Synopsis of Presentations

Many people take "climate change" to mean "global warming". But climate change encompasses a much wider range of phenomena, such as the ozone hole, rising sea-level, dwindling ice cover, and more frequent extreme weather events like flood and drought.

To appreciate the potential impacts of climate change, one must look back into history to understand how climate provides the context in which the global ecosystem and human beings co-evolved in such a way that the human race could sustain its survival. The key aspects are air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat and diseases to fight against.

The emergence of agriculture started the first stage of human-induced climate change. The pace of climate change accelerated since fossil-fuel burning picked up speed after the Industrial Revolution. After the Second World War, the prevalence of materialism and consumerism, facilitated by modern science and technology, resulted in an unprecedented rate of emission of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide) and a potpourri of chemicals into the atmosphere. The former brought about global warming and the latter, the ozone hole.

The latest assessment report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, issued in February this year, concluded that the human influence on climate is now unequivocal. It explains what the impacts on human activities would be. An appreciation of these impacts in the Hong Kong context will be presented.

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The birth of modern genetics can be dated back to mid-19^th century. Its relationship with medicine, however, was not established until the latter half of the 20^th century. In spite of the short history of medical genetics, we have accumulated abundant knowledge over the last 50 years. For instance, we have found the double helix structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). We confirmed that the total number of chromosomes in human being is 46. Through the Human Genome Project, a collaborative effort between different countries including ours, we have even sequenced our entire genome, the blueprint of mankind. And we are making an effort to find out all of our genes, now estimated to be 20 000 to 30 000 in number, and how they work. We have already learnt that different forms of variations exist within our chromosomes and genes. Some variations are clearly pathogenic and can lead to thousands of different rare genetic diseases, the misfortune of a small number of people. However, the study of these rare genetic diseases gives us a glimpse of the secret of life. A lot more variations are compatible with normal. On one hand, they contribute to the uniqueness of every individual; on the other hand, they are the explanation why people differ in susceptibility of common diseases like hypertension, diabetes, cancers, psychiatric illness, etc. As common diseases affect so many people, our ability to harness the knowledge of these human genetic variations to improve disease prevention and treatment will bring immense benefits to the population's health.

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Newborn screening program was initiated after extensive consultation and research into its feasibility and anticipatory beneficial effectiveness and was implemented in March 1984. The program consisted of two tests: Congenital Hypothyroidism (TSH level) and Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (Red cell G6PD activity level). Cord blood of newborns are collected and sent to Newborn Screening Laboratory on Day 1, results are known by day 2 the latest. Abnormal results are faxed to the Genetic Screening Unit on the same day of testing. Newborns with abnormal TSH levels will be referred back to the hospital where they were born for prompt diagnostic investigations according to the Newborn Screening Protocol that included a thyroid scan. They are then managed and counseled accordingly. Borderline TSH cases are repeated on Day 5, these newborns are seen and examined by Medical Officers. Counselling is given in the form of presentation by Nursing Officer according to protocol. If indicated, they will be referred to individual hospital as previously stated. Newborns with abnormal G6PD levels are counseled as soon as the results are made available. Male newborns with Borderline G6PD results are repeated at three months for confirmation and counseled accordingly. Again content of the counseling was guided by protocol for consistency.

The program's emphasis is on prompt, highest quality, consistent reproducible laboratory results, together with excellent counseling service quality. It aims to clarify the newborns health status in question as early as possible to prevent the morbidity and mortality that originally sparked the newborn screening program.

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Everyday we use more and more electronic appliances to exchange information online, using wireless instead of wireline technology. The main advantage of wireless over wireline approach is mobility freedom. Examples of wireless technology include mobile phone, WiFi, radio, TV receiver, Bluetooth headsets, GPS location, Octopus card, tunnel toll collection and electronic door access. In this talk we shall describe the basic scientific principles behind wireless technology and demonstrate how the theory is being translated into practice in everyday products for improving our quality of living.

First we will describe Shannon's theory on information transfer to introduce the relationship between data speed, received power, bandwidth and interference. Received power is governed by electromagnetic theory which allows engineers to calculate the amount of energy transfer between the transmitting and receiving antenna based on the antenna sizes, separation distance, frequency and the propagation path characteristics. Bandwidth has to be shared among many users and is dependent of frequency allocation by the government. Interference is caused by reflection and scattering of the transmitted signal, and by users sharing the same spectrum.

Then we will illustrate how information engineers design products for specific applications based on the scientific principles and implementation constraints such as size, power consumption and cost. Mobile telephony has gone through three generations of design to deliver "3G" phones to the consumers. We will trace the history of development to see how wireless technology has benefited from other technologies such as mathematics, IC design, software, and even optical transmission.

Finally, we will discuss some future applications of wireless technology such as 4G, WiMAX, mobile TV, RFID with sensors, ultra wideband radio, and wireless mesh networks. The issues of security, privacy and health effects will also be covered.

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Biometrics is a study of automated means to authenticate the identity of a living person through measurement of individual's human biological or behavioural characteristics. Common human characteristics include DNA profile, facial image, iris pattern, fingerprint, hand geometry, etc. The Hong Kong Immigration Department has been proactively integrating the application of biometric technologies into its day-to-day operation and business. Major applications include:

• arrangement of genetic test for verification of parental relationship in processing application for Certificate of Entitlement;
• use of iris recognition technology in access control to restricted areas;
• introduction of SMART identity card for multi-application;
• employment of fingerprint verification technology in automated immigration clearance for travelling Hong Kong residents;
• application of face recognition technology in control points to facilitate clearance of cross-boundary drivers and to identify travellers attempting to circumvent immigration control by using multiple identities; and
• integration of biometric identifiers in electronic HKSAR travel documents to enhance security.

Experience tells that it is of paramount importance to choose the right biometric application for individual business need. There is no simple formula suitably applicable to all situations. On balancing various concerns such as technology availability, impacts on body parts, hygiene, interoperability and acceptability by the community; the Immigration Department has come up with an "ABCD" approach in its choice for the right biometric technologies - they are Availability, Business needs, Customer centric and Design of technology.

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Sample surveys have become very popular in Hong Kong these days. They are widely used as a means of data collection to gather information required for policy formulation on public issues, business decision-making purposes and social studies. However, conducing a sample survey is not a task as easy as somebody thinks. It is essential that great care in addition to adequate professional knowledge be applied in its planning and execution as well as in the analysis of its data.

Actually, there are other data collection methods besides sample surveys. What are the conditions that sample surveys will be the best way to know the unknown under a particular circumstance? Factors to be taken into account will be discussed.

If it is decided that a sample survey is to be taken, scientific principles and close monitoring should be exercised in planning and implementing the survey to ensure that the quality of survey is up to standard. Even in the case that you are referring to the results of a survey conducted by another party, you should make sure that the data are of good quality and reliable before conclusion is drawn. Salient points to be noted in conducting a survey and tips in assessing the reliability of findings of a survey will be presented.

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In this talk, three Information and Communications Technology (ICT) applications developed and/or deployed by EMSD will be shared with the audiences and demonstrate how they improve the traditional workflows of some government departments. The three ICT applications are Mobile CCTV, Electronic Document Management System (eDMS) and Corporate Computer System (CCS).

Since the last decade, the HKSAR government has been encouraging both the private and public sectors to explore the full potential of ICT to benefit the community and enhance Hong Kong's position as a leading digital city. In view of this, EMSD has developed and/or deployed a number of ICT applications. Two of these ICT applications will be shared in this talk and their brief descriptions are shown in the following paragraphs:

Mobile CCTV is an innovative system that was initiated, designed, and built by EMSD for providing traffic surveillance in any location of the road network in the territory. It uses state-of-the-art HSDPA (3.5G) wireless technology and H.264 advanced video compression technology. Current application is mobile traffic surveillance for Transport Department (TD).

With increasing number of electronic and paper-based documents, a centralised and well-managed system can facilitate the storage and access of documents. In order to improve the organisation, storage, and retrieval of documents and information in a more timely and effective manner, the Electronic Document Management System (eDMS) developed by EMSD can be considered. It is a system operates in a computerised environment, making use of a computer network infrastructure and a large-capacity file server to store, retrieve and handle emails, electronic and paper documents efficiently.

The Corporate Computer System (CCS), an ERP system of EMSD launched in April 2006, is the first full-feature ERP system for a Government Department in Hong Kong. It integrates all key works processes and operations of our trading fund operations to support the delivery of services and the subsequent billing to our clients and payment for goods or services. Most importantly, it enables our online monitoring of compliance of our performance pledge to both our clients and contractors, and the business performance of various business units in EMSTF.

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For decades, Hong Kong has been a regional telecommunications hub in Asia. With the implementation of advanced telecommunications networks, Hong Kong has built a sophisticated Internet infrastructure. The Internet infrastructure is made up of local fixed networks and mobile networks coupled with submarine cables linking to overseas countries. Thanks to the deregulation of the telecommunications market, Hong Kong offers the most affordable Internet connection. People can now enjoy a wide range of broadband Internet access services based on different technologies such as cable TV network, Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line, Metro-Ethernet, powerline broadband and public WiFi. The recent announcement of the HKSAR Government to commit over HK$200 millions in Government WiFi service is a new impetus to further foster the development of the Internet infrastructure in Hong Kong.

This talk will give an outline of developments of Internet infrastructure in Hong Kong, the key and critical components of the Hong Kong Internet infrastructure, the state-of-the-art of access technologies, how Hong Kong compares with other countries, the enabling factors in further development, the migration to Next Generation Network and the challenges ahead.

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The proposed topic is about air pollution in Hong Kong. In recent years Hong Kong has been facing two air pollution issues. One is local street-level pollution. The other is the regional smog problem. Vehicles are the main source of street-level pollution. Smog is caused by a combination of pollutants from motor vehicles, industry and power plants both in Hong Kong and in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. This topic introduces the plan of the Hong Kong SAR Government (the Government) for improving air quality and to achieve Hong Kong's air quality objectives (AQOs) by 2010. In addition, the Government is commissioning a comprehensive study to review Hong Kong's AQOs in the light of latest international findings and develop another comprehensive long-term air quality management strategy.

The Government embarked on a comprehensive motor vehicle emission control programme in 1999 to tackle emissions from motor vehicles. Since then, we have seen reduction in major pollutants at roadside. Notwithstanding the very substantial reduction in local emissions, the visibility has been deteriorating due to worsening of the regional background air quality. Smog has now become a common phenomenon for the entire PRD area. To improve local and regional air quality, the Government reached a consensus with Guangdong Provincial Government in April 2002 to reduce, on a best endeavour basis, the emission of four major air pollutants, SO2, nitrogen oxides (NOx), respirable suspended particulate (RSP) and volatile organic compounds (VOC). Achieving these targets will enable Hong Kong to meet the current AQOs, significantly improve the air quality of the PRD region and relieve the regional smog problem. In December 2003, the two governments jointly drew up the PRD Regional Air Quality Management Plan (the "Management Plan") with a view to meeting the above emission reduction targets. The PRD Regional Air Quality Monitoring Network established under the Management Plan is now in full operation to provide comprehensive and accurate air quality data.

The Government has been monitoring the international developments on reviews of air quality standards and objectives with a view to examining the need for revising Hong Kong's AQOs from a scientific perspective, taking into account local circumstances. The Government has also been addressing air quality control policy. Specific areas under the air quality control policy include the control of stationary point sources from electricity generation, mobile sources from off-road emission, aircraft and marine vessels emissions and regional sources from the Guangdong counterparts. The Government would base on the regional air quality monitoring results, regional emission inventory data and agreed reduction targets to achieve the overall emission reductions Each of the two governments will also implement measures respectively to improve air quality with an aim of reducing local and regional emissions.

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Health is wealth. As the key housing provider for one third of Hong Kong's population, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) pioneers in adopting micro-climate research studies to enhance economical, environmental and social sustainability of public housing, which contributes to the physical, mental and social realm of healthy living for the society as a whole.

Planning and design play an important role in creating a healthy living environment. In 1999, HKHA formally established its Environmental Policy to "promote healthy living, green environment and sustainable development" in the provision of public housing and its related services. In 2001, HKHA initiated the application of Micro-climate Studies in the planning and design of high density and high rise housing development using latest proven technologies, including computational fluid dynamics simulations, wind tunnel tests and daylight simulation tools, etc. These studies enable holistic consideration to optimize the development potential and enhance the built environment of the neighbourhood. They cover core topics of wind environment, natural ventilation, daylight and solar heat gain, as well as other special topics such as urban heat island effect, pollutant dispersion, etc.

In the talk, the speaker will introduce the following key initiatives in micro-climate research studies for planning and design:

• introduction of air ventilation assessment concept to enhance the wind environmental performance in estate planning
• application of computer fluid dynamics (CFD) technology in passive design process to enhance natural ventilation and pollutant dispersion of the domestic dwellings and common areas
• application of computer simulation technology in sun-shading, daylight and glare studies to enhance the master layout and open space planning
• introduction of environmental façade design concept to mitigate solar heat gain and enhance human comfort for residents

Micro-climate studies facilitate holistic environmental planning and design of sustainable housing developments. Starting from 2004, we applied micro-climate research studies for all new building projects covering the above essential topics. Over 25 public housing projects in Hong Kong have adopted the studies, which provide greater human comfort for residents by enhancing environmental performance of the housing estates with cleaner and greener environment for healthy communities. Being well recognised by the building industry, the Micro-climate studies for the public housing developments in Hong Kong have recently won the Special Architectural Award 2006 organised by The Hong Kong Institute of Architects. One of the redevelopment projects in Upper Ngau Tau Kok Estate Phase 2 & 3 has won the Grand Award under the research category of Green Building Award 2006 organised by the Professional Green Building Council.

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