Global world, global mind: Narratives of the University of Hong Kong Worldwide Exchange students

Background: ‘Internationalisation’ is what makes the University of Hong Kong (HKU) reputable. Ranked as the world top 25, in QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) 2019 World University Ranking, HKU provides students with ample opportunities to experience the global world, to possess a global mind. The HKU Worldwide Exchange Programme, established in 1998 by HKU, allows students to study abroad for a certain period to sharpen their global vision. Settings: This study investigated how HKU facilitates ‘internationalisation’, which contributes to the international fame of HKU. Narratives by HKU Worldwide Exchange students (whose anonymous identities were preserved) were examined to explore the ways in which these students participate in the global world, with a global mind. Aim: The research question structuring the study is: How does the participation in HKU Worldwide Exchange Programme prepare HKU students for the global world? Method: This article addressed the ways in which HKU prepares students for the global world. The knowledge contribution to internationalisation in higher education in relation to student exchange programmes as a result could fill the gap in studies of transformation in higher education. Result: Global attributes of HKU Worldwide Exchange students were found that contributes to their future careers. Being a global citizen is the ideal role of their careers, linking to a core mission of HKU. Conclusion: More policies on carrying out student exchange programmes for HKU are recommended to benefit more future students. The future of these golden assets could bring a promising prospect for the transformation of HE

Corporate restructuring and turnaround : an exploratory study of the determinants and effectiveness of corporate restructuring strategies by troubled UK firms

In spite of decades of research into corporate turnaround strategies, corporate failures persist. Knowledge of remedies appears to be a necessary but insufficient condition for turnaround. There exists yet a serious gap in extant knowledge on what motivates managers to choose or avoid well-documented restructuring strategies. Further, extant research has focused predominantly on severely distressed firms. Though contributing immensely to corporate management out of a crisis, it throws little light in the direction of management to avoid a crisis, and thus avoidance of economic value destruction. Also, no large sample analysis has properly tested the general effectiveness of prescribed turnaround strategies. This research attempts to fill these empirical gaps by exploring three key research questions: I. What are the determinants of restructuring strategy choice in response to performance decline 2. How effective are the prescribed turnaround strategies in contributing to corporate turnaround from performance decline? 3. Are the turnaround strategies equally applicable and effective to both poorly performing and financially distressed firms? We integrate the disparate studies to date and devise a coherent framework for performance decline research and corporate restructuring. We also design a comprehensive strategy determinants framework for explaining the firm strategy selection process corporating the impact of lenders, owners, corporate governance structure and control factors. We employ the standard event study methodology to examine effectiveness of strategies. We then separate implementation success from other sources of strategy effectiveness- choice, timing and intensity of restructuring strategies. We also explore differences in the determinants and effectiveness of strategies between two samples comprising nearly 300 poorly performing and 200 financially distressed firms, as a function of the extent of firms' performance decline. Our results show that turnaround strategy choices are significantly influenced by the complex interplay of the ownership structure, corporate governance and lender monitoring of the firms in decline. While there is agreement among stakeholders on certain strategies there is also evidence of conflict of interests.T he results also show the somewhat detrimental effects of dominance by certain stakeholder groups. However, no support for managerial inaction as a contributor to non-recovery from performance decline iss found. Instead of being paralysed by inertia, managers of on recovery firms appear to take vigorous and intensive restructuring actions. Our results suggest the root cause of non-recovery is bad implementation of restructuring strategies. Although pursuing similar strategies, non-recovery firms' managers are perceivedb y the markett o be far lesse ffective in their implementationst han those of recovery fin-ns. Comparative analysis of poorly performing and financially distressed firms reveals a striking similarity in determinants of strategy choice but some differencesi n the impact of restructurings trategieso n corporatet urnaround

Multisensor 3D posture determination of a mobile robot using inertial and ultrasonic sensors

This paper presents methodologies and techniques for fusing inertial and ultrasonic sensors to estimate the current posture of a mobile robot navigating over indoor uneven terrain. This new type of pose tracking system is developed by means of fusing an inertial navigation subsystem (INS) and an ultrasonic localization subsystem. Extended Kalman filtering (EKF)-based algorithm for integrating both the subsystems is proposed to obtain reliable attitude and position estimates of the vehicle and to eliminate the accumulation errors caused by wheel slippage and surface roughness. Experimental results are conducted to illustrate feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed system and method

Water vapor deposition from the inner gas coma onto the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Rosetta has detected water ice existing on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in various types of features. One of particular interest is the frost-like layer observed at the edge of receding shadows during the whole mission, interpreted as the recondensation of a thin layer of water ice. Two possible mechanisms, (1) subsurface ice sublimation and (2) gas coma deposition, have been proposed for producing this recondensation process and diurnal cycles of water ice. Previous studies have demonstrated both mechanisms based on simplified models. More precise and modern models are yet insufficient when addressing the gas-coma-deposition mechanism. We aim to study the recondensation from the inner water gas coma of the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with more physical constraints including the OSIRIS images, nucleus shape model, and insolation conditions. We compute, for the first time, the backflux distributions from the coma with various boundary conditions. Numerical simulations of this gas-coma-deposition process show that the equivalent water ice deposition can be up to several microns in an hour of accumulation time close to the perihelion passage, which is comparable with the simulation results of the other subsurface-ice sublimation mechanism

Effect of mineral fertilizer, pig manure, and Azospirillum rugosum on growth and nutrient contents of Lactuca sativa L

Benefits from the application of plant growth-promoting bacteria in agriculture largely depend on the complex interactions between several factors including the nature of fertilizers selected. This study was designed to determine the fine tuning between the inoculated bacteria and different fertilizers and their effect on the growth of lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa L.). Plant growth promotion by a novel species of the genus Azospirillum, namely A. rugosum IMMIB AFH-6, was tested by biochemical, bioassay, and greenhouse studies. The treatments used in the greenhouse study were; unfertilized control (Blank), half recommended dose of chemical fertilizer (1/2CF), full recommended dose of chemical fertilizer (1CF), pig manure fertilizer (PMF), pig manure fertilizer + half recommended dose of chemical fertilizer (PMF + 1/2CF), and pig manure fertilizer + full recommended dose of chemical fertilizer (PMF + 1CF). All these treatments when inoculated with A. rugosum IMMIB AFH-6 inoculation were, respectively, In-Blank, In-1/2CF, In-1CF, In-PMF, In-PMF + 1/2CF, and In-PMF + 1CF. Significant increase in plant biomass and shoot N, P, Ca, and Fe was shown in the In-Blank treatment. Plant growth in soil amended with PMF and A. rugosum IMMIB AFH-6 was significantly lower than in soil treated with the chemical fertilizer, but inoculation combined with chemical fertilizer significantly elevated the plant biomass. The In-PMF + 1/2CF treatment showed the highest yield. A. rugosum IMMIB AFH-6 facilitated the accumulation of trace minerals in higher concentrations when PMF was combined with 1CF. To examine the benefits of inoculation by A. rugosum IMMIB AFH-6, we have proposed a new type of data analysis which considers both biomass and nutrient content of plants. This new type of analysis has shown the importance of the mineral content of plant

Enhancement of in vitro growth of papaya multishoots by aeration

Efficient micropropagation of papaya (Carica papaya L.) has become crucial for multiplication of specific sex types of papaya or transgenic lines resistant to virus infection. In this study, aeration at different intervals with a 0.02 mu m filter disc in the closure of culture flasks ensured exchange of gas components. The effect of aeration on development of multibuds to multishoots was investigated. Multibuds grown, in culture flasks after one-week without aeration followed by a two-week aeration treatment caused a 41% increase in the number of shoots greater than or equal to 0.5 cm, 42% increase in leaf expansion, and 17% increase in leaf numbers in comparison with unaerated materials. Ethylene and oxygen concentrations in the culture flasks were measured by gas chromatography and oxygen electrode at weekly intervals during the culture period. Oxygen concentrations were slightly different between aerated and unaerated culture flasks. Ethylene in the unaerated flask reached the highest level (0.11 ppm) 2 weeks after the treatment, while accumulation of ethylene in the aerated flasks was not detected. The multishoots grown for 3 weeks without aeration showed growth retardation on leaves and epinasty on petioles

Innovative ligand-assisted synthesis of NIR-activated iron oxide for cancer theranostics

This work presents the development of a facile ligand-assisted hydrothermal reaction for the preparation of NIR-activated Fe3O4 nanostructures that can directly upgrade the iron oxide with MR contrast ability to be a MRI/photothermal theranostic agent

Microbial community analysis in the termite gut and fungus comb of Odontotermes formosanus: the implication of Bacillus as mutualists

The microbial communities harbored in the gut and fungus comb of the fungus-growing termite Odontotermes formosanus were analyzed by both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods to better understand the community structure of their microflora. The microorganisms detected by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), clonal selection, and culture-dependent methods were hypothesized to contribute to cellulose-hemicellulose hydrolysis, gut fermentation, nutrient production, the breakdown of the fungus comb and the initiation of the growth of the symbiotic fungus Termitomyces. The predominant bacterial cultivars isolated by the cultural approach belonged to the genus Bacillus (Phylum Firmicutes). Apart from their function in lignocellulosic degradation, the Bacillus isolates suppressed the growth of the microfungus Trichoderma harzianum (genus Hypocrea), which grew voraciously on the fungus comb in the absence of termites but grew in harmony with the symbiotic fungus Termitomyces. The in vitro studies suggested that the Bacillus sp. may function as mutualists in the termite-gutfungus-comb microbial ecosystem