Education University of Hong Kong

This chapter explores the transformative potential of translation practices in multilingual educational settings by exploring the concept of cultural diaspora. It examines how translation reshapes learning environments, transforms pedagogical approaches, empowers multilingual societies, and creates diasporic spaces. Translation and multilingual communication foster cross-cultural understanding in classrooms and beyond. Translanguaging, translation courses, and multilingual environments prepare students for a globalized world. Digital platforms further transform translation, enabling diasporic experiences and lifelong learning. Online platforms enable user-generated translations such as fansubbing and danmu subtitling, thereby fostering language acquisition and digital media literacy through interactive, participatory practices. By introducing the subsequent 13 chapters and extracting examples such as linguistic landscapes, fansubbing, and multilingual classrooms, this chapter provides a holistic overview of how translation acts as a catalyst for educational transformation. Ultimately, it develops a theoretical perspective that systematically integrates the concept of cultural diaspora into this holistic understanding of translation in multilingual educational settings.

Objectives The present study examined a conceptual model regarding the longitudinal impact of peer support on the mental health of individuals with mental disorders. Specifically, it tested whether greater peer support would be longitudinally associated with higher levels of self-compassion and lower levels of self-stigma, leading to reduced psychological distress, more positive perceptions of recovery, and greater life satisfaction. Method Participants were 235 individuals with mental disorders recruited from four non-governmental organizations providing mental health services in Hong Kong. They completed questionnaire measures of peer support at baseline (Time 1; T1) and measures of self-compassion, self-stigma, psychological distress, perceptions of recovery, and life satisfaction 1 year later (Time 2; T2). The interrelations of these variables were investigated using path analyses and bootstrap analyses. Results Path analyses revealed that greater peer support at T1 was associated with higher levels of self-compassion and lower levels of self-stigma, which, in turn, were linked to reduced psychological distress, more positive perceptions of recovery, and greater life satisfaction at T2. Bootstrap analyses further showed that peer support had indirect effects on psychological distress, perceptions of recovery, and life satisfaction through self-compassion and self-stigma. Conclusions This study demonstrates the beneficial effects of peer support in enhancing self-compassion, reducing self-stigma, and promoting mental health outcomes among individuals with mental disorders. Given the psychological benefits of peer support, mental health service providers should make concerted efforts to promote peer support for their service users. Preregistration This study is not preregistered.

This paper investigates the design of automatic repeat request (ARQ) protocols in age of information (AoI)-aware broadcast systems with heterogeneous users, including both direct and relay-assisted users. In this setup, a direct user receives status updates directly via a single-hop link, while a relay-assisted user can receive status updates through either a direct single-hop link or a two-hop relay-assisted link. While ARQ is commonly used to ensure reliable transmission in error-prone wireless networks, previous studies suggest that ARQ does not improve the average AoI in single-hop networks. However, its impact on AoI in systems with relays, particularly those involving heterogeneous users, remains unclear. We address this gap by analyzing the average AoI under different ARQ strategies, introducing a transmission limit k≥0 at the relay. Here, k=0, k=1, and k>1 correspond to non-relay, non-ARQ-at-relay, and truncated-ARQ-at-relay strategies, respectively. Utilizing a unified Markov chain framework that models the transmission processes for each user type, we derive the theoretical average AoI. Our results show that the direct user benefits most from non-relay and non-ARQ strategies, similar to single-hop systems. In contrast, the relay-assisted user achieves optimal performance with truncated-ARQ-at-relay, leveraging both direct and relay-assisted links. For the overall system, applying a non-ARQ-at-relay approach strikes a balance in AoI between the direct and relay-assisted users, leading to a more stable and lower system-wide average AoI.

The COVID-19 pandemic can pose a heavy toll on parents’ daily functioning and mental health. While previous studies have identified resilience as a potential protective factor, less is known about the role of resilience in protecting parents from the negative impact caused by the pandemic. Using a two-wave cross-lagged panel design, the present study aimed to examine how the daily functioning of parents was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and investigate the mediating role of functional impairment on the associations of perceived resilience with mental well-being and self-rated health. A total of 129 parents in Hong Kong completed the questionnaire on perceived resilience, functional impairment, mental well-being, and self-rated health twice at a 1-month interval. The results showed that perceived resilience was negatively associated with functional impairment across time. The cross-lagged effect of functional impairment on mental well-being was also found. Furthermore, functional impairment mediated the relationship between perceived resilience and mental well-being. This suggests that parents who reported higher resilience were likely to maintain their mental well-being during the COVID-19 outbreak, as their ability to perform everyday tasks and activities was less disrupted by pandemic-related challenges. The findings highlight the protective role of perceived resilience over time during the pandemic and underscore the importance of resilience-building interventions for parents, especially during challenging times when resources to cope with stress are limited.

The Yangtze River is China’s essential ecological resource and a historically revered “mother river” intimately tied to her ancient civilization. In recent years, the river has faced escalating threats from non-native fish species introduced by anthropogenic activities, including prayer animal release, aquaculture escapes, and deliberate pet abandonment. With a low current population density, these exotic species pose limited immediate ecological risks. However, the ecological damage will be catastrophic in the long run once they successfully establish large and stable populations and become invasive. To effectively address this challenge, comprehensive measures can be applied, including strengthening risk assessment, controlling reproduction and transmission, suppressing new introductions, improving regulations and policies, enhancing public education and prevention awareness, and strengthening multi-party cooperation. This study contributes new insights into the dynamics of invasive species in the Yangtze River and the broader implications for freshwater ecosystem management by reviewing current knowledge.

Background Myoblast determination protein 1 (MyoD) is a master transcription factor that triggers myogenesis and drives muscle growth. Objective The aim was to assess acute exercise-induced MyoD mRNA expression in skeletal muscle for young and older (age > 50) adults. Design A meta-analysis and systematic review was conducted. Methods A literature search was conducted for studies reporting MyoD mRNA changes in biopsied human muscle taken within 48 h after exercise. Fifty eligible studies with 822 participants (young 20–35 years; older 53–85 years) were included for meta-analysis. Results Significant increases in MyoD mRNA expression in human skeletal muscle were observed 3–12 h post-exercise (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 1.39, p < 0.001), subsiding within 24–48 h (SMD = 0.47, p < 0.001). Older individuals showed a similar time pattern in MyoD mRNA expression post-exercise, but the response is weaker than in younger individuals. Intriguingly, resting levels of MyoD mRNA were higher in older individuals compared to younger individuals in most age-paired studies (SMD = 0.56, p < 0.01). Considering the decline in anabolic hormones during later life, this systematic review highlights age- and sex-related impacts on exercise-induced MyoD mRNA expression in human skeletal muscle, emphasizing the roles of sex hormones and insulin. Conclusion Pooled results from the eligible studies suggest a blunted exercise-induced increase in MyoD mRNA in skeletal muscle after age 50, likely due to elevated basal MyoD expression as a compensatory mechanism against persistent catabolic conditions in aging muscle. Protocol Registration Registration number: CRD42023471840 (PROSPERO).

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed the educational field by providing efficient assistance for personalised learning. Despite the promising opportunities AI has presented, the impact of AI tools on students' learning outcomes in language learning settings has yet to be further explored, as well as their potential to enhance academic engagement in this specific domain. Therefore, based on the framework of Self‐Determination Theory (SDT), this research aims to examine the role of behavioural, cognitive, and emotional engagement in improving students' needs satisfaction specifically among 300 Chinese tertiary learners in the AI‐enhanced Chinese EFL context. A mixed‐methods approach was used to collect data from Chinese EFL college students, combining self‐report surveys and semi‐structured interviews. Results from the quantitative data showed that AI perception and academic engagement significantly impact needs satisfaction in AI‐enhanced EFL learning. Also, the qualitative findings suggested that while academic engagement and needs satisfaction are critical facilitators for adopting AI‐assisted EFL learning, perceived difficulties and unmet needs are significant barriers to long‐term usage. Moreover, this study contributes to SDT by highlighting the critical role of academic engagement in enhancing needs satisfaction and offering practical strategies for educators to improve AI application adoption and effectiveness in Chinese educational contexts.

Ambient backscatter communication (ABC) enables low-cost and energy-efficient connectivity for Internet of Things (IoT) devices by leveraging ambient radio-frequency (RF) signals. However, the passive nature and open wireless medium of ABC systems make them vulnerable to detection by unauthorized receivers (wardens). To mitigate this risk, covert communication, which conceals transmissions by embedding them within noise, offers a promising security enhancement for ABC systems. This paper proposes a jammer-assisted reflection coefficient optimization framework to enhance the covertness and reliability of ABC systems with an endogenous warden and an external jammer. Specifically, we consider two distinct jamming patterns: uniformly distributed and truncated exponentially distributed artificial noise power. We derive closed-form expressions for both the outage probability of the backscatter link and the minimum detection error rate at the warden under these jamming patterns. Based on these expressions, we determine the optimal reflection coefficients that maximize the effective covert rate while satisfying a predefined covertness constraint. Additionally, we introduce the concept of jamming cost to evaluate the efficiency and applicability of different jamming patterns in terms of the required jamming power to achieve a desired level of covertness. Numerical results validate the effectiveness of the proposed optimization framework and reveal that while uniform jamming provides stronger covertness and lower jamming cost, truncated exponential jamming achieves a lower outage probability. These findings provide key insights for designing secure and efficient ABC systems across diverse IoT deployment scenarios.

This study explores the mental health implications of people‐pleasing behaviors by validating the 24‐item Chinese People‐Pleasing (CPP) questionnaire with a sample of 2203 Chinese university students. A three‐factor structure—comprising thought, behavior, and feeling dimensions—was confirmed after the removal of 11 items. The revised 13‐item CPP demonstrated good model fit, strong internal consistency, and satisfactory construct validity. Measurement invariance analysis revealed consistent results across gender, academic disciplines, and birthplace, as well as strong longitudinal invariance. These findings provide support for the validity and reliability of the 13‐item CPP as an assessment tool within the Chinese cultural context. Furthermore, latent profile analysis revealed four distinct profiles of people‐pleasing tendencies, which varied from mild to severe. Notably, higher people‐pleasing tendencies were significantly associated with lower levels of mental well‐being, highlighting its potential impact on students' psychological health. These insights emphasize the potential clinical utility of CPP in addressing mental health concerns associated with people‐pleasing behaviors, particularly in the Chinese cultural context.

This study evaluates the pragmatic comprehension competence of Chinese speech acts among adult learners of Chinese as a second language (CSL) and Chinese as a foreign language (CFL). A computerized Pragmatic Listening Judgment Task was adopted to collect accuracy and reaction time data from 88 participants from Mainland China and South Korea, examining their comprehension across four major categories of speech acts including assertives, directives, commissives, and expressives. Three main observations were made: (i) learners’ speech act competence was not homogenously developed, with imbalanced mastery exhibited for different subtypes of speech acts; (ii) developmental progress was achievable for learners in pragmatics acquisition; (iii) learning context did not significantly affect the (non‐) nativelike attainment of speech acts in the target language, while immersive learning environments could help enhance learners’ comprehension in some but not all conditions. These findings suggest important theoretical and pedagogical implications in CSL/CFL pragmatics acquisition, emphasizing the need for a more targeted and comprehensive approach to language instruction that addresses the interplay between language proficiency, sociocultural factors, and learning context in CSL/CFL pragmatics acquisition.

Climate change is a global phenomenon affecting every segment of the population. Yet, older adults are more vulnerable to climate change events (e.g., floods, heatwaves, landslides) owing to their functional limitations. Understandably, stakeholders have called for healthy ageing policies that enable older adults and individuals in the general population to maintain wellbeing despite climate change. This review aims to describe healthy ageing policies adopted or recommended in response to climate change. Eight databases (i.e., CINAHL, Cochrane library, ProQuest, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, and MEDLINE) will be searched to identify relevant studies. Materials published anywhere in English to date will be included in the review. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) or Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist will be employed to assess the quality of studies. A narrative synthesis will be adopted to present the results. This review will highlight groups targeted with healthy ageing policies and describe policies in use or recommended. It will proffer implications for practice, research, and sustainability.

This article examines the inner experiences of two (im)migrant bodies, focusing on an Asian immigrant teacher and a British expatriate teacher across various temporal spaces. By addressing ordinary affect, the performative paradigm offers a space for writing marginal individuals into existence and preserving visceral experiences. Through ‘betweener talk,’ it produces geographies of affective knowledge and transformation over time. The ethical validity of embodied knowing underscores their specific situatedness. By engaging in reparative performance, it provides counter-narratives to essentialist views of people in mobility contexts. This article demonstrates how performative writing empowers (im)migrant bodies by highlighting their unique histories and the economic and socio-cultural forces that influence their desired futures.

To address the limitations of general-purpose artificial intelligence (AI) tools, we developed a task-oriented AI chatbot based on the 5E (i.e. “engage”, “explore”, “explain”, “elaborate” and “evaluate”) model to scaffold students’ instructional design process. We examined the impact of integrating the 5E instructional model-informed AI chatbot on students’ learning performance and perceptions. The results indicated that the AI chatbot, when combined with human teacher scaffolding, significantly improved the students’ instructional design performance relative to receiving human teacher scaffolding only. The chatbot provided valuable suggestions on instructional design frameworks, class activities and teaching topics during the “explore” phase. In the “evaluate” phase, the chatbot offered immediate feedback on the students’ design plans and proposed alternative instructional frameworks regarding areas for improvement. However, the students expressed concerns about the chatbot’s evaluation quality, noting that it needed to be better aligned with the course assessment rubric. We recommend using AI chatbots for instructional design conceptualisation, although we emphasise the critical role of human teachers in evaluating final design work and providing timely support.

Given the importance of early years education for both short- and long-term developmental outcomes for children, this study examines the role of parental investment, parental distress, and socioeconomic status in the Chinese context. Of Hong Kong preschool children aged 36 to 47 months (49% girls) 166 completed a neurocognitive assessment at school, and their parents completed a cross-sectional, self-administered survey in the 2019–2020 academic year. Schools were selected based on the district council’s child poverty rate and the preschool tuition fees. Family socioeconomic status significantly affects children’s cognitive performance. However, parental investment and parental distress demonstrated various mediating effects in these relationships. We discussed the policy implications of quality parental time investment and child-parent interactions, identifying intervention strategies that could help to promote intergenerational mobility and reduce inequalities.

Bromate (BrO₃⁻), a carcinogenic disinfection by-product, presents significant health risks, requiring its effective removal from drinking water. Photocatalysis offers a promising method for reducing bromate to bromide (Br⁻). In this study, we developed a novel composite material, aS/TiO₂ (aSTO), integrating TiO₂ nanoparticles onto the surface of alpha-sulfur (aS) to enhance reduction under UV irradiation. The aSTO composite, with a bandgap energy of 2.69 eV, addresses the limitations of pure TiO₂, such as limited UV absorption and agglomeration, which reduce its photocatalytic efficiency. We conducted photocatalytic experiments to compare the performance of aSTO, TiO₂, and aS in bromate reduction. The experiments were conducted under varying conditions, including different temperatures, pH levels, and the presence of co-existing anions such as nitrate and phosphate. Recyclability tests were performed to assess the material’s reusability. The aSTO composite outperformed both TiO₂ and aS, achieving up to 20 μmol/g of bromate removal at a dosage of 1500 mg/L over 120 min, with significantly higher bromate removal compared to TiO₂ (~ 15 μmol/g) and aS (~ 5 μmol/g). The reduction of bromate was accompanied by the stoichiometric formation of bromide, confirming the efficient conversion process. Its efficiency improved under acidic conditions and elevated temperatures. Although co-existing anions slightly inhibited the process, aSTO remained highly effective. Recyclability tests confirmed that aSTO retained its catalytic performance and structural integrity over multiple cycles. Overall, aSTO shows great potential as a reusable photocatalyst for sustainable bromate removal in real-world water treatment applications.