Search

In the age of the information society, the prominence of internet communication and social media has meant that the role of face-to-face encounters in public life has been diminished. This trend has been exacerbated by public health concerns in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. The social role of architecture and its contribution to the sustainability of interpersonal relationships has become a significant issue for architects. As a place to accommodate sporting activities and social space in the community, sports centers play an important role in promoting social cohesion and interaction. This is the focal topic of the present thesis. The principal tasks of this thesis are as follows: (1) This thesis collects and studies relevant literature on sports centers as social spaces. A special emphasis is placed on discussions of social spaces. The intention is to articulate design characteristics of community sports centers that merit further exploration. (2) This thesis selects three representative sports facilities as case studies and considers how they promote the formation of social bonds and interactions. The thesis offers a review of design ideas, planning strategies and specific methods of implementation. (3) This thesis takes the design project for a sports center in New District A in Macau as an example, and puts forward a design strategy of ""vertical intensification + shared application"". This strategy aims to promote the integration of the sports center with the urban environment, while creating a flexible public space that can adapt to the needs of spontaneous and social activities. The intention is to make the sports center a place that promotes community interaction and connectivity. Overall, this thesis argues that community sports centers can become important places to promote social interaction through well-designed architectural space. Specific design factors and strategies explored in this thesis provide useful points of reference for architects. Through on-going processes of optimization and innovation, sports centers can better serve the community of Macau

Many sports events have been reopened since the recovery from the global Covid19 epidemic. As countries work toward the third sustainable development goal of good health and well-being, sports events have received increasing support and investments. This study focuses on the Xiamen Marathon, which had reached the platinum level of sustainable development and is a benchmark marathon race in China. To assess the factors that influence the brand image and behavior of consumers of the Xiamen Marathon, this dissertation references the conceptual models in previous studies and hypothesizes that experience, brand image, loyalty, satisfaction, motivation, organization, quality, and trust are the direct influencing factors of brand image and indirect determinants of word of mouth, sport, and behavioral intention. This study surveyed participants of the Xiamen Marathon in 2024 and collected data from a sample of 285 participants. All the respondents were local residents and over 90% were contestants. The largest proportions were 36-to-55-year-old, married, highly educated, and employed, earning monthly income between ¥5000 to ¥15000 and spending over ¥1000 on marathon equipment. IBM SPSS and Amos were used for the quantitative analysis based on structural equation modeling techniques, including reliability test, validity test, and hypothesis testing. The questionnaire quality was good, the scale data were suitable for factor analysis, and the questionnaire data fitted well. However, quality and trust were excluded due to low significance. The results show that experience, loyalty, satisfaction, motivation, and organization have significant and positive impacts on brand image, which in turn has significant and positive impacts word of mouth, sport, and behavioral intention. The results support the eight hypotheses of direct effects and the 15 hypotheses of intermediate effects

Against the backdrop of escalating global climate change and China being the world’s largest carbon emitter, this study explores the impact of the carbon trading system on green finance in Chinese power sector. This study uses a quantitative research method, namely a difference-in-differences (DID) model, to investigate power companies that participated or had the potential to participate in carbon trading in 2019 and 2022. The key finding is that companies that participated in carbon trading had significantly higher green finance than those that did not participate, indicating that the carbon trading system has a positive impact on promoting green finance. However, the impact does not significantly intensify after the national carbon trading scheme was implemented in mid-2021. The green finance of listed companies and state-owned enterprises were less affected by carbon trading, possibly because these companies rely on alternative financing options and government financial support. Due to the findings, this study recommends that policy makers should strengthen the promotion of the carbon trading scheme and provide more support for non-listed companies and non-state-owned enterprises. At the same time, the companies should actively participate in the carbon market to take advantage of the industrial policies to enhance green finance, and ultimately promote environmental protection and their own sustainable development

As technology evolves swiftly and consumers call for more customization, the study of interactive fashion design is increasingly emerging as a key topic within the fashion industry. The goal of this research is to investigate merging intelligent technology with apparel design, realizing functional enlargements and enriching the user experience by employing interactive design. Initially, this document examines key theories and ongoing studies in interaction design, intelligent textiles, and wearable tech, pinpointing the current research voids and difficulties. This section then presents a range of methodologies used in the study, encompassing literature review, case analysis, and interviews with experts, to thoroughly analyze and assess all facets of interactive apparel design. This document suggests a methodical design of interactive clothing, outlining the entire process from initial design to the creation of prototypes. The practicality and efficiency of the design methodology are proven by creating prototypes and conducting trials. Findings from the experiments indicate that interactive attire offers substantial benefits in terms of functionality, comfort, and user experience. The research offers both theoretical backing and pragmatic advice for designing interactive attire, while also highlighting paths for upcoming advancements in fashion technology. In conclusion, the document examines the shortcomings of the existing research and potential research paths, aiming to offer valuable guidance for advancing the development of clothing styling and wearable tech

In the present world, many cities have historical and culturally rich districts, but protectionism or economic reasons have slowed their development. Therefore, how to generate more value for these areas is crucial for a city with a deep and complex history. Using immersive virtual reality technology can help solve this problem, and this paper takes Macau's famous historical district as an entry point and starts from the perspective of the general public to explore and design some of the existing buildings and public areas in the district. The focus of this study is to explore the future development possibilities of historical and cultural districts in cities and experience the current situation of the district. Specifically, by studying the historical background and human investigation of ST. LAZARUS CHURCH PEDESTRIAN STREET (Chinese official name: 疯堂斜巷), the study uses immersive virtual reality technology to first create a scene of the existing building group in the district as a stage of protection for historical buildings. Then, it creates and presents a future building group scene in the district, which includes completed buildings and public area facilities after renovation and sustainable design. This renovation does not destroy the protected historical buildings at all, but is a protective exploration. The researchers used 3D computer graphics software (Blender) and virtual tour software (Kuula) to create the design, and users can freely explore the scene by ""walking"" virtually. The design includes two groups of architectural scenes of the ST. LAZARUS CHURCH PEDESTRIAN STREET in the present and the future. After entering the scene, users can freely switch between the present and the future time points to experience the different architectural scene atmospheres. Users can enter some buildings and public areas, and interact with objects in the scene to generate visual or auditory introductions to the target. Users can see the rough outline of the future historical and cultural district after the protective development in the free exploration of the virtual reality environment, which can inspire further public thinking about the development of historical and cultural street areas in the city. Users can explore and experience the project using professional virtual reality equipment or directly on the web. By using immersive virtual reality technology, the public can have a more intuitive and comprehensive understanding of the future development of historical and cultural street areas, and urban planners, professional architects, and clients of architectural design can all benefit from this technology, especially in the initial conceptual design and prototype design of buildings

Research suggested that students struggle because of lacking understanding of basic concepts, formulas, and procedures in algebra, leading to inefficiency in logical thinking and problem-solving skills. (Julius et al., 2018; Jupri et al., 2021). Schemabased instruction (SBI) aims to enhance learning and problem-solving by activating and building upon students' prior knowledge structures, known as schemas (Powell et al., 2008). The common schemas include the total, difference, change, equal groups, comparison, ratios/proportions (Hughes & Cuevas, 2020). SBI has been found to be effective, particularly for students who struggle with mathematics word problems (Marshall, 2012; Hughes & Cuevas, 2020). Research related to SBI has not yet been conducted in Macau region. An early pre-test was administered by the researcher, thirty-one students were asked to solve 10 questions about percentages. The results showed that some students lacked the fundamental knowledge needed to investigate and explore the abstract ideas, patterns, and relationships in percentages problems. A daily schema-based instruction (SBI) as a part of an experimental intervention study was implemented, pre-test and post-tests were administered to investigate the effect of SBI on students' mathematical procedural fluency skills. Thirty-one students from the researcher’s class were invited to engaged in 40 minutes of daily SBI lessons for two weeks, 12 lessons in total. During each of the twelve 40-minute session, students practiced schemas to develop procedural fluency competencies, such as solid number sense and arithmetic operations, to solve percentages problems. Within-group descriptive and inferential statistics were adopted. The results indicated that after SBI, students can solve mathematical problems with greater procedural fluency. This research shares implications and provides suggestions regarding SBI and procedural fluency

This paper selects Noble Fitness Club in Zhongshan as a research object, adopting a qualitative method and conducting in-depth interviews with its members to determine what factors affect customers’ choice of a fitness club. This study is important because it enriches the theoretical guidance framework of the fitness market. Moreover, it helps partitioners from the fitness industry realize what factors directly impact customer satisfaction, providing recommendations for them to foster sustainable development. In-depth interviewing is the primary method for data collection. And, the thematic content analysis (TCA) approach is used to analyze the data derived from interview transcripts. Existing research identified eight factors affecting customers’ choice of a fitness club. However, the author discovered three additional factors that also significantly influenced their selection of a fitness club: geographical location, group courses, and fitness atmosphere. The fitness industry has an issue of product homogenization. Attracting more customers while retaining existing members is a challenge many fitness clubs face nowadays. Therefore, operators should avoid engaging in a price war, reducing the profit margin to attract more customers at the expense of sacrificing service quality. Instead, they should prioritize customers’ practical needs and make the best effort to meet their expectations

Since 2006, the Government of Macau has been promoting inclusive education. This has now been ongoing for seventeen years. As education policies gradually improve, the focus has shifted from students in inclusive settings to the realm of teachers. With an increasing number of inclusive students, the corresponding work pressures faced by teachers has also increased. The aims of this study are to better understand the work-related stress, sources of stress, and subsequent coping strategies used by mainstreamteachers within the inclusive education sector of Macau. This study used qualitative research methods, interviewing twelve frontline teachers from eight different private primary educational institutions. Eight of these teachers work in schools practicing inclusive education, while four were employed in regular schools. However, all twelve participating teachers had experience in teaching inclusive students but also lacked any specialized background in special education. Following and obtaining and meticulously analyzing interview data, supported by relevant literature, the study findings are presented as follows: 1. Views and Attitudes of Regular Teachers in Inclusive Schools towards Inclusive Education The interviewed teachers support the concept of inclusive education but were concerned about student behaviors and their learning challenges. These concerns included inappropriate behaviors, learning disabilities, and the teachers’ own pedagogical demands. In managing student behaviors, teachers found it difficult to handle the emotional control of inclusive students, leading to disruptions in class. Regarding learning, teachers had to use additional and extra time on after-class tutoring, increasing their workload. Teaching inclusive students also complicated the instruction, requiring teachers to undergo additional training and preparation. 2. Work-Related Stress and its Sources among Regular Teachers within Inclusive Schools The participating teachers rated their stress-resilience as not low, but rather they experienced medium to high levels of work-related stress, mainly due to long working hours and extensive workloads. The study identifies four main sources of stress: （i） The nature of work, including extensive teaching and non-teaching tasks, including heavy class management, or multiple roles. （ii） Social relationships, where regular teachers lacked an understanding of resource teachers’ roles, leading to ineffective communication and an underutilization of resource teachers in schools. （iii） Organizational structure, where schools involved in inclusive education required improvements in facilities and teaching environments, particularly in the safety of sports areas. Additionally, not all mainstream teachers had access to inclusive education resources, and the instructional adjustments for inclusive students did not fully meet their needs. （iv） Social aspects, where the public did not fully understand the concepts of inclusive education, and expectations on teachers were excessively high. Furthermore, teachers were dissatisfied with their salaries and benefits, which they felt were not commensurate with their heavy workload. The study also found that female teachers faced additional stress from both work and family responsibilities, as they also bear the burden of caring for and educating their own children at home. 3. Responses and Coping Methods of Regular Teachers in Inclusive Schools to Work-Related Stress The study analyzed the negative impacts of work-related stress on teachers’ physical health, psychological state, and behavior. The impacts included poor sleep quality or insomnia and emotional states of worry and anxiety. In response to stress, teachers engaged in communication and social activities, exercise and rest, and dietary adjustments. However, these stress-relief methods did not effectively address the root causes of the stress, making long-term stress management a crucial issue for teachers. Based on the findings regarding stress perceptions, sources, and coping methods, the researcher proposes recommendations for teachers, educational institutions, and relevant government departments, with an aim to support and aid future policymaking in the area of inclusive education in Macau

The purpose of this study was to explore the correlation between empathy, love maintenance behaviors, relationship satisfaction in a convenience sample of young adult lovers in Macau. Participants were N = 183 (84 males, 99 females) recruited from the social media platform (e.g. Instagram, WeChat, Facebook). Firstly, young adult lovers who tended to have high relationship satisfaction and empathy are tended to use positive love maintenance behaviors but less likely to use negative love maintenance behaviors. Besides, there were differences found by gender in empathy (affective empathy & total empathy), some dimensions of positive love maintenance behaviors (openness & advice), and negative love maintenance behaviors (causing jealousy, destructive conflict & negative love maintenance behaviors in general). Lastly, the findings in this study supported the hypotheses that love maintenance behaviors mediated the relationship between relationship satisfaction and empathy among young adult lovers in Macau. It was revealed that there was higher satisfaction in younger adult lovers in younger group (18-24 years) compared to older groups (32-40 years). For empathy, it correlated positively with relationship satisfaction and most positive love maintenance behaviors, but also with certain negative love maintenance behaviors. Positive love maintenance behaviors mediate the relationship between relationship satisfaction and empathy, highlighting their critical role in maintaining healthy relationships

The UTAUT-2 offers the most comprehensive assessment of individual acceptance and use of technology to date. In particular, the theoretical additions of “hedonic motivation”, “price value”, and “habit”, made the model suitable for studying technology in a consumer context. However, a review of the literature revealed that the construct of habit has been dropped from a large number of studies. There are several reasons for this, including that the technologies examined were relatively new for the respondents to form a routine behavior. Therefore, this study aims to explore whether the construct can be used as a key predictor of future intention to use an innovation rather than an acquired practice among technology users. For this purpose, a conceptual model based on the theoretical additions to the UTAUT-2 is proposed and analyzed with structural equation modeling (SmartPLS). Our results showed significant relationships between the predictors and the behavioral intention to use battery electric vehicles (BEV) technology, and, in particular, depicted the construct of habit as the strongest factor in the decision to adopt the technology. In light of our findings, the construct of habit (HT) should be used in research together with the other UTAUT-2 predictors to assess individuals’ perceptions of possible future habitual behaviors.

Macau, Macau Business, MAG, MB, MB Featured, Opinion | Macau Business | December 2023 Keith Morrison – Author and educationist

Digital inclusion in Macao is in the very beginning stage, and disability inclusion practice on social media in producing and promoting accessible social media content and needs is hard to find. This study aims to analyse the factors that influence communication staff's practice of disability inclusion on social media by using the combined employee behaviour and communication process model to provide suggestions to management who wants to promote disability inclusion practice on social media.The Service Centre for the Deaf of the Macau Deaf Association (MDA) was selected as the object for this case study. The online social media used for MDA's communication was analysed, and semi-structured in-depth interviews with members of the Association were conducted. The research findings showed that, except for the reward structure, factors examined from the work environment in terms of organisation, supervision and co-workers; communication staff themselves; outcomes of accessible social media communication; audience and feedbacks show relations with disability inclusion practices on social media. The delivery of inclusive culture, the influential power of disability stakeholders and the positioning of social media platforms are the key influencing factors.The interesting part of this study is that people without disabilities seem to be excluded from the disability inclusion practice carried out on MDA's Facebook. Their social media content is highly accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences yet seems not to involve the general public. The study object is a good model for producing accessible content, yet the optimisation of promoting social media accessibility needs further exploration.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can benefit significantly from open innovation by gaining access to a broader range of resources and expertise using absorptive capacitive, and increasing their visibility and reputation. Nevertheless, multiple barriers impact their capacity to absorb new technologies or adapt to develop them. This paper aims to perform an analysis of relevant topics and trends in Open Innovation (OI) and Absorptive Capacity (AC) in SMEs based on a bibliometric review identifying relevant authors and countries, and highlighting significant research themes and trends. The defined string query is submitted to the Web of Science database, and the bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer software. The results indicate that the number of scientific publications has consistently increased during the past decade, indicating a growing interest of the scientific community, reflecting the industry interest and possibly adoption of OI, considering Absorptive. This bibliometric analysis can provide insights on the most relevant regions the research areas are under intensive development.

A growing number of people are becoming aware of the environmental footprint that our actions have on the environment. Research indicates that a key factor leading to the adoption of an electric vehicle is consumers’ high environmental concern. Indeed, the environmental concern (EC) construct is commonly associated with the purchase of sustainable and eco-friendly products in literature. Our study challenges this assumption. We examined how the environmental factor influenced the behavioral intention of Macau residents to adopt battery-electric vehicle (BEV) technology. For this purpose, we conducted a study based on the UTAUT-2 framework and used structural equation modeling (SmartPLS) to analyze the data. As a result, the choice of vehicles did not depend on the consumers’ level of concern. It appeared that consumers strongly perceived the benefits of a cleaner environment, however, when it comes to technology, environmental benefits are nice to have, rather than the primary incentive to purchase BEVs. Researchers should consider the role of environmental concern as a background factor in technology acceptance models, rather than a direct predictor of behavior. It is also recommended that marketers correctly consider this element when developing their product communications strategies, to appeal to the desired segment of customers.