A pilot study of common outcome measurement of service-learning in Hong Kong

Since the Office of Service-Learning (OSL) at Lingnan University was established in 2006 as the first independent office dedicated to promoting service-learning (S-L) in Lingnan and among the higher education institutes in Hong Kong. OSL undertakes an important role to develop of service-learning in Hong Kong higher education. The Higher Education Service-Learning Network (HESLN) in Hong Kong was first established in 2007 to provide a platform to discuss the local development and opportunities of S -L. Its members include Lingnan University, Hong Kong University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Science and Technology, City Univers ity of Hong Kong, the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong, the Baptist University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong Shue Yan University and the Hong Kong College of Technology. As different higher education institutes implement S-L in their teaching and learning the common outcome measurement (COM) of S-L is necessary to investigate the student learning outcome across different institutes to demonstrate the knowledge transfer model. Two pilot tests of COM were conducted in 2011 and 2012 in order to develop the standardized measurement for assessing student learning outcome in terms of nine domains (e.g. self-understanding/confidence, communication skills, problem-solving skills, civic engagement, social responsibility and willingness to contribute, team skills, self-reflection, general knowledge application, caring for others, intercultural competences). 189 and 197 university students from 5 different institutes have completed the pilot questionnaire in 2011 and 2012 respectively. The reliability test was applied for the scale reduction from 78 items to 36 items. For the preliminary findings of the 2nd pilot study, eight domains -- except intercultural competences -- reported an acceptable Cronbach’s Alpha (from 0.87 to 0.75). Also, the significant improvement in the mentioned 9 domains was found. Further development of the intercultural competences domain and a greater comprehensive and large-scale scale validation are needed to develop the common outcome measurement in Hong Kong

Service-learning impact on community engagement : from the graduates\u27 perspectives

Service-Learning (S-L) is pedagogy that has been newly introduced into Hong Kong\u27s higher education institutes. Thus, most local, recent studies focus on implication and evaluation of the S-L program for the existing students. There is lack of study about the long-term impact of S-L, especially for graduate students. Lingnan University (LU) as the only liberal art university in Hong Kong, aims to equip LU students with whole person development skills, as well as the capability to serve the community in the future. The Office of Service-Learning (OSL) was established in 2006 to promote S-L in Lingnan, echoing the university\u27s motto Education for Service. A study was conducted in 2011 to investigate the long-term impact of S-L on graduates\u27 whole person development skills, community engagement and career exploration. In this paper, we will focus on investigating the long-term impact of S-L on graduates\u27 community engagement (measured by civic responsibility) in terms of three subdomains: connection to community, civic awareness and civic efficacy. The comparison result between 424 graduates with S-L experience and 345 graduates without S-L experience will be used in this paper. The most prominent finding shows that graduates with S-L experience had significant higher scores than graduates without S-L experience in civic responsibility (Mwith S-L experience=5.80, SD=1.20; Mwithout S-L experience=5.16, SD=1.47; t=6.57,

Renal and Splenic Micro-Infarctions Following Bronchial Artery Embolization with Tris-Acryl Microspheres

A bronchial artery embolization (BAE) is an important therapeutic method used to control acute and chronic hemoptysis. We report a case of multiple micro-infarcts involving both the kidneys and spleen, following a BAE with 500-700 µm crossed-linked tris-acryl microspheres (Embospheres) in a patient with bronchial artery pulmonary vein shunts. The superior penetration characteristics of the microspheres may have resulted in the greater tendency to cross the bronchial artery pulmonary vein shunts, which subsequently caused the systemic infarcts in our patient. We propose the use of larger sized microspheres (700-900 µm), which may aid in avoiding this complication

A student development pathway in service-learning model in Hong Kong

The 2-level students ‘development pathway is developed in 2014 to further develop LU students as a community leader. First, students will take one or more than one credit-bearing courses with Service-Learning elements to have the basic knowledge of S-L and develop their whole-person development skills. Students reported the significant improvement in 7 learning outcome domains in the result of the pretest and posttest. (e.g. subject-related knowledge, communication skills, social competence, organizational skills, problem-solving skills, research skills and civic orientation). After that, part of the students can continue their Service-Learning Journey in six theme-based leadership training programs (e.g. Mainland and International Service-Learning Program, Service-Learning Teaching Assistant Position (TAP), Service-Learning Project Trainee (PT) Scheme, Service-Leadership Summer Practicum, Young Scholars\u27 Community Research-Based Research Program and Service-Learning Students Association (SLSA)). According to the case study from the six theme-based leadership training programs, students developed their leadership skills through real experience and participation in service-Learning related leadership training programs

長者學習研究計劃2011-2012 : 計劃介紹及教材冊

有見長者的學歷及學習能力日高，長者的需求亦有所不同，對長者需求的研究實是需要的。加上部份長者表示希望參與較高層次的學習活動及貢獻社會，故嶺南大學服務研習處舉辦長者學習研究計劃2011-2012，培訓長者成為研究人員，期望由長者的角度出發，為長者學習 的長遠發展作出研究及提出建議。 計劃目標： • 培養長者對學術研究的興趣； • 提供研究技巧培訓課程； • 分析學苑現有課程的成效； • 探討長者學習的政策及制定長遠發展方向； • 透過長幼參與研究計劃，增加兩代溝通，促進跨代共融。 本手冊收錄了有關計劃詳情以及課程教材。https://commons.ln.edu.hk/osl_book/1002/thumbnail.jp

A handbook for using elder academy as a platform of other learning experiences

This handbook will discuss how school syllabus, Other Learning Experiences (OLE) and Elder Academy (EA) can be integrated. It will provide some structures for schools as a reference and help develop a comprehensive learning plan. Besides, the handbook will mention different roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, as well as the suggestions and guidelines for assessment. The programs and activities in the “Elder Academy at Lingnan” will be taken as examples to demonstrate the guidelines. This can provide a better understanding of the operation mode of the integration between school curricula, OLE and EA. Hence, interested stakeholders can perform their own plans more systematically and effectively.https://commons.ln.edu.hk/osl_book/1000/thumbnail.jp

The predictive value of G8 and the Cancer and aging research group chemotherapy toxicity tool in treatment-related toxicity in older Chinese patients with cancer

Introduction: Older patients experience a higher risk of treatment-related toxicity (TRT). The G8 screening tool was developed to separate cancer older patients fit to receive standard treatment from those who are frail and experiencing functional decline due to reduced organ function and multiple comorbidities. The Cancer and Aging Research Group chemotherapy toxicity tool (CARG-tt) questionnaire was developed to predict chemotherapy toxicity in geriatric patients. This prospective observational study evaluated the performance of G8 and CARG-tt in predicting severe TRT in older Chinese cancer patients. Methods: Chinese patients aged ≥65 with a diagnosis of solid malignancy and scheduled to receive anti-cancer treatment (chemotherapy or targeted therapy) were enrolled from March 2016 to July 2017 at the Department of Clinical Oncology at Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong. All patients completed the G8 and CARG-tt screening and pre-treatment assessments before starting treatment. Patients were monitored for any severe TRT, which was defined by grades 3–5 using the National Cancer Institute's Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v4.03, treatment discontinuation, or unexpected hospitalization from starting to 30 days after treatment. Results: A total of 259 patients (male: 154, 59.5%; median age: 73.4, age range: 65–93) were enrolled in the study. Two hundred and ten (81.1%) patients received chemotherapy while the rest (n = 49, 18.9%) received targeted therapy. Overall, 146 patients (56.8%) experienced severe TRT. The mean G8 score was 12.4 (SD: 2.8). The G8 score had a significant association with unexpected admission (cutoff: 14, 41.3% vs. 26.5%, p = 0.03) but not significant in other types of TRTs. The mean CARG-tt score was 7.67 (SD: 3.7); it was not associated with severe TRTs. Conclusions: The G8 and CARG-tt demonstrated a weak prediction of severe TRT in older Chinese cancer patients. Future studies need to develop predictive tools for TRT in patients receiving novel antineoplastic therapies, with a focus on subgroup analysis for different populations

Physiological concentration of protocatechuic acid directly protects vascular endothelial function against inflammation in diabetes through Akt/eNOS pathway

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have been the major cause of mortality in type 2 diabetes. However, new approaches are still warranted since current diabetic medications, which focus mainly on glycemic control, do not effectively lower cardiovascular mortality rate in diabetic patients. Protocatechuic acid (PCA) is a phenolic acid widely distributed in garlic, onion, cauliflower and other plant-based foods. Given the anti-oxidative effects of PCA in vitro, we hypothesized that PCA would also have direct beneficial effects on endothelial function in addition to the systemic effects on vascular health demonstrated by previous studies.Methods and resultsSince IL-1β is the major pathological contributor to endothelial dysfunction in diabetes, the anti-inflammatory effects of PCA specific on endothelial cells were further verified by the use of IL-1β-induced inflammation model. Direct incubation of db/db mouse aortas with physiological concentration of PCA significantly ameliorated endothelium-dependent relaxation impairment, as well as reactive oxygen species overproduction mediated by diabetes. In addition to the well-studied anti-oxidative activity, PCA demonstrated strong anti-inflammatory effects by suppressing the pro-inflammatory cytokines MCP1, VCAM1 and ICAM1, as well as increasing the phosphorylation of eNOS and Akt in the inflammatory endothelial cell model induced by the key player in diabetic endothelial dysfunction IL-1β. Upon blocking of Akt phosphorylation, p-eNOS/eNOS remained low and the inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines by PCA ceased.ConclusionPCA exerts protection on vascular endothelial function against inflammation through Akt/eNOS pathway, suggesting daily acquisition of PCA may be encouraged for diabetic patients