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Quality awards are widely considered symbols of successful quality management. The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the effects of the China Quality Award (CQA) on firms' performance. The study further explores how the benefits due to CQA are affected by contextual factors.

Using the data of CQA winners from 2001 to 2016, the event study method is applied to analyze the abnormal performance of winners. Furthermore, multiple regression models are proposed to evaluate the effects of contextual factors on the relationship between the award and profitability.

The findings show that CQA has positive impacts on profitability and fixed asset efficiency but not on labor productivity. Besides, state-owned firms and firms with high innovation intensity obtain more profitability benefits than others.

This is the first study to explain the relationship between quality awards and firm performance from a theoretical perspective, providing new insights into the quality management and performance literature. Furthermore, this study deepens the understanding of the relationship between quality awards and performance and reveals new implications. Some of the contextual factors examined, such as innovation intensity, are considered for the first time in quality award research.

The aim of this study is to establish the nonlinear dynamics equations of roller bearings with surface faults on outer raceway, inner raceway and rolling elements to analyze the dynamic characteristics of the double row self-aligning roller bearings, and provided theoretical basis for bearing fault diagnosis and life prediction.

First, based on the momentum theorem, the formulas for quantitative calculation of impact load were established, when roller was in contact with the fault of the inner or outer raceway. Then, the fault position piecewise functions and the load-carrying zone piecewise functions were established. Based on these, the nonlinear dynamic equations of double row self-aligning roller bearings are established, and Matlab is used to simulate the faulty bearings at different positions, sizes and rotational speeds. Finally, the vibration test of the fault bearings are completed, and the correctness of the nonlinear dynamic equations of the rolling bearing are verified.

The simulation and test results show that: the impact load increased with the increasing rotate speed and fault size, and the larger the fault size, the longer the impact load existed and the shorter vice versa.

The nonlinear dynamic equation of double row self-aligning roller bearings is established, which provides a theoretical basis for bearing faults diagnosis and fatigue life prediction.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of stud height, stud diameter, ultimate stress of stud and concrete strength on the static behaviour of studs in push-off tests based on the ductile fracture theory.

Push-off tests of headed stud shear connectors with different heights and diameters used in concrete of various strengths were designed and implemented. A finite element model was established based on a ductile fracture criterion of ML15 cold-heading steel with stress triaxiality and Lode angle parameter. Based on the results of the parametric study of the numerical model, equations were proposed to evaluate the effect of stud height h_s, stud area A_s, concrete strength f_c and stud ultimate strength f_su used in concrete of various strengths on the static behaviour of studs.

The typical failure phenomenon observed among the test specimens was the fracture of the shank of studs. The microscopic images of the stud fracture surfaces and the verified finite element model indicate that the studs were fractured as a result of the combined action of tension and shear.

A new method for calculating ultimate load P_u and ultimate slip S_u is proposed in this paper. In the method, P_u is linearly related to f_su^0.2143, A_s^0.7790, h_s^0.0974, f_c^0.2065. S_u is linearly related to f_su^1.078, A_s^0.4681, h_s^(−0.3135), f_c^(−0.3480).

This paper aims to investigate the effects of the pia matter on cerebral cortical folding.

A three-layer buckling simulation model composited by the white matter, gray matter and the pia matter is adopted to analyze the effect of the pia matter on cortical folding. The volume growth of brain tissues is simulated using thermal expansion. The effects of the pia matter growth rate, thickness and stiffness on cortical folding is investigated.

The simulation results show that all of these three aforementioned factors of pia matter have obvious effects on cerebral cortical folding. Especially, the thickening of the pia matter may lead to cortical folding malformation such as polymicrogyria, which is in good agreement with the recent reported anatomical findings.

The three-layer model in this paper composited by the white matter, gray matter and the pia matter is different from the usually used two-layer model only composited by the white matter and gray matter. This three-layer model has successfully validated the effect of the pia matter on cerebral cortical folding. The simulation results can explain the anatomical findings very well.

China has recently introduced a new audit law that aims to increase the scope of audit supervision and raise the standards for preventing risks in auditing national public projects. This paper presents a systematic research study on the causes of audit risks in national public projects and discusses the process by which these causes contribute to the emergence of such risks. Furthermore, the paper investigates the core risk sources in various types of national construction project audit. This paper aims to provide theoretical support for auditors of national construction projects in risk avoidance when conducting audits.

In this study, the authors carefully selected five national public audit projects from China and performed a comprehensive analysis of 85 relevant audit documentation. The textual analysis was conducted using Nvivo12 software, and the grounded theory approach was adopted for generalization purposes.

Based on the research results, the findings suggest that there are five key causes contributing to the audit risk of national construction projects: professional competence, risk awareness, management capacity, level of attention and deliberate fraud. The most critical factor identified is management capability, with 59.93% of the data supporting this view. This conclusion was based on an analysis of state-owned enterprises, administrative organs and public institutions. Building upon this, a framework titled “the mechanism of audit risk factors with management capability as the core” was constructed.

This paper employs qualitative analysis methods to examine national construction projects in China, contributing new literature to the theoretical study of audit risk management. The article also provides practical recommendations for auditors on how to mitigate audit risks and improve the quality of audit services in national project governance.

The purpose of this study is to examine the bi-directional causality between political uncertainty and the market risk premium in the US.

I use a theoretical model to motivate signs and then check signs based on a vector autoregression.

I find that political uncertainty has a small positive, delayed effect on the market risk premium. The market risk premium, on the other hand, has a large permanent, negative effect on political uncertainty.

This is the first research paper to consider the bi-directional effects of political uncertainty on the market risk premium and vice versa. It also finds interesting empirical results.