Newsletter No. 60

CUHK NEWSLETTER New Academic Programmes The Senate recently approved the introduction of a full-time pre-registration Bachelor of Nursing Programme in the 1995-96 academic year, subject to the approval of adequate funding by the UPGC. The new four-year programme will operate on a modular curriculum structure instead of a credit unit system and will prepare graduates for registration as a general nurse in accordance with the requirements of the Nursing Board of Hong Kong. On the same occasion, the proposal of the Department of Clinical Oncology to introduce a Specialist Course in Cancer Nursing Care leading to a Certificate in Cancer Nursing Care was also approved. Berkeley Professor Gives Facts on AIDS Prof. James Chin, professor of epidemiology at U. C. Berkeley, was invited by the Department of Community and Family Medicine to give a talk titled 'Epidemiology and Natural History of HIV/AIDS' on 1st October at the Prince of Wales Hospital. Prof. Chin's talk gave important facts and figures about the disease. He revealed that to date an estimated 16 million adults have already been infected with the virus, with over 70 per cent of all infections acquired through heterosexual sex. In the USA the annual incidence peaked in the mid 1980s, whereas in Asia the incidence will increase until about the year 2000. There is no evidence to suggest any racial difference in the efficiency of HIV transmission. Prof. Chin said that modelling is useful in forecasting the growth of the HIV epidemic which would in turn help health care planners, policy-makers and AIDS programme officers to design, implement and evaluate relevant programmes. He ended by stressing the importance of prevention, saying that even if a vaccine/cure is available, prevention work through behavioural modification needs to be continued. Asian Scholars rising to the challenge Prof. Wimal Dissanayake, currently a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu, visited the University last month as Wei Lun Visiting Professor. An expert in cross-cultural communication, Prof. Dissanayake presented a public lecture titled 'Cultural Studies: The Challenges Ahead for Asian Scholars' on 6th October in the auditorium of the Ho Sin Hang Engineering Building. In his lecture, Prof. Dissanayake pointed out that the ascendancy of cultural studies as a vital mode of inquiry has been one of the most significant developments in the past 10 years in both the humanities and the social sciences. It is multifaceted, multifocal and interdisciplinary and is gaining influence among Asian scholars. Besides having six volumes of poetry and over 15 books on cinema, communication, and literature to his name, Prof. Dissanayake has done extensive research in the re-interpretation of Asian cultures from the perspectives of contemporary social and cultural theories. His lecture addressed such questions as 'What is the significance of cultural studies in relation to the Asian experience?' and 'How do practitioners of cultural studies relate to the rich and complex traditions of Asian thought whether it be Buddhism or Confucianism?' Born in Sri Lanka, Prof. Dissanayake obtained his PhD from the University of Cambridge and conducted his postdoctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1979, he joined the East-West Center where for many years he was the assistant director of the Institute of Culture and Communication. NO.60 NOVEMBER 1994 S