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An elasto‐viscoplastic analysis of anisotropic plates and shells is undertaken by means of the finite element displacement method. A thick shell formulation accounting for shear deformation is considered and a layered approach is adopted in order to model property changes through the shell thickness. In order to avoid ‘locking’ behaviour as the shell thickness is reduced, the nine‐node Lagrangian and heterosis elements are introduced into the present model. Viscoplastic yielding is based on the Huber—Mises criterion extended by Hill for anisotropic materials. Time integration of the strain rate equations is accomplished by both explicit and implicit algorithms and special consideration is given to the evaluation of the viscoplastic strain increment for anisotropic situations. The computer code developed is demonstrated by application to a range of numerical examples.

Since the beginning of the new millennium, Confucian doctrines on one’s self-cultivation have been re-introduced to curriculum in China. The revived cherish of the Confucian legacy in the twenty-first century is a reverse from the official rejection of Confucianism in the Mao era (1950–1976). It also appears as a counterweight to the individualism proliferating among the Chinese youths born at the beginning of the new millennium (Gen Z). The re-introduction of Confucianism is thus ideologically purposeful. Yet how does the mixed exposure to Confucius’ legacy and the modern idea of self-awareness impact this cohort of young people, in particular their way of learning? This chapter focusses on Chinese Gen Z studying in Australia. Using the Bourdieuan theory of human habitus, this chapter examines how these students negotiate between the ideas of self-cultivation and self-awareness, and what implications such experiences have in an intercultural academic community.

A generalized displacement method has been previously presented for the analysis of thin plate‐shell structures with the use of bilinear 4‐node isoparametric shell elements. Following this approach, a procedure for the geometrically non‐linear analysis of thin plates and shells based on both updated and total Lagrangian formulations is developed. The results of some numerical examples are presented to show the versatility and effectiveness of the method.

Nanoparticles as the grease additives play an important role in anti-wear and friction-reducing property during the mechanical operation. To improve the lubrication action of grease, the tribological behavior of lithium-based greases with single (nanometer Al₂O₃ or nanometer ZnO) and composite additives (Al₂O₃–ZnO nanoparticles) were investigated in this paper.

The morphology and microstructure of nanoparticles were characterized by means of transmission electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. Tribological properties of different nanoparticles as additives in lithium-based greases were evaluated using a universal friction and wear testing machine. In addition, the friction coefficient (COF) and wear scar diameter were analyzed. The surface morphology and element overlay of the worn steel surface were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), respectively.

The results show that the greases with nanometer Al₂O₃ or nanometer ZnO and the composite nanoparticles additives both exhibit lower COFs and wear scar diameters than those of base grease. And the grease with Al₂O₃–ZnO composite nanoparticles possesses much lower COF and shows much better wear resistance than greases with single additives. When the additives contents are 0.4 Wt.% Al₂O₃ and 0.6 Wt.% ZnO, the composite nanoparticles-based grease exhibits the lowest mean COF (0.04) and wear scar diameter (0.65 mm), which is about 160% and 28% lower than those of base grease, respectively.

The main innovative thought of this work lies in dealing with the grease using single or composite nanoparticles. And through a serial contrast experiments, the anti-wear and friction-reducing property with different nanoparticles additives in lithium grease are evaluated.

Employee engagement serves as a critical strategy for tourism and hospitality organizations to support their employees and fight adversity. This study aims to investigate the antecedents and effects of employee engagement and examine innovative behavior as a linchpin mechanism for the relationship between organizational engagement culture and organizational performance.

This study analyzed the antecedents and effects of employee engagement through a hierarchical linear model that considers both organizational- and individual-level factors. The data was collected through a questionnaire survey from employees of 39 hotels in Guangzhou, China.

The results confirmed the significant positive effect of organizational empowerment, leadership and collaboration atmosphere on employment engagement. An individual’s perception of rewards and recognition, distributive justice and procedural justice significantly affected employee engagement. It was also confirmed that employee engagement ultimately improved performance outcomes at the individual and organizational levels. Additionally, the mediation effect of organizational innovation culture on the relationship between organizational employee engagement and organizational performance was confirmed.

Organizations can improve their performance by enhancing employee engagement, which in turn, can be encouraged by empowering leadership and organizational collaboration culture. Organizations can also improve their performance by providing rewards and recognition appreciated by employees and ensuring justice to them.

This research contributes to the literature on employee engagement in the hospitality industry by demonstrating how organizational performance can be improved through employee engagement using a multilevel model. The findings highlight that organizations with engaged employees are more likely to achieve an innovative culture, which in turn, leads to organizational success. This study also confirmed that empowerment, leadership and collaboration culture help improve organizational performance in the hospitality industry.

The car body stiffness of express freight sliding side covered wagon decreased for the sliding and the resonance vibration based on the flexible car body has affected the dynamics performances. Dynamic loading will cause fatigue cracks and eventually lead to fatigue failure of the car body. This paper aims to investigate the influence of car body flexibility on the evaluation of the failure.

In this paper, the railway vehicles random analysis procedure (RVRAP) is employed to study the fatigue failure of the rigid-flexibility model. Following the analysis process, the rigid-flexibility model is established and four contrastive schemes for simulation analysis are designed. To verify the results, an experimental test using the real car body structure on the vibration test plant is carried out; the RMS of dynamic stress is obtained and compared with the simulation results.

The results show that the flexibility of the car body has a crucial influence on the fatigue life.

The reliability is verified regarding the use of RVRAP at an appropriate stage on the antifatigue design of the vehicle.

This research aims to use meta-analytical structural equation modeling to look into how hospitality employees use technology at work. It further investigates if the relationship between the constructs of the technology acceptance model (TAM) is moderated by job level (supervisory versus non-supervisory) and different cultures (eastern versus western).

In total, 140 relationships from 30 empirical studies (N = 6,728) were used in this study’s data analysis in accordance with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis.

The findings demonstrated that perceived usefulness had a greater influence on “user attitudes” and “acceptance intention” than perceived ease of use. This study also identified that the effect sizes of relationships among TAM constructs appeared to be greater for supervisory employees or in eastern cultures than for those in non-supervisory roles or western cultures.

The findings provide valuable information for practitioners to increase the adoption of employee technology. Practitioners need to focus on the identification of hospitality employee attitudes, social norms and perceived ease of use. Moreover, hospitality practitioners should be cautious when promoting the adoption of new technologies to employees, as those at different levels may respond differently.

This is the very first empirical investigation to meta-analyze the predictive power of the TAM in the context of hospitality staff technology adoption at the workplace. The findings also demonstrated differences in the predictive power of TAM constructs according to job level and cultural differences.