Massive Transformation Research Articles

Austenite grain growth in tailored cooling rate experiment designed by numerical simulation for peritectic steel

The heat transfer model for steel solidification in Al2O3 crucial and permanent mold by finite element method was developed and validated by temperature measurement. The multi-gradient operation was novelly designed, and the tailored cooling rate in range of 0.1–10 °C/s was obtained at the target location. The simulation aided experiment with the large-sized samples was carried out, and the local cooling rate was verified by secondary dendrite arm spacing. The size of austenite grain decreases slightly as cooling rate increases from 0.15 °C/s to 0.31 °C/s, and then increases dramatically in the range of 0.31–0.48 °C/s, finally decreases with cooling rate increasing further to 9.76 °C/s. The relationship between austenite grain size and cooling rate was logarithmically regressed in the range of 0.48–9.76 °C/s, in which the kinetic equations on basis of cooling experiment and continuously cast slab can also work. However, the grain size decrease in 0.15–0.31 °C/s and then increase in 0.31–0.48 °C/s cannot be described. Based on the mechanism of peritectic solidification, the austenite grain growth is mainly controlled by diffusion at a low cooling rate smaller than 0.31 °C/s, and the final grain size is less than 1.0 mm. At a medium cooling rate between 0.48 and 3.60 °C/s, austenite grain growth is accelerated by the energy stored during massive type peritectic transformation previously, and the grain size is between 1.7 and 2.9 mm. At high cooling rate larger than 9.76 °C/s, austenite grains grow to about 0.9 mm in columnar shape. The time for grain growth is not adequate, although addition energy storage by massive transformation can also occur. The critical cooling rate for the onset of massive type peritectic transformation in the large-sized sample is between 0.31 and 0.48 °C/s. The growth velocity in the isothermal experiment is much smaller than that in continuous cooling process, confirming that the austenite grain evolution is significantly affected by previous peritectic solidification.

Integrating employability learning and career development learning: Insights into a business school approach

This practitioner reflection shares insights based on our seven-year journey pursuing an ambitious curriculum transformation espousing partnerships pedagogy within the School of Business (SOB) at Western Sydney University (WSU). With a significant proportion of first-generation and culturally and linguistically diverse students, employability is of strategic significance for WSU. The objective was to integrate employability and career development learning while addressing confidence and self-esteem deficits among graduates. Massification of the higher education sector, new universities, courses and pathways along with the competition among university graduates for employment all compound the issue. This challenging landscape required a unique approach to achieve a fundamental shift in learning and outcomes to prepare students for life beyond university. A massive curriculum transformation was endorsed and led by a cross-disciplinary team adopting partnerships pedagogy to transform the student learning experience. This reflection documents the practitioner journey involved in developing a program expressly targeting graduate employability for business students. Emphasis is on the experiences and challenges encountered while implementing a partnership-based approach to build, sustain, and cultivate graduate employability, through the development of industry networking experiences.

Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Customer Journey

The entire gamut of Customer journey is undergoing a massive transformation due to the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Leveraging the power of AI , CRM & systems have refined the aspect of how businesses manage and optimize the customer journey. AI-powered systems have significant impact across various stages of the customer lifecycle by use of techniques such as machine learning to empower businesses to use systems that can analyse vast amounts of customer dataset in real-time, enabling them to gain deeper insights in customer behaviours, preferences, & sentiment. The AI-driven techniques help businesses to drive more personalized & targeted marketing campaigns, tailored recommendations, and extend efficient customer service leading ultimately to enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Moreover, AI-powered systems have capabilities of offering predictive analytics which empower businesses to forecast customer behaviours and anticipate their needs. The capabilities help businesses in effective resource optimization and improve efficiency. For customer service AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are used to enhance engagement by providing instant responses and ability to handle resolving issues promptly.

Massive Transformative Purpose (MTP) as moderator in the relationship between Culture of Experimentation and Autonomy

The present research seeks to measure the relationship between the culture of experimentation and autonomy and the relationship between both variables when moderated by the organization's massive transformative purpose (MTP). This quantitative and exploratory research was conducted through a questionnaire for decision-makers in 43 medium and large IT companies in Jalisco. The results reveal a significant positive relationship between the culture of experimentation and autonomy, corroborating the first hypothesis of this research. However, according to the analyses to calculate the degree of moderation of the massive transformation purpose variable (moderator variable) to adjust the relationship between the culture of experimentation and autonomy, the results showed that there are no significant relationships, which rejects the second hypothesis of this research.

4IR Applications in the Transport Industry: Systematic Review of the State of the Art with Respect to Data Collection and Processing Mechanisms

Transportation systems through the ages have seen drastic evolutions in terms of transportation methods, speed of transport, infrastructure, technology, connectivity, influence on the environment, and accessibility. The massive transformation seen in the transportation sector has been fueled by the Industrial Revolutions, which have continued expansion and progress into the fourth Industrial Revolution. However, the methodologies of data collection and processing used by the many drivers of this progress differ. In order to achieve a better understanding of the impact of these technologies, in this study, we methodically reviewed the literature on the subject of the data collection and processing mechanisms of 4IR technologies in the context of transport. Gaps in present practices are identified in the study, especially with regard to the integration and scalability of these technologies in transportation networks. In order to fully reap the rewards of 4IR technologies, it is also necessary to apply standardized methods for data gathering and processing. In this report, we offer insights into current obstacles and make recommendations for future research to solve these concerns through a comprehensive evaluation of the literature, with the goal of promoting the development of intelligent and sustainable transportation systems.

Massification of Higher Education in Türkiye and Its Challenges

In the last 20 years, the education system in Türkiye has witnessed massive growth and transformation from primary- and secondary education to higher education. Significant improvements have been made in enrollment rates at all levels of education, reaching a level comparable to OECD countries. In this context, this study focuses on the transformation and massification of higher education in Türkiye. The net enrollment ratio in higher education in Türkiye has increased from 10% to 46% during this period. Especially, the establishment of higher education institutions in all cities has contributed positively to women's access to higher education, and for the first time, the enrollment and graduation rates of women have surpassed those of men. The increase in the supply of higher education and easier access has raised the proportion of higher education graduates from under 20% to over 40% in the 25-34 age group during this period. At the same time, the average length of education for the population aged 15 and over is increasing every year. Additionally, this study identifies problem areas and proposes solutions to ensure the sustainability of the expansion in higher education during this period. The evaluation identifies insufficient face-to-face teaching capacity in the higher education system and attempts to compensate for this deficiency with distance education programs as the primary problem area. Especially since 2015, almost half of the students who have enrolled in higher education have been able to enroll in distance education programs. Therefore, increasing face-to-face teaching capacity in higher education and reducing the proportion of distance education in higher education stand out as challenging issues. The second problem area is highlighted as being related to the limitations in scientific knowledge production performance of higher education institutions and the number of doctoral graduates. Despite an increase in the number of doctoral graduates from all disciplines every year, sustaining the growth achieved during this period is highly inadequate. This problem not only negatively affects the capacity for scientific knowledge production but also creates significant challenges, especially in meeting the need for faculty members in newly established universities, thus adversely affecting the quality of higher education. The study also offers some recommendations for addressing these problems.

The Effect Of Employee Engagement In Change On The Effectiveness Of Organizational Transformation At PT XYZ

PT XYZ is a telecommunications company that is focusing on massive organizational transformation. The results of the Employee Engagement Survey & Communication Effectiveness Survey in 2023 are lower than in 2020, the presumed impact of organizational transformation. The analysis of integration between employee engagement and change management has not been much studied, as most previous studies have researched independently. The objective of the research is to analyze the factors that influence employee engagement in change and the influence on organizational transformation effectiveness. 401 respondents were obtained with criteria of permanent employee and minimum working time of 2 years. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and SEM PLS. The results showed that change-related organizational resources, change-released job resources, change-related job demands, and personal resources have a significant positive impact on employee engagement in change, then employee engagement in change has a significant positive impact on the effectiveness of organizational transformation both directly and as a mediator.

Возможно ли понятие «концепт»?

The article examines different interpretations of the notion “concept”, beginning with S.A. Askol’dov’s essay “Concept and Word” (1928). Askol’dov, who treats the concept as a general notion, points out its main features, such as the function of substitution and the potential for carrying out certain actions. What is implied is the generative function of “intellectual generalities” with respect to “intellectual particularities”. In a coiled-up fashion, the concept contains within itself a movement towards what has repeatedly occurred in relation to similar phenomena. Although devoid of representation, the concept is highly effective in terms of its potentiality, and this is where its mysterious aspect resides. In contemporary studies of culture (Yu.S. Stepanov, D.S. Likhachev) the concept is seen as the embodiment of culture in the mind of its bearers. What is highlighted is, again, the substitutive function of the concept (Likhachev refers to it as the “algebraic” expression of the meaning of a word) as well as the presence of various levels or layers, which are actualized in group communication (Stepanov). Exhibiting fluidity and transitivity, the concept, unlike properly philosophical concepts, captures the dynamic of a subject’s becoming in language as well as the rhythm of ongoing massive transformations, including those that embrace the realm of the political.

Optimizing Human Resources Behavior in Facing the Era of Society 5.0

The Society 5.0 era marks a massive transformation in society's life driven by technological innovation. This research aims to explore the role of human resource behavior in facing challenges and opportunities in the Society 5.0 era. Using a qualitative approach and an in-depth literature review, this research analyzes how individual, team and organizational behavior needs to be adjusted to optimally utilize the potential of technology while maintaining human values. The research results show that to be successful in the Society 5.0 era, increased digital skills, cross-disciplinary collaboration and a culture of continuous learning are needed. In addition, organizational leaders need to build a work environment that supports innovation, openness, and quick adjustment to change. This research provides valuable insights for policy makers, human resource practitioners and academics in designing strategies to optimize human potential in the Society 5.0 era.

How digital transformation can influence workflows, teaching practices and curricula in (bio)process science and engineering—An interview series with stakeholders

AbstractA massive digital transformation is underway in biotechnology and process engineering fueled by recent advances in machine learning and so‐called artificial intelligence, especially in the large language model field (e.g., ChatGPT). Training courses and curricula will need to adapt to keep pace, but the speed of progress is such that guidelines for the implementation of a digital transformation are probably already outdated. We therefore interviewed stakeholders from the fields of didactics, biotechnology and process engineering to collect the latest perspectives on the impact of digital transformation and to solicit recommendations for the adaptation of curricula and training courses to reflect new work profiles in academia and industry. We conducted semi‐structured interviews with 17 stakeholders and used a framework analysis approach to structure and evaluate the collected information. For example, data handling was the dominant general activity affected by digital transformation, whereas multitasking was relevant to work, and the design and implementation of new didactic methods and content was linked to teaching. The interviews revealed that an increasingly diverse set of skills and competences (in addition to those in current curricula) will be expected from the next generation of biotechnologists and process engineers. This includes profound programming skills, model building abilities, as well critical data interpretation and data literacy in the widest sense. The corresponding key challenges will be a reasonable and structured disinvestment in other areas to provide slots for the new content and to secure resources for the implementation of necessary modifications.

Effects of hatch spacing on densification, microstructural and mechanical properties of β-solidifying γ-TiAl alloy fabricated by laser powder bed fusion

β-solidifying γ‑titanium aluminide (γ-TiAl) alloys, which typically contain β-phase stabilizers such as Nb and Cr, hold great promise for the aerospace industry and can potentially be processed through additive manufacturing to realize performance unachievable using conventional methods. However, the effects of laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) parameters on the characteristics of the thus obtained samples remain underexplored. To address this gap, we herein examined the effects of hatch spacing on the densification, microstructural, and mechanical properties of L-PBF-fabricated Ti-44Al-6Nb-1.2Cr (at.%) alloy samples, revealing that the strong influence on thermal history induced the variation in densification and formation of two microstructure types. 0.01 mm hatch spacing resulted in repetitive slow cooling and sufficiently remelting, thus suppressing crack formation, promoting high densification, and inducing a complex phase transformation involving the formation of a basket-weave-structured α2 phase and the 〈001〉 alignment of the β phase along the build direction. 0.06 mm hatch spacing resulted in rapid cooling and insufficient heat accumulation, favoring the massive phase transformation, a jagged morphology α2 phase with a randomly distributed crystallographic texture. Hardness was mainly correlated with phase constitution and volume fraction, whereas compressive properties were jointly determined by additional effects of multiple factors such as grain size and crystallographic texture. This work provides the fundamental insights required to suppress defect formation in β-solidifying γ-TiAl alloys and tailor their microstructure for mechanical property enhancement.

Navigating Cyber Perils in Bhutan: Challenges and Opportunities

Over a decade, Bhutan witnessed massive digital transformation in various sectors offering numerous opportunities, but at the same time, this has also brought in a considerable share of cybersecurity threats and challenges. By reviewing and analysing information related to cybersecurity from various sources, such as journals, news articles, press releases, websites, and annual reports of government agencies related to Bhutan’s cybersecurity, this study identified the prominent vulnerabilities, challenges, and opportunities, and explored the mitigation strategies. It was determined that the cybersecurity threat landscape of Bhutan is dynamic and multifaceted, ranging from online scams, phishing attacks, malware infections, vulnerabilities in systems, and a lack of security awareness among the general population. Bhutan has made noticeable efforts towards cyber threat mitigation which includes improving cybersecurity awareness at various levels, collaborating with stakeholders both at national and international levels, and implementing guiding strategies. However, there are still significant challenges being faced in terms of limited allocations of budget for infrastructure and human resource development and management. In addition, penetrating security awareness at the grassroots level is a prominent challenge. There are also opportunities to work towards maintaining and retaining a technical talent pool and implementing the national cybersecurity strategy. This article provides insights into Bhutan’s cybersecurity landscape and offers recommendations for addressing current challenges and building capabilities to combat cyber threats effectively.

The Effect of Heat Treatment on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Powder Metallurgy Ti-48Al Alloy

Heat treatment is the critical step in achieving a refined microstructure and enhanced mechanical properties of TiAl-based alloys. This study investigated the influence of heat treatment temperature, cooling method, and heat treatment time on the microstructure and mechanical properties of an extruded powder metallurgy Ti-48Al alloy, and achieved the control of fully lamellar fine microstructures and the enhancement of performance through a simple heat treatment, rather than the traditional approach of homogenization followed by heat treatment. The results indicate that the heat treatment temperature determines the type of microstructure, while the cooling rate dictates the lamellar width. As the heat treatment temperature was increased from the two-phase region to the α single-phase region, the microstructure transitioned from duplex to near lamellar, and the alloy strength initially increased and then decreased, influenced by both the lamellar colony ratio and grain size. A rapid cooling rate (water quenching) induces a non-diffusive massive phase transformation, whereas a slow cooling rate (air cooling) gradually forms α2/γ lamellar colonies. Therefore, a suitable heat treatment regime for the powder metallurgy Ti-48Al alloy was determined to be 1340 °C/5 min/air cooling. The microstructure of the alloy was near lamellar, consisting of lamellar colonies approximately 50 μm and a small number of γ equiaxed grains of about 10 μm. Subsequently, the alloy exhibited a room temperature tensile strength of 784 MPa and a yield strength of 763 MPa, representing improvements of 17.0% and 38.7% over the extruded alloy, respectively. This research provides a reference for establishing a heat treatment process for powder metallurgy TiAl alloys.

Architecture of the Indonesia Welfare State: The reflection of 20 years of Indonesia Reformation Era

After Asian Economic Crisis (AEC) hit many of Asian countries in 1997, Indonesia and Asian countries are experiencing crisis and change, Indonesia had transformed its economic and political structured. From centralistic to be more decentralised. Indonesia has produced various economic policy to recover the destructive of the crisis which has impacted not only on economic dimension but also other dimensions. Alongside of massive economic and political changing, Indonesia also realised to reform its social policy system to protect people especially the lower middle class during the crisis. During 20 years from 1998-2018 Indonesia has a massive transformation in terms of social policy and strengthening their architecture of welfare state. Using several data from various journal articles and research reports which has been analysed through qualitative content analysis this paper is aimed to understand how Indonesia has been committing to address absolute poverty and income inequality. The results of the study found that Indonesia has transforming their social policy to be more institutionalised to tackle poverty and income inequality.

Employee learning and skilling in AI embedded organizations – predictors and outcomes

PurposeIn this research article we aim to answer two research questions: - With ever increasing AI based integrations in organizations, it is imperative to understand how employees learn and adapt to these newer technologies? What is the impact of this learning and adaptation on AI-based employee productivity?Design/methodology/approachA survey-based research design has been conducted among the employees working in technology companies. Questionnaires were administered by the researchers physically using snowball based purposive sampling to reach the participants who are working in the AI driven technology companies. The data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling and numerous studies have previously used this approach for model fit and testing.Findingsit was found that employee learning has significant positive mediational impact on the relationship between AI trust, knowledge sharing and AI skills and AI-employee collaboration. SEM results indicate that data fits the proposed model well.Practical implicationsfindings indicate that as the trust in AI develops, employees are more interested in learning and increasing their understanding of AI driven work and increase their AI skills such as Machine learning and data analytics. To increase AI-employee collaborations and upskilling: organizations will need to foster AI training opportunities; make employees work on projects having AI based sociotechnical systems; create environment of knowledge sharing among employees on AI themes.Originality/valueThe use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is ubiquitous, and more and more organizations are adopting AI in their operations which lead to massive scale changes in the functioning of organizations. These large-scale massive transformations are posing challenges and opportunities at the same time. At the same time, it created immense challenges for employees’ adjustment to the new learning and skilling requirements posed by AI (Sengupta et al., 2022). It is therefore expected that employees embrace the associated new technologies of AI such as big data analytics, Machine learning and Robotics.

De-infrastructuring automobility: The politics of urban highway repurposing and removal in São Paulo and Madrid

One of the most visible infrastructural legacies of the 20th century is the urban highway, which underpinned the massive transformations of cities and regions in the postwar period. As concerns grow about the climate impacts of car travel and urban sprawl, however, cities across the world have begun to remove or repurpose sections of urban highways to try and heal the social, economic, and ecological scars of their construction and promote sustainable urban development. These processes speak to key scholarly debates in geography and cognate fields on the relationship between transport infrastructure and processes of urban change. In this paper we explore two cases of what we call the “de-infrastructuring” of automobility: the piecemeal pedestrian appropriation of the Minhocão elevated highway in São Paulo and the ongoing political conflicts over the burial of the A-5 highway in Madrid. In each case, the peopling of highway infrastructure—whether by temporary occupation or permanent removal—is both a popular demand and a potential component of urban redevelopment strategies designed to channel investment back into the spaces that these infrastructures devalued. At the same time, these projects are ongoing, contested, and uncertain, and constitute broadly piecemeal and somewhat ephemeral attempts at repair, rather than more systemic approaches to undoing automobility and its socioecological impacts. Highway restructuring in São Paulo and Madrid therefore raises crucial questions about urban socioecological restructuring and the prospects for a just post-automobile city.

Unveiling 4500 years of environmental dynamics and human activity at Songo Mnara, Tanzania

Coastal East Africa has undergone massive transformations through the Late Holocene, with a combination of changes in sea level, increasing human settlement, and ensuing use of coastal resources. A comprehensive multi-proxy analysis, including pollen, phytolith, charcoal, stratigraphy, particle size, and geochemical data from sedimentary cores extracted from mangrove ecosystems combined with soils from archaeological contexts, provided valuable insights into vegetation dynamics, environmental changes, and human interactions within the mangrove ecosystem of Songo Mnara Island, Tanzania over the last 2590 BCE (4540 cal yr BP). The bottommost layers indicate a lack of vegetation, as deduced from the presence of coral rags and high calcium and carbonate content, possibly due to high mid-Holocene sea-level. Evidence of mangrove taxa suggests a decrease in sea level, enabling the establishment of mangroves from around 2590 BCE. A brief period of sea-level rise occurred between 90 BCE and 320 CE before sea-level fell until 1570 CE. Significant evidence of human activity is recorded from around 1400 CE indicated by increased charcoal, crop phytoliths, and evidence of marine resource utilisation. The timing of this human-environment interaction is also linked to the time of lower sea level. However, there was evidence suggesting human abandonment of the island from around 1500 CE. This coincided with a subsequent rise in sea levels and potentially prolonged drought conditions spanning from 1570 to 1700 CE. These factors likely contributed to a shortage of food resources in the area, impacting both agricultural practices due to the scarcity of natural freshwater and the accessibility of marine food resources. From 1700 CE to the present, fluctuations in sea level have been observed, with a signal of recent sea-level rise in tandem with shifts in mangrove, terrestrial herbaceous taxa and fire activity.The low sedimentation rates within mangrove areas suggest that the mangroves on Songo Mnara Island may not keep pace with the current rate of sea-level rise.

Extensive phase transformation in an equiatomic CrCoNi medium entropy alloy under extreme uniaxial tension

The dynamic tension behavior of an equiatomic CrCoNi medium entropy alloy (MEA) has been studied at both room temperature (RT, 298 K) and liquid nitrogen temperature (LNT, 77 K). Microstructural observations show that extensive phase transformations were activated in this alloy under dynamic tension at LNT instead of the activation of the deformation twins under high strain rate only or quasi-static loading at LNT. The appearance of massive nanoscale phase transformation bands along multiple slip directions even created a network structure of HCP lamellae in the FCC grains. This leads to defect accumulation at the intersection regions and results in the formation of new HCP variants, inverse phase transformations to FCC structure and even amorphous domains. Such transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) effects including the mutual interactions of crossover phase transformation bands on the plasticity and tension fracture of the MEA under extreme loading conditions were further discussed. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the deformation mechanisms in the equiatomic MEA under extreme loads.

Beyond Bitcoin the Future of Blockchain in Secure Communications

This research paper discusses the possibilities blockchain has for being used beyond its cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin) to provide better communication security, privacy, and dependability. The use of blockchain seals out the so-called single-collapsar points where failure is possible and from the attacks that are targeted on the centralized systems. Blockchain ensures the continuity, anonymity, and accessibility of data attacks through the use of modern cryptography which comprises, among other things, public-key cryptography. Discovering the potential and making it available is the power of this technology. It makes it safe from unauthorized access, preventing manipulation and addressing the issue of privacy with pseudonymity. It gives a longer path that can be used as an alternative to existing social platforms. Some issues facing blockchain's scalability, user experience, and regulatory questions are deterring its wider use in secure communications activities in the report. However, blockchain technology has its scaling solutions, aversion to privacy and security issues, adaptation to regulation, and integration with emerging technologies could be the basis for a massive transformation in security communications

Multi-build orientation effects on microstructural evolution and mechanical behavior of truly as-built selective laser melting Ti6Al4V alloys

The unique combination of lightweight, strength, corrosion resistance, high-temperature resistance, and biocompatibility make Ti6Al4V alloy an important material in metal contact of solar cells, and selective laser melting (SLM) enables the production of Ti6Al4V parts complex geometries that would be difficult or impossible to produce using traditional manufacturing methods. The build orientation of SLM process presents an essential effect on the quality of the produced parts, and thus, in this study it investigates the impact of multi-build orientation (0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 90°) on the microstructural evolution and mechanical behavior of truly as-built Ti6Al4V alloys produced by SLM. The microstructure analysis revealed the presence of ordered subsurface pores, located at a distance of about 50 μm–150 μm from the sample surface. The microstructure consisted primarily of α′ martensite with a small amount of β phase. Massive transformation was observed in the 30° and 45° samples, with corresponding grain sizes of 5 μm and 10 μm, respectively. To be specific, the content of β phase and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) varied with the sample orientation, and the 45° build orientation exhibited the highest content of β phase with value of approximately 2.8%, but also the lowest UTS and elongation, which were 1161 MPa and 3.99%, respectively.