Chinese University of Hong Kong

This course enhances the knowledge and skills related to business process management and improvement, with an emphasis on the applications of analysis and simulation tools. A simulation package is introduced and used to evaluate business process performance and identify possibility of process improvement. The course helps improve scientific competence to deal with practical problems in process improvement and innovation.

This course provides an outline of developments in children’s literature in England and parts of Europe through the study of some essential, central texts as well as recent books for children. The uses of fantasy and the educational aspects of books for children is discussed, along with notions of childhood and the nature of children. Through close reading of set texts students engage in critical techniques applicable to most literature, for the best texts for children satisfy sensitive adult readers too.

This course gives an overview of the status, features, and use of Hong Kong English (HKE), the variety of English commonly used in Hong Kong. It introduces to the concept of ‘world Englishes’ and examines different theoretical frameworks for conceptualizing the evolution of new varieties of English. The course also examines the relationship between Hong Kong English and Hong Kong culture from cultural, social, historical, and educational perspectives, particularly in relation to and juxtaposition from Cantonese and Putonghua. The second part of the course examines both spoken and written features of HKE, including grammar, discourse particles, vocabulary, and pronunciation, as well as the practices of code-mixing and code-switching. This section of the course also focuses on the social impact of the use of these features in Hong Kong culture. In the third part of the course, language attitudes and ideologies towards ‘standard’ language varieties (for example American and British English) in relation to HKE are explored. The course also examines the relationship between the use of HKE and social identity as well as gender in Hong Kong culture.

This course introduces the concepts and methods of decision making and analysis, which involves the application of mathematical modeling and analysis to business problems. Models are simplified representations of real situations and can be invaluable tools in decision making. Students learn the basic elements of modeling-how to formulate a model and how to use and interpret the information a model produces. The emphasis is on models that are widely used in diverse industries and functional areas, including finance, operations, and marketing. Applications include production planning, revenue management, sales force planning, risk management, portfolio optimization, among others. Spreadsheets and other tools are used to implement, solve, and analyze the models  developed.

This course cover the analytical and programming skills required for applying standard optimization algorithms to engineering and AI problems. It covers basic topics on optimization including the theory of unconstrained and constrained optimization, dual optimization tasks, linear programming, convex optimization, line search methods, trust-region methods, gradient descent, and Newton's method. Pre-requisite: ENGG1120 or ENGG1130 or ESTR1005 or ESTR1006 or MATH1510. Not for students who have taken AIST3010 or ESTR3112 or ESTR3114.

The course introduces the fundamental principles of biochemistry that are essential for all life science disciplines. It covers the importance of water, structure-function relationships of biomolecules (including amino acids, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids), the biochemical logic of the metabolic pathways, and an overview of metabolism with emphasis on how biomolecules interconvert into each other.

This introductory course examines the causes of housing price fluctuations and their implications for urban life. It explores how housing functions both as an investment and a necessity, creating an owner–renter dichotomy with contrasting interests. The course analyzes the economic consequences of housing market swings, including negative equity, asset bubbles, financial crises, and affordability challenges, while considering broader impacts on living conditions, community sustainability, and urban policy. It explains the relationships between money, land, and housing; covers the factors that determine land and housing prices; identifies the effects of housing price fluctuations on financial stability and wealth inequality; describes how monetary and land policies influence housing affordability; and covers implications from the owner–renter dichotomy for housing policy.

The course introduces various types of chemical contaminants and their adverse effects on animals, humans and ecosystems, and environmental management strategies. It provides an overview of ecotoxicology principles, sources, chemical nature, fate of contaminants, and their interaction and impacts with the ecosystem, and the living organisms in the environment. It also relates ecotoxicology to risk assessment including assessment, monitoring, management and protection of the environment from toxicants. Students gain insights into the impacts of pollutants on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. They delve into sustainable environmental management strategies, including pollution prevention, remediation, and ecological risk assessments.

This course offers an interdisciplinary exploration of visual culture, bridging visual studies, communication, media, and cultural studies to understand how images and the act of looking carry meaning across everyday life. The curriculum covers a wide range of topics, including the power and politics of images, the role of viewers in making meaning, modern and postmodern theories of spectatorship and the gaze, the impact of visual technologies, media and brand cultures, as well as globalization and contemporary digital practices. Student engage with critical theories and methods to analyze artworks and visual media, while addressing social, psychological, and economic implications of visual representation. It course covers a range of themes such as representation, expression, form, style, Formalism, Iconography, Marxism, Gender etc. Using modern and contemporary Chinese art as examples, the course equips students with transferable and analytic skills, knowledge of modern and contemporary Chinese art, aesthetic sensibility, and theoretical literacy, encouraging them to apply these methods and knowledge to the study of visual art.