Student–teacher relationships have been examined by many studies. However, an omission still exists, the existing scales are not appropriate for studying STRs in private colleges because of the special character of these schools. This paper presents the development and validation of Private-College Student–Teacher Relationship Scale, the first instrument to evaluate student–teacher relationships in private colleges. The PCSTRS has six dimensions: trust, interaction, intimacy, care, approval, and comfort. In our main study, the validity and reliability of the six-factor PCSTRS model were (...) demonstrated. The result of internal consistency coefficient indicated the high reliability of the scale, and the result of concurrent validity indicated the significant correlational relationships between the PCSTRS with other STR measures. In supplementary study, the PCSTRS was administered to 360 participants to confirm the applicability of PCSTRS and investigate the relation of STRs and students’ traits, performance, and wellbeing, as well as the differences between the private school and the public school in this relation; the analyses revealed that there were significant differences in trust, intimacy, and care between private and public colleges; positive correlations were found between STRs and self-esteem, self-efficacy, academic performance, extracurricular activity involvement, and subjective wellbeing. Present research firstly develops the PCSTRS, examined the reliability and validity, and provides the proposed nomological network among related constructs. (shrink)

BackgroundPublished data and practice recommendations on end-of-life care generally reflect Western practice frameworks; there are limited data on withdrawal of treatment for children in China.MethodsWithdrawal of treatment for children in the pediatric intensive care unit of a regional children’s hospital in eastern China from 2006 to 2017 was studied retrospectively. Withdrawal of treatment was categorized as medical withdrawal or premature withdrawal. The guardian’s self-reported reasons for abandoning the child’s treatment were recorded from 2011.ResultsThe incidence of withdrawal of treatment for children (...) in the PICU decreased significantly; for premature withdrawal the 3-year average of 15.1% in 2006–2008 decreased to 1.9% in 2015–2017. The overall incidence of withdrawal of care reduced over the time period, and withdrawal of therapy by guardians was the main contributor to the overall reduction. The median age of children for whom treatment was withdrawn increased from 14.5 months in 2006 to 40.5 months in 2017. Among the reasons given by guardians of children whose treatment was withdrawn in 2011–2017, “illness is too severe” ranked first, accounting for 66.3%, followed by “condition has been improved”. Only a few guardians ascribed treatment withdrawal to economic reasons.ConclusionsThe frequency of withdrawal of medical therapy has changed over time in this children’s hospital PICU, and parental decision-making has been a large part of the change. (shrink)

In this article, we propose that giving in cash and non-cash differ in their relation with the giving firm’s future corporate financial performance and only cash giving is associated with future CFP. Using a novel dataset from ASSET4 that differentiates corporate giving over a sample period of 2002–2012, we examine three competing hypotheses: agency cost hypothesis that cash giving reflects agency cost and destroys value for shareholders, investment hypothesis that cash giving is an investment by management that aims for better (...) future return, and information hypothesis that cash giving has informational value to shareholders as cash is a critical resource at a firm and giving is a decision by managers who are insiders. We find that indeed, only cash giving is positively associated with future CFP and firm value, measured by Fama–French five-factor abnormal risk-adjusted stock returns, future return on assets, and Tobin’s Q. In addition, we find that the positive association exists only between excess, i.e., unexpected, but not expected cash giving and future CFP. Our empirical findings support the information hypothesis, but neither the agency hypothesis nor the investment hypothesis, and are robust to a number of endogeneity tests, including orthogonalized cash giving, instrumental variable regression using geography-based instruments, and propensity score matching. Furthermore, we show that the positive association between future CFP and unexpected cash giving is only pronounced at firms with good governance and relatively higher sales growth where agency problems are less likely, and at firms with no alternative mechanisms to demonstrate the strength of cash flow. Additionally, we do not find evidence that suggests in-kind giving to possess any informational value. (shrink)

Link prediction, which aims to forecast potential or missing links in a complex network based on currently observed information, has drawn growing attention from researchers. To date, a host of similarity-based methods have been put forward. Usually, one method harbors the idea that one similarity measure is applicable to various networks, and thus has performance fluctuation on different networks. In this paper, we propose a novel method to solve this issue by regarding link prediction as a multiple-attribute decision-making problem. In (...) the proposed method, we consider RA, LP, and CAR indices as the multiattribute for node pairs. The technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution is adopted to aggregate the multiattribute and rank node pairs. The proposed method is not limited to only one similarity measure, but takes separate measures into account, since different networks may have different topological structures. Experimental results on 10 real-world networks manifest that the proposed method is superior in comparison to state-of-the-art methods. (shrink)

Procedures were designed to test for the effects of working-memory training on children at risk of fluency difficulty that apply to English and to many of the languages spoken by children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) in UK schools. Working-memory training should: (1) improve speech fluency in high-risk children; (2) enhance non-word repetition (NWR) (phonological) skills for all children; (3) not affect word-finding abilities. Children starting general education (N = 232) were screened to identify those at risk of (...) fluency difficulty. Children were selected who were at high-risk (12), or low-risk (27) of fluency difficulty. For the low-risk children 10 received, and 17 did not receive, the working-memory training. All children in the treatment groups received working-memory training over a 2-week period. For the high-risk group, fluency improved and lasted for at least a week after the end of the study. Phonological skills improved in this group and in the low-risk group who received the training and the improvements continued for at least a week. The low-risk group who did not receive working-memory training showed no improvements, and no group improved word-finding ability. (shrink)

We aggregate different dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities following the stakeholder framework proposed in Clarkson (Acad Manag Rev 20(1), 92–117, 1995) and present consistent evidence that CSR strengths targeting different stakeholders have their unique impact on firm risk and financial performance. Institutional CSR activities that target secondary stakeholders are negatively associated with firm risk, measured by total risk and systematic risk. Technical CSR that target primary stakeholders are positively associated with firm financial performance, measured by Tobin’s Q, ROA, (...) and cash flow returns. Our results, based on a sample of S&P 500 component firms over the period of 1995–2009, are consistent with the risk management view of “altruistic” CSR activities and with the stakeholder salience theory. We also show that the impact of CSR activities on risk varies with the ethical climate, as proved in our subsample analyses on pre- and post-Sarbanes–Oxley periods. Our empirical analyses mitigate possible omitted variables and endogeneity concerns that are often overlooked in previous research. Our findings are robust to alternative CSR measures, to alternative risk and performance measures, and to alternative estimation methods. (shrink)

Fourth-order autonomous nonlinear differential equations can exhibit chaotic properties. In this study, we propose a family of fourth-order chaotic systems with infinite equilibrium points whose equilibria form closed curves of different shapes. First, the phase diagrams and Lyapunov exponents of the system family are simulated. The results show that the system family has complex phase diagrams and dynamic behaviors. Simulation analysis of the Poincarè mapping and bifurcation diagrams shows that the system has chaotic characteristics. The circuit simulation model is constructed (...) and simulated in Multisim. The circuit simulation results coincide with the numerical simulation results, which verifies the circuit feasibility of the system. Then, based on Lyapunov stability theory and the adaptive control method, the synchronous control of the system with infinite equilibria is designed. Numerical simulation results verify that the system synchronization with the adaptive control method is well. Finally, the synchronous drive system is used for image encryption, the response system is used for decryption, and color image encryption is realized by combining deoxyribonucleic acid coding and operating rules. Therefore, this study not only enriched the research on infinite equilibria chaotic systems but also further expanded secure communication technology by combining chaotic synchronization control and DNA coding in image encryption. (shrink)

Understanding how transcription factor (TF) binding is related to gene regulation is a moving target. We recently uncovered genome‐wide evidence for a “Hit‐and‐Run” model of transcription. In this model, a master TF “hits” a target promoter to initiate a rapid response to a signal. As the “hit” is transient, the model invokes recruitment of partner TFs to sustain transcription over time. Following the “run”, the master TF “hits” other targets to propagate the response genome‐wide. As such, a TF may act (...) as a “catalyst” to mount a broad and acute response in cells that first sense the signal, while the recruited TF partners promote long‐term adaptive behavior in the whole organism. This “Hit‐and‐Run” model likely has broad relevance, as TF perturbation studies across eukaryotes show small overlaps between TF‐regulated and TF‐bound genes, implicating transient TF‐target binding. Here, we explore this “Hit‐and‐Run” model to suggest molecular mechanisms and its biological relevance. (shrink)

Pink and blue colors have been found to associate with gender stereotypes in previous Western studies. The purpose of the present study was to explore the neuropsychological processing basis of this effect in contemporary Chinese society. We presented stereotypically masculine or feminine occupation words in either pink or blue colors to Chinese college students in a modified Stroop paradigm, in which participants were asked to classify each occupation word by gender as quickly and accurately as possible. Event-related potential signals were (...) concurrently recorded in order to identify the temporal dynamics of gender stereotypical interference effect. The behavioral results showed that pink–masculine stimuli elicited a longer response time and lower accuracy than blue–masculine stimuli in the participants, while no such differences were observed between pink–feminine and blue–feminine conditions. The ERP results further revealed distinctive neural processing stages for pink–masculine stimuli in P200, N300, N400, and P600. Overall, our results suggested that pink but not blue was a “gendered” color in Chinese culture. Moreover, our ERP findings contributed to the understanding of the neural mechanism underlying the processing of gender–color stereotypes. (shrink)

In order to improve the effect of smart city construction, this paper combines smart buildings and ethical computing to conduct research on smart city edge computing. The new smart city architecture based on the flexible deployment of edge computing and data slicing capabilities provides support for the transformation of smart city construction from hardware embedded technology, access means, and software data processing. Moreover, this paper uses information technology to collect, process, analyze, use the information to achieve intelligence, and integrate resources (...) and information of cities and people to build a smart city functional architecture. Moreover, this paper combines simulation technology for experimental research. Through experimental analysis, it can be seen that the smart city edge computing method based on smart buildings and ethical computing proposed in this paper has good results. (shrink)

Chaotic systems with hidden multiscroll attractors have received much attention in recent years. However, most parts of hidden multiscroll attractors previously reported were repeated by the same type of attractor, and the composite of different types of attractors appeared rarely. In this paper, a memristor-based chaotic system, which can generate composite attractors with one up to six scrolls, is proposed. These composite attractors have different forms, similar to the Chua’s double scroll and jerk double scroll. Through theoretical analysis, we find (...) that the new system has no fixed point; that is to say, all of the composite multiscroll attractors are hidden attractors. Additionally, some complicated dynamic behaviors including various hidden coexisting attractors, extreme multistability, and transient transition are explored. Moreover, hardware circuit using discrete components is implemented, and its experimental results supported the numerical simulations results. (shrink)

Although benefits of design perception have been documented from the perspective of consumers on a large scale, but the perspective of employees has been ignored. This study aims to investigate the impact of design elements on employee-brand-based equity under the mediating role of the green concept. For this purpose, data are collected from the employees of the manufacturing sector and 346 responses are used for an inferential purpose. These data were collected using the survey research method through the convenience sampling (...) technique. Data has been analyzed through Smart PLS by applying the structural equation modeling technique. After assessing the measurement and structural model, the results obtained indicate that design elements of products in the manufacturing industry can influence the perception of employees and it can foster positive behavior among employees in the shape of employee-brand-based equity. The mediating role of the green concept has also been proved. Limitations and future directions are also discussed. (shrink)

At present, the market demand for forest health tourism is weak. The main purpose of this study is to investigate whether frugality inhibits the intention of forest health tourism and whether the positive effect of cognition on the intention of forest health tourism can compensate for the inhibition of frugality. Based on mental account theory and planned behavior theory, this study constructs a structural equation model with intermediary variables—health consumption mental account and forest health consumption attitude. According to the results (...) of the path analysis of the data, which was collected through the questionnaire survey of urban residents, the positive influence of cognition can compensate for the inhibitory effect of frugality. On this basis, mediating effect analysis based on multigroup comparison is further carried out. This study verifies for the first time the inhibitory effect of frugality on the intention for forest health tourism, enriches the theoretical system of tourism consumer behavior, and provides a scientific basis for the market positioning of forest health and the formulation of marketing strategies. (shrink)

The transplantation of cholinergic neurons into the hippocampal formation has been well characterized. We describe our studies on the effects of cholinergic transplants in the retrosplenial cortex. These transplants were capable of ameliorating spatial navigation deficits in rats with septohippocampal lesions. In addition, we provide evidence for the modulation of transplanted neurons by the host brain.

The theory of embodied semantics holds that verbal metaphors are strongly grounded in sensorimotor experience. Many studies have proven that besides sensorimotor simulation, the comprehension of verbal metaphors also requires semantic abstraction. But the interaction between simulation and abstraction, as well as the time course of metaphorical meaning integration, is not well understood. In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether embodiment or abstraction, or both, is employed in the processing of Chinese verbal metaphor. Participants were asked to read (...) subject-verb metaphorical, verb-object metaphorical, literal-concrete and literal-abstract sentences, and the target words were measured at the verb and the object of each sentence. The results revealed that a similar N400 effect was elicited by the target verbs in the verb-object metaphorical and the literal-concrete sentences, and a similar P600/LPC effect was induced by the target verbs in the subject-verb metaphorical and the literal-abstract sentences, reflecting that the verb-object metaphors trigger a simulation process, while the subject-verb metaphors trigger an abstraction process in the verb processing stage. Moreover, the subject-verb metaphors elicited a stronger P600/LPC effect by the target verbs than the verb-object metaphors, but there was no difference of the P600/LPC caused by the target objects between the two kinds of metaphors, revealing that the metaphorical meaning of a subject-verb metaphor is integrated in the verb processing stage, while that of a verb-object metaphor is reanalyzed in the object processing stage. These results suggest that a verbal metaphor is processed both by simulation and abstraction, and the metaphorical meaning is integrated immediately with the unfolding of the sentence meaning. The position where the semantic conflict lies in a sentence modulates the time course of metaphor sentence comprehension. (shrink)

ObjectiveTo investigate the attitudes of Chinese parents regarding the storage of dried blood spots collected for newborn screening (NBS) and their use in research.MethodsWe conducted a hospital-based survey of parents and examined parental attitudes regarding (a) allowing NBS sample storage, (b) permitting use of children’s NBS samples for research with parental permission, and (c) permitting use of children’s NBS samples for research without parental permission.ResultsThe response rate was 52 percent. Of parents surveyed, 68 percent would permit their infant’s NBS sample (...) to be stored for at least some length of time. If permission is obtained, 69 percent of parents “strongly agreed” or “agreed” to permit use of the NBS sample for research. If permission is not obtained, only 14 percent of parents “strongly agreed” or “agreed.” There was no significant association between permitting use of NBS samples for research and parental gender, education, household income, number of children, or site of residence.ConclusionsThis is the first survey of Chinese parents regarding the use of NBS samples for different types of research, with results indicating that most parents would permit their infant’s sample to be stored and would support the use of NBS dried blood spots for research purposes. (shrink)

In alphabetic writing systems (such as English), the spaces between words mark the word boundaries, and the basic unit of reading is distinguished during visual-level processing. The visual-level information of word boundaries facilitates reading. Chinese is an ideographic language whose text contains no intrinsic inter-word spaces as the marker of word boundaries. Previous studies have shown that the basic processing unit of Chinese reading is also a word. However, findings remain inconsistent regarding whether inserting spaces between words in Chinese text (...) promotes reading performance. Researchers have proposed that there may be a trade-off between format familiarity and the facilitation effect of inter-word spaces. In order to verify this, this study manipulated the format familiarity via reversing the Chinese reading direction from right to left to investigate this issue in Experiment 1 and Experiment 2. The purpose of Experiment 1 was to examine whether inter-word spaces facilitated Chinese reading in an unfamiliar format. Experiment 1 was conducted that 40 native Chinese undergraduates read Chinese sentences from right to left on four format conditions. The results showed faster reading speed and shorter total reading time for the inter-word spaced format. Based on this finding, Experiment 2 examined whether the facilitation effect of inter-word spaces would reduce or disappear after improving the format familiarity; this experiment was conducted that 40 native Chinese undergraduates who did not participate in Experiment 1 read Chinese sentences from right to left on four format conditions after ten-day reading training. There was no significant difference between the total reading time and reading speed in the inter-word spaced format and unspaced format, which suggests that the facilitation effect of inter-word spaces in Chinese reading changed smaller. The combined results of the two experiments suggest that there is indeed a trade-off between format familiarity and the facilitation of word segmentation, which supports the assumption of previous studies. (shrink)

The current study integrated the Extended Technology Acceptance Model and included information system quality, user interface, knowledge sharing motivation, the expectation confirmation model, safety management practices, interface aesthetics, and perceived value to evaluate the logistics couriers’ experience while using an Online logistics platform. This research examines the relationships of KSM, SMP, and ISQ on the TAM’s, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. In addition, it explores the relationship between UI on PEOU. Furthermore, to explore the impact of ECM, it (...) examines the impact of confirmation on PU and satisfaction. Finally, this research explores the impact of logistics couriers’ SAT on continuous intention. According to the findings of this study, UI did not have a significant association with PEOU. Furthermore, KSM was found to significantly impact PEOU, while having no significant effect on PU. Moreover, SMP was found to have no significance on PEOU, however, SMP was discovered to be in a significant association with PU. In addition, ISQ was found to significantly impact PEOU, PU, and, PV. Moreover, CON was in a significant relationship with PU, while not having a significant impact on SAT. Furthermore, IA did not significantly impact PV. Also, SAT was significantly impacted by PU, while not having any significant impact from PEOU, and PV. Besides, PEOU was discovered to significantly impact PU. Finally, SAT was found to be in a significant relationship with CI. (shrink)

ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy combined with medication therapy in preventing the recurrence of major depressive disorder in convalescent patients.MethodsA total of 130 patients with convalescent MDD were enrolled in this prospective study. Sixty-five patients were assigned to the experimental group and received medication therapy combined with MBCT, and 65 patients were assigned to the control group and treated with medication alone. The recurrence rate and related hormonal changes were compared between the two groups.ResultsAfter (...) 1 year of MBCT intervention, eight patients experienced recurrence in the experimental group, a recurrence rate of 12.31%, and 19 patients experienced recurrence in the control group, a recurrence rate of 29.23%. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale scores in both the experimental and the control groups were significantly improved after treatment. The difference in the HAM-D scores before and after treatment in the experimental group was 16.74 ± 4.54; this was significantly higher than that of the control group. The WHOQOL-BREF scores in the experimental group were significantly improved compared with those of the control group. The differences in the levels of corticotrophin-releasing hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and cortisol before and after treatment in the experimental group and the control group were statistically significant. The difference in CRH before and after treatment in the experimental group was 16.8 ± 7.2, which was higher than that of the control group. The intervention with MBCT had a significant impact on the recurrence of MDD [β = 1.206, P = 0.039, 95% CI = 0.0790–1.229]. The difference in the HAM-D scores also had a significant impact on the recurrence of MDD.ConclusionCompared with medication therapy alone, the use of MBCT combined with medication therapy can effectively prevent the recurrence of MDD in convalescent patients. (shrink)

In light of the dramatic growth of Chinese learners worldwide and a need for cross-linguistic research on Chinese literacy development, this study drew upon theories of visual complexity effect (Su & Samuels, 2010) and dual-coding processing (Sadoski & Paivio, 2013) and investigated a) the effects of character properties (i.e., visual complexity and radical presence) on character acquisition and b) the relationship between individual learner differences in radical awareness and character acquisition. Participants included adolescent English-speaking beginning learners of Chinese in the (...) U.S. Following Kuo et al. (2014), a novel character acquisition task was used to investigate the process of acquiring the meaning of new characters. Results showed that a) characters with radicals and with less visual complexity were easier to acquire than characters without radicals and with greater visual complexity; and b) individual differences in radical awareness were associated with the acquisition of all types of characters, but the association was more pronounced with the acquisition of characters with radicals. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings were discussed. (shrink)

BackgroundThe neural activity of irritable bowel syndrome patients in the resting state without any intervention has not been systematically studied. The purpose of this study was to compare the resting-state brain functions of IBS patients with healthy controls.MethodsThe published neuroimage studies were obtained from electronic databases including PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science Core, CNKI Database, Wanfang Database, VIP Database, and CBMdisc. Search dates were from inception to March 14th, 2022. The studies were identified by the preidentified inclusion and exclusion (...) criteria. Two independent reviewers compiled the studies and evaluated them for quality and bias.ResultsAltogether 22 fMRI studies were included in this review. The risk of bias of the included studies was generally low. The findings indicated that in IBS patients, increased or decreased brain areas were mostly associated with visceral sensations, emotional processing, and pain processing. According to brain network research, IBS may exhibit anomalies in the DMN, CEN, and emotional arousal networks. The fluctuations in emotion and symptoms in IBS patients were associated with alterations in the relevant brain regions.ConclusionThis study draws a preliminary conclusion that there are insufficient data to accurately distinguish the different neurological features of IBS in the resting state. Additional high-quality research undertaken by diverse geographic regions and teams is required to reach reliable results regarding resting-state changed brain regions in IBS. (shrink)

Objective: To systematically analyze the effectiveness of technology-based interventions for reducing loneliness in older adults.Methods: We searched relevant electronic databases from inception to April 2021, which included Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, SpringerLink, EMBASE, CNKI, and Wanfang. The following criteria were used: study design—randomized controlled trial designs, people—older adults, intervention—technology-based interventions in which a core component involved the use of technology to reduce loneliness in older adults; and outcome—reduction of loneliness level in terms of rating scale scores. Two reviewers (...) independently identified eligible studies, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias in the included studies. A third reviewer resolved any conflicts. The Cochrane Collaboration's bias assessment tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias for the included studies, and Review Manager 5.4 software was used for the meta-analysis. A random effects model was adopted to measure estimates of loneliness reduction, and standard mean differences with a 95% confidence interval were calculated for each intervention-control contrast, and the I2 statistic was applied to examine heterogeneity.Results: A total of 391 participants from six RCTs were included in the review. Of these, three studies were rated as low-quality, and the remaining three were rated as moderate-quality studies. The meta-analysis showed that the evidence regarding the effects on loneliness of technology-based interventions compared with control groups was uncertain, and suggested that technology-based interventions resulted in little to no difference in loneliness reduction compared to control groups. Two types of technology-based interventions were identified: smartphone-based video calls and computer-based training with Internet usage. The subgroup analysis found low-quality evidence to support the effectiveness of both intervention types.Conclusions: We found no current evidence to support that technology-based interventions were effective compared to different control conditions in reducing loneliness in older adults. This suggests that more research is needed to investigate the effects of technology-based interventions on loneliness in older adults. (shrink)

This study aims to assess the level and determinants of the general public's willingness to organ donation. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study of 4261 participants in China. The primary outcome was the willingness to donate organs. Logistic regression modelling was used to determine the factors that affect willingness to donate organs. Overall, the proportion of participants who showed a willingness to donate organs was 47.45% (95%CI: 0.46, 0.49) in this study. Logistic regression modelling showed participants from Western (OR = (...) 1.33, 95%CI = 1.11-1.59) and Eastern China (OR = 1.40, 95%CI = 1.19-1.65) were more willing to donate organs compared with those from Central China. The odds of being willing to donate organs was higher in females than males (OR = 1.35, 95%CI = 1.17-1.55); and was higher in those participants with experience of organ donation (OR = 1.58, 95%CI = 1.13-2.21), experience of caring for organ transplant patients (OR = 1.45, 95%CI = 1.01-2.07), and those undertaking related voluntary activities (OR = 1.67, 95%CI = 1.45-1.94), than those without. The general public's level of willingness to organ donation was not high in this study. Geographical region, gender, experience of organ donation related activities, taking care of organ transplant patients and volunteering in related activities were independently associated with participants' willingness to donate organs. (shrink)

In the Internet era, consumers prefer products with the attributes of social responsibility. Supply chain enterprises strengthen corporate social responsibility management for their own development. To improve CSR throughout the supply chain, it requires coordination and cooperation among the members of the supply chain. In this paper, we consider a three-tier supply chain system consisting of a supplier, a manufacturer, and a retailer and use stochastic differential game to study the CSR coordination of the supply chain. The following indicators are (...) investigated under four decision situations, such as the optimal level of CSR effort for the supply chain members, the optimal value of profit for the supply chain members and the supply chain system, and the expectation and variance of CSR goodwill. Some important results are obtained. Compared with decentralized decision-making, the optimal level of CSR effort increases for the supplier and the manufacturer under local alliance decision-making without cost sharing, whereas the optimal level of CSR effort remains unchanged for the retailer. Compared with local alliance decision-making without cost sharing, the optimal level of CSR effort remains unchanged for the supplier and the manufacturer under local alliance decision-making with cost sharing. When the sum of the marginal profit for the supplier and the manufacturer is greater than half of the marginal profit for the retailer, the optimal level of CSR effort increases for the retailer. Compared with local alliance decision-making with cost sharing, the optimal level of CSR effort increases for the supply chain members under overall alliance decision-making. From decentralized decision-making to local alliance decision-making without cost sharing, to local alliance decision-making with cost sharing, and then to overall alliance decision-making, the optimal value of profit increases for the supply chain members and the supply chain system. Also, the expectation and variance of CSR goodwill increase. (shrink)

This study aims to assess the level and determinants of the general public's willingness to organ donation. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study of 4261 participants in China. The primary outcome was the willingness to donate organs. Logistic regression modelling was used to determine the factors that affect willingness to donate organs. Overall, the proportion of participants who showed a willingness to donate organs was 47.45% (95%CI: 0.46, 0.49) in this study. Logistic regression modelling showed participants from Western (OR = (...) 1.33, 95%CI = 1.11-1.59) and Eastern China (OR = 1.40, 95%CI = 1.19-1.65) were more willing to donate organs compared with those from Central China. The odds of being willing to donate organs was higher in females than males (OR = 1.35, 95%CI = 1.17-1.55); and was higher in those participants with experience of organ donation (OR = 1.58, 95%CI = 1.13-2.21), experience of caring for organ transplant patients (OR = 1.45, 95%CI = 1.01-2.07), and those undertaking related voluntary activities (OR = 1.67, 95%CI = 1.45-1.94), than those without. The general public's level of willingness to organ donation was not high in this study. Geographical region, gender, experience of organ donation related activities, taking care of organ transplant patients and volunteering in related activities were independently associated with participants' willingness to donate organs. (shrink)

This study aims to assess the level and determinants of the general public's willingness to organ donation. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study of 4261 participants in China. The primary outcome was the willingness to donate organs. Logistic regression modelling was used to determine the factors that affect willingness to donate organs. Overall, the proportion of participants who showed a willingness to donate organs was 47.45% (95%CI: 0.46, 0.49) in this study. Logistic regression modelling showed participants from Western (OR = (...) 1.33, 95%CI = 1.11-1.59) and Eastern China (OR = 1.40, 95%CI = 1.19-1.65) were more willing to donate organs compared with those from Central China. The odds of being willing to donate organs was higher in females than males (OR = 1.35, 95%CI = 1.17-1.55); and was higher in those participants with experience of organ donation (OR = 1.58, 95%CI = 1.13-2.21), experience of caring for organ transplant patients (OR = 1.45, 95%CI = 1.01-2.07), and those undertaking related voluntary activities (OR = 1.67, 95%CI = 1.45-1.94), than those without. The general public's level of willingness to organ donation was not high in this study. Geographical region, gender, experience of organ donation related activities, taking care of organ transplant patients and volunteering in related activities were independently associated with participants' willingness to donate organs. (shrink)

This paper investigates the impact of diversity on corporate philanthropy. Compared to previous studies that have considered the influence of board diversity and CEO gender on corporate philanthropy, this study introduces the concept of operational diversity, which is the implementation of diversity programs at management, employee, and supply chain levels, and further, it explains why operational diversity influences corporate philanthropy, by using the premises of resource dependence theory. Second, this study also investigates the influence of board diversity on corporate philanthropy. (...) Third, this study uses a large sample of U.S. firms over the period of 1991–2009 and tries to mitigate possible omitted variables and endogeneity problems that are often overlooked in previous research. We demonstrate that firms with operational diversity programs are likely more dependent on a broad variety of resources and give more to community as a strategic maneuver; hence, operational diversity is a better indicator for predicting future corporate giving than board diversity alone. However, having a woman or a member of a minority as a company’s chief executive officer is not sufficient to impact its charitable giving. A battery of robustness tests support our conclusion and confirm that our results are not driven by a firm’s general corporate social responsibility (CSR) score, gender or independence of board members, or firm ownership. This paper will assist researchers, practitioners, and other stakeholders in deepening their understanding of the predictors of corporate giving. (shrink)

Cooperative innovation has become a critical method for freight logistics firms in supply chain management. The previous study has proved that relational embeddedness has a positive effect on service innovation performance. However, the influence of organizational learning capacity has been widely ignored. This study focuses on explaining the mechanism of OLC on the relationship between RE and innovation performance of freight logistics service. Firstly, a theoretical model is constructed based on Social Network Theory, and four research hypotheses are presented. Secondly, (...) a sample of 236 respondents from freight logistics firms in China is analyzed to test the hypotheses. Finally, several management implications and recommendations are suggested. The research results demonstrate that both RE and OLC have positive effects on IPFLS. Meanwhile, OLC partially mediates the relationship between RE and IPFLS. The findings provide practical guidance for managers to strengthen the relationship with partners and enhance OLC. (shrink)