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This study aims to build on social comparison theory to develop a theoretical model of leader–member exchange (LMX) relationship to workplace ostracism through perceived organizational status by coworkers and envy. This study further proposes that warmth and competence may potentially moderate these two indirect effects.

This study tested the hypotheses in a battery manufacturing company located in South China by a survey of 216 employees organized in 55 work teams, using different sources. Additionally, the authors conduct two online vignette experiments to test this study’s mediation, proving the causality.

The authors found that high-level LMX leads to both envy and perceived organizational status by coworkers, which results in a mixed blessing on workplace ostracism toward the employee with high-level LMX. The focal employee’s warmth and competence moderate these indirect relationships.

The authors use LMX to explore antecedents of workplace ostracism and explain how and when these focal employees suffer workplace ostracism from their coworkers. The authors extend the research on LMX by examining the interpersonal risk of being a focal employee. The authors discover two critical boundary conditions – warmth and competence.

This study suggests that it is important to balance the level of the differential LMX; appropriately endorsing other members is a good way to avoid eliciting envy and opposition. Meanwhile, person-oriented citizenship behaviors such as demonstrations of concern or help may shortly build up an employee’s warm impression on their coworkers.

By discovering the bright and dark sides of LMX, this paper has the potential to advance theories on LMX and workplace ostracism. Therefore, the authors believe the current research will have an important impact on relevant research in the future.

Dual design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) takes into account both the opportunities and constraints of AM simultaneously, which research shows is more effective than considering them separately. Unlike existing reviews, this paper aims to map DfAM research within the engineering design process, focusing solely on studies adopting dual DfAM. Additionally, it aims to suggest future research directions by analysing prominent research themes and their inter-relationships. Special emphasis is on theme inter-relationships concerning the conceptual, embodiment and detail design phases.

The study is based on a systematic literature review of 148 publications from January 2000 to February 2024. After screening, prominent research themes were identified and systematically analysed. Theme inter-relationships were explored using quantitative analysis and chord diagrams.

The findings reveal that studies either span the entire design process, the early design phases or the later design phases. Most research focuses on the later design phases, particularly within themes of design optimisation, design evaluation and AM-specific manufacturing constraints. The most frequent theme inter-relationship occurs between design optimisation and AM-specific manufacturing constraints. Overall, the findings suggest future research directions to advance dual DfAM research, such as development of design rules and guidelines for cellular structures.

This review proposes a model by mapping prominent themes of dual DfAM research in relation to the engineering design process. Another original contribution lies in analysing theme inter-relationships and visualising them using chord diagrams – a novel approach that did not exist before.

Recently, due to the practicability in several domains, generative adversarial network (GAN) has successfully been adopted in the field of natural language generation (NLG). The purpose of this paper focuses on improving the quality of text and generating sequences similar to human writing for several real applications.

A novel model, GAN², is developed based on a GAN with dual adversarial architecture. We train the generator by an internal discriminator with a beam search technique to improve the quality of generated sequences. Then, we enhance the generator with an external discriminator to optimize and strengthen the learning process of sequence generation.

The proposed GAN² model could be utilized in widespread applications, such as chatbots, machine translation and image description. By the proposed dual adversarial structure, we significantly improve the quality of the generated text. The average and top-1 metrics, such as NLL, BLEU and ROUGE, are used to measure the generated sentences from the GAN² model over all baselines. Several experiments are conducted to demonstrate the performance and superiority of the proposed model compared with the state-of-the-art methods on numerous evaluation metrics.

Generally, reward sparsity and mode collapse are two main challenging issues when adopt GAN to real NLG applications. In this study, GAN² exploits a dual adversarial architecture which facilitates the learning process in the early training stage for solving the problem of reward sparsity. The occurrence of mode collapse also could be reduced in the later training stage with the introduced comparative discriminator by avoiding high rewards for training in a specific mode. Furthermore, the proposed model is applied to several synthetic and real datasets to show the practicability and exhibit great generalization with all discussed metrics.

The purpose of this study is to explore the interfacial adhesion between superhydrophobic coatings FC-X (X = 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5%) and the concrete substrate, along with the impact of FC-X on the water repellency characteristics of the concrete substrate.

One synthetic step was adopted to prepare novel F-SiO₂ NP hybrid fluororesin coating. The impact of varying mass fractions of F-SiO₂ NPs on the superhydrophobicity of FC-X was analyzed and subsequently confirmed through water contact angle (WCA) measurements. Superhydrophobic coatings were simply applied to the concrete substrate using a one-step spraying method. The interfacial adhesion between FC-X and the concrete substrate was analyzed using tape pasting tests and abrasion resistance measurements. The influence of FC-X on the water repellency of the concrete substrate was investigated through measurements of water absorption, impermeability and electric flux.

FC-4% exhibits excellent superhydrophobicity, with a WCA of 157.5° and a sliding angle of 2.3°. Compared to control sample, FC-X exhibits better properties, including chemical durability, wear resistance, adhesion strength, abrasion resistance, water resistance and impermeability.

This study offers a thorough investigation into the practical implications of enhancing the durability and water repellency of concrete substrates by using superhydrophobic coatings, particularly FC-4%, which demonstrates exceptional superhydrophobicity alongside remarkable chemical durability, wear resistance, adhesion strength, abrasion resistance, water resistance and impermeability.

Through the examination of the interfacial adhesion between FC-X and the concrete substrate, along with an assessment of FC-X’s impact on the water repellency of the concrete, this paper provides valuable insights into the practical application of superhydrophobic coatings in enhancing the durability and performance of concrete materials.

With an increasing array of new technologies and devices emerging as novel approaches to museum narratives, scholars are intrigued by the narrative effect they produce. Within this context, this study aims to conduct a quantitative case study on the influencing mechanisms among technology embodiment, technology attachment, museum narrative effect and perceived museum image based on embodied cognitive theory (ECT).

By introducing the Opium War Museum, Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China, as an empirical case study, the authors collected data, through questionnaires, from 425 visitors who had experienced virtual reality (VR) technology in the museum. The data was then analyzed by using the maximum likelihood estimate for structural equation modeling.

Technology embodiment and technology attachment have significant positive correlations with the museum narrative effect. Technology attachment provides a partial mediating effect between technology embodiment and the museum narrative effect. The perceived museum image moderates such mediating effects of technology attachment.

This study brings the emerging idea of developing visitor experiences with VR through expanding the applications of ECT in the museum scenario. First, the authors identified the underlying interaction patterns between various factors that influence the museum narrative effect. Second, the authors verified that technology can optimize the museum narrative effect and help the creative transformation of cultural relics and culture. This study also provides practical recommendations to improve the technological service experience and strengthen the “audience-centric” management concept of museums

随着越来越多的新技术和设备作为博物馆新颖的叙事方法出现, 学者们对它们产生的叙事效果感到兴趣。在这一背景下, 我们基于具身认知理论对技术具身感、技术依恋、博物馆叙事效果和感知博物馆形象之间的影响机制进行了定量案例研究。

通过引入中国广东省东莞市鸦片战争博物馆作为实证案例研究, 我们从体验了博物馆VR技术的425名参观者中收集了问卷数据。然后, 我们使用极大似然法估计结构方程模型对数据进行了分析。

(1) 技术具身感和技术依恋与博物馆叙事效果存在显著正相关关系。 (2) 技术依恋在技术具身感与博物馆叙事效果之间起到了部分中介作用。 (3) 感知博物馆形象调节了技术依恋的上述中介效应。

本研究通过扩展具身认知理论在博物馆场景中的应用, 提出了利用VR优化访客体验的新兴理念。首先, 我们识别了影响博物馆叙事效果的各种因素之间的潜在互动模式。其次, 我们验证了技术可以优化博物馆叙事效果, 并有利于文物和文化的创造性转化。本研究还提出了实际建议, 以改善技术服务体验, 并加强博物馆“以观众为中心”的管理理念。

Air pollution poses a significant global threat to both human health and environmental stability, acknowledged by the World Health Organization as a leading cause of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and a notable contributor to climate change. This chapter offers a comprehensive review of the impacts of air pollution on health, highlighting the complex interactions with genetic predispositions and epigenetic mechanisms. The consequences of air pollution to health are extensive, spanning respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disorders, adverse pregnancy outcomes, neurodevelopmental disorders, and heightened mortality rates. Genetic factors play a pivotal role in shaping individual responses to air pollution, influencing susceptibility to respiratory illnesses and the severity of symptoms. Additionally, epigenetic changes triggered by exposure to pollutants have been linked to respiratory health issues, cancer development and progression, and even transgenerational effects spanning multiple generations. As countries, including the UK, pursue ambitious targets for reducing emissions, ongoing research into the complex interplay of air pollution, genetics, and epigenetics is essential. By unravelling the underlying mechanisms and advancing preventive and therapeutic strategies, we can protect public health and promote sustainable environmental practices in the face of this pervasive global challenge.

This study aims to use corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting focused on poverty alleviation in China as a case to demonstrate a unique interplay between the state and private enterprises. It illustrates how CSR reporting has influenced both the mechanisms and outcomes of their interactive relationship, contributing to the construction of symbolic power.

Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic power, this study explores how symbolic power has been constructed and reinforced between the state and private enterprises. It highlights the unique role of CSR reporting in facilitating an alignment between private enterprises objectives and state goals, ultimately reinforcing symbolic and social order. The empirical materials examined are the CSR reports prepared by the top 20 private enterprises in China from 2017 to 2022.

Major private business enterprises in China actively engage with the state’s objectives on poverty alleviation as reflected through their CSR reporting practices. This engagement is evidenced by shifts in keywords, dominant language and reporting structure, which closely align with the state’s stance on the issue. As a result, these enterprises receive heightened public recognition, which in turn helps reinforce the symbolic power and its influence on corporate behaviour.

This paper contributes to the CSR accounting literature by revealing a strategic role of CSR reporting that extends beyond conventional compliance levels commonly observed in Western liberal democratic societies. It serves as a function that facilitates interaction between the state and private enterprises in a symbolic power relationship, where both parties mutually benefit from the alignment of interests in poverty alleviation and social positioning.

This paper aims to explore the relationship between digital transformation, international competition and productivity progress by examining the dual margins of export, thereby identifying the digital development pathway for key industrial chains within the context of regional medical and health cooperation.

By constructing models incorporating both the extensive margin and intensive margin, this paper delves into the reasons underlying changes in product trade value and variety within international market competition. Utilizing export data for medical products from China to Belt and Road Initiative partner countries spanning from 2007 to 2020, an industry–destination–time panel benchmark model is established to assess the impact of digital transformation on product expansion and international competition.

The findings reveal the following insights. First, digital transformation positively impacts the intensive margin of medical products, whereas it does not exert a positive influence on the extensive margin. Second, the impact mechanism test indicates that digital transformation fosters the intensive export margin by enhancing the technical efficiency of exports but exhibits an inverted U-shaped effect on technological progress. Third, digital transformation demonstrates a notable non-linear characteristic, with a substantial increase in the lifting effect once a certain threshold is surpassed.

While previous research has extensively explored the effects of digital transformation on export trade, this study uniquely integrates the concepts of the intensive and extensive margins of export, thereby enriching the research insights derived from existing literature. It focuses on the nonlinear effects and threshold dynamics of digital transformation, particularly in relation to total factor productivity. Additionally, the paper makes a contribution to the understanding of the Health Silk Road by incorporating the health index.

This paper adds risk perception and personalized human-computer interaction to the technology acceptance model, and further analyzes the impact of personalized unmanned ride hailing on users' behavior intention.

This study model was tested using a sample of 299 social media users from China and we apply structural equation modeling (SEM) to build the theoretical framework.

Our results show that perceived ease of use has a greater positive impact on behavior intention compared to perceived usefulness. In addition, we find that the impact of risk perception on behavior intention is manifested in a number of ways, including people’s risk perception of the new technology, people’s risk perception of data leakage, and so on. Finally, we find that users’ personalized human-computer interaction has a positive effect on their perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and behavior intention.

Our study contributes to illuminate the pivotal role of tailoring the human-computer interface to individual preferences and needs for ride-hailing platforms from the perspective of behavior intention.

The precast concrete slab track (PST) has advantages of fewer maintenance frequencies, better smooth rides and structural stability, which has been widely applied in urban rail transit. Precise positioning of precast concrete slab (PCS) is vital for keeping the initial track regularity. However, the cast-in-place process of the self-compacting concrete (SCC) filling layer generally causes a large deformation of PCS due to the water-hammer effect of flowing SCC, even cracking of PCS. Currently, the buoyancy characteristic and influencing factors of PCS during the SCC casting process have not been thoroughly studied in urban rail transit.

In this work, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model is established to calculate the buoyancy of PCS caused by the flowing SCC. The main influencing factors, including the inlet speed and flowability of SCC, have been analyzed and discussed. A new structural optimization scheme has been proposed for PST to reduce the buoyancy caused by the flowing SCC.

The simulation and field test results showed that the buoyancy and deformation of PCS decreased obviously after adopting the new scheme.

The findings of this study can provide guidance for the control of the deformation of PCS during the SCC construction process.