Xiangming Chen, Qunhui Ou, Chao An and Dongyun Zhang
The purpose of this study is to provide an alternative approach to teacher learning on top of the usual practices of listening to experts' lectures and conducting school-based…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide an alternative approach to teacher learning on top of the usual practices of listening to experts' lectures and conducting school-based activities among peers in China. A boundary-crossing lesson study (BCLS) through school-university partnership served as an example to illustrate how a class teacher's mindset changed towards her students in equal interactions with university scholars.
Design/methodology/approach
With the lenses of action science theory and boundary-crossing learning theory, the study used qualitative research approach to collect and analyze data. One Chinese primary school class teacher from a workshop on narrative action research was selected as the case for this study. Interviewing, observation and document analysis were used to collect data. Data analysis methods included categorization and contextualization of the teacher's mindset change towards her student.
Findings
The case teacher, Mrs. Li, collaborated closely in paired teaching with her university partner AP Yu in all the four phases of their BCLS. Each phase was marked with an interactive event such as dialogic illumination, reflexive theorization, embodied conversation, and fusion of teacher and trainer roles. With inspirational trust as a major interactive mechanism, Mrs. Li jumped out of her single-loop learning (changing strategies according to results) to double-loop learning (changing both strategies and values/values). As a result, her mindset changed from attribution to appreciation towards her low-achieving student.
Originality/value
This study made contributions in two ways. First, it examined a class teacher's mindset change towards her student, rather than that of subject matter teachers towards their teaching materials and methods. Second, it revealed how reflective interactions in a special kind of BCLS by school teachers and university scholars may promote the teacher's mindset change. The findings further confirm that having differences as boundaries is not enough for teacher learning. For deep learning like Mrs. Li's mindset change, it requires a respectful and inspirational relationship between school teachers and university scholars in the BCLS.
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Haiqiang Yu, Quanzhong Guo, Keqin Du, Dongyun Li, Chuan Wang and Yong Wang
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interfacial conductivity and corrosion resistance of the Ni–P/Ti4O7 composite coating that is deposited on a carbon steel substrate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interfacial conductivity and corrosion resistance of the Ni–P/Ti4O7 composite coating that is deposited on a carbon steel substrate as bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.
Design/methodology/approach
The Ni–P/Ti4O7 coating was prepared by electroless plating. Scanning electron microscopy, white light interference, energy dispersive spectrometry and X-ray diffraction were used, respectively, to study the surface morphology, chemical composition and phase composition of coated samples. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, potentiodynamic and potentiostatic polarization were used to test the electrochemical performance and corrosion behavior. The interfacial contact resistance (ICR) was measured via the standard method.
Findings
The surface of the Ni–P/Ti4O7 coating is complete and dense and without obvious defects. The electrochemical test results show that the Ni–P/Ti4O7 coating provides better corrosion resistance than the Ni–P coating and substrate. Compared with the Ni–P coating, the ICR of the Ni–P/Ti4O7 coating is lower by about 82.7%. This is because the coating has more conductive contact points. The more exciting thing is that the ICR of the Ni–P/Ti4O7 coating only increases to 12.38 mΩ·cm2 after 5 h of polarization.
Originality/value
This paper provides a method for achieving surface modification of metal bipolar plates. Introducing Ti4O7 particles in the Ni–P layer reduces the contact resistance before and after polarization while ensuring good corrosion resistance.
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This study aims to measure the moderating effect of geographical and organizational proximity by focusing on readily available Chinese regional economic data over a five-year…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to measure the moderating effect of geographical and organizational proximity by focusing on readily available Chinese regional economic data over a five-year period.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used multilevel regression analysis to analyze the relationship.
Findings
Results show that increasing government investment in research and development (R&D) can improve innovation performance during this period, organizational proximity and geographic proximity have a positive moderate effect on the relationship between R&D investment and Innovation performance.
Originality/value
This study enriches the existing theories on government innovation input and output from the perspective of regional differences and provides meaningful guidance for current Chinese regional innovation policies.
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Liu Ping, Wang Dongyun, Li Yanbin, Guo Yanqing and Hao Lifeng
The purpose of this paper is to develop a potential nanoparticles lubricant additive for solving the problem of the insolubility and stable dispersity; the complex nanoparticles…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a potential nanoparticles lubricant additive for solving the problem of the insolubility and stable dispersity; the complex nanoparticles with core-shell structures are less studied in the field. Therefore, this paper determines novel complex nanoparticles and their tribological properties.
Design/methodology/approach
According to the conventional preparation method, the complex nanoparticle styrene/calcium borate (PS/O-CaB) was synthesized. The microstructures of the as-obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Tribological properties of PS/O-CaB used as lubricating oil additive were evaluated on four-ball tribometer. The worn surface of the steel ball was investigated by a three-dimensional non-contact surface profilometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).
Findings
The results of the structure characteristic indicate two different crystalline forms, namely, Ca2B6O11 and Ca2B2O5, and the average size of calcium borate nanoparticles in PS/O-CaB is about 20-40 nm. Moreover, the good tribological properties are due to a wear resistance film containing both depositions and the tribochemical reaction products which comprise B2O3, FeB and Fe2O3.
Originality/value
Novel complex nanoparticles with core-shell structure (PS/O-CaB) were successfully prepared. Moreover, the PS/O-CaB shows excellent tribological capacity such as load-carrying, friction-reducing and antiwear property.
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The purpose of this paper is to research integrating web text resources and mine its emergence.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to research integrating web text resources and mine its emergence.
Design/methodology/approach
With the understanding of characteristics of internet resources, this paper will focus on solving the problem of text resource aggregation in open environment and its emergence showed during aggregation over time. The authors process these text resources, both in space and time dimension, through viewing them as an event stream evolving over time, and attempt to discover the evolutionary event patterns and furthermore, to mine the emergence of text content.
Findings
The proposed methods are generally applicable to text stream data and have many potential applications in text resource aggregation in open environment.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation is availability of data.
Practical implications
The paper presents a very useful method for text resource aggregation in an open environment.
Originality/value
The paper presents a new method to integrate web text resources and mine its emergence.
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Bao Cheng, Mengye Chen and Yun Dong
Illegitimate tasks are pervasive in organizations, presenting a challenge for employees to mitigate their impact. However, despite their significance, there has been limited…
Abstract
Purpose
Illegitimate tasks are pervasive in organizations, presenting a challenge for employees to mitigate their impact. However, despite their significance, there has been limited research on when and how employees can adapt to these tasks successfully. To address this gap, this study aimed to discover the relationship between illegitimate tasks and adaptive performance, drawing upon the job demands-resources theory. Specifically, this study aimed to examine the moderating role of general self-efficacy and the mediating roles of employee problem-focused and emotion-focused coping.
Design/methodology/approach
To examine our hypotheses, we conducted a time-lagged survey, comprising 3 waves and involving 313 employees from twenty enterprises situated in Guangzhou and Sichuan, China. Ordinary least squares (OLS) was adopted to examine our hypotheses.
Findings
Our results suggested that general self-efficacy played a crucial role in determining how employees would cope with illegitimate tasks and their subsequent adaptive performance when confronted with illegitimate tasks. Notably, employees who possess high levels of general self-efficacy utilize problem-focused coping, improving adaptive performance in handling illegitimate tasks. Conversely, employees who possess low levels of general self-efficacy rely on emotion-focused coping, leading to lower levels of adaptive performance.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the literature on illegitimate tasks by uncovering when and how such tasks can either promote or hinder adaptive performance. These findings offer practical insights into ways to assist employees in managing illegitimate tasks effectively.
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Carmen Torres-Sanchez and Nikolaos Balodimos
The purpose of this paper is to propose a nanodiamond-particle-loaded food-grade lubricating oil, a nanolubricant, that can be used over a broad range of loads in factories (low…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a nanodiamond-particle-loaded food-grade lubricating oil, a nanolubricant, that can be used over a broad range of loads in factories (low load applications like conveyor systems and high load applications like heavy machinery).
Design/methodology/approach
Tribological performance of the nanolubricant was studied at both load levels. A typical factory-sized conveyor belt used for beverage packaging (aluminium cans, glass and PET bottles) was employed for the low load range. Coefficients of friction and wear scars were measured and the lubricating performance was quantified. A four-ball tester was used to characterise the performance of the nanolubricant as per ASTM D2783/D4172. A comparison between the nanolubricant and baseline oils was carried out.
Findings
Results show an overall decrease in the coefficients of friction and wear scars for all packages at low pressures when the nanolubricant is used. They also show a better friction-reduction performance in the high load regimes. The results indicate that the nanolubricant is versatile in both ranges of loading.
Practical implications
The current protocols for lubrication in the food and drink factories involve the use of water-based detergents for the conveyor lines and industry-grade oils for the machinery. The use of a single and versatile lubricant for both ranges of loads may have a positive impact on the sustainability and environmental performance of the sector.
Originality/value
Beverage processing and packing factories need their mechanised conveyor systems suitably lubricated to avoid excessive friction between the containers and the load-bearing surface of the conveyors (e.g. belts or chains). Other areas of the conveying systems, such as motors, gears, rollers and bearings, also need suitable lubrication to prevent failure and lengthen their operating life. There is a myriad of lubricants and lubricating solutions for each of these areas independently, but there is no commercial lubricating fluid that could be used on both successfully.