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This paper presents an alternative approach to evaluating the overall efficiency and performance of Taiwanese container ports. Specifically, a parallel activity with series structure concept in the form of data envelopment analysis (MNDEA) is used to construct a model that applies to three different activities: harbor management, stevedoring and warehousing operations. We will further divide each activity into two process types, production processes and services processes. We will also adopt a Delphi survey approach and use the Analytic Network Process (ANP) to identify these processes’influence dependence and their degree of importance for the MNDEA model setting. An empirical application demonstrates the performance of Taiwanese container ports by using MNDEA with window analysis techniques via the directional distance functionThe results demonstrate that the application is effective in indicating and/or suggesting resource-adjustments, while considering which undesirable output levels and shared inputs were involved. The results also present directions for possible improvements in workplace efficiency.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of mentoring functions on expatriate voice in multinational enterprises and whether job security plays a mediating role in this relationship.

In total, 300 questionnaires were distributed in this study. Of the 173 responses received, 8 invalid questionnaires were excluded and 165 valid questionnaires were analysed. The effective questionnaire recovery rate was 55.00%.

The results revealed that the stronger the psychosocial support function, the role modelling function and the career development provided by the mentor, the more would be the expatriate voice behaviour. Furthermore, the psychological support, role model characteristics and career development guidance affect the expatriate voice behaviour through the mediation of job security.

Few studies have focussed on the influence of expatriate mentoring functions and job security on expatriate voice. Furthermore, whether the mentoring function affects the job security of expatriates is unknown. The objective of this study is to fill this gap in the literature.

Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum), a ubiquitous fruit in Southeastern Asia, was rich in vitamins and phytochemicals, which were beneficial for improving of skin conditions. The fermentation process increased phytochemicals and antioxidant capacity. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether phytochemicals can be increased through the fermentation process of rambutan extracts to improve skin aging.

In this study, the authors used the three stages of fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus plantarum TCI028 and Acetobacter aceti under red light to develop a fermented rambutan extract.

The level of polyphenols of red-light-based fermented rambutan extract (RLFRE) were significantly increased 108.9% (p < 0.01) and 97% (p < 0.01) compared with fermented rambutan extract (FRE) and pure rambutan extract (RE), respectively. The human skin fibroblasts treated with 0.03 or 0.06% of RLFRE can significantly decrease reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels by 0.74- (p < 0.001) and 0.84-fold (p < 0.001) compared with H₂O₂ group, respectively. And 0.03% of RLFRE can significantly increase in elastin content by 1.13-fold (p < 0.05). Also, ten compounds were identified including one new phenolic compound and nine known compounds from RLFRE. Moreover, red light could enhance the levels of compounds 4, 9 and 3 by 5, 2.5 and 2.5-fold, respectively, relative to the results of FRE. The last, RLFRE isolated compounds significantly facilitated the elastin content on fibroblast (compound 1, 7, 9, 10 compared with control: p < 0.001, compound 2 compared with control: p < 0.001).

In short, this was the first study to unveil that the red-light-based fermentation can enrich the antioxidant content in a rambutan extract and its product had the potential to be developed a functional product for health-promoting effects such as skin aging.

In the newly released ASTM standard specification for additive manufacturing file (AMF) format – version 1.1 – Hermite curve-based interpolation is used to refine input triangles to generate denser mesh with smoother geometry. This paper aims to study the problems of constructing smooth geometry based on Hermite interpolation on curves and proposes a solution to overcome these problems.

A formulation using triangular Bézier patch is proposed to generate smooth geometry from input polygonal models. Different configurations on the boundary curves in the formulation are analyzed to further enrich this formulation.

The study shows that the formulation given in the AMF format (version 1.1) can lead to the problems of inconsistent normals and undefined end-tangents.

The scheme has requirements on the input normals of a model, only C0 interpolation can be generated on those cases with less-proper input.

To overcome the problems of smooth geometry generation in the AMF format, the authors propose an enriched scheme for computing smooth geometry by using triangular Bézier patch. For the configurations with less-proper input, the authors adopt the Boolean sum and the Nielson’s point-opposite edge interpolation for triangular Coons patch to generate the smooth geometry as a C0 interpolant.

During COVID-19 restrictions, people spent more time in cyberspace and consuming health-related information. An increase was also observed in mediated caring messages or health-relevant information sent to one another. This study aims to explore how the information and interactions around COVID-19 can provide a good learning opportunity for public health, specifically related to eHealth literacy and eHealth promotion.

While mainstream literature has concentrated on experimental designs and a priming effect, this study inspects psychological distance related to a health threat under real-life circumstances. The article adopted a survey approach and utilized PLS-SEM techniques to examine the proposed hypotheses.

Results indicated that whereas closer social support correlates with closer psychological distance and less usage of the social media approach, more substantial COVID-19 impacts were associated with closer psychological distance but greater use of social media. Since both closer psychological distance and social media approach contribute to eHealth literacy, social support from closer and virtual social networks should be embraced but utilized through different routes and for different purposes. The timing of messages but not psychological distance affects people's social media approach, indicating that morning messages should be employed. Moreover, eHealth literacy mediates timing preferences and leads to a preference for eHealth communication earlier in the day. Overall, morning messages create a virtuous circle during a health crisis.

This paper establishes a mechanism of virtuous cycles for eHealth communication during a health threat. Additionally, it bridges existing research gaps by expanding chronopsychology and CLT in the health domain using an empirical approach, a real-life case and an extension of performance regarding information-seeking and utilization.

Supply chain resilience (SCR) is essential to the success of firms. However, very few studies have focused on the relationships between different types of integration, SCR and service performance from the perspective of third-party logistics providers (3PLs). The purpose of this paper is to develop and assesses a conceptual model for these relationships.

A total of 161 3PLs in Taiwan were surveyed and their responses were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM/PLS).

The responses of respondents demonstrated that, of the three types of integration (internal integration, customer integration and logistics collaborator integration) used by 3PLs, internal integration had the greatest effect on SCR. Customer integration was found to have three fully mediating effects on the relationships between internal integration and service performance, between logistics collaborator integration and SCR, and between logistics collaborator integration and service performance.

This study provides useful information on how different types of integration manifest in the SCR and service performance of 3PLs.

This study aims to explore the determinants influencing consumer purchase intentions towards electric vehicles (EVs) within the Asian market. It specifically examines how perceived value and perceived risk interact with the moderating effects of environmental, policy, and social factors to shape consumer behaviors towards EV adoption. The purpose is to delineate the intricate mechanisms driving consumer intentions in the context of sustainable mobility solutions.

Adopting a quantitative research design, this investigation collected data via a survey targeting consumers across various Asian countries. The study utilized Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze the responses, enabling a robust examination of the relationships between perceived value, perceived risk, and the potential moderating roles of external factors on consumer purchase intentions towards EVs.

The analysis revealed that both perceived value and perceived risk significantly influence consumers' intentions to purchase EVs. It was also found that environmental factors effectively moderate the relationship between perceived risk and purchase intentions, while social factors moderate the relationship between perceived risk and purchase intentions, highlighting the complex influence of external elements on consumer decisions. Contrarily, policy factors did not exhibit a significant moderating impact on the relationships examined.

This research enriches the domain of sustainable technology adoption by providing nuanced insights into the factors driving consumer intentions towards EVs in the Asian context. It underscores the critical roles of perceived value and risk, along with the distinct moderating effects of environmental and social factors, offering strategic implications for stakeholders within the EV ecosystem. The study's findings contribute to the broader discourse on consumer behavior in green technology adoption, laying groundwork for future investigations across diverse settings.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how signals of uncertainty in the media affect retail investor decisions and initial public offering (IPO) underpricing through theoretical and empirical methods.

The authors construct a theoretical model of the influence of media signals on IPO pricing, which describes the micro process in which uncertain signals in media influence retail investors’ decisions and IPO underpricing. Besides, the authors take 516 small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) listed in A-share from July 2009 to December 2012 as samples for empirical tests and establish an in-depth learning model for text analysis with Java programming to measure Chinese media tone. Finally, the results of the model analysis are verified by empirical results.

The results show that authoritative media with high credibility can reduce the uncertainty of information sources attract more investors’ attention and improve the valuation and demand of retail investors. The higher the media credibility is the higher the IPO underpricing rate is. The uncertain tone of the media will increase the decision-making cost of investors reduce the valuation expectation and demand of the secondary market and lead to a lower IPO underpricing rate.

The authors study the influence of the uncertainty of media source and media content on the degree of IPO underpricing of SMEs. This is a useful supplement to the Chinese media tone research system that is still in the exploration stage. The research has reference value for government regulation and investor decision-making.

Rapid development of information technology (IT) has posed constant challenges to business information management. By using a case study, this paper discusses the main components and development of an information system (IS) for public housing management in Singapore. It was found that the IS has evolved around a core of transaction processing system, with value‐adding sub‐systems which reflect the use of the latest IT. The paper not only contributes to the understanding of IS for public housing management, but also to the planning of IS for business management.

The purpose of this paper is to test and explain the context where motivation to learn (MTL) reduces innovative behavior in the organizational context.

The authors used questionnaire survey to collect data in a field study. In order to test the moderating effect of transfer climate, MTL on the relationship between MTL and innovative behavior, a sample of 606 employees was analyzed to examine the theoretical expectation by using multiple regression and bootstrapping.

The authors found employees motivated to learn showed less innovative behavior when perceived transfer climate is less favorable. The authors further revealed that motivation to transfer mediates the moderating effect of transfer climate for the relationship between MTL and innovative behavior.

One suggestion for further research is to investigate the relationship among the four constructs by using multi-source, multi-wave and multi-level method.

This study provides several useful guidance of how organization and manager avoid the negative effects of MTL through encouraging employees to learn new knowledge and skills, and providing employee opportunities to use their acquired knowledge and skills.

The authors contribute to the motivational literature by taking a step further to understand the effect of MTL. The authors propose and confirm that employee MTL can lead to negative outcomes when individuals perceived transfer climate is low. The results offer new insight beyond previous findings on positive or non-significant relationship between MTL and innovative behavior. The results further show that this interactive effect is induced by motivation to transfer. Particularly, low transfer climate reduces individuals’ motivation to transfer, and individuals with high MTL have low innovative behavior when they are less motivated to transfer.