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Hong Kong is seeking to increase the use of "assessment for learning" rather than rely on "assessment of learning" through summative examinations. Nearly 300 teachers from 14 primary and secondary schools answered a Chinese translation of the Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment inventory and a new Practices of Assessment Inventory. Structural equation modelling showed that there was clear alignment between conceptions and practices. Further, there were significant differences in the conceptions of assessment held by Hong Kong teachers as compared to New Zealand and Queensland teachers. This sample of Hong Kong teachers strongly associated (r = 0.91) using assessment to improve teaching and learning with making students accountable through assessment, which, in turn, led to a strong use of examination preparation practices (beta = 0.43). Hong Kong teachers believed learning outcomes were improved by using assessments to make students accountable and by preparing them for examinations. These results suggest that broader Chinese cultural norms concerning examinations are part of school culture and may provide barriers for the assessment reform agenda in Hong Kong and other Confucian societies. (Contains 3 figures and 1 table.)

Objective: This study analyses the incidence of subjectively experienced dysphagia and voice change in post-thyroidectomy and parathyroidectomy patients without recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy. Methods: A total of 400 patients were invited to participate in a telephone questionnaire based on the Dysphagia Handicap Index and Voice Handicap Index. At 6–24 months following surgery, participants were divided into: post-thyroid surgery (total, hemi-, parathyroidectomy) groups and controls (other ENT procedures). A total of 254 responses were received (127 following thyroid surgery, 127 controls). Results: Twenty-two per cent of post-thyroidectomy patients had a Voice Handicap Index score of more than 3, compared to 15 per cent of parathyroid patients and 4 per cent of controls. The mean Dysphagia Handicap Index score for patients post thyroidectomy and hemi-thyroidectomy was 2.0. Parathyroidectomy patients had a mean Dysphagia Handicap Index score of 1.3, higher than controls at 1.0. Conclusion: Dysphagia and voice alteration are common following thyroid surgery, even in the absence of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury. Both deficits occur more frequently following thyroid surgery than parathyroid surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess readiness to transition from pediatric to adult health care in adolescents with type 1 diabetes using the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ). TRAQ is a non-disease-specific self-report measure that assesses self-management and advocacy skills of youth with special health care needs. This study provides guidance on assessing transition readiness scores of adolescents with diabetes and identifying when health care providers should intervene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background One of the weight-loss strategies that has attracted attention is the use of spicy foods. It has been suggested that spicy food preference is related to a genetically predetermined sensitivity to the bitter compound 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP). Objective Our aim was to examine the relationship of PROP taste intensity and hot chili pepper use with body mass index (BMI), energy intake, and fat intake. Design This study utilized a cross-sectional design. Participants/setting The sample included 350 subjects (154 male, 196 female) ages 18 to 55 years living in the New York City area. Main outcome measures BMI was calculated by measuring weight and height, and the sensitivity to PROP was evaluated using the PROP filter paper method. Subjects also rated the frequency of usage and preference for hot chili pepper using a chili pepper questionnaire. Their daily energy and fat intake were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Statistical analyses performed An independent sample t -test compared subject characteristics between groups based on sex, PROP status, and hot chili pepper user status for the continuous variables, and the χ 2 test was used for categorical variables. One-way analysis variance examined the differences in subject characteristics across four ethnicities. To predict BMI, energy intake, and fat intake, multiple linear regression models were fit with the covariates of age, sex, ethnicity, chili pepper score, and PROP mean. Results The values for BMI, energy intake, and fat intake of PROP tasters were significantly lower than those of PROP nontasters ( P =0.03, P <0.001, and P <0.001, respectively). The energy intake of chili pepper nonusers was significantly lower than that of chili pepper users ( P =0.02), while there was no significant difference in fat intake between chili pepper users and nonusers. Conclusions This study suggests that PROP taste sensitivity contributes more to the prediction of energy and fat intake than chili pepper use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To validate a 204-item quantitative FFQ for measurement of nutrient intake in the Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2). Design: Calibration study participants were randomly selected from the AHS-2 cohort by church, and then subject-within-church. Each participant provided two sets of three weighted 24 h dietary recalls and a 204-item FFQ. Race-specific correlation coefficients (r), corrected for attenuation from within-person variation in the recalls, were calculated for selected energy-adjusted macro- and micronutrients. Setting: Adult members of the AHS-2 cohort geographically spread throughout the USA and Canada. Subjects: Calibration study participants included 461 blacks of American and Caribbean origin and 550 whites. Results: Calibration study subjects represented the total cohort very well with respect to demographic variables. Approximately 33% were males. Whites were older, had higher education and lower BMI compared with blacks. Across fifty-one variables, average deattenuated energy-adjusted validity correlations were 0·60 in whites and 0·52 in blacks. Individual components of protein had validity ranging from 0·40 to 0·68 in blacks and from 0·63 to 0·85 in whites; for total fat and fatty acids, validity ranged from 0·43 to 0·75 in blacks and from 0·46 to 0·77 in whites. Of the eighteen micronutrients assessed, sixteen in blacks and sixteen in whites had deattenuated energy-adjusted correlations ≥0·4, averaging 0·60 and 0·53 in whites and blacks, respectively. Conclusions: With few exceptions validity coefficients were moderate to high for macronutrients, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and fibre. We expect to successfully use these data for measurement error correction in analyses of diet and disease risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]