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The study aims to analyse the stability of embankments over the improved ground with stone column (SC) and pervious concrete column (PCC) inclusions using limit equilibrium method. The short-term stability of PCC-supported embankment system is rarely addressed. Therefore, the factor of safety (FOS) of column-supported embankment system is calculated using individual column and equivalent area models.

The stability analysis of column-supported embankment system is conducted using PLAXIS LE 2D. The various geometrical and shear strength parameters influencing the FOS of these embankment systems such as diameter of columns, spacing between columns, embankment height, friction angle of column material, undrained cohesion of weak ground and cohesion of PCC are considered.

The critical failure envelope of PCC-supported embankment system is observed to be of toe failure, whereas the failure envelope of stone column-supported embankment system is generally of deep-seated nature.

It is found that for PCC embankment system, FOS and failure envelope are not influenced by the geometrical/shear strength parameters other than height of embankment. However, for stone column-supported embankment system, FOS and failure envelope are dependent on all the shear strength and geometrical parameters considered in this study.

The rapid adoption of digital technology forced the leaders to explore and examine the drivers and facilitators capable of enhancing the bank's performance. This paper empirically aims to examine the role of technology acceptance and workforce agility in digital technology adoption in the banking industry. Furthermore, this research examines the mediating role of workforce agility between digital technology acceptance and digital technology outcome.

Influenced by the Attitude–Behavior–Outcome framework, this survey research has been designed to collect data from both high-level executives and low-level executives working in the banking sector undertakings of India. The research adopted a two-step procedure for testing theoretical models using SPSS-AMOS, Version 27. Hayes PROCESS macro (Version 4.3.1; 2023) technique was executed to test the mediation.

The result proved that the banker's acceptance of digital technology positively impacted banks' performance. Furthermore, this study proved that workforce agility has a favorable, significant mediating influence between digital technology acceptance and digital technology outcome suggesting banks design and implement suitable management policies and practices to enhance the technology acceptance mindset of the bankers and promote workforce agility for higher customer relationships and performance.

Being the first-ever research to examine the role of workforce agility, this study proved its mediating effect on effective digital transformation.

This purpose of this paper is to address the problem of reducing energy consumption in existing buildings using advanced noninvasive interventions (NVIs).

The study methodology involves systematically developing and testing 18 different NVIs in six categories (glazing types, window films, external shading devices, automated internal shades, lighting systems and nanopainting) to identify the most effective individual NVIs. The impact of each individual NVI was examined on an exemplary university educational building in a hot climate zone in Egypt using a computational energy simulation tool, and the results were used to develop 39 combination scenarios of dual, triple and quadruple combinations of NVIs.

The optimal 10 combination scenarios of NVIs were determined based on achieving the highest percentages of energy reduction. The optimal percentage of energy reduction is 47.1%, and it was obtained from a combination of nanowindow film, nanopainting, LED lighting and horizontal louver external. The study found that appropriate mixture of NVIs is the most key factor in achieving the highest percentages of energy reduction.

These results have important implications for optimizing energy savings in existing buildings. The results can guide architects, owners and policymakers in selecting the most appropriate interventions in existing buildings to achieve the optimal reduction in energy consumption.

The novelty of this research unfolds in two significant ways: first, through the exploration of the potential effects arising from the integration of advanced NVIs into existing building facades. Second, it lies in the systematic development of a series of scenarios that amalgamate these NVIs, thereby pinpointing the most efficient strategies to optimize energy savings, all without necessitating any disruptive alterations to the existing building structure. These combination scenarios encompass the incorporation of both passive and active NVIs. The potential application of these diverse scenarios to a real-life case study is presented to underscore the substantial impact that these advanced NVIs can have on the energy performance of the building.

The purpose of this study is to formulate a new class of vehicle routing problem with an objective to minimise the total cost of raw material collection and derive a new approach to solve optimization problems. This study can help to select the optimum number of suppliers based on cost.

To model the raw material vehicle routing problem, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) problem is formulated. An interesting phenomenon added to the proposed problem is that there is no compulsion to visit all suppliers. To guarantee the demand of semiconductor industry, all visited suppliers should reach a given raw material capacity requirement. To solve the proposed model, the authors developed a novel hybrid approach that is a combination of block and edge recombination approaches. To avoid bias, the authors compare the results of the proposed methodology with other known approaches, such as genetic algorithms (GAs) and ant colony optimisation (ACO).

The findings indicate that the proposed model can be useful in industries, where multiple suppliers are used. The proposed hybrid approach provides a better sequence of suppliers compared to other heuristic techniques.

The data used in the proposed model is generated based on previous literature. The problem derives from the assumption that semiconductor industries use a variety of raw materials.

This study provides a new model and approach that can help practitioners and policymakers select suppliers based on their logistics costs.

This study provides two important contributions in the context of the supply chain. First, it provides a new variant of the vehicle routing problem in consideration of raw material collection; and second, it provides a new approach to solving optimisation problems.

Understanding consumer behavior across various contexts within marketing has long been the focus of studies. Although many models are used in explaining consumers' behavior, one of these is the Model of Goal-Directed Behavior (MGB), which is becoming prominent in explaining consumers' behavior in marketing. Given its popularity, prior research on MGB has shown inconsistent outcomes regarding the casual association of MGB variables. To overcome this, the authors have adopted a meta-analytic review of the marketing studies grounded on MGB theory in examining the consumers' behavior.

The study reviewed and analyzed 611 correlations from 27 studies with 31 samples (combined sample size of 9588) using a meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) technique.

The outcomes of MASEM confirm the significance of all the proposed relationships in the MGB model. However, the attitude has shown a strong influence on desire formation among all the proposed MGB relationships. Further, past buying experience and positive anticipated emotions strongly affect desire in developed nations compared to developing nations.

The current work has considered the possibility of various recommended moderators (e.g. culture, crisis situation, sample size, method of data collection, etc.); however, the study lacks to consider the dimension of gender dominance in it. Hence, future researchers should keep it in mind while conducting similar studies. Future scholars can also perform a comparative study on MGB across the domains and subdomains to know more insights.

The current work offers a better understanding of MGB application in marketing. As this work is one of the first meta-analyses on MGB application in marketing that also considers the effect of various moderators, it thus adds knowledge to the literature on MGB in marketing. It will also help the future researchers to understand MGB as a framework and its application in marketing.

The purpose of variable loading conditions (392 N-785N-392N-785N) with break-in period were used to study interactions between zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP) 0.1 P% (phosphorus) and fine-grade molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) 3%, in different mixtures of NLGI 2 lithium stearate grease. Four-ball wear tests were used to evaluate the tribological properties of different grease mixtures such as coefficient of friction and wear. ASTM 2266 as reported by earlier studies is useful, but it is not representative of real-life applications where variable loads and speeds and different break-in periods play a role and could change the results and the nature of tribofilms.

In this study, chemical and mechanical properties of tribofilms were examined. Moreover, design of experiment was used to examine the data and shorten experimentation time. Research described here is investigating variable loading conditions for real-life applications by using a break-in period of 2 min at the start to minimize asperities and establish a clean surface. Design expert (DOE) analyzes responses to reveal those variables that are single factor and those that are multifactor whether synergistically or antagonistically.

The results indicated that spectrum loading with break-in period showed reduction in wear when tested in greases with ZDDP/MoS₂ combinations. Ramping up or down the load every 7.5 min for a rotational speed of 1,200 rpm and a total of 36,000 revolutions or 30-min time slowed the wear properties of lithium-based grease under different MoS₂ and ZDDP concentrations. Experiments indicated that wear was largely dependent on the loading condition and ZDDP additives during specific break-in period at 1,200 rotational speed. It is believed that MoS₂ greases perform better under spectrum loading and under constant loading when mixed with ZDDP phosphorus.

This research indicates that there is a synergistic interaction between ZDDP, MoS₂ and variable loading especially when a break-in period is applied. The results indicated that wear was largely dependent on the specific speed used with spectrum loading as presented in the energy dispersive spectroscopy and the Auger electron spectroscopy analysis, and thus a 3% MoS₂ grease with ZDDP (phosphorus: 0.1 Wt.%) are needed to improve the wear resistance and improve the friction characteristics.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-01-2024-0016/

This paper aims to explore the outcomes of an analysis on day by day task – journey planning conduct of senior citizens by using a modern dynamic model and a family unit travel overview, gathered in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, of India in 2018. The task-journey planning display assumes an unique time–space-constrained planning development.

The main commitment of this paper is to reveal day by day task – journey planning conduct through a comprehensive dynamic framework. Numerous behavioural subtleties are revealed by the subsequent empirical model. These incorporate the role that income plays in directing outside time consumption decisions of senior citizens. Senior citizens in the most elevated and least salary classes will in general have minor varieties in time consumption decisions than those in middle pay classifications. Generally speaking, the time consumption decisions become progressively steady with expanding age, demonstrating that more task durations and lower task recurrence become progressively predominant with increasing age.

Day by day task-type and area decisions reveal a reasonable irregular utility-amplifying level headed conduct of senior residents. Unmistakably expanding spatial availability to different task areas is an urgent factor in characterizing every day outside task interest of senior residents. It is likewise evident that the assorted variety of outside task-type decisions decreases with rise in age and senior citizens are major touchy to auto journey hour than to travel or non-mechanized journey hour.

The fundamental constraint to the dynamic structure is that the mode decision model was viewed as exogenic to the demonstrating framework. The essential purpose behind this supposition that was that senior citizens in the Bhubaneswar are overwhelmingly customers of the local car. Coordination of the mode decision display part inside this structure would deliver a full task-based journey request model that could catch trip age, starting times, outing circulation and mode decision using a solitary demonstrating framework.

In this introduction to the special issue, ‘Marxist Thought in South Asia’, we detail the long history of Marxist politics and theorizing in South Asia and highlight the unique contributions and perspectives of South Asian Marxists to global Marxism. Three contributions we find particularly significant are (1) South Asian Marxists' approach to thinking about questions of capitalism, colonialism and imperialism, (2) the treatment of agrarian and feudal continuities in Marxist theories from South Asia and (3) unique South Asian contributions to theorizing caste from a Marxist perspective.

This study aims to investigate a new circuitous minichannel cold plate (MCP) design involving flow fragmentation. The overall thermal performance and the temperature uniformity analysis are performed and compared with the traditional serpentine design. The substrate thickness and its thermal conductivity are varied to analyse the effect of axial-back conduction due to the conjugate nature of heat transfer.

The traditional serpentine minichannel is modified into five new fragmented designs with two inlets and two outlets. A three-dimensional numerical model involving the effect of conjugate heat transfer with a single-phase laminar fluid flow subjected to constant heat flux is solved using a finite volume-based computational fluid dynamics solver.

The minimum and maximum temperature differences are observed for the two branch fragmented flow designs. The two-branch and middle channel fragmented design shows better temperature uniformity over other designs while the three-branch fragmented designs exhibited better hydrodynamic performance.

MCPs could be used as an indirect liquid cooling method for battery thermal management of pouch and prismatic cells. Coupling the modified cold plates with a battery module and investigating the effect of different battery parameters and environmental effects in a transient state are the prospects for further research.

The study involves several aspects of evaluation for a conclusive decision on optimum channel design by analysing the performance plot between the temperature uniformity index, average base temperature and overall thermal performance. The new fragmented channels are designed in a way to facilitate the fluid towards the outlet in the minimum possible path thereby reducing the pressure drop, also maximizing the heat transfer and temperature uniformity from the substrate due to two inlets and a reversed-flow pattern. Simplified minichannel designs are proposed in this study for practical deployment and ease of manufacturability.