This article explores the motivation to learn German for learners already proficient in English as a second language. Discussed are parts of the findings of an empirical study investigating the motivation of 12 Chinese students to study German as a major at a university in Hong Kong. The data collected for the duration of two academic semesters through interviews and diary entries indicated that language learning was seen as a practice through which students attempted to attain a certain kind of individuality. By drawing on Foucault's concept of ethical self-formation, an alternative theoretical framework was designed to analyse the students' reason for learning German, which were investigated under the four themes characteristic of Foucault's ethical self-formation: (a) what parts of the learners' selves are concerned with learning German? (b) what ethical values and beliefs do learners attach to their learning German? (c) how do learners apply German in their daily life? and (d) what are the learners' goals for learning German? Given the significance, the learning of an additional language was ascribed to the development of the students' selves, the article recommends a pedagogy that stronger integrates aspects of self-formation into language teaching.
[Copyright of International Journal of Multilingualism is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2010.503897]

Ethical decisions are contextualized in the dialectic of a multidimensional system, including situation, setting, culture, and generation. There may be further gaps between the ethical considerations of professionals and folk values. The experience of promoting equal opportunities in Hong Kong illustrates some of these challenges. Whereas the rule of law under a Western legal system advocates human rights, the traditional emphasis on harmony and preference for balancing in conflict resolution underlie the gaps in the interpretation of these ideals. The case of the Hong Kong secondary school places allocation system highlights the conflicting perspectives of law, gender stereotypes, psychological knowledge, as well as ethical principles of justice and fairness in promoting equal opportunities in educational assessment and placement. The cultural perspective highlighted in this case illustrates the complex contexts of ethical decisions.
[Copyright of Ethics & Behavior is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10508421003799024]

This paper is a report on an innovative program for teaching business ethics, developed for undergraduate students, at the School of Business, Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). The paper is an anecdotal account to make the point that in non-Western cultural contexts, figurative rather than scientific language often captures the essence of qualitative phenomena. Besides outlining the challenges that a credible and appropriate curriculum in business ethics must address in post colonial Hong Kong, and the steps that have been taken by the School of Business at HKBU to meet these challenges, the paper will underscore the importance of understanding and making explicit the cultural context(s) that have shaped local business environments and customary business practices, as a basis for effective teaching in business ethics. Hong Kong's unique strategic position in the development of a global economy rests upon the historic interplay of Western and Chinese cultures. The moral and religious values that have shaped Hong Kong's cross-cultural social environment must be regarded as a primary resource for business ethics development. As is documented in this report, HKBU's program, with its distinctive focus on the cultural context, may be of benchmark significance for the development of pedagogically effective curricula in international business ethics.
[Copyright of Journal of Teaching in International Business is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J066v12n02_03 ]

Nearly every school in Hong Kong claims to provide ethics/religious education as part of the curriculum, but teachers find it difficult to teach values and attitudes without having students find ethics/religious lessons boring. While much has been said about how students learn, it remains that it is the teacher s task to provide the relevant experience and conditions for learning so that learning takes place. Thus such questions arise as, What is relevant experience? and What do students experience? Since most students are exposed to popular culture, the use of it as examples in teaching ethics/religious education may be a solution. This research finds that teachers and students in general enjoy the use of popular culture in the teaching and learning of ethics/religious education. The problems lie with the lack of resources and the already too heavy workload of teachers.
[Copyright of Religious Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00344080308292 ]

Recent global economic changes and Hong Kong's return to mainland China after 1997 have created a demand for a new form of business education in Hong Kong secondary schools. To assure a leadership role for Hong Kong in the future world economy, Hong Kong's secondary schools must take steps to separate vocational and business education and incorporate international issues, information technology, attitude development, and ethics into the business curriculum.
[Copyright of Journal of Education for Business is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832329809603830 ]

In this article, the authors investigated personal beliefs and values and opportunism variables that might contribute to the academic dishonesty of American and Hong Kong master of business administration (MBA) students. They also compared American and Hong Kong MBA students with respect to their personal beliefs and values, opportunism, and academic dishonesty variables. Results showed that American MBA students who were idealistic, theistic, intolerant, and not opportunistic were likely to behave ethically. Hong Kong MBA students who were idealistic, intolerant, positive, and not opportunistic tended to act morally. Hong Kong students tended to be less theistic, more tolerant, more detached, more negatively oriented, more relativistic, less achievement-oriented, and more humanistic-oriented than were their American counterparts.
[Copyright of Journal of Education for Business is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.82.3.146-158 ]