CUHK 4003-PPR-6
Ability Grouping and Reading Achievement: Mechanisms and effects on students in Hong Kong and 34 countries
PI: Prof Ming-ming Chiu

The PI left the University in January 2009 and the project was terminated.

PolyU 5007-PPR-6
Public Healthcare Welfare by Computerized TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) Diagnosis System
PI: Prof David Dapeng Zhang

This project aims to develop an automated and integrated TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) diagnosis system and apply it to the Hong Kong communities as preventive medical healthcare. By analyzing the data collected by the system, a comprehensive study of the public health status will be presented to the Hong Kong government and it would serve as a valuable reference in public healthcare policy formulation.

The TCM based automatic diagnosis system to be developed is good complement of the conventional medical examination. It is cost effective, simple to use and can be operated by a non-specialist. The total cost of distributing this system to each community as health welfare will be very low. Since the system is side-effect free, painless and timesaving, it is convenient for the residents, no matter they are healthy, sub-healthy or unhealthy, to take the examination once, even twice, a month. This benefits both the Hong Kong government and residents. Especially, for the government, this is a direct and efficient way to continuously collect the timely and accurate information of public health status and trends, which are undoubtedly critical to the public healthcare policy formulation.

HKU 7004-PPR-6
Prediction of mortality and hospital use in older people in Hong Kong
PI: Dr Sarah Morag McGhee

This study has generated an index to predict those people over 65 years old most likely to die or be admitted to hospital over the next 4 years. The principal risk factors were age, male sex, below secondary school education, having hypertension, diabetes or heart disease, chronic lung disease, cancer, smoking, underweight, cognitive problems, depressive symptoms and dependency in activities of daily living. To predict admission to hospital, we would also add musculoskeletal problems, glaucoma, constipation, stroke, cataract, fecal incontinence and obesity. Compared with a similar US index, our index includes more risk factors (lower education, hypertension, depressive symptoms, cognitive dysfunction are not in the US index) and we give more weight to age and less to functional dependence than US.

HKIEd 7005-PPR-6
A comparative study of transnational higher education policy and governance in Hong Kong, Shenzhen China and Singapore PI: Prof Ka Ho Mok

The rise of transnational higher education is phenomenal in East Asia, especially in Singapore, Malaysia, China mainland, especially with the growing number of twinning programmes or different forms of joint-degree programmes in these societies. However, the growth of 'transnational higher education market' should not be understood as a 'free market' but rather a form of 'state-regulated' and 'state-made' market since the Asian states like Singapore, Malaysia and China have attempted to intervene in the market place to reduce the inefficiency by providing preferential treatments to attract overseas partners to run programmes / develop off-share campuses in their societies to assert their status of regional education hubs or promoting transnational higher education sector. Unlike Singapore, Malaysia and China Mainland, Hong Kong is an exception in dealing with the market since Hong Kong government has allowed the education market to grow and develop in its own way. This comparative study has clearly shown a diversity of regulatory regimes have been found in the studies, showing different forms of governance structures are in place / evolving in managing the rise of transnational higher education in these Asian economies.