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The long-awaited Plaque Unveiling Ceremony for the 2020 and 2021 B Outstanding Structure Award b winners finally took place in China, after the Covid-19 lockdown and associated restrictions. At 55km, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) is the world's longest sea-crossing link and consists of reclamations, artificial islands, immersed tunnels, marine viaducts and cable-stay bridges. [Extracted from the article]

This paper analyses the discursive realisation of on-site problem-solving encounters in a large international construction project in Hong Kong. Specifically, the analyses focus on professional English as a lingua franca interactions between the engineers from Japan who are full-time employees of the company heading the joint venture, and contracted Hong-Kongese foremen and engineers. A combination of methods and several data sources are used to interpret the interlocutors' communications and relationships, and show how certain items, for instance problem , issue and if , as well as evaluative items such as metaphors and idioms, index discursive practices and patterns during problem solving. These data sources include fully transcribed spoken interactions, interviews with the participants and expert informants, and researcher field notes. The results shed light on the key intertextual role the contract plays in the context of construction industry problem solving, the various bodies that are involved in addressing complex problems, and the importance of the foreman and on-site engineer relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses several amendments to the Lifts and Escalators (Safety) Ordinance (Cap 327) (LESO) in Hong Kong as of April 2013. A lift accident which occurred in 2008 at the 35-storey Shin Hga House in Hong Kong is addressed, along with safety certifications and maintenance requirements for lifts and escalators under the LESO. Public consultation and the Building Services Operation and Maintenance Executives Society (BSOMES) are also examined.

Purpose – As part of a study that aimed at enhancing the future roles and functions of building services (BS) engineers in Hong Kong, a survey was carried out to obtain demographic information about BS practitioners as well as their views and opinions on a range of issues which affect professional practices of BS engineers and recognition of their contributions by others. The purpose of this paper is to give a portrait of BS engineers in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach – A series of statistical analyses were conducted based on the responses given by the BS practitioners, which included their qualifications, experience, job field, annual income and the number of trades of BS systems that they are competent in and responsible for. Findings – The statistics show that: competence gap exists in that BS engineers are required to handle more trades of BS systems than those they are competent in; and the academic and professional qualifications, years of experience and job position are the key influential factors to the annual income of BS engineers but little differences exist in the average annual income of engineers in different job fields. Originality/value – The competence gap is a concern that needs to be addressed to ensure BS engineers are competent in handling the common trades of BS systems, which is increasingly important for them to perform effectively in integrated professional teams for turning out holistic solutions for sustainable building developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current method of steel bar soil nail construction is both labor intensive as well as expensive and many engineers are considering the use of new soil nail materials. In the present pilot test, an innovative soil nail is constructed by light weight high strength glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) pipe with the Tube a’ Manchette grouting technique. It is found that this new soil nail system can be handled easily on sites with difficult access. Extensive laboratory as well as field tests were carried out on the GFRP pipe nails and the grouted soil mass and numerical modeling of a field test was performed. The installation of the GFRP pipe, laboratory, and field test results that were carried out in Hong Kong and Korea are discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article evaluates the concept of migration channels, identifying the strengths and weaknesses that have emerged from use of a migration channels framework in international migration research. Using professional migration to and from Hong Kong in the 1990s as an empirical lens, it is argued that the meso-scale understanding offered by examining the effect of migration channels is valuable. This is illustrated in terms of the contrasting channels used by different professions, as well by migrants motivated to move by citizenship as opposed to career reasons. Survey research of migrant engineers and doctors, however, points to the need to recast the channels migration framework in at least three ways, giving stronger recognition to 1) the strategic behavior of migrants themselves, 2) the need for a theorization of the hierarchically ordered economic "space" within which migration channels operate and, 3) the sociocultural context within which constructions of the meaning of migration and place occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]