Carbonaceous aerosols (CAs) are major components of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) that dramatically influence the energy budget of Earth. However, accurate assessment of the climatic impacts of CAs is still challenging due to the large uncertainties remaining in the measurement of their...

Algae is a very promising source for renewable energy production since it can fix the greenhouse gas (CO2) by photosynthesis and does not compete with the production of food. Compared to microalgae, researches on biofuel production from macroalgae in both academia and industry are at infancy for...

Purpose: As self-service technologies (SSTs) become more prevalent, service providers are actively encouraging customers’ involvement with these technologies, sometimes even forcing their customers to use SSTs. This paper aims to examine the influence of the SST-only (vs full-service) mode on...

Through the analyses of several typical paradigms of informatization in the countryside, the status of informatization in the countryside and some unresolved issues were studied. A new way was proposed to develop rural information with embedded mobile phone terminal, and to explore an...

This study demarcates cost-inefficiency in Chinese banks into X-inefficiency and rent-seeking-inefficiency. A protected banking market not only encourages weak management and X-inefficiency but also public ownership and state directed lending encourages moral hazard and bureaucratic rent...