The effect of topographic density variations on the geoid and orthometric heights in Hong Kong

Utilizing the adopted average topographic density of 2670 kg/m^(3)in the reduction of gravity anomalies introduces errors attributed to topographic density variations,which consequently affect geoid modeling accuracy.Furthermore,the mean gravity along the plumbline within the topography in the definition of Helmert orthometric heights is computed approximately by applying the Poincar e-Prey gravity reduction where the topographic density variations are disregarded.The Helmert orthometric heights of benchmarks are then affected by errors.These errors could be random or systematic depending on the specific geological setting of the region where the leveling network is physically established and/or the geoid model is determined.An example of systematic errors in orthometric heights can be given for large regions characterized by sediment or volcanic deposits,the density of which is substantially lower than the adopted topographic density used in Helmert's definition of heights.The same applies to geoid modeling errors.In this study,we investigate these errors in the Hong Kong territory,where topographic density is about 20%lower than the density of 2670 kg/m^(3).We use the digital rock density model to estimate the effect of topographic density variations on the geoid and orthometric heights.Our results show that this effect on the geoid and Helmert orthometric heights reach maxima of about 2.1 and 0.5 cm,respectively.Both results provide clear evidence that rock density models are essential in physical geodesy applications involving gravimetric geoid modeling and orthometric height determination despite some criticism that could be raised regarding the reliability of these density models.However,in regions dominated by sedimentary and igneous rocks,the geological information is essential in these applications because topographic densities are substantially lower than the average density of 2670 kg/m^(3),thus introducing large systematic errors in geoid and orthometric heights.

A detailed rock density model of the Hong Kong territories

We used the geological map and published rock density measurements to compile the digital rock density model for the Hong Kong territories.We then estimated the average density for the whole territory.According to our result,the rock density values in Hong Kong vary from 2101 to 2681 kg·m^(-3).These density values are typically smaller than the average density of 2670 kg·m^(-3),often adopted to represent the average density of the upper continental crust in physical geodesy and gravimetric geophysics applications.This finding reflects that the geological configuration in Hong Kong is mainly formed by light volcanic formations and lava flows with overlying sedimentary deposits at many locations,while the percentage of heavier metamorphic rocks is very low(less than 1%).This product will improve the accuracy of a detailed geoid model and orthometric heights.

Purchasing Behaviour of University Students towards Cyber Shopping in Hong Kong

The developments of Internet and e-commerce provide a new market place to businessman to sell their products and allow people to buy products via Internet as well as to create a new shopping media to consumers. The study aims to investigate the factors affecting consumers' purchase decision via Internet and how product characteristics affect cyber shopping in Hong Kong. The study has revealed that the security of personal data,delivery time, product brand and price were the major concerns for developing cyber market. For marketing apparel products, brand loyalty becomes very important since consumers' judging confidence on the products can be increased in terms of fitting standards and quality aspects.

Time Series Forecasting of Hong Kong Inter-bank Offered Rate(HIBOR)using Exponential Smoothing State Space Model

This paper set out to analyze and forecast the Hong Kong Interbank Interest Rate(HIBOR)for a period 2006 to 2018.The main objective of this study is to propose an appropriate time series forecasting model for HIBOR.HIBOR conceptually captures the interaction between demand and supply of Hong Kong dollar in the interbank market.The volatility of HIBOR reflects market sentiment,changes in underlying macroeconomic environment,random events and even political climate.Thus,the time series data of HIBOR appears to have multiple seasonality during the aforesaid period.The TBATS model,the state space modeling framework developed by De Livera,Hyndman and Snyder(2010)is adopted for this study to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the time series modeling and forecasting of HIBOR.The TBATS model incorporates Box-Cox transformations,Fourier representations with time varying coefficients,and ARMA error correction.Likelihood evaluation and analytical expressions for point forecasts and interval predictions under the assumption of Gaussian errors are derived,leading to a simple,comprehensive approach to forecasting complex seasonal time series.In addition,the trigonometric formulation is used as a means of decomposing complex seasonal time series,which helps to identify and extract seasonal components which are otherwise not apparent in the time series plot itself.The performance of the TBATS model as evaluated by measures of forecast error are presented.

Examining advanced nursing practice in Hong Kong and Guangzhou

Objective:There were studies evaluating advanced nursing practice independently in the mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China,but there was no attempt to make a comparison of practice between them.This study employed a case study method to examine and compare advanced nursing practice in Hong Kong and Guangzhou.Method:Purposive sampling method was used to recruit 24 advanced practice nurses(APN)who came from the specialty of medical,surgical and pediatric in Hong Kong and Guangzhou.A questionnaire survey and semi-structured interview were conducted to solicit quantitative and qualitative data for exploring the structure-process-outcome of advanced nursing practice.The structure component explored the factors influencing advanced nursing practice.The process part examined APN role components and illustrations of exemplary advanced nursing practice.The outcomes described outcome indicators that best reflected advanced nursing practice.Findings:Findings revealed that in the structure domain,APN education and career development,team approach in healthcare,and support from management,physicians and professional associations were important contextual factors for APN development in both cities.For the process domain,participants had at least 80%of their time practicing independently/interdependently and were engaged in APN activities including direct/indirect patient care,research/project work,initiation of staff and patient protocols.All participants demonstrated competencies with impacts on patient,service and profession in their description of exemplary practice.Participants from both cities ranked patient-related outcomes as top indicators for their advanced nursing practice.Conclusion:This study has revealed that APNs in Guangzhou and Hong Kong shared similar work involvement and impacts and their demonstrated competencies were on par with international counterparts.Continued efforts need to be put in establishing formal APN education,clear clinical career pathway and title protection to empower nurses to provide optimal care to the fullest extent that they are prepared for.

Chemical characteristics of aerosols at coastal station in Hong Kong.Ⅱ. Environmental behavior of trace elements during the April 1995 to April 1996

An one-year of sampling aerosol program was carried out during the period of April 1995 to April 1996 at coastal region, Cape D′Aguilar, in Hong Kong. The trace element composition of aerosol particles(TSP and PM 10 ) were measured and analyzed by using the Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis(INAA) and Inductive Couple Plasma-Mass Spectrometry(ICP-MS) techniques. The results showed that the polluted elements such as: V, Zn, As, Pb, Cd, Sb, I, Se, Bi, with high enrichment factor(E.F) values, are derived from anthropogenic sources, while Sc, Al, Fe, Mn, Sm, La, Sr are less than 10 in E.F, these elements are related the crust and soil. The concentration of the trace elements are present seasonal variation i.e. summer low and winter high, whereas the V or noncrustal V(V *) present summer high and winter low, this phenomenon might be explained by local or regional oil combustion sources. Use three type of elemental ratio, e.g. La/Sm, Mn */V * and Bi/Al indicate that both TSP and PM 10 of La/Sm ratios are mainly related to soil and dust, Mn */V * are probably represent fossil combustion and Bi/Al are possibly associated with refuse incineration, ferromanganese alloys and aluminum production. The varimax rotation factor analysis for trace elements was performed. By means of the absolute principal component analysis(APCA) and multiple regression, the contribution of trace elements to possible sources and overall means of trace elements were estimated. The results showed that the present station is impacted by the anthropogenic species, although the quantities are different during the summertime and wintertime.

On the Variability and Correlation of Surface Ozone and Carbon Monoxide Observed in Hong Kong Using Trajectory and Regression Analyses

This paper investigates, the variability and correlation of surface ozone (Os) and carbon monoxide (CO) observed at Cape D'Aguilar in Hong Kong from 1 January 1994 to 31 December 1995. Statistical analysis shows that the average O3 and CO mixing ratios during the two years are 32±17ppbv and 305±191 ppbv, respectively. The O3/CO ratio ranges from 0.05 to 0.6 ppbv/ppbv with its frequency peaking at 0.15. The raw dataset is divided into six groups using backward trajectory and cluster analyses. For data assigned to the same trajectory type, three groups are further sorted out based on CO and NOX mixing ratios. The correlation coefficients and slopes of O3/CO for the 18 groups are calculated using linear regression analysis. Finally, five kinds of air masses with different chemical features are identified: continental background (CB), marine background (MB), regional polluted continental (RPC), perturbed marine (P*M), and local polluted (LP) air masses. Further studies indicate that O3 and CO in the continental and marine background air masses (CB and MB) are positively correlated for the reason that they are well mixed over the long range transport before arriving at the site. The negative correlation between O3 and CO in air mass LP is believed to be associated with heavy anthropogenic influence, which results from the enhancement by local sources as indicated by high CO and NOx and depletion of O3 when mixed with fresh emissions. The positive correlation in the perturbed marine air mass P*M favors the low photochemical production of O3. The negative correlation found in the regional polluted continental air mass RPC is different from the observations at Oki Island in Japan due to the more complex O3 chemistry at Cape D'Aguilar.

Using multi-source data to assess livability in Hong Kong at the community-based level:A combined subjective-objective approach

With the emergence of new types of data(e.g.social media data)and cutting-edge computer technology(e.g.Natural Language Processing),the shortcomings of traditional methods(subjective and objective ways)for de-tecting urban livability can be overcome by an integrated approach.This study aims to develop a comprehensive approach to measure urban livability based on statistic data,geo-data(e.g.points of interest),questionnaires survey,and social media data(Instagram),from both objective and subjective angles.Hong Kong,as a city with a high level of urbanization and contrasting urban environments,is chosen as the study area in this research.Through this study,the question“which area of Hong Kong is more suitable for living”is answered by the visu-alization of GIS-based analysis.Also,the correlation between livability scores and individuals’sentiment scores are explored.Specifically,the results show that central areas of Hong Kong with a higher level of urbanization are relatively more livable than suburban regions.However,through sentiment analysis,individuals who post Instagram in suburban areas of Hong Kong usually express more positive content and happier emotion than those who post Instagram in central urban areas.The study could offer useful information for the policy action of authorities as well as the residential location choices of citizens.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Air Pollution Abatement Policy of Hong Kong

As only about 15% of the total time of people in Hong Kong was spent outdoors, it would be more valuable if the associated effectiveness and impact of the recently proposed abatement measures could be expressed in terms of the improvement in the total exposure levels. This paper uses an exposure assessment model developed from the local microenvironment concentration data together with our surveyed time activity patterns to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed air pollution abatement policy. Prior to the enforcement of abatement measures, about 2.5% of the young group and 1.2% of the adult group having their exposure levels exceeded that defined by the current 8-hour PM10 standard (180 μg/m3). With the enforcement of abatement measures, only 0.3% of the adult group would be restored to a safe level.

Operating Performance of Initial Public Offering Companies in Hong Kong

This study investigates the earnings performance of 418 initial public offerings （IPOs） listed on the stock exchange of Hong Kong. By analyzing several profitability measures of these 1PO companies from the third year prior to listing up to the fifth year post-listing, it is found that IPO companies＇ operating performances as a whole peak in the year of listing or the year preceding the listing, but exhibit a fall in post-issue profitability with the decline being most pronounced in the first financial year following the year in which the listing take place. Over 30% of these IPOs suffer a loss three years after the offerings. Deterioration of post-issue performance is found to be more severe for smaller finns, highly-geared companies, fast-growing enterprises, companies with lower ownership retention by original shareholders, and companies which have managed earnings upwards at the time of listing. These observations are consistent with the higher agency costs when firms go public and that managers have timed the issue at the peak of the companies＇ long-run performance. Further investigation confirms that IPO companies in general make use of income-increasing accruals to manage their earnings upwards in the year when they go public. The reversal of the accruals in post-issue years further exaggerates the decline in their profitability.

Study of Adaptive Clothing in Hong Kong: Demands, Analysis and Future Direction

Aging population is substantively increased over last decade and they have specific clothing needs especially for the elderly with disabilities. Their clothing needs to cover functional and aesthetic requirements in order to improve their quality of life. Adaptive clothing is specially designed for the elderly and the disabled. However, there is no public policy to support such the elderly with disabilities in their clothing needs. In this paper, we aim to study the adaptive clothing and its significance, the problems encountered by the elderly with disabilities in adaptive clothing, analysis of public policy in Hong Kong for the elderly with disabilities in adaptive clothing over last decade, and implications and future directions for adaptive clothing in Hong Kong. In our findings, the demand of adaptive clothing in Hong Kong was substantially increased over last decade and the predicted demand will be twice of current demand after 50 years. However, the Government policy in Hong Kong has not yet fully supported their clothing needs, and the non-profit clothing services centre is set up to provide tailoring services to meet their needs. As the capacity of the centre is very limited, it is necessary to expand its capacity through assistive technology and to encourage non-government organizations (NGOs) to establish more social enterprises with Government’s support. Such findings would be beneficial to the Government for strengthening such services for the elderly and the disabled as well as public awareness.

Investigation on the Consumption Values of Hong Kong People on Tie Products

This study aims at investigating the consumption values of Hong Kong people on necktie. Based on the Sheth-Newman-Gross Model of consumption values on consumers’ choice decision as conceptual framework, results from the focus group interview, a questionnaire was designed and adopted for conducting the survey. Data collected from 245 respondents were analysed using the Factor Analysis to review the important elements of consumers’ decision of purchasing tie products. Implications on the results on the Functional value were reviewed and discussed in details. Interesting elements such as fabric hand-feel were also identified as influential associated in Hong Kong consumers’ selection of necktie. Since, both fibre content and fabric handle were also found as major selection criteria for fabric materials, the study was focused on the analysis of functional value of the product and further extended to study the handle preference for Hong Kong customers, in which a subjective handle assessment of a wide range of tie fabrics being newly developed and introduced in the market was conducted and objective fabric physical and mechanical properties were measured. Important fabric handle attributes that influence the consumers’ preference on tie fabrics were identified and their objective translation by fabric physical and mechanical properties were also obtained. The investigation provides decision support to necktie manufacturers and retailers through scientific and quantitative recommendations for product development of tie products and material selection.

Reviewing the trends of nursing doctoral thesis research in Hong Kong

This review aimed to analyze the trends and contributions of nursing doctoral theses produced in Hong Kong. A total of 56 nursing doctoral theses were included in this review. The most often studied topic was cardiovascular rehabilitation care (n = 9, 16%). More recently, the most often studied topics has been health technology advancements in nursing care (n = 6, 10.7%). The common trend of study methods was to be quantitative in nature. Of the total, 35 out of 56 were quantitative studies. Half were experimental/ quasi-experimental research studies (n = 28, 50%). For theoretical foundations or applications, the majority (n = 21, 36%) of doctoral theses had no specific theoretical/conceptual models as study frameworks. This trend indicates that there is space for improving the theoretical and philosophical foundation of nursing research in Hong Kong. For the contributions of doctoral thesis research, Hong Kong nursing scholars place more emphasis on direct enhancement of clinical practice or the improvement of patient outcomes. This review provides concrete evidence of the status of nursing research and knowledge development in Hong Kong nursing.

Energy Performance and Condensation Risk of DCDV System in Subtropical Hong Kong

The combined use of dry cooling(DC) system and dedicated ventilation(DV) system to decouple cooling and dehumidification process for energy efficiency was proposed for subtropical climates like Hong Kong. In this study, the energy performance and condensation risk of the use of DCDV system were examined by analyzing its application in a typical office building in Hong Kong. Through hour-by-hour simulation using actual equipment performance data and realistic building and system characteristics, it was found that with the use of DCDV system, the annual energy consumption could be reduced by 54% in comparison with the conventional system(constant air volume with reheat system). In respect of condensation risk, it was found that the annual frequency of occurrence of condensation on DC coil was 35 h. Additional simulations were conducted to examine the influence of different parameters on the condensation risk of DCDV system. Measures to ensure condensate-free on DC coil were also discussed.

Competitive Potential in Clothing Exports for Hong Kong and the Interior of China

Hong Kong and the Interior of China are leading clothing exporters in the world. Together they accounted for nearly 29 percent of the global clothing exports in 1999.The paper is basically divided into two parts. Firstly, it discusses that high world market share is an indicator of competitiveness for the product. From United Nations statistics, it was identified that Hong Kong and the Interior of China were competitive in certain discrete clothing items and a trend was apparent in the production shift of labour intensive clothing items from Hong Kong to the Mainland as witnessed from 1987-1993. With the revised statistical classification system in clothing items released by United Nations, second part of the paper further investigates the broad clothing categories of knitted and woven garments from 1987-1998. It was discovered that Hong Kong was traditionally more competitive in knitted garments while the Interior of China possessed advantages in the manufacture of woven items. Taking the labour cost advantage of the Interior of China and the marketing strengths of Hong Kong, their co-operation for clothing production is considered complementary to each other and able to foster synergistic effects.

Conceptual framework of applying mass valuation in Hong Kong urban renewal compensation scheme

In most urban redevelopment projects that take place in Hong Kong, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) will offer compensation to an owner-occupier based on the market value of the property. The basis of market value assessment is defined as a seven-year-old flat in a comparable quality building, situated in a similar locality in terms of characteristics and accessibility, and located at the middle floor with average orientation. However, little was done in exploring the application and the integration of mass valuation technique in the compulsory acquisition valuation area. This paper endeavors to illustrate the prospects of using mass valuation techniques to value high-rise and strata-title dilapidated buildings by adopting a standardization statistical method to derive resumption estimates.

The Effect of a Visual Memory Training Program on Chinese Handwriting Performance of Primary School Students with Dyslexia in Hong Kong

This study investigated the effect of a visual memory training program on Chinese handwriting performance among primary school students with dyslexia in Hong Kong. Eight students of Grade 2 to 3 who were diagnosed with dyslexia were recruited. All participants received six sessions of training, which composed of 30-minute computerized game-based visual memory training and 30-minute Chinese character segmentation training. Visual perceptual skills and Chinese handwriting performance were assessed before and after the training, as well as three weeks after training using the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (3rd edition) (TVPS-3) and the Chinese Handwriting Analysis System (CHAS). In comparing the pre- and post-training results, paired t-tests revealed significant improvements in visual memory skills, as well as handwriting speed, pause time and pen pressure after the training. There was no significant improvement in handwriting accuracy or legibility. The improved visual memory and handwriting performance did not show a significant drop at the follow-up assessments. This study showed promising results on a structured program to improve the Chinese handwriting performance, mainly in speed, of primary school children. The improvements appeared to be well-sustained after the training program. There is a need to further study the long-term effect of the program through a randomized controlled trial study.