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This paper mainly studies the interdependence structure and risk transmission between China's north–south capital flow and the stock market and foreign exchange market. The results show that the correlation between southward capital and the mainland stock market is stronger, and the correlation between northward capital and the Hong Kong stock market is stronger. The correlation between northward capital and RMB exchange rate is greater than that between southward capital and RMB exchange rate. After the outbreak of COVID-19, the correlation between capital flows and the stock market has strengthened, while the correlation with the foreign exchange market has weakened. Furthermore, there is a bidirectional risk transmission between the north–south capital flow and China's stock market and foreign exchange market. In general, the north–south capital flow has a greater impact on the stock market, and the exchange rate of RMB/US dollar has a greater impact on the north–south capital flow. This study has implications for investors and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the Sino–US trade war as the background, we study the co-movement changes on horizontal return and volatility of the daily logarithmic return data of global stock indices from 2016 to January 23, 2020 from static and dynamic perspectives. Through static tools such as correlation coefficient matrices, complex networks, and Granger causality, it is found that the trade war has significantly strengthened the correlation between the Chinese stock market and the global stock market, and highlighted the position of the Hong Kong stock market. On dynamic analysis, the news impact surface shows the asymmetry of the co-movement for positive and negative news. The aDCC-EGARCH model is used to observe the dynamic co-movement changes between the Chinese stock market and the global stock market. It shows that trade conflicts have enhanced the co-movement between the Chinese stock market and the global stock market to varying degrees. At the same time, the Chinese stock market is strategically tilted towards the Asian market. Based on the research results in this paper, countries around the world need to pay more attention to the risk contagion between stock markets after the outbreak of the trade war. China's inland markets should be alert to risk contagion from the Hong Kong market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates an 11-dimensional slow–fast system of multiscale COVID-19 model with interval parameters. For the slow subsystem, the local dynamics of disease-free equilibrium (DFE) and endemic equilibrium (EE) are studied by using the fast–slow theory. Two criteria of the existence of forward and backward bifurcations are further obtained. When the basic reproduction number R 0 is less than unity, we show that bistabilities of DFE and EE for R c < R 0 < 1 can be caused by backward bifurcation. Thus, controlling R 0 below critical value R c is effective to eliminate endemic diseases. Meanwhile, the slow subsystem undergoes saddle-node bifurcation at R 0 = R c and undergoes pitchfork bifurcation at R 0 = 1 for EE. Moreover, the stability and bifurcation of the multiscale full system are established. As an application, the numerical simulations of real data of COVID-19 in Hong Kong are used to verify these results, which show that increasing vaccination rate, improving vaccine effectiveness and decreasing the fraction of individuals in risky state 2 are necessary to control the COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the role of a consumer satisfaction index (CSI) for financial investments in the Hong Kong market. Using yearly data for Hong Kong consumer satisfaction index (HKCSI) to compile a CSI at company level, the effect of consumer satisfaction on company market value is identified. A hypothesized investment portfolio based only on CSI at company level is created, and its return compares with a widely used index measuring stock market performance in Hong Kong. A formal statistical test on the outperformance of portfolios that load on consumer satisfaction is conducted. Using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), the beta risk of the entire time period is evaluated, and shows that the portfolio risk based on company level CSI is not significantly different than the market risk. This paper concludes therefore that consumer satisfaction can be incorporated into financial models and applied for formulating investment portfolios with better performance than the market rate in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal family long-term caregiving has become an appealing policy topic in Hong Kong in recent years. The Hong Kong Government has released a commissioned report on caregivers of the elderly and persons with disabilities. It is timely to gauge the views of the policy stakeholders accordingly. This paper uses qualitative methods to review the existing carer policies and services and collect the experience and views of caregivers and frontline workers. It investigates the issues related to informal caregivers and discusses possible future directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food is one of the physiological needs that have an immediate impact on healthy aging. However, the persistent poverty problem in Hong Kong has increasingly made it difficult for low-income older persons to meet their basic needs. This paper examines to what extent poor older persons suffer from food insecurity and how their food insecurity is related to the different types of resources they have. Based on the data collected through a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews, the study found that about 20% of low-income older persons experienced food insecurity, and male, older seniors, and those in a larger household with lower socio-economic status were particularly vulnerable. Among the resources that older people can utilize, public assistance and social services were found to be more conducive to food security than social capital. The implementation of a food voucher scheme and the facilitation of food distribution and social eating are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the causal relationship between the expectation of exchange rate and the Hong Kong H-share discount relative to China A-shares over the period 2006–2015, during which the Chinese currency transitioned from a pegged regime to a managed floating regime. Results show that the expected appreciation of the Chinese yuan leads to the decline in the H-share discount after controlling for the effect of different market sentiments and several other factors that explain the foreign share discount in the existing literature. Our results remain robust after adopting alternative model specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies stochastic dominance techniques for income distribution analysis and develops tests of richness and poorness to achieve more accurate characterizations of relative welfare in populations than was previously possible. Results from our empirical application, using Hong Kong data, are consistent with predictions of the life-cycle theory of income and savings. Among other things, we find high concentrations of poor individuals among the younger cohorts, and at the same time, there are high concentrations of rich individuals amongst the oldest cohorts. Our results help to explain Hong Kong's persistently high levels of income inequality in the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the adjacency effect of space, the water quality information of adjacent monitoring points in the same water area is relevant. However, traditional prediction methods use the historical water quality information of only one monitoring point rather than other nearby monitoring points. It is important to note that the sample quantity has a great influence on the prediction accuracy of the prediction methods which require lots of training samples. In addition, the water quality information is time series. Whether the time sequence of water quality information can be effectively used has direct impact on the prediction accuracy. Therefore, this paper proposes a water quality prediction method based on transfer learning and echo state network (ESN). First, we transfer the features of water quality samples of the nearby monitoring point to the prediction monitoring point based on transfer component analysis, and further select the high-quality samples based on similarity and time sequence. In this way the sample quantity of the prediction monitoring point is increased on the premise of ensuring the sample quality. Second, we construct a water quality prediction model based on ESN which takes the advantage of the time sequence of water quality information, improving the prediction accuracy on the premise of ensuring the training time. Finally, the proposed method is applied in the actual water quality dataset of Hong Kong. The experiment results demonstrate that the proposed method can expand the quantity of training samples and further improve the accuracy of water quality prediction by making full use of the space-time characteristics of water quality information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Official data shows that in 2021, there were 1,423 street sleepers in Hong Kong (excluding other forms of homelessness). However, the Hong Kong government has only subsidized a few NGOs to operate temporary shelters and homeless hostels. In this context, the Society for Community Organization pioneered a non-government-funded program called "Friend Home Hostel," a relatively long-stay hostel. This paper reports on resident profiles in this program and scrutinizes the functions of this program, drawing on data collected from a questionnaire survey and 21 in-depth interviews. The findings from this study are used to discuss the prospects and challenges of long-stay hostels that prepare residents for pathways out of homelessness. This long-stay hostel offers a social service model for the government and other NGOs by adopting a unique practice setting in which innovative and persistent intervention can promote the health and welfare of homeless people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron led to the most serious outbreak of COVID-19 in Hong Kong in 2022. Under the pressure of a high volume of patients and limited medical resources, Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been extensively used. This is a case-control study of the infected patients that aims to evaluate the effectiveness of CHM using data extracted from the Hong Kong Baptist University Telemedicine Chinese Medicine Centre database. Patients with COVID-19 confirmed by either a rapid antigen test or a polymerase chain reaction who had completed two consultations and taken CHM within 10 days of the first positive test were included in the study (CHM group, n = 3 1 1). The matched control cases were those who did not take CHM within 10 days of the first positive test and were based on age (± 3 years), vaccine doses (< 3 doses, or 3 doses), and gender (no-CHM group, n = 3 1 1). The outcomes included the negative conversion time (NCT, primary outcome), total score of individual symptoms, number of the reported symptoms, and individual symptom disappearance rates. The NCT of the CHM group (median days: 7.0, interquartile range: 6.0–8.0) was significantly shorter than that of the no-CHM group (8.0, 7.0–10.5; P = 0. 0 1 6). CHM treatment significantly reduced the total score of individual symptoms (P < 0. 0 0 1) and the number of the reported symptoms (P < 0. 0 0 1) as compared with that of the no-CHM group. Additionally, the symptom disappearance rates of symptoms such as chills, cough, sputum, dry throat, itching throat, headache, chest tightness, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fatigue were significantly higher in the CHM group than in the no-CHM group. In conclusion, CHM intervention can significantly reduce NCT and COVID-19 symptoms. Chinese medicine can be accurately prescribed based on a telemedical consultation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether foreign capital is smarter money using multifractal cross-correlation analysis (MFCCA) and nonlinear Granger Causality test. Using multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) method, we find that time series of stock returns, foreign-capital inflow from Shanghai–Hong Kong Stock Connect (SHKSC), and domestic-capital flow (proxied by margin-trading activities capital) exhibit strong multifractality. In addition, MFCCA results show that there exists a strong persistent cross-correlation between stock returns and foreign-capital inflow, but anti-persistent cross-correlation between stock returns and domestic-capital flow. Moreover, using nonlinear Granger Causality test, we find that foreign-capital inflow is the granger cause of stock returns. Our findings provide empirical evidence that foreign-capital inflow is positively associated with future stock returns, i.e., foreign capital is smarter money. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visually impaired people are facing many difficulties in daily life because of the disability in visual sensation. In daily consumption, they are hard to perform the transactions solely. They need to be assisted by other people in daily life, especially in purchasing, since they cannot recognize the different products with similar shapes and sizes. Also, in processing payment, visually impaired people are hard to differentiate the denominations (values) of banknotes. And many derived problems, such as cheating and providing the improper products, are being occurred. In this paper, an intelligent recognition system has been developed for visually impaired people in Hong Kong. The application system can help the users recognize canned foods and differentiate the nominal values of the banknotes so as to complete the monetary transactions efficiently and effectively. The application can be installed in smartphones with voice and vibration. By applying neural networks with assistive technology, the accuracies of recognizing banknotes and canned food are over 95% and 75%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fifth wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong (2022) had brought a series of chaos to society. Nevertheless, its Asian neighbours, namely Singapore and Macao, have avoided such chaos. By investigating the well-rounded preventive measures and social environment in Singapore and Macao, this article highlights the Hong Kong government's "idleness". It reveals that the relationship between a government and its people does play a significant role in operating COVID-19 measures, which could directly prevent a large-scale outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent depression has been shown to be increasing in Hong Kong. There is a need to address this problem. The studies of the risk and protective factors have focused on how individual, peer, and family predictors are related to depressive symptoms. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Specifically, this study presents a brief review of protective and risk correlates of depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong, with an ecological perspective. Individual risk correlates, such as low self-esteem and high levels of rumination; peer correlates, such as social withdrawal and limited social networks; family correlates, such as parent-child triangulation and high parental expectations, are significantly associated with adolescent depression. Moreover, individual protective correlates, such as hope and positive affect; social-related correlates, such as extensive social network and peer support; and family correlates, such as high parental warmth and family cohesion, were considered factors to reduce the risk of depression. Several limitations of previous studies are noted. First, the sample size is small and targets are limited to children and youth. They were also limited by the locations and times at which questionnaire distribution was conducted. Second, most studies are not theory-driven and have failed to examine adolescent depression with sophisticated statistical analyses; for example, some cross-sectional studies were unlikely to establish causality between the identified factors and symptoms of depression. Therefore, future study could attempt to fill in the knowledge gap by integrating the ecological model and wellness theory as a theoretical framework to explain adolescent depression, and could consider a relatively larger and different sample with longitudinal studies. More sophisticated analyses are needed to examine the indirect and interactive effects of different variables (e.g. family, peer, and individual factors) as mediators and moderators to help understand the underlying mechanism related to adolescents' depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A case in the Hong Kong Chinese context is presented in this paper to illustrate the use of both quantitative (Holland's SDS) and qualitative career assessment (Card Sorts) to help a 16-year-old girl overcome career indecision. Guided by both Holland's Hexagonal Career Types Theory and Socio-Cognitive Career Theory, a career counsellor can promote a client's positive changes after two counseling sessions. This case supports Tracey's (2002) and Nauta et al.'s (2002) postulated bidirectional causal path between self-efficacy and interests. In addition, it highlights that partial match instead of perfect match between Self-directed search (SDS) scores and choice of academic major is more pragmatic or effective while performing quantitative assessment. Finally, it points to the need for establishing local SDS norms, examining the Holland codes for occupations in Hong Kong, and researching the link between congruence and maximal career outcomes in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

本文從自我決定理論 (Self Determination Theory) 的觀點出發，探討香港中學生的抱負取向（包括外在期望及內在期望）與職業生涯探索的關係。是次研究以問卷形式進行，從10間中學總共2,122名中一至中六的學生得到有效數據。結果顯示在控制了人口因素、成績及社會支持後，學生的抱負取向與職業生涯探索有顯著的關係。對比以上各項因素，發現學生的內在期望對職業生涯探索起較大的預測作用。最後，本文會探討結果在實踐及研究的應用。 Based on Self Determination Theory, this paper explores the relationship between different aspirations (intrinsic aspirations and extrinsic aspirations) and career exploration among Hong Kong secondary school students. The sample consisted of 2,122 secondary school students from 10 secondary schools. The results found that both intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations are significant predictors of career exploration after controlling for demographic, academic results and perceived social support variables. Among the predictors examined, intrinsic aspirations explained more variance of career exploration than others. Implications of the results for theory and practice were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing price time series is worth studying as it is closely related to the well-being of society. In the Hong Kong housing market from 1992 to 2010, signs of quasi-periodicity in housing price and transaction volume can be observed. We find that there is an overall periodicity of approximately 30 months in housing price changes and a strong lead-lag relationship between housing price and transaction volume. Analysis of the cross-covariance of the housing price, transaction volume and prime lending rate reveals that this quasi-periodicity is potentially driven by prime lending rates. Incorporation of quasi-periodicity into the kernel of Gaussian processes further enables us to construct a predictive model of the Hong Kong housing price trends that outperforms other traditional kernel functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on editorial board meeting of International Journal of Structural, Stability and Dynamics (IJSSD) in Majestic Harbor Plaza Hong Kong Hotel on 17 December 2009 in Hong Kong, China. Topics include the enhancement of impact factor and best paper award. The symposium featured several editorial board members of IJSSD including S. L. Chan, X. L. Zhao and D. A. Nethercot.

Understanding of its correlation to some relevant factors is of paramount importance for modeling and predication of the air pollution process. Compared with the traditional cross-correlation analysis, multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (MFDCCA) was argued to be a more suitable method to analyze air pollutant time series due to their non-stationarity nature. Multifractal temporally weighted detrended cross-correlation analysis (MF-TWXDFA) was proposed to improve the shortcomings of MFDCCA. In this study, we apply MF-TWXDFA to investigate the cross-correlation between pollutants ( PM 1 0 and NO X ) and meteorological factors (temperature, pressure, wind speed (WS) and relative humidity (RH)). The results on the dataset from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2014 in urban and rural areas of Hong Kong show the existence of multifractal cross-correlation between all pairs of pollutants and meteorological factors in both urban and rural areas. Different from the previous MFDCCA results, we found that the multifractal degree of cross-correlation between PM 1 0 and (temperature, pressure) is more obvious in urban area. The multifractal strength of cross-correlation between NO X and WS is very weak in either urban or rural area. Furthermore, the MF-TWXDFA cross-correlation coefficient ρ MF-TWXDFA can capture negative correlation between pollutants and meteorological factors. For PM 1 0 , ρ MF-TWXDFA in urban area is less than or close to that in rural area with respect to these four meteorological factors. The ρ MF-TWXDFA of NO X in urban and rural areas shows more complex patterns for varied meteorological factors. Compared with MFDCCA, MF-TWXDFA can provide much richer information about the relationships between pollutants and meteorological factors, which is beneficial to further modeling and prediction of the air pollution process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as a suitable data analysis tool to overcome facility management (FM) benchmarking difficulties: FM performance benchmarking analysis is often unsophisticated, relying heavily on simple statistical representation, linking hard cost data with soft customer satisfaction data is often problematic. A case study is presented to show that DEA can provide FM personnel with an objective view on performance improvements. An objective of the case study is to investigate the relative efficiency of nine facilities with the same goals and to determine the most efficient facility. The case is limited to nine buildings in FM on four inputs and nine output criteria. The paper concludes by demonstrating that DEA-generated improvement targets can be applied when formulating FM outsourcing policies, strategies and improvements. Facility manager can apply DEA-generated improvement targets in formulating FM outsourcing policies, specifications development, FM strategy and planning. FM benchmarking with DEA can enhance continuous improvement in services' efficiency and cost saving. This will help reduce utility cost as well as pollution. This paper fills the gap in the research of FM benchmarking by applying DEA which studies both soft and hard data, simultaneously. It also contributes to a future research of a tradeoff sensitivity test between FM cost, services performance and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to contribute to an exploratory categorization of different adolescent drug rehabilitation service models in Hong Kong. In-depth interviews were conducted with local social workers working in the medical model setting, integrated model setting, and social model setting. There was a trend that hybrid models were used by the drug rehabilitation service providers and a shift to postmodernism was found in the current service settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The least effective working capital management and poor corporate governance resulted in the 2008 global financial crisis besides various other factors as highlighted by the prior studies. So far, the existing literature reveals that WCM and CG affect firm performance (FP) on an individual basis. However, the collective effect of working capital management and corporate governance on firm performance has been paid the least attention. This study investigates the collective effect of working capital management and corporate governance on firm performance for Australia and Hong Kong markets, being the top two markets in the Pacific region. For this purpose, a system generalized method of moments based on two steps is applied to address the endogeneity issue. The results establish that working capital management and corporate governance affect firm performance on an individual basis and then these individual effect results compliment the collective effect results. The limitation of the study is that it did not consider two stages of Least Squares Regression due to difficulty in the identification of instrumental variables for both explanatory variables. As a policy implication, firm manager may take the benefit of the findings of this study while devising financial policies to enhance firm performance. Future investors may use the findings of this study to make an informed decision on future investment in both markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to study the empirical determinants of the underpricing of H-share initial public offerings (IPOs) during the 1993-2003 period. A special characteristic of H-shares is that they are shares of companies incorporated in China, but are also listed abroad. Our estimates indicate that the average IPO underpricing level of H-shares was about 16.8%. We find that the conventional explanations for the worldwide IPO underpricing are not adequate in explaining the underpricing level of H-shares. Some new factors that are important in explaining the underpricing phenomenon in H-shares are identified. We show that the degree of IPO underpricing is positively associated with market conditions prior to issuance. It is also negatively related to the range of the issuing prices as well as to the growth rate of historical profits. In addition, it is found that firms cross-listed in Hong Kong and America have higher underpricing levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the risk that women faced during the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong in 2003. The concept of a "risk society", which is developed by Ulrich Beck, has made a major contribution to our understanding of the SARS crisis. He points out that risk is not equally distributed among all people in society, but adheres to patterns that are based on class and gender. He also suggests that the increasing trend of individualization has created a set of obligations and responsibilities to people, any individuals who failed to avoid risk are seen as personal failure and to be blamed. During the SARS crisis, women were more likely to be infected by the virus, as the primary care takers of the family, in the community, and being health care workers in hospitals. However, women were at risk not only due to their role as carers, but the dominant and authoritative discourses that undermined their claims for protection. This paper attempts to deconstruct the discourses of the roles of women in health crises, and to discuss how the discourses interplay with other social structures to construct a "reality", to marginalise and silent women in a crisis situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an earlier paper, we adopted a bi-variate BEKK–GARCH framework and employed a systematic approach to examine structural breaks in the Hang Seng Index and Index Futures market volatility. Switching dummy variables were included and tested in the variance equations to check for any structural changes in the autoregressive volatility structure due to the events that have taken place in the Hong Kong market surrounding the Asian markets crisis. In this paper, we include measures of daily trading volume from both markets in the estimation. Likelihood ratio tests indicate the switching dummy variables become insignificant and the GARCH effects diminish but remain significant. There is some evidence that the Sequential Arrival of Information Model (SIM) provides a platform to explain these market induced effects when volume of trade is accounted for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to pioneer a discussion on the exit and maintenance costs of the Currency Board System (CBS) in Hong Kong, and hopes to invite more debate on the issue. It suggests that the exit costs will depend on the timing of an exit, whether there are supplementary packages to mitigate the exit costs, and the choice of an alternative exchange rate system. In particular, it suggests that the monitoring band system favored by Williamson (2000) could help to reduce the exit costs. In addition, the paper points out that there are ways to reduce both the exit and maintenance costs. It then proposes a reform that could benefit the economy regardless of whether the policy maker eventually chooses to continue with or abandon the peg. The study is not only crucial to Hong Kong, but also important to other economies with a CBS as well as to the debate on the choice of exchange rate system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hong Kong has been very active in developing new financial products. This paper examines how firms in Hong Kong have managed risks by using derivatives. We conducted a survey to find out what kind of and to what extent financial engineering tools are used. Our survey reveals that derivatives are widely used to reduce risks. Moreover, most companies take risk measurement prior to including derivatives in the portfolios. The value-at-risk model is the most widely used risk management technique, followed by scenario analysis. In addition, we compare these survey results with the recent results for firms in Shanghai. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hecke–Kiselman monoids HK Θ and their algebras K [ HK Θ ] , over a field K , associated to finite oriented graphs Θ are studied. In the case Θ is a cycle of length n ≥ 3 , a hierarchy of certain unexpected structures of matrix type is discovered within the monoid C n = HK Θ and this hierarchy is used to describe the structure and the properties of the algebra K [ C n ]. In particular, it is shown that K [ C n ] is a right and left Noetherian algebra, while it has been known that it is a PI-algebra of Gelfand–Kirillov dimension one. This is used to characterize all Noetherian algebras K [ HK Θ ] in terms of the graphs Θ. The strategy of our approach is based on the crucial role played by submonoids of the form C n in combinatorics and structure of arbitrary Hecke–Kiselman monoids HK Θ . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to explore regional variation in the implementation of Environmental Impact Assessment follow-up in India and to identify causes of such variations. In doing so, forty-three semi-structured interviews were carried out across the Indian mining and environment sector. The findings from the interviews confirm that regional variation in follow-up implementation is a result of social, environmental, economical and political factors. To further explore these factors, three case studies of open cast coal mining were conducted. The findings of the case studies offer insight as to how the factors identified during the interviews influence follow-up outcomes. Furthermore, it reflects how the nature of such variation is not always true to what is perceived about them. Subsequently, the findings from the interviews and case studies help in contributing to the existing best practice of EIA follow-up and developing recommendations for achieving better follow-up outcomes in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lone parent families are often portrayed as welfare-dependent, and social policies and social services can be hostile to and discriminating against lone parents especially in societies dominated by traditional familism, such as Hong Kong. This resentment of lone parent families has not been present throughout Hong Kong's history, but has arisen over the past decade. This paper is based on a study that traced the changing discourses of the lone parent family in Hong Kong. Adopting the Foucauldian concept of genealogy of knowledge and inspired by Nancy Fraser and Linda Gordon's work on "genealogy of dependency", we trace the discourses of the lone parent family from the 1970s to the early 21st century. The term "lone parent" did not exist before the mid-1980s, and when it first appeared it was closely associated with vulnerability and charity. In the early 21st century, the lone parent discourse developed into a problematic discourse, with lone parents associated with welfare dependency, social security fraud, juvenile delinquency, family violence, and perceived as a threat to social stability. This paper notes that the "success" of this discourse may help to rationalize the cutting back of social security benefits for lone mothers and regulate welfare recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome experience had readied Hong Kong well for the COVID-19 outbreak. The epidemic provided the Hong Kong government with a respite from the political protests and an opportunity to return to governing. This respite does not spell the end of Hong Kong's political troubles. With the passage of the National Security Law, Hong Kong might be able to endear itself once more to the Mainland and position itself for greater integration and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultivating the creativity of social work students is becoming essential in contemporary social work education due to the variability and cultural diversity of human services in Hong Kong. Music, as a form of creative arts, can foster students' creativity. Lyrics rewriting can be an initiative in integrating music into social work education in practice so as to nurture students' creativity. Experiences of facilitating two different fieldwork placement workshops in a social work sub-degree programme using individual and collective lyrics rewriting activities are described. The students, most of whom had no formal musical training, rewrote the lyrics of Cantopop songs; various themes, scenarios and messages were expressed as a result. The practice wisdom of encouraging the creativity of students in the classroom is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare diseases are a group of chronic and complex genetic disorders characterized by low prevalence rate. About half of new cases present at birth and affect children with severe disabilities. There has been scant research studying the stress and problems of the parents of children with a rare disease. In Hong Kong, the government has no established policy for rare disease management. The special needs of people with a rare disease are undermined in the current healthcare and social welfare systems. A descriptive qualitative research approach was conducted to investigate the experience of the parents. Sixteen parents were recruited, and in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis was performed with the Supportive Care Need Framework. Major stress encountered by the families was identified, i.e., delay in diagnosis, lack of professional support, financial stress of paying for expensive drugs, and medical expenses. Also, family relationship problems, psychological impact, depression, and suicidal thoughts were pervasive among the parents. This study demonstrates that rare diseases bring enormous stress to families. Early intervention of healthcare professional and social workers is essential in empowering these families. The Hong Kong SAR government has the responsibility to take an active stance: to establish a clear definition of rare diseases and establish a policy in rare disease management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine how "One Country, Two Systems" has shaped and influenced the collaboration on cross-boundary air pollution control between the governments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Guangdong province. The presence of the Chinese central government significantly fostered the start of this collaboration, but the implementation and collaborative relationship were relatively weak and unsustainable due to the two local governments' largely different interests, goals and political demands. We found that the emphasis on "One Country" especially after 2003 led to the signature of more joint agreements in comparison with what the emphasis on "Two Systems" did between 1997 and 2003. Joint agreements appear to be necessary conditions for effective collaboration, but too many of them without satisfying implementation could have resulted in less concrete benefits. A balanced stress on "One Country" and "Two Systems" might bring an appropriate number of joint agreements with good implementation for more effective collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the effect of related party transactions (RPTs) on value relevance and informativeness of accounting earnings for firms based in East Asia. Using a hand-collected sample of 398 listed companies comprising 1194 firm-year observations from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, we find that firms engaging more extensively in RPTs have significantly lower value relevance and lower informativeness of earnings both in the current year and subsequent year than firms engaging less in RPTs. Furthermore, the results indicate that the types of RPTs affect value relevance and informativeness of earnings differently in that the effect of simple and loans RPTs are more negative than complex transactions. The extent of the negative effect of RPTs is lower in Hong Kong and Singapore where investor protection is higher compared to the other two economies. These findings are robust to controlling for firm-specific attributes, corporate governance, ownership structure, earnings quality, and a variety of sensitivity tests. These results are consistent with the conflict of interest view that RPTs compromise the quality of accounting earnings and this leads to the reduction in earnings and market value relationship for firms that engage in RPTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam presented her housing policies at the 2019 annual address in broad strokes, including using ordinances to resume undeveloped land in accordance with the law. The Hong Kong government could use its regulatory power as disincentives for private development of land given the highly bureaucratic, time-consuming and expensive land development approval process. The Hong Kong government would also work jointly with private sector landlords to potentially develop public housing and profit-driven projects, which would then be negotiated based on the Hong Kong government's terms and conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fieldwork is valued as an essential element in social work education. A partnership between students, agencies and universities is essential to a practical learning experience. Although this article is primarily concerned with issues surrounding field education in just one Australian university, this paper also makes comparisons with cases in Hong Kong where appropriate. Several aspects of field education including the dynamics of power in the fieldwork relationship, roles and status of field educators, on-going training provided for field educators and ways to strengthen collaborations will be discussed. The purpose of this analysis is to look at the basic principles of good fieldwork practice. 實習是社工教育中不可或缺的一環；學生、機構和大學的合作，乃重要的學習體驗。這篇論文不但檢視了環繞澳洲實習教育的議題，還將它們與香港的情況比較。討論範圍包括幾方面：實習關係中的權力互動、實習教育者的角色及地位、為實習教育者提供的持續訓練，以及各種加強合作的方法。這個比較分析的目的是要檢視良好實習的基本原則。 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the first of July 1997, the formerly British colony of Hong Kong was returned to China. This paper compares the profitability of various trading rules on the Hang Seng Index both before and after the handover. Our work extends that of Coutts and Cheung (2000), whose study focuses on pre-1997 Hong Kong, in terms of both the data collection period as well as the number of trading rules studied. The authors find that, among the trading rules examined herein, the Trade Range Breakout rule generates the highest returns. We also conclude that, in general, the handover of Hong Kong to China does not affect the efficiency of the Hong Kong stock market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a small, open-economy IS-LM prototype model, this paper examines the sources of macroeconomic instabilities in Hong Kong and Singapore operating under two different currency board arrangements. The empirical findings suggest that in general, both external and internal factors contribute to the macroeconomic volatilities observed in the two economies. There is evidence of a tradeoff between exchange rate and interest rate targeting for the stability of money supply in Singapore. Our findings have important implications for Mainland China's monetary authorities in the transition from a hard-peg exchange rate regime like Hong Kong to a basket-link system like the one in Singapore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this article is to find out the prevalence of self-help groups in Hong Kong, including their number, types, membership, group characteristics, geographical distribution; to examine the role and functions of these self-help groups, especially the benefits they produce for members and the factors affecting their role and functions; to study the relationship of self-help groups and social work professionals. Self-help is a respectable Chinese value. The rapid growth of self-help groups in the field of social welfare in Hong Kong however, is only a recent phenomenon. Self-help groups for vulnerable populations such as patients with chronic illnesses, the physically disabled, the mentally disabled, single parents, drug abusers, and other client groups mushroomed in the late 1980s. The recognition and support given to self-help groups in the 1990 Social Welfare White Paper and the 1992 Green Paper on Rehabilitation Policies and Services have in part accelerated the development of self-help groups in the last few years.

It has been increasingly recognised that construction activity imposes external costs to the environment. This paper aims to review the benefits and major problems in the implementation of ISO 14000 EMS in the Hong Kong construction industry. This study surveyed major construction firms in Hong Kong to uncover the hindrance factors contributing to the low adoption of ISO 14000. Based on the findings, this paper identifies and ranks the perceived order which hinders the construction firms' adoption of ISO 14000. The case study in Hong Kong serves as a reference point for understanding the problems in the implementation of ISO 14000 in other countries. Specifically, this study found that the four major obstacles to ISO 14000 implementation are: lack of government pressure; lack of client requirement/supports; expensive implementation cost; and sub-contracting systems, which create difficulties in managing the EMS. Since the government is a very dominant client, the extent to which the Government wishes to restrict its choice of tenderer to those firms that have an environmental management system in place, will demonstrate its commitment to environmentally responsible operations. The public sector clients play a critical role in driving the construction industry to improve its operations through contractual requirements. Education of the end-users is also important to create market demand for environmentally friendly construction. To an extent, professional institutions and other industry bodies can help to instill a greater sense of accountability among industry participants by stipulating acceptable standards of behaviour and establishing a supportive regulatory framework. It has been increasingly recognised that construction activity imposes external costs to the environment. This paper aims to review the benefits and major problems in the implementation of ISO 14000 EMS in the Hong Kong construction industry. This study surveyed major construction firms in... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to examine empirically the impacts of the institutional changes on the Hong Kong's interest rate, and to evaluate the relative merit of rules versus discretion over three distinct regimes. Our result suggests that the stance of policy making is associated with stability of the interbank market and thus the credibility of the currency board. We employ a structural break model under the Bayesian framework to endogenously determine the number and the type of structural breaks of the series under consideration. Finally, our empirical findings should shed a light on implications for monetary policies in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of profitability, stock price performance and growth opportunity on the capital structure of firms in Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In contrast to Kayhan and Titman (2007), it is found that firms in these three Chinese-dominated economies strongly prefer debt to equity or internal fund financing. They also take advantage of stock price appreciation by issuing more shares. An adjustment model for debt ratios is estimated. The results suggest that the leverage ratios of these firms slowly adjust toward their target levels. Deviations from the target due to the pecking order and market timing effects are found to be significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the recent education reforms in Hong Kong, students with special education needs (SEN) are gradually returning to mainstream schools. There are high expectations on the next generation, especially in terms of education achievements to build a successful path for growth; however, when children have SEN that affect their learning, what problems are faced by their working mothers? Findings provide an overview of the latest work–family conflict situation faced by working mothers of children with SEN. Given the financial burden, they suffer from high work–family conflict, as they are forced to work but are also required to spend more time helping their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper benchmarks the key performance measures of the hub airports in Southeast Asia. Our investigation suggests that (1) Hong Kong has been a leader in terms of network connectivity, traffic growth, hub airline developments, and cargo logistics. (2) Bangkok airport's growth has been constrained by political instability and weak hub airline development; in the long-run, the airport, however, has great potential. (3) The development of low-cost carriers have become a major driver for traffic growth, but the implications to airport connectivity have been unclear. (4) Despite limited progress on regional liberalization, intra-Asian routes have clearly contributed to traffic growth and hub airport connectivity. (5) Governments should safeguard airline competition by promoting market liberalization and airport capacity investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the legal insider trading activities by directors of companies listed on the Hong Kong Exchange over the period 1993 to 1999. One characteristic of insider trading in Hong Kong is the high frequency of transactions and the large amounts of money involved. Inside purchases appear to signal and correct undervaluation and inside sales appear to signal and correct overvaluation. In contrast to research from Britain and the United States, insider sales are more informative than purchases. On average, insiders earn HK$91,297 per trade, while outsiders who mimic insiders' transactions earn minimal returns. Many firms suffer from infrequent trading and our results are consistent with directors engaging in inside transactions so as to help create a market for the shares. In additional tests, we find that the frequency of insider trading is a function of information asymmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is commonly believed that Adventure-based Counseling (ABC) training is intended for young people who are active and energetic. The St. James' Settlement (an NGO) in Hong Kong, however, believes that such training can also have positive effects on the young olds (individuals aged 50-65). A group of young old trainees was recruited from the community to help implement related activities to elderly members of this NGO. Their general health condition, levels of life satisfaction, optimism, and self-efficacy were measured before and after the training, and a control group was also recruited. The results show that the ABC training had significant impacts on the life satisfaction, optimism, and self-efficacy levels of the young old trainees. Recommendations are made at the end of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]