Search results for: Industry 4

Authors: Xiaohong Wu, Tao Zhang

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Since Macau opened its door to international gambling firms in 2002, Macau casino hotel industry has been booming. Casino hotels are different from the non-casino hotels in the main profit source and services. The paper aims to analyze differences in employees’ work stress and job satisfaction across the casino hotels and the non-casino hotels. Through questionnaires, the paper investigates 200 employees from casino hotels and 200 employees from non-casino hotels. Work stress and job satisfaction of employees in casino hotels and non-casino hotels are compared. Statistic techniques such as descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) are applied. The paper tries to achieve the below aims: Firstly, explore and compare the impact of gender, job position, marital status and fertility status on employees’ work stress and job satisfaction. Secondly, explore the perception of work stress and job satisfaction across casino hotel and non-casino hotel employees. Thirdly, explore the relationship between work stress and job satisfaction. The result indicates there are not significant differences in employees’ work stress and job satisfaction perception between different genders, positions, marital situations and fertility situations. The result confirms there are significant differences in employees’ work stress and job satisfaction perception between casino and non-casino employees. Moreover, Work stress negatively influences job satisfaction.

Keywords: casino, employee, job satisfaction, work stress

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Authors: Herman Susilo, Rahmat Budiman

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Bali province is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Indonesia. As a central tourist destination, Bali is very concerned about the use of clean energy. Since Bali is an area that does not have natural resources, so all of its energy sources are imported from java island and other islands. As an example, currently, Pertagas is developing the use of LNG for the needs of the retail industry. Right now, LNG is transported from the LNG plant facility in Bontang (Kalimantan Province) using ISO Tanks which are transported by cargo ships and then transported by trucks to the island of Bali. After that, LNG from ISO Tank is breakbulk into LNG Cylinders for distribution to retail customers. The existing distribution scheme is very long and costly since the source of LNG is come from another island (Kalimantan) and is relatively far away. To solve this problem, we plan to build the mini-LNG plant on Java Island since there are lots of gas sources available. There are some small gas reserves (flared or stranded gas) that are not yet monetized and are less valuable (cheaper) because the volume is very small. After liquifying the gas from the gas field, the LNG is transported by the truck using ISO Tank. After that, LNG from ISO Tank is breakbulk into LNG Cylinders for distribution to retail customers. From this new LNG distribution scheme, there are 4-5 USD/MMBTU saving compared to the existing distribution scheme. It is hoped that with these cost savings, the number of retail LNG sales can increase rapidly.

Keywords: LNG, LNG retail, mini LNG, small scale LNG

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Authors: Shyh-Ming Chern, Wei-Ling Lin

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Lignin is a major constituent of woody biomass, and exists abundantly in nature. It is the major byproducts from the paper industry and bioethanol production processes. The byproducts are mainly used for low-valued applications. Instead, lignin can be converted into higher-valued gaseous fuel, thereby helping to curtail the ever-growing price of oil and to slow down the trend of global warming. Although biochemical treatment is capable of converting cellulose into liquid ethanol fuel, it cannot be applied to the conversion of lignin. Alternatively, it is possible to convert lignin into gaseous fuel thermochemically. In the present work, trans-4-hydroxycinnamic acid, a model compound for lignin, which closely resembles the basic building blocks of lignin, is gasified in an autoclave with ethanol at elevated temperatures and pressures, that are above the critical point of ethanol. Ethanol, instead of water, is chosen, because ethanol dissolves trans-4-hydroxycinnamic acid easily and helps to convert it into lighter gaseous species relatively well. The major operating parameters for the gasification reaction include temperature (673-873 K), reaction pressure (5-25 MPa) and feed concentration (0.05-0.3 M). Generally, more than 80% of the reactant, including trans-4-hydroxycinnamic acid and ethanol, were converted into gaseous products at an operating condition of 873 K and 5 MPa.

Keywords: ethanol, gasification, lignin, supercritical

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Authors: Zarrin Nasri

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Microwave irradiation is an innovative technology in the petroleum industry. This kind of energy has been considered to convert vacuum residue of oil refineries into useful products. The advantages of microwaves energy are short time, fast heating, high energy efficiency, and precise process control. In this paper, the effects of catalyst type and amount have been investigated on upgrading of vacuum residue using microwave irradiation. The vacuum residue used in this research is from Tehran oil refinery, Iran. Additives include different catalysts, active carbon as sensitizer, and sodium borohydride as a solid hydrogen donor. Various catalysts contain iron, nickel, molybdenum disulfide, iron oxide and copper. The amount of catalysts in two cases of presence and absence of sodium borohydride have been evaluated. The objective parameters include temperature, asphaltene, viscosity, and API. The specifications of vacuum residue are API, 8.79, viscosity, 16391 cSt (60°C), asphaltene, 13.3 wt %. The results show that there is a significant difference between the effects of catalysts. Among the used catalysts, Fe powder is the best catalyst for upgrading vacuum residue using microwave irradiation and resulted in asphaltene reduction, 31.3 %; viscosity reduction, 76.43 %; and 23.43 % in API increase.

Keywords: asphaltene, microwave, upgrading, vacuum residue, viscosity

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Authors: Adelaja O. Oriade

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The Nigerian hip-hop music genre, like the African American scene where it was adopted from, is riddled with musical lyrics that amplify and normalize hypermasculinity, homophobia, sexism, and objectification of women. Several factors are responsible for this anomaly; however, the greatest factor is the urge of hip-hop musicians to achieve the commercial success that is dependent on selling records and appealing to the established societal accepted norm for hip-hop music. Consequently, this paper presents a counter-narrative of this gender representation within the Nigerian hip-hop industry. This study analyzed the musical lyrics of the ‘Hypocrisy’ track on the 2019 album of famous Nigerian rapper, Falz the Bahd Guy; and argued that Falz in this album challenged the predominant ideas of hegemonic masculinity by singing in favor of LGBT people and women. Also, based on the success of this album, this paper argues that a hip-hop album can achieve commercial success without aligning with predominant hip-hop parameters of gender representation. The study recommends that future studies should evaluate the reactions of Nigerians to these gender presentations by Falz the Bahd guy.

Keywords: hegemonic masculinity, hypermasculinity, LGBT, misogyny, sexism

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Authors: Muhammad Asghar, Aamer Iqbal Bhatti, Qadeer Ahmed, Tahir Izhar

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Three wheeler auto Rickshaw, often termed as ‘auto rickshaw’ is very common in Pakistan and is considered as the most affordable means of transportation to the local people. Problems caused by the gasoline engine on the environment and people, the researchers and the automotive industry have turned to the hybrid electric vehicles and electrical powered vehicle. The research in this paper explains the design of energy efficient Electric auto Rickshaw. An electric auto rickshaw is being developed at Center for Energy Research and Development, (Lahore), which is running on the roads of Lahore city. Energy storage capacity of batteries is at least 25 times heavier than fossil fuel and having volume 10 times in comparison to fuel, resulting an increase of the Rickshaw weight. A set of specifications is derived according to the mobility requirements of the electric auto rickshaw. The design choices considering the power-train and component selection are explained in detail. It was concluded that electric auto rickshaw has many advantages and benefits over the conventional auto rickshaw. It is cleaner and much more energy efficient but limited to the distance it can travel before recharging of battery. In addition, a brief future view of the battery technology is given.

Keywords: conventional auto rickshaw, energy efficiency, electric auto rickshaw, internal combustion engine, environment

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Authors: Alesandro Romero, Inaki Maulida Hakim

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This research was conducted in an automotive company in Indonesia to overcome the problem of high logistics cost. The problem causes high of additional truck delivery. From the breakdown of the problem, chosen one route, which has the highest gap value, namely for RE-04. Research methodology will be started from calculating the ideal condition, making simulation, calculating the ideal logistic cost, and proposing an improvement. From the calculation of the ideal condition, box arrangement was done on the truck; the average efficiency was 97,4 % with three trucks delivery per day. Route simulation making uses Tecnomatix Plant Simulation software as a visualization for the company about how the system is occurred on route RE-04 in ideal condition. Furthermore, from the calculation of logistics cost of the ideal condition, it brings savings of Rp53.011.800,00 in a month. The last step is proposing improvements on the area of route RE-04. The route arrangement is done by Saving Method and sequence of each supplier with the Nearest Neighbor. The results of the proposed improvements are three new route groups, where was expected to decrease logistics cost Rp3.966.559,40 per day, and increase the average of the truck efficiency 8,78% per day.

Keywords: efficiency, logistic cost, milkrun, saving methode, simulation

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Authors: Haruna Saidu, Sulaiman Mohammed, Abdulkarim Ali Deba, Shaza Eva Mohamad

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Determining the diversity of the indigenous microorganisms in Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) could allow their wider application for the treatment of recalcitrant agro-based wastewater discharge into the environment. Many research studies mainly determined the efficiency of microorganism or their co-cultivation with microalgae for enhanced treatment of wastewater, suggesting a limited emphasis on the application of microbial diversity. In this study, the microorganism was cultured in POME for a period of 15 days using microalgae as a source of carbon. Pyrosequencing analysis reveals a diversity of microbial community in 20% (v/v) culture than the control experiment. Most of the bacterial species identified in POME belong to the families of Bacillaceae, Paenibacillaceae, Enterococcaceae, Clostridiaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, Caulobacteraceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Moraxellaceae, and Pseudomonadaceae. Alpha (α) diversity analysis reveals the high composition of the microbial community of 52 in both samples. Beta (β) diversity index indicated the occurrence of similar species of microorganisms in unweighted uni fra than the weighted uni fra of both samples. It is therefore suggested that bacteria found in these families could have a potential for synergistic treatment of high-strength wastewater generated from the palm oil industry.

Keywords: diversity, microorganism, wastewater, pyrosequencing, palm oil mill effluent

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Authors: Belalia Douma Omar, Bakhta Boukhatem, Mohamed Ghrici

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Self-compacting concrete (SCC) developed in Japan in the late 80s has enabled the construction industry to reduce demand on the resources, improve the work condition and also reduce the impact of environment by elimination of the need for compaction. Fuzzy logic (FL) approaches has recently been used to model some of the human activities in many areas of civil engineering applications. Especially from these systems in the model experimental studies, very good results have been obtained. In the present study, a model for predicting compressive strength of SCC containing various proportions of fly ash, as partial replacement of cement has been developed by using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). For the purpose of building this model, a database of experimental data were gathered from the literature and used for training and testing the model. The used data as the inputs of fuzzy logic models are arranged in a format of five parameters that cover the total binder content, fly ash replacement percentage, water content, super plasticizer and age of specimens. The training and testing results in the fuzzy logic model have shown a strong potential for predicting the compressive strength of SCC containing fly ash in the considered range.

Keywords: self-compacting concrete, fly ash, strength prediction, fuzzy logic

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Authors: Mohamed A. G. H. Abdalsadig, Amir Nourian, G. G. Nasr, Meisam Babaie

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Gas lift optimization is becoming more important now a day in petroleum industry. A proper lift optimization can reduce the operating cost, increase the net present value (NPV) and maximize the recovery from the asset. A widely accepted definition of gas lift optimization is to obtain the maximum output under specified operating conditions. In addition, gas lift, a costly and indispensable means to recover oil from high depth reservoir entails solving the gas lift optimization problems. Gas lift optimization is a continuous process; there are two levels of production optimization. The total field optimization involves optimizing the surface facilities and the injection rate that can be achieved by standard tools softwares. Well level optimization can be achieved by optimizing the well parameters such as point of injection, injection rate, and injection pressure. All these aspects have been investigated and presented in this study by using experimental data and PROSPER simulation program. The results show that the well head pressure has a large influence on the gas lift performance and also proved that smart gas lift valve can be used to improve gas lift performance by controlling gas injection from down hole. Obtaining the optimum gas injection rate is important because excessive gas injection reduces production rate and consequently increases the operation cost.

Keywords: optimization, production rate, reservoir pressure effect, gas injection rate effect, gas injection pressure

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Authors: Gizem Arslan Özgen, Kutay Yücetürk, Metin Tanoğlu, Engin Aktaş

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Power transmitted from the engine to the final drive where useful work is applied through a system consisting of a gearbox, clutch, drive shaft and a differential in the rear-wheel-drive automobiles. It is well-known that the steel drive shaft is usually manufactured in two pieces to increase the fundamental bending natural frequency to ensure safe operation conditions. In this work, hybrid one-piece propeller shafts composed of carbon/epoxy and glass/epoxy composites have been designed for a rear wheel drive automobile satisfying three design specifications, such as static torque transmission capability, torsional buckling and the fundamental natural bending frequency. Hybridization of carbon and glass fibers is being studied to optimize the cost/performance requirements. Composites shaft materials with various fiber orientation angles and stacking sequences are being fabricated and analyzed using finite element analysis (FEA).

Keywords: composite propeller shaft, hybridization, epoxy matrix, static torque transmission capability, torsional buckling strength, fundamental natural bending frequency.

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Authors: Seher Arslankaya, Merve Si̇mge Usuk

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Lean manufacturing, which is based on the Toyota Production System, has focused on increasing the performance in various fields by eliminating the waste. By waste elimination, the lead time is reduced significantly and lean manufacturing provides companies with an important privilege under today's competitive conditions. The initial point of lean thinking is the value. This notion create of a specific product with specific properties for which the customer is ready to pay and which satisfies his needs within a specific time frame and at a specific price. Considering this, the final customer determines the value but the manufacturer creates this value of the product. The value stream is the whole set of activities required for each product. These activities may or may not be essential for the value. Through value stream mapping, all employees can see the sources of waste and develop future cases to eliminate it. This study focused on manufacturing to eliminate the waste which created a cost but did not create any value. The study was carried out at the Department of Assembly/Logistics at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey from the automotive industry with a high product mix and variable demands. As a result of the value stream analysis, improvements are planned for the future cases. The process was improved by applying these suggestions.

Keywords: lead time, lean manufacturing, performance improvement, value stream papping

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Authors: Benjamin Bae, Mahdy Elhusseiny, Sherif El-Halaby

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This study investigates the relationship between some cultural factors and the level of dividend payouts of banks in a number of Muslim countries. We examine whether cultural factors play any role in determining dividend payout policy in banks. The results suggest that banks in high masculinity countries tend to pay higher dividends than low masculinity countries. The results also show that banks in high uncertainty avoidance (UA) countries tend to pay lower dividends than high UA countries. Additionally, the results of this study indicate that banks in high long-term orientation (LTO) countries tend to pay lower dividends than low LTO countries. However, two other cultural factors of power distance (PD) and individualism do not have any incremental explanatory power on the dividend payouts. Overall, this research adds to our understanding of the bank’s dividend payout policies. First, evidence on the relationship between the cultural factors and bank’s level of dividend payouts should be useful to investors. Second, the findings of this study provide financial statement users with useful information about the bank’s dividend payout levels. Third, in general, it also adds to the accounting and finance literature on dividends.

Keywords: cultural factor, dividend payout, Hofstede index, bank industry

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Authors: Arnaud Deshais

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The supply chain industry has integrated the need for supplier Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), mostly from an ethical and moral argument. In addition, in some countries, it is also a legal requirement for companies reaching a certain size. As a matter of fact, a lot of successful companies have developed a Corporate Social Responsibility Program that encourages diversity and inclusion in the supply chain, such as building strong relationships with minority owned businesses (women, LGBT, veterans, etc.). Outside ethical and legal perspectives, it is also worth researching the economic and financial benefits of pursuing such efforts. Through surveys of purchasing and supply chain managers in their current roles as well as review of some case studies on supplier based D&I programs, it becomes apparent that a financial return on investment is to be expected as well for companies who make a concerted effort to grow their D&I programs. The study explores the levers to increase shareholder value and business efficiencies. Finally, the research highlights the competitive advantage related to a broad minority based supplier network. The benefits manifest themselves in the areas of competitiveness, innovation, and collaboration. The economic reward ends up being at the forefront of those programs while being an opportunity for organizations to become 'a good citizen'.

Keywords: diversity, inclusion, purchasing, supplier

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Authors: A. Achour L. Chekour, A. Mekroud

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Tribology, the science of lubrication, friction and wear, plays an important role in science "crossroads" initiated by the recent developments in the industry. Its multidisciplinary nature reinforces its scientific interest. It covers all the sciences that deal with the contact between two solids loaded and relative motion. It is thus one of the many intersections more clearly established disciplines such as solid mechanics and the fluids, rheological, thermal, materials science and chemistry. As for his experimental approach, it is based on the physical and processing signals and images. The optimization of operating conditions by cutting tool must contribute significantly to the development and productivity of advanced automation of machining techniques because their implementation requires sufficient knowledge of how the process and in particular the evolution of tool wear. In addition, technological advances have developed the use of very hard materials, refractory difficult machinability, requiring highly resistant materials tools. In this study, we present the behavior wear a machining tool during the roughing operation according to the cutting parameters. The interpretation of the experimental results is based mainly on observations and analyzes of sharp edges e tool using the latest techniques: scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical rugosimetry laser beam.

Keywords: friction, wear, tool, cutting

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Authors: Magdy Abdel-Aleem Abdel-Ati Mayouf, Islam Al Sayed Hussein Al Sayed

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Development of tourism and hospitality faculties' graduates is a key to the future health of hospitality and tourism sectors. Meanwhile information and communication technologies (ICTs) increasingly become the driving engine for productivity improvement and business opportunities in tourism and hospitality industry. Tourism and hospitality education and training must address these developments to enhance the ability of future managers to adopt a variety of ICT tools and strategies to increase their organization's efficiency and competitiveness. Therefore, this study aims to explore the types and effectiveness of ICT training offered by faculties of tourism and hotels in Egypt, and evaluating the importance of that training from the graduate's point of view. The study targets the graduates who graduated in the present ten years from three different faculties of tourism and hotels. Results argued the types, levels and effectiveness of ICT training offered in these faculties and the extent to which training programs were appreciated by graduates working in different fields, and finally, it recommended particular practices to enhance the training efficiency and raising the perceived benefits of it for workers in tourism and hospitality fields.

Keywords: training, IT, graduated, tourism and hospitality, education

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Authors: Adepeju A. Opaleye, Adekunle Kolawole, Muyiwa A. Opaleye

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Consumers’ perceived quality of imported product has been an impediment to business in the Nigeria garment industry. To improve patronage of made- in-Nigeria designs, the first step is to understand what the consumer expects, then proffer ways to meet this expectation through product redesign or improvement of the garment production process. The purpose of this study is to investigate drivers of consumers’ value for typical Nigerian garment design (NGD). An integrated quality function deployment (QFD) and functional, expressive and aesthetic (FEA) Consumer Needs methodology helps to minimize incorrect understanding of potential consumer’s requirements in mass customized garments. Six themes emerged as drivers of consumer’s satisfaction: (1) Style variety (2) Dimensions (3) Finishing (4) Fabric quality (5) Garment Durability and (6) Aesthetics. Existing designs found to lead foreign designs in terms of its acceptance for informal events, style variety and fit. The latter may be linked to its mode of acquisition. A conceptual model of NGD acceptance in the context of consumer’s inherent characteristics, social and the business environment is proposed.

Keywords: Perceived quality, Garment design, Quality function deployment, FEA Model , Mass customisation

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Authors: Vichada Chokesikarin

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The study aims to determine which factors account for customer satisfaction and to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and business success, in particular, context of the information understanding of hostel business in Pranakorn district, Bangkok and the significant element of entrepreneurship in tourism industry. This study covers 352 hostels customers and 61 hostel owners/managers nearby Khao San Road. Data collection methods were used by survey questionnaire and a series of hypotheses were developed from services marketing literature. The findings suggest the customer satisfaction most influenced by image, service quality, room quality and price accordingly. Furthermore the findings revealed that significant relationships exist between entrepreneurial orientation and business success; while competitive aggressiveness was found unrelated. The ECSI model’s generic measuring customer satisfaction was found partially mediate the business success. A reconsideration of other variables applicable should be supported with the model of hostel business. The study provides context and overall view of hostel business while discussing from the entrepreneurial orientation to customer satisfaction, thereby reducing decision risk on hostel investment.

Keywords: customer satisfaction, ECSI model, entrepreneurial orientation, small hotel, hostel, business performance

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Authors: Navid Zanganeh, Hafez Balavi, Farbod Sharif, Mahla Zabet, Marzieh Bakhtiary Noodeh

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Cerium oxide (CeO2) also known as cerium dioxide or ceria is a pale yellow-white powder with various applications in the industry from wood coating to cosmetics, filtration, fuel cell electrolytes, gas sensors, hybrid solar cells and catalysts. In this research, attempts were made to synthesize and characterization of CeO2 nano-particles via sol-gel method. In addition, the effect of aging time on the size of particles was investigated. For this purpose, the aging times adjusted 48, 56, 64, and 72 min. The obtained particles were characterized by x-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmitted electron microscopy (TEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET). As a result, XRD patterns confirmed the formation of CeO2 nanoparticles. SEM and TEM images illustrated the nano-particles with cluster shape, spherical and a nano-size range which was in agreement with XRD results. The finest particles (7.3 nm) was obtained at the optimum condition which was aging time of 48 min, calcination temperature at 400 ⁰C, and cerium concentration of 0.004 mol. Average specific surface area of the particles at optimum condition was measured by BET analysis and recorded as 47.57 m2/g.

Keywords: aging time, CeO2 nanoparticles, size distribution, sol-gel

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Authors: Angad Arora

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In production operations/manufacturing, a cell or line is typically a bunch of similar machines (computer numerical control (CNCs), advanced cutting, 3D printing or special purpose machines. For qualifying a typical manufacturing line /cell / new process, Ideally, we need a sample of parts that can be flown through the process and then we make a judgment on the health of the line/cell. However, with huge volumes and mass production scope, such as in the mobile phone industry, for example, the actual cells or lines can go in thousands and to qualify each one of them with statistical confidence means utilizing samples that are very large and eventually add to product /manufacturing cost + huge waste if the parts are not intended to be customer shipped. To solve this, we come up with 2 steps statistical approach. We start with a small sample size and then objectively evaluate whether the process needs additional samples or not. For example, if a process is producing bad parts and we saw those samples early, then there is a high chance that the process will not meet the desired yield and there is no point in keeping adding more samples. We used this hypothesis and came up with 2 steps binomial testing approach. Further, we also prove through results that we can achieve an 18-25% reduction in samples while keeping the same statistical confidence.

Keywords: statistics, data science, manufacturing process qualification, production planning

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Authors: M. Feliciano, F. Rodrigues, A. Gonçalves, J. M. R. C. A. Santos, V. Leite

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With the objective of characterizing the profile and performance of energy use by slaughterhouses, surveys and audits were performed in two different facilities located in the northeastern region of Portugal. Energy consumption from multiple energy sources was assessed monthly, along with production and costs, for the same reference year. Gathered data was analyzed to identify and quantify the main consuming processes and to estimate energy efficiency indicators for benchmarking purposes. Main results show differences between the two slaughterhouses concerning energy sources, consumption by source and sector, and global energy efficiency. Electricity is the most used source in both slaughterhouses with a contribution of around 50%, being essentially used for meat processing and refrigeration. Natural gas, in slaughterhouse A, and pellets, in slaughterhouse B, used for heating water take the second place, with a mean contribution of about 45%. On average, a 62 kgoe/t specific energy consumption (SEC) was found, although with differences between slaughterhouses. A prominent negative correlation between SEC and carcass production was found specially in slaughterhouse A. Estimated Specific Energy Cost and Greenhouse Gases Intensity (GHGI) show mean values of about 50 €/t and 1.8 tCO2e/toe, respectively. Main results show that there is a significant margin for improving energy efficiency and therefore lowering costs in this type of non-energy intensive industries.

Keywords: meat industry, energy intensity, energy efficiency, GHG emissions

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Authors: Luis F. Garcia, Julian E. Jaramillo, Jorge L. Chacón

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Colombia is a country where the benefits of wind power industry are barely used because of the geography in some areas does not allow the implementation of onshore horizontal axis wind turbines. Furthermore, exist rural areas without access to the electrical grid. Therefore, there is currently a deficit of energy supply in some towns. This research took place in one of those areas (i.e. Chicamocha Canyon-Santander) where the answer to the energy supply problems could be the use of vertical axis wind turbines, which can be used for turbulent flows. Hence, one task of this research is the analysis of the wind resources in the Chicamocha Canyon in order to implement the wind energy. The wind turbines must be designed in such a way that the blades take good advantage of the wind resources in the area of interest. Consequently, in the current research the analysis of two different airfoils (i.e. NACA0018 and DU 06-W-200) through a 2D CFD simulation is carried out by means of a free-software (OpenFOAM). Predicted results using the “Spalart-Allmaras” turbulence model are similar to the wind tunnel data published in the literature. Moreover, global parameters such as dimensionless lift and drag coefficients were calculated. Finally, this research encourages VAWT studies under wind turbulent flows in order to achieve the best use of natural resources in Colombia.

Keywords: airfoil, wind turbine, turbulence modelling, Chicamocha, CFD

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Authors: Anis A. Ansari, M. Kamil

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The development of 3D printing technology has allowed the manufacturing industry to create parts with a high degree of automation, increased design freedom, and improved mechanical performance. Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is a 3D printing technique in which successive layers of thermoplastic polymer are deposited and controlled to create a three-dimensional product. In this study, process parameters such as nozzle temperature and printing speed were chosen to investigate their effects on hardness properties. 3D printed specimens were fabricated by an FDM 3D printer from Polylactic acid (PLA) polymer. After analysis, it was observed that the hardness property is much influenced by print speed and nozzle temperature parameters. Maximum hardness was achieved at higher print speed which indicates that the Shore D hardness is directly proportional to the print speed. Moreover, at higher print speed, it has no significant dependence on the nozzle temperature. Hardness is also influenced by nozzle temperature, though to a lesser extent. The hardness slightly lowers when the nozzle temperature is raised from 190 to 210 oC, but due to improved bonding between each raster, a further rise in temperature increases the hardness property.

Keywords: 3D printing, fused deposition modeling (FDM), polylactic acid (PLA), print speed, nozzle temperature, hardness property

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Authors: Vesna Lukovic

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Online platforms as new business models play an important role in today’s economy and the functioning of the EU’s internal market. In the travel industry, algorithms used by online platforms for short-stay accommodation provide suggestions and price information to travelers. Those suggestions and recommendations are displayed in search results via recommendation (ranking) systems. There has been a growing consensus that the current legal framework was not sufficient to resolve problems arising from platform practices. In order to enhance the potential of the EU’s Single Market, smaller businesses should be protected, and their rights strengthened vis-à-vis large online platforms. The Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services aims to level the playing field in that respect. This research looks at Airbnb through the lenses of this regulation. The research explores key determinants and finds that although regulation is an important step in the right direction, it is not enough. It does not entail sufficient clarity obligations that would make online platforms an intermediary service which both accommodation providers and travelers could use with ease.

Keywords: algorithm, online platforms, ranking, consumers, EU regulation

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Authors: Anupama A. P.

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The Malayalam film industry, known as Mollywood, has a rich tradition of storytelling and cultural significance within Indian cinema. Middlebrow films have emerged as a distinct influential category, particularly in the 1980s, with directors like K.G. George, who engaged with female subjectivity and drew inspiration from the ‘women’s cinema’ of the 1950s and 1960s. In recent decades, particularly post-2010, the industry has transformed significantly with a new generation of filmmakers diverging from melodrama and new wave of the past, incorporating advanced technology and modern content. This study examines the evolution and impact of Malayalam middlebrow cinema in the 21st century, focusing on post-2000 films and their influence on contemporary spectator experiences. These films appeal to a wide range of audiences without compromising on their artistic integrity, tackling social issues and personal dramas with thematic and narrative complexity. Historically, middlebrow films in Malayalam cinema have portrayed realism and addressed the socio-political climate of Kerala, blending realism with reflexivity and moving away from traditional sentimentality. This shift is evident in the new generation of Malayalam films, which present a global representation of characters and a modern treatment of individuals. To provide a comprehensive understanding of this evolution, the study analyzes a diverse selection of films such as Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (2009), Drishyam (2013), Maheshinte Prathikaaram (2016), Take Off (2017), and Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (2017) and Virus (2019) illustrating the broad thematic range and innovative narrative techniques characteristic of this genre. These films exemplify how middlebrow cinema continues to evolve, adapting to changing societal contexts and audience expectations. This research employs a theoretical methodology, drawing on cultural studies and audience reception theory, utilizing frameworks such as Bordwell’s narrative theory, Deleuze’s concept of deterritorialization, and Hall’s encoding/decoding model to analyze the changes in Malayalam middlebrow cinema and interpret the storytelling methods, spectator experience, and audience reception of these films. The findings indicate that Malayalam middlebrow cinema post-2010 offers a spectator experience that is both intellectually stimulating and broadly appealing. This study highlights the critical role of middlebrow cinema in reflecting and shaping societal values, making it a significant cultural artefact within the broader context of Indian and global cinema. By bridging entertainment with thought-provoking narratives, these films engage audiences and contribute to wider cultural discourse, making them pivotal in contemporary cinematic landscapes. To conclude, this study highlights the importance of Malayalam middle-brow cinema in influencing contemporary cinematic tastes. The nuanced and approachable narratives of post-2010 films are posited to assume an increasingly pivotal role in the future of Malayalam cinema. By providing a deeper understanding of Malayalam middlebrow cinema and its societal implications, this study enriches theoretical discourse, promotes regional cinema, and offers valuable insights into contemporary spectator experiences and the future trajectory of Malayalam cinema.

Keywords: Malayalam cinema, middlebrow cinema, spectator experience, audience reception, deterritorialization

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Authors: R. K. Apalowo, D. Chronopoulos, V. Thierry

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There exist a wide range of failure modes in composite structures due to the increased usage of the structures especially in aerospace industry. Moreover, temperature dependent wave response of composite and layered structures have been continuously studied, though still limited, in the last decade mainly due to the broad operating temperature range of aerospace structures. A wave finite element (WFE) and finite element (FE) based computational method is presented by which the temperature dependent wave dispersion characteristics and interaction phenomenon in composite structures can be predicted. Initially, the temperature dependent mechanical properties of the panel in the range of -100 ◦C to 150 ◦C are measured experimentally using the Thermal Mechanical Analysis (TMA). Temperature dependent wave dispersion characteristics of each waveguide of the structural system, which is discretized as a system of a number of waveguides coupled by a coupling element, is calculated using the WFE approach. The wave scattering properties, as a function of temperature, is determined by coupling the WFE wave characteristics models of the waveguides with the full FE modelling of the coupling element on which defect is included. Numerical case studies are exhibited for two waveguides coupled through a coupling element.

Keywords: finite element, temperature dependency, wave dispersion characteristics, wave finite element, wave scattering properties

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Authors: Simon Komesker, Achim Wagner, Martin Ruskowski

Abstract:

In times of volatile markets with fluctuating demand and the uncertainty of global supply chains, flexible production systems are the key to an efficient implementation of a desired production program. In this publication, the authors present a holistic information concept taking into account various influencing factors for operating towards the global optimum. Therefore, a strategy for the implementation of multi-level planning for a flexible, reconfigurable production system with an alternative production concept in the automotive industry is developed. The main contribution of this work is a system structure mixing central and decentral planning and control evaluated in a simulation framework. The information system structure in current production systems in the automotive industry is rigidly hierarchically organized in monolithic systems. The production program is created rule-based with the premise of achieving uniform cycle time. This program then provides the information basis for execution in subsystems at the station and process execution level. In today's era of mixed-(car-)model factories, complex conditions and conflicts arise in achieving logistics, quality, and production goals. There is no provision for feedback loops of results from the process execution level (resources) and process supporting (quality and logistics) systems and reconsideration in the planning systems. To enable a robust production flow, the complexity of production system control is artificially reduced by the line structure and results, for example in material-intensive processes (buffers and safety stocks - two container principle also for different variants). The limited degrees of freedom of line production have produced the principle of progress figure control, which results in one-time sequencing, sequential order release, and relatively inflexible capacity control. As a result, modularly structured production systems such as modular production according to known approaches with more degrees of freedom are currently difficult to represent in terms of information technology. The remedy is an information concept that supports cross-system and cross-level information processing for centralized and decentralized decision-making. Through an architecture of hierarchically organized but decoupled subsystems, the paradigm of hybrid control is used, and a holonic manufacturing system is offered, which enables flexible information provisioning and processing support. In this way, the influences from quality, logistics, and production processes can be linked holistically with the advantages of mixed centralized and decentralized planning and control. Modular production systems also require modularly networked information systems with semi-autonomous optimization for a robust production flow. Dynamic prioritization of different key figures between subsystems should lead the production system to an overall optimum. The tasks and goals of quality, logistics, process, resource, and product areas in a cyber-physical production system are designed as an interconnected multi-agent-system. The result is an alternative system structure that executes centralized process planning and decentralized processing. An agent-based manufacturing control is used to enable different flexibility and reconfigurability states and manufacturing strategies in order to find optimal partial solutions of subsystems, that lead to a near global optimum for hybrid planning. This allows a robust near to plan execution with integrated quality control and intralogistics.

Keywords: holonic manufacturing system, modular production system, planning, and control, system structure

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Authors: Wenxiao Liu, Kun Zhang, Yongqing Li

Abstract:

Bovine herpesvirus 1, a member of the genus Variellovirus of the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae, has caused severe economic cost to the bovine industry. In this study, BoHV-1 glycerol protein gD was expressed in insect cells, and the purified gD was immunized in the Balb/C mice to generate monoclonal antibodies. Based on hybridoma cell fusion techniques, 20 monoclonal antibodies against Bovine herpesvirus 1 have been obtained. Further, mAb 3F8 with neutralizing activity and gD were applied to develop a blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Elisa) for detecting neutralizing antibodies against BoHV-1, which shows a significant correlation between the blocking Elisa and VNT. The sensitivity and specificity of the test were estimated to be 94.59% and 93.42%, respectively. Furthermore, antibody pairing tests revealed that mAb 1B6 conjugated to fluorescence microspheres was used as the capture antibody, and mAb 3F9 was used as the detectable antibody to establish the immunochromatographic assay (ICS). The ICS was conducted to detect BoHV-1 in bovine samples with high sensitivity, specificity, and good stability. Clinical sample testing revealed that the results of ICS and real-time PCR have a coincidence rate of 95.42%. Our research confirmed that the ICS is a rapid and reliable method for the diagnosis of BoHV-1. In conclusion, our results lay a solid foundation for the prevention and control of BoHV-1 infection.

Keywords: bovine disease, BoHV-1, ELISA, ICS assay

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Sinan Alsaadi, Mustafa Merdan

Abstract:

Communication and access systems can be made with many methods in today’s world. These systems are such standards as Wifi, Wimax, Bluetooth, GPS and GPRS. Devices which use these standards also use system resources excessively in direct proportion to their transmission speed. However, large-scale data communication is not always needed. In such cases, a technology which will use system resources as little as possible and support smart network topologies has been needed in order to enable the transmissions of such small packet data and provide the control for this kind of devices. IEEE issued 802.15.4 standard upon this necessity and enabled the production of Zigbee protocol which takes these standards as its basis and devices which support this protocol. In our project, this communication protocol was preferred. The aim of this study is to provide the immediate data transmission of our robot from the field within the scope of the project. In addition, making the communication with the robot through Zigbee Protocol has also been aimed. While sitting on the computer, obtaining the desired data from the region where the robot is located has been taken as the basis. Arduino Uno R3 microcontroller which provides the control mechanism, 1298 shield as the motor driver.

Keywords: ZigBee, wireless network, remote monitoring, smart home, agricultural industry

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Authors: Yusuf A. Bako, Olubunmi O. Kolawole

Abstract:

This study sought to establish the effect of recruitment and selection on the employee performance in hospitality industries. The success of any organization in this modern business environment depends on the caliber of the manpower that steer the affairs of the organization. History has shown that recruitment and selection as a function of human resources management practices have a pivotal role in determining the level of employee performance in an organization. The hospitality industries have been faced with challenges of performance due to unconventional selection and placement practices in terms of poor policy in selecting candidate, inconsistency in selection process, sidetracking employment test and interview, godfatherism and regional selection process etc. The overall objective of the study was to determine how recruitment and selection affect employee performance in hospitality industry in Ogun State, Nigeria. This study adopts descriptive and inferential research design while population was drawn from leading hotels in Ogun State, Nigeria. The samples size was 100 employees and questionnaire was used to collect data while Cronbach alpha was used to test the instrument. The result of the study reveals that correlation between employee performance and recruitment and selection were highly significant.

Keywords: employee performance, human resources management, practices, recruitment, selection

Procedia PDF Downloads 350