bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Automated human body measurement extraction
Authors: Senanayake Muditha , Raheja Amar , Zhang Yuhan
Published: March 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop an automated human body measurement extraction system using simple inexpensive equipment with minimum requirement of human assistance. This research further leads to the comparison of extracted measurements to established methods to analyze the error. The extracted measurements can be used to assist the production of custom-fit apparel. This is an effort to reduce the cost of expensive 3-D body scanners and to make the system available to the user at home.

Design/methodology/approach

A single camera body measurement system is proposed, implemented, and pilot tested. This system involves a personal computer and a webcam operating within a space of controlled lighting. The system will take two images of the user, extract body silhouettes, and perform measurement extraction. The camera is automatically calibrated using the software each time of scanning considering the scanning space. The user will select a front view and a side view among the images captured, and specify the height. In this pilot study, 31 subjects were recruited and the accuracy of 8 human body measurements were compared with the manual measurements and measurements extracted from a commercial 3-D body scanner.

Findings

The system achieved reasonable measurement performance within 10 percent accuracy for seven out of the eight measurements, while four out of eight parameters obtained a performance similar to the commercial scanner. It is proved that human body measurement extraction can be done using inexpensive equipment to obtain reasonable results.

Originality/value

This study is aimed at developing a proof-of-concept for inexpensive body scanning system, with an effort to benchmark measurement accuracy, available to an average user providing the ability to acquire self-body measurements to be used to purchase custom-fit apparel. This system can potentially boost the customization of apparel and revolutionize online shopping of custom-fit apparel.
Performance measurement and benchmarking as “reflexive institutions” for local governments
Authors: Kuhlmann Sabine , Bogumil Joerg
Published: March 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss different approaches of performance measurement and benchmarking as “reflexive institutions” for local governments in England, Germany and Sweden from a comparative perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

These three countries have been selected because they represent typical (most different) cases of European local government systems and reforms. The existing theories on “institutional reflexivity” point to the potential contribution of benchmarking to public sector innovation and organizational learning. Based on survey findings, in-depth case studies, interviews and document analyses in these three countries, the paper addresses the major research question as to what extent and why benchmarking regimes vary across countries. It derives hypotheses about the impacts of benchmarking on institutional learning and innovation.

Findings

The outcomes suggest that the combination of three key features of benchmarking, namely – “obligation”, “sanctions” and “benchmarking authority” – in conjunction with country-specific administrative context conditions and local actor constellations – influences the impact of benchmarking as a reflexive institution.

Originality/value

It is shown in the paper that compulsory benchmarking on its own does not lead to reflexivity and learning, but that there is a need for autonomy and leeway for local actors to cope with benchmarking results. These findings are relevant because policy makers must decide upon the specific “governance mix” of benchmarking exercises taking their national and local contexts into account if they want them to promote institutional learning and innovation.
Union commitment and participation in China: does enterprise type matter?
Authors: Snape Ed , Chan Andy W.
Published: March 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to evaluate the suggestion that the antecedents of union commitment and participation may differ between foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China based on the view that SOE unions will focus more strongly on the traditional dual role, emphasising on managerial functions and employee welfare.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on employee surveys in two enterprises in Shanghai, one FIE and one SOE. Employee attitudes towards the union and enterprise were measured using a self-completion questionnaire, and data were analysed using structural equation modelling.

Findings

Findings suggest that pro-union attitudes were more salient in the FIE context. In contrast, SOE workers’ allegiance to the union appeared to be a less reflection of pro-union attitudes and was more narrowly instrumental.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that FIEs workers’ union allegiances are more likely to reflect a pro-union orientation, with SOE workers more likely to see their union allegiances in narrowly instrumental terms. In FIEs, with a profit-oriented and privately managed enterprise, union allegiances may be closer to those of Western market economies, whilst in SOEs, the “dual role” model persists, with unions a service provider rather than an independent employee representative.

Originality/value

The findings in this paper provide an initial test of the potential differences in the antecedents of union commitment and participation across FIEs and SOEs. Future research is needed to build on these findings, in particular, adopting multi-enterprise study designs across different enterprise types.
Developers’ price setting behaviour in urban residential redevelopment projects
Authors: Barlindhaug Rolf , Nordahl Berit Irene
Published: March 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate whether developers’ ask lower prices on homes in redevelopment sites than they do on similar units in smaller developments completed over a shorter time span. It also investigates whether developers price units differently at different stages of the redevelopment process. The development of designated redevelopment areas often consists of multiple projects spread across several years, some in parallel, some sequential. New units are put on the market in a piecemeal fashion, and infrastructure, shared green spaces and shared facilities are installed successively.

Design/methodology/approach

A hedonic price model is used to analyse sales prices of 7,000 new apartments in Oslo sold between 2011 and 2015, all else being equal. The paper distinguishes between infill as one-stage projects, and multi-staged competitive and multi-staged monopolistic redevelopments.

Findings

Dwellings in redevelopment projects sell at a lower price than similar dwellings in infill projects. In competitive redevelopments, those in charge of the last projects put a slightly higher price on apartments. In redevelopments involving only one developer, the last stages ask the lowest prices.

Research limitations/implications

This research expands our understanding of developers’ pricing behaviour. Developers supplying housing for the private market through redevelopments land are willing to take risks particularly in the initial stage.

Practical implications

The findings indicate that credit institutions financing developers’ projects need to take into account the structure of selling prices, including lower prices and higher risk of pursuing redevelopment projects.

Social implications

Gaining a better understanding of developers’ pricing behaviour deepens our insights into the dynamics of market-led urban brownfield developments; this knowledge may moreover inform policies on sustainable urban growth.

Originality/value

An original investigation of housing transactions in urban brownfield sites in Oslo provides fresh insights into developers’ pricing behaviour.
REITs and REOCs and their initial stock market performance: a European perspective
Authors: Ascherl Claudia , Schaefers Wolfgang
Published: March 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences between initial public offering (IPO) pricing in the real estate sector and to provide insight into how real estate investment trust (REIT) and real estate operating company (REOC) IPOs perform in a comparative framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample consists of 107 European REIT and REOC IPOs from nine European countries over the period 2000-2015. The initial returns are examined by creating subsamples based on the two business forms, countries and specific timeframes (before, during and after the global financial crisis). A multiple regression analysis is applied to identify theex-anteuncertainty factors, IPO and firm characteristics, which may impact on the different underpricing levels of REITs and REOCs.

Findings

European property companies are on average significantly underpriced by 4.63 per cent. The results also reveal that REITs provide a significantly lower underpricing of 2.02 per cent than REOCs, with a positive initial return of 5.69 per cent. The causal treatment effect of the legal form of the company and the underpricing is confirmed by propensity score matching. Among the most influential factors for a lower REIT underpricing, besides the REIT-status itself, are the volatility, offer size and market phase of the IPO. During the global financial crisis (GFC) (2008-2010), underpricing exceeds the initial return for the total sample by approximately 70 per cent.

Originality/value

This is the first study investigating differences in the underpricing level of REITs and REOCs in a European setting, including the GFC as an extraordinary market phase. The authors provide evidence that REIT IPOs compared to REOC IPOs “leave less money on the table”.
Homebuyers’ preferences concerning installed photovoltaic systems
Authors: Glumac Brano , Wissink Thomas P.
Published: March 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to report on homebuyers’ preferences and willingness to pay for installed home photovoltaic systems. Their influence on the market position of a dwelling is relatively unknown. Considering that expected lifespan of photovoltaic systems is at least 25 years, it is likely that many dwellings with a photovoltaic system will enter the housing market.

Design/methodology/approach

Few houses with installed photovoltaic systems have been sold in the market to date. Lack of real market data imposes a method based on the stated preference data. Therefore, the general preferences toward photovoltaic systems are determined by a discrete choice model based on responses of 227 homebuyers in the Eindhoven region, The Netherlands. Further, the model estimates were used to assess the indirect willingness to pay for home photovoltaic systems. This initial willingness to pay is further reassessed with the direct willingness to pay collected in an open-ended questionnaire format.

Findings

Results of the model show that the homebuyers’ preferences for home photovoltaic systems are large and significant. In addition to general preferences, this article reports on the taste heterogeneity carried out by separating observations based on the respondents’ characteristics. For example, photovoltaic systems are more appealing to homebuyers in more urban or central neighbourhoods. Further, the results of the direct survey lead to the conclusion that people are probably willing to pay close to the replacement value of the system and only 22 per cent of all respondents did not want to pay anything for the installed photovoltaic system.

Research limitations/implications

These findings are exploratory and they raise a number of questions for further investigations, such as those regarding the real estate value of the installed photovoltaic systems. The reported findings must be regarded as local, thus further research is necessary to understand the impact on European housing markets.

Practical implications

Preferences and willingness to pay for home photovoltaic systems can provide a variety of economic, social and political recommendations to different interested parties such as homeowners, buyers, realtors, retailers, energy companies and governments. For instance, a homeowner would like to know what would be the effect of a photovoltaic system on the housing market.

Originality/value

As per the knowledge of authors, this is the first paper to estimate the impact of an installed photovoltaic system on housing choice, measured by stated choice data in the local housing market. It expands the existing body of knowledge for increasingly important issues of valuing and measuring preferences for photovoltaic systems installed on dwellings.
More of an SRO – FINRA unveils its priorities for 2018
Authors: Nathan Daniel , Popken Betsy
Published: March 2018

Purpose

To explain FINRA’s priorities for 2018, as reflected in its Annual Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter.

Design/methodology/approach

Evaluates the overall tone of FINRA’s letter as self-reflective, describes most of FINRA’s priorities for 2018 as unchanged from previous years, and highlights new areas of focus for FINRA.

Findings

FINRA plans a number of organizational improvements over the next year which could facilitate positive dialogue between firms and FINRA examiners, helping to reduce the burden on broker-dealers and possibly avoid low-level enforcement action. FINRA expressed a desire to better leverage its model as a self-regulatory organization to achieve its mission. Most of FINRA’s priorities for 2018 are old standbys, including fraud, high-risk firms and brokers, cybersecurity and AML programs, product suitability vetting, and best execution surveillance. FINRA’s new areas of focus for 2018 include business continuity plans, technology governance, cryptoassets, options violations, new report cards, and new rules.

Practical implications

Despite FINRA leadership’s commitment to self-analysis and enhanced communication, FINRA continues to be highly committed to examining and addressing through enforcement action potential failures to comply with its rules. Firms facing FINRA or SEC examinations should brush up on FINRA’s old standby priorities and fine-tune their practices to ensure compliance with industry trends.

Originality/value

Practical guidance from experienced securities and financial services lawyers that summarizes FINRA’s stated approach for 2018.
SEC publishes alert describing most common advertising rule violations
Authors: Clark Timothy M. , Biskupska-Haas Alicja
Published: March 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to summarize a new alert issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”), highlighting the most common compliance issues relating to Rule 206(4)-1 (the “Advertising Rule”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”).

Design/methodology/approach

This study describes the compliance issues highlighted in the risk alert. OCIE identified these compliance issues as part of its “Touting Initiative,” an examination initiative launched in 2016 to examine the adequacy of disclosures that advisers provided to their clients when touting awards, promoting ranking lists and/or identifying professional designations (collectively, “accolades”) in their marketing materials. The OCIE based its findings on deficiency letters resulting from over 1,000 adviser examinations.

Findings

The risk alert provides guidance to advisers who are reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of their compliance programs in light of the Advertising Rule.

Originality/value

This study provides practical guidance from experienced investment-fund lawyers. Although most experienced people in the industry will not be shocked by anything in the alert, the alert is a helpful reminder about the SEC’s continuing focus on these issues.
Initial coin offerings: key US legal considerations for ICO investors and sponsors
Authors: Nolan Anthony R.G. , Dartley Edward T. , Baker Mary Burke , ReVeal John , Rinearson Judith E.
Published: March 2018

Purpose

To describe several key legal and regulatory considerations for initial coin offering (ICO) issuers and investors seeking to navigate some of the regulatory waters in the rapidly developing space of Bitcoin, Ether, and other cryptocurrencies.

Design/methodology/approach

Explains securities law, commodities law, tax and anti-money laundering considerations. Introduces the SAFT (Simple Agreement for Future Tokens) and provides a future outlook.

Findings

The dramatic rise in value of Bitcoin, Ether, and other cryptocurrencies in 2017 generated great interest in initial coin offerings as a new form of financing on the part of both investors and companies seeking to raise funds. At the same time, ICOs raise a myriad of complex legal issues in a rapidly evolving regulatory environment in the United States and around the world. Recent regulatory actions make it more likely that most ICOs will be considered to be securities offerings.

Originality/value

Practical guidance from experienced finance, investment management, consumer financial service, tax, and payment systems lawyers.
In for a penny, in for a pound? Exploring mutual endorsement effects between celebrity CEOs and corporate brands
Authors: Scheidt Stefan , Gelhard Carsten , Strotzer Juliane , Henseler Jörg
Published: March 2018

Purpose

While the branding of individuals has attracted increasing attention from practitioners in recent decades, understanding of personal branding still remains limited, especially with regard to the branding of celebrity CEOs. To contribute to this debate, this paper aims to explore the co-branding of celebrity CEOs and corporate brands, integrating endorsement theory and the concept of meaning transfer at a level of brand attributes.

Design/methodology/approach

A between-subjects true experimental design was chosen for each of the two empirical studies with a total of 268 participants, using mock newspaper articles about a succession scenario at the CEO level of different companies. The study is designed to analyse the meaning transfer from celebrity CEO to corporate brand and vice versa using 16 personality attributes.

Findings

This study gives empirical support for meaning transfer effects at the brand attribute level in both the celebrity-CEO-to-corporate-brand and corporate-brand-to-celebrity-CEO direction, which confirms the applicability of the concept of brand endorsement to celebrity CEOs and the mutuality in co-branding models. Furthermore, a more detailed and expansive perspective on the definition of endorsement is provided as well as managerial guidance for building celebrity CEOs and corporate brands in consideration of meaning transfer effects.

Originality/value

This study is one of only few analysing the phenomenon of meaning transfer between brands that focus on non-evaluative associations (i.e. personality attributes). It is unique in its scope, insofar as the partnering relationship between celebrity CEOs and corporate brands have not been analysed empirically from this perspective yet. It bridges the gap between application in practice and the academic foundations, and it contributes to a broader understanding and definition of celebrity endorsement.
Ascribing responsibility for online security and data breaches
Authors: Carre Jessica Rose , Curtis Shelby R. , Jones Daniel Nelson
Published: March 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand consumer reactions to security breaches and the best approach for companies to minimize the reputational damage that is done.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors assessed trust in a company following a data breach as well as perceptions of individual and corporate responsibility for data security and also measured individual personality.

Findings

The authors found that individuals held companies more responsible for protecting private data and held companies even more responsible following a data breach. Further, perception of responsibility for a data breach significantly affected individuals’ response to a company’s attempt to rebuild trust. Finally, participant personality impacted perceptions of responsibility and trust in a company after a data breach.

Research limitations/implications

Companies are held more responsible for protecting private data than are individuals. Thus, violation of this expectation insofar as a data breach may result in a psychological contract breach which explains reductions in trust in a company which has experienced a data breach. Further, the effect of company’s responses to a data breach depends on individuals’ perception of responsibility and personality. Thus, the best course of action following a data breach may vary across customers.

Practical implications

Companies should consider differences in customer perceptions when responding to a data breach.

Social implications

Individuals differ in how responsible they feel a company is for data security. Further, those differences impact reactions to data breach responses from companies.

Originality/value

This paper explored personality as it impacts perceptions of corporate responsibility in data security. Further, the authors explore the role of perception of responsibility to determine the role of psychological contract breach in reduced trust after data breach.
Individual dispersal delays in a cooperative breeder: Ecological constraints, the benefits of philopatry and the social queue for dominance
Authors: Nelson‐Flower Martha J. , Wiley Elizabeth M. , Flower Tom P. , Ridley Amanda R.
Published: March 2018

Delayed dispersal is a key step in the evolution of familial animal societies and cooperative breeding. However, no consensus has been reached on the ecological and social circumstances driving delayed dispersal.

Here, we test predictions from the ecological constraints and benefits of philopatry hypotheses as well as the recently proposed dual benefits hypothesis to better understand the evolution of group‐living and cooperative breeding. Furthermore, we consider how individual social circumstances within groups affect dispersal decisions.

We examine 11 years of life‐history information on a wild population of cooperatively breeding southern pied babblersTurdoides bicolor. We investigate the effects of ecological conditions, natal‐group membership and individual social context on male and female dispersal delays, disperser survival and acquisition of dominance.

Female dispersal decisions are generally unconstrained by ecological or social circumstances. In contrast, males disperse in response to relaxed ecological constraints, decreases in nepotistic tolerance or when low social rank in the queue for dominance decreases their likelihood of gaining a dominant breeding position. Early dispersal by end‐of‐queue males often leads to a head‐of‐queue subordinate position in a non‐natal group, thereby increasing access to dominant breeding positions. However, males and females remaining in natal groups gain benefits of philopatry via increased survival and, for head‐of‐queue males, very high likelihood of acquisition of a breeding position.

Overall, predictions from the dual benefits hypothesis best describe these results, while some predictions from each of the ecological constraints and benefits of philopatry hypotheses were supported. The benefits of living and working together (collective action benefits) in large stable groups are of central importance in shaping dispersal delays in southern pied babbler societies. In addition, position in the subordinate social queue for dominance is the key in determining access to reproduction, particularly for males. This research highlights the importance of considering the costs and benefits of individual social circumstances in dispersal decisions and illustrates how the dual benefits hypothesis offers new perspectives in understanding delayed dispersal.
“Palabras malditas”: gaitanismo, violencia y populismo en Colombia
Authors: Acosta Olaya Cristian , Magrini Ana Lucía
Published: March 2018

Este artículo se propone, en primer lugar, elaborar un recorrido sobre tres palabras “malditas” de la historiografía colombiana (violencia, populismo y gaitanismo); en segundo lugar, indagar sobre ellas y sus debates a la luz de una interpretación no peyorativa del populismo y del gaitanismo; y en tercer, mostrar una hipótesis exploratoria que argumenta que el populismo gaitanista podría pensarse como un modo particular de procesar y frenar la violencia política. A fin de ilustrar esta tesis, se describen dos dimensiones analíticas para comprender el proceso gaitanista entre 1924 y 1948: sus prácticas político-comunicativas y las oscilaciones entre ruptura e integración en la discursividad gaitanista. Al analizar la discursividad de Gaitán y de sus seguidores, consideramos que el gaitanismo, en cuanto entramado de prácticas político-comunicativas, contribuyó a procesar demandas populares que aminoraron tensiones bipartidistas de la Colombia de la primera mitad del siglo XX. La construcción de un sujeto popular, la presentación “cara a cara” entre la dirigencia y las masas en la plaza pública, entre otros elementos de la identidad gaitanista, sirvieron para procesar de manera beligerante pero pacífica el descontento político y social de la época. Asimismo, el gaitanismo en cuanto pro-ceso identitario se erigió entre 1944 y 1946 como un movimiento que se arrogaba tanto la representación de un “verdadero país” (ruptura) como la construcción de un orden restaurador de la democracia colombiana (integración). En síntesis, las disquisiciones propuestas en este escrito buscan resaltar la pertinencia de pensar procesos históricos, como los populistas, a través de un entramado conceptual abocado al estudio de las identidades políticas.
El reto de la descentralización educativa: reflexiones desde la mirada de actores nacionales y subnacionales en el caso del departamento del Atlántico
Authors: Parra Juan David
Published: March 2018

Según teóricos de la escuela de la elección pública, la descentralización política y administrativa mejora la eficiencia en la prestación de servicios públicos territoriales. Este artículo parte de una visión crítica de este marco de referencia en el estudio del fenómeno del bajo desempeño escolar. La experiencia del departamento del Atlántico representa un caso atípico del cumplimiento de los supuestos de la primera escuela y, por tanto, abre la posibilidad de entablar una discusión ontológica y práctica sobre el estudio del proceso de descentralización educativa básica y media en Colombia. El uso de un paradigma realista como referente metodológico para analizar entrevistas individuales y grupales hechas en diferentes niveles de gobierno permite entrever varias de estas implicaciones. Temáticas identificadas como la capacidad limitada de autoridades loca-les para diseñar y administrar políticas educativas, la falta de claridad entre actores de distintos niveles del sistema nacional de educación sobre el uso de las pruebas de Estado y la dificultad que enfrentan rectores de instituciones educativas públicas para que se transfieran oportunamente recursos para la calidad educativa son indicativas de complejidades de la política educativa omitidas en los diagnósticos del sector publicados en la literatura dominante.
De la teoría de las formas de gobierno a la evolución del poder: léxico científico y complejidad en las ciencias políticas
Authors: Blanco Rivero José Javier
Published: March 2018

Este texto tiene el objetivo de formular una crítica epistemológica a la ciencia política, cuestionando la ontología subyacente a su modo de formación conceptual. Estos modos de formación conceptual, fundados en una larga tradición intelectual, dan pie a un conjunto de obstáculos epistemológicos que cobran mayor evidencia en las tipologías de los regímenes políticos. Con el objeto de formular un correctivo, se sugiere una teoría de la evolución del poder basada en la sociología política de Niklas Luhmann. En el análisis epistemológico e histórico de la ciencia política, se emplea una metodología de la arqueología del saber foucaultiana y la escuela de Cambridge de historia intelectual, así como algunos elementos de la lógica formal subyacente a la teoría de los sistemas, mientras que la parte propositiva el texto se apoya en una visión sociosistémica de la evolución sociocultural. Se alcanza la conclusión general de que el lastre ontológico del lenguaje científico de la política podría remediarse con un cambio de paradigma hacia la complejidad, el cual desarrolle un nuevo lenguaje que se apuntale bajo presupuestos no ontológicos. Esto se lograría replanteando problemas cruciales como la relación entre el poder como medio de comunicación y la diferenciación funcional de un sistema político. Se perfila como uno de los aportes más destacados del texto la categoría de configuraciones cíclicas del poder, la cual pretende describir con mayor fidelidad el conjunto de problemas que usualmente ha sido objeto de la teoría de los regímenes políticos.
Reflexiones sobre la propagación de nuevas tipologías de daño
Authors: Alferillo Pascual Eduardo
Published: March 2018

La proliferación de nuevas tipologías de daños genera como interrogante dilucidar si ello se condice con el principio de reparación plena que se concreta en una justa indemnización o, si por el contrario, existe un abuso. Para procurar una respuesta es ineludible observar la influencia de los cambios de paradigmas producidos, como es la constitucionalización del derecho privado en general y, de la responsabilidad civil, en particular que coloca al hombre como eje del Derecho desplazando la preeminencia  patrimonialista. A la par, examinar la evolución de las distintas ramas de la  ciencia que estudian al ser humano para adquirir una mirada interdisciplinaria que permitirá dar una mayor precisión en la conceptualización de los distintos tipos de daños. A partir de ello se comprende que las clásicas calificaciones y clasificaciones de los daños no satisfacen los requerimientos actuales, razón por la cual se impone una nueva sistematización, justificando la misma con el análisis de la desvinculación del daño moral del psíquico y la comparación del menoscabo al proyecto de vida con la perdida de chance. Para concretar la reparación justa, no se debe indemnizar dos veces el mismo perjuicio bajo distintas  denominaciones, ni se debe desestimar un tipo de menoscabo reclamado sin justificación científica válida.
Problemática en torno a la limitación de la prestación en los seguros de responsabilidad civil en Paraguay
Authors: Antola Ortíz Sandra María , Benavente Ferreira Zunilda María Asunción
Published: March 2018

El mercado asegurador paraguayo no cuenta con una regulación legal o administrativa que obligue a tomar ciertos y determinados valores máximos o mínimos para el otorgamiento de la cobertura de responsabilidad civil. Se caracteriza porque el mismo es voluntario. El único seguro obligatorio por ley, es el Seguro de accidentes a pasajeros.
All Out Lean
Authors: Cowger Gary
Published: March 2018

This article highlights advantages of Lean Manufacturing in the manufacturing industry. The U.S. Bureau of Census survey shows that leaner the company, the faster it grows and the more profitable, productive, and innovative it becomes. It is a constellation of interrelated processes that improve productivity and reduce waste through continuous monitoring, evaluation, and improvement. The successful results of lean implementation have shown that workers are going to have to take more responsibility for outcomes, and managers are going to have to treat workers like partners. However, lean brings out the skepticism in many engineers and owners of small- and medium-sized businesses. It takes a lot to convince them to invest the time and money needed to transform even a modest factory into a lean operation. Lean has proven to be a philosophy of continuous improvement, as learning how to expose and fix problems creates sustainable advantages that are expected to continue in the future.
New Engineering Thinking for a New Climate
Authors: Webber Michael E.
Published: March 2018

This article emphasis the need for new engineering approaches to deal with increasing environmental challenges. The Paris Agreement calls on mechanical engineers to take the ongoing decarbonization trend and accelerate it. The challenge of the Paris Agreement differs from earlier energy transitions in an important way: this shift is being intentionally pushed along, rather than occurring accidentally as before. Handling the influx of power from intermittent sources such as wind and solar is going to require mechanical engineers to rethink the transmission and distribution system. The Paris Agreement gives unambiguous direction to mechanical engineers: develop better hardware, algorithms, and control systems to decarbonize the power sector. In the process of accomplishing the task, there are a great many benefits that will certainly result from it: generating electricity with greater efficiency, building a grid that is more robust and flexible, and preparing engineering graduates to have a larger impact on society.
Clear Skies Ahead
Authors: Langston Lee S.
Published: March 2018

This article discusses various fields where gas turbines can play a vital role. Building engines for commercial jetliners is the largest market segment for the gas turbine industry; however, it is far from being the only one. One 2015 military gas turbine program of note was the announcement of an U.S. Air Force competition for an innovative design of a small turbine engine, suitable for a medium-size drone aircraft. The electrical power gas turbine market experienced a sharp boom and bust from 2000 to 2002 because of the deregulation of many electric utilities. Since then, however, the electric power gas turbine market has shown a steady increase, right up to present times. Coal-fired plants now supply less than 5 percent of the electrical load, having been largely replaced by new natural gas-fired gas turbine power plants. Working in tandem with renewable energy power facilities, the new fleet of gas turbines is expected to provide reliable, on-demand electrical power at a reasonable cost.
Using Mobile Devices for Mixed-Reality Interactionswith Educational Laboratory Test-Beds
Authors: Alan Frank Jared , Kapila Vikram
Published: March 2018

This paper explores a novel human–machine interaction (HMI) paradigm that utilizes the sensing, storage, computation, and communication (SSCC) power capabilities of mobile devices to provide intuitive interactions with dynamic systems. The HMI paradigm addresses the fundamental challenges by integrating computer vision, 3D virtual graphics, and touchscreen sensing to develop mobile apps that provide interactive augmented reality (AR) visualizations. While prior approaches used laboratory-grade hardware, e.g., personal computer (PC), vision system, etc., for streaming video to remote users, the approach exploits the inherent mobility of mobile devices to provide users with mixed-reality (MR) environments in which the laboratory test-bed and augmented visualizations coexist and interact in real-time to promote immersive learning experiences that don’t yet exist in engineering laboratories. By pointing the rear-facing cameras of the mobile devices at the system from an arbitrary perspective, computer vision techniques retrieve physical measurements to render interactive AR content or perform feedback control. Future work is expected to examine the potential of our approach in teaching fundamentals of dynamic systems, automatic control, robotics, etc. through inquiry-based activities with students.
GE Power Services Ships First F-class Extended-Life Rotors
Authors: Andrew Philip L.
Published: March 2018

This article presents an overview of technical aspects of the first F-class gas turbine life-extended rotors. Power Services, a GE Power Business, has shipped from the Greenville, S.C., facility its two F-class extended-life rotors, building upon a foundation of experience gained by executing more than 20 E-class rotor life extensions (RLEs). Experience has shown that additional features that require inspection, including rabbet fillets on wheels other than on stage one, cannot be inspected without a complete rotor disassembly. Each rotor is uniquely characterised by the combination of its particular configuration and operational history. Expanding the value of an RLE upgrade also requires that it be executed at the right point in the rotor’s life. For the two rotors evaluated to date, there have been no unexpected issues uncovered from the part inspections as compared to analytical predictions.
Data and Manufacturing Innovation
Authors: Regli William
Published: March 2018

This article discusses various aspects of data and manufacturing innovation. Industry today is rapidly adopting digital thread, a best practice in product data management that emphasizes a closed-loop process in which product lifecycle data is linked and traceable to design intent. The best practices in design and manufacturing stand in stark contrast to data revolutions being fomented in other fields. The data ecosystem is the collective memory of the complete output of a project, from conception to post-production and lifecycle activity for its artefact. It must encompass the dead ends as well as the amazing insights; the unbuilt alternatives and the simulation tests for prototypes; the information arcs traced out in the course of design and manufacturing process; and the consumer reviews and in-service information feeds from devices in the field. Vision of design requires engineers, designers, and manufacturers to reconsider some long-held beliefs about best practices. Computer scientists are developing solutions that might enable this transition; however, enterprises need to commit to underlying processes and cultures that will truly affect change.
Carebots
Authors: Marinho Thiago , Widdowson Christopher , Oetting Amy , Lakshmanan Arun , Cui Hang , Hovakimyan Naira , Frances Wang Ranxiao , Kirlik Alex , Laviers Amy , Stipanović Dušan
Published: March 2018

This article demonstrates a multidisciplinary approach that proposes to augment future caregiving by prolonged independence of older adults. The human–robot system allows the elderly to cooperate with small flying robots through an appropriate interface. ASPIRE provides a platform where high-level controllers can be designed to provide a layer of abstraction between the high-level task requests, the perceptual needs of the users, and the physical demands of the robotic platforms. With a robust framework that has the capability to account for human perception and comfort level, one can provide perceived safety for older adults, and further, add expressively that facilitates communication and interaction continuously throughout the stimulation. The proposed framework relies on an iterative process of low-level controllers design through experimental data collected from psychological trials. Future work includes the exploration of multiple carebots to cooperatively assist in caregiving tasks based on human-centered design approach.
Heat Sink Sunk
Authors: Brown Alan S.
Published: March 2018

This article explores various innovative ways that technology companies are working upon to deal with the large amount of heat of their big data centers. Microsoft’s research and development team is working on designing and building of an underwater data center. Researchers believe that underwater data centers might have power, construction, and performance advantages as well. Berkeley’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) recycles its chilled water. NERSC uses air to chill the data center and cooler-running components, such as disk drives, routers, and network servers. With the growing efficiency of data centers, better cooling might not be enough to make underwater operations worthwhile. But cooling is only one of the advantages that Microsoft sees in submerging its data centers. Submersibles also simplify deployment. Microsoft used an underwater cable connected to the electrical grid to power Leona Philpot, a submersible data center. In the future, it may reduce costs through renewable energy, combined with on-site energy storage and backup power from the grid.
Semi-Analytical Solution of the Heat Transfer Including Viscous Dissipation in the Steady Flow of a Sisko Fluid in Cylindrical Tubes
Authors: Chaudhuri Sumanta , Das Prasanta Kumar
Published: March 2018

Hydrodynamically and thermally fully developed flow of a Sisko fluid through a cylindrical tube has been investigated considering the effect of viscous dissipation. The effect of the convective term in the energy equation has been taken into account, which was neglected in the earlier studies for Sisko fluid flow. This convective term can significantly affect the temperature distribution if the radius of the tube is relatively large. The equations governing the flow and heat transfer are solved by the least square method (LSM) for both heating and cooling of the fluid. The results of the LSM solution are compared with that of the closed form analytical solution of the Newtonian fluid flow case and are found to match exactly. The results indicate that Nusselt number decreases with the increase in Brinkman number and increases with the increase in the Sisko fluid parameter for the heating of the fluid. In case of cooling, Nusselt number increases with the increase in the Brinkman number asymptotically to a very large value, changes its sign, and then decreases with the increase in Brinkman number. With the increase in the non-Newtonian index, Nusselt number is observed to increase.
Scaling Analysis of a Moving Point Heat Source in Steady-State on a Semi-Infinite Solid
Authors: Mendez Patricio F. , Lu Yi , Wang Ying
Published: March 2018

This paper presents a systematic scaling analysis of the point heat source in steady-state on a semi-infinite solid. It is shown that all characteristic values related to an isotherm can be reduced to a dimensionless expression dependent only on the Rykalin number (Ry). The maximum width of an isotherm and its location are determined for the first time in explicit form for the whole range of Ry, with an error below 2% from the exact solution. The methodology employed involves normalization, dimensional analysis, asymptotic analysis, and blending techniques. The expressions developed can be calculated using a handheld calculator or a basic spreadsheet to estimate, for example, the width of a weld or the size of zone affected by the heat source in a number of processes. These expressions are also useful to verify numerical models.
Entropy Analysis of Mixed Convective Condensation by Evaluating Fan Velocity With a New Approach
Authors: Bhuyan Dipanka , Giri Asis , Lingfa Pradip
Published: March 2018

Present paper conducts an extensive numerical study on entropy analysis of mixed convective condensation inside a vertical parallel plate channel. A new approach is proposed to separate pump velocity component/Reynolds number from inlet mixed convection velocity. Influence of inlet governing parameters on condensation heat and mass transfer at different inlet pressure, velocity, channel length, and width are widely studied. The central focus of this paper is to study entropy generation under mixed convective condensation. Variation of local as well as overall entropy generation and second law efficiency for different geometric and environmental conditions are presented. For effective condenser design, present study provides two important correlations of overall volumetric entropy generation due to thermal transport and overall volumetric entropy generation due to mass transport.
Steel Case Hardening Using Deformational Cutting
Authors: Zubkov Nikolai , Poptsov Victor , Vasiliev Sergey , Batako Andre DL
Published: March 2018

This paper describes some fundamental principles, specific features, and the technological capabilities of a new method of quenching steel surface by turning without separation of chips. The underlying process of this method is a deformational cutting (DC), which is based on the undercutting and deformation of surface layers that remain attached to the workpiece. The energy released in the area of DC is used to heat the undercut layer up to the temperatures of structural and phase transformation of workpiece material. This type of process results into a hardened structure formed at the surface which consists of inclined thin undercut layers tightly packed and stuck together and form a single solid body. The resulting hardened structures achieved in steels workpieces are presented in the paper. The samples hardened by DC showed a higher wear resistance compared to samples with traditional quenching. This paper also describes an estimation of the thermo-physical parameters of the DC process.
Spiral Curve-Based Efficient Five-Axis Sweep Scanning of Barrel-Shaped Surfaces
Authors: Hu Pengcheng , Zhou Huicheng , Tang Kai , Lee Chenhan , Chen Jihong , Yang Jianzhong , Li Lei
Published: March 2018

Barrel-shaped surfaces are widely used in industries, e.g., blades, vases, and tabular parts. Because a part such as an aero-engine blade is typically quite large, the efficiency of its measurement becomes a critical issue. The recently emerged five-axis sweep scanning technology offers to be a powerful means to significantly increase the efficiency of measurement. However, currently it still mostly relies on humans to manually plan a five-axis sweep scanning path, and in most cases, the surface is simply divided into a number of smaller open patches for which the sweep scanning is then individually planned. We present an algorithm for automatically planning the five-axis sweep scanning for an arbitrary barrel-shaped surface in the form of either a compound, a trimmed, or a simple surface. The planning algorithm is novel in that no partitioning of the surface is needed and a single continuous five-axis sweep scanning path will be generated for the entire surface. By eliminating the nonsweeping time spent by the stylus due to its air-moves between multiple patches and also the time-costly approach-retraction operations required for each patch, the proposed algorithm is able to significantly reduce the total inspection time, sometimes more than 50%, as validated in our physical inspection experiments.
Topological Structural Design of Umbrella-Shaped Deployable Mechanisms Based on New Spatial Closed-Loop Linkage Units
Authors: Cao Wen-ao , Yang Donghao , Ding Huafeng
Published: March 2018

The umbrella linkage is one of the most classical deployable mechanisms. This paper concentrates on topological structural design of a family of umbrella-shaped deployable mechanisms based on new two-layer and two-loop spatial linkage units. First, deployable units are developed systematically from two-layer and two-loop linkage with four revolute pair (4R) coupling chains. Then, mobile connection modes of the deployable units are established based on the conditions of one degree-of-freedom (DOF) and structural symmetry. Finally, umbrella-shaped deployable mechanisms are constructed based on the developed deployable units and the established mobile connection modes. Like umbrellas, the designed deployable mechanisms can be actuated in a simple and reliable way, and those mechanisms have good potential applications in the fields of architecture, manufacturing, space exploration, and recreation.