bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Who drives the automotive sector? Thailand selective policies
Authors: Pollio Chiara , Rubini Lauretta
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze the case of selective industrial policies for the automotive industry in Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach

Founding on previous literature and official government documents, the authors describe the implemented policies, dividing them into four phases according to the main trend they followed. The authors suggest results the policies have or have not reached by analyzing the current state of the sector.

Findings

The main point is that selective policies implemented in the country were successful in helping the development of the sector as a whole, contributing to the role of Thailand as main actor in the international market. However, such policy initiatives were not able to solve some of the main issues of the automotive sector in the country related to local development, such as the technology dependence on foreign (mainly Japanese) firms and the weakness of local suppliers.

Originality/value

The authors frame the development of the automotive sector in a twofold perspective: on one hand, the international/exogenous factors and, on the other hand, the role of policy. The authors interpret the effects of selective industrial policy under the lens on both evolution and growth of the sectorper seand on the enhancement of local capabilities. The work shows that the results do not go in the same direction.
Establishing finance-growth linkage for India: a financial conditions index (FCI) approach
Authors: Giri A.K. , Bansod Deven
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The global financial crisis of 2008 emphasized the need for monetary policy authorities to have a more comprehensive view of the conditions prevailing in the economy before deciding their policy stance. The purpose of this paper is to outline the construction of a financial conditions index (FCI) and investigate the possible co-integrating relationship between the economic growth and FCI.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs the PCA methodology, with appropriate augmentations to handle the unbalanced panel data-sets and constructs a FCI for India. It tests the growth-predicting power of FCI by applying the auto regressive distributed lags approach to co-integration and verifies if the FCI is co-integrated with real GDP growth. It also discusses construction of a financial development index (FDI) which tracks the financial markets through M3, market capitalization and credit amount to residents.

Findings

The constructed FCI has a quarterly frequency and is available starting 1998q2. The long-run coefficient of FCI while predicting the real GDP growth is significant at 10 percent. The results confirm that a more-broader index FCI outperforms a narrower index FDI in growth prediction.

Research limitations/implications

By showing that FCI is a better growth predictor than FDI, the study establishes the importance of including the foreign exchange markets, bond markets and stock markets while summarizing the conditions in the economy. The authors hope that the FCI would be helpful to the monetary authorities in their policy decisions.

Originality/value

The paper adds to the few existing studies studies dealing with FCI for Indian economy and constructs a more comprehensive index which tracks multiple markets simultaneously. It also fills the gap in literature by evaluating the correlating relationship between FCI and economic growth.
Solidarity, job satisfaction, and turnover intent in employees
Authors: Matsumoto Miyuki , Gopal Baiju
Published: August 2019

Purpose

While the role of solidarity in the workplace has been examined in previous research, it is still an important component of the workplace for Japanese employees. The purpose of this paper is to integrate findings on solidarity at the workplace, job satisfaction and intent to turnover. A moderated mediation model is hypothesized where solidarity predicts intent to turnover via job satisfaction, but the strength of this whole mediation process is moderated by employees’ length of working overtime or working long hours.

Design/methodology/approach

The data analyzed in this study were acquired from the Japanese General Social Survey 2010, which was administered to 527 men and 278 women.

Findings

The results generally supported the assumptions; the proposed mediation model proved to be statistically significant, even when background covariates were introduced into the model to control for pre-existing differences. Also, the proposed moderated mediation model was supported; solidarity strongly increased job satisfaction when working overtime was low.

Research limitations/implications

Because of measurement of solidarity, this study results may limit the generalizability. Researchers should explore the relationship between the dimension of solidarity and job satisfaction.

Practical implications

The paper includes the implications for human resource management, the developing of solidarity at the workplace and for managing the strain of working overtime.

Originality/value

This study was the first to examine the relationship between solidarity at the workplace and job satisfaction and the moderating effects of working overtime.
Tribological and electrochemical behavior of Ag2O/ZnO/NiO nanocomposite coating on commercial pure titanium for biomedical applications
Authors: Çomakli Onur , Yazici Mustafa , Yetim Tuba , Yetim Fatih , Celik Ayhan
Published: August 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the structural, tribological and electrochemical properties of Ag2O, ZnO, NiO coatings and Ag2O/ZnO/NiO nanocomposite films deposited on commercially pure titanium.

Design/methodology/approach

Ceramic thin films (Ag2O, ZnO, NiO coatings and Ag2O/ZnO/NiO nanocomposite film) were deposited on commercially pure titanium (CP-Ti) substrate. Surface characterization of the uncoated and coated samples was made by structural surveys (scanning electron microscopic examinations and X-ray diffraction analyses), hardness measurements, tribological and corrosion experiments.

Findings

Results were indicated that sol-gel coatings improved the wear and corrosion resistance of CP-Ti, and the best results were seen at the nanocomposite coating. It may be attributed to its small grain size, high surface hardness and high film thickness.

Originality/value

This study can be a practical reference and offers insight into the influence of nanocomposite ceramic films on the increase of hardness, tribological and corrosion performance. Also, the paper displayed a promising approach to produce Ag2O/ZnO/NiO nanocomposite coating on commercially pure titanium implants for biomedical applications.
Cause-related marketing for successful cross-border post-acquisition performance
Authors: Matarazzo Michela , Resciniti Riccardo , Simonetti Biagio
Published: August 2019

Purpose

Building on the scant literature on cross-border acquisitions (CBAs) in the consumer perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the acquirer’s cause-related marketing (CRM) on consumers’ repurchase intentions of the products of the post-acquisition target. In addition, the study aims at analyzing the moderating role of acquirer’s CRM on the relationship between corporate ability (CA) and country image (CI) on consumers’ repurchase intentions of the products of the post-acquisition target.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a sample of Italian consumers (n=351), the authors examined the roles played by the acquirer’s CRM on consumer behaviour by considering an Italian target firm with a high reputation and comparing eight foreign acquiring firms with different combinations of CRM (poor/good), CA (poor/good) and CI (high/low).

Findings

The authors found that CRM, CA as well as CI have a significant impact on Italian consumers’ intention to repurchase the products of the post-acquisition target. Furthermore, it is shown that good CRM reduces the negative influence of a poor CA and a low CI on post-acquisition repurchase intentions and strengthen the positive influence, thus confirming the moderating role of CRM.

Originality/value

The research investigates, in the context of CBAs, the impact of the acquirer’s CRM on the host country consumers’ repurchase intentions after the CBA, which has not previously been examined. It can help managers to understand the conditions under which CBAs will be favourably evaluated.
“Silence” as a strategy during a corporate crisis – the case of Volkswagen’s “Dieselgate”
Authors: Stieglitz Stefan , Mirbabaie Milad , Kroll Tobias , Marx Julian
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the communication behaviour on Twitter during the rise of a preventable corporate crisis. It aims to contribute to situational crisis response strategies, and to broaden the authors’ understanding of legitimacy management. In September 2015, Volkswagen’s (VW) emission scandal became public and caused debates also in social media. By applying complementing tools of data analysis to the Twitter communication around the “Dieselgate” crisis, this study unfolds a field of tension between corporate strategy and public perception.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected Twitter data and analysed approximately 2.1m tweets relevant to the VW crisis. The authors approached the data by separating the overall communication in peak and quiet phases; analysing the peaks with social network analysis techniques; studying sentiments and the differences in each phase; and specifically examining tweets from VW’s corporate accounts with regard to the situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) and legitimacy.

Findings

VW’s very few tweets were not able to reduce the emotionality and sentiment of the ongoing Twitter discussion. Instead, even during quiet phases, the communication remained rather negative. The analysis suggests that VW followed a strategy not covered by SCCT, i.e. keeping silent.

Practical implications

The discovered strategy of keeping silent extends the SCCT and is linked to legitimacy management. Learnings from this study help decision makers to put social media response strategies into practice to swiftly recover from crises or refrain from certain strategies to avoid further reputational damage.

Social implications

Examining the underlying communication patterns of a crisis case with societal magnitude such as “Dieselgate” helps sensitising customers and executives to utilise social media channels more comprehensible in future crises.

Originality/value

The study uncovers the unconventional and yet barely addressed crisis response strategy of a global enterprise while devising unique realisations for practitioners and communication researchers. It contributes to existing knowledge about situational crisis response strategies, and broadens the authors’ understanding of legitimacy management in times of social media ubiquity.
Time-optimal path tracking for robots a numerical integration-like approach combined with an iterative learning algorithm
Authors: Li Lin , Xiao Jiadong , Zou Yanbiao , Zhang Tie
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a precise time-optimal path tracking approach for robots under kinematic and dynamic constraints to improve the work efficiency of robots and guarantee tracking accuracy.

Design/methodology/approach

In the proposed approach, the robot path is expressed by a scalar path coordinate and discretized into N points. The motion between two neighbouring points is assumed to be uniformly accelerated motion, so the time-optimal trajectory that satisfies constraints is obtained by using equations of uniformly accelerated motion instead of numerical integration. To improve dynamic model accuracy, the Coulomb and viscous friction are taken into account (while most publications neglect these effects). Furthermore, an iterative learning algorithm is designed to correct model-plant mismatch by adding an iterative compensation item into the dynamic model at each discrete point before trajectory planning.

Findings

An experiment shows that compared with the sequential convex log barrier method, the proposed numerical integration-like (NI-like) approach has less computation time and a smoother planning trajectory. Compared with the experimental results before iteration, the torque deviation, tracking error and trajectory execution time are reduced after 10 iterations.

Originality/value

As the proposed approach not only yields a time-optimal solution but also improves tracking performance, this approach can be used for any repetitive robot tasks that require more rapidity and less tracking error, such as assembly.
Analysis of the attrition phenomenon through the lens of university dropouts in the United Arab Emirates
Authors: Ashour Sanaa
Published: August 2019

Purpose

Theoretical models of attrition have failed to address the interwoven factors from the perspective of undergraduate students that influence their decision to drop out. The purpose of this paper is to unravel these complexities using a qualitative phenomenological approach to gain systematic descriptions of the experience of non-completion.

Design/methodology/approach

Tinto’s (2004) and Bean and Metzner’s (1985) models serve as the theoretical construct for the study’s design and analysis. In-depth interviews were conducted with 41 students who discontinued studies at universities in the United Arab Emirates, to understand the situations that led them to drop out of university and how they experienced this event in their lives.

Findings

Several issues were identified as contributing factors for dropping out that are consistent with those found in the international literature. Additional issues were more gender or culture specific and, to some extent, represented the differences that signal a social development that is in a transitional stage. The findings revealed that institutional factors, poor pre-college preparation, environmental factors (work-education conflict), early marriage responsibilities, well-paid job opportunities and financial concerns were most influential.

Research limitations/implications

Despite the limitations of relying on a small sample to generalize findings, the rich detail of this inductive study has added to the understanding of the dropout phenomenon in a new context.

Practical implications

The paper recommends both remedial and early intervention strategies to be undertaken by the Ministry of Education and universities. Remedial strategies include re-examining the desired standard of English as a condition for admission and adjusting the grading system. Early intervention measures that accommodate the needs of at-risk students are also proposed. At local, regional and international levels, higher education should be freed from commodification and inflated fees.

Originality/value

The paper presents a significant departure from the largely North American and European literature on the university dropout, by offering a broader knowledge of this phenomenon in another regional and national context.
Conceptualizing Interactive Network Branding in business markets: developing roles and positions of firms in business networks
Authors: Koporcic Nikolina , Tornroos Jan-Ake
Published: August 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to present the concept of Interactive Network Branding (INB) in business markets. The INB conceptualization offers an understanding of corporate branding processes as an inherent part of business networking. More specifically, the paper focuses on the importance of INB for firms that are developing their roles and positions in business networks.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual paper reviews the extant literature on corporate branding in conjunction with business network research. This perspective adds to the current knowledge of business marketing by proposing a theoretical framework of INB.

Findings

The conceptualization of INB offers a specific network lens on corporate branding by presenting three INB dimensions. The first dimension deals with corporate identity; the second dimension deals with corporate reputation; the third, mutual INB dimension, presents an “interactive space” where branding and networking collide. These three dimensions are enacted by individuals acting on behalf of their companies, as key implementers of INB processes. Through the INB, strategic roles and positions of firms embedded in their business networks are formed.

Research limitations/implications

The paper contributes to current literature on business network research that has left a corporate brand perspective almost unnoticed. The INB concept also offers an extension to current literature on corporate branding, which has to date neglected business relationships and networking issues. Being strongly conceptual, the paper notes that empirical research is needed for observing the role of INB in real-life business encounters.

Practical implications

This study provides novel ideas and implications for firm representatives responsible for branding and relationship development in business networks. It denotes the critical role of individuals and their interactions with other individuals, which influences the development of specific network roles and positions for connected business entities.

Originality/value

The used multidisciplinary approach provides a conceptual platform to study branding processes in business networks. By offering a network perspective to corporate branding, new and relevant implications for both theory and practice are fore fronted.
Predicting public support: applying theory to prosocial behaviors
Authors: McKeever Brooke W. , McKeever Robert , Pressgrove Geah , Overton Holly
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply communication theory to explore and help explain public support for causes and organizations in the form of prosocial behaviors, including donating, volunteering and participating in advocacy efforts.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a survey of people (n=1,275) living in the USA who indicated supporting issues they cared about in 2017, this research gathered information about motivations for providing public support for various causes and non-profit organizations.

Findings

The situational theory of problem solving (STOPS) was applied, and support was found for the STOPS model in terms of predicting communicative action. This study also found support for situational activeness influencing other behaviors, including active forms of communication, financial support, volunteer support and other forms of advocacy. Implications for practitioners managing communications or organizations involved in such efforts are discussed.

Originality/value

This research applied STOPS to study behaviors, including communication, volunteering, donating and participating in advocacy efforts as forms of prosocial behavior supporting different organizations related to many important issues. The paper provides theoretical value in terms of adding to the generalizability of the STOPS model for communications scholars and discusses practical implications for non-profit and other types of organizations.
School administrators’ direct and indirect influences on middle school math teachers’ turnover
Authors: Redding Christopher , Booker Laura Neergaard , Smith Thomas M. , Desimone Laura M.
Published: August 2019

Purpose

Administrator support has been identified as a key factor in deterring teacher turnover. Yet, the specific ways school principals directly or indirectly influence teacher retention remain underexamined. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

This study includes a survival analysis to examine when beginning mathematics teachers turned over and the extent to which teacher quality and administrative support was associated with the turnover, and an analysis of exit surveys explaining teachers’ decision to turn over.

Findings

New teachers with more supportive administrators are less likely to turn over. The influence of administrative support on teacher turnover does not appear to be driven by more supportive administrators improving a school’s professional community, increasing teacher autonomy, or increasing the frequency of professional development and mentoring. While both increased administrative support and teaching quality independently predict reduced turnover, the strength of the association of administrative support on turnover does not appear to be related to the level of teacher quality nor mediated through teacher quality.

Practical implications

Results suggest that the presence of high levels of administrative support are more influential in deterring new teacher turnover than more direct supports, such as the assignment of mentors or recommending professional development.

Originality/value

The use of in-depth data on beginning teachers’ induction supports and teaching quality collected over multiple years shows distinct ways administrators influence new teachers’ decision to remain in their first school.
Building business cred in the hood
Authors: Cachon Jean-Charles
Published: August 2019

Purpose

Primary sector firms by and large operate on indigenous territories across the world. In Canada, partnerships, land rights settlements, decolonization and reconciliation efforts provide indigenous communities with the financial means and the political power to stop projects they consider contrary to their traditions. How can companies acquire legitimacy among indigenous communities? This paper aims to answer this question by examining what the economic issues are among indigenous communities, how theories and practices of sustainable and legitimacy management articulated and how some basic notions of traditional indigenous teachings could inform non-indigenous managers are and help them interact better with indigenous leaders and their communities.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper was informed about indigenous knowledge by secondary and primary indigenous and business sources from North America and from other areas such as Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Information about business relations with indigenous communities and stakeholders mostly came from non-indigenous sources, including scholarly results obtained within indigenous communities.

Findings

Sources of incompatibility between indigenous and European/Western worldviews are described. A selection of indigenous traditional beliefs and decision-making processes are presented, based on indigenous traditions around the Great Lakes region of North America. A discussion of desirable options for both indigenous and non-indigenous decision-makers to establish business legitimacy by overcoming their misperceptions is included.

Practical implications

A better understanding of economic issues in indigenous communities, indigenous perspectives and current developments, as well as lessons from the recent decades on successes and failures at establishing business legitimacy among indigenous communities, will help government and business decision-makers, as well as students and academic scholars.

Originality/value

Mainly based on management legitimacy theory and Anishnaabe knowledge, this paper makes an original contribution to the understanding of Indigenous strategic thinking in North America in its interaction with business legitimacy building issues.
An empirical study on entrepreneurial bricolage behavior for sustainable enterprise performance of startups
Authors: Sivathanu Brijesh , Pillai Rajasshrie
Published: August 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to study is to empirically investigate the role of entrepreneurial orientation (EOR), entrepreneurial bricolage (EBR), technology orientation (TOR), sustainability orientation (SOR) and Trust (TUR) in the sustainable enterprise performance (SEP) of tech startups in India. It uses a framework grounded in the EBR theory, upper echelon theory and resource-based view theory.

Design/methodology/approach

A primary survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire amongst 285 sample respondents from 425 tech startups and the data were analyzed using the partial least squares-structural equation modeling technique.

Findings

The findings suggest that EOR and TOR significantly influence SEP. SOR and TUR do not significantly affect the SEP. EBR plays a significant mediating role between TOR and EOR and SEP in the context of Indian technology-based startups.

Research limitations/implications

This cross-sectional study has a geographic limitation as it was conducted in Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune and their suburbs. As this study was carried out in the context of tech startups in a developing country such as India, caution needs to be exercised while generalizing the findings of this study to other regions, countries and cultural contexts.

Practical implications

This study highlights the significance of TOR and EOR in the long-term SEP to the budding entrepreneurs who have strong EOR and deploy EBR strategy to start their new business ventures. It also infers that few of the reasons for the failure of tech startups are because of the lack of attention to TUR and SOR.

Originality/value

This study has a novel contribution as it empirically validates the role of multiple constructs such as EOR, TOR, TUR, SOR and EBR toward SEP in a resource-constrained startup environment in the context of a developing country such as India.
Application of data mining for spare parts information in maintenance schedule: a case study
Authors: Moharana U.C. , Sarmah S.P. , Rathore Pradeep Kumar
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a framework for extracting the sequential patterns of maintenance activities and related spare parts information from historical records of maintenance data with pre-defined support or threshold values.

Design/methodology/approach

A data mining approach has been adopted for predicting the maintenance activity along with spare parts. It starts with a collection of spare parts and maintenance data, and then the development of sequential patterns followed by formation of frequent spare part groups, and finally, integration of sequential maintenance activities with the associated spare parts.

Findings

This study suggests a framework for extracting the sequential patterns of maintenance activities from historical records of maintenance data with pre-defined support or threshold values. A rule-based approach is proposed in this paper to predict the occurrence of next maintenance activity along with the information of spare parts consumption for that maintenance activity.

Research limitations/implications

Presented model can be extended for analyzing the failure maintenance activities and performing root cause analysis that can give more valuable suggestion to maintenance managers to take corrective actions prior to next occurrence of failures. In addition, the timestamp information can be utilized to prioritize the maintenance activity that is ignored in this study.

Practical implications

The proposed model has a high potential for industrial applications and is validated through a case study. The study suggests that the model gives a better approach for selecting spare parts based on their similarity or correlation, considering their actual occurrence during maintenance activities. Apart from this, the clustering of spare parts also trains maintenance manager to learn about the dependency among the spares for group stocking and maintaining the parts availability during maintenance activities.

Originality/value

This study has used the technique of data mining to find dependent spare parts itemset from the database of the company and developed the model for associated spare parts requirement for subsequent maintenance activity.
Learning the “systems language”: the current challenge for engineering education
Authors: López Garay Hernán , Reyes Alfonso
Published: August 2019

Purpose

Present-day engineering education is in dire need to expose would-be engineers to a systemic view of the world. Society’s problems are getting increasingly complex “wicked” problems, and they require inter and transdisciplinary approaches to understand and “dissolve” them (that is to solve them systemically). In this context, the purpose of this paper is to invite engineering educators to reflect on the need to teach systems thinking and spark their interest on finding appropriate methods to do so. This paper aims to describe an actual intervention at Universidad de Ibagué (UNIBAGUE), Colombia, where the methodology of teaching systems thinking as a foreign language has been on trial for one year.

Design/methodology/approach

Starting with a simple model of teaching systems thinking, and using an action-research methodology, the teaching model is gradually evolved to a model for teaching systems thinking as a foreign language.

Findings

The authors only have preliminary qualitative results with this systems-thinking teaching model. Although these results are encouraging (the authors think basic systems concepts are better apprehended by the students), further research is needed. One objective of the present paper is precisely to invite engineering educators to experiment with this teaching model.

Research limitations/implications

The authors think it is necessary to exploit further the teaching-a-foreign-language analogy. There is a vast experience on methods for teaching second and foreign languages. They could enrich the method and hint at possible directions for further research.

Practical implications

Teaching systems thinking is a field still open for wide research. The pedagogical model developed in this research to teach systems thinking could benefit other teachers of systems thinking to build upon.

Social implications

As one of the referees pointed out: “The implications of the insides obtained in this research are very significant to society. The problem observed in the systems thinking researchers and practitioner's community about how to disseminate systems thinking knowledge and how to embed this way of thinking into the minds of young people (K-12, university, etc.) is addressed in this research. In it is shown an experience that provides very valuable insides about how this can be done.

Originality/value

The idea of teaching systems thinking as a foreign language has not been widely explored. Furthermore, we feel that inasmuch as systems thinking is more of a skill or competency, than a technique or theory, then the model of teaching which emerges from this case study might be more appropriate than models of teaching based in the old educational paradigm.
Optimal production lot sizing for an imperfect manufacturing system with machine breakdown and emergency maintenance policy
Authors: Lai Xinfeng , Chen Zhixiang , Sarker Bhaba R.
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study a production lot sizing problem with consideration of imperfect manufacturing and emergency maintenance policy, providing managerial implication for practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, the authors introduce two models, where in Model I, shortages are not allowed and repair times are negligible. In Model II, shortages are allowed and are partially backlogged, and repair times are assumed to be exponentially distributed, algorithm is developed to solve the models, numerical examples were demonstrated the applications.

Findings

Results show that in the Model I, demand rate is the most significant parameter affecting the average expected cost, whereas the time needed to breakdown after machine shift is the most significant factor affecting the production lot size. Therefore, reduction in the time needed to breakdown after machine shift would be helpful for determining an appropriate production lot size in Model I. In Model II, repair time parameter is the most significant factor affecting the average expected cost. Reducing the value of machine shift parameter would be helpful for determining an adequate production lot size and reducing decision risk.

Practical implications

This paper can provide important reference value for practitioners with managerial implication of how to effectively maintain equipment, i.e. how to make product lot size considering the influence of the maintenance policy.

Originality/value

From the aspect of academia, this paper provides a solution to the optimal production lot sizing decision for an imperfect manufacturing system with consideration of machine breakdown and emergency maintenance, which is a supplement to imperfect EMQ model.
Designing a qualitative system dynamics model of crowdfunding by document model building
Authors: Haji Gholam Saryazdi Ali , Rajabzadeh Ghatari Ali , Mashayekhi Alinaghi , Hassanzadeh Alireza
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to design a qualitative model of crowdfunding dynamics through the document model building (DMB).

Design/methodology/approach

Methodology in this paper is the qualitative system dynamics through DMB. In DMB, the authors identify the variables that are drivers of its growth and collapse, and the model will be developed by using the systematic review of the literature.

Findings

Designing of the dynamics of crowdfunding model through DMB. Identifying variables that are drivers of crowdfunding growth and collapse. Determining leverage points in crowdfunding diffusion.

Originality/value

This paper, for the first time, with the aim of identifying and explaining the efficient positive and negative dynamics in this method, examines crowdfunding systematically and structurally.
Research on an automatic leveling method with a feedback mode for a parallel 3D printer
Authors: Wang Yuezong , Wang Zhaodong , Guo Mengfei , Zhang Xin
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to propose an automatic leveling method for a printing platform based on a three-point coordinate feedback. The proposed method is used in fused deposition modeling additive manufacturing systems. The coordinate error of the leveled plane is constrained to within Â ± 0.2 mm, which is less than the printed layer thickness.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the model of the forward and inverse solutions of the parallel arm is obtained based on the principles of vector algebra. Second, the automatic leveling mechanism for collecting the z-coordinate is designed. The best position of the virtual origin plane is obtained by comparing the z-coordinates of the test points. Finally, after making multiple adjustments through a closed-loop z-coordinate feedback, the parallelism of the printing plane and the virtual origin plane is limited to an effective range.

Findings

The experimental results show that after three leveling attempts, the z-coordinate of the test points can be constrained to within Â ± 0.2 mm, which shows that this method can effectively achieve automatic leveling in a delta three-dimensional (3D) printer.

Originality/value

This study presents a novel and distinctive delta 3D printer leveling system by designing a leveling mechanism and a leveling algorithm. The method uses a closed-loop feedback mode to make the leveling process simple, convenient and efficient without requiring major changes to the printer. The error after leveling is less than the printed layer thickness, which fully guarantees the accuracy of the leveling process.
Optimising the FDM additive manufacturing process to achieve maximum tensile strength: a state-of-the-art review
Authors: Gordelier Tessa Jane , Thies Philipp Rudolf , Turner Louis , Johanning Lars
Published: August 2019

Purpose

Additive manufacturing or “3D printing” is a rapidly expanding sector and is moving from a prototyping service to a manufacturing service in its own right. With a significant increase in sales, fused deposition modelling (FDM) printers are now the most prevalent 3D printer on the market. The increase in commercial manufacturing necessitates an improved understanding of how to optimise the FDM printing process for various product mechanical properties. This paper aims to identify optimum print parameters for the FDM process to achieve maximum tensile strength through a review of recent studies in this field.

Design/methodology/approach

The effect of the governing printing parameters on the tensile strength of printed samples will be considered, including material selection, print orientation, raster angle, air gap and layer height.

Findings

The key findings include material recommendations, such as the use of emerging print materials like polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK), to produce samples with tensile strength over 200 per cent that of conventional materials such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Amongst other parameters, it is shown that printing in the “upright” orientation should be avoided (samples can be up to 50 per cent weaker in this orientation) and air gap and raster width should be concurrently optimised to ensure good “inter-raster” bonding. The optimal choice of raster angle depends on print material; in ABS for example, selecting a 0° raster angle over a 90° angle can increase tensile strength by up to 100 per cent.

Originality/value

The paper conclusions provide researchers and practitioners with an up-to-date, single point reference, highlighting a series of robust recommendations to optimise the tensile strength of FDM-printed samples. Improving the mechanical performance of FDM-printed samples will support the continued growth of this technology as a viable production technique.
Acoustic manipulation of microparticle in a cylindrical tube for 3D printing
Authors: Sriphutkiat Yannapol , Zhou Yufeng
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The capability of microparticle/objects patterning in the three-dimensional (3D) printing structure could improve its performance and functionalities. This paper aims to propose and evaluate a novel acoustic manipulation approach.

Design/methodology/approach

A novel method to accumulate the microparticles in the cylindrical tube during the 3D printing process is proposed by acoustically exciting the structural vibration of the cylindrical tube at a specific frequency, and subsequently, focusing the 50-μm polystyrene microparticles at the produced pressure node toward the center of the tube by the acoustic radiation force. To realize this solution, a piezoceramic plate was glued to the outside wall of a cylindrical glass tube with a tapered nozzle. The accumulation of microparticles in the tube and printing structure was monitored microscopically and the accumulation time and width were quantitatively evaluated. Furthermore, the application of such technology was also evaluated in the L929 and PC-12 cells suspended in the sodium alginate and gelatin methacryloyl.

Findings

The measured location of pressure and the excitation frequency of the cylindrical glass tube (172 kHz) agreed quite well with our numerical simulation (168 kHz). Acoustic excitation could effectively and consistently accumulate the microparticles. It is found that the accumulation time and width of microparticles in the tube increase with the concentration of sodium alginate and microparticles in the ink. As a result, the microparticles are concentrated mostly in the central part of the printing structure. In comparison to the conventional printing strategy, acoustic excitation could significantly reduce the width of accumulated microparticles in the printing structure (p < 0.05). In addition, the possibility of high harmonics (385 and 657 kHz) was also explored. L929 and PC-12 cells suspended in the hydrogel can also be accumulated successfully.

Originality/value

This paper proves that the proposed acoustic approach is able to increase the accuracy of printing capability at a low cost, easy configuration and low power output.
Design for additive manufacturing – a review of available design methods and software
Authors: Wiberg Anton , Persson Johan , Ölvander Johan
Published: August 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to review recent research in design for additive manufacturing (DfAM), including additive manufacturing (AM) terminology, trends, methods, classification of DfAM methods and software. The focus is on the design engineer’s role in the DfAM process and includes which design methods and tools exist to aid the design process. This includes methods, guidelines and software to achieve design optimization and in further steps to increase the level of design automation for metal AM techniques. The research has a special interest in structural optimization and the coupling between topology optimization and AM.

Design/methodology/approach

The method used in the review consists of six rounds in which literature was sequentially collected, sorted and removed. Full presentation of the method used could be found in the paper.

Findings

Existing DfAM research has been divided into three main groups – component, part and process design – and based on the review of existing DfAM methods, a proposal for a DfAM process has been compiled. Design support suitable for use by design engineers is linked to each step in the compiled DfAM process. Finally, the review suggests a possible new DfAM process that allows a higher degree of design automation than today’s process. Furthermore, research areas that need to be further developed to achieve this framework are pointed out.

Originality/value

The review maps existing research in design for additive manufacturing and compiles a proposed design method. For each step in the proposed method, existing methods and software are coupled. This type of overall methodology with connecting methods and software did not exist before. The work also contributes with a discussion regarding future design process and automation.
Road verges support pollinators in agricultural landscapes, but are diminished by heavy traffic and summer cutting
Authors: Phillips Benjamin B. , Gaston Kevin J. , Bullock James M. , Osborne Juliet L.
Published: August 2019

Supporting pollinators in agricultural landscapes is important for reversing their global decline. Road verges and hedges are used by pollinators for feeding and reproduction, but few studies consider entire pollinator communities, and it remains unclear how they are distributed across adjacent verges, hedges and fields, or how they are affected by traffic and verge cutting.

We surveyed flowers and pollinators, using transect counts and pan traps, to explore the role of road verges and their associated hedges in supporting pollinators in an agricultural landscape in southwest England, and the impacts of traffic and verge cutting. At 19 sites, we surveyed the road verge (verge edge and verge centre), the verge hedge (both sides), a field hedge and the field interior.

Road verges and hedges had a much greater flower abundance, flower species richness and pollinator abundance than field interiors. Verge hedges had far less woody cover than field hedges, but greater flower species richness.

There were fewer pollinators along verge edges (next to roads) than along verge centres (2–11 m from roads) and fewer pollinators in road verges next to busier roads.

Road verges were generally cut once (in summer), and cuttings were never removed. There were substantially fewer flowers and pollinators in road verges that had been cut, even though surveys often took place many weeks after cutting.

Synthesis and applications. Road verges and their associated hedges can provide hotspots of resources for pollinators in agricultural landscapes, but their capacity to do so is reduced by heavy traffic and summer verge cutting. We recommend that beneficial management for pollinators should prioritize wider road verges (at least 2 m wide), roads with less traffic, and areas away from the immediate vicinity of the road. Where possible, verge cutting should not be carried out during peak flowering times.
A systematic review of upper limb activity measures for 5‐ to 18‐year‐old children with bilateral cerebral palsy
Authors: Burgess Andrea , Boyd Roslyn N. , Ziviani Jenny , Sakzewski Leanne
Published: August 2019

Aim

To investigate measurement properties and feasibility of upper limb activity measures in children aged 5–18 years with bilateral cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods

Five electronic databases were searched to identify measures of upper limb activity with published psychometric data for children with bilateral CP aged 5–18 years. Measures included both Patient‐Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and observational measures. The COnsensus‐based Standards for selection of health Measurement Instruments checklist was used to evaluate methodological quality of studies for each measure.

Results

Forty‐eight measures were identified, eight of which met inclusion criteria for reliability and validity. Four PROMs were included: the ABILHAND‐Kids and Children’s Arm Rehabilitation Measure are parent questionnaires measuring overall manual ability; the ACTIVLIM‐CP is a parent questionnaire measuring global activity (upper and lower extremity) performance, and, the Pediatric Upper Limb Measure, Short Form is a child self‐report questionnaire. Four observational measures were included: the Both Hands Assessment (BoHA) is an observational measure of bimanual activity performance; the Melbourne Assessment of Unilateral Upper Limb Function and the Melbourne Assessment 2 measure quality of movement of each upper limb separately, and the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales‐Second Edition assesses fine motor skill capacity in young children. Based upon available evidence, the most suitable PROM for evaluation of upper limb activity in children with bilateral CP is the ACTIVLIM‐CP, and the most suitable observational measure is the BoHA.

Conclusion

Selection of upper limb measures depend on clinical information required and available resources. The BoHA is the only observational‐based assessment which measures bimanual upper limb activity performance in children with bilateral CP. Recommendation for future measurement studies include familiarisation with the standards required for excellence, which include adequate sample size and content validity studies for PROMs.
Coming to grips with corporate governance in local government
Authors: Lohrey Robin C. , Horner Claire A. , Williams Belinda R. , Wilmshurst Trevor D.
Published: August 2019

Local government, the tier of government closest to the people, provides services and infrastructure which impact daily on the well‐being of local communities. Despite the Australian state‐based regulatory framework, governance dysfunction regularly results in dismissal of councils. This paper seeks to gain an insight into what is understood by corporate governance at the local government level, an area not addressed in previous research. The methodology was a case study of one local municipality in Tasmania using explanatory sequential mixed methods. Findings revealed a narrow compliance‐based understanding, with effective accountability strategies not included in that understanding. Diverse information sources, such as previous employment experience and industry‐based training, led to embedded beliefs about the meaning of corporate governance which were not necessarily shared by all. This study has implications for state governments seeking to find long‐term solutions for dysfunctional councils, and to bring about positive change.