A Mobile System for the On-Site Assembly of Timber Frame Components: The Development of an Agile, Low-Cost Alternative to Offsite Prefabrication

Prefabricated timber component-based systems are the most prevalent industrialised system used to build housing. Along with many other countries, the UK has invested in different types of factory-based prefabrication systems as a means of increasing productivity and enhancing quality. In more recent decades, prefabrication has become part of a series of ‘modern methods of construction’ employed for, and aimed at, delivering sustainable and efficient construction. However, certain pragmatic issues remain. The industry is cyclical, and during periods of declining resources, skills and technical development can be lost. Additionally, factory-based prefabrication requires substantial initial investment and an appropriate local workforce. To help address these issues, this paper presents the concept of an alternative method of production and assembly that takes a different approach to traditional industrialised systems that involve large investments and fixed-location factories. The proposition presented in this paper is that it is possible to design and develop a small, low cost, portable micro-factory that can be taken to a temporary location or construction site, where it can then be used to construct prefabricated closed panels. We describe the development of a working prototype, effectively a micro-factory, along with its potential advantages over a fixed facility.

Concluding Remarks

This concluding chapter draws together the argument around the contrasting styles of teaching and argument exemplified by Cambridge and LSE: Alfred Marshall’s emphasis upon a broad acquaintance with contemporary economic realities, selecting techniques to fit cases; and Lionel Robbins’s emphasis upon principles, their technical development, and uniform application to circumstance. The latter approach prevailed not because it was more ‘scientific’, but because the range of material both teacher and student needed to command was strictly circumscribed. The technical development of universal principles required logical skills, rather than substantive knowledge, and was more suited to lecture room and textbook. This was the future of economics.

Analysis of technical development of small-sized loaders with on-board swing system

Due to the spread of small-sized loaders with on-board swing system (SLOS), it has become necessary to determine the level of their technical development. To understand the set task, a review of small-sized loaders, their classifications, performance parameters and implements was made. Modern SLOS manufacturers were analysed; their design features; main operating parameters: engine power, load capacity, speed and vehicle weight. An analysis of recent papers describing SLOS performance was conducted. It should be noted that most of them consider specific workflow processes, design features that do not reflect the full range of such machines. To solve this problem, a statistical analysis of theSLOS nomenclature data was performed depending on the classification features and performance indicators. This article presents the assessment of the impact of SLOS performance parameters and classification features on their level of technical development. Based on statistical data, the regression equations of the dependences were obtained: engine power on load capacity; loader weight on load capacity; dependences of performane parameters were plotted. General trends in the technical development of small-sized loaders were established. The vast majority of manufacturers focus on the production of medium-capacity loaders, as they are in the greatest demand. The analysis of the graphs suggests that in the future production of small-sized loaders with the load capacity of up to 1.5 tons, engine power of 60-70 kW and weight of up to 5 tons will increase. We can also predict growing production of compact SLOS with the load capacity of up to 0.5 tons, engine power of 20-30 kW and weighing up to 2 tons, which are widely used in urban landscaping. With the help of the present paper we can predict development trends, establish weaknesses of modern SLOSs and avoid competition when designing new loaders.

A meta-analysis of how the culture and technical development level influence citizens’ adoption of m-government

With the popularity of mobile Internet technology, mobile government has become the mainstream of current government affairs management, which highlights the growing importance of exploring citizens’ intention to adopt m-government. To find the important driving factors of m-government adoption and understand what roles the cultural and technical development level play in it, this study conducted a meta-analysis to search for important factors in m-government adoption from 42 studies from 17 countries. Based on the socio-technical theory, this study applied a meta-regression to explain the differences in the effects of these factors, from the perspective of culture and technical development level. The results show that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, social influence, perceived compatibility and trust all play important roles in m-government adoption. Culture and technical development level play moderating roles on the above relationships except for the perceived ease of use–perceived usefulness path. Our findings also reveal that the joint moderating effect of cultural and technical development level can better explain the impact of environmental factors on m-government adoption and consequently provide suggestions for the future implementation of m-government in different countries with diverse cultures. Points for practitioners This study proposes a research model of m-government adoption. Public managers should focus on citizens’ perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, social influence, perceived compatibility and trust, so as to improve citizens’ intention to use. The results also confirm that culture and technical development level have a specific moderating effect on m-government adoption, which means that public managers should not only consider service quality, but also note environmental factors. They especially should consider the flexible mobile government development strategies in different countries.

ANALYTICAL REVIEW OF TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS OF NEEDLE ROTARY TOOLS FOR APPLYING LIQUID FERTILIZERS TO THE SOIL LAYER

The purpose of the research is to identify trends in the technical development of needle rotary means for injecting liquid mixtures into the soil layer, taking into account the essence of the technological operation, as a control action to change the state of the soil. Research methods - analysis and generalization of essential features of technical solutions of needle tools for processing and applying liquid fertilizers to the soil layer. In order to develop criteria for evaluating technical solutions, scientific research on the classification of tools of this type and generalized interpretations of the essence of technological operations of tillage, application of chemicals, sowing, etc. were preliminary analyzed. Research results. An analysis from the point of view of the possibility of controlling the process and the degree of its implementation by a specific instrument allows to assess the place of a specific tool in the development stage. In accordance with the "System of properties and indicators of soil condition" [Vetokhin 2009], any introduction / extraction of matter, energy and / or information is considered a controlling factor in changing the state of the system, the ultimate goal of which is to change the level of metabolic processes and, as a result, to change the yield. An increase in the information component of processes is considered to be a tendency in the development of agricultural technologies and technical means aimed at a radical reduction in resource consumption [Vetokhin, Altybaev 2019]. One of the first technical solutions of needle tools for applying liquid to the soil layer is known from the American patent of 1898 [Morris, 1898]. The aim of the inventor is to provide a device adapted to form a hole in the soil for receiving a plant and supplying water to the hole. The current state of the development of technical means is illustrated by the invention, patented in the USA, RF and EU, "Systems, methods and devices for the introduction of agricultural liquids" [Stoller et al., 2020], [Radtke et al., 2020], [Levy et al., 2015]. A qualitatively new level is achieved by the inclusion of sensors of the current state of the soil in the process control system. Sensors come in contact with the soil to monitor its condition, in particular, density, temperature, humidity, percentage of carbon, organic matter, potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, etc. In a fluid delivery system, each of the outlets is connected to separate sources of input material and may contain dissimilar fluid materials, for example, different types of fertilizers, liquid insecticides. Conclusions. It has been established that the technical solutions of needle tools have been developed from manual devices of periodic action to rotary needle tools of continuous action for dosed application of complex fertilizers and simultaneous loosening of the soil. The next step in technical development is to expect the creation of automated complexes with rotary needle working bodies, which are able to continuously assess the condition of the soil and control the process of loosening and applying agricultural materials with different doses along each row. A promising stage of technical and technological development is the creation of means that will directly control metabolic processes in a system with a layer of soil. In a scientific sense, the study of trends in the development of technical means confirmed the previously published theoretical generalization of soil properties in relation to the process of managing its condition with minimal resource costs.

Fundamentals and working mechanisms of artificial muscles with textile application in the loop

Natural muscles, that convert chemical energy derived from glucose into mechanical and thermal energy, are capable of performing complex movements. This natural muscle power was the only way to perform mechanical work in a targeted manner for millions of years. In the course of thousands of years of technical development, mankind has succeeded in harnessing various physical and chemical phenomena to drive specific mechanical processes. Wind and water power, steam and combustion engines or electric motors are just a few examples. However, in order to make the diversity and flexibility of natural motion patterns usable for machines, attempts have been made for many years to develop artificial muscles. These man-made smart materials are able to react to environmental conditions by significantly changing their shape or size. For the design of effective artificial muscles that closely resemble the natural original, the usage of textile technology offers great advantages. By means of weaving, individual actuators can be parallelized, which enables the transmission of greater forces. By knitting the maximum stretching performance can be enhanced by combining the intrinsic stretching capacity of the actuators with the structural-geometric stretching capacity of the fabric. Furthermore textile production techniques are well suited for the requirement-specific, individual placement of actuators in order to achieve the optimal geometry for the respective needs in every load case. Ongoing technical development has created fiber based and non-fibrous artificial muscles that are capable of mimicking and even out-performing their biological prodigy. Meanwhile, a large number of partly similar, but also very different functional principles and configurations were developed, each with its own specific characteristics. This paper provides an overview of the relevant and most promising technical approaches for realising artificial muscles, classifies them to specific material types and explains the mechanisms used as well as the possible textile applications.