Search

Digital transition to Industry 5.0 (I5.0) has finally arrived after Industry 4.0 (I4.0) was offered ten years ago to help address industry flaws in manufacturing. I5.0 is necessary in contemporary business to achieve competitive advantages for a sustainable future. However, despite the importance of I5.0, the critical success factors (CSFs) for the transition from I4.0 to I5.0 have not been explored extensively in the literature. This study develops a model to investigate potential CSFs for the smooth transition from I4.0 to I5.0. The study ensures systems flexibility, then ranks the identified CSFs based on their influential weights and explores their interrelationships. The study adopts the Bayesian best-worst method (B-BWM) to assess the perceptions of several decision-makers from a probabilistic perspective for reducing information loss. The results from this study reflect that CSFs, such as adoption of advanced technology to create value in I5.0 paradigm, high-powered analytical ability for smart manufacturing, cost and funding in transition from I4.0 to I5.0, aligned organizational strategy in transition to I5.0, and security and privacy to ensure effective digital transformation , contribute significantly towards the digital transformation from I4.0 to I.50 in smart manufacturing in the context of steel manufacturing business environment considering the developing countries. The successful implementation of CSFs can help achieve flexibility in the supply chain, contribute to flexible systems and support managers in framing strategies that help them prioritize for an easy transition towards a sustainable future. • Determine the critical success factors for the transition from I4.0 to I5.0 in smart manufacturing. • Bayesian best-worst method was adopted to assess the perceptions of several decision-makers. • Adoption of advanced technology to create value in I5.0 is an important factor for digital transformation. • The successful implementation of success factors can help achieve flexibility in supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Conceptual work challenging current views on 'the sharing economy'. • The digital sharing economy (DSE) covers a broad spectrum of resource allocation systems. • Conceptualizing the technical, social, and coordination aspects of the DSE. • The DSE operates between traditional sharing and the formal market economy. • The DSE should be analysed free of normative ideas associated with 'sharing'. With the diffusion of digital technologies, new forms of sharing have emerged called 'the sharing economy'. Digitalization has been the enabler for covering a broad range of sharable resources (technical aspect of sharing) and for operating beyond the limits of small groups and personal relationships (social aspect of sharing). This two-fold digital transition of sharing has enabled unprecedented efficiency in coordinating access to resources. It has created new patterns and practices of sharing in the space between traditional sharing on the one hand and the formal market economy on the other; leading to the emergence of a new class of resource allocation systems which we call 'the digital sharing economy' (DSE). We analyse the DSE as a socio-economic phenomenon without referring to normative presuppositions, such as the presence of pro-social motivations for sharing. Building on a comprehensive definition of the DSE, we propose a theoretical framework for it that embraces and structures the broad variety of sharing platforms and the practices promoted by them. By separating our analysis from normative premises about sharing, we hope to contribute to an unbiased discussion of the sharing economy phenomenon and to lay the ground for differentiated assessments which refer to explicit normative frameworks such as sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a variational approach to study the market penetration of new technologies under conditions of spatial heterogeneity in the economic factors influencing the process and imprecise knowledge about their intensities. Differently from other methodologies that describe the adoption process in terms of partial differential equations, we formulate the model as a minimization problem of an appropriate variational functional with fuzzy coefficients. This approach permits to consider in the analysis both the attractive and diffusive forces that drive the process and the subjective opinions of policy makers about the actual influence exerted by these determinants on the adoption decision. Interestingly, our results show that different degrees of uncertainty lead to significantly different predictions about the diffusion process and, therefore, our methodology could be applied to support strategic decisions concerning innovation diffusion plans. An application to the digital transition in agriculture is also provided to study the effectiveness of government policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid population growth and urbanisation have accelerated waste generation, and effective waste management has become a major challenge worldwide. With advances in technology and management methods, waste management strategies have begun embracing digitalisation, leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, cloud/edge computing, machine learning, 5G communication, and blockchain technologies. Amongst them, the blockchain technology has the structural features of achieving information security and integrity without central guarantees. Blockchain also meets the data record/storage needs of waste management and the design of new mechanisms for effective waste management. These benefits make blockchain an attractive technology in the field of waste management, with researchers and practitioners alike investigating its broad applications to support sustainable waste management. However, this emerging technology has not yet been widely accepted by potential users. To further champion the application of blockchain technology, this review paper provides a systematic overview of the various pathways in which the technology has been applied in the waste management industry and further discusses its related challenges and opportunities via considering the promising prospect of combining blockchain technology with IoT, artificial intelligence (AI) and life cycle assessment (LCA). This review also provides insights for interpreting some emerging applications of blockchain in the field of waste management and clarifying the research paths in the context of blockchain, digitalised waste management, and circular economy. [Display omitted] • Impacts of blockchain technology on waste management have been substantial. • Recent development from blockchain's functional perspectives was surveyed. • There is a long way towards blockchain-based sustainable waste management. • Relevant challenges and opportunities in blockchain applications were discussed. • Outlooks in digitalised waste management and circular economy were clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Blockchain-based digital transition does not necessarily lead to the improvement of 3PLs' preservation service level. • Blockchain adoption may induce the manufacturer to increase its wholesale price, which does not cause the retailer to cut the order quantity but instead sets a lager one. • Cold supply chains generally benefit from adopting blockchain technology, except at a specific interval. • The market mechanism may not enable the cold supply chain to make the optimal decision. Blockchain is a driver for digitalization in the fresh industry, but the resulting improvements in each supply chain member's performance are difficult to predict. In this study, we examine the effects of blockchain-based digital transition in a cold supply chain with a manufacturer, a retailer, and a third-party logistics service provider (3PL). Our study provides several managerial implications. First, blockchain adoption would lead to a preservation service level increase if the 3PL charges a low transportation fee, but a preservation service level decrease if the 3PL charges a high one. Second, the blockchain adoption may induce the manufacturer to increase its wholesale price, which does not cause the retailer to cut the order quantity but instead sets a lager one. Third, our results indicate that simply relying on the market mechanism may not enable the cold supply chain to make the optimal decision; thus, government intervention or an exogenous coordination mechanism must be introduced to drive the cold supply chain members to reach a consensus on blockchain-based digital transition. Finally, the main results in the basic model are proven to remain robust. Managerial implications are discussed and provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus on digitalisation in manufacturing is spreading to other industry fields, including large and complex objects like ships. Such interest introduces the concept of Digital Twins in supporting designers and operators through the whole ship-life cycle. However, the term Digital Twin is typically abused in the shipping industry, many times erroneously referring to any virtual version of a model-based system as a Digital Twin of the ship. The mutual data exchange between the physical and virtual environment, which is the basis of a true Digital Twin, is mostly missing, confusing a virtual model with a sophisticated living virtual environment. Few reviews are available in the literature for Digital Twins on ships. This systematic review proposes the identification of weaknesses and correlations between current Digital Twin applications in the maritime industry and other industry fields. Furthermore, the methodology applied here may be repeated in future studies to provide a fair and objective overview of the research advancements in the topic. The study highlighted how literature scarcely addresses the design and decommissioning phases, indicating that research should focus on these topics, especially concerning the design of future ships. • Systematic review of the status of Digital Twins in the ship industry. • Characterisation of Digital Twins throughout the ship life cycle phases. • Identification of main gaps with Digital Twin applications in industry. • Identification of future research paths for Digital Twin applications on ships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major advances in smartphones and tablets in terms of their built-in sensors (esp. cameras), available computational power and on-board memory are transforming the role of such devices into the key digital platform around which geological fieldwork is redesigning itself. This digital transition is changing how geoscientists collect and share multimodal-multidimensional field datasets, which can now be readily distributed via standardized exchange formats and online data repositories. The increased accessibility of digital field datasets means that such data products are no longer the sole preserve of geospatial/geoscience specialists, but also students, stakeholders and the general public alike, providing great opportunities for knowledge transfer over the entirety of the research value chain. In the wake of this digital transition, the geological community has welcomed with enthusiasm and curiosity the introduction during 2020 of a native LiDAR scanner equipped on both the iPad Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro. This scanner offers a potential paradigm shift in digital geological fieldwork and puts these devices at the forefront of smartphone assisted fieldwork. In this work, we review progress in smartphone/tablet assisted geological fieldwork and test the iPhone 12 Pro's effectiveness as a replacement for conventional geological field tools. Specifically, we evaluate the geo-location accuracy of the iPhone's Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, the effectiveness of its inertial measurement unit (IMU) and magnetometer for orientation data collection, its photo-video imaging capabilities, and the performance of the device's newly equipped LiDAR in the field. We demonstrate that the performance of the iPhone for orientation and raster image data capture is high, being comparable to analog compass-clinometers and reflex/mirrorless cameras. Whilst location error is within the order of a few meters, the level of accuracy and the fast stabilization of the signal means that, beyond survey grade applications, the iPhone's geo-location capabilities are acceptable for most field cases. With regards to the iPhone's built-in LiDAR scanner, it is an excellent tool for depth assisted camera focusing and for casual 3D outcrop sharing, especially for 'soft' applications such as geo-heritage documentation and the production of teaching materials (here we also propose a simple mode of uploading outcrops models in Google Maps). However, the generated 3D models in some cases may be considered overly crude for detailed interrogation, particularly where the fidelity of the surface reconstruction is critical to the analysis (e.g. mesh facet orientation estimation). Based on our review of the evolution of digital field acquisition technologies and on our extensive field testing of the sensor suite integrated within the iPhone 12 Pro, it is clear that the digital transition of geological fieldwork is already mature, whereby smartphone devices have become as indispensable in the field as the geologists' traditional hammer and hand lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present study attempts to examine how market-driven journalism and a decrease in newspaper readership have affected information subsidy patterns between public relations practitioners and journalists in South Korea. Findings suggest that newspaper journalists have become dependent on information subsidies more than ever before, especially advertising as a payment, which play a significant role in the negotiation of favorable relationships between sources and newspapers. Thus, the study suggests that under the economic constraints that the newspaper industry faces, advertisement as a payment seem to be more influential than the more conventional information subsidies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Public innovation intermediaries (PIIs) are asked to support the digital transition. • To do so, PIIs move from upgrading and transfer to systemic and transition roles. • This involves changing all five key components of their business models. • PIIs need appropriate resources - knowledge and legitimacy - to be able to adapt. • PIIs' resources differ based on their age, mandate and governance form. In several countries, governments have assigned to public innovation intermediaries (PIIs) the mandate to support the digital transition, by facilitating the development and adoption of new digital technologies on the part of firms and other organisations. This new mandate requires PIIs to upgrade their business models, moving beyond their traditional involvement in firms' technology upgrading and university-industry knowledge transfer, toward supporting the creation of new innovation systems around the emerging digital technologies. To understand how PIIs are reconfiguring their business models to support the digital transition, we study four cases of PIIs operating in the United Kingdom and France, whose mandates include providing support for firms and other organisations in the implementation of new digital technologies, focusing in particular on the Internet of Things (IoT). We show that, despite their differences, all four PIIs have substantially reconfigured their business models in similar ways in order to fulfil these mandates. Both the formal legitimacy arising from their policy mandate, and the knowledge resources and informal legitimacy they have developed, have played a decisive role in their ability to orchestrate the development of innovation systems around IoT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital transition generates data that can enable and support the optimisation of products and accelerate the circular economy adoption. However, the potential of this digital transition to support product reparability has not yet been fully explored. Therefore, this study aims to provide fundamental knowledge on potential opportunities and limits of repair data for specific repair applications relevant to different stakeholders. An unfiltered dataset was obtained from an independent repair shop and an explorative data analysis approach was applied to clean, visualize and analyse the data. The applied data cleaning techniques are scalable and adaptable to other repair dataset which would reduce cleaning efforts significantly. The potential benefits of the repair data was investigated through three specific applications. First, the analysed repair data enabled the identification of priority parts based on (1) failure modes occurrence, (2) increasing failure modes occurrence over time and (3) low repair success rates. Second, the data analysis showed that repair costs can be lowered by increasing repair time for deeper component disassembly and replacement but using less expensive material (new component vs part). Third, the potential of repair data to improve the symptom-based diagnose was demonstrated. It allows to establish a step-wise diagnose process, especially for symptoms with high repair time variation and failure mode probabilities. Such an approach is expected to significantly reduce labour time and therefore repair costs. Recommendations are derived for future data collection on target repair parameters and necessary data quantities. Harmonising classification systems, improving data recording processes and using a centrally provided product model databases will make the target repair parameter extraction more viable and increase the potential benefits from data pooling. • Classification systems and cleaning tools for repair datasets. • Target repair parameters definition. • Investigating potential benefits of repair data for three applications. • Identification of data recording inconsistencies and missing variables. • Recommendations for future data collection and necessary data quantities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]