A New Era Begins 1975-78

Social Research Centre Since its establishment in 1966 ， the Social Research Centre has carried on a flourishing interdisciplinary research programme, involving 29 specific projects related to Hong Kong and 8 projects dealing wi th China. In the Centre's activities, research and instruction have always been effectively interrelated. Moreover, the Social Research Centre provides a model of interdisciplinary participation, reflecting the University's organic principle o f operation. At the present time, the Centre's membership includes the entire teaching staff o f sociology, 2 from anthropology, 6 from social work, 2 from psychology, 1 from economics, 1 from journalism and communication, 2 from education, 1 from history, and 5 from government and public administration. In 1978 the Social Research Centre completed a large-scale study, The Kwun Tong Industrial Community Research Programme, and has recently begun a study of Shatin which is currently being developed into a satellite town near The Chinese University. Currently two group projects are under way: ( 1) Bureaucratic Behaviour ( C o r r u p t i o n ) ; (2) Rural Communes in The People's Republic of China. Also i n progress is an interesting interdisciplinary project, The Concept of Face, which involves a sociologist, a psychologist, and an anthropologist. The Social Research Centre has received numerous grants from Government and from various foundations, but like all research units, it is still restricted in its activities by insufficient funds. Centre for Communication Studies After its restructuring in 1974-75, the Centre for Communication Studies has completed more than 10 research projects, sponsored three regional/international conferences, and published a quarterly, The Asian Messenger. The Centre is currently engaged in a large project of collecting materials and compiling a bibliography of Chinese communication materials, part of the Centre's long-range plan to undertake a comprehensive project of Chinese Communication Studies. Two exploratory seminars on this plan were held in March and June 1978, involving about 30 participants, plus observers from various disciplines in the social sciences and the humanities. The general conclusions were that the project should explore Chinese communication theories and practices and relate them to Western counterparts, and, further, to construct hypotheses for empirical studies o f modern Chinese society. East Asian Studies Centre The Centre for East Asian Studies has just completed a monumental project——Editing and Annotating the Works of Vietnamese Historical Sources, conducted in cooperation wi th the Southern Illinois University under an NEH grant. Recently the Centre discovered a copy of the Complete Collection of the Annuals of the Great Viet, originally published in 1697. The Centre has completed negotiations wi th the University of Paris V I I to undertake a j o i nt project in collating this newly discovered text wi th the Centre's text, thus providing the most reliable source materials for the study of Vietnamese history. 56