Spatiotemporal characteristics of cultivated land use eco-efficiency and its influencing factors in China from 2000 to 2020

Improving cultivated land use eco-efficiency(CLUE)can effectively promote agricultural sustainability,particularly in developing countries where CLUE is generally low.This study used provincial-level data from China to evaluate the spatiotemporal evolution of CLUE from 2000 to 2020 and identified the influencing factors of CLUE by using a panel Tobit model.In addition,given the undesirable outputs of agricultural production,we incorporated carbon emissions and nonpoint source pollution into the global benchmark-undesirable output-super efficiency-slacks-based measure(GB-US-SBM)model,which combines global benchmark technology,undesirable output,super efficiency,and slacks-based measure.The results indicated that there was an upward trend in CLUE in China from 2000 to 2020,with an increase rate of 2.62%.The temporal evolution of CLUE in China could be classified into three distinct stages:a period of fluctuating decrease(2000-2007),a phase of gradual increase(2008-2014),and a period of rapid growth(2015-2020).The major grain-producing areas(MPAs)had a lower CLUE than their counterparts,namely,non-major grain-production areas(non-MPAs).The spatial agglomeration effect followed a northeast-southwest strip distribution;and the movement path of barycentre revealed a"P"shape,with Luoyang City,Henan Province,as the centre.In terms of influencing factors of CLUE,investment in science and technology played the most vital role in improving CLUE,while irrigation index had the most negative effect.It should be noted that these two influencing factors had different impacts on MPAs and non-MPAs.Therefore,relevant departments should formulate policies to enhance the level of science and technology,improve irrigation condition,and promote sustainable utilization of cultivated land.

Eco-efficiency evaluation of symbiotic network for environmental governance PPP projects

Under the goal of "double carbon " strategy,the government and enterprises collaborate to form an efficient environmental governance symbiosis network to reduce pollution and carbon.Based on the panel data of 30 provinces,the static and dynamic eco-efficiency of the symbiotic network of environmental governance PPP projects are measured by using the SBM model and Malmquist index considering the super-efficiency of non-expected output.The results show that:(1) 8 provinces,including Hebei,have efficiency values greater than 1;11 provinces,including Liaoning,have organizational technology and management levels conducive to efficiency improvement,and 12 provinces,including Zhejiang,are closest to optimal scale efficiency.(2) Redundancy of energy conservation and environmental protection expenditures,urban environmental infrastructure construction investment and new product development projects,insufficient waste gas treatment capacity,environmental emergencies and carbon emission redundancy are all significant factors affecting eco-efficiency.(3) The dynamic efficiency of 8 provinces,including Fujian,shows a decreasing trend,and the Malmquist index and its decomposition indicate that the utilization rate of environmental governance technology should be improved and environmental resources should be allocated rationally.

Assessing agricultural eco-efficiency in Chongqing,2004-2019

Agricultural eco-efficiency is an important indicator to measure the sustainable development and high-quality development of agriculture.Based on the agricultural input-output data of 37 districts(counties)in Chongqing from 2004 to 2019,this paper uses the static SBM model and the DDF-BML index method to calculate the agricultural eco-efficiency of each district and county in Chongqing and conduct a comparative analysis.The comprehensive analysis of static and dynamic calculation results shows that the agricultural eco-efficiency of Chongqing is low,the agricultural input-output efficiency of various districts and counties is insufficient,and slack variables are common,so the ability of agricultural sustainable development still needs to be improved.The main sources of agricultural eco-efficiency are the progress of agricultural green technology and the efficiency of agricultural green technology.However,as far as the actual situation of Chongqing is concerned,the efficiency of agricultural green technology shows a downward trend,which has an inhibitory effect on the improvement of agricultural eco-efficiency.Therefore,in the process of agricultural ecological development in the future,Chongqing will focus on improving the efficiency of agricultural green technology as a starting point,implement agricultural technology innovation and promotion,improve the level of farmers’science and technology and culture,and achieve"technology to the countryside,demonstration to households,and application to the country."At the same time,it is necessary to further improve the construction of agricultural and rural infrastructure,and promote the"outward migration"of frontier technologies in agricultural production to radiate agricultural development in surrounding districts and counties.

A Federated Learning Framework with Blockchain-Based Auditable Participant Selection

Federated learning is an important distributed model training technique in Internet of Things(IoT),in which participant selection is a key component that plays a role in improving training efficiency and model accuracy.This module enables a central server to select a subset of participants to performmodel training based on data and device information.By doing so,selected participants are rewarded and actively perform model training,while participants that are detrimental to training efficiency and model accuracy are excluded.However,in practice,participants may suspect that the central server may have miscalculated and thus not made the selection honestly.This lack of trustworthiness problem,which can demotivate participants,has received little attention.Another problem that has received little attention is the leakage of participants’private information during the selection process.We will therefore propose a federated learning framework with auditable participant selection.It supports smart contracts in selecting a set of suitable participants based on their training loss without compromising the privacy.Considering the possibility of malicious campaigning and impersonation of participants,the framework employs commitment schemes and zero-knowledge proofs to counteract these malicious behaviors.Finally,we analyze the security of the framework and conduct a series of experiments to demonstrate that the framework can effectively improve the efficiency of federated learning.

Impact of an official accountability audit on industrial structure adjustment:a case study of environmental regulation in China

As a unique environmental regulation in China,the official accountability audit was piloted in 2014.With a focus on prioritizing the ecological environment,officials in pilot districts have implemented economic construction,adjusted industrial structures,and promoted coordinated development between the economy and environment.The effects of implementation have garnered widespread attention from society.However,there is limited research on the impact of an accountability audit on industrial structure adjustments.Using the“Accountability Audit of Officials for Natural Resource Assets(Trial)”released in 2015 as a quasi-natural experiment,this study collected panel data from 279 cities between 2013 and 2017.It then empirically analyzed the impact mechanism and effects of the accountability audit on industrial structure adjustment using the Propensity Score Matching and Difference-in-Differences model.The research findings indicate that the accountability audit directly impacted industrial structure adjustment,promoting the upgrading of the primary industry to the secondary industry and restricting the development of the tertiary industry.In addition,the audit is beneficial for enterprise entry,but not conducive to technological innovation,and has no significant impact on foreign direct investment.This conclusion fills a gap in the existing research and provides valuable insights for policymakers.

Does the Internal Audit Function Play a Role in Mitigating Earnings Management?

This paper aims to investigate the effect of the characteristics of the internal audit function(IAF)on earnings management(EM)for a sample of 27 Tunisian listed companies.The authors employed the Correlated Panels Corrected Standard Errors model to estimate the regression equation.The results showed that EM is negatively associated with internal audit effectiveness,frequency of audit committee meetings with Chief Audit Executives(CAEs),the partial outsourcing of internal audit,and the firm’s size.Moreover,the authors found a positive relationship between EM and the use of IAF as a training ground for management and the private sector.This study is important to academics,regulators,and policymakers in introducing new governance reforms to strengthen the IAF as an important internal governance mechanism to reduce earnings management practices in emerging countries.The results also provide useful information for investors to examine the effect of internal audit characteristics on earnings management.

The Effects of Competence and Auditor Training on Fraud Detection Within Multinational Companies in Sub-Saharan Africa

The aim of this study is to examine the qualities that auditors engaged in detecting potential fraud within multinational corporations in Sub-Saharan Africa should possess.To achieve this goal,a quantitative approach was used to develop and test a research model based on three theories:agency theory,attribution theory,and cognitive dissonance theory.Responses from a panel of two hundred and nine(209)auditors who conducted a legal audit mission in a Sub-Saharan multinational were analyzed using SmartPLS 3.3.3 software.The results emphasize the crucial importance of auditors’competence and continuous training in fraud detection.However,professional skepticism and time pressure were found to be non-significant in this context.This conclusion provides essential insights for auditors,highlighting the key qualities needed to effectively address fraud detection within multinational corporations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Innovation of Audit Business Management Models under the Conditions of Information Technology

This paper focuses on the innovation of audit business management in the information technology era.In the wave of digitalization,audit companies need to adjust their management mode to take advantage of the advantages of informatization.The key is to use digital tools to strengthen data analysis and reshape the audit process.This not only improves efficiency and accuracy but also improves the overall audit quality.The article also highlights the importance of developing a culture of continued auditor learning and skills development to ensure competitiveness in the digital age.At the end of the paper,the success of audit companies depends on innovation ability and the importance of combining management mode with technological innovation.

Analysis of the Impact of Big Data Technology on Environmental Pollution Control Audit

As China strives towards the second centenary goal,increasing attention is being paid to environmental pollution and other related issues.Concurrently,with the rapid development of big data technology,many big data solutions have been applied to environmental pollution control audits,exerting a significant impact.This paper presents the current situation of environmental pollution audits,summarizing the application of big data from the perspectives of both domestic and international research.In terms of data collection and data analysis for environmental pollution audits,cloud platform technology,and visualization technology are selected based on multiple data sources.The impact in the field of environmental pollution control audits is further analyzed.It is found that the environmental pollution audit cloud platform is not yet perfect,the technical skills of audit personnel are insufficient,and some technologies are not mature.Relevant suggestions are put forward to provide a reference for the future development of big data technology and its integration with environmental pollution control audits.

Audit审核在车辆质检工作中的使用方法研析

Audit审核起源于德国大众,是企业模拟用户对自己的产品质量进行内部监督的觉行为。通过Audit审核在车辆质检工作中的应用,企业可以更加全面地了解车辆的质量状况,及时发现并解决问题,提升车辆的整体质量水平,从而满足消费者的需求,增强市场竞争力。Audit审核是站在用户的角度对成品车辆进行质量检查/测量的方法(内部和外部),获得汽车制造厂的广泛应用。Audit审核是在与用户相对的汽车制造厂里进行的审核检验,只有站在用户角度提升产品质量,才能发挥Audit审核的最佳作用。

Comparative Analysis on Eco-Efficiency of Arable Land Ecological Footprint in Hubei

This paper uses the ecological footprint model to make comparison of the eco-efficiency of arable land ecological footprint in different years in Hubei Province, and makes comparison of that in Hubei and some countries. The results indicate that, since 1965, the eco-efficiency of arable land ecological footprint in Hubei has been improved year by year. However, the efficiency of arable land ecological footprint, compared with some other areas in the world, is much lower. In 1965, average eco-efficiency of world arable land ecological footprint is 3 421 US dollar/hm^2 while that of Hubei Province is 134 US dollar/hm^2, about 1/26 of the world＇s average level. The eco-efficiency of arable land ecological footprint for 2003 in Hubei Province, however, has become about 1/9 of the world＇s average level for the same year. Finally the author puts forward the ways to raise the eco-efficiency of arable land ecological footprint.

Research on Indicator System of Regional Eco-efficiency:A Case Study of Chengyang District

Eco-efficiency is a valuable tool for managing and solving issues involving resource consumption and pollution emission in current production processes.Despite the popularity of the term"eco-efficiency"in business,limited attention has been paid to measuring and reporting regional eco-efficiency for local government policy makers.Based on the concept and method of eco-efficiency,an indicator system of regional eco-efficiency is established in this study.The indicator system comprises 22 indicators,which are divided in to three categories including socio-economic development,resources consumption, environmental pressure.As a promising statistical technique, principle component analysis is used to set the weight of indicators which attempts to calculate the eco-efficiency indices of Qingdao's Chengyang District.The results show that the eco-efficiency of Chengyang District has clearly improved 35.1% with small fluctuation from 1995 to 2003.Socio-economic development index and resources consumption index also represent obvious increasing trends.The correlation coefficient between soci-economic development index and resources consumption index is 0.979,which means the social progress and economic growth of Chengyang District depend on an extravagant consumption of resources.The environmental pressure index increased slowly before 1997 and declined gradually after 1997,due to more attention being paid to environmental protection by local government in recent years.Chengyang District still keeps the traditional economic development mode with a high consumption and high production,so the emphases of future development should put on improving the improving the efficient use of natural resources and promoting environmental management sustainability.The results show that the indicators system of regional eco-efficiency is a promising method to quantitatively evaluate resources and environmental efficiency and provide an effective decision-making support for local governments.

Agricultural Eco-efficiency Evaluation in Anhui Province: An Empirical Analysis Based on DEA Method

According to the eco-efficiency theory, combined with agricultural production characteristics, I point out the environmental impact and substance energy consumption characteristics of agricultural production. Based on this, I establish the eco-efficiency evaluation indicator system for agricultural production, and conduct a comprehensive analysis on the agricultural eco-efficiency of 17 prefecture-level cities in Anhui Province, using data envelopment analysis method.

Developing a GIS Audit Framework in the Context of Information Technology though a Reductive Model Approach

A GIS audit framework is necessary considering the diverse nature of GIS with regard to components, applications and industry. In practice, checklists are generated during the audit process based on specific objectives. There is no standardized list of items that can be used as a reference. The purpose of this study was to develop a GIS audit framework as a foundation for GIS audits. The framework provides that comprehensive approach to various GIS aspects during the audit process. The design builds on a developed conceptual framework where most significant categories of GIS audit parameters namely data quality, software utilization, GIS competency and procedures (work flows) were identified. The study adopted a reductive model approach to simplify the complexity associated with each category of GIS audit parameter. The resultant audit elements for each category are organized in a matrix that forms an integral part of the framework. The columns comprise audit goal, audit questions and audit subjects as indicators which are qualitatively measured. The rows comprise the parameters (data quality, software utilization, personnel competency and procedure (workflows)). To use the framework, an auditor only needs to create an audit checklist that consists of particular parameters and indicators from the framework depending on audit objective. As part of an on-going research, the next step will involve validating the framework through a mock testing process.

Spatio-temporal Evolution of the Agricultural Eco-efficiency Network and Its Multidimensional Proximity Analysis in China

As a traditional agricultural country,China has always prioritized agricultural development,and has increasingly focused on green and sustainable agricultural development.Based on the inter-provincial panel data for China from 1997 to 2019,this study divided these data into five periods according to the Five-Year Plan(FYP)of China,measured the agricultural eco-efficiency(AEE)values using the Super-SBM model,and then determined the spatial association network of the inter-provincial AEE of China using the improved gravity model.Finally,social network analysis(SNA)was used to further analyze the evolution process of AEE,and we de-veloped a framework of how multidimensional proximity,which includes geographical,economic,technological,cognitive,and institutional proximity,made an influence on the formation of AEE spatial relation network.The findings indicated that:1)in 1997−2019,the AEE in China was present in some spatial and temporal differences characteristics at the provincial scale,and we specifically found that national macro-regulation and policy incentives played a positive role in the long-term development of AEE.2)The spatial correlation of AEE development among provincial regions were becoming closer and exhibits obvious spatial correlation and spillover effects.The evolution of the AEE network has clearly observable trends of hierarchization and aggregation,and the complexity of the correlation network continues to increase and exhibits spatial clustering characteristics that are dense in the east and sparse in the west.The network structure has changed from monocentric radiation to a multicentric network,and network nodes select the more advantageous nodes with which to connect.3)Finally,the geographical proximity had a significant negative effect;the economic,technological,and institutional proximities were all observed to contribute to the AEE network formation,and cognitive proximity did not significantly influence this network formation.

Impact of eco-efficiency compensation for public welfare forests on the incomes of farmers

The strategy of rural revitalization puts ecology and economic development at the same level,in order to explore whether the eco-efficiency compensation policy for public welfare forests can achieve a“win-win”for both ecology and people livelihood.This study probed into the consideration of income structure and used OLS analysis to conduct an empirical analysis on a sample of 443 households in Shaanxi Province.It was found that the eco-efficiency compensation for public welfare forests had not only a significantly positive effect on the forestry income and the total income of farm households,but also had a constructive influence on the non-forestry income,though smaller and less significant,which was closely attributed to the original income structures of these farm households.In addition,personal and household characteristics such as age,educational level and labor force size played decisive roles to nonforestry income and total income of farm households as well.

Analysis of Agricultural Eco-Efficiency and Influencing Factors in Henan Province

In order to improve the agricultural eco-efficiency and promote the sustainable development of agriculture in Henan Province, China, based on the footprint theory, the super-efficiency SBM model is used to scientifically calculate and analyze the agricultural eco-efficiency in Henan Province. On this basis, the influencing factors of agricultural eco-efficiency in Henan Province are quantitatively analyzed by using the grey incidence analysis model. The results show that unilaterally considering one of grey water footprints and carbon footprints will overestimate or underestimate the agricultural eco-efficiency of Henan Province in different degrees in different time periods, and the agricultural eco-efficiency obtained by comprehensively considering grey water footprint and carbon footprint (GWCAEE) is more in line with the reality of agricultural development in Henan Province. In 2000-2004, GWCAEE in Henan Province was better. During 2005-2014, GWCAEE in Henan Province showed a fluctuating decline and continued to be in an inefficient state. From 2015 to 2019, GWCAEE of Henan Province gradually increased, and it became effective in 2019. In recent years, GWCAEE has developed well. Through the grey incidence analysis between 12 influencing factors including endogenous factors and exogenous factors and GWCAEE, it is found that the six leading factors of GWCAEE in Henan Province are agricultural structure, financial input for agriculture, number of agricultural employees, crop sown area, consumption of chemical pesticide, consumption of agricultural diesel oil. According to the above research conclusions, suggestions for improving agricultural eco-efficiency in Henan Province are put forward.

Spatial-temporal Evolution and Its Influencing Factors of Tourism Eco-efficiency in China

Eco-efficiency is an invaluable indicator for the measurement of the relationship between production activities and environmental depletion.This study measures the tourism eco-efficiency of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2020 based on the super-efficiency SBM model,and explores its spatial-temporal evolution characteristics using the kernel density function,standard deviation ellipse,and center of gravity model.Then,the influencing factors of the tourism eco-efficiency in China are analyzed by Tobit regression model.The results show that the tourism eco-efficiency of China is generally fluctuating upwards,but has not yet reached the maximum production possibility frontier.The kernel density curve shows a unimodal-bimodal-unimodal pattern,while the inter-provincial differences have been decreasing and becoming more balanced.The center of gravity of tourism eco-efficiency is located at the junction of Henan and Hubei province and generally moves to the south(slightly to the southwest).Meanwhile,it is revealed that the level of economic development and the tourism eco-efficiency has a significant inverted U-shaped relationship.The level of economic openness,traffic conditions,and tourism eco-efficiency is positively correlated.The environmental regulations and industrial structure have a negative but limited impact on tourism eco-efficiency.Finally,recommendations and suggestions for policy formulation to promote quality and sustainable development of the tourism industry are put forward,such as increasing investment in ecological protection and governance in tourism development,improving capacity-building in allocating green and low-carbon technologies and resources,strengthening tourism infrastructure construction,and enhancing environmental governance systems and mechanisms.

Smart Contract Based DDoS Attack Traceability Audit Mechanism in Intelligent IoT

In this paper,we focus on providing data provenance auditing schemes for distributed denial of service(DDoS)defense in intelligent internet of things(IoT).To achieve effective DDoS defense,we introduce a two-layer collaborative blockchain framework to support data auditing.Specifically,using data scattered among intelligent IoT devices,switch gateways self-assemble a layer of blockchain in the local autonomous system(AS),and the main chain with controller participation can be aggregated by its associated layer of blocks once a cycle,to obtain a global security model.To optimize the processing delay of the security model,we propose a process of data pre-validation with the goal of ensuring data consistency while satisfying overhead requirements.Since the flood of identity spoofing packets,it is difficult to solve the identity consistency of data with traditional detection methods,and accountability cannot be pursued afterwards.Thus,we proposed a Packet Traceback Telemetry(PTT)scheme,based on in-band telemetry,to solve the problem.Specifically,the PTT scheme is executed on the distributed switch side,the controller to schedule and select routing policies.Moreover,a tracing probabilistic optimization is embedded into the PTT scheme to accelerate path reconstruction and save device resources.Simulation results show that the PTT scheme can reconstruct address spoofing packet forward path,reduce the resource consumption compared with existing tracing scheme.Data tracing audit method has fine-grained detection and feasible performance.

Governance of artificial intelligence applications in a business audit via a fusion fuzzy multiple rule‑based decision‑making model

A broad range of companies around the world has welcomed artificial intelligence(AI)technology in daily practices because it provides decision-makers with comprehensive and intuitive messages about their operations and assists them in formulating appropriate strategies without any hysteresis.This research identifies the essential components of AI applications under an internal audit framework and provides an appropriate direction of strategies,which relate to setting up a priority on alternatives with multiple dimensions/criteria involvement that need to further consider the interconnected and intertwined relationships among them so as to reach a suitable judgment.To obtain this goal and inspired by a model ensemble,we introduce an innovative fuzzy multiple rule-based decision making framework that integrates soft computing,fuzzy set theory,and a multi-attribute decision making algorithm.The results display that the order of priority in improvement—(A)AI application strategy,(B)AI governance,(D)the human factor,and(C)data infrastructure and data quality—is based on the magnitude of their impact.This dynamically enhances the implementation of an AI-driven internal audit framework as well as responds to the strong rise of the big data environment.Highlights Artificial intelligence(AI)promotes the sustainability development of audit tasks.A fuzzy MRDM model extracts key factors from large amounts of data.Fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory analysis accounts for dependence and feedback among factors.An effective framework of AI-driven business audit is proposed in which“AI cognition of senior executives”is the most important criterion.