Suchergebnisse

Human-induced dramatic loss and fragmentation of wetlands need further understanding through historical backtracking analysis at a geographical landscape scale. In this study, we investigated time-series wetlands maps from 1975, 1983, 1989, 2000, 2006, and 2013 derived from Landsat images based on the object-oriented classification of wetlands across the Sanjiang Plain north of the Wandashan Mountains. The spatial and temporal changes in the wetlands that occurred at different time periods and the Euclidean distances between artificial land-use types and natural land-cover areas were evaluated for their impact. Our results showed that wetland was the dominant landscape in 1975; however, arable land became the main land coverage in 2013 owing to severe changes in agricultural development over the past decades. The closer to arable land, the greater the wetland loss during the entire investigated period; agriculture activities were the dominant driving force for the degradation of wetlands based on landscape changes; secondary was the rapid expansion in building land use (i.e., human settlement, transportation, and establishment of irrigation canals). More specifically, the rapid loss of wetland areas over 1975–2000 was mainly owing to extensive agricultural reclamation. The mitigated loss of wetland areas over 2000–2013 was because of the protection and restored implementation of wetlands under governmental policies. The wetlands of the study area suffered severe human disturbance, and our analysis may help explain the loss process of wetlands, but more effective management and administration is still needed to address the issues around the balance between agricultural production and wetland protection for further sustainable development.

This study, based on in-depth interviews, applies a social-network approach to examining the important role that ethnic networking has played in promoting the transnational engagement of Chinese American scientists in China's science sector and in higher education. The study finds that the transnational involvement of Chinese American scientists is facilitated by both their strong and weak ethnic ties: strong ties provide connection and rapport, while weak ties facilitate access to position and resources. (Asian Perspect/GIGA)

AbstractWhen the environmental performance is below the aspiration, will firms make substantive changes? In order to answer this question, based on the behavioral theory of the firm, this paper examines the impact of negative environmental performance feedback on substantive green innovation (GI) and its influencing mechanism. It is found that the negative environmental performance feedback induces substantive GI, which is positively moderated by external regulations (i.e., government environmental regulation and public environmental concern) and internal incentive (i.e., executive equity incentive). Media pressure and risk preference act as mediators in the above promotion effect. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the above promotion effect as well as the moderating effects of external regulations are more pronounced in private firms, while the moderating effect of internal incentive is more pronounced in state‐owned firms. Furthermore, the above promotion and moderating effects are more pronounced after the ESG rating event of SynTao Green Finance Agency. This paper offers new sights into understanding the motives of substantive GI and policy suggestion for promoting firms to achieve sustainable development.

PurposeIn this study, the authors argue that because of female traits, the proportion of female directors in the board helps the governing body make more cautious decisions, thus improving the investment efficiency of the firm. Therefore, this research aims to propose the mediating role of caution in reexamining the relationship between the proportion of female directors and the efficiency of the investment of a firm.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses data on 100 nonfinancial listed firms in Malaysia between 2015 and 2018. The authors use several multivariate regression analyses to test the mediating effect.FindingsThe result shows that female directors significantly affect investment efficiency. Moreover, the findings in this research confirm the mediating role of caution in the relationship between the proportion of female directors and the efficiency of firm investment.Practical implicationsThis study proves that increasing the proportion of females in the board of directors is an effective governance method to improve the investment efficiency of listed firms in Malaysia.Originality/valueIn general, this study contributes to the literature by extending the current understanding of risk propensity differences between male and female directors and introducing the concept of caution.

AbstractDigital transformation has become a wave sweeping across the globe, affecting all industries with unprecedented speed and breadth, and it is urgent to introduce digital transformation into the corporate social responsibility (CSR) field. This study aims to investigate the impact of digital transformation on CSR performance and its influencing mechanism. The findings are as follows: (1) digital transformation can improve CSR performance; (2) from the dual perspective of internal drive and external governance, we figure out that digital transformation improves CSR performance by improving green management innovation and analyst coverage; (3) further analysis shows that the impact of digital transformation on CSR performance differs under different resource endowments and institutional environments (i.e., formal and informal institutions). Specifically, this promoting effect is only reflected incorporates more resources (i.e., human resources, cultural resources, employment resources, and economic resources), with strong environmental enforcement or high media attention. In the context of digital transformation, this study enriches the mechanism of improving CSR performance and is of great practical significance for corporates, markets, governments and other stakeholders. Meanwhile, the findings of this study are of practical guidance for promoting corporates to fulfill their social responsibility and achieve sustainable development goals in the digital era.

In the West, many influential government leaders and academic think-tanks have joined the mainstream media in accusing China of 'neo-colonialism' in Africa. This book presents China's case for its involvement in Africa: a relationship that is having an enormous impact on the continent and elsewhere. The cultural and historical links between China and African countries are explored, and the shared challenges of development are examined. The book discusses how China's relationship with modern Africa is based upon the founding principles of the People's Republic of China, with case studies provid