Hua Zhou, Dong Wei, Yinglong Chen and Fa Wu
To promote the intuitiveness of collaborative tasks, the negotiation ability of humans with each other has inspired a large amount of studies aimed at reproducing the capacity in…
Abstract
Purpose
To promote the intuitiveness of collaborative tasks, the negotiation ability of humans with each other has inspired a large amount of studies aimed at reproducing the capacity in physical human-robot interaction (pHRI). This paper aims to promote mutual adaptation in negotiation when both parties possess incomplete information.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper introduces virtual fixtures into the traditional negotiation mechanism, locally regulating tracking trajectory and impedance parameters in the negotiating phase until the final plan integrates bilateral intentions well. In the strategy, robots convey its task information to humans and offer groups of guide plans for them to choose, on the premise of maximizing the robot’s own profits.
Findings
Compared with traditional negotiation strategies, humans adapt to robots easily and show lower cognitive load in the method, while the satisfied plan shows better performance for the whole human-robot system.
Originality/value
In this study, this paper proposes a novel negotiation strategy to facilitate the mutual adaptation of humans and robots in complicated shared tasks, especially when both parties possess incomplete information of tasks.
Details
Keywords
Mian Wang and Yajing Feng
Special education in China has lagged behind regular education for many years, however, the past few decades, the government has made considerable efforts to develop and improve…
Abstract
Special education in China has lagged behind regular education for many years, however, the past few decades, the government has made considerable efforts to develop and improve the special education system. While the citizens of China have had a generic moral interest in disability since ancient times, the development of special education schools did not occur until American and European missionaries started schools for the visually and hearing impaired in the 19th century. The next major influence in the development of the special education system occurred with China’s Cultural Revolution in 1978. Interestingly, there is not any exclusive legislation on special education but in the 1980s, the government started Learning in Regular Classrooms (LRC), which is China’s version of inclusion. LRC has progressed rapidly the past two decades; however, the quality of instruction is low due to a lack of specialists, a shortage of personnel, inadequate funding, and limited technology as well as other barriers that are delineated in the chapter. The chapter emphasizes the government’s recent efforts in in-service teacher training, the preparation of preservice teachers, working with families, developing community rehabilitation training programs, and implementing evidence-based practices. Special education in China today is at a good place but it has quite a way from the ideal situation.
The goal of this chapter is to respond to the theoretical inquiries by scholars who are interested in how the public–private partnership (PPP) models adapt to China’s context…
Abstract
The goal of this chapter is to respond to the theoretical inquiries by scholars who are interested in how the public–private partnership (PPP) models adapt to China’s context where political power dictates economic strategies. We also want to provide suggestions to policy designers who aim to promote a sustainable investment environment for domestic and international investors. We review the literature that explains the upside and downside of PPP projects in contemporary China. (1) We classify the trajectory of PPP evolution into four phases, i.e., emergence, growth, recession and revival. (2) We note that private companies take a disadvantageous position in the partnership compared with governments and state-owned enterprises because of a lack of specialized legislation, unequal competition between private companies and state-owned enterprises and the opposition from the civic society. (3) We identify political risks as the most influential risks. Political risks also lead to the misallocation of other risks between public and private parties that contributes to the high failure rate of China’s PPP projects. Based on these findings, we recommend governments to draft specialized legislation, stabilize the political environment and provide favourable subsidies to local governments to limit the risks involved in PPP projects. We also advise private enterprises and state-owned enterprises to focus on negotiating over task and risk division with governments when they make decisions to participate in PPP projects. This full review of studies on PPP development in China provides reliable recommendations to scholars, governments and enterprises.
Details
Keywords
Kymberly Drawdy, Meng Deng and Catherine Howerter
The chapter will address comparative teacher preparation programs for teachers who wish to teach in inclusive settings, including those in the United States and People’s Republic…
Abstract
The chapter will address comparative teacher preparation programs for teachers who wish to teach in inclusive settings, including those in the United States and People’s Republic of China. Consideration will be given to developing course objectives and outcomes for teacher preparation programs through the alignment of teacher standards and content standards. Further, discussion will review assessing pre-service teacher candidates for inclusive settings. It will conclude with recommendations for inclusive teacher preparation programs.
Details
Keywords
Young-Long Chen and Chung-Ming Cheng
Wu et al.'s scheme has a security problem that is related to anonymity: attackers can determine by interception the identity of a legal user. This paper aims to propose a new…
Abstract
Purpose
Wu et al.'s scheme has a security problem that is related to anonymity: attackers can determine by interception the identity of a legal user. This paper aims to propose a new secure authentication which combines a chaos system with an Arnold cat map. The scheme improves upon that of the Wu et al.'s scheme. The scheme proposed herein provides for full anonymity and improves the security of authentication messages for wireless communications.
Design/methodology/approach
A novel scheme that integrates a chaos sequence is used with an Arnold cat map for authentication messages. Authentication messages are shuffled using an Arnold cat map to improve the security of authentication in wireless communications. An analytic approach based on a chaos sequence with an Arnold cat map is developed to secure authentication. The proposed scheme is presented in this study to overcome the inherent drawbacks of existing designs.
Findings
The integrated scheme involves two steps. First, a chaos map is used to generate a set of chaos sequences that is added to the authentication messages. Second, the authentication messages are shuffled using an Arnold cat map. The main feature of the proposed design is such that the chaos systems are sensitive to the initial values of conditions. Sensitivity will lead to long-term behavior unpredictability to reflect the non-linear dynamic systems. Furthermore, to increase the complexity of the authentication message, the authors also use an Arnold cat map.
Originality/value
The proposed scheme provides functions that include full anonymity properties, protection of the real identity of the user, one-time password properties, timestamp benefits and sufficient complexity of the password. The analysis shows that the proposed scheme exhibits the advantages of the chaos system and is more secure than previous schemes. Notably, the proposed scheme is effective for wireless communications.
Details
Keywords
Giuseppe Nicolò, Giovanni Zampone, Giuseppe Sannino and Paolo Tartaglia Polcini
This study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate sustainable development goals (SDGs) disclosure and analyst forecast quality.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate sustainable development goals (SDGs) disclosure and analyst forecast quality.
Design/methodology/approach
The study focuses on a sample of 95 Italian-listed companies preparing the mandatory non-financial declaration (NFD) according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards over a five-year period (2017–2021), corresponding to an unbalanced sample of 438 observations. Analyst forecast quality was proxied by earnings forecast accuracy (FA) and earnings forecast dispersion (FD), built on data retrieved from the Refinitiv database. A manual content analysis was performed on NFDs to derive an SDG disclosure score (SDGD) for each sampled company.
Findings
This study provides empirical evidence suggesting that voluntary SDG disclosure matters to the capital market in that it helps enhance the information environment of companies, evidenced by improved analyst forecast quality. In particular, this study highlighted that SDG disclosure positively influences analyst FA while negatively affecting analyst FD.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses on the Italian context, which has idiosyncratic characteristics regarding the structure of the financial market, the composition of corporate ownership and experience in non-financial reporting practices.
Practical implications
This study indicates to corporate managers that following GRI standards may represent the right way to better integrate SDG disclosure in corporate non-financial reports and increase the relevance of such information for investors and other capital market participants.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that empirically examines the association between SDG disclosure and analyst forecast quality.
Details
Keywords
Xiaozhong Tang, Naiming Xie and Aqin Hu
Accurate foreign tourist arrivals forecasting can help public and private sectors to formulate scientific tourism planning and improve the allocation efficiency of tourism…
Abstract
Purpose
Accurate foreign tourist arrivals forecasting can help public and private sectors to formulate scientific tourism planning and improve the allocation efficiency of tourism resources. This paper aims to address the problem of low prediction accuracy of Chinese inbound tourism demand caused by the lack of valid historical data.
Design/methodology/approach
A novel hybrid Chinese inbound tourism demand forecasting model combining fractional non-homogenous discrete grey model and firefly algorithm is constructed. In the proposed model, all adjustable parameters of the fractional non-homogenous discrete grey model are optimized simultaneously by the firefly algorithm.
Findings
The data sets of annual foreign tourist arrivals to China are used to verify the validity of the proposed model. Experimental results show that the proposed method is effective and can be used as a useful predictor for the prediction of Chinese inbound tourism demand.
Originality/value
The method proposed in this paper is effective and can be used as a feasible approach for forecasting the development trend of Chinese inbound tourism.
Details
Keywords
Vivian Heung and David Grossman
This study aims to make explicit fundamental challenges, which includes children with disabilities and special educational needs in education in China, Hong Kong, and Indonesia…
Abstract
This study aims to make explicit fundamental challenges, which includes children with disabilities and special educational needs in education in China, Hong Kong, and Indonesia under the current conceptions of Inclusion and Education for All (EFA). Based on extensive research and staff development work in these places, this chapter argues for uniting the aims of inclusive education and EFA in order to realize the goal of EFA in all countries. Such a transformative agenda will require a new model of looking at difficulties in learning and the concept of diversity in education. Unless a conscious effort is made to move our thinking and planning from EFA to Inclusive EFA, we will not achieve true universal education.
This study aims to explore the intricate relationship between financial literacy, digital transformation, Fintech adoption, competitiveness and sustainable firm performance…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the intricate relationship between financial literacy, digital transformation, Fintech adoption, competitiveness and sustainable firm performance, particularly focusing on how financial literacy empowers firms in the evolving digital landscape. Leveraging technological innovation systems (TIS) and resource-based view (RBV), this research suggests a model that incorporates these concepts, focusing on the moderating role of financial literacy in essential interactions.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed a survey-based methodology, collecting data from employees across five major Pakistani banks. The survey yielded 426 responses, from which 387 valid ones were selected for analysis. The analysis utilized partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), complemented by the Hayes Process Model for moderated mediation analysis. This approach ensured robust examination of the relationships between the constructs of the proposed model.
Findings
The study's findings validate that digital transformation significantly enhances sustainable performance, with Fintech adoption and competitiveness acting as crucial mediators. Financial literacy is highlighted as a key moderator, influencing the effects of digital transformation on Fintech adoption and competitiveness, although its direct impact on sustainable performance is less pronounced. This comprehensive analysis underscores the complex interplay among these factors in driving sustainable performance in the banking sector.
Originality/value
This research enriches the theoretical and practical comprehension of how digital transformation and Fintech integration, underpinned by financial literacy, bolster sustainable business outcomes. It sheds light on the synergy between technology, strategy and organizational success, offering key insights for the banking industry's navigation through the digital era's challenges.
Details
Keywords
This synthesis covers academic research on the use of valuation, tax, information technology (IT), and forensic specialists on audit engagements. The importance and role of…
Abstract
This synthesis covers academic research on the use of valuation, tax, information technology (IT), and forensic specialists on audit engagements. The importance and role of specialists on audit engagements have recently increased, and specialist use has garnered significant attention from regulators and academics. Given the PCAOB’s (2017b) recent proposal to revise auditing standards regarding specialists’ involvement, it is important to review the specialist literature as a whole. By integrating research across these four domains, I identify commonalities and differences related to: (1) factors associated with the use of specialists on audit engagements (including the nature, timing, and extent of use); (2) factors impacting auditors’ interactions with specialists (including specialists contracted by the auditor or management); and (3) outcomes associated with the use of specialists. This integrated analysis of the specialist literatures shows variation in the use of specialists, and various factors affecting both if and how they are involved and whether auditors use specialists internal or external to the audit firm. Additionally, research has sometimes (but not always) linked specialist involvement to higher audit quality. The commonalities and areas of variation identified are informative to audit research and practice, particularly as regulators and audit firms look to improve the quality of audits using specialists. Throughout the synthesis, I also provide a number of directions for future research.