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This paper reports on the development of a general-purpose Eurocode-compliant component-based connection finite element for steel-to-steel joints in fire. The development begins by utilising the temperature-dependent connection component characteristics previously developed at the University of Sheffield to create a component-based connection finite element to model flush endplate connections. Subsequently the element was extended to a new connection type with high ductility, the reverse channel. The component models have been developed for the reverse channel under tension and compression. The element has been incorporated into the nonlinear global structural analysis program Vulcan, in which it has been used along with a static-dynamic formulation. The use of the element is illustrated by modelling a fire test at the University of Manchester in which reverse channel connections were used.

The purpose of this paper is to describe how people in a coastal community act upon anxieties about overexploitation of a shared resource and their attempts to ease the moral tension caused by the rapid industrialization of their fishery. This anthropological study contributes to the cross-disciplinary discussion of community-based resource management.

The study is based on ethnographic fieldwork done at the Nanfang'ao port located in northeastern Taiwan. This port has several prosperous offshore fisheries including a mackerel fishery. The mackerel fishery has undergone important transformations in recent decades. The first was a total transformation of fishing methods in 2013. The second was the government's formulation of the “Regulations for Fishing Vessels Catching Mackerels and Jacks,” implemented in 2014. This research illustrates how people in a community take various approaches to pursue sustainability for the human beings and the more-than-human world.

In Nanfang'ao port, local people have developed a meaningful cultural festival through the integration of various symbols and rituals from different contexts in an effort to call attention to moral issues associated with the mackerel fishery.

This research contributes to the discussion on community resource management of marine fishery.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the statistical correlation properties of the Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate (SHIBOR) interbank lending market.

The authors apply methods of correlation analysis, random matrix theory (RMT) and minimum spanning tree (MST) to investigate the correlation properties of Chinese interbank lending market and analyze how the SHIBOR panel banks behave in different market periods.

First, the largest eigenvalue λ ₁ is the index to describe the market mode of the whole market when all banks behavior collectively and λ ₁/N is a good estimator of the average correlation <C> of the correlation matrix. Second, notably, the authors find the “market mode” is weakened in two crises periods of 2008 stock market crash and 2009 Global Financial Crisis. This is significantly different from other market where the “market mode” is normally strengthened in crises periods. Third, the authors subtract the contribution of λ ₁, the second and third eigenvalue, λ ₂ and λ ₃, will fall outside of the predicted interval. And both λ ₂ and λ ₃ are getting times larger in the crises periods than in “Non-Crisis” period. Fourth, and in the MST analysis, the authors find again that the average distances of the MST are the times larger in crises periods than in “Non-Crisis” period and the second largest eigenvalue is a good estimator of the average distance of the MST.

According to the best knowledge, this paper is the first work on the study of the statistical properties of an interbank lending market using quotation level data of panel banks, which allows us to analyze the properties of the interest rate formation and how all panel banks behavior in different periods. This work is also the first study on the SHIBOR market using econophysics methods of correlation analysis, RMT and MST.

Purpose – This research studies how the discipline of option-like personal equity portfolio and the market discipline of debt jointly affect executive compensation design.

Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical model is proposed based on the moral hazard problem of Holmstrom and Milgrom (1987) by integrating firm financial leverage, executive equity holding, and profit-sharing rule. Subsequently, a panel data set of executive compensation is analyzed to provide empirical evidence.

Findings – The discipline of option reduces the need of performance-based compensation. The discipline of debt reduces the use of incentive pay for lowly leveraged firms, but increases the use of incentive pay for highly leveraged firms. These two disciplines can be either complements or substitutes on affecting optimal contracts depending on firm leverage.

Research limitations/implications – The present study provides a starting point for further study of optimal compensation that is not only the conventional one of mainly aligning managerial interests with that of shareholders but also the one of reinforcing the joint discipline of debt and option.

Originality/value – This new perspective produces several results characterizing firms that the discipline of debt and the discipline of option can be either complements or substitutes on affecting incentive compensation design.

Amid increasing interest in how government regulation and market competition affect the cost and financial sustainability in health care sector, it remains unclear whether health care providers behave similarly to their counterparts in other industries. The goal of this chapter is to study the degree to which health care providers manipulate accruals in periods of financial difficulties caused, in part, by the rising costs of labor.

We collected the financial information of health care providers in 43 countries from 1984 to 2013 and conducted a pooled cross-sectional study with country and year fixed-effects.

The empirical evidence shows that health care providers with higher wage costs are more likely to smooth their earnings in order to maintain financial sustainability.

The finding of this study not only informs regulators that earnings management is pervasive in health care organizations around the world, but also contributes to the studies of financial book-tax reporting alignment, given the existing empirical evidence linking earnings management to corporate tax avoidance in this very sector.

The purpose of this paper is to gain a systematic and comprehensive understanding of deploying temporary agency work (TAW) in China in relation to the adoption, staffing pattern, and human resource (HR) configuration.

Based on the literature and theory of strategic human resource management, this inquiry identifies and analyzes three major components in the utilization of temporary agency work (TAW) in Chinese organizations.

The paper derives a framework to conceptualize the relationships among strategic vs ad hoc adoption of TAW, separated and mixed staffing patterns, as well as four HR on the utilization of TAW in the Chinese context..

This is an initial effort in exploring the phenomenon of TAW in China prior to the enactment of Labor Contract Law. The paper offers a conceptual base for further examining the evolution of TAWs in Chinese organizations.

The context‐based analysis of TAW's challenges existing frameworks in the Western literature. The resulting framework is an innovative effort for a comprehensive understanding of TAW in China, thus enriches the existing literature.

There is limited research on consumer intention and credit card adoption in the transitional economies of Southeast Asia. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the key elements that influence an individual’s intention of adopting credit cards in the transitional economy Vietnam.

A questionnaire was developed based on the technology adoption literature. After data cleaning, 595 responses were deemed valid. Factor analysis (EFA and CFA) was utilized on split samples, and a structural equation model developed to identify the influential technology adoption factors.

The analysis found strong support for the hypotheses theoretically developed. In the transitional economy of Vietnam, consumer’s intention to adopt credit cards was influenced by “Perceived usefulness (PU),” “Perceived ease of use (PEOU),” “subjective norm (SN),” “perceived self-efficacy (PSE)” and “Anxiety”. However, “perceived financial cost (PFC)” was not a significant factor.

The use of cross-sectional data does not enable the analysis of time sequence of the determinants of consumer intention.

This research provides a body of knowledge on modern banking payment systems and credit card utilization factors in the transitional economy of Vietnam which has relevance for other transitional as well as developing economies of Southeast Asia, and is a good reference source for foreign investors, banks and card service companies.

To date, there are no studies that explore the interaction between “PU,” “PEOU,” “PFC,” “SN,” “PSE,” “Anxiety” and “Behavioral Intention” in the context of the Vietnamese credit card market, nor other transitional markets in Southeast Asia.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the utility of school-based research for studying gangs and gang members. Police–researcher collaborations have led to considerable advancements in the understanding of gang involvement and its consequences. But the current social environment should encourage scholars to take stock of alternative methodologies to examine gang-related questions.

In this paper, the authors reflect on the advantages of school-based research designs for studying gang affiliated youth, primarily contrasting the data derived from school-based designs to official data from police.

xSpecifically, the authors discuss the key advantages of school-based survey research, identify concerns that can arise from such designs and offer recommendations as to how to mitigate such concerns.

This paper provides a discussion on the utility of gang-related research and guidance on addressing potential limitations.