Homophobia in medical students of the University of Hong Kong

Homosexuality is now accepted as a normal variant of human sexuality, but homophobia among healthcare professionals is well documented. Establishment of trustful doctor–patient relationships is impossible in the presence of homophobia. We were interested to examine the extent of homophobia among medical students, the future doctors. This article aims to study attitudes of medical students of the University of Hong Kong towards homosexuality and to identify significant factors affecting their attitudes. A cross‐sectional study was performed on students of the University of Hong Kong. Attitudes towards homosexuality were compared between medical and non‐medical students. More than 25% of the medical students agreed with the statement ‘homosexuality is a psychological disorder that requires therapy’. More than 15% would avoid any physical contact with homosexuals to minimise the chance of contracting diseases, especially AIDS. Comparison between the medical students and non‐medical students showed that the attitudes of the medical students were significantly more homophobic. Factors explaining the difference included the importance of religion in the formation of moral values, gender, experience of working closely with homosexual friends, sexual orientation, experience of the heterosexual sexual act, acquaintance of homosexual friends, and experience of homosexual love relationships. In conclusion, there appeared to be a certain level of homophobia among the medical students. This could possibly be explained by their lack of experience of working closely with homosexual friends. Relevant curriculum modification and development are urgently needed, to provide ongoing opportunities for students to realise their own values that could unconsciously affect their clinical judgements.     

我国体育用品制造业转型升级与服务业发展的关系研究

采用中国大陆东部、中西和西部三大经济区2008—2015年的面板数据，运用Johanson面板协整关系检验、Granger因果关系检验与面板数据误差修正模型，实证检验了我国体育用品制造业升级与服务业发展之间的因果关系。研究结果表明：不管是东部经济发达地区，还是中西部经济落后地区，体育用品制造业升级和服务业发展之间的协同互动关系均未建立起来，三大经济区体育用品制造业升级与服务业发展之间仅存在单向的因果关系。在东西部经济区，体育用品制造业升级是服务业发展的长期原因，但在中部经济区，服务业发展则是体育用品制造业升级的长期原因。从整体来看，虽然中国是一个体育用品制造和出口大国，但由于缺乏核心技术，产品全球竞争力较弱，国际话语权仍非常有限，与国内服务业发展相比，三大经济区体育用品制造业发展还处于相对较低的水平。最后，从互补性视角提出我国体育用品制造业与服务业发展的战略举措。     

Executive functioning and word reading in Hong Kong Chinese children: A 1-year longitudinal perspective

This study examined the bidirectionality between kindergarten children's executive functioning (EF) and word reading across two time points. Participants were 523 Hong Kong Chinese-speaking children (mean age at Time 2 = 64.59 months; 52.9% male) and their parents. At Time 1, children were administered the measures of EF skills: inhibitory control, attention shifting, working memory and Chinese word reading. They were reassessed with these measures at Time 2 one year later. Results from the cross-lagged panel model revealed that, controlling for child age, gender and parental education levels, children's word reading at Time 1 was significantly predictive of their working memory at Time 2, but that the three EF skills at Time 1 were not predictive of word reading at Time 2. These findings underscored the role of early word reading in promoting children's working memory.     

浅析钢琴演奏中的记忆问题

背谱记忆是钢琴演奏中一个十分重要的基础环节。改善记忆的方法．对于提高音乐记忆水平、积累音乐作品和促使演出的临场发挥，有着十分重要的作用。该文从心理学的角度对钢琴演奏中的记忆问题进行客观的分析，试图对记忆方法做出进一步的探讨。     

Building an evaluation culture and evidence base for e-learning in three Hong Kong universities

The paper presents a strategy for the systematic evaluation of course websites built under the project e3Learning that operates across three universities in Hong Kong. Tailor‐made evaluation plans were produced for each website; the evaluation was conducted by an evaluation officer, and a report was provided to each teacher, thus supporting continuous development. To date, 58 cases of evaluation data have been collected. In this paper, a meta‐analysis across these cases is presented in order to see which are the most useful web‐assisted functions currently in use in Hong Kong universities. This study indicates the following four functions as being most useful: learning tools such as glossaries, notes and PowerPoints, assessment tasks associated with grades, and creation and exhibition of multimedia projects. The reasons for these rankings are postulated.     

The Development and Validation of a Survey for Evaluating Primary Students’ Self-efficacy in STEM Activities

STEM integration has become a popular concept not only in the context of education practices but also as a way of learning. The integration of the STEM domains is evident in students’ learning experiences when engaging in STEM activities. However, there is a lack of instruments for evaluating students’ levels of self-efficacy in these activities. Therefore, the aims of this study were to develop a survey for evaluating upper primary students’ self-efficacy in STEM activities and to explore whether a student’s gender, grade, and participation in STEM activities predict his or her self-efficacy in STEM activities. A total of 844 fourth- to sixth-grade primary students participated in this study. After pilot testing, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted, the survey was found to have a single-factor structure with high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = .90). Linear regression analysis showed that school and out-of-school participation in STEM activities significantly predicted the students’ self-efficacy in STEM activities, while grade and gender did not. The survey developed in this study provides a reliable and valid way to measure students’ self-efficacy in STEM activities. These findings also highlight the importance of encouraging students’ participation in both formal and informal STEM activities.

     

Community and School Contexts in Youth Gang Involvement: Combining Social Bonds and Social Organization Perspectives

The Urban Review - Social bonds and social organization theory are combined to examine schools’ roles in regulating youth gang involvement in the context of community changes—an...