Tomas Bata University in Zlín
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Managing TQM's soft side: an explorative study of social care multiservice organizations
Get PDFPurpose: This paper explores total quality management (TQM) soft domain efficacy in social care organizations to determine the extent to which an organization's project success may stem from soft TQM critical success factors (CSFs).
Design/methodology/approach: Non-structured interviews were conducted with 16 managers overseeing the prosthetic device regeneration project of the Italian local health unit (located in Salerno) to explore which soft factors could contribute to the success of a social care multifunctional organization.
Findings: Organizations' handling of certain projects, such as pivoting on soft TQM issues, may allow them to be configured as multiservice organizations. Therefore, a conceptual model of a multiservice social care organization is proposed.
Practical implications: From a managerial perspective, this study presents an interesting success case of a multiservice social care organization with a total annual expenditure of €20 million on prosthetic assistance. Preliminary data show a 13% reduction in public expenditure for Salerno's local health unit via a refurbishment project.
Originality/value: The paper contributes to the soft TQM literature debate: although Italian local health professionals appear aware of soft TQM issues' implementation and consciously apply them in their organization and projects, this occurs more with specific CSFs emerging from the literature. Therefore, this article paves the way for further quantitative and theoretical investigations on the adoption of TQM soft issues in social care organizations' performance measurement
Physico-chemical study of curcumin and its application in O/W/O multiple emulsion
Get PDFCurcuma is a world-renowned herb known for its immense health benefits. In this study, physicochemical analyses were performed on the curcumin standard sample and curcumin multiple emulsions. The emulsions were analysed for thermal and structural stability for 21 days. Confocal laser microscopy (CLSM) was performed in order to observe the emulsion encapsulation. Modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) and HPLC methods revealed a variety of curcuminoids (curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin, and cyclocurcumin) in the investigated curcumin standard. In addition, the MDSC method was found to be suitable and comparable to HPLC for determining the curcuminoid substances. The analysis of the curcumin release revealed a value of 0.18 w.% after 14 days as the equilibrium value. Furthermore, an increase in the sizes of the emulsions was observed at the end of the 21-day study. The emulsion stability index (ESI) was used to measure the stability of multiple emulsions. The ESI reached 55.8% between 7 and 21 days later. Nano droplets of the oil phase loaded with dispersed curcumin particles captured inside the water-based carboxymethylcellulose micelles were clearly observed by CLSM.Tomas Bata University in Zlin, TBU: IGA/FT/2023/007; Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci: IGA_PRF_2023_024Tomas Bata University in Zlin [IGA/FT/2023/007]; Palacky University in Olomouc [IGA_PRF_2023_024
Total phenolic and total flavonoid content, individual phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity in sweet rowanberry cultivars
Get PDFSweet rowanberry and its cultivars represent a less-known fruit species with significant antioxidant activity, mostly promoted by polyphenolic compounds. This paper examined seven Sorbus cultivars and evaluated their total polyphenolic and flavonoid content, as well as the content of individual polyphenolic compounds from the group of phenolic acids and flavonoids. It also determined their antioxidant activity using DPPH, ACW and ACL. Furthermore, to reflect the distribution of the contribution to antioxidant activity, correlations between antioxidant activity and the contents of ascorbic acid, vitamin E and individual phenolic compounds were established. The highest total phenolic content of 8307.4 mg kg−1 was determined in ‘Granatina’, with the main contribution of phenolic acid content of 7001.7 mg kg−1 and a significantly lower total flavonoid content of 1304.6 mg kg−1. Flavanols represented the most abundant group of flavonoids, with catechin being the second most frequent flavanol with the highest content of 633.67 mg kg−1 in ‘Granatina’. Flavonols were represented by rutin and quercetin. ‘Businka’ displayed a significant vitamin E content of 4.77 mg kg−1, and ‘Alaja Krupnaja’ had the highest vitamin C level of 7.89 g kg−1. These results emphasize their potential health and nutritional benefits and, thus, their promising and valuable role in the food processing industry.IGA/FT/2023/003Internal Grant Agency of Tomas Bata University in Zlin [IGA/FT/2023/003
Bankruptcy risk, firm size, and firm profitability: a dynamic panel data approach
No full textThe main purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of bankruptcy risk of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large firms on firm profitability. By employing the secondary data from the CRIBIS database of the Czech firms from the ten sectors, the bankruptcy risk is measured by Altman model and Springate model. This is the first study examining the impacts of the firm size on firm profitability by simultaneously employing the Altman and Springate models. We employed the two-step system generalised method of moments (GMM) to estimate the regression models. The findings revealed three important results: 1) there is a positive relationship between the bankruptcy models and firm profitability; 2) SMEs earn more profits than large firms; 3) the bankruptcy risk for SMEs is higher than the large firms
Design of dual-head 3D printer
Get PDFFused Filament Fabrication (FFF) printers are usually designed to create a product with one single material. Some of them allow fabricating items in multiple colours but creating a single product consisting of two different materials remains an advantage of industrial 3D printers only. The aim of this research was to develop a design of a device with two printheads which enables to print products with two different materials, compatible with a cheap and commonly available FFF device Prusa i3MK2S, and the subsequent production of a prototype. A key aspect of the design was the hardware compatibility of the device with the given printer while maintaining the maximum possible printing area.IGA/FT/2023/005Internal Grant Agency of TBU in Zlin [IGA/FT/2023/005
Effect of wear on vibration amplitude and chip shape characteristics during machining of eco-friendly and leaded brass alloys
Get PDFThe dynamic stability of the machining set and the entire cutting process, together with the appropriate form of chips generated during machining under the given conditions, are the basic prerequisites for autonomous machining in accordance with the Industry 4.0 trend. The research, based on a newly designed method, aims to study the frequency response of the machining system to different values of tool wear and cutting speed, which cause the worsening of the machined parts' quality and the instability of the whole cutting process. The new idea is based on the inverse principle, in which the wear with various values of VB was artificially prepared in advance before machining. Consequently, the effect of artificial wear and cutting speed on vibration and chip shape characteristics were studied. Three types of brass alloys were used within the experiments as the machined materials. Measured data were statistically processed and the desired dependencies were plotted. Chips were collected for each combination of machining conditions, while the article presents a database of the obtained chip shapes at individual cutting speeds so that they can be compared and classified. The results showed that brass alloys CW510L and CW614N exhibit an average of three times lower vibration damping compared to the CW724R alloy, while relatively good chip formation was noted in the evaluated machining conditions even without the use of a chip breaker. The problematic chip shape occurred only in some cases at the machining of CW510L and CW724R, which cannot be generalized.Ministerstvo školstva, vedy, výskumu a športu Slovenskej republiky: APVV-19-0550; Kultúrna a Edukacná Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR, KEGA: 005TUKE-4/2021, 032TUKE-4/2022, SK-CN-21-0046Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic [APVV-19-0550, KEGA 005TUKE-4/2021, KEGA 032TUKE-4/2022, SK-CN-21-0046]; ELKEME S.A
Avoiding crisis-driven business failure through digital dynamic capabilities. B2B distribution firms during the COVID-19 and beyond
No full textPrevious research has proposed different determinants of the success and failure of technological innovation in industrial networks. However, following the recent COVID-19 pandemic crisis, distributors have been seeking to become more agile in identifying and transforming business processes to avoid failures. Although industrial practitioners have been broadly motivated to understand the effects of pandemics on business failure, the contingency factors that affect organizations in their responses to such sudden exogenous shocks remain unclear. Inspired by a burgeoning academic interest in viewing the COVID-19 pandemic as a digital accelerator, this paper examines how B2B distribution firms have been avoiding business failure by using their dynamic capabilities (DCs) in response to the sudden exogenous shocks caused by the pandemic. Based on data drawn from interviews conducted with a sample of B2B distribution firms, we argue that capitalizing on digital DCs—digital sensing (i.e., digital mindset crafting and digital scenario planning), digital seizing (i.e., engaging in strategic agility and balancing a digital portfolio), and digital transformation (i.e., navigating the innovation ecosystem, redesigning the internal structure, and improving digital maturity), —helps to prevent business failure during a pandemic.H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, MSCA: 101034328; Horizon 2020European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant [101034328
Viscoelastic response of elastohydrodynamically lubricated compliant contacts below glass-transition temperature
Get PDFThe widespread use of polymers in the high-performance engineering applications brings challenges in the field of liquid lubrication in order to separate the rubbing surfaces by the coherent fluid-film thickness relative to not only the inelastic material response of the polymers. The determination of the mechanical properties by the nanoindentation and the dynamic mechanical analysis represents the key methodology to identify the viscoelastic behavior with respect to the intense frequency and temperature dependance exhibited by polymers. The fluid-film thickness was examined by the optical chromatic interferometry on the rotational tribometer in the ball-on-disc configuration. Based on the experiments performed, first, the complex modulus and the damping factor for the PMMA polymer describing the frequency and temperature dependence were obtained. Afterwards, the central as well as minimum fluid-film thickness were investigated. The results revealed the operation of the compliant circular contact in the transition region very close to the boundary between the Piezoviscous-elastic and Isoviscous-elastic modes of the elastohydrodynamic lubrication regime, and a significant deviation of the fluid-film thickness from the prediction models for both modes in dependence on the inlet temperature.Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy, MŠMT: RP/CPS/2022/003; Grantová Agentura České Republiky, GA ČR: 18-26849JCzech Science Foundation (GACR) [18-26849J]; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic [557DKRVO (RP/CPS/2022/003)
Engineering conductivity and performance in electrorheological fluids using a nanosilica grafting approach
Get PDFCarbonization is considered an effective process for the preparation of carbon-rich solids for various applications. Raw carbonaceous particles however often possess high electrical conductivity, limiting their applicability in electrorheology. To address this drawback, the carbonaceous particles prepared from glucose through hydrothermal synthesis, followed by thermal carbonization in an inert atmosphere, were subsequently coated by compact and mesoporous nanosilica, giving rise to semiconducting particles. The successful coating was confirmed using transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopic analysis, and the composite particles were further used as a dispersed phase in electrorheological (ER) fluids of concentration 5 wt %. While an ER fluid based on pure carbonized particles caused a short circuit of the measuring device at the electric field of intensity 1 kV mm-1, the ER behavior of its analogue based on mesoporous silica-coated particles was successfully measured up to 3 kV mm-1, giving a high yield stress exceeding even the values estimated for ER fluids based on similar carbonaceous particles coated with a compact silica layer. Even though the conductivity decreased only about one order of magnitude after the coating process, the dielectric properties of the prepared ER fluid differed significantly, the relaxation process was shifted to lower frequencies, and most importantly, the dielectric relaxation strength increased, indicating an increased amount of interactions. The presence of mesoporous nanosilica further enhanced the sedimentation stability of the ER fluids when compared to its analogue with the compact silica coating, expanding the scope of practical applicability.RP/CPS/2022/007; US-UK Fulbright Commission: 2022-21-1; Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy, MŠMT: RP/CPS/2022/003Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic-DKRVO [RP/CPS/2022/003]; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic-DKRVO [RP/CPS/2022/007]; J.W. Fulbright Commission in the Czech Republic [2022-21-1
Amaranthus paniculatus (rajgeera) a non-conventional source of starch: effect of oxidation and heat moisture treatment and its application in edible film
No full textThe main objective of this study was to carry out modification of Amaranthus starch (via oxidation and heat moisture treatment (HMT)) followed by the formation of edible films. The films were evaluated for physicochemical and mechanical properties. The carboxyl content of native and HMT starch was found to be similar whereas it was higher (0.1 COOH/100GU) for the oxidized sample. The solubility was found to be higher in modified starch samples (76.44 %) as compared to native (62.58 %) but swelling power was higher for native starch (50.43 g/g) as compared to modified samples. The tasting temperature of native starch, oxidized, and heat moisture-treated starch was found to be 75.09 °C, 76.10 °C, and 89.36 °C, respectively. Edible films were prepared and studied for physicochemical and mechanical. The tensile strength of amaranth starch films was enhanced by both modification procedures, whereas only HMT increased the water vapor permeability, and oxidation had the opposite effect. Modification treatments resulted in the reduction of water solubility of the films. The HMT film showed some advantages over the oxidized film and native starch films in terms of mechanical properties. The present study conclude that modified starches showed better properties than native starch.Tomas Bata University in Zlin [IGA/FT/2022/005