Project Reference No.: UGC/IIDS15/H01/20
Project Title: Cultivating, Promoting, and Enhancing Meaning in Life Across Cultures and the Life Span
Principal Investigator: Dr CHAN Chi-keung (Shue Yan)
Abstract
In recent years, the concept of meaning in life (MIL) has earned a renaissance of interest and is now widely viewed as a cornerstone of one’s identity formation, life orientation, and psychological well-being (Disabato, Kashdan, Short, & Jarden, 2017). Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of MIL to positive development, adaptive coping, academic performance, occupational adjustment, life satisfaction, cognitive functioning, and physical and psychological health (Shin & Steger, 2014). The experience of meaning is clearly critical to an individual’s functional outcomes and life adaptation.
Although MIL has been framed as significant for human survival (Frankl, 1978), it has simultaneously been portrayed as chronically lacking in people’s lives. Furthermore, though seen as a universal need, it is also highly idiosyncratic. These paradoxes of MIL being a basic necessity but also a rare commodity, and as being universal yet idiosyncratic, have driven the quest for meaning throughout history and across disciplines (art, education, literature, philosophy, psychology, public health, religion, etc.). More importantly, this quest provides the driver for meaning-enhancing interventions. Certainly, the efficacy of meaning-enhancing interventions is influenced by cultural and individual moderators, but relevant research is fairly recent. In terms of culture, Steger et al. (2008) suggested a dialectical model for understanding the cross-cultural dynamics of seeking and experiencing MIL. With individual moderators, the multidimensionality and multidirectionality of lifelong development (Baltes, 1987) may also contribute to the inter- and intra-individual differences of MIL (Fivush, 2017; Steger et al.,2009). Hence, it is important for scholars to conduct rigorous empirical investigations and for practitioners to design evidence-based interventions that capture the full complexity of variation in promoting and enhancing MIL from both cultural and developmental perspectives.
The proposed IIDS project will collaborate with the Center for Meaning and Purpose at Colorado State University, and will establish a partnership with the International Network on Personal Meaning (INPM) and the International Meaning Conference (IMEC). This project will organize an international conference on the theme of cultivating, promoting, and enhancing meaning in life across cultures and life span as well as a full-day pre-conference workshops and a half-day post-conference workshops. The two-day international conference will include six plenary lectures, two panel discussions, twelve parallel and two poster sessions. The plenary lectures and parallel sessions will involve a blend of empirical investigations and evidence based practices from various approaches to facilitate intellectual exchanges between scholars and practitioners (both overseas and local) across a number of disciplines, thereby gaining better understanding of the efficacy and implementation of the meaning-enhancing interventions from both cultural and developmental perspectives. The two panel discussion sessions will focus on the future development of integrated research and practice in fostering MIL across cultures and the life span. Furthermore, six theme-based workshops will be provided to enhance participants’ research competence and practical skills in designing and implementing meaning-enhancing interventions. Finally, the post-conference workshops (breakout sessions) aim to strengthen the connections of local researchers and practitioners with the plenary speakers to establish potential research collaborations for designing and validating optimal meaning-enhancing interventions and practice that are culturally sensitive and developmentally appropriate.
The proposed IIDS project will benefit local and overseas scholars, students and practitioners across numerous disciplines by improving the knowledge and understanding of how to promote meaning from both cultural and developmental perspectives. Interdisciplinary insights will be generated from in-depth and ongoing intellectual exchanges during and after the project, helping scholars and practitioners to collaboratively develop rigorous scientific interdisciplinary research and evidence-based meaning-centered practice.
Project Reference No.: UGC/IIDS25/E01/20
Project Title: Workshop cum Seminar on Resilient Cities – International Workshop on Urban Landscape (IWUL) 2021
Principal Investigator: Prof CHEN Leslie Hung-chi (THEi)
Abstract
To further cultivate a sharing and research culture on landscape architecture planning and design for “resilient cities”, the Faculty of Design and Environment (FDE) of Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi) will host an International Workshop on Urban Landscape (IWUL) in 2021, which the workshop will entail a series of activities including a seminar day, a 4-day workshop, and a 2-day site visit, in semester 2 of the 2020/21 academic year. The IWUL which focuses on ‘resilient cities’ will be integrated with a seminar, workshop, an exhibition, and publications, in collaboration with other participating universities.
IWUL is an international workshop held each year by landscape architecture undergraduate programs, from Asian universities in Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Istanbul, and Hong Kong. IWUL aims to enhance the research capability of academics fromby participating in Asian universities, and keeping them abreast of new developments in those challenging topics of urban landscapes. THEi’s undergraduate program for landscape architecture has participated in IWUL since the year 2015 as a representative of Hong Kong.
The proposed 4-day workshop will entail a hypothetical design project on a selected site in Hong Kong. The design will be based on the guidelines and principles for adopting a landscape approach in designing a resilient city established during the workshop. Around 230 teachers and students from participating universities and institutions will take part in the workshop. The workshop will include a literature review of international and local references and best practices, inputs from local professionals and experts, and the outcomes of the exchange activities. Supported by the project team, a professional team with relevant qualifications and experiences will be appointed for the curation and drafting of the guidelines, and laying down the design and planning principles for adopting a landscape architectural approach for a resilient city design for promulgation to academia, the industry, and government.
The proposed 2-day visit will include relevant sites of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and other cities in the Guangdong province. Sites to be visited will be renowned project sites related to resilient landscape designs, such as Mai Po Marshes Ramsar Site, Shenzhen Bay Coastline Park, and OCT wetland, etc.
The proposed seminar will include keynote presentations and sharing on resilient designs from local and international scholars and experts. Presenters will share and discuss on principles of resilient design, and landscape architectural approach for sustainable development. Practitioners and members of the public are welcome to join.
The event is aimed at landscape architects and other professionals and students related to the design and planning of built environments. The seminar, and aftermath exhibition, and publications will be open to the public.
Project Reference No.: UGC/IIDS25/H02/20
Project Title: Seminar Series on "Sustainable Fashion Development for the Greater Bay Area"
Principal Investigator: Ms CHU Wai-ching (THEi)
Abstract
Development of the “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” (Greater Bay Area) is accorded the status of key strategic planning in the country’s development blueprint. To support the mission of HKSAR in the Greater Bay Area as an international innovation and technology hub, this project focuses on the knowledge exchange activities of sustainable fashion development in the Greater Bay Area among international and local academics, industrialist, and the general public through a series of seminars.
Innovative and sustainable materials, technologies and retail strategies, and government support are key factors for successful development of sustainable fashion in the Greater Bay Area. The industry and customers should know about the use of recycled and environmentally friendly materials, sustainable energy and manufacturing process, and also sustainable practices in order to deal with opportunities and challenges faced by Hong Kong in the Greater Bay Area. Government support and commitment are important to facilitate the green making and marketing of green fashion products.
This proposed project intends to organise a seminar series titled “Sustainable Fashion Development for the Greater Bay Area”. It will consist of four seminars, each discussing a different topic related to sustainable fashion development in the Greater Bay Area. The four topics will be: “Sustainable Materials in the Textile Industry”, “Sustainable Technology and Design in Fashion Development”, “Sustainable Practices in Fashion Business Development”, and “Policies for Sustainable Fashion Development in the Greater Bay Area”. International experts from the academic and fashion industry from overseas and the Greater Bay Area will be invited to share their knowledge and expertise on the use of sustainable materials in fashion product design, the recycling of textiles items, sustainable fashion consumption, sustainable practices for the future, and related policies to promote sustainable practices in the Greater Bay Area. The target audience will be university students, academics, practitioners, and professionals in the field of fashion and textile design, manufacturing, and retailing, as well as the general public. The ultimate goal is to enhance participants’ awareness of challenges and opportunities in sustainable fashion development in the Greater Bay Area.
Project Reference No.: UGC/IIDS15/B01/20
Project Title: Data analytics for quality reporting and effective auditing
Principal Investigator: Dr LEE Hua (Shue Yan)
Abstract
Data analytics has been one of the most significant fields in the ever-changing business world. The rapid advancement of information technology and electronic devices promotes data accumulation in the changed business models, strategies, and operations, and enhances the value of business information in today’s data-driven business environment. Facing this revolution, the audit profession has developed new techniques and standards in the auditing of financial statements and fraud detection. This project explores the impact of data science on the quality of accounting information and the effectiveness of financial statement audits and fraud detection. Major issues include how data analytics can improve the usefulness of accounting information for investment and management decision-making, how data analytics enhance audit procedures and audit evidence examination for financial statement audits, and how data analytics can help auditors to detect and predict fraud and assess the risk of fraud. The results will provide practical implications and contribute to both accounting education and research as well as regulatory authorities.
Project Reference No.: UGC/IIDS16/E02/20
Project Title: The International Symposium on Virtual / Augmented Reality (V/AR) Inspection Training and Education in Modular Integrated Construction (MiC)
Principal Investigator: Mr LI Chi-ho (OUHK)
Abstract
The proposed project aims to initiate and strengthen the inter-institutional collaboration on the quality inspection, training and construction technology management to enhance the competitiveness in the Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) method in Hong Kong. In partnership with The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, the experts from overseas universities, colleges and professional institutes are invited to share their VR/AR research experiences, innovative technique knowledges, practical and foreseeable VR/AR training methods for MiC through this project.
In 2018, the Development Bureau published “Construction 2.0” strategy to specify the current challenges and future opportunity. Three critical pillars, including Innovation, Professionalization and Revitalization have been identified in construction industry, the HK$1 billion fund has also been established to promote and initiate innovation in construction projects. On the other hand, the Policy Address 2018 commenced several MiC pilot projects.
For example, InnoCell at HKSTP will be completed after 2021, to increase the productivity and boost the housing supply through innovative MiC method. Currently, different construction-related governmental departments launched their first draft of the off-site MiC inspection requirements starting from August 2019. For example, the Buildings Department released “PNAP ADV-36” to require the Registered Structural Engineer stream and the Registered Contractor’s stream for carrying out the off-site production works (ADV, 2019). However, the off-site quality inspector has a strong professional background in building and survey engineering but not manufacturing engineering and quality inspection engineering. Some unavoidable quality inspection challenges are foreseeable. For example, reliability and safety of MiC products are not guaranteed as the inappropriate materials and dimension may be installed. The off-site quality inspector is required to follow the checking list for inspecting the final module (e.g water pressure in water supply system) but not work-in-process components in production line. Moreover, fatal accident may be happened in off-site inspection as the off-site inspector is unfamiliar the potential safety hazard in manufacturing shop floor.
Most of VR/AR training programmes are focusing on the safety training in traditional construction method but not in the off-site quality control, inspection techniques and safety hazards identification in MiC projects. Since OUHK has been educating the testing and certification engineer since 2013, and will launch two new bachelor degree programmes in civil and building programmes in Sep 2020. To seize the opportunities arising from the VR/AR technology, this project will focus on enriching the capability of academic scholars, professional institutes and industrial practitioners in exploring and adopting the VR/AR technology to develop the inspection competence in MiC building.
Therefore, several research seminars and an international symposium will be organized in this project. Firstly, research seminars with the invitation of local and oversea scholars will be organized aiming at providing and exchanging insights of researches regarding the latest VR/AR research experiences and innovative technique knowledges. Thus, an international symposium will be held to exchange and stimulate discussions of research experiences in relevant areas in order to apply and foreseeable VR/AR training methods in MiC projects in Hong Kong. Lastly, all the findings and successful cases of this project will be published by an international journal.
Project Reference No.: UGC/IIDS14/H01/20
Project Title: Innovative Data Approaches to Populism in the Asia-Pacific Region
Principal Investigator: Dr WANG Shiru (HSUHK)
Abstract
The studies of rising populism in North America and West Europe have reached an agreement upon the basic nature and sociocultural foundation of this “thin” ideology. Borne by the lower middle class in the context of economic inequality, populism in liberal democracies is found to be associated with authoritarianism, antipluralism, and chauvinism, challenging the fundamentals of democracy. Populism in the Asia-Pacific region has not however been thoroughly investigated. The extant literature suggests that some of the features of populism in the West may have not been factored in the populist movement in the Asia-Pacific region in the same way. Yet empirical evidence indicates that populist practices may as well wear down the democratic potential in this region. Understanding populism in the Asia-Pacific context is therefore pressing.
The conference is to invite the Asia-Pacific experts in the world to get together and exchange their observations and research findings on populism and the details of its making, consequences, and implications to the Asian-Pacific countries. We intend to construct a comparative framework to contrast the models of populism in the Asian-Pacific with the conventional wisdom derived from the North American and European experiences. In addition to substantive insights, the conference intends to promote innovative data approaches. Participants in this conference will adopt pioneering data science methodologies for data generation and analysis, particularly including online survey instruments and big data methods.
The conference will specifically cover the following themes: populism and nationalism, populism and values, populism and social movement, populism and geopolitics, populism and neoliberalism, and populism and the Internet, in the Asian-Pacific context. The event will add new perspectives and components to the extant West-centered understanding of populism and grant an opportunity to further investigate the rationale for diverging populist practices today.
Project Reference No.: UGC/IIDS24/E01/20
Project Title: Emerging Research Directions on Adoption of Electric Vehicles for the Development of Smart Cities through Complementary Policy and Green Financing: GBA as the Cluster for Technological Innovation
Principal Investigator: Dr WU Yang Andrew (PolyU SPEED)
Abstract
The central government has introduced a series of incentive policies to stimulate the rapid development of the Great Bay Area (GBA) as a cluster of technological innovation in China. Hong Kong, as a leading metropolis in the GBA, is now facing both opportunities and challenges under the global concerns over climate change. Technological innovation and related applications, in particular, electric vehicles (EVs) and smart cities, developed for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions could be one viable and feasible direction of Hong Kong’s strategic industrial development for its low-carbon, sustainable economy.
This project aims to organize a series of workshops, seminars and one regional symposium to study and research on the promotion and implementation of EVs in the smart city like Hong Kong. The workshops, seminars and symposium will mainly cover the region of Asia-Pacific, tackling technological challenges and economic issues related to the implementation of EVs and smart cities. This project will collaborate with the Digital Grid Futures Institute (DGFI) of University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia. Through this collaboration, this project aims to contribute in knowledge exchange and research co-operation in the Asia-Pacific region. It will also enhance the quality of local teaching with such latest knowledge through international scholarly exchange and collaboration.
Project Reference No.: UGC/IIDS14/H02/20
Project Title: Dialogues on Strategies: Sustaining Hong Kong’s Leadership and Competitiveness in International Business Communication
Principal Investigator: Dr ZHAO Mengmeng (HSUHK)
Abstract
The Greater China area (i.e. Hong Kong, Mainland China and Taiwan) has been experiencing robust economic growth in recent decades. With businesses become more interdependent and markets become more integrated, communication plays an increasingly crucial role in all aspects of business and finance. As an international financial hub, Hong Kong has always been in a prime position to understand and investigate the development of business communication and facilitate regional collaborations, whereas research and discussion on business communication, especially the differences and similarities of communication models in three regions, are sparse.
The project is a two-day seminar featuring keynote speeches and three panel sessions by renowned scholars and leading experts specialising in business communication in Greater China. This project aims to bring together scholars and industry practitioners for an in-depth discussion on business communication models in Greater China in comparative perspective. Thematic topics include: 1) the development trends, prospects and challenges, and future research agenda of business communication; 2) the role of Hong Kong in facilitating research and collaboration on business communication; 3) business communication models in the digital era; 4) similarities and differences of communication models applied by businesses in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan; and 5) case studies providing insights of conflicts and negotiation in respect to different business communication practices from cultural perspective.
The proposed project aims to provide a platform for knowledge-sharing and research enhancement. It is anticipated that the invitation of scholars and industry experts to the seminar will facilitate collaboration, as well as motivate interested colleagues to apply this knowledge in their research projects.