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This paper aims to explore how a shared service centre (SSC) is mobilised in a power-dominant context of a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE). Specifically, it examines the mobilisation of SSC within this multi-divisional SOE, the role and dynamics of actors involved and the influence of changes in the integrated information system (IIS) during the mobilisation process.

The study follows a qualitative case study methodology. The authors draw on actor-network theory to examine the network and translation processes constructed in mobilising SSC in the chosen SOE. The data sources of this study were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations and documentary reviews.

The mobilisation of SSC is not a linear process but rather a “spiral” interplay through continuous interactions and compromises between human and non-human actors. Power gave the core actor as an orchestrator legitimacy and formality to reduce resistance and obstruction in translation for the mobilisation of SSC. The changes in IIS appear to facilitate the interaction between the heterogeneous actors.

This case study contributes towards understanding the mobilisation of SSC in a power-dominant context by highlighting the impact of changes in IIS and the details of the mobilisation of SSC in terms of the role played by both the individual actors and the technology.

This study provides a broader understanding of the interactions of the heterogeneous actors for mobilising SSC in a power-dominant context. More importantly, the study inspires future research into examining how SSC practices unfold and how the changes in IIS influence the mobilisation of SSC.

This paper aims to investigate the corrosion resistance of two types of coatings – one is ceria sol coating and the other is ceria sol coating modified by ZnO nanoparticles on 7075 aluminum alloy in 3.5% NaCl solution.

Aluminum alloys were dipped into ceria sol and ceria sol modified by ZnO nanoparticles separately and removed after 10 min from the solutions and dried at 110°C for 30 min and heated at 500 °C for 30 min to form the coatings. The coatings have been characterized by using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The EIS tests were performed in a corrosive solution of 3.5% NaCl.

The results showed that the coating of ceria sol modified by ZnO nanoparticles has higher corrosion resistance than the ceria sol coating and the bare sample. Also, the best efficiency is related to aluminum sample immersion after 1 h in NaCl corrosive solution for coating modified by ZnO nanoparticles.

In this research, the modification of ceria sol coating by ZnO nanoparticles had an effect on improving the corrosion behavior of aluminum alloy. It is also understood that modification of coatings is an effective parameter on corrosion resistance.

Poor cash flow management and lack of profitability have plagued the construction industry for decades. In response, the UK Government published the project bank account (PBA) payment strategy in 2012 to mitigate main contractors unfairly withholding liabilities. However, PBAs suffer from adoption challenges, such as systems fragmentation and a lack of incentives for main contractors to adopt them effectively. This study aims to investigate how to reduce systems fragmentation in construction by integrating PBA procedures with existing management workflows to increase payment automation, resulting in improved cash liquidity and better incentives for using PBAs.

A PBA blockchain decentralised application is developed, presented and critically evaluated. Blockchain is the technology used because of its permissionless, license-free, open-source and immutability properties. It is a suitable general-purpose technology layer for building and testing applications without the limitations associated with centralised technologies, such as high proprietary fees, vendor lock and intellectual property restrictions.

The research demonstrates how a blockchain application can integrate siloed construction workflows such as cash flow scheduling, supply chain management and payment executions, reducing the management workload for implementing PBAs in construction projects. Furthermore, the proposed application is open-source and replicable, and its user interface is available for external testing here: https://console.atra.io/app/bf26f846-7f16-4f80-90a0-c5488ab6edd3.

PBA is a suitable test case because it enforces an auditable, transparent and neutral account, which are inbuilt properties of blockchains; thus, both systems are harmonious to integrate. PBA is mandated in UK public sector construction projects; therefore, the research has a solid practical foundation.

This study aims to embed anatase, rutile and brookite TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) with different crystal phases into cotton fabrics by epoxy silane and to examine the effect of these applications on the photocatalytic and mechanical properties of the fabric.

Different aqueous dispersions which contain anatase, rutile and brookite were prepared at three different concentrations (5%, 10% and 15%). These NPs were embedded in cotton fabrics by using GPTS [(3-glycidyloxypropyl) trimethoxysilane]. Characterization tests were performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT/IR). Samples were stained with methylene blue (MB) and then exposed to solar light for different periods. Color changes of the samples were examined with a spectrophotometer. Air permeability, abrasion and tear strength tests were applied to all samples.

According to SEM images, the NPs were successfully attached to the cotton fabrics, and epoxy silane coating surrounded the fiber surfaces. The presence of the coating was also confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and FT/IR. The treatments reduced the stainability of the samples. The most effective applications for ensuring photocatalytic activity in cotton fabrics were suspensions as 10% brookite, 10% anatase and 5% anatase, in descending order. The applied coating slightly reduced the samples’ air permeability, and wear and tear strength.

The importance of this study is to determine the optimal crystal phase and its concentration by using epoxy silane to ensure self-cleaning properties on cotton fabrics. The sample treated with 10% brookite is the most approached its original white color by 99.65% as a result of degradation of MB (after 120 min). On the other hand, using the pure rutile with epoxy silane was not suitable for removing MB from the fabric.

This paper aims to investigate, upon taking into consideration both symmetric and asymmetric effects, how the economic and psychological impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, solidarity and future anxiety affect travel intention and the willingness to support a destination (WSD). Furthermore, the study sheds light on whether these relationships vary between domestic and international destinations.

The data are collected from 379 potential tourists. To detect and analyze the symmetrical and asymmetric effects, the covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) and the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) are employed, respectively.

It is observed that, whereas only the effects of solidarity on travel intention and WSD differ in the CB-SEM, the fsQCA results include different recipes for the two groups.

There has not been much research done yet on the influence of future anxiety on tourists' decisions. Furthermore, it has not been thoroughly investigated whether solidarity has a different function for destinations within and outside of the country. In this respect, the study of both symmetric and asymmetric effects represents an important contribution to the literature.

This study aims to prepare an imprinted composite membrane with grafted temperature-sensitive blocks for the efficient adsorption and separation of rhenium(Re) from aqueous solutions.

PVDF resin membrane was used as the substrate, dopamine and chitosan (CS) were used to modify the membrane surface and temperature-sensitive block PDEA was grafted on the membrane surface. Then acrylic acid (AA) and N-methylol acrylamide (N-MAM) were used as the functional monomers, ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the cross-linker and ascorbic acid-hydrogen peroxide (Vc-H₂O₂) as the initiator to obtain the temperature-sensitive ReO4⁻ imprinted composite membranes.

The effect of the preparation process on the performance of CS–Re–TIICM was investigated in detail, and the optimal preparation conditions were as follows: the molar ratios of AA–NH₄ReO₄, N-MAM and EGDMA were 0.13, 0.60 and 1.00, respectively. The optimal temperature and time of the reaction were 40 °C and 24 h. The maximum adsorption capacity of CS–Re–TIICM prepared under optimal conditions was 0.1071 mmol/g, and the separation was 3.90 when MnO4⁻ was used as the interfering ion. The quasi first-order kinetics model and Langmuir model were more suitable to describe the adsorption process.

With the increasing demand for Re, the recovery of Re from Re-containing secondary resources becomes important. This study demonstrated a new material that could be separated and recovered Re in a complex environment, which could effectively alleviate the conflict between the supply and demand of Re.

This contribution provided a new material for the selective separation and purification of ReO4⁻, and the adsorption capacity and separation of CS–Re–TIICM were increased with 1.673 times and 1.219 time compared with other Re adsorbents, respectively. In addition, when it was used for the purification of NH₄ReO₄ crude, the purity was increased from 91.950% to 99.999%.

Regular monitoring of bacteria, especially Escherichia coli, in wastewater is crucial to ensure the maintenance of public health. Amperometric detection proves to be a fast, sensitive and economically viable solution for E. coli enumeration. This paper reported a prototype amperometric sensor based on PANI-ZnO-NiO nanocomposite thin films prepared by sol–gel method and irradiated with gamma ray. The purpose of this study is to investigate the sensor performance of PANI-ZnO-NiO nanocomposite thin films to detect E. coli in water.

The films were varied with different compositions of ZnO and NiO by using the formula PANI-(ZnO)_1-x-(NiO)_x, with x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8. PANI-ZnO-NiO nanocomposite thin films were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study the crystallinity and surface morphology of the films. The sensor performance was conducted using the current–voltage (I-V) measurement by testing the films in clean water and E. coli solution.

XRD diffractograms show the peaks of ZnO (1 0 0) and NiO (1 0 2). AFM analysis shows the surface roughness, and the grain size of PANI-ZnO-NiO thin films decreases when the concentration ratios of NiO increased. I-V curves show the difference in current flow, where the current in E. coli solution is higher than the clean water.

PANI-(ZnO)_1-x-(NiO)_x nanocomposite thin film with the highest concentration of ZnO performed the highest sensitivity among the other concentrations, which can be used to indicate the presence of E. coli bacteria in water.

This study’s aim is to introduce a high-performance sorbent for the removal of both anionic (Congo red; CR) and cationic (methylene blue; MB) dyes from aqueous solutions.

Sodium silicate is adopted as a substrate for GO and AgNPs with positive charge are used as modifiers. The synthesized nanocomposite is characterized by FTIR, FESEM, EDS, BET and XRD techniques. Then, some of the most effective parameters on the removal of CR and MB dyes such as solution pH, sorbent dose, adsorption equilibrium time, primary dye concentration and salt effect are optimized using the spectrophotometry technique.

The authors successfully achieved notable maximum adsorption capacities (Qmax) of CR and MB, which were 41.15 and 37.04 mg g⁻¹, respectively. The required equilibrium times for maximum efficiency of the developed sorbent were 10 and 15 min for CR and MB dyes, respectively. Adsorption equilibrium data present a good correlation with Langmuir isotherm, with a correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.9924 for CR and R2 = 0.9904 for MB, and kinetic studies prove that the dye adsorption process follows pseudo second-order models (CR R2 = 0.9986 and MB R2 = 0.9967).

The results showed that the proposed mechanism for the function of the developed sorbent in dye adsorption was based on physical and multilayer adsorption for both dyes onto the active sites of non-homogeneous sorbent.

The as-prepared nano-adsorbent has a high ability to remove both cationic and anionic dyes; moreover, to the high efficiency of the adsorbent, it has been tried to make its synthesis steps as simple as possible using inexpensive and available materials.

This study aims to investigate the behavior of the green biomass-derived copper (lignin/silica/fatty acids) complex, copper lignin/silica/fatty acids (Cu-LSF) complex, when incorporated into the nonpolar ethylene propylene diene (EPDFM) rubber matrix, focusing on its reinforcing and antioxidant effect on the resulting EPDM composites.

The structure of the prepared EPDM composites was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and the dispersion of the additive fillers and antioxidants in the EPDM matrix was investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Also, the rheometric characteristics, mechanical properties, swelling behavior and thermal gravimetric analysis of all the prepared EPDM composites were explored as well.

Results revealed that the Cu-LSF complex dispersed well in the nonpolar EPDM rubber matrix, in thepresence of coupling system, with enhanced Cu-LSF-rubber interactions and increased cross-linking density, which reflected on the improved rheological and mechanical properties of the resulting EPDM composites. From the various investigations performed in the current study, the authors can suggest 7–11 phr is the optimal effective concentration of Cu-LSF complex loading. Interestingly, EPDM composites containing Cu-LSF complex showed better antiaging performance, thermal stability and fluid resistance, when compared with those containing the commercial antioxidants (2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline and N-isopropyl-N’-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine). These findings are in good agreement with our previous study on polar nitrile butadiene rubber.

The current study suggests the green biomass-derived Cu-LSF complex to be a promising low-cost and environmentally safe alternative filler and antioxidant to the hazardous commercial ones.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of sales, as a proxy for size, in moderating the impact of institutional incongruence between formal and informal institutions on the formalization of microenterprises in middle-income countries in Latin America.

The paper uses a probit regression model to examine business formalization as a binary outcome of formal and informal institutions. Data was collected through interviews and surveys across 52 municipalities in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile. The study used a stratified sampling approach and was conducted between November 2022 and January 2023.

The results offer three key insights into the formalization of microenterprises in middle-income countries. First, we show that formal institutions do not significantly influence formalization decisions among microentrepreneurs in middle-income countries, challenging the traditional belief that formal institutions alone significantly influence formalization in these contexts. Second, we show that informal institutions are significant predictors of informality, especially among smaller microenterprises. Third, we highlight that the smaller the business, the stronger the negative effect of informal institutions on formalization, and thus, the institutional incongruence between formal and informal institutions decreases for larger businesses.

This paper contributes to management literature by shedding light on the drivers of formalization in middle-income countries, a departure from most formalization studies wherein the focus is primarily on low-income economies. The findings suggest that policymakers in middle-income countries should focus on enabling microenterprise growth through sales, rather than targeting specific demographic groups or relying solely on formal institutional enforcement to promote formalization.

El objetivo de este estudio es investigar el papel de las ventas, utilizadas como un indicador de tamaño, en la mediación del impacto de la incongruencia institucional entre instituciones formales e informales en la formalización de microempresas en países de ingresos medios en América Latina.

Utilizamos un modelo de regresión Probit para examinar la formalización empresarial como un resultado binario de instituciones formales e informales. Los datos se recopilaron a través de 110 entrevistas y encuestas en 52 municipios de la Región Metropolitana de Santiago, Chile. El estudio empleó un enfoque de muestreo estratificado y se llevó a cabo entre noviembre de 2022 y enero de 2023.

Nuestros resultados ofrecen tres ideas clave sobre la formalización de microempresas en países de ingresos medios. Primero, demostramos que las instituciones formales no influyen significativamente en las decisiones de formalización entre las microempresas en países de ingresos medios; esto desafía la creencia tradicional de que las instituciones formales por sí solas influyen significativamente en la formalización en estos contextos. Segundo, nuestro estudio muestra que las instituciones informales son predictores significativos de la informalidad, especialmente entre las microempresas más pequeñas. Tercero, nuestro estudio destaca que el efecto negativo de las instituciones informales sobre la formalización es más fuerte para negocios de menor tamaño; por lo tanto, la incongruencia institucional entre instituciones formales e informales disminuye para negocios de mayor tamaño.

Este artículo contribuye a la literatura iluminando sobre los impulsores de la formalización en países de ingresos medios, a diferencia de la mayoría de los estudios de formalización en la región latinoamericana que se centran principalmente en países de bajos ingresos. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que los responsables de políticas en países de ingresos medios deberían centrarse en impulsar el crecimiento de las microempresas a través de las ventas, en lugar de enfocarse en grupos demográficos específicos o depender únicamente del cumplimiento institucional formal para promover la formalización.

O objetivo deste estudo é investigar o papel das vendas, usadas como um indicador de tamanho, na mediação do impacto da incongruência institucional entre instituições formais e informais na formalização de microempresas em países de renda média na América Latina.

Utilizamos um modelo de regressão Probit para examinar a formalização empresarial como um resultado binário de instituições formais e informais. Os dados foram coletados por meio de 110 entrevistas e pesquisas em 52 municípios da Região Metropolitana de Santiago, Chile. O estudo empregou uma abordagem de amostragem estratificada e foi realizado entre novembro de 2022 e janeiro de 2023.

Nossos resultados oferecem três ideias-chave sobre a formalização de microempresas em países de renda média. Primeiro, demonstramos que as instituições formais não influenciam significativamente as decisões de formalização entre as microempresas em países de renda média; isso desafia a crença tradicional de que as instituições formais, por si só, influenciam significativamente a formalização nesses contextos. Segundo, nosso estudo mostra que as instituições informais são preditores significativos da informalidade, especialmente entre as microempresas menores. Terceiro, nosso estudo destaca que o efeito negativo das instituições informais sobre a formalização é mais forte para negócios de menor porte; portanto, a incongruência institucional entre instituições formais e informais diminui para negócios de maior porte.

Este artigo contribui para a literatura iluminando os impulsionadores da formalização em países de renda média, ao contrário da maioria dos estudos de formalização na região latino-americana, que se concentram principalmente em países de baixa renda. Nossos achados sugerem que os responsáveis pelas políticas em países de renda média deveriam focar em impulsionar o crescimento das microempresas por meio das vendas, em vez de se concentrar em grupos demográficos específicos ou depender exclusivamente do cumprimento institucional formal para promover a formalização.