Hongyi Sun, Choi Tung Lo, Bo Liang and Yuen Ling Belle Wong
Theory of planned behavior (TPB) has been used to study the impact of entrepreneurial education (EE) on entrepreneurial intention (EI) for more than 20 years, yet an intensive…
Abstract
Purpose
Theory of planned behavior (TPB) has been used to study the impact of entrepreneurial education (EE) on entrepreneurial intention (EI) for more than 20 years, yet an intensive literature review reveals that there are gaps in both the conceptual models and the research methods. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of EE on EI with a view to address the gaps in previous research.
Design/methodology/approach
This research proposes a conceptual model that links the entire antecedent variables of TPB and the elaborated four components of entrepreneurship education (Why, What, How, and Who). The model is tested by a structural equation modeling with the empirical data from 200 engineering students from three universities in Hong Kong.
Findings
The empirical test reveals that the four components of entrepreneurial education do influence attitude, social norm, self-efficacy, and EI, correspondingly. Additionally, it also reveals that the four EE components and the three TPB antecedent variables are also interrelated with each other.
Originality/value
This study bridges specific education components and EI, providing significant insight into how the key components influence the entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions of students. It fills the gap in the knowledge required for fostering EI through entrepreneurship education. It not only answers the question on whether EE influences EI but also on how to nurture the intention by designing a relevant EE course.
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Guanghui Ye, Songye Li, Lanqi Wu, Jinyu Wei, Chuan Wu, Yujie Wang, Jiarong Li, Bo Liang and Shuyan Liu
Community question answering (CQA) platforms play a significant role in knowledge dissemination and information retrieval. Expert recommendation can assist users by helping them…
Abstract
Purpose
Community question answering (CQA) platforms play a significant role in knowledge dissemination and information retrieval. Expert recommendation can assist users by helping them find valuable answers efficiently. Existing works mainly use content and user behavioural features for expert recommendation, and fail to effectively leverage the correlation across multi-dimensional features.
Design/methodology/approach
To address the above issue, this work proposes a multi-dimensional feature fusion-based method for expert recommendation, aiming to integrate features of question–answerer pairs from three dimensions, including network features, content features and user behaviour features. Specifically, network features are extracted by first learning user and tag representations using network representation learning methods and then calculating questioner–answerer similarities and answerer–tag similarities. Secondly, content features are extracted from textual contents of questions and answerer generated contents using text representation models. Thirdly, user behaviour features are extracted from user actions observed in CQA platforms, such as following and likes. Finally, given a question–answerer pair, the three dimensional features are fused and used to predict the probability of the candidate expert answering the given question.
Findings
The proposed method is evaluated on a data set collected from a publicly available CQA platform. Results show that the proposed method is effective compared with baseline methods. Ablation study shows that network features is the most important dimensional features among all three dimensional features.
Practical implications
This work identifies three dimensional features for expert recommendation in CQA platforms and conducts a comprehensive investigation into the importance of features for the performance of expert recommendation. The results suggest that network features are the most important features among three-dimensional features, which indicates that the performance of expert recommendation in CQA platforms is likely to get improved by further mining network features using advanced techniques, such as graph neural networks. One broader implication is that it is always important to include multi-dimensional features for expert recommendation and conduct systematic investigation to identify the most important features for finding directions for improvement.
Originality/value
This work proposes three-dimensional features given that existing works mostly focus on one or two-dimensional features and demonstrate the effectiveness of the newly proposed features.
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Zhixiong Yang, Bin Zhao, Liang Bo, Xiangyang Zhu and Kai Xu
Pick-and-place tasks are common across many industrial sectors, and many rigid-linked robots have been proposed for this application. This paper aims to alternatively present the…
Abstract
Purpose
Pick-and-place tasks are common across many industrial sectors, and many rigid-linked robots have been proposed for this application. This paper aims to alternatively present the development of a continuum robot for low-load medium-speed pick-and-place tasks.
Design/methodology/approach
An inversion of a previously proposed dual continuum mechanism, as a key design element, was used to realize the horizontal movements of the CurviPicker’s end effector. A flexible shaft was inserted to realize rotation and translation about a vertical axis. The design concept, kinematics, system descriptions and proof-of-concept experimental characterizations are elaborated.
Findings
Experimental characterizations show that the CurviPicker can achieve satisfactory accuracy after motion calibration. The CurviPicker is easy to control due to its simple kinematics, while its structural compliance makes it safe to work with, as well as less sensitive to possible target picking position errors to avoid damaging itself or the to-be-picked objects.
Research limitations/implications
The vertical translation of the CurviPicker is currently realized by moving the flexible shaft. Insertion of the flexible shaft introduces possible disturbances. It is desired to explore other form of variations to use structural deformation to realize the vertical translation.
Practical implications
The proposed CurviPicker realizes the Schöenflies motions via a simple structure. Such a robot can be used to increase robot presence and automation in small businesses for low-load medium-speed pick-and-place tasks.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the CurviPicker is the first continuum robot designed and constructed for pick-and-place tasks. The originality stems from the concept, kinematics, development and proof-of-concept experimental characterizations of the CurviPicker.
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Xiao Bo Liang, Xinghua Qu, YuanJun Zhang, Lianyin Xu and Fumin Zhang
Laser absolute distance measurement has the characteristics of high precision, wide range and non-contact. In laser ranging system, tracking and aiming measurement point is the…
Abstract
Purpose
Laser absolute distance measurement has the characteristics of high precision, wide range and non-contact. In laser ranging system, tracking and aiming measurement point is the precondition of automatic measurement. To solve this problem, this paper aims to propose a novel method.
Design/methodology/approach
For the central point of the hollow angle coupled mirror, this paper proposes a method based on correlation filtering and ellipse fitting. For non-cooperative target points, this paper proposes an extraction method based on correlation filtering and feature matching. Finally, a visual tracking and aiming system was constructed by combining the two-axis turntable, and experiments were carried out.
Findings
The target tracking algorithm has an accuracy of 91.15% and a speed of 19.5 frames per second. The algorithm can adapt to the change of target scale and short-term occlusion. The mean error and standard deviation of the center point extraction of the hollow Angle coupling mirror are 0.20 and 0.09 mm. The mean error and standard deviation of feature points matching for non-cooperative target were 0.06 mm and 0.16 mm. The visual tracking and aiming system can track a target running at a speed of 0.7 m/s, aiming error mean is 1.74 pixels and standard deviation is 0.67 pixel.
Originality/value
The results show that this method can achieve fast and high precision target tracking and aiming and has great application value in laser ranging.
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Guanchen Liu, Dongdong Xu, Zifu Shen, Hongjie Xu and Liang Ding
As an advanced manufacturing method, additive manufacturing (AM) technology provides new possibilities for efficient production and design of parts. However, with the continuous…
Abstract
Purpose
As an advanced manufacturing method, additive manufacturing (AM) technology provides new possibilities for efficient production and design of parts. However, with the continuous expansion of the application of AM materials, subtractive processing has become one of the necessary steps to improve the accuracy and performance of parts. In this paper, the processing process of AM materials is discussed in depth, and the surface integrity problem caused by it is discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
Firstly, we listed and analyzed the characterization parameters of metal surface integrity and its influence on the performance of parts and then introduced the application of integrated processing of metal adding and subtracting materials and the influence of different processing forms on the surface integrity of parts. The surface of the trial-cut material is detected and analyzed, and the surface of the integrated processing of adding and subtracting materials is compared with that of the pure processing of reducing materials, so that the corresponding conclusions are obtained.
Findings
In this process, we also found some surface integrity problems, such as knife marks, residual stress and thermal effects. These problems may have a potential negative impact on the performance of the final parts. In processing, we can try to use other integrated processing technologies of adding and subtracting materials, try to combine various integrated processing technologies of adding and subtracting materials, or consider exploring more efficient AM technology to improve processing efficiency. We can also consider adopting production process optimization measures to reduce the processing cost of adding and subtracting materials.
Originality/value
With the gradual improvement of the requirements for the surface quality of parts in the production process and the in-depth implementation of sustainable manufacturing, the demand for integrated processing of metal addition and subtraction materials is likely to continue to grow in the future. By deeply understanding and studying the problems of material reduction and surface integrity of AM materials, we can better meet the challenges in the manufacturing process and improve the quality and performance of parts. This research is very important for promoting the development of manufacturing technology and achieving success in practical application.
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The purpose of this paper is to recommend a framework for remodelling a public sector knowledge management system (KMS) using key knowledge management (KM) processes. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to recommend a framework for remodelling a public sector knowledge management system (KMS) using key knowledge management (KM) processes. The rationale is to provide insight and guidelines to organisations that struggle with KM.
Design/methodology/approach
This desktop study adopted the qualitative approach and literature to support the understanding regarding the remodelling of the public sector KMS using key KM processes.
Findings
The study found that if KM processes are not considered, the prospect of KM is limited. The best way to manage public sector knowledge is following KM processes using information technology. Without proper KM, organisations may not know how knowledge is generated, codified, stored, shared and used in an organisation.
Originality/value
The paper provides a framework to guide public sector organisations in the implementation of electronic KM. Thus, proposing a new way of managing knowledge by using the electronic KM processes in the public sector organisations. The study will also benefit other organisations implementing KM programmes.
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Na Xu, Yanxiang Liang, Chaoran Guo, Bo Meng, Xueqing Zhou, Yuting Hu and Bo Zhang
Safety management plays an important part in coal mine construction. Due to complex data, the implementation of the construction safety knowledge scattered in standards poses a…
Abstract
Purpose
Safety management plays an important part in coal mine construction. Due to complex data, the implementation of the construction safety knowledge scattered in standards poses a challenge. This paper aims to develop a knowledge extraction model to automatically and efficiently extract domain knowledge from unstructured texts.
Design/methodology/approach
Bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT)-bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM)-conditional random field (CRF) method based on a pre-training language model was applied to carry out knowledge entity recognition in the field of coal mine construction safety in this paper. Firstly, 80 safety standards for coal mine construction were collected, sorted out and marked as a descriptive corpus. Then, the BERT pre-training language model was used to obtain dynamic word vectors. Finally, the BiLSTM-CRF model concluded the entity’s optimal tag sequence.
Findings
Accordingly, 11,933 entities and 2,051 relationships in the standard specifications texts of this paper were identified and a language model suitable for coal mine construction safety management was proposed. The experiments showed that F1 values were all above 60% in nine types of entities such as security management. F1 value of this model was more than 60% for entity extraction. The model identified and extracted entities more accurately than conventional methods.
Originality/value
This work completed the domain knowledge query and built a Q&A platform via entities and relationships identified by the standard specifications suitable for coal mines. This paper proposed a systematic framework for texts in coal mine construction safety to improve efficiency and accuracy of domain-specific entity extraction. In addition, the pretraining language model was also introduced into the coal mine construction safety to realize dynamic entity recognition, which provides technical support and theoretical reference for the optimization of safety management platforms.
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Xiao Wang, Xuan Liang, Bo Wang, Chang-qing Guo, Shan-gui Zhang, Kai Yang, Shi-ya Shao, Yan Sun, Zheng Guo, Xue-yan Yu, Donghai Zhang, Tai-jiang Gui, Wei Lu, Ming-liang Sun and Rui Ding
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of graphene, basalt flakes and their synergy on the corrosion resistance of zinc-rich coatings. As the important heavy-duty…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of graphene, basalt flakes and their synergy on the corrosion resistance of zinc-rich coatings. As the important heavy-duty anticorrosion coatings, zinc-rich coatings provided cathodic protection for the substrate. However, to ensure cathodic protection, a large number of zinc powder made the penetration resistance known as the weakness of zinc-rich coatings. Therefore, graphene and basalt flakes were introduced into zinc-rich coatings to coordinate its cathodic protection and shielding performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Three kinds of coatings were prepared; they were graphene modified zinc-rich coatings, basalt flakes modified zinc-rich coatings and graphene-basalt flakes modified zinc-rich coatings. The anticorrosion behavior of painted steel was studied by using the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique in chloride solutions. The equivalent circuit methods were used for EIS analysis to obtain the electrode process structure of the coated steel system. Simultaneously, the corrosion resistance of the three coatings was evaluated by water resistance test, salt water resistance test and salt spray test.
Findings
The study found that the addition of a small amount of graphene and basalt flakes significantly improved the anticorrosion performance of coatings by enhancing their shielding ability against corrosive media and increasing the resistance of the electrochemical reaction. The modified coatings exhibited higher water resistance, salt water resistance and salt spray resistance. The graphene-basalt flakes modified zinc-rich coatings demonstrated the best anticorrosion effect. The presence of basalt scales and graphene oxide in the coatings significantly reduced the water content and slowed down the water penetration rate in the coatings, thus prolonging the coating life and improving anticorrosion effects. The modification of zinc-rich coatings with graphene and basalt flakes improved the utilization rate of zinc powder and the shielding property of coatings against corrosive media, thus strengthening the protective effect on steel structures and prolonging the service life of anticorrosion coatings.
Originality/value
The significance of developing graphene-basalt flakes modified zinc-rich coatings lies in their potential to offer superior performance in corrosive environments, leading to prolonged service life of metallic structures, reduced maintenance costs and a safer working environment. Furthermore, such coatings can be used in various industrial applications, including bridges, pipelines and offshore structures, among others.
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Yelin Fu, K.K. Lai and Liang Liang
The purpose of this paper is twofold: to investigate performance of both manufacturer-owned channel and traditional retail channel when the manufacturer encroaches upon the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold: to investigate performance of both manufacturer-owned channel and traditional retail channel when the manufacturer encroaches upon the traditional channel in different forms (brick-and-mortar and online form) under different market structures (Stackelberg and Bertrand). To examine the effect of acceptance of the online channel and travel cost on profits of two channels.
Design/methodology/approach
The Hotelling model is employed to depict consumers ' channel choice behavior, where the consumer surplus captures travel cost, spatial distance and consumer heterogeneity in acceptance of the online channel. A game-theoretical framework is developed to determine the optimal encroachment form and market structure for both manufacturer-owned and traditional retail channels.
Findings
This paper finds that, in either form of encroachment, Stackelberg market structure always outperforms Bertrand market structure, and channel choice significantly relies on parameters, i.e. consumer acceptance of the online channel and travel cost. Moreover, a Pareto zone is proposed in which both channels consider the strategy that the manufacturer opens bricks-and-mortar channel under Stackelberg market structure as the optimal strategy.
Originality/value
The present work fills a theoretical and practical gap for a structured analysis of the channel performance when the manufacturer encroaches upon the incumbent retail channel in different forms and under different market structure.
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Liang Du, Jia-Bo Feng, Hua Wang and Wei-jun Zhang
This paper aims to present the design and a prototype experiment of a robotic joint module for tokamak in-vessel manipulator-related research; the results will promote the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the design and a prototype experiment of a robotic joint module for tokamak in-vessel manipulator-related research; the results will promote the adaptation of current in-vessel inspection manipulator to achieve full tokamak in-vessel environment compatibility.
Design/methodology/approach
A flexible metallic bellow-enclosed working chamber is used to protect the main servo drive components, the active cooling method for high temperature protection and the servo control structure simplification for high radiation endurance. A joint module prototype is manufactured and tested under a similar in-vessel environmental condition for extreme condition protection validation and basic servo control ability evaluation.
Findings
The joint module prototype successfully survived the similar in-vessel environment tests and proved good mobility via closed-loop servo control. A conceptual design of a serial linkage manipulator with joint module structure is proposed for future in-vessel inspection manipulator development.
Originality/value
The proposed joint module uses common industrial servo components to achieve its full extreme in-vessel environment compatibility. Different from traditional metallic bellow application in a vacuum environment to produce a linear movement result, the proposed joint module aims to achieve rotating movement directly from the metallic bellow structure, thereby reducing the joint structure space requirement, simplifying the vacuum environment movement transmission structure and increasing the vacuum environment compatibility degree.