This study explored the meaning of sexuality for older Chinese people from diverse backgrounds and the role of traditional Chinese cultural values in shaping sexual expression. A total of 20 Hong Chinese elders were interviewed. Most reported a rigid definition of sexual behaviour, confining it to heterosexual sexual intercourse. Kissing, hugging and caressing were not considered 'sexual', and same-sex relationships were virtually absent from respondents' conceptions of sexuality. Traditional patriarchal values in relation to sexuality prevailed. Men and women attached different meanings to sexuality. Neither believed that sex was enjoyable for women or that women needed sex in the same way as men. Female participants saw sex as part of their responsibility to procreate and to fulfill their husband's needs. Male participants considered sex to be important for fulfilling their physical drives. The lack of an appropriate partner due to widowhood, the partner's physical condition or a poor spousal relationship apparently accounted for the low levels of sexual activity reported by informants.
[Copyright of Culture, Health and Sexuality is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2011.605471]

This paper draws upon a small-scale investigation to shed light on the perceptions of successful ageing by a group of senior adults in Hong Kong. It also identifies attributes that are associated with ageing well and examines the extent to which education or learning is perceived as important in the ageing process. To this end, the research has taken on an educational perspective to find out what older people themselves want and need to learn, what motivates them and what poses as barriers to their participation in learning. By making such data available, policy-makers and educational providers alike will be better placed to understand and determine the role of learning in the ageing process and to plan appropriate interventions in support of late-life learning for and by the elderly.
[Copyright of Studies in Continuing Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0158037X.2012.746228]

Hong Kong's ageing population is growing at an unprecedented rate. Over the past two decades, the government has implemented policies and innovative engagement activities for elders in areas including lifelong learning and community participation. This paper aims to discuss conceptual, policy and practical issues relevant to the participation of elders in lifelong learning; examine the role of government, providers and community agencies in developing policy and practice for elder learning in Hong Kong; discuss the "Elder Academy Network" approach to elder learning set up in 1997, which is marked by the retrocession to China and establishment of the Hong Kong Elderly Commission; investigate new directions in elder learning policy and practice; and finally, identify the needs for future research and policy development of lifelong learning for elders in Hong Kong.
[Copyright of International Journal of Lifelong Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2012.663805]

This paper explores the notions of active ageing and elder learning in Hong Kong where a strategic approach to elderly education is applied by the government to encourage lifelong learning. The paper outlines the policy development and support for elder learning in Hong Kong in two distinct periods: pre-1997 and post-1997. The post-1997 period is marked by the retrocession to China and the establishment of the Hong Kong Elderly Commission to provide advice on policies and programs for meeting the challenges brought about by an ageing population. The pertinent needs for research are identified to review the effectiveness and adequacy of the policies and provisions for elder learning in Hong Kong. To determine whether such policies and provisions have achieved the desired outcomes, they must be subjected to rigorous evaluation. Only then can these policies and provisions claim to have achieved significant and important outcomes for Hong Kong.
[Copyright of Educational Gerontology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2010.515899]