Dr Andrew Yu

Biography

Background

Andrew is an ethnomusicologist and currently researching Scottish bagpiping history and culture in former British colonies in the Far East (Hong Kong and British Malaya). In response to recent political developments and the enforcement of the National Security Law in Hong Kong, his research has also studied how this colonial legacy can survive in post-colonial Hong Kong, as the Hong Kong Government has been accelerating the decolonisation process in recent years. Apart from his ethnomusicological research, his research interests also include social policy, politics, colonialism, and nationalism. Some of his works relating to Hong Kong have been published in Asian Affairs, Human Affairs, and the Journal of British Studies.

Qualifications

BA (Hons), MScR, PhD, PGCert

Responsibilities & affiliations

  • Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society－ London, the United Kingdom
  • Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute－ London, the United Kingdom
  • Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland－Edinburgh, the United Kingdom
  • Member of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs－London, the United Kingdom
  • Member of the Royal Music Association－London, the United Kingdom

Undergraduate teaching

PLIT08009 - Introduction to Political Data Analysis (School of Social and Political Science)

Postgraduate teaching

PGSP11247 - Political Issues in Public Policy  (School of Social and Political Science)

SCAN11027 - People First: The Anthropology of International Development (School of Social and Political Science)

Current research interests

Hong Kong Affairs, Social Policy, British Colonial History, Scottish Music , Freemasonry, Colonialism

Research activities

View all 20 activities on Research Explorer

Past project grants

The Edinburgh Global Scholarship (GBP 46,000), September 2018 - August 2021
The Hong Kong St. Andrew's Society Scholarship (GBP 3,000), September 2018 - January 2020

Journal articles

  • Yu, A. (2024). Beyond factories and laboratories: Reflecting the relationships between archivists and historians. Human Affairs, 34(2), 173-186.
  • Yu, A. (2023). British values, Hong Kong voices: Tracing Hong Kong’s Britishness and its influences on British immigration policies. African and Asian Studies, 22(4), 418-451.
  • Yu, A., Lam, S. K. N. (2023). HSBC’s Betrayal of Hong Kong BN(O) Holders Highlights Need for Corporate Responsibility. The Round Table, 112(2), 189-190.
  • Yu, A., Lam, S. K. N. (2023). Decriminalising homosexuality in Singapore: Political responses from the perspective of secularism and electoral pragmatism. The Round Table, 112(2), 165-174.
  • Lieu, E. M., Yu, A. (2023). Repealing 337A: Is Singapore finally catching up with LGBT rights?. The Round Table, 112(1), 90-91.
  • Lam, S. K. N., Yu, A. (2022). City of skywalks: Exploring Hong Kong’s public space and power of discourse from footbridges. Social Sciences, 11(12), Article 546.
  • Yu, A., Lam, S. K. N. (2022). Assessing Open Space in Scotland: Reliability and Construct Validity of the Open Space Scale. Sustainability, 14(22), Article 15203.
  • Yu, A. (2022). Hong Kong, CANZUK, and Commonwealth: The United Kingdom’s role in defending freedom and the global order under ‘Global Britain’, The Round Table, 111(4), 516-521.
    • Winner of the Harry Hodson Essay Prize 2021
  • Yu, A. (2022). Death preparation among community-dwelling Chinese older adults in Hong Kong. International Journal of Gerontology, 16(3), 262-265.
  • Yu, A. (2022). The Internet’s role in promoting civic engagement in China and Singapore: A Confucian view. Human Affairs, 32(2), 199-212.
  • Yu, A. (2022). Advance care planning preferences in Hong Kong: A cross-sectional study in a community. Healthcare, 10(2), Article 384.
  • Yu, A. (2021). Open space and sense of community of older adults – a study in a residential area in Hong Kong. Archnet-IJAR, 15(3), 539-554.
  • Yu, A. (2021). Walkable environment and community well-being: The case in the city of Kwun Tong. Open House International, 46(2), 162-172.
  • Yu, A. (2021). The failure of the welfare ideology and system in Hong Kong: A historical perspective. Human Affairs, 31(1), 99-108.
  • Yu, A. (2021). The policy process model and the systems model in monarchy: The cases of the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. Open Political Science, 4(1), 40-44.
  • Yu, A. (2020). Was Governor MacLehose a great architect of modern Hong Kong? Asian Affairs, 51(3), 485-509. 
  • Yu, A. (2019). Harmony and discord: Development of political parties and social fragmentation in Hong Kong, 1980-2017. Open Political Science, 2(1), 53-63.
  • Yu, A. (2019). The feasibility of the universal retirement protection scheme: In the view of incomplete citizenship and distorted ideology of welfare in Hong Kong. Asia Pacific Journal of Advanced Business and Social Studies, 5(1), 76-84.
  • Yu, A. (2018). State examination system and mathematics in the Tang Dynasty. Bulletin of the Chinese Association for the History of Science, 23(1), 8-15.

Book reviews

  • Yu, A. (2024). [Review of the book The gate to China: A new history of the people’s republic and Hong Kong, by Michael Sheridan]. Journal of British Studies, in-press.
  • Yu, A. (2024). [Review of the book Hong Kong Diaries, by Chris Pattern]. Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique, 29(1), 173-175.
  • Yu, A. (2022). [Review of the book The Black Watch in the Great War: Rediscovered histories from the regimental family, by Fraser Brown and Derek Patrick]. Journal of British Studies, 61(1), 233-235.
  • Yu, A. (2021). [Review of the book The craft: How the Freemasons made the modern world, by J. Dickie]. Journal of British Studies, 60(3), 741-743.

Conference papers

  • Yu, A. (2022, March 12). The National Security Law and the future of Scottish bagpiping in Hong Kong [Conference presentation]. International Bagpipe Conference 2022, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, the United Kingdom.
  • Yu, A. (2021, September 16). Colonial legacy and inheritance: Can Scottish bagpiping survive in post-colonial Hong Kong? [Conference presentation]. Royal Musical Association Annual Conference 2021, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, the United Kingdom.
  • Yu, A. (2021, June 18). Colonial legacy and inheritance: Scottish bagpipes culture in Singapore [Conference presentation]. Britain and the World Conference 2021, the University of Plymouth, Plymouth, the United Kingdom.
  • Yu, A. & Lai, K. Y.  (2018, July 4). Understanding gender differences in the relationship between walkability and sense of community for older people in Hong Kong [Conference presentation]. Social Work, Education and Social Development 2018, the Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, the Republic of Ireland.
  • Lai, K. Y. & Yu, A. (2018, July 4). Quantity and quality of neighbourhood public open space and the sense of community of Chinese older adults in Hong Kong [Conference presentation]. Social Work, Education and Social Development 2018, the Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, the Republic of Ireland. 
  • Yu, A. (2018, March 10). The Scottish piping development in Hong Kong [Conference presentation]. International Bagpipe Conference 2018, Arxiu del Regne de Mallorca (the Archives of the Kingdom of Mallorca), Palma de Mallorca, the Kingdom of Spain.
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