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Shortest path problem has always been a hot topic in the study of graph theory, because of its wide application field, extending from operational research to the disciplines of geography, automatic control, computer science and traffic. According to its concrete application, scholars in the relevant field have presented many algorithms, but most of them are solely improvements based on Dijkstra algorithm. The purpose of this paper is to enrich the kinds of (and improve the efficiency of) the shortest path algorithms.

This paper puts forward an improved calculation method of shortest path using cellular automata model, which is designed to search the shortest path from one node to another node. Cellular state set is adjusted with combination of breeding and mature states. Evolution rule is improved to enhance its parallelism. At the same time, recording manner of cellular state turnover is modified to record all information sources.

The result indicates that the improved algorithm is correct and more efficient, in that it could reduce the times of cellular state turnover; meanwhile, it can solve multi‐paths problem.

In this paper, cellular state set in exiting shortest path algorithm based on cellular automata theory is adjusted; evolution rule is improved; and recording manner of cellular state turnover is modified to record all information sources. All of which make the parallelism of this algorithm enhanced and the multi‐paths problem solved.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the combustion characteristics, including the combustion pressure, heat release rate (HRR), coefficient of variation (COV) of indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP), flame development period and combustion duration, of aviation kerosene fuel, namely, rocket propellant 3 (RP-3), and gasoline on a two-stoke spark ignition engine.

This paper is an experimental investigation using a bench test to reflect the combustion performance of two-stroke spark ignition unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) engine on gasoline and RP-3 fuel.

Under low load conditions, the combustion performance and HRR of burning RP-3 fuel were shown to be worse than those of gasoline. Under high load conditions, the average IMEP and the COV of IMEP of burning RP-3 fuel were close to those of gasoline. The difference in the flame development period between gasoline and RP-3 fuel was similar.

Gasoline fuel has a low flash point, high-saturated vapour pressure and relatively high volatility and is a potential hazard near a naked flame at room temperature, which can create significant security risks for its storage, transport and use. Adopting a low volatility single RP-3 fuel of covering all vehicles and equipment to minimize the number of different devices with the use of a various fuels and improve the application safeties.

Most two-stroke spark ignition UAV engines continue to combust gasoline. A kerosene-based fuel operation can be applied to achieve a single-fuel policy.

President Richard M. Nixon's historic trip to the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1972 established a relationship between the United States and the PRC which was formalized when President Nixon signed the Shanghai Communique. This treaty proclaimed China's willingness to accept foreign investment and its movement toward becoming a more “open door” nation. With the normalization of full diplomatic relations between the United States and the PRC in 1978, U.S. investments in the PRC and the interest of world marketers has gained momentum. Today there is intense interest in the potential of the PRC market among U.S. consumer goods manufacturers, of both consumer durables and nondurables. U.S. consumer goods companies are starting to produce their products for and in China.

China’s swift economic rise, as symbolized by the first Chinese Olympics and by surpassing Japan to become the world’s second largest economy despite the recent global financial meltdown, has been accompanied by a transformation of Chinese foreign policy behavior. After spending the last decade emphasizing China’s “peaceful rise” or “peaceful development,” Beijing has begun to expound its policy preferences and territorial claims more forthrightly, even assertively. The purpose of this chapter will be to consider the origins, consequences, and likely future of the new Chinese foreign policy in the wake of the leadership transition at the 18th Party Congress in 2012 and the 12th National People’s Congress in 2013.

As more businesses invest in China, there will, of course, be increased marketing opportunities there. But while China′s current government continues to encourage foreign investment, the future holds some political uncertainties. This vast country has the opportunity to become a supereconomic power, but its government must lead the way, and not scare off potential investors.

This study seeks to understand how accountant stereotypes have been constructed and reconstructed at the macro-national and the structural level in Chinese society.

This qualitative investigation into China's social construction of accountant stereotypes employs Becker's (1963) labelling theory. Viewing stereotyping as a socially constructed practice, this study draws on a post-positivistic, reflexive epistemology in conducting 28 semi-structured interviews with accountants and related actors.

Chinese accountant stereotypes are constructed and reconstructed according to the rules created and enforced in different cultural-political periods. The accountant stereotypes constructed during the ancient Confucian period (500 BC – 1948) were replaced during 1949 and 2012 when the political focus shifted towards propagating socialism and later promoting economic growth. They also show how Confucian stereotypes of accountants resurfaced in 2013 but were reconstructed by the central government's cultural confidence policy of propagating Confucianism.

Empirically, prior literature has focused on what the accountant stereotype is and how accountants respond to such stereotypes, but it has neglected the ways in which these accountant stereotypes are politically and culturally constructed, diffused and legitimated. This paper fills in the gap by understanding the social practice of accountant stereotyping in a previously unexplored political-cultural context, namely Chinese society. In theoretical terms, by offering the first use of Becker's (1963) labelling theory in the accounting literature, it furthermore enhances our understanding of how accountants' identities and social standing are shaped by social rules.

The purpose of this paper is to give a critical review of the City-State Theory by Wan Chin of Hong Kong. Chin is referred to as the “Father of Hong Kong Independence,” and his two books about the City-State Theory of Hong Kong are popular among the netizens in Hong Kong as a new model of Hong Kong-China (People’s Republic of China (PRC)), in which Hong Kong is considered a city-state and should be fully segregated from the PRC other than in seeking its help in military and diplomatic functions. This paper will aim to review his works with the view of nationalism and nativism theories.

This paper uses nationalism theories with particular focus on Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities and theories on American nativism. Then an effort is made to compare these theories against Chin’s arguments on his City-State Theory. This paper also compares his theories against China’s state-nationalism raised by Professors He and Guo.

This paper concludes that Chin advocates a “Hong Kong Nationalism,” a blend of traditional Chinese culture and moral values (he used the term Huaxia), but with a Western influence, into a typical Hong Kong culture. His theory fits into Anderson’s arguments of allowing Hong Kong citizens to imagine Hong Kong as a nation, through the “ramparts” of the city-state. His nativist advocacies also have shown strong nationalistic sentiments. He argues that China should be built in the Hong Kong model before the PRC intervention.

Despite his fame, this paper is the first comprehensive academic paper to review Chin’s theories. This paper introduced the notion of “ramparts” and how this has become the backbone of Chin’s nationalism advocacies.

This chapter examines the similarities and differences between the concepts of transformational leadership as developed within North America and the Confucian idea of transformation. It argues that Confucian tradition encompasses the essential elements embedded in the concept of transformational leadership. The former differentiates from the latter in its deeper degree of transformation, emphasis on morality and culture, and its focus on transformation from the inside outwards. The two greatest educators in Chinese history, Confucius and Cai Yuanpei, are evaluated in terms of their transformational leadership qualities in the Western sense. By looking at Confucius and Cai Yuanpei as successful transformational leaders, the chapter identifies four important factors from Chinese cases that may contribute to the success of this type of leadership. Implications of this comparison are discussed as they may inform the knowledge, research and practices of transformational leadership.

Despite an intensified anti-corruption campaign, China's economic growth and social transition continue to breed loopholes and opportunities for big corruption, leading to a money-oriented mentality and the collapse of ethical standards, and exposing the communist regime to greater risk of losing moral credibility and political trust. In Hong Kong, the setting up of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in 1974 marked the advent of a new comprehensive strategy to eradicate corruption and to rebuild trust in government. The ICAC was not just an anti-corruption enforcement agency per se, but an institution spearheading and representing integrity and governance transformation. This chapter considers how mainland China can learn from Hong Kong's experience and use the fight against corruption as a major political strategy to win the hearts and minds of the population and reform governance in the absence of more fundamental constitutional reforms, in a situation similar to Hong Kong's colonial administration of the 1970s–1980s deploying administrative means to minimize a political crisis.

The aim of this paper is to examine the evolution and development of the selection process and methods used by the Chinese government for appointing public officials.

The paper adopts an approach combining literature and document reviews with discussion with field experts.

China has a long history of selecting the most able individuals for government officials. During the political turmoil of the twentieth century, this was abandoned for ideological reasons. Current selection criteria and process are increasingly based on solid psychology and management approaches.

This paper is an overview of developments in Chinese government official selection approaches and process.

It may serve as a baseline for future research and practice on exploring sound and institutionalized selection methods and processes.

This is an initial attempt to explore senior Chinese officials' selection process.