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Article
Publication date: 22 December 2020

Najaf Iqbal, Ju Feng Xu, Zeeshan Fareed, Guangcai Wan and Lina Ma

This study attempts to document the impact of financial leverage on corporate innovation in the Chinese nonfinancial public firms listed on Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study attempts to document the impact of financial leverage on corporate innovation in the Chinese nonfinancial public firms listed on Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges.

Design/methodology/approach

The firm-level data are collected from CSMAR database for ten years, ranging from 2007 to 2016. The authors have employed the panel fixed effects model and further system GMM approach for analysis. The sample is segregated on the basis of state (SOE) and nonstate ownership (NSOE) to check for the diverse effects. In total, three different proxies of financial leverage are used to unearth the varying impact of short-time and long-term leverage separately. Further, corporate innovation is divided into input innovation (R&D/Sales and R&D/Assets) and output innovation (patents and inventions).

Findings

The results suggest that financial leverage is detrimental to the input innovation while conducive for the output innovation when measured by the number of patents. Contrarily, leverage has a negative influence over the output innovation when measured by the number of inventions. This implies that leverage is more damaging for the highest form of innovativeness (inventions) in China. Input innovation is more sensitive to the changes in long-term leverage versus short-term leverage. Further, the authors find that innovation in SOEs is more sensitive to the changes in the leverage as compared to the NSOEs. The results are free from the threat of endogeneity and identification problems, as reported by the system GMM model.

Research limitations/implications

The authors did not segregate the sample on the basis of industry/sector.

Practical implications

The firms pursuing a strategy of radical innovation should try to keep their debt levels lower in order to achieve a higher innovation performance. Although, a rise in the leverage may mean an increased access to finance for a firm but such an access comes at a cost in the form of damage to the corporate innovation. However, increased debt financing may not be so bad for the firms that want to achieve a moderate and not the highest level of innovation. Such firms can produce recurring and synergic effects with debt financing and moderate innovation, once they achieve a level of innovation performance that satisfies their financiers.

Originality/value

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is probably the first study to check the impact of firm-level financial leverage on both input and output innovation in the Chinese public-listed nonfinancial firms' panel data perspective till now.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

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Article
Publication date: 1 June 2018

Chen Wang, Wan Thing Hong and Hamzah Abdul-Rahman

Bedroom Feng Shui practices have been criticized as myth over the years but in fact having its scientific origin that is not purely superstitious. This paper aims to examine…

145

Abstract

Bedroom Feng Shui practices have been criticized as myth over the years but in fact having its scientific origin that is not purely superstitious. This paper aims to examine whether the architects' design practice for bedroom interior arrangement is concurring with the recommended bedroom Feng Shui practices. The study has successfully interviewed 16 architects from diverse backgrounds to avoid bias, seeking their design perspectives in bedroom interior configuration. Subsequently, the interviewees submitted sketches of ideal bedroom layout based on their expertise, with pre-set requirements. Data from semi-structured interviews were analyzed using mixed method approach. In agreement with our expectations, majority of the interviewees have matching thoughts that “bed arrangement” is the primary consideration in bedroom interior configuration. Most of the design outputs were highly attached to favorable Feng Shui conditions. The overall findings implied that bedroom Feng Shui is not merely superstitious but most components are practical design references for architects from diverse backgrounds.

Details

Open House International, vol. 43 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0168-2601

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Article
Publication date: 9 February 2021

Hao Guo, Feng Ju, Ning Wang, Bai Chen, Xiaoyong Wei, Yaoyao Wang and Dan Wang

Continuum manipulators are often used in complex and narrow space in recent years because of their flexibility and safety. Vision is considered to be one of the most direct…

285

Abstract

Purpose

Continuum manipulators are often used in complex and narrow space in recent years because of their flexibility and safety. Vision is considered to be one of the most direct methods to obtain its spatial shape. However, with the improvement of the cooperation requirements of multiple continuum manipulators and the increase of space limitation, it is impossible to obtain the complete spatial shape information of multiple continuum manipulators only by several cameras.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a fusion method using inertial navigation sensors and cameras to reconstruct the shape of continuum manipulators in the whole workspace. The camera is used to obtain the position information, and the inertial navigation sensor is used to obtain the attitude information. Based on the above two information, the shape of the continuum manipulator is reconstructed by fitting Bézier curve.

Findings

The experiment result of single continuum manipulator shows that the cubic Bézier curves is applicable to curve fitting of variable curvature, the maximum fitting error is about 2 mm. Meanwhile, the experiment result shows that this method is not affected by obstacles and can still reconstruct the shape of the continuum manipulators in 3-D space by detecting the position and attitude information of the end.

Originality/value

According to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on spatial shape reconstruction of multiple continuum manipulators and the first study to introduce inertial navigation sensors and cameras into the field of shape reconstruction of multiple continuum manipulators in narrow space. This method is suitable for shape reconstruction of manipulator with variable curvature continuum manipulator. When the vision of multiple continuum manipulators is blocked by obstacles, the spatial shape can still be reconstructed only by exposing the end point. The structure is simple, but it has certain accuracy within a certain range.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 48 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

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Publication date: 16 September 2014

Mian Wang and Yajing Feng

Special education in China has lagged behind regular education for many years, however, the past few decades, the government has made considerable efforts to develop and improve…

Abstract

Special education in China has lagged behind regular education for many years, however, the past few decades, the government has made considerable efforts to develop and improve the special education system. While the citizens of China have had a generic moral interest in disability since ancient times, the development of special education schools did not occur until American and European missionaries started schools for the visually and hearing impaired in the 19th century. The next major influence in the development of the special education system occurred with China’s Cultural Revolution in 1978. Interestingly, there is not any exclusive legislation on special education but in the 1980s, the government started Learning in Regular Classrooms (LRC), which is China’s version of inclusion. LRC has progressed rapidly the past two decades; however, the quality of instruction is low due to a lack of specialists, a shortage of personnel, inadequate funding, and limited technology as well as other barriers that are delineated in the chapter. The chapter emphasizes the government’s recent efforts in in-service teacher training, the preparation of preservice teachers, working with families, developing community rehabilitation training programs, and implementing evidence-based practices. Special education in China today is at a good place but it has quite a way from the ideal situation.

Details

Special Education International Perspectives: Practices Across the Globe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-096-4

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Article
Publication date: 28 July 2020

Goya Choi, Changi Nam, Seongcheol Kim, Hyun Ju Jung and Chul Ho Lee

In mobile platforms, an increasing number of third-party developers (developers) create new ideas and enhance their expertise through knowledge sharing on the developers’…

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Abstract

Purpose

In mobile platforms, an increasing number of third-party developers (developers) create new ideas and enhance their expertise through knowledge sharing on the developers’ community. Notwithstanding the importance of the sharing and its uniqueness on the mobile platform contexts, the motivational factors of sharing their knowledge on the community have been underinvestigated. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive framework to enhance the knowledge sharing in the mobile platform context.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the theory of reasoned action, this paper incorporated intrinsic and internalized extrinsic motivations with two unique features of platform environments: platform open policies and coopetitive relationships. To test, an online survey was distributed to four developer communities in Korea, two Android and two iOS communities.

Findings

The results show that a platform pursuing higher openness causes the developers to find higher social pressure for information sharing. The coopetitive relationship with other developers in the same platform takes dissimilar roles; reciprocity significantly increases subjective norm, while rivalry does attitude. Self-efficacy and self-development stimulate knowledge sharing. Furthermore, multilevel analysis to capture the difference between two leading mobile platforms indicates no path difference but, interestingly, shows significant mean difference between the two platforms regarding perceived openness and rivalry.

Originality/value

With this paper, the authors fulfill the need to understand the knowledge-sharing intention of developers in the context of mobile platforms where developers can be potential competitors or cooperators and where two platforms offer different policies and developmental environments.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 24 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

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Article
Publication date: 14 September 2018

De-Cheng Feng, Cheng-Dong Yang and Xiao-Dan Ren

This paper aims to present a multi-scale stochastic damage model (SDM) for concrete and apply it to the stochastic response analysis of reinforced concrete shear wall structures.

263

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a multi-scale stochastic damage model (SDM) for concrete and apply it to the stochastic response analysis of reinforced concrete shear wall structures.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed SDM is constructed at two scales, i.e. the macro-scale and the micro-scale. The general framework of the SDM is established on the basis of the continuum damage mechanics (CDM) at the macro-scale, whereas the detailed damage evolution is determined through a parallel fiber buddle model at the micro-scale. The parallel buddle model is made up of micro-elements with stochastic fracture strains, and a one-dimensional random field is assumed for the fracture strain distribution. To represent the random field, a random functional method is adopted to quantify the stochastic damage evolution process with only two variables; thus, the numerical efficiency is greatly enhanced. Meanwhile, the probability density evolution method (PDEM) is introduced for the structural stochastic response analysis.

Findings

By combing the SDM and PDEM, the probabilistic analysis of a shear wall structure is performed. The mean value, standard deviation and the probability density function of the shear wall responses, e.g., shear capacity, accumulated energy consumption and damage evolution, are obtained.

Originality/value

It is noted that the proposed method can reflect the influences of randomness from material level to structural level, and is efficient for stochastic response determination of shear wall structures.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 35 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

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Article
Publication date: 19 November 2021

Pei-Ju Wu, Liang-Tay Lin and Chi-Chang Huang

High-quality cold-chain logistics are key to effectively managing the quality of temperature-sensitive foods. Hence, this study investigates the service quality of such logistics…

761

Abstract

Purpose

High-quality cold-chain logistics are key to effectively managing the quality of temperature-sensitive foods. Hence, this study investigates the service quality of such logistics, using a real-life case of temperature-sensitive milk delivery.

Design/methodology/approach

This study focuses on developing business analytics for quality control in cold-chain perishable-food logistics, grounded in normal accident theory and stakeholder theory, and tests them using real-world data.

Findings

The empirical business-analytics results indicate that cargo locations, logistics status and delivery times are the essential factors that influence the quality of temperature-sensitive milk.

Research limitations/implications

This study confirms that a combination of normal accident theory and stakeholder theory can be usefully applied to the development of strategies for managing perishable-food logistics. As such, its proposed business analytics provide a fresh foundation for research on logistics quality management.

Practical implications

The balance between efficiency and service quality in a logistics system should be assessed carefully, and logistics companies should collaborate with their stakeholders and can help to mitigate potential cold-chain risks.

Originality/value

This pioneering analytical study explores the essential quality issues that confront cold chains and demonstrates how to extract vital insights from temperature-sensitive food logistics monitoring data. As such, it represents a noteworthy contribution to the field of logistics quality management.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 34 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

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Article
Publication date: 22 October 2019

Yaming Wang, Feng Ju, Yahui Yun, Jiafeng Yao, Yaoyao Wang, Hao Guo and Bai Chen

This paper aims to introduce an aircraft engine inspection robot (AEIR) which can go in the internal of the aircraft engine without collision and detect damage for engine blades.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce an aircraft engine inspection robot (AEIR) which can go in the internal of the aircraft engine without collision and detect damage for engine blades.

Design/methodology/approach

To obtain the position and pose information of the blades inside the engine, a novel tactile sensor based on electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is developed, which could provide location and direction information when it contacts with an unknown object. In addition, to navigate the continuum robot, a control method is proposed to control the continuum robot, which can control the continuum robot to move along the pre-planned path and reduce the deviation from the planned path.

Findings

Experiment results show that the average error of contact location measurement of the tactile sensor is 0.8 mm. The average error relative to the size (diameter of 18 mm) of the sensor is 4.4%. The continuum robot can successfully reach the target position through a gap of 30 mm and realize the spatial positioning of blades. The validity of the AEIR for engine internal blade detection is verified.

Originality/value

The aero-engine inspection robot developed in this paper can replace human to detect engine blades and complete different detection tasks with different kinds of sensors.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 47 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

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Article
Publication date: 21 June 2021

Huizhong Zhang, Yu Zuo, Pengfei Ju, Jian Zhang, Xuhui Zhao, Yuming Tang and Xiaofeng Zhang

The purpose of this paper is to study the variations of composition and properties of the passive film on 316 L stainless steel surface in 80°C, 0.5 mol L-1 H2SO4 + 2 mg L-1 NaF…

105

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the variations of composition and properties of the passive film on 316 L stainless steel surface in 80°C, 0.5 mol L-1 H2SO4 + 2 mg L-1 NaF solution, is helpful to understand the mechanisms of corrosion resistancethe of plated Pd on 316 L ss.

Design/methodology/approach

The variations of composition and properties of the passive film on 316 L stainless steel surface in 80°C, 0.5 mol L-1 H2SO4 + 2 mg L-1 NaF solution after connected to Pd electrode were studied with methods of potential monitor, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis and electrochemical impedance spectrum (EIS) measurement.

Findings

By connecting to a Pd electrode, the potential of the SS sample increased from the active region to the passive region. By connecting to the Pd electrode, the contents of Cr, Cr(OH)3 and Fe3O4 in passive film increased obviously. With increased Pd/SS area ratio, the Cr(OH)3 content in passive film increased but the Fe3O4 content changed little. The results show that after connecting to Pd the corrosion resistance of the passive film on 316 L stainless steel increases obviously, which may be attributed to the more compact passive film because of higher Cr, Cr(OH)3 and Fe3O4 contents and less point defects in the film.

Originality/value

The effects and mechanism of Pd on passivation of SS was studied.

Details

Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, vol. 68 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0003-5599

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Article
Publication date: 9 October 2017

Feng Deng

The purpose of this paper is to analyze long-term institutional causes and consequences of preference falsification by studying the evolution of China’s patriarchal clan system.

513

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze long-term institutional causes and consequences of preference falsification by studying the evolution of China’s patriarchal clan system.

Design/methodology/approach

The historic study shows that although the clan system was abolished in the Qin dynasty, it re-emerged among high-standing families in the Han dynasty and spread to common people after the Tang dynasty.

Findings

The author submits that the clan system was an institutional response to the preference falsification problem that arose due to the dictatorial political institutions first established in the Qin dynasty. It helped people to take collective action by themselves and also opened a back door to influence government decisions. A piece of clear evidence is the co-evolution of the clan system and government personnel system.

Social implications

In this sense, the clan system probably also helped to prolong the political institutions for 2,000 years.

Originality/value

This is the first institutional study on the clan system in China.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 44 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

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