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1 – 10 of over 5000This 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…
Abstract
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.
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Bingyi Li, Songtao Qu and Gong Zhang
This study aims to focus on the surface mount technology (SMT) mass production process of Sn-9Zn-2.5Bi-1.5In solder. It explores it with some components that will provide…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on the surface mount technology (SMT) mass production process of Sn-9Zn-2.5Bi-1.5In solder. It explores it with some components that will provide theoretical support for the industrial SMT application of Sn-Zn solder.
Design/methodology/approach
This study evaluates the properties of solder pastes and selects a more appropriate reflow parameter by comparing the microstructure of solder joints with different reflow soldering profile parameters. The aim is to provide an economical and reliable process for SMT production in the industry.
Findings
Solder paste wettability and solder ball testing in a nitrogen environment with an oxygen content of 3,000 ppm meet the requirements of industrial production. The printing performance of the solder paste is good and can achieve a printing rate of 100–160 mm/s. When soldering with a traditional stepped reflow soldering profile, air bubbles are generated on the surface of the solder joint, and there are many voids and defects in the solder joint. A linear reflow soldering profile reduces the residence time below the melting point of the solder paste (approximately 110 s). This reduces the time the zinc is oxidized, reducing solder joint defects. The joint strength of tin-zinc joints soldered with the optimized reflow parameters is close to that of Sn-58Bi and SAC305, with high joint strength.
Originality/value
This study attempts to industrialize the application of Sn-Zn solder and solves the problem that Sn-Zn solder paste is prone to be oxidized in the application and obtains the SMT process parameters suitable for Sn-9Zn-2.5Bi-1.5In solder.
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Peiran Gao, Jinlong Zhang, Yeming Gong and Haitao Li
The purpose of this research is to investigate how critical managerial IT capabilities, such as IT business spanning capability, interact with two pivotal types of technical IT…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate how critical managerial IT capabilities, such as IT business spanning capability, interact with two pivotal types of technical IT capabilities (i.e. IT flexibility and IT integration) to affect organizational agility. Especially, the authors mainly examine a positive synergy or complementary relationship between IT business spanning capability and IT flexibility and a negative synergy or substitution relationship between IT business spanning capability and IT integration.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors develop a research model that integrates IT flexibility, IT integration, IT business spanning capability and organizational agility. Based on a matched-pair, cross-sectional field survey of IT and business managers, they use partial least squares (PLS) to analyze this research model.
Findings
IT flexibility and IT integration have been empirically proven to be positively associated with organizational agility. Furthermore, the research results indicate a positive synergy or complementary relationship between IT business spanning capability and IT flexibility, whereas they indicate a negative synergy or substitution relationship between IT business spanning capability and IT integration with regard to organizational agility. This finding demonstrates that IT business spanning capability can differentially influence organizational agility depending on its interaction with specific technical IT capability types. In addition, the effects of IT flexibility on organizational agility are high, whereas the effectiveness of IT integration decreases in the presence of high IT business spanning capability. Each type of technical IT capability displays different effectiveness under high IT business spanning capability. Thus, appropriate technical IT capability types should be carefully deployed, and highly effective technical IT capability types, such as IT flexibility, should be prioritized under high levels of IT business spanning capability.
Originality/value
This research highlights the joint effects of IT business spanning capability and two pivotal types of technical IT capabilities (i.e. IT flexibility and IT integration) on organizational agility, ultimately contributing to OM theories and practices.
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Kelvin Henry Kyissima, Gong Zhang Xue, Thales Pacific Yapatake Kossele and Ahmed Ramadhan Abeid
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the corporate capital structure stability of listed firms in China during the period 1990–2013.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the corporate capital structure stability of listed firms in China during the period 1990–2013.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses panel data from a sample of 716 firms that have been listed in China for at least 15 years. A fixed-effects panel data regression model with time effects is used in the estimation.
Findings
The findings show that size, profitability and investment opportunities have a significant influence on capital structure, whereas the tangibility of assets is not found to be significant. Few industries show significance in explaining differences and variation in leverage ratios.
Social implications
It is recommended by this study that corporate managers of listed firms in China should consider leverage ratios variation while choosing the capital structure.
Originality/value
This study can be helpful in assisting companies to make financing decisions and setting up strategies relevant in their growth and profitability. The study will also have a significant assistance to bring to light corporate issues to policy makers, especially in the areas of both equity and debt financing, particularly the bond market. To the society, this study will show the nature of Chinese-listed companies, and it can assist individual investors in making decisions regarding companies in which they hold investments and in making meaningful comparisons with other companies. The paper also aims at contributing to the existing literature on the empirical study on capital structure.
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Abdelkebir Sahid, Yassine Maleh and Mustapha Belaissaoui
Gang Chen, Wei‐gong Zhang and Xiao‐na Zhang
The paper aims to overcome the shortcomings that proportional‐integral‐derivative (PID) control for unmanned robot applied to automotive test (URAT) needs a priori manual…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to overcome the shortcomings that proportional‐integral‐derivative (PID) control for unmanned robot applied to automotive test (URAT) needs a priori manual retuning, has large speed fluctuations and is hard to adjust control parameters. A novel control approach based on fuzzy neural network applied to URAT was proposed.
Design/methodology/approach
According to the target vehicle speed and driving command table, the multiple manipulator coordinated control model was established. After that, the displacement of throttle mechanical leg, clutch mechanical leg, brake mechanical leg and shift mechanical arm for URAT was used as input of fuzzy neural network (FNN) model, and vehicle speed was used as output of FNN model. The number of membership functions was three, and the type of that was generalized bell membership function (gbellmf). The hybrid learning algorithm which combined with back propagation algorithm and least square method was applied to train the model. The Sugeno model was selected as fuzzy reasoning model.
Findings
Experimental results demonstrated that compared with PID control method, the proposed approach can greatly improve the accuracy of vehicle speed tracking. The approach can accurately realize the vehicle speed tracking of given driving test cycle. Therefore, it can ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of automotive test results.
Research limitations/implications
Future work will focus on improving the efficiency of this learning algorithm.
Practical implications
The paper provides effective methods for improving the accuracy of speed tracking and repeatability.
Originality/value
After establishing the multiple manipulator coordinated control model, this paper proposes a novel control approach based on FNN for URAT.
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David R. King, Wei Shi and Brian L. Connelly
An obvious way to improve acquisition performance is to avoid completing value-destroying acquisitions. However, once announced, manager motivations often focus on completing…
Abstract
An obvious way to improve acquisition performance is to avoid completing value-destroying acquisitions. However, once announced, manager motivations often focus on completing acquisitions. The authors develop how external governance actors can interpret acquisition characteristics and make counter-signals that acquiring firm managers could use to improve acquisition outcomes. The authors specifically develop how managers may react to counter-signals by shareholders, media, analysts, and short sellers. While there is limited research considering these external governance actors, evidence suggests that managers’ reactions to these actors may vary. A more integrated assessment of external governance actors’ influence on acquisition completion offers an opportunity to better understand acquisition processes and performance.
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The purpose of this paper is to present a prototype simulation system for driving performance of an electromagnetic unmanned robot applied to automotive test (URAT) to solve that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a prototype simulation system for driving performance of an electromagnetic unmanned robot applied to automotive test (URAT) to solve that it is difficult and dangerous to online debug control program and to quickly obtain test vehicle dynamic performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The driving performance of the electromagnetic URAT can be evaluated by the prototype simulation system. The system can simulate various driving conditions of test vehicles. An improved vehicle longitudinal dynamics model matching to the electromagnetic URAT is established. The proposed model has good real-time, and it is easy to implement. The displacement of throttle mechanical leg, brake mechanical leg, clutch mechanical leg and shift mechanical arm is used for the system input. Test vehicle speed and engine speed are used for the system output, and they are obtained by the computation of the established vehicle longitudinal dynamics model.
Findings
Driving conditions simulation test and vehicle emission test are performed using a Ford Focus car. Simulation and experiment results show that the proposed prototype simulation system in the paper can simulate the driving conditions of actual vehicles, and the performance that electromagnetic URAT drives an actual vehicle is evaluated by the simulation system.
Research limitations/implications
Future research will focus on improving the real time of the proposed simulation system.
Practical implications
The autonomous driving performance of electromagnetic URAT can be evaluated by the proposed prototype simulation system.
Originality/value
A prototype simulation system for driving performance of an electromagnetic URAT based on an improved vehicle longitudinal dynamics model is proposed in this paper, so that it can solve the difficulty and danger of online debugging control program, quickly obtaining the test vehicle performance.
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Wei Wang, Renee Rui Chen and Xuhui Yang
With the rising concerns of compulsive use of social media, it is important to understand why users develop such unplanned and irrational behaviors. Leveraging the uses and…
Abstract
Purpose
With the rising concerns of compulsive use of social media, it is important to understand why users develop such unplanned and irrational behaviors. Leveraging the uses and gratification theory, the authors aim to explore the determinants of compulsive use of social media from the dual perspectives of individual needs (need to belong (NTB) and need for uniqueness) and peer-related factors (referent network size and perceived peer activeness). Due to the importance of self-construal in cognitive deliberation on peer influences, the moderating effects of self-construal were taken into consideration.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors empirically test their model by conducting an online survey with 459 WeChat users.
Findings
The results show that compulsive use of social media is predicated by both individual needs and influence from peers. Moreover, peer influence could be attenuated when individuals develop a high degree of independent self-construal.
Research limitations/implications
The authors' study contributes to the research of compulsive behavior in the context of social media use by incorporating the dual effects of individual needs and social influence. The authors also offer managerial insights on eradicating the formation of compulsive behaviors.
Originality/value
The authors examine the dual effects of individual needs and peer influence in predicting compulsive use of social media and the moderating role of self-construal, which have been rarely investigated in this context.
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Hongyi Mao, Shan Liu and Yeming Gong
To achieve digital transformation, organizations have continued to rely on integrating the capabilities of information technology (IT) to facilitate decision-making and developing…
Abstract
Purpose
To achieve digital transformation, organizations have continued to rely on integrating the capabilities of information technology (IT) to facilitate decision-making and developing their reconfiguration capability to enhance agile operations. The pressure imposed by digital transformation necessitates investigations on leveraging different IT capabilities to attain substantial organizational agility in an optimal configuration. This study aims to provide a new perspective on balancing IT structural capabilities and proposes a framework for evaluating their coalignment and complementary returns based on resource orchestration theory.
Design/methodology/approach
A multi-method approach is used to evaluate the research model. This study tests hypotheses and explores the potential coalignment and complementary returns of balance in structural models and response surface analysis. Then, it analyzes the qualitative data and provides complementary findings to corroborate and confirm complex relationships.
Findings
Balanced structural IT capabilities facilitate organizational agility but cooperate differently with internal (e.g. IT proactive stance) and external (e.g. environmental volatility) environmental factors. Balance between IT integration and reconfiguration must be maintained from several approaches during search/selection and configuration/deployment.
Originality/value
This study theorizes and empirically investigates the interactive mechanisms of two IT capabilities in influencing organizational agility under different boundary conditions. It enriches the understanding of balancing capabilities for organizational agility in digital transformation.
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