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Objectives To analyse the contributions of authors from three major regions of China - the Mainland ( ML), Hong Kong ( HK) and Taiwan ( TW) - in the field of health care sciences and services. Methods Articles published by Chinese authors between 1998 and 2012 in the category of health care sciences and services were retrieved from the Science Citation Index Expanded ( scie) database. The numbers of total articles, impact factors, citations, articles included in the top 10 highest impact journals and the 10 journals that published the most papers were recorded. Results ML, HK and TW published 615, 415 and 1162, respectively, with accumulated impact factors of 1281.65, 904.29 and 2361.44; average impact factor of 2.08, 2.18 and 2.03; and total citation times of 2313, 2652, and 4818. Regarding the top 10 high-impact journals, ML, HK and TW accounted for 28.25%, 27.68% and 44.07%, respectively. Total impact factors of the most popular 10 journals for ML, HK and TW were 20.86, 22.08 and 18.92, respectively. Discussion and Conclusions Both the quality and quantity of papers published in health care sciences and services journals from ML, HK and TW have greatly improved. ML and HK have different strong points, while the gap with TW diminished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research involving international research communities has been advocated in the field of behavior analysis (Dymond et al., 2000; Martin et al., 2016). The purpose of the present study was to report the status of behavioral research in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, in terms of number of publications, types of research, and frequency of collaboration with international researchers. Fifteen behavioral journals were selected from the list by Cooper et al. (2020). These were searched by hand to find publications conducted in or authored by researchers from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan dating from each journal's inception to December 2021. The earliest publication we found appeared in 1980 in The Psychological Record. Over the following four decades (1980–1989; 1990–1999; 2000–2009; 2010–2021), the number of publications per decade increased dramatically and continues in recent years to rise. Publications include research reports, review papers, and conceptual articles, with the majority being basic research reports published in Behavioral Processes. Approximately half the publications involve collaboration with international researchers, mostly in North America. Implications for behavioral research, practice, and policy in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on several topics related to systems research. The "Systems Research and Behavioral Science" journal is calling for papers for its special issue regarding the function of systems thinking in facilitated decision modeling. The 10th International Symposium on Knowledge and Systems Science and the 6th International Conference on Knowledge Management (ICKM) will be jointly held in Hong Kong, China on December 3-4, 2009.

This paper responds to concerns over the assumed 'feminisation' of early childhood education and care (ECEC) and adds children's perspectives to debates on whether more men should work in ECEC. Pictorial conversations were conducted with 280 children aged 2–6 years old from the cities of Edinburgh, Hong Kong and Tianjin. Findings show that although children sometimes related practitioners to their gendered experiences in and outside ECEC, children's gender subjectivities are dynamic and are linked to their short‐term and long‐term, fluid and stable, and interactive relationships with practitioners. This paper argues that practitioners need to openly discuss gender with children in ECEC practices and pedagogies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the impact of stock market liberalisation through the Mainland China–Hong Kong Stock Connect (CHSC) program on the corporate financialisation of listed firms in Mainland China using the generalised difference-in-difference model in this paper. The empirical results show that implementing the CHSC program significantly reduces corporate financialisation of the listed firms in Mainland China by mitigating internal agency conflicts and enhancing external monitoring. Further analysis indicates that the inhibiting effect of stock market liberalisation through the CHSC program on corporate financialisation is more pronounced for firms without cross-listing or qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII) ownership and firms with a more remarkable change of foreign ownership brought by the CHSC program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the impact of stock market liberalisation through the Mainland China–Hong Kong Stock Connect (CHSC) program on the corporate financialisation of listed firms in Mainland China using the generalised difference‐in‐difference model in this paper. The empirical results show that implementing the CHSC program significantly reduces corporate financialisation of the listed firms in Mainland China by mitigating internal agency conflicts and enhancing external monitoring. Further analysis indicates that the inhibiting effect of stock market liberalisation through the CHSC program on corporate financialisation is more pronounced for firms without cross‐listing or qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII) ownership and firms with a more remarkable change of foreign ownership brought by the CHSC program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is no doubt that successful organizations tend to be those that persistently innovate, believing on new technologies and emphasizing on abilities and knowledge of their employees. Knowledge has become one of the most imperative intangible assets of financial institutions in recent years. The aspiring organizations have recognized that Intellectual Capital Efficiency is important in promoting the performance of financial institutions. This paper tests the relationship between intellectual capital and performance using a sample of 76 financial institutions from Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan over the period 2006–2016. The results show that intellectual capital efficiency has a significant and positive impact on the profitability of financial institutions, while human capital and structural capital are not significantly related to the performance of financial institutions in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The present research extends the knowledge of intellectual capital between managers, academicians, and highlights its contribution to the value creation. These results determine that the financial institutions need to emphasize on the elements of intellectual capital, to enhance the best financial performances in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To support young children's learning during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, preschool educators in Hong Kong were required to teach with digital technologies. In this study, 1035 educators from 169 preschools reported their views and practices in an online survey, which we examined via multilevel mixed‐response analysis and thematic analysis. More than half of the respondents (53%) expected future online teaching to continue, and only 11% of educators believed that parents would reject this form of delivery. Administrators and teaching assistants were more likely than teachers to expect online preschool teaching to continue in the future. In addition, respondents with existing online platform experience, who taught the upper levels of preschool, or incorporated specific teaching practices (eg, after the online lesson, they assessed children and assigned homework tasks), were more likely than others to expect online teaching in the future. Many of these respondents also reported (a) difficulty with engaging their children when online and (b) inadequate support from parents for learning activities, which reduced the respondents' perceived likelihood of future online teaching. Administrators and teaching assistants were more likely than teachers to believe that parents would accept online teaching in the future. Respondents who felt they had inadequate training to teach online, children in families with inadequate technical skills and parents who believed that online lessons harmed children's well‐being, were less likely than others to believe that parents would accept online teaching in the future. These educators believed that online learning communities could connect parents and schools and foster interaction that could help align with educator's support for children's learning needs. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about technology integration for young children during COVID‐19COVID‐19 led to the closure of many schools, requiring teachers to teach online.Barriers to integrating technologies in preschool settings existed before the pandemic.Online teaching can support students' learning, but few studies have examined technology integration for preschoolers at home during a pandemic.What this paper addsThis paper adds new data on schooling during a pandemic. During the closures, preschool teachers applied two major online teaching approaches: (a) digital content interaction and (b) online human interaction.Technology integration was added to provide evidence of how teachers applied online learning resources for young children during COVID‐19.During closures, teachers often delivered learning resources via digital‐mediated learning platforms, but they were less likely than other educators to expect online teaching in the future.Educators who perceived greater engagement of children or support from parents were more likely to expect online teaching in the future.Implications for practice and/or policyThis study showed that some preschool teachers integrated technology into their teaching during a pandemic, and future studies can explore how to facilitate or extend this integration after the pandemic.This study showed the need for more interactive online teaching preparation to address young children's learning needs.Some teachers were responsive to feedback from children and monitored their learning during the online teaching process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper examines the effect of migrant population on political institutions in their host societies using data from the local elections in Hong Kong. The share of the population that has migrated from mainland China is found to have a positive effect on the pro‐government votes in local elections. This effect continues to exist after demographic characteristics are controlled. Further investigation suggests that the effect of migrant population on voting patterns varies across periods of migration to Hong Kong. These findings contribute to the published literature in two ways. First, they provide evidence that the effects of migration on political development are two‐way. Migration not only influences the political institutions in migrants' home countries, but also shapes the political institutions in their host regions. Second, they also pave the way for future research on why and how periods of migration influence migrant populations' voting patterns in their host regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Hong Kong, onscreen marking (OSM) is superseding paper-based marking (PBM) across the entire national examinations system. This paper describes a qualitative study of the attitudes of Liberal Studies markers towards OSM. This becomes a compulsory subject in Hong Kong's new senior secondary school curriculum to be first examined in 2012, with a candidature of 80 000 compared to the current candidatures of 3300. The current study describes semi-structured interviews with Liberal Studies markers who provided in-depth opinions on key aspects of the OSM process. Markers were positive about many aspects of the new system including: the advantages of marking by single question rather than by whole paper; improved reliability using control scripts; and relief from administrative tasks associated with PBM. There are, nonetheless, aspects of the new system that markers are unhappy with, primarily logistical, involving travel to marking centres and marking at fixed times when they are tired. Reading onscreen was also an issue. In summary, 43% of markers stated that they preferred the status quo of PBM, 35% stated they felt OSM was better, while 21% were ambivalent. While OSM has not yet been wholeheartedly accepted by markers, its potential advantages are beginning to be appreciated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on transnational Higher Education governance has provided a thesis explaining how East Asian states have successfully selectively blended elements of globalisation in Higher Education with their pre-existing regulatory regimes. However, this paper argues that the thesis overlooks the significance of local politics in understanding the formulation of Higher Education policy, thus insufficiently acknowledging the indeterminacy that arises in the globalisation process. To address this argument, this paper examines the transnational Higher Education development in Singapore and Hong Kong and explains how political resistance and corresponding policy changes that emerged in these two societies help reconceptualise transnational Higher Education governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent paper, Giugale and Korobow (2000) present evidence that suggests that the time required by output to return to trend following a financial shock is faster under a flexible exchange rate regime than under a fixed exchange rate. In this paper, we use vector autoregression models to measure the persistence properties of output for a number of countries in the Asia–Pacific region. Our results suggest that output persistence is not uniquely related to a country's choice of exchange rate regime. The two countries in our sample with the least persistent output following a financial shock are Australia, where the exchange rate is fully flexible, and Hong Kong, where it is rigidly fixed via a currency board. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co‐production of films entails a variety of transborder mobility and trans‐local production networks, which are further complicated by state intervention through co‐production treaties or arrangements. This paper unravels the process of Mainland China–Hong Kong film co‐production that has been explosive after the promulgation of 'Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement' (CEPA). Drawing on the information of all Mainland–Hong Kong co‐produced films between 1998 and 2017, we chart the collaborative networks of studios and creative staffs and examine the commercial and artistic performances of co‐produced films to illustrate the impact of regulatory reform on the evolution of cross‐border film co‐production. We argue that CEPA is among the series of national regulatory reforms to enable marketisation of the film industry and, further, to construct an imagined new identity of Chinese culture at the supranational scale. However, the cultural goals have been given way to the commercial interests of co‐production with the implementation of CEPA policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calls for research in trade, industry, economics, management, and decision sciences to be presented at the Global Economic Transformation After the Asian Economic Crisis conference to be held in Hong Kong, China from May 26 to 28, 2000.

Announces several programs and events supported by the 'Pacific Economic Review' journal as of October 1998. Winner of the 1997 Lippo Best Paper Award; Information on an international conference organized by the Department of Economics at Hong Kong Baptist University in Hong Kong, China; Details on the booklet 'The Asian Crisis: What Has Happened and Why,' edited by Kar-yiu Wong.

Presents information on several papers discussed at the conference on Experimental Methods in Economics and Finance organized by the City University of Hong Kong in June 2004. Comparison of two auction systems that can be used for procurement; Properties of different market allocation systems in a laboratory environment motivated by a specific field application; Background on how institutional structure might affect market outcomes.

Copyright of Journal of Family Therapy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper for the first time numerically characterizes the water vapor spatial and temporal variation during the life cycle of super typhoons, using the 3D tomographic water vapor modeling method. Global Positioning System (GPS) data sets collected in Hong Kong were used to reconstruct the water vapor density field with a temporal resolution of 30 min during three super typhoon events in 2013 and 2014. The spatiotemporal variabilities of water vapor at five altitude layers (<0.8, 0.8–1.6, 1.6–3.0, 3.0–5.2, and 5.2–8.5 km) were examined. It was found that in the lower troposphere (<1.6 km), the precipitable water vapor (PWV) had only minor fluctuation during typhoon events. But significant PWV increase was observed at altitude above 1.6 km, and PWV kept increasing with the altitude, leading to the increase of the total water vapor. Hong Kong's PWV was observed to increase as the typhoons were about 795 to 821 km away from Hong Kong. The PWV spatial (distance) increase rate was 0.031–0.037 mm/km in the upper layers (1.6–8.5 km) and temporal increase rate was 12.710–24.272 mm/day in the upper layers (1.6–8.5 km). The typhoons had the largest impact on the PWV variation in the top layer (layer 5, 5.2–8.5 km). Prior to typhoon impact, PWV in layer 5 accounts for only 12.77% to 13.68% in the upper layers (1.6–8.5 km). With the typhoon impact, the PWV in layer 5 accounts for 21.28% to 26.38%. This work has demonstrated the potential to use water vapor tomographic technique to study water vapor evolution during super typhoons. Key Points: The 3D tomographic water vapor model allows detailed monitoring of water vapor change during three super typhoon eventsPrecipitable water vapor (PWV) in the lower troposphere (0–1.6 km) has almost no change during the whole life cycle of super typhoonsPWV temporal and spatial increase rates in layers (1.6–8.5 km) are about 12.710 to 24.272 mm/day and about 0.031 to 0.037 mm/km, respectively [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether Hong Kong teachers and students perceived Liberal Studies and its ongoing curriculum review as politically driven during and after the Umbrella Movement, a large-scale civil disobedience campaign that took place in September 2014. The findings presented herein show that both groups disagreed with the claim that Liberal Studies was used as a political instrument to instigate students’ participation in the protest movement. Moreover, they also reveal that teachers have maintained their neutrality towards controversial issues related to politics during Liberal Studies lessons. Whilst the participating teachers and students considered the government's proposed reform of Liberal Studies to be politically motivated, they held differing attitudes towards the addition of more China-related elements to the subject. On the basis of these results, this paper analyses the potential role of Liberal Studies in the democratisation of local society. It also provides an indication of the curriculum's dynamic nature, explanation of students’ resistance to the review policy and suggestions for the subject's future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Art education in Hong Kong has undergone various changes in response to educational reform. In art assessment, a major change in the Hong Kong New Senior Secondary ( NSS) Curriculum is the inclusion of art criticism as a compulsory component of the new public examination. Assessing students' abilities to interpret art in an art criticism public examination context is a critical issue in Hong Kong because the new senior secondary curriculum and assessment has brought attention to the role of written language in the art examination paper. This means the examination assesses not only students' abilities to interpret art, but also their language abilities required to respond to art in written form. Since this new mode of assessment of art criticism has been published a number of issues have appeared. Recent studies show that teachers and students perceive this development negatively and they believe that the written format will assess students' written language abilities rather than their critical abilities. These findings challenge the justification of the new art assessment policy and raise questions about the role of written language in responding to art. This article aims to raise the issue of the marriage between language and art criticism in the Hong Kong public examination context. It argues and examines the relationship of language to art interpretation, reasoning in the assessment, and issues in the public art criticism examination context. The issues addressed in this article provide opportunities for researchers and policy makers to reconsider and refine the new form of examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Transnational higher education represents a lesser-known aspect of the international education industry. In relation to the UK, transnational education is a booming business. British qualifications are offered in 217 countries outside the UK, representing in excess of 388,000 students in total. These students are fascinating precisely because they are acquiring an 'international education' in situ, raising a number of pertinent questions relating to the 'capital' young people are developing. How valuable is a British degree delivered entirely overseas? What does it actually represent - both conceptually, in terms of students' (im)mobilities, and in relation to individuals' embodied experiences of transnational higher education? This paper draws on the findings of a qualitative project examining British degree programmes offered in Hong Kong and their implications for young people locally. We focus on the experiences of students and graduates and the intentions of a number of UK 'providers' (representing different British higher education institutions). We explore the social capital accessible to students undertaking transnational educational programmes and focus in particular upon the spatial availability of 'institutional social capital'. We argue that the ability of young people to cultivate social capital in the context of transnational higher education is circumscribed in various ways, with implications for subsequent employment opportunities and social mobility. Our paper furthermore responds to recent calls to spatialise the conversion of social capital. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While most financial regulators agree that short sellers have an important role to play in ensuring an efficiently functioning market, it is interesting to note that many did not hesitate to ban short selling during the recent financial crisis. This apparent contradiction most likely stems from a lack of understanding about what motivates short trading. In this paper, we focus on the determinants of short selling during 'normal' trading in the Hong Kong stock market. We find that dividend payments, company fundamentals, risk, option trading, the interest rate spread and past returns and short selling are all significant determinants of short selling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant wind shear event occurred in the early morning of 27 December 2009 at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), leading to the diversion of three aircraft to the airport of Shenzhen (about 39 km to the north-northwest of HKIA). This paper documents the meteorological observations and predictions for the event. The significant wind shear arose from disruption of the prevailing easterly to southeasterly flow by the complex terrain to the south of the airport. It was well captured by the Doppler Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems at HKIA and, as such, the aircraft were given sufficient warning about the occurrence of significant wind shear. The headwind changes along the glide paths as measured by the LIDAR were consistent with the aircraft measurements. The observations of the remote-sensing instruments during the event, including the LIDAR, are described in the paper. Moreover, this paper discusses the possibility of including wind shear forecast information for flight planning purpose for this particular case. The forecast wind field near HKIA based on a high-resolution numerical weather prediction (NWP) model is described. For the present wind shear event, it appears that the occurrence of terrain-disrupted airflow near HKIA may be forecast about 6 h ahead. The timing of significant wind shear is, however, not reproduced well in the NWP forecast. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1980s, green purchasing/green procurement has increasingly been recognised as an effective means of addressing and reducing negative environmental impacts related to product production and consumption around the world. This paper reviews the procurement practices and policies of five Asian countries and Hong Kong, in the context of an international overview of green purchasing and practices. The extent of government involvement in green procurement is found to directly determine its overall effectiveness, and up-to-date information resources clearly enhance delivery and performance. A case study in Hong Kong demonstrates how public leadership on green procurement has advanced green procurement in the private sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the industry of origin approach to analyze value added and labor productivity outcomes arising from progressive liberalization of government and from statutory board control of transport and communications in Singapore. The paper compares these outcomes with those from the market-orientated, more privatized transport and communications sector in Hong Kong, for the benchmark year 2004 and a review period from 1990 to 2005. The study is among the first to carefully compare labor productivity in specific sectors between the two countries. Although Singapore generally recorded higher levels of labor productivity, there was some catch-up by Hong Kong in the later part of the review period. There was also substantial variation in labor productivity performance within sectoral branches in the two sectors. The study suggests there is some evidence that the different political–economic structures and policy approaches to deregulation and liberalization played a role in determining productivity performance in the transport and communications sectors in Singapore and Hong Kong. The analysis infers a potential, increasing focus on privatization as the driving force for further liberalization of the transport and communications sector in Singapore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has undergone massive economic development over the last several decades, but at the cost of serious environmental degradation, including to coastal and marine ecosystems.This paper describes the governance arrangements for management of coastal and marine areas of southern, mainland China and Hong Kong, especially marine protected areas (MPAs).Although not widely recognized internationally, there are 123 designated MPAs spread across the South China Sea coast. However, the effectiveness of these MPAs in conservation of ecosystem goods and services is seriously limited by a familiar range of pressures, including limited resources, insufficient enforcement and massive coastal development.Recent developments in national policy include integration of all protected areas (including marine) under a single agency, a range of limits on coastal development and water pollution, and the strategy of 'eco‐civilization' to balance environmental management with economic development. If successfully implemented, these policies would profoundly change the course of marine environments in China, with globally significant consequences.Recommendations for improving MPA performance in China include: ensuring that marine systems are not overwhelmed within the new national jurisdiction, and maintaining and enhancing marine capacity;increased resourcing, supported by comprehensive and systematic economic valuations of ecosystem goods and services and natural capital;upgraded enforcement of existing environmental laws and regulations, combined with further refinement and development, especially around cumulative impact management;a particular focus on major reduction in water pollution in all forms;integration of marine management between Hong Kong SAR and surrounding Guangdong Province; andenhanced community engagement, participation and education.Finally, much greater, collaborative engagement by the international community with Chinese marine management and conservation would bring major, and very mutual, benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cost of living in Hong Kong is among the highest in the world. This paper investigates the effect of tourist arrivals on the residential property market in Hong Kong. It is demonstrated that the soaring number of tourists from Mainland China is pushing up property rents in Hong Kong. The substantial accommodation need generated by the increasing number of students from China is another contributing factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a strategy for the systematic evaluation of course websites built under the project e3Learning that operates across three universities in Hong Kong. Tailor-made evaluation plans were produced for each website; the evaluation was conducted by an evaluation officer, and a report was provided to each teacher, thus supporting continuous development. To date, 58 cases of evaluation data have been collected. In this paper, a meta-analysis across these cases is presented in order to see which are the most useful web-assisted functions currently in use in Hong Kong universities. This study indicates the following four functions as being most useful: learning tools such as glossaries, notes and PowerPoints, assessment tasks associated with grades, and creation and exhibition of multimedia projects. The reasons for these rankings are postulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents evidence on whether Hong Kong’s currency board arrangement, in place since 1983, has affected the volatility of real macroeconomic variables. Simple evidence on the relative volatilities of relevant macroeconomic variables before and after 1983 is presented, before a more formal econometric framework is utilized to examine the linkages between the exchange rate and the real economy. It is found that the currency board period has been one of relative stability in Hong Kong, though it has also been a period where external factors have been relatively benign. Even after controlling for the external environment, it is found that the currency board period is one of low macroeconomic volatility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on Hong Kong's Gravesweeping Festivals, Qingming and Chongyang. The practices carried out in urban cemeteries at these Festivals are over two thousand years old, and represent “time out” from modern “clock time”. They are examined in the context of Giddens' (1985) reworking of Hägerstrand's time-space geography, and of Douglas' (1966) discussion of pollution. It is suggested that the cemeteries are regarded as dangerous places because they represent liminal spaces. Giddens' dimension of span enables a distinction to be made between, on the one hand, the long-established cultural significance of the grave, and, on the other, the recentness of the urban cemetery. The dimension of form (redefined from Giddens' original concept), applied to some details of cemetery landscapes, reveals the “worlds apart” of the non-material worlds of the spirits and of fengshui. By considering the Festivals in the light of Giddens' dimension, character, it emerges that the Gravesweeping Festivals are, as they have been for centuries, firmly embedded in Hong Kong's social system, where routines of ancestor veneration continue to renew and strengthen the family bonds that are at the heart of Confucian values. Furthermore, their continued observation may well represent practices that are of deep ontological significance to the predominantly immigrant community of Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data collected from two surveys on the labour market in Hong Kong, this paper shows that older workers on average are more likely to be unemployed than younger ones. Unemployed workers aged above 45 tend to face a longer spell of unempoyment, receive fewer job offers and expect lower future wages than the unemployed younger workers. Older employed workers may also be disadvantaged. This paper compares the promotion and training opportunities available to olderand younger employed workers. We found that older workers are less likely to bepromoted or selected for training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on Hong Kong's Gravesweeping Festivals, Qingming and Chongyang. The practices carried out in urban cemeteries at these Festivals are over two thousand years old, and represent "time out" from modern "clock time". They are examined in the context of Giddens' (1985) reworking of Hägerstrand's time-space geography, and of Douglas' (1966) discussion of pollution. It is suggested that the cemeteries are regarded as dangerous places because they represent liminal spaces. Giddens' dimension of span enables a distinction to be made between, on the one hand, the long-established cultural significance of the grave, and, on the other, the recentness of the urban cemetery. The dimension of form (redefined from Giddens' original concept), applied to some details of cemetery landscapes, reveals the "worlds apart" of the non-material worlds of the spirits and of fengshui. By considering the Festivals in the light of Giddens' dimension, character, it emerges that the Gravesweeping Festivals are, as they have been for centuries, firmly embedded in Hong Kong's social system, where routines of ancestor veneration continue to renew and strengthen the family bonds that are at the heart of Confucian values. Furthermore, their continued observation may well represent practices that are of deep ontological significance to the predominantly immigrant community of Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed 49,592 teleseismic receiver functions (RFs) recorded by 278 CEArray stations to image the mantle transition zone (MTZ) beneath the South China Block to understand the origins of deep velocity anomalies and their potential links to subduction and intraplate volcanism. We employed a fast‐marching method and a high‐resolution 3‐D velocity model (FWEA18) derived from full waveform inversion in computing P‐to‐S conversion times to better image the 410‐ and 660‐km discontinuities. Our results indicate that the common‐conversion‐point stacking of RFs using 3‐D conversion times yielded better migration images of the two discontinuities. The images revealed a slightly depressed 410‐km with a few small uplifted patches, and showed that the 660‐km beneath the western Yangtze Craton is depressed by 10–25 km, which is likely caused by the stagnant Paleo‐Pacific slab. The 660‐km beneath the southern Cathaysia Block has a 5–15 km high plateau with a topographic low at its central part. The lateral dimension of the topographic low is ∼150 km and is located beneath the central Pearl River Mount Basin near Hong Kong. We speculate that the topographic low occurs within the Hainan plume with a temperature excess of ∼300–400 K and is caused by the garnet phase transition. The displaced deep plume enters the MTZ and spreads nearly horizontally at the base. The plume evolves into two channels with a minor one toward the northeast and a major one toward the southwest, which keep moving upward to the 410‐km. The southwest channel is likely the source that feeds the Hainan volcanoes. Plain Language Summary: Using data from seismic stations in the South China Block, we investigated the mantle transition zone (MTZ) to understand the origins of deep velocity anomalies and their associations with subduction and intraplate volcanism. By applying advanced techniques and a ground‐truth reference model, we obtained clearer images of the 410‐ and 660‐km discontinuities. The images showed that the 410‐km discontinuity is slightly depressed with some small uplifted areas. Additionally, the 660‐km discontinuity beneath the western Yangtze Craton is depressed due to the presence of a stagnant slab from the ancient Pacific Ocean. In contrast, beneath the southern Cathaysia Block, the 660‐km discontinuity forms a high plateau with a central low area. This area located near Hong Kong may be related to a plume originating from the lower mantle. The plume, with elevated temperatures, enters the MTZ and spreads horizontally. It then evolves into two channels, with one moving toward the northeast and the other toward the southwest. The southwest channel likely supplies magma to the volcanoes in Hainan. These findings provide insights into the complex processes occurring deep within the Earth's mantle in the South China region. Key Points: FWEA18 is used in migrating CEArray receiver functions to image the mantle transition zone beneath the South China BlockThe 660‐km is depressed ∼10–25 km by stagnant slabs beneath the northwestern part of the blockThe Hainan volcanoes are fed by a displaced lower mantle plume beneath the central Pearl River Mouth Basin [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hong Kong returned to the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China in July 1997. In the past, Hong Kong has been greatly influenced by the British system of nurses' training, which was very different from that in mainland China. As Hong Kong is now a part of China again, there is an increased opportunity for the exchange of experience and ideas among nurse educators. The First China-Hong Kong Nursing Education Conference has provided opportunities for the authors to gain a deeper understanding of the development of nursing education in China and Hong Kong. The authors believe that it is also important for China and Hong Kong to increase networking with the international nursing community. This paper has been written largely based on the information gathered from papers presented in the Conference and the discussion with nurse educators who attended the Conference, together with a review of literature. This paper focuses on comparing the history and present development of basic nursing education in both places. The future direction for the development of nursing education in these two places will also be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article invites people for submitting papers and abstracts for the 7th biennial conference to be held at Lingnan University of Hong Kong from December 13-14, 2012.

This article examines the market reactions to the trading suspensions in Hong Kong, China. Trading suspension aims to ensure that all investors have fair access to market information when any drastic change occurs, possibly causing a disorderly market. However, it is a controversial issue as to whether this goal can be realized during abnormal periods. While the existing literature on trading suspension provides evidence for the U.S. markets, few studies have investigated market reactions to trading suspensions outside the U.S. The purpose of this paper is to add new evidence to current literature on trading halts by investigating trading suspensions on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK). Specifically, this paper evaluates the effectiveness of trading suspensions in three aspects: the price discovery process, changes in return volatility and changes in trading volume. Both the SEHK and Securities and Futures Commission have authority to suspend stock trading. According to the SEHK's Rules, the Stock Exchange may suspend dealings in any securities where the following conditions exist.

During the free-issue regime (1974-1983), Hong Kong's money supply, price level and exchange rates were wholly governed by market forces. The system did not seem to have any nominal anchor. Theoretically its price level was indeterminate, engendering what is called an indeterminacy puzzle. The paper elaborates on the concept of price level indeterminacy and undertakes the question of empirical determination of the price level indeterminacy during the freeissue regime. The empirical investigation employs two distinct approaches - institutionalist and econometric. The results of the two approaches indicate the necessity of a broader approach to historical analyses. The paper also informs us about the relationship among money supply, price level and exchange rate in a regime of fiat money without a central bank. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prudential regulation is intended to channel capital inflows through institutions most likely to make sound investment decisions. The paper presents examples of prudential regulation in two countries, Mexico and Hong Kong, where capital was suddenly withdrawn in a test of the financial system. Especially under modern conditions, a risk-taking bank can avoid prudential regulation, which on paper is near the industrial country standard; and the case of Mexico shows how even the best intended regulation can be avoided and can even produce a result that is the opposite of their intent. The existence of offshore markets, particularly OTC derivative markets, makes on-shore regulation problematic in the absence of stringent, consolidated supervision. In addition, they have rendered meaningless the subaccounts of the standard balance of payments capital accounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims This paper provides an overview of gambling issues in China, including historical development, governmental responses and social consequences. Methods Based on materials written in Chinese or English available at academic databases and other online resources, historical, cultural and policy analyses were conducted. The focus is on mainland China, but reference is made to Hong Kong and Macao to illustrate differences. Results Throughout Chinese history, gambling was strictly prohibited by law. In contrast, small-stakes betting for entertainment instead of monetary gain, defined as 'gaming' in this paper, has been culturally acceptable and tolerated by governments. After banning gambling for three decades, the Chinese government attempts to meet public demand for 'gaming' and to confine gambling to 'gaming' by issuing national lotteries. In response to increased economic wealth, gambling opportunities were allowed to develop, but were restricted to Macao. Social problems such as illegal and youth gambling are, however, emerging. The 'gaming' perception may predispose Chinese individuals to wagering activities and increase the risk of gambling disorder, which has been widely seen as misconduct rather than a mental disorder. Currently, the country has a dearth of gambling research and limited prevention and rehabilitation services, almost none at national level. Conclusions A distinction between small-stakes 'gaming' and large-stakes 'gambling', which has cultural roots, plays an important role in relevant governmental policies and social responses in mainland China. Gambling disorder prevention and treatment is not yet on the national agenda. The country's knowledge and services gaps on gambling problems need to be filled out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on "Nurses as providers of support for mothers of premature infants," a paper by E. Mok and S.F. Leung which was published in the 2006 issue. The study explored the supportive behavior of nurses as experienced by mothers of premature infants in Hong Kong, China. The findings on parents' perceived and received support needs in a neonatal unit are discussed.

The privatization of state transport operators has been driven by empirical discoveries in transport economic research of the constant or even diseconomies of scale of these operators. With reference to public records and official statistics, this paper is an initial attempt to examine the scale economies of and output relationship between major bus and ferry operators in Hong Kong during the period 1948-1998. The two franchised bus and two franchised ferry companies each experienced unique scale effects during different periods and correlated with each other in terms of production. The paper will also discuss the possible reasons for this phenomenon and policy concerns related to this finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that Hong Kong is now at the crossroads of its journey towards social policy development. While economic development still seems to be the unwavering objective of the Hong Kong government, the demand for democracy and social development can no longer be ignored because of a strong civil society fostered by economic success. The current state of affairs provides a window of opportunity for the Hong Kong government to strengthen its legitimacy through the development of social policy and to promote social harmony through inclusivity in social welfare. The findings from the present empirical survey conducted by the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies ( HKIAPS) in 2010 demonstrate that Hong Kong people identified social harmony as the main direction for social development, closely followed by economic development, and democracy and freedom. Respondents who chose social harmony as the main goal of social development were more likely to take a step back and find common ground when fighting for their own rights or the rights of society. This paper concludes that these findings reflect the crucial importance of taking social harmony into consideration in the social policy development process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A construction industry encountering uncertain workload, difficulty in workforce renewal, and ultimately endangering its own sustainability jeopardizes not only the long-term health of the industry, but also the sustainable development of a city's infrastructures. Hong Kong is a city facing this problem and there are growing concerns within the industry that there will be an inadequate workforce to meet future demand and that the industry is unable to attract sufficient young talent, in part because of the negative image of the construction industry. This paper aims to examine the role and impact of societal engagement in infrastructure projects. The notion of using societal engagement as a vehicle for enhancing the image and sustainability of the construction industry, thereby also improving the ability to attract new entrants, is proposed in this paper. It is also suggested that the construction industry's interaction with the public should be a continuous process on a daily basis through a professional workforce that promotes safety, environmental responsibility and caring for the needs of society, rather than only during public engagement events for individual projects. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than half the world's population lives in cities. In tropical and subtropical regions, the growth of mega and compact cities are on the rise. The urban climatic issues of heat, humidity, lack of daylight, solar access, and urban ventilation is of topical concern to urban planners and governments. This paper puts forward a notion that a well established view of the low impact of urban climate on planning may be due to the lack of planning on the part of urban climatologists. Overly detailed and precise meteorological information, and excessively sophisticated climatic explanations and knowledge presentation do not help planners; information overload makes planners feel discouraged and ill equipped. In this paper, the understanding of Hong Kong based on the scale of planned decision making is elaborated with examples. Urban climatic information must be presented sequentially to fit the hierarchal process of planning and land use decision making. For better transfer of knowledge and communication, 'prevailing' and 'criticality' should be observed; information overload must be avoided, and spatial information must be presented graphically whenever possible. Scholars have argued that instead of the need for precision and accuracy, most of the time planners need to make balanced and reasonable decisions. Simplicity is the key. Furthermore, the advent of rapid urbanisation in the age of climate change further endows urban climatologists the burden to develop appropriate and easy-to-understand urban climate knowledge for planners. Resolving something complicated into something simple for planners is the only way forward. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hong Kong is a high-density sub-tropical city with 7 million people living in an urban area of just over 260 km2. Tall and closely packed buildings are the common urban morphology. How the urban geometry influences the microclimate in summer daytime is a primary planning concern. The sky view factor (SVF) has been commonly used to indicate the impact of urban geometry on air temperature differences in cities. However, only limited discussions in this aspect have been addressed for daytime course in high-rise and high-density urban environment such as Hong Kong. This paper firstly provides a comprehensive review of SVF analysis in urban climatology studies and then presents a simulation approach to investigate the role of SVF in determining summer daytime intra-urban air temperature differences in urban Hong Kong. An ArcGIS-embedded computer program is developed for calculating continuous SVF values for an entire urban environment and an SVF map is generated. The result is evaluated against meteorological data observed in field measurements. The regression analysis shows that the spatial average of SVF values has a close negative relationship with daytime intra-urban temperature differences. The study indicates that SVF is a significant factor for understanding the microthermal climate in Hong Kong's street canyons. The paper further raises discussions on the application of SVF analysis to urban planning. The study demonstrates that the SVF analysis is a useful and effective tool for planners and urban climatologists conducting studies on high-rise and high-density sub-tropical cities. The understanding can provide support for the development of planning standards and good practice. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of the Hong Kong-Vancouver transnational migration network seldom pay close attention to religion in the everyday lives of Hongkonger migrants. Based on 9 months of ethnographic fieldwork at St. Matthew's Church, a Hong Kong church in Metro Vancouver, this paper examines the tacit assumptions and taken-for-granted quotidian practices through which a Hongkonger church is made. I argue that St. Matthew's Church has been constructed as a Hong Kong Cantonese-Christian family space through the everyday use of language and invocations of a common educational background. This argument extends the literature on Hongkonger migration to Metro Vancouver by grounding it in a religious site whose intersections with Hong Kong migration to Vancouver consolidates the church as a religious mission with a specifically Hongkonger migration narrative. This consolidation is problematised as I show that contestations in church life by migrants from the People's Republic of China over language and asymmetrical educational backgrounds both reinforce and challenge the church as a Hongkonger congregation. Through an examination of these everyday interactions at St. Matthew's Church, this paper advances the geography of religion as I demonstrate that specific geographical narratives and networks shape quotidian practices in religious sites. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether (i) both operational staff and engineering staff in a Hong Kong public transport company have same perception that the organizational defensive patterns impede them from learning new information and communication technology (ICT) from other companies, and (ii) skilled incompetence, organizational defensive routines, and fancy footwork are positively associated with each other in both operational and engineering groups of a transport company. This paper investigated the influence of organizational defensive patterns by means of a survey of 324 employees (151 operational staff and 173 engineering staff) at a Hong Kong public transport company. Each employee selected completed a questionnaire that asked them to indicate the influence of the organizational defensive patterns (skilled incompetence, organizational defensive routines, and fancy footwork) on the learning of ICT in their organization. The results indicated that both operational staff and engineering staff shared the same perceptions about how organizational defensive patterns impeded their learning of newly adopted ICT systems. The findings also indicated that the operational and engineering groups of the transport company perceived that skilled incompetence, defensive routines, and fancy footwork were positively associated with each other. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The future of home economics is a perennial topic on the agenda of the home economics profession. In various regions around the world, the profession as a whole has been eroded systematically as a result of curriculum reform at the compulsory and post-compulsory levels, with the subsequent loss of higher education programmes, and, ultimately, the loss of dedicated professional home economists. This leaching degradation of home economics has implications for the concomitant loss of the unique curriculum of the subject, including the focus on consumer-related issues. Hong Kong has not been exempted from this pattern, leading to concerns about the capacity of society to engage effectively in consumer and consumer-related issues, and the focus in home economics has been relegated to technology. This paper provides insights into the current positioning of home economics in Hong Kong and the likely outcomes of this loss of a preferred future for the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a very limited literature on the syndrome described in this review. The largest series comes from Hong Kong and includes 59 patients - this was largely a description of the presenting problems and established the link between these symptoms and ketamine. Prior to this much smaller case series (including one from the same group) were all that exists. An increasing number of UK urologists are reporting seeing these patients and we have formed a collaboration interested in understanding the pathology and establishing an effective treatment pathway for these patients. This paper aims to consolidate this knowledge. Ketamine has become increasingly recognized as a drug of recreational use. Individuals using significant amounts have developed symptoms including a small painful bladder, ureteric obstruction, papillary necrosis and hepatic dysfunction. The present paper examines the current literature on the relationship between ketamine use and these symptoms. Our own clinical experience and the data available clarify the causal relationship, and further data help to elucidate the mechanism of damage. On the basis of continued work and development with patients who are ketamine users we suggest an assessment and treatment regime that includes cessation of ketamine use and adequate analgesia to overcome symptoms. In conclusion, it is important for medical practitioners who encounter patients with these symptoms to ask about recreational drug use. Ketamine remains a safe and effective drug to use under appropriate medical supervision. Patients identified as suffering from this syndrome will need to be referred to a urological unit with an interest in the treatment of the condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a model of new product development which may inform decision-making on innovation and knowledge management in this paper. The new model combines extant theoretical framework and actual practice from a leading Food and Beverage chain in Hong Kong to illustrate how evidence-based management (EBM) can be practiced in new product development. Some salient features of the model include generating new ideas constantly, improving success rate of new ideas, and ensuring collaboration among internal functions. This paper showcases EBM by synthesizing theoretical knowledge and practical wisdom and bringing together academics and practitioners to better understand a new product development model that can be generalized to other companies and industries. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]