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Increasing demand on rail transport speeds up the introduction of new technical systems to optimize the rail traffic and increase competitiveness. Remote control of trains is seen as a potential layer of resilience in railway operations. It allows for operating and controlling automated trains and communicating and coordinating with other stakeholders of the railway system. This paper aims to present the first results of a multi-phased simulator study on the development and optimization of remote train driving concepts from the operators’ point of view.

The presented concept was developed by benchmarking good practices. Two phases of iterative user tests were conducted to evaluate the user experience and preferences of the developed human-machine-interface concept. Basic training requirements were identified and evaluated.

Results indicate positive feedback on the overall system as a fallback solution. HMI elicited positive emotions regarding pleasure and dominance, but low arousal levels. Train drivers had more conservative views on the system compared to signalers and students. The training activities achieved increased awareness and understanding of the system for future operators. Inclusion of potential users in the development of future systems has the potential to improve user acceptance. The iterative user experiments were useful in obtaining some of the needs and preferences of different user groups.

Multi-phase user tests were conducted to identify and to evaluate the requirements and preferences of remote operators using a simplified HMI. Training analysis provides important aspects to consider for the training of future users.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the trends of global automobile industry toward energy saving and smart application. The automobile industry has its own special supply, safety and reliability system. It combined with the legislations that progressive safety driving leads to increase automobile electronic (AE) facilities and enlarges the proportion of the electronic control for vehicles. Based on matured communication and semiconductor industries in Taiwan, the government assists these hi-tech industries in entering the AE domain by clustering relevant enterprises with assembly supply chains. Flagship IC packaging and LCD panels enterprises are located in the Kaohsiung Industrial Park which possesses advantages for the clustering of AE industry.

In this paper, a systematic investigation on establishing AE industry cluster in Kaohsiung Industry Park (KIP) is presented. First, 42 electrical and electronics enterprises are site visited and interviewed for operation and management preferential demands. Second, problems encountered in enterprises’ operation are identified through expert weight method. Third, the main factors involved in the operational management are then analyzed based on five flagship enterprises in KIP. The integration of industrial–university–government resources and assistance is demonstrated. Finally, the establishment of an innovative talents cultivation model is illustrated.

The developed systematic talent program is proposed to resolve the urgent demands in recruiting talents, operational costs and new products development.

This paper satisfies needs of research enterprise management. The establishment of an innovative talents cultivation model is illustrated.

Between 2006 and 2011, Nicaragua shipped an average of US$9.4 million per year of smallholder-produced fresh taro (Colocasia esculenta) to the USA; however, by 2016, the US market for Nicaraguan taro had effectively collapsed. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the short-lived taro boom from the perspective of complex adaptive systems, showing how shocks, interactions between value chain actors, and lack of adaptive capacity among chain actors together contributed to the collapse of the chain.

Primary data were collected from businesses and smallholders in 2010 and 2016 to understand the actors involved, their business relations, and the benefits and setbacks they experienced along the way.

The results show the capacity of better-off smallholders to engage in a demanding market, but also the struggles faced by more vulnerable smallholders to build new production systems and respond to internal and external shocks. Local businesses were generally unprepared for the uncertainties inherent in fresh horticultural trade or for engagement with distant buyers.

Existing guides and tools for designing value chain interventions will benefit from greater attention to the circumstances of local actors and the challenges of building productive inter-business relations under higher levels of risk and uncertainty.

This case serves as a wake-up call for practitioners, donors, researchers, and the private sector on how to identify market opportunities and the design of more robust strategies to respond to them.