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The flow and heat transfer of a hybrid nanofluid composed of kerosene and ZnO-Al2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) is investigated. The flow occurs over complex surfaces with stretching and shrinking features. The base fluid is electrically conducting, and an external magnetic field is added so that the nanofluid and the electric field are in equilibrium. Irrotational flow with viscous dissipation effects is considered.

The governing equations of the system are formulated, and a similarity transformation is used to convert the system of equations into ordinary differential equations, which are solved numerically. The friction coefficient of the flow and the Nusselt number are calculated for a wide range of parameters, and the results are presented in graphical form. In addition, dual solutions of the problem were noticed to occur for a certain range of the unsteadiness parameter. A stability analysis has been performed and presented to elucidate the behavior of these dual solutions.

For the solution of the upper branch, the velocity and temperature profiles of the nanofluid are enhanced by increasing the magnetic field parameter M, but the same variables decrease in the solution of the lower branch. The same trend is detected for the velocity of the fluid with the suction parameter. The temperature of the nanofluid decreases in both branches of the solution by increasing the Prandtl number. Similarly, they decrease with the suction parameter. The temperature of the nanofluid slightly increases in both branches of the solution by increasing the Eckert number. With the stability analysis the authors performed, it was determined that the solution is stable in the upper branch, but unstable in the lower branch.

The kerosene nanofluid with hybrid Zinc/Aluminum-oxide is presented for the first time in the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the electro-magnetohydrodynamic behavior of a third-grade non-Newtonian fluid, flowing between a pair of parallel plates in the presence of electric and magnetic fields. The flow medium between the plates is porous. The effects of Joule heating and viscous energy dissipation are studied in the present study.

A semi-analytical/numerical method, the differential transform method, is used to obtain solutions for the system of the nonlinear differential governing equations. This solution technique is efficient and may be adapted to solve a variety of nonlinear problems in simple geometries, as it was confirmed by comparisons between the results using this method and those of a fully numerical scheme.

The results of the computations show that the Darcy–Brinkman–Forchheimer parameter and the third-grade fluid model parameter retards, whereas both parameters have an inverse effect on the temperature profile because the viscous dissipation increases. The presence of the magnetic field also enhances the temperature profile between the two plates but retards the velocity profile because it generates the opposing Lorenz force. A graphical comparison with previously published results is also presented as a special case of this study.

The obtained results are new and presented for the first time in the literature.

This study aims to examine the relationship between an ownership structure with multiple large shareholders and corporate social responsibility (CSR) with regard to Chinese-listed companies.

Multiple regression analysis was used on 4,940 samples of 884 listed companies in China for the period 2009–2017, to empirically test the influence of an ownership structure on enterprises’ fulfillment of social responsibility. Moreover, the propensity score matching–difference in differences and Heckman two-stage approaches were used for the robustness of the regression results.

The results show that ownership structures with multiple large shareholders can promote social responsibility. The check-and-balance ability of non-controlling large shareholders, corporate information transparency and corporate system environment moderate the relationship between multiple large shareholders and CSR engagement.

This paper complements prior studies on the ownership structure of multiple large shareholders. The findings enrich the literature on corporate governance and CSR. The results also reveal information about the situational factors, helping identify the mechanism through which the ownership structure of multiple large shareholders affects CSR.

This study aims to investigate the impact tax shelters and cost of debt in Iran. It also aims determine methods to identify tax-aggressive policies through corporate structure and corporate policies, as well as various solutions to handle these issues.

For this purpose, the data of 155 listed companies on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) during the years of 2008-2015 will be considered. The number of observations includes 1,085 companies. Data was analyzed using logistic panel regression with R software.

The results of the hypotheses show that financial leverage use is not inversely related to companies’ tax-aggressive policies. There is no direct relationship between sales and financial leverage. Overall, there is no inverse relationship between tax shelters and total debt.

The results extend the empirical findings of Graham and Tucker and Wilson. The authors also investigated the relationship between tax shelters and financing (total debt). These findings are crucial to the state; although several studies with similar subjects have been conducted in different countries, the current study is the first of its type in Iran.

Although consumers are viewed as one of the important target groups of new product preannouncements (NPPs), little existing literature focuses on the NPP's consequences from consumer perspective. To fill up this research gap, this paper explores how a NPP signal influences consumer purchase intention and how its influences vary across consumers.

Based on a scenario‐based survey with different new cellular phone preannouncement contexts, this paper examines impacts of brand, prior vaporware history, and innovativeness conveyed by NPP signals, as well as consumer characteristics, on purchase intentions. A logit regression and a hierarchical Bayesian Logit regression are applied to test effects of NPP signal and consumer factors, respectively.

The empirical results show that consumers may mainly rely on brand and prior vaporware history to decide whether to purchase this new product after it is launched. They are more likely to purchase a preannounced new product with strong brand, or from a company without prior vaporware. The results also demonstrate that the brand and vaporware impacts on purchase intention are moderated by consumer product knowledge, NPP experience, and risk attitude.

Following the competitive signal interpretation process model in signaling theory, this paper first provides and empirically examines an overall framework of NPP impacts on purchase intentions from the consumer perspective, which may contribute to the preannouncement literature. The findings also provide useful insights to help companies to make right NPP decisions.

With the analysis of the causes of corruption, this study aims to investigate specific anti-corruption measures that can be implemented to reform the political system and the social climate of China.

This study examines 97 severe corruption cases of high-ranking officials in China, which occurred between 2012 and 2015. As this insinuates that both institutional and social corruption are major problems in China, the analysis delves into multiple facts of corruption, including different types, four primary underlying causes, and suggestions regarding the implementation of three significant governmental shifts that focus on investigation, prevention tactics and legal regulations.

China’s corruption is not only individual-based but also it has developed into institutional corruption and social corruption. Besides human nature and instinct, the causes of corruption can be organised into four categories, namely, social customs, social transitions, institutional designs and institutional operations. For the removed high-ranking officials, the formation of interest chains was an important underlying cause behind their corruption.

This study makes a significant contribution to the literature because this study provides a well-rounded approach to a complex issue by highlighting the significance of democracy and the rule of law as ways to regulate human behaviour to combat future corruption.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the joint effects of lead time, information sharing and the accounts receivable period on reverse factoring (RF) adoption from the suppliers’ perspective.

Supported by one of the largest commercial banks in China, survey data are collected from 424 Chinese manufacturing firms and analyzed using regression methods.

The results suggest that lead time positively affects suppliers’ RF adoption directly and indirectly through the accounts receivable period. Meanwhile, information sharing has a positive, direct and a negative, indirect influence on suppliers’ RF adoption.

The findings give suppliers and financial institutions a better understanding of how to leverage the benefits of RF.

Motivated by the globally increasing concern over environmental protection, the interest of a large part of the scientific community focuses on the development of green surfactants aiming to replace traditional toxic surfactants-based alternatives. The purpose of this paper is to prepare acrylate copolymer latex modified with fluorine and silicone monomer, which is emulsified with the green surfactants of sodium rosinate and alkyl polyglycoside (APG).

A series of acrylic copolymer latexes containing fluorine–silicon have been prepared by semi-continuous seed emulsion polymerisation of mixed monomers of methyl methacrylate (MMA), butyl acrylate (BA), hexafluorobutylmethacrylate (HFMA) and vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) and emulsified by green mixed surfactants of sodium rosinate and APG.

The optimum recipe of preparing the emulsion is as follows: the amount of emulsifiers is 6 per cent and the mass ratio of sodium rosinate to APG is 1:3. The amount of initiator is 0.4 per cent, and the amounts of the silicon monomer and fluorine monomer are 5 and 7 per cent, respectively. In comparison with the acrylate latex prepared without fluorine monomer and silicon monomer, the thermal stability and the water resistance of the film of the resultant latex clearly improved.

The acrylic copolymer latexes containing fluorine–silicon emulsified with green surfactants can be used in the coatings, adhesives, finishing agents and so on.

The acrylic copolymer latexes containing fluorine–silicon have been prepared by semi-continuous seed emulsion polymerisation. The green mixed surfactants of sodium rosinate and APG have been used as the emulsifiers to replace traditional toxic surfactants-based alternatives.