This paper examines how an individual's moral norms and demographic characteristics interact with the standard ‘Theory of Planned Behavior’ predictors (Attitude; Subjective Norms; and Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC)) in explaining the intention to recycle (RI). Our data originate from an empirical research of Greek citizens conducted in Autumn 2013 (N = 293). Through structural equation modeling, we find that PBC is consistently the most important predictor of RI. Moral norms have a larger effect on RI than Attitude while their influence is primarily direct. On the contrary, demographic characteristics were found to be statistically non-significant predictors of RI, similarly to Subjective Norms.

Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior in the context of recycling: The role of moral norms and of demographic predictors

Creative Research leads the reader through the key knowledge, practices and skills of research methods in the study of design management and focuses on defining the research problem, deciding on a research process and undertaking a research project as a student at undergraduate or postgraduate level or as a practitioner within the creative fields. In addition to this, techniq

Creative Research: The Theory and Practice of Research for the Creative Industries (Required Reading Range)

Modeling of Asphalt Concrete

Tool wear and hole quality evaluation in cryogenic Drilling of Inconel 718 superalloy

During the last years, there has been an increase in research in the field of medical robots. This trend motivated the development of a new robotics field called ''robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery''. The paper presents the kinematic and dynamic behavior of a parallel hybrid surgical robot PARASURG-9M. The robot consists of two subsystems: a surgical robotic arm, PARASURG 5M with five motors, and an active robotized surgical instrument PARASIM with four motors. The methodology for the robot kinematics is presented and the algorithm for robot workspace generation is described. PARASURG-9M inverse dynamic simulation is performed using MSC Adams and finally some numerical and simulation results of the developed experimental model with its system control are also described.

An active hybrid parallel robot for minimally invasive surgery

The notions of smart construction and smart or digital cities include many modern concepts that are advocated today, especially in countries with advanced economies, and depend on using information technology and the Internet of Things as a basis to automate processes and activate digital systems to manage activities and services related to the operation of buildings and urban structures. In light of the spread of digital technology and modern managerial approaches, the concept of a digital twin is being used on a large scale with the current trend and direction to digitalize activities providing many economic, social and technical advantages. A digital twin is a system in which a virtual representation of a real entity or physical system is used continuously by being fed with data and deriving outputs in the form of decisions and actions that are generated through the processes of machine learning, simulation, development and lifecycle management. This study aims to review the literature on construction project management through the lens of digital twins and ways to use them in the field to improve operational results. The authors propose a framework for analyzing and supervising the development of digital twins that uses three main stages: the commonly encountered Building Information Modeling (BIM); the existing monitoring and actuation digital twins; and an envisioned third stage that makes use of artificial intelligence, complex visualization instruments and advanced controls with the capability to exact change within a construction project on the building site.

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Options for and Challenges of Employing Digital Twins in Construction Management

Training in coordinate measurement using 3D virtual instruments

The ISO standards for the Geometrical Product Specification and Verification (GPS) define an internationally uniform description
language, that allows expressing unambiguously and completely all requirements for the geometry of a product with the corresponding
requirements for the inspection process in technical drawings, taking into account current possibilities of measurement and testing
technology. The practice shows that the university curricula of the mechanical engineering faculties often include only limited classes on
the GPS, mostly as part of curriculum of subjects like Metrology or Fundamentals of Machine Design. This does not allow students to
gain enough knowledge on the subject. Currently there is no coherent EU-wide provision for vocational training (VET) in this area.
Consortium, members of which are the authors of this paper, is preparing a proposal of an EU project aiming to develop appropriate
course.

Geometrical Product Specification and Verification as toolbox to meet up-to-date technical requirements

Integrated management systems (IMSs) can already be considered a proven tool to help companies cope with the challenges associated with staying competitive in the face of dynamic stakeholder requirements. The present paper proposes a new instrument designed to evaluate and communicate the maturity achieved by an integrated management system (IMS) for responding properly to the requirements of its reference standards in a consolidated manner. The approach mainly aims to highlight the level of integration achieved on common requirements of the component standards and to determine the extent to which they work together as a whole. At the same time, it is useful to identify the needs for improvement in the system as a whole or in its sub-systems. The proposed methodology uses the transmutation in the RGB color space (red–green–blue) of the process audits’ results achieved under each standard, followed by the analysis of the IMS characteristics, with tools specific to the color space, based on the affinities between the two domains. To sustain the thoroughness of this approach, a case study of an integrated system for an industrial company is presented, analyzing the situation from two different evolution stages of the IMS. The approach is presented as a proof-of-concept, without large scale validation.

Seeing the Immaterial: A New Instrument for Evaluating Integrated Management Systems’ Maturity

Reverse engineering is a widespread concept used in industrial applications worldwide. It involves obtaining the geometric CAD model from 3D point clouds acquired by scanning existing parts or products. Applying the concept in medical applications requires specialized competences both in the field of health and medicine as well as in CAE (Computer Aided Engineering). Most uses of reverse engineering in medicine have been focused on developing applications around in vitro and in vivo case studies. This paper presents an algorithm for implementing the reverse engineering concept for applications in the medical field. The steps required for developing reverse engineering applications in the medical field are presented alongside case studies conducted by the authors. The studies are focused on showcasing various applications as well as other possible developments in the field of health and medicine regarding in vitro applications.

Mihai Dragomir

Papers

Options for and Challenges of Employing Digital Twins in Construction Management

Training in coordinate measurement using 3D virtual instruments

Geometrical Product Specification and Verification as toolbox to meet up-to-date technical requirements

Seeing the Immaterial: A New Instrument for Evaluating Integrated Management Systems’ Maturity

Integrating the concept of reverse engineering in medical applications