Financial reporting consequences of natural disasters: Evidence from the impact of resource constraints at audit offices on non-affected clients

Disaster-affected clients demand significant additional effort from their audit office, and hence strain the audit office’s resources available to other non-disaster-affected clients. We consider audit offices with disaster-affected clients to be strained offices and find that, compared with clients audited by non-strained audit offices, non-disaster-affected clients audited by strained audit offices are more likely to have their financial statements restated. This result suggests the financial reporting quality of companies not directly exposed to disasters could also be negatively affected by the disasters, due to their auditors’ strained-resource issue. We further find such a negative effect is more pronounced when the degree of resource constraints is greater and when the audit office lacks client experience or industry expertise. We offer novel evidence of financial reporting consequences of natural disasters, focusing on the externality of disasters on companies not directly affected by disasters. The findings have important implications for regulators in making disaster-related policies, for auditors in managing their client portfolios, and for companies in making auditor choice decisions.     

生物农药——21世纪农药的生力军

生物农药是人们减少污染、回归自然的一个必然选择。与化学农药相比,生物农药具有无可比拟的优越性,在农作物病虫害的防治和清除杂草方面,生物农药的应用前景广阔。介绍了生物农药的种类(植物源农药,微生物农药,生物体农药),独特的作用机理和在可持续发展中的地位,并展望了它的发展前景。     

Integrating uncertain user-generated demand data when locating facilities for disaster response commodity distribution

This paper presents a new facility location problem variant with application in disaster relief. The problem is unique in that both verified data and unverified user-generated data are available for consideration during decision making. The problem is motivated by the recent need of integrating unverified social data (e.g., Twitter posts) with data from more traditional sources, such as on-the-ground assessments and aerial flyovers, to make optimal decisions during disaster relief. Integrating social data can enable identifying larger numbers of needs in shorter amounts of time, but because the information is unverified, some of it may be inaccurate. This paper seeks to provide a “proof of concept” illustrating how the unverified social data may be exploited. To do so, a framework for incorporating uncertain user-generated data when locating Points of Distribution (PODs) for disaster relief is presented. Then, three decision strategies that differ in how the uncertain data is considered are defined. Finally, the framework and decision strategies are demonstrated via a small computational study to illustrate the benefits user-generated data may afford across a variety of disaster scenarios.     

Restoring tourist confidence and travel intentions after disasters: some insights from a rejoinder to a series of unfortunate events in Malaysian tourism

Many countries face a decline in tourist confidence and reduced travel intentions after disasters. However, Malaysia – a country that experienced a series of aviation tragedies throughout 2014 – encountered an overall increase in inbound tourists and monetary receipts. This article more closely examines the effects of these unfortunate events on Malaysian tourism and identifies several strategic avenues that can contribute to restoring tourist confidence and reigniting tourist interest in travelling to disaster-stricken countries.     

茭簰考释--兼及江汉平原湖区人水关系

明清时期长江中游地区地方文献记载的茭簰,并非漂浮种植性质的葑田,而是漂浮居住性质的水上居家设施。“随波上下”且“不时迁移”是其基本特性,实质是借水之力以避水之害,乃湖区居民应对洪涝灾害的居住创举。茭簰不同于为众熟知的舟船,亦有别于水上航行的排筏,茭簰居民并非渔民,而是备有“种莳牲畜”的农民。茭簰与葑田,虽然一耕一居,却具有共同的指向。茭簰是湖区农家适应环境变化,根据生产生活需要而做出的相对选择,堪称湖区居民趋利避害、协调人水关系的代表性举措。     

自然灾害背景下农村金融消费者权益保护问题探讨

目前，农村金融消费者权益保护工作力量薄弱，自然灾害对农村金融消费者影响较大；同时，金融产品设计对农村金融消费者权益保护考虑不足。为保护农村金融消费者权益，并最大限度地规避自然灾害给农户带来的经济损失，应循序渐进、阶段性地推动金融消费立法，完善农村金融服务体系，构建农村金融消费者自然灾害权益保护机制，开展针对农村金融消费者的常态化宣传教育活动。     

Resilience and Justice

The term resilience has become the popular formulation for plans that deal with preparedness for disaster. It implies adaptation rather than returning to a pre‐crisis state. Its use has been extended from environmental events to social and economic crises. Its fault is that it obfuscates underlying conflict and the distribution of benefits resulting from policy choices. Development of resilience policies is cloaked in complicated models showing complexity and indeterminacy. Marxist analysis provides insights that cut through the failure of these models to assign agency, but it does not offer approaches short of revolution to assist present‐day planning. The conclusion of the essay presents strategies that can lead to greater justice in planning to cope with the impacts of devastating events.     

HUMANITARIAN CRISES AND ADOLESCENT WELL-BEING: KNOWLEDGE,GAPS, AND PROSPECTS

Adolescence constitutes the second and final window of human growth and a period of specific vulnerabilities, such as early pregnancy, early marriage, HIV infection, suicide, violence, alcohol, and drugs. Only a limited body of research investigates the effects of humanitarian crises on the human capital and well-being of adolescents. The evidence focuses on the short-term effects of conflict and, to a lesser extent, natural disasters on education, physical health, and nutrition, but not on mental health. Most analyses examine the situations of individuals exposed in utero and young childhood, but rarely during adolescence. Typically missing are robust empirical identification strategies and estimates on heterogeneous effects across age or gender. The lack of quality data and challenges in defining adolescence, establishing causality, or ensuring ethical research explain the knowledge gaps. Possible ways to expand the evidence base include mixing georeferenced data on individual location with georeferenced data on crises, sharpening quasi-experimental analytical techniques, and reconsidering the current timing of demographic data collection, now spanning 4- or 5-year intervals. The failure to make such adjustments will end by ignoring specific vulnerabilities among adolescents and render sustainable progress in well-being globally, narrowing inequalities, and guaranteeing human rights to all more difficult to achieve.     

疫情对经济的影响与“灾害适应型经济”的转型

新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情对中国乃至世界经济产生了巨大的冲击。疫情的冲击颠覆了传统经济学的认知，需从理论上对经济衰退的原因和机制重新认识，特别是对疫情之下“非常态经济”及其与“常态经济”之间的关系加以研究；疫情的冲击亦暴露出现有的经济系统存在的问题，需要推动经济的转型，打造“灾害适应型经济”。本文基于辩证思想，从负面和正向两个方面来研究疫情对经济的影响，充分发掘新动能，利用新机会，推动中国经济向“灾害适应型经济”转型，实现中国经济的可持续、高质量发展。     

山西成家庄煤矿矿井充水因素分析及水害防治措施

矿井水害的预防预报是指查清矿井水文地质条件,对水害做出分析判断。本文以山西成家庄煤矿防治水为例,分析了矿井充水因素,以理论结合实际,为预防矿井水害提供依据。