Gaoping Xu, Hao Zhang, Zhuo Meng and Yize Sun
The purpose of this paper is to propose an automatic interpolation algorithm for robot spraying trajectories based on cubic Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS) curves, to solve…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose an automatic interpolation algorithm for robot spraying trajectories based on cubic Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS) curves, to solve the problem of sparse and incomplete trajectory points of the head and heel of the shoe sole when extracting robot motion trajectories using structured-light 3D cameras and to ensure the robot joints move smoothly, so as to achieve a good effect of automatic spraying of the shoe sole with a 7-degree-of-freedom (DOF) robot.
Design/methodology/approach
Firstly, the original shoe sole edge trajectory position points acquired by the 3D camera are fitted with NURBS curves. Then, the velocity constraint at the local maximum of the trajectory curvature is used as the reference for curve segmentation and S-shaped acceleration and deceleration planning. Immediately, real-time interpolation is performed in the time domain to obtain the position and orientation of each point of the robot motion trajectory. Finally, the inverse kinematics of the anthropomorphic motion of the 7-DOF robot arm is used to obtain the joint motion trajectory.
Findings
The simulation and experiment prove that the shoe sole spraying trajectory is complete, the spraying effect is good and the robot joint movement is smooth, which show that the algorithm is feasible.
Originality/value
This study is of good practical value for improving the quality of automated shoe sole spraying, and it has wide applicability for different shoe sole shapes.
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Keywords
Hui Lu, Wei Wang, Ling Xu, Zhenhong Li, Yan Ding, Jian Zhang and Fei Yan
The Chinese population is rapidly ageing before they are rich. The purpose of this paper is to describe healthcare seeking behaviour and the critical factors associated with…
Abstract
Purpose
The Chinese population is rapidly ageing before they are rich. The purpose of this paper is to describe healthcare seeking behaviour and the critical factors associated with healthcare seeking behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a purposive sampling method, the authors recruited 44 adults aged 60 years or older from three provinces, representing the developed (Shanghai), undeveloped (Ningxia) regions and the regions in between (Hubei). From July to September 2008, using a semi-structured guide, the authors interviewed participants in focus group discussions.
Findings
The healthcare needs for chronic and catastrophic diseases were high; however, the healthcare demands were low and healthcare utilizations were even lower owing to the limited accessibility to healthcare services, particularly, in underdeveloped rural areas. “Too expensive to see a doctor” was a prime complaint, explaining substantial discrepancies between healthcare needs, demands and use. Care seeking behaviour varied depending on insurance availability, perceived performance, particularly hospital services, and prescription medications. Participants consistently rated increasing healthcare accessibility as a high priority, including offering financial aid, and improving service convenience. Improving social security fairness was the first on the elderly’s wish list.
Originality/value
Healthcare demand and use were lower than needs, and were influenced by multiple factors, primarily, service affordability and efficiency, perceived performance and hospital service quality.
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J.N. Chakraborty, Priyanka Kumari Dhaka, Akshit Vikram Sethi and Md Arif
Shape memory polymers (SMPs) respond with a change in their shape against a specific stimulus by memorizing their original shape and are reformed after deformation most often by…
Abstract
Purpose
Shape memory polymers (SMPs) respond with a change in their shape against a specific stimulus by memorizing their original shape and are reformed after deformation most often by changing the temperature of the surrounding without additional mechanical efforts. In the coming years, these polymers indeed will be in limelight to manufacture textile materials which will retain their shape even after prolonged use under disturbed conditions. This study aims at defining shape memory materials and polymers as well as their technological characteristics and also highlights application in various fields of textiles.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology used to explain these SMPs have been carried out starting with the discussion on their properties, their physical nature, types, viz., shape memory alloys (SMAs), shape memory ceramics, shape memory hybrid, magnetic shape memory alloy, shape memory composites, shape memory gels and SMP along with properties of each type. Other related details of these polymers, such as their advantages, structure and mechanism, shape memory functionality, thermally responsive SMPs and applications, have been detailed.
Findings
It has been observed that the SMPs are very important in the fields of wet and melt-spun fibers to offer novel and functional properties, cotton and wool fabric finishing, to produce SMP films, foams and laminated textiles, water vapor permeable and breathable SMP films, etc.
Originality/value
The field of SMPs is new, and very limited information is available to enable their smooth production and handling.
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Keywords
The Chinese system of education is shifting from an examination orientation to a more creative approach in order to increase educational quality. The New Curriculum in China…
Abstract
The Chinese system of education is shifting from an examination orientation to a more creative approach in order to increase educational quality. The New Curriculum in China requires not only changes in content and form, but also sets higher expectations for teachers’ instructional strategies and quality course design. Against this policy backdrop, China developed and implemented the School-Based Instructional Research (SBIR) model to improve teachers’ professional knowledge and development. In this ISATT anniversary chapter, our discussion revolves around the theme of SBIR, including its origin, progression, process, elements, and methods. To end, we summarize the expectations and prospects for SBIR in the Chinese educational context.
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Fung Kwan, Yanrui Wu and Shuaihe Zhuo
This paper aims to contribute to the pool of studies of rural underemployment in China. It is devoted to the conceptualization and measurement of surplus labour.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to contribute to the pool of studies of rural underemployment in China. It is devoted to the conceptualization and measurement of surplus labour.
Design/methodology/approach
The agricultural labour requirement function is estimated by the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) with China's prefecture‐level data. Surplus labour or inefficient labour is obtained by subtracting the required labour from the actual labour participated in agriculture.
Findings
The authors' analysis indicates that the existing size of agricultural surplus labour in rural China is still significantly large with the continued practice of the household registration system and China's WTO membership. However, the size has been decreasing over the last decade.
Research limitations/implications
Quality of data might affect the authors' estimates.
Practical implications
The phenomenon of the coexistence of surplus agricultural labour and shortage of workers in non‐agricultural production in urban China was discussed in line with the authors' research findings, as this has important impacts on the policies of rural industrialization in China.
Social implications
This paper further argues that China is probably experiencing the second stage of the Lewis‐Fei‐Ranis dualistic economic framework.
Originality/value
The authors' paper is probably the first to use prefecture data and SFA for panel data study of surplus agricultural labour in China. The analysis is essential to the understanding of the rural labour market during its rapid transition.
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Yongtao Yao, Yuncheng Xu, Bing Wang, Weilong Yin and Haibao Lu
The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of recent systematic and comprehensive advancement in electrospun polymer fiber and their composites with shape memory property.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of recent systematic and comprehensive advancement in electrospun polymer fiber and their composites with shape memory property.
Design/methodology/approach
The nanofiber manufacture technique is initially reviewed. Then, the influence of electrospinning parameters and actuation method has been discussed. Finally, the study concludes with a brief review of recent development in potential applications.
Findings
Shape memory polymer (SMP) nanofibers are a type of smart materials which can change shape under external stimuli (e.g. temperature, electricity, magnetism, solvent). In general, such SMP nanofibers could be easily fabricated by mature electrospinning technique. The nanofiber morphology is mainly affected by the electrospinning parameters, including applied voltage, tip-to-collector distance, viscosity of solution, humidity and molecular weight. For actuation method, most SMP nanofibers and their composites can change their shapes in response to heat, magnetic field or solvent, while few can be driven by electricity. Compared with the block SMPs, electrospun SMP nanofibers’ mat with porosity and low mechanical property have a wide potential application field including tissue engineering, drug delivery, filtration, catalysis.
Originality/value
This paper provides a detailed review of shape memory nanofibers: fabrication, actuation and potential application, in the near future.
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Meng-Jun Hsu, Hiram Ting, Tsz-Wai Lui, Shih-Chih Chen and Jun-Hwa Cheah
Haihua Chen, Yunhan Yang, Wei Lu and Jiangping Chen
Citation contexts have been found useful in many scenarios. However, existing context-based recommendations ignored the importance of diversity in reducing the redundant issues…
Abstract
Purpose
Citation contexts have been found useful in many scenarios. However, existing context-based recommendations ignored the importance of diversity in reducing the redundant issues and thus cannot cover the broad range of user interests. To address this gap, the paper aims to propose a novelty task that can recommend a set of diverse citation contexts extracted from a list of citing articles. This will assist users in understanding how other scholars have cited an article and deciding which articles they should cite in their own writing.
Design/methodology/approach
This research combines three semantic distance algorithms and three diversification re-ranking algorithms for the diversifying recommendation based on the CiteSeerX data set and then evaluates the generated citation context lists by applying a user case study on 30 articles.
Findings
Results show that a diversification strategy that combined “word2vec” and “Integer Linear Programming” leads to better reading experience for participants than other diversification strategies, such as CiteSeerX using a list sorted by citation counts.
Practical implications
This diversifying recommendation task is valuable for developing better systems in information retrieval, automatic academic recommendations and summarization.
Originality/value
The originality of the research lies in the proposal of a novelty task that can recommend a diversification context list describing how other scholars cited an article, thereby making citing decisions easier. A novel mixed approach is explored to generate the most efficient diversifying strategy. Besides, rather than traditional information retrieval evaluation, a user evaluation framework is introduced to reflect user information needs more objectively.
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Wanyi Chen and Fanli Meng
Corporate digital transformation (CDT) has challenged traditional tax administration systems. This study examines the impact of CDT on tax avoidance behavior and tests whether tax…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate digital transformation (CDT) has challenged traditional tax administration systems. This study examines the impact of CDT on tax avoidance behavior and tests whether tax authorities can identify this behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data on listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2008 to 2020, this study applies the Heckman two-stage and cross-section models.
Findings
The results show that the higher the degree of CDT, the more aggressive the tax avoidance behavior. The CDT's impact on corporate tax avoidance is more significant under strong government tax efforts.
Originality/value
This study expands research on the economic consequences of CDT and the factors influencing corporate tax avoidance behavior. Moreover, it has important implications for governments to monitor tax avoidance behavior under the CDT, improve digital tax systems, and pay more attention to the tax administration of digital assets.
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Meng Lu, Yang Qiang, Du Jiangang and Dong Zerui
The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction effect of innovative product category and presentation order on consumer consumer’s purchasing intention and the mediating…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction effect of innovative product category and presentation order on consumer consumer’s purchasing intention and the mediating role of perceived novelty and risk perception.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors examined the hypotheses in three experiment studies. In Study 1, the authors primed innovative product category and presentation order on consumer consumer’s purchasing intention. In Study 2, the authors measured the mediating role of perceived novelty and risk perception. In Study 3, they validated the moderating effect of picture and text consistency on the improvement of purchase preference.
Findings
The results reveal that RNP/INP and presentation order (from whole to part/from part to whole) could enhance consumers’ purchase intention and verify the mediating role of perceived novelty and risk perception, based on which a complete internal mechanism model is constructed. The third experiment shows the moderating effect of picture and text consistency on the improvement of purchase preference by matching the category and presentation order of innovative products.
Originality/value
Prior literature on the thinking mode of holistic and partial processing has been mostly applied to the cognitive field of reading and text labeling. In this study, using the holistic (local) processing thinking model and anchoring theory, eye movement experiments and situational experiments, the audience’s analysis framework of information processing mechanism is constructed. The unique phenomenon of product category and overall (local) presentation order coexisting in innovative product advertisement is considered comprehensively.