濕地公園之旅

周日天公造美，決定和太太、女兒到濕地公園遊覽，順便給女兒上一課基礎生態學。我門早上十時到達公園，遊人不算多，剛巧館內電影院即將放映一段關於濕地生態的電影，大夥兒選了前排座位，欣賞片長二十多分鐘的電影，影片拍得很有水準，對推廣生態教育有一定作用。

完了館內參觀，我們到室外的漫遊徑遊覽。漫遊徑兩旁是人造河溪和漁塘，遊人可以觀賞各種常見的淡水植物和動物，適逢夏季，蜻蜓是淡水生境的常客，愛好觀賞和拍攝昆蟲的朋友實在不能錯過。漫遊徑的後段是紅樹林浮橋，遊人可在浮橋欣賞紅樹和泥灘生態，如果你想看到彈塗魚和招潮蟹有趣的求偶和覓食行為，請務必選擇退潮的時間來遊覽，否則大潮水會覆蓋整片泥灘，以上有趣的景像便不復見。

我對濕地公園的規劃和管理十分滿意，雖然有不少論者認為濕地公園的生態價值遠不及米埔自然保護區，但濕地公園作為一個開放性的生態旅遊景點對普及生態教育有一定的功能。可惜只有硬件是不足夠，如果沒有軟件(包括公眾教育)的配合，濕地公園只會淪為另一個迪士尼，玩樂有餘而教育不足。

當日觀察所得，市民對生態旅遊的認識實有改善的必要。從以下的對話節錄，
可反映普羅市民對生態旅遊認知的貧乏。

一名旅行團領隊不時提高聲浪向團友發出錯誤的訊息，節錄如下：

領隊：「我們正在走過浮橋，請團友使勁搖晃，這可考驗大家的平衡力。」

很明顯，他們不知道浮橋的設計是為減輕參觀者對濕地的干擾。團友使勁搖晃時不停發出尖叫聲，相信連老虎都嚇走，更何況是雀鳥！

甲：「X, 走了那麼久，連雀毛都不見!」
乙：「那處可見到牛和其他野生動物？」

這反映市民對生態旅遊有誤解，以為濕地公園是動物園，把動物關起供遊人觀賞。希望政府和環保團體在教育公眾生態旅遊知識方面，能多下一點功夫。

The Best Defense is to Listen

Nobody likes to be criticized. And to some extent, everyone displays some measure of defensiveness, the impulse to reject any and all criticisms by denying their validity or undermining the messenger.

Unfortunately, defensiveness does not serve you. It encourages you to ignore potentially useful feedback, which inhibits your ability to improve.

Know that you are capable, and show it. But do not fight criticism merely because you can.




Extracted from ‘The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People’ by David Niven, Ph.D.

Take Small Victories

Pursuing your goals is much like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. While you ultimately seek the final outcome, you still have to work piece by piece.

Since you will spend most of your time trying to make progress, you must enjoy what you are doing in order to finish.

Take joy from the process, and use the small successes to fuel your continued efforts.


Extracted from ‘The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People’ by David Niven, Ph.D.

GST paves the way to an expanding bureaucracy

GST (Goods and Services Tax) has become a buzz word after its first introduction by the Chief Financial Secretary for the public consultation. Unlike other controversial issues such as the quest for universal suffrage, GST invites objection from people of different social classes ranging from the poor at one extreme to the well-off at the other. The greatest beneficiary of GST is accountants who have voiced their full support for this notorious new tax.

The pros and cons of GST have been widely mentioned by commentators in the last few weeks. The pros include the broadening of tax base and the reduction of profit tax and income tax from those prominent tax payers at present. Through spreading the source of revenues, it can also help Hong Kong to maintain high credit ratings by international benchmarking institutes such as Standard and Poor’s. The cons include the disruption of our simple taxation system. The regressive nature of GST means that the percentage of tax you pay actually falls as your income rises. This is because the tax is on what you spend, not what you earn, and low-income people tend to spend more of their income while high-income people can afford to save. The implementation of GST is a nuisance to business owners especially for those who run small business. They have to divert extra resources on document preparation and seeking professional advice. Therefore, GST must bring a negative impact to our business environment.

The above are only extracts of comments from people of different sectors. Whether the arguments have ground depends on the availability of relevant supportive evidence. Here I am not going to explore the details of their arguments. My concern is that the number of tax payers will be going down in our aging population. The Government’s intention of implementing GST is to include those retired into the tax net. Is it fair to them? In particular to the middle class, they have already paid high income tax before retirement. Owing to the high land price, they spend most of their savings to buy a flat in which a considerable amount goes into the Government’s pocket. Today, they retire and they are charged of GST. The poor middle class is going to be exploited again!

GST also paves the way to an expanding bureaucracy. The introduction of new tax means more administrative cost. An expanding bureaucracy will be a result of the implementation of GST. With the introduction of a new revenue source, there is less incentive for the government to think of budget cut and explore other revenue sources when a budget deficit is imminent. I am worried that the bureaucracy will simply see the rise of GST rate as a solution to all problems in public finance.

For the Love of Enzymes

Curiosity rewarded the biochemist / Review of 'For the Love of Enzymes: The Odyssey of a Biochemist' by Arthur Kornberg

05 August 1989
MAXINE CLARKE
New Scientists Magazine issue 1676

For the Love of Enzymes: The Odyssey of a Biochemist by Arthur Kornberg, Harvard UP, pp 336.

'CREATION of life rated best of science stories in 1967 . . . human heart transplant second.' When Arthur Kornberg and his group synthesised self-replicating DNA, the press went wild. Although by the mid-1960s the structure of DNA was known and its ability to replicate had been observed many times, Kornberg's landmark experiment demonstrated from first principles how DNA is constructed and confirmed people's idea about how it worked, not to mention providing a rich seam of new discoveries to come. In his wonderful autobiography, Kornberg takes the reader on a journey through his scientific life. Always modest, yet with dedication and intensity apparent on every page, Kornberg's account is more gripping by far than the half-understood hyperbole of the hack.


My impression of this book

I have only finished reading chapter one 'Vitamins Hunters'. In this chapter, Kornberg brings us back to the history of the discovery of the biochemical importance of various vitamins in human body. Most students come across the functions of vitamins in junior form biology. They treat this topic as mere hard fact and simply memorize the functions of vitamins for the sake of preparing for the examination. There is hardly any students showing interest in the history of this scientific discovery and none of them raise questions concerning the difficulties encountered throughout the process of discovery.

I am not here to blame my students because I am not doing better either. Students in Hong Kong are not used to ask questions challenging what is printed in textbooks. Most local textbooks are examination oriented and they only list the gist of certain concepts but never stimulate students to think about the whole picture of the scientific discovery. Concerning the topic of vitamin functions, most textbook only devote one or two pages on hard facts but never on the history of the scientific breakthrough.

Back to this book, 'For the love of enzymes', the author delineates the challenge and difficulties faced by scientists in the discovery of the biochemical roles of vitamins in our body. Here I would like to take one example, beri-beri. Today, even a junior form student can tell you that Beri-beri is caused by the lack of vitamin B. 100 years ago, It was quite common for servicemen of the Japanese Navy to suffer from beri-beri. Naval doctor K. Takaki found that their English counterparts feeding on raw grains are less likely to develop beri-beri. Japanese Naval servicemen feeding on refined grains are more likely to suffer from beri-beri. Under the backdrop of a significant scientific breakthrough at that time - microbial origin of diseases, Dr. Takaki jumped to the conclusion that beri-beri is caused by a microbe or bacterial toxin found in refined grains. Pekelharing from Netherlands claimed that he successfully extracted the bacilli causing beri-beri from patients' blood but he failed to induce beri-beri in animals by using this bacterium. The role of vitamin B in preventing beri-beri was confirmed only after generations of toils and tears shed by scientists in the laboratories. It took years of arguments before the concept of 'vitamin deficiency diseases' became endorsed by the scientific institutions.

The above is only a brief history of a scientific discovery but we can see how the old thought or authoritative ideas could hamper the search of truth in science.

'In science, the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the idea first ocurs.'

by Francis Darwin

Resist the Urge to Be Average

Everywhere around you are average people. They entice you into being more like them by offering their acceptance and by leading you to believe that everyone else is already more like them than like you.

But the “average person sales pitch” leaves out that you will be sacrificing your goals, individuality, and unique ideas and that you will lead a life determined more by the preferences of the group than by you.


Extracted from ‘The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People’ by David Niven, Ph.D.

Learn to Lead Yourself

In an ideal world, you would receive the support of everyone you work with, and you would benefit from inspirational leadership provided by your supervisors.

In a practical world, you may find yourself with a supervisor who is more a roadblock to your doing your job than a source of inspiration.

As you grow more certain of your purpose and your talents, however, you will come to rely less on the attitudes and abilities of those around you and more on your own passion and ability.


Extracted from ‘The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People’ by David Niven, Ph.D.

廢物與貧窮 Waste & Poverty

引言：現代生活無時無刻吸引我們消費，而生產和消費又互相緊密關聯，結果就造成大量的浪費和廢物。廢物和其處理的問題，是環保問題，同時也是經濟問題，更可以是一個國際貧富懸殊的問題和政府政策的問題，下文將稍作介紹。

我們今天的生活，不斷購買又不斷棄置任何事物，近年最極端的例子是有地產發展商差點要把一幢全新從未入伙的住宅樓宇拆掉再起。當中除了建築材料、單位內的家俱和裝修的浪費外，究竟也是一個貧富的問題。發展商拆樓的理由是該屋苑擁無敵海景，不拆掉建更昂貴的私人樓宇，而僅作為廉價的居屋出售，於理不合。

這例子反映出貧窮者的廢物問題，與富有者的廢物問題，不能混為一談。當中最為顯著的分別是，如果富有者的廢料問題是他們生產太多廢料，則貧窮人士則承受過量廢物的遺害。舉例來說，今天大約每年有七百艘遠洋輪船退役，在七十年代時，這些退役的船都運往英國、台灣、西班牙等地方拆卸，然後將值錢的材料循環再用。

然而，一方面上述國家越來越注重環境及工業安全（拆解船隻會釋出大量有毒物質，如石棉、含鉛油漆、鋅和鎘等），另一方面為了增加利潤，拆船工業逐漸移到印度、巴基斯坦、孟加拉、菲律賓和南等地方進行。據資料，至1993年，約一半退役船隻是被運往中國拆解的，到了90年代末，印度已吸納了約7成船隻了。

而事實上，不僅是拆船工業，實際上隨著資訊科技日趨普及，電腦配件的更新速度也越來越高。而由於在所謂第三世界國家處理這些廢料的成本便宜，故大量的電腦垃圾便不斷運往中國印度等地。唯電腦中的鉛、鎘、鉻、水銀、塑膠、溴化阻燃劑等，也一併運到分解地，損害當地人的身體，破壞當地的環境。

然而，當有國家為了保護環境，阻止有毒的物質進入境內，或阻止污染環境的工業操作，卻經常惹來跨國大企業以阻礙貿易為由而起訴。墨西哥曾下令將一家污染當地水源的美國廢物處理廠關閉，卻遭該公司以「北美自由貿易協議」起訴，結果墨西哥政府需賠償1700萬美元。



參考資料：
1. 《全球化監察》，第七期，10/2000
2. 綠色和平網頁：http://www.greenpeace.org/china/ch/press/releases/96287


探究問題：

1. 對發展商來說一幢位於貴重地皮的廉價居屋是廢物，拆掉該屋苑然後興建豪宅可以為股東帶來可觀的回報，你認為發展商最後因為什麼原因而放棄拆卸重建的決定？這決定是否置股東的利益不顧？

2. 富者和窮者對廢物有不同的看法，環顧以往你所棄置的廢物，有那些對窮人來說是恩物呢？試舉例說明。

3. 富國把有毒廢物送到窮國處理，為什麼會有這種不公義的情況發生？窮國為什麼會就範？

4. 有論者認為窮國可透過處理富國運來的有毒廢物而得到收入，根據自由經濟原則，大家各得其所，那又有何不妥呢？你同意這論點嗎？試舉例加以說明。

5. 我們有什麼辦法可以改變這不公義的情況？試提出你的建議。

Beijing: A City of Slogans

The obsolete, rude and uncivilized images of the old city under the rule of the Emperor and the Communist party in the past as described in films had deeply rooted in my mind. The five-day study trip to Beijing has changed my preoccupied perception of the capital. After paying a visit to Beijing City Planning Museum, I was stunned by the rapid development of the city in the last few decades. Infrastructure projects including the new runway of the capital airport, underground mass transit system and countless flyovers and highways are the token of the rocket speed development of the city.

However, the fabulous infrastructure alone doesn’t help much in boosting the city’s image. To better prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games, the city government is now launching a cultural and spiritual reengineering programme in order to build a civilized and tourist friendly city. Slogans such as ‘Building a civilized city’, ‘Dos and Don’ts of a civilized person’ are found everywhere. I just wonder how effective these slogans are. The culture of slogans is quite common in Chinese society but I don’t think they are effective. Most of the slogans will eventually become nothing more than lips service. The change of culture can never be done in a couple of years. We are all familiar with the old saying, “Bad habits die hard”. To change the bad habits deeply rooted in people, we have to start from schools and families. The media and regional social service organizations may offer a big help in cultural building but it takes effect only when the campaign is sustainable and long enough.

My personal opinion on the successful cultural shift in Beijing is pessimistic. I never question the political will of Communist Party in launching any campaigns. The major obstacle is that the time scale for such change far exceeds two years, which may be enough for the physical preparation of the 2008 Olympic Games.

Keep Your Goals Where You Can See Them

Your goals should be an ever-present part of your life, offering you direction and encouragement.

Don’t come up with a list of goals, hide them away somewhere, and check back forty years later to see if you reached them. Create them, use them, follow them, update them, live by them.

中國文學 — 世界文學：作者、譯者、評論家

講者：莫言博士及葛浩文教授17-12-2005

網上重溫

http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/WCM/?FUELAP_TEMPLATENAME=tcSingPage&ITEMID=CCASSCONTENT_57095858&lang=chi

It’s Not How Hard You Try

Work hard and you will be rewarded. It sounds simple.

But remember what it was like studying for a test? Some kids studied forever and did poorly. Some studied hardly at all and made great grades.
You can spend incredible effort inefficiently and gain nothing. Or, you can spend modest efforts efficiently and be rewarded.
The purpose of what you do is to make progress, not just to expend yourself.


Extracted from ‘The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People’ by David Niven, Ph.D.

Competence Starts with Feeling Competent

How good are you at what you do? Do you have tests or periodic evaluations or some other means to measure your performance? Surely, there is an objective way to demonstrate whether you are good at what you do and whether you should consider yourself a success.

Actually, people who do not think they are good at what they do-who do not think they are capable of success or leadership- do not change their opinion even when they are presented with indicators of success. Instead, their self-doubts overrule evidence to the contrary.

Don’t wait for your next evaluation to improve your judgment of yourself, because feelings are not dependent on facts-and feelings of competence actually start with the feelings and then produce the competence.

Extracted from ‘The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People’ by David Niven, Ph.D.

Science Experiment for kids (Part IV)

A straw-made air brush is shown in the above photo. If you blow hard through the straw, the low pressure created will suck the water from the mug. High speed air flow creates low pressure region and this principle is widely applied in our everday life.

Can you suggest some examples of this application?

Science Experiment for kids (Part III)

The above photo shows a rubber band powered helicopter. The blades of the top main rotor strike the air at an positive angle of attack and this creates the lift.

Questions:

(1) Does the lower main rotor rotate at the same direction as the top main rotor? Why?

(2) Can this helicopter fly if the lower main rotor is removed? Why?

(3) Apart from installing the lower main rotor as a means of counteracting the torque, can you suggest other ways of countering the torque created by the rotation of the top main rotor?