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The purpose of this study was to fabricate silicone products that had different hardnesses and moduli, thus partially addressing the limitations of homogeneous materials whose deformation depends on altered structure or dimensions, and to provide new dimensions for the design of silicone soft structures.

A soft material three-dimensional printing platform with a dual-channel printing capability was designed and built. Using the material extrusion method, material screening was first performed using single-channel printing, followed by dual-channel-regulated printing experiments on products having different hardness and modulus values.

The proportion of additives has an effect on the accuracy of the printed product. Material screening revealed that Sylgard 527 and SE 1700 could be printed without additives. The hardness and mechanical properties of products are related to the percentage in their composition of hard and soft materials. The hardness of the products could be adjusted from 26A to 42A and the Young’s modulus from 0.875 to 2.378 Mpa.

Existing silicone products molded by casting or printing are mostly composed of a single material, whose uniform hardness and modulus cannot meet the demand for differentiated deformation in the structure. The existing multihardness silicone material printing method has the problems of long material mixing time and slow hardness switching and complicated multi-extrusion head switching. In this study, a simple, low-cost and responsive material extrusion-based hardness programmable preparation method for silicone materials is proposed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how country of origin and consumer ethnocentrism pertain to first-generation immigrants, who often identify with two or more countries.

After a pretest to validate the modified consumer ethnocentrism scale, the main study used a series of scenario-based experiments and compiled data from 419 members of four distinct first-generation immigrant communities.

Non-ethnocentric immigrants favor the products of economically advanced countries. Ethnocentric immigrants favor the products of their home and host countries relative to foreign products, regardless of the economic standing of foreign countries. When home and host countries represent significantly different degrees of economic advancement, both ethnocentric and non-ethnocentric immigrants favor the products of the more advanced country.

Apart from the individual effects of country of origin and consumer ethnocentrism, the interplay between the two effects can yield important insights. There are other ways to operationalize multicultural identity beyond studying first-generation immigrants. Researchers should go beyond nationality and incorporate other forces of cultural diversity.

For both ethnocentric and non-ethnocentric immigrants, the product that benefits from both effects is the most preferred, and the product that benefits from neither of the two effects is the least preferred. Where the product benefits from one but not the other effect, the two effects hold roughly equal power for ethnocentric consumers, but COO dominates CE for non-ethnocentric consumers.

The paper presents a critical evaluation and extension of the respective literatures investigating familiar constructs in multicultural settings.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of consumer ethnocentrism and country of origin across different immigrant communities.

A survey was used to collect data from immigrants in the USA and Mexico.

For immigrants with high levels of ethnocentrism, the bias for home and host country products interacts with the country of origin effect and creates multiple scenarios where the two effects move in the same or opposite directions. For immigrants with low levels of ethnocentrism, on the other hand, the country of origin effect alone is salient.

The authors used a modified version of CETSCALE. Future research should revisit the content and dimensionality of consumer ethnocentrism in immigrant and other multicultural settings.

Both scholars and practitioners should exercise caution when working with ethnocentrism and country of origin as today’s societies are increasingly multicultural, which requires major modifications to the theories and tools.

Similar to ways in which the US Census Bureau enabled multicultural consumers to assert their mixed identities, scholarly and business circles should embrace multiculturalism and empower immigrants.

Previous studies of consumer ethnocentrism and country of origin in multicultural contexts have restricted themselves to only one pattern of migration: consumers who move from developing to developed countries. The paper addresses this limitation by investigating various patterns of migration (including lateral, upward and downward) in multiple first-generation immigrant communities in two countries.

The Modhera Sun Temple, an architectural masterpiece dating back to the Chaulukya dynasty's reign in 1026-27 CE, graces Gujarat's Mehsana district. This historical gem holds profound cultural significance, and the ‘Solarisation of Modhera Sun Temple and Town’ project draws inspiration from this iconic monument. Its core vision is to seamlessly blend the temple's historical importance with modern sustainability by harnessing solar energy to power Modhera town. At the heart of this transformative endeavour lies the establishment of a 6 MW Grid-Connected Ground Mounted Solar PV Power Plant in Sujjanpura. This is complemented by the installation of 1383 1KW Rooftop Solar Systems on residential buildings in Modhera village. To ensure a continuous power supply, a 15 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Sujjanpura addresses solar power intermittency. The project also incorporates smart energy metres, a SCADA-based Smart Energy Centre at the Modhera Sun Temple, a 50 KW Solar Parking Infrastructure with Battery Storage and Electric Charging Stations, and sensor-based smart street lights. In October 2022, the Honourable Prime Minister inaugurated the Solar Powered 3-D Projection Mapping Show and Heritage Lighting at the Temple. Serving as a model for rural electrification through solar energy, it offers valuable insights for tackling renewable energy challenges on a broader scale. Noteworthy achievements include Modhera becoming the first Indian village to enjoy uninterrupted 24×7 solar energy access, a testament to the seamless fusion of ancient heritage and modern sustainability.

The exponential growth of the construction sector exerts considerable pressure on the environment, and the circular economy (CE) concept has recently gained traction as a means of alleviating such environmental issues. In order to propose solutions to the phenomenon of contractors being hesitant to participate in CE implementation in developing countries, this paper aims to comprehensively explore the enabling factors that motivate contractors to implement CE.

This study is based on the push-pull-mooring (PPM) theory and extends it by introducing information provision (IP) as a trigger on contractors’ intrinsic subjective initiative states on CE implementation. The study considers what and how positive pull, negative push and neutral mooring factors influence the contractors’ CE transition. The framework was validated by questionnaires collected from contractors in China, and the data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling method.

The findings indicate that all factors from the PPM framework exert a positive influence on CE intention, with push factors demonstrating a greater average impact. Furthermore, this study confirms the influence of the IP on contractors’ CE intentions by influencing their intrinsic status. The impact of the IP is most pronounced in terms of contractors’ perceived usefulness and environmental concerns.

This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the CE transition studies by extending the PPM theory into the construction industry through the lenses of contractors in developing countries. The results highlight the trigger impacts of the IP on contractors’ psychological status regarding CE transition. Furthermore, it offers insights into government management in the CE transition by providing the government with novel approaches to facilitate the CE transition in the construction sector.

This study aims to conduct a comprehensive review and network-based analysis by exploring future research directions in the nexus of circular economy (CE) and sustainable business performance (SBP) in the context of digitalization.

A systematic literature review methodology was adopted to present the review in the field of CE and SBP in the era of digitalization. WOS and SCOPUS databases were considered in the study to identify and select the articles. The bibliometric study was carried out to analyze the significant contributions made by authors, various journal sources, countries and different universities in the field of CE and SBP in the era of digitalization. Further, network analysis is carried out to analyze the collaboration among authors from different countries.

The study revealed that digitalization could be a great help in developing sustainable circular products. Moreover, the customers' involvement is necessary for creating innovative sustainable circular products using digitalization. A move toward the product-service system was suggested to accelerate the transformation toward CE and digitalization.

The paper discusses digitalization and CE practices' adoption to enhance the SP of the firms. This work's unique contribution is the systematic literature analysis and bibliometric study to explore future research directions in the nexus of CE and SP in the context of digitalization. The present study has been one of the first efforts to examine the literature of CE and SBP integration from a digitalization perspective along with bibliometric analysis.

It happened right here in the enlightened Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul:

Entrepreneurship and strategy.

Undergraduate and graduates.

This is a case that can be used to teach advanced undergraduate classes or lower-level master's level classes in the areas of strategy, leadership and entrepreneurship. The case will appeal to SMEs, policymakers in the area of entrepreneurship funding, incubators and other funding firms associated with entrepreneurs.

As the case is specific to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – it can be used to study UAE or the Middle East North Africa region. Ideally, students should be encouraged to read up on the region/country prior to studies. They should also understand the need and state of entrepreneurship in the region.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

With the uptake of prefabricated construction (PC) facing serious obstacles in China, networked innovation can break the technical constraints while also containing the risks in individual innovation. However, the construction community has paid little attention to PC innovation, especially networked innovation. This study aims to gain deep insights into what impacts the formation and dynamics of a prefabricated construction innovation network (PCIN). With the uptake of PC facing serious obstacles in China, networked innovation can break the technical constraints while also containing the risks in individual innovation.

The research design follows a sequential mixed methodology of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. It first conceptualizes the PCIN based on the quadruple helix model and formulates a corresponding system dynamics model based on causality analysis. After validating the PCIN model using empirical data, simulations are carried out using Vensim PLE software. Finally, this study identifies key factors that promote the formation of PCIN in China through sensitivity analysis.

The results show that PC predicts a continuous increase in practice as of 2030. The tested drivers all positively influence the formation of the PCIN, with market demand and risk sharing having the greatest influence, followed by competitive pressure, profit government support, scientific and technological advancement and collaborative innovation strategy.

The study makes three major contributions. First, it provides a novel angle for a deeper understanding of the PC innovation. Second, it proposes a new approach for probing the formation and dynamics of the PCIN. Finally, it offers a theoretical reference for promoting the formation of innovation networks and the development of PC.

Industries and businesses are pursuing Industry 4.0 technologies as well as adopting a circular approach focused on improving manufacturing processes through the reduction of wastes, CO₂ emissions and mineral exploration to mitigate the impact of climate change. In this sense, additive manufacturing (AM), often referred to as 3D printing, can play a key role in the closed-loop of operations. However, academics and practitioners have scarcely discussed the feasibility of implementing AM alongside circular economy (CE) practices, the techniques and methods that this would require, or how AM could benefit sustainability and circularity. To address these gaps, this paper proposes a novel circular sustainable 3D printing model for scrap recycling in the automotive industry.

The methodology uses a literature review-based approach followed by empirical research using metal scraps as the raw material for fabricating a powder to input a metal 3D printer for generating sustainable automotive components. A conceptual sustainable circular model for the automotive industry is proposed. Next, is conducted a focus group comprises AM and automotive industry experts for evaluations.

The results indicate that the proposed model can be used to reintroduce waste back into the manufacturing chain as raw material for the on-demand manufacture and supply of automotive components and that it may also have social and environmental implications.

This paper’s contributions are threefold: it explores the combined use of Industry 4.0 (I4.0), CE and sustainability in the automotive industry, develops a new model to support the circularity and sustainability of the scrap chain and proposes the use of AM as a catalyst of CE practices by reproducing recycled components with a 3D printer for prototypes or fully functioning components.