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It is known that the probability is not a conserved quantity in the stock market, given the fact that it corresponds to an open system. In this paper we analyze the flow of probability in this system by expressing the ideal Black-Scholes equation in the Hamiltonian form. We then analyze how the non-conservation of probability affects the stability of the prices of the Stocks. Finally, we find the conditions under which the probability might be conserved in the market, challenging in this way the non-Hermitian nature of the Black-Scholes Hamiltonian.
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Exposure to continuous moderate noise levels is known to impair the auditory system leading to Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) in animals including humans. The mechanism underlying noise-dependent auditory Temporary Threshold Shifts (TTS) is not fully understood. In fact, only limited information is available on vertebrates such as fishes, which share homologous inner ear structures to mammals and have the ability to regenerate hair cells. The zebrafish Danio rerio is a well-established model in hearing research providing an unmatched opportunity to investigate the molecular and physiological mechanisms of NIHL at the sensory receptor level. Here we investigated for the first time the effects of noise exposure on TTS and functional recovery in zebrafish, as well as the associated morphological damage and regeneration of the inner ear saccular hair cells. Adult specimens were exposed for 24h to white noise at various amplitudes (130, 140 and 150 dB re. 1 μPa) and their auditory sensitivity was subsequently measured with the Auditory Evoked Potential (AEP) recording technique. Sensory recovery was tested at different times post-treatment (after 3, 7 and 14 days) and compared to individuals kept under quiet lab conditions. Results revealed noise level-dependent TTS up to 33 dB and increase in response latency. Recovery of hearing function occurred within 7 days for fish exposed to 130 and 140 dB noise levels, while fish subject to 150 dB only returned to baseline thresholds after 14 days. Hearing impairment was accompanied by significant loss of hair cells only at the highest noise treatment. Full regeneration of the sensory tissue (number of hair cell receptors) occurred within 7 days, which was prior to functional recovery. We provide first baseline data of NIHL in zebrafish and validate this species as an effective vertebrate model to investigate the impact of noise exposure on the structure and function of the adult inner ear and its recovery process.
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Design for Classroom Units: A Collaborative Multicultural Studio Development with Chinese Students
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It is plausible to assume that the component waves in ECG signals constitute a unique human characteristic because morphology and amplitudes of recorded beats are governed by multiple individual factors. According to the best of our knowledge, the issue of automatically classifying different ’identities’ of QRS morphology has not been explored within the literature. This work proposes five alternative mathematical models for representing different QRS morphologies providing the extraction of a set of features related to QRS shape. The technique incorporates mechanisms of combining the mathematical functions Gaussian, Mexican-Hat and Rayleigh probability density function and also a mechanism for clipping the waveform of those functions. The searching for the optimal parameters which minimize the normalized RMS error between each mathematical model and a given QRS search window enables to find an optimal model. Such modeling behaves as a robust alternative for delineating heartbeats, classifying beat morphologies, detecting subtle and anomalous changes, compression of QRS complex windows among others. The validation process evaluates the ability of each model to represent different QRS morphology classes within 159 full ECG signal records from QT database and 584 QRS search windows from MIT-BIH Arrhythmia database. From the experimental results, we rank the winning rates for which each mathematical model best models and also discriminates the most predominant QRS morphologies Rs, rS, RS, qR, qRs, R, rR’s and QS. Furthermore, the average time errors computed for QRS onset and offset locations when using the corresponding winner mathematical models for delineation purposes were, respectively, 12.87±8.5 ms and 1.47±10.06 ms.
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The following study reflects and explores the dynamics of aesthetic experiences within drama improvisations. This arts-based research was carried out in Hong Kong with six Cantonese children who were aged 3?5?years. Data were collected from the video transcripts of five workshops and the researcher?s own research journal. Two significant milieus were observed: switching in-between roles and intuitive creativity is not talkback. I argue that because each of these two milieus provide the foreground for the complex ? and at times contradictory ? nature of children?s aesthetic experiences where Deleuzian power is at play, opportunities arise for both, challenging the traditional adult?child power relations, and in so doing, educators can be able to reconfigure and reconceptualise teaching goals and practices, both generally and specifically, within the context of early childhood education.
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This study examined 206 casino dealers in hospitality at Macau to investigate the extent of their subjective career success and work engagement. Casino dealers were work engaged, but their subjective career success was fairly low, with significant difference between them, which indicates they have cognitive dissonance about their jobs. Several personality variables (emotional suppression and work ethic), organizational variables, i.e., organizational socialization (training, understanding, coworker support, future prospects), and distributive justice, were assessed in relation to subjective career success and work engagement. Organizational socialization, work ethic, and distributive justice were positively correlated with and predictors of subjective career success and work engagement; while emotion suppression was negatively correlated with and predictor of work engagement. This study provides evidence of extending the theories of subjective career success and work engagement in Chinese society and hospitality. Also, it identifies factors that could resolve the employees’ cognitive dissonance, and implementations for management were discussed.
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This study examined responses from 508 full-time teachers working in inclusive schools in Macao (SAR). The intention was to understand the teachers’ perceptions about their roles and how they responded to inclusive practices in their school. Teachers’ perceived levels of emotional exhaustion and cognitive work engagement were assessed in relation to several professional competencies (self-efficacy with using inclusive instruction, collaborating with parents and paraprofessionals, and managing disruptive behaviours), as well as the organisational variable of role understanding. Regression analysis showed that teachers’ self-efficacy with using inclusive instruction was found to be the most powerful negative predictor of emotional exhaustion; while self-efficacy for managing disruptive behaviours was a positive predictor of teachers’ cognitive work engagement. Teachers’ level of understanding of their role and that of their schools was a negative predictor of emotional exhaustion and a positive predictor of cognitive work engagement. Moreover, it further confirmed that the concept of co-existence between work engagement and burnout can be applied to inclusive teachers. Results were interpreted in relation to management in inclusive schools in Macao and were followed by a discussion on the implications of enhancing inclusive education.
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The study examined the factor structure, reliability and validity of a Chinese version of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (C-CLES), an instrument for assessing students’ perceptions of the extent of constructivist approaches prevalent in classrooms. A convenience sample of 967 students in Secondary Three (Grade 9) in Hong Kong participated in this study by completing a self-administered questionnaire in their class time. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the hypothesised factor structure, indicating five theoretical constructivist environment dimensions that showed goodness-of-fit to 25 items: Personal Relevance, Uncertainty, Critical Voice, Shared Control, and Student Negotiation. Criterion-related validity, involving evidence based on relations to other variables, was assessed by correlations between the constructivist environment dimensions and cognitive strategies and academic ability. Most correlations were statistically significant and in the positive direction. The C-CLES with 25 items provides a useful measure for educational practice and research among school students.
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Hyper-consumption in capitalist economies has had a severe impact on the environment that no one can escape. In recent year, there has been a high degree of optimism in sharing economy with regard to coping with the environmental problems caused by consumption. However, most of the current literature focuses on business perspectives in which a sharing economy is portrayed as a new business model, but not as a way to curb environmental degradation. This paper, based on a social science perspective, investigates the potentials and limitations of the strategies adopted in sharing economy projects towards social transformation (especially coping with environmental degradation and hyper-consumption), with the adoption of Erik Olin Wright’s concept of real utopia. A case study approach has been adopted in terms of a sharing economy project named ‘Waste-no-mall (Yuen Long)’ in Hong Kong. The project founder embraces ideological-led strategies based on collective responsibility, self-determination and reflexivity, encouraging the participants to reflect on their consumption behaviours, and thus increasing the level of awareness of the need to reduce unnecessary consumption. However, it is a double-edge sword that limits its impact to those who are active participants, without spreading to others the need for change. It is also limited for their interstitial strategies within the project, and is unable to call for a concrete symbiotic transformation when it comes to policy. The significance of this paper is two-fold. First, it adopts a social science perspective that centres on exploring the proclaimed social implications of sharing economy, an aspect which is under-studied given that most of current studies are from a business perspective; second, it extends Wright’s concept to an operational level by showing an important pathway aiming to solve environmental problems through the simultaneous achievement of both horizontal and vertical balancing strategies, based on Wright’s concept of real utopia.
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The levels of air pollution in Macao often exceeded the levels recommended by WHO. In order for the population to take precautionary measures and avoid further health risks under high pollutant exposure, it is important to develop a reliable air quality forecast. Statistical models based on multiple regression (MR) analysis were developed successfully for Macao to predict the next day concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, and NO2. All the developed models were statistically significantly valid with a 95% confidence level with high coefficients of determination (from 0.89 to 0.92) for all pollutants. The models utilized meteorological and air quality variables based on five years of historical data, from 2013 to 2017. The data from 2013 to 2016 were used to develop the statistical models and data from 2017 were used for validation purposes. A wide range of meteorological and air quality variables were identified, and only some were selected as significant dependent variables. Meteorological variables were selected from an extensive list of variables, including geopotential height, relative humidity, atmospheric stability, and air temperature at different vertical levels. Air quality variables translate the resilience of the recent past concentrations of each pollutant and usually are maximum and/or the average of latest 24-hour levels. The models were applied in forecasting the next day average daily concentrations for PM10, PM2.5, and NO2 for the air quality monitoring stations. The results are expected to be an operational air quality forecast for Macao.
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Statistical methods such as multiple linear regression (MLR) and classification and regression tree (CART) analysis were used to build prediction models for the levels of pollutant concentrations in Macao using meteorological and air quality historical data to three periods: (i) from 2013 to 2016, (ii) from 2015 to 2018, and (iii) from 2013 to 2018. The variables retained by the models were identical for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM10), PM2.5, but not for ozone (O3) Air pollution data from 2019 was used for validation purposes. The model for the 2013 to 2018 period was the one that performed best in prediction of the next-day concentrations levels in 2019, with high coefficient of determination (R2), between predicted and observed daily average concentrations (between 0.78 and 0.89 for all pollutants), and low root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and biases (BIAS). To understand if the prediction model was robust to extreme variations in pollutants concentration, a test was performed under the circumstances of a high pollution episode for PM2.5 and O3 during 2019, and the low pollution episode during the period of implementation of the preventive measures for COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding the high pollution episode, the period of the Chinese National Holiday of 2019 was selected, in which high concentration levels were identified for PM2.5 and O3, with peaks of daily concentration exceeding 55 μg/m3 and 400 μg/m3, respectively. The 2013 to 2018 model successfully predicted this high pollution episode with high coefficients of determination (of 0.92 for PM2.5 and 0.82 for O3). The low pollution episode for PM2.5 and O3 was identified during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic period, with a low record of daily concentration for PM2.5 levels at 2 μg/m3 and O3 levels at 50 μg/m3, respectively. The 2013 to 2018 model successfully predicted the low pollution episode for PM2.5 and O3 with a high coefficient of determination (0.86 and 0.84, respectively). Overall, the results demonstrate that the statistical forecast model is robust and able to correctly reproduce extreme air pollution events of both high and low concentration levels.
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The use of learning analytics (LA) in real-world educational applications is growing very fast as academic institutions realize the positive potential that is possible if LA is integrated in decision making. Education in schools on public health need to evolve in response to the new knowledge and th...
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Abstract As the population of Chinese immigrants has been growing rapidly in the United States, it has been understudied on the parenting behaviours as well as the roles parental stress and social support playing in parenting in this group. This study investigated whether parental stress was associated with parenting and whether this relationship was mediated by social support in a sample of 255 Chinese immigrant parents from the Survey of Asian American Families in New York City. Regression analyses with a rich array of control variables found that a higher level of parental stress and the presence of one or more stressors such as unemployment, low income, and low education were positively associated with the use of harsh discipline and parent?child conflicts and negatively associated with positive parenting practices. Social support functioned as a significant mediator in the relationships between parental stress and positive parenting practices but not in the relationships of parental stress with parent?child conflict or the use of harsh discipline.
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The purpose of this paper examines the potential role of Chinese outbound tourism as a catalyst of change for the Macanese identity. There is an emerging trend to have a new identity amongst Macanese residents to valorize cultural and heritage assets. By using Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, it proposes that the social media space is built to voice concerns of language, place attachment and induced public participation. The study utilizes a mixed method approach comprising a survey for netizens and content analysis of online discussions, in order to fully understand changes due to Chinese outbound tourism.
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Crowdsensing exploits the sensing abilities offered by smart phones and users' mobility. Users can mutually help each other as a community with the aid of crowdsensing. The potential of crowdsensing has yet to be fully realized for improving public health. A protocol based on gamification to encoura...