Thesis--M. Phil., University of Hong Kong, 1987.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-64).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-58).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-80).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-49).

Thesis (M.S. in Defense Analysis)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Anna Simons, David C. Tucker. Includes bibliographical references (p. 149-154). Also available online.

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Arts

The enactment of the 2006 Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the PRC marked a new stage in China’s bankruptcy regime by the inclusion of a new reorganization system. The first 5 years of the implementation of the law and further scholarly research, however, have exposed the problems that underlie it, especially those concerning the reorganization of listed companies. The pressing need to address these problems calls for a better understanding of the goals of reorganization. This is because it is by applying the criterion of what best serves the desired reorganization goals that distinguishes an optimal from a less-than-optimal reorganization law and sense from nonsense in its implementation. Thus far, however, no scholar has carried out systemic research of China’s reorganization goals. This thesis, set out in two parts, attempts to fill this gap in the literature for both the dynamics of reorganization legislation and the effectiveness of reorganization implementation in China. Employing the methods of theoretical analysis, economic analysis of law, case analysis and comparative study, the first part of this thesis argues that preserving going-concern surplus and fair distribution are the two fundamental goals of reorganization in China. Although protecting community interest is important, it should be considered only an incidental goal of reorganization. The second part of this thesis examines how the most important aspects of the current reorganization system under the EBL can be improved so as to better achieve the two fundamental goals in reality. As to the goal of preserving going-concern surplus, it discusses the early rescue, preservation and sale of the viable parts of the business in a distressed enterprise. As to the goal of fair distribution, it analyzes both the distributional boundaries and rules of reorganization, with a focus on the absolute priority rule. How to balance the values underlying the two fundamental goals of reorganization and the practical impediments to the implementation of the reorganization law are then discussed. Both a sound grasp of the reorganization goals under the EBL and a deep understanding of why and how specific reorganization mechanisms and provisions exist to serve these goals are needed. Only with such understanding, together with a grasp of the relationships between different fundamental goals and different mechanisms and provisions, can the efforts aiming to improve China’s reorganization system achieve the desired level of effectiveness as a whole. / published_or_final_version / Law / Master / Doctor of Legal Studies

During the past decade, China has accepted and extensively adopted probation as a type of community-based sanctions. Since 2003, the number of offenders granted probation in China has greatly increased. However, few empirical studies have focused on the impact of probation, the effect of environments that probationers re-enter or what factors are associated with better probation outcomes. This study fills this gap by evaluating probation outcomes over a one-year follow up on a sample of 250 male probationers. The primary aim of this exploratory study is to examine what factors make probation work better from the social learning perspective. This study tests interaction effects between the person and the social environment in which the probationers’ learning occurs. This study also categorizes potential variables into a theoretical framework of static and dynamic risk factors. This study poses two main research questions: (1) Does probation lower the likelihood of reoffending? (2) What specific factors explain whether probationers reoffend during their probation? This study uses unique, first-hand, self-report data from 250 male Chinese probationers. Probationers were interviewed with a structured questionnaire at the start of the study and revisited 12 months later and asked about their probation experience. Probation outcomes were measured by self-reported reoffending behaviors, including recidivism and technical violations. This was triangulated by reports from probation officers. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the effects of static and dynamic risk variables on self-reported probation outcomes. Logistic regressions demonstrated that age, employment status, contact with antisocial companions, leisure status, family/marital circumstance, and relationship with probation officers were all significantly associated with probation outcomes. Logistic regressions also demonstrated that leisure status and contact with antisocial companions were critical factors explaining probation success and failure. The main implication of the findings is that personal and interpersonal factors are important in explaining probationers’ reoffending behaviors. Finally, this study also has implications for social services for probationers from relationship and structuring perspectives. / published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Background Influenza is an infectious respiratory illness which causes not only mild illness but also severe illness and death, responsible for about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths worldwide every year. Excess mortality usually had been used to estimate the actually recorded number of deaths that exceeded the number expected on the basis of past seasonal experience so as to assess the influenza related mortality. Previous studies reporting the association with environmental factors, such as ambient temperature and influenza related mortality, varied in different cities. Therefore, the association between environmental factors and excess mortality of influenza is still controversial and inconclusive, particularly in subtropical regions. Furthermore, whether there exists heterogeneity in the influenza disease burden and effect magnitude among different cities in the same subtropic region has been seldom documented so far. Objective The primary aim of this study is to critically assess the association between environmental factors especially weather conditions such as temperature, precipitation and relative humidity and the influenza‐associated mortality via systematic review and quantative analysis. The secondary aim is to compare the effect magnitude of environmental factors on influenza associated mortality between the southern cities of Mainland China and Hong Kong. Method Because influenza disease is difficult to detect or measure, influenza associated excess mortality which includes all cause deaths associated with influenza, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases (R&C) and pneumonia and influenza (P&I) has been used to measure the influenza. Eiligible studies up to February 2013 have been searched in Pubmed, EMBASE database and reference lists of previous reviews. All observational studies including ecological studies which assessed the assoicaitons between environmental factors and influenza‐associated mortality were included. Related excess mortality which had been deal with Poisson model in Hong Kong and related excess mortality which had been deal with negative binomial model in these Mainland southern cities had been collected from the secondary data. Meteorological data in Hong Kong had been collected from the historical data in meteorological observation stations, while the meteorological data in the southern cities of China was collected from China Meteorological Data Sharing Service System. Pearson correlation and linear regression have been used to examine the association between environmental factors and influenza associated mortality. Last, a pooled analysis was conducted by including city*environmental factors (temperature) as an interaction term in the model to detect the effect magnitude in the two kinds of cities. All tests were two‐sided and p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results A total of 14 papers were included in the critic review. Negative association between environmental fctors and influenza had been reported in many studies, although inconsistent results had also been reported. The excess mortality of pneumonia and influenza disease in the five southern Mainland cities is significant higher than the the one in Hong Kong (P=0.010). No significant difference was observed in all‐cause excess mortalities and cardiovascular and respiratory disease excess mortality between the two regions (P=0.991, P=0.109). In the five Mainland southern cities, there was significant association between temperature and influenza related all‐cause excess mortality, and the significant association was also found between temperature and cardiovascular and respiratory disease excess mortality (r = ‐0.475, P=0.016 and r = ‐0.673, P=0.007, respectively). Moreover, no significant association was found between precipitation and excess mortality in Mainland. While in Hong Kong, the only two significant associations were found between environmental factors, temperature and relative humidity, and P&I excess mortality (r = ‐0.763, P=0.003 and r =‐0.804, P=0.005, respectively). In the pooled analysis, the influence of temperature on R&C and all cause excess mortality was significantly different between Hong Kong and the five southern Mainland cities. With the increasing of the temperature, the excess mortalities reduced in the two counterparts. However, tempereture had a greater effect on the excess mortality in Mainland China cities than in Hong Kong. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health