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Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) is an extrusion-based manufacturing process using fused thermoplastics. Despite its low cost, the FFF is not extensively used in high-value industrial sectors mainly due to parts' anisotropy (related to the deposition strategy) and residual stresses (caused by successive heating cycles). Thus, this study aims to investigate the process improvement and the optimization of the printed parts.

In this work, a meshless technique – the Radial Point Interpolation Method (RPIM) – is used to numerically simulate the viscoplastic extrusion process – the initial phase of the FFF. Unlike the FEM, in meshless methods, there is no pre-established relationship between the nodes so the nodal mesh will not face mesh distortions and the discretization can easily be modified by adding or removing nodes from the initial nodal mesh. The accuracy of the obtained results highlights the importance of using meshless techniques in this field.

Meshless methods show particular relevance in this topic since the nodes can be distributed to match the layer-by-layer growing condition of the printing process.

Using the flow formulation combined with the heat transfer formulation presented here for the first time within an in-house RPIM code, an algorithm is proposed, implemented and validated for benchmark examples.

The construction industry is a crucial industry for national development worldwide. Because the construction industry is tied to national and international economic activities, the COVID-19 outbreak has limited construction projects. Therefore, this study investigates the most influential factors regarding COVID-19 and their effects on the construction industry.

The potential impacts of COVID-19 on the construction industry were identified through a realistic literature review and interviews with professionals. A questionnaire was distributed via e-mail to architects, civil engineers and contractors who play vital roles during the construction processes. The data were analysed using SPSS 22 and LISREL 8.7 software to quantify the most influential pandemic-related factors faced by the construction industry.

Ten influential pandemic factors affecting the construction industry in Turkey were identified. Among them, “increased costs and price escalations due to shortage of raw materials and supply chain disruption” and “challenges with payment and cash flows” were determined as the most influential pandemic factors.

This research aims to advance comprehension of pandemic impacts and contributes an incipient assessment framework based on 10 determined pandemic factors. Therefore, contractors, architects and civil engineers may analyse their weaknesses and organise precise priorities so that their firms may remain competitive, thus minimising the adverse impact of COVID-19 and possible forthcoming waves.

Few studies have identified the effect of pandemics on the construction industry qualitatively, forcing management to make projections to the current situation. Moreover, no study has provided insights into the influential factors of pandemics using quantitative methods. Therefore, this study comprehensively and quantitatively determines the relevant COVID-19 pandemic factors using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and utilises confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling to present a structural model of how pandemic factors affect the Turkish construction industry.

Competence development is a prerequisite for successfully meeting existing and future challenges in the retail sector. However, current human resource development practices are often limited in their scope and offerings. This study sets out to investigate and bring to light informal learning among retail professionals.

This research consists of two exploratory studies focused on store managers and procurement officers, respectively. Based on a typology of learning mechanisms, the authors conducted eleven in-depth interviews, generating a rich body of empirical data centred on how informal learning takes place at work.

The research points out key learning mechanisms for each occupation and offers detailed narratives of how they are embedded in everyday learning. In addition, the findings provide a synthesis of the complex nature of learning mechanisms and their variations in form and orientation.

By generating tangible and explicit knowledge on the topic of informal learning, the results contribute to both professionals, who may actively engage in useful learning mechanisms, and managers, who may develop processes and structures based on key learning mechanisms.

This paper helps to demystify the tacit and often unnoticed learning that takes place at work. In doing so, it broadens the perspective on competence development and facilitates future discussions of human resource development practices in the retail industry and the research community.

According to the literature, general personality traits are less strongly related to the creation of new ventures than specific/proximal personality traits. Therefore, this study aims to understand the different proximal personalities that influence the entrepreneurial intention to start a new venture and the relationship between them.

Data were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire filled in by students of entrepreneurship or related courses at the end of the second semester (2019/2020 academic year), and the research option is based on covariance-based structural equation modelling.

The results of this study show that entrepreneurial intentions can be predicted by specific individual traits, namely, risk-taking, entrepreneurial alertness, creativity, proactivity and self-efficacy. Moreover, it was found that risk-taking mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial alertness and proactivity. On the other hand, students’ creativity mediates the relationship between risk-taking and proactivity. Finally, students’ self-efficacy mediates the relationship between proactiveness and entrepreneurial intention.

The results have implications for entrepreneurship education given that a better understanding of the personality traits that influence entrepreneurial intentions can lead to the development of new approaches and pedagogical tools.

This model can be used as a diagnostic tool for designing an effective and efficient entrepreneurship curriculum and pedagogy, acting as an (ongoing) audit of students’ entrepreneurial intentions to get a scientific basis in case of further course/module adjustments.

Adopting digital technology could facilitate the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some analysts argue that countries that adopted digital technology in their health sector have managed to control the virus better (Whitelaw et al., 2020). For instance, countries with more comprehensive contact tracing have significantly lower fatality rates (Yalaman et al., 2021). Moreover, World Health Organization (WHO) believes this technology is a crucial enabler for countries to meet the current challenge (WHO. Regional Office for the Western Pacific & University of Melbourne, 2021). In this regard, this study aims to quantitatively find the relationship between the technological advancement of countries and COVID-19 health outcomes, using seven technological indices that measure technological advancement.

The authors used the multiple linear regression method to answer the research questions. The first analysis focuses on a cross section of all countries worldwide, and the second focuses on European countries for which weekly death statistics exist after the pandemic.

The findings support those countries with more technological abilities managed to control the virus’s mortality better, as evidenced by the negative link between the mortality rate of COVID-19 and the technological factors at the national level. Results also reveal that technology adoption decreases the death risk due to COVID-19 in countries with more elderly people. The authors may argue that technological advancement positively correlates with the number of deaths and diagnosed cases because the authors can better collect data or because the virus spreads due to higher economic and business activities. However, such technological advancement significantly decreases the death risk (lower mortality rate in the first analysis and lower mortality rate for elderly people in the second analysis).

Three important conclusions could be made from the results: a lower mortality rate is generally expected for countries adopting advanced technology; technological advancement significantly decreases the death risk for elderly people; and a higher technology adoption level does not necessarily result in fewer diagnosed cases of/death due to COVID-19.

Although some studies have focused on e-health applications in the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, no studies, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, have tried to quantify its efficacy, most especially on the global level.

This preliminary study aims to examine the use of a co-designed immersive virtual reality intervention programme in improving access to health care for people with intellectual disability.

A co-production approach was used to design a virtual reality intervention in collaboration with people with intellectual disability, their families and carers. A mixed-method single sample pre-test-post-test design examined using a virtual reality intervention simulating health-care environments to improve access of attending health-care appointments. Qualitative feedback was used to understand participants’ experience and opinions of using the digital technology.

The study found that the intervention did help people access health-care appointment and reduced their fear. Improvements were also found in quality-of-life post intervention. Positive feedback was provided from participants on using digital technologies indicating the novelty of the approach and potential further applications.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which has used virtual reality to support people with intellectual disability access health care.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the most progressive commodity among current information system applications. In-house development and sales of beneficial products are difficult for many software development and service companies (SDSCs). SDSCs have some implicit concerns about implementing AI software development due to the complexity of AI technology; they require an evaluation framework to avoid development failure. To fill the void, this study identified the factors influencing SDSCs when developing AI software development.

Based on complex adaptive systems theory, three aspects were developed as the main factors of hierarchy, namely, employees' capabilities, environmental resources and team capabilities. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) was used to assess the SDSCs' attitude. Based on SDSCs, attitudes toward implementing AI software projects were collected to calculate the hierarchy of factors.

The outcome of FAHP is used as understanding the key factors of SDSCs for selecting an AI software project, toward the improvement of overall project planning. Employees' stress resistance was considered as a priority for the project, although professional AI skills and resources were also important.

This study suggested three variables developed using complex adaptive systems. This study contributes to a better understanding of the critical aspects of developing AI software projects in SDSCs. The study's findings have practical and academic implications for SDSCs and subsequent academic development, broadening the scope of AI software development research.

Supply chain integration (SCI) dominates supply chain strategy and is receiving increasing academic attention. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the knowledge trajectory and structure of the SCI field.

Based on 3,533 papers extracted from the Web of Science (WoS), this paper adopts the main path analysis (MPA) method to detect three distinct knowledge development trajectories. Coupling-based clustering is combined with MPA to reveal three critical subfields.

The findings show that the definition, content and dimensions of SCI lack unified conclusions. The influencing factors and performance consequences of SCI are long-standing research elements. Building theoretical models and integrated systems and applying blockchain technology to improve SCI are the key research contents. The intertwining of collaboration and SCI cannot be ignored, and the green SCI may be a hot topic in the future.

This study explores knowledge in the SCI field based on the limited literature collected by WoS rather than all published papers. The omissions of some relevant papers and books may exist.

The study methodology provides a framework for similar studies in the future, and the results help researchers to get a comprehensive picture of the knowledge trajectory and structure of the SCI field.

Compared to existing reviews, MPA combines cluster analysis to develop a synthetic framework of the knowledge trajectory and structure in the SCI domain. It contributes to a systematic review of the development of SCI.

Education and training is vital in improving age-related care provisions. However, a lack of awareness and understanding of dementia could be a factor in meeting the age-related needs of people. This paper aims to examine the impact dementia education has on caregivers’ confidence to provide person-centred care for people with intellectual disability and identifies additional training needs.

A systematic scoping review was completed using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses to guide the process of mapping existing evidence of dementia education and training programmes available to caregivers of people with intellectual disability.

A search of five electronic databases identified 11 articles that reported on the role of dementia education in improving the knowledge of caregivers in effectively delivering the age-related care. Findings suggest that improved training provision is needed to support early diagnosis and increase caregivers’ confidence in meeting the physical and psychological needs of older adults with intellectual disability.

This review contributes to the literature by identifying the value of and need for continued development in dementia education and training to improve person-centred dementia care.

Being involved at work advances accountants' contribution to organizational success. However, scholars are not consistent in discussing involvement's implications on work–life balance (WLB). The article aims to address this issue, investigating involvement's effects on the accountants' ability to manage the work–life interplay.

Secondary data on a sample of 538 accountants were collected from the sixth European Working Condition Survey (EWCS). A serial mediation analysis was designed to obtain evidence of involvement's implications on WLB through the mediating role of work engagement and work satisfaction.

Involvement negatively affected the accountants' ability to deal with the work–life interplay. Engagement and satisfaction with work mediated this relationship. More specifically, involved accountants who were engaged and satisfied with their work conditions were less likely to report struggles between work and life.

Involvement implies an intensification of work, heralding an overlapping between work and life. Nonetheless, accountants who are engaged and satisfied with work are less touched by involvement's drawback on WLB. A precautionary approach should be taken to avoid that involvement results in workaholism, thus undermining individual well-being.

The article originally discusses involvement's implications on WLB across accountants. Being involved at work impairs the individual ability to achieve a balance between work and life, endangering well-being at work. Whilst the findings cannot be generalized beyond the accounting profession, they deliver some intriguing insights that highlight avenues for further developments.