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Knowledge exchange and participatory practice in architecture
No full textThe practice of architecture is evolving as contemporary societies become more heterogeneous. Architecture is no longer limited to being an exercise in the manipulation of form and the realization of function; instead, it is taking up an increasingly significant place in the resolution of real-world conflicts and problems. In fact, the practice of participatory design is becoming the core of city and community design via a process that emphasizes community involvement and public engagement. This paper shows how this participatory practice generates a new “design dialectic” across professions, and how it can serve as a platform where the community can voice their design aspirations. It evaluates two case studies in Hong Kong, where the establishment of a design and research unit dedicated to interdisciplinary practice evolves into a complex entity capable of responding acutely to community needs. The integration between design professionals, seasoned educators, government departments, and community organizations enables an emerging paradigm in knowledge exchange. This participatory mechanism has the potential to challenge traditional top-down design practices and prompt change in existing institutional frameworks. The paper posits that the adoption of this approach empowers the design and research unit to become a breeding ground of constructive “design dialectic” that promotes the interaction between institution and community and the resolution of social challenges
Dump it out! an enquiry into consumers\u27 everyday fashion discourses through handbag
No full textHandbag is an iconic fashion accessory in our material culture. Following the tradition of representational thinking, this article introduces the handbag as an epistemic consumption object through which to investigate consumer experiences, practices and identity construction in relation to everyday lived discourses. The handbag research involves an examination of participants’ personal belongings inside their bags together with phenomenological interviews concerning the associated subjective experiences along with these material objects. We demonstrate how these material possessions become the subject of the research that facilitates multiple conversations between researchers and participants as to introspect, evaluate and interpret the significance of symbolic consumption in their everyday life. This study contributes to proposing a systematic way of employing interpretive research methodology in the studies of material culture; in addition, this study on the handbag can act as an inspiration for others in identifying emerging themes and topics into symbolism in popular culture
The effectiveness of a smart school bag system for reminding students of forgotten items and reducing the weight of their bags
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How to innovate and make successful business
Get PDFMr Yim is an architect-turned-furniture designer and a successful industrialist. He has successfully built POSH from a small local business to an international band. POSH has obtained the “Outstanding Enterprise in Office Furniture Industry” from Hong Kong Business in 2006 and the “Hong Kong Top Brand Award” from Hong Kong Brand Development Council in 2010. Mr. Yim will talk about his tips of innovating new products and leading a company to success
Relationships of Kindergarten Children’s BMI amongst Parental Body Dissatisfaction and Dietary Restraint: A Case Study in Hong Kong
Get PDFObjective: In this study, the aim was to explore the relationships of kindergarten children’s BMI amongst parental factors such as parental BMI, body dissatisfaction, parental dietary restraint, child weight concern and child weightfocused restrictive feeding.
Method: 466 kindergarten students’ parents were participated in this study. A self-administrated questionnaire was distributed to parents. Independent t-test, one way ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation were performed to analyze the relationships amongst different factors contributing to children’s BMI.
Results: 30% parents and 37% children were found either overweight or obese. The six pathways in the proposed model were all significantly correlated. It was found that parental BMI significantly correlated with body dissatisfaction [r (466)=0.282, p
Conclusion: The results of this study confirmed the presence of upward trend of childhood obesity in Hong Kong. In addition, parental body dissatisfaction was found to be a significant factor to determine parental dietary restraint, which was associated with child weight-focused restrictive feeding and finally affected child BMI
Dump it out! an enquiry into consumers’ everyday fashion discourses through handbag
No full textHandbag is an iconic fashion accessory in our material culture. Following the tradition of representational thinking, this article introduces the handbag as an epistemic consumption object through which to investigate consumer experiences, practices and identity construction in relation to everyday lived discourses. The handbag research involves an examination of participants’ personal belongings inside their bags together with phenomenological interviews concerning the associated subjective experiences along with these material objects. We demonstrate how these material possessions become the subject of the research that facilitates multiple conversations between researchers and participants as to introspect, evaluate and interpret the significance of symbolic consumption in their everyday life. This study contributes to proposing a systematic way of employing interpretive research methodology in the studies of material culture; in addition, this study on the handbag can act as an inspiration for others in identifying emerging themes and topics into symbolism in popular culture
3D fatigue from stereoscopic 3D video displays: Comparing objective and subjective tests using electroencephalography
Get PDFThe use of stereoscopic display has increased in recent times, with a growing range of applications using 3D videos for visual entertainment, data visualization, and medical applications. However, stereoscopic 3D video can lead to adverse reactions amongst some viewers, including visual fatigue, headache and nausea; such reactions can further lead to Visually Induced Motion Sickness (VIMS). Whilst motion sickness symptoms can occur from other types of visual displays, this paper investigates the rapid adjustment triggered by human pupils as a potential cause of 3D fatigue due to VIMS from stereoscopic 3D displays. Using Electroencephalogram (EEG) biosignals and eye blink tools to measure the 3D fatigue, a series of objective and subjective experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of stereoscopic 3D across a series of video sequences
Guanxi as a Relationship Commitment and Loyalty Behaviour: A Study of Chinese Banking Customers
No full textA guanxi network, or relationship network, is considered an essential strategic asset for organizations doing business in the People’s Republic of China. Yet outside Asia, the mechanics of this business tool are barely understood. Using Ajzen and Fishbein’s theory of reasoned action, this study examines the relationship between the independent variables of guanxi, ingroup identification and affective investment; two outcome variables, being loyalty behavior and word-of-mouth intention; and two mediators, calculative trust and affective attitude towards the bank. A mixed-method approach was used in this research. To establish the role guanxi plays in cultivating brand loyalty, a preliminary qualitative study employed grounded theory methodology. A quantitative questionnaire used the structural equation modeling method to test and validate the conceptual framework. Five hypotheses were tested against a sample of 429 bank customers who were asked to evaluate the relationship with their primary bank and banker. The findings confirm that guanxi drives customer loyalty and word-of-mouth behavior through the two mediators and that ingroup identification has a direct influence on customer’s loyalty. The effect of affective investment, such as gifting, was found to be insignificant, which may indicate that the largely superficial act of building interpersonal guanxi is less relevant in contemporary China. This study adds to relationship marketing theory of guanxi when applied to the business-to-consumer market segment in mainland China. The research offers insights for managers on how they might best do business in China and illustrates that the deeper constructs underlying guanxi are rooted not in superficial acts, but in the development of ever-deeper relationships through social and business-based transactions. Managers should understand that the subtle difference between business relationships in the Western cultural context and in the Chinese setting lies in the strength of interpersonal ties involving the buyer and seller, and that successful managers in China build those interpersonal ties. Guanxi requires building GRX – an abbreviation of ganqing (long-term affection between individuals), renqing (interpersonal give and take), and xinren (inter-personal trust). By assessments of a customer’s calculative trust and brand’s affective attitude, practitioners can assess guanxi’s impact on loyalty intentions. This research also helps refine the measurement of guanxi and ingroup biases for future research