Search results

The performance of the parts obtained by fused filament fabrication (FFF) is strongly dependent on the extent of bonding between adjacent filaments developing during the deposition stage. Bonding depends on the properties of the polymer material and is controlled by the temperature of the filaments when they come into contact, as well as by the time required for molecular diffusion. In turn, the temperature of the filaments is influenced by the set of operating conditions being used for printing. This paper aims at predicting the degree of bonding of realistic 3D printed parts, taking into consideration the various contacts arising during its fabrication, and the printing conditions selected.

A computational thermal model of filament cooling and bonding that was previously developed by the authors is extended here, to be able to predict the influence of the build orientation of 3D printed parts on bonding. The quality of a part taken as a case study is then assessed in terms of the degree of bonding, i.e. the percentage of volume exhibiting satisfactory bonding between contiguous filaments.

The complexity of the heat transfer arising from the changes in the thermal boundary conditions during deposition and cooling is well demonstrated for a case study involving a realistic 3D part. Both extrusion and build chamber temperature are major process parameters.

The results obtained can be used as practical guidance towards defining printing strategies for 3D printing using FFF. Also, the model developed could be directly applied for the selection of adequate printing conditions.

Based on a decolonial perspective from Latin America, this paper aims to offer a different history of the creation of Brazil’s Consumer Defense Code (CDC), analyzing the process through which Eurocentric influences, especially coming from Consumers International (CI), became present in the development of the code.

A qualitative historical research was developed using marketing amnesia and decolonialism as its theoretical backdrop. Primary and secondary data are used as source of information. Primary data were obtained through interviews with two authors of the CDC. Secondary data were collected from academic articles and books, reports, magazines and consumer organization websites, as well as journalistic articles.

During the drafting of the CDC and after its promulgation, the presence of Eurocentric forces was constant, given the interests of CI and other agents in influencing Brazil’s consumer practices, subordinating them to those of the Global North. This Eurocentric presence was accepted by the Brazilian jurists that drafted the CDC, which led to the incorporation of both laws and bills from Eurocentric countries and the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection into the code.

Such discussions are scarce in marketing, due to the area’s amnestic state regarding the past. While selectively forgetting certain pasts, marketing fails to both acknowledge its tendency to subordinate consumerist actions to those accepted by the Eurocentric world, and to establish analyses that deal with mimetic processes, to minimize asymmetries between companies and consumers, especially in emerging economies, and, even more, dichotomies between the Global North and the Global South.

This paper discusses how melt flow indices and flow behavior data can be used to predict polymer flow in real industrial processes. The ability to simulate flow behavior can help us establish a robust process that has a large processing window and which accommodates a natural variation. The effect of shear rate on viscosity is of far greater significance. It is therefore important to find the Newtonian region of the curve and set the process parameters in this region for a specified mould thickness. This paper also aims at modifying the flow behavior of polypropylene blends using various lubricants and flow promoters both low molecular weight and polymeric flow promoters.

Diversified trading networks have recently drawn a great deal of attention. In the process, the importance of diversity has perhaps been overemphasized. Using the trade in port wine from Portugal to Britain as an example, this essay attempts to show how a market once dominated by general, diversified traders was taken over by dedicated specialists whose success might almost be measured by the degree to which they rejected diversification to form a dedicated “commodity chain.” The essay suggests that this strategy was better able to handle matters of quality and the specialized knowledge that port wine required. The essay also highlights the question of power in such a chain. Endemic commodity-chain struggles are clearest in the vertical brand war that broke out in the nineteenth century, which, by concentrating power, marked the final stage in the transformation of the trade from network to vertical integration.

Over the past decade, the term prosumption (denoting simultaneous consumption and production) has exhibited a dramatic increase in frequency of use in publications in the social sciences and business studies. This paper aims to explore the current state of research into prosumption, particularly related to marketing.

This study systematically reviews papers on prosumption extracted from the Web of Science, using two bibliometric analyses on 20 years of data: citation counts from HistCite and bibliographic coupling and cartography analysis from the visualization of similarities software VOSviewer. A total of 75 papers on prosumption were found from the period 1997-2017, and the most influential authors, articles, journals, institutions and countries among these were determined. Furthermore, bibliographic coupling and most co-occurrent keywords in the title, keywords and abstracts were found.

This study found that the USA and the UK were the most influential among prosumption publications. Ritzer was the most prominent author and Journal of Consumer Culture was the top-ranking journal. Three clusters were found using bibliographic coupling and cartography analysis: prosumer and co-creation, prosumer and user-generated content and prosumer and informational capital.

This analysis provided a basis for conceptualizing publications on prosumption related to business and sociology in the discipline of marketing. Content analysis found that prosumption research in marketing is in early stages: little quantitative study has been conducted yet. Researchers have not yet constructed a quantitative measure for prosumption.

Business firms can engage prosumers to gain market share and competitive advantage, especially relative to value co-creation, with near-zero marginal cost.

This may be the first bibliometric analysis and systematic review of prosumption research in marketing studies. The achievements of this paper open new avenues for other prosumption researchers.