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The purpose of this paper is to compare indicative expected changes in maintenance costs due to changes in corrosion of building facades caused by climate change or by possible reduction of air pollution, in Norway and Europe.

Available climate and pollution dose‐corrosion response functions from the literature were used to calculate corrosion costs for buildings façades and construction surfaces. Metals and stone were used as indicator materials.

An annual average temperature increase of 2°C and increase in precipitation of 20 per cent in the city of Bergen in western Norway in the twenty‐first century is likely to increase maintenance costs of building facades as much or more than a 50 per cent reduction in the concentrations of single air pollutants, and similarly to between 20 per cent and 50 per cent reduction in all the air pollutants, minus chloride, that have been found to corrode the materials. An increase in costs up to about 1 Euro/m² 10 years can be expected, but depending on surface material. This is in contrast with an approximate European average situation where no change in precipitation is expected during the twenty‐first century and an increase in temperature will result in reduced corrosion of metals due to drying up of surfaces and reduced maintenance costs. The maintenance costs for Portland limestone surfaces may increase for the European average situation due to an increased effect of air pollution on corrosion at higher temperature. Reduction in amounts of precipitation is expected in southern Europe. This will further reduce corrosion rates and maintenance costs for all materials.

The results reported include the uncertainty inherent in climate model scenarios and in the empirically derived dose‐response functions. Degradation of real building facades varies depending on factors such as building design, type of surface materials and surface treatments.

Reduction of air pollutants, monitoring of degradation, adjustment of building standards and guidelines, and use of more suitable materials and building techniques are some possible measures to adapt to increased atmospheric corrosion of buildings caused by climate change.

Expected increase in maintenance costs is one additional expense for society due to climate change, which can contribute to reduced welfare and increased social stress.

The comparison of expected future degradation and cost of maintenance of building facades due to climate change and due to change in air pollution makes the practical significance of such changes more evident.

Tribological research is complex and multidisciplinary, with many parameters to consider. As traditional experimentation is time-consuming and expensive due to the complexity of tribological systems, researchers tend to use quantitative and qualitative analysis to monitor critical parameters and material characterization to explain observed dependencies. In this regard, numerical modeling and simulation offers a cost-effective alternative to physical experimentation but must be validated with limited testing. This paper aims to highlight advances in numerical modeling as they relate to the field of tribology.

This study performed an in-depth literature review for the field of modeling and simulation as it relates to tribology. The authors initially looked at the application of foundational studies (e.g. Stribeck) to understand the gaps in the current knowledge set. The authors then evaluated a number of modern developments related to contact mechanics, surface roughness, tribofilm formation and fluid-film layers. In particular, it looked at key fields driving tribology models including nanoparticle research and prosthetics. The study then sought out to understand the future trends in this research field.

The field of tribology, numerical modeling has shown to be a powerful tool, which is both time- and cost-effective when compared to standard bench testing. The characterization of tribological systems of interest fundamentally stems from the lubrication regimes designated in the Stribeck curve. The prediction of tribofilm formation, film thickness variation, fluid properties, asperity contact and surface deformation as well as the continuously changing interactions between such parameters is an essential challenge for proper modeling.

This paper highlights the major numerical modeling achievements in various disciplines and discusses their efficacy, assumptions and limitations in tribology research.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-03-2023-0076/

The University of Michigan (U-M) is planning its course toward carbon neutrality. A key component in U-M carbon accounting is the calculation of carbon sinks via estimation of carbon storage and biosequestration on U-M landholdings. Here, this paper aims to compare multiple remote sensing methods across U-M natural lands and urban campuses to determine the accurate and efficient protocol for land assessment and ecosystem service valuation that other institutions may scale as relevant.

This paper tested three remote sensing methods to determine land use and land cover (LULC), namely, unsupervised classification, supervised classification and supervised classification incorporating delineated wetlands. Using confusion matrices, this paper tested remote sensing approaches to ground-truthed data, the paper obtained via field-based vegetation surveys across a subset of U-M landholdings.

In natural areas, supervised classification incorporating delineated wetlands was the most accurate and efficient approach. In urban settings, maps incorporating institutional knowledge and campus tree surveys better estimated LULC. Using LULC and literature-based carbon data, this paper estimated that U-M lands store 1.37–3.68 million metric tons of carbon and sequester 45,000–86,000 Mt CO₂e/yr, valued at $2.2m–$4.3m annually ($50/metric ton, social cost of carbon).

This paper compared methods to identify an efficient and accurate remote sensing methodology to identify LULC and estimate carbon storage, biosequestration rates and economic values of ecosystem services provided.

Both the Czech family and the institution of marriage have gone through certain changes during the period of transformation for Czech society in the nineties. This has been influenced by the changed political, economic and social situation in our country. This chapter focuses on revealing these changes affecting the family and showing their relationship to the transformation of Czech society.

Nickel, as a barrier to the dissolution of termination materials, requires a solderable coating to prevent nickel oxidation and preserve solderability of surface mount devices. Most multilayer capacitors (MLCs) are supplied with tin or tin/lead coatings electrodeposited over the nickel barrier layer. There is general disagreement in the electronics industry about preferred solderable finishes and solderability test methods of component leads. Tin and tin/lead finishes have typically been compared on leaded devices. The results of these studies are not necessarily applicable to leadless surface mount chip components. This study compares 100% tin and 60/40 tin/lead electroplated coatings on nickel barrier terminated, multilayer chip capacitors (MLCs). Various thicknesses of tin and tin/lead were compared for solderability after steam‐age, solder joint strength, and chemical and physical composition of the reflowed termination surface. The results show no significant difference between the solderability and joint strength under vapour phase reflow conditions using 60/40 solder paste. The termination surfaces were reflowed at 215°C in the case of both pure tin and 60/40 tin/lead. The tin/lead finish reflowed to a composition of 60% tin/40% lead. The 100% tin finish reflowed to a composition of 90% tin/10% lead. Reflow was caused by diffusion of lead and tin.

This study aims to explore the extent of Intellectual Capital Disclosure (ICD) in the annual reports of the top 50 listed Vietnamese companies. It assesses the influence of firm characteristics and corporate governance structure on ICD practices.

ICD was measured using content analysis, specifically word count percentage. Panel data regression analysis was employed to examine the relationship between firm characteristics, governance structures and the level of ICD.

Results reveal that ICD levels among Vietnamese firms sampled are relatively low, averaging 17.43% of the overall annual report word count. Relational capital emerges as the most disclosed category of IC. Firm size, profitability, industry type, number of independent board members and CEO duality significantly impact the level of ICD. However, leverage, board size and the presence of an audit committee show no significant influence on ICD.

These findings offer insights into agency and signaling theories. They provide empirical evidence for stakeholders, academics and regulatory bodies to comprehend ICD practices and identify factors that could enhance ICD in emerging markets like Vietnam.

This study contributes to the literature by examining ICD practices in an emerging market context and identifying the impact of firm characteristics and governance structures on ICD levels, offering valuable implications for both theory and practice.

The effect of viscosity on the performance of disk-shaped electromechanical resonators has been studied and investigated in the past. The vibration frequency of a disk-shaped resonator changes according to the viscosity of the liquid which the resonator is in contact with. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is based on design a sensor for measuring the viscosity of liquids using a disk-shaped electromechanical resonator. The viscosity of liquids is of interest to researchers in industry and medicine.

In this paper, a viscosity sensor for liquids is proposed, which is designed based on a disk-shaped electromechanical resonator. In this proposed sensor, two comb drives are used as electrostatic actuators to stimulate the resonator. Also, two other comb drives are used as electrostatic sensors to monitor the frequency changes of the proposed resonator. The resonance frequency of the resonator in response to different fluids under test varies according to their viscosity.

After calibration of the proposed sensor by nonlinear weights, the viscosity of some liquids are calculated using this sensor and results confirm its accuracy according to the liquids real viscosity.

The design of the proposed sensor and its simulated performance are reported. Also, the viscosity of several different liquids are evaluated with simulations of the proposed sensor and presented.

Spyware is a controversial software technology that allows the surreptitious collection of personal information from computers linked to the internet. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of spyware in internet shareware and freeware and to investigate the personal information collected.

The methodology was a two‐phase, multi‐case study. The first phase determined that five of the 50 most popular pieces of Windows^®‐based freeware and shareware available to internet users from CNETDownload.com were suspected of containing spyware: these were included as data sources for phase two. The purpose of phase two was to confirm the existence of spyware and to identify the types and frequencies of any personal data transmissions. For this phase, data were collected and analyzed utilizing a passive network monitor program to examine packets of data transmitted from a personal computer to external destinations on the internet.

The findings confirmed the existence and use of spyware in three of five suspected cases. However, the data indicated that there was a low occurrence of spyware and that these programs have the capability to collect numerous types of personal data. The main limitation is that these results are based on a snapshot of data obtained during five days.

The study has practical implications for internet users, who should be aware that spyware exists and understand its potential threat. Spyware developers should provide the user with an effective removal tool. Finally, marketers are cautioned that spyware might alienate customers.

This paper confirms the potential for misuse of these programs.

The main purpose of this research is to understand if customers from countries with alleged similar culture expect services dimensions equally and to understand the level of proximity among those countries.

Quantitative methodology was used to test the level of proximity in customers' expectations about a service among different countries with alleged similar cultural patterns and if these customers share similar expectations about a set of service dimensions. This transnational research regarded the hotel service and data were collected from ten Latin countries: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Romania, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Bolivia and Chile. About 1262 customers answered a questionnaire about their expectations about service dimensions of the hotel service.

Findings show that Latin customers' expectations about services are not equal and that there is a low level of proximity or similarity of customers' expectations about service among Latin countries.

Research was applied in one group of Latin countries that revealed a low level of proximity of customer's expectations about the hotel service. Further attempts should be made to expand research to additional Latin countries in order to allow understanding if the proximity level rises, decreases or maintains.

The major contribution was to use a cross-cultural approach to understand the level of proximity between the Latin countries in terms of customer's expectations about service dimensions, as these countries are frequently clustered into one group and customer's expectations are presumed to also be similar.