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11 – 20 of over 9000Amar Messas, Karim Benyahi, Arezki Adjrad, Youcef Bouafia and Sarah Benakli
The purpose of this study, is to deals with capacity design (strong column – weak beam) in reinforced concrete frames, slightly slender, which depends on the determination of a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study, is to deals with capacity design (strong column – weak beam) in reinforced concrete frames, slightly slender, which depends on the determination of a capacity ratio necessary to reach a structural plastic mechanism. To find the capacity ratio allowing to achieve a fairly ductile behavior in reinforced concrete frames, it is necessary to validate this concept by a non-linear static analysis (push-over). However, this analysis is carried out by the use of the ETABS software, and by the introduction into the beams and columns of plastic hinges according to FEMA-356 code.
Design/methodology/approach
This approach makes it possible to assess seismic performance, which facilitates the establishment of a system for detecting the plasticization mechanisms of structures. It is also necessary to use a probabilistic method allowing to treat the dimensioning by the identification of the most probable mechanisms and to take only those that contribute the most to the probability of global failure of the structural system.
Findings
In this study, three reinforced concrete frame buildings with different numbers of floors were analyzed by varying the capacity ratio of the elements. The results obtained indicate that it is strongly recommended to increase the ratio of the resistant moments of the columns on those of the beams for the Algerian seismic regulation (RPA code), knowing that the frameworks in reinforced concrete are widespread in the country.
Originality/value
The main interest of this paper is to criticize the resistance condition required by RPA code, which must be the subject of particular attention to reach a mechanism of favorable collapse. This study recommends, on the basis of a reliability analysis, the use of a capacity dimensioning ratio greater than or equal to two, making it possible to have a sufficiently low probability of failure to ensure a level of security for users.
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Zheng Gong, Xinming Qian and Mengqi Yuan
Stab-resistant body armor (SRBA) can protect the human body from injury as a result of stabbing by sharp projectiles. However, in its current design SRBA, it has not been widely…
Abstract
Purpose
Stab-resistant body armor (SRBA) can protect the human body from injury as a result of stabbing by sharp projectiles. However, in its current design SRBA, it has not been widely adopted for use, because of its weight and poor flexibility. Herein, this paper aims to detail a new type of SRBA that is inspired by the armor plating of mammals and is fabricated using laser sintering (LS) technology.
Design/methodology/approach
This new type of SRBA was fabricated using LS technology. The laser sintered SRBA was subjected to a stab resistance performance test that conformed to the GA 68-2008 Chinese National Standard. The stab resistance response of the novel structured, stab resistance test plates in this study was analyzed using the using the AUTODYN explicit module in ANSYS-Workbench.
Findings
The structure of the novel stab resistance plate was designed and the optimum structural parameters were tested, discussed and achieved. The mechanism of dissipation of the impact energy by the pyramidal structures of the novel SRBA was studied, and it was found that this structure dispersed the kinetic energy of the knife and minimized the structural damage to the plate. Interlinks inspired by the pangolin hierarchy structure were designed and used to fabricate a large piece of laser sintered body armor.
Originality/value
High-performance laser sintered stab resistance plate was produced via the material and structure studies, which could reduce 40 per cent weight on the stab resistance body armor and increase the wearability.
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Nikolaos Kavadis and Xavier Castañer
To show that differences in the extent to which firms engage in unrelated diversification can be attributed to differences in ownership structure.
Abstract
Purpose
To show that differences in the extent to which firms engage in unrelated diversification can be attributed to differences in ownership structure.
Methodology/approach
We draw on longitudinal data and use a panel analysis specification to test our hypotheses.
Findings
We find that unrelated diversification destroys value; pressure-sensitive Anglo-American owners in a firm’s equity reduce unrelated diversification, whereas pressure-resistant domestic owners increase unrelated diversification; the greater the firm’s free cash flow, the greater the negative effect of pressure-sensitive Anglo-American owners on unrelated diversification.
Research limitations/implications
We contribute to corporate governance and strategy research by bringing in owners’ institutional origin as a shaper of owner preferences in particular with regards to unrelated diversification. Future research may expand our investigation to more than one home institutional context, and theorize on institutional origin effects beyond the dichotomy between Anglo-American and non-Anglo-American (not oriented toward shareholder value maximization) owners.
Practical implications
Policy makers, financial analysts, owners, and managers may want to reflect about the implications of ownership structure, as well as promoting or joining corporations with particular ownership configurations.
Social implications
A shareholder value-destroying strategy, such as unrelated diversification has adverse consequences for society at large, in terms of opportunity costs, that is, resources could be allocated to value-creating activities instead. Promoting an ownership configuration that creates value should contribute to social welfare.
Originality/value
Owners may not be exclusively driven by shareholder value maximization, but can be influenced by normative beliefs (biases) stemming from the institutional context they originate from.
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Brahmadev Panda and N.M. Leepsa
Previous empirical evidence scrutinizing the impact of the institutional ownership on the firm performance has produced inconclusive results and mostly concentrated in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous empirical evidence scrutinizing the impact of the institutional ownership on the firm performance has produced inconclusive results and mostly concentrated in the developed market. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the ownership engagement by pressure-resistant, pressure-sensitive and foreign institutions on the corporate financial performance in a developing market like India post US financial crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
This study considers a panel data set of 361 Indian listed firms from National Stock Exchange (NSE) 500 index for a period of eight years from financial year (FY) 2008-2009 to FY 2015-2016. The panel data regression (pooled ordinary least square [OLS], fixed-effect [FE] and random-effect [RE]) and simultaneous equation modeling are used by considering the institutional ownership engagement as both exogenous and endogenous variable.
Findings
The test results show that institutional ownership engagement by the pressure-resistant and foreign institution have a robust and positive effect, while ownership engagement by the pressure sensitive institution has an adverse impact on the financial performance of the Indian listed firms.
Research limitations/implications
The findings will boost the monitoring activities of the institutional owners in the developing markets. The investment from pressure-resistant and foreign institutions needs to be augmented in Indian firms to improvise their governance functions and performance.
Originality/value
This research will enrich the governance literature of the developing economies as the studies on institutional ownership engagement are limited in the developing world. Further, this study adds value by capturing two emerging institutional ownership category such as the pressure-resistant and pressure-sensitive, which are still untouched in the Indian context. Next, the consideration of the institutional ownership as both exogenous and endogenous is also novel to the Indian literature.
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Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects…
Abstract
Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.
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Mohammadsina Sharifi Ghalehnoei
The purpose of this study is to develop the performance model of buildings designed by the seismic code 2800 against the explosion wave and determination of safety distance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop the performance model of buildings designed by the seismic code 2800 against the explosion wave and determination of safety distance.
Design/methodology/approach
Analytical models of three-, five- and ten story structures that used moment frame system and also a ten-storey building with shaer wall designed based on the seismic code 2800 in term of design and nonlinear analysis were generated for use with Perform-3D software. Extensive parametric analysis is executed on different explosive loads with 100, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 Trinitrotoluene, soil types 2 and 3, models eqs and eqbs, the number of story buildings and the effect of shear wall to determine the safety distance based on collapse threshold performance (CP) level criterion.
Findings
The results indicate that by increasing the explosives mass from 100 to 5,000 kg and the number of the stories three and five induce increasing the safety distance of CP level in buildings to 4.5 meter and 3 meter times, respectively. Ten-story structures modeled on shear wall show very good performance because of stiffness rising and high energy absorption. In addition, by increasing the stories from five to ten, the amount of the safety distance reduces the CP level to 3.9 meter times.
Originality/value
The results of this work are meaningful for explosion-resistant design and damage assessments of reinforced concrete moment framed structures subjected to explosive explosion.
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Lijuan Wang, Chunhua Gu, Na Liu, Yindi He and Zhaofang Du
The paper aims to study cut resistant property of basic weft plain-knitted fabric for protective clothing.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to study cut resistant property of basic weft plain-knitted fabric for protective clothing.
Design/methodology/approach
Effects of fiber materials, fabric direction and knitting technology (sinking-depth) were explored, respectively. Cut process of fabric was tracked and the theoretical analysis was provided to evaluate energy transferring of cutting. Fiber-based cut behavior was observed by SEM images. Deformation energy stored in the loop due to yarn bending was regard as initial elastic potential energy of the fabric, which was related to loop structure.
Findings
Cut resistance of the fiber material was the dominant factor for cut resistance of weft plain-knitted fabric, while unit loop structure played a critical role in improving cut resistance.
Social implications
Cut resistance of the fiber material was the dominant factor for cut resistance of weft plain-knitted fabric, while the unit loop structure played a critical role in improving cut resistance.
Originality/value
The paper provides theoretical support of developing flexible protective clothing.
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Seamus McGuinness and Hugh Cronin
The purpose of this paper is to use a linked employer-employee data set, the National Employment Survey, to examine the determinants of organisational change and employee…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use a linked employer-employee data set, the National Employment Survey, to examine the determinants of organisational change and employee resistance to change and, specifically, to examine the influence of employee inflexibility on the implementation of firm-level policies aimed at increasing competitiveness and workforce flexibility. A key finding arising from the research is that while workforce resistance to job-related change often forces firms to seek alternative means of achieving labour flexibility, there appears little that firms can do to prevent such resistance occurring. The presence of HRM staff, consultation procedures, wage bargaining mechanisms, bullying and equality polices, etc. were found to have little impact on the incidence of workforce resistance to changes in job conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
The objectives of this paper are twofold: first, the authors model the determinants of a measure of workforce resistance to job-related change and, second, the authors assess the impact of workforce resistance on the probability that firms will implement various wider forms of organisational change using linked employer-employee data.
Findings
Workforce resistance to proposed changes in job conditions was found to be lower in organisations employing higher shares of educated workers and also in smaller firms. HRM and employee relations measures were found to have little impact on worker resistance to changing employment conditions, while trade union density was important only with respect to alterations to core terms and conditions. Resistance was found to be important for wider organisational change.
Research limitations/implications
From a policy perspective, the key finding arising from the research is that while workforce resistance to job-related change often forces firms to seek alternative means of achieving flexibility, there appears little that firms can do to prevent such resistance occurring or mediating its impacts. The presence of HRM staff, consultation procedures, wage bargaining mechanisms, bullying and equality polices, etc. were found to have little impact on the incidence of workforce resistance to changes in job conditions.
Social implications
The results support the hypothesis that the increased use of peripheral workers observed in many aspect of the economy is due, at least in part, to inflexibility among existing workers to take on additional roles and responsibilities.
Originality/value
The paper utilises a linked employee-employer data set in a novel way to investigate within firm relationships and tests a number of hypotheses using advanced econometric techniques.
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Jocelyn D. Evans, Mark K. Pyles and Hyuntai Choo
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of large equity ownership by both institutions and outside block shareholders in monitoring the board of directors’ decision to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of large equity ownership by both institutions and outside block shareholders in monitoring the board of directors’ decision to initially adopt defense mechanisms and the subsequent capital market reaction to the adoption.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper employs an empirical methodology that controls for selection bias. Multiple regressions were employed to assess the relationship among the variables.
Findings
Stockholder wealth effects of poison pills are positively related to pressure‐resistant institutions, which is consistent with effective monitoring. The wealth effects of poison pills, however, are negatively related to pressure‐sensitive investors, consistent with passivity. No empirical relation was found between ownership structure and shareholder approved amendments such as classified boards and fair price amendments.
Research limitations/implications
This study was conducted as a large sample analysis over an earlier time period that was more applicable for evaluating anti‐takeover techniques.
Practical implications
The results are consistent with pressure‐resistant institutions actively monitoring to prevent unilaterally implemented defense mechanisms of all types, whereas pressure‐sensitive institutions appear to more readily accept poison pills.
Originality/value
These results suggest that failing to control for the type of outside investor may not clearly portray documented relations in other corporate governance studies.
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Dorothy Tao and Patricia Ann Coty
Until the Loma Prieta earthquake of 17 October 1989, also known as the “World Series earthquake” or the “San Francisco earthquake,” many of us may have considered earthquakes a…
Abstract
Until the Loma Prieta earthquake of 17 October 1989, also known as the “World Series earthquake” or the “San Francisco earthquake,” many of us may have considered earthquakes a remote danger. But instantaneous television transmission from the interrupted World Series game and frightening images of the collapsed Cypress Viaduct and the burning Marina district transformed this incident from a distant disaster into a phenomenon that touched us all. The Loma Prieta earthquake was followed in December 1990 by the inaccurate but widely publicized New Madrid earthquake prediction. Despite its inaccuracy, this prediction alerted the public to the fact that the largest earthquake ever to have occurred in the United States occurred not in California or Alaska, but in Missouri, and that a large earthquake could occur there again. Americans are discovering that few places are immune to the possibility of an earthquake.