Vocational Training Council
VTC Institutional Repository (Vocational Training Council)Not a member yet
3146 research outputs found
Sort by
The Influence of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Perception on Investor Trust and Brand Relationship Quality: A Study Among Retail Investors in Hong Kong
Full text linkBackground/Introduction: Investor trust and brand relationship quality, along with initiatives for environmental, social, and governance (ESG), have become highly important. Despite their relevance, limited research has been conducted on how ESG initiatives influence investors’ perceptions in financial markets. Objectives/Aims: This work conducts a cross-sectional analysis to examine the relationship between perceived ESG initiatives and investor trust and brand relationship quality among retail investors in Hong Kong, one of one of the world’s leading financial markets. Methods: This study involved 479 retail investors. Three instruments were administered in the questionnaires: (1) the perceived environmental, social, and governance scale, (2) the investor trust scale, and (3) the brand relationship quality scale. Results: The analysis demonstrates that PESG and various aspects of investor trust and brand relationship quality had strong positive correlations. Notably, the environmental and social concerns of PESG were found to be strong predictors of investor trust and brand relationship quality, whereas governance awareness had the least effect. Conclusions: Improving a firm’s ESG image can boost investors’ confidence and the quality of brand relationships, thus aligning with sustainability and business strategies
Reflexivity of the lived research experiences of a doctoral student through communities of practice
Full text linkDoctoral students and apprentices are much alike. Doctoral students are treated as junior academic scholars. They must follow and learn different knowledge and research skills from their senior academic scholars, mainly supervisors and other congenial faculty members within the department. During the process, reflectivity is one of their vital self-fulfilment tools to elucidate, contemplate, ruminate, and then internalize all the given prescriptions. By adopting communities of practice as a theoretical framework, this article has employed an auto-ethnographical approach aimed at reflecting the author’s lived research experiences as a doctoral student in Hong Kong. By revealing the journeys of accommodating reflexivity, this article argues that, apart from senior members within the communities of practice, cultivations of reflexivity are also feasible from beyond the communities. This article will contribute to levels like doctoral supervision and the fulfilment of doctoral students
Theme - The Power of Immersive Media Arts
Full text linkThe contemporary art form of media arts is empowering not only artists but also brands to craft creative experiences to impress and inspire their target audiences
Characterization of 3D Printed Poly(3-Hydroxybutyric-Co-3-Hydroxyvalerate) by Fused Granular Fabrication through Thermal and Mechanical Analyses Lok-
Full text linkPoly[R-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-(R-3-hydroxyvalerate)] (PHBVs) copolymers are promising biopolymers, which could substitute petroleum-based plastics for various applications. PHB and PHBV pellets were processed on a customized 3D printer via Fused Granular Manufacturing (FGM) approach modified with a Mahor screw extruder. To anticipate the behaviour of PHBVs when transformed using conventional thermo-mechanical shaping processes, thermal and mechanical analyses were carried out in order to better understand the effect of annealing temperature on their crystallization behaviour and mechanical properties of PHB polymer and PHBV copolymer. The objectives of the present work were to propose an experimental strategy to study the melting and crystallization events, crystalline structure changes, and mechanical performances of both PHB homopolymer and PHBV copolymer according to identical thermal annealing treatments. A monitoring of 3D printed PHB and PHBV structures was achieved by coupling Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and tensile tests
Theme Story - Crossing the Online and Offline Worlds In the Future of Integrated Virtual and Real Worlds, Can Humans Lead Design?
Full text linkThe film and entertainment industries are undergoing epochal transformations. Online streaming, high-definition imagery and artificial intelligence (AI) are not just changing business models, these technologies are also radically altering the design thinking that guides media productions. The Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) graduates, Min Chan and Chak Yun Hei, have been playing crucial roles in this transformation. Chan, an Image Director, designs immersive costumes that help in the element of world-building in productions. Chak, a Director of Innovation and Product Development, develops TV hardware and software tailored to future consumer entertainment modes and broadcasting technologies. Their experiences demonstrate how, despite the flurry of technological changes, their respective roles maintain fundamental continuity, with Chan creating beautiful designs and Chak driving industry development
Theme Story - A Wave of Virtual Products is Sweeping the Globe How It Could Redefine the Future of the Film and Television Industry
Full text linkSince its inception, the film and television media has existed squarely at the juncture of art and technology. Media forms like music videos, streaming services and even blockbuster Hollywood films have exemplified this inextricable link. In the past three to four years, though, virtual productions have swept through the world and have been described by insiders in the United States and Europe as marking a point of no return for the overall industry due to their real-time ability to produce special effects content. Such technology is gaining momentum in Hong Kong too. In March 2024, an international-level professional virtual production studio officially opened in the city, ensuring that local production is keeping pace with the rest of the world
The Impact of Personal Satisfaction on the Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices of Chinese Accounting Managers
Full text linkThe accounting profession plays an important role in upholding ethical standards and environmental integrity. This study examines the impact of personal life, career, and family satisfaction on the environmental, social, and governance practices of Chinese accounting professionals in Hong Kong. Drawing on the theories of moral identity and self-determination, this study hypothesises that professional ethical behaviours, such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental protection, are positively correlated with well-being in the workplace and the family and personal lives of individuals. For the research methodology, this study employs a combination of rating scales, namely, the satisfaction with life scale, the generic job satisfaction scale, the family satisfaction scale, the CSR orientation (CSRO) scale, and the environmental motive scale. The responses of 478 accounting professionals in Hong Kong were analysed. SPSS Version 26.0 was used for data analysis. Significantly positive correlations between personal satisfaction and CSRO and between personal satisfaction and motivations for environmental sustainability were detected. In contrast to family satisfaction, life and job satisfaction were more intricately correlated with enhanced CSR commitment and environmental concern. Job satisfaction was a significant predictor of both CSR commitment and environmental responsibility, although this study has limitations, including potential response biases, cultural specificity, and self-reporting inaccuracies. Ethical practices and sustainability in accounting can be significantly enhanced by improving personal well-being. Professionals in this type of work environment may enhance their ethical engagement and environmental stewardship. This study offers theoretical and practical contributions to the research on the accounting profession in Hong Kong
Thermogravimetric characteristics and evaluation of products during pyrolysis of Camellia oleifera seed residues
Full text linkTo investigate the potential of Camellia oleifera seed residues (COSR) as sources of bioenergy, a systematic evaluation of pyrolysis behavior for COSR was conducted. For pyrolysis kinetics and thermodynamic analysis, Coats-Redfern (CR) model was employed based on thermos-gravimetric (TG) experiments. As heating rates increased, the TG curves and the temperature peaks of the derivative thermo-gravimetric (DTG) curves moved to a higher temperature due to a lag phenomenon. According to kinetic analyses, the activation energy (Ea) was 95.40–107.97 kJ/mol. With using the obtained Ea, thermodynamic parameters were calculated, including pre-exponential factor (A), enthalpy change (ΔH), Gibbs free energy change (ΔG), and entropy change (ΔS). After that, based on thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) findings, a scrupulous examination was conducted in a fixed-bed reactor, in which the influences of varying operational conditions, such as pyrolysis temperature, heating rate, reaction time, and particle size, on the COSR pyrolysis process were studied in detail. The results of the fixedbed pyrolysis experiments observed indicated that N element had been enriched in the particle with finer size, and the optimal operating condition was determined as followed: heating rate of 15 °C/min, particle size within less than 300 μm, reaction time of 0.5 h, and pyrolysis temperature of 500 °C. Under the optimal operating condition, the yields of the liquid, gas, and solid products were discovered to reach 48.15%, 20.12%, and 31.73%, respectively. H2, CO, CO2, CH4, and other gases made up the majority of gas products. By gas chromatography–mass spectrometer (GC–MS), the compositions of pyrolysis oil obtained from COSR pyrolysis at 400, 500 and 600 °C were determined, and it was found that alcohols, ketones, and phenolic compounds accounted for a larger proportion of pyrolysis oil. Pyrolysis oil composition and component distribution were substantially impacted by the pyrolysis temperature