Achievement motivation of adult learners in Hong Kong- An exploratory study

This thesis is focused on the question of motivation among adult students and the ways in which it can be theorised and investigated. The idea was prompted by three areas of concern. First, the large body of literature on achievement goal theory is developed in the West involving school children and young adults. Second, research in cross-cultural motivation issues has also been focused on young learners. Third, research on adult learners has been fragmented and sparse. Little is understood about the motivation of adult learners in a Confucian Heritage Culture, such as Hong Kong. The purpose of this study is to explore the transferability of achievement goal theory to Chinese adult learners. Based upon the social-cognitive framework, this study enquires if personal, behavioural and environmental factors of Chinese adults' achievement motivation can be satisfactorily explained by Western theory that is developed with young learners in mind. A heuristic approach is adopted to explore personal perceptions and understandings of aspects relating to adult learners' motivation. In the first part of this study, the construct systems of 27 part-time Chinese adult students were explored using Repertory Grid interviews. In the second part of the study, the interview data were validated by data triangulation using two focus groups. The data showed that Chinese adults were primarily motivated by extrinsic goals in an avoidance orientation, while holding a firm belief in effort and hard work. Analysis of the data showed considerable differences between important elements suggested by the Western theory and important motivation factors revealed by the sample. In the final analysis, cultural as well as developmental factors were found to attribute to the gap between Western theory and Chinese adult learners. The thesis concludes by discussing the implications of the findings and the strengths and limitations of the research

Unusual hematologic disease affecting Caucasian children traveling to Southeast Asia: acquired platelet dysfunction with eosinophilia

An 11-year-old American boy was staying with his family in Indonesia. He presented with a 5-month history of recurrent bruises and ecchymosis. A clinical diagnosis of acquired platelet dysfunction with eosinophilia was made when his full blood counts showed hypereosinophilia (7.4×109/L) with normal platelet count and gray platelets under the microscope. The diagnosis was supported by abnormal platelet aggregation tests consistent with a storage pool disorder. The bleeding symptoms and eosinophilia resolved a month later with a full course of antihelminthic therapy. Hematologists should be aware of this unusual disease in travelers returning from the Southeast Asia

A Preliminary Study to Enhance the Tribological Performance of CoCrMo Alloy by Fibre Laser Remelting for Articular Joint Implant Applications

CoCrMo alloy has long been used as a pairing femoral head material for articular joint implant applications because of its biocompatibility and reliable tribological performance. However, friction and wear issues are still present for CoCrMo (metal)/CoCrMo (metal) or CoCrMo (metal)/ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) (plastic) pairs in clinical observations. The particulate wear debris generated from the worn surfaces of CoCrMo or UHMWPE can pose a severe threat to human tissues, eventually resulting in the failure of implants and the need for revision surgeries. As a result, a further improvement in tribological properties of this alloy is still needed, and it is of great interest to both the implant manufacturers and clinical surgeons. In this study, the surface of CoCrMo alloy was laser-treated by a fibre laser system in an open-air condition (i.e., no gas chamber required). The CoCrMo surfaces before and after laser remelting were analysed and characterised by a range of mechanical tests (i.e., surface roughness measurement and Vickers micro-hardness test) and microstructural analysis (i.e., XRD phase detection). The tribological properties were assessed by pin-on-disk tribometry and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Our results indicate that the laser-treated surfaces demonstrated a friction-reducing effect for all the tribopairs (i.e., CoCrMo against CoCrMo and CoCrMo against UHHMWPE) and enhanced wear resistance for the CoCrMo/CoCrMo pair. Such beneficial effects are chiefly attributable to the presence of the laser-formed hard coating on the surface. Laser remelting possesses several competitive advantages of being a clean, non-contact, fast, highly accurate and automated process compared to other surface coating methods. The promising results of this study point to the possibility that laser remelting can be a practical and effective surface modification technique to further improve the tribological performance of CoCr-based orthopaedic implants

Polarization gaps in spiral photonic crystals

We studied the optical properties of a dielectric photonic crystal structure with spirals arranged in a hexagonal lattice. The dielectric constant of the material is 9 and the filling ratio is 15.2%. We found that this kind of structure exhibits a significant polarization gap for light incident along the axis of the spirals. The eigenmodes inside the polarization gap are right-hand (left-hand) circularly polarized depending on the whether the spirals are left-handed (right-handed). The transmission spectrum of a slab of such a structure has been calculated and matches well with the analysis of the eigenmodes.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Realization of Woodpile Structure Using Optical Interference Holography

We report the use of a (4+1)-beam optical interference holography technique to fabricate woodpile structures in photo-resists. The configuration consists of 4 linear polarized side beams arranged symmetrically around a circular polarized central beam with all the beams from the same half space, making it easily accessible experimentally. The fabricated woodpile structures are in good agreement with model simulations. Furthermore, woodpiles with the diamond symmetry are also obtained by exploiting the deformations of the photo-resists. Directional bandgaps in the visible range are also observed for the samples with and without the correct stacking of the woodpile structures.Comment: 9 pages and three figure

Learning and unlearning object drop in anaphoric and non-anaphoric contexts in L2 English

PhD Thesi

Use of antiarrhythmic drugs in elderly patients

Human aging is a global issue with important implications for current and future incidence and prevalence of health conditions and disability. Cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation, sudden cardiac death, and bradycardia requiring pacemaker placement, all increase exponentially after the age of 60. It is important to distinguish between the normal, physiological consequences of aging on cardiac electrophysiology and the abnormal, pathological alterations. The age-related cardiac changes include ventricular hypertrophy, senile amyloidosis, cardiac valvular degenerative changes and annular calcification, fibrous infiltration of the conduction system, and loss of natural pacemaker cells and these changes could have a profound effect on the development of arrhythmias. The age-related cardiac electrophysiological changes include up- and down-regulation of specific ion channel expression and intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ overload which promote the development of cardiac arrhythmias. As ion channels are the substrates of antiarrhythmic drugs, it follows that the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of these drugs will also change with age. Aging alters the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination of antiarrhythmic drugs, so liver and kidney function must be monitored to avoid potential adverse drug effects, and antiarrhythmic dosing may need to be adjusted for age. Elderly patients are also more susceptible to the side effects of many antiarrhythmics, including bradycardia, orthostatic hypotension, urinary retention, and falls. Moreover, the choice of antiarrhythmic drugs in the elderly patient is frequently complicated by the presence of co-morbid conditions and by polypharmacy, and the astute physician must pay careful attention to potential drug-drug interactions. Finally, it is important to remember that the use of antiarrhythmic drugs in elderly patients must be individualized and tailored to each patient's physiology, disease processes, and medication regimen

Chiral microstructures (spirals) fabrication by holographic lithography

We present an optical interference model to create chiral microstructures (spirals) and its realization in photoresist using holographic lithography. The model is based on the interference of six equally-spaced circumpolar linear polarized side beams and a circular polarized central beam. The pitch and separation of the spirals can be varied by changing the angle between the side beams and the central beam. The realization of the model is carried out using the 325 nm line of a He-Cd laser and spirals of sub-micron size are fabricated in photoresist.Comment: 6 page

A DISCOURSE DESCRIPTION OF FOUR FUNDRAISING TEXTS – LINGUISTS MEET PRACTITIONERS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

This exploratory study presents four fund-raising texts for an analysis. Two are written as appeal letters and two as leafl ets. Their purpose of writing is to persuade an audience of Hong Kong residents to donate money for charity organizations. A qualitative approach informed by ethnography is adopted. Interviews with two organizations are conducted and verbal reporting of practitioners is used. In this study, one focus is on the schematic structure of texts and fund-raising texts are recognized as a particular of genre. The ‘Problem-solution discourse pattern’ can be applied to the fund-raising texts even though practitioners did not acknowledge they use any linguistic models. As for the textual moves, ‘situation or problem’ is always placed at the beginning of the text because it is crucial to let readers know what the main theme is. Then there are diff erent combinations of the second move including ‘response, solution or problem’. The fi nal move is always ‘response’ and two meanings of ‘response’ are refi ned to diff erent parameters: (i) tangibility: tangible and virtual solution, (ii) time frame: proposed and reference solution, and (iii) depth of target-achievement: ultimate and specifi c solution. Another focus of this study is on the choice of style. As persuasion of readers to donate is crucial, adding involving devices is to engage readers and make them ‘particular’, which increases the possibility to solicit response successfully. Involvement devices include using you and imperative clauses. Finally, with reference to the issue of whether ‘textual structure tells us the reality’ or ‘the reality creates the structure’, practitioners are not concerned too much with text structure. Practically, the reality to them is embodied in the structure