Beyond the information technology agreement : harmonization of standards and trade in electronics

Product standards can have a dual impact on production and trade costs. Standards may impose additional costs on exporters as it may be necessary to adapt products for specific markets (cost-effect). In contrast, standards can reduce exporters'information costs if they convey information on industrial requirements or consumer tastes that would be costly to collect in the absence of standards (informational-effect). Using a new World Bank database of European standards for electronic products, the authors examine the impact of internationally-harmonized European standards on European Union imports. They find that European Union standards for electronic products that are harmonized to international standards have a positive and significant effect on trade. The results suggest that efforts to promote trade in electronic products could be complemented by steps to promote standards harmonization. This might include, for example, re-starting talks to extend the Information Technology Agreement to non-tariff measures and commitments to harmonize national standards in electronic products.Information Security&Privacy,Technology Industry,Scientific Research&Science Parks,Science Education,Labor Policies

Flexural properties and failure mechanism assessment for additive manufactured lom bars on different building orientations

Plastic Laminated Object Manufacturing has not been assessed from the flexural properties point of view. The deflection range in parts manufactured by this technique is wider than in parts fabricated by other additive manufacturing methods like SLS or FDM. This fact has increased the interest on the final application of these parts rather than restricted to Rapid Prototyping applications. In this study it will be compared the impact of building orientation and geometric features of parts over the flexural properties. Through optical observation it will be studied the failure mechanism.Postprint (published version

Analysing the Adoption Barriers of Low-Carbon Operations: A Step Forward for Achieving Net-Zero Emissions

In November 2021, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) was held in Glasgow, UK, the global leaders from nearly 200 countries stressed taking immediate action on the climate issue and how to ensure global net-zero emissions by 2030. It is possible to accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy systems, the present study seeks to identify and analyse key barriers to Low Carbon Operations (LCO) in emerging economies. A critical literature review was undertaken to recognise the barriers linked to the adoption of LCO. To validate these barriers, an empirical study with a dataset of 127 respondents from the Indian automobile industry was conducted. The validated barriers were analysed using Best Worst Method (BWM) and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) techniques. BWM is used to determine the priority ranking of barriers, while the DEMATEL method is employed to elucidate the cause-effect inter-relationships among the listed barriers. The results suggest that ‘Economic’ is the most influential category of barriers followed by ‘Infrastructure’ and ‘Operational’. The results also show that the barriers ‘Economic’, ‘Environmental’, ‘Infrastructure’ and ‘Organizational Governance’ belong to the cause group. Some significant managerial implications are recommended to overcome these barriers and to assist firms in the successful adoption of LCO and achieving net-zero emissions. The work was carried out in the automotive industry in India but provides findings that may have wider applicability in other developing countries and beyond

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through Net Zero Emissions: Innovation-Driven Strategies for Transitioning from Incremental to Radical Lean, Green and Digital Technologies

This work adopts a resource-based view for strategically managing firms’ tangible and intangible resources based on lean and green philosophies to explore the role of digital technologies in achieving NZE and the SDGs.This research outlines three contemporary issues. First, it assesses the theory-driven approaches and real-world datasets from conference of parties (COP) meetings. Second, adopting the VRIO (Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, Organized) framework, 25 identified digital technology-based values are obtained by digitalization-based integrated lean-green approaches that may enable manufacturing firms to pursue SDGs via net-zero emissions. Four scenarios of digital technology adoption and integration level of lean and green manufacturing pathways are proposed, differentiated by the degree of radical/ incremental interests in innovation and sustainable advantage types. Third, the study highlights that the achievement of NZE by SDGs may be possible only by adopting digital technologies and high-level integration of lean and green

An empirical investigation on the deployment of Operational excellence in SMEs

Purpose: This study investigates the quantitative aspect of the various strains of Operational excellence (OE) and “Competitive-potential (CP)” in the SME sector. It has five steps, i.e., identifying the key performance constructs of OE and their hypothesized relationship pattern from literature, validating these constructs through factor analysis, formalizing their empirical relationships by structural-equation-modeling (SEM), path analysis of performance constructs with the empirical results, and lastly proposing a framework for OE deployment in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach: Data for the deployment scores of Operational excellence procedures (OEPs) were collected through a structured questionnaire survey. Nine hundred participants from a stratified random sample were approached for the survey, and 473 responses were received. Sample stratification was based on Gender, Education, Experience, Position, Department, and Industry. Respondents had 5 to 30 years of experience managing manufacturing operations, holding the Manager position and above. Findings: The path analysis of the structural model provides unique insights into OE’s practical aspects in SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises). Such as Contractual-conformance and Process-efficiency play pivotal roles as both have a significant positive impact on CP. Supplier efficacy, Consistency, and Product-excellence do not improve CP unless mediated by Contractual-conformance or Process-efficiency. Research limitations/implications: The study provides important implications for academia, policymakers, and managers. The study identifies and validates the operational excellence key performance practices and proposes a framework for manufacturing organizations. SME managers can follow the framework to develop effective operational excellence strategies to help them achieve their organizational goals. Additionally, the study emphasizes the need for continuous culture in SMEs, which will help to support operational excellence deployment. Overall, the implications presented in the study will help SMEs to enhance their competitiveness and operational performance. Originality/value: The study explores the empirical investigation of the operational excellence deployment in SMEs. The study uses a mixed method approach for research design, including qualitative and quantitative approaches, and uses SEM to test the proposed framework. Validation of OE’s six key performance constructs and establishing their empirical relation is an attempt to advance the Operations excellence theory. Unlike large enterprises, SMEs demonstrate an incohesive response to the practices pertaining to Supplier efficacy, Consistency, and Product-excellence. This unique response pattern requires special treatment, which is incorporated into the proposed framework

Total Productive Maintenance and Industry 4.0 in a Sustainability Context: Exploring the Mediating Effect of Circular Economy

The purpose of this research is to establish a conceptual model to understand the impact of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) on the transition of a Circular Economy (CE). Also, the paper explores the combined impact of TPM, I4.0, and CE on the sustainability performance (SP) of manufacturing firms. The conceptual model is proposed using the dynamic capability view (DCV) and empirically validated by partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) using 304 responses from Indian manufacturing firms. The results suggest that I4.0 positively impacts TPM, CE, and SP, also showing TPM's positive impact on CE and SP. In addition, CE has a positive influence on the SP of manufacturing firms. Furthermore, CE partially mediates the relationship between I4.0 and SP with TPM and SP. The study also identifies TPM, I4.0, and CE as a new bundle of dynamic capabilities to deliver SP in manufacturing firms. The present research adds to the knowledge and literature on DCV by identifying the importance of CE in the settings of I4.0 and TPM, especially in the context of sustainability. Also, the current study offers a new set of dynamic capabilities and provides some significant future recommendations for researchers and practitioners

FPGA Implementation of a Telecommunications Trainer System

Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) have been used in a wide range of applications including the field of telecommunications. This paper presents the use of FPGAs in the implementation of both analog and digital modulation that includes amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, phase modulation, pulse code modulation, pulse width modulation, pulse position modulation, pulse amplitude modulation, delta modulation, amplitude shift keying, frequency shift keying, phase shift keying, time division multiplexing and different encoding techniques like non-return-to-zero line code, non-return-to-zero mark line code, non-return to zero inversion line code, Unipolar return-to-zero line code, bipolar return-to-zero line code, alternate mark inversion line code, and Manchester line code. Moreover, an FPGA can be designed to emulate a particular device like an oscilloscope, a function generator, or the like. This paper describes the capability of an FPGA to internally generate a low frequency input signal and through the use of a VGA port, it is able to display the signals in an output device. However, the use of FPGAs is not limited to the aforementioned applications because of its reconfigurability and reprogrammability

Atomic structures of fibrillar segments of hIAPP suggest tightly mated β-sheets are important for cytotoxicity.

hIAPP fibrils are associated with Type-II Diabetes, but the link of hIAPP structure to islet cell death remains elusive. Here we observe that hIAPP fibrils are cytotoxic to cultured pancreatic β-cells, leading us to determine the structure and cytotoxicity of protein segments composing the amyloid spine of hIAPP. Using the cryoEM method MicroED, we discover that one segment, 19-29 S20G, forms pairs of β-sheets mated by a dry interface that share structural features with and are similarly cytotoxic to full-length hIAPP fibrils. In contrast, a second segment, 15-25 WT, forms non-toxic labile β-sheets. These segments possess different structures and cytotoxic effects, however, both can seed full-length hIAPP, and cause hIAPP to take on the cytotoxic and structural features of that segment. These results suggest that protein segment structures represent polymorphs of their parent protein and that segment 19-29 S20G may serve as a model for the toxic spine of hIAPP