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The aim of this paper is to explore, analyse and summarise the potential tangible user interface (TUI) design features for dyslexics learning to read and spell.

This study adopts a systematic literature review method through a manual search of published papers from 2011. This systematic literature review consists of three main phases starting with planning the review, conducting the review and studying the selection and reporting the results.

As the result, 10 papers were found that are considered most applicable as they met the review criteria. Based on the 10 papers, 11 design features are found in the current TUIs design features implemented in the tangible system dedicated for dyslexia and reading. The 11 design features are viewed to be fundamental and useful for the groundwork towards designing and developing a comprehensive TUIs design specifically and exclusively meant for dyslexic children learning to read and spell.

A critical reading of past literature relating to the TUIs concept reveals that this concept still appears to be under-explored even though it was introduced two decades ago. This systematic literature review highlights directions for future research, involving the dyslexic children early in the design process towards the evaluation of the prototype and finally examining the outcome of TUIs on children's learning.

While previous studies focused mainly on East Asia to Europe or United States trade routes, in recent years, trade among South-East Asian countries has increased notably. The price of transporting a container is not fixed and can fluctuate heavily over the course of a week. Besides, extant literature only identified seasonality patterns in the container freight market, but did not explore route-varying seasonality patterns. Hence, this study analyses container freight seasonality patterns of the six South-East Asian routes of the South-East Asian Freight Index (SEAFI) and the index itself and forecasts them.

Data of the composite SEAFI and six routes are collected from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE) including 167 weekly observations from 2016 to 2019. The SEAFI and individual route data reflect spot rates from the Shanghai Port to South-East Asia base ports. The authors analyse seasonality patterns using polar plots. For forecasting, the study utilize two univariate models, autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and seasonal autoregressive neural network (SNNAR). For both models, the authors compare forecasting results of original level and log-transformed data.

This study finds that the seasonality patterns of the six South-East Asian container trade routes are identical in an overall but exhibits unique characteristics. ARIMA models perform better than SNNAR models for one-week ahead test-sample forecasting. The SNNAR models offer better performance for 4-week ahead forecasting for two selected routes only.

Major industry players such as shipping lines, shippers, ship-owners and others should take into account the route-level seasonality patterns in their decision-making. Forecast analysts can consider using the original level data without log transformation in their analysis. The authors suggest using ARIMA models in one-step and four-step ahead forecasting for majority of the routes. The SNNAR models are recommended for multi-step forecasting for Shanghai to Vietnam and Shanghai to Thailand routes only.

This study analyses a new shipping index, that is, the SEAFI and its underlying six routes. The authors analyze the seasonality pattern of container freight rate data using polar plot and perform forecasting using ARIMA and SNNAR models. Moreover, the authors experiment forecasting performance of log-transformed and non-transformed series.

Practitioners often face challenges in model development when establishing a relationship between the input and output variables and their optimization and control. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate, with the help of a real life case example, the procedure for model development between a key process output variable, called the multi-stage flash evaporator efficiency, and the associated input process variables and their optimization using appropriate statistical and analytical techniques.

This paper uses a case study approach showing how multiple regression methodology has been put into practice. The case study was executed in a leading Indian viscose fiber plant.

The desired settings of the relevant process parameters for achieving improved efficiency have been established by appropriately using the tools and techniques from the Lean Six Sigma tool kit. The process efficiency, as measured by M3 of water evaporated per ton of steam, has improved from 3.28 to 3.48 resulting in satisfactory performance.

This paper will be valuable to many practitioners of Six Sigma/Lean Six Sigma and researchers in terms of understanding the systematic application of quality and optimization tools in a real world situation.

The purpose of this paper is to offer an alternative framework and solution for balancing exploitation–exploration tensions and their management.

A case study method was adopted to uncover what underlies tensions and contradictions between exploitation–exploration that emerge for Chinese manufacturing companies due to the competitive global environment and their latecomer disadvantages when they source new technologies by cross-border mergers and acquisitions. The acquiring firm that acquires two companies is thus not a single but a cross-case study.

The authors present three contradictory points needing to be balanced and according to which three paradoxes emerge: exploitation from a similar knowledge base and innovation from a complementary knowledge base, efficiency and flexibility, as well as profit and breakthroughs. The authors theorize how paradoxical integration helps manage these interwoven tensions. Further, the assimilate-integration-apply (AIA) path suggests a new behavior logic and path choice for Chinese companies when they follow an ambidextrous strategy.

This paper has implications for future research and for companies’ everyday practice on ambidexterity in Chinese society.

The authors combine ambidexterity perspective and AIA path with linkage-leverage-learning (LLL) to offer an alternative framework and solution for balancing exploitation–exploration paradoxes in EE firms’ internationalization to increase LLL’s explanatory power.

City wall is an important symbol of ancient Chinese cities with unique geographical and cultural characteristics. Thus, the preservation of this historic landmark is considered significantly important. However, numerous residential construction activities and changes in ecological environment have destructed a great portion of the city walls in recent years. This study looks into the preservation of the ancient city walls from the systematic perspective and in line with the actual characteristics of Longdong Region to provide guideline measures for the protection and restoration of such landmark. Cognition and preservation are adopted extensively to investigate the specific situation of and the factors that influence the ancient city walls in this region. Preservation strategies for the city walls, including the “Axis-Point” system, planning control, and authenticity readability, are presented. The ancient city walls in Longdong Region can be preserved by protecting the entire region, the city, and the main wall body. The systematic method and preservation strategies at the “macro perspective,” “medium perspective” and “micro perspective” levels can solve the preservation problems of the ancient city walls in Longdong Region effectively.

This paper aims to study the influence of three-column groove shell radius, ball radius, lubricating oil viscosity and elastic modulus on the thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) characteristics and optimisation of the ball-type tripod universal joint.

The point contact TEHL model of the joint was developed, and the multi-grid method was used to solve it. The influence of three-column groove shell radius, ball radius, lubricating oil viscosity and elastic modulus on the lubrication characteristics was analysed. Further, the optimisation of the joint TEHL performance was carried out by the Kriging approximation model combined with the multi-objective particle swarm optimisation (MOPSO) algorithm.

The research results show that increasing groove shell radius and ball radius can effectively increase the oil film thickness, and decrease the oil film pressure, as well as the temperature rise. Decreasing elastic modulus can reduce the oil film temperature rise and pressure, and increasing viscosity can effectively increase the oil film thickness. The optimised minimum oil film thickness increases by 33.23% and the optimised maximum oil film pressure and maximum temperature rise decrease by 11.92% and 28.87%, respectively. Furthermore, the relative error of each response output is less than 10%.

This study applies TEHL theory to the tribological research of the ball-type tripod universal joint, and the joint’s lubrication performance is improved greatly by the Kriging model and MOPSO algorithm, which provides an effective measure to raise the joint’s working efficiency.

Based on the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), the territorial public emergency supplies will be networked, platform-based management, unified emergency dispatch. The problem of supplies dispatching in the “last kilometer” of emergency is solved, and the supplies needed in the disaster area are promptly delivered to the hands of the victims so that they can quickly be rescued after the disaster and to save valuable time for rapid rescue, which can greatly decrease casualties and property losses. This paper aims to discuss these issues.

By analyzing the shortage of existing emergency supplies dispatching research and taking all factors such as disaster area demand, social reserve, road conditions, mode of transport, loading limit, disaster area satisfaction rate and road capacity into consideration under the background of IoT, a variety of the territorial emergency supplies dispatching model with more rescue points, more affected areas are constructed. The objective function of the model is to aim in finding the shortest rescue time, giving the solution algorithm, and finally simulating the simulation case.

Based on the context of the IoT, the territorial public emergency supplies will be networked, platform-based management, unified emergency dispatch. Considering factors such as road conditions, modes of transport and road capacity, the authors construct a number of emergency rescue plans, multiple disaster scenarios and various emergency supplies dispatching models. The authors simulate the situation through simulation cases with the shortest time being the ultimate goal. The problem of supplies dispatching in the “last kilometer” of emergency is solved, and the supplies needed in the disaster area are promptly delivered to the hands of the victims so that they can quickly be rescued after the disaster and to save valuable time for rapid rescue, which can greatly decrease casualties and property losses.

This paper provides little research on the dispatch of emergency supplies. The problems of direct dispatch from the rescue point to the affected area and dispatch of supplies without relying on the arrival of emergency supplies at the rear are addressed. Therefore, this study does not focus on the arrival of emergency supplies at the rear but on direct dispatching issues during territorial public emergency supplies from the rescue point to the disaster point.