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This study aims to explore auto mechanics awareness of repairs and maintenance related to the car’s cybersecurity and provide insights into challenges based on current practice.

This study is based on an empirical study consisting of semistructured interviews with representatives from both branded and independent auto workshops. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis. A version of the capability maturity model was introduced to the respondents as a self-evaluation of their cybersecurity awareness.

Cybersecurity was not found to be part of the current auto workshop work culture, and that there is a gap between independent workshops and branded workshops. Specifically, in how they function, approach problems and the tools and support available to them to resolve (particularly regarding previously unknown) issues.

Only auto workshop managers in Sweden were interviewed for this study. This role was picked because it is the most likely to have come in contact with cybersecurity-related issues. They may also have discussed the topic with mechanics, manufacturers or other auto workshops – thus providing a broader view of potential issues or challenges.

The challenges identified in this study offers actionable advice to car manufacturers, branded workshops and independent workshops. The goal is to further cooperation, improve knowledge sharing and avoid unnecessary safety or security issues.

As cars become smarter, they also become potential targets for cyberattacks, which in turn poses potential threats to human safety. However, research on auto workshops, which has previously ensured that cars are road safe, has received little research attention with regards to the role cybersecurity can play in repairs and maintenance. Insights from auto workshops can therefore shed light upon the unique challenges and issues tied to the cybersecurity of cars, and how they are kept up-to-date and road safe in the digital era.

This study examines whether engagement with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-focused specialized training programs enable senior public officials (focal actor) to collectively deliver on public services that have a transformational societal impact over time. Further, the study explores the factors that impede and facilitate the delivery of such services. The authors do so by using service mechanics theorization and drawing on the lens of actor and collective engagement.

This study undertakes a longitudinal exploratory qualitative study design. SDG-focused training programs were delivered, as interventions, for two cohorts of senior public officials from Bangladesh in an Australian University in 2017 and 2019. In-depth interviews were conducted upon the training's completion and then after 8- and 12-month intervals to assess the short- and long-term impact respectively.

An empirical framework is proposed from the study findings. It shows that engagement – cognitive, emotional and behavioral – with SDG-focused specialized training programs enables focal actors (i.e. senior public officials) to engage other actors (other public officials, community members) in networks, facilitated the delivery of SDG-aligned public services. Such engagement results in a transformative impact that spans micro (individual), meso (organizational) and macro (societal) levels over time. Factors that impede and facilitate SDG-aligned delivery of public services are also identified.

Theoretically, the authors contribute to the literature that relates to actor and collective engagement, SDG-focused capacity-building training programs and service mechanics. Practically, this study informs organizations about the ways that they can effectively engage their senior employees with capacity-building training programs that focus on sustainability.

This study is one of the few that connects the interface between public service delivery for enacting societal changes and SDG-focused capacity-building training programs through service mechanics theorization and using the lens of actor and collective engagement.

Building on the “needs–affordances–features” framework, the authors explored how users are motivated by their needs to actualize the feature-enabled affordances and engage in the metaverse.

The data were collected through semi-structured and in-depth interviews with 35 participants. The authors applied thematic analysis to summarize the key features and affordances, supplemented by frequency analysis to explore the significance of the features. Sentiment analysis was employed to explicate the relationship between user affordance sentiments and engagement.

The key features of the metaverse portal components—hardware, software and content—afford user behaviors. The features of mechanics and physics engines are important for user engagement in the metaverse. The affordances are related to needs satisfaction and user engagement. Mental immersion was frequently mentioned by the participants, implying that it is significant to afford mental immersion in the metaverse.

The findings of the study provide a rich understanding for practitioners in the metaverse on how to use the features to afford user behaviors and engage them. The authors identified the key elements of user engagement that can be used to guide metaverse game designers.

This study provides a rich and systematic understanding of features, affordances, needs satisfaction and engagement in the metaverse. Going beyond a fragmented view, the findings conclude a research framework that weaves features, affordances, needs and engagement together.

This paper aims to focus on the high-speed rotary lip seal in aircraft engines, combining its service parameters, its own structure and application conditions, to study the influence of different eccentric forms, eccentricity, rotational speed and other factors on the performance of the rotary lip seal.

A numerical simulation model for high-speed eccentric rotary lip seals has been developed based on the theory of elastic hydrodynamic lubrication. This model comprehensively considers the coupling of multiple physical fields, including interface hydrodynamics, macroscopic solid mechanics and surface microscopic contact mechanics, under the operating conditions of rotary lip seals. The model takes into account eccentricity and uses the hazardous cross-sectional method to quantitatively predict sealing performance parameters, such as leakage rate and friction force.

Eccentricity has a large impact on lip seal performance; lips are more susceptible to wear failure under static eccentricity and to leakage failure under dynamic eccentricity.

This study provides a new idea for the design of rotary lip seal considering eccentricity, which is of guiding significance for the engineering application of rotary lip seal.

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.

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.

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.

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.

With a view to ensuring the effective and efficient delivery of construction projects, this study evaluates the critical success factors (CSFs) for the adoption of gamification principles by construction professionals in developing countries, with an emphasis on Nigeria.

This study adopted a post-positivism philosophical approach, using a questionnaire survey to obtain quantitative data from 126 construction professionals in Lagos State. The data obtained were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, mean item scores (MIS), Kruskal–Wallis H-test and principal component analysis (PCA) as part of the exploratory factor analysis (EFA).

The findings indicated that the most significant factors for the adoption of gamification principles in the construction industry were “clear game mechanics and rules,” “incentives and rewards for users,” “secure and reliable technology infrastructure,” “real-time progress tracking and feedback” and “clear and measurable objectives.” Employing factor analysis, these CSFs were subsequently grouped into three primary clusters, namely “relevance and user experience,” “technology and support” and “integration and process.”

These findings not only enrich the existing theoretical framework but also provide a solid foundation upon which researchers can build for further theoretical development. This study also offers valuable insights that can inform and improve practical applications of gamification within the construction industry.

While prior research has explored gamification in various contexts, the unique contribution of this study is the thorough investigation of CSFs for gamification adoption specifically within the construction industry. In essence, this study fills a critical gap in the literature by offering fresh perspectives and tailored solutions for the construction industry's specific gamification needs.

The purpose of this paper is the study of the electro-vortex flow (EVF) as well as heating and melting processes for mini industrial direct current electric arc furnace (DC EAF).

A mini DC EAF was designed, manufactured and installed to study the industrial processes of heating and melting a small amount of melt, being 4.6 kg of steel in the case under study. Numerical modelling of metal melting was performed using the enthalpy and porosity approach at equal values and non-equal values of the solidus and liquidus temperatures of the metal. The EVF of the liquid phase of metal was computed using the large eddy simulation model of turbulence. Melt temperature measurements were made using an infrared camera and a probe with a thermocouple sensor. The melt speed was estimated by observing the movement of particles at the top surface of melt.

The thermal flux for metal heating and melting, which is supplied through an arc spot at the top surface of metal, is estimated using the thermal balance of the furnace at melting point. The melting time was estimated using numerical modelling of heating and melting of metal. The process started at room temperature and finished once whole volume of metal was molten. The evolution of the solid/melt phase boundary as well as evolution of EVF patterns of the melt was studied.

Numerical studies of heating and melting processes in metal were performed in the case of intensive liquid phase turbulent circulation due to the Lorentz force in the melt, which results from the interaction of electrical current with a self-magnetic field.

Tribological research is complex and multidisciplinary, with many parameters to consider. As traditional experimentation is time-consuming and expensive due to the complexity of tribological systems, researchers tend to use quantitative and qualitative analysis to monitor critical parameters and material characterization to explain observed dependencies. In this regard, numerical modeling and simulation offers a cost-effective alternative to physical experimentation but must be validated with limited testing. This paper aims to highlight advances in numerical modeling as they relate to the field of tribology.

This study performed an in-depth literature review for the field of modeling and simulation as it relates to tribology. The authors initially looked at the application of foundational studies (e.g. Stribeck) to understand the gaps in the current knowledge set. The authors then evaluated a number of modern developments related to contact mechanics, surface roughness, tribofilm formation and fluid-film layers. In particular, it looked at key fields driving tribology models including nanoparticle research and prosthetics. The study then sought out to understand the future trends in this research field.

The field of tribology, numerical modeling has shown to be a powerful tool, which is both time- and cost-effective when compared to standard bench testing. The characterization of tribological systems of interest fundamentally stems from the lubrication regimes designated in the Stribeck curve. The prediction of tribofilm formation, film thickness variation, fluid properties, asperity contact and surface deformation as well as the continuously changing interactions between such parameters is an essential challenge for proper modeling.

This paper highlights the major numerical modeling achievements in various disciplines and discusses their efficacy, assumptions and limitations in tribology research.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-03-2023-0076/

The susceptible-infectious-susceptible (SIS) infectious disease models without spatial heterogeneity have limited applications, and the numerical simulation without considering models’ global existence and uniqueness of classical solutions might converge to an impractical solution. This paper aims to develop a robust and reliable numerical approach to the SIS epidemic model with spatial heterogeneity, which characterizes the horizontal and vertical transmission of the disease.

This study used stability analysis methods from nonlinear dynamics to evaluate the stability of SIS epidemic models. Additionally, the authors applied numerical solution methods from diffusion equations and heat conduction equations in fluid mechanics to infectious disease transmission models with spatial heterogeneity, which can guarantee a robustly stable and highly reliable numerical process. The findings revealed that this interdisciplinary approach not only provides a more comprehensive understanding of the propagation patterns of infectious diseases across various spatial environments but also offers new application directions in the fields of fluid mechanics and heat flow. The results of this study are highly significant for developing effective control strategies against infectious diseases while offering new ideas and methods for related fields of research.

Through theoretical analysis and numerical simulation, the distribution of infected persons in heterogeneous environments is closely related to the location parameters. The finding is suitable for clinical use.

The theoretical analysis of the stability theorem and the threshold dynamics guarantee robust stability and fast convergence of the numerical solution. It opens up a new window for a robust and reliable numerical study.

This study aims to introduce and define the concept of phygital brand community (PBC). It discusses the potential conflicts that can arise from engaging in multiple PBCs and propose an enriched netnographic methodological approach to explore the role of PBC engagement overlap and its influence on the phygital experience.

Following a critical analysis of the inherent limitations of netnographic methodological approaches in the context of PBCs, this study develops an enriched netnographic research protocol that accounts for the challenges of engagement overlap among PBCs.

This study proposes two methods of analysis, namely, “participatory netnography” and “witness netnography,” which are derived from a mixed-methodology approach that integrates elements of netnography.

The findings of this study underscore the requisite methodological refinements imperative for enhancing netnographic analysis, particularly in its application for a better comprehension of individual behaviors within the realm of PBCs. In pursuit of this objective, the identified adjustments encompass ethical considerations, evaluation methods and their application in a digital milieu, where intricate mechanics and technologies frequently elude conventional methodologies.

In this study, the authors present a novel conceptualization of PBCs, highlighting their role and development, as well as the challenges they pose. To adequately capture the impact of PBC engagement overlap, the authors propose the need for an enriched mixed-methodological approach.