Macao SAR Research Articles

Formative assessment, growth mindset, and achievement: examining their relations in the East and the West

ABSTRACT Both formative assessment and growth mindset scholars aim to understand how to enhance achievement. While research on formative assessment focuses on external teaching practices, work on growth mindset emphasises internal psychological processes. This study examined the interplay between three formative assessment strategies (i.e. sharing learning progressions, providing feedback, and instructional adjustments) and growth mindset in predicting reading achievement using the PISA2018 data. We focused specifically on samples from the West (the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) and the East (Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, Chinese Taipei, Japan and Korea) which comprised of 109,204 15-year old students. The results showed that formative assessment strategies were positively, albeit weakly, related to a growth mindset in the East, but not in the West. In contrast, growth mindset was positively related to reading achievement only in the West, but not in the East. The impacts of different formative assessment strategies on reading achievement demonstrated cross-cultural variability, but the strongest positive predictor was instructional adjustments. These findings highlight the potential synergy between formative assessment and growth mindset in enhancing academic achievement as well as the importance of cultural contexts in understanding their roles in student learning.

Analysis of Legal Challenges Facing Esports in the People's Republic of China, Including the Macau SAR

Analysis of Legal Challenges Facing Esports in the People's Republic of China, Including the Macau SAR

A Study of Chinese Consumers towards Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability

This research explores how Chinese consumers adopted a lifestyle of health and sustainability (LOHAS). To investigate this, a questionnaire survey was conducted examining the impact of LOHAS on consumer decision making styles in Macau SAR, China. After completion, a total of 619 usable questionnaires were collected. The results showed that the two most significant criteria for LOHAS among the Chinese consumers were environmental consciousness and a desire for health and fitness. In turn, the most preferable consumer decision making styles were price consciousness and perfectionism. Moreover, consumer who is environmental consciousness tends to be more quality and price conscious. Consumer who cares about health and fitness tends to look for quality and novelty products. The results also show that Chinese consumers who are the females, older in age or have a higher income tend to be more LOHAS. Therefore, if companies want to expand their business in the LOHAS market in China, they should target these segments when they are developing their marketing strategies.

LnCu3(OH)6Cl3 (Ln = Gd, Tb, Dy): Heavy lanthanides on spin-1/2 kagome magnets* *Project supported by the Program for Guangdong Introducing Innovative and Entrepreneurial Teams (Grant No. 2017ZT07C062), Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Quantum Functional Materials and Devices (Grant No. ZDSYS20190902092905285), and Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (Grant No. 2020B1515120100). L. Wang acknowledges the support of China Postdoctoral Science

The spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnets are key prototype materials for studying frustrated magnetism. Three isostructural kagome antiferromagnets LnCu3(OH)6Cl3 (Ln = Gd, Tb, Dy) have been successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal method. LnCu3(OH)6Cl3 adopts space group and features the layered Cu-kagome lattice with lanthanide Ln3+ cations sitting at the center of the hexagons. Although heavy lanthanides (Ln = Gd, Tb, Dy) in LnCu3(OH)6Cl3 provide a large effective magnetic moment and ferromagnetic-like spin correlations compared to light-lanthanides (Nd, Sm, Eu) analogues, Cu-kagome holds an antiferromagnetically ordered state at around 17 K like YCu3(OH)6Cl3.

Census of the longhorn beetles (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae and Vesperidae) of the Macau SAR, China.

An intensive census, extended over a period of approximately three and a half years, October 2017– May 2021, was conducted in the remaining green areas of the Macau SAR in order to provide an updated status of the biodiversity of longhorn beetles in this region. This insect group includes more than 36,000 species worldwide, subdivided into four families of mainly xylophagous or saproxylic insects, the Vesperidae, Oxypeltidae, Disteniidae, and Cerambycidae. They are of key importance in agricultural and forestry science, and are often used as an indicator of forest habitat health. A total of 52 species was recorded during this census, 2.6 times more than previously reported in the literature for this area. However, recorded abundances and frequency of occurrence for the various species were remarkably low, and of the 20 species previously reported for the region, some prominent ones remained unaccounted for. Among others, these include Batocera horsfieldii (Hope, 1839), Apriona rugicollis Chevrolat, 1852 [previously incorrectly reported as Apriona germarii (Hope, 1831)], Aristobia reticulator (Fabricius, 1781) [previously reported as Aristobia testudo (Voet, 1778)] and Imantocera penicillata (Hope, 1831). It is hypothesised that this may be related to the ongoing manipulation of the natural vegetation of the Macau SAR, which is rapidly being converted to plantations, city parks, and gardens. In particular, dead or dying trees and lower tree branches are systematically removed in order to improve the aesthetic appearance of these green areas. However, this process is also depriving xylophagous and saproxylic species of their essential habitats.

Short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and hospital visits for IgE-mediated allergy: A time-stratified case-crossover study in southern China from 2012 to 2019.

BackgroundBecause of the limited epidemiological evidence on the association between acute air pollutants and allergy, there is a need to investigate this association, especially between the short-term exposure to air pollution and the serum Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated allergy.MethodsA total of 39,569 IgE test results and demographic characteristics were obtained in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University between August 2012 and September 2019. Ninety-nine specific allergens were tested according to clinical diagnosis. The logistic regression was used to assess the effects of CO, NO2 and PM2.5 exposure on the risk of sensitization to specific inhalant/food allergens. Generalized additive models with multivariate adjustments were utilized to model the exposure-response relationship. Stratified analyses were performed to estimate the reliability of correlations in various subgroups.FindingsSingle-pollutant models indicate that the 3-day moving average (lag2–4) of CO, PM2.5 or NO2 is associated with the increased risk for allergic diseases related to specific inhaled allergens. In multi-pollutant models, the adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) 95% (Confidence Interval, CI) increases by 8% (95% CI, 2%–15%) for per increment of 0.2 mg/m3 in CO levels, and rises by 8% (95% CI, 2%–13%) for each increase of 16.3 μg/m3 in PM2.5 concentration. The associations are stronger in youngsters (<18, years) but not significantly different by gender. Particularly, a significantly stronger association between PM2.5 exposure and hospital visits for inhaled allergy is observed in patients who are exposed to lower concentration of SO2 (<10.333 μg/m3) and higher levels of NO2 (≥42.0 μg/m3), as well as patients enrolled after 2017.InterpretationThe short-term exposure to CO/PM2.5 increases the number of hospital visits for IgE-mediated allergy, especially for the sensitization to specific inhalant allergens. Therefore, to prevent inhaled allergies, the public policy for controlling air pollution needs to be considered seriously.FundingThis study was supported by the University of Macau (grant numbers: FHS-CRDA-029–002–2017 and MYRG2018–00,071-FHS) as well as the Science and Technology Development Fund, Macau SAR (File no. 0004/2019/AFJ and 0011/2019/AKP). This work was also supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81,871,736), the National Key Technology R&D Program (2018YFC1311902), the Guangdong Science and Technology Foundation (2019B030316028), the Guangzhou Municipal Health Foundation (20191A011073), and the Guangzhou Science and Technology Foundation (201,804,020,043).

Sediments in the mangrove areas contribute to the removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals in coastal sediments of Macau SAR, China, and harbour microbial communities capable of degrading E2, EE2, BPA and BPS.

The occurrence of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is a major issue for marine and coastal environments in the proximity of urban areas. The occurrence of EDCs in the Pearl River Delta region is well documented but specific data related to Macao is unavailable. The levels of bisphenol-A (BPA), estrone (E1), 17α-estradiol (αE2), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) were measured in sediment samples collected along the coastline of Macao. BPA was found in all 45 collected samples with lower BPA concentrations associated to the presence of mangrove trees. Biodegradation assays were performed to evaluate the capacity of the microbial communities of the surveyed ecosystems to degrade BPA and its analogue BPS. Using sediments collected at a WWTP discharge point as inoculum, at a concentration of 2mgl-1 complete removal of BPA was observed within 6days, whereas for the same concentration BPS removal was of 95% after 10days, which is particularly interesting since this compound is considered recalcitrant to biodegradation and likely to accumulate in the environment. Supplementation with BPA improved the degradation of bisphenol-S (BPS). Aiming at the isolation of EDCs-degrading bacteria, enrichments were established with sediments supplied with BPA, BPS, E2 and EE2, which led to the isolation of a bacterial strain, identified as Rhodoccoccus sp. ED55, able to degrade the four compounds at different extents. The isolated strain represents a valuable candidate for bioremediation of contaminated soils and waters.

Crowdsourcing to design a marketing package to promote a WHO digital mental health intervention among Chinese young adults

BackgroundDigital mental health is an emerging field that can leverage technology and mobile apps to deliver mental health treatment to populations in areas with limited mental health services. Despite widespread availability of these apps, uptake remains low. Enhanced marketing is necessary to increase public engagement. There is growing recognition that mental health intervention beneficiaries should be engaged in all phases of treatment development, adaptation, and delivery. Crowdsourcing – consulting the public to solve problems and sharing the solutions – can foster community-informed ideas for public health, but has yet been applied to digital mental health marketing. ObjectiveWith the goal of engaging potential intervention beneficiaries in digital mental health dissemination, the current project implemented a digital mental health crowdsourcing designathon for Chinese college students in Macao SAR, China and evaluated the feasibility of the contest and the products. The contest asked participants to design marketing packages for Step-by-Step, a scalable WHO digital mental health intervention focusing on depression. MethodsDesignathon participants, recruited from a global health class, were sorted into teams with balanced areas of expertise. Two judging panels – one of experts in relevant fields and another of Chinese college students – evaluated the marketing packages and selected finalists. The designathon was held in-person over four days and involved debriefing, workshops, a contest, and an awards ceremony. A parallel mixed-methods approach was applied, including qualitative feedback from judges and participants alongside quantitative data on participant satisfaction and depressive symptoms to enrich our understanding of the event. Additionally, based on judges' feedback given to participants, the communication packages of the contest were ranked. Results49 participants (8 teams of 6–7 members each) were involved in the designathon. Using a cutoff score of 10 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), 11.4% of participants had moderate or higher depressive symptoms. All teams successfully produced complete digital mental health marketing packages. Four finalists' packages were selected quantitatively with judges' scores and the top finalist's package was described by judges' comments as simple, thoughtful, and appealing, although not informative enough. Participants were overall satisfied with the designathon, but some mentioned that time was insufficient and that organization/instruction clarity could have been improved. ConclusionsThe designathon is a novel, feasible strategy to collect crowd input for the dissemination of a mental health intervention. Compared with traditional communication strategies, this bottom-up approach included and engaged potential intervention beneficiaries to take an active role in creating digital mental health marketing communication. Future contests should allow participants more time and reconsider aspects of event organization.

Blockade of the immune checkpoint B7-H3 alters glucose metabolism in non-small lung cancer cells

Abstract B7-H3 an immune-checkpoint molecule, a transmembrane protein, is overexpressed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), making it an attractive therapeutic target. An anti-B7-H3 antibody omburtamab has been shown to preferentially bind tumor tissues and has been safely used in humans in early-phase clinical trials. Elicitation of cellular mechanism behind the anti-B7-H3 blockade is important to reveal the immune-independent functions of B7-H3. Warburg effect is one feature of metabolic dysregulation during malignant transformation. To investigate the effect of anti-B7-H3 blockade in the regulation of glucose metabolism in cancer cells, we measured dynamic ECAR and OCR as indicatives of glycolysis and oxidative respiration in NSCLC cells. We demonstrated that anti-B7-H3 antibody blockade switched cell metabolism from glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation. The alteration of glucose metabolism probably was associated with cellular ROS-mediated pathway. These results clearly showed that, in addition to immune-regulatory function, B7-H3 possessed immune-independent functions in NSCLC. The study is supported by the Science and Technology Development Fund, Macau SAR (FDCT/0015/2918/A1).

Effectiveness of personal protective health behaviour against COVID-19

BackgroundNovel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic, and over 80 million cases and over 1.8 million deaths were reported in 2020. This highly contagious virus is spread primarily via respiratory droplets from face-to-face contact and contaminated surfaces as well as potential aerosol spread. Over half of transmissions occur from presymptomatic and asymptomatic carriers. Although several vaccines are currently available for emergency use, there are uncertainties regarding the duration of protection and the efficacy of preventing asymptomatic spread. Thus, personal protective health behaviour and measures against COVID-19 are still widely recommended after immunization. This study aimed to clarify the efficacy of these measures, and the results may provide valuable guidance to policymakers to educate the general public about how to reduce the individual-level risk of COVID-19 infection.MethodsThis case-control study enrolled 24 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients from Centro Hospitalar Conde de São Januário (C.H.C.S.J.), which was the only hospital designated to manage COVID-19 patients in Macao SAR, China, and 1113 control participants who completed a 14-day mandatory quarantine in 12 designated hotels due to returning from high-risk countries between 17 March and 15 April 2020. A questionnaire was developed to extract demographic information, contact history, and personal health behaviour.ResultsParticipants primarily came from the United Kingdom (33.2%), followed by the United States (10.5%) and Portugal (10.2%). Independent factors for COVID-19 infection were having physical contact with confirmed/suspected COVID-19 patients (adjusted OR, 12.108 [95% CI, 3.380–43.376], P < 0.005), participating in high-risk gathering activities (adjusted OR, 1.129 [95% CI, 1.048–1.216], P < 0.005), handwashing after outdoor activity (adjusted OR, 0.021 [95% CI, 0.003–0.134], P < 0.005), handwashing before touching the mouth and nose area (adjusted OR, 0.303 [95% CI, 0.114–0.808], P < 0.05), and wearing a mask whenever outdoors (adjusted OR, 0.307 [95% CI, 0.109–0.867], P < 0.05). The daily count of handwashing remained similar between groups. Only 31.6% of participants had a sufficient 20-s handwashing duration.ConclusionsParticipating in high-risk gatherings, wearing a mask whenever outdoors, and practising hand hygiene at key times should be advocated to the public to mitigate COVID-19 infection.

Re-positive of SARS-CoV-2 test is common in COVID-19 patients after hospital discharge. Data from high standard post-discharge quarantined patients in Macao SAR, China.

During the pandemic of COVID-19, Macau faces tremendous pressure because it is a famous gambling and tourism city with the world’s highest population density. The Macau government implemented decisive public health intervention to control the transmission of COVID-19, and there were only two independent outbreaks in Macau. In the second outbreak, all 35 cases were infected in foreign countries. They were quarantined in airborne infection isolation rooms for at least 14 days with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests after hospital discharge. Twelve (34.3%) of them had re-positive SARS-CoV-2 test results, and none of them presented any COVID-19 signs or symptoms during the entire quarantine period. In this study, the re-positive patients were more likely to be diagnosed in the early stage of the disease with a longer hospital stay. Virus re-infection is impossible in this high standard isolation setting, and reactivation is also unlikely, so that residual virus nucleic acid should be the possible reason for this phenomenon. Due to limited data about the risk of re-positive patients, it is better to quarantine patients after discharge for a prolonged period with repeat RT-PCR tests to minimize the community’s potential risk, particularly in the regions with relative plenty of resources and low community infection rate such as Macau.

Census of the fruit and flower chafers (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae) of the Macau SAR, China.

The coleopteran fauna of the Macau SAR in southern China has historically received only limited attention and no updated information has been published since the last substantial works produced in the 1990s. An annotated and illustrated review of the fruit and flower chafers (Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae) of this region is here presented, in order to provide an account of the current status of the taxonomic diversity and ecology of this important insect group. Eleven species were observed in the SAR during an intense investigation undertaken during the period 2017–2020, with six of these representing new records for Macau and two for the broader region of the Pearl River Delta, also known as the Greater Bay Area. Although this census leads to a substantial increase in the number of species known for the area, it also highlights the threats that the recent escalation in urban development and land-use transformation are posing to a number of species which seem unable to maintain a sustainable population in the region, mainly due to habitat destruction.

Employee perception on the environmental protection programmes: A case study of a luxury hotel in Macau

This paper examined the luxury resort hotel employees’ perspectives on the environmental protection programmes initiated by the hotels in Macau, China. The concern for environmental protection is increasing globally in the hospitality industry, especially for big hotels, as they rank highest among the energy consumers compared to the various sectors of the industry. Macao SAR, whose economy is highly dependent upon casinos that reside within numerous hotels, is being developed as a world tourism and leisure centre. This, in turn, further reinforces the need for the examination of environmental protection programmes. Data for this qualitative study was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with fifteen participants which were later analysed using the content analysis method. The result shows that the employees of the luxury resort hotel in Macau perceive variously of the performance of the green practices initiated by the hotel, albeit there was a consensus that additional effort on the part of the hotel was needed to further strengthen environmental protection programmes. The implications of this study and the direction for future research have been explained as well.

Comprehensive Analysis of Tariff Barriers Worldwide: A Composite Assessment Approach

International trade has fundamental importance for all the countries and the analysis concerning international trade particularly concerning tariff barriers is high on the agenda of researchers in the field of economics, business and politics. Aim of the study is to assess the world tariff barriers of 158 countries. Overall design of the study comprises of a crisp literature review, data extraction and analysis. It is a study of one hundred fifty-eight countries that uses secondary data taken from World Development Indicators (WDI) 2020. It uses Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) as research methodology. Results of GRA show that Macao SAR, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Montenegro, Mauritius, Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, Chile, Peru and Australia have relatively highest grey relational grades meaning thereby, low tariff trade barriers whereas Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Central African Republic, Nepal, Guinea-Bissau, Fiji, Gabon, Barbados, Djibouti, St. Kitts and Nevis have lowest grey relational grade meaning thereby, these countries have high level of tariff based barriers of international trade. Interestingly, all the member countries of European Union occupy the rank of 27 (i.e. all countries have the same rank) which can be explained in the perspective of their union of tariff. Since, they have uniformed tariff policy as against rest of the world, therefore, have same rank. It is a study based on reliable real time data set. The study has value for all stakeholders i.e. international community, local governments, society at large, policy makers, researchers and international institutions.

Changes in Prevalence Patterns of Allergen Sensitization During the COVID-19 Pandemic in South China: A Cross-Sectional Study from 2017 to 2020

Background: Public health measures during COVID-19 have led to an unprecedented change in social lifestyle which might have an impact on the allergen sensitization in population. We sought to explore the prevalence patterns of serum allergen-specific IgE (sIgE) sensitization and serum total immunoglobulin E (tIgE) level among patients with clinical symptoms of suspected allergic diseases before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in south China. Methods: We assessed cross-sectional datasets from the First Affiliated Hospital of the Guangzhou Medical University from 2017 to 2020. Data on clinical symptoms of the patients with suspected allergic diseases in the hospital were collected and data from February to June in each year were extracted. Chi-square test and Fisher exact test were used to test statistical significance among years. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were used to assess the magnitudes of the differences among years. Findings: The number of hospital visits for patients with suspected allergy symptoms decreased compared with previous years during COVID-19. For inhalant allergens, there was a statistically significant difference (PDermatophagoides pteronyssinus, 1·43 (P=0·024) for Dermatophagoides farina, 1·50 (PDermatophagoides pteronyssinus and tIgE were statistically different (PInterpretation: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the positive rate of inhalant allergens and tIgE level increased while the positive rate of food allergens remained stable. Staying at home for a long time without frequent ventilation, insufficient sunshine or storing food at home might contribute to the result. Funding: The Science and Technology Development Fund, Macau SAR and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.Declaration of Interests: We declare no competing interest exists. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by the ethic committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Reference number: GYFYY-2016-73) of Guangzhou Medical University. Written informed consent was obtained from all adults and legal guardians of the participating children.

Research on criminal judicial assistance in the context of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area——A case study of combating cross-border money laundering in Macao

According to the 「Outline Development Plan for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area」, the relationship between Macao, Hong Kong and Guangdong Province is becoming closer and closer, and Macao SAR should integrate into the overall development of the country. Due to the special industrial structure and geographical location, the crime of cross-border money laundering in Macao SAR is very widespread, so the criminal judicial assistance has also been put on the agenda. The article will start from the legislative evolution and judicial status of money laundering in Macao and its neighboring areas, analyze the principles involved in the controversial issues in the process of exploring the dilemma of criminal judicial assistance, and demonstrate the feasibility of criminal judicial assistance in the context of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao from three dimensions of constitutional basis, existing legislative, legal basis and practical basis. Finally, on the premise of adhering to the principle of sovereignty and mutual respect, through expanding the case investigation system, strengthening the inter regional police cooperation and exchange mechanism, and promoting the signing of criminal judicial assistance agreements between different regions, we can seek to form a new mode of criminal judicial assistance in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao under the 「one country, two systems」.

China&amp;apos;s Tourism Crisis During the Pandemic: New Approaches and Transformation of «Zero-COVID-19» Policy

In 2020-2021 the global tourism sector was undergoing profound transformations. Global lockdowns and border closures, restrictions on the movement of citizens have led to a recession in the tourism industry and to long-term negative consequences for the global economy. The pandemic highlighted the vulnerability of the sector, insufficient government support, excessive fragmentation and a lack of experience in effectively dealing with new risks and threats. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, China was a key global tourism power. In the fight against coronavirus infection, the country has chosen a “zero COVID-19” strategy. However, the return to the “bamboo curtain” policy and the closure of borders did not lead to complete stagnation of the sector. The gradual liberalization of domestic tourist travel, the lifting of bans on the first outbound travel of citizens in the Macau SAR, discussion of vaccine diplomacy issues, and the high pace of the vaccination campaign will open a new page in the development of the tourism sector in the country. During the fight against the pandemic, Beijing has not implemented an incentive policy aimed at increasing the number of domestic tourist travel. The recovery of the sector proceeded at a slow pace due to the forced need to coordinate the activities of tourism enterprises with the “zero COVID -19” policy. Using the analysis of statistical data and regulatory legal acts of 2020-2021, the author traces the evolution of approaches to controlling the spread of the pandemic in the tourism industry and analyzes the trends that have emerged. The study proves that in China there are no contradictions between two opposite concepts: “zero COVID-19” approach and the strategy of “coexistence with the virus”.

Legal Standards Governing Data Protection in Europe and Potential Sources of Legal Transplants in Macau SAR

Legal Standards Governing Data Protection in Europe and Potential Sources of Legal Transplants in Macau SAR

Antecedents of civic virtue and altruistic organizational citizenship behavior in Macau

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationships between two dimensions of communication satisfaction – personal feedback and supervisory communication – on outcomes such as altruistic organizational citizenship behavior and civic virtue. Another aim is to examine the mediating role of organizational justice (OJ) between these two dimensions of communication satisfaction and altruistic organizational citizenship behavior and civic virtue.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on a survey conducted in major organizations in Macau SAR, China. Data from 294 respondents who successfully completed the questionnaire is used for the analysis.FindingsThe results reveal that supervisory communication is significantly and positively associated with altruistic organizational citizenship behavior. Both personal feedback and supervisory communication are significantly and positively associated with civic virtue. OJ is a mediator between personal feedback and civic virtue. OJ also mediates the relationship between satisfaction with supervisory communication and civic virtue. It is intriguing that OJ is not a mediator in the relationship between satisfaction with communication and altruistic organizational citizenship behavior.Research limitations/implicationsA single city cross-sectional study presents some restrictions on the generalizability of the findings. More studies are needed to understand communication satisfaction – organizational citizenship behavior processes to establish if the findings hold with other samples in other cultures.Practical implicationsThe empirical evidence in this study shows that satisfaction with communication is critical for promoting discretionary behaviors. The mediating roles of OJ between personal feedback and civic virtue and between supervisory communication and civic virtue, clearly indicate that even though a manager may try hard to motivate employees’ participation in discretionary behaviors, whether employees participate in extra-role behaviors depends on their perception of justice.Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine how altruistic organizational citizenship behavior and civic virtues are influenced by satisfaction with communication. Moreover, the mediating role of OJ has never been tested previously. The findings contribute to the HR literature and provide deeper insights on how to promote citizenship behavior.

Culture Stress and Difficulties: Lived Stories of Teenaged Mothers in Macau

The traditional Chinese culture influences perspectives toward family, marital status, and living style in Macau SAR, where Eastern cultures meet Western cultures. Although the Western living styles and standards highly influence the daily practices of residents; broken marriage, single parenting, and divorce are considered taboo in the community. The purpose of this study was to understand how teenaged single mothers describe their sources of stress and difficulties in the city. Eight single mothers, who were at different stages in single parenting and broken marriages, were interviewed and asked to share their lived stories. Guided by the Ecological System Theory, analysis of the data indicated that sources of stress and the behaviors of individuals may be highly influenced by surrounding people, environments, and societies. The results of the current study can help social caring providers and policymakers to better understand not only lived experiences of single mothers, but also the social problems, difficulties, and source of stress of the particular groups of people in society.