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The investigation of association between board diversity and the firm performance is the subject of many studies. However, the empirical results presented in the extant literature are inconclusive at best. The inconclusive empirical results could be due to several factors and one of them could be that the relationship is contingent on some key factors. Given the rising trend of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) activities, in this paper the relationship between board diversity and the firm performance is tested in the context of ESG activities. The subject of examination in this study is the listed Chinese firms. The sample period spans for 6 years and is collected from 2014 to 2019. This work uses a dynamic approach to modelling relationships. The generalised method of moments (GMM) is used in a two-step system. An endogeneity-free estimate may be achieved by using this strategy. We can learn a great deal from these hypotheses. There is a positive and substantial correlation between board diversity and the firm's success, which suggests that diverse boards are beneficial to businesses. Both ESG activities and a positive coefficient on company performance are significant. This shows investors appreciate companies that are involved in ESG activities because they see this as an investment that pays off. Last but not least, the report shows that board diversity has a negative and considerable impact on ESG efforts. According to the results, board diversity and ESG efforts are not necessary for a company's success. According to the data, board diversity is not particularly beneficial in the context of significant ESG initiatives. Board diversity really hurts a company's success when it engages in high ESG activities. The study also discusses the work's policy ramifications. Finally, the work lays out a clear path for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the energy structure has been gradually enriched in recent years, China, as the world's largest producer and consumer of coal, still accounts for more than 50% of resources. Therefore, in this paper, the high carbon fly ash raw ash (HCFARA) was mechanically activated, and the flotation was treated to obtain decarburized fly ash (DFA) with a loss on ignition of 1.18%, water demand ratio of 101% and strength activity coefficient of 74.5%. With the exception of for water demand ratio, the rest meet the national requirements for the use of Class I fly ash. The foam concrete was prepared by partially replacing cement with decarburized fly ash in different proportions and at different water-to-cement ratios (0.3, 0.4 and 0.5) in order to study its dry density, porosity, compressive strength and thermal conductivity. The results show that the porosity of foam concrete grows with the increase in water-to-cement ratio and fly ash replacement rate. In addition, the dry density and thermal conductivity of the prepared foam concrete can meet the requirements of A05 grade foam concrete (Density less than 500 kg/m3, thermal conductivity less than 0.12 W/(m·k)). The compressive strength can meet the requirements of C0.3 grade foam concrete (Minimum use standard). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is an important component of fine particular matter (PM 2.5). Most air quality models use an equilibrium partitioning method along with the saturation vapor pressure (SVP) of semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) to predict SOA formation. However, the models typically assume that the organic particulate matter (OPM) is an ideal mixture and ignore the partitioning of water vapor to OPM. In this study, the Community Multiscale Air Quality model (CMAQ) is updated to investigate the impacts of water vapor partitioning and nonideality of the organic–water mixture on SOA formation during winter (January) and summer (July) of 2013 over eastern China. The updated model treats the partitioning of water vapor molecules into OPM and uses the universal functional activity coefficient (UNIFAC) model to estimate the activity coefficients of species in the organic–water mixture. The modified model can generally capture the observed surface organic carbon (OC) with a correlation coefficient R of 0.7 and the surface organic aerosol (OA) with the mean fractional bias (MFB) and mean fractional error (MFE) of -0.28 and 0.54, respectively. SOA concentration shows significant seasonal and spatial variations, with high concentrations in the North China Plain (NCP), central China, and the Sichuan Basin (SCB) regions during winter (up to 25 µ g m -3) and in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) during summer (up to 16 µ g m -3). In winter, SOA decreases slightly in the updated model, with a monthly averaged relative change of 10 %–20 % in the highly concentrated areas, mainly due to organic–water interactions. The monthly averaged concentration of SOA increases greatly in summer, by 20 %–50 % at the surface and 30 %–60 % in the whole column. The increase in SOA is mainly due to the increase in biogenic SOA in inland areas and anthropogenic SOA in coastal areas. As a result, the averaged aerosol optical depth (AOD) is increased by up to 10 %, and the cooling effect of aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) is enhanced by up to 15 % over the YRD in summer. The aerosol liquid water content associated with OPM (ALW org) at the surface is relatively high in inland areas in winter and over the ocean in summer, with a monthly averaged concentration of 0.5–3.0 and 5–7 µ g m -3 , respectively. The hygroscopicity parameter κ of OA based on the κ –Köhler theory is determined using the modeled ALW org. The correlation of κ with the O:C ratio varies significantly across different cities and seasons. Analysis of two representative cities, Jinan (in the NCP) and Nanjing (in the YRD), shows that the impacts of water partitioning and nonideality of the organic–water mixture on SOA are sensitive to temperature, relative humidity (RH), and the SVP of SVOCs. The two processes exhibit opposite impacts on SOA in eastern China. Water uptake increases SOA by up to 80 % in the organic phase, while including nonunity activity coefficients decreases SOA by up to 50 %. Our results indicate that both water partitioning into OPM and the activity coefficients of the condensed organics should be considered in simulating SOA formation from gas–particle partitioning, especially in hot and humid environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammonia in the atmosphere is essential for the formation of fine particles that impact air quality and climate. Despite extensive prior research to disentangle the relationship between ammonia and haze pollution, the role of ammonia in haze formation in high ammonia-emitting regions is still not well understood. Aiming to better understand secondary inorganic aerosol (sulfate, nitrate, ammonium – SNA) formation mechanisms under high-ammonia conditions, 1-year hourly measurement of water-soluble inorganic species (gas and particle) was conducted at a rural supersite in Shanghai. Exceedingly high levels of agricultural ammonia, constantly around 30 µ g m -3 , were observed. We find that gas-particle partitioning of ammonia (ε (NH4+)), as opposed to ammonia concentrations, plays a critical role in SNA formation during the haze period. From an assessment of the effects of various parameters, including temperature (T), aerosol water content (AWC), aerosol pH, and activity coefficient, it seems that AWC plays predominant regulating roles for ε (NH4+). We propose a self-amplifying feedback mechanism associated with ε (NH4+) for the formation of SNA, which is consistent with diurnal variations in ε (NH4+) , AWC, and SNA. Our results imply that a reduction in ammonia emissions alone may not reduce SNA effectively, at least at rural agricultural sites in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no consensus on the impact of education on entrepreneurial choice in both theory and empirics. China's Higher Education Expansion (HEE) policy initiated in 1999 provides us a unique opportunity to identity the causal relationship between college education and entrepreneurship by exploiting the Fuzzy Regression Discontinuity Design (FRDD) approach. In this paper, we use the China Household Income Project (CHIP) 2013 database, finding that China's HEE policy significantly increases the probability of obtaining college education by 12%. There is suggestive evidence that college education decreases overall and self-employed-type of entrepreneurial choices, but increases boss-type activities; none of the coefficients are precisely estimated, though. Our results are robust to different inference approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbonate carbon sequestration (CS) can aid in solving the problem of terrestrial residual carbon sinks and imbalances in the global carbon budget. Thus, complete understanding of the magnitude, spatiotemporal distribution, and evolution of this sequestration is highly desirable. On the basis of random forest regression and maximal potential dissolution model for carbonate, we estimated the CS of typical carbonate weathering in China from 2000 to 2014, that is, the sequestration of limestone weathering, using long-term ecologic, meteorological, hydrological raster data, and monitored data from 44 watersheds in China and surrounding regions. We extended our analyses by systematically exploring the spatiotemporal pattern and evolution trend of the flux and total sequestration. High levels of ionic activity coefficients of Ca2+ and HCO3− in limestone regions were observed to be mainly distributed in Northern and Northwestern China with a clear gradient from northwest to southeast. With a contrary spatial pattern, the annual average CS flux (CSF) of limestone weathering in China was estimated to be 4.28 t C km−2 yr−1, with high values mainly in the karst zones in Southeastern China. The mean CSF in different latitudes showed that Southern China (south of 28.14°N) was the region with the largest interannual fluctuation of flux and CSF increases as latitude decreases. The mean CSF in subtropical and tropical (TR) regions was the maximum of all major climate types, and for the frigid (F), mid-temperate (MTE), warm temperate (WTE), and temperate (TE) major climates; the CSF in the desert (D) subdivided climate was the minimum of these climates. By contrast, the values in grassland (G) and broad-leaved forest subdivided climate were the maximum. The pixel-based trend analysis indicated that the CSF of limestone weathering in China was slightly increasing in the period 2000–2014 with a rate of 0.036 t C km−2 yr−1. Furthermore, the annual total CS was estimated to be 7.07 Tg carbon per year (Tg C yr−1) with high levels in 2002, 2008, and 2010, and the minimum appeared in 2011 with a slightly increasing trend of the total CS being observed with a rate of 0.06 Tg C yr−1. Tibet Autonomous Region was the administrative division with the largest total CS of limestone weathering (1.20 Tg C yr−1) in China, and karst zones in Southeastern China had the largest total CS (4.95 Tg C yr−1) which accounts for 70.01% of that in the three divided karst regions. On the basis of the diversity of rock chemical weathering carbon cycle mechanisms of different carbonate rock types, we estimated that the total CS of carbonate weathering in China may reach 11.37 Tg C yr−1 (the sink was approximately 5.02 t C km−2 yr−1), which amounts to 16.20% of the total biomass CS in China, furthermore, the CSF of carbonate weathering in China can reach 6.54 t C km−2 yr−1 if excluding the interference of the negative runoff. This finding indicates that CS of carbonate weathering is an indispensable part of China's terrestrial carbon sink system. The research pattern of this study was important for further improving the accuracy of the estimation for the global carbonate weathering carbon sink. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we discuss an ethnographic case study of the teaching practice (practicum) experience of a student teacher, Lynn, in a university partnership school in mainland China. Drawing on Activity Theory, we conceptualise Lynn's practicum as boundary-crossing between two different activity systems: those of the school community and the university community. The impact of the tensions of the conflicting discourses between the school activity system and the university activity system on Lynn's professional identity formation is analysed. Clarke's model of teacher identity formation is further drawn upon to analyse how Lynn undertook her ‘teacher identity work’ amidst these conflicting discourses and power relations. Based on this study, we propose that English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher preparation is more than just a pedagogical or technological task but a task deeply infused with conflicting cultural and ideological beliefs and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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This paper is based on a study that explored the relationship between the implementation of ICT pedagogy and the factors that influenced seven teachers of English for Business Purposes in Chinese higher education concerning their adoption of ICT into their teaching. Activity Theory was used as an analytical tool to investigate the relationships and to identify contradictions in their teaching systems that could lead to teachers’ implementation of a student-centred ICT pedagogy. The study revealed that the main potential driving force for change lay in the conflict between the deep-rooted teacher-centred pedagogy in the educational system and the student-centred pedagogy that accompanied the introduction of ICT. If teachers, curriculum developers and policy makers understood this conflict, this would enable them to concentrate on such issues as how to change the teacher-centred pedagogy to support both teaching and learning for improved learning achievements. Activity theory proved a powerful tool to analyse and understand the contradictions in an activity system. Changes in ICT related policy are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In contrast to the traditional cognitive view of writing strategies, this study explores English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ writing strategy use within the Activity Theory framework, adding to the growing body of writing strategy research and sociocultural research on writing and second language acquisition (SLA). Drawing on data collected from interviews, stimulated recall, and process logs completed by two proficient English majors in a Chinese university, the study investigates how these two learners strategically mediated their writing processes with diverse resources and identifies four types of writing strategies, namely, artifact-mediated, rule-mediated, community-mediated, and role-mediated strategies. Subcategories are specified within each category to further explicate the learners’ strategy use. These categories and subcategories, though by no means exhaustive, reconceptualize writing strategies from a sociocultural perspective. Moreover, contradictions in strategy use, writers’ agency, writing goals, and interactions between strategies are discussed. Finally, the study suggests implications for writing instruction and future directions of writing strategy research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]