Lower Labor Costs Research Articles

Adaptive fractional order non-singular terminal sliding mode anti-disturbance control for advanced layout carrier-based UAV

Advanced layout carrier-based UAV has grabbed increasing attention in aerospace field for its unique characteristics such as fewer casualties, lower labor costs and more capable of carrying out various tasks in shipping environment. However, the complex body structure of advanced layout UAV can bring about insufficiency in terms of stability, making it especially susceptible to changeable working circumstances. To overcome the object complexity and external disturbances mainly consisting of air turbulence that the UAV may come across, a composite adaptive fractional-order non-singular terminal sliding mode control strategy is proposed to achieve finite-time attitude tracking control and disturbance rejection. The distinctive features of the proposed strategy are embodied in active disturbance compensation, finite-time convergence, higher control accuracy and chattering suppression. The mathematical model of flying wing UAV is established first, then a fixed-time disturbance observer applying higher-order sliding mode is designed to obtain the estimation of unknown disturbance so that the carrier-based environment factors can be considered in the later control process. Next, an adaptive fractional-order non-singular terminal sliding mode controller is developed based on fractional order calculus and adaptive double power exponential reaching law to realize finite-time tracking control of advanced layout carrier UAV with great robustness against external disturbances due to the estimation from the proposed observer, and the stability analysis of closed-loop system is implemented by utilizing Lyapunov theory. Finally, a comparison study of the proposed strategy with other sliding mode control methods is presented by numerical simulation, to illustrate its feasibility and superiority.

Towards regenerative regional development in responsible value chains: an agentic response to recent crises

ABSTRACT In this paper, we empirically and theoretically present regenerative regional development in responsible value chains as an alternative to the prevailing traditional, neoliberal economic rationale of globalization. We develop the argument on the back of a longitudinal in-depth case study on actors’ engagement in the recurring crises in the maritime industry in Sunnmøre/Norway. The alternative perspective is an agentic response from the business community in the wake of recent crises. It builds on advanced manufacturing capabilities, automation and precision technologies, which promise local economic regeneration while reducing the reliance on low-cost labour, substantially cuts emissions through reduced long-haul transport, use of green energy and more energy-efficient production processes. To succeed, however, it calls for policies that promote the building of local capabilities and penalize practices causing environmental and social harm in global value chains, making it possible to move towards responsible and shorter value chains.

Drivers of Exports Competitiveness in Manufacturing: A Comparison between China and Germany

In recent years, globalization has brought significant development opportunities to various economies worldwide, including influences for export-oriented economies such as China and Germany. This paper examines the export competitiveness of China and Germany in terms of labor market conditions and non-price factors, as well as the impact of China as an emerging economy on German manufacturing export competitiveness. Labor costs, productivity, and market reforms are considered to analyze labor market competitiveness. Non-price competitiveness is examined through explorations of product innovation, quality, and high-tech products. This article found that China's manufacturing export advantage is primarily due to the low labor cost of its workers, and FDI contributes to China's technological and high-tech export advancements. The competitiveness of German exports is attributed to the labor market reforms in Germany and the innovation and high quality of its products. On the other hand, wage inequalities exist in both China's and Germany's manufacturing industries. The study also finds that while emerging economic giant China has gained significant export market share, Germany can remain competitive.

Comparison of Evapotranspiration Partitioning and Dual Crop Coefficients of Direct-Seeded and Transplanted Rice in the Poyang Lake Basin, China

Direct-seeded rice (DSR) has received much attention because of its advantages in having low labor costs compared to the traditional transplanted rice (TPR). Investigating the differences in evapotranspiration (ET) partitioning and crop coefficients (Kc) between DSR and TPR is essential in understanding how agricultural water demand is affected by crop rotation. In this study, the water fluxes of two-year (2017–2018) growing seasons were collected from a pair of eddy covariance (EC) towers for DSR and TPR in the Poyang Lake Basin, Southern China. This study aims to compare the seasonal characteristics of the ET components (evaporation, E, and transpiration, T) and dual crop coefficients (basal crop coefficient, Ks·Kcb, and soil/water crop coefficient, Ke) of DSR with those of TPR. The ET values for the 2017 and 2018 growing seasons were 374 mm and 436 mm for the DSR, respectively, and 309 mm and 342 mm for the TPR. The seasonal T/ET values in 2017 and 2018 were 0.40 and 0.46 for the DSR, respectively, and 0.49 and 0.52 for the TPR, indicating that the higher ET values for the DSR can be mostly attributed to E. The DSR had overall higher Kc values than the TPR because of free water evaporation during the initial stage and a higher plant density. Our results enrich the Kc dataset for DSR and have great implications for the sustainable irrigation of the Poyang Lake Basin in the future.

What draws investment to special economic zones? Lessons from developing countries

ABSTRACT Special economic zones (SEZs) are a popular policy tool for the promotion of economic development. However, questions remain about their economic contribution and about what aspects of SEZ policies are most relevant to investors. This article sheds light on these issues by comparing SEZs across Africa, Asia and Latin America. We find that while investment decisions by foreign companies are driven by market access, political stability and low labour costs, adequate SEZ policies facilitate the attraction of investment. A good industrial infrastructure together with a strategic location and service provision within the zones draw investment. Fiscal incentives, by contrast, have a limited influence on investment decisions.

A brief overview of the use of additive manufacturing of con-create materials in construction

Currently, additive technology is becoming increasingly popular in different areas, including its applications in construction industry. The main aim of the chapter is to show the selected applications of 3D printing technology in the construction industry and the usage of this technology on distinct stages of a construction project, from architectural design to performance of residential buildings and other civil engineering constructions. The chapter is based on a critical analysis of the literature sources, as well as the authors' experiences. The data collected are supported by selected case studies from five projects. The main findings show that 3D printing brings a lot of advantages in the construction industry, for instance: low labour costs, less waste, and high efficiency, but it still requires development and optimization.

AI for Anglophone Africa: Unlocking its adoption for responsible solutions in academia-private sector.

In recent years, AI technologies have become indispensable in social and industrial development, yielding revolutionary results in improving labor efficiency, lowering labor costs, optimizing human resource structure, and creating new job demands. To reap the full benefits of responsible AI solutions in Africa, it is critical to investigate existing challenges and propose strategies, policies, and frameworks for overcoming and eliminating them. As a result, this study investigated the challenges of adopting responsible AI solutions in the Academia-Private sectors for Anglophone Africa through literature reviews, expert interviews, and then proposes solutions and framework for the sustainable and successful adoption of responsible AI.

Capital Inflows and Working Children in Developing Countries: An Empirical Approach

International capital flows and the operation of multinational enterprises (MNEs) are influenced by several socioeconomic and political factors. Among them, low labor cost is listed among the determinants that attract foreign capital, primarily foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, which in various cases is attributed to unskilled employees, including working children. Working children, mainly in developing countries, remain an important social issue which has attracted increasing research interest, as well as the coordinated efforts of international organizations. The present research aims to empirically investigate the interaction between FDI inflows and child labor in developing countries using panel data analysis. The paper includes an extensive literature review of related empirical research on the association between child labor and FDI inflows in developing countries. The novelty of the study is attributed to its effort to empirically investigate the causality between FDI and child labor in two geographic regions that present high rates of working children, namely sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. A sample of 42 developing countries from a period ranging from 1980 to 2019 was used and Granger causality tests were applied. The study concludes that there is a unidirectional causal relationship from FDI inflows to child labor in these regions and no causality was observed from child labor on macroeconomic independent variables. Several policies and proposals that will reduce or prevent child labor in the subsidiaries of multinational companies are included.

Quantifying and mapping landscape value using online texts: A deep learning approach

Current studies have quantified landscape value based on the quantity of social media, ignoring public preference, emotional tendency and intensity. Our objective is to quantify and map landscape value by developing a novel intelligent landscape value evaluation method based on online texts. We argue that online texts can be converted into quantities through deep learning technology, which allows the measurement of public preference, emotional tendency and intensity. We selected perception frequency, perception heat, perception preference and the value index as indicators to quantify landscape value, which is the product of perception heat and perception preference. We collected more than 14,000 online texts about the Orange Islands in Changsha city from 2010 to 2020, analysed the perception heat using Python to extract data, and analysed the perception preference using Baidu API sentiment analysis technology. The results show that the novel method has a wide range of data sources and represents the real public perception and value orientation, demonstrating that online texts with a wealth of mined information can be used to evaluate landscape value. The model calculating the landscape value overcomes the shortcomings of current methods that ignore public preference, emotional tendency and intensity. The results also show that the conservation mode of Orange Island is successful, and the conservation method suggested by the recommendation on the historic urban landscape is feasible. The study highlights the contribution of public preferences to landscape value and provides insight into the situations and variations of value types on Orange Island. The novel method is highly intelligent, time-saving, has low labour costs, and is applicable and can be applied to the evaluation of landscape value, especially in cases where value conflicts exist.

Construction worker productivity evaluation using action recognition for foreign labor training and education: A case study of Taiwan

Importing workers from countries with more abundant, lower-cost labor supplies has been a solution in developed countries to address the labor shortages. The continuous monitoring of worker activities is a widely used approach to measuring productivity and determining the root causes of inefficiency. The evaluation of column formwork activities was developed and tested to compare the relative productivity of foreign and domestic workers. An innovative framework integrating a deep learning method, namely You Only Watched Once (YOWO), was applied to recognize discrete actions of the workers. The YOWO model identified these actions with an average F1 score of 78.3%. The time required to perform the “assemble” action was identified as the most significantly different, with foreign workers requiring 36 s more than their domestic counterparts. Hence improving the efficacy of foreign workers in completing the assemble action should be prioritized in training and education.

Smart ports: towards a high performance, increased productivity, and a better environment

<span lang="EN-US">Ports are currently competing fiercely for capital and global investments in order to improve revenues, mostly by improving performance and lowering labor costs. Smart ports are a fantastic approach to realize these elements since they integrate information and communication technologies within smart applications, ultimately contributing to port management improvement. This leads to greater performance and lower operational expenses. As a result, several ports in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America have gone smart. However, there are a lot of critical factors to consider when automating port operations, such as greenhouse gas emissions, which have reached alarming proportions. The purpose of this study is to define the most essential tasks conducted by smart ports, such as the smart ship industry, smart gantry and quayside container cranes, transport automation, smart containers, and energy efficiency. Furthermore, it gives a model of the smart port concept and highlights the critical current technologies on which the ports are based. Each technology’s most significant contributions to its development are noted. This technology is compared to more traditional technologies. It is hoped that this effort would pique the curiosity of fresh researchers in this sector.</span>

Bulgarian contribution to the economics of the European Union

Bulgaria, as one of the youngest members of the European Union (EU), has made significant contributions to the economic development of the Union. Since joining the European Union in 2007, Bulgaria has undergone a series of economic reforms and has shown impressive growth rates, which have had positive effects on the European Union's economy. The country's strategic location, low-cost labour force, and relatively low corporate tax rates have made it an attractive destination for foreign investors, leading to increased trade and investment flows between Bulgaria and other European Union member states. Bulgaria has also played an active role in the European Union's efforts to deepen economic integration and promote the digital single market. However, the country still faces challenges related to corruption, governance, and demographic trends that need to be addressed to ensure sustainable growth and to fully realize its potential in the European Union's economy.

A hybrid metaheuristic algorithm to achieve sustainable production: involving employee characteristics in the job-shop matching problem

ABSTRACT Sustainable production is proposed to guide manufacturers in achieving sustainable development goals. Although previous studies have developed diverse metaheuristics algorithms in finding the optimal method for balancing economic and environmental aspects, the social aspect is still omitted. In addressing this shortcoming, this study attempts to design a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm to balance economic performance with social expectations by matching the employees’ characteristics with those of a job shop. This study contributes to (1) confirming the importance of considering the social aspect for strengthening the theoretical basis; (2) proposing a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm in matching employees’ characteristics with the job shop; and (3) utilizing the optimal scenario leads the related firms in practicing sustainable production. The findings indicate that matching the employee-job-shop can fulfill the social expectation for generating positive effects on economic performance. If manufacturers insist on lowering labor costs, it may have a negative impact on production efficiency.

Spillover Effects of China-US Trade War on Southeast Asian

A trade war between China and us has started in 2018. China has been considered a threat by American politicians they are trying to use a trade war as a tool to contain China’s high-speed development. However, China will not allow the US to be seized without putting up a fight. With the advance of the trade war, China and the US have had several rounds of confrontation by raising tariffs. It’s hard to really say which side won the overall victory, nevertheless, the trade war between China and the US has diffused the whole world economic environment. In order to avoid the raised tariffs from the competitor, China, and the US transfer the import resources to the country that has lower tariffs on the same goods. The third-party country would attend the trade war by gaining the spillover effect of the trade war. Southeast Asia has eleven countries, such as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Timor Leste. Most of them have China or the US as their biggest trading partner. When China raises tariffs on a certain commodity to the United States, which may find the third country in order to replace China to evade tariff sanctions. The Countries in the Southeast become the optimal choice for the US. They also have low labor costs, close transportation routes, and many employment vacancies. Therefore, Southeast Asia has become one region in the world that has a spillover effect of the China-US trade war.

Mixed‐model assembly lines with variable takt and open stations

Industry trends such as product customization, radical innovation, and local production accelerate the adoption of mixed‐model assembly lines (MMALs) that can cope with a widening gap between model processing times and true build to order capabilitiy. The existing high work content deviations on such assembly lines stress production planning, especially the assembly line sequencing. Most manufacturers set the launching rate for all assembly line products to a fixed launching rate resulting in rising utility work and idle time when system load increases. We present an “ideal” variable rate launching (VRL) case resulting in minimal computation and achieving 100% productivity (full elimination of idle time and utility work) for balanced assembly times and homogeneous station lengths. Managers should foster the ideal circumstances where operators need not wait for a preceding task to be completed and product sequence restrictions are eliminated, thus enabling unmatched production flexibility. Furthermore, we present a mixed‐integer model to analyze both closed and open workstations on an MMAL for fixed rate launching and VRL. This model incorporates costs not only for labor inefficiencies but also for extending the line length. We present a heuristic solution method when process times and station lengths are heterogeneous and demonstrate that the variable takt dominates the fixed takt. In a numerical, industrial benchmark study, we illustrate that a VRL strategy with open stations has significantly lower labor costs as well as a substantially reduced total line length and thus lower throughput time.

A Study on Effect of Agriculture on Agro- Based Industries and Impact of Agro-based Industries on Indian Economy

The paper is the result of a theoretical study made on agriculture and agro-based industries in India. The paper is an attempt to emphasize the impact of agriculture on agro-based industrial sectors and to analyze the problems and prospects of agro-based industries in India. The paper begins with the discussion of the definition of agro-based industries along with the types of agro-based industries. It has been found that agro-based industries are like the sunrise sector of the Indian economy in view of its large potential for growth and likely socio-economic impact specifically on employment and income generation. Studying the growth of agriculture and agro-based industries, the paper found that it is a joint process for achieving economic development of India having a quite strong agricultural base. In simple words, the paper throws light on the fact that agro-industrial integration is one of the right steps in this direction. Moreover it has also been found that the potential for agro-industrial development in India is largely linked to the relative abundance of agricultural raw materials and availability of low-cost labour. However, a study on the present condition of the agro-based industries of India showed that the agro-based industries of India are in the crisis, in spite of having undoubtedly high prospects for its development. The agro-based are facing various problems regarding lack of technology, non-availability of research lab for quality control, financial assistance and improper marketing channel. Thus, from the extensive theoretical study made on the topic it can be concluded that if this sector is properly developed, it can make India a major player at the international level for marketing and supply of agro-based industrial products opening the door for India’s economic development.

Artificial Intelligence in Community-Based Diabetic Retinopathy Telemedicine Screening in Urban China: Cost-effectiveness and Cost-Utility Analyses With Real-world Data.

Community-based telemedicine screening for diabetic retinopathy (DR) has been highly recommended worldwide. However, evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) on the choice between artificial intelligence (AI)-based and manual grading-based telemedicine screening is inadequate for policy making. The aim of this study was to test whether the AI model is more worthwhile than manual grading in community-based telemedicine screening for DR in the context of labor costs in urban China. We conducted cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses by using decision-analytic Markov models with 30 one-year cycles from a societal perspective to compare the cost, effectiveness, and utility of 2 scenarios in telemedicine screening for DR: manual grading and an AI model. Sensitivity analyses were performed. Real-world data were obtained mainly from the Shanghai Digital Eye Disease Screening Program. The main outcomes were the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) and the incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR). The ICUR thresholds were set as 1 and 3 times the local gross domestic product per capita. The total expected costs for a 65-year-old resident were US $3182.50 and US $3265.40, while the total expected years without blindness were 9.80 years and 9.83 years, and the utilities were 6.748 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and 6.753 QALYs in the AI model and manual grading, respectively. The ICER for the AI-assisted model was US $2553.39 per year without blindness, and the ICUR was US $15,216.96 per QALY, which indicated that AI-assisted model was not cost-effective. The sensitivity analysis suggested that if there is an increase in compliance with referrals after the adoption of AI by 7.5%, an increase in on-site screening costs in manual grading by 50%, or a decrease in on-site screening costs in the AI model by 50%, then the AI model could be the dominant strategy. Our study may provide a reference for policy making in planning community-based telemedicine screening for DR in LMICs. Our findings indicate that unless the referral compliance of patients with suspected DR increases, the adoption of the AI model may not improve the value of telemedicine screening compared to that of manual grading in LMICs. The main reason is that in the context of the low labor costs in LMICs, the direct health care costs saved by replacing manual grading with AI are less, and the screening effectiveness (QALYs and years without blindness) decreases. Our study suggests that the magnitude of the value generated by this technology replacement depends primarily on 2 aspects. The first is the extent of direct health care costs reduced by AI, and the second is the change in health care service utilization caused by AI. Therefore, our research can also provide analytical ideas for other health care sectors in their decision to use AI.

Analysis of production time and capacity for manual and robotic compounding scenarios for parenteral hazardous drugs

BackgroundThe increasing amount of hazardous preparations in combination with shortages leads to a call for more efficient compounding methods. This research aims to evaluate the required amount of time, production...

Numerical Studies on Flexural Behaviour of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer-Wrapped Reinforced Concrete Beam

Construction faults and poor maintenance of concrete buildings become crucial as a result of heavy loading. Fibre reinforced polymer increases load bearing capacity, improves ductility, and decreases degradation damages. The researchers are looking for new and novel ways to strengthen beams since traditional techniques of reinforcement have limits that must be addressed. Due to its better qualities, the technology of wrapping a Reinforced Concrete (RC) beam with composite material has become popular and widely employed in structural applications. FRP has a lower labour cost and is a simple technique to reinforce buildings for a more effective solution. The experimental and analytical work was done for both conventional and CFRP strengthening with various intervals, such as CFRP wrapped with a 100mm interval, CFRP wrapped with a 200mm interval, and CFRP wrapped without an interval, with improved results in deformationand stress analysis. All of the experimental data were compared to the calculated analytical values. When CFRP is used on a beam, it enhances its strength, load bearing capability, and ductility.

Does China's regional emission trading scheme lead to carbon leakage? Evidence from conglomerates

This study uses the list of ETS pilot firms and China's Administrative Registration Database to build the conglomerate of pilot firms and then uses China's National Tax Survey Data from 2009 to 2016 to analyze whether ETS leads to carbon leakage in conglomerates. The results show that ETS promotes carbon transfer from pilot firms to their production-connected firms, carbon emissions and emission intensity of production-connected firms have been significantly improved. After controlling cofounding policies, conducting placebo test and other robustness analysis, the results are still valid. The ways of carbon leakage include output, investment, labor, and energy consumption. Investment transfer occurs at the policy issue stage, and pilot firms tend to transfer production activities with higher energy intensity. Heterogeneity analyses find that the carbon leakage caused by ETS is transferred to regions with low environmental regulations and low labor costs. In further analysis, we verify no negative carbon leakage and compare the carbon emission reduction of EST to pilot firms with the carbon leakage of EST to production-connected firms, though ETS can reduce carbon emissions, its effect is far overestimated.