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This paper aims to propose an effective dynamic calibration and compensation method to solve the problem that the statically calibrated force sensor would produce large dynamic errors when measuring dynamic signals.

The dynamic characteristics of the force sensor are analyzed by modal analysis and negative step dynamic force calibration test, and the dynamic mathematical model of the force sensor is identified based on a generalized least squares method with a special whitening filter. Then, a compensation unit is constructed to compensate the dynamic characteristics of the force measurement system, and the compensation effect is verified based on the step and knock excitation signals.

The dynamic characteristics of the force sensor obtained by modal analysis and dynamic calibration test are consistent, and the time and frequency domain characteristics of the identified dynamic mathematical model agree well with the actual measurement results. After dynamic compensation, the dynamic characteristics of the force sensor in the frequency domain are obviously improved, and the effective operating frequency band is widened from 500 Hz to 1,560 Hz. In addition, in the time domain, the rise time of the step response signal is reduced from 0.29 ms to 0.17 ms, and the overshoot decreases from 26.6% to 9.8%.

An effective dynamic calibration and compensation method is proposed in this paper, which can be used to improve the dynamic performance of the strain-gauge-type force sensor and reduce the dynamic measurement error of the force measurement system.

Refractory materials are now used in all major industries that demand high-temperature resistance, including petrochemicals, steel, cement and aviation. Businesses must decrease operating costs, enhance product technology, sell well and manage corporate risks in decision-making, notably supplier selection, to be more competitive. The study aims to determine the key criteria and factors of supplier selection and to evaluate the importance of the key factor of the supplier selection criteria for the refractory materials manufacturers in Taiwan.

Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is used to rank these factors for the decision maker. The AHP method is suitable for verifying refractory supplier selection criteria and providing references. The weighted loss scores for each supplier are then determined using the relative importance as the weights. Supplier selection criteria are ranked using their aggregate weighted loss scores. The provider with the lowest loss score should be chosen.

Product quality is the most significant of the five criteria: product quality, production technology, logistics capacity, service capability and supplier background. Professionalism is the most significant aspect of product quality, whereas equipment and capacity are vital in manufacturing techniques. The studies also show that the delivery rate is essential for logistics and service capabilities.

This research has important implications for refractory suppliers in promptly fine-tuning the production and service to enhance customer satisfaction, which is key to business sustainability.

The application of an AHP technique to a real-world industrial issue is what makes this research unique. This research addressed one of the most critical topics in supply chain operations by offering better judgement for supplier selection via the use of suitable quantitative methodologies.

The purpose of this paper is to propose and examine a conceptual model that best explains the key factors influencing Jordanian customers ' intention to adopt mobile banking (MB).

The proposed conceptual model was based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). This was extended by adding perceived risk and self-efficacy as an external factors. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was conducted to analyse the data collected from the field survey questionnaires administered to a convenience sample of Jordanian banking customers.

The results showed that behavioural intention is significantly influenced by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived risk.

Practical and theoretical implications for both Jordanian banks and researchers in the MB context are also discussed in the concluding section.

MB-related issues are yet to be examined empirically in the Jordanian context. This submission has attempted to fill this gap by empirically examining some of the important factors influencing the adoption of MB from the Jordanian customers’ perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of consumers’ intention to adopt mobile banking services in Zimbabwe.

A survey of 232 bank customers was conducted in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe, using a structured questionnaire with Likert-type questions. Customers were randomly intercepted as they walked out of five major banks. Structural equation modelling, independent-samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to test research hypotheses.

The study found that perceived usefulness, perceived self-efficacy, social influence, relative advantage and perceived compatibility all have a positive effect, whilst perceived risk has a negative effect on behavioural intention to adopt mobile banking services in Zimbabwe. Perceived ease of use, facilitating conditions, perceived complexity, perceived trialability, awareness-knowledge and demographic factors (gender, age, education and income) did not significantly influence behavioural intention to adopt mobile banking. Perceived ease of use was found to positively influence perceived usefulness, while perceived self-efficacy was found to have a positive effect on perceived ease of use. Behavioural intention was found to positively influence usage of mobile banking services in Zimbabwe.

Data were collected from bank customers in Chinhoyi, one of the emerging towns in Zimbabwe. Future research should be expanded to include other major cities in Zimbabwe and other countries. More similar studies should be conducted to test the factors identified in literature in different contexts and markets and on other innovations.

The study advises banks to pay particular attention to perceived usefulness, perceived self-efficacy, social influence, relative advantage, perceived compatibility and perceived risk when designing new mobile banking services.

There is not a unified position regarding factors influencing mobile banking adoption. Factors vary with contexts, markets, time and types of innovations. The study tested some major factors identified in literature in the context of Zimbabwe.

The purpose of this paper is to recover the identity of Chinese intellectual discourse, arguing for the necessity of a Chinese methodology in educational research to be constructed on the basis of the Chinese philosophical traditions and the Chinese social norms for the aim of solving Chinese educational issues within the Chinese cultural context.

The paper is a theoretical paper, arguing for the ontological, epistemological and methodological basis for a Chinese methodology in educational research.

The major ontological issue of Chinese social and educational research, also the ultimate goal of the Chinese governance, is social harmony through harmonious personal relationships. The key to social harmony has been seen in the Chinese philosophical tradition as residing in people’s personal morality and obligation, which constitutes the epistemology of Chinese research. And the golden mean of moderation by synthesizing and balancing the dualist extremes of views and actions should be adopted as the methodological paradigm to researching social and educational issues in China.

The elaboration of these three entities holds promises in the construction of the Chinese methodological system on Chinese social terms and merits.

The author has long sensed that the extensive methodological borrowing from the West by Chinese scholars in educational research might be problematic, given the vast structural differences in the two social worlds that the author and other scholars have observed. A paper in English to argue for the necessity of constructing a uniquely Chinese methodology for educational research in China is an absolute necessity.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) on the mechanical, thermal and electrical conductivity properties of polyurethane (PU) by in situ polymerisation of MWNTs and PU.

A number of analytical techniques, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, were employed to assess the effects of acid treatment on MWNTs. The mechanical and thermal properties of PU, MWNTs and PU composites were characterised using a tensile tester machine and dynamic mechanical analysis. The electoral conductivity properties of the materials were characterised by ohmmeter.

It was found that desirable modifications to MWNTs occurred after acid treatment, thus mainly carboxylic acid groups were introduced onto the surface of MWNTs. And the acid‐treated MWNTs could improve the mechanical, thermal and electrical conductivity properties of PU by in situ polymerisation of MWNTs and PU successfully.

The investigation established a method to synthesise MWNTs and PU composites by in situ polymerisation. The mechanical, thermal and electrical conductivity properties of PU could be improved by the inclusion of MWNTs.

The paper establishes a method to synthesise MWNTs and PU composites by in situ polymerisation; and the effects of MWNTs on modifying mechanical, thermal and electrical conductivity properties of PU by in situ polymerisation are investigated in detail.

This study attempts to demonstrate how a tourism attraction (i.e., museum) could establish its brand equity. It involves a case study on one of the most famous museums in Taiwan which involves an in-depth interview. The results show that the museum under investigation has established a clear brand identification and its brand communications but has a limited interpretation of its brand assets. Recommendations include strengthening its experiential propaganda, organizing large-scale intercity festivals, coordinating with other vendors to sell cultural products, increasing the number of professional exhibitions, and establishing a self-evaluation mechanism.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing the behavioral intention to adopt payments banks services by Indian underbanked and unbanked population.

The proposed model has assimilated factors from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) along with perceived credibility. The factors of UTAUT include performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitation of conditions and social influence. Apart from testing the direct relationships of the model constructs with the behavioral intention to adopt payments banks services, the study has also explored mediating and moderating effects of certain constructs. The research model has been empirically tested using 660 responses from a field survey conducted in New Delhi – the capital city of India – by using the structured equation modeling (SEM) technique. The target respondents of the study are small businessmen and migrant laborers who are either underbanked or unbanked.

The findings of the study reveal that the model is able to explain 67.5 per cent of the variance in behavioral intention. The results indicate that all the factors are direct determinants of behavioral intention. Perceived credibility is found to be the strongest influencer of behavioral intention. The findings also indicate that perceived credibility partially mediates the relationships between “social influence and behavioral intention” and “performance expectancy and behavioral intention.” The relationship between performance expectancy and behavioral intention is also found to be moderated by facilitating conditions and effort expectancy.

As this study is based on a convenience sample of respondents of only one city of India, this could negatively reflect on the generalizability of results across other cities. Moreover, the study has only focused on the perceptions of small businessmen and migrant laborers. This raises concerns regarding the applicability of the results for other segments of the current population that have different demographic characteristics (e.g. occupation, income, education level and technology experience). Modifying the conceptual model presented in this research to include “experience” and “age” as moderators can also be worth considering in future. Although this study has extended the UTAUT to include perceived credibility, the results of the explanatory power of the model indicate that there is still room for improvement. Therefore, including other constructs, e.g. hedonic motivation, perceived risks and trialability, could be a fruitful path forward. Future studies may also examine the factors influencing the actual use behavior of payments banks, rather than just behavioral intention.

The study looks forward to providing the payments banks service providers in India with suitable guidelines for effectively implementing and designing payments banks services. Specifically, the results of this study have provided clues for Indian payments banks service providers about the crucial role of perceived credibility in influencing the behavioral intention to adopt payments banks. Therefore, service providers have to initially be sure that payments banks are able to conduct financial transactions efficiently, securely and within less time, along with the availability of information required by customers to successfully use the services. Service providers should enhance customer confidence and trust by providing secure and reliable services. They should also emphasize on the positive safety measures of the payments banks during any marketing campaign rather than just creating brand awareness.

The study represents a substantial contribution to the existing knowledge regarding mobile payment channels in particular and technology acceptance area in general. In fact, this study presents a worthwhile direction by examining payments banks services, which, so far, have not been well evaluated in the Indian context. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is an early attempt toward a holistic and integrative approach to explain adoption of payments banks in India. Although prior studies have addressed mobile banking and mobile payment adoption, the strength of this research lies in combining the UTAUT constructs with perceived credibility. This is evidenced by the high explanatory power (67.5 per cent) of the research model adopted in this study.

This study aims to investigate the vibration effects on ball grid array lifetime.

Several finite element method simulations and experiments were performed.

An optimized circuit configuration was found.

The originality of paper is confirmed by authors.

This chapter aims to help librarians understand the underlying rationale for Resource Description and Access (RDA) and recognize the great potential of the Semantic Web for libraries.

It explains the linked data model and Semantic Web technologies in basic, informative terms, and describes how the Semantic Web is constructed. Semantic Web standards and technologies are discussed in detail, including URI, RDF, and ontologies. The study also traces the development of RDA and some of the major library Semantic Web projects. The authors explore how RDA shapes bibliographical data and prepares it for linked data in the Semantic Web. In addition, this study examines what libraries in the United States and the rest of the world have achieved in implementing RDA since its release.

RDA is the correct approach libraries should take.

This is the first and only chapter that covers the development of RDA in other countries as well as in the United States. It is highly informative for anyone who wishes to understand the RDA and Semantic Web and their relevance to libraries in a short period of time.