Leveraging Values in Global Organizations: Premises,Paradoxes and Progress

In this focused issue on the theme of “Leveraging Values in Global Organizations”, we highlight several prevalent themes on national, organizational and individual values in the literature. We argue that many premises in the literature have been accepted as fact; yet there are still many avenues open to exploration. We present several paradoxes that are often overlooked or lead to inconsistencies in the literature on values. The five articles in this focused issue address these premises and paradoxes, presenting new challenges and opportunities, providing progress and paving the way for future research on leveraging values in global organizations. The selected articles explore values with respect to international alliances and subsidiaries of multinational organizations at the organizational level, among global managers at the group level, and among employees and inpatriates at the individual level of analysis. We trust that readers of this issue will agree that the articles provide novel insights into key issues in the established, yet dynamic, field of research on values in the context of global organizations.     

Determination of the Secondary Bjerknes Force in Acoustic Resonators on Ground and in Microgravity Conditions

We propose an experimental methodology to determine the secondary Bjerknes force between rigid particles. Measurements done for different particles sizes showed acoustical inter particles interactions. We use and extend the methodology presented in a previous work. The determination of this force will lead us a better understanding of the aggregation process in acoustic resonators. We report in this work, the results of two parabolic flights campaigns performed at the Airbus A300 ZERO-G (Novespace, France).     

Application potential of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSCs) based tissue-engineering for spinal cord defect repair in rat fetuses with spina bifida aperta

Spina bifida aperta are complex congenital malformations resulting from failure of fusion in the spinal neural tube during embryogenesis. Despite surgical repair of the defect, most patients who survive with spina bifida aperta have a multiple system handicap due to neuron deficiency of the defective spinal cord. Tissue engineering has emerged as a novel treatment for replacement of lost tissue. This study evaluated the prenatal surgical approach of transplanting a chitosan–gelatin scaffold seeded with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in the healing the defective spinal cord of rat fetuses with retinoic acid induced spina bifida aperta. Scaffold characterisation revealed the porous structure, organic and amorphous content. This biomaterial promoted the adhesion, spreading and in vitro viability of the BMSCs. After transplantation of the scaffold combined with BMSCs, the defective region of spinal cord in rat fetuses with spina bifida aperta at E20 decreased obviously under stereomicroscopy, and the skin defect almost closed in many fetuses. The transplanted BMSCs in chitosan–gelatin scaffold survived, grew and expressed markers of neural stem cells and neurons in the defective spinal cord. In addition, the biomaterial presented high biocompatibility and slow biodegradation in vivo. In conclusion, prenatal transplantation of the scaffold combined with BMSCs could treat spinal cord defect in fetuses with spina bifida aperta by the regeneration of neurons and repairmen of defective region.     

Comparison of gas sensing properties based on hollow and porous α-Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanotubes

Hollow and porous α-Fe₂O₃ nanotubes were successfully synthesized by single nozzle electrospinning method followed by annealing treatment. The crystal structures and morphologies of the as-prepared materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The as-prepared materials were applied to construct gas sensor devices which gas sensing properties were further investigated. The obtained results revealed that porous α-Fe₂O₃ nanotube gas sensors exhibit a markedly enhanced gas sensing performance compared with hollow α-Fe₂O₃ nanotube gas sensors, which was about three times higher to 100 ppm acetone at 240 °C. Interestingly, hollow and porous α-Fe₂O₃ nanotube gas sensors both showed fast response–recovery time and good selectivity, but the porous ones possessed the shorter recovery time. The improved properties could be attributed to the unique morphology of porous nanotubes. Thus, further improvement of performance in metal-oxide-semiconductors materials could be realized by preparation the unique porous structures of nanotubes. Moreover, it is expected that porous metal-oxide-semiconductors nanotubes could be further design as promising candidates for gas sensing materials.     

La<Subscript>1−x</Subscript>Ag<Subscript>x</Subscript>FeO<Subscript>3</Subscript>/halloysites nanocomposite with enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance

La_1?xAg_xFeO₃/halloysites nanotubes (HNTs) nanocomposite was synthesized by sol–gel method. It was characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and UV–visible diffused reflectance spectroscopy measurements. The photo-activity of the La_1?xAg_xFeO₃/HNTs nanocomposite was evaluated via degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible-light irradiation. The results showed that the HNTs with unique pore structure favored the adsorption of organic molecules. Adequate Ag⁺ doping improved the absorption ability for visible light. The La_0.95Ag_0.05FeO₃/HNTs demonstrated the best photocatalytic performance, which achieved as high as 99 % for MB degradation exposed 2 h irradiation. However,further increasing of Ag⁺ doping gradually reduced the photocatalytic activity. The nanocomposite catalyst showed outstanding recyclability after eight cycles which still remained up to 90 %.     

Electromigration effect on Sn-58 % Bi solder joints with various substrate metallizations under current stress

The electromigration behavior of low-melting temperature Sn-58Bi (in wt%) solder joints was investigated with a high current density between 3 and 4.5 × 10³ A/cm² between 80 and 110 °C. In order to analyze the impact of various substrate metallizations on the electromigration performance of the Sn-58Bi joint, we used representative substrate metallizations including electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG), electroless nickel electroless palladium immersion gold (ENEPIG), and organic solderability preservatives (OSP). As the applied current density increased, the time to failure (TTF) for electromigration decreased regardless of the temperature or substrate metallizations. In addition, the TTF slightly decreased with increasing temperature. The substrate metallization significantly affected the TTF for the electromigration behavior of the Sn-58Bi solder joints. The substrate metallizations for electromigration performance of the Sn-58Bi solder are ranked in the following order: OSP-Cu, ENEPIG, and ENIG. Due to the polarity effect, current stressing enhanced the fast growth of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) at the anode interface. Cracks occurred at the Ni₃Sn₄ + Ni₃P IMC/Cu interfaces on the cathode sides in the Sn-58Bi/ENIG joint and the Sn-58Bi/ENEPIG joint; this was caused by the complete consumption of the Ni(P) layer. Alternatively, failure occurred via deformation of the bulk solder in the Sn-58Bi/OSP-Cu joint. The experimental results confirmed that the electromigration reliability of the Sn-58Bi/OSP-Cu joint was superior to those of the Sn-58Bi/ENIG or Sn-58Bi/ENEPIG joints.     

Facile synthesis and characterization of MnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanomaterials as supercapacitor electrode materials

MnO₂ nanomaterials are synthesized via calcinations in air at various temperatures. Amorphous MnO₂ masses appear between 100 and 300 °C and nanorods form above 400 °C. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy are used to observe the geometries of each material, with further structural analyses conducted using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and BET method. The electrochemical properties are investigated through galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling, electrochemical impedance spectra, and cyclic voltammetry within a three-electrode test cell filled with 1 mol L^?1 Na₂SO₄ solution. The slightly asymmetric galvanostatic cycling curves suggest that the reversibility of the Faradaic reactions are imperfect, requiring a larger time to charge than discharge. The specific capacitances of each sample are calculated and trends are identified, proving that the samples synthesized at higher temperatures exhibit poorer electrochemical behaviors. The highest calculated specific capacitance is 175 F g^?1 by the sample calcinated at 400 °C. However, the lower temperature samples exhibit more favorable geometric properties and higher overall average specific capacitances. For future research, it is suggested that surface modifications such as a carbon coating could be used in conjunction with the MnO₂ nanorods to reach the electrochemical properties required by contemporary industrial applications.     

Preparation and microwave absorbing properties of nickel-coated carbon fiber with polyaniline via in situ polymerization

Electric conductive and microwave absorbing material PANI/Ni/CF was prepared by in situ polymerization of polyaniline on the surface of nickel-coated carbon fiber (Ni/CF). The morphologies and structures of CF, Ni/CF, PANI and PANI/Ni/CF were characterized by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. Results show that the CF was wrapped tightly around the nickel layer, and the Ni/CF was coated by PANI. Measurement of four probes resistance tester indicates that the electrical conductivity of PANI/Ni/CF was great improved compared with PANI and PANI/CF. Vibrating sample magnetometry shows that the magnetic saturation intensity of Ni/CF and PANI/Ni/CF was 13.8 and 2.3 emu/g, respectively. According to the vector network analyzer, the microwave absorbing properties of PANI/Ni/CF were better than those of PANI and PANI/CF, and its minimum loss value is ?12.4 dB at 8.8 GHz.     

Methylene blue photocatalytic degradation under visible irradiation of Al doped ZnO powders by hydrothermal synthesis sensitized with octa-iso-pentyloxyphthalocyanine lead

AZO powders were sensitized through chemisorption method by octa-iso-pentyloxy phthalocyanine lead and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that after sensitization process AZO photo physical properties improved greatly in visible regions. Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue was studied under visible irradiation in aqueous solution and the pseudo first order model was used to obtain kinetic information of the photocatalytic degradation. The results indicated that photocatalytic activities of PbPc(iso-PeO)₈-AZO were better than of AZO powders.     

The interlaminar shear failure characteristics of asphalt pavement coupled heating cables

Nowadays, heating cables are used as heat sources for heating pavements in practical engineering. However, there is a contradiction between the snow melting function and the interlaminar stability of heating pavement. In order to solve the contradiction, the interlaminar failure behavior of asphalt mixture coupled heating cables specimen (AMCS) was researched, through experiments and the finite element method. Under the different conditions of heating cables and rolling times, a series of direct shear tests was performed at the interface of AMCS, to compare the interlaminar stability of three different AMCS. Meanwhile, based on the bilinear cohesive zone model and coulomb friction model a 2D finite element model was established, to simulate this shear failure processes and make up for the limitations of the experiment. According to above test and simulation results, the failure mechanism and the weakest interface in AMCS were found, and the influence of the heating cable’s diameter and embedded spacing on the interlaminar shear strength were found. Then, a modified coulomb theorem model was proposed to predict the shear strength of the AMCS. This research enriches the design theory of the heating pavement and it has great significance for its structural design of heating asphalt pavement.