Relational agency is pivotal for understanding how language teachers seek and utilize relational resources in different contexts and grow to be agents of change amid various educational challenges. This study explored how three university teachers of Chinese as a second language enacted their relational agency to enhance their research capacity and sustain their professional development. Data on their personal network development was collected through concentric circle interviews, life-history interviews and written reflections over three months. Thematic analysis was adopted for iterative (...) coding and interpretation of the data. The findings revealed that teachers’ personal networks provided them with value guidance, emotional support and academic support, which exerted differential levels of impact on them to make agentic choices and actions. The study suggests that personal network analysis may serve as a suitable theoretical lens to achieve a multi-layered understanding of relational agency. The study also calls for more efforts to create learning opportunities and spaces in the relational context for teachers to build their career as agentic academics in language teacher education and development programs. (shrink)

Extant studies on private regulation have not reached a sufficient understanding about the interplay between private and public regulations, due to underdeveloped theoretical framework and the lack of large-sample empirical investigations. Leveraging ISO 14001 adoption among Chinese firms as the research context, the current research draws on the institutional theory to examine how firm’s adoption of ISO 14001 standard, as a specific form of private regulation, affects the incidence of public environmental inspections. To test our arguments, we conduct two empirical (...) studies. Study 1 uses the first-hand data of a corporate social responsibility survey on Chinese manufacturing firms, whereas Study 2 deploys the second-hand longitudinal archival data of the government environmental inspections on Chinese listed firms. Both of the two studies reveal consistent findings that ISO 14001 adoption decreases the incidence of government environmental inspections, and that the effect of ISO 14001 adoption becomes stronger in state-owned enterprises and firms with top management team’s political ties. Our findings are suggestive of a complementary relationship between private and public regulations, in a sense that private regulations can compensate for the weaknesses of public regulations by offering faster, more flexible and cost-efficient means of enforcement, which allows the public authorities to economize on the deployment of public resources to monitor the rest non-compliant firms. (shrink)

In this work, we investigated a covert communication method in wireless networks, which is realized by multiantenna full-duplex single relay. In the first stage, the source node sends covert messages to the relay, and the relay uses a single antenna to send interference signals to the adversary node to protect the covert information being transmitted. In the second stage, the relay decodes and forwards the covert information received in the first stage; at the same time, the relay uses zero-forcing beamforming (...) to send interference signals to the warden to ensure covert transmission. The detection error rate, transmission outage probability, maximum effective covert rate, and other performance indicators are derived in two stages, and the total performance of the system is derived and analyzed. Then, the performance indicators are verified and analyzed by simulation. Our analysis shows that the maximum effective covert rate of using the characteristics of multiantenna to interfere with Willie in the second stage is taken as the total covert performance of the system, and the transmission interruption probability is significantly less than that of the first stage, so the corresponding maximum effective concealment efficiency will be greater. (shrink)

Adherence to ethical principles in clinical research and practice is becoming topical issue in China, where the prevalence of mental illness is rising, but treatment facilities remain underdeveloped. This paper reports on a study aiming to understand the ethical knowledge and attitudes of Chinese mental health professionals in relation to the process of diagnosis and treatment, informed consent, and privacy protection in clinical trials.

A core feature of drug-resistant epilepsy is hyperexcitability in the motor cortex, and low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is a suitable treatment for seizures. However, the antiepileptic effect causing network reorganization has rarely been studied. Here, we assessed the impact of rTMS on functional network connectivity in resting functional networks and their relation to treatment response. Fourteen patients with medically intractable epilepsy received inhibitive rTMS with a figure-of-eight coil over the vertex for 10 days spread across two weeks. We designed (...) a 6-week follow-up phase divided into four time points to investigate FNC and rTMS-induced timing-dependent plasticity, such as seizure frequency and abnormal interictal discharges on electroencephalography. For psychiatric comorbidities, the Hamilton Depression Scale and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale were applied to measure depression and anxiety before and after rTMS. FNC was also compared to that of a cohort of 17 healthy control subjects. The after-effects of rTMS included all subjects that achieved the significant decrease rate of more than 50% in interictal epileptiform discharges and seizure frequency, 12 patients with the reduction rate above 50% compared to the baseline, as well as emotional improvements in depression and anxiety. In the analysis of RSNs, we found a higher synchronization between the sensorimotor network and posterior default-mode network in epileptic patients than in healthy controls. In contrast to pre-rTMS, the results demonstrated a weaker FNC between the anterior DMN and SMN after rTMS, while the FNC between the aDMN and dorsal attention network was greater. Importantly, the depressive score was anticorrelated with the FNC of the aDMN-SMN, which was markedly different in the good and bad response groups treated with rTMS. Based on the vertex suppression by rTMS, it is possible to achieve temporary clinical efficacy by modulating network reorganization in the DMN and SMN for patients with refractory epilepsy. (shrink)

Background: We described the prevalence of anxiety and depression related to COVID-19 pandemic among different types of population and examined their potential risk factors.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect demographic characteristics, exposure histories, and many other concerns about COVID-19. The Zung's self-rating anxiety scale and self-rating depression scale, followed by a four-step multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with mental health outcomes.Results: Out of 3,303 participants, the quarantined people, community workstation staffs-policemen-volunteers and general public (...) reported higher percentages of depression than the general medical staff. Moreover, the quarantined people also showed higher prevalence of anxiety than the general public and the general medical staff. The quarantined people had the highest risk of anxiety and depression, whereas the self-rated health was negatively associated with the risks of anxiety and depression. Younger age group showed higher risks of anxiety and depression. People who had exposure history or contact from Hubei province after December 1, 2019, had family or friends engaged in front-line health care work, had confirmed case nearby were all more likely to suffer from anxiety. Moreover, the negligence or overindulgence toward the epidemic information was associated with a higher risk of depression and anxiety.Conclusions: Our findings show that the CPV and quarantined people were most at-risk population. We have identified that the young people, people with exposure histories and negligence or overindulgence toward epidemic information are in grave need of attention. (shrink)

The relationships between age and the life-supporting treatments use, and between gender and the life-supporting treatments use are still controversial. Using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as an example of life-supporting treatments, the objectives of this study were: to examine the relationship between age and the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use; to examine the relationship between age and the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use; and to deliberate the ethical and societal implications of age and gender disparities in the initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. This (...) is a population-based, retrospective cohort study. Taiwan’s extracorporeal membrane oxygenation cases from 2000 to 2010 were collected. The annual incidence rate of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use adjusting for both age and gender distribution for each year from 2000 to 2010 was derived using the population of 2000 as the reference population. The trend of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use was examined using time-series linear regression analysis. We conducted joinpoint regression for estimating the trend change of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use. The trends of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use both for different gender groups, and for different age groups have been significantly increasing over time. Men were more likely to be supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation than women. Women’s perspectives toward life and death, and women’s perception of well-being may be associated with the phenomenon. In addition, the patients at the age of 65 or older were more likely to be supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation than those younger than 65. Family autonomy/family-determination, and the Confucian tradition of filial piety and respecting elders may account for this phenomenon. This study showed gender and age disparities in the initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use in Taiwan, which may be accounted for by the cultural and societal values in Taiwan. For a healthcare professional who deals with patients’/family members’ medical decision-making to initiate life-supporting treatments, he/she should be sensitive not only to the legality, but also the societal and ethical issues involved. (shrink)

The nuclear export of mRNA through the nuclear pore complex (NPC) is a process required for the healthy functioning of human cells, making it a critical area of research. However, the geometries of mRNA and the NPC are well below the diffraction limit of light microscopy, thereby presenting significant challenges in evaluating the discrete interactions and dynamics involved in mRNA nuclear export through the native NPC. Recent advances in biotechnology and single‐molecule super‐resolution light microscopy have enabled researchers to gain granular (...) insight into the specific contributions made by discrete nucleoporins in the nuclear basket of the NPC to the export of mRNA. Specifically, by expanding upon the docking step facilitated by the protein TPR in the nuclear basket as well as identifying NUP153 as being the primary nuclear basket protein initiating export through the central channel of the NPC. (shrink)

Many industrial processes are operated in multiple modes due to different manufacturing strategies. Multimodality of process data is often accompanied with nonlinear and non-Gaussian characteristics, which makes data-driven monitoring more complicated. In this paper, statistics pattern analysis is introduced to extract low- and high-order statistics from raw process data. Support vector data description, which can deal with nonlinear and non-Gaussian problems, is applied to monitor multimode process in this paper. To improve detection performance of SVDD for training multimode data with (...) outliers, modified local reachability density ratio is proposed as a weight factor to be embedded in the weighted-SVDD model, in which the local neighbors in terms of both space and time are considered. Finally, the effectiveness and superiority of our proposed method are demonstrated by the Tennessee-Eastman process and wastewater treatment process. (shrink)

Since the outbreak of the global financial crisis in 2008, the exchange rate between China and USA has drawn a lot of attention. Because of the balance of payments surplus, China has accumulated a large amount of foreign exchange reserves, and there is much pressure on the Renminbi (RMB) to appreciate. The appreciation of RMB has raised a series of intertwining economic and ethical concerns in China. This paper is an inter-disciplinary study to illustrate the inter-relationship between economics and ethics. (...) We analyze the major economic factors affecting the trend of exchange rate of RMB and the effects of its appreciation. We then discuss the ethical implications of the appreciation and conclude with some policy suggestions to address the economic and the ethical concerns. (shrink)

The digital transformation of the innovation ecosystem is not only an inevitable direction of innovation activities in the era of digital economy but also a highly complex and uncertain process. The way to facilitate transformation with policies has become a topic of common concern of academia and policymakers. This paper builds a multiagent model and studies the impacts of supply-side policies, demand-side policies, and environmental policies on enterprises’ transformation willingness, digital level, and income level as well as the proportion of (...) enterprises that carry out transformation in the whole innovation ecosystem and innovation network structure by numerical experiments. According to research findings, supply-side policies play the biggest role in the facilitation of transformation, demand-side policies are second important to them, and environmental policies have comparatively weak impacts. (shrink)

As heritage is the precious treasure of human society, heritage also carries the genes of culture. It is of vital importance to effectively develop heritage tourism resources and explore the mechanisms that influence tourists’ cultural identity. This study has integrated the stimulus-organism-response framework with the attitude-behavior-context theory to construct a hypothetical model of heritage tourism aesthetics, tourist involvement, mental experience, and cultural identity so as to figure out their relationships. The questionnaires were collected to investigate the impact paths and mechanisms (...) between heritage aesthetics, tourist involvement, mental experience, and cultural identity. The structural equation model was used to examine the relationship between heritage tourism aesthetics, tourist involvement, mental experience, and cultural identity. The main findings include: the positive impact of aesthetics driving mental experience and cultural identity is significant; the impact of tourist involvement on mental experience and cultural identity is also significant; the impact of aesthetics on cultural identity is not significant, but mental experience mediates the relationship between aesthetics and cultural identity in heritage tourism. This study provides a new research framework and perspective for the aesthetics, tourist involvement, mental experience, and cultural identity of tourists in heritage tourism. This study also provides practical implications for government culture sectors to propagandize culture and for heritage destination managers to better manage heritage sites. (shrink)

Based on the theory of commitment and trust, this paper constructs an online consumer purchase decision model, empirically studies the common values, online trust, commitment and purchase decision, and explores the influence mechanism and path of online consumer purchase decision. The results show that common values of shopping platforms and online consumers have a significant positive impact on trust and commitment, among which the common value orientation of mutual trust and commitment compliance has the most significant impact, which reflects the (...) core content of common values. Secondly, the confidentiality of buyer information, common value of ethics, accurate disclosure of information, and finally the attitude to solve problem;The establishment of online trust has a significant positive impact on commitment, and both online trust and commitment are positively related to purchase decision. In terms of research methods, the theory of commitment and trust is introduced into the study of online consumption on Chinese shopping platforms, which expands the scope of application of the theory of commitment and trust. The trust of online consumers is generated by their own shopping experience. The conclusion of this study provides a decision-making basis for the innovation of marketing model and has theoretical reference value. (shrink)

In this paper, a new human resource scheduling algorithm is proposed based on the optimization simulation of the human resource scheduling algorithm to find the most suitable human resource allocation scheme for different regions. A simulation system for human resource allocation is proposed, which integrates the scheduling algorithm of this paper and conducts simulation experiments using the historical data of enterprise problems in each region collected in a smart city. The simulation experiment proves that the dispatching algorithm in this paper (...) is more reasonable than the current dispatching algorithm, and the relationship between enterprise problems and the number of employees is also found, and finally, the simulation system in this paper is proved to be stable through large-scale simulation experiment. (shrink)

This paper uses panel OLS, IV, and system GMM methods to empirically study the effects of manufacturing and producer service corporate co-agglomeration on green economy efficiency in China. Chinese panel data from 2000 to 2019 are collected to assess the GEE and co-agglomeration degrees. The regression results show that there is an “inverted U-shaped” relationship between co-agglomeration and GEE. However, regional heterogeneity is found in the effects of corporate co-agglomeration on GEE. The mediating analysis indicates that corporate co-agglomeration could increase (...) GEE through business entrepreneurship and innovation entrepreneurship. Variables such as transportation infrastructure, human capital, foreign direct investment, and environmental regulations are also found to have an elevating effect on GEE, whereas local fiscal expenditure on environmental protection has little effect. The findings in this paper indicate that entrepreneurship plays an important role in the process of co-agglomeration impacting GEE which differs in different regions and thus provide references for corporate and regional sustainable development. (shrink)