An Evaluation Model for Foreign Direct Investment Performance of Free Trade Port Zones

With the tendency of internationalisation and globalisation, signing regional economic agreements among multiple countries has become a trend. Under such an integration environment, some free economic zones with port transportation functions have become crucial for FDI (foreign direct investment) investors in selecting investment locations. The free trade port zone (FTPZ) is argued to be one of the most well-known. This paper aims to assess the FDI performance of FTPZs. On the basis of the FTPZ\u27s features and relevant literature, assessment criteria (ACs) are initially identified. An evaluation model based on the fuzzy AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) approach is then introduced to evaluate the FTPZs\u27 FDI performance from foreign investors\u27 viewpoints. Finally, the FTPZ of the Kaohsiung port in Taiwan was empirically investigated to verify the assessment model. Results point out that for the FTPZ of Kaohsiung port, ACs with higher priorities needing improvement are raw material acquired, local government efficiency, and political stability and social security. Theoretical and practical recommendations for the FTPZ managers are discussed based on the results

AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318-target study

: High throughput screening (HTS) is routinely used to identify bioactive small molecules. This requires physical compounds, which limits coverage of accessible chemical space. Computational approaches combined with vast on-demand chemical libraries can access far greater chemical space, provided that the predictive accuracy is sufficient to identify useful molecules. Through the largest and most diverse virtual HTS campaign reported to date, comprising 318 individual projects, we demonstrate that our AtomNet® convolutional neural network successfully finds novel hits across every major therapeutic area and protein class. We address historical limitations of computational screening by demonstrating success for target proteins without known binders, high-quality X-ray crystal structures, or manual cherry-picking of compounds. We show that the molecules selected by the AtomNet® model are novel drug-like scaffolds rather than minor modifications to known bioactive compounds. Our empirical results suggest that computational methods can substantially replace HTS as the first step of small-molecule drug discovery

Shipper behavior to use EC services in liner shipping

The purpose of this paper is to discuss shipper behavior to use electronic commerce (EC) services in liner shipping. Inquiry use intention and transaction use intention were employed to define shipper intention to use the EC services. Based on the internal and external perspectives of shippers, a causal model was constructed to investigate the determinants of the intentions. The internal factor is defined as shippers' perceived usefulness (PU) of the EC services. The external factors include the EC promotions of shipping companies and the partnership between shippers and shipping companies. From eight major industries in Taiwan, 135 exporting companies were sampled to validate the model. The results indicate that the partnership is the most significant factor affecting the transaction use intention, while the PU of the shipper is the most significant determinant of inquiry use intention. EC promotions only significantly affect transaction use intention. These results may provide useful information for shipping companies seeking to promote their EC services.EC Shipper Forwarder Carrier Partnership