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The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of parents engaging in dialogic reading with their children while reading picture books on children's emotional understanding and parent-child relationships. The study also attempted to investigate the potential of picture books as useful instruments for parent-child communication, fostering meaningful parent-child connection and augmenting children's emotional comprehension. The study lasted for 11 weeks. The initial three weeks were focused on a parent-child reading session specifically designed for mothers, and the next eight weeks consisted of a picture book reading program in the participants' homes. Convenience sampling was employed to choose 11 families for participation in the study. Throughout the 8-week reading program, families actively participated in parent-child picture book reading sessions at home, ensuring a minimum frequency of once per week. The study used a combination of multiple case studies and a case study-mixed methods design. The data collection process involved gathering quantitative data through various means, including administering primary background surveys, utilizing the Child-Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS), and employing the Children’s Emotional Development Scale. The qualitative data consisted of interviews conducted before the intervention and records documenting parental reading observations. The analysis methodologies used in this study encompassed thematic and content analysis, which involved combining qualitative and quantitative findings to facilitate comparison. The quantitative data analysis of the Child Emotional Development Scale revealed notable disparities in emotional cognition, comprehension, expression, and overall emotional competence scores between the initial and final examinations. Although the CPRS results did not reveal any notable disparities in family intimacy and conflict; it is worth noting that seven families had higher post-test scores in family intimacy, indicating that mothers perceived an improved level of closeness with their children. Qualitative data analysis revealed that through shared reading of picture books on various emotional themes, children learned more emotional vocabulary and engaged in deeper parent-child conversations beyond daily interactions. This increased children's opportunities for emotional expression and helped mothers better understand their children's emotional needs, reflect on their parenting skills, and foster parent-child interaction and communication. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the significant impact of engaging in dialogic parent-child picture book reading on emotional understanding in preschool children. Furthermore, it is believed to be a valuable parent-child interaction strategy for dual-income families in Macau, enhancing parent-child relationships.

In many studies of social workers, topics such as burnout and job satisfaction are relatively frequently studied and discussed. There are even fewer relevant studies on social workers in Macau. Therefore, research on self-efficacy, burnout, and job satisfaction among social workers in Macau will be a relatively new research topic. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether and to what extent job burnout mediates the effects of self-efficacy and job satisfaction. We explored the relationships between: (1) the positive relationship between self-efficacy and job satisfaction; (2) the negative relationship between self-efficacy and burnout; (3) the negative relationship between burnout and job satisfaction; and (4) burnout has a mediation effect in the relationship between self-efficacy and job satisfaction. Quantitative and cross-sectional design research was applied by using an online self-response survey (N = 100), conducted using a snowball sampling technique among Macau's full-time social workers. Results from simple linear regression showed that the findings demonstrate significant results on the relationship between social workers' self-efficacy, burnout, and job satisfaction in Macau. Overall burnout had a significant negative prediction towards overall self-efficacy (r = -.47, p <.001); overall self-efficacy can significantly positive predict overall job satisfaction (r =.31, p <.01); Burnout can significantly negatively predict job satisfaction (r = -.43, p <.001), so multiple linear regression analysis was performed. The results showed that when burnout was used as one of the predictors, although burnout had a significant negative prediction on job satisfaction, burnout had a significant negative impact on self-efficacy and job satisfaction. The relationship between them has a very complete mediating effect. This means that the relationship between self-efficacy and job satisfaction is fully mediated by burnout. If corresponding resource policies and strategies are developed to improve social workers' self-efficacy, thereby reducing burnout and improving job satisfaction, this may be beneficial to both employees and organizations. Our study contributes to the direction in which positive expectations influence individual turnover intentions of Macau social workers. This study has theoretical implications for organizations and employees, and future research should continue to explore suggestions such as the limits and causal relationships of self-efficacy to help policymakers develop strategies to reduce social worker turnover.

The gaming industry has always been the leading sector in Macau and is one of the main occupations in the region. In 2023, gaming employees accounted for 18.2% of the total employment in Macau, making them a significant portion of the workforce. Research shows that gaming employees experience high levels of work stress, which can directly affect occupational fatigue and may also trigger anxiety and depression. Workplace fatigue and emotional health not only impact individual physical and psychological well-being but also affect their families, work, and interpersonal relationships. Therefore, the emotional health and workplace fatigue of gaming employees deserve public attention. This study aims to explore the work adjustment measures, stress coping methods, emotional health, workplace fatigue, and their relationships among gaming employees. The research focuses on Macau’s gaming employees, employing a quantitative approach. Using non-random sampling, electronic questionnaires were sent to managers of Macau's six major gaming companies from October to December 2023, ultimately collecting 563 valid responses, with males accounting for 45.6% and females for 54.4%. The study utilized SPSS 23 statistical software for quantitative analysis, first conducting descriptive statistics, followed by independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and finally Pearson correlation coefficients and regression analysis. The study found differences in coping methods based on gender, age, education level, marital status, shift patterns, and monthly salary among gaming employees. Differences in workplace fatigue were found related to gender, age, education level, marital status, living conditions, years of work experience, job position, and monthly salary. Age, education level, and marital status also showed differences in emotional health. In terms of work adjustments, 67.1% of respondents took parental leave, followed by 54.2% who took unpaid leave, and 9.8% who were transferred. The average score for personal fatigue was 40.90 ± 23.125, while the average score for work fatigue was 40.62 ± 21.405, followed by client-related fatigue at 36.65 ± 21.056, and work over-involvement at 24.22 ± 18.987. The average score for depression was 10.60 ± 8.974, indicating mild to moderate levels; anxiety had an average score of 11.26 ± 8.567, indicating moderate to severe levels; and stress averaged 9.96 ± 8.418, falling within the normal to mild range. Among the respondents, 33.9% exhibited severe to very severe anxiety symptoms, while 16% showed severe to very severe depression symptoms. We also found a positive correlation between workplace fatigue and emotional health among gaming employees: the higher the level of workplace fatigue, the poorer the emotional health, and vice versa. There was no correlation between work adjustment measures and workplace fatigue. However, work adjustment measures were related to emotional health and could predict it, with more adjustments correlating to better emotional health. Finally, in terms of stress coping, the use of emotional expression methods showed a negative correlation with emotional health and workplace fatigue, indicating that the more these methods were employed, the better the emotional health and the lower the workplace fatigue. Leisure activities and online gambling categories can reduce both personal and work-related fatigue. However, online gambling and physical gambling can increase symptoms of depression and anxiety among gaming employees, while online gambling can also increase stress symptoms. The study recommends that gaming companies and relevant departments provide on-the-job training for employees, enhance skills to cope with stress, establish mental health indicators, and regularly evaluate employees to implement individualized measures aimed at improving workplace fatigue and emotional health. The results of this study can provide valuable insights for policymakers and the management of gaming establishments in Macau to formulate relevant policies to reduce workplace fatigue among gaming employees and improve their emotional health, thereby enhancing their working environment and career development. 博彩業一直是澳門的龍頭產業，是澳門主要的職業行業之一， 2023年博彩從業員佔澳門就業人數18.2%，是澳門主要的就業勞動人口。研究顯示博彩從業員的工作壓力很大，而工作壓力會直接影響職業疲勞，也可能引發焦慮和抑鬱。職場疲勞和情緒健康不但影響個人生理和心理問題，還會影響其家庭和工作，以及人際關係，因此，他們的情緒健康和職場疲勞值得社會大眾關注。 本研究旨在探討博彩從業員工作調整措施，壓力應對方法、情緒健康、職場疲勞以及它們的相關性。研究以澳門博彩從業員為研究對象，採用量化方式進行，以非隨機抽樣方法，在2023年10月至12月向澳門六大博企管理人員發送電子問卷，最終回收問卷563份，男性佔45.6%，女性佔54.4%。研究使用SPSS 23 統計軟件進行量化分析，資料首先作描述性統計分析、再以獨立樣本t檢定、其次以單因數變異數（ANOVA）、最後以Pearson相關係數和迴歸分析檢定數據。 研究發現，博彩從業員的性別、年齡、教育程度、婚姻狀況、輪班模式和每月薪酬與壓力應對方法呈現差異。性別、年齡、教育程度、婚姻狀況、居住狀況、工作年資、工作職位和每月薪酬與職場疲勞有差異。年齡、教育程度、婚姻狀況與情緒健康有差異。博彩從業員在工作調整上，放親子假最多佔67.1%，其次放無薪假佔54.2%，被調職佔9.8%。個人疲勞平均數為40.90±23.125分及工作疲勞平均數40.62±21.405分最高，其次是服務對象疲勞平均數為36.65±21.056分，工作過度投入平均數為24.22±18.987分。抑鬱平均數為10.60±8.974分屬於輕度至中度水平；焦慮平均數為11.26±8.567分，屬於中度至重度水平；壓力平均數為9.96±8.418分，屬於正常至輕度範圍。當中有33.9%的人士的焦慮徵狀顯示出嚴重和非常嚴重程度，而有16%的受訪者的抑鬱徵狀呈現嚴重和非常嚴重程度。我們還發現，博彩從業員的職場疲勞與情緒健康存在正相關，職場疲勞程度越高，情緒健康越差，反之亦然。工作調整措施與職場疲勞沒有相關性。然而工作調整措施與情緒健康存在關係，並可以預測情緒健康，工作調整越多，情緒健康越好。最後，在壓力應對上，傾訴類別與情緒健康和職場疲勞呈現負相關，並有預測效果，亦即傾訴類別使用的方法得分越多，情緒健康越好，職場疲勞也越低。休閒類別和網上博彩類別能減低個人和工作疲勞。網上博彩類別、實體博彩類別會增加博彩從業員的抑鬱、焦慮徵狀，而網上博彩類別會增加壓力徵狀。研究建議博企及相關部門為員工提供在職培訓，加強技能應對壓力，制定精神健康指標並定期為員工評估，因應個別化推出措施，改善職場疲勞和情緒健康。 本研究的結果能為政策制定者和澳門幸運博彩娛樂場管理部門提供有價值的見解，制定相關政策，以減低博彩從業員的職場疲勞和改善他們的情緒健康，改善他們的工作環境和職業發展。

The current study aimed to analyse the differences in the internalising problems including anxious/depressed, withdrawn-depressed and somatic complaints, from the perspective of parents and high school students. Considering varying levels of academic achievement. Additionally, the gender differences in the level of internalising problems will also be examined. Finally, we analysed the different perspectives of parents and high school students according to internalising problems. The Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) was used for data collection in Macao. The sample consisted of 698 high school students (316 males and 382 females). There were no significant differences in internalising problems according to three levels of academic achievement (low, average and high) from the perspective of parents and high school students. Furthermore, from the high school students' perspectives, adolescent females present more interesting problems than males. Finally, the findings indicate a low agreement between parents and students concerning internalising problems. It is suggested that parents should learn and explore different parenting styles in order to reduce their children's internalising problems.

The present study explored the effect of organisational culture on turnover intentions of full-time workers in financial sector in Macao, and the mediating effect of organisational commitment. The following research questions were examined in this study: (1) how do organisational cultural values affect workers’ turnover intentions? (2) what is the role of organisational commitment in the relationships between organisational cultural values and turnover intentions? A cross-sectional design was used by applying a self-response bilingual (Chinese and English) questionnaire to a sample of 123 full-time workers in the financial sector in Macao. Results show that the organisational culture factors with a stronger impact on turnover are entrepreneurial, hierarchical and team cultural values. Entrepreneurial values (ßa=-.323, p=.004), followed by team values (ßa=-.260, p=.011), show the strongest effects and a negative relationship with turnover intentions. Meanwhile, hierarchical values (ßa=.208, p=.012) show the weakest effect and a positive relationship with turnover intentions. Regarding the affective commitment in the relationships between organisational cultural values and turnover intentions, the values with the strongest impact were entrepreneurial, followed by hierarchical and team values. Affective commitment fully mediates the effects of entrepreneurial and hierarchical values and partially mediates the effect of team values on turnover intentions. Regarding theoretical implications, our findings seem consistent with the social exchange theory. Regarding practical implications, we discuss some strategies to promote entrepreneurial and team values and prevent hierarchical values as strategies to increase affective commitment and decrease turnover in the financial sector.

In the era of data, Internet use has become the most forward-looking way of education and interaction for children. How does parental upbringing and Internet cognition in the family education environment affect children's Internet use behavior? The different influences derived from parental intervention. The different influences of parental intervention models are also of concern to parents. Children's Internet use is not only related to personal growth, but also involves family education models and effects. Most of the past research has focused on children rather than parents’ opinions and feelings. Through this research gap, we explore parents’ own opinions and evaluations on their children’s upbringing and Internet cognition. The research aims to expand the attention of policy advocates, social sectors and parents on issues related to parenting in Macao. During the period from April to June this year, quantitative research and statistical analysis will be used to provide targeted and convenient information to primary school students in Macao. Parents of children in high school and high school were taken as targets. Questionnaires were filled out in person and collected on online platforms. A total of 224 samples were collected. The study will further discover the relationship between parental upbringing and Internet cognition and children's Internet behavior. Parents' involvement in their children's Internet behavior may have an impact on these associations. Derived intermediary effects. Through data collection and research analysis, regression analysis is conducted on variables to determine the relationship between variables, explore the family upbringing and Internet cognition factors behind the Internet behavior of Macao children, and increase the theoretical and practical reference basis for parents. Provide reference for practical promotion of education, social services and family relations, and improve parents' insight into their children's online behavior. The research results emphasize that there is a correlation between parenting styles and children's online behavior. Authoritative parenting represents a higher defensive ability of children's online behavior, while authoritarian and permissive parenting represent weak defensive capabilities. The results also show that parents' involvement in online behavior is a pathway in relationships and affects the relationship between parenting and children's online behavior to a certain extent. Since there are not many related studies in Macao, the survey results are conducive to enriching the data on education, Internet cognition and Internet behavior in Macao, and can provide relevant people with beneficial data support to better understand the education methods in Macao. and family relationships. 數據化時代下，網絡使用成為子女最前瞻性的教育和互動方式，在家庭教育環境下的父母教養和網絡認知如何影響著子女網絡使用行為，在父母介入干預下所衍生的不同影響力，當中父母介入模式的不同影響亦是父母所關注的。子女網絡使用不僅關乎個人成長亦牽涉到家庭教育模式和效果。過往研究大多傾向子女身上而非父母觀點和感受上，透過本研究缺口探討父母自身對子女的教養、網絡認知等看法和評價。 研究旨在探討本澳子女網絡行為背後的家庭教養和網絡認知因素，增加父母在理論和實踐上的參考依據，提供教育、社會服務和家庭關係等的實務推動上的參考，提高父母對子女網絡行為的洞察力。本論文透過今年4至6月期間以量化研究。以有目的性和方便性向本澳育有初小至高中子女的父母作為對象，以當面填寫及網絡平台收集問卷，共收取樣本224份，研究將進一步發現父母教養和網絡認知與子女網絡行為的關係，而父母介入子女網絡行為對這些關聯可能衍生之中介效果。透過數據整埋和研究分析等在變數上進行迴歸分析，確定變數之間的關係。 研究結果強調，父母教養方式與子女網絡行為具有相關關係，權威型教養代表著子女網絡行為的防禦能力較高，相反專制型和寬容型教養則呈現防禦力較弱。結果亦顯示，父母介入網絡行為是關係中的途徑，一定程度下影響著父母教養和子女網絡行為的關係。由於本澳相關的研究並不豐富，調查結果有利於本澳在教養、網絡認知和網絡行為上的數據資料豐富，可以為相關人士提供有利的數據支援，更好地瞭解本澳的教養方式和家庭關係。再者，可透過研究結果擴大政策提倡者、社會業界和父母等對本澳父母教養等相關問題的關注。

澳門於1994年頒佈《家庭政策綱要法》，旨在支持家庭提升工作、房屋等的生活條件。澳門特區政府於2020年中修改《勞動關係法》，增加對家庭的支援，以回應澳門的發展需要。回顧有關工作與家庭衝突的文獻，大多針對弱勢家庭作探討，忽略雙職家庭也同樣面對困境。本研究之目的是為探討本澳雙職家庭的工作與家庭衝突情況，並在家庭友善政策推行不足的情況下，雙職家庭為求達致工作與家庭能夠平衡的協調策略。 　　為了作出深入的了解，本研究採用質性研究，邀請了20位雙職家庭的父母作為研究對象，與他們通過半結構式訪談收集資料。獲得資料後，以紮根理論進行編碼及分析。 　　 本次研究發現有利於平衡雙職家庭的工作與家庭，與三大要有密切關係，包括1)家庭協調與資源；2)時間管理及3)社會支持。雙職父母運用自身家庭的資源協調模式，訂立出屬於個別家庭獨有的時間管理模式及分工；工作單位的友善氛圍及相應的彈性工作協調措施，也扶助了雙職家庭，達致家庭與工作中取得較為平衡的狀態。研究者根據以上的研究發現，為優化家庭友善政策作出一些建議，使雙職家庭能減少工作與家庭衝突的發生。

The current quantitative study aims to understand/investigate the perception of Macao society towards couple therapy and therapists and the perception of Macao's professionals working with couples about couple therapy services in Macao. Given the small sample of this study of professionals who work as therapists for couples in Macao, this indicates that there is not a large number of them. The result of the research indicates also a general positive attitude of professionals towards clients but also indicates that couple therapy needs improvement. The sample used to measure the society shows that the society manifested moderate positive attitudes toward couple therapy. However, the findings may reveal that there are still weak points of societal knowledge and contact for couples therapy services. The outcome manifested that Macao has limited literature about Family and Couple Therapy which may be relevant to understand the poor knowledge of the society related to this field. The current study suggests the elaboration of future studies about Couple Therapy services and about the concept of couple therapy to promote therapeutic service to couples and academic researchers that promote governmental support to offer professionals validation.

This thesis explores the impact of the exploration of methadone treatment programs in heroin-dependent the perspective from use and the quality of life. The primary objective of this research is to investigate how different types of participants that methadone will affect their quality of life. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining quantitative surveys with qualitative interviews to gather comprehensive data from a sample of 59 participants, 8 female, and 51 male, for the questionnaire to know about their quality of life and well-being. A structured questionnaire was used to quantitatively assess participants' quality of life, well-being, and satisfaction with methadone treatment. The survey included standardized scales measuring various dimensions of quality of life, such as physical health, mental health, social functioning, and overall life satisfaction. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining quantitative and qualitative research methods to provide a comprehensive understanding of treatment efficacy and genetic influences. In the course of this research on the impact of methadone treatment programs on the quality of life for heroin-dependent individuals, several key findings emerged from both the quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews. To overall improvement in quality of life the participants reported significant improvements in various dimensions of quality of life after starting methadone treatment. On average, scores for emotional well-being, social functioning, and physical health showed marked increases over the treatment period

With the increasing number of tourists coming to Macau after the three years of lockdown period, more quality services are expected. However, organisations are now facing a big challenge in maintaining sufficient employee, managing their employees’ performance and productivity. Employee engagement plays an important role because it will not only affect individual performance but also the performance of an organisation. This is the first study to provide evidence of the engagement level of general employees working in Macau, and of its relationships with job autonomy, organisational justice and organisational culture. The study results revealed that the levels of vigour, dedication and absorption of employees working full time in Macau were slightly above the mid-point value 3 of the scale, with about 30% of employees were found less engaged or disengaged. Criteria autonomy, method autonomy, schedule autonomy, organisational justice and collectivism culture were positively and significantly correlated with all three dimensions of employee engagement (i.e. vigour, dedication and absorption). There is no significant negative relationship between power distance culture and employee engagement. Method autonomy was the strongest positive predictor of all three dimensions of employee engagement, followed by organisational justice, while collectivism culture was a positive predictor for vigour and absorption. The implications for management will be discussed in terms of organisational support and communication

The purpose of this study was to explore the correlation between empathy, love maintenance behaviors, relationship satisfaction in a convenience sample of young adult lovers in Macau. Participants were N = 183 (84 males, 99 females) recruited from the social media platform (e.g. Instagram, WeChat, Facebook). Firstly, young adult lovers who tended to have high relationship satisfaction and empathy are tended to use positive love maintenance behaviors but less likely to use negative love maintenance behaviors. Besides, there were differences found by gender in empathy (affective empathy & total empathy), some dimensions of positive love maintenance behaviors (openness & advice), and negative love maintenance behaviors (causing jealousy, destructive conflict & negative love maintenance behaviors in general). Lastly, the findings in this study supported the hypotheses that love maintenance behaviors mediated the relationship between relationship satisfaction and empathy among young adult lovers in Macau. It was revealed that there was higher satisfaction in younger adult lovers in younger group (18-24 years) compared to older groups (32-40 years). For empathy, it correlated positively with relationship satisfaction and most positive love maintenance behaviors, but also with certain negative love maintenance behaviors. Positive love maintenance behaviors mediate the relationship between relationship satisfaction and empathy, highlighting their critical role in maintaining healthy relationships

The adverse impact of sleep problems on children and adolescents’ health and development raises concern in the community. Although some studies have examined the association of sleep problems with behavioural problems and academic performance, few have been done in Macau, especially for the children population and regarding academic performance. Hence, the primary purpose of the present study was to identify sleep problems of children and adolescents in Macau and explore its relationship with behavioural problems and academic performance. 948 participants (466 children and 482 adolescents) from Macau were included in the study. Data was collected using the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) forms: CBCL, TRF and YSR. Children sleep problems were assessed by the reports of mother and father, in addition self-report was also included to measure adolescents sleep problems. Behavioural problems were reported by mother, father and teacher for children, as well as self-report for adolescents. Academic performance was the average of teacher’s rating of all academic subjects. The prevalence of sleep problems was 10.1% in children and 17.4% in adolescents. The results showed significant difference between children’s sleep problems and their mother and father-reported total behavioural problems, but not with teacher-reported total behavioural problems. However, whereas the t-test found that adolescent’s sleep problems significantly predicted all informants reported total behavioural problems, the chi-square test found no significant relationship between the two factors in teacher’s ratings, suggesting that while adolescents who had more sleep problems did show a higher frequency of total behavioural problems in the teacher’s perspective, but they may not be severe enough to be considered clinical. In addition, significant association between academic performance and sleep problems were only observed in children but not in adolescents; and no significant relationship was found between sleep problems and grade retention. Findings provided further support for some associations of sleep problems with behavioural problems and academic performance. In general, the findings of Macau were similar to those in other countries. Given that chronic sleep problems create multiple negative consequences to students’ lives, practical implications are provided to help lower it through the collaboration between parties, education about sleep hygiene and the development of healthy sleeping habits. Keywords: sleep problems; behavioural problems; academic performance; children; adolescents

This dissertation investigates the relationship between nature exposure in the workplace, job satisfaction, and creativity among full-time employees in Macao. The study aims to examine the impact of exposure to greenery and sunlight on job creativity and job satisfaction, as well as the mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship between workplace nature exposure and creativity. Drawing on existing literature, the study proposes the following hypotheses: (H1) Workplace nature exposure, including greenery and sunlight, positively influences job creativity. (H2) Workplace nature exposure, including greenery and sunlight, positively affects job satisfaction. (H3) Job satisfaction mediates the positive relationship between workplace nature exposure (specifically, greenery and sunlight) and job creativity. A quantitative methodology utilizing cross-sectional self-response questionnaires was employed for data collection. The measures used were pre-validated and translated into Chinese through a rigorous process of translation and back-translation. The final sample consisted of 450 full-time workers in Macao. The results highlight the significance of integrating natural elements, such as greenery and sunlight, into the work environment to promote a more favourable setting for innovation and the overall well-being of employees. The implications of these findings, both in theoretical and practical terms, are thoroughly discussed. By examining the relationships, this study contributes to the understanding of how the physical environment influences employee well-being and performance. The findings offer valuable insights for organisations and policymakers in designing workspaces that foster creativity and job satisfaction among employees

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a public health emergency happening worldwide. It brought tremendous impacts to the global economy and people’s mental health (Jiaqi Xiong et al., 2020). Many people suffered physically and psychologically with the sudden arrival of COVID-19. Among the different age groups, studies identified that undergraduate students as a vulnerable group with a higher risk of mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety (Silva et al., 2022; King et al., 2022; Mansor & Ahmad, 2022). This qualitative study collected data from six focus group interviews with undergraduate students studying in Macao. Thematic analysis was used to understand the COVID-19 impact on students' mental well-being and coping strategies, as well as to explore the protective and risk factors that contribute to students’ mental well-being in the local context of Macao. Results showed four themes with 15 contributory sub-themes: COVID-19’s impact on students’ mental well-being, key impacting sources, coping strategies, and risk and protective factors. This study provides a picture of the mental health condition of undergraduate students during the zero-COVID period in Macao and raises an urgent call for extra attention to university students’ mental health during crises, showing the social and mental needs of undergraduates. This research also uniquely contributes insight into how the dysfunctionality of families could be a significant risk factor for students’ mental health during the crisis, which is rarely found in other COVID-19 studies. This research suggests a promotion of future programs or workshops that would strengthen and benefits students’ relationship with their family. Future research could explore the family function in Macao and its relationship with students’ mental well-being

The aim of the current study was to explore the relationship between perceived organisational support and co-worker support, with turnover intentions, and the role of perceived job alternatives. Turnover intentions have been a global issue for employers. In this study, we would like to investigate whether the previous global findings could also be applied in Macao. Although some similar researches were conducted in Macau, it’s not exactly the same as ours. We would like to further focus on the front-line and non-frontline group. A quantitative methodology was applied using a cross-sectional design through an online questionnaire disseminated via social media and completed by 339 full-time workers in Macao. We found that only perceived organisational support, not co-worker support, showed a negative relationship on turnover intentions. the effect seems weak for the general sample but stronger for non-frontline workers. Concerning the moderating effect of perceived job alternatives, the analysis confirmed a significant interaction to predict turnover intentions. We discussed that employees may feel trapped in their current positions due to limited job prospects elsewhere. However, employees who perceive high levels of organisational support are more likely to remain loyal and engaged even when external alternatives are scarce. Practical implications include that it might be beneficial for both employees and organisations if organisations in Macao could develop effective human resources policies and retention strategies to enhance employee retention and mitigate the negative consequences of turnover. In this study, we confirmed a negative relationship between POS and turnover intentions, but still, the effect seems weak. The effect of POS on turnover intentions seems much stronger for non-frontline employees. We confirmed co-worker support had a negative correlation with turnover intentions, which was not enough to predict turnover simply based on co-worker support. Moreover, Perceived job alternatives are confirmed to have significant interaction with POS but non-significant interaction with co-worker support on turnover intentions

The rapid development of counselling began after World War II. Meanwhile, texting services became available in the 1980s. Texting has been widely applied in both health area and mental health areas. A chatbot is a specific type of artificial intelligence (AI) that can have conversations with humans through texting. The combination of counselling and texting is known as chat counselling. The effectiveness of chatbots in alleviating psychological symptoms was supported by scientific research. Nonetheless, people hold different perceptions towards chatbots. Some common factors in counselling, including empathy and warmth, were also important in evaluating AI chatbots. Other important factors included acceptability, satisfaction and trust. The current study is the first to use AI as a counsellor. This study investigates people’s perceptions of human and AI counsellors (ChatGPT) and whether people can differentiate between human and AI. Participants needed to rate the counsellors in three scenarios: the original scenario taken from a training book, the human counsellor scenario generated from a text conversation with a human counsellor and the AI counsellor scenario produced by texting with ChatGPT, which acts as the counsellor. Prompts used to generate conversation with ChatGPT are included. The dialogues were parts of the conversations containing similar client responses and were presented using the WhatsApp interface. Questionnaires were delivered both online and in paper form. Results demonstrated that people’s ratings of human counsellors and AI counsellors did not differ in perceived empathy, acceptability, and satisfaction. While the warmth and trustworthiness of AI counsellors were perceived to be higher than those of human counsellors. On the other hand, people were unable to differentiate between human and AI counsellors in uncertain conditions. Younger people and the general population are more accurate in identifying between humans and AI, while people above 40 and psychologists or counsellors are less capable of doing so. The current study supports the potential of utilising ChatGPT in counselling. Having people experience and evaluate real chat counselling with human and AI counsellors can potentially eliminate some limitations of the current studies. Future studies can investigate how prior knowledge contributes to AI detection and examine AI counsellors' efficiency in longitudinal studies

Macau is often affected by typhoons and rainstorms, especially during summer and autumn, there are also an increasing number of natural disasters due to the current climate change. On top of that, in 2017, tremendous devastation was caused by Typhoon Hato. However, there is only limited research on the psychological impact of natural disasters on Macau residents. This study aims to develop culturally appropriate psychometric instruments to assess fears and emergency reaction in children and adolescents from Macau. By applying this instruments to Macau children and adolescents, the study aims to assess the level of preparedness of children and adolescents in emergencies, fill the research gap, and contribute to future development of courses and training programmes to prepare them for future natural disasters. Specifically, this study aims to adopt the Emergency Reaction Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA) and the Short Form of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (FSSC-R-SF) and to examine their psychometric properties with a sample of children and adolescents in Macau. Firstly, the ERQ-CA and FSSC-R-SF were translated into Chinese, and 6 children aged 8-9 were invited to take the Think-Aloud-Protocols (TAP). The content of the questionnaires was suitable for children and adolescents. Secondly, the ERQ-CA and FSSC-R-SF were administered to 262 children and adolescents aged 9-15 who were studying in non-higher education institutions in Macau. The questionnaires were analysed for their reliability and validity. With some adjustments, the two Macau versions of the instruments showed satisfactory psychometric properties regarding construct validity, reliability, and convergent validity. Recommendations for the practical use of the ERQ-CA and the FSSC-R-SF in Macau and future directions are presented

Public transportation is an important component of urban infrastructure and has a significant impact on the convenience and well-being of citizens. In Macau, with rapid economic development and urbanization, an efficient land transport system is essential to support sustainable development. Previous research has primarily focused on the sustainable development of the transportation sector in Macau, with little attention given to studies concerning employees. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of transformational leadership on employee work performance in the land transportation sector in Macau, with a particular focus on the mediating role of employee work engagement. Through a quantitative research methodology, this study utilized an online questionnaire to collect data from 194 employees from the bus and LRT sectors in order to achieve the research objectives. Convenience sampling and snowball sampling methods were used in this study to analyze the data through SPSS software to assess the relationship between transformational leadership, employee work engagement and employee performance. The findings reveal that there is a significant positive relationship between transformational leadership and employee performance, as well as a significant positive relationship between transformational leadership and employee work engagement. In addition, employee work engagement played a partial mediating role between transformational leadership and employee performance. The findings suggest that transformational leadership not only directly enhances employee performance, but also indirectly enhances employee performance by increasing employee work engagement. These insights have important practical implications, indicating that adopting transformational leadership behaviors can effectively enhance employee engagement and performance, thereby improving organizational effectiveness. Specifically, managers in Macau's transportation sector should pay attention to and cultivate transformational leadership behaviors in order to enhance employee work engagement and performance, and thus achieve higher organizational effectiveness and building a strong team

In Macau, gaming is a pillar industry. The job performance of the employees is a determining factor for gaming and integrated resorts’ ability to improve their competitiveness in an evolving environment. Therefore, organizational behavior is an important topic for gaming and integrated resorts. In view of social exchange theory, this study takes the employees of the six gaming and integrated resorts in Macau as sampling. The study would be overviewing how psychological contract fulfillment affects their organizational citizenship behavior in the organization, and relationship between work engagement and their abusive supervision in the six gaming and integrated resorts employees in the Macau gaming and related industry. This study takes psychological contract fulfillment as the independent variable, organizational citizenship behavior as the dependent variable, work engagement as the mediating variable, abusive supervision as the moderating variable. Data was collected through random online questionnaire research method and 257 valid questionnaires were obtained. SPSS statistical software applied for reliability and validity analysis, Pearson correlation and regression analysis. The conclusions are listed in following: (1) Psychological contract fulfillment has a partial positive impact on organizational citizenship behavior ; (2) Psychological contract fulfillment has a partial positive impact on work engagement; (3) Work engagement has a positive impact on organizational citizenship behavior; (4) Work engagement has a positive mediating effect between psychological contract fulfillment and organizational citizenship behavior; (5) Abusive supervision has no moderating effect between psychological contract fulfillment and work engagement; (6) Abusive supervision has no moderating effect between work engagement and organizational citizenship behavior