Guoxin Xie, Ziyi Cui, Lina Si and Dan Guo
This paper aims to introduce a series of experimental results which are the extension of our previous novel observations (Xie et al., Soft Matter, 2011), which could be helpful…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to introduce a series of experimental results which are the extension of our previous novel observations (Xie et al., Soft Matter, 2011), which could be helpful for revealing the lubrication failure mechanism in bearings when they are exposed to an electrical environment.
Design/methodology/approach
An experimental apparatus where a ball was in contact with a glass disk coated with a semi-reflective chromium layer. A small volume of oil droplet was put into the microgap of the ball-disk contact. Then, a potential was applied onto the oil micropool formed by the droplet surrounding the contact region.
Findings
It has been found that destabilization of the low-conducting oil micropool around the contact region could be induced after applying a potential. Thin oil films could be drained out of the oil pool and spread on the tribopair surfaces, resulting in the depletion of the oil pool. When the applied potential was increased, the occurrence of spreading would be easier and its development would be more obvious. In contrast, the electrospreading behavior would be suppressed when the oil viscosity, contact load and oil pool size were increased. Thermocapillary force due to thermal effect as a result of the current flow near the oil pool border has been proposed as the main driving force for the spreading behavior. The influences of the operating parameters have been ascribed to the change of the electric current near the oil pool border as well as the corresponding variations in the temperature rise and the surface tension of the oil pool.
Originality/value
This is the first study to directly observe that the lubricant oil micropool around the contact region could deplete after applying a potential, potentially resulting in oil starvation in the contact region.
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Ye Yang, Hao Luan, Yaru Tian, Lina Si, Hongjuan Yan and Fengbin Liu
This study aims to develop a high-performance nanofluid that can be used in titanium alloys machining. Titanium alloys are difficult-to-cut materials and difficult to be…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop a high-performance nanofluid that can be used in titanium alloys machining. Titanium alloys are difficult-to-cut materials and difficult to be lubricated. This study explored the lubrication performance of various carbon nanoparticles in water-based lubricants for titanium alloys.
Design/methodology/approach
The lubricating and antiwear properties of the developed cutting fluid were tested by a tribo-tester. The lubricant performance was evaluated through friction coefficient, wear volume and surface quality. The lubrication mechanism was analyzed through surface morphology, wettability and bonding analysis.
Findings
The lubricating performance of four kinds of carbon nanoparticles on titanium alloys was tested and the results showed that single-layer graphene had the smallest COF and wear volume. The interaction between nanoparticles and debris was an important factor that influenced the lubrication performance of nanoparticles for titanium alloy. Moreover, the hybrid nanofluid with graphene and spherical graphite in a ratio of 1:2 achieved a balance between lubricating performance and price, making it the optimal choice.
Practical implications
The developed lubricant containing carbon nanoparticles that can lubricate titanium alloys effectively has great potential in machining titanium alloy as a high-performance cutting fluid in the future.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills an identified need for water-based lubricant for titanium alloys considering the bad tribological properties.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-04-2024-0124/
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Lina Si, Yan Pan, Xiaoqing Zhang, Jie Wang, Jia Yao, Yanjie Wang, Fengbin Liu and Feng He
This paper aims to clarify the effects of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) additives and room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) on the tribological performance of electric contacts.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to clarify the effects of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) additives and room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) on the tribological performance of electric contacts.
Design/methodology/approach
Tribological properties of copper (Cu) and silver (Ag) NPs as lubricant additives in different lubricants of ILs or polyalphaolefin (PAO) oils under applied electric currents were investigated. After tribological tests, morphologies of worn surfaces were observed; meanwhile, lubrication and anti-wear properties were analyzed.
Findings
The mixture solution of the IL and Cu NPs showed desirable lubrication and anti-wear properties due to the reduction of electrocorrosion and the enhancement of rolling effects of particles in the contact region. The anti-wear performance of Cu NPs is better than that of Ag NPs due to the difference in the particle size. The PAO oil with the Cu NPs additives showed poor lubrication properties due to the low solubility of the particles in the oil. When the direction of applied current was changed, the friction of the lubricant with better conductivity was more stable in the variation trend.
Originality/value
This paper begins with a study of tribological properties of Cu and Ag NPs as lubricant additives in different lubricants of IL or PAO oils under applied electric currents. The authors then propose several methods and possible solutions which could be implemented to improve the tribological performance of electric contacts.
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Jehun Moon, Mehmet Erdem, Ozgur Ozdemir, Hyelin (Lina) Kim and Eda Anlamlier
This study aims to investigate and compare the factors that affect Millennials and Generation Z (Gen Z) hotel guests’ intention to adopt cryptocurrency payments (CPs) when booking…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate and compare the factors that affect Millennials and Generation Z (Gen Z) hotel guests’ intention to adopt cryptocurrency payments (CPs) when booking a hotel.
Design/methodology/approach
A sequential mixed-methods approach was used. Study 1 included 20 semi-structured interviews. The qualitative findings subsequently informed the design of a quantitative survey in Study 2, conducted with 604 participants. Additionally, the authors examined the moderating effect of generational differences.
Findings
Through a thematic analysis, Study 1 identified six predetermined factors from the innovation diffusion theory and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology – trialability, observability, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions and social influence – and two additional elements – personal innovativeness and perceived risk. Study 2 quantitatively examined that all eight factors were significant predictors of intention to adopt CPs among Millennials and Gen Z hotel guests. Furthermore, the findings from the comparative analysis based on the generational cohort theory indicated that generational differences moderated the relationships among performance expectancy, effort expectancy and personal innovativeness and adoption intention.
Practical implications
The results of this study offer actionable insights for hotel operators and policymakers aiming to expedite CP adoption among Millennials and Gen Z hotel guests.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first studies to comprehensively identify the determinants and their significance differences in Millennials and Gen Z hotel guests’ intentions to adopt CPs via a sequential mixed-methods approach.
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Presents a special issue, enlisting the help of the author’s students and colleagues, focusing on age, sex, colour and disability discrimination in America. Breaks the evidence…
Abstract
Presents a special issue, enlisting the help of the author’s students and colleagues, focusing on age, sex, colour and disability discrimination in America. Breaks the evidence down into manageable chunks, covering: age discrimination in the workplace; discrimination against African‐Americans; sex discrimination in the workplace; same sex sexual harassment; how to investigate and prove disability discrimination; sexual harassment in the military; when the main US job‐discrimination law applies to small companies; how to investigate and prove racial discrimination; developments concerning race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; developments concerning discrimination against workers with HIV or AIDS; developments concerning discrimination based on refusal of family care leave; developments concerning discrimination against gay or lesbian employees; developments concerning discrimination based on colour; how to investigate and prove discrimination concerning based on colour; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; using statistics in employment discrimination cases; race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning gender discrimination in the workplace; discrimination in Japanese organizations in America; discrimination in the entertainment industry; discrimination in the utility industry; understanding and effectively managing national origin discrimination; how to investigate and prove hiring discrimination based on colour; and, finally, how to investigate sexual harassment in the workplace.
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Rabab Hayek, Guillaume Raschia, Patrick Valduriez and Noureddine Mouaddib
The goal of this paper is to contribute to the development of both data localization and description techniques in P2P systems.
Abstract
Purpose
The goal of this paper is to contribute to the development of both data localization and description techniques in P2P systems.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach consists of introducing a novel indexing technique that relies on linguistic data summarization into the context of P2P systems.
Findings
The cost model of the approach, as well as the simulation results have shown that the approach allows the efficient maintenance of data summaries, without incurring high traffic overhead. In addition, the cost of query routing is significantly reduced in the context of summaries.
Research limitations/implications
The paper has considered a summary service defined on the APPA's architecture. Future works have to study the extension of this work in order to be generally applicable to any P2P data management system.
Practical implications
This paper has mainly studied the quantitative gain that could be obtained in query processing from exploiting data summaries. Future works aim to implement this technique on real data (not synthetic) in order to study the qualitative gain that can be obtained from approximately answering a query.
Originality/value
The novelty of the approach shown in the paper relies on the double exploitation of the summaries in P2P systems: data summaries allow for a semantic‐based query routing, and also for an approximate query answering, using their intentional descriptions.
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Outlines the underlying rationale for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, Mexico and the USA; and evaluates its impact from 1987 to 2000. Examines…
Abstract
Outlines the underlying rationale for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, Mexico and the USA; and evaluates its impact from 1987 to 2000. Examines statistics on trade between the three countries and discusses changes in trade patterns and growth rates, providing a breakdown of US exports by state and industry. Shows an improved pattern and volume of trade, considers the impact on employment and admits that assessment of NAFTA’s costs and benefits is difficult. Sees Mexico as its main beneficiary so far, but predicts that this will change in the long run.
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Lina Zhong, J. Andres Coca-Stefaniak, Alastair M. Morrison, Liyu Yang and Baolin Deng
This study aims to investigate the consumer acceptance of robots in hotels before and after COVID-19, with a specific emphasis on whether COVID-19 had a significant effect on the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the consumer acceptance of robots in hotels before and after COVID-19, with a specific emphasis on whether COVID-19 had a significant effect on the acceptance of robots by hotel guests and whether guests had higher levels of acceptance of hotel robots since the initial COVID-19 outbreak was brought under control in China.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample for this research included Chinese hotel guests before and after COVID-19, with 247 responses obtained before its outbreak and a further 601 responses gathered after. Several hypotheses were developed and tested in a pseudo-experimental design.
Findings
The results showed that COVID-19 increased hotel guest acceptance of robots. After COVID-19, the perceived importance of the usefulness, social influence, attitude and value of robots increased, while the perceived importance of the ease of use and anthropomorphism of robots decreased. As a contactless service, the usefulness of robots was more valued by customers. This led customers to lower their requirements for the ease of use of robots. In addition, people were more concerned about the social influences on robot use.
Research limitations/implications
Hotel guest attitudes and behavioral intentions toward robots and the services they can provide are changing. However, whether this change is purely ephemeral and motivated by a pragmatic stance triggered by COVID-19 remains to be established.
Practical implications
The hospitality industry is encouraged to create a new profile of guests in terms of their favorable or unfavorable disposition toward being served by robots. Hotels should consider the deployment of robots according to the demographic characteristics of customers (e.g. according to guest age levels).
Originality/value
This research demonstrated that major crises affect customer attitudes and behaviors toward new technologies. COVID-19 resulted in guests paying more attention to the advantages of services offered by hotel robots as a means of reducing the probability of contagion.
疫情前后酒店机器人非接触式服务的技术接受度对比研究
摘要
目的
本研究调查了新冠疫情爆发前后酒店顾客对机器人接受程度的变化, 重点研究了新冠疫情是否对机器人的潜在接受程度有显著影响, 以及自疫情在中国得到控制以来, 顾客对酒店机器人的接受程度是否有所提高。
设计/方法
本研究的样本主要是新冠疫情爆发前后的中国酒店顾客, 在疫情爆发前收集了217份样本, 在疫情爆发后收集了601份样本。研究提出了若干假设, 并采用伪实验设计进行了检验。
结果
结果显示, 新冠疫情的爆发提高了酒店顾客对机器人的潜在接受度。新冠疫情后, 机器人的有用性, 社会影响, 态度和价值的影响增加了, 而机器人的易用性和拟人化的影响降低了。由于机器人的无接触服务, 使得顾客更加关注有用性。这导致顾客对易用性的关注降低。此外, 顾客更加关注使用机器人的社会影响。
研究局限/启示
酒店顾客对机器人服务的态度和行为意图正在发生变化。然而, 这一变化是否是短暂的, 只是由新冠疫情驱动的, 仍有待确定。
实践意义
我们鼓励酒店业根据客人对机器人的接受/不接受程度来创建一个新的客户档案。酒店也可以根据顾客的人口统计学特征(比如年龄)来部署机器人。
创意/价值
这项研究表明, 重大灾难会影响顾客对新技术的态度和行为。 COVID-19的爆发导致客人更加关注酒店机器人的服务优势(降低传染概率)。
Aceptación de la tecnología antes y después de la pandemia del COVID-19: Servicios ofrecidos por robots en hoteles
Resumen
Propósito
Esta investigación analiza la aceptación por parte de clientes del uso de robots en hoteles antes y después del comienzo de la pandemia del COVID-19, prestando una atención especial a si dicha pandemia ha tenido un efecto significativo sobre los niveles de aceptación de robots por parte de clientes en hoteles en China a raíz de la pandemia del COVID-19.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
La muestra de este estudio incluye clientes de hoteles en China encuestados antes y después del brote de COVID-19, con 247 cuestionarios recogidos antes del brote y otros 601 después del mismo. Este estudio incluye una serie de hipótesis puestas a prueba adoptando un diseño de investigación de carácter pseudo-experimental.
Hallazgos
Los resultados de este estudio apuntan a que el brote de COVID en China conllevó un incremento en la proporción de los clientes de hoteles propensos a aceptar el uso de robots en este contexto. Después de la pandemia, hubo un incremento en la percepción de la importancia de su utilidad, influencia social, actitud y valor de los robots en este contexto, mientras que descendió la percepción de la importancia de la facilidad del use de robots y antropomorfismo descendió. Como servicio sin necesidad de contacto físico, la utilidad de los robots en hoteles fue más valorada por los clientes Esto produjo una disminución en los requisitos de los usuarios en lo referente a la facilidad del uso de robots en hoteles. Además, los participantes en esta encuesta se mostraron más propensos a valorar la influencia sobre la sociedad del uso de robots.
Restricciones e implicaciones del estudio
La actitud de clientes de hoteles y su aceptación del uso de robots en este contexto, así como los servicios que éstos proveen están cambiando rápidamente. No obstante, aún no se sabe con certeza hasta que punto estos cambios son meramente efímeros y motivados por una actitud pragmática hacia la crisis creada por la pandemia del COVID-19.
Implicaciones prácticas
El sector de la hostelería debería intentar desarrollar un perfil de clientes nuevo en lo referente a su grado de aceptación de los robots como parte de los servicios ofrecidos. Los hoteles deberían considerar el uso de robots en los servicios ofrecidos dependiendo de las características demográficas de sus clientes (ejem. Nivel de estudios y formación).
Originalidad del estudio
Este estudio demuestra que las crisis de gran magnitud, como lo es la pandemia actual de COVID-19, pueden afectar las actitudes y comportamientos del consumidor en lo referente al uso de nuevas tecnologías. La pandemia del COVID-19 ha llevado a muchos clientes de hoteles a prestar una mayor atención a las ventajas de los servicios ofrecidos por robots como forma de reducir las posibilidades de contagio.
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Asks on whose behalf the black woman poet in the USA speaks, what type of language she uses and what audience she has. Points out that an earlier lack of tradition meant that…
Abstract
Asks on whose behalf the black woman poet in the USA speaks, what type of language she uses and what audience she has. Points out that an earlier lack of tradition meant that originally white styles of language were used and aimed at the white audience. Looks at the rise of the blues era and the “blueswoman”. Considers the work of Phillis Wheatley, Alice Dunbar Nelson, Anne Spencer and Angelina Grimke together with Margaret Walker and singers such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. Finally, outlines the development of a political era and the growing sexual freedom of black women and the impact their writings.
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Yaw A. Debrah and Ian G. Smith
Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on…
Abstract
Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on work and employment in contemporary organizations. Covers the human resource management implications of organizational responses to globalization. Examines the theoretical, methodological, empirical and comparative issues pertaining to competitiveness and the management of human resources, the impact of organisational strategies and international production on the workplace, the organization of labour markets, human resource development, cultural change in organisations, trade union responses, and trans‐national corporations. Cites many case studies showing how globalization has brought a lot of opportunities together with much change both to the employee and the employer. Considers the threats to existing cultures, structures and systems.