THE REFERENCE GROUP INFLUENCE ON CELL PHONE PURCHASING BEHAVIOR: RESEARCH ON CHINESE YOUTH

The cell phone has experienced a change from a private luxury product into a public necessity product in the late 1990s China. According to consumer behavior theories, individuals would be significantly influenced by their reference groups when making a purchasing decision of a certain commodity such as the cell phone. The reference group influence encompasses three types: informational influence, utilitarian influence, and value-expressive influence. This paper utilizes the empirical research method to investigate the three types of reference group influence on Chinese youth\u27s cell phone purchasing behavior. The research results indicate that reference groups have a significant influence on cell phone purchasing behavior among Chinese youth. This paper also investigates the different degree of influences between genders and between the working and non-working youth. Based on the research conclusions, this paper provides some suggestions for marketers competing in the Chinese cell phone market

The funding of collective redress by entrepreneurial parties: the EU and Dutch context

The development of collective redress in practice depends on the availability of adequate funding. In recentyears third-party funding by entrepreneurial parties has become an important source of financing collectiveactions and settlements. Both at the EU level and in most of the Member States third-party litigation fundingand related forms of entrepreneurial lawyering have generally been viewed with suspicion, though the newRepresentative Actions Directive (RAD) does enable third-party funding under certain conditions. TheNetherlands is perhaps the Member State best known for its collective redress mechanisms, and the role ofthird-party funding has been important for its development. This paper discusses the financing of collectiveredress from a European and Dutch perspective. It assesses in how far EU law, and in particular the RAD,enables the third-party funding and how this has developed in the Netherlands. It concludes that thereluctance in Europe towards third-party funding is still visible, but the RAD and recent developments inthe EU acknowledge its importance. As to the Netherlands, considering some restrictions in the latestlegislative addition enabling collective action damage claims, it remains to be seen what role Dutchcollective redress and developing funding mechanisms will play in Europe and beyond.<br/

SPICE based compact model for electrical switching of antiferromagnet

A simulation framework that can model the behavior of antiferromagnets (AFMs) is essential to building novel high-speed devices. The electrical switching of AFMs allows for high performance memory applications. With new phenomena in spintronics being discovered, there is a need for flexible and expandable models. With that in mind, we developed a model for AFMs which can be used to simulate AFM switching behavior in SPICE. This approach can be modified for adding modules, keeping pace with new developments. The proposed AFM switching model is based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation (LLG). LLG along with an exchange coupling module is implemented with conventional electrical circuit elements like voltage-dependent current sources and capacitors. This proposed simulation can be performed for different user defines magnet parameters and initial magnet configurations. The model is carefully benchmarked with experiments. It can be used to study different AFM structures and corresponding switching capabilities. This provides the simulations required with good accuracy for high performance memory applications of AFM in high speed devices

Folkehelse og livsmestring i danningsfaget norsk

Dette masterprosjektet studerer sammenhengen mellom danning og folkehelse og livsmestring i norskfaget. Det tverrfaglige tema kom som et nytt område i Fagfornyelsen. Temaet er en sentral del av skolens dannings- og utdanningsoppdrag, slik som norsk er et sentralt fag for danning (Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2020). Jeg har derfor valgt å undersøke følgende problemstilling: Hvilke muligheter for danning kan man finne gjennom arbeid med folkehelse og livsmestring i norskfaget? Min ambisjon er at denne oppgaven skal ha relevans for planlegging og undervisningspraksis. Studien er et bidrag til lærere og studenter for å få mer innsikt i hvordan folkehelse og livsmestring kan arbeides med i norskfaget og hvilke muligheter for danning som kan ligge i et slikt arbeid. For å undersøke min problemstilling har jeg valgt å se på hvordan danning og det tverrfaglige temaet uttrykkes i læreplanen, og undersøke hvordan man kan forstå det tverrfaglige tema opp mot danningsoppdraget i norsk. Da denne studien er nært knyttet skolens praksis og lærernes undervisning, valgte jeg å gjennomføre kvalitative gruppeintervju med seks norsklærere for å få innsikt i deres erfaringer og refleksjoner knyttet folkehelse og livsmestring. For å klargjøre empirien til drøfting opp mot relevant teori og forskning, strukturerte og systematiserte jeg deltakernes utsagn gjennom koding og kategorisering i lys av oppgavens problemstilling og forskningsspørsmål. Funnene viser at lærerne ved begge skolene opplever at de ikke har arbeidet tilstrekkelig med fagfornyelsen eller det tverrfaglige temaet folkehelse og livsmestring og at mye av dette skyldes Korona-pandemien. Deltakerne løfter også frem at det kan være vanskelig å forholde seg til alt det nye, og at det kan være lettere å følge lærebøker eller planlegge ut ifra kompetansemål. Funnene viser at flere av deltakerne uttrykker usikkerhet rundt hva folkehelse og livsmestring innebærer og hvordan man kan forstå danningsbegrepet. Deltakerne diskuterer mulige arbeidsmetoder i arbeid med folkehelse og livsmestring i norsk og reflekterer over hvilken læring elevene kan finne i dette arbeidet. Det teoretiske rammeverket knyttet danning og implementering, formuleringer i læreplanen og funn fra analysen bygger grunnlaget for tematikkene jeg har utformet til drøfting: Implementering som byggestein for god undervisning, viktigheten av felles forståelse for overordnede mål og danning gjennom folkehelse og livsmestring, som utdypes med undertemaet: språk og tekst som danningsgrunnlag i det tverrfaglige temaet og norskfaget.This master's project studies the connection between education/formation and public health and life skills in the subject Norwegian. The interdisciplinary theme came as a new area in the subject renewal of the curriculum. The theme is a central part of the school's formation and education mission, as Norwegian is a central subject for formation and education (Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2020). I have therefore chosen to investigate the following issue: What opportunities for education/formatin can be found through teachingwork with public health and life skills in the Norwegian subject? My ambition is that this assignment will be relevant for planning and teaching practice. This study is a contribution to teachers and students to gain more insight into how public health and life skills can be worked with in the subject Norwegian and what opportunities for education/formation which may lie in such work. To investigate my issue, I have chosen to look at how education/formation and the interdisciplinary theme are expressed in the curriculum, and examine how one can understand the interdisciplinary theme in relation to the educational/formational assignment in the Norwegian subject. As this study is closely linked to the school's practice and the teachers' classroom-teaching, I have chose to do qualitative group interviews with six Norwegian-subject teachers to gain insight into their experiences and reflections related to public health and life skills. To clarify the empirical data for discussion against relevant theory and research, I structured and systematized the participants' statements through coding and categorization in light of the thesis issue and research questions. The findings show that the teachers at both schools feel that they have not worked sufficiently with the subject renewal or the interdisciplinary theme of public health and life skills and that much of this is due to the Corona-pandemic. The participants also point out that it can be difficult to relate to everything new, and that it can be easier to follow textbooks or plan based on competence goals. The findings show that several of the participants express uncertainty about what public health and life skills entail and how to understand the concept of education/formation. The participants discuss possible working methods in work with public health and life skills in the Norwegian subjec and reflect on what learning the students can find through this work. The theoretical framework related to education/formation and implementation, formulations in the curriculum and findings from the analysis, build the basis for the topics I will discuss: Implementation as a building block for good teaching, the importance of a common understanding of overall goals and education/formation through public health and life skills, which is elaborated with the sub-theme: language and text as a basis for formation/education in the interdisciplinary theme and Norwegian subject

Effect of inactive volume on thermocouple measurements of electrocaloric temperature change in multilayer capacitors of 0.9Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.1PbTiO3

On increasing the active/total volume ratio of 0.9Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.1PbTiO3 multilayer capacitors (MLCs), the electrocaloric temperature change measured using a thermocouple near the centre increases, until saturating to reveal the nominally adiabatic limit (|ΔT| ~ 2.7 K for rapid field changes of |ΔE|  =  28.8 V µm−1). For all MLCs that we studied, the practice of multiplying the measured temperature change by the total/active heat capacity ratio causes the adiabatic temperature change to be overestimated by a small numerical factor. These findings highlight the challenge associated with quantifying electrocaloric effects in MLCs of the type that are currently being used as working bodies in prototype cooling devices.XM is grateful for the support from the UK EPSRC grant EP/M003752/1 and the Royal Society. BN is grateful for the support from Gates Cambridge and the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability

Calcium response in osteocytic networks under steady and oscillatory fluid flow

The fluid flow in the lacunar-canalicular system of bone is an essential mechanical stimulation on the osteocyte networks. Due to the complexity of human physical activities, the fluid shear stress on osteocyte bodies and processes consists of both steady and oscillatory components. In this study, we investigated and compared the intracellular calcium ([Ca2+](i)) responses of osteocytic networks under steady and oscillatory fluid flows. An in vitro osteocytic network was built with MLO-Y4 osteocyte-like cells using micro-patterning techniques to simulate the in vivo orderly organization of osteocyte networks. Sinusoidal oscillating fluid flow or unidirectional steady flow was applied on the cell surface with 2 Pa peak shear stress. It was found that the osteocytic networks were significantly more responsive to steady flow than to oscillatory flow. The osteocytes can release more calcium peaks with higher magnitudes at a faster speed under steady flow stimulation. The [Ca2+](i) signaling transients under the steady and oscillatory flows have significantly different spatiotemporal characters, but a similar responsive percentage of cells. Further signaling pathway studies using inhibitors showed that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium store, extracellular calcium source, ATP, PGE(2) and NO related pathways play similar roles in the [Ca2+](i) signaling of osteocytes under either steady or oscillating flow. The spatiotemporal characteristics of [Ca2+](i) transients under oscillating fluid flow are affected more profoundly by pharmacological treatments than under the steady flow. Our findings support the hypothesis that the [Ca2+](i) responses of osteocytic networks are significantly dependent on the profiles of fluid flow