The latest issue of CITY CLASS, the magazine of CityU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, is released.
False and unverified information has been spreading around the world during the coronavirus pandemic. At the beginning of the pandemic, countless fake news swirled across social media platforms, creating panic and distrust among the public. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the COVID-19 related infodemic is as dangerous as the virus itself.
In this issue, Dr Chris SHEN, Dr Nancy DAI, and Dr HUANG Guanxiong, from the Department of Media and Communication analyse the contributing factors that help spread misinformation. People’s tendency to carry a strong confirmation bias when they process information makes it harder to correct misinformation. Despite the difficulty to stop the spread of misinformation, the three scholars are still optimistic to suggest solutions such as carrying out large-scale media literacy programme among the public to reduce the negative effects of misinformation.
Internet in education is not uncommon as a medium of teaching and learning. However, it cannot fully replace face-to-face classes and first-hand learning experience. It is especially important for social work students to learn in the field and practise with their teachers in real cases. Dr Sylvia KWOK LAI Yuk-Ching, an Associate Professor of Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, told readers her goal of creating a ripple effect in nurturing talents for the industry of social welfare. Dr CHAN Siu-ming, new faculty member of the same department, also changed his career path from frontline social worker to embark on an academic journey, hoping to share his expertise with a new generation of frontline social workers. CLASS alumna Fion LI, the recipient of this year’s Outstanding Social Worker Award, demonstrates a good example of the positive impact produced by our devoted teachers, and continues to make positive changes in her drug-addicted clients’ lives.
CityU has been placing emphasis on knowledge transfer and strives to promote interdisciplinary education. Teacher training is given by the Department of Chinese and History to Chinese subject teachers in secondary schools to inspire students’ creativity by using Eileen CHANG’s works. Dr Jack PUN, an Assistant Professor of the Department of English, shared his research into English as the medium of instruction with science subject teachers in secondary schools and healthcare workers to facilitate learning effectiveness and clinician-patient communication respectively. Dr Jerrine TAN, who is a new faculty member of Department of English and has similar science background as Dr Pun, shared her interesting journey of discovering passion for literature. Read their stories now and know more about fascinating news of CLASS!
Hard copies of CITY CLASS are available at the College office.
The e-version is accessible at
CLASS Website: www.cityu.edu.hk/class/magazine
South China Morning Post Channel: https://www.scmp.com/topics/how-misinformation-affects-our-lives
Enjoy reading!
