Xiaoliang Liu, Xiaoming Huang, Jian Zhang and Weitao Sun
The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence mechanism of different interface component surface textures on the ultrasonic motor (USM) output performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence mechanism of different interface component surface textures on the ultrasonic motor (USM) output performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The energy transmission mechanism of the traveling-wave ultrasonic motor 60 (TRUM-60) was numerically and experimentally investigated by fabricating dimple textures with different feature types on the friction material and the stator.
Findings
Textured friction material can increase the contact range effectively, and thus, can improve the friction characteristics of the interface and the output performance of the TRUM-60. The experimental results verified the expected influence mechanism and demonstrated that the use of either a textured friction material or stator has a very different effect on USM output performance. A textured PI-based friction material improved the TRUM-60 output performance, resulting in a maximum energy conversion efficiency of 57.11%. However, a textured stator degraded the TRUM-60 output performance, resulting in a minimum energy conversion efficiency of only 44.92%.
Originality/value
The results of this study provide a theoretical foundation for improved USM designs with textured interfaces.
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Ruibin Geng, Xi Chen and Shichao Wang
Endorsement marketing has been widely used to generate consumer attention, interest and purchase decisions among targeted audiences. Internet celebrities who become famous on the…
Abstract
Purpose
Endorsement marketing has been widely used to generate consumer attention, interest and purchase decisions among targeted audiences. Internet celebrities who become famous on the Internet are dependent on strategic intimacy to appeal to their followers. Our study aims to examine how multiple exposures to Internet celebrity endorsements influence consumers’ click and purchase decisions in the context of influencer marketing.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a unique and representative dataset, the authors first model consumers’ choices for clicks and purchases with two panel fixed-effect logit models linking clicks and purchases with the frequency of exposure to Internet celebrity endorsement. To further control the endogeneity produced by the intercorrelation between the click and purchase models, the authors also adopt the two-stage Heckman probit structure to jointly estimate the two models using Maximum Likelihood Estimation. Robustness checks confirm the effectiveness of the models.
Findings
The results suggest that Internet celebrity endorsement plays a significant role in bringing referral traffic to e-commerce sites but is less helpful in affecting conversion to sales. The impact of repetitive Internet celebrity endorsements on consumers’ click decisions is U-shaped, but the role of Internet celebrities as online retailers will “shape-flip” this relationship to a negative linear relation.
Originality/value
Our study is the first to investigate the repetitive exposure effect of Internet celebrity endorsement. The results show a contradictory pattern with a wear-out effect of repetition in the advertising literature. This is the first study to show how the endorsing self, which is a common business model in influencer marketing, moderates the effectiveness of influencer marketing.
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Canjun Yang, Weitao Wu, Xin Wu, Jifei Zhou, Zhangpeng Tu, Mingwei Lin and Sheng Zhang
Variable stiffness structure can significantly improve the interactive capabilities of grippers. Shape memory alloys have become a popular option for materials with variable…
Abstract
Purpose
Variable stiffness structure can significantly improve the interactive capabilities of grippers. Shape memory alloys have become a popular option for materials with variable stiffness structures. However, its variable stiffness range is limited by its stiffness in two phases. The purpose of this paper is to enhance the manipulation capabilities of tendon-driven flexible grippers by designing a wide-range variable stiffness structure.
Design/methodology/approach
Constitutive models of shape memory alloy and mechanical models are used to analyze the performance of the variable stiffness structure. A separated solution was used to combine the tendon-driven gripper and the variable stiffness structure. The feed-forward control algorithm is used to enhance the control stability of the variable stiffness structure.
Findings
The stiffness variable capability of the proposed variable stiffness structure is verified by experiments. The stability of the feedback control algorithm was verified by sinusoidal tracking experiments. The variable stiffness range of 8.41 times of the flexible gripper was tested experimentally. The interaction capability of the variable stiffness flexible gripper is verified by the object grasping experiments.
Originality/value
A new wide-range variable stiffness structure is proposed and validated. The new variable stiffness structure has a larger range of stiffness variation and better control stability. The new flexible structure can be applied to conventional grippers to help them gain stiffness variable capability and improve their interaction ability.
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Ann Veeck, Hongyan Yu, Hongli Zhang, Hong Zhu and Fang (Grace) Yu
The purpose of this study is to explore the association between eating patterns, social identity and the well-being of adolescents via a mixed methods study of Chinese teenagers…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the association between eating patterns, social identity and the well-being of adolescents via a mixed methods study of Chinese teenagers. The specific research questions presented in this study are as follows: What is the relationship between social eating and well-being? How is the relationship between social eating and well-being mediated by social identity?
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a sequential mixed methods study, including interviews with 16 teenage–parent dyads, and a large-scale survey of over 1,000 teenagers on their eating patterns, conducted with the support of public schools. A model that tests relationships among social eating, social identity and subjective well-being is developed and tested.
Findings
The results show that dining with family members leads to improved subjective well-being for teenagers, through a partial mediator of stronger family identity. However, dining with peers is not found to influence subjective well-being.
Research limitations/implications
The privileged position of family meals demonstrated through this study may be an artifact of the location of this study in one Chinese city. Further research is needed related to the connections among social identity, objective well-being and the social patterns of teenagers’ food consumption behavior.
Practical implications
To improve the subjective well-being of teenagers, families, public policy-makers and food marketers should support food consumption patterns that promote family meals.
Originality/value
While many food-related consumer studies focus on the individual, social and environmental influences of food choices of adolescents, few studies address how eating patterns affect overall well-being. These results reinforce the importance of understanding the effect of the social context of teenagers’ eating patterns on health and well-being.
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Yassine Jadil, Anand Jeyaraj, Yogesh K. Dwivedi, Nripendra P. Rana and Prianka Sarker
In recent years, the proliferation of social commerce (s-commerce) has attracted many researchers to investigate the drivers of individuals' intentions. However, the empirical…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, the proliferation of social commerce (s-commerce) has attracted many researchers to investigate the drivers of individuals' intentions. However, the empirical results reported in these studies were fragmented and inconsistent. This has led various meta-analyses to synthesize these findings, but without including a large number of s-commerce studies. In addition, investigating meta-analytically the effects of moderators such as the six dimensions of Hofstede's national culture is still lacking.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on nine theories and models, this meta-analysis aims to summarize the findings reported in 109 s-commerce studies published between 2011 and 2021 and to examine the moderating role of national culture. The correlation coefficient (r) has been used as the main effect size for this study. Based on the random-effects method, the CMA V3 software has been employed to calculate the weighted mean effect sizes.
Findings
The meta-analysis results showed that all the 11 hypothesized direct relationships are positive and significant. The moderator results also revealed that five out of six cultural dimensions significantly moderate the examined associations.
Originality/value
This research serves to enrich the existing s-commerce literature by addressing contradictory and mixed results reported in the empirical studies. This study is one of the first of its kind to investigate the role of Hofstede's six cultural dimensions as moderators in the field of s-commerce using the meta-analytic techniques.
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A mathematical model and numerical method for water flow and solute transport in a tidal river network is presented. The tidal river network is defined as a system of open…
Abstract
A mathematical model and numerical method for water flow and solute transport in a tidal river network is presented. The tidal river network is defined as a system of open channels or rivers with junctions and cross sections. As an example, the Pearl River in China is represented by a network of 104 channels, 62 nodes, and a total of 330 cross sections with 11 boundary sections for one of the applications. The simulations are performed with a supercomputer for seven scenarios of water flow and/or solute transport in the Pearl River, China, with different hydrological and weather conditions. Comparisons with available data are shown. The intention of this study is to summarize previous works and to provide a useful tool for water environmental management in a tidal river network, particularly for the Pearl River, China.