An Empirical Study on Logistics Service Providers’ Intention to Adopt Green Innovations

This study examines six factors that will influence the intention to adopt green innovations for logistics service providers. The determinant factors include technological, organizational and environmental dimensions. The data came from the questionnaire survey on logistics companies in Taiwan, and 162 samples were analyzed. According to the survey results, all the factors have positive influences on the intention to adopt green practices. Explicitness and accumulation of green practices, organizational encouragement, quality of human resources, environmental uncertainty and governmental supports exhibit significant influences on the willingness to adopt green practices.This study examines six factors that will influence the intention to adopt green innovations for logistics service providers. The determinant factors include technological, organizational and environmental dimensions. The data came from the questionnaire survey on logistics companies in Taiwan, and 162 samples were analyzed. According to the survey results, all the factors have positive influences on the intention to adopt green practices. Explicitness and accumulation of green practices, organizational encouragement, quality of human resources, environmental uncertainty and governmental supports exhibit significant influences on the willingness to adopt green practices.This study examines six factors that will influence the intention to adopt green innovations for logistics service providers. The determinant factors include technological, organizational and environmental dimensions. The data came from the questionnaire survey on logistics companies in Taiwan, and 162 samples were analyzed. According to the survey results, all the factors have positive influences on the intention to adopt green practices. Explicitness and accumulation of green practices, organizational encouragement, quality of human resources, environmental uncertainty and governmental supports exhibit significant influences on the willingness to adopt green practices

The Antecedents and Consequences of RFID Technology Adoption for China’s Logistics Companies

With the fast growth in China’s economy, the logistics industry in China is set to take off, and more and more logistics companies begin to adopt innovative logistics technologies. RFID technology has been regarded as an important innovative application in logistics operations and supply chain management. This paper aims to study the antecedents and consequences of RFID technology adoption from the perspective of technological innovation by conducting a questionnaire survey on China’s logistics companies. The factors influencing RFID technology adoption consist of organizational and environmental dimensions. Research findings reveal that organizational encouragement for innovation, quality of human capital, organizational accumulation of related knowledge, perceived environmental uncertainty, and governmental support exhibit significant influences on the willingness to adopt RFID technology. Logistics companies with higher levels of willingness to adopt RFID technology will be associated with better supply chain performance

Technological Innovation for China’s Logistics Industry

China’s logistics industry has started to pay attention to adopt more efficient logistics technologies to provide better services for their customers. This paper employes the questionnaire survey to study the factors influencing the adoption of technological innovations by logistics service providers in China as well as the influences of technological innovation on supply chain performance. Technological innovations are categorized into data acquisition technologies, information technologies, warehousing technologies, and transportation technologies. The results show that the adoption of technological innovations is significantly influenced by technological, organizational and environmental factors, and adopting innovative technologies will increase supply chain performance for the logistics industry in China.China’s logistics industry has started to pay attention to adopt more efficient logistics technologies to provide better services for their customers. This paper employes the questionnaire survey to study the factors influencing the adoption of technological innovations by logistics service providers in China as well as the influences of technological innovation on supply chain performance. Technological innovations are categorized into data acquisition technologies, information technologies, warehousing technologies, and transportation technologies. The results show that the adoption of technological innovations is significantly influenced by technological, organizational and environmental factors, and adopting innovative technologies will increase supply chain performance for the logistics industry in China.China’s logistics industry has started to pay attention to adopt more efficient logistics technologies to provide better services for their customers. This paper employes the questionnaire survey to study the factors influencing the adoption of technological innovations by logistics service providers in China as well as the influences of technological innovation on supply chain performance. Technological innovations are categorized into data acquisition technologies, information technologies, warehousing technologies, and transportation technologies. The results show that the adoption of technological innovations is significantly influenced by technological, organizational and environmental factors, and adopting innovative technologies will increase supply chain performance for the logistics industry in China

Does unemployment have asymmetric effects on suicide rates? Evidence from the United States: 1928–2013

This study applied the recently developed asymmetric causality test and asymmetric generalised impulse-response method to demonstrate the dynamic relationship between unemployment and suicide rates in the U.S. over the period of 1928–2013. The results suggest that there exist asymmetric effects of unemployment on suicide rates. An economic recession (in terms of an increase in unemployment rate) is more likely to increase the suicide rate among an old age group (55–64 years old) than among other age groups, while an economic expansion (in terms of a decrease in unemployment rate) is more likely to reduce the suicide rate of young (15–24 and 25–34 years old) and middle age groups (35–44 and 45– 54 years old) than their counterpart. Therefore, policy implications generated from our results include the following: that intervention to prevent suicidal behaviour should be directed more towards the older age group during economic recession and that we may expect that an economic expansion may not result in a great reduction of suicide rates for the old age (55–64 years) group

Observation of Landau level-like quantizations at 77 K along a strained-induced graphene ridge

Recent studies show that the electronic structures of graphene can be modified by strain and it was predicted that strain in graphene can induce peaks in the local density of states (LDOS) mimicking Landau levels (LLs) generated in the presence of a large magnetic field. Here we report scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (STS) observation of nine strain-induced peaks in LDOS at 77 K along a graphene ridge created when the graphene layer was cleaved from a sample of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). The energies of these peaks follow the progression of LLs of massless 'Dirac fermions' (DFs) in a magnetic field of 230 T. The results presented here suggest a possible route to realize zero-field quantum Hall-like effects at 77 K

Monte Carlo sampling from the quantum state space. II

High-quality random samples of quantum states are needed for a variety of tasks in quantum information and quantum computation. Searching the high-dimensional quantum state space for a global maximum of an objective function with many local maxima or evaluating an integral over a region in the quantum state space are but two exemplary applications of many. These tasks can only be performed reliably and efficiently with Monte Carlo methods, which involve good samplings of the parameter space in accordance with the relevant target distribution. We show how the Markov-chain Monte Carlo method known as Hamiltonian Monte Carlo, or hybrid Monte Carlo, can be adapted to this context. It is applicable when an efficient parameterization of the state space is available. The resulting random walk is entirely inside the physical parameter space, and the Hamiltonian dynamics enable us to take big steps, thereby avoiding strong correlations between successive sample points while enjoying a high acceptance rate. We use examples of single and double qubit measurements for illustration.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 12 reference

Monte Carlo sampling from the quantum state space. I

High-quality random samples of quantum states are needed for a variety of tasks in quantum information and quantum computation. Searching the high-dimensional quantum state space for a global maximum of an objective function with many local maxima or evaluating an integral over a region in the quantum state space are but two exemplary applications of many. These tasks can only be performed reliably and efficiently with Monte Carlo methods, which involve good samplings of the parameter space in accordance with the relevant target distribution. We show how the standard strategies of rejection sampling, importance sampling, and Markov-chain sampling can be adapted to this context, where the samples must obey the constraints imposed by the positivity of the statistical operator. For a comparison of these sampling methods, we generate sample points in the probability space for two-qubit states probed with a tomographically incomplete measurement, and then use the sample for the calculation of the size and credibility of the recently-introduced optimal error regions [see New J. Phys. 15 (2013) 123026]. Another illustration is the computation of the fractional volume of separable two-qubit states.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, 26 reference

Influence of Mesogenic Properties of Cruciform-Shaped Liquid Crystals by Incorporating Side-Arms with a Laterally-Substituted-Fluorine

[[abstract]]Fluoro substitution in thermotropic liquid crystals provides a general way of modifying the properties of a parent system. Transition temperatures, mesophase types and other physical properties can be affected by fluoro substitution, so that frequently the behaviors of the parent compound can be manipulated and improved in a predictable manner. This paper discusses the effects of a fluoro substitution in each side-arm of 1,2,4,5-tetrakis((4-(alkoxy)phenyl)ethynyl)benzenes on the resulting mesomorphic properties characterized by optical polarizing microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Without any fluoro-substituted side-arms, longer chain-length leads to a wider nematic temperature range on cooling. Incorporation of a fluoro substitution in each side-arm induces the formation of a lamellar suprastructure, lowers transition temperatures and results in a wider mesophase temperature range on cooling.[[sponsorship]]國科會[[booktype]]電子