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]

A collection of essays, edited by Lucy Green, offers case studies that center on the interface between learning, teaching, and musical identity (Indiana University Press, 2011). The papers examine the construct of identity in the context of musical education and musical practice of adults, adolescents, and children in places as varied as Australia, Bali, Brazil, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Iceland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
[Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17411912.2012.675856]

This article examines whether the later development of awareness of gender issues in Hong Kong compared to Australia is reflected in patterns of gender representation in the English language textbooks published in these two places. A comparison of 10 currently-used Australian books with 10 Hong Kong books revealed that such awareness has impacted most on the use of gender-inclusive terms and symmetrical phrases in both places. The Australian writers tended to use generic they while their Hong Kong counterparts preferred either the coordination he or she or 'generic' he. Both sets of writers maintained the convention of male-first presentation, depicted women in a more limited range of social roles, and presented stereotyped images of women as weaker and more passive than men, and as operating primarily within domestic domains. The visual representations also reinforced traditional gendered roles. Hong Kong textbook writers, nevertheless, paid more heed to the inclusion of females visually. Controversy persists over whether textbook writers should reflect reality or whether they should lead social change and strive for gender equality.
[Copyright of Journal of Gender Studies is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09589231003695856]