1,069 research outputs found
How Hong Kong students learn using the study process questionnaire: Cross-cultural comparisons
No full textAnecdotal evidence abounds in Hong Kong to the effect that students entering tertiary education are predisposed to a “rote” learning approach. Until the research studies at City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Polytechnic, there have been no systematic studies performed locally and as such in the absence of cross-cultural research, there is a tendency to rely on anecdotal statements about Hong Kong students’ approaches to learning. This study was designed to see if Hong Kong Chinese students predisposed to a surface or deep approach to learning react differently when moving progressively from one stage to the next stage in their undergraduate occupational therapy curriculum. This study adopted a longitudinal design method which followed a cohort of 80 undergraduate occupational therapy students over two years and measured their changes in their approaches to learning using the Biggs’ Study Process Questionnaire The internal consistency reliability estimates alpha for SPQ scales for samples of Hong Kong, Australian and British students was compared. The alpha estimates of this study varied from 0.56 to 0.75 which compares favourably with other studies reported in Hong Kong, Australia and U.K. The results of this study indicated that the Hong Kong Chinese students demonstrated a higher mean for the deep approach to learning (47.3 in Year 1 and 46.3 in Year 3) and a lower mean for the surface approach (42.7 in Year 1 and 42.4 in Year 3), similar to other Hong Kong studies from other tertiary institutions in Hong Kong and Australia. From the findings, it is reasonable to conclude that students change their approach according to the different demands imposed by their varied learning needs. Based on this belief, the author while ruling out the potential for misunderstandings about Asian students, draws attention to the cross-cultural differences in approaches to learning which highlights on the changing nature of tertiary classroom and the implications for teaching and learning, with the major shift in the characteristic of student population
Assessing approaches to learning cross-cultural comparisons
No full textThis study was designed to see if Hong Kong Chinese students predisposed to a surface or deep approach to learning react differently when moving progressively from one stage to the next stage in their undergraduate occupational therapy curriculum. In this study, the internal consistency reliability estimates alpha for SPQ (Study Process Questionnaire (Biggs, 1987c)) scales for samples of Hong Kong, Australian and British students were compared. The alpha estimates varied from 0.56 to 0.75 which compares favourably with other studies reported in Hong Kong, Australia and U.K. The results of this study did not confirm the anecdotal claims that rote learning was far more wide spread among Hong Kong tertiary students than their counterparts in other countries and ruled out the potential for misunderstandings
Detection of grip sincerity, Hong Kong data
No full textGrip function is one of the many components to be considered in the overall assessment of hand function. It is well known that a standardized grip strength assessment can provide clinicians with quantifiable and objective information about their clients. There has been increasing demand for therapists to conduct functional evaluation for claims related to employee compensation or personal injury litigations. Since functional hand evaluation is a kind of performance test, its validity relies heavily on the cooperation or sincerity of the subjects being assessed. Further more, with the increasing need for reliable medical documentation, it is important that we obtain an objective and sincere measurement of the grip test. Although several researchers had made attempts to detect malingering of effort in grip strength measurements, to date there are no substantative studies to show clearly the difference between sincere and fake effort when conducting grip measurement tests. The study of this nature has great potential to develop a more accurate method to detect the sincerity of effort. The study was conducted on both healthy people and people recovered from various hand injuries. The study sample consisted a total of 80 experimental (patients) group and a total of 40 healthy (control) group based on the strict selection criteria. Each group of subjects was tested in a series of maximal sustain grip power test of both hands with the Jamar dynamometer of the EVAL System (Green Leaf) by following a standardized test procedure. All the subjects were tested during two sessions while performing both fake and sincere effort. The series of test procedure produced 2 sets of sincere grip test results, i.e. injured hand and unaffected hand for each subject. The EVAL system software was used to capture the data. Based on this study, force-time curves of each trial were analyzed for peak and average forces and force variability. The frequency distribution of the sincere values for each of these variables was used to determine a criterion value for discrimination of sincere and fake trials. Based on the peak force, average force (over 3 trials) and the variability of the plateau region of each force-time curve, five discriminator variables (D1-D5) were calculated. They were then tested for prediction accuracy in discriminating between sincere and fake effort Factors and rationale influencing results and the implication of this study on current practice will be discussed
Cumulative Trauma Disorders: Their Recognition and Ergonomic Measures to avoid them
No full textCumulative Trauma Disorders (CTD) refers to a large category of disorders of the muscles, tendons, or nerves and are the summary results of microtrauma caused, precipitated, or aggravated by repeated exertion or movements of the body. They go by many names in the literature. They have become a matter of urgent ergonomic concerns for manufacturers, insurance companies, health care provides, and government agencies. Since CTD are usually caused by repeated and/or forceful exertions, often in the hand-arm-shoulder region. They predominantly occur to soft tissues, such as tendons and ligaments, and to nerves and blood vessels. They are commonly associated with certain occupational and leisure activities. Many CTD can be avoided by a set of fairly simple and straightforward ergonomic procedures. In this presentation, the author will share his views on the epidemiology, pathogenesis and treatment including the ergonomic measures to avoid CTD
DIOPTRA-L: Digital Opinions on Translated Literature
No full textA collection of reviews from Goodreads of various well-known fiction and non-fiction books, and their translations. The metadata has been enriched with computed and annotated values:
- the identifier of the review
- the title of the reviewed book
- the original language in which the book was published
- the edition to which the review refers
- the text of the review
- the language of the review (computed)
- the author of the review (username which cannot be related to a person)
- a computed estimate of the author gender (based on the username)
- the age category of a book's target audience (children / young adult / adult), annotated by experts
- the genre of the book, annotated by experts
- the star rating of the book (1 to 5)
- the tokenised text of the review
- whether or not the review mentions translation (0 for false,1 for true)
- how many tokens are in the review
- how many translation lemmas were found in the revie
CROSS-CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT OF NATIVE ENGLISH TEACHERS IN HONG KONG: AN INVESTIGATIVE STUDY
No full textSince its inception, the attrition rate of teachers in the Native English Teachers (NETs) scheme in Hong Kong has been very high. Though the introduction of financial incentives has reduced this slightly, the problem remains, and this thesis explores an alternative explanation for the high attrition, in the field of cross-cultural adjustment. The thesis argues that the effectiveness of the NET scheme is affected by the extent to which issues of cross-cultural adjustment are addressed sufficiently, and that the high attrition rate can be explained, in part, by neglect of issues in cross-cultural adjustment, both in terms of the sojourners and of the host culture. A literature review indicates that cross-cultural adjustment has many different dimensions, and that levels of culture shock and cross-cultural adjustment depend, in part, on individuals’ characteristics. The thesis reports a small-scale qualitative investigation into the experiences of NETs in Hong Kong, seen through different lenses and theories of cross-cultural adjustment, and using a grounded theory approach to data analysis. The empirical data gathered reveal a complex, differentiated and individualized view of cross-cultural adjustment, and that it changes in individuals over time. Cross-cultural adjustment is also seen to apply to host cultures and service providers as well as to the sojourners themselves. Serious shortcomings are found in the provision of suitable preparation, induction, training and ongoing support provided for NETs in Hong Kong in terms of cross-cultural adjustment, and recommendations are made for interventions with the sojourners, the schools and the Hong Kong government’s NETs scheme and associated training programmes
A Decision Support Tool for the Valuation of Variations on Civil Engineering Projects
No full textThe valuation of variations has been recognised as a prime cause of conflict and dispute in construction management. Such disputes often concern the prices and/or rates to be applied to the varied works. Previous research has identified the subjectivity of the decision-maker in interpreting the valuation rules to be the major problem, particularly with regard to defining the work conditions and/or characteristics during a variation event. Findings of a survey, conducted to elicit the views and perceptions of experienced practitioners towards interpreting the valuation rules are presented. The development of a decision-making tool based on a robust framework for valuing variations in civil engineering projects is described. The tool was developed by analysing changes in various decision attributes. The result of the changes was then mapped to relevant sets developed using fuzzy-logic principles. Various operators were used to perform the fuzzy-aggregation operation. The modelling technique was demonstrated to be reliable in replicating the decision-making process performed by experienced practitioners. As such is considered a suitable aid for decision-making involved in valuing variations on civil engineering works. The results of the analysis reported here have suggested the fuzzy-logic as an appropriate tool to model human decision-making, particularly in valuing variations on civil engineering works. This is considered an essential progress of the current study in modelling human decision-making process, particularly since there are so many unknown aspects associated with such a process. The modelling technique successfully developed here is then used as the main algorithm for decision-making in the subsequently developed Knowledge Based System (KBS) which is intended to assist practitioners minimise conflict and dispute arising from the valuation of variations
An investigation into the oral English language proficiency gain of pupils taught by native English-speaking teachers in Hong Kong secondary schools
No full textPurpose This study examines the extent to which Native English-speaking Teachers (NETs) have an impact on the oral English language proficiency gain of pupils taught in secondary schools in Hong Kong i.e. the so-called 'NET effect'. The principal aim was to determine whether the oral proficiency gain of subjects involved in this study was greater in students taught by NET teachers than it was in students taught by local teachers. Through the examination of Time one and Time two oral assessment data, this study also sets out to investigate the nature and strength of other predictor variables for the outcome variable 'Time two oral assessment'. Through a number of different statistical modelling techniques this study also sought to establish the model that would account for or 'explain' as much variance as possible between the Time one and Time two assessment scores. Procedures A randomised, stratified sample of secondary schools that was representative of the whole population secondary students in Hong Kong who are studying English was generated. From this sample, one thousand four hundred and twenty four students from forms one, three and four were selected and an English language oral proficiency test, specifically developed for this study was administered as a pre and post test. The period of data collection was a two year period, from the beginning of the 1998-1999 academic year to the end of the 1999-2000 academic year. The oral proficiency assessment instrument was designed, and piloted by a small team of trained assessors, and a standardised procedure was established for conducting the assessments. Hong Kong NET and local teachers were trained in the procedures and use of materials and techniques required to administer the assessments in specifically dedicated language assessment workshops. The assessments were then administered by the trained group of teachers who taped all of the interviews to allow monitoring to take place and to provide a data source for a second stage interview analysis (not covered in this thesis).The resulting pre-test and post-test data was then analysed through the use of a number of statistical techniques. In the first instance, a descriptive analysis was conducted in order to satisfy the assumptions on which traditional statistical analysis is based. The data analysis then proceeded with a number of scaling processes and was finally analysed to determine whether or not any significant 'NET effect' had been detected. In addition, the analysis also considered whether any of the other variables could be considered good predictors of the final post-test score. Major Findings Analysis of data produced from the Time one and Time two oral assessments revealed a number of important findings. Students did make significant oral English language proficiency gain as measured by the specially developed instrument. This gain was significant regardless of whether the students' results were analysed by whole sample or by separate year/age group. An analysis of means revealed that on average, the mean scores of students attending EMI schools were significantly higher than those attending CMI schools indicating that the medium of instruction is potentially a strong predictor of the Time two assessment score. In the post test analysis of means, students taught by NETs performed better than those taught by 'both' [NETs and local teachers] and in general, students taught by local teachers also performed better than those taught by 'both'. There was little difference between the scores of students taught by NETs and local teachers. The banding of the schools was also found to be an important predictor variable, with the average scores of students in high band schools significantly higher than their peers in medium and low band schools. Multiple regression analysis also revealed some important findings. When the modelling was conducted on the whole sample, the medium of instruction, the school level and NET teacher were all found to be significant predictor variables although in the case of the latter, the effect was small. When modelled by separate form/age group, similar results were found with Form one and with Form three students and again the medium of instruction, the school level and NET teacher were significant predictor variables although in the case of NET teacher, the effect was again small. The findings of this thesis suggest that in terms of measuring value-added between Time one and Time two, there are indeed strong predictor variables such as medium of instruction, school level and student level. However, in trying to evaluate the contribution of NETs to students' oral English language proficiency gain over a two-year period, there is some evidence of a so-called 'NET effect' although this is rather weak, suggesting that more research is required to investigate this question more thoroughly
An Analysis of the Hong Kong Building Regulations Utilizing an Interactive Format
No full textThis paper is intended as a supplement to a live demonstration of an interactive matrix built to accommodate the Hong Kong Building Ordinances and Regulations.The matrix employs a multimedia system developed by the Department of Architecture, University of Hong Kong and allows a multivariable approach to comprehending and analysing the laws that influence the design and construction of buildings in Hong Kong
Clarithromycin-amoxycillin-containing triple therapy: A valid empirical first-line treatment for helicobacter pylori eradication in Hong Kong?
No full textBackground: Recent studies have suggested the eradication rate for Helicobacter pylori infection with standard amoxycillin-clarithromycin- containing triple therapy as first-line treatment have fallen below 80%. Levofloxacin-containing triple therapy was proposed as an alternative. The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy and tolerability of the standard 7-day clarithromycin-containing triple therapy against the 7-day levofloxacin- containing triple therapy, and to assess whether the classical triple therapy is still valid as empirical first-line treatment for H. pylori infection in Hong Kong. Methods: Three hundred consecutive H. pylori-positive patients were randomized to receive either 1 week of EAL (esomeprazole 20 mg b.d., amoxycillin 1 g b.d., and levofloxacin 500 mg daily) or EAC (esomeprazole 20 mg b.d., amoxycillin 1 g b.d., and clarithromycin 500 mg b.d.). H. pylori status was rechecked by 13C-urea breath test 6 weeks after treatment. Patients who failed either of the first-line eradication therapy were invited to undergo H. pylori susceptibility testing. Results: H. pylori eradication was achieved in 128 of 150 (85.3%) patients in EAL and 139 of 150 (92.7%) patients in EAC groups, respectively (p =.043), for both intention-to-treat and per-protocol analysis. More patients in the clarithromycin- than the levofloxacin-containing therapy group developed side effects from the medication (21.3% vs 13.3%, p =.060). Nine patients (six from the EAL group and three from the EAC group) who failed their corresponding eradication therapy returned for susceptibility testing. All nine isolates were highly resistant to levofloxacin (minimum inhibitory concentration or MIC > 32 μg/mL), whereas only two of the six isolates from the EAL group were resistant to clarithromycin (MIC > 0.5 μg/mL). Conclusions: The standard 7-day clarithromycin-containing triple therapy is still valid as the most effective empirical first-line eradication therapy for H. pylori infection in Hong Kong, as prevalence of primary resistance of H. pylori to amoxycillin and clarithromycin remains low. Patients who failed their empirical first-line eradication therapy should undergo H. pylori susceptibility testing to guide further treatment. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.link_to_subscribed_fulltex
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