Managing Workplace Conflict in the United States and Hong Kong

We propose that managers have norms (standards of appropriate behavior) for resolving conflict, that these norms are culturally based, and that they explain cultural differences in conflict management outcomes. We confirm that the traditionally American norms of discussing parties' interests and synthesizing multiple issues were exhibited more strongly by American managers than by their Hong Kong Chinese counterparts. In addition, we confirm that the traditionally Chinese norms of concern for collective interests and concern for authority appeared more strongly among Hong Kong Chinese managers than among their American counterparts. American managers were more likely than Hong Kong Chinese managers, to resolve a greater number of issues and reach more integrative outcomes, while Hong Kong Chinese managers were more likely to involve higher management in conflict resolution. Culture had a significant effect on whether parties selected an integrative outcome rather than an outcome that involved distribution, compromise, higher management, or no resolution at all. Conflict norms explained the cultural differences that existed between reaching an integrative outcome and reaching an outcome involving distribution, compromise, or higher management; however, conflict norms did not fully explain the cultural differences that existed between reaching an integrative outcome and reaching no resolution.     

Empowering school social work practices for positive youth development: Hong Kong experience

Empowerment has become a popular concept in working with adolescents in recent years. It challenges the deficit model of youth work and focuses on creating a facilitative climate in which young people can make maximum use of the opportunity to learn and grow. While many practitioners have adopted the empowerment approach in youth services, however, we know little about the possibilities for empowerment practice in the field of school social work. Based on the findings of a qualitative study conducted in Hong Kong, this paper explores how school social workers engage in different dimensions of empowerment: (1) the personal dimension in regard to how students recapture a sense of competence to meet life challenges and fight for their own benefits; (2) the school and community dimensions in regard to how practitioners collaborate with service users and partners to initiate constructive changes to school policies and strengthen the school-community partnership for student development; and (3) the institutional dimension in regard to how practitioners play the advocacy role in the education sector. The findings provide rich information for other youth workers, especially those who render service in the school setting, as they apply the empowerment approach in daily practice.     

Intervention for aggressive victims of school bullying in Hong Kong: a longitudinal mixed-methods study

The distinction between aggressive and passive victims of school bullying is well documented. Aggressive victims exhibit restlessness and hot-temperedness, are easily provoked, and take revenge when irritated, whereas passive victims are quiet and timid when attacked or insulted and withdraw rather than retaliate. To date, there has been no evidence-based evaluative study examining interventions designed specifically to reduce aggressive victimization, and neither has there been an inclusive assessment screening of high-risk aggressive victims prior to intervention. This study addressed these research gaps by employing multi-stage assessment procedures and a mixed-mode methodology in a one-year longitudinal design. Data were collected from student self-reports, parent and teacher rating scales, and individual structured interviews with students, parents and teachers. A total of 269 potential high-risk aggressive victims were identified from among 5,089 schoolchildren, 68 of whom were screened out and randomly assigned to 10 treatment groups, with 39 completing a one-year follow-up study. Multivariate analysis of variance identified significant improvements in physical and verbal victimization (F(2,47, 93.99) = 10.73, p < 0.01), verbal victimization (F(2.74, 104.14) = 12.80, p < 0.01) and social exclusion scores at the three follow-up assessments compared to the pre-treatment scores, and the qualitative results were consistent, showing participants' cognition, emotion, and behavior to have been positively reconstructed by the group intervention. The consistent quantitative and qualitative results confirm that the cognitive-behavioral group therapy program reported herein is effective in reducing aggressive victims' anxious and depressed emotions and reactive cognition.     

Relation of study strategies to the academic performance of Hong Kong university students

A revised version of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory was used to examine the relation of study strategies with academic performance of 100 Hong Kong university students. Analysis indicated the high academic-achieving group differed significantly from the low academic-achieving group in terms of intrinsic disposition factors of motivation, scheduling, concentration, and selecting main ideas.     

香港道教界隆重举办第十届香港道教节

<正>3月29日下午,由香港道教联合会主办的第十届香港道教节在香港伊利沙伯体育馆隆重开幕。香港特区行政长官曾荫权、中央政府驻港联络办主任彭清华、国家宗教局局长王作安、中国道教协会会长任法融应邀担任主礼嘉宾。香港民政事务局局长曾德成,香港道教联合会主席汤伟奇,香港道教联合会会长黎显华、周铭,香港其他宗教的代表,以及来自海内外的道教界人士和各届嘉宾共2000余人参加了开幕式。曾荫权特首、王作安局长、任法融会长、汤伟奇主席分别在开幕式上致辞。     

Professional Counseling in Hong Kong

The authors provide an overview of recent developments in professional counseling as related to schools, career counseling, and community services in Hong Kong. The strategic position of counseling professionals, counseling associations, and counselor certification is discussed. The future development of counseling in Hong Kong is also considered.     

香港见闻

2003年年初有机会去香港参加一次学术会议,感触良多,但有两点值得写一写,姑且用“见闻”的题名以飨读者。     

Hope,social support,and depression among Hong Kong youth: personal and relational self-esteem as mediators

Previous studies have shown that depression is negatively associated with hope and social support. However, little research has been undertaken to investigate the theoretical mechanisms underlying the connections among hope, social support, and depression. This study examined how two types of self-esteem (personal and relational) would mediate the relationship of hope and social support to depression among 384 Hong Kong adolescents (age: 12–18 years; M = 14, SD = 1.19). Participants reported their levels of hope, social support, personal self-esteem, relational self-esteem, and depressive mood. Results of the path analysis showed that both personal and relational self-esteem mediated the associations of hope and social support with depression. Hope and social support were associated with higher levels of personal and relational self-esteem, which were in turn related to decreased levels of depression. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Suicide and occupation in Hong Kong

Suicide rates were highest among Service workers and the lowest in Agriculture workers and fisherfolk in Hong Kong.     

Weather and homicide in Hong Kong

No seasonality was discovered in homicide in Hong Kong. Weather variables were not associated with homicide rates.     

Development of Family Therapy in Hong Kong

This paper provides an insight into the development and growth of family therapy in Hong Kong. Family therapy was introduced in Hong Kong in the early 1980s and is now gaining ground. The authors give a historical account of the development of family therapy in Hong Kong, and report on its progress and achievement for the past three decades there. The field has gone through several stages of development. The 1980s were marked by an importation of Western family therapy models, during which overseas expertise was tapped to promote family therapy. The 1990s were characterized by a blossoming of different schools of family therapy on the local scene. Most schools established their own practice centers, and training packages were tailor-made for local use. The 2000s were an important era of family therapy development in Hong Kong. The field has nurtured a new generation of leaders (both academics and front-line practitioners and trainers) who play an essential role in advancing its development. The paper concludes by identifying problems in clinical practice, professional training, and research and knowledge development, and proposes ways of overcoming these difficulties.     

And all your problems are gone: religious coping strategies among Philippine migrant workers in Hong Kong

This paper provides an ethnographic account of both hardships and religious coping strategies of Philippine migrant workers in Hong Kong. It will argue that intensified coping needs that arise from the migration process may lead to a reorientation towards more charismatic religious groups, which in turn seem to promote coping strategies specifically tailored towards the (relatively homogenous) experiences of these migrants. It will also argue that, while the “disempowering” implications of religious coping rest ambiguous, it may assist the toleration of exploitative patterns in migration by reducing their emotional cost.     

Taoism Information Web Sites in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to introduce and examine the two Taoist Web sites in Hong Kong, and concludes with an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of these Web sites, as compared with other Web sites on Taoism.     

Cross-Cultural Validity of Holland's Model in Hong Kong

While Holland's model has been widely tested and found broad support in the West, it has not been tested in Hong Kong. Using a sample of 1813 entering freshmen, we investigated the cross-cultural validity of Holland's models of six interest or personality types in Hong Kong. Results indicated: (a) Holland's model as operationalized by UNIACT has considerable external validity; (b) the internal structure of the UNIACT was generally consistent with the formulations by Holland; (c) the cultural value of traditionality affected the fit between Holland's model and the student data in that Hong Kong students who hold stronger traditional values tended to behave less consistently with Holland's model than those who hold weaker traditional Chinese values. These findings were discussed in terms of their implication for future cross-cultural vocational psychology research and practices.     

Theoretical counselling orientations of teachers in Hong Kong

Thirty-seven Chinese teacher-counsellors in Hong Kong were assessed on their theoretical orientations using a 45-item self-report checklist at the beginning of their advanced training and at the end of a course on counselling theories. Based on their ratings on nine theoretical orientations, it could be inferred that the beliefs and values of these teachers were most congruent with those of the Person-Centred approach. With ratings above a cutoff score as endorsement, teachers were found to endorse more orientations in the post-course assessment, reflecting an increase in flexibility in approach. Despite the fact that teachers’ reported self-efficacy toward helping significantly increased in post-course assessment, teachers’ membership in low, medium, and high self-efficacy groups did not have any bearing on teachers’ changes in flexibility in approach or changes in primary approach. Implications of the findings for understanding teacher-counsellors’ process of finding an integrative approach personally meaningful for their future practice are discussed.     

Conflict resolution between friends during middle childhood

The author interviewed 74 children (ages 8.5-11.5 years) in an exploratory study of interpersonal conflict resolution between children. Results suggest that children (a) most frequently used assertion and discussion as conflict resolution strategies, (b) used more than one strategy in a single conflict, and (c) used a strategy that corresponded to the strategy used by the other child in the conflict. The author discusses the implications of the findings and suggests areas for future research.     

香港医疗制度与改革

香港的医疗制度由一个"二元医疗体系"组成,在体制模式、融资制度及服务规管三方面的安排都有其独特之处,为香港七百多万人提供了一个全民医疗安全网,能够达到公平、有效、可及性高及质素佳的要求。但是这个医疗系统也存在不少问题和隐忧,需要有效的改革,包括管治、管理、服务安排和融资模式改革等。     

Problem-solving strategies in aggressive and nonaggressive children

Problem-solving strategies in hypothetical social situations were studied in 103 aggressive and 79 nonaggressive children. Subjects solved six aggression-provoking situations from children's ordinary lives. Causal thinking, alternative thinking, and prognosticating consequences were evaluated. Cognitions of aggressive children differed from those of nonaggressive children. The greatest differences were found not in high aggressiveness but in aggressive childrens' inability to detect constructive alternatives to aggressive behavior. A child's aggressiveness was a more important determinant than was sex. These findings combined with the finding that strategies can be learned offer an approach to primary prevention.