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Automated visual inspection is vital in the production of manufactured products acceptable to world market standards. The volatile nature of the consumer markets is placing increased emphasis on manufacturers to produce cheaper products of higher quality. With increasingly more manufacturers implementing advanced manufacturing principles to perform agile manufacturing, the need for cost‐effective, automated quality control has been highlighted. This paper proposes a cost‐effective, automated, visual inspection system capable of performing in‐process verification in the flexible manufacturing environment.

Automated inspection of the inner surface of a pipe can be achieved by a mobile robot. Pipe inspection is necessary to locate defects due to corrosion and wear while the pipe is transporting fluids. Pipe inspection devices are available for these tasks; they commonly use ultrasonic or magnetic flux variation to detect defects. Says that the magnitude of the costs involved in the development and implementation of these inspection techniques is such that it inhibits their more frequent and widespread use. Posits that the automated pipe inspection robot presented is a proposed cost‐effective alternative solution. The inspection device is a PC‐based design that uses mechatronic principles to ensure a purposeful interaction between the robot and its environment.

This chapter reviews recent developments in sustainability regarding cities of the world. Using the approach of a literature review, this chapter highlights sustainability innovations in the context of cities. The chapter identifies several indexes which assess quality of life (QOL) or prosperity in cities of the world. One web-based index which relies heavily on the inputs of citizens around the world is Numbeo. The literature review identifies ways cities have pursued climate change mitigation through encouragement of electrical vehicles and alternative modes of transportation. Innovations that have become controversial in cities are also identified. Analysis of Numbeo suggests this index shows promise of future value for researchers interested in city QOL—specifically its pollution perceptions index. As urbanization continues with more than half of the world's population now residing in cities, interest in the sustainability of cities will intensify. Sustainability indexes for cities are now being developed. Analysis of Numbeo's novel approach to gauging the pollution of cities through the reports of hundreds of thousands of individuals living around the world suggests that this approach holds promise for future development. While other disciplines have taken focus on city sustainability, this is the first study within the domain of marketing research to provide an overview of city sustainability for marketing researchers and to analyze a new way of measuring a component of city QOL—perceptions of city pollution. Results suggest that valuable results will likely be forthcoming as researches continue developing city sustainability measures and indexes in the future.

Of all of the educational tools used in social studies education, by far the most critiqued is the standard basal textbook. If used properly, nevertheless, textbooks are not as problematic as critics claim and can be a useful tool in the teaching and learning of social studies and history. Based on the focus found in the Common Core Standards on informational texts, the practicality of using textbooks is especially true in today’s educational environment. This article was written with the goal of helping social studies teachers develop lessons that assist their students in meeting the requirements of the Common Core. One specific strategy is described to offer teachers an example of how to effectively use their textbook in a Common Core focused and social studies content-based activity. A sample lesson, based on an inquiry activity titled “Hollywood or History,” is provided.