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After the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu Earthquake in Japan, rock structures, including rock slopes and underground cavities, were required to be evaluated for seismic resistance. Understanding the dynamic deformation properties of hard rock is essential for performing dynamic response analysis of large deformations of rock structures. This paper discusses the effect of confining pressure on the strain level dependence of the Young's modulus and damping ratio of water-saturated sandstone based on the results of cyclic triaxial tests. The relationship between the axial strain and equivalent Young's modulus ratio is different for quasi-elastic deformation below 2,000 and elastoplastic deformation above 2,000 p,E and hence can be approximated by two logarithmic functions. The relationship at the quasi-elastic strain level can be approximated by the same function regardless of the confining pressure. However, at the elastoplastic strain level, the slope of the logarithmic function decreases with increasing confining pressure. Furthermore, the relationship between the axial strain and damping ratio is distributed on the same curve regardless of the confining pressure in the axial strain range below 4,000 p,e. However, when the axial strain exceeds 4,000 re, this relationship deviates from the curve and the damping ratio rapidly increases with decreasing confining pressure. The experimental results for water-saturated sandstone were compared with those for dry sandstone presented in a previous paper. At the quasi-elastic strain level, the relationship between the axial strain and equivalent Young's modulus ratio can be approximated by the same function regardless of the water content. However, at the elastoplastic strain level, the slope of the logarithmic function is greater for water-saturated sandstone than for dry sandstone. Meanwhile, the relationship between the axial strain and damping ratio, regardless of the water content, is distributed on the same curve in the range from quasi-elastic to elastoplastic strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Quarterly Journal of Marketing is the property of Japan Marketing Academy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Quarterly Journal of Marketing is the property of Japan Marketing Academy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Quarterly Journal of Marketing is the property of Japan Marketing Academy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Quarterly Journal of Marketing is the property of Japan Marketing Academy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Percussion rock drills have been widely used mainly for blast hole drilling in mineral extraction, tunnel excavation, and underground development. To advance the performance and efficiency of rock drills, it is essential to understand the complex mechanisms of percussive rock drilling: hydraulic mechanisms in a drill body, elastic wave propagation and attenuation in rods and rod joints, dynamic bit penetration into rock, and the effects of thrust, rotation, and flushing. This paper focused on and detailed the bit penetration into rock. Some theories concerning the penetration characteristics of rock drill bits were presented such as elastic contact theory, slip line field theory, and fracture theory. Recent authors' studies on static and dynamic penetration tests with a single button were introduced as an elementary drilling process of a bit in which a number of buttons are embedded. Then, recent authors' studies on dynamic penetration tests with a button bit were introduced with the calculation method of force and penetration depth at the bit tip and with the results of force-penetration curves. The loading and unloading phases of the curves were modeled by convex functions, and their variation was discussed with the relation between the force-penetration curves of a bit and buttons. Important future research issues on the bit penetration into rock were presented for the further progress of percussive rock drilling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Quarterly Journal of Marketing is the property of Japan Marketing Academy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Quarterly Journal of Marketing is the property of Japan Marketing Academy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Quarterly Journal of Marketing is the property of Japan Marketing Academy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Quarterly Journal of Marketing is the property of Japan Marketing Academy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Quarterly Journal of Marketing is the property of Japan Marketing Academy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The existing literature on political scandals predominantly focuses on their detrimental effects on society at large. This paper aims to offer an alternative perspective, arguing that political scandals can lead to positive change. It does so by examining the case of Japan’s ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its ties to the controversial religious organization, the Unification Church (UC). These ties were brought into public attention, following the assassination of the former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. Drawing on the framework of scandal mediation process (Prusa, 2010), this paper defines scandal as a form of communication between the elite and the masses, that facilitated by the media. By consulting data from newspapers and government reports, this paper investigates the progression of the scandal. It highlights how the communication unfolded during the progression of the scandal through public pressure, intense media coverage, public apologies by members of the political elites, and attempts to mitigate the damage. Moreover, this paper argues that the swift response from the government, notably the passing of anti-malicious donation law, shows that a political scandal can positively impact the functioning of social order. Focusing on how and under what circumstance a political scandal may have a positive impact introduces a richer nuance to the discussion of Japanese political scandals as demonstrated by these findings.

After the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu Earthquake in Japan, rock structures, including rock slopes and underground cavities, were required to be evaluated for seismic resistance. Understanding the dynamic deformation properties of hard rock is essential for performing dynamic response analysis of large deformations of rock structures. This paper discusses the effect of confining pressure on the strain level dependence of the Young’s modulus and damping ratio of water-saturated sandstone based on the results of cyclic triaxial tests. The relationship between the axial strain and equivalent Young’s modulus ratio is different for quasi-elastic deformation below 2,000 με and elastoplastic deformation above 2,000 με and hence can be approximated by two logarithmic functions. The relationship at the quasi-elastic strain level can be approximated by the same function regardless of the confining pressure. However, at the elastoplastic strain level, the slope of the logarithmic function decreases with increasing confining pressure. Furthermore, the relationship between the axial strain and damping ratio is distributed on the same curve regardless of the confining pressure in the axial strain range below 4,000 με. However, when the axial strain exceeds 4,000 με, this relationship deviates from the curve and the damping ratio rapidly increases with decreasing confining pressure. The experimental results for water-saturated sandstone were compared with those for dry sandstone presented in a previous paper. At the quasi-elastic strain level, the relationship between the axial strain and equivalent Young’s modulus ratio can be approximated by the same function regardless of the water content. However, at the elastoplastic strain level, the slope of the logarithmic function is greater for water-saturated sandstone than for dry sandstone. Meanwhile, the relationship between the axial strain and damping ratio, regardless of the water content, is distributed on the same curve in the range from quasi-elastic to elastoplastic strain.

Ball bearings are used for many mechanisms. For the precious linear motion mechanism, it is very important to know the ball bearing deformation because the driving load is supported by the bearing. Especially, for the focus control mechanism of the optical telescope, even a very small deformation is not negligible because a sub-micron precision is required for the driving stroke. The Hertz’s formula is very familiar to the relation between the load and the displacement in a small contact area. Hertz derived the formula by using a potential of the electricity distribution in the ellipsoid body. However, it is reported that an error becomes large when the contact area is large. It is a reason that the elliptic paraboloid is used for the ellipsoid body in the Hertzian contact theory. Some modified equations are reported by Nishihara et.al, Tatara and Villaggio. However, the modified equations by Nishihara et al. and Villaggio are a little different from the FEM result. Therefore, in this paper, a contact deformation for the 2 equivalent spheres is analyzed by the indirect-fictitious boundary integral method. For the relation between the load and the displacement, a new modified equation with the fractional expression is derived in this paper. And, for the relation between the load and the contact radius, it is confirmed that the Hertz’s formula is correct.

In this paper, we present a void topology identification analysis in structures based on the level-set-based topology optimization using a weighted sensitivity method. The void topologies are identified by using the observed hammering response data and the gradient of the Lagrange function with respect to the level-set function. The numerical simulation of structural oscillation is performed by the finite element method, and the void topology identification analysis is formulated by the adjoint variable method. An improvement of how to give numerical parameters in the weighted sensitivity method is conducted, and numerical tests are carried out for minimization problem of the Rosenbrock function. The improved procedure is applied for the void topology identification analysis, and applicability of the proposed method is shown in this paper.

The authors developed a vibration suppression device (VSD) that has variable moment of inertia using magneto-rheological (MR) fluid in order to get series inertia mass effect for vibration reduction. In previous paper, the proto-type VSD was manufactured and the variable series inertia mass effect was confirmed. From the experimental results, the series inertia mass effect can be switched by the current of electromagnets. And theoretical model of solidified form of the fluid was proposed by formula and the trend were closed the experimental results. Then the vibration tests of 1DOF system with the VSD were conducted by a shaking table. Vibration reduction of the VSD was confirmed. The current of the electromagnet was controlled by using the reinforcement learning. But the fluid behavior inside the flywheel has not investigated before. In this paper, to investigate the fluid behavior inside the flywheel, it is analyzed by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Three types of the flywheels are manufactured, and 2 types of electromagnets are used here. Equivalent inertia mass in totally 20 cases of the flywheel and the electromagnets are numerically calculated by using the OpenFOAM, and also measured in experiments. From the analytical results, convection is initially occurred in the direction of the magnetic poles when the magnetic field applies, and then the particles are eventually solidified at locations other than near the magnetic poles. Finally, the analytical results are compared with the theoretical and the experimental results.

In general, the life of a rolling bearing is calculated as the total number of rotations until rolling fatigue occurs on the raceway. However, when rolling bearings are used under light loads and high rotational speeds, they are damaged not by rolling fatigue on the raceways but by cage wear due to lubrication life. In such cases, the conventional method for calculating the rolling bearing life is not applicable. Rolling bearings for traction motors of railway vehicles (hereafter referred to as traction motor bearings) are one example of this and are replaced primarily due to lubrication life. However, there is no practical way to calculate lubrication life and these rolling bearings are replaced empirically. The purpose of this paper is to obtain basic data to create a method for calculating lubrication life. Therefore, traction motor bearings were rotated under conditions like actual operating conditions to reproduce damage due to lubrication life. As a result, damage due to lubrication life could be reproduced, so the next step was to investigate the effect on lubrication life when the operating conditions of traction motor bearings were varied as parameters. The parameters considered were “bearing temperature”, “vibration acceleration”, and “grease mass”. As a result of these verifications, lubrication life decreased exponentially when the bearing temperature was increased. In addition, lubrication life decreased exponentially when vibration acceleration was increased. Furthermore, lubrication life increased logarithmically when the grease mass was increased. The effects of these verified parameters on lubrication life could all be formulated within this paper.

Wondertrunk & Co., founded in 2016, is an inbound company with a mission to transform local regions in Japan into global travel destinations. Based on the difference between tourism marketing, which considers tourist destinations as products, and conventional marketing, this paper examines Wondertrunk & Co.’s approach in the context of tourism marketing. This approach targets wealthy Western travelers to fulfill the objectives of Japan’s tourism policy of “sustainable tourism,” “expansion of consumer spending,” and “promotion of regional tourism”. The analysis focuses on destination marketing campaign projects carried out in collaboration with the Japan Tourism Agency and local governments, as well as the tourism business tailored to wealthy Western travelers. This paper concludes that the key success factors are (1) comprehensive marketing analysis and STP strategy development, (2) relationship building with international travel agencies, and (3) customization of luxury tourism services.

Counterfeit luxury goods refer to goods that closely resemble the original luxury goods, and consumers purchase these goods while being aware that they are counterfeits. To explain this consumer purchasing behavior, existing research has explored consumers’ motivations for purchase of counterfeit luxury goods. However, no study has thoroughly reviewed the latest trends in this field. Therefore, this paper selects the ten latest articles published in major academic journals in the field of marketing and organizes them from four perspectives: social, moral, cognitive, and online behavioral. The paper also identifies two future directions for research in this area: exploration of the impact of secondary markets and subscription services for luxury goods on counterfeit purchases, and exploration of the impact of the experiential value offered by luxury goods on counterfeit purchases.

Avoiding failures in the service delivery process is challenging, even for outstanding service companies. Service failure refers to the situation where the provided service falls short of customer expectations. Customer responses to such failures range from direct or indirect expression of dissatisfaction to negative word-of-mouth. These responses are collectively referred to as “customer complaining behavior”. With a focus on the cognition-emotion approach, this paper synthesizes two crucial bodies of prior literature on customer complaining behavior. The first concentrates on the conceptual development of this behavior, revealing its multifaceted nature. The second examines the antecedents of customer complaining behavior, considering cognitive, emotional, personality, and situational factors. By systematically organizing these bodies of prior research, this paper elucidates the theoretical advances in understanding customer complaining behavior and identifies research gaps. In particular, the paper proposes three directions for future research to advance scholarly inquiry and deepen understanding of the complexity of customer complaining behavior in service environments.

Being homeless is broadly understood to be traumagenic. Thus, support services for individuals experiencing homelessness (such as youth refuge) are encouraged to use trauma-informed models of care. However, there is a dearth of research that (1) focuses on youth refuge specifically, despite refuges being the most common response for youth homelessness worldwide, and (2) explains trauma-informed care models in detail so that they may be evaluated in practice. This paper outlines a trauma-aware framework used for nearly a decade within a youth refuge located in Melbourne, Australia: a psychologically informed environment (PIE). The paper provides: (1) an overview of trauma-informed care before describing what a PIE entails; (2) the how of a PIE, including core principles, their theoretical underpinnings, and how these principles are practically applied; and (3) the why of a PIE, focusing on implications for practice. A PIE is underpinned by key theoretical approaches such as attachment theory, the core emotional needs model, psychodynamic theory and formulation, social cognitive theory, and the transtheoretical model of change. A PIE encompasses five core principles of (1) relationships, rules, responsiveness, and roles; (2) physical and social spaces; (3) learning and enquiry; (4) staff support and training; and (5) psychological awareness. Overall, PIEs have been found to increase consumer engagement and decrease evictions, instill confidence and improve empathy within the staff, and decrease the risk for organizations, as seen by low incident rates. It is hoped that by providing this detailed outline of a PIE, more research can be undertaken into youth refuge care models, and more psychologically informed frameworks that address the multi-directional relationship between trauma and homelessness can be employed.

The objective of this paper is to clarify the influence of the structural characteristics of organizations in Japanese enterprises on market-oriented behavior, starting from a study to grasp the market orientation of organizations represented by Kohli and Jaworski (1990) from the behavioral perspective. This paper focuses on the centrality of the influence of marketing decision-making, formulation of strategy, and task conflict among departments as precedent factors affecting market-oriented behavior, which are strongly related to management of marketing strategies. The paper takes an empirical approach using structural equation modeling based on a survey of marketers in the Japanese manufacturing industry on how the combination of preceding factors affect each other, after segmenting the process of market-oriented behavior into the generation and diffusion of market information and the reaction. The results showed that (1) the market-oriented behavior process does not persist as a seamless process, and (2) it is difficult to design an optimal organizational structure that satisfies all conditions in improving market-oriented behavior, and it is necessary to adjust the organizational structure according to the situation.

The aim of this paper is to examine how smart roasters, one of the forms of Digital Transformation (DX) in the field of coffee bean roasting, are involved in the process of building branding in the specialty coffee business, with a focus on the interaction between coffee roasting profile data and roasters. In recent years, as the specialty coffee market has expanded in Japan, an increasing number of roasters and coffee shops have introduced smart roasters. In this paper, we focus on smart roasters that promote DX of coffee roasting as a major element supporting the specialty coffee business and examine how they engage in the construction of coffee branding. To this end, we clarify the positioning of the specialty coffee business in the coffee industry in Japan. Through case studies, we describe how smart roasters are involved in the branding of specialty coffee shops and the role roasters play in this process.

Our laboratory has reported in many papers on the coloration of fiber materials with amino groups, such as wool, silk, and nylon, using the Maillard reaction, i.e., the reaction with sugars. In particular, by using oxides of reducing sugars oxidized by the Fenton reaction, we have succeeded in significantly shortening the coloration time compared to conventional reducing sugars. For example, in the case of D-glucose, it was revealed that its color concentration was increased by about 200 times. Therefore, in this work, leather with low heat resistance was colored using reactions with oxides of reducing sugar and the relationship between the color concentration and mechanical strength was investigated in detail. First, the coloration of chrome-tanned leather was studied using oxides of D-glucose. Similar to the coloration of wool previously studied, the reaction was highly reactive to leather, and the leather could be colored to a dark, almost dark brown color even under the low temperature condition of 40 °C. In addition, the mechanical strength of leather is reduced by hydrochloric acid, a byproduct during the formation of glucose oxide. The concentration of glucose oxide, temperature of the reaction solution, and pH of the reaction solution were investigated in detail in order to darken the leather and control the reduction of its mechanical strength. As a result, not only was it possible to achieve a darker, almost black coloration, but the reaction in an aqueous solution containing a strongly basic glucose oxide produced interesting results in that the mechanical strength of the leather increased compared to that of the leather before treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a data augmentation method for generating a surrogate model of numerical analysis results. The proposed method focuses on the relative frequency of learning data for generating a learning model using deep learning techniques. Generally, data augmentation techniques are known to be useful for improving prediction accuracy. Adding noise and data duplication are commonly used for predicting numerical simulation results, but it is essential to carefully consider the amount of noise or choose a duplication target. However, these techniques are not appropriate for generating surrogate models. The reason is that the numerical analysis results mostly have high data imbalance, and no specific solution has been presented. The method proposed in this paper solves this problem and aims to be a simple and highly versatile data augmentation method. This paper describes the application of the proposed method to predict two-dimensional stress fields. It was confirmed that by increasing the number of data augmentations using the proposed method, the prediction errors were reduced for three different stress components stably. Additionally, it was confirmed that the prediction accuracy improved 5.81 to 27.0% compared to that of the data augmentation by simple duplication.

This paper describes a method for continuously measuring the contact position between the wheel and rail using strain gauges. The authors investigated the relationship between the bridge output sensitivity rate and the change in the placement of strain gauges using the result of finite element analysis for the instrumented wheelset. It is noted that the bridge output sensitivity rate is defined as the bridge output change per unit distance of the contact position (load position). Based on the result, strain gauges position suitable for measuring contact position was identified. On the other hand, static load tests were conducted on the instrumented wheelset with strain gauges attached to measure contact forces (wheel load, lateral force, and tangential force) and positions, respectively. The test results were found to be generally consistent with the finite element analysis results, and it was also observed that the load position of each contact force influenced each bridge output. Finally, this paper proposes a method for calculating the contact position by solving a nonlinear equation. The calculation uses the results of the load tests and also wheel rotation angle, bridge outputs, wheel load, lateral force and tangential force which measured in running railway vehicle. Simulations were performed for various cases, and the contact positions were obtained stably and continuously. This suggests that the proposed method is reasonable and applicable to various situations.

Mingli tan 名理探 (Investigation of Name-Patterns) is the first Chinese work dedicated to introducing Aristotelian logic. It was largely forgotten after being published in the 1630s, only rediscovered more than two centuries later, and then considered by modern academia more or less a failed project. However, through the lens of mingli, the key term to translate ‘logic’ in the book, this paper argues that despite the scarce readership and influence of Mingli tan, its translation practice should not be deemed as a failure. Instead, it is a work that reveals how translators can intervene with conceptual paradigms creatively and meaningfully. This paper provides a thorough examination of mingli, a culturally loaded term, by contextualizing it in the late Ming (1582‒1644), a time of significant Sino-European cultural contacts. In doing so, it sheds light on the neglected philosophical value carried by the term through translation, and highlights the translator—Li Zhizao李之藻 (1565‒1630)—and his pioneering effort in infusing it with a novel Aristotelian and Christian sense. Mingli is also examined in the broader intellectual history. Through an investigation into its traces in later Chinese translations of ‘logic’ starting from the 19th century until the 1980s, this study reveals a line of changes in the Chinese reception of logic suggested by the shift from the use of mingli to the phonetic translation luoji 逻辑 to denote logic, indicating that mingli can serve as a meaningful clue to track the transition of Chinese thought from traditional to modern paradigms.

This paper attempts a new reading of Gongsun Long’s “Baima lun”, through comparison with the Heidelberg School’s interpretation of Hölderlin’s “Being and Judgement” as a critique of self-consciousness and its judgmental form. It demonstrates that “Baima lun” correspondingly employs a reflectivity, or logic-transcending, anti-foundational perspective of “Being”, in order to undertake an ironical critique of judgment by a judgment as an illustration and confirmation of the epistemological ideas developed in “Zhiwu lun” and “Mingshi lun”. Consequently, based on the GSLZ, this paper proposes a new nominalist approach which differs from that of Hansen. Derived from further elaboration of the Heidelberg School’s interpretation of Hölderlin’s conception of Being, this paper posits that “things”, as read in “Mingshi lun”, are a specific dimension of “Being”, as singular infinity, and “name”, as superior to “zhi” or judgment in the rendering of things as criticized in “Zhiwu lun” and “Baima lun”.

This paper presents an analysis of the motion of a motorcycle at high-speed using a motorcycle dynamics model that considers the compliance of the frame components. Several motorcycle nonlinear dynamics models have been proposed in previous studies and in the industry. However, these models do not consider the compliance of the frame components, which affects the maneuverability and stability of motorcycles. Moreover, there is not any researches that analyzes the effect of such compliance on motorcycle dynamics in a domain that includes turning. In this paper, we derive a nonlinear dynamics model of a motorcycle that takes into account the compliance of the frame components and analyze the effect of such compliance on the vehicle body motion during high-speed straight riding and turning. For the dynamics model, the Kane’s equation is constructed based on multi-body dynamics analysis. In conclusion, we demonstrate that the compliance corresponding to the lateral torsion of the front forks is the most dominant factor in improving stability in the high-speed region, both in straight riding and in turning.

Instrumented wheelsets are widely used in the railway industry for the purpose of measurement of the wheel-rail interaction forces, which are crucial factors in a running safety assessment. Information on lateral contact position between wheel and rail is also an important factor when discussing the wheel-rail contact conditions, such as the friction coefficient at the contact point. However, it is difficult to measure the contact position by using ordinary instrumented wheelsets since they are specialized only for the measurement of interaction forces. Therefore, the authors have proposed a signal processing procedure to extract information of contact position from bridge circuits constructed for the measurement of the lateral forces between wheel and rail by using bending and shear strains of wheel webs in a previous work. The purpose of this paper is to develop an online processing system which implements the proposed signal processing procedure. The original procedure requires long computational time and is not suitable for an online processing. As the first step to develop the processing system, this paper proposes a faster algorithm of signal processing procedure based on frequency analysis for extracting information of contact position from instrumented wheelset at first. Using the faster algorithm, a multi-rate processing system was developed to acquire the strain data at a high frequency and to execute the signal processing at a low frequency. The performance of the developed system was evaluated with a single-wheelset roller-rig test.

Vibration performance is the one of the important performances in automotive product because of related to not only ride comfort and control performance of vehicle but also durability and noise performance. However, it is difficult to design efficiently because the performance is determined by the influence of all components constituting of a whole structure. In previous paper, we presented an effective way to design vibration performance based on an inverse method for structural modification that keeps one specified eigenfrequency and its eigen vector of the whole structure the same. In this paper, we propose a new method to keep the specified multiple eigenfrequencies and their eigen vectors the same. Firstly, the matrices for structural modification are calculated as dynamic stiffness matrix variation from the zero-divisors of the specified multiple eigen vectors. The design of dynamic stiffness matrix variation is simplified by representing the matrix variation as just stiffness matrix variation which is independence on eigen frequency. Furthermore, it is possible to represent the calculated matrices redundantly by using an arbitrary non-zero weighting matrix. However, the matrices are generally calculated as fully populated and non-symmetric matrices. Therefore, secondly, we transform the matrices calculated as the zero-divisors into the sparse matrix of reduced row echelon form in advance. This transformation simplifies building symmetric and sparse matrices for realizable structural modification. This sparse matrix, redundantly represented by a weighting matrix, allows a value analysis to select among alternative structural changes to simplify structural complexity while keeping several performances originated from vibration performance. Finally, the proposed method was applied to a numerical case study.

Built for Zero (BFZ) is a new data-driven approach to allocating housing assistance to homeless households. BFZ implementation includes the production/maintenance of a “by-name list” (BNL). The BNL is a regularly updated spreadsheet with personalised data about everyone who enters and exits a local homeless system (i.e., flow). Local administrators use the BNL to produce “by-name data” (BND). BND lets administrators monitor and manipulate system flow in “real time.” Scholars have not analysed how administrators manage their BNL and produce BND. This paper starts that conservation by answering three questions with interview data that was collected from administrators at 28 “BFZ communities” (i.e., homeless systems implementing BFZ): How do administrators manage their BNL? What factors influence BNL management? How does BNL management affect BND accuracy? Using thematic analysis, the author provides evidence that administrators manage the length of their BNL by removing “inactive” clients who have disengaged from service providers. Administrators try to verify housing status before deeming someone inactive. The verification process is shaped by social policies, network ties, virtual interactions, and administrative discretion. Because those things vary across homeless systems, administrators face different constraints and enablers whilst verifying someone’s housing status. The intersection of contextual factors and subjective processes biases the BND administrators produce from their BNL.

The first systematic sediment survey by the icebreaker Shirase (AGB-5003) was conducted during the 61st Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-61). Sediment samples were obtained from a total of 28 sites in 3 areas of the Totten Glacier front–Dalton polynya, Lützow-Holm Bay and Cape Darnley polynya using a large-bore gravity corer and GSJ-type K-grab sampler. In this paper, details of the survey operation are described as a reference for the future experience. In addition, preliminary results of the obtained sediments are reported as a fundamental information for future analysis using these samples.

Improving customer satisfaction is a crucial objective in today’s marketing landscape, but meeting consumer expectations is no small feat. This paper examines the case of transcosmos Inc.’s contact center operations to explore practices that reduce service dissatisfaction and enhance customer satisfaction. By implementing an AI voice solution, transpeech, transcosmos Inc. has successfully monitored the emotional states of consumers and operators in real time, preventing dissatisfaction and enhancing satisfaction levels. Furthermore, the company’s initiatives in employee training programs, and the implementation of its Mission, Vision, and Values, have promoted employee satisfaction, which in turn has led to increased customer satisfaction. This case study highlights the importance of a balance between technological approaches, such as the use of AI technology, and human approaches, like employee engagement, to improve employee and customer satisfaction.

Background: Homelessness is a global challenge affecting both high-income and lower-income countries. While survival is a priority, when assessing rehousing programs, thriving should be a goal. There is, however, a lack of clarity around the concept of thriving in existing literature, as for example it is used interchangeably across a number of professions. Aim: This paper provides an in-depth concept analysis of thriving, with a specific focus on thriving post-homelessness. Method: Walker and Avant’s (2011) concept analysis method was utilized. Results: As a result of this concept analysis, eight defining attributes were identified, including bio-psycho-social-spiritual improvement, adaptive coping styles, a sense of accomplishment, satisfaction across multiple life domains, functional well-being, improving or achieving a high level of performance, finding meaning in life or life activities, and having the necessities of daily living. It was found that thriving is a multidimensional process with subjective and objective components as well as an outcome, which all contribute to an individual's well-being and satisfaction. As a consequence of thriving, one feels more secure and confident and an enhanced sense of belonging. Conclusion: This concept analysis includes an updated definition of an individual's thriving post-homelessness in order to allow for comprehensive measurement in the context of housing research, including a positive assessment of one's life situation across multiple domains, as well as access to basic necessities such as shelter, food, and clothing. Future research can utilize the results of this concept analysis to explore thriving within the context of housing, especially to establish a well-structured housing program for persons exiting homelessness.

Percussion rock drills have been widely used mainly for blast hole drilling in mineral extraction, tunnel excavation, and underground development. To advance the performance and efficiency of rock drills, it is essential to understand the complex mechanisms of percussive rock drilling: hydraulic mechanisms in a drill body, elastic wave propagation and attenuation in rods and rod joints, dynamic bit penetration into rock, and the effects of thrust, rotation, and flushing. This paper focused on and detailed the bit penetration into rock. Some theories concerning the penetration characteristics of rock drill bits were presented such as elastic contact theory, slip line field theory, and fracture theory. Recent authors’ studies on static and dynamic penetration tests with a single button were introduced as an elementary drilling process of a bit in which a number of buttons are embedded. Then, recent authors’ studies on dynamic penetration tests with a button bit were introduced with the calculation method of force and penetration depth at the bit tip and with the results of force-penetration curves. The loading and unloading phases of the curves were modeled by convex functions, and their variation was discussed with the relation between the force-penetration curves of a bit and buttons. Important future research issues on the bit penetration into rock were presented for the further progress of percussive rock drilling.

This paper presents outcomes for a Housing First (HF) cohort in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Using integrated governmental administrative data, we analysed outcomes for a cohort of 357 people, comparing health, justice, income, and social welfare indicators the year prior to HF and five years after being housed. In the fifth year after being housed, improved outcomes across each of these sectors were noted, with particularly impressive improvements found in income levels (+38%) and mental health. These results demonstrate the efficacy of this HF programme in improving well-being. Despite such notable improvements, there is room for HF to have a greater impact in the context of wider system changes that support overall well-being, as well as the goal of making homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring.

Polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bits, which are widely used in oil and gas well drilling, have begun to be used in geothermal well drilling. Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, K. Maikai Co., Ltd, and National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology started collaborative research project commissioned by Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security with the aim of development of PDC bits that have satisfying efficiency to drill hard, inhomogeneous and fractured formations as is common in the geothermal fields. In the present report, the outline of the project is provided, including the development of PDC cutters and bits and the performance evaluation of PDC bits through laboratory and field drilling tests. Three predetermined numerical goals concerning the drilling performance, namely drilling speed, bit life, and gage loss, were achieved in the project. The ROP model proposed by Miyazaki et al. (2022), which was constructed based on a series of laboratory drilling tests under controlled conditions conducted as part of the project, is also reviewed. The model considers the effect of bit wear quantitatively and has an extremely simple form compared with earlier models. The applicability of the model to field drilling data and several future issues are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Quarterly Journal of Marketing is the property of Japan Marketing Academy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Social transformations in Sinic intellectual history reveal a complex interaction among evolving cultural, philosophical, and artistic ideas and socio-political shifts. The Sinic region, encompassing areas in East and Southeast Asia influenced by Chinese script and culture—particularly Confucianism and various forms of Chinese Buddhism—includes China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, parts of Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other neighbouring countries. The term “Sinic”, originating from the Latin word for China, highlights the shared cultural and linguistic heritage across these regions. This history illustrates how shifts in intellectual thought have continually influenced and been shaped by changes in societal structures and governance. The present publication explores the intricate relationship between the individual and the state—a theme that resonates deeply through the annals of Asian thought. This relationship, characterized by an evolving dialogue between personal autonomy and state authority, serves as the backdrop to the discussions presented in this issue. Each paper contributes to a broader understanding of how individuals have negotiated their space within the structures imposed by state ideologies, influencing and reshaping them in turn.