We find that CEO compensation increases following acquisitions only in those deals in which acquirer stock is used as the method of payment. These compensation increases are driven by increases in equity-based compensation and are concentrated in riskier acquirers, in riskier acquisitions, and in acquirers whose CEOs have low exposure to the stock price. We find little support for traditional agency cost explanations of changes in CEO pay following acquisitions. However, our findings are broadly consistent with compensation changes representing a contracting solution to a two-sided adverse selection problem that is present only in stock acquisitions.

Research on how cognitive and affective factors shape bilinguals’ moral judgments in their first (L1) and second (L2) languages remains limited. This study advances our understanding of both language-related variables (L2 proficiency, age of onset of L2 acquisition, length of L2 immersion) and nonlinguistic variables (emotional intelligence, executive functions) in relation to the moral judgments and emotional intensity experienced by 90 Chinese–English bilingual speakers. Participants read five moral dilemmas and completed a set of questionnaires and cognitive ability tests. Mixed-effects models revealed no evidence of a moral foreign language effect, raising questions about the robustness of this phenomenon. Specifically, neither language-related variables nor emotional intelligence had a significant effect. However, participants with stronger updating ability made more deontological judgments in both their L1 and L2, while those with better inhibitory control also made more deontological decisions, but only in their L1. These findings offer new insights into the relationship between language and cognition.

Pay satisfaction is an important topic in core domains of human resource management, such as employee engagement, motivation, and job satisfaction. We present an overview of the research on pay satisfaction by conducting a bibliometric analysis to examine the performance and intellectual structure of the pay satisfaction literature, curated from 539 articles in the Web of Science between 1966 and 2024. Using citation and co-word analysis with VOSviewer software, we identified emerging themes, dominant trends, and critical knowledge gaps. Our review highlights (1) the most cited articles, (2) the most prolific authors, journals, countries, affiliations and (3) the major clusters or themes of research. The results provide practical insights for management and suggest future research directions to strengthen the strategic relevance of pay satisfaction in organizational contexts.

For a plant as renowned and beloved in China as the plum blossom (meihua 梅花), there is conspicuously little written in English about eating it. However, without understanding the historical affection for consuming plum blossoms, our comprehension of it as a cultural icon misses an important dimension. This article explores the intriguing discourse surrounding plum blossom consumption in three sections. The first section introduces the key concept of qing 清 (“purity”) and its relation to the “poet’s spleen” (shiren pi 詩人脾), which provides a theoretical framework for a relationship between eating it and writing poetry. The second section examines Song-dynasty poems on this eating practice, particularly those by Yang Wanli 楊萬里 (1127–1206) and the Rivers and Lakes poets (jianghu shiren 江湖詩人). Their poetry was closely tied to new developments in the notion of qi 氣 and “poetic spleen” (shipi 詩脾). The third section turns to culinary recipes, primarily from the Rivers and Lakes poet Lin Hong 林洪 (fl. 1224–1263), who promotes qing aesthetics in plum blossom dishes. I argue that the discovery of culinary value in a flower long regarded as more symbolic than edible marks a significant development in Song-dynasty (960–1279) literati culture, aesthetics, intellectual history, and medicine.

In this paper, I explore the millennium-long presence of the chickpea in premodern China by highlighting three key historical moments. The legume had its first rise to prominence as a cosmopolitan “Muslim Bean” in the Mongol Yuan (1271–1368) imperial diet. It then experienced a phase of obscurity, as the most renowned Chinese herbalist, Li Shizhen 李時珍 (1518–1593), conflated it with the pea. A disparate identity of the legume emerged around the same time, as the bean garnered attention from famine relief specialists, consequently transforming into a source of sustenance. The multiple lives of the chickpea were characterized with a common emphasis on its foreignness, drawing connections to various Eurasian cultures beyond China. The plant’s enduring presence, coupled with ongoing allusions to its alienness, makes it a perpetual foreigner in the broad expanse of the Chinese empire.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder characterized by fatigable weakness and increased perioperative vulnerability. Postoperative myasthenic crisis, defined as respiratory failure requiring prolonged ventilation or re-intubation, remains a feared complication after surgical procedures such as thymectomy. The efficacy of preoperative interventions such as intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) and plasmapheresis remains uncertain. This review examines the evidence supporting risk stratification tools and immunomodulatory strategies to prevent postoperative myasthenic crisis. A comprehensive literature review was conducted focusing on studies evaluating the incidence, risk factors and preventive strategies for postoperative myasthenic crisis in MG patients. Particular emphasis was placed on clinical predictive models and randomized trials assessing preoperative IVIg and plasmapheresis. Recent data suggest the incidence of postoperative myasthenic crisis has declined to below 10%, largely due to advances in surgical technique and perioperative care. Established risk factors include bulbar involvement, reduced pulmonary function and prior crises. Risk prediction models such as the Leuzzi and Kanai scores offer clinically useful stratification. While older retrospective studies favored preoperative plasmapheresis, meta-analyses and randomized trials have yielded mixed results. Randomized trials of IVIg have shown no significant benefit in well-controlled patients, and both interventions carry notable risks and costs. Current evidence does not support the routine use of IVIg or plasmapheresis prior to surgery in all MG patients. A targeted, risk-based approach guided by validated predictive models is recommended to minimize unnecessary interventions and health care system costs.

Proper management of mutual interference plays an important role in the successful simultaneous operation of automotive frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar sensors at different vehicles. Compared to traditional interference handling concepts such as detect-and-mitigate or detect-and-avoid, the detect-and-exploit paradigm turns the originally interfering signals into signals of interest and uses them to obtain information about the environment. Following this idea, a method that implements such an interference exploitation strategy in terms of joint passive spectral sensing and localization of surrounding objects is elaborated and presented in this work. In summary, the method consists of a dedicated radar operational mode and a corresponding signal processing chain including pre-processing, beam steering-based signal component separation, maximum likelihood (ML)–inspired signal parameter estimation, and joint direction of arrival (DoA)-time difference of arrival (TDoA) based object localization. The unique advantage of the presented concept compared to over-the-air synchronization (OTAS)-based solutions is that it can also deal with interferers that change their ramp parameters over time. The applicability of the concept is both theoretically analyzed as well as practically demonstrated by means of measurements in an anechoic chamber, where the position of the interferer and an additional object in the surrounding can be determined with an accuracy of a few centimeters.

This article critiques the assessment by exporting states of assurances that exported arms will not be misused by recipient states, with a focus on the Gaza conflict. First, the article develops a transferable framework for evaluating assurances. Building on the arms export obligations in the Geneva Conventions, and the implementation of those export obligations in the Arms Trade Treaty and EU Common Position, the article synthesises a due diligence test. It also draws on assurance assessment in another field where assurances are routinely given to overcome risk: when assurances attempt to address the risk of mistreatment to an expelled person implicating non-refoulement. The methodology for assurances assessments in risk prediction has been developed extensively in that area and closely resembles a similar approach emerging for arms exports. The article articulates the relevant criteria for assessing assurances when completing a due diligence risk assessment for arms exports and then applies that framework to the US arms exports in relation to the Gaza conflict. Under National Security Memorandum 20, the United States released a public report on its assurances assessment, offering a rare partial glimpse into the use of assurances in arms exports and an opportunity to examine whether assurances are being assessed in alignment with international practice. The result of the article is a clear practical checklist for lawful reliance on assurances and a tentative conclusion that the assessment by the US was not in compliance with international standards.

William Blake’s theology is expressed in a strange, idiosyncratic idiom that is difficult to pin down. Sometimes Blake is even read as an anti-Christian, proto-Nietzschean thinker. However, in 1910, Chesterton noted Blake’s unusual ‘tenderness’ toward the Catholic faith and even suggested that he was already on the path toward Catholicism. In this paper, I present an interpretation of Blake’s theology, focusing on his early work The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and on the ‘fetters’ that he attributes to Milton, implying that he is free of them. I argue that Blake is a sincere Christian – and, as Chesterton suggested, far closer to Catholicism than one might expect. Blake’s profound and insightful reflection on the epistemological and psychological effects of original sin forge a middle way, akin to that of Catholicism, between a ‘Pelagian’ belief in the ability of human beings to redeem themselves through their own efforts and a Calvinist insistence on humanity’s total postlapsarian depravity.

Archaeology prides itself on its ability to see beyond the urban elite. The countryside, the urban poor, gender and even children have all gradually come under the discipline’s gaze. The elderly, however, have failed to attract much scholarly attention. The few groundbreaking studies that tackled the issue scrutinized mortuary data and examined the ‘body’ of the elderly, but hardly any archaeological attention was given to the social aspects of the daily life of the old. Using one of the most detailed archaeological case studies available, and with the aid of ancient texts and ethnography, this article seeks to identify the ‘elderly’ and ‘elders’ in Iron Age Israel and, using Building 101 at Tel ʿEton as a test case, it places the fathers and mothers and their activities within the household.

This perspective article is to celebrate the 30th birthday of the Journal of Management & Organization. To remember its achievements and to reflect on its successes a number of management academics were quizzed about their thoughts. This helps to identify future growth areas of management interest and to project new developments. By doing so it enables a holistic view about the role of management in practice, policy and society.

Using a model, we explain why propaganda in autocracies can be blatantly false and unconvincing. We model two news outlets that report on a hidden state of the world, motivated by the ex-post beliefs of the audience about the state of the world. News outlets face a tradeoff when making egregiously false statements. On the one hand, such statements are easily verifiable as false. On the other hand, a demonstrably false report reduces the credibility of the report made by the competing outlet. This is especially true for audiences in autocracies that are characterized by high media cynicism and are prone to making sweeping generalizations about the self-serving nature of all media.

To mitigate uncertainty, it is often assumed that governments negotiate ample flexibility provisions when entering new international treaties. Yet, the case of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) suggests that governments prioritize the more stringent commitments when faced with uncertainty. In this paper, we investigate the effects of uncertainty spikes occurring during negotiations on the design of 251 bilateral PTAs. Our theory proposes that sharp increases in uncertainty make governments more prone to signing deeper PTAs to emphasize their commitment to liberalization. In doing so, governments cater to firms’ demands for institutions protecting investment, upholding intellectual property rights, and promoting regulatory harmonization. We find robust evidence that PTAs are deeper when the contracting parties are faced with uncertainty spikes during negotiations. However, we do not find equally consistent evidence that countries also make PTAs more flexible. While much of the rational-design literature has focused on flexibility as a tool to cope with uncertainty, our findings suggest that countries rather tend to tighten their international commitments in turbulent times.

No matter the methodology, gaining access to potential research participants is one of the more difficult aspects of conducting field research. Sometimes, potential participants may be “hard to reach”—for example, they are physically located in remote areas where the lack of infrastructure necessitates extensive travel and/or difficult logistics. Alternatively, they may be “vulnerable” due to disenfranchisement (incarcerated populations), stigma (those living with HIV/AIDS), or at risk if they share their experiences (people living in authoritarian states). Or participants may be “hidden”—that is, no record of their experiences exists, which, in turn, makes it difficult to find and recruit them (Ellard-Gray et al. 2015).1

The ‘27 Club’ myth masks a public health problem: systems that amplify musicians’ psychological vulnerability. This multiple-case study uses reflexive thematic analysis of Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse, triangulating biographies, archives and documentaries. Across cases we identify a vulnerability triad – emotional dysregulation, chronic distress and substance-mediated coping – and show how ‘tortured genius’ narratives, industry pressures and fragmented care normalise risk. Cohort evidence indicates musicians face 1.7–3 times excess mortality for decades post-fame, especially solo artists and trauma survivors. We propose integrated risk assessments in contracts, mobile dual-diagnosis support and narrative interventions.