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This study aims to propose a new decision-making method by integrating case-based decision theory and the Dempster–Shafer theory of evidence.

The study developed the entire computational procedures for the proposed method and used a numerical example to illustrate its method.

The results show that not only the own experiences of the decision-maker but also the opinions of other persons contribute to the selection. Case-based decision theory provides a fundamental technique for the decision-making procedure, and the Dempster–Shafer theory of evidence offers support to deal with the different sources of decision information.

In case-based decision theory, the utility is a subjective concept, which cannot be measured easily in numbers. Thus, future research should seek a new method to replace the utility. In addition, how to assess the importance of different persons’ experiences and opinions is an important component of this method.

The contributions of the paper are mainly reflected in three aspects. The first is to expand the traditional concept of “case” of case-based decision theory to multiple sources of cases, which include not only the decision-maker’s own experiences but also other persons’ opinions. The second is to provide a decision-making framework by integrating case-based decision theory and the Dempster–Shafer theory of evidence. The third is to develop the entire computational procedures for the proposed method.

This study aims to analyze the tradeoff between two potential marketing strategies for service providers, namely, market segmentation on the basis of reservation lead time and cooperation with third parties.

This paper proposes an optimization model to describe market segmentation strategy after cooperating with third parties by taking hotels for example.

The results show that the profitability of adopting two strategies simultaneously is lower than that with market segmentation alone under some cases, which is relevant with attributes of travel agencies, such as switch rate and market share.

This study indicates that cooperation with third parties has a negative impact on profitability of hotels using market segmentation in some cases. However, randomness of demand, customer loyalty and existence of cancellation should be considered in further research.

In an e-commerce era, hotels with market segmentation based on reservation lead time, are not required to cooperate with third parties under a number of situations (e.g. high switch rates and small market sizes of travel agencies). In addition, hotels should revise the segmentation strategy based on the change rate of potential demand of individual customers. Furthermore, hotels should enhance customer loyalty, strengthen cooperation with travel agencies that possess large market shares or small switch rates.

The study preliminarily formulates the optimal market segmentation strategy on the basis of reservation lead time after cooperating with third parties, which contributes to the revenue management.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between market competition and distribution strategy for logistics service providers (LSPs), including freight price, service level (delivery speed), and service coverage.

The authors consider two risk-neutral LSPs in which one is an existing company and the other is a new entrant. The existing LSP has a sound distribution network and provides service in both local and remote areas. The new entrant LSP should determine the freight price and service coverage to compete for business. The authors use a Stackelberg game to model the competition between two LSPs with assumptions of consumers’ utility and demand distribution. Numerical examples are used to validate the findings.

The findings show that the distribution strategy for LSPs depends on the ratio of the cost difference and shipping speed difference and demand structure. The LSP with higher shipping speeds only need to meet demands in local areas and may stay out of the market in some cases. To compete for business in the whole areas is more profitable for the LSP with lower shipping speeds when either unit service cost or the potential demand in remote areas is low enough. Otherwise, the LSP with lower speeds should stay out the market of remote areas.

This study is a preliminary research on the relationship between market competition and distribution strategy for LSPs and contributes to service operations management literature and strategic management for LSPs.

This study aims to drive the induction machine system with a low switching frequency.

An unconventional inverter control strategy – field-oriented predictive control (FOPC) – is presented. The strategy limits current distortion by setting a boundary circle. The voltage vector, which could keep current trajectories in boundary, is selected to obtain a low switching frequency.

A dual simulation step technique is developed to investigate the influence of sampling frequency on current distortion control and switching frequency. Current control distortion can be improved, i.e. reduced, by increasing the sampling frequency; however, the switching frequency will also increase. Such a law is discovered by the dual simulation step technique and finally verified by experiments.

A new predictive control method, FOPC, is derived from the rotor filed coordinate machine model and presented in this paper. FOPC circumvents derivative calculations, and thus avoids high-frequency noise amplification.

The purpose of this paper is to present a fast and bare bones implementation of a numerical method for quickly simulating turbulent thermal flows on GPUs. The work also validates earlier research showing that the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) method is suitable for complex thermal flows.

A dual lattice hydrodynamic (D3Q27) thermal (D3Q7) multiple-relaxation time LBM model capable of thermal DNS calculations is implemented in CUDA.

The model has the same computational performance compared to earlier publications of similar LBM solvers. The solver is validated against three benchmark cases for turbulent thermal flow with available data and is shown to be in excellent agreement.

The combination of a D3Q27 and D3Q7 stencil for a multiple relaxation time -LBM has, to the authors’ knowledge, not been used for simulations of thermal flows. The code is made available in a public repository under a free license.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of foreign currency derivative (FCD) usage on firm value. In specific, the authors study the significance of the relationship between FCD usage and firm value for exporters and non-exporters, respectively, with consideration of conditions of exchange rate movements.

As the main empirical test, this paper utilizes the multivariate Tobin's Q model for a panel dataset of 125 non-financial firms, which have been continuously listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange from 2010–2018. The authors divide the sample firms into two groups: exporters and non-exporters based on theoretical background and estimate the relationship between FCD usage and the firm value measured by Tobin's Q for each firm group. Also, as a complementary test, the Fama–French three-factor model is used to estimate the effect of FCD usage on the monthly portfolio returns of the firms when exchange rate levels and volatility are considered.

First, the effect of FCD usage on firm value significantly exists in the Bangladeshi non-financial firms from 2010–2018. Specifically, the FCD effect on firm value is negative (hedging discount) for exporters, whereas the FCD effect is positive (hedging premium) for non-exporters. Second, the multivariate analyses suggest the hedging discount (premium) for exporters (non-exporters) is consistent only when the domestic currency appreciates (depreciates). Third, the FCD effect on firm value is consistently positive for non-exporters when exchange rate volatility is higher.

Further studies could be conducted with the detailed data of the firms' hedging performance, if they are available. Particularly, the cost and revenue data associated with hedging would help identify evident reasons for exporters' hedging discounts in Bangladesh. Moreover, the best hedging option for maximizing the Bangladeshi firm value could be analyzed with the detailed FCD type data, such as futures, options and swaps. Further refinement of these data would improve institutional capability for substantive growth in frontier markers.

This paper provides practical implications for corporate managers in charge of managing foreign exchange risk in Bangladesh. First, closer accounting observation is much necessary for the firms to accurately evaluate whether the FCD usage is beneficial in their cash flows because the exporters come to have two large costs: entering foreign markets and carrying FCD program. Second, for better value from using FCDs, the exporters should learn how to utilize appropriate financial derivatives. FCD usage is beneficial when the exporters are fully aware of what their real risks are and the role of appropriate derivatives within its portfolio strategy.

A policy reducing the costs of either foreign market entry or FCD usage would be helpful for lessening the FCD discount effect. Also, a long-term policy that enables the born-to-exporters to establish substantive positions in the home market would be helpful for enhancing the cash inflow capability, thereby causing the firm value structure to be strengthened.

The paper has originality because it bridges the gap in the literature. First, the authors find a new empirical result regarding the significant FCD effect on a frontier market, although the FCD effect deals with the small and secondary risk in the previous literatures. Second, finding the contrasting FCD effect between the exporters and non-exporters sheds lights on the importance of firm-specific characteristics for precisely evaluating the FCD effect on firm value. Third, we find that the significant FCD effect is prominent by condition of exchange rate movements, which has been overlooked in prior literature.

Gaining the precise control over the matter at the nanometre scale is the main leitmotif in a majority of nanoscience oriented research measurements nowadays. The availability of new advanced tools, as a nanoindentation technique, for evaluation of the mechanical properties, seems to be prerequisite for exploitation of the dramatic development in nanoscience and meeting the emerging needs of the industries in new electronic applications. The nanoindentation technique was applied to evaluate the elastic modulus and hardness values as a function of indentation depth. However, in the presented experiment the nanoscale mechanical properties of BaBi₂Nb₂O₉ ceramics have been characterized and compared with the macroscale measurements with macroscale method with the implementation of ultrasound techniques. A draw conclusion indicates that expensive nanoscale characterisation presented here is not fully consisted with the microscale. The reasons of such state of things are widely discussed.

Inequality is an essential factor for the alleviation of poverty. In Cameroon, most of the households derive their livelihoods from non-wage income and a better understanding of how different variables affect income inequality is a way to reduce those inequalities and improve social welfare. Studies carried out so far barely make out the determinants among non-wage earners. This study sets out to identify these determinants, using the regression-based decomposition technique and data obtained from the 2005 Employment and Informal Sector Survey (EISS) undertaken by the National Statistic Institute (INS) in Cameroon. Results show that the total inequality of an hourly active income ensues from the ratio of age/experience and unobserved individual heterogeneity among non-wage earners.

The purpose of this paper is to trace back the roots of US-driven “Human Resource Management” (HRM) school of thought which now become widely institutionalized in China, up to the present day.

It looks at the diffusion of management knowledge over the period to Chinese business, which involved in turn scientific management (SM), human relations (HR) and HRM, respectively, from the interwar years onwards, by using a bibliometric analysis of Chinese language sources, searching a number of databases now available.

The authors scanned the international, as well as Chinese, literature to support a conjecture of a HR route towards China and how it morphed into HRM and went on to conclude that there was by the end of the year 2015 still a significant output of academic publications with references to both HR and HRM, respectively, but that we must be cautious in asserting a firm conclusion.

This paper traces back the roots of Chinese HRM back to the US-driven HR school of thought.

This paper aims to reveal the effects of the copper third body on different copper matrix friction materials with a novel experimental way called “exogenous powder.”

An accurate adding device of exogenous copper powder was designed to control the flow rate. The tribological properties with and without exogenous copper powder were investigated by a pin-on-disc tribometer during dry sliding.

Experimental results indicate that the Cu addition tends to increase the friction coefficient. For pure Cu material, the exogenous copper third body exhibits poor fluidity on the friction surface, causing serious adhesive wear on the friction interface. For the Cu 90% + 10% Gr material, the plasticity of exogenous copper powder may intensify the deformation of the third body of the surface, presenting layered accumulation distribution. For the pure Cu and Cu 95% + 5% SiO₂ material, the Cu addition makes the composition and density of the third body uneven in the direction of depth.

The role of the copper component on different materials is revealed from a new perspective, and the relationship between the third body structure and the friction properties is explored.