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This study aims to review recent advances towards the implementation of ANN and NLP applications during the budgeting phase of the construction process. During this phase, construction companies must assess the scope of each task and map the client’s expectations to an internal database of tasks, resources and costs. Quantity surveyors carry out this assessment manually with little to no computer aid, within very austere time constraints, even though these results determine the company’s bid quality and are contractually binding.

This paper seeks to compile applications of machine learning (ML) and natural language processing in the architectural engineering and construction sector to find which methodologies can assist this assessment. The paper carries out a systematic literature review, following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines, to survey the main scientific contributions within the topic of text classification (TC) for budgeting in construction.

This work concludes that it is necessary to develop data sets that represent the variety of tasks in construction, achieve higher accuracy algorithms, widen the scope of their application and reduce the need for expert validation of the results. Although full automation is not within reach in the short term, TC algorithms can provide helpful support tools.

Given the increasing interest in ML for construction and recent developments, the findings disclosed in this paper contribute to the body of knowledge, provide a more automated perspective on budgeting in construction and break ground for further implementation of text-based ML in budgeting for construction.

This study aims to examine the multifaceted connection between perceived socially responsible human resource management (PSR-HRM), job insecurity (JI), psychological availability (PA) and employee voice behavior (VB). Furthermore, it delves into the mediating roles of PA, and JI in the linkage between PSR-HRM and VB and the moderating role of PA in the connection between JI and VB.

The empirical data for this study were collected from a sample of 385 full-time employees in Vietnam. To analyze the data and explore the relationships among the constructs, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used.

The study reveals positive relationships between PSR-HRM, PA and VB. Furthermore, it demonstrates that PA serves as a partial mediator in the nexus between PSR-HRM and VB, while JI similarly partially mediates this association. In addition, the research identifies a positive moderating effect of PA on the linkage between JI and VB.

Grounded in social exchange theory and social cognitive theory, this study uncovers significant relationships, providing nuanced insights into the intricate interplay among PSR-HRM, JI, PA and VB. It represents one of the initial investigations into the moderating influence of PA on the connection between JI and VB.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how to generate innovative work behaviors among Millennial and Generation Z sport employees and its impact on their career satisfaction and psychological well-being.

The authors used structural equation modeling to examine the relationships among predictors of job engagement, innovative work behaviors, career satisfaction and psychological well-being. The model was tested across managerial sport employees of Division I athletics departments (N = 224).

The highlights of the study include job engagement's positive relationship with innovative work behaviors and the positive influence of innovative work behavior on career satisfaction and psychological well-being.

These findings signify the importance of considering job engagement and innovative work behaviors to develop a positive work experience for Millennial and Generation Z sport employees. Doing so is thought to be a critical step in cultivating an organizational competitive advantage via younger generations of sport employees.

To develop electrode materials for supercapacitor with superior electrochemical performance and simple preparation process, the purpose of this study is to prepare flexible CC/NiS/a-NiS electrodes with self-supporting structure by loading hydrothermally synthesized a-NiS particles along with nano-NiS on carbon cloth by electroplating method.

The effects of current densities, temperatures and pH values on the loading amount and uniformity of the active substances during the plating process were investigated on the basis of optimization of surface morphology, crystalline structure and electrochemical evaluation as the cyclic voltammetry curves, constant current charge–discharge curves and AC impedance.

The a-NiS particles on CC/NiS/a-NiS were mostly covered by the plated nano-NiS, which behaved as a bulge and provided a larger specific surface area. The CC/NiS/a-NiS electrode prepared with the optimized parameter exhibited a specific capacitance of 115.13 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g and a Coulomb efficiency of 84% at 5 A/g, which is superior to that of CC/NiS electrode prepared by electroplating at a current density of 10 mA/cm², a temperature of 55°C and a pH of 4, demonstrating its fast charge response of the electrode and potential application in wearable electronics.

This study provides an integrated solution for the development of specifically structured NiS-based electrode for supercapacitor with simple process, low cost and high electrochemical charge/discharge performance, and the simple and easy-to-use method is also applicable to other electrochemically active composites.

This paper aims to disentangle Chinese-English-rich resources linguistic and speaker timbre features, achieving cross-lingual speaker transfer for Cambodian.

This study introduces a novel approach: the construction of a cross-lingual feature disentangler coupled with the integration of time-frequency attention adaptive normalization to proficiently convert Cambodian speaker timbre into Chinese-English without altering the underlying Cambodian speech content.

Considering the limited availability of multi-speaker corpora in Cambodia, conventional methods have demonstrated subpar performance in Cambodian speaker voice transfer.

The originality of this study lies in the effectiveness of the disentanglement process and precise control over speaker timbre feature transfer.

This empirical study aims to examine luxury fashion retailers' localised multiple channel distribution strategies in China.

Through case studies of 15 participating retailers, qualitative data were collected from 33 semi-structured interviews.

Strong impacts of internationalisation strategies, distribution strategies and channel length towards multiple channel retailing are revealed. Multi-channel retailing is widely employed by firms who have entered China and further developed their businesses through local partnerships and adopted a selective distribution strategy via relatively longer channels. Omni-channel retailing is only suitable for the few retailers using an exclusive distribution strategy through direct marketing and wholly owned customer relationship management. As a dynamic transformation from multi- to omni-channel retailing, cross-channel retailing is adopted by those who are withdrawing from local partnerships and shifting to wholly owned expansions and operations in host markets.

The results are potentially challenged by relatively small sample size.

Practitioners are suggested to adapt multiple channel retailing to their international expansion strategies, distribution strategies and channel length in the host markets.

This paper contributes to the literature in both multiple channel retailing and international retailing by offering insights into the motives, development patterns and suitability of multiple channel retailing in the international retail marketing context.

Aluminum alloy is considered an ideal material in aerospace, automobile and other fields because of its lightweight, high specific strength and easy processing. However, low hardness and strength of the surface of aluminum alloys are the main factors that limit their applications. The purpose of this study is to obtain a composite coating with high hardness and lubricating properties by applying GO–PVA over MAO coating.

A pulsed bipolar power supply was used as power supply to prepare the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) coating on 6061 aluminum sample. Then a graphene oxide-polyvinyl alcohol (GO–PVA) composite coating was prepared on MAO coating for subsequent experiments. Samples were characterized by Fourier infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The friction test is carried out by the relative movement of the copper ball and the aluminum disk on the friction tester.

Results showed that the friction coefficient of MAO samples was reduced by 80% after treated with GO–PVA composite film.

This research has made a certain contribution to the surface hardness and tribological issues involved in the lightweight design of aluminum alloys.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-12-2023-0427/

With big data (BD), traditional supply chain is shifting to digital supply chain. This study aims to address the issues and challenges in the way toward the implementation of big data analytics (BDA) in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM).

The factors that affect the implementation of BDA in SSCM are identified through a widespread literature review. The PESTEL framework is used for this purpose as it covers all the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors. These factors are then finalized by means of experts' opinion and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).

A total of 10 factors are finalized with 31 sub-factors, of which sustainable performance, competitive advantage, stakeholders' involvement and capabilities, lean and green practices and improvement in environmental performance are found to be the critical factors for the implementation of BDA in SSCM.

This research has taken up the case of Indian manufacturing industry. It can be diversified to other geographical areas and industry sectors. Further, the quantitative analysis may be undertaken with structured or semi-structured interviews for validation of the proposed model.

This research provides an insight to managers regarding the implementation of BDA in SSCM by identifying and examining the influencing factors. The results may be useful for managers for the implementation of BDA and budget allocation for BDA project.

The result includes green practices and environmental performance as critical factors for the implementation of BDA in SSCM. Thus the research establishes a positive relationship between BDA and sustainable manufacturing that ultimately benefits the environment and society.

This research addresses the challenges in the implementation of BDA in SSCM in Indian manufacturing sector, where such application is at its nascent stage. The use of PESTEL framework for identifying and categorizing the factors makes the study more worthwhile, as it covers full spectrum of the various factors that affect the strategic business decisions.

Cyberloafing is an organization-directed counterproductive work behavior (CWB). One stream of literature deems cyberloafing to be bad for organizations and their employees, while another suggests cyberloafing is a coping response to stressful work events. Our work contributes to the latter stream of literature. The key objective of our study is to examine whether cyberloafing could be a means to cope with a stressful work event-abusive supervision, and if yes, what mediating and boundary conditions are involved. For this investigation, the authors leveraged the Stressor-Emotion-CWB theory which posits that individuals engage in CWB to cope with the negative affect generated by the stressors and that this relationship is moderated at the first stage by personality traits.

Using a multi-wave survey design, the authors collected data from 357 employees working in an Indian IT firm. Results revealed support for three out of the four hypotheses.

Based on the Stressor-Emotion-CWB theory, the authors found that work-related negative affect fully mediated the positive relationship between abusive supervision and cyberloafing, and work locus of control (WLOC) moderated the positive relationship between abusive supervision and work-related negative affect. The authors did not find any evidence of a direct relationship between abusive supervision and cyberloafing. Also, the positive indirect relationship between abusive supervision and cyberloafing through work-related negative affect was moderated at the first stage by the WLOC such that the indirect effect was stronger (weaker) at high (low) levels of WLOC.

This work demonstrates that cyberloafing could be a way for employees to cope with their abusive supervisors.

Sports marketing and sponsorship research is located at the intersection of behavioral and design research, which means that it analyzes the current world and shapes a future world. This dual focus poses challenges for formulating and testing theories of sports marketing.

This article develops criteria for categorizing theoretical concepts as either behavioral or formed as different ways of expressing ideas of sports marketing research. It emphasizes the need for clear concept categorization for proper operationalization and applies these criteria to selected theoretical concepts of sports marketing and sponsorship research.

The study defines three criteria to categorize theoretical concepts, namely (1) the guiding idea of research, (2) the role of observed variables, and (3) the relationship among observed variables. Applying these criteria to concepts of sports marketing research manifests the relevance of categorizing theoretical concepts as either behavioral or formed to operationalize concepts correctly.

This study is the first in sports marketing to clearly categorize theoretical concepts as either behavioral or formed, and to formulate guidelines on how to differentiate behavioral concepts from formed concepts.