Alan M. Cody, George B. Hegeman and David C. Shanks
A relatively new chief executive has been impressed by the increased efficiency and profitability of firms, similar to his own, which have reorganized. Prior to the change, these…
Abstract
A relatively new chief executive has been impressed by the increased efficiency and profitability of firms, similar to his own, which have reorganized. Prior to the change, these firms suffered from slow growth, high fixed costs, and excessive bureaucracy—ills that still plague the executive's organization. He intends to make similar changes to his own company—quickly, to put his stamp on the organization and show a real gain in profits as soon as possible.
The world's economic and business environment has changed in fundamental ways over the past two decades. Corporations now face growing incentives and pressures to seek…
Abstract
The world's economic and business environment has changed in fundamental ways over the past two decades. Corporations now face growing incentives and pressures to seek opportunities in a world marketplace. This article describes a method that can be used by multinational corporations to recognize global competition within their industries, and it examines some emerging trends with which MNCs will have to contend.
What makes a great leader? Here is how executives utilize innovations to strike out in new directions.
A word many promise but few deliver upon. To get a handle on one of strategic planning's hottest buttons, we cast a wide net and found a range of definitions:
An appreciation of the material from which modern printed circuit board drills are fabricated and an understanding of the salient geometric design features incorporated in such…
Abstract
An appreciation of the material from which modern printed circuit board drills are fabricated and an understanding of the salient geometric design features incorporated in such tooling will help those involved with the drilling process in determining optimum operating procedures and in identifying the underlying causes of hole deficiencies.
C. David Remy, Oliver Baur, Martin Latta, Andi Lauber, Marco Hutter, Mark A. Hoepflinger, Cédric Pradalier and Roland Siegwart
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the robotic quadrupedal platform ALoF that is designed to aid research on perception in legged locomotion.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the robotic quadrupedal platform ALoF that is designed to aid research on perception in legged locomotion.
Design/methodology/approach
A well‐balanced size and complexity of the robot results in a robust platform that is easy to handle, yet able to perform complex maneuvers as well as to carry sophisticated 3D sensors. A very large range of motion allows the robot to actively explore its surroundings through haptic interaction, and to choose between a wide range of planning options.
Findings
This robot was employed and tested in the lunar robotics challenge organized by the European Space Agency, for which the authors also developed a novel crawling gait, in which the weight of the robot is alternately supported by scaled plates under the main body and the four shank segments. This allowed for stable locomotion in steep terrain with very loose soil.
Originality/value
The paper describes how a very large range of motion allows the robot to actively explore its surroundings through haptic interaction, and to choose between a wide range of planning options. The paper describes how the authors developed a novel crawling gait, in which the weight of the robot is alternately supported by scaled plates under the main body and the four shank segments.
The tractor shown in FIG. 1 is one of the latest of those manufactured by David Brown to be made available to civilian users. It has a 2,523 c.c. four‐cylinder engine with the…
Abstract
The tractor shown in FIG. 1 is one of the latest of those manufactured by David Brown to be made available to civilian users. It has a 2,523 c.c. four‐cylinder engine with the following output: 25 b.h.p. at 1,200 r.p.m. and 38·5 b.h.p. at a governor‐controlled maximum speed of 2,200 r.p.m. A four‐speed, and reverse, gearbox is fitted. The turning circle of the tractor has a diameter of 28 ft. and the rear wheels are fitted with 16 in. diameter Girling brakes operated independently by hand or foot.
Di Yang, Weiwei Qu and Yinglin Ke
The riveting process is a metal forming process involving complex elastic-plastic deformation, which will induce a compressive residual stress field and cause local distortions in…
Abstract
Purpose
The riveting process is a metal forming process involving complex elastic-plastic deformation, which will induce a compressive residual stress field and cause local distortions in the connecting areas. Regarding to the aircraft panel assemblies with plenty of rivets, the global deformation is inevitable and undesired, leading difficulties to downstream assembly processes. This paper aims to present a new method for the local distortion calculation and the global deformation prediction of sheet panel assemblies during the automated riveting process.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, a simplified algebraic study is presented to analyze the local distortion of single countersunk rivet joint with the consideration of the barrel-like shape of the driven head and the through-thickness variations along the rivet shank. Then, an equivalent rivet unit is proposed based on the result of the algebraic study and embedded into the global-level model for the prediction of the overall distortions of riveted panels.
Findings
The algebraic study is able to reach a more precise contour of the deformed rivet than the traditional assumption of cylindrical deformations and rapidly determine the equivalent coefficients of the riveting unit. The result also shows an industrial acceptable accuracy of the prediction for the global deformations of the double-layered panel assemblies widely used in the aircraft panel structures.
Originality/value
A new local-global method for predicting the deformations of the riveted panel assembly based on the algebraic study of the local distortions is proposed to help the engineers in the early design stages or in the assembly process planning stage.
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The author argues that we must stop and take a look at what our insistence on human labour as the basis of our society is doing to us, and begin to search for possible…
Abstract
The author argues that we must stop and take a look at what our insistence on human labour as the basis of our society is doing to us, and begin to search for possible alternatives. We need the vision and the courage to aim for the highest level of technology attainable for the widest possible use in both industry and services. We need financial arrangements that will encourage people to invent themselves out of work. Our goal, the article argues, must be the reduction of human labour to the greatest extent possible, to free people for more enjoyable, creative, human activities.
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The deadhead subculture – centered around the band Grateful Dead – has been active for 50+ years. Despite its longevity, academic work is sparse compared to other music…
Abstract
The deadhead subculture – centered around the band Grateful Dead – has been active for 50+ years. Despite its longevity, academic work is sparse compared to other music subcultures. Given its durability and resilience, this subculture offers an opportunity to explore subcultural development and maintenance. I employ a contemporary, symbolic interactionist approach to trace the development of deadhead subculture and subcultural identity. Although identity is a basic concept in subculture research, it is not well defined: I suggest that the co-creation and maintenance of subcultural identity can be seen as a dialectic between collective identity and symbolic interactionist conceptions of individual role-identity.