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As digital spaces for team collaboration, virtual worlds bring considerable verisimilitude to technology-mediated social interaction and change the process of traditional team learning. The purpose of this study is to understand how to promote collaborative learning in virtual worlds by leveraging the power of we-intention to participate in virtual worlds. The authors further use the valence–instrumentality–self-efficacy–trust model (VIST) model as a means of understanding the formation of we-intention to participate in virtual worlds, during which behavioral desire serves a bridging role.

The authors tested the research model using the data gathered from 298 users of a prominent form of virtual world, i.e. massively multiplayer online role-playing games. The authors used the structural equation modeling approach and the partial least squares technique for data analysis.

Results show that the four factors of the VIST model (i.e. valence on team goals, instrumentality of contribution, self-efficacy in team tasks and trust in team members) all positively influence we-intention to participate in virtual worlds through behavioral desire for team actions. We-intention to participate in virtual worlds further exerts a stronger positive effect on collaborative learning in virtual worlds, compared with I-intention to participate in virtual worlds.

This work advances the information systems literature by introducing a relevant and important concept, i.e. we-intention, to explain collaborative learning in virtual worlds. This study especially compared the effect of we-intention and I-intention on collaborative learning in virtual worlds. The results of this work also provide practitioners with insights into the role of we-intention in promoting collective actions in virtual worlds.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the curvilinear relationship between perceived negative workplace gossip and target employee’s task performance, and the moderating roles of perceived organizational support (POS).

Using a sample of 275 supervisor–subordinate dyads in a two-wave survey, the authors adopted a hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses.

The results revealed that there is a U-shaped relationship between perceived negative workplace gossip and task performance. Moreover, POS moderated the curvilinear relationship such that the curvilinear relationship is more pronounced among those with lower POS.

This study does not explore the mediating mechanism of how perceived negative gossip affects the target’s task performance. Moreover, as this research was conducted in a Chinese context, the question of the generalizability of the findings calls for more attention.

When the negative gossip is still in its early stages, managers should realize the potential threat to target employees and take measures to stop and minimize negative gossiping and rumormongering. Furthermore, managers should do their best to find the optimal levels of organizational support for target employees.

This study is among the first effort to understand how perceived negative gossip can influence the target employees’ performance by proposing and demonstrating a nonlinear relationship. Moreover, by illuminating how POS plays a role in the curvilinear relationship between negative gossip and task performance, the authors not only complement but also extend the literature on workplace gossip and organizational support.

Today’s software engineers often work in teams to develop complex software systems. Therefore, successful software engineering in practice require team members to possess not only sound programming skills such as analysis, design, coding and testing but also soft skills such as communication, collaboration and self-management. However, existing examination-based assessments are often inadequate for quantifying students’ soft skill development. The purpose of this paper is to explore alternative ways for assessing software engineering students’ skills through a data-driven approach.

In this paper, the exploratory data analysis approach is adopted. Leveraging the proposed online agile project management tool – Human-centred Agile Software Engineering (HASE), a study was conducted involving 21 Scrum teams consisting of over 100 undergraduate software engineering students in multi-week coursework projects in 2014.

During this study, students performed close to 170,000 software engineering activities logged by HASE. By analysing the collected activity trajectory data set, the authors demonstrate the potential for this new research direction to enable software engineering educators to have a quantifiable way of understanding their students’ skill development, and take a proactive approach in helping them improve their programming and soft skills.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there has yet to be published previous studies using software engineering activity data to assess software engineers’ skills.

The design method of high-resolution capacitor arrays was proposed to improve the precision of successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) without calibration and optimize the circuit area.

According to calculation of equivalent series capacitors and change of voltage at the comparator input node, two three-stage structures of capacitor arrays and a general design flow of the multi-stage capacitor arrays were presented. Non-ideal factors on the capacitor arrays were analyzed, and the applications of the two structures were explained based on the capacitor mismatch.

A multi-stage capacitor array for 16-bit SAR ADCs was implemented. The simulation result shows that its nonlinear error was less than 0.3LSB with no gain error and the sampling capacitance accounted for 92.42% of the total capacitance. Effects of capacitive parasitic and mismatch on capacitor arrays were confirmed.

The proposed method focused on capacitor arrays design of high-resolution SAR ADCs. It effectively reduced nonlinear errors, improved SNR and optimized the area of SAR ADCs. The design method was suitable for SAR ADCs with different resolutions to improve their precision.

During the 3D printing process, the model needs to add a support structure to ensure structural stability. Excessive support structure reduces printing efficiency and results in material cost. A flexible support platform for 3 D printing has been designed. It can form an external support structure to replace the original support structure. This paper aims to study the influence of a model’s build orientation on properties when the model is printed on the platform, aiming to provide users with suitable solutions.

A fitness function for estimating the support structure with a support length is constructed. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is modified and applied to find the build orientation that minimizes the support structure. However, when the model is printed on the platform, the build orientation of the minimum support structure enhances the complexity of the working path, resulting in an increase of printing time, which needs to be avoided. This paper applies a multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm to minimize the support structure while minimizing printing time. The Pareto solution is obtained by the algorithm.

It is found that the model that has the cantilever structure can reduce more support structure after optimization on the platform, when there is surface quality requirement. When there is no limit, the modified algorithm can minimize the support structure of each model. Considering support structure and printing time, the MOPSO algorithm can easily get optimization results to guide the practical work.

This paper optimizes the model’s build orientation on the flexible support platform by PSO, thereby reducing material cost and improving work efficiency.

Members' knowledge contribution behavior has positive significance for maintaining the activity of the knowledge community, as well as for improving knowledge interaction efficiency and member viscosity. With the development of the mobile Internet, knowledge communities based on social platforms have become more convenient and popular. This study aims to explore what and how factors influence members' knowledge contribution behavior in social knowledge communities from the perspective of social distance.

Based on the theory of reciprocity and on the theory of self-efficacy, hypotheses and research models are proposed. In the empirical study, WeChat learning group is selected as the research case. The empirical investigation (N = 244) collects research data through questionnaires.

I-intention and we-intention both have positive influence on members' knowledge contribution behavior. Knowledge self-efficacy positively moderates the influence of we-intention and affects knowledge contribution behavior. In addition, I-intention is positively affected by expected knowledge benefit, expected emotional benefit and expected image benefit, while costs have no effect. We-intention is positively influenced by affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment in relationship strength, as well as affiliation to the contributing climate.

This paper aims to discuss I-intention, we-intention, and their roles in members' knowledge contribution behavior. It is a beneficial development for existing research to combine the characteristics of new style communities with systematical analysis of knowledge contribution behavior. Findings may provide enlightenment to the social knowledge community on diversity development and differentiated marketing strategies.

The relationship between Cr/C and properties of Fe‐C‐Cr high chromium white irons was studied by calculating the valence electron structure of austenite of Fe‐C‐Cr high chromium white irons with the empirical electron theory of solids and molecules (EET) and the equilibrium phase diagram of Fe‐C‐Cr system. Results show that the C‐Cr bond is the strongest bond of all bonds in alloying austenite in Fe‐C‐Cr high chromium white irons of industrial application and, thereby, causes partial aggregation of C‐Cr atomic groups. The weight of partial aggregation of C‐Cr atomic groups would be increased greatly and more austenite would be reserved to room temperature when Cr/>6. The Fe‐CCr high chromium white irons achieve best mechanical property when Cr/C=5.5‐6.5.

With more and more individuals relying on mobile devices to obtain information, many libraries launch mobile application to satisfy mobile users’ information need. The purpose of this paper is to figure out factors influencing consumers’ channel transfer intention of library service from web-based platform to mobile app.

A structural equation model is proposed based on categorization theory. In addition, situational contexts are taken into account to make research model more suitable for the real condition. Data collected from 319 samples are used for hypotheses examining.

The relationships between source and target (perceived differentiation including function differentiation and resource differentiation) positively affect perceived situation efficiency, which in turn shapes intention to use mobile library application. Perceived mobile library quality positively influences perceived differentiation, perceived situation efficiency and mobile library adoption intention. In summary, perceived situation efficiency is the main factor.

Both quality and situational factors should be taken seriously, and mobile device producers and mobile app developers should cooperate on improving the quality of mobile app. Meanwhile, it is critical to examine the relationship between web based and mobile library service in the initial or early stage of mobile library development.

By focussing on the impacts of the relationship between web and mobile library service and evaluation of mobile library on the adoption intention, this paper not only provides a theoretical understanding of mobile library adoption behavior but also offers practical insights to library managers and app developers for promoting such a process.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a simulation and experimental research concerning the effect of recess depth on the lubrication performance of a hydrostatic thrust bearing by constant rate flow.

The computational fluid dynamics and finite volume method have been used to compute the lubrication characteristics of an annular recess hydrostatic thrust bearing with different recess depths. The performances are oil recess pressure, oil recess temperature and oil film velocity. The recess depth has been optimized. A test rig is established for testing the pressure field of the structure of hydrostatic thrust bearing after recess depth optimization, and experimental results show that experimental data are basically identical with the simulation results, which demonstrates the validity of the proposed numerical simulation method.

The results demonstrate that the oil film temperature decreases and the oil film pressure first increases and then decreases with an increase in the recess depth, but oil film velocity is constant. To sum up comprehensive lubrication performance, the recess depth of 3.5 mm is its optimal value for the annular recess hydrostatic thrust bearing.

The computed results indicate that to get an improved performance from a constant flow hydrostatic thrust bearing, a proper selection of the recess depth is essential.

Due to environmental externalities, micro-enterprises with profit-seeking features do not develop sufficient motivation for environmental governance. In a fiscally decentralized system, local environmental protection authorities perform environmental supervision, and the intensity of the regulations that they implement has an important influence on corporate environmental governance. Based on the promotion tournament framework, this paper aims to discuss the driving mechanism of corporate environmental governance using turnover of environmental protection department directors (EPDDs) as an indicator.

Using samples of A-share companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges from 2007 to 2014, this paper examines the impact of EPDD turnover on corporate environmental governance and its underlying mechanism.

The results show that corporate environmental governance exhibits a political periodicity that changes with the turnover of the EPDD, and the periodicity remains after controlling for the influence of changes in provincial party secretary and governor. Internal mechanisms analysis indicates that, without financial independence, local environmental protection departments rely on increasing sewage charges, not environmental protection subsidies, to promote corporate environmental governance. Further, considering heterogeneity among officials, it finds that the younger a new EPDD is, the more pronounced the periodicity of corporate environmental governance. However, there is no significant difference between in-system and out-system turnover.

In general, this paper describes the mechanisms of corporate environmental governance from the perspective of political economics, and the results have implications for the potential improvement of the government’s environmental supervision functions and the development of ecological civilization in China.