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The purpose of this paper is to conduct the synthesization of LiFePO₄-C (LFP-C) with fine particle size and enhanced electrochemical performance as the positive electrode material for Li-ion capacitors (LICs) with neutral aqueous electrolyte.

LFP-C was prepared by using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a grain growth inhibitor, and the effects of the calcination temperature and PEG content on the structure and morphology of LFP-C were investigated. LICs using environment-friendly, safe and low-cost LiNO₃ aqueous electrolyte were assembled with LFP-C as the positive electrode and active carbon as the negative electrode. The electrochemical performances of LFP-C and LICs were studied.

The results show that the particle size of LFP-C decreases significantly through the introduction of PEG. Cyclic voltammetry results show that the LFP-C prepared at 550°C with 1.0 g PEG exhibits the highest C_pe of 725 F/g at the scanning rate of 5 mA/s. Compared to LFP prepared without PEG, the electrochemical performance of optimized LFP-C dramatically increases due to the decrease of the particle size. Moreover, the LIC assembled with the optimized LFP-C exhibits excellent electrochemical performances. The LIC maintains about 91.3 per cent of its initial C_ps after 200 cycles which shows a good cycling performance.

The LFP-C is the suitable positive electrode material for LICs with neutral aqueous electrolyte. LICs can be used in the field of automobiles and can solve the problems of energy shortage and environmental pollution.

Both the LFP-C with fine particle size and its optimal LIC using environment-friendly, safe and low-cost LiNO₃ aqueous electrolyte own good electrochemical performances.

The purpose of this paper is to research the effect of uncertain rewards on the recommendation intention in referral reward programs (RRPs) and investigate the interaction of tie strength and reward type on the recommendation intention.

The research adopts a quantitative exploratory approach through the use of experiments. Study 1 adopted a 2×2 between-participants design ((reward type: certain reward vs uncertain reward)×(tie strength: strong tie vs weak tie)). Respectively, by manipulating uncertain probabilities and expected value, Studies 2 and 3 further explore the effect of uncertain rewards and tie strength on customers’ referral intention.

This paper finds the following: compared to certain rewards, customers’ referral intention under uncertain rewards is higher and positive experience has a mediating effect between reward type and recommendation intention; when only the recommender is rewarded, the tie strength between the recommender and the receiver moderates the effect of reward type on the recommendation intention; for strong ties, customers’ recommendation intention is higher in uncertain reward condition, but for weak ties, customers’ willingness to recommend is almost the same in both reward types; when both the recommender and the receiver are rewarded, although certain rewards have a higher expected value than uncertain and random rewards, for strong ties, the participants have a higher referral intention under random rewards than that under uncertain rewards, which have a higher referral willingness than that under certain rewards. Additionally, for weak ties, the reverse is true.

The research has both theoretical implications for research on uncertain rewards and tie strength and practical implications for marketing managers designing and implementing RRPs.

Sociology of sport in China has evolved from being an “exotic” subject to a localized subject over the past 35 years. It is closely associated with social changes, sports policy and athletic achievement of China. As a discipline of humanitarian and social sciences of sport, it is taught in virtually all universities with sports majors. There are about 500 scholars specializing in sport sociology in the country. Textbooks written by Chinese and foreign scholars are published. Academic papers on sport sociology are often published in the 15 accredited core sports journals. The most productive authors are from universities and the developed provinces and municipalities. The established research areas of sport sociology are extensive. These include national identity, athlete mobility, Olympic legacy, sport for all, sports industry issues, feminist studies, community sport, sport for the aged and disabled, etc. However, there are few studies with critical analysis and only a few in the areas of sport and religion, sport and race, and deviance in sport in China. Various kinds of financial support at different levels are available in the country. Empirical research is common with literature review, questionnaire, case study, and interview being the most frequently used methods. However, sport sociology is not considered as a major topic but as a research direction and it is not accepted widely by mainstream sociology. The future of sport sociology is promising, but not without challenges.

As an advanced manufacturing method, additive manufacturing (AM) technology provides new possibilities for efficient production and design of parts. However, with the continuous expansion of the application of AM materials, subtractive processing has become one of the necessary steps to improve the accuracy and performance of parts. In this paper, the processing process of AM materials is discussed in depth, and the surface integrity problem caused by it is discussed.

Firstly, we listed and analyzed the characterization parameters of metal surface integrity and its influence on the performance of parts and then introduced the application of integrated processing of metal adding and subtracting materials and the influence of different processing forms on the surface integrity of parts. The surface of the trial-cut material is detected and analyzed, and the surface of the integrated processing of adding and subtracting materials is compared with that of the pure processing of reducing materials, so that the corresponding conclusions are obtained.

In this process, we also found some surface integrity problems, such as knife marks, residual stress and thermal effects. These problems may have a potential negative impact on the performance of the final parts. In processing, we can try to use other integrated processing technologies of adding and subtracting materials, try to combine various integrated processing technologies of adding and subtracting materials, or consider exploring more efficient AM technology to improve processing efficiency. We can also consider adopting production process optimization measures to reduce the processing cost of adding and subtracting materials.

With the gradual improvement of the requirements for the surface quality of parts in the production process and the in-depth implementation of sustainable manufacturing, the demand for integrated processing of metal addition and subtraction materials is likely to continue to grow in the future. By deeply understanding and studying the problems of material reduction and surface integrity of AM materials, we can better meet the challenges in the manufacturing process and improve the quality and performance of parts. This research is very important for promoting the development of manufacturing technology and achieving success in practical application.

Considers TQM from a cultural perspective using the influence of Confucian work dynamism and Chinese cultural beliefs on Hong Kong companies. Asks if these cultural beliefs conflict with modern quality management philosophy and presents the findings of research covering Chinese literature, experts in Chinese philosophy and Hong Kong TQM experts. Outlines research methods and concludes that there are relevant principles which can be used when implementing TQM.

With the increasing urbanization rates in emerging countries such as the ones in Latin America and the Caribbean, urban logistics solutions and initiatives are widely needed. Urban planners often consider only passenger transportation and leave freight transportation unattended, thus increasing externalities and degrading the transportation of goods. This chapter presents three urban logistics solutions, which intend to tackle problems related to urbanization and last mile delivery operations challenges by evaluating location models for loading and unloading bays, urban transfer centers location models, and freight trip generation models. The presented solutions were proposed by several researchers of the Institute of Innovation in Productivity and Logistics CATENA-USFQ over the last four years and remain theoretical at the moment. However, we present estimated results of potential implementations in three districts of Quito: Historic Center, Entertainment District, and Corporate District. This chapter not only presents the mentioned urban logistics solutions in Quito but also gives an overview of the followed methodology, which can be replicated in countries and cities of similar characteristics of the region.

The purpose of this paper is to model a block-based inspection policy for a multi-component system with stochastic dependence. Some components may develop a hidden failure, an occurrence of which neither stops the system nor accelerates the other components’ deterioration. On the other hand, other components may experience three states: healthy, defective and revealed failures. Any revealed failure of each component not only stops the system but also generates a shock to all the other ones, which increases their occurrence rate of hidden, defect and revealed failures.

A block-based inspection policy is considered to take advantage of economic dependence as follows. In addition to the periodic inspections, the system is also inspected at revealed failures’ moments of each component to detect and fix both defects and hidden failures on all the other components. To calculate the expected total cost, the recursive equations for the required expected values is first mathematically derived. Then, due to computational complexity, an efficient Monte Carlo simulation algorithm is designed to calculate the expected values.

The proposed approach is illustrated through a numerical example, and the optimal periodic inspection interval over a finite time horizon is obtained via minimization of the expected total cost. Finally, the correctness of the results is validated by conducting sensitivity analysis.

Planning an appropriate inspection policy over a finite time horizon becomes more complicated when considering a multi-component system because different units may experience different failure modes with stochastic dependence.

Sustainable development is inseparable from rational and responsible use of resources and promotion of green entrepreneurship. The contemporary green development agenda encompasses climate, economic, technical, social, cultural, and political dimensions. International efforts to greening the global development are conducted by the major economies, including China as the world’s largest consumer of energy and the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. China is aware of its environmental problems, as well as of its part of the overall responsibility for the accomplishment of the sustainable development goals. By means of the decarbonization efforts, the latter are integrated both into the national development agenda (the concept of ecological civilization) and China’s international initiatives (the greening narrative within the Belt and Road Initiative). Over the past decade, China has made a breakthrough on the way to promoting green entrepreneurship and greening of its development (better quality of air and water, renewable energy, electric vehicles, and organic farming). On the other hand, emissions remain high, agricultural land loses productivity, and freshwater resources degrade due to climate change. In conventional industries (oil, coal mining, and electric and thermal energy), decarbonization faces an array of impediments. In this chapter, the authors summarize fundamental provisions of China’s approach to building an ecological civilization and measures to reduce emissions and achieve the carbon neutrality status within the nearest decades. The analysis of obstacles to the decarbonization of the economy and possible prospects for the development of green entrepreneurship summarizes China’s practices for possible use in other countries.

This paper aims to investigate how organization capital influences different forms of corporate risk. It also explores how the relationship between organization capital and risks varies in the cross-section of firms.

To test the hypothesis, this study employs the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model using a large sample of the United States (US) data over the 1981–2019 period. It also uses an instrumental variable approach and an errors-in-variables panel regression approach to mitigate endogeneity problems.

The empirical results show that organization capital is positively related to both idiosyncratic risk and total risk but negatively related to systematic risk. The cross-sectional analysis shows that the positive relationship between organization capital and idiosyncratic risk is significantly more pronounced for the subsample of firms with high information asymmetry and human capital. Moreover, the negative relationship between organization capital and systematic risk is significantly more pronounced for firms with greater efficiency and firms facing higher industry- and economy-wide risks.

The findings have important implications for investors and policymakers. For example, since organization capital increases idiosyncratic risk and total risk but reduces systematic risk, investors should take organization capital into account in portfolio formation and risk management. Moreover, the findings lend support to the argument on the recognition of intangible assets in financial statements. In particular, the study suggests that standard-setting bodies should consider corporate reporting frameworks to incorporate the disclosure of intangible assets into financial statements, particularly given the recent surge of corporate intangible assets and their critical impact on corporate risks.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to adopt a large sample to provide systematic evidence on the relationship between organization capital and a wide range of risks at the firm level. The authors show that the effect of organization capital on firm risks differs remarkably depending on the kind of firm risk a particular risk measure captures. This study thus makes an original contribution to resolving competing views on the effect of organization capital on firm risks.

The contemporary human resource management (HRM) sector is faced with continual leadership development challenges. Unethical behavior in leaders is not the norm, but it is also not the exception. Human resource training and development focus significantly on better leadership but have largely failed to create more effective leaders. The result? Employee and follower wellbeing have not seen their best days. In this chapter, authentic relationships comprising authentic leaders and authentic followers are posited as a solution. The call is for more rigor in the theory underpinning leadership development programs, assurance of such programs, and embedding ethics into the core of what leadership developers do.