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Being literate is fundamental for learning most school subjects. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) conducts a regular cycle of studies of children's reading literacy and the factors associated with literacy acquisition in countries around the world. The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) focuses on the reading attainment of children in their fourth year of schooling and the experiences at home and at school that help them learn how to read well. Designed specifically to measure trends in reading attainment, PIRLS is conducted every five years. The first PIRLS assessment took place in 2001, the second in 2006, and the next is planned for 2011. More than fifty of the countries and regions participating in PIRLS 2001 also took part in the 2006 study, Hong Kong being one such region. Involvement enabled education authorities in the countries and regions to monitor trends in reading attainment across the five-year period from 2001 to 2006. H...

Through-life costing (TLC) is a term used in cost estimation for costing a product from its conception to the end-of-life. However, there seems to be no common representation of the terminologies in the various stages of TLC. This paper reports the findings of research into TLC practices for defence electronic products and includes the terms and elements used in the TLC methods. The terminologies used for this research are adopted from the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), including ISO 15288 and ISO 10303 Application Protocols 233 and 239. A TLC spectrum diagram representing how design information is inferred to support the application of top-down and bottom-up approaches is also discussed. A case study focused on the concept and the development stages of design is presented and is followed by suggestions on how the proposed method can be applied to the succeeding stages of manufacturing, in-service, and disposal.

This paper presents novel collaboration methods implemented using a centralized client/server product development integration architecture, and a decentralized peer-to-peer network for smaller and larger companies using open source solutions. The product development integration architecture has been developed for the integration of disparate technologies and software systems for the benefit of collaborative work teams in design and manufacturing. This will facilitate the communication of early design and product development within a distributed and collaborative environment. The novelty of this work is the introduction of an 'out-of-box' concept which provides a standard framework and deploys this utilizing a proprietary state-of-the-art product lifecycle management system (PLM). The term 'out-of-box' means to modify the product development and business processes to suit the technologies rather than vice versa. The key business benefits of adopting such an approach are a rapidly reconfigurable network and minimal requirements for software customization to avoid systems instability.

This paper describes cost modelling research, industrial approaches and commercial systems and how these relate to whole-life cost estimating. The particular focus of the research described is the applicability of current approaches for the modelling of low-volume, infrequent products, such as complex electronic systems at the conceptual design stage. Traditional approaches, in particular those used to predict costs for mechanical systems, are described in detail, and the approach by which cost estimating relationships are ascertained is summarized. The approaches used within sectors such as aerospace, construction and injection moulding are discussed and evaluated. All of these are placed in the context of the design process, and in particular their relationship to the conceptual design of a product is described. Finally, a review of commercial systems and the methods they adopt and domains to which they are applicable are described. The use of these approaches in terms of whole-life cost of a p...

This article argues that the sustainability of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may be improved by the addition of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) approach in helping teachers reduce their workplace stress. This is demonstrated by two clinical trials testing the effectiveness of a multi-component stress management program with the concurrent use of CBT and CAM approaches developed in Hong Kong. The multi-component stress management is shown to be effective in reducing and relieving stress-related emotional or psychosomatic symptoms. Meanwhile, the self-administered CAM techniques may serve to sustain the effects produced by CBT approach. This has the advantage of saving the additional resources needed from intervention by trained professionals such as occupational therapists and psychologists. Implications and future directions are discussed

Recent literature in automotive research indicates that studies of the environmental impact mostly concern with metal-based components. Environmental effects are mainly analysed using “environmental performance indicators” and “life cycle assessment” techniques. Therefore a knowledge gap in the field of studying automotive plastic components should be conducted based on analysing material and manufacturing processes selection at the design stage. The research is focused on a plastic component previously unexplored and analyses it using tools that have not been employed for this application. A computer-aided tool was used to model the part and its associated sustainability function was used to analyse its environmental impact. The component was analysed using different materials and manufacturing processes, then redesigned to be more ergonomic. The improved component design was manufactured using rapid prototyping and a consumer preference survey was conducted to determine which component was preferred. The research found that by changing the material to high density polyethylene there would be approximately a 30% reduction in carbon footprint, 24% reduction in air acidification, 26% reduction in water eutrophication and 15% reduction in total energy consumption. Injection moulding is found to be the most sustainable manufacturing process.

The present study aims to assess psychosomatic and physical responses to a multi-component stress management program with the use of CAM and CB approaches among teaching professionals in Hong Kong.A random controlled trial (RCT) was used to compare between CB group (n = 26) and the CAM-CB group (n = 30). Interventions were administered for 1.5 h once a week for eight consecutive weeks. A self-administered questionnaire including perceived stress scale (PSS) and frequency of psychosomatic symptoms were measured at baseline (T1), immediate after the program (T2), and 4 weeks after the program (T3). Physical parameters were measured at T1 and T2.A reduction of 23% in PSS was observed in the CB group, while the CAM-CB group yielded 18% reductions in PSS from T1 to T3 [F(2,108) = 3.099; p = .049]. No significant interactions were observed in the frequency of psychosomatic symptoms and physical parameters. However, a significant downward time trend was observed (p .001) and larger percentage changes in physical responses were shown in the CAM-CB group than CB group.Clinical evidence of both the CAM-CB and CB program has been demonstrated in the current study and both approaches are easy to be self-implemented. The CAM technique might serve as an alternative choice for self-administered stress management to replace the additional time needed for professional follow-up contacts. It might further improve some physical responses such as handgrip strength and resting heart rate, which are associated with better psychosomatic health and better occupational stress management.

This paper discusses the theoretical aspects and applications of a novel methodology for exploiting a knowledge management editor tool to structure organizational knowledge and integrate it with product development activities. An organizational knowledge framework for capturing and representing manufacturing know-how has been developed using an ontological approach. The captured knowledge is converted into the industry-standard eXtensible mark-up language (XML) and then shared within a web-centric product data management (PDM) system to support a collaborative and distributed product development environment. The key business benefit of adopting such an approach arises from the closer integration between the key technical and business activities taking place during early design. In particular the effectiveness of decision making is increased.

Enterprises organised as distributed production networks face challenges related to the planning and synchronisation of their manufacturing operations, and of controlling the quality, cost and production time of products under development. Digital enterprise technology (DET) is a framework for new technologies which can shorten product development and realisation, by estimating and therefore controlling quality, cost and delivery factors for products at an early stage in their lifecycle. DET can also be deployed to facilitate planning and synchronisation of work across an extended enterprise. Particularly for high value and high complexity products, these techniques represent an emergent synthesis of strategies for design, manufacture and product lifecycle management.

This paper reports on a collaborative product development and knowledge management platform for Small to Medium Enterprises. It has been recognised that current Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) implementations are document oriented, have a non-customisable data model and inter-enterprise integration difficulties. To overcome these, an ontological knowledge management methodology utilising the semantic web initiative data formats was added to a PLM and an open- source alternative. Shortcomings of centralised architectures are highlighted and a solution using a de-centralised architecture proposed. This is implementable at low cost, the scalability increases in line with user numbers. Ontologies, rules and workflows are reusable and extendable.

The literature suggests that stigmatizing attitudes in the community will affect lives and recovery of people with mental illness. This is particularly serious and obvious in Chinese societies where mental illness is often associated with shame and stigma. As Hong Kong and China have undergone rapid changes in terms of social and economic development, this study aimed at providing the most up-to-date empirical information regarding mental illness stigma and its impact on individuals with mental illness. A 31-item Questionnaire on Mental Illness was developed to measure public attitudes towards mental illness, with special reference to issues that affected the burden on family members of mental health consumers. The questionnaire together with the Level of Contact Sub-scale (Holmes et al., 1999) was distributed to primary and secondary students for their friends and relatives aged 16 or above to complete. A total of 1,007 validly completed questionnaires were returned constituting a response rate of 74%. An exploratory factor analysis identified eight factors which accounted for 50.6% of the total variance: hostility, aberrant, openness, resources, acceptance, rights, misgivings, and accommodation. The data showed that there were rather severe stigmatizing attitudes in the community, such as beliefs about parents causing the illness, strong opposition to setting up psychiatric community facilities near their residence, and limited employment opportunities for people with mental illness, which also increased both the subjective and objective burdens on clients' relatives by denying them social and practical support. Correlations between previous contacts and attitudes are significant. Implications to further research and social policy are discussed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 31: 383–396, 2003.

Although creativity has been valued in ancient and contemporary Chinese literature, the degree to which creativity is valued and incorporated into teaching by Chinese language teachers is not known. This information is important given that creativity has been increasingly recognized in the education literature as a component of effective writing. The purpose of this study was to compare the views of Chinese language teachers in Hong Kong about creativity and the acquisition of creative writing skills by primary school children, and their teaching practices. A total of 449 Chinese language teachers, employed at primary schools throughout Hong Kong completed a survey questionnaire. The 14-item questionnaire focused on teachers' views of creativity, their perceptions of how to develop students' creativity, their awareness of creative writing strategies, and teaching practices related to creative writing. With respect to the definition of creativity, teachers identified imagination foremost, followed by inspiration, and original ideas. Teachers identified developing students' confidence, and providing an open atmosphere as essential means of fostering creativity. Despite the apparent value of creativity expressed by the teachers and their familiarity with methods for enhancing creativity, the majority reported using traditional methods of teaching writing. Strategies are recommended for reconciling this discrepancy, and promoting creative writing skills by primary school teachers in Hong Kong and other Chinese speaking societies.

Product design is not a linear process, with all stages of a product advancing at the same rate. Re-use of past design elements in conjunction with introducing new, loosely specified parts within a modern distributed and collaborative design environment presents a problem in accurately estimating likely quality, cost and delivery metrics. This paper presents a new methodology termed 'Feature Elasticity', which determines the impact of change on a product's design in terms of its effect upon the relevant process plan as part of an internet-enabled and knowledge-enriched aggregate process-planning system. The methodology is demonstrated via an example based upon an industrial case study.

The calculation and optimization of product manufacturability during the preliminary stages of design are critical to achieving reduced time to market, high quality and low cost. An aggregate planning method, which translates early product characteristics into manufacturing requirements, forms the basis of a new intelligent support system for which the manufacturing evaluation, optimization and reporting functions are described in this paper. The system 'intelligently explores' the many alternative processing technologies and equipment choices available, seeking solutions that best satisfy a multi-criteria objective function encapsulating quality, cost, delivery and knowledge criteria. The addition of knowledge factors means that both quantitative and qualitative factors can be used to rank alternatives. Importantly, the system prioritizes each element according to its potential for improvement. The designer is thus presented with the opportunity to redefine the design elements or process specifications, which would yield the greatest improvements in production.

The primary objective of the research was to investigate how disposal costs were being incurred in the domain of defence electronic systems by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and subsequently to ascertain a novel approach to prediction of their end-of-life (EOL) costs. It is intended that the OEM could utilise this method as part of a full lifecycle cost analysis at the conceptual design stage. The cost model would also serve as a useful guide to aid decision making at the conceptual design stage, so that it may lead to the design of a more sustainable product in terms of recycling, refurbishment or remanufacture with the consideration of financial impact. The novelty of this research is that it identifies the significance of disposal costs from the viewpoint of the OEM and provides a generic basis for evaluation of all the major EOL defence electronic systems. A roadmap has been proposed and developed to facilitate the prediction of disposal costs and this will be used to determine a satisfactory solution of whether the EOL parts of a defence electronic system are viable to be remanufactured, refurbished or recycled from an early stage of a design concept. A selected defence electronic system is used as a case study. Based on the findings, the proposed method offers a manageable and realistic solution so that the OEM can estimate the cost of potential EOL recovery processes at the concept design stage.

Secondary school students have been experiencing stress related to examination and academic performance in Hong Kong: the Special Administrative Region of the Chinese Mainland. The article reports a case study which applied the student empowerment model originated from western societies and the ‘Qing’ concept of Chinese philosophy to formulate a student Quality Student Leadership (QSL) programme in a secondary school. The programme aimed to reduce the stress of the students and at the same time improve their initiative, leadership, and also the relationship between the students and with the parents and teachers. The results showed that the programme was effective in achieving its objectives.

The 13-item Chinese Creative Writing Scale was expanded and modified from the Carlson Originality Scale to assess creativity elements in compositions of primary school students in Hong Kong. The content validity was endorsed by a small expert panel. Results show that the scale has excellent interrater reliability (.90 to .98), and moderate to good internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis shows that the three factors (flexibility, originality, and fluency) accounted for 59.1% of the variability, which is consistent with the design of the scale. The scale can also be used as an outcome measure for assessing the effectiveness of strategies which aim at enhancing creativity of students. With minor modifications, the scale can also be applied in mainland China, Taiwan, and Chinese societies elsewhere in the world.

As education and rehabilitation researchers but laymen as parents of a gifted child, the authors put forward the “MOTHER” approach, a simplified version of Silverman's model (1993), and suggest strategies that may be used by parents of gifted children to guide their talented and gifted children. The intervention strategies include mentorship, opportunities, integrity, high state of moral development, emotional intelligence development, and responsibility. Illustrations of these strategies were made with reference to their own 7 year old son. Integration of the model with Chinese philosophy is also discussed.

An integrated, exchangeable, sharable and distributed information environment is one of the crucial factors to ensure the competitive advantage of a virtual enterprise. A manufacturing model that describes an enterprise’s manufacturing capability information is an important part of such a distributed information infrastructure. This paper focuses on the definition of an object oriented manufacturing data model that can provide a consistent data structure for the construction of a manufacturing model for a virtual enterprise. The methodology that is employed to carry out the analysis and design of an object oriented manufacturing data model complies with the open distributed processing reference model. Unified modelling language (UML) class diagrams have been employed to represent the object oriented manufacturing data model with links to relevant ISO standards, which can be instantiated to generate a virtual, global manufacturing model. An experimental software system has been developed using ObjectStore OODBMS and Visual C++. An example manufacturing model for a simple virtual enterprise has been populated and can potentially be used to support product design and manufacturing decisions across a virtual enterprise.

The aim of this study is to explore the efficacy of implementing a stress management programme based on a combined approach using cognitive behavioural therapy and complementary and alternative medicine for elementary school teachers who experienced mild level of stress, anxiety and/or depressive symptoms in Hong Kong. A 12-h programme involving cognitive behavioural therapy, self-management, relaxation techniques (diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation), mindful exercises (qigong and yoga), aromatherapy and acupressure was conducted. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare the intervention groups (n = 47) with the wait-list control groups (n = 46). The primary outcome measures were depression, anxiety and stress. Results indicated that the intervention group had significant reduction in depression [(F = 3.93; degrees of freedom (df) = 2.90; p = 0.023)], anxiety (F = 3.37; df = 2.90; p = 0.039) and stress (F = 3.63; df = 2.89; p = 0.031) when compared with the control group. Participants in both groups demonstrated lowered level of salivary cortisol at the post-assessment. The pilot results provided preliminary support to the multi-component stress management programme in relieving affective symptoms of teachers. The programme may be considered as an initial strategy to empower teachers with the abilities to cope with their affective symptoms. Further evaluation using a better designed randomized study with a larger sample size is warranted. (word: 198; max.: 200).

The use of magnetorheological (MR) fluids in vehicles has been gaining popular recently due to its controllable nature, which gives automotive designers more dimensions of freedom in functional designs. However, not much attention has been paid to apply it to bicycles. This paper is aimed to study the feasibility of applying MR fluids in different dynamic parts of a bicycle such as the transmission and braking systems. MR continuous variable transmission (CVT) and power generator assisted in braking systems were designed and analyzed. Both prototypes were fabricated and tested to evaluate their performances. Experimental results showed that the proposed designs are promising to be used in bicycles.

Products are becoming more complex to the extent that some elements of the design may be outsourced to multiple external vendors. Hence, any changes made during design activities can generate significant additional costs and time With high upfront design and development costs being common place specifically in low-volume high-value electronics production, the ability to accurately predict the anticipated financial burden of both these activities, and through-life production changes is of great importance to a business, especially in light of probable future influences such as environmentally driven legislation. The paper describes a new approach to address such issues, through the development of an Eco-Financial Decision Support System to help electronics companies provide rapid responses and quotations for the design and development of new or obsolescent products. These will be addressed through development towards ‘Design for Eco-Finance’ (DfEF), a new component of the DfX family, which will allow designers to perform a ‘trade-off’ between environmental impacts and costs, supporting the financially viable, sustainable design of electronics products.

This article reports a systematic review and critical appraisal of the effect of yoga on stress management in healthy adults.A systematic literature search was performed to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and clinical controlled trials (CCTs) that assessed the effects of yoga on stress management in healthy adults. Selected studies were classified according to the types of intervention, duration, outcome measures, and results. They were also qualitatively assessed based on Public Health Research, Education and Development standards.The systematic review was based on eight RCTs and CCTs that indicated a positive effect of yoga in reducing stress levels or stress symptoms. However, most of the studies had methodological problems in that the intervention duration was short and limited follow-up data was available.This review revealed positive effects of yoga on stress reduction in healthy adult populations. However, the result should be interpreted with caution due to the small number of studies and the associated methodological problems. Further studies to ascertain yoga's long-term effects and the underlying biological mechanisms leading to its stress reduction effect should be conducted.

When an innovation is launched in such a market, reliable information about the life cost of the novel product is naturally lacking. This has proven to be a key obstacle to venture capital funded cleantech companies with innovations that are conceptually proven and that deliver significant improvements to conventional alternatives, but that lack enough reference installations to provide reliable data on life costs. One way out of this dilemma that is increasingly discussed among practitioners is servitization, i.e., the notion that the owner of the innovation should be an agency that is specialised in using and maintaining the product, letting the end customer become a buyer of the product’s service (such as heat) rather than the product itself.

Predictors of employment outcomes of individuals with schizophrenia have continued to be studied over the past decade with implications for the development of vocational interventions to help the mentally ill get and keep jobs.A total of 62 relevant studies since 1998 were systematically reviewed by means of meta-analysis and frequency counts. Frequency count allowed all 62 studies to be included, whereas the meta-analysis excluded studies with inadequate information but made it possible to estimate the magnitude of effects.Both methods resulted in similar findings. In contrast to an earlier review, cognitive functioning received overwhelming support as a significant predictor. Other significant predictors included education, negative symptoms, social support and skills, age, work history (previous history of successful employment), and rehabilitation service to restore community functioning and well-being by occupational therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and other mental health professionals. Positive symptoms, substance abuse, gender and hospitalization history were found to be non-significant predictors. The frequency count did not support marital status as a significant predictor but the meta-analysis did.This review highlights increasing sophistication in understanding the links between individual characteristics and functional impairments. It also suggests that more research is needed into other potentially important predictors that may be changeable and relate to recovery. These include attitudes and beliefs about disability payments and psychological processes such as self-stigmatization, negative beliefs, and social skills deficits for which intervention may be possible.

Research evidence suggests that individuals with schizophrenia are prone to self-stigmatization, which reduces their psychosocial treatment adherence. A self-stigma reduction program was developed based on a theoretical framework proposed by our team. The effectiveness of such program to reduce self-stigma, enhance readiness for change, and promote adherent behaviors among individuals with schizophrenia was investigated. This program consisted of 12 group and four individual follow-up sessions. An integrative approach including psychoeductaion, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, social skills training, and goal attainment program was adopted. Sixty-six self-stigmatized individuals with schizophrenia were recruited. They were randomly allocated to the self-stigma reduction program ( N =34; experimental protocol) or the newspaper reading group ( N =32; comparison protocol). Measures on participants' level of self-stigma, readiness for change, insight, general self-efficacy, and treatment adherence were taken for six assessment intervals. The findings suggested that the self-stigma reduction program has potential to reduce self-esteem decrement, promote readiness for changing own problematic behaviors, and enhance psychosocial treatment adherence among the self-stigmatized individuals with schizophrenia during the active interventional stage. However, there was a lack of therapeutic maintenance effects during the 6-month follow-up period. Recommendations for further improving the effectiveness of self-stigma reduction program are suggested.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to examine and compare the long-term effectiveness of the Integrated Supported Employment (ISE) programme, which consists of individual placement and support (IPS) and work-related social skills training, with the IPS programme on the vocational and non-vocational outcomes among individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) over a period of 3 years. Method: One hundred and eighty-nine participants with SMI were recruited from two non-government organizations and three day hospitals in Hong Kong and randomly assigned into the ISE (n = 58), IPS (n = 65) and traditional vocational rehabilitation (TVR) (n = 66) groups. Vocational and non-vocational outcomes of the ISE and IPS participants were collected by a blind and independent assessor at 7 11, 15, 21, 27, 33 and 39 months after their admission, whereas the TVR groups were assessed only up to the 15th month follow up. Results: After 39 months of service provision, ISE participants obtained higher employment rate (82.8% vs 61.5%) and longer job tenure (46.94 weeks vs 36.17 weeks) than the IPS participants. Only 6.1% of TVR participants were able to obtain employment before the 15th month follow up. Fewer interpersonal conflicts at the workplace were reported for the ISE participants. Advantages of the ISE participants over IPS participants on non-vocational outcomes were not conclusive. Conclusion: The long-term effectiveness of the ISE programme in enhancing employment rates and job tenures among individuals with SMI was demonstrated by this randomized controlled trial.

The manufacturing industry faces many challenges such as reducing time-to-market and cutting costs. In order to meet these increasing demands, effective methods are need to support the early product development stages by bridging the gap of communicating early design ideas and the evaluation of manufacturing performance. This paper introduces methods of linking design and manufacturing domains using disparate technologies. The combined technologies include knowledge management supporting for product lifecycle management (PLM) systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, aggregate process planning systems, workflow management and data exchange formats. A case study has been used to demonstrate the use of these technologies, illustrated by adding manufacturing knowledge to generate alternative early process plan which are in turn used by an ERP system to obtain and optimise a rough-cut capacity plan.

Traditionally, cost estimation methods are used to predict costs only after a product model has been built, and not at an early design stage when there is little data and information available. The traditional cost models and systems used require a large amount of detailed data before a cost calculation can be made. This research has identified that, one of the main challenges to improve this situation in modelling cost is data identification and collection. The aim of this paper therefore is to discuss the methods of developing an extended-enterprise digital data library, data searching and data transfer mechanisms to support through-life cost estimation in the innovative product development processes. The paper begins with an introduction of relevant research in data modelling in cost estimation. This is followed by a section, which highlights problems of performing cost estimates for innovative low volume products, and subsequently the proposed solutions and example applications.

Although more people speak Chinese than any other language on Earth, profi ciency in Chinese is largely confi ned to the people who live in or adjacent to the Chinese Mainland and Taiwan, and to the ethnic Chinese inhabitants of the various “Chinatowns” in countries around the world. Despite its allure, many people fi nd Chinese a hard language to learn, including a considerable number of children who learn it as mother tongue. The basic units of written Chinese are ideographic symbols called characters; and the meaning and pronunciation of each character is determined by the tone attached to it by the speaker. Facing the very large number of Chinese characters and words, it seems impossible for learners, regardless of their native language, to master the language other than via rote memorization. The attempt to facilitate the route to profi ciency in Chinese has understandably attracted the attention of numerous psycholinguistic researchers and educators.

The primary objective of the research is to investigate how to estimate disposal costs being undertaken in defence electronic systems by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and subsequently to ascertain a novel approach to predicting their end-of-life (EOL) cost. It is intended that the OEMs can utilise this method as part of a full life cycle cost analysis at the conceptual design stage. The cost model should also serve as a useful guide to aid decision making at the conceptual design stage. The novelty of this research is that it identifies the significance of disposal costs from the viewpoint of the OEM and provides a generic basis for evaluation of all the major EOL defence electronic systems.

While most SMEs in general are willing to invest into PLM systems, many are still apprehensive to the sometimes large initial investment to be made in terms of both software cost and the time needed to implement and integrate such system into their digital enterprise technology infrastructure. In light of this, it is crucial for their decision makers not only to understand the current PLM market, but also to become familiar with emerging trends and future developments in order to select a PLM solution that best fit the needs of their enterprise. In this chapter, the authors summarize a detailed analysis of the PLM market with the aim to provide educators, students, and decision makers in industry with an overview of the current PLM market as a whole. In addition, emerging trends and future developments are addressed.

Purpose An emerging body of evidence has shown the therapeutic effect of both mindful and non-mindful physical exercises on the treatment of depression. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of mindful and non-mindful physical exercises as an intervention in managing depression or depressive symptoms based on a systematic literature review. Methods Our review was conducted among five electronic databases to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs), which tested the effects of mindful or/and non-mindful physical exercises on depression. Studies were classified according to the baseline depression status of participants and its relation to allocation concealment, blinding at outcome assessment, follow-up, and whether intention to treat analysis was employed. Results The results based on 12 RCTs indicated that both the mindful and non-mindful physical exercises were effective in their short-term effect in reducing depression levels or depressive symptoms. However, most of studies had methodological problems that only small sample size was used, and the maintenance effects of physical exercise were not reported. Specific comparisons between RCTs on mindful and non-mindful exercises were not performed because of the limitations on the designs. Conclusions We recommend that more well-controlled studies have to be conducted in the future to address the short- and long-term effects of physical exercise on alleviating depression. Efforts should be focused on unveiling the differential effects of mindful and non-mindful exercises on depression and the underlying mechanisms of their therapeutic action.

This study translated and validated the Chinese Version of the Self-stigma of Mental Illness Scale (CSSMIS), which may be used to measure self-stigma of mental health consumers in China. We also examined its correlation with self-esteem, self-efficacy and psychosocial treatment compliance. A cross-sectional observational study was implemented. Some 51 males and 57 females who suffered from severe mental illness were recruited from psychiatric settings in Hong Kong. They were required to complete the Chinese Version of the Self-stigma of Mental Illness Scale, the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale and the Self-efficacy Scale. Their level of compliance during psychosocial treatment and their demographic information were recorded by their case managers. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two homologous factors for the four subscales of the CSSMIS. Factor 1 was related to the negative beliefs and consequences of having mental disorders, whereas Factor 2 was related to positive beliefs. The perceived stigma subscale and the three self-stigma subscales were strongly inter-correlated. Significant correlations were also found between almost all subscales of the CSSMIS and the remaining scales. The psychometric properties of the CSSMIS are statistically acceptable. The results also suggest that stigma played a detrimental role in undermining self-esteem, self-efficacy and psychosocial treatment compliance. Implications for recovery of mental health consumers are discussed.

This paper discusses the theoretical aspects and applications of a novel methodology for exploiting a knowledge management editor tool to structure organizational knowledge. An organizational knowledge framework for capturing and representing design and manufacturing know-how has been defined using an ontological approach. The key business benefit of adopting such an approach arises from the closer integration between the key technical and business activities taking place during early design. In particular the effectiveness of decision making is increased.

This paper presents a review of research in the area of life cycle costing and offers a critique of current commercial cost estimation systems. The focus of the review is on relevant academic research on life cycle cost from 2000 onwards. In addition to this a comparison of the current cost estimation systems is presented. Using the review findings and industrial investigations as a base, a set of mathematical representations for design and manufacturing costs and the introduction of the critical factors is proposed. These are considered in terms of the operational, maintenance and disposal costs to create a method for ascertaining the life cycle cost estimate for complex products. This is presented using as an exemplar, research currently being undertaken in the area of low volume and long life electronic products in the UK defence sector. The benefit of the method proposed is that it aims to avoid the inflexibility of traditional approaches which usually require historical and legacy data to support the cost estimation processes.Copyright © 2007 by ASME

This paper discusses the theoretical aspects and applications of a novel methodology for exploiting a knowledge management editor tool to structure organisational knowledge. An organisational knowledge framework for capturing and representing “manufacturing know-how” has been developed using an ontological approach. The delivery mechanism for the application of the captured knowledge makes extensive use of web-based technologies. The captured knowledge is converted into an industry-standard format and then shared within a web-centric, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) environment. The integrated knowledge encapsulation and knowledge distribution and management approach is used to support collaborative and distributed product development global basis.

Pupils in Hong Kong schools find writing in Chinese very boring. With regard to this phenomenon, the theoretically framework of ‘Hong Kong Writing Project’ aims to create an environment for language usage, and help pupils to learn how to write efficiently in a pleasurable environment. The project has been implemented in Hong Kong for five years, and the number of schools participating in this project is increasing. Theories of linguistics, psychology and language teaching serve as the project’s foundation and surveys were conducted after the end of the project. Results indicated that most pupils liked writing and did not consider it difficult. Compared with the traditional teaching method, pupils were considered to have performed better when taught by new teaching methods, especially the peer review strategy. The teachers also indicated that the Project helped them to have a better understanding of their pupils.

This paper reports on a distributed design environment under development for product knowledge management and information exchange. The system is able to use companies’ existing base of knowledge and to push the manufacturing knowledge higher up into the design chain to reduce the need for costly and time consuming reworks and engineering changes. The design environment uses an Open Source knowledge based system Protege and enables data/knowledge exchange through international standards for product data model exchange (ISO STEP) and the Resource Description Framework (RDF).

This paper reports on a case study of collaborative product development and knowledge management platforms for Small to Medium Enterprises. It has been recognised that current Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) implementations are document oriented, have a non-customisable data model and inter enterprise integration difficulties. To overcome these, an ontological knowledge management methodology using semantic web standards was added to a PLM and an open-source alternative. The client-server shortcomings have been overcome using a de-centralised architecture. This is implementable at low cost, the scale and accessibility of the system increases in line with user numbers.

Product Data Management (PDM) systems and their offspring, Collaborative Product Development and Product Lifecycle Management technologies, aim to bring engineering enterprises together, allowing seamless intero- perability between different departments and throughout the extended enterprises. However, there are a number of shortcomings in the current crop of commercially available systems, such as the lack of design knowledge sharing, links with Enterprise Resource Planning systems, knowledge management tools and a generic standard for PDM system implementation. This paper presents a proposed software solution to some of the above problems. In particular, the paper describes methodologies being developed that are aimed at overcoming the lack of analysable product informa- tion at the conceptual stage of product design and manu- facturing evaluation, along with the integration of such a concept design tool within a distributed environment. A leading PDM system is used to manage all the information and knowledge that is made available to internet/intranet users in a controlled manner. The international standard for exchange of product data model (STEP) is implemented to enable the integration of the design environment with manufacturing and enterprise resource management systems. In addition, the paper also introduces three other recent/ ongoing projects, being carried out at Cranfield University, in the application of PDM, knowledge management and STEP standard for integrated manufacturing businesses.

Computer-aided design systems require a comprehensive information interaction capability in order to support team-based design. This paper focuses on research concerned with providing this level of support through the use of a number of related information models. The provision of a common sharable information environment plays a critical role in an integrated product development process. Whilst the need for information models is well known, the problems of how they should be structured and the relationships and interactions between them have yet to be understood. In this paper we identify three information models as important: a product model, a manufacturing model and a product range model. The structure of these models is discussed and an approach is offered to some of the information interaction problems.