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This research aims at explaining the phenomenon of the “black children” (heihaizi), a very little-known generation who lived with concealment under the one-child policy in China. The one-child policy was officially introduced to nationwide at the end of 1979 by permitting per couple to have one child only, later modified to a second child allowed if the first was a girl in rural China in 1984. It was officially replaced by a nation-wide two-child policy and most existing research focused on the parents’ sufferings and policy changes. The term “black children” has been mainly used to describe their absence from their family hukou registration and education. However, this research aims at expanding the meaning of being “black” to explain the children who were concealed more than at the level of family formal registration, but also physical freedom and emotional bond. What we do not yet know are the details of their lived experiences from a day-to-day base: where did they live? How were they raised up? Who were involved? Who benefited from it and who did not? In this way, this research challenges the existing scholarship on the one-child policy and repositions the “black children” as primary victims, and reveals the family as a key figure in co-producing their diminished status with the support of state power. It is very important to understand these children’s loss of citizenship and human freedom from the inside of the family because they were concealed in so many ways away from public view and interventions. This research focuses on illustrating how their lack of access to continued, stabilized, and reciprocally recognized family interactions framed their very idea of self-worth and identity.

The purpose of this paper aims to investigate the adaptive impedance control and its optimized PSO algorithm for force tracking of a dual-arm cooperative robot. Because the dual-arm robot is directly in contact with external environment, controlling the mutual force between robot and external environment is of great importance. Besides, a high compliance of the robot should be guaranteed.

An impedance control based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is designed to track the mutual force and achieve compliance control of the robot end.

The experimental results show that the impedance control coefficients can be automatically tuned converged by PSO algorithm.

The system can reach a steady state within 0.03 s with overshoot convergence, and the force fluctuation range at the steady state decreases to about ±0.08 N even under the force mutation condition.

This study examines how informal business networks achieve marketing goals in socially uncertain contexts. Drawing from multiple historical sources, Shangbangs, a type of business network that thrived in pre-1949 China, are analyzed.

The Critical Historical Research Method (CHRM) undergirds a study of Shangbangs’ historicity (i.e. their socio-historically embedded multiplicity, including organizational forms, activities and connotations.

As informal regional, professional, project-based, special-product-based or mixed marketing networks, Shangbangs relied on “flexible specialization” and coupled multiple business needs to market goods and services, business organizations, specific social values and, when necessary, to debrand business rivals.

This analysis extends theories about marketing networks by probing their subtypes, diverse marketing activities, multipronged channels and relationship building with social entities (including underground societies, business associations and guilds) in response to pre-1949 China’s market uncertainties. Substantiating an alternative approach to “flexible specialization” and marketing innovations within the pre-1949 Chinese economy shows how a parallel theoretical framework can complement western-based marketing theories.

This first comprehensive analysis of Shangbangs, an innovative historical Chinese marketing network outside the conventional market-corporate dichotomy, can inform theory building for marketing strategy-making and management conditioned by social contexts.

As live streaming becomes a widely used online sales mode, previously content-centred anchors are attempting to switch to e-commerce live streaming. The purpose of this research was to explore the mechanisms that prompt consumers to stay or leave after content anchors transfer to live e-commerce broadcasts. In addition, we explored the factors affecting consumption from the perspectives of anchors, consumers and the external environment.

We distributed questionnaires to a group of fans who had experienced the transition of content anchors to live streaming and received back 375 valid questionnaires. Using psychological contract theory, we constructed a theoretical model for the scenario in which content anchors transition to live e-commerce broadcasting and analysed the data using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The results show that circle culture, mainstream culture, initial trust and live streaming content all positively influenced consumers’ attitudes, whilst consumers’ past shopping experiences negatively influenced consumers’ attitudes. The personal charm of the content anchors did not have a significant effect on consumers’ attitudes. Additionally, we found that only anchors with a significant circle culture and good trust levels amongst fans were able to transition to live e-commerce streaming successfully.

This study extends the application of psychological contract theory to the field of e-commerce and describes the transformation of different types of psychological contracts. The paper’s conclusions provide a reference for decision-making and the implementation of transformation by content-based anchors to live streaming, helping them to coordinate their relationships with fans more effectively.

Social network group decision-making (SNGDM) has rapidly developed because of the impact of social relationships on decision-making behavior. However, not only do social relationships affect decision-making behavior, but decision-making behavior also affects social relationships. Such complicated interactions are rarely considered in current research. To bridge this gap, this study proposes an SNGDM model that considers the interaction between social trust relationships and opinion evolution.

First, the trust propagation and aggregation operators are improved to obtain a complete social trust relationship among decision-makers (DMs). Second, the evolution of preference information under the influence of trust relationships is measured, and the development of trust relationships during consensus interactions is predicted. Finally, the iteration of consensus interactions is simulated using an opinion dynamics model. A case study is used to verify the feasibility of the proposed model.

The proposed model can predict consensus achievement based on a group’s initial trust relationship and preference information and effectively captures the dynamic characteristics of opinion evolution in social networks.

This study proposes an SNGDM model that considers the interaction of trust and opinion. The proposed model improves trust propagation and aggregation operators, determines improved preference information based on the existing trust relationships and predicts the evolution of trust relationships in the consensus process. The dynamic interaction between the two accelerates DMs to reach a consensus.

This study aims to explore how visionary leadership influences innovative work behavior (IWB) with the mediating effect of knowledge sharing (KS), employee creativity and moderating role of work centrality in the relationship between employee creativity and IWB in the organization.

A survey was administered to 304 respondents who were employees in different organizations in the United Arab Emirates. The data were analyzed through structural equation modeling using SmartPLS4.

The results show that visionary leadership is significantly associated with KS and employee creativity. Moreover, employee creativity has a notable impact on IWB, and the connection between employee creativity and IWB remains unaffected by work centrality.

This study offers a novel perspective by investigating the interrelationship between visionary leadership, KS, employee creativity, work centrality and IWB. A distinctive feature of this study lies in its focus on the mediation and moderation effects within this framework, with emphasis on a relatively new leadership style, visionary leadership. By exploring the mediating role of KS between visionary leadership and employee creativity, as well as the mediating role of employee creativity between KS and IWB, this study offers one of the first to highlight the underlying mechanisms that drive IWB. Furthermore, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to introduce work centrality as a moderator in the relationship between employee creativity and IWB.

The aim of this review is to present together the studies on textile-based moisture sensors developed using innovative technologies in recent years.

The integration levels of the sensors studied with the textile materials are changing. Some research teams have used a combination of printing and textile technologies to produce sensors, while a group of researchers have used traditional technologies such as weaving and embroidery. Others have taken advantage of new technologies such as electro-spinning, polymerization and other techniques. In this way, they tried to combine the good working efficiency of the sensors and the flexibility of the textile. All these approaches are presented in this article.

The presentation of the latest technologies used to develop textile sensors together will give researchers an idea about new studies that can be done on highly sensitive and efficient textile-based moisture sensor systems.

In this paper humidity sensors have been explained in terms of measuring principle as capacitive and resistive. Then, studies conducted in the last 20 years on the textile-based humidity sensors have been presented in detail. This is a comprehensive review study that presents the latest developments together in this area for researchers.

The escalating levels of greenhouse gas emissions have become a growing global concern, with household energy consumption emerging as a significant contributor. To develop effective public policies, it is crucial to understand the energy-saving behavior of households. This study delves into the determinants of energy-saving practices in a developing country.

The authors chose a multivariate probit model, as it allowed to look after possible correlations among seven energy-saving practices within households.

The findings underscore the significant influence of sociodemographic variables, such as gender, civil status, income and education, on energy-saving practices. Furthermore, the authors discovered that households where the head actively volunteers in social organizations are more likely to adopt energy-saving behaviors. Additionally, internet access positively contributes to pro-environmental behavior. This research reveals that certain energy-saving practices are interconnected, acting as complements or substitutes.

Recommendations for public policy include prioritizing education in rural areas to boost energy-saving practices, improving internet access in nonurban regions and promoting citizen involvement in social organizations to enhance environmental awareness and encourage energy-saving behavior. The authors contribute to literature evidencing that certain energy-saving practices are not independent of each other, they are rather complementary and, in some cases, substitutes.

Recommendations for public policy include prioritizing education in rural areas to boost energy-saving practices, improving Internet access in nonurban regions and promoting citizen involvement in social organizations to enhance environmental awareness and encourage energy-saving behavior.

Previous studies have overlooked these interdependencies, highlighting the necessity of a system of equations to yield more efficient estimates by considering correlations between error terms.

The Purpose of this study is to prove the possibility of developing low cost mechanical anti – lock braking system (ABS) for the passenger’s safety.

The design methodology of the proposed newer mechanical ABS comprises of two units, namely, the braking unit and wheel lock prevention unit. The braking unit actuates the wheel stopping as and when the driver applies the brake, whereas the wheel lock prevention unit initiates wheel release to prevent locking and subsequent slip/skidding. The brake pedal with master cylinder assembly and double-arm cylinder forms the braking unit, brake pad cylinder, movable brake pad, solenoid valve and dynamo forms the wheel lock prevention unit. The dynamo coupled with the rotor energises/de-energises the solenoid values to direct airflow for applying brake and release it, which makes the system less energy-dependent.

The braking unit aids in vehicle stops, by locking the disc with the brake pad actuated by a double-arm cylinder. The dynamo energises the solenoid valve to activate the brake pad cylinder piston for applying the brake on the disc. Instantaneously, on applying the brake the dynamo de-energises the solenoid to divert the pneumatic flow for retracting the brake pad thereby minimizing the braking torque. The baking torque reduction revives the wheel rotating and prevents slip/skidding.

Mechanical ABS preventing wheel lock by torque reduction principle is a novel method that has not been evolved so far. The system was designed with repair/replacement of the parts and subcomponents to support higher affordability on safety grounds.