Review on structural damage assessment via transmissibility with vibration based measurements

10.1088/1742-6596/842/1/012016Journal of Physics: Conference Series84211201

Does COO Matter in Value Co-creation of Cross-border E-commerce?

The purpose of this paper is to explore the cross-border e-commerce value co-creation mechanism. We believe that the most significant factor affecting consumers’ cross-border online shopping is online service quality. And the country of origin effect also plays an important role in the cross-border purchase intention. Therefore, this study built a proposed model of cross-border online purchase intention based on co-create theory and two-side market theory. For the case of online cross-border shopping, perceived value is very important which can directly determine the purchase intention of customers. Based on the related theory, three significant latent variables that can indirectly determine the purchase intention of customers as follows: consumer resource, platform service quality (or ESQ), and country of origin. According to our positive study, platform service quality is the most important factor, COO is the second one, and consumer expertise is the last one. All of the antecedent variables are significant according to statistical results. Then we made the conclusions and implications

Does COO really Matter in Value Co-Creation of Cross-Border E-Commerce?

The purpose of this paper is to explore the cross-border e-commerce value co-creation mechanism. We believe that the most significant factor affecting consumers’ cross-border online shopping is online service quality. And the country of origin(COO) effect also plays an important role in the cross-border purchase intention. Therefore, this study built a proposed model of crossborder online purchase intention based on co-create theory and two-side market theory. For the case of online cross-border shopping, perceived value is very important which can directly determine the purchase intention of customers. Based on the related theory, three significant latent variables that can indirectly determine the purchase intention of customers as follows: consumer resource, platform service quality (or ESQ), and country of origin. According to our positive study, platform service quality is the most important factor, COO is the second one, and consumer expertise is the last one. All of the antecedent variables are significant according to statistical results. Then we made the conclusions and implications

The Influencing Factors on Consumers’ Purchase Intention under the Cross-border E-commerce Platforms

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influencing factors of consumers\u27 willingness to purchase in the cross-border e-commerce websites and apps. We believe that the most significant factor affecting consumers’ cross-border online shopping is online trust. Therefore, this study divided online trust of cross-border e-commerce platforms into four dimensions, and extracted four independent variables which are perceived usefulness, perceived easy to use, perceived security and consumers’ trust propensity according to the TAM theory. Moreover, we used consumers’ online trust as a mediator variable, constructed a expanded TAM research model to explore the mechanism and determinants of consumers’ cross-border online shopping. Finally, the conclusions and implications were given according to the empirical analysis

Transition to Turbulence in Shear-Thinning Fluids

In this dissertation, the effects of a shear-thinning fluid on the evolution of a hairpin vortex are investigated. The fluid viscosity is determined using a power law model and direct numerical simulations are performed using a pseudo-spectral code. The Reynolds number is defined using the initial maximum velocity and the initial viscosity at the wall. In the simulations, the Reynolds number and the initial strength of the hairpin vortex are fixed. We observe from 3D visualizations that the hairpin tends to lose its coherence more easily and breaks into small scale structures when the level of shear thinning is increased. The disintegration of the hairpin causes a decrease in the production of kinetic energy and an increase in dissipation. As a consequence, the transition to turbulence is delayed as the level of shear thinning is increased. In future work, we will investigate the effects of shear-thinning on fully developed turbulence, and we will study the effects of other rheological models such as the Carreau model

Employment Dynamics, Firm Performance and Innovation Persistence in the Context of Differentiated Innovation Types: Evidence from Luxembourg

This doctoral dissertation examines the essential topics of employment dynamics, firm performance and innovation persistence comprehensively. In particular, this doctoral dissertation provides an assessment of the differentiated role of innovation strategies in employment, firm performance and innovation persistence. Chapter 2 studies the dynamic relationship between technological innovation and employment using Luxembourgish firm level data pertaining to the non-financial corporate sector during the period 2003-2012. A simple theoretical model that distinguishes the employment effect of product innovation from that of process innovation is developed. The model is then estimated by two-step generalised method of moments using an unbalanced panel data stemming from the annual structural business survey merged with the biennial innovation survey. The results show that the semi-elasticity of employment with respect to product innovation lies between 0.2% and 0.5%. The differential in the employment effects between radical and incremental innovation is estimated to be 50%. Similarly, the employment level differential between product innovators and firms with unchanged products lies between 4% and 11%. Unlike product innovation, however, process innovation does not have any significant effect on the firm level of employment. Chapter 3 investigates the two-way relationship between technological innovation and firm performance at the firm level. In the framework of evolutionary economics, innovation is regarded as a highly cumulative process which exhibits positive feedback. This chapter aims at capturing the interdependent relationship and possible bidirectional causality between innovation and firm performance. Superior firm performance facilitates the emergence of innovations, innovation contributes to firm performance by gaining successful and sustainable competitive advantage, which forms a virtuous circle. A fully recursive simultaneous model is established where product and process innovation are explicitly distinguished. The system of simultaneous equations with mixed structure is estimated by full information maximum likelihood methods. The longitudinal firm-level data is applied over the 2003-2012 period by merging five waves of the Luxembourgish innovation survey with structural business surveys. This chapter discovers that enhanced firm performance facilitates process innovation and process innovation improves firm performance, which forms a self-reinforcing virtuous circle. An opposite pattern is identified for the product innovation on the ground of cannibalization effect and inherent market risks associated with new products. Chapter 4 explores innovation persistence at the firm level by means of dynamic nonlinear random effects models based on the estimator proposed by Albarrán et al. [2015]. It aims at capturing the true state dependence which indicates the causal relationship between innovation in one period and decision to innovate in the subsequent period. The Albarrán et al. [2015] method accounts for unobserved individual effects that are correlated with the initial conditions as well as the unbalanced structure of panel. Using five questionnaire waves of Luxembourgish Community Innovation Surveys (CIS) for the years 2002-2012, this study provides new insights on the differentiated patterns of persistence among product and process innovation. Results highlight the relevance of innovation persistence for all types of innovation, particularly the highest level of persistence is found for product innovation. In addition, the state dependence of product innovation is mainly associated with sunk costs relevant to R&D expenditures, whereas the state dependence of process innovation can be attributed to other factors such as dynamic increasing returns and learning effect. The further differentiation of product innovator category reveals that the state dependence of incremental product innovation can be mainly attributed to sunk costs relevant to R&D expenditures. In contrast, the joint significance of average R&D intensity, intramural R&D share as well as the past realization of radical product innovation suggests the role of other factors such as dynamic increasing returns and learning effect in fostering state dependence for radical innovations

An Evacuation Model for Passenger Ships That Includes the Influence of Obstacles in Cabins

Passenger behavior and ship environment are the key factors affecting evacuation efficiency. However, current studies ignore the interior layout of passenger ship cabins and treat the cabins as empty rooms. To investigate the influence of obstacles (e.g., tables and stools) on cabin evacuation, we propose an agent-based social force model for advanced evacuation analysis of passenger ships; this model uses a goal-driven submodel to determine a plan and an extended social force submodel to govern the movement of passengers. The extended social force submodel considers the interaction forces between the passengers, crew, and obstacles and minimises the range of these forces to improve computational efficiency. We drew the following conclusions based on a series of evacuation simulations conducted in this study: (1) the proposed model endows the passenger with the behaviors of bypassing and crossing obstacles, (2) funnel-shaped exits from cabins can improve evacuation efficiency, and (3) as the exit angle increases, the evacuation time also increases. These findings offer ship designers some insight towards increasing the safety of large passenger ships

Prismatic modular reactor analysis with melcor

Hydrogen, a more sustainable source of energy, is a potential substitute for hydrocarbon fuel for power generation. The Very High Temperature gas-cooled Reactor (VHTR) concept can produce hydrogen with high efficiency and in large quantities. The US Department of Energy plans to build a VHTR as a next-generation hydrogen/electricity production plant. This reactor concept is very different from that of commercial reactors in the US. In order to acquire licensing eligibility for VHTRs, analysis tools need to be validated and applied to design and evaluate VHTRs under operation conditions and accident scenarios. In this thesis, MELCOR, a severe accident code, was used to analyze one of the VHTR designs – a prismatic core Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP). The NGNP is based on General Atomics‘ (GA) Gas Turbine – Modular Helium Reactor (GT-MHR) 600 MW design. According to the current literature survey, more data is available for the GT-MHR than for the NGNP. Therefore, for the purposes of extending MELCOR capabilities and code validation, a model of the GT-MHR reactor pressure vessel (RPV) was developed. Based on the currently available data, a model of the NGNP RPV was then developed through modifying the GT-MHR RPV model. For both RPV models, coolant outlet temperature under normal operating conditions corresponds well to the data from literature. The reactor cavity cooling systems (RCCS), which passively removes heat from the RPV wall to the outside atmosphere, was then added to this GT-MHR RPV model. With this model addition, the heat removal rate of the RCCS under normal operating conditions was calculated to correspond well to the data from references. Pressurized conduction cooldown (PCC), one of the important postulated accident scenarios for a prismatic core reactor, was simulated with the complete model. MELCOR has been demonstrated to have the ability of modeling a prismatic core VHTR. The calculated outlet temperature and mass flow rate under normal operation correspond well to references. However, the calculation for the heat distribution in the graphite and fuel is unsatisfactory which requires MELCOR modification for the PCC simulation. For future work, a complete model of the NGNP under normal operation conditions will be developed when additional data becomes available

6,6′-Dieth­oxy-2,2′-[propane-1,2-diyl­bis(nitrilo­methyl­idyne)]diphenol

In the title mol­ecule, C21H26N2O4, the dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 88.4 (3)°. Two fairly strong intra­molecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds may, in part, influence the mol­ecular conformation