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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 14 June 2021

Vennan Sibanda, Khumbulani Mpofu and John Trimble

In manufacturing, dedicated machine tools and flexible machine tools are failing to satisfy the ever-changing manufacturing demands of short life cycles and dynamic nature of…

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Abstract

Purpose

In manufacturing, dedicated machine tools and flexible machine tools are failing to satisfy the ever-changing manufacturing demands of short life cycles and dynamic nature of products. These machines are limited when new product designs are introduced. The solution lies in developing responsive machines that can be adjusted or be changed functionally when these change requirements arise. These machines are reconfigurable machines which are becoming the new focus, as they rapidly respond to product variety and volume changes. A sheet metal working machine known as a reconfigurable guillotine shear and bending press machine (RGS&BPM) has been developed. The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology, function-oriented design approach (FODA), which was developed for the design of the RGS&BPM.

Design/methodology/approach

The design of the machine is based on the six principles of reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMSs), namely, modularity, scalability integrability, convertibility, diagnosability and customisability. The methodology seeks to optimise the design process of the RGS&BPM through a design of modules that make up the machine, enable its conversion and reconfiguration. The FODA is focussed on function identification to select the operational function required. Two main functions are recognised for the machine, these being cutting and bending; hence, the design revolves around these two and reconfigurability.

Findings

The developed design methodology was tested in the design of a prototype for the reconfigurable guillotine shear and bending press machine. The prototype is currently being manufactured and will be subjected to functional tests once completed. This paper is being presented not only to present the methodology by to show and highlight its practical applicability, as the prototype manufacturers have been enthusiastic about this new approach.

Research limitations/implications

The research was limited to the design methodology for the RGS&BPM, the machine which has been designed to completion using this methodology, with prototype being manufactured.

Practical implications

This study presents critical steps and considerations in the development of reconfigurable machines. The main thrust being to explore the best possibility of developing the machines with dual functionality that will assist in availing the technology to manufacturer. As the machine has been development, the success of the design can be directly attributed to the FODA methodology, among other contributing factors. It also highlights the significance of the principles of RMS in reconfigurable machine design.

Social implications

The RGS&BM machine is an answer for the small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), as the machine replaces two machines with one, and the methodology ensures its affordable design. It contributes immensely to the machine availability by eliminating trial and error approaches.

Originality/value

This study presents a new approach to the design of reconfigurable dual machines using principles of RMS. As the targeted market is the SME, it is not limited to that as any entrepreneur may use the machine to their advantage. The design methodology presented contributes to the body of knowledge in dual reconfigurable machine tool design.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology , vol. 19 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 December 2020

Yong Liu

In retrospectives on Brunei’s first feature film Gema Dari Menara (1968), commentators have tended to focus on either its historical representation of Brunei’s booming post-curfew…

Abstract

In retrospectives on Brunei’s first feature film Gema Dari Menara (1968), commentators have tended to focus on either its historical representation of Brunei’s booming post-curfew years in the late 1960s as ‘a time capsule of Brunei’s lost pop history’, or the film’s propagandistic nature for Da’wah (religious propagation). In this paper, however, I will concentrate my observations on the aesthetic values of the film itself, including the narrative structure, plot design, camerawork, characterisation and character relationships, as well as the resulting artistic effects manifested by these production elements as a whole.

Putting all the propagandistic elements aside, I would like to argue that Gema Dari Menara, as a family melodrama, is carefully constructed and propelled by the above-mentioned filmmaking techniques. The drama not only tells the story of an intense familial conflict revolving around the theme of faith rooted in the Bruneian tradition, it also implies the necessity of an internal negotiation between the predominant Islamic ideology and the increasingly secularised Bruneian civil society at the time. While the implied negotiation may have been unintended or subconscious in the original making of the film, it is well-balanced and reflective of the political and social reality of Brunei as a British Protectorate in the late 1960s, foreshadowing the current coexistent status quo of the dominance and sacredness of MIB and the secular popular culture in Brunei.

Details

Southeast Asia: A Multidisciplinary Journal, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1819-5091

Abstract

Details

Sameness and Repetition in Contemporary Media Culture
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-955-0

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 June 2018

Maryjane Nolan-Bock

This study examines the perspectives of adjunct (short-term contract) faculty teaching at offshore branch campuses in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The rise of the global adjunct…

Abstract

This study examines the perspectives of adjunct (short-term contract) faculty teaching at offshore branch campuses in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The rise of the global adjunct labor class and the expansion of universities to overseas markets in the form of branch campuses are just two examples of the extension of neoliberal and consumerist ideology to higher education. While the problems of implementing corporate-style practice and policy in higher education is much critiqued in the literature, this research centers on the intersection of the two issues just mentioned. The primary motivations for undertaking this study were to explore a) branch campus adjuncts’ perceptions of being connected to their university community, and b) the possible impact of their labor conditions on pedagogical conditions. Five adjuncts from four separate branch campuses were interviewed, and the semi-structured interviews analyzed using a critical discourse analysis approach. The findings revealed that the adjuncts often felt isolated from their branch campus and considered themselves to be carrying out the educational mission of the home campus despite having no contractual relationship with the home campus. I argue that the working conditions of the adjuncts have a negative impact on teaching experience and, to a degree, on pedagogy. A more formalized employment relationship between branch campus adjuncts and the home campus is recommended, as well as the provision of professional development and research engagement opportunities for adjuncts.

ﺗﺑﺣ ث ھذه اﻟ د ر ا ﺳ ﺔ ﻓ ﻲ وﺟ ﮭﺎ ت ﻧ ظ ر اﻟ ﻣد ر ﺳ ﯾ ن اﻟ ﻣﻠ ﺣ ﻘﯾ ن ﻓ ﻲ ﻓ ر وع اﻟ ﺟ ﺎ ﻣﻌﺎ ت ﻓ ﻲ دﺑﻲ ، اﻹﻣﺎ را ت اﻟ ﻌرﺑﯾﺔ اﻟ ﻣﺗ ﺣدة. إ ن ﺻ ﻌود اﻟ طﺑﻘﺔ اﻟﻌﺎ ﻣﻠ ﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻟ ﻣﯾ ﺔ اﻟﻣﻠ ﺣ ﻘﺔ و ﺗ و ﺳ ﻊ اﻟﺟ ﺎ ﻣﻌﺎ ت إﻟﻰ ا ﻷ ﺳ و ا ق اﻟﺧ ﺎ ر ﺟ ﯾ ﺔ ﻓ ﻲ ﺷ ﻛ ل ﻓ ر و ع ﺟ ﺎ ﻣﻌﯾ ﺔ ﻟﯾ ﺳ ت ﺳ و ى ﻣﺛﺎﻟﯾ ن ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ ا ﻣﺗدا د ا ﻹ ﯾدﯾ و ﻟ و ﺟ ﯾ ﺔ اﻟ ﻧﯾ و ﻟﯾﺑ ر اﻟﯾ ﺔ و ا ﻻ ﺳ ﺗ ﮭ ﻼ ﻛﯾ ﺔ إﻟ ﻰ اﻟﺗ ﻌﻠﯾم اﻟ ﻌﺎﻟ ﻲ. ﻋﻠ ﻰ اﻟ رﻏم ﻣ ن أ ن ﻣ ﺷﻛﻠ ﺔ ﺗ طﺑﯾ ق ﻣﻣﺎ رﺳﺎ ت وﺳﯾﺎ ﺳﺎ ت اﻟﻧ ﻣ ط اﻟﺗ ﺟﺎ ر ي ﻓ ﻲ اﻟﺗ ﻌﻠﯾم اﻟ ﻌﺎﻟ ﻲ ﻗد ﺗ ﻌر ﺿ ت ﻟﻧﻘد ﻛﺑﯾ ر ﻓ ﻲ اﻷدﺑﯾﺎ ت، ﻓﺈن ھذا اﻟﺑ ﺣ ث ﯾ رﻛز ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ ﺗﻘﺎط ﻊ اﻟ ﻣﺛﺎﻟﯾ ن اﻟ ﻣو ﺻ وﻓﯾ ن . ﻛﺎﻧ ت اﻟ دواﻓ ﻊ اﻟ رﺋﯾ ﺳ ﯾ ﺔ ﻹ ﺟ را ء ھذه اﻟد ر ا ﺳ ﺔ ھ ﻲ ا ﺳ ﺗ ﻛ ﺷ ﺎ ف 1 ( ﻣﻔﺎ ھﯾم ﻣﻠ ﺣﻘ ﻲ ﻓ روع اﻟﺟ ﺎ ﻣﻌﺎ ت ﻟ ﻛوﻧﮭم ﻣرﺗ ﺑ طﯾ ن ﺑ ﻣ ﺟﺗ ﻣﻊ اﻟﺟ ﺎ ﻣﻌﺔ؛ 2 ( ﻣﺎ ﺗﺄﺛﯾ ر ظرو ف ﻋﻣﻠ ﮭم ﻋﻠ ﻰ اﻟظ ر و ف اﻟ ﺗ ر ﺑ و ﯾ ﺔ. ﻟ ﺟ ﻣﻊ اﻟ ﺑﯾﺎﻧﺎ ت ، أﺟرﯾ ت ﻣﻘﺎﺑ ﻼت ﻣﻊ ﺧﻣ ﺳﺔ ﻣدرﺳﯾ ن ﻣﻠ ﺣﻘﯾ ن ﻣ ن أ رﺑ ﻌﺔ ﻓ روع ﺟﺎ ﻣﻌﯾ ﺔ ﻣﻧﻔ ﺻ ﻠ ﺔ. ﺗم ﺗ ﺣﻠﯾ ل اﻟ ﻣﻘﺎﺑ ﻼ ت ﺷﺑ ﮫ اﻟ ﻣﻧ ظﻣﺔ ﺑﺎﺳﺗ ﺧدام ﻣﻧﮭ ﺞ ﺗ ﺣﻠﯾ ل اﻟ ﺧطﺎ ب اﻟﻧﻘد ي. وﻛ ﺷﻔ ت اﻟﻧﺗﺎﺋ ﺞ أ ن اﻟ ﻣﻠ ﺣﻘﯾ ن ﻏﺎ ﻟ ﺑًﺎ ﻣ ﺎ ﺷ ﻌ ر و ا ﺑ ﺎ ﻟ ﻌ ز ﻟ ﺔ ﻋ ن ﺣ ر ﻣ ﮭ م ا ﻟ ﺟ ﺎ ﻣ ﻌ ﻲ وا ﻋﺗﺑ روا أﻧﻔ ﺳﮭم ﯾﻧﻔذون اﻟ ﻣﮭﻣﺔ اﻟﺗ ﻌﻠﯾ ﻣﯾ ﺔ ﻟﻠ ﺣرم اﻟ ﺟﺎ ﻣﻌ ﻲ اﻟ ﻣ ﺣﻠ ﻲ رﻏم ﻋدم وﺟود ﻋﻼﻗﺔ ﺗ ﻌﺎﻗدﯾ ﺔ ﻟ ﮭم دا ﺧل اﻟ ﺣرم اﻟ ﺟﺎ ﻣﻌ ﻲ. أﻧﺎ أ زﻋم أن ظرو ف ﻋﻣ ل اﻟ ﻣﻠ ﺣﻘﯾ ن ﻟ ﮭﺎ ﺗﺄﺛﯾ ر ﺳﻠﺑ ﻲ ﻋﻠ ﻰ ﻣﻣﺎ رﺳﺔ اﻟﺗد رﯾ س . ﺗ و ﺻ ﻲ اﻟ د را ﺳﺔ ﺑ ﺧﻠ ق ﻋﻼﻗﺔ ﺗ و ظﯾ ف أ ﻛﺛ ر رﺳﻣﯾﺔ ﺑﯾ ن اﻟ ﻣﻠ ﺣﻘﯾ ن ﻓ ﻲ اﻟﺣ ر م اﻟﺟ ﺎ ﻣﻌ ﻲ اﻟﻔ ر ﻋ ﻲ و اﻟﺣ ر م اﻟ ﺟ ﺎ ﻣﻌ ﻲ اﻟدا ﺧ ﻠ ﻲ ، ﺑﺎﻹ ﺿ ﺎﻓﺔ إﻟ ﻰ ﺗ وﻓﯾ ر ﻓ ر ص اﻟﺗ ط وﯾ ر اﻟ ﻣﮭﻧ ﻲ واﻟﺑ ﺣ ث ﻟﻠ ﻣ ﺷ ﺎ ر ﻛﺔ ﻟﻠ ﻣد ر ﺳ ﯾ ن اﻟ ﻣﻠ ﺣ ﻘﯾ ن .

Details

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2077-5504

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 February 2020

Brian T. Ratchford

The purpose of this study is to determine what the history of research in marketing implies for the reaction of the field to recent developments in technology due to the internet…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine what the history of research in marketing implies for the reaction of the field to recent developments in technology due to the internet and associated developments.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper examines the introduction of new research topics over 10-year intervals from 1960 to the present. These provide the basic body of knowledge that drives the field at the present time.

Findings

While researchers have always borrowed techniques, they have refined them to make them applicable to marketing problems. Moreover, the field has always responded to new developments in technology, such as more powerful computers, scanners and scanner data, and the internet with a flurry of research that applies the technologies.

Research limitations/implications

Marketing will adapt to changes brought on by the internet, increased computer power and big data. While the field faces competition for other disciplines, its established body of knowledge about solving marketing problems gives it a unique advantage.

Originality/value

This paper traces the history of academic marketing from 1960 to the present to show how major changes in the field responded to changes in computer power and technology. It also derives implications for the future from this analysis.

Propósito

El objetivo de este estudio es examinar qué implica la historia de la investigación académica en marketing en la reacción del campo de conocimiento a los recientes desarrollos tecnológicos como consecuencia de la irrupción de Internet.

Metodología

Esta investigación analiza la introducción de nuevos temas de investigación en intervalos de diez años desde 1960 hasta la actualidad. Estos periodos proporcionan el cuerpo de conocimiento básico que conduce al ámbito del marketing hasta el presente.

Hallazgos

Aunque los investigadores tradicionalmente han tomado prestadas ciertas técnicas, las han ido refinando para aplicarlas a los problemas de marketing. Además, el ámbito del marketing siempre ha respondido a los nuevos desarrollos tecnológicos, más poder de computación, datos de escáner o el desarrollo de Internet, con un amplio número de investigaciones aplicando tales tecnologías.

Implicaciones

El marketing se adaptará a los cambios provocados por Internet, aumentando el poder de computación y el big data. Aunque el marketing se enfrenta a la competencia de otras disciplinas, su sólido cuerpo de conocimiento orientado a la resolución de problemas le otorga una ventaja diferencial única.

Valor

Describe la historia académica del marketing desde 1960 hasta la actualidad, para mostrar cómo los principales cambios en este campo respondieron a los cambios tecnológicos. Se derivan interesantes implicaciones para el futuro.

Palabras clave

Historia, Revisión, Cambio, Tecnología, Conocimiento, Internet, Datos, Métodos

Tipo de artículo

Revisión general

Details

Spanish Journal of Marketing - ESIC, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2444-9709

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 July 2023

Joacim Hansson

In this article, the author discusses works from the French Documentation Movement in the 1940s and 1950s with regard to how it formulates bibliographic classification systems as…

Abstract

Purpose

In this article, the author discusses works from the French Documentation Movement in the 1940s and 1950s with regard to how it formulates bibliographic classification systems as documents. Significant writings by Suzanne Briet, Éric de Grolier and Robert Pagès are analyzed in the light of current document-theoretical concepts and discussions.

Design/methodology/approach

Conceptual analysis.

Findings

The French Documentation Movement provided a rich intellectual environment in the late 1940s and early 1950s, resulting in original works on documents and the ways these may be represented bibliographically. These works display a variety of approaches from object-oriented description to notational concept-synthesis, and definitions of classification systems as isomorph documents at the center of politically informed critique of modern society.

Originality/value

The article brings together historical and conceptual elements in the analysis which have not previously been combined in Library and Information Science literature. In the analysis, the article discusses significant contributions to classification and document theory that hitherto have eluded attention from the wider international Library and Information Science research community. Through this, the article contributes to the currently ongoing conceptual discussion on documents and documentality.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 August 2019

Fredrik Ralf Nilsson

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on how perspectives and assumptions embedded in the complexity paradigm contribute to make logistics management research better aligned…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on how perspectives and assumptions embedded in the complexity paradigm contribute to make logistics management research better aligned with real-life logistics. This is necessary, due to increasing supply chain complexity caused by an increasing request for sustainable development (SD).

Design/methodology/approach

The research is exploratory and based on a narrative literature review of logistics and supply chain management (SCM) from a complexity science perspective. Qualitative research interviews have been conducted with 12 logistics and supply chain managers in international companies and have focussed on their daily experiences and the underlying assumptions related to their actual work.

Findings

Logistics and SCM research is embedded in the functionalistic paradigm with reductionistic assumptions as the dominant logic. These do not sufficiently align with the complexity related, for example, to the daily work of SD in logistics management practice.

Research limitations/implications

It is proposed that the inclusion of complexity-based assumptions in logistics management research can increase realism in the advancement of the discipline. A key result is that the recognition of logistics as complex means inclusion of human and social aspects – which is apparent in any logistics process or phenomenon – in logistics knowledge creation processes.

Practical implications

Increased realism in logistics management research by addressing complexity, instead of merely reducing it, will provide logistics and supply chain managers with increased understanding and appropriate knowledge when they deal with emerging challenges such as SD.

Originality/value

Based on Boulding’s levels of complexity, this paper challenges the underlying assumptions of logistics management in research and practice, and provides reflective frameworks for advancing the discipline and aligning it to the complexity of contemporary challenges in logistics management.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 April 2021

Yang-Hee Kim

This paper aims at exploring the interactions between Japan's export curbs against Korea, dubbed as “weaponized interdependence,” and Korea's decoupling from Japan' phenomenon in…

2240

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims at exploring the interactions between Japan's export curbs against Korea, dubbed as “weaponized interdependence,” and Korea's decoupling from Japan' phenomenon in response. Thereby, it sheds light on the characteristics of the semiconductor industry, where the two economies' effective division of labor takes place. In addition, it attempts to typology the “decoupling from Japan” into two types. Furthermore, it deals with the political-economic implications of bilateral trade disputes and projects in the future.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper segregates the economic concept of “decoupling” into “decoupling from Japan” and “decoupling from Japanese firms” to better analyze the related phenomenon that occurred in Korea in response to the Japanese government's export restrictions in 2019. Along with it, the paper attempts to observe the trade dispute between Korea-Japan from a political-economic point of view.

Findings

The main findings are: First, Korea's decoupling from Japan' does not necessarily mean “decoupling from Japanese firms”. When Korean firms had to decouple from Japan due to non-economic factors, some has circumvented the decoupling to maintain economic ties with Japanese firms in the market, stemming from long-term transaction relationships in the semiconductor industry. Second, the two countries were confronted in a modest manner, even though they seemed to be fighting like a fierce tit-for-tat chicken game as those economies are interdependent with one another. Hence, both put effort to avoid sober damages or disruptive results on two economies and the global semiconductor supply chain.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper is to typologize the characteristics of “decoupling from Japan” in Korea by segregating it into two types of decoupling. On the other hand, other previous studies appeal to focus on the decoupling phenomenon per se and are interested in its potential for success.

Details

International Trade, Politics and Development, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2586-3932

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 10 June 2020

Ramy Magdy

This paper aims to explore John Mbiti’s concept of African time in line with the studies on the crisis of the post-independence African state. Then, how this concept offers new…

2408

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore John Mbiti’s concept of African time in line with the studies on the crisis of the post-independence African state. Then, how this concept offers new analytical spaces for understanding the modern nation-states inconveniences in African contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper analyses the Mbitian African concept of time in light of the works on post-independence African state and communalism.

Findings

By using the Mbitian concept of time politically after explaining African communalism and African concepts of personhood and destiny, the paper reached a conclusion. This conclusion claims that due to the highly existential nature of the African concept of destiny and the past-oriented feature of the African concept of time, Africans cannot be restrained by any supernatural claim or any futuristic promises that are irrelevant to their context and cut from the communal values of ancestral past. Africans do not think supernaturally or bet for the future. However, those futuristic and supernatural claims that cannot restrain the African subjectivity – ironically – characterize the modern nation state with its “progress orientation” and “social-contract” metaphysics. Unfortunately, this radical difference in perceptions between the past-oriented African temporality and the future-oriented modern state temporality rendered the post-independence. African state dysfunctional and unable to operate as a medium for authority. This, consequently, opened the door for informal conflict and strife.

Originality/value

The paper is novel with regard to offering a new theory on the conceptual problems of the nation state in African contexts.

Details

Review of Economics and Political Science, vol. 5 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2356-9980

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 March 2021

Jelle Koolwijk, Clarine van Oel and Mirjam Bel

To explore how and why the social structures of strategic partnerships are shaped by actors and how these interrelate with a team's interpersonal relationships over time. Grasping…

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Abstract

Purpose

To explore how and why the social structures of strategic partnerships are shaped by actors and how these interrelate with a team's interpersonal relationships over time. Grasping the complexity of this interplay is essential if we want to comprehend what actually goes on in these partnerships and understand why actors often disengage from them.

Design/methodology/approach

In three cases, 14 in-depth interviews were held with knowledgeable actors about important events and activities that influenced the relationships between partners. Interview data were triangulated with journals kept by the lead author, who participated as an engaged scholar in the three cases. Because this study took an interdisciplinary approach, new insights could evolve from the multi-level analysis.

Findings

Trust has a moderating effect on the relation between open-book accounting and the degree of control a dominant party wants to exercise. When the level of control is raised, this can signal distrust to the other partners, which can harm the relationship. When partners feel more dependent on each other's capabilities to reach their long-term goals, the parties seem to be less likely to put the blame on one of the partners in the case of undesirable events.

Practical implications

Managers should be aware of their power position and acknowledge the effects of power on their relationships. If long-term and close collaboration does not emerge in their partnership, it may be due to how they use their power position.

Originality/value

Thanks to the interdisciplinary approach, this is the first study that shows the significance of trust and power in maintaining strategic partnerships in the construction industry, and how trust can affect the financial rules of actors.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

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