Search results

In today’s highly competitive global business environment, there is a growing demand for professionals who possess well-developed soft skills. Such abilities include flexibility, effective communication and other skills. Soft skills are personal attributes and qualities that are more closely related to the emotional side of human beings. Individuals must cultivate and hone soft skills during their undergraduate studies. These skills, also known as interpersonal or non-technical skills, are essential to complement hard skills and pave the way for a thriving career trajectory. Soft skills are developed over the course of one’s career and are indispensable in establishing a strong, professional presence in the corporate or academic realm. The field of engineering is no exception in this regard, and the business approach during the engineering course is of significant relevance. By acquiring soft skills, engineering graduates will become competitive and adaptable professionals capable of handling the current and future challenges of the job market. The purpose of this study is to investigate the soft skills that students perceive as being better developed during their business classrooms in the engineering course and identify areas for improvement in the business education process.

The research method consisted in four different phases from variables identification to statistical analyses. Then, as part of this approach a structured questionnaire was administered at the end of the engineering course, where students rated their perception of the degree of development of each of the soft skills covered in the course on a scale of zero to ten. The collected data were analysed using multivariate analysis techniques, including factorial analysis.

The results of the study demonstrate that the set of skills acquired by individuals in business classrooms pursuing a degree in industrial engineering is in high demand by potential employers. Such skills are deemed essential for the successful operation of businesses in modern-day industries. The findings of this research validate the significant role that industrial engineering students play in fulfilling the requirements of the job market and pave the way to meaningful insights on how to approach this topic during the business education process in engineering courses.

The findings bring about significant insights for national educational councils and ministries, universities and educational stakeholders in the process of updating, rethinking and implementing new curricula criteria in higher education, particularly in the Latin American context.

This paper enriches the literature by assessing the development of soft skills of engineering students in the Latin American context. The research reinforces the importance of developing soft skills aligned with those required for the context of current and future labour markets.

This study explores whether hard regulatory control decreases the level of earnings management in local governments. The implementation of a new regulatory approach by Norwegian authorities provides the opportunity for an empirical study.

The authors adopt a two-stage strategy to investigate the existence of earnings management, using the Jones (1991) and modified Jones (Dechow et al., 1995) models to construct a random-effects model.

The authors test the hypothesis that, given decentralisation of control, there will be an increase in opportunistic financial reporting. This study's findings suggest that this is not the case, thereby indicating that a soft control regime does not diminish discipline in municipalities.

This study has practical implications for policymaking in the public sector. Its findings suggest that municipalities do not engage in more earnings management under a soft regulatory regime. Hence, other authorities should consider adopting a soft regulatory approach to controlling local governments and their financial reporting systems.

This study contributes to a growing body of literature regarding earnings management by local governments. The authors investigate a hypothesis previously untested in the literature by comparing the degree of earnings management under different regulatory control regimes.

To reduce the difficulty of the sewing process and promote the automation process of fabric sewing, a soft finger-assisted feeding method is proposed to investigate the effect of sewing process parameters on the quality of automatic sewing.

Taking cotton woven fabrics as an example, the causes of sewing deviation are firstly investigated from three aspects: fabric properties, sewing speed and sewing edge position. By simulating the sewing action of human hands, the method of reducing sewing deviation by using soft fingers to press and feed the fabric is proposed. Then, four sewing process factors, namely, robot arm end pressure, sewing machine speed, sewing needle gauge and stitch density, were selected, and three levels were set for each factor to design orthogonal sewing experiments. The sewing deviation of 1# sample under different sewing processes was measured, and the optimal parameter matching for automatic sewing of this specimen was derived.

The findings demonstrate that, while sewing cloth automatically, the sewing deviation is significantly influenced by the robotic arm's end pressure, sewing speed, and stitch density, whereas the sewing deviation is not significantly impacted by the needle number.

The findings offer fundamental information for the development of an automated sewing procedure using soft fingers, which has theoretical and real-world application value to speed up the intelligent modernization and transformation of the apparel industry.

This paper aims to extend insights about the relationship between inter-organizational collaboration and approaches to control from the perspective of decision-makers. We investigate the relationship between approaches to control and intended forms of integration between actors responsible for solving the complex problem of integrated person-centered care for elderly with diverse and significant needs.

The empirical study is based on a content analysis of contractual agreements. We have analyzed a total of 118 collaboration agreements and associative documents between all Swedish regions and municipalities.

The study shows that intended integration is subject to remarkable variation in intended forms of inter-organizational collaboration in this Swedish case. The paper illustrates that decision-makers’ intentions with proposed collaboration in each given context are important for the chosen approach to control. Regardless of intended forms of integration, our study suggests that an imminent soft approach to control is expressed alongside limited signs of hard control. Various forms of intended integration can be managed by the two approaches simultaneously insofar as the agreements appear to have a two-sided purpose.

Our paper proposes an empirically driven taxonomy of intended forms of integration initiatives. The taxonomy provides resources for studies about how collaboration can be managed when it is stipulated by national legislation but local self-governance gives actors considerable freedom to decide on how to organize and manage services. By presenting the taxonomy and relating this to approaches of control, our iterative study builds on and adds to a recent stream of research arguing that the relationship between collaboration and approaches to control may by fuzzier and more complex than originally thought.

The evolution of digital construction within Industrial Revolution 5.0 emphasises the harmonious integration of humans and technology, value-driven technology implementation, adaptive leadership and user-centric design solutions. This shift necessitates architects to enhance their soft skills to navigate the transition effectively. Failure to demonstrate these skills may confine architects to passive roles as technology consumers rather than innovative leaders. While existing research predominantly focuses on the technical aspects of digital construction, this study investigates how architects effectively manifest their soft skills within such dynamic contexts, addressing a critical gap in the current literature.

Employing an interpretive phenomenological approach, the research engaged 14 individual architects practicing in architectural consultancy practices (ACPs) in Malaysia through semi-structured interviews and written exercises to unveil their experiences.

Thematic analysis revealed six primary themes: “analytical and critical thinking,” “digital communication,” “diversity in leadership styles,” “emotional intelligence,” “ethics and professionalism,” and “curiosity and agility.”

Furthermore, the developed thematic map serves as a foundational resource for human resource practices aiming to design upskilling and reskilling programs that focus on nurturing soft skills. Emphasising soft skills, these programs are designed to thrive in the digital construction era and beyond.

These shared experiences significantly contribute to the theoretical understanding of soft skills within the digital construction context, providing novel insights into their practical application when addressing real-world implications.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a casting process for the production of double-chamber soft fingers, which avoids the problems of air leakage and fracture caused by multistep casting. This proposed method facilitates the simultaneous casting of the inflation chamber and the jamming chamber.

An integrated molding technology based on the lost wax casting method is proposed for the manufacture of double-chamber soft fingers. The solid wax core is assembled with the mold, and then liquid silicone rubber is injected into it. After cooling and solidification, the mold is stripped off and heated in boiling water, so that the solid wax core melts and precipitates, and the integrated soft finger is obtained.

The performance and fatigue tests of the soft fingers produced by the proposed method have been carried out. The results show that the manufacturing method can significantly improve the fatigue resistance and stability of the soft fingers, while also avoiding the problems such as air leakage and cracking.

The improvement of the previous multistep casting method of soft fingers is proposed, and the integrated molding manufacturing method is proposed to avoid the problems caused by secondary bonding.

Our work adds to the debate regarding higher education graduates’ skills required in the labour market in Germany and beyond.

Using Q-methodology and the accompanying narrations, we explore German employers’ and employees’ views (N = 26) on characteristics required at the entry level.

Our findings show three areas of the labour market with different skill requirements. Whereas the first area, “The world of rules”, applies more likely to the professions and academia, the two other areas, “The middle field” and “The people-oriented and critical market”, can be found throughout the labour market. The disciplinary affiliation does not play a role. In all three areas, soft skills are crucial and specialised knowledge is only highly valued in the area of “The world of rules”.

In contrast to previous findings, we do not focus on singular skills. Instead, we focus on skill sets and discuss their relevance from the background of their usability.

Inspired by the high-friction performance of the soft toe pads of tree frogs, this study aims to investigate the effect of elastic deformation on the lubrication properties of squeezing films inside soft tribocontacts with microstructured surface under wet conditions.

A one-dimensional hydrodynamic extrusion model was used to study the film lubrication characteristics of conformal contact. The lubrication characteristics of the extruded film, including load-carrying capacity, liquid flow and surface elastic deformation, were obtained through the simultaneously iterative solution of the fluid-governing and deformation equations.

The results show that the hydrodynamic pressure is approximating parabolically and symmetrically distributed in the contact area, and the peak value appears in the center of the extrusion surface. Elastic deformation increases the thickness of the liquid film, weakens the bearing capacity and homogenizes the liquid flow rate of inside soft friction contact. The magnitude of this effect greatly increases as the initial liquid film thickness decreases. Moreover, the elastic deformation directly affects the average film thickness of the extrusion contact. Narrow and shallow microchannels are found to result in a more prominent elastic deformation on the microstructured soft surface.

These results present a design for soft tribocontacts suitable for submerged or wet environments involving high friction, such as wiper blades, in situ flexible electrons and underwater robots.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-02-2024-0049/

The purpose of the study is to identify the soft skills and abilities that are crucial to success in the fields of operations management (OM) and supply chain management (SCM), using the O*NET database and the classification of a set of professional figures integrating values for task skills and abilities needed to operate successfully in these professions.

The study used the O*NET database to identify the soft skills and abilities required for success in OM and SCM industries. Correlation analysis was conducted to determine the tasks required for the job roles and their characteristics in terms of abilities and soft skills. ANOVA analysis was used to validate the findings. The study aims to help companies define specific assessments and tests for OM and SCM roles to measure individual attitudes and correlate them with the job position.

As a result of the work, a set of soft skills and abilities was defined that allow, through correlation analysis, to explain a large number of activities required to work in the operations and SCM (OSCM) environment.

The work is inherently affected by the database used for the professional figures mapped and the scores that are attributed within O*NET to the analyzed elements.

The information resulting from this study can help companies develop specific assessments and tests for the roles of OM and SCM to measure individual attitudes and correlate them with the requirements of the job position. The study aims to address the need to identify soft skills in the human sphere and determine which of them have the most significant impact on the OM and SCM professions.

The originality of this study lies in its approach to identify the set of soft skills and abilities that determine success in the OM and SCM industries. The study used the O*NET database to correlate the tasks required for specific job roles with their corresponding soft skills and abilities. Furthermore, the study used ANOVA analysis to validate the findings in other sectors mapped by the same database. The identified soft skills and abilities can help companies develop specific assessments and tests for OM and SCM roles to measure individual attitudes and correlate them with the requirements of the job position. In addressing the necessity for enhanced clarity in the domain of human factor, this study contributes to identifying key success factors. Subsequent research can further investigate their practical application within companies to formulate targeted growth strategies and make appropriate resource selections for vacant positions.

The objective of this study was to develop wearable suit platforms with various anchoring structure designs with the intention of improving wearability and enhancing user satisfaction.

This study selected fabrics and materials for the suit platform through material performance tests. Two anchoring structure designs, 11-type and X-type are compared with regular clothing under control conditions. To evaluate the comfort level of the wearable suit platform, a satisfaction survey and electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements are conducted to triangulate the findings.

The 11-type exhibited higher values in comfort indicators such as α, θ, α/High-β and lower values in concentration or stress indicators such as β, ϒ, sensorimotor rhythm (SMR)+Mid-β/θ, and a spectral edge frequency of 95% compared to the X-type while walking. The 11-type offers greater comfort and satisfaction compared to the X-type when lifting based on the EEG measurements and the participants survey.

It is recommended to implement the 11-type when designing wearable suit platforms. These findings offer essential data on wearability, which can guide the development of soft wearable robots.