Search results

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of a physician’s prosocial behavior on a patient's choices in the online health community (OHC) context. Moreover, the authors explore how such effects differ across different online word-of-mouth (WOM) and professional titles.

Guided by the motivation, opportunity and ability (MOA) framework, this paper develops hypotheses and an econometric model. Then this paper used spline regression to test hypotheses on 6,204 physicians at The Good Doctor (www.Haodf.com), which is one of the largest Chinese OHCs. The authors conducted the propensity score matching and difference-in-difference method (PSM-DID) to address the concern about the bias caused by possible endogeneity concerns.

The authors’ results show that a physician’s prosocial behavior improves a patient's choice only when the strength of a physician’s prosocial behavior is below the tipping point. In addition, the influence of a physician’s prosocial behavior is heterogeneous for physicians with different online WOM and professional titles. For physicians with higher online WOM, the effect of a physician's prosocial behaviors on a patient's choice is positive, while for physicians with lower online WOM, a physician’s prosocial behavior has no impact on a patient’s choice. For physicians with higher professional titles, the quantity of a physician’s prosocial behavior has a positive impact on a patient’s choice, while for physicians with lower professional titles the quality of a physician’s prosocial behavior has a positive impact on a patient’s choice.

This study contributes new knowledge and provides new perspectives to study a patient's choice by addressing the importance of physician's prosocial behavior. With the effort of explicitly explaining the complex mechanisms, this study encourages physicians' engagement in a physician’s prosocial behavior and gives some implications on how to perform the behaviors strategically.

Online medical teams (OMTs) are gaining popularity as a new form of online health service to provide patients with prompt and guaranteed treatment. While the effective development of an OMT depends on physicians’ active participation, there is insufficient research on how a doctor gains from the OMT, especially from the multilevel and cross-level perspectives. In attempting to narrow this knowledge gap, the authors hypothesize multilevel and cross-level professional capital determinants of physicians’ performance in online health-care communities (OHCs) through the lens of social exchange theory.

This study develops a cross-level model to explain the effects of individual and team professional capital on physicians’ performance. To test the research model and hypotheses, the authors leverage data of 10,398 physicians engaged in 2,611 popular OMTs in China in conjunction with the hierarchical linear model approach.

The results indicated that physicians’ status capital (SC) and decisional capital (DC) are positively related to their performance. The SC and DC of an OMT not only increase physicians’ performance but also indirectly strengthen the positive effect of physicians’ SC on their performance. In contrast, OMTs’ SC and DC lessen the importance of physicians’ DC in promoting their performance.

By studying the mechanism between professional capital and physicians’ performance, this study provides several contributions to theory and practice. Specifically, this study contributes to the extant professional capital research by uncovering the influencing pathways of professional capital on physicians’ performance from a cross-level perspective. These findings suggest physicians pay close attention to the strength and mechanism of OMTs’ professional capital in improving their online performance.

Special education in China has lagged behind regular education for many years, however, the past few decades, the government has made considerable efforts to develop and improve the special education system. While the citizens of China have had a generic moral interest in disability since ancient times, the development of special education schools did not occur until American and European missionaries started schools for the visually and hearing impaired in the 19th century. The next major influence in the development of the special education system occurred with China’s Cultural Revolution in 1978. Interestingly, there is not any exclusive legislation on special education but in the 1980s, the government started Learning in Regular Classrooms (LRC), which is China’s version of inclusion. LRC has progressed rapidly the past two decades; however, the quality of instruction is low due to a lack of specialists, a shortage of personnel, inadequate funding, and limited technology as well as other barriers that are delineated in the chapter. The chapter emphasizes the government’s recent efforts in in-service teacher training, the preparation of preservice teachers, working with families, developing community rehabilitation training programs, and implementing evidence-based practices. Special education in China today is at a good place but it has quite a way from the ideal situation.

This paper aims to solve the issue of target positioning in auto stiffener bonder (ASB) systems for flexible printed circuits.

The proposed approach uses Phong’s bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model to simulate the reflection of light off a target in ASB systems to predict the current pose of the target based on image brightness, update the template, decrease the initial errors in the template and narrow down the search range.

The experimental results indicate that the proposed approach can predict the inclination angle of the target with precision, presenting angle prediction errors of less than three degrees. Furthermore, with larger inclined angles, the overall matching errors were less than 1.5 pixels. Comparisons with the unmodified matching algorithm revealed that the proposed approach resulted in 65 per cent less calculation time for the algorithm and 14 per cent higher overall work efficiency in the ASB system.

The edge-based perspective shape matching algorithm was modified using the Phong BRDF model and enhanced algorithm efficiency with the target pose prediction method while ensuring the precision and robustness of the system. The proposed approach has high potential value and can be expanded to recognition systems for objects with varying inclination angles and highly reflective surfaces.

In recent decades, the field of robotic mapping has witnessed widespread research and development in light detection and ranging (LiDAR)-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) techniques. This paper aims to provide a significant reference for researchers and engineers in robotic mapping.

This paper focused on the research state of LiDAR-based SLAM for robotic mapping as well as a literature survey from the perspective of various LiDAR types and configurations.

This paper conducted a comprehensive literature review of the LiDAR-based SLAM system based on three distinct LiDAR forms and configurations. The authors concluded that multi-robot collaborative mapping and multi-source fusion SLAM systems based on 3D LiDAR with deep learning will be new trends in the future.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first thorough survey of robotic mapping from the perspective of various LiDAR types and configurations. It can serve as a theoretical and practical guide for the advancement of academic and industrial robot mapping.

Aiming at the problems of poor accuracy and limitation in strength assessment of spot welding vehicle body caused by uncertain factors, such as key component size and nugget diameter, the numerical models of strength uncertainty analysis of spot-welded joints were constructed based on evidence theory and fuzzy theory.

Evidence theory and fuzzy theory are used to deal with the uncertainty of design parameter, and differential evolution algorithms are used to calculate the propagation process of uncertainty in this model. Furthermore, efficient relationship between the strength of welded joints and each design parameter is constructed by using response surface proxy model, which effectively avoids the problem of repeated complex finite element analysis in uncertainty analysis.

The results show that the constructed uncertainty numerical model is effective for the multiple uncertainties and give interval results under different probabilities and affiliations, which can more effectively evaluate the strength of the welded body structure to avoid overly conservative estimates for deterministic design.

The evidence theory is improved and combined with differential evolution algorithm and response surface method to effectively improve the computational efficiency. Based on the improved evidence theory and fuzzy algorithm, the numerical models for the uncertainty analysis of solder joint strength of welded structures are constructed and their feasibility is verified.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the great contributions made by the American library expert, Mary Elizabeth Wood, to Chinese library development.

As a pioneer of the modern library movement Mary Elizabeth Wood devoted herself to a Chinese library career. It was structured according to the following theme: setting up the Boone Library and introducing the modern American public library into China; establishing Boone Library School and initiating Chinese library science education; raising money and appealing for China's library development; helping forward the foundation of the Library Association of China; as well as promoting Chinese library intercommunion and cooperation with the West.

With the background of underdeveloped Chinese librarianship, Mary Elizabeth Wood introduced modern American public library spirit into China, opened the gate of Chinese library science, and promoted Chinese library science.

The paper discusses the library history of China and the role of an American librarian in Chinese library history; thus, it should be of wide interest to researchers involved in library history.

Mary Elizabeth Wood devoted herself to a Chinese library career, and promoted Chinese library science greatly, but research on her is limited. This paper considers her contribution to Chinese library science.

In light of university business English pedagogical innovation, this study reports an empirical study with 66 English major participants.

The study uses online survey and participant observation to investigate their practice-oriented motivation and needs, the perceptions of using vocational education and training pedagogy in business English teaching and the learning outcomes in a Chinese university context.

The study found participants with motivations to learn business and trade knowledge, develop practice-oriented abilities and the preferences of learning flexibly and autonomously. For the perceptions of using vocational education and training pedagogy, simulations of meetings and negotiations were recommended and the job-based competency development model was useful. Workplace simulation was also particularly suggested to bridge the gap between classroom and workplace. For learning outcomes, writing practices and workplace simulation were considered particularly useful. The learning gains were found in international trade correspondence writing. While the intention of continuing learning business English correspondence writing was identified, more opportunities should be created for more practice-oriented activities, such as internship or corporate visit.

Informed by vocational education and training theory, the study has important pedagogical, theoretical and policy implications for business English teaching in both China and worldwide contexts.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies have gained attention in dentistry because of their ability to print objects with complex geometries with high precision and accuracy, as well as the benefits of saving materials and treatment time. This study aims to explain the principles of the main 3D printing technologies used for manufacturing dental prostheses and devices, with details of their manufacturing processes and characteristics. This review presents an overview of available 3D printing technologies and materials for dental prostheses and devices.

This review was targeted to include publications pertaining to the fabrication of dental prostheses and devices by 3D printing technologies between 2012 and 2021. A literature search was carried out using the Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar search engines, as well as the use of a manual search.

3D printing technologies have been used for manufacturing dental prostheses and devices using a wide range of materials, including polymers, metals and ceramics. 3D printing technologies have demonstrated promising experimental outcomes for the fabrication of dental prostheses and devices. However, further developments in the materials for fixed dental prostheses are required.

3D printing technologies are effective and commercially available for the manufacturing of polymeric and metallic dental prostheses. Although the printing of dental ceramics and composites for dental prostheses is promising, further improvements are required.

The lean and global character of supply networks today opens supply chains to potential disruptions, especially in volatile environments. Most disruptions are of relatively low potential impact; however, firms also occasionally face high-impact disruptions that may even threaten survival. This study applies and extends absorptive capacity concepts to organize resilience capabilities identified in the literature and to examine whether capabilities that provide low-impact resilience are different from those that provide high-impact resilience. A second and related objective is to evaluate whether low-impact resilience supports high-impact resilience through “learning by experience.”

Survey and industry data are used to understand capabilities involved with achieving both low-impact resilience and high-impact resilience.

The results of our analysis of survey and industry data uncover significant complex interactions in the effects of capabilities and volatility on resilience; suggesting that different absorptive capacity capabilities are related to low-impact resilience and high-impact resilience, respectively, and these effects depend on industry context. Moderating influences of exploitation capability and environmental volatility are consistent with a “learning by experience” explanation of the association of low-impact resilience to high-impact resilience.

This study thus provides a unifying framework with which to consider resiliency capabilities. Further, it answers a question raised in prior research, and it extends our understanding of important relationships between capabilities for different levels of resilience.