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This research is aimed to examine how environmental pollution affects consumers' preference for self-improvement products.

Through a series of three experimental studies, this research substantiates our hypotheses by employing various manipulations of environmental pollution and examining different types of self-improvement products.

The research demonstrates that environmental pollution enhances consumers' preference for self-improvement products via the mediation of perceived environmental responsibility. And the effect is negatively moderated by social equity sensitivity.

The recurrent incidence of environmental pollution has elicited significant concern among the general public and academic scholars. An overwhelming majority of research examining the impact of pollution on consumer behavior has concentrated on its influence on environmentally friendly and healthy consumption patterns. Nevertheless, the current research proposes that pollution fosters a preference for products associated with self-improvement, mediated by perceived environmental responsibility, with the effects being moderated by social equity sensitivity.

The purpose of this study is to prepare ZnFe₂O₄ nanospheres, sheet MoS₂ and three ZnFe₂O₄@MoS₂ core-shell composites with various shell thicknesses, and add them to the base oil for friction and wear tests to simulate the wear conditions of hybrid bearings.

Through the characterization and analysis of the morphology of wear scars and the elemental composition of friction films, the tribological behavior and wear mechanism of sample materials as lubricant additives were investigated and the effects of shell thickness and sample concentration on the tribological properties of core–shell composite lubricant additives were discussed.

The findings demonstrate that each of the five sample materials can, to varying degrees, enhance the lubricating qualities of the base oil and that the core–shell nanocomposite sample lubricant additive has superior lubricating properties to those of ZnFe₂O₄ and MoS₂ alone, among them ZnFe₂O₄@MoS₂-2 core–shell composites with moderate shell thickness performed most ideally. In addition, the optimal concentration of the ZnFe₂O₄@MoS₂ lubricant additive was 0.5 Wt.%, and a concentration that was too high led to particle deposition and affected the friction effect.

In this work, ZnFe₂O₄@MoS₂ core–shell composites were synthesized for the first time using ZnFe₂O₄ as the carrier and the lubrication mechanism of core–shell composites and single materials were compared and studied, which illustrated the advantages of core–shell composite lubricant additives. At the same time, the influence of different shell thicknesses on the lubricant additives of core–shell composites was studied.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-12-2022-0367/

This study aims to prepare thymol-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and use them as lubricates for friction and wear tests to simulate the wear conditions of hybrid bearings.

Through the characterization and analysis of the morphology of wear scars and the elemental composition of friction films, the tribological behavior and wear mechanism of sample materials as lubricants were investigated and the anti-wear mechanism of thymol-based DESs was discussed.

The findings demonstrate that because of the formation of a fluid lubrication film and excellent kinematic viscosity, the lubrication effect of the prepared DES is improved by about 50% compared to the base lubricating oil. The prepared [Ch]Cl-thymol DES has a better anti-friction and lubrication effect than citric-thymol, EG-thymol and urea-thymol DESs, with an average friction coefficient of about 0.04.

In this work, the friction reduction properties of thymol-based DESs were studied as lubricants for the first time, and the lubrication mechanism of sample materials was investigated.

The purpose of this article is to prepare graphene/polyimide composite materials for use as bearing cage materials, improving the friction and wear performance of bearing cages.

The oil absorption and discharge tests were conducted to evaluate the oil content properties of the materials, while the mechanical properties were analyzed through cross-sectional morphology examination. Investigation into the tribological behavior and wear mechanisms encompassed characterization and analysis of wear trace morphology in PPI-based materials. Consequently, the influence of varied graphene nanoplatelets (GN) concentrations on the oil content, mechanical and tribological properties of PPI-based materials was elucidated.

The composites exhibit excellent oil-containing properties due to the increased porosity of PPI-GN composites. The robust formation of covalent bonds between GN and PPI amplifies the adhesive potency of the PPI-GN composites, thereby inducing a substantial enhancement in impact strength. Notably, the PPI-GN composites showed enhanced lubrication properties compared to PPI, which was particularly evident at a GN content of 0.5 Wt.%, as evidenced by the minimization of the average coefficient of friction and the width of the abrasion marks.

This paper includes implications for elucidating the wear mechanism of the polyimide composites under frictional wear conditions and then to guide the optimization of oil content and tribological properties of polyimide bearing cage materials.

In this paper, homogeneously dispersed PPI-GN composites were effectively synthesized by introducing GN into a polyimide matrix through in situ polymerization, and the lubrication mechanism of the PPI composites was compared with that of the PPI-GN composites to illustrate the composites’ superiority.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-12-2023-0415

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of load and rotation speed on dry sliding of silicon nitride, including a series of tribological behaviors (friction coefficient, wear rate, temperature rise, etc.) and wear mechanism. Through the analysis of the above characteristics, the influence law of load and speed on them and the internal relationship between them are determined, and then the best comprehensive performance parameters of silicon nitride full-ceramic spherical plain bearings in dry sliding are predicted, which can provide guidance for the operation condition of silicon nitride full-ceramic spherical plain bearings in dry sliding.

The experimental study of different loads and rotation speeds under dry friction conditions was carried out by the using ball-disk sliding test method.

With the increase of load, the friction coefficient of silicon nitride friction pair and the wear rate of silicon nitride ball decrease continuously. With the increase of rotation speed, the friction coefficient of silicon nitride friction pair first increases and then decreases, and the wear of silicon nitride ball first increases and then decreases. With the increase of load and rotation speed, the wear mechanism eventually changes to adhesive wear.

Because of the low timeliness and inefficiency of bearing experiments, this work adopts a simple ball-disk model to comprehensively explore the influence rules of different conditions, which provides a theoretical basis for the subsequent practical application of silicon nitride full-ceramic spherical plain bearings.

The convenience of online shopping enables the manufacturer to develop direct channels. To counter manufacturer encroachment, the retailer tends to provide presale service to attract more customers. Meanwhile, the service provided by the retailer also has a positive impact on the manufacturer's sale volume, which is usually called the showrooming effect or free-ride. The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamic game of pricing and service strategy in a dual-channel supply chain with risk attitudes and free-ride.

This paper considers the risk attitude, characterized by mean-variance theory. First, the optimal pricing and service strategy of two static models under two scenarios are derived. Second, dynamic games are then considered to explore the evolution of the decisions. The classical optimization method is used to solve the problem, and numerical experiments are done to analyze the complex characteristic of the system.

The result shows that the retailer is willing to provide a higher level of service if his risk preference is higher. The offline retail price and online retail price are positively related to the retailer's risk preference. Besides, the free-ride behavior can reduce the offline retail price and the level of service provided by the retailer. Furthermore, the study indicates that the system is more likely to enter chaos if the retailer's risk preference is higher. Additionally, consumers' service sensitivity and cost coefficient affect the stability of the system.

The study provides a different perspective on supply chain management considering risk attitudes and free-ride The findings of the study can offer theoretical and practical guidance for enterprises to choose adjustment measures according to their risk preference.

Food quality and safety issues have always been imperative topics discussed by people. The anti-tampering of blockchain technology and the transparency of information make it possible to improve food traceability and safety quality. How to effectively apply blockchain traceability technology to food safety has great research significance for improving food safety and consumer quality trust.

The paper aims to analyze the differences in product quality levels and market participants’ profits before and after the use of blockchain-driven traceability technology in the food agricultural product supply chain (SC) in the dynamic game frameworks of supplier-led and retailer-led modes, respectively, and explores the willingness, social welfare and consumer surplus of each member of the agricultural product SC to participate in the blockchain. Besides, We investigate the SC performance improvement with the mechanism of central centralized decision-making and revenue-sharing contract, compared to the SC performance in dynamic games.

The results are obtained as follow: The adoption of blockchain traceability technology can help improve the quality of food agricultural products, consumer surplus and social welfare, but the application and popularization of technology is hindered by traceability technology installment costs. Compared with the supplier leadership model, retailer-led food quality level, customer surplus and social welfare are higher.

How to effectively apply blockchain traceability technology to food safety has great research significance for improving food safety and consumer quality trust.

Food quality and safety issues have always been hot topics discussed by people. The anti-tampering of blockchain technology and the transparency of information make it possible to improve food traceability and safety quality.

The research results enrich the theories related to food safety and quality, and provide a valuable reference for food enterprises involved in the decision-making exploration of blockchain technology.

Based on the characteristics of blockchain technology, the demand function is adjusted and the product loss risk of channel members is transferred through a Stackelberg game SC composed of agricultural products suppliers and retailers.

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  We introduce two features of blockchain: quality trust and product information tracking.

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  The willingness of each member of the supply chain to use blockchain for product traceability was explored.

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  The overall traceability effect of the retailer-led blockchain is better than that of the manufacturer-led blockchain.

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  The cost of blockchain technology is a barrier to its adoption.

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  Blockchain brings higher consumer surplus and social welfare.

We introduce two features of blockchain: quality trust and product information tracking.

The willingness of each member of the supply chain to use blockchain for product traceability was explored.

The overall traceability effect of the retailer-led blockchain is better than that of the manufacturer-led blockchain.

The cost of blockchain technology is a barrier to its adoption.

Blockchain brings higher consumer surplus and social welfare.

This paper aims to explore the extent of adequacy and confidence that can be enjoyed by minority shareholders in the supervisory controls on Boards in listed companies in China.

This study draws upon the legislative controls and case‐studies in China.

Being the cornerstone of the development of capital markets, listed companies are in complementary relationship with the latter, which in turn serves as the financing tool for the former. Recently, the financial markets all over the world have been thrown into deep crisis and the financing functions of the domestic capital markets have almost been paralyzed. In this context, it is high time for us to exert more efforts to improve the institutional arrangements of the supervisory functions in the governance of listed companies in China, to strengthen corporate governance, to restrain the actions and behaviors of major shareholders, directors and the executives, to strengthen their concerned responsibilities, to put greater attention and more protection on the promotion of minor shareholders' confidence on capital markets, and to maintain the steady and sustainable development of capital markets in the long run.

This study and findings should be of interest to those seeking to assess the adequacy of minority protection in China.

Nowadays advancement in acoustic technology can be explored with marine assets. The purpose of the paper is pervasive computing underwater target tracking has aroused military and civilian interest as a key component of ocean exploration. While many pervasive techniques are currently found in the literature, there is little published research on the effectiveness of these paradigms in the target tracking context.

The unscented Kalman filter (UKF) provides good results for bearing and elevation angles only tracking. Detailed methodology and mathematical modeling are carried out and used to analyze the performance of the filter based on the Monte Carlo simulation.

Due to the intricacy of maritime surroundings, tracking underwater targets using acoustic signals, without knowing the range parameter is difficult. The intention is to find out the solution in terms of standard deviation in a three-dimensional (3D) space.

A new method is found for the acceptance criteria for range, course, speed and pitch based on the standard deviation for bearing and elevation 3D target tracking using the unscented Kalman filter covariance matrix. In the Monte Carlo simulation, several scenarios are used and the results are shown.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of price adjustment speed on the stability of Bertrand–Nash equilibrium in the context of a dual-channel supply chain competition.

The paper considers a dual-channel supply chain comprising a manufacturer, a traditional retailer and an online retailer. A two-dimensional discrete dynamical system is used to examine the Bertrand competition between the retailers. The retailers are assumed to follow bounded rational expectations. Local stability of Bertrand–Nash equilibrium is investigated with respect to the price adjustment speed.

As the price adjustment speed increases, the stability of Bertrand–Nash equilibrium is lost, leading to complex chaotic dynamics. The results showed that chaotic dynamics deteriorates the profit of the retailers. The authors also found that the chaos can be controlled using an adaptive adjustment mechanism and the retailers enjoy higher profit when the chaos is controlled.

This study helps retail managers to choose an appropriate price adjustment speed to maximize profit.

The heterogeneity of the retailers is not considered in the studies involving dynamics of retailer competition. This paper contributes to the literature by considering the operational difference between a traditional retailer and an online retailer, i.e. price adjustment speed. In addition, the study establishes a link between price adjustment speed and profit.