HKSYU Institutional Repository

Alzheimer’s disease is the primary cause of dementia and imposes a significant socioeconomic burden globally. Physical exercise, as an effective strategy for improving general health, has been largely reported for its effectiveness in slowing neurodegeneration and increasing brain functional plasticity, particularly in aging brains. However, the underlying mechanisms of exercise in cognitive aging remain largely unclear. Adiponectin, a cell-secreted protein hormone, has recently been found to regulate synaptic plasticity and mediate the antidepressant effects of physical exercise. Studies on the neuroprotective effects of adiponectin have revealed potential innovative treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. Here, we reviewed the functions of adiponectin and its receptor in the brains of human and animal models of cognitive impairment. We summarized the role of adiponectin in Alzheimer’s disease, focusing on its impact on energy metabolism, insulin resistance, and inflammation. We also discuss how exercise increases adiponectin secretion and its potential benefits for learning and memory. Finally, we highlight the latest research on chemical compounds that mimic exercise-enhanced secretion of adiponectin and its receptor in Alzheimer’s disease.

In the 21st century, the ability to think critically has become an essential skill that can be effectively fostered by dialogic teaching methods. However, teachers frequently struggle to engage students in instructional settings that require interaction and dialogue within classroom discourse. Using a quasi-experimental, mixed-methods research design, this study explored how a planned whole-class teaching discourse strategy affected the critical thinking disposition of 102 eighth-grade students from two Hong Kong schools. A validated critical thinking disposition questionnaire was used for pre- and post-test data collection to assess the effect of the teaching discourse intervention. Paired t-test results revealed significant pre- and post-test differences in the overall score and Truth-seeking, Systematicity, and Maturity of Judgment subset scores in the experimental group. However, no pre- and post-test changes were found in the control group. Further analysis of 32 classroom discourse video recordings conducted using a talk move framework identified three contributing factors that seemed to boost students’ critical thinking disposition in the experimental group: a range of talk moves, the turn-taking pattern between teachers and students, and timely, descriptive, and specific praise from teachers. This study contributes to the existing literature on the effectiveness of deliberately employing classroom talk wherein the talk move strategy encourages both students and teachers to engage in critical thinking, thereby fostering cognitive engagement in a nurturing learning environment.

This technical note develops a novel gain-sharing solution for distributing the gains to the players in cooperative dynamic network games which satisfies individual rationality, group optimality, time consistency, and fair-sharing principle.

The book captures the developments, challenges and opportunities in the fields of counselling and career guidance in Asia, highlighting issues and concerns that are unique to Asian regions as well as those that are common with other parts of the world. This book addresses multiple gaps in the counselling and career guidance literatures: it covers Eastern contexts and includes a focus on the distinctive needs of rural communities and those of small states. Gender is a prominent theme as well. The chapters in the book are diverse in terms of settings and participants, topics, and segments of the life span. The reader can develop insight about the current status of the counselling and career guidance fields in Asian contexts and identify relevant aspects that need change or strengthening. The guidelines for policy development that have been suggested in many chapters in this edited volume are of considerable practical value. The discussions in the book draw attention to context-specific features as well as underscore themes that are recurrent across regions and countries. The book has utility, therefore, for readers from all countries. Counselling and Career Guidance in Asia will be relevant to students and researchers interested in educational psychology, counselling psychology, vocational psychology, career development, human learning, the learning sciences, and psychological research methods in education and psychology. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of British Journal of Guidance & Counselling.

Globalisation is a process that has transformed the shape and structure of economic activities, altered international relationships, accelerated cross-cultural contacts and encounters, and drastically changed the nature of individual work activities and career (Friedman, 2006; Van Esbroeck, 2008). Increasingly, career counselling and guidance has been called to action in many nations to assist individuals across the lifespan to cope with complex career development and choice issues in our emerging globalised societies (Herr, 2008). In many countries, career counselling and guidance has evolved into a more ―formal‖ system of helping (e.g., the establishment of formal career counselling/guidance positions in schools or communities) as the ―informal‖ structure of assisting students and adults with career concerns (e.g., receiving help from one‘s social support network) is no longer adequate (McMahon & Yuen, 2009; Van Esbroeck, 2008).