Live-in Foreign Domestic Workers and their Impact on Hong Kong’s Middle Class Families

This paper discusses the impact of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) on parental roles and family dynamics of Hong Kong’s middle class families. The increase in married women’s labor force participation in Hong Kong has led to a greater demand for childcare, which has been filled by FDWs. Based on interviews with 15 dual-earner couples in middle class nuclear families employing FDWs, how FDWs affect the mother’s gender role and family dynamics is discussed. Boundary work is used by parents in their daily interaction with their children and their FDWs so as to reconcile the perceived indispensability of these workers on the one hand, and the challenges they pose to the definition of parenthood on the other. This research was funded by a Lingnan University Social Sciences Program Research Grant RES/SOC010/978. I am grateful to the guest editors and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.     

结构意蕴:"流散"作家虹影小说的"叙事语法"

虹影难以摆脱对早年生活那刻骨铭心的痛切感受,从而自然而然地将创作主体的精神世界投射于她的作品,并由此形成她小说独特的"叙事语法"中的"表层结构"孤独的(定语)‘我'(主语)在路上(谓语)";在此"基本结构"的背后,虹影还试图将个人的苦难大而化之,在"超文化"的广阔的人性地带表现人精神的挣扎与幻灭,更表现人顽强保留对"爱"真"等价值的寻求和对生活作哲学与宗教式的颖思和感悟--由此形成虹影作品蕴涵的"深度结构"孤独的(定语)‘我'(主语)在路上(状语)寻觅(谓语)."     

《我的失恋》并非单纯的拟古新打油诗

《我的失恋》是鲁迅的散文诗集《野草》中惟一分行抒写的诗篇.因其副标题是"拟古的新打油诗",一直以来都把它当作一首小小的讽刺诗而排斥在"真正的诗"之外.本文要说明的是,这首诗鲁迅采用了自嘲、戏谑的外在讽刺方式,掩盖其内心彷徨、苦闷、焦虑的复杂感情.在幽默、夸张和戏谑中,同自己恋爱中的彷徨、苦闷、焦虑和自卑感捣乱,从而也消解了鲁迅的彷徨、苦闷、焦虑和自卑感.其实,这是一首真正的爱情诗.     

Development of a Dose‐Response Model for SARS Coronavirus

In order to develop a dose‐response model for SARS coronavirus (SARS‐CoV), the pooled data sets for infection of transgenic mice susceptible to SARS‐CoV and infection of mice with murine hepatitis virus strain 1, which may be a clinically relevant model of SARS, were fit to beta‐Poisson and exponential models with the maximum likelihood method. The exponential model (k= 4.1 × l0²) could describe the dose‐response relationship of the pooled data sets. The beta‐Poisson model did not provide a statistically significant improvement in fit. With the exponential model, the infectivity of SARS‐CoV was calculated and compared with those of other coronaviruses. The does of SARS‐CoV corresponding to 10% and 50% responses (illness) were estimated at 43 and 280 PFU, respectively. Its estimated infectivity was comparable to that of HCoV‐229E, known as an agent of human common cold, and also similar to those of some animal coronaviruses belonging to the same genetic group. Moreover, the exponential model was applied to the analysis of the epidemiological data of SARS outbreak that occurred at an apartment complex in Hong Kong in 2003. The estimated dose of SARS‐CoV for apartment residents during the outbreak, which was back‐calculated from the reported number of cases, ranged from 16 to 160 PFU/person, depending on the floor. The exponential model developed here is the sole dose‐response model for SARS‐CoV at the present and would enable us to understand the possibility for reemergence of SARS.     

叶昌炽《藏书纪事诗》的文献学价值研究

叶昌炽所著《藏书纪事诗》是中国藏书史的发凡之作,其收集史料范围之广、史论之精,在中国藏书史上有着重要地位和影响,对中国藏书史的研究有重要价值,在学术史上也有着多方面的价值和意义.随着研究的深入,《藏书纪事诗》的价值逐渐得到更多的发掘,本文着重论述其在文献学方面具有独特的价值,包括其所具有的文献资料价值、在目录学上的价值、与版本学的密切相关、有关校勘的贡献以及其他方面的价值五部分内容.     

香港人类学:学术研究与学科建设

本文从学术研究与学科建设的双重视角出发,简要论述香港的人类学研究,并从大学、学会、期刊出版、学科带头人等几个方面呈现20世纪七八十年代香港人类学学科建设状况。文章认为,从学科建制的历程重新认识香港人类学,能够为我们全面了解中国民族学与人类学史提供重要的参考。同时,从香港这样一个特殊地域的学术研究与学科建设出发,我们也可发现建设新世纪人类学的多元路径。     

Generational conflict and provisions for the elderly in Hong Kong: The relevance of position‐based interest and values

Respect for the elderly and hence the associated rights support a generational contract. Nevertheless, the case of the recent debate on the universal retirement scheme in Hong Kong has raised concerns about its strength. We identify relevant items from the sixth wave of the World Values Survey to explore the orientations of different generations toward others. The analysis shows differences between younger and older generations. Regression analyses show that values are not significant in explaining the differences, but various positions, including sex, marital status, and education, and perceptions of the elderly are relevant. Such differences across generations might weaken the generational contract and potentially engender conflicts as shown in the recent debate about the retirement scheme. We suggest short‐ and long‐term interest calculations, informed by their positions, play a more significant role in policy discussions and decisions, rather than simply appealing to values.     

Rethinking mediated political engagement: social media ambivalence and disconnective practices of politically active youths in Hong Kong

Social media have been widely credited for facilitating young people’s political engagement, most notably by providing a conducive platform for political expression. There has been comparatively little attention, however, to the possible pitfalls for young people when they engage in politics on social media. In this study, we seek to redress the overemphasis on the strengths and connectivity of social media by attending to how young people negotiate their drawbacks and disconnectivity. Through in-depth interviews with young participants of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement, we examine the choices and motives regarding mediated (non-)participation among a group of politically active youths. Our findings revealed that these young people’s social media ambivalence emerged from the major participatory experience. Despite their active and open informational sharing and political expression on social media alongside their in-person participation during the eventful protest, many young participants became wary of such expressive use owing to their perceptions of de-energization, disconnectedness, and disembodiment. Instead of completely withdrawing from political activities on social media, these politically inclined and technologically savvy youths embraced “disconnective practices” – passive engagement (lurking), selective expression (moderation and exposure-limitation), and offline participation (embodied collective action) – to avoid the overwhelming, fractious, and inauthentic conditions of mediated participation.     

都市女性欲望的透视——张爱玲“香港传奇”与施叔青“香港故事”比较

张爱玲与施叔青分别在20世纪40年代与80年代创作了多篇以香港为题材的小说。她们以独特的女性视角指出了都市女性苍凉的生存困境，并揭示了女性原始而又恒久存在的“原罪意识”。在物欲和情欲的支配下，张爱玲笔下的女性成为男性的附庸，无法活出自我，逐渐沉沦下去。而施叔青小说中的女性虽然曾一度沦为物质的俘虏，但大多能走出来自省，从欲望中觉醒，获得新生。     

胡适“自叙传”说与20世纪红学

传统史学意义上的“自传”观念是胡适、顾颉刚、俞平伯、周汝昌等考证派学者进行《红楼梦》考证的基本信念。这种实录观念忽略了历史研究者的主体性和历史性,不恰当地把小说情节反过来当成历史考证的证据。而周绍良等的“二书合成”说将导致红学的转向,使红学突破机械的现实主义价值模式,从而关注于作家对意象的营造、主体性的呈现。