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Synthesis and photophysical study of a new class of neutral luminescent rhenium(I) diimine complexes with anionic isocyanoborate ligands
No full textL2 Cantonese Chinese acquisition of Pakistani preschoolers in Hong Kong
No full textIn mainstream Cantonese-medium kindergarten classrooms nowadays, the number of non-Cantonese speaking Pakistani children is increasing. Since preschool education is not a prerequisite for schooling in the public sector, the majority of the non-Cantonese speaking Pakistani children acquire Cantonese through immersion at kindergartens where Cantonese is the medium of instruction. To what extent have the Pakistani preschoolers been able to develop Cantonese proficiency for schooling remains unknown to educators, policy makers and other social concern groups. Some such scholars as Rose (2000 & 2009), Achiba (2003), Dewart and Summers (1995) and Ellis (1992) have pointed out that the study of request forms used by young children would enable researchers to have a better understanding of the pragmatic competence (i.e. language and culture) of young children in their L1 and/or L2.
This paper adopts a pragmatic approach to examine (i) the relationship between L2 Cantonese pragmatic knowledge (language proficiency and cultural knowledge) and Pakistani preschoolers’ expression of Cantonese request strategies; (ii) the relationship between Pakistani parents’ Cantonese proficiency and their children’s Cantonese request strategies; (iii) the difference in the ability of using Cantonese request strategies by Pakistani preschoolers at different grade levels in kindergarten; i.e. K1, K2 and K3. All discussions in the paper are based on findings from an on-going research project which is cross-sectional in nature. Data are collected twice in one year from Pakistani children attending Cantonese medium mainstream kindergartens at K1, K2 and K3 grade levels. Data on preschoolers’ Cantonese request strategies are elicited through role-play between the interviewer and subjects by using toys. Cantonese proficiency of Pakistani parents’ is measured by self-assessment and is collected by questionnaire. The coding of request data is based on and adapted from Blum-Kulka, House, & Kasper’s (1989) classification of requests in their Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP)
Melatonin interferes with the biofilm development in Candida parapsilosis
No full textObjective: To investigate the in vitro effect of melatonin on C. parapsilosis biofilms.
Method: C. parapsilosis ATCC 22019 was grown on YPD agar (1% yeast extract, 2% peptone, 2% dextrose, 2% agar) at 30°C over..
Plant recruitment in early development stages on rehabilitated quarries in Hong Kong
No full textTo understand vegetation development during the ecological succession of rehabilitated quarries, floristic composition and structure were evaluated at different restoration phases on three quarries in Hong Kong that were planted with exotic woody species over the course of 2–14 years. A total of 113 species, of which 82 were woody species, were recorded. Exotic species dominated the overstory, and species number, richness, and diversity increased with age. Some light-demanding early successional species were becoming dominant in the overstory vegetation at the older phases of revegetation. These species could be potential candidates for early enrichment planting with Acacia spp. Common secondary forest species occurred naturally in the understory vegetation, and were more abundant and dominant after 10 years of ecological development. The most successful restorations were on scree slopes using leguminous Acacia spp. as nurse species
The effects of parental psychological control and autonomy support in Hong Kong: the mediating role of performance-based self-worth
No full textFrom Bauhaus to DESIS: exploring solution - focused methodology for social design education
No full textWhat are the social responsibilities of design schools? In order to explore this question, we employed action search methodology. Through our on-going collaborations with different design schools, our main research goal is to investigate the social role of designers and further of design schools and the design education system as a whole. ‘Ageing in place’, the overarching concept for these labs, was to enable participants to experience and question how the life-course approach to ageing could inspire new community design processes. So far, we have engaged different types of design schools and in this paper, we reflect on one of our design labs with a vocational training college in Hong Kong. We worked with staff members and students teaching them how to employ design as a means to engage housing estate residents in their neighbourhood. In‐depth interviews and observations of stakeholders who participated in our design actions have been conducted throughout the process. To conclude, three tactical actions on how an individual designer’s responsibilities relate to the systems of design education will be suggested and shared: confrontational tactics, empathy and imagination of replacement
Enabled by design: enquiry into the living patterns of Hong Kong high-rise communities
No full textThis paper also intends to explore the possibility of making this experience a foundation for future models of pedagogy. The learning processes mention would not only happen exclusively within the campus, but would also be open to the community and public. This paper reports the process and results of a survey developed as a collaboration between a design researcher in participation, design educators, a sociologist, local activists, design students and their families and friends. We discussed how this model could be an exploration for forming a community for enquiry. This process advocated the use of open enquiry, common tool creation and co-learning activity to carry out the research. This is an on-going process and we will discuss its latest development: from design education to civic education to create tools and platforms for an archive of Hong Kong lived-in homes
Antioxidative properties of traditional herbal medicines and the application of comet assay on antioxidative study
No full textTraditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in single herb or formula prescription has been used for thousands of years. Many of them possess antioxidant activity and the activity may contribute the therapeutic effect. This paper would review the relationship of traditional herbal medicine and antioxidant with particular reference to ginseng. This medicinal herb has been used worldwide with extensive tonic effect. The comet assay, a technique for DNA protecting and damaging investigation would be introduced and the application of comet assay on TCM would be discussed
健康花草教育計劃: 不一樣的校園環境
No full text希望透過合作夥伴的經驗分享, 推動一百種不一樣的健康、環保及綠色課程概念。手冊內各主題分享, 就像精心砲製出一道道健康美饌, 除了大快朵頤外, 更可獲得心靈滿足
設計生活模式 香港高樓社區 Patterns of living: Hong Kong’s high-rise communities
No full text生活在「世界最宜居城市」是怎樣的一回事？香港有約350萬人住在公共房屋，佔總人口大概五成。他們的居所，為求成本效益，都是千篇一律的建築規格與設計。雖然樓高入雲，但面積細小，而且居住密度極高，蝸居其內，生活會是同樣的標準化，還是色彩紛陳？此書將帶你進入他們的家居，一睹公屋居民的生活，並以繪圖及快拍的形式，記錄香港不同地區的典型家居情況。此書由VTC成員院校香港知專設計學院（HKDI）訪問學人李欣琪博士，與英國皇家藝術學院建築歷史研究學者希拉里‧弗蘭徹共同撰寫，HKDI學生參與內容製作