Search results

Despite the enormous benefits, smart homes (SHs) are still not widely adopted by residents in China. Furthermore, research on the intention to use SHs has overlooked the role of family factors. Thus, this study aims to propose a new research model to examine the impact of family factors on the usage intention (UI) of SHs.

This study collected 265 valid data from potential users of SHs in China using a convenience sampling method. The PLS-SEM method was applied to test the research model and related hypotheses.

The empirical results confirm the mediating role of optimism (OP) in perceived family support (PFS)/perceived family trust (PFT) and attitude (AT). Unsurprisingly, the results validated the relationship between perceived usefulness (PU), attitude (AT) and UI of SHs through TAM theory. Besides, this study also identified the moderating effect of perceived risk (PR) between AT and UI.

To improve SH adoption, practitioners should focus on family factors and utilize family influence to promote the spread of smart home reputation. Besides, SH practitioners should enhance user trust and reduce perceived risks through technological upgrades and security measures.

Based on the Social Impact Theory and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this study is an empirical attempt to explore the impact of family factors on the intention to use SHs, expanding the research on smart home adoption.

The construction industry has long been criticized for unethical conduct. The owner usually manages the contractor's opportunistic behaviors by employing a professional supervisor, but there is a risk of covert collusion between the supervisor and contractor. Based on the principal–agent theory and collusion theory, this paper aims to investigate optimal collusion-proof incentive contracts.

This paper presents a game-theoretic framework comprising an owner, supervisor and contractor, who interact and pursue maximized self-profits. Built upon the fixed-price incentive contract, cost-reimbursement contract, and revenue-sharing contract, different collusion-proof incentive contracts are investigated. A real project case is used to validate the developed model and derived results.

This paper shows that the presence of unethical collusion undermines the owner's interests. Especially, the possibility of agent collusion may induce the owner to abandon extracting quality information from the supervisor. Furthermore, information asymmetry significantly affects the construction contract selection, and the application conditions for different incentive contracts are provided.

This study still has some limitations that deserve further exploration. First, this study explores contractor–supervisor collusion but ignores the possibility of the supervisor abusing authority to extort the contractor. Second, to focus on collusion, this paper ignores the supervision costs. What's the optimal supervision effort that the owner should induce the supervisor to exert? Finally, this paper assumes that the colluders involved always keep their promises. However, what if the colluders may break their promises?

Several collusion-proof incentive contracts are explored in a project management setting. The proposed incentive contracts can provide the project owner with effective and practical tools to inhibit covert collusion in construction management and thus safeguard construction project quality.

This study expands the organization collusion theory to the field of construction management and investigates the optimal collusion-proof incentive contracts. In addition, this study is the first to investigate the effects of information asymmetry on contract selection.

This paper aims to highlight the need to place focus on ensuring soft factors in construction projects’ design management and to discuss whether soft factors are hidden success factors.

The presented data is a result of findings from two master theses. The approach is qualitative research and consists of nine semi-structured interviews with design managers and two case studies involving document analyses, meeting observations and descriptions of seven interviews.

This empirical study demonstrates that soft factors are considered important for design managers’ achievement of a successful design process. Focus on soft factors promotes good communication and will improve team performances. Factors are hidden because they are invisible and immeasurable. Furthermore, soft factors are not defined as assigned tasks and are, therefore, easily neglected. Designers are hesitant to explore the possibilities of new technology owing to the fear that they will forfeit human interaction.

This paper is limited to the presentation of empirical findings. Therefore, theory is not a basis for the study but rather a framework for the discussion.

The results in this paper broaden the understanding of human behaviour during the design phase. This knowledge should be considered when the project’s delivery model is designed as it will safeguard actor concerns during the ongoing technological transformation.

This paper contributes knowledge of the view regarding soft factors among project actors. It expands the traditional understanding of value by adding soft factors to the traditional success measures of time, quality and cost.

Green space is one of the main measures to alleviate urban heat islands (UHI). The transformation mechanism of daytime and nighttime scale sensitivity of vegetation coverage to reduce the UHI effect in a daily cycle has been unclear. As a result, we propose a scale sensitivity measurement algorithm to study the spatial and temporal response relationship between UHI and green coverage. Based on the scale theory of landscape ecology and the method of geostatistical analysis, we adopted ArcGIS, MATLAB, SPSS, and other data processing software as well as a large amount of measured and high-resolution satellite imagery data of Beijing and Tianjin to quantitatively study their spatial scale sensitivity and daily variation features of urban green spaces to reduce summer UHI. The results show that first, the green coverage rate and the UHI intensity experience positive and negative correlations during the daytime, and negative correlations at night. When the correlation coefficient is significant, there is a linear relationship between the UHI intensity and the core green rate. Second, the reduction of the UHI by green spaces displays spatial and temporal change scale sensitivity characteristics. The radius scale of daytime sensitivity is 15m, and the radius scale of nighttime sensitivity is 60m. The study's conclusion enriches the theoretical parameters of landscape ecological scales and patterns, and provides spatial and temporal scales for systematic planning of green space to reduce UHI.

Gives an in depth view of the strategies pursued by the world’s leading chief executive officers in an attempt to provide guidance to new chief executives of today. Considers the marketing strategies employed, together with the organizational structures used and looks at the universal concepts that can be applied to any product. Uses anecdotal evidence to formulate a number of theories which can be used to compare your company with the best in the world. Presents initial survival strategies and then looks at ways companies can broaden their boundaries through manipulation and choice. Covers a huge variety of case studies and examples together with a substantial question and answer section.

The communication link in the engineering of Internet of Vehicle (IOV) is more frequent than the communication link in the Mobile ad hoc Network (MANET). Therefore, the highly dynamic network routing reliability problem is a research hotspot to be solved.

The graph theory is used to model the MANET communication diagram on the highway and propose a new reliable routing method for internet of vehicles based on graph theory.

The expanded graph theory can help capture the evolution characteristics of the network topology and predetermine the reliable route to promote quality of service (QoS) in the routing process. The program can find the most reliable route from source to the destination from the MANET graph theory.

The good performance of the proposed method is verified and compared with the related algorithms of the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to carry out an assembly tolerance analysis by means of a combined Jacobian model and skin model shape. The former is based on small displacements modeling of points using 6 × 6 transformation matrices of open kinematic chains in robotics. The latter easily models toleranced features with all kinds of geometric deviations.

This paper presents the procedure of performing tolerance analysis by means of the Jacobian model and skin model shape for assemblies. The point cloud-based discrete representative is able to model the actual toleranced surfaces instead of the ideal or associated ones in an assembly, which brings the simulation tools closer to reality.

The proposed method has the advantage of skin model shape which is suitable for geometric tolerances management along the product life cycle and contact analysis of kinematic small variations, as well as, with the Jacobian, enabling transformation of locally expressed parts deviations to globally expressed functional requirements. The result of the case study shows the accuracy of the method.

The proposed approach has not been developed fully; other functional features such as the pyramid are still ongoing challenges.

It is an effective method for supporting design, manufacturing and inspection by providing a quantitative analysis of the effects of multi-tolerances on the final functional key characteristics and for predicting the quality level.

The paper is original in taking advantages of both Jacobian model and skin model shape to consider all geometric tolerances in assembly.

To solve the path planning problem of the intelligent driving vehicular, this paper designs a hybrid path planning algorithm based on optimized reinforcement learning (RL) and improved particle swarm optimization (PSO).

First, the authors optimized the hyper-parameters of RL to make it converge quickly and learn more efficiently. Then the authors designed a pre-set operation for PSO to reduce the calculation of invalid particles. Finally, the authors proposed a correction variable that can be obtained from the cumulative reward of RL; this revises the fitness of the individual optimal particle and global optimal position of PSO to achieve an efficient path planning result. The authors also designed a selection parameter system to help to select the optimal path.

Simulation analysis and experimental test results proved that the proposed algorithm has advantages in terms of practicability and efficiency. This research also foreshadows the research prospects of RL in path planning, which is also the authors’ next research direction.

The authors designed a pre-set operation to reduce the participation of invalid particles in the calculation in PSO. And then, the authors designed a method to optimize hyper-parameters to improve learning efficiency of RL. And then they used RL trained PSO to plan path. The authors also proposed an optimal path evaluation system. This research also foreshadows the research prospects of RL in path planning, which is also the authors’ next research direction.

Responding to the store brand (SB) introduction by the retailer, the manufacturer may adopt the strategic choice of incorporating the fairness concern behavior of the retailer. This paper aims to examine how the manufacturer can counteract the retailer’s SB introduction by strategically choosing to or not to incorporating the retailer’s fairness concern.

This paper considers the SB introduction problem in a two-echelon supply chain consisting of one manufacturer and one retailer with fairness concern behavior. This paper resolves the pricing strategies under four strategic scenarios regarding fairness concern incorporation and SB introduction and examine the influences from the fairness concern on pricing strategies and profits. This paper further investigates the strategic choice equilibrium of the manufacturer and retailer on fairness concern and SB introduction decision.

The results show that the retailer can be better off by the introduction of the SB only when the acceptance degree of the SB is high enough. And whether the manufacturer should incorporate the retailer's fairness concern depends on the consumer's acceptance of the SB: Only when the consumer's acceptance is moderate, the manufacturer is able to counteract the SB by strategically not incorporating the retailer’s fairness concern behavior. Otherwise, the manufacturer cannot prevent the retailer from introducing the SB and can be better off by incorporating the retailer’s fairness concern behavior.

This paper contributes to the literature by examining whether the manufacturer can adopt the strategic incorporation of the retailer's fairness concern to counteract the retailer's SB introduction.

High-speed railway (HSR) substantially affects tourism development, but this impact remains somewhat controversial. This study aims to explore the HSR–tourism nexus from the perspective of Chinese local governance. In the context of promotion tournament model in China, this study attempts to explain such controversy by including local leaders.

Based on a data set from 25 cities in China’s Yangtze River Delta region during 2005–2019, this study uses a panel data regression model to examine local leaders’ moderating role in the HSR–tourism nexus.

The tenure of local leaders has a significant moderating role in the impact of HSR implementation on tourism development. Furthermore, a shorter leaders’ tenure strengthens the boost to tourism development from HSR service.

This paper enriches theoretical framework of leaders’ tournament theory. In addition, this study provides a new perspective to understand the HSR–tourism nexus better. This study identifies the moderating role of local leaders in the HSR–tourism nexus and expands the mechanism research of HSR–tourism nexus, which helps to explain the controversy of the HSR–tourism nexus.

高速铁路（HSR）对旅游业的发展有很大的影响, 但这种影响仍有一定的争议性。本研究从中国地方治理的角度探讨了高铁-旅游之间的关系。在中国晋升锦标赛模式的背景下, 本研究试图通过将地方领导纳入其中来解释这种争论。

基于2005-2019年中国长江三角地区25个城市的数据集, 我们利用面板数据回归模型来研究地方官员在高铁-旅游关系中的调节作用。

地方官员的任期在高铁开通对旅游业发展的影响中起着重要的调节作用。此外, 较短的官员任期会加强高铁连通对旅游业发展的促进作用。

本文丰富了官员锦标赛理论的理论框架。此外, 我们的研究为更好地理解高铁与旅游的关系提供了一个新的视角。我们确定了地方领导人在高铁-旅游关系中的调节作用, 拓展了高铁-旅游关系的机制研究, 有助于解释高铁-旅游关系的争论。

El tren de alta velocidad (TAV) afecta sustancialmente al desarrollo del turismo, pero este impacto sigue siendo algo controvertido. Este estudio explora el nexo entre el TAV y el turismo desde la perspectiva de la gobernanza local china. En el contexto del modelo de torneo de promoción en China, este estudio intenta explicar dicha controversia incluyendo a los líderes locales.

Basándonos en un conjunto de datos de 25 ciudades de la región china del delta del río Yangtze durante el periodo 2005-2019, utilizamos un modelo de regresión de datos de panel para examinar el papel moderador de los líderes locales en el nexo entre el TAV y el turismo.

El mandato de los líderes locales tiene un papel moderador significativo en el impacto de la implementación del TAV en el desarrollo del turismo. Además, un mandato más corto de los líderes refuerza el impulso al desarrollo turístico del servicio de TAV.

Este trabajo enriquece el marco teórico de la teoría del torneo de líderes. Además, nuestro estudio proporciona una nueva perspectiva para entender mejor el nexo entre el TAV y el turismo. Identificamos el papel moderador de los líderes locales en el nexo TAV-Turismo y ampliamos la investigación del mecanismo de dicho nexo, lo que ayuda a explicar la controversia del nexo.