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Purpose: The aim of the study is to consider the use of the Internet as a potential facilitator of positive health-related perceptions. Specifically, we propose that online health information seeking fosters positive perceptions of health. Using path modeling, we theorized several mechanisms through which information seeking could be conducive to positive health perceptions, which we conceptualized into the following four dimensions: (1) sense of empowerment in managing health, (2) self-reported ability to take better care of health, (3) sense of improved health-related quality of life, and (4) self-reported improvement of health.

Methodology: Our sample consisted of respondents who have used the Internet as a resource for health information (n = 710), drawn from the largest national probability-based online research panel. Our comparison subsample consisted of older respondents (age ≥ 60; n = 194). We used Internet-specific measures and employed structural equation models (SEM) to estimate the direct, indirect, and total effects of health-related use of the Internet on subjective health perceptions. Based on our review of the literature, competent health communication with healthcare providers and sense of empowerment in managing personal health were modeled as mediator variables. We assessed whether the proposed mediational relationships, if significant, differed across our indicators of positive health perceptions and whether any differential associations were observed among older adults. We run parallel models for each indicator of positive health perception.

Findings: Provider-patient communication informed by the Internet resources were perceived to impart a greater sense of empowerment to manage health among our respondents, which in turn, was associated with perceived contributions to better self-reported ability to provide self-care, increased health-related quality of life, and improvement in self-reported health. The SEM results revealed a good fit with our full sample and subsample.

Research Implications: Conceptualization of the multidimensional aspects of online health information seeking with separate multi-indicator analyses of the outcome variable is important to further our understanding of how technology may impact the pathways involved in influencing health perceptions and as a result health outcomes.

States that competitive advantage is like a moving target, changing over time as market conditions, consumer demand and resource availability vary. Provides a case study of Taiwan’s present advantages within the heights of the Asian economic growth and the recent economic crisis. Considers the ability of the country to sustain its remarkable growth rate and ask whether it needs to develop a new set of advantages. Uses Porter’s Diamond model in the “Competitive Advantage of Nations” (1990) to examine this issue. Concludes that the biggest threat is that of China’s claim to Taiwan’s territory.

The purpose of this paper is to examine foreign participants’ service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intention during the 2016 Shanghai International Marathon, and to gain a better understanding of the impact of service quality on their satisfaction and behavioral intention.

An English questionnaire was originally designed on the basis of the literature review of service quality, overall satisfaction and re-participation intention to assess the purpose of the study. Data were collected from 308 foreign runners including 61.7 percent (n=190) of male and 38.3 percent (n=118) of the female. Structural equation modeling was employed to check the proposed model and to test the impact of service quality on foreign participants’ overall satisfaction and behavioral intention.

A positive correlation was captured between the following: service quality and overall satisfaction (r=0.752, p<0.01), overall satisfaction and behavioral intention (r=0.876, p<0.01), and between service quality and participants’ behavioral intention (r=0.760, p<0.01). Furthermore, the service quality of Shanghai International Marathon had an indirect effect on foreign participants’ behavioral intention. The structural model fits the data well (R²=0.823).

First, the sample size was small and was just drawn from one event, which can be taken with caution in the context of the generalization of findings. Second, the results are specific to 2016 Shanghai International Marathon participants and cannot be generalized with other events in China or around the world.

The results are practical for the marathon event organizers to better understand foreign participants’ needs and improve their services. This study has a significant importance to the sports events organizers, especially the organizers of the Shanghai International Marathon in terms of a better understanding the level of their service. This study will also help the event organizers to adapt their strategies and their efforts to increase Shanghai International Marathon foreign participants’ satisfaction and intention to repurchase or to share with others.

This study contributes to the foreign participant’s satisfaction literature. In fact, many studies were carried on event spectators’ satisfaction while rare studies were carried on event participants’ satisfaction, especially marathon foreign participants’ satisfaction, and this study will supplement studies related to sport events participation. This will be convenient for sports managers and scholars to better understand the impact of service quality on participants’ satisfaction and behavioral intention in the field of sports events management. Meanwhile, the results were extremely useful to Shanghai during the process of constructing a “world-famous sports city” and “modern international metropolis”.

Little literature focus on foreign participants of Shanghai International Marathon, which is important in the process of shaping city image and building world-famous city. Are foreign participants satisfied with the Shanghai International Marathon? Which aspect of the service quality is of greater value for them? What are the influencing factors of their behavioral intention and word-of-mouth communication? What are the specific impact paths among the service quality, overall satisfaction and behavioral intention variables? To examine the objectives, the study was designed to target foreign participants’ service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intention. Besides, structural equation model was applied in this study to explore the path relationship between service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intention specifically.

The purpose of this paper is to present one type of the architecture for wireless sensor network and to discuss in detail the hardware design of the sink node which can be responsible for transmission data or instructions between sensor nodes and data. Finally, an experiment based on wireless sensor network has proved that the design of sink node is applicable and reliable in monitoring environmental elements such as temperature, humidity, etc.

A design for the sink node is presented which constants three parts: the power module, the storage/display module and the communication module. Zigbee, GPRS and Ethernet techniques are used on ARM7 microcontroller. The sink node is capable of bridging the user's terminal with sensor nodes for information transmission.

In this paper, a new method of the power management based on wireless sensor network is proposed to conserve energy. The antenna height is proven to be an important factor to the communicating among nodes. Finally, the paper proposes regular patterns of the deployment for sensor nodes based on the communication range and the sampling range.

The experiment for providing real‐time data on environment monitoring parameters indicates that the system is efficient. The authors believe that the idea and the design presented in the paper may help the research and application of wireless sensor network.

The purpose of this paper is to present the transmission and reflection characteristic of via holes in microwave planar circuits by the matrix‐penciled moment method (MP‐MOM) including physical modeling, theoretical analysis, and experimental test. Especially, the experimental test is given in detail including device under test design, fixture design, and de‐embedding method.

The MP‐MOM is used to analyze the transmission and reflection characteristic of via holes in a wide frequency band. An emulator is built on MATLAB program (M‐file) to explore the effects of various parameters of via holes.

The smaller thickness of the dielectric‐slab means the more conductive to transfer. The smaller radius of the via hole means the more conducive to transfer. The lower dielectric constant means the more conductive to transfer.

Some boundary conditions such as perfect magnetic conduction (PMC) and perfect electric condition have not been studied, and only perfectly matched layer, which means the infinite plane is dealt with.

The transmission and reflection characteristic of via holes will contribute to the design in such fields: microwave planar circuits, multilayer printed circuit boards, radio frequency integrated circuits, monolithic microwave integrated circuits, etc. which can guarantee the maximum transmission and the minimum reflection or radiation.

This paper presents the transmission and reflection characteristic of via holes with different parameters by the MP‐MOM and the design of experimental test including de‐embedding method.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new device with eddy current microscope (ECM) to test the invisible and buried subsurface flaws in metallic specimens.

When coil is excited by intermittent impulse signal, the eddy current effect happens among the tested metal specimen which is near the coil. Because of magnetic‐optic effect caused by eddy current magnetic field, the magnetic‐optic film changes the polarization direction of the passing linear polarization beam. The beam, containing the defects' information, can be accepted by charge‐coupled device (CCD) after being reflected through beamsplitter, and the imperceptible flaws in subsurface of mental product can be visually tested.

Integrating the eddy effect fully with Faraday's magneto‐optic (MO) effect can realize the visual non‐destructive testing for the subsurface defects.

Manufacturing defected specimens and improving the resolving power of the MO image remain difficult and need further research. A better image processing system needs to be developed to ascertain the characters of the defects.

After additional experiments, this device may find practical application on the inspection of flaws under the surface of metal specimens.

The device presented in this paper can detect the small defects that are hardly seen by eyes at the surface and the subsurface of metal specimens, and have them detected by the CCD.

Discusses the concept of networking structure for the co‐ordination in the corporate decision‐making process in Japan. Looks at networking at a micro level based on empirical and anecdotal evidence.

Preserving sufficient financial assets is crucial for maintaining the standard of living. The lack of adequate financial cushion can translate into financial hardship at any age, but its effects can be especially severe in later adulthood. The authors evaluate whether financial literacy can prevent individuals from depleting the stock of liquid financial assets below a predefined minimum level.

Defining financial resilience as the ability to maintain the value of household savings above the level of 3-monthly incomes, the authors examined whether financial literacy is (1) prospectively associated with the probability of losing financial resilience and (2) the probability of gaining financial resilience among financially vulnerable middle-aged and older adults. To this end, the authors applied the multivariate Cox proportional hazards model with time-varying covariates. Data were retrieved from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe with the sample comprising 13,718 adults aged ≥ 50 years in (1) and 12,802 in (2).

The authors show that financial literacy plays a protective role for financial resilience. Its role is not symmetrical and protects more against the loss of financial resilience than it contributes to the gain of financial resilience. Among individuals aged 65–74, the association between financial literacy and financial resilience is weaker than among adults in the middle-age (50–64) and among the oldest (75+).

Fostering financial literacy can be important to help middle-aged and older adults maintain a good quality of life and favorable living standards.

Given the scarce evidence on the links between financial literacy and financial resilience among middle-aged and older adults, the article contributes to the literature by examining whether financial literacy retains its protective role in later stages of the life course.

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