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The purpose of this paper is to study various reliability measures like reliability, mean time to failure (MTTF) and sensitivity of transformer including different parameters of insulating oil/paper as health index.

The reliability characteristics of transformer incorporating different parameters of insulating oil as well as paper have been evaluated using Markov process incorporating Gumbel–Hougaard copula, Laplace transforms and supplementary variable technique. The parameters taken into consideration are breakdown voltage (BDV) and moisture content (MC) of both insulating oil and paper, and other parameters considered are interfacial tension (IFT), dissipation factor (DF), degree of polymerization (DOP) and furanic content (FC) for insulating oil and paper, respectively. By probability consideration and continuity influence, difference-differential equations have been obtained for the considered model.

Transition state probabilities, reliability, MTTF and sensitivity of the transformer corresponding to different parameters of insulating oil and paper have been evaluated with the help of aforementioned technique. Variations of reliability with respect to time along with the variations of MTTF and sensitivity have also been examined. Remarkable points during the study have also been pointed out.

Reliability characteristics of the transformer have been evaluated including two parameters: insulating oil and paper with the help of supplementary variable technique, considering two different types of repairs incorporating Gumbel–Hougaard family of copula unlike done earlier. Reliability, MTTF and sensitivity of transformer have been analyzed considering the parameters: BDV, MC, IFT and FC of insulating oil, and BDV, MC, DOP, DF of insulating paper.

Hybrid journal bearing have long been used in machines requiring large load and high speed capacity operating under wide range of temperatures. Different compensating devices are used in for efficient operation of bearings. This paper aims to help in selection of optimum compensating device by evaluating the comparative performance of constant flow valve, capillary compensated and slot entry hybrid journal bearing under the combined influence of thermal effects and micropolar nature of lubricant.

The variation in micropolar parameters and viscosity change due to temperature increase of lubricant are considered in present study. Finite element method is used for combined iterative solution of micropolar Reynolds, energy and conduction equations. Micropolar lubricant is assumed to be governed by two parameters, coupling number and characteristic length. The results in the study are presented for symmetric and asymmetric configurations of hole entry and slot entry non-recessed hybrid journal bearings

The results indicate that constant flow valve compensated hole entry hybrid journal bearing is the highest performing bearing for the given range of micropolar parameters of lubricant in terms of maximum fluid pressure and dynamic coefficients.

The performance variations of various configurations of hybrid journal bearing are presented in a single paper. The reader can get overview of combined effects of micropolar parameters and viscosity decrease due to temperature increase of the lubricant.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of surface roughness (radial and azimuthal) and viscosity variation on a squeeze film of a conical bearing with a non-Newtonian lubricant by using Rabinowitsch fluid model.

The main objective is to determine the stochastic nonlinear modified Reynolds equation for rough conical bearing. Later, first-order closed-form solutions are obtained using a small perturbation method and are numerically solved using the Gauss quadrature method.

The findings of this paper, numerical calculations, are analyzed for pressure, load carrying capacity and response time. The simulated results indicate that the influence of surface roughness increases the pressure, load carrying capacity and response time, whereas the viscosity variation factor decreases the pressure, load and response time.

According to both types of surface roughness with viscosity variation, the performance of a squeeze film rough conical bearing was improved by using Rabinowitsch fluid model. As it is inevitable to consider viscosity variation for bearing designer, it leads to a long life period of conical bearing.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the violence risk assessment practices in Israel by social workers, clinical criminologists, and marriage and family therapists using a Web-based survey.

A Web-based survey and participation letter were translated into Hebrew and distributed to members of the Israel Association of Social Workers, the Israel Society of Clinical Criminology and the Israel Association for Marital and Family Therapy following the Dillman Total Design Survey Method.

The sample was composed of 34 professionals, who reported using structured instruments to predict and manage the likelihood of violence in over half of their risk assessments over both their lifetime and the past 12 months. Younger female respondents who entered their profession more recently were more likely to use instruments during the risk assessment process. There appeared to be a trend toward decreased use of actuarial instruments and increased use in structured professional judgment instruments.

The first national survey of violence risk assessment practices by behavioral healthcare professionals in Israel was conducted. This study revealed the risk assessment utility trends in Israel, finding that compared to professionals in North America, South America, Europe, East Asia and Australia, professionals in Israel conducted fewer risk assessments and used structured instruments less often, highlighting concern about the lack of reliance on evidence-based techniques in the country.

Leadership is a social phenomenon. Therefore, it has to be examined according to its social context. The point to be underlined by the social context is the social network in which the leader emerges. Considering the studies, the social network side of leadership is relatively ignored comparing with sociometric studies. In that sense, the aim of this study is to reveal whether there is a relationship between the positions of the military personnel, who are defined as one of the gray-collar working groups in the literature, within the social network mechanisms of which they are members, and their self-leadership perceptions. To answer the question, a self-leadership scale was applied to 69 gray-collar employees working in a military unit and network analyses were performed. According to results, there is a strong, positive and significant relationship between the network mechanism centrality criteria indegree, reach centrality and closeness and the self-leadership perceptions of individuals. In addition, there was no significant relationship between eigenvector centrality and honest brokerage, which are among the network mechanism criteria, and the actors’ self-leadership perceptions. The study has aimed at accenting and adding different perspectives to the leadership studies and gray-collar literature.

Long-term reliability analysis of generation capacity based on the forecasted load demand helps to identify the optimal generation expansion plan of the system. This paper analyzes the generation adequacy of Mexico’s National Interconnected Power System (MNIPS) using loss of load expectation (LOLE) and loss of energy expectation (LOEE) indices.

These indices are calculated through an analytical (recursive) method and are then compared with values recommended by the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC). Weekly indices are computed to analyze the load curtailment options that may occur in some periods.

Forecasted values, including load and generation capacity considering maintenance schedules, additions of new generating units and permanently shut down units in accordance with the long-term expanding-system plan have been considered. The load forecast uncertainty is also included.

This is original work.

Defines the concept of strategic alliances as well as outlining the potential benefits and disadvantages of entering into such relationships. This will facilitate critical reviews of the nature and type of relationship that best satisfies their individual needs. Strategic alliances are a means of rationalizing business operations and improving the overall competitive position of a company and are important because of the sheer speed and dynamism of technological change which has opened up a wide range of new activity areas. Banking firms, however, experienced difficulty in defining the type of relationship that best suits their needs. To a significant extent this is due to the fact that a great deal of confusion exists regarding the term “strategic alliances”. In particular parties have difficulty in distinguishing strategic alliances from other forms of organizational relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to optimize the process parameters to obtain the best dimensional accuracy, surface finish and hardness of the castings produced by using fused deposition modeling (FDM)-based patterns in investment casting (IC).

In this paper, hip implants have been prepared by using plastic patterns in IC process. Taguchi design of experiments has been used to study the effect of six different input process parameters on the dimensional deviation, surface roughness and hardness of the implants. Analysis of variance has been used to find the effect of each input factor on the output. Multi-objective optimization has been done to find the combined best values of output.

The results proved that the FDM patterns can be used successfully in IC. A wax coating on the FDM patterns improves the surface finish and dimensional accuracy. The improved dimensional accuracy, surface finish and hardness have been achieved simultaneously through multi-objective optimization.

A thin layer of wax is used on the plastic patterns. The effect of thickness of the layer has not been considered. Further research is needed to study the effect of the thickness of the wax layer.

The results obtained by the study would be helpful in making decisions regarding machining and/or coating on the parts produced by this process.

In this paper, multi-objective optimization of dimensional accuracy, surface roughness and hardness of hybrid investment cast components has been performed.

Purpose: Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways towards self-sufficiency and poverty alleviation for women in a country without guaranteed employment. The research contributes and provides reasons for supporting women’s entrepreneurship, as although it is well-documented that women’s entrepreneurship increases economic growth, other approaches need attention, especially those related to sustainability.

Need for the study: Women have superior emotional intelligence, resilience, and capacity to maintain a healthy work–life balance; women make better business and entrepreneurial leaders. Many businesses see encouraging women to join the workforce as a key to achieving sustainability goals. This study will provide valuable insights into the role of female entrepreneurs in driving sustainable business practices in the USA and India – rural India and urban India.

Methodology: The chapter adopts a descriptive research design methodology in conducting a thorough literature review on the evolution of women entrepreneurship in India. The case-based approach has been adopted to depict women entrepreneurs and their growth stories. The analysis is based on qualitative analysis of secondary data and primary data. This research proposes exciting revelations regarding the trend of women entrepreneurship in India and, from a global perspective, challenges women entrepreneurs face in organised and unorganised sectors in India and policies in different countries that promote women entrepreneurship towards sustainability.

Findings: Women business owners in India help the economy thrive, reduce poverty, and have a greater chance of shaping India’s destiny. This chapter looks at how entrepreneurial actions affect cultural morals and values. Women’s business growth rates vary from country to country, and this variation is influenced by the fact that countries can be broadly categorised as either developed or developing.

The construction industry is highly fragmented and adversarial in nature, which has resulted in it being criticized for its poor project performance and lack of innovation. To improve performance, particularly inter‐organizational relations, organizations need to consider the formation of alliances with their project partners. Some construction organ‐ izations are beginning to initiate short‐term alliances with their customers and suppliers as part of a supply chain management strategy. However, such short‐term alliances inhibit feedback, which in turn supports learning and the development of mutual trust and cooperation. It is proffered that construction organizations should consider developing long‐term alliances, so as to enable parties to form learning alliances. The implications of forming different types of strategic alliances/partnering in construction are discussed. An inter‐organizational model that can be used to support learning and is founded on the principles of total quality management (TQM) is described. A case study is used to demonstrate that cooperative relationships can be used to cultivate a culture for reflective learning and mutual trust, beyond merely project‐specific performance improvements.