A Glance in the Life of Kindergarten Teachers in Hong Kong: A Mixed-Method Approach

The study has given particular attention to the kindergarten teachers' job satisfaction levels and plans to leave their current positions while they are employed in Hong Kong. Only 395 local kindergarten teachers who have experience teaching in kindergartens and who are between the ages of 18 and 60 were chosen for the study. In addition, they had to be strong communicators and be able to read and write traditional Chinese. Additionally, the research was carried out from August to October 2020. The study used a mixed-method of research. This study took into account all aspects of academic practice, including ethical research practices. For achieving the goals of the present study, numerous motivational theories, statistical analysis, and an extensive literature review were applied. According to the study, having high levels of job satisfaction has good effects and increases staff productivity; the lack of it greatly results to intentions of leaving the job. Additionally, it showed that there was a strong correlation between the communication gap between kindergarten kids and teachers and their satisfaction with their work in those settings. The level of job satisfaction is not dependent on just one factor. To address the issues raised by the study's findings, it is strongly advised to implement adequate recognition, career promotion, training programs, suitable workplace resources, and healthy work-life balance, among other things

Charting Hong Kong - The Way Forward

Operating in one of the world’s busiest ports the idea of setting up a hydrographic survey section was first considered in 1972. The HO proposal was eventually approved by Government in 1991 with funding secured in December 1993. The office commenced setting up in July 1994 and by mid-1996 the HO will be fully functional : trained hydrographic and cartographic staff; first delivery of two fully equipped survey launches; erection of DGPS central reference station and a comprehensive, fully integrated data processing and chart production system installed in the office. With advice from HOs world-wide, the aim has been to achieve a state-of-the-art working environment. We are also firmly convinced that the electronic media revolution will rapidly reduce paper charts to become dusty collectables in ships folio drawers. S-57 and production of electronic charts has thus been in the forefront of our thinking. This paper will briefly present our progress and hopefully provide an introduction to those smaller countries currently considering setting up or modernising their own HO

Pre-primary education in Hong Kong : the evolution of governance and policy tools

published_or_final_versionPolitics and Public AdministrationMasterMaster of Public Administratio

Community-based HIV-1 Early Diagnosis and Risk Behavior Analysis of Men Having Sex with Men in Hong Kong

The increasing prevalence of HIV-1 among men having sex with men (MSM) calls for an investigation of HIV-1 prevalence and incidence in MSM by early diagnosis to assist with early preventive interventions in Hong Kong. The participants were recruited randomly from MSM communities within a one-year period. Rapid HIV Test (RHT) and real-time dried blood spot (DBS)-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction (DBS-qPCR) were used for the early diagnosis of 474 participants. Risk behavior analysis was performed by studying information obtained from the participants during the study period. The HIV-1 prevalence and incident rates in the studied MSM population were 4.01%(19/474) and 1.47% (7/474), respectively. Three infected participants were found at the acute phase of infection by DBS-qPCR. Only 46.4%(220/474) MSM were using condoms regularly for anal sex. HIV infection significantly correlated with unprotected receptive anal sex and syphilis infection. An increased number of infections was found among foreign MSM in Hong Kong. This study is the first to use DBS-qPCR to identify acutely infected individuals in a community setting and to provide both the prevalence and incident rates of HIV-1 infection among MSM in Hong Kong. The risk analysis provided evidence that behavior intervention strengthening is necessary to fight against the increasing HIV-1 epidemic among MSM in Hong Kong and surrounding regions in Asia.published_or_final_versio

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy v. group psychoeducation for people with generalised anxiety disorder: randomised controlled trial

Background: Research suggests that an 8-week mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) course may be effective for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Aims: To compare changes in anxiety levels among participants with GAD randomly assigned to MBCT, cognitive–behavioural therapy-based psychoeducation and usual care. Method: In total, 182 participants with GAD were recruited (trial registration number: CUHK_CCT00267) and assigned to the three groups and followed for 5 months after baseline assessment with the two intervention groups followed for an additional 6 months. Primary outcomes were anxiety and worry levels. Results: Linear mixed models demonstrated significant group × time interaction (F(4,148) = 5.10, P = 0.001) effects for decreased anxiety for both the intervention groups relative to usual care. Significant group × time interaction effects were observed for worry and depressive symptoms and mental health-related quality of life for the psychoeducation group only. Conclusions: These results suggest that both of the interventions appear to be superior to usual care for the reduction of anxiety symptoms

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) dye loaded polymer nanoparticles for gene silencing in pancreatic cancer and their in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility evaluation

We have developed aggregation-induced emission (AIE) dye loaded polymer nanoparticles with deep-red emission for siRNA delivery to pancreatic cancer cells. Two US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved surfactant polymers, Pluronics F127 and PEGylated phospholipid, were used to prepare the dye-loaded nanoparticle formulations and they can be used as nanovectors for gene silencing of mutant K-ras in pancreatic cancer cells. The successful transfection of siRNA by the developed nanovectors was confirmed by the fluorescent imaging and quantified through flow cytometry. Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) indicates that the expression of the mutant K-ras oncogene from the MiaPaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cells has been successfully suppressed. More importantly, our in vivo toxicity study has revealed that both the nanoparticle formulations are highly biocompatible in BALC/c mice. Overall, our results suggest that the AIE dye-loaded polymer nanoparticle formulations developed here are suitable for gene delivery and have high potential applications in translational medicine research

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

Cardiovascular outcomes and hospitalizations in Asian patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors: a population-based study.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have known associations with cardiotoxicity. However, a representative quantification of the adverse cardiovascular events and cardiovascular attendances amongst Asian users of ICI has been lacking. This retrospective cohort study identified all ICI users in Hong Kong, China, between 2013-2021. All patients were followed up until the end of 2021 for the primary outcome of major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE; a composite of cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and stroke). Patients with prior diagnosis of any component of MACE were excluded from all MACE analyses. In total, 4324 patients were analysed (2905 (67.2%) males; median age 63.5 years old (interquartile range 55.4-70.7 years old); median follow-up 1.0 year (interquartile range 0.4-2.3 years)), of whom 153 were excluded from MACE analyses due to prior events. MACE occurred in 116 (2.8%) with an incidence rate (IR) of 1.7 [95% confidence interval: 1.4, 2.0] events per 100 patient-years; IR was higher within the first year of follow-up (2.9 [2.3, 3.5] events per 100 patient-years). Cardiovascular hospitalization(s) occurred in 188 (4.4%) with 254 episodes (0.5% of all episodes) and 1555 days of hospitalization (1.3% of all hospitalized days), for whom the IR of cardiovascular hospitalization was 5.6 [4.6, 6.9] episodes per 100 person-years with 52.9 [39.8, 70.3] days' stay per 100 person-years. Amongst Asian users of ICI, MACE was uncommon, and a small proportion of hospitalizations was cardiovascular in nature. Most MACE and cardiovascular hospitalizations occurred during the first year after initiating ICI. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.