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Article
Publication date: 29 March 2023

Shan Peng, Ranran Yang, Binglong Lei, Yun Gao, Renhua Chen, Xiaohong Xia and Kevin P. Homewood

This paper aims to systematically demonstrate a methodology to determine the relative and absolute encapsulation efficiencies (αRe and αAb) for thermally- and chemically-robust…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to systematically demonstrate a methodology to determine the relative and absolute encapsulation efficiencies (αRe and αAb) for thermally- and chemically-robust inorganic pigments, typically like ZrSiO4-based pigments, thereby enhancing their coloring performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors designed a route, surplus alkali-decomposition and subsequently strong-acid dissolution (SAD2) to completely decompose three classic zircon pigments (Pr–ZrSiO4, Fe2O3@ZrSiO4 and CdS@ZrSiO4) into clear solutions and preferably used inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) to determine the concentrations of host elements and chromophores, thereby deriving the numeric data and interrelation of αRe and αAb.

Findings

Zircon pigments can be thoroughly decomposed into some dissoluble zirconate–silicate resultants by SAD2 at a ratio of the fluxing agent to pigment over 6. ICP-OES is proved more suitable than some other quantification techniques in deriving the compositional concentrations, thereby the values of αRe and αAb, and their transformation coefficient KRA, which maintains stably within 0.8–0.9 in Fe2O3@ZrSiO4 and CdS@ZrSiO4 and is slightly reduced to 0.67–0.85 in Pr–ZrSiO4.

Practical implications

The SAD2 method and encapsulation efficiencies are well applicable for both zircon pigments and the other pigmental or non-pigmental inhomogeneous systems in characterizing their accurate composition.

Originality/value

The authors herein first proposed strict definitions for the relative and absolute encapsulation efficiencies for inorganic pigments, developed a relatively stringent methodology to determine their accurate values and interrelation.

Details

Pigment & Resin Technology, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0369-9420

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 July 2023

Lingling Zhao, Vito Mollica, Yun Shen and Qi Liang

This study aims to systematically review the literature in the fields of liquidity, informational efficiency and default risk. The authors outline the key research streams and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to systematically review the literature in the fields of liquidity, informational efficiency and default risk. The authors outline the key research streams and provide possible pathways for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts bibliographic mapping to identify the most influential studies in the research fields of liquidity, informational efficiency and default risk from 1984 to 2021.

Findings

The study identifies four key research themes that include efficiency and transparency of markets; corporate yield spreads; market interactions: bonds, stocks and cryptocurrencies; and corporate governance. By assessing publications published from 2018 to 2021, the authors also document seven key emerging research trends: cross markets, managerial learning and corporate governance, state ownership and government subsidies, international evidence, machine learning (FinTech approaches), environmental themes and financial crisis. Drawing on these emerging trends, the authors highlight the opportunities for future research.

Research limitations/implications

Keyword searches have limitations since some studies might be overlooked if they do not match the specified search criteria, even though their relevance to the topic is under investigation. Adopt the R project to expand this review by incorporating more literature from other databases, such as the Scopus database could be a possible solution.

Practical implications

The four key research streams contribute to a comprehensive understanding of liquidity, informational efficiency and default risk. The emerging trends integrate existing knowledge and leave the chance for innovative research to expand the research frontier.

Originality/value

This study fulfills the systematic literature review streams in the fields of liquidity, informational efficiency and default risk, and provides fruitful opportunities for future research.

Details

Journal of Accounting Literature, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-4607

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 April 2023

Kaiyan Yang, Xiaowu Gong, Lanli Bai, Yun Zhang and Na Zhou

This study aims to prepare a low-formaldehyde and environmentally friendly glucose-lignin-based phenolic resin.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to prepare a low-formaldehyde and environmentally friendly glucose-lignin-based phenolic resin.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors directly used lignin to substitute formaldehyde to prepare lignin-based phenolic resin (LPF) with urea as formaldehyde absorbent. To improve the performance of the adhesive, the biobased glucose was introduced and the modified glucose-LPF (GLPF) was obtained.

Findings

The results showed that when the replacing amount of lignin to formaldehyde reached 15 Wt.%, the physical properties of the prepared LPF met the Chinese national standard, and the bonding strength increased by 21.9%, from 0.75 to 0.96 MPa, compared with PF. The addition of glucose boost the performance of wood adhesive, for example, the free phenol content of the obtained GLPF was significantly reduced by 79.11%, from 5.60% to 1.17%, the bonding strength (1.19 MPa) of GLPF increased by 19.3% in comparison to LPF and the curing temperature of GLPF decreased by 13.08%.

Practical implications

The low-formaldehyde and environmentally friendly GLPF has higher bonding strength and lower curing temperature, which is profitable to industrial application.

Social implications

The prepared GLPF has lower free formaldehyde and formaldehyde emission, which is cost-effective and beneficial to human health.

Originality/value

The joint work of lignin and glucose provides the wood adhesive with increased bonding strength, decreased free phenol content and reduced curing temperature.

Details

Pigment & Resin Technology, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0369-9420

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 December 2023

Volodymyr Novykov, Christopher Bilson, Adrian Gepp, Geoff Harris and Bruce James Vanstone

Machine learning (ML), and deep learning in particular, is gaining traction across a myriad of real-life applications. Portfolio management is no exception. This paper provides a…

Abstract

Purpose

Machine learning (ML), and deep learning in particular, is gaining traction across a myriad of real-life applications. Portfolio management is no exception. This paper provides a systematic literature review of deep learning applications for portfolio management. The findings are likely to be valuable for industry practitioners and researchers alike, experimenting with novel portfolio management approaches and furthering investment management practice.

Design/methodology/approach

This review follows the guidance and methodology of Linnenluecke et al. (2020), Massaro et al. (2016) and Fisch and Block (2018) to first identify relevant literature based on an appropriately developed search phrase, filter the resultant set of publications and present descriptive and analytical findings of the research itself and its metadata.

Findings

The authors find a strong dominance of reinforcement learning algorithms applied to the field, given their through-time portfolio management capabilities. Other well-known deep learning models, such as convolutional neural network (CNN) and recurrent neural network (RNN) and its derivatives, have shown to be well-suited for time-series forecasting. Most recently, the number of papers published in the field has been increasing, potentially driven by computational advances, hardware accessibility and data availability. The review shows several promising applications and identifies future research opportunities, including better balance on the risk-reward spectrum, novel ways to reduce data dimensionality and pre-process the inputs, stronger focus on direct weights generation, novel deep learning architectures and consistent data choices.

Originality/value

Several systematic reviews have been conducted with a broader focus of ML applications in finance. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first review to focus on deep learning architectures and their applications in the investment portfolio management problem. The review also presents a novel universal taxonomy of models used.

Details

Journal of Accounting Literature, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-4607

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 October 2023

Yun Liu, Xingyuan Wang and Heyu Qin

This paper aims to explore the matching effect of hospitality brand image (cool vs non-cool) and service agents (Artificial intelligence [AI] vs human staff) on brand attitude…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the matching effect of hospitality brand image (cool vs non-cool) and service agents (Artificial intelligence [AI] vs human staff) on brand attitude, with a focus on assessing the role of feeling right as a mediator and service failure as a moderator.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper tested the hypotheses through three experiments and a Supplementary Material experiment, which collectively involved 835 participants.

Findings

The results indicated that the adoption of AI by cool brands can foster the right feeling and enhance consumers’ positive brand attitudes. In contrast, employing human staff did not lead to improved brand attitudes toward non-cool brands. Furthermore, the study found that service failure moderated the matching effect between service agents and cool brand images on brand attitude. The matching effect was observed under successful service conditions, but it disappeared when service failure occurred.

Practical implications

The findings offer practical guidance for hospitality companies in choosing service agents based on brand image. Cool brands can swiftly transition to AI, reinforcing their modern, cutting-edge image. Traditional brands may delay AI adoption or integrate it strategically with human staff.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper represents one of the first studies to address the issue of selecting the optimal service agent based on hospitality brand image. More importantly, it introduces the concept of a cool hospitality brand image as a boundary condition in the framework of AI research, providing novel insights into consumers’ ambivalent responses to AI observed in previous studies.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 April 2023

Jeen Guo, Pengcheng Xiang, Qiqi Liu and Yun Luo

The purpose of this paper is to propose a method that can calculate the transportation infrastructure network service capacity enhancement given by planned transportation…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a method that can calculate the transportation infrastructure network service capacity enhancement given by planned transportation infrastructure projects construction. Managers can sequence projects more rationally to maximize the construction effectiveness of infrastructure investments.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper designed a computational network simulation software to generate topological networks based on established rules. Based on the topological networks, the software simulated the movement path of users and calculated the average travel time. This software allows the adjustment of parameters to suit different research objectives. The average travel time is used as an evaluation index to determine the most appropriate construction sequence.

Findings

In this paper, the transportation infrastructure network of Sichuan Province in China was used to demonstrate this software. The average travel time of the existing transportation network in Sichuan Province was calculated as 211 min using this software. The high-speed railways from Leshan to Xichang and from Xichang to Yibin had the greatest influence on shortening the average travel time. This paper also measured the changes in the average travel time under two strategies: shortening the maximum and minimum priorities. All the transportation network optimisation plans for Sichuan Province will be somewhere between these two strategies.

Originality/value

The contribution of this research are three aspects: First, a complex network analysis method that can take into account the differences of node elements is proposed. Second, it provides an effective tool for decision makers to plan transportation infrastructure construction. Third, the construction sequence of transportation infrastructure development plan can effect the infrastructure investment effectiveness.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2023

Jae-Yun Ho, Gyeong Ju, Seoeui Hong, Jaeyoung An and Choong C. Lee

This study investigates the key factors that influence customer satisfaction when interacting with augmented reality shopping assistance applications (ARSAPs). ARSAPs grant…

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates the key factors that influence customer satisfaction when interacting with augmented reality shopping assistance applications (ARSAPs). ARSAPs grant consumers the capability to experience products in a virtually simulated user environment before product acquisition. With the development of mobile e-commerce due to breakthroughs in smartphone and augmented reality (AR) technologies, there is an increasing potential for these emergent AR mobile services, yet there is a need for further improvement.

Design/methodology/approach

This study initially explored the key satisfaction factors for ARSAPs by utilizing topic modeling of a collection of actual user reviews. These factors are subsequently revisited and complemented by existing literature, and finally verified through logistic regression analysis supported by sentiment analysis.

Findings

This study identified the key factors that influence customer satisfaction with ARSAPs, including visuality, sense of reality, credibility, format, completeness, understandability, relevance, flexibility, response time, reliability, availability, ease of use and privacy. In particular, two additional factors (i.e. visuality and sense of reality) were newly identified as important in the context of AR, despite their previous omissions in existing literature.

Originality/value

This study is the first to investigate the key factors that influence customer satisfaction with ARSAPs from users' perspectives, utilizing topic modeling of a large amount of real-world data on actual user feedback. By identifying new factors (i.e. visuality and sense of reality) that were not identified in previous literature, this study provides important academic implications for a broader understanding of AR and related technologies that are essential elements of the metaverse. This study also provides valuable insights for developers and companies in the e-commerce industry on how to optimize AR applications and develop more targeted and effective marketing strategies in this field.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 April 2024

Jinwei Zhao, Shuolei Feng, Xiaodong Cao and Haopei Zheng

This paper aims to concentrate on recent innovations in flexible wearable sensor technology tailored for monitoring vital signals within the contexts of wearable sensors and…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to concentrate on recent innovations in flexible wearable sensor technology tailored for monitoring vital signals within the contexts of wearable sensors and systems developed specifically for monitoring health and fitness metrics.

Design/methodology/approach

In recent decades, wearable sensors for monitoring vital signals in sports and health have advanced greatly. Vital signals include electrocardiogram, electroencephalogram, electromyography, inertial data, body motions, cardiac rate and bodily fluids like blood and sweating, making them a good choice for sensing devices.

Findings

This report reviewed reputable journal articles on wearable sensors for vital signal monitoring, focusing on multimode and integrated multi-dimensional capabilities like structure, accuracy and nature of the devices, which may offer a more versatile and comprehensive solution.

Originality/value

The paper provides essential information on the present obstacles and challenges in this domain and provide a glimpse into the future directions of wearable sensors for the detection of these crucial signals. Importantly, it is evident that the integration of modern fabricating techniques, stretchable electronic devices, the Internet of Things and the application of artificial intelligence algorithms has significantly improved the capacity to efficiently monitor and leverage these signals for human health monitoring, including disease prediction.

Details

Sensor Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0260-2288

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2023

Moulay Othman Idrissi Fakhreddine and Yan Castonguay

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are currently showing an increasingly open innovation (OI) approach. Public policies supporting the adoption of OI by SMEs are becoming a…

Abstract

Purpose

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are currently showing an increasingly open innovation (OI) approach. Public policies supporting the adoption of OI by SMEs are becoming a priority for policymakers. Therefore, the aim of this article is to contribute to the literature by mapping scholars' policy recommendations for implementing OI among SMEs.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a systematic review of the literature (SRL) on the topic to achieve this purpose. A total of 99 academic articles were selected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases to suggest the main scholars' policy recommendations to implement OI among SMEs.

Findings

Results indicated that scholars' policy recommendations for OI adoption in SMEs can be organized into: research and development (R&D), networking, collaboration, knowledge and intellectual property rights (IPR), ecosystem, managerial capabilities, funding and incentives and sustainability policies.

Research limitations/implications

Only relevant articles about this topic have been included due to the reliance on the interpretations of the authors. The analysis of the literature revealed that the authors did not always distinguish policies dedicated to SMEs and those dedicated to large companies. Moreover, policies are not matched according to each OI dimensions (e.g. inbound, outbound and coupled OI).

Originality/value

The article uses a systematic literature review method that combines qualitative and quantitative analyses. This method contributes to theoretical development of OI policies dedicated, in particular to SMEs. This paper also provides policymakers and researchers with insights on the scope of OI policies that could support economic growth.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 September 2023

Aying Zhang, Ziyu Xing and Haibao Lu

The purpose of this paper is to study the mechanochemical effect and self-growth mechanism of double-network (DN) gel and to provide a quasiperiodic model for rubber elasticity.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the mechanochemical effect and self-growth mechanism of double-network (DN) gel and to provide a quasiperiodic model for rubber elasticity.

Design/methodology/approach

The chemical reaction kinetics is used to identify the mechanochemical transition probability of host brittle network and to explore the mechanical behavior of endosymbiont ductile network. A quasiperiodic model is proposed to characterize the cooperative coupling of host–endosymbiont networks using the Penrose tiling of a 2 × 2 matrix. Moreover, a free-energy model is formulated to explore the constitutive stress–strain relationship for the DN gel based on the rubber elasticity theory and Gent model.

Findings

In this study, a quasiperiodic graph model has been developed to describe the cooperative interaction between brittle and ductile networks, which undergo the mechanochemical coupling and mechanical stretching behaviors, respectively. The quasiperiodic Penrose tiling determines the mechanochemistry and self-growth effect of DNs.

Originality/value

It is expected to formulate a quasiperiodic graph model of host–guest interaction between two networks to explore the working principle of mechanical and self-growing behavior in DN hydrogels, undergoing complex mechanochemical effect. The effectiveness of the proposed model is verified using both finite element analysis and experimental results of DN gels reported in literature.

Details

Pigment & Resin Technology, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0369-9420

Keywords

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