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The integration of e‐business and supply chain enables seamless information flow from suppliers to customer service network via the internet. It also enables better‐coordinated materials flow from customer order to production, storage, distribution and delivery. The purpose of this paper is to describe the work that leads to the realisation of a hierarchical model for e‐supply chain coordination and optimisation.

The model is based on an e‐business information flow network in order to respond rapidly to the dynamics of e‐supply chain and market. It can be used to realize management level strategies, and facilitate the planning and control of detailed operation schedules of supply chain units in an e‐supply chain environment. Three main modules are discussed. They are routing and sequence optimiser (RSO) with the aid of a GA and TS‐based multiple population search strategy (MPSS); supply chain virtual clustering (SCVC) based on fuzzy virtual clustering; and supply chain order scheduling (SCOS) using an agent‐based distributed scheduling system.

These modules enable: the generation of preferred routings, transportation modes and work order plan under such constraints as customer service level, cycle time and cost; the formation of supply chain's unit‐transportation‐work order families using a clustering approach to down‐size supply chain problems and increase computation efficiency; and the integration of scheduling with supply chain optimisation in order to facilitate the control of a supply chain with the aid of an agent‐based distributed scheduling approach.

This paper proposed a hierarchical model for e‐supply chain coordination and optimisation that is capable to solve large‐scale problems. A MPSS using GA and TS was depicted in detail to expedite the RSO.

Bedroom Feng Shui practices have been criticized as myth over the years but in fact having its scientific origin that is not purely superstitious. This paper aims to examine whether the architects' design practice for bedroom interior arrangement is concurring with the recommended bedroom Feng Shui practices. The study has successfully interviewed 16 architects from diverse backgrounds to avoid bias, seeking their design perspectives in bedroom interior configuration. Subsequently, the interviewees submitted sketches of ideal bedroom layout based on their expertise, with pre-set requirements. Data from semi-structured interviews were analyzed using mixed method approach. In agreement with our expectations, majority of the interviewees have matching thoughts that “bed arrangement” is the primary consideration in bedroom interior configuration. Most of the design outputs were highly attached to favorable Feng Shui conditions. The overall findings implied that bedroom Feng Shui is not merely superstitious but most components are practical design references for architects from diverse backgrounds.

This paper aims to explore the possibility of converting the nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) water-lubricated bearing material into a self-lubricating bearing material by the action of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) particles and water lubrication.

A group of experimental studies was carried out on a ring-on-block friction test. The physical properties, tribological properties and interface structure of PTFE-NBR self-lubricating composites filled with different percentages of PTFE particles were investigated.

The experimental results indicated that the reduction in friction and wear is a result of the formation of the lubricating film on the surface of the composites. The lubricating film was formed of a large amount of PTFE particles continuously supplied under water lubrication conditions and the PTFE particles here can greatly enhance the load capacity and lubrication performance.

In this study, the tribological properties of PTFE particles added to the NBR water-lubricated bearing materials under water lubrication were investigated experimentally, and the research was carried out by a ring-on-block friction test. It is believed that this study can provide some guidance for the application of PTFE-NBR self-lubricating.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-05-2020-0187/

This study aims to empirically analyse the influence mechanism of perceived interactivity in real estate APP which affects consumers' psychological well-being. With the growing application of human–machine interaction in real estate APP, it is crucial to utilize human–machine interaction to stimulate perceived interactivity between humans and machines to positively impact consumers' psychological well-being and sustainable development of real estate APP. However, it is unclear whether perceived interactivity improves consumers' psychological well-being.

This study proposes and examines a theoretical model grounded in the perceived interactivity theory, considers the relationship between perceived interactivity and consumers' psychological well-being and explores the mediating effect of perceived value and the moderating role of privacy concerns. It takes real estate APP as the research object, analyses the data of 568 consumer samples collected through questionnaires and then employs structural equation modelling to explore and examine the proposed theoretical model of this study.

The findings are that perceived interactivity (i.e. human–human interaction and human–information interaction) positively influences perceived value, which in turn affects psychological well-being, and that perceived value partially mediates the effect of perceived interaction on psychological well-being. More important findings are that privacy concerns not only negatively moderate human–information interaction on perceived value, but also negatively moderate the indirect effects of human–information interaction on users' psychological well-being through perceived value.

This study expands the context on perceived interaction and psychological well-being in the field of real estate APP, validating the mediating role and boundary conditions of perceived interactivity created by human–machine interaction on consumers' psychological well-being, and suggesting positive implications for practitioners exploring human–machine interaction technologies to improve the perceived interaction between humans and machines and thus enhance consumer psychological well-being and span sustainable development of real estate APP.

A direct and unified approach is proposed toward simultaneously simulating large strain elastic behaviors of gellan gels with different gellan polymer concentrations. The purpose of this paper is to construct an elastic potential with certain parameters of direct physical meanings, based on well-designed invariants of Hencky’s logarithmic strain.

For each given value of the concentration, the values of the parameters incorporated may be determined in the sense of achieving accurate agreement with large strain uniaxial extension and compression data. By means of a new interpolating technique, each parameter as a function of the concentration is then obtained from a given set of parameter values for certain concentration values.

Then, the effects of gellan polymer concentrations on large strain elastic behaviors of gellan gels are studied in demonstrating how each parameter relies on the concentration. Plane-strain (simple shear) responses are also presented for gellan gels with different polymer concentrations.

A direct, unified approach was proposed toward achieving a simultaneous simulation of large elastic strain behaviors of gellan gels for different gellan polymer concentrations. Each parameter incorporated in the proposed elastic potential will be derived as a function of the polymer concentration in an explicit form, in the very sense of simultaneously simulating large strain data for different concentrations.

Although a laser profile sensor (LPS) can be used to measure dimensions, the “shadow region” generally degrades the accuracy and precision of width measurements. The accuracy and precision of such measurements should be improved.

In this paper, the authors propose herein a technique that combines high dynamic range (HDR) imaging with logistic fitting. First, a HDR image is composed of several images acquired with different exposure times, which augments the grayscale of the object profile and significantly reduces overexposure. Next, the profile is fit to a logistic function, which provides accurate and precise edge coordinates. Finally, given the edge coordinates, the object width is calculated.

To verify the stability of this logistic algorithm, the authors simulate different noise conditions and different degrees of incomplete edge data. In addition, the progressiveness of the algorithm is demonstrated by comparing the results with those of other algorithms and with the height measurement. Furthermore, the suitability of the system is verified experimentally.

Because of the limitation of the condition of laboratory, in the experimental section, this paper cannot represent perfectly the industrial situation. It makes this section limited in demonstration.

In this paper, the results show that the measurement accuracy and precision of the width is improved and exceeds that of the height measurement. The proposed HDR imaging method with logistic fitting may be applied to LPS width measurements, which should significantly aid the development of LPSs.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of principal preparation and training in China by providing a background discussion of principal preparation in a number of countries. As an illustration, it provides an overview of the curriculum used in the initial preparation of school principals at Beijing Normal University.

The paper draws mainly on writing and research from China, Australia and the USA to explore principal preparation and training in China.

In addition to providing a rich description of principal preparation in China, the paper's main findings comprise seven key challenges that confront China as it endeavours to provide quality principal preparation. These challenges include China's diversity and uneven social, cultural and educational development; limited resources in some regions throughout China; the place and importance of study tours for principal preparation; the teaching approach used to train principals; the process used for assessing principal learning during their training programs; the limited transfer of learning from the classroom to the school environment; and the timing of training for principals.

Each of the challenges arising here raises important practical implications for developers of principal training programs.

The paper paints a picture of principal preparation in China and raises a number of issues and challenges with which it continues to grapple. Of note is that China is not alone in facing some of these ongoing concerns.

Buildings are the condensation of the national, ethnic, or cultural identity. They are also the specific materialized form of the national social systems, folk customs, and ideologies. Architectural design and philosophy constitute an isomorphic relationship with each other. This study focuses on the Chinese traditional philosophy. Using Kuanzhai Alley in Chengdu as an example, philosophical expressions, such as “holistic thinking,” “group form layout,” “heaven and man,” “yin–yang and the five elements,” “ancient architecture design,” “good” aesthetic concepts, and “conformal”rationalism, are discussed from the aspects of the selection of the environment, spatial layout, architectural symbol, planning, and design significance. The traditional architectural forms and types are analyzed and interpreted based on the Chinese traditional philosophy. The role of the ancient Chinese philosophy in the Designs of Chinese Buildings is summarized. Traditional ideas on Chinese architecture should be recognized from the aspect of philosophy to propose a new design direction for developing modern Chinese architectural designs.

To ensure the motion attitude and stable contact force of massage robot working on unknown human tissue environment, this study aims to propose a robotic system for autonomous massage path planning and stable interaction control.

First, back region extraction and acupoint recognition based on deep learning is proposed, which provides a basis for determining the working area and path points of the robot. Second, to realize the standard approach and movement trajectory of the expert massage, 3D reconstruction and path planning of the massage area are performed, and normal vectors are calculated to control the normal orientation of robot-end. Finally, to cope with the soft and hard changes of human tissue state and body movement, an adaptive force tracking control strategy is presented to compensate the uncertainty of environmental position and tissue hardness online.

Improved network model can accomplish the acupoint recognition task with a large accuracy and integrate the point cloud to generate massage trajectories adapted to the shape of the human body. Experimental results show that the adaptive force tracking control can obtain a relatively smooth force, and the error is basically within ± 0.2 N during the online experiment.

This paper incorporates deep learning, 3D reconstruction and impedance control, the robot can understand the shape features of the massage area and adapt its planning massage path to carry out a stable and safe force tracking control during dynamic robot–human contact.