Newspaper portrayal and legislative voting process : a case study of statutory minimum wage in Hong Kong

Statuary Minimum Wage (SMW) has been discussed for 13 years in post-colonial Hong Kong and was finally legislated for in 2010. Scholars have attempted to explain how and why SMW was legislated for in post-colonial Hong Kong. They have argued that the growing public demand for the legislation created huge pressure for legislators. Even though previous studies have provided explanations for how the policy was made, they have failed to articulate two fundamental questions: how the Legislative Council lawmakers took notice of the problem of working poor and the need to vote in favor of SMW in Hong Kong? These are important steps that might influence lawmakers’ voting actions. Studies of legislative voting processes and policy-making processes indicate that if lawmakers fail to take notice of a problem or the need to change, they will not then initiate any policy reform or vote in favor with the proposed policies. This thesis makes an attempt to remedy the weaknesses of previous research. It is assumed that the newspapers in Hong Kong acted as storytellers that facilitated the lawmakers in the city - identifying the problem of working poor and the need to vote in favor with the legislation of SMW. The study also pays attention to a specific question of why lawmakers changed their positions regarding SMW while they oversaw the issues with working poor and minimum wage legislation. The thesis assumes that the local newspapers’ portrayals of SMW might influence the lawmakers’ positions. Firstly, the research findings show that selected newspapers preferred positive themes to negative themes when discussing SMW since 2004. Before 2004, SMW portrayals were diverse. Secondly, the research findings show that the interaction between the readers’ attention to the issues and the newspapers’ attention to those issues were mutual. On the one hand, while the readers’ attention to the issue of SMW increased, the number of reports made by the newspapers on the subject increased - and vice versa. On the other hand, the newspapers successfully attracted and maintained their readers’ attention to SMW via their reporting techniques. Additionally, the research findings point out that the newspapers had an important role in affecting lawmakers’ voting actions to SMW. They show that lawmakers would take notice of the needs for the legislation of SMW via the newspapers’ reports and hence re-evaluated their positions regarding the case. Last but not least, the research findings show that there was a correlation between newspaper portrayals and the voting behavior of lawmakers. In general, the three major political parties in Hong Kong – Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, Democratic Party and Liberal Party – changed their positions after the publication of newspaper articles addressing the parties’ consideration for the legislation of the minimum wage

The Eye4HK Meme and the Construction of an Injustice Frame

The territory-wide protest in Hong Kong in 2019, originated from a proposed amendment bill on the extradition of fugitives to China which triggered massive protests. In an incident, the police shot a female medic in the eye which outraged the public. A Korean celebrity initiated an online movement by uploading a selfie covering his right eye to Twitter showing solidarity with the victim. The eye-covered image signifies the girl who lost her eye as a political victim, gaining wide sympathy. The sub-campaign constructed an image of resistance against police brutality which strengthened the wider movement in Hong Kong and helped to win support in other parts of the world. The campaign also linked the emotions of the two places by recalling Koreans’ memory of their historical struggle for democracy. The sub-campaign generated symbolic resources accumulating through the production and reproduction process online and subsequently benefited the wider social movement for political change

Risk factors of pancreatic cancer in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: The Hong Kong Diabetes Study

Context Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with the development of pancreatic cancer (PaC), but few large-scale studies have examined its predictive risk factors. Objective The present study aims to examine the predictors for PaC in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a territory-wide, retrospective cohort study. Methods This was a territory-wide, retrospective cohort study of patients with T2DM mellitus older than 40 years with no prior history of PaC. Baseline demographics, use of antidiabetic medications, comorbidities, and biochemical parameters were extracted. Cox regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% CI. Subgroup analyses based on chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages were performed. Results This study consisted of 273 738 patients (age = 65.4 ± 12.7 years, male = 48.2%, follow-up duration = 3547 ± 1207 days, disease duration = 4.8 ± 2.3 years), of whom 1148 developed PaC. The number of antidiabetic medications prescribed (HR: 1.20; 95% CI, 1.01-1.42; P = .040), diabetic microvascular complications (HR: 1.91; 95% CI, 1.30-2.81; P < .001), chronic kidney disease (HR: 1.81; 95% CI, 1.25-2.64; P = .002), use of acarbose (HR: 2.24; 95% CI, 1.35-3.74; P = .002), and use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (HR: 4.00; 95% CI: 1.28-12.53, P = .017) were associated with PaC development on multivariable Cox regression adjusting for the duration of DM, mean glycated hemoglobin A1c, and history of pancreatic diseases. Stage 3A CKD or below was associated with PaC but not stage 3B or beyond. Conclusion Diabetic microvascular complications, especially stage 1, 2, and 3A CKD, were associated with PaCs

Risk Factors of Pancreatic Cancer in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Hong Kong Diabetes Study

Context: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with the development of pancreatic cancer (PaC), but few large-scale studies have examined its predictive risk factors. Objective: The present study aims to examine the predictors for PaC in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a territory-wide, retrospective cohort study. Methods: This was a territory-wide, retrospective cohort study of patients with T2DM mellitus older than 40 years with no prior history of PaC. Baseline demographics, use of antidiabetic medications, comorbidities, and biochemical parameters were extracted. Cox regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% CI. Subgroup analyses based on chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages were performed. Results: This study consisted of 273 738 patients (age = 65.4 ± 12.7 years, male = 48.2%, follow-up duration = 3547 ± 1207 days, disease duration = 4.8 ± 2.3 years), of whom 1148 developed PaC. The number of antidiabetic medications prescribed (HR: 1.20; 95% CI, 1.01-1.42; P = .040), diabetic microvascular complications (HR: 1.91; 95% CI, 1.30-2.81; P P = .002), use of acarbose (HR: 2.24; 95% CI, 1.35-3.74; P = .002), and use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (HR: 4.00; 95% CI: 1.28-12.53, P = .017) were associated with PaC development on multivariable Cox regression adjusting for the duration of DM, mean glycated hemoglobin A1c, and history of pancreatic diseases. Stage 3A CKD or below was associated with PaC but not stage 3B or beyond. Conclusion: Diabetic microvascular complications, especially stage 1, 2, and 3A CKD, were associated with PaCs

Is Early Discharge Rehabilitation Programme Feasible for Patients with Total Knee Replacement? Preliminary Review by Physiotherapist

Introduction: Fast-track surgery with intensive rehabilitation has become the standard management for patients receiving total knee replacement (TKR), which aims to facilitate early re-integration to the community. A new rehabilitation programme was implemented from May to July 2013 in the MacLehose Medical Rehabilitation Centre (MMRC). This paper aimed at reviewing the preliminary result from the perspective of physiotherapist. Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients who were transferred to MMRC for primary TKA rehabilitation from May to July 2013 were recruited for the study. Patients who only met the pre-defined discharge criteria after rehabilitation were discharged. The new rehabilitation programme aimed to discharge patients within 1 week of rehabilitation after unilateral TKR and 2 weeks of rehabilitation after bilateral TKR. Physical impairment and functional outcomes of the patients, and the reasons for non-compliance to the scheduled discharge were analysed. Results: A total of 32 (25 unilateral and 7 bilateral) patients were included. The functional outcomes of all the patients improved significantly after rehabilitation, though 14 (44%) of the patients were not discharged according to schedule. The main barriers were psychosocial aspects including inadequate social support from caregiver at home, lack of confidence in self-management of daily activities and fear of fall, and medical co-morbidities delaying progress of the rehabilitation. Discussion and Conclusion: This preliminary review showed that the present programme is feasible for some patients. To enhance the compliance rate, reinforcement of training in home exercises and self-management strategies, as well as addition of day rehabilitation programme and community social support services may be considered

Resting heart rate variability and emotion dysregulation in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Emotion dysregulation is common among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined the relationship between emotion dysregulation and resting heart rate variability (HRV), a marker of the autonomic nerve activity, in ASD adolescents. Resting HRV data were collected from ASD (n = 23) and typically developing (TD) adolescents (n = 32) via short-term electrocardiogram. Parents/caregivers reported participants’ level of emotion dysregulation with the Emotion Dysregulation Inventory (EDI). Controlling for the effects of age and gender, regression analyses revealed moderating effects of group, suggesting that lower resting HRV was more strongly associated with greater emotion dysregulation in ASD than TD adolescents. The results support the view that disruptions in autonomic functioning may underlie emotion dysregulation in ASD

Serum proteomic fingerprints of adult patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is an emerging infectious disease caused by a new coronavirus strain, SARS-CoV. Specific proteomic patterns might be present in serum in response to the infection and could be useful for early detection of the disease. Methods: Using surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) ProteinChip technology, we profiled and compared serum proteins of 39 patients with early-stage SARS infection and 39 non-SARS patients who were suspected cases during the SARS outbreak period. Proteomic patterns associated with SARS were identified by bioinformatic and biostatistical analyses. Features of interest were then purified and identified by tandem mass spectrometry. Results: Twenty proteomic features were significantly different between the 2 groups. Fifteen were increased in the SARS group, and 5 were decreased. Their concentrations were correlated with 2 or more clinical and/or biochemical variables. Two were correlated with the SARS-CoV viral load. Hierarchical clustering analysis showed that a majority of the SARS patients (95%) had similar serum proteomic profiles and identified 2 subgroups with poor prognosis. ROC curve analysis identified individual features as potential biomarkers for SARS diagnosis (areas under ROC curves, 0.733-0.995). ROC curve areas were largest for an N-terminal fragment of complement C3c α chain (m/z 28 119) and an internal fragment of fibrinogen α-E chain (m/z 5908). Immunoglobulin κ light chain (m/z 24 505) positively correlated with viral load. Conclusions: Specific proteomic fingerprints in the sera of adult SARS patients could be used to identify SARS cases early during onset with high specificity and sensitivity. © 2006 American Association for Clinical Chemistry.link_to_subscribed_fulltex