Innovation policy and firm patent value: evidence from China

This study aims to contribute to the empirical literature that evaluates the impact of the Science & Technology (S&T) Outline, a Chinese innovation policy implemented in 2006, measured by the scale of patent value. We first create a comprehensive patent valuation model (CPVM), derived from the extended patent renewal model and a variety of feature indices, to measure a firm’s patent value. From a database with over 700,000 Chinese patents from 1985 to 2013, we find that the patent value increases after the release of the S&T Outline, and the scale of patent value after 2006 is about 26.52 times more than that before 2006. Further, we use a quasi-difference in differences (DID) model to estimate the growth effect caused by the innovation policy. The results indicate that the S&T Outline had a significant effect on the promotion of patent value, in industries with high patent intensity. Considering the lag effect of the S&T Outline, we construct innovation correlation networks to visualise and compare its promotion effect. We find that regional networks have a gathering tendency after policy implementation, while industrial networks have a decentralising tendenc

A Study of Young Chinese Intentions to Purchase “Online Paid Knowledge”: An Extended Technological Acceptance Model

Under the catalysis of knowledge anxiety and cognitive surplus, knowledge sharing platforms has experienced rapid growth, which has accelerated the integration of knowledge resources online. As with all new successful and sustainable business products, the consumers will play an important role in the future development of online paid knowledge. Therefore, we constructed an extended technological acceptance model by examining factors that influence young Chinese people's willingness to pay for online paid knowledge. The study surveyed 405 young Chinese participants, in which the extended technological acceptance model was tested by using structural equation modeling. Findings indicate that perceived ease of use is positively associated with perceived usefulness and associated attitudes, whereas perceived usefulness and attitude is positively associated with purchase intention. Perceived risk and group conformity are found to indirectly affect consumers' willingness to pay. The study advances the current body of knowledge by empirically testing the impact of perceived risk and the role of cultural influence (group conformity) on purchasing intention. Finally, theoretical and practical implications are discussed

Substantive green innovation or symbolic green innovation? The impact of ER on enterprise green innovation based on the dual moderating effects

Based on the existing research on environmental regulation (ER) and enterprise innovation, this paper separates green innovation ability from general technological innovation and divides it, from the perspective of motivation, into substantive green innovation (SUBGI) and symbolic green innovation (SYMGI). This paper employs panel data of China's A-share listed enterprise from 2008 to 2018 in a difference-in-difference-in-difference model to construct a quasinatural experiment on the impacts of ER and the green innovation strategy of enterprises. Government subsidies and regulatory capture are used to explore the mechanism between ER and innovation behavior. The results show that ER has a significantly positive effect on green innovation, but its impact on SYMGI and SUBGI decreases. Under the constraints of the ER policy, government subsidies incentivize the green innovation of enterprises, but they are not the main reason for the difference between the two innovation behaviors. Regulatory capture plays a negative moderating role in ER promoting enterprises’ SUBGI and has no significant impact on SYMGI, which is the key factor leading to the difference between the two innovation behaviors. The heterogeneity test suggests a pronounced promotion effect of ER on state-owned enterprises, large enterprises, and growing enterprises. This study provides momentous policy implications for making rational use of environmental policies in promoting enterprises’ green innovation capability, especially high-quality green innovation behavior aimed at promoting enterprises’ green technology progress and gaining competitive advantages

Does smart city pilot policy reduce CO2 emissions from industrial firms? Insights from China

As major producers in the national economy, industrial enterprises bear great responsibility for carbon emissions. A smart city pilot policy (SCPP) with innovative advantages and environmentally friendly features provides a feasible way to scientifically achieve carbon emission reduction targets while maintaining industrial growth. However, there is a lack of specific understanding of the microscopic carbon reduction mechanisms of the policy. Thus, based on the data of A-share listed industrial firms from 2009 to 2018 in China, this study explores the impact mechanism of the SCPP on the CO2 emissions from industrial firms with the time-varying DID methodology and the mediating effect model. The results demonstrate that the SCPP can curb CO2 emissions from industrial firms in China by 23% by strengthening the intensity of environmental regulation and promoting green technological innovation. Further analysis indicates that the mediating effect of resource allocation efficiency only works in industrial firms in low-carbon industries, not high-carbon industries. In addition, the heterogeneity test suggests a pronounced reduction effect of the SCPP on non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), and industrial enterprises in low-carbon industries, resource-based cities and eastern China. This paper is of great significance for providing theoretical and practical implications for making rational use of smart city policies to improve the carbon reduction performance of enterprises

Effective mass approach for a Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical lattice

We study the stationary and propagating solutions for a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in a periodic optical potential with an additional confining optical or magnetic potential. Using an effective mass approximation we express the condensate wave function in terms of slowly-varying envelopes modulating the Bloch modes of the optical lattice. In the limit of a weak nonlinearity, we derive a nonlinear Schrödinger equation for propagation of the envelope function which does not contain the rapid oscillation of the lattice. We then consider the ground state solutions in detail in the regime of weak, moderate and strong nonlinear interactions. We describe the form of solution which is appropriate in each regime, and place careful limits on the validity of each type of solution. Finally we extend the study to the propagating dynamics of a spinor atomic BEC in an optical lattice and some interesting phenomena are revealed.15 page(s

Effects of blast furnace slag on the immobilization, plant uptake and translocation of Cd in a contaminated paddy soil

The potential toxicity of Cd to soil and rice plant severely threaten human health. This study was conducted to investigate the remediation effects of blast furnace slag (BFS) on the bioavailability of Cd in a contaminated paddy soil from a perspective of soil solution chemistry. Batch experiments, pot culture experiments, and principal analysis (PCA) were used to study the effects and mechanisms of BFS addition changing Cd chemical behavior and Cd toxicity. Results indicated that BFS facilitated Cd adsorption in soils, increased pH, Eh, and EC values in soil solution, whereas reduced dissolved Cd content. BFS amendment was efficient in decreasing root Cd intake and Cd upward transport in rice plant, with the Cd translocation factor in brown rice decreased by ∼ 75% (BFS treatment, 6‰ wt) relative to Cd treatment, which in turn increased rice biomass and grain yield. PCA indicated that the dissolved Cd concentration had a close relationship with soil pH and metal concentration in soil solution. Results from this study indicated that BFS had potential ability for either immobilization or remobilization of Cd in soils, and the findings have important implications for Cd-polluted soil remediation or other resource utilization with slag-based materials

Differential privacy in edge computing-based smart city Applications:Security issues, solutions and future directions

Fast-growing smart city applications, such as smart delivery, smart community, and smart health, are generating big data that are widely distributed on the internet. IoT (Internet of Things) systems are at the centre of smart city applications, as traditional cloud computing is insufficient for satisfying the critical requirements of smart IoT systems. Due to the nature of smart city applications, massive IoT data may contain sensitive information; hence, various privacy-preserving methods, such as anonymity, federated learning, and homomorphic encryption, have been utilised over the years. Furthermore, limited concern has been given to the resource consumption for data privacy-preserving in edge computing environments, which are resource-constrained when compared with cloud data centres. In particular, differential privacy (DP) has been an effective privacy-preserving method in the edge computing environment. However, there is no dedicated study on DP technology with a focus on smart city applications in the edge computing environment.To fill this gap, this paper provides a comprehensive study on DP in edge computing-based smart city applications, covering various aspects, such as privacy models, research methods, mechanisms, and applications. Our study focuses on five areas of data privacy, including data transmitting privacy, data processing privacy, data model training privacy, data publishing privacy, and location privacy. In addition, we investigate many potential applications of DP in smart city application scenarios. Finally, future directions of DP in edge computing are envisaged. We hope this study can be a useful roadmap for researchers and practitioners in edge computing enable smart city applications

Significance analysis of the factors influencing the strength of the frozen soil-structure interface and their interactions in different phase transition zones

The freezing strength of the contact interface between foundation soil and infrastructure has been a key and difficult problem in the study of frost jacking of piles in cold regions; previous studies have focused on the influence law of experimental factors on freezing strength, and there are few studies on the significance of the effects of factors and their interactions on the freezing strength in different phase transition zones. In this paper, based on the existing test data, the orthogonal experimental design method considering the interactions, the principles of range analysis and variance analysis were used to investigate the significance of the effects of factors influencing the freezing strength in different phase transition zones and their interactions. Finally, a new method for establishing the prediction model of freezing strength based on the multiple linear regression model was proposed. The research shows that there are significant differences in the effects of the experimental factors and their interactions on the freezing strength in different phase transition zones. The freezing strength prediction model established by the new method can better reflect the variation law of freezing strength with factors in different phase transition zones and the influence degree of the interactions between factors