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This paper aims to introduce a novel approach to the fabrication of photoluminescent materials by coating rare earth aluminate luminescent materials on metallic substrates and a readily manufacturable light source with robust structure in the form of photoluminescent sphere (APS).

The clean and dried stainless steel sphere was sprayed with UH 2593, a white undercoat, the luminescent coating and the weather resistance coating in chronological order.

After adhered onto the stainless steel sphere, the peaks corresponding to the N-H stretching vibrations were changed. The intensity of free N-H stretching at 3,536 cm⁻¹ dramatically decreased and the peak of hydrogen-bonded N-H stretching of PU moved to lower wavenumbers. The red shift of the infrared bands of functional groups was attributed to the strengthened hydrogen bonding. The hydrogen bonding interactions between the stainless steel substrates and the polyurethane coating endowed the APS with excellent adhesive property and also promoted the evenly distribution of the photoluminescent particles in the polymer coating matrix.

This approach can be applicable in the fabrication of the photoluminescent materials. The APS can be used as signs and guiding post in remote areas without sufficient electricity supply and in the seas and rivers with complicated hydrological conditions.

This approach has provided a method to produce tough and durable luminescent signs for remote areas and dangerous seas and explained the functional mechanism of the combined application of metallic materials and non-metallic materials.

Avant d'aborder une étude qui ne peut, disons‐le tout de suite avoir le même contenu que l'excellent article de Mr Bowyer, paru en 1963 dans cette mme revue pour la Grande‐Bretagne, il convient de rappeler brièvement les grandes lignes de la structure universitaire française et de marquer les limites de notre enquête.

General: professional ethics; corporate social responsibility; charity. Specific: the ethical issues of philanthropy; corporate philanthropy; selection of a philanthropic organization; and how much corporate giving is appropriate.

MBA.

C.P. Manuel Pérez-Sánchez, after reading an article about how famous businessmen in the USA are dedicating their fortunes to charity, begins to wonder about his own business' lack of charitable involvement. He wonders whether his own business, Biznet Norteamérica, located in Querétaro, México, is profitable enough to begin to give back something to the community. What he learns about corporate charity in México leaves him more confused than anything. He is left with the difficult decision of trying to determine whether, how much, and to whom should he donate some of his business' profits.

Ultimately, the case has a threefold goal. First, to raise awareness about the issue of corporate charity (as opposed to personal charity). Second, to fill a void in the literature of business ethics in México, especially regarding the question of corporate charity. And third, to allow future Mexican business leaders the opportunity to begin to discuss what and how they should think about the issue of corporate charity, particularly its ethical component. The case is real and reflects the actual struggle of a Querétaro business person with no ethics background to come to some tentative conclusions regarding this new (for him) issue. The case could appeal to many of the students because they, like the protagonist, would one day be a part of a moderately successful Mexican enterprise. This case could allow them be able to “put themselves in the shoes” of the decision-maker as a rehearsal for their own future decisions about business charity.

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Vernacular transformations of underused places give shape to Ephemeral Urban Dwellings (EUD). By reading the spatial patterns of use of three of these buildings, this paper demonstrates that EUD replicate the way activities and ideas of privacy are related to space in the previous and permanent homes left behind by its inhabitants. The case studies are located in central areas of Bogotá and, although ephemeral, they have stayed for years. Personal interviews and mental maps drawn by the interviewees as well as on site drawings and photography by the author are the main sources of this study.

The paper recalls the processes of cultural appropriation that take place when people adjust to new cultural contexts. In the case of the dwellings studied, these processes give clues on how the ideas that shape the way people use space are translated into new places. The paper's conclusion calls for further research on EUD as an object of academic interest.

Laparoscopic surgeons suffer because of discomfited body posture while performing surgery and experience discomfort owing to lack of customized surgical instruments. Accordingly, this paper aims to recommend an individual customization strategy by developing an ergonomically designed laparoscopic forceps handle and thereby increase the comfort of surgeons.

Hand anthropometric parameters of 282 south Indian male subjects are used to customize the handle. uPrint and Objet260 Connex, which works based on fused deposition modeling and PolyJet, respectively, are used to fabricate the prototype of the handle. Design modifications include a pistol-type grip, the increased contact area between the hand and handle, and neutral wrist posture.

Ergonomic evaluation parameters such as grip, functionality, comfort and wrist posture using subjective ratings from laparoscopic surgeons were recorded and obtained average values of 4.1, 3.6, 4.1 and 4.1, respectively, based on a five-point ordinal scale. Additionally, stress analysis also confirms the safety of the handle based on von Mises stress criteria.

Anthropometric data are limited to 282 subjects and subjective evaluation is conducted using a prototype, not the end-use product.

Evaluation using subjective rating confirms the ascendancy of a modified handle over the existing handle in terms of assessed parameters. The proposed individual customization strategy can be applied for other industrial hand tools to enhance comfort.

Can we do business with strangers? A major handicap to any promotion is ignorance of the market and its members. In order to understand Latin Americans, says Albert Hirschman, we must first understand how Latin Americans understand each other. We see the “facts” one way, but their perception of these same facts is often very different. This is my purpose in reporting on Peru's attitude and internal discussions on international trade. Why Peru? A U S. State Department official told me that they consider Peru as a sort of bell wether in South America. Abraham Lowenthal of the Inter‐American Dialog says Peru has an international significance greater than would be expected, considering the size of its economy, and E. V. K. Fitzgerald of Cambridge says the Peruvian experience is significant in judgimg prospects in South America.

The narrative below has been written to illustrate various difficulties which may arise, in regard to copyright, in the work of Aslib members. The events described are all imaginary and all names are fictitious.

ATTENTION has been repeatedly drawn to certain drawbacks in the library profession which tend to hinder progress in many ways, and recently some discussion has taken place concerning the long hours and short pay of library assistants. Some years ago there appeared, we believe, in one of Mr. Greenwood's valuable Library Year Books, an analysis of the hours of work in a large number of British Municipal Libraries, and it was made plain from this that a majority of assistants had to work considerably more than forty‐eight hours weekly. Conditions may have changed since then, although it is open to doubt, but the fact remains that too many assistants, and a considerable number of librarians in small places, are now working so long, and in such broken spells, as to preclude any possibility of attaining self‐culture or reasonable recreation. The case of the small town librarian is particularly distressing. In some instances he is a man who has been well‐trained in a large town library, and inspired by a mistaken ambition, elects to attain a position of independence by accepting the chief librarianship in a library of which he afterwards finds himself the sole officer. He is responsible for the cleaning, as well as the ordinary work of a librarian, and his efforts to convert a miserable library rate of a few pounds into an engine of immense efficiency (as expected by the local authority) are enough to make the financial operations of even an American millionaire seem petty in comparison. We have had several cases like this brought to notice within a few weeks, and they give added point to any plea for reform which may be advanced. One young man, well‐educated and well‐trained, undertook the charge of a small municipal library, chiefly because it happened to be near London, and he wished to be in touch with that great and attractive centre. He very soon discovered that the hours of the library were so arranged as to occupy his whole time and keep him employed all day, from 9 a.m. or earlier, till 10 p.m., with two short breaks which did not suffice for a visit to London. On Sunday he was too tired to think of London, apart from which, the institutions which interested him were closed, so that it is possible this librarian has not yet seen the longed‐for London of his cherished anticipations ! There are cases like this in the smaller libraries all over the country, where one official has to perform all the work in an unlimited number of hours. If, as is done in some places, the hours of opening are greatly curtailed in order to give the librarian his deserved and well‐earned rest, then the public suffer. On the other hand, a library administered by a single officer and kept open from nine to ten hours daily, is rather of the nature of a slave‐compound, in which an official is kept prisoner in the interests of the omnipotent ratepayer. Wherever small staffs are kept, there exists this tendency towards long hours, and a consequent eterioration in the efficiency and educational qualifications of assistants. A standing complaint among those who are engaged in the educational work of the Library Association is that so many candidates are deficient in the most elementary subjects, such as composition, spelling and arithmetic. This is undoubtedly caused by the employment of imperfectly educated assistants, who are afterwards tied so fast to their library duties that they are unable to find any time for study and reading. In libraries where small staffs and long hours of opening are found together, it is almost certain that the work‐hours of the assistants will be excessive, and the efficiency of the service impaired.

The result of our enquiries (see April issue Library World) as to the present storage of local documents in Public Libraries or Museums, and the existing arrangements therein for their preservation is somewhat disappointing. Some librarians have not replied, and some give scanty information.

During the past few decades, Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in the health-care sector has received increasing attention from both researchers and practitioners because it plays an imperative role in quality improvement and cost reduction initiatives. Although researchers have often focussed on evidence of model effectiveness through the study of performance indicators, too little attention has been given to the factors that lead to implementation failure and the causal relationships among them. This study aims to investigate the factors that may inhibit the successful implementation of the method by focussing on Italian public hospitals.

Through the use of the Delphi technique and fuzzy cognitive maps, this paper derives new and relevant results for researchers, hospital managers and policymakers.

The results show the factors with the greatest impact on LSS implementation and provide insight into the causal links and degrees of influence between critical failure factors and performance variables.

The findings could be considered useful, in particular, to hospital managers and policymakers, who could leverage the suggestions derived from the study to address LSS implementation.

This work overcomes a gap in the literature related to the absence of studies on the causal relationships between factors that determine the success or failure of LSS implementation.