Tangible mobile app store design for China's new generation migrant worker

China has the largest numbers of Internet users and mobile phone subscribers in the world, as well as the most extensive peacetime internal migration on the planet. Mobile phone uses play a very important role in migrant responses to alienation and discrimination. There are 150 million to 200 million migrant workers in China, 60% of them are the second-generation migrant workers. They support the nation’s manufacturing and industry. The majority of these individuals is poor and is from rural areas of the country. These young people are currently ignored by mainstream mobile device manufacturers, even though this constituency will be a growing consumptive segment in the future. Thus, my research will target the new-generation migrant workers in China, and concentrates on their mobile lives to best develop a tangible mobile devices application store that will improve their mobile experiences.

The broad spectrum of bioactive properties of phenolic extracts: a prospective study in three different plants

Natural resources like plants are currently used all over developed and under developed countries of the world as traditional home remedies and are promising agents for drug discovery as they play crucial role in traditional medicine. The use of plants for medicinal purpose usually varies from country to country and region to region because their use depends on the history, culture, philosophy and personal attitudes of the users (Ahmad et al., 2015). The use of plants and plant products as drugs predates the written human history (Hayta et al., 2014). Plants are a very important resource for traditional drugs and around 80% of the population of the planet use plants for the treatment of many diseases and traditional herbal medicine accounts for 30-50% of the total medicinal consumption in China. In North America, Europe and other well-developed regions over 50% of the population have used traditional preparations at least once (Dos Santos Reinaldo et al., 2015). Medicinal plants have been used over years for multiple purposes, and have increasingly attract the interest of researchers in order to evaluate their contribution to health maintenance and disease’s prevention (Murray, 2004). Recently between 50,000 and 70,000 species of plants are known and are being used in the development of modern drugs. Plants were the main therapeutic agents used by humans from the 19th century, and their role in medicine is always topical (Hayta et al., 2014). The studies of medicinal plants are rapidly increasing due to the search for new active molecules, and to improve the production of plants or bioactive molecules for the pharmaceutical industries (Rates, 2001). Several studies have been reported, but numerous active compounds directly responsible for the observed bioactive properties remain unknown, while in other cases the mechanism of action is not fully understood. According to the WHO 25% of all modern medicines including both western and traditional medicine have been extracted from plants, while 75% of new drugs against infective diseases that have arrived between 1981 and 2002 originated from natural sources, it was reported that the world market for herbal medicines stood at over US $60 billion per year and is growing steadily (Bedoya et al., 2009). Traditional medicine has an important economic impact in the 21st century as it is used worldwide, taking advantage on the low cost, accessibility, flexibility and diversity of medicinal plants (Balunas & Kinghorn, 2005).

Herbicides cross resistance of a multiple resistant short-awn foxtail ( Alopecurus aequalis Sobol.) population in wheat field

Alopecurus aequalis Sobol. is a common grass weed, which has become increasingly troublesome to control in China wheat fields. One A. aequalis population, collected from Anhui Province China, was suspected to be resistant to fenoxaprop-P-ethyl and mesosulfuron-methyl. This study aimed to establish the cross-resistance pattern using the purified subpopulation and explore the potential targetsite and non-target-site based resistance mechanisms. Sequencing results showed that a single nucleotide change of ATT to AAT was present in acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) gene of the resistant (R) plants, resulting in an Ile2041Asn amino acid substitution. Besides, another single nucleotide change of CCC to CGC was present in acetolactate synthase (ALS) gene of the R plants, resulting in a Pro197Arg amino acid substitution. The homozygous resistant plants were isolated and the seeds were used in whole-plant herbicide bioassays. Compared with the susceptible (S) population, R population displayed high level resistance to fenoxaprop-P-ethyl and mesosulfuronmethyl. Cross resistance patterns showed that the R population was highly resistant to clodinafop-propargyl, moderately resistant to pyroxsulam and flucarbazoncsodium, lowly resistant to pinoxaden, and susceptible to tralkoxydim, sethoxydim, and isoproturon. The pretreatment of piperonyl butoxide reduced the 50% growth reduction (GR50) value of fenoxaprop-P-ethyl, suggesting that target-site resistance and non-target-site resistance mechanisms were both present in fenoxaprop- P-ethyl-resistance of A. aequalis. This is the first report of ACCase Ile2041Asn and ALS Pro197Arg mutation in A. aequalis.

Analyses of the community compositions of root rot pathogenic fungi in the soybean rhizosphere soil

Soybean ( Glycine max [L.] Merr.) root rot is an important disease of soybean under continuous cropping, and root rot is widely distributed throughout the world. This disease is extremely harmful, and it is difficult to prevent and control. The study aimed to elucidate the composition of root rot pathogenic fungal communities in the continuous cropping of soybean. In this study, we employed PCRDGGE technology to analyze the communities of root rot pathogenic fungi in soybean rhizosphere soil subjected to continuous cropping during a season with a high incidence of root rot in Heilongjiang province, China, the main soybean producing area in China. The results of 13 DGGE bands were analyzed by phylogenetic revealed that the predominant root rot pathogenic fungi in rhizosphere soil in the test area were Pythium ultimum and Fusarium species. The results of cluster analysis showed that the duration of continuous cropping, the soybean variety and the plant growth stage all had significant effects on the diversity of root rot pathogenic fungi in rhizosphere soil.

Supply Chain Adaptation of Finnish Companies in Chinese Institutional Environment

Within the last few decades of operations and supply chain management, the field has seen the rise of so called best practices, methods that will help supply chains obtain their business goals and gain a competitive edge. These methods were thought to be universal. This however is not always the case, as the surrounding business environment could have a significant impact on what will be effective in gaining competitive edge. Contingency theory states that the success of a supply chain is determined by both internal capabilities, as well as external context aligning. This creates a strategic fit, which is a major determinant of success. In order for supply chains to reach this strategic fit, they must adapt. As China has seen rapid growth and over the last few decades become one of the major economies of the world, Western companies have tried to establish themselves there, only to find that the Chinese market is extremely difficult to operate in. The aim of this thesis was to investigate from contingency theory perspective, what are the institutional factors that affect supply chain management of Finnish companies operating in China, and how do Finnish companies adapt their supply chains to better fit the Chinese institutional environment. A theoretical model was created for this thesis, in which supply chains possess resources, which can be combined in a meaningful manner to create capabilities. Both resources and capabilities are affected by the surrounding institutional environment, which forces supply chains to adapt in order to find a better strategic fit. A total of six Finnish managers from three large and three small companies operating in China were interviewed. The results indicated that the Chinese business environment is significantly different, than that of Finland or Western countries in general. Three institutional factors were identified: Confucian though, fast-paced business environment, and managing labor force. These three institutional factors made the relationship and delivery capabilities particularly important, as well as human resources, reputation, physical resources and technological resources. In conclusion, it was discovered that the Chinese institutional environment is heavily affected by Confucian thought, as well as the rapid market growth. These are the two most important institutional factors that shape the Chinese market. If supply chains wish to be successful in China, adaptation regarding these two institutional factors should yield good results.

Essays in corporate finance

China has been growing rapidly over the last decades. The private sector is the driving force of this growth. This thesis focuses on firm-level investment and cash holdings in China, and the chapters are structured around the following issues. 1. Why do private firms grow so fast when they are more financially constrained? In Chapter 3, we use a panel of over 600,000 firms of different ownership types from 1998 to 2007 to find the link between investment opportunities and financial constraints. The main finding indicates that private firms, which are more likely to be financially constrained, have high investment-investment opportunity sensitivity. Furthermore, this sensitivity is relatively lower for state-owned firms in China. This shows that constrained firms value investment opportunities more than unconstrained firms. To better measure investment opportunities, we attempt to improve the Q model by considering supply and demand sides simultaneously. When we capture q from the supply side and the demand side, we find that various types of firms respond differently towards different opportunity shocks. 2. In China, there are many firms whose cash flow is far greater than their fixed capital investment. Why is their investment still sensitive to cash flow? To explain this, in Chapter 4, we attempt to introduce a new channel to find how cash flow affects firm-level investment. We use a dynamic structural model and take uncertainty and ambiguity aversion into consideration. We find that uncertainty and ambiguity aversion will make investment less sensitive to investment opportunities. However, investment-cash flow sensitivity will increase when uncertainty is high. This suggests that investment cash flow sensitivities could still be high even when the firms are not financially constrained. 3. Why do firms in China hold so much cash? How can managers’ confidence affect corporate cash holdings? In Chapter 5, we analyse corporate cash holdings in China. Firms hold cash for precautionary reasons, to hedge frictions such as financing constraints and uncertainty. In addition, firms may act differently if they are confident or not. In order to determine how confidence shocks affect precautionary savings, we develop a dynamic model taking financing constraints, uncertainty, adjustment costs and confidence shocks into consideration. We find that without confidence shocks, firms will save money in bad times and invest in good times to maximise their value. However, if managers lose their confidence, they tend to save money in good times to use in bad times, to hedge risks and financing constraint problems. This can help explain why people find different results on the cash flow sensitivity of cash. Empirically, we use a panel of Chinese listed firms. The results show that firms in China save more money in good times, and the confidence shock channel can significantly affect firms’ cash holdings policy.

INTERGENERATIONAL SUPPORT AND WELL-BEING OF OLDER ADULTS IN CHANGING FAMILY CONTEXTS

This dissertation consists of three papers that examine the complexities in upward intergenerational support and adult children’s influence on older adults’ health in changing family contexts of America and China. The prevalence of “gray divorce/repartnering ” in later life after age 55 is on the rise in the United States, yet little is known about its effect on intergenerational support. The first paper uses the life course perspective to examine whether gray divorce and repartnering affect support from biological and stepchildren differently than early divorce and repartnering, and how patterns differ by parents’ gender. Massive internal migration in China has led to increased geographic distance between adult children and aging parents, which may have consequences for old age support received by parents. This topic has yet to be thoroughly explored in China, as most studies of intergenerational support to older parents have focused on the role of coresident children or have not considered the interdependence of multiple parent-child dyads in the family. The second paper adopts the within-family differences approach to assess the influence of non-coresident children’s relative living proximity to parents compared to that of their siblings on their provision of support to parents in rural and urban Chinese families. The study also examines how patterns of the impact are moderated by parents’ living arrangement, non-coresident children’s gender, and parents’ provision of support to children. Taking a multigenerational network perspective, the third paper questions if and how adult children’s socioeconomic status (SES) influences older parents’ health in China. It further examines whether health benefits brought by adult children’s socioeconomic attainment are larger for older adults with lower SES and whether one of the mechanisms through which adult children’s SES affects older parents’ health is by changing their health behaviors. These questions are highly relevant in contemporary China, where adult children have experienced substantial gains in SES and play a central role in old age support for parents. In sum, these three papers take the life course, the within-family differences, and the multigenerational network perspective to address the complexities in intergenerational support and older adults’ health in diverse family contexts.

Matching theory based travel plan aware charging algorithms in V2G smart grid networks

The frequency, time and places of charging have large impact on the Quality of Experience (QoE) of EV drivers. It is critical to design effective EV charging scheduling system to improve the QoE of EV drivers. In order to improve EV charging QoE and utilization of CSs, we develop an innovative travel plan aware charging scheduling scheme for moving EVs to be charged at Charging Stations (CS). In the design of the proposed charging scheduling scheme for moving EVs, the travel routes of EVs and the utility of CSs are taken into consideration. The assignment of EVs to CSs is modeled as a two-sided many-to-one matching game with the objective of maximizing the system utility which reflects the satisfactory degrees of EVs and the profits of CSs. A Stable Matching Algorithm (SMA) is proposed to seek stable matching between charging EVs and CSs. Furthermore, an improved Learning based On-LiNe scheduling Algorithm (LONA) is proposed to be executed by each CS in a distributed manner. The performance gain of the average system utility by the SMA is up to 38.2% comparing to the Random Charging Scheduling (RCS) algorithm, and 4.67% comparing to Only utility of Electric Vehicle Concerned (OEVC) scheme. The effectiveness of the proposed SMA and LONA is also demonstrated by simulations in terms of the satisfactory ratio of charging EVs and the the convergence speed of iteration.

Exploring barriers to breastfeeding among chinese mothers living in Madrid, Spain

In Spain, immigrant women have high rates for initiating breastfeeding. In contrast, the case of immigrant Chinese mothers stands out, due to the low rate. In China, breastfeeding has historically been the cultural norm. An ethnographic study was conducted to explore aspects related to the low rate of breastfeeding. Field observations and informal interviews were conducted in two hospitals and a primary care center. Semi-structured interviews were performed with Chinese mothers and health workers. Among Spanish health workers, there is a belief that Chinese women do not breastfeed due to cultural reasons. The rapid return to work and the popular phenomenon of sending babies back to China for grandparents to raise constitute barriers for breastfeeding. Although in China breastfeeding is common practice, in Madrid the prioritization of productivity over reproduction and the existence of the so-called “satellite babies” and transnational maternity make the establishment and maintenance of breastfeeding difficult.

Spatio-temporal patterns of herbage availability and livestock movements: A cross-border analysis in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay

Due to increasing population and the recent implementation of policies to intensify the use of land and water resources, the transhumant pastoral systems in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay-Dzungarian region are rapidly changing, leading to modifications of herd size, herd composition and spatial distribution of livestock grazing. This may have major consequences for the supply and quality of rangeland biomass. Despite similar topographic settings, the socio-political framework for Chinese and Mongolian pastoralists differs significantly, leading to differences in rangeland utilization. To substantiate these claims, the long-distance transhumance routes, frequency of pasture changes, daily grazing itineraries and size of pastures were recorded by means of GPS tracking of cattle and goats on 1,535 (China) and 1,396 (Mongolia) observation days. The status quo of the main seasonal pastures was captured by measuring the herbage offer and its nutritive value in 869 sampling spots. In the Altay-Dzungarian region, small ruminant herds covered up to 412 km (Mongolia) and grazed on up to nine pastures per year (China). In Mongolia, the herds’ average duration of stay at an individual pasture was longer than in China, particularly in spring and autumn. Herbage allowance at the onset of a grazing period (kg dry matter per sheep unit and day) ranged from 34/17 to 91/95 (China/Mongolia). Comparing crude protein and phosphorous concentrations of herbage, in China, the highest concentrations were measured for spring and summer pastures, whereas in Mongolia, the highest concentrations were determined for autumn and winter pastures. Based on our data, we conclude that regulation of animal numbers and access to pastures seemingly maintained pasture productivity in China, especially at high altitudes. However, this policy may prohibit flexible adaptation to sudden environmental constraints. In contrast, high stocking densities and grazing of pastures before flowering of herbaceous plants negatively affected rangeland productivity in Mongolia, especially for spring and summer pastures.

The significant role of third-party logistics (3pl) operators as fosterers of organizational performance in colombian companies

La eliminación de barreras entre países es una consecuencia que llega con la globalización y con los acuerdos de TLC firmados en los últimos años. Esto implica un crecimiento significativo del comercio exterior, lo cual se ve reflejado en un aumento de la complejidad de la cadena de suministro de las empresas. Debido a lo anterior, se hace necesaria la búsqueda de alternativas para obtener altos niveles de productividad y competitividad dentro de las empresas en Colombia, ya que el entorno se ha vuelto cada vez más complejo, saturado de competencia no sólo nacional, sino también internacional. Para mantenerse en una posición competitiva favorable, las compañías deben enfocarse en las actividades que le agregan valor a su negocio, por lo cual una de las alternativas que se están adoptando hoy en día es la tercerización de funciones logísticas a empresas especializadas en el manejo de estos servicios. Tales empresas son los Proveedores de servicios logísticos (LSP), quienes actúan como agentes externos a la organización al gestionar, controlar y proporcionar actividades logísticas en nombre de un contratante. Las actividades realizadas pueden incluir todas o parte de las actividades logísticas, pero como mínimo la gestión y ejecución del transporte y almacenamiento deben estar incluidos (Berglund, 2000). El propósito del documento es analizar el papel de los Operadores Logísticos de Tercer nivel (3PL) como promotores del desempeño organizacional en las empresas colombianas, con el fin de informar a las MIPYMES acerca de los beneficios que se obtienen al trabajar con LSP como un medio para mejorar la posición competitiva del país.

Influencia del interés geopolítico de China en sus relaciones bilaterales con Camboya

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo analizar cómo las relaciones bilaterales entre China y Camboya son afectadas por el interés geopolítico chino, con el fin de demostrar que éste genera un fortalecimiento de sus relaciones puesto que además de suplir necesidades alimenticias, hídricas y en mano de obra barata, es el único país de la región del Sudeste Asiático que le permite a China tener acceso militar al Golfo de Tailandia y al Mar de China Meridional, donde se encuentra en desventaja con Estados Unidos. Así, se indica que la potencia asiática formula sus acuerdos bilaterales creando relaciones de dependencia por parte de países como Camboya para que este le entregue “obligatoriamente” lo que necesita. Esta investigación se llevará a cabo por medio de una monografía con un enfoque realista. Se utilizará el método de investigación cualitativo, que se servirá de fuentes primarias como los acuerdos bilaterales entre ambos Estados.

La política económica de la República Popular China: un desafío a la hegemonía monetaria de los Estados Unidos en el Sudeste Asiático. Periodo 2003 -2015

La presente investigación parte del declive de la hegemonía de los Estados Unidos y el paralelo asenso económico de la República Popular China en las últimas décadas. De este modo, se plantea como objetivo principal analizar cómo China mediante su política económica desafía a la hegemonía monetaria de los Estado Unidos en el Sudeste Asiático, durante el periodo de 2003 a 2015. Con el fin de lograr este objetivo, se elabora un estudio de la hegemonía de los Estados Unidos y sus dinámicas en el Sudeste Asiático. Asimismo, se analiza la política económica de la República Popular China y su incidencia frente a la hegemonía estadounidense en el Sudeste Asiático.

La traduzione e ricezione della letteratura cinese in Italia: questioni e strategie a partire dal caso delle traduzioni di alcuni romanzi di Su Tong, Yu Hua, Zhang Jie e Mo Yan

Negli ultimi anni, in Italia sono stati tradotti un gran numero di opere letterarie cinesi grazie all’impegno e alla passione di numerosi sinologi, studiosi e traduttori italiani. Tuttavia, gli studi sulla traduzione della letteratura cinese sono, sia in Cina che in Italia, relativamente pochi e non sempre uniformi: in Cina è difficile trovare dati completi, sistematici e dotati di un certo valore di riferimento, e in Italia, una ricerca di questo tipo ha avuto origine nell’ambito degli studi sinologici italiani, piuttosto che in quello degli studi sulla traduzione. A partire da una rassegna dei principali approcci agli studi sulla traduzione (letteraria) dalla seconda metà del XX secolo fino ai nostri giorni, questo lavoro di tesi tenta di analizzare da un lato le tendenze generali relative alla traduzione e alla pubblicazione delle opere letterarie cinesi in Italia in un arco temporale che va dal 1942 al 2018, tramite alcune analisi di tipo sia quantitativo che qualitativo basate su una tabella di dati concernenti la letteratura cinese sul mercato editoriale italiano che è stata costruita appositamente; dall’altro, questa ricerca intende investigare le strategie utilizzate per tradurre i diversi riferimenti culturali riscontrati nel corpus di testi scelti e che sono stati suddivisi nelle seguenti categorie: antroponimi, intertestualità, riferimenti al contesto politico e culturale, gastronomia e altri riferimenti culturali. Attraverso un’analisi comparativa e descrittiva dei testi di partenza e dei testi di arrivo, ai fini della tesi si sono indagate le problematiche riguardanti la traduzione e la ricezione della letteratura cinese in Italia e le tendenze che tale letteratura ha avuto sia in ambito editoriale che nel campo della traduzione letteraria.

Forme (形 XING) e Visioni (象 XIANG): Nuove prospettive di ricerca per una storia comparata della Screendance in Europa e in Cina

La presente tesi si propone di trattare il soggetto della screendance, giovane disciplina in continua definizione nata combinando cinema e coreografia, da una prospettiva alternativa, coerente con le ultime trasformazioni sociali. La ricerca, suddivisa in quattro parti, inizia da una ricognizione critica sulla terminologia utilizzata per indicare la screendance nel suo sviluppo storico in Europa e in Cina durante il XX secolo. Adoperando una metodologia basata sugli strumenti della storiografia comparativa, vengono utilizzati come chiavi di lettura i due concetti taoisti di xiang o visione e xing o forma, l’uno riferito al contesto culturale, storico e artistico di una data società umana in un dato periodo storico, e l’altro alludente alle forme artistiche specifiche definite da quei principi. Nel focalizzarsi sul confronto tra i differenti sviluppi della screendance nel corso del XX secolo in Europa e in Cina, nella seconda parte, la tesi affronta una comparazione diacronica delle trasformazioni di xiang delle due aree geografiche, insieme a una comparazione sincronica delle xing, rendendo più evidenti analogie e divergenze di numerosi case studies occidentali e cinesi.  Uno sguardo sul panorama europeo, attento alle differenze nella disseminazione della screendance attraverso i festival in Gran Bretagna, Francia, Belgio e Italia, costituisce il focus della terza parte. Con la quarta ed ultima parte, la tesi riserva ampio spazio alla disamina della situazione contemporanea della screendance, seguendone la diffusione negli ultimi quattro decenni attraverso i festival e, più recentemente, i nuovi canali social di creazione e condivisione di contenuti video, e prospettando un futuro in cui la realtà della screendance europea e quella cinese potranno confrontare le proprie identità culturali. Il ricco apparato documentario include un elenco dei festival di screendance europei e cinesi, e una serie di interviste inedite ai maggiori operatori e professionisti del settore, italiani ed europei.