Current Theories Research Articles

Does Rigorous Government Regulation on Nonprofits Improve Their Outputs? Evidence from China

Abstract This study mainly takes China as an example to explore the logic between government regulation and outputs of nonprofit organizations in the context of authoritarian countries. Based on the theory of embeddedness and organizational legitimacy, using the panel data of 29 mainland provinces from 2010 to 2019, and applying the fixed effect model, it is found that government regulation has a positive effect on outputs of non-profit organizations. However, it is also found that there exists a single threshold, only government regulation intensity keeps in a certain range, the positive effect is made. Further research finds that government regulation positively impacts nonprofit outputs through encouraging social donations. Our findings fill the gap of exploring the logic between government regulation and nonprofits outputs, giving some enlightenment to regulators of similar regimes countries. We also have improved the current government regulation theory based on legitimacy and embeddedness theory empirically, extended and enriched embeddedness theory.

The Devil’s in the Details

Benjamin Purzycki and Richard Sosis’ Religion Evolving (2022) offers an impressive synoptic overview of current theory and findings in the scientific study of religion, and a potentially important new model. This theory merits further development but requires some attention to issues of definition.

Assessment of a new higher-order shear and normal deformation theory for the static response of functionally graded shallow shells

Abstract Static response of simply supported functionally graded (FG) shallow shells using a new higher-order shear and normal deformation theory is focused in this article. The effects of transverse strains and stresses on the bending response of FG shell are considered by the present theory. The current theory considers the impacts of transverse normal and shear deformations that meet the requirements for traction-free boundary conditions. The virtual work principle is applied to the mathematical formulation of the present theory. The simply supported doubly curved shallow shell problems under the static transverse load are analyzed using Navier’s solution technique. To verify the existing theory, the current results are, whenever possible, compared with those that have already been published. Additionally, a few benchmark results are presented in this article that will be helpful to researchers in the future.

Identifying bilingual reference profiles: a cluster-analysis approach to reference production among Greek–Italian bilingual children

Abstract Empirical studies on bilingual children’s reference production have often focussed on comparisons with monolingual peers. In this study, we introduce the concept of ‘reference profiles’: Speakers may exhibit similar or different behaviours in reference production, independently of whether they belong to a specific group (e.g., monolinguals or bilinguals) or whether their production adheres to some norm. Thirty-seven Greek–Italian bilingual children (Mage = 9;4, range 7;10–11;6) performed narrative retelling tasks in both of their languages, as well as vocabulary tasks and various cognitive tasks. The results show that the children had a good mastery of reference (i.e., appropriately using null pronouns, full pronouns or full nouns) in both of their languages. Using cluster analyses, we identified two distinct reference profiles. Further investigation showed that these profiles differed in both their sustained attention and in the use of overspecified referring expressions in contexts where reference to the same referent was maintained. These results are interpreted in light of current cognitive theories of (bilingual) reference processing and emphasise the potential of reference profiles for the study of other domains beyond bilingual reference production.

Intonation cues to English public discourse perception

The study considers the discourse functions of intonation and identifies a few problems and contradictions in the current theories of intonation functioning. Particular attention is paid to such issues as the multiple functions of nuclear tones, pitch declination in utterances and perceptual identification of spoken paragraphs. An attempt has been made to handle these problems in the context of English public speeches delivered in the format of TED talks. The purpose of the auditory analysis of discourse intonation in these talks is to check the perceptual reliability of intonation cues in processing spoken discourse and the possibility of using intonation as an on-line perception strategy. The methods applied in the research are descriptive, auditory and comparative, supported by a certain amount of quantitative data. The results obtained in the auditory analysis show that intonation cues work most effectively at the level of intonation groups and utterances but are not self-sufficient in paragraph identification. The leading function of nuclear tones in public discourse organization turns out to be the information structuring of utterances, which is occasionally interrupted by the attitudinal function. Pitch declination has been found to be one of the most important cues to the integrity and cohesion of utterances, with an average length of three-four intonation groups. Multiple declinations in spoken utterances are infrequent and are triggered by particular types of syntactic relations in elongated sentences. The study contributes to the linguistic description of discourse intonation, and its results can be beneficial for language teaching practice and automated speech synthesis.

A Kinematic Approach to the Classical SIR Model

Given the risk and impact of infectious-contagious X diseases, which are expected to increase in frequency and unpredictability due to climate change and anthropogenic penetration of the wilderness, it is crucial to advance descriptions and explanations that improve the understanding and applicability of current theories. An inferential approach is to find analogies with better-studied contexts from which new questions and hypotheses can be raised through their concepts, propositions, and methods. Kinematics emerges as a promising analog field in physics by interpreting states’ changes in a contagion process as a movement. Consequently, this work explores, for a contagion process, the representations and conceptual equivalents for position, displacement, velocity, momentum, and acceleration, introducing some metrics. It also discusses some epistemological aspects and proposes future perspectives.

The Basic Needs in Games Model of Video Game Play and Mental Health

Abstract Existing theories of how game use relates to mental health have important limitations: few account for both quantity and quality of use, differentiate components of mental health (hedonic wellbeing, eudaimonic wellbeing and illbeing), provide an explanation for both positive and negative outcomes or readily explain the well-evidenced absence of playtime effects on mental health. Many also lack the specificity to be readily falsifiable. In response, we present the Basic Needs in Games (BANG) model. Grounded in self-determination theory, BANG proposes that mental health outcomes of game use are in large part mediated by the motivational quality of play and the extent to which play quantity and quality lead to need satisfaction or frustration. We show how BANG addresses the limitations of current theories and aligns with emerging evidence on the etiologies of disordered play. Thus, BANG advances HCI theory on the impact of games and other interactive technologies on mental health.

Psychic Distance’s Impact on China’s Reverse M&A Innovation

ABSTRACT In this study, we examined Chinese firms’ cross-border reverse mergers and acquisitions (M&As). From the perspective of internal and external uncertainties, as well as the essence of psychic distance (PD), we established five dimensions of the PD of cross-border reverse M&A: cultural distance, national image, degree of internationalization, top management team (TMT)‘s overseas background, and perceived distance. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we found that the impact of PD on innovation performance was a combination of multiple factors, showing three types of configurations: external uncertainty dominant, internal uncertainty dominant, and perceived distance dominant. We further explored the interactions between knowledge conditions, such as firm size, industry relevance, and relative knowledge scale, and PD. This study supplements and expands current theories on the internationalization of emerging market enterprises from the perspective of latecomer countries.

Is a knife the same as a plunger? Comparing the attentional effects of weapons and non-threatening unusual objects in dynamic scenes.

Observers' memory for a person's appearance can be compromised by the presence of a weapon, a phenomenon known as the weapon-focus effect (WFE). According to the unusual-item hypothesis, attention shifts from the perpetrator to the weapon because a weapon is an unusual object in many contexts. To test this assumption, we monitored participants' eye movements while they watched a mock-crime video. The video was presented with sound and featured a female perpetrator holding either a weapon, a non-threatening unusual object, or a neutral object. Contrary to the predictions of current theories, there were no significant differences in total viewing times for the three objects. For the perpetrator, total viewing time was reduced when she held the non-threatening unusual object, but not when she held the weapon. However, weapon presence led to an attentional shift from the perpetrator's face toward her body. Detailed time-course analyses revealed that the effects of object type were more pronounced during early scene viewing. Thus, our results do not support the idea of extended attentional shifts from the perpetrator toward the unusual objects, but instead suggest more complex attentional effects. Contrary to previous research, memory for the perpetrator's appearance was not affected by object type. Thus, there was no WFE. An additional online experiment using the same videos and methodology produced a WFE, but this effect disappeared when the videos were presented without sound.

Propofol-mediated loss of consciousness disrupts predictive routing and local field phase modulation of neural activity

Predictive coding is a fundamental function of the cortex. The predictive routing model proposes a neurophysiological implementation for predictive coding. Predictions are fed back from the deep-layer cortex via alpha/beta (8 to 30 Hz) oscillations. They inhibit the gamma (40 to 100 Hz) and spiking that feed sensory inputs forward. Unpredicted inputs arrive in circuits unprepared by alpha/beta, resulting in enhanced gamma and spiking. To test the predictive routing model and its role in consciousness, we collected data from intracranial recordings of macaque monkeys during passive presentation of auditory oddballs before and after propofol-mediated loss of consciousness (LOC). In line with the predictive routing model, alpha/beta oscillations in the awake state served to inhibit the processing of predictable stimuli. Propofol-mediated LOC eliminated alpha/beta modulation by a predictable stimulus in the sensory cortex and alpha/beta coherence between sensory and frontal areas. As a result, oddball stimuli evoked enhanced gamma power, late period (>200 ms from stimulus onset) spiking, and superficial layer sinks in the sensory cortex. LOC also resulted in diminished decodability of pattern-level prediction error signals in the higher-order cortex. Therefore, the auditory cortex was in a disinhibited state during propofol-mediated LOC. However, despite these enhanced feedforward responses in the auditory cortex, there was a loss of differential spiking to oddballs in the higher-order cortex. This may be a consequence of a loss of within-area and interareal spike-field coupling in the alpha/beta and gamma frequency bands. These results provide strong constraints for current theories of consciousness.

Assessing the psychological pathways of esports events spectators: an application of service quality and its antecedents and consequences

ABSTRACT Research question This research develops and tests a comprehensive structural model to explain the psychological pathway behind esports spectator behaviours, linking perceived service quality to its antecedents (i.e. extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation) and consequences (i.e. satisfaction and revisit intention). Research methods Two rounds of data collection were completed for Phase One (N = 485) and Phase Two (N = 217). The measurement items were borrowed from a range of pre-existing scales of traditional sport or esports. Phase One was designed to assess the psychometric properties of the measurement model. Phase Two was purported to test the pathways among the constructs as hypothesised in the structural model. Results and findings In Phase One, the model fit indices showed good model fit, reliability and construct validity. In Phase Two, the SEM model fitness indices showed a marginally acceptable model fit. The path analysis supported 15 out of 19 hypotheses; no significant relationships were found between relatedness and intrinsic motivation, autonomy and extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation and physical environment, and intrinsic motivation and interaction. Overall, the structural model showed a moderate to substantial predictive power. Implications The study provides empirical evidence for the proposed relationships among the constructs and expands the realm of the current theories to the context of esports, especially the application of the self-determination theory and the new esports service quality model. It also provides a more comprehensive picture for esports practitioners to understand their spectators and balance their effort in managing elements which promote future attendance.

Building relationships: A perspective on how to achieve teaching success in study abroad programs

Study abroad programs have become increasingly popular in recent years as vehicles to prepare students for the global work environment. This paper describes a perspective on how to maximize teaching effectiveness in these programs via developing personal relationships. Based on the teaching of a Principles of Marketing course in Florence, Italy, the author discusses how the special characteristics of the study abroad program enabled the formation of deep faculty-student and peer relationships. Key faculty-student relationship factors were connections outside the classroom, career discussions, and assignment/exam reviews, while key peer relationship factors were interactions between students outside of class and field trips. The author notes how the importance of these factors is supported by current theory and research. He also describes how the factors led to higher teaching performance in Florence than in the U.S. as measured by student evaluations, marketing core question ratings, grades and attendance. Ideas for future research on the impact of relationship variables in study abroad programs are suggested.

Revision of Sabine's and Eyring's reverberation theories

Sabine's and Eyring's reverberation theories are still the most important theoretical frameworks for room acoustics. The important physical quantities derived from these theories are the average sound pressure level (sound energy density) and the reverberation time (sound energy decay). Eyring revised Sabine's theory to become the reverberation time zero in the perfect absorption condition. However, Eyring's theory has contradictions regarding the sound energy density in a steady state and the energy decay from the steady state. In this study, in order to resolve these contradictions, the theoretical framework for the consistent system is presented introducing the new concept of the average impulse response in a room, and the contradictions in the current room acoustic theory are clarified. Based on the theoretical framework, Sabine's reverberation theory is revised by a different way of Eyring's theory. The reverberation time of the revised theory is shorter than that of Sabine's theory and longer than that of Eyring's theory. Finally, ray-tracing computer simulations were performed to verify the revised theory. Results of sound ray tracing simulations were in better agreement with the values calculated using the revised theory rather than those calculated using Sabine's and Eyring's theories.

Are investors attentive before a one-off holiday?

PurposeThis study investigates investor trading behaviour around regular and one-off public holidays on the Sydney Stock Exchange (SSX) from 1901 to 1950. The purpose is to examine whether trading patterns differ between regular holidays, which are known in advance, and one-off holidays, which are unexpected. The study provides insights into the predictability of holidays and its influence on market activity, contributing to the broader literature on investor inattention and market anomalies.Design/methodology/approachUsing a novel dataset constructed from handwritten share price lists covering 14,224 trading days, we perform quantitative analysis to assess trading volume before and after regular and one-off public holidays. Ordinary least squares regression models are employed to identify the presence of a holiday effect, accounting for various fixed effects and time-varying factors such as geopolitical events.FindingsWe find that trading volume is significantly lower on the day before regular holidays and higher on the day after, consistent with the investor inattention hypothesis. In contrast, no significant holiday effect is observed for one-off holidays. This suggests that predictability plays a crucial role in influencing investor behaviour, with irregular, less predictable holidays having less impact on trading patterns.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited by the historical nature of the data, which may not fully capture the diversity of modern trading environments. Additionally, the analysis is restricted to the SSX and may not be generalisable to other markets or time periods. Future research could explore similar effects in different contexts or with more recent data.Practical implicationsThis research provides valuable insights for market participants and regulators by demonstrating how the predictability of holidays influences market activity. Understanding these patterns could help in making more informed decisions during periods of expected low trading volumes.Social implicationsThe study underscores the role of public holidays in shaping investor behaviour, with broader implications for understanding how societal events influence financial markets. This is particularly relevant in discussions about the impact of unexpected events on market stability.Originality/valueThis is the first study to compare the effects of regular and one-off public holidays on trading volumes in a historical stock market context. Our findings highlight the importance of event predictability in financial markets, offering a new perspective on how historical market behaviours can inform current financial theories.

Strategi for et psykisk sunnere folk 2024

Good population mental health is a country’s most important resource. Without it, a country cannot utilise its other resources optimally. Mental disorders account for a country’s most costly health conditions. In Norway, like other high-income countries, 7–8% of children and young people and 16–22% of adults have a mental illness. This costs us at least NOK 340 billion, or USD PPP 35 billion annually. The loss of health due to mental illness in the working-age population is greater than that for all somatic non-communicable diseases combined, and the loss of healthy life years is as great as that for all cancers combined. More treatment cannot reduce this. Health promotion and disease prevention are the only way out. Based on current theory and evidence, 13 principles are presented for an effective community-oriented strategy for a mentally healthier population, which are then compared to the main points in Norway’s new Escalation Plan for Mental Health 2023–2033. Four evidence-based priorities are recommended: general screening of mental health in women during and after pregnancy, mandatory personal guidance for all pre-school (kindergarten) teachers, mental health as a separate subject in schools, and meaningful work for all. Keywords: society-oriented prevention, health promotion, strategy, Escalation Plan for Mental Health

Longitudinal wave propagation in FG rods under impact force

A well-known fact is that one-dimensional wave analysis is the theoretical basis of the famous Hopkinson bar dynamic testing technique. The current one-dimensional wave theory is mostly confined to the slender rods of isotropic materials. It is not easy to obtain an analytical solution to the wave equation of an anisotropic rod. In this work, rods with both elastic modulus and density graded in the length direction are presented and analyzed. The one-dimensional variable coefficient wave equation corresponding to the functionally graded rod is constructed and converted into a second-order variable coefficient partial differential equation using the Laplace approach. Then, the details of solving the partial differential equation of the second-order variable coefficients are given. It is worth noting that here we construct a variable coefficient equation that satisfies the form of Euler's equation. It is still difficult to obtain analytical solutions for other equations that do not satisfy this form. Subsequently, studies of the wave propagation characteristics of rods with different graded configurations are carried out. The theoretical results show that the wave propagation behavior and post-impact vibration of the rod are significantly influenced by the graded configuration. It is possible to adjust not only the impact response at the end but also the impact response in the middle of the rod by optimizing the design of the rod's graded configuration.

Blinded by the Light: A critique on the universality, normativity, and hegemony of paradox theory and research

This paper intervenes in paradox theory and research by problematizing the taken-for-granted premises that currently dominate the field. Building on the “growing pains” of paradox theory, the paper offers three provocations for current paradox theory and research: it questions the conceptual universality of paradox, reveals the implicit normativity of some of its key assumptions, and problematizes the hegemony of the conception of both/and as core to responses to paradox. Deliberately stepping beyond the established guardrails of paradox theory, the paper critically assesses these premises and reflects on their potential risks and blind spots. Building on these three provocations, the paper offers in turn a set of distinct pathways for theoretical development, including interpreting presupposed features of paradox in light of ontological positions, integrating normative approaches into paradox management, and introducing much greater granularity to the study of paradox responses.

Metaethics: A neuro-geometric proposal

Metaethics explores the relationship between types of ethics. The field of moral psychology has increasingly attempted to explain types of ethical thinking based on brain processes. This paper proposes a metaethical typology of seven distinct types of natural thinking processes rooted in how visual images are translated into abstract thinking. These seven ethical thinking types are Transcendent, Unitary, Hierarchical, Equitable, Vectoral, Analogic, and Topographical. Human beings then ladder concepts upon these processes using the construction of increasingly abstract metaphors. As proposed, these seven thinking processes appear to effectively form the foundation for current ethical theories such as Utilitarianism and Kantian Deontology, or other forms of moral reasoning. They may also be combined to explain the operations of more complex forms of moral reasoning such as religious ethics. Finally, they reveal that the possibility of natural thinking types has normative implications for ethics.

A Quantization for the Toy Model of Black Hole and a Suggestion to the Unification Theory

In my previous paper about the correlations between quantum mechanics and the four different natural forces, I suggested that there may be a fifth force or even the existence of a new particle. However, it remains a mystery to physicists, even after nearly a hundred years, that they cannot unify these four natural forces. This may be because there are indeed too many variables for them to consider. Also, there is a possibility that quantum mechanics may coexist with quantum field theory. In the present paper, this author proposes that there may be a misconception in the computational equation for relative time or gaps in the system for measuring time between quantum mechanics and general relativity. Hence, one may still not be able to unify these natural forces. This author suggests that we may need to rewrite parts of quantum mechanics – the Schrödinger equation – or even the general relativity equation. Additionally, this author proposes that there may be a bridge equation converting between quantum mechanics and general relativity. Moreover, this author has employed the non-trivial zeta zeros to simulate the black hole or the so-called black hole toy model. In practice, there may be an electromagnetic field surrounding the boundary of the black hole, as well as the existence of a continuum along the boundary contour. This author hopes that, in such a case, we may decode those high-frequency electromagnetic waves into useful information and take a further step toward verifying Stephen Hawking’s famous theory on black hole radiation and information entropy. In fact, this author has used the HKLam statistical model theory to express the electromagnetic field energy-stress tensor (with the possibility of quantization) to analogically establish a quantized model for the Einstein Gravitational Field Equation. Hence, the problem of quantum gravity may then be solved. Last but not least, this author also expects that humanity may finally find a way to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity through modifications to the current quantum gravity theory, such as my proposed bridge-converting equation, etc.

Variation in thermal physiology can drive the temperature-dependence of microbial community richness.

Predicting how species diversity changes along environmental gradients is an enduring problem in ecology. In microbes current theories tend to invoke energy availability and enzyme kinetics as the main drivers of temperature-richness relationships. Here we derive a general empirically-grounded theory that can explain this phenomenon by linking microbial species richness in competitive communities to variation in the temperature-dependence of their interaction and growth rates. Specifically, the shape of the microbial community temperature-richness relationship depends on how rapidly the strength of effective competition between species pairs changes with temperature relative to the variance of their growth rates. Furthermore, it predicts that a thermal specialist-generalist tradeoff in growth rates alters coexistence by shifting this balance, causing richness to peak at relatively higher temperatures. Finally, we show that the observed patterns of variation in thermal performance curves of metabolic traits across extant bacterial taxa is indeed sufficient to generate the variety of community-level temperature-richness responses observed in the real world. Our results provide a new and general mechanism that can help explain temperature-diversity gradients in microbial communities, and provide a quantitative framework for interlinking variation in the thermal physiology of microbial species to their community-level diversity.