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Article
Publication date: 13 March 2024

Ziyuan Ma, Huajun Gong and Xinhua Wang

The purpose of this paper is to construct an event-triggered finite-time fault-tolerant formation tracking controller, which can achieve a time-varying formation control for…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to construct an event-triggered finite-time fault-tolerant formation tracking controller, which can achieve a time-varying formation control for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during actuator failures and external perturbations.

Design/methodology/approach

First, this study developed the formation tracking protocol for each follower using UAV formation members, defining the tracking inaccuracy of the UAV followers’ location. Subsequently, this study designed the multilayer event-triggered controller based on the backstepping method framework within finite time. Then, considering the actuator failures, and added self-adaptive thought for fault-tolerant control within finite time, the event-triggered closed-loop system is subsequently shown to be a finite-time stable system. Furthermore, the Zeno behavior is analyzed to prevent infinite triggering instances within a finite time. Finally, simulations are conducted with external disturbances and actuator failure conditions to demonstrate formation tracking controller performance.

Findings

It achieves improved performance in the presence of external disturbances and system failures. Combining limited-time adaptive control and event triggering improves system stability, increase robustness to disturbances and calculation efficiency. In addition, the designed formation tracking controller can effectively control the time-varying formation of the leader and followers to complete the task, and by adding a fixed-time observer, it can effectively compensate for external disturbances and improve formation control accuracy.

Originality/value

A formation-following controller is designed, which can handle both external disturbances and internal actuator failures during formation flight, and the proposed method can be applied to a variety of formation control scenarios and does not rely on a specific type of UAV or communication network.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 96 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 6 May 2024

Nadia Gulko, Flor Silvestre Gerardou and Nadeeka Withanage

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting has been widely accepted as a vital tool for communicating with stakeholders on a range of social, environmental, and governance…

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting has been widely accepted as a vital tool for communicating with stakeholders on a range of social, environmental, and governance issues, but how companies define, interpret, apply, integrate, and communicate their CSR efforts and impacts in corporate reporting is anything but a straightforward task. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the concept of materiality in CSR reporting and demonstrate practical examples of good CSR and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reporting practices. We chose the aviation industry because of its economic relevance, constant growth, and future expected changes in the aftermath of COVID-19. In addition, airlines affect many of the SDGs directly and indirectly with contending results. This chapter is timely because of the growing willingness by companies to integrate CSR and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) thinking into the corporate strategy and business operations using materiality assessment and enhancing their competitive advantage and ability to maintain long-term value and because ESG and ethical investing have become part of the mainstream investing. Thus, this chapter contributes to an understanding of the wide range of existing and new reporting frameworks and regulations and reinforces the importance of discussing how this diversity of approaches can affect the work toward worldwide comparability of CSR and sustainability reporting.

Details

The Emerald Handbook of Ethical Finance and Corporate Social Responsibility
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-406-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2024

Amer Jazairy, Emil Persson, Mazen Brho, Robin von Haartman and Per Hilletofth

This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of the interdisciplinary literature on drones in last-mile delivery (LMD) to extrapolate pertinent insights from and into…

Abstract

Purpose

This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of the interdisciplinary literature on drones in last-mile delivery (LMD) to extrapolate pertinent insights from and into the logistics management field.

Design/methodology/approach

Rooting their analytical categories in the LMD literature, the authors performed a deductive, theory refinement SLR on 307 interdisciplinary journal articles published during 2015–2022 to integrate this emergent phenomenon into the field.

Findings

The authors derived the potentials, challenges and solutions of drone deliveries in relation to 12 LMD criteria dispersed across four stakeholder groups: senders, receivers, regulators and societies. Relationships between these criteria were also identified.

Research limitations/implications

This review contributes to logistics management by offering a current, nuanced and multifaceted discussion of drones' potential to improve the LMD process together with the challenges and solutions involved.

Practical implications

The authors provide logistics managers with a holistic roadmap to help them make informed decisions about adopting drones in their delivery systems. Regulators and society members also gain insights into the prospects, requirements and repercussions of drone deliveries.

Originality/value

This is one of the first SLRs on drone applications in LMD from a logistics management perspective.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 April 2024

Shivendra Singh Rathore and Chakradhara Rao Meesala

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of the replacement of natural coarse aggregate (NCA) with different percentages of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) on…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of the replacement of natural coarse aggregate (NCA) with different percentages of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) on properties of low calcium fly ash (FA)-based geopolymer concrete (GPC) cured at oven temperature. Further, this paper aims to study the effect of partial replacement of FA by ground granulated blast slag (GGBS) in GPC made with both NCA and RCA cured under ambient temperature curing.

Design/methodology/approach

M25 grade of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete was designed according to IS: 10262-2019 with 100% NCA as control concrete. Since no standard guidelines are available in the literature for GPC, the same mix proportion was adopted for the GPC by replacing the OPC with 100% FA and W/C ratio by alkalinity/binder ratio. All FA-based GPC mixes were prepared with 12 M of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and an alkalinity ratio, i.e. sodium hydroxide to sodium silicate (NaOH:Na2SiO3) of 1:1.5, subjected to 90°C temperature for 48 h of curing. The NCA were replaced with 50% and 100% RCA in both OPC and GPC mixes. Further, FA was partially replaced with 15% GGBS in GPC made with the above percentages of NCA and RCA, and they were given ambient temperature curing with the same molarity of NaOH and alkalinity ratio.

Findings

The workability, compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength, water absorption, density, volume of voids and rebound hammer value of all the mixes were studied. Further, the relationship between compressive strength and other mechanical properties of GPC mixes were established and compared with the well-established relationships available for conventional concrete. From the experimental results, it is found that the compressive strength of GPC under ambient curing condition at 28 days with 100% NCA, 50% RCA and 100% RCA were, respectively, 14.8%, 12.85% and 17.76% higher than those of OPC concrete. Further, it is found that 85% FA and 15% GGBS-based GPC with RCA under ambient curing shown superior performance than OPC concrete and FA-based GPC cured under oven curing.

Research limitations/implications

The scope of the present paper is limited to replace the FA by 15% GGBS. Further, only 50% and 100% RCA are used in place of natural aggregate. However, in future study, the replacement of FA by different amounts of GGBS (20%, 25%, 30% and 35%) may be tried to decide the optimum utilisation of GGBS so that the applications of GPC can be widely used in cast in situ applications, i.e. under ambient curing condition. Further, in the present study, the natural aggregate is replaced with only 50% and 100% RCA in GPC. However, further investigations may be carried out by considering different percentages between 50 and 100 with the optimum compositions of FA and GGBS to enhance the use of RCA in GPC applications. The present study is further limited to only the mechanical properties and a few other properties of GPC. For wider use of GPC under ambient curing conditions, the structural performance of GPC needs to be understood. Therefore, the structural performance of GPC subjected to different loadings under ambient curing with RCA to be investigated in future study.

Originality/value

The replacement percentage of natural aggregate by RCA may be further enhanced to 50% in GPC under ambient curing condition without compromising on the mechanical properties of concrete. This may be a good alternative for OPC and natural aggregate to reduce pollution and leads sustainability in the construction.

Details

World Journal of Engineering, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1708-5284

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 February 2024

Chrisalena Athanasiadou, Georgios Theriou and Dimitrios Chatzoudes

This study aims to examine how corporate social responsibility (CSR) affected the attitudes and behaviors of employees in the European aviation industry amidst the COVID-19…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine how corporate social responsibility (CSR) affected the attitudes and behaviors of employees in the European aviation industry amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore any moderating effect of empathetic leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the social identity and social exchange theories, a research model was developed and tested against empirical data collected from employees of the European aviation industry, in 2021. Structural equation modeling and regression analyses were used for testing the hypothesized causal relationships.

Findings

Perceived CSR is directly related to work engagement and indirectly associated with work engagement and job insecurity via organizational pride. The presence of an empathetic leader does not intensify the effects of perceptions of CSR on organizational pride. Work engagement, in turn, impacts organizational citizenship behavior, while no such effect of job insecurity is supported.

Originality/value

This study provides insight into the underlying mechanisms via which CSR affects employees during a crisis. It, also, has significant implications on human resources management within the industries severely affected by the pandemic.

Details

International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1093-4537

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 December 2021

Saranya P., Praveen Nagarajan and A.P. Shashikala

This study aims to predict the fracture properties of geopolymer concrete, which is necessary for studying failure behaviour of concrete.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to predict the fracture properties of geopolymer concrete, which is necessary for studying failure behaviour of concrete.

Design/methodology/approach

Geopolymers are new alternative binders for cement in which polymerization gives strength to concrete rather than through hydration. Geopolymer concrete was developed from industrial byproducts such as GGBS and dolomite. Present study estimates the fracture energy of GGBS geopolymer concrete using three point bending test (RILEM TC50-FMC) with different percentages of dolomite and compare with cement concrete having same strength.

Findings

The fracture properties such as peak load, critical stress intensity factor, fracture energy and characteristic length are found to be higher for GGBS-dolomite geopolymer concrete, when their proportion becomes 70:30.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is an original experimental work.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology , vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 January 2024

Kajal Vinayak and Shripad P. Mahulikar

In recent years, increased use of all-aspect infrared (IR)-guided missiles based on the long-wave infrared (LWIR; 8–12 µm) band has lowered the probability of aircraft survival in…

Abstract

Purpose

In recent years, increased use of all-aspect infrared (IR)-guided missiles based on the long-wave infrared (LWIR; 8–12 µm) band has lowered the probability of aircraft survival in warfare. The lock-on of these highly sensitive missiles is difficult to break, especially from the front. Aerodynamically heated swept-back leading edges (SBLE), because of their high temperature and large area, serve as a prominent LWIR source for aircraft detection from the front. This study aims to report the influence of sweep-back angle (Λ, based on the Mach number [M]) on aerodynamic heating and the LWIR signature of SBLE.

Design/methodology/approach

The temperature along SBLE is obtained numerically as radiation equilibrium temperature (Tw) by discretizing the SBLE length into “n” number of segments, and for each segment, emission based on Tw is evaluated. IR radiance due to reflected external sources (sky-shine and Earthshine) and radiance due to Tw are collectively used to determine the IR contrast between SBLE and its replaced background in the LWIR band (icont-SBLE,LWIR).

Findings

The results are obtained for low subsonic turboprop aircraft (Λ = 3°, M = 0.44); high subsonic strategic bombers (Λ = 35°, M = 0.8); fifth-generation stealth aircraft (Λ = 40°, M = 1.6); and aircraft with supercruise/supersonic capability (Λ = 50°, M = 2.5). The aircraft with supersonic capability (Λ = 50°, M = 2.5) reports the maximum LWIR signatures and hence the highest visibility from the front. The results obtained are compared with values at Λ = 0° for all cases, which shows that increasing Λ significantly reduces aerodynamic heating and LWIR signatures.

Originality/value

The novelty of this study comes from its report on the influence of Λ on the LWIR signatures of aircraft SBLE in the frontal aspect for the first time.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 96 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 September 2023

Jessica Leigh Thornton

As the subject of female criminology in South Africa has only recently been dealt with in a qualitative manner, this paper aims to explore if there is a potential link between…

Abstract

Purpose

As the subject of female criminology in South Africa has only recently been dealt with in a qualitative manner, this paper aims to explore if there is a potential link between rehabilitation, reintegration support and recidivism as females are often placed back into the environment which prompted their criminal behaviour, further excluding them from rehabilitative reform, which might lead them to recidivate.

Design/methodology/approach

The research adopted a qualitative approach using in-depth, semi-structured interviews with six participants that were chosen purposively.

Findings

The paper notes a potential link between rehabilitation, reintegration support and recidivism as the female prisoners are imprinted with criminal dispositions since rehabilitation within the correctional facility has no implementation process to ensure that restoration can continue after they have been released.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the limited number of the incarcerated female population and the scope of the preliminary study, the sample comprised of only six female offenders. As such, it contributes to the larger discourse of female criminality, but does not offer any recommendations.

Practical implications

Provides an understanding of the conditions in which the females are released. Allows for the inclusion of the female’s voice on, and reflection of, rehabilitation and recidivism. Notes a link between rehabilitation, reintegration and recidivism. Creates a pathway for further research in the exploration of a gendered reform approach.

Originality/value

While the subject of female criminology in South Africa has only recently been dealt with in a qualitative manner, this study offers an insight into how females who offend are often placed back into the environment which prompted their criminal behaviour.

Details

Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-3841

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 December 2023

Bahareh Nikmehr, Bidur Kafle and Riyadh Al-Ameri

Concrete, the second most used material in the world, surpassed only by water, relies on a vast amount of cement. The process of cement production emits substantial amounts of…

Abstract

Purpose

Concrete, the second most used material in the world, surpassed only by water, relies on a vast amount of cement. The process of cement production emits substantial amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). Consequently, it is crucial to search for cement alternatives. Geopolymer concrete (GC) uses industrial by-product material instead of traditional cement, which not only reduces CO2 emissions but also enhances concrete durability. On the other hand, the disposal of concrete waste in the landfills represents a significant environmental challenge, emphasising the urgent need for sustainable solutions. This study aimed to investigate waste concrete's best form and rate as the alternative aggregates in self-compacting and ambient-cured GC to preserve natural resources, reduce construction and demolition waste and decrease pertinent CO2 emissions. The binding material employed in this research encompasses fly ash, slag, micro fly ash and anhydrous sodium metasilicate as an alkali activator. It also introduces the best treatment method to improve the recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) quality.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of25%, 50% and 100% of coarse aggregates are replaced with RCAs to cast self-compacting geopolymer concrete (SCGC) and assess the impact of RCA on the fresh, hardened and water absorption properties of the ambient-cured GC. Geopolymer slurry was used for coating RCAs and the authors examined the effect of one-day and seven-day cured coated RCA. The mechanical properties (compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and modulus of elasticity), rheological properties (slump flow, T500 and J-ring) and total water absorption of RCA-based SCGC were studied. The microstructural and chemical compositions of the concrete mixes were studied by the methods of energy dispersive X-Ray and scanning electron microscopy.

Findings

It is evident from the test observations that 100% replacement of natural aggregate with coated RCA using geopolymer slurry containing fly ash, slag, micro fly ash and anhydrous sodium metasilicate cured for one day before mixing enhances the concrete's quality and complies with the flowability requirements. Assessment is based on the fresh and hardened properties of the SCGC with various RCA contents and coating periods. The fresh properties of the mix with a seven-day curing time for coated RCA did not meet the requirements for self-compacting concrete, while this mix demonstrated better compressive strength (31.61 MPa) and modulus of elasticity (15.39 GPa) compared to 29.36 MPa and 9.8 GPa, respectively, for the mix with one-day cured coated RCA. However, incorporating one-day-cured coated RCA in SCGC demonstrated better splitting tensile strength (2.32 MPa) and water absorption (15.16%).

Research limitations/implications

A potential limitation of this study on SCGC with coated RCAs is the focus on the short-term behaviour of this concrete. This limited time frame may not meet the long-term requirements for ensuring the sustained durability of the structures throughout their service life.

Originality/value

This paper highlights the treatment technique of coating RCA with geopolymer slurry for casting SCGC.

Details

Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6099

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 February 2024

Matthew Gold and Laura L. Greenhaw

This article focuses on how the film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Columbus, 2001; Rowling, 1998), can be used to teach the concepts related to team leadership. In…

Abstract

Purpose

This article focuses on how the film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Columbus, 2001; Rowling, 1998), can be used to teach the concepts related to team leadership. In addition, the article offers a discussion of the student and professor perspectives on using film in the classroom and provides recommendations for implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

We applied Tuckman and Jensen’s (1977) stages of small group development to frame a vicarious learning experience utilizing the movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. This approach is grounded in experiential learning, guiding learners through a shared experience, reflection, conceptualization, and experimentation.

Findings

Popular culture artifacts (PCA) can be used to transport learners to a context within which they can vicariously experience leadership concepts that might otherwise be abstract.

Originality/value

Intentional preparation and facilitation can result in engaged, effective leadership learning through film.

Details

Journal of Leadership Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1552-9045

Keywords

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