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The purpose of this paper is to propose the dynamically balanced mechanism for cleaning unit used in the agricultural thresher machine using the system of point masses.

The cleaning unit works on crank-rocker Grashof mechanism. To balance the mechanism, the shaking forces and shaking moments are minimized by optimizing the mass distribution of links using the dynamically equivalent system of point masses. The point mass parameters are taken as the design variables. Then, the optimization problem is solved using Jaya algorithm and genetic algorithm (GA) under suitable design constraints.

The mass, center of mass and inertias of each link are calculated using optimum design variables. These optimum parameters improve the dynamic performance of the cleaning unit.

The proposed methodology is tested through the standard four-bar mechanism taken from literature and also applied to the existing cleaning mechanism of the thresher machine. It is observed that the Jaya algorithm is computationally more efficient than the GA. The dynamic analysis of the proposed mechanism is simulated using ADAMS software.

This paper aims to propose a dynamically balanced mechanism for cleaning unit used in agricultural thresher machine using a dynamically equivalent system of point masses.

The cleaning unit works on crank-rocker Grashof mechanism. This mechanism can be balanced by optimizing the inertial properties of each link. These properties are defined by the dynamic equivalent system of point masses. Parameters of these point masses define the shaking forces and moments. Hence, the multi-objective optimization problem with minimization of shaking forces and shaking moments is formulated by considering the point mass parameters as the design variables. The formulated optimization problem is solved using a posteriori approach-based algorithm i.e. the non-dominated sorting Jaya algorithm (NSJAYA) and a priori approach-based algorithms i.e. Jaya algorithm and genetic algorithm (GA) under suitable design constraints.

The mass, center of mass and inertias of each link are calculated using optimum design variables. These optimum parameters improve the dynamic performance of the cleaning unit. The optimal Pareto set for the balancing problem is measured and outlined in this paper. The designer can choose any solution from the set and balance any real planar mechanism.

The efficiency of the proposed approach is tested through the existing cleaning mechanism of the thresher machine. It is found that the NSJAYA is computationally more efficient than the GA and Jaya algorithm. ADAMS software is used for the simulation of the mechanism.

In the past, social exchange based on reciprocity has been important to the ways in which people in rural areas have made their living. Our study shows that contemporary reciprocal labor exchanges continue to be integral to the ways in which households sustain themselves economically and socially. However, unlike the relations of reciprocity of the past, which were based upon accomplishing harvest work among neighboring dairy farms, the current patterns of exchange are situational and contingent, and often embedded in kin and other social networks, rather than immediate neighbors. Understanding reciprocity reveals a fundamental element in the livelihood strategies of low‐income, land‐based, rural people.

The purpose of this paper is to present a cross‐country study comparing Colombia and Vietnam, two of the major coffee exporting countries in the world, in terms of their infrastructures, the roles of external shocks, technology adoption at different stages of production, added value, positioning in both domestic and global markets, internationalisation patterns, marketing and branding innovations, regulatory frameworks, and policy environments. This study also explores other aspects linked to production, and marketing strategies that open niche markets such as speciality coffees, and socially‐, labour‐ and environmentally‐responsible trade. Furthermore, it identifies opportunities of cooperation and competition between these two countries.

Using value chain analysis as primary research method, this paper identifies links and dynamics in the value chains that have been developed in the coffee industry in both countries to improve competitiveness, increase sustainability, and respond to market demands.

Using value chain analysis, it was found that Colombia and Vietnam produce different types of coffee, and that both have implemented diverse strategies in order to be more competitive in domestic and foreign markets via product differentiation. These differences make explicit room for cooperation between these two countries in an international environment where fierce competition persists.

Cooperation between producing countries is an under‐researched subject. These findings will be useful both for policy makers in coffee‐producing countries and agribusiness researchers.

Social enterprise.

This case study can be used on modules on social enterprise (SE) and international business for undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Arusha Women Entrepreneur (AWE) is a SE established in 2008 in Tanzania that employs low-income women from peri-urban Arusha and provides technical and management skills training to smallholder farmers. AWE has created a value supply chain from the production and marketing of aflatoxin-free, natural peanut butter, having a strong vision of delivering social and development benefits for smallholder peanut farmers and unemployed women.

This case is the basis for class discussion rather than for illustrating either effective or ineffective handling of a business. From this case, students will learn about the emergence and development of SEs and the challenges they encounter to grow.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS: 3: Entrepreneurship.

The purposes of this study included: recognizing the risks and challenges farmers face when growing a new crop, understanding agricultural marketing and its processes and developing a marketing strategy for a specialty agricultural product, such as quinoa.

The main focus of this case lies in identifying the risks faced by farmers in growing a new specialty crop and selecting the appropriate marketing strategies for targeting, positioning and channelling an agricultural product.

This case can be used in intermediate- to advanced-level marketing courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels in universities. It can also be used in agriculture and agribusiness–based courses in the undergraduate, graduate or executive level.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Rehman, S.U., Selvaraj, M. and Ibrahim, M.S., 2012. Indian Agricultural Marketing-A Review. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, 2(1), pp.69-75. Kotler, P., Keller, K.L., Ang, S.H., Tan, C.T. and Leong, S.M., 2018. Marketing Management: An Asian Perspective. Pearson.

CSS 8: Marketing

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the status of lean manufacturing in Indian automotive sector, component manufacturing industries in terms of lean adoption, benefits, motivation, and challenges of implementing lean manufacturing practices.

The research objectives were achieved by conducting a qualitative multicase study approach. Fourteen Indian automotive component manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were chosen based on their different product offerings as well as differing approaches to the introduction and implementation of lean initiatives. Data were collected through in-depth, semistructured interviews supported by shop-floor observations.

The findings from the present study suggest that some of the participating automotive component manufacturing SMEs have a relatively good understanding of lean concepts and philosophy. However, there is room for further improvement for most SMEs. Major top five lean practices being implemented were found to be cellular manufacturing, total productive maintenance, 5S, work standardization, and quality management practices. Also, leadership and organizational culture were found to be crucial factors for the success of lean manufacturing.

The fact that the data collected for the research study is based on subjective business evidence obtained from company representatives comprises the main limitation of the present study. So, the results should be considered with caution, as far as the lean adoption in Indian automotive component manufacturing sector is concerned.

Based on the present study, suggestions can be made regarding the successful adoption of lean principles, not only for the participating SMEs but also for the whole of the automotive component manufacturing sector. More specifically, by determining the strength and weakness of automotive component manufacturing SME's effort to adopt lean, suitable managerial initiatives can be undertaken by these companies as well as the whole sector to fully adopt lean and derive the respective benefits.

This paper explores the status of lean adoption in Indian automotive component manufacturing SMEs. Considering the unique characteristics of the automotive component manufacturing industry, the present research would be helpful for making strategies to implement lean in automotive component manufacturing industry setups.

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of mining on the livelihood of the inhabitants of Keonjhar district in Odisha, through creation of physical and financial capital using the sustainable livelihoods framework.

Principal component analysis technique and discriminant analysis were used to assess the impact of mining on the financial capital. A cross-tabulation analysis with χ²-test has also been carried out to find its impact on physical capital.

The study reveals that though iron ore mining helps in the augmentation of financial capital of the households, its impact on physical capital is mixed. Households in mining villages enjoy higher average annual and per capita income than those in nonmining villages. There is also a significant difference in the financial capital index of mining and nonmining villages. Even owning of physical assets like TV and motorcycle is significantly higher in mining villages than its nonmining counterparts. But mining has failed to develop the infrastructural facilities and has rendered most of the agricultural land uncultivated.

It is difficult to sustain the benefits arising out of mining over long run due to its finite life span and calls for policy interventions that can lead to sustainable livelihood to the local inhabitants.

The Italian agriculture in the 19th century enjoyed a quite poor reputation among historians, for its innovative record. This article deals with a possible counterexample, the wide diffusion of steam threshing since the 1870s. It was a highly capital-intensive machine, and thus its success seems to contrast with the scarcity of capital, which plagued the Italian agriculture. Indeed, the pattern of diffusion in time and space was influenced by the cost of capital, but the constraint was eased by outsourcing. Steam-threshers were owned by specialised entrepreneurs and rented to farmers and landowners. This successful institutional arrangement casts a lot of doubt on the negative effects of the alleged institutional rigidity on technical change.