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The purpose of this paper is to fabricate and characterize the natural fibre (NF) reinforced epoxy composites containing flame retardants (FRs) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) in terms of flammability, thermal properties and dynamic mechanical performances.

The FRs used in this study were ammonium polyphosphate and alumina trihydrate.

The results demonstrated that the addition of MCC particles into the flame retardant composite (control) further enhanced the self-extinguishing properties of composites, in particular, the burn length. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the mass residue improved with every addition of MCC particles at 700 °C. For instance, the residual weight enhanced from 28.4 Wt.% to 33 Wt.% for the control and the composite with 7 Wt.% MCCs, respectively. As obtained from the dynamic mechanical analysis, the glass transition temperature of composites increased upon increasing inclusion of MCC particles. For example, this parameter was 77.1 °C and 86.8 °C for the control and composite loaded with 7 Wt.% MCC, respectively.

Thus, the combination of MCC and FR had been proved to be a promising flame retardant system for NF reinforced epoxy.

A flexible decision technology called the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution (GMCR) is applied to a generic aquaculture conflict to illustrate how GMCR can be used to systematically investigate a wide range of conflicts arising in aquaculture in order to obtain meaningful strategic insights and thereby assist in making informed decisions in aquaculture development. To emphasize the importance of being able to resolve aquaculture controversies, a review of the global economic impacts of the aquaculture industry is provided and the key stakeholders who may be involved in aquaculture disputes along with their legitimate interests are identified. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The GMCR methodology comprises two main stages: modeling and analysis. During the modeling stage, key decision makers (DMs), the options under each DM’s control and each DM’s relative preferences over feasible states are identified based on a thorough background investigation to a given dispute. Within the analysis stage, solution concepts that describe key characteristics of human behavior under conflict are utilized to determine resolutions that could occur when DMs interact under pure competition and cooperatively. Interpretation of the equilibrium results provides meaningful strategic insights for better understanding which strategies a given DM could select as the conflict evolves over time.

The results demonstrate how difficult it can be to balance the interests of different key stakeholders in aquaculture development. In all possible resolutions identified in the generic aquaculture conflict, at least two DMs among First Nations, environmental group and residents (Res) would object to the expansion of aquaculture activities due to the assumption that the government would choose to appease one stakeholder at a time. They also reflect the need for a useful tool box of decision technologies for addressing the vast range of challenges that could arise in the important area of marine economics and management.

The GMCR methodology possesses several unique and key original capabilities in comparison to other conflict analysis models. First, it only requires limited information to calibrate a conflict model. Second, it contains a number of solution concepts that describe how a DM could think and behave under conflict. Third, it furnishes a range of informative output, follow-up analyses and advice for use in real-life decision support. Finally, all of the foregoing advantages of GMCR can be contained within decision support systems that permit practitioners and researchers to readily apply the GMCR methodology to real-life conflicts.

In light of the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theoretical paradigm, this paper explores how information relevance and media richness affect social network exhaustion and, moreover, how social network exhaustion ultimately leads to health anxiety and COVID-19-related stress.

The conceptual model is explicitly analyzed and estimated by using data from 309 individuals of different ages in mainland China. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were utilized to validate the proposed hypotheses through the use of online data.

The findings suggest that information relevance is negatively associated with social network exhaustion. In addition, social network exhaustion is a significant predictor of health anxiety and stress. Furthermore, information relevance and media richness can indirectly influence health anxiety and stress through the mediating effect of social network exhaustion.

Theoretically, this paper verifies the causes and consequences of social network exhaustion during COVID-19, thus making a significant contribution to the theoretical construction and refinement of this emerging research area. Practically, the conceptual research model in this paper may provide inspiration for more investigators and scholars who are inclined to further explore the different dimensions of social network exhaustion by utilizing other variables.

Although social network exhaustion and its adverse consequences have become prevalent, relatively few empirical studies have addressed the deleterious effects of social network exhaustion on mobile social media users’ psychosocial well-being and mental health during the prolonged COVID-19. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications for the rational development and construction of mobile social technologies to cultivate proper health awareness and mindset during the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 epidemic.

The purpose of this article is to design and make fabrics with colorful melange yarns spun by a three-channel rotor spinning machine.

The three-channel digital rotor-spun machine controls the blending proportion by adjusting the feeding of three-primary color fiber slivers online, so that a piece of colorful yarn presents a variety of colors along the longitudinal direction where constant yarn linear density can be produced flexibly. Various fabric patterns can be produced by three-channel rotor-spun colorful melange yarn with different periods of color.

The fabric, made by the rotor-spun colorful melange yarn, is rich in color, clear in layers, soft in the hand and has a hazy three-dimensional effect. The product is environmentally friendly and saves energy.

An innovative idea to develop various colorful fabrics is proposed by combining their pattern with colorful melange yarn produced by a three-channel rotor spinning machine.

The purpose of this paper is to examine foreign participants’ service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intention during the 2016 Shanghai International Marathon, and to gain a better understanding of the impact of service quality on their satisfaction and behavioral intention.

An English questionnaire was originally designed on the basis of the literature review of service quality, overall satisfaction and re-participation intention to assess the purpose of the study. Data were collected from 308 foreign runners including 61.7 percent (n=190) of male and 38.3 percent (n=118) of the female. Structural equation modeling was employed to check the proposed model and to test the impact of service quality on foreign participants’ overall satisfaction and behavioral intention.

A positive correlation was captured between the following: service quality and overall satisfaction (r=0.752, p<0.01), overall satisfaction and behavioral intention (r=0.876, p<0.01), and between service quality and participants’ behavioral intention (r=0.760, p<0.01). Furthermore, the service quality of Shanghai International Marathon had an indirect effect on foreign participants’ behavioral intention. The structural model fits the data well (R²=0.823).

First, the sample size was small and was just drawn from one event, which can be taken with caution in the context of the generalization of findings. Second, the results are specific to 2016 Shanghai International Marathon participants and cannot be generalized with other events in China or around the world.

The results are practical for the marathon event organizers to better understand foreign participants’ needs and improve their services. This study has a significant importance to the sports events organizers, especially the organizers of the Shanghai International Marathon in terms of a better understanding the level of their service. This study will also help the event organizers to adapt their strategies and their efforts to increase Shanghai International Marathon foreign participants’ satisfaction and intention to repurchase or to share with others.

This study contributes to the foreign participant’s satisfaction literature. In fact, many studies were carried on event spectators’ satisfaction while rare studies were carried on event participants’ satisfaction, especially marathon foreign participants’ satisfaction, and this study will supplement studies related to sport events participation. This will be convenient for sports managers and scholars to better understand the impact of service quality on participants’ satisfaction and behavioral intention in the field of sports events management. Meanwhile, the results were extremely useful to Shanghai during the process of constructing a “world-famous sports city” and “modern international metropolis”.

Little literature focus on foreign participants of Shanghai International Marathon, which is important in the process of shaping city image and building world-famous city. Are foreign participants satisfied with the Shanghai International Marathon? Which aspect of the service quality is of greater value for them? What are the influencing factors of their behavioral intention and word-of-mouth communication? What are the specific impact paths among the service quality, overall satisfaction and behavioral intention variables? To examine the objectives, the study was designed to target foreign participants’ service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intention. Besides, structural equation model was applied in this study to explore the path relationship between service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intention specifically.

This paper investigates and illustrates the potential of using panorama virtual reality to enhance Web‐based library instruction. It describes a project in Sterling C. Evans Library at Texas A&M University that emulates a physical tour and renders it into an attention‐getting virtual tour with 360‐degree realistic views. The paper outlines three progressive developments in the use of tour as an instructional medium: the “physical tour”, the “Web virtual tour”, and the “virtual reality tour”. The project illustrates that panorama VR could be a powerful tool to combine the “physical tour” and the “Web‐based virtual tour” into one, making it a more useful medium that allows navigating, viewing, reading, hearing and remote access. The issues of design, hardware, software, and cost are addressed. The discussion also includes an overview of the Internet‐based VR technologies, a literature review of using VR technologies for learning and some considerations on future applications of panorama‐based virtual reality.

Digital transformation (DT) has become a top priority for higher education (HE), driven by technological advances such as artificial intelligence (AI), artificial general intelligence (AGI) and Generative Open AI. It serves as a catalyst for the reshaping of mainstream processes in academic institutions, emphasizing teamwork, collaborative projects and critical thinking in research, learning and assessment strategies. In this chapter, the authors contextualize the use of this DT, highlighting its potential to improve learning experiences, business efficiency and upskill students and faculty. The holistic approach to DT as an enabler of excellence in HE is based on four pillars of excellence and impact: Business process reengineering, learning excellence and skill building, research capacity and innovation and partnership and outlook. DT needs the development of efficient, resilient, flexible and adaptable strategies and a strong collaboration between all the actors involved in the process to ensure the coherence, the sustainability and alignment of the objectives, means and targets with the real needs of the learners, tutors, labor market and society as whole. The authors’ bold proposition consists of a model for the strategy design of DT in universities and colleges organized in three dimensions: understand, strategize, deploy and exploit. Each dimension emphasizes different stages of the process: understanding emerging technologies and their impact on HE, collaboration between stakeholders, strategy and priorities formulation, roadmap of implementation, deployment and exploitation of digital technologies, etc. The ongoing DT in HE will continue to create an extensive shift in educational processes – learning, teaching, research and management. Institutions around the world are taking bold initiatives to adapt to this rapidly changing environment, emphasizing the importance of readiness for technological changes, system development, inclusive and sustainable transformation.

The purpose of this study is to provide a theoretical basis for the study of the galvanic corrosion mechanism of copper coupled silver-coating under a thin electrolyte layer in electronic systems.

Electrochemical measurements and surface characterizations.

The results indicate that the potential difference between copper and silver electrodes first quickly increases, and then reaches a relatively stable and large value with the extension of the immersion time. With the significant increase in the cathode/anode area ratio in electronic systems, the area ratio effect obviously accelerates the corrosion of copper due to the remarkable promotion of the cathode process. For a large cathode/anode area ratio, the galvanic current density always maintains a large value and exhibits an increasing trend with the extension of the immersion time, which is attributed that the area ratio effect reduces the protection of corrosion products. For the same area of cathode and anode, the galvanic current density always maintains a small value with the extension of the immersion time due to a low galvanic effect and protective corrosion products.

This work provides some information for the establishment of reliably protective measures for electronic systems in service.

This work not only provides some information for the establishment of reliably protective measures for electronic systems in service, but also provides a theoretical basis for the selection of metal materials in microelectronic systems.

This work provides not only a theoretical basis for the study of the galvanic corrosion mechanism of Cu/Ag under a thin electrolyte layer, but also provides some information for the establishment of reliably protective measures for electronic systems in service.

Much prior literature has discussed bioethics from a Confucian perspective in biomedical research, but little has applied Confucianism in examining ethics in social and behavioral research involving human subjects. This paper aims to reexamine the Belmont principles in social and behavioral research from a Confucian perspective to discuss their applicability and limitations and propose implications for revising or extending them potentially in the future.

A comparison is conducted on bioethics and social and behavioral research ethics. Afterward, a critical analysis is conducted on the Belmont principles of respect for persons, beneficence and justice from a Confucian perspective regarding their application in social and behavioral research.

From a Confucian perspective, the Belmont principles are necessary but may not be sufficient to cover the width and depth of ethical issues in social and behavioral research, such as those in crowd work-based research. This paper proposes that ethical guidelines for social and behavioral research may need to be updated from the Belmont principles adopting or incorporating certain Confucian ethics.

Social and behavioral research ethics have been relatively marginal compared to the bioethics deliberation in the existing literature. Unlike Beauchamp and Childress’s continued efforts in refining ethical guidelines for biomedical research specifically, little similar work has been done in this area since the Belmont report’s publication in 1979. This paper sheds light on building more refined and specific ethical guidelines to navigate the ever-growing numbers and diversities of nonmedical research topics, methodologies and contexts.