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Discusses industrial automation in pre‐ and post‐1989 Czechoslovakia. Managerial effort in the centrally planned economy was concentrated primarily on achieving and exceeding volume targets. Quality, flexibility, and consumer needs were secondary considerations. The incentives for automation within company top management were relatively low. Strategic decision making was done by governmental bodies and the criteria for implementation of automation were not economic, but political. Analyses the penetration of numerically controlled machines, robots, flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) and computer aided design/manufacturing (CAD/CAM) and shows that it did not follow the logistic curve because of a lack of computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) technologies in former Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) countries. Discusses the nature of managers′ resistance and how to overcome it.

The purpose of this paper was the design, development, and test of a flexible and reconfigurable experimental setup for the automatic manipulation of microcomponents, enhanced by an accurately developed vision-based control.

To achieve a flexible and reconfigurable system, an experimental setup based on 4 degrees of freedom robot and a two-camera vision system was designed. Vision-based strategies were adopted to suitably support the motion system in easily performing precise manipulation operations. A portable and flexible program, incorporating the machine vision module and the control module of the task operation, was developed. Non-conventional calibration strategies were also conceived for the complete calibration of the work-cell. The developed setup was tested and exploited in the execution of repetitive tests of the grasping and releasing of microcomponents, testing also different grasping and releasing strategies.

The system showed its ability in automatically manipulating microcomponents with two different types of vacuum grippers. The performed tests evaluated the success and precision of the part grasping and release, which is a crucial aspect of micromanipulation. The results confirm reliability in grasping and that the release is precluded by adhesive effects. Thus, different strategies were adopted to improve the efficiency in the release of stuck components without negatively affecting the accuracy nor the repeatability of the positioning.

This work provided a flexible and reconfigurable architecture devoted to the automatic manipulation of microcomponents, methodologies for the characterization of different vacuum microgrippers, and quantitative information about their performance, to date missing in literature.

The following are the Definitions and Standards for Jams, Jellies, and the like, as laid down by the United States Department of Agriculture, that is to say the Federal Department, and in force at the present time in matters relating to inter‐state commerce. The Definitions and Standards have been closely followed by the various States in Union:—

La mise en valeur touristique de la montagne d'Europe est essentiellement une question d'accès. Le paysage est, en effet, intransportable. C'est donc aux touristes à se déplacer pour chercher dans les stations d'altitude, le plaisir de leurs vacances.

Although there are many journalistic accounts of ongoing political events narrating about pro-democratic or antiauthoritarian movements, such as strikes, riots, and protest letters, not many scholarly analyses devote attention to the longitudinal analysis of the preceding events that lead to a spur of protests. Not many scholars account or are able to account for the activity of political dissidents that is often hidden, purposely censored, and covered from public eye. Most frequently, until the street strike and riots, the degree of spread of dissident activity within a country is unknown to scholars. It is equally difficult to find information about the national and international networks that political activists form to gain support and acceptance of their acclamations, propositions, and calls for political or economic reforms. Furthermore, only access to dissident press allows researchers to glimpse the activity of existing organizations looking at issues censored by existing governments.

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the relationship between capital structure and technical efficiency (TE) for Italian cereal farms during the 2008–2014 period. Emphasis is given in the understanding of the relationship between the level of financial leverage for cereal farms and their production performance.

The methods employed in this research article are based on non-parametric techniques in order to derive TE estimates for a sample of Italian cereal farms based on available Farm Accountancy Data Network data to explore in depth the relationship amongst the financial exposure of the sector and the capacity to utilise an efficient and effective production technology. Furthermore, subsidies are considered in the model as a non-discretionary variable and therefore, as an input that farmers cannot directly influence within the production function. Hence, the non-discretionary Data Envelopment Analysis model is a more appropriate framework since it is not penalising farms at a lower level of Pillar I payments when benchmarked with farms that receive a higher level of payments.

The results show that significant improvements could be achieved for most of the farms in the sample by improving production and management practices. Furthermore, results provide an empirical support of the adjustment theory by showing a negative impact of debt to asset ratio to TE.

This research article provides a first insight on the evolution of the Italian cereal farms debt-TE relationship in periods where high price instability has been observed.

This study explores how sustainable community participation can be fostered in urban regeneration projects, particularly focusing on improving stakeholder engagement and ensuring equitable collaboration. The study aims to provide insights into who will benefit from these factors, specifically considering community members and policymakers. While cooperative decision-making has been a focus of recent studies, challenges such as ineffective cooperation strategies and unequal interest distribution among stakeholders remain important barriers. A comprehensive and systematic review of existing research is needed to inform future research in this area.

The study employed the PRISMA-ScR checklist in a comprehensive scoping review and created an evaluation framework based on 126 journal papers. The framework comprises three categories of studies that examine community participation in the context of urban regeneration projects: (1) policies and strategies, (2) community participation methods and (3) sustainable approaches.

The in-depth review of these 30 selected articles revealed several potential ways to examine the mechanisms and interactions related to stakeholders’ engagement for community participation in urban regeneration projects. The findings suggest that sustainable community participation strengthens long-term community involvement and project success by fostering a sense of ownership. The review also identified limitations in current research and proposes concrete future research directions.

This study provides a roadmap for researchers and policymakers, offering strategies to improve collaborative decision-making in urban regeneration. It offers actionable insights for enhancing sustainable community participation and informs the development of effective policies in urban regeneration projects.

In the past decades, artificial intelligence (AI)-based hybrid methods have been increasingly applied in construction risk management practices. The purpose of this paper is to review and compile the current AI methods used for cost-risk assessment in the construction management domain in order to capture complexity and risk interdependencies under high uncertainty.

This paper makes a content analysis, based on a comprehensive literature review of articles published in high-quality journals from the years 2008 to 2018. Fuzzy hybrid methods, such as fuzzy-analytical network processing, fuzzy-artificial neural network and fuzzy-simulation, have been widely used and dominated in the literature due to their ability to measure the complexity and uncertainty of the system.

The findings of this review article suggest that due to the limitation of subjective risk data and complex computation, the applications of these AI methods are limited in order to address cost overrun issues under high uncertainty. It is suggested that a hybrid approach of fuzzy logic and extended form of Bayesian belief network (BBN) can be applied in cost-risk assessment to better capture complexity-risk interdependencies under uncertainty.

This study only focuses on the subjective risk assessment methods applied in construction management to overcome cost overrun problem. Therefore, future research can be extended to interpret the input data required to deal with uncertainties, rather than relying solely on subjective judgments in risk assessment analysis.

These results may assist in the management of cost overrun while addressing complexity and uncertainty to avoid chaos in a project. In addition, project managers, experts and practitioners should address the interrelationship between key complexity and risk factors in order to plan risk impact on project cost. The proposed hybrid method of fuzzy logic and BBN can better support the management implications in recent construction risk management practice.

This study addresses the applications of AI-based methods in complex construction projects. A proposed hybrid approach could better address the complexity-risk interdependencies which increase cost uncertainty in project.

This article aims to deal with international investment disputes, with a focus on the nature of the law applicable to the merits of such disputes.

The procedure for determining the law applicable in investment disputes, the phases of determination and the impact thereof on the applicable law were analyzed. The diagonality of the disputes and its impact on the law applicable to the merits from the perspective of the interaction between national and international law were also analyzed. Further, the authors focused on the nature of the host state's breach of obligations towards the investor anchored in the investment treaty, and the effect thereof on the law applicable to the merits. In this respect, the notion of the investment itself was analyzed according to the relevant BITs and MITs. Finally, the authors analyzed the applicability of the Ordre Public concept to investment disputes.

The study provided practical demonstrations and examples of choice of law and application issues as resolved by the tribunals established under the ICSID.

The article deals mainly with the ICSID proceedings. Another should be also analyzed.

The paper provides a new insight into issues of the law applicable to investment disputes by analyzing this problematic in relation to all stages of investment arbitration proceedings. Particularly it took an innovative approach in shedding light on and analyzing the applicability of the Ordre Public concept in relation to investment protection, especially in relation to Article 52 of the ICSID Convention, and the recognition and enforcement proceedings of arbitral awards issued in the course of investment arbitration.