Thoughts on whether government should steer a tropical cyclone if it could

Previous work suggests if it were possible to lower sea-surface temperature using wind-wave pumps, it would sometime make sense to try to reduce the wind speed of a tropical cyclone (TC) that is likely to make landfall. While currently there is no plausible strategy to steer a TC, suppose that TC landfall location could be altered and subsequent damages perhaps reduced. Here, we ask whether and when such a modification might be desirable. As a thought experiment, we consider a hypothetical TC that will make landfall on the east coast of Florida. Using results from previous detailed damage modeling, we examine three simplified scenarios of TC modification resulting in altered landfall location. Even in these simplified scenarios, and assuming a zero cost for modification, we find that unless it becomes possible to steer a hurricane to the open ocean with something approaching certainty, it is likely that the complexities of the decision will always make it undesirable to undertake a modification intended to steer TCs.     

Order effect of multi-touchpoints on Generation Z consumers

Abundant user-generated content has increasingly driven consumers to form or modify their purchasing decisions based on interactions with other consumers, although the extant research overlooks the customer-to-customer (C2C) interaction touchpoints. Based on the customer journey characteristics of cross-channel and multi-frequency interactions, this study explores the impact of interaction valence and interaction channel sequence on Generation Z consumers' purchase attitudes from the perspective of attitude modification process. Using a scenario-based experimental design in a restaurant setting, we sample 616 Generation Z students. Findings suggest that C2C interactions that have the same valence at each touchpoint strengthen Generation Z consumers' initial purchase attitude, whereas inconsistent valences modify purchase attitudes. Our results reveal that a negative-to-positive ordering is more conducive to the formation of a positive purchase attitude than a positive-to-negative ordering. Moreover, the cross-channel sequence of a customer journey moderates the inconsistent valence order such that the positive-to-negative order improves purchase attitude more than the negative-to-positive order. This study explains theoretically the difference of ambivalent experiences on Generation Z consumer attitudes. We provide practical suggestions for multi-channel restaurant enterprises to successfully employ customer journey touchpoint management.     

转换铁路局经营机制 转变铁路发展方式

回顾20世纪90年代济南铁路局转换经营机制试点的经验和启示。对铁路如何转变发展方式,铁路局如何转换经营机制,落实铁路局市场主体地位和法人责任,铁路实施多元化经营战略进行探讨。     

三嗪氨基二苯乙烯型荧光增白剂改性及研究进展

三聚氯氰与4,4’-二氨基二苯乙烯-2,2’-二磺酸和两种氨基化合物经过三步缩合反应得到三嗪基氨基二苯乙烯型荧光增白剂,对其进行高分子改性,可显著提高耐光性;进行阳离子改性则能合成耐强酸的荧光增白剂。指出今后应重点开发高效环保液态型及耐强酸强碱的荧光增白剂,并认为缩聚改性、膜分离技术、复配增效以及开发合适的显白剂将是研究热点。     

英国中小公司区分立法解读及启示

英国公司法正在进行150年来最重要的一次修改,其中最突出的修改是“首先考虑小公司”:公司法所作的制度安排应围绕小公司来展开,对大公司采取例外适用,在决策程序、资本制度、公司治理等方面实行大小公司区分立法。在我国的公司法研究中,也一直存在过分关注股份有限公司等大公司,忽视有限责任公司等中小公司的情况,表现在立法上则忽视二者的差异,制度混同情况比较突出,后者的制度设计依附于前者,已不适应中小企业的发展。是否公开募集资本是大小公司制度差异的根源,我们应借鉴英国公司法的修改,从大小公司制度差异的角度完善我国公司立法。     

Process versus product: which determines consumer demand for genetically modified apples?*

One debate in the literature regarding consumers' reactions to genetically modified food (GMF) centres on whether consumers react to the process of gene technology or to the specific GMF products. Results from a choice experiment survey in New Zealand indicate that consumers are heterogeneous with regard to GMF and that some modifications are viewed more positively than others. These findings suggest that for some consumers the process of gene technology is the decisive factor in evaluating GMF, while for others the different potential GMF products are valued according to their enhanced attributes.     

Scale modification: alternative approaches and their consequences

Important marketing scales such as SERVQUAL are often adapted for use in a particular applied/theory-testing context and/or refined using some statistical method, assuming the resultant scale will have improved psychometric properties for a particular application. However, little attention has been paid to the consequences of how scale modifications are made, the criteria that are used to assess how well a modified scale performs, and whether scale modification is in fact worthwhile. To investigate these issues, we review approaches to scale modification, select an influential marketing scale and use context, and then examine the effects of the different scale modification approaches on which items are included in the refined scale. We then cross-validate the psychometric performance of the resulting scales using criteria that reflect the multiple purposes to which a scale can be applied. The results show approaches that leads to a more reliable scale for one purpose (e.g., segmentation) can be far less adequate for another purpose (e.g., benchmarking).     

硬脂酸钙改性纳米碳酸钙的效果研究

纳米碳酸钙由于价廉、无毒而广泛应用于橡胶工业、塑料工业、造纸工业、涂料工业等各个方面。但纳米碳酸钙粒子表面亲水疏油,与高分子材料相容性差,需进行表面改性。采用硬脂酸钙对纳米碳酸钙进行表面改性处理,通过红外光谱、吸油值、活化指数对改性前后的纳米碳酸钙进行了表征和分析,考察了改性剂用量对纳米碳酸钙粉体改性效果的影响,从而确定了改性剂的最佳用量。在改性温度为90℃,改性时间为30 min条件下,硬脂酸钙改性剂的最佳用量为纳米碳酸钙质量的2.5%。IR分析表明硬脂酸钙与纳米碳酸钙发生了吸附。     

Inserting GM Products into the Food Chain: The Market and Welfare Effects of Different Labeling and Regulatory Regimes

The purpose of this article is to examine the system-wide effects of the introduction of genetically modified (GM) products with and without labeling and to compare these two regimes to a third regime where GM products are not present either because they have not yet been developed or because they have been banned. For each regime, the decisions and welfare of consumers, producers, and life science companies are examined. The article explicitly incorporates the consumer response to the introduction of GM technology and considers different market structures of the life science sector.     

太湖流域印染废水处理提标工艺探讨

为了满足《江苏省太湖流域污水处理厂及重点工业行业主要水污染物排放限制》（DB32/1072-2007）的排放要求,太湖流域印染企业和印染废水集中处理厂纷纷实施废水深度处理的提标改造工程,经过对已实施的四类工艺的介绍与比较,分析了太湖流域印染废水深度处理工艺的优缺点,展望印染废水深度处理技术发展趋势。