The aeronautical industry is expanding after a period of economic turmoil. For this reason, a growing number of airports are facing capacity problems that can sometimes only be resolved by expanding infrastructure, with the inherent risks that such decisions create. In order to deal with uncertainty at different levels, it is necessary to have relevant tools during an expansion project or during the planning phases of new infrastructure. This article presents a methodology that combines simulation approaches with different description levels that complement each other when applied to the development of a new airport. The methodology is illustrated with an example that uses two models for an expansion project of an airport in The Netherlands. One model focuses on the operation of the airport from a high-level position, while the second focuses on other technical aspects of the operation that challenge the feasibility of the proposed configuration of the apron. The results show that by applying the methodology, analytical power is enhanced and the risk of making the wrong decisions is reduced. We identified the limitations that the future facility will have and the impact of the physical characteristics of the traffic that will operate in the airport. The methodology can be used for tackling different problems and studying particular performance indicators to help decision-makers take more informed decisions.
The world is rapidly transforming. Economic, ecological and technological developments transcend existing boundaries and challenge the way we innovate. The challenge we face is to reinvent innovation as well, changing the way organisations and industries innovate and cooperate. Only with a new approach we can design a better future: an approach where stakeholders from government, organisations, companies and users participate in new ways of collaboration; an approach where solutions are realised that makes our society future-proof. Participatory innovation means that the innovation team changes: expanding beyond the boundaries of the own organisation. For organisations and companies, this is a huge step. Every partner must be willing to think and act beyond their own borders and participate in a joint effort. Participative innovation is a new way of working, where new challenges are encountered. In the field of urban lighting, this transformation is strongly felt. This paper will further explore the challenge and describe a rich case study where participative innovation is used to rethink, redesign and realise the solutions to transform urban lighting from functional lighting to improving social quality.
Twitter timelines are increasingly populated with brand tweets that are linked to public events, a practice that is also known as real-time marketing (RTM). In two studies, we examine whether RTM is an effective strategy to boost sharing behavior, and if so, what event- and content-related characteristics are likely to contribute to its effectiveness. A content analysis of brand tweets from Nielsen’s top-100 advertisers (n=1500) shows that not all events are equally effective. RTM is only a more effective strategy (vs. no real-time marketing), when brand messages are linked with unpredictable events but not when brand messages are linked with predictable events. In a follow-up study, we examined what content characteristics improve the shareability of predictable RTM messages. A content analysis of RTM messages (n=143) from the Forbes top-100 brands showed that predictable events yield more retweets when the event is visually integrated in the brand tweet (vs. not visually integrated). The presence of event-driven hashtags did not lead to more retweets. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
