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Article
Publication date: 13 February 2024

José Nogueira da Mata Filho, Antonio Celio Pereira de Mesquita, Fernando Teixeira Mendes Abrahão and Guilherme C. Rocha

This paper aims to explore the optimization process involved in the aircraft maintenance allocation and packing problem. The aircraft industry misses a part of the optimization…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the optimization process involved in the aircraft maintenance allocation and packing problem. The aircraft industry misses a part of the optimization potential while developing maintenance plans. This research provides the modeling foundation for the missing part considering the failure behavior of components, costs involved with all maintenance tasks and opportunity costs.

Design/methodology/approach

The study models the cost-effectiveness of support against the availability to come up with an optimization problem. The mathematical problem was solved with an exact algorithm. Experiments were performed with real field and synthetically generated data, to validate the correctness of the model and its potential to provide more accurate and better engineered maintenance plans.

Findings

The solution procedure provided excellent results by enhancing the overall arrangement of the tasks, resulting in higher availability rates and a substantial decrease in total maintenance costs. In terms of situational awareness, it provides the user with the flexibility to better manage resource constraints while still achieving optimal results.

Originality/value

This is an innovative research providing a state-of-the-art mathematical model and an algorithm for efficiently solving a task allocation and packing problem by incorporating components’ due flight time, failure probability, task relationships, smart allocation of common preparation tasks, operational profile and resource limitations.

Details

Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, vol. 30 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2511

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 February 2023

Ujjwal Kanti Paul

This study aims to examine the technical efficiency of the chemical-free farming system in India using a hybrid combination of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and machine learning…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the technical efficiency of the chemical-free farming system in India using a hybrid combination of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and machine learning (ML) approaches.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a two-stage approach. In the first stage, the efficiency scores of decision-making units’ efficiency (DMUs) are obtained using an input-oriented DEA model under the assumption of a variable return to scale. Based on these scores, the DMUs are classified into efficient and inefficient categories. The 2nd stage of analysis involves the identification of the most important predictors of efficiency using a random forest model and a generalized logistic regression model.

Findings

The results show that by using their resources efficiently, growers can reduce their inputs by 34 percent without affecting the output. Orchard's size, the proportion of land, grower's age, orchard's age and family labor are the most important determinants of efficiency. Besides, growers' main occupation and footfall of intermediaries at the farm gate also demonstrate significant influence on efficiency.

Research limitations/implications

The study used only one output and a limited set of input variables. Incorporating additional variables or dimensions like fertility of the land, climatic conditions, altitude of the land, output quality (size/taste/appearance) and per acre profitability could yield more robust results. Although pineapple is cultivated in all eight northeastern states, the data for the study has been collected from only two states. The production and marketing practices followed by the growers in the remaining six northeastern states and other parts of the country might be different. As the growers do not maintain farm records, their data might suffer from selective retrieval bias.

Practical implications

Given the rising demand for organic food, improving the efficiency of chemical-free growers will be a win-win situation for both growers and consumers. The results will aid policymakers in bringing necessary interventions to make chemical-free farming more remunerative for the growers. The business managers can act as a bridge to connect these remote growers with the market by sharing customer feedback and global best practices.

Social implications

Although many developments have happened to the DEA technique, the present study used a traditional form of DEA. Therefore, future research should combine ML techniques with more advanced versions like bootstrap and fuzzy DEA. Upcoming research should include more input and output variables to predict the efficiency of the chemical-free farming system. For instance, environmental variables, like climatic conditions, degree of competition, government support and consumers' attitude towards chemical-free food, can be examined along with farm and grower-specific variables. Future studies should also incorporate chemical-free growers from a wider geographic area. Lastly, future studies can also undertake a longitudinal estimation of efficiency and its determinants for the chemical-free farming system.

Originality/value

No prior study has used a hybrid framework to examine the performance of a chemical-free farming system.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 July 2022

Vitor William Batista Martins, Rosley Anholon, Osvaldo Luiz Gonçalves Quelhas and Walter Leal Filho

This article aimed to propose and validate a roadmap to enhance the insertion of social sustainability practices in logistics activities considering the scenario of companies…

Abstract

Purpose

This article aimed to propose and validate a roadmap to enhance the insertion of social sustainability practices in logistics activities considering the scenario of companies operating in Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

The initial construction of the aforementioned roadmap was based on a detailed literature review and the fine-tuning as well as validation of it was carried out through a Delphi process developed with professionals specialized in the area of logistics and sustainability.

Findings

As main results, it is highlighted that the validated roadmap includes actions ranging from meeting and adapting legal issues related to sustainability, through the initial diagnosis of the company, motivation and awareness of the importance of social sustainability, followed by encouraging the inclusion of social sustainability practices in logistic activities, and finally, the identification of opportunities for improvement and establishment of execution plans within the organization. The phases and actions of the validated roadmap converge towards restructuring and redefinition of the organizational culture oriented towards meeting sustainable guidelines, and also contemplate the dynamics of seeking continuous improvement throughout all levels and sectors belonging to a given organization.

Originality/value

The originality of this study lies in the fact that the roadmap focuses on the inclusion of social sustainability practices in logistic activities, since, according to the literature, social aspects are still relegated to the background when compared to environmental and economic aspects.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 72 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 July 2023

Arunkumar O.N., Divya D. and Jikku Susan Kurian

The purpose of this paper is to understand the dark side of blockchain technology (BCT) adoption in small and mid-size enterprises. The focus of the authors is to decode the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the dark side of blockchain technology (BCT) adoption in small and mid-size enterprises. The focus of the authors is to decode the intricate relationship among the selected variables missing in the existing literature.

Design/methodology/approach

A focused group approach is initiated by the authors to identify the barriers. Total interpretive structural modeling, Matrice d'impacts croisés multiplication appliquée á un classment, that is, matrix multiplication applied to classification and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory are used to analyze the complex relationships among identified barriers.

Findings

This study finds that implementation of BCT reduces maintenance cost by withdrawing manual effort, as BCT has better capability to quantify the internal status of the system (observability characteristic). The observability characteristic of BCT provides high compatibility to the system. This study also finds that the compatibility of BCT with the organization reduces implementation cost and facilitates project management. The findings of this study recommend analyzing maintenance cost and compatibility of BCT before implementing it. Small and mid-size enterprises can select complex BCT depending on the sophistication level of IT usage and IT project management capabilities.

Research limitations/implications

This study comes with various limitations, where the model developed by the authors may not be conclusive, as it is based exclusively on expert opinion. The samples collected may not help in validating the model statistically. Though the model has its limitations, it can still be considered as a nascent initiative for further investigation using structural equation modeling.

Originality/value

The outcomes of the theoretical and managerial contributions of the study can be categorized into three levels. This study can be used both by the industrialists and researchers to understand the barriers and the recovery methods thereafter. Suggestions that serve as future directives are also discussed by the authors.

Details

Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-996X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 December 2022

Ravinder Kumar and Sahendra Pal Sharma

This experimental study aims to deal with the improvement of process performance of electric discharge drilling (EDD) for fabricating true blind holes in titanium alloy Ti6Al4V…

Abstract

Purpose

This experimental study aims to deal with the improvement of process performance of electric discharge drilling (EDD) for fabricating true blind holes in titanium alloy Ti6Al4V. Micro EDD was performed on Ti6Al4V and blind holes were drilled into the workpiece.

Design/methodology/approach

The effects of input parameters (i.e. voltage, capacitance and spindle speed) on responses (i.e. material removal rate, tool wear rate and surface roughness [SR]) were evaluated through response surface methodology. The data was analyzed using analysis of variance and multi-optimization was performed for the optimized set of parameters. The optimized process parameters were then used to drill deeper blind holes.

Findings

Blind holes have few characteristics such as SR, taper angle and corner radius. The value of corner radius reflects the quality of the hole produced as well as the amount of tool roundness. The optimized process parameters suggested by the current experimental study lower down the response values (i.e. SR, taper angle and corner radius). The process is found very effective in producing finished blind holes.

Originality/value

This experimental study establishes EDD as a feasible process for the fabrication of truly blind holes in Ti6Al4V.

Details

World Journal of Engineering, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1708-5284

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 April 2023

Golan Carmi

The purpose of this research is to inspect the perceptions of MBA students regarding learning through podcasts. The author's goals are to reveal the students' attitudes toward the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to inspect the perceptions of MBA students regarding learning through podcasts. The author's goals are to reveal the students' attitudes toward the use of podcasts as a key learning tool in a graduate academic course, to examine the learning efficacy in this mode of learning, to inspect students' opinions regarding flexibility in learning with podcasts and to examine whether there is a different reference to podcasts as a mid-term assignment vs podcasts as a substitute for lectures.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper examines the learning attitudes and effectiveness of postgraduate students in business administration toward combining podcasts as an e-Learning tool. This paper also explores the flexibility of this kind of asynchronous learning. Two types of podcasts for two different pedagogical purposes were examined in the study, one as a team mid-term assignment and second as recorded lectures. The main results of this study provide significant evidence that previous experience in listening to podcasts on the Internet has a significant impact on learning effectiveness, student attitudes and learning satisfaction while using this technology. In fact, this study establishes that students that are technologically oriented and have prior experience listening to podcasts learn more in the course, have positive attitudes toward podcast technology as a learning tool, have high learning effectiveness and are satisfied with the flexibility of the asynchronous learning process.

Findings

The findings state that both in the mid-term assignment and in the course lessons as students listened to podcasts more frequently and gained experience listening to podcasts on the Internet, the students expressed more positive views toward learning using this technology, the students' learning effectiveness was higher and the students were more satisfied with the flexibility made possible by using this asynchronous technology tool of e-Learning. Moreover, the results of the study clearly indicate a positive correlation between listening to the podcast lessons in the course and the effectiveness of learning both in the mid-term assignment and in classes.

Research limitations/implications

This study has some limitations. First, the findings are limited by the relatively small sample, with graduate students in an MBA program, in a course from the field of technological entrepreneurship. Furthermore, in this study, the students had partial freedom to choose the podcast for the students' mid-term assignment from a specific well-known program in the field of entrepreneurship and were not free to choose podcasts from any site available on the Internet. Although this process guided the students to use podcasts from a quality podcast program, the process also reduced the students' choice to some extent.

Practical implications

Academic institutions must provide the appropriate technological infrastructure for the development, creation and recording of quality podcasts by lecturers for students, in addition to training lecturers to teach through podcasts as an integral part of e-Learning advanced tools. Furthermore, institutions must financially incentivize and educationally encourage lecturers to teach at least some of the content in the course using pre-prepared podcasts.

Social implications

The author's first suggestion to lecturers that wish to use podcasts as learning resources is to familiarize themselves with the technology and resources available to introduce students to the basics of podcasting and to make the students aware of the podcast's benefits. Second, the study highly recommends to integrate podcasts into the teaching curriculum in academia as early as possible in the basic courses, before the students move on to advanced courses in undergraduate studies. In this way, students in advanced courses can make better use of this technology.

Originality/value

As far as the author knows, this is the first study that combined two types of podcasts used for two complementary pedagogical purposes in an academic course: the first, open and available online podcasts as part of a mid-term assignment and the second type of podcasts that are recorded audio lessons as a complete replacement for course lectures. Additionally, the study sharpens the understanding that students' previous experience with technology is of great importance to learning effectiveness, as well as positive opinions and high learning satisfaction.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 47 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2023

Imran Khan

The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze the impact of remittance inflows on sustained economic growth in India.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze the impact of remittance inflows on sustained economic growth in India.

Design/methodology/approach

This study has taken a time series dataset for the period of 1976–2021, and a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model technique (NARDL) has been applied to check the impact of remittance inflows along with other control variables, including broad money and service sector performance, on the sustained economic growth of India.

Findings

The results of the study indicated that in both the short and long runs, any positive shock in remittance inflows has a positive impact on the economic growth of India, while negative shocks do not affect economic growth.

Practical implications

The economic policymakers of India can use the findings of the study by implementing remittance-friendly policies. Moreover, NITI Aayog, the body working toward achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) in India, can also use this study as a reference while making strategies to achieve SDG.

Originality/value

Economic growth has always been an area of interest among economists, researchers and policymakers. However, achieving sustained economic growth requires an analysis of those factors that themselves have sustained performance over a long period of time and have the potential to sustain it over the upcoming years. This study has taken remittance inflows as one such factor and investigated its impact on the sustained economic growth of India. At present, there is an evident gap in the literature that very little attention has been given to sustained Indian economic growth. Moreover, there is no study available in which the nonlinear impact of different variables has been tested on the economic growth of India.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 51 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 August 2022

Mirela Panait, Laeeq Razzak Janjua, Simona Andreea Apostu and Constanta Mihăescu

Carbon dioxide emissions affect the environment, presenting major implications for sustainable development and consequently model climate change policies. The main aim of the…

Abstract

Purpose

Carbon dioxide emissions affect the environment, presenting major implications for sustainable development and consequently model climate change policies. The main aim of the paper is to highlight the factors leading to CO2 emissions in Latin America.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis was performed using data for 1990–2020 and panel regression and STATA software.

Findings

The results highlighted that the variables have significantly influence CO2 emissions in case of the countries in the sample.

Originality/value

The novelty of the paper consists in using all financial inflows of together (foreign direct investment, official development assistance and remittences), Latin America heavily in-flowed with remittances from the USA. Since Latin America is enriched with forest areas, the authors also covered this variable in the estimations. Urbanization and transportation are induced by remittance inflows, thus wellbeing was incorporated in the model. The conclusion of the study demonstrates the need for complex measures involving public-private partnerships, public awareness of the need for energy transition and the involvement of foreign-owned companies that must not only pursue their own interests but also generate positive economic, environmental, and social externalities in host countries.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 52 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2023

Abdul Wahab Hashmi, Harlal Singh Mali, Anoj Meena, Shadab Ahmad and Yebing Tian

Three-dimensional (3D) printed parts usually have poor surface quality due to layer manufacturing’s “stair casing/stair-stepping”. So post-processing is typically needed to…

Abstract

Purpose

Three-dimensional (3D) printed parts usually have poor surface quality due to layer manufacturing’s “stair casing/stair-stepping”. So post-processing is typically needed to enhance its capabilities to be used in closed tolerance applications. This study aims to examine abrasive flow finishing for 3D printed polylactic acid (PLA) parts.

Design/methodology/approach

A new eco-friendly abrasive flow machining media (EFAFM) was developed, using paper pulp as a base material, waste vegetable oil as a liquid synthesizer and natural additives such as glycine to finish 3D printed parts. Characterization of the media was conducted through thermogravimetric analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. PLA crescent prism parts were produced via fused deposition modelling (FDM) and finished using AFM, with experiments designed using central composite design (CCD). The impact of process parameters, including media viscosity, extrusion pressure, layer thickness and finishing time, on percentage improvement in surface roughness (%ΔRa) and material removal rate were analysed. Artificial neural network (ANN) and improved grey wolf optimizer (IGWO) were used for data modelling and optimization, respectively.

Findings

The abrasive media developed was effective for finishing FDM printed parts using AFM, with SEM images and 3D surface profile showing a significant improvement in surface topography. Optimal solutions were obtained using the ANN-IGWO approach. EFAFM was found to be a promising method for improving finishing quality on FDM 3D printed parts.

Research limitations/implications

The present study is focused on finishing FDM printed crescent prism parts using AFM. Future research may be done on more complex shapes and could explore the impact of different materials, such as thermoplastics and composites for different applications. Also, implication of other techniques, such as chemical vapour smoothing, mechanical polishing may be explored.

Practical implications

In the biomedical field, the use of 3D printing has revolutionized the way in which medical devices, implants and prosthetics are designed and manufactured. The biodegradable and biocompatible properties of PLA make it an ideal material for use in biomedical applications, such as the fabrication of surgical guides, dental models and tissue engineering scaffolds. The ability to finish PLA 3D printed parts using AFM can improve their biocompatibility, making them more suitable for use in the human body. The improved surface quality of 3D printed parts can also facilitate their sterilization, which is critical in the biomedical field.

Social implications

The use of eco-friendly abrasive flow finishing for 3D printed parts can have a positive impact on the environment by reducing waste and promoting sustainable manufacturing practices. Additionally, it can improve the quality and functionality of 3D printed products, leading to better performance and longer lifespans. This can have broader economic and societal benefits.

Originality/value

This AFM media constituents are paper pulp, waste vegetable oil, silicon carbide as abrasive and the mixture of “Aloe Barbadensis Mill” – “Cyamopsis Tetragonoloba” powder and glycine. This media was then used to finish 3D printed PLA crescent prism parts. The study also used an IGWO to optimize experimental data that had been modelled using an ANN.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 29 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

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