Applying fuzzy LinPreRa cognitive map to evaluate strategic alliance partnerships for outlying island duty-free shop

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to apply a fuzzy LinPreRa cognitive map to evaluate the interaction and importance of factors affecting the development of strategic alliance partnerships between the outlying island duty-free shops and existing collaboration firms in duty-free shops. Meanwhile, the key factors should be considered in establishing strategic alliance partnerships while analyzing and comparing the perspectives of owners for outlying island duty-free shop and partner vendors of collaborating firms along with differences of influencing key factors on partnership quality. Design/methodology/approach This study incorporates a fuzzy linguistic preference relation analytical network process (fuzzy LinPreRa ANP) in the fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) method to formulate a fuzzy LinPreRa cognitive map to evaluate the interactions and importance of key factors and the conditions of interactive impacts during the establishment of strategic alliance partnerships. The authors use the outlying island duty-free shops in Taiwan as the empirical subject to illustrate how the fuzzy LinPreRa cognitive map is applied. In-depth, interviews and questionnaire surveys are conducted to collect and evaluate respondents concerning key factors affecting strategic alliance partnerships establishment. Findings The following three findings based on the results of empirical analysis: first, the administrative behavioral patterns of managers for strategic alliance partnerships encompass shared values and goal coherence, while the associative statements are located on the first layer of fuzzy LinPreRa cognitive map core associations, which illustrates that businesses attach great importance to conceptual ideas. Second, integrity and reputations of both parties are the governing mechanism of strategic alliance partnerships, influencing mutual reputation. Third, the relationship of strategic alliance partnerships refers to the profit opportunities of both parties and their ability to respond to the market, including future development, regional indicators, marketing capabilities, brand multiplicity and customer retention. However, it can be inferred that such associative factors are located in the outer layer or belong to noncore associations, which means that both parties’ abilities to respond to market reactions are weakened. Practical implications This study provides valuable relationship managerial strategies to maintain long-term partnerships for outlying island duty-free shops and their alliance collaborating firms including strengthened relationships of both parties’ managers to achieve common values and consistent objectives; improved beneficial value of both parties in strategic alliance partnerships; continued close communications to enhance the quality of strategic alliance partnerships; and establishment of personnel training mechanisms and strict formulation of management rules for strategic alliance partnerships. Originality/value The main valuable contributions are included the fuzzy LinPreRa cognitive map by combining two different decision methods including FCM and fuzzy LinPreRa ANP is proposed to help decision makers to improve the evaluation quality and calculation efficiency for critical elements’ interaction and importance; the fuzzy LinPreRa cognitive map can clarify considering significant factors when maintaining strategic alliance partnerships and further provide valuable relationship managerial strategies to maintain long-term relationships for duty-free shop owners and their alliance collaborating firms.

An Exploratory Study on Local Brand Value Development for Outlying Island Agriculture: Local Food System and Actor–Network Theory Perspectives

Due to the sweeping influence of capitalism, most food processing is now done through standardized production workflows in order to quickly replicate and churn out a large quantity of products. This has led to an increasing number of homogenized and delocalized products flooding the market and a disconnection between consumers and local food producers. Penghu outlying island is rich in unique local agricultural products but seriously lacks brand images and channel strategies, as manifested in an unstable demand and supply, a high degree of homogeneity (in products) and the majority of farmers producing and selling their products autonomously. This study applies the local food system and actor–network theory as the basis of theoretical frameworks as well as agricultural practices in Penghu as the research object. We used field investigation, in-depth interview and the means–end chain method to examine important contextual factors’ influence on the local agricultural food system, important actors and challenges and key influential factors for local brand value that affect the development of the local agricultural food system in Penghu outlying island. The actor–network perceptual map of local brand value proposed in this study can help agricultural practitioners when making decisions and can formulate strategies for their products to increase the product visibility and recognition. This perceptual map can also facilitate the expansion of the target customers and channel distributions suitable for individual agricultural products. Our study presents the following recommendations: increase the manpower of agricultural practices through the working holiday approach; local government should provide support enabling agriculture producers to gain professional knowledge in marketing; and agriculture producers should form cooperatives which focus on the unique local agricultural products that are produced and marketed locally in Penghu.

Pola Hidrodinamika di Perairan Nunukan sebagai Usulan pada Permasalahan Abrasi Pulau-pulau Kecil. (Hal. 58-69)

ABSTRAKPerairan Nunukan yang berada di Provinsi Kalimantan Utara, merupakan salah satu wilayah terluar Indonesia yang berbatasan langsung dengan Negara Malaysia. Berada dalam wilayah terluar, Kabupaten Nunukan menyimpan banyak potensi dalam sektor kelautan dan perikanan. Sangat penting untuk menjaga zona ekonomi eksklusif pulau-pulau kecil terluar Indonesia dari abrasi. Besar abrasi yang mungkin terjadi dapat diketahui dengan melakukan analisis pemodelan mengenai hidrodinamika wilayah tersebut. Pemodelan numerik dilakukan menggunakan perangkat lunak MIKE 21 dengan modul Hydrodynamic (HD). Pemodelan yang dilakukan terdiri dari grid persegi dan mesh terstruktur. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan terdapat beberapa daerah di Kabupaten Nunukan terjadi peningkatan kecepatan arus antara 0,1625 m/s sampai 0,3 m/s yang berpotensi terjadi abrasi. Abrasi terjadi di barat daya Pulau Sebatik, Perairan Nunukan sepanjang 1.014,26 meter. Penelitian sebelumnya menunjukkan, ukuran butir di wilayah tersebut sebesar pasir kelanauan sebesar 0,01 mm. Terdapat hubungan antara kecepatan dan ukuran butir yang menyatakan wilayah tersebut memiliki potensi abrasi.Kata kunci: hidrodinamika, pemodelan, arus, pasang surut, abrasiABSTRACTSebatik Island is located in Nunukan sea at North Kalimantan Province. This island is one of the outermost area in Indonesia which is in border line with Malaysia. These outlying islands keep a lot of potential in marine, and fishery. It is important to keep Indonesia exclusive economic zone by protecting this outlying island from abrasion. Abrasion can be found by analyzing hydrodynamic modelling in the area. Hydrodynamic modelling is using software MIKE 21 with Hydrodynamic modules (HD). The numerical hydrodynamic modelling was consists of rectangular grid and unstructured mesh modelling. The modelling showed there are some area in Kabupaten Nunukan are has increase of current velocity between 0.1625 m/s and 0.3 m/s that potentially to abrasion. Abrasion occurred in the southwest of Sebatik Island, Nunukan sea along 1,014.26 meters. Based on the observation before, the grain size in the area was 0.01 mm sand silt. There is correlation between the current velocity and grain size in the area has potentially to abrasion.Keywords: hydrodynamic, modelling, current, tides, abrasion

Introduction

This special issue contains six essays that pose interesting questions to the current practices in overseas Chinese studies. At the heart is the thorny issue: how do we take into consideration the outlying island territories that surround continental China—insular states such as Taiwan, Quemoy, and the Ryukyus, among others? What happens when migration takes place to and from these island territories? While these island territories are geographically located along the east coast of continental China, they have been the receiving destinations, as well as sending origins, of translocal Chinese migrants. The dynamics and complexities among the migration loops, national boundaries, cultural identities, colonial/postcolonial disruptions, economic networks, geo-political blocks and regional formations, etc. have made these island territories the foci of the contested terrains in East Asia. The interactions between continental China and these island territories, and those among these various insular sites have formed translocal contact zones that deserve a critical investigation. The six essays in this issue address topics that arise from the intimate and recurrent entanglements among these continent-island intertwined migrations in East Asia—especially those to and from Taiwan, Quemoy, and the Ryukyus. (This article is in English.)

Terrain-based mapping of landslide susceptibility using a geographical information system: a case study

This paper deals with the development of a technique for mapping landslide susceptibility using a geographical information system (GIS), with particular reference to landslides on natural terrain. The method has been applied to Lantau Island, the largest outlying island within the territory of Hong Kong. Landslide susceptibility in the study area is related to a number of terrain variables, viz., lithology, slope gradient, slope aspect, elevation, land cover, and distance to drainage line. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) was carried out to generate the principal axes that are linear combinations of these terrain variables using occurrence data of landslides and terrain variables. A GIS is used to project the values of the principal axes, and subsequently to relate these principal axes to landslide susceptibility by logistic regression modeling. The spatial landslide susceptibility response in the study area can then be obtained by applying this logistic regression model to the study area. The results from this study indicate that such a GIS-based model is useful and suitable for the scale adopted in this study.Key words: landslides, geographical information systems, multiple correspondence analysis, logistic regression, terrain analysis.

A Simple Graphical Solution for Satellite Orbits

The first amazement at hearing of the successful launching of the Russian Earthsatellite in October may have been followed in the reader's mind by some bewilderment at its rapid and seemingly erratic progress over all the world's capitals, large cities and outlying island groups. One supposed that a mathematical prediction would be possible but hesitated to attempt anything so complex. Yet, with some simplifying assumptions which must in any case be rather closely approximated by any near satellite that can continue to rotate in orbit, the problem is not difficult and lends itself to graphical treatment. The construction here proposed will give a good insight into the behaviour of such satellites and provide reasonably accurate predictions for a day or two ahead.