Effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S.: Preliminary Objective and Subjective Outcome Evaluation Findings

There are two tiers of programs in the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes). In the Tier 1 Program, teaching units based on different positive youth development constructs are covered. Pre- and post-test data utilizing the Chinese Positive Youth Development Scale (CPYDS) and post-test subjective outcome evaluation data were collected from 546 students who participated in the 20h Tier 1 Program of the P.A.T.H.S. Project. Results showed that high proportions of the respondents had positive perceptions of the program and the instructors, with 85.3% of the respondents regarding the program as helpful to them. Positive changes in the program participants in many measures of positive youth development were also observed. Although there were some increases in problem behavior in some areas, adolescent problem behavior was generally stable. The present study provides preliminary support for the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong

The Dark Side of Service Leaders

The rapid growth of service economies calls for effective service leaders. According to Po Chung (Co-founder of DHL International and Chairman Emeritus of DHL Express (Hong Kong) Limited), effective service leaders should possess competence, character and care (3Cs). In addition, a lack of these qualities constitutes the dark side of service leadership. In this chapter, the dark side of service leadership is examined at three levels. First, “viruses” in leadership are examined through the lens of the Service Leadership Theory. Second, attributes of the dark side of leadership with particular reference to problems in competence, character and care based on the existing scientific literature are outlined. Finally, the dark side of service leadership with reference to Confucian virtues is addressed

School Drug Testing: A Critical Review of the Literature

This paper explores the question of whether school drug testing is an effective solution to tackle adolescent substance abuse problems. Research studies in major academic databases and Internet websites are reviewed. Several observations are highlighted from the review: (1) there are few research studies in this area, particularly in different Chinese contexts; (2) the quality of the existing studies was generally low; and (3) research findings supporting the effectiveness of school drug testing were mixed. Methodological issues underlying quantitative and qualitative evaluation studies of the effectiveness of school drug testing are also discussed

Kounis syndrome and hypersensitivity myocarditis – One and the same? Insights from cardiac magnetic resonance imaging

AbstractMyocarditis and acute coronary syndrome are both described in the setting of concurrent hypersensitivity reactions to a variety of allergenic triggers (hypersensitivity myocarditis and Kounis syndrome respectively). Mast cell degranulation is thought to be pivotal in the pathogenesis of both clinical entities. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has assumed a key role in the assessment of chest pain syndromes, providing a useful non-invasive tool to aid clinical decision-making. Despite increasing availability and uptake of CMR, only a small fraction of published Kounis syndrome cases report CMR findings, and confirmation of myocardial infarction remains elusive. We present a case of presumed Kounis syndrome with comprehensive CMR imaging that provides an insight into why these two well-described clinical entities share many clinical features – perhaps they are one and the same.<Learning objective: Myocarditis and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the setting of hypersensitivity reactions share similar clinical characteristics. Endomyocardial biopsies are often not undertaken in this patient group, and differentiation has typically been at the clinicians’ discretion. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging can provide an insight into the underlying pathogenesis, with currently available evidence suggesting myocarditis is a prerequisite for ACS, rather than being stand-alone clinical entities.

Development of a Positive Youth Development Program: Promoting the Mental Health of Stressful Adolescents Using Principles of Problem Solving Therapy

This paper outlines the proposal for the development, implementation, and evaluation of a positive youth development program that attempts to promote the mental health of stressful Chinese adolescents using principles of Problem Solving Therapy (PST). There are two general aims of PST: to help clients identify life difficulties and resolve them, as well as to teach them skills on how to deal with future problems. The proposed project will utilize the principles of PST as the guiding framework to run two mental health promotion courses for adolescents who are experiencing disturbing stressful responses and students who want to improve their stress management style. Both objective and subjective outcome evaluation strategies will be carried out to assess the effectiveness of the intervention to promote the psychological well-being in adolescents who are experiencing stress. A related sample proposal is described that can give social workers some insight on how to prepare a proposal for developing the Tier 2 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programs)

Football in the community schemes: Exploring the effectiveness of an intervention in promoting healthful behaviour change

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a Premier League football club’s Football in the Community (FitC) schemes intervention in promoting positive healthful behaviour change in children. Specifically, exploring the effectiveness of this intervention from the perspectives of the participants involved (i.e. the researcher, teachers, children and coaches). A range of data collection techniques were utilized including the principles of ethnography (i.e. immersion, engagement and observations), alongside conducting focus groups with the children. The results allude to the intervention merely ‘keeping active children active’ via (mostly) fun, football sessions. Results highlight the important contribution the ‘coach’ plays in the effectiveness of the intervention. Results relating to working practice (i.e. coaching practice and coach recruitment) are discussed and highlighted as areas to be addressed. FitC schemes appear to require a process of positive organizational change to increase their effectiveness in strategically attending to the health agenda

Secondary Data Analyses of Conclusions Drawn by the Program Implementers of a Positive Youth Development Program in Hong Kong

The Tier 2 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) is designed for adolescents with significant psychosocial needs, and its various programs are designed and implemented by social workers (program implementers) for specific student groups in different schools. Using subjective outcome evaluation data collected from the program participants (Form C) at 207 schools, the program implementers were asked to aggregate data and write down five conclusions (n = 1,035) in their evaluation reports. The conclusions stated in the evaluation reports were further analyzed via secondary data analyses in this study. Results showed that the participants regarded the Tier 2 Program as a success, and was effective in enhancing self-understanding, interpersonal skills, and self-management. They liked the experiential learning approach and activities that are novel, interesting, diversified, adventure-based, and outdoor in nature. They also liked instructors who were friendly, supportive, well-prepared, and able to bring challenges and give positive recognition. Most of the difficulties encountered in running the programs were related to time constraints, clashes with other activities, and motivation of participants. Consistent with the previous evaluation findings, the present study suggests that the Tier 2 Program was well received by the participants and that it was beneficial to the development of the program participants

Technological roadmap on AI planning and scheduling

At the beginning of the new century, Information Technologies had become basic and indispensable constituents of the production and preparation processes for all kinds of goods and services and with that are largely influencing both the working and private life of nearly every citizen. This development will continue and even further grow with the continually increasing use of the Internet in production, business, science, education, and everyday societal and private undertaking. Recent years have shown, however, that a dramatic enhancement of software capabilities is required, when aiming to continuously provide advanced and competitive products and services in all these fast developing sectors. It includes the development of intelligent systems – systems that are more autonomous, flexible, and robust than today’s conventional software. Intelligent Planning and Scheduling is a key enabling technology for intelligent systems. It has been developed and matured over the last three decades and has successfully been employed for a variety of applications in commerce, industry, education, medicine, public transport, defense, and government. This document reviews the state-of-the-art in key application and technical areas of Intelligent Planning and Scheduling. It identifies the most important research, development, and technology transfer efforts required in the coming 3 to 10 years and shows the way forward to meet these challenges in the short-, medium- and longer-term future. The roadmap has been developed under the regime of PLANET – the European Network of Excellence in AI Planning. This network, established by the European Commission in 1998, is the co-ordinating framework for research, development, and technology transfer in the field of Intelligent Planning and Scheduling in Europe. A large number of people have contributed to this document including the members of PLANET non- European international experts, and a number of independent expert peer reviewers. All of them are acknowledged in a separate section of this document. Intelligent Planning and Scheduling is a far-reaching technology. Accepting the challenges and progressing along the directions pointed out in this roadmap will enable a new generation of intelligent application systems in a wide variety of industrial, commercial, public, and private sectors

University students’ strategies and criteria during self‑assessment: instructor’s feedback, rubrics, and year level efects

This study explores the effects of feedback type, feedback occasion, and year level on student self-assessments in higher education. In total, 126 university students participated in this randomized experiment under three experimental conditions (i.e., rubric feedback, instructor’s written feedback, and rubric feedback plus instructor’s written feedback). Participants, after random assignment to feedback condition, were video-recorded performing a self-assessment on a writing task both before and after receiving feedback. The quality of self-assessment strategies decreased after feedback of all kinds, but the number of strategies increased for the combined feedback condition. The number of self-assessment criteria increased for rubric and combined conditions, while feedback helped shift criteria use from basic to advanced criteria. Student year level was not systematically related to changes in self-assessment after feedback. In general, the combination of rubric and instructor’s feedback produced the best effectsOpen Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. Research funded by Fundación BBVA call Investigadores y Creadores Culturales 2015 (project name Transición a la educación superior id. 122500) and by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad) National I+D Call (Convocatoria Excelencia) project reference EDU2016-79714-