The purpose of this paper is to study the similarities of the normative ideas underpinning the welfare‐to‐work measures for young people in Hong Kong and the UK. These normative…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the similarities of the normative ideas underpinning the welfare‐to‐work measures for young people in Hong Kong and the UK. These normative ideas include the two respective Governments' views on their ideal model of the relationship between individual and society, and Etzioni's and Confucian ideas on how people's attempts to fulfill social obligations can reduce moral deficits. It is believed that the study of these issues contributes to the examination of the ethnocentric bias in the analysis of social welfare and different ways that non‐Western governments organize social welfare in response to foreign ideas.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper starts by discussing the ethnocentric bias in the study of social welfare. Then it examines the similarities of the normative ideas of the welfare‐to‐work measures for young people in Hong Kong and the UK, and discusses how the examination of these similarities helps us understand the ethnocentric bias in the analysis of social welfare.
Findings
The paper shows the ethnocentric bias arising from over‐emphasizing the differences between the ways in which social welfare is organized in Western societies and non‐Western societies, and the ethnocentric bias arising from taking for granted that people in non‐Western societies passively accept the dominance of Western models in shaping the development of their social welfare system, even if it appears that Western ideas share many similarities to their indigenous ideas.
Originality/value
The paper shows different types of ethnocentric bias in the analysis of social welfare and different possible ways that non‐Western governments could organize social welfare in response to foreign ideas.
Details
Keywords
Lawrence W.C. Lai, Stephen N.G. Davies, Y.K. Tan and P. Yung
This paper aims to provide an initial determination of the date of construction, locations and a typology of design of the pill‐boxes of the Gin Drinker's Line constructed by the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide an initial determination of the date of construction, locations and a typology of design of the pill‐boxes of the Gin Drinker's Line constructed by the colonial Hong Kong Government.
Design/methodology/approach
Post‐war aerial photos taken by the Royal Air Force and R.C. Huntings were examined and site visits made to locate and measure the pill‐boxes. Relevant archive materials were consulted to help interpret findings.
Findings
A total of 76 pill‐boxes, most in ruins due to post‐war destruction for obtaining their steel bars, were mapped on a 1:25,000 scale to give a good idea of the nature of the Gin Drinker's Line. The study finds that, of these, 50 have survived. The pill‐boxes predated those built in the UK to anticipate of German landing.
Research limitations/implications
The paper demonstrates how aerial photos can be used for historical research and conservation planning. Though the locations of the pill‐boxes identified are subject to detailed site surveying, the basic pattern of pill‐box distribution has been identified.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt to map the Gin Drinker's Line and classify its pill‐boxes. The findings are useful references for the actual conservation of colonial heritage in Hong Kong as part of China, as well as for further inquiry into the military history of the Second World War.