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Article
Publication date: 16 January 2017

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…

439

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

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

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Book part
Publication date: 23 July 2016

Hansjörg Klausinger

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

Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-960-2

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Book part
Publication date: 12 November 2008

Hansjörg Klausinger

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.

Details

Explorations in Austrian Economics
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-330-9

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Book part
Publication date: 12 December 2022

Jeffrey A. Halley

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

The Centrality of Sociality
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-362-8

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Article
Publication date: 5 June 2017

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.

1707

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

Nankai Business Review International, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8749

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Article
Publication date: 31 January 2020

Wolfgang Mathis

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…

138

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

COMPEL - The international journal for computation and mathematics in electrical and electronic engineering , vol. 39 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0332-1649

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Article
Publication date: 1 October 2004

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…

11393

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

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 32 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

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Article
Publication date: 1 March 2023

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…

101

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

COMPEL - The international journal for computation and mathematics in electrical and electronic engineering , vol. 42 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0332-1649

Keywords

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Book part
Publication date: 27 September 2021

Emily Rigler Gillingham

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

Privatisation of Migration Control: Power without Accountability?
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-663-7

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 31 March 2020

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…

284

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.

Details

Journal of International Logistics and Trade, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1738-2122

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