Conceptual design of equipment to excavate and transport regolith from the lunar maria

NASA hopes to have a manned lunar outpost completed by 2005. In order to establish the base, regolith must be excavated from the lunar surface. Regolith will be used as a source for life-supporting elements and as radiation shielding for the lunar outpost. The design team from the University of Texas at Austin designed excavation and transportation equipment for initial operations of the lunar base. The design team also characterized the elements to be found in the regolith and determined the power required to excavate regolith. The characterization of the soil was based on a literature review of lunar geography. Power requirements for excavation were developed by adapting terrestrial equations for excavation power requirements and adapting them to lunar soil conditions. The design of the excavation and transportation equipment was broken into three functions: loosing, collecting, and transporting. A scarifier was selected to loosen, a bucket was selected to collect, and a load-haul system was selected to transport. The functions are powered by a modular fuel cell powered vehicle that provides power for motion of the equipment

A Technique to Address Peritoneal Dialysis Catheter Malfunction

Malpositioned peritoneal dialysis catheters may be repositioned laparoscopically with a testicular prosthesis used as an anchoring weight

Openness to Technological Innovation, Supply Chain Resilience, and Operational Performance: Exploring the Role of Information Processing Capabilities

Increasing volatility in the global economy since the 2009 financial crisis, including the USA–China trade war and recent COVID-19 outbreak, has compelled businesses to build resilience to respond quickly to unexpected disruptions. Consistent with organizational information processing theory (OIPT), we posit that openness to technological innovation helps to build information processing capabilities (i.e., interfunctional coordination and interpartner informational justice), which are required to build supply chain resilience (SCR) and improve performance. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze survey data gathered from 241 Chinese manufacturers. The results reveal interfunctional coordination and interpartner informational justice fully mediate the relationship between openness to technological innovation and SCR, and information processing capabilities and SCR are significantly and positively associated with operational performance. This article extends OIPT by elucidating the role of openness to technological innovation and enhances the SCR literature by providing empirical evidence of the important roles for information processing capabilities. The findings provide a unique information processing perspective to help managers broaden their solutions against disruptive events, and thus avoid or minimize potential negative impacts on firms

Modern slavery supply chain capabilities: the effects of Blockchain technology and employees’ digital dexterity

© 2024, [Emerald]. This is an author produced version of a paper published in International Journal of Operations & Production Management uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self- archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at the link. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it

Innovativeness and lean practices for triple bottom line:Testing of fit-as-mediation versus fit-as-moderation models

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the fit between innovativeness and lean practices (LPs) can affect triple bottom line (TBL) performance. Two types of fit are tested: fit-as-mediation in which innovativeness creates TBL performance through the mediation of LPs and fit-as-moderation whereby the effects of innovativeness on TBL performance are moderated by LPs. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modelling and moderated regression are used to test the fit-as-mediation and fit-as-moderation models using survey data collected from 241 manufacturers in China. Findings The results show that innovativeness is positively associated with LPs that emphasize operational excellence. Innovativeness indirectly affects all three TBL dimensions through the mediation of LPs, and LPs do not moderate the effects of innovativeness. The applicability of fit-as-mediation model suggests directing attention towards integrating innovation and LPs within same organizational units to achieve improved TBL performance. Practical implications The findings suggest manufacturers should involve employees within the same organizational unit embrace an integrated culture of innovativeness and LPs and avoid separate attention to innovativeness and LPs. Originality/value This is the first study of which the authors are aware developing and empirically testing both fit-as-mediation and fit-as-moderation models within the same study to understand how innovativeness and LPs work together to influence TBL performance. This study extends the boundaries of current understanding by examining how, when and why the innovativeness – LPs–TBL relationship arises between constructs central to our theories

Does digitalization enhance the effects of lean production on social performance?

© 2024, [Emerald]. This is an author produced version of a paper published in International Journal of Operations & Production Management uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self- archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at the link. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it

Analysis of Ares 1 Ascent Navigation Options

The paper documents a collaborative analysis of ascent Navigation options for the Ares 1 launch vehicle by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and the C. S. Draper Laboratory. The objective of the work was the development of a Navigation concept and supporting requirements which meet the Ares 1 accuracy specification in a manner which is straightforward, reliable, and cost effective. Six primary Navigation architectures were considered. In each case analysis was performed to determine under what conditions the required accuracy at second stage cutoff could be achieved. Those architectures which met the accuracy requirements were then assessed in terms of cost, complexity, and reliability to determine a baseline Navigation approach and the primary supporting requirements