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The increasing popularity of ERP solutions has provided dietary supplement manufacturing companies with modules to manage pricing and inventory. However, the decisions made by these modules are often independent and rely on deterministic forecasts. This paper studies a multi-product dietary supplement manufacturing system under stochastic demands. The purpose is to maximize the long-run expected profit by jointly considering pricing and inventory strategies.

The authors investigate both the general cases and three special cases including stable demand, negligible backlog and instantaneous replenishment. A two-stage algorithm named PAS is proposed. In the strategy construction stage, the constructed objective bounds are combined to provide estimates which then help to derive the optimal product prices. In the system operation stage, replenishment decisions are further made based on the prices generated from the previous stage.

It is proved that base-stock policy is optimal for the studied system, and the optimal based-stock level is provided. The global optimal strategies are obtained for three important special cases. For the general case, theoretical objective bounds are established. These bounds provide quick and reliable performance estimates for practical applications.

Very few studies have jointly considered pricing and inventory strategies with uncertainty demands in the dietary supplement industry. The PAS algorithm developed integrates these decisions and consistently generates high-quality solutions even under highly varying demands. Such algorithm could be a valuable add-on to the pricing and inventory management modules in ERP systems.

Due to the intense rivalry in the smartphone market, manufacturers of mobile phones are becoming increasingly interested in knowing the factors that influence consumers' purchase intention. This paper aims to examine the effect of country-of-origin image, brand image and attitude towards the brand on the purchase intention of smartphone users.

An empirical study was performed based on the information gathered from smartphone users. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was applied to examine the hypotheses.

The authors found that brand image and attitude towards the brand significantly influence consumer purchase intention. Additionally, there is an indirect effect even when the nation of origin image does not directly influence the consumer's purchase intention. Indeed, brand image and attitude towards the brand act as a mediator between the country-of-origin image and purchase intention.

This study presents a conceptual model on the impact of country-of-origin image on the propensity of consumers to buy smartphones in a field where little research has been done. The investigation offers a consumer-focused analysis regarding the country-of-origin image. This suggests a significant shift from the current strategy, which is frequently centered on the viewpoint of the companies.

In the supply chain disruption risk, the issue of supplier evaluation and selection is solved by an extended VIKOR method based on regret theory.

Considering the influence of irrational emotions of decision makers, an evaluation model is designed by the regret theory and VIKOR method, which makes the decision-making process closer to reality.

The paper has some innovations in the evaluation index system and evaluation model construction. The method has good stability under the risk of supply chain interruption.

The mixed evaluation information is used to describe the attributes, and the evaluation index system is constructed by the combined method of the social network analysis method and the literature research method to ensure the accuracy and accuracy of the extracted attributes. The issue of supplier evaluation and selection is solved by an extended VIKOR method based on regret theory.

In order to analyze the level of independent controllability and its evolution of high-end equipment manufacturing industry from Jiangsu Province, this article introduces the dual-excitation control line method to construct a comprehensive evaluation model for independent controllability.

Through the collection of information of high-end equipment manufacturing industry's independent and controllable capabilities on different indicators, the three aspects of advancement, autonomy and controllability, an empirical evaluation of 10 enterprises in the high-end equipment cluster in Jiangsu Province was conducted in terms of advancement, autonomy and controllability.

It effectively reveals the area and evolution characteristics of the “reward” and “punishment” of different indicators of each representative enterprise and reflects the development status and different characteristics of each representative enterprise on the three indicators. The research results provide decision-making guidance for enterprises in the management and control of advanced manufacturing systems with independent and controllable capabilities.

Existing research focuses on the evaluation of enterprises' independent controllability only on a single angle or index. This paper maps the dynamic evaluation problem of multiple time-point data to the evaluation problem of single time-point multi-index data and investigates the fluctuation of the performance of the same enterprise under different indexes, so as to comprehensively evaluate the independent controllable level of high-end equipment manufacturing industry and analyze the reasons. Further, this paper first establishes an evaluation index system of independent controllable level of high-end equipment manufacturing industry and quantitatively measures the advanced, independent, controllable and other aspects of typical enterprises in this industry by constructing a double incentive control line evaluation model.

Current methods for flow field reconstruction mainly rely on data-driven algorithms which require an immense amount of experimental or field-measured data. Physics-informed neural network (PINN), which was proposed to encode physical laws into neural networks, is a less data-demanding approach for flow field reconstruction. However, when the fluid physics is complex, it is tricky to obtain accurate solutions under the PINN framework. This study aims to propose a physics-based data-driven approach for time-averaged flow field reconstruction which can overcome the hurdles of the above methods.

A multifidelity strategy leveraging PINN and a nonlinear information fusion (NIF) algorithm is proposed. Plentiful low-fidelity data are generated from the predictions of a PINN which is constructed purely using Reynold-averaged Navier–Stokes equations, while sparse high-fidelity data are obtained by field or experimental measurements. The NIF algorithm is performed to elicit a multifidelity model, which blends the nonlinear cross-correlation information between low- and high-fidelity data.

Two experimental cases are used to verify the capability and efficacy of the proposed strategy through comparison with other widely used strategies. It is revealed that the missing flow information within the whole computational domain can be favorably recovered by the proposed multifidelity strategy with use of sparse measurement/experimental data. The elicited multifidelity model inherits the underlying physics inherent in low-fidelity PINN predictions and rectifies the low-fidelity predictions over the whole computational domain. The proposed strategy is much superior to other contrastive strategies in terms of the accuracy of reconstruction.

In this study, a physics-informed data-driven strategy for time-averaged flow field reconstruction is proposed which extends the applicability of the PINN framework. In addition, embedding physical laws when training the multifidelity model leads to less data demand for model development compared to purely data-driven methods for flow field reconstruction.

This paper examines the framing of digital transformation. The research questions are specified as follows: what are the different types of framing strategies in response to digital transformation? How do the strategies differ across organizations? Theoretically, the authors draw on the framing perspective to emphasize the use of linguistic frames in shaping innovation and change processes. Empirically, the authors choose to study the Taiwanese sectors, including publicly governed entities, traditional private business or technology-based ventures.

The authors’ approach combines topic modeling and qualitative analysis. Using data collected from newspaper and magazine articles, the authors employ topic modeling to generate a set of distinctive framings that Taiwanese actors typically adopt to motivate and justify their digital move. The authors also conduct personal interviews to qualitatively complement the authors’ topic modeling analysis and to identify the rationale behind the linguistic framings and the strategic differences brought about by the various organizations.

The authors identify five topics that the Taiwanese actors commonly used in the framing of digital transformation. These topics or frames are labeled as cross-domain coordination, market demand, intelligent technology, global trend and competition and digital innovation. The practical use of the framings is contingent on organizational characteristics. Furthermore, the authors show how the framings can be classified as either positive framing (e.g. winning the next war) or negative framing (e.g. innovate or die), generally applicable to organizations around the world struggling to cope with digital disruption.

The authors’ study has two research implications. First, the authors extend the appreciation of the digital transformation from the usual concern with technological and business model innovations to linguistic or framing practices. Second, the authors enrich the framing analysis by emphasizing a practice or contingency perspective based on sector difference. The findings are subject to the limitations of the choice of only established and reputable media outlets, the diatextual reading and filtering of useful articles for topic modeling analysis and the use of world frequency to account for frame significance.

The authors shift actors' attention from improving technical efficiency to acquiring linguistic resources in the pursuit of digitalization. For example, framing the digital transformation in terms of creating a market orientation calls for not only real consumer power but also strategic discursive competence that enables the move to change. The findings also point out that practitioners can enlarge the scope of their agency rather than being trapped in the habituated routine of practices. Despite social embeddedness, organizations are more often widely connected and built enough to call for more of the cognitive frames to appeal to heterogeneous stakeholders.

The authors study contributes to the literature by developing a linguistic or socio-cognitive view of digital transformation strategy that is capable of expanding organizational attention toward change and innovation. The authors explore menus of strategic frames employed by actors in response to digital transformation. We also address the application of a machine-learning tool such as topic modeling to explore the socio-cognitive dimensions of digital transformation. Furthermore, the analysis leads us to identify the outcomes or effects – either positive or negative – that move beyond the particular Taiwanese case to explain the framing of digital transformation in general.

Tactile sensation is an important sensory function for robots in contact with the external environment. To better acquire tactile information about objects, this paper aims to propose a three-layer structure of the interdigital flexible tactile sensor.

The sensor consists of a bottom electrode layer, a middle pressure-sensitive layer and a top indenter layer. First, the pressure sensitive material, structure design, fabrication process and circuit design of the sensor are introduced. Then, the calibration and performance test of the designed sensor is carried out. Four functions are used to fit and calibrate the relationship between the output voltage of the sensor and the contact force. Finally, the contact force sensing test of different weight objects and the flexible test of the sensor are carried out.

The performance test results show that the sensitivity of the sensor is 0.93 V/N when it is loaded with 0–3 N and 0.23 V/N when it is loaded with 3–5 N. It shows good repeatability, and the cross-interference between the sensing units is generally low. The contact force sensing test results of different weight objects show that the proposed sensor performs well in contact force. Each part of the sensor is a flexible material, allowing the sensor to achieve bending deformation, so that the sensor can better perceive the contact signs of the grasped object.

The sensor can paste the surface of the paper robot’s gripper to measure the contact force of the grasping object and estimate the contour of the object.

In this paper, a three-layer interdigital flexible tactile sensor is proposed, and the structural parameters of the interdigital electrode are designed to improve the sensitivity and response speed of the sensor. The indenter with three shapes of the prism, square cylinder and hemisphere is preliminarily designed and the prism indenter with better conduction force is selected through finite element analysis, which can concentrate the external force in the sensing area to improve the sensitivity. The sensor designed in this paper can realize the measurement of contact force, which provides a certain reference for the field of robot tactile.

This research addresses the diverse characteristics of existing railway steel bridges in China, including variations in construction age, design standards, structural types, manufacturing processes, materials and service conditions. It also focuses on prominent defects and challenges related to heavy transportation conditions, particularly low live haul reserves and severe fatigue problems.

The study encompasses three key aspects: (1) Adaptability assessment: It begins with assessing the suitability of existing railway steel bridges for heavy-haul operations through comprehensive analyses, experiments and engineering applications. (2) Strengthening: To combat frequent crack defects in the vertical stiffener end structure of girder webs, fatigue performance tests and reinforcement scheme experiments were conducted. These experiments included the development of a hot-spot stress S-N curve for this structure, validating the effectiveness of methods like crack stop holes, ultrasonic hammering and flange angle steel. (3) Service life extension: Research on the cruciform welded joint structure (non-fusion transfer type) focused on fatigue performance over the long life cycle. This led to the establishment of a fatigue S-N curve, enhancing Chinese design codes.

The research achieved several significant outcomes: (1) Successful implementation of strengthening and retrofitting measures on a 64-m single-span double-track railway steel truss girder on an existing heavy-duty line. (2) Post-reinforcement, a substantial 26% to 32% reduction in live haul stress on bridge members was achieved. (3) The strengthening and retrofitting efforts met design expectations, enabling the bridge to accommodate vehicles with a 30-ton axle haul on the railway line.

This research systematically tackles challenges and defects associated with Chinese existing railway steel bridges, providing valuable insights into adaptability assessment, strengthening techniques and service life extension methods. Furthermore, the development of fatigue S-N curves and the successful implementation of bridge enhancements have practical implications for improving the resilience and operational capacity of railway steel bridges in China.

This research aims to explore how consumers' local brand choices differ between air-polluted days and clean days, and why the difference occurs.

Two studies were conducted. Study 1 used the longitudinal consumption data of various yogurt brands and daily air quality indexes in 2014 and 2015. Study 2 conducted three rounds of surveys on a clean day, a general air-polluted day and a seriously air-polluted day.

The findings indicate that consumers show less tendency of attribution and compensatory consumption during air-polluted days, which in turn decrease their willingness to choose local brands.

Implications are provided for future research and marketing practice, especially for local companies that rely heavily on local consumers, and retailers in heavy air-polluted areas.

This paper is the first to illustrate the influence of air pollution on consumers' local brand choices, and it extends current understanding on air pollution and consumer choices by discovering psychological process underneath to explain the effect.

Academic contention occurs when research evidence is amenable to more than one interpretation. China has a long tradition of Shang Que (商榷), in which authors argue for their preferred interpretation. The modern form of this tradition is the Shang Que article, which often takes the form of research papers in Chinese-language journals and which tends to be question-oriented. Shang Que articles usually take the views of a particular author or article as the focus of independent and complete criticism by another, independent, academic. This paper explains the role of Shang Que articles in Chinese scholarship and their influence on international academia.

A bibliometric analysis was used to explore the characteristics and evolution of Chinese Shang Que articles using 30,577 articles published between 1979 and 2018. Microsoft Excel and Gephi were used for data analysis and visualization.

Findings suggest a decline in the number of Shang Que articles and an increase in the number of co-authors. Shang Que articles remained particularly prominent in Philosophy and Humanities and Social Sciences, where they focused on local issues such as classical Chinese, the Sinicization of Marxism and Chinese literature. This suggests that the number of Shang Que articles is related to the degree of internationalization of a research field.

Shang Que articles, which have been influenced by academic paradigms in English, are a fusion of China's Shang Que tradition and of the modern academic system. Through considering Shang Que articles, this paper explores the benefits of local academic traditions in non-English-speaking cultures.