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Research on dementia literacy in Chinese societies is still emerging, and this is especially the case among racially minoritized groups. The present study explored the knowledge, causal beliefs, and help-seeking behaviors of South Asian migrants in Hong Kong about dementia. It also investigated existing community barriers related to dementia knowledge and help-seeking. We conducted a qualitative study from a purposive sample of 38 older people and family caregivers from India, Pakistan, and Nepal who lived in Hong Kong. Focus groups and individual in-depth interviews were used to gather information, while thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data. Five main themes were identified: normalization with stigmatization of dementia; spiritual and psychosocial attributions of dementia; familial responsibility despite potential caregiving burden; uncertainties versus openness to professional care; and barriers and opportunities in dementia literacy. Ethnic minorities recognized dementia as a disease of normal aging or a mental disorder. They also perceived spiritual and psychosocial factors as their main causes. While participants recognized the potential burden of dementia caregiving, families were their first point of help-seeking, as many of them expressed contrasting feelings of confidence or doubt toward professional services. Utilization of health education strategies, together with collaboration with community leaders, could address the barriers to dementia literacy. This is the first study to explore how ethnic minorities in Asia perceive dementia and its related help-seeking behaviors in their communities. South Asian migrants in Hong Kong have a limited understanding of dementia and may experience delays in obtaining relevant community services. While culture influenced their knowledge, health education may address their misperceptions and help-seeking behaviors toward dementia. Culture- and language-specific programs could also improve dementia knowledge and health service access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a paediatric motor speech disorder. We investigated the lexical tone perception and production abilities of children with CAS and the relationships between the two. Three children with CAS, aged between 3;7 and 5;8, were given the Cantonese Tone Identification Test (CANTIT) and the Hong Kong Cantonese Articulation Test (HKCAT) for assessment of tone perception and production, respectively. Accuracy and error patterns were investigated based on their performance on the two tests. Correlation analysis was performed on children's perception and production scores. Two children scored at the lowest rank on the CANTIT, while one child obtained a Z score of 0. All children scored three standard deviations below the mean on the HKCAT. No statistical differences were found among the six tones with respect to perception accuracy, H(5) = 3.731, p = 0.589. Error analysis showed that children with CAS demonstrated more confusion on perceiving tones compared with TD peers. There were no main effects for task (F(1,2) = 0.040, p = 0.859) or tone (F(5,10 = 0.997, p = 0.467); nor were there task or tone interaction effects on perception versus production accuracy (F(5,10) = 1.772, p = 0.206). Tone perception and production accuracy were not significantly correlated (r2 = 0.181, p = 0.078). Tone perception deficits were evident in two out of three children with CAS, while all children had lexical tone production difficulties. In this small sample, tone production was more universally affected than tone perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monosexism has been increasingly recognized as a minority stressor uniquely experienced by plurisexual individuals. The present study investigated the effects of monosexist discrimination on mental health and examined the moderating role of gender and sexual identity integration (i.e., negation, authenticity, and disclosure). In a sample of 314 bisexual and pansexual individuals in Hong Kong (73.9% women and 26.1% men), the results showed that monosexist discrimination was associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety symptoms, above and beyond heterosexist discrimination. The association between monosexist discrimination and depression symptoms was stronger among bisexual and pansexual men than women, despite there being no gender differences in vulnerability to monosexist discrimination. Moreover, sexual identity negation, authenticity, and disclosure moderated the associations of monosexist discrimination with depression and anxiety symptoms, such that the associations were not significant among those with more positive integration of sexual identity (i.e., lower levels of sexual identity negation as well as higher levels of sexual identity authenticity and disclosure). This study provides insight into the deleterious impact of monosexism and the protective role of sexual identity integration. Implications for plurisexual-affirming psychological intervention, public policy, and community practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "movement-voting nexus" thesis highlights the impact of transformative social movements on shifting voting behaviour and electoral outcomes. However, existing studies have overwhelmingly focused on the context of democracies. This study goes beyond the existing literature by testing the applicability of "movement-voting nexus' in the context of hybrid regimes, using the voter mobilization in the Hong Kong's Anti-Extradition Bill Movement as a case study. The findings of this study are two-fold: The quantitative findings from a territory-wide telephone survey validated the thesis of "movement-voting nexus' in Hong Kong's hybrid regime, statistically establishing the significance of "movement support" as a novel predictor of voting behaviour (vis-à-vis other predictors such as political partisanship) in times of transformative social movement, as in the case of democracies; the qualitative findings from extended interviews of survey respondents revealed that the "movement-voting nexus" was operating in the shadows of authoritarian electoral influence in the territory, reflecting the nuanced features of Hong Kong's hybrid regime. This study contributes to extant literature by advancing the discussion from democracies to hybrid regimes, paving the way for future research across diverse political regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the use of personal response systems (PRSs) in the classroom, the two main motivations of the study were to investigate whether boredom with the devices decreased students' perceived learning and learning satisfaction, and whether teachers' provision of feedback moderated these negative effects. A survey was conducted among 172 business undergraduate students at a local university in Hong Kong. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that perceived learning mediated the relationship between boredom and learning satisfaction. This study found that the negative relationship between boredom with PRSs and learning satisfaction was weaker when teachers provided higher levels of feedback. A key managerial implication for academic educators was that teachers could develop better learning experience to students by providing high quality feedback in PRSs context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, budgetary scholars focus on deficit politics in Western democracies, emphasizing budgetary conflicts among budgetary actors over different strategies to balance budgets. While most countries are facing budget deficits, some countries and regions are experiencing budget surpluses. However, surplus politics, and its comparison with deficit politics, remains underexplored. This study is a pioneer attempt to compare the similarities and differences between deficit politics and surplus politics, using Hong Kong and Singapore as binary cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the global trend of democratic backsliding, Hong Kong provides an illustrative case of how democratic institutions could be degenerated by "exporting autocracy". After 1997, Hong Kong's semi-democracy has come under continuous pressure by China's extra-jurisdictional autocratic influence. When about two decades of exporting autocracy has almost made Hong Kong a semi-democratic façade, China imposed the National Security Law in June 2020 placing the last straw that breaks its semi-democracy. The case study of Hong Kong offers comparative observations about China's exporting autocracy across its surrounding jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how short-term, school-based cycling training programs can promote cycling among schoolchildren in the high-density city of Hong Kong. The schoolchildren's progression in cycling ability was monitored closely by professional cycling coaches. Fifty-two children (aged 8–17) at three schools participated. Before and after data on their cycling habits and perceptions of the children and their parents were collected. Children showed clear improvements in their cycling techniques and skills with each session of the cycling training. After the children's training, parents readily felt that cycling training helped to protect cyclists' safety, with three quarters of "yes" respondents, and children were in agreement to a lesser magnitude, at around 55%. Other perceptions of cycling and cycling training were explored as well, with varying results. 24% of children reported cycling more after training, the majority of those at the introductory level, who had hardly ever cycled prior to training. The results suggest that cycling training has improved schoolchildren's cycling ability, while perceptions and habits of cycling have begun to change as well. These findings can inform future policy direction in the implementation of formalized cycling training for schools situated in high-density cities like Hong Kong primarily to promote cycling for recreation and further as a form of sustainable transport. This needs to go hand in hand with improving neighborhood environments so they become more amenable for active travel especially for vulnerable road users, such as child cyclists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the prevalence, associations, and causes of visual impairment and blindness in the adult population of Hong Kong. This cross-sectional population-based study included 2018 (870, 43% male) randomly selected adults with a mean age 52 ± 16 years (range 18–90 years) in Hong Kong. Each participant underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examinations. Presenting visual acuity (PVA) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of each eye was recorded. Prevalence of visual impairment and blindness was calculated using both World Health Organization (WHO) and United States (US) definitions, based on BCVA and PVA. Visual acuity measurements were available for 1952 (96.8%) participants. The prevalence of visual impairment, based on BCVA value, using WHO and US definition, was 1.0 ± 0.1% and 2.7 ± 0.4%, respectively. The prevalence of visual impairment, based on PVA value, was 5.1 ± 0.5% and 14.0 ± 0.8%, using WHO and US definition, respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated the presence of visual impairment (PVA, WHO definition) increased significantly with older age (odds ratio 1.039, P <.001) and thinner central cornea thickness (odds ratio 0.994, P =.014), but not significantly associated with other socioeconomic, systemic or ocular parameters after adjusting for age and central corneal thickness. Under-correction of refractive error was the most common reason for presenting visual impairment. Causes of impaired BCVA were cataract (37%), age-related macular degeneration (26%), diabetic macular edema (11%), glaucoma (11%), epiretinal membrane (5%), and unknown (11%). The prevalence of visual impairment in Hong Kong increased significantly with older age and thinner central corneal thickness. The major causes for impairment were under-correction of refractive error, cataract, and age-related macular degeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concern has been expressed globally about nursing staff turnover and shortage. Due to the worldwide ageing population, concern for nursing shortage is further growing. Literature suggests various reasons for and consequences of nursing shortage. This study consists of two main parts. Firstly, a systematic literature search and review is employed to explore the key determinants of the nursing shortage, particularly in terms of job dissatisfaction, in the public healthcare system. Secondly, an exploratory survey study is conducted to investigate the correlation between various job dissatisfaction factors and the intention of nursing staff to leave the Hong Kong public healthcare system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese regional cuisines have developed their own flavors and presentation styles. Huaiyang cuisine (淮揚菜) in the Jiangsu area emphasizes excellent cutting skills, culinary techniques, and the use of ingredients cultivated in the Yangtze River Delta area. There is no doubt that regional cuisines have distinctive local characteristics. However, with increased migration since the 1950s, it has become important to investigate how these local cuisines have changed in relation to the culinary skills and tastes of people in different regional contexts. To gauge the discrepancy between the historical construction of the cuisine in modern times and everyday food practices, Hong Kong will be used as a case study. Since most people in Hong Kong are unfamiliar with Huaiyang cuisine, this paper explains why there has been an overemphasis on official historical discourse from the national perspective and how the change of regional should be understood as a living practice from the diasporic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on environmental factors that affect adaptive re-use of historic buildings in Hong Kong, China. Topics discussed include construction of King Yin Lei, a mansion on Hong Kong Island, protests over a decision to demolish the mansion for the purpose of redevelopment, Conservation Office's environmental monitoring program introduced to preserve the building fabric and fittings without placing an air-conditioning system, impact of fluctuating climate on the conservation of historic buildings, and impact of air circulation through windows and doors on the internal environment.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of maternal colonization with group B streptococcus (GBS), and early onset GBS disease (EOGBSD) after implementation of universal screening.Methods: This was a three-year retrospective cohort study on universal antenatal rectovaginal culture-based screening and intrapartum antimicrobial prophylaxis (IAP) to colonized women in the public sector in Hong Kong. Routinely collected data including maternal colonization and EOGBSD were retrieved.Results: Of 113,989 GBS screening performed, 21.8% were positive. The colonization rate was higher in the public hospitals (higher risk) than in the Maternal and Child Health Centers (lower risk) (23.7% vs 18.1%, p < .001), while their false negative rates were not greater than expected. Majority of eligible women opted for screening, and colonized women received IAP. There were 29 cases of EOGBSD with clinical signs and a positive blood or cerebrospinal fluid culture. Compared to clinical risk-based screening, EOGBSD incidence decreased after universal screening (1 vs 0.24 per 1000 births, p < .001). Although EOGBSD occurred at a higher rate in preterm than term infants, 86.7% occurred in the latter, and were associated with a false negative screening result (41.3%), lack of screening (20.7%) or unavailability of a colonization result at labour (13.8%).Conclusions: Maternal GBS colonization rate was higher than previously reported, and varied with different risk populations. EOGBSD reduced after universal screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study determined the levels of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), including their respective N-oxides, in foodstuffs available in Hong Kong by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry. A total of 234 samples (48 food items) were collected randomly from a local market and analysed. About 50% of samples were found to contain detectable amount of PAs. Amongst the 48 food items, PAs were not detected in 11 food items, including barley flour, beef, cattle liver, pork, pig liver, chicken meat, chicken liver, milk, non-fermented tea, Melissa tea and linden tea. For those found to contain detectable PAs, the summed PA content ranged up to 11,000 µg kg−1. The highest sum of PA content among the 37 food items calculated with lower bound was cumin seed, then followed by oregano, tarragon and herbs de Provence with ranges of 2.5–11,000, 1.5–5100, 8.0–3300 and 18–1300 µg kg−1respectively. Among the samples, the highest sum of PA content was detected in a cumin seed sample (11,000 µg kg−1), followed by an oregano (5100 µg kg−1), a tarragon (3300 µg kg−1) and a herbs de Provence (1300 µg kg−1). In general, the results of this study agreed well with other published results in peer-reviewed journals, except that the total PAs in honey and specific tea infusion in this study were comparatively lower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of the Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) in a matched controlled design among individuals in recovery of mental illness in Hong Kong. Feedback from the first batch of WRAP facilitators in Hong Kong was sought for future implementation of WRAP. Participants were recruited from the service units of the largest nongovernmental organization (NGO) serving people in recovery in Hong Kong. Fifty-nine service users were recruited to learn WRAP and 59 service users served as matched controls. The WRAP program consisted of eight weekly sessions delivered by NGO staff who were certified WRAP facilitators. Assessments were completed before, immediately after, and 3 months after the program. Findings based on repeated measures ANOVAs showed that compared with their matched controls, WRAP participants reported significant increase in perceived social support. No significant change was noted in empowerment, hope, self-stigma, social network size, symptom severity, and recovery. Facilitators discussed issues on cultural adaptation and resources needed for future implementation of WRAP for Chinese. Discrepancies between the present findings and those from previous studies were discussed. This is the first quantitative study evaluating the effectiveness of WRAP among Chinese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As social inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic have been recognised, emerging research showed that lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people may be additionally affected during the pandemic. This paper adds to the understanding of the experiences of LGB people during the pandemic with a focus on Hong Kong, where issues of space significantly influence LGB people's lives in this city with high population density. As part of a larger community study of LGB lives in Hong Kong, COVID-19-related impact on 434 Chinese-speaking LGB people was explored. Data collection was conducted from 20 May to 30 June 2020. Inductive thematic analysis of the open-text response survey data found that the LGB participants described both negative and positive impacts brought by COVID-19. Such impacts could be dimensionalised into those related to personal space and privacy, romantic and sexual space, and community space. It was also found that the experiences of COVID-19 among LGB people in Hong Kong were intersectional, along the lines of living arrangement and relationship status. Such findings make unique contributions to the emerging literature. First, there needs to be a more nuanced understanding of sexual minority individuals' experiences during COVID-19 across cultural contexts. Second, COVID-19 was described as having brought positive impact in addition to its widely known negative impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The north-western part of Hong Kong is a marsh with traditional freshwater fish farming; however, this brackish area has been agriculturally diversified to include cultivation of red rice, reeds, shrimp and fish, and has only largely concentrated on freshwater fish farming starting from the 1960s. By looking into the geographical and social changes that have taken place in the brackish area, I will explain how the coastal landscape was changed in the 1910s through the introduction of large-scale rice production in Tin Shui Wai which has turned into a high-density residential new town, and the wetland conservation of Mai Po marshes. This article aims at understanding the meanings of intangible as well as agricultural/fishery heritage and the local politics among indigenous communities, conservation groups, the government and developers in post-handover Hong Kong society. Inland freshwater pond cultivation was actually a major industry in the 1970s since it supplied most of the freshwater fish for the local market. Nowadays, the industry is shrinking because of lack of manpower and high operation costs compared to the mainland. With various kinds of social, economic and physical pressures, the local communities which are located at the buffer areas of the wetland in Mai Po are actually facing the tremendous dangers of losing those fishponds; most importantly, the fishponds have been serving not only as mitigation zone and source of a traditional local food but also as a major food supplier for migratory birds, adding to the conservation value of the Mai Po marshes and Inner Deep Bay in Hong Kong at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production planning problems play a vital role in the supply chain management area, by which decision makers can determine the production loading plan-consisting of the quantity of production and the workforce level at each production plant-to fulfil market demand. This paper addresses the production planning problem with additional constraints, such as production plant preference selection. To deal with the uncertain demand data, a stochastic programming approach is proposed to determine optimal medium-term production loading plans under an uncertain environment. A set of data from a multinational lingerie company in Hong Kong is used to demonstrate the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed model. An analysis of the probability distribution of economic demand assumptions is performed. The impact of unit shortage costs on the total cost is also analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I propose using bridal photography and wedding video-recording to gain a better understanding of the meanings of romance and the ideal life among young generations and to consider how relevant images of getting married shed light on the changing social life in Hong Kong. Bridal photography and wedding videorecording not only play the role of documentation but also reflect the social change and values among new married couples in the society. By examining packaged bridal photography and the process of wedding video-shooting, I propose to state how visualization brings subtle influences into the new dynamism of marriage as a ritual and reflects the changing social contexts in today's Hong Kong everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression is a common problem for many Hong Kong Chinese elderly, especially those living in nursing homes. This study examines the relationship between fear of falling and depressive symptoms as well as the role of participation in physical activity and fall efficacy in the linkage between the fear of falling and depression. A sample of 100 residents living in nursing homes were interviewed. Using multiple regression models, we found that elderly persons who had greater fear of falling tended to report depressive symptoms more frequently after controlling socio-demographic and physical health status variables. In addition, activity involvement and fall efficacy acted as mediators and moderators in the link between the fear of falling and depression. Policy makers and aged care professional practitioners should find these findings valuable in promoting activity to aid in the prevention of depression amongst the elderly population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For most people in Hong Kong, buying one's own apartment seems to be the biggest purchase, and conditions to be measured for the final decision should not be overlooked. Advertisements for living environment have been changing so much, with the deal always related to existing social values. In this article, we show how Hong Kong's lifestyles have been changing in the last five decades, based on change in housing development and on how people are educated in the form of idealized lifestyles through housing advertisements. By using data from newspaper and television advertisements, we seek to understand such changing concepts as home, space and privacy in contemporary Hong Kong society. We seek to analyze how the two factors--government policy and media advertisements--have contributed to our present ideal of the home, and the new town development in Ma On Shan is used as a demonstrative case in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the significant effects of the implementation of an open-door policy in China is that many Hong Kong-based manufacturers' production lines have been moved to China to take advantage of the lower production costs, lower wages and lower rental costs, but as a consequence the finished products must be delivered from China to Hong Kong. It has been discovered that, given a noisy set of data, distribution management cannot determine an appropriate strategy, and hence unnecessarily high expenditure is being incurred. In this paper, a stochastic linear programming model is developed to solve cross-border distribution problems in an environment of uncertainty. Under different economic growth scenarios, decision-makers can determine a long-term distribution strategy, including the optimal delivery routes and the optimal vehicle fleet composition. A set of data from a Hong Kong-based manufacturing company is used to demonstrate the robustness and effectiveness of our model. The analysis of two possible changes in distribution strategies is also considered. The proposed model can provide appropriate distribution strategy with fleet management in an uncertain environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on understanding the significance of historic buildings in heritage construction to the emergence of cultural tourism in Hong Kong. Creation of a balance in the economy with natural heritage tourism; Features of the nature-based tourism in Hong Kong; Popularity of the Mai Po marshes as a resting place for migratory birds.

Background and purpose : Quality of Life (QoL) studies have received a substantial amount of attention in medical and rehabilitative practices. However, there is still a paucity of studies in the area, especially on persons with brain injuries (BI). This pilot study, on the QoL of individuals with brain injuries in Hong Kong, attempts to fill this void. It is hoped that the finding of this study will guide the development of programmes and services to people with brain injuries. Methods : Through the Self-help Group for People with Brain Damage in Hong Kong, 35 subjects (22 men and 13 women) were successfully recruited to participate in this study by convenience sampling. Demographic data were collected through face-to-face interviews guided by a questionnaire and QoL data were gathered using the Comprehensive Quality of Life Scale--Intellectual/Cognitive Disability--5th edition (ComQol-I5). The general emotional condition of the participants over the past 2 months was measured by a validated Chinese version of the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS). The participants' ratings on the importance of and their satisfaction with 20 health services areas were also collected. Results : Preliminary results show that the overall mean quality of life score, as measured by ComQol-I5, was slightly less than two-thirds of the maximum score. Among the seven QoL domains, health and safety received some of the highest scores, while the lowest scores were obtained in the area of material well-being, place in community and productivity. People whose injuries had occurred relatively recently (less than 5 years ago) were found to have higher intimacy QoL scores than their counterparts injured more than 5 years ago. In the domain of safety, persons with a brain injury who were employed scored significantly higher than those who were not. Positive affect scores and the total affect of PANAS scores correlated significantly with the overall QoL scores. Moreover, persons with a brain injury usually felt satisfied with the services they valued as important. The top five most important services were medical services, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, vocational counselling and social work. Discussion and conclusion : The QoL profile of people with brain injuries in Hong Kong was initially obtained and low scores in the ComQoL were identified in the domains of material well-being, community activities and responsibility and productivity. These might be the consequences of their physical and cognitive limitations due to brain injury. This implies that appropriate interventions to improve their daily life conditions and their social integration would be necessary to improve their QoL. On the other hand, the BI sample also rated relatively high scores in other ComQoL areas such as safety and health, reflecting a good living environment and probably good health care services. Those whose brain injuries had occurred less than 5 years ago tended to have a higher ComQoL intimacy score than those whose injuries occurred more than 5 years ago. In other words, their social relationships may deteriorate with the longer period post-injury so that this group may need more supportive services. In the safety domain, it was found that subjects who were employed after their brain injury scored significantly higher than those who were not, which matched studies about the significant contribution of work towards life satisfaction. The satisfaction of their needs in the services they received, which may affect their QoL, was also investigated. It is clear that they valued the medical and rehabilitation services they received and felt satisfied with them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The selection of features, including spectral, texture, shape, size, and signal strength, is an important step in computerized information analysis of remotely sensed images. A feature space, which can be generally understood as a multidimensional space consisting of multiple individual features, can be modelled by estimating the distribution of the whole space with prior assumed probability distribution functions (PDFs) once only. However, due to the inter-overlapping phenomenon among points or the confusing influence from surrounding discrete points, it is very difficult to obtain the subtle and procedural structure of the mixture distributions of feature space, and so as to degrade the accuracy and interpretability of the results in further analysis. Extending on the method of Gaussian mixture modelling and decomposition (GMDD), a new feature mining method--stepwise optimization model (SOM) with genetic algorithms (GA) was proposed in this study for the extraction of tree-like hierarchical structure of unknown feature distributions in a feature space. To approximate reality accurately, integration of SOM-GA with symbolic geographical knowledge is essential in the feature mining and classification of remotely sensed images. Knowledge-integrated SOM-GA model that combines the power of SOM-GA and logic reasoning of rule-based inference was therefore proposed. The paper presents conceptual and technical discussions of the model in detail, along with the result of practical application test on a district in Hong Kong region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Color Trails Test (CTT) was developed as a culturally fair analogue of the Trail Making Test (TMT). This study examined the equivalence of these two tests for Chinese individuals in Hong Kong. One hundred and eight Chinese people volunteered for this study, and were classified into four groups according to their age and level of education. Their performance on these two tests was compared. The findings suggested that age and level of education indeed played significant roles in their performance on these two tests. Strong correlations (r = 0.72) were only observed between scores on Part B of the TMT and Part 2 of the CTT when the participants were older and had higher levels of education. This suggests that the equivalent construct of the Trail Making and Color Trails Tests can only be examined and established within specific age and education parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article integrates two competing perspectives on value orientation. Inglehart's postmaterialism thesis stresses the permanent effects of childhood experience in which economic deprivation leads to materialism in adult life. The human development perspective, in contrast, emphasizes the evolution of a person's value system as life-cycle development unfolds new circumstances and possibilities. We adopt a developmental framework to test claims from these two perspectives. On the basis of micro-level data, we compare the materialistic values of two historically and culturally different Chinese societies, Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Findings support Inglehart's assertions that childhood experience has lasting effects and that rapid social changes create birth cohort differences in materialistic concerns. But life-cycle developments, such as education, marriage, and current social status, are equally important in influencing a person's value orientation. Both perspectives see only part of the picture, and an integrated approach is needed to better understand how people construct and maintain their value system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]