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We investigate the relation between corporate culture and the likelihood of discontinuing business operations.

We rely on regression analysis in our study.

We find a significant negative relation, suggesting that firms with strong corporate culture are less likely to discontinue business operations. To enhance the incremental contributions of our study, we delve into the moderating role of corporate culture on the aforementioned relation and identify several factors that, when coupled with corporate culture, could indirectly impact the decision-making process regarding discontinuing operations. We also find that the negative relation between corporate culture and discontinued operations is mainly driven by firms with lower earnings performance, and this relation becomes stronger for high-tech firms. Lastly, we find that stronger culture is associated with a larger magnitude of discontinued operations for firms reporting discontinued operations, and this positive association is largely driven by firms reporting income-decreasing discontinued operations.

Our analysis adds to two independent streams of research: corporate culture in management literature and discontinued operations in accounting literature. Prior research, in particular, focuses on examining if and how managers exploit discontinued operations to manipulate earnings. By showing a significant negative impact of corporate culture on the likelihood of discontinuing business operations, our research undoubtedly adds to the body of understanding regarding the factors that lead managers to discontinue certain operations.

This study aims to evaluate how the structure of medical compression stockings, including three compression levels and five cross-sections from the ankle to the thigh part, will be changed after washing in different conditions and further investigate the effect of the washing parameters on the medical compression stockings.

By washing medical compression stockings in different conditions and measuring the structures (including the density, the girth, the transversal and lengthwise dimension, the weight per unit area and the thickness) of medical compression stockings from the knee to the thigh part.

It was concluded that the density, the weight per unit and the thickness increase and the girth, the transversal and lengthwise dimension, the weight per unit and the thickness decrease. The change degree of Class one and Class two is greater than Class 3. Moreover, the washing temperature is the most significant factor affecting all the structures of medical compression stockings. Meanwhile, the mechanical actions of the washing machine, like drum speed and washing time, also influence different medical compression stockings structures to different degrees.

The washing parameter not only includes the temperature and washing cycles but also has other factors, such as the drum speed and washing time. In addition, different kinds of factors will be influenced by each other.

This study can provide consumers advices on the washing of medical compression stockings, and attribute to the optimization of materials and structures to maintain its properties for manufacturers.

In this study, we examine the relation between employee treatment and annual report readability, which is measured as a reading difficulty score.

We use regression analysis to explore the impact of employee treatment on annual report reading difficulty.

We find a significant negative relation between employee treatment and reading difficulty, which suggests that annual reports of firms with better employee treatment are easier to read and understand (i.e. more readable).

Our study contributes to a more thorough knowledge of annual report readability and our findings may be of relevance to accounting standard setters and investors.

Sharing co-owned information on social network platforms has become a common and inevitable phenomenon. However, due to the uniqueness of co-owned information, the privacy calculus theory based on a single information owner cannot explain co-owned information disclosure. Therefore, this study tries to investigate the underlying mechanism of users’ co-owned information disclosure from a collective privacy calculus perspective.

Through a survey of 740 participants, covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) was used to verify the proposed model and hypotheses.

The results show that personal benefit, others’ benefit and relationship benefit promote users’ co-owned information disclosure by positively affecting personal distributive fairness and others’ distributive fairness perception. Meanwhile, personal privacy risk and others’ privacy risk prevent users’ co-owned information disclosure by negatively affecting personal distributive fairness and others’ distributive fairness perception. Besides, others’ information ownership perception enhances the positive effect of others’ distributive fairness perception on co-owned information disclosure intention. Furthermore, others’ information ownership strengthens the mediating role of others’ distributive fairness.

The findings of this study enrich the research scope of information disclosure and privacy calculus theory and help social network platform developers design collective privacy protection functions.

This study develops a collective privacy calculus model to understand users’ co-owned information disclosure on social network platforms, confirming the mediating role of collective distributive fairness and the moderating role of others’ information ownership perception in the process of collective privacy calculus.

This study aims to assess the pitting resistance of austenitic stainless steel welded joints fusion zone (FZ) with high density of inclusions before and after surface treatment, including potentiostatic pulse technique (PPT) and pickling.

The potentiodynamic polarization tests and critical pitting temperature tests were carried out for estimating pitting resistance. The PPT and pickling were performed as surface treatment. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer were used for characterize the microstructure and elemental distribution. Electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) was used to assess the portion of phases and morphology of grains.

The weld metal exhibits a higher degree of alloying compared to the base metal, and it contains d-phase and sulfur-containing inclusions. Sulfur-containing inclusions serve as initiation sites for pitting, and they diminish the pitting resistance of weld metal. Both PPT and pickling can remove sulfur-containing inclusions, but PPT causes localized dissolution of the weld metal matrix around the inclusions, while pickling does not. Because of the high density of inclusions, certain pits initiated by PPT are significantly deeper, which makes the formation of stable pitting easier. Because of the high density of inclusions, certain pits initiated by the PPT are deeper. This characteristic facilitates the progression of these initial defects into fully developed, stable pits.

Analysis of pitting initiation in shielded metal arc welding FZ with PPT and ex situ SEM tracking observation. Explanation of why the PPT surface treatment is not able to enhance the pitting resistance of stainless steel with a high inclusion density.

The thriving global tourism industry is a pivotal player in the global economy. It significantly contributes to a substantial carbon footprint through emissions from transportation, lodging, and infrastructure. In this study we have conducted a critical analysis of carbon emissions within the tourism industry using previous academic literature and institutional databases. Addressing the importance of measuring carbon footprints, the study delves into the definition of the carbon footprint in this sector, emphasizing the urgent need to comprehend and address its effects. This investigation also centers on the aspect of transportation, which is contributing to carbon emissions in the tourism industry. It explores variations based on transportation modes and discusses mitigation strategies, such as green transit. It also concentrates on accommodation, scrutinizing its environmental impact by evaluating carbon emissions from energy consumption, water usage, and waste generation in hotels and resorts. Emphasis is placed on promoting sustainable and green lodging facilities. Furthermore, this study examines the environmental impact of the tourism industry. Specifically, it examines the carbon footprint associated with infrastructure development. The analysis includes the impact of construction and development, resource consumption, and the role of communities and stakeholders in sustainable tourism planning. Furthermore, an assessment is conducted to examine the obstacles associated with adopting sustainable practices and assess the effectiveness of implemented mitigation strategies within the tourism industry. The concluding section outlines future perspectives and recommendations for research.

Polycentricity has become a crucial spatial development strategy. This paper aims to clarify the impact and mechanism of polycentric spatial structure on the urban–rural income gap, provide better countermeasures to narrow it and make development suggestions for cities of different scales.

Based on the panel data of Chinese cities from 2010 to 2019, this paper empirically examines the specific impact of polycentric spatial structure on the urban–rural income gap by utilizing a two-way fixed effects model.

The results show that the polycentric spatial structure is favorable for reducing the urban–rural income gap, and upgrading the industrial structure and improving transportation infrastructure are important mechanisms. Moreover, the role of polycentric spatial structure is more significant in large cities. However, in small and medium-sized cities, the role of polycentric spatial structure is not significant.

The limitations of this study include two main aspects. One is that this paper only analyzes the mediating effect of industrial structure and transport infrastructure, and we do not examine other mechanisms. The second is that due to data availability, this paper uses data from 2010 to 2019, and the research period can be further extended in future studies.

This study has policy implications for building a polycentric city network and also provides insights into the planning of cities of different scales.

The polycentric spatial structure is important for narrowing the urban–rural income gap, especially in large cities. Improvement of transportation infrastructure and upgrading of industrial structure are important mechanisms. However, the polycentric spatial structure does not play a significant role in small and medium-sized cities. Thus, the polycentric spatial structure is not suitable for every kind of city. Relevant departments should carry out urban planning according to local conditions.

As a critical concern of urban planning, polycentricity significantly affects the urban–rural income gap. Relevant studies have analyzed the impact of polycentric spatial structure on regional income disparity, and few studies have focused on the relationship between polycentric spatial structure and the urban–rural income gap. Using city panel data in China, this paper explores the impact of polycentric spatial structure on the urban-rural income gap. Meanwhile, we test the mediating role of transportation infrastructure improvement and industrial structure upgrading. This study broadens the analysis of the urban–rural income gap’s influencing factors and provides a path reference for narrowing the urban–rural income gap.

The research in this paper aims to investigate the development of Library and Information Science in Chinese universities. Specifically, it focuses on understanding the spatial and temporal aspects of subject knowledge output and providing a more comprehensive explanation of the imbalance in subject research.

This study applies the bibliometric method to analyze 131,112 papers published by 51 universities in mainland China from 1977 to 2021, as recorded in the Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index (CSSCI). The study classifies the evolution trends of the discipline and quantifies the published article data of the universities using the index of published articles. Additionally, it examines the development status, structural situation, influencing factors and prospects of universities in different categories and regions.

The field of Library and Information Science is gaining momentum in Chinese universities, but there are significant differences in its development. While the relative gap among universities in a regional context is diminishing, the absolute gap in the category perspective is increasing. The development of Library and Information Science is influenced by various factors, including the academic environment, geographical position, scientific research projects and academic traditions. The uneven development of the discipline is maintained in the short term.

This paper proposes a new quantitative index of discipline development, the university publication index. This index allows for an examination of the temporal and spatial trends of discipline development using domestic universities as the subject of research. The paper presents an overview of discipline development through four aspects: academic participation practice, discipline governance mechanisms, education and teaching systems and discourse construction within the discipline. The theoretical support provided by this study can help facilitate innovative development in the discipline.

This chapter examines the significant role of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain technology in fostering a sustainable economy in the metaverse. Blockchain allows the saving and transfer of decentralized and secure data. As a primary component of the metaverse economy, NFTs are distinct and secure virtual assets saved on the blockchain. These assets facilitate possessing, trading, and monetizing digital assets. These advancing technologies have also revolutionized the method by which creators and artists test and exchange their digital work, introducing a novel period of ownership and value in the digital realm. However, the negative environmental effects of some blockchain technologies constitute a considerable constraint, pushing a shift to a sustainable economy. Platforms like The Sandbox have implemented initiatives to address environmental concerns. As a case study, The Sandbox play-to-earn model with tokenized assets showcases its ability to create value and encourage user participation. It shows the ability of NFTs and blockchain to support a sustainable economy.

This study aims to propose a novel acoustic metamaterial waveguide with active switchable channels by changing the magnetic field strength.

Based on the Bragg scattering mechanism and the force-magnetic coupling effect of magnetorheological elastomer (MRE), an acoustic metamaterial waveguide structure containing lead scatterers and an MRE/rubber matrix is constructed. By changing the external magnetic field strength, the bandgap of the acoustic metamaterial can be adjusted, and then the channels of the proposed acoustic metamaterial waveguide can be actively switched. The bandgap ranges of acoustic metamaterials containing scatterers with different sizes are different and by designing the size of the scatterers, an acoustic metamaterial waveguide can be formed. The design and control method of this study will be useful for the design of waveguides and active control of bandgaps.

The proposed switchable multi-channel waveguide and active control method can effectively control the elastic wave propagation, and the opening and closing of the channel are achieved.

This study provides a new control method for waveguides and expands the application range of MRE. The proposed design concept of adjustable waveguides can be extended for the design of waveguides, metamaterials and vibration reduction structures.

This article proposes a waveguide structure controlled by an external magnetic field in a non-contact manner based on the principle of Bragg scattering and the force-magnetic coupling effect. The model is established, and its feasibility is demonstrated through numerical simulations.