Yi‐Chin Chung, Yau‐Wen Hsu, Yu‐Tang Lin and Chih‐Hung Tsai
The measured values of a same object should remain constant regardless of the object’s position in the image. In other words, its measured values should not vary as its position…
Abstract
The measured values of a same object should remain constant regardless of the object’s position in the image. In other words, its measured values should not vary as its position in the image changes. However, lens’ image distortion heterogeneous light source, varied angle between the measuring apparatus and the object, and different surroundings where the testing is set up will all cause variation in the measurement of the object when the object’s position in the image changes. This research attempts to compensate the machine vision image distortion caused by the object’s position in the image by developing the compensation table. The compensation is accomplished by facilitating users to obtain the correcting object and serves the objective of improving the precision of measurement.
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Yi‐Chan Chung, Chih‐Hung Tsai and Yu‐Tang Lin
During IC inspection, which includes the two parts of Mark and Lead, the deviation of IC on the tape occurring in high speed movements usually generates light reflection effect…
Abstract
During IC inspection, which includes the two parts of Mark and Lead, the deviation of IC on the tape occurring in high speed movements usually generates light reflection effect, which in turn causes errors in IC recognition as measured by machine vision system. this research filters the light reflection effect by developing standard components, identifies the correct position of IC Lead, hence fixes the measurement errors or non‐measurability caused by light reflection, avoids the resulting discontinued operation of measuring system, and improves the productivity.
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The economic crisis that hit many Asian countries in 1997 has changed the face of Asian politics and business. It contributed to the downfall of many political leaders e.g…
Abstract
The economic crisis that hit many Asian countries in 1997 has changed the face of Asian politics and business. It contributed to the downfall of many political leaders e.g. President Suharto of Indonesia and the collapse of many corporate giants. The collapse of the East‐Asian and South‐East Asian economies highlighted a crisis of political and corporate governance (International Monetary Fund staff report, 1998). Most of the literature on the crisis has prescribed greater accountability, openness, participation and transparency in political and corporate governance as the solution to the problems of political and corporate governance in Asian countries (International Monetary Fund Staff Report 1998; Economist, 1998). However as highlighted by Velayutham (1999a; b), the assumptions that underlie the dimensions of accountability are inconsistent with Asian values. It is argued that responsibility is discharged in Asian societies through different mechanisms, e.g., shame, purification and sacrifice, that is consistent with collective orientations within Asian societies. In this paper it is argued that Asian societies are facing a crisis of governance and responsibility, and this can be attributed to the lack of development of the moral emotion of guilt and the decline of shame in modern Asian societies. It is pointed out that while guilt was never an important feature of Asian societies, shame was the main moral emotion that contributed to good governance and responsible action in Asian societies. It is then argued that recent change in Asian societies such as the image of gossip in modern society, urbanization, residential mobility, cultural heterogeneity and the obsolescence of the concept of honor have contributed to the slow decline of the moral emotion of shame in Asian societies. The paper concludes with an appeal to the development of communitarianism and reintegration within Asian societies.
BY a happy consonance the Year Book of the Library Association for 1946 reached us as the Conference at Blackpool was beginning. It set a character to the Conference in that it…
Abstract
BY a happy consonance the Year Book of the Library Association for 1946 reached us as the Conference at Blackpool was beginning. It set a character to the Conference in that it contained a most admirably faithful portrait of the President. He was, without a shadow of doubt, the personality of the week. The flexible and earnest open features of the portrait are those of an unusual man, distinctive in thought, speech and act. This was reflected in an address which someone declared, with the warm acquiesence of his hearers, to be “a classic of librarianship.” Even if this prove to be an exaggeration, since prophecy is unwise and rarely fulfilled, that was the effect he produced, in words that began on a self‐excusing note and with a, to himself, unfair comparison of himself with his predecessors, became with increasing tempo a pæan of the joy so many of us share in librarianship, in spite of the sacrifices and slights that all librarians encounter, interwoven with the quoted or suggested results of a life‐time of reading.
Yu Tang, Shaoming Luo, Guoyuan Li, Zhou Yang and Chaojun Hou
The purpose of this paper is to investigate of the effects of Mn nanoparticle addition on the wettability, microstructure and microhardness of SAC0307-xMn(np) (SAC: Sn–Ag–Cu; x …
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate of the effects of Mn nanoparticle addition on the wettability, microstructure and microhardness of SAC0307-xMn(np) (SAC: Sn–Ag–Cu; x = 0, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.3 Wt.%) composite solders.
Design/methodology/approach
The SAC0307-xMn(np) composite solders were prepared by mechanically mixing different weight percentages of Mn nanopowders into the SAC0307 solder paste with rosin flux. In this study, the wettability of the solders was studied using contact angle and spread ratio methods. Afterward, the microstructure of the solders was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry. Moreover, the microhardness of the solders was studied.
Findings
The wetting process of SAC0307-xMn(np) composite solders was found to experience four stages. Adding a small amount of Mn nanoparticles (x = 0.05 Wt.%) could improve the wettability compared to Mn-free solder. Beyond this level, the wettability deteriorated. The addition of Mn nanoparticles significantly refined the size and spacing of Ag3Sn grains in the solder matrix. When 0.1 Wt.% Mn nanoparticles was added, both the average size of the Ag3Sn grains and the spacing between the Ag3Sn grains decreased significantly and approached minimum values. Beyond this amount, the size and spacing between Ag3Sn grains increased slightly but remained smaller than those in the Mn-free solder matrix. The refined Ag3Sn grains increased the microhardness of the Mn-containing composite solders by 6-25 per cent, in good agreement with the prediction of the classic theory of dispersion strengthening.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates that Mn nanoparticle addition could improve the SAC0307-xMn(np) solder wettability and reduce the grain size and spacing between Ag3Sn grains. The enhancement of the solder microhardness shows good correlation with the microstructure.
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Chun-Hua Hsiao and Kai-Yu Tang
The self-service technology (SST) launched outside libraries has received great attention in Taiwan. This automatic book stop (ABS), FastBook, has raised some interesting issues…
Abstract
Purpose
The self-service technology (SST) launched outside libraries has received great attention in Taiwan. This automatic book stop (ABS), FastBook, has raised some interesting issues regarding users’ behavior in the library context. The purpose of this paper is: first, to assess critical variables that contribute to users’ acceptance of SST in the library context; second, to propose an integrated SST acceptance model in terms of technological and individual factors; and third, to further examine the gender differences among all the theoretical relationships proposed in this research model.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a sound theoretical foundation, the authors proposed a research model to investigate users’ intention to adopt FastBook, including both technological and individual factors. The survey methodology and structural equation modeling were used in this study.
Findings
The proposed model successfully accounted for about 92 percent of the total variance explained in attitude and 45 percent in behavioral intention (BI). Individuals’ attitudes toward FastBook had a significant impact on their usage intention. All three technological characteristics (perceived ease of use, usefulness, and reachability) and one individual trait (self-efficacy) were confirmed as critical determinants of attitude. Note that the effect of self-efficacy on attitude was much stronger for male than for female users.
Originality/value
The SST launched outside libraries has received great popularity and extended the library service to readers in Taiwan. This research connected actual users’ experience and the SST literature to provide a conceptual understanding of FastBook adopting process.
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Chun-Hua Hsiao and Kai-Yu Tang
– The current study aims to investigate college students' behavioral intentions to adopt e-textbooks for their studies according to well-known theoretical intention-based models.
Abstract
Purpose
The current study aims to investigate college students' behavioral intentions to adopt e-textbooks for their studies according to well-known theoretical intention-based models.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper empirically assesses five theoretical models of technology acceptance, including the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the technology acceptance model (TAM), the decomposed TPB model (DTPB), the combined model of TAM and TPB (C-TAM-TPB), and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). The survey methodology and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed to examine and compare these five models. Moreover, explanatory power, goodness-of-fit indices, and model parsimony were taken into consideration in the model comparisons.
Findings
Both TPB and TAM provided less effective but adequate predictive behavioral power. However, TPB appeared to be more parsimonious than TAM and the other models. By focusing on specific beliefs of attitude, social and control influences, DTPB shares many of the same advantages as TPB and TAM, but is less parsimonious. Similarly, C-TAM-TPB, an augmented version of TAM that incorporates social influences and behavioral control, is superior to TPB and TAM in terms of its explanatory power of behavioral intention to use e-textbooks. Overall, however, the results indicated that UTAUT appeared to be the best model in terms of the metrics of parsimonious fit and explanatory power.
Originality/value
Theoretical comparison of different models is important. This is believed to be the first study to present model comparisons by investigating undergraduates' intention to adopt e-textbooks as tools for their on-campus learning in Taiwan.
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Jian-feng Yu, Wen-Bin Tang, Yuan Li and Jie Zhang
Modeling and analysis of dimensional variation propagation is a crucial support technology for variation reduction, product/process design evaluation and recognition of variation…
Abstract
Purpose
Modeling and analysis of dimensional variation propagation is a crucial support technology for variation reduction, product/process design evaluation and recognition of variation source. However, owing to the multi-deviation (i.e. part deviations and fixture deviations) and multi-interaction (i.e. part-to-part interaction, part-to-fixture interaction and station-to-station interaction) in assembly processes, it is difficult for designers to describe or understand the variation propagation (or accumulation) mechanism clearly. The purpose of this paper is to propose a variation propagation modeling and analysis (VPMA) method based on multiple constraints aiming at a single station.
Design/methodology/approach
Initially, part-to-part constraints (PPCs) and part-to-fixture constraints (PFCs) are applied for the multi-interaction of assembly, and multiple constraints graph (MCG) model is proposed for expressing PPCs, PFCs, parts, as well as the variation propagation relation among them. Then, locating points (LPs) are adopted for representing the deviations in constraints, and formulas for calculating the deviations of LPs are derived. On that basis, a linearized relation between LPs’ deviations and part’s locating deviations is derived. Finally, a wing box is presented to validate the proposed method, and the results indicate the methodology’s feasibility.
Findings
MCG is an effective tool for dimensional VPMA, which is shown as an example of this paper.
Originality/value
Functions of geometric constraints in dimensional variation propagation are revealed, and MCG is proposed to formulize dimensional variation propagation.
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Jong-Hyeong Kim, Yuchen Xu and Seongseop (Sam) Kim
In a reflection of individuals’ interest in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, nutraceutical restaurants, which provide health benefits, have emerged on the market. However, little…
Abstract
Purpose
In a reflection of individuals’ interest in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, nutraceutical restaurants, which provide health benefits, have emerged on the market. However, little is known about the underlying factors and mechanisms of the consumption of nutraceutical foods. Therefore, grounded in an extended cognitive–affective–conative model, this study examines the role of dining motivations and restaurant attributes in explaining an integrated model that focuses on customers’ loyalty formation process.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 893 Chinese customers who had recently dined at traditional Chinese medicine restaurants. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling, this study examined the structural relationships among dining motivations, restaurant attributes, customers’ perceived benefits, overall satisfaction, place attachment and revisit intentions.
Findings
The results of a confirmatory factor analysis revealed that two main motivations (i.e. health and traditional culture) and five restaurant attributes (i.e. food, service staff food recommendation, service staff service quality, furniture and tableware and atmosphere) are stimuli that influence customers’ perceived benefits. This study also revealed that four types of perceived benefits (functional, emotional, social and epistemic) significantly affect overall satisfaction and place attachment, which determine revisit intentions.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study help identify not only important dining motivations and restaurant attributes but also their roles in loyalty formation with respect to traditional Chinese medicine restaurants. Thus, the results contribute to an improved understanding of how to satisfy customers’ dining motivations and efficiently manage restaurant attributes to strengthen customer loyalty.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to simultaneously examine the effects of customer motivation and restaurant attributes and to explain how they affect customer loyalty behaviors at traditional Chinese medicine restaurants.