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With the increasing development of the surgical robots, the opto-mechatronic technologies are more potential in the robotics system optimization. The optic signal plays an important role in opto-mechatronic systems. This paper aims to present a review of the research status on fiber-optic-based force and shape sensors in surgical robots.

Advances of fiber-optic-based force and shape sensing techniques in the past 20 years are investigated and summarized according to different surgical requirement and technical characteristics. The research status analysis and development prospects are discussed.

Compared with traditional electrical signal conduction, the phototransduction provides higher speed transmission, lower signal loss and the immunity to electromagnetic interference in robot perception. Most importantly, more and more advanced optic-based sensing technologies are applied to medical robots in the past two decades because the prominence is magnetic resonance imaging compatibility. For medical robots especially, fiber-optic sensing technologies can improve working security, manipulating accuracy and provide force and shape feedback to surgeon.

This is a new perspective. This paper mainly researches the application of optical fiber sensor according to different surgeries which is beneficial to learn the great potential of optical fiber sensor in surgical robots. By enumerating the research progress of medical robots in optimization design, multimode sensing and advanced materials, the development tendency of fiber-optic-based force and shape sensing technologies in surgical robots is prospected.

After studying this case, students should be able to: explain how strategic management relates to the areas of innovation, operations, technology, entrepreneurship and emerging markets; analyse strategy implementation and execution at the operational level, in contrast to strategy formulation at the strategic mission, values and vision level; discuss innovation, entrepreneurship and new technologies in emerging markets; and assess the impact of technology-driven entrepreneurship on significant socio-economic change that is on transformational entrepreneurship, in emerging markets.

This case outlines key global challenges facing higher education in the African context. It discusses the African Leadership University (ALU) as an innovative higher education institution, including its origins, establishment, strategy and purpose, curriculum, technology and operations, student support network and funding. It also describes ALU’s ongoing challenges and future prospects. ALU was launched in 2015 by Fred Swaniker, founder and chief executive officer and Khurram Masood, co-founder and chief operating officer. ALU’s vision was to transform Africa by developing and connecting three million high-calibre, ethical and entrepreneurial leaders by 2035. In August 2019, Swaniker and Masood considered how to ensure ALU’s sustainability and its vision. They had already changed ALU’s operational strategy by establishing micro-campuses instead of universities to scale rapidly and avoid regulatory barriers. However, would that be enough to uphold ALU’s vision for 2035?

This case is appropriate for postgraduate-level academic programmes and executive education programmes in management.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

This research aims to design a comprehensive resilience model in the banking industry for identifying the dimensions and components that can enhance organizational resilience in the industry, which can contribute to the existing literate as a promising comprehensive model.

After reviewing the literature and studying the models of organizational resilience, semistructured interviews were conducted with managers and prominent experts in the banking industry. To analyze the interviews, the thematic analysis technique was used with three coding stages. After designing the research model in two main dimensions of micro and macro management in the banking industry, the relation between the main components and subcomponents was identified by using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and DEMATEL techniques.

The study findings indicating that proper observation and predicting the bank's problems and making suitable connections with the government are two major indicators of the resilience of the banking network, which can realize through influencing the components of risk management, financial resource management and system corruption. The results of this research can lead to the expansion of theoretical foundations of the past research and the concept of organizational resilience in the field of financial services and especially the banking industry.

This paper provides the components with a more significant impact, which bank managers should consider the relationship among them to enhance organizational resilience for more effectiveness of their decisions.

The present study offers a holistic but detailed understanding of the factors that might affect small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies to empower smaller businesses to embrace Industry 4.0.

The study conducted a systematic review of the literature and drew on the technology-organization-environment framework to identify various technological, organizational and environmental determinants of Industry 4.0 technology adoption and their underlying components. The study applied the textual narrative synthesis to extract findings from the eligible articles and interpret them into the Industry 4.0 technology adoption roadmap.

Industry 4.0 is a vital strategic option to SMEs, enabling them to keep up with the digitalization race. SMEs significantly lag behind large organizations in benefiting from disruptive Industry 4.0 technologies. SMEs are still struggling with the initial adoption decisions regarding the digital transformation under Industry 4.0. Results identified various determinants that might explain this condition. The study developed a digitalization roadmap that describes the necessary conditions for facilitating SMEs’ digitalization under Industry 4.0.

Various technological, organizational and environmental factors might determine the current positioning of SMEs against Industry 4.0. These determinants can act as barriers or drivers depending on their properties. The roadmap describes determinants indispensable to promoting Industry 4.0 technology adoption among SMEs, such as knowledge competencies or value chain digitalization readiness.

Exclusively focusing on empirical research that reported applied insights into Industry 4.0 technology adoption, the study offers unique implications for promoting Industry 4.0 digital transformation among SMEs.

In recent years, China’s growing global economic influence has attracted more foreign workers, requiring leaders to have effective communication skills to manage diverse personnel to drive innovations. Although previous research studies revealed the effects of a leader’s motivating language (ML) on employee’s innovativeness, the mechanism and the boundary conditions for stimulating the relationship between ML and innovative work behavior (IWB) are scarce. Therefore, this study aims to examine employee’s creative self-efficacy (CSE) as a mechanism and coworker support (CS) as a boundary condition in the relationship between ML’s dimensions and IWB.

To test the moderated mediation model, this study collected the data from 283 workers and their respective supervisors at a Beijing-based multinational network company. The research applied a quantitative approach. SPSS and AMOS were used to analyze the data.

ML’s dimensions are positively linked to IWB. CSE was found as a mediator in these relationships. CS did not play its moderation roles on ML – CSE, ML – IWB direct or ML – IWB indirect (via CSE) links. ML’s direction-giving speech is found to be more effective in predicting CSE and IWB.

This is the first paper to examine the impacts of the three dimensions of ML on IWB.

The purpose of this paper is to examine perceived supervisory support (PSS) and the impact of the antecedents of sharing knowledge, namely, clan culture (CC) as well as trust in innovative work behavior (IWB).

This research focuses on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) employees, especially SMEs located around tourist attractions in Indonesia. Data collection was carried out by distributing questionnaires. The distribution of the questionnaire was carried out in two ways, namely, the offline and online systems via the Google form. Data analysis tool using structural equation modeling.

The findings reveal that PSS, knowledge sharing (KS), CC as well as trust are positively related to IWB. In addition, it was also found that KS was proven to mediate CC relationships as well as the trust which had a positive relationship with IWB.

The research design uses cross-sectional data. This means that the measurement of variables is based on self-reports and is carried out at one time, which can lead to method bias that can affect the results of the study. Thus, further research is recommended to collect data longitudinally, which will make the findings stronger.

Theoretically, this study extends previous research by outlining a set of organizational elements that tend to influence KS behavior and their impact on IWB in the SMEs context.

Managers and owners of SMEs need to create a CC because the creation of a family or CC will more easily foster a culture of sharing knowledge within the organization, which will ultimately increase IWB.

This study emphasizes that it is not only internal factors within employees that can foster IWB but there are external factors that play an important role in increasing IWB, such as CC, PSS, trust and KS. And to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to include all the constructs in one model and the context of SMEs.

The purpose of this study is to highlight the direct fabrication of rapid tooling (RT) with desired mechanical, tribological and thermal properties using fused deposition modelling (FDM) process. Further, the review paper demonstrated development procedure of alternative feedstock filament of low-cost composite material for FDM to extend the range of RT applications.

The alternative materials for FDM and their processing requirements for fabrication in filament form as reported by various researchers have been summarized. The literature demonstrates the role of various post-processing techniques on surface finish of FDM prints. Further, low-cost materials for feedstock filament have been investigated experimentally to check their adaptability/suitability for commercial FDM setup. The approach was to realize the requirements of FDM (melt flow rate, flexibility, stiffness, glass transition temperature and mechanical strength), necessary for the successful run of an alternative filament. The effect of constituents (additives, plasticizers, surfactants and fillers) in polymeric matrix on mechanical, tribological and thermal properties has been investigated.

It is possible to develop composite material feedstock as filament for commercial FDM setup without changing its hardware and software. Surface finish of the parts can further be improved by applying various post-processing techniques. Most of the composite parts have high mechanical strength, hardness, thermal stability, wear resistant and better bond formation than standard material parts.

Future research may be focused on improving the surface quality of parts fabricated with composite feedstock, solving issues related to the uniform distribution of filled materials during the fabrication of feedstock filament which in turns further increases mechanical strength, high dimensional stability of composite filament and transferring the technology from laboratory scale to various industrial applications.

Potential applications of direct fabrication with RT includes rapid manufacturing (RM) of metal-filled parts and ceramic-filled parts (which have complex shape and cannot be rapidly made by any other manufacturing techniques) in the field of biomedical and dentistry.

This new manufacturing methodology is based on the proper selection and processing of various materials and additives to form high-performance, low-cost composite material feedstock filament (which fulfil the necessary requirements of FDM process). Finally, newly developed feedstock filament material has both quantitative and qualitative advantage in RT and RM applications as compared to standard material filament.

This paper aims to present the results of testing of low-strength concrete specimens exposed to elevated temperatures. These data are limited in the existing literature and do not exist in Pakistan.

An experimental testing programme has been employed. Cylindrical specimens of 100 × 200 mm were used in the testing programme. These were heated at temperatures which were varied from 100°C to 900°C in increment of 100°C. Similar specimens were tested at ambient temperature as control specimens. The compressive and tensile properties of heat treated specimens were determined.

The colour of concrete started to change at 300°C and hairline cracks appeared at 400°C. Explosive spalling was observed in few specimens in the temperature range of 400°C-650°C which could be attributed to the pore pressure generated by steam. Significant loss of concrete compressive strength occurred on heating temperatures larger than 600°C, and the residual compressive strength was found to be 15 per cent at 900°C. Residual tensile strength of concrete became less than 10 per cent at 900°C. The loss of concrete stiffness reached 85 per cent at 600°C. Residual Poisson’s ratio of concrete increased at high temperatures and became nearly six times larger at 900°C as compared to that at ambient temperature.

The parameters of the study included heating temperature and effects of temperature on strength and stiffness properties of the concrete specimens.

Building fire incidents have increased in Pakistan. As a large number of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings exist in the country, the data related to elevated temperature properties of concrete are required. These data are not available in Pakistan presently. The study aims at providing this information for the design engineers to enable them to assess and increase fire resistance of RC structural members.

The presented study is unique in its nature in that there is no published contribution to date, to the best of authors’ knowledge, which has been carried out to assess the temperature-dependent mechanical properties of concrete in Pakistan.