Efficiency Evaluation of China's Regional Innovation Process Based on a Network Data Envelopment Analysis Model with a Mixed Structure: Enlightenment from the Regional Tobacco Industry

Accurate measurement of regional efficiency is a prerequisite for effective management. Prior studies have expanded on the overall "black box" evaluation with two stages of research and development (R&D) and commercialization, opening up the internal structure of the regional innovation process, but ignoring the independent innovation activities of universities, research institutes, and firms in the R&D stage. We construct a mixed structure with two stages, three actors, and four subsystems, and conduct an empirical analysis of China's provincial samples from 2017 to 2019 by using the network data envelopment analysis (DEA) model. Results show that the efficiency of the R&D stage at the provincial level is generally higher than that of the commercialization stage. However, the three subsystems of the R&D stage perform poorly. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient suggests that there is a significantly positive correlation between total regional efficiency and commercialization. In addition, we use the k-means method to divide 27 provinces into three clusters, setting a more appropriate improvement benchmark for inefficient provinces. Based on enlightenment of regional tobacco industry, we put forward some proposals for specific stage and specific subsystem.

Identification of Chemical Bonds and Microstructure of Hydrated Tricalcium Silicate (C3S) by a Coupled Micro-Raman/BSE-EDS Evaluation

Identifying the phase evolution and revealing the chemical bonds of hydrated cements accurately is crucial to regulate the performance of cementitious materials. In this paper, a coupled Raman/BSE-EDS analysis was proposed to determine the chemical bonds of tricalcium silicate hydrates and the interface transition zone (ITZ) between inner C-S-H and anhydrates. The results show that the Raman/BSE-EDS method can accurately identify the chemical bonds of inner C-S-H and inner ITZ regions, which confirms the mixed structure of inner C-S-H and nano calcium hydroxide (CH). The inner ITZ shows a lattice change region with a thickness of 700–1000 nm, which can be attributed to the pre-disassembly process of C3S crystal. The successful application of coupled Raman/BSE-EDS provides new insight into the hydration process and multi-structure features of traditional cementitious materials.

D'Aversa et al., (2021). Categorization of Chinese words_preprint

This study extends the examination of the difference between abstract concepts to the Chinese language and its peculiar characteristics in word formation, where components with different semantic content might be aggregated within a word. Chinese students categorized abstract and concrete words by moving the computer mouse towards the selected choice. Stimuli with a ‘semantically simple structure’ (i.e., abstract-abstract/concrete-concrete) were compared with those with a ‘mixed structure’ (i.e., abstract-concrete/concrete-abstract) to test for an effect of the conceptual content of the stimulus’s components on its overall processing. Response time and kinematic parameters revealed that: a) the semantic content of the components affected the processing of abstract but not concrete concepts, b) concepts differed when they have a semantically mixed structure, not a simple one. We extend the concreteness effect also to logographic script and provide evidence that the presence of concrete component within an abstract concept is elaborated and affects its processing.

Medieval brick and stone timber framed houses – a missing link in the development of Silesian tenement house?

Our study presents the most recent directions of research on the medieval burgher house in Silesia, looking at the issue through the prism of a certain house from Głogów, unique in the region, with a mixed brick and timber-framed structure with Steinwerk, which forces us to ask questions about the universality of this type of solutions – long absent in the panorama of large Silesian cities. A proposition of the typology of Silesian townhouses with a mixed structure, which was based on the results of research conducted by the author in Silesian cities in the years 1997–2018, was also presented.