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Tag: Hong Kong

EdUHK scholars among world’s top 2% most-cited

Posted on by eduhk

Twenty-nine scholars of The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) were among the top 2% in the Stanford list of the world’s most-cited scientists in 2020*.

This year, 18 have once again found a place on the prestigious list, while 11 scientists from the University have been included for the first time.

Their publications cover 12 different disciplines, including education, social psychology, environmental sciences, general mathematics, geriatrics, energy, general chemistry, marine biology and hydrobiology, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, urban and regional planning, and building and construction.

Prepared by a team of experts at Stanford University, the list ranks academics by the number of times their research has been cited against other authors in the subfield in which they work. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by C-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or better.

Along with the results of the 2020 Research Assessment Exercise, this list reflects the significant advances the University and its scholars are making. Apart from education, the broadening range of research areas cover the core field of education, as well as other related disciplines, through EdUHK’s Education-plus approach.

SWEAT Hong Kong International Dance Workshop Festival

Posted on by Communications Office

Presented by the School of Dance of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the 1st edition of SWEAT Hong Kong International Dance Workshop Festival (SWEAT) will be launched from June 13 – 25, 2022 at the Academy. Over a two-week period, SWEAT serves as a platform for meeting, sharing, and dancing through research lab, workshops, masterclasses, dansathon, dance film screenings, open discussion, and performance projects. Participants can mix and match programmes of their choice to fit their practices and research ideas.

In collaboration with Hong Kong Dance Alliance, the World Dance Alliance Global (WDA) Summit, as part of SWEAT’s umbrella events, is now inviting proposals for presentations of various formats related to the theme Dance Offer/On New Energy, with sub-themes covering the following:

Sustaining wellness and creativity under the “new normal”
Empowering dance artists of tomorrow amid the pandemic
Reimagining the future of Dance – light after lockdown
Leading the arts through a pandemic

If you are interested, please submit your proposals on or before December 24, 2021.

HKAPA X RTHK: “Beethoven 32” opening the new testament of piano literature

Posted on by Communications Office

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) School of Music and Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) proudly present “Beethoven 32” (B32). This unique venture sets out to present the 32 piano sonatas written by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 –1827), one of the most venerated composers in the history of Western music. The creation of this anthology covered the composer’s three distinctive periods over a span of almost 30 years from 1795 to 1822.

“Beethoven 32” features 32 pianists associated with the School of Music of HKAPA. It is a radio, TV, and online production. Radio 4 (FM 97.6 – 98.9) will broadcast the programme at 1:15pm from 1 December 2021, a sonata a day, concluding on New Year’s Day. TV programmes will be broadcast on RTHK TV31 at 1pm on Saturdays from 1 January 2022 to 26 March 2022. All programmes will be available on RTHK’s website (rthk.hk) for 12 months after broadcast.

Jimmy Shiu, Head of Radio 4, RTHK, said, “The extraordinary range of expression, variety in styles, exploration of the possibility of the keyboard, and display of creativity have made Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas an integral part of the piano repertoire. Radio 4 is Hong Kong’s only fine music channel. We are proud to take part in the making of this anthology. B32 is particularly valuable as being a unique multi-platform production which showcases Hong Kong’s rich musical talent.”

Canace Lam, Head of Infotainment & Variety, Television Division, RTHK, said, “This series, which gathers 32 local piano talents and presents 32 Beethoven piano sonatas, is an important video record of Hong Kong’s classical music scene. RTHK will produce more programmes in this direction to promote classical music.”

Professor Sharon Choa, Dean of Music of HKAPA, said, “The fact that we are able to record the complete piano-sonata cycle of Beethoven is a testament to the great achievements of the Keyboard Department of the School of Music at HKAPA in the past three decades. Beethoven overcame many challenges in his lifetime to achieve the position he holds in the history of music. We hope that by listening to a complete genre of his compositions, audiences will be inspired not only by his great musical talent but also his tremendous willpower to triumph over adversities. May this be an encouragement to us all in combating our current challenging situation of the pandemic.’’

Professor Gabriel Kwok, Head of Keyboard Studies of HKAPA, added, “I am particularly proud to present 32 pianists from the Academy, from our Junior Music students to our distinguished alumni and Academy piano faculty members. Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas was considered by Hans von Bülow, German conductor, virtuoso pianist and composer, as ‘The New Testament’ of the piano literature. We are delighted to be able to participate in this meaningful project.”

EdUHK clinical research unveils the power of sleep

Posted on by eduhk

Poor sleep kills people through medical illnesses, traffic accidents (impaired concentration and decision making), and suicides (relating to mood disorders). Since joining The Education University of Hong Kong in 2015, Dr Esther Lau Yuet-ying, Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, has been conducting a long-term research programme that sheds light on the underlying mechanisms of sleep deprivation and its negative effect on emotions, cognition and daily functioning. The findings have been disseminated via public media and workshops to education and government bodies and have led to changes in community attitudes and school policy. They have also resulted in the establishment and strengthening of clinical and consultation support for sleep health in universities and government departments.

Building on her research and clinical experience, Dr Lau has shown how an understanding of the cognitive and emotional consequences of sleep loss or gain inform clinical understanding of sleep disturbances and related psychopathologies, and can influence public health policies and organisational practices. Using online panel studies, laboratory experiments, physiological measures, clinical assessments and subjective reports, Dr Lau’s team investigated the predictors, mediators and consequences of poor sleep.

Dr Lau’s research demonstrates that the quantity and quality of sleep directly affect our outlook on life and the decisions we make. She has built a unique, 10-year longitudinal dataset of over 8,000 students and community adults with over 100 psychosocial-spiritual variables per person to generate the first empirical evidence in the world that sleep quality predicts optimistic or pessimistic attitudes to life, directly and indirectly, through its effect on mood. She also identified a long-term increase in risk taking among young adults who habitually sleep less or irregularly.

Collaborating with local and overseas institutions, Dr Lau and her team uncovered links between sleep, clinical depression and emotional processing biases. They collaborated with the University of Oxford to develop and validate a Chinese version of the Sleep Condition Indicator (SCI) for clinical and research use.

Through extensive media coverage, sleep education, community engagements and professional training, Dr Lau’s research-based advocacy for healthy sleep practices for well-being has resulted in (1) shifts in attitudes and knowledge among both the general public and professionals; (2) a new school policy for a later start time; (3) the creation of a new sleep health initiative in the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF); and (4) early identification of mental health issues by screening college students for sleep-related problems.

Dr Lau also provided both local and global community sleep education through 17 interviews on popular public television programmes, radio broadcasts and newspapers. Her longitudinal research in a boarding school showed that a delayed school start time helps student well-being by increasing the length and quality of their sleep, resulted in a successful policy change at the school.

In collaboration with police psychologists, Dr Lau enhanced the sleep health of police officers through a strategic, multifaceted programme, including seminars for 300 officers and family members, and training on sleep assessment and interventions for all police clinical psychologists. Dr Lau’s evidence-based suggestions helped police officers overcome sleep barriers and provided credible information to share with family and friends, according to a senior HKPF clinical psychologist.

To detect and alleviate academic and mental health issues rooted in sleep problems in college students, Dr Lau trained counsellors in 14 local tertiary institutions to carry out sleep assessments and interventions. Not only did 90% of the counsellors indicate a sharp improvement in their understanding of sleep, 100% of them found her talk beneficial for their practice, evidenced by requests to incorporate the SCI into their practice.

EdUHK EdTech Innovations Claim 10 iCAN Awards

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The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) won 10 awards at the 6th International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada (iCAN), with three gold medals, one silver, one bronze and five special prizes, in August 2021.

With a commitment to creating a positive impact on learning and teaching, EdUHK scholars exhibited extensive expertise in scientific research and implementation of technology. These awards acknowledge the University’s solid reputation for research output and innovative technologies.

The five award-winning innovations cover different application areas, including language learning, life education and early childhood development. They are:

  1. VocabGO – An Augmented Reality English Vocabulary Learning App
    Principal investigator: Dr Song Yanjie, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Information TechnologyAwards: Gold Medal, Organiser’s Choice Award

    A mobile app which uses augmented reality technology to help students learn English vocabulary. The app contains several learning modes and encourages users to practise and expand their English vocabulary through the gamified in-app activities.

  2. Audio-Tactile Chinese Characters: Bringing Multisensory & Novel Learning Experience to the Visually Impaired
    Principal investigator: Dr Hung Keung, Associate Professor, Department of Cultural and Creative ArtsAwards: Gold Medal, Best 10 Invention Designs Award

    A multi-sensory learning kit tailor-made for learners with visual impairment. It helps users understand the structural formation of Chinese characters and appreciate the beauty of traditional Chinese calligraphy through feeling, touching and hearing.

  3. Tree Assessment for Life Education (TALE) Project
    Principal investigator: Professor Jim Chi-yung, Department of Social Sciences, and Professor John Lee Chi-kin, Vice President (Academic) and ProvostAwards: Gold Medal, International Special Award

    A project which aims to raise public awareness of urban tree preservation and to cultivate users’ appreciation of life and other species. A mobile app is developed to facilitate learning of basic botanical knowledge and help users conduct tree assessments using the Visual Tree Assessment technique. The app also gathers georeferenced data which can be used for research and environmental education purposes.

  4. The Chinese Inventory of Children’s Socioemotional Competence (CICSEC)
    Principal investigator: Professor Kevin Chung Kien-hoa, Department of Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Dr Ian Lam Chun-bun, Associate Professor at ECEAwards: Silver Medal, International Special Award

    An evidence-based assessment system which can quickly evaluate children’s level of socioemotional competence. It is the first culturally responsive assessment system developed in Asia, targeting Chinese children. The CICSEC is also a conceptual framework and reliable indicator which can be easily used by kindergarten teachers.

  5. Dramaflow – Ideas Generation Dice for Planning Process Drama Lessons
    Principal investigator: Dr Pansy Tam Po-chi, Assistant Professor at ECEAwards: Bronze Medal, Best 10 Woman Inventors Award

    A toolkit equipped with design strategies to assist teachers in developing compelling Process Drama (PD) lessons for the early childhood education curriculum. Since most PD class activities rely on picture book storytelling, this toolkit encourages teachers to break out from the confined narratives and look for innovative ways to retell a story. As a creativity booster, it helps teachers overcome creative blocks and stimulate active exploration and imagination of PD class activities to achieve teaching objectives.

EdUHK App Helps Change Eating Habits

Posted on by eduhk

The Hong Kong SAR Government’s 2018-19 Health Behaviour Survey showed that around 96% of residents aged 15 or over consumed less than five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. Added to this, almost 10% of these people ate processed meat at least once a day, on average. The World Health Organisation states that an unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity are leading global risks to health, and its member states have agreed to halt the rise of diabetes and obesity in adults, teenagers, and of overweight children by 2025.

With this in mind, Dr Louisa Chung Ming-yan at the Department of Health and Physical Education of The Education University of Hong Kong and her team have developed the eDietary Platform, an app for users to record their diet and monitor what they eat and drink. “To change eating habits, we can’t merely deliver lectures on nutrition. We need a record of scientific facts,” explained Dr Chung.

Users input their dietary record onto the app. Any food not already on the list can be added by simply uploading a photo. The app then gives users a bespoke nutrition report, taking into account personal details such as age, gender, height and weight.

The project team was awarded funding by the Food and Health Bureau under the Health Care Promotion Scheme. Through the feedback received, researchers found that using the eDietary app made younger adults more capable of matching food products to categories. Participants therefore understand how to reduce the risk of health problems and vulnerability to diseases and are encouraged to develop their own eating plan in terms of food and portion size change. In testing, the complete switch to healthy eating took 12 weeks.

As a start, the app has already been downloaded over 4,500 times to date, and its effectiveness was trialled in a study on how the use of such technology enhances the eating behaviour of young adults. “We formulated and tested the theory on eating behaviours when people monitor their diets online,” said Dr Chung. People who have used the app have noted that it makes them realise the importance of enjoying healthy food. “It has encouraged me to develop the habit of recording my daily intake,” said one. They suggested that the app could be used by young adults and children, as it helps youngsters learn about food classification, nutrients and quantities.

Future of Performing Arts Education Webinar Series

Posted on by Communications Office

What does it mean to place students at the heart of teaching and learning? How can we personalise our classes so every student engages and makes progress? Why can a broader understanding of our students help us to be more effective as educators? And what does this mean in the context of performing arts institutes?

Presented by The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, “The Future of Performing Arts Education” Webinar Series no. 7: Student-Centred Learning will be held on Dec 10, 2021 at 5pm (HKT). Join our guest speakers Dr Stephanie Burridge (Adjunct Lecturer at LASALLE College of the Arts and Singapore Management University), Dr Ellen Stabell (Head of the Centre for Excellence in Music Performance Education at the Norwegian Academy of Music; Associate Professor of Music at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences), and Dr Sabine Hoidn (Head of the Student-Centered Learning Lab and Senior Lecturer in Management and Higher Education at the University of St. Gallen) for a dialogue on “Student-Centred Learning.

Details & Registration: https://bit.ly/30lpXmw (Conducted in English)
Video and podcast recordings of the first five sessions are available on the series’ website and the Academy’s YouTube channel, check them out: https://bit.ly/3vrsSpp / https://bit.ly/3plC91f

Lingnan University’s world-class research strengths

Posted on by Editorial Team

As a leading liberal arts university in Asia, Lingnan University offers a wide range of research postgraduate (RPg) programmes across the humanities, social sciences and business studies. Lingnan provides its students and researchers with generous support and they conduct research and projects with high social relevance and impact.

The research work conducted at Lingnan was classified as “World Leading” and “Internationally Excellent” in the latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) conducted by the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong. The RAE uses international benchmarks to identify the relative strengths of the city’s public universities. Over 50% of Lingnan’s submitted research outputs were rated either world leading or internationally excellent. In the fields of Accountancy, Sociology and Anthropology, Social Work and Social Policy, and Philosophy, Lingnan was placed first or second, in terms of the percentage of “World Leading” research work. While, for reach and significance, 56 percent of the university’s research was assessed to have achieved “Considerable or Outstanding Impact”.

First-class faculty

In the latest QS World University Rankings 2022, Lingnan was ranked 33rd globally in “International Faculty”. Over 180 of the academic staff at Lingnan boast PhDs, and other advanced degrees, from some of the world’s most prestigious universities, including Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Oxford, Peking, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCL, UCLA, and Yale. Building on the diverse range of research interests of these faculty, the university has a strong commitment to developing successful interdisciplinary research, as well as forging international partnerships and collaborative ties. Lingnan also ensures that, alongside the contribution they make to academia, its research projects effectively inform teaching and knowledge transfer.

Programme of studies

Lingnan offers 25 MPhil and PhD programmes across the arts, business, social sciences and science, disciplines. The University takes a student-centred learning approach, which ensures close and supportive thesis supervision, while also encourages intellectual creativity.

Because of the University’s external partnerships, the options available to postgraduate students extend beyond Lingnan itself. These options include the Double PhD Degree Programme in Economics with the Mainland’s Wuhan University, and the PhD Programmes with Joint Supervision with Shenzhen University, which lies just across the border, for research areas related to International Relations and Development Studies.

Learning activities and support

To give students researchers more global exposure and the opportunity to exchange ideas with other academics, Lingnan organises and takes part in, international conferences on topics ranging from the development of higher education in a post pandemic world, to urban governance. The University also hosts seminars for the sharing of research findings and the exploration of new opportunities for collaboration.

Furthermore, other experiential learning activities, such as sponsored field trips and overseas research visits, are open to all RPg students, regardless of their programme and background. In the QS Asia University Rankings 2021, Lingnan was ranked top for “Inbound Exchange Students” and “Outbound Exchange Students”.

For application details, please go to https://ln.edu.hk/rpg/

Lingnan University is committed to achieving Sustainable Development Goals

Posted on by Editorial Team

In 2015 the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the focal point of a global campaign to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that every person in the world is in a position to enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

The spirit of the SDGs aligns perfectly with Lingnan University’s commitment to “Education for Service”. This commitment is embedded in the university’s research programmes, teaching and learning practices, knowledge transfer activities, social engagement projects, entrepreneurship initiatives, corporate governance, and administration.

While initiatives launched at Lingnan University have had success across the full range of SDGs, some particularly impactful projects are well worth highlighting.

To mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on less privileged households, including those in subdivided flats, the Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI) team devised a Mobile UV-C system. This has provided a free and efficient UV disinfection service for 1,000 such homes, helping to prevent the spread of the virus in Hong Kong. Based on this technology, a smart Autonomous UV-C Disinfection Robot was also developed to provide fast and effective UV disinfection in large indoor establishments.

Two other inventions devised by the LEI team have recently received ‘Golds’ at the MUSE Design Awards in the Conceptual Design category. One is a control system that improves wheelchair safety for both users and carers. The other is a transparent air-filtration mask, the 12° Mask, that allows the hearing impaired to read lips while still providing ASTM Level 3 protection, the highest level.

In terms of the UN goals, these innovations fall within the criteria for achieving SDG 3, Health and Well-being; SDG 4, Quality Education; and SGD 9, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.

To help graduates in tackling the adverse effects of the pandemic, Lingnan established the 2020 Graduate Support Fund. The assistance provided by the fund ranges from training and tuition fee waivers to psychological counselling. More broadly, the increased range of  financial aid Lingnan University offers local and non-local students is in line with the aims of SDG 1, No Poverty; SDG 10, Reduced Inequality; and SDG 4, Quality Education.

Because it is often possible to achieve a greater impact working together with other institutions and bodies, Lingnan has formed several key external partnerships. One such collaboration is with the South China University of Technology, which has resulted in the establishment of the Joint Research Centre for Greater Bay Area Social Policy and Governance. This exciting project fulfils key criteria in SDG 17, Partnerships for the Goals, and SDG 8, Decent Work and Economic growth.

In partnership with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and in line with SDG 3, Good Health and Well-being, and SDG 17, Partnerships for the Goals, the three-year LU Jockey Club Gerontechnology and Smart Ageing Project has been established to support local communities, educators, students, service providers, and most importantly, the elderly and their carers.

More information on the contribution Lingnan University has made to achieving the full spectrum of SDGs can be found on the University’s SDG website.

EdUHK research promoting sustainable tourism development in Sichuan Nature Reserve and Hong Kong

Posted on by eduhk

The UNESCO-listed Wolong National Nature Reserve, a prime habitat for the endangered panda, was badly damaged by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. To rebuild the reserve into an ecologically sustainable area, Dr Lewis Cheung Ting-on, Associate Professor at the Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), and his research team devised two unique accreditation systems for the ecotourism industry, one for tourism businesses and one for ecotour guides, as part of the regulations for the tourism development in the ecologically sensitive reserve.

The guidelines included holistic recommendations for ecotourism planning, activities, infrastructure and marketing. In 2016, the local administration in Wolong implemented the recommendations in full. This was the first regional ecotourism certification programme in a protected area in China and it has had a positive influence on the ecotourism development in other protected areas in the mainland and in Taiwan.

The aims of the project, involving researchers from EdUHK, The University of Hong Kong, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, were to (a) investigate the ecotourism resources of the reserve, (b) formulate ecotourism development guidelines for the reserve, (c) provide training and organise public forums for residents and government officials, and (d) design two ecotourism accreditation systems, one for tourism businesses and one for eco-tour guides.

The project has had a multi-faceted impact on the reserve, replacing the previously unhealthy approach to development with eco-friendly practices, thus improving ecotourism development in the reserve and other parts of China regarding local policy and professional practices, raising awareness of the value of ecotourism and the importance of maintaining a healthy environment;  boosting the local economy by identifying new sustainable tourism services and products, and providing increased income for small businesses and jobs for local residents;  reducing business costs through reduced energy use and water consumption and less waste, and enhancing ecological conservation in the area and preventing the degradation of the precious panda habitat.

Once the new policy was implemented, the number of tourists visiting the reserve surged from less than 1,000 a year before 2014 to over 350,000 annually by 2017.

Ecotourism development requires the understanding, input and support of the local community, so Dr Cheung’s team organised two public forums in the reserve to get residents’ views on the ecotourism development guidelines and to introduce the development plans and certification systems to businesses and guides.

They also organised a two-day training workshop on the guidelines and the accreditation systems for residents, business owners and government officials. These efforts resulted in greater awareness of the importance of saving water and electrical power, reducing the use of disposable items, and waste segregation.

A public forum on the same topic was organised at EdUHK, which helped raise the public’s understanding in Hong Kong of the reserve’s reconstruction and how the HKSAR Government’s donation was used. Dr Cheung’s work has also changed public perceptions through extensive media coverage, reaching audiences of millions in the mainland and Hong Kong.