Yingjie Ju, Jianliang Yang, Jingping Ma and Yuehang Hou
The objective of this study is to explore the impact of a government-supported initiative for operational security, specifically the establishment of the national security…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study is to explore the impact of a government-supported initiative for operational security, specifically the establishment of the national security emergency industry demonstration base, on the profitability of local publicly traded companies. Additionally, the study investigates the significance of firms' blockchain strategies and technologies within this framework.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the differences-in-differences (DID) approach, this study evaluates the impact of China's national security emergency industry demonstration bases (2015–2022) on the profitability of local firms. Data from the China Research Data Service (CNRDS) platform and investor Q&As informed our analysis of firms' blockchain strategy and technology, underpinned by detailed data collection and a robust DID model.
Findings
Emergency industry demonstration bases have notably boosted enterprise profitability in both return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). Companies adopting blockchain strategies and operational technology see a clear rise in profitability over non-blockchain peers. Additionally, the technical operation of blockchain presents a more pronounced advantage than at the strategic level.
Originality/value
We introduced a new perspective, emphasizing the enhancement of corporate operational safety and financial performance through the pathway of emergency industry policies, driven by the collaboration between government and businesses. Furthermore, we delved into the potential application value of blockchain strategies and technologies in enhancing operational security and the emergency industry.
Details
Keywords
Cuiping Kang, Gang Wang, Min Shi and Fei Sun
This paper aims to explore the developing trend of higher pedagogy, to promote the research of higher pedagogy to be more canonical and scientific and to improve the higher…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the developing trend of higher pedagogy, to promote the research of higher pedagogy to be more canonical and scientific and to improve the higher education theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The utility research uses a method of quantitative study, namely “content analysis”, to estimate and analyze the higher education theory literature on ten dimensionalities which include theme, author, abstract, keywords, subject, proposing of the issue, definition of key terms, research methods, conclusion, reference and annotations from 1996 to 2006 in China.
Findings
The analysis of the selected 250 academic theses and reports in the field of higher education shows that academic research and theoretical standard have been improved, meanwhile academic criterion have been formed by degrees in higher pedagogy within ten years. At the same time, there are still some problems in the papers and reports the authors have selected such as title, key words, proposing of the issue, researching method and conclusion.
Originality/value
This paper sums up the trend of research on higher education in China for the past ten years, and points out the problems in this trend and then proposes ways to improve the research of higher education in China.
Details
Keywords
Kenneth Leithwood and Jingping Sun
This study is a quantitative exploration of a new construct the authors label as “academic culture (AC).” Treating it as generalized latent variable composed of academic press…
Abstract
Purpose
This study is a quantitative exploration of a new construct the authors label as “academic culture (AC).” Treating it as generalized latent variable composed of academic press (AP), disciplinary climate (DC), and teachers’ use of instructional time, the purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of this construct to be a key mediator of school leaders’ influence on student learning. The study is guided by three hypotheses.
Design/methodology/approach
Responses by 856 elementary teachers from 70 schools to an online survey measured the three components of AC along with school leadership (SL). Provincial tests of writing, reading, and math were used as measures of student achievement (SA). Social economic status (SES) was used as control variable for the study. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics and correlations were calculated among all variables. Analyses included intra-class correlation analysis, regression equations, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling.
Findings
Evidence confirmed the study’s three hypotheses: first, AP, DC, and instructional time formed a general latent construct, AC; second, AC explained a significant proportion of the variance in SA, controlling for student SES; and third, AC was a significant mediator of SL’s influence on SA. Concepts and measures of academic optimism (AO) and AC are compared in the paper and implications for practice and future research are outlined.
Originality/value
This first study of AC explored the relationship between AC and SA. Although at least two AO studies have included measures of distributed leadership, minimal attention has been devoted to actually testing the claim that AO is amenable to the influence of explicit leadership practices (as distinct from enabling school structures) and is a powerful mediator of SL effects on student learning. Addressing this limitation of AO research to date, the present study included a well-developed measure of leadership practices and assessed the value of AC as a mediator of such practices.
Details
Keywords
Kenneth Leithwood, Jingping Sun and Catherine McCullough
The purpose of this paper is to test the effects of nine district characteristics on student achievement, explored the conditions that mediated the effects of such characteristics…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the effects of nine district characteristics on student achievement, explored the conditions that mediated the effects of such characteristics and contributed to understandings about the role school-level leaders play in district efforts to improve achievement.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for the study were provided by the responses of 2,324 school and district leaders in 45 school districts to two surveys. Student achievement evidence was provided by multi-grade provincial measures of math and language achievement. The analysis of these data included calculation of descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis and regression mediation analysis.
Findings
Seven of nine district characteristics contributed significantly to student achievement and three conditions served as especially powerful mediators of such district effects. The same three conditions, as well as others, acted as significant mediators of school-level leader effects on achievement, as well.
Practical implications
District characteristics tested in the study provide a powerful framework for guiding the district improvement work of senior educational leaders. The organizational improvement efforts of both district and school leaders would be substantially enhanced by a better understanding of how to diagnose and improve the status of those conditions acting as significant mediators of the effects of both district and school leadership on student achievement.
Originality/value
This is one of a very few large-scale quantitative studies examining the extent to which characteristics frequently identified by district effectiveness research explain variation in student learning. It is also one of the very few studies identifying classroom, school and family variables that mediate district effects on such learning. The study also adds to a growing body of evidence about variables which mediate school leaders’ effects on such learning.
Details
Keywords
– The purpose of this paper is to propose a critical path through which school leadership travels to students by highlighting the importance of teacher commitment.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a critical path through which school leadership travels to students by highlighting the importance of teacher commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
Using both meta-analytic and narrative review methods, this paper systematically reviews the evidence in the past 20 years about the conceptualizations and measurements of teacher commitment and its relationships with principal leadership and student learning.
Findings
This paper presents: first, the four dimensions of teacher commitment and the ten constituents involved in the conceptualization of teacher commitment; and second, the five measures used in empirical studies for measuring teacher commitment. It concludes that: teacher commitment is significantly related to student learning; the extent to which school leadership influences teacher commitment is large and is aligned with the value systems of both leaders and teachers; and teacher commitment mediates leadership impacts on student learning in three ways: at the personal level, at the dyad level and at the collective level.
Research limitations/implications
This study conceptualizes a critical path through which school leadership improves student learning, mediated by teacher commitment. A framework of such critical paths will provide educational leaders and policy makers at both local and state levels with much needed guidance for improving student learning.
Originality/value
This study adds to the understanding of the indirect influence of school leadership on student learning by illustrating how and to what extent principal leadership influences teacher commitment, which in turn influences student learning.
Details
Keywords
Kenneth Leithwood, Jingping Sun, Randall Schumacker and Cheng Hua
This study extends research on one of the most frequently cited school leadership frameworks by examining the psychometric properties of the instrument designed to assess many of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study extends research on one of the most frequently cited school leadership frameworks by examining the psychometric properties of the instrument designed to assess many of the practices included in that framework.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data collected from 1,401 teachers the study examined the instrument’s measurement invariance, score reliabilities, as well as construct and predictive validities. Polytomous latent trait models (Many-Facet Rasch model), scale and principal component analysis using second-order Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)-Path modelling were used for these purposes.
Findings
Findings report levels of score reliability and valid score inferences. Results concerning the predictive validity of the instrument indicate a complex set of relations among the domains of leadership practices measured by the instrument, variables selected as mediators of leaders’ influence, and their direct and indirect effects on student learning.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides researchers with a reliable and valid instrument for use in their future research. Data for the study were provided by elementary teachers in one US state. The extent to which results of the instrument are valid across different cultural and organizational settings remains to be determined.
Practical implications
Leadership developers may find the instrument useful for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of those participating in their programs while leaders themselves many find the instrument useful for self-diagnosis.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the development of school leadership measures by including Rasch modeling among the methods used for examining the instrument’s psychometric properties.
Details
Keywords
Dachen Sheng and Heather A. Montgomery
This study discovers the perceptions and preferences of Chinese fans of the European major football leagues. China has a large potential sports consumption market, and football…
Abstract
Purpose
This study discovers the perceptions and preferences of Chinese fans of the European major football leagues. China has a large potential sports consumption market, and football has the largest number of fans among all the sports in China. Knowing the needs of foreign fans would help the leagues to decide the most efficient and competitive strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
The research involves quantitative methods and analysis to show the Chinese fans’ attraction to different football leagues in Europe. The principal component analysis (PCA) is used to extract important factors of the survey data, and the multiple regression, ordinary least square (OLS) method is used to understand the contribution of different factors to the fan size. The outcomes of different performances of the leagues are compared to further evaluate the different strategies.
Findings
The results of the analysis show that Chinese fans tend to support clubs that offer more competitive matches. The market value of the club’s players is used as a mediating proxy indicator to evaluate the club’s competitiveness. Leagues with higher uncertainty around championship wins attract more followers. The findings suggest that league balance, champion–winner uncertainty and club competitiveness attract a larger fan base and raise league market value, both important factors in creating financially sustainable football leagues with robust product lifecycles. Fans prefer balanced leagues to monopolistic clubs.
Originality/value
Unlike most past football research involving quantitative analysis, this research uses quantitative analysis to discover the relationships between the sports factors and the fans' size. The empirical evidence could deliver more objective and robust results. The research further discusses and extends the importance of a balanced football league from the sports and league management aspects to the economics level.
Details
Keywords
This study aims to present a method for the conceptual design and simulation of an aircraft flight control system.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to present a method for the conceptual design and simulation of an aircraft flight control system.
Design/methodology/approach
The design methodology is based on particle swarm optimization (PSO). PSO can be used to improve the performance of conventional controllers. The aim of the present study is threefold. First, it attempts to detect and isolate faults in an aircraft model. Second, it is to design a proportional (P) controller, a proportional derivative (PD) controller, a proportional-integral (PI) controller and a fuzzy controller for an aircraft model. Third, it is to design a PD controller for an aircraft using a PSO algorithm.
Findings
Conventional controllers, an intelligent controller and a PD controller-based PSO were investigated for flight control. It was seen that the P controller, the PI controller and the PD controller-based PSO caused overshoot. These overshoots were 18.5, 87.7 and 2.6 per cent, respectively. Overshoot was not seen using the PD controller or fuzzy controller. Steady state errors were almost zero for all controllers. The PD controller had the best settling time. The fuzzy controller was second best. The PD controller-based PSO was the third best, but the result was close to the others.
Originality/value
This study shows the implementation of the present algorithm for a specified space mission and also for study regarding variation of performance parameters. This study shows fault detection and isolation procedures and also controller gain choice for a flight control system. A comparison between conventional controllers and PD-based PSO controllers is presented. In this study, sensor fault detection and isolation are carried out, and, also, root locus, time domain analysis and Routh–Hurwitz methods are used to find the conventional controller gains which differ from other studies. A fuzzy controller is created by the trial and error method. Integral of squared time multiplied by squared error is used as a performance function type in PSO.
Details
Keywords
Dahai Liu and Wenxiu Xing
After the 19th CPC national congress, Chinese Communist Party and the government put forward higher requirements for the development of coastal zones, and it is urgent to…
Abstract
Purpose
After the 19th CPC national congress, Chinese Communist Party and the government put forward higher requirements for the development of coastal zones, and it is urgent to establish an integrated coastal zone management system, so as to better guarantee the construction of maritime powers and regional coordinated development. The purpose of this paper is to aim at re-examining and positioning China’s integrated coastal zone management.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper sorts out the current situation of coastal zone resources and environment, summarizes prominent problems and clarifies the path of comprehensive management of coastal zone based on the typicality and comprehensiveness of coastal ecosystem.
Findings
Coastal zone is a typical area of “life community shared among mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes and grass.” However, there are three prominent problems at present, namely, separation between land and sea, separation among industry sectors and separation among administrative jurisdictions. Coastal zone planning and legislation are important measures to realize the comprehensive management of coastal zone.
Originality/value
This paper puts forward some suggestions on the reform of coastal zone management from the perspective of planning and legislation.