Newsletter No. 424

4 No. 424, 4.10.2013 學者談擺脫網絡沉迷 Scholars Discuss Ways to Kick Internet Addiction 當今智能電話普及，互聯網無處不 在，街上專注看手機的「低頭族」滿 眼可見。青少年沉迷網絡遊戲、流連 社交網絡，以致對身心或學業產生 負面影響，這是教育工作者近年關心 的議題。中大教育學院院長梁湘明 教授（ 左二 ）、中大優化英語教學研 究中心總監麥陳淑賢教授（ 左一 ）、 前線教育工作者陳德恒先生（ 右一 ） 和中學校長阮邦耀博士（ 右二 ），於 9月21日假中央圖書館的中大五十周 年校慶博文公開講座上，以「從網海 中振作：問題與挑戰」為題，討論如 何擺脫網絡沉迷。 陳德恒在會上指出，網絡遊戲設計公司在設計過程中會找年輕人試玩，以他們的意見為指標，多番修 改，這些遊戲可謂經過千錘百煉，不但畫功細緻，場面刺激，玩家更可脫離現實，扮演不同角色，所以 甫面世就大受學生歡迎，傳統教案實難以匹敵。 講者均認為，要避免學生上網成癮，涉及大量資源，且須多方協力，例如教師要設計與時並進的教案 吸引學生，培養他們其他方面的興趣以取得成就感。梁湘明教授強調，倘若學生已上網成癮，擺脫的 過程中，父母的關心和堅持，會使子女覺得仍受重視和珍惜，從而驅動他們更有決心離開網海。 With the rising popularity of smart phones and vastly improved Internet accessibility, the Internet has become an essential part of our lives. The downside of this is the rise in the number of smart phone addicts. Young people addicted to online games and social networking to the detriment of their studies, and psychological and physical health, are a pressing concern of educators in recent years. Prof. Leung Seung-ming Alvin ( 2nd left ), Dean of Education at CUHK; Prof. Barley Mak ( 1st left ), director of the Centre for Enhancing English Learning and Teaching at CUHK; Mr. Chan Tak-hang ( 1st right ), educator; and Dr. Yuen Pong-yiu ( 2nd right ), secondary school principal, talked about this issue from different perspectives at the CUHK 50th Anniversary Public Lecture entitled ‘Shaking off Internet Addiction: Issues and Challenges’ held at the Hong Kong Central Library on 21 September. Mr. Chan said some online game design companies would invite young people to try their products for free before launch, and use their feedback to refine the games. In fact, most of these games featuring sophisticated drawings, stimulating design and role-playing elements, have been polished over and over again. That’s why they are well-received by their target customers. All the speakers believed an abundance of resources is needed to prevent students from Internet addiction. For example, teachers have to revise their lesson plans from time to time to keep them up- to-date and interesting. Students should be encouraged to develop other hobbies so they wouldn’t concentrate solely on the Internet. Professor Leung emphasized that parents play an extremely important role in helping their children to kick their Internet addiction. Persistence, love and care from families are the major driving forces for young people to shake off their addiction with determination. 梨花 – 中大當代亞洲都市工作坊 Ewha–CUHK Workshop on Contemporary Asian Urbanism 中大與韓國梨花女子大學於7月6日至31日合辦第二屆工作坊，探討亞洲 都市空間運用。工作坊為兩校選修科目之一，由中大學術交流處、暑期課 程辦公室、建築學院和香港建築中心贊助。兩校分派十一名及九名學生 參與，分別到首爾及香港一周，實地考察及交流，其後學生在網聯繫，合 力完成指定課業。 工作坊設有專題講座及相關的實地考察，題材包括歷史建築、當代城市文 化、規劃及可持續發展等。學生參觀了首爾的昌德宮、光化門、清溪川、世 運商街及Heyri 藝術村等，在港則走訪了香港歷史博物館、展城館、立法 會大樓、中環、屏山、濕地公園及天水圍新市鎮。 CUHK and Ewha Woman’s University jointly organized a second workshop from 6 to 31 July. The workshop is a credit-bearing elective that explores Asian urban space and cultures. It was supported by the CUHK Office of Academic Links, Office of Summer Programmes, the School of Architecture, and the Hong Kong Architecture Centre. Twenty students from the two universities (11 from CUHK, nine from Ewha) spent one week each in Hong Kong and Seoul engaging in field work and exchange, after which both groups completed course assignments together via online interaction. Students attended specialist lectures with matching field trips, covering topics on historical architecture, contemporary urban culture, as well as planning and sustainable development. Places visited included Changdeokgung palace, Gwanghwamun, Cheonggyecheon, the Seun Arcade, the Heyri Art Village in Seoul, and the Hong Kong Museum of History, the City Gallery, the Legislative Council assembly, Ping Shan, Wetland Park and Tin Shui Wai. 與植物科學家追夢 Dream of the Plant Scientists 生命科學學院生物學研究講座教授辛世文於9月17日主講 五十周年博文公開講座─「香港植物學家的夢」，與來臨 中央圖書館的聽眾分享他和研究團隊多年追尋的夢想。 辛教授提到植物學家的最終目標是「養活世上所有人」， 他稱：「由於人口增加，可耕種的土地愈來愈少，將來即 使有錢，也未必有足夠糧食可買。」因此團隊的主要研 究，是如何通過分子生物學及生物技術，提高水稻及大 豆這些主要食糧的產量和營養價值。他介紹了數個主要 研究，包括從研究植物與水關係而引伸的節水灌溉法、 透過重塑原始大豆基因而得出抗旱品種、藉遺傳工程把 蛋白質、鐵、鋅、維他命A和E這些營養要素加進水稻。 由辛教授領導的植物學家團隊，早於十多年前獲得大學 教育資助委員會的資助，設立植物生物技術學卓越學科 領域，開展基礎及應用研究，並獲該委員會高度表揚，評 為「世界級卓越學科領域」。 Prof. Samuel S.M. Sun, research professor of biology, School of Life Science, CUHK, was invited to speak at the CUHK 50th Anniversary Public Lecture titled ‘The Dream of Hong Kong Plant Scientists’ on 17 September in the Central Library. According to Professor Sun, the ultimate goal of the plant scientists is to feed all the people in the world. He said, ‘With the rise in population, the amount of arable land will decrease. It is estimated that the food supply might not meet demand in the long run and money can’t solve the problem.’ Therefore, his research team focuses on how to improve the yield and nutritional quality of staple crop such as rice and soybean through basic and applied research, and the application of molecular and biotechnological approaches. Professor Sun introduced a few research projects of his team. These include the study of the relation between water and plant growth, which led to the development of a new farming method for dry conditions; a project on restoring the characteristics of soybean by reinstating the selected original genes to make it drought-resistant; and a project on enhancing the nutritive value of rice by introducing protein, vitamin A and E, zinc and iron into new species. Ley by Professor Sun and formed by a group of plant scientists, the research team succeeded in establishing an Area of Excellence in plant biotechnology with the support of the University Grants Committee (UGC) more than a decade ago. The team’s outstanding achievements was assessed as ‘world-class’ by the international monitoring panel of the UGC.