Local culture and political socialization of Hong Kong’s Chinese language curriculum in the period of 1960s to 1997

Hong Kong was ruled by the British from 1842-1997. During that period, educational policy of Hong Kong differed from that in other colonial territories. The colonial government encouraged identification with the indigenous Chinese culture, particularly the values of Confucianism. One aim of this research is to explore the culture and values that were chosen by the colonial government as "legitimate knowledge". A second aim is to investigate the relationships between the promotion of the Chinese local culture and British colonial rule in Hong Kong. The methodology used in this study consists of content analysis, interview and documentary analysis to collect both primary and secondary sources of data. Hong Kong under British rule, pursued a deliberate policy of the "depoliticization" of society, both to avoid offending the Chinese government and to preserve Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity "conditions favourable to the colonial government's continued rule and the economic development of Hong Kong society. Hence, some scholars have argued that the colonial government's strategy was to depoliticize the curriculum in its educational policies. However, the present study demonstrates that politics and the Chinese Language curriculum were closely related. The Chinese Language curriculum strongly advocated Confucian values and this was in fact a tactic to achieve political socialization as well as consolidate British colonial rule over Hong Kong. The promotion of the Chinese local culture in Hong Kong was most probably a remedial measure to tackle political crisis arising from the anti-imperialist demonstrations, boycott and general strike against the British in Hong Kong in the 1920ร. Under such a cultural incorporation policy, traditional Chinese values, particularly Confucian ethics, were strongly promoted, in the hope of nurturing conservative attitudes among Hong Kong students and eliminating their radical behaviour. Such a move could not only pacify the anti-British emotions and win popular support, it could also further strengthen colonial rule without provoking political unrest. The key to British success in consolidating its rule depended heavily on its tactics of achieving "de-nationalization" (i.e. deliberately excluding the cultivation of a sense of national identity among the Chinese) through "nationalization" (i.e. cultural incorporation of Chinese culture) and made use of "de-politicization" (greatly promoting moral cultivation in the Chinese Language curriculum and discouraging people’s active participation in politics) to achieve politicization (political stability).Generally speaking, the indigenous language of a country, in addition to training students with language skills, provides students with an awareness of their national identity. In Hong Kong, by contrast, the subject of Chinese Language existed to supply students with a depoliticized and alienated vision of their national identity. As revealed by the findings in this study, the Chinese Language curriculum mainly emphasizes those values that contribute to social harmony as well as political stability, thus facilitating British colonial rule

The Malaysian Workplace Bullying Index (MWBI): A new measure of workplace bullying in Eastern countries

Workplace bullying is a significant cause of stress at work. Existing studies, primarily based on Western-oriented frameworks and instruments, have largely overlooked the role of culture. This oversight questions whether understandings generated from those studies can be generalised to employees working in Eastern countries, which differ on important cultural dimensions. To date, there is no Eastern-based instrument for measuring workplace bullying. In two studies, we developed and validated such a measure: the Malaysian Workplace Bullying Index (MWBI). Study 1 entailed a content validation of bullying behaviours via written records (diaries) completed by Malaysian bullying victims. The 19 validated behaviours formed the basis of Study 2, with additions from the wider literature. Study 2 used survey data collected at three time-points from Malaysian employees exposed to bullying at work. The final result was an 18-item scale with two nine-item factors: work-related bullying and person-related bullying. Overall, the MWBI is a psychometrically sound measure of workplace bullying in Eastern workplaces

The Effects of “Happy” Media on Women’s Coping Tendencies

Over the past years, there has been increasing emphasis on the roles of media in influencing people’s moods and emotions; however, there is limited research on social media’s role in providing access to “happy” media and how exposure to such content can help women cope with everyday stress. This research involved exploring the types of “happy” media women consumed to cope with their stress, an examination of the exposure to “happy” media on women’s emotion and stress management, and, finally, an investigation on the effects of “happy” media on women’s coping tendencies. Under the Mood Management Theory, six women were purposively sampled from lower-income (B40) background for semi-structured interviews. After analysing the data thematically, two themes emerged: “happy” media as a stress and emotional management tool, and as an effective coping tool. Our results suggest that women developed better emotional and stress management after consuming “happy” media content via social media platforms. Additional results also suggest that exposure to “happy” media inspired women to acquire new skills or improve their current skills, leading to positive emotional and coping outcomes. Overall, this research highlights “happy” media effects in fulfilling women’s cognitive, emotional, and desired coping outcomes through hedonistic and eudaimonic content

Whole exome and targeted deep sequencing identify genome-wide allelic loss and frequent SETDB1 mutations in malignant pleural mesotheliomas.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a rare malignancy with a poor prognosis, is mainly caused by exposure to asbestos or other organic fibers, but the underlying genetic mechanism is not fully understood. Genetic alterations and causes for multiple primary cancer development including MPM are unknown. We used whole exome sequencing to identify somatic mutations in a patient with MPM and two additional primary cancers who had no evidence of venous, arterial, lymphovascular, or perineural invasion indicating dissemination of a primary lung cancer to the pleura. We found that the MPM had R282W, a key TP53 mutation, and genome-wide allelic loss or loss of heterozygosity, a distinct genomic alteration not previously described in MPM. We identified frequent inactivating SETDB1 mutations in this patient and in 68 additional MPM patients (mutation frequency: 10%, 7/69) by targeted deep sequencing. Our observations suggest the possibility of a new genetic mechanism in the development of either MPM or multiple primary cancers. The frequent SETDB1 inactivating mutations suggest there could be new diagnostic or therapeutic options for MPM

Kajian rintis kesan Program Webinar SHIELDS ke atas ketahanan diri dalam kalangan pelajar berisiko di Kampar, Perak

Kajian rintis eksperimen ini bertujuan melihat kesahan dan memeriksa kebolehpercayaan instrument ketahanan diri dan mengkaji kesan Program Webinar SHIELDS ke atas ketahanan diri dalam Kalangan pelajar berisiko. Keberkesanan Program Webinar SHIELDS diukur dari segi peningkatan ketahanan diri bagi kumpulan rawatan. Kajian eksperimen ini dijalankan kepada pelajar berisiko di sebuah sekolah berisiko di daerah Kampar, Perak. Pelajar berisiko didefinisikan sebagai individu yang mempunyai tahap yang rendah dari segi tahap ketahanan diri. Soal selidik kajian ini mengandungi dua bahagian iaitu maklumat demografi pelajar dan soal selidik kajian Skala Ketahanan Diri 25 item (Wagnild & Young, 1993). Seramai 32 subjek yang memiliki ketahanan diri yang rendah telah dipilih dan dibahagikan kepada dua kumpulan iaitu kumpulan rawatan dan kumpulan kawalan. Subjek dari kumpulan rawatan telah mengikuti program webinar SHIELDS yang merangkumi 12 aktiviti secara dalam talian masa 3 hari melalui aplikasi Google Meets. Data kajian dianalisis menggunakan perisian IBM SPSS (26) dengan menggunakan melalui analisa diskriptif, Analisis faktor penerokaan dan ujian-t dengan aras signifikan 0.5. Hasil Analisa akhir faktor penerokaan, sebanyak 12 item perlu disingkirkan dan selebihnya iaitu 13 item dikenalpasti sesuai untuk digunakan untuk mengukur ketahanan diri dari pada 25 item keseluruhan. Dapatan kajian mendapati kumpulan rawatan yang menerima program webinar SHIELDS berkesan dalam meningkatkan pembolehubah terikat ketahanan diri bagi kumpulan rawatan berbanding dari kumpuan kawalan. Kajian ini memberi sumbangan kepada Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (KPM), Agensi Antidadah Kebangsaan (AADK), dan kepada pengkaji lain dalam mengaplikasikan program webinar SHIELDS bagi meningkatkan ketahanan diri dalam kalangan pelajar berisiko. Sehubungan itu, ia amat berguna bagi membantu meningkatkan keperbagaian program pencegahan penyalahgunaan dadah di Malaysia khususnya

The effects of occupational stress on the management of an organization

Occupational stress is an important issue not only for the researchers but also for the employees and managers at work. This study aims to determine the effects of occupational stress on job satisfaction, intention to leave and absenteeism. A sample of 100 employees in the Companies Commission of Malaysia, a statutory body regulating companies and businesses was recruited to participate in the study. A questionnaire was used to collect information on demographics, stress, job satisfaction, intention to leave and absenteeism. Pearson correlation and Multiple Linear Regression was used to examine the relationships between different variables. The results show that occupational stress does not have a direct effect on the intention to leave and absenteeism. In contrast, occupational stress has a direct negative effect on job satisfaction. Furthermore, job satisfaction has negative effects on the intention to leave and absenteeism. In conclusion, the authors recommend the following to management: (a) increasing job satisfaction by reducing employee occupational stress, and (b) that by reducing stress, the organization can reduce the levels of intention to leave and absenteeism among employee

Persepsi keberkesanan program pemulihan, strategi daya tindak dan proses niat untuk penagihan berulang dalam kalangan bekas penagih Methamphetamine

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menerokai isu-isu dalam kalangan bekas penagih Methamphetamine iaitu persepsi keberkesanan program pemulihan, mengenalpasti strategi daya tindak, dan proses niat mereka. Seramai 59 orang bekas penagih lelaki yang berumur antara 18 hingga 38 tahun dan sedang menjalani program pengawasan di pusat AADK di Sandakan dan Kota Kinabalu telah dipilih secara persampelan bertujuan. Secara umumnya, responden mempunyai pandangan yang positif mengenai pengisian program dan bersetuju bahawa ia memberi faedah kepada mereka. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa responden mempunyai strategi daya tindak berbeza berdasarkan niat atau tidak untuk menagih semula. Keinginan bawah sedar, rakan-rakan dan masalah keluarga didapati merupkan punca utama kebarangkalian berlakunya penagihan berulang.Implikasi kajian juga dibincangkan

An Exploratory Study on Predictors Associated with Teachers’ Job Satisfaction in Malaysian Sports Schools

Job satisfaction is one of the hottest topics among the working population, including those in the teaching profession. However, a lack of study has been undertaken to examine predictors associated with teachers' job satisfaction in boarding schools in Malaysia. Given this, the present study aimed to investigate predictors of teachers' job satisfaction: school discipline climate, management style, and friendship quality. This cross-sectional study involved 105 teachers from two Malaysian Sports Schools. Four instruments were utilized: The School Discipline Climate Survey (SDCS) for measuring the aspect of school discipline climate, Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) for examining management style, Friendship Quality Scale (FQS) was to assess factors of friendship quality, and Job Satisfaction Questionnaire to measure job satisfaction. Predictors associated with job satisfaction among teachers in sports school in Malaysia were discipline teamwork (M = 4.11, SD = 0.54), the directive style (M = 3.63, SD = 0.38) and closeness (M = 4.08, SD = 0.44). The study also found that management style was significantly correlated to job satisfaction (r = 2.12, p < 0.05). In addition, there was a difference in gender for management style (t = 2.32, p < 0.05). The study findings contributed to the knowledge of predictors associated with job satisfaction among those in the teaching profession in Malaysia and highlighted the importance of predictors that need to be taken into account with regards to job satisfaction among teachers and in developing appropriate strategies in maximizing job satisfaction at the workplace. Numerous predictors associated with boarding school (i.e., those in sports school) teachers' job satisfaction may differ from other teaching professions, such as primary and secondary school. Thus, improving and understanding the influence of school discipline climate, management style, and friendship quality towards teacher's job satisfaction with regards to enhancing satisfaction among teachers

Rex Shunt Preoperative Imaging: Diagnostic Capability of Imaging Modalities

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic capability of imaging modalities used for preoperative mesenteric-left portal bypass (“Rex shunt”) planning. Twenty patients with extrahepatic portal vein thrombosis underwent 57 preoperative planning abdominal imaging studies. Two readers retrospectively reviewed these studies for an ability to confidently determine left portal vein (PV) patency, superior mesenteric vein (SMV) patency, and intrahepatic left and right PV contiguity. In this study, computed tomographic arterial portography allowed for confident characterization of left PV patency, SMV patency and left and right PV continuity in 100% of the examinations. Single phase contrast-enhanced CT, multi-phase contrast-enhanced CT, multiphase contrast-enhanced MRI, and transarterial portography answered all key diagnostic questions in 33%, 30%, 0% and 8% of the examinations, respectively. In conclusion, of the variety of imaging modalities that have been employed for Rex shunt preoperative planning, computed tomographic arterial portography most reliably allows for assessment of left PV patency, SMV patency, and left and right PV contiguity in a single study

A Comparison of Benefit Limits in Mental Health

This study provides insight to policy makers and stakeholders on how three types of benefits limits on Medicaid-covered mental health services might affect access for consumers diagnosed with severe mental illness. The study used a retrospective cohort design with data for Medicaid-covered, community-based mental health services provided in Ohio during fiscal year 2010. Log-binomial regression was used for the analysis. Results indicate that limits compared have significant, varying consequences based on Medicaid coverage and diagnoses. When constraining Medicaid costs, policy makers should consider how limits will disrupt care and include clinicians in discussions prior to implementatio