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The purpose of this paper is to apply analysis of public discourses on Ze Xiao to explore and interpret the power relationships shaping inequality in admission to public junior high schools in urban China.

This study first introduces the rise of Ze Xiao as an educational phenomenon in China. It then elucidates power relationships in public school admission by analyzing continuities and changes in stakeholders’ interaction in public school admission. It concludes by discussing educational reform for equal public school admission in urban China. Data were collected from written and spoken texts about public school admission, including newspaper articles from the 1980s to the 2000s, policy documents and interviews with relevant stakeholders.

Findings demonstrate that multi-layered power relationships caused diverse inequalities in admission to public secondary education in urban China. These are represented by political and institutional privileges and an imbalance in education development during the social transition from a profit-driven approach in the 1990s to a balance-centered one after 2000. Arguably, there is a necessity to further promote a systematic reform to terminate the privileges and imbalance for an equal and balanced public secondary education in urban China post-2015.

This study attempts to make a contribution toward reconstructing the meaning of inequality in admission to public junior high schools in urban areas by revealing the power relationships among stakeholders constituted through their interactions in public education during the different stages of socio-economic development in urban China.

This paper aims to research the effect of different concentrations for Nd(NO₃)₃ and Ce(NO₃)₃ on the microstructures and corrosion resistance of Ni-W-P composite coatings through electroless plating method.

Scanning electron microscope, attached energy dispersive spectroscopy system and X-ray diffraction were used in this work. Meanwhile, the immersion test and electrochemical tests were used to characterize the corrosion behavior of the coating.

The coatings prepared at 1.00 g·L⁻¹ Nd(NO₃)₃ exhibit a dense structure and high phosphorus content (12.38 wt.%). In addition, compared to the addition of Ce(NO₃)₃, when Nd(NO₃)₃ was introduced at a concentration of 1.00 g·L⁻¹, the minimum corrosion rate of the coating was 1.209 g·m⁻²·h⁻¹, with a noble E_corr (−0.29 V) and lower I_corr (8.29 × 10⁻⁴ A·cm⁻²).

The effects of rare earths on the deposition and corrosion resistance mechanisms of Ni-W-P composite coatings were explored, with the rare earth elements promoting the deposition of nickel and tungsten atoms. Simultaneously, the amorphization of the coating increases, which excellently enhances the corrosion resistance of the coating.

The megaproject is a vital innovation ecosystem for participants engaging in technological adoption and integration to achieve project goals. The purpose of this paper is to examine how ecosystem captains build and operate a megaproject innovation ecosystem (MIE). To be more specific, we conducted an in-depth case study to identify the roles played by ecosystem captains in establishing and managing a megaproject innovation ecosystem.

Based on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge project, the data we collected range from 2010 to 2019 and include semi-structured interviews, informal conversations, and archival documents. We employed an inductive theory building approach to address our research question and analyzed our data using the coding process and Atlas.ti software.

We find that the ecosystem captains themselves are client organizations that have evolved with the ecosystem during four distinct yet inter-related phases. In addition, we find that the captains’ roles of the client organizations include two typical activities: ecosystem establishment and ecosystem collaboration. The ecosystem captains first frame problems, plan innovative activities, set rules, and select participants for the establishment of the ecosystem, and then orchestrate resources, buffer conflicts, incorporate innovative networks, and cultivate an innovation culture to create a collaborative ecosystem.

This study proposes a theoretical framework showing how ecosystem captains engage in MIE to manage innovative activities during different stages. It highlights the importance of captainship roles in client organizations in a megaproject.

This paper aims to report on a study that used the practice theory lens to understand how Chinese ethnic culture influences restaurant workers' learning through engagement in everyday work practices.

A multiple case study approach was used. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and site observations. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify how workers learnt the sayings, doings and relatings in their workplaces.

The findings show that the ethnic culture of the participants influences and enriches their learning in practice settings such as small Chinese restaurants.

The understandings presented here need to be verified through more research in different regions and nations. In addition, cross-cultural studies on other ethnic restaurants may contribute to deeper understandings of the influences of ethnic culture on practice-based learning.

The research contributes to understanding the influence of ethnic culture on practice-based learning.

The understandings gained from the findings of this study form a useful basis for curriculum development and instructional design of training programmes for practice-based as well as work-integrated-learning components of vocational curriculum. Furthermore, awareness of the strengths of the ethnic culture is of interest to owner/managers of small Chinese restaurants to afford supportive learning environments for workers.

The purpose of this paper is to optimize experimental parameters and gain further insights into the plating process in the fabrication of high-density interconnections of printed circuit boards (PCBs) by the rotating disc electrode (RDE) model. Via metallization by copper electrodeposition for interconnection of PCBs has become increasingly important. In this metallization technique, copper is directly filled into the vias using special additives. To investigate electrochemical reaction mechanisms of electrodeposition in aqueous solutions, using experiments on an RDE is common practice.

An electrochemical model is presented to describe the kinetics of copper electrodeposition on an RDE, which builds a bridge between the theoretical and experimental study for non-uniform copper electrodeposition in PCB manufacturing. Comsol Multiphysics, a multiphysics simulation platform, is invited to modeling flow field and potential distribution based on a two-dimensional (2D) axisymmetric physical modeling. The flow pattern in the electrolyte is determined by the 2D Navier–Stokes equations. Primary, secondary and tertiary current distributions are performed by the finite element method of multiphysics coupling.

The ion concentration gradient near the cathode and the thickness of the diffusion layer under different rotating velocities are achieved by the finite element method of multiphysics coupling. The calculated concentration and boundary layer thicknesses agree well with those from the theoretical Levich equation. The effect of fluid flow on the current distribution over the electrode surface is also investigated in this model. The results reveal the impact of flow parameters on the current density distribution and thickness of plating layer, which are most concerned in the production of PCBs.

By RDE electrochemical model, we build a bridge between the theoretical and experimental study for control of uniformity of plating layer by concentration boundary layer in PCB manufacturing. By means of a multiphysics coupling platform, we can accurately analyze and forecast the characteristic of the entire electrochemical system. These results reveal theoretical connections of current density distribution and plating thickness, with controlled parameters in the plating process to further help us comprehensively understand the mechanism of copper electrodeposition.

The purpose of this paper was to present a simple and convenient technology to produce the electronic-grade CuO. The prepared electronic-grade CuO fully meets the demands of industrial production of high density interconnect (HDI).

A new method termed as open-circuit potential-time technology is proposed to measure the dissolution time of CuO in plating solution. X-ray diffraction (XRD) scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) were used to characterize the prepared CuO. Solder shock and reflow tests were carried out to examine the Cu deposits.

All aspects of the prepared CuO meet the demands of printed circuit board (PCB) industry.

A simple and convenient technology was presented to produce the electronic-grade CuO. A new method was proposed to determine the dissolution time of CuO in plating solution.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with exceptional mechanical, thermal and electrical properties are considered to be ideal for reinforcing high-performance structures. The interfacial stresses between the CNTs and surrounding matrix are important phenomena which critically govern the mechanical properties of CNTs-reinforced nanocomposites. A number of methods have been proposed to investigate the stress transfer across the CNT/matrix interface, such as experimental measurement and molecular dynamics (MDs). Experimental tests are difficulty and expensive. MDs simulations, on the other hand, are computationally inefficient. The purpose of this paper is to present a reasonably simplified model. Incorporating the simplified model, the analytical expressions of the interface stresses including the shear stress and longitudinal normal stress are obtained.

The analytical model consists of two concentric cylinders, namely a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) cylinder and a matrix cylinder, as the representative volume element (RVE). The interfacial stress analysis is performed using the shear lag model for the axisymmetric RVE. Analytical solutions for the normal stresses in the SWCNT and matrix, and the interfacial shear stress across the SWCNT/matrix interface are obtained. The proposed model has a great ability to theoretical prediction of the stress transfer between the matrix and CNTs.

In order to demonstrate the simulation capabilities of the proposed model, parametric studies are conducted to investigate the effects of the volume fraction of SWCNT and matrix modulus on the stress transfer. The axial stress in the matrix is decreasing with the increase of the volume fraction and decrease of the matrix modulus. As a result of more loads can be transferred to the SWCNT for a large volume fraction and small matrix modulus. These results show that using a large volume fraction and a small matrix modulus improves the efficiency of the stress transfer from the matrix to the CNTs.

A simple but accurate model using a simplified 2D RVE for characterizing the stress transfer in CNT-reinforced nanocomposites is presented. The predictions from the current method compare favourably with those by existing experimental, analytical and computational studies. The simple and explicit expressions of the interfacial stresses provide valuable analysis tools accessible to practical users.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how absorptive capacity mediates the relationship between ambidextrous organizational learning and performance among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Based on the resource-based view (RBV) and the dynamic capability approach, this paper uses the resource-capability-performance framework to construct the theoretical model of this study and tests the theoretical model with the questionnaire survey data of 189 SMEs in mainland China.

Ambidextrous organizational learning has different effects on SMEs' performance in terms of survival performance and growth performance. Both exploitative learning and exploratory learning have positive effects on absorptive capacity, and absorptive capacity has positive influences on both the survival performance and growth performance of SMEs. Absorptive capacity plays different mediating roles in the relationships between ambidextrous organizational learning and SMEs' performance: absorptive capacity plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between exploratory learning and SME growth performance, while absorptive capacity plays complete mediating roles in other relationships.

Managers must stress the use of exploratory learning in order to promote SMEs' growth performance. However, to foster both absorptive capacity and SME performance in terms of survival and growth, managers must pay more attention to take advantage of ambidextrous organizational learning. Government as policymakers should create a favorable environment that enable SMEs to benefit much more from the deployment of ambidextrous organizational learning and absorptive capacity.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to theorize and test the mediating role of absorptive capacity in the linkage between ambidextrous organizational learning and SME performance in terms of survival and growth. Additionally, this study also is the first to provide empirical support for the impact of ambidextrous organizational learning on absorptive capacity among SMEs.

This paper provides a quantitative review of the literature on the repercussions of idiosyncratic information on firms’ cost of equity (CoE) capital. In total, I review the results of 113 unique studies examining the CoE effects of information Quantity, Precision and Asymmetry. My results suggest that the association between firm-specific information and CoE is subject to moderate effects. First, the link between Quantity and CoE is moderated by disclosure types and country-level factors in that firms in comparatively weakly regulated countries tend to enjoy up to four times greater CoE benefits from more expansive disclosure—depending on the type of disclosure—than firms in strongly regulated markets. Second, a negative relationship between Precision and CoE is only significant in studies using non-accrual quality proxies for Precision and risk factor-based (RFB)/valuation model-based (VMB) proxies for CoE. Third, almost all VMB studies confirm the positive association between Asymmetry and CoE, but there is notable variation in the conclusions reached when ex post CoE measurers are used.

A new method for forecasting wind turbine capacity of China is proposed through grey modelling technique.

First of all, the concepts of discrete grey model are introduced into the NGBM(1,1) model to reduce the discretization error from the differential equation to its discrete forms. Then incorporating the conformable fractional accumulation into the discrete NGBM(1,1) model is carried out to further improve the predictive performance. Finally, in order to effectively seek the emerging coefficients, namely, fractional order and nonlinear coefficient, the whale optimization algorithm (WOA) is employed to determine the emerging coefficients.

The empirical results show that the newly proposed model has a better prediction performance compared to benchmark models; the wind turbine capacity from 2019 to 2021 is expected to reach 275954.42 Megawatts in 2021. According to the forecasts, policy suggestions are provided for policy-makers.

By combing the fractional accumulation and the concepts of discrete grey model, a new method to improve the prediction performance of the NGBM(1,1) model is proposed. The newly proposed model is firstly applied to predict wind turbine capacity of China.