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The purpose of this study is the introduction and validation of a new technique for process monitoring during electron beam melting (EBM).

In this study, a backscatter electron detector inside the building chamber is used for image acquisition during EBM process. By systematic variation of process parameters, the ability of displaying different topographies, especially pores, is investigated. The results are evaluated in terms of porosity and compared with optical microscopy and X-ray computed tomography.

The method is capable of detecting major flaws (e.g. pores) and gives information about the quality of the resulting component.

Image acquisition by evaluating backscatter electrons during EBM process is a new approach in process monitoring which avoids disadvantages restricting previously investigated techniques.

Households are exposed to a wide array of risks, characterized by a known or unknown probability distribution of events. Disasters are one of these risks at the extreme end. Understanding the nature of these risks is critical to recommending appropriate mitigation measures. A household’s resilience in resisting the negative outcomes of these risky events is indicative of its level of vulnerability. Vulnerability has emerged as the most critical concept in disaster studies, with several attempts at defining, measuring, indexing and modeling it. The paper presents the concept and meanings of risk and vulnerability as they have evolved in different disciplines. Building on these basic concepts, the paper suggests that assets are the key to reducing risk and vulnerability. Households resist and cope with adverse consequences of disasters and other risks through the assets that they can mobilize in face of shocks. Asustainable strategy for disaster reduction must therefore focus on asset‐building. There could be different types of assets, and their selection and application for disaster risk management is necessarily a contextual exercise. The mix of asset‐building strategies could vary from one community to another, depending upon households’ asset profile. The paper addresses the dynamics of assets‐risk interaction, thus focusing on the role of assets in risk management.

Until the Loma Prieta earthquake of 17 October 1989, also known as the “World Series earthquake” or the “San Francisco earthquake,” many of us may have considered earthquakes a remote danger. But instantaneous television transmission from the interrupted World Series game and frightening images of the collapsed Cypress Viaduct and the burning Marina district transformed this incident from a distant disaster into a phenomenon that touched us all. The Loma Prieta earthquake was followed in December 1990 by the inaccurate but widely publicized New Madrid earthquake prediction. Despite its inaccuracy, this prediction alerted the public to the fact that the largest earthquake ever to have occurred in the United States occurred not in California or Alaska, but in Missouri, and that a large earthquake could occur there again. Americans are discovering that few places are immune to the possibility of an earthquake.

Sociocultural aspects of populations residing in disaster-prone areas have not often been discussed in disaster evacuation studies. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to describe the sociocultural factors affecting evacuation decision-making.

This was an exploratory research study which used in-depth semi-structured interviews to collect the data. Selection of the informants was also fulfilled via the purposive sampling method with regard to specific criteria. The informants consisted of 20 villagers that had faced a disaster and eight staff members of the Regional Board of Disaster Management of the Republic of Indonesia which is Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah (BPBD), Ponorogo, who had managed it. The data analysis was ultimately performed through thematic coding.

The results of the coding analysis revealed that sociocultural aspects were among the primary reasons for evacuation decisions before disasters. In this paper, sociocultural factors shaping evacuation decision behavior could be a result of norms, roles, language, leadership, rules, habits, jobs, perceptions, family engagement, as well as other behaviors demonstrated by individuals and the community.

This study is not analyzing the role of the social organization or a religious one and also the economic aspect in the evacuation decision-making.

This paper includes implications for the local government and the BPBD Ponorogo to establish an efficient communication strategy persuading villagers to evacuate. In general, formal policies cannot always be implemented in managing disaster; therefore, visible dedication and solidarity of the members are always needed in order to manage evacuation problems.

This paper meets needs for a study delineating sociocultural factors affecting evacuation decisions before disasters strike. Sociocultural theory could also describe real aspects of culture inherent in the daily lives of populations living in disaster-prone areas.

Student loyalty in higher education sector helps college administrators to establish appropriate programs that promote, establish, develop and maintain successful long-term relationships with both current and former students. The purpose of this study is to propose the use of mediation model that links service quality and student loyalty via student satisfaction and test the direct and indirect effects of service quality on student loyalty with the mediation role of student satisfaction.

The study used survey research design and collected data from three oldest state universities in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India to find the relationships between service quality, student satisfaction and student loyalty in higher education sector using structural equation modeling.

This study tested the proposed research model and proved the mediator role of student satisfaction between service quality and student loyalty. Service quality has been found to be an important input to student satisfaction. The result also shows that while university provides no basis for differentiation among the constructs, age and gender play a major role in determining the different perceptions of students about the constructs investigated.

The study focuses on student satisfaction, of which service quality is an important antecedent. Identification of other variables, besides service quality, is crucial to contribute to the overall student satisfaction. Similarly, it is just as critical to identify the other elements like value, image or institution reputation which may have direct impact on service loyalty. It would be more precise when the studies also consider the opinion of the students before joining the institute based on word of mouth of passed-out students and after finishing the course. Longitudinal studies to collect predictor and criterion variables before and after the course would be much stronger.

A clearer understanding of the relationship between service quality, satisfaction and loyalty that helps ensure the management to take better strategies to concentrate and improve the performance is aided by this study. It is interesting to note that the student loyalty is primarily affected by age and gender. This type of analysis helps to identify the target students who have high potential of defection.

Higher education and their respective institutions seek to enhance socio-cultural and economic development to promote active citizenship by inculcating ethical values among students. The Indian higher education institutions are facing enormous issues related to quality in education. The changing nature and need of higher education services and an increase in competitive intensity necessitates higher performance levels in the realm of Indian higher education (universities). These can be achieved through a thorough understanding of the expectations of students and the importance placed by them on aspects found by the study such as teaching, administrative services, support services, hostel facilities, library and lab facilities and internationalization.

Previous studies have proved the mediation role of satisfaction between service quality and loyalty in marketing literature, but no significant studies have empirically tested the same in higher education sector. The service quality measurement in higher education is complex because of some unique features like customers’ (student) cognitive participation in the service process, the needs of the students being fulfilled by different parties, long-term and continuous services. The study contributes to the existing field of knowledge by providing support for the contention that student satisfaction performs a mediating role in the link between service quality and student loyalty in higher education sector.

The purpose of this paper is to present a novel approach that examines the vulnerability and interdependency of critical infrastructures using the network theory in geographic information system (GIS) setting in combination with literature and government reports. Specifically, the objectives of this study were to generate the network models of critical infrastructure systems (CISs), particularly electricity, roads and sewerage networks; to characterize the CISs’ interdependencies; and to outline the climate adaptation (CA) and flood mitigation measures of CIS.

An integrated approach was undertaken in assessing the vulnerability and interdependency of critical infrastructures. A single system model and system-of-systems model were operationalized to examine the vulnerability and interdependency of the identified critical infrastructures in GIS environment. Existing CA and flood mitigation measures from government reports were integrated in the above-mentioned findings to better understand and gain focus in the implementation of natural disaster risk reduction (DRR) policies, particularly during the 2010/2011 floods in Queensland, Australia.

Using the results from the above-mentioned approach, the spatially explicit framework was developed with four key operational dimensions: conceiving the climate risk environment; understanding the critical infrastructures’ common cause and cascade failures; modeling individual infrastructure system and system-of-systems level within GIS setting; and integrating the above-mentioned results with the government reports to increase CA and resilience measures of flood-affected critical infrastructures.

While natural DRR measures include preparation, response and recovery, this study focused on flood mitigation. Temporal analysis and application to other natural disasters were also not considered in the analysis.

By providing this information, government-owned corporations, CISs managers and other concerned stakeholders will allow to identify infrastructure assets that are highly critical, identify vulnerable infrastructures within areas of very high flood risk, examine the interdependency of critical infrastructures and the effects of cascaded failures, identify ways of reducing flood risk and extreme climate events and prioritize DRR measures and CA strategies.

The individualist or “pigeon-hole” approach has been the common method of analyzing infrastructures’ exposure to flood hazards and tends to separately examine the risk for different types of infrastructure (e.g. electricity, water, sewerage, roads and rails and stormwater). This study introduced an integrated approach of analyzing infrastructure risk to damage and cascade failure due to flooding. Aside from introducing the integrated approach, this study operationalized GIS-based vulnerability assessment and interdependency of critical infrastructures which had been unsubstantially considered in the past analytical frameworks. The authors considered this study of high significance, considering that floodplain planning schemes often lack the consideration of critical infrastructure interdependency.

This research examines the effect of auditors’ personal debt on their audit decision making. We developed two different background scenarios that vary the level of the auditor’s personal debt. While one scenario indicated that the partner lived a modest lifestyle and was relatively free of debt, the other indicated that the partner lived an expensive lifestyle and had considerable personal debt. Our data indicate that auditors receiving the higher personal indebtedness scenario were more likely to believe that the auditor in the case study would sign-off on the audit without doing any additional work. We also found that the propensity to believe that the auditor in the case study would sign-off on the audit without doing any additional work decreased as the participants’ rank within the firm increased. Our research documents that a partner’s level of indebtedness could influence the participant’s audit decisions.

This chapter offers professional advice for educators, particularly those unfamiliar with history-based performance, on how to move their historic character research to the place of actual portrayal. Using a questioning method, the author takes the reader step-by-step through essential elements of historical character portrayal such as character perspective, props, and costuming, placing them within the context of educational objectives and performance logistics. The author discusses in detail differences between portraying a well-known historical figure versus someone connected to that person. She explains the importance of choosing a date for a first-person portrayal, as it defines what the character “knows,” and provides techniques for handling questions beyond the character's date range. For newcomers to researching and portraying historical figures, it is important to consider the following points: What is each character teaching? Where will the presentation be held? Is the presentation solely for students, or does it include peers, parents, or administrators? This chapter addresses these critical questions along with research techniques, performance methods, and practical suggestions for obtaining costumes and props. In addition, the author discusses presentation skills required for an effective presentation, such as voice, mood, and movement. She provides examples from her own professional repertoire showing how techniques such as pace level and articulation work effectively in front of an audience and breaks down the structure of a 20- to 45-minute presentation. The author gives examples of how to be prepared for audience questions and unexpected interruptions during a performance. Finally, she explains the importance of the “story” in historic character presentations to enhance its teaching and presentation effectiveness.