Yukun Wei, Leyang Dai, YanFei Fang, Chen Xing Sheng and Xiang Rao
The purpose of this paper is to enhance the characteristics of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). Because these NPs stick together easily and are difficult to distribute evenly, they…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to enhance the characteristics of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). Because these NPs stick together easily and are difficult to distribute evenly, they cannot be used extensively in lubricating oils. Altering TiO2 was recommended as an alternate way for making NPs simpler to disperse.
Design/methodology/approach
Through dielectric barrier discharge plasma (DBDP)-assisted ball mill diagnostics and modeling of molecular dynamics, TiO2@PEG-400 NPs were produced using the DBDP-assisted ball mill. The NPs’ microstructure was examined using FESEM, TEM, XRD, FT-IR and TG-DSC. Using the CFT-1 reciprocating friction tester, the tribological properties of TiO2@PEG-400 NPs as base oil additives were studied. EDS and XPS were used to examine the surface wear of the friction pair.
Findings
Tribological properties of the modified NPs are vastly superior to those of the original NPs, and the lipophilicity value of TiO2 NPs was improved by 200%. It was determined through tribological testing that TiO2@PEG-400’s exceptional performance might be attributable to a chemical reaction film made up of TiO2, Fe2O3, iron oxide and other organic chemicals.
Originality/value
This work describes an approach for preventing the aggregation of TiO2 NPs by coating their surface with PEG-400. In addition, the prepared NPs can enhance the tribological performance of lubricating oil. This low-cost, high-performance lubricant additive has tremendous promise for usage in marine engines to minimize operating costs while preserving navigational safety.
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Jiazhi Miao, Yongqing Li, Xiang Rao, Libao Zhu, Zhiwei Guo and Chengqing Yuan
The emission from marine engines has a crucial effect on energy economy and environment pollution. One of the effective emission reduction schemes is to minimize the friction loss…
Abstract
Purpose
The emission from marine engines has a crucial effect on energy economy and environment pollution. One of the effective emission reduction schemes is to minimize the friction loss of main friction pairs such as cylinder liner-piston ring (CLPR). Micro-groove textures were designed to accomplish this aim.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors experimentally investigated the effects of micro-groove textures at different cylinder liner positions. The micro-groove texture was fabricated on samples by chemical etching and cut from the real CLPR pair. Sliding contact tests were conducted by a reciprocation test apparatus.
Findings
The average friction coefficient of grooves at 30° inclination were reduced up to 58.22% and produced better tribological behavior at most conditions. The operating condition was the critical factor that determined the optimum texture pattern. The surface morphology indicated that textures could produce smoother surfaces and less scratches as compared with the untextured surface.
Originality/value
Inclined grooves and V-grooves were designed and applied to real CLPR pairs. The knowledge obtained in this study will lead to practical basis for tribological design and manufacturing of CLPR pair in marine diesel engines.
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Xingmao Shao, Lun Xie, Weiqiang Li and Chenjun Liu
This study aims to propose a virtual fixture (VF) – assisted robot teleoperation framework that modulates the generated trajectory from demonstrations to response varying…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to propose a virtual fixture (VF) – assisted robot teleoperation framework that modulates the generated trajectory from demonstrations to response varying obstacles in complex environment.
Design/methodology/approach
First, a single trajectory is learned from demonstration using dynamic movement primitives (DMP). Then, the classic DMP is improved by integrating adaptive terms and updating the radial basis function kernel weights, allowing the single-skill trajectory to alter to respond to obstacles dynamically. Finally, composite virtual forces are generated on the haptic device to enhance operational stability and prevents unintentional operations that could bring the robot into close proximity with obstacles.
Findings
The VF method can accomplish online obstacle avoidance and operation guidance. The experimental results show that the operation trajectory based on VFs is smoother compared to the operation without assistance. Moreover, the operational speed has increased by up to 44.37% compared to the demonstrations.
Originality/value
The proposed composite VF-based protection framework solves the problem that classical DMP method cannot dynamically avoid obstacles, and effectively improves the operational safety and efficiency.
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Sanjay Mishra, Surendra N. Singh, Xiang Fang and Bingqing Yin
Co-branding is popular with partnerships between well-known and new brands. In a laboratory study, this paper aims to examine the effects of a single ally and multiple allies on…
Abstract
Purpose
Co-branding is popular with partnerships between well-known and new brands. In a laboratory study, this paper aims to examine the effects of a single ally and multiple allies on quality perception of a brand. The results suggest that the quality perception of the new brand depends on the co-branding strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
For dual-brand alliances, a single-factor design was used, with secondary brand quality level (high, medium and low) as the independent variable. Three advertisements were created by manipulating quality levels of the single partner. For multiple-brand alliances, a 2 × 3 between-subjects factorial design was used in the experiment. The two factors were diversification (homogeneous vs heterogeneous) and quality levels of the alliance (high-end, mixed and low-end).
Findings
The results suggest that the number of brand partners significantly affected the perceived quality of the primary brand. For both dual- and multi-brand alliances, the quality level of the secondary brand positively influenced the perceived quality of the primary brand. For multiple-brand alliances, even though the highest quality perceptions of the primary brand are in the heterogeneous conditions, the heterogeneity of partners (partners across different product categories) did not affect the quality perception of the primary brand.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation of the current study is that it only addresses one type of brand alliance: co-promotion. The generalization of these findings to other forms of brand alliances (e.g. ingredient branding: Intel with IBM, Dell and HP) merits further investigation. Also, in this study, respondents processed the information in a relatively low-involvement condition (note that the target ad was presented along with filler ads). They were more likely to use brand names as heuristic cues to form their judgments. Because an alliance partner also assumes risks, future research should consider the effect of the alliances on the secondary brand.
Practical implications
Understanding brand alliances (especially multiple-brand alliances) is critical for new product managers and marketers. Introducing a new brand has higher risk and failure rates. Companies may lower these risks by co-branding with established brands. However, they should carefully consider the diversification and quality level of the partners. If brand managers position their product as “high quality (luxury)” or “low quality (budget)”, they should choose high- (or low-) quality partners from different product categories (heterogeneous high-end or low-end alliances) because diversification strengthens the primary brand. For a single-partner alliance, the secondary brand should be of high quality.
Originality/value
This paper extends the brand alliance literature beyond single-partner to multiple-partner alliances. With multiple partners, one can explore several critical aspects of an alliance, e.g. quality variance and product class diversity across the partners.
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Bashar S. Gammoh, Kevin E. Voss and Xiang Fang
The paper attempts to examine the effect of multiple brand alliances using a portfolio diversification approach.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper attempts to examine the effect of multiple brand alliances using a portfolio diversification approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reports the findings of a four‐level, single factor design study in which 149 randomly assigned participants were exposed to a product concept description for a new product in conjunction with: no ally (control), one ally, three homogeneous allies, and three heterogeneous allies.
Findings
Results support previous findings in the literature with regard to the effect of a single brand alliance. However, no support was found for the proposition that consumer evaluations of an unknown focal brand, when three well‐known heterogeneous allies are present, will be higher than when either one well‐known ally is present or three well‐known homogeneous allies are present.
Research limitations/implications
Consistent with previous published research and despite diversifying the brand allies; it is impossible to conclude that multiple brand allies provide increased evaluations, relative to a single ally, for a previously unknown brand. More research is necessary regarding when and why multiple allies might be beneficial.
Originality/value
As the use of multiple brand alliances proliferates in the marketplace, it is important to understand the effect of such strategies on consumers' evaluations. The paper contributes to this growing body of research by investigating the effect of multiple brand alliances using a portfolio diversification approach.
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Xiang Fang, Bashar S. Gammoh and Kevin E. Voss
While previous research has shown a positive influence of a brand ally or a warranty, published research has not explored the effects of using multiple types of quality signals…
Abstract
Purpose
While previous research has shown a positive influence of a brand ally or a warranty, published research has not explored the effects of using multiple types of quality signals. The purpose of this paper is to explore the joint effect of a default‐independent signal (i.e. a brand ally) combined with a default‐contingent signal (i.e. a warranty) on the focal brand's evaluations.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports the findings of a 2 (ally: none vs one) × 2 (warranty: no vs yes) between‐subjects factorial design in which 174 subjects were randomly assigned to experimental conditions.
Findings
The study's findings indicate that, individually, both brand alliance and warranty were a significant signal of product quality. However, the use of multiple types of signals, as opposed to one signal, did not add incrementally to consumer's perceived quality evaluations of a focal brand. In addition, risk reduction mediated the effects of brand ally and/or warranty on the focal brand's evaluations.
Originality/value
Recently, researchers have started to explore the influence of multiple brand alliance signals on consumer evaluations of brand. However, only the same type of signal has been examined. Signaling theory suggests that other marketing mix elements are marketplace signals of quality. This study contributes to the literature by investigating the role of multiple types of quality signals in brand building.
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Ling Huang, Xiang Li, Peng-Cheng Gong and Zhiming He He
Frequency diverse array (FDA) radar with uniform frequency offset between antenna elements has been proposed and investigated, which exhibits a range-angle-dependent beampattern…
Abstract
Purpose
Frequency diverse array (FDA) radar with uniform frequency offset between antenna elements has been proposed and investigated, which exhibits a range-angle-dependent beampattern. Nevertheless, because of the coupling in range and angle responses, it cannot estimate directly both the range and angle information of a target.The purpose of this paper is to consider a sub-array scheme of range-angle joint estimation of a target for frequency diverse array (FDA) radar.
Design/methodology/approach
First, The entire array is divided into two sub-arrays, which employs two different frequency offsets. For aperture extension, each sub-array adopts difference co-array structure . Therefore, the targets range and angle can be estimated directly with the subspace-based multiple signal classification algorithms for the decoupling capability of distance and angle dimensional. The estimation performance is examined by analyzing the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) versus signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
Findings
Each sub-array adopts difference co-array structure to provide degrees of freedom by only physical sensors when the second-order statistics of the received data is used. And the sub-array is equivalent to two sets of equations to solve two unknown quantities, and the closed solution of the unknown quantity can be directly determined, which cannot be gained by the phase-array radar and basic ULA FDA radar. Finally, numerical simulation results verify the validity of the proposed method.
Originality/value
In this paper, we devise a subarray scheme on FDA radar for range and angle estimation. In order to aperture extension, difference co-array is employed in each subarrays, and more targets can be distinguished than the physical sensors. The range and angle estimation performance is examined by analyzing the CRLB.
Muhammad Kamran, Hadrian Geri Djajadikerta, Saiyidi Mat Roni, Erwei Xiang and Pakeezah Butt
This study examines how board gender diversity (BGD) interacts with the “tough vs tender” trait in country cultures in influencing firms' corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines how board gender diversity (BGD) interacts with the “tough vs tender” trait in country cultures in influencing firms' corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive set of environmental, social and governance (ESG) data of 5,748 firms from 70 countries were collected from Bloomberg terminal, and national-level data on “tough vs tender” societies were collected from the official website of Hofstede. The data were analysed using hierarchical multiple regression (HMR) and bootstrapping estimation techniques.
Findings
The findings show that BGD increases the extent of firms' CSR, with a more pronounced relationship in the tender than in the tough societies. Results are consistent in traditional (p-value based HMR) and robust (confidence intervals reliant bootstrapping) estimation techniques.
Originality/value
This study provides empirical evidence on tough vs tender societies' moderating role in the relationship between BGD and CSR from a rounded international setting. It also raises interesting insights about the dynamics in boards' responses to institutional forces as an avenue for future research.
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Gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied for the linear and nonlinear, static and dynamic analyses of basic structural elements from the…
Abstract
Gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied for the linear and nonlinear, static and dynamic analyses of basic structural elements from the theoretical as well as practical points of view. The range of applications of FEMs in this area is wide and cannot be presented in a single paper; therefore aims to give the reader an encyclopaedic view on the subject. The bibliography at the end of the paper contains 2,025 references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations dealing with the analysis of beams, columns, rods, bars, cables, discs, blades, shafts, membranes, plates and shells that were published in 1992‐1995.
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Our editorial argues that categories theory can be advanced by embracing heuristics research, and the insight that audiences often evaluate items based on multiple valued…
Abstract
Our editorial argues that categories theory can be advanced by embracing heuristics research, and the insight that audiences often evaluate items based on multiple valued criteria. Thus, rather than building on extant theory – which suggests that categories embody specific evaluative criteria, or that audiences operate according to a set “theory of value” – the authors argue that hybrids research would benefit from attending to the underlying processes that actors use to weigh and balance the diverse considerations that guide their decisions. The authors define and discuss three commonly used heuristics (satisficing, lexicographic preferences, and elimination by aspects), and show how these might lead audiences to support different types of hybrid entities.