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Walking on inclined ground is an important ability for humanoid robots. In general, conventional strategies for walking on slopes lack technical analysis in, first, the waist posture with respect to actual robot and, second, the landing impact, which weakens the walking stability. The purpose of this paper is to propose a generic method for walking pattern generation considering these issues with the aim of enabling humanoid robot to walk dynamically on a slope.

First, a virtual ground method (VGM) is proposed to give a continuous and intuitive zero-moment point (ZMP) on slopes. Then, the dynamic motion equations are derived based on 2D and 3D models, respectively, by using VGM. Furthermore, the waist posture with respect to the actual robot is analyzed. Finally, a reformative linear inverted pendulum (LIP) named the asymmetric linear inverted pendulum (ALIP) is proposed to achieve stable and dynamical walking in any direction on a slope with lower landing impact.

Simulations and experiments are carried out using the DRC-XT humanoid robot platform with the aim of verifying the validity and feasibility of these new methods. ALIP with consideration of waist posture is practical in extending the ability of walking on slopes for humanoid robots.

A generic method called ALIP for humanoid robots walking on slopes is proposed. ALIP is based on LIP and several changes, including model analysis, motion equations and ZMP functions, are discussed.

Humanoid robots should have the ability of walking in complex environment and overcoming large obstacles in rescue mission. Previous research mainly discusses the problem of humanoid robots stepping over or on/off one obstacle statically or dynamically. As an extreme case, this paper aims to demonstrate how the robots can step over two large obstacles continuously.

The robot model uses linear inverted pendulum (LIP) model. The motion planning procedure includes feasibility analysis with constraints, footprints planning, legs trajectory planning with collision-free constraint, foot trajectory adapter and upper body motion planning.

The motion planning with the motion constraints is a key problem, which can be considered as global optimization issue with collision-free constraint, kinematic limits and balance constraint. With the given obstacles, the robot first needs to determine whether it can achieve stepping over, if feasible, and then the robot gets the motion trajectory for the legs, waist and upper body using consecutive obstacles stepping over planning algorithm which is presented in this paper.

The consecutive stepping over problem is proposed in this paper. First, the paper defines two consecutive stepping over conditions, sparse stepping over (SSO) and tight stepping over (TSO). Then, a novel feasibility analysis method with condition (SSO/TSO) decision criterion is proposed for consecutive obstacles stepping over. The feasibility analysis method’s output is walking parameters with obstacles’ information. Furthermore, a modified legs trajectory planning method with center of mass trajectory compensation using upper body motion is proposed. Finally, simulations and experiments for SSO and TSO are carried out by using the XT-I humanoid robot platform with the aim to verify the validity and feasibility of the novel methods proposed in this paper.

Since China initiated its “go global” policy that promotes its overseas investment, China’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) has increased almost twenty times during the last 10 years, reaching $55.9 billion in 2008. The issue of internationalization of Chinese OFDI has attracted increasing attention of researchers from a business perspective. This article systematically reviews the previous studies on overseas investments by Chinese MNEs and discusses the characteristics of Chinese internationalization behavior at both firm level and country level. The internationalization of Chinese companies cannot be understood as a simple game of “catch up” with established MNEs, and more firm‐level empirical studies should be carried out on how these characteristics influence firms’ strategic decisions.

This chapter examines how the breakthrough of Zhang Ziyi's depiction of a female kung fu master in The Grandmaster (2013) transforms the figure of the heroine in Chinese action films. Zhang is well known for her acting in action films conducted by renowned directors, such as Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou and Wong Kar-wai. After winning 12 different Best Actress awards for her portrayal of Gong Ruomei in The Grandmaster, Zhang announced that she would no longer perform in any action films to show her highest respect for the superlative character Gong. Tracing Zhang's transformational portrait of a heroine in The Grandmaster alongside her other action roles, this analysis demonstrates how her performance projects the directors' distinctive gender viewpoints. I argue that Zhang's characterisation of Gong remodels heroine-hood in Chinese action films. Inheriting the typical plot of a daughter's use of martial arts for revenge for her father's death, Gong breaks from conventional Chinese action films that highlight romantic love during a woman's adventure and the decisive final battle scene. Beyond the propensity for sensory stimulation, Gong's characterisation enables Zhang to determine that women can really act in action films – demonstrating their inner power and ability to create multi-layered characters – not merely relying upon physical action. This chapter offers a relational perspective of how women transform the action film genre not merely as gender spectacles but as embodied figures that represent emerging female subjectivity.

Based on the weak seismic performance and low ductility of coupled shear walls, engineered cementitious composites (ECC) is utilized to strengthen it to solve the deformation problem in tall buildings more effectively and study its mechanical properties more deeply.

The properties of reinforced concrete coupled shear wall (RCCSW) and reinforced ECC coupled shear wall (RECSW) have been studied by numerical simulation, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. The reliability of the finite element model is verified. On this basis, a detailed parameter study is carried out, including the strength and reinforcement ratio of longitudinal rebar, the placement height of ECC in the wall limb and the position of ECC connecting beams. The study indexes include failure mode and the skeleton curve.

The results suggest that the bearing capacity of RECSW is significantly affected by the ratio of longitudinal rebar. When the ratio of longitudinal rebar increases from 0.47% to 3.35%, the bearing capacity of RECSW increases from 250 kN to 303 kN, an increase of 21%. The strength of longitudinal rebar has little influence on the bearing capacity of RECSW. When the strength of the longitudinal rebar increases, the bearing capacity of RECSW increases little. The failure mode of RECSW can be improved by lowering the casting height of the ECC beam in a certain range.

In this paper, ECC is used to strengthen the coupled shear wall, and the accuracy of the finite element model is verified from the failure mode and skeleton curve. On this basis, the casting height of the ECC casting wall limb, the strength and reinforcement ratio of longitudinal rebar and the position of the ECC beam are studied in detail.

The performance of behavioral targeting (BT) mainly relies on the effectiveness of user classification since advertisers always want to target their advertisements to the most relevant users. In this paper, the authors frame the BT as a user classification problem and describe a machine learning–based approach for solving it.

To perform such a study, two major research questions are investigated: the first question is how to represent a user’s online behavior. A good representation strategy should be able to effectively classify users based on their online activities. The second question is how different representation strategies affect the targeting performance. The authors propose three user behavior representation methods and compare them empirically using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) as a performance measure.

The experimental results indicate that ad campaign effectiveness can be significantly improved by combining user search queries, clicked URLs and clicked ads as a user profile. In addition, the authors also explore the temporal aspect of user behavior history by investigating the effect of history length on targeting performance. The authors note that an improvement of approximately 6.5% in AUC is achieved when user history is extended from 1 day to 14 days, which is substantial in targeting performance.

This paper confirms the effectiveness of BT on user classification and provides a validation of BT for Internet advertising.

The effect of playfulness climate on employees in firms has been the subject of an increasing number of studies in recent years. Given the growing number of businesses that have incorporated playfulness into their operations, it is possible to enhance the task performance and innovative performance of the younger generation of workers by rationally managing playfulness, particularly when it comes to that aspect of the workplace. Based on the conservation of resources theory, this study aims to investigate how the playfulness climate in organizations influences the change self-efficacy of the millennial workers and how to enhance their task performance and innovation performance.

The authors used a quantitative approach to test the relationship between the hypotheses. The survey population for this study consisted of the millennial workers in the computer sector who are involved in research and development in China. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the built mediation model empirically over the course of the study's three rounds of data collection, each separated by one month. Through the collection of paired questions for leadership and their subordinates, 424 valid questionnaires were obtained.

The examination of the questionnaire results supports the study's theoretical hypothesis, which states that when millennial workers sense a more playfulness work environment, it will encourage them to develop a sense of change self-efficacy. Additionally, they will be better able to handle work-related responsibilities and come up with innovative ideas as a result of change self-efficacy, which would eventually enhance the task performance and innovation performance of millennial employees.

By introducing the mediation of change self-efficacy, this study expands on the application of the conservation of resources theory. The research on the performance of millennial employees is complemented and enhanced by investigating the relationship between the playfulness climate and employees' task performance and innovation performance from the perspective of their sense of change self-efficacy. This study also reveals that managers should foster a positive and playfulness environment in their workplaces in order to manage the performance of millennial employees.

Not all apps can be favored on a smartphone. Users are bound to abandon some if they lose value. Analyzing the reasons behind this phenomenon can help develop strategies for avoiding app abandonment, which is the focus of this study.

This study conducted in-depth open interviews with 47 respondents who had abandoned or deleted mobile apps before and used the qualitative research method grounded theory to analyze the interview content, followed by open coding, axial coding and selective coding.

Seven main reasons are summarized after the relationship between every statement and concept is found and constructed, namely functional value, information expectation, emotional value, platform service, user trust, cost, and social influence.

Based on these findings, this study provided suggestions for mobile app developers to help them effectively improve the user experience and retain their customers.

This comment aims to join the discussion raised by Peng et al. regarding the social responsibility of international business (IB) scholars in the case of Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), and to provide a subject overview about it.

In response to Peng et al.'s paper, this comment focuses on three issues, i.e. the myth of Chinese OFDI, round‐tripping, and state‐owned enterprises (SOEs).

Owing to a short period of accumulation, the scale of Chinese OFDI stock is small compared to the global total. However, with its momentum, it may become a threat in the long term. Apart from round‐tripping, tax havens such as Hong Kong have multiple functions for Chinese companies to invest in. Although the size of foreign investments conducted by private companies remains small, their role in Chinese OFDI should not be ignored.

The arguments made in this comment are mainly built upon the data from the official publications, which could present a broad but superficial view of the Chinese OFDI. In order to fill research gaps such as the internationalisation behaviour of Chinese OFDI in tax havens, more stories need to be explored.

This comment discusses several issues that have been mentioned by Peng et al. but have been explored less in the literature, such as how to view Chinese OFDI in Hong Kong, and how to view the role of private companies.

The aim of this study is to provide an understanding of urban Chinese women’s fashion consumption practices in light of major recent socio-historical events and to demonstrate that changes in fashion are not necessarily continuous, but rather can be discontinuous in the wake of radical disturbances.

A phenomenological study was conducted that included group interviews with Chinese women belonging to three age cohorts who experienced different radical changes in recent Chinese history.

This study provides insights into how fashion develops when radical economic and social shifts result in a discontinuous rather than continuous fashion evolution. In China, it can be seen that these radical ideological shifts had discontinuous effects on notions of beauty and how identity is expressed through fashion. The changes seen in the past 60 years or so – from the advent of communism in 1949 until now – cannot be explained by theories of imitation and distinction alone. The changes are also anchored to key socio-historic events, and were not necessarily an outgrowth of the period before, or class-based practices, but rather a response to social upheavals.

This study provides a nuanced understanding of how tumultuous socio-cultural events affect how fashion is experienced in China, which allows us to contribute to the growing understanding of Chinese consumer culture, and demonstrate that the understanding of how fashion evolves needs to accommodate the upheavals in society over the past sixty years.