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Article
Publication date: 2 November 2021

Nan Sun, Beibei Tan, Bolun Sun, Jinjie Zhang, Chao Li and Wenge Yang

Sargassum fusiforme is a popular edible seaweed in coastal cities of China that contains diverse nutrients including iodine. Cooking is an effective way to improve food safety…

171

Abstract

Purpose

Sargassum fusiforme is a popular edible seaweed in coastal cities of China that contains diverse nutrients including iodine. Cooking is an effective way to improve food safety, but it can alter both the contents of elements along with speciation and bioavailability. Three common cooking methods, the soaking, steaming and boiling, were evaluated for their effects on the protein structures, protein digestibility, iodine content and iodine bioavailability of S. fusiforme.

Design/methodology/approach

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to study the structural changes of protein, and an in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell culture system was used to evaluate the digestibility of protein, bioaccessibility and bioavailability of iodine.

Findings

Boiling and steaming altered the protein secondary structure demonstrated by increased a-helix and random coil and decreased β-sheet, which improved the in vitro protein digestibility. Iodine content was reduced by cooking, with the highest loss observed after boiling, followed by soaking and steaming, while it was found that both bioaccessibility and cellular uptake of iodine were significantly elevated by boiling and steaming using an in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell culture system. The presence of ascorbic acid, citric acid or tyrosine was beneficial for the iodine absorption, while oxalic acid and phytic acid hindered the iodine bioavailability.

Originality/value

The present finding suggested that cooking was conducive to the digestion and absorption of iodine in S. fusiforme. In addition, different dietary factors could have a certain impact on the absorption of iodine. Results of the study are essential for improving the application value of S. fusiforme to ensure reasonable consumption of seaweeds.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 124 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

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Article
Publication date: 12 November 2018

Jingshuai Zhang, Yuanxin Ouyang, Weizhu Xie, Wenge Rong and Zhang Xiong

The purpose of this paper is to propose an approach to incorporate contextual information into collaborative filtering (CF) based on the restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM) and…

220

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an approach to incorporate contextual information into collaborative filtering (CF) based on the restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM) and deep belief networks (DBNs). Traditionally, neither the RBM nor its derivative model has been applied to modeling contextual information. In this work, the authors analyze the RBM and explore how to utilize a user’s occupation information to enhance recommendation accuracy.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed approach is based on the RBM. The authors employ user occupation information as a context to design a context-aware RBM and stack the context-aware RBM to construct DBNs for recommendations.

Findings

The experiments on the MovieLens data sets show that the user occupation-aware RBM outperforms other CF models, and combinations of different context-aware models by mutual information can obtain better accuracy. Moreover, the context-aware DBNs model is superior to baseline methods, indicating that deep networks have more qualifications for extracting preference features.

Originality/value

To improve recommendation accuracy through modeling contextual information, the authors propose context-aware CF approaches based on the RBM. Additionally, the authors attempt to introduce hybrid weights based on information entropy to combine context-aware models. Furthermore, the authors stack the RBM to construct a context-aware multilayer network model. The results of the experiments not only convey that the context-aware RBM has potential in terms of contextual information but also demonstrate that the combination method, the hybrid recommendation and the multilayer neural network extension have significant benefits for the recommendation quality.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 44 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

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Article
Publication date: 22 May 2020

Yuanxin Ouyang, Hongbo Zhang, Wenge Rong, Xiang Li and Zhang Xiong

The purpose of this paper is to propose an attention alignment method for opinion mining of massive open online course (MOOC) comments. Opinion mining is essential for MOOC…

228

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an attention alignment method for opinion mining of massive open online course (MOOC) comments. Opinion mining is essential for MOOC applications. In this study, the authors analyze some of bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT’s) attention heads and explore how to use these attention heads to extract opinions from MOOC comments.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach proposed is based on an attention alignment mechanism with the following three stages: first, extracting original opinions from MOOC comments with dependency parsing. Second, constructing frequent sets and using the frequent sets to prune the opinions. Third, pruning the opinions and discovering new opinions with the attention alignment mechanism.

Findings

The experiments on the MOOC comments data sets suggest that the opinion mining approach based on an attention alignment mechanism can obtain a better F1 score. Moreover, the attention alignment mechanism can discover some of the opinions filtered incorrectly by the frequent sets, which means the attention alignment mechanism can overcome the shortcomings of dependency analysis and frequent sets.

Originality/value

To take full advantage of pretrained language models, the authors propose an attention alignment method for opinion mining and combine this method with dependency analysis and frequent sets to improve the effectiveness. Furthermore, the authors conduct extensive experiments on different combinations of methods. The results show that the attention alignment method can effectively overcome the shortcomings of dependency analysis and frequent sets.

Details

Information Discovery and Delivery, vol. 50 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-6247

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Article
Publication date: 20 December 2018

Yiyuan Mai, Wenge Zhang and Lihua Wang

The purpose of this paper is to apply the social cognitive theory and social learning theory to examine the different mechanisms through which entrepreneurs’ moral awareness and…

958

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply the social cognitive theory and social learning theory to examine the different mechanisms through which entrepreneurs’ moral awareness and ethical behavior affect the product innovation of new ventures.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected survey data from 150 founders and 389 founding team members of new ventures in China in 2015. The final sample contained 113 questionnaires from entrepreneurs and 246 questionnaires from their founding team members. Regression analyses were used to test direct effects, and Preacher and Hayes’ (2004) formal mediation test approach with bootstrapping method was used to evaluate the mediation effects.

Findings

The findings indicate that the ethical levels of entrepreneurs can affect the product innovation of a new venture through two paths: entrepreneurs with low levels of moral awareness tend to be more individually creative, which facilitates product innovation, and entrepreneurs with high levels of ethical behavior can make founding teams more creative, which also promotes product innovation.

Practical implications

The findings of this study suggest that entrepreneurs are not negatively affected by their low moral awareness as long as they exhibit high ethical behavior with founding team members. But such low moral awareness has to be genuine. The best way to promote product innovation in the long run is to create an organizational culture of ethical behavior rather than to ignore moral issues in decision-making.

Originality/value

This study challenges the assumption that moral awareness and ethical behavior are always consistent. It takes an initial step to resolve the contradiction in the current literature regarding the relationship between the ethical levels of entrepreneurs and product innovation in the context of founders and founding teams in new ventures.

Details

Chinese Management Studies, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-614X

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Article
Publication date: 5 September 2016

Hong Yang, He Wang and Dingyue Cao

Tabbing and stringing are the critical process for crystalline silicon solar module production. Because of the mismatch of the thermal expansion coefficients between silicon and…

307

Abstract

Purpose

Tabbing and stringing are the critical process for crystalline silicon solar module production. Because of the mismatch of the thermal expansion coefficients between silicon and metal, phenomenon of cell bowing, microcracks formation or cell breakage emerge during the soldering process. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of soldering on crystalline silicon solar cells and module, and reveal soldering law so as to decrease the breakage rates and improve reliability for crystalline silicon solar module.

Design/methodology/approach

A microscopic model of the soldering process is developed by the study of the crystalline silicon solar cell soldering process in this work. And the defects caused by soldering were analyzed systematically.

Findings

The defects caused by soldering are analyzed systematically. The optimal soldering conditions are derived for the crystalline silicon solar module.

Originality/value

The quality criterion of soldering for crystalline silicon solar module is built for the first time. The optimal soldering conditions are derived for the crystalline silicon solar module. This study provides insights into solder interconnection reliability in the photovoltaic (PV) industry.

Details

Soldering & Surface Mount Technology, vol. 28 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0954-0911

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Article
Publication date: 23 November 2018

Wenge Zhang, Jun Li and Yiyuan Mai

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between industry association membership and firm innovation in Chinese private ventures. A secondary objective is to…

716

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between industry association membership and firm innovation in Chinese private ventures. A secondary objective is to investigate potential moderating effects of firm learning practices and founder characteristics on the above relationship, and to draw out implications for policymakers and practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper utilizes data from a sample of 567 Chinese entrepreneurial firms operating in 9 designated emerging industries. Hierarchical regression models were employed to analyze the effect of industry association membership on firm innovation, and the potential moderating effects. A 2SLS procedure was adopted to control for potential endogeneity issue. Supplemental analyses were conducted to ensure the robustness of the findings.

Findings

The paper provides empirical insights about how industry association membership, along with firm learning practice and founder leadership, affect firm innovation in Chinese private ventures in emerging industries. It suggests that industry association membership positively affects firm innovation. Further, there is a three-way interaction effect of industry association membership, learning practice and founder power on innovation.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the design of the data set, there are some limitations. First, the study only considered whether a firm belongs to an industry association, but not the nature of such membership (length, firm status in the association, etc.). Second, the cross-sectional design may limit the power of the study to make casual implications about the tested relationships.

Practical implications

The paper provides important practical implications for policymakers and entrepreneurs in China. In general, the results suggest that private ventures pursuing innovation in emerging industries can benefit from industry associations, and entrepreneurs shall actively engage in firm-level and personal-level learning. For policymakers, the study suggests that to foster innovation in an emerging industry, special attention shall be paid to building necessary institutional support to develop and to strengthen the role of industry association in the industry.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills an important gap in the literature in that it is one of the first, which investigates the role of the industry association in firm innovation, especially in a non-western context. This paper provides new insights into the role of industry association and firm innovation in an under-researched developing economy context.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 57 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

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Book part
Publication date: 14 October 2011

Chung-Yi Cheng and Kenneth C.C. Yang

The rise of the Internet has facilitated net activism among many virtual gay communities in Taiwan. The communication role that the Internet plays is in particular vital, because…

Abstract

The rise of the Internet has facilitated net activism among many virtual gay communities in Taiwan. The communication role that the Internet plays is in particular vital, because homosexuality is still considered a taboo in Taiwan's society. Cyberspace created by the Internet forms a unique “space” where local homosexuals can share their experience of being gays with each other. The purposes of this chapter are intended to examine how the Internet facilitated the formation, promotion, and success of gay rights movements among homosexual communities in Taiwan. This chapter uses the Chang-Der Street Police Harassment Incident as a case study to elaborate the Internet's communication role in mobilizing local gay populations to pursue their gay rights. It also investigates the Internet's strategic role as a communication medium in gay rights movements. The case analysis and in-depth interviews help identify several key functions that the Internet can play: to exchange and share information, to organize and coordinate gay rights movements, to record and store historical information, and to lead social and value changes in the future. This chapter explores the potential of the Internet in online community mobilization, an early look at virtual community and net activism.

Details

Human Rights and Media
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76230-052-5

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Article
Publication date: 18 April 2023

Anthony Jnr. Bokolo

Because of the use of digital technologies in smart cities, municipalities are increasingly facing issues related to urban data management and are seeking ways to exploit these…

614

Abstract

Purpose

Because of the use of digital technologies in smart cities, municipalities are increasingly facing issues related to urban data management and are seeking ways to exploit these huge amounts of data for the actualization of data driven services. However, only few studies discuss challenges related to data driven strategies in smart cities. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to present data driven approaches (architecture and model), for urban data management needed to improve smart city planning and design. The developed approaches depict how data can underpin sustainable urban development.

Design/methodology/approach

Design science research is adopted following a qualitative method to evaluate the architecture developed based on top-level design using a case data from workshops and interviews with experts involved in a smart city project.

Findings

The findings of this study from the evaluations indicate that the identified enablers are useful to support data driven services in smart cities and the developed architecture can be used to promote urban data management. More importantly, findings from this study provide guidelines to municipalities to improve data driven services for smart city planning and design.

Research limitations/implications

Feedback as qualitative data from practitioners provided evidence on how data driven strategies can be achieved in smart cities. However, the model is not validated. Hence, quantitative data is needed to further validate the enablers that influence data driven services in smart city planning and design.

Practical implications

Findings from this study offer practical insights and real-life evidence to define data driven enablers in smart cities and suggest research propositions for future studies. Additionally, this study develops a real conceptualization of data driven method for municipalities to foster open data and digital service innovation for smart city development.

Social implications

The main findings of this study suggest that data governance, interoperability, data security and risk assessment influence data driven services in smart cities. This study derives propositions based on the developed model that identifies enablers for actualization of data driven services for smart cities planning and design.

Originality/value

This study explores the enablers of data driven strategies in smart city and further developed an architecture and model that can be adopted by municipalities to structure their urban data initiatives for improving data driven services to make cities smarter. The developed model supports municipalities to manage data used from different sources to support the design of data driven services provided by different enterprises that collaborate in urban environment.

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Article
Publication date: 3 April 2018

Feng Deng

Many studies on witch killings in Africa suggest that “witchcraft is the dark side of kinship.” But in Chinese history, where patriarchal clan system has been emphasized as the…

261

Abstract

Purpose

Many studies on witch killings in Africa suggest that “witchcraft is the dark side of kinship.” But in Chinese history, where patriarchal clan system has been emphasized as the foundation of the society, there have been few occurrences of witch-hunting except a large-scale one in the Cultural Revolution in 1966. The purpose of this paper is to explain the above two paradoxes.

Design/methodology/approach

Theoretical analysis based on preference falsification problem with regard to the effect of social structure on witch-hunting is carried out.

Findings

There is a “bright side of kinship” due to two factors: first, it would be more difficult to pick out a person as qualitatively different in Chinese culture; second, the hierarchical trust structure embedded in the Chinese culture can help mitigate the preference falsification problem, which acts as the leverage for witch-hunting. In this sense, an important factor for the Cultural Revolution is the decline of traditional social institutions and social values after 1949.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to advance the two paradoxes and offer an explanation from the perspective of social structure.

Details

International Journal of Development Issues, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1446-8956

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Article
Publication date: 23 September 2019

Felipe Mellado, Eric C.W. Lou and Christian L. Correa Becerra

There is a long-standing interest in performance improvement within the construction industry. Approaches based upon cost, time and quality (often called the Iron Triangle), have…

1442

Abstract

Purpose

There is a long-standing interest in performance improvement within the construction industry. Approaches based upon cost, time and quality (often called the Iron Triangle), have been the focus of attention despite criticism of the validity of the Iron Triangle as a performance measure due to its simplistic approach. Furthermore, little emphasis has been placed on synthesising performance to understand whether this concept has evolved from the traditional view. An analysis of prominent literature was reviewed by classifying performance indicators which establish criteria for measuring performance in the construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature (1998–2018) on performance at a project level to determine a final rank of key performance indicators (KPIs) which will establish how projects are currently being measured.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a combined qualitative and quantitative approach – a comprehensive literature review on overall performance at a project level and the statistical Kendall’s W test to find concordance among the authors on performance in the construction industry to determine a final rank of KPIs.

Findings

The results demonstrate there is no congruent correlation on what performance is and the traditional iron triangle of “cost-time-quality” is still the preferred method of analysing performance, despite it being proven to be ineffective.

Originality/value

Performance in the construction industry is an ambiguous concept that can be interpreted differently by the construction industry’s stakeholders. Despite this lack of concordance, a starting point on the definition of performance can be obtained from the literature. The paper presents a final rank of KPIs.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 27 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

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