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This article considers a reliability model where the failure is due to cumulative damage exceeding a threshold level. The concept that the threshold level of cumulative damage at each arrival of shock can change based on whether the magnitude of each shock exceeds its defined threshold level is considered to compute the system reliability.

The stochastic process approach is used to obtain the cumulative damage based on Poisson arrival of shocks. The general expression for reliability is obtained using the conditional probability over each arrival of shock. The method of maximum likelihood estimation is used to obtain the estimators of the parameters and system reliability. A sensitivity analysis is performed to measure the effect of the parameter representing the rate of arrival of shock.

The maximum likelihood estimates of the reliability approach the actual reliability for increasing sample size. A sensitivity analysis study on the parameter representing the rate of arrival of shock shows that as the values of parameter increase (decrease), the reliability value decreases (increases).

Obtained a new expression for the cumulative damage–shock model and the findings are positively supported by presenting the general trend of estimated values of reliability approaching the actual value of reliability. The sensitivity analysis also genuinely supports our findings.

This paper aims to evaluate how critical thinking be integrated in intellectual property (IP) law teaching.

It used doctrinal methods based on existing pedagogical scholarship in the field of effective teaching and learning at the university level.

It demonstrated how the use of critical thinking in IP law education could facilitate deeper understanding of IP law issues from different socio-economic, environmental, historical and political dimensions.

It is yet to be tested for practical application in other jurisdictions and students having background from diverse socio-economic and cultural settings.

The application of critical thinking in IP law could help students to apply IP law from practical perspectives to meet societal objectives and business interests as well.

This will facilitate in broader societal understanding in using IP law to achieve sustainable development goals.

Till date, little work has been undertaken on the use of critical thinking in IP law teaching. Therefore, this study tried to make a unique contribution to incorporate critical thinking in IP law education.

Can we broaden the boundaries of the history of economic thought to include positionalities articulated by grassroots movements? Following Keynes’s famous remark from General Theory that ‘practical men […] are usually the slaves of some defunct economist,’ we might be wont to dismiss such a push from below. While it is sometimes true that grassroots movements channel preexisting economic thought, I wish to argue that grassroots economic thought can also precede developments subsequently elaborated by economists. This paper considers such a case: by women at the intersection of the women’s liberation movement and the claimants’ unions movement in 1970s Britain. Oral historical and archival work on these working-class women and on achievements such as their succeeding to establish unconditional basic income as an official demand of the British Women’s Liberation Movement forms the springboard for my reconstruction of the grassroots feminist economic thought underpinning the women’s basic income demand. I hope to demonstrate, firstly, how this was a prefiguration of ideas later developed by feminist economists and philosophers; secondly, how unique it was for its time and a consequence of the intersectionality of class, gender, race, and dis/ability. Thirdly, I should like to suggest that bringing into the fold this particular grassroots feminist economic thought on basic income would widen the mainstream understanding and historiography of the idea of basic income. Lastly, I hope to make the point that, within the history of economic thought, grassroots economic thought ought to be heeded far more than it currently is.

The use of bibliographic citation is a crucial aspect in the creation and dissemination of information. Numerous studies have been done ranging from simple citation counts to more complex bibliographic coupling studies, and from citation classifications to citation motivation studies. This review focusses on the citation studies that have explored the complexities and the underlying norms of the citation process. The major emphasis is placed upon the studies which have dealt with citation functions, citation quality, citation concepts and citation motivation. The international perspectives of citation practice are also discussed.

The purpose of this study was to test a method of teaching information literacy, using the Toulmin method of argumentation, to aid students in developing topics, evaluating sources and creating stronger arguments that avoided “myside” or confirmation bias.

The Toulmin method of argument analysis was tested in two related studies. A quasi-experimental comparison study in six sections of English composition courses was implemented at a small liberal arts college. A traditional one-shot session was compared to a flipped class, incorporating Toulmin argumentation. A Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (SAILS) test was administered and research papers analyzed using a rubric. A modified version of the Toulmin method, using images, was implemented in a two-unit information literacy course at a state university. Pretest and posttest information literacy test scores and research papers were analyzed.

The first study showed that the experimental group performed better on the rubric scores for research papers when results were adjusted by excluding the one honors section. The survey results from this study showed mixed results for the flipped classroom approach. The second study showed a statistically significant improvement in pretest and posttest scores from the information literacy achievement test and the research paper rubric analysis showed that instructional goals were at least partly met.

Further research in incorporating instruction in argument into information literacy instruction is indicated. These studies integrated the Toulmin method successfully but represent fairly unique situations and thus more studies are needed to assess the overall impact of using this method in the context of information literacy instruction.

This study was implemented with two different population groups and shows how instruction can impact different groups differently and can be adapted to increase its effectiveness.

The study highlights the value of collaborative assessment and of inclusion of critical thinking goals in information literacy instruction through instruction in argumentation using textual and visual means.

The purpose of this paper is to examine a varied set of personal characteristics (i.e. cultural values tied to Confucianism, Big Five personality attributes and test experience) for their combined ability to predict job applicants’ expected and experienced procedural fairness in the context of personnel selection.

A total of 324 applicants were surveyed as part of a process to select entry-level positions at a large IT manufacturing company in eastern China. Data were gathered in two waves, such that applicants’ personal characteristics and fairness expectations were obtained prior to their perceptions of procedural fairness, which were collected after the selection interview.

Confucian values, neuroticism, conscientiousness and test experience all predicted applicants’ procedural fairness expectations. Only test experience had both direct and indirect effects on procedural justice perceptions. All other effects involving personal characteristics and experience of procedural fairness were mediated by applicants’ fairness expectations.

The demonstration of the impact of a varied set of personal characteristics on applicants’ perceptions of procedural fairness is consistent with theory-driven models intended to understand and predict these perceptions. The findings suggest, among other considerations, that multinational businesses cannot assume that a standardized approach to selection will be viewed in the same manner by applicants across national contexts.

The authors show, in an operational employee selection context, how a varied set of personal characteristics can usefully combine to predict applicants’ procedural fairness expectations, as well as their experience of procedural fairness.

This study aims to introduce a vision-based model to generate droplets with auto-tuned parameters. The model can auto-adjust the inherent uncertainties and errors involved with the fabrication and operating parameters in microfluidic platform, attaining precise size and frequency of droplet generation.

The photolithography method is utilized to prepare the microfluidic devices used in this study, and various experiments are conducted at various flow-rate and viscosity ratios. Data for droplet shape is collected to train the artificial intelligence (AI) models.

Growth phase of droplets demonstrated a unique spring back effect in droplet size. The fully developed droplet sizes in the microchannel were modeled using least absolute shrinkage and selection operators (LASSO) regression model, Gaussian support vector machine (SVM), long short term memory (LSTM) and deep neural network models. Mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 0.05 and R² = 0.93 were obtained with a deep neural network model on untrained flow data. The shape parameters of the droplets are affected by several uncontrolled parameters. These parameters are instinctively captured in the model.

Experimental data set is generated for varying viscosity values and flow rates. The variation of flow rate of continuous phase is observed here instead of dispersed phase. An automated computation routine is developed to read the droplet shape parameters considering the transient growth phase of droplets. The droplet size data is used to build and compare various AI models for predicting droplet sizes. A predictive model is developed, which is ready for automated closed loop control of the droplet generation.