Sadia Samar Ali, Rajbir Kaur and Jose Antonio Marmolejo Saucedo
Rachael L. Tawbush, Sabrina D. Stanley, Tye G. Campbell and Melissa A. Webb
This study analyzed articles from India, Italy and Singapore regarding how science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is conceptualized in the K-12 setting…
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyzed articles from India, Italy and Singapore regarding how science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is conceptualized in the K-12 setting. The research questions that guided our study were as follows: (1) How is K-12 STEM education conceptualized in literature in other countries? (2) Which STEM subject areas are more documented in K-12 STEM literature? (3) How are K-12 STEM teaching practices implemented?
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilized a systematic literature review methodology by (1) creating search terms based on the research questions, (2) choosing databases in which to conduct the search, (3) conducting the search and gathering articles and (4) selecting articles based on inclusion criteria. We chose search terms according to three domains relevant to our study as follows: countries of interest, content of interest and teaching practices. Articles researched were (1) an empirical journal article or literature review; (2) primarily focused on the concept of K-12 STEM teaching practices in one of the countries of interest and (3) written in English.
Findings
Findings from the study revealed few articles addressed a conceptualization of STEM; however, the majority of articles agreed upon the importance of STEM teaching methods in the K-12 classroom setting. Science was documented as the top documented area in K-12 STEM literature for India and Italy, whereas technology and mathematics were the top documented areas in Singapore. Comparing K-12 STEM teaching practices, Italy and Singapore were found to focus more on student-centered STEM teaching practices whereas schools in India mostly utilized student-centered teaching approaches.
Research limitations/implications
The parameters of the systematic literature review, such as key terms used in the search and limited scope of countries investigated, were identified as limitations of the study. By expanding search parameters to include other countries or search terms, STEM education can be viewed on a more global scale.
Practical implications
This study will improve the global perspective of STEM education practices.
Originality/value
This study is unique in that it compared the conceptualization and K-12 STEM teaching practices implemented in India, Italy and Singapore.
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Veera Pandiyan Kaliani Sundram, Prem Chhetri and Atika Shamsul Bahrin
This paper presents the concerns in manufacturing supply chain. Further this study investigates the role of information technology (IT) and information sharing (IS) in…
Abstract
This paper presents the concerns in manufacturing supply chain. Further this study investigates the role of information technology (IT) and information sharing (IS) in manufacturing supply chain and determines its impact towards supply chain integration (SCI), supply chain performance (SCP), and manufacturing firm performance (FP) in Malaysia. The theoretical framework was proposed for the study on the basis of existing literature. The study administered a survey questionnaire to collect data from manufacturing firms in Malaysia with 112 respondents. A multiple regression analysis is conducted to establish the relationship between IT, IS, SCI, and FP. The study finds that IT and sharing has significant positive effect towards and performance. Firms that use IT and practice IS across partners in the supply chain are more likely to integrate their internal and external value chain for better performance both within and across the manufacturing firms in the supply chain. This study can be of interest to the manufacturing industry as well as other industry practitioners interested in improving the performance of the organization and supply chain in total. For supply chain practitioners, this results indicate that the firms should adopt IT and IS practices to strategically improve SCI. This in turn will also improve the supply chain network and firm’s performance. This study employs a newly developed framework which depicts the causal relationship between IT, IS, SCI, Supply Chain Performance, and FP in Malaysia. Furthermore, it closes a gap in existing literature by examining the effect IT and communication (ICT) practices toward manufacturing firms’ performance and SCP in a single setting. In addition, the current study attempted to construct a model which would estimate and interpret SCP and FP simultaneously, and to evaluate this model in an empirical fashion.
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Gerard W. Toh, Wee Ling Koh, Jack Ho, Jackson Chia, Ad Maulod, Irene Tirtajana, Peter Yang and Mathia Lee
Health disparities affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) populations have been reported in many countries. For Singapore, no large quantitative studies…
Abstract
Purpose
Health disparities affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) populations have been reported in many countries. For Singapore, no large quantitative studies on mental health and well-being in the local LGBTQ community have been published. The authors conducted a community-based survey (National LGBT Census Singapore, 2013; NLCS2013) that covered a comprehensive set of demographic, social and health indicators. Here, the authors investigated mental health status and its correlates in 2,350 LGBTQ individuals within the NLCS2013 sample.
Design/methodology/approach
The NLCS2013 was an anonymous online survey conducted amongst self-identified LGBTQ adults (aged ≥ 21 years) residing in Singapore. The survey included the World Health Organisation Well-being Index (WHO-5) as a measure of mental well-being, with low WHO 5 scores (<13/25) indicating poor mental well-being. The authors analysed relationships between low WHO-5 score and a range of respondent characteristics using multivariate logistic regression.
Findings
Strikingly, 40.9% of 2,350 respondents analysed had low WHO-5 scores, indicating poor mental well-being. Parental non-acceptance, experience of conflict at home and bullying/discrimination in the workplace or educational environments were all significantly associated with poor mental well-being. Conversely, community participation appeared protective for mental well-being, as respondents who participated in LGBTQ community organisations or events were less likely to have poor mental well-being than non-participants.
Originality/value
The NLCS2013 represents one of the first broad-based efforts to comprehensively and quantitatively capture the sociodemographic and health profile, including mental health status, within Singapore’s resident LGBTQ population. These findings affirm the need to address the mental health needs of LGBTQ individuals in Singapore and to foster safe spaces and allyship.
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O. Anuchitchanchai, K. Suthiwartnarueput and P. Pornchaiwiseskul
Nowadays businesses tend to compete with rivals by improving capability to meet customer demands. One of the key to improve logistics efficiency of a firm is to select appropriate…
Abstract
Nowadays businesses tend to compete with rivals by improving capability to meet customer demands. One of the key to improve logistics efficiency of a firm is to select appropriate supplier. In the past, to select the most suitable supplier, most people evaluated performance by using average performance or variance from historical data but did not mentioned skewness. In other words, skewness impact on supplier performance is ignored by researchers and buyers. In fact, supplier with greatest average performance does not confirm to be the most suitable one because of uncertainties which make its performance skew either to the left or right, i.e., lower or higher than expectation. Therefore, this empirical study aims to discover and determine the important role of skewness on supplier selection problem. After identifying influential criteria on supplier selection, we analyze skewness effect on suppliers’ performance in each criterion by surveying real data of suppliers’ performances. Skewness effect can be rated in 3 levels; no effect, moderately effect, and highly effect. The results show that, there is only one criterion with no skewness effect, which is price. Criteria which have high skewed performance, for both of medium-sized and large-sized buyers, are lead time, product quality and reliability, and on-time delivery. Also, skewness has higher effect on suppliers’ performance of medium-sized buyers than large-sized buyers. The conclusion surprisingly shows that, skewness is the best index to distinguish between good and bad suppliers, while mean is the worst index.
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Ge Li, Qiushi Kang, Fanfan Niu and Chenxi Wang
Bumpless Cu/SiO2 hybrid bonding, which this paper aims to, is a key technology of three-dimensional (3D) high-density integration to promote the integrated circuits industry’s…
Abstract
Purpose
Bumpless Cu/SiO2 hybrid bonding, which this paper aims to, is a key technology of three-dimensional (3D) high-density integration to promote the integrated circuits industry’s continuous development, which achieves the stacks of chips vertically connected via through-silicon via. Surface-activated bonding (SAB) and thermal-compression bonding (TCB) are used, but both have some shortcomings. The SAB method is overdemanding in the bonding environment, and the TCB method requires a high temperature to remove copper oxide from surfaces, which increases the thermal budget and grossly damages the fine-pitch device.
Design/methodology/approach
In this review, methods to prevent and remove copper oxidation in the whole bonding process for a lower bonding temperature, such as wet treatment, plasma surface activation, nanotwinned copper and the metal passivation layer, are investigated.
Findings
The cooperative bonding method combining wet treatment and plasma activation shows outstanding technological superiority without the high cost and additional necessity of copper passivation in manufacture. Cu/SiO2 hybrid bonding has great potential to effectively enhance the integration density in future 3D packaging for artificial intelligence, the internet of things and other high-density chips.
Originality/value
To achieve heterogeneous bonding at a lower temperature, the SAB method, chemical treatment and the plasma-assisted bonding method (based on TCB) are used, and surface-enhanced measurements such as nanotwinned copper and the metal passivation layer are also applied to prevent surface copper oxide.
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Kuo-Chung Shang and Peter B. Marlow
Logistics and supply chain management has been elevated to a strategic level whereby firms can simultaneously achieve differentiation and low cost for sustained competitive…
Abstract
Logistics and supply chain management has been elevated to a strategic level whereby firms can simultaneously achieve differentiation and low cost for sustained competitive advantage. Empirical studies have often concentrated on logistics management in developed Western countries, displaying a bias towards the USA. This study applies the competency approach to explore logistics in Taiwan. A survey of 1,200 manufacturing firms was undertaken in order to examine the relationships between logistics competency, logistics performance, and financial performance, using exploratory factor analysis and the structural equation modelling technique. Four logistics competencies, namely, integration and knowledge competency, customer focused logistics competency, measurement competency, and agility competency were identified. The research findings revealed that (1) logistics competency was significantly related to logistics performance but not significantly associated with financial performance, and (2) logistics performance was positively associated with financial performance. These findings also implied that logistics competency has an indirect effect on financial performance through logistics performance. This finding confirmed the “world-class” logistics competencies (i.e. positioning, integration, agility, and measurement) as identified by MSUGLRT (1995). In addition, it suggests that logistics competency in a huge geographic area such as America can have the same effect in a smaller geographic area such as Taiwan.
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There are three aims of this research. One is to verify the mutual effects between internal collaboration and external collaboration, another is to prove performance improvement…
Abstract
There are three aims of this research. One is to verify the mutual effects between internal collaboration and external collaboration, another is to prove performance improvement among different levels of supply chain collaboration, and the third is to analyze gaps between the two viewpoints. The population is Korean FDI firms in China and 208 data are used in the analysis. The data are treated with various methods: exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, SEM, cluster analysis, ANOVA, MANOVA and post hoc analysis. The results are as follows. First, external collaboration and internal collaboration have positive effects on each other, which have a positive effect on performance. This means that efficiency of internal processes is the cause of promoting connection with external processes and information generated from the market is the basis of a variance of internal processes, followed by high performance. Second, service performance improvement is more definite than cost performance improvement among different levels of supply chain collaboration. Firms can achieve more definite results in service performance when they perform supply chain collaboration. Third, this research verifies both the viewpoint of directions of supply chain collaboration and the strategic choice viewpoint of supply chain collaboration to better understand supply chain collaboration. Both viewpoints approach supply chain collaboration from different viewpoints but they do explain the methods for performance improvement.
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Modupeola Dada, Patricia Popoola and Ntombi Mathe
This study aims to review the recent advancements in high entropy alloys (HEAs) called high entropy materials, including high entropy superalloys which are current potential…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to review the recent advancements in high entropy alloys (HEAs) called high entropy materials, including high entropy superalloys which are current potential alternatives to nickel superalloys for gas turbine applications. Understandings of the laser surface modification techniques of the HEA are discussed whilst future recommendations and remedies to manufacturing challenges via laser are outlined.
Design/methodology/approach
Materials used for high-pressure gas turbine engine applications must be able to withstand severe environmentally induced degradation, mechanical, thermal loads and general extreme conditions caused by hot corrosive gases, high-temperature oxidation and stress. Over the years, Nickel-based superalloys with elevated temperature rupture and creep resistance, excellent lifetime expectancy and solution strengthening L12 and γ´ precipitate used for turbine engine applications. However, the superalloy’s density, low creep strength, poor thermal conductivity, difficulty in machining and low fatigue resistance demands the innovation of new advanced materials.
Findings
HEAs is one of the most frequently investigated advanced materials, attributed to their configurational complexity and properties reported to exceed conventional materials. Thus, owing to their characteristic feature of the high entropy effect, several other materials have emerged to become potential solutions for several functional and structural applications in the aerospace industry. In a previous study, research contributions show that defects are associated with conventional manufacturing processes of HEAs; therefore, this study investigates new advances in the laser-based manufacturing and surface modification techniques of HEA.
Research limitations/implications
The AlxCoCrCuFeNi HEA system, particularly the Al0.5CoCrCuFeNi HEA has been extensively studied, attributed to its mechanical and physical properties exceeding that of pure metals for aerospace turbine engine applications and the advances in the fabrication and surface modification processes of the alloy was outlined to show the latest developments focusing only on laser-based manufacturing processing due to its many advantages.
Originality/value
It is evident that high entropy materials are a potential innovative alternative to conventional superalloys for turbine engine applications via laser additive manufacturing.