The research in applying data mining to education became very intensive, and web-based education continuously proliferated. Between learners and the information content, the interaction adaptation is the focus of a lot of studies, and then the framework of personalized e-learning is introduced and used in various application domains as a generic term. Many models of e-learning personalization are developed to collect the experiences generated in the learning process and analyze the characteristics based on the combined information of learners. Experiments are conducted by using statistical methods, data mining and semantic web mining to analyze LMS data, and the results prove the effectiveness in real-world practice. The concepts of learner profile and learning objects content are introduced for better utilizing any technologies methods to do the modeling. The network and repository of learning objects are designed to center the learner and monitor all interactions. At last, personalized services are adapted with optimal operations, content and sequence according to the well- modeled profile. This paper proposes a personalized e-learning system model which integrates data and text mining techniques for educational services personalization into the popular LMS software called Moodle. A number of mature technologies and methods are used with some customizations to provide the necessary functionalities and solve the integration problem of system. The model is implemented by developing plug-in and background programs of data collection, processing, data mining algorithms, and web user interfaces. At last, the solution system with real and simulated data is tested, and an assessment of student classification is conducted.

Internet technology evolution enables the collaboration of Higher Education and Internet technology by increasing the knowledge coverage volume and the speed of information transmission. Higher Education, as a social phenomenon, interacts and communicates with the society in many ways and is regard as a vital force in today's society. E-Learning, as an advanced teaching and learning method of Higher Education, is gathering more and more attention. The evaluation of E-Learning, especially its contribution to Higher Education, thus, is of great importance. This report tries to evaluate the contribution of E-Learning to the Higher Education system, based on a novel and constructive model of Higher Education system by connecting motive, process and performance together in terms of Competence Development. After the Evaluation, analyses have been carried out with each stage of the model, hidden problems are invested, and constructive recommendations are given at the end of the report. Firstly, the importance of competence-development-oriented Higher Education system is addressed and the irresistible trend of E-Learning is introduced; based on the theories of Higher Education motivation, the rules of human development, and the generic models referring to the competence development, a refined model of Higher Education system is established for further research. Secondly, questionnaire survey is distributed in order to obtain correlation and regression among factors being considered, the weight of each factor is calculated as well; stages in the model are illustrated separately by doing specified case studies (investigation, observation, content analysis) in terms of the basic E-Learning activities in the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong (HK PolyU). Thirdly, by analyzing the findings and results, we find that E-Learning, which allows individualized, adaptive and collaborative learning, also reflects some myths and problems. Constructive recommendations have also given afterwards

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]

This paper introduces a scalable virtual learning environment of the Chinese University of Hong Kong; an explicitly geographical, immersive, and sharable 3D learning space with comprehensive social elements. It is characterized by multi-user collaborative modeling, group learning approaches of geo-collaboration, social space-oriented hierarchical avatars, and knowledge exchanging and sharing based on virtual geographic experiments. Applications for the purpose of public education and virtual geographic experiment, and indicated future works prove the possibility to offer a greater opportunity to foster interdisciplinary collaborations, revitalize teaching patterns and learning contents, improve learners' cognitive abilities to solve problems, and enhance their understanding of scientific concepts and processes.
[Copyright of Taylor & Francis. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2010.535028]