Multiple symmetric nonnegative solutions of second-order ordinary differential equations

AbstractThe existence of multiple nonnegative solutions of the equations −χ″ = f(χ, χ′) subject to χ(0) = χ(1) = 0 is studied. The result is obtained that there are at least three symmetric nonnegative solutions if certain conditions are imposed on f

Effect of corporate governance on default risk in Financial vs Non-financial firms: Canadian Evidence

This paper investigates the influence of corporate governance structures on the credit risks of Canadian firms from the perspective of bondholders after the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Default probabilities calculated from Black-Scholes/ Merton Distance to Default type models are used to measure firms credit risks. Based on these measures, Canadian financial firms actually show higher risk than non-financial firms over the financial crisis. This may be explained by the high exposure of Canadian financial firms to US markets during the period of the crisis. However, in the transition to the post financial crisis period, the risk of financial firms decreases more rapidly than that of industrial firms. With the exception of board size and CEO duality, most governance mechanisms examine, including insider ownership, board independence, institutional ownership, financial transparency and compensation committee independence, have differential impacts on financial vs. non-financial firms. Finally, we find that Canadian firms headquartered in Quebec have higher credit risks than Canadian firms headquartered in other provinces

How Can Digital Technology Help the Hospitality Supply Chain Cope with the Impact of the COVID-19?

The use of digital technologies has been one of the most notable trends of the past few years. It has a crucial role in improving efficiency, especially in the supply chain sector. In the wake of COVID-19, a series of quarantines and lockdowns have made the hospitality industry one of the worst affected sectors. With the use of digital technologies in the economics, operations and services of the hospitality supply chain, it is worth exploring whether these technologies can help the hospitality supply chain. A large body of previous literature has analysed the impact of digital technologies and COVID-19 on the hospitality industry. Still, few scholars have examined the effect and help of digital technologies on the supply chain of the hospitality industry. Using the Jin Jiang Hotel Group as a case study, this paper aims to analyse how digital technology has helped the hospitality supply chain cope with the impact of COVID-19 and what challenges remain. Based on the analysis and discussion, the paper concludes that VR technology can help the hospitality supply chain cope with the economic losses caused by COVID-19 by increasing the desire of consumers to buy. Big data and cloud computing technologies can help the hospitality supply chain to optimise its operational processes by sharing data and resources. AI and IoT technologies can help the hospitality supply chain to enhance the consumer experience under COVID-19 through intelligent facilities and contactless services. The paper also provides a reference for how hospitality supply chains can cope with COVID-19 and similar impacts in the future

The water resource efficiency and water-saving effect of cascade hydropower development

[Objective] The aim of this study was to reveal the pattern of change of water resource efficiency in cascade hydropower development, in order to improve the water resource efficiency of cascade hydropower development and promote water-saving development. [Methods] We employed the panel data of 22 hydropower development basins in China from 1996 to 2020, including 331 large and medium-sized hydropower stations. Using fixed effects and moderating effects models, this study analyzed the impact of the cascade hydropower development scale on its water resource efficiency, and tested the moderating mechanism of the development mode in the process. [Results] This research found that: (1) With the increase of cascade hydropower development scale, water resource efficiency showed a U-shaped trend of decreasing first and then increasing. (2) For the U-shaped correlation between cascade hydropower development scale and water resource efficiency, intensive development mode and diverse development mode all had a positive moderating effect, and diverse development mode showed a stronger positive moderating effect. (3) There was a positive correlation between basin water resource endowment and water resource efficiency of cascade hydropower development, and the diverse development mode was more conducive to strengthening this positive correlation when comparing with the intensive development mode. [Conclusion] These results prove that watershed cascade hydropower development can save water, but only when the development scale exceeds the threshold of 59%, the water-saving effect is stable and obvious. In order to promote water-saving development, intensive development mode should be implemented in the initial stage of cascade development, the diverse development mode should be implemented when the development scale exceeds the threshold, and the diverse development mode is more suitable for the rivers where water resource is scarce