Business Ethics, the Environment &Responsibility, Volume 31, Issue 3, Page 620-633, July 2022.

Factory workers make up a large proportion of China’s internal migrants and may be highly susceptible to job and adaptation stress, negative affective states, and Internet gaming disorder. This cross-sectional study investigated the relationships between job stress, psychological adaptation, negative affective states and IGD among 1,805 factory workers recruited by stratified multi-stage sampling between October and December 2019. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the proposed mediation model. Among the participants, 67.3% were male and 71.7% were aged 35 years (...) old or below. The prevalence of probable depression, probable anxiety, and IGD was 39.3, 28.7, and 7.5%. Being male, younger age, and shorter duration of living in Shenzhen were associated with higher IGD scores. Job stress was significantly associated with IGD but not with negative affective states. Psychological adaptation was significantly associated with negative affective states. Negative affective states were positively associated with IGD. The indirect effect of psychological adaptation but not job stress on IGD through negative affective states was statistically significant. The observed psychological correlates and mechanisms are modifiable, and can inform the design of evidence-based prevention programs for depression, anxiety, and IGD in this population. (shrink)

The impact of industrial peers' donations on firms' charitable practices has been tested and verified in existing literatures. This paper further studies the motivations and scenarios of non-listed companies to imitate their listed counterparts in the same industry to formulate charitable policies. Deeply rooted in institutional isomorphism theory, uncertainty and professional networks are employed as philanthropic motives for unlisted companies to mimic their listed peers. Managerial decision mechanisms and network status perceptions enhance imitation by reinforcing decision uncertainty and network effect. (...) Institutional environment heterogeneity can amplify or reduce the imitative stimulus of managers' decision mechanisms and status perceptions. Our empirical tests are based on a unique dataset of 14,873 unlisted firms and their corresponding listed counterparts in China from 2006–2016, and use Tobit regression methods. The results show a significantly positive association between listed peers' giving and non-listed firms' donation. The peer effects are intensified when non-listed firms' decentralized decision-making and higher managers' status identification are present. Furthermore, when the institutional environment changes from weak to strong, the impetus of decentralized decision-making and status identification will be weakened. These findings contribute to the corporate philanthropy literature and facilitate the development of effective corporate charity policies and government promotion of philanthropic responsibility. (shrink)

Emergency online education has been adopted worldwide due to coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Prior research regarding online learning predominantly focused on the perception of parents, teachers, and students in tertiary education, while younger children’s perspectives have rarely been examined. This study investigated how family, school, and individual factors would be associated with primary school students’ satisfaction, perceived effectiveness, and preference in online learning during COVID-19. A convenient sample of 781 Hong Kong students completed an anonymous online survey from June to (...) October 2020. Logistic regression was conducted for 13 potential factors. Results indicated that only 57% of students were satisfied with their schools’ online learning arrangement and 49.6% regarded the online learning as an effective learning mode. Only 12.8% of students preferred online learning, while 67.2% of students preferred in-person schooling. Multiple analyses suggested that teacher–student interaction during online classes was positively associated with students’ satisfaction, perceived effectiveness, and preferences in online learning. Compared to grades 1–2 students, grades 3–6 students perceived more effectiveness and would prefer online learning. Happier schools were more likely to deliver satisfying and effective online education. Students who reported less happiness at school would prefer online learning, and students who reported less happiness at home would be less satisfied with online learning and reflected lower effectiveness. Teachers are encouraged to deliver more meaningful interactions to students and offer extra support to younger children during online classes. Primary schools and parents are encouraged to create a healthy and pleasant learning environment for children. The government may consider building up happy schools in the long run. The study findings are instrumental for policymakers, institutions, educators, and researchers in designing online education mechanisms. (shrink)