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This research aims at explaining the phenomenon of the “black children” (heihaizi), a very little-known generation who lived with concealment under the one-child policy in China. The one-child policy was officially introduced to nationwide at the end of 1979 by permitting per couple to have one child only, later modified to a second child allowed if the first was a girl in rural China in 1984. It was officially replaced by a nation-wide two-child policy and most existing research focused on the parents’ sufferings and policy changes. The term “black children” has been mainly used to describe their absence from their family hukou registration and education. However, this research aims at expanding the meaning of being “black” to explain the children who were concealed more than at the level of family formal registration, but also physical freedom and emotional bond. What we do not yet know are the details of their lived experiences from a day-to-day base: where did they live? How were they raised up? Who were involved? Who benefited from it and who did not? In this way, this research challenges the existing scholarship on the one-child policy and repositions the “black children” as primary victims, and reveals the family as a key figure in co-producing their diminished status with the support of state power. It is very important to understand these children’s loss of citizenship and human freedom from the inside of the family because they were concealed in so many ways away from public view and interventions. This research focuses on illustrating how their lack of access to continued, stabilized, and reciprocally recognized family interactions framed their very idea of self-worth and identity.

The study examines tourists' psychological and social risk and shared beliefs – devotion, concerns and entertainment – at a religious and cultural heritage destination. It also examines how shared beliefs impact tourists’ nostalgia. Further, it examines whether nostalgia affects choice deferral and revisit intentions. Finally, it investigates how moderation of place attachment strengthens the link between shared beliefs – devotion, concerns, entertainment and nostalgia.

The data were collected from 439 inbound tourists, with 272 completing online questionnaires and 167 participating in face-to-face survey. Data analysis was performed using Amos 24.0 and SPSS 25.0, employing structural equation modeling (SEM) and the PROCESS macro.

The findings suggest that perceived psychological and social risk negatively impacts tourists' shared beliefs – devotion, concerns and entertainment – which positively impacts nostalgia. Positive nostalgic association boosts revisit intention and hampers choice deferral. The data also show how strong place attachment strengthens the relationship between shared beliefs – devotion, concerns and entertainment – and tourists’ perceived nostalgia.

This work contributes to information behavior using S-O-R theory. It analyzes the psychological and social risks of destination visits and how nostalgia affects shared beliefs and revisit intentions. Management and policymakers at destination enterprises can use the findings to design measures to enhance revisit intentions despite risk considerations.

Pakistan's destination tourism is underutilized amid its religious and cultural heritage significance. The literature has ignored how perceived psychological and social risk affects travelers' shared beliefs and nostalgic feelings. Thus, this study suggests and validates these linkages utilizing stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theory in Pakistan's unique environment with inbound tourists.

The purpose of this study is to provide ideas and theoretical guidance for green, environmentally friendly and efficient “bacteriostasis with bacteria” technology.

In this paper, a beneficial strain of bacteria was extracted and purified from marine mud. Weight-loss test, morphological observation and electrochemical test were used to systematically study the effect of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB)-induced corrosion inhibition on X65 steel in simulated offshore oil field production water.

The results showed that a beneficial strain was selected and identified as Vibrio alginolyticus. Under the condition of co-culture of SRB, the average corrosion rate of X65 steel was significantly reduced. In the mixed bacterial system, the surface of X65 steel samples was relatively flat, and the structure of biofilm and corrosion product film was dense. The number of corrosion pits, the average diameter and depth of corrosion pits were significantly reduced. The localized corrosion of X65 steel was significantly inhibited.

The complex and changing marine environment makes the corrosion problem of marine steel increasingly severe, and the microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) caused by SRB is particularly serious. The research and development of environmentally friendly corrosion protection technology is a long-term and difficult problem. The use of beneficial microorganisms to control MIC is a green and efficient anticorrosion measure. Compared with terrestrial microorganisms, marine microorganisms can adapt to complex environments, and their metabolites exhibit special biological activities. The use of marine beneficial bacteria can inhibit SRB activity to achieve the corrosion inhibition effect.

Aluminum alloy is considered an ideal material in aerospace, automobile and other fields because of its lightweight, high specific strength and easy processing. However, low hardness and strength of the surface of aluminum alloys are the main factors that limit their applications. The purpose of this study is to obtain a composite coating with high hardness and lubricating properties by applying GO–PVA over MAO coating.

A pulsed bipolar power supply was used as power supply to prepare the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) coating on 6061 aluminum sample. Then a graphene oxide-polyvinyl alcohol (GO–PVA) composite coating was prepared on MAO coating for subsequent experiments. Samples were characterized by Fourier infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The friction test is carried out by the relative movement of the copper ball and the aluminum disk on the friction tester.

Results showed that the friction coefficient of MAO samples was reduced by 80% after treated with GO–PVA composite film.

This research has made a certain contribution to the surface hardness and tribological issues involved in the lightweight design of aluminum alloys.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-12-2023-0427/

The objective of this study is to use non-destructive testing of corrosion on coated aluminium alloys using differential eddy current detection (DECD), with the aim of elucidating the relationship between the characteristics of corrosion defects and the detection signal.

Pitting corrosion defects of varying geometrical dimensions were fabricated on the surface of aluminium alloy plates, and their impedance signals were detected using DECD to investigate the influence of defect diameter, depth, corrosion products and coating thickness on the detection signals. Furthermore, finite element analysis was used to ascertain the eddy current distributions and detection signals under different parameters.

The size of the defect is positively correlated with the strength of the detection signal, with the defect affecting the latter by modifying the distribution and magnitude of the eddy current. An increase in the diameter and depth of corrosion defects will enhance the eddy current detection (ECD) signal. The presence of corrosion products in the corrosion defects has no significant effect on the eddy current signal. The presence of a coating results in a decrease in the ECD signal, with the magnitude of this decrease increasing with the thickness of the coating.

The objective is to provide experimental and theoretical references for the design of eddy current non-destructive testing equipment and eddy current testing applications.

Previous investigations into the connection between strategic orientation (SO) and firm performance (FP) have generated inconsistent outcomes. The authors aim to reconcile and explain these varying results through the application of a mediated moderation model. The purpose of this paper is to explore how SO and strategic flexibility (SF) could create the possibility of improving FP. The indirect effect of SO was also tested in this study. Furthermore, by using the moderated mediation model, the authors also investigated the moderating role of strategic human resource management (SHRM).

This study adopted the empirical research method, collecting data through questionnaires by a two-wave and multi-source data collection approach. The sample consisted of 188 firms from Shandong and Fujian Province in China. SPSS was used to test the research hypotheses.

This study examines how and when SO enhances FP by considering SF as a critical mediator and SHRM as an important contingency of the mediation effect. The results revealed that SO positively affects SF and FP in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, the mediating role of SF between the relationships of SO and FP was also confirmed. Moreover, SHRM strengthens the connection between SO, SR and FP.

This study contributes to the SO literature by revealing how firms translate their SO-based strategies into positive FP through SF and when this indirect effect is most effective.

People usually try to avoid uncertainty. Recently, however, uncertainty has become an emerging marketing tool in the hedonic product industry. In the case of blind box consumption, for example, the consumers become addicted to the uncertainty created by businesses, leading to repeat purchases and even indulgences. Previous research has, yet, to focus on the impact of uncertainty on indulgence and the role of emotions.

This paper constructs and validates a chain mediation model of uncertainty triggering indulgent consumption based on the information gap theory, positive emotion theory and uncertainty resolution theory and examines the difference between resolved and unresolved uncertainty. This study also explores differences in the impact of whether uncertainty is resolved on emotions. The uncertainty-resolved group elicited a more positive emotional response than the uncertainty-unresolved group, leading to a more indulgent consumption.

The results of three studies show that uncertainty influences indulgent consumption through curiosity and positive emotion, and that curiosity and positive emotion play separate and chain mediating roles between uncertainty and indulgent consumption, respectively. We validate our central hypothesis with questionnaires among blind box consumer groups, examining the moderating role of perceived luck and risk preferences.

The findings shed new light on firms' use of uncertainty to promote consumer purchases.

Social interaction in comment sections has become a key factor for backers' decision making in crowdfunding platforms. However, current research on the two-way social interaction in crowdfunding is insufficient, and there exist inconsistent conclusions. This study focuses on the social interaction between creators and backers and explores its influence on the successful exit of crowdfunding projects.

The extended Cox model is used for the empirical analysis of 1,988 crowdfunding projects on the Modian (www.modian.com) platform, a crowdfunding platform for cultural and creative projects in China. The two-way social interaction is reflected in comment quantity and sentiment, as well as reply rate.

Results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between comment quantity/sentiment and the successful exit of crowdfunding projects. This relationship is strengthened by high reply rate.

This study focuses on comment quantity and sentiment. The inverted U-shaped results reconcile previous conclusions. Replies from creators are regarded as a separate factor, and their moderating role is explained. The study research proves the importance of social interaction in crowdfunding platforms and provides suggestions for backers, creators and platform managers.

Laser point clouds are a 3D reconstruction method with wide range, high accuracy and strong adaptability. Therefore, the purpose is to discover a construction point cloud extraction method that can obtain complete information about the construction of rebar, facilitating construction quality inspection and tunnel data archiving, to reduce the cost and complexity of construction management.

Firstly, this paper analyzes the point cloud data of the tunnel during the construction phase, extracts the main features of the rebar data and proposes an M-E-L recognition method. Secondly, based on the actual conditions of the tunnel and the specifications of Chinese tunnel engineering, a rebar model experiment is designed to obtain experimental data. Finally, the feasibility and accuracy of the M-E-L recognition method are analyzed and tested based on the experimental data from the model.

Based on tunnel morphology characteristics, data preprocessing, Euclidean clustering and PCA shape extraction methods, a M-E-L identification algorithm is proposed for identifying secondary lining rebars in highway tunnel construction stages. The algorithm achieves 100% extraction of the first-layer rebars, allowing for the three-dimensional visualization of the on-site rebar situation. Subsequently, through data processing, rebar dimensions and spacings can be obtained. For the second-layer rebars, 55% extraction is achieved, providing information on the rebar skeleton and partial rebar details at the construction site. These extracted data can be further processed to verify compliance with construction requirements.

This paper introduces a laser point cloud method for double-layer rebar identification in tunnels. Current methods rely heavily on manual detection, lacking objectivity. Objective approaches for automatic rebar identification include image-based and LiDAR-based methods. Image-based methods are constrained by tunnel lighting conditions, while LiDAR focuses on straight rebar skeletons. Our research proposes a 3D point cloud recognition algorithm for tunnel lining rebar. This method can extract double-layer rebars and obtain construction rebar dimensions, enhancing management efficiency.

In smart cities striving for innovation, development, and prosperity, hydrogen offers a promising path for decarbonization. However, its effective integration into the evolving energy landscape requires understanding regional intricacies and identifying areas for improvement. This chapter examines hydrogen transport from production to utilization, evaluating technologies’ pros, cons, and process equations and using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) tool to assess these technologies based on multiple criteria. It also explores barriers and opportunities in hydrogen transport within the 21st-century energy transition, providing insights for overcoming challenges. Evaluation criteria for hydrogen transport technologies were ranked by relative importance, with energy efficiency topping the list, followed by energy density, infrastructure requirements, cost, range, and flexibility. Safety, technological maturity, scalability, and compatibility with existing infrastructure received lower weights. Hydrogen transport technologies were categorized into three performance levels: low, medium, and high. Hydrogen tube trailers ranked lowest, while chemical hydrides, hydrail, liquid organic hydrogen carriers, hydrogen pipelines, and hydrogen blending exhibited moderate performance. Compressed hydrogen gas, liquid hydrogen, ammonia carriers, and hydrogen fueling stations demonstrated the highest performance. The proposed framework is crucial for next-gen smart cities, cutting emissions, boosting growth, and speeding up development with a strong hydrogen infrastructure. This makes the region a sustainable tech leader, improving air quality and well-being. Aligned with Gulf Region goals, it is key for smart cities. Policymakers, industries, and researchers can use these insights to overcome barriers and seize hydrogen transport tech opportunities.