Zhihong Du, Xinhua Ni, Xiequan Liu and Cheng Chen
According to the microstructural characteristics of composite ceramic, the strain field distribution regularity of triangular symmetrical composite eutectic is obtained from the…
Abstract
Purpose
According to the microstructural characteristics of composite ceramic, the strain field distribution regularity of triangular symmetrical composite eutectic is obtained from the stress field distribution regularity of three-phase element in composite ceramic. In allusion to the damage of composite eutectic, it is introduced as a variable in this paper with the aim to determine the strain field distribution regularity of triangular symmetrical composite eutectic with damage behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
On the basis of the relationship between strain field and fiber inclusions volume fraction, the strain field of composite eutectic is analyzed.
Findings
The strain field of composite ceramic is distinctly dependent on the fiber inclusions volume fraction, fiber diameter and damage behavior of composite eutectic by quantitative analysis. The strain in matrix parallel to eutectic is the maximum linear strain and the main factor for the damage and fracture of eutectics.
Originality/value
The foundation of the strength research of composite eutectic is laid.
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Wenbin Tang, Xia Chen, Xue Zhang and Zhihong Peng
This study aims to explain the market-oriented transformation dilemma of Chinese urban investment and development companies (UIDCs; also known as local government investment and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explain the market-oriented transformation dilemma of Chinese urban investment and development companies (UIDCs; also known as local government investment and financing companies) and objectively evaluate their transformation efficiency from both static and dynamic perspectives. The results of the research provide methodological bases for improving the transformation efficiency of UIDCs, thus pointing out the direction for the rational planning of their transformation path.
Design/methodology/approach
This study takes Chinese UIDCs in market transformation during 2015–2019 as the research object and uses principal component analysis to screen the index system for measuring the efficiency of market transformation. It then uses a three-stage data envelopment analysis model and the Malmquist productivity index to evaluate the market transformation efficiency of these companies during 2015–2019 and comprehensively analyzes the influence of external environmental factors on the market transformation of Chinese UIDCs.
Findings
Research results show that the transformation efficiency of Chinese UIDCs is low and slow overall and that large spatial and temporal differences exist. The transformation efficiency of UIDCs located in eastern China is higher than that of UIDCs in central and western China. The higher the external environmental factors of regional GDP, local debt service pressure and credit rating, the more likely they are to cause input redundancy in the transformation process of Chinese UIDCs, which is not conducive to their market-oriented transformation. In addition, the higher the urbanization rate, the more effective it is to improve the efficiency of market-oriented transformation of UIDCs. If the influence of environmental factors is stripped away, both the overall efficiency value and pure technical efficiency value of market-oriented transformation of Chinese UIDCs will increase while the scale efficiency value becomes smaller.
Originality/value
This research measures the transformation efficiency of Chinese UIDCs and comprehensively analyzes the influence of external environmental factors on their market-oriented transformation. The goal is to enrich the study of the market-oriented transformation efficiency evaluation index system of Chinese UIDCs at the theoretical level and provide important reference values for improving the efficiency of market-oriented transformation of Chinese UIDCs at the practical level.
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This paper aims to examine how the official discourse of frugality evolved in China between 1979 and 2015.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how the official discourse of frugality evolved in China between 1979 and 2015.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses historical and textual analysis. It divides the Chinese official discourse on frugality between 1979 and 2015 into four periods: 1979-1992, 1993-2002, 2003-2012 and 2013-2015.
Findings
A Chinese official discourse on frugality persisted between 1979 and 2015, even though during the same period, China transformed from a socialist economy of central planning and insufficient supply to a market economy of excessive supply and weak consumer demand. The intensity of this official discourse frequently vacillated, adjusting to both economic and political conditions of the time as part of the larger political-economic contestation between competing ideas and policies.
Originality/value
There have been calls for more studies on how frugality discourses have evolved in international markets, especially in terms of how they are shaped by local historical antecedents and long-standing tensions. Through the Chinese case, this article illuminates why some traditional values persist and obtain a paradoxical co-existence with consumerist ethos in our modern society.
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Zhihong Wang and James E. Hunton
The purpose of the current study is to examine how employees from different cultures respond to participative budgeting when the budget planning horizon is congruent or…
Abstract
The purpose of the current study is to examine how employees from different cultures respond to participative budgeting when the budget planning horizon is congruent or incongruent with their cultural time orientation. We conducted a 2×2 quasi-experiment in which cultural time orientation (short term or long term) was measured and budget planning horizon (short term or long term) was manipulated. A total of 164 employees participated in the experiment – 87 from China and 77 from the United States, representing long-term and short-term cultural time orientations, respectively. The results indicate that satisfaction with participative budgeting was greater when cultural time orientation and budget planning horizon were congruent, relative to incongruent. Also, the differential reaction between congruence and incongruence was less extreme for the Chinese participants than the U.S. participants, which is consistent with Confucian thought of “The Doctrine of the Mean.” The results of this study contribute to participative budgeting literature and suggest that managers who operate in different countries should be cognizant of cultural differences when employing participative budgeting processes.
Abubakar Sadiq Ismail, Zhihong Nie, Abdulaziz Ahmad, Shamshad Ali and Rengui Lai
This paper investigates the vibration compaction mechanism and evaluates the impact of vibration frequencies on the stability of coarse-grained soil, aiming to optimize the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the vibration compaction mechanism and evaluates the impact of vibration frequencies on the stability of coarse-grained soil, aiming to optimize the subgrade filling process.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines the vibratory compaction behavior of coarse-grained soils through indoor vibration tests and discrete element simulations. Focusing on angular gravel (breccias) of varying sizes, the simulations were calibrated using parameters such as Young’s modulus, restitution and friction coefficients. The analysis highlights how particle shape influences compaction, revealing mesoscopic mechanisms that drive macroscopic compaction outcomes.
Findings
This study investigates the influence of vibration frequency on the compaction behavior of coarse-grained soils using discrete element simulation. By analyzing particle contact and motion, the mesoscopic mechanisms driving compaction are explored. The study establishes a positive linear correlation between contact force anisotropy (Cv) and deformation, demonstrating that higher anisotropy leads to greater structural disruption. Additionally, the increase in sliding contact percentage (SCP) at higher frequencies indicates instability in the skeletal structure, driven by uneven contact force distribution. These findings reveal how frequency-induced stress concentration affects the stability and deformation of the soil skeleton.
Originality/value
This research explores the effect of various vibration frequencies on the compaction behavior of coarse-grained soils, examining microscopic interactions to reveal their impact on soil stability and deformation.
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Zhihong Tan, Mengxi Yang, Andrea C. Farro and Ling Yuan
Based on the cognitive appraisal theory of emotion and social comparison theory, this study explores the mediating mechanism and boundary conditions of supervisor bottom-line…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on the cognitive appraisal theory of emotion and social comparison theory, this study explores the mediating mechanism and boundary conditions of supervisor bottom-line mentality on employee presenteeism.
Design/methodology/approach
Using hierarchical regression and bootstrapping, we test the hypothesized relationships with three-stage data from 265 full-time employees in China.
Findings
Supervisor bottom-line mentality has a significant positive influence on employee presenteeism. Workplace fear of missing out plays a mediating role between supervisor bottom-line mentality and employee presenteeism. Employees’ status-striving motivation positively moderates the influence of supervisor bottom-line mentality on employees’ workplace fear of missing out and enhances the mediating effect of workplace fear of missing out.
Practical implications
Presenteeism can be detrimental to employees’ health, and ultimately leads to a decrease in organizational productivity. Research conclusions warn companies to be vigilant about supervisors’ bottom-line mentalities and to strengthen employee health management.
Originality/value
This study explains when and how supervisor bottom-line mentality affects employee health, contributing to the literature on the antecedents of presenteeism and enriching the research on supervisor bottom-line mentalities and employee and organizational outcomes. This study clarifies the emotional mechanisms and boundary conditions of supervisor bottom-line mentality affecting presenteeism.
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Guanzheng Wang, Yinbo Xu, Zhihong Liu, Xin Xu, Xiangke Wang and Jiarun Yan
This paper aims to realize a fully distributed multi-UAV collision detection and avoidance based on deep reinforcement learning (DRL). To deal with the problem of low sample…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to realize a fully distributed multi-UAV collision detection and avoidance based on deep reinforcement learning (DRL). To deal with the problem of low sample efficiency in DRL and speed up the training. To improve the applicability and reliability of the DRL-based approach in multi-UAV control problems.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, a fully distributed collision detection and avoidance approach for multi-UAV based on DRL is proposed. A method that integrates human experience into policy training via a human experience-based adviser is proposed. The authors propose a hybrid control method which combines the learning-based policy with traditional model-based control. Extensive experiments including simulations, real flights and comparative experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of the approach.
Findings
A fully distributed multi-UAV collision detection and avoidance method based on DRL is realized. The reward curve shows that the training process when integrating human experience is significantly accelerated and the mean episode reward is higher than the pure DRL method. The experimental results show that the DRL method with human experience integration has a significant improvement than the pure DRL method for multi-UAV collision detection and avoidance. Moreover, the safer flight brought by the hybrid control method has also been validated.
Originality/value
The fully distributed architecture is suitable for large-scale unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms and real applications. The DRL method with human experience integration has significantly accelerated the training compared to the pure DRL method. The proposed hybrid control strategy makes up for the shortcomings of two-dimensional light detection and ranging and other puzzles in applications.
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Wencheng Ni, Hui Li, Zhihong Jiang, Bainan Zhang and Qiang Huang
The purpose of this paper is to design an exoskeleton robot and present a corresponding rehabilitation training method for patients in different rehabilitation stages.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to design an exoskeleton robot and present a corresponding rehabilitation training method for patients in different rehabilitation stages.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a lightweight seven-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) cable-driven exoskeleton robot that is wearable and adjustable. After decoupling joint movement caused by a cable-driven mechanism, active rehabilitation training mode and passive rehabilitation training mode are proposed to improve the effect of rehabilitation training.
Findings
Simulations and experiments have been carried out, and the results validated the feasibility of the proposed mechanism and methods by a fine rehabilitative effect with different persons.
Originality/value
This paper designed a 7-DOF cable-driven exoskeleton robot that is suitable for patients of different body measurements and proposed the active rehabilitation training mode and passive rehabilitation training mode based on the cable-driven exoskeleton robot.
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Interaction – above all, food consumption, the fact of eating together – is connected to human representations and human fears. All of these are involved in socialization…
Abstract
Purpose
Interaction – above all, food consumption, the fact of eating together – is connected to human representations and human fears. All of these are involved in socialization, particularly in educative mechanisms (such as rules at table, regulation/moderation, apprenticeship) and pleasure (tasting discovery and games). This paper proposes to show the paradox between education (often in relation with health) and pleasure (in all forms) in food, using a cultural object appreciated in childhood, i.e. picture books.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a sociology thesis about the representations of food in picture books (50 picture books for children under six years of age, which were selected in bookshops to identify how food, the child and daily life are represented in fiction) and how they are used, and on a collection of data from interviews with professionals and parents (qualitative approach to analysis).
Findings
The paper finds social representations which corroborate the eater paradox. Between education and pleasure, between discovery and fear, the forms of food consumption are numerous in the picture books.
Originality/value
The paper shows that social representations are signified in all items for children and reveals the importance of this medium.
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Mati Ullah, Chunhui Zhao and Hamid Maqsood
The purpose of this paper is to design a hybrid robust tracking controller based on an improved radial basis function artificial neural network (IRBFANN) and a novel…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to design a hybrid robust tracking controller based on an improved radial basis function artificial neural network (IRBFANN) and a novel extended-state observer for a quadrotor system with various model and parametric uncertainties and external disturbances to enhance the resiliency of the control system.
Design/methodology/approach
An IRBFANN is introduced as an adaptive compensator tool for model and parametric uncertainties in the control algorithm of non-singular rapid terminal sliding-mode control (NRTSMC). An exact-time extended state observer (ETESO) augmented with NRTSMC is designed to estimate the unknown exogenous disturbances and ensure fast states convergence while overcoming the singularity issue. The novelty of this work lies in the online updating of weight parameters of the RBFANN algorithm by using a new idea of incorporating an exponential sliding-mode effect, which makes a remarkable effort to make the control protocol adaptive to uncertain model parameters. A comparison of the proposed scheme with other conventional schemes shows its much better performance in the presence of parametric uncertainties and exogenous disturbances.
Findings
The investigated control strategy presents a robust adaptive law based on IRBFANN with a fast convergence rate and improved estimation accuracy via a novel ETESO.
Practical implications
To enhance the safety level and ensure stable flight operations by the quadrotor in the presence of high-order complex disturbances and uncertain environments, it is imperative to devise a robust control law.
Originality/value
A new idea of incorporating an exponential sliding-mode effect instead of conventional approaches in the algorithm of the RBFANN is used, which makes the control law resistant to model and parametric uncertainties. The ETESO provides rapid and accurate disturbance estimation results and updates the control law to overcome the performance degradation caused by the disturbances. Simulation results depict the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.