welcome If you thought your life was chaotic enough as it is, then brace yourself for the latest edition of CityU Today. But before you wring your hands in exasperation, rest assured that we’ve managed to derive order from the chaos. Chaos - it’s a theme that crops up throughout this month’s edition. One of the world’s preeminent scholars on the subject clarifies the complexities of chaos theory and reveals just how many practical applications are reliant on this esoteric field. In an age of online overload, myriad gadgets and "crackberry" addiction, we probe the realms of information management to help you navigate the maze of contemporary communication. So settle back, clear your head and mute the phone as you enjoy a read of our paradoxically ordered and structured CityU Today.
若你覺得自己的生活一片混沌，毫無頭 緒，那就做好心理準備，細讀一下本期 《今日城大》吧。不過，也不用急得搓 手，坐立不安，混沌中其實井然有序。 混沌這個主題貫穿整本雜誌。我們請來這 一學科的國際著名學者，為我們闡釋混沌 理論的奧妙，並說明多少實際應用依賴這 一深奧的理論。 現今時代，互聯網資訊超載，精巧小發明 多不勝數，「黑莓」上癮病態泛濫。為 此，我們將深入探討資訊管理這個題目， 為你在現代通訊的迷宮裏領航。因此，請 你安然坐下，排除雜念，電話轉為靜音狀 態，靜心翻讀一下關於混沌卻編排有序的 本期《今日城大》吧。
Shih-ying Tan 譚世英 Editor-in-Chief 總編輯
contents Editor-in-Chief : Shih-ying Tan / 總編輯 : 譚世英 • Managing Editor : Longgen Chen / 行政編輯 : 陳龍根 • Deputy Managing Editor : Michelle Leung / 副行政編輯 : 梁子儀 • Executive Editor : Craig Francis / 執行編輯 : 傅之銳 • Deputy Editor : Ellen Chan / 副執行編輯 : 陳倩茹 • Design and Production : Communications & Public Relations Office and Pixels Graphics Limited / 設計及製作 : 傳訊及公關處、點子設計公司
CityU Today is published six times a year by City University of Hong Kong. The mission of the magazine is to inform the University’s stakeholders around the world of University issues, people, activities and achievements. 《今日城大》每年六期，旨在報導香港城市大學在教學、研究及 外務發展上的最新動向。
Phone / 電話：(852) 2788 9317 • Fax / 傳真：(852) 2628 2812 • Website / 網址：http://www.cityu.edu.hk/newscentre • E-mail / 電郵：cpro@cityu.edu.hk • Mail : CityU Today Editors, Communications & Public Relations Office, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong / 通訊 : 香港九龍達之路香港城市大學 傳訊及公關處《今日城大》編輯部收
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Three professors named IEEE Fellows 三名教授憑超卓成就獲選為 IEEE院士 Chinese judges commence studies at CityU 三十名中國法官在城大深造
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Lecture makes nanostructures clear as glass 傑出法國學者講座透視納米 技術 CityU hosts international symposium on civilisations 城大舉辦會議探討世界文明與 通識教育
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Summit develops students’ leadership skills 學生領袖切磋領導技巧 Victorious student addresses UN development goals 會計學系學生榮獲香港模擬聯 合國最佳論文獎
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Law students excel in European competition 城大學生歐洲法律辯論賽中露 崢嶸 Student ambassadors pledge to promote university 學生大使肩負推廣城大重任 Alumni recognised for outstanding social work 校友獲選優秀社工
news
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Business alumni reunion in Beijing 商學院校友北京聚會
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Making sense of chaos 混沌中之有序
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Easing the strain of information overload 資訊重壓 消解有道
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General Education with very specific goals 通識課程：培育登場主角
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Photo essay 圖片故事
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From gown to town 由校園到社會
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Straight from the heart 城大人語
columns
Reception marks ascension to Swedish humanities academy 城大賀張隆溪教授獲瑞典皇家 文學院院士殊榮
features
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城大動態
news
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Reception marks ascension to Swedish humanities academy 城大賀張隆溪教授獲瑞典皇家文 學院院士殊榮 Professor Zhang Longxi, Chair Professor of Comparative Literature and Translation, has been honoured with a special reception marking his election as a foreign member of the esteemed Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. In doing so, Professor Zhang has joined the likes of French Enlightenment philosopher and writer Voltaire as an academician of the Swedish academy.
1. Professor Zhang Longxi 張隆溪教授
2. Professor Way Kuo (left), University President, offers his congratulations to Professor Zhang Longxi 校長郭位教授（左）祝 賀張溪隆教授。
April 四月 2009
The Academy, established more than two and a half centuries ago, bestowed the honour upon Professor Zhang in recognition of his exceptional literary contribution to East-West cultural understanding and discourse. Professor Zhang has attained world renown as a scholar and prominent author on humanities and cross-cultural studies. His main research interest is in
promoting cross-cultural understanding between China and the West, from the perspective of East-West comparative studies. His publications have been met with critical acclaim in the international arena. 城大舉行酒會，祝賀比較文學及翻譯講座 教授張隆溪教授獲得著名的瑞典皇家人 文、歷史及考古學院外籍院士榮銜。法國 啟蒙時代思想家及作家伏爾泰當年亦為該 學院外籍院士。 歷史長逾兩個半世紀的瑞典皇家學院授予 張教授外籍院士榮銜，旨在表彰他對促進 東西方文化的理解所作出的卓越貢獻及其 論述。 張教授在人文及跨文化領域已成為享譽國 際的學者和重要作家。他的主要研究興趣 在於從東西方比較研究角度，推廣東西方 跨文化理解，其著作廣獲國際評論界讚賞。
3 Three professors named IEEE Fellows
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三名教授憑超卓成就獲 選為IEEE院士 Three distinguished academics of the College of Science and Engineering, namely Professor Gary Feng Gang, Professor Man Kim-fung and Professor Keith Zhang Qitu, were recently named IEEE Fellows in recognition of their contributions to the advancement or application of engineering, science and technology. The list of 302 IEEE Fellows in the Fellow Class of 2009 includes seven from Hong Kong institutions. The three places granted to CityU professors represents the most for a single institution in the territory and brings
the overall tally of IEEE Fellows at the University to 13. 三名來自科學及工程學院的傑出學者 馮 剛教授、文劍鋒教授和張啟圖教授，最 近同獲推選為國際電機暨電子工程師學會 （IEEE）院士，以表彰他們促進工程及科 學技術之發展及應用而作出的貢獻。 2009年度獲選為IEEE院士者共有302人， 其中七位來自香港的院校。城大本年度共 有三位教授當選，是全港入選者最多的院 校，城大IEEE院士總數由此增至13位。
Chinese judges commence studies at CityU 三十名中國法官在城大深造 of China and the School of Law of Columbia University, the US. It marks a milestone for legal education in Hong Kong and a widening exposure of China's judiciary to international legal knowledge.
The School of Law of CityU held the inauguration of the Master of Laws (LLM) Programme for 30 judges from mainland China on 22 January. The judges commenced their CityU postgraduate legal education programme under the tripartite arrangement by the School of Law of CityU, the National Judges College of the Supreme People's Court
三十名中國法官於1月22 日出席城大法律學院舉行 的「中國法官法學碩士課程」開學典禮。 城大法律學院與中華人民共和國最高人民 法院及其所轄國家法官學院和美國哥倫比 亞大學法學院簽署三方協議，安排中國法 官修讀城大法學碩士課程。這一安排將成 為香港法律教育史上的里程碑，它將擴大 中國司法界的視野，加深其對國際法律知 識的了解。
3. (From left) Professor Keith Zhang Qitu, Professor Man Kimfung and Professor Gary Feng Gang （ 左 起 ）張 啟 圖 教 授 、 文劍鋒教授及馮剛教授
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城大動態
news
Lecture makes nanostructures clear as glass 傑出法國學者講座透視納米技術 Professor Jacques Livage of Collège de France, Paris, delivered a lecture on 11 March in the France-Hong Kong Distinguished Lecture Series, a series of high-profile lectures coorganised by the French Academy of Sciences, the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and CityU. The theme of the lecture, entitled “Bioinspired Nanostructured Materials”, is “soft chemistry”, which allows the formation of glasses and ceramics at low temperatures.
Livage 教授於3月11日來港擔任主講。 Livage教授以「生物誘發的納米結構材 料」為題，講述所謂的「軟性化學」如何 在低溫條件下使玻璃和陶瓷成形。
由法國科學院、法國駐港總領事館及城 大聯合舉辦的「法國–香港傑出講座 系列」，邀請巴黎法蘭西學院Jacques
CityU hosts international symposium on civilisations 城大舉辦會議探討世界文明與通識教育 An International Symposium on Teaching and Learning of World Civilisation was held by the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics on 10-11 January to explore ways of teaching about world civilisations of the 21st century in the context of Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan and Asia as a whole. As part of the new four-year curriculum, CityU is planning a General Education course on world civilisation. In light of rising global interconnectivity, students must acquire a broad knowledge base in order to face the challenges ahead. April 四月 2009
Through this new course, it is hoped students learn about different people and cultures, become scientifically and culturally literate and acquire the attributes of active, responsible citizens. 中文、翻譯及語言學系於1月10日及11日 舉辦「世界文明與通識教育」研討會，目 的是在香港、內地、台灣及亞洲整體環境 下，探討面向21世紀的世界文明通識教育 科目之教與學的方法。 城大現正策劃世界文明史通識課程，以施 行將來四年制課程要求的通識教育。鑒於 全球化使世界各地聯繫更緊密，學生有必 要掌握較廣泛的知識，才能面對挑戰。城 大歷來注重全人教育及學生的素質培養， 這門通識課程將有助學生認識多元種族文 化、文理皆通，成為積極、負責的公民。
5 Summit develops students’ leadership skills 學生領袖切磋領導技巧 The Student Development Services held the first Leadership Summit for student leaders to help develop student leadership skills and enhance the quality of student activities. The first Leadership Summit was held on 21 February and it is hoped it will become an annual event. Sixty present and former student leaders were invited to the summit, where they upgraded their leadership skills, compared notes and learned from each other during various activities. 學生發展處由今年起舉辦學生領袖高峰 會，藉此加強學生領導能力，提升學生活 動質素。首屆活動於2月21日舉行，60名本 學年或早前擔任學生領袖的在校學生應邀 參加，透過各種活動訓練領導才能，互相 交流、彼此學習。
Victorious student addresses UN development goals 會計學系學生榮獲香港 模擬聯合國最佳論文獎 By demonstrating her grasp of world health issues, Wang Yanan, a Year 1 student of the Department of Accountancy, triumphed over more than 100 student delegate submissions from around the world, to win the Best Position Paper Award in an event organised by the Hong Kong Model United Nations Club. Wang Yanan submitted two papers on water sanitation and disease control in the US respectively, the country she was nominated to represent, for entry to the club’s Hong Kong Model United Nations Conference 2009. 會計學系一年級學生王亞男憑藉對世界醫 療保健問題的深刻了解，在全球逾百名學 生代表中勝出，奪得香港模擬聯合國協會 授予的最佳立場論文獎。王亞男向主辦 「香港模擬聯合國會議2009」的香港模 擬聯合國協會提交了參賽論文，論述美國 （作者所模擬代表的國家）飲用水衛生及 疾病控制問題。
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城大動態
news
Law students excel in European competition 城大學生歐洲法律辯論賽中露崢嶸 Three students from the School of Law garnered grand prizes, including overall runner-up and the Oxford University Press Award for the Best Non-OECD Team, at the Frankfurt Investment Arbitration Moot Court Competition held in Germany. The only team representing Hong Kong in the competition, CityU’s delegation 1
was competing in a field of 27 teams from renowned universities around the world. The winning team members were Postgraduate Certificate in Laws students Vicky Chung Wing-kay and Candy Tang So-man; and Winki Lam Wing-kei, Juris Doctor student. 法律學院三名學生遠赴德國，參加法蘭克 福投資法仲裁模擬法庭辯論賽，奪得亞 軍榮譽，以及該辯論賽的非經濟合作與發 展組織成員國最佳組合牛津大學出版社大 獎。 唯一來自香港的城大代表隊，在27支國際 著名大專院校代表隊中脫穎而出，勇奪總 排名榜第二位。代表隊成員包括就讀法學 專業證書的鍾詠琪、鄧素雯，以及攻讀法 律博士的林穎琪。
Student ambassadors pledge to promote university 學生大使肩負推廣城大重任 for the coming year at the inauguration ceremony of the 12th Student Ambassadors Programme held by the Student Development Services on 20 February.
1. From (left) Winki Lam Wing-kei, Candy Tang So-man and Vicky Chung Wing-kay （左起）林穎琪、鄧素 雯及鍾詠琪
April 四月 2009
“We pledge to promote the image of CityU, strengthen its community relations, foster a sense of belonging among members of the University and commit ourselves to achieving whole person education.” This was the pledge made by 30 new student ambassadors
我們謹此宣誓：「致力提升城大的形象及 與社區的聯繫，促進大學社群的歸屬感， 並積極推行全人發展。」30名新任學生大 使，在2月20日學生發展處舉辦的第12屆學 生大使計劃就職禮上，齊聲作出竭誠服務 大學的承諾，為新一年工作揭開序幕。
7 Alumni recognised for outstanding social work 校友獲選優秀社工 Two graduates of the Department of Applied Social Studies, Ms Fermi Wong Wai-fun and Ms Debby Wong Pui-ling, received the Outstanding Social Worker Award and Junior Social Worker Award respectively at the 18th Outstanding Social Worker Award organised by the Hong Kong Social Worker Association. 應用社會科學系畢業生王惠芬及王珮玲在 香港社會工作人員協會主辦的「第18屆優 秀社工選舉」中，分別獲頒優秀社工獎及 新秀社工獎。
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Business alumni reunion in Beijing 商學院校友北京聚會 The College of Business held its first reunion for mainland alumni on 28 February in Beijing to enhance communications among alumni and the relationship between University and alumni. Dr Liu Changle, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings, was the banquet speaker. He shared his management philosophy with more than 80 alumni, CityU faculty and staff. Professor Roderick Wong Suecheun, Vice-President (Research and Technology), presented the University’s development update to alumni. Another business alumni reunion banquet was held in Shanghai on 7 March. 商學院於2月28日在北京舉辦首次內地校友 聚會，增進校友之間、校友與大學間的交 流。鳳凰衛視董事局主席兼行政總裁劉長 樂博士擔任晚宴主講嘉賓，向大約80名校 友及城大教職員分享他的管理理念及成功 之道。副校長（研究與科技）王世全教授 向校友介紹城大最新發展。商學院在3月7 日於上海舉辦了另一次校友聚會。
2. Fermi Wong (second from left), Debby Wong (third from left) and their former teachers from the Department of Applied Social Studies, Dr Alice Chong Ming﹣lin (first from left) and Dr Kam Ping-kwong. 王惠芬（左二）、王珮 玲（左三）及曾經教過 她們社工科目的應用社 會科學系副教授莊明蓮 博士（左一）和甘炳光 博士。
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封面故事
cover story
By Longgen Chen 陳龍根
April 四月 2009
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Chair Professor Chen Guanrong, Department of Electronic Engineering at CityU, is an expert in chaos theory and yet walking into his office, one cannot help being amazed at the meticulous order within the room. His homepage reveals a person interested in writing poetry, essays and travelogues as well as photography. And yet this is the same person who has spent the past 40 years studying mathematics and the recipient of natural science’s highest state award. In December 2008, he was recognised with a State Natural Science Award for his 20 years of dedication to the research of chaos theory and his achievements, including the discovery of the nowfamous “Chen System”.
10 cover story 封面故事
Evolution in chaos
What exactly is chaos theory all about? The mathematical sense of the word chaos does not fit the typical dictionary definition of “utter disorder and confusion”. On the contrary, chaos theory is about the very essence of order. It is about discovering the underlying order hidden within apparently random data like the void before the world was created in classical myths, chaotic but nevertheless orderly. “While chaos theory may sound abstract to laymen,” explains Professor Chen, “everyone knows or has heard about the so-called ‘butterfly effect’, described by E. N. Lorenz. The late American mathematician and meteorologist, in his 1972 paper Predictability: Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?, refers to one type of complex dynamical behaviours that possess some very special features, such as being extremely sensitive to tiny variations of initial conditions.” The same concept is illustrated by another of Lorenz’s popular sayings: “…a man sneezing in China may set people to shovelling snow in New York.” “All these sayings point to the very essence of chaos, that a tiny change in the initial condition of a chaotic system can have a tremendous dynamical consequence that is literally unpredictable,” wrote Professor Chen in his editor’s note to a recent issue of IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine.
April 四月 2009
As a scientific theory describing “the erratic behaviour in certain non-linear dynamical systems”, chaos theory can also be defined as “deterministic randomness”. Similar behaviour is observed and illustrated in literature and folklore. The Chinese philosopher Lao Zi wrote: 道生一，一生二，二生三，三生萬 物。 （《老子》四十二章）, which expresses virtually the same idea as the Li-Yorke Theorem: “Period three implies chaos.” So does a well-known Chinese idiom 差之毫釐，謬之千里, which means chaos is extremely sensitive to tiny changes of initial conditions. In Western folklore there is the well-known example: “For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider, a message was lost. For want of a message, the battle was lost. For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost!” A life science example that has often been cited to show how in complex systems a small input can produce a large output is the difference between human beings and chimpanzees. “There is only a difference of less than two per cent in the basic genetic make-up of human beings and chimpanzees – a difference that can be quantified in terms of molecular chemistry. Yet in the complex, non-linear processes that are involved in translating the genetic code into a living animal, this small dissimilarity is the difference between one species and another.” (from Reason in Revolt: Marxist Philosophy and Modern Science, by Alan Woods and Ted Grant)
11 Gaining control Chaos is a scientific theory. It offers a new way to look at events differently from the strictly deterministic view that has dominated science since Newtonian times. But research over the last two decades on the anti-control of chaos by means of making a non-chaotic system chaotic, has led to the discovery of some new chaotic systems, particularly the prizewinning Chen System. This breakthrough was the result of rigorous and pioneering mathematical analysis and extensive research by someone who believes that “If one can write a page per day, one can write a book in a year.” Contrary to the traditional belief that chaos is unpredictable and, therefore useless, recent research advances have demonstrated that chaos not only is (in the long-term) controllable and (in the short-term) predictable, but can be beneficial to many real-world applications as well. “Chaos control and anti-control technologies promise to have a major impact on many novel, time- and energycritical applications, liquid mixing, chemical reactions and secure information processing,” Professor Chen says. “Chaos control refers to the situation where chaotic dynamics are weakened or eliminated by appropriate controls, when it is harmful and useless, while anticontrol of chaos means that chaos is created, maintained, or enhanced when it is healthy and useful,” explained Professor Chen in his 1998 paper, Chaos: Control and Anti-Control. He has been focusing his research into some of these areas. The chaos-based Fireball Encryption scheme designed by Professor Chen is a simple example of encryption and secure communications. The scheme is packaged into a subroutine to enable the distribution of data with client-based
software programmes. At CityU, the SAMScan programme is used to allow users to identify application software installed on several thousand PC’s. A database sends data to each client PC. To protect intellectual property rights and the integrity of the database, the content is encrypted so that it can only be read by the SAMScan programme. The chaos-based Fireball Encryption package can concurrently encrypt English, Chinese Big 5, and Chinese GB coded text data. It has never been hacked since its implementation at CityU in 2002, Professor Chen says. Professor Chen and his colleagues at the Centre for Chaos and Complex Networks have been working on two major directions, reflected by two representative funded projects: Complex Dynamical Networks: Modeling, Dynamics and Control and Secure Internet Image/ Video Communications Based on Chaos Theory. They expect to promote further fundamental and applied research on emerging and cutting-edge chaos control and synchronisation technology, as well as complex dynamical networks, an area in which they have demonstrable international leadership.
12 cover story 封面故事
解構「混沌」真面目
城大電子工程學系陳關榮講座教授是混沌理論專家，但是他的辦公室卻清潔 乾淨，井井有條。瀏覽他的網頁不難得知，他興趣廣泛，不僅喜歡攝影，更 喜歡寫詩歌、散文和遊記；而正是同一個人，過去40年中孜孜不倦研究數 學，並於2008年12月榮獲國家自然科學二等大獎，以表彰他二十年來致力混 沌理論研究取得的成就，特別是他的一項新發現，即目前聞名世界的「陳氏 混沌系統」。 何謂混沌理論？數學意義上的「混沌」不 同於詞典中「徹底無序及混亂」的釋義。 恰恰相反，混沌理論研究有序性，即蘊 藏在表面雜亂無章的資料背後的潛在有序 性，恰似古代神話敘述的宇宙最初狀態， 看似混沌一團，卻深藏着有序。
April 四月 2009
「儘管混沌理論對於外行人十分抽象，但 多數人都知道或聽說過愛德華˙羅倫茲描 述的『蝴蝶效應』，」陳教授解釋道。 「這位已故美國數學家兼氣象學家在1972 年發表論文，題為《可預測性：巴西一隻 蝴蝶翅膀的振動是否會在美國得克薩斯州
13 引發龍捲風？》，闡述了複雜動力學行為 所具有的特殊性質，即對初始條件微小變 化的高度敏感性。羅倫茲的另一段名言闡 述了同樣的概念：『……中國一個人打噴嚏 可能導致許多紐約人去鏟雪。』」
新的混沌系統，尤其是獲獎的陳氏混沌系 統。陳教授奉行「一天寫一頁字，一年能 完成一本書」的勤奮治學態度。這項突破 性發現是他經過無數創新數學分析和廣泛 研究取得的成果。
陳教授在最近一期《國際電機暨電子工程 師學會電路與系統雜誌》的編者按中寫 道：「所有這些說法都揭示了混沌的根本 實質，即混沌系統初始條件的微小變化可 以產生無法預測的巨大動力學後果。」
傳統觀點認為，混沌是無法預測的，因而 是無用的。最近的研究成果推翻了傳統觀 點，證明混沌不僅（從長期來看）可以控 制，（從短期來看）可以預測，而且有許 多實際應用價值。陳教授說：「混沌控制 與反控制技術肯定會對許多新的時間臨界 和能量臨界的實際應用、液體混合、化學 反應以及安全訊息處理產生巨大影響。」 陳教授在1998年發表的題為《混沌：控制 與反控制》論文中解釋道：「混沌控制是 指採用適當的控制手段來削弱或消除有害 無益的混沌動力狀態。混沌反控制是指產 生、保持或強化健康有益的混沌。」多年 來，陳教授一直致力這方面的研究。 陳教授按照混沌理論設計的「火球編碼方 案」是編碼及安全通訊的一個簡單例子。 這個方案以套裝程式構成，以便用客戶的 軟件程式輸送訊息。在城大，用戶可利用
人們還經常引用生命科學中人與猩猩之間 的差別，說明複雜系統中微小輸入差別能 夠產生巨大的輸出後果。「在人與猩猩 的基本基因構造中只有不到百分之二的差 異，這種差異須用分子化學來計算。然而 在遺傳密碼轉化為生物的複雜非線性過程 中，這類微小差異成為區分物種的主要差 別。」（引自Alan Woods和Ted Grant合著 的《叛逆的理由：馬克思主義哲學及現代 科學》）。
混沌亦可控制 混沌學是一門科學理論，提供一種觀察事 物的新方法，完全不同於牛頓時代以來在 科學界佔主導地位的決定論觀點。然而在 過去二十年中，透過將非混沌系統混沌化 的混沌反控制研究，科學家們發現了一些
「火球編碼方案」之SAMScan程式辨認安 裝在數千台個人電腦上的應用軟件。一個 數據庫會輸送許多資料給每個電腦用戶。 為了保護知識產權和數據庫的安全，數據 庫內容已作編碼，只有使用SAMScan程式 才能讀取。基於混沌理論的「火球編碼方 案」目前能對英文、中文Big 5和中文GB文 本資料編碼。陳教授表示，自從2002年在 城大使用以來從未遭到駭客破壞。 陳教授和他領導下的「混沌與複雜網絡學 術研究中心」的同事把研究重點放在兩個 方向，其代表性項目分別為：「複雜動 態網絡：建模、動力學及控制」以及「基 於混沌理論的互聯網圖象和聲音的安全通 訊」。他們計劃進一步促進新興及高端混 沌控制及同步技術的基礎和應用研究，並 已在相關領域內獲得國際領先地位。
14 interview 人物專訪
By Craig Francis 傅之銳
Easing the strain of
The opening salvos of this interview took place amidst a maelstrom of phone calls, email messages and machines that went “Bing!”. Whether by design or default, one minute in the hectic office of Dr Ron Kwok Chi-wai, an associate professor in the Department of Information Systems, and you understand the need for some serious information management. A perusal of his office, as he fielded his calls, presented an array of further information sources – walls of books and files, notice boards, inspirational placards, post-it notes, memos and the ubiquitous office computer.
April 四月 2009
15
To say we live in an era of information overload is to resort to cliché but, well, we do. Less well known, however, is the fact that help is at hand. The General Education course Information Management and its Social Impact offered since Semester B 2007–08 does, as the name hints, offer a way out of the maze of information that bombards us all day – and sometimes as we sleep. We caught up with Dr Kwok to learn a little bit more about information management and to perhaps acquire the GPS coordinates that could steer us through the labyrinth of side-streets towards the fabled information highway.
Much has been said about the information age and the subsequent bombardment of information that leads to information overload. Just how organised does the modern professional need to be? Whether we are talking about engineers, business managers or doctors, in the past information had to be stored on hard copy or just organised in the brain. Unless you had an exceptional ability to remember, this could lead to mistakes. Nowadays, we are less reliant on memory to retain the tonnes of facts that are thrown at us continually. The professional these days needs to be proficient in using equipment to collate the information and to be able to store and access this information. There are issues of security and access. Our aim is to improve what we call your Info IQ.
16 interview 人物專訪
How important is electronic gadgetry in this process of getting organised? Let’s take our business students as an example. All the first – and second – year students have a notebook computer. We also have the e-learning platform and then we have a lot of materials placed online and rely as well on mobile technology. When I ask the top students in my class how they present their information, they already have their PDAs, digital cameras, mobile phones. In class time they also have to manage hand-written notes, hard copies, overhead projections. Much of what information management is about, is looking at how to integrate all these sources of information and different formats.
How relevant will information management be to students graduating today, given the pace at which technology is changing? Information management is essentially a generic skill set that enables professionals to organise their information and will remain relevant whether we are using
April 四月 2009
cardboard folders and cabinets, digital hard drives or the internet, and can be applied to formats that exist in five or ten years time. But we do try to introduce these skills using the latest technology.
There appears to be so many different implications for different professional fields. Are the information management needs of engineers, for example, the same as the needs of accountants? We try to find specific examples with relevance to all fields. For example, we recently invited a CEO of a multinational firm to deliver a talk on protecting and securing information legally in a commercial context. We ask students to apply a wide range of technologies to many different scenarios, from how best to manage the movement of stock and the efficiency of a supply line to legal issues, which also provides the students with an insight into the social impact of these technologies.
17
From a more philosophical angle, do you think the modern world overcomplicates the issue of managing information or is it simply a necessity that we now have to deal with a greater amount of information? In the past we would say that information is power. The legacy of possessing ‘secret’ information was that decision-makers could make better informed decisions. But in today’s world, information is actually shared. Everybody wants to share information on the internet. Whether it is personal stuff we put up on Facebook or universities collaborating on research projects, information is now disseminated widely. Nowadays information is still power but its availability has shifted the focus to collecting, managing and making sense of this wealth of information. The increase in the amount of information available to us need not be a source of stress but a way to make our professional lives easier. In the past, if we got a customer order for a particular product it might be difficult to accept the order because we were unsure of the capabilities
of our designer, our production process or the availability of supplies to complete the order – and it would take a long, long time. With the skills we are teaching here and tools and information available to us, we can access this knowledge easily, saving ourselves time, money and the stress of tracking down this information.
Tell us a little bit about the General Education course Information Management and its Social Impact. Does it focus on teaching the practical methods and techniques of getting organised or does it contain academic theory? The split is about 70:30 – 70% is academic; 30% is practical skills. In the first category we will talk about how we read a textbook, how we read an online document or an academic text. This is a kind of theoretical skill set that looks at how we organise and evaluate the information and how we present it. We help the students in terms of language proficiency and literacy, using the Language Companion Course. Practically, we provide laboratory sessions that look at using the technology.
18 interview 人物專訪
對資訊系統學系副教授郭志偉博士作這次採訪，一開始就親聞目睹這裏的電 話鈴聲此起彼落、電子郵件紛至沓來，還有些機器在「叮叮」作響。不知是 刻意安排，還是原本如此，郭博士那忙忙碌碌的辦公室，令人只要身處其中 一分鐘，就必定深感資訊管理是何等重要。趁着他忙於接聽電話，我環視四 周，但見室內滿是各式各樣的資訊來源：遮墻蓋壁的書籍檔案、告示板、箴 言雋語貼紙、便利貼、備忘錄，還有那必不可少的辦公室電腦。 說我們生活在資訊爆炸的年代，似乎已是 陳詞濫調，但事實的確如此。不過，人們 較少留意的是，管理資訊的幫手近在身旁。
不少人談及資訊年代帶來資訊激增、造 成資訊超載。現代專業人士究竟該如何 整理資訊呢？
城大自2007-08學年下學期起開設的通識教 育科目「資訊管理及其對社會的影響」， 顧名思義，就是要教我們如何擺脫資訊激 增的困擾，免受其日夜轟炸，以至不得 安眠。
不論是工程師、商務經理或是醫生，過往 都是用紙張儲存資料，或是憑人腦整理資 訊。可是，除非你有超常的記憶力，這樣 做容易出錯。我們現今面對的是排山倒海 而來的資料，已較少依賴人腦儲存。專業 人員現在須能熟練運用各種設備區分、儲 存、取用資料。這牽涉到保安和存取的 問題。我們的目標是提升所謂的「資訊 智商」。
我們前來向郭博士討教，希望了解一點資 訊管理的知識，也許可以看清資訊迷宮之 中自己身在何處，能否走出九曲十八彎盤 陀小徑，踏上那聞名已久的資訊高速公路。
April 四月 2009
19 在整理資訊方面，電子儀器工具的功用 如何？ 就以我們的商學院學生為例吧，所有一年 級和二年級的學生都有手提電腦。我們還 有電子學習平台，把大量資料存放在網絡 上，還運用到流動資訊科技。我問班上成 績優秀的學生如何做資料演示，他們都說 已經用上了電子手帳、數碼相機、流動電 話。上課時，他們也必須使用手寫的筆 記、印出的文件，還有投影圖像。資訊管 理，最重要的是如何整合使用所有這些來 源和格式的資訊。
現今科技日新月異，即將畢業的同學是 否需要管理資訊？ 資訊管理是一套通用的技能，可協助專業 人士整理資訊；不論我們是用卡紙夾和文 件柜、數碼硬盤或是互聯網，資訊管理的 技能都有用，也適用於五至十年後的新資 訊格式，只是我們盡量採用最新技術從事 資訊管理。
不同的行業似乎有不同的運作。那麼， 工程師跟會計師的資訊管理需要是否 相同？ 我們嘗試找出適用於各行各業的事例。最 近即邀請了一位跨國公司的行政總裁來演 講，談論在商業上如何合法保護資訊、合 法取得資訊。此外，我們要求同學在多種 不同的預想情況下應用各種各樣的科技， 包括如何監管存貨的流動情況、供應鏈的 效率，乃至應用於法律問題，以便同學深 入了解這些科技對社會的影響。
從一個較有哲理的角度來看，你覺得是 現今社會把資訊管理過度複雜化了，還 是我們確實因為要處理大量資料而作資 訊管理？ 過去我們可以說資訊就是力量，擁有「秘 密」的資訊可讓決策者作出較明智的決 定。不過，現今社會裏，資訊實際上是眾人 分享的，人人都想在網上分享資訊。無論 是把個人資料上載到Facebook，或是各大 學之間透過網絡合作研究，如今的資訊都 會廣泛流傳。 資訊現今仍代表力量，但因為資訊隨處可 得，資訊之力量的重點已經轉移，現在重 點在於如何去收集、管理和解讀豐富的 資料。 資訊激增不應成為壓力，而應令我們的專 業工作變得輕鬆。過去，我們收到客戶要 求某一產品的訂單，也許難以貿然決定接 受，因為不能肯定我方設計師能力如何、 生產程序如何、原料供應是否足以滿足訂 單，而要確定各項資訊需要較多時間。目 前我們的課程所講授的技能，加上現有的 工具和資訊，令我們可以輕易取得這些知 識，節省了追尋相關資訊所需的時間和金 錢，壓力也減輕了。
可否多講一點有關「資訊管理及其對社 會的影響」這個通識科目的情況？課程 是否着重講授如何整理資訊的實際方法 和技能，或是包含學術理論？ 教學內容比例是七比三：七成為學術知 識，三成為實際技能。理論方面，我們會 講授如何閱讀課本、網上文件、學術文 章。這方面的理論技能讓我們了解如何組 織、評核資訊，如何演示。通過「英語支 援課程」，我們會協助同學提升語文運用 能力和閱讀水平。實際操作方面，我們會 提供實驗室環節，讓學生應用相關科技。
20 photo essay 圖片故事
那一天．那一月．那一年．那一世 · h t n o m t y · Tha a n d io t t a a r h e n e g T t ha · r T a e y t a h T By Shen Muyao 沈慕堯
April 四月 2009
21 The Student Residence halls and Student Residence Office have organised an Interhall Photography Competition, with the theme of this year’s competition as “Humanity”. This series of photos was the winner in the “Story” category. 學生宿舍及學生宿舍處舉辦一年一度的舍際攝影比 賽，並以「人道」為主題。此輯照片為故事組的冠 軍作品。
22 features 專題
By Eliza Lee 李珮珊
April 四月 2009
23
Mr Chow Yun-fat is an outstanding and successful actor with good looks also on his side. However, to become a famous star, acting skills and a handsome profile are not enough. In order to expand his career into Hollywood, Mr Chow works hard to master English and understand western culture. Similarly, to compete in the international arena, university graduates have to equip themselves with extensive professional knowledge and all-round ability.
24 features 專題
To align with the new four-year academic structure in 2012, CityU has introduced a compulsory General Education (GE) programme to strengthen students’ crossdiscipline knowledge and skills so they may become ideal graduates for the 21st century in the international arena. In the transition to the new curriculum, the University has gradually launched 12 GE courses since January last year in three divisional areas of study, namely Arts and Humanities; Societies, Social and Business Organisations; and Science and Technology.
Future prospects The main objective of the GE programme is to develop students into responsible world citizens by broadening their vision, helping them keep abreast of global developments and enhancing their knowledge of different cultures and ethnic groups. For example, the GE course Science and Technology: From Past to
Future, offered as a joint effort between six departments within the College of Science and Engineering, exposes students from different disciplines to various facets of science. Students are taught the basic concepts of science and engineering and given an appreciation of its applications to society. “This course has aroused my interest in radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and I now often read related news and information,” said Daniel Man Ka-ming, a Year 3 student in the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics. He pointed out that students from different disciplines studying this course have the chance to build model bridges and buildings with simple stationery, conduct winemaking experiments in biology laboratories and visit other CityU laboratories. “Studying with students from different backgrounds and other departments is a valuable experience. Although there are cultural differences, we overcome problems by adopting an open attitude to reach a consensus. Science relates to everyday life – the knowledge acquired in the course will definitely be very useful to my editorial career,” he added. The course aligns itself with the current needs of society. “To keep our course content up-to-date, we consulted and incorporated the opinions of the industry. For example, we collaborated with Ir Dr Lo
April 四月 2009
25 Wai-kwok, former president of The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, to prepare and teach the course,” said Professor Robert Li Kwok-yiu, Associate Dean of the College of Science and Engineering. He added that more GE courses were being planned to expand the scope of students and impart up-to-date knowledge.
a keen interest in psychology. After studying the GE course “Psychology for Young Professionals”, he had a better understanding of himself. “Uncovering my own personality and that of others not only honed my communication skill but also helped me create different characters in my scriptwriting,” he said. Mr Anthony Yau Muk-leung, Instructor I from the Department of Applied Social Studies, Cultural considerations is one of the course instructors. Dividing “I believe my future career will require course content into three modules, he set me to meet people from different cultural scenarios for each module and compiled backgrounds. As a Chinese, I need to a handbook to help students master the first understand my own culture before key concepts. “This subject emphasises I can effectively communicate with thinking and problem-solving skills with people from different places in the the objective of developing students world,” said Cora Du Hanshuang, into outstanding professionals. a Year 1 student from the Upon Department of completion Information "Honing my communication of the course, Systems. To skills has helped me create students should make up for her different characters in be able to apply insufficient knowledge psychological knowledge my scriptwriting." about Chinese culture, to their own academic study brought about by her disciplines,” he said. concentration on science in senior secondary The University will school, Cora enrolled in continue to introduce the GE course “Chinese new GE courses, with no Cultural Heritage in less than 40 courses being launched by Modern Perspective”. Covering Chinese 2012. Under the new structure, students medicine, heritage buildings, folk art and are required to complete at least 30 archaeology, the course helps students GE course credits out of the minimum to appreciate the cultural roots of China's graduation requirement of 120 credits. heritage. To understand the impact This will help ensure CityU’s graduates of urban development on traditional are equipped not only with professional festivals, Cora has taken part in a field trip knowledge but also a wide range of skills. to Lantau Island to study the traditional Mui Wo Hung Shing Festival. “Through The stage curtains have opened and the discussions of culture and conservation, audience is holding its collective breath to I have learned to voice my opinion and see how the actor performs. make observations,” said Cora, who has a naturally quiet disposition. GE also helps students discover interests and better understand themselves. Henry Chong Ming-hon, a Year 3 student at the School of Creative Media, has
26 features 專題
周潤發先生無庸置疑是一位非常成功的演員，演技精湛、外形瀟灑。但要成 為蜚聲國際、受人尊敬的表演藝術家，單靠演技和外表是不夠的。為了進軍 荷里活、走向世界，他苦練英語，努力認識西方文化。同樣，大學畢業生要 在競爭激烈的國際舞台上擔演重要角色，除了要具備充足的專業知識，還須 有多方面的才能，才可爭取更多機會。
April 四月 2009
27 城大將在2012年推行四年本科新學制，並 把通識教育列為必修科，使學生具備跨學 科的理解能力和多種技能，為21世紀的國 際舞台培育理想畢業生。城大自2008年1月 起逐步推出通識教育課程，迄今已開設12 門通識教育科目，涵蓋藝術及人文、社會 及商業組織、科學及科技三個領域，為過 渡至新學制作好準備。
與時並進 緊貼社會脈搏 通識教育的主要目標是拓寬學生視野，緊 貼世界脈搏，增強學生對不同民族及文化 的認識，使他們成為富責任感的世界公 民。以科學及工程學院六個學系合辦的 「科學與科技：過去與未來」通識科目為 例，無論修課學生的主修是人文學科，還 是法律專業，都可以透過這一科目接觸 多個科學領域，了解科學與工程的基本概 念、欣賞科學與科技，及其在社會中的重 要應用價值。 「這門課引起我對無線射頻識別技術的興 趣，現在我常常閱讀相關技術的新聞及資 訊，」彬彬有禮的中文、翻譯及語言學 系三年級生文家銘說。來自不同學系的學 生，在課堂上會利用簡單文具製作大廈與 橋樑模型，並有機會在生物實驗室作釀酒 實驗及參觀城大多個實驗室。他補充說： 「能夠與其他學系的、不同文化背景的同 學一同學習，是很寶貴的經歷；雖然遇到 文化差異的問題，只要抱 着 開放的態度尋 求共識，定可克服困難。科學與日常生活 息息相關，我相信在課程內獲得的知識， 對我未來有意從事的編輯工作有很大幫 助。」 為了幫助學生掌握新知識和技能，課程設 計都以切合社會需要為目標。科學及工程 學院副院長李國耀教授說：「我們務求課 程內容與時並進，引入業界的意見，我們 與香港工程師學會前會長盧偉國博士合作 籌備及教授的有關科目就是一個例子。」 李教授透露，正計劃籌辦更多跨學院、跨 學系合作的通識科目，拓寬學生的學習領 域，並把最新的知識傳授給他們。
深入淺出 探討文化內蘊 「我相信自己未來的工作須接觸不同文化 的人；身為中國人，應該先了解自己的 文化，才能與來自五洲四海的人好好溝 通，」資訊系統學系一年級生杜含爽說。 杜含爽在高中時是理科生，為了認識中國 文化，她最近修讀了「中國文化遺產與當 代社會」通識科目。這門課從中醫藥、歷 史建築、民間藝術與信仰、考古等四個領 域切入，引導學生探究中國文化遺產的深 度知識。杜含爽曾到大嶼山考察一個甚具 歷史價值的傳統民間節慶—─梅窩洪聖爺 節，探討城市發展對傳統節日的影響。杜 含爽性格文靜，但她說：「透過多次討論 文化與保育議題，我學會勇於表達意見， 也形成觀察事物的新角度。」
知己知彼 活用跨科知識 除了幫助學生拓寬眼光，通識教育也讓學 生有機會發展個人興趣，並幫助他們認識 自我。對心理學有濃厚興趣的莊銘漢是創 意媒體學院三年級生，他感到修讀「新晉 專業人員心理學」通識科目之後，對自己 有更深了解。他說：「認識自己及別人的 性格，除了便於溝通，更可以實際應用於 劇本創作，有助設計各種人物角色。」應 用社會科學系一級導師邱沐樑先生是該科 導師之一，他將科目分成三個單元，每單 元設有情境問題；又製作科目手冊方便學 生掌握重點。他說：「這門課重視思考、 訓練解難技巧，以培養學生成為出眾的專 業人士為目標。學生要懂得將心理學知識 靈活運用在自己的專科領域。」 城大會繼續推出更多通識科目，預計到 2012年，總數將不少於40門。屆時在本科 生最低畢業要求的120學分當中，最少30個 學分必須得自修習通識教育課程，以確保 畢業生在專業上有所發展之外，也具備切 合社會需要的多種技能，成為專業通才。 舞台上帷幕已經拉開，人們屏息以待，登 場主角是何等樣人。
28 from gown to town 由校園到社會
Going the distance in life's marathon 學無止境 止於至善
By Jenny Kwan 關珮盈
The special place CityU holds in the heart of Dr Felix Yip Wai-kwong, General Manager of Human Resources at Yantian International Container Terminals, is evident from the photograph he keeps on his desk. It was taken when he competed as a member of the Delegation of CityU in the 10km event of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon last February. Dr Yip said he couldn’t even finish running one lap of a stadium track before submitting his application to enter the race. After much practice he could complete 21 laps just prior to the competition. By the day of the contest he was able to finish the arduous 10km course, the equivalent to 23 laps of the track. “The atmosphere during the competition, together with the encouragement among competitors, helped with the motivation to finish the race,” said Dr Yip. His athletic perseverance reflects Dr Yip’s two beliefs in life: continuous learning for perfection and actual practice to encourage others. “I have always set different goals and challenges for myself at different stages as a way to help me progress,” said Dr Yip. April 四月 2009
Among one of the value-added goals he accomplished was a Master of Laws (Chinese and Comparative Law) at CityU in 1999. The programme proved to be very beneficial, as he acquired extensive knowledge of the mainland legal system. In particular, knowledge of criminal law and penalties helped the company he then represented develop its mainland business. The courses also enabled him to gain a better understanding of mainland culture. “I now understand how the two different sets of laws implemented by Hong Kong and the mainland influence the living, thinking and culture of the citizens. The programme has expanded my ability to think from various angles and different dimensions, which has a positive effect on work and life,” added Dr Yip.
29 Last August, Dr Yip set another challenge for himself – to change his job to his present company at Yantian, Shenzhen. His first mainland job has exposed him to a different business culture. “It is a new challenge, since the mainland and Hong Kong management culture and the employee mentality are very different. Fortunately, my knowledge of the mainland legal system acquired during the Master of Laws has proven very useful.”
“I need to continue to absorb new knowledge and acquire new ways of thinking. Otherwise, how can I serve as a good leader and influence other people?” Dr Yip said. Dr Yip originally planned to take part in the half marathon this year but a leg injury forced him to withdraw. He stressed that he would not give up running and believed he would one day complete a full marathon.
Despite his heavy workload, Dr Yip plans to study arbitration and mediation.
踏進鹽田國際集裝箱碼頭人力資源部總經理葉偉光博士的辦公室，瞥見案頭 有一幅照片，那是他去年2月首次以城大隊成員身份，參加渣打馬拉松10公 里賽事的留影。 葉博士說，報名參賽前他連一圈也跑不 完，苦練之後，臨近出賽前能跑上21圈。 結果，在比賽當日，葉博士完成了10公里 （相當於23圈）的賽事。 「比賽時的環境、氣氛，加上各路健兒互 相打氣，的確起了很大的鼓舞作用，使 我堅持跑完賽程，發揮出超乎平常的水 準，」葉博士說。 這次的經歷和堅毅不屈的鬥志，正好反映 葉博士做人處世的兩個理念：學無止境、 止於至善；以身作則、誘導他人。 葉博士說：「我習慣在不同時候為自己 訂定不同的目標和挑戰，這樣人才會進 步。」基於這個原因，葉博士多年來不斷 為自己增值，並於1999年報讀城大的中國 法與比較法法學碩士課程。 這門法律課程對葉博士有很大的裨益。他 不單掌握了很多內地的法律知識，尤其是 有關刑、責方面的法規，從而幫助當年任 職的公司在內地發展業務，還因此更深入 了解內地的生活和文化。 「我明白到香港和內地遵行兩套不同的法 規，會給兩地居民的生活、文化、思維造
成影響。完成這個課程，讓我學會從多角 度、多層面思考，給工作、人生都帶來正 面的影響，」葉博士補充道。 去年8月，葉博士又作出另一個挑戰自己 的決定，轉職到現在這間位於深圳鹽田區 的公司。這是他首次在內地工作，獲得很 不同的體驗。「內地的管理文化、員工的 心態跟香港都不盡相同，對我來說是個新 的挑戰。當年在法學碩士課程中所學到有 關內地的知識，對我現時的工作幫助很 大，」葉博士說。 雖然工作繁重，葉博士還計劃修讀有關仲 裁、調解的課程。「我要經常為自己注入 新的知識元素和思維方法，要不然怎能擔 當一個好的領導，去教導下屬、去影響身 邊的人呢？」葉博士說。「就像跑馬拉松 的經歷，我深信友儕之間互相打氣，必能 產生積極的推動力，各自發揮無限的潛 能！」 今年葉博士原計劃進一步挑戰自己，報名 參加半程馬拉松賽事，卻因腳傷而放棄出 賽。葉博士強調不會因此放棄練跑，並堅 信終有一天可以完成全程馬拉松賽事。
30 straight from the heart 城大人語
Practicing creativity in
university education
在大學教育中創造傑作
Everyone has the chance to create their own masterpiece – to choreograph their life into a beautiful work of art. University education is a catalyst for this creative process. I was the first local recipient of the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund Fellowship for Overseas Studies to study art and technology in the US. Since then, I have enjoyed choreographing and performing in North America and Europe while establishing myself as a professional multimedia designer. Creativity has always been part of my life. At CityU I have the chance to share with my students this creative media knowledge and practice creativity outside the classroom. Creative media is a relatively new academic field. Nurturing young talent has become a very challenging task. A lack of substantial reference materials is one hurdle to be overcome. Another is the need to design a more specific teaching method for creative media students. My colleagues and I in the School of Creative Media (SCM) always work very hard to research, revise and update course materials. We also designed various hands-on workshops to give students the necessary skills to become media professionals. From my past experience, I developed a teaching approach that embraces a set module April 四月 2009
with lectures, workshops and motivational activities encouraging students to produce innovative projects. Production processes and presentation are emphasised, as both are core values of creative education. The students also need to go through a reflective review to appreciate and critique their own and others’ work, in order to consolidate what they have been taught. When creativity meets technology, it can be expressed in a variety of media forms. I have seen many interesting student projects, including hardware inventions, art installations, performances, interactive presentations, digital videos, web designs and software applications. Inventive ideas cannot be confined to class assignments. Another highlight is organised student visits overseas. The trips are not just for fun but to inspire our students to create their own original works. Recent trips have taken in the Shanghai E-Arts Exhibition, Shenzhen Architectural Biennial Exhibition, Beijing New Media Arts Exhibition and the Singapore art and technology fair, First Siggraph Asia.
31 I have also been an SCM student-mentor coordinator for the past four years. Besides arranging mentor-student meetings, I have also organised activities to stimulate creative collaboration between student mentors and junior students. For example, the “Mon(itor) Deco(ration) Competition” was an activity to recycle old CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors. Each group comprised 10 students with monitors redesigned into artworks and with their
ideas presented on recycled digital media. “Collaborative Creative Project Invitation – Homework Reborn” was the latest activity to encourage students from different SCM programmes to collaborate. My hard work now has a chance to proceed to the stage of “metamorphosis” – transformation of imagination into reallife applications.
只要你願意，人人都可創造自己的傑作，因為生命掌握在你手 裏，可隨你的 意願編排為精彩的人生藝術品，而大學教育就是這創作過程的催化劑。 我是尤德爵士紀念基金海外研究生獎學金 藝術及科技領域的第一名本地得獎人，獲 資助負笈美國進修藝術與科技。我自此愛 上在北美和歐洲的排舞及演出，同時開始 了自己的專業多媒體設計事業。創作一直 是我的生命的一部分，在城大我有機會跟 學生分享 創 意 媒 體 的 知 識 ， 並 且 在 課 堂 外進行創作。 創意媒體是較為後起的新學科，培養新一 代人才極具挑戰。首先，這方面的參考資 料不多。其次，必須為創意媒體學生特別 設計教學方法。在創意媒體學院，我跟同 事常要很努力地搜尋、修訂和更新教材， 還得設計各類實踐工作坊，讓學生掌握媒 體專業人員必須具備的技能。我憑過往的 經驗設計了一套包含講堂、工作坊和推動 學習活動的教學法，以鼓勵學生編製創新 的作業。我十分強調編製過程和演示，因 為兩者均為創意教育的核心價值。此外， 學生須作反思檢討，評析自己和其他同學 的作品，以鞏固所學。 藝術與科技相遇結合，可通過多種媒體形 式表達。我看過不少有趣的學生作品，包 括硬件發明、藝術裝置、表演、互動演 示、數碼錄像、網頁設計、軟件應用等。 創作意念不可局限於功課作業。我們的另 一重點是安排學生到海外參觀。這些外地
遊學不僅是為了遊樂，而是為了啟發學生 製作出原創的作品。最近安排的外地之行 包括上海電子藝術展、深圳建築雙年展、 北京新媒體藝術展，以及新加坡的藝術科 技展，即「第一屆亞洲Siggraph」。 過去四年來，我擔任創意媒體學院學長計 劃的統籌人，除了安排高年級的學長與低 年級的同學會面，還組織活動刺激他們的 創意合作，例如舉辦鼓勵循環再用陰極射 線管屏幕的「屏(幕)裝(飾)比賽」，讓每組 十名學生把屏幕重新設計為藝術品，然後 在循環再用的數碼媒體中展示創意。最新 舉辦的「合作創意作業邀請計劃 – 家課重 生」，則鼓勵創意媒體學院不同課程的學 生合作。 我的努力，現已進入可能實現「蛻變」的 階段，可把想像轉化應用於日常生活。
Koala Yip Instructor I School of Creative Media 葉彩鳳 創意媒體學院一級導師