Contentious politics and democratization in Hong Kong

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 547-557
Author(s):  
Stephan Ortmann
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Local Culture ◽  
Event Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Short Time ◽  
First Time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain why many activists in Hong Kong have shifted from demanding democracy to independence while, at least for a short time, there have been more aggressive tactics which culminated in the Fishball Revolution of 2016. Design/methodology/approach Based on event analysis, participant observation in recent protests, as well as interviews with participants and non-participants in various pro-democracy protests, this paper traces the changes of the democracy movement from 1997 until 2018. Findings The paper demonstrates that the inability of the democracy movement to make progress has contributed to a change in the goals and tactics of some pro-democracy activists. The goals have shifted from moderate democratic reforms to much more revolutionary demands including calls for full autonomy or independence while the approach has shifted from an institutionalized approach toward more aggressive tactics such as illegal forms of resistance. During the Lunar New Year in 2016, the growing frustrations over perceived threats to the local culture have, for the first time since the handover, even led to the use of violence. Originality/value This paper views contentious politics in Hong Kong through McAdam’s distinction of reform-oriented and revolutionary goals as well as institutionalized and non-institutionalized tactics. This provides a new perspective for explaining the rise of localism and Hong Kong nationalism.

The financial returns from buying versus renting

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulkader Mostafa ◽  
Colin Anthony Jones
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Mortgage Market ◽  
Financial Returns ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Benefits ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Short Time ◽  
First Time ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Substantial Rise

Purpose The UK experienced a substantial rise in owner occupation over the twentieth century, and many tenants still aspire to homeownership. These strong aspirations to own are attributed to a set of financial and non-financial benefits. This paper aims to calculate, for the first time, the financial returns from buying versus renting in Britain for first-time buyers in 11 regions. Design/methodology/approach It applies a DCF approach based on historical housing and mortgage market data from 1975 to 2012. Findings The paper finds strong evidence that, in purely financial terms, buying has been always superior to renting in all regions of the UK over the period. Practical implications It gives a clear message of the financial benefits of homeownership over renting in Britain, even over very short time periods. Originality/value The paper is the first to apply a comprehensive DCF model to the choice between renting and owning.

scholarly journals Shadowing research in organizations: the methodological debates

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seonaidh McDonald ◽  
Barbara Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
First Time

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide some context for the special issue and to introduce the collection of invited commentaries and research papers that follow. It also sets out to clarify the contribution that shadowing methods can make to the study of organizations. Design/methodology/approach – This is done by briefly outlining the ways in which shadowing methods have developed in parallel within a number of disciplines. In order to tackle the question of why this has happened, a grounded approach is taken which centres on data excerpts generated by a shadowing method and three of its closest methodological neighbours: interviews, observation and participant observation. The paper further develops this analysis through the presentation of a set of illustrative analogies which use the idea of the researcher's gaze as a beam of light. Findings – Similarities and differences between shadowing, interviews, observation and participant observation are identified, which support the articulation of shadowing as a family of following methods. Research limitations/implications – Taken together, the contributions from the invited commentaries and research papers, suggest a number of ways in which the debate surrounding shadowing research in organizations needs to be developed going forward. Originality/value – The reflexive, comparative methodological approach taken here provides for the first time a systematic comparison of shadowing in relation to other common qualitative data elicitation methods. Further, the development of a critique of the extant literature on shadowing provides a basis on which to progress the field, both in terms of shadowing practices themselves and writing about them within disciplines and across the research methods literature.

UAV rendezvous based on Nash bargain

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanyue Jiang ◽  
Daobo Wang ◽  
Yin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Arrival Time ◽  
Time Consistency ◽  
Simulation Experiments ◽  
Fast Calculation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rendezvous Problem ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Short Time ◽  
First Time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find a solution for the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) rendezvous problem, which should be feasible, optimal and not time consuming. In the existing literatures, the UAV rendezvous problem is always presented as a matter of simultaneous arrival. They focus only on the time consistency. However, the arrival time of UAVs can vary according to the rendezvous position. The authors should determine the best rendezvous position with considering UAVs’ maneuver constraint, so that UAVs can construct a formation in a short time. Design/methodology/approach The authors present a decentralized method in which UAVs negotiate with each other for the best rendezvous positions by using Nash bargain. The authors analyzed the constraints of the rendezvous time and the UAV maneuver, and proposed an objective function that allows UAVs to get to their rendezvous positions as fast as possible. Bezier curve is adopted to generate smooth and feasible flight trajectories. During the rendezvous process, UAVs adjust their speed so that they can arrive at the rendezvous positions simultaneously. Findings The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by simulation experiments. The proposed method can successfully and efficiently solve the UAV rendezvous problem. Originality/value As far as the authors know, it is the first time Nash bargain is used in the UAV rendezvous problem. The authors modified the Nash bargain method and make it distributed, so that it can be computed easily. The proposed method is much less consuming than ordinary Nash bargain method and ordinary swarm intelligence based methods. It also considers the UAV maneuver constraint, and can be applied online for its fast calculation speed. Simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Interest rate option hedging portfolios without bank account

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-142
Author(s):  
Alberto Bueno-Guerrero
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Contingent Claim ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient Condition ◽  
Barrier Option ◽  
Bank Account ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Option Hedging ◽  
Hedging Portfolio ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient ◽  
First Time

Purpose This paper aims to study the conditions for the hedging portfolio of any contingent claim on bonds to have no bank account part. Design/methodology/approach Hedging and Malliavin calculus techniques recently developed under a stochastic string framework are applied. Findings A necessary and sufficient condition for the hedging portfolio to have no bank account part is found. This condition is applied to a barrier option, and an example of a contingent claim whose hedging portfolio has a bank account part different from zero is provided. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that this issue has been addressed in the literature.

The carmine dilemma: does the natural colourant preference outweigh nausea?

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (8) ◽  
pp. 1915-1928
Author(s):  
Judith Müller-Maatsch ◽  
Johannes Jasny ◽  
Katharina Henn ◽  
Claudia Gras ◽  
Reinhold Carle
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Consumer Perception ◽  
Natural Food ◽  
German Population ◽  
Misleading Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Broad Cross Section ◽  
First Time ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the consumers’ perception of natural and artificial food colourants. Furthermore, attitudes towards the application of carmine, being technically important and ubiquitously used to impart red shades, are assessed and analysed. Originating from insects, carmine is considered as natural but may arouse disgust. Design/methodology/approach In total, 625 individuals were surveyed using an online, self-administered questionnaire to represent a broad cross-section of the German population. Findings Independent of their origin, the application of colourants was rejected by 57.0 per cent of the interviewees. In total, 31.8 per cent of the participants stated a neutral attitude, while only 11.2 per cent expressed a positive notion. Most respondents preferred colourants from natural sources to artificial ones. While consumers perceive natural food colourants composed of genuine plant pigments positively, 61.6 per cent of respondents disliked the application of animal-derived colourants, 24.8 per cent of them did neither reject nor like it, and only 13.6 per cent of the interviewees stated a positive attitude towards them. The findings of this paper further indicate consumers’ preference for colourants to be either artificial or plant-derived rather than carmine. Food colourants are being rejected, possibly due to misleading information and confusing labelling. Consequently, information about carmine, including its origin and production, did not increase the aversion to products that are dyed with it, but increased their acceptance. Originality/value This study outlines consumer perception and attitudes towards food colourants. For the first time, the findings of this paper report the effect of revealing information about an additive, which initially aroused disgust, and its influence on consumer perception.

A multi-manned assembly line balancing problem with classified teams: a new approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Yilmaz ◽  
Mustafa Yilmaz
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing ◽  
Line Balancing ◽  
Test Problems ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Line Test ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing Problem ◽  
First Time

Purpose – Within team-oriented approaches, tasks are assigned to teams before being assigned to workstations as a reality of industry. So it becomes clear, which workers assemble which tasks. Design/methodology/approach – Team numbers of the assembly line can increase with the number of tasks, but at the same time, due to physical situations of the stations, there will be limitations of maximum working team numbers in a station. For this purpose, heuristic assembly line balancing (ALB) procedure is used and mathematical model is developed for the problem. Findings – Well-known assembly line test problems widely used in the literature are solved to indicate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed approach in practice. Originality/value – This paper draws attention to ALB problem in which workers have been assigned to teams in advance due to the need for specialized skills or equipment on the line for the first time.

SFC reminding sponsors of the need to adopt an attitude of “professional scepticism”

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 82-84
Author(s):  
Gareth Hughes ◽  
James Comber
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Group Company ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Professional Skepticism ◽  
Company Limited ◽  
A Company ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Do So

Purpose To remind sponsors to adopt an attitude of “professional skepticism” in Hong Kong IPOs. Design/methodology/approach Explains the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”)'s sanction on BOCOM International (Asia) Limited (“BIAL”) as a sign of determination to hold sponsors to account as gatekeepers to the Hong Kong capital markets. Findings The SFC has reprimanded and fined BIAL HK$15 million for failing to discharge its duties as a sole sponsor in a listing application for China Huinong Capital Group Company Limited (“China Huinong”), a company established in the PRC. This substantial fine reinforces the need for sponsors to ensure that they fully and properly discharge all of their duties, and that they will be held responsible for any failure to do so, even if the listing is not ultimately approved. Practical implications If sponsors fail to fulfil the requirements required under the sponsors’ regulatory regime, the SFC will be proactive and impose tough sanctions, even if the listing application is eventually withdrawn or returned by the SEHK. Originality/value Practical guidance from experienced regulatory, financial and commercial dispute resolution lawyers.

Accounting without accounting

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 426-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fábio Frezatti ◽  
David B. Carter ◽  
Marcelo F.G. Barroso
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Accounting Information ◽  
Effective Management ◽  
Accounting Information System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Perspective

Purpose – An effective management accounting information system (MAIS), as well as the accounting discourse related to it, can support, facilitate, enable, and constrain diverse business discourses. This paper aims to examine the discursive and organisational effects of an organisation accounting upon absent accounting artefacts, i.e. accounting without accounting. Situated within the discursive literature, this paper examines the construction of competing articulations of the organisation by focusing on what accounting does or does not do within an organisation. In particular, the paper acknowledges the fundamental importance of the accounting discourse in supporting, facilitating, enabling, and constraining competing organisational discourses, as it illustrates how the absence of accounting centralises power within the organisation. Design/methodology/approach – From a rhetorical, discursive perspective, the authors develop an in-depth qualitative case study in a manufacturing organisation where MAIS has been abandoned for approximately two years. Interpretive research approaches, from a post-structural perspective, provided the base for the structure of the research. The authors studied how other organisational discourses (such as entrepreneurship and growth), which are traditionally constructed with reference to accounting and other artefacts, continued to be produced and sustained. The non-use and non-availability of management accounting information created a vacuum that needed to be filled. The lack of discursive counterpoints and counter-evidence provided by MAIS created a vacuum of information, allowing powerful, proxy discourses to prevail in the organisation, increasing risks to business management. Findings – The absence of MAIS to support an accounting discourse requires that contingent discourses “fill in the discursive gap”. Despite appearances, they are no substitute for the accounting discourse. Thus, over time, the entrepreneurial, growth and partners' discourses lose credibility, without the corresponding use of management accounting information and its associated discourse. Originality/value – There are at least two main contributions from the case study and the findings presented in this paper: first, they provide a new perspective for studying MAIS, as a specific organisational discourse among other discourses that shape people relationship within the organisation as an examination of accounting without accounting. Second, this discussion reinforces the relevance of accounting discourse for other organisational discourses, supporting, facilitating, enabling, and constraining them, by demonstrating the effects of its absence.

Online brand communities as heterogeneous gatherings: a netnographic exploration of Apple users

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuğba Özbölük ◽  
Yunus Dursun
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Opinion Leader ◽  
Brand Community ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Communities ◽  
Online Brand Communities ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Online Brand Community

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the different types of members based on their roles within an online brand community dedicated to Apple. Design/methodology/approach Design/methodology/approach Data are drawn from an 18-month netnographic study, including participant and non-participant observation. Findings Findings reveal that members of the online brand community share a common goal but they are heterogeneous in many respects. In this research, five different types of brand community members are identified: learner, pragmatist, activist, opinion leader and evangelist. These findings emphasize the heterogeneity of the brand community or the differences of members and subgroups they form in the community. Practical implications This paper offers some insights for brand managers. There are different sub-tribes in online brand communities and these sub-tribes develop their own meanings of the brand. This means that online brand communities do not form one single homogenous target group and can be segmented into subgroups. Findings also offer a deeper understanding of negative characteristics of online brand community members. The role “activist” found in this study may be crucial for marketers, as activists can represent the negative side of online brand communities. Originality/value The literature on brand communities has focused predominantly on the homogeneity of these communities. This paper extends the literature by demonstrating the heterogeneity in an online brand community. The paper contributes to the brand community literature by substantiating that online brand community members can be segmented into subgroups based on their roles within the community. In addition, the paper extends the existing literature on brand communities that has overlooked the destructive consumer roles.

Hong Kong’s response to COVID-19: a glance to the control measures and their enforcement

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ka Ki Lawrence Ho ◽  
Ying-Tung Chan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Infection Rate ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Control ◽  
Viral Outbreak

Purpose This study aims to examine Hong Kong’s responses to COVID-19, arguing that Hong Kong’s relatively low infection rate is due to self-discipline of citizens together with the enforcement measures introduced by the government. Design/methodology/approach This study reviewed the government policy announcements and the prevailing scholarly analyses on Hong Kong society during COVID-19. Findings It starts by examining the partial lockdown and control measures since mid-January, and the roles of different government units in enforcement were examined and assessed. Suppression of viral outbreak in Hong Kong should primarily be attributed to the appropriate lockdown and quarantine actions of the government. Originality/value However, outperformance of the frontline professionals and the highly aware, self-disciplined and mutually aided citizens in the community are also the key to the “interim success” by June 2020 in the highly accessible and densely populated city.

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