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Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) create quasi-real social systems in which players can interact with one another, and quasi-real economic systems where players can consume and trade in-game items with virtual currency. The in-game currency price, an important indicator of a virtual economy, is highly contingent on players’ behavioral interaction in MMORPGs. The purpose of this paper is to adopt a network perspective to examine how topological characteristics of social networks in an MMORPG, namely, network externalities, density, and closure, would exert impacts on the in-game currency price.

Players’ behavioral data were collected from a popular MMORPG in China on a weekly basis for 52 weeks. With a time series analytical approach, the empirical model for the price function of in-game currency was estimated with vector autoregression.

The results show that the number of core avatars and network density are positively associated with in-game currency price, while network closure has a negative effect on in-game currency price. However, in-game currency price is found to have no significant relationship with the trade volume of the currency.

This study fills in an important research gap by investigating factors influencing the in-game currency price of MMORPGs from a network perspective, which contributes to the existing literature of network effects and advances our understanding about how players’ interaction will influence the dynamics of a virtual economy. The findings could offer useful insights for online game companies to better understand their players’ social interaction and consumption behavior.

The study of the history of Chinese science has attracted further attention over the past 50 years, with an increasing number of scholars, influenced by Joseph Needham and his project “Science and Civilization in China”, developing ideas in this field. There are a range of Web sites which have been produced and are available to the scholar of the history of Chinese science, and some of these are collected together and evaluated in this article.

The purpose of this paper is to study the fault diagnosis of internal combustion (IC) engine gearbox using vibration signals with signal processing and machine learning (ML) techniques.

Vibration signals from the gearbox are acquired for healthy and induced faulty conditions of the gear. In this study, 50% tooth fault and 100% tooth fault are chosen as gear faults in the driver gear. The acquired signals are processed and analyzed using signal processing and ML techniques.

The obtained results show that variation in the amplitude of the crankshaft rotational frequency (CRF) and gear mesh frequency (GMF) for different conditions of the gearbox with various load conditions. ML techniques were also employed in developing the fault diagnosis system using statistical features. J48 decision tree provides better classification accuracy about 85.1852% in identifying gearbox conditions.

The proposed approach can be used effectively for fault diagnosis of IC engine gearbox. Spectrum and continuous wavelet transform (CWT) provide better information about gear fault conditions using time–frequency characteristics.

In this paper, experiments are conducted on real-time running condition of IC engine gearbox while considering combustion. Eddy current dynamometer is attached to output shaft of the engine for applying load. Spectrum, cepstrum, short-time Fourier transform (STFT) and wavelet analysis are performed. Spectrum, cepstrum and CWT provide better information about gear fault conditions using time–frequency characteristics. ML techniques were used in analyzing classification accuracy of the experimental data to detect the gearbox conditions using various classifiers. Hence, these techniques can be used for detection of faults in the IC engine gearbox and other reciprocating/rotating machineries.

Boredom is believed to be the common cause of workers' absenteeism, accidents, job dissatisfaction, and performance variations in manufacturing environments with repetitive jobs. Effectively measuring and possibly predicting job boredom is the key to the design and implementation of appropriate strategies to deal with such undesirable emotional state. The purpose of this paper is to present new methodologies to measure and predict human boredom at work.

Two series of mathematical formulations, linear and nonlinear, to describe the variation of human boredom at work are first presented. Given the complexity of human emotions, the authors also present a probabilistic framework based on state‐of‐the‐art Bayesian networks to model employees' boredom at work.

The proposed methods centre on the prediction and measurement of human boredom at work. They enable managers to take proactive actions to deal with human boredom at work. Examples of such actions are task rotation and job redesign.

The proposed methods are verified using a number of cases describing a set of phenomena that may occur in the real world. However, further research is required to demonstrate the validity of the models using real world data.

According to accessible literature, human boredom is being measured by self reporting scales thus far. This study describes and demonstrates analytical approaches to model human boredom at work.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of inter-platform competition on the adoption of different broadband technologies (i.e. among xDSL, fibre-optic technologies, and hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC)), examine the direction of the effect, and identify potential technology convergence and the speed of technology innovation.

It uses Lotka-Volterra equation to determine the dynamic competition pattern for xDSL, fibre-optic technologies, and HFC.

The influence of inter-platform competition on the adoption rate may vary depending on the market conditions, the phase of the adoption period, and the types of competing technology. Even though new technology has competitive advantage, it still requires time to acquire market share. Even though fibre-optic is leading in the market, alternative technologies have also garnered significant market share in the early stage. Specifically, HFC has gained its own market position, making it a valuable alternative in the short term. Nonetheless, the market will eventually converge to fibre-optics.

The findings show that inter-platform competition does not always exert positive influence on broadband adoption as indicated in previous literature. Instead, the influence may vary from negative to neural. This information is an important knowledge addition to the literature. Overall, the study has important implications to governmental effort in managing market competitions and in planning national broadband infrastructure policies. It also provides valuable implications on how ISPs should strategize their investment in new broadband technologies.

The use of three-dimensional virtual worlds (3DVWs) is increasingly becoming a common practice in language education to provide digital learning environments for second-language (L2) communicative classes. This study aimed to identify the key factors underlying communication in 3DVWs that can improve the communication skills of L2 learners.

To achieve this, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted to validate the identified factors affecting communication in 3DVWs. A self-reported questionnaire with 47 items on a five-point Likert scale was administered to 513 pre-service teachers, teachers and lecturers in the field of language education.

The results of the EFA revealed four factors that contribute to communication in 3DVWs, namely learner motivation, interaction pattern, language development and learner autonomy. CFA results provided support for the updated model, with statistically significant Chi-square results (χ² (df = 83) = 181.049, p < 0.001) indicating a good fit between the model and the data.

The findings suggest that the four EFA-derived parameters are valid and can assist instructional designers and L2 instructors in creating 3DVWs that enhance L2 learners' communication abilities. This study provides valuable insights for educators, instructional designers and researchers in the field of language education and technology-enhanced learning.

Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on work and employment in contemporary organizations. Covers the human resource management implications of organizational responses to globalization. Examines the theoretical, methodological, empirical and comparative issues pertaining to competitiveness and the management of human resources, the impact of organisational strategies and international production on the workplace, the organization of labour markets, human resource development, cultural change in organisations, trade union responses, and trans‐national corporations. Cites many case studies showing how globalization has brought a lot of opportunities together with much change both to the employee and the employer. Considers the threats to existing cultures, structures and systems.

The purpose of this paper is to describe how people in a coastal community act upon anxieties about overexploitation of a shared resource and their attempts to ease the moral tension caused by the rapid industrialization of their fishery. This anthropological study contributes to the cross-disciplinary discussion of community-based resource management.

The study is based on ethnographic fieldwork done at the Nanfang'ao port located in northeastern Taiwan. This port has several prosperous offshore fisheries including a mackerel fishery. The mackerel fishery has undergone important transformations in recent decades. The first was a total transformation of fishing methods in 2013. The second was the government's formulation of the “Regulations for Fishing Vessels Catching Mackerels and Jacks,” implemented in 2014. This research illustrates how people in a community take various approaches to pursue sustainability for the human beings and the more-than-human world.

In Nanfang'ao port, local people have developed a meaningful cultural festival through the integration of various symbols and rituals from different contexts in an effort to call attention to moral issues associated with the mackerel fishery.

This research contributes to the discussion on community resource management of marine fishery.

The development of digital technology and digital resources have influenced one’s reading habits. This paper aimed to study undergraduate students' reading in digital sphere at universities in Vietnam.

A focus group study with 31 undergraduate students of six groups at six public universities was conducted to get their perspectives on reading preference, strategies, effectiveness and psychological factors influencing reading ability.

The results confirmed that bachelor students' reading preference for document formats depended on their reading purposes. They used different reading strategies for digital and traditional reading, for instance, keyword searching, taking note, skimming, scanning, need-based reading, selective reading, comparison, evaluation and criticism. Students had faster reading speed for digital texts; however, they had better concentration and memorization in printed documents. When students have motivation, good attitudes and emotion, they could be motivated to read more.

These findings were useful in enhancing the understanding of digital reading competence and help stakeholders find out solutions to improve reading capacity of Vietnamese students in digital space.

Outlines previous research on measuring the performance of banks and the factors leading up to the banking crisis in Nigeria in the 1990s. Applies data envelopment analysis to 1991‐1994 data on ten listed Nigerian banks to assess their relative efficiency and tabulates the results for each year, year by year. Discusses the consistency of the findings with other research and draws conclusions on the root causes of Nigeria’s banking problem, e.g. government interface, poor management, unprofessional practices etc. Calls for a halt to government interference and better bank performance monitoring.