Suicide in Hong Kong: A case-control psychological autopsy study

Background. The relative contribution of psychosocial and clinical risk factors to suicide among Chinese populations is an important issue. In Hong Kong, this issue requires vigorous examination in light of a 50% increase in suicide rate between 1997 and 2003. Method. Using a case-control psychological autopsy method, 150 suicide deceased were compared with 150 living controls matched by age and gender. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the next-of-kin of the subjects. Data were collected on a wide range of potential risk and protective factors, including demographic, life event, clinical and psychological variables. The relative contribution of these factors towards suicide was examined in a multiple logistic regression model. Results. Six factors were found to significantly and independently contribute to suicide: unemployment, indebtedness, being single, social support, psychiatric illness, and history of past attempts. Conclusions. Both psychosocial and clinical factors are important in suicides in Hong Kong. They seem to have mediated suicide risk independently. In addition, socio-economic adversities seem to have played a relatively important role in the increasing suicide rate in Hong Kong. © 2006 Cambridge University Press.published_or_final_versio

Search for neutral heavy leptons produced in ZZ decays

Weak isosinglet Neutral Heavy Leptons (νm) have been searched for using data collected by the DELPHI detector corresponding to 3.3 × 106 hadronic Z0 decays at LEP1. Four separate searches have been performed, for short-lived νm production giving monojet or acollinear jet topologies, and for long-lived νm giving detectable secondary vertices or calorimeter clusters. No indication of the existence of these particles has been found, leading to an upper limit for the branching ratio BR(Z0 → νmν̄) of about 1.3 × 10-6 at 95% confidence level for νm masses between 3.5 and 50 GeV/c2. Outside this range the limit weakens rapidly with the νm mass. The results are also interpreted in terms of limits for the single production of excited neutrinos. © Springer-Verlag 1997

Young Chinese medical students adapt well to problem-based learning

Letters to the editorlink_to_subscribed_fulltex

Medical school culture: more positive than you think

Conference Theme: Inspire... and be inspiredFree e-bookSession 2BB - Posters: Career Choice/Education Environment: abstract 2BB13BACKGROUND: As students progress from junior to senior medical undergraduates, their development as doctors is influenced not only by the taught curriculum but also by the prevailing medical school culture which has been characterised in other studies as competitive, hierarchical and at times, abusive. This has implications on the development of the professional attitudes and behaviours expected of medical graduates. We aim to describe students’ perception of medical school culture in an Asian setting, conceptualised as the behaviours, attitudes, values and customs of the medical school and the people within it. SUMMARY OF WORK: This was a qualitative study of medical students in the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong. Between June 2010 to January 2011, students were identified through random and quota sampling and 31 participated in individual semi-structured interviews. A grounded theory approach was used to determine common themes in students’ perceptions. SUMMARY OF RESULTS: Medical school culture was categorized into peer-related, student-teacher-related, and institutional-related themes. Most of the subthemes were positive with 27% of these referring to positive peer interactions such as cooperative learning, willingness to help and provision of emotional support. CONCLUSIONS: Positive peer behaviour and attitude were perceived as the predominant features of medical school culture. TAKE-HOME MESSAGES: The role of peers in defining medical school culture is significant and may exert a powerful influence on the developing doctor.link_to_OA_fulltex

The impact of managerial networking intensity and market-based strategies on firm growth during institutional upheaval:a study of small and medium-sized enterprises in a transition economy

Varying institutional environments provide the foundation for a great deal of international business research, yet relatively little empirical work has examined the determinants of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) growth during institutional upheaval, although the importance of SME development for economic transition and growth is widely acknowledged. Our paper addresses this gap in the literature by examining how the competitive strategies of SMEs evolve during institutional transitions, and assessing the implications for firm growth. Using data collected from 135 SMEs in 1993, and 200 SMEs in 2001, we find that managerial networking intensity (i.e., developing and maintaining relationships that may be used for business purposes) declines markedly over time, whereas the importance of market-based strategies increases. Managerial networking intensity is strongly associated with firm growth early in the institutional transition process, but not later. Market-based strategies are not associated with firm growth in either time period. Drawing on convergent insights from multiple theoretical perspectives, we argue that changes in strategy are concurrently driven by socially constructed norms that legitimize new ways of competing and delegitimize old ones, and by knowledge acquisition and learning, which provide managers with a more diverse set of tools with which to exercise their strategic choices

Determination of the average lifetime of b-baryons

The average lifetime of b-baryons has been studied using 3 × 106 hadronic Z0 decays collected by the DEL-PHI detector at LEP. Three methods have been used, based on the measurement of different observables: the proper decay time distribution of 206 vertices reconstructed with a Λ, a lepton and an oppositely charged pion; the impact parameter distribution of 441 muons with high transverse momentum accompanied by a Λ in the same jet; and the proper decay time distribution of 125 Λc-lepton decay vertices with the Λc exclusively reconstructed through its pKπ, pK0 and Λ3π decay modes. The combined result is: τ(b-baryon) = (1.254-0.109+0.121(stat) ±0.04(syst)-0.05+0.03(syst)) ps where the first systematic error is due to experimental uncertainties and the second to the uncertainties in the modelling of the b-baryon production and semi-leptonic decay. Including the measurement recently published by DELPHI based on a sample of proton-muon vertices, the average b-baryon lifetime is : τ(b-baryon) = (1.255-0.102+0.115(stat) ±0.05) ps. © Springer-Verlag 1996