Md Jahidur Rahman, Hongtao Zhu, Yiling Zhang and Md Moazzem Hossain
This study aims to investigate whether gender diversity in audit committees affects the purchase of nonaudit services in China. Results from family and nonfamily firms are…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate whether gender diversity in audit committees affects the purchase of nonaudit services in China. Results from family and nonfamily firms are compared and the critical mass participation of females are further examined.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample comprises 1,834 Chinese listed companies from 2012 to 2021, among which 910 are family firms. The Heckman (1979) two-stage model is used to mitigate the potential endogeneity issue in the selection of gender diversity. Propensity score matching is also used to further alleviate the endogeneity problem in relation to family firms.
Findings
Results show a significant and negative correlation between the gender diversity in audit committees and nonaudit service fees. This association is more apparent in nonfamily than in family firms. Findings are consistent and robust to endogeneity tests and sensitivity analyses. The analysis of critical mass and symbolic participation shows that three female directors can more significantly restrain nonaudit fees than one to two females on the board.
Practical implications
This study contributes to literature on resource dependence theory, which posits that audit committees help enterprises establish contact with auditors, improve the company legitimacy, assist in communication and provide relevant expertise. This study also relates to agency theory, which holds that differences in the severity of types I and II agency problems between family and nonfamily firms lead to differences in auditor selection and related costs.
Originality/value
Extending from previous research on the relation between the gender diversity in audit committees and nonaudit fees, the present study delves into this connection within the context of China, an emerging economy. As a result, this investigation offers novel insights and expands upon current knowledge. In addition, the correlation between the gender diversity of audit committees and nonaudit fees is explored for family and nonfamily firms.
Details
Keywords
Yile Zhang, Yadong Zhou and Youchao Sun
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the bird impact damage of fuselage composite stiffened structures by numerical method and to evaluate the damage and the bird impact…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the bird impact damage of fuselage composite stiffened structures by numerical method and to evaluate the damage and the bird impact resistance of different structures.
Design/methodology/approach
The deformation and damage of composite stiffened plates during bird impact are numerically analyzed by the explicit finite element software LS-DYNA. A comparative study on the numerical calculation results was conducted by using SPH (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics)-FEM (Finite Element Method) modeling and simulation. First, the I-shaped, T-shaped, straight stiffened plates and unstiffened plate were designed. Second, the accuracy of the bird model was verified and further used to evaluate bird strikes on composite stiffened plate. Third, the results of damage modes as well as displacements of the stiffened plates were compared.
Findings
The stiffeners can increase the local stiffness of the composite panel, which can effectively inhibit the bird’s movement along the impact direction. Adding stiffeners can change the panel matrix tension damage from global distribution to local distribution mode; however, the impact damage distribution and the ability to inhibit damage propagation can differ for different stiffened panels. Especially, the I-stiffened panel exhibits a better anti-bird strike performance.
Originality/value
The analysis of geometric parameters of structural components by numerical methods can reduce the cost of the design phase and has been widely used in aircraft design. The present study evaluated the bird impact damage of composite stiffened plates with different structures, which provides a guideline for selecting the stiffened plate structure in the fuselage skin.
Details
Keywords
Xian Zheng, Yiling Huang, Yan Liu, Zhong Zhang, Yongkui Li and Hang Yan
As the complex influencing factors for financing decisions and limited information at the early project stage often render inappropriate financing mode and scheme (FMS) selection…
Abstract
Purpose
As the complex influencing factors for financing decisions and limited information at the early project stage often render inappropriate financing mode and scheme (FMS) selection in the large-scale urban rail transit (URT) field, this study aims to identify the multiple influencing factors and establish a revised case-based reasoning (CBR) model by drawing on experience in historical URT projects to provide support for effective FMS decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
Our research proposes a two-phase, five-step CBR model for FMS decisions. We first establish a case database containing 116 large-scale URT projects and a multi-attribute FMS indicator system. Meanwhile, grey relational analysis (GRA), the entropy-revised G1 method and the time decay function have been employed to precisely revise the simple CBR model for selecting high-similarity cases. Then, the revised CBR model is verified by nine large-scale URT projects and a demonstration project to prove its decision accuracy and effectiveness.
Findings
We construct a similarity case indicator system of large-scale URT projects with 11 indicators across three attributes, in which local government fiscal pressure is considered the most influential indicator for FMS decision-making. Through the verification with typical URT projects, the accuracy of our revised CBR model can reach 89%. The identified high-similarity cases have been confirmed to be effective for recommending appropriate financing schemes matched with a specific financing mode.
Originality/value
This is the first study employing the CBR model, an artificial intelligence approach that simulates human cognition by learning from similar past experiences and cases to enhance the accuracy and reliability of FMS decisions. Based on the characteristics of the URT projects, we revise the CBR model in the case retrieval process to achieve a higher accuracy. The revised CBR model utilizes expert experience and historical information to provide a valuable auxiliary tool for guiding the relevant government departments in making systematic decisions at the early project stage with limited and ambiguous project information.
Details
Keywords
Lu Yiling, Qinghua He, Ge Wang, Xiaopeng Deng and Jingxiao Zhang
Given the heavy pollution feature of the construction industry, construction corporations need to adopt an effective environmental governance strategy. The quality and quantity of…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the heavy pollution feature of the construction industry, construction corporations need to adopt an effective environmental governance strategy. The quality and quantity of environmental information disclosure (EID) implementation, as an essential part of a corporate environmental governance strategy, is impacted by the characteristics of the top management team (TMT). This paper aims to analyze the relationship between the demographic characteristics of the TMT (i.e. gender, age, tenure, educational level, and duality) and corporate EID.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from listed construction corporations generated between 2014 to 2018 in China, this study employs the Tobit regression model to test the research hypotheses. Also, this study applies a novel analytical approach, necessary condition analysis (NCA), to conduct a series of additional tests.
Findings
The results reveal that tenure and educational level are significantly and positively related to EID, while gender, age, and duality in the executive role are not significantly related to EID. When considering the TMT size as a moderator, the TMT age is positively related to the corporate EID, and the size of the TMT acts as a moderator to weaken the positive effect of the TMT age on the EID. The NCA results show that TMT gender, age, tenure, and educational level are necessary when the levels of EID exceed 40%.
Originality/value
Our findings suggest that TMT characteristics have a relatively significant effect on corporate EID levels, which extends EID research to the construction industry. Corporate planners can endeavor to shape TMT characteristics to improve EID levels. The results of NCA provide insights into what TMT characteristics construction corporations need to satisfy in their pursuit of transparent EID, as well as the levels at which these characteristics are desired.
Details
Keywords
Yirui Chen, Qianhu Chen, Yiling Xu, Elisa Arrigo and Pantaleone Nespoli
In the post-pandemic era urban ecosystem planning has become critically important. Given the emphasis on relevant issues concerning the complex interactions between human…
Abstract
Purpose
In the post-pandemic era urban ecosystem planning has become critically important. Given the emphasis on relevant issues concerning the complex interactions between human civilizations and natural systems within urban environments in the new normal, this article aims to enrich the field of knowledge management developing a cross-cultural analysis for clarifying the role of knowledge in planning and urban ecosystems.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is conceptual in nature. Based on a theoretical foundation built by a critical literature review and data from the China Statistical Yearbook and China’s National Bureau of Statistics, this paper introduces some emerging real-impact topics regarding the connections between humanistic knowledge and urban planning. A comparative analysis between the capital city of Chang’an in the Tang dynasty of China and the capital city of Athens in Ancient Greek was used for explaining the influence of knowledge on successful urban planning.
Findings
The understanding the role of cross-cultural differences in knowledge management and practices for urban ecosystems offer the opportunities for rethinking consolidated approach to the interaction among social, economic, and environmental dimensions in urban settings.
Originality/value
This paper implies a new inter-disciplinary research field of great interest for the real impact KM community by illuminating how knowledge management is central in urban planning and across cultures.
Details
Keywords
Yiling Gao, Chen Wang, Liping Huang, Defa Wang and Zhibin Chen
To help supervisors understand the positions of workers in real-time, provide safety guidance for workers and reduce the occurrence of accidents. This study proposes a real-time…
Abstract
Purpose
To help supervisors understand the positions of workers in real-time, provide safety guidance for workers and reduce the occurrence of accidents. This study proposes a real-time positioning algorithm based on multi-source information coupling, aiming to solve the problem of workers’ autonomous positioning in signal-blind areas.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed algorithm utilizes the visual SLAM and IMU sensors to perceive the environment, construct three-dimensional images, improve the accuracy of corner point matching, pre-integrate the raw IMU data, and adopt the tightly coupled method to couple the visual and inertial navigation data, thereby establishing a binocular visual SLAM and IMU coupling real-time positioning model.
Findings
The real-time positioning technology based on the coupling of visual SLAM and IMU shows good positioning effect and calculation speed in indoor sites, has good adaptability and accuracy in different building construction scenarios, and the positioning error can be controlled within 3%.
Originality/value
The successful construction of the real-time positioning method effectively alleviates the problem of inaccurate positioning caused by signal blind areas in the existing positioning management system, helps protect the lives and safety of construction site workers and improves the management efficiency of construction site supervisors.
Details
Keywords
Bin Xie, Zhenyu Wang, Yiling Xu and Libing Cui
Emergencies have become a growing concern for organizations, which require flexibility to respond to changes in emergencies based on their contingency, dynamic evolution rapidly…
Abstract
Purpose
Emergencies have become a growing concern for organizations, which require flexibility to respond to changes in emergencies based on their contingency, dynamic evolution rapidly and other characteristics. In order to enhance the ability of engineering project organizations to cope with emergencies, this study explores the mechanism of its influence on knowledge innovation under emergencies from the perspective of bricolage theory, and provides a new perspective for the traditional preplanning-based handling of emergencies by improvising to enhance the ability and results of improvisation.
Design/methodology/approach
Firstly, a structural equation model of the relationship between bricolage and knowledge innovation was constructed by introducing improvisational behavior and serendipity as mediating and moderating variables of the relationship between bricolage and knowledge innovation based on bricolage theory; secondly, drawing on previous well-established measurement scales about bricolage, improvisational behavior, knowledge innovation and serendipity, a questionnaire survey was conducted with different types of engineering project managers and technicians in Gansu Province as the research subjects, and 238 valid questionnaires were returned; finally, validation factor analysis and correlation analysis were performed, and the hypothesized relationships were verified using AMOS 24.0 software.
Findings
The results show that bricolage positively influences improvisational behavior; improvisational behavior positively influences knowledge innovation; bricolage positively influences knowledge innovation; bricolage influences knowledge innovation through the mediating role of improvisational behavior and serendipity positively moderates the impact of resource bricolage on knowledge innovation.
Originality/value
It reveals the mechanism of knowledge innovation of engineering project organizations in response to emergencies and the innovation mechanism of the episodic nature of emergency decision-making, extends the applicable context of bricolage theory and provides a new perspective for engineering project organizations in response to emergencies.
Details
Keywords
Wang Zengqing, Zheng Yu Xie and Jiang Yiling
With the rapid development of railway-intelligent video technology, scene understanding is becoming more and more important. Semantic segmentation is a major part of scene…
Abstract
Purpose
With the rapid development of railway-intelligent video technology, scene understanding is becoming more and more important. Semantic segmentation is a major part of scene understanding. There is an urgent need for an algorithm with high accuracy and real-time to meet the current railway requirements for railway identification. In response to this demand, this paper aims to explore a variety of models, accurately locate and segment important railway signs based on the improved SegNeXt algorithm, supplement the railway safety protection system and improve the intelligent level of railway safety protection.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper studies the performance of existing models on RailSem19 and explores the defects of each model through performance so as to further explore an algorithm model dedicated to railway semantic segmentation. In this paper, the authors explore the optimal solution of SegNeXt model for railway scenes and achieve the purpose of this paper by improving the encoder and decoder structure.
Findings
This paper proposes an improved SegNeXt algorithm: first, it explores the performance of various models on railways, studies the problems of semantic segmentation on railways and then analyzes the specific problems. On the basis of retaining the original excellent MSCAN encoder of SegNeXt, multiscale information fusion is used to further extract detailed features such as multihead attention and mask, solving the problem of inaccurate segmentation of current objects by the original SegNeXt algorithm. The improved algorithm is of great significance for the segmentation and recognition of railway signs.
Research limitations/implications
The model constructed in this paper has advantages in the feature segmentation of distant small objects, but it still has the problem of segmentation fracture for the railway, which is not completely segmented. In addition, in the throat area, due to the complexity of the railway, the segmentation results are not accurate.
Social implications
The identification and segmentation of railway signs based on the improved SegNeXt algorithm in this paper is of great significance for the understanding of existing railway scenes, which can greatly improve the classification and recognition ability of railway small object features and can greatly improve the degree of railway security.
Originality/value
This article introduces an enhanced version of the SegNeXt algorithm, which aims to improve the accuracy of semantic segmentation on railways. The study begins by investigating the performance of different models in railway scenarios and identifying the challenges associated with semantic segmentation on this particular domain. To address these challenges, the proposed approach builds upon the strong foundation of the original SegNeXt algorithm, leveraging techniques such as multi-scale information fusion, multi-head attention, and masking to extract finer details and enhance feature representation. By doing so, the improved algorithm effectively resolves the issue of inaccurate object segmentation encountered in the original SegNeXt algorithm. This advancement holds significant importance for the accurate recognition and segmentation of railway signage.
Details
Keywords
Fateh Saci, Sajjad M. Jasimuddin and Justin Zuopeng Zhang
This paper aims to examine the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and systemic risk sensitivity of Chinese listed companies. From the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and systemic risk sensitivity of Chinese listed companies. From the consumer loyalty and investor structure perspectives, the relationship between ESG performance and systemic risk sensitivity is analyzed.
Design/methodology/approach
Since Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) ESG officially began to analyze and track China A-shares from 2018, 275 listed companies in the SynTao Green ESG testing list for 2015–2021 are selected as the initial model. To measure the systematic risk sensitivity, this study uses the beta coefficient, from capital asset pricing model (CPAM), employing statistics and data (STATA) software.
Findings
The study reveals that high ESG rating companies have high corresponding consumer loyalty and healthy trading structure of institutional investors, thereby the systemic risk sensitivity is lower. This paper reveals that companies with high ESG rating are significantly less sensitive to systemic risk than those with low ESG rating. At the same time, ESG has a weaker impact on the systemic risk of high-cap companies than low-cap companies.
Practical implications
The study helps the companies understand the influence of market value on the relationship between ESG performance and systemic risk sensitivity. Moreover, this paper explains explicitly why ESG performance insulates a firm’s stock from market downturns with the lens of consumer loyalty theory and investor structure theory.
Originality/value
The paper provides new insights on the company’s ESG performance that significantly affects the company’s systemic risk sensitivity.
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a method to measure the rolling friction coefficient in an easy and fast way. The aim is also to measure the rolling friction coefficient between a small steel ball and a cylindrical aluminum surface.
Design/methodology/approach
An analytical model of the tribosystem of a freely rolling ball and a cylindrical surface is established. The rolling friction coefficient is evaluated from images recorded by a high-speed camera. The coefficient between a 1.58-mm diameter steel ball and a cylindrical aluminum surface is measured. A background subtraction algorithm is used to determine the position of the small steel ball.
Findings
The angular positions of the ball are predicted using the analytical model, and a good agreement is found between the experimental and theoretical results.
Originality/value
An optical method for evaluating the rolling friction coefficient is presented, and the value of this coefficient between a small steel ball and a cylindrical aluminum surface is evaluated.