Search

Introduction: Athletes' mind wandering during competition has positive and negative effects. The purpose of this study was to explore the reason for these bidirectional effects. Methods: We recruited 51 athletes from China to take part in semi-structured interviews in which we explored their experiences of mind wandering in competition. We used grounded theory combined with systems thinking to complete the data analysis and theoretical construction. Results: Results showed that the influence of mind wandering on sporting performance was dynamically influenced by "mind wandering source," "competition anxiety," "content of mind wandering," "attentional resources" and "attentional control," resulting in our development of the theory of "mind wandering in sporting performance (MWSP)." The above factors determine how mind wandering occurs and how it affects the competition. Discussion: Although the occurrence of mind wandering during competition has positive effects, its negative effects cannot be ignored, which may lead to athletes losing the race (costs over benefits). Potential strategies focusing on the mitigation of negative effects and promotion of positive effects of mind wandering are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extension of agricultural technology is important for farmers to improve their practices. However, criticisms are made of top‐down extension systems, which fail to meet smallholder farmers' needs due to reliance on a linear, one‐way transfer approach. Meanwhile, the role of farmers' knowledge is gaining attention in the academic literature on agricultural extension, but yet overlooked in the applied Chinese context. These issues require a holistic analysis, towards, which systems principles can provide insights. We present a case study of the interaction between the national extension system and smallholder farmers in Guangxi, China. We found that the system constrains the autonomy and capacity of extension officers in implementing activities. Also, farmers actively exercise agency in identifying and responding to farming issues. We argue that the system should build the adaptive capacity of officers and farmers by fostering systems thinking to enable smallholder farmers to tackle farming complexity in a changing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores seven decades of development and evolution in China's defense industry (DI) policy since 1949 via Systems Thinking methodology; to construct the issue interlinked by dynamic, complex, domestic and international factors; and to propose a dynamic model for the construction of China's armament systems. Furthermore, this study will attempt to elaborate how China, based on its traditional philosophy of "army integrated into civilian support and sustained through the people," establishes a win-win-win situation of DI development. This study finds that China uses DI development to lead civil industry upgrades and, with its colossal economic scale, helps to boost overall macroeconomic growth. China then applies its economic and industrial advantages to support defense building. In this way, a positive feedback cycle mutually supported by defense building, technological and economic development is created. With the trend toward the commercialization of global armaments, this dynamic model is worthy of reference for developing countries, newly industrialized countries, and those countries which are facing the issue of DI transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the perspective of Laudan's 'research traditions', this paper attempts to propose the 'systemism research tradition' (SRT) that integrates Chinese and Western holisms based on complex systems science. First, we establish Yuan‐Sheng dialectical holism as the ontological assumption of the SRT, emphasising that the world is a 'relation‐centric' system. Yuan refers to specific time–space relations, and the becoming of the world (Sheng) from Yuan manifests as a dialectical holistic relationship in which 'contrary is complementary'. Second, we argue that the ontological assumption of SRT implies three methodological principles: systemhood thinking, synergistic thinking and emergent thinking. These principles focus on relations, openness, synergy, adaptation and emergence. Last but not the least, we argue that the SRT is a kind of applied systems thinking. The context‐dependent multi‐causation methodology, dealing with the sustainability of social‐ecological systems, has been successfully applied in explaining the resilience governance of Guangzhou Haizhu Wetland in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem China is currently facing is why accidents related to the road transportation of hazardous chemicals, with the same or similar causes, keep happening and why we do not seem able to learn from these events. Systems thinking is a discipline of seeing systems holistically, and it creates a clearer picture of the dynamic, systematic structures that have contributed to the occurrence of a major incident. The "6·13" tank truck explosion accident is considered to be the most serious accident in the development of the Chinese road transportation system of hazardous chemicals in the past 5 years. From the accident investigation report, the system elements were identified, and a causal loop diagram was developed based on the systems thinking archetype of "shifting the burden." In this paper, we focused on two problem symptoms: "defective construction of anti‐collision guardrails" and the "unsafe behavior of speeding." The causal loop diagram not only illustrated symptomatic solutions to the problem symptoms in the accident report, but also identified fundamental solutions. Most importantly, this research revealed how an underlying systemic structure ultimately resulted in a major accident. This knowledge is useful for developing prevention policies and industrial strategies and benefits the safety and sustainability of China's chemical industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To limit the detrimental impacts of climate change, large-scale and rapid decarbonization is required. China announced their plan to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, which faces many challenges including rising energy consumption and a significant, ongoing expansion of coal-based electricity generation capacity. This study employs mixed methods to explore a portfolio of climate policies related to the transport and energy sectors for two leading Chinese cities: Beijing and Hong Kong. A total of 32 expert interviews were conducted with four stakeholder groups in both cities to canvas opinions on the most important policies for decarbonization. With the aim to understand how local policy measures can be prioritized for disproportionately large emissions reductions, the Sensitive Intervention Points (SIPs) framework was applied to identify city-level policy interventions with the potential for high impact, speed, feasibility, persistence, and low risk, based on these expert interviews and literature review. With all attributes combined, leveraging the global cost declines in renewable energy was identified as a shared accelerated carbon neutrality pathway for both cities, facilitated by policies to promote the import of low-carbon energy and accelerating the electrification of transport. Alignments were found between this final list of SIPs and policies perceived as important by the experts, indicating that SIPs are generally intuitive, with alternative policy prioritizations likely influenced by additional factors such as the national agenda, budgetary constraints, and the availability of co-benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China and Chinese corporations face a very difficult challenge. How do Chinese businesses and their managers reconcile the apparent dichotomy between economic prosperity and sustainability--by coming to appreciate and work with the connectedness, the interdependence, and the complexity that characterize "true" sustainability? The response to that challenge needs to be sensitive to and make sense in a peculiarly Chinese context. Regulation and the dynamics of the market have been only partly successful. Perhaps compelling insights and prompts to action can be found in the shared cultural inheritance, particularly the wisdom and language of the Daoist tradition. Perhaps this offers one way through which Chinese managers can grapple with contemporary sustainability challenges, which demand systems thinking and systemic action in an irreducibly complex and uncertain world. This article shows the way to further research on the link between systems thinking and traditional wisdom in cultivating a fundamental shift to sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper combines the concept of leapfrogging with systems-thinking approaches to outline the potentials for and barriers to enabling systemic shifts to strong sustainable consumption in the emerging economies of China and India. New urban consumers in China and India have the potential to 'lifestyle leapfrog' the high impact lifestyle models of the industrialized countries while simultaneously improving their quality of life. This paper argues that by implementing systemic approaches in the consumption domains of mobility and housing, the historical trajectory of high environmental footprints of mobility and housing can be avoided. The analysis based on systems-thinking principles identifies existing barriers and possible solutions. The importance of policies for strong sustainable consumption is highlighted to induce positive feedbacks in the areas of markets and society facilitating both efficient technology uptake and behavioural changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Social Sciences in China is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Learning from accidents contributes to improvement of safety and prevention of unwanted events. How much we can learn depends on how deeply we analyze the accident phenomenon. Traditional causal analysis tools have limitations when analyzing the dynamic complexity of major incidents from a linear cause and effect perspective. By contrast, systems thinking is an approach of “seeing the forest for the trees” which emphasizes the circular nature of complex systems and can create a clearer picture of the dynamic systematic structures which have contributed to the occurrence of a major incident. The “7.23” Yong-Tai-Wen railway accident is considered to be the most serious railway accident in Chinese railway history and this research analyzed the accident using the systems thinking approach. From the national accident investigation report, the system elements were identified and the causal loop diagram was developed, based on the system archetype of “shifting the burden”. For the problem symptoms in the accident report, the causal loop diagram not only illustrated their symptomatic solutions, but also identified their fundamental solutions. Disclosing how an underlying systemic structure finally resulted in a major accident assists the reader to prevent such accidents by starting from fundamentals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents a comparison between Chinese perspectives on systems thinking and ideas from the West, primarily the U.S. and the U.K. In particular we focus on the debate between reductionism and holism which is one of the classical subjects of study in the philosophy of science. Just like the West, China experienced theoretical debate between holism and reductionism which spanned across a broad range of fields such as traditional Chinese medicine and reliability-centered systems engineering. The Chinese developed their own oriental systems methodologies based on the philosophical foundation of ancient oriental philosophy thoughts and dialectic principle, the most distinctive of which include the Meta-synthesis Approach and the Wuli- Shili-Renli approach. In the Western approach to systems thinking there are similar concepts of holistic thinking, synergism, and cause and effect. However, interesting differences exist between China and the West in the role of intuition in decision making. We explore these differences and discuss the implications for applying each approach in different problem solving contexts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The purpose of this study was to identify strategic thinking skills that distinguish effective school leaders in Hong Kong. Three constructs framed the study: strategic thinking skills, organizational-personal characteristics, and school leader effectiveness. This study used a quantitative non-experimental design, and univariate and correlation techniques to identify the relationships between the variables examined. Five hundred and forty-three (543) school leaders participated in the study. The factor structure of the strategic thinking questionnaire (STQ) in the Chinese context was validated. The results confirmed that a link between use of strategic thinking skills and leader effectiveness exists. The strategic thinking skills profile of Hong Kong school leaders is formed around systems thinking; it is the strongest predictor of leader effectiveness. This thinking profile changes depending on role assignment, school type, and environmental complexity. Principals use systems thinking and reframing in tandem. Vice-principals use reframing more often than the other skills. Senior masters use strategic thinking skills significantly less often than principals and vice-principals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paralleling with the contribution of Western systems thinking to the development of modern Chinese system theory, the authors notice that the concept of yin- yang is scattered in many social science researches in the West. However, those researches were still not rich enough to yield insights into the core value of yin- yang and, in turn, there is seemly no one unified guiding law or principle which governs both its theoretical and empirical applications. In this study, axiom system of the Yin-Yang-based system has been proposed and elaborated through the comparisons of systematic thinking between East and West. After incorporating the concept of causal chains, it can also be used to work as quantitative tool for business decision analysis in management practices. The aim of this study is to bridge the contemporary systematic thinking gap between East and West and to provide a complement to aid in further development of system theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, considering the financial performance of China's listed companies as the dependent variable, a computational intelligence method based on genetic algorithms and discriminant analysis is employed to screen variables that influence financial performance and forecast the change of financial performance. Specifically, a new model based on genetic algorithms is developed to screen factors that influence financial performance of Chinese listed companies. The empirical results show that variables selected by genetic algorithms can predict financial performance well. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the complementary asset theory, this paper develops a conceptual model to explain the relationships among intrafirm knowledge sharing, knowledge application, and innovation as well as the moderating effect of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on the intrafirm knowledge sharing and knowledge application. Using a sample of 607 Chinese firms, this paper empirically examines this model. The results show that, under China's transition economy, the positive relationship between intrafirm knowledge sharing and a firm's innovation is mediated by knowledge application. Furthermore, intrafirm knowledge sharing facilitates knowledge application, and EO positively moderates this relationship. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant changes have occurred in China's energy development strategy in the past 30 years since the reform and opening policy was put into effect. The strategy has been shifted from the Strategy of Exploiting Energy Resources (SEER) to the Strategy of Comprehensive Energy Efficiency (SCEE); this made it possible that the target of ‘Doubling guarantees Quadrupling’ set by the CPC in the 1990s become a reality 5 years earlier than the target time frame. For the new target of ‘Doubling Economic Development’ set for the new century by the CPC, this paper will attempt to provide ideas and recommendations to offer possible alternative views. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]