Narrative Persuasion 2.0: Transportation in Participatory Websites

This research applies narrative persuasion theory to participatory websites. Specifically, the study examines the joint effect of online review structure (narrative/nonnarrative) and source attributes (expert/nonexpert) on attitude strength (attitude certainty and intensity). Results demonstrate that source attributes moderate the relationship between transportation and attitude intensity but not attitude certainty. These findings advance transportation theory by illuminating that readers glean source attributes on participatory websites, and these attributes modify transportation effects. The findings offer implications for participatory websites and design features that may facilitate or hinder readers in their quest to make decisions based on the reviews they read

The Adoption of Collaborative Robots toward Ubiquitous Diffusion: A Research Agenda

This paper proposes a framework to study the adoption of collaborative robots (co-robots or cobots) as an innovation and their diffusion into the larger population. Collaborative robots are only starting to appear in our society, yet challenges such as fear and distrust may impede their further adoption. This paper discusses the foundational work necessary to understand collaborative robot adoption and the core elements to achieve ubiquitous diffusion, with a focus on human users and the communication processes

Knowledge structure, knowledge granulation and knowledge distance in a knowledge base

AbstractOne of the strengths of rough set theory is the fact that an unknown target concept can be approximately characterized by existing knowledge structures in a knowledge base. Knowledge structures in knowledge bases have two categories: complete and incomplete. In this paper, through uniformly expressing these two kinds of knowledge structures, we first address four operators on a knowledge base, which are adequate for generating new knowledge structures through using known knowledge structures. Then, an axiom definition of knowledge granulation in knowledge bases is presented, under which some existing knowledge granulations become its special forms. Finally, we introduce the concept of a knowledge distance for calculating the difference between two knowledge structures in the same knowledge base. Noting that the knowledge distance satisfies the three properties of a distance space on all knowledge structures induced by a given universe. These results will be very helpful for knowledge discovery from knowledge bases and significant for establishing a framework of granular computing in knowledge bases

Supply Chain and Supply Chain Management -- case study: a small specialised manufacture in South China

Abstract Supply chain and supply chain management have been discussed a lot during these two decades. Many firms in China would like to improve the supply chain management due to the intensive global competition. Many methods can be implemented to improve the efficiency of the supply chain management, such as TQM, ISO 9000 series, Six Sigma, and third-party Logistics, but only some of them are practical in SMEs in China. Comparisons for these methods are necessary. Managers need to find out the most suitable one for the companies. Factory A is one of the non-special SMEs in China. The problems exist in factory A are quite typical for all other SMEs in China. Quality, delivery, and cost are the main concerns to managers and all members in supply chain. How to improve these three aspects are the important issues that managers face. Some methods, such as ISO 9000 series are available for Chinese SMEs and managers can use these particular approaches to implement

On sign-changing solutions for nonlinear operator equations

AbstractIn this paper, the existence of sign-changing solutions for nonlinear operator equations is discussed by using the topological degree and fixed point index theory. The main theorems are some new three-solution theorems which are different from the famous Amann's and Leggett-Williams' three-solution theorems as well as the results in [F. Li, G. Han, Generalization for Amann's and Leggett–Williams' three-solution theorems and applications, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 298 (2004) 638–654]. These three solutions are all nonzero. One of them is positive, another is negative, and the third one is a sign-changing solution. Furthermore, the theoretical results are successfully applied to both integral and differential equations

Working Mechanism and Structure of Customer Services Support System

On the basis of analyzing customer services of manufacturing enterprises and these supporting requires, using the method of discrete system simulating, the paper provides the classifications of customer services suitable information technology supporting, brings forward the working mechanisms suitable to the supporting system of different kinds of customer services and the relevant system structure