Search results

This study aims to investigate the satisfaction of farmers with the compensation policy for wildlife-caused damages and its influencing factors, analyze the current situation of satisfaction with the compensation policy among farmers, identify factors significantly affecting satisfaction, and explore ways to optimize the compensation policy and improve the satisfaction of farmers based on the effects of various influencing factors.

The Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in Yunnan Province, China, is selected as the research area for the study. Through field interviews, 370 valid questionnaires were collected to obtain relevant data on farmers' satisfaction with the compensation policy for wildlife-caused damages. The Oprobit model is utilized to explore the factors influencing farmer satisfaction and to analyze their underlying reasons.

The study reveals that farmers in the communities surrounding the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve generally experience low satisfaction with the compensation policy, particularly concerning satisfaction with compensation amounts, which tends to be dissatisfied on average. Satisfaction with the compensation policy is significantly influenced by individual characteristics and household labor structure, while the degree of human-wildlife conflict, wildlife conservation attitudes and household income structure have insignificant impact. Among individual characteristics, gender, education level, health status, and ethnicity are highly significant. In household labor structure, the number of agricultural laborers, non-agricultural laborers, and household agricultural labor time are highly significant.

Building on the overall satisfaction of farmers with the compensation policy, this study further decomposes policy satisfaction into satisfaction with compensation amounts, coverage, and procedures. It provides more targeted recommendations for enhancing satisfaction with the compensation policy, which can help effectively mitigate human-wildlife conflicts and achieve harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

The China–Europe Railway Express (CR Express) in Chongqing has operated regularly and undergone large-scale development. Its impact on Chongqing’s economic growth has become increasingly evident, necessitating further research in this field.

This study employs the opening of CR Express as a quasi-natural experiment, designating Chongqing, which inaugurated the CR Express in 2011, as the treatment group. 13 provinces and cities that had not yet opened the CR Express until 2017 were selected as the control group. Utilizing panel data from 14 provinces across China spanning from 2006 to 2017, the synthetic control method (SCM) is employed to synthetically construct Chongqing. To quantify the difference in economic development levels between Chongqing with the operation of the CR express and Chongqing without its operation. Key metrics such as gross domestic product (GDP), per capita GDP, total retail sales of consumer goods, import and export value and the proportions of the secondary and tertiary industries are employed to measure urban economic development capabilities. Chongqing is designated as the experimental group, and a double-difference model is constructed to regress the operation of the CR Express against economic development capabilities. Robustness tests are conducted to validate the analytical results.

The results indicate that, compared to provinces without the operation of the CR Express, the initiation of the CR Express in Chongqing significantly enhances the economic development level of the city. The opening of the CR Express exhibits a pronounced positive impact on Chongqing’s economic development, and these findings remain robust and effective even after parallel trend tests and placebo tests.

The study represents an expansion of the theoretical framework. In contrast to previous studies that relied on a single indicator such as GDP, this study selects six indicators from the dimensions of economy, trade and industry to measure regional economic development capabilities. Furthermore, employing the grey relational analysis method, the study screens these indicators, thereby providing a theoretical basis for the selection of indicators for measuring regional economic development capabilities.

Prefabricated products are continually entering the building construction market; yet, the decision to use prefabricated products in a construction project is based mostly on personal preferences and the evaluation of direct costs. Researchers and practitioners have debated appropriate measurement systems for evaluating the impacts of prefabricated products and for comparing them with conventional on-site construction practices. The more advanced, cost–benefit approach to evaluating prefabricated products often inspires controversy because it may generate inaccurate results when converting non-monetary effects into costs. As prefabrication may affect multiple organisations and product subsystems, the method used to decide on production methods should consider multiple direct and indirect impacts, including nonmonetary ones. Thus, this study aims to develop a multi-criteria method to evaluate both the monetary and non-monetary impacts of prefabrication solutions to facilitate decision-making on whether to use prefabricated products.

Drawing upon a literature review, this research suggests a multi-criteria method that combines the choosing-by-advantage approach with a cost–benefit analysis. The method was presented for validation in focus group discussions and tested in a case involving a prefabricated bathroom.

The analysis indicates that the method helps a project’s stakeholders communicate about the relative merits of prefabrication and conventional construction while facilitating the final decision of whether to use prefabrication.

This research contributes a method of evaluating the monetary and non-monetary impacts of prefabricated products. The research underlines the need to evaluate the diverse benefits and sacrifices that stakeholder face when considering production methods in construction.

Literature on the board diversity of Islamic banks (IB) found limited knowledge of the “deep-level” attribute. This study aims to explain the impact of the board diversity attributes (education levels, educational backgrounds and the interactions between these two attributes of diversity) on profitability.

The research sample is 37 fully flagged IBs from five Southeast Asian countries, covering nine years (2010–2019). Data were analyzed using the two-step system generalized moment (2SYS-GMM) method.

We found that the cognitive conflict between the board of directors (BOD) and the Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB), which has heterogeneity in its education level and educational background, positively affects profitability. These results reinforce the resources dependence theory (RDT) approach that having boards with heterogeneous characteristics is beneficial for IB.

The findings of this study would offer useful information for Islamic banking authorities to revise or formulate rules and guidelines and make a greater effort to implement corporate governance (CG) reform measures by determining educational level and background as a requirement to become a member of a BOD or an SSB.

This paper contributes in three ways: (1) we use the “deep-level” diversity attributes of the BOD and the SSB, (2) it focuses on cognitive conflict in boards by presenting the expertise diversity of the BOD and SSB and (3) we interact with the level of education to evaluate the effect of a cognitive conflict.

The purpose of this paper is to review cases of artificial reefs built through additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and analyse their ecological goals, fabrication process, materials, structural design features and implementation location to determine predominant parameters, environmental impacts, advantages, and limitations.

The review analysed 16 cases of artificial reefs from both temperate and tropical regions. These were categorised based on the AM process used, the mortar material used (crucial for biological applications), the structural design features and the location of implementation. These parameters are assessed to determine how effectively the designs meet the stipulated ecological goals, how AM technologies demonstrate their potential in comparison to conventional methods and the preference locations of these implementations.

The overview revealed that the dominant artificial reef implementation occurs in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Seas, both accounting for 24%. The remaining cases were in the Australian Sea (20%), the South Asia Sea (12%), the Persian Gulf and the Pacific Ocean, both with 8%, and the Indian Sea with 4% of all the cases studied. It was concluded that fused filament fabrication, binder jetting and material extrusion represent the main AM processes used to build artificial reefs. Cementitious materials, ceramics, polymers and geopolymer formulations were used, incorporating aggregates from mineral residues, biological wastes and pozzolan materials, to reduce environmental impacts, promote the circular economy and be more beneficial for marine ecosystems. The evaluation ranking assessed how well their design and materials align with their ecological goals, demonstrating that five cases were ranked with high effectiveness, ten projects with moderate effectiveness and one case with low effectiveness.

AM represents an innovative method for marine restoration and management. It offers a rapid prototyping technique for design validation and enables the creation of highly complex shapes for habitat diversification while incorporating a diverse range of materials to benefit environmental and marine species’ habitats.

In response to growing concerns over the negative consequences of Internet addiction on adolescents’ mental health, coupled with conflicting results in this literature stream, this meta-analysis sought to (1) examine the association between Internet addiction and depressive symptoms in adolescents, (2) examine the moderating role of Internet freedom across countries, and (3) examine the mediating role of excessive daytime sleepiness.

In total, 52 studies were analyzed using robust variance estimation and meta-analytic structural equation modeling.

There was a significant and moderate association between Internet addiction and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, Internet freedom did not explain heterogeneity in this literature stream before and after controlling for study quality and the percentage of female participants. In support of the displacement hypothesis, this study found that Internet addiction contributes to depressive symptoms through excessive daytime sleepiness (proportion mediated = 17.48%). As the evidence suggests, excessive daytime sleepiness displaces a host of activities beneficial for maintaining mental health. The results were subjected to a battery of robustness checks and the conclusions remain unchanged.

The results underscore the negative consequences of Internet addiction in adolescents. Addressing this issue would involve interventions that promote sleep hygiene and greater offline engagement with peers to alleviate depressive symptoms.

This study utilizes robust meta-analytic techniques to provide the most comprehensive examination of the association between Internet addiction and depressive symptoms in adolescents. The implications intersect with the shared interests of social scientists, health practitioners, and policy makers.

This study aims to investigate the impact of service quality (SQ), perceived value (PV) and consumer satisfaction on Thai street food, with customer satisfaction (CS) as a mediator for customer loyalty and repurchase intention (RI). It also explores how consumer trust (CT) in Thai street food safety moderates these relationships.

Structural equation modelling (SEM) was utilised to analyse the complex interrelationships between various constructs. Multi-group analyses were conducted to investigate the moderating effects of CT on the structural model, considering two distinct groups based on trust levels: low and high.

The findings revealed that SQ and PV significantly influenced CS and behavioural intention, while the perceived quality of Thai street food had no significant impact on post-COVID-19 consumer satisfaction. The study highlighted the critical role of CT in moderating the relationships between SQ, PV and CS, with distinct effects observed in groups with varying trust levels.

The research emphasises the importance of enhancing SQ and delivering value to customers in the context of Thai street food, which can contribute to increased CS, RI and positive word-of-mouth. Furthermore, the study underscores the critical role of building CT in fostering enduring customer relationships and promoting consumer satisfaction and loyalty.

This research offers valuable insights into consumer behaviour and decision-making processes, particularly within the realm of Thai street food. It underscores the significance of understanding and nurturing CT, especially in the post-COVID-19 landscape, emphasising the need for effective business strategies and consumer engagement.