Industry Knowledge Research Articles

PENGETAHUAN DAN KESEDIAAN ILMU PENGGUNAAN TEKNOLOGI REVOLUSI INDUSTRI 4.0 BAGI USAHAWAN EKS DI FELDA KOTA TINGGI

The economic developments in major countries worldwide have sparked various types of new technologies. These changes will indirectly impact business operations. Therefore, entrepreneurs need to be ready for these changes. This is because possessing knowledge and readiness can assist micro-entrepreneurs (EKS) in deriving benefits and advantages from Industry 4.0 technology. Hence, this study was conducted to identify the level of knowledge and readiness for Industry 4.0 technology among entrepreneurs, particularly micro-entrepreneurs in Felda Kota Tinggi. The study employed a survey method with a questionnaire as the instrument. A total of 118 micro-entrepreneurs participated in this study. All data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed using the SPSS 27 application. The analysis results found that the knowledge and readiness of Felda micro-entrepreneurs are at a high level. This implies that micro-entrepreneurs have a good understanding and readiness regarding the latest technology. The impact of this study is expected to be utilized to assist Felda micro-entrepreneurs and those in rural areas in applying Industry 4.0 technology to increase income and enhance their business performance. This study has implications for relevant agencies, such as government and private entities, to continue developing and strengthening the micro-entrepreneur group, especially in Felda settlements, villages, and rural areas, so that they consistently learn the latest technology, preparing for and facing the Industry 4.0 revolution. This, in turn, provides a more profound impact on knowledge, readiness, and opportunities for the entrepreneurship field.

A Study on Challenges and Opportunities in Commerce Education

Commerce education is important to gain knowledge of business, trade, industry and commerce. It provides the knowledge for various specialized and professionalized study related to the business. In India commerce education is available after the school period because of this school students were not taught commerce subjects and they don't possess any business and finance knowledge. There are various courses available to commerce students which help them to gain knowledge and competencies required for job in industries. But the students were not possess proper knowledge and competencies due to lack of faculties and practical training provided by colleges and institution which lacks students to get job. In present scenario everything is digitalized which also applies to education. Modern education also adopted the online education and MOOCs platform to achieve the objectives of commerce education

Knowledge investment and search for innovation: evidence from the UK firms

Recent research on innovation management and knowledge transfer has demonstrated that industry knowledge collaboration and knowledge spillovers matter for innovation, but so does a firm's Research and Development (R&D). Conditional to a firm's R&D investment, this study makes a theoretical investigation into the role of two knowledge transfer strategies—industry coopetition and industry knowledge spillovers for a firm's innovation. Based on an analysis of a sample of 17,859 UK firms from 2002 to 2014, we demonstrated why and under what conditions firms will (a) invest in internal R&D, (b) engage in coopetition, and (c) access knowledge spillovers to introduce new to firm (incremental innovation) and new to market products (radical innovation). The results of this study demonstrate that firm managers who choose knowledge spillovers versus coopetition are likely to achieve radical vis-à-vis incremental innovation. Benefits from the coopetition can be achieved with low investment in R&D, while R&D is essential in recognizing the knowledge spillover for radical innovation. By deciding whether to deploy its costly R&D and access external knowledge via industry coopetition or spillovers, the firm is also making a concomitant decision about the type of innovative activity it will generate. Thus, a firm strategy for knowledge transfer and investing in knowledge internally is inextricably linked to a firm strategy involving the type of innovative output.

A kind of intelligent dynamic industrial event knowledge graph and its application in process stability evaluation

A kind of intelligent dynamic industrial event knowledge graph and its application in process stability evaluation

THE FIRST FOUR WEEKS INITIATIVE: PREPARING STUDENTS FOR SUCCESS IN AN INTRODUCTORY CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT COURSE

Ensuring student engagement throughout their academic journey is crucial for their success. Monitoring early course performance and taking proactive measures can contribute to this engagement. This paper focuses on implementing the First Four Weeks (FFWs) initiative in a Construction Management (CM) course. The FFWs initiative aims to create a positive and inclusive classroom climate, ignite student interest in the subject matter, foster an effective learning environment, and prepare students to excel in high-stakes assignments. The course, where the FFWs initiative was implemented, serves as an introductory first-year course, providing students with fundamental knowledge of the construction industry, including career opportunities and essential skills for project planning and execution. The proactive measures outlined in the initiative include providing timely feedback, offering additional support, encouraging office-hour attendance, and connecting students with campus services. In particular, two strategies implemented in the course are highlighted in this paper because they have proven to enhance student performance in the course. The first strategy involves providing students with a performance and behavior checklist to establish expectations and encourage motivation. The second strategy consists of incorporating low-stakes assignments before the first midterm. Overall, the example strategies discussed in this paper aim to enhance student engagement, motivation, and early performance assessment, leading to a more fruitful learning experience. The FFWs initiative acknowledges the pivotal role of faculty members in supporting students' success and emphasizes the positive impact of intentional efforts in the early weeks of the semester.

Consumer Perceptions toward the Use of Reclaimed Wood in Secondary Wood Products

Abstract Reclaimed wood is a repurposed building material salvaged from old or abandoned buildings that offers a sustainable approach to using wood in communities. Although there have been some studies on reclaimed wood, there has been a limited amount linking reclaimed wood to consumerism. In August 2021, an online survey was conducted to gauge adult consumers’ knowledge of the wood products industry and their attitudes on reclaimed wood practices. Adult consumers are defined as individuals residing in the United States who are 18 years of age or older. Study results indicate that many respondents have little to no knowledge of reclaimed wood. Of the 1,516 respondents, only 44% have any knowledge of reclaimed wood. Most respondents are not aware that reclaimed wood is a separate sector in the industry. Caucasian men were the most knowledgeable of all respondents. Respondents believe that reclaimed wood is environmentally friendly, durable, and aesthetically pleasing and that there should be better marketing practices for reclaimed wood. Respondents’ top three reasons for purchasing reclaimed wood was to promote sustainability, for the aesthetics, and because there was a need. Respondents also acknowledge the importance of knowing where their wood products come from and believe that the reclaimed wood sector is very important.

Seasonal dynamics of fallow and cropping lands in the broadacre cropping region of Australia

Fallowing is an important strategy for enhancing soil health, water harvesting and crop yields, thus improving sustainability and reducing production risks in dryland farming systems in Australia. However, accurate data regarding the location, frequency, extent, and duration of fallow land is not readily available at high spatio-temporal resolutions before and during a cropping season. As a result, continental maps depicting seasonal dynamics of fallow and cropping lands and their responses to climate change and human activities remain missing. This study set out to develop an automated approach to discriminate fallow areas from cropping areas within Australian broadacre cropping region. This was done by applying a mathematical algorithm of turning point detection technique to a curve fitted vegetation index time series from 2016 to 2022, derived from high spatial (10 m) and temporal (5-days) resolution Sentinel-2 data. Specifically, we aimed to derive: (i) 5-day revisit fallow/cropping map layers; (ii) key attributes of the fallow and cropping periods (e.g., start, end, duration); (iii) cropping intensity and area. The proposed approach yielded a high and significant overall accuracy, surpassing 92% with substantial balanced accuracy (>0.9) against >3000 fields for individual winter and summer seasons across Australia. In addition, this study's temporal and geographical outputs, encompassing seasonal attributes, cropping intensity and cropping areas, robustly enhanced the understanding of seasonal cropping dynamics and historical shifts in dryland farming practices. Findings derived from this analysis aligned well with extreme climatic events and changes in crop activities adopted in response to such events. Future research will aim to extract key seasonal dynamics attributes influenced by cropping practices, enhancing the conversion of high-resolution earth observation data into actionable industry knowledge.

Pretrained Language–Knowledge Graph Model Benefits Both Knowledge Graph Completion and Industrial Tasks: Taking the Blast Furnace Ironmaking Process as an Example

Industrial knowledge graphs (IKGs) have received widespread attention from researchers in recent years; they are intuitive to humans and can be understood and processed by machines. However, how to update the entity triples in the graph based on the continuous production data to cover as much knowledge as possible, while applying a KG to meet the needs of different industrial tasks, are two difficulties. This paper proposes a two-stage model construction strategy to benefit both knowledge graph completion and industrial tasks. Firstly, this paper summarizes the specific forms of multi-source data in industry and provides processing methods for each type of data. The core is to vectorize the data and align it conceptually, thereby achieving the fusion modeling of multi-source data. Secondly, this paper defines two interrelated subtasks to construct a pretrained language–knowledge graph model based on multi-task learning. At the same time, considering the dynamic characteristics of the production process, a dynamic expert network structure is adopted for different tasks combined with the pretrained model. In the knowledge completion task, the proposed model achieved an accuracy of 91.25%, while in the self-healing control task of a blast furnace, the proposed model reduced the incorrect actions rate to 0 and completed self-healing control for low stockline fault in 278 min. The proposed framework has achieved satisfactory results in experiments, which verifies the effectiveness of introducing knowledge into industry.

Drawing a blank – design modelling composite timber elements

The shift towards bio-economies of architectural fabrication necessitates particular consideration of how characterizing aspects of bio-materials such as heterogeneity and anisotropy impact the designed performance of architectural elements. These aspects must be integrated into the modelling and representation of architecture and must be instrumentalised for digital design and fabrication processes. The use of timber in construction is challenging due to its complex material behaviours, and therefore robust methods for predicting and modelling these are crucial for exploiting the timber resource more effectively. In light of this, we focus on developing a holistic and integrated digital modelling approach for glue-laminated timber construction elements that connects the digital design model to the specific material resource and incorporates its material complexity into design simulation workflows. We question the role of the lamella in the glulam blank and trace its agency through a series of four disparate projects, from an initially silent and generic constituent of the blank to a key, operative actor in the design of performance-graded timber products through the added specificity of material composition and a liberation of its form. The first project develops a modelling approach that connects material specification and lamella sizing to free-form timber element geometries. It uses principles of industrial glulam production and knowledge of the anisotropic nature of timber to speculate on new forms of glulam blanks that could arise from a deeper engagement with the glue-lamination process. The second project looks further back in the timber value chain at the processing of the specific forest resource into tailored building elements, attaching a material specificity to the lamella. The third project expands the modelling and prototyping of non-standard glulam blanks into considerations of timber waste streams and aesthetics. The final project aims to further speciate the lamella by tailoring its form as well as its material composition to respond to simulated performance demands. Through these projects we outline the development of a novel digital framework that begins as a modelling approach for free-form glulam beams and grows to accommodate the mapping and allocation of specific, heterogeneous input material. As the digital framework matures, increasingly detailed and interlinked digital simulations of mechanical performance are integrated.

A Study of Factors Influencing Construction Workers’ Intention to Share Safety Knowledge

There is a growing body of research on the factors influencing individual knowledge-sharing behavior, but the exploration of knowledge sharing in the construction industry is still in its infancy. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this paper introduced factors from the social exchange theory (SET) to develop a comprehensive model for exploring the intention of construction workers to share their safety knowledge. Data were collected from a total of 329 construction workers at five sites. Using the structural equation model method, the research model and path hypotheses of this study were analyzed. The results showed that altruism, trust, and reputation positively influenced the construction workers’ attitude towards sharing safety knowledge. Attitude, safety training, organizational climate, and knowledge-sharing self-efficacy could increase the construction workers’ intention to share their safety knowledge. However, the relationship between workers’ attitudes towards safety knowledge sharing and anticipated extrinsic rewards was not significant. Through identifying the factors underlying workers’ intention to share safety knowledge in the construction industry, the study helps to further understand the influencing factors and mechanisms of safety knowledge sharing willingness among the special group of construction workers and provides practical implications for engineering managers to strengthen construction safety management from the perspective of knowledge sharing.

In Silico Studies on Natural Products and Derivatives Against Different Types of Cancer.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is the second cause of death worldwide, responsible for almost 10 million deaths and accounting for one in every six deaths. It is a disease that can affect any organ or tissue with rapid progression to the final stage, which is metastasis, in which the disease spreads to different regions of the body. Many studies have been carried out to find a cure for cancer. Early diagnosis contributes to the individual achieving the cure; however, deaths are increasing considerably due to late diagnosis. Thus, this bibliographical review discussed several scientific research works pointing to in silico analyses in the proposition of new antineoplastic agents for glioblastoma, breast, colon, prostate, and lung cancer, as well as some of their respective molecular receptors involved in molecular docking simulations and molecular dynamics. This review involved articles describing the contribution of computational techniques for the development of new drugs or already existing drugs with biological activity; thus, important data were highlighted in each study, such as the techniques used, results obtained in each study, and the conclusion. Furthermore, 3D chemical structures of the molecules with the best computational response and significant interactions between the tested molecules and the PDB receptors were also presented. With this, it is expected to help new research in the fight against cancer, the creation of new antitumor drugs, and the advancement of the pharmaceutical industry and scientific knowledge about studied tumors.

Co-evolutionary patterns of GVC-trade and knowledge flows in the mining industry: evidence from Latin America

Abstract Although evolutionary economics has extensively analyzed the evolution of industries in relation to innovation and technology lifecycles, the interplay between industry lifecycles and evolutionary patterns of knowledge networks has not been fully explored yet. This work aims to bridge this gap by analyzing the co-evolutionary patterns of knowledge and trade flows in the mining industry, using social network tools in combination with the Schumpeterian tradition of analysis. The study focuses on three Latin American countries: Brazil, Chile, and Peru, where the mining sector plays a significant role in the economy, particularly in the context of energy and digital transitions. Our findings suggest that the innovation network and the global value chain-trade network display divergent co-evolutionary patterns; while the former tends to be stable and concentrated, the latter shows increasing fragmentation and turbulence. The analysis also shows remarkable evolutionary evidence at the country level.

IDS-KG: An industrial dataspace-based knowledge graph construction approach for smart maintenance

With the development of information technology in manufacturing enterprises, a large amount of equipment maintenance data and knowledge are recorded. These rich knowledge resources contain a vast amount of semantic and physical associations that have not yet been developed, resulting in a significant gap between equipment maintenance procedures and experiential knowledge. Therefore, this paper proposes a multi-source maintenance data management method called Industrial Dataspace (IDS), and on this basis, proposes a method for constructing an equipment maintenance knowledge graph (IDS-KG) that considers the causal relationships between faults in the equipment maintenance corpus. The method fixes procedural data on the ontology model at the upper layer of the knowledge graph and automatically mines maintenance information from empirical data, and ultimately achieves the fusion management of equipment maintenance procedure knowledge and empirical knowledge. The method is validated in the practical application of nuclear power equipment maintenance, and the experiments show that the method proposed in this paper is able to effectively fuse the procedural data and empirical data and structured as triplets, and at the same time, it is able to identify the hidden causal relationship between failures in the empirical data.

Carbon Neutrality in the Building Sector of the Global South—A Review of Barriers and Transformations

This work provides a review of economic, technical, sociocultural, political, and technological barriers that impede carbon neutrality in the building sector of countries in the Global South. These barriers include limitations in public and professional awareness, knowledge, and skills in the construction industry, the lack of ambitious energy codes and green building rating systems, the lack of green financing schemes and investment, costs of materials and technology, and limitations in regulations. Finally, this article recommends five transformations to address the critical barriers and enable net-zero emission status in the building sector of countries in the Global South. These transformations include environmental data collection, stringent building energy codes, and green building system certifications, lifecycle-based thinking and circular design, education enhancement and workforce development, and net-zero emission business practices.

Collaborative Innovation Factor Analysis Based on Grounded Theory - A Case Study of the New Energy Vehicle Industry

The new energy vehicle industry is one of the emerging strategic industries, and innovation is crucial for the survival and healthy development of new energy vehicle enterprises. Currently, factors such as internal enterprise innovation, collaboration between upstream and downstream companies, government support, environmental regulations, and changes in market demand affect the collaborative innovation in the new energy vehicle industry. This article, based on grounded theory, aims to clarify the elements and interrelationships of collaborative innovation in the new energy vehicle industry and construct a collaborative innovation mechanism model. Using the three-stage coding of grounded theory, four main categories are identified: enterprise innovation and management, competition and cooperation in the industry chain, knowledge creation and technology sharing, and external environment. These four main categories constitute the foundation, key, core, and support of collaborative innovation in the new energy vehicle industry. The interactions between and within the main categories are analyzed, elucidating the innovation process of "communication-coordination-cooperation-collaboration" and the mechanism of transitioning from disorder to order in collaborative innovation in the new energy vehicle industry.

A Study of China’s Nascent Tea Drink Industry to Explore the Possibility of Africa’s Nascent Tea Market

As the global economy continues to burgeon after the pandemic, nascent tea drinks which are first invented in China are becoming more and more popular since they are both tasty and healthful. The paper mainly researches China’s nascent tea drink market and critically investigates the possibility of applying the business mode to the African market which is currently unexplored. In terms of China’s market, development history, industry chain, consumer concerns, and a case study of HEYTEA--a well-known nascent tea brand in China--are discussed to advance the knowledge of nascent tea industry and the implications of establishing the nascent tea drink market in African countries. After the analysis of China’s market, a SWOT analysis and recommended practices about establishing the nascent tea drink markets in African countries are later discussed in the paper. The SWOT analysis mainly discusses the benefits and drawbacks of developing nascent tea drink market in Africa and the potential threats and opportunities.

Research on the evolution and determinants of knowledge transfer network in patent-intensive industries

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the structural characteristics, spatial evolution paths and internal driving mechanisms of the knowledge transfer (KT) network in China’s patent-intensive industries (PIIs). The authors' goal is to provide valuable insights to inform policy-making that fosters the development of relevant industries. The authors also aim to offer a fresh perspective for future spatiotemporal studies on industrial KT and innovation networks.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the authors analyze the patent transfer (PT) data of listed companies in China’s information and communication technology (ICT) industry, spanning from 2010 to 2021. The authors use social network analysis and the quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) method to explore the problem of China’s PIIs KT from the perspectives of technical characteristics evolution, network and spatial evolution and internal driving mechanisms.FindingsThe results indicate that the knowledge fields involved in the PT of China’s ICT industry primarily focus on digital information transmission technology. From 2010 to 2021, the scale of the ICT industry’s KT network expanded rapidly. However, the polarization of industrial knowledge distribution is becoming more serious. QAP regression analysis shows that economic proximity and geographical proximity do not affect KT activities. The similarity of knowledge application capacity, innovation capacity and technology demand categories in various regions has a certain degree of impact on KT in the ICT industry.Originality/valueThe current research on PIIs mainly focuses on measuring economic contributions and innovation efficiency, but less on KT in PIIs. This study explores KT in PIIs from the perspectives of technological characteristics, network and spatial evolution. The authors propose a theoretical framework to understand the internal driving mechanisms of industrial KT networks.

Charting the Path of Technology-Integrated Competence in Industrial Design during the Era of Industry 4.0

The fusion of emerging technologies with industrial design has catalyzed a fundamental shift in the aesthetics, user experiences, and service frameworks of products in the Industry 4.0 era. Simultaneously, this convergence has heightened the demands placed on the technological integration competencies of designers. Consequently, there exists a necessity to articulate a precise developmental trajectory for proficiency in industrial design that incorporates these novel technologies. This study initiates with a bibliometric analysis to quantify the scholarly literature relevant to this research domain. Subsequently, leveraging the insights from this analysis, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 experts spanning the United States, Europe, South Korea, and China. Our conclusions show the following: (1) Co-word analysis and cluster analysis techniques are applied to identify 80 technologies and four technological clusters that demonstrate strong associations with industrial design in the Industry 4.0 era. (2) Employing coding techniques and thematic analysis, four distinct skill domains emerge for technology-integrated industrial design: Industrial Design Skills, Industrial Design Knowledge, Ethical Considerations in Industrial Design, and Industrial Design Industry Insight. Furthermore, a limitation that affects these competencies is identified. (3) A recommended methodology for assessing these competencies is proposed. This study represented an expansion upon existing industrial design competencies. The empirical data generated herein serves as a valuable resource for practitioners and educators within the field of industrial design. Furthermore, it provides a theoretical groundwork for future models addressing technology-infused industrial design capabilities.

How do the key capabilities of the industrial internet platform support its growth? A longitudinal case study based on the resource orchestration perspective

The widespread use of digital technology has promoted the rapid development of digital platforms. The current research on the industrial internet platform, a relatively new digital platform in the manufacturing industry, is insufficient to explain its development process. Therefore, this study explores the growth process of the industrial internet platform through a vertical single-case analysis from the perspective of resource orchestration. The following three findings have been obtained: (1) Industrial internet platforms have four key capabilities, namely industry fundamental capabilities, technical capabilities, policy grasp capabilities, and social resource integration capabilities. (2) The main mechanism for critical capabilities that promote the platform's growth lies in the orchestration of crucial resources, which can be structured in four ways: structuring industrial knowledge, bundling industrial modules, leveraging industrial supply resources, and bundling and leveraging government and enterprise resources. (3) The growth of the industrial internet platform follows the path of “serving enterprises—serving industries—serving industrial chains”. This paper contributes to research on the industrial internet platform's key capabilities and growth mechanism and provides a valuable reference for its development.

Entrepreneurial Skills Required of Small and Medium Scale Construction Firms’ Operation in Abuja, Nigeria

The study examined the entrepreneurial skills required of small and medium-scale construction firms’ operations in Abuja. One research question and hypothesis guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The population of the study consisted of 976; 401 managers and 572 contractors in registered small and medium-sized building construction firms in Abuja. A sample size of 278; 119 managers and 159 contractors were used for the study. The sample size for this study was determined using Taro Yamane’s sample reduction formula. The data for this study was collected using a structured questionnaire. The face and content validity of the instrument was established using the opinions of three experts from the Department of Building, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach alpha; which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.78. The findings of the study revealed that financial management, industry knowledge, project management, innovation and technology savvy, risk management, quality control, and adaptability are the most essential entrepreneurial skills for small and medium-sized construction firms in Abuja. The study among others recommended that managers of these firms should place emphasis on financial management skills, and networking skills through training programs, workshops, and mentoring opportunities.