Dept of Sociology

DEPT OF SOCIOLOGY

Researcher : Bakken B

Project Title:	Crime and Punishment in China
Investigator(s):	Bakken B
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:	04/2007

Abstract:

According to the United Nations’ cross-cultural International Crime Victimization Survey of approximately sixty countries, among all of the countries’ residents the large representative sample of Chinese respondents surveyed were the most likely to favour harsh punishment (Zvekic and Alvazzi Del Frate 1995, Mayhew and van Kesteren, 2003). It has also been observed that China today executes more people than the entire rest of the world, and that recent surveys in China show unusually high levels of support for capital punishment (Fu, 2000). My project seeks to answer why such attitudes and practices prevail in today’s China. This will entail a comprehensive study of the role of punitiveness in China. I am convinced the topic should not be confined to the technicalities of law or analyses of criminology, but should be linked to a cross-disciplinary approach to explain fundamental cultural, moral, and structural changes in society. My focus is on present day China, but I see punishment in the perspective of a cultural and historical longue durée. I will engage the issues of Chinese punitive practices and attitudes through empirical research extending along several interrelated fronts, combining extensive interviewing with archival studies, a wide range of Chinese and Western scholarship, as well as local and comparative survey material. The PI is fluent in Chinese (putonghua), and brings to the research a wide range of knowledge on China. While my main focus is in sociology/criminology, I intend to approach the issue from different angles according to my background in sinology, social history, sociology and criminology. The effort will be to explain the experiences of the People's Republic of China, with a keen observance of historical sociology, into a new framework. Thus, in addition to examining the state-imposed system of punishment in terms of political and social control, I wish to go beyond that in an attempt to describe what might be termed a ”punitive society”. In doing this, I distance myself from the old paradigm of totalitarianism, where an all-powerful state seemed to be in full control of all aspects of punishment, which we regard as far too simplistic to be able to explain adequately the phenomena in question. Although some of this literature is still valuable, the analytical framework is insufficient, often leading to flawed conclusions found in works like Lifton (1961), Friedrich & Brzezinski (1968), and Wu (1992). While a punitive system concerns the state apparatus of power and control, it also touches upon wider issues of moral values, rationalities, and the emotional forces and sensibilities held in a society. Pieter Spierenburg (1984) has described the evolution of repression and punishment in European societies from the medieval period throughout industrialization, basing his analysis on Norbert Elias’ (1982) sociological/historical theory on the Civilization Process, which ties the control of individual impulses to the growth of powerful states and courts. He argues that the intensity of emotions (and thereby the use of cruelty and violence) during the medieval period was ”tamed” or contained by the introduction of the nation state, and that the acceptance of ”blood” sacrifice and violence decreases over the centuries, while sensibilities about suffering increase. This approach has been supported by rich empirical evidence, and has been utilized to explain developments in crime, violence and punishment in medieval and early modern Europe (Sveri 1974, Diederiks 1989) to mention a few), but the thesis has never previously been tested against the Chinese experience. I refute the idea that Europe represents a microcosm of humankind, and it would add to the general knowledge of crime, violence, and punishment to investigate recent Chinese experience in these terms, exposing a possible European empirical bias in civilization theory. China does not have a cultural or historical inclination towards harsh punishment as some have claimed (Gao 2004). On the contrary there is much evidence of restorative justice and what I term ”legal mercy” (McKnight 1982) in the Chinese tradition. I will try to prove that the cultural argument is inadequate in explaining the present hard punishment regime in the People’s Republic of China. I do not belong to a ”school”, however, and the civilization approach or the historical school of criminology is but one approach to the issue of punitiveness that I will explore. I will seek alternative ways of explanation by drawing upon modern sociological theoeretical approaches to punishment like those of David Garland (1990), to mention one of the main works in the field. One alternative approach is that war and revolutionary violence legitimated by the state carry higher levels of violence into peacetime and post-revolution decades (Archer & Gartner 1984), and that part of the punitive processes we see today can be explained by the after-effects of the traumatic upheavals in recent Chinese history. I will also address theories of the violence triggered by purity and political campaigns (Schmitt 1932). I will also need to locate Chinese beliefs about punitiveness in the historical practices of a Leninist state, dominated by Mao Zedong, that for decades tightly controlled education and mass communication and propagated a belief in class struggle (Mao, 1927/67), but also include Deng Xiaoping’s belief in harsh deterrence in that overall picture. to be able to explain present practices (Deng 1984). For reference list, see attachment

List of Research Outputs

Bakken B., Chinese Crime and Punishment 1980-2020: Moral Panics, Brutalization, and Demography. Looking back and Making Forecasts, International Conference: Crime, Law & Justice in Chinese Societies: Global Challenges & Local Responses, Jointly organized by the School, of Law and Department of Sociology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, March 16-18, 2007.

Bakken B., Crime and Punishment in China towards 2020: A Scenario , Australian Association of Chinese Studies (AACA) conference, Griffith University, Brisbane June 28, 2007 and also meeting on the Australian Chinese Law Network in Brisbane and Melbourne. 2007.

Bakken B., Crimen y castigo en China (Crime and Control in China) (in Spanish), Anuario Asia Pacifico 2005 . Barcelona, 2006, 395-405.

Bakken B., Norms of Harshness: Comparative Perspectives on the Death Penaltty in China, The British Society of Criminology Conference, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow 4-7 July 2006.

Bakken B., In: Astrid Maier (ed), Die Todesstrafe in der VR China (The Death Penalty in the People's Republic of China), The China Journal. Hamburg, Institut für Asienkunde, 2007, No. 57: 180-182.

Researcher : Broadhurst RG

List of Research Outputs

Lee K.W., Broadhurst R.G. and Beh S.L., Triad-related Homicides in Hong Kong, Forensic Science International. Ireland, Elsevier, 2006, 162: 183-190.

Researcher : Chiu WK

List of Research Outputs

Chiu W.K., A Game Theory Approach to Analyzing Drug Law Enforcement by Hong Kong Customs, poster presentation, Research Postgraduate Conference, 2007, Faculty of Social Science, The Hong Kong University. Hong Kong, The University of Hong Kong, 2007.

Chiu W.K., An Analysis of the Effects of the Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance on Investigative Practices of Law Enforcement Agencies in Hong Kong, Crime, Law & Justice in Chinese Societies, Jointly organized by the School of Law and Department of Sociology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong . Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007, 378-381.

Chiu W.K., Customs and Excise Department, Staff Suggestions Scheme, Commendation Certificate. 2007.

Chiu W.K., Development of a Smart Teens Project, Customs and Excise Department, Staff Suggestions Scheme, Appreciation Certificate. 2007.

Chiu W.K., Enhanced Notice to Persons in Custody, Customs and Excise Department, Staff Suggestions Scheme, Appreciation Certificate. 2007.

Researcher : Chu YK

Project Title:	Triad involvement in economic organised crime in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):	Chu YK
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Small Project Funding
Start Date:	11/2003

Abstract:

To describe the trends of credit card fraud, pirated compact discs and currency counterfeiting in Hong Kong in the last decade; to analyse how these three counterfeiting products are manufactured and distributed; to assess the role of triads in the operation of these three types of economic organised crime; to exam how to combat economic organised crime from legal, law enforcement, private sector, and community perspectives.

Project Title:	Crime in Campus in the University of Hong Kong
Investigator(s):	Chu YK
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Wu Jieh-Yee Research Fund
Start Date:	01/2005

Abstract:

There are 3 main objectives of this study. The first objective is to examine the prevalence and nature of crime in both study and residential campus in the University of Hong Kong from 2003 - 2004. Common characteristics that will be identified include (i) the types of crime; (ii) the time, day and place where the crime took place; (iii) the amount involved for property crime, criminal damage and fraud; and (iv) the circumtances that crime took place. The second objective is to assess perceived risk and fear of victimization amongst the university students. The third objective is help to develop effective location-specific and campus-wide security policies and crime prevention measures.

Project Title:	Crime Mapping of One-woman Brothels in North Point
Investigator(s):	Chu YK
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:	02/2005

Abstract:

The aim of this research is to use crime mapping technology to analyse the geographical distribution of the one woman brothel in Hong Kong. North Point is selected to be a case study because the district has long been suffered by one-woman brothels. The Investigator has interviewed a couple of police officers in North Point and conducted field observations in the district. It was found that about eighty one-woman brothels are currently operating in North Point and a large number of sex workers are Fujianese new immigrants. Five specific objectives of this research are as follows: (1) To describe the trends of one-woman brothels in North Point in the last 10 years; (2) To analyse the geographical distribution of one-woman brothels in North Point; (3) To construct the time profiling of one-woman brothels as a business in North Point; (4) To work out social profile of sex workers and their clients in North Point; and (5) To make recommendations to law enforcement agencies on how to deal with one woman brothels effectively.

List of Research Outputs

Chu Y.K. and Ho K.K., CID and Marine Police, Off Beat. Hong Kong Police, 2006, 830: 8.

Chu Y.K., Chinese Human Smuggling as a Business, The 12th Pacific Rim Immigration Intelligence Conference. Hong Kong Immigration Service, 2006.

Chu Y.K., Critical Moments: 18 Youth Growth Stories in Tin Shui Wai, Hong Kong, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hong Kong, 2007.

Chu Y.K. and Ho K.K., Shandong Police, Off Beat. Hong Kong Police, 2006, 829: 8.

Chu Y.K. and Tsang S.K.M., Survey Findings on Youth and Parent-Child Relationship in Tin Shui Wai , In: Faculty of Social Sciences of The University of Hong Kong and Social Services Department of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hong Kong , 'Youth Development in New Towns in Chinese Societies' Regional Conference. Hong Kong, 2007.

Chu Y.K., Survey Findings on Youths in Tin Shui Wai, Tin Shui Wai Youth Development Roundtable Seminar. Hong Kong, Faculty of Social Sciences of The University of Hong Kong, 2006.

Chu Y.K., The Model of Police Integration in the River Peral Delta: The Hong Kong Perspective, Cross Straits, Hong Kong and Macau Police Studies Conference. Shanghai, Police Science Society of China, 2006.

Chu Y.K., Triad Involvement in the Sex Service Industry in Hong Kong and its Impacts on Southeast Asia, Investigating the Grey Areas of the Chinese Communities in Southeast Asia. Bangkok, Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia, 2007, 75-88.

Chu Y.K., Youth Violence in Tin Shui Wai in Hong Kong, Journal of Youth Studies. Hong Kong, 2007, 10 (1): 14-28.

Ho K.K. and Chu Y.K., Comments on Policing Labour Day Rally in Macau (Part 1), Hong Kong Economic Journal. 2007, 8 May 2007: 12.

Ho K.K. and Chu Y.K., Comments on Policing Labour Day Rally in Macau (Part 2), Hong Kong Economic Journal. 2007, May 9, 2007: 15.

Ho K.K. and Chu Y.K., The Changing Roles of Women Officers in Public Order Policing in Hong Kong , The 7th Annual Meeting of Asian Association of Police Studies. 9/2006, Asian Association of Police Studies, 2006.

Tsang S.K.M., Chu Y.K. and Lam C.W., Transcending Social Woes: Risks And Protective Resources Perceived By Adolescents In Tin Shui Wai, 5th International Conference On Social Work Health And Mental Health. 2006.

Researcher : Chu YW

List of Research Outputs

Chu Y.W., Book Review: ICTs and Indian Economic Development, edited by Ashwani Saith and M. Vijayabaskar, Information, Communication, and Society. 2006, 9(6): 804-806.

Chu Y.W., Chinese Business Networks and Chinese Entrepreneurship: myths and partial truths, Social Transformations in Chinese Societies. The Netherlands, Brill, 2006, 2: 191-207.

Chu Y.W., Connecting China to the World: Continuities and Changes in Hong Kong's economic policy and practice since 1997, "Hong Kong Workshop," Organized by the Asia Institute, University of Toronto, Canada. . 2007.

Chu Y.W., Land Rights Protests in Mainland China: a preliminary analysis of their meanings and political significance, The Thirty-First Annual Political Economy of the World-System Conference, "Asia and the World System", hosted by the St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York. 2007.

Chu Y.W., Northeast Asian Studies in Hong Kong, Roundtable on 'Asian Studies in Asia: themes and approaches', Second Annual Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Hong Kong. 2007.

Researcher : Evans GRJ

List of Research Outputs

Evans G.R.J., “Lao Peasant Studies”, In: Y. Goudineau and M. Lorrillard, Recherches nouvelles sur le Laos. Paris, Ecole Francais d'Extreme-Orient, 2007, Coll. Ãtudes thÃ©matiques: 260-93.

Evans G.R.J., A Short History of Laos (in Lao language), Thailand, Silkworm Books, 2006, 310.

Evans G.R.J., A Short History of Laos (in Thai Language), Thailand, Silkworm Books, 2006.

Evans G.R.J., The Southern Drift of the Chinese, In: Chiang Mai University, Social Change in the Mekong Basin Region. 2007.

Researcher : Ho KK

List of Research Outputs

Chu Y.K. and Ho K.K., CID and Marine Police, Off Beat. Hong Kong Police, 2006, 830: 8.

Chu Y.K. and Ho K.K., Shandong Police, Off Beat. Hong Kong Police, 2006, 829: 8.

Ho K.K. and Chu Y.K., Comments on Policing Labour Day Rally in Macau (Part 1), Hong Kong Economic Journal. 2007, 8 May 2007: 12.

Ho K.K. and Chu Y.K., Comments on Policing Labour Day Rally in Macau (Part 2), Hong Kong Economic Journal. 2007, May 9, 2007: 15.

Ho K.K. and Chu Y.K., The Changing Roles of Women Officers in Public Order Policing in Hong Kong , The 7th Annual Meeting of Asian Association of Police Studies. 9/2006, Asian Association of Police Studies, 2006.

Researcher : Islam MN

List of Research Outputs

Islam M.N., “Traditional Medicine and Health Commodification: Impact of Globalization on Ayurvedic Medicine”, Hong Kong Sociological Association 8th Annual Conference, Hong Kong Shue University. 2006.

Kuah-Pearce K.E. and Islam M.N., “Traditional Medicine and Health Commodification: Impact of Globalization on Ayurvedic Medicine”, Hong Kong Sociological Association 8th Annual Conference. 2006.

Researcher : Kuah KE

Project Title:	Chinese women and their network capital: Chinese women entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial culture in the Pan Pearl River Delta Region
Investigator(s):	Kuah-Pearce KE
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Small Project Funding
Start Date:	11/2004
Completion Date:	10/2006

Abstract:

To explore how Chinese women create and use their social and network capital to establish an entrepreneurial culture and become successful entrepreneurs and professionals in the Pan Pearl River Delta Region.

Project Title:	State, society and religious philanthropy in the Chinese diaspora: a comparison of buddhist philanthropic culture in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan
Investigator(s):	Kuah-Pearce KE
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Competitive Earmarked Research Grants (CERG)
Start Date:	01/2007

Abstract:

(1) The first is to describe and analyse the tripartite relationship among Buddhism, State and Society in the formation of a religious charity/ philanthropic culture in contemporary Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. (2) The second is to explore the dynamic relationships and influence of religious charity on the three societies through the study of the delivery of welfare, education and medical and other forms of social services. Through this the findings in study, I hope to establish a conceptual framework for the study of religion, politics and philanthropy in modern societies.

Researcher : Kuah-Pearce KE

Project Title:	Chinese women and their network capital: Chinese women entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial culture in the Pan Pearl River Delta Region
Investigator(s):	Kuah-Pearce KE
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Small Project Funding
Start Date:	11/2004
Completion Date:	10/2006

Abstract:

Project Title:	State, society and religious philanthropy in the Chinese diaspora: a comparison of buddhist philanthropic culture in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan
Investigator(s):	Kuah-Pearce KE
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Competitive Earmarked Research Grants (CERG)
Start Date:	01/2007

Abstract:

List of Research Outputs

Kuah-Pearce K.E., In: Kuah-Pearce K.E., Asian Studies Review Journal (Guest editor of the issue on "Locating the Self in the Chinese Diaspora). Essex, UK, Routledge, 2006, 30(3):: 217 - 304.

Kuah-Pearce K.E., Emerging Cosmopolitanism: Conceptualising Chinese Migration and Diaspora in Global Space, 10th Biennial Conference of the Chinese Studies Association of Australia, Griffith University. 2007.

Kuah-Pearce K.E., Locating the Self in the Chinese Diaspora: Introductory Remarks, Asian Studies Review Journal, . Essex, UK, Routldege, 2006, 30(3): 217 – 223.

Kuah-Pearce K.E., Transnational Self in the Chinese Diaspora: A Conceptual Framework, Asian Studies Review Journal. Essex, UK, Routledge, 2006, 30(3):: 223 – 240.

Kuah-Pearce K.E. and Gao C., “Kinship Obligation, Economic Calculating and Entrepreneurship: the Case of Migrant Entrepreneurs in Suburban Guangzhou”, International Conference on “Chinese Society and China Studies. 2007.

Kuah-Pearce K.E. and Islam M.N., “Traditional Medicine and Health Commodification: Impact of Globalization on Ayurvedic Medicine”, Hong Kong Sociological Association 8th Annual Conference. 2006.

Researcher : Laidler KA

Project Title:	"Ice" in Hong Kong: past, present and future trends
Investigator(s):	Laidler KA
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Vice-Chancellor's Office - General Award
Start Date:	06/1999

Abstract:

To study "Ice" in Hong Kong: past, present and future trends.

Project Title:	Reducing Hong Kong's serious youth crime through community intervention: an evaluation of operation breakthrough
Investigator(s):	Laidler KA
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Small Project Funding
Start Date:	11/2003

Abstract:

To evaluate the impact of a community intervention program on serious young offenders in the NTN over a one-year period. The study will assess: (1) the patterns of arrest and re-arrest piror and subsequent to the intervention, and, (2) the attitudinal changes of serious offenders prior and subsequent to the intervention.

Researcher : Lee KW

List of Research Outputs

Lee K.W., Broadhurst R.G. and Beh S.L., Triad-related Homicides in Hong Kong, Forensic Science International. Ireland, Elsevier, 2006, 162: 183-190.

Researcher : Lee MSY

Project Title:	The polarisation of migrant workers in a global city
Investigator(s):	Lee MSY
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research
Start Date:	03/2007

Abstract:

Hong Kong is an archetypal global city where different types of transnational migrant workers can be found forging social contacts and making a living across national borders. Indeed, one of the most striking migration flows within the region of southeast Asia has been that of women from the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, migrating to work as paid domestic workers in the region’s higher-growth areas. The current Filipina population is around 140,000, making them the largest non-Chinese community in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Immigration Department, 2001). Existing studies of these migrant domestic workers have tended to focus on the structural causes of the burgeoning ‘maid trade’, its impact on countries of origin (e.g. remittances, prolonged absence from children and families), working conditions and problems that migrant women encountered in destination countries. There is relatively little work on how and why migrant women move from one place to another, the impact of (increasingly restrictive) immigration policies on their trajectories and their everyday experiences in different locations. By contrast, expatriate professionals employed in the financial and corporate sectors constitute the elites of the global migrant population. They have been described as the embodiment of flows of knowledge, skills and intelligence in cross-border spaces, and transnational corporations offer highly attractive remuneration packages to encourage the flow of expatriate professional labour to HK. However, these hyper-mobile privileged groups are not completely protected from all dislocations and discomforts; there are still adaptations to make, changes to cope with. There is some existing literature to suggest that they establish informal, highly spatialized micro-networks and build on formal and institutional ties to ensure their every need is satisfied without recourse to the host community. To date, we know very little about the precise contours of their social networks, individual agency, their creation of transnational social spaces and relations with other migrant groups. Our proposed research project aims to examine the migration trajectories, lived experiences and intersections of these two contrasting groups of transnational migrant workers in Hong Kong - (a) high-income expatriate professionals typically working in technocratic-financial-managerial positions in transnational corporations, and (b) low-wage migrant workers typically working in manual and domestic services. These two segments of migration represent the twin poles of the processes of economic restructuring and circulation of labour currently taking place in the global economy. They have an unequal and yet symbiotic relationship in that the lives of the latter (for example, cleaners, traders, domestic workers) sustain the economic activities and lifestyles of the former (for example, expatriates in corporate professional jobs, international postings within the firms' transnational office network). For the hyper-mobile transnational elites, intense engagement with their work lives and the commodification of everyday household tasks and lifestyle (e.g. cooking, cleaning, childcare, conspicuous consumption) have arguably led to the return of the so-called ‘serving classes’ in high-income households in global cities. These new serving classes are, in turn, largely made up of migrant domestic workers in the second category of our study. So what are the differential experiences of these two groups of migrant workers in Hong Kong? Our proposed research project will focus on three aspects of migration and globalisation: 1. Migratory circuit and transnational career paths - How and why do these workers decide to migrate, and what kind of global pathways have they followed? What are the role and impacts of different brokerage institutions (for example, global staffing/Human Resource companies vs domestic worker recruitment agencies) in mediating individual migratory trajectories? Do these workers regard migration as a temporary blip, or the beginning of a whole new way of life? Where does the migration lead – back 'home' or on to distant lands, to social cohesion or to social exclusion, to improved or weakened social status? What impact does migration have on the individual's lifestyle in terms of work, leisure and consumption patterns? In all of these, the comparison of expatriates with migrant domestic workers will remain central. 2. Social networks - How and to what extent do these two groups draw on differential social networks and social capital as a potential resource in eking out a migratory existence? We will consider the extent to which variables such as ethnicity, gender, age, social and family background, migration trajectories and duration of stay in Hong Kong affect the contours of social capital and personal networks that are built and maintained. We are especially interested in the types of ties which are being forged (for example, organisational, family/kin, emotional, practical and multiplex relations) and the extent to which migrants use social networks to replace ties at home. We will examine how and if social networks in Hong Kong and elsewhere have helped migrant workers set up home in a multitude of different cities, find a job, cope emotionally and financially, help with childcare, with religion and interests/ hobbies/ social life, get information and advice, set up business, and facilitate their mobility. Do their networks become fixed/permanent/durable even as they, as individuals, remain transient? 3. Social space – An interesting feature of the daily lives of elite and low-paid migrant workers is that whilst they often share the same social space, they relate to that space in very different ways. How do the intersections of these two migrant groups play out (a) in the social relations of waged work in the private confines of high-income households and (b) in the use of public space? For the live-in migrant domestic worker, her temporary home in a foreign land is also her place of employment. How do transnational professionals and migrant domestic workers make this private space their 'home'? How does the possession or lack of social capital shape their differential use of urban spaces (e.g. for social interaction/segregation, personal freedoms/isolation)? How do these transient transnational actors fit into their local community? Do they have different cultural responses to the local community?

List of Research Outputs

Lee M.S.Y., Deviance, In: John Scott, Sociology - The Key Concepts. London, UK, Routledge, 2006, 4.

Lee M.S.Y., In: Maggy Lee, Human Trafficking. Cullompton, UK, Willan Publishing, 2007, 272.

Lee M.S.Y., Policing Irregular Migration and Sex Work, 6th Annnual European Criminology Conference, Tubingen, Germany. 2006.

Lee M.S.Y., Understanding Human Trafficking, In: Maggy Lee, Human Trafficking. Cullompton, UK, Willan Publishing, 2007, 25.

Lee M.S.Y., Women's Imprisonment as a Mechanism of Migration Control in Hong Kong, British Journal of Criminology. Oxford, UK, Oxford University Press, 2007, 47: 15.

Researcher : Moore M

Project Title:	Chinese entrepreneurship: comparative analysis
Investigator(s):	Moore M
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Hang Seng Bank Golden Jubilee Education Fund for Research
Start Date:	03/2004

Abstract:

To carry out comparative analysis on Chinese entrepreneurship.

Researcher : Ng CH

Project Title:	Development of multi-media project -based socio-cultural education
Investigator(s):	Ng CH, Chan SCL
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Teaching Development Grants
Start Date:	09/1997

Abstract:

To promote project-based, inter-departmental and inter-institutional learning and teaching activities; to create a task force unit to plan, organize and implement socio-cultural teaching and learning activities that make creative use of audio-visual media.

Project Title:	Female sexuality in Hong Kong
Investigator(s):	Ng CH, Cheng SL, Chan AKW
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Small Project Funding
Start Date:	11/2002

Abstract:

To undertake a comprehensive sociological study of female sexuality in Hong Kong.

Project Title:	Family in flux: values, relations, and strategies in Hong Kong families
Investigator(s):	Ng CH, Chu YW, Chan AKW, Leung BKP, Wong TWP
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Competitive Earmarked Research Grants (CERG)
Start Date:	10/2003

Abstract:

To provide a comprehensive portrait and analysis of the Hong Kong family in the light of the momentous changes that the society has gone through in recent years. We seek to answer the following three sets of questions: 1) Questions on family forms, practices and strategies such as: What new family forms and practices are created? Whate are the family's coping strategies? How do the material circumstances and coping strategies differ among different types of families (e.g. single-parent families versus conventional nuclear families; middle class families versus working class families)? 2) Questions on family relationships such as: To what extent are Hong Kong families an emotional haven? What is the nature of the husband-wife relationship, and the parent-child relationship? How do families deal with intergenerational conflicts? 3) Questions on values and expectations relating to the family such as: What do parents expect from their children and vice versa? What role does the family play in people's lives and how important is this role? What desirable qualities do parents want to see in their sons, as versus their daughters?

Project Title:	James Wong and Hong Kong Popular Culture
Investigator(s):	Ng CH
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Small Project Funding
Start Date:	01/2006

Abstract:

This is a proposal to study the operation and impact of Hong Kong media and popular culture through a study of one of its prominent practitioners, James Wong Jum Sum. James Wong (1941-2004) was a multi-talented creator who had a prolonged and extremely successful engagement with various facets of Hong Kong media and cultural industries. Because of his unique position and contributions, James Wong's life and work offer us a fascinating entry point into the intricate and inimitable practices of the industries, and more broadly popular culture in Hong Kong.By studying the unpublished manuscripts and documents on the process of cultural creation left behind by James Wong, as well as collecting and analyzing fresh oral history interviews with practitioners related to James Wong's work, we hope to gain an in-depth understanding of the Hong Kong media industries. This will in turn help us address some of the key issues in media and cultural studies such as the role of creativity in commercial cultural production, how the cultural industries transform themselves in organization and operation through different stages of social development, how media products came to congeal the collective identity of a generation, and how cultural products in Hong Kong spread beyond the territory and exert major influences on other Chinese communities in an era of gloabization.

Researcher : Wong TWP

Project Title:	Hong Kong oral history archives
Investigator(s):	Wong TWP, Pun N, Sinn EYY
Department:	Sociology
Source(s) of Funding:	Central Allocation Vote - Group Research Project
Start Date:	06/2001

Abstract:

To systematically building up archives of oral materials relating to the history of Hong Kong.

Researcher : Wong WL

List of Research Outputs

Wong W.L., Women's Experience in Family Migration, Doing Families in Hong Kong. 2006.

Wong W.L., Writing Oral History of Chinese Immigrant Women in Hong Kong: A Reflexive Review of My Exploration of Methodological and Theoretical Strategies, Dancing with Memory: International Oral History Conference 2006.

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