Overseas Keynote Lecture - Impact of new technology on teaching and learning in technology education: opportunity or threat?

The impact of new technology on teaching and learning in technology education is undeniable. Whether it results in opportunities or threats is an important question for us to study. The development of technology education in Hong Kong, a city lacking natural resources and whose development relies heavily on industrial production and economic activity, provides a good opportunity for us to gain an understanding of the relationship between technological and educational changes. This paper reviews the background and development of technology education in Hong Kong. By tracing the changes of technology education since the 1930s, and introducing the most recent education policy 'Education Reform', the paper explores the impacts of technological factors on teaching and learning in technology education. This paper further discusses the opportunities and threats which Hong Kong technology education has faced during several generations of change, as well as those it will face in the future

Relay Thinking in Design and Technology

Relay thinking as a thinking process borrows its concept from running a relay race. This concept is then modified so that the cooperative advantages found in a 'relay' are put into group thinking projects. In 1997, eight secondary design and technology students used relay thinking to generate ideas in order to solve a pre-set problem. The objective of this study was to see the possibilities and limitations of using the process in design and technology problem solving activities. The performance of the students was noted during the thinking activities and interviews were conducted after the activities. The interviews did not aim to investigate the students' solutions to the problem, but rather their experience in using relay thinking. In this paper, the concept of relay thinking will first be outlined. The results of the study will then be presented. Looking at these results, relay thinking provides an alternative to individual and group thinking experiences, although some modifications on the thinking activities are necessary. The results also indicate that secondary students should be provided with more opportunities to have group co-operation in problem solving activities

Impact of new technology on teaching and learning in technology education : opportunity or threat?

The impact of new technology on teaching and learning in technology education is undeniable. Whether it results in opportunities or threats is an important question for us to study. The development of technology education in Hong Kong, a city lacking natural resources and whose development relies heavily on industrial production and economic activity, provides a good opportunity for us to gain an understanding of the relationship between technological and educational changes. This paper reviews the background and development of technology education in Hong Kong. By tracing the changes of technology education since the 1930s, and introducing the most recent education policy ‘Education Reform’, the paper explores the impacts of technological factors on teaching and learning in technology education. This paper further discusses the opportunities and threats which Hong Kong technology education has faced during several generations of change, as well as those it will face in the future

Problem Finding: A Critical and Fundamental Element in Design

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Quality of Life and Recycling Behaviour in High-Rise Buildings: A Case in Hong Kong

Many researchers, environmentalists and economists have made tremendous efforts to enable polices and measures for waste recycling, to improve the quality of the public living environment and to achieve a better quality of everyday life. This study examined the quality of life (QOL) in high-rise buildings in relation to sustainability. It investigated household recycling behaviour and explored the QOL factors that affect such behaviour. Two models based on different types of recycling behaviour were estimated: 1) a model for the use of public recycling facilities (UPRF) and 2) a model for the use of private recycling sectors (UPRS). Data were collected through a survey of 505 residents in two old districts of Hong Kong. The assessment of QOL included consideration for the physical settings, the socio-demographic variables and the respondents’ attitudes on recycling and living environments. The research methods involved questionnaires and interviews. Correlations and multiple regression analyses were conducted to interpret the data collected through the questionnaires. The findings indicated that UPRF can be significantly predicted by physical settings and by satisfaction with the location of facilities, with the residents’ participation and with the quality of the neighbourhood and accommodation. UPRS can be significantly predicted by housing type, income and the availability of private recycling sectors. These findings also indicate some directions for researchers and policymakers to consider. These directions concern how environments and public facilities should be designed to encourage sustainable behaviour and enable a better QOL without compromising environmental sustainability.Hong Kong Polytechnic University. School of DesignResearch Grants Council (Hong Kong, China) (General Research Fund (RGC Ref.: 547412))Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Developmen

Fostering creativity from an emotional perspective: Do teachers recognise and handle students’ emotions?

Emotions have a significant effect on the processes of designing and creative thinking. In an educational context, some emotions may even be detrimental to creativity. To further explore the link between creativity and emotion, a series of interviews were conducted with design and technology (D&T) teachers in Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing concerning their experiences of working with students on design projects. The intent was to investigate how these teachers understood and managed their students’ emotions while teaching creative design skills. Some teachers indicated that they understood their students’ emotions through observing their behaviour, connecting with them by synchronising emotions or by evaluating student performance. The teachers also reported using various other methods to handle their students’ emotions. This study highlights the importance of equipping D&T teachers with skills for awareness and regulation of emotions so that they can better enable students to cultivate creativity in the design process

i-Give: 뉴 아시안 라이프스타일에서 자선활동을 촉구하는 스마트 퍼블릭 디자인

Good design is important in promoting and serving the needs of the deprived. Due to the popularity of digital payment systems, charity promotion in the public environment, such as paper flag and flower selling on the street, has become more difficult. The design laboratories of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University have developed i-Give®, the first highly interactive donation system, based on an in-depth study of changing lifestyles and user behaviour. This provides a user-friendly, multimedia interface for promoting, motivating and helping people to make donations at any particular time. i-Give is a smart, networked, electronic, donation system which fits new urban lifestyles. It allows people to make their preferred donation with electronic money cards and rewards donors with digital souvenirs, such as animations. The centralized system also increases public confidence in the legitimacy of the donation requests, and the multimedia interface provides a muchneeded outreach channel for charity organizations to promote their events to the general public. Its hardware can be connected to a street furniture system to provide flexible and scalable resting modules to suit the new and ever-changing aspects of urban life. Its inclusive and universal design features also cater to the special needs of people with physical, visual and hearing disabilities. This paper reviews the need for a smart donation system in the public environment and discusses how the design of i-Give can answer new and changing urban demands. 굿 디자인은 불우한 이웃들의 필요를 알리고 돕는데 중요하다. 디지털 지불 시스템의 대 중화로 인해 거리에서 플래그(일종의 스티커)나 꽃을 판매하는 공공 환경에서의 자선 촉 구 활동이 어려워졌다. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University의 디자인 연 구소는 라이프스타일과 유저 행동의 철저한 연구를 기초로 i-Give, 즉 최초의 인터렉티 브 기부 시스템을 개발했다. 이것은 시간에 관계없이 사람들의 기부를 촉구하고 돕는 사 용하기 편한 멀티미디어 인터페이스를 제공한다. i-Give는 스마트 네트워크 전자 기부 시스템으로 new urban lifestyle에 적합하다. 이것은 이머니 카드로 원하는 기부를 가능하게 하며 기부자에게 애니메이션 같은 디지털 기념품을 답례품으로 준다. 또한 이 중앙집중식 시스템은 기부 요청의 적법성에 대한 대중의 신뢰를 증가시킨다. 그리고 멀티 미디어 인터페이스는 자선 단체들이 자선행사를 대중에게 알리는데 절실히 필요한 도달 수단을 제공한다. 하드웨어는 street furniture system에 연결하여 유동적이고 조 절 가능한 휴식 모듈을 제공, 새롭게 변화하는 urban life에 적합하다. 또한 포괄적이 고 보편적인 디자인 특징들이 신체적, 청각적, 시각적 장애를 가진 사람들의 필요를 충족 시킨다. 이 논문은 공공 환경에서의 스마트 기부 시스템의 필요를 검토하고, i-Give 디 자인이 새롭게 변화하는 도시의 요구에 어떻게 부응하는가를 토의한다

A Gentleman with Anemia and Cholestasis

Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a rare cause of cholestasis caused by progressive inflammation and fibrosis of both intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts leading to multifocal ductal strictures. Herein, we report a case of primary sclerosing cholangitis and inflammatory bowel disease. The concomitant diagnosis of these two diseases is not typical. The management includes the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and potential complications of primary sclerosing cholangitis, including dominant strictures of bile duct, portal hypertension, gallbladder diseases, cholangiocarcinoma, and colonoscopic surveillance

In Search of a Sustainable Future: An International Overview of the Contribution from Design and Technology Education

In 1987 the World Commission on Environment and Development developed a definition of sustainability that was included in its report Our Common Future. This report stated that sustainable development ‘meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’ (Brundtland, 1987, p. 40). Five years later, in 1992, the UN General Assembly asked for a report on progress and convened the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, 1992). The Rio Earth Summit declared that the right to development must be fulfilled in order to meet equitably developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations. The purpose of this paper is to describe the extent to which design and technology education curricula in eight countries are teaching students to take into account, when designing and making products and services, the needs of the present generation without compromising a sustainable future. Do curricula emphasise sustainability? How effectively is sustainability addressed in schools within design and technology education? The main body of the paper consists of contributions from the eight authors, who describe design and technology in their own country (or region) in terms of:• its organisation;• its core aims;• the extent to which it encourages students to think about meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising a sustainable future;• an example of good practice that relates design and technology education and sustainability and that could be adapted for use in other counties.The reality is that internationally design and technology is diverse in all these aspects but, whether they have the backing of curriculum frameworks or not, design and technology educators in many countries are making significant efforts to help young people consider issues of sustainability when making decisions in the process of designing and making