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This paper examines the effect of board reforms on managerial risk-taking incentive provision in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) whose managers are undue risk-averse.

We use the staggered implementation of board reforms in Chinese central government-controlled state-owned enterprises (CSOEs) as an exogenous shock to board governance. We collect data on board reforms for a set of pilot CSOEs during the period 2005 to 2020 from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) website by hand. We use a generalized difference-in-difference (DID) design to test the effect of staggered board reform adoption on managerial risk-taking incentive provision.

We find a positive relationship between board reforms and risk-taking inventive provision, i.e. pay-performance sensitivity, promotion-performance sensitivity and performance target difficulty. The documented relationship is stronger when the value of risk-taking is higher. We also find that board reforms lead to greater risky but value-enhancing investments and that managerial risk-taking incentive provision acts as an important channel through which board reforms improve value-enhancing risk-taking.

Our findings suggest that board reforms that improve board governance are effective in addressing risk-related agency conflicts in emerging markets. The findings also highlight the importance of managerial risk-taking incentive provision in inducing risky but value-enhancing investments.

Effects of major factors, such as alloy composition, crystal structure and grain size, on mechanical properties of TiZr based alloys are investigated and summarized in this work. The microhardness of TC4 alloy obviously increases 15.3% and 17.6% after 30 wt.% and 47 wt.% Zr additions, respectively. Nanoindentation results show that the average nanoindentation hardness of α phase in annealed 30 Zr is approximately 18% higher than that of retained β phase. Tensile test results show that variation in strength of basketweave microstructural 30 Zr alloy with original β grain size from 100 to 203 μm is less than 2%.

This paper aims to investigate the correlation between wear behavior and microstructure evolution in friction-induced deformation layers (FDL) of 30CrMnSi steel, especially the role of strain-hardening induced by plastic deformation in FDL, which accordingly alters the wear behavior.

Dry sliding friction and wear behaviors of the 30CrMnSi steel against quenched and tempered GCr15 steel were studied using a pin-on-disc tester. The microstructure, hardness and plastic deformation of FDL were investigated.

It was found that the evolution of microstructure and strain-hardening induced by plastic deformation were occurred in the subsurface. When the microstructure, hardness and depth of the plastic deformation layer (PDL) reached a relatively steady state, the friction process transformed into stable-state stage. The wear loss and depth of the PDL was in dynamic equilibrium at stable wear stage.

In this paper, the correlation among the microstructure evolution, the strain-hardening and wear behavior were systemically analyzed. This paper could provide a theoretical reference for optimizing the microstructure and strain hardening properties of tribo-pairs materials.

The Zr-40Ti-4.5Al-4.2V (ZT40) alloy is one of new developed Zirconium alloys with high mechanical properties and great potential for application. The investigation about effects of plastic deformation on microstructure and mechanical properties can promote practical applications of the new high performance ZrTi based alloys. The microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of the ZT40 alloy suffered hot rolling with thickness reduction from 30% to 60% at 775 °C are investigated in this work. Results show that the phase constitution changes from (α + β) to (β + fcc) while the original specimen underwent hot rolling and subsequent water quenching. The β phase in hot rolled specimen adopts preferred orientation form (200) and (211) planes to only (200) plane while the rolling reduction increases from 30% to 60%. Furthermore, no obvious preferred orientation can be detected in specimen with reductions of 60%. Micrographs analysis shows that the dynamic recrystallization occurs in hot rolled specimens. Volume fraction of the DRX grains is approximately 8% in 30% reduction specimen and increases with the increasing of rolling reduction. Nearly full recrystallization is observed in the specimen with reductions of 60%. Hardness test shows that the HV of hot rolled specimen decreases from 384 HV to 329 HV as the increasing of reduction from 30% to 60%. The mechanisms of microstructural evolution and variation of hardness are also discussed. The finding should contribute to understand microstructural evolution, to adjust mechanical properties and to promote practical applications of Zirconium alloys.

The idea of reengineering is universal, but the action is full of local considerations. This article introduces an integration information services project at Yuan Ze University in Taiwan. In addition to briefly describing the project being carried out, the author also identifies the critical success factors involved.

This paper aims to fabricate a FeS/Cu-Bi copper-based lead-free bearing material to maintain good friction-reducing and anti-adhesive properties under boundary lubrication conditions.

The materials were fabricated by mechanical alloying and powder metallurgy and tested under dry friction conditions using HDM-20 wear tester.

The results show that mechanical alloying can improve the antifriction and wear resistance of the materials. The 6 per cent FeS and 6 per cent Bi in the copper-based bearing materials fabricated by mechanical alloying have a better synergism which contributes to the friction and wear properties of copper matrix.

This new approach solves the problems of Bi and FeS mutual segmentation, mutual agglomeration and poor interface bonding.

This article aims to explore the key role of community participation in the protection and development of national parks under the global trend of national park development and provide reference for the construction of China’s national park system by analyzing international successful cases and experiences.

The study on “International Experience of Community Support for National Park Development” integrates multimethods, from data mining reports, journals and policy docs from WB, UNEP, to case analyses. In-depth interviews with policymakers, academics and farmers reveal needs, challenges and best practices. Comparative analysis tailors findings to China’s context, offering recommendations for enhancing community support. This hybrid approach ensures practical insights for China’s application.

The results of this study underscore the paramount significance of community participation as a cornerstone in advancing sustainable development and safeguarding national parks amidst a growing global awareness of environmental stewardship. Through a thorough examination of international National Parks such as Yellowstone, Maasai Mara, Uluru-Kata Tjuta and Sanjiangyuan, we reveal a blueprint of success that hinges on robust policy support, empowerment of local communities, strategic economic incentives and multifaceted cross-sectoral collaborations. In the context of domestic hurdles, including inadequate legal frameworks, narrow participation avenues and resource scarcities, our analysis outlines actionable recommendations aimed at fortifying policy and legal frameworks, establishing efficient engagement modalities, bolstering community capacity-building initiatives and fostering economic sustainability. This comprehensive approach presents a visionary roadmap for World’s national park system, guiding it towards achieving an optimal equilibrium where ecological integrity and community prosperity coexist harmoniously.

The article underscores the originality in illuminating the pivotal role of community participation in national park protection and development amidst a global shift. By delving into international exemplars like Yellowstone, Maasai Mara, Uluru-Kata Tjuta, Sanjiangyuan and Panda, it uncovers novel insights on policy frameworks, community empowerment, economic incentives and collaborative models. This work contributes to the burgeoning discourse on balancing ecological conservation with socioeconomic development, providing a blueprint for sustainable national park management of all the world.

The authors propose a framework to estimate the probability of being poor in a dynamic setting based on a large information set that includes individual characteristics and macro-economic variables. The joint inclusion of personal characteristics along with contextual factors allows separation of idiosyncratic shocks from aggregate shocks affecting poverty. The authors combine data from different cross-sectional surveys and fit a dynamic logistic hierarchical model within a Bayesian framework using standard Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques. The authors’ approach is exemplified by estimating household poverty status in Kyrgyz Republic as a function of time, regions, country, regional level variables and household level socio-demographic characteristics.

This study provides a comprehensive overview of the research landscape of Kansei engineering (KE) within the domain of emotional clothing design. It explores the pivotal technologies, challenges and potential future directions of KE, offering application methodologies and theoretical underpinnings to support emotional clothing design.

This study briefly introduces KE, outlining its overarching research methodologies and processes. This framework lays the groundwork for advancing research in clothing Kansei. Subsequently, by reviewing literature from both domestic and international sources, this research initially explores the application of KE in the design and evaluation of clothing products as well as the development of intelligent clothing design systems from the vantage point of designers. Second, it investigates the role of KE in the customization of online clothing recommendation systems and the optimization of retail environments, as perceived by consumers. Finally, with the research methodologies of KE as a focal point, this paper discusses the principal challenges and opportunities currently confronting the field of clothing Kansei research.

At present, studies in the domain of clothing KE have achieved partial progress, but there are still some challenges to be solved in the concept, technical methods and area of application. In the future, multimodal and multisensory user Kansei acquisition, multidimensional product deconstruction, artificial intelligence (AI) enabling KE research and clothing sales environment Kansei design will become new development trends.

This study provides significant directions and concepts in the technology, methods and application types of KE, which is helpful to better apply KE to emotional clothing design.