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The purpose of this paper is to synthesize polypyrrole/SiO₂ composite coating on 316 stainless steel (316SS) by cyclic voltammogram and preliminary do research about the valuable effects of SiO₂ particle incorporation within the polymer matrix.

This study is based on elaboration of coating by electrochemical process and of SiO₂ by a sol-gel process.

Electrochemical impedance studies revealed that compared with polypyrrole (PPy), PPy-SiO₂ coating acts as a more protective layer on 316SS against corrosion in 3.5 per cent NaCl. Scanning electron microscopy studies revealed that the PPy-SiO₂-coated 316SS showed more uniform and compact morphology.

To fully disperse SiO₂, a sol-gel method is used. Hydroxyl group is generated on the surface of inorganic particle by the sol-gel method, which improves the inorganic particle dispersion.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating effect of felt obligation for constructive change on the relationship between responsible leadership and organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE) in a China corporate environment, and this paper also analyze the moderated mediating effect of supervisor-subordinate guanxi on indirect relationship between responsible leadership and OCBE via felt obligation for constructive change.

This paper used 380 employee samples to analyze the relationship between responsible leadership and OCBE. Hierarchical regression analyses and structural equation modeling was adopted to analyze the data.

The authors found that the felt obligation for constructive change plays a fully mediating role between responsible leadership and OCBE. The authors also found a positive interaction between responsible leadership and supervisor-subordinate guanxi on felt obligation for constructive change, and then the indirect effect of responsible leadership on OCBE via felt obligation for constructive change was stronger when employees perceived a high-level supervisor-subordinate guanxi.

When responsible leadership stimulates employees to generate a high sense of constructive change, employees are more likely to engage in OCBE. This study provides evidence for cognitive evaluation theory. This study further demonstrated the importance of establishing high-quality supervisor-subordinate guanxi for responsible leaders and subordinates in China.

In the management practice of the organization, the role of responsible leadership should be strengthened in terms of leadership development and, employee training and promotion, and high-quality supervisor-subordinate guanxi help to promote the effectiveness of responsible leadership.

This paper discusses how and when responsible leadership influences OCBE in a China corporate environment.

The water evaporation rate (WER) is not only crucial for fabric drying, but also an important parameter affecting cooling from a body wearing sweat wetted clothing. The purpose of this paper is to predict the WERs of wet textile materials in a pre-defined environment.

The maximum water evaporation rate (WER_max) from a saturated surface in a pre-defined environment was first predicted based on the Lewis relationship between the evaporative and the convective heat transfer in this paper. The prediction results were validated by the comparisons with experimental measurements in various environments obtained in this paper and reported in the literature.

Experiment results show that the ratios of WERs to WER_max are lower than 100 percent but higher than 50 percent, which confirmed that the prediction of WER_max is reliable. The temperature decrease of the wet material surface due to evaporation was considered to account for the difference between measured WERs and the WERmax, and the WER variation among materials. The lower ratios of WERs to WER_max in the higher wind condition were speculated to be due to the greater temperature decrease caused by the increased evaporation.

It provides a reliable way to obtain both WER_max and WER (WER_max multiplied by a proper ratio), which can be useful in clothing physiological modeling to predict clothing comfort.

This study contributes to the understanding of the evaporation process of textile materials.

The aim of this article is two-fold. First, it offers a unique account of San Min, the prototype of the current Chinese educational principle proposed by Yan Fu (1854–1921) that aimed at improving people’s physical, intellectual and moral capacities. This system of educational thinking has received only marginal attention in Anglophone research literature. Second, given the influence of Yan Fu’s interpretation and promulgation of Herbert Spencer’s educational philosophy during that period, it investigates the extent to which San Min is derived from Spencer’s educational thought (the “Spencerian Triad”). This article focusses on how Yan Fu adapted the ideas of San Min from Spencer’s account.

This article considers Yan Fu’s principle of San Min in relation to Spencer’s educational triad through a close reading and comparison of key primary texts (including Yan Fu’s original writing). It explores the similarities and differences between each account of education’s goals and its proposed means of attainment.

Yan Fu’s principle of San Min is shown to have been adapted from the Spencerian Triad. However, using the theory of Social Organism, Yan Fu re-interpreted Spencer’s individual liberty as liberty for the nation. While Spencer’s goal was to empower individuals, Yan Fu aimed to serve collective independence, wealth and power.

This article addresses oversights concerning San Min’s Western origins in the Spencerian Triad and its influence on Chinese education under Yan Fu’s sway. It is significant because San Min is still at the core of the current Chinese educational policy.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the causal mechanisms that explain the relationship between the long-term buyer–supplier relationship and buyer performance. Building on the growing body of research on social capital in supply chain management (SCM), the authors examine how a buyer achieves superior performance in forming the enduring partnership with a supplier through two different forms of supplier embeddedness: buyer–supplier dyadic embeddedness and supplier external embeddedness.

The bootstrapping method is utilized in data analysis to examine the mediating effects of the two different forms of supplier embeddedness simultaneously on the linkage between the duration of buyer–supplier relationships and buyer performance outcomes.

The authors find that the two forms of supplier embeddedness serve as distinct conduits for the buyer to translate the long-term buyer–supplier relationship into performance effectiveness. Notably, dyadic embeddedness only mediates the linkage between the duration of buyer–supplier relationships and buyer economic performance, while supplier external embeddedness solely mediates the linkage between the duration of buyer–supplier relationships and buyer innovation performance.

This study empirically demonstrates that different forms of supplier embeddedness may benefit a buyer differentially when directed at distinct performance goals. If a buyer can leverage both buyer–supplier dyadic embeddedness and supplier external embeddedness, the buyer will overcome value creation limitations of social capital from a single source, obtaining more comprehensive performance benefits sought by developing long-term buyer–supplier relationships.

Tongue diagnosis is a standard expert technique of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Computerized tongue diagnosis promises to automate the process of tongue diagnosis yet the tongue images segmentation upon which it depends is made difficult by the fact that the tongue is non‐rigid and varies greatly in size, shape, color, and texture. This paper presents a novel medical sensor system for TCM tongue diagnosis, which makes use of hyperspectral imaging technology.

The tongue image capturing sensor device for Chinese medical is based on the theory of the pushbroom hyperspectral imager. The paper illustrates its advantages by detecting the tongue contour in the hyperspectral images.

The experiments from 1,522 clinical tongue images show the validity of the system.

In this paper, the authors propose to use hyperspectral technology for tongue diagnosis for the first time in the literature and obtain promising results.

The novel sensor for tongue image capture gives a new method for tongue imformation collection. This system gives a new approach for tongue information collection.

The purpose of this paper is to obtain a single setting (optimal setting) of various input parameters of pack cementation process, i.e. halide salt activator, powder of master alloy and wt% of Y₂O₃ to obtain a single output characteristic as a whole namely resistance of hot corrosion for T91 steel.

The multi-criterion methodology based on Taguchi approach and utility concept has been used for optimization of the multiple performance characteristics namely hot corrosion rate K_P1, K_P2 and K_P3 for pack cementation coated T91 steel in chlorine and vanadium environment.

All the three pack cementation parameters, namely, halide salt activator, powder of master alloy and wt% of Y₂O₃ had a significant effect on the utility function based on analysis of variance for multiple performances. The percentage contribution of halide activator (1.54 percent), master alloy powder (4.66 percent) and wt% Y₂O₃ (93.79 percent). The results indicated the beneficial influence of yttrium on the chemical stability of the protective layer in presence of chlorine and vanadium environments. The optimal parameter settings obtained in this study is A2B2C1, i.e. halide salt activator (NaCl), powder of master alloy (92Cr-8Al) and 1wt% of Y₂O₃.

The outcome of this study shall be useful to explore the possible use of the developed coating for high temperature components. Unfortunately, the pack cementation was normally limited by the diffusion and reaction kinetics involved, which has a detrimental effect on the mechanical properties of work pieces. Therefore, reducing pack cementation temperature is required for widespread application of the pack coatings.

Pack coating at optimum conditions can be used for surface coating technologies to economically improve high temperature oxidation, corrosion resistance of components.

The multi-criterion methodology based on Taguchi approach and utility concept has been used for first time for parametric optimization of wt% Y₂O₃ modified chromium- aluminide coatings for T91 steel.

This paper aims to clarify the CO₂ emissions of global construction industries under the consideration of different patterns of international trade and thus to draw a comprehensive picture for understanding the international paths of CO₂ transfer to global construction industries.

This research inventories the CO₂ emissions induced by the final demand of 15 economies for construction products and explores the CO₂ intensities of these economies based on a multi-regional input–output model. This paper further decomposes CO₂ emissions into four components based on different patterns of international trade to estimate the roles of four patterns of international trade in shaping the environmental pressures from global construction industries.

The results indicate that the CO₂ intensities of the construction industries in Russia, India and China were higher than those in other economies, and the CO₂ intensities of global construction industries experienced a decline over the years 2000–2014. The decomposition analysis demonstrates that domestic and foreign CO₂ emissions accounted for 42.67 and 54.23%, respectively, of the CO₂ emissions of the construction industries in the 15 economies during the period 2000–2007. Although the major part of the CO₂ emissions of the construction industries come from domestic production systems, the final demand for construction products in the 15 economies caused substantial emissions in other economies. Further decomposition by upstream industrial production source indicates that 58.65% of domestic emissions and 66.53% of foreign emissions can be traced back to the electricity industry.

Although the major patterns of CO₂ emissions of the construction industry have been identified in this paper, the difficulty of understanding the relationship between upstream production industries or countries and the construction industry deserves more attention in the future research.

Previous research on inventorying CO₂ emissions has generally been limited to evaluating the impact of industrial consumption activities on national or global emission accounting, tending to ignore the effects of different international trade patterns on the change in industrial CO₂ emissions. This research is the first attempt to account for and decompose the CO₂ emissions of global construction industries under consideration of the effects of different patterns of international trade on environmental pressures. The decomposition and upstream industrial distributions of different patterns of CO₂ emission provide a comprehensive picture for better understanding of the emission pattern and source of the CO₂ emissions of global construction industries. The research outcomes reveal how the final demand of a country for construction products induces CO₂ emissions in both domestic and foreign systems, thus providing basic information and references for policy adjustment and strategy design in relation to mitigation of climate change and sustainable development.

Drawing on the resource-based view, this study examines the effect of distribution adaptation on export performance. The study also examines the moderating role of responsiveness and commitment. Two distinct factors for commitment (i.e. managerial export commitment and financial export commitment) and two distinct factors for responsiveness (i.e. export customer responsiveness and export competitor responsiveness) are considered as moderators in the relationship between distribution adaptation and export performance.

Using a Spanish governmental database of exporting firms, this study collected data from 208 firms to run the analysis.

The results indicate that distribution adaptation has a positive impact on export performance. Findings also support the moderating roles of the two types of commitment and the two types of responsiveness. Managerial export commitment positively moderates the relationship, whereas financial export commitment plays a negative moderating role. Both export customer responsiveness and export competitor responsiveness have a positive moderating impact.

To consider distribution adaptation as a distinct variable rather than mixing it with other elements of the marketing mix. This distinction facilitates a clearer comprehension of its unique contribution to export performance. Two distinct factors for commitment and two distinct factors for responsiveness are considered. This approach offers a more detailed analysis of how the different aspects of commitment and responsiveness moderate this relationship.

For the purpose of saving nickel, this study aims to develop new duplex stainless steel cored wires suitable for wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) with the addition of nitrogen.

The effect of nitrogen content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the thin-walled deposits is investigated in detail.

The microstructure of thin-walled deposits mainly consists of austenite, ferrite and secondary austenite. With increasing nitrogen content, the austenite in the deposited metals increases. The austenite proportion in the bottom region is more than that in the top region of the deposited metals. The χ phase is randomly distributed at the grain boundaries and within ferrite. The σ phase is mainly precipitated at ferrite and austenite grain boundaries. With increasing nitrogen content, the tensile strength of the deposited metals increases, but the impact toughness of the deposited metals deteriorates.

This study proposes new duplex stainless steel cored wires for WAAM, which realizes the objective of saving nickel.