Search

Community screenings in this study are understood as the exhibition of moving images outside conventional theatres and commercial circuits. Based on fieldwork observations and interviews conducted between January 2019 and January 2020 with film workers, community groups, and venue providers who knitted together a rhizomatic community screening network in Hong Kong, this paper explores the (self-)making of urban cultural space by way of the reinvention of "screens" and the rebuilding of a place-based, people-centred community with ethical concerns for small businesses, artists, craftspeople, workers, and members of the public during the first two decades of postmillennial era. The paper concludes with some observations about the phenomenal shift in not only the mode, but also the site of film dissemination from Hong Kong to overseas diasporic communities before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and following the emigration wave in the 2020s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the nature and characteristics of the volatility transmission channels of major crash events in international stock markets between 03 July 1997 and 09 March 2021. Using dynamic conditional correlations (DCC) for conditional correlations and volatility clustering, GARCH-BEKK for the direction of transmission of disturbances, and the Diebold-Yilmaz spillover index for the level of volatility contagion, the paper finds that the climbs in external shock transmissions have long-lasting impacts in domestic markets due to the contagion effect during crisis periods. The findings also reveal that the heavier magnitude of financial stress is transmitted between Asian countries via the Hong Kong stock market. Additionally, the degree of volatility spillovers between advanced and emerging equity markets is smaller compared to the pure spillovers between advanced markets or emerging markets, offering a window of opportunity for international market participants in terms of portfolio diversification and risk management applications. Furthermore, the study introduces a novel early warning system created by integrating DCC correlations with a state-of-the-art deep learning model to predict the global financial crisis and COVID-19 crisis. The experimental analysis of long short-term memory network finds evidence of contagion risk by verifying bursts in volatility spillovers and generating signals with high accuracy before the 12-month crisis period. This provides supplementary information that contributes to the decision-making process of practitioners, as well as offering indicative evidence that facilitates the assessment of market vulnerability for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed several chinks in the armour of public health infrastructure across the world. However, the impact of the pandemic has been assessed primarily from the perspective of the 'privileged' members of society. The experiences of the 'other' world inhabited by the marginalised communities, who have had their livelihoods crushed under the weight of the pandemic, have been scarcely documented. As thousands of migrant workers were more scared of death caused by hunger rather than the disease itself, the various steps taken by different countries to curb community transmission have unveiled the ugly side of these measures. For example, as several states such as the US, the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, and India/Bharat imposed lockdowns, border closures, quarantines, inter alia, the most vulnerable section of the human population has been the migrant workers, especially those individuals who were employed in the unorganised sector. Thus, the global health crisis has unravelled deep-rooted deficiencies, racial biases, and an overall lack of concern and empathy for the lesser privileged, apart from the growing socio-economic divide between the rich and the poor. This research paper aims to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrant workers in the informal sector by exploring the measures imposed by the US, the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, and India/Bharat and analyse how their fundamental rights, including the right to development, were compromised. Through this paper, the author provides a five-point strategic framework that can be adopted globally to prevent such instances in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pursuit of equitable education is key to a government's regulation and allocation of lifechances, which enables social integration. Yet, evidence of the diminishing returns of degrees and of the "skills mismatch" between higher education training and labour market requirements casts doubts on the role of higher educational institutions in facilitating social mobility. This paper draws upon the findings of 40 qualitative interviews with young people conducted in 2018 in Hong Kong to shed light on the micro-level processes in which higher education training is translated into graduate employment outcomes. Findings comparing two sets of higher education graduates' interview narratives are presented. Assumptions of the logic of human capital theory are questioned from the "positional" and the "processual" perspectives on graduate employability. The discussion unpacks the meanings of "skills mismatch" and "graduate employability," and foregrounds the assumptions of the differential values assigned to skills and knowledges of different kinds in the local higher education system. With the insights drawn, this paper concludes with a reflection on the relevance of higher education to our understanding of social mobility and social integration in post-Covid-19 Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, modular construction has been adopted for rapidly delivering healthcare facilities, but few have systematically explored the impacts of the pandemic and the contributions of modular construction. This paper aims to evaluate modular construction for delivering healthcare facilities in response to COVID-19, through the exploration of the challenges, strategies, and performance of using modular construction for emergency healthcare building project delivery. The study was conducted using 12 real-life healthcare building projects in Hong Kong with both within- and cross-case analyses. The results of the within-case study reveal critical challenges such as tight program but limited resources available and the corresponding strategies such as implementation of smart technologies. The results of the cross-case analysis indicate 106% improved time efficiency and 203% enhanced cost efficiency of using modular construction compared with conventional practices. Based on the multi-case studies, the paper develops an innovative framework which illustrates the roles of stakeholders, goals, engineering challenges, and management principles of using modular construction. Practically, the paper should assist both policymakers and industry stakeholders in addressing the critical challenges of delivering healthcare facilities under COVID-19 in an efficient and collaborative manner. Theoretically, it should set an exemplar of linking the building construction industry with emergency management and healthcare service systems to facilitate efficient response to pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health communication in the COVID-19 pandemic can be effectively implemented if all members of the populations, including marginalized population such as migrant domestic workers (MDWs), have good eHealth literacy. Lessons learned during this critical period may help improve planning and mitigation of the impacts of future health crises. Methods: This study aimed to examine and explore the eHealth literacy levels of the MDWs in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic by using a convergent mixed methods research design. A total of 1156 Hong Kong MDWs participated in a paper-based survey using a multistage cluster random sampling design for the quantitative component. eHealth literacy was measured using an eHealth literacy Scale (eHEALS). For the qualitative component, a purposive sampling of 19 MDWs participated in face-to-face, semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analyses were used to carry out the quantitative analysis, while thematic analysis was used for the qualitative analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative data were merged and integrated for mixed-methods analysis. Results: The meta-inferences of the quantitative and qualitative results mainly confirmed that MDWs in Hong Kong had good levels of eHealth literacy. The use of Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp as the COVID-19 information sources, in addition to having an interest in the topic of the current spread of COVID-19 together with the Hong Kong government's policies related to COVID-19, were found to be associated with eHealth literacy. Conclusions: The eHealth literacy level of MDWs in Hong Kong was shown to be good and it was influenced by the use of popular social media platforms including Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp. It is realistic to suggest that such platforms should be harnessed for health communication during the pandemic. Yet, regulations to combat false information on these media are also urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the interlinkages between the cryptocurrency and stock market by characterizing their connectedness starting from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2021. Design/methodology/approach: The author employs a time-varying parameter vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) in combination with an extended joint connectedness approach. Findings: The pandemic shocks appear to have influences on the system-wide dynamic connectedness, which reaches a peak during the COVID-19 pandemic. Net total directional connectedness suggests that each cryptocurrency and stock have a heterogeneous role, conditional on their internal characteristics and external shocks. In particular, Bitcoin and Binance Coin are reported as the net receiver of shocks, while the role of Ethereum shifts from receivers to transmitters. As for the stock market, the US stock market stays persistent as net transmitters of shocks, while the Asian stock market (including Hong Kong and Shanghai) are the two consistent net receivers. During the COVID-19 pandemic shock, pairwise connectedness reveals that cryptocurrencies can explain the volatility of the stock markets with the impact most severe at the beginning of 2020. Practical implications: Insightful knowledge about key antecedents of contagion among these markets also help policymakers design adequate policies to reduce these markets' vulnerabilities and minimize the spread of risk or uncertainty across these markets. Originality/value: The author is the first to investigate the interlinkages between the cryptocurrency and the stock market and assess the influences of uncertain events like the COVID-19 health crisis on the dynamic interlinkages among these two markets. The author employs the TVP-VAR combined with an extended joint connectedness approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Face‐to‐face class suspensions during the coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) pandemic in 2019 increased telepractice in speech and language therapy. However, little is known about speech and language therapists' (SLTs) perceived effectiveness of telepractice and its antecedents. Aims: To examine the use of telepractice and the factors affecting its perceived effectiveness in Hong Kong mainstream schools during COVID‐19. Methods & Procedures: Seventy‐two school‐based Hong Kong SLTs completed a 110‐item online survey with six structural components: (1) concerns, (2) adoption, (3) student selection criteria, (4) perceived effectiveness, (5) continuous professional development and (6) attitudes/beliefs. Outcomes & Results: Over 90% of respondents adopted telepractice during the pandemic. Confirmatory factor analysis identified reliable constructs from their component measures. These participants reported great telepractice difficulties (especially in therapy preparation and managing students' attention and/or communication). Mixed‐response analysis revealed that psychosocial factors (i.e., students' engagement and SLTs' attitudes towards telepractice) but not professional practice skill factors (i.e., student client selection criteria and SLTs' years of experience in school settings) contributed to SLTs' self‐perceived effectiveness of telepractice. Conclusions & Implications: Our findings suggest that psychosocial factors play a more important role than professional practice skill factors in the self‐perceived effectiveness of telepractice. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Previous surveys reported that although SLTs were interested in using telepractice before the COVID‐19 pandemic, they showed concern about its effectiveness, resulting in a low adoption rate. One critical question naturally arises: What factors may affect the perceived effectiveness of telepractice by SLTs? What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This study demonstrates for the first time that despite the high adoption rate of telepractice during the COVID‐19 pandemic, school‐based SLTs exhibited great difficulties, and the SLTs' self‐perceived effectiveness of telepractice was related to psychosocial factors instead of professional practice skill factors. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work: Professional support is needed to alter the attitudes of SLTs towards telepractice for enhancing their self‐perceived effectiveness and positive clinical practice experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to teaching and research in universities. This has prompted the publication of a considerable number of studies, frameworks, and guidelines on teaching adaptations. Less has been written on adaptations to empirical research projects, partly because such projects have been put on hold or redesigned entirely. This paper reflects on adaptations made, challenges encountered, and lessons learned while persisting with a qualitative study involving parents, teachers, tutors, and university academics during the second and third waves of the pandemic in Hong Kong in 2020. Specifically, we reflect on the reconsideration of research design and instruments, negotiation of different kinds of access to research sites and participants, optimization of existing data sources, streamlining of data collection approaches, and consideration of the mental well-being of both researchers and respondents. The paper includes lessons learned from the use of Zoom, WhatsApp Messenger, and phone calls as technological tools, and hashtag search on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Special consideration is given to the unexpected benefits of doing research during the pandemic and the convenience of using technology and adaptability approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Borrower hardship, while a critical issue, is not often addressed by consumer protection frameworks across the Asia–Pacific. The widespread use of payment holidays during the COVID-19 crisis provides a significant case study on the importance of having borrower hardship provisions as a consumer protection tool. This paper compares the pre-pandemic availability of payment holidays in three Asia–Pacific jurisdictions: Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. It evaluates their existing legislative frameworks, as well as regulatory and industry guidelines on borrower hardship, and contrasts this with their use of payment holidays during the pandemic. Where there were existing industry guidelines on borrower hardship, lenders were able to spearhead an industry-wide approach towards payment relief without regulatory intervention by governments. Beyond the pandemic, the paper argues that self-regulation has potential for protecting borrower interests by standardising the scope of, and the procedure for, obtaining hardship relief. It argues that there is a need for a greater prevalence of industry codes of conducts governing lenders' approach towards borrower hardship across the Asia–Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 spread dramatically across the world in the beginning of 2020. This paper presents a novel alert system that will detect abrupt changes in the COVID-19 or other pandemic incidence rate through the estimated time-varying reproduction number (Rt). We applied the system to detect abrupt changes in the COVID-19 pandemic incidence rates in thirteen world regions with eight in the US and five across the world. Subsequently, we also evaluated the system with the 2009 H1N1 pandemic in Hong Kong. Our system performs well in detecting both the abrupt increases and decreases. Users of the system can obtain accurate information on the changing trend of the pandemic to avoid being misled by low incidence numbers. The world may face other threatening pandemics in the future; therefore, it is crucial to have a reliable alert system to detect impending abrupt changes in the daily incidence rates. An added benefit of the system is its ability to detect the emergence of viral mutations, as different virus strains are likely to have different infection rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic effects of tourism industry during periods of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have received significant attention in recent years. The future is likely to pose a range of new challenges and opportunities to sustainable tourism. This paper employs the Markov-switching vector autoregressions (MSVAR) model to investigate the sustainability of tourism's economic effects in Hong Kong, both during periods of crisis and in the absence of crises. The empirical results show that: (1) The MSVAR model is effective in capturing the nonlinear relationship between the economy and tourism and allows for the categorizing of this relationship into four regimes, for example, the "major event crises" regime and the "economic crises" regime; (2) The economic effects of tourism differ noticeably across the four different regimes, and sustainability varies depending on the presence and type of crisis; (3) The Hong Kong economy, and the tourism industry in particular, exhibits high levels of stability and sustainability. In short, economic growth in Hong Kong's tourism industry is capable of rapid recovery following major crisis events, and it has the capacity to rebound quickly into new periods of rapid growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 global pandemic continues, and in Hong Kong numerous measures have been put in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus. One of the many facets of life that is being affected is education, with many face-to-face classes suspended and students having to go online for lessons. The virus continues to be active in the city, so our usual way of assisting secondary school students' character-building through visitation to elderly homes is restricted. Now we can only provide such service-learning in online mode. This paper explores how an online project helped adolescents in a boys' secondary school apply and adapt principles taught previously in their course dealing with positive character strengths such as kindness, love, social intelligence, gratitude, teamwork, and perseverance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An inspection is a crucial construction process that ensures that building works and workers comply with prescribed codes, standards, and building progress. The traditional inspection is characterized by physical effort and onerous paperwork. The emergence of e-inspection 1.0 has meant the adoption of computerized means to ease the paperwork burden, although physical onsite presence has remained mandatory. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the dispatch of inspectors difficult and has prompted governments worldwide to explore alternative inspection approaches that harness the latest information antitamper and traceability technologies, such as blockchain. In this paper, we refer to these approaches as "e-inspection 2.0." This research reports the urgent need for e-inspection 2.0 to guarantee construction quality, compliance, and progress amid pandemic conditions. Using the design science research method, it then proposes a blockchain-based solution to address authenticity and traceability concerns and facilitate e-inspection 2.0. The system is validated through a case study of a modular construction project in the Hong Kong–Pearl River Delta construction nexus. We find that rigorous technological solutions can render e-inspection 2.0 reliable. However, existing regulations are far from amenable to such inspections. Therefore, we call for an extension of the pandemic e-inspection 2.0 expediency to common practice in a post-pandemic era through the development of robust technological instruments and the amendment of inspection regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conducts a comparative analysis of the governance and policing frameworks in Hong Kong and Taiwan, examining their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic’s public health crisis and the resulting shifts in policing contexts. Hong Kong experienced significant changes in police-citizen relations before the pandemic, notably during the 2019 protests that garnered global media attention and eroded public trust in the government. With the advent of COVID-19, Hong Kong introduced stringent anti-pandemic legislation aimed at achieving ‘zero-COVID’, further empowering the police for law enforcement. In contrast, Taiwan effectively managed the epidemic from 2020, keeping mass infections at bay until mid-2022, without significant social conflicts. This study delves into the academic implications of these divergent outcomes, seeking to explain what and why changes occurred (or did not) in these two places. Hong Kong’s response to the global health crisis, including the introduction of the National Security Law, fundamentally transformed its policing context, dismantling autonomous civil societies and reshaping public trust in the government and its police. In comparison, Taiwan’s policing exhibited limited post-crisis transformation, maintaining high public trust even amid stringent quarantine and lockdown regulations. This divergence reflects varying pathways of the legitimisation of police influenced by geopolitics, underscoring the importance of comparative studies in comprehending transformations of policing in different contexts following the global public health crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While previous research has explored Hong Kong's place branding, it focused on data prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and did not fully address the shifting geoeconomic and political contexts that define Hong Kong. The present paper aims to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive longitudinal analysis from 1997 to 2024. Applying discourse analysis on a corpus of official documents and policy addresses, our study uses a two-pronged framework that integrates place branding and critical juncture to comprehend the practices, politics, and consequences of Hong Kong's branding strategy. It argues that Hong Kong's current branding strategies are at a critical juncture, reflecting a devolution from an ambitious and holistic approach in the 2000s to consumption-driven promotional campaigns in the 2020s. The authors underscore the urgency and complexity of redefining a dynamic and adaptative branding strategy that can effectively showcase Hong Kong's strengths and values to the international community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although 'staycation' has become a buzzword during the COVID-19 pandemic, research on staycation experiences is still limited. This paper conducts a fine-grained sentiment analysis integrated with a factor extraction approach to explore the positive and negative factors influencing the staycation experience in Hong Kong hotels. Using online reviews of staycations, this study builds an ordered logit model to determine the influences of these factors on customers' staycation experiences and reveals the heterogeneous effects between different types of hotels and customer segments. This study contributes to the limited hotel staycation experience literature and provides important managerial implications for hotels that target local residents for the growing staycation market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The onset of COVID required many libraries to re-imagine how they conducted their services. It also identified needs and gaps in the delivery of these services to the community. In response to changes such as extended lockdowns and the resultant economic difficulties and the wider need for digital literacy skills, Hong Kong SKH Ming Hua Theological College Library (MH College) established an international collaboration to develop and deliver online tours/ talks as a library skills program with librarians, faculty, students, and professionals in Hong Kong, Japan and Australia. The overall aims of this initiative were to provide an online library skills program for education, leisure and to make the value of librarians and libraries visible to stakeholders during the pandemic to ensure the upkeep of library resources, budgeting and staffing. Through partnerships with key stakeholders and the use of a variety of innovative IT tools, real-time online activities were conducted in three languages (English, Chinese and Japanese) to an internationally distributed audience. This paper will outline the background and organisation of the program, its design and discuss the lessons learned and implications for practice of the strategies used in the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internationalization of higher education has become a key policy within the global higher education sector. Yet a large body of literature suggests that simply having a diverse group of students does not guarantee meaningful intercultural engagement. This paper presents a qualitative study intended to gain a richer understanding of Hong Kong's higher education environment. In-depth interview data were collected from students of different cultural backgrounds and from academic, non-academic, and managerial staff at three Hong Kong universities. The data collection period covered local political turmoil in Hong Kong as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate that, due to language barriers and potentially opposing political ideologies, all students faced challenges engaging with others who were culturally different from themselves. These findings can facilitate the development of an adaptable cross-institutional framework for meaningful intercultural learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most densely populated places in the world, Hong Kong fared relatively well in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a very low number of cases and fatalities per capita. This was mostly due to the Hong Kong government, healthcare workers, and the general public's institutional and individual memory after they successfully overcame the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003. However, while Hong Kong was well accustomed to measures such as wearing masks and social distancing, the cooperation of the Hong Kong public to government restrictions was highly affected by its local political context, especially after widespread anti-government protests began mid-2019. This brought the public's trust in government to an all-time low, creating a political 'new normal', which underpinned how COVID-19 policies would be proposed, accepted, and implemented, if at all. To understand how science advice was offered and how public health decisions were made, this research investigates the evolution of Hong Kong's science advisory mechanisms for public health from before SARS, after SARS, and during COVID-19 in 2020, including the roles of key organisations and departments, the establishment of new centres and committees, and the creation of workgroups and expert advisory panels. This paper compares and analyses the reasons behind these differences in science advisory mechanisms between SARS and COVID-19. The findings from this research reinforce the unquestionable need for robust science advisory structures and knowledgeable scientific experts to solve health-related crises, though more research is required to understand the ways in which science advice influences both policy decisions and public acceptance of these policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper explores the synchronic variations and diachronic changes in political discourses in Hong Kong (HK) and in Mainland of People's Republic of China (PRC). The relationship between lengths of linguistic constructs and their immediate constituents (including sentences and clauses, and clauses and words) are fitted using the function y = axb based on the Menzerath–Altmann (MA) law to capture the characteristics of language as self-organizing complex systems. We found that the two fitted parameters a and b, as distinctive characteristics of complex systems, can distinguish two regional variants of political speeches from HK and PRC over different periods in time. We also found that the same parameters can capture language changes between different periods of political speeches from the PRC. More specifically, we found that regional variations and historical changes show different degrees of salience at different constituency levels. In addition, we found compounding effects between historical change and regional variations. That is, the two regional variants of political speeches are closer to each other at the earliest diachronic period as compared with the latter two periods, as represented by the fitted parameters of the relationship between sentence and clause lengths. Our results provide strong support for the hypothesis for the MA Law capturing the characteristics of language as a complex self-organizing system, as the two fitted parameters account for the interaction of diachronic language change and synchronic variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A short health workers' strike held in early 2020 in Hong Kong at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrates the importance of democratic framing of social movement unionism. A trade union was established during a period of massive civil unrest against the local government in 2019 and then proceeded to organise a strike within 2 months of formation to pressure both their employer and the government to enhance citizen and health workers' safety as the pandemic entered Hong Kong. The paper explains the organisation, progress and reaction to the strike by different stakeholders. The case exemplifies mobilisation through strong democratic trade unionism and provides an example of social movement framing that combined membership and societal interests. The strike represents the last instance of successful independent union mobilisation in Hong Kong as governance shifted from laisse-faire industrial relations that favoured the local capitalist elite to state authoritarianism focussed on obedience to the national political elite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the need for online food delivery services (such as Deliveroo and Foodpanda), creating new job opportunities for South Asian youths. However, outbreaks of infected cases in districts populated by South Asians have spurred 'racist' remarks by customers, perhaps triggered by a flurry of negative mainstream news reports and social media outbursts targeted at South Asians. These behaviours reveal the added precariousness of ethnic minority employment. This paper examines the inter-sectional politics of race and class involved in platformed work, in the case of food delivery services. It discusses how the algorithmically controlled platformed economy may have an impact on racial minority workers. Employing the conceptual framing of 'invisibility', and notions around 'platformed/ gig labour', it argues that neo-liberalised infrastructural capitalism aggravates algorithmic surveillance of racial minority workers. It suggests the possible resilience of racial minority workers in the globally popular business model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital contact-tracing systems have been widely implemented worldwide with different system designs and implementation policies for the purpose of tracking potentially exposed individuals. The use of a digital contact-tracing app in Hong Kong has been mandated for visiting certain premises by legislations. This paper reviewed the regulations promulgated specifically for the prevention and control of COVID-19 and identified those associated with the digital contact-tracing system. A comprehensive search in newspaper databases was performed to explore the enforcement of the mandated use of the digital contact-tracing app. The three facets of regulations in relation to digital contact tracing were examined: duty to disclose information, requirements and directions to businesses, and compulsory testing. The use of digital contact-tracing data for non-public health purposes was also reported. Our analyses showed that prosecution of non-use or the use of fraudulent digital contact-tracing apps was not limited to COVID-19-specific legislations. The flexible approach ensured the enforcement of the use of the digital contact-tracing app, but the judiciary's test must be passed in future cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is about an ongoing funded street photography and practice-led creative writing research project set in Hong Kong that has since been derailed both by the 2019 anti-government protests and by the Covid-19 pandemic. Various places in Hong Kong that had been previously chosen as sites of exploration were at times overwritten by anti-government graffiti, with the mood on the ground also overdetermined by the pandemic. Hence, the social environment is marked with anxiety and caution. This becomes an opportunity for reworking and rethinking. By means of aesthetic responsiveness via street photography, coupled with an autoethnographic-based documentary writing, Hong Kong is allowed to speak its moment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how parents in Hong Kong perceive the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of academic and non-academic private tutoring (PT) for their children, using a thematic analysis of interviews with 80 parents from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. We seek to understand the role of PT in parents' thinking about their children's learning and developmental needs in uncertain times, which foregrounds parents' temporalities in the face of disruption. We find that maintaining pre-pandemic PT levels was the most common attitude for almost half of the sample, followed by roughly similar groups of parents who increased or decreased their use of PT. Parental perceptions of the functions of PT converged on three main uses: mitigating the effects of schooling disruptions, making productive use of newfound free time and providing a sense of normality. Using a timescapes lens, we identify temporal elements in how PT factored into parents' experiences and perceptions of managing 'gained' and 'lost' time, adapting to remote learning, avoiding health risks and reflecting on inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As studies on the mental health status of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic are almost non-existent in Hong Kong, we examined four research questions in this paper: What is the prevalence of depressive symptoms in university students in Hong Kong? What are the socio-demographic correlates of depressive symptoms? Do need satisfaction and positive youth development (PYD) attributes, including beliefs about adversity, psychosocial competence (resilience and emotional competence) and family functioning predict depression? Do PYD attributes moderate the predictive effect of need satisfaction on depression? We examined the above research questions using the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised (CESD-R) in 1,648 university students in Hong Kong. For PYD attributes, we utilized validated measures of Chinese beliefs about adversity, psychosocial competence (resilience and emotional competence), and family functioning. For need satisfaction, we used a measure derived from two focus group interviews involving university students. Results showed that 48.4% of the respondents (95% confidence interval = [45.9%, 51.1%]) scored 16 or above (i.e., "at-risk" for clinical depression). As predicted, age, gender, student status (local vs. international), and family financial hardship were significant socio-demographic correlates of depressive symptoms. Besides, need satisfaction and PYD attributes negatively predicted depression scores. Finally, multiple regression analyses controlling for gender, age, and student status as covariates showed that all PYD attributes moderated the impact of need satisfaction on depression. The findings reinforce the theoretical proposition that PYD attributes serve as important factors in protecting the mental health of university students during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new computational framework for mapping state-sponsored information operations into distinct strategic units. Utilizing a novel method called multi-view modularity clustering (MVMC), we identify groups of accounts engaged in distinct narrative and network information maneuvers. We then present an analytical pipeline to holistically determine their coordinated and complementary roles within the broader digital campaign. Applying our proposed methodology to disclosed Chinese state-sponsored accounts on Twitter, we discover an overarching operation to protect and manage Chinese international reputation by attacking individual adversaries (Guo Wengui) and collective threats (Hong Kong protestors), while also projecting national strength during global crisis (the COVID-19 pandemic). Psycholinguistic tools quantify variation in narrative maneuvers employing hateful and negative language against critics in contrast to communitarian and positive language to bolster national solidarity. Network analytics further distinguish how groups of accounts used network maneuvers to act as balanced operators, organized masqueraders, and egalitarian echo-chambers. Collectively, this work breaks methodological ground on the interdisciplinary application of unsupervised and multi-view methods for characterizing not just digital campaigns in particular, but also coordinated activity more generally. Moreover, our findings contribute substantive empirical insights around how state-sponsored information operations combine narrative and network maneuvers to achieve interlocking strategic objectives. This bears both theoretical and policy implications for platform regulation and understanding the evolving geopolitical significance of cyberspace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hong Kong experienced the SARS pandemic in 2003. Seventeen years later, the Covid-19 pandemic now challenges Hong Kong and the world. This study aims to unveil the impact of the pandemic on health social workers. One hundred and sixty-six health care social workers in Hong Kong were recruited to join a cross-sectional online survey from November 2020 to March 2021. This paper includes the analysis of the demographic information, fear of contamination, resilience, perceived social support and physical health only. Irrespective of the demographic background, the level of fear of contamination, resilience, perceived social support and physical health were similar. The mean scores of the two dimensions of fear of contamination (Harm avoidance: m = 7.49, s.d. = 3.25; Disgust avoidance: m = 7.75, s.d. = 2.90) were higher than those of general public and clinical samples with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. No moderation effects were found in resilience and perceived social support in the relationship of fear of contamination and physical health. Instead, direct effects were shown.The impact of the pandemic on health social workers was universal. Psychoeducational programs to alleviate the fear of contamination and organizational-level interventions to improve workplace social support are highly needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the various socio-demographic vulnerabilities of Hong Kong to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city has successfully managed four waves of local outbreaks, as shown by its comparatively low numbers of confirmed cases and deaths. In this paper, we identify and differentiate the unique characteristics of Hong Kong's COVID-19 outbreaks from those of other territories, and analyse the factors that shaped these characteristics. In particular, we examine four local demographic factors -- older age structure, high population density, poor housing conditions and a large migrant population -- which, according to current scientific evidence, would likely indicate that the city faces a relatively high risk of the significant spread of COVID-19.We analyse and explain how multiple policies related to border controls, social distancing, testing and tracing, partial lockdowns and housing management, as well as sustained community actions, helped to mitigate the effects of these significant disadvantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this paper is to describe the effects on preparation for sprinting performance in Hong Kong university-level athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Changes in training methods, and well-being of athletes due to COVID-19 pandemic were also investigated. Methods: Using Google Form, the study recall period was established during the closure of sports facilities in Hong Kong (2/2020-2/2021) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical state preparation (PSP), Mental state preparation (MSP), Nutritional preparation (NP), and Major changes in training methods (MTM) were analyzed. Results: The results demonstrated no significant mean difference between male and female athletes on the effects of COVID-19 regarding the PSP, MSP, NP, and MTM. However, both males and females were highly disrupted in relation to performance preparation. Conclusions: The pandemic affected physical performance, stress, and mental state, impacted on nutritional regimes, changed training locations and recovery strategies, and lowered training quantity and quality. In addition, athletes received less coaching, and had less accessibility to training equipment. Athletes and coaches should reflect on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to address personal training needs, while sports professionals need to carefully prepare themselves for sprinting performance, in relation to the current COVID-19 situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION Tobacco use is associated with an increased risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, severe COVID-19 outcomes requiring intensive care, and mortality. We investigated the perceived risk of and changes in cigarette, e-cigarette (EC) and heated tobacco product (HTP) use in relation to COVID-19 in Hong Kong adolescent tobacco users. METHODS We conducted semi-structured telephone interviews from January to April 2021 and in February 2022 on 40 adolescents (65% boys, Secondary school grades 2-6) who participated in our previous smoking surveys and were using cigarettes, ECs or HTPs before the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020. RESULTS Adolescents generally perceived higher risks of contracting and having more severe COVID-19 from using cigarettes than ECs/HTPs, but they had limited knowledge of COVID-19 risks from EC/HTP use, particularly. Both increased and reduced consumption were found in tobacco, with EC use being the less affected product. Changes also included switching to ECs for convenience and lower cost and shifting from smoking cigarettes outside to mainly at home or in hidden areas. COVID-related policies, fear of infection, non-COVID-related health concerns, less social opportunities and pocket money, and limited access to tobacco products were barriers to tobacco use. In contrast, greater freedom at home versus school and negative emotions due to social distancing were facilitators. Family/peer influence had mixed impacts. CONCLUSIONS Adolescent tobacco users perceived lower COVID risks associated with HTPs and ECs than cigarettes, and various changes in tobacco use were found amid the pandemic in Hong Kong. COVID-19 and related social changes may both facilitate or deter adolescent tobacco use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION Perceived risk of COVID-19 infection is associated with smoking behaviors, but the change in smoking across different settings are uncertain. We examined the associations of perceived increased susceptibility to COVID-19 due to smoking with change in smoking at home and on the streets. METHODS We analyzed data of 1120 current cigarette smokers aged >15 years from a population-based telephone survey in Hong Kong. Perceived increased susceptibility to COVID-19 due to smoking, change in smoking, intention to quit, and tobacco dependence were measured. We used Poisson regression with robust variance to estimate adjusted risk ratio (ARR) for associations, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, intention to quit, and time to first cigarette after waking. RESULTS More current smokers reduced smoking on the streets (46.1%; 95% CI: 42.8-50.0) than at home (8.7%; 95% CI: 7.0-10.8). Perceived increased susceptibility to COVID-19 due to smoking was associated with smoking reduction at home (ARR=3.29; 95% CI: 1.80-6.00, p<0.001) but not on the streets (ARR=1.13; 95% CI: 0.98-1.30, p=0.09). More smokers with stronger quit intention and lower tobacco dependence reduced smoking at home but not on the streets in those with high perceived increased susceptibility to COVID-19 due to smoking. CONCLUSIONS This is the first report showing that more cigarette smokers reduced smoking on the streets than at home, and the perceived increased susceptibility to COVID-19 due to smoking was only associated with smoking reduction at home but not on the streets. Improving smokers' awareness of the susceptibility to COVID-19 may be an effective strategy to reduce tobacco consumption and secondhand smoke exposure at home within the context of future respiratory pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the notion of affect, this paper offers a multimodal critical discourse analysis of health-related product advertising in Hong Kong during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Advertisements were collected in the city's space of commute. We examine the construal of risk and protection in the advertisements and via their emplacement in three spatial-temporal dimensions observed in the data: the market society, the concrete public space, and the intimate familial space. Our analysis demonstrates that while risk and protection are linguistically and visually depicted to varying degrees across these dimensions, the emplacement of advertisements prompts the viewers to regard their immediate space as full of risks. As individuals encounter the advertisements, they become interpellated to see the purchase of the advertised products as necessary. Illuminating health communication during the pandemic, this study contributes to health commercialisation and responsibilisation research and provides insights into the ideological, interpersonal nature of affect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, most of Christian religious discourse in Hong Kong has been centralized in established institutions, such as churches and seminaries. However, with the changing times of Hong Kong's protests in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic, young believers have turned to social media to engage in religious discourse under the hashtag "DeltaΔMovement". This paper will investigate in what ways #DeltaΔMovement has allowed young people to engage in discourse in a decentralized manner, how established institutions are responding to the movement, and insights as to how people may generalize the process of decentralization in various facets of social justice issues, amplifying the voices of the traditionally overlooked and marginalized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As social inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic have been recognised, emerging research showed that lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people may be additionally affected during the pandemic. This paper adds to the understanding of the experiences of LGB people during the pandemic with a focus on Hong Kong, where issues of space significantly influence LGB people's lives in this city with high population density. As part of a larger community study of LGB lives in Hong Kong, COVID-19-related impact on 434 Chinese-speaking LGB people was explored. Data collection was conducted from 20 May to 30 June 2020. Inductive thematic analysis of the open-text response survey data found that the LGB participants described both negative and positive impacts brought by COVID-19. Such impacts could be dimensionalised into those related to personal space and privacy, romantic and sexual space, and community space. It was also found that the experiences of COVID-19 among LGB people in Hong Kong were intersectional, along the lines of living arrangement and relationship status. Such findings make unique contributions to the emerging literature. First, there needs to be a more nuanced understanding of sexual minority individuals' experiences during COVID-19 across cultural contexts. Second, COVID-19 was described as having brought positive impact in addition to its widely known negative impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION How changes in smoking routine due to COVID-19 restrictions (e.g. refraining from smoking outdoors and stockpiling tobacco products) influence smoking behaviors remains understudied. We examined the associations of changes in smoking-related practices with quit attempts and smoking consumption in current smokers using a mixed-methods design. METHODS In a community-based telephone survey conducted between the second and third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, 659 smokers (87.1% male; 45.2% aged 40--59 years) were asked about quit attempts and changes in cigarette consumption and five smoking-related practices since the COVID-19 outbreak. Logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratio (AOR), adjusting for sex, age, education level, chronic disease status, heaviness of smoking (HSI), psychological distress (PHQ-4) and perceived danger of COVID-19. A subsample of 34 smokers provided qualitative data through semi-structured interviews for thematic analyses. RESULTS Favorable changes in smoking-related practices, including having avoided smoking on the street (prevalence: 58.9%) and reduced going out to buy cigarettes (33.5%), were associated with a quit attempt (AOR: 2.09 to 2.26; p<0.01) and smoking reduction (AOR: 1.76 to 4.97; p<0.05). Avoiding smoking with other smokers (50.5%) was associated with smoking reduction (AOR=1.76; p<0.05) but not quit attempt (AOR=1.26; p>0.05). Unfavorable changes, including having increased smoking at home (25.0%) and stockpiled tobacco products (19.6%), were associated with increased smoking (AOR: 2.84 to 6.20; p<0.05). Low HSI (0--2) was associated with favorable changes (p<0.01), while high HSI score (3--6) was associated with unfavorable changes (p<0.01). Qualitative interviews revealed a double-edged effect of staying at home on smoking consumption and that pandemic precautionary measures (e.g. mask-wearing) reduced outdoor smoking. CONCLUSIONS Amid the pandemic, favorable changes in smoking-related practices in smokers were mostly associated with quit attempts and smoking reduction, while unfavorable changes were associated with increased smoking. Smokers with higher nicotine dependence were more negatively impacted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Linguistic Landscape: An International Journal (LL) is the property of John Benjamins Publishing Co. 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.)

Many intervention strategies, such as patient isolation and contact tracking, had been implemented in different countries to slow down and control the spread because of the enormous threats and losses caused by COVID-19. Since the contact relationships of millions of people within cities change over time, it is difficult to accurately predict the dynamics of large-scale outbreaks and evaluate the impact of the contact tracking and isolation strategy based on individual contact history on epidemic transmission. Here, we propose a non-markov spreading model based on individual contact dynamic network, to simulate the dynamic contact processes in a city with millions of people. In this model, the historical contact population of each infected person can be backtracked and tracked. Our model can accurately describe the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan and Hong Kong. We assess the impact of four agent-based epidemic intervention strategies: travel control, contact tracking and isolation, vaccination, and regular nucleic acid testing to all residents on the epidemic evolution and economic losses. We find that for the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, a strict travel control strategy is effective in both suppressing the spread of COVID-19 and minimizing economic losses. For the Omicron variant (BA.2) with stronger infectious capacity, a relatively loose travel control and an appropriate combination of the other three strategies can effectively control the epidemic outbreak while minimize economic losses. This paper provides an efficient framework for assessing the combination of different agent-based strategies by large-scale simulations in the case of unknown historical contact information of large populations, and the studies on different combinations of control strategies can provide theoretical guidance for future prevention and control. • We propose a non-markov spreading model based on individual contact dynamic network. • Our model can accurately describe the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan and Hong Kong. • We assess the impact of four agent-based epidemic intervention strategies. • A strict travel control strategy may lead to relatively high economic losses. • Tracking strategy can control the epidemic outbreak while minimize economic losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Without a doubt, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the landscape of human life across the globe. It may further lead to a substantial behavioral change in individuals, including the pattern of criminal victimization victimization. Although some previous studies suggested that there was a crime drop in Western societies after the pandemic outbreak, the effect of the pandemic on crime rates in the non-Western context was still vague. Therefore, the present study analyzed the police-recorded data in Hong Kong, a city in the south side of China that continued to enact a "dynamic zero covid" control of positive cases. In line with the previous studies, traditional crime, such as assaults in Hong Kong, dropped steadily after the pandemic outbreak. Yet, surprisingly, the overall crime rate alternatively increased amid the pandemic which is mainly attributed to the surge in cybercrime, especially deceptions and blackmail. This paper thus warrants more thorough investigations of the change in routine activities to the virtual world and the risks of cyber victimizations. Limitations and policy implications were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid-19 has wreaked havoc worldwide. To mitigate the spread of the virus, societies around the world implemented various social control measures and restrictions on mobility. Traditional work practices were upended, leading to a widespread adoption of telecommuting in many cities, effectively turning urban spaces into expansive work-from-home laboratories. The exchange of digitized documents, virtual conversations, and online transactions replaced physical movements and face-to-face communication, allowing for the continuation of productive activities. This shift to telecommuting raises important questions about the impact on traditional business practices and power dynamics in the workplace. It also prompts us to examine how new communication and surveillance tools facilitate collaboration and enhance worker productivity. Furthermore, it is essential to understand how employees navigate and adapt to the opportunities and limitations presented in a teleworking environment. To gain insights into these issues, this paper focuses on the experiences of work-from-home employees in the community of Tin Shui Wai in Hong Kong, using the concept of governmobility as an analytical framework. The findings reveal that telecommuting is enabled by innovative social interaction mechanisms, changes in power dynamics, and the implementation of new discourse and surveillance methods, all of which are contingent on specific work and life conditions. The various experiences of telecommuting, such as working in a home office, in virtual workspaces, and using on-body devices, demonstrate adaptable responses to the emerging opportunities and constraints of telecommuting. These experiences illuminate the intricate ways in which work and life intertwine in both physical and temporal dimensions. • Exploring the mechanisms of governmobility in telecommuting during the Covid-19 pandemic. • Theorizing diverse telecommuting practices and experiences. • Discussing the prospects of telecommuting in the post-Covid world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION Changes in tobacco use since the COVID-19 outbreak differed by countries and little is known about changes in the use of specific tobacco products. METHODS We analyzed data from four cross-sectional telephone/online surveys from April to June 2020 to investigate such changes since the 1st and 2nd wave outbreaks (February to April 2020) in Hong Kong. The respondents were 1595 adults (83.2% male) who used tobacco before the COVID-19 outbreak from our previous intervention study and surveys. We investigated the changes in tobacco use, intention to quit and quit attempts during the outbreak. RESULTS About two-thirds (65.3%) of respondents reported no change in overall tobacco use, while 23.1% used less (including cessation) and 11.6% used more, resulting in a net decrease of 11.5 percentage points. A greater net decrease was observed for cigarettes (14.3% points) than heated tobacco products (HTPs, 3.3% points) and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes, 2.5% points). Decreased use was mainly due to the more extended stay at home (63.2%), health considerations (52.6%) and mask-wearing (47.4%), while increased use was for passing time (75.0%) and releasing stress (46.4%). Eight percent of cigarette, HTP and e-cigarette users reported a higher intention to quit since the pandemic outbreak. Nineteen percent of tobacco users (176/948) attempted to quit during the pandemic. Only 2.9% (46/1569) were abstinent at the time of the survey. CONCLUSIONS Overall tobacco use decreased after the first two waves of the COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong. A greater proportion of cigarette users decreased use than HTP and e-cigarette users. Given the different methods used in the four surveys, future studies should aim for a large and representative sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating city–scale emissions using gridded inventories lacks direct, precise measurements, resulting in significant uncertainty. A Kalman filter integrates diverse, uncertain information sources to deliver a reliable, accurate estimate of the true system state. By leveraging multiple gridded inventories and a Kalman filter fusion method, we developed an optimal city–scale (3 km) FFCO2 emission product that incorporates quantified uncertainties and connects global–regional–city scales. Our findings reveal the following: (1) Kalman fusion post–reconstruction reduces estimate uncertainties for 2000–2014 and 2015–2021 to ±9.77% and ±11.39%, respectively, outperforming other inventories and improving accuracy to 73% compared to ODIAC and EDGAR (57%, 65%). (2) Long–term trends in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) show an upward trajectory, with a 2.8% rise during the global financial crisis and a −0.19% decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. Spatial analysis uncovers a "core–subcore–periphery" emission pattern. (3) The core city GZ consistently contributes the largest emissions, followed by DG as the second–largest emitter, and HK as the seventh–highest emitter. Factors influencing the center–shift of the pattern include the urban form of cities, population migration, GDP contribution, but not electricity consumption. The reconstructed method and product offer a reliable solution for the lack of directly observed emissions, enhancing decision–making accuracy for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a novel Virtual Reality (VR) life review therapy system. Life review therapy is an intervention used by clinical psychologists, counselors, and social workers for patients under palliative care to systematically examine various life experiences to resolve conflicts and complete life tasks. The goal of the therapy is to narrativize the patient’s life before death in order to come to terms with their mortality. Our VR life review therapy system allows therapists to perform their interventions in customized virtual spaces designed to encourage the patient to reflect and reminisce about their life experiences. Our system is also developed in response to mobility restrictions and COVID-19 pandemic-related quarantine measures that have separated patients under palliative care from family and friends, resulting in emotional and psychological distress. As VR systems related to health are increasingly being used by therapists in their interventions, it is of utmost importance that the health professionals who will be the end users of these systems are involved in the design process to create ethical healthcare technologies. In response, we initiated the participatory design and evaluation of our VR life review therapy system prototype with six clinical psychologists who have practical experience delivering life review therapy to patients in palliative care in the Hong Kong hospital system. In the study, each participant experienced the VR life review therapy system and evaluated its strengths and weaknesses through semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data gathered from these interviews was coded according to nine different categories; avatars, content design, evaluation, haptic sensations, interaction, gesturing and gaze direction, movement and navigation, non-verbal communication, soundtrack. These conceptual categories were chosen based on our analysis of common themes reported by the clinical psychologists’ experience of the system. Feedback from clinical psychologists on each of these categories was incorporated into the redesign and update of the final system. Overall, participants generally evaluated the system as feasible and effective for use with patients under palliative care, while movement and interaction were the features requiring the most improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psychiatric patients are susceptible to adverse mental health outcome during COVID-19 pandemic, but its associated factors are understudied. This observational cross-sectional study aimed to comprehensively examine prevalence and correlates of psychological distress, in terms of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD)-like symptoms, among Chinese adult psychiatric outpatients amidst the peak of fifth COVID-19 wave in Hong-Kong. Methods: A total of 415 patients (comprising 246 patients with common-mental-disorders [CMD] and 169 with severe-mental-disorders [SMD]) and 399 demographically-matched controls without mental disorders were assessed with self-rated questionnaires between 28-March and 8-April-2022, encompassing illness profile, mental health symptoms, psychosocial measures (loneliness, resilience, coping styles) and COVID-19 related factors. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine variables associated with moderate-to-severe depressive, anxiety and PTSD-like symptoms among psychiatric patients. Results: Our results showed that CMD patients had the greatest psychological distress relative to SMD patients and controls. Approximately 40–55% CMD patients and 25% SMD patients exhibited moderate-to-severe depression, anxiety and PTSD-like symptoms. Multivariable regression analyses revealed that female gender, lower educational attainment, single marital status, being housewife, more severe insomnia, psychotic-like symptoms and cognitive complaints, self-harm behavior, lower resilience, avoidance coping, never contracting COVID-19 infection, greater fear of contagion, and longer exposure to pandemic-related information were independently associated with depression, anxiety and/or PTSD-like symptoms in psychiatric patients. Conclusions: Our results affirm increased vulnerability of psychiatric patients toward psychological distress during pandemic. An array of identified correlates facilitates early detection of high-risk psychiatric patients for targeted strategies to minimize pandemic-related negative psychological impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research reports the findings of three studies, with objectives to demonstrate the impacts of health-promoting behaviors on psychological well-being as well as the mediating roles of sense of control (SOC) and perceived severity of COVID-19 in these relationships. Study 1 was a cross-sectional survey conducted in 473 middle-aged and older Chinese adults before the COVID-19 pandemic to assess their health-promoting behaviors, personal mastery and perceived constraints, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms. Study 2 was conducted during the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong (between March to April 2020), in which 292 participants from Study 1 were successfully contacted to report their emotional responses to the pandemic. Using a different sample, Study 3 was a longitudinal study that measured 495 participants' health-promoting behaviors, personal mastery and perceived constraints at baseline, and their perceived severity and mental health outcomes during the outbreak of omicron cases in Hong Kong (i.e., the fifth wave of the COVID-19 outbreak) in March 2022. All three studies demonstrate that the beneficial effects of health behaviors can be extended to psychological well-being and reveal possible underlying mechanisms through enhancing one's SOC and lowering perceived severity of the COVID-19 outbreak. These results provide important insights to future health promotion programs for improving psychological resources and psychological well-being of middle-aged and older adults in face of disease-related threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been an increasing awareness of indoor air quality (IAQ) management in green building designs, driven by the need to mitigate potential health risks and create sustainable and healthy indoor environments. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the critical role of ventilation and IAQ in reducing the risk of indoor airborne transmission. Governments and organisations worldwide have responded to this growing concern by implementing ventilation requirements and updating IAQ standards and guidelines. In the case of Hong Kong, a developed and densely populated city characterised by high-rise buildings, this study aims to provide a strategic framework for non-governmental agencies to address IAQ issues effectively. A comprehensive review of policies, regulations, and guidelines by international bodies and individual governments, along with an examination of the current IAQ management scheme in Hong Kong, has been conducted. Drawing inspiration from successful IAQ management strategies, the study aims to identify insights and potential pathways for the city's future development of IAQ management strategies. Overall, this research highlights the importance of proactive IAQ management for buildings and offers a roadmap for Hong Kong's pursuit of healthier indoor environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid design and construction of mobile cabin hospitals (MCHs) have become imperative in the COVID-19 response. However, due to unique design specifications (e.g., parallel design and model pre-revision), collaboration in emergency construction projects (ECPs) like MCHs presents data security vulnerabilities, including a lack of traceability and transparency. These hazards invariably reduce design effectiveness, leading to undesirable rework and project delay. Blockchain technology is a potential solution to address the aforementioned security issues in ECPs because it offers immutable and traceable data storage. Nevertheless, directly implementing blockchain in ECPs is impractical, for the blockchain has a complex deployment process and provides limited functions supporting BIM-based design. Therefore, this paper develops a lightweight blockchain-as-a-service (LBaaS) prototype to enhance the ECPs design efficiency by securing and automating information exchange while eliminating the difficulties of deploying and using blockchain. This paper contributes three elements: (1) Security vulnerabilities of design in ECP are identified. Taking an MCH in Hong Kong as an example, this paper investigates its design process and determines two design characteristics and associated security flaws. (2) Key technologies to support easy deployment and usage of blockchain in ECPs are developed. New technical elements, including a Multi-to-One mapping (MtOM) kit for easy blockchain registration, an integrated workflow retaining existing design practices, and smart contracts for secure interaction with blockchain, are developed to support LBaaS functionality. (3) An LBaaS prototype is validated and evaluated. The prototype is illustrated and evaluated using design examples based on actual MCH project data. Results show that the LBaaS is a feasible and secure approach for ECPs collaboration. This paper deepens the understanding of data security issues in ECPs and offers technical guidance in establishing blockchain solutions. • Identified security vulnerabilities of BIM-based collaboration in emergency construction projects (ECPs). • Exploring the mechanism of integrating ECPs design with a lightweight blockchain-as-a-service (LBaaS). • Developed key technical elements to support functionalities of an LBaaS prototype. • Validated LBaaS prototype via three design examples from an actual mobile cabin hospital project. • Results show that the LBaaS is a practical solution for improving data security and ECP design efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]