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Making the right bid/no-bid decision is critical to the success and development of construction contracting enterprises. Decision makers’ personal characteristics, such as risk perception and propensity, have great impact on bid/no-bid decisions, which is the major concern of this research. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship among decision makers’ risk perception, risk propensity, and their bid/no-bid decision making of construction projects, as well as the factors influencing the risk perception and propensity.

In total, four hypotheses were proposed based on an extensive literature review. Experimental questionnaires were distributed to employees working in Chinese construction contracting enterprises with knowledge of construction bidding, and 134 valid questionnaires were obtained. Multivariate statistical analysis through SPSS 19.0 was used to analyze the acquired data.

Data analysis shows that in the context of international construction contracting: risk perception has a negative influence on bid/no-bid decision making; while risk propensity produces a positive influence and the probability and magnitude of potential gain or loss both have significant impacts on risk perception, and the probability plays a more important role.

This research studied the bid/no-bid decision making of construction projects from the new perspectives of risk perception and risk propensity of the decision makers.

In today’s Taiwan, sha-cha sauce is an indispensable ingredient for beef hot pot and stir-fried dishes. The purpose of this paper contextualizes the history of sha-cha sauce in Tainan, the oldest city in Taiwan, and argues that sha-cha sauce, introduced by Chaoshan immigrants, has contributed to new styles and habits of beef consumption tastes and habits in the post-1949 Tainan and beyond.

This paper uses documentary materials, oral interviews and diaries to explore the relationship between beef consumption and sha-cha sauce. It begins with an historical overview of Taiwan’s beef consumption during the Japanese colonial era (1895-1945). Then, it focuses on two Chaoshan business enterprises: the Bull-Head, which makes the world’s largest “canned sha-cha sauce,” and the Xiao Haozhou, a Tainan restaurant specializing in sha-cha beef hot pot. Finally, this study analyzes Xinrong Wu, a Tainan gentry whose diary entries from 1933 to 1967 documented the changing dietary habits of beef consumption among Taiwanese.

The Chaoshan migrants played an important role in introducing the sha-cha sauce to postcolonial Tainan, and this input bolstered the beef consumption among Taiwanese. The production of sha-cha provided a reliable source of income for these migrants in Tainan, and major businesses like the Bull-Head became the international brands of Taiwanese food products.

The study, though limited to Tainan, reveals the symbiosis between popularization of sha-cha sauce and widespread beef consumption in Taiwan.

This study helps researchers examine the connection between Chinese migrations and food culture.

This paper is an original scholarly investigation of the relationship between food diet and Chaoshan migration in postcolonial Tainan.

This study aims to identify the ability of gold and cryptocurrency (Cryptocurrency Uncertainty Index (UCRY) Price) as safe haven assets (SHA) for stocks and bonds in both conventional (i.e. stock indices and government bonds) and Islamic markets (i.e. Islamic stock indices and Islamic bonds (IB)).

The authors employed the nonadditive panel quantile regression model by Powell (2016). It measured the safe haven characteristics of gold and UCRY Price for stock indices, government bonds, Islamic stocks, and IB under gold circumstances and level of cryptocurrency uncertainty, respectively. The period spanned from 11 March 2020 to 31 December 2021.

This study discovered three findings, including: (1) gold is a strong safe haven for stocks and bonds in conventional and Islamic markets under bearish conditions; (2) UCRY Price is a strong safe haven for conventional stocks and bonds but only a weak safe haven for Islamic stocks under high crypto uncertainty; and (3) gold offers a safe haven in both emerging and developed countries, while UCRY Price provides a better safe haven in developed than in emerging countries.

Gold always wins big for safe haven properties during unstable economy. It can also win over investors who consider shariah compliant products. Therefore, it should be included in an investor's portfolio. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies are more common for developed countries. Thus, the governments and regulators of emerging countries need to provide more guidance around cryptocurrency so that the societies have better literacy. On top of that, the investors can consider crypto to mitigate risks but with limited safe haven functions.

The originality aspects of this study include: (1) four chosen assets from conventional and Islamic markets altogether (i.e. stock indices, government bonds, Islamic stock indices and IB); (2) indicator countries selected based on the most used and owned cryptocurrencies for the SHA study; and (3) the utilization of UCRY Price as a crypto indicator and a further examination of the SHA study toward four financial assets.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the deformation characteristics and failure modes of the right bank slope of Xiluodu Hydropower Station after excavation.

Micro-seismic monitoring technology is applied to obtain the microfracture information and study the internal damage evolution law of the slope rock mass. A numerical model for discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) is established to analyse the deformation characteristics and failure mode of the slope. Micro-seismic monitoring and DDA can verify and supplement each other's results in the investigation of slope failure.

The results show that the slope has a downhill displacement along the weathered zone under natural conditions; the maximum resultant displacement at the monitoring point is 380 mm. The micro-seismic events are concentrated in an area located 30–100 m horizontally away from the slope surface and at an elevation of 390–470 m. The distribution of these micro-seismic events is consistent with the location of the unloading and weathered zones; it is the same as the DDA simulation result.

The study is anticipated to be used as reference for the stability analysis of rock slopes. By combining the continuous (micro-seismic monitoring technology) and discontinuous (DDA) methods, the entire process starting from the gradual accumulation of internal rock micro-damage to the macroscopic discontinuous deformation and failure of the slope can be investigated.

The market segment of families with young children is significant for the cruise industry in China. This study aims to examine the cruise experience of them and facilitate the provision of family cruise vacation products and services.

This study collects online comments on the cruise experience of Chinese families with young children and analyzes the data in terms of text, sentiment and content.

The results of the text analysis indicate issues with several dimensions of the cruise experience. But the results of a sentiment analysis reveal that only 56.76% of the Chinese families with young children expressed positive feelings about cruise tourism. Almost one third (30.43%) expressed negative feelings, and the rest were neutral. In addition, by conducting a content analysis of the negative sentiment comments, this study identifies areas where cruise products and services need to be improved.

Cruise lines are advised to improve the provision of family cruise vacation products and services, such as enhancing physical experience elements, paying attention to human interaction and situational factors and caring for travelers’ personal needs.

This paper explores the cruise experience of Chinese families with young children, which is currently underdeveloped. A methodology approach including text analysis, sentiment analysis and content analysis is systematically applied to offer a holistic and deep understanding of travel experience. A framework for the cruise experience is proposed, which has theoretical and practical significance.

携儿童出游的中国家庭邮轮体验研究

摘要

有小孩的家庭细分市场对中国的邮轮行业来说意义重大。本研究旨在通过分析他们的邮轮体验, 提升家庭邮轮度假产品和服务的开发与运营。

本研究通过收集携儿童出游的中国家庭邮轮体验的相关在线评论, 对其从文本分析、情感分析和内容分析等方面对数据进行了分析。

文本分析的结果表明邮轮体验的若干维度上存在问题。但情感分析的结果显示, 只有56.76%的有小孩的中国家庭对邮轮体验表达出了积极情绪。近三分之一 (30.43%) 表达了负面情绪, 其余的则持中立态度。此外, 通过对负面情绪评论进行内容分析, 本研究提出了邮轮产品和服务需要提升的方向。

建议邮轮公司根据本研究的结果改进家庭邮轮度假产品和服务, 如增强身体体验元素, 关注人际互动和情境因素, 关心旅客的个性化需求等。

本文对目前尚没有进行充分探讨的携儿童出行的中国家庭的邮轮体验进行了分析, 为了更全面深入地理解邮轮旅行体验, 本研究系统地应用了包括文本分析、情感分析和内容分析等方法, 提出了邮轮体验的研究框架, 具有一定的理论和实践意义。

Experiencias vacacionales en crucero para familias chinas con niños pequeños

Resumen

El segmento de mercado de familias con niños pequeños es significativo para la industria de cruceros en China. Este estudio tiene como objetivo examinar la experiencia de crucero de este segmento, así como facilitar la oferta de productos y servicios de vacaciones familiares en crucero.

Este estudio recopila comentarios en línea sobre las experiencias de crucero en las familias chinas con niños pequeños, analizando los datos en términos de texto, sentimiento y contenido.

Los resultados del análisis del texto indican problemas con varias dimensiones de la experiencia del crucero. Pero los resultados del análisis de sentimientos, revela que solo el 56,76% de las familias chinas con niños pequeños expresaron sentimientos positivos sobre el turismo de cruceros. Casi un tercio (30,43%) expresó sentimientos negativos, y el resto fue neutral. Además, al realizar un análisis de contenido de los comentarios de sentimiento negativo, este estudio identifica áreas donde los productos y servicios de cruceros deben mejorarse.

Se recomienda a las líneas de cruceros que mejoren la oferta de productos y servicios vacacionales familiares, así como mejorar los elementos de la experiencia física, prestar atención a la interacción humana y los factores situacionales, y atender las necesidades personales de los viajeros.

Este trabajo explora la experiencia de crucero de las familias chinas con niños pequeños, que actualmente está poco desarrollada. Se aplica sistemáticamente un enfoque metodológico que incluye análisis de texto, análisis de sentimiento y análisis de contenido para ofrecer una comprensión holística y profunda de la experiencia de viaje. Se propone un marco para la experiencia del crucero, que tiene significado teórico y práctico.

This paper aims to introduce a novel four-dimensional hyper-chaotic system with different hyper-chaotic attractors as certain parameters vary. The typical dynamical behaviors of the new hyper-chaotic system are discussed in detail. The control problem of these hyper-chaotic attractors is also investigated analytically and numerically. Then, two novel electronic circuits of the proposed hyper-chaotic system with different parameters are presented and realized using physical components.

The adaptive control method is derived to achieve chaotic synchronization and anti-synchronization of the novel hyper-chaotic system with unknown parameters by making the synchronization and anti-synchronization error systems asymptotically stable at the origin based on Lyapunov stability theory. Then, two novel electronic circuits of the proposed hyper-chaotic system with different parameters are presented and realized using physical components. Multisim simulations and electronic circuit experiments are consistent with MATLAB simulation results and they verify the existence of these hyper-chaotic attractors.

Comparisons among MATLAB simulations, Multisim simulation results and physical experimental results show that they are consistent with each other and demonstrate that changing attractors of the hyper-chaotic system exist.

The goal of this paper is to construct a new four-dimensional hyper-chaotic system with different attractors as certain parameters vary. The adaptive synchronization and anti-synchronization laws of the novel hyper-chaotic system are established based on Lyapunov stability theory. The corresponding electronic circuits for the novel hyper-chaotic system with different attractors are also implemented to illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of chaotic circuit design.

Based on the aerodynamic loads and dynamic performances of trains, this study aims to investigate the effect of crosswinds and raindrops on intercity trains operating on viaducts to ensure the safe operation of intercity railways in metropolitan areas.

An approach coupled with the Euler multiphase model as well as the standard k-ɛ turbulence model is used to investigate the coupled flow feature surrounding trains and viaducts, including airflow and raindrops, and the numerical results are validated with those of the wind tunnel test. Additionally, the train’s dynamic response and the operating safety region in different crosswind speeds and rainfall is investigated based on train’s aerodynamic loads and the train wheel–rail dynamics simulation.

The aerodynamic loads of trains at varying running speeds exhibit an increasing trend as the increase of wind speed and rainfall intensity. The motion of raindrop particles demonstrates a significant similarity with the airflow in wind and rain environments, as a result of the dominance of airflow and the supplementary impacts of droplets. As the train’s operating speed ranged between 120 and 200 km/h and within a rainfall range of 20–100 mm/h, the safe operating region of trains decreased by 0.56%–7.03%, compared with the no-rain condition (0 mm/h).

The impact of crosswind speeds and rainfall on the train’s aerodynamic safety is studied, including the flow feature of crosswind and different particle-sized raindrops around the train and viaduct, aerodynamic loads coefficients suffered by the intercity train as well as the operating safety region of intercity trains on the viaduct.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a numerical model used for calculating the nonlinearities of large-scale hydro-pneumatic suspension (HPS) and investigating the effects of variations in flow path and operational parameter on suspension damping response.

To parameterization nonlinearities of the suspension, the author developed a two-phase flow model of a large-scale HPS based on computational fluid dynamics and volume of fluid method. Considerable effort was made to verify the nonlinearities by field measurements carried out on an off-highway mining dump truck. The investigation of effects of variations in flow path and operational parameter on damping characteristics highlights the necessity of the numerical simulation.

The two-phase flow model can represent the gas-oil interaction and simulate the suspension operational movement conveniently. Transient numerical simulation results can be used to model the nonlinearities of large-scale HPS accurately. A new phenomenon was discovered that the pressure in rebound chamber presents reduction trend during compression stroke in special cases. It has never been reported before.

Developed a two-phase flow model of a large-scale HPS, which can manage the gas-oil interaction and capture the complex flow field structure in it. The paper is the first study to model the nonlinearities of a large-scale HPS used in off-highway mining dump truck through transient numerical simulation. Compared with previous researches, such a research not only gives new insight and thorough understanding into the suspension internal fluid structure but also can give good guiding opinions to the optimal design of HPS.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics in the deflection process of a morphing wing with flexible trailing edge, which is based on time-accurate solutions. The dynamic effect of deflection process on the aerodynamics of morphing wing was studied.

The computational fluid dynamic method and dynamic mesh combined with user-defined functions were used to simulate the continuous morphing of the flexible trailing edge. The steady aerodynamic characteristics of the morphing deflection and the conventional deflection were studied first. Then, the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of the morphing wing were investigated as the trailing edge deflects at different rates.

The numerical results show that the transient lift coefficient in the deflection process is higher than that of the static case one in large angle of attack. The larger the deflection frequency is, the higher the transient lift coefficient will become. However, the situations are contrary in a small angle of attack. The periodic morphing of the trailing edge with small amplitude and high frequency can increase the lift coefficient after the stall angle.

The investigation can afford accurate aerodynamic information for the design of aircraft with the morphing wing technology, which has significant advantages in aerodynamic efficiency and control performance.

The dynamic effects of the deflection process of the morphing trailing edge on aerodynamics were studied. Furthermore, time-accurate solutions can fully explore the unsteady aerodynamics and pressure distribution of the morphing wing.