Hong Kong Baptist University

About: Hong Kong Baptist University is a education organization based out in Hong Kong, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: China & Population. The organization has 7811 authors who have published 18919 publications receiving 555274 citations. The organization is also known as: Hong Kong Baptist College & HKBU.

An investigation of expatriate adjustment and performance: a social capital perspective

Abstract: To understand the effects of host country nationals (HCNs) on expatriate effectiveness, we draw upon social capital theory to develop and test a model of expatriate adjustment and performance. This social capital model predicts that social networks and access to information and resources (opportunities), trust and norm of reciprocity (motivation) and HCNs' intercultural competencies and reliable task performance (abilities) have direct effects on expatriate adjustment and performance. To test the proposed model, we conducted a field study and collected data from 147 expatriate managers working in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai. The social capital variables were strong predictors of expatriate performance but were relatively weak for adjustment. Having adopted a new perspective for examining expatriate effectiveness, this research offers some new directions for future studies in expatriate research as well as in social capital.

Advances and Applications in Organocatalytic Asymmetric aza‐Michael Addition

Abstract: The stereocontrolled construction of chiral carbon–carbon bonds and carbon–heteroatom bonds are topics of paramount importance in modern organic synthesis. The importance has been driven predominantly by optically active compounds in natural products and pharmaceuticals. The success of asymmetric organocatalysis can be attributed to the advantages of their availability and their capacity to perform asymmetric transformations in a metal-free environment, under mild and non-inert reaction conditions. Asymmetric organocatalysis, using small chiral organic molecules as enantioselective catalysts, has experienced an impressive growth and is now considered the “third pillar” of enantioselective catalysis together with biocatalysis and metal catalysis. Among the great variety of organocatalytic asymmetric transformations, Michael additions occupy a very important position and have received widespread attention for accessing a variety of chiral synthetically useful building blocks. In particular, the Michael addition of nitrogen-based nucleophiles to a,b-unsaturated carbonyl systems, also termed the aza-Michael reaction, represents an especially interesting variant since it is a versatile method for constructing a new C N bond and constitutes; an important step in the synthesis of bioactive natural compounds. During the past decade, a number of elegant organocatalysts have been developed for enantiocontrol in a large variety of reactions. Accordingly, the organocatalytic asymmetric aza-Michael addition has been a very active field of research, the previous progress of which has also been the subject to some excellent reviews. The majority of organocatalytic reactions are amine catalystbased and proceed via enamine or iminium intermediates, or the amine acts as a base. Therefore, a possible competition between the catalyst and the nitrogen-based nucleophile exists in the organocatalytic aza-Michael addition. This could compromise the enantioselectivity of the reaction and remains as one of the difficulties in developing organocatalytic asymmetric aza-Michael addition. Consequently, the appropriate choices of the nitrogen-based nucleophile and the catalyst system represent a critical factor in the organocatalytic asymmetric azaMichael addition. Encouragingly, significant progress has been made in the past several years towards achieving organocatalytic asymmetric aza-Michael additions during the rapid development of asymmetric organocatalysis. Many new substrates have been applied accordingly in this transformation, together with the new approaches developed for the purpose of targetand diversity-oriented asymmetric synthesis. Based on the comprehensive work of Enders, the process made in organocatalytic asymmetric aza-Michael addition between 2010 and early 2012 are surveyed in this review. The review is also organized according to the catalyst system used.

Amino acids as precursors of trihalomethane and haloacetic acid formation during chlorination.

Abstract: Twenty amino acids were chlorinated and examined for the formation of trihalomethane (THM) and haloacetic acid (HAA). The amino acids exhibited a high Cl2 demand (3.4–10 mg Cl2 mg–1 C) but low THM formation (<4.19 μg mg−1 C) except for tryptophan and tyrosine (45.8 − 147 μg mg−1 C). Large variation in HAA yield occurred among the amino acids (from not detectable to 106 μg mg−1 C). One group of amino acids, possessing chain structures, exhibited a slow increase in HAA formation (<6.2 μmol mol−1 amino acid or <11.3 μg mg−1 C) as the chlorine demand increased (3.4–8.9 mol Cl2 mol−1 amino acids). The other group of amino acids, containing ring structures (including tryptophan, tyrosine, histidine, phenylalanine, and proline) and two amino acids with chain structures (aspartic acid and asparagine), showed a fast increase in HAA formation (16–96 μmol mol−1 amino acid or 27–106 μg mg−1 C) with the increase in chlorine demand (5.2–15.9 mol Cl2 mol−1 amino acid). The ratios of TCAA to DCAA (mol/mol), derived from the amino acids, ranged between 0.01 and 1.10.