This paper reports a study of the key success factors of what have been recognized as successful service enterprises in China, each considered representative of its respective industry. The grounded theory approach was used to analyze information collected from these enterprises, resulting in the identification of the attributes shared by these enterprises: customer-oriented service, service management, service innovation, and corporate social responsibility. Based on these attributes, a survey was conducted to verify the relationships among these attributes and important outcomes, namely (...) customer satisfaction, perceived service quality, and enterprise reputation. The results of the statistical analysis indicate that the four attributes have positive impacts on service outcomes. The findings are of far-reaching importance in view of the vast potential service markets in China. (shrink)

During the preschool years, the socio-emotional responses children receive from interactions with teachers are incorporated into their own social behaviors. This is one of the key ways in which children acquire social and emotional skills. Based on field studies, it can be found that this learning process is not simple imitation of children, but of a more complex context of group interaction. To further clarify the impact of kindergarten teachers’ emotion on the sociometric status and behavior of 3–5 year-old children (...) in their classes, the researchers chose a Montessori mixed-age kindergarten in Beijing as the field site and observed five classes within the kindergarten over a 2-month period in this ethnographic case study. The study found that the power gap between teacher and pupil spreads rapidly to all children in the classroom as a result of the teacher’s emotions, and even stimulates power stratification within the children. In addition, there are differences in the social behaviors between the children of different levels of power. As preschool children are in a critical developmental window when social knowledge is being accumulated and social skills are being acquired, using power relations within the kindergarten classroom as an entry point to analyze the impact of teachers’ emotions on children’s social behavior provides a new breakthrough for the professional development of early childhood education and the better achievement of educational goals. (shrink)

The relationship between urban expansion and population density changes is complex and plays a fundamental role in urban sustainable development research. This relationship has been studied in multiple large cities. However, there is no report of the relationship of the two factors mentioned above in urban agglomeration in a particular region of China. Ten cities located in the central-southern region of Liaoning province are selected as research samples in this study. The spatial growth rate and urban compactness index of the (...) sample cities were calculated using the land use and population data of these cities in three time phases: 1995, 2005, and 2015. Then, the geographical growth features, the population density changes, and the link between these two in the sample cities were investigated at these three periods. Our results revealed that the studied cities of central-southern Liaoning province expanded at the three time phases under the driver of positive population density growth, but the effects of urban population change on urbanization growth modes across time were uneven across different periods. Our study showed a trend that active transition of different urbanization growth modes was associated with decreased population density. (shrink)

The agro-pastoral ecotone, an ecological transition zone connecting adjacent areas of agricultural planting area and grassland animal husbandry, has three features: a complex natural condition, relatively pronounced population pressure, and a fragile ecological environment. In this study, we conducted an ecosystem risk assessment in the western part of Jilin Province, China, based on multiscale and multitemporal remote sensing images and land-use data. Furthermore, we focused on land-use change from 1995 to 2015 by applying the dynamic change information survey method and (...) carrying out a transfer track analysis. The results revealed three main findings. The ecological risk index at the scale of 3 km × 3 km harbors significant spatial correlation. The ecological risk index of unutilized land, forest land, and grassland is relatively high for each, and their anti-interference ability is weak, while the ecological risk index of construction land and water area is the lowest. Human interference, e.g., construction activities and cultivated land occupation, is the leading factor driving the exacerbation of ecological risk and frequent land-use type conversions. At the study period’s end, a trend of slight contraction in the high-risk areas was found, indicating that land-use regulation and land protection policies have had significantly positive impact upon the lands’ ecological value. The overall study identified a reasonable research scale for eco-environmental risk assessment and discerned relationships between regional land-use changes through geospatial analysis. Moreover, our findings can help provide practical case study information applicable to similar regions with agro-pastoral ecotones. (shrink)

As the primary value system in Chinese culture for almost 2,000 years, Confucianism has profoundly influenced the mindset of Chinese people. Cultural psychology studies have highlighted that individuals with different cultural backgrounds vary in their preferences for certain personality traits, such as self-construal, and their metacognitive characteristics, such as thinking modes. Compared with Western cultures, Chinese culture shows a preference for the interdependent self and holistic thinking. To investigate the relationship between the relational-interdependent self, holistic thinking, and traditional Chinese values, (...) we surveyed 327 Chinese adults using the Confucian Traditional Values Survey, Holistic Thinking Scale, and Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal Scale. The results show that Confucian values positively influence both holistic thinking and the relational-interdependent self, the latter of which partially mediates the positive relationship between Confucian values and holistic thinking. This study deepens the understanding of the psychological features of Chinese culture. (shrink)

This study seeks to shed light on the effect of star CEOs on the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of Chinese firms. Relying on the theoretical perspective of role identity and role constraints, we analyze data from 1222 Chinese firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2006 to 2019. The results analyzed using the ordinary least squares estimate method reveal a positive effect of star CEOs' extreme confidence and legitimacy pressure mechanisms on ESG performance. We also (...) find that this positive relationship is negatively moderated by higher organizational slack but strengthened by a lower level of regional marketization, as the degree of firms' dependence on external stakeholders' resources differs significantly. Additionally, this study finds that ESG activities are less likely to be associated with firm performance if star CEOs pursue them to satisfy their need for star status. These findings supplement the early tests of the influence mechanism of star CEOs on organization-level results and expand the context discussion of role identity and role constraints theory in the Chinese institutional environment. (shrink)

In this paper, we put forward a time-delay ecological competition system with food restriction and diffusion terms under Neumann boundary conditions. For the case without delay, the conditions for local asymptotic stability and Turing instability are constructed. For the case with delay, the existence of Hopf bifurcation is demonstrated by analyzing the root distribution of the corresponding characteristic equations. Furthermore, by using the normal form theory and the center manifold reduction of partial functional differential equations, explicit formulas are obtained to (...) determine the direction of bifurcations and the stability of bifurcating periodic solutions. Finally, some simulation examples are provided to substantiate our analysis. (shrink)

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is related to a variety of cognitive impairments that may even progress to dementia. Studies have found the angular gyrus is a cross-modal integration hub that is involved in a variety of cognitive processes. However, few studies have focused on the patterns of resting-state functional connections of the AG in patients with T2DM. This study explored the functional connection between the AG and the whole brain and the relationship between the FC and clinical/cognitive variables in patients (...) with T2DM. 44 patients with T2DM and 43 sex-, age-, and education-matched healthy controls underwent resting-state fMRI and received neuropsychological assessments. Compared with the control group, the T2DM group showed abnormal rsFCs between the AG and multiple brain regions. The FC between the left AG and the left medial temporal lobe in the T2DM group was positively correlated with scores on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, after a Bonferroni correction. Collectively, patients with T2DM have abnormal FCs between the AG and extensive brain regions that may be related to various cognitive processes. (shrink)

This study aimed to determine the relationship between acute stress and quality of life and explore their influencing factors on health care workers. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted, and a sample of 525 health care workers was recruited from 15 hospitals through a convenient sampling method. Participants completed an online self-report questionnaire to assess their acute stress and quality of life. Descriptive and multiple linear regression statistics were used for this analysis. The results regarding acute stress responses varied significantly (...) among the differences in marital status, physical activity, work status, perceived risk of contracting COVID-19, and the expected duration of the pandemic. Moreover, a younger age, lack of physical activity, being a front-line medical staff, and higher acute stress scores indicated a worse quality of life. Healthcare workers’ acute stress was negatively correlated with their quality of life. Therefore, the authorities should pay special attention to health care workers’ mental health and provide them with timely protection during the pandemic. (shrink)

Despite urgent calls for more research on the integration of business ethics and the meaning of work, to date, there have been few corresponding efforts, and we know surprisingly little about this relationship. In this study, we address this issue by examining when and for whom ethical leadership is more effective in promoting a sense of work meaningfulness among employees, and their subsequent work attitudes. Drawing on the contingency theories of leadership and work meaningfulness literature, we speculate that both employees’ (...) core self-evaluation and perceived organizational support moderate the relationship, but in different ways, and these associations carry over to employees’ subsequent work attitudes in terms of job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover intention. We test our hypotheses with two-wave survey data collected from 377 employees. Results indicate that ethical leadership is effective in eliciting work meaningfulness and attitudes for employees higher in CSE or when POS is lower, and ineffective for those lower in CSE or when POS is higher. A supplementary analysis reveals a three-way interaction between ethical leadership, CSE and POS in predicting a sense of work meaningfulness and subsequent work attitudes. Our research cautions that ethical leadership is not a universally positive practice; it can be ineffective or even have a negative impact under some circumstances. (shrink)

Background: In China, research ethics is a subject of increasingly formal regulation. However, little is known about how nursing researchers understand the concept of research ethics and the ways in which they can maintain ethical standards in their work. Aim: The aim of this study is to examine nursing researchers’ perspectives on research ethics in China. Research design: We conducted a descriptive qualitative study. Qualitative research methods enabled us to gain an in-depth understanding of nursing researchers’ views on research ethics. (...) Participants and research context: We carefully selected and extensively interviewed 28 nursing researchers, nursing faculty, and clinical nurses who had been involved in research or who may undertake research in the future. We collected data between October 2014 and March 2015. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the institutional review boards of Yale University and Central South University. Findings: We grouped the data into five categories based on the interviewees’ responses: (1) perceptions of ethics, bioethics, and research ethics; (2) perception of the ethics review process; (3) perception of the function of institutional review boards; (4) the need for comprehensive ethical guidelines for future studies; and (5) ethical challenges faced by the interviewees. Discussion and conclusion: This study contributes new insights into nursing researchers’ views on research ethics in China and finds considerable shortcomings in researchers’ understanding and implementation of ethical principles. Intensive educational efforts are needed to provide nursing researchers, institutional review board members, and even study subjects with accurate and up-to-date information and guidance on research ethics. In addition, while Western research ethics theoretically have guided Chinese clinical research for several years, the ways in which nursing researchers have implemented these ethical standards highlight the differences between the Eastern and Western ethical paradigms. This finding suggests the need for ethical standards that are more tailored to the Chinese context. (shrink)

Although the trickle-down effect of ethical leadership has been documented in the literature, its underlying mechanism still remains largely unclear. To address this gap, we develop a cross-level dual-process model to explain how the effect occurs. Drawing on social learning theory, we hypothesize that the ethical leadership of high-level managers could cascade to middle-level supervisors via its impact on middle-level supervisors’ two ethical expectations. Using a sample of 69 middle-level supervisors and 381 subordinates across 69 sub-branches from a large banking (...) firm in China, we found that middle-level supervisors’ ethical efficacy expectation and unethical behavior–punishment expectation accounted for the trickle-down effect. The explanatory role of middle-level supervisors’ ethical behavior–reward expectation, however, was not supported. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (shrink)

Recent literature suggests that ethical leadership helps to inhibit followers’ unethical behavior, largely built on the premise that followers view ethical leaders as ethical role models and socially learn from them, thereby engaging in more ethical conduct. This premise, however, has not been adequately tested, leaving insufficient understanding concerning the conditions under which this social learning process occurs. In this study, we revisit this premise, theorizing that not all followers will equally regard the same ethical leader as being a personal (...) ethical role model, thereby bounding the leader’s effects in reducing followers’ unethical behavior. We integrate the role of follower self-concepts into social learning theory, hypothesizing that the extent followers emulate their ethical leaders is contingent on how they identify with ethics as well as the particular leader. We test our hypotheses with three-wave survey data collected from 214 employees, finding that ethical leaders are viewed as being role models only amongst followers higher in moral identity and leader identification, and that followers’ perceptions that the leader is an ethical role model mediated the effect of ethical leadership on followers’ unethical behavior. Interestingly, results for the full-model tests show that ethical leadership evokes unethical behavior amongst followers lower in both moral identity and leader identification. These results suggest that ethical leadership is not a universally useful practice to decrease unethical behavior and that a more nuanced understanding of its contingent effects needs to be better understood. (shrink)

Competitive pressures, resource constraints, high shareholder/stakeholder expectations, and other dynamics may lead to organizations putting pressure on employees to act unethically to meet goals. Yet, the effects of this pressure on employee health and factors that can abate it are unclear. Based on the job demands-resources model, this study examines whether, how, and when organizational ethical pressure harms employees' psychological and physical health and what factors can buffer its negative effects. According to the findings of a two-wave lagged data study (...) involving 212 healthcare employees, results show that organizational ethical pressure causes ethical strain in employees, resulting in both psychological and physical health problems, with these effects less pronounced when employees have higher levels of ethical efficacy. An integrated effect was also discovered, in which employees' ethical efficacy increases when led by a more ethical leader, thereby buffering the effect of ethical pressure on ethical strain and health problems. Overall, our research identifies organizational ethical pressure as a significant threat to employee health and provides preliminary approaches to mitigate its effects. (shrink)

Through an analysis of survey data gathered from private firms in China, this study examines the impact of employee protection on corporate innovation ability. The results indicate that firms with more advanced employee protection have stronger innovation ability. Furthermore, the positive relationship between employee protection and corporate innovation ability is more pronounced in those enterprises with labor unions. Finally, a firm’s political connections strengthen the influence of employee protection on corporate innovation. These empirical findings highlight the positive consolidating effects of (...) labor unions and political connections and will be of value to policy makers in emerging markets in gauging the important drivers of corporate innovation ability. (shrink)

This work is devoted to studying the stochastic stabilization of a class of neutral-type complex-valued neural networks with partly unknown Markov jump. Firstly, in order to reduce the conservation of our stability conditions, two integral inequalities are generalized to the complex-valued domain. Secondly, a state-feedback controller is designed to investigate the stability of the neutral-type CVNNs with H ∞ performance, making the stability problem a further extension, and then, the stabilization of the CVNNs with H ∞ performance is investigated through (...) a sampling-based event-triggered control for the first time that the transmission event is not triggered except when it violates the event-triggered condition. Finally, two examples are given to illustrate the validity and correctness of our obtained theorems. (shrink)

In order to systematically evaluate perceptual anticipation between experts and non-experts for different kinds of combat sports, we needed to perform a comprehensive assessment. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched four English-language and three Chinese-language databases that used expert/non-expert research paradigms, to explore perceptual anticipation in combat sports. We employed a random effects model for pooled analyses using the inverse variance method. We included 27 eligible studies involving 233 datasets in this meta-analysis. We observed large effect sizes for (...) the differences between experts and non-experts in both response accuracy and reaction time. We also observed substantial differences between experts and non-experts in the mean duration of visual fixations per trial, but not in the visual fixation duration. Taken together, high-level combat athletes have more advantages in perceptual anticipation than lower-level athletes, showing faster and more accurate responses when facing the opponent's attacks, as well as focusing on fewer points of visual fixations than novice athletes. Different types of combat sports and stimulus presentations affect perceptual anticipation abilities to varying extents in relation to outcome measures, with more pronounced expertise in a stimulus that is closer to real-world situations.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021226343, PROSPERO CRD42021226343. (shrink)

Self-serving leadership is a form of unethical leadership behavior that has destructive effect on its targets and the overall organization. Adopting a social cognition perspective, this study expands our knowledge of its adverse effect and the way to mitigate the effect. Integrating two sub-theories of social cognition, we propose a theoretical model wherein self-serving leadership hinders team creativity through psychological safety as well as knowledge hiding, with task interdependence acting as a contextual condition. Results from a sample of 107 R&D (...) teams revealed that self-serving leadership not only reduced team psychological safety, but also induced team knowledge hiding, both of which ultimately affected team creativity. The presence of high task interdependence buffered the destructive effect of self-serving leadership on team creativity via team psychological safety as well as the indirect effect via knowledge hiding. (shrink)

本书包括:尼采体验的永恒回归、基督教道德与愤恨、尼采对意志的拒拆、查拉图斯特拉的戏剧、游牧思想、尼采的形而上学等内容。.

The studies of urban popular culture in modern China in recent years have attracted wide attention from scholars in China and abroad. The symposium, which is composed by Ma Min’s “Injecting vitality into the studies of urban cultural history,” Jiang Jin’s “Issues in the studies of urban popular culture in modern China,” Wang Di’s “The microcosm of Chinese cities: The perspective and methodology of studying urban popular culture from the case of teahouses in Chengdu,” Joseph W. Esherick’s “Remaking the (...) Chinese city: Urban space and urban culture” and Lu Hanchao’s “From elites to common people: The downward trend in the studies of Chinese urban history in the United States,” provide valuable insights on the perspective, trend, and methodology of the studies. (shrink)

Considering that the development of urbanization cannot be separated from the application of landscape pattern evolution, in order to improve the development level of ecocity, a modeling analysis of ecological urban landscape pattern evolution based on multisource remote sensing data is proposed. Taking ecotype city as the research object, the remote sensing images of ecological urban landscape pattern are screened by using multisource remote sensing data and nonremote sensing data as the basic data. CA-Markov model is constructed and the evolution (...) of ecological urban landscape pattern is analyzed. The experimental results show that, from 2005 to 2020, the development level of urbanization process is higher and higher and the area of building land patches is increasing, which reduces the fragmentation of building land patches. However, the landscape of cultivated land and green space is less and less, and the distribution of the patches also causes uneven phenomenon, which leads to the gradual decline of ecological urban landscape diversity. In the ecological urban landscape pattern, the degree of fragmentation and diversity of urban landscape is reduced due to the high connection and coverage of the construction land. (shrink)

Music is the universal language of mankind. The process of learning music can be understood as the process of constantly copying and spreading cultural memes. The term "mime" here comes from meme theory, which is a theory that studies cultural imitation and aims to explore the evolutionary model of cultural information dissemination. According to the principle of meme theory, music education itself is a process of cultural dissemination, which is transmitted to different meme carriers through imitation and replication. At present, (...) music education, especially instrumental music education, focuses on teaching performance skills, so there are many performers and educators who "only focus on skills". The author believes that this process should be based on the transmission of metaphysical music culture to be more in line with the philosophical meaning of education? Is education based on meme theory more effective? In order to verify this view, the author selected 20 students from a primary school and conducted a piano teaching experiment lasting 7 months. In the end, it was proved that the piano teaching model of " listening, reading, and playing" based on meme theory has a more benign improvement on students, and also revealed the philosophical significance of music education under the perspective of meme theory and the practical path of the future development of music education. (shrink)

This article attempts to introduce the emerging research method of E-textual research into the study of Chinese Buddhism. By outlining the origin and significance of E-textual research, it explores the potential of this endeavour. The application of E-textual research in the field of Buddhism is discussed to clarify its scope and operational procedures. The article also addresses the limitations of E-textual research, stemming from its inherent constraints and the impact of other emerging technologies. E-textual research is not merely a passing (...) trend but offers further avenues for exploration, representing a novel approach for Buddhist studies to engage with new materials and questions in the digital age.Contribution: This article introduces the emerging research method of E-textual research into the study of Chinese Buddhism, outlining its background, operational procedures, existing limitations and future prospects. E-textual research is presented as a new method for addressing new materials and questions in the digital age. (shrink)

BackgroundUsing an effective method for evaluating Institutional Review Board (IRB) performance is essential for ensuring an IRB’s effectiveness, efficiency, and compliance with applicable human research standards and organizational policies. Currently, no empirical research has yet been published in China evaluating IRB performance measures by the use of a standardized tool. This study was therefore conducted to develop a Chinese version of the IRB Researcher Assessment Tool (IRB-RAT), assess the psychometric properties of the Chinese version (IRB-RAT-CV), and validate the tool for (...) use in China.MethodsIn this cultural adaptation, cross-sectional validation study, the IRB-RAT-CV was developed through a back-translation process and then distributed to 587 IRB staff members and researchers in medical institutions and schools in Hunan Province that review biomedical and social-behavioral research. Data from the 470 valid questionnaires collected from participants was used to evaluate the reliability, content validity, and construct validity of the IRB-RAT-CV.ResultsParticipants’ ratings of their ideal and actual IRB as measured by the IRB-RAT-CV achieved Cronbach's alpha 0.989 and 0.992, Spearman-Brown coefficient 0.964 and 0.968, and item-total correlation values ranging from 0.631 to 0.886 and 0.743 to 0.910, respectively.ConclusionThe IRB-RAT-CV is a linguistically and culturally applicable tool for assessing the quality of IRBs in China. (shrink)

The study takes an interaction perspective to examine possible interaction effects of goal orientation, psychological capital, and organizational innovation climate aimed at enhancing employees’ innovation behavior. A total sample of 398 employees were selected in Chinese enterprises. The descriptive statistical analyses, multiple regression, and bootstrap approach are adopted to test the interactive effects after controlling for gender, age, years for work of employees, type of enterprises, and industry. Results indicate that learning goal orientation and proving goal orientation have a positive (...) effect on employees’ innovation behavior through psychological capital. The positive relationship between psychological capital and employees’ innovation behavior is stronger when employees perceive more organizational innovation climate. Additionally, the positive effect of learning goal orientation and proving goal orientation on employees’ innovation behavior is stronger in high organizational innovation climate through high-level psychological capital than in low organizational innovation climate. However, the negative effect of avoiding goal orientation on innovation behavior is not significant. Finally, implications and further research are discussed. (shrink)

ObjectivePregnancy leads to long-lasting changes in brain structure for healthy women; however, little is known regarding alterations in the cortical features of pregnant women with malformed fetuses. Isolated clefts of the lip and/or palate (ICL/P) are the most common congenital anomaly in the craniofacial region, which is highly gene-associated. We speculated that pregnant women carrying fetuses with ICL/P may have associated risk genes and specific brain changes during pregnancy.MethodsIn this study, we investigated T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 48 (...) pregnant women: 24 women carrying fetuses with ICL/P (ICL/P group) and 24 women carrying normal fetuses (normal controls), then explored intergroup differences in gray matter volume (GMV), cortical thickness (CT) and cortical complexity (gyrification).ResultsCompared with controls, the ICL/P group had decreased total intracranial volume (TIV) than normal controls; besides, they exhibited increased GMV in the left cuneus, decreased GMV in the right superior temporal gyrus; increased CT in the left precuneus and left superior parietal gyrus, decreased CT involving parsopercularis, fusiform, middle temporal in the left hemisphere and supramarginal, precentral gyrus (PreCG) in the right hemisphere; increased gyrification in the left insula and PreCG, the left middle temporal, and the right supratemporal gyrus.ConclusionPregnant women with ICL/P fetuses had brain morphology changes involving language, auditory, vision, and sensory cortex, which may be their special brain changes compared to normal pregnant women. This study may provide clues for the early detection of fetuses with ICL/P, and be vital for preconception and prenatal counseling with non-invasive methods. (shrink)

This essay explores whether ontology is internal to traditional Chinese culture from the perspective of the view from above. Ancient Chinese philosophy, poetry, and art abound with all kinds of descriptions of viewing from above. Such views from on high, as illustrated by famous works discussed in this essay, usually admit of no fixed focus; that is, there is no ontic being, concealed or disclosed, controlling the perceiving eyes. The gaze from above, which is either fluid or decentered, in some (...) cases does not even focus on any real object. It merely reveals an abstract historical review or an attitudinal stance. As such, the fushi gaze, devoid of any concrete object of perception or any central point of reference, always points to the absence of ontology. (shrink)

This article deals with the relationship between garbage and city, with special emphasis on the relationship between garbage and the modern commodity. With regard to the latter, the same material thing takes the form of commodity and garbage successively in its lifetime. Garbage is the corpse of commodity, so the number of commodities decides the quantity of garbage. A different relation of commodity to waste has existed in the countryside in China, where the circulation of waste products enters into a (...) different relationship with the production of material life. By contrast, the modern city is a machine that treats garbage: on the one hand, it carries the commodity continually from the external space of the city to the inner space of the city, and on the other hand, it transports garbage from the inner space of the city to the external space of the city. The city forms its distinctive structure through the processing of garbage. (shrink)