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In high-temperature regions (tropical regions) temperatures rises in summer, which affects the performance of asphalt pavement. Therefore, we must consider the conditions of asphalt pavement, especially in these regions. This study aims to investigate the influence of high temperature on the stability performance of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and crumb rubber powder (CRP) modified hot mix asphalt (HMA) using Marshall design parameters and rutting test.

In this study, three HMA mixtures with 4 per cent HDPE and 15 per cent CRP, 5 per cent HDPE and 10 per cent CRP, and 6 per cent HDPE and 5 per cent CRP concentrations were used for the Marshall stability test and dynamic stability (rutting test) at 60-75°C, and water stability test at 60°C.

The results showed that when test temperature was increased from 60°C to 75°C, the Marshall stability and dynamic stability of three HDPE- and CRP-modified HMA mixtures decreased, and these three HDPE- and CRP-modified HMA mixtures have a good moisture damage resistance. Of the three HMA mixtures with different HDPE and CRP concentrations, HMA mixtures with 5 per cent HDPE and 10 per cent CRP concentration exhibit optimal Marshall stability, dynamic stability and water stability.

This study showed the effects of high-temperatures changes on the stability performance of HDPE- and CRP-modified HMA mixtures.

In the reduction of food waste and the provision of food to the hungry, food banks play critical roles. However, as they are generally run by charitable organisations that are chronically short of human and other resources, their inbound logistics efforts commonly experience difficulties in two key areas: 1) how to organise stocks of donated food, and 2) how to assess the donated items quality and fitness for purpose. To address both these problems, the authors aimed to develop a novel artificial intelligence (AI)-based approach to food quality and warehousing management in food banks.

For diagnosing the quality of donated food items, the authors designed a convolutional neural network (CNN); and to ascertain how best to arrange such items within food banks' available space, reinforcement learning was used.

Testing of the proposed innovative CNN demonstrated its ability to provide consistent, accurate assessments of the quality of five species of donated fruit. The reinforcement-learning approach, as well as being capable of devising effective storage schemes for donated food, required fewer computational resources that some other approaches that have been proposed.

Viewed through the lens of expectation-confirmation theory, which the authors found useful as a framework for research of this kind, the proposed AI-based inbound-logistics techniques exceeded normal expectations and achieved positive disconfirmation.

As well as enabling machines to learn how inbound logistics are handed by human operators, this pioneering study showed that such machines could achieve excellent performance: i.e., that the consistency provided by AI operations could in future dramatically enhance such logistics' quality, in the specific case of food banks.

This paper’s AI-based inbound-logistics approach differs considerably from others, and was found able to effectively manage both food-quality assessments and food-storage decisions more rapidly than its counterparts.

The purpose of this paper is to apply social network analysis (SNA) to study faculty research productivity, to identify key leaders, to study publication keywords and research areas and to visualize international collaboration patterns and analyze collaboration research fields from all Management Information System (MIS) departments in Taiwan from 1982 to 2015.

The authors first retrieved results encompassing about 1,766 MIS professors and their publication records between 1982 and 2015 from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan (MOST) website. Next, the authors merged these publication records with the records obtained from the Web of Science, Google Scholar, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, Airiti Library and Springer Link databases. The authors further applied six network centrality equations, leadership index, exponential weighted moving average (EWMA), contribution value and k-means clustering algorithms to analyze the collaboration patterns, research productivity and publication patterns. Finally, the authors applied D3.js to visualize the faculty members' international collaborations from all MIS departments in Taiwan.

The authors have first identified important scholars or leaders in the network. The authors also see that most MIS scholars in Taiwan tend to publish their papers in the journals such as Decision Support Systems and Information and Management. The authors have further figured out the significant scholars who have actively collaborated with academics in other countries. Furthermore, the authors have recognized the universities that have frequent collaboration with other international universities. The United States, China, Canada and the United Kingdom are the countries that have the highest numbers of collaborations with Taiwanese academics. Lastly, the keywords model, system and algorithm were the most common terms used in recent years.

This study applied SNA to visualize international research collaboration patterns and has revealed some salient characteristics of international cooperation trends and patterns, leadership networks and influences and research productivity for faculty in Information Management departments in Taiwan from 1982 to 2015. In addition, the authors have discovered the most common keywords used in recent years.

Seepage of the dam is an important safety problem, which may cause internal erosion of the structure. In the field of seepage monitoring in civil engineering, the distributed optical fiber sensing technology based on the temperature tracing method has been paid more attention due to its unique advantages of high sensitivity, good stability and high resolution. The purpose of this paper is to make a review of the existing related research, so as to facilitate the later scholars to understand and further study more systematically.

In this paper, three kinds of commonly used distributed fiber temperature measurement technologies are introduced. Based on the working principle, monitoring system, theoretical analysis, experimental research and engineering application of the fiber seepage monitoring technology, the present situation of dam seepage monitoring based on distributed fiber is reviewed in detail and their advantages and disadvantages are compared.

The thermal monitoring technology of seepage measurement depends on the accuracy of optical fiber temperature measurement (including the accuracy of the system and the rationality of the discrimination method), the correct installation of optical fiber and the quantitative analysis of temperature data. The accuracy of the current monitoring system can basically meet the existing measurement requirements, but the correct installation of optical fiber and the calibration of temperature data need to be further studied for different discrimination methods, and this field has great research value.

At present, there are many applications and research studies of optical fiber sensing in the field of structural health monitoring, and there are also reviews of related aspects. However, there is little or no review only in the field of seepage monitoring. This paper summarizes the research and application of optical fiber sensing in the field of seepage monitoring. The possibility of the gradient method to find its new prospect with the development of monitoring systems and the improvement of temperature resolution is discussed. The idea of extending the seepage monitoring method based on distributed optical fiber thermal monitoring technology to other monitoring fields is also given in the paper.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of principal preparation and training in China by providing a background discussion of principal preparation in a number of countries. As an illustration, it provides an overview of the curriculum used in the initial preparation of school principals at Beijing Normal University.

The paper draws mainly on writing and research from China, Australia and the USA to explore principal preparation and training in China.

In addition to providing a rich description of principal preparation in China, the paper's main findings comprise seven key challenges that confront China as it endeavours to provide quality principal preparation. These challenges include China's diversity and uneven social, cultural and educational development; limited resources in some regions throughout China; the place and importance of study tours for principal preparation; the teaching approach used to train principals; the process used for assessing principal learning during their training programs; the limited transfer of learning from the classroom to the school environment; and the timing of training for principals.

Each of the challenges arising here raises important practical implications for developers of principal training programs.

The paper paints a picture of principal preparation in China and raises a number of issues and challenges with which it continues to grapple. Of note is that China is not alone in facing some of these ongoing concerns.

Many experts suggest that the human being explore marine resources and marine new energy sources to alleviate the shortage of land resources and the ecological degradation. However, island coastal zones are considered to be fragile ecosystems; their geographical location and natural characteristics, their biodiversity and associated ecosystems, and their exposure to diverse land and sea conditions all make them highly vulnerable to environmental changes and human activities. Therefore, it is necessary to achieve the goals of environmental protection and sustainable development on the basis of a comprehensive evaluation and understanding of islands.

Due to the importance of island groups, this paper conducts evaluation studies on them. Using the Delphi, AHP and TOPSIS methods, this study evaluated quantitatively the comprehensive development level and comprehensive development potential of island groups in terms of resources, natural environment, economy and society. Innovatively using them as two subsystems, the present study combined the coupling coordination model and the obstacle factor calculation method.

The prospective index of comprehensive development was applied to the Changdao Island Group in Yantai, Shandong Province as an example, and the final evaluation revealed that the comprehensive development prospect of this island group had an upward trend from 2010 to 2017. Future efforts should be made to improve its economic and social conditions and economic development status, apart from promoting its comprehensive development by improving human resources management, increasing the GDP growth rate, and improving fresh water and electricity supply.

This study takes the integrated development level of the island and the integrated development potential of the island as two subsystems, and the innovative application of the coupling coordination degree model is used to calculate the integrated development index of the island to understand the development status of the island area. On the basis of this model, the obstacle factor identification method is designed to identify the main obstacle factors, and on the basis of evaluation and identification, specific measures to ensure the sustainable development of the island area are effectively proposed.

For high torque-density permanent magnet synchronous in-wheel motor, service life and electromagnetic performance are related directly to winding temperature. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the equivalent stator slot model to calculate the temperature of winding accurately.

This paper analyzes the the law of heat flux transfer in slot, which points the main influence factors of equivalent stator slot model. Thermal network model is used to investigate the drawbacks of conventional equivalent model. Based on the law of heat transfer in stator slot, a new layered winding model is put forward. According to winding type and property of impregnations, detailed method and equivalent principle of the new model are presented. The accuracy of this new method has been verified experimentally.

An accurate equivalent stator slot model should be built according to the low of heat transfer. According to theory analysis, the drawbacks of conventional equivalent stator slot model are pointed: it cannot reflect the temperature gradient of winding; the maximum and the average temperature of winding are much higher than actual value. For the new layered model, equivalent principle is related to winding type and property of impregnations, which makes the new model widely used.

This paper presents a new layered model, and shows detailed method, which is more meaningful for designers. The new layered model takes winding type and property of impregnations into account, which makes the new model widely used. It is verified experimentally that layered model is applicable to not only steady-state temperature field but also transient temperature field.

Purpose: Despite the significance of filial piety in intergenerational relationships and its important influence on parental health and well-being, few studies have explored the personal meaning of filial piety to older parents. This qualitative study aims to address this question.

Design: Responses to an open-ended question of “What makes a filial child in your view?” from a sample of 432 older parents in a rural Chinese county were collected face-to-face and analyzed using content analysis.

Findings: The personal meaning of filial piety varies. Seven broad themes emerged. These include widely persistent traditional filial piety beliefs (Be obedient, Respect, and Maintain frequent contact and show emotional care), filial piety values similar to filial obligations described in Western cultures (Help older parents when in times of need and Be a good citizen and take good care of themselves and their families), and traditional filial piety norms in the absolute form (Take care of every aspect of the parents’ life and Provide financial and material support to parents). Themes were also compared with dimensions of the intergenerational solidarity model.

Originality: Findings reflect the coexistence of traditional and modern filial values in relation to participants’ interpretation of filial piety, indicating that traditional filial piety beliefs are fading even in one of the least developed areas in China. Implications for interventions enhancing offspring’s filial performance are discussed.

Research limitations: Future studies on the understanding of filial piety from the perspective of offspring are warranted to draw a holistic picture of this topic.

High-quality cold-chain logistics are key to effectively managing the quality of temperature-sensitive foods. Hence, this study investigates the service quality of such logistics, using a real-life case of temperature-sensitive milk delivery.

This study focuses on developing business analytics for quality control in cold-chain perishable-food logistics, grounded in normal accident theory and stakeholder theory, and tests them using real-world data.

The empirical business-analytics results indicate that cargo locations, logistics status and delivery times are the essential factors that influence the quality of temperature-sensitive milk.

This study confirms that a combination of normal accident theory and stakeholder theory can be usefully applied to the development of strategies for managing perishable-food logistics. As such, its proposed business analytics provide a fresh foundation for research on logistics quality management.

The balance between efficiency and service quality in a logistics system should be assessed carefully, and logistics companies should collaborate with their stakeholders and can help to mitigate potential cold-chain risks.

This pioneering analytical study explores the essential quality issues that confront cold chains and demonstrates how to extract vital insights from temperature-sensitive food logistics monitoring data. As such, it represents a noteworthy contribution to the field of logistics quality management.

This study aims to apply signaling theory to examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure can deliver effective signals to stakeholders to increase a firm’s competitive advantage in China. Whether ownership patterns or environmental sensitivity causes a significant difference in the relationship between a firm’s CSR disclosure and competitive advantage is also examined.

Data analysis is based on a regression model. Content analysis is performed to convert qualitative CSR information of Chinese firms into quantitative data, while intellectual capital (IC) is used as a proxy variable for competitive advantage.

The difference in competitive advantage impairment between environmentally sensitive industries (ESIs) and non-environmentally sensitive industries (NESIs) is significant. Further comparisons on the relationship between overall CSR disclosure and competitive advantage among state-owned enterprises, privately owned enterprises, ESIs and NESIs suggest that the relationship is negative.

The study extends research of strategic CSR to signaling theory and competitive advantage. In particular, a research using IC as a proxy for competitive advantage is rare. It also contributes to the literature on competitive advantage and strategic CSR by examining the effects of both CSR disclosure and IC.

This paper provides evidence related to stakeholders’ reaction to managers’ various CSR strategies in China. The contribution of this study is that it confirms that different CSR initiatives have different effects on the competitiveness of enterprises in China.