Venketesh N. Dubey and Richard M. Crowder
The purpose of this paper is to present the design and analysis of a robotic finger mechanism for robust industrial applications.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the design and analysis of a robotic finger mechanism for robust industrial applications.
Design/methodology/approach
The resultant design is a compact rigid link finger, which is adaptive to different shapes and sizes providing necessary grasping features. A number of such fingers can be assembled to function as a special purpose end effector.
Findings
The mechanism removes a number of significant problems usually experienced with tendon‐based designs. The finger actuation mechanism forms a compact and positive drive unit within the end effector's body using solid mechanical linkages and integrated actuators.
Practical implications
The paper discusses the design issues associated with a limited number of actuators to operate in a constrained environment and presents various considerations necessary to ensure safe and reliable operations.
Originality/value
The design is original in existence and developed for special purpose handling applications that offers a strong and reliable system where space and safety is of prime concern.
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Andrew D. Madden, Sheila Webber, Nigel Ford and Mary Crowder
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between preferred choice of school subject and student information behaviour (IB).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between preferred choice of school subject and student information behaviour (IB).
Design/methodology/approach
Mixed methods were employed. In all, 152 students, teachers and librarians participated in interviews or focus groups. In total, 1,375 students, key stage 3 (11-14 years) to postgraduate, responded to a questionnaire. The research population was drawn from eight schools, two further education colleges and three universities. Insights from the literature review and the qualitative research phase led to a hypothesis which was investigated using the questionnaire: that students studying hard subjects are less likely to engage in deep IB than students studying soft subjects.
Findings
Results support the hypothesis that preferences for subjects at school affect choice of university degree. The hypothesis that a preference for hard or soft subjects affects IB is supported by results of an analysis in which like or dislike of maths/ICT is correlated with responses to the survey. Interviewees’ comments led to the proposal that academic subjects can be classified according to whether a subject helps students to acquire a “tool of the Mind” or to apply such a tool. A model suggesting how IB may differ depending on whether intellectual tools are being acquired or applied is proposed.
Practical implications
The “inner logic” of certain subjects and their pedagogies appears closely linked to IB. This should be considered when developing teaching programmes.
Originality/value
The findings offer a new perspective on subject classification and its association with IB, and a new model of the association between IB and tool acquisition or application is proposed, incorporating the perspectives of both teacher and student.
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Richard Greenough, Devendra Fakun and John Kay
This paper describes the development and evaluation of an information system to identify spare parts associated with an automated assembly machine that is part of a Ford engine…
Abstract
This paper describes the development and evaluation of an information system to identify spare parts associated with an automated assembly machine that is part of a Ford engine assembly line. The information system is a digital manual, similar to a class of document called an integrated electronic technical manual. The requirements of teams of users in the engine plant are described before explaining the use of multimedia tools to create a suitable information system. The result is a collection of digital documents connected by hyperlinks to form a digital manual. Usability trials indicated that maintenance technicians and line operators would actually use such a manual in the factory. Ford maintenance managers indicated that such a manual would benefit them and the benefits are presented in detail. A version of the manual was developed for data collection and it is suggested that, in future, such manuals might be the factory users’ interface to a computerised maintenance management system.
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‘Decent work’. The very phrase conjures up a range of images and interpretations. But what does it mean for practitioners? What does it mean for academics? Much has been spoken…
Abstract
‘Decent work’. The very phrase conjures up a range of images and interpretations. But what does it mean for practitioners? What does it mean for academics? Much has been spoken, and even more has been written, but there is still little consensus as to how these questions can be answered. This book aims to offer some answers by exploring the increasingly relevant topic of Decent Work from a range of perspectives. This initial chapter introduces readers to the purpose, rationale and structure of the book. It offers a description of the concept of Decent Work and introduces readers to the work of the Decent Work and Productivity Research Centre of Manchester Metropolitan University.
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Kevin Albertson, Christina Purcell and Richard Whittle
This chapter looks at the history of work from a social, economic and political perspective. It analyzes the beginning of work and of industrial relations, on a global scale. It…
Abstract
This chapter looks at the history of work from a social, economic and political perspective. It analyzes the beginning of work and of industrial relations, on a global scale. It goes on to speculate on in what way work will evolve in the immediate future, given technological change and ecological pressures.
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The author reviews the concept of echoic memory. The topics of the modality advantage of echoic over visually received stimuli, the suffix effect, echoic trace duration, and…
Abstract
The author reviews the concept of echoic memory. The topics of the modality advantage of echoic over visually received stimuli, the suffix effect, echoic trace duration, and speech recognition are examined. These concepts are then discussed and their implications for advertising communication are examined.
Engages in debate regarding immigrants and ethnicity in the USA. Research, based on second‐generation West Indian immigrants, shows ethnicity has very real implications for…
Abstract
Engages in debate regarding immigrants and ethnicity in the USA. Research, based on second‐generation West Indian immigrants, shows ethnicity has very real implications for immigrants’ life experience. Suggests that black immigrants complicate the slight understanding of blackness in general, but also the understanding of identity development.