Reform of copyright law in Hong Kong: time to redraw the balance

This article reviews the current permitted acts under the Copyright Ordinance and their implications for Hong Kong. The discussion focuses on those permitted acts having a direct impact on two sectors the Hong Kong Government is most concerned with: education and the software industry. It shows that because of the limitations of the permitted acts, the Copyright Ordinance has failed to strike the right balance between the conflicting interests in these two sectors; rather, it favours the copyright owners. The article traces the cause of the imbalance to three main deficiencies in the Copyright Ordinance and proposes a solution to strike the right balance.published_or_final_versio

Coherent multi-flavour spin dynamics in a fermionic quantum gas

Microscopic spin interaction processes are fundamental for global static and dynamical magnetic properties of many-body systems. Quantum gases as pure and well isolated systems offer intriguing possibilities to study basic magnetic processes including non-equilibrium dynamics. Here, we report on the realization of a well-controlled fermionic spinor gas in an optical lattice with tunable effective spin ranging from 1/2 to 9/2. We observe long-lived intrinsic spin oscillations and investigate the transition from two-body to many-body dynamics. The latter results in a spin-interaction driven melting of a band insulator. Via an external magnetic field we control the system's dimensionality and tune the spin oscillations in and out of resonance. Our results open new routes to study quantum magnetism of fermionic particles beyond conventional spin 1/2 systems.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Clinical Implication of Targeting of Cancer Stem Cells

The existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) is receiving increasing interest particularly due to its potential ability to enter clinical routine. Rapid advances in the CSC field have provided evidence for the development of more reliable anticancer therapies in the future. CSCs typically only constitute a small fraction of the total tumor burden; however, they harbor self-renewal capacity and appear to be relatively resistant to conventional therapies. Recent therapeutic approaches aim to eliminate or differentiate CSCs or to disrupt the niches in which they reside. Better understanding of the biological characteristics of CSCs as well as improved preclinical and clinical trials targeting CSCs may revolutionize the treatment of many cancers. Copyright (c) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

Sustainable clothing: perspectives from US and Chinese young Millennials

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand US and Chinese young Millennials’ perceptions of and consumption behaviour towards sustainable apparel products. Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative research was conducted, and empirical data were collected from 590 US college students and 379 Chinese college students. Findings: For both US and Chinese young Millennials, this study provides consistent empirical results of the positive and significant effects of young Millennials’ apparel sustainability knowledge and personal values on consumer attitude towards sustainable clothing, which in turn positively and strongly impacts purchase intention. In addition, a cross-cultural comparative analysis reveals similarities and differences regarding apparel sustainability knowledge and values between young Millennial consumers in the US and China. Originality/value: The scale of environmental and social impacts from global apparel production and consumption makes sustainability increasingly important in the contemporary business environment. Young Millennials in the US and China represent large and influential consumer segments for sustainable consumption. This study contributes to the literature by surveying young Millennials in the US (developed market) and China (emerging market) in a cross-cultural context. The study offers insights into the global apparel industry in developing strategies for expanding sustainable apparel markets in the US and China

Exploring Consumers’ Adoption of Highly Technological Fashion Products: The Role of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivational Factors

Purpose – This study seeks to develop and test a model of consumers' adoption of highly technological fashion products (HTFPs) through modifying the technology acceptance model (TAM). Design/methodology/approach – Using a convenience sampling method, students between 18 to 26 years old were chosen as the sample population from a mid-size southern university in the USA. The final sample consisted of 268 responses. Confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis were employed to answer all hypotheses using the structural equation model. Findings – Empirical results revealed that consumers' intentions to adopt an innovation (i.e. highly technological fashion product) are driven by the multi-dimensional nature of consumers' extrinsic (i.e. perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness) and intrinsic (i.e. perceived innovativeness and perceived fashionability) motivation. Additionally, these motivational dimensions contribute to consumers' utilitarian and hedonic attitudes toward using an innovation, which in turn affects their purchase intentions. Practical implications – Consumers' utilitarian and hedonic consumer attitudes may enable retailers and marketers to design effective advertising campaigns by helping them to determine whether the functional or sensational components of the product need to be emphasized. Furthermore, when developing a new product, marketers need to focus on product attributes that possess both functionality and hedonic benefits. Originality/value – This is the first known study to examine the underlying relationships between motivations, two-dimensional consumers' attitudes (utilitarian and hedonic), and purchase intentions in the consumer-related product context. The study has broadened the TAM by integrating extrinsic and intrinsic motivational variables into the model. It has also deepened the TAM by conceptualizing consumers' attitudes as comprising two distinct dimensions: utilitarian and hedonic

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Observation of the Baryonic Flavor-Changing Neutral Current Decay Lambda_b -> Lambda mu+ mu-

We report the first observation of the baryonic flavor-changing neutral current decay Lambda_b -> Lambda mu+ mu- with 24 signal events and a statistical significance of 5.8 Gaussian standard deviations. This measurement uses ppbar collisions data sample corresponding to 6.8fb-1 at sqrt{s}=1.96TeV collected by the CDF II detector at the Tevatron collider. The total and differential branching ratios for Lambda_b -> Lambda mu+ mu- are measured. We find B(Lambda_b -> Lambda mu+ mu-) = [1.73+-0.42(stat)+-0.55(syst)] x 10^{-6}. We also report the first measurement of the differential branching ratio of B_s -> phi mu+ mu- using 49 signal events. In addition, we report branching ratios for B+ -> K+ mu+ mu-, B0 -> K0 mu+ mu-, and B -> K*(892) mu+ mu- decays.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, 4 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

The Competitive Position of Thailand’s Apparel Industry: Challenges and Opportunities for Globalization

Purpose – Recent liberalization of the world's textile and apparel trade policies and the consequent changes in trade patterns posited threats to smaller textile- and apparel-exporting nations, including Thailand. Thus it is important to understand how the new trade environment affects the competitiveness of Thailand's apparel industry. This study seeks to provide insights into how Thailand's apparel industry has responded to increasingly fierce global competition by drawing on Porter's theory of The Competitive Advantage of Nations. Design/methodology/approach – To assess the competitiveness of the Thai industry, the study triangulated data from various sources, including secondary statistics, media reports, and relevant industry publications. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were also conducted, and participants included key executives from Thailand's apparel industry, government officials, and academics. The interviews were conducted at various locations in three Thai provinces: Bangkok, Nonthaburi, and Samutsakorn, over a two-week period. Findings – Findings revealed the existence of four determinants supporting the Thai apparel industry: basic v. specialized factors; sophisticated and demanding consumer market; the presence of interdependent economic agents; and strategies and structure of Thai companies and domestic rivals. These four determinants are identical to the “diamonds” outlined in Porter's theory of The Competitive Advantage of Nations and a new source of competitiveness. Furthermore, the Thai government was found to play an important role, by providing support to enhance the global competitiveness of Thai companies. Originality/value – The study is among the first to attempt to provide insights into the competitive national advantage of the Thai apparel industry. Based on the findings, the outlook is positive for the continued success of Thailand's apparel industry in the global arena

Deficiencies in the transfer and availability of clinical trials evidence: A review of existing systems and standards

Background: Decisions concerning drug safety and efficacy are generally based on pivotal evidence provided by clinical trials. Unfortunately, finding the relevant clinical trials is difficult and their results are only available in text-based reports. Systematic reviews aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the evidence in a specific area, but may not provide the data required for decision making. Methods: We review and analyze the existing information systems and standards for aggregate level clinical trials information from the perspective of systematic review and evidence-based decision making. Results: The technology currently used has major shortcomings, which cause deficiencies in the transfer, traceability and availability of clinical trials information. Specifically, data available to decision makers is insufficiently structured, and consequently the decisions cannot be properly traced back to the underlying evidence. Regulatory submission, trial publication, trial registration, and systematic review produce unstructured datasets that are insufficient for supporting evidence-based decision making. Conclusions: The current situation is a hindrance to policy decision makers as it prevents fully transparent decision making and the development of more advanced decision support systems. Addressing the identified deficiencies would enable more efficient, informed, and transparent evidence-based medical decision making