Information Conductivity:Universal Performance Measure for Semantic Communications

As a novel paradigm,semantic communication provides an effective solution for breaking through the future development dilemma of classical communication systems.However,it remains an unsolved problem of how to measure the information transmission capability for a given semantic communication method and subsequently compare it with the classical communication method.In this paper,we first present a review of the semantic communication system,including its system model and the two typical coding and transmission methods for its implementations.To address the unsolved issue of the information transmission capability measure for semantic communication methods,we propose a new universal performance measure called Information Conductivity.We provide the definition and the physical significance to state its effectiveness in representing the information transmission capabilities of the semantic communication systems and present elaborations including its measure methods,degrees of freedom,and progressive analysis.Experimental results in image transmission scenarios validate its practical applicability.

Substantiality:A Construct Indicating Research Excellence to Measure University Research Performance

Purpose:The adequacy of research performance of universities or research institutes have often been evaluated and understood in two axes:“quantity”(i.e.size or volume)and“quality”(i.e.what we define here as a measure of excellence that is considered theoretically independent of size or volume,such as clarity in diamond grading).The purpose of this article is,however,to introduce a third construct named“substantiality”(“ATSUMI”in Japanese)of research performance and to demonstrate its importance in evaluating/understanding research universities.Design/methodology/approach:We take a two-step approach to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed construct by showing that(1)some characteristics of research universities are not well captured by the conventional constructs(“quantity”and“quality”)-based indicators,and(2)the“substantiality”indicators can capture them.Furthermore,by suggesting that“substantiality”indicators appear linked to the reputation that appeared in university reputation rankings by simple statistical analysis,we reveal additional benefits of the construct.Findings:We propose a new construct named“substantiality”for measuring research performance.We show that indicators based on“substantiality”can capture important characteristics of research institutes.“Substantiality”indicators demonstrate their“predictive powers”on research reputation.Research limitations:The concept of“substantiality”originated from IGO game;therefore the ease/difficulty of accepting the concept is culturally dependent.In other words,while it is easily accepted by people from Japan and other East Asian countries and regions,it might be difficult for researchers from other cultural regions to accept it.Practical implications:There is no simple solution to the challenge of evaluating research universities’research performance.It is vital to combine different types of indicators to understand the excellence of research institutes.Substantiality indicators could be part of such a combination of indicators.Originality/value:The authors propose a new construct named substantiality for measuring research performance.They show that indicators based on this construct can capture the important characteristics of research institutes.

Empirical Examination of the Effects of Competition and Regulation on Public Universities and Colleges＇ Performance in China

Competition and regulation are indispensable entities for a university＇s improved performance. Using university rating as an index to performance, empirical analyses with the data from 145 public universities and colleges in China show that increased competition in the education service market is associated with higher university＇s （college＇s） performance. And increased competition in R＆D may make a quadratic effect on university＇s （college＇s） performance. University＇s performance improves when a university is directed as a branch of the central government because they enjoy some degree of management flexibility more than the local government controlled ones. A major implication of the study is the need to reform competition and regulation for improving universities and colleges＇ operating performance in China.

Towards a Framework for Evaluating the Research Performance of Chinese Double First-Class Universities

The study focuses on the research performance of Double First-Class(DFC)universities in China.A theoretical framework based on economic theory and the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP)method for a novel evaluation model is proposed.The model is performed on a sample of 41 participant DFC universities in China.Using data collected from these universities,it was found that there is no consistency between performance ranking,input ranking,and output ranking,with the best ranked universities far from the most efficient.These findings provide empirical evidence of DFC universities’research performance situation and suggest strategies that the government can use to propel their sustainable development.