Whilst it may be possible to produce alloys possessing a very high degree of resistance to corrosion, frequently they are deficient in mechanical or physical properties…
Abstract
Whilst it may be possible to produce alloys possessing a very high degree of resistance to corrosion, frequently they are deficient in mechanical or physical properties. Alternatively, the difficulties encountered in manufacture, or the prohibitive cost of materials, preclude their wide industrial application. By suitably varying the alloying additions to a very small number of basic metals a wide range of alloys can be produced, which not only possess good corrosion resistance but are also endowed with strength, ductility, hardness and wear‐resistance, etc.
Feixiang Xu, Ruoyuan Qu and Chen Zhou
The firewater deluge system (FDS) can provide water automatically through a deluge valve when a fire breaks out. However, there are many fire hazards caused by the abnormal…
Abstract
Purpose
The firewater deluge system (FDS) can provide water automatically through a deluge valve when a fire breaks out. However, there are many fire hazards caused by the abnormal operating state of the FDS. To monitor and predict the working state of the FDS, this paper aims to propose a firewater deluge monitoring and forecasting system using the Internet of Things (IoT) technology.
Design/methodology/approach
The firewater deluge monitoring and forecasting system consists of three layers: the sensing layer, network layer and application layer. The firewater pressure obtained by the monitoring nodes was transmitted to the local gateway and then to the remote monitoring center. In the application layer, an autoregressive moving average (ARMA) model was put forward to forecast the firewater pressure. Furthermore, a genetic algorithm (GA) was proposed to perfect the order determination method of the ARMA model. Finally, a Web application was developed to display the real time and predicted working status of the FDS.
Findings
The predicted results show that the ARMA model improved by the GA (GA-ARMA) is significantly better than traditional ARMA models in terms of mean relative error, mean absolute error and mean square error. Moreover, the proposed system is demonstrated to be effective, and an early warning can be alerted to remind users of repairing abnormal FDS equipment ahead of fire dangers.
Originality/value
The proposed system cannot only be applied to the FDS of all buildings to avoid fire hazards by monitoring and predicting the working state of the FDS, but can also be widely used in other fields, such as environmental monitoring, intelligent logistics and intelligent transportation.
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Erik A. Dalmasso, Jeffrey P. Bakken, T. Scott Estes and Quentin M. Wherfel
Technology has become a very important aspect of our sacred existence as humans. It has penetrated all sections of our society – it is now an enrichment tool for our economy…
Abstract
Technology has become a very important aspect of our sacred existence as humans. It has penetrated all sections of our society – it is now an enrichment tool for our economy, politics, education, and society. While these enrichments are naturally inclusive, this chapter focuses on the use of technology in enhancing the education of students, especially those with disabilities. Things that were once inaccessible are now accessible to students with disabilities through the use of technology. These students might have some atypical traits; however, they are humans who can learn and function in our society when provided with appropriate learning tools such as technology. With technology, these students' learning and social activities can be enhanced, modified, adapted, and adjusted so that they can maximize their fullest potential. This is the premise of this chapter; and it sets the stage for the other chapters.
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The purpose of this study is to identify and assess the factors that influence the work performance of employees in the service sector of Mauritius during the post-COVID-19…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify and assess the factors that influence the work performance of employees in the service sector of Mauritius during the post-COVID-19 period. Factors like emotional labour, burnout, job satisfaction and psychological health of employees have been identified as those potential factors influencing the work performance of employees.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts the survey-based approach for data collection. Employees from the service sector were targeted, that is, those who have direct contact with the customers. A response rate of 197 was recorded. The partial least square structural equation modelling has been used to run the data analysis.
Findings
Ten hypotheses were proposed, and four hypotheses were accepted. Job satisfaction appears to positively influence the work performance of employees in the service sector. Emotional labour, burnout and psychological health of employees appeared not to significantly affect the work performance of employees.
Practical implications
From a practical perspective, the author recommends that employers need to provide more support in terms of employee counselling, more job rotation for the employees to avoid burnout. Other support mechanisms as a supportive supervisor/manager where the employees can voice their concerns. It is also recommended that employers should have a more humane way to handle their human resources despite they are having the pressure to maximise profits. Employers need to understand that commercialisation of emotions demand a lot of emotional pressure on the employees and job re-design might be a solution to provide employees with more autonomy in the workplace. The level of flexibility also needs to be reviewed and employees should be more trusted.
Originality/value
This study acknowledges that a lot of research has been done in identifying and assessing factors that significantly impact employees’ work performance. Nevertheless, this study brings together two theories, namely, the social exchange theory and the psychological contract theory to better understand the relationship between the variables. This study also brings a methodological contribution with second-order factor analysis of factors like emotional labour and burnout which enabled better assessment and understanding of the factors and their effect on work performance. Some practical recommendations have also been made.
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Joyce B. Main and Yanbing Wang
Although engineering doctoral students are at the forefront of discovery and innovation and have great potential for establishing partnerships to address engineering challenges…
Abstract
Purpose
Although engineering doctoral students are at the forefront of discovery and innovation and have great potential for establishing partnerships to address engineering challenges crossing national borders, there are few studies of their intercultural competency. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that are associated with intercultural competency – the ability to work effectively in multicultural environments.
Design/methodology/approach
The intercultural competency levels of 390 engineering doctoral students were measured by using the Miville–Guzman Universality-Diversity Scale-Short Form (MGUDS-S). Data were analyzed using ordinary linear squares regression. Results are considered descriptive, rather than causal.
Findings
Results show that female engineering doctoral students are more likely to score higher on the MGUDS-S than male engineering doctoral students. Proficiency in multiple languages and previous work- or volunteer-related travel experiences are positively associated with doctoral students’ intercultural competency.
Originality/value
As internationalization of engineering research and innovation continues to expand, findings suggest that providing students with more opportunities and support for work- or volunteer-related travel and opportunities for learning new languages may help facilitate the development of intercultural competency and students’ willingness to engage in long-term international professional opportunities and research partnerships.
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Jerry H. Ratcliffe, Amber Perenzin and Evan T. Sorg
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the violence-reduction effects following an FBI-led gang takedown in South Central Los Angeles.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the violence-reduction effects following an FBI-led gang takedown in South Central Los Angeles.
Design/methodology/approach
The time series impact of the intervention was estimated using a Bayesian diffusion-regression state-space model designed to infer a causal effect of an intervention using data from a similar (non-targeted) gang area as a control.
Findings
A statistically significant 22 percent reduction in violent crime was observed, a reduction that lasted at least nine months after the interdiction.
Research limitations/implications
The research method does make assumptions about the equivalency of the control area, though statistical checks are employed to confirm the control area crime rate trended similarly to the target area prior to the intervention.
Practical implications
The paper demonstrates a minimum nine-month benefit to a gang takedown in the target area, suggesting that relatively long-term benefits from focused law enforcement activity are possible.
Social implications
Longer-term crime reduction beyond just the day of the intervention can aid communities struggling with high crime and rampant gang activity.
Originality/value
Few FBI-led gang task force interventions have been studied for their crime reduction benefit at the neighborhood level. This study adds to that limited literature. It also introduces a methodology that can incorporate crime rates from a control area into the analysis, and overcome some limitations imposed by ARIMA modeling.
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Bret Craw and Brian H. Kleiner
Looks at wrongful termination and in particular, three landmark cases defining this in California, USA, e.g. Pugh v. See’s Candles, Inc., 1981; Wilkerson v. Wells Fargo Bank…
Abstract
Looks at wrongful termination and in particular, three landmark cases defining this in California, USA, e.g. Pugh v. See’s Candles, Inc., 1981; Wilkerson v. Wells Fargo Bank, 1989; Ralph Cotron v. Rollins Hudig Hall International, Inc., 1998 (which is the current interpretation in the state of California). Gives the backgrounds involved in each case and the rulings made. Sums up that currently the view is: an employer can be factually wrong in its conclusions of whether a misconduct has occurred, as long as it has done a thorough investigation.
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To determine where, when, how, and wherefore European social theory hit upon the formula of “the True, the Good, and the Beautiful,” and how its structural position as a skeleton…
Abstract
Purpose
To determine where, when, how, and wherefore European social theory hit upon the formula of “the True, the Good, and the Beautiful,” and how its structural position as a skeleton for the theory of action has changed.
Methodology/approach
Genealogy, library research, and unusually good fortune were used to trace back the origin of what was to become a ubiquitous phrase, and to reconstruct the debates that made deploying the term seem important to writers.
Findings
The triad, although sometimes used accidentally in the renaissance, assumed a key structural place with a rise of Neo-Platonism in the eighteenth century associated with a new interest in providing a serious analysis of taste. It was a focus on taste that allowed the Beautiful to assume a position that was structurally homologous to those of the True and the Good, long understood as potential parallels. Although the first efforts were ones that attempted to emphasize the unification of the human spirit, the triad, once formulated, was attractive to faculties theorists more interested in decomposing the soul. They seized upon the triad as corresponding to an emerging sense of a tripartition of the soul. Finally, the members of the triad became re-understood as values, now as orthogonal dimensions.
Originality/value
This seems to be the first time the story of the development of the triad – one of the most ubiquitous architectonics in social thought – has been told.