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This research aims to provide a theoretical method and data supports for a future study on interfacial reaction mechanism and spreading mechanism between molten solder and V-shaped substrate, which also gives guidance for those complicated welding operation objects in brazing technique.

Wetting experiments were performed to measure the contact angles at different temperatures of molten Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu wetting on the quartz substrate with an included angle of 90°. According to the experimental results, the theoretical spreading morphology of molten solder on V-shaped substrate at corresponding temperature was simulated by Surface Evolver.

The theoretical morphology profiles of the molten solder sitting on the V-shaped substrate are simulated using Surface Evolver when the molten solder reaches spreading equilibrium. The spreading mechanisms as well as the impact of surface tension and gravity on interfacial energy of the molten solder wetting on the V-shaped groove substrate are also discussed where theoretical results agree well with experiment results. The contact area between the gas and liquid phases shows a tendency of first increasing and later decreasing. Otherwise, the spreading distance and the height of the molten solder increases as the droplet volume increases as the included angle and the contact angle are given as constants, and both the interfacial energy and the gravitational energy increase as well. This research has a wide influence on predicting the outcomes in commercial impact and also gives guidance for those complicated welding operation objects in brazing technique.

It is of very important significance in both science and practice to investigate the differences between the flat surface and V-shaped surface. Some necessary parameters including intrinsic contact angle and surface tension need to be directly measured when the droplet spreads on the flat surface. The relevant simulation conclusions on the inherent characteristics can be given based on these intrinsic parameters. Compared with the flat surface, the V-shaped substrate is chosen for further discuss on the effects of gravity on the droplet spreading behavior and the changes of apparent contact angle which can only occurs as the substrate is inclined. Therefore, this research provides theoretical method and data supports for a future study on interfacial reaction mechanism and spreading mechanism between molten solder and substrate.

The research is developed for verifying the accuracy of the model built in Surface Evolver. Based on this verified model, other researches on the spreading distance along y-axis and the contact area that are especially difficult to be experimentally measured can be directly simulated by Surface Evolver, which can provides a convenient method to discuss the changes of horizontal spreading distance, droplet height and contact area with increasing the included angle of V-shaped substrate or with increasing the droplet volume. Actually, the modeling results are calculated for supplying the theoretical parameters and technical guidance in the welding process.

This research provides theoretical method and data supports for a future study on interfacial reaction mechanism and spreading mechanism between molten solder and substrate, which has a wide influence on prediction the outcomes in commercial impact and also gives guidance for those complicated welding operation objects in brazing technique.

Surface Evolver, can also be used to discuss the structure and spreading mechanism of droplets on V-shaped substrates, which have not been discussed before.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the financing and provision of basic public services in China. The main issue addressed is how to reform the public finance system to achieve quality and fairness in the provision of basic public services.

Based on an historical analysis of the functional transformation of the public finance system in China and on an empirical analysis of the current public finance system and the public service provision system, a comprehensive understanding was gained about the relationship between the financing and provision of basic public services.

The paper argues that there is a close relationship between the provision of basic public services and the functional changes made to the public finance system. Based on a systematic retrospective study of the Chinese Government’s efforts to improve basic public services over the last three decades, this paper offers policy suggestions on further public finance restructuring that would support better service provision.

By analyzing issues in the public service provision system, this paper contributes to the debate about the efficiency improvement made to governmental functions in China.

An appropriate fixture layout can decrease the assembly variation of Aeronautical Thin‐Walled Structure (ATWS) substantially. The purpose of this paper is to develop a fixture layout method to minimize variation.

The paper uses genetic algorithm and ants algorithm (GAAA) to optimize the fixture layout by first, analyzing the “N‐2‐1” positioning principle of ATWS riveting, and then developing a hierarchical fixture layout model to represent the base points and locating points of ATWS. Second, information of base points and locating points is coded as gene and chromosome, according to a special coding rule and the fixture layout model. The fitness is also defined by the assembly variation of key characteristic points (KCPs). Third, the genetic and ants manipulations are discussed individually, and the two parts are connected by threshold value of the probability for chromosome in the genetic manipulation.

The method can solve the fixture layout problem of ATWS with automated riveting efficiently, which is shown as an example in this paper.

The assembly variation is decreased by using the method presented in this paper according to the variation comparison.

The hierarchical fixture layout model is proposed for the first time in this paper and base points and locating points are optimized successfully by the GAAA.

In the process of fostering economic development, many governments, especially those of a small economy, such as Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, had taken a leading role in managing their economies, in spite of the free-market rhetoric that some of them have made. The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons and the effects of government involvement in the economy.

In this paper, the causes and effects of cooperation and conflict between government and business in economic development are examined from a theoretical perspective, particularly with references made to East Asian economies.

Government interventions lead inevitably to both cooperation and conflict with the private sector.

The strategies for dealing with problems arisen from such relationship are also examined.

This paper links the theories and concepts from a variety of sources to offer a coherent picture of business-government relationship that is helpful for examining other studies on this topic from a broad perspective.

Collaborative emission reduction among supply chain members has emerged as a new trend to achieve climate neutrality goals and meet consumers’ low-carbon preferences. However, carbon information asymmetry and consumer mistrust represent significant obstacles. This paper investigates the value of blockchain technology (BCT) in solving the above issues.

A low-carbon supply chain consisting of one supplier and one manufacturer is examined. This study discusses three scenarios: non-adoption BCT, adoption BCT without sharing the supplier’s carbon emission reduction (CER) information and adoption BCT with sharing the supplier’s CER information. We analyze the optimal decisions of the supplier and the manufacturer through the Stackelberg game, identify the conditions in which the supplier and manufacturer adopt BCT and share information from the perspectives of economic and environmental performance.

The results show that adopting BCT benefits supply chain members, even if they do not share CER information through BCT. Furthermore, when the supplier’s CER efficiency is low, the manufacturer prefers that the supplier share this information. Counterintuitively, the supplier will only share CER information through BCT when the CER efficiencies of both the supplier and manufacturer are comparable. This diverges from the findings of existing studies, as the CER investments of the supplier and the manufacturer in this study are interdependent. In addition, despite the high energy consumption associated with BCT, the supplier and manufacturer embrace its adoption and share CER information for the sake of environmental benefits.

The firms in low-carbon supply chains can adopt BCT to improve consumers’ trust. Furthermore, if the CER efficiencies of the firms are low, they should share CER information through BCT. Nonetheless, a lower unit usage cost of BCT is the precondition.

This paper makes the first move to discuss BCT adoption and BCT-supported information sharing for collaborative emission reduction in supply chains while considering the transparency and high consumption of BCT.

Question answering (QA) answers the questions asked by people in the form of natural language. In the QA, due to the subjectivity of users, the questions they query have different expressions, which increases the difficulty of text retrieval. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore new query rewriting method for QA that integrates multiple related questions (RQs) to form an optimal question. Moreover, it is important to generate a new dataset of the original query (OQ) with multiple RQs.

This study collects a new dataset SQuAD_extend by crawling the QA community and uses word-graph to model the collected OQs. Next, Beam search finds the best path to get the best question. To deeply represent the features of the question, pretrained model BERT is used to model sentences.

The experimental results show three outstanding findings. (1) The quality of the answers is better after adding the RQs of the OQs. (2) The word-graph that is used to model the problem and choose the optimal path is conducive to finding the best question. (3) Finally, BERT can deeply characterize the semantics of the exact problem.

The proposed method can use word-graph to construct multiple questions and select the optimal path for rewriting the question, and the quality of answers is better than the baseline. In practice, the research results can help guide users to clarify their query intentions and finally achieve the best answer.

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) is a digital marketing method that has been considered by some companies as an effective and efficient approach to enhance social learning and the environment for the customers. A social media user could benefit from gaining information from other users to aid their decision-making process. Instagram is an example of a social media platform that could be utilized for the application of eWOM. It could serve as a source of quality, credible and detailed information, and a channel to increase customer interactions and trust. This study aims to determine the effects of eWOM information generated through Instagram on patients’ intention to join the in vitro fertilization (IVF) programs. By adopting the information acceptance model (IACM) theory, several parameters were evaluated: information quality, credibility, usefulness, adoption, attitude toward information, and purchase intention. The structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze as many as 200 respondents of Morula IVF Jakarta and were active Instagram users. The results showed that the adoption of information and attitude toward information had considerably influenced patients’ intentions to join the IVF programs. Such circumstances might have occurred as a result of the increase in information exchange about IVF, through the discussions and sharing of experiences by patients on Instagram. Furthermore, information usefulness was demonstrated to affect information adoption and was influenced by the credibility of information and attitudes toward information. Nonetheless, one variable which did not display any effects on the usefulness of information was the quality of information. In summary, the characteristics of eWOM information that were conveyed on Instagram could affect the intention of patients in joining the IVF program.

Despite the dramatic increase in people's use of social media, relatively few studies have examined its effect on careers. Drawing upon social comparison theory and self-regulation theory, this study aims to investigate how career-oriented social media usage interacts with social comparison orientation (SCO) to influence the career exploration of university students.

Three waves of survey data are collected from 482 university students in China. Hypotheses are tested through ordinary least squares analysis.

Results show that career-oriented social media usage increases career anxiety, which in turn promotes career exploration. Furthermore, SCO strengthens such influence of career-oriented social media usage.

Given the limited attention paid to the effects of social media in career contexts, this study distinguishes career-oriented social media usage and proposes insights into its effect on career exploration. In doing so, this study extends social media literature and provides implications for the transition of university students from school to work in the digital era.

The study aims to explore how fashion visual symbols influence consumers' inclination for repurchasing. It attempts to investigate the intricate interplay among three essential variables (social presence, collective excitement and cultural identification) from the perspective of Interaction Ritual Chains theory. Meanwhile, an attempt is made to reveal the underlying patterns in these relationships, fully harnessing the positive impact of fashion brand visual symbols in brand marketing.

This study employs a quantitative research methodology, administering an online survey in China, from which 381 valid responses were collected by simple random sampling. The acquired data were subjected to structural equation model and hypotheses testing.

The analysis reveals that heightened visual symbol perception significantly strengthens consumers' social presence, consequently elevating the probability of collective excitement. This establishes a mediated chain model, reinforcing repurchase intention. Additionally, the moderation effect analysis indicates that cultural identification negatively moderates both direct paths in the mediated chain model, with particularly pronounced effects for low cultural identification.

This study establishes a closed-loop system in fashion brand product marketing, continuously enhancing the intimacy and interactive willingness between consumers, as well as between consumers and the brand. The objective is to increase brand repurchase rates. Additionally, the research provides valuable recommendations and strategies for fashion brands to adapt to Chinese consumer demands, strengthen emotional attachment between consumers and the brand, and achieve sustainable development in the realm of fashion consumption.

In the past few decades, relationship management (RM) theory and RM strategies in business-to-business (B2B) contexts have evolved tremendously, driven by constant innovation. Hence, the purpose of this study is to understand the trends and evolution of RM and relationship quality (RQ) in B2B contexts and empirical insights on RM and RQ in B2B, which in turn would provide insights into trends and future research directions.

Grounded on the industrial marketing and purchasing group, this study adopts a critical systematic literature review to provide a comprehensive analysis of the past, current and future trends in empirical research insights of RM and RQ in B2B markets.

This study provides some novel insights into RM in B2B context by using a multidimensional approach to RM and RQ and analyzing prior marketing research from three perspectives: the evolution of RM and RQ in B2B context; prior empirical research; and practical business insights. Overall, these perspectives inform the development of an evolving side of RQ in B2B contexts, leading to some predictions regarding the future of RM in B2B markets.

The exploratory results of this study shed light on the key factors that drive RQ and the importance of RM in B2B markets in the digital age where customers still long for human interaction regardless of the prevalence of advanced technology.

In the wake of advanced technologies and particularly, B2B companies had to turn to virtual platforms and embrace digital transformation to establish and manage their customer relationships. Yet, managing relationships via digital channels has its own challenges for both B2B practitioners and scholars. This indicates that there is still a huge need for attuned RM strategies that align with the changing environments – mainly driven by technological advancement – in B2B markets.