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The purpose of this paper is to assess the suitability of various methods for the reduction of a large finite element model (FEM) of satellites to produce models to be used for correlation of the FEM with test results. The robustness of the cross‐orthogonality checks (COC) for the correlation process carried out utilizing the reduced model is investigated, showing its dependence on the number of mode shapes used in the reduction process. Finally the paper investigates the improvement in the robustness of the COC that can be achieved utilizing optimality criteria for the selection of the degrees of freedom (DOF) used for the correlation process.

A Monte Carlo approach has been used to simulate inaccuracies in the mode shapes (analysis and experimental) of a satellite FEM that are compared during the COC. The sensitivity of the COC to the parameters utilized during the reduction process, i.e. mode shapes and DOFs, is then assessed for different levels of inaccuracy in the mode shapes.

The System Equivalent Expansion Reduction Process (SEREP) has been identified as a particularly suitable method, with the advantage that a SEREP reduced model has the same eigenvalues and eigenvector of the whole system therefore automatically meeting the criteria on the quality of the reduced model. The inclusion of a high number of mode shapes in the reduction process makes the check very sensitive to minor experimental or modelling inaccuracies. Finally it was shown that utilizing optimality criteria in the selection of the DOFs to carry out the correlation can significantly improve the probability of meeting the COC criteria.

This work is based on the FEM of the satellite Aeolus, and therefore the numerical values obtained in this study are specific for this application. However, this model represents a typical satellite FEM and therefore the trends identified in this work are expected to be generally valid for this type of structure.

The correlation of satellite FEM with test results involves a substantial effort, and it is crucial to avoid failures of the COC due to numerical issues rather than real model inaccuracies. This work shows also how an inappropriate choice of reduction parameters can lead to failure of the COC in cases when there are only very minor differences (e.g. due to minor amount of noise in the results) between analytical and test results. Vice versa, the work also shows how the robustness of the reduced model can be improved.

The paper shows how the robustness of the correlation process for a satellite FEM carried out utilising a SEREP reduced model needed to be investigated, to demonstrate the suitability of this method to reduce large FEM of satellites.

Hofstede’s model of national culture has enjoyed enormous popularity but rests partly on faith. It has never been fully replicated and its predictive properties have been challenged. The purpose of this paper is to provide a test of the model’s coherence and utility.

Analyses of secondary data, including the World Values Survey, and a new survey across 56 countries represented by nearly 53,000 probabilistically selected respondents.

Improved operationalizations of individualism-collectivism (IDV-COLL) suggest it is a robust dimension of national culture. A modern IDV-COLL index supersedes Hofstede’s 50 year-old original one. Power distance (PD) seems to be a logical facet of IDV-COLL, rather than an independent dimension. Uncertainty avoidance (UA) lacks internal reliability. Approval of restrictive societal rules and laws is a facet of COLL and is not associated with national anxiety or neuroticism. UA is not a predictor of any of its presumed main correlates: importance of job security, preference for a safe job, trust, racism and xenophobia, subjective well-being, innovation, and economic freedom. The dimension of masculinity-femininity (MAS-FEM) lacks coherence. MAS and FEM job goals and broader values are correlated positively, not negatively, and are not related to the MAS-FEM index. MAS-FEM is not a predictor of any of its presumed main correlates: achievement and competition orientation, help and compassion, preference for a workplace with likeable people, work orientation, religiousness, gender egalitarianism, foreign aid. After a radical reconceptualization and a new operationalization, the so-called “fifth dimension” (CWD or long-term orientation) becomes more coherent and useful. The new version, called flexibility-monumentalism (FLX-MON), explains the cultural differences between East Asian Confucian societies at one extreme and Latin America plus Africa at the other, and is the best predictor of national differences in educational achievement.

Differences between subsidiaries of a multinational company, such as IBM around 1970, are not necessarily a good source of knowledge about broad cultural differences. A model of national culture must be validated across a large number of countries from all continents and its predictions should withstand various plausible controls. Much of Hofstede’s model (UA, MAS-FEM) fails this test while the remaining part (IDV-COLL, PD, LTO) needs a serious revision.

Consultancies and business schools still teach Hofstede’s model uncritically. They need to be aware of its deficiencies.

As UA and MAS-FEM are apparently misleading artifacts of Hofstede’s IBM data set, a thorough revision of Hofstede’s model is proposed, reducing it to two dimensions: IDV-COLL and FLX-MON.

Recent studies exposed serious issues with Hofstede's popular model of culture, especially his uncertainty avoidance (UA) and masculinity-femininity (MAS–FEM) dimensions. However those studies did not focus on work-related issues as in Hofstede’s research.

We followed Hofstede’s approach to his dimensions more closely than anyone before in a large cross-cultural study. We used data from the nationally representative International Social Survey Program (over 50,000 respondents from 47 countries), measuring work goals and work-related stress in a way similar to Hofstede's.

UA and MAS–FEM, as measured and described by Hofstede, did not replicate. They lack internal consistency and the items that target them are not associated with Hofstede's UA and MAS–FEM indices. Instead, some of those items follow a very different and sound logic, invalidating Hofstede's UA and MAS–FEM theories. Our study provides additional evidence that UA and MAS–FEM are misleading artifacts of Hofstede's IBM database, with no analogues outside IBM. An improved, recently reported version of individualism-collectivism (IDV-COLL) replicated nearly perfectly, solidifying the validity of that dimension of national culture. A revised version of long-term orientation, called flexibility–monumentalism (FLX–MON) also replicated well.

We discuss lessons for the cross-cultural field, including cross-cultural management, as well as policy-making by national governments, to be drawn from the controversial story of Hofstede's model. We advise a stronger focus on empirical confirmation and replication rather than excessive faith in fascinating, yet unproven theory.

To avoid further confusion, we advise researchers, consultants and managers to reconsider the use of Hofstede's UA and MAS–FEM and focus on the valid dimensions in the revised Minkov-Hofstede model.

A number of national governments recently launched large-scale studies of their national cultures, based on Hofstede's model. The goal of those studies was to involve culture in the design of social and economic development policies. Studies of this kind should be founded on empirically sound models or else they can result in the formulation of flawed policies.

This is the first study of large samples from many nations showing that even when Hofstede's method is followed closely by focusing on work-related issues, UA and MAS–FEM do not emerge from the data, and this is not because of data deficiencies but because the logic of UA and MAS–FEM is demonstrably flawed. Our study also demonstrates new methods for the replication of IDV-COLL and FLX–MON, though without claiming that they are superior to existing ones.

The purpose of this paper is to test the replicability of Hofstede’s value-based dimensions – masculinity–femininity (MAS–FEM) and individualism–collectivism (IDV–COLL) – in the field of consumer behavior, and to compare cultural prioritizations with respect to disposable income budgets across the world.

The authors asked 51,529 probabilistically selected respondents in 52 countries (50 nationally representative consumer panels and community samples from another two countries) what they would do with their money if they were rich. The questionnaire items targeted Hofstede’s MAS–FEM and IDV–COLL as well as a wider range of options deemed sufficiently meaningful, ethical and moral across the world.

The authors obtained two main dimensions. The first contrasts self-enhancing and altruistic choices (status and power-seeking spending vs donating for healthcare) and is conceptually similar to MAS–FEM. However, it is statistically related to Hofstede’s fifth dimension, or monumentalism–flexibility (MON–FLX), not to MAS–FEM. The second dimension contrasts conservative-collectivist choices and modern-hedonistic concerns (donating for religion and sports vs preserving nature and travel abroad for pleasure) and is a variant of COLL–IDV.

The authors left out various potential consumer choices as they were deemed culturally incomparable or unacceptable in some societies. Nevertheless, the findings paint a sufficiently rich image of worldwide value differences underpinning idealized consumer behavior prioritizations.

The study could be useful to international marketing and consumer behavior experts.

The study contributes to the understanding of modern cultural differences across the world.

This is the first large cross-cultural study that reveals differences in values through a novel approach: prioritizations of consumer choices. It enriches the understanding of IDV–COLL and MON–FLX, and, in particular, of the value prioritizations of the East Asian nations. The study provides new evidence that Hofstede’s MAS–FEM is a peculiarity of his IBM database with no societal analogue. Some of the so-called MAS–FEM values are components of MON–FLX, which is statistically unrelated to Hofstede’s MAS–FEM.

This study aims to observe the extent of asset diversification benefits in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-5 market by examining the effect of financial integration (FI) and financial development (FD) on domestic stock–bond co-movements, SBcorr.

The dynamic conditional correlation - multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (DCC-MGARCH) technique is adopted to construct FI and stock−bond co-movement variables. Then, the study uses static panel data analysis to examine the effect of FI on stock−bond co-movements.

FI does not provide asset diversification benefits due to high country risks in ASEAN-5. However, when FI is moderated by FD, FI × FD, the study shows that FI × FD provides higher asset diversification benefits in ASEAN-5.

This study shows the importance of incorporating the level of FD when assessing the effect of FI on stock–bond co-movements in ASEAN-5. In the presence of FI, a well-diversified investor should always consider the state of FD, which will show a better representation of asset diversification strategy in the emerging markets. Additionally, policymakers of ASEAN-5 countries should prioritise enhancing their financial system to attract more investment into the countries.

The paper aims to investigate the relation between the auditor's workload (LogAPW) and audit quality. Further, it explores whether the presence of a female audit partner (hereafter FEM) influences the LogAPW effect on audit quality.

A dataset of 1,629 firm-year observations from 181 companies listed in the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm for the years 2010–2018 has been analyzed. The testable hypotheses have been tested using least squares regressions clustered at the Swedish public-listed companies (client-firm) level.

The research findings first indicate that overburdened audit partners (APS) are associated with lower-quality audits, consistent with the “busyness hypothesis.” Nevertheless, the adverse association turns to be positive for FEMs, supporting the thesis that FEMs have more tendency, as compared to their male counterparts, to preserve their partnership's position in the public-audit firms. Collectively, these results seem sound, as the results hold unchanged after controlling for the endogeneity concerns and provide the same conclusion for a host of additional measures for both the client-firms' discretionary accruals and the LogAPW.

Even though a lower magnitude of the client-firms' discretionary accruals corresponds to a lower-opportunistic behavior of managers, the research is limited to by which lower values of earnings management reflect a better-quality financial reporting. Given that the empirical analysis has been confined to the Swedish Corporation, the regression results might not be generalizable for other countries with different contextual features.

The study might participate to the ongoing debate about the introduction of more women to the public-audit firms' elite positions (e.g. partnership) by providing evidence for the favorable female auditor effect on the quality of the client-firms' financial reporting.

The regression results provide a preliminary evidence on how does the presence of a FEM mitigate the inverse relation between the LogAPW and audit quality, which is an issue that has not been examined before.

The vehicle´s body front pillar should absorb most of the striker kinetic energy, while only a fraction of that is absorbed by the door structure. This study aims to discuss the aforementioned issue. In this test the striker is a virtual entity. Six uniaxial strain gauges are installed throughout the door. Additionally, contactless 3D digital image correlation (DIC) allows to assess the major door panel’s continuous deformation and strain fields.

A coach is a large and heavy long-distance passenger transport vehicle. Their structural certification, classifies coaches as M3 Class III vehicles. New coach structures’ designs need analyses of each sub-system for critical pre-validation of the entire structure, aiming driver and passenger carrier safety. Also, a thorough examination due to increased travel speed is needed.

Experimental pseudo-dynamic (PSD) results were compared and validated using finite element method (FEM) with two pieces of distinct FEM software (Abaqus® and PamCrash®). The time dependent solution was carried out by explicit techniques. Results by FEM and PSD test showed good agreement, evidencing the reliability of the tools selected. Results by PamCrash® were closer to the experimental data.

R-29 is truck-only regulation, however can be adapted to coaches in case of a frontal collision. The present work focuses on the impact behavior of the passenger front door subsystem.

As a first validation the entire structure, the behavior of a vehicle door, under in-plane impacts was studied. The corresponding deformation energy absorbed by the frontal passenger coach door under virtual impacts of a swinging striker was assessed using a PSD approach.

Nylon monofilament and polyester multifilament yarn find applications in fishing nets and parachute fabrics , each of which might demand different load levels to be sustained without breaking. While usage, it is quite likely that few places/spots in the yarn may get permanently deformed due to the application of high transverse compressive stresses. Such "Weak spots" in yarn are amenable to breaks. The aspect of lateral or transverse compression was studied with a crushing instrument that applied forces laterally on the filaments. The tensile properties of such filaments were obtained experimentally and were simulated using FEM. A good correlation was seen between theoretical as well as experimental values.

This study aims to enhance the understanding of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) applications in partially confined concrete, with a specific focus on improving economic value and load-bearing capacity. The research addresses the need for a more comprehensive analysis of non-uniform vertical strain responses and precise stress–strain models for FRP partially confined concrete.

DIC and strain gauges were employed to gather data during axial compression tests on FRP partially confined concrete specimens. Finite element analysis using ABAQUS was utilized to model partial confinement concrete with various constraint area ratios, ranging from 0 to 1. Experimental findings and simulation results were compared to refine and validate the stress–strain model.

The experimental results revealed that specimens exhibited strain responses characterized by either hardening or softening in both vertical and horizontal directions. The finite element analysis accurately reflected the relationship between surface constraint forces and axial strains in the x, y and z axes under different constraint area ratios. A proposed stress–strain model demonstrated high predictive accuracy for FRP partially confined concrete columns.

The stress–strain curves of partially confined concrete, based on Teng's foundation model for fully confined stress–strain behavior, exhibit a high level of predictive accuracy. These findings enhance the understanding of the mechanical behavior of partially confined concrete specimens, which is crucial for designing and assessing FRP confined concrete structures.

This research introduces innovative insights into the superior convenience and efficiency of partial wrapping strategies in the rehabilitation of beam-column joints, surpassing traditional full confinement methods. The study contributes methodological innovation by refining stress–strain models specifically for partially confined concrete, addressing the limitations of existing models. The combination of experimental and simulated assessments using DIC and FEM technologies provides robust empirical evidence, advancing the understanding and optimization of FRP-concrete structure performance. This work holds significance for the broader field of concrete structure reinforcement.

This paper aims to investigate and provide an objective appraisal of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on Islamic and conventional financial institutions and Islamic windows in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

The panel data techniques are conducted country-wise in each financial institution type: random-effect model, fixed-effect model and Hausman test.

The results of the first phase analysis that extends from 1 January 2020 to 30 October 2020 show that Islamic financial institutions are less exposed to the repercussions of the COVID-19 outbreak than the conventional and Islamic window financial institutions in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE. Moreover, the Islamic financial institutions in Saudi Arabia and Oman have not been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The second phase analysis for the COVID-19 outbreak that extends from 1 November 2020 to 17 March 2021 confirms the disappearance of the negative impact of COVID-19 on Islamic financial institutions in Bahrain and Oman.

The findings present that Islamic banks are not as resilient in the COVID-19 pandemic as in the 2008 financial crisis. It can be suggested that regulatory authorities, financial institutions and other key policymakers in the GCC countries should focus on implementing regulatory reforms related to human capital, innovative products, research and development to further develop individuals, societies and institutions within the framework of Islamic ontology to be more resilient in such crises.

This paper provides a different perspective from existing literature on the pandemics and financial institutions by comparing the stock prices in Islamic and conventional financial institutions and Islamic windows in GCC countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this paper should be considered as a contribution to filling a gap in the literature.