Desired Dimensions Research Articles

“Good” and “bad” frictions in customer experience: Conceptual foundations and implications

AbstractBusinesses often strive for frictionless customer experiences, assuming that customers always desire seamless interactions. However, recent academic and practitioner discussions suggest that not all forms of friction are detrimental. Reconciling the conflicting views, we propose a framework that defines friction as simply the effort customers exert to complete tasks related to their consumption goals. Furthermore, drawing from the goal striving theory and customer experience literature, we identify and propose four types of friction based on dimensions of task desirability and task value: frustrating, constructive, preference‐based, and rewarding. Our framework challenges the prevailing business practice of eliminating all friction, as evidenced by a topic modeling analysis of announcements related to achieving frictionless customer experiences. Instead, we posit that while frustration friction should be minimized, the other three types of friction offer opportunities for businesses to enhance customer value. Particularly, we caution managers that eliminating constructive friction (i.e., customer effort in low‐desirability, high‐value tasks) may hinder value creation. We also recommend that managers find opportunities to infuse rewarding and preference‐based friction to enhance customer experience. By understanding these nuances, businesses can strike a balance between friction reduction and value optimization in their customer experience designs.

Brain-wide representation of social knowledge.

Understanding how the human brain maps different dimensions of social conceptualizations remains a key unresolved issue. We performed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study in which participants were exposed to audio definitions of personality traits and asked to simulate experiences associated with the concepts. Half of the concepts were affective (e.g. empathetic), and the other half were non-affective (e.g. intelligent). Orthogonally, half of the concepts were highly likable (e.g. sincere) and half were socially undesirable (e.g. liar). Behaviourally, we observed that the dimension of social desirability reflected the participant's subjective ratings better than affect. FMRI decoding results showed that both social desirability and affect could be decoded in local patterns of activity through distributed brain regions including the superior temporal, inferior frontal, precuneus and key nodes of the default mode network in posterior/anterior cingulate and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Decoding accuracy was better for social desirability than affect. A representational similarity analysis further demonstrated that a deep language model significantly predicted brain activity associated with the concepts in bilateral regions of superior and anterior temporal lobes. The results demonstrate a brain-wide representation of social knowledge, involving default model network systems that support the multimodal simulation of social experience, with a further reliance on language-related preprocessing.

Implementing a circular business model for reusable packaging: Multidisciplinary learnings from reusable pizza packaging

This article explores practical challenges in developing and implementing circular business models in the context of reusable takeaway food packaging from a transdisciplinary perspective. It touches upon the desirability, feasibility, viability, and sustainability dimensions of a reusable pizza packaging circular business model. First, a literature review is conducted to highlight current knowledge and gaps around circular business models for reusable packaging and the key factors addressing the desirability, feasibility, viability, and sustainability. Second, a case study approach is taken for an in-depth exploration of these factors and their effect on the successful implementation of a reusable packaging business model. A real-life pilot is structured and implemented; questionnaire, workshops and semi-structured interviews with consumers and key stakeholders of the novel business model as well as technical laboratory tests of used packaging are used as key data sources in the case study. This study contributes to research and practice with a novel framework for circular business model innovation in the context of reusable packaging highlighting the need to iteratively address packaging as well as system conditions affecting the desirability, feasibility, sustainability, and viability of such ecosystem-based business models. Future research should inherently take a systemic perspective to address interconnections between these four dimensions and explore in which steps and order experimentations should be developed to balance trade-offs between feasibility and desirability while ensuring sustainability and viability of the business model.

Brief Version of the Revised-Abbreviated Eysenck Personality Questionnaire in a Spanish Young Adult Population.

Eysenck's PEN model is one of the most relevant and fruitful models with empirical support, and continues eliciting a large research corpus. Neverthe less, the systematic limitations regarding the psychoticism dimension and questionable inclusion of social desirability as a personality dimension have limited the model. The current research aimed to estimate an alternative PEN model including social desirability as a control and test its validity and reliability. This sample consists of 2969 Spanish young adults. Confirmatory factor analysis was carried out to test the fitting of four different models to the data. Once the best-fitting model was obtained, multiple-group analyses were carried out to assess the configural, metric, and scalar invariance of the model across sexes. The results showed that the three-dimension PEN model and two-dimension EN model controlling social desirability best fit the data and were invariant across sexes. Despite the apparent appropriateness of both models, the EN model controlling for social desirability is more appropriate due to the weakness of the P dimension.

(027) The Prevalence of Female Sexual Dysfunction in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Abstract Introduction Irritable bowel syndrome is a functional disorder in the digestive system that is defined by specific intestinal-gastric symptoms. A combination of psychological and organic causes are involved in its creation and continuation. A wide range of psychological disorders and personality traits have been reported in patients with irritable bowel syndrome; But one of the consequences and complications of this syndrome can be the effect on sexual performance. Objective In this study, the frequency of each of women's sexual dysfunction, including hypo active sexual desire and arousal disorder, orgasm dysfunction and pain during sex, and the level of satisfaction in sex were compared with the control group. The relationship between the severity of each of these sexual disorders and the severity of symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome has been investigated. Methods In this study 300 patients with irritable bowel syndrome presentation has compared with control group by using FSFI (Female Sexual Function-Index) standard questionnaire which its validity and reliability were assessed and demographic questionnaire. Results Examining the dimensions of sexual desire in two groups showed that the frequency and intensity of sexual stimulation and satisfaction with it in women with irritable bowel syndrome is significantly lower than the control group. The number of orgasms and intensity of orgasm experienced and satisfaction with it in women with irritable bowel syndrome is significantly lower than in the control group. Examining the dimensions of sexual satisfaction in two groups showed that the level of closeness with a sexual partner in women with irritable bowel syndrome is significantly lower than in the control group. Based on the results, there is a significant relationship between the score of sexual pleasure and sexual satisfaction and the severity of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. Conclusions The results of this research showed that symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome can have significant effects on sexual performance and relationship satisfaction in women. Since women are exposed to more psychological stressors compared to men, and on the other hand, psychological factors can aggravate the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, the doctor's attention to sexual problems in women can improve the health and quality of life of affected patients. Disclosure No.

Experimental Demonstration of High-Sensitivity Nano capacitors via Advanced Nanofabrication Techniques for Nano Electronic Implementations

Nano gap capacitors have recently received significant interest as a key component in a wide range of implementations including photonics, Nanoelectronics, and sensing applications. Many exploratory research projects are being conducted to investigate the electrical characteristics of these nano capacitors. One essential issue that this paper addresses is the need for highly sensitive nano gap capacitors which can be adopted for ultra-low power sensing implementations. In this paper, gold is utilized as the electrode material owing to its superb chemical stability, electrical conductivity, and biocompatibility. The fabrication process is started by designing the mask namely nano gap pad electrodes using AutoCAD software. Subsequently, the designs are finally transferred and fabricated onto a chrome glass surface. In this work, after a combination of conventional photolithography and size reduction approach used to fabricate the device, conventional photolithography is applied to transfer the nano gap pattern onto the gold surface. In order to achieve the desired dimension of the nano gap, a size reduction technique is employed. Describe the most important thing in 2-3 sentences only). Visual inspection using a High Power Microscope (HPM), 3D nano profiler, X-Ray diffractions (XRD), and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) have been employed to observe and validate the fabricated structures. Results show that a 2.5 nano Ampere is measured as the applied voltage increases to 10 mV. This firmly demonstrates the ultra-low power consumption, several Pico watts, of these nano gap capacitors. Further, our findings show that the fabricated 4nm gap structure can achieve an approximately 300 nano farad capacitor at low frequencies, which is advantageous for adoption in highly sensitive biosensors.

Smart Control of Springback in Stretch Bending of a Rectangular Tube by an Artificial Neural Network

Abstract Springback is one of the factors that causes decreased product quality in tube bending; 2D and 3D stretch bending can be used to manufacture a complex geometry of a tube with springback reduction. For a nonlinear springback problem in tube bending, an artificial neural network (ANN) is an attractive data-driven approach to achieving springback prediction and control. The main objective of this paper is to control springback and improve geometrical quality with an ANN in 2D and 3D stretch bending of a rectangular tube. In general, an ANN is trained with collected data sets from a large number of experiments, causing expensive costs and time-consuming work. In the present work, the training data sets for the proposed ANN are obtained from both experiments and an analytical springback model. As the analytical model can adopt different bending angles, material properties, and geometries, supplementary data by the analytical model significantly reduced the number of experiments needed for ANN training. Contrary to the typical springback predictions, the proposed ANN synthesizes the machine settings based on the desired dimensions as the inputs. It is shown that springback can be controlled by specifying the bend angles provided by the ANN prediction. The proposed ANN method was validated in 2D and 3D stretch bending of a rectangular tube, and its prediction and control performance are favorably compared to an ANN trained with only experimental data sets.

The relationship between resilience and parental behaviours: The moderating role of parent and child age

AbstractThe present study investigates the relationship between resilience and parental behaviours and examines the moderating role of parent and child age in this relationship. The cross‐sectional descriptive study was conducted with a sample of 204 parents of children aged 6 months to 12 years. The Resilience Assessment Scale and the Parenting Behaviours and Dimensions Questionnaire were used. The findings confirmed the existence of a positive relationship between parental resilience and desirable parental dimensions and a negative association with undesirable behaviours towards children. However, overall resilience was not associated with anxious intrusiveness. The moderating effect confirmed that parental age played a moderating role between resilience and punitive behaviours. Child age moderated the relationship between resilience and emotional warmth, permissiveness and anxious intrusiveness. The results of the study indicate the importance of positive resources, such as resilience, and demographic variables, such as parental and child age, in the development of positive parenting.

The Nude, Essence and Desire: Revisiting Chinese and Western Views of the Nude with François Jullien and Giorgio Agamben

François Jullien believes that the pillar of Western nude art is the philosophical concepts of essence and ideal, while the benti (the Chinese counterpart of ontology) view of Chinese philosophy emphasizes change and process; therefore, it is impossible for Chinese painting to see the nude as essence. Jullien excludes works such as Chungong paintings (Chinese Spring Palace paintings) from the category of nude art because he holds that they depict nakedness, namely the process from “being dressed” to “being naked,” rather than the nude, the natural state of being naked. However, Giorgio Agamben draws on the Christian view of the nude to point out that the nude is always relative to revelation–what exists only is the state of nakedness, while the nude never exists. Nakedness is attached to “undressing,” which is endless because desire is endless. Noticeably, Agamben introduces the dimension of desire into the discussion of nude art, which has successfully created a comparative ground for Chinese and Western nude art. The sexual relationships depicted in Chungong paintings embody the Chinese view of the body and the universe, sharing a similar view in the theme of desire as in Western paintings. Thus, with the inclusion of desire, works such as Chungong paintings shall also be considered in transcultural reflections on artistic traditions between East and West.

Plasmonic Nanocone Scanning Antenna: Fabrication and Optical Properties

Optical antennas are nanostructures that introduce unprecedented possibilities for light–matter interaction at the nanoscale. An appropriately tailored plasmonic antenna can enhance the total radiative decay rate and modify the angular radiation pattern of a single‐quantum emitter through controlled near‐field coupling. Despite their ability to surpass the fundamental diffraction limit and confine the electromagnetic field to a tiny mode volume, fabricating 3D sharp scanning nanoscale plasmonic structures with desired aspect ratio is yet an ambitious goal. The fabrication of nanocones by gold evaporation on commercial atomic force microscopy probes followed by a focused ion beam milling technique is presented. The method is versatile and allows the fabrication of nanocones with desired dimensions around 100 nm along with an aspect ratio of ≈1. Their optical properties are studied and it is shown how the variation in the refractive index of the dielectric substrate affects the localized surface plasmon resonance of the nanocones, the decay rate enhancement, and the quantum yield of an emitter relevant for fluorescence/Raman scanning experiments. Theoretical studies using finite‐difference time‐domain calculations have guided the fabrication process and are consistent with experimental results.

Unraveling the dynamics of urban desirability: a multi-faceted analysis of large cities

In the context of rapid urbanization, the challenge of accommodating growing populations while enhancing urban desirability has become a paramount concern for city planners worldwide. This study delves into the multifaceted endeavor of understanding urban desirability index, aiming to identify and analyze the attributes that contribute to the allure of large cities. Going beyond traditional perspectives, the research employs association rule mining to uncover hidden interdependencies among urban quality of life attributes that collectively shape citizens’ satisfaction. Furthermore, the study introduces the operative concepts of 'order qualifiers' and 'order winners’, borrowed from the realm of operations management. These concepts provide a novel analytical framework for evaluating pivotal dimensions of urban desirability. Leveraging both survey data and city-level statistical metrics from prominent U.S. urban centers, this research investigates the intricate interplay between economic, social, and environmental facets, thereby illuminating their cumulative influence on the satisfaction of urban residents. Notably, the study identifies median salary and community wellbeing as essential qualifiers shaping urban desirability, while also exploring the impact of nationwide excellence as a determinant of municipal desirability. These discernments serve to empower local governing bodies and policymakers in devising effective strategies for urban development and enhancement.

Adaptive model-based optimization for fusion-based metal additive manufacturing (directed energy deposition)

In this paper, a computationally fast adaptive optimization methodology based on a semi-analytical physics-based model is developed for predicting and altering the processing parameters to avoid overheating and improve the dimensional accuracy and uniformity of the print in fusion-based metal additive manufacturing. A unique model-based algorithm is developed, as a closed-form optimization solution, for multi-track/multi-layer printing. The algorithm uses simulated data of the temperature field and geometrical profile of tracks to back-calculate the optimal power of the thermal energy source such that overheating is neutralized, and each track arrives at the desired dimensions. The proposed methodology is adaptive as it predicts the power of the thermal energy source for subsequent tracks based on historical thermal information from previous tracks during the process, regardless of the initial processing parameters. This abstraction offers required speed-ups for computationally fast optimization. The developed adaptive methodology is experimentally tested and validated for directed energy deposition in the present study, while the methodology can be adapted to other fusion-based additive processes using different thermal energy sources such as laser beam, electron beam, and electric arc.

Social desirability, dietary intakes, and variables related to attitudes and behaviours towards eating among French-speaking adults from Quebec, Canada: The PREDISE study.

The primary objective of this study was to examine how social desirability is associated with self-reported measures of dietary intakes and variables related to attitudes and behaviours towards eating. This analysis was conducted in 1083 adults (50.0% women) from the PREDISE study. Social desirability was assessed using the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) questionnaire, which includes two subscales: (1) self-deceptive enhancement (SDE), i.e., having an overly positive self-image and (2) impression management (IM), i.e., intentional response distortion to please. BIDR total score and IM subscore were positively associated with the Canadian Healthy Eating Index (C-HEI) (ß = 0.24 and ß = 0.50; p≤0.0003), calculated using data from three self-administered 24 h food recalls. All BIDR scores were positively associated with self-determined motivation for eating regulation (0.03 ≤ ß ≤ 0.06; p<0.0001), measured by the Regulation of Eating Behavior Scale, and with the intuitive eating score (0.02 ≤ ß ≤ 0.05; p<0.0001). Also, all BIDR scores were negatively associated with hunger and disinhibition scores measured by the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (-0.17 ≤ ß ≤ -0.09; p<0.0001). All these associations were adjusted for age, sex, BMI, and the education level. Furthermore, controlling for both dimensions of social desirability did not impact the magnitude of the association between self-determined motivation (the strongest predictor of healthy eating in the PREDISE study) and C-HEI. According to our results, associations are observed with diet quality, as well as with attitudes and behaviours towards eating; therefore, a measurement of social desirability responding would be pertinent in studies using those or related variables.

Fabrication of alginate-based hydrogel microparticle via ruthenium-catalyzed photocrosslinking.

In this study, we developed an alginate-based microparticle production process via sodium ruthenium(II) tris-bipyridyl dication (Ru)/ammonium persulfate (SPS)-mediated visible light crosslinking system using a microfluidic device. Microparticles were prepared by crosslinking phenolic-substituted alginate (AlgPh) and incorporated gelatin (GelPh) in an aqueous solution containing SPS, which flowed into an ambient immiscible liquid paraffin-containing Ru using coaxial double orifice microfluidic device. The hydrogel microparticles appeared with the desired geometries and dimensions under optimal conditions. The concentration of AlgPh and light intensity were the most critical parameters for harvesting spherical microparticles with homogeneous size distribution. The physical properties of the prepared AlgPh microparticles were characterized and compared with Alg-Ca microparticles. Cell viability and proliferation preserved on AlgPh/GelPh hydrogel surfaces. Also, encapsulated cells in microparticles were also viable and proliferated well over 13 days after encapsulation. In brief, the results proved the feasibility of fabricating AlgPh vehicles via Ru/SPS-mediated system and visible light irradiation as a simple and efficient three-dimensional platform, which are applicable for various tissue engineering and cell delivery purposes.

A promising approach of caved vacuum insulation panel and investigation on its thermal bridge effect

Vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) are excellent adiabatic materials widely applied in various field. Unlike conventional insulation materials, VIPs cannot be trimmed on-site to desired dimensions, necessitating the pre-designing panels to specific sizes. The impact of cavities on VIPs was investigated by numerical and experimental methods in this study. Five cavity shapes for VIPs were involved, that is: circular, equilateral trigonal, equilateral quadrilateral, equilateral pentagonal, and equilateral hexagonal. The variations in thermal insulation performance of VIPs with cavities of different shapes but equal perimeter (124 mm, 500 mm) and equal area (2826 mm2, 6192 mm2) were investigated. The results shew that, the presence of cavities caused sharp reduction of thermal insulation performance of VIPs. VIPs with circular cavities exhibit the lowest effective thermal conductivity (ETC) and thermal bridge effect. For equal perimeter case, the adiabatic performance decreased with increase in the number of sides and corner points. For equal area, VIPs with equilateral quadrilateral cavities exhibit the highest thermal insulation performance among VIPs with polygonal cavities. This work provides valuable insights into optimizing VIPs design for enhanced thermal performance and energy efficiency in various applications.

Geometric properties of quantum entanglement and machine learning

Objectives. Fast data analysis based on hidden patterns is one of the main issues for adaptive artificial intelligence systems development. This paper aims to propose and verify a method of such analysis based on the representation of data in the form of a quantum state, or, alternatively, in the form of a geometric object in a space allowing online machine learning.Methods. This paper uses Feynman formalism to represent quantum states and operations on them, the representation of quantum computing in the form of quantum circuits, geometric transformations, topological classification, as well as methods of classical and quantum machine learning. The Python programming language is used as a development tool. Optimization tools for machine learning are taken from the SciPy module. The datasets for analysis are taken from open sources. Data preprocessing was performed by the method of mapping features into numerical vectors, then the method of bringing the data to the desired dimension was applied. The data was then displayed in a quantum state. A proprietary quantum computing emulator is used (it is in the public domain).Results. The results of computational experiments revealed the ability of very simple quantum circuits to classify data without optimization. Comparative indicators of classification quality are obtained without the use of optimization, as well as with its use. Experiments were carried out with different datasets and for different values of the dimension of feature spaces. The efficiency of the models and methods of machine learning proposed in the work, as well as methods of combining them into network structures, is practically confirmed.Conclusions. The proposed method of machine learning and the model of quantum neural networks can be used to create adaptive artificial intelligence systems as part of an online learning module. Free online optimization learning process allows it to be applied in data streaming, that is, adapting to changes in the environment. The developed software does not require quantum computers and can be used in the development of artificial intelligence systems in Python as imported modules.

Shrinkage Compensation and Effect of Building Orientation on Mechanical Properties of Ceramic Stereolithography Parts.

Stereolithography additive manufacturing (SLA-AM) can be used to produce ceramic structures by selectively curing a photosensitive resin that has ceramic powder in it. The photosensitive resin acts as a ceramic powder binder, which is burned, and the remaining ceramic part is sintered during post-processing using a temperature-time-controlled furnace. Due to this process, the ceramic part shrinks and becomes porous. Moreover, additive manufacturing leads to the orthotropic behavior of the manufactured parts. This article studies the effect of the manufacturing orientation of ceramic parts produced via SLA-AM on dimensional accuracy. Scaled CAD models were created by including the calculated shrinkage factor. The dimensions of the final sintered specimens were very close to the desired dimensions. As sintering induces porosity and reduces the mechanical strength, in this study, the effect of orientation on strength was investigated, and it was concluded that the on-edge specimen possessed by far the highest strength in terms of both compression and tension.

Comparison between laser and TIG welding of electron beam melted Ti6Al4V parts

Abstract A large number of metal parts specific to the aviation, energy, and biomedical industries are produced by the electron beam melting (EBM) method, which is one of the powder bed additive manufacturing techniques. The limited build volume of EBM machines does not allow the production of parts in the desired dimensions. One way to overcome this limitation is to weld small size additive manufactured parts. In this study, EBMed Ti6Al4V tensile specimens were joined by laser (LBW) and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding. Welding morphologies, microstructures, and mechanical properties of joints were investigated. The main defects in the samples are pore formation and insufficient penetration. The weld zones of TIG samples contain a higher amount of pores than laser samples, and these pores are distributed over the entire area of the weld. The pores are less than 200 µm in diameter. TIG welded samples exhibited higher mechanical properties than laser welded samples. The highest microhardness was measured in the weld zone. Microhardness of laser welded samples are higher than TIG welded samples. While the welding regions of TIG welded samples consist of coarse and acicular α and α + β structures, laser welded samples consist of thin and acicular α′ structure.

Investigating the Role of Citric Acid as a Natural Acid on the Crystallization of Amoxicillin Trihydrate.

This study investigates the use of environmentally friendly citric acid as the main player in the process, rather than as an additive, to remove impurities from amoxicillin trihydrate (AMCT) crystals, aiming to optimize their purity and yield. By manipulating the concentration of citric acid, mixing speed, crystallization time, and pH, the researchers conducted experiments using a full factorial design. The dissolution stage was analyzed in both batch and continuous crystallization processes, emphasizing the significance of citric acid in enhancing crystallization. HPLC analyses were performed on the resulting crystals, and the data were analyzed using the Multi-Vari Chart program. The findings demonstrated that higher citric acid concentrations positively affected the yield, while factors such as crystallization time, mixing speed, and pH also contributed to the increased yield. The crystals obtained exhibited desirable dimensions sought after in the pharmaceutical industry, eliminating the need for additional purification steps. This study showcased the potential of citric acid in AMCT crystallization, offering advantages in product design, purification, and synthesis. The optimized conditions included a citric acid concentration of 2.0 M, mixing speed of 1000 rpm, crystallization time of 120 min, and pH of 5.5. Notably, the developed process proved to be environmentally friendly by avoiding the use of harmful chemicals, serving as a green alternative for crystallization processes, and producing purer AMCT products. Overall, this research contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the efficacy of citric acid in impurity removal and the optimization of AMCT crystal purity and yield.

Effect of nanosecond pulsed laser parameters on texturing formation of metallic surface: Experiment and modelling

The laser ablation process is an indispensable tool in precision micromachining for fabricating micro/nanostructures with specific geometries and regulating physicochemical properties on target surfaces. However, the absence of studies on the effect of laser parameters on texturing formation and surface microstructure makes process control and the optimization of surface texturing challenging. In this study, a nanosecond pulsed laser process was employed to create the micro-texturing on the Al alloy surface, emphasizing the effect of process parameters on surficial grain structures and texturing formation. A three-dimensional (3D) heat transfer model based on the finite element (FE) method was developed to numerically visualize the shape-dimensional evolution of micro-texturing during laser ablation. A simplified but effective moving laser heat source model was proposed to predict the dynamic spatial and temporal distributions of heat generation and transfer. Material removal, which was dominated by surface evaporation in the pulsed laser process, was achieved using the element deletion method. Under various laser parameters, the model-predicted cross-sectional groove profiles agreed well with experimental measurements. In addition, the effects of laser power and scanning speed on the groove morphologies were investigated. The experimental findings and numerical models established in this study will provide guidance for precisely controlling pulsed laser parameters to achieve desired texturing structures and dimensions.