Teaching Chinese to Ethnic Minority Students in Hong Kong:A Systematic Review

This paper presents a systematic review of research on Chinese as a Second Language(CSL)education for ethnic minority students in Hong Kong SAR.Using three databases and screening with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria,the study selected 38 empirical studies published in English-language peer-reviewed journals.We find that there has been a surge of publications in Hong Kong in the past decade(2010–2020),and they are mostly authored by scholars from three universities in Hong Kong.Most of the research took a phenomenological approach,using interviews as the main data collection method and focusing on underprivileged South Asian students in secondary schools.The thematic analysis showed that Hong Kong’s CSL adopted a poststructuralist paradigm for understanding and revealing social inequalities surrounding Chinese language education for ethnic minority students.The study concludes that Hong Kong must decolonise its education system to genuinely support ethnic minority students to achieve educational equality and social justice.

Possibility of Extension of Pre-operative Patient Preparation by Antiseptic Shower at the University Hospital Brno

Ensuring complex pre-operative patient preparation before planned surgery is an essential preventive measure of SSIs （surgical site infections）. The aim of this study was to evaluate the difference in the effectiveness of the use of common soap and a tested product to reduce the occurrence of bacterial microorganisms on the skin surface in the area of the assumed surgical incision. Two hypotheses have been identified： H0： the tested product can be considered as beneficial for common pre-operative patient preparation in the incision area in order to significantly reduce the microbial load （decrease in CFU on a defined area of the blood agar by half of the original number and less）. H1： the tested product exceeds common soap by at least 20% when reducing the microbial load in the incision area. There were 80 microbiological prints examined on filter paper using the cultivation method on culture medium. The statistical method of the classic hypothesis test on the binomial distribution parameter versus the one-sided alternative has been used to process the results for the occurrence of microorganisms. The statistical processing of the results obtained by microbiological examination of prints allows for the confirmation of H0 and rejection of the H1 hypothesis. The results have shown the importance of proper pre-operative hygiene of the patient’s skin, regardless of the detergent base.

TOWARDS A GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE HUMANE TREATMENT OF CAPTURED ENEMY FIGHTERS

The prevailing narrative instructs us that humane treatment of captured enemy fighters is down to white knights from the western parts of the European continent with their codes of chivalry, or alternatively, the Swiss businessman Henri Dunant. This contribution challenges that narrative for overlooking, or being ignorant of, the way that societies around the world have approached the matter of the captured enemy fighter. Traces of some of the critical principles about humane treatment that we see in our present law can actually be found in much older societies from outside of Europe. A more accurate and representative way of understanding humanitarianism in the treatment of captured enemy fighters can and must be crafted, with the prevailing Euro-centric account balanced with practices, cultures and faiths from elsewhere. The quest to achieve more humane treatment in armed conflict is first and foremost a battle of the intellect. Narratives and conceptualisations that are more inclusive, recognising and appreciating of the ways of the rest of the world are likely to be more effective in communicating humanitarian ideals. This work adopts a new method of approaching the richness and diversity of the treatment of captured enemy fighters over time and space. This new framework of analysis uses six cross-cutting themes to facilitate a broader international and comparative perspective, and develop a more sophisticated level of understanding. The first theme is how older and indigenous societies approached the matter of captured enemy fighters. The second focuses on religions of the world, and what they teach or require. The third section examines the matter of martial practices and codes of ethics for combatants in certain societies. The fourth category engages with colonisation and decolonisation, and regulation （or non-regulation） of the treatment of captives of war. Fifth is the issue of modernisation and the impact it has had on armed forces and fighters, including on the treatment of captives. The final issue is the shift towards formalised agreements, beginning with the first bilateral agreements and then the multilateral codification exercise that began in the mid-19th century and continues to this day. This framework for analysis leads into a final chapter, presenting a fresh and holistic view on the evolution of prisoner of war protections in the international order. It provides a different way of looking at International Humanitarian Law, starting with this effort at a global understanding of the treatment of captured enemy fighters.