Govinda Prasad Dhungana, Dwij Raj Bhatta and Wei-Hong Zhang
Family planning (FP) services through the lens of human rights are not well known in Nepal. This study aims to assess Family Planning 2020: Rights and Empowerment Principles for…
Abstract
Purpose
Family planning (FP) services through the lens of human rights are not well known in Nepal. This study aims to assess Family Planning 2020: Rights and Empowerment Principles for Family Planning and identify factors affecting contraceptive use among HIV-infected women living in rural Far Western Nepal.
Design/methodology/approach
This study conducted a cross-sectional survey using self-designed proforma. To assess the association between contraceptive use and independent variables, this study calculated adjusted odd ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) V.20.
Findings
Only 37.8% of participants had access to full range of contraceptive methods, and only 57.5% of participants received proper counseling. Agency/autonomy, transparency/accountability and voice/participation were practiced by 43.7%, 23.4% and 19.7% of participants, respectively. Husband’s support (AOR = 4.263; 95% CI: 1.640–11.086), availability of FP services in their locality (AOR = 2.497; 95% CI: 1.311–4.754), employment (AOR = 3.499; 95% CI: 1.186–10.328) and postpartum period (AOR = 0.103; 95% CI: 0.023–0.475) were significantly associated with contraceptive use.
Research limitations/implications
Health-care providers’ and program managers’ perspectives were not examined.
Practical implications
Findings of this study will be useful for making strategic plan on human rights-based approach to FP.
Social implications
Expanding access to contraceptive information and services and strengthening autonomy, accountability and participation are key to human rights-based approach to FP.
Originality/value
This study identified that inadequate counselling, nonavailability of full range of contraceptive methods, low level of autonomy, accountability and participation were key bottlenecks in fulfilling human rights-based approach to FP.
Details
Keywords
Yongqiang Zhang, Weihong Wu, Qingbin Liu and Long Sheng
The research on leaching behaviors of heavy metals in municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash is of great significance. Because of the limitations like experimental…
Abstract
The research on leaching behaviors of heavy metals in municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash is of great significance. Because of the limitations like experimental condition, experiment data volume of heavy metals is difficult to achieve the prediction of requirements. In order to solve the problem of uncertainty and fuzziness caused by small sample, a new method based on fuzzy theory is proposed in this paper. By comparing fitting results from measured data and Visual MINTEQ simulation results, the method in this paper is considered to be more reliable and has a better interpretation for the leaching behaviors of heavy metals. The simulation results show the feasibility and superiority of the proposed method.
Details
Keywords
Gongnan Xie, Shian Li, Bengt Sunden and Weihong Zhang
With the development of electronic devices, including the desires of integration, miniaturization, high performance and the output power, cooling requirement of chips have been…
Abstract
Purpose
With the development of electronic devices, including the desires of integration, miniaturization, high performance and the output power, cooling requirement of chips have been increased gradually. Water-cooled minichannel is an effective cooling technology for cooling of heat sinks. The minichannel flow geometry offers large surface area for heat transfer and a high convective heat transfer coefficient with only a moderate pressure loss. The purpose of this paper is to analyze a minichannel heat sink having the bottom size of 35 mm×35 mm numerically. Two kinds of chip arrangement are investigated: diagonal arrangement and parallel arrangement.
Design/methodology/approach
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique is used to investigate the flow and thermal fields in forced convection in a three-dimensional minichannels heat sink with different chip arrangements. The standard k-e turbulence model is applied for the turbulence simulations on the minichannel heat sink.
Findings
The results show that the bottom surface of the heat sink with various chip arrangements will have different temperature distribution and thermal resistance. A suitable chip arrangement will achieve a good cooling performance for electronic devices.
Research limitations/implications
The fluid is incompressible and the thermophysical properties are constant.
Practical implications
New and additional data will be helpful as guidelines in the design of heat sinks to achieve a good thermal performance and a long lifetime in operation.
Originality/value
In real engineering situations, chips are always placed in various manners according to design conditions and constraints. In this case the assumption of uniform heat flux is acceptable for the surfaces of the chips rather than for the entire bottom surface of the heat sink.
Details
Keywords
Xi Zhong, Weihong Chen and Ge Ren
Many studies have examined the antecedents of firms' strategic change on a micro and meso level, but few studies have explored it from the macrolevel (e.g. economic policy…
Abstract
Purpose
Many studies have examined the antecedents of firms' strategic change on a micro and meso level, but few studies have explored it from the macrolevel (e.g. economic policy uncertainty) perspective. This research draws attention to the impact of economic policy uncertainty on firms' strategic change.
Design/methodology/approach
This research empirically tests hypotheses based on a sample of listed firms in China during the period between 2010 and 2017.
Findings
Based on real options theory, the authors theorize and find that economic policy uncertainty will negatively affect firms' strategic change through the mediating effect of CEO turnover. Moreover, organizational inertia will strengthen the negative impact of economic policy uncertainty on CEO turnover and will weaken the positive impact of CEO turnover on firms' strategic change.
Originality/value
First, this research contributes to the strategic change literature by demonstrating the important impact of economic policy uncertainty on firms' strategic change. Second, this research expands the literature on the economic consequences of economic policy uncertainty. Third, this research clarifies the path and boundary conditions of economic policy uncertainty affecting strategic change by introducing the mediating effects of CEO turnover and the moderating effects of organizational inertia.
Details
Keywords
Xi Zhong, Weihong Chen and Ge Ren
This study aims to re-examine the impact of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on firm innovation. Studies on how EPU affects firm innovation have been inconclusive. The authors…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to re-examine the impact of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on firm innovation. Studies on how EPU affects firm innovation have been inconclusive. The authors clarified the curvilinear relationship between EPU and firm innovation and examined the moderating effects of managerial pay gaps, specifically vertical pay disparity and horizontal pay dispersion.
Design/methodology/approach
This study’s analyses used data collected from Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2019.
Findings
The authors found an inverted U-shaped relationship between EPU and firm innovation. Furthermore, vertical pay disparity strengthens the curvilinear relationship, while horizontal pay dispersion weakens it.
Practical implications
First, politicians should avoid adjusting economic policies too frequently because the high EPU levels created by frequent adjustments can inhibit business innovation. Second, firms should be aware that EPU creates opportunities for leapfrogging. In particular, firms can incentivize executives to take advantage of the valuable growth opportunities presented by EPU by widening vertical pay disparities and avoiding excessive horizontal pay dispersion.
Originality/value
First, the authors analyze not only the positive effects of lower EPU on firm innovation but also the negative impacts of higher EPU to examine EPU’s “double-edged sword” effect on firm innovation. Second, the investigation of vertical pay disparity and horizontal pay dispersion as moderating variables sheds new light on the equivocal research findings regarding the EPU–firm innovation relationship and clarifies the boundary conditions of the double-edged sword effect of EPU on firm innovation.
Details
Keywords
Weihong Fan and Colleen M. Carroll
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the climatic trends of mean annual temperature and annual precipitation from 1931 to 2000, in four regions of the USA: Northeast, South…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the climatic trends of mean annual temperature and annual precipitation from 1931 to 2000, in four regions of the USA: Northeast, South Atlantic, North Central, and Pacific West.
Design/methodology/approach
Five-year moving averages are calculated for each climatic variable of all regions and used for the trend analysis. Regression analysis was performed to evaluate the level of significance for each trend line. A trend with p < 0.0001 is considered statistically significant throughout the study.
Findings
The data show a 0.62°C increase in temperature in the Pacific West from 1931 to 2000. Over the same time period, precipitation has increased by 10.4 centimeters in the North Central Region, which is 10 percent higher than the long-term average for the region.
Originality/value
The 0.62°C increase suggests that the Pacific West may be experiencing the effect of global warming because this finding is consistent with the result of the Canadian climatic trend study by Zhang et al. who also found that annual precipitation has increased by 35 percent in southern Canada over the same period, which coincides with the increasing trend of precipitation found in the North Central Region. With the best available data and the findings from other studies, the authors are confident that the warming trend in the western USA is likely linked to the increasing sea surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean.
Details
Keywords
Weihong Ning, Fred D. Davis and René Riedl
In the past decade, smartphone adoption has reached almost 100% in industrialized countries, which is predominantly due to advancements in capabilities. Given the increasing…
Abstract
Purpose
In the past decade, smartphone adoption has reached almost 100% in industrialized countries, which is predominantly due to advancements in capabilities. Given the increasing number of people who are addicted to the smartphone and the significant growth of people who consume music via the smartphone, the purpose of the study is to explore the underlying mechanisms through which musical consumption affects smartphone addiction.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on dual-systems theory, a research model was developed to determine the impact of System 1 (emotion related to music) and System 2 (self-control) on smartphone addiction. A partial-least-squares approach was used to test the model with 294 survey participants.
Findings
The empirical data confirmed the research model. Regarding System 1, musical emotion positively influenced smartphone addiction through musical consumption and musical response. Moreover, musical preference significantly affected musical response. Regarding System 2, self-control negatively predicted smartphone addiction.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited, as the participants were college students who are not representative of all populations.
Originality/value
The study extends the literature on the dark side of information technology use and complements a research agenda by Gefen and Riedl (2018) on consideration of music in information systems (IS) research.
Details
Keywords
Weihong Ning, Ofir Turel and Fred D. Davis
In this current review, we aimed to understand technology addiction interventions and provide guidelines for IS scholars to use IT to prevent or attenuate technology addiction.
Abstract
Purpose
In this current review, we aimed to understand technology addiction interventions and provide guidelines for IS scholars to use IT to prevent or attenuate technology addiction.
Design/methodology/approach
We systematically reviewed articles associated with technology and substance addiction interventions. These articles included review articles, peer-reviewed articles, conference proceedings, and online articles.
Findings
We propose a roadmap for technology addiction intervention development and testing based on the review. Next, we summarize the similarities and differences between substance addiction and technology addiction in terms of antecedents, negative consequences, and neurobiological mechanisms. Based on this, two types of potential interventions for substance addiction were reviewed to explore how they can be used for technology addiction. To conclude, IT-mediated interventions were summarized, and promising avenues for future research were highlighted.
Originality/value
Technology addiction has a broad range of adverse impacts on mental health and well-being. With the knowledge and insight from this review, the Information Systems community can become part of the solution to technology addiction.