Sora Shin, Hae-Hyun Choi, Yung Bin Kim, Byung-Hee Hong and Joo-Young Lee
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of intermittent and continuous heating protocols using graphene-heated clothing and identify more effective body region for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of intermittent and continuous heating protocols using graphene-heated clothing and identify more effective body region for heating in a cold environment.
Design/methodology/approach
Eight males participated in five experimental conditions at an air temperature of 0.6°C with 40 percent relative humidity: no heating, continuous heating the chest, continuous heating the back, intermittent heating the chest, and intermittent heating the back.
Findings
The results showed that the electric power consumption of the intermittent heating protocol (2.49 W) was conserved by 71 percent compared to the continuous protocol (8.58 W). Rectal temperature, cardiovascular and respiratory responses showed no significant differences among the four heating conditions, while heating the back showed more beneficial effects on skin temperatures than heating the chest.
Originality/value
First of all, this study was the first report to evaluate cold protective clothing with graphene heaters. Second, the authors provided effective intermittent heating protocols in terms of reducing power consumption, which was able to be evaluated with the characteristics of fast-responsive graphene heaters. Third, an intermittent heating protocol on the back was recommended to keep a balance between saving electric power and minimizing thermal discomfort in cold environments.
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Noel Scott, Brent Moyle, Ana Cláudia Campos, Liubov Skavronskaya and Biqiang Liu
Hui-Chun Chang, Yung-Kai Lin, Chia-Hua Liang, Hsin-Wei Huang, Yung-Hao Lin, Yung-Hsiang Lin, Wei-Chun Hu and Chi Fu Chiang
Population aging was a global trend, and the most obvious thing after aging was the change in skin appearance. Therefore, the active ingredients that delay skin aging were…
Abstract
Purpose
Population aging was a global trend, and the most obvious thing after aging was the change in skin appearance. Therefore, the active ingredients that delay skin aging were particularly noticed. Past studies had pointed out that Chinese herbal extracts can improve skin elasticity, reduce wrinkles and melanin precipitation. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether combining hydrolyzed collagen with Chinese herbal extracts can improve skin conditions and achieve anti-inflammatory effects.
Design/methodology/approach
Fifty subjects were randomly divided into collagen or placebo groups, and one bottle of collagen or placebo drink was used every day for four weeks, after which skin and inflammatory factors were tested.
Findings
In comparison with the baseline results, the skin parameters were improving after four-week intervention. In addition, the IL-6, IL-8, TNF-a were significantly decreased and tissue inhibitor matrix metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) was increased after four-week hydrolyzed collagen intervention.
Originality/value
This study showed that hydrolyzed collagen combined with Chinese herbal extracts can improve the condition of the skin, and can also reduce inflammatory associated factors, thereby achieving anti-aging effects.
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Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American…
Abstract
Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American preemptive invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and the subsequent prisoner abuse, such an existence seems to be farther and farther away from reality. The purpose of this work is to stop this dangerous trend by promoting justice, love, and peace through a change of the paradigm that is inconsistent with justice, love, and peace. The strong paradigm that created the strong nation like the U.S. and the strong man like George W. Bush have been the culprit, rather than the contributor, of the above three universal ideals. Thus, rather than justice, love, and peace, the strong paradigm resulted in in justice, hatred, and violence. In order to remove these three and related evils, what the world needs in the beginning of the third millenium is the weak paradigm. Through the acceptance of the latter paradigm, the golden mean or middle paradigm can be formulated, which is a synergy of the weak and the strong paradigm. In order to understand properly the meaning of these paradigms, however, some digression appears necessary.
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Tahir Akhtar, Mohamad Ali Tareq, Muhammad Rizky Prima Sakti and Adnan Ahmad Khan
This study aims to provide a review of corporate governance and cash holdings because strong corporate governance is necessary for the efficient utilization of firm’s liquid…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to provide a review of corporate governance and cash holdings because strong corporate governance is necessary for the efficient utilization of firm’s liquid resources such as cash, to minimize the agency cost of high cash holdings and to improve the value of cash.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors provide a literature review of corporate governance and cash holdings through a conceptual and theoretical argument rather than empirical research.
Findings
The authors review an empirical and theoretical work surrounding key corporate governance variables and identify avenues for future research. The authors find that corporate governance mechanisms and cash holdings have received much attention during the past two decades. However, the significant role of corporate governance (both country-level and the firm-level) in controlling the entrenched behaviour of the managers is discussed separately in the literature. The combined effect of both country-level and the firm-level governance is lacking in the cash holdings literature. Additionally, this study has found that much attention is paid to the developed markets, while only a few focused on the developing markets regarding cash holding literature, although the agency problems are high in developing markets.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the growing literature on corporate governance and cash holdings and provides a further understanding of the role of governance in minimizing the agency cost to increase value by assuring that firms’ assets are used efficiently and productively in the best interests of investors and other stakeholders. In addition, it provides a new idea to the policymaker and future researchers where they need to do more work.
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The contemporary practice of conventional maintenance for industrialised building system (IBS) constructions suffers from poor service delivery and defect repetition. A key…
Abstract
Purpose
The contemporary practice of conventional maintenance for industrialised building system (IBS) constructions suffers from poor service delivery and defect repetition. A key problem impeding the widespread adoption of emerging technologies is the lack of competent contractors to support the effectiveness of the technology implemented in conventional methods and to ensure returns on investment. The shortcomings of conventional methods are assessed from the perspective of IBS buildings. This paper aims to identify the different system approach using Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology that is equipped with decision making processes.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper describes the establishment of key problem areas, the elements involved in implementing good practice and the requirements for integrating maintenance management processes and information databases in the maintenance management system.
Findings
Conventional methods have little emphasis on defect diagnosis tools. They also enhance inadequate strategic decision-making in the analysis of information when attempting to improve the maintenance project outcomes for IBS construction. The characteristics identified in a case study of IBS buildings are presented and analysed.
Originality/value
The conclusions and recommendations drawn from the analysis of the IBS case study are discussed, synthesised and deliberated upon. The approach presented in this paper integrates various aspects of building information modelling technology to facilitate improved execution of IBS maintenance activities.
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Gonçalo Rodrigues Brás, Ana Daniel and Cristina Fernandes
According to the literature, general personality traits are less strongly related to the creation of new ventures than specific/proximal personality traits. Therefore, this study…
Abstract
Purpose
According to the literature, general personality traits are less strongly related to the creation of new ventures than specific/proximal personality traits. Therefore, this study aims to understand the different proximal personalities that influence the entrepreneurial intention to start a new venture and the relationship between them.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire filled in by students of entrepreneurship or related courses at the end of the second semester (2019/2020 academic year), and the research option is based on covariance-based structural equation modelling.
Findings
The results of this study show that entrepreneurial intentions can be predicted by specific individual traits, namely, risk-taking, entrepreneurial alertness, creativity, proactivity and self-efficacy. Moreover, it was found that risk-taking mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial alertness and proactivity. On the other hand, students’ creativity mediates the relationship between risk-taking and proactivity. Finally, students’ self-efficacy mediates the relationship between proactiveness and entrepreneurial intention.
Practical implications
The results have implications for entrepreneurship education given that a better understanding of the personality traits that influence entrepreneurial intentions can lead to the development of new approaches and pedagogical tools.
Originality/value
This model can be used as a diagnostic tool for designing an effective and efficient entrepreneurship curriculum and pedagogy, acting as an (ongoing) audit of students’ entrepreneurial intentions to get a scientific basis in case of further course/module adjustments.
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Ezlika M. Ghazali, Hussam Al Halbusi, Fadi Abdel Muniem Abdel Fattah, Md. Uzir Hossain Uzir, Dilip S. Mutum and Foon-Lip Tan
The goal of this study is to examine the factors (e.g. enjoyment, skills, challenge, telepresence and flow) that influence players’ purchase intention toward Dota 2 virtual…
Abstract
Purpose
The goal of this study is to examine the factors (e.g. enjoyment, skills, challenge, telepresence and flow) that influence players’ purchase intention toward Dota 2 virtual in-game as well as examine the effect of flow toward purchase intention of Dota 2 through the critical mechanism (i.e. continuous intention). Notably, the analysis of the moderating role of enjoyment of buying on the relation of (a) flow and purchase intention of Dota 2 in-game, as well as (b) between flow continuous intention and finally (c) between continuous intention purchase intention of Dota 2.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were gained from 331 users using Google Forms and posted to respondents on social media platforms and forums such as Facebook and Reddit, as these websites have the closest reach to gamers.
Findings
The study revealed that enjoyment, skill, challenge and telepresence have a positive effect on flow. Also, the flow was significantly related to purchase intention. The continuous intention has significantly mediated the relationship between flow and purchase intention. Importantly, this study found that the moderating role of buying enjoyment increases the relationship between flow and purchase intention (H7a) and between continuous intention and purchase intention (H7c). In contrast, the moderating role of buying enjoyment on the relationship between flow and continuous intention (H7b) was not supported. Hence, this study sheds a new light on the notable Dota 2 in-game and continuous intention purchase intention of the users.
Originality/value
In response, this study's main research question can be highlighted on testing how enjoyment, skills, challenge, telepresence, in-game virtual items influence purchasing intention when the enjoyment of buying moderates the proposed relationship? Therefore, this study aims to examine the significant elements like enjoyment, skills, challenge telepresence toward flow, and subsequently, the effect of flow toward purchase intention of Dota 2 in-game through continuous intention as a key mechanism which is urgently needed to minimize the gap in-game virtual items literature. Significantly, this study also intends to explore the contingent role of enjoyment of buying on the relation of flow and purchase intention of Dota-2 in-game, as well as between flow and continuous intention and finally between continuous intention and purchase intention.
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AbdurRaheem A. Yakub, Kamalahasan Achu, Hishamuddin Mohd Ali and Rohaya Abdul Jalil
There are a plethora of putative influencing variables available in the literature for modelling real estate prices using AI. Their choice tends to differ from one researcher to…
Abstract
Purpose
There are a plethora of putative influencing variables available in the literature for modelling real estate prices using AI. Their choice tends to differ from one researcher to the other, consequently leading to subjectivity in the selection process. Thus, there is a need to seek the viewpoint of practitioners on the applicability and level of significance of these academically established variables.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the Delphi technique, this study collated and structured the 35 underlying micro- and macroeconomic parameters derived from literature and eight variables suggested by 11 selected real estate experts. The experts ranked these variables in order of influence using a seven-point Likert scale with a reasonable consensus during the fourth round (Kendall's W = 0.7418).
Findings
The study discovered that 16 variables are very influential with seven being extremely influential. These extremely influential variables include flexibility, adaptability of design, accessibility to the building, the size of office spaces, quality of construction, state of repairs, expected capital growth and proximity to volatile areas.
Practical implications
The results of this study improve the quality of data available to valuers towards a fortified price prediction for investors, and thereby, restoring the valuers' credibility and integrity.
Originality/value
The “volatility level of an area”, which was revealed as a distinct factor in the survey is used to add to current knowledge concerning office price. Hence, this study offers real estate practitioners and researchers valuable knowledge on the critical variables that must be considered in AI-based price modelling.
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Jianquan Guo and He Cheng
The authors investigate the effects of Chinese acquirer’s chief executive officer (CEO) risk preference on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) payment method and the moderating roles…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors investigate the effects of Chinese acquirer’s chief executive officer (CEO) risk preference on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) payment method and the moderating roles played by acquirer’s ownership, industry relatedness and whether the M&A is cross-border.
Design/methodology/approach
Using 4,624 worldwide M&A deals conducted by Chinese firms from 2009 to 2021, the authors conduct multiple linear regression and ordered probit regression. And comprehensive indexes constructed based on the observed features of acquirer’s CEOs are used to be the proxy for CEO risk preference.
Findings
The results show that the higher-level Chinese acquirer’s CEO risk preference is overall positively associated with using more stock in payment. Moreover, the above relationship is strengthened if the ownership of the acquirer is state-owned.
Originality/value
The authors highlight the importance of the non-economic factors and demonstrate a relationship between the Chinese acquirer’s CEO risk preference and the M&A payment method, providing support for and enriching the upper echelons theory (UET). Moreover, the unique risk priorities of Chinese acquirers’ CEOs are revealed.