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Article
Publication date: 5 September 2016

Yen-Chun Jim Wu and Ju-Peng Shen

This study aims to provide a complete understanding of academic research into higher education for sustainable development (HESD).

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to provide a complete understanding of academic research into higher education for sustainable development (HESD).

Design/methodology/approach

This study utilizes a systematic review of four scientific literature databases to outline topics of research during the UN’s Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD).

Findings

This study compares research trends and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO’s) strategic perspectives, worldwide topics and the number of studies. The results show that the research trends did not match UNESCO’s perspectives well and that researchers’ focus on popular events led to the variation between the numbers of articles each year. In summary, the findings indicate that most researchers base their topics on environmental issues, and research trends indicate the need for the integration of HESD.

Practical implications

This study provides a systematic review of higher education for academic research into sustainability, and it has implications for researchers and educators by identifying the gaps between the research conducted and the UN’s policies during the DESD.

Originality/value

This study attempts to offer an integrated view of HESD and to understand the bias of research trends during the DESD.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 17 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 November 2012

Uroš Flisar, Danijel Vončina and Peter Zajec

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of different distribution of shoot through mode on Z‐source inverter efficiency and particularly on complexity of switching…

165

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of different distribution of shoot through mode on Z‐source inverter efficiency and particularly on complexity of switching pattern generation. Switching pattern generation has been optimized for field‐oriented control (FOC) of induction motor operating beyond its nominal speed which can be easily accomplished due to the input voltage boosting implemented inherently by Z‐source inverter. The proposed drive is unaffected to supply voltage sags, too.

Design/methodology/approach

The space vector modulation switching pattern of the traditional FOC drive was modified in order to insert shoot through mode necessary for input voltage boosting. Since this can be accomplished only on account of zero mode of the inverter, the active modes have to be reduced. Consequently, the output voltage space vector has to be reduced, as well.

Findings

In order to maximize profit of the input DC voltage and to omit the output voltage distortion, mathematical limitations have been derived giving the optimal boost ratio for required output voltage and ride‐through capability during voltage sags.

Practical implications

The experimental tests of upgraded FOC of induction motor with the proposed distribution of shoot through mode in the switching pattern of Z‐source inverter and optimized control of inverter voltage are demonstrated. It is also shown that such a drive can withstand a long period of input voltage sags and operate in a broader field weakening regime.

Originality/value

The paper's value lies in the overall, DSP‐based control of the induction motor supplied with Z‐source inverter gaining the maximum utilization of the input DC supply source and optimum trade‐off between inverter efficiency and inverter components voltage stress.

Details

COMPEL - The international journal for computation and mathematics in electrical and electronic engineering, vol. 31 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0332-1649

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 October 2019

Yaxin Peng, Naiwu Wen, Chaomin Shen, Xiaohuang Zhu and Shihui Ying

Partial alignment for 3 D point sets is a challenging problem for laser calibration and robot calibration due to the unbalance of data sets, especially when the overlap of data…

101

Abstract

Purpose

Partial alignment for 3 D point sets is a challenging problem for laser calibration and robot calibration due to the unbalance of data sets, especially when the overlap of data sets is low. Geometric features can promote the accuracy of alignment. However, the corresponding feature extraction methods are time consuming. The purpose of this paper is to find a framework for partial alignment by an adaptive trimmed strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the authors propose an adaptive trimmed strategy based on point feature histograms (PFH) coding. Second, they obtain an initial transformation based on this partition, which improves the accuracy of the normal direction weighted trimmed iterative closest point (ICP) method. Third, they conduct a series of GPU parallel implementations for time efficiency.

Findings

The initial partition based on PFH feature improves the accuracy of the partial registration significantly. Moreover, the parallel GPU algorithms accelerate the alignment process.

Research limitations/implications

This study is applicable to rigid transformation so far. It could be extended to non-rigid transformation.

Practical implications

In practice, point set alignment for calibration is a technique widely used in the fields of aircraft assembly, industry examination, simultaneous localization and mapping and surgery navigation.

Social implications

Point set calibration is a building block in the field of intelligent manufacturing.

Originality/value

The contributions are as follows: first, the authors introduce a novel coarse alignment as an initial calibration by PFH descriptor similarity, which can be viewed as a coarse trimmed process by partitioning the data to the almost overlap part and the rest part; second, they reduce the computation time by GPU parallel coding during the acquisition of feature descriptor; finally, they use the weighted trimmed ICP method to refine the transformation.

Details

Assembly Automation, vol. 40 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-5154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 July 2015

K. Chitra and A. Jeevanandham

The purpose of this paper is to present the Switched Inductor Z-Source Inverter (SLZSI) topology for three-phase on-line uninterruptible power supply (UPS) by employing third…

287

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the Switched Inductor Z-Source Inverter (SLZSI) topology for three-phase on-line uninterruptible power supply (UPS) by employing third harmonic injected maximum constant boost pulse width modulation (PWM) control. Conventional UPS consists of step-up transformer or boost chopper along with voltage source inverter (VSI) which reduces the efficiency and increases energy conversion cost. The proposed three-phase UPS by using SLZSI has the voltage boost capability through shoot through zero state which is not available in traditional VSI and current source inverter.

Design/methodology/approach

Performance of three-phase on-line UPS based on ZLZSI by using third harmonic injected maximum constant boost PWM control is analyzed and evaluated in MATLAB/Simulink software and the results are compared with Z-source inverter (ZSI) fed UPS. Experimental results are presented for the validation of the simulation and theoretical analysis.

Findings

The output voltages, currents, THD values, voltage stress and efficiencies for different loading condition are determined and compared with the theoretical values and UPS with ZSI. The experimental results validate the theoretical and simulation results.

Originality/value

Compared with the traditional ZSI, the SLZSI provides high-voltage boost inversion ability with a very short shoot through zero state. This proposed UPS by using SLZSI increases the efficiency with less number of components, reduces the harmonics, increases the voltage gain and reduces the voltage stress.

Details

COMPEL: The International Journal for Computation and Mathematics in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, vol. 34 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0332-1649

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 June 2019

Hao Shen, Nan Mei and Yu Gao

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the proper matches between institutional business ties (to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and to banks) and firm capabilities…

663

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the proper matches between institutional business ties (to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and to banks) and firm capabilities (technological capability and marketing capability) in impacting the radical innovation of manufacturing firms in China.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the samples of 208 manufacturing firms in China, this study runs three regression models to test all hypotheses.

Findings

Ties to SOEs and ties to banks are positively related to radical innovation of manufacturing firms in China. Further, the technological capability and marketing capability have different functions on moderating the relationship between institutional business ties and radical innovation.

Practical implications

The results imply that managers of manufacturing firms should strive to establish close connections to those organizations that are set-up by government in China. In addition, managers should cautious about the synergies between different institutional business ties and different internal capabilities, and properly matching them to develop radical innovation.

Originality/value

This study enriches and extends the managerial ties literature by going beyond previous narrow focus on either business ties or political ties to address a particular type of organization that is set-up by the governments but operate in the business world. The findings of proper ties-capabilities matches provide nuanced understandings to dynamically manage external resources and internal capabilities for the synergetic benefits (e.g. radical innovation). This study also offer a theoretical paradigm (i.e. resource management model) for manufacturing firms to lessen the striking tension between the urgent needs for radical innovation and the hostile ground for conducting radical innovation.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 30 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 21 August 2019

Amy Yueh-Fang Ho, Hsin-Yu Liang and Tumenjargal Tumurbaatar

This is the first study to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on corporate financial performance (CFP) in Mongolian banks. We hand-collect data to…

Abstract

This is the first study to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on corporate financial performance (CFP) in Mongolian banks. We hand-collect data to construct CSR disclosure index from 65 annual reports of 12 banks in Mongolia from 2003 to 2012. The results indicate that banks with larger size or Chief Executive Officer duality exhibit higher CSR performance. Moreover, banks with higher CSR performance tend to have higher net interest margin and lower non-performing loan. Furthermore, the CSR–CFP relationship varies before and after the financial crisis. The findings provide meaningful insight to the foreign investors regarding the effect of CSR on the profitability and credit risk in Mongolian banking sector.

Details

Advances in Pacific Basin Business, Economics and Finance
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78973-285-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 July 2012

Yat Hung Chiang, Jing Li, Tracy N.Y. Choi and King Fai Man

The purpose of this study is to present and compare the productive efficiency of China Mainland and China Hong Kong contractors, and to identify and investigate the components and…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to present and compare the productive efficiency of China Mainland and China Hong Kong contractors, and to identify and investigate the components and sources of their efficiency under different economic and institutional environments.

Design/methodology/approach

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a non‐parametric approach to examine the relative efficiency among different firms. This study employs DEA based Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) to compile the efficiency scores of 20 construction companies listed in the Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing Limited (HKEx) from 2004 to 2010.

Findings

A decomposition of MPI suggests that catch‐up effect has contributed more to contractor's efficiency than frontier‐shift effect. Compared to their Mainland counterparts, Hong Kong contractors have higher MPI mainly due to higher efficiency scores in catch‐up effect.

Practical implications

Hong Kong contractors have advantage over Mainland contractors in their managerial and strategic capabilities. Hence Hong Kong contractors should lever on their managerial expertise in accounting, financing and legal services when exporting their services. Meanwhile, Mainland contractors should improve their efficiency by making the most use of their technological and human resources, thus improving upon their international entrepreneurship.

Originality/value

This study is the first attempt to apply MPI to compare the productive efficiency of listed contractors in China Mainland and China Hong Kong. The findings contribute to the body of knowledge for productive efficiency measurement.

Details

Journal of Facilities Management, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-5967

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 18 January 2014

Wei Zhang and Mark Bray

The chapter highlights some of the challenges of research on supplementary education, and indicates ways in which the challenges were tackled in one particular study on Chongqing…

Abstract

Purpose

The chapter highlights some of the challenges of research on supplementary education, and indicates ways in which the challenges were tackled in one particular study on Chongqing Municipality, China.

Design/methodology/approach

The Chongqing research investigated the determinants of demand for shadow education by Grade 9 students, using a mixed-methods design. A questionnaire was used to collect data from students and parents on various background details and on the nature of the tutoring that they or their children had received. Interviews of a smaller number of respondents provided qualitative data that supplemented and illuminated the quantitative responses.

Findings

Different methodological decisions may have different implications. The sampling strategies in the study limited the generalizability but increased the feasibility of the fieldwork and comparability of findings. The top-down strategy of gaining access secured high response rates in the surveys, but to some extent decreased some participants’ willingness to provide information on gray areas. Interviews generated deep and detailed data, but some sensitive topics were intentionally avoided. Informal chats with note taking were constrained in depth and breadth by random time slots and venues, and some details were difficult to record. However, the approach expanded the horizons and facilitated the triangulation of information.

Originality/value

Discussion focuses on collection of data, and stresses the importance of cultural, social, and economic contexts. The chapter may be seen as a case study that provides insights into methods for researching forms of supplementary education. Methodological lessons from the fieldwork in Chongqing have wider relevance, particularly in settings where regular teachers provide extra private classes.

Details

Out of the Shadows: The Global Intensification of Supplementary Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-816-7

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Access to Destinations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-08-044678-3

Article
Publication date: 5 May 2015

Yen-Chun Jim Wu, Ju-Peng Shen and Tsuang Kuo

– This paper aims to explore the holistic picture of sustainability curricula in Asian higher education.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the holistic picture of sustainability curricula in Asian higher education.

Design/methodology/approach

Content analysis was conducted based on Asian management education for sustainability in higher education. Online courses arrangement, teaching methods, instructors’ educational background and cross-referencing data between triple bottom line and sustainability courses have been investigated.

Findings

The paper provides empirical insights about the current state of sustainability education in Asia. The results show that there is an opportunity for interdisciplinary integration, as there are imbalanced sustainability courses offered by business, science and engineering schools. It also suggests that Asian universities should add an international connection and active promotion of sustainability education on their Web sites.

Research limitations/implications

Findings are based on web-based sustainability -related courses. Future research could apply method of case study to do a deeper study.

Practical implications

The paper provides an overview of Asian management education for sustainability and curricula analysis through our research, and that this will further assist in the development of interdisciplinary integration in Asian management education for sustainability.

Originality/value

This paper is the first attempt to gain better understanding of sustainability-related courses offered in leading business/management colleges in Asia.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

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