Newsletter No. 154

2 No. 154 19th November 1999 CUHK Newsletter Getting Prepared for the New Millennium The Computer Services Centre (CSC)/Information Technology Service Unit (ITSU) first started to work on the transition to the new millennium for the centrally managed computer systems and networks in August 1997. By July 1999, the checking, modification, and testing of all centrally managed computer systems and networks were completed. A set of contingency plans have also been formulated to minimize any adverse impact in case something should go wrong during the transition. CSC/ITSU Contingency Plans Below are some of the contingency plans: 1. A full backup for all the data of the centrally managed production systems will be performed on the following dates: • Computer systems for academic, research and support use (e.g. the campus-wide e-mail system, CUHK web server, data library and academic application software server, high-performance computing systems etc.) The backup will be performed from 00:00 on 25th December to 24:00 on 31st December 1999. This means that any data modified by the users during this period would probably not be archived in the backup media. • Computer systems for administrative use (including the admissions system, student record system, personnel system, payroll system, superannuation system, SAP accounting system, student accounts system, and new funding model system) The backup will start from 00:00 to 24:00 on 31st December 1999. This means that any data modified by users during this period would probably not be archived in the backup media. 2. A Y2K Information Centre (YIC) will operate from 00:00 on 1st January to 24:00 on 3rd January 2000. Staff members can contact the YIC should they need general Y2K information or have any questions on the operation status of centrally managed computer systems and networks. Details of the operation of the YIC and the related contact telephone numbers will be announced on the Y2K homepage ( http://www.cuhlc.edu.hk/ y2k/) in early December. 3. Comprehensive systems checking will be performed between 18:00 on 31st December 1999 and 24:00 on 1st January 2000. During the comprehensive systems check, some systems will inevitably be shut down from time to time and hence be unstable. Therefore, avoid scheduling important computing activities during this period. 4. No new systems will be introduced one month before and after 1st January 2000 in order to help isolate and resolve problems related to Y2K if any should arise. 5. No professional staff and technical staff will take leave during the first two weeks of the year 2000 to ensure there is sufficient manpower to deal with unforeseen problems. Your Preparation Given the colossal scale of computing and computer automation at the University, it is impossible for the CSC to inspect and certify the Y2K-compliance status of every single computer on campus and its associated software. A ll academic and administration units should check by themselves whether all their computer hardware and accompanying systems have been examined for their Y2K compliance status. If the Y2K compliance status of any computer hardware and software (both the operating system and the applications) has not been verified, please contact the staff below as soon as possible. Microcomputer Systems and Network Roger So 2609 8836 roger-so@cuhk.edu.hk Microcomputer Applications Judy Cheung 2609 8920 judy-cheung@cuhk.edu.hk Unix-based Systems Carol Chiu 2609 8823 carol-chiu@cuhk.edu.hk Suet Yi Fung 2609 8832 fungsuetyi@cuhk.edu.hk Academic Computing System (ACS) Applications (e.g., SAS, IMSL, MATLAB) Thomas Tsui 2609 8844 tomtsui@cuhk.edu.hk Registry Applications Wing Kong Chong 2609 8915 wk-chong@cuhk.edu.hk Lawrence Leung 2609 8990 lawrencel@cuhk.edu.hk SAP Accounting Applications Anita Kwong 2609 8872 anitakwong@cuhk.edu.hk Edmund To 2609 8843 edmund-to@cuhk.edu.hk New Funding Model System, Admission System Mei Yin Leung 2609 8840 my-leung@cuhk.edu.hk Sally Wong 2609 8871 sally-wong@cuhk.edu.hk Personnel and Payroll Systems Michael Chan 2609 8809 michael-chan@cuhk.edu.hk Edmund To 2609 8843 edmund-to@cuhk.edu.hk Your Contingency Plan No one really knows what will happen when the clock ticks into the new millennium. However, one thing's for sure 一 if you have established a contingency plan for your business functions, the damage will be minimized should these functions fail to work. The single most important thing to do is to make a full backup copy of all your data by 31st December 1999. This is because problematic applications may damage your data at the turn of the millennium, and this backup will be the best protection for your data should that happen. Go to http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/y2k for the latest on Y2K. Service t o t he C ommu n i ty and I n t e r na t i onal Organ i za t i ons • Prof. Andrew Chan Chi-fai, professor in the Department of Marketing, has been appointed by the Chief Executive of the HKSAR as the chairman of the Consumer Council for two years from 19th September 1999. • Prof. Dennis Lam Shun-chiu, professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, has been appointed by the Chief Executive of the HKSAR as a member of the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong for three years from 13th September 1999. • Prof. Tam Ling-kwan, visiting professor to the School of Chinese Medicine, has been appointed by the Chief Executive of the HKSAR as a member of the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong for three years from 13th September 1999. Prof. Tam has also been appointed by the Secretary for Health and Welfare as a member of the Chinese Medicines Board for three years from 13th September 1999. • Prof. Fung Kwok-pui, professor in the Department of Biochemistry, has been appointed by the Secretary for Health and Welfare as a member of the Chinese Medicines Board for three years from 13th September 1999. • Prof. Jack Cheng, professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, has been appointed by the Secretary for Health and Welfare as a member of the Supplementary Medical Professions Council for three years from 1st October 1999. • Prof. Rance P.L. Lee, professor of sociology, has been invited by the president of Lingnan University to serve as a member of the advisory board to its Centre for Asian Pacific Studies from 1999 to 2002. • Dr. Joseph Lau, director of the Centre for Clinical Trials and Epidemiological Research, has been invited by the Advisory Council on AIDS to be amember of the AIDS Prevention and Care Committee from 1999 to 2002. • Prof. Louise Ho, associate professor in the Department of English, was nominated by The British Council to represent Hong Kong at their 25th Cambridge Seminar on 'The Contemporary British Writer' at Downing College, University of Cambridge, from 7th to 16th July 1999. • Prof. Joseph Lau Wan-yee, professor of surgery, has been elected as a fellow of the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia (FAMM) from 19th August 1999. • Prof. Chan Wing-wah, professor in the Department of Music, has been re-elected as vice-chairman of the Asian Composers' League from 2000. Prof. Chan also led the Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra on a concert tour to Beijing and Shanghai from 12th to 18th August 1999 in his capacity as chairman of the Management Committee of the Hong Kong Music Office, during which the orchestra performed his piece Transitfor Orchestra. (Information in this section is provided by the Information and Public Relations Office. Contributions should be sent direct to that office for registration and verification before publication.) CU Press Bedside Manner: Hospital and Health Care in Hong Kong Bedside Manner: Hospital and Health Care in Hong Kong, written by Robin Hutcheon, relates the differences in Hong Kong's hospital and health care service before and after the establishment of the Hospital Authority. Up to the mid-1980s Mong Kong depended on government and subvented hospitals as well as a number of private institutions to serve its more than six million population. Gross overcrowding of public hospital wards, faltering administration, harassed and overworked staff, unsatisfactory service to the public demanded urgent change. Overseas experts, invited to propose reforms, came up with a challenging solution which the Hong Kong government decided to adopt. This book tells of how Hong Kong acquired a new hospital administration in an attempt to reform a system rapidly running out of control. Bedside Manner: Hospital and Health Care in Hong Kong is a source book for medical staff and administrators. It will also serve the general public as valuable background reading for understanding the recent Harvard report. ISBN 962-201-798-3, paperback, 290 pages, HK$ 195 New Book

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