CITY CLASS - Issue 11 | FEB 2021

ISSUE 11 | FEB 2021

How Research Clusters Spur Productive Collaboration Foreign Policy and International Engagement

Eye-Tracking Technology to Assess Information-based Tools

Authentic Research Experience for Undergraduates

A Multimedia Platform for Dyslexic Children in Hong Kong

City University of Hong Kong Columbia University JOINT BAC HELOR’S DEGREE PROGRAM

+ +FACT fact

A Brand New College Experience The Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program between City University of Hong Kong and Columbia University offers students an international undergraduate educational experience – a program spanning two continents, in cosmopolitan cities that allow students to engage directly with the world around them. The Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program began to accept CLASS students in 2015.

Eligible majors: • Asian and International Studies • Criminology and Sociology • Psychology • Public Policy and Politics To learn more about the Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program, visit cityu-hk.gs.columbia.edu

ISSUE 11 | FEB 2021 Department of Asian and International Studies

Department of Media and Communication

Department of Chinese and History

Department of Public Policy

Department of English

Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences

Department of Linguistics and Translation Chan Feng Men-ling Chan Shuk-lin Language Centre Centre for Communication Research Centre for East Asian and Comparative Philosophy Southeast Asia Research Centre The Halliday Centre for Intelligent Applications of Language Studies

FEATURE 04 Research Clusters Spur Productive Collaboration in a

Fast-changing World

PEOPLE 12 The Positives of International Joint Effort of Political

Science Research in Hong Kong

16 A Successful Journey into Multimodal Imaging Methods

Across the World

RESEARCH

20 The Perpetuation of Parliamentary Rituals in Myanmar

21 Move Analysis of E-commerce Customer Service

Webchat Exchange

22 Effects of Traditional and New Media on China’s

Political Landscape

23 Effectiveness of Information Posters Investigated with

Eye-tracking Technology KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

EVENTS

24 Automatic Text Simplification: A Breakthrough Innovation 26

Women and Literati in Chinese History Tell Many Stories

28 Rethinking the Roles of Social Scientists and Humanities Experts

SOCIAL IMPACT 30

TEACHING & LEARNING

STUDENTS & ALUMNI

Developing Accessible Learning Tools in Hong Kong for Dyslexia in Chinese

34 Authentic Research Experience for CLASS Undergraduates 36 A Love of Cantonese Opera and Preserving Chinese Culture

NEWS 40 CLASS Faculty Received Facebook Funding to Investigate

Impacts of New Technologies

41 Academics Collaborate to Reach Law-based Solutions to

Policy Challenges

42 New Language Centre Beefs Up Students’ Language Training

43 CityU’s Social Scientists and Mathematicians Co-organise

Programme for the Gifted

FEATURE

FEATURE

Research Clusters Spur Productive Collaboration in a Fast-changing World A coordinated focus on key themes will draw on different disciplines and promises to have an impact on the wider community

O

ne important aspect of CityU’s strategic plan has been to identify a number of overarching research themes that bring together scholars and experts from different disciplines.

In identifying these areas, the aim is to spur productive interdisciplinary collaboration, thereby enhancing the University’s ability to address wide-ranging academic questions, but also to respond to the very real challenges facing society at large in a fastchanging and ever more connected world.

The basic brief for each area is to make an impact through ideas, innovations and publications, as well as providing a sustainable, longterm agenda for teaching and related outreach activities.

In line with the University’s strategy, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) has established three research clusters, namely One Health, Digital Society, and Smart City. Faculty members are shaping the direction of interdisciplinary research initiatives and showing why such an approach has become essential.

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FEATURE

FEATURE

Research Clusters Spur Productive Collaboration in a Fast-changing World A coordinated focus on key themes will draw on different disciplines and promises to have an impact on the wider community

O

ne important aspect of CityU’s strategic plan has been to identify a number of overarching research themes that bring together scholars and experts from different disciplines.

In identifying these areas, the aim is to spur productive interdisciplinary collaboration, thereby enhancing the University’s ability to address wide-ranging academic questions, but also to respond to the very real challenges facing society at large in a fastchanging and ever more connected world.

The basic brief for each area is to make an impact through ideas, innovations and publications, as well as providing a sustainable, longterm agenda for teaching and related outreach activities.

In line with the University’s strategy, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) has established three research clusters, namely One Health, Digital Society, and Smart City. Faculty members are shaping the direction of interdisciplinary research initiatives and showing why such an approach has become essential.

4 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 5

FEATURE

FEATURE

Dr Nicholas Thomas believes that safeguarding public health requires an integrated approach which considers not only the biomedical and science sides, but also the cultural, political and economic aspects.

that successfully addressing any disease requires something more than biomedical and technical expertise.

More Than Just Medicine Also required is a better understanding of the way economics, politics and culture impact on decisions about public health. These social elements are a key factor in eliminating diseases, especially when it involves people adopting new behaviours such as wearing masks, adhering to quarantine regulations, or being subject to contact tracing.

With this in mind, one current research project is looking into how public health messages are developed and whether they should be text-based or infographic. A second is considering how trust in government shapes people’s behaviour when it comes to health. And others are set to examine responses to COVID-19 in Southeast Asia and the extent to which cultural and political attitudes determined the different approaches taken in China and India.

“Overall, a One Health approach that encompasses biomedical and veterinary sciences alongside social sciences allows for the development of more successful interventions than medicine alone can bring,” Thomas says. “If you don’t have this kind of understanding, things start to fall down.”

An ongoing series of seminars will further develop these themes, combining discussion of policy initiatives with topics like antimicrobial

The cluster acts as a catalyst for new ideas between departments and then later with colleagues in other schools and colleges to spark new projects Dr Nicholas Thomas

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resistance. Attention will also centre on Hong Kong’s position as an “epidemiological crossroads”. The city’s population gets the developed world’s typical respiratory diseases and cancers. But it can also be hit by the non-developed world’s dengue fever, malaria, SARS and bird flu.

Besides developing good health strategies, clear protocols, and resilience to respond to the disease, Thomas adds that people must also be ready for the mental health aspect and the possibility of businesses going under. “This non-medical side has been an important part of dealing with infectious diseases since the 1300s,” he says.

“There is also a longer-term plan to offer a minor in One Health drawing on health-related courses offered in different departments across the College. This will be a pedagogical platform that will support the research work being undertaken in this field. It is envisaged that this will benefit not only students in CLASS but also students from disciplines across the University.”

The Digital Revolution and Changing Behaviour The concepts and changes being studied by the Digital Society cluster are similarly intriguing. The arrival of the digital age has already had an enormous impact on many facets of daily life. But the group wants to examine where these innovations are taking us and, in particular, to gain a more thorough understanding of the evolving relationship between technology and people. This, of course, is one of the most pressing issues facing society today.

Tackling Health Issues Through an Interdisciplinary Approach Coincidentally, COVID-19 serves as a good example. It is an animalbased disease which jumped the species barrier to infect humans. That has happened before, this time, though, it has led to a global pandemic, with all the additional complications that inevitably ensue.

“The problem is that, in a situation like this, public health and veterinary science only get you so far,” says Dr Nicholas THOMAS, convenor of the One Health cluster. “There are also the cultural, political and economic components. You must be able to manage and understand the social and cultural behaviours, and that is where the social sciences fit in.”

Safeguarding public health therefore requires an integrated approach not just to implement the right measures, but also to ensure effective communication and contend with the knock-on effects.

“The cluster acts as a catalyst for new ideas between departments and then later with colleagues in other schools and colleges to spark new projects,” Thomas says. “The very cool thing is that we are bringing people together and looking at the same problems from different perspectives.”

With COVID-19, he notes, it is immediately obvious that countries around the world have handled the outbreak in contrasting ways.

These differences come down to policy choices that arise from the political and social systems in which they are embedded. And it means

One research project under the One Health cluster is examining whether government public health messages should be delivered via text or infographics.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 7

FEATURE

FEATURE

Dr Nicholas Thomas believes that safeguarding public health requires an integrated approach which considers not only the biomedical and science sides, but also the cultural, political and economic aspects.

that successfully addressing any disease requires something more than biomedical and technical expertise.

More Than Just Medicine Also required is a better understanding of the way economics, politics and culture impact on decisions about public health. These social elements are a key factor in eliminating diseases, especially when it involves people adopting new behaviours such as wearing masks, adhering to quarantine regulations, or being subject to contact tracing.

With this in mind, one current research project is looking into how public health messages are developed and whether they should be text-based or infographic. A second is considering how trust in government shapes people’s behaviour when it comes to health. And others are set to examine responses to COVID-19 in Southeast Asia and the extent to which cultural and political attitudes determined the different approaches taken in China and India.

“Overall, a One Health approach that encompasses biomedical and veterinary sciences alongside social sciences allows for the development of more successful interventions than medicine alone can bring,” Thomas says. “If you don’t have this kind of understanding, things start to fall down.”

An ongoing series of seminars will further develop these themes, combining discussion of policy initiatives with topics like antimicrobial

The cluster acts as a catalyst for new ideas between departments and then later with colleagues in other schools and colleges to spark new projects Dr Nicholas Thomas

6 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

resistance. Attention will also centre on Hong Kong’s position as an “epidemiological crossroads”. The city’s population gets the developed world’s typical respiratory diseases and cancers. But it can also be hit by the non-developed world’s dengue fever, malaria, SARS and bird flu.

Besides developing good health strategies, clear protocols, and resilience to respond to the disease, Thomas adds that people must also be ready for the mental health aspect and the possibility of businesses going under. “This non-medical side has been an important part of dealing with infectious diseases since the 1300s,” he says.

“There is also a longer-term plan to offer a minor in One Health drawing on health-related courses offered in different departments across the College. This will be a pedagogical platform that will support the research work being undertaken in this field. It is envisaged that this will benefit not only students in CLASS but also students from disciplines across the University.”

The Digital Revolution and Changing Behaviour The concepts and changes being studied by the Digital Society cluster are similarly intriguing. The arrival of the digital age has already had an enormous impact on many facets of daily life. But the group wants to examine where these innovations are taking us and, in particular, to gain a more thorough understanding of the evolving relationship between technology and people. This, of course, is one of the most pressing issues facing society today.

Tackling Health Issues Through an Interdisciplinary Approach Coincidentally, COVID-19 serves as a good example. It is an animalbased disease which jumped the species barrier to infect humans. That has happened before, this time, though, it has led to a global pandemic, with all the additional complications that inevitably ensue.

“The problem is that, in a situation like this, public health and veterinary science only get you so far,” says Dr Nicholas THOMAS, convenor of the One Health cluster. “There are also the cultural, political and economic components. You must be able to manage and understand the social and cultural behaviours, and that is where the social sciences fit in.”

Safeguarding public health therefore requires an integrated approach not just to implement the right measures, but also to ensure effective communication and contend with the knock-on effects.

“The cluster acts as a catalyst for new ideas between departments and then later with colleagues in other schools and colleges to spark new projects,” Thomas says. “The very cool thing is that we are bringing people together and looking at the same problems from different perspectives.”

With COVID-19, he notes, it is immediately obvious that countries around the world have handled the outbreak in contrasting ways.

These differences come down to policy choices that arise from the political and social systems in which they are embedded. And it means

One research project under the One Health cluster is examining whether government public health messages should be delivered via text or infographics.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 7

FEATURE

“As humanities and social sciences scholars, we’re interested in the disruption to society caused by digital technology,” says Dr TSUI Lik-hang, convenor of the Digital Society cluster. “We’ve been doing related research all along, but this new initiative will foster a dialogue across disciplines.”

The initial plan is to concentrate on three specific areas. The first is digital research methodologies and how best to carry out different kinds of inquiry using online data or the cloud rather than traditional methods.

Next is digital citizenship, looking at how the average person in current times has become so reliant on devices and absorbed by social media, with fake news and trivia often subverting everyday discourse.

And the third is the digital platform and shifts in culture, for example how e-wallets and online interactions are changing business and behaviours, and how the availability of digital tools is altering our approach to the arts and humanities.

“We will look at this from multifaceted angles, not just paint a rosy picture or be Luddites and say it is ruining the world,” Tsui says.

“Experts in humanities and social sciences adopt a more nuanced view and, no matter the answers, realise we will be living with the consequences.”

FEATURE

Dr Tsui Lik-hang deals with a lot of published resources, so he is interested in exploring how written materials can be turned into digital data.

The cluster already includes scholars specialising in applied linguistics, communication studies, and translation plus an historian and an urban geographer. In terms of conducting research from digital sources, one of their early challenges is to consider how the technical experts should be “training” the computers to digitise and analyse books and newspapers, and what kinds of algorithms to use.

“I deal with a lot of published sources, so what’s interesting for me is how we turn written materials into digital data,” Tsui says. “It requires a lot of human intervention and scholarly knowledge. We recognise it is about these technologies, but we also have to direct attention to what we deem to be really important and meaningful.”

Dealing with Big Data and Information Overload At one level, the positives include being able to cover a lot more ground than previously, with keyword searches, computational analysis, and much more data at one’s disposal. However, the broader negatives of all these developments are starting to become more obvious, with an overload of information – and who controls it – creating new challenges for educators and society in general.

The repercussions of advanced technology are a key area of investigation for CityU’s experts in humanities and social sciences.

“As scholars in humanities and social sciences, we are not interested in faster computers or better technologies in themselves, but more in reflecting on their repercussions,” Tsui says. “It is important to ask questions about how they are influencing and shaping our daily lives.”

To that end, one of the first initiatives of the cluster is to offer appropriate training for faculty members and doctoral researchers not yet fully familiar with all the technical wizardry now available. At the same time, dates and agendas will be finalised for a first round of events, which are expected to include roundtable discussions with eminent overseas speakers, seminars on the potential of e-research, and deeper analysis of how digital tools will change the humanities.

Experts in humanities and social sciences adopt a more nuanced view of digital disruption and, no matter the answers, realise we will be living with the consequences

Smart Cities and Better Living

Dr Tsui Lik-hang

The work of the Smart City cluster will be similarly farsighted, but addressing a quite distinct set of challenges. Their main task is to study how factors like urban planning, environmental concerns, sustainable energy, government regulation and high-tech innovation are transforming the way city dwellers around the world will live and work.

“The team’s current mix of planners, architects, engineers, geographers, economists and policy analysts lends unique research strength and expertise,” says Professor ZHANG Xiaoling, convenor of the Smart City cluster. “Our aim is to evolve urban intelligence

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FEATURE

“As humanities and social sciences scholars, we’re interested in the disruption to society caused by digital technology,” says Dr TSUI Lik-hang, convenor of the Digital Society cluster. “We’ve been doing related research all along, but this new initiative will foster a dialogue across disciplines.”

The initial plan is to concentrate on three specific areas. The first is digital research methodologies and how best to carry out different kinds of inquiry using online data or the cloud rather than traditional methods.

Next is digital citizenship, looking at how the average person in current times has become so reliant on devices and absorbed by social media, with fake news and trivia often subverting everyday discourse.

And the third is the digital platform and shifts in culture, for example how e-wallets and online interactions are changing business and behaviours, and how the availability of digital tools is altering our approach to the arts and humanities.

“We will look at this from multifaceted angles, not just paint a rosy picture or be Luddites and say it is ruining the world,” Tsui says.

“Experts in humanities and social sciences adopt a more nuanced view and, no matter the answers, realise we will be living with the consequences.”

FEATURE

Dr Tsui Lik-hang deals with a lot of published resources, so he is interested in exploring how written materials can be turned into digital data.

The cluster already includes scholars specialising in applied linguistics, communication studies, and translation plus an historian and an urban geographer. In terms of conducting research from digital sources, one of their early challenges is to consider how the technical experts should be “training” the computers to digitise and analyse books and newspapers, and what kinds of algorithms to use.

“I deal with a lot of published sources, so what’s interesting for me is how we turn written materials into digital data,” Tsui says. “It requires a lot of human intervention and scholarly knowledge. We recognise it is about these technologies, but we also have to direct attention to what we deem to be really important and meaningful.”

Dealing with Big Data and Information Overload At one level, the positives include being able to cover a lot more ground than previously, with keyword searches, computational analysis, and much more data at one’s disposal. However, the broader negatives of all these developments are starting to become more obvious, with an overload of information – and who controls it – creating new challenges for educators and society in general.

The repercussions of advanced technology are a key area of investigation for CityU’s experts in humanities and social sciences.

“As scholars in humanities and social sciences, we are not interested in faster computers or better technologies in themselves, but more in reflecting on their repercussions,” Tsui says. “It is important to ask questions about how they are influencing and shaping our daily lives.”

To that end, one of the first initiatives of the cluster is to offer appropriate training for faculty members and doctoral researchers not yet fully familiar with all the technical wizardry now available. At the same time, dates and agendas will be finalised for a first round of events, which are expected to include roundtable discussions with eminent overseas speakers, seminars on the potential of e-research, and deeper analysis of how digital tools will change the humanities.

Experts in humanities and social sciences adopt a more nuanced view of digital disruption and, no matter the answers, realise we will be living with the consequences

Smart Cities and Better Living

Dr Tsui Lik-hang

The work of the Smart City cluster will be similarly farsighted, but addressing a quite distinct set of challenges. Their main task is to study how factors like urban planning, environmental concerns, sustainable energy, government regulation and high-tech innovation are transforming the way city dwellers around the world will live and work.

“The team’s current mix of planners, architects, engineers, geographers, economists and policy analysts lends unique research strength and expertise,” says Professor ZHANG Xiaoling, convenor of the Smart City cluster. “Our aim is to evolve urban intelligence

8 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 9

FEATURE

FEATURE

basis for further analysis. Another is the emergence of smart cities in developing countries like China, with different priorities and alternative models for co-operation between government and private enterprise. A third is the integration of technologies such as geographic information systems, radio frequency identification, and building information modelling – and what citizens actually think of them.

“The key is to try and make people’s lives more convenient,” says Zhang, noting that seminars every two months will invite international experts to discuss their findings. These forums allowing regular contact will help foster synergy and create a sense of teamwork among participants from around the globe. “We want to imagine the future urban landscape and the extent to which and to what end citizens’ lives will change. If possible, we also hope to dig out any correlation between smart cities and happiness.”

As with most projects nowadays, one of the first tasks was to set up a user-friendly website to introduce the cluster’s objectives and meet the basic needs of students, researchers and other potential stakeholders. This platform will make it easier to share resources, highlight notable achievements, and update information about contacts and conferences.

“Interdisciplinary study is all about the synthesis of ideas and characteristics from many subject areas,” Zhang says. “Our approach provides a thematically consistent way of bringing together different perspectives to inspire meaningful learning and stimulate creative thinking.”

By forming these clusters, CityU CLASS is intent on providing new impetus for research that is sure to resonate far beyond the world of academia. It will be fascinating to see where it takes us in the years ahead.

To provide information on the range of research projects plus related seminars and activities, CLASS has set up a dedicated website, https://research.class.cityu.edu.hk/. It features the latest work of faculty members and serves as a showcase with examples of how various interdisciplinary research projects are making an impact on society.

Professor Zhang Xiaoling has conducted numerous research studies in urban planning and sustainable development strategies.

associated with optimising and enhancing operations, functions, services, strategies and policies in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.”

The ultimate goal is to build an interdisciplinary, international training base for the best talent in Hong Kong and beyond to design better cities. That will mean looking at the prospects for everything from transport systems and autonomous vehicles to renewable energy, smart offices and robots about the house.

“We will work on smart city theory and technology and are committed to cutting-edge excellence,” Zhang says. “This will include spatio-temporal analysis, low-carbon and recycling projects, green branding, and understanding changes in the industrial and urban metabolism.”

The key is to try and make people’s lives more convenient.

We want to imagine the future urban landscape and the extent to which and to what end citizens’ lives will change

Combining Different Perspectives

Professor Zhang Xiaoling

For future research, three major trends have already been identified.

One is quality improvement of urban big data, as an important

10 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

The Smart City cluster’s ultimate goal is to help design better cities.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 11

FEATURE

FEATURE

basis for further analysis. Another is the emergence of smart cities in developing countries like China, with different priorities and alternative models for co-operation between government and private enterprise. A third is the integration of technologies such as geographic information systems, radio frequency identification, and building information modelling – and what citizens actually think of them.

“The key is to try and make people’s lives more convenient,” says Zhang, noting that seminars every two months will invite international experts to discuss their findings. These forums allowing regular contact will help foster synergy and create a sense of teamwork among participants from around the globe. “We want to imagine the future urban landscape and the extent to which and to what end citizens’ lives will change. If possible, we also hope to dig out any correlation between smart cities and happiness.”

As with most projects nowadays, one of the first tasks was to set up a user-friendly website to introduce the cluster’s objectives and meet the basic needs of students, researchers and other potential stakeholders. This platform will make it easier to share resources, highlight notable achievements, and update information about contacts and conferences.

“Interdisciplinary study is all about the synthesis of ideas and characteristics from many subject areas,” Zhang says. “Our approach provides a thematically consistent way of bringing together different perspectives to inspire meaningful learning and stimulate creative thinking.”

By forming these clusters, CityU CLASS is intent on providing new impetus for research that is sure to resonate far beyond the world of academia. It will be fascinating to see where it takes us in the years ahead.

To provide information on the range of research projects plus related seminars and activities, CLASS has set up a dedicated website, https://research.class.cityu.edu.hk/. It features the latest work of faculty members and serves as a showcase with examples of how various interdisciplinary research projects are making an impact on society.

Professor Zhang Xiaoling has conducted numerous research studies in urban planning and sustainable development strategies.

associated with optimising and enhancing operations, functions, services, strategies and policies in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.”

The ultimate goal is to build an interdisciplinary, international training base for the best talent in Hong Kong and beyond to design better cities. That will mean looking at the prospects for everything from transport systems and autonomous vehicles to renewable energy, smart offices and robots about the house.

“We will work on smart city theory and technology and are committed to cutting-edge excellence,” Zhang says. “This will include spatio-temporal analysis, low-carbon and recycling projects, green branding, and understanding changes in the industrial and urban metabolism.”

The key is to try and make people’s lives more convenient.

We want to imagine the future urban landscape and the extent to which and to what end citizens’ lives will change

Combining Different Perspectives

Professor Zhang Xiaoling

For future research, three major trends have already been identified.

One is quality improvement of urban big data, as an important

10 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

The Smart City cluster’s ultimate goal is to help design better cities.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 11

PEOPLE

PEOPLE

The Positives of International Joint Effort of Political Science Research in Hong Kong Associate Professor Dr Edmund CHENG of CityU’s Department of Public Policy explains the importance of connecting with people who provide access to different knowledge and expertise

D

r Edmund CHENG has had a lifelong fascination with state-society relations. Cheng completed his PhD in Government at the London School of Economics (LSE) with a thesis that touched on Chinese grassroots politics.

Cheng’s family emigrated from mainland China to Hong Kong more than three decades ago. Witnessing all manner of changes on the mainland from his new home in the then British colony fuelled his interest in examining societal and political changes.

Eventually this interest made him enrol on a programme focusing on political sociology during his university life. His research interests ranged from contentious politics and public opinion surveys to Hong Kong politics and global China.

“When I was about to complete my bachelor’s degree, I struggled between whether I should enter the government department or pursue a law degree,” Cheng says. The young graduate would soon find that his interests propelled him towards the further study of politics, specifically about China. “In China, there is a domain that changes dramatically after opening up after

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so many years, which has been a timely phenomenon yet to be fully conceptualised.”

Cheng joined several research centres after he acquired a master’s degree at LSE, then returned to the London university for his doctorate, after concluding that there is more freedom in pursuing an academic career than joining a think tank.

“It gives you more flexibility,” he explains. “You can determine your own research agenda, roughly speaking. You can actually travel abroad to meet with other colleagues. The cool thing about Hong Kong is that it is highly internationalised and you actually have good relations and collaboration opportunities with the outside world.”

Charting Human Values Around the World Hong Kong’s international outreach provides a “so-called gold standard for publishing”, Cheng adds, where you can connect with high-calibre peers and internationally reputed journals and audience.

“As a result (local) phenomena that we are studying are theoretically informed and returned to develop some more innovative methods.”

Dr Edmund Cheng treasures the opportunities to work with people with different perspectives and backgrounds.

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PEOPLE

PEOPLE

The Positives of International Joint Effort of Political Science Research in Hong Kong Associate Professor Dr Edmund CHENG of CityU’s Department of Public Policy explains the importance of connecting with people who provide access to different knowledge and expertise

D

r Edmund CHENG has had a lifelong fascination with state-society relations. Cheng completed his PhD in Government at the London School of Economics (LSE) with a thesis that touched on Chinese grassroots politics.

Cheng’s family emigrated from mainland China to Hong Kong more than three decades ago. Witnessing all manner of changes on the mainland from his new home in the then British colony fuelled his interest in examining societal and political changes.

Eventually this interest made him enrol on a programme focusing on political sociology during his university life. His research interests ranged from contentious politics and public opinion surveys to Hong Kong politics and global China.

“When I was about to complete my bachelor’s degree, I struggled between whether I should enter the government department or pursue a law degree,” Cheng says. The young graduate would soon find that his interests propelled him towards the further study of politics, specifically about China. “In China, there is a domain that changes dramatically after opening up after

12 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

so many years, which has been a timely phenomenon yet to be fully conceptualised.”

Cheng joined several research centres after he acquired a master’s degree at LSE, then returned to the London university for his doctorate, after concluding that there is more freedom in pursuing an academic career than joining a think tank.

“It gives you more flexibility,” he explains. “You can determine your own research agenda, roughly speaking. You can actually travel abroad to meet with other colleagues. The cool thing about Hong Kong is that it is highly internationalised and you actually have good relations and collaboration opportunities with the outside world.”

Charting Human Values Around the World Hong Kong’s international outreach provides a “so-called gold standard for publishing”, Cheng adds, where you can connect with high-calibre peers and internationally reputed journals and audience.

“As a result (local) phenomena that we are studying are theoretically informed and returned to develop some more innovative methods.”

Dr Edmund Cheng treasures the opportunities to work with people with different perspectives and backgrounds.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 13

PEOPLE

Digitised information technologies contributed to the spread of misinformation and polarised views. It’s important to study contentious politics comparatively and scientifically

PEOPLE

Cheng, who has been the principal investigator of Hong Kong for the World Values Survey since 2017, used the study as an example: “The World Values Survey is the largest survey of human values in the world, covering around 80 countries and regions including Hong Kong. We created this kind of comparable time series data and this becomes some sort of public good not only for academics, but also for officials, journalists or other actors who want to know more.”

As the survey’s principal investigator, Cheng has the opportunity to collaborate with people who provide access to different knowledge, different methodologies and expertise. “We’re living in a very complex world. The relatively peaceful liberal order that we used to live in is facing a lot of challenges. Digitised information technologies also contributed to the spread of misinformation and polarised views.

So that is precisely why it is important to study contentious politics comparatively and scientifically. Scholars from different approaches and cultures see things differently and they bring new methodologies to the table.”

Cheng speaks about the “beauty of knowledge exchange and professional ethos” from attending international conferences (which have been reduced to virtual sessions due to the pandemic raging throughout 2020) and volunteering for the academic community. “On average I am reviewing 40 papers, books, and grant proposals per year.

So we spend our time with no sort of monetary reward; you don’t get paid for doing all these jobs, such as writing peer reviews and serving in professional associations, and they actually take a lot of time.” This embodies the kind of long-term collaboration that Cheng values.

Recently, Cheng and the Department of Public Policy collaborated with the American Political Science Association and the Department of Political Science at Korea University to co-organise the 2020 APSA Asia Pacific Workshop. Entitled “Contentious Politics and its Repercussions”, the workshop will fund 22 fellows from all over the

world to take part in a seven-day workshop. It aims to train the next generations of political scientists and increase the visibility of the College among professional networks.

The Importance of Collaboration and Open-Mindedness

Dr Edmund Cheng

Thanks to new technology, international academic exchange does not stop even when the pandemic is raging.

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Hong Kong’s international status provides an environment for connecting with the outside world.

What kind of trajectory can the region’s political researchers, such as himself, expect in the foreseeable future? “There are obviously both opportunities and challenges when global attention is on Hong Kong.

It is easier to get into top international journals, draw more people to read our work, and solicit international collaboration. Yet the resilience of our field will ultimately depend on the quality of the output.”

The associate professor also provides commentaries to South China Morning Post and serves as a host in a programme in Radio Television Hong Kong on a regular basis and has offered his views on Hong Kong’s public affairs.

“Hong Kong society has been deeply polarised because of upsurge of socio-political conflicts. Both the government and the opposition seem to believe that there’s a grand strategy on both sides to undermine each other,” Cheng says. His research suggests that this perception is partly amplified by contingent events. “To a degree, that

utterly destroyed the trust between the two sides and also created a certain kind of deepening threat among all the populations.”

Having served on the boards of several academic journals, professional associations and non-profit organisations, Cheng is also active in community outreach and research collaboration. He obtained HK$13 million in competitive research grants between 2015 and 2020.

With so many things going on, it is hard to imagine that the political expert commentator has time to do much else. “I think most people in Hong Kong are very busy. It’s always about how you can find something interesting in to be self-motivated, and achieve work-life balance.”

Cheng, who treasures the work ethos in academia, reveals his genuine belief that falsification is crucial to accumulate knowledge. “It is about finding a puzzle and solving it, which can only be made easy through open-mindedness, he says, in terms of attitude and approaches.

“The flexibility of thinking slow is some sort of luxury I enjoy.”

“Though politics and public administration are not always the hottest degrees, these are degrees in which people can train their mind to be logical and critical,” says Cheng. “Equip them with good methodology so that they can go into whatever field they like, [whether it is] joining the government, NGOs or some business sectors analysing policies and geopolitics.”

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PEOPLE

Digitised information technologies contributed to the spread of misinformation and polarised views. It’s important to study contentious politics comparatively and scientifically

PEOPLE

Cheng, who has been the principal investigator of Hong Kong for the World Values Survey since 2017, used the study as an example: “The World Values Survey is the largest survey of human values in the world, covering around 80 countries and regions including Hong Kong. We created this kind of comparable time series data and this becomes some sort of public good not only for academics, but also for officials, journalists or other actors who want to know more.”

As the survey’s principal investigator, Cheng has the opportunity to collaborate with people who provide access to different knowledge, different methodologies and expertise. “We’re living in a very complex world. The relatively peaceful liberal order that we used to live in is facing a lot of challenges. Digitised information technologies also contributed to the spread of misinformation and polarised views.

So that is precisely why it is important to study contentious politics comparatively and scientifically. Scholars from different approaches and cultures see things differently and they bring new methodologies to the table.”

Cheng speaks about the “beauty of knowledge exchange and professional ethos” from attending international conferences (which have been reduced to virtual sessions due to the pandemic raging throughout 2020) and volunteering for the academic community. “On average I am reviewing 40 papers, books, and grant proposals per year.

So we spend our time with no sort of monetary reward; you don’t get paid for doing all these jobs, such as writing peer reviews and serving in professional associations, and they actually take a lot of time.” This embodies the kind of long-term collaboration that Cheng values.

Recently, Cheng and the Department of Public Policy collaborated with the American Political Science Association and the Department of Political Science at Korea University to co-organise the 2020 APSA Asia Pacific Workshop. Entitled “Contentious Politics and its Repercussions”, the workshop will fund 22 fellows from all over the

world to take part in a seven-day workshop. It aims to train the next generations of political scientists and increase the visibility of the College among professional networks.

The Importance of Collaboration and Open-Mindedness

Dr Edmund Cheng

Thanks to new technology, international academic exchange does not stop even when the pandemic is raging.

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Hong Kong’s international status provides an environment for connecting with the outside world.

What kind of trajectory can the region’s political researchers, such as himself, expect in the foreseeable future? “There are obviously both opportunities and challenges when global attention is on Hong Kong.

It is easier to get into top international journals, draw more people to read our work, and solicit international collaboration. Yet the resilience of our field will ultimately depend on the quality of the output.”

The associate professor also provides commentaries to South China Morning Post and serves as a host in a programme in Radio Television Hong Kong on a regular basis and has offered his views on Hong Kong’s public affairs.

“Hong Kong society has been deeply polarised because of upsurge of socio-political conflicts. Both the government and the opposition seem to believe that there’s a grand strategy on both sides to undermine each other,” Cheng says. His research suggests that this perception is partly amplified by contingent events. “To a degree, that

utterly destroyed the trust between the two sides and also created a certain kind of deepening threat among all the populations.”

Having served on the boards of several academic journals, professional associations and non-profit organisations, Cheng is also active in community outreach and research collaboration. He obtained HK$13 million in competitive research grants between 2015 and 2020.

With so many things going on, it is hard to imagine that the political expert commentator has time to do much else. “I think most people in Hong Kong are very busy. It’s always about how you can find something interesting in to be self-motivated, and achieve work-life balance.”

Cheng, who treasures the work ethos in academia, reveals his genuine belief that falsification is crucial to accumulate knowledge. “It is about finding a puzzle and solving it, which can only be made easy through open-mindedness, he says, in terms of attitude and approaches.

“The flexibility of thinking slow is some sort of luxury I enjoy.”

“Though politics and public administration are not always the hottest degrees, these are degrees in which people can train their mind to be logical and critical,” says Cheng. “Equip them with good methodology so that they can go into whatever field they like, [whether it is] joining the government, NGOs or some business sectors analysing policies and geopolitics.”

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 15

PEOPLE

PEOPLE

A Successful Journey into Multimodal Imaging Methods Across the World

Innovation is important. But if your work involves using very advanced technology in the more humanistic area, the actual challenge is that you need to be able to explain it to people Dr Tse Chun-yu

Social scientist Dr TSE Chun-yu recounts his journey and experiences in brain imaging and the pioneering advances made in this field

N

ow Assistant Professor at CityU’s Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Dr TSE Chun-yu started his studies focusing on medicine, before eventually moving on to psychology. He already had a very specific field in mind that he wished to work in – cognitive neuroscience: the study of the brain and human mind through brain imaging and brain stimulation.

His journey into brain science took him from Hong Kong to the United States, to Singapore and then back to Hong Kong.

Tse studies the cognitive and neural architecture of the automatic/ pre-attentive change detection system in humans for the normal, ageing and clinical populations. He explains his research interests as examining “the memory and attention processes involved in detecting changes in the environment and neural substrates underlying those processes”. His work has delved into the application of multimodal brain imaging and stimulation methods that include electroencephalography (EEG), event-related optical signals (EROS), fast optical signals (FOS), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

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He earned his PhD in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2010 after obtaining his undergraduate and master degrees in Hong Kong.

Of Man and Brain-imaging Machine “There were two major types of optical brain imaging methods,” Tse elaborates. “One of them is called the functional NIRS (near-infrared spectroscopy). The other neuroimaging technique is the one that we are using, which is one that I’m more interested and specialised in – the EROS. The (optical brain imaging) method that I use is actually developed in Illinois,” he says. “It is the reason why I went there for my doctorate. When I was in my master’s programme I developed an interest in brain imaging; however, I don’t know how to proceed. At the time, the university had just bought an EROS machine. The machine remained in its box, lying around. Even my master’s thesis supervisor did not know how to use it. My supervisor said to me, ‘Oh, you want to learn brain imaging, how about start with EROS?’ OK, then I take it out of the box and figure out how to assemble it.”

Dr Tse Chun-yu has been delving into the study of the brain and human mind through brain imaging and brain stimulation.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 17

PEOPLE

PEOPLE

A Successful Journey into Multimodal Imaging Methods Across the World

Innovation is important. But if your work involves using very advanced technology in the more humanistic area, the actual challenge is that you need to be able to explain it to people Dr Tse Chun-yu

Social scientist Dr TSE Chun-yu recounts his journey and experiences in brain imaging and the pioneering advances made in this field

N

ow Assistant Professor at CityU’s Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Dr TSE Chun-yu started his studies focusing on medicine, before eventually moving on to psychology. He already had a very specific field in mind that he wished to work in – cognitive neuroscience: the study of the brain and human mind through brain imaging and brain stimulation.

His journey into brain science took him from Hong Kong to the United States, to Singapore and then back to Hong Kong.

Tse studies the cognitive and neural architecture of the automatic/ pre-attentive change detection system in humans for the normal, ageing and clinical populations. He explains his research interests as examining “the memory and attention processes involved in detecting changes in the environment and neural substrates underlying those processes”. His work has delved into the application of multimodal brain imaging and stimulation methods that include electroencephalography (EEG), event-related optical signals (EROS), fast optical signals (FOS), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

16 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

He earned his PhD in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2010 after obtaining his undergraduate and master degrees in Hong Kong.

Of Man and Brain-imaging Machine “There were two major types of optical brain imaging methods,” Tse elaborates. “One of them is called the functional NIRS (near-infrared spectroscopy). The other neuroimaging technique is the one that we are using, which is one that I’m more interested and specialised in – the EROS. The (optical brain imaging) method that I use is actually developed in Illinois,” he says. “It is the reason why I went there for my doctorate. When I was in my master’s programme I developed an interest in brain imaging; however, I don’t know how to proceed. At the time, the university had just bought an EROS machine. The machine remained in its box, lying around. Even my master’s thesis supervisor did not know how to use it. My supervisor said to me, ‘Oh, you want to learn brain imaging, how about start with EROS?’ OK, then I take it out of the box and figure out how to assemble it.”

Dr Tse Chun-yu has been delving into the study of the brain and human mind through brain imaging and brain stimulation.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 17

PEOPLE

PEOPLE

This occurred in 2013 when Tse joined the Department of Psychology of The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Even then, the life of a psychology researcher was not straightforward. Academic funding does not support the purchase of equipment, only the cost of research. As such, the TMS machine on which Tse had set his sights so many years ago would have to be acquired through the university.

Finally, a few years after Tse returned to Hong Kong, a tangible chance presented itself. “One of my collaborators knew the manufacturer. He presented my research idea to them, which is combining the optical and the brain stimulator, and they decided to give me the equipment at an extremely discounted price.”

When Persistence and Research Finally Yield Success Despite the challenges, everything seems to have finally fallen into place for Tse, who joined City University of Hong Kong last year.

Perseverance is an important trait for today’s academics – that and the ability to clearly communicate one’s research.

“Innovation is important. But if your work involves using very advanced technology while you work in the more humanistic area, the actual challenge is that you need to be able to explain it to people.

How do you use the machine? Why is that different from the traditional way? What is the scientific knowledge we can get from it? Ultimately, it is the kind of knowledge that you cannot get from traditional research methods, and there is the real challenge.”

The academic community is a multinational community, Tse concludes, and looks back at his own experience in different cultural environments. “The more people you meet, the more you understand about people with different cultural backgrounds, and that is a part you need to deal with.”

“In our professions there are different groups we collaborate with from many different areas: engineers, medical doctors, linguists…

They have their own thinking and own culture. We have a lot of collaborations. That’s why we need to be able to talk to different people and understand that.”

To record EEG, the participant of the study needs to wear a cap with embedded sensors. Gel is used to increase electrical conductivity.

Tse did exactly that, building the machine piece by piece and discovering how optical brain imaging worked. “By communicating with my PhD supervisor during my master’s study through email, that’s how we got to work with each other.” And so his trip to Illinois came about.

“When I got into this area, it was actually still developing; a lot of things were unknown” he says. “Later, I realised that what I discovered is not specific to the optical method, but the universal principles governing how brain imaging works, and helping me to quickly master many other imaging methods, like EEG and MRI, and see through the relationships between different methods,” he added. “It is difficult for me to define my work by a particular method, though my optical works shine. Outsiders love to define academics in this area by the method that they use, like an EEG or MRI person, but it is an old-fashioned way.

The frontier is integrating different types of brain imaging methods and brain stimulation to answer research questions that we have.”

While working on his PhD, Tse got wind that his supervisor’s team had acquired a brain stimulator. Upon hearing this news, a research idea hatched within Tse. “I wanted a chance to chat with my supervisor because I had the idea to combine the optical brain imaging and brain

18 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

stimulation methods, and I needed support to do that.”

Tse caught his supervisor during a coffee break and presented him with the idea. “Unfortunately, he didn’t let me do the project at the time. He said that I already had too many projects and I was heavily involved in a different research project.”

Putting Long-Awaited Research into Practice Though deeply disappointed, Tse would find another opportunity when he had joined Temasek Laboratories at the National University of Singapore as a research scientist (post-doctoral fellow). While he and his new team already possessed an optical machine, they wanted to get their hands on a TMS machine. However, in Singapore, Tse explains, people were cautious when it came to brain stimulators. “Research has shown that the use of brain stimulators is safe if you follow the guidelines. However, people there are more on the cautious side.”

Things had to go full circle before Tse could finally put his longawaited research to practice. “It wasn’t until I returned to Hong Kong that I was able to carry out my research – when I had my own lab and I could sell my own research directions.”

Brain imaging unveils the human mind which cannot be understood through studying one’s behaviours or verbal responses.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 19

PEOPLE

PEOPLE

This occurred in 2013 when Tse joined the Department of Psychology of The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Even then, the life of a psychology researcher was not straightforward. Academic funding does not support the purchase of equipment, only the cost of research. As such, the TMS machine on which Tse had set his sights so many years ago would have to be acquired through the university.

Finally, a few years after Tse returned to Hong Kong, a tangible chance presented itself. “One of my collaborators knew the manufacturer. He presented my research idea to them, which is combining the optical and the brain stimulator, and they decided to give me the equipment at an extremely discounted price.”

When Persistence and Research Finally Yield Success Despite the challenges, everything seems to have finally fallen into place for Tse, who joined City University of Hong Kong last year.

Perseverance is an important trait for today’s academics – that and the ability to clearly communicate one’s research.

“Innovation is important. But if your work involves using very advanced technology while you work in the more humanistic area, the actual challenge is that you need to be able to explain it to people.

How do you use the machine? Why is that different from the traditional way? What is the scientific knowledge we can get from it? Ultimately, it is the kind of knowledge that you cannot get from traditional research methods, and there is the real challenge.”

The academic community is a multinational community, Tse concludes, and looks back at his own experience in different cultural environments. “The more people you meet, the more you understand about people with different cultural backgrounds, and that is a part you need to deal with.”

“In our professions there are different groups we collaborate with from many different areas: engineers, medical doctors, linguists…

They have their own thinking and own culture. We have a lot of collaborations. That’s why we need to be able to talk to different people and understand that.”

To record EEG, the participant of the study needs to wear a cap with embedded sensors. Gel is used to increase electrical conductivity.

Tse did exactly that, building the machine piece by piece and discovering how optical brain imaging worked. “By communicating with my PhD supervisor during my master’s study through email, that’s how we got to work with each other.” And so his trip to Illinois came about.

“When I got into this area, it was actually still developing; a lot of things were unknown” he says. “Later, I realised that what I discovered is not specific to the optical method, but the universal principles governing how brain imaging works, and helping me to quickly master many other imaging methods, like EEG and MRI, and see through the relationships between different methods,” he added. “It is difficult for me to define my work by a particular method, though my optical works shine. Outsiders love to define academics in this area by the method that they use, like an EEG or MRI person, but it is an old-fashioned way.

The frontier is integrating different types of brain imaging methods and brain stimulation to answer research questions that we have.”

While working on his PhD, Tse got wind that his supervisor’s team had acquired a brain stimulator. Upon hearing this news, a research idea hatched within Tse. “I wanted a chance to chat with my supervisor because I had the idea to combine the optical brain imaging and brain

18 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

stimulation methods, and I needed support to do that.”

Tse caught his supervisor during a coffee break and presented him with the idea. “Unfortunately, he didn’t let me do the project at the time. He said that I already had too many projects and I was heavily involved in a different research project.”

Putting Long-Awaited Research into Practice Though deeply disappointed, Tse would find another opportunity when he had joined Temasek Laboratories at the National University of Singapore as a research scientist (post-doctoral fellow). While he and his new team already possessed an optical machine, they wanted to get their hands on a TMS machine. However, in Singapore, Tse explains, people were cautious when it came to brain stimulators. “Research has shown that the use of brain stimulators is safe if you follow the guidelines. However, people there are more on the cautious side.”

Things had to go full circle before Tse could finally put his longawaited research to practice. “It wasn’t until I returned to Hong Kong that I was able to carry out my research – when I had my own lab and I could sell my own research directions.”

Brain imaging unveils the human mind which cannot be understood through studying one’s behaviours or verbal responses.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 19

RESEARCH

RESEARCH

The Perpetuation of Parliamentary Rituals in Myanmar

Myanmar is currently undergoing a period of democratic transition. After nearly 50 years without a freely elected assembly, elections have been held three times since 2010.

P

arliaments come from somewhere. They often boast colourful rituals and ceremonies, which tend to reflect ancient political struggles and a wide variety of cultural legacies. Their architecture, chamber layout and internal rules also inform us about the historical distribution of power in a society, and the maintenance or contestation of social hierarchies and political traditions. How parliamentary institutions are (re)created and take shape, in particular after the end of authoritarian rule, and what does it tell us about political and democratic processes, is the focus of the recent studies of Dr Renaud EGRETEAU, Associate Professor at CityU’s Department of Asian and International Studies.

Myanmar (formerly Burma), a former British colony in Southeast Asia long ruled by its armed forces, offers a compelling case for the study of legislative institution-building in times of democratic transition. Its national parliament reconvened in January 2011 after five decades without recourse to a freely elected assembly.

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Three rounds of general elections held in 2010, 2015 and most recently in November 2020, have consolidated a parliamentary institution at the core of a democratic system.

In an article published in the Journal of Legislative Studies, Egreteau has examined the significance of two parliamentary rituals reintroduced in Myanmar’s new legislature. The aim was to probe into their meaning and understand why, and how, the country’s elites have chosen to perpetuate, and even re-appropriate, two highly symbolic ceremonies that are a remnant of Myanmar’s British colonial past: the oath taken by legislators and the mace-bearing spectacle marking the opening of a legislative session. The study is based on document analysis and archival research into constitutional texts and rules of parliamentary procedures, and is supplemented with interviews of legislative officials carried out in Naypyitaw, Myanmar’s capital.

Its findings suggest a continuing dominance of ethnic Bamar, Buddhist elites who have embedded–consciously or not–their own values, behavioural norms, histories and hierarchies into Myanmar’s post-authoritarian public institutions. Legislative oaths, regarded with semi-religious dread in such a Buddhist-dominated society, have ensured discipline and deference. The majesty of the Westminsterinspired mace-bearing ceremony has on its side conferred hegemonic powers and king-like status on parliamentary leaders. This research therefore highlights how the performance of such rituals has contributed to the shaping, and reinforcement, of hidden rituals of social control and existing power distribution in one of the core institutions of post-junta Myanmar.

Publication and achievements Egreteau, R. (2020). Parliamentary Rituals, Institutional Continuity and the Reinvention of Political Traditions in Myanmar, Journal of Legislative Studies 26(1): 113-132. DOI: 10.1080/13572334.2020.1730487

Move Analysis of E-commerce Customer Service Webchat Exchange T

exting, common in social media, is fast becoming the norm in the workplace. For example, webchat for customer service is becoming increasingly favoured in the contact centre industry.

Businesses predicted a few years back that this form of customer service would soon supersede telephonic support for sales and customer support, and this is increasingly the case.

Webchat for customer service is, however, faced with challenges in terms of quality, particularly in outsourced destinations in Asia where English is used as a second language. Also, like any new application of technology for communication, there is a great deal to uncover in how this new media works for business from a language point of view.

This study, of which Assistant Professor at CityU’s Department of English, Dr XU Xiaoyu, is one of the researchers, therefore collected 15 customer service webchat exchanges from an international online retail company and explored the challenges by looking at the average handling time, the structure of communication, and the affordances of online platforms.

The rich data has uncovered several features that can shed light on ways of improving communication for contact centres. It was found that customers were likely sent to the wrong agents/departments and they are forced to go through many transfers and having to repeat their problems. To improve the accuracy of assigning the right agents, contact centres can further embrace technology such as machine learning. However, in the likelihood of transfer, agents should be trained with the soft skill of reading and summarising chat history and showing an understanding of the key issues.

It was also found that the structure of communication highly depends on the type of business, company policies and division of labour in contact centres. The researchers suggest that for a genre that depends extensively on specific business needs, companies can conduct genre analyses of their own webchat data for training materials that fit in their context best. This has implications for training key stakeholders on how to carry out such analyses, and how to convert the findings into practical solutions.

Webchat for customer service is increasingly favoured but there are many challenges to be handled.

The data has shown that some agents can take advantage of such affordances of webchat and shift responsibility to the customers for finding the right instructions, thereby solving their own problems. This should be taken into account in contact centre training programmes to remind agents of their supportive roles when it comes to the convenience afforded by digital media.

The results of this analysis can be a valuable resource for the pre-employment training and coaching of online customer service representatives as well as for business communication courses in higher education where little attention is given to such genre.

Publication and achievements Xu, X., & Lockwood, J. (2021). What’s going on in the chat flow?

A move analysis of e-commerce customer service webchat exchange. English for Specific Purposes, 61, 84-96. DOI: 10.1016/ j.esp.2020.09.002

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 21

RESEARCH

RESEARCH

The Perpetuation of Parliamentary Rituals in Myanmar

Myanmar is currently undergoing a period of democratic transition. After nearly 50 years without a freely elected assembly, elections have been held three times since 2010.

P

arliaments come from somewhere. They often boast colourful rituals and ceremonies, which tend to reflect ancient political struggles and a wide variety of cultural legacies. Their architecture, chamber layout and internal rules also inform us about the historical distribution of power in a society, and the maintenance or contestation of social hierarchies and political traditions. How parliamentary institutions are (re)created and take shape, in particular after the end of authoritarian rule, and what does it tell us about political and democratic processes, is the focus of the recent studies of Dr Renaud EGRETEAU, Associate Professor at CityU’s Department of Asian and International Studies.

Myanmar (formerly Burma), a former British colony in Southeast Asia long ruled by its armed forces, offers a compelling case for the study of legislative institution-building in times of democratic transition. Its national parliament reconvened in January 2011 after five decades without recourse to a freely elected assembly.

20 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

Three rounds of general elections held in 2010, 2015 and most recently in November 2020, have consolidated a parliamentary institution at the core of a democratic system.

In an article published in the Journal of Legislative Studies, Egreteau has examined the significance of two parliamentary rituals reintroduced in Myanmar’s new legislature. The aim was to probe into their meaning and understand why, and how, the country’s elites have chosen to perpetuate, and even re-appropriate, two highly symbolic ceremonies that are a remnant of Myanmar’s British colonial past: the oath taken by legislators and the mace-bearing spectacle marking the opening of a legislative session. The study is based on document analysis and archival research into constitutional texts and rules of parliamentary procedures, and is supplemented with interviews of legislative officials carried out in Naypyitaw, Myanmar’s capital.

Its findings suggest a continuing dominance of ethnic Bamar, Buddhist elites who have embedded–consciously or not–their own values, behavioural norms, histories and hierarchies into Myanmar’s post-authoritarian public institutions. Legislative oaths, regarded with semi-religious dread in such a Buddhist-dominated society, have ensured discipline and deference. The majesty of the Westminsterinspired mace-bearing ceremony has on its side conferred hegemonic powers and king-like status on parliamentary leaders. This research therefore highlights how the performance of such rituals has contributed to the shaping, and reinforcement, of hidden rituals of social control and existing power distribution in one of the core institutions of post-junta Myanmar.

Publication and achievements Egreteau, R. (2020). Parliamentary Rituals, Institutional Continuity and the Reinvention of Political Traditions in Myanmar, Journal of Legislative Studies 26(1): 113-132. DOI: 10.1080/13572334.2020.1730487

Move Analysis of E-commerce Customer Service Webchat Exchange T

exting, common in social media, is fast becoming the norm in the workplace. For example, webchat for customer service is becoming increasingly favoured in the contact centre industry.

Businesses predicted a few years back that this form of customer service would soon supersede telephonic support for sales and customer support, and this is increasingly the case.

Webchat for customer service is, however, faced with challenges in terms of quality, particularly in outsourced destinations in Asia where English is used as a second language. Also, like any new application of technology for communication, there is a great deal to uncover in how this new media works for business from a language point of view.

This study, of which Assistant Professor at CityU’s Department of English, Dr XU Xiaoyu, is one of the researchers, therefore collected 15 customer service webchat exchanges from an international online retail company and explored the challenges by looking at the average handling time, the structure of communication, and the affordances of online platforms.

The rich data has uncovered several features that can shed light on ways of improving communication for contact centres. It was found that customers were likely sent to the wrong agents/departments and they are forced to go through many transfers and having to repeat their problems. To improve the accuracy of assigning the right agents, contact centres can further embrace technology such as machine learning. However, in the likelihood of transfer, agents should be trained with the soft skill of reading and summarising chat history and showing an understanding of the key issues.

It was also found that the structure of communication highly depends on the type of business, company policies and division of labour in contact centres. The researchers suggest that for a genre that depends extensively on specific business needs, companies can conduct genre analyses of their own webchat data for training materials that fit in their context best. This has implications for training key stakeholders on how to carry out such analyses, and how to convert the findings into practical solutions.

Webchat for customer service is increasingly favoured but there are many challenges to be handled.

The data has shown that some agents can take advantage of such affordances of webchat and shift responsibility to the customers for finding the right instructions, thereby solving their own problems. This should be taken into account in contact centre training programmes to remind agents of their supportive roles when it comes to the convenience afforded by digital media.

The results of this analysis can be a valuable resource for the pre-employment training and coaching of online customer service representatives as well as for business communication courses in higher education where little attention is given to such genre.

Publication and achievements Xu, X., & Lockwood, J. (2021). What’s going on in the chat flow?

A move analysis of e-commerce customer service webchat exchange. English for Specific Purposes, 61, 84-96. DOI: 10.1016/ j.esp.2020.09.002

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 21

RESEARCH

RESEARCH

Effects of Traditional and New Media on China’s Political Landscape T

he sustain of the communist regime, particularly the Chinese government, has been an interest in academia. Despite the collapse of communist ideology after the Cold War, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has succeeded in gaining high support among citizens. This paper, authored by Associate Professor Dr Tetsuro KOBAYASHI and PhD Candidate WANG Xiaoting of CityU’s Department of Media and Communication, argues that nationalism propaganda by the media plays a prominent role in uniting Chinese people ideologically. It is because nationalism, defined as “a perception of national superiority and an orientation toward national dominance” (Kosterman & Feshbach, 1989:271), strengthens the distinction between foreign “other” and “self”, serving as a form of motive for the Chinese people to defend the image of China as a powerful state. By articulating the nature of political information that is contingent on types of media, this study provides novel empirical evidence that is of great importance for understanding the impact of media use on the (in)stability of the current political system in China.

The analysis results of survey data indicated that people who mainly gain political information through Chinese state-controlled media outlets (namely CCTV, People’s Daily, and Xinhua News) were reliably associated with a higher level of nationalism, which in turn positively predicted higher support for the current political system.

However, considering that the younger generation in China is gradually tuning out from the mass media, the magnitude of its effect in the future is in question. When it comes to social media, Weibo and WeChat cannot be lumped together under the name “social media” in terms of their propaganda impacts on political system support in China. Specifically, as political information on Weibo is more diverse than that on traditional state-led mass media, it is expected to undermine the effect of CCP-led nationalist propaganda, which in turn reduces support for the current political system. In contrast, the dissemination of political information is relatively limited on WeChat because its technological features strongly facilitate social interactions among people who know each other in person. Therefore, the use of political information through WeChat predicted higher levels of nationalism in this study.

The study demonstrated that the proliferation of social media is not tantamount to the potential of social change in China; at least not in the case for WeChat. At the same time, with the tightening control on the media industry in Chinese President XI Jinping’s administration, the Chinese media could effectively promote nationalism to gain support for its legitimacy.

Publication and achievements Wang, X., & Kobayashi, T. (2020). Nationalism and political system justification in China: differential effects of traditional and new media. Chinese Journal of Communication. DOI: 10.1080/17544750.2020.1807372 The Chinese media, both the traditional ones and the social media, promote nationalism but to different extents.

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Effectiveness of Information Posters Investigated with Eye-tracking Technology I

nformation-based tools are often used in public organisations to persuade changes in its audiences’ behaviours, especially for influencing their thinking, knowledge, or beliefs towards a particular behaviour to attain desired policy goals. Direct implementation of specific regulations to prohibit behaviours inflicts a perceived loss of freedom, and the effect of incentive rewarding approaches often fades with time. Hence, without using prohibitions or time-consuming and costly methods, information-based tools such as information posters provide a cost-effective and convenient way to achieve the desired outcome. Yet the effectiveness of informationbased tools is questioned. Specifically, optimal designs that give higher rates of effectiveness remain unexplored.

Professor Richard M WALKER, Dean of CityU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and Chan Hon Pun Professor of Behavioural and Policy Sciences, along with Dr Dannii YEUNG, Associate Professor of the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, addressed this concern in their article by investigating and comparing different designs and components of eco-information posters that lead to changes in the audiences’ behavioural intentions to perform proenvironmental activities.

To understand the effectiveness of various components in information posters, using eye-tracking technology, the study examined how university students looked at posters promoting environmental behaviours on recycling, energy use, and food waste.

Their behavioural intention to perform the three types of proenvironmental activities were also measured before and after the eye-tracking experiment. The findings reveal a number of practical implications. First, the study found that slogans were the first and most impactful component of an information poster that students would look at. Second, poster designs that had positive slogans and negative images were remembered the most. Third, for the students who held negative attitudes towards environmental behaviour before the experiment, the image component of posters showed more potential for behavioural change, but not for those who had positive attitudes.

The eye-tracker is used for tracking one's eye movements, gaze points, and fixations.

This finding suggests that posters should be nuanced and tailored to specific target audiences.

The study provides implications for policymakers to decide what specific features and components to include during information poster development for different purposes. The study also provides a glimpse of how eye-tracking technology can provide insight beyond traditional observational methods to assist with research and development for organisations that utilise posters as a means to convey important messages to the public.

Publication and achievements Walker, R. M., Yeung, D. Y., Lee, M. J., & Lee, I. P. (2020).

Assessing information-based policy tools: An eye-tracking laboratory experiment on public information posters. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice. DOI: 10.1080/13876988.2020.1753035

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 23

RESEARCH

RESEARCH

Effects of Traditional and New Media on China’s Political Landscape T

he sustain of the communist regime, particularly the Chinese government, has been an interest in academia. Despite the collapse of communist ideology after the Cold War, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has succeeded in gaining high support among citizens. This paper, authored by Associate Professor Dr Tetsuro KOBAYASHI and PhD Candidate WANG Xiaoting of CityU’s Department of Media and Communication, argues that nationalism propaganda by the media plays a prominent role in uniting Chinese people ideologically. It is because nationalism, defined as “a perception of national superiority and an orientation toward national dominance” (Kosterman & Feshbach, 1989:271), strengthens the distinction between foreign “other” and “self”, serving as a form of motive for the Chinese people to defend the image of China as a powerful state. By articulating the nature of political information that is contingent on types of media, this study provides novel empirical evidence that is of great importance for understanding the impact of media use on the (in)stability of the current political system in China.

The analysis results of survey data indicated that people who mainly gain political information through Chinese state-controlled media outlets (namely CCTV, People’s Daily, and Xinhua News) were reliably associated with a higher level of nationalism, which in turn positively predicted higher support for the current political system.

However, considering that the younger generation in China is gradually tuning out from the mass media, the magnitude of its effect in the future is in question. When it comes to social media, Weibo and WeChat cannot be lumped together under the name “social media” in terms of their propaganda impacts on political system support in China. Specifically, as political information on Weibo is more diverse than that on traditional state-led mass media, it is expected to undermine the effect of CCP-led nationalist propaganda, which in turn reduces support for the current political system. In contrast, the dissemination of political information is relatively limited on WeChat because its technological features strongly facilitate social interactions among people who know each other in person. Therefore, the use of political information through WeChat predicted higher levels of nationalism in this study.

The study demonstrated that the proliferation of social media is not tantamount to the potential of social change in China; at least not in the case for WeChat. At the same time, with the tightening control on the media industry in Chinese President XI Jinping’s administration, the Chinese media could effectively promote nationalism to gain support for its legitimacy.

Publication and achievements Wang, X., & Kobayashi, T. (2020). Nationalism and political system justification in China: differential effects of traditional and new media. Chinese Journal of Communication. DOI: 10.1080/17544750.2020.1807372 The Chinese media, both the traditional ones and the social media, promote nationalism but to different extents.

22 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

Effectiveness of Information Posters Investigated with Eye-tracking Technology I

nformation-based tools are often used in public organisations to persuade changes in its audiences’ behaviours, especially for influencing their thinking, knowledge, or beliefs towards a particular behaviour to attain desired policy goals. Direct implementation of specific regulations to prohibit behaviours inflicts a perceived loss of freedom, and the effect of incentive rewarding approaches often fades with time. Hence, without using prohibitions or time-consuming and costly methods, information-based tools such as information posters provide a cost-effective and convenient way to achieve the desired outcome. Yet the effectiveness of informationbased tools is questioned. Specifically, optimal designs that give higher rates of effectiveness remain unexplored.

Professor Richard M WALKER, Dean of CityU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and Chan Hon Pun Professor of Behavioural and Policy Sciences, along with Dr Dannii YEUNG, Associate Professor of the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, addressed this concern in their article by investigating and comparing different designs and components of eco-information posters that lead to changes in the audiences’ behavioural intentions to perform proenvironmental activities.

To understand the effectiveness of various components in information posters, using eye-tracking technology, the study examined how university students looked at posters promoting environmental behaviours on recycling, energy use, and food waste.

Their behavioural intention to perform the three types of proenvironmental activities were also measured before and after the eye-tracking experiment. The findings reveal a number of practical implications. First, the study found that slogans were the first and most impactful component of an information poster that students would look at. Second, poster designs that had positive slogans and negative images were remembered the most. Third, for the students who held negative attitudes towards environmental behaviour before the experiment, the image component of posters showed more potential for behavioural change, but not for those who had positive attitudes.

The eye-tracker is used for tracking one's eye movements, gaze points, and fixations.

This finding suggests that posters should be nuanced and tailored to specific target audiences.

The study provides implications for policymakers to decide what specific features and components to include during information poster development for different purposes. The study also provides a glimpse of how eye-tracking technology can provide insight beyond traditional observational methods to assist with research and development for organisations that utilise posters as a means to convey important messages to the public.

Publication and achievements Walker, R. M., Yeung, D. Y., Lee, M. J., & Lee, I. P. (2020).

Assessing information-based policy tools: An eye-tracking laboratory experiment on public information posters. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice. DOI: 10.1080/13876988.2020.1753035

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 23

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

Automatic Text Simplification: A Breakthrough Innovation

We have ever more text that has been digitised and can be manipulated by computers. It is a golden era for using statistical methods to analyse language Dr John Lee Sie-yuen

Dr John LEE Sie-yuen explains his new research project on automatic text simplification and its real-world applications

B

y securing a US patent to crown his latest research project on an algorithm for automatic text simplification, Dr John LEE Sie-yuen, Associate Professor at CityU’s Department of Linguistics and Translation, has shown the study of language from a computational perspective can lead to a breakthrough innovation with a range of potential applications.

In essence, his invention makes it possible to take a text an individual may find difficult, perhaps a legal document or a Wall Street Journal editorial on economic policy, and creates an easier to understand version.

It does this by adjusting the original vocabulary and syntactic structure, using word replacement and shorter sentences, to bring out the meaning for non-experts in the subject or those still learning the language.

Crucially, the process can also be customised, anticipating the words and level of complexity each reader can already handle and, as a result, only simplifying as much as necessary.

In effect, it takes account of education, professional background and language proficiency, improving on the conventional approach which tends just to throw up the most basic synonyms, whatever the context, or changes too little, thus leaving the reader still unenlightened.

Identification and Simplification “While many text simplification algorithms have been designed, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first one that is personalised,” says Lee. “That is the innovation in the patent. In principle, you can input any text – English, Chinese or whatever – and the computer will simplify more for, say, a Grade 1 student and less for Grade 12.”

24 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

To personalise, it makes use of a process called complex word identification, a predictive model which needs some training data to get things started. That comes from giving the intended user 50 sample words to indicate with a yes or no answer which of them he or she knows. The words represent different levels of difficulty and frequencies of usage. With this information, the computer can then predict which other words the user would understand in that language.

Taking English as an example, Lee explains that the 50 sample words are carefully chosen and the same for every person. When picking them, his research assistants referred to Education Bureau guidelines on what students are expected to know in various grades and checked readily available sources on word frequencies in newspapers and other publications.

On an ascending scale covering five levels of difficulty, test words might be, for example, “boy”, “room”, “technology”, “comprehension” and “parataxis”. Taking your answers, the model can predict what else you know and, therefore, which words in a text will need simplification.

Doing that involves two stages: first syntactical, to break up long sentences, and then lexical, or word replacement. That is where the personalised aspect kicks in, deciding which words to substitute given the model’s knowledge and predictions.

“It would decide, for example, that for a linguist the word ‘parataxis’ is OK,” Lee says. “But if a word does need to be simplified, the model will search for synonyms that fit the context, are semantically most similar, and are known to the reader. If a system is

Dr John Lee Sie-yuen developed a personalised text simplification algorithm.

constrained to use only very simple words, it is hard to be faithful to the original reading. With this model, you can consider who the reader is and make the trade-off, so as to choose the best synonym.”

Harnessing the Power of Technology Lee traces his initial interest in this field of research back to his high school years in Toronto. As part of a Grade 11 computer course, he was asked to do a relevant term project. He was also studying French at the time, so decided to write a program in Basic to conjugate regular French verbs automatically.

“I thought it was one problem a computer could solve, and it was my first attempt to apply computer science to language processing,” he says, noting that it ultimately led to a PhD in computational linguistics at MIT. “Language technology is increasingly a big data field because we have ever more text that has been digitised and can be manipulated by computers. It is a golden era for using statistical methods to analyse language.”

The latest project was supported by an Innovation and Technology Commission grant and, so far, has taken about 18 months. Work is continuing on some refinements to the prototype system to enhance the modelling of vocabulary and complex word identification.

“We are also hoping to apply neural networks and other artificial intelligence technologies before offering it to the public,” Lee says.

“Another research question that still needs work is deciding which words cannot be simplified, and should instead be glossed. And, rather than asking the user to indicate his or her knowledge of 50 sample words, the better way might be to collect feedback as the user reads documents with the system. With ongoing feedback, the model’s prediction will become more accurate and the simplification more tailored to your level.”

Several possible applications are already being discussed. For instance, it could help teachers prepare materials for the classroom.

Publishers may want to offer different versions of a book for readers with different language abilities. And search engine results could be improved by selecting options most suitable for the reader’s language proficiency level.

“Looking ahead, a potential research direction is to use text simplification in reverse to propose better vocabulary choice for formal writing, “ Lee says. “For instance, you put in your essay and the system can spot vague, generic words and suggest harder but more precise words as replacements.”

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 25

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

Automatic Text Simplification: A Breakthrough Innovation

We have ever more text that has been digitised and can be manipulated by computers. It is a golden era for using statistical methods to analyse language Dr John Lee Sie-yuen

Dr John LEE Sie-yuen explains his new research project on automatic text simplification and its real-world applications

B

y securing a US patent to crown his latest research project on an algorithm for automatic text simplification, Dr John LEE Sie-yuen, Associate Professor at CityU’s Department of Linguistics and Translation, has shown the study of language from a computational perspective can lead to a breakthrough innovation with a range of potential applications.

In essence, his invention makes it possible to take a text an individual may find difficult, perhaps a legal document or a Wall Street Journal editorial on economic policy, and creates an easier to understand version.

It does this by adjusting the original vocabulary and syntactic structure, using word replacement and shorter sentences, to bring out the meaning for non-experts in the subject or those still learning the language.

Crucially, the process can also be customised, anticipating the words and level of complexity each reader can already handle and, as a result, only simplifying as much as necessary.

In effect, it takes account of education, professional background and language proficiency, improving on the conventional approach which tends just to throw up the most basic synonyms, whatever the context, or changes too little, thus leaving the reader still unenlightened.

Identification and Simplification “While many text simplification algorithms have been designed, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first one that is personalised,” says Lee. “That is the innovation in the patent. In principle, you can input any text – English, Chinese or whatever – and the computer will simplify more for, say, a Grade 1 student and less for Grade 12.”

24 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

To personalise, it makes use of a process called complex word identification, a predictive model which needs some training data to get things started. That comes from giving the intended user 50 sample words to indicate with a yes or no answer which of them he or she knows. The words represent different levels of difficulty and frequencies of usage. With this information, the computer can then predict which other words the user would understand in that language.

Taking English as an example, Lee explains that the 50 sample words are carefully chosen and the same for every person. When picking them, his research assistants referred to Education Bureau guidelines on what students are expected to know in various grades and checked readily available sources on word frequencies in newspapers and other publications.

On an ascending scale covering five levels of difficulty, test words might be, for example, “boy”, “room”, “technology”, “comprehension” and “parataxis”. Taking your answers, the model can predict what else you know and, therefore, which words in a text will need simplification.

Doing that involves two stages: first syntactical, to break up long sentences, and then lexical, or word replacement. That is where the personalised aspect kicks in, deciding which words to substitute given the model’s knowledge and predictions.

“It would decide, for example, that for a linguist the word ‘parataxis’ is OK,” Lee says. “But if a word does need to be simplified, the model will search for synonyms that fit the context, are semantically most similar, and are known to the reader. If a system is

Dr John Lee Sie-yuen developed a personalised text simplification algorithm.

constrained to use only very simple words, it is hard to be faithful to the original reading. With this model, you can consider who the reader is and make the trade-off, so as to choose the best synonym.”

Harnessing the Power of Technology Lee traces his initial interest in this field of research back to his high school years in Toronto. As part of a Grade 11 computer course, he was asked to do a relevant term project. He was also studying French at the time, so decided to write a program in Basic to conjugate regular French verbs automatically.

“I thought it was one problem a computer could solve, and it was my first attempt to apply computer science to language processing,” he says, noting that it ultimately led to a PhD in computational linguistics at MIT. “Language technology is increasingly a big data field because we have ever more text that has been digitised and can be manipulated by computers. It is a golden era for using statistical methods to analyse language.”

The latest project was supported by an Innovation and Technology Commission grant and, so far, has taken about 18 months. Work is continuing on some refinements to the prototype system to enhance the modelling of vocabulary and complex word identification.

“We are also hoping to apply neural networks and other artificial intelligence technologies before offering it to the public,” Lee says.

“Another research question that still needs work is deciding which words cannot be simplified, and should instead be glossed. And, rather than asking the user to indicate his or her knowledge of 50 sample words, the better way might be to collect feedback as the user reads documents with the system. With ongoing feedback, the model’s prediction will become more accurate and the simplification more tailored to your level.”

Several possible applications are already being discussed. For instance, it could help teachers prepare materials for the classroom.

Publishers may want to offer different versions of a book for readers with different language abilities. And search engine results could be improved by selecting options most suitable for the reader’s language proficiency level.

“Looking ahead, a potential research direction is to use text simplification in reverse to propose better vocabulary choice for formal writing, “ Lee says. “For instance, you put in your essay and the system can spot vague, generic words and suggest harder but more precise words as replacements.”

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 25

EVENTS

EVENTS

Women and Literati in Chinese History Tell Many Stories Chinese and history scholars at CityU led teachers to explore Chinese history from different angles through a series of talks

A Glimpse of Life from the Writings of Literati Dr TSUI Lik-hang began the first talk by guiding the audience through numerous academic studies that portrayed the Song dynasty as an era of prosperity. A book by the late historian Philip D CURTIN reads, “between…960 and…1127, China passed through a phase of economic growth that was unprecedented.” Economic historian Mark ELVIN also remarked that China at this time was “the most urbanised society in the world”.

The talk then turned to its most absorbing part, when Tsui shared what he discovered while investigating the informal letters and poems written by scholar-official OUYANG Xiu between 1054 to 1067.

During this period, he held senior posts in the imperial capital city of Kaifeng and should have led a well-off life. However, complaints about the city are extensively found in his letters and poems.

For example, Ouyang wrote a letter in 1056 recounting his unfortunate experience during a serious flood: “My [residence] was flooded by water. I relocated my family to the Bureau of Tang History in panic, but we were driven out. We had to return to our residence, stay under the roof during daytime and sleep on rafts in the open at night.”

In other letters and poems, he reported several incidents of floods that trapped him in his leaking house, and the challenging conditions he faced in other weather hazards such as heavy snow and heatwaves.

Apart from natural disasters, Ouyang also wrote extensively about facing difficulties in obtaining good medical care in the imperial capital. In a letter to his close friend MEI Yaochen, he asked for help because his mother had been ill for some time. An epitaph for Mei, who probably died of an epidemic disease, suggested that misdiagnosis by incompetent physicians was the cause.

Tsui drew the teachers’ attention to the fact that Ouyang’s writings only described his own circumstances, and if a top official like him encountered hardships, one could imagine how other residents struggled in the rapid developing city. He also added that studying the daily lives of historical figures could offer rich perspectives to the teaching and learning of Chinese history.

Status of Women Reflected through Marriage Traditions and the Cult of Chastity

Women in ancient and imperial China generally lived hard lives.

T

he teaching and learning of Chinese history focus mainly on dynasty transitions and incidents like palace power struggles, military coups and social unrests. Students may be able to name famous historical figures like the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, Genghis Khan, and Empress Dowager Cixi, and tell how they were involved in those events. However, as textbooks usually lack multi-faceted depictions of these figures, let alone mentions of less famous people, the subject is not always attractive to all students.

26 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

To offer a new—and more human—perspective on Chinese history to secondary school teachers, CityU’s Department of Chinese and History (CAH) and the Personal, Social and Humanities Education Section of HKSAR’s Education Bureau co-organised a series of two talks in early December 2020 with the support of the Tin Ka Ping Foundation. The first introduced the life experiences of Song literati, while the second discussed the plight of the women of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

The second talk, hosted by Dr LO Kar-kee, was introduced by an epitaph written by Qing poet YUAN Ji, who was faithful to her husband even though she faced abuse by him. From her expression of grief, and taking into account the marriage traditions, cult of chastity, laws and economic situation of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, Lo revealed the plight of women in Chinese history to the audience.

The Yuan dynasty was under the rule of the Mongols but certain Han practices were retained. Marriage customs of the Han Chinese, for example, were still observed, but there were tinges of the characteristics of the Yuan governance. For example, the Mongol practice of levirate marriage, which allowed a man to marry the wife of his deceased brother, was permitted. Laws promoting chastity among Han widows were introduced, although remarriage was still common.

Ouyang Xiu described how he struggled during serious floods in letters and writings.

Starting from the Yuan dynasty, women had to forfeit their property should they leave their first marriage.

During the Ming dynasty, neo-Confucianism became prominent, and the status of “chaste widows” was elevated. The Ming authority honoured these women in official edicts and by the construction of chastity arches to commemorate them. Women who died resisting rape, or who committed suicide after their husband’s death, were referred to as “fierce women”. Yet, heresy against neo-Confucianism, and ideas depicting sympathy and compassion for women, were also prevalent.

Entering the Qing dynasty, chastity among women was further promoted and encouraged via legal measures. Shelters were built to protect widows from being forced to remarry, allowing them to live a life of “virtuous chastity”.

The talk ended with an overview of the economic boom during the Ming and Qing dynasties, during which some women gained power within their families and were able to travel with their fathers or husbands. However, the overall plight of women still left a lot to be desired.

Knowledge Exchange Continues in Time of Social Distancing The talks, which were delivered online due to the pandemic, were well received, with a total of over 300 teachers participating. The speakers were pleased with the turnout, and hoped the views shared would inspire the attendees to view Chinese history differently, which would also help in their pedagogy development.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 27

EVENTS

EVENTS

Women and Literati in Chinese History Tell Many Stories Chinese and history scholars at CityU led teachers to explore Chinese history from different angles through a series of talks

A Glimpse of Life from the Writings of Literati Dr TSUI Lik-hang began the first talk by guiding the audience through numerous academic studies that portrayed the Song dynasty as an era of prosperity. A book by the late historian Philip D CURTIN reads, “between…960 and…1127, China passed through a phase of economic growth that was unprecedented.” Economic historian Mark ELVIN also remarked that China at this time was “the most urbanised society in the world”.

The talk then turned to its most absorbing part, when Tsui shared what he discovered while investigating the informal letters and poems written by scholar-official OUYANG Xiu between 1054 to 1067.

During this period, he held senior posts in the imperial capital city of Kaifeng and should have led a well-off life. However, complaints about the city are extensively found in his letters and poems.

For example, Ouyang wrote a letter in 1056 recounting his unfortunate experience during a serious flood: “My [residence] was flooded by water. I relocated my family to the Bureau of Tang History in panic, but we were driven out. We had to return to our residence, stay under the roof during daytime and sleep on rafts in the open at night.”

In other letters and poems, he reported several incidents of floods that trapped him in his leaking house, and the challenging conditions he faced in other weather hazards such as heavy snow and heatwaves.

Apart from natural disasters, Ouyang also wrote extensively about facing difficulties in obtaining good medical care in the imperial capital. In a letter to his close friend MEI Yaochen, he asked for help because his mother had been ill for some time. An epitaph for Mei, who probably died of an epidemic disease, suggested that misdiagnosis by incompetent physicians was the cause.

Tsui drew the teachers’ attention to the fact that Ouyang’s writings only described his own circumstances, and if a top official like him encountered hardships, one could imagine how other residents struggled in the rapid developing city. He also added that studying the daily lives of historical figures could offer rich perspectives to the teaching and learning of Chinese history.

Status of Women Reflected through Marriage Traditions and the Cult of Chastity

Women in ancient and imperial China generally lived hard lives.

T

he teaching and learning of Chinese history focus mainly on dynasty transitions and incidents like palace power struggles, military coups and social unrests. Students may be able to name famous historical figures like the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, Genghis Khan, and Empress Dowager Cixi, and tell how they were involved in those events. However, as textbooks usually lack multi-faceted depictions of these figures, let alone mentions of less famous people, the subject is not always attractive to all students.

26 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

To offer a new—and more human—perspective on Chinese history to secondary school teachers, CityU’s Department of Chinese and History (CAH) and the Personal, Social and Humanities Education Section of HKSAR’s Education Bureau co-organised a series of two talks in early December 2020 with the support of the Tin Ka Ping Foundation. The first introduced the life experiences of Song literati, while the second discussed the plight of the women of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

The second talk, hosted by Dr LO Kar-kee, was introduced by an epitaph written by Qing poet YUAN Ji, who was faithful to her husband even though she faced abuse by him. From her expression of grief, and taking into account the marriage traditions, cult of chastity, laws and economic situation of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, Lo revealed the plight of women in Chinese history to the audience.

The Yuan dynasty was under the rule of the Mongols but certain Han practices were retained. Marriage customs of the Han Chinese, for example, were still observed, but there were tinges of the characteristics of the Yuan governance. For example, the Mongol practice of levirate marriage, which allowed a man to marry the wife of his deceased brother, was permitted. Laws promoting chastity among Han widows were introduced, although remarriage was still common.

Ouyang Xiu described how he struggled during serious floods in letters and writings.

Starting from the Yuan dynasty, women had to forfeit their property should they leave their first marriage.

During the Ming dynasty, neo-Confucianism became prominent, and the status of “chaste widows” was elevated. The Ming authority honoured these women in official edicts and by the construction of chastity arches to commemorate them. Women who died resisting rape, or who committed suicide after their husband’s death, were referred to as “fierce women”. Yet, heresy against neo-Confucianism, and ideas depicting sympathy and compassion for women, were also prevalent.

Entering the Qing dynasty, chastity among women was further promoted and encouraged via legal measures. Shelters were built to protect widows from being forced to remarry, allowing them to live a life of “virtuous chastity”.

The talk ended with an overview of the economic boom during the Ming and Qing dynasties, during which some women gained power within their families and were able to travel with their fathers or husbands. However, the overall plight of women still left a lot to be desired.

Knowledge Exchange Continues in Time of Social Distancing The talks, which were delivered online due to the pandemic, were well received, with a total of over 300 teachers participating. The speakers were pleased with the turnout, and hoped the views shared would inspire the attendees to view Chinese history differently, which would also help in their pedagogy development.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 27

EVENTS

EVENTS

Speaking at CityU's BOLD Forum, Professor Richard M Walker uses examples to illustrate how humanities and social sciences help create a better future.

world, we need to understand people. We need to understand the relationship between people and institutions, in order to understand how processes in the world operate,” he stated. Involving systematic studies in disciplines like communications, history, linguistics, literature, politics, sociology, and psychology, these two broader areas of knowledge explain how people interact with each other. This understanding is crucial as it helps make better decisions now and in the future.

Learn from the Past and Present for a Better Future

Rethinking the Roles of Social Scientists and Humanities Experts Professor Richard M WALKER speaks at CityU’s BOLD Forum and offers an inspiring vision of how humanities and social sciences can help create a better tomorrow

A

cademics in humanities and social sciences shape the way to tackle societal problems and make positive impact on society, so said Professor Richard M WALKER, Dean of CityU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and recently elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in the United Kingdom.

Taking the stage at CityU’s BOLD Forum on 11 September 2020, Walker gave a talk titled “How Humanities and Social Sciences Tackle Unprecedented Disruption”. The forum is part of the BOLD@CityU initiative, which invites notable professors at the University to share the development and outlook of their areas of expertise. It intends to

28 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

raise secondary school students’ aspirations in planning their pathways to the future through increasing their interests, understanding and involvement in university education. The University hopes the next generation will be BOLD—Be Original, Leading Discovery—in their learning, innovation and discovery.

As the title suggests, the sharing focuses on how humanities and social sciences combat social, political and natural disturbances, like those we have been facing since last year. To Walker, humanities and social sciences matters in the course of understanding the world, society and communities we live in. “To understand the

This interpretation may sound abstract to the audience, so Walker illustrated his views with an issue that probably everyone cares about most at the moment: the COVID-19 pandemic. Its scale is unprecedented, and its influences on norms and people’s behaviour are massive. Everyone is looking to put an end to the outbreak.

In the course of fighting the disease, people pay tribute to healthcare workers for looking after the patients day and night, and depend upon scientists and medical experts for discovering effective testing and treatment approaches and inventing vaccines. While recognising the efforts these professionals have made, Walker opined that experts in humanities and social sciences also play a key role in this battle.

They shed light on many questions and doubts in our mind.

Some CLASS faculty members, for example, query why some places handled the crisis better than others, and are providing explanations by studying the reactions of different healthcare systems. Witnessing rumours spread like wildfire on the Internet and hinder the dissemination of useful precautious information, communication specialists here are looking for ways to communicate the urgency and severity of the pandemic to the public and investigating the impacts of social networking sites and instant messaging. In response to the deteriorating mental health situation amid the pandemic, our psychology experts draw on the results of their research studies conducted after the 2003 SARS outbreak and provide practical recommendations. Language educators are providing training for clinicians and nurses on shift-to-shift handover for better patient care.

As the research studies on COVID-19 and health related topics continue at CLASS, the list of questions and answers will get more exhaustive.

Multifaceted Issues Require Multidimensional Responses The present crisis also exemplifies that most issues in today’s increasingly complex world are multifaceted and require people to view critically from diverse perspectives. The multidisciplinary training and collaborations, which Walker values a lot and is determined to cultivate in CLASS, are crucial. In fact, the faculty members are continuously working with experts in law, veterinary science, data science and other subjects in many ongoing research initiatives.

By looking into how to resolve complex humanbased problems, the research conducted in the College can have positive impact on society Professor Richard M Walker

Indeed, the pandemic is just one of the countless issues that human beings need to tackle. But challenges mean opportunities, and the College’s social scientists and humanities experts are all ready to strike for the advancement of the world by building new knowledge, engaging in community service, and involving in academic, professional and policy-related debates. As Walker concluded in the talk, “By looking into how to resolve complex human-based problems and making recommendations on how societies can be better, the research conducted in the College can have positive impact on society.”

International Recognition of Social Scientist’s Contribution Walker, who recently received the Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences in the UK, himself has demonstrated how a social scientist can make substantial contributions within and beyond academia. As an internationally acclaimed expert whose research interests range from public management and performance, citizen-government relationship to understanding human behaviour in the policy process, he has published numerous high-standing and award-winning works throughout his academic career. He has held editorships in some prominent public administration journals and consulted for APEC, OCED, UNDP and governments in Hong Kong and the UK. He also leads the Laboratory for Public Management and Policy at CityU, which seeks to enhance the performance of public services using rigorous research.

But he believes the award of the fellowship means more than his own achievement; it reflects the growing strength in the social sciences at CityU. “It will open up further opportunities to build upon the extensive international collaborative relationships within the College to drive social science research at CityU to the next level,” he said.

Let’s see how the academics in humanities and social sciences, those of CLASS included, play a part in changing the world—little by little.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 29

EVENTS

EVENTS

Speaking at CityU's BOLD Forum, Professor Richard M Walker uses examples to illustrate how humanities and social sciences help create a better future.

world, we need to understand people. We need to understand the relationship between people and institutions, in order to understand how processes in the world operate,” he stated. Involving systematic studies in disciplines like communications, history, linguistics, literature, politics, sociology, and psychology, these two broader areas of knowledge explain how people interact with each other. This understanding is crucial as it helps make better decisions now and in the future.

Learn from the Past and Present for a Better Future

Rethinking the Roles of Social Scientists and Humanities Experts Professor Richard M WALKER speaks at CityU’s BOLD Forum and offers an inspiring vision of how humanities and social sciences can help create a better tomorrow

A

cademics in humanities and social sciences shape the way to tackle societal problems and make positive impact on society, so said Professor Richard M WALKER, Dean of CityU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and recently elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in the United Kingdom.

Taking the stage at CityU’s BOLD Forum on 11 September 2020, Walker gave a talk titled “How Humanities and Social Sciences Tackle Unprecedented Disruption”. The forum is part of the BOLD@CityU initiative, which invites notable professors at the University to share the development and outlook of their areas of expertise. It intends to

28 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

raise secondary school students’ aspirations in planning their pathways to the future through increasing their interests, understanding and involvement in university education. The University hopes the next generation will be BOLD—Be Original, Leading Discovery—in their learning, innovation and discovery.

As the title suggests, the sharing focuses on how humanities and social sciences combat social, political and natural disturbances, like those we have been facing since last year. To Walker, humanities and social sciences matters in the course of understanding the world, society and communities we live in. “To understand the

This interpretation may sound abstract to the audience, so Walker illustrated his views with an issue that probably everyone cares about most at the moment: the COVID-19 pandemic. Its scale is unprecedented, and its influences on norms and people’s behaviour are massive. Everyone is looking to put an end to the outbreak.

In the course of fighting the disease, people pay tribute to healthcare workers for looking after the patients day and night, and depend upon scientists and medical experts for discovering effective testing and treatment approaches and inventing vaccines. While recognising the efforts these professionals have made, Walker opined that experts in humanities and social sciences also play a key role in this battle.

They shed light on many questions and doubts in our mind.

Some CLASS faculty members, for example, query why some places handled the crisis better than others, and are providing explanations by studying the reactions of different healthcare systems. Witnessing rumours spread like wildfire on the Internet and hinder the dissemination of useful precautious information, communication specialists here are looking for ways to communicate the urgency and severity of the pandemic to the public and investigating the impacts of social networking sites and instant messaging. In response to the deteriorating mental health situation amid the pandemic, our psychology experts draw on the results of their research studies conducted after the 2003 SARS outbreak and provide practical recommendations. Language educators are providing training for clinicians and nurses on shift-to-shift handover for better patient care.

As the research studies on COVID-19 and health related topics continue at CLASS, the list of questions and answers will get more exhaustive.

Multifaceted Issues Require Multidimensional Responses The present crisis also exemplifies that most issues in today’s increasingly complex world are multifaceted and require people to view critically from diverse perspectives. The multidisciplinary training and collaborations, which Walker values a lot and is determined to cultivate in CLASS, are crucial. In fact, the faculty members are continuously working with experts in law, veterinary science, data science and other subjects in many ongoing research initiatives.

By looking into how to resolve complex humanbased problems, the research conducted in the College can have positive impact on society Professor Richard M Walker

Indeed, the pandemic is just one of the countless issues that human beings need to tackle. But challenges mean opportunities, and the College’s social scientists and humanities experts are all ready to strike for the advancement of the world by building new knowledge, engaging in community service, and involving in academic, professional and policy-related debates. As Walker concluded in the talk, “By looking into how to resolve complex human-based problems and making recommendations on how societies can be better, the research conducted in the College can have positive impact on society.”

International Recognition of Social Scientist’s Contribution Walker, who recently received the Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences in the UK, himself has demonstrated how a social scientist can make substantial contributions within and beyond academia. As an internationally acclaimed expert whose research interests range from public management and performance, citizen-government relationship to understanding human behaviour in the policy process, he has published numerous high-standing and award-winning works throughout his academic career. He has held editorships in some prominent public administration journals and consulted for APEC, OCED, UNDP and governments in Hong Kong and the UK. He also leads the Laboratory for Public Management and Policy at CityU, which seeks to enhance the performance of public services using rigorous research.

But he believes the award of the fellowship means more than his own achievement; it reflects the growing strength in the social sciences at CityU. “It will open up further opportunities to build upon the extensive international collaborative relationships within the College to drive social science research at CityU to the next level,” he said.

Let’s see how the academics in humanities and social sciences, those of CLASS included, play a part in changing the world—little by little.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 29

SOCIAL IMPACT

SOCIAL IMPACT

Developing Accessible Learning Tools in Hong Kong for Dyslexia in Chinese Dr Cecilia CHAN Yuet-hung’s new platform is a rare and valuable tool for helping children who face difficulties reading Chinese characters

Dr Cecilia Chan Yuet-hung hopes her system can help children suffering from different degrees of dyslexia to learn to recognise and decode Chinese characters.

W

hen the Department of Health’s Child Assessment Service announced in 2018 that up to 12.6 per cent of children in Hong Kong suffer from dyslexia, it came as no surprise to Dr Cecilia Chan Yuet-hung, a linguistics expert who last year developed a multimedia platform to help dyslexic junior primary school students in the city.

Chan is Associate Professor and Associate Head at CityU’s Department of Linguistics and Translation. Her credentials include a doctorate from the University of Essex, serving as a specialist for the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications, and more than 30 years teaching experience at CityU. Previous research on Chinese dyslexia found that various types of deficits are associated with this specific language disorder. The ability to recognise and decode Chinese characters is crucial for reading in Chinese. Dyslexia in Chinese characters brings a new dimension to the

30 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

problem as opposed to foreign languages that use an alphabet, for example.

Combatting a Lack of Dyslexic Resources “For English, it is the order of the letter or the shape of the letter that may make it hard for those suffering from dyslexia,” explains Chan. “The difficulty with Chinese characters is in recognition and decoding. A Chinese character consists of a form or shape, meaning, and pronunciation. So, all these elements are very important for recognising a Chinese character.”

This is where Chan’s website comes in: it offers six sets of games to navigate and teach children. “It is designed for the purpose of helping students recognise and decode Chinese characters,” she says.

“The six sets of games let them practise and provide an immediate response of correctness. The games also give some bonuses to

motivate participants to continue with the practice.” The platform offers clear instructions in Chinese character formation with an emphasis on pronunciation, meaning, and form.

There is always a need for the development of more accessible learning resources for dyslexic students in Hong Kong, particularly in junior primary school, where children begin to learn to read Chinese.

Despite her long career, it was only a few years ago that Chan started developing her tool to help with dyslexia in Chinese. “Syntactic structures have received little attention, that is why I started working on it,” she says. “But the more I worked on it, the more I found there were no practical resources available.”

The range in dyslexic severity is wide in Hong Kong. The Department of Health puts the figures at 70 per cent of those afflicted as mild, 20 per cent moderate and 10 per cent severe. Chan’s digital platform is designed to take into account the characteristics of Chinese characters and the difficulty dyslexic children have in recognising them, and to provide tailor-made exercises that help with recognising and decoding the written language.

Because this multimedia resource makes use of different senses–the visual, the audio, etc–it helps kids enhance their interest and motivation Dr Cecilia Chan Yuet-hung

Radical Methods There are two major parts to Chan’s platform: focusing on pronunciation, and meaning.

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SOCIAL IMPACT

SOCIAL IMPACT

Developing Accessible Learning Tools in Hong Kong for Dyslexia in Chinese Dr Cecilia CHAN Yuet-hung’s new platform is a rare and valuable tool for helping children who face difficulties reading Chinese characters

Dr Cecilia Chan Yuet-hung hopes her system can help children suffering from different degrees of dyslexia to learn to recognise and decode Chinese characters.

W

hen the Department of Health’s Child Assessment Service announced in 2018 that up to 12.6 per cent of children in Hong Kong suffer from dyslexia, it came as no surprise to Dr Cecilia Chan Yuet-hung, a linguistics expert who last year developed a multimedia platform to help dyslexic junior primary school students in the city.

Chan is Associate Professor and Associate Head at CityU’s Department of Linguistics and Translation. Her credentials include a doctorate from the University of Essex, serving as a specialist for the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications, and more than 30 years teaching experience at CityU. Previous research on Chinese dyslexia found that various types of deficits are associated with this specific language disorder. The ability to recognise and decode Chinese characters is crucial for reading in Chinese. Dyslexia in Chinese characters brings a new dimension to the

30 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

problem as opposed to foreign languages that use an alphabet, for example.

Combatting a Lack of Dyslexic Resources “For English, it is the order of the letter or the shape of the letter that may make it hard for those suffering from dyslexia,” explains Chan. “The difficulty with Chinese characters is in recognition and decoding. A Chinese character consists of a form or shape, meaning, and pronunciation. So, all these elements are very important for recognising a Chinese character.”

This is where Chan’s website comes in: it offers six sets of games to navigate and teach children. “It is designed for the purpose of helping students recognise and decode Chinese characters,” she says.

“The six sets of games let them practise and provide an immediate response of correctness. The games also give some bonuses to

motivate participants to continue with the practice.” The platform offers clear instructions in Chinese character formation with an emphasis on pronunciation, meaning, and form.

There is always a need for the development of more accessible learning resources for dyslexic students in Hong Kong, particularly in junior primary school, where children begin to learn to read Chinese.

Despite her long career, it was only a few years ago that Chan started developing her tool to help with dyslexia in Chinese. “Syntactic structures have received little attention, that is why I started working on it,” she says. “But the more I worked on it, the more I found there were no practical resources available.”

The range in dyslexic severity is wide in Hong Kong. The Department of Health puts the figures at 70 per cent of those afflicted as mild, 20 per cent moderate and 10 per cent severe. Chan’s digital platform is designed to take into account the characteristics of Chinese characters and the difficulty dyslexic children have in recognising them, and to provide tailor-made exercises that help with recognising and decoding the written language.

Because this multimedia resource makes use of different senses–the visual, the audio, etc–it helps kids enhance their interest and motivation Dr Cecilia Chan Yuet-hung

Radical Methods There are two major parts to Chan’s platform: focusing on pronunciation, and meaning.

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SOCIAL IMPACT

For English, the order or shape of letters make it hard for dyslexic children. In Chinese, recognition and decoding is the issue.

“More than 80 per cent of Chinese characters are phono-semantic.

One component represents the pronunciation, one represents the meaning. The purpose of the first part of the exercise is to make the children aware of the importance of a phonetic component. This phonetic component is actually associated with the pronunciation of the character. So, they may not have this knowledge or they may only have some knowledge, but not systematically, of the connection,” says Chan.

“One kind of phonological deficit can render them weak at phonological processing. So they cannot distinguish which two words share the same rhyme or the same onset.”

The second part of her online instrument deals with the semantic component, indicating the “meaning” of the word. “This component in traditional terminology, we call ‘radicals’. Nowadays, I don’t think students learn radicals. Some schools don’t introduce them. That is why we introduce them in our platform so that students can become aware of the semantic component of the characters.”

Chan adds, “This is also to help with their orthographic processing as well. When they recognise the form of a radical, they can associate the meaning of this character with this component.”

Motivating Children Brings Progress Chan and her team put together a user guide for parents, teachers, and coordinators of NGOs to help navigate her learning platform which launched in 2020. “I invited some schools to participate and get some students to do the pilot. I gave the primary schools and the NGOs a questionnaire for feedback.”

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The associate professor was overwhelmed by the positive feedback.

Parents acknowledged that her multimedia platform finally provided a way to make learning for their children an interesting exercise.

“Because this multimedia resource makes use of different senses– the visual, the audio, etc–it helps them enhance their interest and motivation. Practical training or reading from paper can help as well, but it is limited. When it comes to online, there are more multimedia resources. If we can properly motivate children, then we can definitely see progress,” Chan explains.

As with other learning difficulties, dyslexia is often a challenge that is difficult to face for parents and the children alike. Providing resources that make it fun and interactive is a helpful solution. Another game, designed for kindergarteners by the Heep Hong Society, features a small number of characters and is presented with bright colours for greater appeal.

Her multimedia platform is still new, and Chan hopes to invite more NGOs and schools to experience the programme and increase the number of users. Eventually, she aims to expand the platform to cover nondyslexic children in junior primary school and, in the next stage, students in senior primary school.

The platform is not perfect, Chan admits, adding that it will require ongoing refinement. As a result, Chan welcomes all the help she can get. “I know nothing about programming. Fortunately, I have very bright students to help me.”

“There should be a lot more resources available, but I think this is something I really want to produce. If the students find it useful and it motivates their learning, it will all be worth it.”

Top 50 in the world and Top 3 at CityU

Social Policy & Administration Communication & Media Studies Linguistics

QS WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS BY SUBJECT 2020

TEACHING & LEARNING

TEACHING & LEARNING

Students joining CLASS Research Volunteer Scheme will be guided by experienced faculty members to conduct academic research.

California at San Diego. “There was nothing like the well-structured RVS at that time, but I proactively asked my teacher if I could assist in his research project,” he reveals. He was accepted. “I learnt what conducting research is like, and this experience contributed to my decision to pursue an academic career.”

Later, his supervisor included Wong in a paper, making it his debut co-authorship in academia.

Supporting Students in Gaining Hands-on Experience

Authentic Research Experience for CLASS Undergraduates A cross-disciplinary research apprenticeship to provide undergraduates with an early taste of academic research experience, thus cultivating students’ passion for discovery and unleashing their potential in different areas of interest

A

iming to give undergraduates intellectually stimulating research experience and opportunities to explore their areas of interest and develop their research skills, CityU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) implemented a meaningful initiative in the academic year 2020-21: the Research

34 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

Volunteer Scheme (RVS), an ongoing cross-disciplinary research apprenticeship scheme.

Dr Andus WONG, Associate Professor of psychology and RVS coordinator, shares a personal story about his research volunteering experience during his undergraduate study at the University of

The six months spent participating in his teacher’s research study were enlightening. Now, as a teacher himself, Wong endeavours to bring similar learning opportunities to his students. That’s why he was ready to accept the role of coordinator when the College decided to make RVS available to undergraduate students across all its seven departments.

Joining RVS means students do not need to wait until their postgraduate study to gain academic research experience. They can learn research skills and methodologies from seasoned faculty members, and put knowledge into practice through participating in different research procedures. Wong refers to this as a kind of “experiential learning”, which might not be easily available in a formal classroom-based curriculum. He hopes students will enjoy learning and experiencing something unique and valuable.

The lovely part of the scheme is its flexibility. Students’ participation is entirely voluntary, and principal investigators (project owners) can determine the number of volunteers they need.

Moreover, since it is non-credit bearing, students are free to explore their research interests without having to worry about grades. Some principal investigators even accept applicants outside their home departments, so students may choose a project beyond their areas of study, thus broadening their interdisciplinary perspectives.

Diverse Projects Let Students Pursue Different Aspirations Wong has recruited students for two projects about cognitive processes underlying language production among CantoneseEnglish bilingual speakers. Both projects are experiment-oriented and lab-based, so the roles of the volunteers include administering

and conducting language tests, running experiments with labbased research equipment, and constructing and developing new experiments during the pilot stage.

But volunteers’ duties vary substantially for the other 20-plus projects that offer around a hundred volunteer openings in the current academic year, including conducting literature reviews, collecting data, conducting surveys and experiments, analysing data, and preparing final reports.

An Invaluable Addition to the CV ­– and More Wong praises the students, saying that they are self-motivated, responsible, passionate about learning, and eager to learn outside the classroom.

Alicia FAN Yu-ying, who is in the third year of her psychology study, is assisting in Wong’s project on Cantonese-English bilingual speech production. She joined RVS as she is interested in and wants to become more competent in research work, which requires handson knowledge she may be unable to acquire in a classroom. “My experience in RVS has been well in line with my expectations. For instance, I have learnt more about the practical steps and details required to set up and conduct experiments, which I otherwise would not know or be aware of,” says Fan, who has been involved in the project for around two months. She looks forward to new experiences and learning opportunities as she continues her work in the lab.

Working on research projects under the step-by-step guidance of supervisors, students gain insightful perspectives in different areas, and the sound knowledge and research skills gained add value to their CVs.

Visit the Research Volunteer Scheme’s webpage, www.cityu.edu.hk/class/classlabs/rvs.aspx, for more information, stories shared by past participants, openings and updates.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 35

TEACHING & LEARNING

TEACHING & LEARNING

Students joining CLASS Research Volunteer Scheme will be guided by experienced faculty members to conduct academic research.

California at San Diego. “There was nothing like the well-structured RVS at that time, but I proactively asked my teacher if I could assist in his research project,” he reveals. He was accepted. “I learnt what conducting research is like, and this experience contributed to my decision to pursue an academic career.”

Later, his supervisor included Wong in a paper, making it his debut co-authorship in academia.

Supporting Students in Gaining Hands-on Experience

Authentic Research Experience for CLASS Undergraduates A cross-disciplinary research apprenticeship to provide undergraduates with an early taste of academic research experience, thus cultivating students’ passion for discovery and unleashing their potential in different areas of interest

A

iming to give undergraduates intellectually stimulating research experience and opportunities to explore their areas of interest and develop their research skills, CityU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) implemented a meaningful initiative in the academic year 2020-21: the Research

34 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

Volunteer Scheme (RVS), an ongoing cross-disciplinary research apprenticeship scheme.

Dr Andus WONG, Associate Professor of psychology and RVS coordinator, shares a personal story about his research volunteering experience during his undergraduate study at the University of

The six months spent participating in his teacher’s research study were enlightening. Now, as a teacher himself, Wong endeavours to bring similar learning opportunities to his students. That’s why he was ready to accept the role of coordinator when the College decided to make RVS available to undergraduate students across all its seven departments.

Joining RVS means students do not need to wait until their postgraduate study to gain academic research experience. They can learn research skills and methodologies from seasoned faculty members, and put knowledge into practice through participating in different research procedures. Wong refers to this as a kind of “experiential learning”, which might not be easily available in a formal classroom-based curriculum. He hopes students will enjoy learning and experiencing something unique and valuable.

The lovely part of the scheme is its flexibility. Students’ participation is entirely voluntary, and principal investigators (project owners) can determine the number of volunteers they need.

Moreover, since it is non-credit bearing, students are free to explore their research interests without having to worry about grades. Some principal investigators even accept applicants outside their home departments, so students may choose a project beyond their areas of study, thus broadening their interdisciplinary perspectives.

Diverse Projects Let Students Pursue Different Aspirations Wong has recruited students for two projects about cognitive processes underlying language production among CantoneseEnglish bilingual speakers. Both projects are experiment-oriented and lab-based, so the roles of the volunteers include administering

and conducting language tests, running experiments with labbased research equipment, and constructing and developing new experiments during the pilot stage.

But volunteers’ duties vary substantially for the other 20-plus projects that offer around a hundred volunteer openings in the current academic year, including conducting literature reviews, collecting data, conducting surveys and experiments, analysing data, and preparing final reports.

An Invaluable Addition to the CV ­– and More Wong praises the students, saying that they are self-motivated, responsible, passionate about learning, and eager to learn outside the classroom.

Alicia FAN Yu-ying, who is in the third year of her psychology study, is assisting in Wong’s project on Cantonese-English bilingual speech production. She joined RVS as she is interested in and wants to become more competent in research work, which requires handson knowledge she may be unable to acquire in a classroom. “My experience in RVS has been well in line with my expectations. For instance, I have learnt more about the practical steps and details required to set up and conduct experiments, which I otherwise would not know or be aware of,” says Fan, who has been involved in the project for around two months. She looks forward to new experiences and learning opportunities as she continues her work in the lab.

Working on research projects under the step-by-step guidance of supervisors, students gain insightful perspectives in different areas, and the sound knowledge and research skills gained add value to their CVs.

Visit the Research Volunteer Scheme’s webpage, www.cityu.edu.hk/class/classlabs/rvs.aspx, for more information, stories shared by past participants, openings and updates.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 35

STUDENTS & ALUMNI

STUDENTS & ALUMNI

Leung Fei-tung has been interested in Cantonese opera for a long time.

Cantonese opera is a combination of acrobatics, choreography, costume, make-up, and the stories.

A Love of Cantonese Opera and Preserving Chinese Culture When LEUNG Fei-tung decided to become a professional Cantonese opera performer, she had no idea how much the beloved art form would influence her life

“I

had an intuition that I had to do this.” Some refer to such a feeling as a calling, but for 26-year-old LEUNG Fei-tung, our Chinese and History alumni, Cantonese opera turned out to be everything she has ever wanted.

“I remember my dad turning on a TV channel that plays Cantonese opera every Sunday morning, and I would watch it with him. When I was in Primary 5, there was the return of Chor Fung Ming Cantonese Opera Troupe. The channel ran an interview and I watched it. There were some clips of the performance and it was very captivating,” Leung

36 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

remembers. “It was a time when YouTube had just launched, and I began looking up Cantonese opera-related videos. From there on, I got more exposed to Cantonese opera. The more I watched it, the more interested I became. When I entered my fifth year of secondary school, I had the opportunity to kick off my education in Cantonese opera at The Cantonese Opera Academy of Hong Kong.”

Embracing All Aspects of the Performance Art From Leung’s very first day in a classroom of less than a dozen new

With the pandemic this year, it gives me the space and time to really think about my acting, my career and my own philosophy of performance Leung Fei-tung

Chasing the Dream Despite Hiccups and Accidents

students, her teachers immediately noticed her hardworking and passionate attitude towards her career goal. Leung says, “I just wanted to enjoy every moment I had in the class.”

Over the course of four years, every weekend, Leung learnt about every aspect of Cantonese opera-from acrobatics and choreography to costume and make-up, as well as the stories, and worked on her own interpretations and expressions for each performance. For further and specific study, Leung had later attended private classes accordingly.

She studied posture and singing under WANG Huiling, CHOW Chunbong and YANG Lihong, who are veterans in their field.

Leung graduated from the academy in 2015 with a certificate of merit for her studies focusing on dan (female roles). Driven by her interest to explore more about the fascinating Chinese culture, she then obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Culture and Heritage Management at CityU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences in 2017.

Cantonese opera might not seem like an obvious career choice for a teenager, but Leung was adamant about becoming a professional performer. Her parents showed support very early on but had one condition: “My dad wanted me to complete my university studies before getting into the Cantonese opera industry. So I worked really hard.” She chose to study culture and heritage because it seems relevant to Cantonese opera, but her pursuit of knowledge did not stop when she received the bachelor’s degree. She further pursued a master’s degree in Cultural Management and an advanced diploma in Cantonese Opera Performance.

Like any young adult, Leung had her concerns about making a living in Cantonese opera. It came to a head when she broke her arm in the first half of 2015, during a rehearsal session of the graduation performance. “I was so worried about my career. I was 20 and injured at a young age. How could I continue?” She also only had two and a half months to heal before going on the stage, which she managed to pull off. “My teachers were very surprised. They said, ‘You didn’t look like

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 37

STUDENTS & ALUMNI

STUDENTS & ALUMNI

Leung Fei-tung has been interested in Cantonese opera for a long time.

Cantonese opera is a combination of acrobatics, choreography, costume, make-up, and the stories.

A Love of Cantonese Opera and Preserving Chinese Culture When LEUNG Fei-tung decided to become a professional Cantonese opera performer, she had no idea how much the beloved art form would influence her life

“I

had an intuition that I had to do this.” Some refer to such a feeling as a calling, but for 26-year-old LEUNG Fei-tung, our Chinese and History alumni, Cantonese opera turned out to be everything she has ever wanted.

“I remember my dad turning on a TV channel that plays Cantonese opera every Sunday morning, and I would watch it with him. When I was in Primary 5, there was the return of Chor Fung Ming Cantonese Opera Troupe. The channel ran an interview and I watched it. There were some clips of the performance and it was very captivating,” Leung

36 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

remembers. “It was a time when YouTube had just launched, and I began looking up Cantonese opera-related videos. From there on, I got more exposed to Cantonese opera. The more I watched it, the more interested I became. When I entered my fifth year of secondary school, I had the opportunity to kick off my education in Cantonese opera at The Cantonese Opera Academy of Hong Kong.”

Embracing All Aspects of the Performance Art From Leung’s very first day in a classroom of less than a dozen new

With the pandemic this year, it gives me the space and time to really think about my acting, my career and my own philosophy of performance Leung Fei-tung

Chasing the Dream Despite Hiccups and Accidents

students, her teachers immediately noticed her hardworking and passionate attitude towards her career goal. Leung says, “I just wanted to enjoy every moment I had in the class.”

Over the course of four years, every weekend, Leung learnt about every aspect of Cantonese opera-from acrobatics and choreography to costume and make-up, as well as the stories, and worked on her own interpretations and expressions for each performance. For further and specific study, Leung had later attended private classes accordingly.

She studied posture and singing under WANG Huiling, CHOW Chunbong and YANG Lihong, who are veterans in their field.

Leung graduated from the academy in 2015 with a certificate of merit for her studies focusing on dan (female roles). Driven by her interest to explore more about the fascinating Chinese culture, she then obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Culture and Heritage Management at CityU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences in 2017.

Cantonese opera might not seem like an obvious career choice for a teenager, but Leung was adamant about becoming a professional performer. Her parents showed support very early on but had one condition: “My dad wanted me to complete my university studies before getting into the Cantonese opera industry. So I worked really hard.” She chose to study culture and heritage because it seems relevant to Cantonese opera, but her pursuit of knowledge did not stop when she received the bachelor’s degree. She further pursued a master’s degree in Cultural Management and an advanced diploma in Cantonese Opera Performance.

Like any young adult, Leung had her concerns about making a living in Cantonese opera. It came to a head when she broke her arm in the first half of 2015, during a rehearsal session of the graduation performance. “I was so worried about my career. I was 20 and injured at a young age. How could I continue?” She also only had two and a half months to heal before going on the stage, which she managed to pull off. “My teachers were very surprised. They said, ‘You didn’t look like

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 37

STUDENTS & ALUMNI

STUDENTS & ALUMNI

Leung Fei-tung is still at the early stage of her Cantonese opera career, working hard for her time to shine.

you broke your arm!’ To me it felt like a sign that this was what I was meant to do. It felt like a test of how much I really wanted it. This injury helped me realise that I really love Cantonese opera.”

Promoting Cantonese Opera as a Form of Chinese Culture Cantonese opera, or yueju, was added to Unesco’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. The first theatre to host these performances in Hong Kong was Astor Theatre in Sheung Wan in 1890. Between 1900 and 1920, new venues like Sing Ping Theatre, Ko Sing Theatre and Chung Hing Theatre became permanent sites for productions, cementing Cantonese opera in Hong Kong’s cultural landscape.

Old-time stars like YAM Kim-fai (1913-1989) and Sun Ma Si-tsang (1916-1997) were instrumental in popularising this form of opera in Hong Kong. Cantonese opera legend PAK Suet-sin, who retired in 1969, remains active in developing the art in the city while helping emerging artists. Pak formed the Sin Fung Ming Opera Troupe with Yam, and the pair co-starred in hit shows like Tale of the Purple Hairpin, Princess Chang Ping, Love in the Red Chamber and Dream in Peony Pavilion.

While Cantonese opera is a niche offering for a specific group, it can be challenging to adapt to a wider audience who do not understand the language.

“In a very general way, you need English subtitles for the foreign audience to understand what’s going on. Our opera has a lot of

38 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

Leung Fei-tung graduated from CityU with a Bachelor's degree in Cultural and Heritage Management in 2017.

Chinese idioms. It’s all about Chinese stories that emphasise filial piety, togetherness and helping each other. The idea of togetherness is very strong in Chinese culture. It is a theme we could promote to the foreign audience. However, I am not one to support Cantonese opera performed in English as that would change what makes it unique.”

An Opportunity to Learn from Great Masters

Besides Cantonese opera, Leung Fei-tung also likes exploring other art forms, such as movies and plays.

Pursuing a dream is never easy, but Leung is grateful to have received guidance and support from many people. Pak was one of the instructors Leung had the good fortune to learn from. “I encountered so many experienced and sophisticated people, for example, Pak, CHAN Ho-kau, WAN Fei-yin, NG Mei-ying, and CHEUNG Wing-mui etc. They are all in the top rank of our industry. They are the great masters. I was so thankful to have the opportunity to learn from them. To have whole

conversations with them. To ask about acting, why they perform their parts like that. And it really helped me think about my own acting.”

In 2019, Leung participated in the performance of The Reincarnation of Lady Plum Blossom for the opening of the Xiqu Centre of the West Kowloon Cultural District under the guidance of Pak, who was the artistic director. A lot has changed about the way Leung performs since. “With the pandemic this year, it gives me the space and time to really think about my acting, my career and my own philosophy in performance.”

About returning to the stage in October 2020, she says, “I feel much different from the last time I stood on stage. I feel my energy is much stronger. I know what I’m supposed to do, and I have a closer connection with my roles after comprehensive study and preparation.

It is my reward this year.”

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 39

STUDENTS & ALUMNI

STUDENTS & ALUMNI

Leung Fei-tung is still at the early stage of her Cantonese opera career, working hard for her time to shine.

you broke your arm!’ To me it felt like a sign that this was what I was meant to do. It felt like a test of how much I really wanted it. This injury helped me realise that I really love Cantonese opera.”

Promoting Cantonese Opera as a Form of Chinese Culture Cantonese opera, or yueju, was added to Unesco’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. The first theatre to host these performances in Hong Kong was Astor Theatre in Sheung Wan in 1890. Between 1900 and 1920, new venues like Sing Ping Theatre, Ko Sing Theatre and Chung Hing Theatre became permanent sites for productions, cementing Cantonese opera in Hong Kong’s cultural landscape.

Old-time stars like YAM Kim-fai (1913-1989) and Sun Ma Si-tsang (1916-1997) were instrumental in popularising this form of opera in Hong Kong. Cantonese opera legend PAK Suet-sin, who retired in 1969, remains active in developing the art in the city while helping emerging artists. Pak formed the Sin Fung Ming Opera Troupe with Yam, and the pair co-starred in hit shows like Tale of the Purple Hairpin, Princess Chang Ping, Love in the Red Chamber and Dream in Peony Pavilion.

While Cantonese opera is a niche offering for a specific group, it can be challenging to adapt to a wider audience who do not understand the language.

“In a very general way, you need English subtitles for the foreign audience to understand what’s going on. Our opera has a lot of

38 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

Leung Fei-tung graduated from CityU with a Bachelor's degree in Cultural and Heritage Management in 2017.

Chinese idioms. It’s all about Chinese stories that emphasise filial piety, togetherness and helping each other. The idea of togetherness is very strong in Chinese culture. It is a theme we could promote to the foreign audience. However, I am not one to support Cantonese opera performed in English as that would change what makes it unique.”

An Opportunity to Learn from Great Masters

Besides Cantonese opera, Leung Fei-tung also likes exploring other art forms, such as movies and plays.

Pursuing a dream is never easy, but Leung is grateful to have received guidance and support from many people. Pak was one of the instructors Leung had the good fortune to learn from. “I encountered so many experienced and sophisticated people, for example, Pak, CHAN Ho-kau, WAN Fei-yin, NG Mei-ying, and CHEUNG Wing-mui etc. They are all in the top rank of our industry. They are the great masters. I was so thankful to have the opportunity to learn from them. To have whole

conversations with them. To ask about acting, why they perform their parts like that. And it really helped me think about my own acting.”

In 2019, Leung participated in the performance of The Reincarnation of Lady Plum Blossom for the opening of the Xiqu Centre of the West Kowloon Cultural District under the guidance of Pak, who was the artistic director. A lot has changed about the way Leung performs since. “With the pandemic this year, it gives me the space and time to really think about my acting, my career and my own philosophy in performance.”

About returning to the stage in October 2020, she says, “I feel much different from the last time I stood on stage. I feel my energy is much stronger. I know what I’m supposed to do, and I have a closer connection with my roles after comprehensive study and preparation.

It is my reward this year.”

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 39

NEWS

NEWS

Misinformation and polarisation are two of the problems that concern people living in the social media era.

The Centre for Public Affairs and Law uses evidence-based approaches to tackle policy challenges.

CLASS Faculty Received Facebook Funding to Investigate Impacts of New Technologies S

ocial media has become an inseparable part of our lives. It is estimated that in 2020, the average user spent over two hours each day on social media. Think of your habits: do you browse Facebook (which has over 2.5 billion active users), Instagram, YouTube or WhatsApp every day, and how often?

While social media connects people, it brings with it many problems— particularly during political elections and pandemics—among them the spread of misinformation, and polarisation. The former references false or inaccurate information, while the latter occurs as a result of algorithms used by social media platforms, which frequently feed us with the content we favour, thus exposing us to a limited range of viewpoints.

As part of the effort to look into such worrisome phenomena, Dr SHEN Fei (Principal Investigator) and Dr Tetsuro KOBAYASHI (Co-investigator) of CityU’s Department of Media and Communication are currently working on a project titled “Can third party fact-checkers on Facebook reduce affective polarisation?” after it was selected as one of the awardees in Facebook’s Request for Proposals (RFP) on

40 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

misinformation and polarisation in August last year.

In this project, among the 25 selected from over 1,000 submissions from 600 institutions and 77 countries around the world, the researchers intend to explore the influence of fact-checking on attitude (de)polarisation in Hong Kong.

For this round of RFP, the social media giant offered US$2 million in funding to support research that will enrich the understanding of challenges related to misinformation, polarisation, information quality, and conflict on social media and social technology platforms. It hopes that these studies can contribute to a shared understanding across the broader industry about how social technology companies can better address social issues on their platforms.

Shen and Kobayashi, along with other awardees, are conducting their investigations across 42 countries on all continents except Antarctica. Apart from the subject of polarisation, they are also examining issues such as digital literacy in developing countries, trust and bias on social media, fake news, among other topics.

Academics Collaborate to Reach Law-based Solutions to Policy Challenges B

efore the pandemic hit the planet, Hong Kong and the world have already been experiencing turbulence for a long time.

There are challenges in almost every aspect of our lives, like global finance, public health, climate change, technology advancement, sustainable development, energy and environment, to name but a few. Proper legal and governance mechanisms are crucial to resolving complex issues in these areas.

To promote world-class research on interdisciplinary studies in social sciences and law disciplines related to public affairs, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) and the School of Law (SLW) of CityU have jointly established the Centre for Public Affairs and Law (CPAL) in August 2020.

The Centre, co-directed by Dean of SLW Professor TAN Chenghan and Dean of CLASS Professor Richard M WALKER, brings experts in social sciences and law at the university together to build knowledge using evidence-based approaches, big data and devising policy and lawbased solutions to policy challenges. Prior to joining the Centre, these academics have already published research papers in a wide range of relevant topics, such as Hong Kong legal system, international law, socio-economic rights, human rights, social movements, international relations, social media, and more.

The Centre will feature labs focusing on contentious politics and public

law, and policy innovation. The former will investigate the global wave of uncertainty and change associated with contentious politics, examine how the rule of law can be strengthened to provide guidance for the future governance, and produce research to inform institutional responses and law-based solutions to the challenges of contentious politics. The latter will study policy areas related to the University’s five strategic research themes (one health, digital society, smart city, matter and brain), examine the effectiveness of different policy tools and processes, and adopt a comparative focus and interdisciplinary methodology to produce research to inform the development of public policy.

Members of the Centre have received various grants to support their research projects, and big data, observational survey and interview data, lab and survey experimental data, research articles, and policy papers are to be delivered. The Centre will also invite experts to conduct academic conferences, fostering exchanges with academics in Hong Kong and beyond.

Stay tuned for news and updates on the website of CPAL: http://www.cityu.edu.hk/cpal/

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 41

NEWS

NEWS

Misinformation and polarisation are two of the problems that concern people living in the social media era.

The Centre for Public Affairs and Law uses evidence-based approaches to tackle policy challenges.

CLASS Faculty Received Facebook Funding to Investigate Impacts of New Technologies S

ocial media has become an inseparable part of our lives. It is estimated that in 2020, the average user spent over two hours each day on social media. Think of your habits: do you browse Facebook (which has over 2.5 billion active users), Instagram, YouTube or WhatsApp every day, and how often?

While social media connects people, it brings with it many problems— particularly during political elections and pandemics—among them the spread of misinformation, and polarisation. The former references false or inaccurate information, while the latter occurs as a result of algorithms used by social media platforms, which frequently feed us with the content we favour, thus exposing us to a limited range of viewpoints.

As part of the effort to look into such worrisome phenomena, Dr SHEN Fei (Principal Investigator) and Dr Tetsuro KOBAYASHI (Co-investigator) of CityU’s Department of Media and Communication are currently working on a project titled “Can third party fact-checkers on Facebook reduce affective polarisation?” after it was selected as one of the awardees in Facebook’s Request for Proposals (RFP) on

40 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

misinformation and polarisation in August last year.

In this project, among the 25 selected from over 1,000 submissions from 600 institutions and 77 countries around the world, the researchers intend to explore the influence of fact-checking on attitude (de)polarisation in Hong Kong.

For this round of RFP, the social media giant offered US$2 million in funding to support research that will enrich the understanding of challenges related to misinformation, polarisation, information quality, and conflict on social media and social technology platforms. It hopes that these studies can contribute to a shared understanding across the broader industry about how social technology companies can better address social issues on their platforms.

Shen and Kobayashi, along with other awardees, are conducting their investigations across 42 countries on all continents except Antarctica. Apart from the subject of polarisation, they are also examining issues such as digital literacy in developing countries, trust and bias on social media, fake news, among other topics.

Academics Collaborate to Reach Law-based Solutions to Policy Challenges B

efore the pandemic hit the planet, Hong Kong and the world have already been experiencing turbulence for a long time.

There are challenges in almost every aspect of our lives, like global finance, public health, climate change, technology advancement, sustainable development, energy and environment, to name but a few. Proper legal and governance mechanisms are crucial to resolving complex issues in these areas.

To promote world-class research on interdisciplinary studies in social sciences and law disciplines related to public affairs, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) and the School of Law (SLW) of CityU have jointly established the Centre for Public Affairs and Law (CPAL) in August 2020.

The Centre, co-directed by Dean of SLW Professor TAN Chenghan and Dean of CLASS Professor Richard M WALKER, brings experts in social sciences and law at the university together to build knowledge using evidence-based approaches, big data and devising policy and lawbased solutions to policy challenges. Prior to joining the Centre, these academics have already published research papers in a wide range of relevant topics, such as Hong Kong legal system, international law, socio-economic rights, human rights, social movements, international relations, social media, and more.

The Centre will feature labs focusing on contentious politics and public

law, and policy innovation. The former will investigate the global wave of uncertainty and change associated with contentious politics, examine how the rule of law can be strengthened to provide guidance for the future governance, and produce research to inform institutional responses and law-based solutions to the challenges of contentious politics. The latter will study policy areas related to the University’s five strategic research themes (one health, digital society, smart city, matter and brain), examine the effectiveness of different policy tools and processes, and adopt a comparative focus and interdisciplinary methodology to produce research to inform the development of public policy.

Members of the Centre have received various grants to support their research projects, and big data, observational survey and interview data, lab and survey experimental data, research articles, and policy papers are to be delivered. The Centre will also invite experts to conduct academic conferences, fostering exchanges with academics in Hong Kong and beyond.

Stay tuned for news and updates on the website of CPAL: http://www.cityu.edu.hk/cpal/

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 41

NEWS

NEWS

New Language Centre Beefs Up Students’ Language Training B

ienvenue!

ようこそ!

Willkommen!

Apart from “Welcome!”, the website of CityU’s Chan Feng Menling Chan Shuk-lin Language Centre greets visitors in various other languages after a major change in mid-2020. Besides the highquality English language teaching and learning services it delivers, the Centre has taken over training in Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Putonghua and Cantonese, all previously offered by various departments at the University.

The brand new Language Centre, which is under the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, comes into full operation from 1 July 2020. By housing all language courses under one roof, it endeavours to consolidate existing language teaching and facilitate further development of language and culture-related courses.

Its mission is to equip students with language skills in preparation for their participation in an increasingly globalised, fast-changing society. Not only does it offer courses in fundamental academic literacy skills, but it also provides specialised courses which focus on the communication needs of students pursuing degrees in various disciplines. It also aims to enrich students’ learning of academic English and various Asian and European languages.

In addition to the training conducted by seasoned language teachers, the Language Centre renders a wide range of English language support services, like out-of-class workshops, IELTS

The Language Centre integrates the language training courses and activities across the University.

42 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

preparation classes, and one-to-one language advising. It also runs the English Language Self-Access Centre, which has a vast collection of reference books, worksheets, DVDs, and online resources that supports independent learning of English.

To bring students an all-round language learning experience and a taste of the culture of the people who speak the languages they are learning, the Language Centre organises cultural activities such as learning about the kimono, and ikebana, or Japanese floral arrangement. Every year, it also awards three Language Centre scholarships to students attending a four-week summer exchange programme in London where they immerse themselves in an Englishspeaking environment.

Students are welcome to drop by the Centre, located on the second floor of Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Academic Building, to access English learning materials and advice, and enrol in the credit-bearing language courses offered every semester. The website also presents a rich collection of online language learning resources, which enable language learners to polish their skills anywhere and anytime.

Check out www.cityu.edu.hk/lc for more information about the Chan Feng Men-ling Chan Shuk-lin Language Centre.

The English Language Self-Access Centre provides the best reference materials to support students’ independent learning of English.

Guests from the Gifted Education Section of the Education Bureau, and CityU faculty members attended the opening seminar.

CityU’s Social Scientists and Mathematicians Co-organise Programme for the Gifted S

ome students demonstrate exceptional academic aptitude, creativity, intelligence or talents in arts or sports. They are generally referred to as “gifted students”, though there is no universal definition of “giftedness”. While every gifted student excels in a different way, creating a stimulating environment and deploying appropriate resources to meet their learning needs are key to unleashing their potential.

To provide opportunities for Secondary 3 to 5 students to have an early taste of university life and develop interests in their talented areas, the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences of College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) and the Department of Mathematics of College of Science (CSCI) of CityU jointly presented the “Advanced Talent Education Programme for Gifted Students in Hong Kong” from May 2020 to January 2021, with the support of Education Bureau’s Gifted Education Fund (GEF). Participants were nominated by school principals, teachers, and the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE), and have gone through a selection test to be admitted.

It is a three-phase programme featuring an array of STEMenriched activities, which enhance students’ the visuospatial abilities, as well as experiential activities and technology-based psychological assessment for fostering their affective development. It was kicked off by a seminar with representatives from the Gifted Education

Section of the Education Bureau, Dean of CLASS Professor Richard M WALKER, then Dean of CSCI and now Vice President (Student Affairs) Professor Raymond CHAN, and Executive Director of HKAGE Professor NG Tai-kai as guests, in May 2020.

The second phase encompassed four full-day advanced mathematics and 3D modelling lectures, one full-day talent psychology session, and one half-day integrated workshop with both mathematics and affective education elements. Upon completing phase two held from June to August 2020, around one-third of the students were selected for the third phase.

The third phase required students to complete special projects on mathematical modelling problems, such as coronavirus model, financial options model, heat conduction, fluid flows and others, providing them with a research project-based learning experience. In the course of the three-month project period, students also attended 3D workshops to advance their knowledge and kept contact with CityU academics who offered mentoring and support.

Though an originally planned showcase was cancelled due to the pandemic, it is without doubt that the participants have achieved a great deal and taken home new mathematical knowledge, affective skills, and academic skills. Both departments are satisfied with the outcome of the programme.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 43

NEWS

NEWS

New Language Centre Beefs Up Students’ Language Training B

ienvenue!

ようこそ!

Willkommen!

Apart from “Welcome!”, the website of CityU’s Chan Feng Menling Chan Shuk-lin Language Centre greets visitors in various other languages after a major change in mid-2020. Besides the highquality English language teaching and learning services it delivers, the Centre has taken over training in Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Putonghua and Cantonese, all previously offered by various departments at the University.

The brand new Language Centre, which is under the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, comes into full operation from 1 July 2020. By housing all language courses under one roof, it endeavours to consolidate existing language teaching and facilitate further development of language and culture-related courses.

Its mission is to equip students with language skills in preparation for their participation in an increasingly globalised, fast-changing society. Not only does it offer courses in fundamental academic literacy skills, but it also provides specialised courses which focus on the communication needs of students pursuing degrees in various disciplines. It also aims to enrich students’ learning of academic English and various Asian and European languages.

In addition to the training conducted by seasoned language teachers, the Language Centre renders a wide range of English language support services, like out-of-class workshops, IELTS

The Language Centre integrates the language training courses and activities across the University.

42 CITY CLASS | ISSUE 11

preparation classes, and one-to-one language advising. It also runs the English Language Self-Access Centre, which has a vast collection of reference books, worksheets, DVDs, and online resources that supports independent learning of English.

To bring students an all-round language learning experience and a taste of the culture of the people who speak the languages they are learning, the Language Centre organises cultural activities such as learning about the kimono, and ikebana, or Japanese floral arrangement. Every year, it also awards three Language Centre scholarships to students attending a four-week summer exchange programme in London where they immerse themselves in an Englishspeaking environment.

Students are welcome to drop by the Centre, located on the second floor of Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Academic Building, to access English learning materials and advice, and enrol in the credit-bearing language courses offered every semester. The website also presents a rich collection of online language learning resources, which enable language learners to polish their skills anywhere and anytime.

Check out www.cityu.edu.hk/lc for more information about the Chan Feng Men-ling Chan Shuk-lin Language Centre.

The English Language Self-Access Centre provides the best reference materials to support students’ independent learning of English.

Guests from the Gifted Education Section of the Education Bureau, and CityU faculty members attended the opening seminar.

CityU’s Social Scientists and Mathematicians Co-organise Programme for the Gifted S

ome students demonstrate exceptional academic aptitude, creativity, intelligence or talents in arts or sports. They are generally referred to as “gifted students”, though there is no universal definition of “giftedness”. While every gifted student excels in a different way, creating a stimulating environment and deploying appropriate resources to meet their learning needs are key to unleashing their potential.

To provide opportunities for Secondary 3 to 5 students to have an early taste of university life and develop interests in their talented areas, the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences of College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) and the Department of Mathematics of College of Science (CSCI) of CityU jointly presented the “Advanced Talent Education Programme for Gifted Students in Hong Kong” from May 2020 to January 2021, with the support of Education Bureau’s Gifted Education Fund (GEF). Participants were nominated by school principals, teachers, and the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE), and have gone through a selection test to be admitted.

It is a three-phase programme featuring an array of STEMenriched activities, which enhance students’ the visuospatial abilities, as well as experiential activities and technology-based psychological assessment for fostering their affective development. It was kicked off by a seminar with representatives from the Gifted Education

Section of the Education Bureau, Dean of CLASS Professor Richard M WALKER, then Dean of CSCI and now Vice President (Student Affairs) Professor Raymond CHAN, and Executive Director of HKAGE Professor NG Tai-kai as guests, in May 2020.

The second phase encompassed four full-day advanced mathematics and 3D modelling lectures, one full-day talent psychology session, and one half-day integrated workshop with both mathematics and affective education elements. Upon completing phase two held from June to August 2020, around one-third of the students were selected for the third phase.

The third phase required students to complete special projects on mathematical modelling problems, such as coronavirus model, financial options model, heat conduction, fluid flows and others, providing them with a research project-based learning experience. In the course of the three-month project period, students also attended 3D workshops to advance their knowledge and kept contact with CityU academics who offered mentoring and support.

Though an originally planned showcase was cancelled due to the pandemic, it is without doubt that the participants have achieved a great deal and taken home new mathematical knowledge, affective skills, and academic skills. Both departments are satisfied with the outcome of the programme.

ISSUE 11 | CITY CLASS 43

Dean: Director of Administration: Production:

Professor Richard M WALKER Dr Hermia CHIU Po-hing College Publicity Team

CITY CLASS connects the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) with our stakeholders. The magazine offers a snapshot of CLASS events and achievements in areas such as teaching, research, knowledge transfer, student activities, learning experiences, and university life. It aims at providing readers with insights into the College’s commitment to quality education and research.

Online version is available on www.cityu.edu.hk/class/magazine

To subscribe to the magazine, please send an email to: ch.publicity@cityu.edu.hk Š2021 College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong Facebook: www.facebook.com/CLASS.CityU