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Russia's aim to build a role as a neutral, independent player in Northeast Asia (NEA) is now under threat as a result of its regional policy choices since the 2014 annexation of Crimea. Moscow's evolving position in the region can arguably be better understood in the light of the dynamic of the Sino-Russian partnership. The decline of Russian capacities, its growing partnership with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and NEA developments have exerted a unique impact on Moscow's relations with regional stakeholders. As a result, Russia's position as a neutral player in Northeast Asian security issues, including in the case of the Korean peninsula and China-Japan Senkaku/Diaoyu island dispute, is no longer tenable. Despite its weaker status, the declining power (Russia) has a specific strategic value to the rising power (PRC) in the short to medium term, thus requiring a more nuanced understanding of the behaviour and role of such powers in the international system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International aid is one of the main issues within the Liberal International Order (LIO) in Africa, where traditional donors have held significant influence since the Second World War (WWII). The power dynamics within the aid regime, which have been characterised by asymmetry in both guiding standards and administering organisations, have started to undergo disruption in recent decades. The relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the potential to reshape the institutional arrangements of the international aid regime in the current global system. Beijing's increased financial presence in SSA, particularly its involvement in debt and financial dependency, challenges the hegemony of traditional donors who have historically employed Africa's debt and aid dependency as tools of asymmetric power. Both African governments and the PRC advocate for deep reforms of the current regime by defending favoured institutional arrangements, rejecting those deemed unfavourable and establishing new ones to substantially shift power dynamics within the international aid regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine what factors played a determining role in creating new and dynamic bilateral relationships between the "sixteen" smaller European states and China, particularly the Republic of Serbia. Our research will notably examine the expressed capacity of the local actors in Serbia and their main drivers to accept and support China's initiatives. A new chapter in cooperation with the People's Republic of China (PRC) resulted from the one-sided PRC initiative. Vulnerable to the consequences of the global economic crises and neglected by Brussels, member states among the "sixteen" were attracted to China's promise of market access for their products and investment. The Balkan states, severely affected by the civil war in the 1990s and the dismemberment of Yugoslavia, were in an even grimmer condition and even further from substantial developmental assistance from Brussels. The domestic economic and somewhat political drivers were the main ones that existed with all the local agents and their willingness to engage. In the case of Serbia, there were also powerful peace and security issues. Additional drivers come from international relations, and major power rivalries became increasingly apparent with the rise of project numbers and values and China's growing political clout over the included countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arif Dirlik was an independent critical intellectual who warned of the political and ecological catastrophes consequent upon the rise of the PRC under its current leadership and along the current path of development. He is an excellent example of the intellectual who accepts responsibilities larger than the ambitions of the academy and its iterative common sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-driving technology will bring novelty in vehicle interior design and allow for a wide variety of occupant seating choices. Previous studies have shown that the increased risk of submarining exhibited by reclined occupants cannot be fully mitigated by changes in the seat configuration alone. This study aims to investigate the effects of three restraint countermeasures on cases with marginal submarining events and estimate their effect on submarining risk and injury prediction metrics. Vehicle environment frontal crash Finite Element (FE) simulations were performed with the two simplified Global Human Body Model Consortium (GHBMC) occupant models: small female and midsize male. The baseline occupant restraints consisted of a frontal airbag, a seatback-integrated 3-point belt with a lap belt anchor pre-tensioner, and a retractor-mounted pre-tensioner and load limiter. Based on submarining thresholds identified in previous studies, three baseline configurations were identified for each occupant size. For each baseline case three restraint system modifications were evaluated. The modifications consisted of the introduction of a pelvis restraint cushion airbag (PRC), the use of a knee airbag (KAB) and the modification of the of the passenger airbag location (PAB). Simulations were performed using the USNCAP 56 km/h frontal crash pulse. Occupant kinematic data was extracted from each simulation to investigate how changes in the restraint system configuration affects submarining. Overall, in only one of the investigated cases did the proposed restraint modification prevent submarining occurrence, however each of the restraint modifications reduced the pelvis excursion over the baseline scenario. The presence of the PRC airbag showed the highest reduction in pelvis forward excursion for the female model. The presence of the KAB and the modified location of the PAB also contributed to reductions in excursion to a smaller degree. For the male surrogate, the KAB showed the highest reduction in pelvis forward excursion. The presence of the PRC led to a reduction in the lumbar spine shear force. Submarining may be a major challenge to overcome for reclined occupants in autonomous driving systems. This suggests that there may not be a single generalizable currently-existing countermeasure able to effectively prevent marginal submarining cases in reclined positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes U.S. policy in the South China Sea (SCS) during the presidency of D. Trump and examines American strategic interests, objectives, and missions in the region. It explores U.S. policy in the context of the "Indo-Pacific strategy" that became the doctrinal basis of the Trump administration's policy course in the Asia-Pacific Region (APAC). It takes note of the new level of adversarial relations between the United States and China, which has posed a serious challenge to American military dominion in the SCS and the APAC region. In recent years the United States has significantly increased the scale and frequency of naval maneuvers in the South China Sea. It was under the Trump administration that the United States began actively to recruit its allies, including from outside region, for joint operations in the SCM. Particular attention is devoted to the so-called Freedom of Navigation Operations that the U.S. Navy conducts in the disputed waters. These operations have a dual purpose: On the one hand, they are positioned as peacemaking operations intended solely to protect freedom of navigation; on the other, they are the United States' principal tool for containing Chinese military ambitions, thereby leading to heightened tensions in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a common notion that phases-of-entrainment of circadian rhythms are adaptive, in that they enable organisms to time their behavior to specific times of the day to enhance their fitness. Therefore, understanding mechanisms that bring about such phases-of-entrainment is crucial to chronobiologists. Our previous studies have shown that selection for morning and evening phasing of adult emergence in Drosophila melanogaster populations leads to divergent coevolution of free-running periods of both adult emergence and activity/rest rhythms, such that early (morning) and late (evening) adult emergence chronotypes have shorter and longer circadian periods, respectively. However, there is little evidence to support the notion that phases-of-entrainment in these fly stocks is indeed driven by non-parametric mechanisms. Extending from a previous hypothesis based on anecdotal evidence for parametric mechanisms being in play, we explore the extent of non-parametric and parametric effects of light on circadian clocks of early and late chronotypes. We systematically tested predictions of the non-parametric model of entrainment, sketched the Circadian Integrated Response Characteristic (CIRC) of our stocks, assessed the effect of light pulses on amplitude of the behavior and the effect of duration of light pulse on phase-shifts of the clock. We demonstrate that, in addition to the differences in clock period, divergent CIRCs contribute to entrainment of the activity/rest rhythm. The differences in CIRC could be explained by differential transient amplitude responses and duration responses of the clock's phase between the early and late chronotypes. Our study thus highlights the role of amplitude responses and phase-shifts due to long durations of light in entrainment of circadian rhythms of D. melanogaster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent scholarship on the history of science in the People's Republic of China (PRC) has provided new horizons for exploring questions about the nature and epistemology of socialist science, its epistemic virtues, its knowledge-producing practices, its geographical imagination and networks of communication and exchange, and its relations to the Chinese state and state building. In this essay the author uses a focus on practice to extrapolate implications and tendencies that he sees as unifying recent studies, and he clarifies their contributions to the current understanding of the history of science in the PRC. Particularly with respect to Chinese state-science relations and the nature of Maoist mass science, a focus on practice illuminates how recent scholarship has queried and interrogated unitary conceptions of the Chinese state and science, highlighted transnational connections and movements, and deepened our understanding of Maoist mass science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological acquisitions have become a strong motivation for cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) activities by firms in emerging countries. However, whether these companies achieve their objectives remains an open question. This article presents a case study of Lenovo's acquisition of IBM's PC division with a focus on inventor productivity after acquisition. Our case study suggests that while a 'light-touch' integration approach helped avoid the all-too-common post-M&A productivity drop, intra-firm knowledge transfers to veteran inventors of the acquirers remained difficult due to the knowledge gap. However, M&A events create other opportunities to improve the technological capability of the acquiring company by sourcing new talent globally, offering unignorable merit that justifies outbound M&A activities by emerging market firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although China has been the world's second largest advertising market after the United States in terms of advertising spending since 2006, the performance of advertising agencies in China and the factors that contribute to this performance have been understudied. However, by incorporating the structure-conduct-performance model and agency theory into the integrative framework and conducting a time series cross-sectional analysis, we determine that the degree of concentration in the advertising agency industry and number of regulations in the advertising industry have had significant negative effects on the financial performance of agencies. In addition, agencies with mainly foreign capital have performed better than those with only Chinese capital. Agencies adopting strategies of initial public offering (IPOs) or engaging in name changes and mergers have performed better than those that have done nothing. Implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational cynicism is a pejorative attitude toward the employing organization induced by mistrust, disillusion, and various negative experiences. Based on cognitive dissonance theory we develop and test a theoretical model of how perceived cultural differences lead to organizational cynicism which in turn results in greater turnover intentions among host country nationals (HCN) employed in foreign subsidiaries of multinational corporations. Furthermore, we argue that the negative effect of perceived cultural differences can be mitigated by localization, i.e. replacement of expatriates by local staff. Survey results from HCN employees in foreign subsidiaries in China confirm the expected relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces the concept of Institutional Compensation Logics, which suggests that organizations can dynamically balance coexisting local and global logics, through a process known as the 'paradox of embedded action'. Through this process, managers can gradually adapt institutional logics to the global environment, even if their actions, intentions, and rationality are embedded in the very logics that they wish to change. We propose that one important way they do that is by designing corporate values that challenge the organization's local values. To test this approach, we use the mission-based corporate values' framework and analyse the corporate values of a sample from the largest Fortune companies in the two most influential world economies: China (PRC) and the United States (US). Our study also helps advance the understanding of how espoused values are related to cultural values, often in paradoxical ways, thus supporting a negative relationship between espoused organizational and cultural values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to compare the ethical standards of business practitioners of Northern provinces of the People's Republic of China (PRC) who follow the 'rule by man' (i.e. the Renzhi system) versus those of southern provinces who follow the 'rule by law' (i.e. the Fazhi system). Our Shanghai survey represented the south Chinese sample, and our Shijiazhuang mailing represented our north Chinese sample. We received 95 completed responses for the former and 102 completed responses for the latter. Our results found that the south Chinese practitioners were more likely to be idealistic, possessed virtue epistemic traits and were more sensitive to ethical practices than north Chinese practitioners were. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millennials entering work have not only transformed China’s workplaces, but have also brought new challenges for HR managers and opened gaps with older generations of employees. Chinese millennial employees have unique features, partly explained by being born under the one-child policy in China (since 1980). While preliminary research has pointed to significant differences in the needs, aspirations and well-being of millennials compared to previous generations in the workplace, a dearth of deeper research means that we poorly understand Chinese millennials and their impact on human resource management (HRM). To help organizations rethink HRM policies and practices for the millennial generation, this study first explores the characteristics of millennial employees in China. Guided by self-determination theory, it discusses ways to manage Chinese millennial workers and examines how current human resource development can be transformed to respond to the needs of Chinese millennial employees. In the study, survey-data on 519 millennial employees and a subset of 150 in-depth interviews were utilized. Last, we set out the HRM policy implications for Chinese organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is relatively little formal modeling of the economic effects of armed conflicts even though they have substantial economic effects. We set forth a new model, namely the armed conflict economic impact model - ACEI-Model. The model looks at the economic effects of war in three different stages: (i) pre-conflict stage; (ii) armed conflict stage; and (iii) post-conflict stage. The model is based on economic desgrowth (-δ) and other new conceptual indicators. We evaluate an imaginary armed conflict between China and Japan by applying the ACEI-Model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of different types of state ownership on corporate governance, with particular reference to state-owned enterprises in China. Our findings are that Chinese institutional reforms have produced diversified state ownership regimes. We argue that different types of government ownership exert different influences on ownership structure and executive shareholding. The study contributes to corporate governance research by challenging the conventional definition of state ownership and proposes that corporate governance studies should incorporate changing institutional environments in emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supporters of the GMD (Guomindang) and CCP (Chinese Communist Party) tend to emphasize the differences between the two parties in their policies toward the overseas Chinese and see the power transfer in 1949 as a watershed in the evolution of China’s official policies toward them. However, a close examination of the policies and practices that both parties adopted in managing overseas Chinese affairs indicates that from 1949 to 1966, the PRC followed many of the policies toward the overseas Chinese that the ROC adopted between 1911 and 1949, although they also made some significant changes. The beginning of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, which caused a radical change of previous policies toward the overseas Chinese, was a much more important turning point than 1949 in the relations between the Chinese government and the overseas Chinese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

观察国际和外交问题的视角与观念变化，是中华人民共和国外交史研究中尚需探讨和梳理的课题。在新中国成立后的前30年，中国外交深受在革命过程中形成的外交观念的影响。其基本诉求是建立新型外交关系，核心观念是独立自主与和平，外交政策的基石是和平共处五项原则；此外，国际统一战线策略，对现实世界的战略划分，以及对战争、和平与革命的思考亦对这一时期的外交政策具有重大影响。自20世纪70年代末实行改革开放以来，中国外交转以发展为视角，配合国家经济建设这一中心任务，做出一系列战略和政策调整。中国对国际形势作出和平与发展的新判断，对独立自主的和平外交政策作了新诠释，致力于建立均衡的对外关系，主张以渐进方式推动国际秩序的改进，决心走和平发展道路。中国由此成为现存国际秩序的参与者和建设者。进入21世纪，中国成为令世界瞩目的新兴大国，外交观念也在继承以往的基础上与时俱进。中国强调当代世界是命运共同体，谋求与各国的合作、共赢 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of small- and medium-sized multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the dynamic development of global production networks (GPNs) in the maritime industry. It studies the dynamism between subsidiaries of Norwegian maritime firms and regional actors and institutions in the Greater Shanghai Region of China from the perspectives of the subsidiaries. It argues that strategic coupling, recoupling and decoupling are partly the results of regional selection mechanisms. However, in the cases where the subsidiaries are embedded within the host region, the strategies and behaviour of MNEs are of decisive importance for the dynamic development of GPNs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Risperidone is an atypical antipsychotic that is active at multiple dopamine and serotonin receptor subtypes. Based on its high affinity for serotonin receptors, we predicted that it might reset circadian rhythms in a nocturnal rodent. We report temporally differentiated and differential effects of various doses of risperidone on the voluntary locomotor activity rhythm in the Indian field mice,Mus booduga. Risperidone (0.5 mg/kg) elicited phase delays at phases between CT (circadian time) 12 to CT18 and CT0 to CT3, and phase advances at CT6, CT9 and CT21. However, mice injected at CT6 showed maximum advances (1.299 ± 0.286 h), whereas at CT15 showed maximum delays (−1.514 ± 0.312 h). Increasing the dose beyond 0.5 mg/kg at maximally responsive CTs (CT6 and CT15) resulted in progressively smaller but significant shifts. Thus, 0.5 mg/kg is the optimal dose in this species. The fact that risperidone resets the circadian rhythm in a mammal can be extended to clinical studies and used for optimal adjustment of the circadian rhythm in mental disorders. Conversely, risperidone administration for various treatments must be carefully timed to prevent unwanted phase shifts in patients. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This Commentary looks at Globalization 'with Chinese Characteristics' (quanqiu hua yu zhongguo tese) as revealed through the lens of President Xi Jinping's recent speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January, 2017. In this, he sets out a positive role for the PRC in the 'Globalization' stakes. He also puts himself forward as 'Expert', rather than 'Red', in the ongoing polemic on the benefits of further reductions in barriers to doing business. But whether this may be taken at its face value remains to be seen. Whilst the Chinese appear to promote more of 'Globalization' and the Americans seem to retreat from the model, the world economic community may well suspend its judgement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The People's Republic of China has achieved remarkable progress in the internationalization of the RMB by introducing a number of concrete measures to boost the RMB's status on the world stage since 2009. The ongoing RMB internationalization is being promoted under the background of deepening economic and financial integration in East Asia. In this article, we attempt to analyse RMB internationalization from the perspective of East Asian regional integration. We hypothesize that East Asian regional integration lays a broad foundation for China to push RMB internationalization forward. An internationalized RMB, we argue, will play more important roles in the process of East Asian regionalization. Thus, RMB regionalization could be an important and necessary step of internationalization. The Chinese authorities should not only push the RMB toward internationalization under China's framework of domestic financial system reform, but they should also integrate RMB internationalization into the process of East Asian economic and financial integration. Therefore, a win–win strategy of RMB internationalization for both China and East Asian countries is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we explore the different roles that knowledge sharing and exploitative learning play in employees' innovative behaviour, and investigate the different moderating effects of employees' espoused national cultural values on the relationship between exploitative learning and innovative behaviour in the Chinese IT-enabled global service firms with different ownerships. We propose a theoretical model to characterize these antecedents of innovative behaviour. A structured research survey was conducted and data were collected from a sample of 484 full-time employees in 3 IT-enabled global service firms in the PRC. Results indicate that knowledge sharing is positively associated with innovative behaviour in multinational corporations and private IT-enabled global service; espoused power distance has a significant positive moderating effect on exploitative learning–innovative behaviour relationship in state-owned and private firms; espoused collectivism has a significant moderating effect only in state-owned firms in China. Last, we explore the implications of our findings for theory and practice of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the relationship among ultimate ownership, risk-taking and firm value using firm-level data from Chinese companies. The results indicate that dominant ultimate controlling shareholders exacerbate the agency problem. The larger the divergence between ultimate shareholder’s control rights and cash flow rights, the stronger motivation is to reduce corporate risk-taking (CRT) to safeguard private benefits. Furthermore, the presence of a dominant ultimate controlling shareholder is harmful to firm value, and the divergence between its control right and cash flow right has a significantly negative effect on firm value. Corporate risk-taking plays a significant mediating effect between ultimate controlling shareholder and firm value. Based on these results based on theory and practice, we propose a number of practical implications for managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resource-based view (RBV) regards strategy as deploying resources to obtain a competitive advantage. This article adopts such a RBV, by a simultaneous consideration of nonmarket and market factors, and then an empirical analysis of the relationships between such nonmarket and market resources, strategies and performance, focusing specifically on Chinese enterprises. The results test hypotheses related to the integrated strategy and RBV of the firm on linkages of nonmarket and market components. Combining those two views, this study reveals that there is a high and positive correlation between nonmarket and market strategies, while nonmarket strategy has a positive indirect effect on market performance via nonmarket performance. These findings suggest that the RBV is an appropriate theory for addressing the shortcomings in integrated strategy research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global financial crisis of 2008 aroused renewed interest in the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms to safeguard investor interests. In this paper, we measure the effects of the crisis from 2008 to 2009 on the share performance of 976 companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the Hong Kong SAR and examine the link between share performance and corporate governance mechanisms. Our results present evidence that firms with a higher proportion of independent directors and a greater concentration of ownership had lower share performance, but lower price volatility, during the global financial crisis. These results suggest that no single corporate governance mechanism is fit for all economic environments and time frames. To strengthen investors' confidence, companies should enhance the efficiency and adaptability of their governance mechanisms in turbulent times. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite significant reforms of the banking system, the existing market in which Chinese banks operate is reminiscent of a cartel. On the basis of illustrations relying on ‘game theory’, the interactions between the credit allocations of state banks and private-controlled banks are highlighted. The very particular status of public banks creates serious barriers to the convergence of credit allocations towards more transparent and more cautious practices. This work intends to discuss a new model in which, in the existing system, ‘win–win–win’ solutions may still appear under some conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conclusions presented here sum up the contributions in theSpecial Issueregarding the managing of China's energy sector, particularly regarding the demand and profile of energy as well as the marketization of the sector. Strategic, organizational and policy issues relevant to the main theme are set out. Both demand and supply scenarios for the nation's energy are seen as in flux, as the economy slackens and dependence on imports rises. Unprecedented levels of urban environmental pollution and steady growth of energy consumption in the wake of a rising living standard have brought the issue to headline-prominence as never before. China's rapidly increasing renewable energy will not change its heavy reliance on coal and a lesser extent oil in the coming decade. After decades of transformation, China's energy sector now operates in a domestic market characterized by strong governmental influence and monopolistic state firms. Abroad, China's firms are exposed to heavier market pressure and competition. While the state's policies have succeeded in ensuring energy supplies and propelling China's renewable energy manufacturers into global prominence and opening up domestic market, much room for improvement exists in the competitiveness of the domestic market and domestic energy firms, transparency of pricing and the effectiveness of regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tests the contention in the Asian business systems literature that interacting with global managers and increasing experience via international education are ways by which Asian firms enroll in global networks, thus potentially leading to changes in their broader network contingencies. Chinese solar PV firms are examined given the competitiveness of Chinese products in the global marketplace and the importance being placed on solar energy domestically as China confronts increasing pressure to protect its environment and control pollution while meeting mounting energy needs. Results indicate an emphasis on extra-firm institutional network relationships both within and outside of China for all firms, characteristic of a bourgeoning energy sector. A unique result is that buyer–supplier networks are spatially influenced by extra-local managerial education. Enrolling in wider networks also matters as firms with internationally educated managers have more non-mainland Chinese managers, which mitigates traditional management practices at home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China has now become the largest energy consumer in the world, its energy sector has understandably huge domestic and global implications. In thisSpecial Issue, which is an interdisciplinary one, comprising a set of eight in-depth empirical studies by leading international experts in the field, we set out to examine the management of the transformation of China's conventional and renewable energy sectors, with special attention to state–business relations and their link to the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the aesthetic and affective techniques of saturation through which posters legitimated the Party-State in Mao’s China by closing the gap between everyday experience and political ideology. Propaganda posters were designed to put into practice the principle of unity, as conceptualised by Mao Zedong. The argument posits that while the “poster” is normally a printed edition of a painting or design intended for mass distribution in this way, the term may fairly be deployed to capture other cultural objects that function as “posters”, in that they provide public, political information that expresses or constructs a political self in aesthetic form. This approach requires a metonymic understanding of a visual field in which cultural objects are interrelated and mutually reinforcing. The essay draws on recent in-depth interviews with poster artists of the 1960s and 1970s. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Photic phase response curves (PRCs) have been extensively studied in many laboratory-bred diurnal and nocturnal rodents. However, comparatively fewer studies have addressed the effects of photic cues on wild diurnal mammals. Hence, we studied the effects of short durations of light pulses on the circadian systems of the diurnal Indian Palm squirrel, Funambulus pennanti. Adult males entrained to a light-dark cycle (12 h-12 h) were transferred to constant darkness (DD). Free-running animals were exposed to brief light pulses (250 lux) of 15 min, 3 circadian hours (CT) apart (CT 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 21). Phase shifts evoked at different phases were plotted against CT and a PRC was constructed. F. pennanti exhibited phase-dependent phase shifts at all the CTs studied, and the PRC obtained was of type 1 at the intensity of light used. Phase advances were evoked during the early subjective day and late subjective night, while phase delays occurred during the late subjective day and early subjective night, with maximum phase delay at CT 15 (−2.04 ± 0.23 h), and maximum phase advance at CT 21 (1.88 ± 0.31 h). No dead zone was seen at this resolution. The free-running period of the rhythm was concurrently lengthened (deceleration) during the late subjective day and early subjective night, while period shortening (acceleration) occurred during the late subjective night. The maximum deceleration was noticed at CT 15 (−0.40 ± 0.09 h) and the maximum acceleration at CT 21 (0.39 ± 0.07 h). A significant positive correlation exists between the phase shifts and the period changes ( r = 0.684, p = 0.001). The shapes of both the PRC and period response curve (τRC) qualitatively resemble each other. This suggests that the palm squirrel's circadian system is entrained both by phase and period responses to light. Thus, F. pennanti exhibits robust clock-resetting in response to light pulses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether ‘impression management’ exists in Chinese corporate annual reports. Despite flourishing in the Western context, the literature regarding impression management has not yet received any significant development pertinent to China and its cultural norms. The following question is raised: do the most profitable Chinese listed companies disclose information in their chairmen's statements in a way that is significantly different from those of least profitable companies? The results indicate impression management motives do underlie chairman's statements in the Chinese context in a number of ways, as we suggest in this contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, China has experienced many crises related to food safety which have challenged the legitimacy of food production companies and damaged the reputation of relevant state law enforcement agencies, as well as influenced consumer confidence. Based on recent interviews with 20 food and drink production companies in the Shanghai region, this paper aims to address a key research question: what are the institutional and organizational factors that influence the production systems in general and the quality and safety of products in particular? The outcome of this research indicates that the pressure to minimize costs driven by price competition, changing consumer expectations, as well as a lack of enforcement of state regulation, cause companies to struggle to stay afloat and impede their commitment to social responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The JAK-STAT pathway is a key regulator of tissue size in Drosophila melanogaster. Here we provide an overview of its roles in processes that regulate the size of Drosophila imaginal discs, epithelia of diploid cells that proliferate and acquire specific fates in the larvae and that become functional in the adult. Drosophila has a single JAK and a single STAT gene, which has facilitated genetic dissection of this pathway. Moreover, the sophisticated genetic tools available in flies for clonal growth assays have made Drosophila an ideal organism in which to dissect the multiple roles of the JAK-STAT pathway in growth control. Studies in flies have revealed JAK-STAT pathway activity as a central node for diverse signals that control proliferation and mass accumulation. In addition, recent work has establish a new role for the pathway in cell competition, a process thought to be akin to the early stages of transformation in which more robust cells kill and take the place of less robust ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides an in-depth analysis of the determinants of import demand in China through a multilevel approach. Using disaggregated data over 1996–2008 and a dynamic panel model, we find that the Chinese import market is predominantly characterized by quality competition. However, the nature of the competition varies across different industries. In line with theory, quality plays an important role in industries that are characterized by the potential for quality improvement and product differentiation, whereas price is key in industries in which quality and product differences are rather small. Moreover, private consumption expenditure is more influential than other categories of expenditures. Additionally, variables that can influence the relative price of import products, such as the exchange rate, tariffs and the domestic price index, also have an impact on import demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a contactless power transfer system using a series–series–parallel resonant converter (SSPRC) is proposed. The proposed converter can improve on or eliminate the disadvantages of the contactless system based on conventional resonant converters, since it independently compensates for a primary side leakage inductance, a secondary side leakage inductance and a magnetising inductance. The proposed converter also reduces the circulating currents and the reactive power by controlling the phase angle difference between the inverter output voltage and the current. In addition, the system design can be simplified, since the voltage gain is determined only by the transformer turns ratio for the overall load range without being affected by the other transformer parameters. The proposed converter is analysed with respect to the gain and current margin. The system design procedure is then described for the proposed circuit based on the circuit analysis. Finally, the experimental results are presented in order to verify the proposed contactless power supply. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A major objective of this study is to develop a guanxi scale with two dimensions, favour-seeking guanxi and, for the first time, a rent-seeking guanxi, based on Ang and Leong's (2000) guanxi scale and Su and Littlefield's (2001) classifications of guanxi orientations. The relationship between Chinese auditors' guanxi orientations and their ethical judgments is also reported. A survey methodology was used in this study and 519 useable respondents were included. Results of this study show these two guanxi dimensions are relatively independent. It was also found that Chinese auditors' favour-seeking guanxi orientations were positively associated with their ethical judgments but their rent-seeking guanxi orientations negatively impacted on their ethical judgments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this contribution to the Symposium, we shall look at the relationship between Society and Human Resource Management (HRM) not only in its general context but also in its Chinese setting. Our argument is that there needs to be a minimum degree of consonance between the two – if HRM is to be sufficiently underpinned by social reality. A review of how Chinese society and its organizations have changed in the last half-century and how its economy and management, including HRM, have been transformed since the post-1978 economic reforms is then set out. Our main findings are that much of the research published in this Symposium if no doubt relatively ‘representative’ of the social changes found in PRC today is, however, mostly ‘cross-sectional’ and ‘specialized’. What is missing are studies we might judge to be both ‘longitudinal’ and ’broad’ in scope. We conclude by suggesting that it is only in a wider framework that ‘people-management’ can be best understood, whether we are looking at theory or practice, both in general and vis-à-vis the PRC. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The objective of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the influence of corporate governance characteristics and corporate ownership concentrations on the financial performance of Chinese companies. This is based on analysis of a panel data set covering the years 2001 to 2005. The characteristics considered are the ratios of independent directors and professional supervisors on the companies' two boards, and the level of concentration in and type of ownership of the companies. Our chosen performance metric is Tobin's Q. We find that ownership concentration in general is a significant factor in determining firm performance. The degree of board independence is significant, but it only appears to have a positive impact on performance in larger companies. The expertise of the supervisory board is not a significant determinant of corporate financial performance in China. Our findings support a continued focus on making improvements to the operation and effectiveness of China's institutions of corporate governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution is part of a wider Symposium on people management in the heartland of Asia. It sets out in search of what might be conceptualized as 'Confucian human resource management (HRM)', in Greater China and beyond. It will cover not only the People's Republic of China (PRC) but also the Overseas Chinese (Nanyang) Diaspora, namely in Hong Kong and Taiwan, among other places. It will seek to understand how far traditional Chinese values still continue to influence the degree to which HRM has been adopted. The main conclusion we come to is that the continuity of traditional Chinese values is empirically still observable in the contemporary practice of people management but with varying degrees of emphasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of the knowledge economy, research and application of human capital theory has received great attention from many scholars in various countries and in different organizations. In the People's Republic of China (PRC), research on human capital theory is still not mature. However, many organizations have tried to put human capital theory into management practice. Based on human capital theory and relevant research at home and abroad, this study analyses the present situation of the formation and development of human capital in China, and discusses the application of human capital theory in different kinds of Chinese organizations. Research on human capital theory and practice has much room for development in China and will arguably soon become one of the main topics in theoretical study and organizational practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses some important developments and changes in interest and research studies on management and human resources (HR) in China since the World Trade Organization accession and also suggests possibilities regarding future developments. Professionals and academics are contributing and serving this field through the dissemination of knowledge and ideas in journals. Thus, changes and trends that may have an impact on management and HR concepts, policies and practices can be determined by reviewing such articles. Through content analysis of articles from two leading academic journals, the International Journal of Human Resource Management and the Asia Pacific Business Review, the authors identify common research topics in recent years, examine the use of types of theories and compare and assess the most prevalently used research methodologies. This analysis shows that recent research on management and HR in China has several characteristics – a wide range of topics are covered, the theories used are predominantly western and most employ non-probability sampling and are descriptive in nature. The recognition of these characteristics provides a platform for considering future research and developing appropriates stances in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on organizational culture, innovativeness and market orientation in Hong Kong. This paper examines aspects of marketing-related organizational behavior as well as changes aspects of personal values of managers in Hong Kong and the PRC. The framework of a Modified Competing Values model augmented with results on managerial reaction to environmental change is used to frame hypotheses. This paper examines whether there have been changes since handover in important aspects of their firms that are related to marketing management and changes in personal values of individual managers. The organizational aspects include organizational culture, market orientation, innovativeness and organizational climate.

This study reviews the evolution of organizational governance and human resource management practices in China's non-state sector, with a focus on China's township and village enterprises (TVEs). The empirical investigation on twenty TVEs located in Southern China provided the evidence that, as enterprises move towards a more formal corporate governance structure with clearer property rights relations, their human resource management practices tend to become more marketized, in order to meet the challenge of increased competition in the highly dynamic, transitional Chinese economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This communication presents a new method for evaluating phase response curves (PRCs). A PRC describes the phase shifts produced in an oscillator by stimuli applied at different initial phase-states of that oscillator. In the PRC bisection tests, we repeatedly cut in half the circular distribution of the initial phase-states of the oscillator when stimuli are given. Empirically, we locate that optimal diameter which best bisects the circular distribution of phase responses into arcs of relative phase advance and phase delay. We compute a D score reflecting the success of the best bisection. The null hypothesis of a random distribution of phase responses by initial phase is tested with a Monte Carlo procedure, which computes Dr scores from random combinations of phase shifts with initial phases, thus determining the probability, given the null hypothesis, that the observed D score was from a random distribution. The bisection procedure can be extended to examine whether stronger phase shifts are produced in one phase response curve than in contrasting curves. Also, the bisection procedure yields an estimate of the inflection point of the phase response curve. A method is given to estimate the power of the PRC bisection test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circadian clocks with characteristic period (τ) can be entrained to light/dark (LD) cycles by means of (i) phase shifts which are due to D/L "dawn" and/or L/D "dusk" transitions, (ii) period changes associated with long-term light exposure, or (iii) by combinations of the above possibilities. Based on stability analysis of a model circadian clock it was predicted that nocturnal burrowing mammals would benefit less from period responses than their diurnal counterparts. The model further predicted that maximal stability of circadian clock is reached when the clock slightly changes both its phase and period in response to light stimuli. Analyses of empirical phase response curve (PRC) and period response curve (τRC) of some diurnal and nocturnal mammals revealed that PRCs of both diurnal and nocturnal mammals have similar waveform while τRCs of nocturnal mammals are of smaller amplitude than those of diurnal mammals. The shape of the τRC also changes with age and with increasing strength of light stimuli. During erratic fluctuations in light intensity under different weather conditions, the stability of phase of entrainment of circadian clocks appears to be achieved by an interplay between phase and period responses and the strength of light stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of light intensity on the phase response curve (PRC) and the period response curve (∼RC) of the nocturnal field mouse Mus booduga was studied. PRCs and ∼RCs were constructed by exposing animals free-running in constant darkness (DD), to fluorescent light pulses (LPs) of 100 lux and 1000 lux intensities for 15min duration. The waveform of the PRCs and ∼RCs evoked by high light intensity (1000 lux) stimuli was significantly different compared to those constructed using low light intensity (100 lux). Moreover, a weak but significant correlation was observed between phase shifts and period changes when light stimuli of 1000 lux intensity were used; however, the phase shifts and period changes in the 100 lux PRC and ∼RC were not correlated. This suggests that the intensity of light stimuli affects both phase and period responses in the locomotor activity rhythm of the nocturnal field mouse M. booduga. These results indicate that complex mechanisms are involved in entrainment of circadian clocks, even in nocturnal rodents, in which PRC, ∼RC, and dose responses play a significant role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The movement of the Chinese economy towards a market orientation has been characterized by high levels of foreign direct investment, the diversification of forms of public ownership and the growing economic significance of the private sector as the PRC joins the global economy. These changes have clearly had a significant impact over time on the Chinese labour-force. This study, based on a geographically dispersed sample of sixty-two enterprises, both state-owned and joint venture, examines the effect of these economic reforms on industrial and labour relations, and in particular on the role of trade unions at plant level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multinational marketers are increasingly realizing the importance of personal relationships when dealing with Chinese enterprises, so much so that an appreciation of guanxi is now considered essential for success throughout most of Asia. By juxtapositioning elements of relationship marketing theory, buyer/seller interaction models and Chinese cultural factors, we explore the benefits of guanxi from the perspective of Singaporean firms trading with the Peoples' Republic. Specifically, we focus on the direct and indirect consequences of guanxi. Findings suggest that guanxi has a positive impact on business performance for those firms who successfully cultivate social and business networks in China. Managerial and public policy implications are outlined, limitations discussed, and directions for future research are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]