Understanding the Collective Responses of Populations to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Mainland China

Timely information acquisition and stay-at-home measures have been considered as two effective steps that every person could take to help contain the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. From the perspectives of information and mobility, this work aims at evaluating to what degree the massive population has responded to the emergencies of the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Using the real-time and historical data collected from the Baidu Maps and Baidu search engines, we confirm the strong correlation between the local pandemic situation in every major Chinese city and the population inflows from Wuhan between 1 January and 23 January 2020. We further evidence that, in cities under more critical situations, people are likely to engage COVID-19-related searches more frequently, while they are not likely to escape from the cities. Finally, the correlation analysis using search and mobility data shows that well-informed individuals are likely to travel less, even while the overall travel demands are low compared to the historical records. Partial correlation analysis has been conducted to test the significance of these observations with respect to other controlling factors.

Organizational trustworthiness – empirical insights from a Chinese perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of trustworthiness at an organizational level. A comparison of Chinese and US perspectives facilitated the identified insight into the nature of trustworthiness. Design/methodology/approach This paper is an exploratory study of cross-cultural perceptions of trustworthiness at an organizational level. A survey was administered to business school students, faculty members and industrial managers in a major Chinese city. Usable data collected from 398 respondents was analyzed identifying significant factors characterizing organizational trustworthiness. Findings Seven factors were identified that characterize organizational trustworthiness. These factors were significant for both US and Chinese respondents, with procedural fairness considered most important of the identified factors. Originality/value This paper contributes to trustworthiness literature at the organizational level. Prior empirical research is based on data collected from US business school students. This is the first reported study based on a comparison of data collected from Chinese and US participants. Identifying the seven significant factors characterizing organizational trustworthiness has practical value to international employers who work with the Chinese students who will become tomorrow’s Chinese employees.

Police supervisors' work-related attitudes in China

While the past two decades have witnessed a fast growing of policing literature in China, officers' job-related attitudes remain severely under-researched. Using survey data collected from 212 police supervisors in a major Chinese city, this study examined the patterns of Chinese police officers' occupational attitudes toward selective enforcement, legal restrictions, community policing, and use of force, and factors that influence such attitudes. About half the respondents were in favor of legal restrictions, and the majority of officers supported the notions of selective enforcement, community policing, and use of force. Male, older officers, those who had no military experience, and officers who worked at field stations favored selective enforcement than their counterparts, whereas supervisor who were younger and worked at nonfield stations were more supportive for legal restrictions. Supervisors' role orientations toward law enforcement and order maintenance influenced their preference for community policing. Implications for future research and policy were discussed.