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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 |
A Comparative Study of Hong Kong and Shenzhen
by Haijing Dai* (PI), Lei Jin, Hong Meng, Jing Song, Yuying Tong, Qiaobing Wang |
and the Health and Well-being of Children from Migrant Families in Urban China: A Multicity Comparative Study Using Mixed Methods
by Qiaobing Wang (PI), Ling He, Xuesong He, Kai Liu, Shiguang Ni, Yuying Tong* |
the Workforce in Hong Kong: Is Inclusive Entrepreneurship the Answer?
by Cheryl H. K. Chui (PI), Chee Hon Chan, Haijing Dai* |
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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 |
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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Gender and Family Care Responsibilities in Job Searches:
A Comparative Study of Hong Kong and Shenzhen Investigators: Haijing Dai*(PI), Lei Jin, Hong Meng, Jing Song, Yuying Tong, Qiaobing Wang Funding source: General Research Fund, Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee The aim of this project is to conduct a mixed-methods and comparative study in Hong Kong and Shenzhen on how the gender and various family care responsibilities of job applicants affect the evaluations and hiring decisions of employers in different employment contexts and in different welfare systems. Family members, usually women, have to deliver and organize care for children and ageing parents inside the household. Although work-family balance is much emphasized in labour policies globally, the impact of family care responsibilities on the employment and career development of family caregivers has yet to be sufficiently explored. Based on a comparison of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, we will pay particular attention to macro welfare institutions, and explore how structural resource constraints and cultural meaning constructions in different welfare systems shape the views and practices of employers with regard to gender and family care duties. The findings will not only enrich our theoretical knowledge of gender, family care, the paid labour market, and workplace inequality, but also inform evidence-based service planning and policy-making to achieve family support, labour protection, work-family balance, and social justice.■ |
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Institutional and Perceptional Welfare Boundaries, Social Integration,
and the Health and Well-being of Children from Migrant Families in Urban China:
A Multicity Comparative Study Using Mixed Methods Investigators: Qiaobing Wang(PI), Ling He, Xuesong He, Kai Liu, Shiguang Ni, Yuying Tong* Funding source: General Research Fund, Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee The proposed study will employ a mixed-methods research design and will be carried out in two phases. The first phase involves conducting a comprehensive policy review, key informant interviews with policymakers and experts, and focus group interviews with migrants to advance the conceptualization and operationalization of institutional and perceptional welfare boundaries, and to develop measurements for them. The second phase is a quantitative study with a large-scale cross-sectional survey to investigate the relationships among institutional and perceptional welfare boundaries, social integration, and the health and well-being of children from migrant families, using structural equation modelling. This research will have significant long-term theoretical, practical, and policy impacts. First, it will further develop the theory of welfare boundaries through enriching its conceptualization, operationalization, and applicability in different contexts. Second, this research will inform policymakers as to which part of the policy arrangement is falling short – the institutional design itself or the perceptional experiences of migrants and their children – thus directing the reform and development of welfare policies to enable better social integration of migrant families. This will lead to better health and well-being for the children of these families.■ |
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Meaningful Work, a Sense of Coherence, and the Psychological Health of Women Returning to the Workforce in Hong Kong:
Is Inclusive Entrepreneurship the Answer? Investigators: Cheryl H. K. Chui (PI), Chee Hon Chan, Haijing Dai* Funding source: General Research Fund, Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee This proposed study (1) examines the effects of meaningful work on the psychological health of women entrepreneurs returning to the workforce; (2) tests the mediating effects of a sense of coherence between meaningful work and psychological health for such women; and (3) explores the role of inclusive entrepreneurship in promoting meaningful work for them. This study adopts a sequential mixed-methods study. The first phase of the study involves conducting a cross-sectional survey comprising standardized measurements with Hong Kong women aged 18 or above who had returned to the workforce via entrepreneurship following a hiatus (n=382). The findings will contribute to an understanding of the theoretical linkages between meaningful work, a sense of coherence, and the psychological health of women entrepreneurs returning to the workforce. This study will also provide insights into how inclusive entrepreneurship can be promoted in a way that enhances meaningful work for women. Strategies and measures that inform public policies and non-profit programmes aimed at empowering women in the context of work while enabling them to fulfil other life roles will result from this study.■ |
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Centre for Social and Political Development Studies Investigator: Victor Zheng* (PI) Funding source:Hong Kong Chronicles Institute (HKCI) The 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. The 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 manuscript of the “Population” volume was submitted and is in the publication stage. It is expected to be released in the upcoming HKTDC Hong Kong Book Fair this summer. ■ |
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Centre for Social Innovation Studies Investigator: Ka-ming Wu*(PI) Funding source: CUHK Knowledge Transfer Project Fund Plastic makes up the third greatest part of Hong Kong’s municipal solid waste (MSW), with single use plastic bags comprising a large percentage of it, according to government statistics from 2020. Millions of single-use plastic bags come from food-related consumption in wet markets and supermarkets, which falls outside of the government’s plastic bag levy. What can we do about this policy gap? How can we transfer scientific knowledge on plastic reduction in a language that ordinary shoppers, who could be foreign domestic helpers, are able to understand? Social awareness of the desirability of reducing the use of plastics has been conveyed to school students. Shoppers in Hong Kong, however, are not school students but often domestic helpers from Southeast Asia or the less educated elderly. This project aims to train a group of university students who will receive design training and reach out to such shoppers at markets. The goal of the project is to communicate with shoppers on single-use plastic pollution, the climate crisis, and how a change of mindset and daily habits can alleviate the plastic disaster that we are facing. The aim of this project is to transfer scientific knowledge of plastic pollution into innovative actions and environmental communication in the context of Hong Kong. In addressing concerns about the environment, it will involve ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. University students will be trained on how to communicate the science relating to plastic pollution to domestic helpers and the older generation. We also see foreign domestic helpers as agents of change in the process. The impact of this research will not only complement the government’s existing plastic bag levy to reduce plastic in Hong Kong, but will also communicate to the public how plastics used in more developed regions can often create plastic pollution in less developed regions, such as broad areas of coastal Asia where foreign domestic helpers are from. The impact of this research will be felt beyond the territory to other parts of Asia.■ |
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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 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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