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The purpose of this paper is to optimize the simultaneous flight performance of a hexarotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) by using simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (i.e. SPSA), deep neural network and proportional integral derivative (i.e. PID) according to varying arm length (i.e. morphing).

In this paper, proper PID gain coefficients and morphing ratio were obtained using the stochastic optimization method, also known as SPSA to maximize flight efficiency. Because it is difficult to establish an analytical connection between the morphing ratio and hexarotor moments of inertia, the deep neural network was used to obtain the moments of inertia according to the morphing ratio. By using SPSA and deep neural network, the best performance indexes were obtained and both longitudinal and lateral flight simulations were performed with the obtained data.

With SPSA, the best PID coefficients and morphing ratio are obtained for both longitudinal and lateral flight. Because the hexarotor solid body model changes according to the morphing ratio, the moment of inertia values used in the simulations also change. According to the morphing ratio, the moment of inertia values was obtained with the deep neural network over a created data set.

It takes a long time to obtain the morphing ratio suitable for the hexarotor model and the PID gain coefficients suitable for this morphing ratio. However, this situation can be overcome with the proposed SPSA. In addition, it takes a long time to obtain the appropriate moments of inertia according to the morphing ratio. However, in this case, it was overcome using the deep neural network.

Determining the morphing ratio and PID gain coefficients using the optimization method, as well as determining the moments of inertia using the deep neural network, is very useful as it can increase the efficiency of hexarotor flight and flight efficiently with different arm lengths. With the proposed method, the hexarotor design performance criteria (i.e. rise time, settling time and overshoot) values were significantly improved compared to similar studies.

Determining the hexarotor flight parameters using SPSA and deep neural network provides advantages in terms of time, cost and applicability.

The hexarotor flight efficiency is improved with the proposed SPSA and deep neural network approaches. In addition, the desired flight parameters can be obtained more quickly and reliably with the proposed approaches. The design performance criteria were also improved, enabling the hexarotor UAV to follow the given trajectory in the best way and providing convenience for end users. SPSA was preferred because it converged faster than other methods. While other methods perform 2n operations per iteration, SPSA only performs two operations. To obtain the moment of inertia, many physical parameter values of the UAV are required in the existing methods. In the proposed method, by creating a date set, only arm length and moment of inertia were estimated without the need to obtain physical parameters with the deep neural network structure.

The primary objectives of the case study are to get the participants exposed to the issues of working capital which even profitable companies face on a day-to-day basis; give the participants an understanding of how to balance the, at times, conflicting objectives of increasing profits and sales through favorable credit terms; and expose them to the impact of increase in inventory levels and average collection period on margins in a period of slow growth. They will also learn about the concept of factoring and its uses.

The case study is about a group of companies engaged in education, steel fabrication and oil businesses owned by a single proprietor. The company was based in Fatehnagar which was part of Hyderabad district in the state of Telangana, India, and the case study traces the origins of the group from 1960s to 2021. The group was invested the surplus cash flows from the oil business to initiate and expand other businesses during this period. The economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic had hit the company, particularly its oldest business – Noble Chemical Agency. The oil business was facing issues related to its growth and profitability, and the uncertainty around COVID-19-related restrictions had only augmented the fears of the management. The case study looks at issues and the dilemma which the owner of the company faced. The case study highlights various issues related to working capital management, especially related to receivables management and inventory levels faced by businesses during the slow-growth phase. It demonstrates how working capital management issues, if not resolved in time, can lead to insolvency of even a successful company with a sound business model.

The case study is meant for teaching in postgraduate management programs (Master of Business Administration and Postgraduate Diploma in Management) in the following courses: corporate finance/financial management course in the first year (the case study should be taught towards the end of the course); and management accounting courses in first year (the case study should be positioned in the middle of these courses). The case study can also be used to highlight issues related to working capital and small business management in a Management Development Programme (MDP) course for “Finance fundamentals for non-finance executives”.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 1: Accounting and finance.

The purpose of the study is to examine how operating efficiencies from incentive alignment compensate for rent extraction in family firms. The author asks whether ownership (1) improves operating efficiencies to increase firm value, (2) positively affects related-party transactions (RPTs), or (3) destroys firm value. Finally, the author assesses whether the incentive effect dominates the entrenchment effect.

This study employs a panel of 333 listed family firms (and 185 nonfamily firms) and handles endogeneity using a dynamic panel system GMM and panel VAR.

Ownership decreases discretionary expenses and increases asset utilization to add firm value. The efficiency gains generate more value in family firms, especially majority-held ones, than in nonmajority ones. However, ownership is also related to increased RPTs (especially dubious loans/guarantees), reducing firm value. RPTs destroy value more severely in the family (or group) firms than in nonfamily (nongroup) firms. It could be why ownership's positive impact on value is lower in family firms than in nonfamily firms. Overall, the incentive effect dominates the entrenchment effect and is robust to controlling private benefits of control in the dynamic ownership-value model.

(1) A family firm's ownership may not be optimal. (2) The firm's long-term commitment as a dynasty limits the scale of expropriation yet sustains impetus for long-term value creation. The paradox partly explains why large family holdings and firm-specific investments endure over generations. (3) This way, large ownership substitutes weak investor protection in India despite tunneling as skin in the game provides necessary investor confidence. (4) Future studies can examine whether extraction varies with family generations and how family characteristics affect the incentive effects.

(1) Concentrated ownership may not be a wrong policy choice in emerging markets to draw firm-specific investments. (2) Investors, auditors, or creditors must pay closer attention to loans/guarantees. (3) More vigorous enforcement, auditor scrutiny, and board oversight are needed.

Family firms are not necessarily a bad organization type that destroys investor wealth. They can be valuably efficient due to their ownership and wealth concentration, and frugality. They matter in the economic growth of a developing market like India.

(1) Extends ownership-performance research to family firms and shows that although ownership facilitates tunneling, the incentive effect dominates; (2) family ownership is not impacted by firm value; (3) family ownership levels reduce discretionary expenses and increase asset utilization to create added value, especially in majority-held family firms; (4) RPTs and loans/guarantees increase with ownership; (5) value erosion from RPTs is higher in family (group) firms than in other firms.

The paper aims to propose a virtual reality (VR) wisdom teaching model in open university English course from the perspective of “Metaverse”. The study aims to testify the stimulation for English learning and the effectiveness of English-expressing with VR tools for adult learners from the practice in a pilot reform project.

The paper opted for an exploratory study using ICARE Design Model as the framework, under the grounded theories of constructivism and multi-modal teaching. The study compared the evaluation data of one-semester English learning performance between the experimental class (67 students) with VR practice and the controlled class (67 students), including speaking test score, qualitative feedback and in-depth experience analysis. The data were complemented by reflection paper analysis, including manual evaluation (the criteria of semantics, pronunciation, fluency and completeness), questionnaire survey (in the form of five-point Likert scale) and semi-structured interview.

The paper provides empirical insights about the VR wisdom teaching model in English language teaching and learning in a Chinese Open University. The empirical results suggest that “3I” features of VR technology could make up for the shortcomings of traditional English classes in open universities in China, and VR resources designed with curriculum teaching materials could also be helpful for students’ command of knowledge points and language skills. What’s more, the sense of authentic experience in virtual could promote the teaching and learning effect in college English classes.

The present study focuses on a wisdom mode of foreign language teaching and learning for adult learners in open education, so the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to further explore the deep integration of VR/artificial intelligence in foreign language teaching and learning.

This paper fulfills an identified need to study how VR tools provide an engaging, fun and immersive language learning environment, to enhance autonomous learning and learning engagement.

This paper aims to examine how instructional videos produced by retail employers and tech companies have modelled cashier roles and skills in service encounters over time, providing insights into cashier training and job responsibility evolution across different retail eras.

Online video research is used, with YouTube as data source and the theory of practice architectures and related concepts as analytical framework, to examine 50 instructional video narratives produced between 1917 and 2021.

Cashiers’ selling practice comprises transactions and customer service, which are often taught separately. Technology has explicitly influenced changes in cashier work and training at three points in history: mechanised checkout (1917), computerised checkout (1980) and connected checkout (2010). “New technology” involves a combination of arrangements with the potential to transform the semantic, physical and social dimensions of cashiers’ selling practice. However, despite technological advancements, employers’ cashier training videos have not evolved significantly since the 1990s and still focus on emotional labour skills.

The findings indicate a need for transforming training for service work in the connected service encounter.

The relationship between technological innovations and changes in frontline service work and workplace learning is examined through the lens of instructional videos produced by retail employers and tech companies, giving rise to insights into limitations of current training methods for service workers. This paper suggests the need for a more holistic perspective on service encounters to understand service work and workplace learning changes.

University-industry collaboration (UIC) is a symbiosis relationship, brought about through knowledge and resource sharing, with the attendant benefits of innovation and technological advancement. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the state of UIC in quantity surveying profession in Nigeria with a view to ascertaining the situation and chatting the way forward.

Using quantitative survey research approach, primary data were collected through the administration of structured questionnaires on quantity surveying academia and practitioners. A total of 126 respondents were sampled: 52 university lecturers and 74 quantity surveying firms. Of these, 32 university lecturers (61.54%) and 34 quantity surveying firms (45.95%) provided valid responses. In all, this amounts to 52.38% response rate. The quantitative data obtained were analysed using mean score, frequency distribution, percentage and Mann Whitney test.

The findings show that collaboration is very strong in the areas of student industrial placement and research cooperation between students and academic researchers. However, collaboration in the areas of funding and staff exchange was found to be lagging behind.

The findings indicate strong collaboration areas (student industrial placement and research cooperation) to be sustained as well as weak areas (funding and staff exchange) to be critically looked into.

The paper represents the first research to empirically assess the state of UIC in quantity surveying profession in Nigeria. In addition, it shows the areas where efforts should be concentrated in maximizing the benefit of UIC.

This paper describes the development of a digital role play game (RPG) designed to help construction apprentices to better communicate with their supervisors about issues with the potential to impact on their physical and psychological health and safety.

A participatory approach was adopted to utilise the knowledge and insights of the target users to inform the digital RPG development. Apprentices and supervisors were interviewed to identify characteristics of effective supervisor-apprentice communication, which became the RPG’s learning objectives. The scenarios constructed in the RPG were drawn from lived experiences shared by the apprentices in the interviews. During the development process, consultations were conducted with an advisory committee comprising of apprentices and supervisors to improve the realism of the RPG scenarios.

Three scenarios were developed for the RPG. In each scenario, players are asked to make decisions at various interaction points about how the characters should respond to the unfolding and challenging situations. Scripts were developed for the game, which were acted out and motion captured to animate digital MetaHuman characters embedded in a virtual construction site. Two example situations are introduced in this paper to illustrate the development process.

To our knowledge, the RPG introduced is one of the first applications of digital game-based training in the construction industry. The adoption of a participatory design approach ensures that the game content relates to real-world experiences. The digital RPG is highly interactive and engaging in nature and presents a novel approach to developing “soft” skills in construction.

Ancient Chinese architecture is famous for its wooden frame structure and unique position in world architecture history. As numerous types of components and complex combinations exist, the overall structural system and how they are interlocked have always been crucial but challenging parts of the study. Students find it hard to understand and remember the concepts using traditional 2D paper media, making such knowledge unattractive to pass on to the new generation. To overcome the challenges, this research aims to examine the effect of combining Virtual Reality (VR) with digital interaction games in learning structural characteristics (dougong) of ancient Chinese architecture.

This research develops an interactive cognitive system in the VR environment based on constructivist theory to improve the learning approach of ancient Chinese architecture. Applying an experimental procedure, the feedback of an experimental group using the VR cognition system and a control group using traditional learning 2D media are collected to examine the differences in learning effectiveness and user experience.

This study develops an interactive cognitive system to aid in learning the structural system of ancient Chinese architecture. The results indicate that integrating VR and interactive learning games can increase students' positive attitudes and learning effectiveness towards ancient Chinese architecture.

This study integrates VR technology and interactive games to improve the learning approach. It examines the effect of applying the concept of human–computer interaction in learning ancient Chinese buildings. The concept of designing the interactive cognitive system is expected to guide students gradually to be the main body of learning and stimulate their learning enthusiasm and motivation.

This study aims to prevent occupational accidents occurring in the manufacturing industry by means of touch sensors. When the occupational accidents occurring in the manufacturing industry around the world are examined, it is seen that approximately 88% of occupational accidents occur from “dangerous movement” and 10% from “dangerous situation.” Although some studies related to safety culture studies, safety studies in design and collective or personal protective measures have been started, they have not been brought to an adequate level. It is observed that studies on dangerous movements continue even in many developed countries. In this study, first of all, a literature study was conducted. Occupational accidents experienced in the manufacturing sector in Turkey have been examined. In line with these investigations, a prototype circuit protection system has been developed that can prevent accidents caused by dangerous movement. With the circuit, its applicability and effectiveness were measured by conducting experiments on different manufacturing machines. The prototype circuit applied in this paper was made based on the logic of protective measures made on sawstop machines used in different sectors. In the experimental study conducted, it was observed that in 30 experiments conducted with a prototype on ten separate manufacturing machines, it stopped the machines 26 times at minimum and 29 times at maximum. On average, when looking at the system efficiency values, it was seen that the system was 81.6% effective, and it was observed that positive results could be obtained when converted into a real product.

In this study, their contribution to the prevention of work accidents caused by presses and rotary accents from machines used in the manufacturing industry by means of touch sensors used in Industry 4.0 was examined.

With Industry 4.0, different automation systems began to be switched in many areas and sectors. Studies have started on different sensors used also in Industry 4.0 in occupational health and safety studies, but it is seen that they have not been applied at an adequate level. It should be designed in such a way as to prevent errors or stop these errors in the studies performed. Today, sensors are produced at much lower costs than before. In addition, the constantly developing technology provides great convenience for these applications.

This study was applied for press and cylinder machines from manufacturing machines. This study has been tried for machines producing a maximum pressure of 300 tons.

A prototype was designed. Trials were done on some machines by prototype. There could be improve and find different solutions for safety problems in the industry with this perspective.

T Education is a leading educational science and technology enterprise in China with technology-driven, talent intimacy and quality leadership as the core development objectives. Since its inception, it has been committed to creating better learning experience for children. As the predecessor of T-education, X-education was founded in Beijing in 2003. At first, it mainly provided after-school math counseling for school-age children. Over the past 10 years, its business has been expanding, covering almost every aspect of school-age education. This case studies accounting issues and business ethics challenges that firms may face when they transform from a single (traditional education) line of business to a multiple channel business.