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1 – 6 of 6Jacqueline Humphries, Pepijn Van de Ven, Nehal Amer, Nitin Nandeshwar and Alan Ryan
Maintaining the safety of the human is a major concern in factories where humans co-exist with robots and other physical tools. Typically, the area around the robots is monitored…
Abstract
Purpose
Maintaining the safety of the human is a major concern in factories where humans co-exist with robots and other physical tools. Typically, the area around the robots is monitored using lasers. However, lasers cannot distinguish between human and non-human objects in the robot’s path. Stopping or slowing down the robot when non-human objects approach is unproductive. This research contribution addresses that inefficiency by showing how computer-vision techniques can be used instead of lasers which improve up-time of the robot.
Design/methodology/approach
A computer-vision safety system is presented. Image segmentation, 3D point clouds, face recognition, hand gesture recognition, speed and trajectory tracking and a digital twin are used. Using speed and separation, the robot’s speed is controlled based on the nearest location of humans accurate to their body shape. The computer-vision safety system is compared to a traditional laser measure. The system is evaluated in a controlled test, and in the field.
Findings
Computer-vision and lasers are shown to be equivalent by a measure of relationship and measure of agreement. R2 is given as 0.999983. The two methods are systematically producing similar results, as the bias is close to zero, at 0.060 mm. Using Bland–Altman analysis, 95% of the differences lie within the limits of maximum acceptable differences.
Originality/value
In this paper an original model for future computer-vision safety systems is described which is equivalent to existing laser systems, identifies and adapts to particular humans and reduces the need to slow and stop systems thereby improving efficiency. The implication is that computer-vision can be used to substitute lasers and permit adaptive robotic control in human–robot collaboration systems.
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Jacqueline Jarosz Wukich, Erica L. Neuman and Timothy J. Fogarty
Albeit gradual and uneven, the emergence of social and environmental reporting by publicly held corporations has been a major development in the last few decades. This paper aims…
Abstract
Purpose
Albeit gradual and uneven, the emergence of social and environmental reporting by publicly held corporations has been a major development in the last few decades. This paper aims to explore patterns of the emergence of these disclosures. Using an institutional theory lens, this paper considers mimetic, normative and coercive possibilities.
Design/methodology/approach
US publicly traded company data from 2013 to 2019 is used to test the hypotheses. Mimetic forces are proxied with corporate board interlock frequency. Normative ones use the extent of gender diversity on corporate boards. Measures of business climate and industry regulatory sensitivity proxy coercive potentiality.
Findings
Studied in isolation, each of the three forces through which organizations pursue the heightened legitimacy of enhanced environmental and social disclosures has credibility. The strongest support exists for mimetic and normative mechanisms, perhaps because the US government has been reluctant to make these expanded disclosures mandatory.
Research limitations/implications
In the world of voluntary action, more attention to diffusion is needed. For these purposes, better proxies will be needed to study change. Social and environmental information should be separated for individual analysis.
Practical implications
At least in the USA, companies are attentive to what other companies are doing. There is something to be said for the ethical dimension of corporate transparency.
Social implications
Governmental action in this area has not been effective, at current levels. Corporate leadership is essential. Critical information is shared about disclosure by board members.
Originality/value
Although institutional theory makes several appearances in this area, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first empirical archival study to examine the three forces simultaneously, providing evidence as to the relative magnitude of each institutional force on environmental and social disclosures. Should these disclosures not be mandated by government, this study shows pathways for enhanced disclosures to continue to spread.
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Neetu Kumar and Jacqueline Symss
The purpose of the study is to examine factors influencing cash holding of firms during periods of crisis. In recent times, the level of cash holdings in firms has seen a steady…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to examine factors influencing cash holding of firms during periods of crisis. In recent times, the level of cash holdings in firms has seen a steady rise across industries for diverse reasons. However, the need to study cash holding becomes even more compelling during geopolitical instability as it causes firms to hold greater cash reserves for precautionary reasons.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper systematically reviews literature from 1984 to 2024 by organising the findings thematically based on the relationship between corporate cash holdings (CCH) and firm performance in times of war. The paper used 47 research articles from the Scopus database and Google Scholar. Literature connected to CCH, firm performance and war times was explored. The title and abstract analysis were conducted using VOSviewer software. As a result, the predetermined body of literature was visualised, and six theme-based clusters were identified.
Findings
This paper systematically reviews empirical studies, categorising them into six theme-based groups. These clusters encompass CCH and Determinants, Optimal Cash Holding Levels, Cash Holding Adjustment Speed and Theory, Cash Holding and Firm Value, Cash Holding and Firm Performance, Cash Holding in the Context of the Ukraine War and the adaptive financial strategies of firms in response to economic conditions by using cash holding as a hedging instrument. Inflation prompts adjustments in cash-holding strategies at a macro level. During crises, lower interest rates lead to increased cash holdings. Various motives influence firms’ cash-to-assets ratios. According to the pecking order theory, geopolitical risk negatively affects cash holdings. Exposure to pandemics prompts an increase in cash reserves. War shocks have a profound impact on economies, markets and stability; hence, geographic diversification can reduce the need for precautionary cash. In times of uncertainty, the financial stress of firms can get elevated, and therefore, having a well-diversified geographical portfolio of a firm’s investments can aid in meeting any financially distressing situation.
Originality/value
The literature on CCH has been phenomenal. This paper attempts to structure the issues surrounding cash holding and firm performance in wartime, like the Ukraine war, using the VOSviewer software. This study endeavours to highlight the reasons for cash holding during crises and understand how cash holding affects firm performance. Finally, this paper also tries to comprehend whether cash holding helps as a hedging instrument in times of war.
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Cortney Norris, Scott Taylor and D. Christopher Taylor
This research aimed to fill several gaps in the tipping literature which has overlooked the server's perspective in identifying and understanding variables that influence a tip…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aimed to fill several gaps in the tipping literature which has overlooked the server's perspective in identifying and understanding variables that influence a tip amount and therefore where they concentrate their efforts during the service encounter. Furthermore, the extant literature has theorized how or why certain variables influence the tip amount, but these studies fail to capture insight from server's which would supplement the theory and provide a more in-depth understanding of the mechanisms at play.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a grounded theory approach using semi-structured one-on-one interviews with tipped restaurant employees who were identified and selected using snowball sampling. Content analysis is employed to code and categorize the data.
Findings
The content analysis revealed five categories where servers focus their time and effort to earn tips: service quality, connection, personal factors, expertise and food quality. The server's personality was identified as a variable the tipping literature has largely ignored as a determinant of the tip amount. Server's shift their style of service for groups of eight or more people, and for regular customers, who must dine in the restaurant at least once per week. Lastly, despite the many drawbacks associated with working for tips, servers would not want to replace it with any other method of compensation.
Originality/value
This is the first qualitative study focused on understanding the server's role in the service exchange relationship since McCarty et al. (1990) study. The results provide new insights on the often-studied variables from the tipping literature.
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Aamir Suhail, Inam Ul Haq, Muhammad Umer Azeem and Eran Vigoda-Gadot
This study investigates how compulsory citizenship behaviors (CCB) affect employees’ energy and motivation to engage in other voluntary behaviors, such as service-oriented…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates how compulsory citizenship behaviors (CCB) affect employees’ energy and motivation to engage in other voluntary behaviors, such as service-oriented citizenship behavior and creativity. Specifically, we explore how employees’ perceptions of job overload mediate this relationship, based on their generational differences.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed a time-lagged survey design to collect data from 265 frontline employees and their supervisors in Pakistani-based organizations. The data was collected in three rounds, with a three-week gap between each round.
Findings
The findings suggest that role overload, resulting from compulsory citizenship pressure, undermines millennial employees' service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and creativity. However, these negative effects are less salient among non-millennials.
Practical implications
The findings of this study provide valuable insights for managers, emphasizing the importance of exercising caution when imposing excessive citizenship pressures on employees against their will. In addition, organizations and human resource (HR) managers should consider devising policies for formal recognition of voluntary behaviors that contribute to organizational effectiveness.
Originality/value
This study contributes to existing CCB research by unraveling the previously unexplored mediating role of role overload and the contingency role of generational difference in explaining how and when coerced citizenship demands hinder employees’ propensity to engage in service-oriented OCB and creativity.
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Victor Olutope Ige and Solomon Pelumi Akinbogun
The design of buildings is crucial to functionality and safety for senior citizens. People often refrain from talking about old age and its related support; however, it is…
Abstract
Purpose
The design of buildings is crucial to functionality and safety for senior citizens. People often refrain from talking about old age and its related support; however, it is inevitable. The paper aims to highlight the essentials of a home design that considers the aged citizens in Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research technique is used in the study. A closed-ended questionnaire and an interview were used to gather information on the requirements for aging-in-place basics in home design from middle-aged and elderly households.
Findings
Findings from the study revealed that a majority of the respondents considered old age as a phase of life to prioritize in home design. Lighting, furniture and fixtures and electrical installations are variously perceived by the respondents as aging-in-place essentials.
Practical implications
The study has far-reaching consequences for the built environment, particularly for homeowners. It is related to the third sustainable development goal (SDG), which seeks to secure the health and well-being of people of all ages.
Originality/value
The study's uniqueness and usefulness are highlighted in the gaps between present house design culture and the reality of senior citizen occupants' dwellings, as well as the appropriateness to satisfy changing demands associated with old age. It would encourage homes to develop the culture and duty of providing a sustainable home that is accessible to everybody and provides emotional and physical safety for the elderly.
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