Newspaper reporting of suicide cases in Hong Kong

This study addresses the concerns over newspapers' reporting of suicide cases in Hong Kong, SAR (Special Administrative Region), using the WHO guidelines on the reporting of suicide news as a reference for comparison. We compared the official suicide information extracted from the Coroner's Court for the year 2000 with newspaper reports on suicides taken from five major Chinese local newspapers, which accounted for about 80% of the total circulation in Hong Kong. The type of newspaper reporting on suicides was also examined. Newspapers tended to report on those suicide victims who suffered relationship problems, whereas those who had family problems were significantly underreported. Among the suicides reported in the newspapers, 6.2% were found on the front page and the majority of the reports were presented pictorially. The reporting of suicides was selective and the coverage was incomplete, with student suicides reported excessively. The method of reporting for Hong Kong newspapers was not in line with the recommendations of the WHO or international best practices on presenting suicide news. For this reason we recommend a partnership approach with active participation from the media on suicide prevention so that communication professionals can proactively participate in suicide prevention work more effectively.     

Profiles of Ethnic-Racial Identity,Socialization, and Model Minority Experiences: Associations with Well-Being Among Asian American Adolescents

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Ethnic-racial identity, ethnic-racial socialization, and racialized experiences are fundamental to the development of youth of color. However, most prior studies...     

Exam‐centred Meritocracy in Taiwan: Hiring by Merit or Examination?

As a legacy of Imperial China, the Taiwan civil service entrance examination (CSEE) represents the hallmark of a unique exam‐centred meritocracy, in which government agencies and public managers are deprived of selection power. This system diverges from the trend of managerialism in Anglo‐Saxon countries. This paper argues that the evolution of meritocracy in Taiwan has been built around the CSEE and has contributed to a top‐down state‐building approach. The current system is a product of a long‐term power struggle among the Examination Yuan, government agencies, and civil service examinees. In contrast to the popular framework of patronage versus merit, the policy debate in Taiwan is better framed as whether or not recruitments are made on the basis of competitive examination. The value of ‘equality’ is upheld at the expense of the value of ‘competence’.     

Neighbourhood and Neighbouring in Contemporary Guangzhou

There is now a substantial literature on various aspects of contemporary Chinese urbanization. There are, however, few recent studies of Chinese cities which examine social change and social interaction at the level of the urban neighbourhood. This paper seeks to fill some of this gap in current knowledge. It draws on a social survey of three contrasting neighbourhoods undertaken in Guangzhou in the Pearl River Delta, one of the most economically dynamic and rapidly urbanizing areas in the world. The paper explores inter alia the meaning of neighbourhood, sense of local belonging and community, and patterns and incidence of mutual assistance. The paper reflects on the extent to which market reforms are transforming patterns of local social interaction.     

Seasonality in suicide: a study of farming suicides in England and Wales

Seasonality in suicide rates has long been reported. Spring peaks in suicide deaths have been positively correlated with the proportion of the workforce engaged in agriculture. Some studies have indicated that suicides using violent methods are more likely to show seasonality. Recent research has suggested that seasonal patterns have diminished. This study examined deaths in male farmers, an occupational group which might be expected to be more vulnerable to seasonal influences because of the nature of their work and the relatively high proportion of farmers using violent methods for suicide. Data on suicides between 1982 and 1999 by males in England and Wales aged 15 years and over were provided by the Office for National Statistics. Seasonal patterns of suicide in farmers and nonfarmers were examined by nonparametric tests and harmonic analysis. No significant seasonal variation was found for farmers. For nonfarmers, although a chi-square test showed significant variation in monthly distribution, this was not found when a harmonic analysis was applied. There was no significant difference in the variation of violent suicides throughout the year. This study reinforces recent findings that seasonal variation in suicide appears to be diminishing, even in an occupational group where this might be expected.     

The regulatory style of environmental governance in China: the case of EIA regulation in Shanghai*

The body of literature that examines how institutional contexts affect environmental governance in advanced industrial countries finds that style of environmental regulation is country‐specific. In the pluralist form of democracy like the United States, environmental policy formulation involves bargaining and compromises among interest groups and regulation enforcement through relatively formal and legalistic means. In the corporatist form of democracy like Sweden and Great Britain, in contrast, environmental policies are more accommodating to divergent societal interests and tend to be less formal in their enforcement. These variations in regulatory style have been attributed to differences in basic constitutional structures, regime types and cultures. How do institutional contexts affect the style of environmental regulation in China, which is both a non‐democratic and developing country? This article examines China's regulatory style by focusing on environmental impact assessment (EIA) regulation in Shanghai. The Shanghai EIA system is analyzed in terms of policy ideology, policy content, regulatory process, public participation and policy consequences. It is shown that China's being a single‐party regime with a ‘rule of persons’ tradition has heavily shaped its environmental governance. Based on Shanghai experience, China's style can be characterized as formal in requirement, agency‐dominated in the regulatory process, legalistic in enforcement, and informal politics as the substance of regulation. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

School and Neighborhood Contexts,Perceptions of Racial Discrimination,and Psychological Well-being Among African American Adolescents

The present study examined contextual influences on the relationship between racial discrimination (individual, cultural, and collective/institutional) and psychological well-being. Two hundred and fifty two African American adolescents (46% male and 54% female, average age = 16) completed measures of racial discrimination, self-esteem, depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Archival information regarding the racial/ethnic composition of the participants’ neighborhoods and schools was used and increased school diversity was linked to increased perceptions of cultural discrimination. Regardless of school and neighborhood diversity, high perceptions of collective/institutional discrimination were linked to lower self-esteem for students in high diversity settings. Further, high levels of collective/institutional discrimination were associated with lower life satisfaction for African American youth in low diversity settings.