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1 – 10 of over 46000Zhe Du, Changjie Chen and Xinhou Wang
Stab-resistant body armor (SRBA) is used to protect the body from sharp knives. However, most SRBA materials currently have the disadvantages of large weight and thickness. This…
Abstract
Purpose
Stab-resistant body armor (SRBA) is used to protect the body from sharp knives. However, most SRBA materials currently have the disadvantages of large weight and thickness. This paper aims to prepare lightweight and high-performance SRBA by 3D printing truss structure and resin-filling method.
Design/methodology/approach
The stab resistance truss structure was prepared by the fused deposition modeling method, and the composite structure was formed after filling with resin for dynamic and quasi-static stab tests. The optimized structural plate can meet the standard GA68-2019. Digital image correlation technology was used to analyze the local strain changes during puncture. The puncture failure mode was summarized by the final failure morphologies. The explicit dynamics module in ANSYS Workbench was used to analyze the design of the overlapped structure stab resistance process in this paper.
Findings
The stab resistance performance of the 3D-printed structural plate is affected by the internal filling pattern. The stab resistance performance of 3D-printed structural parts was significantly improved after resin filling. The 50%-diamond-PLA-epoxy, with a thickness of only 5 mm was able to meet the stab resistance standard. Resins are used to increase the strength and hardness of the material but also to increase crack propagation and reduce the toughness of the material. The overlapping semicircular structure was inspired by the exoskeleton structure of the demon iron beetle, which improved the stab resistance between gaps. The truss structure can effectively disperse stress for toughening. The filled resin was reinforced by absorbing impact energy.
Originality/value
The 3D-printed resin-filled truss structure can be used to prepare high-performance stab resistance structural plates, which balance the toughness and strength of the overall structure and ultimately reduce the thickness and weight of the SRBA.
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Mohd Daud Norzaidi and Mohamed Intan Salwani
Using the extended task‐technology fit (TTF) model, this paper aims to examine technology resistance, technology satisfaction and internet usage on students' performance.
Abstract
Purpose
Using the extended task‐technology fit (TTF) model, this paper aims to examine technology resistance, technology satisfaction and internet usage on students' performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Johor, Malaysia and questionnaires were distributed to 354 undergraduate students.
Findings
The structural equation modelling (SEM) results indicate that technology satisfaction and the internet usage significantly explains the variance on students' performance. Task‐technology fit is not a predictor of technology resistance but it does predict the internet usage. The internet usage has greater impact on technology satisfaction than technology satisfaction on the internet usage. Finally, technology resistance is not a predictor of students' performance.
Research limitations/implications
The study focuses only on education in Malaysia and concentrates only on the students' performance and the relationship between technology resistance, technology satisfaction and the internet usage.
Practical implications
The results provide insights on how Malaysian education systems of a similar structure could improve upon their internet adoption.
Originality/value
This study is perhaps one of the first to address internet adoption in education using an extended task‐technology fit model (task‐technology fit, internet usage, technology resistance, technology satisfaction) to investigate their influences on students' performance.
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On December 14, 2010, University of Puerto Rico (UPR) student activists initiated the second wave of their strike at a disadvantage. The presence of the police force inside the…
Abstract
Purpose
On December 14, 2010, University of Puerto Rico (UPR) student activists initiated the second wave of their strike at a disadvantage. The presence of the police force inside the campus raised the stakes for the student movement. No longer did student activists have the “legal rights” or control of the university as a physical public space to hold their assemblies and coordinate their different events. As a result, student activists had to improvise and (re)construct their spaces of resistance by using emotional narratives, organizing non-violent civil disobedience acts at public places, fomenting lobbying groups, disseminating online petitions, and developing alternative proposals to the compulsory fee. This second wave continued until March 2011, when it came to a halt after an incident that involved physical harassment to the Chancellor, Ana Guadalupe, during one of the student demonstrations. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on Ron Eyerman’s (2005, p. 53) analysis on “the role of emotions in social movements with the aid of performance theory,” the author center this paper on examining student activists’ tactics and strategies in the development and maintenance of their emotional narratives and internet activism. By adapting Joshua Atkinson’s (2010) concept of resistance performance, the author argues that student activists’ resistance performances assisted them in (re)framing their collective identities by (re)constructing spaces of resistance and contention while immersed in violent confrontations with the police.
Findings
Ever since the establishment of the university as an institution, student activism has played a key role in shaping the political policies and history of many countries; “today, student actions continue to have direct effects on educational institutions and on national and international politics” (Edelman, 2001, p. 3). Consequently, and especially in times of economic and political crisis, student activism has occupied and constructed spaces of resistance and contention to protest and reveal the existing repressions of neoliberal governments serving as a (re)emergence of an international social movement to guarantee the accessibility to a public higher education of excellence. Thus, it is important to remember that the 2010-2011 UPR student activism’s success should not be measured by the sum of demands granted, but rather by the sense of community achieved and the establishment of social networks that have continued to create resistance and change in the island.
Originality/value
As of yet there is no thorough published analysis of the 2010-2011 UPR student strike, its implications, and how the university community currently perceives it. By elaborating on the concept of resistance performance, the author’s study illustrates how both traditional and alternative media (re)presentations of student activism can develop, maintain, adjust, or change the students’ collective identity(ies). The author’s work not only makes Puerto Rico visible in the research concerning social movements, student activism, and internet activism; in addition, it provides resistance performance as a concept to describe various degrees of participation in current social movements.
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Mohd Daud Norzaidi, Siong Choy Chong and Mohamed Intan Salwani
Using the extended task‐technology fit (TTF) model, this paper attempts to determine whether task‐technology fit, perceived resistance, user resistance and usage influence…
Abstract
Purpose
Using the extended task‐technology fit (TTF) model, this paper attempts to determine whether task‐technology fit, perceived resistance, user resistance and usage influence managers' performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted on 150 middle managers from various organisations in Malaysia's port industry.
Findings
The structural equation modelling results reveal that task‐technology fit is significantly related to usage and perceived resistance, and that perceived resistance is a predictor of usage. Usage predicts performance, but not user resistance. There is no relationship between usage and user resistance, and vice versa.
Research limitations/implications
The study focuses on Malaysia's port industry and concentrates only on the management perspective of intranet usage.
Practical implications
The results provide insights into how the Malaysian port industry and other organisations of a similar structure could enhance their intranet usage.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to address intranet usage in the port industry, and introduces two importance factors (i.e. perceived resistance and user resistance) that influence managers' task performance.
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Mohd Daud Norzaidi, Siong Choy Chong, Raman Murali and Mohamed Intan Salwani
Using the extended task‐technology fit (TTF) model, the purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of intranet usage on middle managers' performance in the port industry.
Abstract
Purpose
Using the extended task‐technology fit (TTF) model, the purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of intranet usage on middle managers' performance in the port industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted on 357 middle managers from various organisations in the Malaysian port industry.
Findings
The structural equation modelling results indicate that TTF and usage significantly explains the variance on managers' performance. TTF is a predictor of perceived usefulness and usage but it does not predict user resistance. Perceived usefulness is a predictor of usage but it does not predict user resistance. User resistance does not predict managers' performance.
Research limitations/implications
The study focuses only on the port industry in Malaysia and concentrates only on the management perspective of intranet usage.
Practical implications
The results provide insights on how the Malaysian port industry and other organisations of a similar structure could improve on their intranet adoption.
Originality/value
This study is perhaps one of the first to address the intranet adoption in the port industry using a comprehensive, extended TTF model (perceived usefulness, usage, user resistance) to investigate their influences on individual job performance.
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Fernando Jaramillo, Jay Prakash Mulki, Vincent Onyemah and Martha Rivera Pesquera
The purpose of this paper is to investigate why salespeople resist change and the impact of resistance to change on customer responsiveness and performance outcomes.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate why salespeople resist change and the impact of resistance to change on customer responsiveness and performance outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey responses derived from 233 salespeople from three large financial institutions in Mexico are used to test relationships involving salespersons’ resistance to change.
Findings
Salespeople are more likely to resist change if they believe that change increases their workload. They are less likely to resist change when they have higher levels of job autonomy and self‐efficacy. Resistance to change has a negative impact on customer responsiveness and salesperson's performance.
Research limitations/implications
This study makes an important contribution to the literature by identifying factors that explain salesperson's resistance to change. Study findings rely on salesperson survey responses collected in one country and industry. Future research is needed to assess the generalizability of findings and causality of the proposed relationships.
Practical implications
Resistance to change affects the salespersons’ capacity to respond to customer demands and ultimately undermines performance. Managers can help reduce resistance to change by providing salespeople with greater job autonomy and by explaining how change affects their workload.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper linking salesperson resistance to change to job performance.
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Azita Asayesh and Fatemeh Kolahi Mahmoodi
Pilling and abrasion resistance are two of the most important mechanical properties of the fabric that influence the appearance and performance of the fabric, particularly in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Pilling and abrasion resistance are two of the most important mechanical properties of the fabric that influence the appearance and performance of the fabric, particularly in the case of knitted fabrics. Since, these fabric features are affected by fabric structure the aim of present research is to investigate how utilizing miss stitches and tuck stitches in the fabric structure for design purposes will influence the pilling and abrasion resistance of interlock weft-knitted fabrics.
Design/methodology/approach
In this research, interlock fabrics with different number of miss or tuck stitches on successive Wales were produced and pilling performance and abrasion resistance of the fabrics were investigated.
Findings
The results revealed that increasing the number of miss/tuck stitches on successive Wales decreases the abrasion resistance and enhances the pilling tendency of the fabric. The presence of miss/tuck stitches on both sides of the fabric improves the abrasion resistance and pilling performance of the fabric compared to fabrics containing these stitches on one side of the fabric. Furthermore, the fabric resistance against abrasion and pilling is higher in fabrics consisting of miss stitches compared to fabrics consisting of tuck stitches.
Originality/value
The use of tuck and miss stitches in designing the weft-knitted fabrics is a common method for producing fabrics with variety of knit patterns. Since pilling and abrasion resistance of the fabric influence on its appearance and performance, and none of the previous research studied the pilling and abrasion resistance of interlock-knitted fabrics from the point of presence of tuck and miss stitches on successive Wales of the fabric, this subject has been surveyed in the present research.
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Rocio Rodriguez, Francisco-Jose Molina-Castillo and Göran Svensson
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the implementation process of enterprise resource planning (ERP), the evolution of business model innovation (BMI) and the organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the implementation process of enterprise resource planning (ERP), the evolution of business model innovation (BMI) and the organizational outcome. This research analyses how ERP and BMI are related and, in turn, what is the final the impact on organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consisted on 104 organizations from different industries, all of which used an ERP software. A structural equation model was used to test the six hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that the BMI constructs considered (i.e. value-generation and organizational complexity) mediate the impact of the ERP constructs (organizational adaptation and organizational resistance), in organizational performance. Successful ERP implementation is not an end itself for this companies, but merely a path and a process for improving the business model with the aim improving performance in the marketplace.
Research limitations/implications
This study offers a new outlook on how a company should leverage the ERP adaptation, and any resistance in the organization to innovating in the business model. This study is rooted in the evolutionary perspective of BMI, but it also integrates into an overall model other points of view such as the rational positioning view and cognitive view.
Practical implications
Organizations must understand the ERP flows in depth, each ERP flow is the work result of a multitude of companies over several years. All departments, and in particular the research and development department must participate actively in the ERP implementation. Organised complexity means opportunities for success in the market. Organizations must train their departments in ERP and not just teach them how the ERP works. ERP implementation needs consider improvements to the business model and ultimately the performance, but not separately.
Originality/value
BMI has received contributions from several domains such as entrepreneurship, management organization and strategic management among others. Nonetheless, the role of ERP in BMI is far from being understood and the few contributions focus only on technology per se. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study that has explored the connections of ERP and BMI and in turn the final outcome in organizational performance.
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Clement Oluwole Folorunso and Mohd Hamdan Ahmad
Painting of buildings predates civilization. The primary purpose was to add beauty or aesthetics to the built environment. It was also to showcase the level of civilization, taste…
Abstract
Purpose
Painting of buildings predates civilization. The primary purpose was to add beauty or aesthetics to the built environment. It was also to showcase the level of civilization, taste and fashion drive of the people. However, modern findings have proved that paint (when applied as a finishing coat on buildings) can elongate the service life of such buildings due to some characteristic properties it contains and modern additives that are included at production stage. This paper aims to examine some of the properties inherent in paint through which resistance to failure and better performance is enhanced, aesthetics is maintained and maintenance is reduced. It also examines whether these qualities subsist in all environments. Particular attention is given to its resistance to the impact of saline air when used around the Atlantic Ocean.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopted a qualitative and quantitative approach with empirical analysis in examining the performance of paint used in salt laden environment.
Findings
It shows that paint used in an environment where saline air and salt is prevalent begins to deteriorate after two years and requires repainting as against the established norm of five to seven years (5‐7) in areas that are not exposed to saline air. The impact of saline air is significant at p<0.01.
Practical Implication
Maximum life span of current paint products in the area is determined to provide adequate information for the preparation of maintenance schedule for painted exterior. Paint with higher resistance to salt attack is required to enhance the longevity of painted exterior in areas at close proximity to sources of salt. Specifying current available paint for exterior finish will be uneconomical and non‐compatible with the principle of sustainability.
Originality/value
The authors made a fresh attempt at investigating the life's span of paint used as exterior finish in salt laden area around the Atlantic Ocean due to the peculiarity of the stresses of the tropical region on external finishes. It also compared the result with existing researches. Differences in paint performance are established.
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Zhong Li, Qing Lei, Luyao Huang and Chao Liu
Low-alloy structural steels (LASS) face severe microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in their service environments. To mitigate this issue, Cu is often used as an alloying…
Abstract
Purpose
Low-alloy structural steels (LASS) face severe microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in their service environments. To mitigate this issue, Cu is often used as an alloying element owing to its intrinsic antimicrobial activity. However, the antibacterial performance and biofilm resistance of Cu-containing LASS (Cu-LASS) are still unclear. This study aims to analyze the effect of Cu addition to 420 MP LASS on its MIC by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm.
Design/methodology/approach
Scanning electron microscope, confocal laser scanning microscope and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to analyze the surface morphology and composition of corrosion products. The antibacterial activities of Cu-LASS were analyzed by the spread-plate method. In addition, electrochemical analysis was conducted to characterize the corrosion behavior of the produced alloy.
Findings
Bacterial analysis and morphological observation confirmed a reduced sessile cell count and inactivation of the P. aeruginosa biofilm on the surface of Cu-LASS coupons. Electrochemical measurements showed that Cu-LASS exhibited large polarization and charge-transfer resistances, which indicated excellent MIC resistance. This significantly enhanced resistance to MIC could be explained by the synergistic effect of released Cu2+ from the Cu-LASS surface and immediate contact to Cu-rich phase in the surface and the release of Cu2+ ions from the Cu-LASS surface.
Originality/value
The effect of Cu addition on the MIC resistance and antibacterial performance of LASS is seldom reported. It is necessary to investigate the corrosion resistance of Cu-LASS and clarify its antibacterial mechanism. This paper fulfills this need.
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