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Under the new development model, the digital economy has become a new engine to promote the green development of the economy and realize the goal of "double carbon". Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2010 to 2020, this paper empirically investigates the impact of the development of the digital economy on energy and carbon emissions using a series of econometric models such as baseline regression, a mechanism test, and the spatial Durbin model, etc. Common prosperity plays an intermediary role between digital economy development and carbon emissions; digital economic development optimizes resource allocation, effectively solves the problem of uneven resource distribution, and reduces energy and carbon emissions while achieving common prosperity. In addition, green innovation, industrial structure, urbanization level, R&D intensity, and the degree of marketization also have different degrees of influence on energy and carbon emissions. Therefore, the government should accelerate the construction of new digital infrastructure and implement the digital economy development strategy according to local conditions, so as to promote the digital economy to produce a more significant carbon emission reduction effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of China's synergistic development of import and export strategies and water environmental protection, this paper analyzes the role of two-way FDI synergistic development in water environmental governance efficiency based on panel data of 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China from 2004 to 2021. The paper uses a fixed effect model and analyzes the role of heterogeneous technological innovation using the mediation effect model and the panel threshold model. The results of the study show the following: (1) overall, two-way FDI synergistic development helps to improve China's water environmental governance efficiency; (2) there is regional heterogeneity in the effect of two-way FDI synergistic development on China's water environmental governance efficiency, with a significant positive effect in areas along the coast and with high FDI synergistic development levels and an inhibitory effect in inland areas; and (3) the two-way FDI synergy enhances the efficiency of China's water environmental governance by improving the levels of independent innovation and imitation innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of suitability is the cornerstone for the development of ecotourism in nature reserves. This paper adopts the Delphi method to invite 30 experts to score and screen a series of indicators and then calculates the weight of each indicator through the hierarchical analysis method (AHP) to establish a comprehensive evaluation index system for the suitability of ecotourism development. The AHP method includes four constraints layers (tourism resources, socio-economic environment, ecological conditions, and tourism market), in addition to eleven element layers and thirty-eight indicators. It establishes overarching criteria for evaluating ecotourism suitability. Our research focuses on Dinghushan, Xilin Gol Grassland, Hongze Lake Wetland, and Jiuzhai valley, and the results are as follows: (1) Ecotourism suitability evaluation level is divided into five levels, level I (0 ≤ S < 30) ecotourism development suitability is the lowest, meaning an area is extremely unsuitable for ecotourism development. Level V (90 ≤ S < 100) has a very high ecotourism value, meaning an area is highly suitable for ecotourism development. (2) Jiuzhai valley scored the highest ecotourism suitability evaluation score of 87.63, and Xilingol Grassland scored the lowest score of 81.27. However, the composite scores of all the nature reserves were above 80, placing them at Suitability Level IV, and thereby indicating a high suitability for ecotourism development. (3) Divergences in ecotourism suitability emerge among various nature reserve types, with grassland and meadow reserves exhibiting lower suitability levels. Addressing this, a robust management and monitoring system is imperative, alongside intensified efforts in ecological restoration, vegetation protection, community engagement, education, awareness, and increased policy support and tourism capital investment. (4) The results of the expert questionnaire showed that the maximum weight of the indicators affecting the evaluation of the suitability of ecotourism was the satisfaction of tourists (0.120), and the minimum weight was the accommodation facilities (0.002), which illustrated the important role of tourists in the ecotourism development carried out in the nature reserve. (5) Through empirical analysis of numerous cases, the study validates the practicality and effectiveness of the index system and provides scientific guidelines for the suitability of existing nature reserves for further ecotourism development. This contributes to the research theory on the suitability evaluation of ecotourism development and serves as a valuable reference for the future ecotourism development of diverse nature reserves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, blue sky defense is a crucial part of ecological environment governance. Objective environmental governance performance needs to be perceived by the public to more truly affect the public's evaluation of the government's environmental governance. This paper focuses on the public's subjective perception of air pollution and evaluation of the local government's environmental governance. Based on the Chinese General Social Survey data, the matched economic indicators, and air pollution data, we conduct a diachronic study on the public's evaluation of local governments' environmental protection work, and we analyze the relationship between the subjective perception of air pollution, the objective air pollution data, and the evaluation of local governments' environmental protection work. The results showed the following: (1) People's evaluation of local governments' environmental protection work significantly improved from 2013 to 2021. The objective indicator improved, while the subjective perception declined. (2) The subjective perception of air pollution has a significant negative impact on the evaluation of local governments' environmental protection work and needs to be better considered to improve air quality. At the same time, the effect of the objective indicator is insignificant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) as a sample to assess the long-term impacts of domestic violence experienced in childhood on individuals. First, from the four dimensions of injury from violence, negligent care, emotional abuse and witness to domestic violence, an indicator system for quantifying domestic violence is constructed. Second, the simultaneous equation of self-evaluation health and life satisfaction is estimated by the seemingly unrelated regression model. Starting with education, health and life satisfaction, the long-term impact of domestic violence experiences on individuals is quantitatively assessed, providing empirical evidence for preventing and curing domestic violence and healing trauma. The empirical research shows the following: (1) An experience of domestic violence significantly reduces educational achievements. Compared with the three dimensions of injury from violence, negligent care and witnessing domestic violence, emotional abuse has the greatest negative impact on educational achievements. (2) Domestic violence significantly reduces the self-assessed health level and life satisfaction and increases the subjective mental health risk. Based on the complexity and concealment of domestic violence, combined with empirical research conclusions, this paper proposes countermeasures to prevent and control domestic violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between property return and seller behavior and aims to test the disposition effect in China's real estate market. Using transaction data in Beijing, we find that loss properties have a lower sell propensity relative to gain properties, confirming the existence of the disposition effect. We also find that the disposition effect is more pronounced in samples with shorter holding periods. Sellers with financial constraints and popular projects are more likely to show the disposition effect. Furthermore, we find that sellers exhibit loss aversion; specifically, sellers with loss properties are likely to set a higher listing price, which provides indirect evidence for the disposition effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent construction (IC) is an innovative development model of the construction industry in which construction is integrated with digital technologies against the backdrop of the new technological revolution. The development of IC involves many influencing factors which are actively promoting IC development. However, investigations focusing on identifying and examining the relationships among the factors necessary for IC development are limited. In contributing to bridging this gap, this paper investigated and analyzed influencing factors for IC development by developing structural equation modeling (SEM) based on 5 variables and 28 measures, including (1) identifying the factors and examining their influence on IC development in China and (2) clarifying the paths and key measures for successful IC development. The results showed that (1) the three variables of government, company, and technology had a direct and significant impact on the development of IC, (2) the three variables of industry, company, and technology actually formed a "closed-loop" within which they interact and promote each other, and (3) it was widely realized and accepted that IC development has bright prospects in China. Furthermore, four paths for IC development were obtained and the key measures of the five variables were further analyzed. This research contributes to the body of knowledge on IC by identifying the factors influencing IC development. The four paths and key measures were proposed to clarify the relationship between factors. Recommendations were put forward to promote IC development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the perception of risk associated with the presence of coronavirus in food purchased online and online vs. offline food shopping during the COVID-19 epidemic. The influence of COVID-19 status on risk perception was tested using the data collected from 742 consumers between December 2021 and January 2022. The empirical approach distinguished between the epidemic's status in a province (or region), city, and other areas of the country and applied the ordered logit technique. The regional and citywide epidemic increased the perception that online purchases carry the virus and are riskier than those made offline. Further examination showed that the regional/provincial epidemic created the perception that packaging or social media use were risk factors when purchasing food online. Heterogeneity analysis showed that risk perception was significantly higher in affected cities than in non-affected provinces or other provinces. Risk perception differed across five online food categories, with the highest levels for online-ordered meals and fresh products. Strengthening COVID-19 prevention and control in cities and the province, managing risk due to the handling of food purchased online, and government monitoring of social media use will lessen consumers' risk perceptions and encourage the use of online food offers during epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online medical consultation (OMC) is generating considerable interest among researchers and practitioners due to the mandatory quarantine measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. However, the acceptance rate of OMC has declined over time. This paper aims to empirically investigate OMC acceptance using a proposed research model by integrating the technology acceptance model (TAM) with trust and its antecedent variables. A quantitative self-administered cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 260 healthcare consumers. A partial least squares structural equation modeling method was used to examine the data. Results revealed that healthcare consumers' behavioral intention was influenced by attitudes, while perceived usefulness and trust significantly influenced behavioral intention through attitude as a mediator. In addition, perceived risk, perceived privacy protection, network externalities, cognitive reputation, and interactivity directly influenced trust. Overall, the research model explained 50% of the variance in attitude and 71% of the variance in behavioral intention. The study's findings should provide useful insights into making effective design, development, and implementation decisions for OMC services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a vivid practice of urban-rural interaction, empowerment is playing an increasingly salient role in rural revitalization around the world. Yet, existing studies on empowerment practices are still insufficient. This paper examines how empowerment practices affect the economic development of rural communities in China. This study constructs an integrated variable to measure the practice of rural empowerment in China. Data for this study were obtained from the community data of the China Rural Household Panel Survey (CRHPS) in 2017 to empirically verify the impact of empowerment practices on the rural collective economy. The results indicate that empowerment practice has a significant role in promoting the economic development of rural communities. Regarding the heterogeneity of the number of leaders, the fewer rural community leaders there are, the less empowered a village will be. For the heterogeneity of the income of the rural collective economy, the higher the income is, the more significant the promoting effect of empowerment on rural communities will be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technical efficiency (TE) and total factor productivity (TFP) are important criteria to ensure the enhancement of the quality and efficiency of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and function as important indicators to assess the quality of their accomplishments. The purpose of this study is to explore whether the efficiency of SOEs is higher or lower than that of private enterprises. Transcendental logarithmic production function and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) are used to assess the TE and TFP of listed central SOEs, local SOEs, and private enterprises, the data of which were taken from 2006–2020. The results show that the sampled private enterprises had the highest average TE during the study period, followed by the central and local SOEs. The private enterprises also had the highest average TFP growth rate, followed by the local and central SOEs. The TFP decompositions show that the TE change (TEC) and technical change (TC) indices of the SOEs were lower than those of the private enterprises. The TC, TEC, and scale change (SC) are limiting the TFP growth rates of the SOEs in labor-intensive industries. The SC of the SOEs has changed less than that of private enterprises in the sampled capital-intensive industries. Northern and southern China had the highest rates of TE and TFP growth. Indeed, this paper measures and decomposes TFP, and analyzes the efficiency of SOEs and private enterprises in different industries and regions in an international context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online food delivery increases dramatically during the COVID-19 era and has grown into a global marketplace worth more than $150 billion dollars, necessitating a more effective and responsive governance system. Public-private governance systems with whistleblowing to the public are seen as an effective tool for addressing the formidable challenges of food security in modern society. Accordingly, this study aims to explore the determinants of whistleblowing intentions and to propose policy policies for the whistleblowing system to fully utilize the advantages of public-private governance systems. Through empirical research, this paper finds that employees' perceived effectiveness of government authorities, as well as their familiarity with whistleblowing systems, positively affect their intentions to blow the whistle. However, the whistleblowing intent of restaurant employees is adversely affected by the online platform's focus. The root cause lies in the employee's trust in both the government sector and corporate sector. This study thus argues that a suite of measures to promote individual trust in public-private governance systems is desired and that this is an effective means of better mitigating food safety governance challenges in terms of capacity and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important resource for human survival and development, the utilization efficiency of cultivated land is directly related to national food security and social harmony and stability. Based on the stochastic frontier production function, this paper estimated the cultivated land use efficiency of 342 prefecture-level administrative regions in China from 2003 to 2019 and used spatial autocorrelation analysis and the Gini coefficient decomposition model to explore the spatial agglomeration and spatial disequilibrium of cultivated land use efficiency in China. The results showed the following: (1) Overall, the efficiency of cultivated land use in China has steadily improved since 2003, but the overall level remains low. The use efficiency of cultivated land decreases in the order of eastern, northeastern, western, and central regions, and the use efficiency of cultivated land in the central region increased the fastest. (2) From the perspective of the spatial dimension, the cultivated land use efficiency in urban areas of China has a multi-core structure of "high in the south and low in the north, high in the east and low in the west" and an obvious spatial differentiation pattern. At the same time, the spatial aggregation characteristics of cultivated land use efficiency have become more prominent with the passage of time. (3) There are obvious regional differences in cultivated land use efficiency in China, showing a downward trend as a whole, and the gap between regions is the main source of spatial non-equilibrium, followed by the super-variable density and the gap within regions. Revealing the temporal and spatial changes in cultivated land use efficiency is helpful to understand the present situation of cultivated land use and to formulating effective land use policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart city development aims at sustainable development and high quality of urban life, which requires the participation of stakeholders. As a crucial stakeholder involved, the public's key role has been widely concerned. However, a lack of public participation in smart city development still exists due to perceived risk. In order to solve the insufficient public participation in smart city development, this study will identify the perceived risk and explore its influential impact. After defining the concept of perceived risk, this paper constructs a theoretical model concerning the effect of perceived risk on public participation intention based on the theory of reasoned action. On the basis of 193 empirical data from China, the structural equation model is applied to test the influential impact of perceived risk on the public participation intention in smart city development. The results show that the perceived risk has a significantly negative effect on public participation intention, attitude, and subjective norms, while behavioral attitude and subjective norms have positive effects on public participation intention. According to empirical research results, the risk prevention paths and methods of public participation in smart city development are proposed so as to provide useful implications for further public participation practice in smart city development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, as people's awareness of energy conservation, environmental protection, and sustainable development has increased, discussions related to electric vehicles (EVs) have aroused public debate on social media. At some point, most consumers face the possible risks of EVs—a critical psychological perception that invariably affects sales of EVs in the consumption market. This paper chooses to deconstruct customers' perceived risk from third-party comment data in social media, which has better coverage and objectivity than questionnaire surveys. In order to analyze a large amount of unstructured text comment data, the natural language processing (NLP) method based on machine learning was applied in this paper. The measurement results show 15 abstracts in five consumer perceived risks to EVs. Among them, the largest number of comments is that of "Technology Maturity" (A13) which reached 25,329, and which belongs to the "Performance Risk" (PR1) dimension, indicating that customers are most concerned about the performance risk of EVs. Then, in the "Social Risk" (PR5) dimension, the abstract "Social Needs" (A51) received only 3224 comments and "Preference and Trust Rank" (A52) reached 22,324 comments; this noticeable gap indicated the changes in how consumers perceived EVs social risks. Moreover, each dimension's emotion analysis results showed that negative emotions are more than 40%, exceeding neutral or positive emotions. Importantly, customers have the strongest negative emotions about the "Time Risk" (PR4), accounting for 54%. On a finer scale, the top three negative emotions are "Charging Time" (A42), "EV Charging Facilities" (A41), and "Maintenance of Value" (A33). Another interesting result is that "Social Needs" (A51)'s positive emotional comments were larger than negative emotional comments. The paper provides substantial evidence for perceived risk theory research by new data and methods. It can provide a novel tool for multi-dimensional and fine-granular capture customers' perceived risks and negative emotions. Thus, it has the potential to help government and enterprises to adjust promotional strategies in a timely manner to reduce higher perceived risks and emotions, accelerating the sustainable development of EVs' consumption market in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper mainly focuses on the relationship between the subjective evaluation of air quality and the quality of life (QOL) of middle-aged and elderly residents in China. The 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) project database is the key sources of data, from which 16,736 valid samples were used in our research. Multivariate linear regression analysis and binomial logistic regression model were applied to detect the impact of the subjective evaluation of air quality on QOL, which was evaluated in two dimensions, which are health utility and experienced utility, using the health utility EQ-5D score and the experienced utility of life satisfaction score. Our results show that there is a significant positive correlation between the subjective evaluation of air quality and the two dimensions of QOL. Age, education, marital status and sleep status also have a relatively great impact on the QOL of residents. This worked studied the overall QOL of middle-aged and elderly residents in China, while policy suggestions regarding high-quality air public goods are also given in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As numerous nations transition into digital and aging societies, the digital divide has emerged as a significant impediment to older adults' autonomous engagement in the digital society. Enhancing the well-being of elderly individuals through remote medical technology represents a prevailing and prospective trend. Nevertheless, remote medical technology extends beyond the realm of healthcare, offering promise for narrowing the digital divide through the deployment of digital devices and provision of intergenerational support. Therefore, this study investigates the role of trust and expectations in the use of telemedicine, indicating potential pathways for how these products can improve older adults' daily living abilities. Through the construction of a theoretical model, we collected the relevant data of 661 elderly people who use telemedicine technology in China and analyzed the data with SmartPLS4 to obtain the research results. The study discovered that, among older people using telemedicine technology, (1) healthcare expectations promote the breadth of telemedicine product use; (2) trust in product safety increases the depth of telemedicine product use; (3) trust in the service provider promotes the breadth of telemedicine product use; and (4) when compared to the depth of product use, the breadth of telemedicine product use increases older adults' sense of control over their digital lives. The findings provide new empirical data to support growing beliefs about how expectations and trust can increase a sense of control over one's life. They also provide practical contributions on how to boost older adults' usage of telemedicine products, promote their digital literacy and competency, and enhance their sense of control over their digital lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the international community's analysis of the present CO2 emissions situation, a Log Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) decomposition model is proposed in this paper, aiming to reflect the decomposition of carbon productivity. The model is designed by analyzing the factors that affect carbon productivity. China's contribution to carbon productivity is analyzed from the dimensions of influencing factors, regional structure and industrial structure. It comes to the conclusions that: (a) economic output, the provincial carbon productivity and energy structure are the most influential factors, which are consistent with China's current actual policy; (b) the distribution patterns of economic output, carbon productivity and energy structure in different regions have nothing to do with the Chinese traditional sense of the regional economic development patterns; (c) considering the regional protectionism, regional actual situation need to be considered at the same time; (d) in the study of the industrial structure, the contribution value of industry is the most prominent factor for China's carbon productivity, while the industrial restructuring has not been done well enough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is currently experiencing rapid expansion in its transportation land. To promote sustainable land use, accurately estimating transportation land demand is crucial. This study aims to develop a comprehensive framework for urban transportation land forecasting within the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), providing support for optimizing regional land allocation. Employing methods such as meta-analysis, statistical analysis, and BP neural network analysis, this study forecasts the transportation land demand of 127 cities in the YREB. The study findings indicate that cities with high transportation land demand are mainly distributed in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Moreover, the growth rate of transportation land in the upper reaches significantly outstrips that in the middle and lower reaches, suggesting a focus shift in transportation infrastructure construction toward the upper regions. Additionally, some cities within the YREB face a mismatch between the supply and demand of transportation land, necessitating proactive adjustments to their land supply plans to achieve a balance between supply and demand. The main contribution of this study is the development of a comprehensive and adaptable framework that guides the development of future strategies for optimal land allocation by forecasting transportation land demand at a regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building production increases energy demand, which raises carbon dioxide emissions and leads to environmental degradation. The use of prefabricated buildings has the potential to play an important role in promoting sustainable development in the construction industry, and prefabricated building incentive policies (PBIP) are an effective means of improving the development level of prefabricated buildings (PBDL). This study investigated the significance of PBIP using a structural equation model (SEM) analysis of the results of 519 questionnaire surveys obtained in 10 prefabricated building demonstration cities in China. The results indicate that policy satisfaction has the most substantial impact on PBDL, with direct funding subsidy policy being the most influential factor. Policy application enthusiasm ranks second according to influence on PBDL, while policy awareness has the most negligible impact on PBDL among the examined factors. This research provides a reference for the government to formulate reasonable and effective prefabricated building incentive policies, and it may be useful for promoting the development of prefabricated buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of global climate change, the low-carbon city pilot policy has become an important strategy to promote green development. Based on the panel data from 257 prefecture-level and above cities in China, this study utilized the Super-Efficiency SBM (Slacks-Based Measure) to measure the land green use efficiency and analyzes the impact of the policy on adjacent non-pilot cities using a difference-in-differences model. The findings indicate that the implementation of low-carbon pilot policies can significantly improve the land green use efficiency in adjacent non-pilot cities, which can be primarily ascribed to the spillover effect and catfish effect. A heterogeneity analysis further revealed the positive effects of the policies in the eastern region and non-resource-based cities. This study provides valuable references for relevant legal provisions on environmental regulation and for continuously monitoring and evaluating the policy effects to achieve sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing empirical evidence on the relationship between time pressure and innovative behavior is paradoxical. An intriguing yet unresolved question is "When does time pressure promote or prohibit innovative behavior, and how?" We theorize that the paradoxical effect of time pressure on innovative behavior can be elucidated by the moderating role of stress mindset, and we also explore the mediating role of thriving at work. Our research involved a field study of 390 research and development personnel from eight enterprises and research institutes in China to test our proposed model. Results indicated that the stress-is-debilitating mindset negatively moderated the association between time pressure and thriving at work, while the stress-is-enhancing mindset positively moderated the link between time pressure and thriving at work. Furthermore, the findings demonstrated that the stress-is-debilitating mindset negatively moderated the indirect impact of time pressure on employees' innovative behavior through thriving at work, while the stress-is-enhancing mindset positively moderated the indirect effect of time pressure on employees' innovative behavior through thriving at work. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of China's national park system is an important part of the ecological civilization development strategy, and the behavior of the subjects in the national park has a great impact on its sustainable development. Environmentally responsible behavior (ERB) is considered an important aspect of national park management, and the impact of an individual's held value on environmental behavior has received much attention. However, the assigned value (AV) of community residents in national park-specific situations has not been concerned, which is often closely related to resident behavior within national park. Therefore, we took the residents of four gateway communities (Qixi town, Hetian town, Changhong town, and Suzhuang town) in Qianjiangyuan national park (QNP), Zhejiang province as research subjects. Based on the value-belief-norm (VBN) model representing individual values, this study integrates the perceived social value of ecosystem services in the national park among community residents and analyzes their impact on ERB. The collected data were statistically analyzed using SPSS 23.0, and the structural model was validated using SmartPLS based on Partial Least Squares Regression. The research findings revealed that (1) the assigned value has a significant positive influence on the environmentally responsible behavior of community residents; (2) pro-environment personal norms are the strongest predictive variable of environmentally responsible behavior; and (3) biosphere value, altruistic value and personal norms have significant positive influence on the formation of the assigned value of community residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abandoned gypsum mine has been discovered beneath the route of a highway construction in Hunan province, south China. Due to the highway construction and operations safety, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive stability analysis of the abandoned mining area. The 3D laser scanning detection technique has been adopted, and over 400 drillholes were strategically placed near the highway to capture the spatial information of the abandoned gypsum mine. The ore body has an average mining thickness of about 3 m, and the depth of the mining roof ranges from 40 to 60 m, with an average span of 16 m. Based on the research achievements in the engineering geological investigation, rock mass quality assessment, and geometry information, a simplified numerical model has been established for stability analysis. The numerical model employed the IMASS rock mass constitutive model to conduct a stability analysis of the abandoned gypsum mine during the excavation process and in the medium to long term. The IMASS constitutive model can effectively reflect the entire process of rock mass from microscopic damage to macroscopic instability, and the numerical simulation of current and long-term stages provides a much greater understanding of the mining room stability and the effect of various geo-mechanical parameters not considered in traditional empirical methods. The abandoned gypsum mine stability is guaranteed in the mining and current stages. However, the numerical results showed that a 0.4 m spalling thickness of the sidewalls can cause an overall instability and failure of the abandoned mine, and reinforcement measures must be taken for long-term safety. The stability of the abandoned gypsum mine with filling solutions was also evaluated numerically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese stock market is replete with numerous omitted variables that can introduce biases in the standard estimation of risk premiums when traditional linear asset pricing models are applied. The three-pass method enables the estimation of risk premiums for observable factors even when not all relevant factors are explicitly specified or observed within the model. Accordingly, we have applied this method to construct portfolios with stocks from China's A-share market as the test assets. Empirical research findings indicate that the three-pass method could be more effective than traditional linear asset pricing models in estimating risk premiums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatially heterogeneous nature and geographical scale of surface urban heat island (SUHI) driving mechanisms remain largely unknown, as most previous studies have focused solely on their global performance and impact strength. This paper analyzes diurnal and nocturnal SUHIs in China based on the multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) model for 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2018. Compared to results obtained using the ordinary least square (OLS) model, the MGWR model has a lower corrected Akaike information criterion value and significantly improves the model's coefficient of determination (OLS: 0.087–0.666, MGWR: 0.616–0.894). The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and nighttime light (NTL) are the most critical drivers of daytime and nighttime SUHIs, respectively. In terms of model bandwidth, population and Δfine particulate matter are typically global variables, while ΔNDVI, intercept (i.e., spatial context), and NTL are local variables. The nighttime coefficient of ΔNDVI is significantly negative in the more economically developed southern coastal region, while it is significantly positive in northwestern China. Our study not only improves the understanding of the complex drivers of SUHIs from a multiscale perspective but also provides a basis for urban heat island mitigation by more precisely identifying the heterogeneity of drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, achieving sustainable development goals for PPP projects is an urgent issue. Project governance mechanisms are important to PPP project sustainability, but there are many risk factors in traditional project governance mechanisms. This research focuses on embedding risk governance mechanisms into the traditional project governance system with contract governance mechanisms and relationship governance mechanisms. The main purpose is to reveal the integration of PPP project governance mechanisms and its impact on governance performance and project sustainability, and to propose governance optimization strategies. First, by enriching the understanding of the governance mechanism, governance performance and project sustainability, and improving the measurement scale. Then, by constructing a structural equation model, collecting data through questionnaires, and exploring the effect of the project governance mechanism on project sustainability. (1) The results of direct effect testing show that contractual governance mechanisms, relational governance mechanisms and risk governance mechanisms are positively associated with governance performance, and governance performance is positively associated with project sustainability; (2) the results of mediating effect testing show that interaction of the three governance mechanisms has a positive effect on governance performance. The research results provide a new approach and perspectives for improving project governance mechanisms and achieving sustainable development in the practice of PPP projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China and Brazil established the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" in 2012. Since the establishment of the partnership, China and Brazil have continued to deepen economic and trade cooperation, and cooperation in various fields has achieved remarkable results. China has long been consistent in maintaining its status as Brazil's largest export destination and source of imports. The total volume of bilateral trade between China and Brazil has significantly increased, and the trade structure in goods is becoming increasingly diversified. The total volume of bilateral trade between China and Brazil has grown considerably, and the trade structure in goods has become increasingly diversified. On 20 April 2023, when Brazilian President Lula visited China, China and Brazil issued a joint statement on deepening the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership", further deepening the cooperation in trade in goods has become a consensus. From the perspective of goods trade under the comprehensive strategic partnership, the article analyses the complementarities and competitiveness of goods trade between China and Brazil with the help of relevant formulas to form a complete and transparent study of the goods trade between the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of studies have provided evidence regarding the factors that influence commuting time. However, few studies have explored such effects in the context of considering spatial heterogeneity across cities, which limits the generalizability of the findings. This study addresses this gap by utilizing a dataset of 113 cities in China across the years 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020. A two-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) was developed to explore the combined effects of city-level and individual-level factors on commuting time by constructing a nested "city-individual" relationship. The results show that (1) built environments at the city level significantly impact commuting time; (2) a non-linear association between population density and commuting time (U-shaped relationship) was identified, as well as between the number of buses and commuting time (inverted U-shaped relationship); (3) the urban construction land area and road area per capita exert negative effects on commuting time; (4) the impacts of individuals' jobs–housing balance, travel allowances, and education on commuting time vary across cities. These findings might contribute to optimizing the design of a built environment, addressing the challenge posed by longer commuting times, and providing a better understanding of the effects of individuals' characteristics on commuting time while considering the inherent differences across cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degree of the effect of digital inclusive finance on the construction of China's digital villages and the mechanism of action is investigated in this study by matching the digital inclusive finance index in accordance with a data sample of China's provincial digital villages from 2013 to 2020. As indicated by the result of this study, first, the development of digital inclusive finance positively expedites the development of digital villages. Second, geographical and dimensional differences exist when digital inclusive finance boosts the construction of digital villages. Third, digital inclusive finance is capable of facilitating the construction of digital villages by deepening technological innovation and communication infrastructure construction and further enhancing the digital literacy of residents. Fourth, a positive moderating effect of internal conditions of rural residents' consumption and external conditions of financial regulation is reported when digital inclusive finance promotes digital rural development. Based on the above-mentioned findings, the following policy recommendations are presented to advance digital countryside construction in depth. First, following the goal of building Chinese modernization, differentiated policies, with regional resource endowments, social conditions, and rural characteristics considered, should be implemented in accordance with local conditions. Second, the digitalization process in rural areas should be vigorously boosted, and it is imperative to optimize and upgrade mobile communication infrastructure, with the aim of injecting new momentum into China's digital countryside construction. Third, investment in scientific and technological research and development funds and high-level innovative talents should be increased to endow digital technology with better independent innovation capacity and facilitate the level of innovation. Fourth, investment in education should be increased to enhance the digital literacy of urban and rural residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and land-use change are making landscape fires worse, causing them to grow in intensity and spread in range across Earth's ecosystems. Extreme landscape fires can be devastating to people, ecosystems, and sociology. However, most research on landscape fires has not considered their potential impact on the economy, particularly with regard to entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial activity includes the entry of new markets and the creation of new products or services, thereby facilitating the creation and expansion of economic activity. This manuscript empirically analyzes the impact of landscape fires on entrepreneurial activity, based on satellite monitoring data of landscape fires in China from 2014 to 2018. Different wind direction models and instrumental variable methods are used for empirical analysis. The results of the analysis show, first, that an increase in landscape fires in a county can significantly reduce local entrepreneurial activity. We further adopt the wind direction approach and instrumental variable approach to deal with potential endogeneity issues, and the regression results are consistent. Second, compared to eastern or high-economic-development areas, central and western or low-economic-development areas are more susceptible to exogenous landscape fires. Third, landscape fires have a negative impact on entrepreneurial activity through increasing air pollution, damaging human health, increasing risk aversion, and reducing the labor supply. It is important for both the government and the public to fully recognize the potential dangers that landscape fires pose to corporate behavior. This awareness can help reduce the impact of natural disasters such as landscape fires, protect the ecological environment, and provide solid support for corporate investment and regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the complex relationship between ecological restoration and economic development is valuable for decision makers to formulate policy for sustainable development. The large-scale environmental restoration program—Grain for Green—was mainly implemented in the Loess Plateau of China to improve the soil retention service. However, whether this world-famous program affects local economic development has not been fully explored. In this study, using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model and spatializing the gross domestic product (GDP) based on the remotely sensed nightlight data, we explored the tradeoff between environment (i.e., soil retention service) and economy (i.e., GDP) for the Loess Plateau in a spatially explicit way. We found that the soil retention service increased prominently over the past 40 years, especially after implementing the Grain for Green project. Meanwhile, the GDP increased about nine-fold over the past four decades from 4.52 to 40.29 × 107 USD. A win–win situation of soil retention and economic development was achieved in the Loess Plateau of China, particularly in the loess gully and loess hilly gully regions of the Loess Plateau. The win–win situation of soil retention and economic development was as a result of the Grain for Green program, the optimization of industrial structure, and the increase in non-agriculture employment. Compared with previous studies, more spatial information was available for the Loess Plateau in this study, which is more valuable to policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing the health of migrants has become a crucial aspect of promoting social harmony and cohesion in China. This study investigates the impact of public health education on the health status of migrants in China using cross-sectional data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey 2017. A total of 169,989 migrants in China were selected as samples for empirical test. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, logistic regression, and the structural equation model. The findings show that health education significantly influences the health status of migrants in China. Specifically, health education related to occupational diseases, venereal diseases/AIDS, and self-rescue in public emergencies had a significant positive impact on migrants' health, while health education regarding chronic diseases had a significant negative impact. Health education delivered through lectures and bulletin boards had a significant positive impact on migrants' health, but online education had a significant negative effect on the health status of migrants. The effects of health education differ by gender and age, with a stronger positive impact on female migrants and elderly migrants aged 60 and above. The mediating effect of health behaviors was significant only in the total effect. In conclusion, health education can effectively enhance the health status of migrants in China by modifying their health behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness evaluation of the traceability system (TS) is a tool for enterprises to achieve the required traceability level. It plays an important role not only for planning system implementation before development but also for analyzing system performance once the system is in use. In the present work, we evaluate traceability granularity using a comprehensive and quantifiable model and try to find its influencing factors via an empirical analysis with 80 vegetable companies in Tianjin, China. We collect granularity indicators mostly through the TS platform to ensure the objectivity of the data and use the TS granularity model to evaluate the granularity score. The results show that there is an obvious imbalance in the distribution of companies as a function of score. The number of companies (21) scoring in the range (50,60) exceeded the number in the other score ranges. Furthermore, the influencing factors on traceability granularity were analyzed using a rough set method based on nine factors pre-selected using a published method. The results show that the factor "number of TS operation staff" is deleted because it is unimportant. The remaining factors rank according to importance as follows: Expected revenue > Supply chain (SC) integration degree > Cognition of TS > Certification system > Company sales > Informationization management level > System maintenance investment > Manager education level. Based on these results, the corresponding implications are given with the goal of (i) establishing the market mechanism of high price with high quality, (ii) increasing government investment for constructing the TS, and (iii) enhancing the organization of SC companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cross-regional transfer of food safety risks has become more prominent, bringing new challenges to food safety regulation. This study used a social network analysis to delve into the nuanced features and determinants of the cross-regional transfer of food safety risks based on the food safety inspection data of five provinces in East China from 2016 to 2020, thus contributing to the establishment of effective cross-regional cooperation in food safety regulation. The main findings are as follows: First, the cross-regional transfer of unqualified products accounts for 36.09% of all unqualified products. Second, the food safety risk transfer network presents a typical complex network—a relatively low but increasing network density, heterogeneous nodes, numerous subgroups, and a dynamic structure—bringing more difficulties to food safety cross-regional cooperation. Third, territorial regulation and intelligent supervision both contribute to restricting cross-regional transfers. However, the advantages of intelligent supervision have not yet been brought into play due to low data utilization. Fourth, the development of the food industry helps to mitigate the cross-regional transfer of food safety risks. To achieve effective cross-regional cooperation in food safety risks, it is essential to use food safety big data as a guide and to maintain synchronization between the development of the food industry and the improvement of regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inadequate consideration of livable rural spatial morphology in rural planning has impeded the further advancement of the rural social system, resulting in a challenge for rural residents to establish an appealing living experience that distinguishes itself from urban areas. This situation calls for an urgent exploration of livable spatial morphology based on human-centered principles, as well as an investigation of planning spatial morphology optimization mechanisms that consider ecological backgrounds and human settlement needs. In response to this issue, this study employs the theory of flow space and constructs a framework for the optimization of rural spatial methodology. By integrating ecological and sociological analysis methods, the study identifies the "flow" structure of spatial association in rural ecosystems through ecological network analysis, and identifies the "flow" structure of behavioral association in rural human systems through social network analysis. Based on these findings, the complex network morphologies are evaluated and screened. To test the effectiveness of this framework, the study examines the spatial morphology of four planning options through case empirical analysis in Zepan Village, Hebei Province, China. The research results demonstrate that the framework can help achieve the goal of optimizing rural spatial morphology, improve existing planning practices that prioritize single plans and disregard the selection of multiple plans, and serve as an effective tool to aid planners in tackling complex planning problems by balancing scientific principles and empirical values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More and more university students in China are opting to access, share, and comment on political issues via social media as a result of the rapid expansion of Internet technology. In the western part of China, you can findWestern universities. University students there find it challenging to use the Internet and engage in online political activities due to the region's level of economic development and social conventions. We are unsure whether their political involvement will have an effect on how society functions as a result. This study uses 530 students from Western colleges as a sample to investigate the effects of social media use on online political involvement and the adjustment effect of political efficacy. It combines a correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and regression multiples with a questionnaire survey. The results showed a strong positive link betweenWestern Chinese university students' online political participation and their use of social media. Students' online political engagement in Western colleges greatly increased their political efficacy. Influence was governed by how effectively politics were perceived. This research can increase the political engagement of Western Chinese university students who utilize social media and offer some suggestions for how the government might carry out its daily operations to better control this activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation is an important factor to improve the quality of economic growth, and amplifying the innovation spatial spillover effect is an important measure to support the development of innovation. Scholars have carried out diversified research on the innovation spatial spillover effect, but there is still practical significance for deepening the research on the spatial spillover effect. In particular, the multi-angle comparative study in different regions still has research value, especially for the field of urban agglomeration integration. The spatial econometric model is a common method to measure spatial spillover effect. In order to carry out a multi-angle comparative study of innovation spatial spillover effects in different regions, this study takes two typical integrated urban agglomerations of the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta in China as the object, and conducts a comparative study of the evolutionary characteristics of innovation spatial spillover effects based on urban scale data and the spatial econometric model. Differently from previous studies, invention patents are adopted to characterize the innovation level. The results show that there are significant positive innovation spatial spillover effects in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, and the spatial spillover effect in the Yangtze River Delta is stronger. The spatial spillover effect exhibits significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity. For example, the spatial spillover effect in the core region and the fringe region of the urban agglomeration exhibits a positive effect, but the Yangtze River Delta is stronger than the Pearl River Delta. As an important innovation, the spatial spillover effects both exhibit the evolutionary characteristics of "inverted U-shape" based on the changes in geographical distance, and the spatial spillover effect of the Yangtze River Delta is always larger. Based on the empirical research, we propose promoting high-quality development by strengthening urban agglomeration cooperation, realizing urban agglomeration expansion in an orderly way, and improving the macro-political system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile healthcare applications are of significant potential value in the development of the aged-care industry due to their great convenience, high efficiency, and low cost. Since the cognition and utilization rates of mobile healthcare applications for the elderly are still low, this study explored the factors that affect the elderly's adoption of mobile healthcare applications. This study conducted a questionnaire survey on the elderly in China and received 365 valuable responses. This study combined the technology acceptance model, protection motivation theory, and perceived risk theory to build a research model of factors affecting the use of mobile healthcare applications by the elderly. The data were analyzed using a structural equation model. The results were as follows: according to the empirical research, (1) perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use positively affect the use attitude of the elderly; perceived usefulness and user attitude positively affect the behavior intention of the elderly; perceived ease of use positively affects perceived usefulness; (2) perceived severity has a significant positive correlation with use attitude; perceived susceptibility and attitude to use have no significant impact; (3) perceived risk is negatively correlated with the use attitude and behavioral intention. The above-mentioned factors should be taken into consideration during the development of mobile healthcare applications for the aged to upgrade the overall service quality of mobile healthcare applications, thus enhancing the operational level of mobile healthcare applications and the health literacy of the aged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow duration curves (FDCs) that represent streamflow regime function through an empirical relationship between the FDC parameters and basin descriptors are widely adopted for hydrologic applications. However, the applications of this method are highly dependent on the availability of observation data. Hence, it is still of great significance to explore the process controls of underpinning regional patterns on streamflow regimes. In this study, we developed a new regionalization method of FDCs to solve the problem of runoff prediction for ungauged mountainous basins. Five empirical equations (power, exponential, logarithmic, quadratic, and cubic) were used to fit the observed FDCs in the 64 mountainous basins in eastern China, and the power model outperforms other models. Stepwise regression was used to explore the differentiated control of 23 basin descriptors on the 13 percentile flows of FDCs, and seven descriptors remained as independent variables for further developing the regional FDCs. Application results with different combinations of these selected descriptors showed that five indices, i.e., average annual rainfall (P), average elevation (H), average gradient (β), average topographic index (TI), and maximum 7d of annual rainfall (Max7d), were the main control factors of FDCs in these areas. Through the regional method, we found that 95.31% of all the basins have NSE values greater than 0.60 and ε (namely the relative mean square error) values less than 20%. In conclusion, our study can guide runoff predictions to help manage booming demands for water resources and hydropower developments in mountainous areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes an office building located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang region, with a high assembly rate of 96.8%. Based on whole-process records and first-hand factory data, using an original method, we empirically investigate the carbon emissions associated to the assembly production and construction phase by comparing the results collected in the field with the calculation results for the simulated non-prefabricated building. The calculation results show that the production and construction stage of the prefabricated office building is characterized by a large reduction in carbon emissions, where the total measured carbon emissions of the subject building were 2265.73 tCO 2 e, which is 22 kgCO 2 e/m 2 less than that under the non-prefabricated method. In the future development of China's construction industry, taking Zhejiang Province as an example, the implementation of prefabricated office buildings with a PEC structure system can effectively reduce carbon emissions, which can help China to achieve the carbon peak as soon as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public has been experiencing unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic for the past two years. Government measures, such as improvements in offline markets and the encouragement of contactless e-commerce use, have been taken to abate the spread of infection. This study explored whether public channel preferences for fresh foods have changed and aimed to identify potential determinants. Data from 10,708 consumers were obtained by issuing questionnaires, and the binary logic measurement model was used for the empirical analysis to study the core factors that determine consumers' choice of online and offline purchase channels for fresh food. The results show that, from the perspective of consumers' personal behavior, consumers who do not pay attention to online evaluations and consumers who do not buy products based on their purchase experience have increased the frequency of online fresh food purchases during the epidemic. Food safety also significantly affects consumers' choices of purchase channels. Consumers who believe that online fresh foods are safer prefer to purchase fresh food online. Among the factors affecting the performance of online fresh food, consumers concerned about food safety increased the frequency of online purchases, while consumers concerned about the reputation of the platform decreased the frequency of online purchases. These findings can help online and offline retailers better understand consumer needs and then determine their marketing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Promoting the development of the social and emotional skills of underprivileged-background students is an integral part of educational and social equity. To date, there has been a lack of relevant research in this field. Aims: This study investigated the impacts of cooperative school climate and competitive school climate on the development of the social and emotional skills of underprivileged-background students. Sample: This study used the data of Chinese underprivileged-background students (N = 1739) from the Study on Social and Emotional Skills conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD-SSES2019). Methods: This study selected the ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis method and the quantile regression (QR) analysis method. Results: The ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis results showed that cooperative school climates promoted the development of various dimensions of the social and emotional skills of underprivileged-background students, while competitive school climates had significant negative impacts on the collaboration and emotional regulation of underprivileged-background students and had no significant impact on the other three major domains, namely engagement with others, open-mindedness, and task performance. A quantile regression analysis further explored the heterogeneity in the impacts of cooperative school climate and competitive school climate on the development of the social and emotional skills of underprivileged-background students through quantile regression and found that the impacts of a competitive school climate on underprivileged-background students with different levels of social and emotional skills were homogeneous, while the impacts of a competitive school climate on underprivileged-background students with different levels of social and emotional skills were heterogeneous. Conclusions: These findings provide a greater insight into the roles of school cooperative climate and school competitive climate in the development process of the social and emotional skills of underprivileged-background students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of industry 4.0 and the boom of large-scale product customization, the adoption of collaborative robots' innovation becomes a hot topic in research. Previous studies have mainly focused on individuals, but few on enterprises, and in particular, there has been a lack of empirical research on the enterprise level. Based on the combined model of Technology-Organization-Environment Framework (TOE) and Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DOI), this study investigated 373 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Guangdong Province, China, to explore the determinants of SMEs' adoption of collaborative robot innovation in technology, organization, and environment. The result shows that the technical factors of relative advantage, compatibility, observability, and trialability have a significant positive correlation with the adoption of collaborative robots, while complexity has a significant negative correlation with the adoption. Among the organizational factors, top management support and organizational readiness have a significant positive correlation with the adoption of collaborative robots. Among the environmental factors, agent support is positively and significantly correlated with adoption. The findings will help practitioners develop appropriate strategies for the adoption of collaborative robot innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electric bicycle-sharing system (EBSS) is the fourth-generation urban shared bicycle travel system, which effectively improves the travel efficiency of urban residents and solve the problem of urban congestion. This study attempts to use an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) method to study the acceptance of EBSSs. We had introduced four potential variables, including perceived pleasure (PP), perceived environmental value (PEV), perceived cost (PC), and perceived reliability (PR), into the classic TAM to form a new EBSS-TAM. Data were obtained by using a Likert scale questionnaire from 399 citizens in China. Partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with reflective constructs was employed as the analysis method. The results showed that: (1) the EBSS-TAM can explain user behaviors regarding the use of EBSSs. PP has a positive impact on behavior attitude (BA) while having no impact on behavior intention (BI). PEV has no impact on BA and BI. PC has a negative impact on BA and has no impact on BI. PR has a positive impact on BA while having no impact on BI. Perceived ease of use (PEU) has a positive impact on PP and PEV. (2) Younger users (under 35 years old) are more likely to change from liking CBSSs to using EBSSs than older users are. Male users are more satisfied with EBSSs because of their ease of use. The users who never used CBSSs are more likely to perceive the environmental protection value of EBSSs. Some managerial implications were proposed for the EBSSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road transport safety is an important part of transport construction in China. China is now the world's second-largest country for road traffic deaths. Research on the road traffic mortality rate (RTMR) in China is of great significance in promoting sustainable development in global traffic. This study analyzes the RTMR in 31 provinces in China between 2003 and 2018. Research shows that the RTMR of China demonstrated a downward trend after 2004, but it increased slightly after reaching the lowest points in 2015. The RTMR in coastal and western areas was quite high, requiring targeted management and prevention. During the study period, the RTMR in Guangdong and Tibet improved greatly, whereas the RTMR in Hubei and Guangxi deteriorated. Tobit model results show that economic development level, medical assistance level and government expenditure on health are significantly negatively correlated with RTMR, while urbanization level and motorization level significantly promote RTMR. This study provides macro policy support for improving traffic safety in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online medical consultation (OMC) allows doctors and patients to communicate with each other in an online synchronous or asynchronous setting. Unlike face-to-face consultations in which doctors are only passively chosen by patients with appointments, doctors engaging in voluntary online consultation have the option of choosing patients they hope to treat when faced with a large number of online questions from patients. It is necessary to characterize doctors' preferences for patient selection in OMC, which can contribute to their more active participation in OMC services. We proposed to exploit a bipartite graph to describe the doctor–patient interaction and use an exponential random graph model (ERGM) to analyze the doctors' preferences for patient selection. A total of 1404 doctor–patient consultation data retrieved from an online medical platform in China were used for empirical analysis. It was found that first, mildly ill patients will be prioritized by doctors, but the doctors with more professional experience may be more likely to prefer more severely ill patients. Second, doctors appear to be more willing to provide consultation services to patients from urban areas, but the doctors with more professional experience or from higher-quality hospitals give higher priority to patients from rural and medically underserved areas. Finally, doctors generally prefer asynchronous communication methods such as picture/text consultation, while the doctors with more professional experience may be more willing to communicate with patients via synchronous communication methods, such as voice consultation or video consultation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent construction (IC) integrates intelligent technologies with the construction industry to improve efficiency and sustainability. IC development involves many driving factors, but only the critical factors play essential roles. Thus, it is necessary to identify these key factors to understand and promote IC development thoroughly. Although there are many studies on IC-related technologies, a focus on identifying the driving factors of IC is lacking. We aimed to identify the key driving factors for IC development, analyze the relationship between the key factors and IC, and then produce general laws to guide IC by conducting an empirical study in China. We employed a five-stage research design and proposed the following general laws of how the key factors drive the development of IC: (1) initially, there exits the opportunity that drives companies to generate IC; (2) subsequently, the planning and pressure of a firm strategy, structure, and rivalry further drive companies to try to develop IC; (3) afterward, government policy vigorously promotes IC practices of the participating companies and accelerates the development of IC; and (4) finally, the market forces begin to play a leading role, and companies spontaneously carry out IC activities when the policy effect reaches a certain level. The findings indicate that policies to promote IC development should be consistent with its development stage, and the key driving factors of different stages should be paid attention to. Although the context of this study is China, the findings can provide references for IC's development globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the striking gap in agricultural labor productivity (ALP) between China and developed countries, improving agricultural labor productivity is critically important. This study investigates the effect of land rental on agricultural labor productivity from two levels including household agricultural labor productivity and aggregated village-level agricultural labor productivity by employing propensity matching methods and instrumental variables method. Mediation analysis is also applied to explore the influencing mechanism and underlying paths for household agricultural labor productivity improvement. The results analyses based on the nation-wide data sets in 2017 reveal that renting-in land has a significant positive impact on promoting household agricultural labor productivity and renting-out land has significant opposite effects. The mediation analysis indicates that renting-in land affects household ALP indirectly through the land-labor ratio, intermediate inputs, and agricultural assets investment. Moreover, from the village perspective, we further found that the development of the land rental market positively affects the improvement of aggregated agricultural labor productivity of the village. Land rental is an effective channel to stimulate land transferred from lower agricultural labor productivity to higher ones and then promote the resource allocation within the village. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Studying the driving factors and spatiotemporal characteristics of China's regional animal husbandry emissions is highly relevant to policy formulation. (2) Methods: We calculated the total CO2 equivalent emissions of animal husbandry across the country and each province separately, and then used the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) to analyze how the driving forces of animal husbandry emissions changed across the country and in different provinces from 2001 to 2019. (3) Results: ① During the period 2001–2019, national animal husbandry carbon emissions showed an overall downward trend. Economic growth and population contributed positively to the emissions (which means more CO2), while technological advancement, structural change in agriculture, and change in the national industrial structure had negative effects (which means less CO2). ② Using aspects of provincial animal husbandry, we categorized 31 provinces into four types: fluctuating rising, fast falling, slow falling, and steadily falling. Then, according to the magnitude of the different driving forces in different provinces, we classified 31 provinces into three types: economic structure adjustment-driven, technological progress-driven, and economic growth-driven. ③ The driving effects of agricultural structural change and population in some provinces are not consistent with the effects shown at the national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]