The Lancet Countdown is an international collaboration established to provide an independent, global monitoring system dedicated to tracking the emerging health profile of the changing climate. The 2020 report presents 43 indicators across five sections: climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerabilities; adaptation, planning, and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement. This report represents the findings and consensus of the 35 leading academic institutions and UN agencies that make up The Lancet Countdown, and draws on the expertise of climate scientists, geographers, engineers, experts in energy, food, and transport, economists, social, and political scientists, data scientists, public health professionals, and doctors.
Alcohol consumption, the third largest contributing risk factor towards global morbidity, has increased in the past 5 years despite global calls for action to reduce its significant impact on public health. Compared to most developed nations, Hong Kong has been shown to have lower levels of alcohol consumption by previously conducted research. However, Hong Kong's low alcohol taxes, wide availability of alcohol, and lax restrictions on marketing practices have the potential to increase the prevalence of alcohol use and binge drinking particularly among young adults 18-25 of age, lending them towards increased risks of neurological damage, unsafe sex, intentional and unintentional injuries, and impacts on school and work performance in addition to chronic health harms in the future. This thesis employs a mixed-methods approach to comprehensively examine the behavioral and environmental contexts of Chinese young adult drinking behavior, as well as to generate feasible, effective strategies at the health promotion and policy levels to reduce alcohol-related harm among this population subgroup. ; Cantonese-speaking young adults of Hong Kong (n=684) were invited between April and September 2011 to participate in a cross-sectional random telephone survey, during which they were asked about their drinking patterns and perceptions on a set of alcohol expectancy statements. Twelve focus groups (n=63) were then conducted between June 2012 – May 2013 to explore individual motivations to drink as well as possible environmental and social facilitating factors. A series of interviews conducted in January – April 2014 with key policy stakeholders, including representatives of law enforcement, education, government, food and beverage sectors, non-governmental organizations, and the alcohol industry, (n=16) then aimed to produce appropriate, actionable policies and interventions which can be undertaken as a means to reduce alcohol-related harm among young adults in Hong Kong. ; At the behavioural level, positive outcome ...
這項研究是以民族誌描述方法,以南中國傳統的原生牛奶和現代的進口牛奶之生產及消費切入點,探討現代性的問題。對近代中國奶品需求急增的研究,大多解釋為現代西方食習慣之影響。我透過在順德及香港牛奶生產者及消費者日常生活的描述,試圖說明這食習慣的改變並非單是「西化」;相反,這其實是中國傳統的一種延續,再由殖民主義、資本主義,全球化,及中國建構新型國家這四種動力驅使下形成。而這四種動力又有賴市場 (本地及跨國的乳品公司、財金投資者、食品包裝生產商等) 、醫科專業人士及政府對 「健康」、「飲食文化遺產」等概念賦予新的社會價值。本文嘗試透過傳統和現代的牛奶之生產及消費,審視現代中國人對「健康」和「飲食文化遺產」的觀念和價值,在近年食品安全問題的陰霾下如何改變,這又如何反映中國在現代化和新型國家建構過程中的社會變遷,並探究有關身份認同,家庭角色與現代性的意涵。 ; This thesis is an ethnographic study of the change in the production and consumption of indigenous and imported cow milk in South China, particularly Shunde and Hong Kong, during the post-Mao period. Contrary to the popular view that cow milk consumption in China is a result of Western influence, the milk production and consumption in South China is actually a continuation of the Chinese tradition. This thesis shows that the popularity of milk consumption in Shunde and Hong Kong is driven by the forces of colonialism, globalization, capitalism, and modern state-building. Milk consumption in these two places is mainly promoted through three kinds of agents - the market (global and local milk companies, financial investors, food-packaging companies), medical professionals and the State. I illustrate how these forces and agents affect the classification, meanings and values of health and culinary heritage, and how this results in a reinvention of tradition and a change in the concept of morality, amidst concerns over food safety. By examining the transformation of the values associated with milk in the process of production and consumption, I show how health and culinary heritage become the contested ground in the reconfiguration of modern identity and social relationship, while complying with the vision of the government in the building of national pride. ; Detailed summary in vernacular field only. ; Mak, Sau Wa. ; Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. ; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 247-269). ; Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat ...
The COVID-19 pandemic brought on the so-called "coronacrisis," a global crisis event enormous in size and force. The crisis questioned the ability of states and instruments of international governance to respond quickly and effectively to the global threats. It is noteworthy that there was no strong correlation between crisis management efficacy and the type of political system of a country. However, the countries with elaborated and well-financed health systems, were able to struggle with the devastating consequences of the coronacrisis better than those with systemic, structural and financial problems of their healthcare sectors. It is obvious that the ability to manage the coronacrisis is not related to the type of political governance or ideology, but to the state administrative resources and competence of the cabinet / leaders. That potentially gave an opportunity for countries with different ideological foundations to neglect their tensions and unite the efforts in the containment of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (e.g. create mutual programmes of vaccination and medicine distribution). The main forces are the Transatlantic alliance, Russia and China. Unfortunately, no visible COVID-19-related agreement between them ever happened so far. Instead, the coronacrisis situation was used by the political rivals to intensify their aggressive rhetoric against each other (e.g., USA and Russia, USA and China) or profit from it in deepening international collaboration not connected with the pandemic itself (e.g., Russia and China). We do not observe any real mutual efforts of liquidating the pandemic consequences even within an ideological block, to say nothing about different blocks. The US–EU relationships worsened during the pandemic, especially at the background of Trump's cool attitude towards international organisations and his decision to leave the World Health Organization in the midst of the pandemic and his threatening words that US may also abandon the NATO. Likewise, John Bolton spoke of the EU as an entity hostile ...
