Unpacking the effect of IT capability on the performance of export-focused SMEs: a report from China

Abstract.  Export-focused small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China face a number of barriers to success, two primary ones being the liability of foreignness and resource scarcity. In order to transcend these challenges and be able to survive/prosper in the hypercompetitive international market, where players include large resourceful multinational organizations with experience in varied national contexts, these firms need to develop different organizational capabilities. In this paper, we specifically examine the role of a key organizational capability – information technology (IT) capability – and its different dimensions, in determining performance of export-focused SMEs in China. Our study reveals that IT capability has a positive impact on such firms' performance. This finding indicates the need for their owners/managers to invest in IT capability. Further, the study also highlights specific sub-dimensions of IT capability that export-focused Chinese SMEs should (or should not) develop, so as to derive maximum performance-related gains for the minimum amount spent on IT.     

民族院校软件工程专业建设的探索与实践

本文分析了软件工程专业建设中普遍存在的问题和民族院校面临的困难,提出了软件工程专业建设的思路,并给出了大连民族学院的具体做法。     

一种新的商务手机结构方式设计

本设计结合TCL的设计理念,通过对概念的局部创新赋予手机产品突出的亮点,使用科技美学化的设计语言赋予产品夺目的外观,达到形式与外观的统一。满足商务人士对手机产品功能、结构、外观等方面的要求。在克服现有的双向开合手机转轴占用机身空间、结构不够坚固、操作模式单一等不足,特提出通过主轴旋转实现手机双向开合的结构设计。     

略论江南地区漆文化历史发展

江南地区漆文化有着悠久的历史,无论是漆工艺的发展,还是功能内涵由实用向精神、审美的多元拓展,均完整地呈现了我国漆文化的演进。因此,研究江南地区漆文化历史对于传承我国传统漆文化有着重要意义。     

“计白当黑”对现代视觉设计的启示

随着现代艺术设计的迅猛发展,现代视觉设计的文化交流更加频繁和深入,"计白当黑"这种表现艺术的空灵精神在现代视觉设计中体现出了重要的设计启示和研究价值。本文以此为切入点,抛砖引玉,旨在探讨中国传统文化的精髓之一"计白当黑"在现代视觉设计中的发展潜力及新气象。     

多元化艺术语言的探索——论后现代文化招贴中的装置艺术

后现代像是一个无所不包的杂货铺。多元的文化呈现使得人们在当下感受到更多的可能性与多样性。面对信息过剩的时代,人们渴望真情,渴望纯真,渴望诚恳。作为对社会有劝导性,治愈性的工具——招贴,通过对它的表现语言的多元化探索,期待可以给人们带来更多真实的情感和精神安慰,同时梳理了现在招贴中的装置手法的现象,形成理性化的认识,指导以后的设计实践。     

中国期待设计师品牌

随着产品同质化、品牌竞争白热化,工业品牌已被消费者高情感的心理需求所厌恶,初见端倪的设计师品牌,作为一股新生力量,开始兴起,引领中国设计。本文从品牌与设计师品牌的概念出发,分析了国内设计师品牌的现状及发展迟缓的原因,在此基础上,预估了中国的设计师品牌未来的发展方向,并提出设计师品牌的发展不仅需要更多国家政策的扶持,而且更需要一个完整的团队支撑。     

MRT letter: Human bloodstains on antique aboriginal weapons: a guiding low-vacuum SEM study of erythrocytes in experimental samples on ethnographically documented biological raw materials

The aboriginal use of reed and bone as raw materials for knives and daggers, respectively, has been well-documented ethnographically in some geographical areas of Melanesia. Because of the significant role that these weapons played in inter- and intra-ethnic aggression, they can potentially have retained smears from the contact with human blood. To carry out a guiding low-vacuum scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study of specific interest to ethnography, the outsides of a fragment of stalk of giant cane (Arundo donax) and tibial diaphysis of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) were smeared with peripheral human blood. No biological specimen preparation was applied to the samples. After just over 1 month, bloodstain boundaries and their neighboring inner areas were examined via secondary electrons by a variable-pressure SEM (VP-SEM) working in low-vacuum mode. On both substrates, bloodstains exhibited micro-scales. No janocyte (erythrocyte negative replica) was observed in the examined areas. However, erythrocytes were seen crowded together as grain-shaped corpuscles in the smear on reed, and several hecatocytes (moon-like shaped erythrocytes) were evidenced in the smear on bone. The results of this study suggest that a VP-SEM working in low-vacuum mode can be used fruitfully to detect blood remains in medium-sized reed and bone antique aboriginal artifacts. This procedure can prospectively help to ethnographic museum curators and aboriginal-art surveyors as an easy guiding test in the valuation of antique traditional weapons prior to acquisition, when the real use of a piece has been claimed by the supplier.     

The mediating effect of organizational culture and knowledge sharing on transformational leadership and Enterprise Resource Planning systems success: An empirical study in China

Senior leadership has been identified as a critical factor in fostering Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems success, however, the specific impact mechanism of transformational leadership on ERP success is still largely unknown. Based on organizational culture theory and knowledge based view, this study developed a theoretical model to explore the mediating effect of organizational culture and knowledge sharing on transformational leadership and ERP success. Data was collected from 115 IS executives and 413 ERP end users in 115 organizations in China. Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis results suggest that transformational leadership is directly related with all the four types of organizational culture – development culture, group culture, hierarchical culture and rational culture, and is indirectly related with knowledge sharing and ERP success. Specifically, development culture has direct impact on ERP success, while hierarchical culture, group and rational culture are indirectly related with ERP success, mediated by explicit and tacit knowledge sharing. The research findings can provide guidelines for the top executives to facilitate appropriate organizational culture, so as to foster ERP knowledge sharing and achieve business benefits with the assimilation of ERP systems.     

Metabolic system identification and optimization in continuous culture

To date, there still exist some uncertain factors in the continuous fermentation of glycerol to 1,3-Propanediol (1,3-PD) by Klebsiella pneumoniae because of the limitation in bio-techniques. In this paper, among these uncertain factors, we aim to infer the transport mechanisms of the substrate and the product across the cell membrane of the biomass. On the basis of different inferences of transport mechanisms, we reconstruct various metabolic systems and develop their dynamical systems. To determine the most reasonable metabolic system from all possible ones, we give a quantitative definition of biological robustness and propose an identification model on this basis. An improved Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm is developed to solve the identification model. Numerical results show that the identified system can describe the fermentation process well. Furthermore, to maximize the concentration of 1,3-PD, an optimization model is proposed. Numerical results show that the concentration of 1,3-PD can be increased considerably by employing the obtained optimal strategy.