Search results

1 – 10 of over 2000
Article
Publication date: 13 June 2024

Chen Yu and Wei Tian

This paper aims to investigate the application of 3D printing technology, particularly using sand-type materials, in the creation of artificial rock models for rock mechanics…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the application of 3D printing technology, particularly using sand-type materials, in the creation of artificial rock models for rock mechanics experimentation.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a comprehensive analysis, this research explores the utilization of 3D printing technology in rock mechanics. Sand-type materials are specifically investigated for their ability to replicate natural rock characteristics. The methodology involves a review of recent achievements and experimentation in this field.

Findings

The study reveals that sand-type 3D printing materials demonstrate comparable properties to natural rocks, including brittle characteristics, surface roughness, microstructural features and crack propagation patterns.

Research limitations/implications

While the research establishes the viability of sand-type 3D printing materials, it acknowledges limitations such as the need for further exploration and validation. Generalizability may be constrained, warranting additional research to address these limitations.

Originality/value

This research contributes insights into the potential application of sand-type 3D printing materials in indoor rock physics experiments. The findings may guide future endeavors in fabricating rock specimens with consistent structures for practical rock mechanics applications.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 30 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 March 2017

Chia-Huei Wu, Amy Wei Tian, Aleksandra Luksyte and Christiane Spitzmueller

The purpose of this paper is to offer an autonomous motivation perspective to explore the relationship between perceived overqualification and adaptive work behavior and examine…

1712

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer an autonomous motivation perspective to explore the relationship between perceived overqualification and adaptive work behavior and examine job autonomy as a factor that may moderate the association.

Design/methodology/approach

The hypotheses were tested in two culturally, demographically, and functionally diverse samples: sample 1 was based on North American community college employees (n=215); sample 2 was based on full-time workers, employed in a Chinese state-owned enterprise specializing in shipping (n=148).

Findings

In study 1, perceived overqualification was negatively related to self-rated adaptive behavior. A follow-up study 2 extended these findings by demonstrating that perceived overqualification was negatively related to supervisor-rated adaptive work behavior when job autonomy was low, rather than high.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this research offer an autonomous motivation perspective to explain why perceived overqualification relates to adaptive behavior and suggests a job design approach to encourage adaptive behaviors of people who feel overqualified – a sizable segment of the current workforce.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to explore adaptive behavior of workers who feel overqualified – an outcome that has not been examined in this domain. The findings further point out what can be done to encourage adaptive behaviors among overqualified employees.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 46 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 52 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Article
Publication date: 3 April 2019

Xiangzhi Wei, Xianda Li, Shanshan Wen, Yu Zheng and Yaobin Tian

For any 3D model with chambers to be fabricated in powder-bed additive manufacturing processes such as SLM and SLS, powders are trapped in the chambers of the finished model. This…

Abstract

Purpose

For any 3D model with chambers to be fabricated in powder-bed additive manufacturing processes such as SLM and SLS, powders are trapped in the chambers of the finished model. This paper aims to design a shortest network with the least number of outlets for efficiently leaking the trapped powders.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a nonlinear objective with linear constraints for solving the channel design problem and a particle swarm optimization algorithm to solve the nonlinear system.

Findings

Structural optimization for the channel network leads to fairly short channels in the interior of the 3D models and very few outlets on the model surface, which achieves the cleaning of the powders while causing almost the least changes to the model.

Originality/value

This paper reveals the NP-harness of computing the shortest channel network with the least number of outlets. The proposed approach helps the design of lightweight models using the powder-bed additive manufacturing techniques.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 25 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 May 2018

Amy Wei Tian and Christine Soo

The purpose of this paper is to offer an understanding of the development and consequence of absorptive capacity (AC) at the individual level of analysis. The authors assess how…

1139

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer an understanding of the development and consequence of absorptive capacity (AC) at the individual level of analysis. The authors assess how perception of organizational commitment to learning and intrinsic motivation affects individual potential AC, and employee creativity and job performance as the key outcomes of individual AC. Furthermore, the authors examined the dual role of realized AC as a mediator in the potential AC-creativity relationship, and a moderator on the creativity-job performance relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws from 125 paired supervisor-employee survey data, where supervisors rated subordinates’ creativity and job performance. Hierarchical regression was used to test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The results confirm that both perception of organizational commitment to learning and intrinsic motivation contribute to the development of individual potential AC (above and beyond extrinsic motivation). Individual realized AC mediated the potential AC-creativity relationship. Employee creativity was positively related to job performance.

Research limitations/implications

This study speaks directly to the question of how an organization can encourage its employees to absorb new knowledge, and the benefits of employee learning activities on their creativity and job performance.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to offer a more nuanced understanding of the development and consequences of individual AC – a level of analysis has been lack of empirical studies. It further point out how individual characteristic and perceptions can influence their learning capacity, and in turn, their performance.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 47 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 April 2022

Junshan Hu, Xinyue Sun, Wei Tian, Shanyong Xuan, Yang Yan, Wang Changrui and Wenhe Liao

Aerospace assembly demands high drilling position accuracy for fastener holes. Hole position error correction is a key issue to meet the required hole position accuracy. This…

Abstract

Purpose

Aerospace assembly demands high drilling position accuracy for fastener holes. Hole position error correction is a key issue to meet the required hole position accuracy. This paper aims to propose a combined hole position error correction method to achieve high positioning accuracy.

Design/methodology/approach

The bilinear interpolation surface function based on the shape of the aerospace structure is capable of dealing with position error of non-gravity deformation. A gravity deformation model is developed based on mechanics theory to efficiently correct deformation error caused by gravity. Moreover, three solution strategies of the average, least-squares and genetic optimization algorithms are used to solve the coefficients in the gravity deformation model to further improve position accuracy and efficiency.

Findings

Experimental validation shows that the combined position error correction method proposed in this paper significantly reduces the position errors of fastener holes from 1.106 to 0.123 mm. The total position error is reduced by 43.49% compared with the traditional mechanics theory method.

Research limitations/implications

The position error correlation method could reach an accuracy of millimeter or submillimeter scale, which may not satisfy higher precision.

Practical implications

The proposed position error correction method has been integrated into the automatic drilling machine to ensure the drilling position accuracy.

Social implications

The proposed position error method could promote the wide application of automatic drilling and riveting machining system in aerospace industry.

Originality/value

A combined position error correction method and the complete roadmap for error compensation are proposed. The position accuracy of fastener holes is reduced stably below 0.2 mm, which can fulfill the requirements of aero-structural assembly.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 January 2023

Junshan Hu, Jie Jin, Yueya Wu, Shanyong Xuan and Wei Tian

Aircraft structures are mainly connected by riveting joints, whose quality and mechanical performance are directly determined by vertical accuracy of riveting holes. This paper…

Abstract

Purpose

Aircraft structures are mainly connected by riveting joints, whose quality and mechanical performance are directly determined by vertical accuracy of riveting holes. This paper proposed a combined vertical accuracy compensation method for drilling and riveting of aircraft panels with great variable curvatures.

Design/methodology/approach

The vertical accuracy compensation method combines online and offline compensation categories in a robot riveting and drilling system. The former category based on laser ranging is aimed to correct the vertical error between actual and theoretical riveting positions, and the latter based on model curvature is used to correct the vertical error caused by the approximate plane fitting in variable-curvature panels.

Findings

The vertical accuracy compensation method is applied in an automatic robot drilling and riveting system. The result reveals that the vertical accuracy error of drilling and riveting is within 0.4°, which meets the requirements of the vertical accuracy in aircraft assembly.

Originality/value

The proposed method is suitable for improving the vertical accuracy of drilling and riveting on panels or skins of aerospace products with great variable curvatures without introducing extra measuring sensors.

Details

Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing and Special Equipment, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2633-6596

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 June 2022

Eileen Aitken-Fox, Jane Coffey, Kantha Dayaram, Scott Fitzgerald, Stephen McKenna and Amy Wei Tian

The purpose of the paper is to investigate how human resource professionals (HRPs), in a variety of organizations, responded to the crisis brought about by the event of COVID-19…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to investigate how human resource professionals (HRPs), in a variety of organizations, responded to the crisis brought about by the event of COVID-19. In particular, it aims to show how organizations, across all sectors, in Western Australia responded with urgency and flexibility to the crisis and showed “resilience in practice”.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on 136 questionnaire responses, 32 interviews and 25 managerial narratives. The mixed qualitative methodology was designed to enable an investigation of the impact of COVID-19 and the response of HRPs.

Findings

HRPs have responded with agility and flexibility to the impact of COVID-19. They have done so through extensive trial and error, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing. They have not simply activated a preconceived continuity plan.

Research limitations/implications

The research indicates that resilience is an ongoing accomplishment of organizations and the people in them. The objective was description rather than prescription, and the research does not offer solutions to future pandemic-like situations.

Practical implications

The research suggests that, given the impact of COVID-19 on organizations, HR practices, processes and policies will need to be thoroughly reconsidered for relevance in the post-COVID world. Possible future directions are highlighted.

Originality/value

The research considers the actions of HRPs as they responded to a global crisis as the crisis unfolded.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 52 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 October 2024

Xiaoyu Lu, Wei Tian, Xingdao Lu, Bo Li and Wenhe Liao

This study aims to propose a calibration method to enhance the positioning accuracy in dual-robot collaborative operations, aiming to address the challenge of drilling hole…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to propose a calibration method to enhance the positioning accuracy in dual-robot collaborative operations, aiming to address the challenge of drilling hole spacing errors in spacecraft core cabin brackets that require an accuracy of less than 0.5 mm.

Design/methodology/approach

Initially, the cooperative error of dual robots is defined. Subsequently, an integrated model is constructed that encompasses the kinematic model errors of the dual robots, as well as the establishment errors of the base and tool frames. A calibration method for optimizing the cooperative accuracy of dual robots is proposed.

Findings

The application of the proposed method satisfies the collaborative drilling requirements for the spacecraft core cabin. The average cooperative positioning error of the dual robots was reduced from 0.507 to 0.156 mm, with the maximum value and standard deviation decreasing from 1.020 and 0.202 mm to 0.603 and 0.097 mm, respectively. Drilling experiments conducted on a core cabin simulator demonstrated that after calibration, the maximum hole spacing error was reduced from 1.219 to 0.403 mm, with all spacing errors falling below the 0.5 mm threshold, thus meeting the requirements.

Originality/value

This paper addresses the drilling accuracy requirements for spacecraft core cabins by using a calibration method to reduce the cooperative error of dual robots. The algorithm has been validated through experiments using ER 220 robots, confirming its effectiveness in fulfilling the drilling task requirements.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 July 2024

Tian Wei and Qianwen Wan

This study aims to explore how digital intermediaries interact with individual intermediaries to assist corporate social entrepreneurs (CSEs) in building inclusive markets. In…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore how digital intermediaries interact with individual intermediaries to assist corporate social entrepreneurs (CSEs) in building inclusive markets. In response to the challenge of social exclusion, CSEs craft strategies by leveraging their existing capabilities and resources. However, when it comes to building inclusive markets, CSEs face the liabilities of institutional voids and must rely on intermediaries to establish efficient trading channels. This study focuses on the process by which CSEs firstly construct technology affordances of digital intermediaries, and then actualise affordances through the interactions of digital and individual intermediaries in overcoming technology constraints and triggering involvement cycle in the context of rural e-commerce.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a single-case study design, the authors unfolded the process of a rural e-commerce project conducted by a Chinese e-commerce giant. The authors interviewed 35 informants from 2016 to 2018; each interview lasted 45–90 minutes. In addition, archival and observational data were collected for triangulation. After thorough examination, the data was coded and a grounded framework was developed.

Findings

This study provides a detailed process of how the interactions of digital and individual intermediaries facilitate CSEs in building inclusive markets through a rural e-commerce project. The authors find that CSEs generate corporate strategy in building inclusive markets by constructing three affordances of digital intermediaries: equality facilitator, harmony maintainer and stickiness creator. Subsequently, in actualising these affordances, CSEs fill institutional voids through the interactions between digital and individual intermediaries. Specifically, the technology constraints of digital intermediaries trigger a four-phase cycle involving individual intermediaries: identification, activation, coaching and empowerment. This involvement cycle effectively overcomes the technology constraints of digital intermediaries. The interactions between digital and individual intermediaries facilitate the dual goals achievement of CSEs and finally restructure the market architecture.

Originality/value

Firstly, this study stands among the pioneering research endeavours exploring the interactions between digital and individual intermediaries in facilitating CSEs to develop inclusive markets. Diverging from existing literature, which often enhances or refines the role of a single intermediary in filling institutional voids, the authors posit that digital and individual intermediaries dynamically complement each other in actualising affordances. This complementary dynamic stands as a substitute for the evolution of a single intermediary in building inclusive markets. Secondly, by zooming out the process of constructing and actualising affordances, this study contributes to the literature on technology affordance in both contextual and relational aspects. Contextually, the authors identify three tenets of affordances generated by the corporate strategy of CSEs. Relationally, the authors argue that affordances can be predeveloped by CSEs and then fully actualised through interactions between digital and individual intermediaries, challenging the conventional view that sees affordances as a relational concept solely determined by users and artefacts during the actualisation process. Thirdly, this study makes a contribution by untangling the process of CSEs in reshaping the market context to make it more inclusive. Departing from the conventional focus on the role of institutional intermediaries for CSEs in filling institutional voids, the authors explore how CSEs develop digital intermediaries and induce their interactions with individual intermediaries to restructure market architecture during the process of constructing and actualising affordances. In conclusion, this study adds valuable insights to the literature on institutional voids, technology affordance and CSE in building inclusive markets.

Details

Chinese Management Studies, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-614X

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 2000