Meixian Zhang, Yiding Ou, Haibing Yuan, Junlin Pan and Lei Ma
The purpose of this paper is to examine the practicability of the self-designed ambient humidity controllable pin-disc/rolling multifunctional friction and wear test device and to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the practicability of the self-designed ambient humidity controllable pin-disc/rolling multifunctional friction and wear test device and to evaluate the friction and wear characteristics of materials under diverse ambient humidity conditions in different contact forms.
Design/methodology/approach
The practicability of the self-designed multifunctional friction tester was examined by the friction and wear tests of materials under different ambient humidity conditions [65%RH, 98%RH (relative humidity)] in diverse contact forms (pin/disc and rolling). Meanwhile, the friction and wear properties of pin/disc samples also rolling samples were assessed from three aspects: average friction coefficient, wear mass and wear morphology.
Findings
The results prove that the self-designed multifunctional friction tester has practicability. Therefore, it can be used to simulate the friction and wear tests of materials under diverse ambient humidity conditions in different contact forms. Besides, it is evident that the wear damage of pin/disc and rolling samples are greatly improved under high ambient humidity conditions. And when other conditions are identical, the higher the ambient humidity, the smaller the average friction coefficient, wear mass and wear damage degree of pin/disc also rolling samples.
Originality/value
This paper offers a self-designed multifunctional friction and wear test device. And the tester not only can realize the control of test ambient humidity, but also achieve the wear test of pin/disc or rolling contact forms. The design and production of the tester can offer convenience for the research of tribology, and provide fundamental guidance for the study of materials under high humidity condition in diverse contact forms.
Details
Keywords
Meixian Zhang, Hanbo Shi, Siyuan Ding and Lei Ma
The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of braking speed at –20 °C on the wear property of high-speed railway braking materials and the temperature also stress…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of braking speed at –20 °C on the wear property of high-speed railway braking materials and the temperature also stress analyses of brake disc friction surface.
Design/methodology/approach
Friction brake tester was used to simulate the wear test of high-speed railway braking materials at diverse braking speeds (2,100, 2,400, 2,700 and 3,000 rad/min) at –20 °C and the stress and temperature analyses of brake disc friction surface were carried out by COMSOL.
Findings
Compared with 20°C, there is initial stress of brake disc friction surface before brake starting; also, the maximum wear depth is larger at –20°C. Besides, at –20 °C, with the rising of braking speed, the graphite particles on the friction surface of brake pad significantly reduce. And scratches and cracks are formed on brake pad friction surface. Besides, the abrasive wear, adhesive wear and thermal cracks of brake disc friction surface are aggravated. Moreover, the maximal worn depth also increase. Meanwhile, the highest temperature and the maximum thermal stress of brake disc friction surface both raise. Furthermore, the temperature and thermal stress gradients at radial direction of brake disc friction surface aggrandize, which makes the thermal cracks on brake disc friction surface further exacerbated.
Research limitations/implications
In this paper, the wear property of the high-speed railway braking materials is studied by combining experiment and simulation. However, due to the low-speed traveling of high-speed railway was mainly studied in this paper, there may be no comprehensive simulation of the real running condition of high-speed railway. At the same time, the working condition of low-temperature environment cannot be completely simulated and controlled.
Practical implications
The research results of this paper provide a basic instruction for other researchers and also provide an important reference for relevant personnel to choose the braking speed of high-speed railway at –20 °C.
Social implications
The research of this paper provides a brick for the study of high-speed railway braking materials and also provides some references for the safe service of trains in low-temperature environment.
Originality/value
This paper studied the wear property and carried out the simulation analysis of braking materials at –20 °C at diverse braking speed. The research findings provide an important reference for the selection of braking speed of high-speed railway at –20 °C.
Details
Keywords
Linhao Ouyang, Zijian Zhang, Xiaoling Huang and Shi Xie
The purpose of this study is to restore the spatial distribution of overseas remittance businesses in Shantou during the 1940s. It explores various socioeconomic factors that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to restore the spatial distribution of overseas remittance businesses in Shantou during the 1940s. It explores various socioeconomic factors that influenced the concentration of local remittance business investment in real estate. By reconstructing the spatial distribution of remittance business activities in Shantou, this study hopes to lay a foundation for further analysis of the business strategies of Chaoshan merchants.
Design/methodology/approach
This research draws on information from the published Swatow Guide, archival sources and cadastral maps to identify the location of remittance enterprises and the native place and overseas networks of property owners.
Finding
This study reveals that the spatial distribution of the remittance enterprises was determined by the native place origins of local property owners, and that the inflow of overseas Chinese capital contributed to real estate development in Shantou.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the limited access to Chinese official archives, this paper manages to identify several building blocks and neighbors in Shantou for spatial analysis.
Practical implications
This study is the first attempt to use the geographical information system (GIS) method in Chinese urban history research and hopes to establish a larger historical database of Shantou as a sample for comparison.
Originality/value
This investigation advances the spatial study of urban history and overseas Chinese remittances in the maritime society of South China.
Details
Keywords
Rong Kong, Calum Greig Turvey, Hira Channa and Yanling Peng
Based on a survey of 897 farm households, the purpose of this paper is to build a framework using cluster analysis to explain how farmers make decisions on joining group…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on a survey of 897 farm households, the purpose of this paper is to build a framework using cluster analysis to explain how farmers make decisions on joining group guarantee, and analyzes factors influencing their decisions using multinomial and binary Logit regressions.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach of combining cluster analysis with Logit regression is an innovative approach to survey assessment. In addition, by design the authors have identified the four mutually exclusive groups of borrowers combining Group Guarantee membership and actual formal borrowing.
Findings
An extremely important observation according to the data is that most farmers appear to be part of group guarantees only because they have to in order to get access to formal credit products. 87.21 percent of the people who belong to groups and utilize the formal credit products belong to this category because their lenders have made participation in groups compulsory for access to credit. This may ration farmers’ willingness to even apply for credit. It also indicates a preference on the part of older and more risk-averse respondents to avoid participation in group guarantees. Out of financial characteristics the total loan holdings appears to be the only significant indicator of participation in group guarantees. Furthermore the results indicate that informal and formal credit appear to be replaceable for farmers.
Research limitations/implications
The survey is confined only to the counties investigated. China is very diverse in its agricultural economies and many RCCs operate under different guidance and rules from those investigated here. Hence, while the authors can claim that the results are indicative, the authors cannot claim that they will hold generally.
Practical implications
Based on group guarantee loan mechanism and survey data analysis of 897 farm households, this paper analyzes influencing factors affecting farmers’ participation in group guarantees from microcosmic level, so as to provide some reference to further perfect micro credit operation mode and mechanism.
Social implications
The results indicate that the Group Guarantee mechanism, while beneficial to some, may not hold global appeal for Chinese farmers. In the future RCCs may want to consider alternative approaches to loan security than placing the burden of guarantee on farmers’ family and friends.
Originality/value
The approach of combining cluster analysis with Logit regression is an innovative approach to survey assessment. In addition, by design the authors have identified the four mutually exclusive groups of borrowers combining Group Guarantee membership and actual formal borrowing.
Details
Keywords
This study aims to clarify the impact of agriculture–tourism integration (ATI) on in situ urbanization (ISURB) of rural residents, to highlight the role of industrial integration…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to clarify the impact of agriculture–tourism integration (ATI) on in situ urbanization (ISURB) of rural residents, to highlight the role of industrial integration in the process of China's ISURB and to provide industrial integration suggestions for promoting urbanization quality in Chinese counties.
Design/methodology/approach
By sorting out the panel data of China's 1868 counties, the evaluation index system of ISURB was constructed. Difference in difference (DID) and spatial Durbin-difference in difference (SDM-DID) model is used for estimate the relationship between ATI and ISURB.
Findings
First, ATI can improve ISURB by 11.4% higher than other regions. Second, theoretical analysis model of ATI on ISURB is constructed from four aspects of “drive–push–pull–block.” The results show that ATI can promote ISURB by increasing upgrading of rural industries, rural employment demand and income capacity, whereas ATI may inhibit ISURB by reducing farmland. Third, considering changes in institutional, hard and soft factors, rural collective economy, information infrastructure and digital finance all promote positive impact of ATI on ISURB. Fourth, ATI will produce spillover effects on ISURB in neighboring regions, which is more pronounced in the central and western regions.
Research limitations/implications
This study lacks quantification of ATI, so future studies are encouraged to further quantify ATI at the county level.
Practical implications
This study has policy significance for constructing ATI demonstration counties and promoting ISURB in China's counties.
Social implications
It is of great practical value to promote China's ISURB. By stimulating ATI, it can improve income and employment capacity of rural residents and stimulate ISURB of China.
Originality/value
This study enriches the theoretical and practical research on industrial integration behaviors during the process of ISURB.
Highlights
Use county data to measure in situ urbanization (ISURB)
Agriculture–tourism integration (ATI) can increase ISURB
Constructs a “drive-push-pull-block” model to explain the influence mechanism
Use spatial Durbin-difference in difference (SDM-DID) models
Consider collective economy, rural information infrastructure and digital finance
Use county data to measure in situ urbanization (ISURB)
Agriculture–tourism integration (ATI) can increase ISURB
Constructs a “drive-push-pull-block” model to explain the influence mechanism
Use spatial Durbin-difference in difference (SDM-DID) models
Consider collective economy, rural information infrastructure and digital finance
Graphical abstract
Details
Keywords
Rong Kong, Calum G. Turvey, Guangwen He, Jiujie Ma and Patrick Meagher
China frequently suffers from weather‐related natural disasters and weather risk is recognized as a source of wide‐spread systemic risk throughout large swaths of China. During…
Abstract
Purpose
China frequently suffers from weather‐related natural disasters and weather risk is recognized as a source of wide‐spread systemic risk throughout large swaths of China. During these periods farmers' crops are at risk and for a largely poor population few can afford the turmoil to livelihoods that goes along with drought. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the willingness of Shaanxi and Gansu farmers to purchase weather insurance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on surveyed results of 890 farm households in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. The survey was designed specifically to extract willingness to pay for weather insurance. Factor affecting willingness to pay are explained using linear regression.
Findings
The authors find strong evidence that the demand for drought insurance is downward sloping and also believe from the analysis that the demand is fairly elastic. This suggests that price matters and the results suggest that in order for wide spread adoption of weather insurance farmers will require a substantial premium, perhaps in the order of 80 per cent, as is being applied to current crop insurance initiatives. The authors find, as expected, that crop producers would be willing to pay more for insurance than livestock producers, but also find, as one would expect, that the key indicator is risk. Using a Pert distribution, the authors constructed from information gathered from farmers the expected values and standard deviations of gross revenues and yields of the most prominent crop and constructed the coefficient of variation. It was found in both cases that the higher the CV the greater the willingness to pay.
Originality/value
The authors believe that this is the first willingness‐to‐pay study of weather insurance uptake in China. The authors used a unique “experimental” design and investigation technique to determine weather insurance demand.
Details
Keywords
Yuanyuan Wu, Liuyan Chen, Eric W.T. Ngai and Pengkun Wu
The objective of this study is to investigate the interaction effect between incentive type (financial and compassionate incentives) and the ethicality of merchant strategy on…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study is to investigate the interaction effect between incentive type (financial and compassionate incentives) and the ethicality of merchant strategy on consumer willingness to post positive reviews, while also examining potential variations in consumer responses based on consumption experience, shopping frequency and social class.
Design/methodology/approach
Building upon construal level theory, we hypothesized the moderating influence of the ethicality of merchant strategy and examined the three-way interaction among consumers’ demographic characteristics (i.e. consumption experience, shopping frequency and social class), incentive type and the ethicality of merchant strategy. To empirically test our hypotheses, we conducted four experiments and employed ANOVA for data analysis.
Findings
The ethicality of merchant strategies moderates the association between incentive type and consumer willingness to post positive reviews, with compassionate incentives eliciting more pronounced moral judgments toward merchant strategies compared to financial incentives. The moderating effect of the ethicality of merchant strategy on the relationship between incentive type and consumer willingness to post positive reviews is particularly strong among consumers who have favorable consumption experiences, engage in frequent shopping and belong to lower social classes.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing literature on online reviews by examining the impact of compassionate incentives on consumer review behaviors, analyzing the ethicality of merchant strategies within the realm of online reviews and investigating variations in consumer responses to merchant strategies regarding consumption experience, shopping frequency and social class.
Details
Keywords
Shanshan Miao, Wim Heijman, Xueqin Zhu and Qian Lu
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of four components of social capital on farmers’ participative behaviour in collective actions for constructing and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of four components of social capital on farmers’ participative behaviour in collective actions for constructing and operating small-scale groundwater irrigation systems on the Guanzhong Plain, Shaanxi Province, China.
Design/methodology/approach
The four components (social networks, social trust, social reciprocity and social participation) were derived by employing exploratory factor analysis. Logistic model was used to estimate the influence of these components on farmers’ participative behaviour. Information was obtained from a field survey covering six counties in 2011 of Shaanxi Province, China.
Findings
The findings indicate that considering different components of social capital allows for a better understanding of farmers’ participative behaviour. The authors find that higher levels of social trust and social participation lead to a higher propensity for collective action, while social reciprocity reduces the probability of participation. Other socio-economic factors and farming characteristics such as education levels, cultivated area, cropping patterns and grain subsidies also have a significant impact.
Practical implications
The findings suggest creating favourable conditions for communication and information exchanges between households, which enhance their trust of each other, and encourage farmers to participate in collective affairs. Moreover, supportive rules are necessary for the future development of collective action. The results of this study also have implications for national irrigation plans for small-scale irrigation facilities in other developing countries.
Originality/value
A consideration of the different components of social capital allows for a more precise understanding of farmers’ participative behaviour.
Details
Keywords
Bingjun Li, Shuhua Zhang, Wenyan Li and Yifan Zhang
Grey modeling technique is an important element of grey system theory, and academic articles applied to agricultural science research have been published since 1985, proving the…
Abstract
Purpose
Grey modeling technique is an important element of grey system theory, and academic articles applied to agricultural science research have been published since 1985, proving the broad applicability and effectiveness of the technique from different aspects and providing a new means to solve agricultural science problems. The analysis of the connotation and trend of the application of grey modeling technique in agricultural science research contributes to the enrichment of grey technique and the development of agricultural science in multiple dimensions.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the relevant literature selected from China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Web of Science, SpiScholar and other databases in the past 37 years (1985–2021), this paper firstly applied the bibliometric method to quantitatively visualize and systematically analyze the trend of publication, productive author, productive institution, and highly cited literature. Then, the literature is combed by the application of different grey modeling techniques in agricultural science research, and the literature research progress is systematically analyzed.
Findings
The results show that grey model technology has broad prospects in the field of agricultural science research. Agricultural universities and research institutes are the main research forces in the application of grey model technology in agricultural science research, and have certain inheritance. The application of grey model technology in agricultural science research has wide applicability and precise practicability.
Originality/value
By analyzing and summarizing the application trend of grey model technology in agricultural science research, the research hotspot, research frontier and valuable research directions of grey model technology in agricultural science research can be more clearly grasped.
Details
Keywords
Calum G. Turvey, Guangwen He, Rong Kong, Jiujie Ma and Patrick Meagher
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the farm and rural credit system in China. To do this the authors use the so‐called “7 Cs” of credit (these include: Credit…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the farm and rural credit system in China. To do this the authors use the so‐called “7 Cs” of credit (these include: Credit, Character, Capacity, Capital, Condition, Capability, and Collateral) and for each “C” provide some aspect of importance related to agricultural finance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is largely based on a survey of 897 farm households in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, and extensive interviews of agricultural lenders conducted in the summer and fall of 2009. These data are used in simple form and in regression form to explain a variety of credit issues in China.
Findings
A number of key factors related to credit delivery and demand are found. First, using the 7 Cs as a guide proved to be very fruitful for disentangling the many institutional and cultural facets affecting rural credit in China. Under “Character” the authors discuss the cultural characteristics of the Chinese farmer in terms of informal lending and borrowing; under “Capacity” the authors discuss the challenges of delivering credit to farms with limited resources; under “Condition” the authors discuss group guarantees and credit worthy villages, credit rationing and insurance and incomplete markets; under “Capability” the authors discuss income inequality and challenges in economies of scale and size; and for “Collateral” the authors discuss the implications of lack of collateral and limitations on farm economic growth due to the collectivization of land and the potential for agricultural lending from the transferability and mortgagability of land or forestry use rights.
Research limitations/implications
Although the assessment provides a great deal of breadth and depth across many credit‐related issues in China, it is not an exhaustive study. Agricultural and rural credit in China is very complex and in many instance under developed. The survey results from Shaanxi and Gansu tell a story that is consistently told throughout China, but the authors would caution against using the data to characterize farm credit across China as a whole.
Social implications
Large swaths of China have either no or very rudimentary credit services. Even in areas where credit is in supply there are issues of poverty that could be aided with credit access and delivery. In order to improve livelihoods through credit institutions, it is important to understand rural credit in many dimensions. This paper takes a step in that direction.
Originality/value
Despite the importance of rural credit in China, it is largely understudied and not well understood. This paper makes progress in providing such an understanding. Our reasoning for using our unique approach is that by understanding the 7 Cs of credit one comes to understand the elemental characteristics of the credit decision from the lender's point of view but in a way that takes into account conditions at the farm level. The 7 Cs provide an objective approach to credit assessment that balances both the supply of and demand for credit.