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The Leap Motion represents a new generation of depth sensing cameras designed for close range tracking of hands and fingers, operating with minimal latency and high spatial precision (0.01 mm). The purpose of this paper is to develop virtual reality (VR) simulations of three well-known hand-based rehabilitation tasks using a commercial game engine and utilising a Leap camera as the primary mode of interaction. The authors present results from an initial evaluation by professional clinicians of these VR simulations for use in their hand and finger physical therapy practice.

A cross-disciplinary team of researchers collaborated with a local software company to create three dimension interactive simulations of three hand focused rehabilitation tasks: Cotton Balls, Stacking Blocks, and the Nine Hole Peg Test. These simulations were presented to a group of eight physiotherapists and occupational therapists (n=8) based in the Regional Acquired Brain Injury Unit, Belfast Health, and Social Care Trust for evaluation. After induction, the clinicians attempted the tasks presented and provided feedback by filling out a questionnaire.

Results from questionnaires (using a Likert scale 1-7, where 1 was the most favourable response) revealed a positive response to the simulations with an overall mean score across all questions equal to 2.59. Clinicians indicated that the system contained tasks that were easy to understand (mean score 1.88), and though it took several attempts to become competent, they predicted that they would improve with practice (mean score 2.25). In general, clinicians thought the prototypes provided a good illustration of the tasks required in their practice (mean score 2.38) and that patients would likely be motivated to use the system (mean score 2.38), especially young patients (mean score 1.63), and in the home environment (mean score 2.5).

Cameras offer an unobtrusive and low maintenance approach to tracking user motion in VR therapy in comparison to methods based on wearable technologies. This paper presents positive results from an evaluation of the new Leap Motion camera for input control of VR simulations or games. This mode of interaction provides a low cost, easy to use, high-resolution system for tracking fingers and hands, and has great potential for home-based physical therapies, particularly for young people.

Blockchain as a disruptive technology has revolutionized many industries, such as finance, logistics and manufacturing sectors. This paper aims to explore Blockchain applications in construction to effectively manage project workflows and uplift construction efficiency.

Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with various stakeholders from a public infrastructure project to analyze Blockchain applications in the construction industry. Eleven key construction workflows are selected to identify and discover the necessity and significance of Blockchain applications in the construction industry. They are related to construction program, daily operations and payment. Based on workflow analysis, several issues are discussed to design a development roadmap of Blockchain in the construction industry.

The findings show Blockchain can improve construction efficiency, reduce paper-based manual operation and address the fragmentation and communication issue. However, the development of Blockchain in the construction industry is still impeded by some challenges. Traditional work modes might be existing even though Blockchain-enabled systems are introduced, which may increase the workload of construction practitioners. Thus, a feasible and practical development roadmap is proposed to instruct implementation of Blockchain in construction.

This research systematically analyzes the development of Blockchain in the construction industry from several existing workflows, based on a real-life case study. Several considerations are given to provide referential value for applying Blockchain in the construction industry, including opportunities and challenges, cost–benefit analysis, obstacles and possible solutions, as well as development strategies with a prototype system.

In his autobiography, Chen Shui-bian (1999, p. 40) condemned the Koumintang's (KMT's) corruption and praised the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for being free from money politics and corruption. The DPP fought the 1992 Legislative Yuan election campaign effectively on an anticorruption platform and used the same strategy in subsequent elections. If Chen Shui-bian had criticized the KMT for its involvement with “black gold” politics and had won the 2000 presidential election on his anticorruption platform, why was he and his family found guilty of corruption after his second term of office? The short answer is that even though he had promised to curb corruption, President Chen himself had succumbed to corruption after assuming office. In June 2002, Keesing's Contemporary Archives cited a poll in Taiwan that indicated that more respondents had perceived the DPP to be more corrupt than the KMT (Copper, 2006, p. 14).

This paper aims to analyse how both Lin’s birthplace identity and his Christian identity contributed to his fruitful public career and to ascertain which identity became the most significant.

Archival research is the main method used in this paper. The most important archives drawn from are the Daniel Tse Collection in the Special Collection and Archives of the Hong Kong Baptist University Library. Oral history has also been used in this paper to uncover more material that has not yet been discussed in existing scholarly works.

This paper argues that although Lin’s birthplace identity and social networks helped him to start his business career in Nam Pak Hong and develop into a leader in the local Chaozhou communities, these factors were insufficient to his becoming a respectable member of the Chinese elite in post-war Hong Kong. He became well known not because of his leading position in local Chaozhou communities or any great achievement he had obtained in business but because of his contribution to the development of Christian education. These achievements earned him a reputation as a “Christian educator”. Thus Lin’s Christian identity became more important than his birthplace identity in contributing to his successful public career.

This paper has value in showing how Christian influences interacted with various cultural factors in early Hong Kong. It also offers insights into Lin’s life and motivations as well as the history of the institutions he contributed to/founded. It not only furthers our understanding of the Chinese Christian business elite in early Hong Kong but also provides us with insights when further studying this group of people in other British colonies in Asia.

Christian-affiliated social groups and leaders have been active and vocal in movements advocating democracy, equality and social justices. Christians are also specular in the “July 1st Protest” in 2003 and “Umbrella Movement” in 2014. Are Christians, in general, more politically active in Hong Kong? This paper aims to examine these questions from a quantitative viewpoint.

This paper examines the effects of religion and other socio-demographic factors on both electoral and non-electoral participation based on data from the World Value Survey 2013 Hong Kong data set.

Interest in politics and education level are strong predictors of both electoral and non-electoral participation in Hong Kong. Confidence in government is negatively associated with political participation. Religious affiliation is not a predictor of any kinds of political participation. The effects of interest in politics are greater among Protestants and Catholics than people with no religion.

While previous surveys show that Christians have a strong presence in political participation, the results suggest that being a Christian is not statistically related to a higher level of political participation. On the other hand, affiliating to Christian churches may provide necessary resources (e.g. networks, skills and knowledge) only to those members who are already interested in politics and thereby facilitate their political participation.

Based on national sample data, this study debunks the public perception that “Christianity is politically active” and suggests the possible role of churches in mobilizing politically interested members into political activities.

Assembly systems require uninterrupted components' availability to feed workstations. This paper aims to propose a methodology to help managers in evaluating and selecting the most suitable policy for materials delivery to the shop floor. The analysis focuses on three basic policies, namely kitting, just in time kanban‐based continuous supply and line storage, even including class‐based hybrid policies.

Descriptive models are developed to design components' delivery systems and to compute their performances. Empirical criteria are utilized to associate specific policies to components classes in order to implement customized hybrid line feeding policies. A case study is then included to exemplify the method application and to show its capabilities as a decision making tool.

Hybrid feeding policies may be preferable to a single feeding policy common to all components. This is shown in a representative case study. However, in general there is a priori superior method and only a comparison of alternative feeding policies based on objective performance measures can determine the best approach in specific industrial applications.

The methodology is aimed at preliminary sizing and selection of alternative line feeding systems in deterministic environments. It is not intended for detailed performance analysis of assembly systems.

Production managers are given quantitative decision tools to properly select the components' delivery method at an early decision stage. This allows trade‐offs between alternatives to be explored in order to deploy customized feeding policies differentiated on components basis to better fit specific company requirements.

The paper extends previous descriptive models for line feeding systems and includes the possibility of hybrid policies.

The Communist revolution in China has led to the appearance in this country of increasing numbers of Chinese books in Russian translation. The Chinese names in Cyrillic transcription have presented many librarians and students with a new problem, that of identifying the Cyrillic form of a name with the customary Wade‐Giles transcription. The average cataloguer, the first to meet the problem, has two obvious lines of action, and neither is satisfactory. He can save up the names until he has a chance to consult an expert in Chinese. Apart altogether from the delay, the expert, confronted with a few isolated names, might simply reply that he could do nothing without the Chinese characters, and it is only rarely that Soviet books supply them. Alternatively, he can transliterate the Cyrillic letters according to the system in use in his library and leave the matter there for fear of making bad worse. As long as the writers are not well known, he may feel only faintly uneasy; but the appearance of Chzhou Ėn‐lai (or Čžou En‐laj) upsets his equanimity. Obviously this must be entered under Chou; and we must have Mao Tse‐tung and not Mao Tsze‐dun, Ch'en Po‐ta and not Chėn' Bo‐da. But what happens when we have another . . . We can hardly write Ch'en unless we know how to represent the remaining elements in the name; yet we are loth to write Ch'en in one name and Chėn' in another.