張一 | 葉兆輝 | 鄭雅心
A小姐自小與母親相依為命。兩年前居屋業主收回以友情價租出的「蝸居」後，驟感迷茫。天下之大，竟找不到容身之所。當時母親及自己均有穩定工作，兩人不合資格申請公屋，卻又負擔不起私人樓宇昂貴的租金，更莫想「上車」買樓，對兩母女來說簡直是天方夜譚。結果，為了成為公屋合資格申請人，母親辭去了工作，寄居於親友籬下的板間房。而A小姐則硬着頭皮投靠多年不見的父親。按房屋署指示，兩人公屋的入息上限為1萬6000元，因此母親只能到街市打打散工。兩人的生活開支主要靠A小姐的文職工作一力承擔。 Read More
Paul Yip
I attended the annual performance of the School of Dance of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts last week. The theme was onward and upward and the presentation was interesting and very dynamic.
It was pleasing to see so many young local artists striving for excellence. They were trying to be innovative, moving away from classical performance into something contemporary and the coming together of East and West in a multitude of ways. Read More
Rainbow Ho & Paul Yip
The problem of child maltreatment, including physical, sexual and psychological abuse as well as neglect, has become an important public health issue. Every year, between 4 per cent and 16 per cent of children are physically abused and about 10 per cent are neglected or psychologically abused in high-income countries. Given the well-documented effects of such abuse on a child’s health, social and behavioural development, society will pay a very high cost if it is not dealt with timely and effectively. Read More
Paul Yip
Coexist, a large community and arts centre in Bristol, employs 31 staff, only seven of whom are men. It will be the first company in Britain to allow female employees menstrual leave. According to the director, Bex Baxter, it makes sense to allow women employees to take advantage of their natural cycles rather than fight against them. She reckons that by providing time out for women during menstruation, they will do even better after the leave. Read More
Paul Yip
The surge of suicides among students in Hong Kong over the past six months is very worrying. We have witnessed an increasing trend of youth suicides in the past few years, despite a continuous reduction in the overall rate in Hong Kong. Our suicide rate was about 11 per 100,000 people in 2014, below the world average of 13. While older adults have a higher suicide rate – twice the average – the recent spate of suicides among young people has triggered a response from the community. Read More
Paul Yip
Paul Yip’s visit to a correctional services centre for Hong Kong youth brings home the need to tap their evident skills and talent for the greater good, so they remain useful members of society.
I recently visited the Cape Collinson training centre for young offenders with other members of my department at the University of Hong Kong. Our aim was to explore collaborative work with the Correctional Services Department, to better understand and improve the rehabilitation service provided for these youth. Read More
Paul Yip
The city must provide accommodation for those who are ineligible for public housing and ensure that it retains talented people
Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah offered a HK$38.8 billion package of sweeteners in his ninth budget. At the same time, Hong Kong is anticipating slower economic growth of between 1 and 2 per cent and challenges arising from the effects of fewer tourists and exports. This will be further complicated in the near future by rapid ageing and a reduction in the size of the workforce. Read More
Paul Yip
Paul Yip says the problems with the Territory-wide System Assessment are just one small part of a bigger problem: the local education system’s misguided mentality that learning is best through rigorous testing and packed curriculums
There is a strong desire to scrap the Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) for Primary Three children (aged 9), with critics of the exam claiming that the extensive drills and practice are counterproductive in nurturing young minds. The government seems to accept the recommendation from a working group that 90 per cent of primary school pupils could be exempted from taking it this year.
張筱蘭 | 葉兆輝
在過去300多年裏，世界人口增加超過10倍，由1700年不足7億人至今天已達70億人。世界人口急劇增加，緣於十八世紀後期人口死亡率逐漸下降與生育率上升。
馬爾薩斯（Malthus）的第一版《人口原理》（1798）正正是這個時期推出，人口問題亦是當時社會討論的焦點之一。根據他的人口理論，控制人口增長有兩種基本抑制：預防性抑制與現實性抑制。前者在現代西方國家透過限制婚姻以控制生育和人口增長；後者則在非現代西方國家因人口無節制地增長以致貧窮和死亡率上升。要利用預防性抑制來控制人口增長，教育、家庭計劃和避孕技術絕對扮演了重要角色。
現代社會的大部分家庭均有意識地計算生育孩子的成本和效益，評估客觀因素如社會環境、居住地是否有足夠影響力的友善家庭政策，從而決定是否（或推遲）結婚和生育，這些因素同樣直接影響香港的人口發展。
Recent Comments