Hong Kong Polytechnic University

About: Hong Kong Polytechnic University is a education organization based out in Hong Kong, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Tourism & Population. The organization has 29633 authors who have published 72136 publications receiving 1956312 citations. The organization is also known as: HKPU & PolyU.

An optical coherence tomography (OCT)-based air jet indentation system for measuring the mechanical properties of soft tissues.

Abstract: A novel noncontact indentation system with the combination of an air jet and optical coherence tomography (OCT) was presented in this paper for the quantitative measurement of the mechanical properties of soft tissues. The key idea of this method is to use a pressure-controlled air jet as an indenter to compress the soft tissue in a noncontact way and utilize the OCT signals to extract the deformation induced. This indentation system provides measurement and mapping of tissue elasticity for small specimens with high scanning speed. Experiments were performed on 27 silicone tissue-mimicking phantoms with different Young's moduli, which were also measured by uniaxial compression tests. The regression coefficient of the indentation force to the indentation depth (N mm(-1)) was used as an indicator of the stiffness of tissue under air jet indentation. Results showed that the stiffness coefficients measured by the current system correlated well with the corresponding Young's moduli obtained by conventional mechanical testing (r = 0.89, p < 0.001). Preliminary in vivo tests also showed that the change of soft tissue stiffness with and without the contraction of the underlying muscles in the hand could be differentiated by the current measurement. This system may have broad applications in tissue assessment and characterization where alterations of mechanical properties are involved, in particular with the potential of noncontact micro-indentation for tissues.

Ownership Structure, Business Group Affiliation, Listing Status, and Earnings Management: Evidence from Korea

Abstract: Using a large sample of both publicly traded and privately held firms in Korea, this paper investigates whether, and how, the deviation of controlling shareholders' control from ownership, business group affiliation, and listing status differentially affect the extent of earnings management. Our results show the following: First, as the control-ownership disparity becomes larger, controlling shareholders tend to engage more in opportunistic earnings management to hide adverse consequences of their self-serving behavior. The result of our full-model regression reveals that an increase in the control-ownership wedge by 1% leads to an increase in the magnitude of (unsigned) discretionary accruals by 1.3% of lagged total assets, ceteris paribus. Second, we find that for our full model regression, the magnitude of (unsigned) discretionary accruals is greater for group-affiliated firms than non-affiliated firms by 0.8% of lagged total assets. This result suggests that business group affiliation provides controlling shareholders with more incentives and opportunities for earnings management. Finally, we find that for our full-model regression, the magnitude of (unsigned) discretionary accruals is greater for publicly traded firms than for privately held firms by 1.2% of lagged total assets. This result supports the notion that stock markets create incentives for public firms to manage reported earnings to satisfy the expectations of various market participants that are often expressed in earnings numbers.

The tug of work and family: Direct and indirect domain‐specific determinants of work‐family conflict

Abstract: Examines the influence of family‐ and work‐specific determinants of multiple forms of family interference with work (FIW) and work interference with family (WIF) conflict. Using a Hong Kong university sample (including both academic and non‐academic staff), finds that parental demands and hours spent on household work were important determinants of FIW conflict and that role conflict, role overload, and hours spent on paid work influenced WIF conflict. Differential gender effects for FIW and WIF conflict support the traditional gender roles embedded in Confucian ethics. Moderating effects of spouse support, supervisor support and domestic support were also found, although the latter was opposite to the direction hypothesized. Implications for future researchers and managers are discussed.