This empirical study examines the intellectual capital (IC) performance of Hong Kong companies and its association with business performance. Data were collected from constituent companies of the Hang Seng Index listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (2005À2008). An IC measurement, Value Added Intellectual Coe±cient (VAIC TM ), was utilised to evaluate the IC investment of the companies.Four accounting ratios: market-to-book value (MB), return on assets (ROA), asset turnover (ATO) and return on equity (ROE) were used as the indicators of business performance. Regression analyses were conducted to test the ability of IC and its components in order to explain the variance in business performance measures.No conclusive evidence was found to support the associations between VAIC TM as an aggregate measure and the four¯nancial indicators. However, components of VAIC TM were found to predict a substantial variance in business performance. Capital Employed E±ciency (CEE) was found to be a key factor in predicting business¯nancial performance. Structural Capital E±ciency (SCE) was found to have a signi¯cant e®ect on businesses' market valuation, as measured by MB, and on profitability, as measured by ROE. Negative correlations were found between Human Capital E±ciency (HCE) and the¯nancial indicators. The¯ndings indicate a gap between the traditional accounting perspective and the value creation perspective, which is central to the VAIC TM methodology in measuring IC.It is believed that the¯ndings of this research provide insights for business stakeholders of Hong Kong companies in utilising IC, particularly the noted impact of structural capital. While our¯ndings indicate the importance of IC for corporations, as shown by the signi¯cant e®ect of SCE on ROE, physical and¯nancial assets may still be considered as the key resources in delivering business success.
Melioidosis is a notifiable infectious disease registered with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA), Singapore. From a clinical perspective, increased awareness of the disease has led to early detection and treatment initiation, thus resulting in decreasing mortality rates in recent years. However, the disease still poses a threat to local pet, zoo and farm animals, where early diagnosis is a challenge. The lack of routine environmental surveillance studies also makes prevention of the disease in animals difficult. To date, there have been no reports that provide a complete picture of how the disease impacts the local human and animal populations in Singapore. Information on the distribution of Burkholderia pseudomallei in the environment is also lacking. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of both published and unpublished clinical, veterinary and environmental studies on melioidosis in Singapore to achieve better awareness and management of the disease.
We analyzed the epidemiological distribution of Salmonella serovars in humans, foods, animals and the environment as a One-Health step towards identifying risk factors for human salmonellosis. Throughout the 2012–2016 period, Salmonella ser. Enteritidis was consistently the predominating serovar attributing to >20.0% of isolates in humans. Other most common serovars in humans include Salmonella ser. Stanley, Salmonella ser. Weltevreden, Salmonella ser. Typhimurium and Salmonella ser. 4,5,12:b:-(dT+). S. Enteritidis was also the most frequent serovar found among the isolates from chicken/chicken products (28.5%) and eggs/egg products (61.5%) during the same period. In contrast, S. Typhimurium (35.2%) and Salmonella ser. Derby (18.8%) were prevalent in pork/pork products. S. Weltevreden was more frequent in seafood (19.2%) than others (≤3.0%). Most isolates (>80.0%) from farms, companion and wildlife animals belonged to serovars other than S. Enteritidis or S. Typhimurium. Findings demonstrate the significance of a One-Health investigative approach to understand the epidemiology Salmonella for more effective and integrated surveillance systems.
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