The study aims to trace the history of Chinese education in Macao in the first half of the 20th century, emphasizing macro- and meso-level political influences.
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to trace the history of Chinese education in Macao in the first half of the 20th century, emphasizing macro- and meso-level political influences.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews published works including official documents, rare books, newspapers, etc. and provides a three-part analysis: first, discussion of the colonial Government's education policy during the early 20th century and the establishment of the Chinese Educators' Association of Macau (CEAM); second, contextualization of the major upset and change in educational policy during the Sino-Japanese War (World War II in Asia); and third, considering the reinstatement of laissez-faire education policies regarding Macao's Chinese community and the CEAM's shifting political loyalties in the post-war period.
Findings
The colonial Government created a vacuum into which both the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) muscled, seeking to manipulate education from across the border via control of the CEAM. Mainland China's shifting political landscapes thus significantly altered the political orientation of the CEAM, especially around 1949. Soon afterward, various Catholic and other schools withdrew from the CEAM, primarily separating Chinese schools in Macao into blue (Catholic et al.) and red (pro-CCP) camps.
Originality/value
The paper reviews Macao Chinese education history from 1914 to 1949 while providing better comprehension of an analogous situation in neighboring Hong Kong.
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Se-Hang Cheong, Yain-Whar Si and Leong-Hou U.
This paper aims to propose a system for automatically forming ad hoc networks using mobile phones and battery-powered wireless routers for emergency situations. The system also…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a system for automatically forming ad hoc networks using mobile phones and battery-powered wireless routers for emergency situations. The system also provides functions to send emergency messages and identify the location of victims based on the network topology information.
Design/methodology/approach
Optimized link state routing protocol is used to instantly form an ad hoc emergency network based on WiFi signals from mobile phones of the victims, backup battery-powered wireless routers preinstalled in buildings and mobile devices deployed by search and rescue teams. The proposed system is also designed to recover from partial crash of network and nodes lost.
Findings
Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system in terms of battery life, transmission distance and noises.
Originality/value
A novel message routing schedule is proposed for conserving battery life. A novel function to estimate the location of a mobile device which sent an emergency message is proposed in this paper.
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Keywords
Sing‐cheong Liu, Mark Wang, Bo‐sin Tang and Siu‐wai Wong
This paper aims to present the authors' opinions about the impacts of globalization on real estate profession and some essential changes of real estate business service.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the authors' opinions about the impacts of globalization on real estate profession and some essential changes of real estate business service.
Design/methodology/approach
The arguments are based on the authors' interpretation and first‐hand experience of the contemporary business environment. A case study example to illustrate the changing requirements for professional real estate services in mainland China is provided.
Findings
Economic globalization creates new opportunities in real estate market, product and service. It has the effect of blurring geographical and product boundaries. Real estate is increasingly integrated with the financial market. Global capital has transformed local property market practices. Real estate professionals have to re‐orientate themselves so that they can move up the service value‐ladder and avoid being marginalized under intense competition in a global market.
Practical implications
Re‐orientation of professional practices involves an expansion of one's geographical and market knowledge beyond the home boundary. It also requires a dramatic change of mind‐set, work attitude, social awareness and lifestyle.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a competence model. Professionals should sell “competence”, which is built on “service proper” (knowledge and skills) and “service infrastructure” (technology and organization).
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Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the global influence of crude and refined oil futures prices on Dow Jones Islamic equity indices (DJIMI) during the recent global…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the global influence of crude and refined oil futures prices on Dow Jones Islamic equity indices (DJIMI) during the recent global financial crisis under structural breaks in the conditional volatility of oil futures prices.
Design/methodology/approach
It aims at exploring the long-run and the short-run elasticity and causal relationships using an ARDL bound testing approach and a vector error correction model.
Findings
The main findings confirm the presence of long-run relationship for DJIM emerging markets index compared to other global and sub-regional developed indexes. Speed of adjustment to the long-run equilibrium is moderate and the effect of structural breaks, produced from nonlinear volatility model with long memory (LM), is overall not pronounced for that relationship. Short-run causality is bi-directional but long-run Granger causality does not run from refined oil to the DJIMI and crude oil.
Research limitations/implications
The paper demonstrates the implicit extent of international financial integration of Islamic stock markets in light of the global influence of oil prices.
Practical implications
The findings offer some highlights to researchers, portfolio managers and policymakers.
Originality/value
The paper gives an answer to an identified need to test the position of Islamic equity markets as booming Islamic investment and socially responsible investment areas to the global influence of the new soaring path of oil markets. It uses as well bounds testing approach and tests weak and strong causalities under structural breaks. It considers as well LM behavior in oil prices along with the asymmetry property in oil prices.
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Keywords
Prem Chhetri, Booi Kam, Kwok Hung Lau, Brian Corbitt and France Cheong
The purpose of this paper is to explore how a retail distribution network can be rationalised from a spatial perspective to improve service responsiveness and delivery efficiency.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how a retail distribution network can be rationalised from a spatial perspective to improve service responsiveness and delivery efficiency.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper applies spatial analytics to examine variability of demand, both spatially and from a service delivery perspective, for an auto-parts retail network. Spatial analytics are applied to map the location of stores and customers to represent demand and service delivery patterns and to delineate market areas.
Findings
Results show significant spatial clustering in customer demand; whilst the delivery of products to customers, in contrast, is spatially dispersed. There is a substantial gap between revenue generated and costs. Market area analysis shows significant overlap, whereby stores compete with each other for business. In total, 80 per cent of customers can be reached within a 15-minute-radius, whilst only 20 per cent lies outside the market areas. Segmentation analysis of customers, based on service delivery, also shows the prevalence of the Pareto principle or 80:20 rule whereby 80 per cent of the revenue is generated by 20 per cent of customers.
Practical implications
Spatially integrated strategies are suggested to improve the efficiency of the retail network. It is recommended that less accessible and unprofitable customers could be either charged extra delivery cost or outsourced without the risk of a substantial reduction in revenue or quality of service delivery.
Originality/value
Innovative application of spatial analytics is used to analyse and visualise unit-record sales data to generate practical solutions to improve retail network responsiveness and operational efficiency.
Details
Keywords
Boon Cheong Chew, Lay Hong Tan, Nurlisa Loke Abdullah and Syaiful Rizal Hamid
This study aims to explore the unique establishment of the early stage of the Alipay ecosystem in Malaysia by the Chinese-based Ant-Financial Services Group (Ant-Financial is the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the unique establishment of the early stage of the Alipay ecosystem in Malaysia by the Chinese-based Ant-Financial Services Group (Ant-Financial is the parent company of Alipay). Alipay, a Chinese m-payment technology, is used by Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia. With the diverse set of domestic–foreign stakeholders formed within this early stage of the Alipay ecosystem in Malaysia, this empirical study provides fresh insight that is different from the typical group of domestic stakeholders and crucial for a successful early stage of an m-payment ecosystem establishment. This early stage of the Alipay ecosystem in Malaysia set a promising precedent for the next m-payment ecosystem for Malaysians.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory case study examined the early stage of the Alipay ecosystem established in Malaysia. The authors collected primary data from eight respondents through qualitative, semi-structured interviews. These respondents were identified using a snowballing technique, including individuals with relevant knowledge. To ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information, the authors triangulated the primary data obtained with other primary and secondary data sources.
Findings
The results elucidate how Ant-Financial established the early stage of the Alipay ecosystem in Malaysia. A significant aspect of this establishment was the strong collaboration between Alipay-Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (Alipay-Malaysia as a subsidiary in Malaysia) and three Malaysian banks. This collaboration, which was backed by Bank Negara Malaysia, allowed Alipay-Malaysia to obtain its regulatee status in 2017, making it lawful to provide escrow e-money services in Malaysia. Following this, Alipay-Malaysia gained support from local merchants under these banks’ networks to accept Alipay from Chinese tourists. This study revealed that the early stage of the Alipay ecosystem in Malaysia was characterised by a diverse set of domestic-foreign stakeholders and functioned effectively from the outset. Consequently, in 2018, Malaysia was ranked among the top ten countries in global Chinese tourist spending.
Research limitations/implications
This study of Alipay in Malaysia from 2016 to 2022 was challenging. Initially, the authors faced the obstacle of information scarcity as the respondents kept the information confidential to reduce rivalry. In the middle stage of our study, the authors encountered information inconsistency due to numerous erroneous personal assumptions and predictions. At that time, limited official information about Alipay’s establishment in Malaysia was available. It took a long time to gather primary and secondary data. The authors cross-examined these data by comparing different sources and triangulated them by validating the findings with other data sources. When Alipay was widely accepted in Malaysia and attained the top 10 position in global Chinese tourist spending, the COVID-19 outbreak froze the global tourism economy and reduced Alipay transactions. Later, the Malaysian Government enforced a nationwide movement control order that halted Alipay operations.
Practical implications
This study documented the early stages of the Alipay ecosystem establishment in Malaysia and made two contributions. Firstly, our research contributes to understanding the strategic approaches of an m-payment ecosystem establishment from a developing country-drawing from the Malaysian experience. Secondly, our study offers practical lessons for other m-payment service providers aiming for global expansion. The lessons learned in developing an early stage m-payment ecosystem in Malaysia, the strategies, a diverse set of domestic-foreign stakeholders’ roles and their collaboration within the Alipay ecosystem established in Malaysia are worth noting.
Originality/value
Up to this point, no exploratory qualitative study has been conducted on the early stage of an m-payment ecosystem (dominated by a foreign m-payment technology) in a developing country. By addressing the research question of “How has Ant-Financial established the early stage of the Alipay ecosystem in Malaysia?” this study provides a unique perspective on the establishment of an early stage Alipay ecosystem, underscores the strategies of an early stage Alipay ecosystem establishment and understand a diverse set of domestic-foreign stakeholders’ roles and their collaboration within such ecosystem that contributed to the existing theory of m-payment ecosystem.
Details
Keywords
Shi Li and Tsun Se Cheong
The purpose of this paper is to study convergence and income mobility of China’s rural households.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study convergence and income mobility of China’s rural households.
Design/methodology/approach
The data of rural household income per capita are employed to compute the transitional dynamics in the rural sector. The analyses are conducted at two spatial levels, namely, the national and provincial levels. Ergodic distributions are computed to provide a forecast of future income distributions, whereas Mobility Probability Plots are constructed to offer detailed information on the transitional dynamics.
Findings
The income distributions are found to have considerable persistence. Another finding is that most of the households (except the extremely low-income households) have a tendency of moving downwards in the income distribution though they are more likely to remain in the same levels of relative income because of their high persistence. Convergence to a unimodal income distribution is possible in the long run, however, the households will converge to a value which is far below China’s per capita gross domestic product.
Research limitations/implications
Since a lot of the rural households would congregate to the lower part of the income distribution if the transitional dynamics remain unchanged, therefore, it calls for government intervention.
Practical implications
More resources should be diverted to the rural sector.
Social implications
The finding also shows that the provinces have very different transitional dynamics even if they are situated in the same economic zone. Thus, the government should formulate province-specific development polices so as to promote greater equality.
Originality/value
Given that no recent research has been conducted on convergence and transitional dynamics of rural household income. Therefore, this paper attempts to fill the gap in the literature by investigating the pattern and future development of rural household income in China through the use of stochastic kernel approach.
Details
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The ability for learners to interact online via their avatars in a 3-D simulation space means that virtual worlds afford a host of educational opportunities not offered by other…
Abstract
The ability for learners to interact online via their avatars in a 3-D simulation space means that virtual worlds afford a host of educational opportunities not offered by other learning technology platforms, but their use also raises several pertinent issues that warrant consideration. This chapter reviews the educational use of virtual worlds from a design perspective. Virtual-world definitions are explored, along with their key educational characteristics. Different virtual-world environments are briefly contrasted, including Second Life, Active Worlds, Open Sim, and Minecraft. A wide variety of virtual-world uses in schools and universities are examined so as to understand their versatility. Key educational benefits of virtual worlds are distilled from the literature, such as the ability to facilitate 3-D simulations, role-plays, construction tasks, and immersive learning. Emergent issues surrounding the use of virtual worlds are also analyzed, including cognitive load, safety, and representational fidelity. One higher education and one school level vignette are provided in order to offer more detailed insight into the use of virtual worlds in practice. Recommendations for learning design and implementation are presented, based on the thematic analysis of contemporary virtual-worlds research.
The main purpose of this paper is to explore the transitional dynamics of housing affordability indicators of major cities in three developed countries: the USA, Canada and…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this paper is to explore the transitional dynamics of housing affordability indicators of major cities in three developed countries: the USA, Canada and Australia, in the period after the global financial crisis. As the global housing markets are more interconnected today, it is essential to investigate the demographic movement pattern and their impacts on housing market dynamics.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the Markov transition matrix approach and the stochastic kernel technique, a newly established framework named the mobility probability plot (MPP) is adopted to investigate the city-level trends of housing affordability in the three countries during the period 2008-2015.
Findings
The results suggest that the transitional dynamics of the USA’s housing affordability trend saliently differs from those of Canada and Australia: in the USA, MPP results reveal that when the price-to-income (P/I) ratio is higher than 3.5 times, it has a high tendency of moving downward in the next period. In Australia, housing affordability tends to continue deteriorating when the P/I ratios are in the range from 8.0 to 8.6. In Canada, the MPP analysis indicates that the P/I ratios tend to increase further when the ratios are between 5.7 and 7.0, and within the range of 8.3-9.5.
Originality/value
This paper adopts an innovative approach to explore the city-level trends of housing affordability in the three developed countries during the period 2008-2015. The distribution dynamics approach has several virtues: first, this approach does not merely focus on the issue of housing affordability but also includes an analysis of the underlying housing affordability distribution. Second, it can clearly show the mobility of the city-level units in terms of the P/I change. Third, it can predict the proportion of the entities in different P/I ratio bands in a number of years ahead and even in the long run.
Details
Keywords
Self-Service Technology (SST) is a disruptive technology that has reshaped customer interactions, increased efficiency, and enabled data-driven decision-making. Its impact…
Abstract
Self-Service Technology (SST) is a disruptive technology that has reshaped customer interactions, increased efficiency, and enabled data-driven decision-making. Its impact continues to evolve as technology advances and customer expectations change, making it a key consideration for businesses in a dynamic landscape. This chapter delves into critical findings regarding the adoption and implications of SST in tourism and hospitality. The relevant studies are sourced from the Scopus database. A mixed literature review methodology was employed to review papers. The literature review findings show facets of SST adoption, shedding light on the intricate relationships between consumer readiness variables, context-specific influences, preferred SST features, and psychological attributes. The study reveals consumer preferences, including convenience, ease of use, and speed of service, as primary drivers of the adoption of SST. The bibliometric analysis reveals the scope for developing SST literature in tourism and hospitality. Collaborations among scholars, research and funding institutions could help provide the impetus. Research in SST security, sustainability, and resilience could help enhance the SST literature. Comparative studies evaluating SST's social and economic implications are also suggested.