Commercial Market Research Articles

From Outbreak to Vaccination: An Analysis of the Commercial Property Market Reaction to COVID-19 in Malaysia

This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of the commercial property market in Malaysia. Differing from previous studies that focus on the first wave of COVID-19 that erupted in March 2020, we examine how the commercial property market reacted to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases and the subsequent response (lockdowns, fiscal support, and vaccination program) of the government in dealing with the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that abnormal returns of listed property companies, REITs, and hotel operators decrease following the implementation of the first nationwide lockdown. Subsequent nationwide lockdowns, however, do not exert a significant impact on abnormal returns. Moreover, we find that 1-day window abnormal returns during the first and third nationwide lockdowns increase with increases in COVID-19 cases. This suggests that investors believe in the ability of these nationwide lockdowns to slow down the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In addition, we document a positive impact of blanket loan moratorium announcements and change in vaccination rate on abnormal returns. The economic magnitude of the stock price changes in response to these announcements could be used as a reference point by policymakers and investors when faced with future pandemics of a similar scale.

Technology embodiment and the immersion aesthetics—Comments on the VR reset of “The Legend of Sword and Fairy I”

<p>Virtual reality departs from and transcends reality, and the VR reset of “The Legend of Sword and Fairy I” aggregates the complete industrial ecology formed by the extended development of old game IP and the VR blue ocean commercial market. From two-dimensional to VR, the digital technology field has shaped the virtual embodied world where traditional culture and modernity are intertwined, and constructed the “Immortal Sword World” that gathers, condenses and reshapes the national complex, cultural consciousness and modern discourse. A series of physical operations enables players to interact with the “Immortal Sword World” in real time and in a natural way. The absolute and unique rules and mechanisms of “The Legend of Sword and Fairy I” VR create a 3D community discourse field with an entire new social system + technical system. The open interactive architecture of “Immortal Sword World” provides a meta-statement for free exploration, ideally presenting the pre-determined sequence of the immersive “Immortal Sword World” and allowing players to open up an imaginary future dreaming space in a step beyond reality.</p>

Polymeric Backbone Eutectogel Electrolytes for High-Energy Lithium-Ion Batteries.

This work introduces a polymeric backbone eutectogel (P-ETG) hybrid solid-state electrolyte with an N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) backbone for high-energy lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The NIPAM-based P-ETG is (electro)chemically compatible with commercially relevant positive electrode materials such as the nickel-rich layered oxide LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 (NMC622). The chemical compatibility was demonstrated through (physico)chemical characterization methods. The nonexistence (within detection limits) of interfacial reactions between the electrolyte and the positive electrode, the unchanged bulk crystallographic composition, and the absence of transition metal ions leaching from the positive electrode in contact with the electrolyte were demonstrated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and elemental analysis, respectively. Moreover, the NIPAM-based P-ETG demonstrates a wide electrochemical stability window (1.5-5.0 V vs Li+/Li) and a reasonably high ionic conductivity at room temperature (0.82 mS cm-1). The electrochemical compatibility of a high-potential NMC622-containing positive electrode and the P-ETG is further demonstrated in Li|P-ETG|NMC622 cells, which deliver a discharge capacity of 134, 110, and 97 mAh g-1 at C/5, C/2, and 1C, respectively, after 90 cycles. The Coulombic efficiency is >95% at C/5, C/2, and 1C. Hence, gaining scientific insights into the compatibility of the electrolytes with positive electrode materials that are relevant to the commercial market, like NMC622, is important because this requires going beyond the electrolyte design itself, which is essential to their practical applications.

Analysis of the development of reusable launch vehicle technology

Nowadays, with the development of the space technology and the maturity of traditional launch vehicle technology, there are sufficient foundations for the research of higher-level space vehicles. As space vehicles gradually enter the commercial market, the demand for better cost control and higher carry capacity has been put forward. The recovery and reuse of space vehicles, especially launch vehicle, often means higher resource utilization and effective cost control, which has unprecedented advantages in business mode. Many countries and organizations have shown concern about the reusable vehicles. In order to facilitate the further research of reusable rocket technology, this article summaries the research and developments of reusable vehicles over the years and sorts out the overall scheme and key technologies of it. In particular, in view of the successful case of Falcon 9, this article analyses the commercialization experience of SpaceX reusable rockets and its business model. This article may offer a reference for the reusable rocket technology development.

Simultaneous determination of three strong polarity herbicides in tea by ion chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

Due to lack of chromogenic groups and fluorescence groups, high boiling point, high polarity, low volatility, and small molecular weight of glyphosate, glufosinate and bentazone, the detection of three analyses were limited in all kinds of food. Herein, a method for the simultaneous determination of glyphosate, glufosinate and bentazone in tea by ion chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (IC-MS) was developed, which is without organic solvent and complex derivatization. The recoveries of three compounds in different teas (black tea, green tea, white tea) ranged from 80.40 % to 107.00 %, and the intraday precision (n = 6) ranged from 0.57 % to 9.90 %, the daytime precision ranged from 1.00 % to 5.30 %, the quantitative limit (LOQ) ranged from 0.36 to 1.30 µg/L, and the detection limit (LOD) ranged from 0.11 to 0.39 µg/L. Furthermore, the detection limit and quantitative limit of glyphosate, glufosinate and bentazone by this method are lower than other methods in real samples. Meanwhile, the established method was successfully applied to determine the terminal residues of the three analytes in twelve tea samples from commercial market. Therefore, this method can provide reliable technical support for the study of residue status in vegetables and fruits.

White bagging, brown bagging and site of service policies: best practices in addressing provider markup in the commercial insurance market.

New Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) analysis evaluates potential risks and advantages of reforms to current policies related to white bagging, brown bagging, and site of service policies that aim to address provider markup in the commercial insurance market.

Technology and Applications of Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Materials: Current State and Future Trends

Silicon (Si)-based semiconductor devices have long dominated the power electronics industry and are used in almost every application involving power conversion. Examples of these include metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), gate turn-off (GTO), thyristors, and bipolar junction transistor (BJTs). However, for many applications, power device requirements such as higher blocking voltage capability, higher switching frequencies, lower switching losses, higher temperature withstand, higher power density in power converters, and enhanced efficiency and reliability have reached a stage where the present Si-based power devices cannot cope with the growing demand and would usually require large, costly cooling systems and output filters to meet the requirements of the application. Wide bandgap (WBG) power semiconductor materials such as silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN), and diamond (Dia) have recently emerged in the commercial market, with superior material properties that promise substantial performance improvements and are expected to gradually replace the traditional Si-based devices in various power electronics applications. WBG power devices can significantly improve the efficiency of power electronic converters by reducing losses and making power conversion devices smaller in size and weight. The aim of this paper is to highlight the technical and market potential of WBG semiconductors. A detailed short-term and long-term analysis is presented in terms of cost, energy impact, size, and efficiency improvement in various applications, including motor drives, automotive, data centers, aerospace, power systems, distributed energy systems, and consumer electronics. In addition, the paper highlights the benefits of WBG semiconductors in power conversion applications by considering the current and future market trends.

Histomorphological study of tongue in Indigenous peacock (Pavo cristatus)

The current study aimed to examine the histomorphological features of the oral salivary ducts and the peacock tongue (Pavo cristatus) of this species. In this study, eight healthy adult peacocks were used after collecting them from a commercial market in Baghdad to investigate and describe the tongue in these bird species. After being euthanized, they were killed by cutting off the major neck blood vessels and bleeding until death; the tongue was identified. The tongue was the sharp end, elongated, somewhat triangular, and measured 8.2 mm. The apex, trunk, and base are its three sections. There are 4 to 5 layers of big conical papillae on the area where the root and body converge. Without gustatory papillae, the dense keratinized epithelium stratified squamous epithelia that lined the dorsal surface and were sparse on the ventral surfaces. The body and tongue root contain cells of the epithelium. It was supported by hyaline cartilage as a short plate. Lingual salivary glands situated anterior and posterior are superficial branch tubuloalveolar glands. This research was conducted at the University of Baghdad/ College of Veterinary Medicine in the Anatomy and Histology Department. Our result concluded that modifying the bird tongue, papillae distribution, and mucosa epithelium histological features is mainly restricted to feeding types that also have similarities with other avian species. Keywords: peacock, tongue, lingual papillae, keratinized epithelium

Understanding the lithium-ion battery's aging mechanisms of mesophase graphite negative electrodes with/without amorphous titanium(IV) oxide nanocoatings by atomic layer deposition

Graphite is still the mainstream anode materials among others in commercial lithium battery market. The solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film formed by the reaction of graphite surface and electrolyte, which are significantly influenced the cell aging behaviors, which some innate aging mechanisms of graphite remained to be clarified. In this work, amorphous titanium(IV) oxide (A-TiO2) nanocoatings with different thicknesses (1–11 nm) are uniformly grown on mesophase graphite (MPG) negative electrodes by atomic layer deposition (ALD) to compare the material characteristics and electrochemical performance of the assembled cell samples. The cycling performance of the A-TiO2/MPG negative electrodes are significantly improved with the increase of the A-TiO2 nanocoating thickness that the cell capacities (capacity retention rates) are about 172 (52.2 %), 240 (72.6 %), 270 (79.4 %), 277 (82.6 %), 298 (89.7 %), 315 (92.0 %) and 321 mAhg−1 (93.6 %) for MPG electrodes with the A-TiO2 thicknesses of 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 nm, respectively after the 230th cycle test. The improvement in cell cycle life is attributed to the A-TiO2 nanocoatings as protective layers that isolate the ion diffusions which are from the degraded electrolyte compounds into graphite and protect the graphite from having further reactions with electrolyte.

Using ChatGPT and Persuasive Technology for Personalized Recommendation Messages in Hotel Upselling

Recommender systems have become indispensable tools in the hotel hospitality industry, enabling personalized and tailored experiences for guests. Recent advancements in large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, and persuasive technologies have opened new avenues for enhancing the effectiveness of those systems. This paper explores the potential of integrating ChatGPT and persuasive technologies for automating and improving hotel hospitality recommender systems. First, we delve into the capabilities of ChatGPT, which can understand and generate human-like text, enabling more accurate and context-aware recommendations. We discuss the integration of ChatGPT into recommender systems, highlighting the ability to analyze user preferences, extract valuable insights from online reviews, and generate personalized recommendations based on guest profiles. Second, we investigate the role of persuasive technology in influencing user behavior and enhancing the persuasive impact of hotel recommendations. By incorporating persuasive techniques, such as social proof, scarcity, and personalization, recommender systems can effectively influence user decision making and encourage desired actions, such as booking a specific hotel or upgrading their room. To investigate the efficacy of ChatGPT and persuasive technologies, we present pilot experiments with a case study involving a hotel recommender system. Our inhouse commercial hotel marketing platform, eXclusivi, was extended with a new software module working with ChatGPT prompts and persuasive ads created for its recommendations. In particular, we developed an intelligent advertisement (ad) copy generation tool for the hotel marketing platform. The proposed approach allows for the hotel team to target all guests in their language, leveraging the integration with the hotel’s reservation system. Overall, this paper contributes to the field of hotel hospitality by exploring the synergistic relationship between ChatGPT and persuasive technology in recommender systems, ultimately influencing guest satisfaction and hotel revenue.

How does Word-of-mouth Marketing Affect Customer Loyalty

With the development of social media, commercial marketing means are increasing rapidly. Among all the marketing strategies, word-of-mouth still plays a critical role. In addition, there has been a variety of innovations to apply this procedure in promotions. Thus, this article will focus on the relationship between word-of-mouth marketing and consumer loyalty to answer how word-of-mouth marketing improves consumer trust and wins long-term stable consumer groups.

Unlocking value: The impact of traditional valuation practices on the number of vacant retail units in the built environment

Across the social science and humanities disciplines, there has been an increased interest in questions of value and valuation. This article responds to the new emphasis by scrutinising the evolution of real estate valuation techniques over time, their embedded nature, and the implication of this for the (re)production of the built environment. This is achieved through the lens of two conceptual positions which are rarely used in the realm of real estate valuation. These are (a) path dependency which in this case charts the evolution of the discipline of valuation as it relates to retail related real estate assets; and (b) lock – in, which seeks to understand how valuation techniques and attitudes have become embedded during this evolution. This position sits alongside a series of investigatory interviews with professional valuers in international real estate organisations specialising in the commercial real estate market. This is often a missing voice in recent research into real estate and the wider subject of valuation. Findings suggest that valuation practice is reliant on confirmatory market practices that do not necessarily capture the contemporary affordability-based requirements of tenants. Instead, practice is locked into reinforcing the nature of zone-based market values for landlords and investors. The geographical implications of this situation at the micro-level can be vacant or poorly performing properties that undermine local areas in the interest of maintaining the headline value of properties in macro-level global capital markets. This new conceptual analysis provides understanding of how the physical built environment is developed and reproduced over time through notions of value, helps to connect often hidden practices of real estate valuation into existing academic debates in urban studies and geography, and in conclusion sheds some light on how practices of real estate valuation can be improved in the disrupted world of retail.

Building a quantum‐ready ecosystem

AbstractThe emergence of quantum technologies has led to groundbreaking advancements in computing, sensing, secure communications, and simulation of advanced materials with practical applications in every industry sector. The rapid advancement of the quantum technologies ecosystem has made it imperative to assess the maturity of these technologies and their imminent acceleration towards commercial viability. The current status of quantum technologies is presented and the need for a quantum‐ready ecosystem is emphasised. Standard Quantum Technology Readiness Levels (QTRLs) are formulated and innovative models and tools are defined to evaluate the readiness of specific quantum technology. In addition to QTRLs, Quantum Commercial Readiness Levels (QCRLs) is introduced to provide a robust framework for evaluating the commercial viability and market readiness of quantum technologies. Furthermore, relevant indicators concerning key stakeholders, including government, industry, and academia are discussed and ethics and protocols implications are described, to deepen the understanding of the readiness for quantum technology and to support the development of a robust and effective quantum ecosystem.

Psychographic consumer segmentation in the commercial real estate market: Methodological and practical aspects

The commercial real estate market offers two facets: on the one hand, consumers face difficulties in making investment decisions, and on the other, developers are driven by the need to create investment products. The article presents a psychographic consumer segmentation methodology and tests it in conditions of the commercial real estate market. The theoretical framework of the study is classical marketing theory. The Enneagram method is applied to reveal consumers’ subconscious motives behind their behavioural characteristics and investment decision-making, in particular. Additionally, the LOV method is used to clarify investors’ values and motives. The empirical evidence of the research is the survey data from 10 experts in the field of marketing for construction obtained using the Delphi method and Thomas Saaty’s Analytic Hierarchy Process, as well as data from 53 actual and potential investors in commercial real estate. The author’s own consumer segmentation method is proposed, which is designed according to the specificities of the commercial real estate market. As part of the methodology testing, we have identified the types of investors and formulated a marketing programme for one of the priority types that provides for increasing the loyalty to, and recognition of, the organization among investors. The in-depth study of consumers’ personality types and values has substantially contributed to the development of an investment product and its successful promotion among potential investors.

Commercial milk formula marketing following increased restrictions in Singapore: A qualitative study.

The promotion of commercial milk formula (CMF) negatively impacts breastfeeding outcomes. In 2019, Singapore updated its 1979 Code of Ethics of the Sale of Infant Foods Ethics Committee Singapore (SIFECS) to increase marketing restrictions on CMF for infants 0-12 months. However, little is known about industry tactics to undermine these restrictions. This qualitative study explores health workers' and mothers' experiences with CMF marketing in Singapore following the 2019 restrictions. We conducted a qualitative study, using semistructured interviews with 14 mothers of infants aged less than 5 months and 20 health workers with expertise in antenatal, maternity, or paediatric care. We analysed data thematically using inductive coding. Five themes were identified. Mothers and health workers reported digital marketing, product line extensions with toddlers' milk and milk for mothers, and CMF sponsorships in the healthcare setting. Expert endorsement, competitive price, nutritional claims, and brand reputation influenced mothers' infant formula choices, yet both mothers and health workers appeared to be unaware of the impact of CMF marketing tactics on their own perceptions. The restriction of CMF marketing and infant feeding practices varied widely between hospitals, with private hospitals and practices having less strict controls on CMF marketing. Despite the updated SIFECS restrictions, CMF companies continue to target mothers and health workers in Singapore. SIFECS restrictions should be tightened to align with international guidelines, by increasing their scope to include toddlers' milk and prohibiting cross-promotion, digital marketing, and any sponsorships of events targeting health workers that may create a conflict of interest.

Recent Advancements of Graphene-Based Materials for Zinc-Based Batteries: Beyond Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Graphene-based materials (GBMs)possess a unique set of properties including tunable interlayer channels, high specific surface area, and good electrical conductivity characteristics, making it a promising material of choice for making electrode in rechargeable batteries. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) currently dominate the commercial rechargeable battery market, but their further development has been hampered by limited lithium resources, high lithium costs, and organic electrolyte safety concerns. From the performance, safety, and cost aspects, zinc-based rechargeable batteries have become a promising alternative of rechargeable batteries. This review highlights recent advancements and development of a variety of graphene derivative-based materials and its composites, with a focus on their potential applications in rechargeable batteries such as LIBs, zinc-air batteries (ZABs), zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs), and zinc-iodinebatteries (Zn-I2 Bs). Finally, there is an outlook on the challenges and future directions of this greatpotential research field.

Securing the Space Domain with Active Orbital Debris Removal: Lessons from Europe and Japan Towards a U.S. Strategy

ABSTRACT The proliferation of orbital debris poses a significant threat to spacecraft and satellites in outer space. As the United States currently operates the highest number of satellites in space, its space assets face a heightened risk of orbital debris collision. Mitigation of debris is important, but insufficiently addresses that risk. Debris remediation efforts can supplement mitigation to reduce future collision risks by decreasing the number of large debris, particularly in crowded low Earth Orbit (LEO). After investigating the risks that orbital debris present and current efforts to manage their impact, this paper argues that there is need to implement a national Active Debris Removal (ADR) strategy to protect U.S. space assets and improve the space environment for safe operations. Based on two case studies examining the ADR initiatives of Europe and Japan, we draw four main recommendations for U.S. implementation: (1) commercial initiatives towards ADR capabilities in LEO are promising, (2) government support of an ADR commercial market ensures the latter’s long-term viability, (3) commercial initiatives lower ADR cost and invite innovation, improving the ADR chances of success, and (4) starting with simpler ADR cases reduces U.S. government risk and lowers investment requirements for companies.

Fast DC Charging Infrastructures for Electric Vehicles: Overview of Technologies, Standards, and Challenges

This paper is an overview of fast charging for electrical vehicles. Specifically, it analyzes the impact of Ultra-Fast Charging Stations (UFCSs) on the distribution grid and their role in the smart grids. Moreover, the paper defines the framework of UFC, its diffusion and the associated new trends. The most frequently used converters in the conversion stages of DC charging stations with integrated generation are analyzed. To achieve this goal four active front end AC-DC converters (unidirectional and bidirectional), three isolated DC-DC converters as well as two control architectures are explored. In comparing the targeted configurations, the main target is set on categorizing them based on supply voltage level, type of smart grid, and power flow of the converters. Further, the paper outlines a broad overview of main standards for UFCSs and evaluation of the reliability, data collection, and operation of UFCSs. The paper aims to to link the needs of the designers of charging stations to preferences of the commercial market.

Dark Current Analysis on GeSn p-i-n Photodetectors.

Group IV alloys of GeSn have been extensively investigated as a competing material alternative in shortwave-to-mid-infrared photodetectors (PDs). The relatively large defect densities present in GeSn alloys are the major challenge in developing practical devices, owing to the low-temperature growth and lattice mismatch with Si or Ge substrates. In this paper, we comprehensively analyze the impact of defects on the performance of GeSn p-i-n homojunction PDs. We first present our theoretical models to calculate various contributing components of the dark current, including minority carrier diffusion in p- and n-regions, carrier generation-recombination in the active intrinsic region, and the tunneling effect. We then analyze the effect of defect density in the GeSn active region on carrier mobilities, scattering times, and the dark current. A higher defect density increases the dark current, resulting in a reduction in the detectivity of GeSn p-i-n PDs. In addition, at low Sn concentrations, defect-related dark current density is dominant, while the generation dark current becomes dominant at a higher Sn content. These results point to the importance of minimizing defect densities in the GeSn material growth and device processing, particularly for higher Sn compositions necessary to expand the cutoff wavelength to mid- and long-wave infrared regime. Moreover, a comparative study indicates that further improvement of the material quality and optimization of device structure reduces the dark current and thereby increases the detectivity. This study provides more realistic expectations and guidelines for evaluating GeSn p-i-n PDs as a competitor to the III-V- and II-VI-based infrared PDs currently on the commercial market.

Multiphysics Modeling of Solid Oxide Iron Air Battery with New Catalyst and Proton Conductor Oxide Support

Long-duration energy storage (LDES) (10+ hours) is widely regarded as an enabling technology to deepen the penetration of renewable energy into the commercial utility market. However, the current storage technologies cannot achieve LDES’s duration requirement at a competitive cost. Therefore, new LDES technologies are highly sought after in recent years. Solid oxide iron air battery is a newly emerging battery based on oxide-ion chemistry and stores energy in energy-dense solid iron. Our recent results have shown that the battery in a laboratory size (f1”) delivers 12.5-hour storage per cycle for 20 cycles with high energy capacity and round-trip efficiency. This presentation focuses on the description of a high-fidelity 2D axis symmetrical multi-physics model to simulate the performance of a solid oxide iron air battery. The model battery system consists of an anode-supported solid oxide cell and energy storage unit (ESU) of iron bed with a proton conducting oxide BaZr0.4Ce0.4Y0.1Yb0.1O3 (BZC4YYb) based support and iridium as a catalyst. The Multiphysics model encompasses charge transfer, mass transport, and chemical redox kinetic cycle occurring across all components of the battery and is validated with experimental results. The kinetic JMA (Johnson-Mehl-Avrami) model is used for describing the oxidation and reduction kinetics of Fe-BZC4YYb-IrO2 ESU. The motivation for combing the Ir catalyst with proton conductor oxide support in ESU is to boost the sluggish FeOx reduction kinetics. Compared to the baseline ESU, i.e. Fe2O3/ZrO2, the newly developed BZC4YYb-IrO2 shows great catalytic activity toward FeOx reduction, thus allowing SOIAB to operate at 500-550oC with excellent capacity, stability, and high round trip efficiency. The presentation will also show the experimental data of improved reduction kinetic rate of Fe-BZC4YYb-IrO2 over the baseline Fe2O3/ZrO2.