Filial piety, authoritarian moralism and cognitive conservatism in Chinese societies

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Basic communicating and counselling skills for family physicians

Family physicians often encounter psychological problems in patients under their care. Treating these problems is integral to a holistic conception of primary healthcare. This article describes the nature, basic principles, and therapeutic process of counselling; dispels myths, biased perceptions, and misconceptions about it; and illustrates how counselling techniques may be applied by family physicians in their practice. The authors make a proposal to confront limitations and contradictions of treating psychological problems in primary healthcare: setting up synergistic partnerships between family physicians and health counsellors.published_or_final_versio

The counselling self-estimate inventory (COSE): Does it work in Chinese counsellors?

Counselling self-efficacy is an important construct for research and evaluation in counsellors' competencies and training effectiveness. Larson et al. developed the Counselling Self-Estimate Inventory (COSE) for counsellors in America and examined its factor structure using exploratory factor analysis. They recommended a five-factor model (microskills, counselling process, difficult client behaviour, cultural competence, and awareness of values) and the use of the COSE for future research. However, little research has investigated the validity of the COSE in the context of counselling Chinese students in schools. In the present study, the factor structure of responses to the Chinese version of the Counselling Self-Estimate Inventory in a sample of 578 Hong Kong secondary school guidance teachers was examined using the EQS approach to confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed that while a five-factor model was fairly able to fit the data, the deletion of items related to the awareness of values factor yielded a better fitting model. The discussion of potential uses and limitations of the C-COSE in the context of preparing and supervising school guidance personnel in student counselling is relevant to counselling psychologists and researchers in Hong Kong and other parts of the world.postprin

Wet Granular Materials

Most studies on granular physics have focused on dry granular media, with no liquids between the grains. However, in geology and many real world applications (e.g., food processing, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, civil engineering, constructions, and many industrial applications), liquid is present between the grains. This produces inter-grain cohesion and drastically modifies the mechanical properties of the granular media (e.g., the surface angle can be larger than 90 degrees). Here we present a review of the mechanical properties of wet granular media, with particular emphasis on the effect of cohesion. We also list several open problems that might motivate future studies in this exciting but mostly unexplored field.Comment: review article, accepted for publication in Advances in Physics; tex-style change

Understanding Change in Romantic Relationship Expectations of International Female Students from Turkey

In the light of grounded theory, the authors explored change in romantic relationship expectations of international students. Twelve female graduate students from Turkey were interviewed and several themes were identified explaining the presence and absence of change in participants’ attitudes toward romantic relationships. The findings are discussed in relation to acculturation and direction for future research is presented

Technology-supported learning innovation in cultural contexts

Many reform initiatives adopt a reductionist, proceduralized approach to cultural change, assuming that deep changes can be realized by introducing new classroom activities, textbooks, and technological tools. This article elaborates a complex system perspective of learning culture: A learning culture as a complex system involves macro-level properties (e.g., epistemological beliefs, social values, power structures) and micro-level features (e.g., technology, classroom activities). Deep changes in macro-level properties cannot be reduced to any component. This complex system perspective is applied to examining technology-supported educational change in East Asia and analyzing how teachers sustain the knowledge building innovation in different contexts. Working with the macro-micro dynamics in a learning culture requires a principle-based approach to learning innovation that specifies macro-level changes using principle-based instead of procedure-based terms and engages teachers’ deep reflection and creative engagement at both the macro- and the micro-level

Brothers and sisters in China: no longer the one-child family

Following the end of the one-child-policy in China in 2016 and the gradual relaxation of only-one child per family in selected areas prior to that, family composition and relationship dynamics, especially siblings relationship within the Chinese familial context has gone through a rapid growth and some significant changes as a result of the introduction of the two-child policy. This policy change, with the possibility of adding another child into the family may have profound implications on the family system, its functioning and care relations among those living in China (Chen in The second child: Family transition and adjustment. Shanghai Educational Publishing House, Shanghai, China, 2018). First, this chapter considers the existing studies related to Chinese familial culture within the context of its population policy that has dominated family life in China in the past three decades. This chapter will then review empirical findings on role of Chinese parents in the development of sibling's relationships such as sibling conflict and social comparison; how their co-parenting behaviour and personal siblings experience may hinder or promote better siblings' relations. The chapter will also draw on existing research findings on the adaptation and adjustments of Chinese firstborn children during this transition into siblinghood. Finally, the chapter summarises and discusses the unique characteristics of sibling relationships within the Chinese context and its implication for family dynamics and the development of the new generation in China. Themes for future investigation are also suggested

Measuring spirituality and spiritual emptiness: Toward ecumenicity and transcultural applicability

The authors review Eastern and Western conceptions of spirituality, explicate the spirituality construct and differentiate it from religiosity, propose strategies for achieving ecumenicity and transcultural applicability, and suggest innovative techniques for measuring spirituality and spiritual emptiness. The essential attributes of ecumenical spirituality are that it (a) is concerned with existential or transcendent questions; (b) belongs to the domain of cardinal values underlying all aspects of life; and (c) is self-reflective, and hence metacognitive, in nature. The paths to spirituality are many and are grounded in different values and beliefs across philosophical-religious traditions. However, commonalities may be extracted at a high level of abstraction and with maximal inclusiveness. Thus, the goal of ecumenicity, and hence transcultural applicability, is attainable. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved.link_to_subscribed_fulltex