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This paper aims to design an event-triggered adaptive prescribed performance controller for flexible manipulators, with the primary objectives of achieving output performance constraints and addressing communication resource limitations.

The authors propose a novel prescribed performance barrier Lyapunov function (PP-BLF) that considers both output and tracking performance constraints. The PP-BLF ensures that the system's output, transient behavior and steady-state performance, adhere to prescribed constraints. The boundary of the PP-BLF is established by an exponential function that decays over time. Notably, the PP-BLF can be applied seamlessly in unconstrained cases without necessitating controller redesign. Moreover, the controller design incorporates an event-triggered mechanism, effectively reducing the frequency of controller updates and optimizing the utilization of communication resources. Additionally, the authors employ adaptive techniques to estimate the system's unknown parameters and approximate unknown nonlinear functions using radial basis function neural networks (RBFNN). To address the challenge of “complexity explosion”, dynamic surface technology is employed.

Numerical simulations are conducted under five different cases to verify the effectiveness of the proposed controller. The results demonstrate that the controller successfully constrains the output tracking error within the prescribed performance boundary. Moreover, compared with the traditional time-triggered mechanism, the event-triggered mechanism significantly reduces the controller's update frequency, resolving the problem of limited communication resources.

The paper reduces the update frequency of control signals and improves resource utilization through an event-triggered mechanism in the form of relative thresholds. The authors recognize that the event-triggered mechanism may impact the output performance of the system. To address this challenge, the authors propose a prescribed performance Barrier Lyapunov Function (PP-BLF). The PP-BLF is designed to effectively constrain the output performance of the system, ensuring satisfactory control even when the control signal updates are reduced.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel event-triggered aperiodic intermittent sliding-mode control (ETAI-SMC) algorithm for master–slave bilateral teleoperation robotic systems to further save communication resources while maintaining synchronization precision.

By using the Lyapunov theory, a new event-triggered aperiodic intermittent sliding-mode controller is designed to synchronize master–slave robots in a discontinuous method. Unlike traditional periodic time-triggered continuous control strategy, a new ETAI condition is discussed for less communication pressure. Then, the exponential reaching law is adopted to accelerate sliding-mode variables convergence, which has a significant effect on synchronization performance. In addition, the authors use quantizers to make their algorithm have obvious progress in saving communication resources.

The proposed control algorithm performance is validated by an experiment developed on a practical bilateral teleoperation system with two PHANToM Omni robotic devices. As a result, the synchronization error is limited within a small range and the control frequency is evidently reduced. Compared with a conventional control algorithm, the experimental results illustrate that the proposed control algorithm is more sensitive to system states changes and it can further save communication resources while guaranteeing the system synchronization accuracy, which is more practical for real bilateral teleoperation robotic systems.

A novel ETAI-SMC for bilateral teleoperation robotic systems is proposed to find a balance between reducing the control frequency and synchronization control precision. Combining the traditional sliding-mode control algorithm with the periodic intermittent control strategy and the event-triggered control strategy has produced obvious effect on our control performance. The proposed ETAI-SMC algorithm helps the controller be more sensitive to system states changes, which makes it possible to achieve precise control with lower control frequency. Moreover, we design an environment contact force feedback algorithm for operators to improve the perception of the slave robot working environment. In addition, quantizers and the exponential convergence law are adopted to help the proposed algorithm perform better in saving communication resources and improving synchronization precision.

Hyperfocus (HF) is characterised by an intense state of concentration/focus. The purpose of this study is to explore in what ways HF has been found to contribute towards offending behaviour and what treatments have been found to be efficacious to reduce offending behaviour where HF was a contributing factor.

The systematic review was performed according to the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Papers were screened for quality appraisal and risk of bias. The initial search yielded 9,446 articles. Fifty-seven papers were deemed as meeting the inclusion criteria.

HF was noted to act as a vulnerability factor for aggression, sexual offending, radicalisation and stalking. HF was also observed in clients with psychopathy, autism, mental illness and those without a diagnosis. Thus, HF was not found to be offence or diagnosis specific. Furthermore, HF was found across males and females and adults and adolescents. The results identified themes in relation to the mechanisms by which HF may contribute to offending and suggested interventions for HF and offending.

Practitioners working with clients with HF currently lack evidence on the extent to which this contributes towards offending and recidivism and how HF could be addressed in interventions. Future research is needed to establish the role of HF in offending behaviour. Ideally, this should involve longitudinal data collection, retrospective analysis of data and sophisticated statistical analysis. This should also include exploration of the ways in which HF may be interconnected with offence risks/need factors which contribute towards offending. Research could inform the development of formal measurement tools for HF which are validated with norms for adult and adolescent offender samples. Practitioners should use case formulation to explore if HF represents a treatment need for clients they are working with.

This review noted that although HF has been postulated as being an important contributing factor to offending behaviour, few studies have tested this directly. From the limited studies available, HF was found to be relevant across different types of offences. HF was noted to contribute to offending due to neuropsychological mechanisms linked to executive functioning deficits and positive rewards associated with offending behaviour. Reasons for the lack of HF research are noted and recommendations for future research are discussed.

This study aims to examine how auditors perceive the influence of crucial fraud prevention factors in deterring financial statement fraud within the corporate sector. Additionally, this research explores the mediating effect of fraud awareness in elucidating the impact of ethical leadership and internal control systems on preventing financial statement fraud.

The study used an online survey, targeting a sample of 141 professionally qualified auditors with at least one year of practical experience in the field. The researchers used “Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)” to examine relationships between latent variables using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The study investigated the impact of whistleblowing systems, fraud awareness, ethical leadership, internal control systems and corporate governance on fraud prevention.

This research finding provides evidence to the corporate sector by establishing the significance of fraud awareness as the most influencing factor in preventing financial statement fraud. Furthermore, the combined explanatory variables account for 77.4% of the overall variance in financial statement fraud prevention. The study reveals a partial mediation effect of fraud awareness on the relationship between the internal control system and financial statement fraud prevention.

This research finding may assist in developing an effective fraud prevention programme to mitigate fraud instances and improve financial reporting quality. In the corporate sector, each organisation should clearly specify the policies on whistleblowing systems, fraud awareness training, internal control systems and corporate governance. To foster a comprehensive fraud prevention programme, the leaders should enforce these policies with employee support.

This research integrated crucial elements to develop a new theoretical framework for investigating financial statement fraud prevention within the corporate context. Accordingly, this research framework provides a more in-depth explanation of preventing financial statement fraud from an auditor’s perspective. Additionally, this research is the first to explore the mediating role of fraud awareness in influencing the effectiveness of the internal control system in preventing financial statement fraud.

This study aims to examine the mediating effects of corporate governance mechanisms like the board of directors on the association between disruptive technology adoption by audit clients and the risk of material misstatements, including inherent risk and control risk. In particular, the authors study the mediating effects of board characteristics such as board size, independence and gender diversity.

Based on a sample of 100 audit clients listed on the FTSE 100 from 2015 to 2021, this study uses structural equation modelling to test the research objectives.

The findings indicate a significant and negative association between disruptive technology adoption by audit clients and inherent risk. However, there is no significant evidence observed for control risk. The utilisation of disruptive technology by the audit client has a significant impact on the board characteristics, resulting in an increase in board size, greater independence and gender diversity. The authors also find strong evidence that board independence mediates the association between disruptive technology usage and both inherent risk and control risk. In addition, board size and gender exhibit distinct and differential mediating effects on the association and across the two types of risks.

The study reveals that the significant role of using disruptive technology by audit clients in reducing the risk of material misstatements is closely associated with the board of directors, which makes audit clients place greater emphasis on the construction of effective corporate governance.

This study offers essential primary evidence that can assist policymakers and standard setters in formulating guidance and recommendations for board size, independence and gender quotas, ensuring the enhancement of effective governance and supporting the future of audit within the next generation of digital services.

With respect to relevant stakeholders, it is imperative for audit clients to recognise that corporate governance represents a fundamental means of addressing the ramifications of applying disruptive technology, particularly as they pertain to inherent and control risks within the audit client.

This study contributes to the existing literature by investigating the joint impact of corporate governance and the utilisation of disruptive technology by audit clients on inherent risk and control risk, which has not been investigated by previous research.

This study aims to test the link between enterprise digital transformation and technological innovation and the mechanisms and channels behind this link.

This study systematically examines whether and how enterprise digital transformation affects technological innovation in China.

Enterprise digital transformation effectively improves technological innovation. This result remains stable in robustness and endogeneity checks. The channel mechanisms of this promoting effect are internal (improvement of internal control quality and alleviation of agency costs) and external (increased attention of analysts and reduction of customer concentration). Moreover, this promoting effect is more significant for state-owned enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises, enterprises in areas with low marketization and enterprises that do not enjoy digital subsidies from the government.

Enterprises need to attend to the mechanisms behind the link between digital transformation and technological innovation and to the unique effects of different enterprise attributes and capital markets, such as size, the ownership nature, the degree of regional marketization and government subsidies. Doing so will effectively promote digital transformation and technological innovation and strengthen core competitiveness.

This study provides systemic evidence of the link between enterprise digital transformation and technological innovation. The findings enrich the research literature on enterprise digitization and the factors of influencing enterprises’ technological innovation and provide a reasonable explanation for how enterprise digital transformation affects technological innovation.

The primary objective of introducing nonstate ownership into state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is to enhance corporate performance. This study explores how nonstate ownership affects corporate performance, emphasizing agency costs as the primary mechanism.

Using data from 2010 to 2019 for listed SOEs, the authors measure nonstate ownership based on shareholding ratios, control rights and shareholding–control matching. The authors also use fixed-effects and mediation-effects models, with agency costs as the primary mechanism.

Increased nonstate shareholding ratios, stronger control rights and improved shareholding–control matching promote SOE performance. Nonstate shareholding ratios boost performance through resource effects, while control rights and shareholding–control matching promote performance by mitigating agency costs. A heterogeneity analysis indicates stronger effects in local SOEs and highly marketized regions. Moreover, control rights and shareholding–control matching reinforce the positive impact of shareholding ratios on performance.

The mixed-ownership reform of Chinese SOEs aims to optimize shareholding and control structures between state and nonstate shareholders. Therefore, research on the impact of nonstate shareholding ratios, control rights and shareholding–control matching on corporate performance is highly pertinent. However, existing studies have focused on the effects of single factors on performance, without exploration of the economic implications of shareholding–control matching. This study not only prioritizes the optimization of shareholding and control structures but also underscores the importance of granting nonstate shareholders control rights proportionate to their shareholding, providing critical evidence of the value of improving SOEs' ownership structure.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether remote work moderates the mediated relationship between leadership behavior (transformational leadership and leader incivility), followers' self-control, and work-life balance.

The authors conducted a three-wave, time lagged study of 338 followers. Drawing on social information processing theory, a moderated mediation model was proposed: it was hypothesized that remote work strengthens the relationship between leadership behavior (transformational leadership and leader incivility), follower self-control, and subsequent work-life balance (moderated mediation). The theoretical model was tested using OLS regression in SPSS.

The results show that working remotely strengthens the mediated relationships between leadership behavior, self-control, and work-life balance.

Organizations need to consider the interaction between remote work and leadership. Leader behaviors have a stronger relationship with follower self-control and work-life balance when the frequency of remote work is higher, so it is important to increase transformational leadership and reduce leader incivility in remote contexts. Leadership training programs and respectful workplace initiatives should be considered.

This study demonstrates the importance of leader behaviors for followers' self-control and work-life balance in relation to remote work. This study is the first to examine the boundary condition of remote work in relation to leadership behavior, follower self-control, and work-life balance.

The building and construction industry has a significant potential to reduce adverse climate change effects. There are plans to improve the natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions caused by the buildings by choosing energy-efficient technologies, renewable energy sources and sustainable architectural and constructional elements. This study systematically reviews the patent data for climate change mitigation technologies related to buildings, aiming to detect their relative importance and evaluate each technology in the Y02B network.

The applied approach covers the process of (1) selecting high-impact technology, (2) collecting patent data from the USPTO database, (3) creating a citation frequency matrix using cooperative patent classification codes, (4) linking high-impact patents with analytical network process method, (5) limiting centrality of identifying core technologies from indicators and (6) creating a technology network map with social network analysis.

The study results show that energy-saving control techniques, energy-efficient lighting devices, end-user electricity consumption, management technologies and systems that convert solar energy into electrical energy are core solutions that reduce the effects of climate change. In addition, solutions that will support core technologies and whose effects are expected to increase in the coming years are energy-efficient heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, smart grid integration, hybrid renewable energy systems, fuel cells, free cooling and heat recovery units and glazing technologies.

Most of the studies on patent analysis have failed to demonstrate any convincing evidence down to the lowest component groups of an entire technology network. The applied approach considers and evaluates each component included in a technology network from a holistic perspective.

To significantly adopt and improve indoor energy efficiency in building infrastructure in developing countries can be a challenging venture. Thus, this study aimed to assess the satisfaction of indoor environmental quality and its effect on energy use intensity and efficient among student housing.

The study is quantitative and hinged on the contrast theory. A survey of 1,078 student residents living in purpose-built student housing was contacted. Using Post-Occupancy Evaluation and Multiple Linear Regression, critical variables such as thermal comfort, visual comfort and indoor air quality and 21 indicators were assessed. Data on annual energy consumption and total square metre of the indoor area were utilised to assess energy use intensity.

The study found a direct relationship between satisfaction with indoor environmental quality and energy use intensity. The study showed that students were more satisfied with thermal comfort conditions than visual and indoor air quality. Overall, these indicators contributed to 75.9% kWh/m² minimum and 43.2% kWh/m² maximum energy use intensity in student housing in Ghana. High occupancy and small useable space in student housing resulted in high energy use intensity.

Inclusions of sustainable designs and installation of smart mechanical systems are feedback to student housing designers. Again, adaptation to retrofitting ideas can facilitate energy efficiency in the current state of student housing in Ghana.

Earlier studies have argued for and against the satisfaction of indoor environmental quality in student housing. However, these studies have neglected to examine the impact on energy use intensity. This is novel because the assessment of energy use intensity in this study has a positive influence on active design incorporation among student housing.