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This study aims to reveal the room-temperature effect of a superconducting gravimeter prototype, which will guide its subsequent optimization to improve its gravimetric measurement accuracy.

Without leveling, the prototype output signal, tilt data and room temperature were measured under steady operating conditions. After analyzing the correlations of the three data sets, the residuals of the prototype’s output signal were compensated using the tilt data and the geodynamic effects (ocean tide loading, atmospheric loading and the gravitational effect of polar motion) were then corrected.

The remaining residuals after correction may be caused by small tilt variations that are due to the sensor chamber temperature and radiation shield temperature changes. These small tilt variations were submerged in the tilt signal noise. Although the peak-to-peak noise of the tiltmeter does not exceed 15 µrad, it can still produce gravimetric deviations above 60 µGal when the prototype is significantly tilted.

This study analyzes in detail the room-temperature effect of a superconducting gravimeter prototype, introduces the tilt effect of the relative gravimeters to compensate for the gravimetric deviations and emphasizes that the improvement of fine leveling and the accuracy of the tiltmeter are key requirements for the prototype to perform high-accuracy gravity measurement tasks.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of the interpretation strategy of cultural mixing on consumers’ evaluations of global brands that incorporate local cultural elements. Specifically, this paper examines whether a property interpretation and a relational interpretation have different influences on consumers’ evaluations of global brands that incorporate local cultural elements.

Two experiments were conducted as part of this research. Experiment 1 adopted a two (interpretation strategy: property interpretation vs relational interpretation) single-factor between-subjects design. Experiment 2 adopted a 2 (interpretation strategy: property interpretation vs relational interpretation) × 2 (polyculturalist beliefs: high vs low) between-subjects design. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and PROCESS 213.

A property interpretation (emphasizing that some features of a global brand transfer to local cultural elements) leads to a less favorable evaluation of global brands that incorporate local cultural elements than a relational interpretation (emphasizing a relation between global brands and local cultural elements). This effect is fully mediated by perceived cultural intrusion, and it exists only when consumers have a low level of polyculturalist beliefs.

This paper reveals that the phenomenon of cultural mixing occurs when global brands incorporate local cultural elements. In addition, the way that consumers perceive the relationship between global brands and local cultural elements will determine their reactions to global brands that incorporate local cultural elements.

This chapter provides a survey of alternative methodologies for measuring and comparing productivity and efficiency of airlines, and reviews representative empirical studies. The survey shows the apparent shift from index procedures and traditional OLS estimation of production and cost functions to stochastic frontier methods and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methods over the past three decades. Most of the airline productivity and efficiency studies over the last decade adopt some variant of DEA methods. Researchers in the 1980s and 1990s were mostly interested in the effects of deregulation and liberalization on airline productivity and efficiency as well as the effects of ownership and governance structure. Since the 2000s, however, studies tend to focus on how business models and management strategies affect the performance of airlines. Environmental efficiency now becomes an important area of airline productivity and efficiency studies, focusing on CO₂ emission as a negative or undesirable output. Despite the fact that quality of service is an important aspect of airline business, limited attempts have been made to incorporate quality of service in productivity and efficiency analysis.

Rapid globalization has continually promoted integration between different cultures. This study attempts to examine responses toward culture mixing based on spatial metaphor theory. Specifically, it focuses on power relationships to explore the impact of space image schemas on consumer attitudes. The boundary conditions of this effect, the significance of cultural symbols and the dominance trait are also analyzed.

Three experiments are conducted, and 567 participants are involved in this research. The data are analyzed using ANOVA and Process 213.

The results show that the relative vertical positions of cultural symbols significantly impact consumer attitudes toward culture mixing, and demonstrate that perceived cultural threat enhances ethnocentric tendencies. The data also indicate that individuals only express their distinct attitudes toward culture mixing when significant cultural symbols are presented, and only high-dominance individuals, who prefer to link vertical spatial metaphor with power relationships, are sensitive to vertical spatial metaphor.

This research highlights the underlying mechanism, encouraging ethnocentric tendencies among the young population in China. It extends work on the use of metaphorical concepts and contributes to the increasing literature on power in consumer behavior. Additionally, it generates useful suggestions for multinational entrepreneurs who want to facilitate symbolic localization.

Using the sample between 2005 and 2011, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of a new fund entry on incumbents using the overlap measure in portfolio holdings.

Empirical methodology is used in this study.

The authors find that incumbents that have a higher overlap with the entrants underperform subsequently. Based on the characteristic-based approach of Daniel et al. (1997), the authors find that the characteristic selectivity component is negatively correlated with the overlap measure, and thereby the decline in performance is driven by the stock-picking ability. The authors also discuss the unobserved actions of incumbents using the approach proposed by Kacperczyk et al. (2008) and find that incumbent unobserved actions do not benefit mutual fund investors in China. Finally the authors find that investors respond to the supply-side competition between entrants and incumbents quickly. These findings help us understand the mutual fund completion in China.

The findings in this study can help scholars, industry experts and regulatory authorities to understand the effect of competition in Chinese mutual fund industry.

The increase of life expectancy leads to the elderly living with one or more chronic illnesses. Communication between the elderly and the health-care professional is fundamental but can be difficult. For that reason, it is common to find the patient with an accompanying family member in the doctor’s surgery. The purpose of this paper is to analyze one of the possible actions of the companion during the provision of the medical service: the co-creation of value (through its two dimensions: coproduction and value-in-use) and its effects on the satisfaction of both the companion and the elderly patient.

A model has been tested through a system of structural equations using the statistical package EQS 6.2. The sample used is made up of 1,814 informants (907 companions and 907 patients).

The importance of coproduction between the accompanying person and the health-care professional is shown, to obtain greater levels of satisfaction (of the companion and the patient), whereas a negative role is conferred to the dimension value-in-use. This paper shows a positive impact of the satisfaction of the companion on that of the patient.

It is necessary to have health-care professionals who play a proactive role when facilitating the participation in the appointment with the doctor so as not to leave the initiative of participation in the hands of the companions.

Chronic illnesses are an important focal point of medical attention. Good management of the relations between those involved is fundamental for the diagnosis and adherence to treatment.

In the present era, executives are shifting keenly toward industrial Internet of things (IIoTs) spheres. It is observed that IIoTs spheres become a key for each industry to grow up and bear the largest entrepreneurship opportunities globally and is linked to improve the shifting sphere of publics (SSPs). The core objective of research work is SSPs, which is nexus on secondary objectives. The authors proposed the two DSSs ( decision support systems) to full fill secondary objectives as discussing: In case of first objective, the authors proposed a fuzzy-DSS, which assists the executives to identify the weak and poor performing IIoTs spheres so that performance of IIoTs spheres can be accelerated. In case of second objective, grey-DSS aids the same executives to evaluate and benchmark alternative partner under considered IIoTs spheres so that the best partner can be chosen by company 4.0.

The authors conducted the significant systematic literature review and realistic empirical survey in the context of industry IIoTs spheres and extract the appropriate IIoTs spheres. Next, the authors built a framework by compiling the global standardized IIoTs spheres. The framework is utilized to build the two DSSs such as fuzzy- and grey-DSS (to full fill secondary objectives). The both DSSs are simulated by acting on a case study. The authors implemented the fuzzy set coupled with degree of similarity approach on proposing framework as a part of first case-objective and hybrid technique accompanied with grey set on same framework as a part of second case-objective, respectively.

A South African automobile parts manufacturing company is investigated as a case study company 4.0 for the prototype testing and simulation of DSSs. The performance gaps are computed and measured by subtracting each sphere's weight of functional units (FUs) from evaluated ideal weight. The weak performing spheres and FUs are suggested to be improved in future as a part of first objective. Next, A3 parts supplier/partner is advised as the best alternative by simulating the grey-DSS under IIoTs framework as a part of second case-objective. Both secondary objectives (two DSSs) are framed to attain the core objective (SSPs).

As discussed, the core objective of research work is to attain the SSPs, linked to secondary objectives. The research work integrates the knowledge and thinking of SSPs as well as IIoTs researchers to create the novel mathematical and statistical IIoTs in focusing on advance SSPs networks. The research work is momentous for entire Industry 4.0 companies, which troubles to bear more entrepreneurship opportunities (improving the SSPs) at global standard.

The purpose of this study is to present the relationship between family support factors and Chinese college students’ online-startup thinking on live streaming platforms. Considering China's specific online entrepreneurial environment, this paper divides Chinese college students’ online-startup thinking according to the liberal–conservative thinking theory. This study classifies family support factors based on the tangible–intangible resource division theory. Different tangible and intangible factors have different impacts on their online-startup thinking.

This study tests 588 samples based on the partial least squares path modelling and variance-based structural equation modelling. This study promotes importance-performance map analysis to explore additional findings of influencing factors and provide suitable suggestions for Chinese college students and related departments.

Tangible family support factors, such as labour resources support, and intangible family support factors, such as verbal encouragement, can positively enhance Chinese college students’ liberal thinking to online-startup and decrease their conservative thinking. Meanwhile, according to importance-performance map analysis results, verbal encouragement from the intangible unit instead of financial resource support from the tangible unit has a higher total effect and performance on Chinese college students’ liberal thinking and conservative thinking.

This study draws on psychology research based on Chinese college students’ unique entrepreneurial mentality. This paper divides Chinese college students’ thinking in online-startups into liberal thinking and conservative thinking based on the liberal–conservative thinking theory. Meanwhile, according to the feature of Chinese family support factors, this paper classifies various elements based on the tangible–intangible resource division theory, which is helpful for scholars to understand that the student perceptions of the value of family support are critical to the success of the online-startup.