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Background: Since the outbreak of COVID‐19, universities in Hong Kong have implemented online and hybrid teaching modes, making computer‐assisted language learning (CALL) a primary way for English learning. Research on English learning motivation and self‐regulation has seldom considered learners' emotions (satisfaction and preparedness) and the synchronic online courses in a CALL context. Objectives: This study analyses the relationship between Hong Kong university students' motivation and self‐regulation by considering their emotions in computer‐assisted synchronic online English courses. Methods: 311 Hong Kong university students were invited to complete two questionnaires that investigated students' motivation and self‐regulation in computer‐assisted online English courses. SPSS 26 was employed for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to extract factors and exclude unsuitable items, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to verify the results of EFA. One‐way ANOVA was conducted to detect the impact of personal emotion on motivation and self‐regulation. AMOS 26 was adopted to construct a structural equation model (SEM) to explore the relationship between motivation and self‐regulation in the CALL context. Results and Conclusions: The results show that satisfaction and preparedness positively correlate with online English learning motivation and self‐regulation. Instrumentality‐attitude significantly predicts all factors of self‐regulation via SEM and goal setting significantly predicts all factors of motivation. With feasible English learning goals, Hong Kong university students are more proactive in learning English online where they actively interact with teachers and peers. Implications: Based on the L2 self‐system (Dörnyei, The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition, 2005) and self‐determination theory (Barnard et al., Internet and Higher Education, 2009, 12, 1–6), this study clarifies the relationship between motivation and self‐regulation in the CALL context, expanding the application scope of the two theories. COVID‐19 has changed the teaching mode greatly, calling for a revolution in language education and learning. This study provides significant pedagogical implications that benefit both learners and teachers in CALL post‐COVID‐19. Lay Description: What is currently known about this topic: Motivation and self‐regulation greatly affect learners' performance in online English learning.There is a correlation between L2 learners' motivation and self‐regulation.Preparedness and satisfaction are related to learners' learning anxiety and motivation and directly affect learners' online learning achievement. What this paper adds: Satisfaction and preparedness positively correlate with online English learning motivation and self‐regulation.Instrumentality‐attitude significantly predicts all factors of self‐regulation via SEM and goal setting significantly predicts all factors of motivation.With feasible English learning goals, Hong Kong university students are more proactive in learning English online where they actively interact with teachers and peers. What are the implications of our topic for practitioners?: Learners and teachers must highlight the importance of satisfaction and preparedness in online English courses.Learners and teachers should attach great importance to the instrumentality‐attitude in the CALL context, and teachers can appropriately reduce the difficulty of English learning and design study content according to the needs of different students.Teachers should assist Hong Kong university students in formulating reasonable and feasible short‐term and long‐term learning goals at the beginning of online English courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People generally attribute less mind to groups than to individuals. Previous research has also shown differences of mind perception between different types of groups, such that not‐for‐profit organizations were viewed as having more minds than for‐profit organizations. In this paper, we ascertained this mind perception differences and further examined its underlying mechanisms and concomitant consequences. Across three studies, we replicated that people attributed more mind to not‐for‐profit organizations than to for‐profit organizations. More critically, the current research linked mind perception to stereotype content model and added that this effect was mainly explained by perceived warmth of the groups rather than perceived competence. We found that although not‐for‐profit organizations were perceived as warmer but less competent than for‐profit ones, the former was perceived both as having more experiential and agentic mental capacities than the latter. In addition, for‐profit organizations received less compassionate responding than not‐for‐profit ones when they suffer, which was attributable to mind perception. This paper highlights the distinction between experience and warmth, and between agency and competence, thus extending our theoretical understanding of the fundamental dimensions of mind perception and those of the stereotype content of groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined how individual group status and happiness influence forgiveness. In Study 1, happiness was treated as a trait difference: highly happy people, compared with very unhappy people, were found to be more willing to forgive murderers. More important, an interaction effect between happiness and group status on forgiveness was found, that is, highly happy people tended to be more forgiving when either ingroup or outgroup members were killed; unhappy people, however, tended to be less forgiving about murder when ingroup rather than outgroup members were killed. In Study 2, happiness was treated as an emotional state difference: happiness, rather than sadness, was found to bring greater forgiveness. Moreover, consistent with the interaction effect displayed in Study 1, happy participants tended to forgive more when ingroup or outgroup members were hurt; sad participants tended to forgive less when ingroup members rather than outgroup members were hurt. Implications for connections between happiness, group membership, and forgiveness are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Student engagement is an important factor to the success of higher education. This study aimed to develop a Generic Student Engagement Scale (GSES) for face‐to‐face and online learning. Design: This was a cross‐sectional psychometric study. Methods: We tested the psychometric properties of GSES in 451 students at the school of nursing and health studies undertaking online and face‐to‐face learning at a local university in Hong Kong between 2016 and 2018. Results: Content validity, face validity and test–retest reliability of GSES were satisfactory. The 29‐item GSES contains five factors "self‐regulated learning," "cognitive strategy use," "experienced emotion," "teacher–student interaction," and "enjoyment of school life" with the good model fit. The GSES is a reliable and valid psychometric instrument to measure student engagement in face‐to‐face and online learning among undergraduates and higher diploma students. Our results implied that student engagement can be assessed in routine or research by using our instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of globalisation and ensuing internationalisation of higher education need radical reform of institutional policies and practices to promote education for diversity, equity and inclusion. Extant literature on university/college student persistence/retention witnesses a lack of research on the subjective sense of belonging on campus among ethnic minoritised students who have been historically marginalised in higher education and are now part of the emerging demographic on campus. This study attempted to fill the gap. Engaging qualitative individual interviews with 12 university students of South/Southeast Asian ethnicity in Hong Kong, the purpose of this study was to examine their perceptions and experiences of institutional affiliations and engagement in university. Findings suggested that being connected to the programme and university, and the depth and quality of intragroup dynamics, are key to a sense of belonging among ethnic minority students. Findings also elucidated a lack of cross‐cultural interaction and racial/ethnic diversity within the university environment, which shaped participants' feelings of isolation and exclusionary experiences as they sought to adjust to the campus academically and socially. The study's findings could help inform the development and evaluation of institutional strategies that can sustain minoritised students in university transitions and promote institutional connectedness and academic success among all students on campus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how individualism-collectivism, the core dimension of cultural variability, is reflected in the learning styles of accounting students in Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Australia represents the Western individualistic culture, and Hong Kong and Taiwan represent the Chinese collectivistic culture. Using Kolb's model this study shows that the learning styles of accounting students from Hong Kong and Taiwan are more abstract and reflective, as well as less concrete and active. Their Australian counterparts are more concrete and active, as well as less abstract and reflective. While the former exhibit the assimilation style, the latter represent the accommodation style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has contrasted patterns of cautious or prevention-oriented relationality in various West African settings with patterns of growth or promotion-oriented relationality in many North American settings. The present research draws upon the concept of relational mobility to test the hypothesis that different patterns of relationality have their source in respective affordances for embedded interdependence or abstracted independence. Study 1 investigated the relationship between cautious intimacy and perception of relational mobility among a sample of Hong Kong students. Study 2 compared students in Hong Kong and North American settings to test whether differences in perception of relational mobility mediated the hypothesized differences in caution about friends. Study 3 used an experimental manipulation among a sample of Hong Kong students to test the hypothesis that increased perception of relational mobility reduces caution about friends. Results reveal broad support for the hypotheses. Whether as a measured variable or as an experimental treatment, the perception of relational mobility was negatively related to caution about friends. Moreover, this relationship mediated hypothesized cross-national differences in caution about friendship. A discussion of the results considers intersections of cultural and ecological approaches to psychology and implications for theoretical conceptions of interdependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an opinion regarding the Chinese ghost stories known and shared by college students at Chinese University of Hong Kong. Ghost stories are narrated by seniors as part of an effort to scare freshmen during orientation month. Ghost stories such as "Oxtail Soup, "The Lotus Pond," and "Single Braid" provide an example of popular culture in the college environment.

The worldwide concern about the gender gap in information technology and the lack of woman participation in computer science has been attributed to the different cultural influences to which boys and girls are subject. In The University of Hong Kong, girls achieved greater improvements in their computer skills than their male counterparts after completing one year of studies. Recognising their own progress has, in turn, boosted their confidence in using IT. The young women's estimates of their skill levels have doubled over the years from 1998 to 2000. Despite this recorded acceleration at the end of the academic years, girls were less confident of their abilities and possessed lower IT skill levels than boys before starting their university education, as found in surveys of freshmen's computer skills. This study compares the responses of student participants of the HKU/IBM Notebook Computer Programme, which started in 1998, in the self-reported IT skills and attitudes of male and female students, in surveys conducted both at the beginning and again at the end of the freshman year. It also examines the achievement scores of the IT Proficiency Tests and the ‘Foundations to Information Technology’ courses administered for the student IT requirement for graduation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. The objective of the present study was to test the application of the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM) in relation to exercise behaviour of 298 Hong Kong Chinese undergraduates. Design and methods. A cross-sectional design was used. Respondents completed measures of stages of change, self-efficacy, processes of change, decisional balance, exercise and demographic data. Results. Significant effects for stage of change were found for self-efficacy, pros, exercise and nine of the 10 processes of change. In general, scores on these variables were found to increase across the stages although post hoc tests revealed slightly different patterns of significant differences. Cons were not found to differ significantly across stages of change. The relationship between self-efficacy and processes of change was dependent on stage of change. Conclusions. The results support some of the assumptions of the TTM but raise questions about the predicted relationships between stages of change and processes of change and between self-efficacy and processes of change at each stage of change. The practical implications of the findings for the development of interventions to improve young people's exercise levels are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that developed a revised two-factor version of the Study Process Questionnaire suitable for use by college teachers in evaluating the learning approaches of their students in Hong Kong, China. Background of the Study Process Questionnaire; Guidelines for revising the questionnaire; Examination of the validity of the questionnaire.

Background. A recent review of research into students' approaches to learning suggested there was good evidence of meaning and reproducing orientations to study. In the former the student seeks the underlying meaning in study material, while in the latter attention is directed towards reproducing the text itself. The most widely used inventories of learning approaches also include a factor for an achieving approach and one contains another factor too. Aims. The study aimed to examine the discrepancy between the dimensionality inherent in the design of instruments measuring approaches to learning and that indicated by subsequent factor analyses. Methods. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the dimensionality of approaches to learning. Seven models were fitted to parallel data sets from the Study and Learning Process Questionnaires. Samples. The sample used for SPQ analysis was 4843 university students from Hong Kong universities. The LPQ data was drawn from a representative selection of 20 secondary schools in Hong Kong. The total number of usable questionnaires for the LPQ was 3254. Results. For both sets of questionnaire data, the best fit was achieved by a model with two factors: meaning and reproducing orientation. The achieving motive and strategy subscales were significant indicators of both factors. Conclusions. The results suggest that approaches to learning are described better by a two-factor model than the three- or four-factor ones on which the inventories are based. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]