Purpose-China is the world's largest consumer market for smartphones. Early adopters are highly influential in consumers' decisions of new technologies. Therefore, understanding Chinese early adopters' decision making in the smartphone market is of crucial importance to smartphone companies. There is a dearth of in-depth studies on the factors affecting consumers' repurchase intention for smartphones. The aim of our study is thus to narrow this knowledge gap by developing a new conceptual framework explaining early adopters' repurchase intention of smartphones. Design/methodology/approach-Using 30 face-to-face interviews with Chinese early adopters of smartphones, we built a new theoretical framework to explain the factors that influence their repurchase intention. Findings-Repurchase intention of smartphones is determined by aesthetic and utilitarian product-related factors (design appeal, perceived usefulness), socio-cultural factors (subjective norms, mianzi/face considerations), and brand-related factors (brand popularity, brand's country-of-origin, perceived brand quality, and brand loyalty). The emerging framework also explores the factors affecting enhancing, maintaining and saving mianzi/face. Originality/value-In contrast to existing technology-driven models, the study's emerging framework shows how aesthetic, socio-cultural and brand-related factors can offer new insights in understanding repurchase intention in a rapidly developing market. As these factors are rarely examined in the information technology and/or marketing literatures, potential knowledge contribution can be highly expected.

The use of base isolation in developed countries including the U.S. and Japan has already been recognized as a very effective method for upgrading the seismic resistance of structures. In this study, an advanced base‐isolation system called the multiple friction pendulum system (MFPS) is investigated to understand its performance on seismic mitigation through full‐scale component and shaking table tests. The component tests of the advanced Teflon composite coated on the sliding surface show that the friction coefficient of the lubricant material is a function of the sliding velocity in the range of 0.03–0.12. The experimental results also indicate that there were no signs of degradation of the sliding interface observed after 2000 cycles of sliding displacements. A full‐scale MFPS isolator under a vertically compressive load of 8830 KN (900 tf) and horizontally cyclic displacements was tested in order to assess the feasibility of the MFPS isolator for its practical use. After 248 cycles of horizontal displacement reversals, the behaviour of the base isolator was almost identical to its behaviour during the first few cycles. The experimental results of the shaking table tests of a full‐scale steel structure isolated with MFPS isolators show that the MFPS device can isolate seismic transmitted energy effectively under soft‐soil‐deposit site earthquakes with long predominant periods as well as strong ground motions with short predominant periods. These test results demonstrate that the MFPS isolator possesses excellent durability and outstanding earthquake‐proof capability. Furthermore, the numerical results show that the mathematical model proposed in this study can well predict the seismic responses of a structure isolated with MFPS isolators. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Recently, the high-tech industry has become a key industry for economic development in many countries.However, vibration sensitive equipment located in these industrial buildings is vulnerable during earthquakes, which may cause huge economic loss. In this study, an innovative isolator for safeguarding the vibration sensitive equipment, namely, the static dynamics interchangeable-ball pendulum system (SDI-BPS) is proposed and investigated to examine its protective capability for the vibration sensitive equipment during earthquakes through a series of tri-directional shaking table tests. The experimental results illustrate that the SDI-BPS isolator can provide signifi cant damping to rolling types of base isolation systems for reducing the bearing displacement and size, and avoid the stress concentration, which can cause damage or scratches on the rolling surface of the isolator, to prolong its life span of service. The SDI-BPS isolator also provides excellent capability in protecting the vibration sensitive equipment and exhibits a stable behavior under long terms of service loadings and earthquakes.

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The energy absorbing devices have been recognized as effective tools for dissipating the earthquake-induced energy during earthquakes. Several kinds of metallic-yielding, viscous and friction dampers have been proposed, tested and adopted in engineering applications in recent years. In this study, results from experimental and numerical studies of an advanced unbounded brace, or named as the advanced buckling restrained brace (advanced BRB), have been introduced. The experimental results from the component tests under cyclic loadings show that the proposed device possesses good stability and durability in mechanical behavior. Results from numerical studies of a 10-storey steel structure with proposed devices subjected to different earthquakes show that the advanced BRB can lessen the column shear forces as well as the storey drifts of the structure efficiently. Based on this investigation, the proposed isolator can be adopted as an effective tool for enhancing the seismic resistance of structures during earthquakes.