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Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Li‐teh Sun

Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American…

Abstract

Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American preemptive invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and the subsequent prisoner abuse, such an existence seems to be farther and farther away from reality. The purpose of this work is to stop this dangerous trend by promoting justice, love, and peace through a change of the paradigm that is inconsistent with justice, love, and peace. The strong paradigm that created the strong nation like the U.S. and the strong man like George W. Bush have been the culprit, rather than the contributor, of the above three universal ideals. Thus, rather than justice, love, and peace, the strong paradigm resulted in in justice, hatred, and violence. In order to remove these three and related evils, what the world needs in the beginning of the third millenium is the weak paradigm. Through the acceptance of the latter paradigm, the golden mean or middle paradigm can be formulated, which is a synergy of the weak and the strong paradigm. In order to understand properly the meaning of these paradigms, however, some digression appears necessary.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 25 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2005

Umberto Carabelli and Vito Leccese

The paper aims to examine favor and non‐regression clauses, appearing ‐ in several occasionsjointly ‐ in European Community social directives, in order to underline the…

Abstract

The paper aims to examine favor and non‐regression clauses, appearing ‐ in several occasions jointly ‐ in European Community social directives, in order to underline the differences in their nature, function and effects on Member States’ legislation, also considering that the favour clause is now present in the article 137 of the Treaty.

Details

Managerial Law, vol. 47 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0558

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 August 2022

Bingjun Li, Shuhua Zhang, Wenyan Li and Yifan Zhang

Grey modeling technique is an important element of grey system theory, and academic articles applied to agricultural science research have been published since 1985, proving the…

Abstract

Purpose

Grey modeling technique is an important element of grey system theory, and academic articles applied to agricultural science research have been published since 1985, proving the broad applicability and effectiveness of the technique from different aspects and providing a new means to solve agricultural science problems. The analysis of the connotation and trend of the application of grey modeling technique in agricultural science research contributes to the enrichment of grey technique and the development of agricultural science in multiple dimensions.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the relevant literature selected from China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Web of Science, SpiScholar and other databases in the past 37 years (1985–2021), this paper firstly applied the bibliometric method to quantitatively visualize and systematically analyze the trend of publication, productive author, productive institution, and highly cited literature. Then, the literature is combed by the application of different grey modeling techniques in agricultural science research, and the literature research progress is systematically analyzed.

Findings

The results show that grey model technology has broad prospects in the field of agricultural science research. Agricultural universities and research institutes are the main research forces in the application of grey model technology in agricultural science research, and have certain inheritance. The application of grey model technology in agricultural science research has wide applicability and precise practicability.

Originality/value

By analyzing and summarizing the application trend of grey model technology in agricultural science research, the research hotspot, research frontier and valuable research directions of grey model technology in agricultural science research can be more clearly grasped.

Details

Grey Systems: Theory and Application, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2043-9377

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 June 2023

Ping Li, Yi Liu and Sai Shao

This paper aims to provide top-level design and basic platform for intelligent application in China high-speed railway.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to provide top-level design and basic platform for intelligent application in China high-speed railway.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the analysis for the future development trends of world railway, combined with the actual development needs in China high-speed railway, The definition and scientific connotation of intelligent high-speed railway (IHSR) are given at first, and then the system architecture of IHSR are outlined, including 1 basic platform, 3 business sectors, 10 business fields, and 18 innovative applications. At last, a basic platform with cloud edge integration for IHSR is designed.

Findings

The rationality, feasibility and implementability of the system architecture of IHSR have been verified on and applied to the Beijing–Zhangjiakou high-speed railway, providing important support for the construction and operation of the world’s first IHSR.

Originality/value

This paper systematically gives the definition and connotation of the IHSR and put forward the system architecture of IHSR for first time. It will play the most important role in the design, construction and operation of IHSR.

Details

Railway Sciences, vol. 2 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2755-0907

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 November 2022

Chao Han, Li Ma, Bo Jiang Ma, Guosheng Huang and Ying Xiang Ma

This paper aims to verify weather atmospheric plasma spray (APS) in situ remelting posttreatment is effective for densifying the porous FeCoCrMoCBY amorphous alloy (FAA) coating…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to verify weather atmospheric plasma spray (APS) in situ remelting posttreatment is effective for densifying the porous FeCoCrMoCBY amorphous alloy (FAA) coating and improving the antiabrasion and anticorrosion performances or not.

Design/methodology/approach

APS was used to deposit and in situ densify FAA coating on the 40Cr substrate. Scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer, energy dispersive spectroscopy, neutral salt spray, hardness and wear behavior test were used to evaluate the densifying effects.

Findings

APS remelting technology can effectively improve the hardness of the coating by reducing the porosity. After remelting at 30 kW power, the hardness of the coating increased by about 260 HV0.2 and the porosity decreased to 2.78%. The amorphous content of the coating is 93.9%, which is about 3.5% lower than original powders. The electrochemical impedance spectrum and neutral salt spray test results show that APS remelting can reduce the corrosion rate by about 62.7%.

Originality/value

APS remelting method is firstly proposed in this work to replace laser remelting or laser cladding methods. APS remelting method can effectively improve the corrosion and abrasion resistance of the FAA coating by increasing the densification with much low recrystallization, which is big progress for application of FAA coatings.

Details

Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, vol. 70 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0003-5599

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 April 2020

Harkamal Deep Singh and Jashandeep Singh

As a result of the deregulations in the power system networks, diverse beneficial operations have been competing to optimize their operational costs and improve the consistency of…

90

Abstract

Purpose

As a result of the deregulations in the power system networks, diverse beneficial operations have been competing to optimize their operational costs and improve the consistency of their electrical infrastructure. Having certain and comprehensive state assessment of the electrical equipment helps the assortment of the suitable maintenance plan. Hence, the insulation condition monitoring and diagnostic techniques for the reliable and economic transformers are necessary to accomplish a comprehensive and proficient transformer condition assessment.

Design/methodology/approach

The main intent of this paper is to develop a new prediction model for the aging assessment of power transformer insulation oil. The data pertaining to power transformer insulation oil have been already collected using 20 working power transformers of 16-20 MVA operated at various substations in Punjab, India. It includes various parameters associated with the transformer such as breakdown voltage, moisture, resistivity, tan δ, interfacial tension and flashpoint. These data are given as input for predicting the age of the insulation oil. The proposed aging assessment model deploys a hybrid classifier model by merging the neural network (NN) and deep belief network (DBN). As the main contribution of this paper, the training algorithm of both NN and DBN is replaced by the modified lion algorithm (LA) named as a randomly modified lion algorithm (RM-LA) to reduce the error difference between the predicted and actual outcomes. Finally, the comparative analysis of different prediction models with respect to error measures proves the efficiency of the proposed model.

Findings

For the Transformer 2, root mean square error (RMSE) of the developed RM-LA-NN + DBN was 83.2, 92.5, 40.4, 57.4, 93.9 and 72 per cent improved than NN + DBN, PSO, FF, CSA, PS-CSA and LA-NN + DBN, respectively. Moreover, the RMSE of the suggested RM-LA-NN + DBN was 97.4 per cent superior to DBN + NN, 96.9 per cent superior to PSO, 81.4 per cent superior to FF, 93.2 per cent superior to CSA, 49.6 per cent superior to PS-CSA and 36.6 per cent superior to LA-based NN + DBN, respectively, for the Transformer 13.

Originality/value

This paper presents a new model for the aging assessment of transformer insulation oil using RM-LA-based DBN + NN. This is the first work uses RM-LA-based optimization for aging assessment in power transformation insulation oil.

Article
Publication date: 5 May 2020

Li Ma and Hongwei Fu

Understanding the impact of project complexity on the mega construction project success will help improve the efficiency of project management. However, the influencing mechanism…

1902

Abstract

Purpose

Understanding the impact of project complexity on the mega construction project success will help improve the efficiency of project management. However, the influencing mechanism of project complexity on project success has not been clearly depicted. This paper aims to divide project complexity and project success into five dimensions, trying to explore the impact of different complexity combinations on mega construction project success.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applies the qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) method to find out the impact of the combinations of different project complexities on the every dimension of mega construction project success. First, 21 cases were interviewed and scored in five categories of project complexities and five aspects of project success. Second, with the QCA program, the combinations of different project complexities influencing every aspect of mega construction project success was obtained.

Findings

This research found that high organizational complexity or a combination of high environmental complexity and goal complexity can lead to serious schedule delays of mega construction projects, high technological complexity and goal complexity are important reasons for cost overrun, high technological complexity or a combination of high environmental complexity and low organizational complexity usually lead to low quality of mega construction projects, high goal complexity and cultural complexity are important factors affecting the key stakeholders' satisfaction and high technological complexity and environmental complexity are the reasons for the poor sustainability of mega construction projects.

Originality/value

This study clearly reveals the influencing mechanism of project complexity on mega construction project success, which can help the project managers to understand and assess the complexity of mega construction projects and accurately predict their negative impacts on the mega construction projects.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 27 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2021

Junhai Ma and Yalan Hong

The convenience of online shopping enables the manufacturer to develop direct channels. To counter manufacturer encroachment, the retailer tends to provide presale service to…

Abstract

Purpose

The convenience of online shopping enables the manufacturer to develop direct channels. To counter manufacturer encroachment, the retailer tends to provide presale service to attract more customers. Meanwhile, the service provided by the retailer also has a positive impact on the manufacturer's sale volume, which is usually called the showrooming effect or free-ride. The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamic game of pricing and service strategy in a dual-channel supply chain with risk attitudes and free-ride.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper considers the risk attitude, characterized by mean-variance theory. First, the optimal pricing and service strategy of two static models under two scenarios are derived. Second, dynamic games are then considered to explore the evolution of the decisions. The classical optimization method is used to solve the problem, and numerical experiments are done to analyze the complex characteristic of the system.

Findings

The result shows that the retailer is willing to provide a higher level of service if his risk preference is higher. The offline retail price and online retail price are positively related to the retailer's risk preference. Besides, the free-ride behavior can reduce the offline retail price and the level of service provided by the retailer. Furthermore, the study indicates that the system is more likely to enter chaos if the retailer's risk preference is higher. Additionally, consumers' service sensitivity and cost coefficient affect the stability of the system.

Originality/value

The study provides a different perspective on supply chain management considering risk attitudes and free-ride The findings of the study can offer theoretical and practical guidance for enterprises to choose adjustment measures according to their risk preference.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 51 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 April 2020

Chia-Hui Shih, Han-Lin Li, Chih-Chien Hu and Bertrand M.T. Lin

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design, www.ted.com/) Talks has been one of the most popular video systems. However, the current TED Talks system expressed its inquired videos as…

Abstract

Purpose

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design, www.ted.com/) Talks has been one of the most popular video systems. However, the current TED Talks system expressed its inquired videos as in a two-dimensional (2D) table, which is inconvenient for searching the relationships among videos and tags. This study converts the TED Talks table into a sphere by using optimization techniques to help users search for preferred videos.

Design/methodology/approach

There are five phases in this study as follows. Phase 1: Reorganize data of 36 tags and 108 videos; Phase 2: Allocate tags on the TED sphere; Phase 3: Allocate videos on the TED sphere; Phase 4: Develop an online interactive TED retrieval system; and Phase 5: Perform survey and evaluation.

Findings

One survey demonstrated that the TED Talks sphere is more convenient for searching videos, as it is more user-friendly because of its graphical user interface, more convenient to use, more useful for retrieving information and can facilitate a more responsive search for users’ preferred videos.

Research limitations/implications

The numbers of tags and videos able to be displayed on a sphere is limited by the capacity of an optimization software and hardware.

Practical implications

The proposed sphere system can be used by a large number of users of TED Talks groups.

Social implications

This sphere systems can also be applied to other fields which use 2D forms to display the relationships among objects.

Originality/value

This study uses an optimization method to convert a 2D form into a 3D sphere to highlight the relationships among numerous objects.

Details

The Electronic Library, vol. 38 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 August 2019

Guosheng Huang, Wei Fu, Juan Zhou, Li Ma, Hongren Wang and Xiangbo Li

The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance of cold-sprayed Zn15Al alloy coating whether it is capable of protecting magnesium alloy from corrosion, and to compare it…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance of cold-sprayed Zn15Al alloy coating whether it is capable of protecting magnesium alloy from corrosion, and to compare it with arc-sprayed Zn15Al alloy coating.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, Zn15Al alloy coating was prepared with CS-6000 cold spraying system and HDX-800 arc-sprayed system. Corrosion behaviors of the two kinds of coatings were examined with potentiodynamic polarization curves methods combined with SEM, EDS, XRD, etc.

Findings

Corrosion behavior of cold-sprayed Zn15Al alloy coating is superior to arc-sprayed Zn15Al alloy coating. The bonding strength and density of cold-sprayed Zn15Al alloy coating is much higher than that of arc-sprayed Zn15Al alloy coating. The cold-sprayed coating has a dense structure which separate magnesium from corrosion medium completely. The samples behave as Zn15Al instead of AZ91D alloy. The coating has a low probability of pitting corrosion comparing with cold sprayed Al coating through potentiodynamic polarization curve.

Practical implications

Cold-sprayed Zn15Al coating can be used to improve the anticorrosion performance of magnesium significantly and low down the risk of pitting corrosion of coating.

Social implications

Cold-sprayed Zn15Al coating is an environmentally friendly anticorrosion method for light alloy, which is also the most effective way among thermal spray, chemical vapor deposition, sol–gel, plating and anodizing or microarc oxidation.

Originality/value

The present paper used cold spray method to deposit Zn15Al coating, which has an overwhelming performance both in physical and anticorrosion to traditional thermal spray method.

Details

Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, vol. 66 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0003-5599

Keywords

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