Jiuchang Wei

Estimating the diffusion models of crisis information in micro blog

The study tries to construct the diffusion models of crisis information in micro blog. We propose three information release patterns in micro blog according to the duration of crisis information released, namely concentrated release, continuous release, and pulse release. Based on Logistic function, three respective diffusion models are constructed. We choose three crisis events to test the diffusion models using the variables of the number of micro blogs with the crisis information (NMCI) and the increment of NMCI. The estimate results show that the diffusion of crisis information in micro blogs can be described by Logistic function, and the growth curve of NMCI is S-shaped.

Timing crisis information release via television

When and how often to release information on television are important issues in crisis and emergency risk communication. There is a lot of crisis information, including warnings and news, to which people should have access, but most of it is not significantly urgent to interrupt the broadcasting of television programmes. Hence, the right timing for the release of crisis information should be selected based on the importance of the crisis and any associated communication requirements. Using recursive methods, this paper builds an audience coverage model of crisis information release. Based on 2007 Household Using TV (HUT) data for Hefei City, China, the optimal combination of broadcasting sequence (with frequencies between one and eight times) is obtained using the implicit enumeration method. The developed model is applicable to effective transmission of crisis information, with the aim of reducing interference with the normal television transmission process and decreasing the psychological effect on audiences. The same model can be employed for other purposes, such as news coverage and weather and road information.

Estimating the growth models of news stories on disasters

An ink jet printing apparatus responsive to an input digital image for producing a halftone image on a receiver, such as a lithographic plate, having halftone dots with each halftone dot being formed by one or more microdots in a screen dot of selectable areas, including an adjustable printhead for delivering different volumes of ink droplets which, when they contact the receiver, forming microdots of different areas according to the selected screen dot size. The apparatus delivers ink to the printhead and is responsive to a selected screen dot size and the digital image to control the printhead to form ink droplets of different volumes to produce a halftone image on the receiver.This article is focused on the changes needed in design to create positive solutions for all involved in design processes. It draws upon the rich discussion and discourse from a conference focused on positive design involving managers, designers, and IT specialists, all focused on overcoming the problem-based focus and decision paradigms to enhance all phases of the design processes to develop sustainable solutions for real issues in a changing world. Therefore, all fields using design, consciously or not, including management, Information Communication Technology (ICT), and designers as well, need to redesign their processes and first rethink their design paradigms on a meta level.

Carbon pricing and electricity market reforms in China

As a large emerging economy, China is exploring to establish a carbon-pricing system to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The electricity sector which generates the greatest amount of China’s carbon dioxide emissions should be covered by such a carbon-pricing system. The review of the three main stages of China’s electricity market reforms shows that the degree of electricity marketization is relatively low, which might become an obstacle to carbon pricing. This paper develops theoretical and empirical models to analyze the impacts of carbon pricing on electricity supply under two scenarios, namely, marketization and regulation. It is concluded that the electricity market reform is a prerequisite for the development of carbon pricing. Without market-oriented reforms of electricity pricing in China, carbon pricing might lead to a shortage in electricity supply. Potential electricity market reforms to encourage market competition and promote market-oriented electricity pricing are also suggested.

Modeling pollution control and performance in China's provinces

The paper constructs a pollution control performance (PCP) evaluation model by introducing the norm of n-dimensional space. The PCP of 30 Chinese provinces for the period of 2003-2008 is evaluated based on the model and the factors influencing Chinas pollution control are further examined. It is found that: (1) Chinas PCP has improved rapidly but there is a large regional imbalance with the PCP of Eastern China being much better than that of Central and Western China; (2) to improve the level of Chinas PCP, government policies should consider industrial structure adjustment, restricting industry entries and increased investment in pollution abatement and R&D.

Government Support and Firm Innovation Performance: Empirical Analysis of 343 Innovative Enterprises in China

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the effect of government support on the innovation performance of firms in the Chinese context. Design/methodology/approach – We divided government support into vertical support and horizontal support, and adopted an empirical research approach in this study. We collected the data of 343 enterprises in China that had been identified as innovative enterprises, including their characteristic data, government support data and patent data. Negative binomial regression was used to quantitatively examine the relationship between government support and the innovation performance of firms. Findings – Both vertical support in the form of direct research and development (R&D) subsidies and horizontal support in the form of regional innovation policy positively influence the innovation performance of firms. In addition, direct R&D subsidies are more likely to experience the enhanced benefits of carrying out tax credit policy on the innovation performance of firms. Originality/val...

Public engagement with firms on social media in China

An increasing number of companies use social media such as micro blogs to promote celebrities in Internet communities. Companies may run their official micro blogs differently, which in turn leads to different public engagements on micro blogging sites. This study takes a perspective on the adoption behaviours of micro blogs in enterprises by looking at the relationship between media frame and audience frame based on the China Fortune 500 firms in 2014. The results show that the updates, active days and followings are associated with public engagement with the corporate official micro blogs. In particular, we found information overload from information updates. The marginal utility of the public engagement decreases as number of updates increases. The results also show that the daily variance of updates has a significant influence on the audience frame.

Public reaction to information release for crisis discourse by organization: Integration of online comments

Abstract This study explores how online comments influence public reactions to organizational crisis discourses based on five scenarios depicting typical online comment patterns. Through an empirical study involving 621 participants, several key findings are obtained. First, online comments have a significant effect on post-crisis reactions involving emotions, attitudes and behavioral intentions. However, except in the case of perceived comment manipulation, public reaction patterns associated with overwhelmingly positive and non-overwhelmingly positive comments are not significantly different and are friendlier to the crisis organization than the other three patterns. Moreover, reactions associated with the pattern in which there are no online comments are quite similar to those associated with the pattern of non-overwhelmingly negative comments. Second, positive emotions enhance perceived organizational integrity, whereas negative emotions reduce this perception. Third, perceived comment manipulation has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between positive emotion and perceived organizational integrity and a positive moderating effect on the relationship between negative emotion and perceived organizational integrity. Finally, emotions and perceived organizational integrity are found to be predictors of loyalty and boycott intentions. The findings of the study extend the present knowledge on crisis communication by highlighting the impact of online comments on the post-crisis reactions of the public and also provide crisis managers with guidelines on how to deploy appropriate crisis communication strategies.

Household adoption of smog protective behavior: a comparison between two Chinese cities

This study compares residents of two Chinese cities – one with a high risk and one with a low risk of air pollution, in terms of their smog experience, reliance on smog information sources, risk perception, attribution of responsibility and intention for adoption of protective behavior regarding smog. The results indicate that the two cities differ considerably in their smog experience, somewhat less so in reliance on smog information sources and risk perception, and very little in protective behavior. Using multiple regression analyses, the study revealed a basic chain of reaction in which demographic characteristics and location cause smog experience and smog information, smog experience and smog information cause risk perception, risk perception causes attribution of responsibility, and attribution of responsibility causes intention to adopt protective behavior. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed and recommendations for further research are suggested.

Who should be blamed? The attribution of responsibility for a city smog event in China

The frequently occurring city smog in China has become a hot topic and raised extensive discussion in the public health domain. Our study tries to explore how citizens attribute causation and responded to city smog in Hefei, Anhui Province. The data from 420 respondents generally answered our research questions. The result suggests that attribution of responsibility can be influenced by risk perception, citizens’ occupation and source reliance. Attribution of responsibility, source reliance and risk perception can affect the citizens’ protective actions.