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1 – 10 of 44Wei Li, Xiaoxuan Yang, Peng Wang, Zefeng Wen and Jian Han
This study aims to investigate the cause of high-order wheel polygonization in a plateau high-speed electric multiple unit (EMU) train.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the cause of high-order wheel polygonization in a plateau high-speed electric multiple unit (EMU) train.
Design/methodology/approach
A series of field tests were conducted to measure the vibration accelerations of the axle box and bogie when the wheels of the EMU train passed through tracks with normal rail roughness after re-profiling. Additionally, the dynamic characteristics of the track, wheelset and bogie were also measured. These measurements provided insights into the mechanisms that lead to wheel polygonization.
Findings
The results of the field tests indicate that wheel polygonal wear in the EMU train primarily exhibits 14–16 and 25–27 harmonic orders. The passing frequencies of wheel polygonization were approximately 283–323 Hz and 505–545 Hz, which closely match the dominated frequencies of axle box and bogie vibrations. These findings suggest that the fixed-frequency vibrations originate from the natural modes of the wheelset and bogie, which can be excited by wheel/rail irregularities.
Originality/value
The study provides novel insights into the mechanisms of high-order wheel polygonization in plateau high-speed EMU trains. Futher, the results indicate that operating the EMU train on mixed lines at variable speeds could potentially mitigate high-order polygonal wear, providing practical value for improving the safety, performance and maintenance efficiency of high-speed EMU trains.
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Justus Mwemezi and Herman Mandari
The main purpose of this paper is to examine the adoption of big data analytics (BDA) in the Tanzania banking industry by investigating the influence of technological…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this paper is to examine the adoption of big data analytics (BDA) in the Tanzania banking industry by investigating the influence of technological, environmental and organizational (TOE) factors while exploring the moderating role of perceived risk (PR).
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed a qualitative research design, and the research instrument was developed using per-defined measurement items adopted from prior studies; the items were slightly adjusted to fit the current context. The questionnaires were distributed to top and middle managers in selected banks in Tanzania using the snowball sampling technique. Out of 360 received responses, 302 were considered complete and valid for data analysis. The study employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the developed conceptual framework.
Findings
Top management support and financial resources emerged as influential organizational factors, as did competition intensity for the environmental factors. Notably, bank size and perceived trends showed no significant impacts on BDA adoption. The study's novelty lies in revealing PR as a moderating factor, weakening the link between technological readiness, perceived usefulness and the intent to adopt BDA.
Originality/value
This study extends literature by extending the TOE model, through examining the moderating roles of PR on technological factors. Furthermore, the study provides useful managerial support for the adoption of BDA in banking in emerging economies.
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Eloy Gil-Cordero, Belén Maldonado-López, Pablo Ledesma-Chaves and Ana García-Guzmán
The purpose of the research is to analyze the factors that determine the intention of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt the Metaverse. For this purpose, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the research is to analyze the factors that determine the intention of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt the Metaverse. For this purpose, the analysis of the effort expectancy and performance expectancy of the constructs in relation to business satisfaction is proposed.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis was performed on a sample of 182 Spanish SMEs in the technology sector, using a PLS-SEM approach for development. For the confirmation of the model and its results, an analysis with PLSpredict was performed, obtaining a high predictive capacity of the model.
Findings
After the analysis of the model proposed in this research, it is recorded that the valuation of the effort to be made and the possible performance expected by the companies does not directly determine the intention to use immersive technology in their strategic behavior. Instead, the results obtained indicate that business satisfaction will involve obtaining information, reducing uncertainty and analyzing the competition necessary for approaching this new virtual environment.
Originality/value
The study represents one of the first approaches to the intention of business behavior in the development of performance strategies within Metaverse systems. So far, the literature has approached immersive systems from perspectives close to consumer behavior, but the study of strategic business behavior has been left aside due to the high degree of experimentalism of this field of study and its scientific approach. The present study aims to contribute to the knowledge of the factors involved in the intention to use the Metaverse by SMEs interested in this field.
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Rajiv Kumar Dwivedi, Manoj Pandey, Anil Vashisht, Devendra Kumar Pandey and Dharmendra Kumar
The study aims to investigate the consumers' behavioral intention toward green hotels. The tendency of individuals to afford green hotels is further escalating with progressing…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to investigate the consumers' behavioral intention toward green hotels. The tendency of individuals to afford green hotels is further escalating with progressing coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic recurring waves. The increased worry of consumers toward health, hygiene and the climate is acquiring momentum and transforming how consumers traditionally perceive green hotels.
Design/methodology/approach
The study has recommended an integrated framework incorporating various research fields as attitude-behavior-context theory, theory of planned behavior (TPB) and moderating influences to study the associations among the antecedents of consumers' behavioral intention toward green hotels. The study comprised the participation of 536 respondents residing in the Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) of India. The data analysis strategy involved the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis to test the proposed research framework.
Findings
The results and findings of the study indicated a significant influence of fear and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental concern on green trust. The results also revealed the considerable impact of green trust on willingness to pay premium, attitude and subjective norms, which significantly influenced behavioral intention. The analysis also revealed the moderating influence of environmental concern in the relationship of green trust and behavioral intention.
Research limitations/implications
The study has recommended significant theoretical. The theorists may use this research framework to analyze better the transforming consumer behavior trends toward green hotels in the ongoing fearful and uncertain COVID-19 pandemic scenario.
Practical implications
The study has recommended significant managerial implications. The industry practitioners may also utilize the framework to sustain the hotel business and bring new strategic insights into practice to combat the impact of the pandemic and simultaneously win consumers' trust in green hotels.
Originality/value
Although the researchers have previously emphasized consumers' intention toward green practices embraced by hotels, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the green hotel industry gained noticeable attention from researchers. Furthermore, there is a scarcity of literature providing insights on the behavioral dynamism of hotel customers' trust, attitude and willingness to pay for green hotels during the repetitive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study will support the existing literature gap by enlightening the associations among the various antecedents of green hotels' behavioral intention, COVID-19 and environmental concern.
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Jian Liu, Mengyao Xu, Wenxiong Xi, Jiawen Song, Shibin Luo and Bengt Ake Sunden
Endwall film cooling protects vane endwall by coolant coverage, especially at the leading edge (LE) region and vane-pressure side (PS) junction region. Strong flow impingement and…
Abstract
Purpose
Endwall film cooling protects vane endwall by coolant coverage, especially at the leading edge (LE) region and vane-pressure side (PS) junction region. Strong flow impingement and complex vortexaa structures on the vane endwall cause difficulties for coolant flows to cover properly. This work aims at a full-scale arrangement of film cooling holes on the endwall which improves coolant efficiency in the LE region and vane-PS junction region.
Design/methodology/approach
The endwall film holes are grouped in four-holes constructal patterns. Three ways of arranging the groups are studied: based on the pressure field, the streamlines or the heat transfer field. The computational analysis is done with the k-ω SST model after validating the turbulence model properly.
Findings
By clustering the film cooling holes in four-holes patterns, the ejection of the coolant flow is stronger. The four-holes constructal patterns also improve the local coolant coverage in the “tough” regions, such as the junction region of the PS and the endwall. The arrangement based on streamlines distribution can effectively improve the coolant coverage and the arrangement based on the heat transfer distribution (HTD) has benefits by reducing high-temperature regions on the endwall.
Originality/value
A full-scale endwall film cooling design is presented considering interactions of different film cooling holes. A comprehensive model validation and mesh independence study are provided. The cooling holes pattern on the endwall is designed as four-holes constructal patterns combined with several arrangement choices, i.e. by pressure, by heat transfer and by streamline distributions.
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Xusen Cheng, Shuang Zhang, Shixuan Fu, Wanxin Liu, Chong Guan, Jian Mou, Qiongwei Ye and Caiming Huang
Metaverse is a virtual application spawned by digital technology that is becoming increasingly relevant to our lives. However, for the opportunities created and challenges posed…
Abstract
Purpose
Metaverse is a virtual application spawned by digital technology that is becoming increasingly relevant to our lives. However, for the opportunities created and challenges posed by the metaverse, its important elements and future evolution trend remain largely unknown. Thus, this paper aims to understand the current status of metaverse research and its future research directions.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the analysis of the literature data on the metaverse both in English and Chinese using Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modeling and bibliometrics, this study discussed the related research and development trend of the metaverse. The authors first defined the concept of the metaverse and analyzed 1,378 English articles from seven publishers and 590 Chinese articles from the CNKI database. Following that, the authors summarized three important themes from the current studies: virtual world, metaverse technologies and metaverse applications. Finally, a framework of future directions on metaverse research was proposed.
Findings
The review found that during the rapid development of the metaverse, opportunities and challenges coexisted. In the virtual world, metaverse technologies drive the implementation of application scenarios, and in turn, applications promote the improvement of technologies. The interrelationship between technology and application lays the foundation for the development of the metaverse. Future metaverse research will generate different research directions.
Originality/value
This review provides a valuable, systematic perspective for individuals who want to understand the metaverse. The conceptual framework on metaverse research proposed in this paper offers a comparison of literature analysis from domestic and international perspectives and brings new insights into the development of the metaverse.
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Jeremy St John, Karen St John and Bo Han
This study furthers one’s understanding of the motivations of the crowdfunding crowd by empirically examining critical factors that influence the crowd's decision to support a…
Abstract
Purpose
This study furthers one’s understanding of the motivations of the crowdfunding crowd by empirically examining critical factors that influence the crowd's decision to support a crowdfunding project.
Design/methodology/approach
Backer's comments from a sample of the top 100 most funded technology product projects on KickStarter were collected. A latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) analysis strategy was adopted to investigate critical motivational factors. Three experts mapped those factors to the known theoretical constructs of social exchange theory (SET).
Findings
Although backers are motivated by value, they are also motivated by far less tangible social factors including trust and a feeling of psychological ownership. Findings suggest that the crowd is far more than a passive group of investors or customers and should be viewed as participatory stakeholders. This study serves as guidance for project owners hoping to motivate the crowd and for future investigators examining backer motivations in other types of crowdsourcing projects.
Research limitations/implications
Online chatter in the form of user-generated comments is an excellent data source for researchers to mine for value and meaning.
Practical implications
Given strong feelings of psychological ownership, project owners should actively engage the crowd and solicit the crowd for advice and help in order to motivate them.
Originality/value
The study presents the first empirical exploration of backer motivations using LDA guided by theory and the knowledge of experts. A framework of latent motivational factors is proposed.
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This paper aims that mobile health (mHealth) applications have emerged as a key tool to support public health. However, there are only a few studies examining the influences of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims that mobile health (mHealth) applications have emerged as a key tool to support public health. However, there are only a few studies examining the influences of health-related ascribes on continuance intention to use mHealth apps and how these influences are contingent on gender in the mHealth app using context.
Design/methodology/approach
This study takes the protection motivation theory as a theoretical framework to examine the ordered relationship between threat and coping appraisals and their impacts on continuance intention to use mHealth apps. In addition, this study further extends the literature on gender differences into the mHealth app's context to investigate the moderating role of gender. The suggested hypotheses are confirmed by a structural equation modeling approach and multigroup investigation employing survey data of 345 users of Spring Rain Doctor in China, a typical mHealth app.
Findings
The findings suggest that the impact of perceived disease threat on user's continuance intention is mediated entirely by coping appraisals. Furthermore, the three coping appraisals' impacts are contingent upon gender. Specifically, response efficacy is more crucial for male users in forecasting continuance intention, whereas self-efficacy and response cost have a more salient influence on continuance intention for female users.
Originality/value
This study examines the ordered influences of threat and coping appraisal, moderated by gender, on continuance intention on use mHealth apps. These findings could contribute to relevant theoretical and practical implications.
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Jing Wang, Yinghan Wang, Yichuan Peng and Jian John Lu
The operation safety of the high-speed railway has been widely concerned. Due to the joint influence of the environment, equipment, personnel and other factors, accidents are…
Abstract
Purpose
The operation safety of the high-speed railway has been widely concerned. Due to the joint influence of the environment, equipment, personnel and other factors, accidents are inevitable in the operation process. However, few studies focused on identifying contributing factors affecting the severity of high-speed railway accidents because of the difficulty in obtaining field data. This study aims to investigate the impact factors affecting the severity of the general high-speed railway.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 14 potential factors were examined from 475 data. The severity level is categorized into four levels by delay time and the number of subsequent trains that are affected by the accident. The partial proportional odds model was constructed to relax the constraint of the parallel line assumption.
Findings
The results show that 10 factors are found to significantly affect accident severity. Moreover, the factors including automation train protection (ATP) system fault, platform screen door and train door fault, traction converter fault and railway clearance intrusion by objects have an effect on reducing the severity level. On the contrary, the accidents caused by objects hanging on the catenary, pantograph fault, passenger misconducting or sudden illness, personnel intrusion of railway clearance, driving on heavy rain or snow and train collision against objects tend to be more severe.
Originality/value
The research results are very useful for mitigating the consequences of high-speed rail accidents.
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Xiaodong Lu, Jingjun Liu and Janus Jian Zhang
This study aims to take advantage of exporters’ product codes and examine the effects of government subsidization on corporate product strategies by focusing on the dimension of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to take advantage of exporters’ product codes and examine the effects of government subsidization on corporate product strategies by focusing on the dimension of product differentiation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses harmonized system (HS) product codes to construct a novel measure of product differentiation among a sample of Chinese exporters during 2000–2012. It uses propensity score matching to construct a comparable sample of control firms for exporters receiving government subsidies, and then a difference-in-differences (DID) analysis is conducted.
Findings
This study finds that product differentiation decreases immediately upon receiving a government subsidy. This finding suggests that in an emerging market, firms use their subsidy to imitate competitors rather than increase innovation. Further analyses show that this effect is concentrated among wholly foreign-owned enterprises and firms that focus on general trade rather than processing trade. In addition, the authors find some evidence that government subsidization leads to an increase in the number of product lines and decreases in domestic value added and export product quality.
Originality/value
This study constructs a novel measure of product differentiation for a large sample of Chinese exporters and provides insights that government subsidization can affect corporate product strategies.
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