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Article
Publication date: 19 February 2019

Jianwen Yan, Kexin Zhang, Weiwei Zhu and Yu Fan

The purpose of this paper is to frame an empirical model with the priority of implementing soft critical successful factors (CSFs) of total quality management (TQM) in Chinese…

619

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to frame an empirical model with the priority of implementing soft critical successful factors (CSFs) of total quality management (TQM) in Chinese manufacturing companies.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 23 hypotheses regarding the relationships among TQM factors and business results have been developed through literature review and are tested using the structural equation modelling (SEM). The data used in this study are collected from 228 manufacturing companies in the central area of China.

Findings

Of the 23 hypotheses, 11 were statistically significant, and according to the empirical results a conceptual framework complying to Chinese condition is constructed and discussed in the finding parts to group soft CSFs of TQM into different levels of importance.

Research limitations/implications

Researchers can use the framework to further study soft CSFs of TQM in detail, and extend it to explore their impact mechanism for a clearer and deeper understanding of the TQM.

Practical implications

The empirical framework for soft CSFs of TQM provides a new perspective for managers to implement the soft CSFs and optimise the quality management system of their manufacturing companies.

Originality/value

This research uses multiple, distinct indicators for each soft factor to test an elaborate SEM model of the relationships among them, according to the empirical results constructs a holistic framework classifying the importance level of soft CSFs of TQM, which is novel and subjected with Chinese condition and manufacturing characteristics.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 31 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

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Article
Publication date: 17 October 2017

Wuzhu Yan, Zhufeng Yue and Jianwen Feng

The present work aims to reveal the effect of deposition paths on transient temperature, transient stress, residual stress and residual warping in the electron beam freeform…

308

Abstract

Purpose

The present work aims to reveal the effect of deposition paths on transient temperature, transient stress, residual stress and residual warping in the electron beam freeform fabrication (EBF) process.

Design/methodology/approach

Six typical deposition paths were involved in the finite element (FE) simulations of EBF process by implementing a specially written program.

Findings

The results showed that the deposition path had a remarkable influence on heat transfer and transient temperature distribution in the scanning process, resulting in different residual stress and residual warping after cooling to room temperature. The largest and smallest temperature gradients were obtained from the zigzag and alternate-line paths, respectively. Meanwhile, the temperature gradient decreased with the increase of deposited layers. The optimum deposition path, namely, the alternate-line pattern, was determined with respect to the residual stress and residual warping.

Originality/value

Although some researcher revealed the importance of deposition path through FE analysis and experimental observation, their studies were usually confined within one type of deposition pattern. A complete investigation of typical deposition paths and comparison among them are still lacking in literature. To address the aforementioned gap, the present work started by extensive FE simulations of EBF process involving six representative deposition paths, namely, the alternate-line, zigzag, raster, inside-out spiral, outside-in spiral and Hilbert. For each deposition path, the transient temperature field, residual stress and residual deformation were obtained to optimize the deposition path.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 23 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 August 2018

Libo Yan

The purpose of this paper is to apply what can be learned from the emergence of nature tourism to understand some current and future trends of tourism.

2215

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply what can be learned from the emergence of nature tourism to understand some current and future trends of tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted the evolutionary paradigm for investigation.

Findings

The emergence of nature tourism in early medieval China can be attributed to four major factors, including transformation of value orientations, seeking longevity, interest in suburbs and population migration.

Research limitations/implications

Historical studies help understand the current and future trends. When the contributing factors for nature tourism are linked to the contemporary world, it can be found that these factors are still playing a part in shaping tourism trends or patterns in their original or alternative forms. These trends or patterns are worthy of scholarly investigations.

Originality/value

This paper offers a comprehensive understanding of the origins of nature tourism.

Details

Journal of Tourism Futures, vol. 4 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2055-5911

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 11 June 2021

Xiaolong Zhou, Pinghao Wang, Sixian Chan, Kai Fang and Jianwen Fang

Visual object tracking plays a significant role in intelligent robot systems. This study aims to focus on unlocking the tracking performance potential of the deep network and…

104

Abstract

Purpose

Visual object tracking plays a significant role in intelligent robot systems. This study aims to focus on unlocking the tracking performance potential of the deep network and presenting a dynamic template update strategy for the Siamese trackers.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a novel and efficient Siamese architecture for visual object tracking which introduces densely connected convolutional layers and a dynamic template update strategy into Siamese tracker.

Findings

The most advanced performance can be achieved by introducing densely connected convolutional neural networks that have not yet been applied to the tracking task into SiamRPN. By using the proposed architecture, the experimental results demonstrate that the performance of the proposed tracker is 5.8% (area under curve), 5.4% expected average overlap (EAO) and 3.5% (EAO) higher than the baseline on the OTB100, VOT2016 and VOT2018 data sets and achieves an excellent EAO score of 0.292 on the VOT2019 data set.

Originality/value

This study explores a deeper backbone network with each convolutional network layer densely connected. In response to tracking errors caused by templates that are not updated, this study proposes a dynamic template update strategy.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 48 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 7 July 2020

Wangping Wu, Xiang Wang, Qun Wang, Jianwen Liu, Yi Zhang, Tongshu Hua and Peng Jiang

The purpose of this paper is to maraging 18Ni-300 steel fabricate by powder bed based selective laser melting (SLM) process. Microstructure and mechanical properties of the…

560

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to maraging 18Ni-300 steel fabricate by powder bed based selective laser melting (SLM) process. Microstructure and mechanical properties of the maraging steel part before and after heat treatment at a slow cooling rate were investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

The microstructure of the printed part was observed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The phases were determined by X-ray diffraction. The surface roughness of the part was recorded by a profilometer. The tensile properties and microhardness of the parts before and after heat treatment were characterized by an electronic universal tensile testing machine and a Vickers hardness tester, respectively.

Findings

Maraging 18Ni-300 steel part comprised of the martensitic phase and a small fraction of austenite phase. After heat treatment, the volume fraction of austenite slightly increased. The surface roughness of the part was about 96 µm. The printed part was dense, but irregular pores were present. The yield strength, ultimate tensile strength (UTS), elongation and Young’s modulus of as-fabricated parts were 554.7 MPa, 1173.1 MPa, 10.9% and 128.9 GPa, respectively. The yield strength, UTS, elongation and Young’s modulus of as-treated parts were 2065 MPa, 2225 MPa, 4.2% and 142.5 GPa, respectively. The microhardness values of surface and cross-section of the as-fabricated part were 407.1 HV and 443.0 HV, respectively. After short-time heat treatment, the microhardness values of the surface and cross-section of the part were 542.7 HV and 567.3 HV, respectively. After long-time heat treatment, the microhardness values of the surface and cross-section of the part were 524.4 HV and 454.8 HV, respectively. The microhardness and tensile strength increased significantly with decreasing elongation due to the changes in phases and microstructure of the parts after heat treatment.

Originality/value

This work studied the effect of heat treatment at 550°C combined with a subsequent slow cooling rate on microstructure and mechanical properties of maraging 18Ni-300 steel obtained by the powder bed based SLM process.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 26 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 4 December 2023

Suja Chaulagain, Jianwen Li, Rojan Baniya and Abraham Pizam

The objective of the present study was to investigate the impacts of familiarity with and awareness of Florida as a snowbird destination, and satisfaction with the snowbird…

153

Abstract

Purpose

The objective of the present study was to investigate the impacts of familiarity with and awareness of Florida as a snowbird destination, and satisfaction with the snowbird experience on Florida's image and on snowbirds' permanent relocation intention to Florida. Additionally, the influence of Florida's image on snowbirds' behavioral intention to move to Florida permanently was investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

Data gathered from 304 snowbirds were utilized in employing structural equation modeling to assess the research model.

Findings

The study results showed that awareness of and familiarity with Florida as a snowbird destination, and satisfaction with the snowbird experience significantly influenced participants' image perceptions of Florida. In addition, awareness of and familiarity with Florida as a snowbird destination, and participants' image of Florida had a significant influence on snowbirds' intentions to move to Florida permanently.

Practical implications

The findings of the study provide significant insights for destination marketing and management organizations and local policymakers in formulating and enacting policies in snowbird destinations to efficiently address migration trends.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first papers to empirically investigate and successfully construct a comprehensive model that explicate the determinants of snowbird tourists' permanent relocation intention.

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, vol. 7 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9792

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Article
Publication date: 4 March 2020

Ziqiang Han, Lei Wang and Jianwen Wei

This study examines the recovery of households after disasters from the sustainable livelihood approach (SLA) perspective.

255

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the recovery of households after disasters from the sustainable livelihood approach (SLA) perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

This study analyzes the perception of recovery by using a longitudinal household survey data set collected from a Chinese county devastated by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The analysis compares the changes of livelihood capitals (financial, natural, physical, social, human) between 2012 and 2009 and recovery perception.

Findings

The results demonstrate that both the current status of financial, natural, and social capital and the changes of the capitals between 2009 and 2012 are positively correlated with the perceived level of recovery. The associations between the current status and the change of physical capital and recovery perception are insignificant. In contrast, with a greater change of human capital between 2009 and 2012, participants have a lower perception of recovery.

Originality/value

By investigating a longitudinal data, this study indicates that (1) household recovery should be considered as multidimensional, (2) the SLA could be a feasible framework to measure recovery, and (3) individual's recovery perception is dependent on the various dimensions of recovery measures.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 30 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 4 September 2019

Jianwen Huo, Stanislav Leonidovich Zenkevich, Anaid Vartanovna Nazarova and Meixin Zhai

Unmanned aerial/ground vehicles (UAV/UGV) collaboration systems are increasingly being used to perform reconnaissance and rescue missions autonomously, especially in disaster…

444

Abstract

Purpose

Unmanned aerial/ground vehicles (UAV/UGV) collaboration systems are increasingly being used to perform reconnaissance and rescue missions autonomously, especially in disaster areas. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

To improve visibility, this study proposes a path-planning algorithm based on map matching. Continuous ground images are first collected aerially using the UAV vision system. Subsequently, a global map of the ground environment is created by processing the collected images using the methods of image correction, image mosaic and obstacle recognition. The local map of the ground environment is obtained using the 2D laser radar sensor of the UGV. A set of features for both global and local maps is established. Unknown values during map matching are determined via the least squares method. Based on the matched mapping, the traditional A* algorithm is used for the planning of global path in the global map, and the dynamic window method is used for adjustment of the local map.

Findings

Simulation experiments were carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can construct a global map of the wide environment and effectively bypass the obstacles missed by the UAV.

Research limitations/implications

Prior to map matching, there is a need to extract the edge of obstacles in the global map.

Originality/value

This paper proposed a path planning algorithm based on map matching, yielding insights into the application of the UAV/UGV collaboration systems in disaster areas.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-6427

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 13 November 2019

Khaled Alhamad and Mohammad Alhajri

The purpose of this paper is to describe a method that has been set up to schedule preventive maintenance (PM) tasks for power and water plants with all constraints such as…

189

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a method that has been set up to schedule preventive maintenance (PM) tasks for power and water plants with all constraints such as production and maintenance.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed methodology relies on the zero-one integer programming model that finds the maximum number of power and water units available in separate generating units. To verify this, the model was implemented and tested as a case study in Kuwait for the Cogeneration Station.

Findings

An effective solution can be achieved for scheduling the PM tasks and production at the power and water cogeneration plant.

Practical implications

The proposed model offers a practical method to schedule PM of power and water units, which are expensive equipment.

Originality/value

This proposed model is an effective decision-making tool that provides an ideal solution for preventive maintenance scheduling problems for power and water units in a cogeneration plant, effectively and complies with all constraints.

Details

Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, vol. 26 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2511

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Article
Publication date: 24 September 2019

Madjid Tavana and Vahid Hajipour

Expert systems are computer-based systems that mimic the logical processes of human experts or organizations to give advice in a specific domain of knowledge. Fuzzy expert systems…

908

Abstract

Purpose

Expert systems are computer-based systems that mimic the logical processes of human experts or organizations to give advice in a specific domain of knowledge. Fuzzy expert systems use fuzzy logic to handle uncertainties generated by imprecise, incomplete and/or vague information. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of the methods and applications in fuzzy expert systems.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have carefully reviewed 281 journal publications and 149 conference proceedings published over the past 37 years since 1982. The authors grouped the journal publications and conference proceedings separately accordingly to the methods, application domains, tools and inference systems.

Findings

The authors have synthesized the findings and proposed useful suggestions for future research directions. The authors show that the most common use of fuzzy expert systems is in the medical field.

Originality/value

Fuzzy logic can be used to manage uncertainty in expert systems and solve problems that cannot be solved effectively with conventional methods. In this study, the authors present a comprehensive review of the methods and applications in fuzzy expert systems which could be useful for practicing managers developing expert systems under uncertainty.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

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