BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic called for a new ethical climate in the designated hospitals and imposed challenges on care quality for anti-pandemic nurses. Less was known about whether hospital ethical climate and nurses’ ethical sensitivity were associated with care quality. This study examined the association between the perceived hospital ethical climate and self-evaluated quality of care for COVID-19 patients among anti-pandemic nurses, and explored the mediating role of ethical sensitivity in this relationship.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey. A (...) total of 399 anti-pandemic nurses from ten designated hospitals in three provinces of China were recruited to fill out an online survey. Multiple linear regression analysis and a bootstrap test were used to examine the relationships between ethical climate, ethical sensitivity and care quality.ResultsNurses reported mean scores of 4.43 ± 0.577 (out of 5) for hospital ethical climate, 45.00 ± 7.085 (out of 54) for ethical sensitivity, and 5.35 ± 0.661 (out of 6) for self-evaluated care quality. After controlling for covariates, perceived hospital ethical climate was positively associated with self-evaluated care quality (direct effect = 0.710, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.628, 0.792), and was partly mediated by ethical sensitivity (indirect effect = 0.078, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.002, 0.145).ConclusionsChinese nurses who cared for COVID-19 patients perceived high levels of hospital ethical climate, ethical sensitivity, and self-evaluated care quality. Positive perceptions of hospital ethical climate were both directly associated with a higher level of self-evaluated care quality and indirectly associated, through the mediation effect of ethical sensitivity among anti-pandemic nurses. (shrink)

Business Ethics: A European Review, EarlyView.

In this paper, we examine the interactive effects of positive affect and perspective-taking on workplace incivility and family incivility, through moral disengagement. We draw from broaden-and-build and moral disengagement theories to suggest a potential negative consequence of positive affect. Specifically, we argue that positive affect increases incivility toward coworkers and spouses through moral disengagement among employees with low, but not high perspective-taking. Data from two time-lagged field studies and one online experiment provide support for our hypotheses. These findings suggest that (...) the beneficial effects of positive feelings are not universal, and the fostering of positive feelings at work might have unintended negative consequences, namely moral disengagement, and increased incivility at work and at home. Implications for theory and research are discussed. (shrink)

This study inspected the effect of Massive Open Online Course and flipped instruction on EFL learners’ foreign language speaking anxiety, foreign language learning motivation, and attitude toward English learning. To fulfill this objective, the Oxford Quick Placement Test was given to 160 Iranian EFL learners, of whom 120 upper-intermediate participants were chosen and divided into two experimental groups—MOOC and flipped —and one control group. After that, all selected participants were administered a speaking anxiety questionnaire and a motivation questionnaire as the (...) pre-test of the research. Then, one of the experimental groups received an online-based instruction via Skype: one conversation was instructed to this group online every session. The other experimental group received the treatment via flipped-based instruction. The audio files and the texts of the conversations were sent to this group via the WhatsApp application because they all had easy access to it. On the other hand, the control group did not receive any Internet-delivered treatment yet was trained through a face-to-face method. This process continued until the last session, and after the treatment period, the post-tests of speaking anxiety and motivation were given to all three groups to determine the effectiveness of the treatment. Moreover, two attitude questionnaires were administered to the experimental groups to examine their attitudes toward the MOOC and the flipped models of instructions. The findings of the One-way ANOVA test, Post-hoc Scheffe test, and paired samples t-test showed that there were significant differences between the post-test of the experimental groups and the control group. The results indicated that the experimental groups significantly outflanked the control group after the treatment. Lastly, the outcomes showed that participants in both experimental groups had positive attitudes toward technological-based instructional environments. (shrink)

Although the relationship between stressors and thriving at work has been established, the linkage between them is still in the early stages of theory development. This study proposed a two-path model, based on Lepine’s stressors-performance model, to analyze the effects of the stressors on the thriving at work. Two complementary mediating paths were proposed, i.e., affective strain and motivation, which were explained using affective events theory and expectancy theory, respectively. Based on the empirical data from 233 employees, the results show (...) that challenge stressors could enhance employees’ positive affect and self-efficacy, thus leading to thriving at work; on the contrary, hindrance stressors would result in negative influences. In addition, it is also found that the effect of affective path tend to be greater than that of motivation path, which could provide a practical guide for organizations to effectively apply stress management and to promote employees thriving at work. (shrink)

The aim of the present study was to investigate relationships among epidemic risk perception, perceived stress, mental health, future time perspective, and confidence in society during the novel coronavirus disease pandemic in China. Especially, we wonder that whether perceived stress mediates associations between epidemic risk perception and mental health and that whether future time perspective and confidence in society moderate the link between perceived stress and mental health. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 693 Chinese adults aged 18–60 years. The (...) results showed that epidemic risk perception was positively related to perceived stress, depression, and anxiety. The correlations between epidemic risk perception and depression and anxiety were reduced when perceived stress was included, suggesting that perceived stress mediated these relationships. Moreover, the boundary conditions for the associations among perceived stress, depression, and anxiety were found in the study. Specifically, positive future time perspective could buffer the negative effects of perceived stress on depression, and confidence in society could weaken the negative effects of perceived stress on anxiety. Based on these findings, practical guidance and theoretical implications are provided for the public to maintain mental health during COVID-19 pandemic. Limitations and future directions are also discussed. (shrink)

This study investigates how managers in firms that have committed fraud strategically use socially responsible activities in coordination with their fraudulent financial reporting practices. Using propensity score matching to select control firms that have a similar probability of fraud in the pre-fraud benchmark period, we find that the corporate social responsibility performance of fraudulent firms in the fraud-committing period is significantly higher compared with the CSR performance of non-fraudulent control firms during this period, and compared with that during their own (...) pre-fraud benchmark periods. This higher CSR performance by fraudulent firms is achieved by means of investing in both stakeholder and third-party CSR categories and by improving in CSR strengths. Furthermore, the increase in CSR performance is more pronounced for fraudulent firms with a weak governance environment, and for firms located in high-religiosity states. Overall, our findings suggest that fraudulent firms strategically adjust their CSR performance to coordinate with their fraudulent financial activities. (shrink)

Through empirical studies or laboratory tests, previous studies have shown that sport-confidence, attention, and emotion regulation are key factors in archery performance. The present study aims to further identify the effects and pathways of sport-confidence, attention, and cognitive reappraisal on real-world archery performance by constructing a hypothesized model to provide a basis for scientific training of athletes to improve sport performance. A survey design was utilized on a sample of 61 athletes from the Chinese National Archery Team to test the (...) model. The measurement and hypothesized models were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results indicate that the model fit well and explained 33.6% of the variance in archery performance. Sport-confidence and attention were important predictive indicators of archery performance, while the relationship between cognitive reappraisal and archery performance showed considerable complexity. We conclude that the development of sport-confidence and attention of archery athletes should be strengthened, but athletes who use cognitive reappraisal in archery competition should be mindful of its potential appropriation of cognitive resources and should be directed to improve sport-confidence or develop a positive orientation to arouse excitement. (shrink)

Grounded on the social exchange theory (SET), social cognitive theory (SCT), and self-determination theory (SDT), this study aims to explore the mediating role of self-efficacy (SE) and work engagement (WE) on the effect of social support (SS) on job satisfaction (JS) among Chinese ethnic minority kindergarten teachers (KTs). The results show that: (1) SS has a directly significant effect on JS; (2) WE mediates the relationship between SS and JS; and (3) SE mediates the relationship between SS and WE. Although (...) the mediation of SE on the relationship between SS and JS is not found, the posited multiple mediations of SE and WE on the relationship between SS and JS are totally accepted. The results reveal that SS mainland Chinese ethnic minority KTs received can not only have a direct effect on JS but also have an indirect impact through the one-path mediating role of WE and the chain mediating role of SE and WE. The results suggest that governments, supervisors, and sponsors should work together to provide ethnic minority KTs with more prioritized SS from both cultural psychology and financial material and opportunities for facilitating professional knowledge and skills in order to enhance their SE, inspire their WE, and eventually accumulate their JS. (shrink)

To establish the evaluation index system of urbanization innovation level and ecological efficiency, the entropy method is applied to measure the comprehensive index of urbanization innovation level and ecological efficiency, the VAR model is established, and empirical measurement is used to study the internal relationship and dynamic development between urbanization innovation level and ecological efficiency. The empirical results show the following: The overall development of the innovation level in 30 cities in China is uneven, there is a large gap between (...) the urban innovation level in backwards areas and economically developed areas, and there is a certain coupling effect between the urban innovation level and ecological efficiency. There is a long-term dynamic equilibrium relationship between the urban innovation level and ecological efficiency, which will exert certain pressure on the ecological environment in the process of urbanization. However, the continuous improvement of urbanization will have a positive impact on the improvement of the ecological environment. The improvement of ecological efficiency will also promote the improvement of the urban innovation level. Therefore, this paper puts forwards policy suggestions to promote the harmonious development of urbanization and the ecological environment and provides a reference for realizing the balanced development of urbanization and ecological efficiency in China. (shrink)

Brain-computer interface based on steady-state visual evoked potential has been widely studied due to the high information transfer rate, little user training, and wide subject applicability. However, there are also disadvantages such as visual discomfort and “BCI illiteracy.” To address these problems, this study proposes to use low-frequency stimulations, which can simultaneously elicit visual evoked potential and pupillary response to construct a hybrid BCI system. Classification accuracy was calculated using supervised and unsupervised methods, respectively, and the hybrid accuracy was obtained (...) using a decision fusion method to combine the information of VEP and PR. Online experimental results from 10 subjects showed that the averaged accuracy was 94.90 ± 2.34% for the supervised method and 91.88 ± 3.68% for the unsupervised method, which correspond to the ITR of 64.35 ± 3.07 bits/min and 33.19 ± 2.38 bpm, respectively. Notably, the hybrid method achieved higher accuracy and ITR than that of VEP and PR for most subjects, especially for the short data length. Together with the subjects’ feedback on user experience, these results indicate that the proposed h-BCI with the low-frequency stimulation paradigm is more comfortable and favorable than the traditional SSVEP-BCI paradigm using the alpha frequency range. (shrink)

ObjectivesTo simulate hemodynamic changes after extraluminal compression in pulsatile tinnitus patients with a prominent transverse-sigmoid sinus junction.MethodsOne patient-specific case was reconstructed based on computed tomography venography images of a PT patient. The compression degree served as a new index in this study. Cases with 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90% of the compression degree of the control subject were constructed. Steady-state computational fluid dynamics were assessed. The wall pressure distribution, wall maximum pressure and flow pattern of (...) the PTSJ were calculated to evaluate hemodynamic differences among all cases.ResultsWith increasing compression, the wall pressure at the compression point and downstream of the PTSJ decreased but increased upstream. When the compression degree exceeded 70%, the upstream pressure increased significantly. Above 50% compression, the blood flow pattern downstream of the sigmoid sinus tended to spiral, especially after 80% compression. Beyond 60% compression, the blood flow pattern under the compression axis became more medial.ConclusionMechanical compression of PTSJ changes wall pressure and blood flow patterns. The degree of compression should be carefully observed to avoid possible complications or reoccurrence. (shrink)

Improving the resilience of urban road networks suffering from various disruptions has been a central focus for urban emergence management. However, to date the effective methods which may mitigate the negative impacts caused by the disruptions, such as road accidents and natural disasters, on urban road networks is highly insufficient. This study proposes a novel adaptive signal control strategy based on a doubly dynamic learning framework, which consists of deep reinforcement learning and day-to-day traffic dynamic learning, to improve the network (...) performance by adjusting red/green time split. In this study, red time split is regarded as extra traffic flow to discourage drivers to use affected roads, so as to reduce congestion and improve the resilience when urban road networks are subject to different levels of disruptions. In addition, we utilize the convolution neural network as Q-network to approximate Q values, link flow distribution and link capacity are regarded as the state space, and actions are denoted as red/green time split. A small network is utilized as a numerical example, and a fixed time signal control and other two adaptive signal controls are employed for the comparisons with the proposed one. The results show that the proposed adaptive signal control based on deep reinforcement learning can achieve better resilience in most of the cases, particularly in the scenarios of moderate and severe disruptions. This study may shed light on the advantages of the proposed adaptive signal control dealing with major emergencies compared to others. (shrink)

Constructive deviance, rule-breaking to benefit the organization, is an emerging topic in the scholarly research and is considered to be an ethical decision. Despite the value of guiding constructive deviance in organizations, the effect of ethics-oriented leadership on employees’ constructive deviance remains unclear. This research identifies leader moral humility as a new antecedent of constructive deviance and examines how and when leader moral humility influences employee constructive deviance. Drawing on social–cognitive theory, we propose that leader moral humility fosters employee moral (...) identity, which in turn triggers employees to exhibit constructive deviance. Moreover, the mediating effect of moral identity is more pronounced when normative conflict with organizational rules is high, as this conflict inspires identity-driven behavior. Two studies with scenario-based experimental and time-lagged field methods provided general support for our hypotheses. Study 1 reveals that leader moral humility positively affects constructive deviance via employee moral identity. Study 2 replicates and extends Study 1 to support the moderating role of normative conflict. These findings enrich the understanding of constructive deviance by shedding light on the moral cognitive process in the relationship between leader moral humility and employee constructive deviance and by identifying the boundary condition for the relationship. (shrink)

We investigate the cross-correlations of return-volume relationship of the Bitcoin market. In particular, we select eight exchange rates whose trading volume accounts for more than 98% market shares to synthesize Bitcoin indexes. The empirical results based on multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis reveal that the nonlinear dependencies and power-law cross-correlations in return-volume relationship are found; all cross-correlations are multifractal, and there are antipersistent behaviors of cross-correlation for q=2; the price of small fluctuations is more persistent than that of the volume, while (...) the volume of larger fluctuations is more antipersistent; and the rolling window method shows that the cross-correlations of return-volume are antipersistent in the entire sample period. (shrink)

Blasting in water-conveyance tunnels that cross rivers is vital for the safety and stability of embankments. In this work, a tunnel project that crosses the Yellow River in the north district of the first-phase Eastern Line of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project was selected as the research object. A complex modeling and numerical simulation on embankment stability with regard to the blasting power of the tunnel was conducted using the professional finite difference software FLAC3D to disclose the relationships between the (...) blasting seismic waves with vibration velocity and embankment displacement under different excavation steps. Calculation results demonstrated that displacement generally attenuated from the tunnel wall to the internal structure of rocks under the effect of blasting seismic waves. The tunnel wall was in tension, and tensile stress gradually transformed into compressive stress with increased depth into the rocks. The curtain-grouting zone was mainly concentrated in the compressive zones. For different excavation steps, the vibration velocity at different feature points was high at the beginning of blasting and then gradually decreased. The resultant displacement was relatively small in the early excavation period and slowly increased as blasting progressed. The effects of different excavation steps on the safety of surrounding rocks and embankment under blasting seismic waves were simulated. We found that the blasting-induced vibration velocity was within the safe range of the code and that the calculated displacement was within the allowed range. Numerical simulation was feasible to assess the safety and stability of engineering projects. (shrink)

Young migrants have been the major migrant labor force in urban China. But they may be more vulnerable in quality of life and mental health than other groups, due to their personal characteristic and some social/community policies or management measures. It highlights the need to focus on psychological wellbeing and probe driving and reinforcing factors that influence their mental health. This study aimed to investigate the influence of subjective/objective status and possible pathways of young migrants’ life satisfaction and psychological distress. (...) Data on 9838 young migrants in the China Migrants Dynamic Survey were analyzed by LISREL 8.8. A total of 94.03% migrated for jobs or business. Subjective status, including subjective socioeconomic status, social adaptation, and psychological integration, had positive effects on life satisfaction, whereas social adaptation and psychological integration negatively affected psychological distress. Objective status, including objective socioeconomic status and health insurance, had adverse effects on life satisfaction, whereas they positively affected psychological distress. Social participation and city belonging had only significant positive mediating roles on life satisfaction. It is essential to increase social adaptation and decrease integration stress according to younger internal migrants’ practical needs. It is also necessary to enhance community/social resources and activities in the context of developing sustainability in the community to assist in mental health promotion. (shrink)

The positive or negative impacts corporate social responsibility (CSR) may have on business performance have drawn research interest. In recent years, the focus of research has shifted toward the link between CSR and corporate competitive advantage. Corporate competitive advantage is a multifaceted and holistic concept that captures more than just corporate financial performance. Building on the resource-based view (RBV), corporate competitive advantage construct theory, and CSR behavior theory, we explore how a firm's CSR engagement shapes its corporate competitive advantage. Our (...) analysis of a panel dataset of 64 companies with a top-100 CSR development index in China and 704 firm-year observations over the sample period from 2009 to 2019 reveals an inverse U-shaped relationship between CSR and corporate competitive advantage. This signifies that corporate competitive advantage first increases with CSR engagement but declines as it reaches a threshold level where CSR activities are beyond the affordability of the firm. We also examine how behaviors at various CSR engagement levels influence different dimensions of corporate competitive advantage. These results support a curvilinear relationship, explaining why many CSR strategies have been ineffective in the past. The findings may help guide corporate decisions and government policymaking on CSR. (shrink)

Facial expressions of emotion play an important role in human social interactions. However, posed expressions of emotion are not always the same as genuine feelings. Recent research has found that facial expressions are increasingly used as a tool for understanding social interactions instead of personal emotions. Therefore, the credibility assessment of facial expressions, namely, the discrimination of genuine (spontaneous) expressions from posed (deliberate/volitional/deceptive) ones, is a crucial yet challenging task in facial expression understanding. With recent advances in computer vision and (...) machine learning techniques, rapid progress has been made in recent years for automatic detection of genuine and posed facial expressions. This paper presents a general review of the relevant research, including several spontaneous vs. posed (SVP) facial expression databases and various computer vision based detection methods. In addition, a variety of factors that will influence the performance of SVP detection methods are discussed along with open issues and technical challenges in this nascent field. (shrink)

Coevolution spreading dynamics on complex networks is a hot topic, which attracts much attention in network science. This paper proposes a mathematical model to describe the two competing complex information spreading dynamics on multiplex networks. An individual can only accept one of the two pieces of information. A heterogeneous mean-field theory is developed to describe the spreading dynamics. We reveal different regions through Monte Carlo simulations of the competing complex information spreading dynamics: no global information, one information dominant, and two (...) information coexistence. We finally find that the heterogeneity of the multiplex networks’ degree distributions does not qualitatively affect the results. (shrink)

This paper focuses on the problem of target tracking using k fittest robots in a group of n mobile robots with n>k. We present centralized and distributed coordination models with all-to-all and limited communications, respectively. For the case of all-to-all communication between robots, theoretical analysis is presented to prove the exponential stability of the whole system. In real applications of robotic networks, a robot may only be allowed to exchange information with a limited number of neighbors. In such a limited (...) communication case where centralized quantity is not available, a consensus filter is used to estimate the centralized quantities in a distributed way, and a distributed competitive target tracking is thus achieved. The stability of the distributed control is also proved in theory. Finally, illustrative examples are provided and analyzed to substantiate the efficacy of the proposed models for tracking moving target in a competition manner with all-to-all communications and limited communications. (shrink)

A tracking control algorithm of nonlinear multiple agents with undirected communication is studied for each multiagent system affected by external interference and input saturation. A control design scheme combining iterative learning and adaptive control is proposed to perform parameter adaptive time-varying adjustment and prove the effectiveness of the control protocol by designing Lyapunov functions. Simulation results show that the high-precision tracking control problem of the nonlinear multiagent system based on adaptive iterative learning control can be well realized even when the (...) input is saturated. Finally, the validity of the proposed algorithm is verified by numerical analysis. (shrink)

Given that work teams have been widely used in a variety of organizations to complete critical tasks and that the use of social media in work teams has been growing, investigating whether and how team social media usage affects team creativity is imperative. However, little research has empirically explored how TSMU affects team creativity. This study divides TSMU into two categories, namely, work-related TSMU and relationship-related TSMU. Basing on communication visibility theory and social exchange theory, this study constructs a moderating (...) mediation model to understand how TSMU affects team creativity. In this model, team knowledge sharing is used as mediating role and team-member exchange is used as moderating role. Two-wave research data collected from 641 employees in 102 work teams in Chinese organizations are used for regression analysis. Results show that Work-related TSMU and relationship-related TSMU are positively affect team creativity. Team knowledge sharing plays a partly mediating effect on the relationship between work-related TSMU and team creativity and that between relationship-related TSMU and team creativity. TMX not only positively moderates the indirect effect of work-related TSMU and relationship-related TSMU on team creativity through team knowledge sharing. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed. (shrink)

Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 in China, people have been exposed to a flood of media news related to the pandemic every day. Studies have shown that media news about public crisis events have a significant impact on individuals' depression. However, how and when the duration of attention to pandemic news predicts depression still remains an open question. This study established a moderated mediating model to investigate the relationship between the duration of attention to pandemic news and depression, (...) the mediating effect of risk perception, and the moderating effect of future time perspective on the relationship. In early February 2020, 701 individuals from 29 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across China were asked to self-report their duration of attention to pandemic news, level of depression, risk perception, and future time perspective during the COVID-19 outbreak. Results show that there is a significant positive correlation between the duration of attention to news on COVID-19 and depression; risk perception mediates the association between the duration of attention to pandemic news and depression; and future time perspective plays a moderating role between risk perception and depression. The findings of the present study provide theoretical implications and practically throw some light on alleviating the public's depression during pandemic periods. We highlight that the individual's hope for a better future, focusing on positive news, and time perspective balance during an epidemic disease are also beneficial to promoting positive emotion and reducing depression. (shrink)

BackgroundThe brain death standard allowing a declaration of death based on neurological criteria is legally endorsed and routinely practiced in the West but not in Asia. In China, attempts to legalize the brain death standard have occurred several times without success. Cultural, religious, and philosophical factors have been proposed to explain this difference, but there is a lack of empirical studies to support this hypothesis.Methods476 medical providers from three academic hospitals in Hunan, China, completed a selfadministered survey including a 12-question (...) brain death clinical knowledge assessment and hypothetical vignettes describing brain dead patients.ResultsThe response rate was 95.2 %. Almost all of the providers had heard of the term “brain death.” More than half have encountered presumed brain dead patients. Two-thirds accepted brain death as an ethical standard to determine human death. The mean knowledge score was 8.50 ± 1.83 out of 12. When given the description of a brain dead patient, 50.7 % considered the patient dead, 51.9 % would withdraw life support, and 40.6 % would allow organ procurement. Both provider and patient characteristics contributed to the providers’ decisions. Ethical acceptance was the most important independent predictor for brain death acknowledgement, followed by high knowledge scores, and the belief that the soul lives in the brain. Religious faith and associated beliefs did not have a significant effect.ConclusionsNotwithstanding scarce official accounts, recognition of the brain death standard is not uncommon in China. Chinese medical providers can adequately define the medical characteristics of brain death and accept it in theory, but hesitate to apply it to practice in the vignettes. Legalization is paramount in providing the protection providers need to comfortably declare brain death. However the medical decision-making surrounding brain death is complex and the provider's past experiences and emotions may also influence the process. (shrink)