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A distinctive feature of mortgages as assets is the existence of prepayment risk, typically viewed as a borrower’s call option to pay the outstanding mortgage balance at any time during the term. While previous research identified important causes for prepayment, these studies are mostly based on fixed‐rate mortgages, with little work on variable‐rate or floating‐rate mortgages and even less work on prepayment in countries other than the USA. This paper presents an analysis of prepayment based on the historical aggregate pre‐payment experience of a sample of variable rate mortgages in Hong Kong, which func‐tions under a Currency Board Mechanism that determines exogenously the level and term structure of interest rates. With variable rate mortgages, it is expected that there will not be a prepayment incentive with decreases in interest rates, unlike the case with fixed‐rate mortgages. However, we argue that observed interest rate movements remain a key factor that affects prepayment decisions, because current interest changes influence expected future interest rates. Furthermore, drawing on quasi‐rational and behavioral economics concepts, we expect the effect on prepayment of expected upward movement in interest rates to be stronger than that of expected downward movements. Empirical evidence from the adjustable rate residential mortgage sample from Hong Kong supports these expected relationships.

Since the first automated container terminal (ACT) was introduced at Europe Container Terminals Delta Terminal in Port Rotterdam back in the year 1992, a lot of research had been done to improve the management of ACT. However, up until recently, the number of literature available still appeared scarce. Hence, this paper aims to review the collection of literature about ACT to generate an exhaustive summary to answer the formulated review question in this study.

Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses to narrow down the search parameters of literature retrieved so that only relevant articles were only selected. The systematic literature reviews were applied to analyse the content of the articles retrieved to determine its journal ranking, research findings and timeline of publications.

The adoption of ACT technology by container terminal operators could increase the terminal efficiency in productivity, cost reduction and environmental sustainability. Owing to global environmental awareness, the research trend of container terminal field and container terminal operator in the terminal design is much more environmentally friendly oriented.

The limited numbers of experts in the management of ACT are causing challenges in data collections.

The analysis of the global ACT trend could help academicians and industrial investors to review the revolution timeline of maritime technology in port and shipping that is happening rapidly.

The analysis of timeline and collective literature leads to the propose of the conceptual framework to determine the relationship between increased productivity, cost reduction and environmentally sustainable.

At a meeting of the Nutrition Panel of the Food Group of the Society of Chemical Industry, Dr. Joseph Needham, of the Biochemical Laboratory, University of Cambridge, speaking on “ The Biological Nature of the Egg,” pointed out what complex structures were the eggs of birds and other vertebrates. In fact the embryo, which is eventually to develop into the new animal, only occupies a very small space within the total egg. The remainder serves, in one way or another, to keep the organism alive until it is hatched. It is interesting to note that this is not the case in lower animals. The octopus in its egg is not supplied by its mother with enough copper but must obtain more for itself from the surrounding sea. Newts and frogs in their eggs also must to some extent look after themselves. Birds' eggs, however, represent a type of perfectly “closed box” structure which requires many ingenious devices in order to survive. One of these, through which the bird saves itself from being poisoned by its own by‐products, is the fact that the developing embryo does not excrete nitrogen as urea but in the form of uric acid which is more easily deposited as crystals.—Dr. Ethel M. Cruickshank, of the Department of Agriculture, Cambridge, who spoke on the “ Chemical Composition of the Egg,” pointed out that the hen was a physiological machine for turning raw materials into human foodstuffs. The amount of such human food which the hen could produce in a day depended on a number of factors, but to a large extent it was true to say that the bigger the hen the larger the egg. The number of eggs which a hen would lay in a year was a different matter, but an interesting point was the fact that high production had little or no detrimental effect on the quality of the eggs. In considering the composition of the egg one must divide it into three parts. The shell was principally made up of calcium carbonate, although small amounts of magnesium, phosphorus and organic matter were present. The white was composed of four different kinds of protein and could be divided into layers of thick and thin white. The proportion of thick to thin white influenced the culinary value of the egg. Together, the four proteins in the white contained the essential amino acids which made “ first class ” protein. Egg white contained minerals and also supplied valuable amounts of vitamin B. The yolk contained two proteins which were also shown to be of “ first class ” quality. Besides protein the yolk contained 30 to 32 per cent. of fat. Numerous minerals were present, including relatively rich amounts of easily assimilable iron. Vitamins A, D, B1 and B2 were also present. The anti‐rachitic vitamin D was of great significance in the diet. Dr. Cruickshank also discussed the factors in the diet of the hen which might give the yolk an unpleasant taste or a strange colour. Although the amount of fat, and hence the total food value of the egg, could only be influenced to a slight extent by the diet of the hen, the nature and flavour of the egg could be very strikingly altered by feeding mashes containing, for example, hemp seed or linseed oil. As regards vitamins, it was essential that plenty of these should be present in the diet of the hen in order that her egg might be of high nutritive value. As regards minerals, it was very well known that by feeding a hen a diet which was short of calcium a thin shell was obtained. However, the calcium content of the yolk and white were not affected. The amount of iodine in eggs was affected by the amount in the hens' food, although iron and copper appeared to be independent of the amount present in the diet.—Dr. S. K. Kon, of the National Institute for Research in Dairying, Reading, spoke on the nutritive importance of eggs in the diet. He stressed that eggs share with milk the ability to cover nutritive requirements during the period of rapid development. The vitamins, minerals and “ first class ” protein in eggs made them one of the protective foods. In particular, eggs supplemented very well the proteins present in cereals. Dr. Kon showed in detail how eggs contribute to the various factors of a good diet.—Dr. R. B. Haines, of the Low Temperature Research Station, Cambridge, spoke on the preservation of eggs. He showed how hens' eggs were in a state of rapid change. The aim of storage was to retard or stop this change and prevent the attack of outside agencies such as micro‐organisms. Although storage only affected the nutritive value of eggs to a very minor degree, any loss of palatability and cooking quality was a clear indication that certain slight chemical changes had taken place. Dr. Haines mentioned three methods for the large‐scale storage of eggs. The first was cold storage, the second, storage with the partial addition of CO2, and the third, full gas storage. For other purposes, drying or freezing could be used. Problems connected with the storage of eggs led to the consideration of questions of production and handling. For example, “ thick white ” was apparently due to the individual hen. Again, spoilage of eggs by the invasion of bacteria was influenced by the structure of the egg‐shell, which might vary greatly in successive eggs from the same hen or by the “ washing ” treatment which the eggs received. Among many other topics upon which Dr. Haines touched were “ swollen ” and “ flabby ” yolks due to loss of moisture, “ watery whites,” “ sunken ” and “ sided ” yolks due to chemical changes, and eggs with “ whiskers,” due to the growth of fungus on the shell.—Miss Mary Andross, of the West of Scotland College of Domestic Science, Glasgow, gave the final paper on the subject of “ The Cooking of Eggs.” Research in domestic science concerned itself with what effect such factors as temperature, time, rate of cooking, acidity, or the addition of salts, might have on the nutritive properties of eggs which were boiled, poached, fried, scrambled or made into omelets, custards, mayonaise, meringues, angel cakes, or sponge cakes. Another important factor which was the subject of scientific investigation was the effect of the age of the egg in relation to its cooking qualities. Miss Andross also discussed the waste of food value which might take place in different methods of cooking, and she concluded by discussing the effects which different treatments might have on the digestibility of the food.

Fieldwork is one of the hallmarks of anthropology. Almost all students of anthropology have geographical and cultural specializations, ranging from a small group to a nation. Their interest areas are often identified or marked by real or putative boundaries; and it is within these boundaries that anthropologists have “founded” their own villages and tribes — “my village”, “my tribe.”

Let \cal N be a consistent connected network including independent voltage and current sources, positive linear resistors, multiterminal weakly no‐gain non‐linear resistors and equal numbers of nullators and norators, U(\cal N) a voltage appearing between a distinguished pair of nodes and I(\cal N) a current flowing in a distinguished branch in an equilibrium state of \cal N. It is proved that, under conditions detailed in the paper, U(\˜cal N¹)≤ U(\cal N) ≤ U(\˜cal N²) and I(\overline \cal N^\raise1pt1) ≤ I(\cal N) ≤ I(\overline \cal N^\raise1pt2) where \˜cal N¹,\˜cal N²,\overline \cal N^\raise1pt1, and \overline \cal N^\raise1pt2, are networks derived from \cal N by replacing non‐linear resistors by open‐ and/or short‐circuit structures. An earlier combinatorial method of estimating solutions of non‐linear resistive networks is extended to cover networks including active elements. The method is tested on simple examples of active diode‐transistor circuits.

This study aims to delve deeply into the role of infrastructure on economic growth in 59 belt and road initiative (BRI) participating countries from various regions of the world as the main objective of BRI is to encourage the participating countries to improve investment and trade facilitation via infrastructure. Besides, the development of infrastructure is in line with the United Nations’ 2030 sustainable development goals (SDG).

This study encompasses all of the important physical infrastructure factors to compute a composite infrastructure index. Thereafter, this study used both the panel cointegration and the panel Granger causality tests to investigate the impact of the infrastructure index and other essential factors on economic growth.

The empirical results signify the importance of infrastructure development on economic growth in both the long-run and short-run. Besides, it is evident that capital, expenditure on health and education, as well as exports, will accelerate economic growth.

The findings of this study could contribute to the literature regarding BRI in two ways. First, it will provide insight to the policymakers of China and the BRI participating countries on whether infrastructure development is worthy of huge investment so as to enhance the success of the BRI. Second, the outcome of this study will give policymakers a better understanding of the determinants of economic growth, which, in turn, will help them in designing effective policies.

Poses the question: what are the consequences of employing a household help on the domestic division of labour? Researches this question by talking to ten couples who employ cleaners. Reports that employing some sort of domestic help has enabled middle‐class women to enter employment in greater numbers than ever before and that it is simply too costly to a family’s economy to have an educated female potential wage‐earner concentrating on unpaid domestic tasks. Refers to a “stalled revolution“, whereby men (theoretically) are carrying out a greater share of domestic tasks but (in actuality) women do not report any great difference. Notes also, that it is increasingly difficult to rely on assistance from relatives. Puts forward reasons for and against the employment of domestic help, as well as four perspectives – the individual perspective, the gender perspective, the general structure of society, and the labour market, and social policy – relating to the consequences of employing a cleaner. Explores “partner‐typology”, determined on a continuum stretching from traditional role‐held beliefs to symmetrical roles for men and women. Concludes that employing domestic help leads to a more equal relationship between the employing couple, that housework is perceived as an increasingly unattractive option, and that new inequalities creep into the gender relationship as it is usually women who perform low‐paid domestic work.

Das Baden in Flüssen, Seen und im Meer ist bei Natur‐ und frühen Kulturvölkern üblich gewesen. Den Griechen war zur Zeit HOMERS neben dem Bad in offenen Gewässern auch schon das Baden in Wannen bekannt. Die Berhrung der Römer mit den Griechen im 3. Jahrhundert v.Chr. führte zur Uebernahme der griechischen Einrichtungen durch die Römer. Das Aufkommen der mit Hypokaustenanlagen versehenen Bäder brachte ein luxuriöses Badewesen in der Kaiserzeit (Caracalla‐Thermen in Rom), das auch in die von den Römern eroberten Gebiete in Deutschland Eingang fand, z.B. Thermen von Trier, Badenweiler, Baden‐Baden. Nach TACITUS war das Baden auch bei den Germanen beliebt. Das Vorhandensein des Schwitzbades bei den Germanen ist durch das germanische Wort Stube (heizbares Gemach) bezeugt. Zu Beginn der Neuzeit (16. Jahrhundert) werden die Mineralbäder stärker besucht. Im 18. Jahrhundert werden anstelle von Badekuren Trinkkuren Mode. An den Küsten entstehen Seebadeanstalten, z.B. in England und auf der Insel Norderney. Neben den Bade‐ und Trinkkuren setzen sich im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert immer stärker auch Kneippkuren und Klimakuren durch.

The overall purpose of this paper is to detect spatial, temporal, sectoral, thematic and other patterns or transitions in techno-socio-economic evolution that are likely to co-determine future development and allow the steering of it. The development of a “Global Change Data Base” (GCDB) promises a graphically and geographically oriented tool for the representation of correlations for global long-term data series.

A literature analysis supports the interpretation of such “pattern recognitions”, especially the literature in the areas of economic growth, systems analysis, energy economics, social indicators and quality of life. Preconditions for economic growth are empirically analysed on a sectoral level along with prevailing structural shifts in the use of energy sources.

The main outcome is a distillate of a few formative “paths of development”, according to a synthesis of to-date growth theories. These lines might influence development in future decades and co-determine the degree to which sustainability targets are met. Debates and discussion procedures make use of such findings and outline modes of actions.

Developmental university curricula such as “Global Studies”, democratisation endeavours based on analyses of economic performance of (partly) democratic systems or global governance of science could profit from a consensus on global trends patterns, similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change endeavour at the United Nations level.

Such heuristic methods could suitably mediate (in “multicultural” manner) between contradictory paradigms of global economic development that are mainly ideology-driven and hamper global society’s joint action.

In short, this is an empirical work on pattern recognition in global evolution using aggregated spatially and temporally enabled data. It refers to the historic example of Kon-Tiki which undertook a surprisingly long journey based on precise knowledge of ocean currents and wind without applying own force.