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The paper is aimed to avoid the situation that historical relics are encroached, isolated and fragmented because of cities in the rapid urban process. Taking the environment around the Qinglong Temple in Xi'an city as an example and based on the characteristics of urban patterns in the history, this paper explores the spatial connection relationship between historical relics and surrounding villages as well as the connection between metro traffic and commercial bodies. At the end of the paper, the improvement strategy is put forward, namely the design concepts of “stepwise style” and “landscape style”, which can be achieved by the demand of ecological restoration and the relationship between urban axis. To be noted, the research shows, by restructuring new connection space, the city can promote the urban memory to be restored, the urban appearance to be reshaped, and the urban patterns in the history to be respected and displayed.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate of the effects of Mn nanoparticle addition on the wettability, microstructure and microhardness of SAC0307-xMn(np) (SAC: Sn–Ag–Cu; x = 0, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.3 Wt.%) composite solders.

The SAC0307-xMn(np) composite solders were prepared by mechanically mixing different weight percentages of Mn nanopowders into the SAC0307 solder paste with rosin flux. In this study, the wettability of the solders was studied using contact angle and spread ratio methods. Afterward, the microstructure of the solders was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry. Moreover, the microhardness of the solders was studied.

The wetting process of SAC0307-xMn(np) composite solders was found to experience four stages. Adding a small amount of Mn nanoparticles (x = 0.05 Wt.%) could improve the wettability compared to Mn-free solder. Beyond this level, the wettability deteriorated. The addition of Mn nanoparticles significantly refined the size and spacing of Ag₃Sn grains in the solder matrix. When 0.1 Wt.% Mn nanoparticles was added, both the average size of the Ag₃Sn grains and the spacing between the Ag₃Sn grains decreased significantly and approached minimum values. Beyond this amount, the size and spacing between Ag₃Sn grains increased slightly but remained smaller than those in the Mn-free solder matrix. The refined Ag₃Sn grains increased the microhardness of the Mn-containing composite solders by 6-25 per cent, in good agreement with the prediction of the classic theory of dispersion strengthening.

The paper demonstrates that Mn nanoparticle addition could improve the SAC0307-xMn(np) solder wettability and reduce the grain size and spacing between Ag₃Sn grains. The enhancement of the solder microhardness shows good correlation with the microstructure.

To understand the service performance of full ceramic ball bearings under extreme working conditions and improve their service life, dynamic characteristic tests of full ceramic ball bearings under ultra-low temperature conditions were carried out by a low-temperature bearing life testing machine, and temperature rise and friction were measured under extreme low-temperature environment.

The heat-flow coupling model of bearing was established by CFD software, and the test results were further analyzed.

The results show that the temperature rise of the bearing is not obvious in the liquid nitrogen environment. With the increase of the chamber temperature, the lubrication state of the bearing changes, resulting in the temperature rise of the outer ring of the bearing. As the temperature of the test chamber increases, the friction force on the bearing increases first and then decreases under the action of multifactor coupling.

The research results provide test data and theoretical basis for the application of all-ceramic ball bearings in aerospace and other fields and have important significance for improving the service life of high-end equipment under extreme working conditions.

The research results provide test data and theoretical basis for the application of full ceramic ball bearings in aerospace and other fields and have important significance for improving the service life of high-end equipment under extreme working conditions.

The research results provide test data and theoretical basis for the application of full ceramic ball bearings in aerospace and other fields and have important significance for improving the service life of high-end equipment under extreme working conditions.

The research results provide test data and theoretical basis for the application of full ceramic ball bearings in aerospace and other fields and have important significance for improving the service life of high-end equipment under extreme working conditions.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of application of a heat pipe in an aspect of hydrostatic thrust bearings on thermal balance and deformation and the role of this application in increasing the rotating speed of a workbench.

Numerical simulations of oil film temperature field, the temperature field and thermal deformation of the bearing’s workbench and base were performed by finite element analysis (FEA) software for both the traditional hydrostatic thrust bearings and the heat pipe ones.

Oil pad and workbench of the hydrostatic thrust bearings are fabricated with a heat pipe cooling structure, which can take away most of the heat generated by shearing of the oil film, control the temperature rise and thermal deformation of the hydrostatic thrust bearing effectively, avoid the dry friction phenomenon and finally improve the processing quality of equipment.

The heat pipe hydrostatic thrust bearings could control the temperature rise and thermal deformation of the hydrostatic thrust bearing effectively, avoid the dry friction phenomenon and improve the processing quality of equipment.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the impact of weather index insurance on agricultural technology adoption in rural China.

A field experiment was conducted with 344 rural households/farmers in Heilongjiang and Jiangsu Provinces, China. DID model was used to evaluate farmers’ technology adoption with and without index insurance.

The results show that weather index insurance has a significant effect on the technology adoption of rural households; there is a regional difference in this effect between Heilongjiang and Jiangsu. Weather index insurance promotes technology adoption of rural households in Heilongjiang, while has limited impact on those in Jiangsu. Weather, planting scale and risk preference are also important factors influencing the technology adoption of rural households.

This research is subject to some limitations. First, the experimental parameters are designed according to the actual situation to simulate reality, but the willingness in the experiment does not mean it will be put into action in reality. Second, due to the diversity of China’s climate, geography and economic environment, rural households are heterogeneous in rural China. Whether the conclusion can be generalized beyond the study area is naturally questionable. A study with more diverse samples is needed to gain a fuller understanding of index insurance’s effects on farmers in China.

This research provides a rigorous empirical analysis on the impact of weather index insurance on farmers’ agricultural technology adoption through a carefully designed field experiment.

Based on the perspective of complexity theory, the operation process of property insurance companies can be regarded as a complex dynamic nonlinear chaotic system. This paper aims to measure the operating efficiency of 29 Chinese domestic property and casualty (P&C) companies and 18 foreign-invested P&C companies from 2011 to 2017 and outline the path to achieving high-quality development.

The data were obtained from the Chinese Insurance Yearbook and China Statistical Yearbook 2012–2018. The data envelopment analysis method was used to calculate the technical efficiency of property insurance companies and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis is used for configuration analysis of determinants affecting technical efficiency.

This paper founds the average technical efficiency of Chinese domestic P&C insurance companies was 0.914 and that of foreign-invested P&C insurance companies was 0.895. The average total factor productivity of Chinese domestic P&C insurance companies was 1.058 and that of foreign-invested P&C insurance companies was 1.051. There were three modes to improve the company’s technical efficiency, with high loss ratio and low reinsurance ratio, poor employee education and higher leverage ratio and high leverage ratio and low reinsurance ratio as the core conditions.

This study puts forward four applicable, targeted and proven ways to improve the technical efficiency of China’s P&C insurance industry. These configurations were verified by the cases of existing property insurance companies, which can provide practical references for the insurance industry.

This paper aims to provide a longitudinal analysis of influences on China’s financial sector’s sustainability reporting practices, examines “green finance” disclosures and undertakes subsector comparisons. The state’s impact on the quantity and quality of reporting practices is analyzed.

Content analysis is used to examine the volumes, frequency and content of sustainability disclosures by China’s financial institutions. Survival analysis is used to identify factors significant in firms’ initiation of these disclosures. In total, 308 firm-year observations on disclosures are examined for 2007–2016.

China’s financial sector’s sustainability reporting pieces of evidence an “emerging stage” (2007–2009), “developing stage” (2010) and “greening stage” (2011–2016). The roles of institutional theory and regulatory pressure in explaining Chinese financial firms’ reporting behaviours are supported.

This study has several limitations. Firstly, given data restrictions, use of a relatively small sample size. Secondly, it examines different categories of disclosures made by financial firms, not more detailed content. Thirdly, is the potential overlap in disclosure themes under the classification scheme.

China’s financial sector’s adoption of sustainability reporting has been institutionalized, mainly in its banking subsector, consistent with general regulatory pressures.

“Greening the finance system” is examined in China’s context, as the country transforms from a resource and pollution-intensive to a green economy.

The financial sector is normally excluded from in-depth qualitative research. This study examines China’s financial sector’s responses to recent governmental pressures on green finance disclosures.

From the perspective of cause and effect, the operational processes of property insurance companies can be considered as historical events. The purpose of this study is to measure the operating efficiency of China's property insurance industry, explore the determinants that affect technical efficiency and outline the path to achieving high-quality development.

We chose 44 Chinese property insurance companies as research objects. The data were obtained from the Chinese Insurance Yearbook and China Statistical Yearbook 2015–2017. First, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method was used to calculate the technical efficiency of property insurance companies. Then, Tobit regression and quantile regression were adopted to explore the influencing factors of technical efficiency. Finally, the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method was employed to summarize the path to improving the operating efficiency of property insurance companies.

The empirical results in the first stage suggested that the operation efficiency of China's property insurance industry was technically inefficient, and the scale efficiency was relatively better than the pure technical efficiency. In the second stage, we observed that the drivers for firm size, reinsurance rate, claim ratio and equity restriction were important determinants of an insurance firm's efficiency.

We also put forward four applicable, targeted and proven ways to improve the technical efficiency of property insurance companies. These configurations are verified by cases of existing property insurance companies, which can provide practical references for the insurance industry.

Our research enriches the insurance literature and efficiency methods, particularly regarding the specific paths of improving the technical efficiency. The relationship between elements and results is analyzed from a systematic perspective, and the research results are not only more consistent with what logic might imply but also more instructive for the improvement of reality.

This study investigates whether corporate executives, who are university alumni, influence each other's firm corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance.

Drawing on social network theory, the authors hypothesise that a firm's CSR performance is positively associated with its peer firms' average CSR performance when the executives of the firm and its peer firms are university alumni. The study employs data from 1,685 listed firms and 4,906 executives who graduated from 585 different universities in China and runs multivariate regressions.

The results reveal a sizeable university peer influence on CSR performance. Such influence is even stronger for executives who graduated from elite universities (e.g. 985 or 211 universities), and universities or programmes that provide more opportunities for alumni reunions or networking (e.g. MBAs/EMBAs). Executives who are more influential in making firm decisions (e.g. CEOs/CFOs), as well as firms that are more likely to mimic the behaviour of others, also show higher degrees of university peer influence.

The results highlight the role of education in ethical decision-making.

This study documents evidence on a new determinant of firm CSR performance. The study sheds light on the impact of non-institutionalised personal ties, for example, university alumni networks, on CSR performance.

In this paper the interconnectedness among financial institutions and the level of systemic risks of four types of Chinese financial institutions are investigated.

By the means of RAS algorithm, the interconnection among financial institutions are illustrated. Different methods, including Linear Granger, Systemic impact index (SII), vulnerability index (VI), CoVaR, and MES are used to measure the systemic risk exposures across different institutions.

The results illustrate that big banks are more interconnected and hold the biggest scales of inter-bank transactions in the financial network. The institutions which have larger size tend to have more connection with others. Insurance and security companies contribute more to the systemic risk where as other institutions, such as trusts, financial companies, etc. may bring about severe loss and endanger the financial system as a whole.

Since other institutions with low levels of regulation may bring about higher extreme loss and suffer the whole system, it deserves more attention by regulators considering the contagion of potential risks in the financial system.

This study builds a valuable contribution by examine the systemic risks from the perspectives of both interconnection and tail risk measures. Furthermore; Four types financial institutions are investigated in this paper.