Factors contributing to successful public private partnership projects - Comparing Hong Kong with Australia and the United Kingdom

Purpose: With the increasing interest in Public Private Partnership (PPP) there is a need to investigate the factors contributing to successful delivery of PPP projects. Design/methodology/approach: An empirical questionnaire survey was conducted in Hong Kong and Australia. The survey respondents were asked to rate eighteen factors which contribute to delivering successful PPP projects. Findings: The findings from this survey were further compared with the results achieved by a previous researcher (Li, 2003) in a similar survey conducted in the United Kingdom. The comparison showed that amongst the top five success factors ranked by Hong Kong respondents, three were also ranked highly by the Australians and British. These success factors included: ‘Commitment and responsibility of public and private sectors’; ‘Strong and good private consortium’; and ‘Appropriate risk allocation and risk sharing’. Originality/value: These success factors were therefore found to be important for contributing to successful PPP projects irrespective of geographical locations

Integral Equations with Hypersingular Kernels -- Theory and Applications to Fracture Mechanics

Hypersingular integrals of the type I_{\alpha}(T_n,m,r) = \int_{-1}^{1} \hpsngAbs \frac{T_n(s)(1-s^2)^{m-{1/2}}}{(s-r)^\alpha}ds |r|<1 and I_{\alpha}(U_n,m,r) = \int_{-1}^{1} \hpsngAbs \frac{U_n(s)(1-s^2)^{m-{1/2}}}{(s-r)^\alpha}ds |r|<1 are investigated for general integers $\alpha$ (positive) and $m$ (non-negative), where $T_n(s)$ and $U_n(s)$ are the Tchebyshev polynomials of the 1st and 2nd kinds, respectively. Exact formulas are derived for the cases $\alpha = 1, 2, 3, 4$ and $m = 0, 1, 2, 3$; most of them corresponding to new solutions derived in this paper. Moreover, a systematic approach for evaluating these integrals when $\alpha > 4$ and $m>3$ is provided. The integrals are also evaluated as $|r|>1$ in order to calculate stress intensity factors (SIFs). Examples involving crack problems are given and discussed with emphasis on the linkage between mathematics and mechanics of fracture. The examples include classical linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), functionally graded materials (FGM), and gradient elasticity theory. An appendix, with closed form solutions for a broad class of integrals, supplements the paper

Conformation-networks of two-dimensional lattice homopolymers

The effect of different Monte Carlo move sets on the the folding kinetics of lattice polymer chains is studied from the geometry of the conformation-network. The networks have the characteristics of small- world. The Monte Carlo move, rigid rotation, has drastic effect on the geometric properties of the network. The move not only change the connections but also reduce greatly the shortest path length between conformations. The networks are as robust as random network

Comparative Effectiveness of Structural versus Regulatory Protein Gene Transfer on Articular Chondrocyte Matrix Gene Expression

OBJECTIVE: The production of extracellular matrix is a necessary component of articular cartilage repair. Gene transfer is a promising method to improve matrix biosynthesis by articular chondrocytes. Gene transfer may employ transgenes encoding regulatory factors that stimulate the production of matrix proteins, or may employ transgenes that encode the proteins themselves. The objective of this study was to determine which of these 2 approaches would be the better choice for further development. We compared these 2 approaches using the transgenes encoding the structural matrix proteins, aggrecan or type II collagen, and the transgene encoding the anabolic factor, insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). METHODS: We transfected adult bovine articular chondrocytes with constructs encoding type II collagen, aggrecan, or IGF-I, and measured the expression of type II collagen ( COL2A1) and aggrecan ( ACAN) from their native genes and from their transgenes. RESULTS: IGF-I gene ( IGF1) transfer increased the expression of the native chondrocyte COL2A1 and ACAN genes 2.4 and 2.9 times control, respectively. COL2A1 gene transfer did not significantly increase COL2A1 transcripts, even when the transgene included the genomic COL2A1 regulatory sequences stimulated by chondrogenic growth factors. In contrast, ACAN gene transfer increased ACAN transcripts up to 3.4 times control levels. IGF1, but not ACAN, gene transfer increased aggrecan protein production. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results suggest that the type II collagen and aggrecan production required for articular cartilage repair will be more effectively achieved by genes that encode anabolic regulatory factors than by genes that encode the matrix molecules themselves

Knowledge sharing and social media: Altruism, perceived online attachment motivation, and perceived online relationship commitment

Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, have become extremely popular. Facebook, for example, has more than a billion registered users and thousands of millions of units of information are shared every day, including short phrases, articles, photos, and audio and video clips. However, only a tiny proportion of these sharing units trigger any type of knowledge exchange that is ultimately beneficial to the users. This study draws on the theory of belonging and the intrinsic motivation of altruism to explore the factors contributing to knowledge sharing behavior. Using a survey of 299 high school students applying for university after the release of the public examination results, we find that perceived online attachment motivation (β = 0.31, p \u3c 0.001) and perceived online relationship commitment (β = 0.49, p \u3c 0.001) have positive, direct, and significant effects on online knowledge sharing (R2 0.568). Moreover, when introduced into the model, altruism has a direct and significant effect on online knowledge sharing (β = 0.46, p \u3c 0.001) and the total variance explained by the extended model increases to 64.9%. The implications of the findings are discussed

Evaluating a holistic energy benchmarking parameter of lift systems by using computer simulation

At present, there are benchmarking parameters to assess the energy performance of lifts, e.g. one in Germany adopted by VDI (4707-1/2), one internationally published by ISO (BS EN ISO 25745-2:2015), and the other in Hong Kong adopted by The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government. These parameters are mainly checking the energy consumed by a lift drive without considering real time passenger demands and traffic conditions; the one in Hong Kong pinpointing a fully loaded up-journey under rated speed and the two in Europe pinpointing a round trip, bottom floor to top floor and return with an empty car, though including energy consumed by lighting, displays, ventilation etc. A holistic normalization method by Lam et al [1] was developed a number of years ago by one of the co-authors of this article, which can assess both drive efficiency and traffic control, termed J/kg-m, which is now adopted by the HKSAR Government as a good practice, but not specified in the mandatory code. In Europe, the energy unit of Wh has been used but here, Joule (J), i.e. Ws, is adopted to discriminate the difference between the two concepts. In this article, this parameter is evaluated under different lift traffic scenarios using computer simulation techniques, with an aim of arriving at a reasonable figure for benchmarking an energy efficient lift system with both an efficient drive as well as an efficient supervisory traffic control