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In order to explore the causal relationship between the level of urban digital construction and urban economic growth, this paper takes 280 cities in China as the research object and constructs a comprehensive indicator evaluation system covering digital infrastructure, overall economic level, innovation development level, digital industry development status, and ecological environment conditions. Using the entropy method to weigh various indicators, this paper has obtained the evaluation results of the digital construction level of each city from 2011 to 2021. Furthermore, a panel data regression model is used to empirically analyze the impact of urban digital construction level on urban economic growth. The results show that for every 1% increase in the level of urban digital construction, the GDP will increase by 0.974. Through the above research, we hope to further enrich the theoretical and empirical research in the field of the digital economy, provide a scientific and reasonable method for quantitatively evaluating the level of urban digital construction, and provide decision-making references for improving the level of urban digital construction and promoting sustainable urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The futures contracts were introduced to act as hedging instruments and ensure the price discovery (referred to as PD hereafter) mechanism for the underlying securities. If the price movement of a futures contract leads the price movement of the underlying securities in the spot market, this confirms the existence of price discovery in the market. This study undertakes an in-depth analysis of past research in order to find research trends and directions for the future in the field of price discovery. The bibliometric analysis technique is used to analyse the existing literature. The study considers the 1431 documents collected from the Scopus database for the period of 1982–2021 to conduct the descriptive and network analysis of search results. The study identifies three key clusters, i.e., the foundation of the price discovery process (Cluster 1), the econometric tools and techniques to assess the price discovery process (Cluster 2), and price discovery under different market conditions and constraints (Cluster 3). After an in-depth content analysis of these clusters, the study provides suggestions for future research in the field of price discovery. The study is the first of its type to conduct an in-depth analysis of the literature of price discovery since inception, and provides directions for future research in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the mesoscale damage properties of concrete and mortar were studied experimentally under Brazilian disc splitting tensile tests combining X-ray computed tomography (CT) and digital image correlation (DIC) technology. Considering the factors of water/cement ratios and loading rates, the influence of meso components on the macro tensile properties and failure modes of concrete were studied. The experimental results and analysis indicate that the following: (1) the existence of coarse aggregate makes the tensile strength of concrete lower than that of mortar and reduces the sensitivity of tensile strength to the loading rates; (2) the failure modes of mortar and concrete Brazilian discs differ in the crack initiation positions and localization phenomena. Under high loading rates, the local failure plays a critical role in the strength improvement of concrete; (3) for concrete, interface failure and mortar failure are the main failure modes under low loading rates, whereas aggregate failure gradually becomes the main failure mode with increasing loading rates. The decrease in water/cement ratios improves the strength of the mortar matrix and interfacial bonding performance, leading to more serious aggregate damage and higher strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of smart public governance (SPG) is gaining attention among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners around the world, especially in response to the modernisation of public administration through emerging technologies in both local (smart city) and national (smart government) levels. Spurred by the noticeable lack of understanding of the SPG concept, the paper aims to comprehensively examine the SPG research by considering the characteristic differences between the smart city and smart government concepts. Bibliometric analysis is based on the Scopus database, containing 775 documents published in the last two decades and facilitated by several established and innovative bibliometric approaches. The results reveal the growth of SPG research over time. Despite the smart city concept being the dominant focus in the SPG research, the smart government concept has been becoming more relevant in recent years, as indicated by some prominent documents published in reputable journals like Government Information Quarterly. Moreover, Anglo-Saxon countries are chiefly engaged in SPG research. However, New Zealand and South Korea are identified as countries with a stronger focus on the smart government concept. The results show the smart city concept is connected with several smart-related initiatives (e.g., smart transportation, smart living, smart energy, etc.), while the smart government concept is primarily associated with smart (de)regulation and smart grid. The findings may add to the understanding of the future development of SPG research, on both local and national levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]