This paper examines the effect of corporate social responsibility on the number of bond covenants. We find that a high CSR score has a negative association with the number of bond covenants. Moreover, our results are more pronounced for firms with a high bid-ask spread and high agency costs. Our analysis highlights the effect of the good stakeholder relationship on the bond contracts.

Modern cities form city networks through complex social ties. City network research is widely applied to guide regional planning, infrastructure construction, and resource allocation. China put forward the Yellow River Basin Development Strategy in 2019, but no research has been conducted on regional social connections among cities. Based on the gravity model modified by two-way “time distance” between cities, this is the first study to empirically examine the intensity and structure of the entire city network in the Yellow River basin (...) using the social network analysis method and ArcGIS software. The connection rules of the cross-city transfer of city officials in the basin are also investigated to illustrate the official ties between cities. The results suggest that the intensity of two-way connections between cities is generally low in the Yellow River basin and there is a positive correlation between city network development level and regional economic development level. The development gap between cities on the north and south banks is larger than that between the east and west regions, and some cities in the middle and upper reaches of the river are marginalized in the network. The status of the central cities in the Yellow River basin is distinct, but their connecting and leading abilities are not strong, showing an inverted T-shaped spatial distribution. The subgroups of city networks have strong internal connections, while the connection among subgroups is weak and the development shows a partitioned and fragmented pattern, making it difficult to form linkages among the upper, middle, and lower reaches. The “beaded chain” spatial development strategy can be adopted in the river basin planning, giving priority to strengthening the links within subgroups of cities and among adjacent subgroups, building central city chains, and reinforcing the overall basin management. (shrink)

Since the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system in the early 1970s, the foreign exchange market has become an important focus of both academic and practical research. There are many reasons why FX is important, but one of most important aspects is the determination of foreign investment values. Therefore, FX serves as the backbone of international investments and global trading. Additionally, because fluctuations in FX affect the value of imported and exported goods and services, such fluctuations have an important impact (...) on the economic competitiveness of multinational corporations and countries. Therefore, the volatility of FX rates is a major concern for scholars and practitioners. Forecasting FX volatility is a crucial financial problem that is attracting significant attention based on its diverse implications. Recently, various deep learning models based on artificial neural networks have been widely employed in finance and economics, particularly for forecasting volatility. The main goal of this study was to predict FX volatility effectively using ANN models. To this end, we propose a hybrid model that combines the long short-term memory and autoencoder models. These deep learning models are known to perform well in time-series prediction for forecasting FX volatility. Therefore, we expect that our approach will be suitable for FX volatility prediction because it combines the merits of these two models. Methodologically, we employ the Foreign Exchange Volatility Index as a measure of FX volatility. In particular, the three major FXVIX indices from 2010 to 2019 are considered, and we predict future prices using the proposed hybrid model. Our hybrid model utilizes an LSTM model as an encoder and decoder inside an autoencoder network. Additionally, we investigate FXVIX indices through subperiod analysis to examine how the proposed model’s forecasting performance is influenced by data distributions and outliers. Based on the empirical results, we can conclude that the proposed hybrid method, which we call the autoencoder-LSTM model, outperforms the traditional LSTM method. Additionally, the ability to learn the magnitude of data spread and singularities determines the accuracy of predictions made using deep learning models. In summary, this study established that FX volatility can be accurately predicted using a combination of deep learning models. Our findings have important implications for practitioners. Because forecasting volatility is an essential task for financial decision-making, this study will enable traders and policymakers to hedge or invest efficiently and make policy decisions based on volatility forecasting. (shrink)

Despite the prevailing discourses on the importance of top management ethical leadership, related theoretical and empirical developments are lacking. Drawing on institutional theory, we propose that top management ethical leadership contributes to organizational outcomes by promoting firm-level ethical and procedural justice climates. This theoretical framework was empirically tested using multi-source data obtained from 4,468 employees of 147 Korean companies from various industries. The firm-level analysis shows that top management ethical leadership significantly predicts ethical climate, which then results in procedural justice (...) climate that fully mediates the effects of top management ethical leadership on two organizational outcomes, namely, firm-level organizational citizenship behavior and firm financial performance. The present study provides a plausible theoretical account and empirical validation of a mechanism through which top management ethical leadership enhances organizational performance. (shrink)

Animal models of human diseases are often used in biomedical research in place of human subjects. However, results obtained by animal models may fail to hold true for humans. One way of addressing this problem is to make animal models more similar to humans by placing human tissue into animal models, rendering them chimeric. Since technical and ethical limitations make neurological disorders difficult to study in humans, chimeric models with human neural tissue could help advance our understanding of neuropathophysiology. In (...) this article, we examine whether the introduction of human neural tissue and any consequent cognitive change is relevant to the way we ought to treat chimeras. We argue that changes in cognitive abilities are morally relevant to the extent that they increase the capacities that affect the moral status of any entity, including awareness, autonomy, and sociability. We posit that no being, regardless of species, should be treated in a way that is incommensurate with its moral status. Finally, we propose a framework that can be used to guide ethical assessment of research involving chimeras with advanced cognitive capacities. We advance this framework as a useful tool for bringing relevant considerations to the forefront for those considering the ethical merit of proposed chimeric research. In doing so, we examine concepts relevant to the question of how any entity may be treated, including moral status, dignity, and capacities. (shrink)

With the emergence of environmental sustainability and green business management, increasing demands have been made on businesses in the areas of environmental corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, the influence of ECSR on green capital investment, environmental performance, and business competitiveness has also been the subject of attention from enterprises. However, in previous studies, the mediating role of green information technology capital in the relationship between ECSR, environmental performance, and business competitiveness, has not been investigated by researchers. In order to bridge this (...) gap in the ECSR literature, this study aims to examine the influence of ECSR on green IT capital, and the consequent effect of green IT capital on environmental performance and business competitiveness. Data were collected from 358 companies from the top 1000 manufacturers in Taiwan. The results confirmed that ECSR has significant positive effects on green IT human capital, green IT structural capital, and green IT relational capital. Green IT structural capital and green IT relational capital have positive effects on environmental performance and business competitiveness, and environmental performance has a positive effect on business competitiveness. In addition, green IT structural capital and green IT relational capital have partial mediating effects on ECSR, environmental performance, and business competitiveness. The implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. (shrink)

The main purpose of this article is to introduce the weighted ENSC value for cooperative transferable utility games which takes into account players’ selfishness about the payoff allocations. Similar to Shapley’s idea of a one-by-one formation of the grand coalition [Shapley ], we first provide a procedural implementation of the weighted ENSC value depending on players’ selfishness as well as their marginal contributions to the grand coalition. Second, in the spirit of the nucleolus [Schmeidler ], we prove that the weighted (...) ENSC value is obtained by lexicographically minimizing a complaint vector associated with a new complaint criterion relying on players’ selfishness. (shrink)

When relating genomic data to survival outcomes, there are three main challenges that are the censored survival outcomes, the high-dimensionality of the genomic data, and the non-normality of data. We propose a method to tackle these challenges simultaneously and obtain a robust estimation of detecting significant genes related to survival outcomes based on Accelerated Failure Time model. Specifically, we include a general loss function to the AFT model, adopt model regularization and shrinkage technique, cope with parameters tuning and model selection, (...) and develop an algorithm based on unified Expectation–Maximization approach for easy implementation. Simulation results demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method compared with existing methods when the data has heavy-tailed errors and correlated covariates. Two real case studies on patients are provided to illustrate the application of the proposed method. (shrink)

Previous studies provided evidence for a connection between language processing and language change. We add to these studies with an exploration of the influence of lexical-distributional properties of words in orthographic space, semantic space, and the mapping between orthographic and semantic space on the probability of lexical extinction. Through a binomial linear regression analysis, we investigated the probability of lexical extinction by the first decade of the twenty-first century (2000s) for words that existed in the first decade of the nineteenth-century (...) (1800s) in eight data sets for five languages: English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. The binomial linear regression analysis revealed that words that are more similar in form to other words are less likely to disappear from a language. By contrast, words that are more similar in meaning to other words are more likely to become extinct. In addition, a more consistent mapping between form and meaning protects a word from lexical extinction. A nonlinear time-to-event analysis furthermore revealed that the position of a word in orthographic and semantic space continues to influence the probability of it disappearing from a language for at least 200 years. Effects of the lexical-distributional properties of words under investigation here have been reported in the language processing literature as well. The results reported here, therefore, fit well with a usage-based approach to language change, which holds that language change is at least to some extent connected to cognitive mechanisms in the human brain. (shrink)

Assisted reproductive technology treatment tends to involve significant physical and emotional commitments that can impact maternal, infant, and family health and well-being. An in-depth understanding of experiences is necessary to provide adequate support for women and their families during pregnancy and transition to parenthood following ART treatment. The aim of this study was to explore first-time mothers’ experiences of pregnancy and transition to parenthood following successful ART treatment in Taiwan. Twelve first-time mothers who conceived and gave live birth using ART (...) treatment were purposively selected from a fertility centre in Taipei, Taiwan. Women’s experiences in pregnancy and in their transition to motherhood were explored using semi-structured in-depth interviews. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using the Colaizzi strategy. The mothers’ accounts reflected three main themes: ‘being different from mothers who became pregnant naturally’, ‘ensuring health and safety of the foetus’, and ‘welcoming new lives with excitement’. The difference mothers felt about themselves was evident in four subthemes: becoming pregnant after a long wait, feeling vulnerable during pregnancy, relying on family’s assistance and support, and worrying about the impact of ART on health. The theme on ‘ensuring health and safety of the foetus’ encompassed three subthemes: activities to protect the unborn baby, monitoring foetal movement constantly to maintain peace of mind, and receiving foetal reduction for the sake of the pregnancy. Narratives around ‘welcoming new lives with excitement’ reflected four subthemes: overcoming hardship for worthwhile results, realising one’s life and dreams, proving to be fertile enough to give birth, and return to normal life track. Findings indicate the need for educational and psychosocial interventions to support women and their families physically and psychologically during ART treatment. The stigma related to infertility and the psychosocial support from family are aspects to consider while planning intervention programmes. (shrink)

In this paper, I am going to ask what the general criteria for identity are and exactly how essence is related to that. Two notions are related to this question: Essential properties (necessary properties) and individual essences. Only the notion of individual essence has been involved in the criteria of transworld identity. The disputes of transworld have centered on the intrinsic properties necessarily connected to thisness. Through introducing a notion of part-rigidity, however, we can see that there can be an (...) entity that does not have an individual essence as an intrinsic property necessarily connected to thisness, the non-part-rigid structure. Being this structure is an intrinsic property that is relational and compositional. An entity that has a relational and compositional intrinsic property as its necessary property seems to have no individual essence. For this kind of entities, just an essential property (or a necessary property) is involved in the criteria of transworldidentity. (shrink)

The current debate on corporate governance has been "polarised" between, on the one hand, the shareholding paradigm and, on the other hand, the stakeholding paradigm. However, underpinning the main theories are hidden paradoxical assumptions that lead to concerns over the credibility and validity of this dichotomised approach. Both camps of the debate rely on a homeostatic and entitative conception of the corporation and its governance structures. Both camps suffer from an inadequate attention to the underlying philosophical presuppositions in which the (...) static approach is rooted. To avoid the traditional trap in theorising, an alternative processual approach is proposed for a better understanding of the inherent overflow and heterogeneity of corporate governance practice. (shrink)

v. 1. Tan suo zhe dao lu de tan suo -- v. 2. Lukaqi yu Makesi -- v. 3. Makesi zhu yi zhe xue ji ben wen ti yan jiu -- v. 4. Makesi zhu yi zhe xue jing dian wen xian yan jiu.

Although previous research has highlighted the positive effect of leaders’ voluntary workplace green behavior, limited research attention has been given to empirically testing how and when such behavior produces trickle-down effects. Taking a role model perspective and drawing on social identity theory, this research aims to fill this gap by proposing and testing the mechanism and boundary conditions of the influencing processes whereby leaders’ VWGB can trickle down to employees’ pro-environmental behaviors. By theorizing a moderated mediation model, the current research (...) empirically examines the hypotheses by conducting a hierarchical regression analysis. We employed a survey questionnaire research design to collect two waves of multisource data. The data used in the analysis are from survey responses of 313 subordinate-supervisor dyads at two different time points. The results show that leaders’ VWGB can have a trickle-down influence on employees’ task-related pro-environmental behavior and proactive pro-environmental behaviors through their green self-identity and that this trickle-down effect is greater among employees with higher green climate perceptions. Our results reveal the intervening mechanism and boundary condition of leaders’ VWGB by conducting a systematic examination of how this effect trickles down. (shrink)

Philip J. Ivanhoe's translation of Sun Tzu's _Art of War_ will be warmly embraced by students. His discussion in the Introduction about the text’s dating and authorship, as well as Chinese attitudes towards things military, is concise, informative, and up-to-date. The translation itself is a marvel--its language is simple and direct, making it immensely readable and clear.--Keith Knapp, is Westvaco Professor of National Security Studies, Department of History, The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina.

IntroductionNew nurses struggled with time management, which was a prominent theme in safety care for patients. However, the transition training of time management for new nurses was complicated and ignored by clinical managers. The purpose of this study was to understand the level of new nurses’ TMD from a nationwide perspective and detect the influencing factors of the TMD.Materials and methodsA cross-sectional study design with a stratified sampling method was sampled in China. Six hundred and seventy new nurses within the (...) first year of employment were recruited. New nurses’ time management disposition, job stressors, self-efficacy, clinical communication competence, and safety behavior were measured by corresponding scales.ResultsNew nurses showed the best sense of time’s value, followed by the sense of time efficacy and time monitoring view for time management disposition. The related factors of time management disposition were communication skills, safety behavior, job stressors, and being without a preceptor. New nurses’ time management disposition was at a moderate level and they performed worse in time allocation. The highest education, with or without a preceptor, the experience of part-time jobs, and class cadre were significantly influencing the time management disposition of new nurses.ConclusionNursing managers should pay attention to new nurses’ time management disposition. Reducing the job stressors, improving communication ability, and safe behavior were important measures to improve the time management disposition. (shrink)

Cryonics offers certain individuals the opportunity to preserve their bodies or brains with the potential for future revival. Proponents of this technology often invoke Pascal’s wager to argue that we all have a prudential reason to embrace cryonics: if future technology enables the revival of those who have been frozen, they stand to gain immense benefits; if not, undergoing cryonics is no worse than facing death directly. However, the cryonics wager carries hidden risks, not only in terms of whether future (...) generations will be able to revive us, but also in terms of how they will choose to treat us. Given that the potential returns of the cryonics wager are not necessarily positive, it is not a guaranteed investment but rather an uncertain venture. I demonstrate that the risks of cryonics vary from person to person, making it a safer option for those who are talented, kind, and hold a weak view of personal identity. This leads to a paradoxical conclusion: those most suited for cryonics might be those least keen on this technology. (shrink)

Like Machiavelli's The Prince and the Japanese Book of Five Rings, Sun Tzu's The Art of War is as timely for business people today as it was for military strategists in ancient China. Written in China more than 2,000 years ago, Sun Tzu's classic The Art of War is the first known study of the planning and conduct of military operations. These terse, aphoristic essays are unsurpassed in comprehensiveness and depth of understanding, examining not only battlefield maneuvers, but also relevant (...) economic, political, and psychological factors. Indeed, the precepts outlined by Sun Tzu regularly applied outside the realm of military theory. It is read avidly by Japanese businessmen and was touted in the movie Wall Street as the corporate raider's bible. Providing a much-needed translation of this classic, Samuel Griffith has made this powerful and unique work even more relevant to the modern world. Including an explanatory introduction and selected commentaries on the work, this edition makes Sun Tzu's strategical and tactical principles accessible not only students of Chinese history competition. (shrink)

A case study of multimodal systems and a new interpretation of Charles S. Peirce's theory of reasoning and signs based on an analysis of his system of ...

本书内容涵盖执政党的政策与法律的关系,法的阶级性与社会性的关系,马克思主义关于法的概念和本质的基本原理,法是“理”与“力”的结合,法的作用与价值,民主与法制的关系,依法治国的治国方略以及对有关法学思潮 的评析等。.

Despite accumulated evidence from previous studies that green creativity is highly emphasized in various industries, limited research has been conducted in the context of public sectors. Drawing on the dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations, this paper aims to propose and sequentially test the relationship between green training and employees’ green creativity through green values and green intrinsic motivation. Based on the data collected in Chinese public sectors at two different time points, the results indicate that green (...) training is positively related to green creativity. Moreover, this relationship is sequentially mediated by green values and green intrinsic motivation. The results in our study advance the emergent literature on green human resource management in the public sector for the practical applications of training and creativity in terms of green management. (shrink)

1. Huai hai yi tan ; Si shu jin yu -- 2. Zuo cui ti ping -- 3. Zhuang yi yao shan -- 4. Sun Shanfu du xue wen ji ; Xue kong jing she shi gao ; Lun xia xi guan shi zhu sheng xi wen ; You xin yao cao ; Ji yi ; Sun Ying'ao bei ke ji yi.

v.1. zhe xue de mu guang -- v.2. shu ren de shi jie -- v.3. tan suo zhen shan mei -- v.4. chong gao de wei zhi -- v.5. zhe xue guan yan jiu -- v.6-7. bian zheng fa yan jiu -- v.8-9. zhe xue tong lun.