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Purpose: This paper aims to explore the potential of implementing an action competence teaching model as a framework for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) in higher education. The paper seeks to draw insights from the students on the potential of this teaching model. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted a quantitative research design in exploring the potential of an action competence teaching model. This study used self-report measures to obtain insights into the objective of the study. Findings: The action competence teaching model was seen as useful in equipping students with knowledge about a problem, confidence and willingness to act. However, some issues like the design of the projects, teamwork and instructional practices were identified and discussed. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to implement an action competence teaching model to help draw insights from students on its potential. This paper documents certain aspects of action competence that require attention before being implemented in higher education. This information so far lacking in scientific literature contributes to ongoing discussions on SDGs while unveiling strengths and weaknesses to be considered.

This paper narrates the concept of Sustainable Peace Leadership and examines how three prominent Peace Activists from South and Southeast Asia measure up to the concept. The article will consider the works and ideas of Mohandas K. Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi), Lhamo Thondup (The 14th Dalai Lama), and Nguyen Xuan Bao (Thich Nhat Hanh). Mahatma Gandhi was instrumental in achieving Indian independence from the British Empire. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people and has managed a difficult relationship with the Chinese government following the occupation of Tibet. Thich Nhat Hanh was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist and is known as the 'father of mindfulness'. The paper identified several characteristics of Peace Leaders. These include being a charismatic leader who motivates their followers to achieve their goals in a non-violent and inclusive manner. Peace leaders meditate and spend time developing inner peace which then leads to outer peace. The paper also asserts that peace leaders are capable of recognizing the humanity in their opponents and seek a mutually beneficial solution. The three chosen individuals are all recognised as being charismatic leaders who were prominent peace leaders. All were deeply spiritual and practiced meditation and other inner work on a regular basis. They stressed the humanity in their opponents, based on their religious beliefs and the concepts of non-duality and interdependence.

• A closed-loop material flow analysis model is established for China's pulp and paper industry (CPPI), followed by a comprehensive quantitative analysis from both retrospective and prospective perspectives. • By implementing sound plans and stricter regulations and standards, China has improved recycling and material use efficiency, reduced the organic material with wastewater, and shifted towards recovered paper as a raw material over non-wood fiber. • Lowering the waste paper recycling rate to increase carbon storage is not suitable for China, due to the limited virgin fiber and growing demand. • The growing paper demand requires efforts from both ends of virgin fiber supply and waste paper management towards the sustainable development of CPPI. As the largest global producer and consumer of pulp and paper, China faces significant sustainability challenges in fiber supply and waste paper management. A comprehensive material flow analysis of China's pulp and paper industry (CPPI) is needed to understand the interaction between raw material supply and waste paper management. Here, we construct a closed-loop material flow analysis model for CPPI, examine the evolution patterns of material metabolism from 1990 to 2019, and explore the demand for paper production, waste paper recycling, and virgin fiber supply in 2030 and 2050 under multiple scenarios considering critical factors. Results show that the industry has undergone rapid expansion, increased material use efficiency, and a shift towards recycled pulp from 1990 to 2019. China's paper demand will grow to 186 Mt in the next 30 years, resulting in a significant increase in both demand for fibers (173 Mt) and the generation of waste paper (138 Mt). To ensure a sustainable fiber supply for CPPI, domestic waste paper recycling needs to be prioritized. However, attention should also be paid to the availability of virgin pulp supply and proper disposal of organic solid waste. Proper management of these factors is crucial for achieving a circular economy in the industry and reducing its environmental impact. The findings highlight the importance of addressing both raw material supply and waste paper management for CPPI's sustainable development. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Over the last decade, the emergence and spread of personalized medicine (PM) have defined a substantial revolution in healthcare. In principle, healthcare system sustainability is challenged by the investments required for research and development, as well as the adoption of PM techniques in routine clinical care. The "Integrating China in the International Consortium for Personalized Medicine" (IC2PerMed) EU-funded project aims to integrate China into the "International Consortium for Personalized Medicine" (ICPerMed). IC2PerMed aims to align the EU and China's research agendas in this field to enable a swift development of approaches in the EU and China with strong leverage upon EU-Chinese collaborations. Methods: Within this project, we first mapped relevant policies on PM in both the EU and China, and then we involved European and Chinese experts in PM in workshops and Delphi surveys in order to identify relevant priorities for the implementation of PM in sustainable healthcare. Results: As a result of this process, we identified nine overarching priorities, each addressing specific aspects of the sustainability of healthcare systems and PM implementation, with the main goal of supporting policymakers in integrating PM approaches in the EU and China. Discussion/conclusion: The implementation of PM in health systems is appealing in terms of improved accuracy in diagnostics, treatment, and prevention of disease, as well as reduction of the side effects resulting from inefficient use of drugs. Research, development, and implementation of needed techniques require time and resources that can slow the adoption of PM in healthcare systems. The nine priorities we identified address some of the most critical points, trying to lay the foundations for a comprehensive approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper expands the innovation diffusion framework by adding a conceptual and empirical exploration of knowledge creation into understanding university technology-enhanced teaching and learning innovation. Institutional innovation research has largely focused on people and products while neglecting the underlying knowledge creation process for innovation that substantiates and sustains the diffusion of innovation across stages. Guided by a combined framework of organisational knowledge creation theory with the diffusion of technology-enhanced teaching & learning (T&L) innovation, this 4-year longitudinal qualitative study focused on a Chinese case of Tsinghua University, which has pioneered the adoption of digital teaching and learning, and generating exemplary sustainable whole-institutional teaching and learning innovation. We explored how technology leverages the interactions between technologies, adopters, and leadership within a university to build capacities for digital T&L innovation by tracing the technology innovation trajectory of Tsinghua University. The case study identified four stages of knowledge creation related to technology adoption and innovation. Of these stages, knowledge externalisation processes were found to be critical for leveraging the co-creation of knowledge for institutional innovation in the university context. Additionally, the study showed that the middle-up-down leadership strategy and middle managements' knowledge management ability facilitated the sustainable transition from individual and group exploration to organisational innovation. The implications for strategic technology adoption and sustainable teaching and learning innovation in the university contexts are also discussed.

Purpose: It is still unclear how Asian universities incorporate the theory or practice of sustainable development (SD) in their research and education programmes. To address this gap, the purpose of this paper is to report on a study that has examined how universities in Asian countries handle and address matters related to SD. Design/methodology/approach: The study used a bibliometric analysis and an online survey-method. The online survey data were analysed through descriptive analysis and one-sample student's "t"-test. Findings: The study indicates that there is considerable variation among the Asian countries regarding sustainability practices in higher education institutions (HEIs). The HEIs in far eastern countries, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are perceived to demonstrate more sustainability practices. Research limitations/implications: Even though a substantial number of participants participated in the survey, it did not cover all Asian countries. The online survey was carried out over a limited period of time, and not all HEIs in the field may have received information about the study. Practical implications: Asia is the largest continent facing a number of sustainability challenges. In this context, the contribution of HEIs is very important. The findings of the current study may serve as a baseline for Asian HEIs to take more initiatives towards SD goals, as HEIs are responsible for the education and training of hundreds of thousands of students who will be occupying key positions in industry, government or education in the coming years. Originality/value: The study contributes to the existing literature in two distinct ways. First, it was possible to develop a comprehensive instrument to measure sustainability practices in HEIs. Second, this study has filled the gap of the scarcity of studies regarding sustainability practices in HEIs in Asia.

Given that digital finance is critical for achieving sustainability, this study seeks to probe the mechanisms for using digital finance to solve the triple-bottom-line dilemma of sustainability. This paper examines the inner influence mechanisms of digital finance on ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and financial performance. The results show digital finance is conducive to ESG performance while indirectly enhancing firms' short- and long-term financial performance via ESG. Further, digital finance usage depth is the primary enabler for ESG and short-term financial performance. The mechanism analysis reveals that the positive relationship between digital finance and ESG will be enhanced by upgrading green innovation and boosting digital transformation. Moreover, heterogeneous analysis states that digital finance usage depth has a more pronounced positive role on ESG and financial performance in large firms and SOEs (state-owned enterprises) while coverage breadth positively affects ESG and is more pronounced in small firms and non-SOEs. This paper expands knowledge about digital finance via sustainability practice pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To conduct psychometric testing of the Chinese version of the National Health Service Sustainability Model as an instrument to assess the sustainability of innovation in the Chinese nursing setting. Background: Evidence‐based practice is recognized worldwide as a way to improve the quality of healthcare; however, many evidence‐based practice programmes decline over time and do not sustain the benefits of their improvements. A sustainability assessment tool is used internationally but its use has not been validated in China. Design: A methodological study to test instrument validity and reliability. Methods: The data collection was conducted from 15 June 2022 to 31 August 2022. The internal consistency of the Chinese version of the sustainability model was measured with Cronbach's alpha. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the model's structural validity. Results: Four hundred eighty‐three questionnaires were returned, of which 478 were valid. The short time taken to evaluate the Chinese version of the sustainability model demonstrated its efficiency and ability to adapt to a busy clinical environment. The confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit model and supported the convergence validity of the sustainability model. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.905 for the total scale, which indicated good internal consistency. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the Chinese version of the sustainability model is a valid, reliable and efficient tool for measuring the sustainability of evidence‐based practices in Chinese nursing settings. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? As evidence‐based care grows in China, there are increasing numbers of programmes for evidence‐based practice.Evidence‐based practice leaders in China are currently focused on the implementation of evidence, with little focus on the maintenance of evidence after implementation.There is a lack of tools to assess the sustainability of evidence‐based practice in China. What this paper adds? This study further validates and refines the National Health Service Sustainability Model (NHS SM) in China's busy, centralized and paternalistic nursing clinical settings.Bridges the gap in sustainability assessment tools in China by introducing an evidence‐based practice sustainability assessment tool and further validating and refining the model in busy, centralized and paternalistic nursing clinical settings. The implications of this paper: Provide support to nursing professionals when selecting tools to assess the sustainability of evidence‐based practice in order to promote programme maintenance, avoid wasted upfront resource investment and achieve long‐term programme benefits.Provide a reference for professionals in other countries to introduce sustainability assessment tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of resource dependence on social economy and environment lacks empirical evidence at the micro level. This article uses data from A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2020 to construct an econometric model to empirically test the impact of resource dependence on ESG performance of enterprises. We find that the corporate ESG scores in regions with high resource dependence will decline. After a series of robustness tests such as replacing the dependent variable, controlling province time fixed effect, eliminating extreme effects, and eliminate provinces with high resource dependence, the conclusion of this article still holds. In addition, we alleviate the endogeneity problem caused by OLS estimation by constructing a dynamic panel model. Further analysis indicates that there are differences in the effect of resource dependence on enterprises sub-scores, with a significant negative impact on the environmental dimension and social dimension, and no significant impact on the governance dimension. It has a greater impact on the ESG score of SOEs and has no significant impact on non-SOEs. The empirical results of this paper enrich the research on the influencing factors of enterprise ESG performance, and further expand the research framework of the socio-economic consequences of enterprise resource dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis paper interrogates the relationship between conventional planning and the emerging practice of urban experimentation through the lens of megaprojects. Focused on a low-carbon city project in Shenzhen, China, it illustrates how the project’s large spatial-temporal scale facilitates a process of in-situ upscaling of planning innovation. This process involves iteratively trialing and refining novel practices through spatial demarcation and temporal phasing. This mutual constitution of megaprojects and experimentation highlights an urgent need to incorporate spatial and scale perspectives into studying and practicing urban experiments. This paper also highlights the re-negotiated planning paradox between control and flexibility under the experimental paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In China, the healthcare financing structure involves multiple parties, including the government, society and individuals. Medicare Fund is an important way for the Government and society to reduce the burden of individual medical costs. However, with the aging of the population, the demand of Medicare Fund is increasing. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the sustainability of the healthcare financing structure in the context of population ageing. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to organize the characteristics of population ageing as well as healthcare financing in China. On this basis, it analyzes the impact mechanism of population ageing on healthcare financing and the sustainability of existing healthcare financing. Methods: This paper mainly adopts the method of literature research and inductive summarization. Extracting data from Health Statistics Yearbook of China and Labor and Social Security Statistics Yearbook of China. Collected about 60 pieces of relevant literature at home and abroad. Results: China has already entered a deeply ageing society. Unlike developed countries in the world, China's population ageing has distinctive feature of ageing before being rich. A healthcare financing scheme established by China, composing of the government, society, and individuals, is reasonable. However, under the pressure of population ageing, China's current healthcare financing scheme will face enormous challenges. Scholars are generally pessimistic about the sustainability of China's healthcare financing scheme. Conclusions: Population ageing will increase the expenditure and reduce the income of the Medicare Fund. This will further affect the sustainability of the healthcare financing structure. As a consequence, the state should pay particular attention to this issue and take action to ensure that the Fund continues to operate steadily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean production, integral to sustainable agriculture and reliant on imports, faces vulnerability to international risk factors impacting domestic food security. The 2021 Central Rural Work Conference advocated strategic adjustments for sustainable soybean production amidst resource constraints, trade conflicts, and the lingering impact of COVID-19. This study scrutinizes the developmental framework of China’s soybean industry within current domestic policies. This paper uses the soybean sown area and soybean production in each province of China from 1995 to 2020 to measure China’s soybean concentration, production layout, and comparative advantage of regional scale, to analyze in depth the overall situation of China’s soybean production as well as the differences between regions, and to pave the way for the subsequent soybean production forecast. Further, taking the domestic soybean supply and demand situation in China in 2020 as the base period, while considering the growth values of soybean production under different scenarios, the potential forecasting model is utilized to estimate China’s soybean production under different scenarios. The results show that, in terms of inter-annual variability, revealing an upward trajectory from 1995 to 2020, with a shift to major soybean producing areas, notably in the northeast and the Huanghe-Huaihe-Haihe area. From inter-provincial changes, Soybean production on the left and right sides of the “Hu-Huanyong line” has significant heterogeneity; specifically, east of the “Hu-Huanyong line,” soybean production advantages are more obvious. Additionally, the study considered the actual planting situation of soybeans and envisaged two scenarios of compound planting and strip planting. The soybean production range in 2030 is expected to be 20.73–22.32 million tons and 21.15–27.55 million tons, with self-sufficiency rates varying from 18.57 to 19.98% and 18.95 to 24.68%, respectively. The research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of China’s soybean industry and its potential trajectories, employing a model combining historical trends, policy analysis, and technological advancements. Results suggest a promising future with strategic adjustments in planting structures. Recommendations emphasize policymakers’ prioritization of technological investments and sustainable planting practices to achieve projected production targets. Policy interventions must address challenges tied to resource limitations, trade conflicts, and the ongoing COVID-19 effects, ensuring soybean industry resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains the importance of environmental care for the growth and development of the global world and how One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR) can help to connect Asia, Europe, and Africa for economic cooperation and long-term sustainability. Paper, based on bibliometric analysis and utilizing Web of Science Core Collection database for calculation, summarizes total OBOR publications in terms of quantity, citations, regions, disciplines, institutes and explains about the most productive countries. Results reveal that total OBOR papers indexed in Web of Science was found 2508 where there were 1335 articles and 854 proceedings papers marking 87.3% of total OBOR research. We find the most productive direction of environmental science and global climate change and work related to environmental policies. Results show that China has contributed 73.3% (1755 publications) to global OBOR publication and have received 69.3% of all citations to "One Belt One Road" publications. Highest average citation level was from Canada, Portugal, and Spain while China's average citations were quite low though very close to average world level. Internationally collaborated publications had more citations than the publications prepared by authors of one country. The paper concludes that environmental concerns should be kept in mind while focusing on the growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As global warming intensifies and the frequency of extreme weather events rises, posing a major threat to the world's economy and sustainable development, accurate forecasting of future extreme events is of great significance to mankind's response to extreme weather events and to the sustainable development of society. Global Climate Models (GCMs) have limitations in their applicability at regional scales due to their coarse resolution. Utilizing dynamical downscaling methods based on regional climate models (RCMs) is an essential approach to obtaining high-resolution climate simulation information in future. This study represents an attempt to extend the use of the Providing REgional Climates for Impacts Studies (PRECIS) regional climate model by employing the BCC-CSM2-MR model from the Beijing Climate Center to drive it, conducting downscaling experiments over China at a spatial resolution of 0.22° (25 km). The simulation and prediction of daily maximum and minimum temperatures across the China region are conducted, marking a significant effort to expand the usage of PRECIS with data from alternative GCMs. The results indicate that PRECIS performs well in simulating the daily maximum and minimum temperatures over the China region, accurately capturing their spatial distribution and demonstrating notable simulation capabilities for both cold and warm regions. In the annual cycle, the simulation performance of PRECIS is superior to its driving GCM, particularly during cold months (i.e., December and from January to May). Regarding future changes, the daily extreme temperatures in most regions are projected to increase gradually over time. In the early 21st century, the warming magnitude is approximately 1.5 °C, reaching around 3 °C by the end of the century, with even higher warming magnitudes exceeding 4.5 °C under the SSP585 scenario. Northern regions will experience greater warming magnitudes than southern regions, suggesting faster increases in extreme temperatures in higher latitudes. This paper provides forecasts of extreme temperatures in China, which will be useful for studying extreme events and for the government to make decisions in response to extreme events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a tactical tool to enhance effectiveness of OMO (Online Merge Offline) marketing, explained through 7Ps × D × C, with R as a moderating variable (D = Digitalization, C = Connectivity and R = Relevance). Doing so can effectively transform traditional marketing into OMO marketing. In order to sustain OMO marketing, the paper proposes five Yin-Yang (阴阳) pairs, mediated by Lao-tzu's Tao (道) & Porter and Kramer's Shared Value, through Ambiculturalism. By failing to keep Yin–Yang (阴阳) harmonious, the ecosystem of Tao (道) & Shared Value will be destroyed, and the sustainability of OMO marketing will be compromised. This paper develops an updated marketing mix, by identifying additional elements; it also employs strategic elements of Shared Value from western theory, with the mechanism of Tao (道) from eastern philosophy. Together, an OMO marketing ecosystem is proposed, which deals with the relationship between effectiveness and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has made huge efforts to increase the efficiency of its resources and change its resource-intensive economic trajectory. A question which should be raised is whether the impacts of such shifts can be measured. Exergy analysis provides a unified method of ecological diagnosis of resource allocation and metabolism in social systems from a biophysical perspective. This paper explores the resource utilization pattern within Chinese society by employing an exergy-based accounting method. Nationally total resource consumption amounted to 153.7 EJ in 2017, and non-biological resources reached 137.1 EJ. China's resource self-sufficiency rate was revealed as 79.1%. After China experienced a transition period with a medium–high economic growth rate, the total net resource input into Chinese society marked an increase of around 1% from 2012 to 2017. The per capita resource consumption dropped from 112.0 GJ in 2012 to 110.6 GJ in 2017. The proportion of resource exergy consumption in the tertiary sector was upregulated from 10.0% in 2012 to 17.6% in 2017. To be specific, the exergy conversion efficiency of the domestic sector rose from 1.3% in 2012 to 20.6% in 2017. The results confirm that the resource exergy utilization structures and the conversion efficiencies of the main social sectors in China's economic transition period were significantly optimized towards a more sustainable future. A reasonable analysis of the resource exergy utilization pattern provides a solid reference for assessing the comprehensive effect of the changed development speed, industrial structure, and driving force of a developing society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China’s shrimp farming industry has experienced significant growth in recent years. With such a development, some major constraints linked to the industry’s sustainable development have emerged. This paper aims to present an overview of China’s shrimp industry over the last two decades, with special attention to farm-raised shrimp both in marine and inland waters. Documentary research on its recent evolution was carried out based on data collected from China Fishery Statistics Yearbooks 2003 to 2022 coupled with data from FAO. Findings indicated that there has been an upward trend in China’s total shrimp production over the last 20 years, with a growth rate of 120%, representing an average annual growth rate of 4.3%. The observed higher shrimp production was driven by expanded shrimp aquaculture production, with major species dominated by the Pacific whiteleg shrimp (litopenaeus vannamei), the black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon), the Chinese shrimp (Penaeus chinensis), and the Japanese prawn (Penaeus japonicus). Challenges associated with the intensification of the production and the driven environmental deterioration need to be properly addressed. First, the shrimp farming industry should be practiced while considering both environment and ecosystem protection. Applying such an organic farming principle presupposes some practices for addressing the existing issues threatening the sustainable growth of the industry. To that end, there is a need for innovative techniques that should be strengthened. Second, possible solutions to shrimp disease problems, namely prevention, early diagnosis, and various control techniques, should also be developed and improved, with an emphasis on the former. In addition, encouraging the use of good-quality feed in appropriate quantity and form is also of paramount importance. It is thus worth noting that further policies need to focus on promoting a large range of ecological shrimp aquaculture technologies that should be encouraged among farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contributes to the growing debate about how China drives change in institutions and norms of global governance. It analyses the case study of China's approach to transnational voluntary sustainability standards as concrete tools of Western-sponsored green value chain initiatives, between integration and contestation. Engaging international political economy scholarship, the paper shows that China participates in such initiatives by reshaping their focus away from contested market-based approaches to more internationally consensual state-led ones. This stance indicates that China's reshaping of international norms and institutions conveys claims made by Global South alliances. These alliances are increasingly important for China, not only politically and militarily but also economically and for the success of key initiatives, like the Belt and Road Initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing number of emerging economies receive significant parts of their overseas finance and investment from Chinese state‐owned or state‐linked institutions. While academic research has focused on how Chinese policy and state‐owned banks approach sustainable development issues, Chinese sovereign‐backed overseas development funds are a critical yet overlooked component. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by providing the first comprehensive overview of such funds regarding their scope, activities and capitalization, as well as by assessing the funds' policy approach to sustainability. Qualitative and quantitative data are collected from databases, funds' websites, newspaper articles and public statements in both Chinese and English to identify common features between funds and to analyse their sustainability policies in comparison with global best practices. The paper specifically analyses the funds' sustainability approaches rather than impact due to a lack of comprehensive data on the funds' investments. First, the paper finds that given their number, announced capital size of US$213 billion, geographic scope and sectorial focus, including on high‐emissions projects such as mining, energy and heavy industry, the funds are influential players in global development finance. Second, regarding the funds' approaches to sustainability, the paper finds that the funds lack transparency about their policies and practices, which is a key component of sustainable fund management practices. Third, based on an in‐depth analysis of available information, we identify a lack of sustainability in the funds' mandates, an absence of safeguards, limited project pipeline disclosure and no sustainability performance assessment. Lastly, the paper provides four policy recommendations on how to improve the funds' sustainability approaches based on the unique way they are governed by different parts of the Chinese state apparatus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the survey data of 45 tea enterprises in Fujian Province, China, this paper adopted fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to study the adoption of the sustainable production technologies by tea enterprises. The results show that there are two configurations for the path to achieve the adoption of high sustainable production technologies. The core condition combination of the first configuration is the existence of sustainable development capabilities, the degree of government support, and the resource and environmental endowment, while that of the second configuration is the existence of enterprise expected value, industrial organization mode and the resource and environmental endowment. Moreover, the path achieving non-highly sustainable production technologies adoption mainly summarized as a configuration. Specifically, the core condition is the absence of sustainable development capabilities, enterprise development strategies, and the resource and environmental endowments. Furthermore, some practical policy recommendations were put forward based on the above conclusions in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High environmental performance of enterprises may reduce financing costs, while good environmental performance can promote sustainable development of enterprises. Therefore, this paper examines the impact mechanism of China's corporate environmental performance on financing costs, and whether corporate sustainable development plays a regulatory role in the research of heavy pollution industries. This study is conducted through the Breusch and Pagan Lagrange multiplier test for random effects and the Hausman test to determine whether to adopt Fixed-effects regression or Random-effects GLS regression as an estimation method to control individual effects and endogenous problems brought by time. By collecting the samples of listed companies in China from 2010 to 2021, the empirical results show that corporate environmental performance is negatively related to financing costs. Sustainable development, as a moderator variable, is negatively related to financing costs and has weakened the inhibition of corporate environmental performance on financing costs. Although the existing literature shows that environmental performance will lead to changes in debt costs, this study has made contributions to the literature by revealing the sustainable development mechanism in the relationship between corporate environmental performance and financing costs and has verified that sustainable development is one of the important factors affecting financing costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaboration from multiple stakeholders is a prerequisite to achieve the different goals of a circular economy in the built environment. Gaining the trust of passive householders is a critical factor in housing retrofit at the neighbourhood level, given the aims of the circular economy related to sustainable supply chains, production processes and consumption patterns. Building on notions of trust in expert systems, this paper explores the active roles of providers and householders in personal, technological and institutional trust and whether this can help to implement user-centred circular design approaches in housing retrofit. This study draws on empirical data from Beijing (China) and Amsterdam (the Netherlands). The paper suggests that the active use of providers' and householders' interacting roles at so-called access points in the housing retrofit process could link the practices of households to the different goals of a circular built environment. Building personal trust between constructors, installers, and policymakers as retrofit providers and active householders can contribute to the shared ownership of retrofit housing projects. Enhancing trust in the principles of retrofit packages supports technology optimization through joined product validation via social interactions. Maintaining trust relations that last beyond the retrofit project duration will contribute to future-proof communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the first academic attempt to critically bridge the politics of sustainability fix with social conflict theory (SCT) focusing on Indonesia's foreign-sponsored development of Ultra Supercritical (USC) coal power plants. I examine the contradictory development of 'green' projects in Indonesia and specifically unpack: how transnational politico-economic forces have secured a stable sustainability fix for the USC and how they have tamed opposition forces and reshaped governance strategies for intensified accumulation. I attempt to empirically demonstrate how such process unfold through two case studies – Cirebon II developed by Japanese and Korean companies and the Java 7 project funded by China. Albeit each have different alliance formations and strategies, both cases demonstrate that the safeguarding of stable conditions for sustainability fixes of USC power plant development is primarily determined by contestation, conflicts, and compromises between socio-political forces – international fractions of capital, state apparatuses, Indonesia's PLN and coal oligarchy as well as broader civil society actors. They reshape governing strategies that are ultimately organised through the Indonesian state and react to the selectivity of state strategies which privilege dominant forces. The paper contributes to the existing literature on the political economy of infrastructure and serves to take state transformation into account and to dispel the 'methodological nationalism' view that presupposes policy outcome and institutional features are inherent to the mode of capitalism of the investor's country of origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the sustainability of the Chinese transportation sector by examining the relationship between energy consumption (and CO2 emissions), transportation modes, and macroeconomic variables. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Neural Networks (NN) are combined using monthly data from January 1999 to December 2017. Our goal is to propose a model that links China's transportation footprint to major macroeconomic factors while simultaneously controlling each mode of transportation. Inflation and credit policies exert relatively weak effects on the explained variable. In contrast, trade and fixed asset investments, as well as monetary and fiscal policies, show a positive and significant impact. The use of waterways and airways plays an imperative role in sustainable development compared to the use of roads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research posits that there are tensions in addressing divergent sustainability issues which need to be managed and embraced by firms. However, if these tensions cannot be addressed adequately, it will not only have negative impacts on individuals' interests but also on the development of organisations and ultimately the prosperity of the society, ultimately resulting in unethical consequences. Hence, this paper empirically examines tensions in addressing divergent sustainability issues and how to manage them between Chinese and New Zealand firms in business partnerships. Guided by an interpretivist philosophy, this research adopts a qualitative and abductive approach as the preferred research method. In doing so, 33 in‐depth individual interviews alongside one informal group discussion were carried out at 16 relatively large Chinese and New Zealand firms known for their commitment to sustainability that are in business partnerships. Interestingly, we find that these companies are faced with complex and multiple sustainability tensions. In order to better manage these tensions, we found that these firms adopt integrative approaches with opening, surfacing, collaborative and synergistic strategies which can help these companies to enhance their organisational ambidexterity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on consumer purchase decisions and uses the consumers of live fresh agricultural products as the research object. We analyze consumers' intention to purchase and analyze the role of perceived risk and value co-creation in consumers' purchase of fresh agriculture products. Structural equation modeling analysis and stepwise regression coefficient analysis were used. The results show that: (1) the fresh agricultural products' live features can positively influence consumers' intention to buy; (2) the authenticity of fresh agricultural products live broadcast shows a significant negative correlation with perceived risk, and the visibility of fresh agricultural products live broadcast shows a significant positive correlation with value co-creation; (3) the perceived risk and value co-creation mediate between the live-stream features of fresh agricultural products and consumers' intention to buy. The study results provide a basis for management decisions on the live broadcast of fresh agricultural products. It also has important implications for the sustainability of live broadcast of fresh agricultural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study identifies the role of labour constraints in the use of rubber intercropping among smallholder farmers in Southwest China, drawing on a panel dataset collected from a sample of over 600 farm households in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture (XSBN). The analysis is based on two models: (i) a panel model to analyze the factors responsible for the decline in the use of rubber intercropping among smallholder farmers; (ii) an instrumental variable and endogenous switching model to assess the specific effects of off-farm labour market participation on the use of intercropping. We find a strong effect of the costs of labour on rubber intercropping. The decline in the use of intercropping has a potentially negative impact on environmental sustainability and endangers the government's environmentally friendly rubber programme. The paper explores possibilities of how farmers can maintain intercropping under increasing labour constraints such as more engagement of elderly and female household members. This may require modifications in intercropping technologies and training. The paper recommends that the government should encourage the continuation of intercropping by a combination of well-balanced measures that include on-farm research, participatory farmer training, payment for environmental services, and effective monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commodification of hot spring bathing reflects a diversification of alternative modalities for healing and leisure. It also presents challenges for the development of sustainable tourism. However, whether and how tourist activities generate environmental challenges at hot spring destinations has received scant attention from scholars. Situated in the increasing contributions that practice theories make to tourism and sustainability studies, this paper argues that a practice theoretical perspective is essential for understanding the escalating demand for hot spring water and resources at tourist destinations. Employing ethnographic approaches in a hot spring town in China, we identify three patterns of hot spring bathing performances: public foot bathing in the town square, commodified bathing in resort hotels, and private bathing in households or B&B rooms. The (re)configurations of cultural conventions, tourist facilities, socially shared knowledge and skills across spaces produce alternative patterns of water consumption. The co-existence of multiple ways of performing hot spring bathing brings to the fore the complexities of sustainability issues in tourism, going beyond infrastructural efficiency or tourist values. The paper concludes in elaborating on how practice theories and studies of tourist bathing benefit each other, and could inform policy interventions for sustainable tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

\nPlain Language SummaryThe Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has evolved from its ambitious beginning into a framework focused on high-quality development (HQD), emphasizing environmental sustainability and people-centered development. This study examines to what extent these new directives are implemented in the context of China’s overseas economic zones (OEZs), employing a multi-actor-influence model to analyze the complex interactions and challenges inherent in these projects. Focusing on the Vientiane Saysettha Development Zone (VSDZ) in Laos, our analysis identifies three primary institutional challenges: fragmentation between the central and local governments in China, structural constraints imposed on Chinese businesses, and inadequate cooperation between Chinese and host country actors. These challenges underscore the complexities of translating Beijing’s top-down policy into effective action on the ground. The paper concludes with a discussion of the broader implications of these findings for the BRI’s future development.This study examines Beijing’s recent strategic shift in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) towards high-quality development (HQD), focusing on sustainable environmental practices and enhancing local livelihoods. Our policy analysis confirms Beijing’s commitment to these goals. However, challenges arise due to the BRI’s decentralized implementation and the varied influences of multiple actors from both China and the host countries. We explore these challenges through a detailed case study of the Vientiane Saysettha Development Zone (VSDZ) in Laos, identifying three key issues: fragmentation between Chinese central and local governments, constraints on Chinese businesses, and inadequate cooperation between Chinese and host country actors.Our study contributes in three significant ways. First, it adds to the discussion of Beijing’s transition towards HQD and the BRI’s global influence through a review of Chinese policies and an analytical model elucidating the realities of BRI implementation. Second, it theorizes that outcomes of BRI projects are shaped more by local circumstances and stakeholder actions than by policies alone. Finally, it suggests potential measures to help realize HQD within the BRI framework in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary aim of this study is to assess the relationship between Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices and the Return on Equity (ROE) of industrial sector firms in the United States and China during the implications of the US-China Trade War. Principal Component Analysis and Random Effects Regression Analysis are employed to empirically test the impact of four Green Supply Chain Management practices which are: Internal Environmental Management, Green Purchasing, Eco Design, and Customer Cooperation on ROE. A sample of 50 firms in the US and 50 firms in China is employed to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings suggest that there is a significant positive relationship between Eco Design and ROE in both countries. However, a significant negative relationship between Internal Environmental Management and ROE is concluded in China only. This research contributes to identifying out and classifying the reported practices of the Green Pillar in firms' Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reports under their related Green Supply Chain Management practices to provide a theoretical framework and facilitate future research. This paper proposes that policy makers, managers, and practitioners should accept sustainability as a strategic priority prior to implementing Green Supply Chain Management and suggests that firms should be confident of the long-term profitability of implementing Green Supply Chain Management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Green Financial Reform and Innovation (GFRI) policy not only serves as a crucial tool for facilitating a comprehensive transition towards sustainable practices in economic and social development but also has a significant influence on the operational activities of companies. However, there is limited research on whether the GFRI policy can affect companies' overcapacity. To address this gap, we use data from the China Stock Market & Accounting Research Database and the Chinese Research Data Services Platform to evaluate the impact of green finance on companies' overcapacity. The results show that the GFRI policy can effectively alleviate companies' overcapacity. Moreover, the GFRI policy can alleviate companies' overcapacity by strengthening market competition, enhancing financing constraints, and promoting innovation. Further, the GFRI policy exerts a more pronounced effect on alleviating overcapacity in non-labor-intensive companies, companies in heavily polluting industries, and companies in regions with weak environmental supervision. This paper not only supplements the relevant literature on alleviating overcapacity but also provides more theoretical support for promoting a national green financial system in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Urbanization and eco-efficiency are two interactive systems, contributing to sustainable urban development jointly. However, the synchronized development between them has not received sufficient attention. In light of this gap, this paper conducts an analysis on seeking the synchronized development between sustainable urbanization and eco-efficiency in the context of China. The aim of this study is to uncover the spatial and temporal performance of the synchronized relationship between urbanization process (UP) and eco-efficiency (EE) in a sample of 255 Chinese cities. To this end, entropy method, super efficiency SBM and coupling coordination degree model are employed to conduct the research analysis, covering the period of 2005 to 2019. The findings of this study reveal that (1) there is about 97% of the surveyed cities that exhibit a moderate level of coupling coordination between urbanization process and eco-efficiency (CC-UE). (2) Spatial disparities in the performance of CC-UE are evident, with cities in South and Southeast China demonstrating better CC-UE performance than their counterparts. However, this disparity has been gradually diminishing in recent years. (3) Local perspective presented an evident spatial autocorrelation within the 255 cities analyzed. These research findings provide valuable insights not only for the policy-makers and practitioners to adopt measures for achieving a synchronized development between urbanization process and eco-efficiency in the Chinese context, but also for further studies on sustainable development in the international context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates China's fiscal sustainability by examining national and regional revenue-expenditure nexuses from a time-frequency perspective. Our analysis is novel since research on China in this respect remains limited, and existing literature largely neglects time-frequency dependencies. We employ wavelet techniques to identify the time-frequency relationship between government revenue and expenditure from 1952 to 2020. We find that the national and regional revenue-expenditure nexuses are frequency-dependent and time-varying, providing a possible explanation for the mixed patterns emerging from the analyses based on traditional methods. In addition, the medium- and long-term national and regional revenue-expenditure nexuses in recent years predominantly support the institutional separation hypothesis. These findings indicate that China's fiscal risk is rising and urge for fundamental reforms to safeguard budgetary sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the strategic management of people within enterprises as a driver of sustainable growth. As strategic people management (SPM) is founded on the Eastern knowledge workers' perspective, we integrate SPM with the Confucian perspective to analyze the factors underlying the sustainable success of Chinese management. In so doing, we review the literature on sustainability, SPM, Chinese management, and the integration of Confucian cultural values. We utilize the qualitative case research method to examine 20 successful Chinese enterprises across five sectors. The results of the case analysis reveal three types of sustainable SPM associated with Confucian values: responsible people management, paradoxical people management, and humanistic people management. We propose a conception of sustainable SPM combined with Confucianism to be relevant in the Chinese business context, where a high degree of dynamism can be seen. The findings of this study could be extended through analyses conducted in other contexts with a high level of complexity, such as emerging markets, disruptive technology, unexpected crises, or any aggregated interactions of such contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing uncertainty and complexity of disasters, the tourism industry in disaster-stricken areas is often hard hit, so it is urgent to improve the resilience of the tourism industry. Based on the perspective of regional economic resilience, this study takes Wenchuan earthquake as an example to explore the theoretical framework, research ideas and methods of tourist destination resilience. The industry policy should be included in the resilience construction to theoretically respond to the reasons for the improvement of the resilience and sustainability of tourism industry in the post-disaster recovery. Taking Sichuan tourism as the research object, this paper estimated the impact of Wenchuan earthquake on Sichuan tourism and the effect of industrial policies on the resilience of the tourism industry in the post-disaster recovery. The results show that the total revenue loss of Sichuan tourism industry brought by Wenchuan earthquake is 87.298 billion yuan, and the post-disaster recovery window period is 7 years (2008–2014). After the earthquake, the industrial policy measures taken have effectively improved the resilience of Sichuan's tourism industry, making it reach the level that it would have been before the earthquake and assuming that there had been no earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to show that divergent perceptions among regulators, the regulated and the associated regulatory bodies across multiple jurisdictions regarding the nature and functionality of cryptocurrencies hamper the development of a more comprehensive and coherent regulatory framework in curbing crimes and other related risks associated with cryptocurrencies. Design/methodology/approach: The study has used a descriptive doctrinal legal research method to investigate and understand the insights of existing laws and regulations in four selected jurisdictions concerning cryptocurrencies and how these laws could be further improved and developed to reduce crypto-related crimes. Furthermore, the study has also used a comparative research method to conceptualize the contours of the new legal discourse emerging from cryptocurrencies to adopt and implement a sound regulatory framework. Findings: The study illustrated that divergent regulatory treatment among different jurisdictions might suffocate novel digital innovations such as cryptocurrency. These fragmented regulatory approaches by various jurisdictions question the sustainability of the present national legislation adopted to regulate cryptocurrencies. Looking into other jurisdictional developments in regulating cryptocurrencies, it is apparent that a concerted regulatory approach is needed to minimize the abuse of this innovation. Research limitations/implications: The study has implications for regulators and policymakers to review the current regulatory framework for regulating cryptocurrencies to prevent regulatory arbitrage. The divergent legislative measures concerning cryptocurrency among different jurisdictions question the sustainability of these legislative initiatives, considering the evolving and borderless nature of cryptocurrency. Therefore, this paper will help regulators to consider the present legislative gaps in establishing a common global regulatory approach in the crypto sphere. Originality/value: The study contributes to the existing body of literature by examining the regulatory frameworks of four jurisdictions, namely, the USA, Canada, China and the EU, related to cryptocurrencies, with a discussion on the development of cryptocurrencies-related laws among these four jurisdictions and their sustainability in curbing crimes in the Darknet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The Chinese construction industry is experiencing a rapid growth these days. Due to the requirements of energy conservation, emission reduction and construction waste management, the development of prefabricated buildings (PBs) has attracted much attention in the Chinese construction industry. However, the development of PBs are still in their infancy in China, which have been negatively impacted by many obstacles. It is of great significance to clarify and analyze these obstacles for the purpose of promoting the development of PBs in China. Due to the wideness and complex features of obstacles, the existing literature exploring the research topic lacks comprehensiveness. The purpose of this paper is to systematically identify and discuss the obstacles that hinder the development of PBs in China. Design/methodology/approach: This paper adopts the method of news report analysis based on the news reports retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and nine major portals in China. The Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) method of content analysis was used to rank the obstacles according to their importance. Findings: A total of 79 obstacles to the development of PBs in China are identified, and the 79 obstacles are divided into 8 dimensions. Among the Top 20 obstacles, the government dimension accounted for the highest number of 5, the market and consumer dimension and development organization dimension were 4, Manufacturing Enterprise of Prefabricated Components (PCs) dimension, construction organization dimension and design organization dimension were 2, logistics enterprise dimension was 1, and industry association dimension was 0. Among them, the biggest obstacle is the high transportation costs. Research limitations/implications: First, data collection may not be very comprehensive. Second, this paper is only based on the obstacles in the development of PBs in China, and the universality of the management conclusions needs to be further strengthened. Practical implications: The research results help the stakeholders in the Chinese PBs industry to better understand the barriers hindering the industry development in a systemic way, which will help propose appropriate strategies to address these barriers. Originality/value: This paper clarifies the obstacles of China's PBs and makes an analysis, which is of great value to the development of China's PBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to understand the characteristics, factors and contingencies of social partnerships between multinational corporations (MNCs) and nonprofits in the context of sustainability that enable or impede the value creation outcome of the collaboration. Design/methodology/approach: A multi-case study with 12 social partnerships operating in China was investigated considering their relative representativeness and different value creation outcomes. Findings: The author presents a snapshot of the current state and unique differences of social partnerships in China, whereas the existing literature has mostly addressed the topic from a Western context. Moreover, the author highlights the key determinants and contextual features that influence the value creation outcome of social partnerships in China. Research limitations/implications: This study concentrates on the social partnerships in the largest emerging country context of China, and the representativeness of data collected from a small sample may be challenged. Likewise, the 12 social partnerships studied are similar in design but vary in sustainability focus. To test the validity of the theorizing, the study calls for future research to apply the proposed theoretical framework across various contexts across both developing and developed world. Practical implications: The paper provides guidance to corporate managers and nonprofit decision-makers on how to improve their social partner initiation, operations and governance so as to generate greater collaborative value out of social partnerships in the Chinese market. Social implications: This study contributes to the social partnership literature, which has been dominant in the Western context, by offering case evidences from China. Originality/value: The study shows that social partnerships are increasingly initiated and sustained in the context of sustainability and corporate social responsibility, with the majority oriented toward "satisficing" instead of "optimizing" and represented mostly with a "philanthropic" and "transactional" approach. The author particularly notes the salience of social exchange, with social partnerships serving as an indirect relational instrument for MNCs to navigate stakeholder relationships in the Chinese market, especially with the dominant resource holder such as the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the extensive attention of global scholars on the sustainable development in China, much research has been published over the past 30 years. Based on the 12,635 journal papers from the Web of Science database, we explore the trends in the evolution of China's sustainable development research by a knowledge graph. The result indicates that the attention of China's sustainable development research increased exponentially during 1991–2021, and it continues to shift from a macroperspective to the exploration of specific methods and implementation paths. During 2001–2005, China's sustainable development research developed rapidly and formed a complete cluster structure. In addition, China's sustainable development research has experienced three stages and two topic drifts. Staged development and topic drifts lead to a wide range of disciplinary drifts. In general, the trends in the evolution of China's sustainable development research mainly focus on three aspects: research methods, research scope, and theoretical innovation. China's sustainable development provides a case or a path for other developing countries. Economic incentives and policy promotion remain important measures to promote sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metaverse is the next evolution of the Internet, merging the physical and digital worlds into a multiuser environment. It is discussed widely in the media and among technology developers. It may expand to many aspects of society and people's everyday lives. In this article, we examine how academic discussion and research about the metaverse developed from the 1990s to the end of 2022. We focus on the quantitative development of scientific publications about the metaverse, the key countries and organizations behind these publications, the key research topics and areas, and whether and how those publications addressed sustainability. We identified 491 international scientific publications (peer reviewed articles, reviews, and proceedings papers) related to the metaverse in the Web of Science database and 2240 scientific publications in the Scopus database, between 1995 and 2022. The number of publications is rising very fast as most of publications on the metaverse were published in 2022. Scholars in universities and research institutes in the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and South Korea are the most frequent publishers. Publications very seldomly address sustainability as the main subject. Usually, sustainability is considered very narrowly, despite the metaverse's large and significant expected future economic and social impact. Sustainability and responsibility should be integrated into the design, construction, and development of the metaverse and related research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is highlighted by conservation practitioners as an ongoing threat to many overharvested plant and animal species, including several charismatic threatened vertebrates. However, studies that provide evidence‐based and practical recommendations on how to better regulate the TCM trade for sustainability and biodiversity conservation remain limited. China is the biggest promotor of and market for TCM and understanding the TCM trade in China is important for global biodiversity conservation. In particular, conservation researchers need to better understand how the TCM trade and its regulations interact with China's development needs and should collaborate with TCM communities to propose locally adapted suggestions to decision makers. However, progress in these areas has been restricted by language, cultural, and knowledge barriers. In this paper, we provide an overview of the current status of TCM‐related regulations in China, identify weaknesses in regulation frameworks, and highlight issues that currently limit our understanding of the magnitude, dynamics, and impact of the trade. We propose changes in trade regulations, actions to enhance law enforcement, and future research directions to encourage a more sustainable TCM trade that benefits both global biodiversity conservation and TCM development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background In China, the healthcare financing structure involves multiple parties, including the government, society and individuals. Medicare Fund is an important way for the Government and society to reduce the burden of individual medical costs. However, with the aging of the population, the demand of Medicare Fund is increasing. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the sustainability of the healthcare financing structure in the context of population ageing. Objective The purpose of this paper is to organize the characteristics of population ageing as well as healthcare financing in China. On this basis, it analyzes the impact mechanism of population ageing on healthcare financing and the sustainability of existing healthcare financing. Methods This paper mainly adopts the method of literature research and inductive summarization. Extracting data from Health Statistics Yearbook of China and Labor and Social Security Statistics Yearbook of China. Collected about 60 pieces of relevant literature at home and abroad. Results China has already entered a deeply ageing society. Unlike developed countries in the world, China's population ageing has distinctive feature of ageing before being rich. A healthcare financing scheme established by China, composing of the government, society, and individuals, is reasonable. However, under the pressure of population ageing, China's current healthcare financing scheme will face enormous challenges. Scholars are generally pessimistic about the sustainability of China's healthcare financing scheme. Conclusions Population ageing will increase the expenditure and reduce the income of the Medicare Fund. This will further affect the sustainability of the healthcare financing structure. As a consequence, the state should pay particular attention to this issue and take action to ensure that the Fund continues to operate steadily.

This study aims to investigate whether there are gender differences in the livelihood capital of farming households in China. A stratified random sampling technique and household surveys were used to collect data from Dazu District, China. This paper uses capital values to compute the level of livelihood capital, while the ordinary least squares model is employed to compare gender differences in livelihood capital. The results show significant gender differences in farmers' livelihood capital. Male farmers have more livelihood capital than female farmers. There are also significant gender differences in the factors that affect farmers' livelihood capital. Education and agricultural cooperatives are the major factors influencing the livelihood capital of men, while agricultural policy support and happiness are the major factors influencing the livelihood capital of women. These results imply that specific gender-based intervention programs should be implemented to maintain farmers' livelihood sustainability and to overcome gender gaps in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reforms in China began in the late 1970s. In the last four decades, the country has witnessed phenomenal economic growth, making it a world economic power. But environmental and social costs have not been sufficiently mitigated. This appears to be changing. China seeks continued economic growth, reduced environmental degradation and assured social well-being for all. The paper attempts to survey China's efforts in the last two decades to combat environmental degradation while ensuring the momentum of economic and social development, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices among travel agents and tour operators within the Australia–China tourism supply chain. A sequential, exploratory mixed-methods approach was employed, combining key-informant interviews with a reduced form of discrete choice analysis—best-worst scaling. The findings highlight that while Australian and Chinese travel intermediaries differed significantly in terms of their preferences regarding the different CSR factors, they were unanimous in regard to their belief that commitment to CSR was critical to firm performance. The research also reports universal support for a partial-mediating relationship, suggesting that firm performance is enhanced by strong alignment in the CSR orientation of supply chain intermediaries. This finding reinforces the inter-dependent nature of tourism supply chains, emphasizing that firms and society can benefit from supply chain partners working more closely together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integration of agricultural, cultural and natural conservation to address land-use change risk has become a crucial issue for rural sustainability, especially for China with dense population and undergoing hyper-urbanization. There is not yet a specific study going with conservation of the whole rural landscape at national level. In this paper, a multi-scale approach is presented as a first proxy to meet this challenge through synthetically combining agricultural, cultural and natural conservation concerns of rural landscape within a spatially analytical framework of landscape vulnerability assessment. This framework consists of three main indicators (exposure, sensitivity and resilience), aiming to identify vulnerable rural areas under land-use changes based on the assumption that more vulnerable areas should receive higher priorities in conservation. Conservation actions were also derived and mapped with conservation priorities. The results show this approach can well-address integrated conservation issue within rural areas. The top conservation priorities in rural China were identified in areas with diverse bio-culture and those significantly suffered from urbanization and rapid agriculture-nature transition. Protection actions were assigned to areas with high exposure risk, while restoration actions were set for areas with low sensitivity. Besides, management actions aimed at areas with low resilience, and maintenance actions covered areas with low exposure, high sensitivity and high resilience. Though this approach was detailed in rural China, it is applicable to any large-scale rural regions under land-use change risk. We conclude that this approach promotes integrated conservation within rural landscape and facilitate real-world implementation of its conservation actions, and suggest that further detailed examinations at refined scale will also be needed to efficiently guild local conservation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]