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Employability and its components have received a lot of attention from scholars and practitioners. However, little is known about the interrelations between these different components of employability and how employees progress within their employability trajectories. Therefore, a model of such progression was constructed and tested using Van der Heijde and Van der Heijden’s (2006) employability measurement instrument. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The propositions were tested empirically by applying a Rasch model using a sample of 167 Austrian business consultants.

The findings lend some support for the hypothesized progression model of employability. Specifically, the items measuring occupational expertise are largely located in the group of items that were relatively likely to be endorsed. Also, the items of personal flexibility and anticipation and optimization were, in general, less likely to be endorsed than the items of occupational expertise.

The major thrust of this paper is a theoretical one. However, the empirical demonstration tentatively supports the proposed model, which implies that further, more robust longitudinal research in this direction may be a worthwhile endeavor.

By understanding which competences are important at which stage or across which stages of an individual’s career, career advisors and human resource management professionals can give more targeted advice concerning career management practices.

The present study contributes to the literature by investigating how employees may make progress within their employability trajectories.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of solving turbulent flows based on smoothed finite element method (S-FEM). Then, the differences between S-FEM and finite element method (FEM) in dealing with turbulent flows are compared.

The stabilization scheme, the streamline-upwind/Petrov-Galerkin stabilization is coupled with stabilized pressure gradient projection in the fractional step framework. The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with standard k-epsilon model are selected to solve turbulent flows based on S-FEM and FEM. Standard wall functions are applied to predict boundary layer profiles.

This paper explores a completely new application of S-FEM on turbulent flows. The adopted stabilization scheme presents a good performance on stabilizing the flows, especially for very high Reynolds numbers flows. An advantage of S-FEM is found in applying wall functions comparing with FEM. The differences between S-FEM and FEM have been investigated.

The research in this work is limited to the two-dimensional incompressible turbulent flow.

The verification and validation of a new combination are conducted by several numerical examples. The new combination could be used to deal with more complicated turbulent flows.

The applications of the new combination to study basic and complex turbulent flow are also presented, which demonstrates its potential to solve more turbulent flows in nature and engineering.

This work carries out a great extension of S-FEM in simulations of fluid dynamics. The new combination is verified to be very effective in handling turbulent flows. The performances of S-FEM and FEM on turbulent flows were analyzed by several numerical examples. Superior results were found compared with existing results and experiments. Meanwhile, S-FEM has an advantage of accuracy in predicting boundary layer profile.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate a novel stabilization scheme to handle convection and pressure oscillation in the process of solving incompressible laminar flows by finite element method (FEM).

The semi-implicit stabilization scheme, characteristic-based polynomial pressure projection (CBP3) consists of the Characteristic-Galerkin method and polynomial pressure projection. Theoretically, the proposed scheme works for any type of element using equal-order approximation for velocity and pressure. In this work, linear 3-node triangular and 4-node tetrahedral elements are the focus, which are the simplest but most difficult elements for pressure stabilizations.

The present paper proposes a new scheme, which can stabilize FEM solution for flows of both low and relatively high Reynolds numbers. And the influence of stabilization parameters of the CBP3 scheme has also been investigated.

The research in this work is limited to the laminar incompressible flow.

The verification and validation of the CBP3 scheme are conducted by several 2 D and 3 D numerical examples. The scheme could be used to deal with more practical fluid problems.

The application of scheme to study complex hemodynamics of patient-specific abdominal aortic aneurysm is also presented, which demonstrates its potential to solve bio-flows.

The paper simulated 2 D and 3 D numerical examples with superior results compared to existing results and experiments. The novel CBP3 scheme is verified to be very effective in handling convection and pressure oscillation.

To study fracture characteristics of jointed rock masses under blasting load, the RFPA2D analysis software for dynamic fracture of rocks based on the finite element method and statistical damage theory was used.

On this basis, this research simulated the fracture process of rock masses in blasting with different joint geometrical characteristics and mainly analysed the influences of distance from joints to blasting holes, the length of joints, the number of joints and joint angle on fracture of rock masses.

The calculation results show that with the constant increase of the distance from joints to blasting holes, the influences of joints on blasting effects of rock masses gradually reduced. Rock masses with long joints experienced more serious damages than those with short joints. Damages obviously increased with the changing from rock masses without joints to rock masses with joints, and when there were three joints, the further increase of the number of joints had unobvious changes on blasting effects of rock masses. Joints showed significant guidance effect on the propagation of cracks in blasting: promoting propagation of main vertical cracks deflecting to the ends of joints.

The research results are expected to provide some theoretical bases in practical application of engineering blasting.

This paper aims to investigate the electrochemical corrosion behavior of a five-layer Al alloy composites (4343/4047/3003/4047/4343) with a thickness of 0.2 mm in NaCl solution.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, polarization curve and morphology analyses were used to study the corrosion behavior of the Al alloy composites from cross-sectional and plane directions.

The corrosion resistance of the surface from the plane direction was higher than that from the cross sections. Si-enrich particles were observed in the outer 4047/4343 layer, and AlFeCuMnBi phases were identified in the core 3003 layer. The galvanic coupling between the Si-enrich particle and the Al matrix accelerated the dissolution Al matrix.

This work lays the experimental foundation for corrosion mechanism of the Al alloy composite plate.

The purpose of this paper is to present a method for the environmental impact analysis of machine-tool cutting, which enables the detailed analysis of inventory data on resource consumption and waste emissions, as well as the quantitative evaluation of environmental impact.

The proposed environmental impact analysis method is based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. In this method, the system boundary of the cutting unit is first defined, and inventory data on energy and material consumptions are analyzed. Subsequently, through classification, five important environmental impact categories are proposed, namely, primary energy demand, global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential and photochemical ozone creation potential. Finally, the environmental impact results are obtained through characterization and normalization.

This method is applied on a case study involving a machine-tool turning unit. Results show that primary energy demand and global warming potential exert the serious environmental impact in the turning unit. Suggestions for improving the environmental performance of the machine-tool turning are proposed.

The environmental impact analysis method is applicable to different machine tools and cutting-unit processes. Moreover, it can guide and support the development of green manufacturing by machinery manufacturers.

This paper aims to use a negative perspective to investigate the effects of perceived deceptiveness and pressure on consumer donation and their underlying mechanisms in the context of asking for donations.

Study 1 used a qualitative approach to clarify the categories and dimensions of the research variables and explore their relationships. Study 2 empirically tested the hypotheses by combining a fictitious context and a real context related to asking for donations.

In the qualitative study, the data provided sufficient evidence to support the relationships in the theoretical model. The results of the empirical study showed that perceived deceptiveness negatively influences consumer donation, while perceived pressure positively affects donation amount. Notably, the discomfort of potential donors plays an important role in mediating these relationships.

This paper suggests a way for charities to raise more money, i.e. by cooperating with companies with good reputations, limited scandals and transparent supervisory mechanisms. Meanwhile, solicitors should pay attention to the adverse effects of discomfort to avoid generating resentment among consumers.

First, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to use a negative perspective to examine the effects of perceived deceptiveness and pressure on consumer donation. Second, the use of cognitive dissonance theory to highlight the role of discomfort represents a novel contribution to the literature. Third, using a mixed-methods approach to achieve a robust conclusion provides valuable insights and extends the existing literature.

The results showed that the use of a magnetic marker could relatively accurately reflect the fracture pattern inside the rock-like material (RLM).

This study investigated the internal structure and fracture pattern of a fractured RLM. Magnetized iron oxide powder, which was used as a magnetic marker, was mixed with water and glue to form a magnetic slurry, which was subsequently injected into a fractured RLM. After the magnetic slurry completely filled the cracks inside the RLM and became cemented, the distribution and magnitude of the magnetic field inside the RLM were determined using a three-dimensional (3D) magnetic field imaging system.

A model for determining the magnetic field strength was developed using MATLAB.

This model of 3D magnetic will further be used as a finite element tool to simulate and image cracks inside the rock.

The purpose of this paper is to present a new method to establish a kinematic model for a continuum manipulator, whose end can be controlled to move in a three-dimensional workspace. A continuum manipulator has significant advantages over traditional, rigid manipulators in many applications because of its ability to conform to the environment. Moreover, because of its excellent flexibility, light weight, low energy consumption, low production cost, it has a number of potential applications in areas of earthquake relief, agricultural harvesting, medical facilities and space exploration.

This paper uses basic theory of material mechanics to deduct motion equations of the manipulator. Unlike other published papers, the manipulator is not based on segments tactics, but regarded as an integrated flexible system, which simplifies its kinematics modelling and motion controlling. The workspace of the manipulator is analysed by theoretical deducing and simulation modelling. For verification of the presented theory, simulation based on ADAMS software was implemented, while a prototype of the manipulator was developed. Both the software simulation and prototype experiment show that the theoretical analysis in this paper is reasonable. The manipulator can move accurately along the desired trajectories.

This paper developed a novel and fully continuous manipulator driven by steel wires. A kinematic model of the manipulator was established. The physical manipulator developed for verifying the kinematic model can effectively track the prescribed trajectory. The presented kinematic model agrees with not only the simulation but also with the experiment.

The manipulator presented in this paper is constructed by steel wires. It possesses the advantages of structural continuity, high flexibility and low production cost. It can be extensively used in many fields, such as search and rescue robotic systems. The limitation of this research is that the dynamic model of the manipulator is not yet clear, which is one of the directions for future research.

The manipulator breaks through the limitation of the joint-type or flexible-link-type manipulator, which can also be extensively used in many fields such as search and rescue robotic systems.

The manipulator developed in this paper, currently, is a prototype under the project of “Automatic Picking Manipulator Research”. It possesses a good market value.

The value of this research is that the manipulator breaks through the limitation of the joint-type or flexible-link-type manipulator and establishes the kinematic model for a fully continuous manipulator by a simple strategy. This is the first study that uses such a strategy for establishing the motion equations of a monolithic continuum manipulator.

This paper aims to propose a robotic automation system for processing special-shaped thin-walled workpieces, which includes a measurement part and a processing part.

In the measurement part, to efficiently and accurately realize the three-dimensional camera hand-eye calibration based on a large amount of measurement data, this paper improves the traditional probabilistic method. To solve the problem of time-consuming in the extraction of point cloud features, this paper proposes a point cloud feature extraction method based on seed points. In the processing part, the authors design a new type of chamfering tool. During the process, the robot adopts admittance control to perform compensation according to the feedback of four sensors mounted on the tool.

Experiments show that the proposed system can make the tool smoothly fit the chamfered edge during processing and the machined chamfer meets the processing requirements of 0.5 × 0.5 to 0.9 × 0.9 mm².

The proposed design and approach can be applied on many types of special-shaped thin-walled parts. This will give a new solution for the automation integration problem in aerospace manufacturing.

A novel robotic automation system for processing special-shaped thin-walled workpieces is proposed and a new type of chamfering tool is designed. Furthermore, a more accurate probabilistic hand-eye calibration method and a more efficient point cloud extraction method are proposed, which are suitable for this system when comparing with the traditional methods.