This paper reports observations of flocking behavior of birds in a well-protected secondary forest in Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. A total of 1025 flocks including 5255 bi...This paper reports observations of flocking behavior of birds in a well-protected secondary forest in Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. A total of 1025 flocks including 5255 birds and 48 species were observed between October 2002 and November 2003. Most flocks consisted of only one species. The observed flocks averaged 1.79 +/- 0.05 (SE) species and 5.13 +/- 0.18 (SE) birds. The Japanese White-eye was the most numerous species and was present in 21.6% of the observed flocks. Seasonal trends in both flock size and number of species were similar to those in overall bird density and species richness in the study area reported in a previous study.展开更多
Framed with the model of Cashmore et al.(2011),this study examined the pattern of school belongingness of Hong Kong students with their pre-school characteristics,school experiences,and out-of-class experiences using ...Framed with the model of Cashmore et al.(2011),this study examined the pattern of school belongingness of Hong Kong students with their pre-school characteristics,school experiences,and out-of-class experiences using PISA 2015 data.The total sample included 4703 Hong Kong secondary school students aged 15.Regression analysis revealed that Hong Kong secondary students9 school belongingness was predicted by pre-school characteristics,school experiences,and out-of-class experiences.Compared with two other categories of variables,out-of-class experiences had a stronger prediction in terms of peer relationships.Overall,family socioeconomic status(SES),student performance,selfmotivation,student-teacher ratio,and peer relationship were positive predictors,whereas school size was negatively predictive.In addition,the relationships of school belongingness with three categories of variables differed by immigrant status.Immigrant children had a greater sense of school belonging than local students.The findings add to the existing literature and may have implications for school administrators and teachers in relevant areas.展开更多
Purpose:Catering for learner diversity is a key issue in the recent educational reforms in Hong Kong.The present study addresses this issue through an investigation of the relationships between students’learning styl...Purpose:Catering for learner diversity is a key issue in the recent educational reforms in Hong Kong.The present study addresses this issue through an investigation of the relationships between students’learning styles and approaches to learning in Hong Kong secondary schools.Design/Approach/Methods:A total of 6,054 junior secondary students in Hong Kong responded to a questionnaire consisting of two instruments.A series of confirmatory factor analysis,two-way analysis of variance,and structural equation modeling analysis were conducted.Findings:The results identified three types of learning style among the students which are characterized by a cognitive orientation,a social orientation,and a methodological orientation.Some significant gender-and achievement-level differences were revealed.Compared with the socially oriented learning style,the cognitively and methodologically oriented learning styles were more extensively and strongly related to students’approaches to learning,even though these students showed a greater preference for the socially oriented learning style.Originality/Value:It is unwise to blindly cater for students’learning styles in classroom teaching and curriculum design.Teachers should adopt a comprehensive and balanced approach toward the design of curriculum and teaching which not only highlights the congruence between students’learning styles and teacher’s pedagogy but also integrates the constructive frictions between them into classroom teaching.展开更多
As ecosystem degradation becomes more widespread, there is a growing need for efficient and effective forest restoration methods. Direct seeding is one such method that can be used to cover a relatively large area, pa...As ecosystem degradation becomes more widespread, there is a growing need for efficient and effective forest restoration methods. Direct seeding is one such method that can be used to cover a relatively large area, particularly places with difficult-to-access terrain. One major obstacle hampering successful restoration via direct seeding is seed predation, as seeds are damaged or eaten. We tested the effectiveness of encrusting six species of native seeds with biochar-based coating in reducing the seeds’ chances of being predated on degraded hillsides and landslide scars in Hong Kong. The six seeded species are native trees and shrubs, including both late-successional and pioneer species that are present in forests and shrublands. Our results show that biochar-based seed coats were able to significantly reduce overall seed predation by 5.77% (SE = 1.41, p < 0.05). Additionally, we found varied effectiveness of the biochar-based seed coats across species and seed morphology. Of the six species that were included, four of them had significantly reduced seed predation after encrusting with biochar-based seed coats, while two other species were not significantly affected by the biochar-based seed coats. When we investigated seed predation against seed morphology, we found that while the species with larger seeds were more likely to be predated when sown without any biochar-based seed coat, the effectiveness of the biochar-based seed coat to reduce predation also increased with larger seeds. Our results suggest that encrusting seeds with biochar-based seed coats is an effective means of reducing seed predation.展开更多
香港地区中学文凭考试(Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination,HKDSE)英语口语公开考试中的小组互动部分受疫情等多种因素的影响而无法正常开展,需要探索其他口试形式。本研究探讨使用基于网络的协作视频会议工具Zoom...香港地区中学文凭考试(Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination,HKDSE)英语口语公开考试中的小组互动部分受疫情等多种因素的影响而无法正常开展,需要探索其他口试形式。本研究探讨使用基于网络的协作视频会议工具Zoom进行网考口试(Internet-delivered Speaking Test)的可能性方案。选取40名中学生进行网考口试的试测,由经验丰富的口试考官对考生表现进行评分,并使用基于学习者语料库的方法研究口试考生在话轮转换和语法准确性方面的表现。通过对考生话语的语言分析,以及从考生处和考官处分别收集的反馈结果,证实网考口试是可靠且可行的。展开更多
文摘This paper reports observations of flocking behavior of birds in a well-protected secondary forest in Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. A total of 1025 flocks including 5255 birds and 48 species were observed between October 2002 and November 2003. Most flocks consisted of only one species. The observed flocks averaged 1.79 +/- 0.05 (SE) species and 5.13 +/- 0.18 (SE) birds. The Japanese White-eye was the most numerous species and was present in 21.6% of the observed flocks. Seasonal trends in both flock size and number of species were similar to those in overall bird density and species richness in the study area reported in a previous study.
文摘Framed with the model of Cashmore et al.(2011),this study examined the pattern of school belongingness of Hong Kong students with their pre-school characteristics,school experiences,and out-of-class experiences using PISA 2015 data.The total sample included 4703 Hong Kong secondary school students aged 15.Regression analysis revealed that Hong Kong secondary students9 school belongingness was predicted by pre-school characteristics,school experiences,and out-of-class experiences.Compared with two other categories of variables,out-of-class experiences had a stronger prediction in terms of peer relationships.Overall,family socioeconomic status(SES),student performance,selfmotivation,student-teacher ratio,and peer relationship were positive predictors,whereas school size was negatively predictive.In addition,the relationships of school belongingness with three categories of variables differed by immigrant status.Immigrant children had a greater sense of school belonging than local students.The findings add to the existing literature and may have implications for school administrators and teachers in relevant areas.
文摘Purpose:Catering for learner diversity is a key issue in the recent educational reforms in Hong Kong.The present study addresses this issue through an investigation of the relationships between students’learning styles and approaches to learning in Hong Kong secondary schools.Design/Approach/Methods:A total of 6,054 junior secondary students in Hong Kong responded to a questionnaire consisting of two instruments.A series of confirmatory factor analysis,two-way analysis of variance,and structural equation modeling analysis were conducted.Findings:The results identified three types of learning style among the students which are characterized by a cognitive orientation,a social orientation,and a methodological orientation.Some significant gender-and achievement-level differences were revealed.Compared with the socially oriented learning style,the cognitively and methodologically oriented learning styles were more extensively and strongly related to students’approaches to learning,even though these students showed a greater preference for the socially oriented learning style.Originality/Value:It is unwise to blindly cater for students’learning styles in classroom teaching and curriculum design.Teachers should adopt a comprehensive and balanced approach toward the design of curriculum and teaching which not only highlights the congruence between students’learning styles and teacher’s pedagogy but also integrates the constructive frictions between them into classroom teaching.
文摘As ecosystem degradation becomes more widespread, there is a growing need for efficient and effective forest restoration methods. Direct seeding is one such method that can be used to cover a relatively large area, particularly places with difficult-to-access terrain. One major obstacle hampering successful restoration via direct seeding is seed predation, as seeds are damaged or eaten. We tested the effectiveness of encrusting six species of native seeds with biochar-based coating in reducing the seeds’ chances of being predated on degraded hillsides and landslide scars in Hong Kong. The six seeded species are native trees and shrubs, including both late-successional and pioneer species that are present in forests and shrublands. Our results show that biochar-based seed coats were able to significantly reduce overall seed predation by 5.77% (SE = 1.41, p < 0.05). Additionally, we found varied effectiveness of the biochar-based seed coats across species and seed morphology. Of the six species that were included, four of them had significantly reduced seed predation after encrusting with biochar-based seed coats, while two other species were not significantly affected by the biochar-based seed coats. When we investigated seed predation against seed morphology, we found that while the species with larger seeds were more likely to be predated when sown without any biochar-based seed coat, the effectiveness of the biochar-based seed coat to reduce predation also increased with larger seeds. Our results suggest that encrusting seeds with biochar-based seed coats is an effective means of reducing seed predation.
文摘香港地区中学文凭考试(Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination,HKDSE)英语口语公开考试中的小组互动部分受疫情等多种因素的影响而无法正常开展,需要探索其他口试形式。本研究探讨使用基于网络的协作视频会议工具Zoom进行网考口试(Internet-delivered Speaking Test)的可能性方案。选取40名中学生进行网考口试的试测,由经验丰富的口试考官对考生表现进行评分,并使用基于学习者语料库的方法研究口试考生在话轮转换和语法准确性方面的表现。通过对考生话语的语言分析,以及从考生处和考官处分别收集的反馈结果,证实网考口试是可靠且可行的。