Exploring the firm and country determinants of the voluntary adoption of integrated reporting

Information used to manage the business and support the decision‐making of stakeholders is being subject to an evolution. In this context, traditional financial reporting is considered not sufficient anymore. This has translated into a sharp increase in the number of firms that have begun to adopt emerging reporting practices. This study aims to examine the influence that both firm‐ and country‐specific characteristics have on the voluntary uptaking of integrated reporting internationally. In order to do so, it analyses a sample of 71 international listed companies that have adopted this reporting form in 2016. The results show that firms are more likely to implement integrated reporting if they are located in countries with a higher level of corruption perception and a better risk rating and that are considered as relatively more collectivist and feminist and with a long‐term orientation. Legal system has resulted to be not significant. As for firms' characteristics, large size, profitability, market‐to‐book ratio, and the size of the board are found to be significant variables. Moreover, the results indicate that the adoption of integrated reporting is not influenced by a higher level of leverage, firm efficiency and board diversity and independence.     

大学数学素质拓展课程的教学实践

本文结合昆明理工大学实际,探讨了在新的时代要求下为高校非数学专业学生开设数学拓展课程的必要性,并提出了相关的理论依据。同时,本文在已开设拓展课程的基础上总结了取得的成绩和存在的不足,为今后课程设置及教学的进一步完善提出了相关建议。     

Income and substitution effects of fiscal policy on work effort

The focus of this paper is twofold. First, it examines the impact on work effort of changes in government purchases financed with lump‐sum taxes, in a neoclassical framework, with respect to four industrialised countries. Second, it reconsiders the expenditure–work effort relationship in a broader conceptual context that allows for distortionary taxation and a disaggregation of the income and substitution effects. Our findings are shown to cast doubt on the empirical plausibility of the prevailing (neoclassical and New Keynesian) models which seem to rely heavily on the lump‐sum tax notion, thus ignoring the substitution effects of distortionary taxation.     

Is tourism just another staple? A new perspective on tourism in remote regions

According to recent research, countries may have a positive image from a tourism perspective, but they may be seen as lacking from an economic or political viewpoint. As governments and destination management organisations spend large sums of money in promoting tourist attractions, the question of whether these activities also influence other aspects of a country's image becomes relevant. The objective of the research is to determine the effect of tourism promotions on the image of the country and that of the destination as two separate concepts, in the case of Israel, a country subject to continuous conflicts. A 2?×?2 quasi-experimental design is utilised to investigate the influence of tourism promotional brochures. Additionally, a comparative perspective is used to determine whether people from diverse countries and backgrounds may be affected differently by the same information. The findings confirm that tourism brochures influence not only the image of the destination, but also that of the country. These effects are found to be different for respondents from the two different countries compared. The article focuses on understanding how tourism communication strategies may also be used to improve the image of a country, with potential benefits for international marketing and international relations.     

Mobile learning adoption for tourism education in a developing country

Since developing countries are gradually introducing mobile-based tourism education, it is a growing demand to understand the students’ intention to adopt mobile learning. The study used partial least squares-based structural equation modelling to analyse survey data from 176 questionnaires at three tourism education institutes in Bangladesh. The study contributes to the theory of planned behaviour by examining the antecedent impact of innovativeness and moderating effect of self-efficacy. Results confirmed innovativeness as a significant antecedent on the attitude–intention relationship; however, the moderating effect of self-efficacy has not been supported. The study has marketing implications for tourism education institutes and government bodies.     

Identifying terms of trade shocks in a developing country using a sign restrictions approach

Using annual data for Botswana from 1960 to 2012, we examine the responses of macroeconomic variables to four generalized positive terms of trade shocks – global demand, globalizing, sector-specific and global supply. A sign-restricted structural vector autoregression model with a penalty function is estimated to identify the four possible shocks. While positive global demand and globalization shocks are both expansionary, they have opposite effects on inflation. A positive commodity market specific shock dampens real GDP growth and is inflationary, suggesting a possible Dutch disease response. A negative global supply shock suppresses both output growth and inflation. All but the last shock leads to a significant declining interest rate. Monetary policy contraction is recommended for the first shock and expansion for the others.     

Increasing employability in the emerging tourism sector in Mozambique: Results of a qualitative study

Mozambique’s tourism sector could play a key role in the country’s socio-economic development, especially in the region of Cabo Delgado where the demand for tourist services is expected to increase. Nonetheless, several constraints (e.g. the lack of adequate training) are hindering the capacity of local people to take full advantage of this opportunity. Qualitative research has been performed in order to align vocational training programmes with the needs of the emerging tourism sector. Local and foreign key informants were interviewed in order to gain a better understanding of training needs and to gain insights into developing training programmes that can enhance local people’s employability. The main findings highlight the lack of symbolisation of tourism and its correlates from local communities. Therefore, rather than just delivering technical skills, training programmes should also promote a ‘culture of tourism’ and a more favourable attitude towards ‘working in the tourism sector’.     

发达国家建设韧性城市的政策启示

韧性城市是指城市系统的正常运行被自然灾害、气候危害、人为破坏等打断时,其具有抗压、恢复和可持续的能力。这一概念吸引了社会学、城市规划学、灾害学、管理学等不同领域学者的研究,各国政府也逐步重视韧性城市的建设工作。从政策过程的视角对发达国家韧性城市建设进行政策总结并提出对我国的借鉴。首先分析了韧性概念的起源、韧性城市的概念以及其构成要素;其次总结发达地区地方和国家层面的韧性城市建设政策、国际合作组织的政策激励;并创新地从政策议程、制定和执行的过程模型视角对政策经验进行总结;最后提出了在我国韧性城市建设过程中可借鉴的政策启示。     

邓小平外交思想的理论价值

邓小平外交思想是邓小平理论的重要组成部分，是当代中国外交的理论基础和指导方针。这一思想在继承马列主义、毛泽东思想的基础上，结合时代特征和中国国情，与时俱进，丰富和发展了马克思主义的时代观、国家学说和政治学理论，拓展了和平共处五项原则的适用范围，为解决中国的和平统一和国际争端找到了有效途径，具有重要的理论价值。     

春秋时代楚国“县”涵义的演变

春秋时期楚国县的涵义经历了两个发展阶段,即:“县鄙”之县和“县邑”之县。楚国县在春秋时代并未发展到“县制”之县的层次,原因在于其尚未脱离分封世袭的影子,也不具备作为一级地方政府所必备的行政、财政、司法三个方面的职能。