Suchergebnisse

Conference Theme: Education Access and Excellence ; With the global spread of English arising from a whole host of historical, political andsocioeconomic factors, English, often recognized as the global "lingua franca" or " international language", has become one of the most popular mediums of instruction to offer in some higher education courses/programs in non-English speaking countries. Many European and Southeast Asian societies, with their desire to participate and compete in the globalized economy, regard formal/academic English literacy as one of the most important Twenty-First Century competencies to be developed among higher education students. Access to (overseas) higher education in the English medium, which has become a priced program of learning that often only middle/upper class families can afford, is an important issue in higher education research. To provide more affordable access to English medium higher education (both overseas and locally), "blended learning" that utilizes a variety of both face-to-face and e-learning platforms has become the latest direction for higher education development research in Southeast Asia. In this paper, the blended learning efforts made in MEd LAC (Master of Education in Language across the Curriculum) program at the University of Hong Kong are presented. ASAIHL scholars and researchers are requested to make discussion for possible future collaborative projects in this emerging area of research that aims at achieving both access and excellence in English medium higher education in Southeast Asia. ; postprint

Background. Primary care based management of long-term conditions (LTCs) is high on the international healthcare agenda, including the Asia-Pacific region. Hong Kong has a 'mixed economy' healthcare system with both public and private sectors with a range of types of primary care doctors. Recent Hong Kong Government policy aims to enhance the management of LTCs in primary care possibly based on a 'family doctor' model. Patients' views on this are not well documented and the aim of the present study was to explore the views of patients with LTCs on family doctors in Hong Kong. Methods. The views of patients (with a variety of LTCs) on family doctors in Hong Kong were explored. Two groups of participants were interviewed; a) those who considered themselves as having a family doctor, b) those who considered themselves as not having a family doctor (either with a regular primary care doctor but not a family doctor or with no regular primary care doctor). In-depth individual semi-structured interviews were carried out with 28 participants (10 with a family doctor, 10 with a regular doctor, and 8 with no regular doctor) and analysed using the constant comparative method. Results. Participants who did not have a family doctor were familiar with the concept but regarded it as a 'luxury item' for the rich within the private healthcare system. Those with a regular family doctor (all private) regarded having one as important to their and their family's health. Participants in both groups felt that as well as the more usual family medicine specialist or general practitioner, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners also had the potential to be family doctors. However most participants attended the public healthcare system for management of their LTCs whether they had a family doctor or not. Cost, perceived need, quality, trust, and choice were all barriers to the use of family doctors for the management of their LTCs. Conclusions. Important barriers to the adoption of a 'family doctor' model of management of LTCs exist in Hong Kong. Effective policy implementation seems unlikely unless these complex barriers are addressed. © 2010 Mercer et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. ; published_or_final_version