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1 – 10 of over 2000Xian Xin, Tun Lin, Xiaoyun Liu, Guanghua Wan and Yongsheng Zhang
The impacts of climate change on agricultural production in the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) are significant, and differ across regions and crops. The substantial regional…
Abstract
Purpose
The impacts of climate change on agricultural production in the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) are significant, and differ across regions and crops. The substantial regional differences will induce changes in agricultural interregional trade pattern. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the climate change impacts on China’s agricultural interregional trade pattern.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper will use the computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to assess the impacts of climate change on the PRC’s agricultural interregional trade flows. The CGE model consists of seven Chinese regions and the rest of the world and six commodities.
Findings
The results indicate that northwest, south, central, and northeast PRC will see increases in the outflows of agricultural products in 2030 and 2050. Conversely, outflows from east, north, and southwest PRC will decrease. Agricultural products handling and transportation facilities need to be repositioned to address the changes in agricultural trade flows.
Originality/value
Studies on the impacts of climate change on the PRC’s agriculture have been increasing. To the best of our knowledge, however, no previous studies have assessed the impacts of climate change on the PRC’s agricultural interregional trade flows. This paper aims to fill this gap in the literature.
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Vadsana Chanthanasinh and Piya Wongpit
The main objectives of this study were to examine the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) agricultural exports to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the tuning of the…
Abstract
The main objectives of this study were to examine the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) agricultural exports to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the tuning of the Agricultural Commodity Frequency Index (ACFI) to non-tariff measures (NTMs), and the coverage ratio of goods to determine the effects of the PRC’s NTMs on Lao PDR’s agricultural exports using a demand export model with a fixed-effect method. The authors found that Lao PDR’s agricultural exports to the PRC increased by an average of 46.91% from 2013 to 2020, covering a total of 51 product codes, comprising six of the most valuable product types (i.e., bananas, corn, tapioca flour, watermelon, sticky rice, and sweet potato) given priority by the PRC. Additionally, from 2013 to 2020, the average ACFI concentration with NTMs was 10.08%, and the average coverage ratio for goods was 14.43%. The results of statistical significance testing at 1% suggest that three factors demonstrated the most significant impact on value: agricultural products facing NTMs in the form of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade (TBTs), treaties with priority conditions regarding SPSs and priorities for agricultural products, and the real gross domestic product (GDP) of the PRC. Furthermore, a PRC GDP increase of 1% resulted in a 3.1235% impact on Lao PDR exports.
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Karlene Clark and Avery Breiland
This paper describes the benefits found in undergraduate students working to provide research assistance to their peers. The discussion includes how soft skills are built, along…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper describes the benefits found in undergraduate students working to provide research assistance to their peers. The discussion includes how soft skills are built, along with how the position has aided in both educational and building towards their future careers. The paper is submitted for the special issue on “The future of peer-led research services.”
Design/methodology/approach
The authors provide a viewpoint from both a peer research supervisor and a student currently working as a PRC. The paper covers the requirements and implementations at the beginning of the program along with the changes that have occurred to better streamline the process of hiring and training. The viewpoint of the PRC was a key factor in the process.
Findings
Soft skills are a key component of the program. The undergraduate PRCs develop confidence, leadership and communication skills through interactions with their peers. The campus community is responding to the peer model because the PRCs are currently taking the same classes or have recently taken them, and the campus is now asking for the peer mentors that assist librarians in teaching introductory classes.
Practical implications
For libraries considering the development of their own programs, the benefits presented can lend to their proposals on real-world application beyond the college experience, as well as how it benefits the busy schedules of librarians.
Social implications
The training the PRCs are provided by librarians provides credibility and trust, which encourages their peers to utilize the services. Soft skills are also one of the most requested needs for businesses beyond college. The PRC program is providing these skills, which the peer mentors use both in career readiness and their daily interactions.
Originality/value
This paper views a program only a few years old on how it managed through a pandemic, as well as how the supervisor adjusted training to reflect a renovation that brought about a changing desk model. With a current undergraduate PRC as the co-author, a unique perspective is brought to the writing by showing what they personally are taking away from working in the program.
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Xian Xin, Tun Lin, Xiaoyun Liu, Guanghua Wan and Yongsheng Zhang
This paper aims to investigate the impacts of climate change on the People's Republic of China's (PRC) grain output using rural household survey data. The paper highlights the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the impacts of climate change on the People's Republic of China's (PRC) grain output using rural household survey data. The paper highlights the regional differences of impacts by estimating output elasticities (with respect to climate change) for different grain crops and different regions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses production function to investigate the responses of grain output to climate variables as well as other traditional input variables. The use of production function approach allows us to do away with the competitive land market assumption as required in the Ricardian approach. The paper will use interaction terms of climate variables and regional dummies to capture the regional differences of climate change impact on grain crops.
Findings
The results indicate that the overall negative climate impacts on the PRC's grain output range from −0.31 to −2.69 percent in 2030 and from −1.93 to −3.07 percent in 2050, under different emission scenarios. The impacts, however, differ substantially for different grain crops and different regions.
Originality/value
This paper addresses the limitations of existing literature by highlighting regional differences and crop varieties using the most recent nationwide rural household survey data. The results indicate pronounced regional differences and crop differences in the impacts of climate changes on PRC's grain output.
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Chenglei Qin and Chengzhi Zhang
The purpose of this paper is to explore which structures of academic articles referees would pay more attention to, what specific content referees focus on, and whether the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore which structures of academic articles referees would pay more attention to, what specific content referees focus on, and whether the distribution of PRC is related to the citations.
Design/methodology/approach
Firstly, utilizing the feature words of section title and hierarchical attention network model (HAN) to identify the academic article structures. Secondly, analyzing the distribution of PRC in different structures according to the position information extracted by rules in PRC. Thirdly, analyzing the distribution of feature words of PRC extracted by the Chi-square test and TF-IDF in different structures. Finally, four correlation analysis methods are used to analyze whether the distribution of PRC in different structures is correlated to the citations.
Findings
The count of PRC distributed in Materials and Methods and Results section is significantly more than that in the structure of Introduction and Discussion, indicating that referees pay more attention to the Material and Methods and Results. The distribution of feature words of PRC in different structures is obviously different, which can reflect the content of referees' concern. There is no correlation between the distribution of PRC in different structures and the citations.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the differences in the way referees write peer review reports, the rules used to extract position information cannot cover all PRC.
Originality/value
The paper finds a pattern in the distribution of PRC in different academic article structures proving the long-term empirical understanding. It also provides insight into academic article writing: researchers should ensure the scientificity of methods and the reliability of results when writing academic article to obtain a high degree of recognition from referees.
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Kiyoshi Murata, Yasunori Fukuta, Andrew A. Adams and Dang Ronghua
This study aims to investigate how Snowden’s revelations are viewed by young people in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan through questionnaire surveys of and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how Snowden’s revelations are viewed by young people in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan through questionnaire surveys of and follow-up interviews with university students in the two countries, taking into account the histories and current status of state surveillance in these countries and the current complicated and delicate cross-strait relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaire surveys of 315 PRC and 111 Taiwanese university students (a majority studying in those places but a few studying abroad) and semi-structured follow-up interviews with 16 master’s course students from the PRC and one from Taiwan (all studying at Meiji University in Japan) were conducted, in addition to reviews of the literature on privacy and state surveillance in the PRC and Taiwan. The outcomes of the survey were statistically analysed and qualitative analyses of the interview results were also performed.
Findings
Youngsters living in the PRC had greater interest in and more knowledge about Snowden’s revelations than those living in Taiwan, and the revelations were positively evaluated in both countries as serving public interest. However, PRC students indicated they were less likely to emulate Snowden than those from Taiwan did.
Originality/value
This study is the first attempt to investigate the social impact of Snowden’s revelations on PRC and Taiwanese youngsters’ attitudes towards privacy and state surveillance as part of cross-cultural analyses between eight countries.
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Nailin Bu and Vance F. Mitchell
Introduces a heuristic framework to help westerners compare andcontrast management in the People′s Republic of China (PRC) with theWest. Western educators and consultants…
Abstract
Introduces a heuristic framework to help westerners compare and contrast management in the People′s Republic of China (PRC) with the West. Western educators and consultants participating in management development programmes in the PRC have reported difficulties in understanding the realities of managing in the PRC, encouraging trainee participation, organizing effective group discussion among trainees, joining efforts with PRC faculty, and overcoming frustration caused by inefficient administrative support. Explores the causes for these difficulties by examining the differences between the PRC and the West in terms of pedagogy, classroom culture, attitudes towards foreigners, and research orientation. Offers examples and recommendations to westerners who hope to contribute more effectively to the PRC′s management development.
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Florence Ling and Siew Huay Lim
Construction firms in the People's Republic of China (PRC) have been exporting their services to foreign countries. The aim of this research is to study how PRC contractors can…
Abstract
Purpose
Construction firms in the People's Republic of China (PRC) have been exporting their services to foreign countries. The aim of this research is to study how PRC contractors can improve their export performance. The specific objectives are to: ascertain the performance outcomes of projects undertaken by PRC contractors; identify strategies that PRC firms adopt to enable them to export effectively; and recommend areas in which PRC firms can improve their export performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design is a multi‐pronged approach, comprising industry‐wide postal/e‐mail survey using a structured questionnaire, in‐depth face‐to‐face interviews with PRC firms operating in Singapore and Singaporean firms that had worked with PRC firms in Singapore. Open‐ended questions were administered for the interviews.
Findings
The results show that PRC firms adopt cost leadership, diversification and networking strategies effectively. They generally have strong financial capacity and receive strong government support in their export activity. They offer low bids through low profit margins, low labour cost and satisfactory quality. They are not operating at the optimum level and there is room for improvement, if they wish to improve their export performance.
Research limitations/implications
The limitation of the present findings is that PRC firms' export activities are investigated from the Singapore context, which may not be generalizable. Only nine PRC firms were interviewed, but this nevertheless represents 69 per cent of registered PRC contractors in Singapore. The qualitative data from the interviews precluded statistical analysis, but provided rich and comparable insights.
Practical implications
The study presents recommendations on how PRC firms may improve their export performance. Non‐PRC firms would be informed of the strategies and actions that PRC firms take or will take, and will be better prepared to compete with them internationally.
Originality/value
The study is of value because it identifies the strengths of PRC firms as exporters of construction services. Recommendations on how PRC firms can improve their export performance are also offered. PRC firms may leverage on their strengths, and take in some of the recommendations, so that they can further improve their export performance.
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The purpose of this paper is to give a critical review of the City-State Theory by Wan Chin of Hong Kong. Chin is referred to as the “Father of Hong Kong Independence,” and his…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to give a critical review of the City-State Theory by Wan Chin of Hong Kong. Chin is referred to as the “Father of Hong Kong Independence,” and his two books about the City-State Theory of Hong Kong are popular among the netizens in Hong Kong as a new model of Hong Kong-China (People’s Republic of China (PRC)), in which Hong Kong is considered a city-state and should be fully segregated from the PRC other than in seeking its help in military and diplomatic functions. This paper will aim to review his works with the view of nationalism and nativism theories.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses nationalism theories with particular focus on Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities and theories on American nativism. Then an effort is made to compare these theories against Chin’s arguments on his City-State Theory. This paper also compares his theories against China’s state-nationalism raised by Professors He and Guo.
Findings
This paper concludes that Chin advocates a “Hong Kong Nationalism,” a blend of traditional Chinese culture and moral values (he used the term Huaxia), but with a Western influence, into a typical Hong Kong culture. His theory fits into Anderson’s arguments of allowing Hong Kong citizens to imagine Hong Kong as a nation, through the “ramparts” of the city-state. His nativist advocacies also have shown strong nationalistic sentiments. He argues that China should be built in the Hong Kong model before the PRC intervention.
Originality/value
Despite his fame, this paper is the first comprehensive academic paper to review Chin’s theories. This paper introduced the notion of “ramparts” and how this has become the backbone of Chin’s nationalism advocacies.
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Luo Lu, Cary L. Cooper, Shu‐Fang Kao and Yun Zhou
Towards the end of the twentieth century, the world has witnessed an amazing economic take‐off in the East Asia, especially within the territory of so‐called “Greater China”…
Abstract
Towards the end of the twentieth century, the world has witnessed an amazing economic take‐off in the East Asia, especially within the territory of so‐called “Greater China”, encompassing the PRC and Taiwan. Against this economic and cultural background, this study surveyed 258 and 189 employees respectively in Taiwan, and the PRC (Shanghai), to examine generalizability of a generic work‐stress model to the Chinese societies. It further examined the sub‐cultural differences in the work‐stress processes, by drawing contrast of the PRC and Taiwan. In addition, roles of emic constructs of Chinese primary and secondary control beliefs were also examined. Results showed that the generic work‐stress model could be reasonably applied to Chinese urban work contexts in the PRC and Taiwan. Work stress related as expected to strain effects. At a more refined sub‐cultural level, it was found that different sources of work stress became salient contributors to strain outcomes in the PRC and Taiwan. These differences reflect the diverse political, social, and economic characteristics of the two Chinese societies. More importantly, emic constructs of Chinese control beliefs were found to have rather consistent direct effects on strain outcomes. However, indirect (moderating) effects of control beliefs were not strong and inconsistent.
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