Hong Kong Panel Study of Social Dynamics: Initial Data

Hong Kong Panel Study of Social Dynamics: Initial Data

CASER is happy to announce that our first wave main survey of HKPSSD (Hong Kong Panel Study of Social Dynamics) has launched and is welcomed by the public. Dozen of phone calls are received every day from our selected households and make appointments to inquiry about the survey. Our interviewers are visiting the households and doing fieldwork intensively. The inital data are being transferred successfully to our server on 13 April in the early morining.

香港社會動態追蹤調查：數據上傳

中本心很高興地為大家宣佈，我們的《香港社會動態追蹤調查》已順利展開，亦受到大眾認同。自調查開始以來，許多獲選住戶已陸續致電到本中心進行電話預約及查詢有關內容。我們的訪問員亦會密鑼緊鼓地造訪各個住戶，而首個樣本數據已於四月十三日上午成功上傳到伺服器。

Hong Kong Panel Study of Social Dynamics: Completion of Interviewers’ Training

The first training session was carried out during 28 and 30 March 2011. The three-day workshop training was held by our director Prof. Wu Xiaogang, our researchers and staff. There were total 20 interviewers participating in this training. The training included the study’s objective, definition and explanation of questionnaire, operation and practice of CAPI system, etc. Each interviewer was given an assessment at the last day of training to ensure the interviewing skills and the CAPI system application of interviewers achieving our standard. Last but not least, we gave each interviewer feedbacks and comments, so they could do their best and our study could succeed.

Soon after the training is the commencement of the first wave survey of the panel study, which is the first-ever household panel study in Hong Kong. We are hoping to collect information from 3,500 households with 10,000 individuals including their basic information, family structure, housing information, household finance, education background, job and career and psychological states. These data could help tracking social and economic changes in Hong Kong and their impacts on individuals. Survey results would contribute to the government’s policy making and thus improve the well-being of Hong Kong citizens.

We expect all the interviews to be completed by the year end. During the survey period, our interviewers will carry identification documents issued by HKUST when visiting sample addresses and will conduct face-to-face interviews with households. We would very much appreciate the support and cooperation of all selected households and individuals.

We are more than happy to answer all your enquiries concerning HKPSSD and the identity of our interviewers via our hotline at 2358 5875.

香港社會動態追蹤調查：訪問員培訓完成

第一期調查的訪問員培訓已於二零一一年三月二十八至三十日順利完成。三天的培訓由本中心的主任吳曉剛教授、研究人員及職員於香港科技大學舉行，有二十位訪問員參與了是次培訓。培訓的內容包括本計劃的目的、問卷的定義及詳解、電腦系統的操作及練習等。每一位訪問員在培訓的後一天接受了評核，以確保訪問員的訪問技巧及電腦系統應用達到水平。最後，我們還給每位訪問員建議及意見，讓他們可以做到最好，讓本調查能夠成功。

培訓完畢後馬上便是港社會動態追蹤調查第一期要點研究的開始，這是香港首個家庭追蹤式研究，我們的目標是蒐集3,500戶共10,000人的資料，包括個人及住戶資料、家庭結構、經濟、居住環境、教育、工作、心理特質等。這些資料可以幫助我們分析香港社會和經濟的變化及其對個人的影響，以及加深了解貧富懸殊、教育、就業等社會不平等的議題。研究結果能協助香港公共政策的制定，提高港人的生活福祉。

我們預計在年底前會完成所有訪問。在調查期間，訪問員會戴上由香港科技大學發出的附有相片的證件，親身上門與受訪者進行面訪，訪問的資料將會以電腦作即時記錄，完成訪問的受訪者會獲得現金禮劵。我們在此先對所有獲選住戶的支持及合作表示感謝。

我們很樂意為大家解答任何有關香港社會動態追蹤調查的疑問及識別訪問員身份的查詢，歡迎致電2358 5875。

HKPSSD Main Study Training

IAS Distinguished Lecture Series: "Trade and Poverty: When the Third World Fell Behind" by Prof. Jeffrey Williamson

It was our honor to have Professor Jeffrey Williamson given a public lecture on “Trade and Poverty: When the Third World Fell Behind” in our sixth lecture of the IAS Distinguished Lecture Series on Inequality and Poverty held on 22 March 2011 (Tue) at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Prof. WIlliamson is the Laird Bell Professor of Economics, emeritus, Harvard University and Honorary Fellow, Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his MA and PhD from Stanford University in 1961, was on the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty (1963-1983) and the Harvard University faculty (1983-2008). He is the author of about twenty five books and almost two hundred scholarly articles in economic history, international economics and economic development, Prof Williamson has served as President of the Economic History Association (1994-1995), Chairman of the Harvard Economics Department (1997-2000), and Master of Mather House at Harvard University (1986-1993). He has had visiting appointments at more than fifteen foreign universities and long associations with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Abstract:

This lecture reports the findings of the speaker's new book of the same title (MIT Press 2011). It asks whether and how global trade forces helped account for the enormous rise in the per capita GDP gap between rich core countries in western Europe and their offshoots, and the poor periphery in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the backward European periphery. It offers lessons for the 21st century.

Job Vacancies: Project Officer and Research Assistant

Our center is looking for the following positions for a household panel survey and other research projects:

(1) Project Officer
The appointee will be required to coordinate a household panel study and other research projects, specifically to work with fieldwork team to conduct in-person interview, and liaise with local and oversea partners and government offices to coordinate the survey activities. He/She will also moniter, evaluate, and report on data collection when the survey is fielded; recommend and implement corrective action to keep the project plan and targets; and be responsible for daily office operation and supervision of junior staff.

(2) Research Assistant
The appointee will required to coordinate and conduct in-depth qualitative interviews with young people, administer questionnaires, liaise with NGOs and social workers, supervise student helpers, conduct literature searches and undertake preliminary analysis of data. Involvement in other research projects is also required.

For the job requirements and application procedure, please refer to
http://eng.caser.ust.hk/vacancy.html

QSS Seminar: "Spatial Intelligence with Statistics, Census, and GIS Data" by Dr. Shuming Bao

A series of seminars on the quantitative social science research will start in spring 2011. We are pleased to invite Dr. Shuming Bao from University of Michigan to give the first seminar on March 25.

QSS Seminar: "Spatial Intelligence with Statistics, Census, and GIS Data"
Speaker: Dr. Shuming Bao
Date: 25 March 2011 (Friday)
Time: 2:30pm
Venue: Room 3402 (Lifts 17-18)

Please welcome to join the seminar. For more details, Please visit:
http://eng.caser.ust.hk/seminars.html

"Trade and Poverty: When the Third World Fell Behind" by Prof. Jeffrey Williamson, Harvard University: 3:30pm on March 22 (Tuesday)

IAS Distinguished Lecture Series: "American Science on the Decline?" by Prof. Yu Xie

It was our honor to have Professor Yu Xie given a public lecture on “American Science on the Decline?” in our fifth lecture of the IAS Distinguished Lecture Series on Inequality and Poverty held on 7 March 2011 at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Prof. Xie obtained his PhD from University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology in 1989. He has since then taught at the University of Michigan, where he is currently Otis Dudley Duncan Distinguished University Professor of Sociology and Statistics at the University of Michigan. He is also a Research Professor at the Population Studies Center and Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research and a Faculty Associate at the Center for Chinese Studies. His main areas of interest are social stratification, demography, statistical methods, Chinese studies, and sociology of science.

Prof Xie is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an academician of Academia Sinica.

Abstract:

In their forthcoming book “Is American Science on the Decline?” the speaker and his coauthor Killewald rigorously investigate claims and counter-claims concerning the current state of American science. Responding to ongoing policy debates about the health of American science, the authors provide compelling evidence for rejecting simplistic extremes. American science, they point out, may be robust by some indicators but face decline by others. After conducting in-depth analyses of eighteen large, nationally representative statistical datasets, the authors provide a nuanced, objective assessment of science in America that embraces the full complexity of their subject. In doing so, they demonstrate that American science is continuing to grow, to recruit youth, and to receive strong support from the public. At the same time, the authors also point out areas of concern, such as the stagnation of scientists’ earnings since the 1960s, increasingly intense international competition, and the formidable challenges to young scientists aspiring to academic careers.

我們很榮幸邀請到謝宇教授蒞臨香港科技大學為我們主講第五次不平等和貧窮系列的IAS傑出學人講座，講題為「美國科學的衰落﹖」。謝教授於1989年在威斯康星大學麥迪遜分校的社會科學系博士畢業，自此便開始於美國密歇根大學任教。謝教授現在為密歇根大學Otis Dudley Duncan社會及統計學傑出教授，同時為社會研究所調查研究中心和人口研究中心高級研究員，以及中國研究中心副研究員，其主要研究興趣為社會分層、人口學、統計方法研究、中國研究以及科學社會學。

謝教授是美國國家科學院會員、美國文理科學院及中央研究院的院士。

謝教授演講之內容摘要，請參閱上述所提供的英文版本。