Jianli Luo, Yuanxiang Liang and Yanhu Bai
The purpose of this paper is to identify major research topics and propose future research directions for the short food supply chains (SFSCs) by conducting a comprehensive…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify major research topics and propose future research directions for the short food supply chains (SFSCs) by conducting a comprehensive bibliometric analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
A step-by-step literature review was performed. A total of 684 scientific papers were retrieved from Scopus, dated between 2000 and 2020. Then, content analysis was conducted based on 162 articles selected from the co-citation analysis. Bibexcel and Gephi software were employed to analyse, integrate and visualize the data.
Findings
The results of the descriptive analysis provided insights into publication trends, prominent countries, institutions and journal sources, which had not been fully captured or evaluated by previous reviews. In the citation analysis, the authors determined the highly cited papers based on the global citation. Additionally, in the co-citation analysis, the authors derived six research clusters, identified research gaps in each of six clusters and then suggested possible future research directions.
Originality/value
Although several reviews have focused on certain aspects of SFSCs, a comprehensive review has been lacking. This study is among the first to comprehensively examine the knowledge structure of SFSCs research by using rigorous bibliometric analysis. More importantly, the future lines presented here offer potential insights for SFSCs researchers and policymakers.
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Three types of industrial buyer-seller relational process models are available: joining theory, stage theory, and state theory. However, historically, these models have developed…
Abstract
Three types of industrial buyer-seller relational process models are available: joining theory, stage theory, and state theory. However, historically, these models have developed based on the knowledge and cultural context of the Western world. Several researchers note that national culture may have an impact on international industrial buyer-seller relationships. Including culture in the models is highly important, especially as the business environment is increasingly more global and different countries have different business cultures. The goal of this paper is to define the most suitable industrial buyer-seller relational process models for describing relationships in various contexts. The paper includes a through literature review and a single case study in order to reach this objective. A new state theory model evolved during the research. It consists of two beginning states: searching and starting; four purely middles states: constant/static, decline, growth, and troubled; and a purely end state: termination. The state of dormant/inert is both a middle state and an end state, that is, when the relational actors are not in contact does not mean that the relationship has ended, but instead, for example, new legislation may have been implemented, which requires the actors to evaluate their relationship and its future. A relationship goes through the two beginning states in the order mentioned above, but after that, any state may occur.
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Song Weiwei, Xiaojing Xu, Dunwen Zuo and Jianli Wang
This paper aims to investigate the modification of surface of a copper alloy by friction stir surface processing (FSSP).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the modification of surface of a copper alloy by friction stir surface processing (FSSP).
Design/methodology/approach
The metallographic condition of the surface modification was observed using microscopy. Electrochemical corrosion tests were carried out on the modified surface and the corroded surface was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Findings
The test results showed that FSSP resulted in refinement of the surface grains of the copper alloy. The degree of refinement was increased with rotation speed and increased in the descending distance of the stirring tool. The corrosion resistance of the modified surface was superior to the base metal except for the surface generated by a rotation speed of 800 rpm and a descending distance 0.1 mm. For the surface modification of the rotation speed of 800 rpm, its corrosion resistance was lower than for the other two rotation speeds. When the rotation speed is specified, the corrosion resistance is improved with increased descending distance. When the descending distance is specified, the corrosion resistance is improved with the rotation speed.
Originality/value
In this study, it was confirmed that the corrosion resistance of the surface modification was best at the rotation speed 1200 rpm and descending distance 0.2 mm.
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The purpose of this paper is to make objective descriptions on various money‐laundering techniques and to put forward countermeasures in order to combat money laundering more…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to make objective descriptions on various money‐laundering techniques and to put forward countermeasures in order to combat money laundering more effectively and efficiently.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper based on 20 simplified money‐laundering cases, describes various money‐laundering techniques, analyses the reasons why these methods prevail, and points out the future efforts to be made in the fight against money laundering.
Findings
As usual, the ways of money laundering include cash smuggling, making use of banks or insurance company, or making use of shell‐company or front‐company. Nowadays, criminals also turn to real estate, lottery, international trade, offshore company to launder money. Sometimes lawyers, accountants are exploited by money launderers. With the wide use of electronic money and internet, criminals prefer to launder money through non‐face to face transactions. The fight against money laundering is the fight between justice and evil. It is of great importance to pierce the secret veil of money laundering so that we can combat money laundering more effectively and efficiently.
Originality/value
This paper prevents a comprehensive description of, and comments on, various money‐laundering techniques and future efforts to be made in the fight against money laundering, which would be beneficial to policy makers, enforcement authorities, and judicial professionals.
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Yunxia Zhu, Ravi Bhat and Pieter Nel
Business is about building relationships and hence relationship building is becoming increasingly important for cross‐cultural management. Current research findings in this area…
Abstract
Business is about building relationships and hence relationship building is becoming increasingly important for cross‐cultural management. Current research findings in this area have mainly focused on relationship marketing or on cultural dimensions of business relationships. This preliminary study attempts to break the boundary and aims to explore relationship building from a culture‐specific perspective while in corporating a social constructivist dimension. Specifically, it compares relationship building across four cultures including European, New Zealand, Chinese, Indian and South African cultures. The research method is interpretive, based on an analysis of interview results with business executives from the four target cultures.
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Emerging research on education reform in Shanghai for the last decade or so has either focused on broad contexts and trends of the second-cycle curriculum reform or the…
Abstract
Purpose
Emerging research on education reform in Shanghai for the last decade or so has either focused on broad contexts and trends of the second-cycle curriculum reform or the professional development in response to the reform or a few detailed cases of teaching improvement to meet the reform demand. Little attention has been paid to how schools as institutions have been made to respond to and enact the reform. Through three detailed school cases, the purpose of this paper is to understand their distinctive responses to reform in terms of how they interpreted, enacted and sustained their reform efforts and how more importantly lesson-case study and multi-tiered research projects has become a reinvigorated form of Chinese lesson study and teaching research to significantly mediate the school’s curriculum reform efforts. Features of sustainable development behind these cases are conceptualized by Lave and Wenger’s notion of transparency of the mediating technology of a community of practice.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on master’s thesis reports of school leaders (2010-2016), school research publications and lesson cases as secondary data sources, an instrumental multi-case research design was adopted to build detailed case narratives and tease out cross-case comparisons.
Findings
Building on unique strengths and legacies to solve school problems, the three secondary schools responded to, enacted and sustained the reform in unique ways: case 1, a municipal key school, has focused on “three translations (of curriculum)” involving all teaching research groups (TRGs) in specifying broad curriculum standards and turning them into concrete, actionable designs and student tasks which are tested and refined through iterative cycles of lesson-case study, with the decision making for each translation informed by research projects studying problems arising. Case 2, a district key school, has capitalized on its strong TRGs and used research projects and lesson-case study to unite teaching, research and PD into a whole; and case 3, a regular neighborhood school, has aimed to build a structured PD system to tackle teacher stagnation by stressing the reflection components of each cycle of lesson-case study, challenging teachers to learn in the district-level curriculum integration experiment, and nudging them into their own research projects with well-staged support. In all the three cases, research projects have been networked connecting municipal, district, school and teachers in building a research climate. The lesson-case study has turned designs into refined actions to ensure quality of curriculum implementation and teacher growth.
Originality/value
This study yields insights into the inner workings of Shanghai’s recent curriculum reform. With strategic injection of research into the familiar institutional structures and organic cultural forms of collegiality, school innovations can be built on familiarity to create a sense of continuity, coherence and institutional identity so that teachers learn from doing with least disruption. The slow and steady work of sustaining innovations and reform goes beyond simple notions of scaling up and relies on building internal drive and institutional and teacher capacity for deep learning in responding to reform.
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Shang Zhang, Riza Yosia Sunindijo, Martin Loosemore, Shejiang Wang, Yajun Gu and Hongfei Li
The image of the construction industry in China, as in many other countries, is tarnished by its poor safety record. With the rapid development of subway systems in Chinese urban…
Abstract
Purpose
The image of the construction industry in China, as in many other countries, is tarnished by its poor safety record. With the rapid development of subway systems in Chinese urban areas, construction workers are being exposed to new risks which are poorly understood and managed. Subway construction projects are large scale and scattered over many construction sites, and involve numerous stakeholders and sophisticated technologies in challenging underground environments. Accident rates are high and have significant economic and social consequences for the firms and people involved. Addressing the gap in research about the safety risk in these projects, the purpose of this paper is to advance understanding of the factors influencing the safety of Chinese subway construction projects with the overall objective of reducing accident rates.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted with 399 subway construction professionals across five stakeholder groups. Follow-up interviews were also conducted with five experienced experts in safety management on subway projects to validate the results.
Findings
It was found that the eight most critical factors perceived by stakeholders to influence safety risks on Chinese subway projects are: project management team; contractor-related factors; site underground environment; safety protection during the use of machines; safety management investment; site construction monitoring and measurement; hazard identification and communication; and use of machines in all stages. This indicates that in allocating limited project resources to improve the safety of subway projects, managers should focus on: developing safety knowledge and positive attitudes in leadership teams; formulating effective risk management systems to identify, assess, mitigate, measure and monitor safety risks on site; improving communications with stakeholders about these risks and effectively managing plant, equipment and machinery.
Originality/value
This research contributes a new multi-stakeholder perspective to the lack of safety research in Chinese subway construction projects. The research findings provide important new insights for policymakers and managers in improving safety outcomes on these major projects, producing potentially significant social and economic benefits for society and the construction industry.
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Qingmeng Tong, Shan Ran, Xuan Liu, Lu Zhang and Junbiao Zhang
The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of agricultural internet information (AII) acquisition on climate-resilient variety adoption among rice farmers in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of agricultural internet information (AII) acquisition on climate-resilient variety adoption among rice farmers in the Jianghan Plain region of China. Additionally, it explores the influencing channels involved in this process.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on survey data for 877 rice farmers from 10 counties in the Jianghan Plain, China, this paper used an econometric approach to estimate the impact of AII acquisition on farmers’ adoption of climate-resilient varieties. A recursive bivariate Probit model was used to address endogeneity issues and obtain accurate estimates. Furthermore, three main influencing mechanisms were proposed and tested, which are broadening information channels, enhancing social interactions and improving agricultural skills.
Findings
The results show that acquiring AII can overall enhance the likelihood of farmers adopting climate-resilient varieties by 36.8%. The three influencing channels are empirically confirmed. Besides, educational attainment, income and peer effects can facilitate farmers’ acquisition of AII, while climate conditions and age significantly influence the adoption of climate-resilient varieties.
Practical implications
Practical recommendations are put forward to help farmers build climate resilience, including investing in rural internet infrastructures, enhancing farmers’ digital literacy and promoting the dissemination of climate-resilient information through diverse internet platforms.
Originality/value
Strengthening climate resilience is essential for sustaining the livelihoods of farmers and ensuring national food security; however, the role of internet information has received limited attention. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the casual relationship between internet information and climate resilience, which fills the research gap.
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Poverty alleviation has been a major theme of China's modernization process since the founding of New China. This paper points out that China's poverty alleviation process…
Abstract
Purpose
Poverty alleviation has been a major theme of China's modernization process since the founding of New China. This paper points out that China's poverty alleviation process presents three stylized facts: “Miraculous” achievements of poverty alleviation have been made on a global scale; the poverty alleviation achievements mainly occurred in the high growth stage after reform and opening up; the poverty alleviation process is accompanied by the structural transformation of the urban–rural dual economy.
Design/methodology/approach
Therefore, a logically consistent analytical framework should form among the structural transformation of the dual economy, economic growth and the achievements in poverty alleviation. In logical deduction, the structural transformation of the dual economy affects rural poverty alleviation through the effects of labor reallocation, agricultural productivity improvement, demographic change and fiscal resource allocation.
Findings
The first two refer to economic growth, and the latter two are alleviation policies. The combination of economic growth and poverty alleviation policies is the main cause for poverty alleviation performance. China's empirical evidence can support the four effects by which the structural transformation of the dual economy affects poverty alleviation.
Originality/value
China's socialist system and its economic system transformation after reform and opening up provide an institutional basis for the effects to come into play. After 2020, China's poverty alleviation strategies will enter the “second-half” phase, namely, the phase of solving the problems of relative poverty in urban and rural areas by adopting conventional methods and establishing long-term mechanisms. This requires the facilitation of the reconnection between poverty alleviation strategies and the structural transformation of the dual economy in terms of development ideas and policy directions.
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The intelligent identification of stains can quickly and accurately identify stains. At present, stains are identified subjectively by appearance, color, taste, feel, location…
Abstract
Purpose
The intelligent identification of stains can quickly and accurately identify stains. At present, stains are identified subjectively by appearance, color, taste, feel, location, etc. Color is an important factor in identifying stains. K/S value is used to analyze the color of textile fabric, and it has additivity. The purpose of the study is to explore its application in stain recognition is of great significance to intelligent washing.
Design/methodology/approach
A certain method used to stain the textile, then the K/S value of the textile before and after the stain was analyzed and tested by the color difference instrument. The K/S curve of the stain was calculated by the addition of K/S, and then the stain was identified and distinguished.
Findings
The K/S value of the textile stained with stains could be deducted by the K/S value of the color difference meter. After deducting the base cloth, the K/S curve of the same stain is basically the same. Then the stain can be identified and analyzed.
Research limitations/implications
The K/S value can be used for stain analysis, but it needs to be analyzed and tested in the laboratory.
Practical implications
This study provides a simple method for stains identification.
Originality/value
In addition to common methods of stain identification, such as appearance, color, feel, smell, location, stain removal materials, breaking the substrate, IR, etc., K/S value can be used for stain analysis. Identifying stains and washing them in a targeted way to achieve a better washing effect could provide certain technical support for the development of smart washing and smart home appliances.