Sense of community may be shaped by the quality of the physical environment and has potential health implications. Based on a survey of 2,247 community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults living in Hong Kong, we tested the mediation effect of sense of community on the relationship between the quality of the built environment and physical and mental health using path analysis. The quality of the built environment was indicated by the age-friendliness of outdoor spaces and buildings. No direct association was found between the built environment and health outcomes, although age-friendly outdoor spaces were associated with better mental health. Sense of community mediated 14% of the total effect between outdoor spaces and mental health and 44.8% of the total effect between buildings and physical health, underscoring the importance of accommodating the social needs of middle-aged and older people in urban development in high-density cities.

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The value of a cost-management initiative rests its ability in producing new and/or more accurate cost information for decision making. As such, insights on antecedents and consequences of using different types of cost information in decision making are important in evaluating cost management initiatives. Behavioral research paradigm offers researchers a framework to interpret relationships between uses of different types of cost information and individuals' behaviors. This chapter presents a review of behavioral studies on cost information usage in decision making published in 1998-2007. Findings of the review shows that using different types of cost information in decision making have significant impacts on individuals' behaviors and uses of cost information are likely to be moderated by various human, system, and market factors.

Purpose-Since the 1990s, there has been a growing interest in style of information usage. However, most studies on style of information usage are conducted in developed countries. There is limited research on style of information usage in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to fill the gap in the existing literature by examining relationships between style of information usage and use of financial and non-financial information in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach-The authors adopted a survey method, for which a written questionnaire was prepared and mailed out to companies in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Terengganu and Pulau Pinang. Findings-Findings of the study show that diagnostic style of information usage is positively associated with use of financial information, while interactive style of information usage is positively associated with use of non-financial information. Further analysis on types of non-financial information used by managers who adopt interactive style of information usage reveals that customer related non-financial information such as quality, customer satisfaction and flexibility play a more important role in their decision-making processes. Originality/value-The paper provides insights into relationships between style of information usage on and use of accounting information in developing countries. Findings of the study can be applied to assist management accountants in meeting managers' information requirements.