Yiping Li and Chammy Lau
This study aims to investigate two festivals that are held annually in Hong Kong, to explore the essence of festival meanings – the extent to which the perceived sociocultural…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate two festivals that are held annually in Hong Kong, to explore the essence of festival meanings – the extent to which the perceived sociocultural benefits of festivals articulate the production of a sense of place (SOP) and its respective locality.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilises a comparative analysis approach to examine visitors’ views of the festivals. It constructs a theoretical framework of the interaction mechanism between tourism and place evolution by relying largely on the notion of place as the centre of meanings. Data sources include interview, questionnaire, observation and a literature review.
Findings
The findings suggest festival meanings are crucial elements in fostering SOP and shaping the identification of place uniqueness. Being part of local tradition and tourism resource, festival representations are not only passive reflections of prevailing cultural values drawn from current stereotypes and images, but they also play a prominent role in shaping values, behaviours and identities by contributing to the socialisation process. Cultural regeneration through festivals may ultimately contribute to the ontological construction of a place.
Research limitations/implications
Given the unknown profile of the participants to both festivals, this study employed a convenience sampling method which might have limited the power of generalising the research outcome to other festivals. Besides, this study overlooked the potential differences (or lack of difference) in perceptions of the local residents who visited both festivals for the first time and other residents. Future studies may consider other aspects of festivals and place conceptions widely used in the tourism research field, to validate whether additional insights or hidden festival-to-place relationships can be found in the process of hosting and promoting festivals.
Originality/value
The existing studies of tourism–place relationship, especially those repelling scientific-positivist methodological paradigm, tend to overemphasise the role of tourism in unmaking places. In contrast, the interrogation of island festivals as the centre of meaning offers an alternative perspective to highlight the process that tourism dialectically contributes to place evolution. Tourism unmakes places while possessing a dialectic role of making places.
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Xiong Linping, Li Yiping, Ma Xiuqiang, Meng Hong and Lin Guohong
Hanqin Qiu Zhang, York Qi Yan and Yiping Li
This study attempts to demystify the mechanism behind the negative event of the so‐called “zero‐commission” tours that have become synonymous with the booming Chinese outbound…
Abstract
Purpose
This study attempts to demystify the mechanism behind the negative event of the so‐called “zero‐commission” tours that have become synonymous with the booming Chinese outbound tourism in the past decade.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilizing the Atlas.ti computer qualitative analysis software, nine proposed key factors constituting the zero‐tour phenomenon are examined and proven through a content analysis of 30 case studies.
Findings
The validity of the proposed nine factors causing the zero‐tour and their respective degrees of relevance to the phenomenon are also investigated and empirically tested in the study.
Research limitations/implications
The study used the cases from destinations such as Hong Kong and Thailand. It will be better if cases from other destinations such as Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, and Australia can be examined in future studies since the zero‐tour phenomenon also exists in other countries.
Practical implications
This study may serve as a reference for the drafting and implementation of both policy and business countermeasures to curb the zero‐commission tours. Consequently, this would facilitate more positive contributions of the Chinese outbound tourism industry to global tourism development.
Originality/value
No empirical study on the zero‐tour phenomenon was found in the literature. Based on the game theory, the proposed and empirically tested nine factors can serve as the foundation on which future studies on the zero‐commission tour can be conducted.
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Abstract
Purpose
This study sets out to compare the response of three‐dimensional (3D) woven composites subjected to high strain rate (HSR) compression loading with the dynamic response.
Design/methodology/approach
The 3D composites were manufactured using Kevlar woven fabrics with epoxy resin system utilising vacuum bag moulding approach. Samples were subjected to HSR compression loading in three directions using a modified split Hopkinson's pressure bar.
Findings
Peak stress and stiffness of 3D composites were higher for dynamic loading when compared with static loading in case of both in‐plane direction and out‐of‐plane direction. The peak stress and modulus increased with the increase in strain rate for both in‐plane direction and out‐of‐plane direction. Peak stress and dynamic modulus were higher when the samples were loaded in the fill direction compared with the warp direction loading. The failure strain in through‐the‐thickness direction was far higher than in in‐plane warp and fill direction.
Research limitations/implications
Other strength parameters of 3D composites could be studied.
Practical implications
The study provided the strength comparison of 3D composites in different situations.
Originality/value
The paper provide data on 3D composites for engineering applications.
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Maoliang Wu, Wanhua Zhao, Yiping Tang, Dichen Li and Bingheng Lu
Stereolithography (SL) is a kind of rapid prototyping technology which uses the laminate manufacturing to fabricate parts. With the development of RP, some new RP processes have…
Abstract
Stereolithography (SL) is a kind of rapid prototyping technology which uses the laminate manufacturing to fabricate parts. With the development of RP, some new RP processes have boomed rapidly. Compact prototyping system (CPS) is a kind of novel stereolithography method which utilizes conventional UV light as the light source. After transmitting by optic fiber and focusing through lens set, the light is intensified and can be used to cure the photopolymer. Compared with the laser SL prototyping apparatus, this apparatus has unique characteristics on its driving system and light path system. Discusses the characteristics and corresponding consequences of the driving system and light path system, and analyzes the light energy distribution and the corresponding line shapes. Since each layer is constructed from a serial of lines, the scanning parameters, especially scanning speed and hatch gap, will influence the overall light intensity which determines the layer thickness, section shape and ultimately the prototyping accuracy. The driving system, due to the non‐uniform moving speeds, could cause the shape error of the lines. A light shutter, keeping the light only illuminating on resin surface within given curing areas, is employed to solve this deficiency.
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Zhengqiang Ding, Li Xu and Yiping Zhang
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of mechanical vibration on the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of semicircular channel printed circuit heat…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of mechanical vibration on the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of semicircular channel printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs), while also establishing correlations between vibration parameters and thermal performance.
Design/methodology/approach
By combining experimental and numerical simulation methods, the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop characteristics of supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) in a semicircular channel with a diameter of 2 mm under vibration conditions were studied. Reinforce the research by conducting computational fluid dynamics studies using ANSYS Fluent 22.0, the experimental results were compared with the numerical simulation results to verify the accuracy of the numerical method.
Findings
The use of vibration has the potential to attenuate the degradation of wall heat transfer caused by buoyancy-induced PCHEs on the upward-facing surface. The heat transfer enhancement (HTE) was maximized by an increase of 18.2%, while the pressure drop enhancement (PDE) was elevated by over 25-fold. The capacity to enhance the heat exchange between S-CO2 and channel walls through increasing vibration intensity is limited, indicating maximum effectiveness in improving thermal performance.
Originality/value
Conducting heat transfer experiments on PCHEs with mechanical vibration enhancement and verifying the accuracy of the vibration numerical model. The relation based on the dimensionless factor is derived. To provide theoretical support for using vibration to enhance the heat transfer capability of PCHEs.
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Zhang Jie, Su Xinning and Deng Sanhong
This paper is written as an attempt to employ the Chinese Social Science Citation Index (CSSCI) in the evaluation of Chinese humanities and social science research.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is written as an attempt to employ the Chinese Social Science Citation Index (CSSCI) in the evaluation of Chinese humanities and social science research.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses statistics in the CSSCI (2000‐2004) to analyze the academic impact of researchers, papers and works, institutions and regions on Chinese humanities and social science research.
Findings
The authors identify 100 highly cited people, 50 highly cited papers, 50 highly cited works, 20 highly productive institutions and 20 highly cited institutions. Also provided is some regional information about Chinese humanities and social science research.
Originality/value
It is hoped that the CSSCI, as well as the analysis and evaluation based on it, will give researchers a better understanding of Chinese humanities and social science research.
Yiping Jiang, Yanhua Chen and Xiaobo Chi
The practice of renovation and construction of university libraries is flourishing, but how to attract readers to use the library is an issue that urgently needs to be explored…
Abstract
Purpose
The practice of renovation and construction of university libraries is flourishing, but how to attract readers to use the library is an issue that urgently needs to be explored. Spatial cognition is a subjective judgment of a person's tendency to take action in the future and implies behavioral intention. Based on the sensory–image–cognition relationship, a theoretical model of university library readers' spatial cognition is conducted, and the influencing factors and mechanisms of spatial cognition are explored based on empirical data to provide theoretical references for spatial practices in university libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
A visual and art-based mental map approach is introduced based on a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire is mainly used for the specific evaluation of spatial use and the breakdown of the detailed elements, while the mental map method is mainly used for the evaluation of readers' spatial cognition. Relevant empirical data are collected from the library of the Zhejiang University of Technology.
Findings
The results indicate that readers' spatial sensory experience and mental imagery have positive effects on readers' behavior via the mediator spatial cognition, readers' spatial sensory experience and mental imagery have a positive effect on readers' spatial cognition and spatial cognition has a significant effect on readers' behavior.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this study is to construct a theoretical model of readers' spatial cognition and to explore the factors that have an impact on spatial cognition and the influence of cognition on behavior. This provides a more rational and in-depth thinking paradigm for the study of university library space and provides theoretical references for library practice.