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Economic and management perspectives on control of illegal land uses in the leasehold system
No full textPurpose: Illegal changes of use in aged industrial and residential buildings is now a prevalent problem in Hong Kong. This research aims to develop a strategy for an effective and efficient control of illegal land use in a highly dense environment, with high rise buildings in multiple leasehold ownerships.
Design/Methodology/Approach: Multiple cases were qualitatively analyzed, based on documentary analysis of the court proceedings.
Findings: In Cases 1 and 2, lease conditions for restriction to industrial purposes on aged industrial buildings were found to be obsolete and not economically viable, thus resulting in illegal conversion of the premises for commercial use. Cases 2 and 3 showed that ambiguity in user clauses in land leases could lead to illegal changes of use from industrial or residential to commercial activities. Most importantly, Cases 1 and 3 demonstrated that limited resources for lease enforcement are the fundamental cause of the problem. Cases 4 and 5 proved that property managers could take effective legal action against changes of use in buildings with multiple ownerships.
Research Limitations/Implications: The results of this study are derived from five typical cases in Hong Kong, but they form a baseline upon which further research can build to test their significance in many other settings. Ultimately, a more robust strategy can be developed for ensuring an effective and efficient control of illegal land uses in the leasehold system for Hong Kong and for those countries with a similar tenure system.
Practical Implications: A total economic and management strategy should be implemented by the government. The land management system should work in partnership with private property managers which are empowered under the Deed of Mutual Covenant (DMC) of multiple occupied buildings to take instant action against individual owners for breaches of lease conditions. The system should also be more flexible to expand the scope of new uses for aged industrial premises, allow affordable premium for lease modifications, as well as review and clarify any ambiguous user clauses in the related land ordinances.
Social Implications: The public should be educated that it is important to seek approvals and consents from the government prior to making any changes of land use. The government should also establish a housing policy to provide sufficient affordable housing for the lower income group so that illegal sub‐divisions on buildings for residential purposes can be eliminated.
Originality/Value: The improvement measures identified can effectively enforce compliance with lease conditions, which in turn can reduce the enforcement transaction costs, ensure efficient allocation and use of land in the leasehold system, and maintain building safety
Using the thermal work limit as an environmental determinant of heat stress for construction workers
No full textConstruction workers are vulnerable to heat stress in summer as evidenced by deaths and injuries caused by heat stroke. Over the past centuries, many heat-stress indices have been developed to assist with the management of these problems. To address this pressing need of the industry, an enhanced model based on a multi-dimensional environmental indicator, the thermal work limit (TWL) index, is developed. Field studies were conducted between July and September 2010 in Hong Kong on ten apparently healthy and experienced construction rebar workers. Based upon 281 sets of synchronized meteorological and physiological data collected from four different construction sites, physiological, work-related, environmental, and personal parameters were measured to construct the heat-stress model. Multiple linear regression showed that a total of ten determining factors are able to predict the workers’ subjective rating of perceived exertion (RPE) (adjusted R 2 =0.79 R2=0.79, p\u3c0.05 p\u3c0.05). The accuracy of the TWL heat-stress model was found to be statistically acceptable (mean absolute percentage error = 4.3%, Theil’s U inequality coefficient = 0.003). Alcohol-drinking habits, age, and work duration are the three most important predictors to determine the physiological responses of construction workers. The model reported in this paper provides a scientific prediction of the reality, which may benefit the construction industry to produce solid guidelines for workers working in hot weather
The impact of product market competition on earnings quality
No full textThe objective of this paper is to examine the impact of product market competition on earnings quality. Based on a sample from the US manufacturing sector for the period 1996–2005, we find consistent evidence showing a positive relation between product market competition and earnings quality. Additional tests also confirm a positive relation between product market competition and the precision of public and private information held by investors and analysts. We also provide evidence that firms competing in concentrated and heterogeneous industries are associated with a number of earnings attributes and information quality not shared by those competing in concentrated but homogeneous industries. These findings are consistent with the intuition that firms enjoying a monopolistic advantage tend to avoid the attention of their competitors and politicians by creating a more opaque information environment
Influence of fatigue, stress, muscle soreness and sleep on perceived exertion during submaximal effort
No full textThe aim of this study was to assess the effects of the Hooper\u27s Index variations (i.e., self-ratings of fatigue, stress, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and sleep) on rating of perceived exertion during a 10 min submaximal exercise training session (RPE-10 min) and then check the stability and the internal consistency of RPE-10 min. Seventeen junior soccer players took part in this study. The individual Hooper\u27s indices taken before each training session were correlated with RPE-10 min during a constant intensity and duration effort (10 min) using Pearson product moment correlation. Intraclass correlation (ICC) was used to assess the internal consistency of the RPE-10 min. All individual correlations between RPE-10 min and quality of sleep and quantity of fatigue, stress, and DOMS were non-significant (p \u3e 0.05). No significant correlations were resulted between RPE-10 min and Hooper\u27s Index in all athletes. The ICC of RPE-10 min was 0.77 thus demonstrating internal consistency. The results of the present study demonstrated the objectivity and utility of RPE as a psychological tool for monitoring training during traditional soccer training. Therefore, the results of the present study suggest that fatigue, stress, DOMS and sleep are not major contributors of perceived exertion during traditional soccer training without excessive training loads. It seems that psychobiological factors other than fatigue, stress, DOMS and sleep may have mediated the 10 min exercise perceptual intensity
Cooperate and compete: coopetition strategy in retailer‐supplier relationships
No full textPurpose: This study aims to examine the strategic implications and managerial outcomes of the concurrent use of cooperation and competition in vertical channel relationships.
Design/Methodology/Approach: This study employs a structured questionnaire to gather data regarding vertical channel relationships in China.
Findings: Whereas the academic literature has emphasized cooperation between channel members because of the interdependence between them, in reality, retailers may accept competition as just another part of doing business with suppliers.
Research Limitations/Implications: The outcome variables used may not be comprehensive. In particular, the authors choose the flexibility of channel resources to stand for private benefits and joint benefits to represent common benefits, and though these variables certainly represent the intended benefits of the ambidextrous strategy, it remains to be seen whether other benefits may emerge for the exchange parties in vertical relationships.
Practical Implications: Using an ambidextrous strategy does not damage relationship quality, though it certainly does not enhance it. This view is based on the notion that an ambidextrous strategy at least does not harm either common or private benefits. Therefore, exchange parties using the ambidextrous strategy should not experience a relationship that is worse than that which results when they use cooperation or competition alone. The results of the current study indicate that this view reflects reality more accurately.
Originality/Value: The value of the current study centers on the application of a conceptual framework regarding ambidextrous strategy to vertical channel relationships in a developing economy
Antifungal activity of commercial mouthrinses against Candida albicans
No full textObjective: To investigate the effectiveness of delmopinol (Decapinol®), sodium chlorite (TheraBreath®), povidone iodine (Betadine®), and lactoferrin-lysozyme-lactoperoxidase (OralSevenTM) mouthrinses against C. albicans planktonic cells and biofilms.
Methods: Two-fold dilutions of the mouthrinse solutions were prepared (1:2, 1:4, 1:8, 1:16, 1:32, 1:64), and dispensed into 96 well microtitre plates. Standardized inocula of wild typ..
Panax ginseng, Rhodiola rosea and Schisandra chinensis
No full textPanax ginseng (Ginseng), Rhodiola rosea (Hong Jing Tian) and Schisandra chinensis (Wu Wei Zi) are well-known herbs in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Recently, there have been a number of studies on these three herbs. This review discusses their active components and major pharmacological effects. For P. ginseng, it has been shown to have an anti-inflammatory activity, affects pulmonary function and erectile dysfunction, improves cognition in patients with Alzheimer\u27s disease and promotes sexual arousal in menopausal women as well as prevents cancer. For R. rosea, its effectiveness in alleviating depression and reducing fatigue is summarized in this review. Additionally, anti-cancer and other clinical effects of S. chinensis are also discussed. These three herbs are considered as adaptogens as they bear multiple functions and their effects were found to be very different in patients depending on the circumstances (age, gender, environment, diet, season, etc.). Thus, in most cases, the art of the TCM practitioner is to prescribe these herbs after a complete evaluation of overall heath status of the patients
Comparison of the cytotoxic responses of Escherichia coli (E. coli) AMC 198 to different fullerene suspensions (nC60)
No full textFullerenes are set to be produced on an industrial scale in anticipation of their wide applications. This calls for research on their environmental and health impacts. This study investigates and compares the cell toxicity of different aqueous fullerene aggregates. Popular C60 dispersal methods were used to prepare four types of nC60 aggregates. These aggregates were tested against the indicator species Escherichia coli (E. coli) AMC 198. With aggregates of around 150nm in diameter, the THF/nC60 suspension was very toxic and gave rise to a half maximal effective concentration (EC50) of 0.54mgL−1 in E. coli. By contrast, the Tol/nC60 suspension exhibited a cytoprotective role while the Aqu-N2/nC60 and Aqu-O2/nC60 suspensions enhanced the metabolism of E. coli. Although some toxicants, such as THF and THF-peroxide, were introduced into the THF/nC60 suspension during the dispersion, the toxicity of nC60 itself cannot be neglected