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This paper aims to propose a conceptual scale model of mobile drilling robot according to the actual drilling rig and working conditions to improve the safety and automation of drilling in tunnel construction and coal mining applications.

A couple of pinion and rack serves as the support mechanism driven by a motor with low rotation speed at high power, and these components are assembled in the center of the robot to tightly fasten the whole body together. The drilling rod and the sleeve are connected through a hole with screw thread so that the rod feeds and rotates simultaneously along with the sleeve. The robot model is automatically controlled by a single-chip microcomputer, and the anti-disturbance circuit is designed as well. A five-step rule obstacle avoidance method is proposed to ensure safe and reliable movement.

The results of simulation experiments on drilling operation do indicate that the mechanism and control method are feasible and effective.

The robot is nearly complete but indeed remains only an experimental machine.

The design of the mechanism structure for the conceptual robot is novelty. The method of five-step rule obstacle avoidance can improve reliability of obstacle avoidance according to the experimental results, which can meet the requirements of complex working conditions underground coal mine.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the gap between cost-based and time-based revenue recognition schemes in the accounting of ship-owning corporations, and to propose cost-based revenue recognition (as in general accounting practice) in connection with the performance obligations.

For a comparative analysis of time-based (traditional approach) and cost-based schemes, a sample of dry bulk ships is selected and voyage estimations are performed by certified professional shipbrokers (Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers) (data collection and voyage estimation by practitioner). Performance obligations are also defined by certified shipbrokers (i.e. survey and expert opinion) and certified public accountant based on common shipping business practice and accounting practice in general.

Empirical results indicate the significant gap between two alternative schemes. Cost-based revenue recognition accelerates the revenue recognition (benefit of shipowner), and it enables comparability among other industries since cost-based allocation is the common practice in accounting (matching principle, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles).

It is obviously impossible to observe all kinds of freight market transactions for all different kinds of vessel particulars. The sample size does not undervalue the current study since the central idea of this paper is not the verification of the cost-based recognition in all possible transactions.

The proposed approach debiases the existing recognition practice as well as improving the speed of revenue recognition. In the existing practice, time-based recognition is still based on voyage estimations (time estimation). Voyage estimations conventionally answer two questions: “What is the cost of the voyage?” and “What is the duration of the voyage?” Therefore, the proposed approach does not require any additional work done. Common practice also clarifies the cost-based schedule for revenue recognition.

This paper addresses the unconventional accounting practice and its incomparability problem for the first time. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is also the first study on accounting economics of the shipping business. This paper proposes a practical solution to the debate raised by Financial Accounting Standards Board 2014-09 regulation on accounting standards by utilizing a staging approach and cost-based revenue allocation.

Looks at different aspects of competitiveness emerging from this year′s new books – the international race for supremacy, the contribution of logistics towards commercial success, and benchmarking vis‐a‐vis both the company and the customer.

In comparison to other industries, the construction industry is one of the most dangerous industries. Behavior-based safety (BBS) is a common and useful technique for risk indicator processing. Almost all studies are based on the BBS checklist, but very few of them focus on the increasing dangers faced by construction workers and the important factors that lead to accidents. This research represents a risk spatiotemporal analysis and visual tracking approach based on BBS and Building Information Modeling (BIM).

After the literature review, a BBS checklist was developed. Then a survey was conducted based on the BBS checklist and the temporal evolution of risks has been completed. After that, managing the risk with the automatic rule checking (ARC) system using BIM was conducted simultaneously to develop a framework by conducting a case study.

Based on the grey clustering analysis, this work provides a temporal evolution analysis approach for dynamic analyzing BBS risk. According to the grey relational analysis (GRA) data, the main key factor of risk was the missing guardrail/handrail system. After that, a case study was performed and the system automatically warn in the preconstruction phase that the barrier is missing as the system benefits.

A systematic framework has been provided for risk analysis through which high health and safety performance outcomes can be achieved on construction projects. This study will assist design engineers in addressing the potential danger to employees during the preconstruction stage and monitoring dynamic changes in risk on any construction site.

Automatic DNA-binding protein (DNA-BP) classification is now an essential proteomic technology. Unfortunately, many systems reported in the literature are tested on only one or two datasets/tasks. The purpose of this study is to create the most optimal and universal system for DNA-BP classification, one that performs competitively across several DNA-BP classification tasks.

Efficient DNA-BP classifier systems require the discovery of powerful protein representations and feature extraction methods. Experiments were performed that combined and compared descriptors extracted from state-of-the-art matrix/image protein representations. These descriptors were trained on separate support vector machines (SVMs) and evaluated. Convolutional neural networks with different parameter settings were fine-tuned on two matrix representations of proteins. Decisions were fused with the SVMs using the weighted sum rule and evaluated to experimentally derive the most powerful general-purpose DNA-BP classifier system.

The best ensemble proposed here produced comparable, if not superior, classification results on a broad and fair comparison with the literature across four different datasets representing a variety of DNA-BP classification tasks, thereby demonstrating both the power and generalizability of the proposed system.

Most DNA-BP methods proposed in the literature are only validated on one (rarely two) datasets/tasks. In this work, the authors report the performance of our general-purpose DNA-BP system on four datasets representing different DNA-BP classification tasks. The excellent results of the proposed best classifier system demonstrate the power of the proposed approach. These results can now be used for baseline comparisons by other researchers in the field.

Purpose – The main research question of this contribution is whether local market concentration influences R&D and innovation activities of foreign affiliates of transnational companies.

Methodology/approach – We focus on transition economies and use discriminant function analysis to investigate differences in the innovation activity of foreign affiliates operating in concentrated markets, compared to firms operating in nonconcentrated markets. The database consists of the results of a questionnaire administered to a representative sample of foreign affiliates in a selection of five transition economies.

Findings – We find that foreign affiliates in more concentrated markets, when compared to foreign affiliates in less concentrated markets, export more to their own foreign investor's network, do more basic and applied research, use more of the existing technology already incorporated in the products of their own foreign investor's network, do less process innovation, and acquire less knowledge from abroad.

Research limitations/implications – The results may be specific to transition economies only.

Practical implications – The main implications of these results are that host country market concentration stimulates intranetwork knowledge diffusion (with a risk of transfer pricing), while more intense competition stimulates knowledge creation (at least as far as process innovation is concerned) and knowledge absorption from outside the affiliates' own network. Policy makers should focus their support policies on companies in more competitive sectors, as they are more likely to transfer new technologies.

Originality/value – It contributes to the literature on the relationship between market concentration and innovation, based on a unique survey database of foreign affiliates of transnational corporations operating in Eastern Europe.

The purpose of this paper is to apply the (advanced) brand concept maps (BCM) approach to reinvestigate previous findings on feedback effects resulting from brand extension information (BEI) and to explore whether this information affects the structure of a brand’s associative network.

This research builds on the associative network memory model, as well as Keller’s conceptualization of customer-based brand equity, and uses a series of empirical studies with a total of 839 respondents in two different countries.

The findings reveal that BEI has no significant impact on the structure of the parent brand’s associative network at the individual level. Furthermore, key brand image dimensions (i.e. favorability, strength, and uniqueness of brand associations) are not affected.

By applying the (advanced) BCM approach, this paper is able to address shortcomings that are incorporated with the use of Likert scales for measuring a brand’s image and for investigating feedback effects in the field of brand extension. As the results indicate that the identification of feedback effects might be influenced by the approach used to measure a brand’s image, this paper calls for further investigations of feedback effects on a brand’s image.

Data from three empirical studies provide insights into the cognitive processing of BEI and their impact on a brand’s associative network.

The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive descriptive analysis of the sequential application of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) five‐step focusing process in improving the effectiveness of a service process that was limiting the performance of the entire service system.

The five‐step approach is schematically presented with each step being described and evaluated relative to its role in effective constraint management. A detailed example provides additional insights and nuances into its use in managing the constraint within a banking organization's subsystem, namely, the loan application and approval process. This hypothetical, realistic, and comprehensive illustration iterates through several cycles of the five‐step focusing process to demonstrate how managers are able to address different types of constraints.

The paper provides a detailed description on how each of the five‐steps can be used to improve the organization's performance relative to its stated goal by focusing management's attention on the system's (or an aligned subsystem's) leverage or control point. Major types of constraints include physical or capacity limitations and restrictive policies. Constraints may be located either internal or external to the process or system being managed.

Various managerial implications are discussed including: the relevance and utility of applying the TOC five‐step focusing process in services; advantages associated with utilizing this structured approach for continuous improvement in services; and some strategic issues associated with the placement of the ubiquitous system constraint.

Although the successful application of the five‐step focusing process has been well documented in improving manufacturing processes, this paper provides an illustrative tutorial which details its application in effectively managing a service process.

Lists eight criteria for designing a general trading system for investment, explains how the five steps of genetic (computer) programming work in practice and shows how they can be applied to identify trading rules for a particular stock and stock screening rules for portfolio formation. Warns of some potential problems but believes the system described meets the eight criteria set and is easy to implement.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a Resource Description Framework (RDF)-based approach to transform metadata crosswalking from equivalent lexical element mapping into semantic mapping with various contextual relationships. RDF is used as a crosswalk model to represent the contextual relationships implicitly embedded between described objects and their elements, including semantic, hierarchical, granular, syntactic and multiple object relationships to achieve semantic metadata interoperability at the data element level.

This paper uses RDF to translate metadata elements and their relationships into semantic expressions, and also as a data model to define the syntax for element mapping. The feasibility of the proposed approach for semantic metadata crosswalking is examined based on two use cases – the Archives of Navy Ships Project and the Digital Artifacts Project of National Palace Museum in Taipei – both from the Taiwan e-Learning and Digital Archives Program.

As the model developed is based on RDF-based expressions, unsolved issues related to crosswalking, such as sets of shared terms, and contextual relationships embedded between described objects and their metadata elements could be manifested into a semantic representation. Corresponding element mapping and mapping rules can be specified without ambiguity to achieve semantic metadata interoperability.

Five steps were developed to clarify the details of the RDF-based crosswalk. The RDF-based expressions can also serve as a basis from which to develop linked data and Semantic Web applications. More use cases including biodiversity artifacts of natural history museums and literary works of libraries, and conditions, constraints and cardinality of metadata data elements will be required to make revisions to fine tune the proposed RDF-based metadata crosswalk.

In addition to reviving contextual relationships embedded between described objects and their metadata elements, nine types of mapping rules were developed to achieve a semantic metadata crosswalk which will facilitate the design of related mapping software. Furthermore, the proposed approach complements existing crosswalking documents provided by authoritative organizations, and enriches mapping language developed by the CIDOC community.