Newsletter No. 104

CUHK Newsletter 2 No. 104 19th March 1997 New Asia-Yale Student Exchange S even New Asia students flew to Connecticut in the United States on 1st February for a two-week visit under the 4th New Asia-Yale Student Exchange Programme. This year's theme was 'migration', and the students delivered four papers on issues pertaining to migration in Hong Kong at a symposium at Yale University: new immigrants from China, emigration of Hong Kong people, Vietnamese refugee problems, and the role of early Chinese migrants in Hong Kong's economic development. To better understand migration issues in America, the students attended seminars and talked with officials from the US Immigration Department as we ll as recent migrants to the US. They also visited New York City and Washington, D.C. The visit is reciprocated from 9th to 22nd March, during which Yale students and staff will visit New Asia, present papers on migration in the US, and pay a two-day visit to Guangzhou. ChungChi's45th Anniversary Seminar andAnnualEducation Conference H ong Kong was the much-discussed topic of two events organized by Chung Chi College on 21st and 22nd February. On 21st February, the college held its 45th Anniversary Public Seminar at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The seminar was entitled The Role of Hong Kong in the Development of the Chinese Economy: Past, Present and Future'. There were three guest speakers: Prof. Lawrence Lau, Siu Lien Ling Wong V i s i t i ng Fellow and Kwoh - T i ng L i Professor of Economic Development at Stanford University; Mr. Joseph Y. W. Pang, executive director and deputy chief executive, Bank of East Asia; and Mr. Eddie T. S. Wang, assistant general manager and chief executive officer (China), Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. The seminar was followed by a cocktail reception. Then, on 22nd February, the College's Annual Education Conference 1996-97 took place in the Sino Building. Responding to the theme of 'Hong Kong's Stability and Prosperity in the Coming Decade', four panelists delivered papers. They were Prof. Lawrence Lau from Stanford University on 'Hong Kong's Stability and Prosperity in the Coming Decade: A View from Outside', Dr. Anthony Cheung from City University of Hong Kong on 'Hong Kong's Political Future: Certainties and Uncertainties', Prof. Lau Siu-kai from the CUHK Department of Sociology on 'Political Change in Hong Kong in the Coming Decade: Some Preliminary Investigations', and Prof. Mun Kin-chok from the CUHK Department of International Business on 'A Philosophical View for Hong Kong Business'. Prof. Victor Mok from the University's Department of Finance was the moderator of the conference. Department Update Set to Maintain the Edge: Chair of Anatomy Sh ares Insights on Teaching and Running a Department I t is all on his face that Prof. John A. Gosling is exceedingly proud of his department. 'There's no question that the Department of Anatomy is world class in terms of our equipment, the research we produce, and the support we get from the Faculty of Medicine and the University administration. We are a young department with enormous potential, not one with people sitting in the corner fossilizing. Visiting scholars never fail to be impressed by what they see here. I 'd be very sad to see it decline.' The cause for this latter tinge of melancholic fatalism is the announced cuts in the government's budget for tertiary institutions. This will naturally mean less money for equipment and research, and Prof. Gosling fears it w i ll also entail a repetition of what he witnessed in many academic institutions in the UK in the 80s— the replacement of traditional pedagogic teaching entirely by problem-based teaching in medicine. Now, over a decade after its emergence in the UK and two decades in the case of North America, the phenomenon is coming to Hong Kong, causing some debate in the local academic arena. ‘I have strong opinions on the issue,' says the chair of anatomy with some passion. 'In medicine, it is essential that you have the background knowledge and skills about how the human body is built and works before you can diagnose body systems that have gone wrong. But problem-based teaching may require an 18-year-old to go into the ward on the first day of class to try to make sense of a patient's complaints. It is embarrassing and inappropriate for both patient and student.' Medical problems are often interrelated, having ramifications beyond a particular organ system. A heart attack, for example, may stem from problems outside the cardiovascular system, such as diabetes which involves the endocrine system. Prof. Gosling points out that in problem-based learning, however, students concentrate only on the immediate problem. Hence, the patient's diabetes would have to remain 'hidden' simply because it is not being taught that day. The situation becomes farcical,' he says. 'In my opinion, the patient should not be introduced too soon in the curriculum.' While advocates of problem-based learning argue that it encourages students to take the initiative in learning and provides an all-round education, Prof. Gosling believes one of the reasons it was introduced in the UK where he was teaching was to allow the government to reduce funding to academic institutions. 'It's sheer hypocrisy,' he comments. 'Proponents can't come up with a shred of evidence that problem-based teaching produces better physicians. In certain institutions that have adopted this approach, it is now necessary to teach general medical knowledge at the postgraduate level. You can see it has backfired.' Lamenting the fact that local medical faculties may have to suffer the same fate, he continues, 'I've always felt there's a certain reluctance in Hong Kong to show its worth. If Hong Kong could maintain the present degree of government support for tertiary education, it' d become the envy of the world. People would be coming here to see how things are done properly. I know for one that my department has a lot to be proud of. We don't have to change the curriculum to demonstrate our worth.' In all fairness, the Department of Anatomy does have much to be proud of. It has expanded from teaching only first- and second-year medical students to other degree programmes in, for example, nursing, pharmacy, and human biology. There's also an intercalated B.Sc. degree programme wherein medical students spend a year doing research at the Department of Anatomy. Concurrent with lateral expansion is a substantial increase in the amount of teaching the department provides, as we ll as requirements for quality control. To accommodate the increase in teaching responsibilities, there are 15 teaching posts, representing a 36 per cent increase from 11 in 1989 when Prof. Gosling first joined the department. Prof. Gosling says that the one-line budget has allowed him greater flexibility in staffing. While there are 14 staff on tenure at present, the fifteenth post has been kept open for employing on a short-term basis, say six months, someone who will take the teaching load off the younger staff. This allows the latter more time for research without disrupting the quality of teaching. To ensure adequate feedback from staff and students about courses and teaching performance, there are questionnaire surveys, peer reviews, and an end-of-year review with students. The department is currently doing a joint project with the University of Hong Kong involving the preparation of specimens in a special way for use by nurses and surgeons in training. The tissue of the specimens is impregnated with a resin, so that they do not have to be kept in a fixative. Specimens thus processed can be handled more easily because they are not wet and do not have the smell of formalin. Organ specimens and formalin may leave one a bit cold, but anatomy is actually more than that, as Prof. Gosling explains upon request. There are generally five areas in anatomy: gross anatomy—dissecting in the dissecting room; histology—peering down the microscope at the structure of cells; embryology 一 studying the human development from the time of conception up through foetal life into the neo-natal period into adult-hood, the formation of organs, and abnormalities; genetics; and neuro- science. Except for gross anatomy, the other four components are regarded as cutting- edge science and for this reason, have been stripped away from the anatomy department in many universities and set up as separate departments. This creates a problem for gross anatomy, Prof. Gosling points out, because 'gross anatomy on its own does not generate much research— Leonardo da Vinci did it in 1450 一 so it gets very little research money'. Yet it is a core ingredient of any medical programme. That's why Prof. Gosling encourages all teaching staff at the department to get involved in teaching the subject. 'For example, I ' l l have them assist when I 'm dissecting the chest. When they're familiar with that, we can move on to another region,' he explains with a meticulousness and incisiveness consistent with his profession. Piera Chen Prof. John A. Gosling