This paper aims to develop a novel type of bionic underwater robot (BUR) with multi-flexible caudal fins. With the coordinate movement of multi-caudal fins, BUR will combine the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to develop a novel type of bionic underwater robot (BUR) with multi-flexible caudal fins. With the coordinate movement of multi-caudal fins, BUR will combine the undulation propulsion mode of carangiform fish and jet propulsion mode of jellyfish together organically. The use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and experimental method helps to reveal the effect of caudal fin stiffness and motion parameters on its hydrodynamic forces.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the prototype of BUR was given by mimicking the shape and propulsion mechanism of both carangiform fish and jellyfish. Besides, the kinematics models in both undulation and jet propulsion modes were established. Then, the effects of caudal fin stiffness on its hydrodynamic forces were investigated based on the CFD method. Finally, an experimental set-up was developed to test and verify the effects of the caudal fin stiffness on its hydrodynamic forces under different caudal fin actuation frequency and amplitude.
Findings
The results of this paper demonstrate that BUR with multi-flexible caudal fins combines the hydrodynamic characteristics of undulation and jet propulsion modes. In addition, the caudal fin with medium stiffness can generate larger thrust force and reduce the reactive power.
Practical implications
This paper implies that robotic fish can be equipped with both undulation and jet propulsion modes to optimize the swimming performance in the future.
Originality/value
This paper provides a BUR with multi-propulsion modes, which has the merits of high propulsion efficiency, high acceleration performance and overcome the head shaken problem effectively.
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Marc Riar, Nannan Xi, Jakob J. Korbel, Ruediger Zarnekow and Juho Hamari
A current technological trend, which has gained even more traction recently due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is the use of augmented reality (AR) in shopping environments. AR is…
Abstract
Purpose
A current technological trend, which has gained even more traction recently due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is the use of augmented reality (AR) in shopping environments. AR is addressing contemporary challenges rooted in online shopping (e.g. in terms of experientiality and try-on) and is fundamentally reshaping consumers' experiences. The purpose of this study is to provide a synthesized and structured overview of the state-of-the-art research focused on AR shopping.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a systematic literature review of the empirical academic corpus focused on shopping via AR technology.
Findings
The review reveals the diverse psychological (cognitive, affective, and social) as well as behavioral outcomes related to the use of AR in the shopping context. The authors integrate the results into a framework for AR induced consumer behavior in shopping, thereby providing an important overview of the dynamics in AR-related shopping and the factors influencing the adoption of the technology by consumers. Specifically, the authors encountered that the technological abilities of AR (e.g. in terms of interactivity, vividness, informativeness, etc.) are a source for enhanced utilitarian and hedonic shopping experiences that can support intentions to purchase a product, reuse an AR app, or recommend it to others. Importantly, our review reveals the demand for several avenues for future research.
Originality/value
The authors provide an overview and synthesis of how and where AR is employed in shopping contexts, what theories and technological characteristics of AR are commonly analyzed, and what psychological and behavioral outcomes AR has been found to evoke. Based on our findings, the authors derive a framework that illustrates the dynamics in AR shopping and give an in-depth discourse on 13 future research agenda points related to thematic, theoretical, methodological, and technological matters.
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Na Yang, Qin Liao, Qing Li, Peng Zhang and Longqin Li
– The purpose of this paper was to find a simple and easy-operated method for filtering eco-friendly corrosion inhibitors.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to find a simple and easy-operated method for filtering eco-friendly corrosion inhibitors.
Design/methodology/approach
The molecular structures and atomic electronegativities of the four kinds of natural reagents, iota-Carrageenan, sodium alginate, sodium dodecanesulphonate (SDS) and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate were calculated by Gaussian and Natural Bond Orbital, and the corrosion inhibition rates were forecasted by the calculated results. Then, the realistic corrosion inhibition efficiency were confirmed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization tests in 3.5 Wt.% sodium chloride corrosive solutions. At the same time, the function of pefloxacin mesylate (PM) was explored in this paper polarization tests in 3.5 Wt.% sodium chloride corrosive solutions.
Findings
Results showed that the order calculated by the chemical software was correct, and the corrosion inhibition of SDS was the best. Optimum addition of PM not only can reduce microbial corrosion but also can improve the corrosion inhibition by spatial cooperation.
Practical implications
This method can be used to filter eco-friendly corrosion inhibitors quickly. PM can be also used to improve the corrosion inhibition rate of corrosion inhibitors.
Originality/value
The present method to filter corrosion inhibitors was time-consuming, which needed lots of experiments to verify the corrosion inhibitive efficiency. The calculated method was simpler than others, which need complicated calculation process.
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Khaled El-Shamandi Ahmed, Anupama Ambika and Russell Belk
This paper examines what the use of an augmented reality (AR) makeup mirror means to consumers, focusing on experiential consumption and the extended self.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines what the use of an augmented reality (AR) makeup mirror means to consumers, focusing on experiential consumption and the extended self.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employed a multimethod approach involving netnography and semi-structured interviews with participants in India and the UK (n = 30).
Findings
Two main themes emerged from the data: (1) the importance of imagination and fantasy and (2) the (in)authenticity of the self and the surrounding “reality.”
Research limitations/implications
This research focuses on AR magic makeup mirror. The authors call for further research on different AR contexts.
Practical implications
The authors provide service managers with insights on addressing gaps between the perceived service (i.e. AR contexts and the makeup consumption journey) and the conceived service (i.e. fantasies and the extended self).
Originality/value
The authors examine the lived fantasy experiences of AR experiential consumption. In addition, the authors reveal a novel understanding of the extended self as temporarily re-envisioned through the AR mirror.
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China's agricultural production trusteeship is characterized by the organic link between household operation of small-scale peasant economy and agricultural socialized services…
Abstract
Purpose
China's agricultural production trusteeship is characterized by the organic link between household operation of small-scale peasant economy and agricultural socialized services, which releases agricultural development vitality and promotes agricultural modernization. As one of the agricultural production trusteeship modes, the whole process trusteeship is suitable for the actual situation of China's aging population and labor force transfer. This paper aims to construct an evolutionary game model containing multistakeholder to explore the behavior decisions through numerical simulation and to provide useful suggestions for the formation of a positive and stable trusteeship relationship and the sound development of the whole process trusteeship of agricultural production.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper incorporates village committees, service organizations and farmers into the same research framework, selects “guarantee + dividends” as the income distribution method and applies the evolutionary game method to analyze behavioral choices and evolutionary paths of stakeholders. By constructing the expectation function, establishing the replicator dynamic equations and analyzing the tripartite evolutionary stability strategy, the authors explore the factors that affect the stakeholders’ strategy choice and determine asymptotically stable points and stability conditions.
Findings
(1) There is a game relationship among village committees, farmers and service organizations in the whole process trusteeship of agricultural production, asymptotically stable points (0,0,1) and (1,1,1) are obtained through calculation. (2) The proportion of stakeholders' strategy choice, the weight of the whole process trusteeship of agricultural production in the performance appraisal of the village committee, the village committee's supervision cost, the village committee's reputation effect and the penalty for false dividends of the service organization will affect the speed at which the curve representing the tripartite relationship approaches two asymptotically stable points.
Research limitations/implications
The countermeasures proposed in the paper have excellent reference value. (1) For areas that have realized the project: Village committees can solve the trusteeship problems exposed in the initial areas and improve farmers' satisfaction with the project. (2) For areas that have not realized the project: Those regions will receive more experience references and enhance their confidence in this project. The limitation of the paper is that it takes the main grain-producing areas in only the three northeastern provinces of China as the research object. The next research object will be extended to the whole country.
Practical implications
This paper propose strategies for realizing the orderly operation of the whole process trusteeship of agricultural production: first, increase the proportion of stakeholders' strategy choices; second, reduce the village committee's supervision cost; third, increase the weight of the whole process trusteeship of agricultural production in the performance appraisal of the village committee; fourth, improve the village committee's reputation effect; fifth, increase the penalty for false dividends of the service organization.
Originality/value
Agricultural production trusteeship is in its initial stage in China. The interest relationships between stakeholders are not yet clear. The paper innovatively applies the evolutionary game method to the research field of the whole process trusteeship of agricultural production. According to conditions in China, based on ensuring the guaranteed income, the paper introduces the dividend income variable and establishes a tripartite game model of village committees, service organization and farmers. The paper provides suggestions for the orderly and healthy development of China's agricultural production trusteeship and provides experience for the operation of other modes of agricultural production trusteeship.
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Alireza Nazarian, Ehsan Zaeri, Pantea Foroudi, Amirreza Afrouzi and Peter Atkinson
This study explores the impact of ethical and authentic leadership on employees' workplace perceptions, focusing on organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), trust in leader…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the impact of ethical and authentic leadership on employees' workplace perceptions, focusing on organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), trust in leader, commitment, employee voice and empowerment in independent hotels across two contrasting Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) clusters: Germanic and Middle-Eastern clusters. It examines how national culture influences these relationships in the hospitality industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 1,678 employees in independent hotels in the Germanic European cluster (Germany and the Netherlands) and the Middle-Eastern cluster (Qatar and Turkey) using selective and snowball sampling techniques. Hypotheses were tested using two-stage structural equation modelling.
Findings
Ethical leadership significantly affects employee voice in Germany and the Netherlands but not in Qatar and Turkey. Authentic leadership positively influences employee voice in Qatar, Turkey and Germany but does not significantly impact trust in leader in any of the four countries. The study underscores the role of cultural dimensions, particularly power distance, in shaping these relationships.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the literature by investigating the effects of ethical and authentic leadership on key organisational variables in culturally diverse contexts within the hospitality industry. The findings highlight the necessity of considering national culture in leadership practices and suggest practical implications for independent hotels to adapt their leadership approaches to enhance employee outcomes. Future research should explore cultural dimensions as moderators in organisational relationships.
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Alexandre Cappellozza, Gustavo Hermínio Salati Marcondes de Moraes, Gilberto Perez and Alessandra Lourenço Simões
This paper aims to investigate the influence of moral disengagement, perceived penalty, negative experiences and turnover intention on the intention to violate the established…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the influence of moral disengagement, perceived penalty, negative experiences and turnover intention on the intention to violate the established security rules.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used involves two stages of analysis, using techniques of structural equation modeling and artificial intelligence with neural networks, based on information collected from 318 workers of organizational information systems.
Findings
The model provides a reasonable prediction regarding the intention to violate information security policies (ISP). The results revealed that the relationships of moral disengagement and perceived penalty significantly influence such an intention.
Research limitations/implications
This research presents a multi-analytical approach that expands the robustness of the results by the complementarity of each analysis technique. In addition, it offers scientific evidence of the factors that reinforce the cognitive processes that involve workers’ decision-making in security breaches.
Practical implications
The practical recommendation is to improve organizational communication to mitigate information security vulnerabilities in several ways, namely, training actions that simulate daily work routines; exposing the consequences of policy violations; disseminating internal newsletters with examples of inappropriate behavior.
Social implications
Results indicate that information security does not depend on the employees’ commitment to the organization; system vulnerabilities can be explored even by employees committed to the companies.
Originality/value
The study expands the knowledge about the individual factors that make information security in companies vulnerable, one of the few in the literature which aims to offer an in-depth perspective on which individual antecedent factors affect the violation of ISP.
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Caroline Olufunke Esangbedo, Jingxiao Zhang, Pablo Ballesteros-Pérez and Martin Skitmore
This study aims to investigate the relationship between supply chain leadership, digital supply chain practices and corporate sustainability strategies on the sustainability…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relationship between supply chain leadership, digital supply chain practices and corporate sustainability strategies on the sustainability performance of logistics firms in Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest economies. It indicates that collaborative efforts within the supply chain context can improve sustainability performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 468 firms in a major sub-Saharan African market were collected through a structured questionnaire. The analysis used descriptive statistics, principal component analysis and hierarchical regression analysis. Factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha analysis were used to assess the validity and reliability of the instrument.
Findings
The results of this study reveal significant findings: proactive sustainability strategies exert a substantial positive effect on sustainability performance (β = 0.694, SE = 0.025, p < 0.01). Even when proactive sustainability strategies are included in the model, the positive impact of reactive sustainability strategies remains significant (β = 0.694, SE = 0.025, p < 0.01: Model 5). Regarding the moderating role of proactive and reactive corporate sustainability strategies, there is a notable interaction effect between supply chain leadership and proactive sustainability strategies concerning sustainability performance (p < 0.05). This confirms the positive relationship between supply chain leadership and sustainability performance when proactive sustainability strategies are at a high level (β = 0.844, SE = 0.0010, p < 0.01), supporting H4 that this relationship strengthens with higher levels of proactive sustainability strategies. Conversely, for Hypothesis H5, the interaction effect of reactive sustainability strategies with supply chain leadership changes the relationship from significantly positive to significantly negative (β = −0.068, SE = 0.0009, p < 0.01). Using the Baron and Kenny approach to test mediation, the mediating effect of digital supply on digital leadership is significant (β = 0.345, p = 0.000, p < 0.01). Furthermore, the effect of digital supply on sustainability performance is statistically significant (β = 0.081, p = 0.006, p < 0.01), as is the effect of digital leadership on sustainability performance (β = 0.181, p = 0.000, p < 0.01). These results indicate a mediation effect of digital supply.
Research limitations/implications
This study of logistic management has limitations, including its cross-sectional nature, which precludes the establishment of causality, thus necessitating longitudinal research to determine causal relationships. In addition, the focus on Nigerian firms, which vary significantly in their stages of learning and institutional development, emphasizes the need for further research in diverse contexts. Future studies should examine alternative institutional environments or developed economies to validate these assumptions. Another limitation is the potential for bias due to six employees rating their firms on each variable; therefore, using multiple data sources is recommended to objectively evaluate the validity of the self-reported questionnaire.
Practical implications
This study advises managers to exercise caution when selecting between proactive and reactive sustainability strategies to enhance sustainability performance. Proactive strategies reinforce the relationship between supply chain leadership and sustainability performance, while reactive strategies diminish it. Therefore, managers are encouraged to adopt more proactive strategies. This paper suggests that managers in emerging economies should recognize the distinct impacts of proactive sustainability strategies and allocate more resources toward them to improve sustainability performance, even in competitive markets. In addition, it highlights the importance of digital supply in fostering sustainability performance.
Originality/value
This study presents a novel perspective on the moderating role of corporate sustainability strategies in the relationship between supply chain leadership and the sustainability performance of logistics firms. It provides empirical evidence and fresh insights on proactive and reactive sustainability strategies for logistics firms in Nigeria. The findings highlight that proactive sustainability strategies enhance the connection between supply chain leadership and sustainability performance, whereas reactive strategies do not.
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Mohammad Faraz Naim and Usha Lenka
This paper aims to examine the relationship between workplace use of social media, collaboration and Gen Y employees’ engagement.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the relationship between workplace use of social media, collaboration and Gen Y employees’ engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 209 Indian Gen Y employees from information technology industry participated in the survey. Structural equation modelling is used to test the research hypotheses.
Findings
Findings reveal that social media has a significant positive effect on collaboration, which leads to Gen Y employees’ perceived learning, in turn impacting Gen Y employees’ engagement.
Research limitations/implications
Findings suggest a social media-enabled approach of collaboration to satisfy Gen Y employees’ perceived learning leading to their engagement. However, this study only examines the employees’ perspective; it will be prudent to examine management perspective as well in future studies.
Practical implications
Organisations must integrate social media into their talent management strategy.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature in human resources pertaining to social media as an asset to promote collaboration and develops a linkage between social media and Gen Y employees’ engagement via perceived learning.
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Meby Mathew, Mervin Joe Thomas, M.G. Navaneeth, Shifa Sulaiman, A.N. Amudhan and A.P. Sudheer
The purpose of this review paper is to address the substantial challenges of the outdated exoskeletons used for rehabilitation and further study the current advancements in this…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this review paper is to address the substantial challenges of the outdated exoskeletons used for rehabilitation and further study the current advancements in this field. The shortcomings and technological developments in sensing the input signals to enable the desired motions, actuation, control and training methods are explained for further improvements in exoskeleton research.
Design/methodology/approach
Search platforms such as Web of Science, IEEE, Scopus and PubMed were used to collect the literature. The total number of recent articles referred to in this review paper with relevant keywords is filtered to 143.
Findings
Exoskeletons are getting smarter often with the integration of various modern tools to enhance the effectiveness of rehabilitation. The recent applications of bio signal sensing for rehabilitation to perform user-desired actions promote the development of independent exoskeleton systems. The modern concepts of artificial intelligence and machine learning enable the implementation of brain–computer interfacing (BCI) and hybrid BCIs in exoskeletons. Likewise, novel actuation techniques are necessary to overcome the significant challenges seen in conventional exoskeletons, such as the high-power requirements, poor back drivability, bulkiness and low energy efficiency. Implementation of suitable controller algorithms facilitates the instantaneous correction of actuation signals for all joints to obtain the desired motion. Furthermore, applying the traditional rehabilitation training methods is monotonous and exhausting for the user and the trainer. The incorporation of games, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies in exoskeletons has made rehabilitation training far more effective in recent times. The combination of electroencephalogram and electromyography-based hybrid BCI is desirable for signal sensing and controlling the exoskeletons based on user intentions. The challenges faced with actuation can be resolved by developing advanced power sources with minimal size and weight, easy portability, lower cost and good energy storage capacity. Implementation of novel smart materials enables a colossal scope for actuation in future exoskeleton developments. Improved versions of sliding mode control reported in the literature are suitable for robust control of nonlinear exoskeleton models. Optimizing the controller parameters with the help of evolutionary algorithms is also an effective method for exoskeleton control. The experiments using VR/AR and games for rehabilitation training yielded promising results as the performance of patients improved substantially.
Research limitations/implications
Robotic exoskeleton-based rehabilitation will help to reduce the fatigue of physiotherapists. Repeated and intention-based exercise will improve the recovery of the affected part at a faster pace. Improved rehabilitation training methods like VR/AR-based technologies help in motivating the subject.
Originality/value
The paper describes the recent methods for signal sensing, actuation, control and rehabilitation training approaches used in developing exoskeletons. All these areas are key elements in an exoskeleton where the review papers are published very limitedly. Therefore, this paper will stand as a guide for the researchers working in this domain.