ENG-1974 — Page 95

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EDUCATION

Hong Kong, proceeded in 1974, and studies and discussions on the People's Republic of China continued to be of immediate significance.

In the faculties of arts, and social sciences and law, research studies were pursued in all aspects of the humanities. In economics, research projects relating to Hong Kong include studies of input-output structure, employment, monetary and fiscal system. The impact of public opinion on the New Territories Administration is being studied as a project in the Department of Political Science. In law, research on the system of direct and indirect taxation is being undertaken. In psychology the Master's Degree course in clinical psychology continues. The graduates of the first course in 1973, are now employed in the community. Research continues in various fields of psychology. Those of particular local interest relate to psycholingustics, and cross cultural studies of transvestitism in Asians, while projected schemes for the coming year relate to such diverse matters as pre-school education and acupuncture analgesia. The problems of psychological testing appropriate to local conditions are of constant concern to the department.

In the medical faculty, a large number of research projects were conducted, in- cluding many of special significance to Hong Kong-studies on the role of current infant nutrition practices in growth of Hong Kong children; correction and investiga- tions related to spinal deformities and disorders and unequal leg lengths in the Chinese due to poliomyelitis; secretion of virus inhibitors in the colustrum of Chinese women; causes and metabolic changes in liver cirrhosis and cancer, epidemiology of infectious hepatitis and common hereditary anaemias in the Chinese; and research into the inter-relationship between physical and psychological characteristics and psychiatric illness among Chinese women.

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In the science faculty, continuing projects included ecology of marine and fresh- water organisms, investigations of agricultural pests, studies of local ionospheric, geomagnetic and cosmic ray phenomena. The department of zoology carries out studies on growth and metabolism of cultured fish, and the influence of oil pollution on aquatic animals in coastal waters. Additionally, investigations are being carried out on problems of fouling in fresh-water pipelines and sea-water intakes.

In the faculty of engineering and architecture, new and continuing projects included high-rise building research, building economics, stability of cracking, elec- tronic kymography, soil mechanics, fluid mechanics and automatic control, hot machining research and work management, resistance of buried cables, properties of semi-conductors and basic electronics research.

The Polytechnic

The Polytechnic was formally established in August 1972, taking over the premises of the former Hong Kong Technical College. The bulk of the Polytechnic's finances comes from the government through the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee. The block grant allocated to the Polytechnic for recurrent uses for the period August 1, 1974-July 31, 1975 was about $61.35 million.

In addition to accommodation taken over from the Technical College, a rented office building in the former Taikoo Dockyard premises at Quarry Bay and a group