Fieldwork in its various forms is a widely advocated approach to the study of a number of school subjects in both the primary and lower secondary levels. It is generally believed that fieldwork helps students to have a deeper understanding of subject matter through direct and first-hand experience of phenomena and processes in their natural settings. Moreover, in some schools, outdoor education programmes are also organized with the objective of fostering the personal development of the students. However, previous research (Lai, 1996) revealed that most lower secondary geography students did not have any field study experience. It is likely that similar experiences provided by other subjects are minimal. Fieldwork has been seen as an expensive form of activity in terms of time, discipline and safety risks, which has inhibited many schools from organizing outdoor educational experiences for their students. Most of these experiences are limited to students choosing a limited number of school subjects in their post-compulsory years. A qualitative case study of the experiences of Secondary Four students in a school in Hong Kong was conducted before, during and after a geography field trip. The purpose is to understand what the students actually experience in the fieldwork programme and their interactions with their prior experience in the lower forms. The results reveal that the students' intent before the trip and their learning experiences after the trip were much richer than what their teachers had intended. Despite some students' negative experiences of previous field trips, there was a universally strong desire to be outside the boredom and constraints of the classroom. Field trips were cherished for their rarity and freedom and the field sites were sought for their novelty. Both teachers and students reported improved teacher-student relations and positive behavioural changes among the students. The field trip has also been a valuable educational experience for the

香港學校的課外活動日益受到重視，然而，很多課外活動的費用亦頗高。隨著新來港學童日漸增多，由於這些學童大多來自經濟較差的階層，香港學校體系必須要做出相應的調整，以接收這類學生並協助他們積極參與課外活動。本文將簡略介紹課外活動、聯課活動、餘暇活動等，再針對新來港人士的財務支出與參與課外活動的相關性做一深入的討論，再輔以一些成功的例子作為總結。
[Copyright © 2004 師大書苑有限公司]

The new curriculum reform documents and syllabuses in Hong Kong have been putting emphasis on learning beyond classroom and life-wide learning. Learning through the use of museum has been promoted by teachers as a channel for learning in the field. However, there is a paucity of research into the actual impact of museum education on teaching and learning as well as its connectivity with the formal curriculum. This paper seeks to adopt a case study with the use of qualitative approach to analyse the practices and problems of learning in and through the museum, with a view to exploring possible alternatives for the improvement in pedagogical devices.

Objective: This study aims at exploring university students' attitudes towards the application of genomic science and technology (GST) and the rationales behind their judgments.
Background: With the rapid advances in GST, its wide application will become common in the near future. Since understanding the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of GST is important for its sustained development, understanding public attitude towards GST application is critical for its acceptance in Hong Kong society.
Participants: Cantonese speaking undergraduate and postgraduate students of the University of Hong Kong (HKU-students).
Methods: The study consisted of two parts. Part 1 was a survey of 400 HKU-students recruited at the library entrance and the written questionnaires were completed immediately. Part 2 comprised semi-structured interviews of 65 of the 400 HKU-students surveyed in Part 1 and each was interviewed individually.
Conclusions: In Part 1, HKU-students had neutral responses for most themes, and Part 2 showed that the neutrality was primarily caused by opposing opinions of proponents and opponents in each theme. HKU-students had a negative attitude towards human genetic enhancement and were worried about GM food, genetic discrimination, and misuses of genetic information. The study did not support the deficit model but confirmed the particularistic view that endorsement of a GST application is determined by specific contextual factors.
[Copyright of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14636778.2012.662040]

Background: Sleep is an important physiological process for humans. University students in most resource limited countries often report poor sleep quality due to changing social opportunities and increasing academic demands. However, sleep quality among university students has not been studied in Ethiopia. Thus, this study assessed sleep quality and its demographic and psychological correlates among university students. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in two universities in Ethiopia. Multistage sampling procedures were used to enroll 2,817 students into the study. A self-administered structured questionnaire including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and selected modules of the World Health Organization STEPS instrument was used for the study. This research included 2,551 students. Frequency, median, mean with standard deviation and 95% confidence interval were used to characterize sleep quality and other variables. Analysis of variance and binary logistic regression procedures were also used. Result: The prevalence of poor sleep quality (total PSQI score > 5) was 55.8% (1,424). Female students (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.23; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.57), second year (AOR 2.91; 95% CI: 2.1, 4.02) and third year students (AOR 2.25; 95% CI 1.62, 3.12) had statistically significant higher odds of poor sleep quality. Perceived stress level and symptoms of depression and anxiety were strongly associated with sleep quality. Conclusion: A substantial proportion of university students are affected by poor sleep quality. If our results are confirmed in prospective studies, health promotion and educational programs for students should emphasize the importance of sleep and mental health.
[Copyright of BioMed Central Ltd. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-12-237]