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Studies the concept of the Cartesian composition of fuzzy finite state machines. Shows that fuzzy finite state machines and their Cartesian composition share many structural properties. Some of these properties are singly generated; retrievability, connectedness, strong connectedness, commutativity, perfection and state independence. Thus a fuzzy finite state machine which is a Cartesian composition of submachines can be studied in terms of smaller machines.

The chapter reviews and extends the theory of exact and superlative index numbers. Exact index numbers are empirical index number formula that are equal to an underlying theoretical index, provided that the consumer has preferences that can be represented by certain functional forms. These exact indexes can be used to measure changes in a consumer's cost of living or welfare. Two cases are considered: the case of homothetic preferences and the case of nonhomothetic preferences. In the homothetic case, exact index numbers are obtained for square root quadratic preferences, quadratic mean of order r preferences, and normalized quadratic preferences. In the nonhomothetic case, exact indexes are obtained for various translog preferences.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the innovation process of organizations representing the main sectors of Brazilian economic activity.

The literature review focuses on analyzing the innovation process characteristics regarding the innovation types. The authors carried out interviews with executives and managers in charge of innovation at the leading large companies in the respective sectors analyzed. The data analysis of this qualitative research was structured in three steps. The first step is the analysis of data collected for encoding, the second step, the summarization of the common points presented by the companies in each sector and, finally, the interpretation of these data, aided by triangulation from secondary data that support the analysis of the collected primary data.

The main contribution of this study is to characterize the innovation process of organizations representing the main sectors of the Brazilian economy, with a classification regarding the sectoral innovation standard.

The authors’ intent is that the paper can contribute with a comparative analysis among companies of the same sector and, subsequently, among companies of the different surveyed sectors. Thus, the characterization aims to present the companies’ innovation process and the comparative analysis aims to verify the innovation sectoral patterns. In addition, as implications for management practice, some strategies for better knowledge management in the organization are suggested for each type of innovation.

The main theoretical contribution focuses on the development of a conceptual model that structures the analyzed variables of the constructs “innovation process” and “innovation sectoral patterns”, allowing not only the characterization but also the comparative analysis of the representative organizations present in the sample.

The purpose of this paper is to study the tribological properties of (C₉H₈N)₄(H₂O)₄[Zr₈P₁₂O₄₀(OH)₈F₈] (designated as ZrPOF-Q1) used as an additive in lithium grease.

The tribological properties of ZrPOF-Q1 as an additive in the lithium grease were evaluated with a four-ball tester. To understand the lubrication mechanism, post-test characterization of the contact tracks was performed via three-dimensional (3D) optical profiler, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS).

The results reveal that ZrPOF-Q1 exhibits good performance in anti-wear, friction-reducing and load-carrying capacity. The action mechanism is estimated through analysis of the worn surface with SEM, EDS and 3D. The results indicate that ZrPOF-Q1 can adhere on the substrate, protecting the rubbed surfaces from a direct contact, even under high load for a long-time test. ZrPOF-Q1 can adhere on the substrate, protecting the rubbed surfaces from a direct contact, even under high load for a long-time test.

This work illustrates that ZrPOF-Q1 as an additive can improve lubricating performance. These tribological properties make ZrPOF-Q1 a promising candidate for lubricant additive.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the share of coronavirus publications and its citation-based indicators in various journal impact factor quartiles to discover their relationship and analyze the advantages of Q1 publications.

Bibliometric analyses of world coronavirus research publications (articles and reviews) indexed in Web of Science database over 20 years among four journal quartiles were performed.

The publication and citation shares in various journal quartiles were decreased in the following order: Q1 > Q2 > Q3 > Q4. World coronavirus publications/citations share in Q1 journals were on average 1.78/4.18, 2.75/7.90 and 5.07/27.79 times greater than Q2, Q3 and Q4 publications, respectively. Moreover, similar patterns were obtained for various research performance dimensions: impact, excellence, corporate interest and funding indicators. These indicators of Q1 publications were much better than the corresponding values for world overall and infectious disease literature. Thus, there was a clear research performance advantage of Q1 coronavirus publications.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study analyzing the journal impact factor quartiles and its impact on coronavirus research performance. The results/findings of this study are useful for many stakeholders to enhance the research influence by considering journal impact factor quartiles especially Q1 journals.

As known from nearly incompressible elasticity, selective reduced integration (SRI) is a simple and effective method of overcoming the volumetric locking problem in 2D and 3D solid elements. This method of finite elastoviscoplasticity is discussed as are its well‐known limitations. In this context, an isochoric‐volumetric decoupled material behavior is assumed and thus the additive deviatoric‐volumetric decoupling of the consistent algorithmic moduli tensor is essential. By means of several numerical examples, the performance of elements using selective reduced integration is demonstrated and compared to the performance of other elements such as the enhanced assumed strain elements. It is shown that a minor modification, with little numerical effort, leads to rather robust element behaviour. The application of this process to so‐called solid‐shell elements for thin‐walled structures is also discussed.

In this second part of a set of two papers we investigate some applications of quantified statements.

Compares three different groups of employees, within Ford Australia, to determine the extent to which TQM principles and quality tools are applied. By means of a survey instrument and a two‐tailed t‐test for independent samples, concludes that, while ISO 9000 is not a prescription for TQM, implementation increased the application of TQM principles and quality tools. A significantly greater increase was achieved by implementing Ford’s Q1 Award process resulting in the recommendation to implement Q1 in all Ford’s non‐manufacturing divisions.

Starting in March 2020, Indonesia had the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, this situation has decreased the utilization of highways due to complying with the government regulation, including work from home and large-scale social restrictions to reduce the spreading the corona virus. There are three highway companies listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange such as CMNP, META, and JSMR. On the other hand, the research about the financial performance and the financial distress prediction in Highways sector, especially in Indonesia is not available during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research is aimed to evaluate the financial distress by the Zmijewski model with two criterions: bankrupt and non-bankrupt zone and the financial performance by state-owned enterprise (SOE) rating with three criterions: healthy, less healthy, and unhealthy condition. The period of research is Q1 2019 – Q1 2020 as the period before the COVID-19 pandemic and Q2 2020 – Q2 2021 as the period during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study concludes that all highway companies was in non-bankrupt zone by the Zmijewski model for both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, based on SOE rating on average for the period before the COVID-19 pandemic, CMNP, META, and JSMR achieved rating consecutively BBB, BBB, and BB. Meanwhile, on average, for the period during the COVID-19 pandemic, CMNP, META, and JSMR achieved ratings consecutively BB, BB, and B.

In this paper, the author examines the growth of B2B e‐commerce, examining results from the ISM/Forrester Reports on e‐Business conducted to date. Through this analysis, the researcher demonstrates that contrary to the generally‐held perception that B2B has experienced a sharp downturn in the wake of the recession, e‐procurement has taken hold and is rapidly expanding across the American landscape. Specifically, the Reports on e‐Business are studied to look for trends in the overall use of e‐procurement methods: to reduce paperwork and cycle times; to procure direct and indirect goods and services; to collaborate with suppliers; and to reduce the total cost of procurement. The author concludes that overall, the analysis shows that the push towards e‐procurement is being led by the largest firms. This and other key trends are discussed in the conclusion of this report, along with suggestions for future research.