Person to Person in Hong Kong

While still in the midst of their study abroad experiences, students at Linfield College write reflective essays. Their essays address issues of cultural similarity and difference, compare lifestyles, mores, norms, and habits between their host countries and home, and examine changes in perceptions about their host countries and the United States. In this essay, Dan Hellinger describes his observations during his study abroad program at Hong Kong Baptist University in Hong Kong, China

A social contract model of ‘disintegrity’ within the dual-process paradigm of moral psychology: Reducing the scope of the ‘belief-behavior incongruity’

Explaining why students cheat when it violates their moral beliefs, also called the ‘belief-behavior incongruity’ (BBI), is a difficult challenge most often overcome by referring to neutralization techniques, first described by Sykes and Matza (1957), whereby individuals deceive themselves with specious justifications for ignoring the moral imperative to follow rules. An underlying assumption of the neutralization view, that individuals’ abstract moral beliefs apply automatically to all contexts, is critiqued in the present work. The account of academic dishonesty developed herein is centered on the hypothesis that adolescent students’ felt moral obligation is informed by an intuitive sense of reciprocity between themselves and their learning contexts, which resembles a social contract, or ‘psychological teaching- learning contract’ (PTLC). Students who regard a class context or teacher more negatively are thus expected to feel less moral obligation to follow rules, and to cheat more as a result. The hypothesized PTLC model, which included key variables related to (A) self-concept, (B) achievement goal structure, (C) learning strategies, (D) moral obligation, and (E) social comparison theory, was tested with data from a diverse sample of secondary students in fifteen international schools across Asia, Europe, and Africa. A pilot study (N = 96) of the construct validity of psychometric measures was conducted prior to the Main Study, which included a Time 1 sample of N = 493, a Time 2 sample of N = 297 (spaced by approximately one year), and a longitudinal matched sample of N = 225. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to test the validity and invariance of the measurement model, as well as the structural relations hypothesized between variables. A small degree of gender non-invariance prompted separate analyses of gender-specific models. Results supported the PTLC hypothesis. Moral obligation overwhelmingly mediated the effects of perceived class quality on academic integrity, indicating that students felt morally obliged to be honest in a given class, as a function of their regard for its quality

Employment and the role of personal factors among patients with ankylosing spondylitis: A Dutch cross-sectional case-control study

Objectives To update the knowledge on employment and the role of mastery, a personal factor reflecting the level of control over life and disease, among Dutch patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) compared to general population subjects. Methods Data of persons ≤65 years participating in a Dutch cross-sectional multicentre study on social participation in AS were used. Being employed was the main outcome. Standardised employment ratios (SERs) were calculated using indirect standardisation after adjusting for age, gender and education and repeated after stratification by symptom duration tertiles. Modified Poisson regressions were performed to understand the role of mastery (Pearlin's scale) independent of sociodemographic and health-related factors. Results 214 patients and 470 controls (127 (59.3%) and 323 (68.7%) males; mean age 48.3 (SD 10.4) and 39.3 (SD 12.7) years, respectively) completed an online questionnaire. SER (95%CI) in patients was 0.83 (0.69-0.98); 0.84 (0.67-1.04) in males; 0.83 (0.59-1.07) in females. Adjusted absolute employment of patients compared to controls was 69% versus 84%; 73% versus 86% for males; 62% versus 78% for females. In multivariable analyses stratified for patients and controls, mastery was associated with being employed in patients, but only in those with low education. In controls, not mastery but higher education was associated with being employed. Conclusion Our study reveals that patients suffering from AS compared to population controls are less likely to be employed. Mastery is an important personal factor associated with employment in patients but not in controls. Interventions aimed at improving employment of patients with AS should likely account for mastery

Incidence of neuralgic amyotrophy (parsonage turner syndrome) in a primary care setting - A prospective cohort study

Objective Neuralgic amyotrophy is considered a rare peripheral nervous system disorder but in practice seems grossly under recognized, which negatively affects care for these patients. In this study we prospectively counted the one-year incidence rate of classic neuralgic amyotrophy in a primary care setting. Methods In a prospective cohort study during the year 2012 we registered all new cases of neck, shoulder or arm complaints from two large primary care centers serving a population of 14,118. Prior to study, general practitioners received a short training on how to diagnose classic neuralgic amyotrophy. Neuralgic amyotrophy was defined according to published criteria irrespective of family history. Only patients with a classic phenotype were counted as definite cases. After inclusion, patients with suspected neuralgic amyotrophy who had not yet seen a neurologist were offered neurologic evaluation for diagnostic confirmation. Results Of the 492 patients identified with new onset neck, shoulder or arm complaints, 34 were suspected of having neuralgic amyotrophy. After neurologic evaluation the diagnosis was confirmed in 14 patients. This amounts to a one-year incidence rate for classic neuralgic amyotrophy of 1 per 1000. Conclusions Our findings suggest that neuralgic amyotrophy is 30-50 times more common than previously thought. Unawareness of the disorder and its clinical presentation seems the most likely explanation for this difference. An incidence rate of 1 per 1000 and the long-term sequelae many patients suffer warrant more vigilance in diagnosing the disorder, to pave the way for timely treatment and prevent complications

Patients record systems: effects on dental practice and patient oral health outcomes.

Contains fulltext : 89818.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Diet and alpha-glucosidase inhibition in the early treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Contains fulltext : 71320.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)RU Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, 06 maart 2008Promotores : Weel, C. van, Rutten, G.E.H.M. Co-promotores : Lisdonk, E.H. van de, Lucassen, P.L.B.J.202 p

Valpreventie voor de Nederlanders en pre-operatief scheren voor de Belgen.

Contains fulltext : 69468.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access

Dieetadvies voor patiënten met diabetes mellitus type 2.

Contains fulltext : 57810.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access

Making complexity understandable: how to use and implement findings from systematic reviews (Abstract)

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