Guicheng Shi, Huimei Bu, Yuan Ping, Matthew Tingchi Liu and Yonggui Wang
This study aims to elucidate how different relationship investment efforts by a service firm affect its customers’ perceived relationship investment; to determine how perceived…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to elucidate how different relationship investment efforts by a service firm affect its customers’ perceived relationship investment; to determine how perceived relationship investment influences various dimensions of relationship strength; and to explore the moderating effects of customer innovativeness and complaint propensity on the relationship between the perceived relationship investment and relationship strength.
Design/methodology/approach
To minimize common method variance, data were collected from pairs of life insurance agents in China and their clients using self-report questionnaires. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results indicate that customers value financial effort most followed by social effort and structural effort. Perceived relationship investment influences the affective strength most strongly, followed by cognitive strength and conative strength. Customer innovativeness and complaint propensity both moderate the effectiveness of perceived relationship investment in influencing two of the three dimensions of relationship strength.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to specify how service employees can guide consumer perceptions of relationship investment by applying three types of relationship investment effort. The impact of perceived relationship investment on different dimensions of relationship strength was assessed to demonstrate how service providers can benefit from investing in building consumer relationships. The moderating impact of consumer innovativeness and of complaint propensity was quantified. The research findings have important implications for managing different relationship investment as well as recruiting and training service employees.
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While the industry–education integration has achieved significant results, it also faces many prominent problems. The current problems include some projects prioritizing research…
Abstract
Purpose
While the industry–education integration has achieved significant results, it also faces many prominent problems. The current problems include some projects prioritizing research and development over education, insufficient breadth and depth of cooperation and a lack of quality monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Breaking through these problems to deepen industry–education integration is an important issue that urgently needs to be studied.
Design/methodology/approach
Taking the second batch of 10,283 industry–education integration projects of the Ministry of Education in 2019 as a case study, the problems existing in the Chinese industry–education integration projects are analyzed. We should make full use of the advantages and resources in the era of digital economy to seek the right path to deepen the integration of industry–education.
Findings
The study finds that governments can leverage the advantages and opportunities of the digital economy to deepen the reform of industry–education integration.
Originality/value
The policy suggestion is to deepen the mechanism of multi-party linkage and collaborative education, actively build an industry–education integration service platform and promote the two-way docking of industry education supply and demand.
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Yuan Ping, Haiyan Su and Xinlong Feng
The purpose of this paper is to propose a local parallel finite element algorithm based on fully overlapping domain decomposition technique to solve the incompressible…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a local parallel finite element algorithm based on fully overlapping domain decomposition technique to solve the incompressible magnetohydrodynamic equations.
Design/methodology/approach
The algorithm uses a lower-order element pair to compute an initial approximation by the Oseen-type iteration and uses a higher-order element pair to solve a linear system in each processor.
Findings
Besides, the convergence analysis of local parallel finite element algorithm is given. Finally, numerical experiments are presented to verify the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.
Originality/value
Compared with the numerical solution of the common two-step method, this method is easy to realize and can produce a more accurate solution. And, this approach is executed in parallel, so it saves a lot of computational time.
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Yuan Ping, Haiyan Su, Jianping Zhao and Xinlong Feng
This paper aims to propose two parallel two-step finite element algorithms based on fully overlapping domain decomposition for solving the 2D/3D time-dependent natural convection…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose two parallel two-step finite element algorithms based on fully overlapping domain decomposition for solving the 2D/3D time-dependent natural convection problem.
Design/methodology/approach
The first-order implicit Euler formula and second-order Crank–Nicolson formula are used to time discretization respectively. Each processor of the algorithms computes a stabilized solution in its own global composite mesh in parallel. These algorithms compute a nonlinear system for the velocity, pressure and temperature based on a lower-order element pair (P1b-P1-P1) and solve a linear approximation based on a higher-order element pair (P2-P1-P2) on the same mesh, which shows that the new algorithms have the same convergence rate as the two-step finite element methods. What is more, the stability analysis of the proposed algorithms is derived. Finally, numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate the efficacy and accuracy of the proposed algorithms.
Findings
Finally, numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate the efficacy and accuracy of the proposed algorithms.
Originality/value
The novel parallel two-step algorithms for incompressible natural convection problem are proposed. The rigorous analysis of the stability is given for the proposed parallel two-step algorithms. Extensive 2D/3D numerical tests demonstrate that the parallel two-step algorithms can deal with the incompressible natural convection problem for high Rayleigh number well.
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ShiYang Pan, TongChun Li, Jing Cheng, Ping Yuan and Xinyang Ning
The purpose of the article is to extend the node-based smoothed point interpolation method (NS-PIM) for soil consolidation analysis based on the Biot’s theory.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the article is to extend the node-based smoothed point interpolation method (NS-PIM) for soil consolidation analysis based on the Biot’s theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The shape functions for displacements and pore pressures are constructed using the PIM separately, leading to the Kronecker delta property and easy implementation of essential boundary conditions. Then, a benchmark problem of 2D consolidation under ramp load is solved to investigate the validity of this application. Meanwhile, convergence features of different solutions are studied. Furthermore, the incompressible and impermeable condition under instant load is investigated. The results calculated by the NS-PIM solution with different orders of shape functions are compared. Finally a 2D consolidation problem in construction period is solved. An error estimation method is applied to check the mesh quality.
Findings
The results of the NS-PIM solution show good agreement with those certified results. Useful convergence features are found when comparing the results of the NS-PIM and the FEM solutions. A simple method is introduced to estimate the errors of the model with rough grids. The convergence features and error estimation method can be applied to check the mesh quality and get accurate results. More stable results can be obtained using the NS-PIM solution with lower order of pore pressure shape functions under the incompressible and impermeable condition.
Research limitations/implications
It cannot be denied that the calculation of NS-PIM solution takes more time than that of the FEM solution, and more work needs to be carried out to optimize the NS-PIM solution. Also, in further study, the feasibility of more complicated and practical engineering problems can still be probed in the NS-PIM solution.
Practical implications
This paper introduced a method for the consolidation analysis on the situation of construction loads (“ramp load”) using the NS-PIM which is quite indispensable in many foundation problems. Also, more stable results can be obtained using the NS-PIM solution with lower order of pore pressure shape functions than that with same order of shape functions.
Originality/value
This study first focuses on the situation of construction loads (“ramp load”) in the NS-PIM consolidation analysis which is quite indispensable in many foundation problems. An error estimation method is introduced to evaluate the mesh quality and get accurate values based on the convergence features of the FEM and NS-PIM solutions. Then, the incompressible and impermeable condition under instant load is investigated, and the analysis show that the NS-PIM with lower order of pore pressure shape functions can get stable results in such conditions.
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Xu Rui, Cui Ping‐yuan, Xu Xiao‐fei and Cui Hu‐tao
Because of indeterminateness of the environment and delay of the communication, deep space spacecraft is required to be autonomous. Planning technology is studied in order to…
Abstract
Because of indeterminateness of the environment and delay of the communication, deep space spacecraft is required to be autonomous. Planning technology is studied in order to realize the spacecraft autonomy. First, a multi‐agent planning system (MAPS) based on temporal constraint satisfaction is proposed for concurrency and distribution of spacecraft system. Second, timeline concept is used to describe simultaneous activity, continue time, resource and temporal constraints. Third, for every planning agent in the MAPS, its layered architecture is designed and planning algorithm based on the temporal constraint satisfaction is given in detail. Finally, taking some key subsystems of deep space explorer as an example, the prototype system of MAPS is implemented. The results show that with the communication and cooperation of the planning agents, the MAPS is able to produce complete plan for explorer mission quickly under the complex constraints of time and resource.
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Yanmin Zhou, Zheng Yan, Ye Yang, Zhipeng Wang, Ping Lu, Philip F. Yuan and Bin He
Vision, audition, olfactory, tactile and taste are five important senses that human uses to interact with the real world. As facing more and more complex environments, a sensing…
Abstract
Purpose
Vision, audition, olfactory, tactile and taste are five important senses that human uses to interact with the real world. As facing more and more complex environments, a sensing system is essential for intelligent robots with various types of sensors. To mimic human-like abilities, sensors similar to human perception capabilities are indispensable. However, most research only concentrated on analyzing literature on single-modal sensors and their robotics application.
Design/methodology/approach
This study presents a systematic review of five bioinspired senses, especially considering a brief introduction of multimodal sensing applications and predicting current trends and future directions of this field, which may have continuous enlightenments.
Findings
This review shows that bioinspired sensors can enable robots to better understand the environment, and multiple sensor combinations can support the robot’s ability to behave intelligently.
Originality/value
The review starts with a brief survey of the biological sensing mechanisms of the five senses, which are followed by their bioinspired electronic counterparts. Their applications in the robots are then reviewed as another emphasis, covering the main application scopes of localization and navigation, objection identification, dexterous manipulation, compliant interaction and so on. Finally, the trends, difficulties and challenges of this research were discussed to help guide future research on intelligent robot sensors.
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Shih‐Lin Wu, Jang‐Ping Sheu and Chung‐Chao Lee
This paper proposes a distributed multi‐channel MAC protocol which is an extension of our early work GRID [1]. GRID is characterized by the following features: (i) it integrates a…
Abstract
This paper proposes a distributed multi‐channel MAC protocol which is an extension of our early work GRID [1]. GRID is characterized by the following features: (i) it integrates a location‐aware channel assignment, (ii) it follows an “on‐demand” style to access the medium, (iii) the number of channels required is independent of the network topology, and (iv) no form of clock synchronization is required. The proposed protocol wants to further improve the GRID in two parts. First, we propose a fully distributed medium access mechanism without using a single control channel such that all of the network traffic can be distributed evenly over all data channels. Therefore, the network throughput will be increased significantly. Second, we can set the more suitable transmission range and GRID size by considering the factors of host density and packet arrival rate of the network within an specified area. Thus, all of channels will be reused more efficiently than GRID. Simulation results show that the throughput of our protocol is superior to GRID and IEEE 802.11.
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Zhanyang Zhang, Roberta Marsha Klibaner, Emile Chungtian Chi and Ke-Ping Yuan
The authors have been actively engaged in E-learning starting in 1996, at the College of Staten Island, CUNY, a public university on the East coast and Shanghai Television…
Abstract
The authors have been actively engaged in E-learning starting in 1996, at the College of Staten Island, CUNY, a public university on the East coast and Shanghai Television University, an open university in Shanghai. We have reported on this work in [Chi, Klibaner, 1999, 2001, 2003]. This collaboration has been expanded to include a bilingual course offered simultaneously at both institutions. Of the many technical issues involved in such a simultaneous e-learning course, the time difference is the only one which remains immutable. This paper describes our experience with a hybrid course in Database Theory offered bilingually in Chinese and English and a Windows based terminal software laboratory.