Showing papers by "The Chinese University of Hong Kong published in 1993"

Differences in Managerial Values: A Study of U.S., Hong Kong and PRC Managers

Abstract: In this study of convergence/divergence of managerial values, four Western-developed measures (Machiavellianism, locus of control, intolerance of ambiguity and dogmatism) and the four dimensions of the Eastern-developed Chinese Value Survey (Confucian dynamism, human-heartedness, integration, and moral discipline) were the measures used. The findings indicate that often times both culture and the business environment interact to create a unique set of managerial values in a country.

Limb fracture pattern in different pediatric age groups: a study of 3,350 children

Abstract: The fracture patterns of 3,350 children with 3,413 limb fractures admitted to one center from 1986 to 1990 were analyzed retrospectively. The overall boy-to-girl ratio was 2.7:1, rising to 5.5:1 in the adolescent group. Distal radius fracture was the most common fracture (19.87%), followed by supracondylar fracture of the humerus (16.64%) and forearm shaft fracture (13.36%). Specific age group breakdown showed that supracondylar fracture of the humerus was the most common fracture occurring in the age groups 0 to 3 years and 4 to 7 years, accounting for 28.94 and 31.18% of all limb fractures, respectively. Fracture of the distal radius occurred in 27.06% of the 8 to 11 year age group and 23.31% of the 12 to 16 year group. Open fractures were uncommon (2.17%), and greenstick fractures were found only in 5.27% of this hospital series. The nondominant arm was found to have more fractures although the number was not statistically significant. Seasonal variation in incidence occurred, with more cases in the summer and autumn months. The open reduction rate in the treatment varied from 10.15% in the 0 to 3 year age group to 33.95% in the 12 to 16 year group. Forty-five percent of the 0 to 3 year age group were discharged from hospital within 24 h, contrasting with 30% in the other age groups. Overall incidence of fractures requiring hospital treatment was estimated to range from 35 per 10,000 in the 0 to 3 year age group to 62, 60, and 57 per 10,000 in the 4 to 7, 8 to 11, and 12 to 16 year groups, respectively.

Evaluation of the Chinese version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. A cross-cultural perspective.

Abstract: The authenticity of the Chinese translation of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) was tested in a sample of medical students. The Chinese version demonstrated good agreement with the English original. There was a large difference between the mean anxiety and depression subscores. Factor analysis consistently yielded three factors, suggesting the existence of a somatic factor. It is suggested that a common cut-off point for the subscales of the HAD scale is not advisable and a multidimensional model for mood disorders is more appropriate in a cross-cultural context.

Tobin's Q, Corporate Diversification and Firm Performance

Abstract: In this paper, we show that Tobin's q and firm diversification are negatively related. This negative relation holds for different diversification measures and when we control for other known determinants of q. We show further that diversified firms have lower q's than equivalent portfolios of specialized firms. This negative relation holds throughout the 1980s in our sample. Finally, it holds for firms that have kept their number of segments constant over a number of years as well as for firms that have not. In our sample, firms that increase their number of segments have lower q's than firms that keep their number of segment constant. Our evidence is consistent with the view that firms seek growth through diversification when they have exhausted internal growth opportunities. We fail to find evidence supportive of the view that diversification provides firms with a valuable intangible asset

The Shatin community mental health survey in Hong Kong. II. Major findings.

Abstract: • A large-scale community survey in Shatin, Hong Kong, is presented with a modified two-phase design using flagged and nonflagged subsamples. A modified Self-Reporting Questionnaire and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (version III) were used as the screening and diagnostic instruments, respectively. Lifetime rates for 19 Diagnostic Interview Schedule/DSM-IIIdiagnoses are presented. The most common diagnoses in Shatin were tobacco dependence, generalized anxiety disorder, alcohol abuse and/or dependence, all phobias, and dysthymic disorder. The malepredominant disorders were tobacco dependence, alcohol abuse/dependence, pathological gambling, and antisocial personality. The female-predominant disorders were generalized anxiety disorder, all phobias, dysthymic disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and bereavement.

An Etic-Emic Analysis of Individualism and Collectivism

Abstract: An analysis of the responses of 1,614 subjects from 10 cultures shows that the Leung Bond procedure provides illuminating ways of extracting both strong (Separation From In-Groups, Independence, and Personal Competence) and weak (Task Orientation) eticsrelevant to individualism, and weak etics (Dependence on Others, Sociability) relevant to collectivism. Additional richness in the available information is provided when intracultural factor analyses are carried out in each culture. It appears that the most complete picture is obtained when both etics and emics are examined.

The Chinese version of the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory: Its relationship to different measures of psychological well‐being

Abstract: The Chinese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (C-STAI) was administered to 2,150 Chinese secondary school students, along with other measures of psychological well-being. The results showed that the correlation between A-State and A-Trait scores was significant, and both scales correlated significantly with all other measures of psychological well-being. Analyses of the strengths of association among the measures revealed that while A-Trait and A-State scores were differentially sensitive to indices of chronic mental health attributes and acute symptoms, both scales were found to be more predictive of measures of anxiety. These findings generally provided support for the concurrent validity of the C-STAI, and the significant correlation between A-State and A-Trait is consistent with data reported in the literature.

Individual Perceptions of Organizational Cultures: A Methodological Treatise on Levels of Analysis

Abstract: Data from a survey study of organizational cultures in 20 organizational units in Denmark and the Netherlands were re-analyzed at the individual level, after elimination of between-unit variance. A factor analysis showed individuals' values to be composed of six dimensions, and individuals' perceptions of their organiza tion's practices of another six dimensions, entirely different from the dimensions found earlier to apply at the organizational level. The scores on these new dimen sions are related to various demographic characteristics of the respondents. This case is used for a methodological treatise stressing the need to choose the proper level of analysis for the problem at hand, a need which is too seldom recognized.

Fat phobic and non-fat phobic anorexia nervosa: a comparative study of 70 Chinese patients in Hong Kong.

Abstract: A mixed retrospective-prospective study of 70 Chinese anorexic patients in Hong Kong shows that although they were similar to Western anorexics in most other ways, 41 (58.6%) of them did not exhibit any fear of fatness throughout their course of illness. Instead, these non-fat phobic patients used epigastric bloating (31.4%), no appetite/hunger (15.7%) or simply eating less (12.9%) as legitimating rationales for food refusal and emaciation. Compared to fat phobic anorexics, they were significantly slimmer pre-morbidly (P < 0.0001) and were less likely to exhibit bulimia (P = 0.001). The possible explanations for the absence of fat phobia and the interpretive dilemma this provokes are discussed from historical, pathoplastic and cultural anthropological perspectives. It is argued that anorexia nervosa may display phenomenological plurality in a Westernizing society, and its identity may be conceptualized without invoking the explanatory construct of fat phobia exclusively. As non-fat phobic anorexia nervosa displays no culturally peculiar features, it is not strictly speaking a Western culture-bound syndrome, but may evolve into its contemporary fat phobic vogue under the permeative impact of Westernization. Its careful evaluation may help clarify the aetiology and historical transformation of eating disorder, foster the development of a cross-culturally valid taxonomy of morbid states of self-starvation, and exemplify some of the crucial issues that need to be tackled in the cross-cultural study of mental disorders.

Emotions and their expression in Chinese culture

Abstract: This paper attempts to integrate the scattered studies on Chinese emotion and proposes some methodological and substantive suggestions for future work. Emotions are construed as interpretations of physiological response to important social events with these interpretations guiding behavior. Concerning interpretation, the dimensions used by Chinese to understand emotion-eliciting events are the same as those found in many other cultures. Which sorts of events are keyed to these dimensions appear to differ, however, in ways consistent with theorizing about power distance and collectivism. Concerning physiological reactions, there appears again to be evidence for universality in the pattern of response for given emotions. What differs in Chinese culture is the lower frequency, intensity and duration with which emotions are typically experienced. Cultural beliefs about emotions support this general moderation and have implications for conceptions of psychopathology. Concerning the action component of emotions, evidence suggests that the expression of emotion is carefully regulated out of concern for its capacity to disrupt group harmony and status hierarchies. It is concluded that all these features of Chinese emotional responding are likely to be found in other groups that share cultural characteristics with the Chinese. Virtue is the establishing of perfect harmony. —Chuang Tzu

Theory and experiment of a coaxial probe fed hemispherical dielectric resonator antenna

Abstract: A hemispherical dielectric resonator antenna fed by a coaxial probe is studied both theoretically and experimentally. The Green's function for the evaluation of the input impedance is derived rigorously and expressed in a form convenient for numerical computations. The method of moments is used to obtain the probe current from which the input impedance of the DR antenna is calculated. Both delta gap and magnetic frill source models are considered. Moreover, the results using a reduced kernel as well as the exact kernel are presented. Both entire basis (EB) and piecewise sinusoidal (PWS) expansion modes are used and the results are compared. The effects of the probe length, feed position, and dielectric constant on the input impedance are discussed. Finally, the theoretical radiation patterns for the first three resonant modes (TE/sub 111/, TM/sub 101/, and TE/sub 221/) of the DR antenna are presented. >

Profiles of Organizational Culture and Effective Schools

Abstract: This study intends to investigate how school organizational culture is related to important organizational characteristics and observe how the profiles of strong culture‐effective schools are different from those of weak culture‐ineffective schools in terms of organizational variables (such as principal's leadership, organizational structure, and teachers’ social interactions), teachers’ job attitudes, and school effectiveness criteria. It is a cross‐sectional survey research involving 54 randomly sampled Hong Kong secondary schools and 588 teachers. The unit of analysis is the school. Organizational ideology index was found to be substantially correlated with schools’ perceived organizational effectiveness. Among the 10 measures of these organizational variables, teachers’ esprit and principal's charismatic leadership can contribute substantially to the prediction of school's strength of organizational culture. The organizational profile of perceived strong culture‐effective schools is contrasti...

How abnormal is the desire for slimness? A survey of eating attitudes and behaviour among Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong

Abstract: Using the 40-item Eating Attitudes Test and other self-report questions, a two-stage screening survey of 1020 (F 646, M 374) Chinese bilingual university students in Hong Kong showed that although female students were ‘underweight’ by Western standard, the majority of them and nearly all female students above a body mass index of 20·5 kg/m2 were cognitively inclined to diet and weigh less, albeit without being driven to actual weight control behaviour. In contrast, most male students and a minority of constitutionally thin female students clearly wished to gain weight. While a number of items were culturally inappropriate, factor analysis supported the overall cross-cultural conceptual validity of the EAT. The principal factor, reflecting dieting concerns, correlated positively with the current body mass index. Among the high scorers, only three female students with partial syndrome bulimia nervosa were identified, yielding a low prevalence of 0·46% for the spectrum of eating disorders. It is argued that the desire for slimness is widespread but its intensity and pathogenic potentiality vary across cultures. In the relative absence of obesity, it may not lead to more eating disorder.

Exploring the dimensions of Chinese person perception with indigenous and imported constructs: Creating a culturally balanced scale.

Abstract: This research compares the relative effectiveness of imported and indigenous measures of personality perception for Hong Kong Chinese. The first study reports on the extraction of six factors of self-perception using bipolar, adjective rating scales from the U.S.A. tapping the Big Five (Digman, 1990), and Openness to Experience (McCrae & Costa, 1985; 1987). The second study reports on the extraction of six factors of self-perception derived from scales developed indigenously by Chinese psychologists. In the third study, the overlap of the imported and the indigenous dimensions is examined, and their relative power in explaining various criterion measures is assessed. The imported factors adequately explained all but one of the indigenous factors, although in complex combinations. Neither scale was better than the other in predicting the criterion variables. Imported measures may cut the phenomenal world differently from indigenous measures, but still enable scientists to predict behaviours just a...

Predicting success for introductory accounting students: some further Hong Kong evidence

Abstract: This study, which examines the factors that affect first year (Hong Kong) accounting student performance, is motivated by two considerations. First, such studies are important in providing comparative evidence from recently developed countries such as Hong Kong in the context of calls for the harmonization of international accounting education. Second, prior studies seldom consider the variable student personality type as one of the predictor variables. Results using 455 students in the introductory accounting class as subjects, and a multiple regression model indicate that self-expectation of examination results, English secondary school education, high school certificate level grades in English and Mathematics, personality type, intention to obtain a business degree and previous knowledge of accounting were significant predictors of student performance.

Verification of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation scoring system in a Hong Kong intensive care unit.

Abstract: OBJECTIVES To validate the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II) severity of illness scoring system in Chinese patients in a multidisciplinary intensive care unit (ICU) in Hong Kong. To audit the service and utilization of an ICU with a low ICU to hospital bed ratio. DESIGN Prospective data collection and review. SETTING A 12-bed multidisciplinary ICU within a 1,430-bed tertiary care university hospital. PATIENTS Data from 1,573 of 1,814 consecutive patients admitted to the ICU from May 1988 to November 1990 were studied. The patients were all Chinese. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS The patients' clinical details and APACHE II scores were recorded on day 2 of admission and reviewed at hospital discharge or after death. The APACHE II scores, risk of death values, age, and length of ICU stay between survivors and nonsurvivors were compared by two-sample t-tests. Relationships between mortality and APACHE II score, risk of death, and results from previous studies were investigated using the Pearson product-moment coefficient and regression analysis. Predictive capacity of risk of death was assessed by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The hospital mortality rate for study patients was 36%. Survivors were younger, had shorter ICU stays, lower APACHE scores, and lower risk of death values than nonsurvivors (p < .001). There was close correlation (r2 = .81, .77, and .76 for all patients, operative group, nonoperative group, respectively) between APACHE II scores and predicted risk of death values. Risk of death was an accurate group predictor of death in all patients and in separate operative and nonoperative groups. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves were 0.89 (all patients), 0.85 (operative), and 0.88 (nonoperative). Neither the Apache II scores nor risk of death scores were sufficiently accurate to predict outcome of individual patients. There was close concordance between observed and predicted mortality of patient groups. Mortality ratio was 0.97 (all patients), 0.89 (operative group), and 1.02 (nonoperative group). Chronological age, per se, was not a good predictor of mortality. The audit of the ICU service showed a short length (4.2 days) of ICU stay and high bed occupancy (80%). Subgroups of low-risk, postoperative patients with good outcomes and poor-risk patients admitted after cardiopulmonary arrest with a high mortality rate were identified. CONCLUSIONS The APACHE II scoring system was an accurate predictor of group outcome in a Chinese population, making it suitable for comparisons between countries. Application of the APACHE II scoring system in a clinical audit facilitates critical appraisal of an ICU service. Problems identified by the study were a shortage of ICU beds and delayed referrals of patients.

Causality of interest rate, exchange rate and stock prices at stock market open and close in Hong Kong

Abstract: By an ARIMA approach and verified by the Granger causality tests, the causality of daily interest rate, exchange rate and stock prices in Hong Kong were explored for the period 1986 to 1991. Depending on the subperiods being considered, sporadic unidirectional causality from closing stock prices to interest rate, and weak bi-directional causality between stock prices and the exchange rate were found. The overall evidence, however, appears to show that the Hong Kong market efficiently incorporated much of the interest rate and exchange rate information in its price changes both at daily market close and open.

Gastrulation in the mouse embryo: ultrastructural and molecular aspects of germ layer morphogenesis.

Abstract: Ultrastructural studies and lineage analyses of gastrulating mouse embryos have revealed that different morphogenetic tissue movements are involved in the formation of the three definitive germ layers. Definitive ectoderm is formed by epibolic expansion of the pre-existing progenitor population in the embryonic ectoderm. Formation of the mesoderm and the endoderm is initiated by cellular ingression at the primitive streak. The mesodermal layer is established by cell migration and cell sheet spreading, but the endoderm is formed by replacing the original primitive endodermal population. To this date, genes that are expressed during mouse gastrulation mostly encode cell surface adhesion or signalling molecules, growth factors and their receptors, and putative transcriptional factors. Their precise role during gastrulation remains to be investigated.

Obesity, albuminuria and hypertension among Hong Kong Chinese with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM).

Abstract: A total of 412 Hong Kong Chinese diabetic patients were studied on at least two occasions 8-16 weeks apart. Although 28% were insulin-treated, only 3.6% had insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM). In the remaining 397 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM), the mean (s.d.) body mass index (BMI) was 24.4 +/- 3.2 kg/m2 in females and 24.2 +/- 3.2 kg/m2 in males. Obesity was present in 17% of males (BMI > 27 kg/m2) and 40% of females (BMI > 25 kg/m2). Established hypertension was present in 49%. Abnormal albuminuria, defined as a mean urinary albumin/creatinine (UA/Cr) ratio greater than 5.4 mg/mmol based on two random spot urine samples, was present in 47%. On stepwise multiple regression analysis, UA/Cr ratio (R2 = 0.34, F = 65.4, P < 0.001) showed significant associations with systolic blood pressure (standardized regression coefficient beta = 0.40, P < 0.001), plasma creatinine concentration (beta = 0.27, P < 0.001) and glycosylated haemoglobin (beta = 0.20, P < 0.001). While the prevalence of hypertension increased with increasing severity of proteinuria, 40% of normoalbuminuric patients had hypertension. Among patients diagnosed before the age of 35 (n = 67), 52% were insulin-treated although only 10% were insulin-dependent. Among these NIDDM patients of young onset (n = 59), obesity was present in 25% of males and 56% of females. Overall, 18% of these patients had a blood pressure greater than 140/90 mmHg and 27% had abnormal albuminuria. In Hong Kong Chinese, diabetes mellitus is predominantly non-insulin-dependent even in the young. Obesity is more prevalent among females. Abnormal albuminuria is relatively common and is closely associated with hypertension and glycaemic control. In the light of increasing prevalence of diabetes among overseas Chinese, our findings may have important implications in the management of Chinese diabetic patients.

Classroom Interaction and Teacher Questions Revisited

Abstract: As questioning is an important method of teaching, it has received much research attention for many years. However, the studies that have been conducted have so far not exhausted this area of investigation.The present study aims to investigate the relationships among these four variables in the ESL classroom in Hong Kong: (1) question types, (2) questioning strategies, (3) student attitudes, and (4) patterns of interaction.The questions of four ESL teachers in Hong Kong were analyzed. The findings indicate that the overwhelming number of responses generated by these questions are restricted rather than elaborate, irrespective of the types of question that elicited them. In addition, referential and open questions are less effective than display and closed questions in eliciting responses from students.This study suggests that in Hong Kong, ESL students prefer to be modest rather than to show off by giving lengthy responses to teacher questions. In this situation, the use of appropriate questioning strateg...

Anaesthesia for Laparoscopic General Surgery

Abstract: Laparoscopic surgery minimises postoperative morbidity. Patient benefits include reduction in postoperative pain, better cosmetic result and quicker return to normal activities. Hospital stay is shortened resulting in a reduction in overall medical cost. The intraoperative requirements of laparoscopic surgery however can lead to serious physiological changes and complications. While there is a low but definite perioperative mortality rate associated with minor gynaecologic laparoscopic procedures, laparoscopic general surgical procedures are performed on older patients and patients with acute surgical conditions and are likely to be associated with a higher incidence of perioperative complications. The major problems during laparoscopic surgery are related to the cardiopulmonary effects of pneumoperitoneum, systemic carbon dioxide absorption, extraperitoneal gas insufflation, venous gas embolism and unintentional injuries to intra-abdominal structures. An appraisal of the potential problems is essential for optimal anaesthetic care of patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery. Appropriate anaesthetic techniques and monitoring facilitate surgery and allow early detection and reduction of complications. The need for rapid recovery and short hospital stay impose additional demands on the anaesthetist for skillful practice.

High-precision identification of morphology-dependent resonances in optical processes in microdroplets

Abstract: The spectroscopy of the morphology-dependent resonances of a microdroplet has been studied at high precision. The line positions are shown to reveal optical dispersion and permit the refractive index to be determined with sufficient accuracy to provide an estimate of the droplet cooling that is due to evaporation. Comparison of the remaining discrepancies in mode positions for different radial modes indicates a small temperature gradient near the surface. Both the cooling and the temperature gradient are compatible with thermodynamic estimates. The mode quantum numbers are identified with high confidence, and the systematics of the line intensities permit an estimate of the extra radiative loss 1/QL over and above that predicted by Lorenz–Mie theory for a perfect homogeneous microsphere, for example, that which is due to internal scattering, with QL ≈ 2 × 108 for first-order modes.

Plasma catecholamines and neonatal condition after induction of anaesthesia with propofol or thiopentone at caesarean section

Abstract: Increased maternal sympathetic nervous system activity may decrease placental perfusion and cause adverse neonatal effects. We have studied the catecholamine response and neonatal outcome in Chinese patients with uncomplicated, singleton pregnancies undergoing Caesarean section. Anaesthesia was induced with thiopentone 4 mg kg-1 (n = 32) or propofol 2 mg kg-1 (n = 30) followed by suxamethonium. Laryngoscopy was performed after 7 min and trachea/ intubation completed by 2 min. Anaesthesia was continued with atracurium, nitrous oxide and isoflurane. Maternal venous blood samples were taken at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 min and at delivery for assay of catecholamines. The increase from baseline values in mean arterial pressure after trachea/ intubation was greater in the thiopentone group (29 (SD 15) mm Hg) compared with the propofol group (18 (14) mm Hg) (P