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The manufacturing sector is highly competitive and operationally complex. Therefore, the strategic alignment between operational excellence methodologies and Industry 4.0 technologies is one of the issues that need to be addressed. The main aim of the study is to determine the critical factors of strategic alignment between operational excellence methodologies and Industry 4.0 technologies for manufacturing industries and make comparative analyses between automotive, food and textile industries in terms of strategic alignment between operational excellence methodologies and Industry 4.0 technologies.

First, determining the critical factors based on literature review and expert opinions, these criteria are weighted, and analytical hierarchy process is run to calculate the weights of these criteria. Afterward, the best sector is determined by the grey relational analysis method according to the criteria for the three manufacturing industries selected for the study.

As a result of AHP, “Infrastructure for Right Methodology, Techniques and Tools, is in the first place,” Organizational Strategy, is in the second place, while the third highest critical factor is “Capital Investment”. Moreover, based on grey relational analysis (GRA) results, the automotive industry is determined as the best alternative in terms of strategic alignment between operational excellence (OPEX) methodologies and I4.0 technologies.

This study is unique in that it is primarily possible to obtain the order of importance within the criteria and to make comparisons between three important manufacturing industries that are important for the economies of the world.

The purpose of this paper is to study and analyze the effects of fly ash (FA) as a mineral admixture on compressive strength (CS), carbonation resistance and corrosion resistance of reinforced concrete (RC). In addition, the utilization of inexpensive and abundantly available FA as a cement replacement in concrete has several benefits including reduced OPC usage and elimination of the FA disposal problem.

Reinforcement corrosion and carbonation significantly affect the strength and durability of the RC structures. Also, the utilization of FA as green corrosion inhibitors, which are nontoxic and environmentally friendly alternatives. This review discusses the effects of FA on the mechanical characteristics of concrete. Also, this review analyzes the impact of FA as a partial replacement of cement in concrete and its effect on the depth of carbonation in concrete elements and the corrosion rate of embedded steel as well as the chemical composition and microstructure (X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy) of FA concrete were also reviewed.

This review provides a clear analysis of the available study, providing a thorough overview of the current state of knowledge on this topic. Regarding concrete CS, the findings indicate that the incorporation of FA often leads to a loss in early-age strength. However, as the curing period increased, the strength of fly ash concrete (FAC) increased with or even surpassed that of conventional concrete. Analysis of the accelerated carbonation test revealed that incorporating FA into the concrete mix led to a shallower carbonation depth and slower diffusion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the concrete. Furthermore, the half-cell potential test shows that the inclusion of FA increases the durability of RC by slowing the rate of steel-reinforcement corrosion.

This systematic review analyzes a wide range of existing studies on the topic, providing a comprehensive overview of the research conducted so far. This review intends to critically assess the enhancements in mechanical and durability attributes (such as CS, carbonation and corrosion resistance) of FAC and FA-RC. This systematic review has practical implications for the construction and engineering industries. This can support engineers and designers in making informed decisions regarding the use of FA in concrete mixtures, considering both its benefits and potential drawbacks.

This paper focuses on the use of e-resources by research scholars and post-graduate students at Kashmir University. The main aim is to determine the use of e-resources, users skills in handling e-resources and the purpose of their use. Further, this paper aims to highlight the problems faced by research scholars and post-graduate students in accessing e-resources.

The survey was conducted through a structured questionnaire circulated among 250 research scholars, both (M.Phil./Ph.D.) and post-graduate students, from different departments of Kashmir University, and the response rate was 80%. Random sample method was used for the selection of respondents and interacting with them. The responses received from the research scholars to 14 questions are presented in the form of tables.

Major findings of the study reveal that the majority of the students reported using electronic journal resources for various purposes including working on assignments, research proposal writing, literature review writing, research report writing, current awareness and leisurely exploration of ongoing scientific debates through peer-reviewed papers. The challenges encountered in the use of electronic journal resources include a power outage, inadequate bandwidth, slow download speed, inability to access the resources from home, lack of training, lack of awareness, limited access to computers and difficulty in searching. The paper concludes that electronic resources have become an integral part of the information needs of research scholars’ post-graduate students at Kashmir University. Further, it finds that e-resources can be good substitutes for conventional resources, if the access is fast, and more computer terminals are installed to provide fast access to e-resources. Finally, recommendations for improving the use of electronic journal resources are provided.

The paper restrains the study exclusively to use of e-resources by the research scholars and post-graduate students of Kashmir University.

The paper highlights the use of e-resources by research scholars and post-graduate students of Kashmir University and makes some constructive suggestions for the improvement of electronic resources and services. This is the first time an effort has been made to assess the use of electronic resources by post-graduate students at Kashmir University. The study could be used to assess the post-graduate students’ needs for electronic resources at the Kashmir University and other users in higher learning institutions.

Following the recent rise in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools, fundamental questions about their wider impacts have started to reverberate around various disciplines. This study aims to track the unfolding landscape of general issues surrounding GenAI tools and to elucidate the specific opportunities and limitations of these tools as part of the technology-assisted enhancement of mechanical engineering education and professional practices.

As part of the investigation, the authors conduct and present a brief scientometric analysis of recently published studies to unravel the emerging trend on the subject matter. Furthermore, experimentation was done with selected GenAI tools (Bard, ChatGPT, DALL.E and 3DGPT) for mechanical engineering-related tasks.

The study identified several pedagogical and professional opportunities and guidelines for deploying GenAI tools in mechanical engineering. Besides, the study highlights some pitfalls of GenAI tools for analytical reasoning tasks (e.g., subtle errors in computation involving unit conversions) and sketching/image generation tasks (e.g., poor demonstration of symmetry).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study presents the first thorough assessment of the potential of GenAI from the lens of the mechanical engineering field. Combining scientometric analysis, experimentation and pedagogical insights, the study provides a unique focus on the implications of GenAI tools for material selection/discovery in product design, manufacturing troubleshooting, technical documentation and product positioning, among others.