Victor Bloch, Avital Bechar and Amir Degani
The purpose of this paper is to describe a methodology for characterization of the robot environment to help solve such problem as designing an optimal agricultural robot for a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe a methodology for characterization of the robot environment to help solve such problem as designing an optimal agricultural robot for a specific agricultural task.
Design/methodology/approach
Defining and characterizing a task is a crucial step in the optimization of a task-specific robot. It is especially difficult in the agricultural domain because of the complexity and unstructured nature of the environment. In this research, trees are modeled from orchards and are used as the robot working environment, the geometrical features of an agricultural task are investigated and a method for designing an optimal agricultural robot is developed. Using this method, a simplified characteristic environment, representing the actual environment, is developed and used.
Findings
Case studies showing that the optimal robot, which is designed based on the characteristic environment, is similar to the optimal robot, which is designed based on the actual environment (less than 4 per cent error), is presented, while the optimization run time is significantly shorter (up to 22 times) when using the characteristic environment.
Originality/value
This paper proposes a new concept for solving the robot task-based optimization by the analysis of the task environment and characterizing it by a simpler artificial task environment. The methodology decreases the time of the optimal robot design, allowing to take into account more details in an acceptable time.
Details
Keywords
The Nationalökonomische Gesellschaft (Austrian Economic Association, NOeG) provides a prominent example of the Viennese economic circles and associations that more than academic…
Abstract
The Nationalökonomische Gesellschaft (Austrian Economic Association, NOeG) provides a prominent example of the Viennese economic circles and associations that more than academic economics dominated scientific discourse in the interwar years. For the first time this chapter gives a thorough account of its history, from its foundation in 1918 until the demise of its long-time president, Hans Mayer, 1955, based on official documents and archival material. The topics treated include its predecessor and rival, the Gesellschaft österreichischer Volkswirte, its foundation in 1918 soon to be followed by years of inactivity, the relaunch by Mayer and Mises, the survival under the NS-regime and the expulsion of its Jewish members and the slow restoration after 1945. In particular, an attempt is made to provide a list of the papers presented to the NOeG, as complete as possible, for the period 1918–1938.
Details
Keywords
In Austria the 1930s constituted the final period of success and failure of the Austrian school, ending with its emigration to the United States. This chapter focuses on this…
Abstract
In Austria the 1930s constituted the final period of success and failure of the Austrian school, ending with its emigration to the United States. This chapter focuses on this period, when the Austrian economy was hardest hit by the Great Depression, and it examines the ways and means by which the Austrian economists attempted to influence economic policy. In particular, from 1932 to 1934 in a concerted effort Austrian economists like Ludwig Mises, Fritz Machlup, and especially Oskar Morgenstern tried to “educate” the Austrian public and policy-makers in the benefits of a liberal approach towards the crisis. This effort included the advocacy of the policies typically associated with the gold standard, that is, stable money, balanced budgets, the absence of exchange restrictions, and free trade. In the actual situation the outcome of these endeavors was futile, if not harmful, insofar as indeed Austrian economic policy slowly converted to the implied deflationary stance of monetary and fiscal policy. Yet, under the regime of the so-called corporate state the necessary complement of such policies, namely the flexibility of prices and the furthering of competition, could not be accomplished. This eventual failure of the liberal cause may be ascribed to the fact that it had to rely on shifting coalitions and fragile personal relations, which in the end turned out too weak for sustaining the policies envisioned by the Austrian economists.
Michael E. Brown's book, The Concept of the Social in Uniting the Humanities and Social Sciences, demonstrates that prominent attempts to account for the social dimension of human…
Abstract
Michael E. Brown's book, The Concept of the Social in Uniting the Humanities and Social Sciences, demonstrates that prominent attempts to account for the social dimension of human affairs rely on an unstated notion of a “course of activity,” that is diametrically opposed to the conceptualization of sociality that is presumably intended to realize it. I want to focus on the idea of a “course of activity” in order to locate his work in and clarify its importance to the development of dialectical reason from Heraclitus through Hegel and beyond. Of special importance is the bearing of his research on the critique of contemporary theories of agency and sociality, and, since considerable attention has been paid, in this regard, to the arts and humanities, some of what I will say about this refers to art and its avant-garde moments—-particularly in my work on Dada and Brown's account of two avant-garde theatrical performances.
This chapter examines what is entailed by separating agency from individuality and what it means for the idea of a “course of activity,” (going on) and its relation to the concept of sociality. This also bears on questions of ontology, as Brown's course of activity is generative and nonrepeatable. The course of activity and nonrepeatability are linked to both avant-garde practice and theoretical notions that reframe our temporal understandings. These include the avant-garde of dada and surrealism, and the reformulations of bourgeois time of Jean Duvignaud, Walter Benjamin, Ernst Bloch, and Jean-Paul Sartre. The question raised here is that of a teleological understanding—how we link the present course of activity with future events.
Details
Keywords
Xianghui Peng, Daniel Peak, Victor Prybutok and Chenyan Xu
This research posits that e-vendors can use product aesthetic information (PAI) as a strategic positing tool to shape consumers’ perceptions of e-vendors’ websites.
Abstract
Purpose
This research posits that e-vendors can use product aesthetic information (PAI) as a strategic positing tool to shape consumers’ perceptions of e-vendors’ websites.
Design/methodology/approach
To test this framework, variations on a garment’s color (a crucial element of product aesthetics) are presented to four different treatment groups to determine whether aesthetic treatment influences the perception of the website.
Findings
The results suggest that consumers who consider a product visually appealing also perceive the e-vendor’s website as useful, resulting in enjoyment of the shopping experience. Positive perceptions lead consumers to form positive attitudes toward the vendor’s website.
Originality/value
While product aesthetics is well-studied in marketing and psychology, its relevance to the e-commerce domain is relatively underexplored. To fill the void, the paper proposes a theoretical framework that explains how PAI influences buyers’ cognitive and affective evaluations of their online shopping experiences, which in turn shapes their attitudes toward e-vendors’ sites.
Details
Keywords
This work is intended to historically commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the invention of a new type of electronic circuit, referred to in 1919 by Abraham and Bloch as a…
Abstract
Purpose
This work is intended to historically commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the invention of a new type of electronic circuit, referred to in 1919 by Abraham and Bloch as a multivibrator and by Eccles and Jordan as a trigger relay (later known as a flip-flop).
Design/methodology/approach
The author also considers the circuit-technical side of this new type of circuit, considering the technological change as well as the mathematical concepts developed in the context of the analysis of the circuit.
Findings
The multivibrator resulted in a “circuit shape” which became one of the most applied nonlinear circuits in electronics. It is shown that at the beginning the multivibrator as well as the flip-flop circuits were used because their interesting properties in the frequency domain.
Originality/value
Therefore, it is a very interesting subject to consider the history of the multivibrator as electronic circuits in different technologies including tube, transistors and integrated circuits as well as the mathematical theory based on the concept from electrical circuit theory.
Details
Keywords
Craig A. Martin and L.W. Turley
Although malls have been a topic of interest to marketing researchers for at least 35 years, the attraction between malls and Generation Y consumers has received little interest…
Abstract
Although malls have been a topic of interest to marketing researchers for at least 35 years, the attraction between malls and Generation Y consumers has received little interest from marketing academics. This study focuses on the attitudes that the older segment of Generation Y consumers (19‐25) have toward a mall, and on their consumption motivation. Key findings include that Generation Y consumers are more likely to be objectively rather than socially motivated to consume. The findings also suggest that objective motivations to consume predict an individual consumer's perception of a shopping mall's ambience, layout, and his or her involvement in the shopping process. Social motivations to consume predict perceptions of a mall's ambience, design, variety, and excitement, as well as the consumer's desire to stay and intent to return to the mall. Managerial implications include using objective information, such as price‐oriented promotions, when trying to attract older Generation Y consumers.
Details
Keywords
Mohamed Amine Hebri, Abderrahmane Rebhaoui, Gregory Bauw, Jean-Philippe Lecointe, Stéphane Duchesne, Gianluca Zito, Abdelli Abdenour, Victor Mediavilla Santos, Vincent Mallard and Adrien Maier
The purpose of this paper is to exploit the optimal performances of each magnetic material in terms of low iron losses and high saturation flux density to improve the efficiency…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to exploit the optimal performances of each magnetic material in terms of low iron losses and high saturation flux density to improve the efficiency and the power density of the selected motor.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a study to improve the power density and efficiency of e-motors for electric traction applications with high operating speed. The studied machine is a yokeless-stator axial flux permanent magnet synchronous motor with a dual rotor. The methodology consists in using different magnetic materials for an optimal design of the stator and rotor magnetic circuits to improve the motor performance. The candidate magnetic materials, adapted to the constraints of e-mobility, are made of thin laminations of Si-Fe nonoriented grain electrical steel, Si-Fe grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) and iron-cobalt Permendur electrical steel (Co-Fe).
Findings
The mixed GOES-Co-Fe structure allows to reach 10 kW/kg in rated power density and a high efficiency in city driving conditions. This structure allows to make the powertrain less energy consuming in the battery electric vehicles and to reduce CO2 emissions in hybrid electric vehicles.
Originality/value
The originality of this study lies in the improvement of both power density and efficiency of the electric motor in automotive application by using different magnetic materials through a multiobjective optimization.
Details
Keywords
Since January 1997, the UK has imposed sanctions on employers found to be employing irregular workers. Coercing employers into conducting immigration status checks makes it…
Abstract
Since January 1997, the UK has imposed sanctions on employers found to be employing irregular workers. Coercing employers into conducting immigration status checks makes it increasingly difficult for irregular migrants to secure employment opportunities, thus restricting their ability to sustain a tolerable life in the UK. The deputisation of employers, as well as other private entities, such as landlords, has become a pivotal element of what is commonly known as the ‘hostile environment’, an attempt to make UK life unbearable for irregular migrants. This chapter uses the social science critique of ethnocentrism to explore different forms of bias and discrimination embedded in the deputisation of employers. Dehumanisation and exclusion are the two manifestations of ethnocentrism focussed on: examples of these recurring issues are drawn from the justifications for implementation, and effects of the employer sanctions regime.
Details
Keywords
Prem Chhetri, Victor Gekara, Shaorong Li and Jun Yeop Lee
This editorial establishes the broader context for debating the great global convergence of world economic systems and the role of Belt and Road Initiative in shaping the…
Abstract
This editorial establishes the broader context for debating the great global convergence of world economic systems and the role of Belt and Road Initiative in shaping the reconfiguration of key global transport nodes and trade corridors. The interwoven relationships between various aspects of technological transformation, supply chain integration and demographic restructuring in shaping the global value chain and integrated production networks are theoretically and empirically probed in this special issue. The importance of technological innovation, and structural reforms are highlighted to help businesses to sustainably manage the growing supply chain complexity and the likely disruptions during the fourth industrial revolution.