Search results

Does the history of the bureaucratic system, along with the establishment of the Great Wall during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1911), affect firm behavior across the borderlands of the Great Wall?

The Ming and Qing dynasties built a centralized administrative system in the borderlands on the south side of the Great Wall, in contrast to the “feudal lordship” system on the north side. Employing a regression discontinuity analysis framework with the Great Wall as a geographical discontinuity, we examine the long-run effects of the Great Wall on firms’ earnings management.

Using a large sample of nonlisted firms in the central core frontier region, we show that the earnings management of firms in the region south of the Great Wall is significantly curtailed compared with firms in the north of it, and this effect is more pronounced for non-SOEs. Our findings are robust to a battery of tests to account for alternative explanations.

Overall, by emphasizing the role of institutions, like legal system, shaped in history on firms’ earnings management, this study sheds new light on institutional determinants of firms’ behaviors in earnings information disclosure.

First, we enrich our understanding of the institutional determinants of firms’ financial reporting outcomes. Second, our findings shed new light on the long-term effects of historical ruling styles on modern corporate behavior.

In many instances, the data exhibits periodic and trend characteristics. However, indices like the Digital Economy Development Index (DEDI), which pertains to science, technology, policy and economy, may occasionally display erratic behaviors due to external influences. Thus, to address the unique attributes of the digital economy, this study integrates the principle of information prioritization with nonlinear processing techniques to accurately forecast rapid and anomalous data.

The proposed method utilizes the new information priority GM(1,1) model alongside an optimized BP neural network model achieved through the gradient descent technique (GD-BP). Initially, the provincial Digital Economic Development Index (DEDI) is derived using the entropy weight approach. Subsequently, the original GM(1,1) time response equation undergoes alteration of the initial value, and the time parameter is fine-tuned using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). Next, the GD-BP model addresses the residual error. Ultimately, the prediction outcome of the grey combination forecasting model (GCFM) is derived by merging the findings from both the NIPGM(1,1) model and the GD-BP approach.

Using the DEDI of Jiangsu Province as a case study, researchers demonstrate the effectiveness of the grey combination forecasting model. This model achieves a mean absolute percentage error of 0.33%, outperforming other forecasting methods.

First of all, due to the limited data access, it is impossible to obtain a more comprehensive dataset related to the DEDI of Jiangsu Province. Secondly, according to the test results of the GCFM from 2011 to 2020 and the forecasting results from 2021 to 2023, it can be seen that the results of the GCFM are consistent with the actual development situation, but it cannot guarantee the correctness of the long-term forecasting, so the combination forecasting model is only suitable for short-term forecasting.

This article proposes a grey combination prediction model based on the principles of new information priority and nonlinear processing.

This study aims to study the distribution characteristics of antibiotic resistance in direct-eating food and analysis of Citrobacter freundii genome and pathogenicity. Residual antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment severely threaten human health and the ecological environment. The diseases caused by foodborne pathogenic bacteria are increasing daily, and the enhancement of antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria poses many difficulties in the treatment of disease.

In this study, six fresh fruits and vegetable samples were selected for isolation and identification of culturable bacteria and analysis of antibiotic resistance. The whole genome of Citrobacter freundii isolated from cucumber was sequenced and analyzed by Oxford Nanopore sequencing.

The results show that 270 strains of bacteria were identified in 6 samples. From 12 samples of direct food, 2 kinds of probiotics and 10 kinds of opportunistic pathogens were screened. The proportion of Citrobacter freundii screened from cucumber was significantly higher than that from other samples, and it showed resistance to a variety of antibiotics. Whole genome sequencing showed that Citrobacter freundii was composed of a circular chromosome containing signal peptides, transmembrane proteins and transporters that could induce antibiotic efflux, indicating that Citrobacter freundii had strong adaptability to the environment. The detection of genes encoding carbohydrate active enzymes is more beneficial to the growth and reproduction of Citrobacter freundii in crops. A total of 29 kinds of ARGs were detected in Citrobacter freundii, mainly conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, carbapenem, cephalosporins and macrolides. The main mechanisms are the change in antibiotic targets and efflux pumps, the change in cell permeability and the inactivation of antibiotics and the detection of virulence factors and ARGs, further indicating the serious risk to human health.

The detection of genomic islands and prophages increases the risk of horizontal transfer of virulence factors and ARGs, which spreads the drug resistance of bacteria and pathogenic bacteria more widely.

Drawing on the transactional theory of stress and coping, this paper aims to identify the relationship between workplace ostracism and job productivity by analyzing the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and lack of motivation.

We collected data from a sample of 396 employees from 20 manufacturing companies in Jordan using a survey-based, two-tiered approach. The partial least squares structural equation modeling method was used to test the direct and indirect effects of ostracism on productivity.

The findings show that workplace ostracism increases emotional exhaustion and motivation, and indirectly decreases job productivity through the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and lack of motivation.

The study provides a theoretical foundation on which various companies can base their understanding of workplace ostracism and its relationship to job productivity. By focusing on increased exhaustion and lack of motivation, this study analyzes current literature to establish the impacts on areas of interest and identify expectations in the context of productivity, as well as enhance comprehension of the detrimental effects of workplace ostracism on productivity.

The sensitivity and fragility of the construction industry’s economic system make the economic resilience of the construction industry (ERCI) a key concern for stakeholders and decision-makers. This study aims to measure the ERCI, identify the heterogeneity and spatial differences in ERCI, and provide scientific guidance and improvement paths for the industry. It provides a foundation for the implementation of resilience policies in the construction industry of developing countries in the future.

The comprehensive index method, Theil index method, standard deviation ellipse method and geographic detector model are used to investigate the spatial differences, spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and the influencing factors of the ERCI from 2005 to 2020 in China.

The ERCI was “high in the east and low in the west”, and Jiangsu has the highest value with 0.64. The Theil index of ERCI shows a wave downward pattern, with significant spatial heterogeneity. The overall difference in ERCI is mainly caused by regional differences, with the contribution rates being higher by more than 70%. Besides, the difference between different regions is increasing. The ERCI was centered in Henan Province, showing a clustering trend in the “northeast-southwest” direction, with weakened spatial polarization and a shrinking distribution range. The market size, input level of construction industry factors, industrial scale and economic scale are the main factors influencing economic resilience. The interaction between each influencing factor exhibits an enhanced relationship, including non-linear enhancement and dual-factor enhancement, with no weakening or independent relationship.

Exploring the spatial differences and driving factors of the ERCI in China, which can provide crucial insights and references for stakeholders, authorities and decision-makers in similar construction economic growth leading to the economic growth of the national economy context areas and countries.

The construction industry development is the main engine for the national economy growth of most developing countries. This study establishes a comprehensive evaluation index on the resilience measurement and analyzes the spatial effects, regional heterogeneity and driving factors on ERCI in the largest developing country from a dynamic perspective. Moreover, it explores the multi-factor interaction mechanism in the formation process of ERCI, provides a theoretical basis and empirical support for promoting the healthy development of the construction industry economy and optimizes ways to enhance and improve the level of ERCI.

Drawing on the tenets of institutional theory, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of Confucianism on technology for social good, while also considering the moderating influence of extrinsic informal institutions (foreign culture) and intrinsic formal institutions (property rights).

This study constructs a comprehensive database comprising 9,759 firm-year observations in China by using a sample of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2016 to 2020. Subsequently, the hypotheses are examined and confirmed, with the validity of the results being upheld even after conducting endogenous and robustness tests.

The findings of this study offer robust and consistent evidence supporting the notion that Confucianism positively affects technology for social good through both incentive effect and normative effect. Moreover, this positive influence is particularly prominent in organizations with limited exposure to foreign culture and in nonstate-owned enterprises.

The findings contribute to the literature by fostering a deep understanding of technology for social good and Confucianism research, and further provide a nuanced picture of the role of foreign culture and property rights in the process of technology for social good in China.

Given the heavy pollution feature of the construction industry, construction corporations need to adopt an effective environmental governance strategy. The quality and quantity of environmental information disclosure (EID) implementation, as an essential part of a corporate environmental governance strategy, is impacted by the characteristics of the top management team (TMT). This paper aims to analyze the relationship between the demographic characteristics of the TMT (i.e. gender, age, tenure, educational level, and duality) and corporate EID.

Using data from listed construction corporations generated between 2014 to 2018 in China, this study employs the Tobit regression model to test the research hypotheses. Also, this study applies a novel analytical approach, necessary condition analysis (NCA), to conduct a series of additional tests.

The results reveal that tenure and educational level are significantly and positively related to EID, while gender, age, and duality in the executive role are not significantly related to EID. When considering the TMT size as a moderator, the TMT age is positively related to the corporate EID, and the size of the TMT acts as a moderator to weaken the positive effect of the TMT age on the EID. The NCA results show that TMT gender, age, tenure, and educational level are necessary when the levels of EID exceed 40%.

Our findings suggest that TMT characteristics have a relatively significant effect on corporate EID levels, which extends EID research to the construction industry. Corporate planners can endeavor to shape TMT characteristics to improve EID levels. The results of NCA provide insights into what TMT characteristics construction corporations need to satisfy in their pursuit of transparent EID, as well as the levels at which these characteristics are desired.

Construction workers’ safety behavior has been proven to be crucial in preventing occupational injuries and improving workplace safety, and organizational safety support provides essential resources to promote such behavior. However, the specific mechanisms of how organizational safety support affects safety behavior have not been thoroughly explored. Therefore, this study explored the relationship between workers’ perceived organizational safety support (perceived supervisor/coworker safety support) and safety behavior (safety task/contextual behavior), while considering the mediating effects of safety motivation, emotional exhaustion, and the moderating effect of psychosocial safety climate.

Based on the quantitative research method, the hypothesis was tested. The data were collected from 500 construction workers using a structured questionnaire. Observed variables were tested using confirmatory factor analysis, and the path coefficient of fitted model was then analyzed including the associated mediating and moderating effects.

The study found that (1) safety support from both supervisors and coworkers directly forecasted both types of safety behavior, (2) safety motivation was primarily predicted by perceived supervisor safety support, and perceived coworker safety support better predicted emotional exhaustion. Safety motivation mediated the relationship between perceived supervisor safety support and safety contextual behavior, and emotional exhaustion mediated the relationship between both types of safety support and both types of safety behavior, (3) psychosocial safety climate moderated the pathway relationships mediated by safety motivation and emotional exhaustion, respectively.

The samples of this study were mostly immersed in eastern culture and the construction industry, and the cultural and industry diversity of the samples deserves further consideration to enhance the universality of the results. The cross-sectional approach may have some impact on the accuracy of the results. In addition, other potential mediating variables deserve to be explored in future studies.

This study provides a new basis for extending current theoretical frameworks of organizational safety support and safety behavior by using a moderated mediation model. Some practical insights on construction safety management have also been proposed based on the research findings. It is recommended that practitioners should further raise awareness of the critical role of supervisor-worker and worker-coworker relationships, as high levels of safety support from the supervisor/worker respectively effectively encourage safety motivation, alleviate emotional exhaustion, and thus improve workers’ safety performance. Meanwhile, the psychosocial health conditions of workers should also receive further attention.

The importance of workplace inclusion continues to gain scholarly acclaim. However, in reality, many employees choose to ostracize their colleagues post workplace relationship strife. With this notion the present study aims to delve into the intricate linkages between workplace relationship conflict (WRC) and employee ostracism behavior (EOB), exploring the serial mediating roles of relational identification (RI) and emotional energy (EE). Additionally, the study examines the potential moderating effect of perceived forgiveness climate (PFC) to understand how forgiveness climate may serve as a boundary condition in shaping these crucial relationships.

The analysis utilized five-wave time-tagged data collected from 228 employees through scenario and survey methods. The Hayes PROCESS Macro was employed to examine the proposed hypotheses.

The results indicate a positive influence of WRC on EOB. Additionally, RI and EE sequentially mediate the relationship between WRC and EOB. Furthermore, PFC moderates the serial mediation process (RI and EE) between WRC and EOB as well as the adverse effects of WRC on RI.

Grounded in the theoretical framework of conservation of resource (COR) theory and cognitive-affective personality system (CAPS) theory, the present study offers new insights. By establishing the complicated interplay of RI and EE between WRC and EOB along with the moderating role of PFC, the study extends the understanding of the mechanisms involved, providing a more comprehensive perspective. By shedding light on these complicated interconnected links, the study paved the way for positive social dynamics at work.

This study aims to develop an associative text analyzer (ATA) to support users in quickly grasping and interpreting the content of large amounts of text through text association recommendations, facilitating the identification of the contextual relationships between people, events, organization and locations for digital humanities. Additionally, by providing text summaries, the tool allows users to link between distant and close readings, thereby enabling more efficient exploration of related texts.

To verify the effectiveness of this tool in supporting exploration of historical texts, this study uses a counterbalanced design to compare the use of the digital humanities platform for Mr. Lo Chia-Lun’s Writings (DHP-LCLW) with and without the ATA to assist in exploring different aspects of text. The study investigated whether there were significant differences in effectiveness for exploring textual contexts and technological acceptance as well as used semi-structured in-depth interviews to understand the research participants’ viewpoints and experiences with the ATA.

The results of the experiment revealed that the effectiveness of text exploration using the DHP-LCLW with and without the ATA varied significantly depending on the topic of the text being explored. The DHP-LCLW with the ATA was found to be more suitable for exploring historical texts, while the DHP-LCLW without the ATA was more suitable for exploring educational texts. The DHP-LCLW with the DHP-LCLW was found to be significantly more useful in terms of perceived usefulness than the DHP-LCLW without the ATA, indicating that the research participants believed the ATA was more effective in helping them efficiently grasp the related texts and topics during text exploration.

The study’s practical implications lie in the development of an ATA for digital humanities, offering a valuable tool for efficiently exploring historical texts. The ATA enhances users’ ability to grasp and interpret large volumes of text, facilitating contextual relationship identification. Its practical utility is evident in the improved effectiveness of text exploration, particularly for historical content, as indicated by users’ perceived usefulness.

This study proposes an ATA for digital humanities, enhancing text exploration by offering association recommendations and efficient linking between distant and close readings. The study contributes by providing a specialized tool and demonstrating its perceived usefulness in facilitating efficient exploration of related texts in digital humanities.