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Article
Publication date: 14 June 2013

Hamed Hamid Muhammed

The aim of the research project which resulted in this work is to achieve a cost‐effective approach for instantaneous hyperspectral imaging.

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the research project which resulted in this work is to achieve a cost‐effective approach for instantaneous hyperspectral imaging.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a simulation study and an experimental evaluation of a novel imaging spectroscopy technique, where multi‐channel image data are acquired instantaneously and transformed into spectra by using a statistical modelling approach. A digital colour camera equipped with an additional colour filter array was used to acquire an instantaneous single image that was demosaicked to generate a multi‐channel image. A statistical transformation approach was employed to convert this image into a hyperspectral one.

Findings

The feasibility of this method was investigated through extensive simulation and experimental tasks where promising results were obtained.

Practical implications

The small size of the initially acquired single instantaneous image makes this approach useful for applications where video‐rate hyperspectral imaging is required.

Originality/value

For the first time, a simplified prototype of this novel imaging spectroscopy technique was built and evaluated experimentally. And the results were compared with those of a more ideal simulation study. Recommendations for how to improve the prototype were also suggested as a result of the comparison between the simulation and the prototype evaluation results.

Article
Publication date: 5 January 2015

Janet Hoek and Cherie Robertson

This paper aims to investigate how young adult women smokers, a group the tobacco industry has specifically targeted, interpreted dissuasive sticks. Australia’s decision to…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how young adult women smokers, a group the tobacco industry has specifically targeted, interpreted dissuasive sticks. Australia’s decision to introduce plain packaging has aroused international attention and stimulated interest in complementary initiatives. To date, research attention has focused on external packaging and few studies have examined the physical objects of consumption – cigarette sticks.

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted two focus groups and 13 in-depth interviews using purposive recruitment. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings

We identified three overarching themes: smoking as an act of overt and conspicuous consumption; cigarette sticks as accoutrements of social acceptability and dissuasive colours as deconstructors of the social façade smokers construct. Dissuasive sticks challenged connotations of cleanliness participants sought, exposed smoking as “dirty” and connoted stereotypes participants wanted to avoid.

Research limitations/implications

Although small-scale qualitative studies provide rich insights into participant’s responses, experimental work is required to estimate how a wider population comprising more varied smoker sub-groups responds to dissuasive sticks.

Practical implications

As policymakers internationally consider introducing plain packaging, they should examine whether dissuasive sticks could enhance measures regulating the external appearance of tobacco packages.

Social implications

Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disability. Plain packaging and dissuasive sticks show considerable potential to reduce smoking prevalence and the burden of ill-health that results.

Originality/value

This is the first study to explore how dissuasive sticks would distance smoking from the social identity smokers seek. The findings provide a platform for experimental work that estimates the potential behavioural outcomes dissuasive sticks could stimulate.

Details

Journal of Social Marketing, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6763

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2021

Amruta Joglekar-Athavale and Ganapti S. Shankarling

The review glances upon the colorants used for printing on ceramic substrates by ink jet technology and techniques, chemistry involved during the selection of the colorants.

Abstract

Purpose

The review glances upon the colorants used for printing on ceramic substrates by ink jet technology and techniques, chemistry involved during the selection of the colorants.

Design/methodology/approach

The ink jet technology is an easy and a convenient technique, specially designed colorants are used for such applications with tailor made properties and features.

Findings

New developments in technology and chemistry of colorants to achieve successes in application studies of ceramic substrates.

Research limitations/implications

N/A.

Practical implications

This review glances upon the history, development and practical approach of the current techniques with available dyes and pigments and the techniques involved during the synthesis and application.

Originality/value

The review paper provides information about the development of the inkjet technique on ceramics and available colorants with methods.

Details

Pigment & Resin Technology, vol. 51 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0369-9420

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2008

Amy H.I. Lee and He‐Yau Kang

This paper seeks to construct a model for inventory management for multiple periods. The model considers not only the usual parameters, but also price quantity discount, storage…

1394

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to construct a model for inventory management for multiple periods. The model considers not only the usual parameters, but also price quantity discount, storage and batch size constraints.

Design/methodology/approach

Mixed 0‐1 integer programming is applied to solve the multi‐period inventory problem and to determine an appropriate inventory level for each period. The total cost of materials in the system is minimized and the optimal purchase amount in each period is determined.

Findings

The proposed model is applied in colour filter inventory management in thin film transistor‐liquid crystal display (TFT‐LCD) manufacturing because colour filter replenishment has the characteristics of price quantity discount, large product size, batch‐sized purchase and forbidden shortage in the plant. Sensitivity analysis of major parameters of the model is also performed to depict the effects of these parameters on the solutions.

Practical implications

The proposed model can be tailored and applied to other inventory management problems.

Originality/value

Although many mathematical models are available for inventory management, this study considers some special characteristics that might be present in real practice. TFT‐LCD manufacturing is one of the most prosperous industries in Taiwan, and colour‐filter inventory management is essential for TFT‐LCD manufacturers for achieving competitive edge. The proposed model in this study can be applied to fulfil the goal.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 37 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 May 2015

Oualid Araar, Nabil Aouf and Jose Luis Vallejo Dietz

This paper aims to present a new vision-based approach for both the identification and the estimation of the relative distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and power…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a new vision-based approach for both the identification and the estimation of the relative distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and power pylon. Autonomous power line inspection using small UAVs, has been the focus of many research works over the past couple of decades. Automatic detection of power pylons is a primary requirement to achieve such autonomous systems. It is still a challenging task due to the complex geometry and cluttered background of these structures.

Design/methodology/approach

The identification solution proposed, avoids the complexity of classic object recognition techniques. Instead of searching the whole image for the pylon template, low-level geometric priors with robust colour attributes are combined to remove the pylon background. The depth estimation, on the other hand, is based on a new concept which exploits the ego-motion of the inspection UAV to estimate its distance from the pylon using just a monocular camera.

Findings

An algorithm is tested on a quadrotor UAV, using different kinds of metallic power pylons. Both simulation and real-world experiments, conducted in different backgrounds and illumination conditions, show very promising results.

Research limitations/implications

In the real tests carried out, the Inertial Navigation System (INS) of the vehicle was used to estimate its ego-motion. A more reliable solution should be considered for longer distances, by either fusing INS and global positioning system data or using visual navigation techniques such as visual odometry.

Originality/value

A simple yet efficient solution is proposed that allows the UAV to reliably identify the pylon, with still a low processing cost. Considering a monocular solution is a major advantage, given the limited payload and processing power of such small vehicles.

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 42 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 1961

‘FOG in Channel: Continent isolated!’ Those were once the headlines in a national newspaper which thus succinctly, although with unintentional irony, expressed the British sense…

Abstract

‘FOG in Channel: Continent isolated!’ Those were once the headlines in a national newspaper which thus succinctly, although with unintentional irony, expressed the British sense of complacency. Making allowance for an element of exaggeration, the incident contained enough truth to make its point. The new alignments of industry and commerce which are now taking place mean that this country cannot afford to retain even a vestige of such an attitude.

Details

Work Study, vol. 10 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0043-8022

Article
Publication date: 6 February 2017

Soe Tsyr Yuan and Chun-Ya Yang

Most existing recommendation systems or technologies are functional-oriented. Recommending services, nevertheless, requires the consideration of service experiences perceived by…

Abstract

Purpose

Most existing recommendation systems or technologies are functional-oriented. Recommending services, nevertheless, requires the consideration of service experiences perceived by customers being individually unique and emphasizing the emotional experiences and the co-created value-in-use. This paper aims to present a new recommender system to capture customer emotional needs and address social interactions among service stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a color imagery-based recommender system (CIRS) capable of capturing customer emotional needs and addressing social interactions among service stakeholders that can collectively co-create the individual value-in-use and beneficial outcomes for customers. Based on the Color Image Scale, the recommender system uses the color imagery format as the uniform representation of customers’ psychological expectations, service providers and the service system, to facilitate the scoring and ranking of recommendations.

Findings

This study uses an application context of destination tourism to demonstrate and justify the recommender system’s attempted contributions preliminarily. That is, CIRS can recommend destinations and tour services that meet tourists’ emotional needs with a satisfactory precision of 70 per cent. CIRS can also make stakeholders’ image models evolve over time considering the dynamic interactions among stakeholders. CIRS can also help lesser-known tourism destinations be discovered by tourists who can be emotionally satisfied.

Originality/value

CIRS uses the color imagery as the uniform representation for customers’ expectations, service providers (e.g. small and medium enterprises) and service system (e.g. tourism destinations), considering the continued interactions among the service stakeholders that collectively co-create the individual value-in-use and beneficial outcomes for each customer.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 46 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1930

W.M. Hampton

IT is sometimes suggested with regard to aerial light beacons that when the weather is clear they are unnecessary in populous country, and when the weather is foggy the lights…

Abstract

IT is sometimes suggested with regard to aerial light beacons that when the weather is clear they are unnecessary in populous country, and when the weather is foggy the lights cannot be seen, and therefore are of little use under any conditions. This statement does not, of course, represent the true facts of the case, but it does indicate the vital importance of a study of the various questions relating to the transmission of light to great distances.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 2 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-2667

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1982

S. Monchaud and R. Prat

A simple ultrasonic sensor coupled with a colour sensing system has been designed and built in the laboratory of the French National Institute of Applied Science at Rennes, and…

Abstract

A simple ultrasonic sensor coupled with a colour sensing system has been designed and built in the laboratory of the French National Institute of Applied Science at Rennes, and mounted on the laboratory's VESA mobile robot. It can distinguish simple configurations of obstacles and measure their distance from the robot, and within certain limits of illumination can classify obstacles to eight reference colours.

Details

Sensor Review, vol. 2 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0260-2288

Article
Publication date: 17 June 2022

Adwoa Boadua Yirenkyi-Fianko, Ernest Kwesi Yanful and Jemima Antwiwaa Ottou

Total organic carbon (TOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and other physicochemical parameters of the Birim River, which serves for drinking and domestic purposes for rural…

Abstract

Purpose

Total organic carbon (TOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and other physicochemical parameters of the Birim River, which serves for drinking and domestic purposes for rural mining communities, were analysed to assess the suitability of water quality for human consumption.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 40 samples were collected from 20 sampling sites during the rainy season from July to September and the dry season from December to February in addition to two repeat samples and two blank samples. Samples were analysed for physiochemical parameters and the results were compared with World Health Organisation standards (WHO).

Findings

Data obtained for both rainy and dry seasons indicated TOC ranged from 1.1 to 7.3 mg/L and DOC 1–7.2 mg/L; pH, 5.6–8.63; temperature, 23.3–29.3°C; turbidity, <1.00–869NTU; apparent colour, <2.5–600 mg/L Pt-Co; true colour <2.5–150 mg/L Pt-Co; alkalinity, 27.8–80.4 mg/L; total suspended solids, <1.00–998 mg/L; electrical conductivity, 82–184 µS/cm; and bicarbonate, 33.9–98.1 mg/L. Particulate organic carbon (POC) was constituted between 1 and 10% of the TOC. Values for pH, turbidity, total suspended solids, and true colour indicated contamination of the river. p -value of <0.05 between seasons for the physicochemical parameters also suggests that the water is polluted.

Practical implications

Water from the Birim River is unsuitable for human consumption and may constitute a serious health risk to the consumers.

Originality/value

The paper yields immense value to inhabitant of communities using surface water affected by mining activities, policy makers in sustainability. It warns of the unsuitability of water from the Birim River for human consumption due to the potential health risk to consumers.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 33 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

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