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Directed energy deposition (DED) with laser powder-feed is an additive manufacturing process that is used to produce metallic components by simultaneously providing a supply of energy from a laser and mass from a powder aerosol. The breadth of alloys used in DED is currently limited to a very small range as compared to wrought or cast alloys. The purpose of this paper is to develop the new alloys for DED is limited because current models to predict operational processing parameters are computationally expensive and trial-and-error based experiments are both expensive and time-consuming.

In this research, an agile DED model is presented to predict the geometry produced by a single layer deposit.

The utility of the model is demonstrated for type 304 L stainless steel and the significance of the predicted deposition regimes is discussed. The proposed model incorporates concepts from heat transfer, welding and laser cladding; and integrates them with experimental fits and physical models that are relevant to DED.

The utility of the model is demonstrated for type 304 L stainless steel and the significance of the predicted deposition regimes is discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to advance knowledge and obtain an understanding of the phenomenon of public sector external auditing (PSEA) in Tanzania.

The paper used a grounded theory method informed by a critical approach. It used data from multiple sources including interviews, observations and documents, to provide a theoretical and practical understanding of PSEA in Tanzania. The theoretical aspects were developed ‘in vivo’ and were also informed by the Habermasian concept of colonisation.

The principal research findings from the data concern the central phenomenon of managing colonising tendencies in PSEA which appeared to be the core strategy for both the government and external auditors. While the government appeared to manage the National Audit Office of Tanzania (NAOT) appearance and exploited the legitimising features of PSEA, external auditors manoeuvred within colonising tendencies and attempted to maintain the ‘audit supremacy’ image. PSEA in Tanzania encountered colonising tendencies because of weak working relationship between the NAOT and other accountability agencies, inconsistencies in governance and politics, the culture of corruption and secrecy, dependence on foreign financing and mimicking of foreign models. To coexist within this colonising environment, external auditors managed their relationship with auditees and the complexities of PSEA roles. Managing colonising tendencies resulted into obscured subordination of PSEA, contributing to cosmetic accountability and growing public interest in PSEA.

It is hoped that future research in other countries, in and beyond Africa, will be undertaken to broaden and deepen our understanding of the external auditing of public sector entities.

The paper combines grounded theory with a critical approach to understand PSEA in a developing country.

This paper aims to investigate methods of implementing in‐process fault avoidance in robotic friction stir welding (FSW).

Investigations into the possibilities for automatically detecting gap‐faults in a friction stir lap weld were conducted. Force signals were collected from a number of lap welds containing differing degrees of gap faults. Statistical analysis was carried out to determine whether these signals could be used to develop an automatic fault detector/classifier.

The results demonstrate that the frequency spectra of collected force signals can be mapped to a lower dimension through discovered discriminant functions where the faulty welds and control welds are linearly separable. This implies that a robust and precise classifier is very plausible, given force signals.

Future research should focus on a complete controller using the information reported in this paper. This should allow for a robotic friction stir welder to detect and avoid faults in real time. This would improve manufacturing safety and yield.

This paper is applicable to the rapidly expanding robotic FSW industry. A great advantage of heavy machine tool versus robotic FSW is that the robot cannot supply the same amount of rigidity. Future work must strive to overcome this lack of mechanical rigidity with intelligent control, as has been examined in this paper.

This paper investigates fault detection in robotic FSW. Fault detection and avoidance are essential for the increased robustness of robotic FSW. The paper's results describe very promising directions for such implementation.

This paper aims to develop a novel risk analysis model that uses both participatory and computerized techniques to capture and model the dynamic of risk impact propagation and interaction pattern.

In this research, an integrated model, applying modified participatory method and novel dichotomize procedure in the perspectives of social network topological analysis, is developed.

Based on the analysis output, it is found that; (i) the risk propagation is characterized by its dynamic and non-linear impact pattern, and (ii) the risk interaction is distinguished based on the degree of connectedness between various risks.

This research assumes that the risk impact propagation and interaction pattern within the risk network are static. Further research is required to analyze the risk network in dynamic circumstances.

This research contributes in delivering practical tools that could potentially provide a further path for developing mitigation strategy and policies that seek to address the complexity of risk phenomena, and thus enhance community resilience.

This research reveals some underlying patterns of how the risk impact propagation and interaction pattern are structured. Thus, it can help decision-makers make formal arrangements of particular urban infrastructure (UI) governance visible toward building risk plan and mitigation strategies.

This research contributes to filling the risk management knowledge gap. It is suggested that analyzing risk using a network approach is suited to capture the intricate processes that shape the complexity of UI risk structural network. By validating the model, this research shows the applicability and capability of the model to improve both the RA accuracy and decision making effectiveness towards risk mitigation plan and strategy.

The cultural dimensions of the Hofstede and Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) studies are often used to capture cultural differences and operationalize them in academic research, corporate business, and teaching. The purpose of this paper is to investigate if this context is appropriate for the Indian information technology (IT) offshore services industry; that is, if Indian culture can be measured with group-referenced items, averaged, and explained by discrete dimensions.

The authors devised items based on the GLOBE study, and conducted empirical research with 291 employees of two services sourcing providers in Pune and Bangalore, India. The authors then scrutinized the data set on item and dimension level using statistical methods, such as interrater agreement, t-test, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation.

An interpretation of the analysis posits that cultural assumptions based on dimensions and means are problematic in the context of the Indian IT offshore services industry. The two digit exact values of the GLOBE study (and similarly the ordinal scale by Hofstede) suggest a level of accuracy and absoluteness which could not be replicated in the empirical research. Therefore, one authors should be very careful referring to Indian national culture when conducting intercultural awareness programs and coaching international teams who are engaging with India.

The GLOBE study omits to report basic statistics of questionnaire development. Through this replication study in India, the authors provide empirical evidence that the construct validity of cultural dimensions and the concept of national/group averages may be flawed.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the issue of crisis management within the Toyota Corporation's series of worldwide recalls for multiple malfunctions on a number of different Toyota brands of vehicles. The analysis relates to the difficulty now faced by Toyota, previously recognized as the world's leading manufacturer of automotive vehicles. The crisis became so great that Toyota corporate leaders even traveled from Japan to testify before a US Congressional Committee hearing.

A crisis, typically considered to be a negative issue, can be a positive event in the life of a business firm, such as Toyota, if the management involved seizes the opportunity to make appropriate changes in its operations to facilitate continuing positive growth and development. However, this opportunity was not initially addressed by Toyota in a meaningful way, and the crisis continued to evolve through subsequent stages, bringing a vast array of negative international criticism. The crisis management paradigm that is the focus for this case identifies four stages of a crisis – the preliminary (pre‐) crisis, acute crisis, chronic crisis, and crisis resolution. The present crisis deals with several different malfunctions that were identified, apparently by customers, in various Toyota brands, but publically ignored by Toyota's management. Therefore, the pre‐crisis stage was not appropriately dealt with by Toyota, and the firm was thrust into an acute crisis that has now evolved into a chronic crisis. A brief overview of the historical development of Toyota is presented, and an analysis of the present crisis situation in which the firm found itself is presented in some detail.

It was concluded that Toyota is now in a very difficult position in the chronic crisis stage due to the failure of its management to facilitate a timely response to the malfunctions of its vehicles.

The paper presents an excellent example of crisis mismanagement by a previously recognized world leader.

The purpose of this paper is to attempt an empirical examination of government budgeting and expenditure processes in Nigeria, a developing country. It examines the current state of budgeting and public funds management (PFM) in Nigeria. It also examines the extent to which the government has used the budgetary mechanism to effectively manage the nation’s economy.

The paper employed simple regression estimation technique for data analysis. Time series data set of budgetary information was constructed from different archival sources over a 16-years period (2000-2015), majorly the national Appropriation Acts, press releases, regulatory and governmental reports, reports of Transparency International, World Bank and Central Intelligence Agency.

The findings confirm that the nation’s annual budgeting approach is defective and lags in achieving its fiscal objectives. The budget indicates a state of poor accountability and transparency in PFM. Findings also suggest that the level of economic development in Nigeria is not commensurate with the size of government expenditure.

The paper draws the attention of the government to the need to restructure its approach to budgeting and adopt a more resilient approach that suits its environment and economic peculiarities in effort to ensure efficient management and accountability of public funds. The paper also offers value to other developing countries. It provides empirical evidence that explains an aspect why the African continent remains underdeveloped hitherto.

This paper lends a voice to the call for a restructuring of the Nigerian budgetary system and its implementation strategy. It advocates for the adoption of an alternative budgeting approach that matches Nigeria economic realities. The paper demonstrated that the traditional budgetary approach being used by many developing countries is limited in certain ways and could hinder sustainable development.

The purpose of this polyphonic paper is to report on interdisciplinary discussions on the state-of-the-art and future of public sector accounting research (PSAR). The authors hope to enliven the debates of the past and future developments in terms of context, themes, theories, methods and impacts in the field of PSAR by the exchanges they include here.

This polyphonic paper adopts an interdisciplinary approach. It brings into conversation ideas, views and approaches of several scholars on the actual and future developments of PSAR in various contexts, and explores potential implications.

This paper has brought together scholars from a plurality of disciplines, research methods and geographical areas, showing at the same time several points of convergence on important future themes (such as accounting as a mean for public, accounting, hybridity and value pluralism) and enabling conditions (accounting capabilities, profession and digitalisation) for PSA scholarship and practice, and the richness of looking at them from a plurality of perspectives.

Exploring these past and future developments opens up the potential for interesting theoretical insights. A much greater theoretical and practical reconsideration of PSAR will be fostered by the exchanges included here.

In setting out a future research agenda, this paper fosters theoretical and methodological pluralism in the interdisciplinary research community interested in PSAR in various contexts. The discussion perspectives presented in this paper constitute not only a basis for further research in this relevant accounting area on the role, status and developments of PSAR but also creative potential for practitioners to be more reflective on their practices and also intended and united outcomes of such practices.