• Asian Journal of Business Environment
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.29-31
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• 2019

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to examine the newly formed a partnership of Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway (Berkshire) and JPMorgan through the lens of strategic alliance, corporate philanthropy, and corporate social responsibility. Research design, data, and methodology - This is an analytical case study that examines the existing scholarly articles in strategic alliances, corporate philanthropy, and corporate social responsibility to explain the recent strategic alliance. Results - There is a clear limitation in explaining this type of unconventional strategic alliance with exiting definitions and concepts because there is no existing study or case available today. Forming a strategic business alliance to create and operate healthcare for their domestic employees could be viewed as a social innovation that resulted from an effort to resolve a social problem, the ineffective healthcare system in the U.S., rather than focusing on business benefits and profits. Conclusions - The success or failure of this type of business alliance would certainly affect the current healthcare system of the United States and global businesses and healthcare industries in the future. However, just entering or tapping into uncharted territory by these three companies to deal with a social issue is significant enough to merit further exploration and analysis for scholars and practitioners.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.343-360
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to analyze the difficulties with scientific research faced by leading Korean scientists and suggest implications for science education. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 13 leading Korean scientists and were qualitatively analyzed using constructivist grounded theory. The results of the study showed that the leading scientists encountered 11 subcategories of difficulties, which were grouped into three main categories: uncharted territory, unexpected situations, and a lack of resources in domestic research environments. 'Uncharted territory' comprised anxiety due to uncertainty about research performance, insufficient knowledge accumulation in the field of research, and the burden of maintaining research influence as an academic leader. 'Unexpected situations' included encountering new phenomena that cannot be explained by existing theories, an inability to utilize research results, and repeated failures. 'A lack of resources in domestic research environments' included inadequate research funding support systems, a shortage of expert networks, limitations on employment and career opportunities for students, poor research equipment, and insufficient support policies for retired researchers. This study provides science educators with implications for the direction of science education and R&E. For students, it can serve as career education material, their attitudes towards science and their understanding of its nature. Lastly, the study may contribute to finding ways to improve scientific research policies and to developing a culture that fosters expertise in science.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.406-416
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• 2023

Alarm system performance is a critical aspect of safety. While existing research has extensively examined the influence of acoustic attributes on alarm performance, consonance's impact remains largely uncharted territory. This study bridges this research gap by investigating the effect of consonance on alarm systems. We extend our investigation to encompass not only the sound characteristics of the alarm but also the acoustic qualities of the surrounding environment, recognizing their potential impact on alarm efficacy. Prior studies consistently link consonance to annoyance levels, resulting in a negative user experience. Thus, we explore the relationship between consonance and alarm system performance, with a particular focus on modulating annoyance as an explanatory factor. Utilizing an oddball paradigm, we categorized standard and oddball sounds into consonant and dissonant types, creating four sound combinations. Participants were asked to respond to the irregularly presented oddball sounds while ignoring the constantly presented standard sounds. Our results reveal significant differences between groups, with the Standard Consonant/Oddball Dissonant (SC/OD) group displaying notably slower response times than the Standard Dissonant/Oddball Consonant (SD/OC) group. This reaction time variation aligns with differences in annoyance levels, as the SC/OD group reports higher annoyance, suggesting that reaction time discrepancies may be linked to increased arousal due to heightened annoyance.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.2_spc
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• pp.337-345
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• 2024

Ruminants possess a specialized four-compartment forestomach, consisting of the reticulum, rumen, omasum, and abomasum. The rumen, the primary fermentative chamber, harbours a dynamic ecosystem comprising bacteria, protozoa, fungi, archaea, and bacteriophages. These microorganisms engage in diverse ecological interactions within the rumen microbiome, primarily benefiting the host animal by deriving energy from plant material breakdown. These interactions encompass symbiosis, such as mutualism and commensalism, as well as parasitism, predation, and competition. These ecological interactions are dependent on many factors, including the production of diverse molecules, such as those involved in quorum sensing (QS). QS is a density-dependent signalling mechanism involving the release of autoinducer (AIs) compounds, when cell density increases AIs bind to receptors causing the altered expression of certain genes. These AIs are classified as mainly being N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHL; commonly used by Gram-negative bacteria) or autoinducer-2 based systems (AI-2; used by Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria); although other less common AI systems exist. Most of our understanding of QS at a gene-level comes from pure culture in vitro studies using bacterial pathogens, with much being unknown on a commensal bacterial and ecosystem level, especially in the context of the rumen microbiome. A small number of studies have explored QS in the rumen using 'omic' technologies, revealing a prevalence of AI-2 QS systems among rumen bacteria. Nevertheless, the implications of these signalling systems on gene regulation, rumen ecology, and ruminant characteristics are largely uncharted territory. Metatranscriptome data tracking the colonization of perennial ryegrass by rumen microbes suggest that these chemicals may influence transitions in bacterial diversity during colonization. The likelihood of undiscovered chemicals within the rumen microbial arsenal is high, with the identified chemicals representing only the tip of the iceberg. A comprehensive grasp of rumen microbial chemical signalling is crucial for addressing the challenges of food security and climate targets.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.53-56
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• 2014

Hong Kong, a well-known metropolis characterized by skyscrapers on both sides of the Victoria Harbour, consists mainly of 3 parts, namely the Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon peninsula and the New Territories (N.T.) which is the land area north of Kowloon plus a number of outlying islands. Located in the N.T. are all the new towns, market towns; and in the plains and valleys lie scattered village houses of not more than 3 storeys within the confines of well-defined village. These village houses are governed by a rural housing policy that could be traced back to the very beginning of the former British administration in the N.T. By the Convention of Peking of 1898, the N.T., comprising the massive land area north of Kowloon up to Shenzhen River and 235 islands, was leased to Britain by China for 99 years from 1st July 1898. Soon after occupation, the colonial government conducted a survey of this uncharted territory from 1899 to 1903, and set up a land court to facilitate all land registration work and to resolve disputed claims. By 1905, the Block Crown Leases with Schedule of Lessees and details of the lots, each with a copy of the lot index plan (Demarcation Plan) were executed. Based on the above, Crown rent rolls were prepared for record and rent collection purposes. All grants of land thereafter are known as New Grant lots. After completion and execution of the Block Crown Lease in 1905, N.T. villagers had to purchase village house lots by means of Restricted Village Auctions; and Building Licences were issued to convert private agricultural land for building purposes but gradually replaced by Land Exchanges (i.e. to surrender agricultural land for the re-grant of building land) from the early 1960's until introduction of the current Small House Policy in October 1972. It was not until the current New Territories Small House Policy came into effect in December 1972 that the Land Authority can make direct grant of government land or approve the conversion of self-owned agricultural land to allow indigenous villagers to build houses within the village environs under concessionary terms. Such houses are currently restricted to 700 square feet in area and three storeys with a maximum height of 27 feet. An indigenous villager is a male descendent of a villager who was the resident of a recognized village already existing in 1898. Each villager is only allowed one concessionary grant in his lifetime. Upon return of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China on July 1st, 1997, the traditional rights of indigenous villagers are protected under Article 40 of the Basic Law (a mini-constitution of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region). Also all N.T. leases have been extended for 50 years up to 2047. Owing to the escalating demand and spiral landed property prices in recent years, abuse of the N.T. Small House Policy has been reported in some areas and is a concern in some quarters. The Hong Kong Institute of Land Administration attempts to study the history that leads to the current rural housing policy in the New Territories with particular emphasis on the small house policy, hoping that some light can be shed on the "way forward" for such a controversial policy.