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Implant surgery is generally accepted as the best technique for complete teeth replacement. However, it is also the most demanding technique to implement and the most onerous to the client. It would be helpful to reduce costs and simplify procedures in order that the general public could benefit from implant dentistry. This paper reports a robotic system developed with the objective of studying stress/strain distribution caused by implants inserted in blocks of a polymer. The polymer exhibits the same mechanical properties of the human mandible bone.

The system includes an industrial robot manipulator, a data acquisition board, strain gauges for stress/strain evaluation and a force/torque sensor (equipped with accelerometers) placed on the robot wrist. The objective is to optimize the number of implants and their placement/orientation, contributing in this way to reduce the overall cost of implant surgery. The system is presented in detail and explored for drilling and implant insertion.

The preliminary results are encouraging and indicate the usefulness of the system. The three presented situations correspond to general clinical procedures and, as can be concluded from the preliminary results, the intensity of the applied forces increase with the inclination of the drilling tool. Since, the depth of the holes is the same, it can be also concluded that the dissipated energy is superior in the 30° hole. Apart from inclination all the other properties remain constant during the force evaluation; therefore, we expected that during the perforation of the 30° hole the temperature should raise more than in the other types of holes. This aspect will be addressed in detail in the near future (just by carefully monitoring the temperature) because living tissues should not be submitted to temperatures greater than 42°C. The observed fluctuation in the modulus of the force during a drilling cycle suggests that the material is not homogeny. The results indicate that the strain is larger in the vertical load. This might be related with the fact that inclined applied forces imply a distribution of the strain/stress forces at least for two directions.

Further work will include more sensors to obtain all the data.

This will be of interest to the implant industry, since low prices will significantly increase the market and consequently the need for implant products. Currently, implant surgery as well as teeth replacements are based on a few general rules that, very often, do not take into account the specific needs of the patient. This happens independently of clinician expertise, which does not have enough biomechanical information to plan the number, location and orientation of implants in a specific surgery. Consequently, in most of the cases the needs are overestimated, to guarantee long‐term success, which implies expensive procedures and more discomfort for patients.

This work reports on a robotic system to simplify implant procedures.

To describe water absorption by the rice grains over time, diffusion and empirical models were used. Also, an optimization software was developed in this study to determine parameters and their uncertainties for the diffusion models (LS Optimizer, for partial differential equations). Parameters (and their uncertainties) for empirical models were determined by LAB Fit Curve Fitting Software.

Heat and mass diffusion phenomena are found in various processes of technological interest, including pasteurization, drying and water immersion of agricultural products, among others. The objective of this work was to study the process of water absorption by rice grains with and without husk, using diffusion and empirical models to describe the absorption kinetics. Rice grains were immersed (approximately 10 g for each experiment) in drinking water maintained at constant temperatures of 28, 40 and 50 C. In the experiments, the water contents absorbed by rice grains over time were obtained by the gravimetric method.

Among empirical models, Peleg was the most satisfactory to describe the kinetics of water absorption by rice without husk, while the Silva et alii model had the best statistical indicators for rice with husk. It was also verified that a diffusion model with boundary condition of the first kind showed the best (or equivalent) results in the description of all processes of kinetics of water absorption by rice grains, with and without husk. For grains without husk, the effective mass diffusivities were (1.186 ± 0.045) × 10⁻⁹, (1.312 ± 0.024) × 10⁻⁹ and (2.133 ± 0.028) × 10⁻⁹ m² min⁻¹, for the immersion temperatures of 28, 40 and 50C, respectively. For grains with husk, diffusivities were (0.675 ± 0.011) × 10⁻⁹ and (1.269 ± 0.017) × 10⁻⁹ m² min⁻¹, for temperatures of 28 and 50 C, respectively.

This work developed a solver for the diffusion equation in cylindrical geometry and presented the LS Optimizer software developed to determine differential equation parameters through experimental data sets.

In an ever-interconnected world dominated by discourses on the internationalization and marketization of higher education, concerns related to language and employability have been the focus of recent debates. There is, however, a dearth of research investigating how these dimensions relate to one another in recent comparative and international higher education research. By focusing on how issues related to language and employability have been presented in recent higher education research worldwide, this chapter aims to contribute to our understanding of this concern. To achieve this goal, we conducted a scoping literature review using the Web of Science, Scopus, and the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) databases, considering the years 2011–2020. The findings, perhaps not surprisingly, suggested that language skills are perceived to be valued by both graduates and employers though the discussions predominantly focused on one language, English. The research focus on English for employability in Anglophone contexts is understandable. However, the fact that the trend is observed in contexts where the language is not the primary or official language seems to indicate the influence of internationalization of higher education and global labor markets primarily dominated by English. The literature also suggested that (English) language training in higher education programs needs to move from solely linguistic and qualification-related content areas to a broader sphere of English for communication purposes that cover both specialized disciplinary content and broader generic employability skills. Considering this finding, we suggest that higher education systems and institutions incorporate recent developments in English for occupational purposes in their curriculum. We also recommend that there needs to be a shift from the overwhelmingly English language-dominated discussions to more inclusive research that assesses the impact of other dominant languages on employability-related concerns.

This paper aims to know the dimension and scope that research on the district effect has had in the literature about industrial districts, as well as to shed some light on the connection between industrial districts and business results; or expressed differently, on how being located in an industrial district or not affects or might influence the performance of the firms located therein.

The purpose of this paper has been achieved through an exhaustive review of the empirical literature dedicated to the so-called district effect. The papers selected in the analysis were selected on the basis of the following criteria: (1) publications in scientific journals; (2) studies carried out in Spain and Italy; and (3) works published between 1994 and 2017.

The outcome of the literature review suggests, on the one hand, that the debate on the extent to which the territory influences the competitiveness of firms located in industrial districts still remains a topic of great interest. It can additionally be observed that most of the works dedicated to measuring the district effect have done so using three dimensions: (1) productivity/efficiency; (2) international competitiveness; and (3) innovation.

From a theoretical perspective, the findings of this paper make it possible to carry out an integrating proposal for the measurement of the district effect which revolves around three dimensions (productivity/efficiency; international competitiveness; and innovation).

This paper makes a twofold contribution to the literature: (i) it brings together the most important empirical contributions that measure the competitive advantages obtained by firms located in industrial districts through the district effect; and (ii) it theoretically and empirically establishes the essential dimensions of that effect.

This study aims to extend the investigation on leader communication by assessing the usage of motivating language (ML) by leaders in Waqf institutions in Malaysia.

Data analysis was carried out using structural equation modelling via the partial least squares. The probability sampling technique was deemed more suitable for this study as the available data was definable for constructing the sampling frame.

Management effectiveness was shown to have a significant effect on direction-giving and meaning-making language (MML), but not on empathetic language (EL). The findings demonstrate that increasing use of directive and MML leads to greater management performance; however, increased use of EL has no such effect.

The findings should not be taken as a comprehensive solution for improving the management effectiveness of all Waqf institutions. As the study only focused on the aspect of leader communication in Waqf institutions, the findings cannot be generalized to other contexts. Additionally, this study had only examined religious-based non-profit organizations (NPOs) with affiliations to a religious body, mission statements that incorporate religious values, financial support from religious sources and governance structure and employee selection based on religious processes. Hence, the findings cannot be used as a reference in the context of non-religious NPOs.

This paper contributes to the theoretical enhancement of existing literature about leader communication towards improving institutional effectiveness. The current study has empirically tested the model through the integration of the ML theory. Thus, the leader’s choice of language improves employee motivation and ultimately institutional productivity and effectiveness.

There is a glaring gap in empirical studies on the relationship between ML usage by leaders and management effectiveness specifically in the context of Malaysian organizations. Based on rigorous searches using the Scopus and Web of Sciences databases, it was found that past studies investigating the said relationship had focused more on Western countries. This is a crucial gap that must be addressed to gain a deeper understanding of the effect of ML on management effectiveness, especially in the Malaysian setting.

This research aims to examine the conditions under which individuals’ olfaction is actively engaged in purchase decisions. Consequently, it introduces the concept of need for smell (NFS) to measure differential motivation for the extraction and use of odor information in buying contexts. A ten-item NFS scale was developed that consists of hedonic and utilitarian dimensions.

The scale’s dimensionality and construct validity were examined in five studies. The moderating role of NFS and the mediating role of emotions in the relationship between odor perception and consumer responses were examined. The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analyses and customized PROCESS models.

The results show that NFS is a two-dimensional construct. The results further support the scale’s internal structure as well as its reliability, convergent, discriminant and nomological validity. NFS moderates the relationship between odor perception and consumer responses, and emotions mediate this relationship. While hedonic NFS strengthens the impact of odor perception on consumer responses, utilitarian NFS weakens this effect.

The present research extends Krishna’s sensory marketing framework, De Luca and Botelho’s scent research framework and Herz et al.’s scent benefits framework, by introducing the concept of NFS into these frameworks. The study demonstrates the relevance and functionality of NFS construct and NFS scale. The study extends the consumer scent research by introducing NFS and illustrating the interplay of odor perception and NFS on consumer responses to scent stimuli.

The NFS scale used in this study adds to the genre of individual difference scales such as need for cognition and need for touch. Given its smell-specific focus, it has applications in a range of consumption contexts. Using NFS, marketers could effectively identify low and high hedonic and utilitarian NFS consumers and position product or ambient scents to serve these segments better. The NFS scale also has implications for the areas of product and service design and development, consumer information search, brand judgments and choice preferences in both scented and non-scented environments.

This work is one of the first attempts, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to explain motivational differences in active engagement of olfaction, especially in purchase decisions. As a critical step in exploring olfactory information processing, the study demonstrates the relevance and functionality of NFS construct and NFS scale. The study extends the consumer scent research by introducing NFS and illustrating the interplay of odor perception and NFS on consumer responses to scent stimuli.

Evidence shows that African countries are confronted with high levels of income inequality. Therefore, it is relevant to approach and analyze the factors contributing to these severe inequality cases. This paper addresses the issue by focusing on the role of financial regulation and military spending.

We used a sample of 30 African countries and a recent period (2009–2020), employing various instrumental variable estimation techniques to control for endogeneity.

The results confirm that economic growth aggravates income inequality due to high corruption and political instability. Results confirm that the increase in military spending increases inequality and that financial regulation weakens financial inclusion and also increases income inequality.

The study shows the need for greater control of corruption and the promotion of political stability so that economic growth and financial inclusion can effectively reduce income inequality, as well as the need for a better balance in the drafting of financial regulations and the preparation of military expenditure to safeguard other policy objectives.

The present study contributes to scarce financial, economic, and social literature considering the role of financial regulation and military spending in the persistence of income inequality in African countries. Previous studies disregarded this fact.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-04-2023-0287

This study aims to examine the role of financial inclusion and institutional factors such as corruption and the rule of law (RL) on the credit risk and stability of banks.

The study considers a sample of 61 developing countries and uses very robust estimation techniques that allow controlling for endogeneity, heteroskedasticity and serial correlation, such as instrumental variables method in two-stage least squares (IV-2SLS), instrumental variables generalized method of moments (IV-GMM), as well as system of generalized methods of moments in two stages (Sys-2GMM).

The results confirm that financial inclusion and strengthening the RL can significantly contribute to reducing credit risk and improving the financial stability of banks; in contrast, the authors find that weak control of corruption aggravates credit risk. In addition, they found that greater competitiveness in the banking sector increases credit risk.

This study supports the need to promote financial inclusion and strengthen institutional factors to improve the stability of the banking sector, as well as promote general well-being in the economy.

This study contributes to the scarce literature by simultaneously using institutional factors such as corruption and the RL and macroeconomic variables such as economic growth and inflation in the relationship between financial inclusion and the banking sector, as well as considering competitiveness as an explanatory factor for banks’ credit risk and stability.

The study aims to investigate the effect of cultural alignment and value congruency between children and founder on intergenerational succession and on the observation of family optimal outcomes.

A game-theoretical approach is used to develop a sequential game modeling the strategic interactions behind successor selection. The authors test its main predictions by conducting an experiment with 75 subjects.

A theoretical prediction that misalignment between children and founder leads to outcomes without intergenerational succession, or to outcomes with intergenerational succession that are not family optimal. These predictions are buttressed by our experiment, which also found evidence that the family optimal outcome is focal when there are multiple equilibria.

No light is thrown on the sources of cultural (mis)alignment, but only on some of its consequences. Further studies of a different nature are needed to better understand the former.

Cultural diffusion and value congruency within the family should be timely fostered to promote harmony during the succession process and raise the chances of successful succession.

The cultural alignment and value congruency between incumbent and successors is treated as shaping the incentives that both types of agents face in the successor-selection process. Further, experimental techniques have not been used to test the results obtained in games exploring issues in family firm succession. This paper aims to begin filling this gap.

This study aims to examine the impact of financial inclusion and financial innovation on corruption, considering the moderating role of education, as well as identify the specific modality of digital inclusion and payments that contribute to corruption reduction.

The study uses a representative sample consisting of 46 African countries in three different years 2011, 2014 and 2017. On the data, feasible generalized least squares (FGLS), instrumental variables – two stages least squares (IV-2SLS) and two-stage generalized method of moments (IV-2GMM) model estimation methods were employed.

The results suggest that financial inclusion and education significantly reduce corruption. As well, the interaction between financial inclusion and education reduces corruption. Additionally, the authors find that the expansion of bank credit and the use of credit and debit cards are the specific modes of financial inclusion and digital payments that can contribute to corruption reduction.

This study awakens policymakers in African countries about the need to consider education as an alternative measure to support financial inclusion and reduce the use of physical cash in transactions for an effective fight against corruption.

Regarding practical implications, the study shows that financial inclusion besides reducing poverty for households can contribute to macroeconomic stability in Africa.

The study uses a representative sample composed of 46 African countries and considers the role of education in moderating the relationship between financial inclusion and financial innovation on corruption. Furthermore, the study identifies the specific modality of financial inclusion and digital payments that contribute to corruption reduction.