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This paper aims to focus on the preparation of Kevlar fiber (KF) and alkaline hydrolyzed KF (KF-H) to improve the dispersed condition of polyaniline (PAn), as the aggregation of PAn would lead to some adsorption sites buried. And then the materials were used to enrich anionic dye Congo red (CR) from aqueous solution.

The materials (KF@PAn and KF-H@PAn) were designed by means of “diffusion-interfacial-polymerization” under mild condition as high affinity due to the structural properties of PAn, KF and KF-H. The dispersed degree of PAn on the surface of KF and KF-H was validated according to adsorption efficiency for CR.

The content of PAn introduced was not beyond 20 wt.%, while adsorption capacity for CR was significantly enhanced by 4–8 times (on the basis of kinetic data) according to the calculation only by the content of PAn due to KF and alkaline hydrolyzed KF exhibited almost no adsorption for CR, indicating dispersed situation of PAn coating was greatly enhanced and more active sites exposed, which was favorable for the adsorption process. Presence of NaCl would exhibit a more or less positive effect on CR uptake, suggesting the materials could be used for high salt environment.

The investigated means of dispersed degree of PAn on the surface of KF and KF-H are the further and future investigation.

This study will provide a method to improve the dispersed situation of PAn and a theoretical support to treat anionic dyes from aqueous solution especially for salt environment.

The results showed that the dispersed condition of PAn on the surface of KF and KF-H was greatly improved. According to the adsorption capacities for CR, it can be concluded that part of adsorption sites were buried due to the aggregation of PAn, and introduction of KF and KF-H, buried adsorption sites decreased greatly. This study will provide a method to decrease buried adsorption sites of PAn and a contribution for their convenient application in wastewater treatment especially for high salt environment.

This chapter builds on the authors’ research into the internationalization of China’s higher education (HE) as soft power with “Chinese characteristics” (Lo & Pan, 2020). It rethinks the “Chinese characteristics” in contemporary China’s internationalization of HE as soft power, by contextualizing them in the historico-cultural rootedness that legitimizes the sense of Chinese exceptionalism in the Party-state’s global re-emergence. It also sheds light on the tension and paradox therein through analyzing the conflicts generated by the Party-state’s attempts at re-globalizing the Chinese world order alongside the Westphalian system. In addition to integrating the soft-power concepts coined by Joseph Nye (1990) with the dimensional perspectives on the internationalization of HE framed by Jane Knight (1997), this study also puts in China’s perspectives that stand in contrast to, and yet in confluence with, some of the current norms and values being espoused by the West. In so doing, it demonstrates the potentiality of employing comparative lenses that cut across times, spaces and cultures in the research into internationalization of HE as soft power with national characteristics.

The purpose of this paper aims to investigate the adaptive impedance control and its optimized PSO algorithm for force tracking of a dual-arm cooperative robot. Because the dual-arm robot is directly in contact with external environment, controlling the mutual force between robot and external environment is of great importance. Besides, a high compliance of the robot should be guaranteed.

An impedance control based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is designed to track the mutual force and achieve compliance control of the robot end.

The experimental results show that the impedance control coefficients can be automatically tuned converged by PSO algorithm.

The system can reach a steady state within 0.03 s with overshoot convergence, and the force fluctuation range at the steady state decreases to about ±0.08 N even under the force mutation condition.

This chapter reflects on our recent research into China’s soft power in international education, using Confucius Institutes as a case study. It first reveals how we have framed our research in the related field and the methodological issues concerned. It will then analyze the theories and concepts that have been taken as the lenses through which China’s soft power ideas and strategies were compared and contrasted with the theories and/or practices prevalent in the West, while highlighting their implication for the fear of the “China threat.” Finally, we will conclude with the potential areas of further research in the related area of study in the years to come. It is hoped that this chapter will contribute to the development of research in international and comparative education that helps readers to explore in-depth the causality, implication and complication of the “China threat” in the global arena.

Finite elements for the analysis of multilayered plates subjected to magneto‐electro‐elastic fields are developed in this work. An accurate description of the various field variables has been provided by employing a variable kinematic model which is based on the Unified Formulation, UF. Displacements, magnetic and electric potential have been chosen as independent unknowns. Equivalent single layer and layer‐wise descriptions have been accounted for. Plate models with linear up to fourth‐order distribution in the thickness direction have been compared. The extension of the principle of virtual displacements to magneto‐electro‐elastic continua has been employed to derive finite elements governing equations. According to UF these equations are presented in terms of fundamental nuclei whose form is not affected by kinematic assumptions. Results show the effectiveness of the proposed elements as well as their capability, by choosing appropriate kinematics, to accurately trace the static response of laminated plates subject to magneto‐electro‐elastic fields.

This paper examines the evolving landscape of accounting and finance research on the Chinese capital market, building on a previous study published at Abacus in 2018.

By incorporating data from 1999 to 2023, our analysis offers a detailed examination of shifts in academic focus, methodological advancements and thematic expansions over the last quarter-century.

The study reveals a substantial increase in accounting and finance publications related to the Chinese capital market in both Tier 1 and Asia-Pacific journals. The dynamic growth of the Chinese capital market during this period reflects profound economic transformations, characterized by technological innovations, sustainability commitments and regulatory reforms.

We conclude that the globally important Chinese capital market has attracted increasing academic attention, significantly advancing the understanding of accounting and finance research in China’s capital market.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between multivariate process capability indices and loss functions for both nominal‐the‐best and smaller‐the‐better cases, so the likelihood and consequences resulting from the nonconforming of a manufacturing process or an environmental system can be evaluated simultaneously.

In this paper, the authors present a new approach of correlated risk assessment by linking the multiple process capability indices and loss functions, in which the multivariate process capability indices and multivariate loss functions describe the likelihood and consequences as a result of nonconformities in multivariate manufacturing or environmental system, respectively. Then, the associated relationship equations are developed using multivariate methods. Moreover, a step‐by‐step procedure is provided to facilitate the implementation of the correlated risk assessment.

Given the multivariate process capability indices, the authors show that the expected loss can be estimated by developed relationship equations and two numerical examples are also given, to demonstrate how the correlated manufacturing and environmental risks can be properly assessed by linking the multivariate process capability indices and multivariate loss function.

The risk information of likelihood and expected loss, classified in the four planning zones of a strategic planning matrix, provides practising managers and engineers with a decision‐making tool for prioritizing their quality improvement projects when conducting risk assessment for any multivariate process or environmental system.

Once the existing quality/environmental problems and their Key Performance Indicators are identified, one may conduct risk assessment by applying the relationship equations to evaluate the impact of correlated risk on manufacturing processes or multiple environmental emissions inside company; this can lead to the direction of continuous improvement for any industry.

Intelligence level of a crowd network is defined as the expected reward of the network when completing the latest tasks (e.g. last N tasks). The purpose of this paper is to improve the intelligence level of a crowd network by optimizing the profession distribution of the crowd network.

Based on the concept of information entropy, this paper introduces the concept of business entropy and puts forward several factors affecting business entropy to analyze the relationship between the intelligence level and the profession distribution of the crowd network. This paper introduced Profession Distribution Deviation and Subject Interaction Pattern as the two factors which affect business entropy. By quantifying and combining the two factors, a Multi-Factor Business Entropy Quantitative (MFBEQ) model is proposed to calculate the business entropy of a crowd network. Finally, the differential evolution model and k-means clustering are applied to crowd intelligence network, and the species distribution of intelligent subjects is found, so as to achieve quantitative analysis of business entropy.

By establishing the MFBEQ model, this paper found that when the profession distribution of a crowd network is deviate less to the expected distribution, the intelligence level of a crowd network will be higher. Moreover, when subjects within the crowd network interact with each other more actively, the intelligence level of a crowd network becomes higher.

This paper aims to build the MFBEQ model according to factors that are related to business entropy and then uses the model to evaluate the intelligence level of a number of crowd networks.

This chapter aims to explore the novelty and utility of political economy discourse, termed “neo-statism,” as an analytical lens for comparative research in higher education. Analysis is framed within the context of Hong Kong’s transition from a British colony to a Special Administrative Region under China’s sovereignty, and its shifting academic paradigms from a more or less spontaneous philosophy rooted in liberal capitalist economy to embracing neo-statism, which involves market-conforming and state-sponsored approaches to economic and social restructuring whereby the state regulates higher education in support of national integration and global power projection. The statist regulation depends heavily on its deployment of discursive legitimacy, strategic distribution of resources, organizational synergy, and elite cohesion articulated through higher education policy, research projects, and cross-border academic exchange and cooperation. The Hong Kong case suggests that comparative research in higher education should advance from the methodological aspects of the comparative approach to exploring wider theoretical spectrum, for understanding emerging politico-economic factors shaping academic paradigm in comparative contexts. Moreover, scholars who engage in the trendy internationalization in higher education should move beyond the logics of neo-liberalism, and pay closer attention to the new geopolitical realities that are changing the normative and interactive dimensions of international higher education at large.