Mitch Beaumont, Ben Thuriaux-Alemán, Prashanth Prasad and Chandler Hatton
According to the authors research, Agile approaches are increasingly being deployed successfully alongside phase-gate processes in engineering and R&D functions outside software…
Abstract
Purpose
According to the authors research, Agile approaches are increasingly being deployed successfully alongside phase-gate processes in engineering and R&D functions outside software, with a very positive result.
Design/methodology/approach
An Agile approach to product development has been a mainstay of the software industry since the turn of the century. In recent years, some non-software product-based companies have successfully combined both Agile and non-Agile methods in a complementary way to pursue breakthrough innovation. The article reports on how to make this combination work.
Findings
The study found companies adopting two general approaches when trying to introduce Agile into an existing phase-gate process: integrating Agile into a single innovation process or adding a partly parallel Agile path.
Practical implications
As a measure of Agile’s potential, the software industry has consistently produced patents at three times the level of the next-most prolific sectors.
Originality/value
Arthur D. Little’s research reveals that companies that have successfully added Agile methods to their toolboxes and tailor their innovation approaches by the type of innovation – incremental or breakthrough–perform significantly better than those that stick to single phase-gate approach.
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Muralidhar Vaman Kamath, Shrilaxmi Prashanth, Mithesh Kumar and Adithya Tantri
The compressive strength of concrete depends on many interdependent parameters; its exact prediction is not that simple because of complex processes involved in strength…
Abstract
Purpose
The compressive strength of concrete depends on many interdependent parameters; its exact prediction is not that simple because of complex processes involved in strength development. This study aims to predict the compressive strength of normal concrete and high-performance concrete using four datasets.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, five established individual Machine Learning (ML) regression models have been compared: Decision Regression Tree, Random Forest Regression, Lasso Regression, Ridge Regression and Multiple-Linear regression. Four datasets were studied, two of which are previous research datasets, and two datasets are from the sophisticated lab using five established individual ML regression models.
Findings
The five statistical indicators like coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute error, root mean squared error, Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency and mean absolute percentage error have been used to compare the performance of the models. The models are further compared using statistical indicators with previous studies. Lastly, to understand the variable effect of the predictor, the sensitivity and parametric analysis were carried out to find the performance of the variable.
Originality/value
The findings of this paper will allow readers to understand the factors involved in identifying the machine learning models and concrete datasets. In so doing, we hope that this research advances the toolset needed to predict compressive strength.
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Soma Chaudhuri, Preethi Krishnan and Mangala Subramaniam
Over the past few years, the electronic media, as represented by the internet version of print media and independent blogs of journalists, has become a major player in the…
Abstract
Over the past few years, the electronic media, as represented by the internet version of print media and independent blogs of journalists, has become a major player in the coverage of incidents related to violence against women. While this has brought forward issues of violence and specifically rape prominently into the public sphere, the media portrayal of women has often been as victims or victims who are somehow responsible for the violence against them. Such portrayal has been repeatedly challenged by feminists. Using data from 572 national and international English media reports for a six-month period (from December 2012 to April 2013) the coverage of the protests about the 2012 case of gang rape and eventual death of Jyoti Singh Pandey in India’s capital city, New Delhi, is examined in this chapter. Drawing from past research, three main frames are discerned in the portrayal of women in the reports: mainstreaming gender, endangered woman, and the ungendered woman. Media portrayals of these three frames by three broadly categorized actors most prominently covered by the media reports are analyzed: activists, state representatives or political actors, and ordinary citizens. The findings suggest that while some reports allude to women’s agency and rights particularly when they cover feminist activists, women’s agency is marginalized in the debates around safety and protection for women when other actors (such as state representatives or political actors, and ordinary citizens) are considered. Indian women’s rights have been reduced to passive messages negating the broader politics of the contemporary women’s movement.
Suvarna Hiremath, Ansumalini Panda, Prashantha C. and Srinivas Subbarao Pasumarti
Food and grocery, which accounts for around 60% of the overall retail market in India, is the most promising area for launching a retail firm. The objective of this research paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Food and grocery, which accounts for around 60% of the overall retail market in India, is the most promising area for launching a retail firm. The objective of this research paper is to conduct a thorough investigation of the impact of customers’ geographic, demographic and psychographic characteristics on the selection of retail store format choice behavior in the quickly growing Indian food and grocery retail industry, also to analyze the mediating role of store image on the store choice behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive research design is used to collect data using the survey method and a structured questionnaire. The data collected from more than 400 food and grocery retail customers from neighborhood Kirana stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets in Karnataka, India, would be analyzed using both descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and Structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques. SEM techniques are used for validation of the model with independent constructs namely Demographics factors, Socio-Economic factors, Geographic factors, Lifestyle and Shopping Motives, a Mediating variable Store Image, and a dependent variable Store choice behavior. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is used to examine the suggested theoretical framework.
Findings
The model is tested to reveal the impact of shoppers’ age, gender, occupation, education, monthly household income, family size, and distance traveled to the store, which all play a role in their retail format choice. Also, the socio economic and life style factors of shoppers influence their purchasing decisions as well; store image partially mediates between customer characteristics and store choice behavior.
Implications
The study has practical implications for food and grocery retailer in understanding customer behavior in the context of changing customer demographic and psychographic features in the Indian retailing sector. The findings aid retail merchants, allowing them to develop more successful retail marketing strategies and gain a competitive advantage.
Originality
This study could serve as a springboard for future research in this field. Retail marketers will benefit from the findings in terms of format creation and reorientation of marketing strategies in the shortest time.
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Md. Hazrat Ali, Shaheidula Batai and Dastan Sarbassov
This study highlights the demand for low-cost and high accuracy products through the design and development of new 3D printing technologies. Besides, significant progress has been…
Abstract
Purpose
This study highlights the demand for low-cost and high accuracy products through the design and development of new 3D printing technologies. Besides, significant progress has been made in this field. A comparative study helps to understand the latest development in materials and future prospect of this technology.
Design/methodology/approach
Nevertheless, a large amount of progress still remains to be made. While some of the works have focused on the performances of the materials, the rest have focused on the development of new methods and techniques in additive manufacturing.
Findings
This paper critically evaluates the current 3D printing technologies, including the development and optimizations made to the printing methods, as well as the printed objects. Meanwhile, previous developments in this area and contributions to the modern trend in manufacturing technology are summarized briefly.
Originality/value
The paper can be summarized in three sections. Firstly, the existing printing methods along with the frequently used printing materials, as well as the processing parameters, and the factors which influence the quality and mechanical performances of the printed objects are discussed. Secondly, the optimization techniques, such as topology, shape, structure and mechanical property, are described. Thirdly, the latest development and applications of additive manufacturing are depicted, and the scope of future research in the relevant area is put forward.
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Keywords
G. Raghuram and Prashanth D. Udayakumar
GMR Infrastructure Limited (GMRIL) had to make a decision on its continued role in the 555.48 km Kishangarh Udaipur Ahmedabad (KUA) Expressway Project, India's then longest road…
Abstract
GMR Infrastructure Limited (GMRIL) had to make a decision on its continued role in the 555.48 km Kishangarh Udaipur Ahmedabad (KUA) Expressway Project, India's then longest road public-private partnership (PPP) project. GMR had terminated the contract citing NHAI's failure in fulfilling Conditions Precedent (CP) of providing (i) environment clearance (EC), (ii) revised toll free notification and (iii) 80% of required land. The case intends to educate the reader on the concessionaire-authority dynamics in typical Indian infrastructure PPPs. Taking into account its internal strategy, the extant unfavourable investment climate, the Central Government's steps to revive private interest in the highways sector and NHAI's quick turnaround in fulfilling CP, GMR had to decide how to respond.
Details
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Keywords
Jie Wan, Biao Chen, Jianghua Shen, Katsuyoshi Kondoh, Shuiqing Liu and Jinshan Li
The metallic alloys and their components fabricated via laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) suffer from the microvoids formed inevitably due to the extreme solidification rate during…
Abstract
Purpose
The metallic alloys and their components fabricated via laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) suffer from the microvoids formed inevitably due to the extreme solidification rate during fabrication, which are impossible to be removed by heat treatment. This paper aims to remove those microvoids in as-built AlSi10Mg alloys by hot forging and enhance their mechanical properties.
Design/methodology/approach
AlSi10Mg samples were built using prealloyed powder with a set of optimized LPBF parameters, viz. 350 W of laser power, 1,170 mm/s of scan speed, 50 µm of layer thickness and 0.24 mm of hatch spacing. As-built samples were preheated to 430°C followed by immediate pressing with two different thickness reductions of 10% and 35%. The effect of hot forging on the microstructure was analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, electron backscattered diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Tensile tests were performed to reveal the effect of hot forging on the mechanical properties.
Findings
By using hot forging, the large number of microvoids in both as-built and post heat-treated samples were mostly healed. Moreover, the Si particles were finer in forged condition (∼150 nm) compared with those in heat-treated condition (∼300 nm). Tensile tests showed that compared with heat treatment, the hot forging process could noticeably increase tensile strength at no expense of ductility. Consequently, the toughness (integration of tensile stress and strain) of forged alloy increased by ∼86% and ∼24% compared with as-built and heat-treated alloys, respectively.
Originality/value
Hot forging can effectively remove the inevitable microvoids in metals fabricated via LPBF, which is beneficial to the mechanical properties. These findings are inspiring for the evolution of the LPBF technique to eliminate the microvoids and boost the mechanical properties of metals fabricated via LPBF.
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Mustafa Safa Yılmaz, Gökhan Özer, Zafer Çağatay Öter and Onur Ertuğrul
This paper aims to investigate the effects of various heat treatments on microstructure, hardness, porosity and corrosion properties of the parts.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the effects of various heat treatments on microstructure, hardness, porosity and corrosion properties of the parts.
Design/methodology/approach
Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) process, various heat treatments and their combinations were applied to the AlSi10Mg parts produced by direct laser metal sintering (DMLS).
Findings
It has been found that the HIP process, which is a post-processing process, reduces the amount of porosity in DMLS-AlSi10Mg material, thus improves corrosion resistance significantly.
Originality/value
In this study, the HIP process and subsequent T6 heat treatments were applied to AlSi10Mg parts produced by the DMLS technique. The study aims to increase the corrosion resistance of AlSi10Mg parts by reducing porosity with the HIP process and by altering the microstructure with the T6 process.