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One of the crucial steps in the molded bra production is the process of developing the mold head. The purpose of this paper is to determine the final cups style and size. Compared with traditional development process of the mold head, less time-consuming and a more quantitative method is needed for the design and modification of the mold head.

A three-dimensional (3D) numerical model for the simulation of large compressive deformation was built in this paper to research the foam bra cup molding process. Since the head cones have more representative than the mold heads, the male and female head cones were used in the simulation. All of the solid shapes are modeled by using 3D Solid 164 elements as well as an automatic surface-to-surface contact between head cones.

Simulation of the foam cup molding process is conducted by inputting different properties of the foam material and stress-strain curves under different molding temperatures.

In order to simulate the laminated foam moulding process, heat transfer through a layered textile assembly can be studied by using the thermo-mechanical coupled FE model.

According to the different foam performance parameters under different temperatures along with different head cone shapes, distribution and variation in the stress field can be obtained as well as the ultimate capacity of foam materials.

A computer-aided parametric design system for the mold heads provides an effective solution to improving the development process of mold heads.

The distribution and variation in the stress fields can be analyzed through simulation, providing a reference for the mold head design.

The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively assess the three-dimensional (3D) geometry and symmetry of the torso for spinal deformity and the use of orthotic bracewear by using non-invasive 3D body scanning technology.

In pursuing greater accuracy of body anthropometric measurements to improve the fit and design of apparel, 3D body scanning technology and image analysis provide many more advantages over the traditional manual methods that use contact measurements. To measure the changes in the torso geometry and profile symmetry of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, five individuals are recruited to undergo body scanning both with and without wearing a rigid brace during a period of six months. The cross-sectional areas and profiles of the reconstructed 3D torso models are examined to evaluate the level of body symmetry.

Significant changes in the cross-sectional profile are found amongst four of the patients over the different visits for measurements (p < 0.05), which are consistent with the X-rays results. The 3D body scanning system can reliably evaluate changes in the body geometry of patients with scoliosis. Nevertheless, improvements in the symmetry of the torso are found to be somewhat inconsistent among the patients and across different visits.

This pilot study demonstrates a practical and safe means to measure and analyse the torso geometry and symmetry so as to allow for more frequent evaluations, which would result in effective and optimal treatment of spinal deformation.

In the theoretical derivation of the anisotropic model of the woven fabric, Kilby (1963) achieved the symmetric anisotropy model. Yet, in practice, the warp behavior of a woven fabric is rarely identical to the weft behavior, even in the case of plain weave fabric of identical yarns in both warp and weft directions because of the manufacturing process. The closed form analytic solution of the asymmetric anisotropic behaviour is very difficult to find for real fabric, due to its nonlinear properties. Therefore, it is important to derive an efficient and accurate method to approximate the nonlinear fabric anisotropy. This paper discusses the issue of incorporating the tensile fabric properties and the bias angle effect into a bilinear stress-strain model. The stress-strain relationship is divided into two regions, below and above the elastic limit. Within each region, a basis function, based on three data points, is used to approximate the angular effect. The advantages of this method include: (1) its simplicity, (2) robust 2-step lookup operation to obtain the answer, (3) full coverage of both linear and nonlinear elastic regions, and (4) ability to achieve high degree of accuracy with only three data points.

Teenagers with mental handicap have great difficulties in the areas of dress appearance and purchasing appropriate well-fitting garments due to their unusual body configurations, overweight and/or numerous congenital defects. The purpose of this research is to investigate the anthropometric measurements and body motions of mentally handicapped teenagers in Hong Kong so as to provide a conceptual framework for product development of their clothing. The results indicated that about one-third of the mentally handicapped teenagers were obese and this could affect their behavioral development as well as level of social acceptance. The anthropometric measurements of the mentally handicapped group also differed markedly from those of the ordinary group. A large range of anthropometric variations was observed within the mentally handicapped group. The disproportionate body dimensions, combined with large range of anthropometric variations, have created problems of ill-fitting garments and poor dress appearance. In this respect, a specific sizing system covering a broad range of sizes with increased waist girth, thigh girth and back width, but shortened arm length and leg length needs to be derived. As the range of motion (ROM) measurements also indicated significant mobility variations amongst the mentally handicapped group, the body motion analysis results need to be taken into account in order to achieve maximum aesthetics and comfort.

Although COVID-19 has caused a global slowdown, the magnitude of GDP losses appears to vary across countries. This study considers the question: could digital finance help to mitigate the adverse impact of COVID-19 on GDP? Countries with higher levels of digital financial inclusion are found to experience less fall in GDP, whereas countries relying more on cash transactions experience a greater GDP decline. These results suggest that digital financial inclusion might play a key role in mitigating the adverse impact of COVID-19 on GDP.

Contextual factors play a vital role in employee mistreatment. This chapter deals with the definition and scope of contextual factors, including a distinction between the objective environment and its idiosyncratic perception by employees. Several mechanisms are offered to explain the effects of context on mistreatment, including the stressor–strain framework, interaction with personal characteristics, and also mistreatment acting as a stressor. The framework suggested in this chapter uses levels of analysis, and proposes that the objective environment (group level variables) is perceived at the individual level, which consequently leads to both perpetrated and received mistreatment. Those same objective environment variables also have a direct effect on mistreatment, as well as a moderating role in the relationship between individually perceived context and mistreatment. Furthermore, there is some evidence that mistreatment acts as a contextual variable in and of itself, with perpetrators, victims, and bystanders perceiving mistreatment in their workplace and reporting higher levels of stressors and strains. Finally, we outline the need for more longitudinal, multi-level studies to clearly discern the role of context in employee mistreatment.

This study examines the effect of design quality (i.e. appearance, navigation, information and interactivity) on cognitive and affective involvement leading to continued intention to use the online learning application.

We assume that design quality potentially contributes to enhance the individual's involvement and excitement. An experimental prototype is developed for collecting data used to verify and validate the proposed research model and hypotheses. A partial-least-squares approach is used to analyze the data collected from the participants (n = 662).

Communication, aesthetic and information quality revealed to be strong determinants of both cognitive and affective involvement. However, font quality and user control positively influence cognitive involvement, while navigation quality and responsiveness were observed as significant indicators of affective involvement. Lastly, cognitive and affective involvement equally contribute to determining the continued intention to use.

This study will draw the attention of designers and practitioners towards the perception of users for providing appropriate and engaging learning resources.

Prevalent research in the online context is focused primarily on cognitive and utilization behavior. However, these works overlook the implication of design quality on cognitive and affective involvement.

This research studies the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operation management of Hong Kong academic libraries for understanding the difficulties and challenges for librarians to adapt to the special arrangements during the pandemic.

Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with librarians in major universities and higher education institutions of Hong Kong. Participants were interviewed either in the face-to-face format or text-based format.

Participants provided a broad scope about the actual library management and operation changes during the COVID-19. According to the respondents, the most challenging problem for librarians during COVID-19 was to strike a balance between concerns of library staff and users. While they described how these arrangements and changes affected the service quality of academic libraries from different perspectives, the pandemic situation also brought some opportunities, such as pushing the digitalization of all collections and using online resources for future development. A hybrid model for library service would be more common in the future with more demands toward online resources and digital collection, in which academic libraries should be prepared after the pandemic.

This paper provided broad insights into library management and the future development of academic libraries for the post-COVID-19 period. There are scant studies of this topic, especially in an Asian metropolis context with dense population, small campus and limited library physical spaces.

The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into enterprise resource planning (ERP) research by framing ERP intellectual contributions using a knowledge-centric taxonomy that was originally proposed as an organizing framework for classifying conceptual contributions in marketing. Thus the paper provides a better understanding of existing gaps and future opportunities in ERP research.

Using MacInnis framework, the authors classified a sample of 300 ERP articles published during the period 2000-2014 into a topology of four generic contributions types and eight sub-types.

The findings indicate that whereas the explicating type received the most attention by researches, the debating type received the least. It also seems that there is a temporal dimension to the different types of conceptual contributions. Identification of usefulness of the ERP systems to business was not addressed as would have been predicted by the build-evaluate lens of March and Smith framework.

The main limitation of this research is that only used articles from scholarly journals, and did not include conference proceedings, books, and other outlets. Another limitation is that the search criteria was title-based, which may have missed some relevant papers. Research implications include highlighting the importance of a knowledge-centric view of ERP research, and practical implications include the call for robust measurement criteria for ERP benefits and rigorous ERP comparison schemes.

The main contribution is providing an alternative approach to framing the ERP intellectual contributions. The proposed taxonomy revealed major areas of focus and opportunities for future ERP research emphasis. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first instantiation of MacInnis framework into ERP research.

The purpose of the present research is to investigate the mechanisms by which conflict with customers (i.e. customer mistreatment) contributes to employees’ work withdrawal.

This paper tests its hypotheses by means of a field study of a sample of front-line health care workers in China. Data were collected in three waves over four months; a total of 398 health care workers completed the questionnaires and represented the final sample. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results indicate that mistreatment by customers contributes to employees’ work withdrawal, and emotional exhaustion serves as a mediator in this linkage. In addition, social support moderates the positive relation between customer mistreatment and employees’ emotional exhaustion, whereas conscientiousness moderates the positive relation between emotional exhaustion and withdrawal behavior.

The sample used may not fully justify the generalizability of the research results. Without distinguishing different sources of social support may be another limitation. In addition, this study could be improved by using a multi-source survey design.

To help employees effectively cope with interpersonal conflict with customers, organizations should take action to promote communication between employees and their supervisors and coworkers. It is also advisable for organizations to adjust their selection strategies and hire front-line employees high in conscientiousness.

This research presents a resource-based framework to illuminate the detrimental effects of prolonged exposure to customer mistreatment on health care workers’ withdrawal behavior in Chinese context. Furthermore, this study examines factors that may serve to mitigate the harmful effects of customer mistreatment and regards workplace social support and conscientiousness as two different kinds of resources that can play dissimilar roles when employees are coping with customer mistreatment.