Kwok Yip Cheung and Chung Yee Lai
This study aims to investigate the impact of the audit committee chair’s trust on the quality of interactions between the external auditor and the audit committee chair in Hong…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the impact of the audit committee chair’s trust on the quality of interactions between the external auditor and the audit committee chair in Hong Kong.
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses a questionnaire survey to gather data from the audit committee chairs of the listed companies in Hong Kong, with a response rate of 19.2%. Partial least squares structural equation modelling is used in this study.
Findings
The results reveal that the audit committee chair’s trust in the external auditor’s competence, integrity and goodwill is an important determinant of the interaction quality. The findings also show that interaction quality during the pre-engagement stage is important to mediate the relationships between the three dimensions of trust and interaction quality during the audit performance stage.
Originality/value
This is the first study, to the best of the author’s knowledge, that examines the impact of the audit committee chair’s trust in the external auditor on the quality of their interactions. The findings provide insights for board of directors, auditors and policymakers to implement policies that enhance trust between them to improve audit quality.
Details
Keywords
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.
Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects…
Abstract
Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.
Details
Keywords
This paper aims to understand the implication of night soil selling at the public toilets for the shared interests between colonial state and business in nineteenth-century Hong…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to understand the implication of night soil selling at the public toilets for the shared interests between colonial state and business in nineteenth-century Hong Kong. More specifically, this paper attempts to look at the ways the toilets were sustained by the sharing interests over night soil profits between state and business sector.
Design/methodology/approach
It is argued from the political economy perspective that the night soil profit determined the public toilet development.
Findings
The successful emergence of the modern state of colonies was generally attributed to colonial modernization, a force that was widely recognized for having introduced hygienic modernity. It was easily assumed that the public toilets would be provided by colonial government. Instead, sanitary problems during the early colonization of this colony were addressed by the privately-owned public pail toilets provided by big Chinese landowners through the selling of night soil. Based on this quasi-commercial mode, these toilets, which served as night soil collection points, were certainly inefficient; they however survived for half a century into the early twentieth century.
Originality/value
The paper challenges the long-established assumptions of binary relations and hierarchical public roles that put them into zero-sum competition of capacity. It rather argues that the interests aligned with each other.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to assess the intra-party conflicts in Hong Kong’s Democratic Party (DP) and their implications for broader democratic processes in the territory. It…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the intra-party conflicts in Hong Kong’s Democratic Party (DP) and their implications for broader democratic processes in the territory. It also examines some other thematic issues including: the party’s policy decision-making process, candidate selection, party membership and mergers, and their overall relevance for democratisation in Hong Kong.
Design/methodology/approach
The study gives a historical review of intra-party conflicts. The concept of factionalism is applied to better understand the DP in Hong Kong’s political space.
Findings
Hong Kong is unique and popular models of party conflicts are hardly applicable to the country. Intra-party conflict is an obvious, expected conflict because of differences in formation, leadership, manifestoes and ideologies. The present author tries to examine the case with a view to making a novel contribution.
Originality/value
The study of political factionalism is not uncommon in Hong Kong but this paper intends to study intra-party elite conflicts and self-democratisation of the Hong Kong DP as a case study which is seldom addressed. Consolidation is a possible scenario and its presence is evident when political elites increasingly demonstrate commitment towards creating a democratic regime and when they hold strong beliefs in democratic procedures and institutions as crucial to governing public life.
Details
Keywords
Gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied for the linear and nonlinear, static and dynamic analyses of basic structural elements from the…
Abstract
Gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied for the linear and nonlinear, static and dynamic analyses of basic structural elements from the theoretical as well as practical points of view. The range of applications of FEMs in this area is wide and cannot be presented in a single paper; therefore aims to give the reader an encyclopaedic view on the subject. The bibliography at the end of the paper contains 2,025 references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations dealing with the analysis of beams, columns, rods, bars, cables, discs, blades, shafts, membranes, plates and shells that were published in 1992‐1995.
Details
Keywords
Lawrence Wai‐Chung Lai and Pearl Yik‐Long Chan
This paper uses a probit model to analyse 100 observations in terms of three hypotheses about the formation of owners’ corporations in high‐density private housing estates in Hong…
Abstract
This paper uses a probit model to analyse 100 observations in terms of three hypotheses about the formation of owners’ corporations in high‐density private housing estates in Hong Kong within the context of Mancur Olson’s group theory. The findings do not reject the theory, revealing that it is more likely for an older urban estate with fewer owners to form owners’ corporations. The discussion includes a brief introduction to Olson’s group theory and the development of the probit analysis. Some speculative thoughts about public participation in local level urban management and planning are offered in the conclusion.
Details
Keywords
Hoi Ching Cheung, Yan Yin Marco Lo, Dickson K.W. Chiu and Elaine W.S. Kong
This study examines academic librarians' perceptions and attitudes toward Internet of Things (IoT) applications in Hong Kong academic libraries and the problems and possible…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines academic librarians' perceptions and attitudes toward Internet of Things (IoT) applications in Hong Kong academic libraries and the problems and possible improvements in using IoT technologies to strengthen library services.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative research used video conferencing software for semi-structured, one-on-one interviews. Participants were given introductory material about the IoT and asked to complete an interview. The data were analyzed using inductive theme clustering for this study.
Findings
The analysis identified three themes: perception about applying IoT technology to the library, problems and improvements in using IoT. Participants were generally optimistic about the potential benefits of IoT for improving library operations and providing personalized services. However, they also expressed concerns about privacy and security, errors and extra efforts for information literacy training. They suggested improvements such as incorporating facial recognition technology, advanced RFID technology and collections identification technology to enhance user experience.
Originality/value
Most studies examined users' views rather than librarians' on IoT applications, which few studies cover, especially in East Asia.
Details
Keywords
Shing Cheong Hui, Ming Yung Kwok, Elaine W.S. Kong and Dickson K.W. Chiu
Although cloud storage services can bring users valuable convenience, they can be technically complex and intrinsically insecure. Therefore, this research explores the concerns of…
Abstract
Purpose
Although cloud storage services can bring users valuable convenience, they can be technically complex and intrinsically insecure. Therefore, this research explores the concerns of academic users regarding cloud security and technical issues and how such problems may influence their continuous use in daily life.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study used a semi-structured interview approach comprising six main open-ended questions to explore the information security and technical issues for the continuous use of cloud storage services by 20 undergraduate students in Hong Kong.
Findings
The analysis revealed cloud storage service users' major security and technical concerns, particularly synchronization and backup issues, were the most significant technical barrier to the continuing personal use of cloud storage services.
Originality/value
Existing literature has focused on how cloud computing services could bring benefits and security and privacy-related risks to organizations rather than security and technical issues of personal use, especially in the Asian academic context.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the strategies employed by the pro-Beijing and pro-democracy camps in the proportional representation system which was used to universally…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the strategies employed by the pro-Beijing and pro-democracy camps in the proportional representation system which was used to universally elect a half of the seats in the Legislative Council (LegCo) of Hong Kong before 2019. It provides the consequences of proportional representation over the political sphere development after the handover.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is based on the past election results and the interviews conducted with 18 LegCo members in 2018.
Findings
This paper examines how the political parties split their lists in order to win more seats with the past electoral outcomes. Coupled with firsthand materials from interviews with the legislators, the most significant part of this article analyzes why the pro-Beijing camp performed better than the pro-democracy camp. It supplements the gap of current literature from the perspective of campaign strategies. This article also points out the Chinese authorities' miscalculation in the 1990s which resulted in the unintentional creation of fragmented politics and filibusters before 2019.
Originality/value
This examines the development of campaign strategies of the pro-Beijing and pro-democracy camps, and it explains how the proportional representation caused the fragmented politics in Hong Kong.