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2020年10月28日星期三

學習

有次和爸爸吃飯,談天說地講到興起時,他說我不夠厚道。字典對「厚道」的解釋是「誠懇寬厚」。寬厚不容易學習。言語上有厚道難,待人處事有厚道難,打從心底亦做到有厚道更難。可能我年紀尚輕,還未能夠充分掌握。

作為一個書店店員,接觸到不少無理的客人,財大氣粗可能是原因之一。自己也接觸到不少在金錢上斤斤計較的客人,大家可以稱他們為精明消費者,我們亦知道錢不容易賺取,但我覺得當中的禮貌和態度同樣重要。我發覺到在社區中精神失常的客人比一年前多得很,應對有一定困難。

對客人「誠懇寬厚」,在我看來,與同理心 (empathy) 有莫大關係,我們要學習設身處地,站在別人的位置去感受。例如昨天,有家長致電,她的小朋友遺失了教科書。因為我們不負責該校訂書,按常理不會跟進。不過,家長說在別的分店查到我們有現貨,她又道希望我們不要讓小朋友難做。所以,我便為家長留電話,請負責教科書的同事跟進。

耳念珠菌

本港自去年6月出現首宗耳念珠菌(Candida auris)海外輸入個案,至今累計約160宗。截至今年10月,個案較去年增加6倍,涉九龍西聯網的瑪嘉烈醫院、北大嶼山醫院、仁濟醫院,當中兩名患者出現尿道管感染及真菌血症。因應瑪嘉烈及仁濟於今年7月再現爆發,醫管局下周二(27日)會在全港急症醫院進行篩查,檢視帶有或感染多重耐藥性細菌(MDRO)病人涉耳念珠菌情況,料涵蓋約2000名住院病人。

(news.mingpao.com)

耳念珠菌是一種真菌,它首次發現於2009年,是在日本東京都老年醫院一位70歲的日本女性的耳道中分離出來的。耳念珠菌可引起侵襲性念珠菌病,如念珠菌菌血症、心包炎、泌尿道感染和肺炎等。念珠菌是廣泛存在自然環境的真菌,常見於口腔、消化道、皮膚及女性陰道。

(Wikipedia and Google Search)

SSD

solid-state disk

special stamp duty

Pretend Play

想像遊戲 (imaginative play) 即表徵遊戲 (symbolic play)、 假裝遊戲 (pretend play, make-believe play) 和戲劇遊戲 (dramatic play),意指非語言的活動或是幼兒以假想A物表現B物、或扮演他人角色的真實遊戲行為 (Fein, 1981; Rubin, Fein, & Vandenberg, 1983; Pellegrini & Boyd, 1993)。

Information: ntcuir.ntcu.edu.tw

對傳媒的控訴

校長張翔向港大師生及校友發信,表示即使他與申作軍及宮鵬,在加州大學柏克萊分校共事,但學術領域並不一樣,除了在校園見過幾次面,在公在私並無聯絡,自己作為遴選委員會主席,已採取所有必須步驟,避免潛在衝突,又重申大學在遴選過程中,有嚴格的守則防止利益衝突。

張翔表示,過去幾日不幸地洩漏遴選過程資料,引起爭議及推測,有關傳言及憂慮不只對香港社會造成困擾,亦令人選及其家人帶來痛苦。他表示,大學有道德及法律責任,確保候選人的資料在遴選過程中保密,洩漏候選人資料,不只傷害港大的聲譽,亦影響大學未來招聘人才的工作。

他又說,自己作為大學的領導者,一直提醒要對港大及香港負責任,願意聆聽不同意見,但希望全部討論均基於事實,而非推測。

https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k2/1556957-20201027.htm

Dear Colleagues, Students and Alumni,

Appointment of Two Vice-Presidents

The University of Hong Kong is committed to attracting outstanding academic talents from around the world. Facing fierce (激烈的) competition from the world's top universities, we recruit talented individuals based on their own merits, irrespective of race, nationality, gender, place of origin, political orientation or religious belief.

You may be aware the University Council has just resolved to appoint two Vice-Presidents, Professor Max Shen of UC Berkeley as VP Research and Professor Peng Gong of Tsinghua University as VP Academic Development. They are both world-class scholars and institutional leaders. During the last few days, unfortunately, a leakage of information of the selection process has given rise to a series of controversies (and speculations 猜測) in the local media. The leakage-caused rumors and anxiety not only have caused confusion in Hong Kong society, but also caused pain to the candidates and their families.

I am sure you would agree that we have a moral and legal duty to keep the candidates' information confidential during the selection process. The leakage of personal information of a candidate would inevitably not only injure the reputation of our University, but also affect our future recruitment of talents to Hong Kong.

In the light of the recent news reports and related controversies, I am obliged (強制) to give you the relevant information so you could have a better understanding of the facts related to the key issues (my apologies for not being able to give you such information earlier as I am bound by the same confidentiality code before Council's decision).

There are some news reports on the background of Professor Max Shen. Professor Shen has written to the Council and issued a public statement in response to the news reports and related rumors. I have attached to this email his statement and also the response from his current employer, University of California at Berkeley, to the inquiries of the Hong Kong media.

There were other news reports citing an online anonymous accusation (指控) against Professor Peng Gong. Professor Gong has issued a statement to the respective media which is attached here for your reference. I have also attached messages from two prominent professors who are familiar with the incident as testimonies.

Regarding the selection process, the University has stringent (嚴格的) rules to prevent conflict of interest. Although Professor Shen, Professor Gong and I have all taught at Berkeley, our academic disciplines are different, and save for bumping into one another a few times at campus events, we have not had any other contact, whether in a personal or work capacity. As Chairman of the Selection Committee, I have taken all necessary steps to avoid all potential conflicts. I am grateful to other committee members for giving me the great support.

As Interim Provost (臨時院長) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, it is Professor Richard Wong's role and duty to be involved in the selection of senior management team members. I wish to point out that this is not the first time Professor Wong had taken up the Provost post. He was selected for the Provost post by the Search Committee in 2004 and served for six years.

As you may know, our search committees include many colleagues with international academic standing, as well as a member from the Council and a student representative. I would like to thank all of them here for their contributions and support in the long selection process.

As the leader of the University, I keep reminding myself that I am accountable to both the members of the HKU family as well as Hong Kong at large. I am willing to listen to different views and comments. But I also hope all of our discussions could be based on facts, not just speculations. Let's work together to bring HKU to a higher level.

Xiang Zhang (Professor)

President and Vice-Chancellor

鳳爪

在太空館禮品店工作時,偶爾會於唐記買鳳爪吃。店長說︰「雞隻在雞籠用腳踏雞糞,你這樣也吃?!」我立刻食慾大減。

2020年10月23日星期五

魯迅的寫作背景

一九一一年武昌起義,各省響應;次年一月中華民國成立,二月清帝溥儀遜位。辛亥革命結束了中國二千多年來的君主專制,開始實行共和政體,但民國初年在軍閥橫行、列強環伺和新思想衝擊的情勢下,政局動盪,愛國的知識分子仍然致力尋求救國之道,其中有些人主張剷除過時的舊文化,建設進步的新文化,青年學生對國家現狀尤為不滿,終於激發了五四運動。

(Source: edb.gov.hk)