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1 – 10 of 36Effective irrigation management hinges upon effective collective action among farmers and irrigation managers. The purpose of this study is to examine how the institutional design…
Abstract
Purpose
Effective irrigation management hinges upon effective collective action among farmers and irrigation managers. The purpose of this study is to examine how the institutional design of irrigation agency affects the incentives and ability of irrigation managers to do a conscientious job and to relate to farmers in managing irrigation, and hence affects irrigation performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This study compares the Department of Irrigation (DOI) in Nepal and the Irrigation Associations (IAs) in Taiwan. Based upon extensive fieldwork undertaken in the two countries, this study identifies the opportunities and constraints embedded in the institutional designs of the agencies, and analyzes their effects on the behavior of irrigation managers.
Findings
The two irrigation agencies are designed upon very different conceptions of how the provision and production of irrigation can be organized. The DOI is built upon the premises of top‐down control, a reliance on technical knowledge, professional management, and uniform rules and regulations. The IAs, on the other hand, are designed upon the premises of reciprocity among irrigation managers, complementarity between the agency and farmers' efforts, the importance of mobilizing local knowledge and resources, the embeddedness of the agency in local communities, and a problem‐solving orientation.
Research implications/limitations
Irrigation institutions that enable farmers and irrigation managers to cope with the problematics involved in the provision and production of irrigation operation and maintenance (O&M) are better able to nurture and sustain synergistic and productive working relationships.
Practical implications
The findings of this study can inform policy reform in the irrigation sector in specific, and in resource management and development administration in general.
Originality/value
This study provides not only a theoretical perspective for understanding and comparing institutions, but also empirical evidence for understanding how institutions affect irrigation performance.
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Fiona Yan-yan Wong, Keith Kin-lung Wong, Paul Chi-wai Lam, Lok-yan Chin and Cheung-tim Fung
This study aims to assess the knowledge and attitudes toward recovering citizenship (RC)/5 Rs and mental illness of people aged ≥18 years in Hong Kong using a telephone survey…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess the knowledge and attitudes toward recovering citizenship (RC)/5 Rs and mental illness of people aged ≥18 years in Hong Kong using a telephone survey approach.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire comprised the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS), Short Form-Community Attitudes Toward Mental Illness (SF-CAMI) and questions on attitudes toward RC/5 Rs, was administered on the phone.
Findings
A total of 1,009 respondents completed the telephone survey. A high mean score of MAKS (4.37 ± 1.08) was found with 68%–94% answering the knowledge items correctly. The mean score of SF-CAMI was 46.50 ± 8.74 with the most positive attitude toward fear and exclusion. Approximately half had heard about a similar concept of RC and 79%–94.3% agreed with people in recovery to possess the 5 Rs. Those with greater knowledge or more positive toward mental illness, or knowing someone in recovery were more supportive toward 5 Rs. Those aged 18–44 years, attained a post-secondary education, were employed, and received a monthly income of US$3,861–6,434 were significantly more positive toward 5 Rs.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study assessing the views of RC of people in the community. The sample had a good knowledge of mental illness but recognition of recovery from mental illness and a sympathetic view toward people in recovery can be further improved. Besides promotion programs, dissemination of the concept of RC and having people in recovery take up valued roles in the community could potentially facilitate the acceptance of social inclusion and acceptance in the community.
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George Yui-Lam Wong, Ron Chi-Wai Kwok, Shanshan Zhang, Gabriel Chun-Hei Lai, Yanyan Li and Jessica Choi-Fung Cheung
This study aims to examine the impact of information communication technology-enabled work during non-working hours (ICT-enabled WNWHs), as a source of stress, on employee…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the impact of information communication technology-enabled work during non-working hours (ICT-enabled WNWHs), as a source of stress, on employee behavioral outcomes –in-role job performance, organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) that benefit organizations and OCBs that benefit individuals, through emotional responses – work exhaustion, nonwork exhaustion and organization-based self-esteem. As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns demonstrated that employees frequently engage in ICT-enabled WNWHs, studying stress induced by ICT-enabled WNWHs is essential for understanding employee adaptation to the work-from-home trend that emerged from COVID-19 lockdowns.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative survey comprising 1,178 employees in China was conducted, and the data reliability and validity were confirmed. Partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis was employed to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The study results empirically proved that, although ICT-enabled WNWHs had significant effects on employee behavioral outcomes, the related emotional responses were the mediators of the stress transmission mechanism that directly affected employee behavioral outcomes. Notably, work exhaustion and organization-based self-esteem partially mediate the stress transmission mechanism, while nonwork exhaustion exerts a full mediating effect.
Originality/value
This study proposes the stress transmission mechanism of ICT-enabled WNWHs and delineates emotional responses regarding the work environment attributes of ICT-enabled WNWHs, an approach rarely seen in prior IS studies. To our best knowledge, this study is the first to identify and empirically demonstrate organization-based self-esteem as one among the emotional responses to ICT-enabled WNWHs. Furthermore, it expands understanding of the holistic impacts of ICT-enabled WNWHs, which is lacking in information systems (IS) literature.
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Since the launch of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) in 2003, Hong Kong cinema is believed to have confronted drastic changes. Hong Kong…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the launch of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) in 2003, Hong Kong cinema is believed to have confronted drastic changes. Hong Kong cinema is described to be dying, lacking creative space and losing local distinctiveness. A decade later, the rise of Hong Kong – China coproduction cinema under CEPA has been normalized and changed the once pessimism in the industry. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how Hong Kong cinema adjusted its production and creation in the first 10 years of CEPA.
Design/methodology/approach
Beginning with a review of the overall development, three paradigmatic cases are examined for reflecting upon what the major industrial and commercial concerns on the Hong Kong – China coproduction model are, and how such a coproduction model is not developed as smooth as what the Hong Kong filmmakers expected.
Findings
Collectively, this paper singles out the difficulties in operation and the limit of transnationality that occur in the Chinese context for the development of Hong Kong cinema under the Hong Kong – China coproduction model.
Originality/value
This is the author’s research in his five-year study of Hong Kong cinema and it contributes a lot to the field of cinema studies with relevant industrial and policy concern.
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In this chapter I trace the evolution of Hong Kong's political and administrative systems from one dominated by the bureaucracy to one dominated by the political executive. The…
Abstract
In this chapter I trace the evolution of Hong Kong's political and administrative systems from one dominated by the bureaucracy to one dominated by the political executive. The change has had profound consequences for governance arrangements in Hong Kong and on reform capacity. I illustrate the impact of the change on the institutional arrangements in one policy domain, food safety.
Ken Yiu Kwan Fan, Patrick Lo, Kevin K.W. Ho, Stuart So, Dickson K.W. Chiu and Eddie H.T. Ko
This paper aims to study the information needs and online information-seeking behaviors on mobile platforms of performing arts students at a college level.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the information needs and online information-seeking behaviors on mobile platforms of performing arts students at a college level.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey instruments were used to collect data from performing arts students at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts (HKAPA), a metropolitan’s major performing arts tertiary institution. Data collected were analyzed through descriptive statistics and other statistical methods, and the music-related students were compared with the production-related students.
Findings
The result reveals that performing arts students all owned their mobile devices and often used mobile apps for non-academic purposes, but they did not often use mobile library services or read online academic contents with their mobile devices. The participants considered inadequate signal coverage, slow loading time, difficulty in reading on a mobile device and the lack of specialized mobile apps as more significant barriers affecting their usage. There are some significant differences between the music-related and production-related student groups in that music-related students watched lectures on the library websites and used electronic music scores more often than the production-related students.
Practical implications
This study contributes to the input for enhancements and policies to future mobile services and facilities of performing art libraries.
Originality/value
There have been scant studies on the mobile learning needs of performing arts students, especially in Asia.
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Gabrielle Ka Wai Wong, Victoria F. Caplan, Diana L. H. Chan, Lois M. Y. Fung and K.T. Lam
The purpose of this paper is to describe HKUST Library’s active participation in helping the university prepare for the 2014 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2014) in Hong Kong…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe HKUST Library’s active participation in helping the university prepare for the 2014 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2014) in Hong Kong. Through the process the authors demonstrated library’s value and librarians’ expertise in supporting research.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a case study that highlights how HKUST Library tackled this complex exercise. The effort was delineated as three stages: the design stage when the authors proactively supported the electronic system design for RAE 2014, the formation stage in which the submission infrastructure was built, and the data process stage.
Findings
Based on the Library’s experience in creating and managing the Institutional Repository and the Scholarly Publication Database, the participation proved to be instrumental in designing and building the electronic infrastructure for the RAE 2014. After the project, the HKUST research community had higher trust and regard of the Library, both for the research information management systems and librarians’ expertise in providing research support service.
Practical implications
The paper elaborates details of HKUST Library’s effort, including human resource deployment, project management strategy, operational tactics, challenges the authors faced and keys to success. The experience demonstrates that libraries and librarians can establish credibility and gain respect from research communities through delivering tangible outcomes.
Originality/value
There is very few case studies in the literature on libraries’ participation in and contribution to RAEs. This paper fills a gap in the area.
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The purpose of this paper is to trace the changing pattern of identity politics in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It shows that in response to the massive urban…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to trace the changing pattern of identity politics in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It shows that in response to the massive urban renewal projects in the 2000s, “civic localism” in the form of cultural preservation movement emerged to protect local community culture against the government-business hegemony. However, due to the deepening of social integration between Hong Kong and the mainland, a new “anti-mainland localism” emerged in the 2010s against the influx of mainlanders. In 2015–2016, as a result of Beijing’s active interference in Hong Kong affairs, localism is further transformed to Hong Kong “independence.”
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a historical methodology to trace the changing pattern of identity politics in Hong Kong after it becomes a special administrative region of China in 1997.
Findings
It shows how the interaction among the following three factors has shaped the pattern of localism in Hong Kong: macro historical-structural context, social movement dynamics and the response of Hong Kong and mainland government.
Practical implications
This paper argues that Beijing’s hardline policy toward Hong Kong localism may work in the short run to all push the pro-independence activities underground. However, unless the structural contradiction of the HKSAR is resolved, it seems likely that anti-mainland localism and Hong Kong independence sentiment and movement will come back with a vengeance at a later stage.
Originality/value
The literature tends to discuss Hong Kong localism in very general terms and fails to reveal its changing nature. This paper contributes by distinguishing three different forms of localism: civic localism in the mid-2000s, anti-mainland in the late 2000s and early 2010s, and independence after 2016. It shows how the macro historical-structural transformation, social movement dynamics and the responses of the Hong Kong SAR government and Beijing government have led to the changes of civic localism to anti-mainland localism, and finally to independence.
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Man Fung Lo, Wai Chung James Ng, Chi Fai Gary Ng and Mei Lan Peggy Ng
The demand for ambulance services in Hong Kong is increasing and first aid plays an important role in saving lives. The government recognized first aid training courses offered by…
Abstract
Purpose
The demand for ambulance services in Hong Kong is increasing and first aid plays an important role in saving lives. The government recognized first aid training courses offered by four organizations. This study aims to review and discuss the past, present and future of first aid and health training in Hong Kong.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a case study approach to investigate the operations and development of the first aid and health training in one of the largest training providers in Hong Kong. Publicly available secondary data, including annual reports, websites, newspapers and social media, were collected and analysed. Using the thematic analysis procedure, researchers familiarised the data collected, generated initial codes, searched for themes, reviewed themes, defined themes and reported the results.
Findings
Through data analysis, researchers identified six themes which help to address the research questions regarding the types of first aid and health training courses, quality issue, awareness of first aid in the community and the future delivery of first aid training.
Practical implications
This study provided two implications on both micro and macro levels. At the micro level, training providers can enhance training quality by adopting technology. At the macro level, training providers can continue to advocate and facilitate the integration of first aid into the formal education curriculum. The last section addressed the limitations of this study and provided future research directions.
Originality/value
This study provided insights about the development of the first aid and health education and training. Health-care training providers and policymakers could benchmark the findings from this study and develop appropriate measures for promoting health education.
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Hong Kong’s musical scene is rapidly changing along with the evolving media landscape. The purpose of this paper is to examine the new way of Cantopop production and dissemination…
Abstract
Purpose
Hong Kong’s musical scene is rapidly changing along with the evolving media landscape. The purpose of this paper is to examine the new way of Cantopop production and dissemination in the new media ecosystem. Furthermore, this study calls for a reconceptualization of the process of Cantopop listening and sharing as a form of public pedagogy within the online public space.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the investigation into two of the leading local indie bands Kolor and Supper Moment, this study explores the implications that social media and participatory culture have for these indie bands. In this study, the music content and promotion strategy of the two bands, as well as the role of their online audiences are studied.
Findings
Social media leads to more democratic cultural production and distribution. The strong online audience engagement serves as the foundation for the popularity of the two Cantopop indie bands. In their music practice, the lyrics appear to be in alignment with the goals and interests of the listeners, which gives rise to greater participation by its audiences through social media. Under the context of interactive internet culture, listening and sharing Cantopop can be seen as an educational force, thus reinforcing the values and attitudes.
Originality/value
While many important works have examined various aspects of Cantopop, little attention has been paid to the indie bands. This paper attempts to reveal the recent development of local indie bands as a site under the interactive internet culture. It also gives insights to the significant role of Cantopop played in public pedagogy.
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