Cross-sector relationship building is an important strategy in corporate social responsibility initiatives, and communicating cross-sector relationships on social media can help raise the visibility of collaborative relationships. A noticeable gap in the literature is how social media enables and constrains the formation patterns of cross-sector connections. To understand how businesses communicate their relationships with government agencies and nonprofits about social issues on social media, we propose a theoretical framework that centers public attention as a critical resource and considers different sectors' (...) interests in the COVID-19 issue. We tested this framework with a nationally representative sample of 1,980 organizations on Twitter. The analysis reveals that the increase in public attention to the COVID-19 issue was accompanied by a greater likelihood of cross-sector ties. Specifically, firms severely affected by COVID-19 were more likely to build ties with government agencies, and the increase in public attention also drove firms to build more ties with nonprofits, especially advocacy nonprofits. Our findings suggest managers of social media communication should observe the volatile public attention and design communicative strategies accordingly. (shrink)

This article conducts a mixed-method content analysis of Chinese and American news media coverage of Google DeepMind’s Go playing computer program, AlphaGo. Drawing on humanistic approaches to artificial intelligence, combined with an empirically rigorous content analysis, it examines the differences and overlap in coverage by the Chinese and American press in their accounts of AlphaGo, and its historic match with Korea’s Lee Sedol in March, 2016. The event was not only followed intensely in China, but also made the front page (...) of The New York Times. This article finds that the Chinese press was more likely than the American press to frame AlphaGo as non-threatening, which the authors attribute to cultural differences and the two countries' different understandings of Go. In addition to quantitatively identifying similarities and differences in the framing of AlphaGo, this paper also investigates the underlying and evolving contestations over what constitutes the “human” and the “machine.” It concludes by discussing the implications of the study’s findings as well as outlining avenues for further research. (shrink)

Does a board with greater gender diversity make better investment decisions? Drawing on Austrian economic cycle theory and work groups theory, we argue that such board openness will help male board members to overcome gender biases, discrimination, and conflicts; integrate different perspectives under the economic cycle and crisis; and foster an environment in which better decisions are made. The results of an empirical study of 14,609 firm-quarter observations from 1,555 listed firms in China between 2007 and 2009 strongly support our (...) arguments. We find that a Chinese board is more likely to accept female directorship during an economic crisis than during an economic prosperity stage. Boards with greater gender diversity are more likely to make tough, counter-cyclical investments to improve firm performance during a crisis. Our study enriches the board decision-making literature by exploring the impacts of board gender diversity on firm performance within the context of an economic crisis. The results of our study also carry significant managerial implications for overcoming gender stereotypes, biases, and prejudices on a board. (shrink)

How and when do uncertain factors affect employees’ different types of proactive behavior? Building on the strength model of self-control, the present study examines the different effects of job insecurity on individual-oriented and organizational-oriented proactive behaviors, and the moderating role of future work self salience and socioeconomic status. Two-wave data collected from 227 employees in China were used to test our hypotheses. The results indicate that job insecurity is negatively associated with all the proactive behaviors. Moreover, the FWSS positively moderates (...) the above relationship, and the moderating role on individual-oriented proactive behavior is stronger than organizational-oriented proactive behavior. The SES negatively moderates the relationship between job insecurity and the two types of proactive behaviors. In addition, the FWSS and SES have a three-way interactive effect on the relationship between job insecurity and individual task proactive behavior. The practical implications of these results are discussed. (shrink)

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

The creative thinking and ability of top management team members is important in coping with rapid changes in the external environment and improving the competitive advantage of an organization. This research focuses on the CEO–TMT interface to explain how CEOs influence TMT characteristics, which in turn affects TMT outcomes. Based on social learning theory, this study examines the associations among CEO ethical leadership, TMT cohesion and TMT creativity in a Chinese context using a total of 91 top management teams. To (...) verify the reliability and validity of the constructs, a series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were run. The results showed that the hypothesized model captured distinct constructs and fits the data well. Multistep regression method was used to test hypotheses. The results indicated that (a) CEO ethical leadership has a positive effect on TMT creativity; (b) TMT cohesion plays a mediating role in the relationship between CEO ethical leadership and TMT creativity; and (c) power distance plays a moderating role in the relationship between CEO ethical leadership and TMT creativity. The greater the power distance, the weaker the positive relationship between CEO ethical leadership and TMT creativity. This study demonstrates the value of CEO ethical leadership and advocates the importance of establishing team cohesion and building a psychologically safe environment to motivate top managers within an organization to share information and knowledge to improve creativity. (shrink)

It is well-acknowledged that teachers play a significant role in enhancing student learning and that investigating teachers’ cognitions about teaching is a first and important step to understanding the phenomenon. Although much research into teachers’ cognitions about grammar teaching has been conducted in various socio-cultural contexts, little has been reported on cognitions of Chinese teachers of English as a foreign language so far. Such understanding is of primary importance to student success in language learning given the sociocultural context where grammar (...) takes a lion’s share in high-stakes examinations. In order to address this research gap, we developed and validated the Chinese EFL Teachers’ Cognitions about Grammar Teaching Questionnaire. Two subsamples were randomly invited to respond to the TCAGTQ and the data were then subjected to exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to test the validity and reliability of the instrument. The EFA excluded eight items from the TCAGTQ and generated six factors with 27 items. The CFA result from the other subsample supported a six-factor model with a good model fit. Moderate correlations between the six factors also supported the predictive validity of the questionnaire, showing that the TCAGTQ is a valid and reliable inventory for measuring Chinese university EFL teachers’ cognitions about grammar teaching. Our findings suggest that the TCAGTQ can be used as a useful tool for teachers to self-assess their professional practice for improving teaching. (shrink)

With the increasing level of internationalization in higher education, the number of international students in mainland China is rapidly increasing. However, limited research has considered that student results may be affected by a reduced motivation to learn. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore the effect of the learning motivation on the learning outcomes of international students and the moderating role of learning experience. A sample of 130 international students from 23 countries studying in mainland China was analyzed. (...) The study found a significant correlation between the learning motivations and international students' learning outcomes. It was also determined that learning experience has significantly enhances the relationship between learning motivation and the learning outcomes of international students. This study contributes to the higher education literature of on learning motivation by students and learning outcomes. (shrink)

ObjectiveWe aimed to explore profiles of subgroups of United States students based on their motivational and affective characteristics and investigate the differences in math-related behaviors, persistence, and math achievement across profiles.MethodWe used 1,464 United States students from PISA 2012 United States data in our study. First, we employed latent profile analysis and secondary clustering to identify subgroups of students based on motivational and affective factors. Next, we used regression to compare differences in math behavior, persistence, and achievement among all identified (...) subgroups.ResultsWe found five distinct groups of students with different patterns of motivation and affection. The subgroup of students with the lowest math anxiety and the highest motivation levels showed the highest math achievement and levels of persistence. The groups with high math interest, math self-concept, and instrumental motivation showed the most frequent math-related behaviors.ConclusionsOur findings reveal the complexity of the students’ motivational and affective profiles. Our findings are significant for teachers and educators to understand the diversity of students and provide theoretical and practical support for individualized and differentiated instruction. (shrink)

In 2001, China’s moral education curriculum reform called for a returning to life as a radical shift from its previous empty sermonic pedagogy, hoping to cultivate its twenty-first century children into ethical humans. Accordingly, a notion of ‘human ecology’ appeared in the post-2001 textbook design, which became ‘co-being with’ in the latest 2016 textbook redesign. This paper picks up this co-being with as a philosophical, ethical, and ecological notion and scrutinizes its relevance to the discursive construction of China’s moral child (...) in two steps. First, it draws upon Heidegger’s thinking and the Chinese Daoist ecological understanding to explicate the philosophical significance of this ‘co-being with’ for moral education. Second, it unpacks the discursive embodiments of this ethical–ecological co-being with in connection with the construction of moral subjects in the post-2001 and 2016 textbooks. Through rigorous textual analysis, this paper finds that the post-2001 textbook discourses embody an instrumental trope and a subject vs object binary style of reasoning, which possibly makes egoistic rather than ethical children. The 2016 textbook discourses, especially those on the theme of co-being with, however, constrain the above instrumentality and envision cultivating ethical children. This paper argues this theorized co-being with provides some implications for moral education in China and the world, meanwhile raising some pedagogical challenges as well. (shrink)

It is widely agreed that China is experiencing a substantial transition toward modernization. However, both business behavior and day-to-day life in China are still greatly influenced and regulated by the traditional culture that has been embedded in Chinese society for thousands of years. Therefore, when studying social phenomena in China, researchers must take the indigenous cultural context into account. Focusing on the young generation in China, the authors explore the relationships between the most fundamental traditional concepts and various value dimensions. (...) Three hundred and thirty-two university students in Southeast China took part in the survey and data were analyzed with SPSS. The result might help both scholars and practitioners to better understand the contemporary Chinese culture. The discussion and implications are also offered. (shrink)

To better reflect the precise clustering results of the data samples with different shapes and densities for affinity propagation clustering algorithm, an improved integrated clustering learning strategy based on three-stage affinity propagation algorithm with density peak optimization theory was proposed in this paper. DPKT-AP combined the ideology of integrated clustering with the AP algorithm, by introducing the density peak theory and k-means algorithm to carry on the three-stage clustering process. In the first stage, the clustering center point was selected by (...) density peak clustering. Because the clustering center was surrounded by the nearest neighbor point with lower local density and had a relatively large distance from other points with higher density, it could help the k-means algorithm in the second stage avoiding the local optimal situation. In the second stage, the k-means algorithm was used to cluster the data samples to form several relatively small spherical subgroups, and each of subgroups had a local density maximum point, which is called the center point of the subgroup. In the third stage, DPKT-AP used the AP algorithm to merge and cluster the spherical subgroups. Experiments on UCI data sets and synthetic data sets showed that DPKT-AP improved the clustering performance and accuracy for the algorithm. (shrink)

Whether corporate strategic Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure can be effectively screened by external markets still needs more empirical support. Despite numerous studies confirming the positive impact of ESG, the issue of strategic ESG disclosure has yet to receive sufficient attention. This study examines the impact of ESG greenwashing on the cost of debt financing and stock returns using panel data of Chinese A-share listed corporates from 2012 to 2021. The study finds that external markets fail to recognize ESG (...) greenwashing in the short term, leading to a temporary reduction in the cost of debt financing and an increase in stock returns, but these effects are not lasting. Mechanism analysis shows that ESG greenwashing enhances corporate reputation and reduces the cost of debt financing through the reputation effect, stimulates investor sentiment, and improves stock returns through the sentiment effect. The study identifies management myopia, excessive power, financial distress, and information asymmetry as the main drivers. However, strong oversight by independent directors, involvement of Big Four audit firms, investor site visits, and high industry competition can mitigate these misleading effects. This research expands the understanding of the causes and economic consequences of corporate ESG greenwashing and provides empirical evidence for managing this phenomenon. (shrink)

ABSTRACTUsing faces as the priming stimuli, the present study explored the influence of facial expressions on the activation of gender stereotypes using a lexical decision paradigm. Experiment 1 explored the activation of gender stereotypes when the facial primes contained only gender information. The results showed that gender stereotypes were activated. In Experiment 2, the facial primes contained both gender category and expression information. The results indicated that gender stereotypes were not activated. Experiment 3 required the participants to make emotion, gender, (...) or impression decisions concerning the facial primes before the lexical decision task. The results showed that gender stereotypes were not activated in emotion and impression decisions conditions, whereas stereotypes were activated in gender decisions condition. These finding suggest that facial expressions can inhibit automatic activation of gender stereotypes, unless the perceivers perform gender categorization processing to prime f... (shrink)

Travelling waves crossing the nervous networks at mesoscopic/macroscopic scales have been correlated with different brain functions, from long-term memory to visual stimuli. Here we investigate a feasible relationship between wave generation/propagation in recurrent nervous networks and a physical/chemical model, namely the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction. Since BZ’s nonlinear, chaotic chemical process generates concentric/intersecting waves that closely resemble the diffusive nonlinear/chaotic oscillatory patterns crossing the nervous tissue, we aimed to investigate whether wave propagation of brain oscillations could be described in terms of BZ (...) features. We compared experimentally detected oscillations during the spontaneous activity of the brain with BZ-like concentric waves simulated by a recently introduced artificial network. The observed overlap and agreement between simulated and measured oscillatory patterns suggests that changes in cortical areas’ neural activity might be described in terms of a recognizable diffusion pattern. We describe biological plausibility, benefits and limits of our approach and discuss the relationship among BZ-like networks, Pandemonium-like architectures and the spontaneous activity of the brain. ER -. (shrink)

As a worldwide epidemic in the digital age, cyberbullying is a pertinent but understudied concern—especially from the perspective of language. Elucidating the linguistic features of cyberbullying is critical both to preventing it and to cultivating ethical and responsible digital citizens. In this study, a mixed-method approach integrating lexical feature analysis, sentiment polarity analysis, and semantic network analysis was adopted to develop a deeper understanding of cyberbullying language. Five cyberbullying cases on Chinese social media were analyzed to uncover explicit and implicit (...) linguistic features. Results indicated that cyberbullying comments had significantly different linguistic profiles than non-bullying comments and that explicit and implicit bullying were distinct. The content of cases further suggested that cyberbullying language varied in the use of words, types of cyberbullying, and sentiment polarity. These findings offer useful insight for designing automatic cyberbullying detection tools for Chinese social networking platforms. Implications also offer guidance for regulating cyberbullying and fostering ethical and responsible digital citizens. (shrink)

Human resource management risks are due to the failure of employer organization to use relevant human resources reasonably and can result in tangible or intangible waste of human resources and even risks; therefore, constructing a practical early warning model of human resource management risk is extremely important for early risk prediction. The back propagation neural network is an information analysis and processing system formed by using the error back propagation algorithm to simulate the neural function and structure of the human (...) brain, which can handle complex and changeable things that do not have an obvious linear relationship between output results and input factors, so as to find the objective connection between the two. Based on the summary and analysis of previous research works, this article expounded the research status and significance of early warning for human resource management risks, elaborated the development background, current status, and future challenges of the BP neural network, introduced the method and principle of the BP neural network’s connection weight calculation and learning training, performed the risk inducement analysis, index system establishment, and network node selection of human resource management, constructed an early warning model of human resource management risk based on the BP neural network, conducted the risk warning model training and detection based on the BP neural network, and finally carried out a simulation and its result analysis. The study results show that the early warning model of human resource management risk based on the BP network is effective, and this trained and tested BP network risk warning model can be used to conduct early warning empirical research on human resource risks to prevent human resource risks, ensure enterprise’s benign operation, and at the same time play a role in supervision and promotion of market order rectification. (shrink)

ObjectivesThis study examined the association between childhood adversity and cognitive impairment in later life and explored the potential moderation effect of gender and race.MethodsThe study sample included 15,133 participants of the Health and Retirement Study who had complete data on key study measures and were more than 50. The outcome variable is a dichotomous indicator of cognitive impairment as assessed by the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status for self-respondents and the 16-item Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly for (...) proxies. A total of six childhood adversity indicators included grade retention, parental substance abuse, physical abuse, trouble with the police, moving due to financial hardship, and receipt of help due to financial hardship in early life. The estimation of the association between childhood adversity and cognitive impairment involved Cox proportional hazards regression. Results: Grade retention had the largest effect on incident cognitive impairment, followed by physical abuse by a parent. The impact of grade retention was more detrimental to women than men. Parental substance abuse was associated with a lower risk of incident cognitive impairment for most racial groups, but this association was reversed in “non-Hispanic other” race, consisting mainly of Asians.DiscussionSome aspects of childhood adversity continue to harm cognitive functioning in later life, while some events may have the opposite effect, with evidence of heterogeneity across gender and race. (shrink)

How does internet censorship work in China, and how does it reflect the Chinese state’s logic of governing society? An online political publication, Global China, was created by the authors, and the pattern and record of articles being censored was analyzed. Using results from A/b tests on the articles and interviews with relevant officials, the article shows that the state employs delegated censorship, outsourcing significant responsibility to private internet companies and applying levels of scrutiny based on timing, targets, and stage (...) of publication. The dynamic, layered, multistage censorship regime creates significant variation and flexibility across the Chinese internet, most often in decisions about what to censor. This approach aims to maintain regime stability and legitimacy while minimizing costs. Rather than blocking all information and players, the state recognizes its technical and bureaucratic limits but also realizes the benefits of a degree of toleration. Delegated censorship utilizes both power control and power sharing and offers a new understanding of authoritarian state-society relations. (shrink)

This research discusses the impact of the perception of video images and online word of mouth on tourists’ travel intentions. A survey of 390 users who watched travel videos on short-video platforms was conducted using structural equation modeling. The results are as follows. First, the perception of video images can significantly affect tourists’ intention to visit the destinations. Second, as a mediating variable, online word of mouth can enhance the positive effects of the perception of video images on tourists’ travel (...) intentions. Third, gender had a positive moderating effect, which was particularly obvious in the relationship between the perception of video images and online word of mouth. This research provides a theoretical basis for the utility of tourism-related short videos, which can help stimulate tourists’ intention to visit promoted destinations. (shrink)

Fostering subordinate moqi is a significant method to improve the cooperating quality and promote positive outcomes. However, little is known about the influencing factors and mechanisms of subordinate moqi. To address this issue and explore the influencing factors of subordinate moqi, we draw on self-categorization theory to develop a mediation model to examine whether and how deep-level similarity affects subordinate moqi, casting the leader-member exchange as a mediator. A two-wave online survey was conducted and 316 data was collected. A Structure (...) Equation Modeling analysis was used to test all hypotheses with Mplus 7. Results showed that the deep-level similarity could positively predict subordinate moqi and LMX, respectively. Additionally, LMX was a significant predictor of subordinate moqi as well as it mediated the positive relationships between deep-level similarity and subordinate moqi. These findings expand our understanding of the antecedents of subordinate moqi. It is suggested that developing subordinates’ deep-level similarity with supervisors and LMX relationships are instrumental in cultivating subordinate moqi which promote positive outcomes. Organizations should integrate effective management programs into managerial strategies to enhance deep-level similarity and LMX, in turn, fosters subordinate moqi. (shrink)

To address the need for a valid and reliable scale of youth leadership potential based on the development theory of leadership, the current study developed the Youth Leadership Potential Scale (YLPS) and investigated its factor structure and psychometric properties in a sample of 696 students (grades 7-9) in China. Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) identified a five-factor solution comprising leadership information, leadership attitude, communication skills, decision-making skills, and stress management skills. ESEM within confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated an adequate fit for (...) this structure. The scale showed good composite reliability and measurement invariance across different gender and grade/age groups. The scale also showed sufficient concurrent validity with the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale, the Chinese Roets Rating Scale for Leadership, and the Leadership Skills Inventory. Furthermore, criterion-related validity was supported by the relationship between YLPS scores and the length of student leadership positions. The results suggest that the YLPS is a valid and pragmatic measure for assessing youth leadership potential. The current study is the first to develop a youth leadership potential scale based on the development theory of leadership. (shrink)

Little is known about the Korean Peninsula before 12 th century, due to which potentially biased assessments of its social, cultural, and political history exist. This study attempted to unearth the history of the Korean Peninsula since the late 10th century through the Buddhist inscriptions. These inscriptions unveil the authentic social environment, religious beliefs, and political ecology of late Silla and delve into the political motives and life philosophies of Silla scholars who studied the Tang Dynasty, especially their approach of (...) 'interpreting Buddhism through Confucianism'. Based on empirical research grounded in documentary evidence, combined with literary-historical methods, this study examined the inscriptions of two great Silla scholars Choi Chi-Won and Choi Eun-Wee. Their works predominantly feature Confucian thought within Buddhist narratives. Politically, they used Confucian principles as the foundation for governance, interpreting them through Buddhist concepts to enlighten the masses and strengthen dynastic rule. Ideologically, while Choi Chi-Won fully implemented Confucian logic, Choi Eun-Wee demonstrated a stronger Buddhist inclination. This research enriches the understanding of the history, culture, and society of the Korean Peninsula, highlighting the significant role of blending Confucian and Buddhist elements in shaping its social and political structures. (shrink)