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The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of graphene, basalt flakes and their synergy on the corrosion resistance of zinc-rich coatings. As the important heavy-duty anticorrosion coatings, zinc-rich coatings provided cathodic protection for the substrate. However, to ensure cathodic protection, a large number of zinc powder made the penetration resistance known as the weakness of zinc-rich coatings. Therefore, graphene and basalt flakes were introduced into zinc-rich coatings to coordinate its cathodic protection and shielding performance.

Three kinds of coatings were prepared; they were graphene modified zinc-rich coatings, basalt flakes modified zinc-rich coatings and graphene-basalt flakes modified zinc-rich coatings. The anticorrosion behavior of painted steel was studied by using the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique in chloride solutions. The equivalent circuit methods were used for EIS analysis to obtain the electrode process structure of the coated steel system. Simultaneously, the corrosion resistance of the three coatings was evaluated by water resistance test, salt water resistance test and salt spray test.

The study found that the addition of a small amount of graphene and basalt flakes significantly improved the anticorrosion performance of coatings by enhancing their shielding ability against corrosive media and increasing the resistance of the electrochemical reaction. The modified coatings exhibited higher water resistance, salt water resistance and salt spray resistance. The graphene-basalt flakes modified zinc-rich coatings demonstrated the best anticorrosion effect. The presence of basalt scales and graphene oxide in the coatings significantly reduced the water content and slowed down the water penetration rate in the coatings, thus prolonging the coating life and improving anticorrosion effects. The modification of zinc-rich coatings with graphene and basalt flakes improved the utilization rate of zinc powder and the shielding property of coatings against corrosive media, thus strengthening the protective effect on steel structures and prolonging the service life of anticorrosion coatings.

The significance of developing graphene-basalt flakes modified zinc-rich coatings lies in their potential to offer superior performance in corrosive environments, leading to prolonged service life of metallic structures, reduced maintenance costs and a safer working environment. Furthermore, such coatings can be used in various industrial applications, including bridges, pipelines and offshore structures, among others.

Gradient coils designed by conventional target field methods usually have a complex physical structure and these methods are not convergent for complex routing area problems. This study aims to design a multi-coil (MC) gradient system arranged on a complex routing area including two cylindrical surfaces with different radii for a head magnetic resonance imaging scanner.

A MC system model is established. In this model, the sub-coils are evenly distributed on two cylindrical wiring surfaces, and the radii of coils are the same on one cylindrical surface. With the target magnetic field set, the currents in every individual coil are solved by constrained least-squares fitting based on the Levenberg–Marquardt method.

The magnetic field nonlinearity generated by designed coils is validated as 4.50% and 3.57% for X-gradient coil and Z-gradient coil, respectively, which satisfy the mainstream nonlinearity standards. The analysis of the optimization results indicates that hardware requirements can be considerably reduced by connecting coils with the same currents in series.

High-linearity gradient magnetic fields are generated on complex routing areas by adopting the MC structure. In addition, the requirements for current sources and amplifiers are considerably reduced.

Although an important facet of modernist architecture in which function plays a prominent role, building flexibility is not entirely a new concept. Its relevance transcends generations, allowing space and structure to evolve through time. This paper investigates the relationship among main building structures, infill elements, and space by studying examples in ancient Chinese architecture. It reveals the role of building owners, users, and craftsmen from a survey of historical documentation. In studying these examples, it is concluded that craftsmen in ancient China were involved not only during the construction phase but throughout the period of use as well. Thus, in select cases, the relationship between craftsmen and owners or users had been preserved for generations. Finally, this paper suggests potential strategies for the building industry and technology in the move towards sustainable development.

This study aims to evaluate the protection performance of zinc as sacrificial anode for ABS A steel in the presence of H₂S under different temperatures, pH and salinities.

In this paper, weight loss measurements and electrochemical measurements are used to evaluate the corrosion degree of zinc and ABS A steel.

Under the conditions involved in this work, it is shown that zinc is a nice sacrificial anode with the reason of its stable potential and excellent anode current efficiency according to the relevant standard. And it is also found that the hydrogen evolution does not occur on ABS A steel specimens. The potential difference between cathode and anode is suitable; thus, it can be concluded that each steel is well protected.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other study has analyzed the protection mechanism and effect of zinc as sacrificial anode in H₂S-containing environments under high temperature at present.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms (RTK) is probably the most popular classical novel in Chinese literature. Of more than 1,000 characters in this extensive, three‐volume novel, Kong Ming in RTK is widely seen by the Chinese as the most remarkable strategist. This paper attempts to develop a cognitive schema of Kong Ming on strategy.

First, the paper reviews broadly the traditionally, four most popular novels within the Chinese classical literature: The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Journey to the West and A Dream of the Red Mansions. After emphasizing the role of the RTK in influencing Chinese strategic thinking, the paper utilizes the methods of textual analyses in research. Focusing on a specific episode of global strategy making and taking (Chapter 38), the methodology is explained.

From textual analysis, the paper presents as its finding a schematically linear, cognitive structure of the strategy process. It also presents the central role of the “Counselor of Strategy” in Chinese strategy making process. From this research, a Kong Ming‐grounded, cognitive model of strategy process is developed. If the RTK (more than say, any MBA program) continues to influence Chinese strategy processes, then fast strategic decision making (as exemplified in our analyses) may be one of the pivotal reasons for the equally fast rise of the Chinese economy in our global economic landscape.

Kong Ming (or Zhuge Liang) had been hailed by the Chinese with such lofty epithets such as the “Divine Strategist”. His exploits during the declining Han dynasty and emergence of the Three Kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu (220‐280 CE) are still cited by the Chinese people in their daily conversations on strategy. In this paper, we draw lessons for CEOs through a Kong Ming‐grounded model for strategy.

The application of servo steel struts enables the active control of the excavation-induced deformation in foundation pits. However, there is currently only one design axial force for each servo steel strut, which requires in-situ axial force adjustments based on the experience of site engineers. The purpose of this study is to develop a method for determining the design axial forces of servo steel struts at different excavation steps.

In this study, a hybrid method for determining the design axial forces of servo steel struts in different excavation steps was established based on the combination of the elastic foundation beam model and nonlinear optimisation.

The hybrid method is capable of providing a better set of design axial forces than the original design method. The lateral wall displacement and bending moment could be better controlled. Ordinary steel struts should be prevented from being set between servo steel struts to avoid axial force losses.

The axial forces of the servo steel struts at different excavation steps should be designed to achieve better deformation control effects. Moreover, a well-designed set of axial forces can also reduce the internal forces of the retaining structure.

The hybrid method enables the determination of the design axial forces of servo steel struts at different excavation steps, which can guide axial force adjustments in practical projects.

Incipient detection of pavement deterioration (such as crack identification) is critical to optimizing road maintenance because it enables preventative steps to be implemented to mitigate damage and possible failure. Traditional visual inspection has been largely superseded by semi-automatic/automatic procedures given significant advancements in image processing. Therefore, there is a need to develop automated tools to detect and classify cracks.

The literature review is employed to evaluate existing attempts to use Hough transform algorithm and highlight issues that should be improved. Then, developing a simple low-cost crack detection method based on the Hough transform algorithm for pavement crack detection and classification.

Analysis results reveal that model accuracy reaches 92.14% for vertical cracks, 93.03% for diagonal cracks and 95.61% for horizontal cracks. The time lapse for detecting the crack type for one image is circa 0.98 s for vertical cracks, 0.79 s for horizontal cracks and 0.83 s for diagonal cracks. Ensuing discourse serves to illustrate the inherent potential of a simple low-cost image processing method in automated pavement crack detection. Moreover, this method provides direct guidance for long-term pavement optimal maintenance decisions.

The outcome of this research can help highway agencies to detect and classify cracks accurately for a very long highway without a need for manual inspection, which can significantly minimize cost.

Hough transform algorithm was tested in terms of detect and classify a large dataset of highway images, and the accuracy reaches 92.14%, which can be considered as a very accurate percentage regarding automated cracks and distresses classification.

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the indirect link between high-performance work systems (HPWSs) and firm performance in Chinese professional service firms (PSFs) by investigating the mediating role of organizational ambidexterity, i.e. a firm’s capability to simultaneously explore new ideas and exploit existing resources.

Data were collected from 120 Chinese accounting firms. The authors used hierarchical and polynomial regression analyses to test their hypotheses.

The proposed positive link between the HPWS and organizational ambidexterity was found. Further, the results showed a non-linear relationship between organizational ambidexterity and organizational performance.

The present study is limited in terms of small sample size, single industry and self-report data.

Firms which reported a higher level of HPWS demonstrated better performance due to their organizational capability to explore new ideas and exploit existing resources. In the Chinese context, firms that had high levels of exploration (exploring new resources) and exploitation (exploiting existing resources) or that had a high level of exploration experienced higher performance. The authors can conclude from these findings that without exploration, organizational success is difficult to achieve for PSFs.

This is the first study examining the underlying mechanism of organizational ambidexterity in the indirect relationship between HPWS and firm performance in Chinese PSFs. It advances the authors understanding of HPWS and firm performance relationship in an Eastern country and an emerging context of PSFs. This is also the first study to use polynomial regression to operationalize organizational ambidexterity.

Using features of social media, peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payment enables users to foster social interaction every time transactions are made. Given the increasing popularity of social features in P2P mobile payment applications, it is worth understanding how these components contribute to users’ switching behavior between conventional mobile payment and P2P mobile payment services. By treating sociability of P2P mobile payment as a pull factor, this study aims to extend the push–pull–mooring framework in the context of P2P mobile payment.

A questionnaire survey was conducted to obtain data. Respondents from the USA were exclusively selected due to the emerging number of P2P mobile payment users and the volume of transactions in this country. Based on a sample of 232 Amazon Mechanical Turk mobile payment users, the authors tested the hypotheses using the partial least squares structural equation model technique with SmartPLS software version 3.

The finding reveals that sociability is triggered by social presence, social benefit and social support within the P2P mobile payment platform. Moreover, dissatisfaction with perceived enjoyment of conventional mobile payment (push factor), customer innovativeness (mooring factor) and sociability of P2P mobile payment (pull factor) jointly influence users’ intention to switch to P2P mobile payment services, and subsequently drive their migration behavior.

Unlike past research that mainly focuses on utilitarian-related factors, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to thoroughly examine the sociability features of P2P mobile payment service as a form of a social-centric system.

Social media technology has changed donors' decision-making process in online philanthropy compared with traditional charity. How do IT affordances support donor perceptions and motivations in charitable crowdfunding? The purpose of this study is to explore how the five sub-dimensions of charitable crowdfunding IT affordances (i.e. visibility, association, meta-voicing, trading and security) afford initiators and platforms in motivating donors to support charitable crowdfunding projects.

This paper uses a quantitative research approach. An online survey was conducted to collect research data from WeChat users who had experienced charitable crowdfunding. A sample of 344 valid responses were received and analyzed.

The results show that four of the five IT affordances facilitate donors' perceptions (perceived emotions and trust) and motivations (intrinsic motivations and extrinsic motivations), and thereby increase behavioral intention on supporting charitable crowdfunding projects.

This study advances the affordances and online charity literature by examining the antecedents and outcome of perceptions and motivations that determining behavioral intention in more detail. The authors’ findings not only benefit researchers in explaining how technology helps donors perceiving projects and motivating them to donate online, but also assists practitioners in developing better charitable crowdfunding management strategy.