The purpose of this case study is to explore to what extent US university undergraduates participating in a research abroad program through US–Taiwan Partnerships for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this case study is to explore to what extent US university undergraduates participating in a research abroad program through US–Taiwan Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) developed intercultural awareness and cross-cultural adaptability skills. It also suggests additional program design features to enhance students' international experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
To better understand participants' experiences in the PIRE program, this study adopts a mixed-methods approach. Demographic questionnaires, pre- and postsurveys, observational field notes and individual interviews were conducted for data collection and analysis.
Findings
Students perceived the experience abroad to improve their intercultural awareness and skills such as openness to cultural differences, coping with challenges abroad and effectively working in diverse teams. Specifically, quantitative findings reflected group gains in the areas of flexibility/openness and perceptual acuity, whereas qualitative findings indicated growth in students' emotional resilience and personal autonomy.
Research limitations/implications
Additional data collection methods, such as pre-/postinstruments or a longitudinal study would provide a more comprehensive assessment of the impact of education abroad on students' intercultural learning.
Social implications
Evaluation of programs and outcomes can help identify areas to maximize student learning and assess the value of education abroad.
Originality/value
This is original research and makes a contribution to education abroad programs in postsecondary education.
Details
Keywords
Chung Leung Luk, Cheris W.C. Chow, Wendy W.N. Wan, Jennifer Y.M. Lai, Isabel Fu and Candy P.S. Fong
Building on institutional theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for analyzing how consumer attitudes toward nudity in ads change as a result of…
Abstract
Purpose
Building on institutional theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for analyzing how consumer attitudes toward nudity in ads change as a result of modernization. Modernization is driven by the currents of pluralism and rationalism. The authors highlight the inherent contradiction of these two pillars and how this contradiction results in an inverted-U pattern in the relationship between level of modernization and consumer attitudes toward sex appeals. Consumers’ sexual permissiveness and their perceived insufficiency of regulatory control over sexual content in the mass media are the individual-level mediators of the two pillars.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from three Chinese cities at different levels of modernization. A total of 811 college students from the three cities participated in the study.
Findings
The relationship between level of modernization and attitude favorability followed an inverted-U pattern. Female participants in the most modernized city possessed significantly less favorable attitudes to the ads than their male counterparts. Female and male participants were similar in their attitudes in the less modern cities. Sexual permissiveness mediated the relationship between modernization and male participants’ attitudes, but not with female participants’ attitudes. Perceived sufficiency of regulatory control over sexual content mediated the relationship between modernization and their attitudes among both male and female participants.
Originality/value
The paper makes an empirical contribution by testing the hypotheses regarding consumers responses to sex-appeal advertising with data collected from three Chinese cities at different levels of modernization. Additionally, it offers an institutional perspective on social attitude changes. Social attitude change is of great interest to researchers, but a systematic theoretical analysis is currently lacking.
Details
Keywords
Paul Tang, Jennifer Y.M. Lai, Xiaoyun Chen and Siu Fong Isabel Fu
Drawing on social exchange theory, this study aims to investigate the reciprocal relationship between an employee’s knowledge sharing and his or her coworkers’ responses to this…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on social exchange theory, this study aims to investigate the reciprocal relationship between an employee’s knowledge sharing and his or her coworkers’ responses to this focal contributor in terms of knowledge sharing and helping behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-wave online survey collected data from 84 respondents who provided ratings on each member on their team, representing 440 dyadic relationships. Hierarchical linear modeling analyzed the between-subjects and within-subject data simultaneously.
Findings
Employees generally reciprocate contributors’ knowledge sharing with an exact act (i.e. knowledge sharing) through the mechanism of peer respect. However, respect generated by knowledge sharing is enhanced only when the knowledge contributor is competent.
Originality/value
Research on how an employee’s knowledge sharing actually influences other members of a team is lacking. This study addresses this gap by examining responses to a team member’s knowledge sharing from a peer’s perspective. It also reveals when knowledge sharing is more pronounced in earning peer respect.
Details
Keywords
Mica Grujicic, Jennifer Snipes, S. Ramaswami, Vasudeva Avuthu, Chian-Fong Yen and Bryan Cheeseman
To overcome the problem of inferior through-the-thickness mechanical properties displayed by armor-grade composites based on 2-D reinforcement architectures, armor-grade…
Abstract
Purpose
To overcome the problem of inferior through-the-thickness mechanical properties displayed by armor-grade composites based on 2-D reinforcement architectures, armor-grade composites based on 3D fiber-reinforcement architectures have recently been investigated experimentally.
Design/methodology/approach
The subject of the present work is armor-grade composite materials reinforced using ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene fibers and having four (two 2D and two 3D) prototypical architectures, as well as the derivation of the corresponding material models. The effect of the reinforcement architecture is accounted for by constructing the appropriate unit cells (within which the constituent materials and their morphologies are represented explicitly) and subjecting them to a series of virtual mechanical tests. The results obtained are used within a post-processing analysis to derive and parameterize the corresponding homogenized-material models. One of these models (specifically, the one for 0°/90° cross-collimated fiber architecture) was directly validated by comparing its predictions with the experimental counterparts. The other models are validated by examining their physical soundness and details of their predictions. Lastly, the models are integrated as user-material subroutines, and linked with a commercial finite-element package, in order to carry out a transient non-linear dynamics analysis of ballistic transverse impact of armor-grade composite-material panels with different reinforcement architectures.
Findings
It is found that the reinforcement architecture plays a critical role in the overall ballistic limit of the armor panel, as well as in its structural and damage/failure response.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, the present work is the first reported attempt to assess, computationally, the utility and effectiveness of 3D fiber-reinforcement architectures for ballistic impact applications.
Caroline Wolski, Kathryn Freeman Anderson and Simone Rambotti
Since the development of the COVID-19 vaccinations, questions surrounding race have been prominent in the literature on vaccine uptake. Early in the vaccine rollout, public health…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the development of the COVID-19 vaccinations, questions surrounding race have been prominent in the literature on vaccine uptake. Early in the vaccine rollout, public health officials were concerned with the relatively lower rates of uptake among certain racial/ethnic minority groups. We suggest that this may also be patterned by racial/ethnic residential segregation, which previous work has demonstrated to be an important factor for both health and access to health care.
Methodology/Approach
In this study, we examine county-level vaccination rates, racial/ethnic composition, and residential segregation across the U.S. We compile data from several sources, including the American Community Survey (ACS) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) measured at the county level.
Findings
We find that just looking at the associations between racial/ethnic composition and vaccination rates, both percent Black and percent White are significant and negative, meaning that higher percentages of these groups in a county are associated with lower vaccination rates, whereas the opposite is the case for percent Latino. When we factor in segregation, as measured by the index of dissimilarity, the patterns change somewhat. Dissimilarity itself was not significant in the models across all groups, but when interacted with race/ethnic composition, it moderates the association. For both percent Black and percent White, the interaction with the Black-White dissimilarity index is significant and negative, meaning that it deepens the negative association between composition and the vaccination rate.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis is only limited to county-level measures of racial/ethnic composition and vaccination rates, so we are unable to see at the individual-level who is getting vaccinated.
Originality/Value of Paper
We find that segregation moderates the association between racial/ethnic composition and vaccination rates, suggesting that local race relations in a county helps contextualize the compositional effects of race/ethnicity.
Details
Keywords
Frank Walter, Bernd Vogel and Jochen I. Menges
We offer a new perspective on group affective diversity by introducing the construct of mixed group mood, denoting co-occurring positive and negative mood states between different…
Abstract
We offer a new perspective on group affective diversity by introducing the construct of mixed group mood, denoting co-occurring positive and negative mood states between different members of a group. Mixed group mood is characterized by four facets, namely members’ distribution between two positive and negative subgroups, subgroups’ average mood intensity, subgroups’ mood intensity heterogeneity, and individual members’ mood ambivalence. Building on information/decision-making and social categorization/similarity–attraction perspectives, we explore the performance consequences of mixed group mood along these four facets and we discuss implications and directions for future research.
Details
Keywords
Mica Grujicic, S Ramaswami, Jennifer Snipes, Vasudeva Avuthu, Chian-Fong Yen and Bryan Cheeseman
Fiber-reinforced armor-grade polymer-matrix composite materials with a superior penetration resistance are traditionally developed using legacy knowledge and trial-and-error…
Abstract
Purpose
Fiber-reinforced armor-grade polymer-matrix composite materials with a superior penetration resistance are traditionally developed using legacy knowledge and trial-and-error empiricism. This approach is generally quite costly and time-consuming and, hence, new (faster and more economical) approaches are needed for the development of high-performance armor-grade composite materials. One of these new approaches is the so-called materials-by-design approach. Within this approach, extensive use is made of the computer-aided engineering (CAE) analyses and of the empirically/theoretically established functional relationships between an armor-grade composite-protected structure, the properties of the composite materials, material microstructure (as characterized at different length-scales) and the material/structure synthesis and fabrication processes. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
In the present work, a first step is made toward applying the materials-by-design approach to the development of the armor-grade composite materials and protective structures with superior ballistic-penetration resistance. Specifically, CAE analyses are utilized to establish functional relationships between the attributes/properties of the composite material and the penetration resistance of the associated protective structure, and to identify the combination of these properties which maximize the penetration resistance. In a follow-up paper, the materials-by-design approach will be extended to answer the questions such as what microstructural features the material must possess in order for the penetration resistance to be maximized and how such materials should be synthesized/processed.
Findings
The results obtained show that proper adjustment of the material properties results in significant improvements in the protective structure penetration resistance.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, the present work is the first reported attempt to apply the materials-by-design approach to armor-grade composite materials in order to help improve their ballistic-penetration resistance.
Details
Keywords
Mica Grujicic, Jennifer Snipes, S Ramaswami and Chian-Fong Yen
The weld region obtained during friction stir welding (FSW) of metallic materials (including aluminum alloys) contains typically well-defined zones, each characterized by fairly…
Abstract
Purpose
The weld region obtained during friction stir welding (FSW) of metallic materials (including aluminum alloys) contains typically well-defined zones, each characterized by fairly unique microstructure and properties. The purpose of this paper is to carry out combined experimental and numerical investigations of the mechanical properties of materials residing in different weld zones of FSW joints of thick AA2139-T8 plates.
Design/methodology/approach
Within the experimental investigation, the following has been conducted: first, optical-microscopy characterization of the transverse sections of the FSW joints, in order to help identify and delineate weld zones; second, micro hardness field generation over the same transverse section in order to reconfirm the location and the extent of various weld zones; third, extraction of miniature tensile specimens from different weld zones and their experimental testing; and finally, extraction of a larger size tensile specimen spanning transversely the FSW weld and its testing. Within the computational investigation, an effort was made to: first, validate the mechanical properties obtained using the miniature tensile specimens; and second, demonstrate the need for the use of the miniature tensile specimens.
Findings
It is argued that the availability of weld-zone material mechanical properties is critical since: first, these properties are often inferior relative to their base-metal counterparts; second, the width of the weld in thick metallic-armor is often comparable to the armor thickness, and therefore may represent a significant portion of the armor exposed-surface area; and finally, modeling of the weld-material structural response under loading requires the availability of high-fidelity/validated material constitutive models, and the development of such models requires knowledge of the weld-material mechanical properties.
Originality/value
The importance of determining the mechanical properties of the material in different parts of the weld zone with sufficient accuracy is demonstrated.
Details
Keywords
Mica Grujicic, Subrahmanian Ramaswami, Jennifer Snipes, Ramin Yavari, Gary Lickfield, Chian-Fong Yen and Bryan Cheeseman
A series of all-atom molecular-level computational analyses is carried out in order to investigate mechanical transverse (and longitudinal) elastic stiffness and strength of p…
Abstract
Purpose
A series of all-atom molecular-level computational analyses is carried out in order to investigate mechanical transverse (and longitudinal) elastic stiffness and strength of p-phenylene terephthalamide (PPTA) fibrils/fibers and the effect various microstructural/topological defects have on this behavior. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
To construct various defects within the molecular-level model, the relevant open-literature experimental and computational results were utilized, while the concentration of defects was set to the values generally encountered under “prototypical” polymer synthesis and fiber fabrication conditions.
Findings
The results obtained revealed: a stochastic character of the PPTA fibril/fiber strength properties; a high level of sensitivity of the PPTA fibril/fiber mechanical properties to the presence, number density, clustering and potency of defects; and a reasonably good agreement between the predicted and the measured mechanical properties.
Originality/value
When quantifying the effect of crystallographic/morphological defects on the mechanical transverse behavior of PPTA fibrils, the stochastic nature of the size/potency of these defects was taken into account.
Details
Keywords
Mica Grujicic, Jennifer Snipes, S Ramaswami, Vasudeva Avuthu, Chian-Fong Yen and Bryan Cheeseman
Traditionally, an armor-grade composite is based on a two-dimensional (2D) architecture of its fiber reinforcements. However, various experimental investigations have shown that…
Abstract
Purpose
Traditionally, an armor-grade composite is based on a two-dimensional (2D) architecture of its fiber reinforcements. However, various experimental investigations have shown that armor-grade composites based on 2D-reinforcement architectures tend to display inferior through-the-thickness mechanical properties, compromising their ballistic performance. To overcome this problem, armor-grade composites based on three-dimensional (3D) fiber-reinforcement architectures have recently been investigated experimentally. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
In the present work, continuum-level material models are derived, parameterized and validated for armor-grade composite materials, having four (two 2D and two 3D) prototypical reinforcement architectures based on oriented ultra-high molecular-weight polyethylene fibers. To properly and accurately account for the effect of the reinforcement architecture, the appropriate unit cells (within which the constituent materials and their morphologies are represented explicitly) are constructed and subjected to a series of virtual mechanical tests (VMTs). The results obtained are used within a post-processing analysis to derive and parameterize the corresponding homogenized-material models. One of these models (specifically, the one for 0°/90° cross-collimated fiber architecture) was directly validated by comparing its predictions with the experimental counterparts. The other models are validated by examining their physical soundness and details of their predictions. Lastly, the models are integrated as user-material subroutines, and linked with a commercial finite-element package, in order to carry out a transient non-linear dynamics analysis of ballistic transverse impact of armor-grade composite-material panels with different reinforcement architectures.
Findings
The results obtained clearly revealed the role the reinforcement architecture plays in the overall ballistic limit of the armor panel, as well as in its structural and damage/failure response.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, the present work is the first reported attempt to assess, computationally, the utility and effectiveness of 3D fiber-reinforcement architectures for ballistic-impact applications.