Minglong Xu, Song Xue, Qionghua Wang, Shaoxiang He, Rui Deng, Zenong Li, Ying Zhang, Qiankun Li and Rongchao Li
This study aims to improve the stability and obstacle surmounting ability of the traditional wall-climbing robot on the surface of the ship, a wheel-track composite magnetic…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to improve the stability and obstacle surmounting ability of the traditional wall-climbing robot on the surface of the ship, a wheel-track composite magnetic adsorption wall-climbing robot is proposed in this paper.
Design/methodology/approach
The robot adopts a front and rear obstacle-crossing mechanism to achieve a smooth crossover. The robot is composed of two passive obstacle-crossing mechanisms and a frame, which is composed of two obstacle-crossing magnetic wheels and a set of tracks. The obstacle-crossing is realized by the telescopic expansion of the obstacle-crossing mechanism. Three static failure models are established to determine the minimum adsorption force for the robot to achieve stable motion. The Halbach array is used to construct the track magnetic circuit, and the influence of gap, contact area and magnet thickness on the adsorption force is analyzed by parameter simulation.
Findings
The prototype was designed and manufactured by the authors for static failure and obstacle crossing tests. The prototype test results show that the robot can cross the obstacle of 10 mm height under the condition of 20 kg load.
Originality/value
A new structure of wall-climbing robot is proposed and verified. According to the test results, the wall-climbing robot can stably climb over the obstacle of 10 mm height under the condition of 20 kg load, which provides a new idea for future robot design.
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Wei Deng, Wenxin Zhou, Rui Song, Jie Li and Jing Zhang
The rise of digitalization brings new opportunities and challenges to female entrepreneurship (FE). This paper aims to systematically review the intellectual landscape of FE…
Abstract
Purpose
The rise of digitalization brings new opportunities and challenges to female entrepreneurship (FE). This paper aims to systematically review the intellectual landscape of FE research, identifying gaps and proposing future directions.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was conducted on 1,918 highly relevant articles on FE, which were retrieved from the Scopus and Web of Science up to 2023.
Findings
While cyberfeminism is a rising perspective, the impact of digitalization on FE remains underexplored. Antecedents of FE are predominantly examined at the individual, family, organizational and environmental levels, overlooking team-level factors. Studies predominantly focus on outcomes at a single level and within a country, neglecting FE’s cross-level and cross-national complexity and diversity. The static analysis of mediating mechanisms in existing research fails to capture the dynamic process of FE. Furthermore, contextualization research often isolates family, institutional, social and mixed embeddedness, neglecting the simultaneous multiple contexts in which female entrepreneurs operate.
Originality/value
To bridge gaps in existing literature, this paper introduces an integrated research framework for FE. It suggests future research directions encompassing the impact of digital intelligence, heterogeneity of different groups of female entrepreneurs, the multiple contextual embedded nature of FE, dynamic process mechanisms for FE and cross-cultural comparisons. The proposed framework aims to inspire new insights and contribute to the evolving field of FE research.
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Yinhu Xi, Jinhui Deng, Baokun Li, Yanbiao Li and Haishun Deng
The purpose of this study is to detect the bolt loosening under conditions of impact loading with a low-cost self-powered triboelectric nanogenerator sensor.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to detect the bolt loosening under conditions of impact loading with a low-cost self-powered triboelectric nanogenerator sensor.
Design/methodology/approach
In this work, an Al/PTFE-based triboelectric nanogenerator (AP-TENG) is used as a sensor. A pendulum impact device and a force hammer were used to apply the impact loads. The bolt status and the applied torque can be monitored under impact loading conditions by using the output voltage results of the AP-TENGs.
Findings
The output voltage results of the current AP-TENG sensor under five different bolt torques, i.e. from 0.5 to 2.5 N m, were measured. The measurements revealed that a thicker buffer layer significantly contributed to the generation of higher voltages. Besides, the AP-TENG was also used to light ten commercial green LEDs in series, and the brightness of the LEDs was high enough even for the daytime, which showed that it can be used as the alarm device. In addition, a sudden loose test was also carried out, and the obvious voltage spikes can be seen without the external impact. The force hammer impact tests have expanded the application scope of the AP-TENG in the bolt loosening detection.
Originality/value
The bolt loosening monitoring is important and useful for the safe operation. The application of TENG technology for detecting bolt loosening remains relatively unexplored. In addition, ten commercial green LEDs can be driven by the AP-TENG sensor, which can be used for the early warning of the bolted loosening status.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-06-2024-0216/
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Akanksha Jain, Smita Kashiramka and Sonali Jain
The purpose of this study is to present the overall trend and dynamics in global mergers and acquisitions activity while suggesting future research avenues in this domain. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to present the overall trend and dynamics in global mergers and acquisitions activity while suggesting future research avenues in this domain. The analysis covers two aspects to examine the main contours of the domain, that is performance analysis followed by thematic cluster analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
Bibliometric analysis has been used for examining 1,433 publications extracted from the Scopus database to identify the research trend between 2000 and 2021. With the help of VosViewer (a bibliometric software), bibliographic coupling, citation, co-authorship, keyword and network analysis have been carried out.
Findings
The analysis reveals that most of the research on cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBMA) is concentrated in the context of developed markets, USA and UK being the largest. Most of the research till date is confined to wealth effects, value creation, corporate governance, socio-cultural aspects and various determinants of CBMA, all from the standpoint of the acquirer.
Practical implications
The present study highlights numerous opportunities for future research based on empirical analysis. There exists a dearth of studies around CBMA in the context of emerging nations which provides a relatively unexplored field to carry out research work.
Originality/value
The study makes use of a comprehensive list of keywords to have an extensive analysis. This is a pioneering study that has used bibliographic coupling of documents for content analysis and to the best of authors’ knowledge, no previous works on cross-border acquisitions have performed bibliographic coupling for this.
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Dong Chen, Rui Zhang and JiaCheng Jiang
This study aims to investigate the morphology and physicochemical properties of BiOBr/Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite membranes and the differences in the properties of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the morphology and physicochemical properties of BiOBr/Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite membranes and the differences in the properties of BiOBr/PVDF composite membranes made by adding different precursor ratios during the casting process.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, sodium bromide and Bi(NO3)3 were used as precursors for the preparation of BiOBr photocatalysts, and PVDF membranes were modified by using the phase conversion method in conjunction with the in situ deposition method to produce BiOBr/PVDF hydrophilic composite membranes with both membrane separation and photocatalytic capabilities.
Findings
The characterization results confirmed that the composites were successfully and homogeneously co-mingled in the PVDF membranes. The related performance of the composite membrane was tested, and it was found that the composite membrane with the optimal precursor incorporation ratio had good photocatalytic efficiency and antipollution ability; the removal efficiencies of methyl orange, rhodamine B and methylene blue were 80.43%, 85.02% and 86.94%, respectively, in 2.5 h. The photocatalytic efficiency of composite membranes with different precursor ratios increased and then decreased with the increase of the precursor addition ratio.
Originality/value
The composite membrane is prepared by phase conversion method with in situ deposition method, and the BiOBr material has unique advantages for the degradation of organic dyes. The comprehensive experimental data can be known that the composite membrane prepared in this paper has high degradation efficiency and good durability for organic dyes.
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Shaoming Chai, Emily Pey-Tee Oon, Yuan Chai and Zuokun Li
Metadiscourse is an important dialogue technique used in productive knowledge building to help a group evaluate and advance their knowledge progress. Previous studies have…
Abstract
Purpose
Metadiscourse is an important dialogue technique used in productive knowledge building to help a group evaluate and advance their knowledge progress. Previous studies have identified and defined various types of metadiscourse. However, there is scant knowledge about how different metadiscourse types emerge among different groups or what implicit correlations lie between progressive discourse and metadiscourse. Moreover, research on how different types of metadiscourse influence groups' knowledge advancement and artifacts is still inadequate. Therefore, this study aims to further examine the roles that different types of metadiscourse play in the collaborative knowledge building community on both a fine-grained (i.e. progressive discourse) and coarse-grained (i.e. group knowledge advancement and group artifacts) level.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for this study are drawn from the behaviour of undergraduate students participating in a 12-week course at a key university in China. On the fine-grained level, epistemic network analysis (ENA) is applied to illustrate how metadiscourse promotes the development of progressive discourse. On the coarse-grained level, two different chi-square tests are conducted to examine the roles of different types of metadiscourse in groups' knowledge advancement and artifacts.
Findings
The analysis allowed several conclusions to be drawn. First, the types of metadiscourse that students most often adopted were reflecting on ideas development (RD) and commenting on ideas (CI); they less frequently adopted setting group goals (SG) and making group plans (MP). Second, most types of metadiscourse correlated with developments in progressive discourse, particularly RD and CI. Third, the metadiscourse types RD, CI and coordinating group efforts (CE) played essential roles in knowledge advancement. Fourth, higher-quality artifacts could be created by using the metadiscourse type reviewing the state of knowledge building progress (RP).
Originality/value
A more profound comprehension of the role that metadiscourse plays in the collaborative knowledge building community not only contributes to the literature in the knowledge building field but also carries a significant meaning in regulating community, promoting learner agency and sustained knowledge, and consequently improving collaborative learning performance.
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Kaiyi Li, Hafez Salleh and Rui Wang
The exponential growth of the construction sector exerts considerable pressure on the environment, and the circular economy (CE) concept has recently gained traction as a means of…
Abstract
Purpose
The exponential growth of the construction sector exerts considerable pressure on the environment, and the circular economy (CE) concept has recently gained traction as a means of alleviating such environmental issues. In order to propose solutions to the phenomenon of contractors being hesitant to participate in CE implementation in developing countries, this paper aims to comprehensively explore the enabling factors that motivate contractors to implement CE.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on the push-pull-mooring (PPM) theory and extends it by introducing information provision (IP) as a trigger on contractors’ intrinsic subjective initiative states on CE implementation. The study considers what and how positive pull, negative push and neutral mooring factors influence the contractors’ CE transition. The framework was validated by questionnaires collected from contractors in China, and the data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling method.
Findings
The findings indicate that all factors from the PPM framework exert a positive influence on CE intention, with push factors demonstrating a greater average impact. Furthermore, this study confirms the influence of the IP on contractors’ CE intentions by influencing their intrinsic status. The impact of the IP is most pronounced in terms of contractors’ perceived usefulness and environmental concerns.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the CE transition studies by extending the PPM theory into the construction industry through the lenses of contractors in developing countries. The results highlight the trigger impacts of the IP on contractors’ psychological status regarding CE transition. Furthermore, it offers insights into government management in the CE transition by providing the government with novel approaches to facilitate the CE transition in the construction sector.
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Rui Zhang, Zehua Dong, Yanjun Zhang, Liuhu Fu and Qiaofeng Bai
This paper aims to propose a new ultrasonic detection method for stainless steel weld defects based on complex synergetic convolutional calculation to solve two problems in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a new ultrasonic detection method for stainless steel weld defects based on complex synergetic convolutional calculation to solve two problems in the ultrasonic detection of austenitic stainless steel weld defects. These include ignoring the nonlinear information of the imaginary part in the complex domain of the signal and the correlation information between the amplitude of the real part and phase of the imaginary part and subjective dependence of diagnosis model parameters.
Design/methodology/approach
An ultrasonic detection method for weld defects based on complex synergetic convolution calculation is proposed in this paper to address the above issues. By mapping low-density, 1D detection samples to a complex domain space with high representation richness, a multi-scale and multilevel complex synergetic convolution calculation model (CSCC) is designed to match and transform samples to mine amplitude changes, phase shifts, weak phase angle changes and amplitude-phase correlation features deeply from the detection signal. This study proposed an Elite Sine-Cosine Sobol Sampling Dung Beetle Optimization Algorithm, and the detection model CSCC achieves global adaptive matching of key hyperparameters in 19 dimensions. Finally, a regulative complex synergetic convolutional calculation model is constructed to achieve high-performance detection of weld defects.
Findings
Through experiments on a self-developed Taiyuan intelligent detection and information processing weld defect dataset, the results show that the method achieves a detection accuracy of 92% for five types of weld defects: cracks, porosity, slag inclusion and unfused and unwelded components, which represent an average improvement of 11% relative to comparable models. This method is also validated with the PhysioNet electrocardiogram public dataset, which achieves better detection performance relative to the other models.
Originality/value
This method provides a theoretical basis and technical reference for developing and applying intelligent, efficient and accurate ultrasonic defects detection technology.
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Nan Xu, Fakhar Shahzad and Rui Hu
To meet environmental performance (EP) goals, this study aims to identify the complex interaction between green Industrial Internet of Things (GIIoT), circular economic practices…
Abstract
Purpose
To meet environmental performance (EP) goals, this study aims to identify the complex interaction between green Industrial Internet of Things (GIIoT), circular economic practices (CEPs) and dynamic capabilities (DC). This study analyzes how technological, operational and cultural compatibilities enhance GIIoT adoption.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from diverse Chinese manufacturing firms (n = 339) through a quantitative survey. The research model was proposed, and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Moreover, the robustness of the structural model is further tested using Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis and importance performance map analysis.
Findings
The empirical results indicate that higher organizational compatibilities boost GIIoT adoption and EP. DC was assessed as a higher-order construct to examine its mediation of GIIoT adoption and EP. DC positively mediates GIIoT adoption-EP. Similarly, CEP’s positive impact on EP, partially mediating the relationship between GIIoT adoption and EP, has also been proved.
Originality/value
This research bridges current understanding and contributes useful insights for fostering environmental sustainability inside manufacturing firms and advances the theoretical understanding of technology adoption, sustainable development and dynamic capacity theory. It illuminates the way forward to harmonize and successfully integrate technology, CEP and EP. This research advances the area and gives decision-makers practical advice for creating sustainable and technologically sophisticated organizations.
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Yamin Xie, Zhichao Li, Wenjing Ouyang and Hongxia Wang
Political factors play a crucial role in China's initial public offering (IPO) market due to its distinctive institutional context (i.e. “economic decentralization” and “political…
Abstract
Purpose
Political factors play a crucial role in China's initial public offering (IPO) market due to its distinctive institutional context (i.e. “economic decentralization” and “political centralization”). Given the significant level of IPO underpricing in China, we examine the impact of local political uncertainty (measured by prefecture-level city official turnover rate) on IPO underpricing.
Design/methodology/approach
Using 2,259 IPOs of A-share listed companies from 2001 to 2019, we employ a structural equation model (SEM) to examine the channel (voluntarily lower the issuance price vs aftermarket trading) through which political uncertainty affects IPO underpricing. We check the robustness of the results using bootstrap tests, adopting alternative proxies for political uncertainty and IPO underpricing and employing subsample analysis.
Findings
Local official turnover-induced political uncertainty increases IPO underpricing by IPO firms voluntarily reducing the issuance price rather than by affecting investor sentiment in aftermarket trading. These relations are stronger in firms with pre-IPO political connections. The effect of political uncertainty on IPO underpricing is also contingent upon the industry and the growth phase of an IPO firm, more pronounced in politically sensitive industries and firms listed on the growth enterprise market board.
Originality/value
Local government officials in China usually have a short tenure and Chinese firms witness significantly severe IPO underpricing. By introducing the SEM model in studying China IPO underpricing, this study identifies the channel through which local government official turnover to political uncertainty on IPO underpricing.