Search results

An electrical revolution in the automotive sector was decided on at the end of 2008, when the European Parliament passed legislation of lower CO₂ emissions of new cars. This causes and forces the development of alternative concepts of propulsion systems and alternative fuels. These new trends of propulsion technologies such as hybrid and pure electric drive will have an impact on the entire design of cars. The purpose of this paper is to present an evolution of selected fractional horsepower electrical drives used in cars. Analysis of electromechanical components can be divided into two groups: the first one contains the currently used subsystems, e.g. electric power steering system, engine cooling systems, etc.; and the second one presents the development of new components, e.g. electric air‐conditioning compressor and other by‐wire technologies. Additionally, the development and trends of new materials and technologies used in electrical drives for the automotive industry are presented.

Performed analysis based on a review of the literature and the author's own research and experience in the area of electromechanical systems for automotive applications. During motor design, computer numerical simulation method, CAD and experiment were used. The development perspectives in the area of electromechanical systems in automotive area are presented. Additionally, the evolution of fractional horse power electric motors, with the influence of new developments in the area of electric vehicles, are analysed and presented.

The presented analysis shows that a change of technology from brush type motors into brushless is inevitable. Additionally, further miniaturization will be conducted using a higher energy permanent magnet. Furthermore, an increase of efficiency will be achieved by increasing the voltage level from 12 V to 48 V or even higher, e.g. 120 V.

This is the first paper, where, in a comprehensive way, developments of fractional horse power electromechanical systems for electric and hybrid vehicles are presented. The results of this paper can be utilized during the creation of the products' road‐maps in this area.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the recent (2008‐) economic crisis on information communication technology (ICT) spending. The empirical findings are discussed within a broader theoretical framework of technological trends/diffusion and economic cycles.

First, the paper introduces the innovation diffusion theory and theories of economic cycles. Next, it presents the analyses of the data from official statistics, international agencies and research companies. Finally, it summarizes the empirical findings within theoretical contexts.

In general, crises always reduce spending and therefore also ICT spending. However, focusing on the recent crisis, it affected the ICT market selectively and also much less than other sectors. In addition, the empirical findings indicate that after decades of fast ICT expansion (1971‐2000) we are now in the period of slower sectoral growth, which is in line with theories of super cycles, although, the authors also propose alternative explanations.

The impact of the economic crisis on the ICT market strongly depends on countries' economic situation and development stage. Nonetheless some ICT segments that allow cost savings, greater productivity and efficiency, have been strengthened during the latest (2008‐) economic crisis, which also pinpoints the directions for further transformation of ICT.

Despite usually reduced budgets during the crisis, managers should put increased attention to new/alternative ICT solutions (e.g. virtualization, outsourcing, cloud computing) and lowered prices of ICT products/services to increase competitiveness. The crisis can be thus an opportunity to re‐examine the contribution of ICT to productivity, workflow efficiency and introduce new methods for better exploitation of ICT capital.

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding about the transformation of ICT in economic crises. It also demonstrates that recent crises caused another microwave within the last super cycle.

The paper provides empirical insight into the link between economic situation and ICT spending in past 15 years, with special attention to the changes observed during the latest (2008‐) crisis. The analysis is also put into a broader theoretical framework, where it proposes alternative explanations supported by empirical evidences.

This study aims to investigate digital technology (DT) competencies, training and awareness amongst Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) construction students in the UK.

This study uses a quantitative online survey to investigate both BAME Construction Undergraduates Graduate Students (CUGS) and staff studying on and teaching on Construction programmes. The investigation examined their opinions as to their own awareness of their competencies and training regarding DT.

Findings indicate that BAME CUGS were mostly “very proficient” in the use of basic DT, such as required to complete an authentic assessment that typifies a real-life scenario. For example, sending and receiving emails, Excel, Word, computer literacy/basic IT skills, browsing searching materials, PowerPoint, specialist IT skills, mobile devices, tablet and social media handles. However, findings revealed that training awareness and competencies in new DT is shallow, and BAME CUGS are probably not ready for the digitalised construction world. Respondents were mainly within the “probably aware” range, and very few were within the “definitely aware” range, on the Likert scale adopted. New DTs that fell within the “definitely aware” range are BIM, offsite construction and manufacturing, 3D printing, cloud computing and collaboration.

It is acknowledged that expanding the sample size to other universities and exploring BAME industry professionals’ narratives could further enrich the discussion. However, these limitations did not impact the robust practical and theoretical implications provided to CUGS, Higher Education (HE)sectors, University staff and industry emerging from the analysis and findings achieved in the study. Still, it is being recommended for future work to consider.

The study provides valuable recommendations helpful to HE institutions, industry and government. Recommendations provided include a need to review and update the current curriculum, robust partnership between academia and industry, increase government funding, upskilling and training staff in the new DT.

This review is concerned mainly with papers on new technological developments in document supply. It begins with a paper that looks at the likely effects of new technology on libraries and publishing. The Hermes and Apollo projects, and a broad systems view on new technology and the supply of ‘separates’ are discussed. Three discussion papers from the Library of Congress Network Advisory Committee on present position and long‐term future of document delivery in the USA are considered. Finally, two specific developments — the Chemical Abstracts Service Document Delivery Service and the OCLC/IAC electronic document delivery system — are reported.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the status, trends and challenges of library and information education and training in Eastern and Southern Africa. It notes that library and information education and training in Africa is undergoing rapid change, with difficult challenges to be overcome. For example, during the past 20 years, the number of library schools has grown in some regions and declined in some, such as South Africa. Common LIS factors include amalgamation, re‐orientation, and curriculum review and revision.

The authors' extensive experience with and exposure to LIS education has been used together with observations and literature survey in the field to inform this paper.

It is evident that LIS schools have, to a greater or lesser extent, been redesigning their curricula to keep track of the latest developments in the information world and keep their teaching market‐related. New qualification programmes have been developed to provide opportunities for further specialization. In many cases departments have changed their names to reflect these new focus areas and extensions, and in many cases departments have realigned themselves within their universities. It is evident that LIS schools have taken the challenges of the changing information environment very seriously, and have adapted their curricula, their names and their institutional alignments to reflect these changes.

The paper raises fundamental issues concerning trends, challenges and opportunities for LIS education and training in eastern and southern Africa by largely drawing examples from the authors' experience and related African studies in the domain.

The paper provides useful current information to inform LIS educators, researchers, students and other stakeholders on the issues and challenges of LIS education in the region.

Information provided in this paper is of value for comparative studies on LIS education and training. The paper is current and largely informed by participant observation, participation and experiential knowledge that is fresh and well informed.

This paper aims to examine the relationships between socioeconomic development, renewable energy and the innovative process by providing: a descriptive analysis; a co-occurrence analysis of terms, thematic mapping and conceptual structure; and the typology of the textual corpus.

To analyze the relationship between “renewable energies, socioeconomic development and the innovative process,” it is necessary to build a theoretical foundation that contains the relevant scientific studies and reflects the current state of the art on the subject. For this, this study developed a systematic literature review (SLR) using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses research protocol to answer the relationship on the theme.

Research shows a global understanding of the need to invest in developing studies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve economic growth. The main contributions lie in providing a typology of the state of the art, identifying the joint relationships between themes, insights into the key themes and indicating themes that must be developed. This study may also support future empirical studies as it provides a theoretical foundation for formulating hypotheses, which can be tested through qualitative and quantitative approaches.

The innovative character consists of addressing a shortage of SLRs on this theme. Thus, this paper fills this gap by providing a theoretical foundation for future scientific and academic knowledge generation. Furthermore, regarding the interdisciplinary aspects of this research as contributions, this paper presented different approaches and theoretical perspectives.

Unmanned aerial vehicles are commonly known as UAVs and drones. Nowadays, industries have begun to realise the operational and economic benefits of drone-enabled tasks. The Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, drones, etc., represent implementable advanced technologies intended to accomplish Industry 4.0. The purpose of this study is to discuss the significant contributions of drones for Industry 4.0.

Nowadays, drones are used for inspections, mapping and surveying in difficult or hazardous locations. For writing this paper, relevant research papers on drone for Industry 4.0 are identified from various research platforms such as Scopus, Google Scholar, ResearchGate and ScienceDirect. Given the enormous extent of the topic, this work analyses many papers, reports and news stories in an attempt to comprehend and clarify Industry 4.0.

Drones are being implemented in manufacturing, entertainment industries (cinematography, etc.) and machinery across the world. Thermal-imaging devices attached to drones can detect variable heat levels emanating from a facility, trigger the sprinkler system and inform emergency authorities. Due partly to their utility and adaptability in industrial areas such as energy, transportation, engineering and more, autonomous drones significantly impact Industry 4.0. This paper discusses drones and their types. Several technological advances and primary extents of drones for Industry 4.0 are diagrammatically elaborated. Further, the authors identified and discussed 19 major applications of drones for Industry 4.0.

This paper’s originality lies in its discussion and exploration of the capabilities of drones for Industry 4.0, especially in manufacturing organisations. In addition to improving efficiency and site productivity, drones can easily undertake routine inspections and check streamlines operations and maintenance procedures. This work contributes to creating a common foundation for comprehending Industry 4.0 outcomes from many disciplinary viewpoints, allowing for more research and development for industrial innovation and technological progress.

This paper aims to present a research outcome to an investigation towards the innovative use of electronic-learning (e-Learning) software solutions to strengthen the interactive component of mobile learning (m-Learning) in university contexts. This work was motivated by observations of interactive limitations in existing m-Learning solutions in well-intentioned software development and e-Learning efforts. The aim of the project, thus, was to interrogate hindrances to the potency of m-Learning interventions. The idea was to strengthen the interactive component, to improve the compatibility of the desktop e-Learning process – with mobile appliances such as mobile phones and, finally, to explore cost minimizing avenues of downloading learning materials over mobile phones.

The methodology of the project was twofold: that is, both literature-based and experimental. Literature background offered insight on existing efforts towards interactive m-Learning solutions. Against this background, the project was then designed to explore ways to provide presentations and interactive chats for effective m-Learning over mobile phones. The idea was to reduce the file size of presentations slides for effective display on mobile devices. Finally, the aim was also to minimize airtime costs when transmitting presentation slides and when conducting interactive chats on mobile phones. An experiment research method was, thus, used. In this method, a problem and question were articulated first. Then, a practical technological solution was conceptualized, developed, pre-tested, modified and re-tested until it complied with sought specifications, Finally, the solution was implemented, to confirm its viability and response to a research problem and, ultimately, was reported in the findings.

Slides were developed with light colour resolutions to open effortlessly on tiny mobile screens. The best quality was between 128 and 201.188 (out of 255) pixels (more visible mobile phone screens), using Open Source Software. Clear slides also had a font greater than size 32. The average data per presentation were 9,872.66 bytes, and, when seven learners were chatting, it was 3,686.63 bytes (0.03 megabytes). For airtime costs, the Vodacom rate of R0.46 per megabyte was used. This translates to 0.8 × 0.46 = R0.0368 cost per slide. The m-Chisimba platform therefore, seems to be cost-effective, quality expedient and most appropriate for interactive m-Learning.

Existing m-Learning has been inadequate, failing to align adequately the desktop e-Learning solutions with mobile phone platforms. Desktop presentation slides, for example, have been incompatible with mobile phones’ operations and screen sizes. Mostly, content could consume a lot more airtime, owing to large sizes of desktop originated material that was incompatible with mobile platforms. A solution that emerged from original experiments, leading to the enhanced interactive m-Learning solution, the m-Chisimba platform, is, therefore, presented in this paper. The thinking is that mobile applications are convenient enablers which extend access to information. Nevertheless, mobile applications (including m-Learning solutions) cannot be seen as panaceas to solve all learning concerns as literacy and affordability remain challenges in many under-developed social environments. As a newly developed innovation, the m-Chisimba platform offers an improved m-Learning solution for learning activities over mobile gadgets such as mobile phones.

The research work offers new innovative solutions in a number of practical ways. It improves the interactivity component of the m-Learning process, to empower educators and learners to effectively engage learning over m-Learning devices.

The innovation makes it easier to for learning to take place effortlessly, over mobile platforms. Implications are that more people will be able to access learning processes on the move, meaning that obstacles to access learning opportunities are minimised.

Existing m-Learning has been inadequate, failing to align adequately the desktop e-Learning solutions with mobile phone platforms. Desktop presentation slides, for example, have been incompatible with mobile phones’ operations and screen sizes. Mostly, content could consume a lot more airtime, owing to large sizes of desktop-originated material that was incompatible with mobile-platforms. A solution that emerged from original experiments, leading to the enhanced interactive m-Learning solution, the m-Chisimba platform, is, therefore, presented in this paper. The thinking is that mobile applications are convenient enablers which extend access to information. Nevertheless, mobile applications (including m-Learning solutions) cannot be seen as panaceas to solve all learning concerns as literacy and affordability remain challenges in many under-developed social environments. As a newly developed innovation, the m-Chisimba platform offers an improved m-Learning solution for learning activities over mobile gadgets such as mobile phones.

Climate change adaptations are today pursed globally to address the threats associated with climate change. The IPCC Third Assessment Report and the Fourth Assessment Report have outlined the most accurate changes to be expected by 2100 with the only uncertainty relating to the timing and magnitude of these changes, not their occurrence (IPCC, 2007). In Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the changes are already manifested through coastal flooding, erosion, salt water intrusion, damaged water sources, and increased storm damages. SIDS are also under threat from their rapidly increasing population that needs settlements, services, and facilities, their limited size that severely confines their options, and their poor resources both in terms of weak financial position and restricted human capacity. This is the reason why SIDS, which will be the first and worst victims, must devote more concerted effort to adapt to these eventualities.

The purpose of this paper is to show how industrial ecology can facilitate the achievement of sustainable development through its incorporation into an engineering curriculum.

A model has been developed for assessing sustainability learning outcomes due to the incorporation of the concept of industrial ecology into undergraduate and postgraduate engineering programs. This model assesses how the Engineering Faculty at Curtin University has included a core engineering unit (Engineering for Sustainable Development) and four postgraduate units (Cleaner Production Tools, Eco‐efficiency, Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Technology) in its undergraduate and postgraduate engineering program, to enable modern engineering education to reflect the benefits of industrial ecology in the implementation of sustainable engineering solutions and decision‐making processes. Using this model, this paper demonstrates how the syllabus, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary assignment tasks, lectures and tutorials have been developed since 2006 in order to develop the concept of industrial ecology in undergraduate and postgraduate engineering education. The paper has also analysed the different teaching methods that have been applied since 2006 to generate increased student satisfaction in these new and challenging subjects.

The university environment can temper the potential outcomes from increasing the sustainability content in engineering education, given the general lack of student maturity in understanding the value of sustainability objectives together with course limitations on sustainability content and the arduous and lengthy processes involved in changing course curricula.

Since the Engineering for Sustainable Development unit has been introduced only recently, it was beyond the scope of the research to interview graduate engineers who completed this unit to investigate how they have applied the concept of industrial ecology to achieve sustainability outcomes in their workplaces.

This research is distinct in that it investigated the implications of the incorporation of industrial ecology into the engineering curriculum.