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Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Government infrastructure provision is much more important than its conception in mainstream economic theory as a response to 'market failure'. In practice, it draws on the state's capacity to fUnd [...]

Cryogenic hydrogen circulation system is a critical infrastructure of the China Spallation Neutron Source phase II project. Safety considerations related to hydrogen are paramount for the stable operation of the system. This study focuses on the cryogenic hydrogen circulation system within the context of the China Spallation Neutron Source phase II project and conducts a detailed investigation of hydrogen safety issues throughout the process. The operational modes and fault occurrence mitigation strategies of the cryogenic hydrogen circulation system are analyzed and discussed. Additionally, employing centralized layout, zoning management, and multiple barrier layers as guiding concepts for hydrogen safety design, the study addresses physical and interlocking control designs concerning hydrogen distribution, hydrogen venting, vacuum, hydrogen circulation pressure control, and hydrogen leakage. Drawing upon the successful experiences of the first-phase project, the hydrogen safety design of the cryogenic hydrogen circulation system in the China Spallation Neutron Source phase II project provides valuable insights for the development and optimization of hydrogen safety designs across various industrial domains. • Cryogenic hydrogen circulation system of CSNS-Ⅱ is introduced. • Principles and concepts of hydrogen safety in CSNS-Ⅱ are elucidated. • Operational modes and fault analysis of hydrogen circulation system are presented. • Physical and interlock control designs of hydrogen-related system are illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Due to geographical factors, it is impossible to build large‐scale communication network infrastructure in remote areas, which leads to poor network communication quality in these areas and a series of delay‐sensitive tasks cannot be timely processed and responded. Aiming at the problem of limited coverage in remote areas, the space‐air‐ground integrated networks (SAGIN) combined with mobile edge computing (MEC) can provide low latency and high reliability transmission for offloading delay‐sensitive tasks for users in remote areas. Considering the strong limitation of satellite resources in the space‐ground integrated network and insufficient energy of local user equipment, firstly, a satellite‐UAV cluster‐ground three‐layer edge computing network architecture is proposed in this paper. Under the condition that the delay requirements of various ground tasks are met, the task offloading problem is transformed into a Stackelberg game between ground user equipment and edge servers. In addition, it is proved that the existence of Nash equilibrium in non‐cooperative game between ground user equipment by using potential game. Finally, a Nash equilibrium iterative offloading algorithm based on Stackelberg game (NEIO‐SG) is proposed to find the optimal offloading strategy for tasks to minimize the system offloading cost and the optimal forwarding percentage strategy for offloading tasks to maximize the utility function of the edge server. Simulation results show that compared to other baseline algorithms, NEIO‐SG reduces the total system latency during task offloading by about 13%$$ \% $$ and the energy consumption of the edge server by about 35%$$ \% $$. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A direct consequence of the rapid expansion of civilization and modernization trends is the escalation in global warming and the consequential climatic upheavals. The world has actively advocated the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) as a response to the environmental challenges posed by vehicular emissions. It is evident that conventional fuel‐based charging infrastructures are economically impractical and lack organizational cohesion in light of the proliferation of EVs. An EV charging station powered by renewable energy presents a promising opportunity for enhancing flexibility and control. It is imperative that EV charging stations be equipped with solar power and standby batteries (SBBs). Consequently, this article presents and evaluates a system that utilizes a proportional‐integral‐derivative controller, a neural network‐equipped grid and a charging station utilizing a Dragon Fly Optimization Algorithm to generate power and a maximum power point tracking controller. To achieve optimal power management within the charging station, MATLAB/Simulink is used to implement and rigorously test the proposed system. It orchestrates the interaction between the solar panel, backup battery, grid and EVs. Compared to existing systems in the literature, the comprehensive system exhibits commendable efficiency. Due to the pivotal role played by grid integration and the SBB, the system can ensure a reliable power supply to the charging station under any weather conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable development of railway represents an essential dimension of spatial planning and a priority of the European Union as it constitutes a safe and environmentally friendly transportation mode. This paper focuses on the application of an integrated approach supporting the development of railway in Greece. A Decision Support System (LIPSOR) was used in order key components, key actors and possible future states to be explored; alternative scenarios were designed and assessed in combination with policy goals and measures. The main outcomes indicated the need to upgrade rail infrastructure and services, increase railway extroversion and reinforce investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid power systems are the contemporary solution to meet the stiff climate change targets and also hold future for implementing distributed generation and microgrids. These systems have renewable sources as their key elements which in turn have high level of intermittency due to weather conditions and other reasons. At the same time, these hybrid power systems are also vulnerable to cyber threats owing to the intense adoption of various IoT Technologies (Internet of Things). Load frequency control (LFC) is a formidable task for the system operators under such scenario and robust control strategies are required to achieve the load frequency within tolerable limits. In this work Linear quadratic controller (LQR) has been proposed to address the challenges of hybrid power systems. Two area interconnected power systems are considered in this work with each one having different configuration with respect to source of power generation. Solar, wind, geo-thermal, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and pumped storage power plant are integrated together with conventional thermal power plant for showcasing the LQR based controller under data integrity cyber-attack scenario. The frequency response of the hybrid power system is demonstrated through MATLAB simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicle‐mounted detection methods have been widely applied in the maintenance of high‐speed railways (HSRs), providing feasibility for diagnosing ballastless track arching. However, applying detection data faces several key limitations: (1) The threshold mostly requires manual setting, making recognition accuracy highly subjective; (2) the extensive workload of manual inspections makes it challenging to label detection data, hindering the application of supervised learning approaches. To address these problems, this paper utilizes the longitudinal level irregularity data obtained from vehicle‐mounted detection, employing the concept of unsupervised learning for dimensionality reduction, combined with clustering algorithms and minimal label fine‐tuning, to design two frameworks: the fully unsupervised framework (FUF) and the few‐shot fine‐tuned framework (FFF). Experiments on dynamic detection data from a Chinese HSR line were conducted, comparing the performance of data dimensionality reduction, clustering, and classification under different strategy combinations. The results show that the improved variational autoencoder significantly enhances the performance of the encoder in dimensionality reduction, facilitating better feature extraction; the FUF achieves effective clustering outcomes without any labeled samples and its adjusted rand index score exceeded 0.8, showcasing its robustness and applicability in scenarios with no prior annotations; the FFF requires only a small number of labeled samples (labeling ratio of 5%) and achieves excellent performance, with metrics such as accuracy exceeding 0.85, thus greatly reducing the reliance on labeled data. This study offers a novel method for solving engineering issues with limited labeled data, providing an efficient solution for identifying track arching defects and advancing railway infrastructure monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid, accurate, and fully automated estimation of both length and width of asphalt pavement cracks, essential for achieving a proactive asset management, presents a significant challenge, primarily due to limitations in the effectiveness of automatic image segmentation and the accuracy of crack width and length estimation algorithms. To address this challenge, this paper introduces the Branch Growing (BG) algorithm, specifically designed for crack length estimation in asphalt pavements, along with an optimized OrthoBoundary algorithm tailored for crack width estimation. Leveraging four widely adopted deep learning models for asphalt pavement crack segmentation, four distinct sets of image segmentation results have been produced. Subsequently, a comprehensive evaluation has been conducted to assess the effectiveness of both crack dimensions estimation algorithms. The findings demonstrate that the integration of the BG algorithm, the optimized OrthoBoundary algorithm, and the fully convolutional network with the HRNet backbone achieve a prediction accuracy of 80.21% for crack length estimation and 84.32% for average width estimation. Moreover, the image processing speed, at a resolution of 3024 × 3024, can be maintained at approximately 5 s, with average width estimation observed to be up to 9.1‐fold faster than the unoptimized OrthoBoundary algorithm. These results signify advancements in automated crack quantification methodologies, with implications for enhancing civil infrastructure maintenance practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining the factors that influence poverty has been seen as one of the ways of identifying appropriate poverty alleviation strategies in cities. This has been done, in most cases, through the application of ordinary least squares (OLS), which assumes homogeneous influence without considering the spatial heterogeneity that may occur in this influence. This study aims to determine the spatial heterogeneity in the influence of public infrastructure, economic, environmental, and social factors on poverty, by carrying out comparison analysis using OLS and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) in ArcGIS Pro 3.0.1, with a view of proffering poverty alleviation strategies for each section of an urban area. A questionnaire in Geographic Open Data Kit (GeoODK) was administered to 366 urban residents across the twenty wards in the selected city in Nigeria. The results reveal that factors that influence income poverty are spatially varying in direction and weight across a city. Spatial heterogeneity of poverty’s determinants should be considered in the formulation and implementation of effective poverty alleviation policies and programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the potential role of hydrogen and ammonia in the European energy transition to reach net-zero greenhouse gas targets. We analyse trade of green hydrogen and ammonia between Europe and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), since the latter possesses a high potential for solar power, making it a possible low-cost supplier of these two clean energy carriers. The economic attractiveness of such trade depends on the additional infrastructure and transportation costs required for the roll-out of these clean energy carriers. Using a global integrated assessment model, TIAM-ECN, we evaluate the trade-off between costs and benefits of establishing import-export links between Europe and MENA for hydrogen and ammonia. Our study assumes the availability of hydrogen pipelines from North Africa to Europe, and of liquefied hydrogen and ammonia shipping from the Middle East to Europe. We find that MENA could realize cost savings of over 6% by 2050 through hydrogen and ammonia trade. Furthermore, despite the availability of gaseous green hydrogen from North Africa (via pipelines), for Europe the import of liquefied green hydrogen and ammonia from MENA (through shipping) can also be economically viable. Although this trade could generate cost savings of 40 billion dollars per year by 2050, we conclude that for Europe import diversity, rather than cost savings, could become the main factor driving hydrogen and ammonia imports. • H 2 and NH 3 play an increasingly important role in the European energy transition. • Liquified hydrogen and ammonia import from Middle East to EU can be economically viable. • H 2 and NH 3 trade with MENA could save Europe 40 G$/yr by 2050. • MENA could realize cost savings of over 6% by 2050 thanks to H 2 and NH 3 trade. • Import diversity rather than cost savings could drive H 2 and NH 3 imports to EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across Europe, refugees face significant difficulties in finding employment. Many studies have attributed the disadvantaged labor market position of refugees to factors on the individual level, such as language barriers or health issues related to the experience of fleeing. While such explanations emphasize individual responsibility, ethnographic studies are increasingly contending that opportunities to integrate into the labor market can be restricted or enabled by arrival infrastructures. We contribute to this discussion by taking a quantitative perspective. Focusing on the Netherlands, we used extensive national register data that allowed us to follow refugees over time and break the concept of arrival infrastructures down into four dimensions, namely job access, neighborhood effects, enclave effects, and the local migration regime. In addition, because the Dutch dispersal policy distributed refugees – to a considerable extent – randomly across municipalities during the period under study, we were able to counteract problems of self-selection and reversed causality. We studied the labor market integration of refugees using competing risks analysis, taking educational enrollment and residential mobility into account. Our findings show that economic, social, and institutional arrival infrastructures manifest themselves at different scales but all matter in the labor market integration of refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some critical civil infrastructure projects, such as government offices, command buildings, airport stations, and transportation routes, are highly susceptible to missile attacks during conflicts. To investigate the influence of impact velocity ( v 0) and impact location on the dynamic responses of RC slabs and projectiles, finite element models were established to simulate the perforation of the 300 mm-diameter projectile into the 100 mm-thick RC slab. The results indicate that both v 0 and impact location have effects on the relative relationship between kinetic energy and internal energy of the RC slab. Stresses exceeding 48 MPa ( f c) and maximum displacement of the RC slab are primarily concentrated around the bullet hole, extending to a distance of approximately 450 mm (1.5 d) from the impact center. After perforation, the relationship between velocity loss ratio and v 0 , as well as the relationship between kinetic energy loss ratio and v 0 , conforms to the power function distribution. Considering the damage to the RC slab, the Chen model, Peng model, and Konyaew model of the residual velocity prove more suitable for this working condition, especially the Chen model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Umsatzsteuer-Rundschau is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study explores the potential mechanisms by which neighbourhood isolation is created and reinforced in non-home activity locations. The existing discussion on neighbourhood isolation, its consequences, and the subsequent reproduction of interactions between individuals and their environment has focused on their residential locations. However, the vitality of a neighbourhood depends not only on its own socioeconomic conditions but also on the conditions of the other neighbourhoods its residents visit and are visited by. Residential locations are only one of the many spaces in which individuals engage in their activities; therefore, to fully comprehend people's everyday experiences of integration and isolation, it is imperative to look at interactions within both home and non-home activity spaces. Building on this extended perspective, we examine: (1) whether residential neighbourhood isolation is intensified by socioeconomic conditions individuals' encounter in consumption and commuting activity spaces; and (2) which socioeconomic group drives the association between residential neighbourhood isolation and activity spaces—whether both disadvantaged and privileged groups contribute to isolation through the differential use of urban space or either group predominantly leads this association. We use Seoul as a case study, characterised as a city that is highly populated, contains multiple economic centres, functions with a highly affordable and efficient public transportation system, and suffers from increasing socioeconomic segregation. The results suggest that mobility patterns in activity spaces tend to reinforce neighbourhood isolation through potential forces driven by neighbourhood homophily. Isolation in the use of urban spaces appears to be driven mainly by the self-seclusion of the most advantaged neighbourhood group, while neighbourhoods in the lower socioeconomic status groups indicate broader cross-interactions across status groups, probably because of Seoul's transit-friendly environment. Our study contributes to enhancing the understanding of spatial-societal inequalities in Korea and beyond and could assist in formulating policies for a more balanced provision of diverse urban social services and infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to construct a sonic understanding of the recent past of Hong Kong in protest. By utilizing and extending Steven Feld’s framework of acoustemology, I examine the sonic events during protests and identify sounds in the cultural system understood among the inhabitants. I conducted a digital archival search of newspaper articles and created a dataset of the events sounding ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ during the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement. I explore three aspects: the participants, the space where the protest activities took place, and the sound generated and/or sounded in the activities. By demonstrating the interrelationality of them, I argue that sounds are able to reveal and (re-)claim spaces, establish a relationship between humans and space, bring an understanding of Hong Kong, and construct ‘Hong Kong,’ via collective sounding in protests and daily activities across time. This is the acoustemology of Hong Kong in protest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the influence of digital government initiatives on corporate total factor productivity (TFP). Employing a difference-in-differences (DID) methodology and analyzing data from publicly listed companies spanning the period 2010 to 2020, we investigate the impact of digital governance on corporate TFP. Our findings reveal a noteworthy positive effect, with an average TFP increase of 5%. Further exploration through heterogeneity analysis indicates that this impact is particularly pronounced in regions with robust network infrastructure, increased marketization, and decreased economic uncertainty, particularly among privately-owned enterprises. Moreover, we identify key mechanisms through which digital governance fosters this enhancement in TFP, including the facilitation of technological innovation, efficient allocation of high-skilled labor, and improved investment efficiency. Our research underscores the significant role of digital government initiatives in bolstering corporate TFP and contributes to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a cornerstone of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It aims to enhance regional trade and economic expansion in Pakistan. We adopted systematic review approach to investigate the agricultural trade narrative of the CPEC and identify future research avenues. Our study uses the Web of Sciences and Scopus database to extract the relevant literature. We executed the search query for 2013–2023. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement to identify the literature. The final analysis includes only 14 articles. We found that the literature mainly focuses on three topics, Gwadar port, road infrastructure, and agricultural complementarity and competitiveness. The review reveals the significant potential of CPEC on the agricultural trade of Pakistan. Based on the review, we point to avenues that could be considered in future research work to fully exploit the potential of CPEC in the agriculture sector of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]