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Front Cover -- Contents -- List of Tables and Figures -- Acronyms -- Acknowledgements -- Abstract -- Samenvatting -- INTRODUCTION -- FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF DECENTRALIZED WASTEWATER REUSE SYSTEMS -- FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF CENTRALIZED WASTEWATER REUSE SYSTEMS AND COMPARISON BETWEEN CENTRALIZED AND DECENTRALIZED SYSTEMS -- ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEMS -- GROUNDWATER CHARGE AND RAINWATER CONSUMPTION FOR AGRICULTURAL WATER MANAGEMENT -- DECISIVE FACTORS AFFECTING THE OPERATION OF RAINWATER HARVESTING PLANTS -- CONCLUSIONS -- References -- Appendix A -- Appendix B -- Curriculum Vitae.

PurposeSocial media rumor combating is a global concern in academia and industry. Existing studies lack a clear definition and overall conceptual framework of users' rumor-combating behaviors. Therefore, this study attempts to empirically derive a typology of rumor-combating behaviors of social media users.Design/methodology/approachA three-phase typology development approach is adopted, including content analysis, multidimensional scaling (MDS), interpreting and labeling. Qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods are employed.FindingsThe elicited 40 rumor-combating behaviors vary along two dimensions: high versus low difficulty of realization, and low versus high cognitive load. Based on the two dimensions, the 40 behaviors are further divided into four categories: rumor-questioning behavior, rumor-debunking behavior, proactive-appealing behavior, and literacy enhancement behavior.Practical implicationsThis typology will serve as reference for social media platforms and governments to further explore the interventions to encourage social media users to counter rumor spreading based on various situations and different characteristics of rumor-combating behaviors.Originality/valueThis study provides a typology of rumor-combating behaviors from a novel perspective of user participation. The typology delves into the conceptual connotations and basic forms of rumor combating, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of the complete spectrum of users' rumor-combating behaviors. Furthermore, the typology identifies the similarities and the differences between various rumor-combating behaviors, thus providing implications and directions for future research on rumor-combating behaviors.

PurposePrior researches on the adoption of mobile health services (MHS) concentrate on the subjective cognitive appraisals resulting in technology adoption, while ignoring how to shape those cognitive appraisals by the objective message design strategies which are easier to operate in practice. Based on protection motivation theory (PMT), the current research aims to explore the antecedents of cognitive appraisals by focusing on message design strategies of fear appeal and coping appeal.Design/methodology/approachA two-stage scenario-based survey of 204 participants was conducted to collect data. The authors chose SPSS and covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) approach with the software LISREL 8.8 to test our model.FindingsThe results show that the relationship between fear appeal and fear arousal is inverted U-shaped such that the degree of fear arousal is the greatest when the fear appeal is at a moderate level. Perceived usefulness for the message with negative framing is higher than that with positive framing. Furthermore, fear appeal and coping appeal have a significant interaction on the adoption of MHS at different stages.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample data of this study come from a special health service of a special group in China, which limits the universality of our research results for other groups or health care services. Therefore, future researchers can validate the model in other research scenarios and sample populations.Originality/valueThis study shows how fear appeal and coping appeal work together to influence individuals' adoption intention. The authors' findings expand the theoretical depth of PMT and fear theory, enriching the theoretical connotation of framing effect in mobile health technology adoption context, which add new insights to design more persuasive messages through fear appeal and coping appeal for researchers and MHS providers in mobile health communication or propaganda.

PurposeThe rapid growth of m-commerce and mobile marketing has flooded the users with homogeneous contents that raise little user interest making the users' browsing pattern on these contents aimless free browsing. However, the interface that presents the mobile marketing contents triggers much user attention, especially the layout. Without significant usability defects, the layout poses influences on the user's aesthetic experience. Identifying the layout attributes that affect user aesthetic preference is critical to the design of mobile marketing interfaces since they influence users' interaction intention, cognitive process, and decision-making.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, 6 layout attributes that quantify the aesthetic design of the interface layout and 3 eye-movement indicators that connect to human aesthetic preference were identified through literature research. An eye-tracking experiment measuring the 3 eye-movement indicators on 6 pairs of interface layout materials corresponding to the 6 layout attributes was conducted. The experiment was designed to mimic the free browsing context in mobile marketing. The materials were divided into Liked/Disliked preference groups according to the response of the subjects. Analysis of indicators on materials between the L/D groups shows that the attributes of balance, centricity, density, simplicity, and symmetry affect user aesthetic preferences.FindingsAnalysis of the attribute value levels shows that balance, centricity, and density are responsible for addressing users' aesthetic preferences for a disliked interface layout. The study suggests an attribute set for quantitatively optimizing the aesthetic design of mobile marketing system interfaces and provides evidence for the visual attention and cognitive process under the free browsing context.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the field both theoretically and practically: (1) it provides support for optimizing the interface layout of mobile marketing systems quantitatively from the aesthetic perspective. (2) It promotes the cognitive attention theory by providing evidence for the cognitive process of interacting with mobile marketing interfaces from the perspective of visual attention and cognitive fluency. (3) It expands the objects of visual perception from traditional or symbolic artworks (such as logos) to the abstract visual stimuli of interface layout. (4) It suggests an optimization tool of five quantification layout attributes for mobile marketing businesses and platforms to aesthetically improve their marketing interfaces to improve user experiences.

Purpose
Non-vehicle operating carrier platform is a typical crowdsourcing logistics platform that has achieved rapid development in China in recent years, and the sustainable development of non-vehicle operating carrier platform is underpinned by a large and stable professional user group. The purpose of this paper is to understand what platform incentives are available and to explore the influence mechanism of these incentives on actual carriers' continuous intention to participate in non-vehicle operating carrier platform.


Design/methodology/approach
Based on organizational institution theory and behavioral motivation theory, the paper established the influence mechanism model of platform incentives on actual carriers' continuous participation intention of non-vehicle operating carrier platform. A total of 300 questionnaires were distributed by Road Transportation Management Bureau of Zhejiang Province and a third-party questionnaire survey platform, and 176 valid questionnaires were collected. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method based on PLS estimation was used to analyze the data.


Findings
The results revealed that the platform incentives have a significant influence on actual carriers' continuous participation intention. The influence of the reputation incentive is the most profound, ranking first. The influence of the resource incentive is second to that of reputation incentive, ranking second. The influence of the bonus incentive ranks third. The operating cost perception, social value perception and functional value perception have significantly mediating effect. Furthermore, the mediating effect of social value perception and functional value perception is significantly higher than that of operating cost perception.


Originality/value
This study revealed the influence mechanism of platform incentives on actual carriers' continuous participation intention of non-vehicle operating carrier platform. The relevant research results provided references for the establishment of platform incentive mechanism.

A discussion of policies concerning welfare benefits for staff & workers -- ie, the gainfully employed, excluding peasants -- in the People's Republic of China. The principles underlying the provision of welfare services are identified as balancing development of welfare services with that of production & Marxian principles of redistribution of wealth. The system of wages, bonuses, & special allowances paid to workers & labor insurance benefits are outlined. Welfare services are provided both collectively by enterprises & government departments & individually to workers with financial difficulties. Since welfare funds are taken from the total wage bills or profits of each enterprise, benefit levels vary from one company or region to another. Welfare services for the peasants include a "five-guarantees" system to meet basic needs of those unable to work. Prospects for the reform of welfare services in China are assessed. 2 Photographs, 6 References. K. Carande