Towards a Re-Definition of Government Interpreters' Agency Against a Backdrop of Sociopolitical and Cultural Evolution: A Case of Premier's Press Conferences in China

The sociopolitical and cultural evolution as a result of the Reform and Opening up in 1978, facilitated not least by the inexorable juggernaut of globalization and technological advancement, has revolutionized the way China engages domestically and interacts with the outside world. The need for more proactive diplomacy and open engagement witnessed the institutionalization of the interpreter-mediated premier's press conferences. Such a discursive event provides a vital platform for China to articulate its discourse and rebrand its image in tandem with the profound changes signaled by the Dengist reform. This chapter investigates critically how political press conference interpreting and interpreters' agency in China are impacted in relation to such dramatic transformations. It is revealed that, while interpreters are confronted with seemingly conflicting expectations, in actual practice they are often able to negotiate a way as highly competent interpreting professionals with the additional missions of advancing China's global engagement and safeguarding China's national interests

Analytic hierarchy process-based analysis to determine the barriers to implementing a material efficiency strategy: electrical and electronics’ companies in the Malaysian context

Material efficiency is one of the most important strategies for helping manufacturing companies achieve sustainability in their production activities. However, there are many barriers to the implementation of material efficiency strategies in the manufacturing processes and overall business operations. The aim of this study is to identify and evaluate the barriers faced by Electrical and Electronics (E&E) manufacturing companies in Malaysia in implementing material efficiency strategies. A mixed-mode research method was employed to collect data from these companies. Semi-structured interviews were used to identify the barriers faced by the Malaysian Electrical and Electronics (E&E) industry, while an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) survey was utilized to determine the importance of each barrier. Seven companies participated in the semi-structured interviews, and 18 companies took part in the AHP survey. Nine barriers were generated from analysis of the interviews, and were then ranked by priority using the AHP method. These important findings could be used as a guide for E&E companies in managing or overcoming barriers during the implementation of material efficiency strategies and other sustainable manufacturing activitie

Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) in Tofu MSMEs in North Aceh

This study examined tofu MSMEs in Lhokseumawe City and the North Aceh District. Observations indicate discrepancies between tofu production and the GMP requirements for Good Manufacturing Practices. The amount that the tofu sector has adopted appropriate food production procedures by the Regulation of the Ministry of Sector of the Republic of Indonesia Number 75/M-IND/PER/7/2010 is determined using a GMP approach. This research is anticipated to improve the product safety of the tofu industry and provide recommendations for improvement. In this study, data collection techniques included candid interviews related to the GMP aspect questionnaire consisting of 11 inspection aspects, direct field observation of 21 MSMEs by marking the location conditions, production equipment, and materials used, and following the processing process, followed by a search for deviations from GMP aspects and comparison with the literature review, documentation of the necessary data related to GMP assessment, and a search for relevant literature. According to the evaluation, 12 MSMEs with a value range of 41% to 60% fell into the category of not meeting the requirements. The second criterion is extremely inadequate, ranging from 21% to 40% for five MSMEs. Additionally, the criteria for sufficient completion with a range of values between 61% and 80% for up to 4 MSMEs led to an evaluation of 11 GMP aspects in 21 MSMEs. Know on the location aspect with a percentage of 71% in the sufficient category, building aspects with a percentage of 11% in the critical category, aspects of sanitation with a percentage of 40% in the category of very less fulfilling, aspects of machinery and equipment with a percentage of 80% in the category of sufficiently fulfilling, aspects of materials with a percentage of 100% in the category of fulfilling, and aspects of supervision with a percentage of 40% in the category of fulfilling

Design and Shape Optimization of Strain Gauge Load Cell for Axial Force Measurement for Test Benches

The load cell is an indispensable component of many engineering machinery and industrial automation for measuring and sensing force and torque. This paper describes the design and analysis of the strain gauge load cell, from the conceptional design stage to shape optimization (based on the finite element method (FEM) technique) and calibration, providing ample load capacity with low-cost material (aluminum 6061) and highly accurate force measurement. The amplifier circuit of the half Wheatstone bridge configuration with two strain gauges was implemented experimentally with an actual load cell prototype. The calibration test was conducted to evaluate the load cell characteristics and derive the governing equation for sensing the unknown load depending on the measured output voltage. The measured sensitivity of the load cell is approximately 15 mV/N and 446.8 µV/V at a maximum applied load of 30 kg. The findings are supported by FEM results and experiments with an acceptable percentage of errors, which revealed an overall error of 6% in the worst situation. Therefore, the proposed load cell meets the design considerations for axial force measurement for the laboratory test bench, which has a light weight of 20 g and a maximum axial force capacity of 300 N with good sensor characteristic

AVL Boost Simulation of Engine Performance and Emission for Compressed Natural Gas Direct Injection Engine

Natural gas is an alternative to gasoline as a fuel for automotive engines. The combustion of natural gas produces mainly water and CO2 and significantly less CO and UHC emissions. In many cases, CNG vehicles generate fewer exhaust and greenhouse gas emissions than their gasoline or diesel-powered counterparts. Internal combustion engines can be powered by natural gas without significant effort in production and distribution since raw natural gas needs minimal processing before distribution. In this research, a study of direct injected CNG engine is conducted. AVL Boost was used to simulate methane direct injection, CNG port injection and gasoline port injection in a four-cylinder spark ignition engine. Methane is used in place of CNG for simplicity. There appears to be a good approximation from initial tests since CNG comprise around 80-90% methane

Development of Decision Support System for Fastener Selection in Product Recovery Oriented Design

Among the important strategies in sustainable product development is by maintaining product recovery and prolonging product life which are highly dependent on the ease of disassembly. When considering the design for disassembly, there are many fastener-associated factors to be considered such as structural, disassembly process and the pre-disassembly process. There are very few designs for disassembly methods that support the selection of fasteners for design for disassembly (DfD) concepts. Most of the tools developed are more applicable during later stages of the design process when more product information is available. The process of selecting a fastener for its functional characteristics itself is often vague. Additionally, the requirements for disassemblability further complicate the process. This paper proposes the development of a multi-criteria decision making model to assist designers in selecting fasteners for DfD. PROMETHEE was used to build a decision-making model to help the designers in selecting the fasteners that could perform their intended functions with ease of disassembly. A design case study is described to reflect the usefulness of the fasteners selection model.The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology Look Insid

Design Methods for the Elderly in Web of Science, Scopus, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure Databases: A Scientometric Analysis in CiteSpace

With the increasing aging population globally, issues that come with aging are becoming more severe. This prompted the governments and society to focus on the social security of the elderly. To guarantee the safety of the elderly, satisfy their emotional requirements, and assist them in adapting to a fast-changing socio-technical environment, researchers have proposed many design methods. Various researchers have studied the relevant literature and design techniques for the elderly. However, it was discovered that China is second, followed by the United States, in terms of research impact in this area. We used the literature from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) for China. We selected 1221 papers on geriatric design techniques from the Web of Science and Scopus (W&S) and CNKI. Bibliometrics analysis was used to evaluate the current state, development process, and future trend of research on the design methods for the elderly. The findings indicated that (1) the number of studies on geriatric design approaches in W&S and CNKI is rising every year, and (2) the accentuation and complementarity of W&S and CNKI are distinct. It will be a crucial area of study in the future to develop more pleasant and convenient goods and services for the elderly, as well as to address their emotional needs and experiences

QFD-Based Research on Sustainable User Experience Optimization Design of Smart Home Products for the Elderly: A Case Study of Smart Refrigerators

In the current situation of global aging, the current market shortage of age-appropriate smart home products and the recent epidemic have led to greater isolation of the elderly, seriously affecting their physical and mental health. In order to optimize the sustainable user experience of the elderly when using smart home products, this paper proposes a research method based on Quality Function Deployment (QFD) for the optimal design of user experience of smart home products for the elderly, taking the design of age-appropriate home smart refrigerators as an example. Firstly, based on the results of market research and user interviews, the requirements of smart refrigerators for the elderly are screened and integrated, and the Kano model is used to prioritize these needs, resulting in the identification of important features needed in smart refrigerators for the elderly. Secondly, based on QFD, user requirements are transformed into design requirements, and a quality house model is established to ascertain the degree of importance of each design requirement through user ratings so as to obtain the key requirements as the theoretical basis for the solution design. Finally, optional solutions are generated for concept evaluation based on PUGH concept selection, comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the solutions and recombining them into an evaluation to determine the best solution. The quantitative evaluation of the four solutions reveals that Solution A has the highest score of 117.358, followed by Solution D with 113.259, Solution B with 96.415, and Solution C with 85.511, which is the lowest. The scoring allows the best design solution to be selected and applied to product development. The results show that the introduction of the Kano model and PUGH concept selection into QFD can be effectively used as a research method for optimizing the user experience of smart refrigerators for the elderly, and a corresponding design strategy for sustainable user experience optimization is proposed. The method and strategy provide guidance for the innovative design of new smart home products

Multi-Objective Optimization For High Recyclability Material Selection Using Genetic Algorithm

Material selection plays an important role in product design. A design demands specific material properties in order to fulfill its functional requirements and to minimize its detrimental impact on the environment. Hence, much effort has been devoted to the recyclability of a product at the end of its life during product design. It is the responsibility of the designers to incorporate recyclability considerations during product design to ensure that a certain level of recyclability is attained at the end of a product’s life as imposed by legislation. The complex relationships between different selection parameters complicate the material selection process. Designers are faced with the challenge of selecting suitable materials that could satisfy cost and functional and environmental performance. Therefore, solving material selection in respect of satisfying product recyclability is an area worthy of investigation. This paper attempts to propose an approach that could facilitate designers to select recyclable materials as well as reducing the complexities in decision making. In this paper, the use of a genetic algorithm is proposed to optimize the multi-objective problem in the selection of recyclable materials. A case study on the automobile’s side mirror is used to demonstrate this approach