Newsletter No. 172

Wei Lun Lectures on Cultural China and Primary Care T wo Wei Lun Public Lectures were delivered at the University in the month of October. Prof. Tu Weiming, professor of Chinese history and philosophy and director o f the Harvard- Yenching Institute at Harvard University, gave a lecture entitled 'Implications o f the Dialogue Among Civilizations for Cultural China' on 4th October i n his capacity as Wei L un V i s i t i ng Professor to the University. In his lecture, Prof. Tu presented his latest thoughts about Cultural China in the broader perspective of cross-civilization dialogue. Cultural Ch i na is a dynamic i n t e r p r e t i ve concept he advocated in the 1990s to capture the complex globalization of Chinese culture in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Born in Kunming, China, Prof. Tu was educated at Tunghai University in Taiwan, and Harvard University in the US. Prof. Tu is a renowned scholar in Confucian humanism, Chinese intellectual history, philosophies of East Asia, and comparative religion. On 13th October, Prof. Barbara Starfield, University Distinguished Service Professor and Director of the Primary Care Policy Centre of Johns Hopkins University, spoke on ' P r i ma ry Care: 21st Cen t u ry Challenges to Quality'. In her lecture, Prof. Starfield discussed the major challenges primary care is facing. While the focus o f primary care practice is shifting f r om disease to person, there is mounting evidence o f the i mpa ct o f the hea l th system f ac t o r, as distinguished f r om c l i n i cal interventions, on outcomes of care. The increasingly technological nature of clinical intervention is also found to have exposed patients to greater risks o f death and discomfort. Trained in paediatrics and epidemiology, Prof. Starfield has devoted herself to health service research and its translation into health policy at the national, state, and local levels. Her work has involved the development of methods to measure primary care, health status in children, and ambulatory case-mix. Prof. Tu Weiming and Prof. Kwok Siu-tong, dean of arts Prof. Barbara Starfield and Prof. Sydney Chung, dean of medicine Literary and Translation Specialist on Globalization of Chinese Poetry P rof. Xu Yuanchong, professor of literary t r ans l a t i on o f the Depa r tment o f English, Peking University, delivered a lecture entitled 'Cultural Exchange and the Globalization of Poetry' in his capacity as Wilson T.S. Wang-New Method College Visiting Professor in Language Education. The lecture took place on 13th October in Chung Chi College. I n his lecture, Prof. X u pointed out that the m a i n i s s u e i n t h e globalization o f Chinese poetry is the translation of classical Chinese poetry into English, since English is t he i n t e r n a t i o n al l a n g u a g e o f c o mm u n i c a t i o n. F o r Eng l i sh translations o f classical Chinese poems to be able to enrich global culture, they have to be beau t i f ul i n ' mean i ng, sound, and form'. Bo r n i n J i angxi i n 1921, Prof. X u graduated f r om Southwest Associated University, continued his literary studies at Tsinghua University and the University o f Paris, wh e re he o b t a i n ed his D i p l o ma o f Literature, specializing in Shakespeare and Racine. Prof. X u is equa l ly adept i n Chinese, English, and French, and all his works have enjoyed great acclaim in literary and translation circles. More Support for Research Activities S ix research projects launched by staff members of the University recently received funding support from different local sources: • A Phase I I I Randomized Trial Comparing Efficacy of Non-adherent Dressing Versus Gentian Violet for Treatment of Radiation-induced Mo i st Desquamation Wounds in Patients w i th Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (HK$323,139) Sponsor: Health Services Research Fund Principal investigator. Prof. P.J. Johnson (Department of Clinical Oncology) • Co r r ec t i on of Metabolic Acidosis in Continuous Amb u l a t o ry Perioneal Dialysis Patients w i th Borderline Dialysis Adequacy — Effect on Nutritional Status, Systemic I n f l amma t o ry Response and Patient Mo r b i d i ty (HK$421,490) Sponsor: Health Services Research Fund Principal investigator: Prof. Szeto Cheuk-chun (Department o f Med i c i ne and Therapeutics) • Utilization of Neuro-cognitive Science for the Improvement of Language Education in Hong Kong (HK$22,783,900) Sponsor. Quality Education Fund Principal investigator. Prof. To Cho-yee (Department o f Community and Family Medicine) • A Study on Quan t i f y i ng Kinematics and Muscle S t r a in Du r i ng Ma n u al L i f t i ng Different Weights in Hong Kong (HK$252,000) Sponsor. Occupational Safety and Health Council Principal investigator. Prof. Hong Youlian (Department of Sports Science and Physical Education) • Establishment of a University-based D r ug Development Centre for Anticancer and Cerebro/cardio-vascular Drugs (HK$7,706,000) Sponsor. Innovation and Technology Fund Principal investigator: Prof. Moses S.S. Chow (Department of Pharmacy) Co-investigators: Walter K.K. Ho, Keith Chan, Simon Kwong, Y.P. Ho, Clara Lau, Robert Jones, Ge Lin, Anthony Janes, Albert Chow, Brian Tomlinson and Thomas Chan • University and School Partnership for Quality Education (HK$33,348,000) Sponsor. Quality Education Fund Principal investigators: Prof. John Lee Chi-kin and Prof. Chung Yue-ping School Self-renewal Project Begins T en primary and 10 secondary schools in the territory participate in the School Self- evaluation and School-based Performance Indicators project undertaken by the Faculty o f Education to help them develop their o w n m o d e l s o f s c h o o l - b a s ed management and to set t he ir o wn performance indicators. Educational experts from the faculty w i l l wo rk out w i th the schools a self- r e n e w a l s t r a t e gy f o r c o n t i n u o us improvement using a self-evaluation framework and school-based indicators. They w i l l also attempt to p r omo te professional competence and to boost the c o n f i d e n ce and p e r f o r m a n ce o f administrators and teachers through well- designed training courses. This two-year project is expected to improve the effectiveness of the schools, enhance students' learning ability, and make the schools more accountable to parents and the community. The project was officially opened on 14th October. Speakers on the occasion included Prof. Chung Yue-ping, dean of the Faculty of Education, Prof. Leslie Lo, director of the Hong Kong Institute o f Educational Research, and Prof. Pang Sun-keung, leader o f the project.