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1 – 10 of over 3000Yi-Fen Wang, Ya-Hui Lee and Jing-Yi Lu
This qualitative study aims to explore the experiences of Taiwan’s community-based long-term care service stations.
Abstract
Purpose
This qualitative study aims to explore the experiences of Taiwan’s community-based long-term care service stations.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight managers selected from stations located in the counties with the highest proportion of elderly people.
Findings
The results are as follows: the main services offered by the stations include health promotion activities, congregate meal programs, respite care and making house calls; government subsidies constitute a major proportion of the service stations’ funds, followed by user payments and external donations; the adversities encountered include frequent policy revisions, the dwellers’ reluctance to participate in the activities, manpower shortages and subpar service quality; and the effects of the stations on the community include achieving aging in place, providing more options for life after retirement, mitigating caregivers’ burden, expanding the elderly’s social networks and strengthening their health literacy.
Originality/value
The results of this research can understand the benefits and difficulties of Tier C service centers in Taiwan. Also, the practical experiences provide some suggestions for policies and training. Future studies can focus on establishing systematized training programs and standardizing the service personnel’s competence.
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Yi Lu, Gayani Karunasena and Chunlu Liu
From May 2024, Victoria (Australia) will mandatorily raise the minimum house energy rating standards from 6 to 7 stars. However, the latest data shows that only 5.73% of new…
Abstract
Purpose
From May 2024, Victoria (Australia) will mandatorily raise the minimum house energy rating standards from 6 to 7 stars. However, the latest data shows that only 5.73% of new Victorian houses were designed beyond 7-star. While previous literature indicates the issue’s link to the compliance behaviour of building practitioners in the design phase, the underlying behavioural determinants are rarely explored. This study thus preliminarily examines building practitioners’ compliance behaviour with 7-star Australian house energy ratings and beyond.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a widely-applied method to initially examine an under-explored phenomenon, eight expert interviews were conducted with building practitioners, a state-level industry regulator and a leading national building energy policy researcher. The study triangulated the data with government-led research reports.
Findings
The experts indicate that most building practitioners involved in mainstream volume projects do not go for 7 stars, mainly due to perceived compliance costs and reliance on standardized designs. In contrast, those who work on custom projects are more willing to go beyond 7-star mostly due to the moral norms for a low-carbon environment. The experts further agree that four behavioural determinants (attitudes towards compliance, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and personal norms) co-shape building practitioners’ compliance behaviour. Interventions targeting these behavioural determinants are recommended for achieving 7 stars and beyond.
Originality/value
This study demonstrates the behavioural determinants that influence building practitioners’ compliance decisions, and offers insight regarding how far they will go to meet 7 stars. It can facilitate the transition to 7 stars by informing policymakers of customized interventions to trigger behaviour change.
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Lihua Chen, Yi Lu and Rui Zhao
The purpose of this paper is make a significant contribution to the supply chain knowledge system through research on modern supply chain system in China, providing guidance for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is make a significant contribution to the supply chain knowledge system through research on modern supply chain system in China, providing guidance for theoretical research such as methodology of dynamic resource allocation and application of innovative small- and middle-sized service system in the supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses structural analysis of Chinese competitive advantage, and it applies comparative analysis of supply chain models in China, the USA and Japan through the factor disintegration of trading environment.
Findings
China’s supply chain model has virtual scale and virtual capabilities. The relationship with suppliers is more dynamic. The requirements for resolving uncertainty are higher. Business transfer is more frequent.
Research limitations/implications
Researchers are encouraged to propose the specific supply chain models in China further with the game theory, auction theory, etc.
Practical implications
It provides advice for government policy making and gives Chinese enterprises guidance to improve operation management.
Originality/value
This paper specifically analyzes characteristics of China supply chain and gives enlightenment for supply chain innovation.
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Yi Lu, Lai Wei, Binxin Cao and Jianqiang Li
Disaster risk reduction (DRR) researchers and practitioners have found that schools can play a critical role in DRR education, with many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs…
Abstract
Purpose
Disaster risk reduction (DRR) researchers and practitioners have found that schools can play a critical role in DRR education, with many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) developing initiatives to actively involve children in DRR education programs. This paper reports on a case study on an innovative Chinese NGO school-based program focused on participatory child-centered DRR (PCC-DRR) education, from which a PCC-DRR education framework was developed so that similar programs could be replicated, especially in developing countries.
Design/methodology/approach
After nearly a year of research involving follow-up interviews, fieldwork and secondary data collection from annual reports, news reports and official websites, a case study was conducted on the PCC-DRR education program developed by the One Foundation (OF), a resource-rich NGO in China, that focused on its education strategies and project practice in Ya'an following the 2013 Lushan earthquake.
Findings
Based on constructivist theory, the OF developed a PCC-DRR education program that had four specific branches: teacher capacity building, child DRR education, campus risk management and campus safety culture, which was then implemented in 115 schools and consequently evaluated as being highly effective.
Originality/value
The innovative OF PCC-DRR education program adds to theoretical and practical DRR education research as a “best practice” case. Because the proposed framework is child-centered, participatory and collaborative, it provides excellent guidance and reference for countries seeking to develop school-based DRR education programs.
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Qi-an Chen, Anze Bao, Junpei Chen and Yi Lu
The primary objective of introducing nonstate ownership into state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is to enhance corporate performance. This study explores how nonstate ownership affects…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary objective of introducing nonstate ownership into state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is to enhance corporate performance. This study explores how nonstate ownership affects corporate performance, emphasizing agency costs as the primary mechanism.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from 2010 to 2019 for listed SOEs, the authors measure nonstate ownership based on shareholding ratios, control rights and shareholding–control matching. The authors also use fixed-effects and mediation-effects models, with agency costs as the primary mechanism.
Findings
Increased nonstate shareholding ratios, stronger control rights and improved shareholding–control matching promote SOE performance. Nonstate shareholding ratios boost performance through resource effects, while control rights and shareholding–control matching promote performance by mitigating agency costs. A heterogeneity analysis indicates stronger effects in local SOEs and highly marketized regions. Moreover, control rights and shareholding–control matching reinforce the positive impact of shareholding ratios on performance.
Originality/value
The mixed-ownership reform of Chinese SOEs aims to optimize shareholding and control structures between state and nonstate shareholders. Therefore, research on the impact of nonstate shareholding ratios, control rights and shareholding–control matching on corporate performance is highly pertinent. However, existing studies have focused on the effects of single factors on performance, without exploration of the economic implications of shareholding–control matching. This study not only prioritizes the optimization of shareholding and control structures but also underscores the importance of granting nonstate shareholders control rights proportionate to their shareholding, providing critical evidence of the value of improving SOEs' ownership structure.
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Duen-Ren Liu, Yu-Shan Liao and Jun-Yi Lu
Providing online news recommendations to users has become an important trend for online media platforms, enabling them to attract more users. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Providing online news recommendations to users has become an important trend for online media platforms, enabling them to attract more users. The purpose of this paper is to propose an online news recommendation system for recommending news articles to users when browsing news on online media platforms.
Design/methodology/approach
A Collaborative Semantic Topic Modeling (CSTM) method and an ensemble model (EM) are proposed to predict user preferences based on the combination of matrix factorization with articles’ semantic latent topics derived from word embedding and latent topic modeling. The proposed EM further integrates an online interest adjustment (OIA) mechanism to adjust users’ online recommendation lists based on their current news browsing.
Findings
This study evaluated the proposed approach using offline experiments, as well as an online evaluation on an existing online media platform. The evaluation shows that the proposed method can improve the recommendation quality and achieve better performance than other recommendation methods can. The online evaluation also shows that integrating the proposed method with OIA can improve the click-through rate for online news recommendation.
Originality/value
The novel CSTM and EM combined with OIA are proposed for news recommendation. The proposed novel recommendation system can improve the click-through rate of online news recommendations, thus increasing online media platforms’ commercial value.
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The paper aims to contribute to the current research on China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from a historical point of view. The paper investigates why the history of the Silk…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to contribute to the current research on China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from a historical point of view. The paper investigates why the history of the Silk Roads is important to the BRI, what is in the guiding thought underpinning China's Silk Roads narrative and how this narrative is presented transnationally, through an insightful analysis of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) view of the Silk Roads history, as well as its perception of the connections between the Silk Roads history and the BRI.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper sits in the interface between history, heritage and state power. The argument is framed in concepts of historical constructionism and soft power. It is based on the discourse analysis of China's official narrative of Silk Roads and a case study of the planning for the World Heritage nomination of the Maritime Silk Routes (MSR) (China section). The case study is conducted through a qualitative analysis of academic publications, media reports and programs, official speeches and documents that are available to the public in hardcopy or on the Internet.
Findings
The paper reveals the relationship between the state-endorsed Silk Roads narrative and the BRI. The paper argues that the state-backed Silk Roads narrative as well as the planning for the World Heritage nomination of the MSR (China section) is guided by the Chinese Communist Party's perception of the BRI. In this respect, the Silk Roads-associated history, heritage and memory are shaped and deployed to serve as a convenient platform for the promotion of the BRI. The Party leaders' perception of the BRI is in large part about the revival of China's past glory, its national rejuvenation and the demonstration of China's soft power.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the existing literature on the BRI through its enquiries into how the CPC reconcile nationalist ambitions with notions of peace, harmony and cosmopolitanism and how CPC's view of the Silk Roads history shapes its vision of the BRI. The paper examines the role of the state in the construction and articulation of the Silk Roads-associated history, heritage and memory. It investigates how China's official interpretation of the Silk Road heritage serves China's BRI.
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Hung‐Yi Lu, James E. Andrews, Hsin‐Ya Hou, Su‐Yen Chen, Yen‐Hwa Tu and Yung‐Chang Yu
The aim of this paper is to investigate predictors of online medical research by nurses.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to investigate predictors of online medical research by nurses.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross‐sectional study was conducted and a representative sample of nurses was selected from three Taiwanese hospitals from 1 January to 31 March 2007. A total of 274 female nurses completed the questionnaire.
Findings
The results indicate that the expectancy value of internet characteristics, attitude towards online information seeking and perceived credibility of online information significantly and positively predict online information‐seeking behaviour in nurses. Specifically, the multiple hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the perceived credibility of online information is the strongest predictive variable of online information seeking.
Originality/value
The findings of this study suggest that an important task for professional health organisations is to educate nurses in assessing the reliability of medical information found on the web, such as looking for credible institutional sites, verifying available information with that from other sources or sites, and using common sense.
Details