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HKU weekly notice (from August 31 to September 6, 2013)

30 Aug 2013

 

Contemporary China Studies Public Lecture
Three Potential Wellsprings of Welfare: China’s Minimum Livelihood Guarantee in Comparative Perspective
This lecture will posit three disparate motivations governments may entertain in their execution of welfare programs, particularly programs of social assistance which are targeted at indigent populations and that, unlike insurance programs, do not entail contributions from recipients: 1) they may extend assistance to needy persons on the basis of the principle of the rights of the individual, or social citizenship rights — or, on the basis of the Confucian concept of rites (the rite of benevolence);  2) they may supply protections and grant benefits (such as educational and health care benefits) in order to enhance the productivity of the nation;  and 3) they may offer subsidies for the purpose of pacifying anger and silencing demands on the part of the poor.

Professor Dorothy J Solinger argues that the intended beneficiaries of these three types of projects are, respectively, isolated individuals; society/the state writ large; and politicians.  She uses this categorization to discuss and distinguish official hand-outs in three historical times:  state charity in traditional, imperial times; funds for the impoverished during the Republican era and during the early PRC; and the current policy of aid for the poverty-stricken (the Minimum Livelihood Guarantee program, colloquially termed the dibao).  She finds that, whereas a kind of notion of right to governmental protection adhered under dynastic rule according to the Confucian notion of the rite of benevolence, and Republican and early PRC leaders understood the help they provided as geared toward strengthening the nation, today’s political elite bestow financial aid mainly in hope of preempting disturbances and “instability”.

Date:                   September 12, 2013 (Thursday)
Time:                   6:30pm
Venue:                Social Sciences Chamber, 11/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Speaker:            Professor Dorothy Solinger
                             Professor of Political Science
                             School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine
Website:             http://www.socsc.hku.hk/ccspl/dsolinger/

Enquiries:          Mr. Ren Au (Email: renau@hku.hk)

Serena Yang Distinguished Lecture
Autonomy and Control in Human Behaviour: Research and Applications Using Self-determination Theory
The motivation of behaviour takes many forms, not all of which are volitional or authentic.  Self-determination theory (SDT) distinguishes motivations in terms of the degree to which they are self-regulated or autonomous, versus regulated by external rewards or pressures that are experienced as controlling.  People’s quality of engagement, persistence and well-being are strongly affected by how autonomous or controlled they feel, a finding that replicates across collectivist and individualistic cultures.  In this Lecture, Professor Ryan will provide an overview of SDT, with emphasis on recent research in education, clinical care, sports, and work.  He will detail how performance and well-being are affected by the motivational strategies of parents, teachers, managers, coaches, and clinicians.  He will also highlight some unique phenomena, such as why video games are so addictive, why people can’t wait for the weekend, and why we are intrinsically motivated to help others. 

Date:                    September 13, 2013 (Friday)
Time:                   6:30pm
Venue:                Rayson Huang Theatre, The University of Hong Kong
Speaker:            Professor Richard Ryan
                             Professor of Psychology and Education
                             University of Rochester
Website:            http://www.socsc.hku.hk/sy/rryan/

Enquiries:          Miss Nikki Wong (Email: nhywong@hku.hk)

Taoist Art of Professor Jao Tsung-i
Taoist Art of Professor Jao Tsung-i held by Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole of the University of Hong Kong is Professor Jao's first exhibition of Taoist painting and calligraphy.|

Professor Jao's Taoist artworks can be classified into several categories-- portraits of Taoist masters and deities, such as Lao Zi, Zhang Sanfeng, and the Eight Immortals; paintings and calligraphy on the topics of Taoist quotations; Taoist poetry or articles by emperors and scholars, such as Poem on Autumn Flowers by Emperor Hui Zong and Essay on Regimen by Emperor Gao Zong of the Song Dynasty, and poetry by Song and Yuan Taoists; his studies of the Mawangdui Silk Manuscripts also influence his creation of calligraphy in that script.

Although the exhibits are not abundant, they reveal his insightful and pioneering perception in Taoism. In addition, his Taoist artworks undoubtedly achieve the realm of purity and stillness.

Taoist Art of Professor Jao Tsung-i
Date: 23 August – 30 September 2013
Time: Mon to Fri 9:00am – 6:00pm  
           (closed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays)
Venue: Jao Tung-I Petite Ecole, The University of Hong Kong
           (2/F, 2 University Drive, adjacent to Graduate House)
Telephone: 2241 5598