The impact of information technology on vertical relationships

textThis dissertation has three parts that study the impact of information technology on competition and vertical relationships from different perspectives. The first part focuses on an electronic market where product information is important for consumers to identify their ideal product and the Internet greatly reduces consumers’ search cost. The model studies how reduced search cost influences social welfare and retailers’ incentive to provide product information. It is found that if technology reduces consumers’ search cost to evaluate products and compare prices, sellers who invest in providing valuable information may not be able to recover their investments. Therefore, by lowering sellers’ incentive to prov vide product information, reduced search cost may negatively impact social welfare as consumers have to search more to identify their ideal product. The study also shows that sellers need to develop the capability of, and reputation for, information provision in order to make profits, even though some consumers and sellers may free ride. The second part extends the first model. In the second model, the manufacturer decides whether to distribute products through the electronic or the physical channel, or through both the channels. In the model, different channels have different search costs for consumers, different abilities to offer product information, and different reach to consumers. The model suggests that the manufacturer uses both the channels when product information is very valuable and product information is largely about digital attributes, or when the product information is not valuable. The model also suggests that when the manufacturer chooses to sell through both the channels the manufacturer need not sell through the most well-known electronic retailer. This part also discusses the case where the manufacture is vertically integrated. That is, the manufacturer itself operates in one of the channels. The third part continues the second part and focuses on firms’ vertical integration (VI) strategy. It examines firms included in 1995-1997 InformationWeek 500 and COMPUSTAT database to study the impact of competitive environment on how IT affects the level of vertical integration. It is found that the competitive environment moderates the impact of IT on vertical integration - in more dynamic environments IT is associated with a decrease in VI, and in more stable environments IT is associated with an increase in VI.Information, Risk, and Operations Management (IROM

Investigation on forced vibration of turbocharger turbine in pulsation flow

Variable guide vanes turbines are widely applied in turbocharger. To assess the effects of pulsation inlet conditions on the aerodynamic excitation and the forced vibration of turbine wheel, the weak fluid structure interaction method was adopted. Firstly, a pulsation flow with the frequency of 60 Hz (which corresponds to the engine speed of 2400 r/min) was applied at the turbine inlet to conduct the unsteady flow calculation. The results show that the aerodynamic loads are highly influenced by the pulsation inlet conditions, which fluctuate with the inlet pulsation wave in a pulse cycle, and the maximum and minimum blade load corresponding to the peak and trough of the inlet pulsation wave respectively. For the forced vibration analysis of turbine wheel, the calculated aerodynamic loads in pulsation flow were imposed as the loading boundaries to perform the harmonic vibration and transient structural response by FE calculations, based on the natural frequency and mode of the blade disk. The results show that the forced response of the blade disk not only reflects the contribution of low frequency pulsation excitations but also contains the high frequency pressure fluctuations caused by rotor rotation

The Reflection on Cultural Orientation of Ethnic Education Research

Cultural relativism provides theoretical base for multiethnic and multicultural equality. Research on ethnic education has also been carried out. However, the features of cultural relativism like relativity, closure, and lack of purpose prevent the communication, as the nature of culture, between different cultures. Therefore, to avoid it, the researchers are supposed to turn the attention to reinforce the cultural communication, value cultural pluralism, and hold to cultural awareness

On the Development of School-Based Curriculum for Symbiosis Education in Ethnic Regions

The introduction of foreign culture brings about a powerful impact on ethnic culture. In the meanwhile, the ecological environment in ethnic regions gets even worse because of blind and excessive exploitation of resources. This is the current situation the ethnic regions are faced with. The idea of the symbiosis education can contribute to improving the present situation because it is aimed at interacting human and nature, ethnic culture and mainstream culture. Moreover, the development of school-based curriculum in ethnic regions helps to accomplish the symbiosis education because it can educate the people in the ethnic regions, inherit the ethnic culture and reflect the mainstream culture

Gene 33/Mig6 Inhibits Hexavalent Chromium-Induced DNA Damage and Cell Transformation in Human Lung Epithelial Cells

Hexavalent Chromium [Cr(VI)] compounds are human lung carcinogens and environmental/occupational hazards. The molecular mechanisms of Cr(VI) carcinogenesis appear to be complex and are poorly defined. In this study, we investigated the potential role of Gene 33 (ERRFI1, Mig6), a multifunctional adaptor protein, in Cr(VI)-mediated lung carcinogenesis. We show that the level of Gene 33 protein is suppressed by both acute and chronic Cr(VI) treatments in a dose- and time-dependent fashion in BEAS-2B lung epithelial cells. The inhibition also occurs in A549 lung bronchial carcinoma cells. Cr(VI) suppresses Gene 33 expression mainly through post-transcriptional mechanisms, although the mRNA level of gene 33 also tends to be lower upon Cr(VI) treatments. Cr(VI)-induced DNA damage appears primarily in the S phases of the cell cycle despite the high basal DNA damage signals at the G2M phase. Knockdown of Gene 33 with siRNA significantly elevates Cr(VI)-induced DNA damage in both BEAS-2B and A549 cells. Depletion of Gene 33 also promotes Cr(VI)-induced micronucleus (MN) formation and cell transformation in BEAS-2B cells. Our results reveal a novel function of Gene 33 in Cr(VI)-induced DNA damage and lung epithelial cell transformation. We propose that in addition to its role in the canonical EGFR signaling pathway and other signaling pathways, Gene 33 may also inhibit Cr(VI)-induced lung carcinogenesis by reducing DNA damage triggered by Cr(VI)

Mutual Regulation Between Polo-like Kinase 3 and SIAH2 E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Defines a Regulatory Network That Fine-tunes the Cellular Response to Hypoxia and Nickel

Elevated cellular response to hypoxia, which contributes to cell transformation and tumor progression, is a prominent feature of malignant cells in solid tumors. Polo-like kinase 3 (Plk3) is a serine/threonine protein kinase known to inhibit the cellular response to hypoxia and tumorigenesis. Nickel compounds are well-established human carcinogens that induce tumorigenesis partly through their hypoxia-mimicking effects. Despite previous research efforts, the role of Plk3 in the hypoxic response induced by hypoxia or nickel is not completely understood. Here, we show that NiC

Input-output analysis

Input–output analysis describes the interdependence between industries in an economy. General equilibrium theory provides the theoretical foundation for input–output analysis, while the input–output table is a prerequisite for empirical input–output work. Advances in science and technology, especially the development of high-speed computers, have made input–output analysis more comprehensive and practical. Among the most important developments in input–output analysis are the implementation of computable general equilibrium (CGE) models and the ability to continually update and expand the tables. Input–output analysis is very helpful for investigating the growth and involvement of producer services in an economy

Study on flow unit division and production dynamics of tight sandstone reservoir in Huaqing oilfield

758-764In this paper, the Chang 6 ultra-low permeability reservoirs in Huaqjing area of Ordos Basin are studied. The reservoir is divided into four types of flow units by using Q-type multi-parameter clustering analysis and SPSS statistical analysis software. The characteristics of reservoir physical properties, sedimentary characteristics, capillary pressure curve and production dynamics were analyzed. The rationality of the results were verified from the static and dynamic points of view. Results show that I type flow unit has good reservoir properties and development effect is fast. The main development target is to maintain long-term stability. The distribution areas of II and III types are large, and cover the main production layer of oil field development and the remaining oil enrichment area. The reservoir properties of the IV type flow unit are worst, and the development is difficult. Efficient development of such reservoirs through the scientific division of the flow unit is important and of practical significance