Special Topic Forum on Supply Chain Management in Emerging Markets: Critical Research Issues

Spurred by the rapid development of international markets, w enhanced ease of communications and rapidly developing infrastructure, supply chains that transcend national boundaries have become standard in today's dynamic global environment, causing a number of critical research issues to emerge. The importance of such issues is intensified when considered in the unique environment faced by supply chains in emerging economies, such as Brazil, Russia, India and China. Traditional supply chain management practices may be ineffective, due to the unique characteristics of supply chains in emerging economies or that span developed and emerging economies. In this special topic forum, we seek high quality conceptual and empirical research that addresses critical research issues related to managing supply chains in emerging economies. Conceptual papers should draw upon and extend existing theoretical foundations, developing models and propositions for future research. Empirical research studies that employ survey methodology, structured case research, secondary data analysis, controlled experiments and other empirical approaches are welcomed. In line with JSCM's mission statement, authors must clearly identify how their work extends or contributes to theory relating to global supply chain management, as well as providing implications for practice

Ventilation Structure Improvement of Air-cooled Induction Motor Using Multiphysics Simulations

 Optimal design of large induction motor is a process that involves electrical and mechanical skills as well as thermal and fluid dynamic skills. For recent machine layouts, one cannot rely on standard analysis methods. In multiphysics simulations which are done by weak coupling finite-element method, rotation boundary values on interface between air gap and rotor cannot be applied directly for fluid-dynamical analysis. A novel multi-component fluid method is proposed to deal with the influence of rotor rotation upon the air convection. This paper investigates a 3-D multi-physics simulation used in simulation of temperature distribution in air-cooled induction motor. The temperature rise in motor is due to Joule’s losses in stator windings and the induced eddy current in squirrel cages, and heat dissipation by air convection and solid conduction. The Joule’s losses calculated by 3-D eddy-current field analysis are used as the input for the thermal field analysis, which deeply depends on accurate air fluid field analysis. Through the coupled-field calculation, we proposed a new ventilation structure of a 15-phase motor to improve the cooling performance

A fracture mechanics analysis of the fatigue reliability of tubular welded joints

Fatigue failure is generally the result of crack initiation at a surface followed by stable crack propagation leading finally to unstable fracture. The total fatigue life is often a random variable due to the randomness of fatigue loading. the variability of material properties and the final failure conditions. Fracture mechanics provides a rational description of fatigue based on which an analytical method has been developed for assessing the reliability of components under random loading. This method can be used for predicting the distribution of crack lengths after a given number of fatigue cycles have been applied to a initial crack; the distribution of the number of cycles needed to grow a crack to a specific length; or the distribution of fatigue lives terminated at a random final crack length. In order to assess the fatigue reliability of tubular welded joints, the stress intensity factors of surface cracks have been determined by shell analysis with the cracked section modelled by line springs. The surface cracks are generally subjected to mixed mode loadings and the line spring method allows the stress intensity factor for individual modes to be assessed separately. The applicability of the line spring method to stress concentration areas has been verified in plane strain T joints, which has provided the confidence to apply this method to tubular welded joints. The calculations are compared with available experimental data. The fatigue life distributions of a tubular welded T joint for three loading modes have been predicted based on an assumed initial crack length. The S-N curve produced from the analytic prediction compares favourably with experimental data in terms of an equivalent hot spot strain range. In the cases studied, the hot spot strain range is seen to be a reasonable but not very accurate parameter for determining fatigue life. In conclusion, fracture mechanics has been demonstrated to be a valid and important method for predicting the residual fatigue life of damaged tubular welded joints

A cross-cultural examination of the relationships among human resource management practices and organisational commitment: an institutional collectivism perspective

Previous research has shown that human resource management (HRM) practices vary across cultures. However, little research has empirically compared the effects of various HRM practices on firm-level or individual-level outcome variables across cultures. Drawing upon psychological contract theory and the literature on cultural values, the present study examined the effects of three organisational-level HRM practices on individual organisational commitment in a survey of 2424 individuals in 120 organisations located in four countries and three industries. Based upon the GLOBE study, we classified the four countries into two groups – high versus low institutional collectivism. The results of our hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) analyses found significant differences in the effects of organisational-level HRM on individual organisational commitment across cultures for two of the three HRM practices included in our model: training and teamwork. We also found partial support for differences across cultures for the effects of the third HRM practice: employee involvement in decision making. Overall, our results support the utility of theoretical and empirical models that address multiple levels of analyses to better understand the mechanisms through which the HRM-performance link takes place across national cultures

Negotiation, Email, and Internet Reverse Auctions: How Sourcing Mechanisms Deployed by Buyers Affect Suppliers’ Trust

The Internet has made a wealth of new tools available to the industrial buyer. However, researchers have suggested that computer mediated interaction with suppliers may not be conducive to strong supplier relationships in general and to trust in particular. This paper compares two computer-mediated sourcing tools (email negotiation and Internet reverse auctions) with face-to-face negotiation. Information richness theory suggests that the different media will produce different impacts relating to sellers’ trust in buyers. Data are generated with a simulation experiment using 117 subjects. We found that information richness affects seller-buyer trust: Sellers who used face-to-face negotiation, the richest medium in the study, always reported higher trust in their buyer counterparts than did sellers using Internet reverse auctions. There were also some trust advantages of face-to-face negotiation over email and limited advantages of email over reverse auctions. We also found that procurement complexity influences the relationship between information richness and trust. As hypothesized, when face-to-face negotiation is used, procurement complexity has no effect on seller trust. When reverse auctions are utilized, the greater the complexity of the purchase, the less the seller trust. However, when email is used, greater procurement complexity is associated with greater seller trust, and there are no differences in trust between the email and face-to-face channels. Finally, we found that sellers’ trust in buyers is positively associated with sellers’ desire for future dealings with the buyer

Investigating Impulse Buying Behavior in Live Streaming Commerce: The Role of Social Presence

Live streaming is changing the paradigm of people’s entertainment and consumption. It has been adopted by many small individual sellers to improve their market performance, leading to the emergence of live streaming commerce. Although existing literature has paid attention to consumer purchase behavior in live streaming commerce, little knowledge on impulse buying can be available. Drawing on social presence theory and cognitive-affective framework, this paper attempts to develop a theoretical model to investigate how social presence affects consumers’ urge to buy impulsively through the mediating mechanism of cognitive state (i.e., product risk) and affective state (i.e., affective intensity). This paper is expected to advance knowledge on consumers’ impulse buying in live streaming commerce

Trace element composition of igneous and hydrothermal magnetite from porphyry deposits : relationship to deposit subtypes and magmatic affinity

Trace element compositions of igneous and hydrothermal magnetite from nineteen well-studied porphyry Cu ± Au ± Mo, Mo, and W-Mo deposits, combined with partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), were used to investigate the factors controlling magnetite chemistry during igneous and hydrothermal processes, as divided by magmatic affinity and porphyry deposit subtypes. Igneous magnetite can be discriminated by relatively high P, Ti, V, Mn, Zr, Nb, Hf, and Ta contents but low Mg, Si, Co, Ni, Ge, Sb, W, and Pb contents, in contrast to hydrothermal magnetite. Compositional differences between igneous and hydrothermal magnetite are mainly controlled by the temperature, oxygen fugacity, co-crystallized sulfides, and element solubility/mobility that significantly affect the partition coefficients between magnetite and melt/fluids. Binary diagrams based on Ti, V, and Cr contents are not enough to discriminate igneous and hydrothermal magnetite in porphyry deposits. Relatively high Si and Al contents discriminate porphyry W-Mo hydrothermal magnetite, probably reflecting the control by high Si, highly differentiated, granitic intrusions for this deposit type. Relatively high Mg, Mn, Zr, Nb, Sn, and Hf, but low Ti and V contents, discriminate porphyry Au-Cu hydrothermal magnetite, most likely resulting from a combination of mafic to intermediate intrusion composition, high chlorine in fluids, relatively high oxygen fugacity, and low temperature conditions. Igneous or hydrothermal magnetite from Cu-Mo, Cu-Au, and Cu-Mo-Au deposits cannot be discriminated from each other probably due to similar intermediate to felsic intrusion composition, melt/fluid composition, and conditions such as temperature and oxygen fugacity for the formation of these deposits. The magmatic affinity of porphyritic intrusions exerts some control on the chemical composition of igneous and hydrothermal magnetite in porphyry system. Igneous and hydrothermal magnetite related to alkaline magma is relatively rich in Mg, Mn, Co, Mo, Sn, and high field strength elements (HFSE), perhaps due to high concentrations of chlorine and fluorine in magma and exsolved fluids, whereas those related to calc-alkaline magma are relatively rich in Ca but depleted in HFSE, consistent with the high Ca but low HFSE magma composition. Igneous and hydrothermal magnetite related to high-K calc-alkaline magma is relatively rich in Al, Ti, Sc, and Ta, due to a higher temperature of formation or enrichment of these elements in melt/fluids. PLS-DA on hydrothermal magnetite compositions from worldwide porphyry Cu, iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG), Kiruna-type iron oxide-apatite (IOA), and skarn deposits identify important discriminant elements for these deposit types. Magnetite from porphyry Cu deposits is characterized by relatively high Ti, V, Zn, and Al contents, whereas that from IOCG deposits can be discriminated from other types of magnetite by its relatively high V, Ni, Ti, and Al contents. IOA magnetite is discriminated by higher V, Ti, and Mg but lower Al contents, whereas skarn magnetite can be separated from magnetite from other deposit types by higher Mn, Mg, Ca, and Zn contents. Decreased Ti and V contents in hydrothermal magnetite from porphyry Cu and IOA, to IOCG, and to skarn deposits may be related to decreasing temperature and increasing oxygen fugacity. The relative depletion of Al in IOA magnetite is due to its low magnetite-silicate melt partition coefficient, immobility of Al in fluids, and earlier, higher-temperature magmatic or magmatic-hydrothermal formation of IOA deposits. The relative enrichment of Ni in IOCG magnetite reflects more mafic magmatic composition and less competition with sulfide, whereas elevated Mn, Mg, Ca, and Zn in skarn magnetite results from enrichment of these elements in fluids via more intensive fluid-carbonate rock interaction

Economic Burden for Lung Cancer Survivors in Urban China.

BackgroundWith the rapid increase in the incidence and mortality of lung cancer, a growing number of lung cancer patients and their families are faced with a tremendous economic burden because of the high cost of treatment in China. This study was conducted to estimate the economic burden and patient responsibility of lung cancer patients and the impact of this burden on family income.MethodsThis study uses data from a retrospective questionnaire survey conducted in 10 communities in urban China and includes 195 surviving lung cancer patients diagnosed over the previous five years. The calculation of direct economic burden included both direct medical and direct nonmedical costs. Indirect costs were calculated using the human capital approach, which measures the productivity lost for both patients and family caregivers. The price index was applied for the cost calculation.ResultsThe average economic burden from lung cancer was $43,336 per patient, of which the direct cost per capita was$42,540 (98.16%) and the indirect cost per capita was $795 (1.84$30,277 per capita, which accounted for 171% of the household annual income, a percentage that fell to 107% after subtracting the compensation from medical insurance.ConclusionsThe economic burden for lung cancer patients is substantial in the urban areas of China, and an effective control strategy to lower the cost is urgently needed