Exploring factors influencing adherence to lifestyle modifications in Chinese people with hypertension: The role of concordance during health communication

This study investigated the factors influencing the conduct of modifying unhealthy lifestyles in Chinese people with high blood pressure, and examined the effect of health communication between health professionals and patients on their health behaviours. The thesis proposes a new theoretical framework to explain and predict individuals' behaviours which can be used to design interventions to improve their health behaviours.

Using the TARL Model in Psychology: Supporting First and Final Year Students to Compose Reflections

Reflective thinking is an important skill in psychology, both as a tool in the therapeutic process and in professional development. The adapted 4Rs Model provides reflective writing structure and highlights the importance of Reporting & Responding, Relating, Reasoning and Reconstructing to students who are new to writing reflections. This chapter presents a case in which the 4Rs model (modified from the 5Rs model in Chap. 2 of this edition) was adopted to support reflective writing skills of undergraduate psychology students in a first year unit and in a final year unit. Although all students reflected on their learning within the units, the support activities leading up to the reflective tasks were adjusted to account for differences in the abilities of the cohorts and the focus of the units. In an evaluation survey, both groups of students endorsed statements about the importance of reflections and the utility of using the model. First year students also reported some difficulties understanding the 4Rs. This chapter will explore how first and final year students can be supported to develop reflection skills through scaffolding and modification of the same approaches and model.

Learning English pragmatics in China: An investigation into Chinese EFL learners’ perceptions of pragmatics

This paper reports the findings of a study investigating Chinese English language learners’ perceptions of pragmatics in the EFL learning context in China. A total of 237 Chinese EFL first-year university students participated in the study. A questionnaire and focus group interviews were used to collect data about learners’ pragmatics insights during their English language acquisition process. The findings of the study have provided empirical evidence for English educators and practitioners in China, indicating that there have been substantive changes in Chinese university students’ perceptions of English pragmatics. Except for organizational knowledge, they have a strong desire to acquire English pragmatic knowledge in their English language learning process, and would like to be pragmatically competent language users. This inquiry emphasizes the necessity to introduce pragmatics use and practice, which can effectively facilitate Chinese English learners to achieve pragmatic competence in communication.

An international comparison of the continuing professional development process (CPD) in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom

Background: The Pharmacy Board of Australia stipulated that for renewal of registration, pharmacists must have accrued a minimum of 20 CPD credits over the 2010-11 registration years (1). Mandatory CPD is not new in Pharmacy. The UK and New Zealand have both established systems of CPD in recent years. The purpose of this study is to investigate established CPD processes in the UK and New Zealand with the view to making recommendations for the implementation of the CPD process in Australia. Objectives: To compare the acquisition and guidance on documentation of CPD credit points in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Methodology: A comparative online search of the websites of each of the registering authorities was undertaken. Any practice standards or guidelines which relate to registration or continuing professional development were analysed and compared. Results: In New Zealand the Pharmacy Council require Pharmacists to have a minimum of 12 outcome credits over a 3-year period for recertification (2, 3). The outcome credit related to each CPD action and is based on relevance to the pharmacist and their practice. It is graded between one, for CPD which has occasional relevance to practice and three which have considerable relevance to practice. There are examples of completed CPD recording sheets on their website (8). In the UK, The General Pharmaceutical Council require Pharmacists to make a minimum of nine CPD entries per year (4) and detailed guidance on how to record CPD activities is provided (5,7). The Pharmacy Board of Australia divides CPD activities into three groups (6). Of the 20 credits required annually only 10 can be gained from group one activities, which is information accessed without assessment. There is only brief guidance on the recording of CPD. Discussion: The GPhC in the UK provided the most comprehensive guidance on acquisition of CPD credit points and documentation (5,7) The Pharmacy Council of New Zealand made CPD points relevant to practice.(2,8) The Pharmacy Board of Australia provided limited information for pharmacists on CPD activities, which may impede pharmacist participation. Information may assist in increasing pharmacists’ engagement in CPD activities. In conclusion, there is variation between the three countries in the amount and type of information provided about CPD requirements.

Gender-specific differences of interaction between obesity and air pollution on stroke and cardiovascular diseases in Chinese adults from a high pollution range area: A large population based cross sectional study

Background Little information exists regarding the interaction effects of obesity with long-term air pollution exposure on cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and stroke in areas of high pollution. The aim of the present study is to examine whether obesity modifies CVD-related associations among people living in an industrial province of northeast China. Methods We studied 24,845 Chinese adults, aged 18 to 74 years old, from three Northeastern Chinese cities in 2009 utilizing a cross-sectional study design. Body weight and height were measured by trained observers. Overweight and obesity were defined as a body mass index (BMI) between 25–29.9 and ≥ 30 kg/m2, respectively. Prevalence rate and related risk factors of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases were investigated by a questionnaire. Three-year (2006–2008) average concentrations of particulate matter (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxides (NO2), and ozone (O3) were measured by fixed monitoring stations. All the participants lived within 1 km of air monitoring sites. Two-level logistic regression (personal level and district-specific pollutant level) was used to examine these effects, controlling for covariates. Results We observed significant interactions between exposure and obesity on CVDs and stroke. The associations between annual pollutant concentrations and CVDs and stroke were strongest in obese subjects (OR 1.15–1.47 for stroke, 1.33–1.59 for CVDs), less strong in overweight subjects (OR 1.22–1.35 for stroke, 1.07–1.13 for CVDs), and weakest in normal weight subjects (OR ranged from 0.98–1.01 for stroke, 0.93–1.15 for CVDs). When stratified by gender, these interactions were significant only in women. Conclusions Study findings indicate that being overweight and obese may enhance the effects of air pollution on the prevalence of CVDs and stroke in Northeastern metropolitan China. Further studies will be needed to investigate the temporality of BMI relative to exposure and onset of disease.

Addressing the road trauma burden in China: Exploring attitudes, behaviours, risk perceptions and cultural uniqueness

As China continues to motorise rapidly, solutions are needed to reduce the burden of road trauma that is spread inequitably across the community. Little is currently known about how new drivers are trained to deal with on-road challenges, and little is also known about the perceptions, behaviours and attitudes of road users in China. This paper reports on a pilot study conducted in a driver retraining facility in one Chinese city where people who have had their licence suspended for accrual of 12 demerit points in a one year period must attend compulsory retraining in order to regain their licence. A sample of 239 suspended drivers responded to an anonymous questionnaire that sought information about preferred driving speeds and perceptions of safe driving speeds across two speed zones. Responses indicated that speeds higher than the posted limits were commonly reported, and that there was incongruence between preferred and safe speeds, such that a greater proportion of drivers reported preferred speeds that were substantially faster than what were reported as safe speeds. Participants with more driving experience reported significantly fewer crashes than newly licensed drivers (less than 2 years licensed) but no differences were found in offences when compared across groups with different levels of driving experience. Perceptions of risky behaviours were assessed by asking participants to describe what they considered to be the most dangerous on-road behaviours. Speeding and drink driving were the most commonly reported by far, followed by issues such as fatigue, ignoring traffic rules, not obeying traffic rules, phone use while driving, and non-use of seatbelts, which attracted an extremely low response which seems consistent with previously reported low belt wearing rates, unfavourable attitudes towards seatbelt use, and low levels of enforcement. Finally, observations about culturally specific considerations are made from previous research conducted by the authors and others. Specifically, issues of saving face and the importance and pervasiveness of social networks and social influence are discussed with particular regard to how any future countermeasures need to be informed by a thorough understanding of Chinese customs and culture.

Assessing acculturation over time: A four-year prospective study of Asian American young adults

Acculturation is commonly defined as a dynamic and multidimensional process in which individuals and groups change over time when coming into contact with another culture. Despite the emphasis on acculturation as a process of change over time, few researchers have directly assessed this hypothesis. The current study first identifies and then examines "stable" and "dynamic" dimensions of acculturation within a 4-year prospective study of 433 first- and second-generation Chinese- and Korean-American college students. Separate growth model analyses revealed significant linear change for first-generation students toward greater U.S. acculturation. In comparison, tests of linear and quadratic change for second-generation students were not significant. When stratifying by gender, acculturation increased for women but there was no significant change in acculturation for men. While all students reported increases in alcohol consumption over the study period, changes in acculturation predicted changes in alcohol consumption only for women. Chinese men showed greater increases in alcohol consumption than Korean men but there was no effect for ethnicity among women. There was significant individual variability in the models, which underscores the importance of examining change prospectively through within and between person analyses. The findings highlight the importance of examining acculturation changes over time for different migrant groups with implications for further development of acculturation measures, research methodologies, and health interventions. More prospective research designs of acculturation are needed to examine changes in health behavior and overall adaptation across migrant groups at varying stages of development.

Estate contestation in Australia: An empirical study of a year of case law

This article reports on a study which reviewed all publicly available succession law judgments in Australia during a 12-month period. The article begins with a brief overview of the relevant Australian law and the method adopted for the case review to provide some context for the analysis that follows. It then shifts to its primary objective: to provide an overview of Australian estate litigation during this period with a particular focus on analysing the family provision contests, which comprised over half the cases in the sample. The article examines how many estates were subject to family provision claims, who were contesting them, and to what extent those challenges were successful. The article also considers variation in estate litigation across Australian states and the impact of estate size on contests. It concludes by identifying the themes that emerged from these judicial cases and outlines their significance for law and practice reform.

Foreword: Who and What are 'Chinese' Students?

A review and discussion of definitions of 'Chinese' learners in North American schooling and language education contexts.

Learning Chinese as a Heritage Language: An Australian Perspective

Summary: This book explores the fascinating topic of heritage language learning, looking in particular at Chinese Australians' learning of Chinese. The author studies the investment, challenges and benefits of heritage language learning across varied contexts including school, work, home and in the community. The book investigates how Chinese Australians navigate and negotiate their Chineseness and how resources are used to support their learning. The book is based on a mixed methods study which uses Bourdieu's sociological theory, and offers implications for sociologists of language and education, Chinese heritage language learners and teachers, as well as language and cultural policy makers. Review: This book is a compelling account of the habitus of Chineseness in a world of mobility. It offers up a plethora of insights into the implication of heritage language learning in the constitution of Chinese identity; it makes available a sophisticated mixed methods approach for using the thinking tools of Pierre Bourdieu; it adds to these tools a nuanced cultural dimension. Karen Dooley, Queensland University of Technology, Australia In our increasingly trans-migratory world, language can be central to cultural identity. Dr Mu’s research breaks new ground by adapting Bourdieu’s insights to examine how cultural identity (‘Chinese-ness’) is linguistically learned and practiced in Australia. His remarkable book will interest educators and researchers grappling with how language pertains to identity. Tom Strong, University of Calgary, Canada A thought-provoking, highly engaging work that has deftly shown how Bourdieusian framework can be applied in the research field of literacy education and Heritage Language learning. A must-read for those interested in overseas Chinese communities and Heritage Language learning across various immigrant communities in general! Liang Du, Beijing Normal University, China

Association of STAT3 and TNFRSF1A with ankylosing spondylitis in Han Chinese

Objectives: Recent association studies by the Australo-Anglo-American Spondyloarthritis Consortium (TASC) in Caucasian European populations from Australia, North America and the UK have identified a number of genes as being associated with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). A candidate gene study in a Han Chinese population was performed based on these findings to identify associated genes in this population. Methods: A case-control study was performed in a Han Chinese population of patients with AS (n=775) and controls (n=1587) from Shanghai and Nanjing. All patients met the modified New York criteria for AS. The cases and controls were genotyped for 115 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) tagging IL23R, ERAP1, STAT3, JAK2, TNFRSF1A and TRADD, as well as other confirmation SNPs from the TASC study, using the Sequenom iPlex and the ABI OpenArray platforms. Statistical analysis of genotyped SNPs was performed using the Cochran - Armitage test for trend and meta-analysis was performed using METAL. SNPs in AS-associated genes in this study were then imputed using MaCH, and association with AS tested by logistic regression. Results: SNPs in TNFRSF1A (rs4149577, p=8.2×10-4), STAT3 (rs2293152, p=0.0015; rs1053005, p=0.017) and ERAP1 (rs27038, p=0.0091; rs27037, p=0.0092) were significantly associated with AS in Han Chinese. Association was also observed between AS and the intergenic region 2p15 (rs10865331, p=0.023). The lack of association between AS and IL23R in Han Chinese was confirmed (all SNPs p>0.1). Conclusions: The study results demonstrate for the first time that genetic polymorphisms in STAT3, TNFRSF1A and 2p15 are associated with AS in Han Chinese, suggesting common pathogenic mechanisms for the disease in Chinese and Caucasian European populations. Furthermore, previous findings demonstrating that ERAP1, but not IL23R, is associated with AS in Chinese patients were confirmed.

“Well it depends on what you’d call play”: Parent perspectives on play in Queensland’s Preparatory Year

In the context of recent education reform, Queensland’s Preparatory Year (Prep) is undergoing a period of significant change. The framing of Prep under a new national curriculum reflects a shift from its play-based roots to a formalised subject-based approach. This shift coincides with suggestions that parents may favour more formalised approaches to teaching and learning in the early years. This paper reports on two studies in which parents were interviewed about their views of play in Prep. Data were analysed thematically, with a focus on themes used by parents to talk about play. While parents broadly valued play, the findings suggest that parent participation greatly influenced their acceptance of play-based learning in the formal learning context of Prep. The findings raise implications for educators in fostering strong parent-teacher partnerships in order to facilitate improved parental understanding and support of play in early childhood programs.

Association of ERAP1, but not IL23R, with ankylosing spondylitis in a Han Chinese population

Objective The results of a recent genome-wide association study have shown that ERAP1 and IL23R are associated with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in Caucasian populations from North America and the UK. Based on these findings, we undertook the current study to investigate whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) covering the genes ERAP1 and IL23R are associated with AS in a Han Chinese population. Methods A case-control study was performed in Han Chinese patients with AS (n = 527) and controls (n = 945) from Shanghai and Nanjing. All patients met the modified New York criteria for AS. The Sequenom iPlex platform was used to genotype cases and controls for 21 tag SNPs covering IL23R and 38 tag SNPs covering ERAP1. Statistical analysis was performed using the Cochran-Armitage test for trend. Results Multiple SNPs in ERAP1 were significantly associated with AS (for rs27980, P = 0.0048; for rs7711564, P = 0.0081). However, no association was observed between IL23R and AS (for all SNPs, P > 0.1). The nonsynonymous SNP in IL23R, rs11209026, widely thought to be the primary AS-associated SNP in IL23R in Europeans, was found not to be polymorphic in Chinese. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that genetic polymorphisms in ERAP1 are associated with AS in Han Chinese, suggesting a common pathogenic mechanism for the disease in Chinese and Caucasian populations, and that IL23R is not associated with AS in Chinese, indicating a difference in the mechanism of disease pathogenesis between Chinese and Caucasian populations. This may result from the fact that rs11209026, the nonsynonymous SNP in IL23R, is not polymorphic in Chinese patients, providing further evidence that rs11209026 is the key polymorphism associated with AS (and likely inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis) in this gene.

Novel risk loci for rheumatoid arthritis in Han Chinese and congruence with risk variants in Europeans

Objective To investigate differences in genetic risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Han Chinese as compared with Europeans. Methods A genome-wide association study was conducted in China with 952 patients and 943 controls, and 32 variants were followed up in 2,132 patients and 2,553 controls. A transpopulation meta-analysis with results from a large European RA study was also performed to compare the genetic architecture across the 2 ethnic remote populations. Results Three non-major histocompatibility complex (non-MHC) loci were identified at the genome-wide significance level, the effect sizes of which were larger in anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA)-positive patients than in ACPA-negative patients. These included 2 novel variants, rs12617656, located in an intron of DPP4 (odds ratio [OR] 1.56, P = 1.6 × 10 -21), and rs12379034, located in the coding region of CDK5RAP2 (OR 1.49, P = 1.1 × 10-16), as well as a variant at the known CCR6 locus, rs1854853 (OR 0.71, P = 6.5 × 10-15). The analysis of ACPA-positive patients versus ACPA-negative patients revealed that rs12617656 at the DPP4 locus showed a strong interaction effect with ACPAs (P = 5.3 × 10-18), and such an interaction was also observed for rs7748270 at the MHC locus (P = 5.9 × 10-8). The transpopulation meta-analysis showed genome-wide overlap and enrichment in association signals across the 2 populations, as confirmed by prediction analysis. Conclusion This study has expanded the list of alleles that confer risk of RA, provided new insight into the pathogenesis of RA, and added empirical evidence to the emerging polygenic nature of complex trait variation driven by common genetic variants. Copyright © 2014 by the American College of Rheumatology.

Comparison of oropharyngeal and oral cavity squamous cell cancer incidence and trends in New Zealand and Queensland, Australia

Background Increases in the incidence of squamous cell oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) have been reported from some countries, but have not been assessed in Australia or New Zealand. This study examines trends for squamous cell OPC and squamous cell oral cavity cancer (OCC) in two similarly sized populations, New Zealand and Queensland, Australia. Methods Incidence data for 1982–2010 were obtained from the respective population-based cancer registries for squamous cell OPC and OCC, by subsite, sex, and age. Time trends and annual percentage changes (APCs) were assessed by joinpoint regression. Results The incidence rates of squamous cell OPC in males in New Zealand since 2005 and Queensland since 2006 have increased rapidly, with APCs of 11.9% and 10.6% respectively. The trends were greatest at ages 50–69 and followed more gradual increases previously. In females, rates increased by 2.1% per year in New Zealand from 1982, but by only 0.9% (not significant) in Queensland. In contrast, incidence rates for OCC decreased by 1.2% per year in males in Queensland since 1982, but remained stable for females in Queensland and for both sexes in New Zealand. Overall, incidence rates for both OCC and OPC were substantially higher in Queensland than in New Zealand. In males in both areas, OPC incidence is now higher than that of OCC. Conclusions Incidence rates of squamous cell OPC have increased rapidly in men, while rates of OCC have been stable or reducing, showing distinct etiologies. This has both clinical and public health importance, including implications for the extension of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination to males.