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The aim of this paper is to investigate the contagion across real estate markets of four countries: Hong Kong, China, U.S. and U.K., during the financial tsunami in 2008. We use the Forbes-Rigobon test, the coskewness test and the cokurtosis test. We propose a new cokurtosis test constructed by extending the method of constructing the coskewness test to further higher order moments. It can show additional channels of contagion that other tests fail to show, and hence can provide more information on the direction of contagion, and reflect a more complete picture of the contagion pattern. The coskewness and cokurtosis tests show that contagion exists between the four countries, and the contagion effect is stronger between Hong Kong and China, and between U.S. and U.K. This provides clues for investors on how to diversify their investment to reduce their risk. This paper bridges the gap that previous works on contagion across real estate markets give mixed results, and gives a first insight into the contagion pattern of global real estate markets during the financial tsunami. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term 'obscenity' has no universal definition. It is often ill -defined, subjective and highly dependent on the culture of the communities in question and between communities. Nevertheless, the aim of the law on obscenity is to prevent publication and distribution of materials, which are potentially harmful to its readers, viewers and audience. The purpose of this paper is three fold. Firstly, it briefly considers the law on obscenity in the United Kingdom, and in the United States. Secondly, the paper discusses and evaluates the law relating to obscenity in Hong Kong in the light of the recent publication and distribution of materials which could be argued to fall within the realm of obscenity. Finally, it considers whether the law on obscenity would ever be able to fit into an "acceptable community standard". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the cooperative strategies between two firms in an overseas country. In Part 1, we examine the circumstances under which foreign firms would cooperate with another foreign firm in a third country market. Drawing upon existing literature, we develop and test a set of hypotheses using a longitudinal data set from China. The types of cooperative arrangements include all the major modes of operation. In Part 2, we further investigate what types of operation and level of control exist among the cooperative arrangements between two foreign firms in China. We used a sample of 483 cooperative arrangements between two firms from Hong Kong, the U.S., Japan, Germany, or Britain. This study offers interesting insight as to why foreign firms form cooperative arrangements in an overseas country and what types of cooperative arrangements these firms prefer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To more accurately quantify the potential impact of the neighbourhood environment on adults' physical activity (PA), it is important to compare environment-PA associations between periods of the day or week when adults are more versus less likely to be in their neighbourhood and utilise its PA resources. We examined whether, among adults from 10 countries, associations between objectively-assessed neighbourhood environment attributes and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) varied by time of the day and day of the week. The secondary aim was to examine whether such associations varied by employment status, gender and city. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 6,712 adults from 14 cities across 10 countries with ≥1 day of valid accelerometer-assessed MVPA and complete information on socio-demographic and objectively-assessed environmental characteristics within 0.5 and 1 km street-network buffers around the home. Accelerometer measures (MVPA min/h) were created for six time periods from early morning until late evening/night, for weekdays and weekend days separately. Associations were estimated using generalized additive mixed models. Results: Time of the day, day of week, gender and employment status were significant moderators of environment-MVPA associations. Land use mix was positively associated with MVPA in women who were employed and in men irrespective of their employment status. The positive associations between MVPA and net residential density, intersection density and land use mix were stronger in the mornings of weekdays and the afternoon/evening periods of both weekdays and weekend days. Associations between number of parks and MVPA were stronger in the mornings and afternoon/evenings irrespective of day of the week. Public transport density showed consistent positive associations with MVPA during weekends, while stronger effects on weekdays were observed in the morning and early evenings. Conclusions: This study suggests that space and time constraints in adults' daily activities are important factors that determine the impact of neighbourhood attributes on PA. Consideration of time-specific associations is important to better characterise the magnitude of the effects of the neighbourhood environment on PA. Future research will need to examine the contribution of built environment characteristics of areas surrounding other types of daily life centres (e.g., workplaces) to explaining adults' PA at specific times of the day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2011; 18:1358-1370 © 2011 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Abstract The maturation of emergency medicine (EM) as a specialty has coincided with dramatic increases in emergency department (ED) visit rates, both in the United States and around the world. ED crowding has become a public health problem where periodic supply and demand mismatches in ED and hospital resources cause long waiting times and delays in critical treatments. ED crowding has been associated with several negative clinical outcomes, including higher complication rates and mortality. This article describes emergency care systems and the extent of crowding across 15 countries outside of the United States: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Italy, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Catalonia (Spain), Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The authors are local emergency care leaders with knowledge of emergency care in their particular countries. Where available, data are provided about visit patterns in each country; however, for many of these countries, no national data are available on ED visits rates or crowding. For most of the countries included, there is both objective evidence of increases in ED visit rates and ED crowding and also subjective assessments of trends toward higher crowding in the ED. ED crowding appears to be worsening in many countries despite the presence of universal health coverage. Scandinavian countries with robust systems to manage acute care outside the ED do not report crowding is a major problem. The main cause for crowding identified by many authors is the boarding of admitted patients, similar to the United States. Many hospitals in these countries have implemented operational interventions to mitigate crowding in the ED, and some countries have imposed strict limits on ED length of stay (LOS), while others have no clear plan to mitigate crowding. An understanding of the causes and potential solutions implemented in these countries can provide a lens into how to mitigate ED crowding in the United States through health policy interventions and hospital operational changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: This study addressed whether 360-degree feedback ratings made by subordinates are equivalent across national cultures (Great Britain, Hong Kong, Japan, U.S.). Employees’ ratings of their leaders were collected via a company’s existing 360-degree feedback survey. A two-factor baseline model was developed using exploratory factor analysis and tested across cultures utilizing confirmatory factor analysis techniques. Results revealed differences in factor form, suggesting that the constructs underlying the survey and their relationship to the survey items differed across cultures. These results emphasize the need for multinational companies to use caution when transporting human resources practices, such as 360-degree feedback, to international locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]