Bulletin Number Four 1984

Education and delinquency . Teacher-student relationship and attitude o f the youth . Educational reform . Classroom defiance and discipline • Juvenile delinquency and crime Family studies . Intra-fam ily economic and power relation ships, and decision-making process . Family composition and its life cycle patterns . Household consumption and inter- generational transfer o f income and wealth Community development . Population growth in new and old towns and its consequences . Building better social relations in commun ities • Improving the delivery o f community services Quality o f life in Hong Kong . Mental health and illness . U tilization o f leisure and its implications . Developing social indicators and social accounts on quality o f life (3) Political development and district administration This area focuses on the changing configuration o f social-political forces in Hong Kong and their impact on social, political and administrative reform, and the changing govemment-poeple relationship. (4) Environmental and urban studies Studies w ill be conducted on such topics as air, noise and water pollution, environmental problems encountered in the process o f urbanization, and the process and outcome o f planned urban development. (5) Policy studies Existing public policies w ill be evaluated, feasibility studies on proposed policies w ill be under taken and alternative policy instruments w ill be conceptualized. (6) Public opinion studies Public opinion on fixed and basic topics, and on ad hoc and changing issues are monitored and analysed. Factors behind the changing trends o f public opinion w ill be examined, including the role o f mass media. The six research areas outlined above are obviously interrelated. They constitute the themes around which research studies w ill be organized and developed. Useful information and findings w ill be generated. We have plans to supplement these information and findings w ith further questionnaire surveys, w ith a view to construct a computerized systems o f indicators on basic economic and social issues and phenomena in Hong Kong. The research areas are chosen not only because o f their intrinsic academic values, but also because o f their potentiality o f generating sound policy proposals for coping w ith social and economic development in Hong Kong. From the point o f view o f teaching, it can easily be seen that these themes fit nicely into the University's curricula, especially those o f the Faculties o f Business Administration and Social Science, and that the direct contribution o f these studies to post-secondary education is im mense. Apart from assisting the faculty in their conduct o f empirical studies, the Centre has also a publication programme, which disseminates the research findings. Three occasional papers have recently been completed: 1. 'Leaders, Officials, and Citizens in Urban Service Delivery: A Comparative Study o f Four Localities in Hong Kong' by Lau Siu-kai, Kuan Hsin-chi and Ho Kam-fai. 2. 'Organizing Participatory Urban Services: The Mutual Aid Committees in Hong Kong' by Kuan Hsin-chi, Lau Siu-kai and Ho Kam-fai. 3. 'The D istrict Board Elections in Hong Kong' by Lau Siu-kai and Kuan Hsin-chi. In addition, the Centre often organizes public lectures, workshops, symposia, seminars and forums in order to promote dialogue and exchange o f views between the academic community on the one hand and the government, other public bodies and the business community on the other. The Centre has a small working library which has a collection o f classified local newspaper clippings, reports and publications o f the government and other voluntary and business organizations. The working library is open to University students, who can make use o f the reference material there for their projects or for writing research papers. Moreover, projects o f the Centre usually employ students as part-time research helpers, hoping that through participation in the projects, they may receive training and gain practical experience in field work, interviewing and other aspects o f social research. To promote social research in Hong Kong, the Centre is w illing to assist people or organizations conducting research in this field by providing the necessary information and advice. Individuals w ith genuine research interests which fit in w ith the Centre's research programmes, may be invited to participate in the projects as honorary Research Associates or Fellows. 10 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS