In recent years, there is a steady increase of studies documenting the emergence of “contracting back-in” in many countries around the world, that is, governments bringing…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, there is a steady increase of studies documenting the emergence of “contracting back-in” in many countries around the world, that is, governments bringing previously contracted services back in-house and once again relying on public employees to deliver these services. Through a survey of the academic discourse on contracting back-in, this manuscript describes the phenomenon of contracting back-in and discusses its implications for “bringing the state back in”.
Design/methodology/approach
The manuscript conducts a systematic review of existing literature on contracting back-in with a focus on the scope and rationale of contracting back-in.
Findings
The existing literature demonstrates that contracting back-in is often as common as contracting out and can be found in a variety of countries and across different service areas. Existing studies also suggest that contracting back-in is driven by a mix of managerial, political, and environmental factors. The rise of contracting back-in could imply a revival of the administrative state in public governance and a more dynamic, potentially more complicated, system of public service delivery.
Originality/value
The manuscript contributes to the special issue on “bringing the state back in” through the lens of government contracting. It adds a number of implications to the discussion on the emergence of the “new” administrative state and strategies to reinvent it.
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Wei Xia, Lingwen Kong, Jiahuan Zhang, Hui Hao, Yiping Wang, Xiaoqi Ni, Ming Wang and Dongmei Guo
The purpose of this study aims to modify a self-mixing laser mouse as an extremely cost-effective displacement sensor to measure the mechanical oscillation of a commercial shaker…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study aims to modify a self-mixing laser mouse as an extremely cost-effective displacement sensor to measure the mechanical oscillation of a commercial shaker and a nano-positioning stage.
Design/methodology/approach
This kind of laser mouse, mostly consisting of a pair of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers, two photodiodes and an integrated signal processing unit, is capable of directly giving the x-axis and y-axis components of the measured vibrating displacement. Based on the laser self-mixing interference, the velocity of the object is coded into the Doppler frequency shift of the feedback light, which allows accurate determination of the vibration of the object.
Findings
A commercial shaker has been used to provide standard harmonic oscillation to test the displacement sensor. Within a vibrating frequency range of 110 Hz, the experimental results show that the micrometer scale resolution has been achieved at the velocity of up to 2 m/s, which is much improved compared with the image-based optical mouse. Furthermore, the measurements of the two dimensional displacement of a nano-positioning stage are performed as well. The minimum measurable velocity limit for this sensor has been discussed in detail, and the relative measurement error can be greatly reduced by appropriate selection of the modulation frequency of the triangular injection current.
Originality/value
These results demonstrate the feasibility of this device for the industrial vibration sensing applications.
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Li Liu, ChengYang Zhou, Xiao Pei, LiZhu Guo, JiaHuan Li, RuiXin Wu and Ding Huang
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on clonal growth in a rhizome clonal plant, Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on clonal growth in a rhizome clonal plant, Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel.
Design/methodology/approach
The study established seven N concentration gradients (0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 g N m−2) to simulate the continuous increase in N deposition for the cultivation of L. chinensis seedlings and assess the response mechanism of the cloned L. chinensis plant at different N levels by analyzing the aboveground and belowground plant appearance traits, parent ramets and daughter ramets of resource allocation and biomass allocation.
Findings
The results of this study showed that the different N treatment levels could promote clonal growth and had certain regularity under the seven treatments. The addition of N could significantly increase the ramet number, rhizome length, rhizome spacer length, biomass of mother ramets, daughter ramets and belowground L. chinensis population when the N addition was greater than 4 g m−2; however, the clonal growth ability of L. chinensis decreased and the rhizome length, ramet number, stem and leaf biomass of daughter ramets and stem biomass of mother ramets significantly decreased when the N addition was greater than 32 g N m−2.
Originality/value
With global warming, atmospheric N deposition is increasing and it is of great significance to explore the response mechanism of different N levels for the growth of clone plants. This study provides basic data and a theoretical basis for the survival prediction of cloned plants under the background of a global climate change strategy and has important theoretical and practical significance for the scientific management of grasslands in the future.
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Mengyuan Xu, Ruixue Zhao, Mengyao Li, Stephen Nicholas, Elizabeth Maitland, Jinnan Zhang, Huan Jia, Jing Wang and Wenhua Wang
The study aims to address the gap between leaders’ preventative self-regulatory focus and its impact on Chinese primary care physicians (PCPs) well-being, measured by work–family…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to address the gap between leaders’ preventative self-regulatory focus and its impact on Chinese primary care physicians (PCPs) well-being, measured by work–family spillover stress and work exhaustion and on healthcare quality, measured by preventive service delivery and clinical guideline adherence.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper conducted a cross-sectional in-person survey with 38 leaders and 224 PCPs in 38 primary health centers (PHCs) in Jinan, Tianjin, Shenzhen and Shanghai. Guided by the regulatory focus theory, this paper built hierarchical linear regression models to examine the association between the leadership’s regulatory focus and physician burnout, work–family conflict, clinic guideline adherence and preventive service delivery.
Findings
This paper added the knowledge of leadership’s regulatory focus impact on the well-being and medical service quality of PCPs. Prevention regulatory focus of leaders was significantly associated with work exhaustion and physicians’ reported work–family conflict. There is no significant association between leadership’s prevention regulatory focus and PCPs’ preventive service delivery or clinical guideline adherence.
Research limitations/implications
Data on the regulatory focus of PCPs were not collected. Future studies should collect longitudinal data, allowing for exploration of the mechanism.
Practical implications
This paper revealed that PHC leaders should restructure their leadership focus away from preventive regulatory behavior, promoting a team atmosphere and enhancing PCP attitudes, behaviors and well-being.
Social implications
To improve the well-being of PCPs and the quality of medical services, our results recommend a focus on establishing a positive organizational culture and addressing the emotional and professional needs of PCPs. To achieve these aims, policymakers should implement measures that promote a more comprehensive and balanced regulatory focus within PHC institutions. These measures should aim to create an environment that supports physician well-being and enhances the quality of healthcare services. Providing ample resources and support, promoting a collaborative team atmosphere and encouraging open communication are vital to empowering PCPs.
Originality/value
This study examined the preventive regulatory focus of PHC leaders on the well-being and medical service quality of PCPs in China.
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Jiahuan Du, Qiang Li, Chuanli Qin, Xugang Zhang, Zheng Jin and Xuduo Bai
– The purpose of this paper is to develop nitrogen-enriched carbon (NC) with high conductivity and specific capacitance as electrode materials for supercapacitors.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop nitrogen-enriched carbon (NC) with high conductivity and specific capacitance as electrode materials for supercapacitors.
Design/methodology/approach
Graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized by the modified Hummers–Offeman method. NC was synthesized by carbonization of melamine formaldehyde resin/graphene oxide (MF/GO) composites. Supercapacitors based on Ni(OH)2/Co(OH)2 composites as the positive electrode and NC as the negative electrode were assembled. The electrochemical performances of NC and supercapacitors are studied.
Findings
The results show that obtained NC has high nitrogen content. Compared to NC-GO0 without GO, high conductivity and specific capacitance were obtained for NC with GO due to the introduction of layered GO. The presence of pseudocapacitive interactions between potassium cations and the nitrogen atoms of NC was also proposed. When the weight ratio of GO to MF is 0.013:1, the obtained NC-GO3 has the highest specific capacitance of 154.07 F/g due to GO and its highest content of N-6. When the P of the asymmetric supercapacitor with NC-GO3 as the negative electrode is 1,326.70 W/kg, its Cps and Ep are still 23.84 F/g and 8.48 Wh/Kg, respectively. There is only 4.4 per cent decay in Cps of the supercapacitor over 1,000 cycles.
Research limitations/implications
NC is a suitable electrode material for supercapacitors. The supercapacitors can be used in the field of automobiles and can solve the problems of energy shortage and environmental pollutions.
Originality/value
NC based on MF/GO composites with high nitrogen content and conductivity was novel and its electrochemical properties were excellent.
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Qiang Li, Jiahuan Du, Xugang Zhang, Chuanli Qin, Zheng Jin and Xuduo Bai
The purpose of this paper is to develop porous nitrogen-enriched carbon (NC-U) with high nitrogen concentration and high specific capacitance (Cpe) as the electrode material for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop porous nitrogen-enriched carbon (NC-U) with high nitrogen concentration and high specific capacitance (Cpe) as the electrode material for supercapacitors.
Design/methodology/approach
NC-U was obtained by carbonization of polyvinylpyrrolidone/melamine formaldehyde resin (PVP/MF) with different contents of urea. In comparison, NC-K was also prepared by the KOH activation method. A series of asymmetric supercapacitors with NC as a negative electrode was assembled. The composition, microstructure and electrochemical properties of NC and their supercapacitors were studied.
Findings
The results show that NC-U shows irregular particles with a porous honeycomb structure. High Cpe was obtained for urea-treated NC-U because of the improvement of nitrogen, conductivity and specific surface area (S BET). NC-U50 with 13.15 per cent at nitrogen has the highest Cpe of 148.53 F/g because of the highest concentration of N-6 and N-5. NC-K with higher S BET has lower Cpe than NC-U50 because of its lower nitrogen concentration. When the specific power of the supercapacitor with NC-U50 as a negative electrode is 1,565.56 W/kg, its specific energy is still 4.35 Wh/kg. There is only 5.9 per cent decay in Cpe over 1,000 cycles.
Research limitations/implications
NC-U is a suitable electrode material for supercapacitors, which can be used in the field of electric vehicles to solve the problems of energy shortage and environmental pollutions.
Originality/value
Porous NC-U based on PVP/MF/urea composites with high nitrogen concentration and Cpe is novel, and it owns good electrochemical properties.