerful actor. Accordingly, we contribute to a critical reading of paradox theory in sustainability by i) taking a GVC wide (vs organizational wide) perspective, responding to the call for a systems approach in paradox studies; and ii) focusing on a critical contextual condition in influencing the response that actors can implement in managing tensions: bargaining power.

Sustainable HRM, Training for Employability and Organizational Outcomes: the Employers’ Perspective

The present study builds a bridge between sustainable HRM and employability streams of literatures to investigate the relationship between sustainability-oriented HR actions and organizational outcomes. More specifically, the paper explores the effect of training for employability on employer-employee relationship and employee retention, and considers competitive intensity as a potential moderator in these relationships. The analyses draw on the fourth European Company Survey (ECS 2019) with a sample of 21,869 firms with more than 10 employees. Results show that training for employability contributes in improving the employer-employee relationship and competitive intensity positively shapes this relationship. Contextually, training for employability reduces the overall employee retention capacity of the firms. Thus, while the study provide support for the potential win-win nature of employability support, especially for companies that operate in competitive markets and uncertain environment, it also brings out the existence of some paradoxical sustainability tensions which should be managed by the employers.

Correlation of human capital sustainability leadership style and resilience of the managers in airline operations group of an AIRLINE Company

correlation of human capital sustainability leadership style and resilience of the managers in airline operations group of an AIRLINE Company