Wang seeks to explain why one company committed securities fraud only during certain years and why some companies had a higher propensity to commit securities fraud. He finds evidence linking executive incentive compensation to securities fraud. Some corporate governance measures may also play a role in fraud control. Findings vary, however, depending on the stages of judicial proceedings at which securities fraud class action cases are examined. Researchers and practitioners from fields other than criminal justice, such as law and economics, management, and accounting, may find this work usef.
Problem statement and its relevance. One of the pioneers of Chinese contemporary piano art, whose creative activity certainly contributed to its formation, further rapid rise and recognition of creative achievements on the world art horizon, is a prominent pianist — Liu Shikun, who today has received complete recognition as a brilliant performer, composer and teacher thus marked the beginning of the socalled piano boom in China, and with it — the gradual formation and confident rise of the Chinese piano school. If various aspects of contemporary Chinese performing arts have repeatedly been subjected to musicological discourse in the scientific community, the direct and comprehensive coverage of Liu Shikun's leading role in the process of forming the foundations of Chinese piano performing arts, as well as careful analysis and representation of his creative achievements and pedagogical fields are still relevant for basic musicological research.
The purpose of this article is to highlight and analyze the main vectors of creative activity of the famous Chinese musician Liu Shikun in the context of the development of piano art in China in the second half of the XX — early XXI centuries.
The methodology of the work focuses on the principles of historicism and source studies, which provides coverage of Liu Shikun's musical work in a single context with cultural, historical and artistic phenomena and their interaction. In addition, methods of retrospective, structuralsystem analysis, interpretation of facts, argumentation and generalization are involved.
The results obtained during the achievement of the goal of this work focus on the representation and characterization of Liu Shikun's creative achievements in the field of concert performance, teaching and composition and the artist's contribution to the development of Chinese piano culture.
The topicality of the article lies in the first attempt in Ukrainian musicology to comprehensively cover the main directions of creative activity of the famous Chinese pianist Liu Shikun in the projection of his influence on the formation of the current state of Chinese piano art.
The practical significance of the facts and analysis of the main vectors of Liu Shikun's creative activity carried out in this work is the possibility of using this material in courses on the history and theory of modern piano art, in particular in sections on the Chinese piano school, as well as for further more thorough research of Liu Shikun's musical creativity, systematization of scientific information on his contribution to the development of musical art of this country.
Conclusions. Summarizing the above given material, it should be noted that the fruitful and multifaceted work of this artist directly influenced the development and professionalization of piano performance in China at that time. This influence was due to the comprehensive recognition of the artist's creative achievements by the world music community, in particular through numerous concert performances in leading countries (especially in partnership with leading orchestras and outstanding musicians); creation of original samples of concert repertoire on the basis and with specificity of the Chinese traditional melody; organization of a dense network of author's music schools (art centers) and formation of the foundations of the Chinese national piano pedagogy.
Tools used to evaluate transportation infrastructure investments are typically deterministic and rely on present value calculations, even though it is well-known this approach is likely to result in sub-optimal decisions in the presence of uncertainty, which is pervasive in transportation infrastructure decisions. This dissertation proposes a framework based on real options and advanced numerical methods to make better road infrastructure decisions in the presence of demand uncertainty. A real options framework was developed to find the optimal investment timing, endogenous toll rate, and road capacity of a private inter-city highway under demand uncertainty. Traffic congestion is represented by a BPR function, competition with an existing road is captured by user equilibrium, and travel demand between the two cities follows a geometric Brownian motion with a reflecting upper barrier. The result shows the importance of modeling congestion and an upper demand barrier – features missing from previous studies. The real options framework was extended to study two additional ways of funding an inter-city highway project: with public funds or via a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Using Monte Carlo simulation, the value of a non-compete clause was investigated for both a local government and for private firms involved in the PPP. Since road infrastructure investments are rarely made in isolation, the real options framework was extended to the multi-period Continuous Network Design Problem (CNDP) to analyze the investment timing and capacity of multiple links under demand uncertainty. No algorithm is currently available to solve the multi-period CNDP under uncertainty in a reasonable time. A new algorithm called "Approximate Least Square Monte Carlo simulation" is proposed and tested that dramatically reduces the computing time to solve the CNDP while generating accurate solutions
An efficient transportation system requires adequate and well-maintained infrastructure to relieve congestion, reduce accidents, and promote economic competitiveness. However, there is a growing gap between public financial commitments and the cost of maintaining, let alone expanding the U.S. road transportation infrastructure. Moreover, the tools used to evaluate transportation infrastructure investments are typically deterministic and rely on present value calculations, even though it is well-known that this approach is likely to result in sub-optimal decisions in the presence of uncertainty, which is pervasive in transportation infrastructure decisions. In this context, the purpose of this dissertation is to propose a framework based on real options and advanced numerical methods to make better road infrastructure decisions in the presence of demand uncertainty. I first develop a real options framework to find the optimal investment timing, endogenous toll rate, and road capacity of a private inter-city highway under demand uncertainty. Traffic congestion is represented by a BPR function, competition with an existing road is captured by user equilibrium, and travel demand between the two cities follows a geometric Brownian motion with a reflecting upper barrier. I derive semi-analytical solutions for the investment threshold, the dynamic toll rates and the optimum capacity. The result shows the importance of modeling congestion and an upper demand barrier – features that are missing from previous studies. I then extend this real options framework to study two additional ways of funding an inter-city highway project: with public funds or via a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Using Monte Carlo simulation, I investigate the value of a non-compete clause for both a local government and for private firms involved in the PPP.Since road infrastructure investments are rarely made in isolation, I also extend my real options framework to the multi-period Continuous Network Design Problem (CNDP), to analyze the investment timing and capacity of multiple links under demand uncertainty. No algorithm is currently available to solve the multi-period CNDP under uncertainty in a reasonable time. I propose and test a new algorithm called "Approximate Least Square Monte Carlo simulation" that dramatically reduces the computing time to solve the CNDP while generating accurate solutions.
Poverty vulnerability is an important indicator to achieve sustainable development of farmers out of poverty in China. Based on the data of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2018, we research the impact and mechanism of Internet use on the poverty vulnerability of farmers in the context of the Internet plus strategy. The study found that under the poverty line of US $1.9 and US $3.1, vulnerable farmers accounted for 9.48% and 33.88% of the total sample, respectively. The use of the Internet can significantly reduce the poverty vulnerability of farmers. After using instrumental variables to overcome endogenous problems, and using the PSM method for robustness testing, the research conclusions are still valid. The mechanism shows that the use of the Internet reduces the level of poverty vulnerability by increasing income levels, enhancing the ability of farmers to obtain information, and promoting non-agricultural employment. Therefore, in the process of establishing and improving the long-term mechanism for poverty governance, it is necessary to fully promote the integration of the Internet and poverty vulnerabilities to further realize the long-term effectiveness and stability of poverty governance. Therefore, in the process of establishing and improving the long-term mechanism of poverty governance, we should first promote the full coverage of Internet infrastructure. Second, the government should improve the digital literacy of farmers. Third, the goal of the Internet plus strategy in the process of poverty control should be precise.
AbstractThis paper critically examines attempts by western missionaries, scholars and Chinese intellectuals during the first half of the twentieth century at defining the 'Qiang culture', for the purpose of delineating the ethnic boundaries of the 'Qiang nationality', in western China. I start by introducing a long historical process, in respect of boundary-formation, from the Shang to the later Qing period, which finally turned the habitants of the Upper Min River valley into a cultural and ethnic mix of hybrids between the Han and the Tibetan. Then, I explore how these outside observers – western missionaries/scholars and Chinese intellectuals – had attempted to find the exemplar of the Qiang culture that could fit in with the 'history' of the 'Qiang people' each of these authors bore in mind. Even though these attempts produced many confusing aspects, possible misunderstandings and debatable results, nonetheless the works produced and the ethnographical data contained have become important sources for the Han Chinese to later construct the ethnic category of the Qiang in the scheme of the Chinese nation, and also for the Qiang natives to build their own culture and history. I argue that the modern Qiang nationality was not necessarily the product of the ethno/cultural-centralism of the Han Chinese, but was produced after a battle between many centrisms, and that the modern attempt by the Han to define 'the Qiang' through their history and culture is not necessarily a new 'invention' but only the newest attempt at defining the western ethnic boundary of the Han Chinese, which had been defined, persisted and then was re-defined periodically for more than two thousand years.
As an important tool to control CO2 emission, carbon emission trading (CET) has been highlighted in prior studies for its positive effects on firms. However, we are concerned about the role of the CET in corporate financing. Through a quasi-natural experiment from China's CET pilot, regarded as the start-up stage of China's emission trading system, we investigate the manufacturing corporate financing (i.e., debt and commercial credit financing). The results show that the firms in China's CET market have less debt financing. Additionally, in the heterogeneity analysis, we found that (1) the CET is negatively related to corporate financing when their financing constraints are weak, whereas it only reduces long-term debt for the firms with strong financing constraints. (2) The impact of the CET on corporate financing is not significant for the firms located in first-tier cities in China, but in other cities, the CET negatively influences firms' long-term debt and contributes to commercial credit financing. (3) The CET only plays a negative role in long-term debt and a positive role in commercial credit financing for firms in high energy-consuming industries. This study enlightens the government to improve the emission trading system and increase financing support to manufacturing firms in the CET market.
Carsharing is an emerging commute mode in China, which may produce social and environmental benefits. This paper aims to develop a commute mode choice model to explore influential factors and quantify their impacts on the potential demand for carsharing in Shanghai. The sample data were obtained from a revealed preference (RP) and stated preference (SP) survey and integrated with level-of-service attributes from road and transit networks. The RP survey collected commuters&rsquo ; trip information and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. In the SP survey, four hypothetical scenarios were designed based on carsharing&rsquo ; s unit price to collect commuters&rsquo ; willingness to shift to carsharing. Data fusion method was applied to fuse RP and SP models. The joint model identified the target group of choosing carsharing with certain socioeconomic and demographic attributes, such as gender, age, income, household member, household vehicle ownership, and so on. It also indicates that the value of time (VOT) for carsharing is 35.56 RMB Yuan (5.08 US Dollar)/h. The elasticity and marginal effect analysis show that the direct elasticity of carsharing&rsquo ; s fare on its potential demand is &minus ; 0.660, while the commuters, who have a more urgent plan on car purchase or are more familiar with the carsharing service, have much higher probabilities to choose carsharing as their commute modes. The developed model is expected to be applied to the urban travel demand model, providing references for the formulation of carsharing operation scheme and government policy.
