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The purpose of this paper is to determine the value of I‐Ching (also called Book of Changes), the ancient Chinese book of wisdom, which has been used for thousands of years to help people make decisions in daily life. Recently, eastern and western scholars have begun discussing how to apply the wisdom of I‐Ching to the field of business administration, particularly decision‐making practices.

A content analysis method was adopted to uncover possible modern management decision‐making constructs. The single words approach did not find frequently appearing words that integrated decision‐making constructs in the context of I‐Ching. Further uncovering I‐Ching's administrative decision‐making approach, the managerial decision‐making model of I‐Ching is explained, including the premises, the decision contingencies, and the decision process.

By using an academic comparative analysis method, as it applies to managerial decision making, I‐Ching's early management decision‐making model is subsequently compared with western management decision models, which include rational decision making, bounded‐rationality decision making, intuitive decision making, implicit favorite decision making, and garbage‐can decision making.

The majority of scholars that study I‐Ching focus on “practice divination” research, paying attention to the interpretation or critique of the text only. Unfortunately, related literature based upon a social science research foundation is limited.

The value of I‐Ching was determined to lie in allowing flexibility in the decision‐making process.

The Yao Yao Social Group was set up three years ago to tackle the social isolation of people from London's Chinese community who have mental health problems. The group provides a safe environment where people can feel comfortable and speak their mother tongue, and participate in a wide range of activities and outings. Jason Chan, Wilson Wong, Man Lee and Dien Luu describe the group and what it means to them.

This chapter outlines the philosophic underpinnings of the self-management paradigm developed over the past three decades by China’s Haier Group, a global leader in white goods. The successful transformation of Haier from a small resource-poor firm to a dominant global giant is often attributed to the self-management culture established in the company by its legendary leader Zhang Ruimin. This management paradigm is a function of the humbleness displayed by Mr. Zhang Ruimin and rooted in his strong belief in the traditional Chinese philosophy of I-Ching and Daoism. We show how the hexagram of Qian (“qian”: humbleness, modesty) from I-Ching is linked to Mr. Zhang’s humble approach and analyze how the six parts of the hexagram of Qian are related to the six development stages of the Haier Group. These insights are used to give some thoughts to the leadership challenge associated with the creation of a dynamic and responsive global organization.

Maneno mengi yanayohusu haki za binadamu na haki za kiteknolojia hayajatafsiriwa katika lugha ya Kiswahili. Kwa hivyo, wataalamu wa teknolojia na watetezi wa haki za kidijitali hutumia maneno ya Kiingereza – hata bila utohozi – wanapozungumzia haki za kiteknolojia. Hali hii ya mambo inachangia udhoofu fulani katika utetezi wa haki za kidijitali kwani wanaojaribu kueleza jamii umuhimu wa haki hizi hulazimishwa kutegemea msamiati wa Kiingereza usiyo na msingi au viungo na lugha ya Kiswahili Katika makala hii, tutazungumzia umuhimu wa kukaribisha watu kutumia lugha za Kiafrika kwenye mtandao.

Kiswahili ni lugha ya Kiafrika inayozungumzwa katika eneo zaidi sana duniani. Karibu watu milioni mia moja na arobaini Afrika mashariki wanazungumza Kiswahili kama lugha yao ya kwanza au ya pili, miongoni mwao Wakenya na Watanzania, wenyeji wa nchi ambamo Kiswahili ni lugha ya kitaifa. Tena kuna historia ndefu ya kutumiwa kwa lugha ya Kiswahili katika uandishi, uchapishaji na ubunifu wa utamaduni wa kisasa. Kiswahili pekee yake ndiyo lugha ya asili ya Kiafrika inayotumika kama lugha ya maalum ya Umoja wa Mataifa za Kiafrika. Hata hivyo, kwa upande wa matumizi ya Kiswahili, hasa kwenye mada ya teknolojia, Kiswahili imewachwa nyuma.

Zaidi ya maneno rasmi, uwepo wa lugha za Kiafrika ni muhimu kuimarisha jumuiya za Kiafrika mtandaoni kwani lugha inalenga sana haki na utambulisho wa watu. Miradi za kutafsiri maneno za kiteknolojia katika lugha ya Kiswahili inahimiza jumuiya za Afrika Mashariki kuunda jamii inayosimamia matakwa yao vyema. Makala hii basi inazingatia umuhimu wa lugha kwenye kuunda jamii na katika hatua za kuondoa mbinu za kikoloni mtandaoni ili wenyeji wa Afrika Mashariki wajione mtandaoni kwa ujumla wao wote. Makala pia itazingatia semiotiki ya lugha katika ubunifu wa teknolojia, na umuhimu wa kutafsiri jamii ya lugha ya Kiswahili katika harakati za kuondoa ukoloni katika ubunifu huu. Lakini sio tu kwamba lugha ya Kiswahili ndio pekee inayoweza kuondoa mbinu za kikoloni mtandaoni, kwani pia lugha hiyo ina ishara za kutawalwa kwa jamii fulani. Bali makala hii inatumia mfano wa Kiswahili kuhimiza utumiaji wa lugha za kiasili au za kimama mtandaoni ili kulinda mustakabali wa kidijitali wa umma.

Umuhimu wa makala hii ni kuashiria jipya umuhimu wa lugha katika harakati za kuendeleza haki za kidijitali na hasa kuondoa mbinu za kikoloni kwenye teknolojia, swala lisilowahijadiliwa katika lugha ya Kiswahili.

Time pressure is the most common kind of work pressure that employees face in the workplace; the existing research results on the effect of time pressure are highly controversial (positive, negative, inverted U-shaped). Especially in the era of knowledge economy, there remains a research gap in the impact of time pressure on individual knowledge hiding. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of different time pressure (challenge and hindrance) on knowledge hiding and to explain why there is controversy about the effect of time pressure in the academics.

The authors collected two waves of data and surveyed 341 R&D employees in China. Moreover, they used regression analysis, bootstrapping and Johnson–Neyman statistical technique to verify research hypotheses.

The results show that challenge time pressure (CTP) has a significant negative effect on knowledge hiding, whereas hindrance time pressure (HTP) has a significant positive effect on knowledge hiding; job security mediates the relationship between time pressure and knowledge hiding; temporal leadership strengthen the positive impact of CTP on job security; temporal leadership can mitigate the negative impact of HTP on job security.

The findings not only respond to the academic debate about the effect of time pressure and point out the reasons for the controversy but also enhance the scholars’ attention and understanding of the internal mechanism between time pressure and knowledge hiding.

A semiparametric stochastic frontier model is proposed for panel data, incorporating several flexible features. First, a constant elasticity of substitution (CES) production frontier is considered without log-transformation to prevent induced non-negligible estimation bias. Second, the model flexibility is improved via semiparameterization, where the technology is an unknown function of a set of environment variables. The technology function accounts for latent heterogeneity across individual units, which can be freely correlated with inputs, environment variables, and/or inefficiency determinants. Furthermore, the technology function incorporates a single-index structure to circumvent the curse of dimensionality. Third, distributional assumptions are eschewed on both stochastic noise and inefficiency for model identification. Instead, only the conditional mean of the inefficiency is assumed, which depends on related determinants with a wide range of choice, via a positive parametric function. As a result, technical efficiency is constructed without relying on an assumed distribution on composite error. The model provides flexible structures on both the production frontier and inefficiency, thereby alleviating the risk of model misspecification in production and efficiency analysis. The estimator involves a series based nonlinear least squares estimation for the unknown parameters and a kernel based local estimation for the technology function. Promising finite-sample performance is demonstrated through simulations, and the model is applied to investigate productive efficiency among OECD countries from 1970–2019.

The aim of this paper is to present the rationale, a numerical example and a case study of the application of an algorithm to convert non‐calendar based preventive maintenance (PM) schedules into calendar‐time format for semiconductor manufacturing systems (SMS). The resulting calendar‐time PM schedules can be utilized as a baseline within a PM scheduling optimization process.

The algorithm utilizes estimations of work‐in‐process (WIP) and system parameters to estimate an equivalent calendar‐time schedule for PM schedules based on different units. A numerical example based on fictitious data illustrates the utilization of the conversion algorithm within a mixed PM scheduling scenario, including wafer, processing‐time and energy‐based PM tasks for multi‐chamber tools. In addition, a case study illustrates the accuracy of the algorithm by comparing estimated PM targets (i.e. due, warning and late dates) with historical data from a real semiconductor fabrication facility.

Results from the case study validated the conversion algorithm by showing accurate estimations of PM targets (i.e. due, warning and late dates). The accuracy of the algorithm depends, however, on good estimates for WIP levels within the planning horizon.

The conversion algorithm may be utilized not only in SMS but also in other industries that require the conversion of non‐calendar based PM schedules into calendar‐time format for PM optimization and operational purposes.

Based on the error analysis, the authors proposed a new kind of high accuracy boundary element method (BEM) (HABEM), and for the large-scale problems, the fast algorithm, such as adaptive cross approximation (ACA) with generalized minimal residual (GMRES) is introduced to develop the high performance BEM (HPBEM). It is found that for slender beams, the stress analysis using iterative solver GMRES will difficult to converge. For the analysis of slender beams and thin structures, to enhance the efficiency of GMRES solver becomes a key problem in the development of the HPBEM. The purpose of this paper is study on the preconditioning method to solve this convergence problem, and it is started from the 2D BE analysis of slender beams.

The conventional sparse approximate inverse (SAI) based on adjacent nodes is modified to that based on adjacent nodes along the boundary line. In addition, the authors proposed a dual node variable merging (DNVM) preprocessing for slender thin-plate beams. As benchmark problems, the pure bending of thin-plate beam and the local stress analysis (LSA) of real thin-plate cantilever beam are applied to verify the effect of these two preconditioning method.

For the LSA of real thin-plate cantilever beams, as GMRES (m) without preconditioning applied, it is difficult to converge provided the length to height ratio greater than 50. Even with the preconditioner SAI or DNVM, it is also difficult to obtain the converged results. For the slender real beams, the iteration of GMRES (m) with SAI or DNVM stopped at wrong deformation state, and the computation failed. By changing zero initial solution to the analytical displacement solution of conventional beam theory, GMRES (m) with SAI or DNVM will not be stopped at wrong deformation state, but the stress error is still difficult to converge. However, by GMRES (m) combined with both SAI and DNVM preconditioning, the computation efficiency enhanced significantly.

This paper presents two preconditioners: DNVM and a modified SAI based on adjacent nodes along the boundary line of slender thin-plate beam. In the LSA, by using GMRES (m) combined with both DNVM and SAI, the computation efficiency enhanced significantly. It provides a reference for the further development of the 3D HPBEM in the LSA of real beam, plate and shell structures.

This paper aims to analyze the morphology transformation on the Cu₃Sn grains during the formation of full Cu₃Sn solder joints in electronic packaging.

Because of the infeasibility of analyzing the morphology transformation intuitively, a novel equivalent method is used. The morphology transformation on the Cu₃Sn grains, during the formation of full Cu₃Sn solder joints, is regarded as equivalent to the morphology transformation on the Cu₃Sn grains derived from the Cu/Sn structures with different Sn thickness.

During soldering, the Cu₃Sn grains first grew in the fine equiaxial shape in a ripening process until the critical size. Under the critical size, the Cu₃Sn grains were changed from the equiaxial shape to the columnar shape. Moreover, the columnar Cu₃Sn grains could be divided into different clusters with different growth directions. With the proceeding of soldering, the columnar Cu₃Sn grains continued to grow in a feather of the width growing at a greater extent than the length. With the growth of the columnar Cu₃Sn grains, adjacent Cu₃Sn grains, within each cluster, merged with each other. Next, the merged columnar Cu₃Sn grains, within each cluster, continued to merge with each other. Finally, the columnar Cu₃Sn grains, within each cluster, merged into one coarse columnar Cu₃Sn grain with the formation of full Cu₃Sn solder joints. The detailed mechanism, for the very interesting morphology transformation, has been proposed.

Few researchers focused on the morphology transformation of interfacial phases during the formation of full intermetallic compounds joints. To bridge the research gap, the morphology transformation on the Cu₃Sn grains during the formation of full Cu₃Sn solder joints has been studied for the first time.