Monday, October 6, 2014

Diversity and Occasional Anarchy: On Deep Economic and Social Contradictions in Hong Kong

Yue Chim Richard Wong
online access from JSTOR
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The world economic landscape has experienced seismic changes in the fifteen years after restoration of sovereignty over Hong Kong from Britain to China. Fortunately the Hong Kong economy has remained steadfast and is still making progress, but public confidence in the governance of the SAR government has declined, and economic and social dissatisfaction have flared. Where should Hong Kong go from here in the face of all kinds of contradictions? Economist Yue Chim Richard Wong provides an analysis of the origins of these contradictions and shares his insights on these issues. All those concerned about Hong Kong’s future should not miss this collection of essays how indigenous artists in turn manipulated Western visual languages.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)


民主的模式 (Models of Democracy)

戴維・赫爾德 (David Held)
online access from iRead eBook
check holdings in CityU LibraryFind

我們正生活於民主的時代,而甚麼是民主?民主生活的含義是甚麼?今天民主對我們來說意味著甚麼?本書將針對這些問題探究具有可行性之不同的民主模式,思索懸而未決的議題,以及當代民主進行思考的若干替換方式。本書更針對原著中擱置的問題,收錄兩篇作者重要的新論文,完整地呈現民主在民族間與國家間的意涵和互動關係。本書更針對原著中擱置的問題,收錄兩篇作者重要的新論文,完整地呈現民主在民族間與國家間的意涵和互動關係。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, September 29, 2014

Student Activism in Asia: Between Protest and Powerlessness

Meredith L. Weiss and Edward Aspinall, editors
online access from JSTOR
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Since World War II, students in East and Southeast Asia have led protest movements that toppled authoritarian regimes in countries such as Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand. Elsewhere in the region, student protests have shaken regimes until they were brutally suppressed—most famously in China’s Tiananmen Square and in Burma. But despite their significance, these movements have received only a fraction of the notice that has been given to American and European student protests of the 1960s and 1970s. The first book in decades to redress this neglect, Student Activism in Asia tells the story of student protest movements across Asia.

Taking an interdisciplinary, comparative approach, the contributors examine ten countries, focusing on those where student protests have been particularly fierce and consequential: China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Burma, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. They explore similarities and differences among student movements in these countries, paying special attention to the influence of four factors: higher education systems, students’ collective identities, students’ relationships with ruling regimes, and transnational flows of activist ideas and inspirations.

The authors include leading specialists on student activism in each of the countries investigated. Together, these experts provide a rich picture of an important tradition of political protest that has ebbed and flowed but has left indelible marks on Asia’s sociopolitical landscape.

Contributors: Patricio N. Abinales, U of Hawaii, Manoa; Prajak Kongkirati, Thammasat U, Thailand; Win Min, Vahu Development Institute; Stephan Ortmann, City U of Hong Kong; Mi Park, Dalhousie U, Canada; Patricia G. Steinhoff, U of Hawaii, Manoa; Mark R. Thompson, City U of Hong Kong; Teresa Wright, California State U, Long Beach

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

香港學生運動回顧

香港專上學生聯會 編
online access from SuperStar Digital Library
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本書內容包括從學潮到大學問題的總檢討、全港專上學生罷休組織法的商榷、專上學生組織的經濟背景、評介專上學生組織的活動、左派在專上學院的活動等內容。

(摘錄自 books.google.com.hk)

Monday, September 22, 2014

Iconoclast : A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently

Gregory Berns
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No organization can survive without iconoclasts -- innovators who single-handedly upturn conventional wisdom and manage to achieve what so many others deem impossible.

Though indispensable, true iconoclasts are few and far between. In Iconoclast, neuroscientist Gregory Berns explains why. He explores the constraints the human brain places on innovative thinking, including fear of failure, the urge to conform, and the tendency to interpret sensory information in familiar ways.

Through vivid accounts of successful innovators ranging from glass artist Dale Chihuly to physicist Richard Feynman to country/rock trio the Dixie Chicks, Berns reveals the inner workings of the iconoclast's mind with remarkable clarity. Each engaging chapter goes on to describe practical actions we can each take to understand and unleash our own potential to think differently -- such as seeking out new environments, novel experiences, and first-time acquaintances.

Packed with engaging stories, science-based insights, potent practices, and examples from a startling array of disciplines, this engaging book will help you understand how iconoclasts think and equip you to begin thinking more like an iconoclast yourself.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)


呼蘭河傳

蕭紅 著
online access from SuperStar Digital Library
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蕭紅,30年代中國文壇最負盛名、最活躍、最有才氣的女作家,深受魯迅、茅盾等名作家賞識,讚譽她的作品寫出了窒息年代中人民對生的堅強與對死的掙扎。

《呼蘭河傳》以夢幻般的筆法勾畫了一個平靜而飽含幽怨的寂寞世界,宛如掠過無聲黑夜的璀璨極光,堪稱是中國現代文學中永垂不朽的經典之作……

武俠文學大師金庸說:

「蕭紅在香港寫的《呼蘭河傳》感人至深,我閱此書後,逕去淺水灣她墓前憑弔一番,深恨未能得見此才女……」

曾經對生活寄以美麗希望,但又屢次幻滅的人是寂寞的。呼蘭小城是蕭紅生命的起點,充滿著各式各樣的美好想像和色彩,可是逝水一般的年華卻又那麼刻板單調﹔在漂泊的歲月和戰爭的煙硝中,即將走道生命終點的蕭紅仍懷著最美好的憧憬,忍住寂寞的心情,以含淚的微笑追憶這寂寞的小城。

《呼蘭河傳》是一串淒婉的歌謠組成的夢幻詩篇。蕭紅把自己對生命的體驗與感悟,孤獨與憂傷、寂寞與悵惘,真誠地融入一篇篇追憶,透過渾樸簡婉的筆調與洗盡鉛華的輕淡詞句,愈發烘襯出那個幽暗、冰冷的、令人窒息的時代……

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)