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| Research |
| * HKIAPS member |
Centre for Chinese Family Studies Household Division of Labour and Family Life under China’s Platform Economy 
by Haijing Dai* (PI), Gaoming Ma, Lili Xia |
Centre for Social and Political Development Studies
by Victor Zheng* (PI), Po-san Wan* , Chih-jou Chen (PI), Thung-hong Lin, Jieh-min Wu |
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by Anthony Y. H. Fung*(PI), Carlos W. H. Lo, Eunice L. Y. Tang, Hester Y. T. Chow, Ben Y. F. Fong, Louis K. C. Ho, and Joseph W. F. Leung |
Gender Research Centre A Technofeminist Analysis
by Susanne Y. P. Choi*(PI), Lynne Nakano, Junko Otani, Hsiu-hua Shen, Xiying Wang, Pin Lu |
Policy Research @ HKIAPS An Analysis Based on Household Surveys
by Victor Zheng*, Hua Guo*, & Kevin T. W. Wong* |
Centre for Chinese Family Studies Household Division of Labour and Family Life under China’s Platform Economy Investigators: Haijing Dai* (PI), Gaoming Ma, Lili Xia Funding source: General Research Fund, Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee Since the turn of the century, the platform economy has profoundly reconfigured the market participation of individuals and labour relations all over the globe. While much ink has been spilt on examining the impacts of the platform economy on GDP growth, employment, and labour protections in the public sphere, the private sphere of family life has unfortunately been neglected. The aim of the proposed project is to investigate how couples negotiate and practice household division of labour when families participate in the fast-growing platform economy in China, to inquire into how families mobilize cross-generational care and cooperation to survive, and to reflect on the oft-claimed promise that the platform economy will lead to equal access and work flexibility. We aim to understand how couples and people from different generations contribute to economic production, household chores, and family care; how they negotiate, struggle, and compromise to reach arrangements; and how gender, labour, and power dynamics evolve in family life under platform capitalism. Its findings will enrich our theoretical knowledge of the division of labour, family care, gender, and power inequality during a time of drastic social changes, and will inform evidence-based service planning and policymaking to achieve more adequate family support, labour protection, work-family balance, and social justice in a new era.■ |
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Centre for Social and Political Development Studies Investigators: Victor Zheng* (PI), Po-san Wan* , Chih-jou Chen (PI), Thung-hong Lin, Jieh-min Wu This project is being conducted in collaboration with the Institute of Sociology of the Academia Sinica, Taiwan. It aims to understand and compare the perceptions, assessments, and orientations of the general public in Hong Kong and Taiwan with respect to the impact of China, and the opportunities and risks of closer integration between Hong Kong/Taiwan and mainland China. Major research topics include competition and conflict over resources (e.g., unfairness, relative deprivation, economic nationalism, etc.), and the advantages and disadvantages of exchanges and integration (e.g., impact on the quality of life, social differentiation, the gap between rich and poor, civil society, etc.). The first telephone survey was conducted simultaneously in Hong Kong and Taiwan in April 2013. The surveys were also conducted in March 2016, February 2017, March 2018, March to April 2019, April 2020, and April to May 2021. A monograph was published in February 2022. And the latest telephone survey was conducted in May to August 2023.■ |
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Hong Kong History and Chronicle Studies: Population Investigators: Victor Zheng* (PI), Po-san Wan* Funding source: Hong Kong Chronicles Institute (HKCI) HKCI is launching a mega project to compile over 60 volumes, totalling about 25 million words, on the social, cultural, and population history of Hong Kong. It is scheduled for completion in eight years’ time (2019–2027), on the 30th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China. HKIAPS has been commissioned by the Hong Kong Chronicles Institute to undertake the work of compiling the “Population” volume. This volume will be divided into six sections and will present the history of Hong Kong’s population chronologically from ancient times (about 7,000 years ago) to 2017. Archaeological findings will be used to illustrate the earliest ancestral traces of human settlement in Hong Kong. Historical records and official data are other major sources that shall be used to demonstrate Hong Kong’s transformation and development in different eras over time. The “Population” volume was released in the Hong Kong Book Fair 2023 and a seminar was held on 20 July 2023 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.■ |
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Centre for Youth Studies Citywide Programme to Promote Volunteerism in Hong Kong: Development and Production of Online Courseware for the School-based Volunteerism Resource Bank via The Boys’ & Girls’ Club Investigators: Eric Poon*(PI), Donna Chu Funding source: The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust Collaborating with BGCA, Caritas and HKFYG, the project develops and creates the digital content for the online courseware of the citywide programme to promote volunteerism. The content is mainly visual presentation with video-mediated in storytelling, and curated under an interactive digital platform, i.e. Internet-based or digital presentation tools for easy and wide access. The targeted audience is primary and secondary students who are fresh volunteers and the teachers who lead the training. The digital content will be researched and developed in two batches: Self-directed materials for students and teaching materials for teachers. It aims to establish an online resource bank, called “School-base Volunteering Resource Bank (SVRB)”, which is a blended learning platform and widely accessible to students and teachers.■ |
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Professional Traineeship for First-Time Jobseekers: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Investigators: Anthony Y. H. Fung*(PI), Winton Au (Co-PI), Carlos W. H. Lo, Eunice L. Y. Tang, Hester Y. T. Chow, Ben Y. F. Fong, Louis K. C. Ho, and Joseph W. F. Leung Funding source: The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust With the current advances in technology and social development, it becomes increasingly important to prepare young talents for their work readiness and future employability. JC PROcruit C offers first-time-job-seekers the opportunities to kick start their self-discovery journeys. The programme developed emerging and promising professions in the areas of Creativity, Technology, Business and Healthcare for graduates to actualise career goals and create social value to the community. Funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, JC PROcruit C created a unique and structured through-train traineeship model to support graduates’ school to workplace transition and prepare them for future work readiness. This project evaluates more than a thousand of youth trainees landing their first jobs in the JC PROcruit C programme. Through a collaboration with employers in the four areas of emerging professions, the project not only aims to monitor the process and evaluate the outcomes, but also to identify professional pathways for youth development, develop market for these emerging professions, and propose long term policy recommendations for the government.■ |
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Gender Research Centre Cyber Dating Abuse among Young Adults in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Taipei: A Technofeminist Analysis Investigators: Susanne Y. P. Choi*(PI), Lynne Nakano, Junko Otani, Hsiu-hua Shen, Xiying Wang, Pin Lu Funding source: General Research Fund, Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee This study focuses on the role of technology and gender in co-shaping cyber dating abuse among young adults aged 16–35 in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Taipei. Advances in technology have provided new venues for young people to develop and consolidate romantic relationships, but the venues also create nascent risks. Cyber abuse by a partner in a romantic or dating relationship includes issuing threats via mobile phone, emails, and SMS; monitoring and checking a partner’s social networking page without permission; sharing sexts and/or personal information and / or details of the dynamics of an intimate relationship without the partner’s consent; and online / technology-facilitated stalking. Studies conducted in Western societies suggest cyber abuse is an alarming issue requiring further research. For our study, we are interviewing a broad section of the young adult population to better understand this problem among young people with diverse educational backgrounds. We have adopted a technofeminist framework that will provide us with a theoretical lens through which to analyse the mutual shaping of gender and technology and the connections between the online and offline worlds. We hope to generate new knowledge for the field and produce evidence-based data that will increase public awareness and help NGOs and policy makers to develop effective interventions.■ |
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Research Centre for Urban and Regional Development Modelling and Simulating Regional Migration Systems Investigators: Jianfa Shen (PI) Funding source: RGC Senior Research Fellow Award, Research Grants Council of Hong Kong This project is designed to analyze various impacts on modelling performance based on a general migration model with many explanatory variables, in addition to population and distance in a simple gravity model. The regional system of China with 31 regions will be used for simulation. Migration flow simulation will be based on model parameters estimated from the migration data for 2015-2020 from China 2020 census. This project will study the impacts of missing one significant explanatory variable, wrong assumption of random process and the random process on modelling error in migration models via a series of simulations. A commonly used migration model, general log-linear migration model, will be used as the base model for simulating the random error. A general Poisson migration model will be used to assess the error caused by wrong assumption of random process. The project will also estimate network spatially filtered migration model and study the impacts of spatial auto-correlation on modelling error in migration models. The total modelling error will be decomposed into errors in constant effect, relative emissiveness and attractiveness of specific regions, as well as the level of interaction between pairs of regions with a decomposition approach.■ |
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Policy Research @ HKIAPS The Social Mobility of Young People in Hong Kong: An Analysis Based on Household Surveys Investigators: Victor Zheng*, Hua Guo*, & Kevin T. W. Wong* This research focuses on young and middle-aged individuals in Hong Kong and the analysis is conducted from three aspects. First, educational opportunities, which include access to university education and the role of tertiary education in career development. Second, opportunities in the economy, including job opportunities, chances for upward mobility, and the potential for increased income. Third, subjective social class, which refers to the subjective evaluation of their own social standing by young people in Hong Kong. This research consists of five main themes: 1. The relationship between family and intergenerational social mobility; 2. The relationship between gender and educational opportunities and occupational status; 3. The relationship between tertiary education and youth social mobility; 4. The relationship between elite universities, overseas degrees, and youth social mobility; 5. Social mobility opportunities for immigrants. The data used in this study was obtained from a thematic household survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department of the HKSAR Government between November 2017 to January 2018. The survey successfully enumerated target respondents in some 10,000 households in accordance with a scientific sampling scheme. This research was supported by the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office and the Social Statistics Branch of the Census and Statistics Department of the HKSAR Government. The research team is grateful for their assistance.■ Full report:  |
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