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This study aims to investigate the association between executives with foreign backgrounds and the audit fees paid by the Chinese-listed firms over the period from 2010 to 2020.

To examine the association between executives’ foreign experience and audit fees, this study constructs the following empirical model: Lnfee_i,t = β₀ + β₁Foreign background_i,t + ∑β_j Control_i,t + YearFE + IndFE + ε_i,t (1).

This study finds that auditors charge higher fees for firms hiring more executives with foreign backgrounds. The results are robust to a battery of robustness checks, including fixed effects, alternative measures of independent variable, controlling for other characteristics of executives and auditors and entropy balancing method.

This study sheds light on how executives’ foreign backgrounds affect audit fees, enriching the literature on executive heterogeneity and audit fees and providing important implications for audit practitioners.

To support achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs), we integrated science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and extended reality technologies into an artificial intelligence (AI) learning activity. We developed Feature City to facilitate students' learning of AI concepts. This study aimed to explore students' learning outcomes and behaviors when using Feature City.

Junior high school students were the subjects who used Feature City in an AI learning activity. The learning activity consisted of 90-min sessions once per week for five weeks. Before the learning activity, the teacher clarified the learning objectives and administered a pretest. The teacher then instructed the students on the features, supervised learning and unsupervised learning units. After the learning activity, the teacher conducted a posttest. We analyzed the students' prior knowledge and learning performance by evaluating their pretest and posttest results and observing their learning behaviors in the AI learning activity.

(1) Students used Feature City to learn AI concepts to improve their learning outcomes. (2) Female students learned more effectively with Feature City than male students. (3) Male students were more likely than female students to complete the learning tasks in Feature City the first time they used it.

Within SDGs, this study used STEM and extended reality technologies to develop Feature City to engage students in learning about AI. The study examined how much Feature City improved students' learning outcomes and explored the differences in their learning outcomes and behaviors. The results showed that students' use of Feature City helped to improve their learning outcomes. Female students achieved better learning outcomes than their male counterparts. Male students initially exhibited a behavioral pattern of seeking clarification and error analysis when learning AI education, more so than their female counterparts. The findings can help teachers adjust AI education appropriately to match the tutorial content with students' AI learning needs.

“Idol pilgrimage tour” is a popular trend among young Chinese fans who travel for idol-related purposes, engage in interactive events and have co-created experiences at destinations. With the growing market size of fan economy, fan tourists generate significant revenue for the local. However, many destinations have not fully utilised this opportunity, and there is a lack of research on this niche form of tourism. This research was undertaken to address this research gap.

This study adopted an idol worship–motivation–co-created experience–tour satisfaction–destination loyalty framework in the context of idol pilgrimage tours. In addition, this study investigated the direct influence of idol worship on the other four constructs. Data were collected from 354 Chinese fans who had such experience through online questionnaires. The partial least squares–structural equation modelling technique was used to examine the research model.

It was demonstrated that idol worship has a direct influence on motivation, co-created experience, satisfaction and loyalty and that there is a positive relationship between motivation, co-created experience, satisfaction and loyalty. The results advance the brand sacralisation literature by studying worship in a tourism context and contribute to interactive marketing literature by clarifying the interactive mechanism between relationships among the idol, fans and destinations. The study suggests some practical implications for destination management organisations attempting to target tourist fans.

This is the first study introducing the concept of the idol pilgrimage tour. Empirical results of this study reveal the underlying mechanism of how idols influence fans' travel-related psychology and behaviour.

To cater to the senior tourist market, it is essential to comprehend the factors motivating and deterring them from international travel post-COVID-19. This study aims to focus on senior citizens’ destination choice intentions and aims to develop a model that prioritizes positive and negative factors leading to international travel destination choices. It uses push–pull factors, perceived travel risks (PTRs) and perceived travel constraints (PTCs).

Decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (Fuzzy TOPSIS) are two multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques used to identify connections between variables and determine their relative importance in the decision-making model.

DEMATEL found push and pull factors are “effects” while PTCs and PTRs are “causes” affecting senior citizens’ destination choices. Push factors and PTCs have a greater impact than pull factors and PTRs. Fuzzy TOPSIS highlighted “improving health and wellness” and “self-fulfillment and spirituality” as key push factors, “health safety and security quotient” as the most important pull factor, and “interpersonal constraints” as the most critical PTC. Finally, “health risks” is the top PTR.

This paper adds to the tourism literature by looking at the relationship between senior tourists’ motivation, PTRs and PTCs and showing how the subfactors affect their choice of destination rank. The data analysis techniques used in this study are also novel, having never been used before in senior tourism research. Finally, even though there is a lot of research on senior tourism, not much is known about how Indian senior tourists act. In light of this study’s findings, practical recommendations were offered to tourism stakeholders worldwide, interested in tapping into the market of Indian outbound senior tourists or repositioning product or destination offerings to take this promising market or similar markets into account.

为了成功迎合蓬勃发展的老年旅游市场, 了解激励和阻止老年人国际旅行的因素尤为重要, 尤其是在 COVID-19 之后。本研究侧重于老年人的目的地选择意向, 并基于推拉因素、感知旅行风险 (PTR) 和感知旅行限制 (PTC), 旨在开发影响老年人国际旅游目的地选择的积极和消极因素的模型。

决策试验和评估实验室 (DEMATEL), 和与理想解决方案相似度的模糊偏好顺序 (Fuzzy TOPSIS) 是两种多标准决策 (MCDM) 技术, 用于识别变量之间的联系并找出它们在决策模型中的相对重要性。

DEMATEL的结果表明, 推力和拉力因素是“影响”, 而感知旅行约束（PTC）和感知旅行风险（PTR）是影响老年人目的地选择意愿的因素中的“原因”。推动因素和 PTC 比拉动因素和 PTR 发挥更重要的作用。 Fuzzy TOPSIS分析结果表明, “改善健康”和“自我实现和精神”是推动因素下最重要的因素。此外, 目的地的“健康安全商数”是拉动因素中最重要的, “人际约束”是PTC中最重要的。最后, 研究结果表明, “健康风险”是 PTR 中最重要的。

本文通过评估旅游动机、PTR 和老年游客 PTC 之间的相互关系, 为现有的旅游文献做出了贡献。此外, 该研究展示了影响老年游客目的地选择意愿的因素中各个子因素的比较优先级。本研究中使用的数据分析技术也很新颖, 以前从未在老年人旅游研究中使用过。最后, 虽然对老年旅游有丰富的研究, 但印度老年旅游者的行为相对不为人知。研究结果向有兴趣进入印度出境老年游客市场或重新定位产品或目的地的全球旅游利益相关者提供了切实可行的建议, 以考虑这个有前景的市场或类似市场。

Para atender a un mercado turístico de la tercera edad, es esencial comprender los factores que les motivan y les disuaden de realizar viajes internacionales tras el COVID-19. Este estudio se centra en las intenciones de elección de destino de las personas mayores y pretende desarrollar un modelo que priorice los factores positivos y negativos que conducen a la elección de un destino de viaje internacional. Utiliza los factores push-pull, los riesgos de viaje percibidos (PTR) y las limitaciones de viaje percibidas (PTC).

Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) y Fuzzy Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (Fuzzy TOPSIS) son dos técnicas de toma de decisiones multicriterio (MCDM) utilizadas para identificar las conexiones entre variables y determinar su importancia relativa en el modelo de toma de decisiones.

DEMATEL descubrió que los factores de empuje y atracción son “efectos,” mientras que las PTC y las PTR son “causas” que afectan a las elecciones de destino de las personas mayores. Los factores de empuje y los PTC tienen un mayor impacto que los factores de atracción y los PTR. El Fuzzy TOPSIS destacó la “mejora de la salud y el bienestar” y la “autorrealización y espiritualidad” como factores de empuje clave, el “cociente de seguridad y protección de la salud” como el factor de atracción más importante y las “limitaciones interpersonales” como el PTC más crítico. Por último, los “riesgos para la salud” son el principal PTR.

Este artículo se suma a la literatura turística al estudiar la relación entre la motivación de los turistas sénior, los PTR y los PTC y mostrar cómo afectan los subfactores a su elección del destino. Las técnicas de análisis de datos empleadas en este estudio también son novedosas, ya que nunca se habían utilizado en la investigación sobre el turismo senior. Por último, aunque existen muchas investigaciones sobre el turismo sénior, el comportamiento de los turistas de la tercera edad en la India es relativamente desconocido. A la luz de los resultados del estudio, se ofrecen recomendaciones prácticas a las partes interesadas en el turismo de todo el mundo, interesadas en aprovechar el mercado de los turistas senior indios emisores o en reposicionar la oferta de productos o destinos para tener en cuenta este prometedor mercado o mercados similares.

This study examines how dynamic capabilities (DCs) impact global value chain (GVC) upgrading and assesses the mediating role of innovation.

The study uses a quantitative research method. The data are collected using an online questionnaire administered to respondents working in Chinese automobile manufacturers in China and Laos. The data are analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and related software.

The results show that DCs and innovation capabilities (ICs) positively affect GVC upgrading and that ICs plays a mediating role between DC and GVC upgrading. Dynamic capabilities evolution (CE) mediates the relationship between DCs, ICs and GVC upgrading. Finally, differences exist in the effects of the three dimensions of DCs on ICs and GVC upgrading.

Focusing on the absorption and transformation of knowledge, enterprises could experience a clear enhancement of IC and CE and be more likely to obtain higher marginal returns. The study provides insights for emerging market firms to gain higher added value in internationalization.

This study demonstrates that different dimensions of DCs have different effects on GVC upgrading. In terms of theory, the impact of IC is considered in terms of the mediating effect of CE on IC. Differences are highlighted concerning the impact of learning capability, integrating and coordinating capability and sensing capability on the mediated relationships.

This study investigates the relationships among digital transformation, technological innovation, industry–university–research collaborations and labor income share in manufacturing firms.

The relationships are tested using an empirical method, constructing regression models, by collecting 1,240 manufacturing firms and 9,029 items listed on the A-share market in China from 2013 to 2020.

The results indicate that digital transformation has a positive effect on manufacturing companies’ labor income share. Technological innovation can mediate the effect of digital transformation on labor income share. Industry–university–research cooperation can positively moderate the promotion effect of digital transformation on labor income share but cannot moderate the mediating effect of technological innovation. Heterogeneity analysis also found that firms without service-based transformation and nonstate-owned firms are better able to increase their labor income share through digital transformation.

This study provides a new path to increase the labor income share of enterprises to achieve common prosperity, which is important for manufacturing enterprises to better transform and upgrade to achieve high-quality development.

Perspiration and heat are produced by the body and must be eliminated to maintain a stable body temperature. Sweat, heat and air must pass through the fabric to be comfortable. The cloth absorbs sweat and then releases it, allowing the body to chill down. By capillary action, moisture is driven away from fabric pores or sucked out of yarns. Convectional air movement improves sweat drainage, which may aid in body temperature reduction. Clothing reduces the skin's ability to transport heat and moisture to the outside. Excessive moisture makes clothing stick to the skin, whereas excessive heat induces heat stress, making the user uncomfortable. Wet heat loss is significantly more difficult to understand than dry heat loss. The purpose of this study is to provided a good compilation of complete information on wet thermal comfort of textile and technological elements to be consider while constructing protective apparel.

This paper aims to critically review studies on the thermal comfort of textiles in wet conditions and assess the results to guide future research.

Several recent studies focused on wet textiles' impact on comfort. Moisture reduces the fabric's thermal insulation value while also altering its moisture characteristics. Moisture and heat conductivity were linked. Sweat and other factors impact fabric comfort. So, while evaluating a fabric's comfort, consider both external and inside moisture.

The systematic literature review in this research focuses on wet thermal comfort and technological elements to consider while constructing protective apparel.

The role of chief executive officer (CEO) personal characteristics in shaping corporate policies has attracted increasing academic attention in the past two decades. In this review, the authors synthesize extant research on CEO attributes by reviewing 232 articles published in 29 journals from the accounting, finance and management literature. This review provides an overview of existing findings, highlights current trends and interdisciplinary differences in research approaches and identifies potential avenues for future research.

To review the literature on CEO attributes, the authors manually collected peer-reviewed articles in accounting, finance and management journals from 2000 to 2021. The authors conducted in-depth analysis of each paper and manually recorded the theories, data sources, country of study, study period, measures of CEO attributes and dependent variables. This procedure helped the authors group the selected articles into themes and sub-themes. The authors compared the findings in various disciplines and provided direction for future research.

The authors highlight the role of CEO personal attributes in influencing corporate decision-making and firm outcomes. The authors categorize studies of CEO traits into three main research themes: (1) demographic attributes and experience (including age, gender, culture, experience, education); (2) CEO interactions with others (social and political networks) and (3) underlying attributes (including personality, values and ideology). The evidence shows that CEO characteristics significantly affect a wide range of specific corporate policies that serve as mechanisms through which individual CEOs determine firm success and performance.

CEO selection is one of the most crucial decisions made by corporations. The study findings provide valuable insights to corporate executives, boards, investors and practitioners into how CEOs’ personal characteristics can impact future firm decisions and outcomes that can, in turn, inform the high-stake process of CEO recruitment and selection. The study findings have significant practical implications for corporations, such as contributing to executive training programs, to assist executives and directors attain a greater level of self-awareness.

Building on the theoretical foundation of upper echelons theory, the authors offer an integrated theoretical framework to consolidate existing empirical research on the impacts of CEO personal attributes on firm outcomes across accounting and finance (A&F) and management literature. The study findings provide a roadmap for scholars to bridge the interdisciplinary divide between A&F and management research. The authors advocate a more holistic and multifaceted approach to examining CEOs, each of whom embodies a myriad of personal characteristics that comprise their unique identity. The study findings encourage future researchers to expand the investigation of the boundary conditions that magnify or moderate the impacts of CEO idiosyncrasies.

The purpose of this study is to conduct a thorough empirical investigation of the intricate relationship between urban housing sales prices and land supply prices in China, with the aim of elucidating the underlying economic principles governing this dynamic interplay.

Using monthly data of China, the authors use the asymmetry nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model to test for nonlinearity in the relationship between land supply price and urban housing prices.

The empirical results confirm the existence of an asymmetric relationship between land supply price and urban housing prices. The authors find that land supply price has a positive and statistically significant impact on urban housing prices when land supply is increasing. Policymakers should strive to strike a balance between safeguarding residents’ housing rights and maintaining market stability.

Although the asymmetric effect of land supply price has been identified as a significant contributor in this study, it is important to note that the research primarily relies on time series data and focuses on analysis at the national level. Although time series data offer a macroscopic perspective of overall trends within a country, they fail to adequately showcase the structural variations among different cities.

To ensure a stable housing market and meet residents’ housing needs, policymakers must reexamine current land policies. Solely relying on restricting land supply to control housing prices may yield counterproductive results. Instead, increasing land supply could be a more viable option. By rationally adjusting land supply prices, the government can not only mitigate excessive growth in housing prices but also foster the healthy development of the housing market.

First, the authors have comprehensively evaluated the impact of land supply prices in China on urban housing sales prices, examining whether they play a facilitating or mitigating role in the fluctuation of these prices. Second, departing from traditional linear analytical frameworks, the authors have explored the possibility of a nonlinear relationship existing between land supply prices and urban housing sales prices in China. Finally, using an advanced NARDL model, the authors have delved deeper into the asymmetric effects of land supply prices on urban housing sales prices in China.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a variable distance pneumatic gripper with embedded flexible sensors, which can effectively grasp fragile and flexible objects.

Based on the motion principle of the three-jaw chuck and the pneumatic “fast pneumatic network” (FPN), a variable distance pneumatic holder embedded with a flexible sensor is designed. A structural design plan and preparation process of a soft driver is proposed, using carbon nanotubes as filler in a polyurethane (PU) sponge. A flexible bending sensor based on carbon nanotube materials was produced. A static model of the soft driver cavity was established, and a bending simulation was performed. Based on the designed variable distance soft pneumatic gripper, a real-time monitoring and control system was developed. Combined with the developed pneumatic control system, gripping experiments on objects of different shapes and easily deformable and fragile objects were conducted.

In this paper, a variable-distance pneumatic gripper embedded with a flexible sensor was designed, and a control system for real-time monitoring and multi-terminal input was developed. Combined with the developed pneumatic control system, a measure was carried out to measure the relationship between the bending angle, output force and air pressure of the soft driver. Flexible bending sensor performance test. The gripper diameter and gripping weight were tested, and the maximum gripping diameter was determined to be 182 mm, the maximum gripping weight was approximately 900 g and the average measurement error of the bending sensor was 5.91%. Objects of different shapes and easily deformable and fragile objects were tested.

Based on the motion principle of the three-jaw chuck and the pneumatic FPN, a variable distance pneumatic gripper with embedded flexible sensors is proposed by using the method of layered and step-by-step preparation. The authors studied the gripper structure design, simulation analysis, prototype preparation, control system construction and experimental testing. The results show that the designed flexible pneumatic gripper with variable distance can grasp common objects.