Chunxia Qi, Mun Yee Lai, Lizhe Liu, Siyu Zuo, Haili Liang and Ruisi Li
This study explored how teachers change, what teachers learn and how they learn during the implementation of project-based learning through lesson study.
Abstract
Purpose
This study explored how teachers change, what teachers learn and how they learn during the implementation of project-based learning through lesson study.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, three university researchers, one doctoral student and six mathematics school teachers formed a lesson study team. Using a qualitative research method, this study employed a locally integrating networking strategy to combine the modified Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (IMTPG) and Bannister's framework to describe the teachers' knowledge change when participating in a lesson study on project-based learning.
Findings
The research revealed that the school teachers' knowledge about authenticity and assessment in the context of project-based learning was changed after the lesson study and how the changes were triggered.
Originality/value
The study demonstrates how the networking of two different theories—modified IMTPG and Bannister's framework—contributes to a better understanding of the process of teachers' collective practice, as well as the knowledge change in PjBL. This networking was done by combining the two theories, which were superimposed at the domain of practice.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating effects of market growth on the relationships between power distance and new venture performance and between market…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating effects of market growth on the relationships between power distance and new venture performance and between market information utilization in new ventures and new venture performance in China.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses content analyses and OLS regressions.
Findings
First, power distance and market information utilization have positive effects on Chinese new venture performance. Second, in a low market growth environment, increasing power distance increases Chinese new venture performance. Third, in a high market growth environment, increasing power distance decreases, not increases, Chinese new venture performance.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the market orientation literature by examining the moderating effects of market growth on the market information utilization-performance relationship in China. This study also adds to the existing understanding of power distance and market information utilization in contingency theoretical perspective.
Practical implications
Chinese new ventures operating in a high-growth market should reduce power distance. However, when operating in the low market growth industry, Chinese new ventures should increase power distance. While all Chinese new ventures should use market information to make decisions, the roles of market information are more important for Chinese new ventures operating in high market growth industries than for those operating in low market growth industries.
Originality/value
This study examines the moderating effects of market growth on the positive relationship between power distance and Chinese new venture performance and the positive relationship between market information utilization on Chinese new venture performance in the same model.
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Haili Zhang, Fuzhen Tian, Song Chen, Qinghua Guo, Fen Liu and Donglan Sun
The purpose of this paper is to develop a kind of novel and high‐performance rheological additive, an eco‐friendly composite of anatase nano‐TiO2 particles and xanthan gum (NTX)…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a kind of novel and high‐performance rheological additive, an eco‐friendly composite of anatase nano‐TiO2 particles and xanthan gum (NTX), for interior wall coatings.
Design/methodology/approach
NTX was prepared through heating and refluxing the mixture of TiO2 hydrosol and xanthan gum, and five interior wall coating samples were fabricated with different NTX contents. The morphology of nano‐TiO2 hydrosol and NTX were characterised with TEM, and the stability and rheological properties of these coating samples were studied.
Findings
TEM images showed a core‐shell structure of NTX, and that nano‐TiO2 particles in it were encapsulated by xanthan gum, which was anticipated to weaken Van der Waals force among nano‐TiO2 particles thus preventing the aggregation of nano‐particles. All of the five coating samples were found to be non‐Newtonian pseudo‐plastic fluid, and showed excellent stability and thixotropic property.
Research limitations/implications
This paper focused on the preparation, the characterisation of NTX additive and the study of the rheological behaviours of the coating samples with NTX. Some other aspects, such as coating durability, photocatalytic ability and film properties, will be studied in the future.
Practical implications
It was proven that NTX was an effective eco‐friendly rheological additive for interior wall coatings. Consequently, this paper threw light on developing eco‐friendly interior wall coatings.
Originality/value
A kind of novel and effective rheological additive was developed for interior wall coatings in the study reported in the paper. A method was also developed to introduce functional nano‐particles into coating in a good dispersion state.
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Yun Huang, Kaizhou Gao, Kai Wang, Haili Lv and Fan Gao
The purpose of this paper is to adopt a three-stage cloud-based management system for optimizing greenhouse gases (GHG) emission and marketing decisions with supplier selection…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to adopt a three-stage cloud-based management system for optimizing greenhouse gases (GHG) emission and marketing decisions with supplier selection and product family design in a multi-level supply chain with multiple suppliers, one single manufacturer and multiple retailers.
Design/methodology/approach
The manufacturer purchases optional components of a certain functionality from his alternative suppliers and customizes a set of platform products for retailers in different independent market segments. To tackle the studied problem, a hierarchical analytical target cascading (ATC) model is proposed, Jaya algorithm is applied and supplier selection and product family design are implemented in its encoding procedure.
Findings
A case study is used to verify the effectiveness of the ATC model in solving the optimization problem and the corresponding algorithm. It has shown that the ATC model can not only obtain close optimization results as a central optimization method but also maintain the autonomous decision rights of different supply chain members.
Originality/value
This paper first develops a three-stage cloud-based management system to optimize GHG emission, marketing decisions, supplier selection and product family design in a multi-level supply chain. Then, the ATC model is proposed to obtain the close optimization results as central optimization method and also maintain the autonomous decision rights of different supply chain members.