Dan Li

This study aims to assess the influence of CEO demographic, governance, and career-related factors on the environmental sustainable performance (ESP) of corporations in the post-merger era of Chinese M&A, spanning the years 2008–2022. We evaluate firms' overall ESP by considering both environmental and sustainability outcomes. Additionally, the ownership structure is examined by comparing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and privately owned enterprises (POEs). The findings reveal that certain CEO demographic traits, such as education, age, and gender, exert a positive and significant influence on firms' ESP. This suggests that gender diversity, experienced leadership, and highly educated CEOs contribute to enhanced ESP in M&A contexts. Among CEO governance and career factors, only CEO tenure positively impacts corporate ESP, as longer tenured CEOs are more likely to implement and sustain long-term sustainable practices within M&A firms. Interestingly, while ownership structure remains consistent across SOEs and POEs, CEO career factors, particularly retired CEOs and CEO tenure, show significant effects only in POEs. Overall, our findings provide valuable insights for future research and policy development to promote improved ESP in the evolving landscape of Chinese M&A.

Scientific values are considered to play a significant role in responsible conduct of research education, such as raising awareness, changing cognition, and altering behavior. However, there is still a lack of empirical evidence regarding the relationship between scientists’ subscription of scientific values and research integrity behaviors. This paper presents a cross-national study that examines researchers’ perceptions and practices regards research integrity. The results show correlations between value adherence, level of acceptance of research misbehaviors, and self-reported research misbehavior. The study also reveals significant variations in these variables among researchers from different countries, academic positions, age groups, and genders. This cross-national investigation offers valuable insights into researchers’ attitudes and behaviors regarding research misconduct, contributing to the promotion of ethical research practices worldwide and enhancing the credibility and integrity of scientific endeavors. Further research involving larger samples and more countries would provide deeper insights into the developments in researchers’ perceptions of research misbehavior.

Background: School meal programs are not only government initiatives but also community-driven efforts. Aiming to combat food insecurity among school-aged children effectively, these programs are executed in conjunction with food bank initiatives. Various community groups play a crucial role in the success of both food security initiatives. There is a need to improve community engagement to successfully link school meal programs with food banks to build program synergy, combating food insecurity through a two-sided approach. Aim: This study aims to examine community engagement in school meals program by analyzing its purposeful focus on creating jobs and income-generating opportunities for different community groups, i.e., youths, women, and others. Methods: The Bayesian Mindsponge Framework, combining the reasoning strengths of Mindsponge theory and inference advantages of Bayesian analysis, was employed on a dataset of 126 government representatives who manage large-scale school meal programs in 126 different countries. Results: Findings showed that the school meals program’s purposeful focus on creating jobs and income-generating opportunities for women in the community was positively associated with community engagement, thereby supporting the linkage between the programs and food banks. In contrast, providing jobs and income-generating opportunities for youths and other community groups had an ambiguous association with community engagement in school meal programs. Conclusions: Findings underscore the importance of creating jobs and income-generating opportunities for women to improve community engagement in school meal programs. Formulating strategies that empower woman’s entrepreneurship may foster their involvement and engagement in school meal programs, promising to successfully link these programs with food bank initiatives among implementing countries.

This study aims to provide an overview of RECs (research ethics committees) in Chinese universities, encompassing both medical and non-medical studies. The primary objective is to identify major challenges faced by RECs in Chinese universities and draw meaningful implications from the findings. The investigation focuses on 42 comprehensive Chinese universities, and the results reveal that while all universities have implemented RECs in various forms, only 28.6% explicitly stipulate ethical review requirements for non-medical disciplines. Furthermore, RECs in Chinese universities encounter various challenges, including insufficient attention to research ethics review, inadequate ethics review systems and regulations, a lack of education and training, and lacking ethics review for non-medical research. This paper proposes recommendations for establishing robust RECs in Chinese universities, seeking to enhance ethical governance in research. By addressing the challenges identified, these recommendations aim to strengthen ethical oversight, foster a culture of responsible research, and uphold the highest ethical standards across diverse academic disciplines.

Fostering tolerance and inclusiveness in multicultural societies is increasingly vital, particularly in educational settings. Understanding the impact of parental involvement and school events on students’ attitudes toward these values is essential for promoting social cohesion and preparing future generations for an interconnected world. This study applies Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) analytics to a representative dataset of 2,069 primary, secondary, and high school students across Vietnam. It explores how parental discussions and participation in multicultural school events influence students’ attitudes toward tolerance and inclusiveness. The findings indicate that parental discussions about collaboration with individuals holding diverse perspectives, as well as participation in multicultural events, are positively associated with students’ tolerant attitudes. Furthermore, parental discussions about cultures and histories of different countries, collaboration skills, and conflict resolution skills are positively linked to students’ inclusiveness. The study highlights that while multicultural school events provide valuable opportunities for students to engage with diverse cultures and broaden their perspectives, consistent parental involvement through meaningful discussions is likely critical for reinforcing inclusive values. A collaborative approach between schools and parents can more effectively nurture tolerance and inclusiveness among students. Future research could examine the long-term effects of these interactions and identify specific activities that most effectively foster inclusive attitudes