Suchergebnisse

Zhao, X orcid:0000-0003-0153-5173 ; Scientific capital structure is the key to guarantee sufficient funds and achievement of objectives of Public–Private Partnership (PPP) projects, while inappropriate capital structure has caused the failure of many projects. Meanwhile, sustainability is an important concept that should be concerned during the life cycle of PPP projects. Therefore, this study aimed to: (1) identify the critical factors influencing the capital structure of PPP projects from a sustainability perspective; and (2) analyze the relationships between the factors and the capital structure based on qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). This study identified seven critical factors influencing the capital structure of PPP projects. Moreover, the non-economic indicators should be concerned as well as the economic indicators. Thus, proper capital structure not only provides ample funds but also promotes the long-term healthy operation of projects and creates positive effects on the industry, region and society. Furthermore, the findings indicated that benefit, external situation, cost, ability of private sector and government support were the top critical factors. In addition, although risk did not show great importance, it had close relationship with other factors, which means risk should be concerned comprehensively. This study enriches the theoretical research about the capital structure of PPP projects and offers a new idea about the integration of sustainability and PPP projects. In addition, it supports the reasonable selection of capital structure in practice and promotes the practical application of sustainability on PPP projects.

Zhao, X orcid:0000-0003-0153-5173 ; Green residential buildings (GRBs) are one of the effective practices of energy saving and emission reduction in the construction industry. However, many real estate developers in China are less willing to develop GRBs, because of the factors affecting green residential building development (GRBD). In order to promote the sustainable development of GRBs in China, this paper, based on the perspective of real estate developers, identifies the influential and critical factors affecting GRBD, using the method of social network analysis (SNA). Firstly, 14 factors affecting GRBD are determined from 64 preliminary factors of three main elements, and the framework is established. Secondly, the relationships between the 14 factors are analyzed by SNA. Finally, four critical factors for GRBD, which are on the local economy development level, development strategy and innovation orientation, developer's acknowledgement and positioning for GRBD, and experience and ability for GRBD, are identified by the social network centrality test. The findings illustrate the key issues that affect the development of GRBs, and provide references for policy making by the government and strategy formulation by real estate developers.

Despite the remarkable development in its fishery sector, the penetration rate of fishery insurance in China is considerably low. This paper examines the key factors that contribute to the poor performance of fishery insurance, in particular aquaculture insurance, in China. The double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation method (DB DCCVM) is used to investigate fish farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for an insurance program, based on a survey of 1280 fish farmers in three coastal cities in China. The results indicate that fish farmers' decisions on adoption of an insurance scheme depend on various factors, among which magnitude of loss, fish farmers' awareness toward insurance and their education all have a positive impact. However, income and farming years are more likely to have a negative effect. In addition, the mean WTP for aquaculture insurance is estimated to be CNY 579 (US$ 90.05) 2 per household, which is equivalent to 1.5% of fish farmers' mean annual income. These results provide several policy implications for not only the Chinese government but also researchers as well as insurance companies.

In the early 1990s China experienced phenomenal, massive, speculative land development that had long range impacts on China's sustainable development. The authors attempt to examine the administrative framework of the current land-apportionment system from the perspectives both of formal or legal and of informal or quasi-legal processes. In particular, they focus on the detrimental consequences of the informal process of land apportionment, which has virtually overridden the formal process in recent years. They also cautiously scrutinize the underlying reasons for land misapportionment. They argue that the informal process is difficult to control and it will continue to impede the normal and healthy development of China's land market in the foreseeable future.

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record ; The multi-chamber Oscillating Water Column (OWC) device has recently become more attractive due to its potential high efficiency. In this paper, the hydrodynamic performance of a single-, dual- and triple-chamber OWC-breakwater are investigated experimentally. In the first instance, quantitative comparisons are implemented to understand the hydrodynamic performance of multi-chamber OWC-breakwaters. Specific attention has been dedicated to the hydrodynamic performance of capture width ratio (CWR), reflection coefficient, transmission coefficient, dissipation coefficient and effective frequency bandwidth. The investigation identified various findings that can be summarized as follows: i) hydrodynamic interactions between chambers in the multi-chamber OWC device has improved wave power extraction characteristics; ii) comparing with the conventional pontoon breakwater, the multi-chamber OWC-breakwater showed better wave attenuation performance in longer waves; iii) wave steepness is important for evaluating the performance of the multiple-chamber OWC-breakwater device; and iv) the implementation of the multi-chamber scheme broadens the effective frequency bandwidth (satisfied the condition of KT 0.2) of OWC-breakwater. ; Key Program for International Scientific and Technological Innovation Cooperation between Governments ; National Natural Science Foundation of China ; China Postdoctoral Science Foundation

China's commitment to building the country into a maritime power has seen a rapid growth in its marine economy in recent years. In the meantime, increasing concern over environmental degradation and sustainability has made the government to shift attention from marine development to marine ecosystem protection by formulating more environmental policies. There has been a long-standing debate between traditional views and well-known Porter Hypothesis (PH) over the impact of environmental regulation on the competitiveness and efficiencies of firms and industries. Aiming to obtain empirical evidence of the possible impact, this paper uses the Super-Efficiency Slacks-Based Measure (SE-SBM) model to calculate economic efficiency considering undesired outputs and the system Generalized Moment Method (GMM) to examine the relationship between the two variables, using data from 11 provinces and cities in China's coastal areas. The results seem to support the presence of the PH in Chinese marine economy and show a U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and economic efficiency. In addition, it is also found optimization of industrial structure can impose a positive effect on economic efficiency, while capital investment and science and technological innovations may have a negative effect. Based on these results, the paper puts forward some recommendations for policy makers.

Zhao, X orcid:0000-0003-0153-5173 ; International construction projects are plagued with political risk, and international construction enterprises (ICEs) must manage this risk to survive. However, little attention has been devoted to political risk management strategies in international construction projects. To fill this research gap, a total of 27 possible strategies were identified through a comprehensive literature review and validated by a pilot survey with 10 international experts. Appraisals of these 27 strategies by relevant professionals were collected using questionnaires, 155 of which were returned. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to explore the interrelationships among these 27 strategies. The results show that all of the 27 strategies are important for political risk management in international construction projects. Moreover, these 27 strategies were clustered into six components, namely, (1) making correct decisions, (2) conducting favorable negotiations, (3) completing full preparations, (4) shaping a good environment, (5) reducing unnecessary mistakes, and (6) obtaining a reasonable response. The 6 components can be regarded as 6 typical management techniques that contribute to political risk management in the preproject phase, project implementation phase, and postevent phases. The findings may help practitioners gain an in-depth understanding of political risk management strategies in international construction projects and provide a useful reference for ICEs to manage political risks when venturing outside their home countries.

Though most acculturation research investigates movement across national boundaries, many other types of boundaries may exist (e.g. rural to urban migration). Rural migrant workers focus on their adaptive and exploratory consumption practices to assemble a liquid identity in China. In essence, this research examines the nature of the transitions that the vast group of Chinese (over 280 million) endures as migrant workers seek to assemble new identities through consumption activities in a liminal space. We find that family relations and government policy hinder migrants' adjustments to urban life. Thus, we contribute to macromarketing by enriching the theories of liquid identity, boundary work, and acculturation.

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been widely used in infrastructure development in the past 30 years. However, a number of PPP projects have suffered serious risk scenarios and ended up with project failures. The change from a short-term contract period of traditional projects (fewer than five years) to a long-term contract period of PPP projects (20–30 years) has raised challenges to the traditional risk management. The high occurrence of renegotiations and early terminations of PPP projects suggest that ex ante risk management is no longer enough and ex post risk management is needed. This study aims to propose an ex post risk management model, under which renegotiations and early terminations are introduced. The application of this model begins with risk impact evaluation, then ex post risk response measures assessment, selection, and enforcement. An illustrative case is provided in the Appendix at the end of the article. The outputs of this study would facilitate governments' decision making in PPP projects under serious risk scenarios.

This paper presents the designing aspects and first experimental characterization of an adaptable Smart Modular Heat Recovery Unit (SMHRU) developed under the scope of the E2VENT Project. This SMHRU is being designed as a part of an adaptable renovation module for the retrofitting of multi-storey residential building from the 60's, 70's across Europe that embeds the SMHRU and an energy storage system based on a phase change material. This heat recovery unit will be adjustable to be integrated into the ventilated façade cavity, and able to recover heat from ventilation air, preheating the ventilation air in winter and precooling it in summer. This will allow an efficient combination of consumption reduction and acceptable air indoor quality. The first part of the paper presents designing considerations and thermal stationary analysis of the heat recovery unit, which is based on experimental correlations obtained for air-to-air compact offset-strip-fin plate heat exchangers. Secondly CFD analysis of the distributor of the SMHRU is presented. Finally prototype first performance estimation based on experimental results is presented. ; This work has been developed under the project "E2VENT: Energy Efficient Ventilated Façades" funded by the Horizon 2020 framework of the European Union, Project No. 637261.