HKU Sociology

𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞

In recent years, the United Kingdom has seen the emergence of a new approach to violence reduction - the public health approach - which prioritizes early intervention and holistic support to prevent violence upstream. This movement of this approach is based in part on the success story of Scotland, and has led to the founding of more than twenty Violence Reduction Units in England and Wales and recently to Victoria, Australia. This talk presents the findings from a four-year, multi-method study of the public health approach to violence reduction in Scotland and England, involving 190 interviews with leading professionals working in violence reduction in the UK alongside young people, community activists and youth practitioners. The study sought to ask a simple question: what lessons can we learn from the past to inform the future? Although the question was simple the answers are more challenging. In a recent book, we argue for the need for a revolution in violence reduction - to build a new movement for change that connects the dots between policy and the street. In this talk, informed by Bourdieu’s concept of ‘symbolic revolution’ and narrative criminology, I set out the four contexts in which policy change took place – crisis, charismatic leadership, reframing the debate, and legitimacy – to draw out the consequences for the movement of the policy elsewhere. As I will argue, while originating story is important, just as necessary are the political context in which the idea is received, and the lived experiences of communities affected by violence.

About the speaker:

Alistair Fraser is Professor of Criminology at the University of Glasgow, where he teaches and researches issues of youth violence, street culture, and urban crime, with a particular interest in the global gang phenomenon. He is the author or co-author of four books: Urban Legends: Gang Identity in the Post-Industrial City (OUP, 2015); Gangs & Crime: Critical Alternatives (2017, Sage); Preventing Violence (2025, BUP) and The Public Health Approach to Violence Reduction: Stories, Movements & Hope (OUP, 2026). He is a public criminologist, former BBC ‘New Generation Thinker’, and presents the popular podcast series ‘Young Warriors’.

📅 Date: Monday, 27 July, 2026
🕑 Time: 2:30pm – 3:30pm
📍 Venue: CJT-9.29
🗣️ Language: English
🔗https://sociology.hku.hk/events/62a837fa-2989-45eb-a3dc-7aab98783b30

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬 𝐒.𝐊. 𝐊𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 r𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐆𝐂 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐅𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 (𝐇𝐒𝐒𝐏𝐅𝐒) 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔/𝟐𝟕 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝

The Department of Sociology is delighted to congratulate Prof. Travis S.K. Kong on receiving a Research Grants Council (RGC) Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme (HSSPFS) 2026/27 award for his project, “A Life Course Approach to Understanding Different Generations of Chinese Gay Men.” Prof. Kong is one of only two HKU scholars to receive this prestigious fellowship in the current round. Building on his internationally recognised research on gender and sexuality in Chinese societies, the project will explore how the life experiences of Chinese gay men in Hong Kong have evolved across generations. This award is a testament to Prof. Kong's distinguished scholarly contributions and the Department's commitment to advancing impactful sociological research. We warmly congratulate Prof. Kong on this well-deserved recognition and look forward to the insights generated by this important project.

Prof. Tarani Chandola
Head of Department of Sociology

🔗Website: https://sociology.hku.hk/news/82

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐮𝐲𝐚𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐮, 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐡𝐃 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐊𝐔 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐡𝐃 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓/𝟐𝟔.

The Award gives due recognition to PhD students who have excellent performance during the probationary period. The excellent academic performance can be demonstrated by publications or other forms of research outputs, prizes/awards, patents, or other notable form of demonstration of accomplishments.

🔗Website: https://sociology.hku.hk/news/81

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐢 𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐢 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐𝟎-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐀 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚!

Prof Satoshi Araki has published an article "The Paradox of Economic Development and Academic Achievement: Evidence from PISA for 77 economies over 20 years" in Studies in Educational Evaluation (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2026.101636). In this paper, Prof Araki examines the relationship between macro-level economic development and student performance. Analysing the country-level panel dataset originally constructed from the OECD PISA for 77 economies over 20 years, the study identifies the paradoxical structure: GDP per capita and average PISA scores are positively linked cross-sectionally (affluent countries are more likely to show better student performance) but within-country economic growth negatively predicts student achievement longitudinally. The same structure is observed when replacing GDP with cumulative educational expenditure. Discussing some potential mechanisms, Prof Araki calls for further investigations into the paradoxical relationship between macroeconomic conditions and academic performance: the PISA paradox.

🔗https://sociology.hku.hk/news/80