Search results for: operational capability

Authors: John Hardy

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A range of future-oriented intelligence techniques is commonly used by states to assess their national security and develop strategies to detect and manage threats, to develop and sustain capabilities, and to recover from attacks and disasters. Although homeland security organizations use future's intelligence tools to generate scenarios and simulations which inform their planning, there have been relatively few studies of the methods available or their applications for homeland security purposes. This study presents an assessment of one category of strategic intelligence techniques, termed Multi-Path Futures Analyses (MPFA), and how it can be applied to three distinct tasks for the purpose of analyzing homeland security issues. Within this study, MPFA are categorized as a suite of analytic techniques which can include effects-based operations principles, general morphological analysis, multi-path mapping, and multi-criteria decision analysis techniques. These techniques generate multiple pathways to potential futures and thereby generate insight into the relative influence of individual drivers of change, the desirability of particular combinations of pathways, and the kinds of capabilities which may be required to influence or mitigate certain outcomes. The study assessed eighteen uses of MPFA for homeland security purposes and found that there are five key applications of MPFA which add significant value to analysis. The first application is generating measures of success and associated progress indicators for strategic planning. The second application is identifying homeland security vulnerabilities and relationships between individual drivers of vulnerability which may amplify or dampen their effects. The third application is selecting appropriate resources and methods of action to influence individual drivers. The fourth application is prioritizing and optimizing path selection preferences and decisions. The fifth application is informing capability development and procurement decisions to build and sustain homeland security organizations. Each of these applications provides a unique perspective of a homeland security issue by comparing a range of potential future outcomes at a set number of intervals and by contrasting the relative resource requirements, opportunity costs, and effectiveness measures of alternative courses of action. These findings indicate that MPFA enhances analysts’ ability to generate tangible measures of success, identify vulnerabilities, select effective courses of action, prioritize future pathway preferences, and contribute to ongoing capability development in homeland security assessments.

Keywords: homeland security, intelligence, national security, operational design, strategic intelligence, strategic planning

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Authors: Mohammad Reza Nafar

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In order to get a better understanding of supply chain visibility for creating strategic value, this paper uses a dynamic capability lens to reveal the nature of supply chain visibility. This paper identifies the importance of supply chain visibility in driving supply chain reconfigurability and consequently improving supply chain strategic performance. Empirical evidence shows that visibility has a direct impact on supply chain strategic performance. It also supports that visibility is important for enhancing supply chain reconfigurability, thus creating strategic value in supply chains. Supply chain visibility, therefore, enables firms to reconfigure their supply chain resources for a better competitive advantage. From the perspective of practitioners, the results display several insights into how managers should create strategic value from supply chain visibility. Prominently, managers or decision-makers need to take advantage of supply chain visibility in order to use and recombine resources in a value creation manner.

Keywords: supply chain visibility, strategic performance, competitive advantage, resource mobilization, information system

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Authors: Volker Koch, Sigrid Swobodnik, Bernd M. Zunk

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The success of companies on globalized markets is significantly influenced by the performance of purchasing departments and, of course, the individuals employed as professional purchasers. Nonetheless, this is generally accepted in practice, in literature as well as in empirical research, only insufficient attention was given to the assessment of this relationship between the personality of professional purchasers and their individual performance. This paper aims to describe the relationship against the background of the 'Big Five Inventory'. Based on the five dimensions of a personality (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) a research model was designed. The research model divides the individual performance of professional purchasers into two major dimensions: operational and strategic. The operational dimension consists of the items 'cost', 'quality delivery' and 'flexibility'; the strategic dimension comprises the positions 'innovation', 'supplier satisfaction' as wells as 'purchasing and supply management integration in the organization'. To test the research model, a survey study was performed, and an online questionnaire was sent out to purchasing professionals in Austrian companies. The data collected from 78 responses was used to test the research model applying a group comparison. The comparison points out that there is (i) an influence of the purchasers’ personality on the individual performance of professional purchasers and (ii) a link between purchasers’ personality to a high or a low individual performance of professional purchasers. The findings of this study may help human resource managers during staff recruitment processes to identify the 'right performing personality' for an operational and/or a strategic position in purchasing departments.

Keywords: big five inventory, individual performance, personality, purchasing professionals

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Authors: Hamzeh Soltanali, Abbas Rohani, A. H. S. Garmabaki, Mohammad Hossein Abbaspour-Fard, Adithya Thaduri

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Toward continuous innovation and high complexity of technological systems, the automotive manufacturing industry is also under pressure to implement adequate management strategies regarding availability and productivity. In this context, evaluation of system’s performance by considering reliability, availability and maintainability (RAM) methodologies can constitute for resilient operation, identifying the bottlenecks of manufacturing process and optimization of maintenance actions. In this paper, RAM parameters are evaluated for improving the operational performance of the fluid filling process. To evaluate the RAM factors through the behavior of states defined for such process, a systematic decision framework was developed. The results of RAM analysis revealed that that the improving reliability and maintainability of main bottlenecks for each filling workstation need to be considered as a priority. The results could be useful to improve operational performance and sustainability of production process.

Keywords: automotive, performance, reliability, RAM, fluid filling process

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Authors: Andrew D. Henshaw

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The research examines the influence of familial and kinship based leadership on the resilience of politically violent organizations. Organizations of this type frequently fight in the same conflicts though are called 'terrorist' or 'insurgent' depending on political foci of the time, and thus different approaches are used to combat them. The research considers them correlated phenomena with significant overlap and identifies strengths and vulnerabilities in resilience processes. The research employs paired case studies to examine resilience in organizations under significant external pressure, and achieves this by measuring three variables. 1: Organizational robustness in terms of leadership and governance. 2. Bounce-back response efficiency to external pressures and adaptation to endogenous and exogenous shock. 3. Perpetuity of operational and attack capability, and political legitimacy. The research makes three hypotheses. First, familial/kinship leadership groups have a significant effect on organizational resilience in terms of informal operations. Second, non-familial/kinship organizations suffer in terms of heightened security transaction costs and social economics surrounding recruitment, retention, and replacement. Third, resilience in non-familial organizations likely stems from critical external supports like state sponsorship or powerful patrons, rather than organic resilience dynamics. The case studies pair familial organizations with non-familial organizations. Set 1: The Haqqani Network (HQN) - Pair: Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). Set 2: Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) - Pair: The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Case studies were selected based on three requirements, being: contrasting governance types, exposure to significant external pressures and, geographical similarity. The case study sets were examined over 24 months following periods of significantly heightened operational activities. This enabled empirical measurement of the variables as substantial external pressures came into force. The rationale for the research is obvious. Nearly all organizations have some nexus of familial interconnectedness. Examining familial leadership networks does not provide further understanding of how terrorism and insurgency originate, however, the central focus of the research does address how they persist. The sparse attention to this in existing literature presents an unexplored yet important area of security studies. Furthermore, social capital in familial systems is largely automatic and organic, given at birth or through kinship. It reduces security vetting cost for recruits, fighters and supporters which lowers liabilities and entry costs, while raising organizational efficiency and exit costs. Better understanding of these process is needed to exploit strengths into weaknesses. Outcomes and implications of the research have critical relevance to future operational policy development. Increased clarity of internal trust dynamics, social capital and power flows are essential to fracturing and manipulating kinship nexus. This is highly valuable to external pressure mechanisms such as counter-terrorism, counterinsurgency, and strategic intelligence methods to penetrate, manipulate, degrade or destroy the resilience of politically violent organizations.

Keywords: Counterinsurgency (COIN), counter-terrorism, familial influence, insurgency, intelligence, kinship, resilience, terrorism

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Authors: Santos Cabrera, Halbert Yesid, Moncada Nino, Alvaro Fernando, Rincon Cuta, Yeisson Alexis

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The present work evaluates the feasibility of implementing a health and use monitoring system (HUMS), based on vibration analysis as a condition-based maintenance program for the UH60L 'Blackhawk' helicopters. The mixed approach used consists of contributions from national and international experts, the analysis of data extracted from the software (Meridium), the correlation of variables derived from the diagnosis of availability, the development, and application of the HUMS system, the evaluation of the latter through of the use of instruments designed for the collection of information using the DELPHI method and data capture with the device installed in the helicopter studied. The results obtained in the investigation reflect the context of maintenance in aerial operations, a reduction of operation and maintenance costs of over 2%, better use of human resources, improvement in availability (5%), and fulfillment of the aircraft’s security standards, enabling the implementation of the monitoring system (HUMS) in the condition-based maintenance program. New elements are added to the study of maintenance based on condition -specifically, in the determination of viability based on qualitative and quantitative data according to the methodology. The use of condition-based maintenance will allow organizations to adjust and reconfigure their strategic, logistical, and maintenance capabilities, aligning them with their strategic objectives of responding quickly and adequately to changes in the environment and operational requirements.

Keywords: air transportation sustainability, HUMS, maintenance based condition, maintenance blackhawk capability

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Authors: Gokhan Kilic, Pelin Celik

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Structural health monitoring (SHM) is widely used in evaluating the state and health of membrane structures. In the past, in order to collect data and send it to a data collection unit on membrane structures, wire sensors had to be put as part of the SHM process. However, this study recommends using wireless sensors instead of traditional wire ones to construct an economical, useful, and easy-to-install membrane structure health monitoring system. Every wireless sensor uses a software translation program that is connected to the monitoring server. Operational neural networks (ONNs) have recently been developed to solve the shortcomings of convolutional neural networks (CNNs), such as the network's resemblance to the linear neuron model. The results of using ONNs for monitoring to evaluate the structural health of a membrane are presented in this work.

Keywords: wireless sensor network, non-destructive testing, operational neural networks, membrane structures, dynamic monitoring

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Authors: Yuexi Xiong, Jingwu He

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The structural components in an energy facility such as steam turbine machines are operated under high stress and elevated temperature in an endured time period and thus the creep deformation and creep rupture failure are important issues that need to be addressed in the design of such components. There are numerous creep models being used for creep analysis that have both advantages and disadvantages in terms of accuracy and efficiency. The Isochronous Creep Analysis is one of the simplified approaches in which a full-time dependent creep analysis is avoided and instead an elastic-plastic analysis is conducted at each time point. This approach has been established based on the rupture dependent creep equations using the well-known Larson-Miller parameter. In this paper, some fundamental aspects of creep deformation and the rupture dependent creep models are reviewed and the analysis procedures using isochronous creep curves are discussed. Four rupture failure criteria are examined from creep fundamental perspectives including criteria of Stress Damage, Strain Damage, Strain Rate Damage, and Strain Capability. The accuracy of these criteria in predicting creep life is discussed and applications of the creep analysis procedures and failure predictions of simple models will be presented. In addition, a new failure criterion is proposed to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of the existing criteria. Comparisons are made between the existing criteria and the new one using several examples materials. Both strain increase and stress relaxation form a full picture of the creep behaviour of a material under high temperature in an endured time period. It is important to bear this in mind when dealing with creep problems. Accordingly there are two sets of rupture dependent creep equations. While the rupture strength vs LMP equation shows how the rupture time depends on the stress level under load controlled condition, the strain rate vs rupture time equation reflects how the rupture time behaves under strain-controlled condition. Among the four existing failure criteria for rupture life predictions, the Stress Damage and Strain Damage Criteria provide the most conservative and non-conservative predictions, respectively. The Strain Rate and Strain Capability Criteria provide predictions in between that are believed to be more accurate because the strain rate and strain capability are more determined quantities than stress to reflect the creep rupture behaviour. A modified Strain Capability Criterion is proposed making use of the two sets of creep equations and therefore is considered to be more accurate than the original Strain Capability Criterion.

Keywords: creep analysis, high temperature mateials, rapture evalution, steam turbine machines

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Authors: Kung-Jen Tu

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Many public housing properties developed by local governments in Taiwan in the 1980s have deteriorated severely as these rental apartment buildings aged. The lack of building maintainability considerations during project design phase as well as insufficient maintenance funds have made it difficult and costly for local governments to maintain and keep public housing properties in good shape. In order to assist the local governments in achieving and delivering sustainable public housing, this paper intends to present a developed design evaluation method to be used to evaluate the presented design schemes from property management and financial feasibility perspectives during project design phase of public housing projects. The design evaluation results, i.e. the property management and financial implications of presented design schemes that could occur later during the building operation and maintenance phase, will be reported to the client (the government) and design schemes revised consequently. It is proposed that the design evaluation be performed from two main perspectives: (1) Operation and property management perspective: Three criteria such as spatial appropriateness, people and vehicle circulation and control, property management working spaces are used to evaluate the ‘operation and PM effectiveness’ of a design scheme. (2) Financial feasibility perspective: Four types of financial analyses are performed to assess the long term financial feasibility of a presented design scheme, such as operational and rental income analysis, management fund analysis, regular operational and property management service expense analysis, capital expense analysis. The ongoing Chung-Li Public Housing Project developed by the Taoyuan City Government will be used as a case to demonstrate how the presented design evaluation method is implemented. The results of property management assessment as well as the annual operational and capital expenses of a proposed design scheme are presented.

Keywords: design evaluation method, management fund, operational and capital expenses, rental apartment buildings

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Authors: M. S. Nikitenko, S. A. Kizilov, D. Y. Khudonogov

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The paper considers an approach to a machine vision operating system combined with using a grid of light markers. This approach is used to solve several scientific and technical problems, such as measuring the capability of an apron feeder delivering coal from a lining return port to a conveyor in the technology of mining high coal releasing to a conveyor and prototyping an autonomous vehicle obstacle detection system. Primary verification of a method of calculating bulk material volume using three-dimensional modeling and validation in laboratory conditions with relative errors calculation were carried out. A method of calculating the capability of an apron feeder based on a machine vision system and a simplifying technology of a three-dimensional modelled examined measuring area with machine vision was offered. The proposed method allows measuring the volume of rock mass moved by an apron feeder using machine vision. This approach solves the volume control issue of coal produced by a feeder while working off high coal by lava complexes with release to a conveyor with accuracy applied for practical application. The developed mathematical apparatus for measuring feeder productivity in kg/s uses only basic mathematical functions such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Thus, this fact simplifies software development, and this fact expands the variety of microcontrollers and microcomputers suitable for performing tasks of calculating feeder capability. A feature of an obstacle detection issue is to correct distortions of the laser grid, which simplifies their detection. The paper presents algorithms for video camera image processing and autonomous vehicle model control based on obstacle detection machine vision systems. A sample fragment of obstacle detection at the moment of distortion with the laser grid is demonstrated.

Keywords: machine vision, machine vision operating system, light markers, measuring capability, obstacle detection system, autonomous transport

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Authors: Lodgaard Eirin, Myklebust Odd, Eleftheriadis Ragnhild

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Continuous improvement is becoming increasingly a prerequisite for manufacturing companies to remain competitive in a global market. In addition, future survival and success will depend on the ability to manage the forthcoming digitalization transformation in the industry 4.0 era. Industry 4.0 promises substantially increased operational effectiveness, were all equipment are equipped with integrated processing and communication capabilities. Subsequently, the interplay of human and technology will evolve and influence the range of worker tasks and demands. Taking into account these changes, the concept of continuous improvement must evolve accordingly. Based on a case study from manufacturing industry, the purpose of this paper is to point out what the concept of continuous improvement will meet and has to take into considering when entering the 4th industrial revolution. In the past, continuous improvement has the focus on a culture of sustained improvement targeting the elimination of waste in all systems and processes of an organization by involving everyone. Today, it has to be evolved into the forthcoming digital transformation and the increased interplay of human and digital communication system to reach its full potential. One main findings of this study, is how digital communication systems will act as an enabler to strengthen the continuous improvement process, by moving from collaboration within individual teams to interconnection of teams along the product value chain. For academics and practitioners, it will help them to identify and prioritize their steps towards an industry 4.0 implementation integrated with focus on continuous improvement.

Keywords: continuous improvement, digital communication system, human-machine-interaction, industry 4.0, team perfomance

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Authors: H. Aburideh, Z.Tigrine, D. Ziou, S. Hout, R. Bellatreche, D. Belhout, Z. Belgroun, M. Abbas

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Faced with climate hazards in recent decades and the constant increase of the population, Algeria is making considerable efforts to provide water resources and water availability, both for its nascent industry, agriculture and for the drinking water supply of cities and arid region of the country. Following a remarkable worldwide technological breakthrough in seawater and brackish water desalination, known in recent years, the specialists have seen that the use of desalination of sea water in Algeria is a promising alternative as long as it has a coastline of 1200 km. Seawater is clean and virtually inexhaustible resource; mainly for population and industry that have high water consumption and are close to the sea. The purpose of this work is to present information on the number of sea water desalination stations and demineralization plants existing in Algeria. The constraints related to the operation of certain stations; those which are operational, those that are not operational as well as the seawater desalination program that was hired to cover 49 desalination plants across the country at the end of 2019 with the aim of increasing and diversifying water resources.

Keywords: desalination, water, membrane, demineralization

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Authors: Mohammad Mohammadi, Mojtaba Askari, Mohammad Farouq Hossaini

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An intrinsic property of rock mass known as rock bolt supporting factor (RSF) or rock bolting capability of rock mass was developed and used for explanation of the mechanism of rock bolting practice. Based on the theory of RSF, numeral values can be assigned to each given rock mass to show the capability of that rock mass to be reinforced by rock bolting. For determination of shotcrete thickness, both safety and cost must be taken into account. The present paper introduces a scientific approach for determination of the necessary shotcrete thickness in underground structures for support purposes using the concept of rock bolt supporting factor (RSF). The proposed approach makes the outcome of shotcrete design one step more accurate than before. The actual dataset of 500 meters of Alborz Tunnel length is used as an example of the application of the approach.

Keywords: rock bolt supporting factor (RSF), shotcrete design, underground excavation, Alborz Tunnel

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Authors: Ahmed A. D. Sarhan, S. R. Besharaty, Javad Akbaria, M. Hamdi

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The capability of CNC gantry milling machines in manufacturing long components has caused the expanded use of such machines. On the other hand, the machines’ gantry rigidity can reduce under severe loads or vibration during operation. Indeed, the quality of machining is dependent on the machine’s dynamic behavior throughout the operating process. For this reason, this type of machines has always been used prudently and are non efficient. Therefore, they can usually be employed for rough machining and may not produce adequate surface finishing. In this paper, a CNC gantry milling machine with the potential to produce good surface finish has been designed and analyzed. The lowest natural frequency of this machine is 202 Hz at all motion amplitudes with a full range of suitable frequency responses. Meanwhile, the maximum deformation under dead loads for the gantry machine is 0.565µm, indicating that this machine tool is capable of producing higher product quality.

Keywords: frequency response, finite element, gantry machine, gantry design, static and dynamic analysis

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Authors: P. F. Wong, H. Salleh, F. A. Rahim

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The adoption of building information modeling (BIM) is increasing in the construction industry. However, quantity surveyors are slow in adoption compared to other professions due to lack of awareness of the BIM’s potential in their profession. It is still unclear on how BIM application can enhance quantity surveyors’ work performance and project performance. The aim of this research is to identify the capabilities of BIM in quantity surveying practices and examine the relationship between BIM capabilities and project performance. Questionnaire survey and interviews were adopted for data collection. Literature reviews identified there are eleven BIM capabilities in quantity surveying practice. Questionnaire results showed that there are several BIM capabilities significantly correlated with project performance in time, cost and quality aspects and the results were validated through interviews. These findings show that BIM has the capabilities to enhance quantity surveyors’ performances and subsequently improved project performance.

Keywords: Building Information Modeling (BIM), quantity surveyors, capability, project performance

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Authors: Wiriranai Brilliant Masara

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The African Peace and Security Architecture is widely celebrated and revered as a paragon of the will to address peace and security challenges in Africa. However, like any other institution, it is embedded with operational and institutional challenges that prevent it from effectively carrying out its mandate and turning goals into achieved results. The article examines the fundamental flaws and weaknesses of the African Peace and Security Architecture by focusing on its institutions, norms, instruments, and its relationship to Africa’s Regional Economic Communities. Therefore, the article reviews the flaws of the five elements of the African Peace and Security Architecture which are the Peace and Security Council, Panel of the Wise, Continental Early Warning System, African Standby Force, and Peace Fund.

Keywords: African Union, African Peace and Security Architecture, peace and security council, continental early warning system, African Standby Force, Panel of the Wise, Peace Fund

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Authors: H. W. Meerveld, R. H. A. Lindelauf

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In contemporary warfare, data science is crucial for the military in achieving information superiority. Yet, to the authors’ knowledge, no extensive literature survey on data science in military decision-making has been conducted so far. In this study, 156 peer-reviewed articles were analysed through an integrative, semi-systematic literature review to gain an overview of the topic. The study examined to what extent literature is focussed on the opportunities or risks of data science in military decision-making, differentiated per level of war (i.e. strategic, operational, and tactical level). A relatively large focus on the risks of data science was observed in social science literature, implying that political and military policymakers are disproportionally influenced by a pessimistic view on the application of data science in the military domain. The perceived risks of data science are, however, hardly addressed in formal science literature. This means that the concerns on the military application of data science are not addressed to the audience that can actually develop and enhance data science models and algorithms. Cross-disciplinary research on both the opportunities and risks of military data science can address the observed research gaps. Considering the levels of war, relatively low attention for the operational level compared to the other two levels was observed, suggesting a research gap with reference to military operational data science. Opportunities for military data science mostly arise at the tactical level. On the contrary, studies examining strategic issues mostly emphasise the risks of military data science. Consequently, domain-specific requirements for military strategic data science applications are hardly expressed. Lacking such applications may ultimately lead to a suboptimal strategic decision in today’s warfare.

Keywords: data science, decision-making, information superiority, literature review, military

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Authors: Rajeshkumar U. Sambhe

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Large scale Indian manufacturers started implementing Six Sigma to their supply core to fulfill the endless need of high quality products. As well, they initiated encouraging their suppliers to apply the well-ascertain SS management practice and kept no resource for supplier enterprises, generally small midsized enterprises to think for the admittance of Six Sigma as a quality promotion drive. There are many issues to study for requisite changes before the introduction of Six Sigma in auto SMEs. This paper converges on impeding factors while implementing SS drive and also pinpoints the gains achieved through successful implementation. The result of this study suggest some operational guidelines for effective implementation of Six Sigma from evidences acquired through research questionnaire and interviews with industrial professionals, apportioned to assort auto sector mid-sized enterprises (MSEs) in India.

Keywords: indian automotive SMEs, quality management practices, six sigma imperatives, problems faced in six sigma implementation, benefits, some guidelines for implementation

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Authors: Hsing-Hua Stella Chang, Mong-Ching Lin, Cher-Min Fong

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There has recently been a notable rise in the number of emerging-market industrial small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have managed to upgrade their operations. Evolving from original equipment manufacturing (OEM) into value-added original or own brand manufacturing (OBM) in such firms represents a specific process of internationalization. The OEM-OBM upgrade requires development of a firm’s own brand. In this respect, the extant literature points out that emerging-market industrial marketers (latecomers) have developed some marketing capabilities, of which branding has been identified as one of the most important. In specific, an industrial non-brand marketer (OEM) marks the division of labor between manufacturing and branding (as part of marketing). In light of this discussion, this research argues that branding capability plays a critical role in supporting the evolution of manufacture upgrade. This is because a smooth transformation from OEM to OBM entails the establishment of strong brands through which branding capability is developed. Accordingly, branding capability can be exemplified as a series of processes and practices in relation to mobilizing branding resources and orchestrating branding activities, which will result in the establishment of business relationships, greater acceptance of business partners (channels, suppliers), and increased industrial brand equity in the firm as key resource advantages). For the study purpose, Taiwan was chosen as the research context, representing a typical case that exemplifies the industrial development path of more-established emerging markets, namely, transformation from OEM to OBM. This research adopted a two-phase research design comprising exploratory (a qualitative study) and confirmatory approaches (a survey study) The findings show that: Country-specific advantage is positively related to branding capability for internationalizing SMEs. Firm-specific advantage is positively related to branding capability for internationalizing SMEs. Hsing-Hua Stella Chang is Assistant Professor with National Taichung University of Education, International Master of Business Administration, (Yingcai Campus) No.227, Minsheng Rd., West Dist., Taichung City 40359, Taiwan, R.O.C. (phone: 886-22183612; e-mail: [email protected]). Mong-Ching Lin is PhD candidate with National Sun Yat-Sen University, Department of Business Management, 70 Lien-hai Rd., Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan, R.O.C. (e-mail: [email protected]). Cher-Min Fong is Full Professor with National Sun Yat-Sen University, Department of Business Management, 70 Lien-hai Rd., Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan, R.O.C. (e-mail: [email protected]). Branding capability is positively related to international performance for internationalizing SMEs. This study presents a pioneering effort to distinguish industrial brand marketers from non-brand marketers in exploring the role of branding capability in the internationalizing small and medium-sized industrial brand marketers from emerging markets. Specifically, when industrial non-brand marketers (OEMs) enter into a more advanced stage of internationalization (i.e., OBM), they must overcome disadvantages (liabilities of smallness, foreignness, outsidership) that do not apply in the case of incumbent developed-country MNEs with leading brands. Such critical differences mark the urgency and significance of distinguishing industrial brand marketers from non-brand marketers on issues relating to their value-adding branding and marketing practices in international markets. This research thus makes important contributions to the international marketing, industrial branding, and SME internationalization literature.

Keywords: brand marketers, branding capability, emerging markets, SME internationalization

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Authors: Darren Zou

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Forecasting the stock market is a very challenging task. Various economic indicators such as GDP, exchange rates, interest rates, and unemployment have a substantial impact on the stock market. Time series models are the traditional methods used to predict stock market changes. In this paper, a machine learning method, Bayesian Additive Regression Tree (BART) is used in predicting stock market indexes based on multiple economic indicators. BART can be used to model heterogeneous treatment effects, and thereby works well when models are misspecified. It also has the capability to handle non-linear main effects and multi-way interactions without much input from financial analysts. In this research, BART is proposed to provide a reliable prediction on day-to-day stock market activities. By comparing the analysis results from BART and with time series method, BART can perform well and has better prediction capability than the traditional methods.

Keywords: BART, Bayesian, predict, stock

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Authors: Won Il Jung, Gene Lee, Luis Rabelo

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Since many weapon systems are getting more complex and diverse, various problems occur in terms of the acquisition cost, time, and performance limitation. As a matter of fact, the experiment execution in real world is costly, dangerous, and time-consuming to obtain Required Operational Characteristics (ROC) for a new weapon acquisition although enhancing the fidelity of experiment results. Also, until presently most of the research contained a large amount of assumptions so therefore a bias is present in the experiment results. At this moment, the new methodology is proposed to solve these problems without a variety of assumptions. ROC of the new weapon system is developed through the new methodology, which is a way to analyze big data generated by simulating various scenarios based on virtual and constructive models which are involving 6 Degrees of Freedom (6DoF). The new methodology enables us to identify unbiased ROC on new weapons by reducing assumptions and provide support in terms of the optimal weapon systems acquisition.

Keywords: big data, required operational characteristics (ROC), virtual and constructive models, weapon acquisition

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Authors: Z. Q. Zhang, Y. Zhang, D. L. Li

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To overcome the some shortcomings associated with traditional flotation machines and columns in collophanite flotation, a flotation device was designed and fabricated in the laboratory. A multi-impeller pump with same function as a mechanical cell was used instead of the injection sparger and circulation pump in column flotation unit. The influence of main operational parameters of the device like feed flow rate, air flow rate and impellers’ speed on collophanite flotation was analyzed. Experiment results indicate that the influence of the operational parameters were significant on flotation recovery and grade of phosphate concentrate. The best operating conditions of the device were: feed flow rate 0.62 L/min, air flow rate 6.67 L/min and impellers speed 900 rpm. At these conditions, a phosphate concentrate assaying about 30.5% P₂O₅ and 1% MgO with a P₂O₅ recovery of about 81% was obtained from a Yuan'an phosphate ore sample containing about 22.30% P₂O₅ and 3.2% MgO.

Keywords: collophanite flotation, flotation columns, flotation machines, multi-impeller pump

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Authors: Sohail Ahmed, Ke Xing

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This research theoretically explored the evolution mechanism of enterprise technological innovation capability system (ETICS) from the perspective of complex adaptive systems (CAS). Starting from CAS theory, this study proposed an analytical framework for ETICS, its concepts and theory by integrating CAS methodology into the management of technological innovation capability of enterprises and discusses how to use the principles of complexity to analyze the composition, evolution and realization of the technological innovation capabilities in complex dynamic environment. This paper introduces the concept and interaction of multi-agent, the theoretical background of CAS and summarizes the sources of technological innovation, the elements of each subject and the main clusters of adaptive interactions and innovation activities. The concept of multi-agents is applied through the linkages of enterprises, research institutions and government agencies with the leading enterprises in industrial settings. The study was exploratory based on CAS theory. Theoretical model is built by considering technological and innovation literature from foundational to state of the art projects of technological enterprises. On this basis, the theoretical model is developed to measure the evolution mechanism of enterprise technological innovation capability system. This paper concludes that the main characteristics for evolution in technological systems are based on enterprise’s research and development personal, investments in technological processes and innovation resources are responsible for the evolution of enterprise technological innovation performance. The research specifically enriched the application process of technological innovation in institutional networks related to enterprises.

Keywords: complex adaptive system, echo model, enterprise knowledge system, research institutions, multi-agents.

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Authors: Rıza Gürhan Korkut, Metin Çelik, Süleyman Özkaynak

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The early-stage design and development projects for the freight village initiatives require a comprehensive analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data. Considering the literature review on structural and operational management requirements, this study proposed an original taxonomy on criterion structure to assess freight village conceptualization. The potential challenges and uncertainties of the developed taxonomy are extended. Besides requirement analysis, this study is also expected to contribute to forthcoming research on benchmarking of freight villages in different regions. The methodology used in this research is a systematic review on several articles as per their modelling approaches, sustainability, entities and decisions made together with the uncertainties and features of their models taken into consideration. The major findings of the study that are the categories for assessing the projects attributes on their environmental, socio-economical, accessibility and location aspects.

Keywords: logistics centers, freight village, operational management, taxonomy

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Authors: Seungchul Lee, Minjeong Kim, Iman Janghorban Esfahani, Jeong Tai Kim, ChangKyoo Yoo

Abstract:

It is hard to maintain the effluent quality of the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) under with fixed types of operational control because of continuously changed influent flow rate and pollutant load. The aims of this study is development of multi-loop multi-objective control (ML-MOC) strategy in plant-wide scope targeting four objectives: 1) maximization of nutrient removal efficiency, 2) minimization of operational cost, 3) maximization of CH4 production in anaerobic digestion (AD) for CH4 reuse as a heat source and energy source, and 4) minimization of N2O gas emission to cope with global warming. First, benchmark simulation mode is modified to describe N2O dynamic in biological process, namely benchmark simulation model for greenhouse gases (BSM2G). Then, three types of single-loop proportional-integral (PI) controllers for DO controller, NO3 controller, and CH4 controller are implemented. Their optimal set-points of the controllers are found by using multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA). Finally, multi loop-MOC in BSM2G is implemented and evaluated in BSM2G. Compared with the reference case, the ML-MOC with the optimal set-points showed best control performances than references with improved performances of 34%, 5% and 79% of effluent quality, CH4 productivity, and N2O emission respectively, with the decrease of 65% in operational cost.

Keywords: Benchmark simulation model for greenhouse gas, multi-loop multi-objective controller, multi-objective genetic algorithm, wastewater treatment plant

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Authors: Jing Jiang, Yuguang Gao, Yang Yu

Abstract:

Facing increasingly challenging insurance payment pressures, the Chinese healthcare system is undergoing significant transformations, akin to the implementation of DRG payment models by the United States' Medicare. Consequently, there is a pressing need for Chinese hospitals to establish optimizations in departmental operations tailored to the ongoing healthcare payment reforms. This abstract delineates the meticulous construction of a scientifically rigorous and comprehensive index system at the departmental level in China strategically aligned with the evolving landscape of healthcare payment reforms. Methodologically, it integrates key process areas and maturity assessment theories, synthesizing relevant literature and industry standards to construct a robust framework and indicator pool. Employing the Delphi method, consultations with 21 experts were conducted, revealing a collective demonstration of high enthusiasm, authority, and coordination in designing the index system. The resulting model comprises four primary indicators -technical capabilities, cost-effectiveness, operational efficiency, and disciplinary potential- supported by 14 secondary indicators and 23 tertiary indicators with varied coefficient adjustment for department types (platform or surgical). The application of this evaluation system in a Chinese hospital within the northeastern region yielded results aligning seamlessly with the actual operational scenario. In conclusion, the index system comprehensively considers the integrity and effectiveness of structural, process, and outcome indicators and stands as a comprehensive reflection of the collective expertise of the engaged experts, manifesting in a model designed to elevate the operational management of hospital departments. Its strategic alignment with healthcare payment reforms holds practical significance in guiding departmental development positioning, brand cultivation, and talent development.

Keywords: Chinese healthcare system, Delphi method, departmental management, evaluation indicators, hospital operations, weight coefficients

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Authors: Hassan Jassim Motlak

Abstract:

A novel design technique employing CMOS Current Feedback Operational Amplifier (CFOA) is presented. The feature of consumption whivh has a very low power in designing pseudo-OTA is used to decreasing the total power consumption of the proposed CFOA. This design approach applies pseudo-OTA as input stage cascaded with buffer stage. Moreover, the DC input offset voltage and harmonic distortion (HD) of the proposed CFOA are very low values compared with the conventional CMOS CFOA due to symmetrical input stage. P-Spice simulation results using 0.18µm MIETEC CMOS process parameters using supply voltage of ±1.2V and 50μA biasing current. The P-Spice simulation shows excellent improvement of the proposed CFOA over existing CMOS CFOA. Some of these performance parameters, for example, are DC gain of 62. dB, open-loop gain-bandwidth product of 108 MHz, slew rate (SR+) of +71.2V/µS, THD of -63dB and DC consumption power (PC) of 2mW.

Keywords: pseudo-OTA used CMOS CFOA, low power CFOA, high-performance CFOA, novel CFOA

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Authors: Eldah Ephraim Buba

Abstract:

The study is aimed at assessing the effect of maintenance practices on tourist patronage. Yankari resort and Safari had a patronage of twenty thousand, three hundred and two international and national tourists in two thousand and ten, fourteen thousand nine hundred and sixty two, in two thousand and eleven and ten thousand six hundred and one, in two thousand and twelve. The number of tourists keeps falling as the resort has been witnessing low patronage. Personal observation has shown that the state of facilities in the resort is bad. This study aims to appraise maintenance practices in the resort and how it affects tourist patronage. Standard checklist was used for the appraisal of facilities, while questionnaires were administered to tourists to examine whether maintenance practices in the resort do affect their patronage. Findings show that Operational maintenance was poorly carried out while repairs maintenance was fairly done. The study also discovered that there is significant relationship between maintenance practices and tourist patronage. It is recommended that adequate repairs and operational maintenance practices should be carried out in the resort to encourage tourist patronage.

Keywords: maintenance, practices, tourist, patronage

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Authors: Deepak Kumar, Debasish Deb, Reena Mamgain

Abstract:

Radar signal processing requires high number crunching capability. Most often this is achieved using multiprocessor platform. Though multiprocessor platform provides the capability of meeting the real time computational challenges, the architecture of the same along with mapping of the algorithm on the architecture plays a vital role in efficiently using the platform. Towards this, along with standard performance metrics, few additional metrics are defined which helps in evaluating the multiprocessor platform along with the algorithm mapping. A generic multiprocessor architecture can not suit all the processing requirements. Depending on the system requirement and type of algorithms used, the most suitable architecture for the given problem is decided. In the paper, we study different architectures and quantify the different performance metrics which enables comparison of different architectures for their merit. We also carried out case study of different architectures and their efficiency depending on parallelism exploited on algorithm or data or both.

Keywords: radar signal processing, multiprocessor architecture, efficiency, load imbalance, buffer requirement, pipeline, parallel, hybrid, cluster of processors (COPs)

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Authors: Arun Prasad Jaganathan

Abstract:

In today's dynamic industrial world, traditional task allocation methods often fall short in adapting to evolving operational conditions. This paper introduces an AI-enabled task assistance and management system designed to overcome the limitations of conventional approaches. By using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the system intelligently interprets user instructions, analyzes tasks, and allocates resources based on real-time data and environmental factors. Additionally, geolocation tracking enables proactive identification of potential delays, ensuring timely interventions. With its transparent reporting mechanisms, the system provides stakeholders with clear insights into task progress, fostering accountability and informed decision-making. The paper presents a comprehensive overview of the system architecture, algorithm, and implementation, highlighting its potential to revolutionize task management across diverse industries.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, machine learning, task allocation, operational efficiency, resource optimization

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