Jingying Xu, Zimin Jin, Jing Jin, Lei Lei and Jianwei Tao
People have always been invaded by mosquitoes, and the development of new anti-mosquito fabrics has attracted much attention. The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
People have always been invaded by mosquitoes, and the development of new anti-mosquito fabrics has attracted much attention. The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of knitting process on the performance of anti-mosquito seamless fabrics and provide a basis for obtaining anti-mosquito seamless knitted fabrics with excellent comprehensive performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses bamboo–polyester mosquito repellent yarn containing wormwood extract as the face of seamless knitted fabric. The test factors include ordinary material in the face yarn, ground yarn material, seamless knitted structure and arrangement ratio of ordinary yarn and anti-mosquito yarn in face yarn. According to the quasi-level additional orthogonal test, 12 knitting plans are determined, and the mosquito repellent test and durability test are performed on the fabric.
Findings
The experimental results show that the optimal fabric for anti-mosquito performance is 12#, and the average repellent rate after washing 15 times is 58.57%. The corresponding process is that the face yarn is fully anti-mosquito yarn, the fabric is a single-sided mesh structure and the ground yarn is made of 4.4tex moisture-absorbing nylon/2.2tex spandex wrapped yarn.
Research limitations/implications
In this paper, there is still a lack of diversity in the selection of yarn materials and fabrics. In the follow-up research, the authors will use more fabrics and yarn materials for combination and experimentation and simulate and predict the mosquito resistance rate of knitted fabrics with different materials and structures.
Practical implications
The development of anti-mosquito seamless knitted fabrics with good comprehensive performance and the use of environmentally friendly wormwood repellents not only conform to the current people's healthy and environmentally friendly life philosophy, but also promote the development of the functional seamless knitted fabric market.
Social implications
In addition, seamless knitted fabrics have a huge market prospect, and many of their fabrics are used for sports underwear and outdoor wear. Therefore, the research and development of functional knitted fabrics will attract consumers to buy. While improving the wearing comfort, it can increase profits for the company.
Originality/value
The mosquito-proof functional seamless knitted fabric developed in this research has a high mosquito-proof rate after 15 times and can be used as underwear fabric or outdoor sports fabric.
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The call for value addition to library products and services has tremendously increased over the years worldwide. In Zimbabwe, that call has also been echoed in various forums and…
Abstract
The call for value addition to library products and services has tremendously increased over the years worldwide. In Zimbabwe, that call has also been echoed in various forums and in support of that, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZimAsset) pointed out the importance of value addition. The education sector has not been spared as it is responsible for producing graduates who feed into the labor market. This chapter seeks to explore how the libraries in institutions of higher learning have added value to education in support of the research, teaching, learning and community activities that are undertaken in higher education. A case study of Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE) Library was done. A qualitative study using interviews was carried out and content analysis was used to analyze the data. It was discovered that BUSE Library plays a pivotal role in adding value to the learning, teaching, research and community activities that take place in institutions of higher learning. The author recommends that libraries should move along with technological changes that are taking place so as to remain relevant in adding value to institutions of higher learning. It is also important to continue building the capacity of librarians in higher education institutions to ensure that they continue to add value in academic institutions.
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Tae-Youn Park, Reed Eaglesham, Jason D. Shaw and M. Diane Burton
Incentives are effective at enhancing productivity, but research also suggests that performance incentives can have “unintended negative consequences” including increases in…
Abstract
Incentives are effective at enhancing productivity, but research also suggests that performance incentives can have “unintended negative consequences” including increases in hazard/injuries, increases in errors, and reduction in cooperation, prosocial behaviors, and creativity. Relatively overlooked is whether, when, and how incentives can be designed to prevent such negative consequences. The authors review literature in several disciplines (construction, healthcare delivery, economics, psychology, and [some] management) on this issue. This chapter, in toto, sheds a generally positive light and suggests that, beyond productivity, incentives can be used to improve other outcomes such as safety, quality, prosocial behaviors, and creativity, particularly when the incentives are thoughtfully designed. The review concludes with several potential fruitful areas for future research such as investigations of incentive-effect duration.
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Sanjeev Kumar, Bharat Kapoor and Mushtaq Ahmad Shah
Purpose: The hospitality industry faces several contemporary issues and challenges that have the potential to impact its growth and development. This study aims to identify and…
Abstract
Purpose: The hospitality industry faces several contemporary issues and challenges that have the potential to impact its growth and development. This study aims to identify and analyse contemporary issues and challenges facing the hospitality industry, including trends, regulations, and Tech salutation.
Need for the study: The hospitality industry plays a significant role in the global economy with its diverse services, including accommodation, food and beverage, events, and tourism. However, the sector faces several contemporary issues and challenges that have the potential to impact its growth and development. This study will provide an overview of the most significant problems and challenges facing the hospitality industry today.
Methodology: The researchers used secondary data for the analysis of the chapter. The researchers reviewed journal papers, books, book chapters, government websites, handbooks, reports, internet, and official records for identification of issues and challenges in the hospitality industry.
Findings: The study identified several contemporary issues and challenges facing the hospitality industry, including the impact of technology and COVID-19 on operations and customer experience, changing consumer preferences for sustainable and ethical practices, labour shortages and retention issues, increasing competition, and changing regulatory environments.
Practical implications: The hospitality industry faces numerous contemporary issues and challenges that impact its sustainability and profitability. Industry stakeholders must understand and address these challenges to remain competitive and relevant in a rapidly changing global market. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the contemporary issues and challenges facing the hospitality industry and suggest potential strategies for addressing these challenges.
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Liang-Chu Chen, Ting-Jung Yu and Chi-Li Chang
This paper aims to collect the terminologies from the Ministry of National Defense military dictionary and to design a military-based wiki system, TMTpedia, to serve as a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to collect the terminologies from the Ministry of National Defense military dictionary and to design a military-based wiki system, TMTpedia, to serve as a collaborative and sharing platform for military personnel.
Design/methodology/approach
The development of the system is based on a prototype design and case illustration. The framework of the Taiwan Military Terminology Wikipedia system (TMTpedia) consists of three major subsystems, namely, Military Terminology Dictionary Processing, Military Article Contents Extension and Military Article and Resource Recommendation. This paper applies the engines of MediaWiki to design the proposed TMTpedia, and embedded different functions into a variety of system modules are developed by using such tools as C#, Java and SQL Server.
Findings
In this demonstration, the focus is on the topics of “Communications, Electronics and Information Operations” that are illustrative of cases that reveal the results of the TMTpedia system.
Originality/value
The main contributions of this paper are to transform military terminologies from a traditional dictionary into Wiki-based platform that can provide a reference framework for knowledge collaboration, to extend the content on the TMTpedia system from an external knowledge encyclopedia to an extensible mechanism that can renew military concepts for the accuracy of knowledge sharing and transformation and to implement a recommendation model into the TMTpedia system that dynamically provides relevant military information from external resources to enhance the effectiveness of knowledge acquisition.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify the causal effect of high-speed railways (HSRs) and investigate the affecting channels; the second purpose is to examine how HSRs change…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the causal effect of high-speed railways (HSRs) and investigate the affecting channels; the second purpose is to examine how HSRs change the distribution of economic activity across cities and sectors.
Design/methodology/approach
A difference-in-difference strategy is implemented to estimate the impact of recently built HSRs on local economic performance in China, exploiting the geography and time variations in HSR operations.
Findings
Using panel data from China’s City Statistical Yearbook 2001–2019, the authors find that HSRs lead to a significant increase in cities’ gross domestic product (GDP) and GDP per capita, but the authors do not find any significant change in GDP growth. This conclusion still holds true after the authors address the endogeneity problems. A mechanism analysis shows that HSRs improve local economic performance mainly by increasing fixed asset investment. The authors also find that the HSR investment is a policy that favors metropolitan areas due to the larger increase in the GDP for larger cities and with HSRs, the industrial and service sectors will further agglomerate in larger cities.
Originality/value
The authors contribute to the literature in several ways. First, this paper improves the estimation strategy in identifying the HSR impact on the local economic performance. Second, this paper investigates the affecting channels of HSRs. This paper proves that HSRs in China promote the cities’ economic performance mainly by increasing the fixed asset investment. Third, this study provides evidence for the new economic geography models pioneered by Krugman (1991).
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Wealth and political power are heavily concentrated in these regions. However, megacity clusters face major challenges of sustainability and resource management. They are testing…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB281282
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Wenfan Su, Zhifeng Gao, Songhan Li and Jiping Sheng
The study aims to investigate consumer preferences across 25 attributes of plant-based milk (PBM) products and examine the key predictors and underlying mechanisms of consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to investigate consumer preferences across 25 attributes of plant-based milk (PBM) products and examine the key predictors and underlying mechanisms of consumer purchase decisions of PBM alternatives.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed a multidimensional approach to investigate consumer preferences and the determinants of PBM purchasing decisions. Drawing on data from 819 online surveys conducted in the Jing-Jin-Ji region of China in 2021, we measured consumer preferences across 25 specific attributes and other individual characteristics. Purchasing decisions were framed as a two-stage process – the decision to purchase (frequency) and the decision on how much to pay (WTP). The Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) model was utilized to examine these dimensions separately, and the selected predictors were incorporated into OLS linear and Heckman’s two-stage regression analyses to establish the underlying mechanisms.
Findings
The findings indicate that consumers exhibit a strong preference for freshness and the absence of spoilage, followed by taste experiences such as taste and aroma. Preferences for milk preservation significantly increase the purchase frequency of PBM, while preference for calorie content has a negative and significant impact. Preferences for milk preservation, aroma and processing methods can also significantly increase WTP. Preferences vary across PBM categories. Social influence, knowledge and advertising exposure positively impact purchase frequency and WTP. Consumers with low food neophobia tend to be more responsive to product-related factors, such as freshness, calorie content and processing methods, in their purchase decisions.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the extant literature by comprehensively examining the determinants of consumer purchase decisions for PBM alternatives. The findings provide practical implications for marketers and policymakers, highlighting the strategic product attributes, consumer segments and marketing levers that can effectively target and cater to consumer preferences for PBM alternatives.
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Hongchang Wang, Cheng Jin, Houyu Liu and Zhiqiang Xue
As an important part of steel bridge deck pavement, if waterproof adhesive layer performance does not meet requirements, numerous kinds of bridge deck pavement distress may be…
Abstract
Purpose
As an important part of steel bridge deck pavement, if waterproof adhesive layer performance does not meet requirements, numerous kinds of bridge deck pavement distress may be encountered. To study the adhesive behavior of rubber asphalt waterproof adhesive layers in steel bridge gussasphalt pavement, the pull-off and direct-shear tests have been used in the study to mechanically simulate steel bridge deck pavement under vehicles loading.
Design/methodology/approach
Several potentially influential factors associated with the adhesive strength of rubber asphalt are investigated including temperature, spraying quantity and environmental conditions.
Findings
Results indicate that rubber asphalt was associated with good performance with respect to its use as a waterproof adhesive layer; simulated performance was negatively correlated with increasing temperatures. A necessary spraying quantity of 0.4 Lm-2 is required for appropriate adhesive strength of the composite structure, with a decrease in adhesive strength noted when spraying quantity is significantly greater or less than this.
Originality/value
The current paper presents an examination of the adhesive performance of a rubber asphalt adhesive layer on steel bridge deck pouring construction, while additionally examining potentially influential factors and conditions via use of both pull-off and shear tests.