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What strategies did educators use to cultivate a sense of belonging, self-competence, and agency among students with Special Educational Needs (SEN)? Did educators face any challenges in implementing these strategies? Were the findings of this study specific to the inclusive school in Macau, or can they be generalised to other educational settings? This study brings to light educators' inner perspective of students' sense of belonging, self-competence, and agency. Specifically, it aims to uncover the academic and emotional needs of students with SEN and the importance that these may have in promoting a positive educational experience. By gathering the perspectives of educators in an inclusive school in Macau who work side-by-side with these students daily, we can understand how essential these elements are in contributing to their overall development. The purposive sampling approach was used in this study to further investigate various experiences and perspectives of educators within an inclusive classroom setting. The educators interviewed provided insight into an inclusive classroom with students with SEN in full-time attendance. The educators sampled in this study facilitated the search for strategies, challenges and support systems to cultivate a sense of belonging, self-competence and agency, among students with SEN. Findings showed educators' understanding of the importance of students with SEN's sense of belonging, self-competence and agency. The educators' awareness of their students' interactions with peers, and the educators themselves, was prominent, revealing how the sense of belonging for students with SEN affected these relationships. Regarding students' sense of self-competence, according to educators, students with SEN had opportunities to showcase their confidence in specific classroom areas and to exercise independence in the classroom, within the set curriculum and lesson plans. In the findings, educators illuminated the importance of agency in students with SEN. However, they were apprehensive about changes in lesson plans, cultivating a fully independent classroom setting and providing choices to students with and without SEN. The study's implications highlight the educational practices and policies that effectively supplement students with SEN's academic and social environments. The findings of this study aim to guide curriculum developers, educators and parental figures in fostering positive learning experiences for students with diverse learning needs

Muslim community is one of the minority groups in Macau SAR China. Muslims are an interesting group in terms of research because of its diversity in respect to language, nationality, social status, and education level. Groups of people migrate for various reasons such as religion, politics, economy, and education. Individuals experience the age in between nineteen and twenty-four, which fall in the category of youth. Studies of Muslim youths have gained more attention in scholarship, statistical data, and research. The study seeks to understand Muslim students’ life and the needs of this minority group and explores how Muslim students perceive Islam and their own ability to cope with school related cultural pressures through qualitative, phenomenological approach, and focuses on exploring the common experiences of Muslim students in this city. This study used a conceptual framework based on critical race theory (CRT). We use in-depth interviews of five Muslim youth, ages between 19 and 24, to investigate their school life experiences and Islamic practices. We also administered questionnaires and field note to understand their social mobility, social capital and to gain a deeper understanding of their daily lives. A thematic analysis of the interview data produced the following themes: 1) Social mobility; 2) Social capital Relationship with friends; 3) Discrimination and micro-aggressions; and 4) Religion Identity. The study found that the Muslim status of the participants did not have a significant impact on their school experience, as they were able to find accommodation in their practice of religion and school life. However, the multiple identities of the participants as Macau citizens and their ethnic backgrounds did affect their social capital and sense of belonging. The study also examined the experiences of the participants within Macau society, including social factors such as racism. The results indicated that language and ethnicity were factors that hindered their integration into the community. In addition to the original themes, the analysis of the participants' stories in this research revealed two counter-narratives that challenge prevailing narratives. These counter-narratives include the deconstruction of oppressed Muslim women's narratives and the influence of local mainstream religious schooling on Muslim students' religious loyalty. These alternative narratives provide new insights into the lives of Muslim youths and challenge conventional stories. The findings of this study have important implications for educators, academics, and members of both Muslim and non-Muslim communities. By allowing youth to establish broader connections with society and increasing their motivation to participate in and contribute to the community, this study highlights the need for inclusive educational environments that support the diverse identities of students. Furthermore, the study provides young Muslims with a voice in society, empowering them to challenge dominant narratives and promote counter narratives that reflect their experiences and perspectives to meet critical race theory ethos of ongoing active struggle

China’s economy has entered a critical period of structural adjustment. The developing green industries and the transforming traditional industries have increasing demand for finance, making ""green finance"" increasingly essential. While China's green finance is in the development stage, some newly developed zones serve as pilots for the launch of green financial products. An example is Tongzhou District of Beijing, which aims to expand Beijing’s space, promote the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, and explore the optimal development mode of the densely populated economic areas. This thesis aims to study consumer acceptance of green financial technology (fintech) in the case of Tongzhou District. This thesis extended the commonly applied theoretical model for the problem of study, the Energy Augmented Technology Acceptance Model (EA-TAM), to analyze the impacts of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward use, intention, usage intention, environmental awareness, and green knowledge on the acceptance of green fintech in Tongzhou District. The survey collected 403 valid responses from people that had been active in Tongzhou District. The quantitative analysis is based on structural equation modeling techniques, including reliability analysis, validity analysis, standard method deviation test, and hypothesis testing. The analytical results show that all the hypothesized factors are significant. In addition, the sample is divided into different gender groups and education groups, so that the impacts of the socio-demographic characteristics can be explored. Males’ environmental awareness and green knowledge are insignificant in determining their acceptance of green fintech. The low-educated group’s acceptance of green fintech does not significantly depend on environmental awareness and perceived usefulness

The present study aimed to analyse the differences in the internalising problems (anxiety, depression, somatic complaints), assessed by different informants (teachers and students), according to the level of academic achievement and school adaptation level in secondary students. Furthermore, we examine the gender difference in the level of internalising symptoms. Finally, we analyzed the differences between teacher-rated and adolescents' self-reported internalising symptoms. The Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) was used for collecting informants’ data. The sample consisted of 882 secondary students (349 males and 473 females), while 50 came from public schools and 772 from private schools. No significant differences are found in internalising problems according to the level of academic achievement from both teachers’ and students’ perspectives. Generally, students who are well-adapted to the school context have the least symptoms of internalising problems compared to average and less-adapted groups from the teachers' perspective. In addition, from students’ perspectives, adolescent females present more internalising problems than males. Finally, teachers rated fewer internalising problems when compared to the students. In conclusion, the low level of awareness of teachers towards the internalising problems of students arouse attention. It is suggested that teachers should attend professional development programs in order to address to students’ internalising problems

Teacher turnover is a global issue that has not received much research attention in Macau despite studies indicating that teachers in the region experience high levels of stress and burnout. Given that private school teachers account for a significant proportion (88.6%) of the non-tertiary education system in Macau, this qualitative study focused on this specific group who voluntarily resigned from their positions. Through in-depth interviews with 13 former teachers from different kindergartens, primary, and secondary schools, the research identified 50 reasons categorized into 15 factors under three categories. Although schoolrelated factors account for the most, personal reasons were found to be the primary driver. The findings of the study highlight the complex nature of teacher turnover which can be attributed to both single and multiple factors, in both direct and indirect forms. The factors could also interplay in both unidirectional and mutual relationships. A conceptual framework for teacher turnover in Macau was developed to address the 15 contributing factors and the complex interplay of these factors. This study could fill the gap in the literature and serve as a valuable resource for policymakers and school leaders seeking to reduce teacher attrition rates in the region

The primary research focus of this dissertation revolves around the concept of a "plugin" program. It raises a fundamental question about whether a building can attain long-term usability through metabolic flexibility (plugin units and their reconfigurable space), promoting adaptability (accommodating various program transfers), and meeting sustainable future criteria. Specifically, this dissertation inquires whether this "plugin" building design, with its reconfigurable units and metabolic system, can adapt to different spatial programs and become sustainable architecture

Although there is a substantial body of research on the second language acquisition of adults, there is little specific research on the learning experiences of senior and very senior adults. This thesis investigates and discovers the experience of being a senior from a traditional Confucian Heritage Culture aged between 55 and 75 years old, learning English as a foreign language through various interventions, including, the introduction of an adapted version of synthetic phonics to improve pronunciation, alongside the use of andragogical and geragogical principles to accommodate and encourage the development of agency and self-directed learning. This research adopted a case study methodology to investigate the lived experiences of seniors, and investigated the participants’ subjective constructions of the situation, learning experiences, challenges, circumstances, needs, and wants with regard to the situation. Therefore, an open and exploratory case study design was selected to understand the participants and report the findings. Furthermore, this thesis identifies the challenges faced by senior and very senior learners who are post-work and post-family rearing to make recommendations from the findings to complement, enhance and empower their learning

Online shopping in Macau has developed rapidly in recent years. And the success of Taobao is significantly hard to not notice. Its’ sales are breaking the record every year. However, there are a lot of negative comments towards Taobao. Various researches and data have shown that live-streaming is one of the biggest contributions towards Taobao’s sales and record breaking. This research aims to investigate deeply to understand how Taobao counters those issues and the role of live-streaming in relation to it. Based on a review of the literature in the relevant areas , qualitative methodology is adopted after thorough considerations. A small sample size of 10 were selected to conduct semi-structured in-depth interviews and the participants agreed to respond to answer the original interview questions and the follow-up questions. Analysis of the responses demonstrated e-customer service is the most influential variable towards repurchase intention. Live-streaming strategy can effectively and directly reduce constomer’s uncertainty of products and increase the efficiency of responsiveness. And product uncertainty and responsiveness speed are variables that impact purchase intention. The result demonstrated live-streaming's effectiveness in combating multiple negative aspects of Taobao and strengthening the positive aspects. On this basis, live-streaming is an impactful method to combat Taobao. In addition, e-service in terms of sufficiency of the staff’s communication skill have been found important towards customer’s satisfaction. A gap related to such an issue has been recommended in the further research recommendations along with other factors or sample groups, which are needed to explore deeply in the future

School-age children and adolescents face several psychological conditions frequently associated with negative consequences on behavioral and mental problems. Their level of mental resilience may affect their responses to academic or interpersonal issues and coping with challenges, which in turn affects their mental health. This study aims to characterize the current status of the psychopathology and resilience of secondary students and to analyze the relationship between psychopathology and resilience in a sample of 80 girls aged 12–18 was selected by cluster sampling from one private secondary school with six grades in Macao. In this study, we used the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) to assess behavioral and emotional problems and the Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescents to assess resilience. A total of 78 valid questionnaires were obtained for CBCL, 78 for TRF, 80 for YSR, and 77 for Resilience Scale and data were analyzed by using SPSS. The results reveal that clinical prevalence of Total Problems (YSR, 27.5% > CBCL, 19.2% > TRF, 15.4%) and Internalizing Problems (YSR, 22.5% > CBCL, 17.9% > TRF, 11.5%) from the perspective of adolescents was higher than that from the perspectives of parents and teachers. Senior students exhibited higher frequency on the borderline clinical range than Junior students. (χ2(2, N=80) =14.56, p<.001). The average score of resilience is 3.24±0.51, which is above the middle level. Regarding the YSR scale and Resilience scale, we found that the score of Affect Control is significantly negatively correlated with the score of Internalizing Problems (r = -.354, p<.01). Family Support is also significantly negatively correlated with the score of Internalizing Problems (r = -.302, p<.01). Good affect control and family support can reduce various emotional and behavioral problems. The results of the study found the resilience level can negatively affect internalizing problem behaviors and externalizing problem behaviors. The results are promising and can give clues for preventing and promoting measures regarding mental health issues to both family and school education contexts, as creating a sustainable development strategy of improving adolescents’ mental resilience quality

Technology is an essential and valuable tool nowadays. New technology and innovations are introduced to the public day by day. Metaverse will be a new trend, as the Macau government has been trying to promote this technology since the COVID-19 pandemic is still here. Before this technology goes deeply to the public, this paper attempts to examine the consumer’s perspective of Metaverse and understand the cognition of Macau people about Metaverse. And bring out what factors and conditions will make them accept this technology. A qualitative research method will address the questions and problem to understand consumer perspectives towards this technology. Entrepreneurs, managers, and professionals will be invited to take part in this research. Ten interviews will be carried out in this research for data analysis, which may provide a board overview of this technology in Macau and give recommendations to local entrepreneurs. In conclusion, consumers think it is still not a well-developed technology and is not globally used at this stage. In contrast, if this technology is ready-to-use, it will be a helpful assistant in their businesses. They expect the metaverse to be fully developed in ten or more years

This study aims to investigate gender-differentiated parenting and the factors that affect parent-adolescent relationships in Macao families. The study will address the following research questions: A) Does gender-differentiated parenting exist in Macao families? B) How does the academic level of parents relate to conflict resolution and acceptance levels? C) How does the length of time parents have lived together relate to conflict resolution and acceptance levels? D) How does the sibling position of adolescents relate to conflict resolution and acceptance levels? The study employed a quantitative research approach with a purposive and convenient sample of parents with children aged between 12 to 18 years old in Macao. The data were collected using the Parent-Child Interaction Questionnaire—Revised-Parent version (PACHIQ-R-P) through a questionnaire survey from May to August 2022. Out of the 172 completed questionnaires, seven were invalid, resulting in 165 valid questionnaires. The findings showed that gender differentiation in parenting was confirmed, with significant results showing that fathers had lower acceptance and conflict resolution levels when their child was a boy. Mothers showed similar acceptance and conflict resolution levels regardless of their child's gender. Furthermore, the study found that parents' acceptance of their children was influenced by their academic level, length of time living together, and the child's sibling position. This study is the first of its kind in Macao and could provide valuable insights for family and adolescent services in the region

Due to the expansion of the Internet and advancements in technology, e-commerce has been frequently and widely used nowadays. The popularity of online shopping continues to develop and become increasingly common, yet, the concept of impulsive buying has consistently drawn significant attention over the years. In order to fit into the current shopping trend, recognizing the needs and wants of online shoppers as well as providing appropriate approaches are essential tasks for companies to achieve. The question of how to attract consumers to make purchases has been a concern for a long time, and in fact, it is necessary to explore consumers’ online purchase decisions in relation to their impulse buying behavior. In accordance with current academic knowledge, the main objective of this study is to investigate factors that influence consumers' online impulsive buying behavior based on external stimuli (such as sales promotions and websites characteristics) and the elements of marketing mix strategy (product, price, place, and promotion). According to the analysis, the promotion strategy has been identified as the most significant influence on consumers’ decision to make an online impulsive purchase. Therefore, the findings from this study are beneficial for companies and marketers to build a framework in order to develop suitable and effective strategies in order to encourage and stimulate consumers' desire for purchases. Furthermore, the research applies the qualitative methodology by conducting semi-structured interviews with 11 consumers who have previously experienced an online impulse buying

Macao is a city of culture, and history and culture are the wealth of Macao. Over the centuries, the exchange and transmutation of Chinese and Western cultures have given Macao a unique cultural charm, and have also formed and preserved a considerable amount of cultural heritage. Cultural heritage has received increasing attention from all sectors of the community in the tourism industry in Macao, the promotion of the preservation and transmission of cultural heritage through tourism development has become a new issue in the tourism sector. As an independent art form in the urban public space, tile painting has both practical and aesthetic functions, and is a special vehicle for the convergence of multiple cultures in the urban cultural ecology. It is also a medium through which the city's cultural message can be fully disseminated. The paper presents a detailed analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of the development of Macao's cultural heritage tile murals, based on an introduction to the existing status of Macao's cultural heritage tile murals, using the SWOT analysis method, which provides a reference for Macao's cultural heritage tourism

This thesis mainly discusses and compares the human rights situation and the problems in China, the USA and the UK. Also, the thesis will give the solution of how to make the world's human rights situation more fairly. Because we sometimes listen to these countries use cruel ways to suppress the opponents from the news. So I think this will be very suitable for understanding the current human rights situation, problems and movements in these countries. This thesis mainly uses the secondary data analysis method to collect and analyse the data. After analysing the data, three main issues affecting human rights were identified. These issues are race, religion, and network privacy. Other important factors still influence human rights, but this dissertation focused on the three issues identified. Finally, I will give two to three recommendations to practice human rights more fairly. Although the step will be very small, we can greatly improve the fair human rights in the future

With the rapid urban development, Macao SAR has become one of regions with the with highest population density in the world, characterized by high traffic flow and dense building aggregations. Noise has become one of the major environmental problems in Macao. Besides having an impact on human health and wellbeing, noise pollution is known to impact ecological systems and the image of a place. Before proposing a plan to reduce noise pollution, it is necessary to have a general understanding of the current noise levels in Macao, how they have changed over time and the main noise pollution sources and environmental concerns. This dissertation relies on the publicly available data from DSPA (Macao Environmental Protection Bureau) monitoring stations concerning noise levels over the past decade. The main research goals were: 1) Characterize changes in noise levels from 2010 to 2021 during daytime, nighttime, and full-day from multiple noise stations located in Macao, Taipa, and Coloane Peninsula; and 2) associate changes in noise levels with potential factors such as location, number of residents/tourists, number of vehicles, among others. This work provides an important framework for future studies concerning noise monitoring and mitigation strategies

The purpose of the study was to explore the smoking behaviour of the smokers living in Macao. I was part of the 1st group of doctors to have chosen to initiate smoking cessation in Macau. In addition to my diverse academic background of study in laws- a dissertation about the effect of tobacco control program in Macao (submitted in 2011), a master in Public Administration, and five years of working experiences as an Inspector Assistant of tobacco, I had the conviction that I have to write to share my experience and knowledge about smoking cessation to contribute to the field of counselling and psychotherapy as there is little research data concerning smoking prevalence and demographics in Macao. This study consists of two parts – PART I presents the quantitative data collected by a questionnaire-survey over 1378 smokers and PART II qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 10 adult smokers to explore their experiences of smoking and smoking cessation in Macao. Quantitative data analysis was conducted with the SPSS, while qualitative analysis with coding and theme identification by following the grounded theory procedures. The study found that about 85% smoker surveyed consumed more than half a pack of cigarette per day and about 31% reported various symptoms like irritability, fatigue, loss of appetite and difficulties in concentration. The qualitative study has identified major positive factors related to initiation and maintenance of smoking cessation, namely health concerns, financial concerns and family support. Major negative factors related to relapse of smoking are peer influences, smoking of family members, and impacts of stressful life events. Based on findings of the study, it is argued that preventive anti-smoking education should be implemented among young people. Promotion of health education and preventive anti-smoking strategist and policy in Macao are discussed. The data collected indicate the fact that individuals who have pathologies of the cardiovascular system as a motivating factor for contemplating or taking actions for smoking cessation. Moreover, financial problems, gender (male predominantly), married with family support, higher educational level, without psychological diseases, better economic status, lower nicotine dependent are predictors to success in quit smoking. It also raises the possible need to deepen some evaluation parameters hither to be only superficially addressed. Therefore, and by limitations inherent to the study, this hypothesis needs further investigation. I argue that non-pharmacological treatment methods alone have proven to be effective in the smoking cessation process. However, it is argued that this combined with pharmacological therapy, in particular in specialized consultations, would be more effective and capable in increasing success rates in smoking cessation

Examining consumer perceptions of scent marketing in Macau's retail setting is the goal of this study. The study focuses on the following two primary uses of scent marketing in retail environments: subliminal application and application as a component of branding strategy. Qualitative research methodology is used. A total of ten consumer interviews produced the data. The findings show that consumers are in favor of scent marketing's use in retail settings. The use of scent marketing as a tool for establishing brands is preferred, and consumers find this approach to scent marketing to be more acceptable than its subliminal application. Although consumers believe that other factors, such as price, are typically more significant than scent when making purchases, the use of subliminal scents was not always evaluated negatively. Unless occasionally when making an unplanned purchase, consumers do not think that a subliminal scent can significantly impact their purchasing behavior

This thesis explores language teaching and language acquisition by multilingual learners using a Variation Theory approach and multilingual teaching in a university setting in Macao, China. It includes three case studies applied to students of the Spanish language in the introductory level which took place from late August to early December of the year 2017. The first study describes Macao’s multilingual language learners in the University of Macao in 2017. Based on the LEAP-Q questionnaire, a questionnaire was created to inquire all Spanish language students about their languages´ background, their motivations to learn new languages, as well as their learning strategies. The second study shows how the usage of Variation Theory techniques and multilingual teaching techniques boosted the teaching and the learning during the semester. This study employs a case study methodology, by analysing in-class multiple interactions gathering information on how multilinguals´ language background affects the pedagogical process. It analyses a total of 28 classes of 1 hour and 15 minutes. The third study presents the analysis of a questionnaire to 82 students of the initial level of Spanish language in the University of Macao, along with the analysis of interviews from 10 selected multilingual students about their linguistic background and how they experienced the semester. These interviews collected more information about the effectiveness of the Variation Theory in the semester in terms of in-class teaching and learning. From the triangulation of these three studies, some conclusions have been drawn about the advantages of using Variation Theory and multilingual teaching techniques for multilingual students, for the language teacher and ultimately also into the curricular design of foreign language teaching. In sum, that the linguistic background of students plays a major role in how they acquire a new language and, that applying Variation Theory techniques can be an immensely effective technique in a language classroom setting; suggesting that multilingual students will gain from being previously identified and placed in a separate class where these variation techniques were applied. Since this thesis focuses solely on an introductory language course, there is ground to explore this same approach on more advanced multilingual language learners