Faculty of Social Sciences

Service Centres

Centre for the Advancement of Social Sciences Research

The Centre for the Advancement of Social Sciences Research (CASR) capitalizes on the academic expertise of the Faculty of Social Sciences and other academic units of the University to nurture and sustain quantitative and qualitative evidence-based inquiry in the social sciences. In this connection, CASR provides ready survey instruments, sampling frames and advice on the use of advanced quantitative and qualitative techniques and facilitates social science and related research undertaken by all faculty members of the University. As the research issues facing social scientists are now so profoundly complex and their solutions often demand the combined resources of multiple disciplines, multiple professions and multiple institutions, the Centre serves as a platform that engenders inter-departmental collaboration and synergizes new trans-disciplinary research endeavours within and beyond the Faculty.

The Centre also serves as an outreach arm of the University to facilitate knowledge transfer to the wider community by way of conducting consultancy works for the government, NGOs, the media and other organizations, conducting regular opinion surveys on various policy issues, holding press conferences, and joining force with the academic departments and other research centres within and outside the Faculty to undertake policy research and organize research seminars, workshops and related endeavours. The Centre is distinguished from similar units in other universities by its close collaboration with academic departments and other research units of the University, and by its commitment to pursuing academic excellence in the realm of social science studies.

The mission of the Centre is fivefold, namely:

1.	To provide institutional and intrastructural support for enhancing research, both quantitative and qualitative, initiated by staff members of the Faculty of Social Sciences;
2.	To provide support to other academic and administrative units within the University in conducting telephone and other surveys as well as data analysis of different levels of methodological sophistication;
3.	To provide knowledge transfer to the community through undertaking contract research and consultancy services for other academic institutions, the HKSAR Government, NGOs and business enterprises;
4.	To synergize trans-disciplinary research endeavours within and beyond the Faculty of Social Sciences; and
5.	To enhance the visibility and image of the Faculty and the University by the promulgation of research findings to the community at large.

Services Provided by CASR

One-stop shop of survey research services including implementation of large-scale telephone surveys, face-to-face interviews, online survey, data cleaning, data analysis and reporting, and questionnaire design.

Centre for Learning Sciences

Learning Sciences is a state-of-the-art multi-disciplinary area involving expertise in education, cognitive psychology, educational psychology, neuroscience, computer science and technology. Learning Sciences explores understanding of human learning processes with scientific research methodologies, aiming to optimize instructional techniques and pedagogies in educational settings. The Centre for Learning Sciences (CLS) intends to contribute to the education community through knowledge transfer and technology development for the improvement of student learning environment. It is hoped that by partnership with schools and NGOs, the Centre can provide support to teacher training, parent education and other community services.

Our Missions

1.	The CLS aims at promoting collaboration among scholars and practitioners from multidisciplinary areas, including language acquisition, math education, music education, liberal studies, neuroscience, psychology, linguistics and computer technology, to translate research findings and theories to evidence-based practices in education.
2.	In partnership with kindergartens, schools, and NGOs, the CLS carries out projects to investigate teaching and learning of students with diverse needs. The outcomes of the projects will inform frontline practitioners the methodologies to enhance teaching and learning performance.

Centre for Trauma Treatment and Well-being

The Centre for Trauma Treatment and Well-being (CTTW) is a service centre established in March 2015 that caters for the growing need for treatment of trauma in China and the Region. The CTTW is integrative, involving research and service related to the use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in therapy. It was established in response to the growing need for trauma treatment within the Asian region due to natural disasters and mounting small scale traumatic events. The centre imparts knowledge and informs the general public about EMDR, provides support to professional and conduct clinical evidence-based and educational research on the use of EMDR within the Chinese context. Establishment of such a centre provides an excellent synergy by bringing together researchers and practitioners who could contribute to the well-being of the population and to the academic field of knowledge.

CIE Wellness Promotion Centre

The CIE Wellness Promotion Centre is set up with the mission to enhance the quality of life of Hong Kong people through the provision of quality wellness programmes. The goals of the Centre are:

1.	To provide quality wellness educational programmes and activities to diverse populations;
2.	To provide opportunities for students of the Hong Kong Baptist University to develop skills in serving diverse populations;
3.	To provide opportunities for the staff and students to be fully integrated with the community through sharing of resources; and
4.	To contribute towards building a cohesive community that has a strong sense of social responsibility.

European Documentation Centre

Located in the Department of Government and International Studies (GIS) is the European Documentation Centre (EDC), supported by the European Commission since its establishment in 1997. The EDC is a specialist resource centre open for public use which receives, on a regular basis, all the official publications of the European Commission, such as bulletins, reports, policy statements, statistical materials and records of debates. In addition to materials from the European Commission, the EDC contains a section for national collections, enabling books and other printed materials as well as audio-visual articles from individual European countries to be displayed. The EDC’s national collections come from all European countries, including those which are not members of the EU, and include books in English, German and French.

The EDC maintains its own website which, together with the European Studies website, provide additional information on various aspects of Europe. Over the past years, the EDC has been involved in many cultural activities geared to the public. These include conferences, seminars and exhibitions.

The EDC is open from Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and on Saturday by appointment only.

Social Work Practice and Mental Health Centre

The Social Work Practice and Mental Health Centre (SWPMHC) was formally established in March 2015. The mission of the Centre is to become a leading centre to advance practice and research in social work and mental health in Hong Kong and other Chinese societies.

Aims of the Centre

1.	To advance social work practice and mental health in Hong Kong and other Chinese societies.
2.	To advance indigenized social work and mental health practice in Hong Kong and other Chinese societies, and
3.	To foster practice collaboration in social work and mental health with scholars and institutes from the Globe.

Deliverables

1.	Research Projects
	Research projects on social work practice and mental health will be conducted in collaboration with different higher education institutes in Chinese societies.
2.	Publications
	Research papers and reports, training manuals and packages will be published which serve to strengthen social work and mental health practice in Hong Kong and other Chinese societies.
3.	Social Work Practice and Mental Health Trainings
	Skills training for social workers will be conducted.
4.	International/regional Conferences/Seminars
	International and regional conferences/ symposiums/ seminars with the themes on mental health and social work practice may be held periodically.
5.	Overseas Students Internship
	The Shenzhen Research Centre of the SWPRC will form a base for student exchange and attachment in Mainland China.
6.	Consultancy Projects
	Consultancy projects with NGOs and social work practitioners will be conducted in Hong Kong and other Chinese societies.