Guangzhen Wu, David A. Makin, Yongtao Li, Francis D. Boateng and Gassan Abess
The purpose of this paper is to examine the contours of police integrity among Chinese police officers. Specifically, this study explores how Chinese police evaluate integrity…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the contours of police integrity among Chinese police officers. Specifically, this study explores how Chinese police evaluate integrity based on official policy governing interactions, discipline governing infractions, views of seriousness, and willingness to inform when others engage in misconduct.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 353 police officers were surveyed representing those attending in-service training program at a Chinese police university in May 2015. Questionnaires containing 11 scenarios describing police misbehaviors were distributed to officers during classes.
Findings
There was a strong correlation between officers’ perceptions of rule-violation, misconduct seriousness, discipline, and willingness to report. Additionally, preliminary results suggest there exists a code of silence among Chinese officers, and that Chinese officers hold a lenient attitude toward the use of excessive force.
Research limitations/implications
This study utilizes a convenient sample, which restricts the generalizability of the results.
Practical implications
The results indicate the existence of code of silence among Chinese officers and their lenient attitude toward the use of excessive force.
Originality/value
Although there has been a growing body of research examining police integrity in both western democracies and transitional societies, China as the largest developing nation in the world and with a unique police system (falls somewhere between the centralized model and the integrated model) is understudied. This study addresses this gap in previous literature by exploring the contours of police integrity among Chinese police officers.
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Yongtao Li and Changbiao Zhong
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence consumers’ consumption behavior with regard to green aquatic products from a social cognitive theory…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence consumers’ consumption behavior with regard to green aquatic products from a social cognitive theory perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
A web survey was used to collect the data. The survey subjects were citizens of Ningbo City in Zhejiang Province. A total of 403 subjects were obtained through the sampling service, and 337 subjects were retained after strict examination. The data were used to construct a partial least squares structural equation model.
Findings
The cognition of green aquatic products significantly positively affects outcome expectancy, self-efficacy, perception of others’ behavior, and socio-structural conditions. Self-efficacy and outcome expectancy significantly positively influence consumption intention. Self-efficacy, perception of others’ behavior, and consumption intention significantly positively affect consumption behavior.
Practical implications
The concept, connotations and benefits of green aquatic products should be widely publicized through diversified channels to increase people’s knowledge of these products and to encourage people to distinguish them from regular aquatic products and to believe in their benefits. In addition, measures should be taken to guarantee that only genuine green aquatic products can enter the market because the false claims of some products have damaged consumers’ belief in these products.
Originality/value
To test the effect of the cognition of green aquatic products, the construct “the cognition of green aquatic products” was added to the model based on social cognitive theory. This paper contributes to the existing literature by further exploring how cognitive aspects affect consumption behavior with regard to green food.
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Ting Luo, Xiaolong Xue, Yongtao Tan, Yuna Wang and Yuanxin Zhang
This paper aimed to introduce a systematic body of knowledge via a scientometric review, guiding the sustainable transition from conventional construction to prefabricated…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aimed to introduce a systematic body of knowledge via a scientometric review, guiding the sustainable transition from conventional construction to prefabricated construction. The construction industry currently faces a challenge to balance sustainable development and the construction of new buildings. In this context, one of the most recent debates is prefabricated construction. As an emerging construction approach, although existing knowledge makes contributions to the implementation of prefabricated construction, there is a lack of a comprehensive and in-depth overview of the critical knowledge themes and gaps.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses the scientometric analysis to review the state-of-the-art knowledge of prefabricated construction. It retrieved data from the Web of Science core collection database. CiteSpace software was used to conduct the analysis and visualization; three analysis methods identify the knowledge hotspots, knowledge domains and knowledge topics. Finally, according to integrating the hidden connections among results, a body of knowledge for prefabricated construction application can be inferred.
Findings
The results show that 120 knowledge hotspots, five critical knowledge domains and five prominent knowledge topics are vital for promoting implementation of prefabricated construction. Based on the afore analysis, a body of knowledge for prefabricated construction that can systematically cover a broad knowledge of prefabricated construction-related research and activities are integrated and proposed in this paper.
Originality/value
Body of knowledge systematically covers a broad knowledge of prefabricated construction applications and is vital to guide researchers and practitioners to conduct related research and activities, thereby promoting the sustainable transition to prefabricated construction implementation.
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Xing Zhang, Yongtao Cai, Yiwen Li and Yan Zhou
This paper aims to clarify the impact of information asymmetry on users' payment rates and examine the role of perceived uncertainty (PU) and acceptable price (AP) in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to clarify the impact of information asymmetry on users' payment rates and examine the role of perceived uncertainty (PU) and acceptable price (AP) in the relationship between information asymmetry and users' payment rates.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the influences of information asymmetry on users' payment rates, this paper collects 18,489 transaction data from the Chinese knowledge payment platform Zhihu with a Python crawler. This paper constructs a mediation model to define the relationship between information asymmetry and users' payment rates by introducing PU and AP as the mediators.
Findings
Information asymmetry negatively affects users' payment rates. In addition, PU and AP mediate the information asymmetry in users' payment rates bond.
Research limitations/implications
This study only explores the mediators of the information asymmetry users’ payment rates bond, ignoring the effect of potential moderators, which would be an important direction for future research.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper suggest that information communication is essential in knowledge market transactions. Knowledge providers, as well as knowledge platforms, should enhance information exchange with consumers in order to increase product sales.
Social implications
This paper provides a new perspective for understanding how information asymmetry affects users' payment rates and helps to guide suppliers to improve product quality. The research framework of this paper is universal to a certain extent.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the first to propose using PU and AP to construct a mediation model to study the information asymmetry between users' payment rates relationship. It provides a new perspective for understanding the channel of information asymmetry in customer behavior.
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Yongtao Zhao, Weili Li, Xiaoyang Xuan, Jianbang Gao, Jue Wang, Liang Dong, Dawei Zang, Mingjian Wang and Xiankang Zhong
This study aims to evaluate the protection performance of zinc as sacrificial anode for ABS A steel in the presence of H2S under different temperatures, pH and salinities.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to evaluate the protection performance of zinc as sacrificial anode for ABS A steel in the presence of H2S under different temperatures, pH and salinities.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, weight loss measurements and electrochemical measurements are used to evaluate the corrosion degree of zinc and ABS A steel.
Findings
Under the conditions involved in this work, it is shown that zinc is a nice sacrificial anode with the reason of its stable potential and excellent anode current efficiency according to the relevant standard. And it is also found that the hydrogen evolution does not occur on ABS A steel specimens. The potential difference between cathode and anode is suitable; thus, it can be concluded that each steel is well protected.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other study has analyzed the protection mechanism and effect of zinc as sacrificial anode in H2S-containing environments under high temperature at present.
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Zhenghong Li, Haibao Lu, Yongtao Yao and Long Lin
The purpose of this paper is to develop an effective approach to significantly improve the thermomechanical properties of shape memory polymer (SMP) nanocomposites that show fast…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop an effective approach to significantly improve the thermomechanical properties of shape memory polymer (SMP) nanocomposites that show fast thermally responsive shape recovery.
Design/methodology/approach
Hexagonal boron nitrides (h-BNs) were incorporated into polymer matrix in an attempt to improve the thermal conductivity and thermally responsive shape recovery behaviour of SMP, respectively. Thermally actuated shape recovery behaviour was recorded and monitored instrumentally.
Findings
The results show that both glass transition temperature (Tg) and thermomechanical properties of the SMP nanocomposites have been progressively improved with increasing concentration of h-BNs. Analytical results also suggest that the fast-responsive recovery behaviour of the SMP nanocomposite incorporated with h-BNs was due to the increased thermal conductivity.
Research limitations/implications
A simple way for fabricating SMP nanocomposites with enhanced thermally responsive shape recovery based on the incorporation of h-BNs was developed.
Originality/value
The outcome of this study may help fabrication of SMP nanocomposites with fast responsive recovery behaviour.
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Ming Jiang, Mengyang Shi, Jiamao Li, Juan Liu, Lei Zhang, Jian Qin, Yongtao Jiu, Bin Tang and Dong Xu
This paper aims to study the effects of MnO2 on the ZnO–Bi2O3-based varistor prepared via flash sintering (FS)
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the effects of MnO2 on the ZnO–Bi2O3-based varistor prepared via flash sintering (FS)
Design/methodology/approach
MnO2-doped ZnO–Bi2O3-based varistors were successfully prepared by the FS with a step-wise increase of the .current in 60 s at the furnace temperature <750°C under the direct current electric field of 300 V cm−1. The FS process, microstructure and the electrical performance of ZnO–Bi2O3-based varistors were systematically investigated.
Findings
The doping of MnO2 significantly decreased the onset temperature of FS and improved the electrical performance of FS ZnO varistor ceramic. The sample with 0.5 mol% MnO2 doping shows the highest improvement, with the nonlinear coefficient of 18, the leakage current of 16.82 µA, the threshold voltage of 459 V/mm and the dielectric constant of 1,221 at 1 kHz.
Originality/value
FS is a wonderful technology to enhance ZnO varistors for its low energy consumption, and a short sintering time can reduce grain growth and inhabit Bi2O3 volatilize, yet few research studies work on that. In this research, the authors analyzed the FS process and improved the electrical characteristics through MnO2 doping.
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Yuan Feng, Jing Zhang, Wei Han and Yongtao Luo
As China is on an inevitable march into the digital era, firms have accumulated abundant digital assets, such as algorithms and data. Facing the possibility of using digital…
Abstract
Purpose
As China is on an inevitable march into the digital era, firms have accumulated abundant digital assets, such as algorithms and data. Facing the possibility of using digital assets as a new type input, besides traditional inputs such as capital and labor, would powerful managers perform better? Would managerial power help managers increase the efficiency of how a firm combines traditional and digital inputs and converts them into outputs? Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether powerful managers promotes corporate productivity by using digital assets as a new input.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from listed Chinese firms between 2008 and 2020, the authors constructed panel regressions with three-way fixed effects to examine whether and how managerial power influences corporate productivity in the current digital context, particularly under market uncertainty.
Findings
The findings reveal no consistent relationship between managerial power and corporate productivity. The results explain this from two contrasting effects: while managerial power promotes technological change it hinders technical efficiency – two components of total productivity. Moreover, this study identifies market uncertainty as a significant external contingency. In uncertain markets, strong managerial power positively impacts corporate productivity.
Originality/value
The results extend extant theoretical insights in the literature on how managerial power might influence corporate productivity.
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Yongtao Tan, Li‐Yin Shen and Craig Langston
Proper assessment of contractors' competitiveness is important for assisting contractors in taking internal analysis and for assisting clients in selecting suitable contractors…
Abstract
Purpose
Proper assessment of contractors' competitiveness is important for assisting contractors in taking internal analysis and for assisting clients in selecting suitable contractors. This paper seeks to address this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
With previously identified contractor key competitiveness indicators (KCIs), this study presents a fuzzy competitiveness rating (FCR) method for measuring contractor competitiveness with reference to the Hong Kong construction industry. A set of linguistic terms is used for facilitating the assessment process.
Findings
For illustration, an example is used to show the application of the FCR method. The results provide valuable information for helping contractors in the local construction industry to understand their competitive advantages and weaknesses, and to formulate effective competition strategies to improve their competitiveness.
Research limitations/implications
The model used in this study is not validated by real cases. In a future paper, the model will be further demonstrated by conducting real case studies, and the linguistic terms and corresponding fuzzy numbers will also be re‐defined based on the collected data.
Originality/value
As the competitiveness assessment process involves complexity and uncertainty, a fuzzy competitiveness rating method is considered suitable for reflecting the reality and the assessment panel can easily give their opinions by using the linguistic language.
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Xing Zhang, Yongtao Cai, Fangyu Liu and Fuli Zhou
This paper aims to propose a solution for dissolving the “privacy paradox” in social networks, and explore the feasibility of adopting a synergistic mechanism of “deep-learning…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a solution for dissolving the “privacy paradox” in social networks, and explore the feasibility of adopting a synergistic mechanism of “deep-learning algorithms” and “differential privacy algorithms” to dissolve this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
To validate our viewpoint, this study constructs a game model with two algorithms as the core strategies.
Findings
The “deep-learning algorithms” offer a “profit guarantee” to both network users and operators. On the other hand, the “differential privacy algorithms” provide a “security guarantee” to both network users and operators. By combining these two approaches, the synergistic mechanism achieves a balance between “privacy security” and “data value”.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper suggest that algorithm practitioners should accelerate the innovation of algorithmic mechanisms, network operators should take responsibility for users’ privacy protection, and users should develop a correct understanding of privacy. This will provide a feasible approach to achieve the balance between “privacy security” and “data value”.
Originality/value
These findings offer some insights into users’ privacy protection and personal data sharing.