Newsletter No. 215

University Releases Report on O'Camp 2002 T he University's Joint Committee on New Student Orientation and the I nves t i ga t i on Team o f the Sexual Harassment Panel have completed their investigations of the appearance of indecent and offensive slogans during the 2002 orientation camp, and released their findings and follow-up suggestions in a press conference held in December last year. The shouting and display of such slogans was found to be absolutely unacceptable and the University had issued a strongly worded reprimand to the relevant organizing committees in the four colleges. The Joint Committee on New Student Orientation recommended improvements on the organization of orientation camps. It would amend the guidelines for the camps and discuss preventive measures with the relevant students and staff. The student organizers on their part agreed to set up a more effective monitoring system and exercise self-discipline in future orientation camps. The Sexual Harassment Investigation Team found that some of the orientation camp activities contained elements that were clearly sexually hostile, which could not be tolerated in an institution of higher learning. The team also found that some students were extremely insensitive to the issue of sexual harassment, and suggested the University should increase education and promote awareness regarding such issues. The University would request all units, committees, and organizations (including student organizations) to set up effective mechanisms for preventing sexual harassment and indecent behaviour when organizing activities. The University also released a press statement on 19th December 2002 to reiterate its determination to maintain a f r i e n d l y and g e n d e r - r e s p e c t f ul environment conducive to growth and learning for all its members. Earth Surface Probed at Workshop O ver 50 scholars from China, the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Australia, and Japan attended the Advanced Workshop on InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) for Measuring Topography and Deformation of the Earth Surface on 16th and 17th December at the Cho Yiu Conference Hall. The event was organized by the Joint Laboratory for Geoinformation Science (JLGIS) with sponsorship from the K.C. Wong Education Foundation, Sze Cheong Investment Co. Ltd., the Civil Engineering Department of the HKSAR Government, and the Hong Kong Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. The purpose of the workshop was to allow investigators to share innovations in the methodology of InSAR/D-InSAR (differential InSAR) and explore their applications. The participants reached a consensus on establishing an InSAR network to promote research applications of the technology in the fields of technical development, and operational applications in China and the Asia-Pacific. JLGIS, as the initiator of the programme, will play an active role in this international network and Dr. Liao Mingsheng of JLGIS was elected as the first secretary of the network. At the opening of the workshop, welcoming speeches were delivered by Prof. Jack Cheng, pro-vice-chancellor of the University, and Mr. Lau Ching-kwong, director of Civil Engineering of the HKSAR Government. Guests included Prof. Shao Liqun, executive director of the National Remote Sensing Centre of China, Prof. Liu Jinnan, vice-president of Wuhan University, Prof. L i Deren, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Mr. Wang Guoli, division chief of the Education, Science and Technology Department at the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR. Conference Examines Relationship Between Globalization and Education G lobalization affects not only the education agenda of nation states but the way education is changing with the states. New education agenda often include new notions of marketization, privatization, and decentralization. There is also increasing curriculum standardization and a growing emphasis on nationhood. Educational researchers, policymakers, teacher educators, curriculum developers, and practitioners from the world over gathered at the Hong Kong Educational Research Association 2002 I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n ce on ' G l oba l i za t i on: New Horizons for Educational Change' held on 20th and 21st December 2002 in the Esther Lee Building. Over 100 papers were presented and 24 forum sessions held to search for the meaning of globalization and its implications for schools and students, to explore the impact of globalization on education trends, policies, and practices, and to investigate new areas f or educational research and development in the 21st century. Experts in educational reforms in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America shared their insights and expe r i ence w i t h the con f e r ence participants. The conference was coorganized by the Hong Kong Educational Research Association (HKERA), the Hong Kong Teachers' Centre, the Fa c u l ty o f Education and the Hong Kong Institute o f E d u c a t i o n al Resea r ch o f the U n i v e r s i t y. P r o f. Ng C h i n g - f a i, president of HKERA, and Prof. Chung Yue-ping, dean of the CUHK Faculty of Education, officiated at the opening ceremony. CU Students Come Third in Regional ACM Contest From left: Chan Siu-man, Chan Siu-on, and Lau Chi- fai of the CUHK team A p r og r ammi ng team f r om the Un i v e r s i t y 's Depa r tment o f Computer Science and Engineering have made it to the 27th A CM ICPC (International Collegiate Programming Contest) World Finals after winning the third place at the ACM ICPC Regional Con t est h e l d on 2 9 th and 30 th No v ember 2002 in X i ' a n on the mainland. This marks the third time in the past four years that a team from the University has qualified for this world- class competition. A total of 102 teams f r om top universities in the region participated in the Regional Contest in Xi'an. Results in such international contests are often used by the Chinese government to gauge the ranking and strength of the computer science departments in ma i n l and universities. After a long and drawn out competition lasting five hours and 40 minutes, Tsinghua University emerged as the winner, with Zhejiang University and CUHK as the first and second runners- up. F r om a f i e l d o f 2,866 teams competing at 106 sites worldwide and representing 1,325 universities from 68 countries on six continents, the CUHK team has advanced to become one of the 16 teams from Asia and one of the 66 teams from across the world in the ACM ICPC World Finals, to be held from 22nd to 26th March 2003 in California. Some well-known universities that are competing in this year's world finals are the California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, Harvard University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, St. Petersburg State University, Tsinghua University, UC Berkeley, the University of Illinois, the University of Toronto, and the University of Waterloo. 1 No. 215 19thJanuary 2003