Infrastructure Services and Financing in Chinese Cities

As urbanization accelerates and cities expand their role in the Chinese economy, expensive urban infrastructural facilities and financing have become major policy issues. Drawing on fieldwork in five cities in 1994 as well as national statistics, this Article analyzes the provision of urban infrastructure services and financing. As marketization proceeds, an overhaul of the urban public finance system, along with a redefinition of the role of local government in China, is urgently required

Perception of vowels and diphthongs by hearing-impaired Cantonese-speaking children with cochlear implants

Includes bibliographical references (p. 27-30).Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2010."A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2010."This study investigated the perception of vowels and diphthongs perception of congenital profound bilateral hearing impaired children with cochlear implants (CI). The CI children’s age was ranged from 2:04 to 6:01, and nine CI children were matched with nine hearing children. A closed-set speech perception task was administrated. High-front vowel was found to be the easiest vowel to be perceived, due to the greatest perception difference in the first two formant frequency. The perception of diphthongs was related to their feature complexity. Diphthongs with feature complexity 1 and 2 were easiest to be perceived, while diphthongs with feature complexity 3 and 4 were more difficult to be perceived. With two year duration of cochlear implantation, CI children could catch up with normal hearing children in their perception of vowels and diphthongs. To conclude, cochlear implants helped children with profound hearing loss in the perception of vowels and diphthongs.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

An exploratory study on the elders\u27 needs and attitudes towards radio programmes

Not many studies in the literature were to investigate the positive impacts of radio on health of the elderly in Hong Kong. If listening to radio has a positive impact on older people’s health, there would be important implications to the social services in Hong Kong, with regard to further studies on an in-depth understanding of this issue and policy recommendations for the Hong Kong government to improve social services of the elderly population. In light of the above rationale, the present study was designed to explore the qualitative impacts of listening radio on the well-being of elderly people in Hong Kong. The specific aims of the study were: 1. to explore the profile and the listening patterns of elderly audiences; 2. to explore the preference and needs of the elderly audience on radio programme in HK; 3. to explore impacts of the radio programmes on elderly’s life satisfaction and the quality of life. 4. to explore the notions of lifelong learning through the medium, which Radio 5 is serving such a function

An evaluation study on the elderly housing initiative in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) of the Hong Kong Government launched the Senior Citizen Residence Scheme (SEN) in 2001 to provide housing units for the middle-class elders aged 60 and above, who have pre-set limits of asset and guaranteed income (Hong Kong Housing Society, n.d.). As a result, two public estates came into operation one year after in 2002. At present, a total of about 800 elders live in these two estates. The present study is under the auspices of the HKHS to evaluate the satisfaction of the residents in the two estates, to make recommendations on the improvement of the residence services and the living conditions in the two estates, and to make recommendations on future development of the SEN project. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were adopted in the present study. First of all, a total of seven focus-group sessions, within each having 8-10 elders led by an experienced facilitator, were conducted to collect information on residents’ satisfaction on their living environment and the provision rendered in the housing estates. The members of the focus group consisted of males and females, younger and older elderly persons, and were selected from the healthy and active residents in the two housing estates. Secondly, three independent observers were appointed to sit in the focus-group discussion and daily routine activities and meetings taken part by the residents of the housing estates. The observers submitted their observation reports of residents’ views on their living environment and the provision rendered in the housing estates as well as the interaction in their communication. Thirdly, an accessible sample was drawn from all target residents through a face-to-face questionnaire survey. Since some residents were either reluctant to be interviewed or having difficulties to answer questions due to poor health, all other residents were interviewed by trained staff. The findings of the study are as follows: 1. In general, the majority of the residents living in the two Housing Estates are satisfied with the management, the facilities and the services provided. 2. There are differences in the domains of satisfaction between the residents in the two Housing Estates. Specifically, the Cheerful Court (one of the two Housing Estates) residents are more satisfied with their living environment whereas the Jolly Place (another one of the two Housing Estates) residents are happier with the basic optional services provided for them. 3. Improvement on the particulars of the facilities and services provided in the two Housing Estates, as shown in the analysis results, should be made in order to raise the satisfaction level of the residents

An exploratory study of pet raising and health of the elderly people in Hong Kong

Introduction: Pets such as dogs, cats and fish were popular in many other countries (Marx et al., 1988; Gammonley, 1991; Brodie & Biley, 1999; PIAS, 2002). In Hong Kong, pet owners increased to 0.26 million (Census and Statistics Department, 2006). Dating back to 1980s, a research study reported the association between pet ownerships and health benefits for humans (McNicholas et al., 2005). According to the report, domesticated pets brought a sense of companionship and provided pet owners with pleasure. These pets could be tools for enhancing human social relationship and could also provide their owners with emotional comfort. Recent studies also revealed that the influence of the complex and rich relationship between pets and owners might far surpass daily pleasure in terms of improving physical, psychological and mental health of the elderly (Serpell, 1991; Garrity et al., 1989; Murrell et al., 1983). 1.2. Objectives : Not many studies in the literature were to investigate the positive impacts of pet raising on health of the elderly in Hong Kong. If pet raising had a positive impact on older people’s health, there would be important implications to the health services in Hong Kong, with regard to further studies on an in-depth understanding of this issue and policy recommendations for the Hong Kong government to improve the health services of the elderly population. In light of the above rationale, the present study was designed to explore the qualitative impacts of pet raising on well-being of the elderly people in Hong Kong. The specific aims of the study were: To explore the value of pet raising as perceived by the elderly people in Hong Kong; To explore the impacts of pet raising on the physical, psychological and overall life satisfaction of the elderly people in Hong Kong; To identify the critical factors influencing the physical, psychological and overall life satisfaction of the elderly people in Hong Kong; and To make suggestions to policy makers regarding effective health services for the elderly people in Hong Kong

Kinematics analysis of ankle inversion ligamentous sprain injuries in sports: five cases from televised tennis competitions

Background: Ankle ligamentous sprain is common in sports. The most direct way to study the mechanism quantitatively is to study real injury cases; however, it is unethical and impractical to produce an injury in the laboratory. A recently developed, model-based image-matching motion analysis technique allows quantitative analysis of real injury incidents captured in televised events and gives important knowledge for the development of injury prevention protocols and equipment. To date, there have been only 4 reported cases, and there is a need to conduct more studies for a better understanding of the mechanism of ankle ligamentous sprain injury. Purpose: This study presents 5 cases in tennis and a comparison with 4 previous cases for a better understanding of the mechanism of ankle ligamentous sprain injury. Study Design: Case series; level of evidence, 4. Methods: Five sets of videos showing ankle sprain injuries in televised tennis competition with 2 camera views were collected. The videos were transformed, synchronized, and rendered to a 3-dimensional animation software. The dimensions of the tennis court in each case were obtained to build a virtual environment, and a skeleton model scaled to the injured athletes height was used for the skeleton matching. Foot strike was determined visually, and the profiles of the ankle joint kinematics were individually presented. Results: There was a pattern of sudden inversion and internal rotation at the ankle joint, with the peak values ranging from 48°- 126° and 35°-99°, respectively. In the sagittal plane, the ankle joint fluctuated between plantar flexion and dorsiflexion within the first 0.50 seconds after foot strike. The peak inversion velocity ranged from 509 to 1488 deg/sec. Conclusion: Internal rotation at the ankle joint could be one of the causes of ankle inversion sprain injury, with a slightly inverted ankle joint orientation at landing as the inciting event. To prevent the foot from rolling over the edge to cause a sprain injury, tennis players who do lots of sideward cutting motions should try to land with a neutral ankle orientation and keep the center of pressure from shifting laterally

The Strengths Model in Hong Kong

Mental health practice involves the continuous process of learning and refinement, especially when practitioners focus on the strengths and aspirations of individuals who are coping with serious mental illnesses (Tse et al., 2016). Cross-cultural considerations include beliefs, language, the role of social support, and the distinctive characteristics of specific communities that require localization in designing and offering mental health services. In this chapter, we describe the experience of adopting the Strengths Model in Hong Kong, starting with an introduction to the mental health system in the city. We then illustrate the development and implementation of the Strengths Model for the Chinese population in Hong Kong. We also briefly review research studies focusing on the Strengths Model in mental health practice in this cultural context (Tsoi et al., 2018; Tsoi, Tse, Canda, & Lo, 2019; Tse et al., 2019). The process of localization described in this chapter required the building of complex relationships among Strengths Model founders, scholars, organizations, caseworkers, and people facing mental health challenges

Quantitative Anatomy of C7 Vertebra in Southern Chinese for Insertion of Lateral Mass Screws and Pedicle Screws

Study DesignRetrospective study.PurposeTo analyze the quantitative anatomy of C7 vertebra for insertion of lateral mass screws and pedicle screws in Southern Chinese patients.Overview of LiteratureC7 lateral mass is smaller when compared to other subaxial cervical levels, which limits the length of lateral mass screws that can be used. Some studies have suggested pedicle screws for better fixation. But, this option is limited by the narrow pedicle width.MethodsWe have obtained computed tomography (CT) cervical spine data in 0.625 mm slices from our radiology department. The patients were adults. CTs were from May to August, 2015. The lateral mass screw length was measured using Margerl's technique and pedicle width and pedicle screw trajectory were determined in three-dimensional reformated images.ResultsCT scans of cervical spines of 94 patients were obtained and 188 lateral masses and pedicles of C7 vertebrae were measured. The mean lateral mass screw length was 13.2 mm (standard deviation [SD] 1.6 mm), mean outer pedicle width was 5.9 mm (SD 1.0 mm) and mean pedicle screw trajectory was 29.4 degrees (SD 3.6 degrees). Most (91.0%) of the pedicles had an outer diameter ≥4.5 mm.ConclusionsThe mean lateral mass screw length was longer when compared with other similar studies, while the mean outer pedicle width was narrower. Nearly 10% of the pedicles were unable to accommodate 3.5 mm screws. These findings favor the use of lateral mass screws to provide a safe and stable fixation for C7 vertebrae in Southern Chinese patients, while the final choice of fixation method should only be confirmed after careful preoperative planning with CT scan

How students cope with part-time study

This study provides a qualitative test and illustration of a model of how students cope with the demands of part-time study. The model shows that students who are successful in finding the time to complete the requirements of part-time courses do so by adopting three mechanisms; sacrifice, support and the negotiation of arrangements. All three mechanisms operate in four domains, namely work, family, social lives and the self. The mechanisms and domains were related together in a three by four matrix. Data to verify and illuminate the model were gathered by the researchers through an on-line forum discussion on the topic of coping with part-time study. The researchers themselves were studying part-time in a course called Adult Education and Professional Development. Analysis of the data showed that the work domain was very important but little adaptation was possible. The family was seen as the most important domain and all three mechanisms were used. Time was commonly found for part-time study by sacrificing social lives. The self-domain was interpreted as important in establishing motivation and self-determination