Effects of temperature on mortality in Hong Kong : a time series analysis

2014-2015 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

An empirical survey of the benefits of implementing pay for safety scheme (PFSS) in the Hong Kong construction industry

2010-2011 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

Tools for knowledge acquisition within the NeuroScholar system and their application to anatomical tract-tracing data

BACKGROUND: Knowledge bases that summarize the published literature provide useful online references for specific areas of systems-level biology that are not otherwise supported by large-scale databases. In the field of neuroanatomy, groups of small focused teams have constructed medium size knowledge bases to summarize the literature describing tract-tracing experiments in several species. Despite years of collation and curation, these databases only provide partial coverage of the available published literature. Given that the scientists reading these papers must all generate the interpretations that would normally be entered into such a system, we attempt here to provide general-purpose annotation tools to make it easy for members of the community to contribute to the task of data collation. RESULTS: In this paper, we describe an open-source, freely available knowledge management system called 'NeuroScholar' that allows straightforward structured markup of the PDF files according to a well-designed schema to capture the essential details of this class of experiment. Although, the example worked through in this paper is quite specific to neuroanatomical connectivity, the design is freely extensible and could conceivably be used to construct local knowledge bases for other experiment types. Knowledge representations of the experiment are also directly linked to the contributing textual fragments from the original research article. Through the use of this system, not only could members of the community contribute to the collation task, but input data can be gathered for automated approaches to permit knowledge acquisition through the use of Natural Language Processing (NLP). CONCLUSION: We present a functional, working tool to permit users to populate knowledge bases for neuroanatomical connectivity data from the literature through the use of structured questionnaires. This system is open-source, fully functional and available for download from [1]

Constraints on Light Dark Matter From Core-Collapse Supernovae

We show that light ($\simeq$ 1 -- 30 MeV) dark matter particles can play a significant role in core-collapse supernovae, if they have relatively large annihilation and scattering cross sections, as compared to neutrinos. We find that if such particles are lighter than $\simeq$ 10 MeV and reproduce the observed dark matter relic density, supernovae would cool on a much longer time scale and would emit neutrinos with significantly smaller energies than in the standard scenario, in disagreement with observations. This constraint may be avoided, however, in certain situations for which the neutrino--dark matter scattering cross sections remain comparatively small.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Double balloon catheter for induction of labour in Chinese women with previous caesarean section: one-year experience and literature review

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Empirical study of the risks and difficulties in implementing guaranteed maximum price and target cost contracts in construction

Over the past few decades, both the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) and target cost contracting (TCC) arrangements have been regarded as alternative integrated procurement strategies for clients to mitigate risks, minimize claims, integrate the diverse interests of a complex construction project, and offer incentives to provide value-added services. However, the adoption of GMP/TCC contracts may also generate significant risks and difficulties that merit considerable attention. This paper aims to provide a concise review of the potential pitfalls of the GMP/TCC scheme in general and identifies the key risk factors and potential difficulties associated with GMP/TCC in comparison with other procurement strategies in construction in particular via an empirical survey of clients, contractors, and consultants in Hong Kong. The survey data gleaned from 45 valid replies were analyzed using the mean score ranking technique, Kendall’s concordance test, and Spearman’s rank correlation test. The survey results indicated that “involvement of inexperienced or claim-conscious contractors in a project procured by a GMP/TCC contract” was considered to be the most significant risk factor; while “design development must keep pace with main contractor’s program for tendering the domestic subcontractors’ works packages” as the major difficulty in implementing GMP/TCC projects. The research findings derived from this study are particularly essential in assisting the contracting parties to mitigate the detriments brought about by potential risks or difficulties when embarking on GMP/TCC contracts. It has also generated valuable insights into developing effective recommendations for alleviating the barriers to GMP/TCC success for future construction projects.postprin

Empirical study of the risks and difficulties in implementing guaranteed maximum price and target cost contracts in construction

Author name used in this publication: Patrick T. I. Lam2009-2010 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

Identifying the critical success factors for target cost contracts in the construction industry

Author name used in this publication: Patrick T. I. Lam2010-2011 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

An empirical survey of the motives and benefits of adopting guaranteed maximum price and target cost contracts in construction

In light of increasing project complexity, constraints on programme schedule and limited budget, there exists a strong call for changes in contracting procedures in construction. Both the Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) and Target Cost Contracting (TCC) approaches with a gain-share/pain-share arrangement have been advocated to achieve better value for money and more satisfactory project performance. This paper aims to review the prevailing practices of GMP/TCC in general, and explore the motives and benefits of implementing the GMP/TCC scheme in comparison with the traditional fixed price lump-sum contract in particular. The research study is based on a comprehensive literature review and an industry-wide empirical questionnaire survey for evaluating the relative importance of motives and benefits associated with GMP/TCC in Hong Kong. The survey data collected from 45 valid completed questionnaires were analysed using the mean score ranking technique, Kendall's concordance test, Spearman's rank correlation test and one-way ANOVA test. The perceived benefits were measured and ranked from the perspectives of the client, contractor and consultant for cross-comparison. The survey findings indicated that the three most common motives of clients behind their decision of adopting GMP/TCC include: (1) to generate an incentive for contractor to achieve cost saving; (2) to develop better working relationship within the project team; and (3) to tap in contractor's expertise in design and innovation. The top three perceived benefits of applying GMP/TCC were found to be: (1) early settlement of final project account; (2) improved partners' working relationship under a partnering arrangement; and (3) capability of integrating contractor's expertise in building designs and innovations prior to construction. The research results are particularly essential in assisting key project stakeholders to realise the potential benefits derived from the use of GMP/TCC contracts and in generating more useful insights into alternative integrated contracting strategies for the construction industry, so as to drive for excellence in overall project performance.postprin

Achieving better performance through target cost contracts - The tale of an underground railway station modification project

Author name used in this publication: Patrick T. I. Lam2009-2010 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe