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1 – 10 of 235Zhi-Fei Li, Jia-Wei Zhao and Shengliang Deng
This paper investigates the current psychological state of Chinese tourism practitioners and their career resilience during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It empirically examines…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the current psychological state of Chinese tourism practitioners and their career resilience during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It empirically examines the effects of COVID-19 on Chinese tourism practitioners' professional attitudes and their career belief in the future. The study is intended to guide enterprises and governments to design effective strategies/policies to deal with the effect of this unfavorable environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consists of 442 tourism practitioners in 313 tourism enterprises in China. The data were collected via a targeted online survey based on a well-structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using statistical procedures including multilevel regression analysis.
Findings
The study results show that Chinese tourism practitioners have strong career resilience in the face of current turbulent time. After testing, the model shows that career beliefs and social support have a significant positive impact on the professional attitudes of tourism practitioners, and that career resilience has a partial mediating effect on their career beliefs, social support and professional attitude.
Originality/value
This study enriches the existing literature on career belief, social support and career resilience. It provides a new interpretation on how career belief and social support impact career resilience and thus shape tourism practitioners' professional attitudes during pandemics.
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Ximing Yin, Fei Li, Jin Chen and Yuedi Zhai
University–industry (UI) collaboration is essential for knowledge and technology exchange between higher education institutions and industries, enabling enterprises to accelerate…
Abstract
Purpose
University–industry (UI) collaboration is essential for knowledge and technology exchange between higher education institutions and industries, enabling enterprises to accelerate innovation. However, few studies have investigated the collaborative innovation mechanism through which UI collaboration can enhance the accumulation of firms' intellectual capital (IC) and how this, in turn, affects their innovation-driven development.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing from the knowledge management and collaborative innovation theory, this research proposes a theoretical framework of the inter-organization relationship between enterprises and universities to investigate the influence mechanism of UI collaboration, including academic engagement and commercialization, on corporate performance as well as the mediating role of IC by employing survey that covers 177 UI collaborations.
Findings
Empirical results show that human capital and relational capital fully mediate the relationship between academic engagement UI collaboration and corporate economic performance, while human capital partially mediates the relationship between commercialization UI collaboration and corporate economic performance. Additionally, structural capital and relational capital partially mediate the relationship between academic engagement and corporate innovation performance, while structural capital fully mediates the relationship between commercialization and corporate innovation performance.
Originality/value
This study empirically investigates how academic engagement and commercialization impact corporate performance (i.e. innovation dimension or economic dimension). It uncovers this relationship's underlying mechanism by documenting the IC's mediating impact.
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Zhixun Wen, Fei Li and Ming Li
The purpose of this paper is to apply the concept of equivalent initial flaw size (EIFS) to the anisotropic nickel-based single crystal (SX) material, and to predict the fatigue…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply the concept of equivalent initial flaw size (EIFS) to the anisotropic nickel-based single crystal (SX) material, and to predict the fatigue life on this basis. The crack propagation law of SX material at different temperatures and the weak correlation of EIFS values verification under different loading conditions are also investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
A three-parameter time to crack initial (TTCI) method with multiple reference crack lengths under different loading conditions is established, which include the TTCI backstepping method and EIFS fitting method. Subsequently, the optimized EIFS distribution is obtained based on the random crack propagation rate and maximum likelihood estimation of median fatigue life. Then, an effective driving force based on anisotropic and mixed crack propagation mode is proposed to describe the crack propagation rate in the small crack stage. Finally, the fatigue life of three different temperature ESE(T) standard specimens is predicted based on the EIFS values under different survival rates.
Findings
The optimized EIFS distribution based on EIFS fitting - maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method has the highest accuracy in predicting the total fatigue life, with the range of EIFS values being about [0.0028, 0.0875] (mm), and the mean value of EIFS being 0.0506 mm. The error between the predicted fatigue life based on the crack propagation rate and EIFS distribution for survival rates ranges from 5% to 95% and the experimental life is within two times dispersion band.
Originality/value
This paper systematically proposes a new anisotropic material EIFS prediction method, establishing a framework for predicting the fatigue life of SX material at different temperatures using fracture mechanics to avoid inaccurate anisotropic constitutive models and fatigue damage accumulation theory.
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Fei Li, Yan Chen, Jaime Ortiz and Mengyang Wei
Deglobalization and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have severely hindered multinational enterprise (MNE) investment. At the same time, digital technology is…
Abstract
Purpose
Deglobalization and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have severely hindered multinational enterprise (MNE) investment. At the same time, digital technology is seriously challenging it with traditional production factor flows. Few studies have realized that the impact of digitalization is not limited to either transaction costs or the location-boundness of firm-specific advantages (FSAs), but extends to profound changes in the fundamental essence of MNEs. There is still limited understanding of this body of knowledge as a whole, including how its subtopics are interrelated. This study took the production factor change perspective to review MNE theory in the digital era. Therefore, this study aims to identify any upcoming and undeveloped themes in order to provide a platform suited to direct future research.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a summary and a review of 151 articles published between 2007 and 2020. Such review was conducted to systematically explain the connotations and influential mechanisms of digital empowerment on MNE theory. This was achieved by using the CiteSpace citation visualization tool to build a keyword co-occurrence network.
Findings
The research findings pertain to how digitalization expands, breaks through, and even reshapes traditional MNE theory from four distinctive angles: the influential factors of internationalization, the process of internationalization, competitive advantage, and location choice. The findings are followed by the presentation of future research directions.
Originality/value
This paper presents an examination of MNE theory in the digital era from the perspective of production factor change. In doing so, it identifies significant theoretical innovation opportunities for future scholarly research priorities.
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Shefaly Shorey, Daria Vyugina, Natalia Waechter and Niva Dolev
The rise of the digital era has greatly transformed communication, enabling it to transcend time and geographic boundaries. Generation Z grew up in this era and was exposed to a…
Abstract
The rise of the digital era has greatly transformed communication, enabling it to transcend time and geographic boundaries. Generation Z grew up in this era and was exposed to a wide range of communication options, including in-app messaging, video calls, and social media platforms. Increased connectivity made possible by technological advancements has resulted in changes in communication etiquette and opened up more room for miscommunication. Despite heavily engaging in digital communication like text or in-app messaging, this generation still prefers to communicate face-to-face.
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A. Syafiq, A.K. Pandey, Vengadaesvaran Balakrishnan, Syed Shahabuddin and Nasrudin Abd Rahim
This paper aims to investigate the thermal stability and hydrophobicity of difference alkyl chain of silanes with silicon (Si) micro- and nanoparticles.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the thermal stability and hydrophobicity of difference alkyl chain of silanes with silicon (Si) micro- and nanoparticles.
Design/methodology/approach
Sol-gel methods have been used to design superhydrophobic glass substrates through surface modification by using low-surface-energy Isooctyl trimethoxysilane (ITMS) and Ethyl trimethoxysilane (ETMS) solution. Hierarchical double-rough scale solid surface was built by Si micro- and nanoparticles to enhance the surface roughness. The prepared sol was applied onto glass substrate using dip-coating method and was dried at control temperature of 400°C inside the tube furnace.
Findings
The glass substrate achieved the water contact angle as high as 154 ± 2° and 150.4 ± 2° for Si/ITMS and Si/ETMS films, respectively. The Si/ITMS and Si/ETMS also were equipped with low sliding angle as low as 3° and 5°, respectively. The Si micro- and nanoparticles in the coating system have created nanopillars between them, which will suspend the water droplets. Both superhydrophobic coatings have showed good stability against high temperature up to 200°C as there are no changes in WCA shown by both coatings. Si/ITMS film sustains its superhydrophobicity after impacting with further temperature up to 400°C and turns hydrophobic state at 450°C.
Research limitations/implications
Findings will be useful to develop superhydrophobic coatings with high thermal stability.
Practical implications
Sol method provides a suitable medium for the combination of organic-inorganic network to achieve high hydrophobicity with optimum surface roughness.
Originality/value
Application of different alkyl chain groups of silane resin blending with micro- and nanoparticles of Si pigments develops superhydrophobic coatings with high thermal stability.
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Xuliang Yao, Xiao Han, Yuefeng Liao and Jingfang Wang
This paper aims to better design the resonant tank parameters for LLC resonant converter. And, it is found that under heavy load, the voltage gain is affected by junction…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to better design the resonant tank parameters for LLC resonant converter. And, it is found that under heavy load, the voltage gain is affected by junction capacitors of the primary side switching and the parasitic parameters of the secondary side diodes converted to the primary side, which will cause the voltage gain decreased when the switching frequency decreased.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper proposes an optimization parameters design method to solve this problem, which was based on impedance model considering the parasitic parameters of switching devices and diodes.
Findings
The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by impedance Bode plots and experimental results.
Originality/value
From the perspective of impedance modeling, this paper finds the reasons for the insufficient voltage regulation capability of LLC resonant converters under heavy load and finds solutions through analysis.
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Wenzhen Yang, Shuo Shan, Mengting Jin, Yu Liu, Yang Zhang and Dongya Li
This paper aims to realize an in-situ quality inspection system rapidly for new injection molding (IM) tasks via transfer learning (TL) approach and automation technology.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to realize an in-situ quality inspection system rapidly for new injection molding (IM) tasks via transfer learning (TL) approach and automation technology.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed in-situ quality inspection system consists of an injection machine, USB camera, programmable logic controller and personal computer, interconnected via OPC or USB communication interfaces. This configuration enables seamless automation of the IM process, real-time quality inspection and automated decision-making. In addition, a MobileNet-based deep learning (DL) model is proposed for quality inspection of injection parts, fine-tuned using the TL approach.
Findings
Using the TL approach, the MobileNet-based DL model demonstrates exceptional performance, achieving validation accuracy of 99.1% with the utilization of merely 50 images per category. Its detection speed and accuracy surpass those of DenseNet121-based, VGG16-based, ResNet50-based and Xception-based convolutional neural networks. Further evaluation using a random data set of 120 images, as assessed through the confusion matrix, attests to an accuracy rate of 96.67%.
Originality/value
The proposed MobileNet-based DL model achieves higher accuracy with less resource consumption using the TL approach. It is integrated with automation technologies to build the in-situ quality inspection system of injection parts, which improves the cost-efficiency by facilitating the acquisition and labeling of task-specific images, enabling automatic defect detection and decision-making online, thus holding profound significance for the IM industry and its pursuit of enhanced quality inspection measures.
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Rong Jiang, Bin He, Zhipeng Wang, Xu Cheng, Hongrui Sang and Yanmin Zhou
Compared with traditional methods relying on manual teaching or system modeling, data-driven learning methods, such as deep reinforcement learning and imitation learning, show…
Abstract
Purpose
Compared with traditional methods relying on manual teaching or system modeling, data-driven learning methods, such as deep reinforcement learning and imitation learning, show more promising potential to cope with the challenges brought by increasingly complex tasks and environments, which have become the hot research topic in the field of robot skill learning. However, the contradiction between the difficulty of collecting robot–environment interaction data and the low data efficiency causes all these methods to face a serious data dilemma, which has become one of the key issues restricting their development. Therefore, this paper aims to comprehensively sort out and analyze the cause and solutions for the data dilemma in robot skill learning.
Design/methodology/approach
First, this review analyzes the causes of the data dilemma based on the classification and comparison of data-driven methods for robot skill learning; Then, the existing methods used to solve the data dilemma are introduced in detail. Finally, this review discusses the remaining open challenges and promising research topics for solving the data dilemma in the future.
Findings
This review shows that simulation–reality combination, state representation learning and knowledge sharing are crucial for overcoming the data dilemma of robot skill learning.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no surveys that systematically and comprehensively sort out and analyze the data dilemma in robot skill learning in the existing literature. It is hoped that this review can be helpful to better address the data dilemma in robot skill learning in the future.
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Faris Elghaish, Sandra Matarneh, Essam Abdellatef, Farzad Rahimian, M. Reza Hosseini and Ahmed Farouk Kineber
Cracks are prevalent signs of pavement distress found on highways globally. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning (DL) for crack detection is increasingly…
Abstract
Purpose
Cracks are prevalent signs of pavement distress found on highways globally. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning (DL) for crack detection is increasingly considered as an optimal solution. Consequently, this paper introduces a novel, fully connected, optimised convolutional neural network (CNN) model using feature selection algorithms for the purpose of detecting cracks in highway pavements.
Design/methodology/approach
To enhance the accuracy of the CNN model for crack detection, the authors employed a fully connected deep learning layers CNN model along with several optimisation techniques. Specifically, three optimisation algorithms, namely adaptive moment estimation (ADAM), stochastic gradient descent with momentum (SGDM), and RMSProp, were utilised to fine-tune the CNN model and enhance its overall performance. Subsequently, the authors implemented eight feature selection algorithms to further improve the accuracy of the optimised CNN model. These feature selection techniques were thoughtfully selected and systematically applied to identify the most relevant features contributing to crack detection in the given dataset. Finally, the authors subjected the proposed model to testing against seven pre-trained models.
Findings
The study's results show that the accuracy of the three optimisers (ADAM, SGDM, and RMSProp) with the five deep learning layers model is 97.4%, 98.2%, and 96.09%, respectively. Following this, eight feature selection algorithms were applied to the five deep learning layers to enhance accuracy, with particle swarm optimisation (PSO) achieving the highest F-score at 98.72. The model was then compared with other pre-trained models and exhibited the highest performance.
Practical implications
With an achieved precision of 98.19% and F-score of 98.72% using PSO, the developed model is highly accurate and effective in detecting and evaluating the condition of cracks in pavements. As a result, the model has the potential to significantly reduce the effort required for crack detection and evaluation.
Originality/value
The proposed method for enhancing CNN model accuracy in crack detection stands out for its unique combination of optimisation algorithms (ADAM, SGDM, and RMSProp) with systematic application of multiple feature selection techniques to identify relevant crack detection features and comparing results with existing pre-trained models.
Details