Suchergebnisse

The article examines the origin of symbolism and the cult of colour on the example of colour symbolism in the art of Thangka; it analyses two cultural and logical approaches to colour symbolism comprehension: using inductive method (generalization of natural attributes of colour) and deductive method (further transformation of colour symbolism into a social phenomenon and extension of colour semantic field). Two main symbolic systems generated by colour symbolism in Tibetan culture in the deductive process of its transformation into a social phenomenon - the "system of objectification" and the "system of humanization and deification", their implementation in the Thangka paintings and the features of serving the needs of religion are investigated in this article.

The question, which in the process of maintaining the continuity and development of thangka painting must be addressed both theoretically and practically, is how a religious pictorial art, existing in a complex and multilayered geographical environment, can both maintain its religious character and build a cultural space capable of attracting masses of viewers.

King Hu's films are regarded as drawing on the artistic conventions of traditional Chinese theatre. Their soundtracks were conceived as and, to this day, perform as the legitimate heirs to some of the aesthetic ideas and norms of Chinese traditional theatre, namely Peking Opera. In this dissertation, I survey a limited but historically meaningful repertoire of King Hu's films. In the first chapter, I trace a trajectory leading to the development of Chinese martial arts cinema by reference to the influence that the theatre exerted on the cinema throughout its formative period. In Chapter 2, I look into performance conventions, with a special focus on sound, as the driving force behind the transformation that led from story telling to performance, and from martial arts literature to its theatrical and cinematic manifestations. Taking the 1970, omnibus film Four Moods (Xi Nu Ai Le / Joy, Anger, Sorrow, Happiness, 喜怒哀樂) as my case study, I examine the synchronization between luo gu dian zi (percussive pattern, 鑼鼓點子) and the martial arts moves, which bespeaks the symptomatic triangulation of film, theatre and literature. The film analyzed in Chapter 3, Raining in the Mountain (空山靈雨) (1979), exhibits far more than Hu's debt to the theatre. Here, Hu investigates the body as a religiously, politically and socially meaningful entity, assisted by composer Wu Dajiang's musical experiments. A Buddhist concept is found to be at the core and rhetoric in this work. A closer look at the sonic dimension of Hu's films, then, forces one to redefine its thematics. The fourth chapter focuses on the study of Wu Dajiang's manuscript copy of the score for Painted Skin (畫皮之陰陽法王) (1993), which is the only known existing music score of King Hu's films. Based on an interview with Wu Dajiang's assistant Lu Lianghui, this chapter elaborates their collaborations with King Hu, and explores Hu's artistic criteria for film music, which embodies his stance as an authoritarian director. With a focus on the coordination of the musical cue with the visual and narrative domains, this chapter investigates the score as an element of the film, which reflects King Hu's consistent effort to preserve the aesthetics of Chinese traditional theatre in filmmaking. ; published_or_final_version ; Music ; Doctoral ; Doctor of Philosophy

AbstractObjectiveThis study examined associations between marital adjustment and children's learning behaviors, as well as the potential mediation effects of maternal involvement and parenting on these associations in Chinese contexts.BackgroundThe family is a vital setting for children's early learning behaviors, encompassing self‐efficacy in learning and approaches to learning. Marital adjustment, as well as maternal involvement and maternal parenting, are crucial factors in the family setting. However, there is a paucity of research on the pathway mechanism between these three family factors and children's early learning behaviors.MethodThere were 750 mothers of Chinese preschoolers (48.24% girls, Mage = 5.94 years, SD = 1.43) in three provinces—Fujian, Sichuan, and Xinjiang—who participated in the study. Mothers completed questionnaires related to marital adjustment, maternal involvement, maternal parenting, and children's learning behaviors. Structural equation models were estimated to test the hypothesized paths.ResultsThe results revealed a positive association between higher marital adjustment and improved children's self‐efficacy in learning (β = .10, p = .004) and approaches to learning (β = .15, p < .001), with maternal involvement (for self‐efficacy, β = .25, p < .001; for approaches to learning, β = .23, p < .001) and parenting (for self‐efficacy, β = .25, p < .001; for approaches to learning, β = .31, p < .001) recognized as significant mediators in this relationship.ConclusionsThe study indicated that marital adjustment, maternal involvement, and parenting have significant direct and indirect effects on children's early learning behaviors.ImplicationsGiven the research findings, marital adjustment is worth considering when recognizing children's early learning. Furthermore, parents may be encouraged to understand proper involvement and parenting practices with their children. Briefly, these findings contribute to the existing body of knowledge on how family variables are related to children's learning behaviors.

Purpose
In the context of global economic downturn and intense competition, firms are increasingly resorting to supply chains to acquire capital support and achieve sustainability. This study aims to investigate the effect of supply chain finance (SCF) on corporate sustainability performance (CSP) and identifies SCF-related recipes for CSP.


Design/methodology/approach
Based on a sample of 1,038 firms that disclose CSP – namely, corporate financial performance (CFP) and environmental, social and governance performance (ESGP) – the authors use a quasi-replication method consisting of empirical analysis with fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to investigate SCF's effects on CSP.


Findings
The authors find that SCF has a "doing well by doing good" effect on CSP. CFP can promote the positive effect of SCF and ESGP while ESGP's positive effect on SCF and CFP is nonsignificant. In addition, heterogeneity tests show that SCF's promoting effect on CSP is affected by high-low CFP and ESGP. The fsQCA results verify the empirical findings and reveal five SCF-related recipes for achieving high CSP.


Research limitations/implications
This study has the following two limitations. First, we do not consider how SCF affects CSP in different industries. There is a need to investigate whether industry heterogeneity changes SCF's effects on CSP, especially in prominent industries, such as the energy industry, with its high susceptibility to ESGP, and the manufacturing industry, with its extensive application of SCF. It will be important to investigate these industries to better understand SCF's role in sustainability. Second, we study the secondary supply chain – namely, core firm–suppliers and core firm–customers. The authors do not consider financial institutions (e.g. banks and guarantee institutions). SCF modes that include the participation of financial institutions, such as factoring financing and reverse factoring financing, cater more to the capital needs of diversified firms. In the future, studying specific industries that have made significant contributions to the application of SCF along with others that are more sensitive to environmental governance could better highlight the effect of SCF on sustainability and help supply chain managers understand the application value of SCF. Future research could also extend SCF participants into multiple roles to explore separate effects. Tracking financing demanders, fund providers and credit guarantors could capture SCF characteristics more comprehensively. Methodologically, it will be challenging to accurately measure SCF networks in terms of quantification. In future work, this could be performed with the help of artificial intelligence.


Practical implications
First, our findings indicate that SCF has a "doing well by doing good" effect on core firms. SCF can not only overcome the capital shortage of SMEs but also provide significant benefits to core firms. Second, our findings provide SCF-related recipes to help firms fulfil ESGP obligations without sacrificing CFP under the pressure to "do good." The authors provide valuable insights and diverse recommendations to help supply chain managers, marketing executives and researchers adjust supply chain management strategies. Third, this work can guide executives in various fields to adopt SCF to achieve sustainability as a risk-mitigation strategy by means of marketing.


Originality/value
This study identifies better, more straightforward SCF-related recipes for CSP (consisting of CFP and ESGP) using a quasi-replication analysis that improves upon conventional methods such as regression analysis, which have limited power. The authors provide valuable insights and diverse recommendations to help managers pursue sustainable development. The findings point to practical guidelines and feasible solutions that can support well-founded operational strategic and management decision-making, which can enhance a firm's competitiveness under uncertainty and a sluggish economy.

Financial risks related to crude oil imports are certainly affected by crude oil price uncertainty. Our question is: How important is it to take also physical risks, such as the crude oil exporters' political risks and transportation risks into account when controlling financial risks in line with the importer's risk attitude when planning crude oil imports and transportation at a tactical level? In this paper, two-stage stochastic programming models are proposed to illustrate the problem, and a numerical test is conducted to better understand the effects of physical risks. The mechanism for controlling risk will be forward physical contracts. The results show that the real financial risk is much higher than the importer might believe if physical risks are not considered. Unless the importer is risk neutral, more forward crude oil will be imported when physical risks are considered, and the distribution of forward crude oil will depend strongly on correlations among risks. ; publishedVersion