http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk:80/handle/2031/779 2013-04-30T10:13:49Z 2013-04-30T10:13:49Z Tang, Chak Kin (鄧澤健) http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk:80/handle/2031/5676 2011-06-21T03:57:07Z 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Liberalism in America : rethinking liberal values, institutions, and policies Authors: Tang, Chak Kin (鄧澤健) Abstract: The current inquiry takes a fresh look at the theory and practice of liberalism through a careful analysis of its values, institutions and policies. The United States has been chosen as the primary focus because it is a nation whose political and social institutions are allegedly founded on liberal principles. Central to this inquiry is the question of how liberal principles and practices have evolved, mutated or completely transformed in response to crises - from the social chaos of the Confederation era to the Wall Street meltdown we are witnessing today. Apart from analyzing liberalism from philosophical, economic and public administration perspectives, considerable emphasis has been placed on public policy issues which are discussed with respect to specific historical, social and political contexts. Louis Hartz’s conception of American liberalism as a homogeneous and continuous tradition is rejected in favor of a developmental view which better explains the radical ideological and institutional changes of liberalism in times of crisis. Accordingly, the development of liberalism can be divided in three different stages or "paradigms," namely: classical liberalism, modern liberalism and neoliberalism. Profoundly influenced by the political philosophy of John Locke, the classical liberalism of the Founding Fathers consisted of a core set of principles such as natural rights, equality, and limited government which were enshrined in the Constitution. By the late nineteenth century, however, the principles of liberal constitutionalism were under attack by a group of elitist reformers who wanted to harness the power of the state to promote "public interest." The effort of replacing limited constitutional government with the modern administrative state finally came to fruition in the 1930s when the entire nation was engulfed by the Great Depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal led to the consolidation of a new liberal paradigm characterized by consensus, pluralism, welfarism and Keynesian macroeconomic management. Nevertheless, government ineptitude in handling social and economic crises in the last third of the twentieth century, coupled with a series of public policy blunders, culminated in the breakdown of the postwar consensus, the rise of conservatism and the emergence of neoliberalism as a new political paradigm. This inquiry takes a critical look at the theoretical underpinnings as well as the practical efficacy of the three liberal paradigms with a specific focus on the role of government in each case. Notes: CityU Call Number: JC574.2.U6 T36 2009; 184 leaves 30 cm.; Thesis (M.Phil.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2009.; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 174-184)

2009-01-01T00:00:00Z Wong, Ka Ho (黃家浩) http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk:80/handle/2031/5405 2009-10-29T05:57:05Z 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Advanced traveler information systems : six criteria to facilitate public participation Authors: Wong, Ka Ho (黃家浩) Abstract: The population growth has given a lot of pressure to the transport infrastructure. Therefore, one of the challenges to transport authorities is to manage transport infrastructure efficiently. In Hong Kong, one of the major strategies to deal with this challenge is to encourage ridership on public transport. Besides, since 1990s, Hong Kong Government has been making use of technologies, like Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) to maximize road usage. However, the ATIS are being criticized for failing to disseminate timely traffic information to road users. And when considering the dominant percentage of public transport ridership in Hong Kong, the applications of ATIS on public transport are relatively fewer. Literature reviews that participation by the end users of the systems is an essential element for its success. In this research, it is argued that the lack of favourable criteria in public participation has led to the less-than-satisfactory ATIS systems in Hong Kong. Six criteria have been adopted in this research to assess how Hong Kong Government facilitates public participation in ATIS policy. By using the six criteria, the actual channels of public participation were first evaluated. This is to see how far they are away from the ideal situation. After that, a survey was conducted to examine how the public perceived the situation in terms of the six criteria. Basically, the results reflected that the Government has done satisfactorily to facilitate participation in particular criteria, such as timing of involving citizens, ease of communication. However, in terms of other criteria, which are sufficiency of information, respectfulness in participation, representativeness and understandability of the process, the Hong Kong Government still has lots of room of improvement to cooperate with society to achieve higher level of public participation. Notes: CityU Call Number: HM851 .W655 2008; vi, 202 leaves : ill. 30 cm.; Thesis (M.Phil.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2008.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-202)

2008-01-01T00:00:00Z Yu, Hoi Yin Erika (余愷賢) http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk:80/handle/2031/5392 2009-10-29T05:56:35Z 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: A matter of choice? : an ethical enquiry of human reprogenetic technology Authors: Yu, Hoi Yin Erika (余愷賢) Abstract: The rising technology of human reprogenetic intervention has provided a host of potentialities to combat currently intractable diseases. Recent research on such technology has promised the possibilities of choosing individual endowments that are traditionally taken as given. Such possible choices may enable existing individuals to exercise considerable control over future individuals. This situation poses a special type of ethical puzzle. Although any decisions made in the present will have direct impact on certain future individuals, the interests of these future individuals cannot properly be taken into account in the present decision-making because they have not yet existed. Prospective parents seem to be justified to choose whatever endowments for their offspring provided that the new life will be worth living. Against this background, some believe that a utilitarian ethical approach is ethically plausible because it can get around this puzzle by evaluating such decisions in light of impersonal states of affairs. In this approach, although the personal interests of future individuals are considered as irrelevant to ethical decisions, they can nonetheless be looked after by the comprehensive utilitarian consideration of utility maximization. This work explores if the utilitarian approach can really provide plausible moral guidance regarding the uses of the reprogenetic technology. The work has two major purposes. The first is to discuss how the utilitarian perspective may approach the ethics of the technology and what makes the approach seemingly appealing. It concludes that impersonalism and utility maximization are the two fundamental considerations that are rooted in the utilitarian approach and account for its seeming appeal. In particular, these two considerations seem to capture our perceived obligations to future generations. The second purpose is to evaluate these two considerations. I will argue that impersonalism overlooks the moral good of parent-child relationship in human reproduction and the overemphasis of utility calculation further undermines its value. Accordingly, the utilitarian approach is ethically inappropriate, and its seeming appeal is a misconception. This study concludes by proposing an alternative ethical perspective to approach the ethics of the reprogenetic technology. It contends that the key oversights of the utilitarian approach are in fact common to the mainstream ethical discussions of the rising technology: it presupposes an over-individualistic conception of personhood and overstresses the importance of individual choice in the context of reproduction. In contrast, the proposed perspective argues that human reproduction not only marks a beginning of a new life but also a lifelong and intimate human relationship, where what is called for and valued is acceptance, engagement and devotion rather than selection or choice. Accordingly, it suggests that the ethical challenge posed by the rising technology is not so much about how to choose among various endowments as about not to be too preoccupied by such choices in human reproduction. Notes: CityU Call Number: QH442 .Y83 2008; 208 leaves 30 cm.; Thesis (M.Phil.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2008.; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 194-208)

2008-01-01T00:00:00Z Fong, Kat Cheung (房吉祥) http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk:80/handle/2031/5387 2009-10-29T05:56:23Z 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Changes, challenges and prospect of the letters and visits system in China : a good governance perspective Authors: Fong, Kat Cheung (房吉祥) Abstract: Since the introduction of market reform in the late 1970s, China has evolved a trajectory featured by emphasizing economic development with slow political changes. Despite a strong economic growth, socio-economic restructuring has nevertheless brought considerable social dislocation and popular discontent. Together with an increase of right-consciousness and alteration of political and social discourse, Chinese people are having higher demand in social and political participation. Given the changing environment, scholars have long wanted to determine whether the incremental reform strategy would continue to be sustainable. In this research, I address the same concern by exploring the Letters and Visits System (xinfang zidu) from the good governance perspective. The Letters and Visits System originates from the CCP’s practice of soliciting social inputs since the early revolutionary era. As a reflection of the incremental reform strategy, the system has been adopted by the Communist Government as a stopgap device in accommodating the increasing social inputs while avoiding drastic political changes. Through analyzing the role of the Letters and Visits System in contributing to enhancement of governance of Chinese government under the socio-economic transformation, I seek to determine whether the incremental approach to political reform adopted by the CCP is adequate. With reference to the institutional layouts and historical development, I summarize that the Letter and Visits System resembles a “contacting institution” which functions as a mechanism for the Chinese government to collect societal information and monitor the administration, as well as a sanctioned means for Chinese citizens to participation in the administration and seek redress of grievances. By performing these functions, the Letter and Visits System enhances state-society engagement, which is the common ground to the achievement of good governance regardless the difference among various conceptual strands. Hence, in theory, effective citizen contacting endorses good governance by enhancing the government’s responsiveness to societal inputs and citizens’ demands. In practice, by allowing citizens to air their grievances and lodge direct complaints to the officials, the Letters and Visits System provides an institutionalized channel, which will be otherwise restrained, for Chinese people to influence the government process. However, through reviewing the dynamics and the changing patterns of citizens’ inputs to the Letters and Visits System since the mid-1990s, I conclude that the system fails to secure meaningful responses from the government. It tends to intensify the grievances and discontent once it is overloaded, resulting in erosion of state legitimacy. It follows that the incremental reform strategy is failing and Chinese government should impose a more general political reform in order to accommodate the increasing citizens’ demands. Notes: CityU Call Number: KNQ2485 .F66 2008; viii, 232 leaves : ill. 30 cm.; Thesis (M.Phil.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2008.; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 201-215)

2008-01-01T00:00:00Z