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The study aims to investigate the anticorrosion performance of epoxy coatings using modified cerium oxide (CeO₂) by terephthalic acid (CeO₂-t) and fumaric acid (CeO₂-f) as corrosion inhibitors.

The chemical state of CeO₂-t, and CeO₂-f were analyzed by infrared radiation (IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The effect of different inhibitors on the coating properties was analyzed by neutral salt spray tests (NSST) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

The results of IR and XRD illustrate that the modification of CeO₂ was successful, and fumaric acid underwent a ring-opening reaction with epoxy resin (EP) in the coatings. The results of NSST and EIS showed that the coatings containing CeO₂-f exhibited the best anticorrosion performance.

CeO₂ is an effective inhibitor of the organic coatings. When surface modified, it is chemically bonded to EP, enhancing the anticorrosion performance of EP.

The purpose of this study is to modify cerium dioxide with fumaric acid (CeO₂-f) to improve its compatibility and dispersibility in epoxy resin and to investigate the effect of the content on the coating performance.

To investigate whether CeO₂-f reacts with epoxy resin by ring opening, CeO₂-f and epoxy resin-treated CeO₂-f (Ce CeO₂-f/EP) were analyzed by infrared radiation (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis). To reveal the effect of different content on coatings properties, neutral salt spray test (NSST) and electrochemical test were performed.

The results of IR, XRD, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-Vis indicated that fumaric acid attached to the CeO₂ surface by chemical bonding and underwent a ring-opening reaction with epoxy resin, thus, improving the compatibility of CeO₂ in epoxy resin. NSST and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results showed that the coatings containing 5% CeO₂-f exhibited the optimal corrosion resistance. The reason is that a dense conversion film was established on the substrate surface.

The epoxy coatings using CeO₂-f as fillers with synergistic inhibition ability are promising for the protection of carbon steel.

This paper aims to investigate an adaptive prescribed performance control problem for switched pure-feedback non-linear systems with input quantization.

By using the semi-bounded continuous condition of non-affine functions, the controllability of the system can be guaranteed. Then, a constraint variable method is introduced to ensure that the tracking error satisfies the prescribed performance requirements. Meanwhile, to avoid the design difficulties caused by the input quantization, a non-linear decomposition method is adopted. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed control scheme is verified by a numerical simulation example.

Based on neural networks and prescribed performance control method, an adaptive neural control strategy for switched pure-feedback non-linear systems is proposed.

The complex deduction and non-differentiable problems of traditional prescribed performance control methods can be solved by using the proposed error transformation approach. Besides, to obtain more general results, the restrictive differentiability assumption on non-affine functions is removed.

The purpose of this paper is to apply the theory of cultural diplomacy to explore and explain the role and function of the Confucius Institution project and its implications for understanding of China's soft power projection.

This paper first presents the theories of soft power and cultural diplomacy as an analytic framework. It then delineates an interpretative illustration of the CI project as a platform for China's cultural diplomacy. The paper concludes with a discussion of the CI project's implications for understanding of China's soft power projection.

The paper argues that the Confucius Institute project can be understood as a form of cultural diplomacy that is state‐sponsored and university‐piloted, a joint effort to gain China a more sympathetic global reception. As such, the Confucius Institution project involves a complex of soft power techniques. However, it is not entirely representative of soft power capability, because the problems embedded in the project and in the wider society run counter to the Chinese government's efforts to increase the Confucius Institutions’ attractiveness and popularity.

This article sheds light on Chinese universities in the role of “unofficial cultural diplomats.” On this topic, further research may need to explore more fundamental issues that bear far‐reaching significance and impact, i.e. the mechanics of Chinese university involvement in Confucius Institutes. Interesting questions arising from this study may help open up a wider spectrum of research topics for understanding the university‐state relationship, cross‐border higher education, as well as the possibilities and limits of educational globalization. At this stage, this article serves as a start to move scholarship in that direction.

The purpose of this paper is to compare and analyse the role and implementation of nationalistic education in Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions (SARs) since their respective handover of sovereignty to China in the late 1990s. Both SARs face the educational need to cultivate a Chinese national identification among the students after the sovereignty changes. While Macau SAR has enjoyed a relatively smooth implementation of nationalistic education towards which Macau’s schools and students are largely receptive to nationalistic programmes since its handover in 1999, Hong Kong SAR Government’s nationalistic education was met by reservation from some parents, students and civil society’s groups under allegations of “political indoctrination” and “brain-washing”. The Hong Kong civil society’s resistance to National Education culminated in the anti-Moral and National Education protest in Summer 2012 and then Hong Kong schools and society. This paper attempts to provide an overview and analysis on the development of nationalistic education in both Hong Kong and Macao SARs, and to give some possible explanations on the factors that lead to differences of perceiving and responding to the nationalistic education between both places.

After conducting a literature review, this study utilises different sources of data such as curriculum guidelines, previous studies and other scholarly findings in examining the development of civic education and national education policy in both SAR societies, as well as in discussing the possible developments of nationalistic education in both SARs by making references to previous studies of citizenship and nationalistic education.

This study found out that different relationships between the two SAR Governments and their respective civil society, the extent of established socio-political linkages with China, as well as the introduction of a core subject of Liberal Studies in Hong Kong secondary schools, which emphasises on multiple perspectives and critical thinking skills, are some plausible factors that explain different stories and developments of implementing nationalistic education in Hong Kong and Macao SARs.

For giving suggestions for a nationalistic education in both Chinese SARs, first, there should be an exploration of multiple citizenship identities. This will allow people to choose their identities and thus facilitate their belongingness in terms of local, national and global dimensions. In addition, there should be an exploration of a Chinese national identification with different emphases such as knowledge orientation and critical thinking so as to cater for youth values. Promoting the idea of an informed and reasonable-in-thinking patriot could also be a way to ease the concern that building a national identity negates a person’s freedom of thinking.

This paper attempts to compare and analyse the different responses to the same policy of enhancing nationalistic education development in both Hong Kong and Macao SARs of China. Some plausible explanations were given based on political, social and educational factors, as well as youth value oritentations. This paper would be an attempt to show that a top-down single-minded orientated nationalistic education may not work well a society such as Hong Kong, where civil society and youth values are quite different than that can be found in China.

This study aims to analyse the efficiency effects of institutional distance on Chinese outward foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa.

The study utilised the true fixed-effect stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) model. Data from 2003 to 2016 (14 years) were acquired from 42 targeted African countries, which are included in the analysis.

The results reveal that FDI flow efficiency can be maximised with a high institutional distance between China and African countries. Contrariwise, comparable institutional distance, measured by the rule of law, regulatory quality and government effectiveness between the host and home countries, reflected a significant positive impact for Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDIs), indicating Chinese MNEs can invest directly in a country with comparable institutional characteristics.

There have been limited exceptional studies that assessed the effect of institutional distance between emerging countries. However, none of these studies investigated the effect of institutional distance between China and Africa at a national level. Using the advantage of the SFA model, this study assesses the efficiency effects of institutional distance between the host and home country.