Towards a Critical Understanding of Difference and Diversity

Difference is the defining character of our globalizing and postmodern times. Difference is also the basis of oppression. Social work practitioners need to be cognizant that the way difference is deployed in public discourses is not benign. As such, a critical understanding of difference has crucial implications in anti-oppressive as well as social work practices. Furthermore, much of our understanding and perception of difference is implicit, subliminal, and often enmeshed with existing oppressive social relations. Not making visible and bringing to our critical consciousness how difference is understood and perceived would risk reproducing and perpetuating oppressive relations unwittingly in both daily and professional interactions. The objective of this article is, therefore, twofold. First, to understand the meaning of difference and its implications in anti-oppression from a critical social work perspective. The politicized meaning of difference will be further elucidated by being distinguished from a similar yet more diluted term of diversity. This more nuanced understanding of difference and diversity is important to social workers as they critically engage social critiques and social justice debates regarding issues of difference and diversity. Second, to foreground the meaning of difference to our consciousness, and thereby disrupt our unconscious complicity in oppressive relations. In bringing what may be an implicit acceptance of existing meanings of difference to the fore of our critical consciousness, one may be better positioned to resist participating in and reproducing oppression in daily mundane as well as social work interactions

Synchronization in the quaternionic Kuramoto model

In this paper, we propose an $N$ oscillators Kuramoto model with quaternions $\mathbb{H}$. In case the coupling strength is strong, a sufficient condition of synchronization is established for general $N\geqslant 2$. On the other hand, we analyze the case when the coupling strength is weak. For $N=2$, when coupling strength is weak (below the critical coupling strength $\lambda_c$), we show that new periodic orbits emerge near each equilibrium point, and hence phase-locking state exists. This phenomenon is different from the real Kuramoto system since it is impossible to arrive at any synchronization when $\lambda<\lambda_c$. A theorem is proved which states that the closed contours form a set of "Baumkuchen" that is dense near each equilibrium point. In other words, the trajectory of phase difference lies on a $4D$-torus surface. Therefore, this implies that the phase-locking state is Lyapunov stable but not asymptotically stable. The proof uses a new infinite buffer method ("$\delta/n$ criterion") and a Lyapunov function argument. This has been studied both analytically and numerically. For $N=3$, we consider Lion Dance flow, the analog of Cherry flow, to demonstrate that the quaternionic synchronization exists even when the coupling strength is "super weak" (when $\lambda/\omega 3$, the stable manifold of Lion Dance flow exists, and the number of these equilibria is $\lfloor \frac{N-1}{2}\rfloor$. Therefore, we conjecture that quaternionic synchronization always exists.Comment: 35 pages, 6 figure

The Specific Characteristics of Childhood Obesity and the Effective Strategies to Combat Childhood Obesity in Hong Kong: A Short Review

Childhood obesity is a serious public health problem all around the world. The problem also currently exists in Hong Kong. Unhealthy lifestyle behavior may be one of key factors contributing to childhood obesity. The review revealed the specific characteristics of childhood obesity and the effective strategies in prevention of childhood obesity in Hong Kong context. Hong Kong is a metropolitan city which is interwoven eastern and western culture. The historical reasons and the complex political issues lead to overcrowded of people living in a small place. The environmental factors and the lifestyle pattern are the crucial causes contributing to childhood obesity. Parents have significant influence in shaping lifestyle behavior of children. While Chinese culture, informal childcare and more energy-dense food consumptions are the specific factors affecting children in lifestyle behavior as shown in the previous studies. The finding of the present review paper is expected to realize root causes of the prevalence of childhood obesity. On the other hand, many studies regarding to the treatment of childhood obesity were also reviewed. It was found that fewer studies were conducted to provide the combined intervention to combat childhood obesity. Generally, parental education was not the focus of childhood obesity intervention programs and parent-oriented approach was not commonly adopted in these programs. While limited childhood obesity intervention programs have been conducted in Hong Kong, it is recommended to conduct an appropriate program for children specifically in Hong Kong context. The design of preventive strategies should take into consideration of these specific characteristics in Hong Kong to reverse the increased prevalence of childhood obesity

Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of strengths model case management (SMCM) with Chinese mental health service users in Hong Kong

Introduction Strengths-based approaches mobilise individual and environmental resources that can facilitate the recovery of people with mental illness. Strengths model case management (SMCM), developed by Rapp and Goscha through collaborative efforts at the University of Kansas, offers a structured and innovative intervention. As evidence of the effectiveness of strengths-based interventions come from Western studies, which lacked rigorous research design or failed to assure fidelity to the model, we aim to fill these gaps and conduct a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to test the effectiveness of SMCM for individuals with mental illness in Hong Kong. Methods and analysis This will be an RCT of SMCM. Assuming a medium intervention effect (Cohen’s d=0.60) with 30% missing data (including dropouts), 210 service users aged 18 years or above will be recruited from three community mental health centres. They will be randomly assigned to SMCM groups (intervention) or SMILE groups (control) in a 1:1 ratio. The SMCM groups will receive strengths model interventions from case workers, whereas the SMILE groups will receive generic care from case workers with an attention placebo. The case workers will all be embedded in the community centres and will be required to provide a session with service users in both groups at least once every fortnight. There will be two groups of case workers for the intervention and control groups, respectively. The effectiveness of the SMCM will be compared between the two groups of service users with outcomes at baseline, 6 and 12 months after recruitment. Functional outcomes will also be reported by case workers. Data on working alliances and goal attainment will be collected from individual case workers. Qualitative evaluation will be conducted to identify the therapeutic ingredients and conditions leading to positive outcomes. Trained outcome assessors will be blind to the group allocation. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee at the University of Hong Kong has been obtained (HRECNCF: EA1703078). The results will be disseminated to service users and their families via the media, to healthcare professionals via professional training and meetings and to researchers via conferences and publications

The associations of body mass index with physical and mental aspects of health-related quality of life in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: Results from a cross-sectional survey

Background: This study aimed to determine the associations of various clinical factors with generic health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scores among Hong Kong Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the outpatient primary care setting using the short-form 12 (SF-12).Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 488 Chinese adults with T2DM recruited from a primary care outpatient clinic was conducted from May to August 2008. Data on the standard Chinese (HK) SF-12 Health Survey and patients' socio-demographics were collected from face-to-face interviews. Glycaemic control, body mass index (BMI), chronic co-morbidities, diabetic complications and treatment modalities were determined for each patient through medical records. Associations of socio-demographic and clinical factors with physical component summary (PCS-12) and mental component summary scores (MCS-12) were evaluated using multiple linear regression.Results: The socio-demographic correlates of PCS-12 and MCS-12 were age, gender and BMI. After adjustment for socio-demographic variables, the BMI was negatively associated with PCS-12 but positively associated with MCS-12. The presence of diabetic complications was associated with lower PCS-12 (regression coefficient:-3.0 points, p < 0.05) while being on insulin treatment was associated with lower MCS-12 (regression coefficient:-5.8 points, p < 0.05). In contrast, glycaemic control, duration of T2DM and treatment with oral hypoglycaemic drugs were not significantly associated with PCS-12 or MCS-12.Conclusions: Among T2DM subjects in the primary care setting, impairments in the physical aspect of HRQOL were evident in subjects who were obese or had diabetic complications whereas defects in the mental aspect of HRQOL were observed in patients with lower BMI or receiving insulin injections. © 2013 Wong et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.published_or_final_versio

Antecedents of Customer E-loyalty With the Effect of Trustworthiness in Malaysia Context

The rapid growth of online shopping has led to inspire customer e-loyalty among Malaysians, especially living in this digital environment. Commitment-trust theory is applied as the theoretical base to explain the factors influencing customer e-loyalty. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the direct impact of customer interface quality, service quality (SERVQUAL), website quality, technology acceptance factors, and technology trust on customer e-loyalty. This study also aims to examine the indirect effect of independence variables on customer e-loyalty through the effects of trustworthiness. SmartPLS 2.0 (M3) is applied as analytical tool to study the impact. A survey is conducted with 395 respondents who had online purchase experience. The findings indicated that customer interface quality, SERVQUAL, website quality, technology acceptance factors, and technology trust have positive impact on customer e-loyalty. Additionally, trustworthiness is used as mediator exclusive of SERVQUAL. Several implications of the findings, limitations of the study, and recommendations for future research are highlighted

O Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (PNAE) e o desafio da aquisição de alimentos regionais e saudáveis

O artigo discute a aquisição de alimentos regionais para o Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (PNAE) no contexto da promoção da segurança alimentar e nutricional (SAN). Explora-se o desenho institucional do programa e seus potenciais para fomentar o desenvolvimento local e sustentável, por meio da compra de gêneros alimentícios da agricultura familiar pelo setor público. Os termos alimentos regionais, preparações regionais e hábitos alimentares regionais possuem conceituação ambivalente na literatura científica e institucional, o que possibilita uma oferta de alimentos não saudáveis nos cardápios escolares. Destacou-se o processo de aquisição institucional de gêneros alimentícios dos agricultores familiares e os gargalos existentes, notadamente a falta de documentação por parte dos agricultores familiares, estrutura física e logística e normas sanitárias inadequadas à realidade da agroindústria familiar. A oferta de produtos da agricultura familiar deve ser pautada na produção de alimentos regionais e saudáveis, cujo mercado em vias de consolidação requer delineamento adequado por parte das entidades executoras do PNAE por meio de incentivos à regularização fundiária, acesso a assistência técnica agrícola, produção de base agroecológica e promoção da sociobiodiversidade. A análise da relação entre a promoção da sustentabilidade e a produção/aquisição de alimentos regionais demanda maior número de pesquisas

Arroz, feijão e ultraprocessados: caracterização das refeições segundo o grau de processamento dos alimentos no Brasil

To describe the meals consumed according to the degree of food and beverage processing and analyze the evidence on the process of replacing culinary preparations with ultra-processed foods.&nbsp; Meal consumption was described according to degree of food processing, using food consumption logs from 34,008 participants of the 2008-2009 Consumer Expenditure Survey. Meals were defined based on time of consumption and combination of foods and beverages from the NOVA classification system, thus categorized as: traditional (CP and/or processed foods), mixed (CP and/or processed foods and UPF) and ultra-processed (only UPF). Univariate linear regression analysis (p &lt; 0.05) on meal consumption frequency from each category showed the average of 4.52 [CI: 4.48-4.55] meals, of which 2.63 [CI: 2.59-2.67] traditional meals, 1.32 [CI: 1.30-1.35] mixed meals and 0.56 [IC:0.54-0.58] ultra-processed meals. Higher frequency of mixed and ultra-processed meals was observed among women, as well as individuals with higher income, education level, age, residents of South and Southeast regions, and urban household status ((p&lt;0,05). Ultra-processed foods were more commonly consumed alongside culinary preparations, as mixed meals.O objetivo foi descrever as refeições consumidas segundo o grau de processamento de alimentos e bebidas e analisar as evidências sobre o processo de substituição de preparações culinárias por alimentos ultraprocessados.Foram utilizados dados do consumo alimentar de 34.008 indivíduos da Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares de 2008-2009 por meio de registro alimentar. Refeições foram definidas a partir de horário de consumo e combinação dos alimentos e bebidas conforme a classificação NOVA e categorizadas em: tradicionais (preparações culinárias e/ou processados), mistas (preparações culinárias e/ou processados e ultraprocessados) e ultraprocessadas (exclusivamente ultraprocessados). Frequência de consumo dessas categorizações foram avaliadas por regressão linear univariada.&nbsp; Foram consumidas 4,52 [IC: 4,48-4,55] refeições, sendo 2,63 [IC: 2,59-2,67] tradicionais, 1,32 [IC: 1,30-1,35] mistas e 0,56 [IC:0,54-0,58] ultraprocessadas. A frequência de refeições mistas e ultraprocessadas foi maior entre mulheres, conforme aumento da renda, escolaridade, idade, residir no sul e sudeste e situação de domicílio urbana (p&lt;0,05). Alimentos ultraprocessados são mais consumidos acompanhados de preparações culinárias, nas refeições mistas

The Strengths Model in Hong Kong

Mental health practice involves the continuous process of learning and refinement, especially when practitioners focus on the strengths and aspirations of individuals who are coping with serious mental illnesses (Tse et al., 2016). Cross-cultural considerations include beliefs, language, the role of social support, and the distinctive characteristics of specific communities that require localization in designing and offering mental health services. In this chapter, we describe the experience of adopting the Strengths Model in Hong Kong, starting with an introduction to the mental health system in the city. We then illustrate the development and implementation of the Strengths Model for the Chinese population in Hong Kong. We also briefly review research studies focusing on the Strengths Model in mental health practice in this cultural context (Tsoi et al., 2018; Tsoi, Tse, Canda, & Lo, 2019; Tse et al., 2019). The process of localization described in this chapter required the building of complex relationships among Strengths Model founders, scholars, organizations, caseworkers, and people facing mental health challenges