Sunday, 21 December 2025

A note on housing issues, research issues, research gaps and public media-reported issues with regard to "journey out of homelessness in Hong Kong"

A note on housing issues, research issues, research gaps and public media-reported issues with regard to "journey out of homelessness in Hong Kong" (information from perplexity.ai)


My question 1: "To clarify the Housing Studies dissertation terms of "housing issues", "research issues", "research gaps" and "public media-reported issues, please provide illustrative examples on the research theme of "journey out of homelessness in Hong Kong" on the following cases:

Case 1: based on positivism, provide 2 examples on housing issues, 2 examples on research issues, 2 examples on research gaps and 2 examples on public media-reported issues.
Case 2: based on interpretivism, provide 2 examples on housing issues, 2 examples on research issues, 2 examples on research gaps and 2 examples on public media-reported issues.
Case 3: based on pragmatism, provide 2 examples on housing issues, 2 examples on research issues, 2 examples on research gaps and 2 examples on public media-reported issues.
Case 4: based on critical realism, provide 2 examples on housing issues, 2 examples on research issues, 2 examples on research gaps and 2 examples on public media-reported issues."

The reply: "Positivism, interpretivism, pragmatism, and critical realism each frame "journey out of homelessness in Hong Kong" differently, influencing definitions of housing issues (structural or experiential housing challenges), research issues (methodological or conceptual problems in studies), research gaps (unaddressed areas in literature), and public media-reported issues (commonly covered societal concerns).

Case 1: Positivism

Positivism emphasizes objective, measurable phenomena like housing exit rates and causal factors. 

Housing issues include high private rental costs blocking stable tenancy (over 50% of ex-homeless cite unaffordability) and long public housing waitlists exceeding 5 years. 

Research issues involve reliance on cross-sectional surveys that fail to track longitudinal exit trajectories, and inconsistent definitions of "homelessness" across datasets hindering comparability. 

Research gaps encompass the absence of quantitative models predicting exit success based on employment stability, and limited econometric analysis of policy interventions like temporary shelters on recidivism rates. 

Public media-reported issues cover street sleeper evictions during urban renewal projects, and surges in rough sleeping post-COVID job losses.

Case 2: Interpretivism

Interpretivism focuses on subjective meanings and lived experiences in Hong Kong's homelessness journeys. 

Housing issues feature perceptions of transitional hostels as stigmatizing "non-homes" despite physical provision, and personalized barriers like family rejection impeding return to shared flats. 

Research issues include overemphasis on elite narratives ignoring ex-homeless voices in qualitative accounts, and cultural biases in interviews undervaluing Cantonese idioms of "rooflessness." 

Research gaps involve unexplored narratives of resilience in Yau Tsim Mong district's public spaces, and underexamined gender-specific interpretations of "home" in exit stories. 

Public media-reported issues highlight personal tales of mental health stigma delaying shelter uptake, and community conflicts over visible encampments in Kowloon.

Case 3: Pragmatism

Pragmatism prioritizes practical, mixed-method solutions for effective exits from homelessness. 

Housing issues comprise mismatches between NGO hostels and job locations causing commute failures, and insufficient hybrid public-private rentals for working ex-homeless. 

Research issues feature siloed quantitative and qualitative data not informing actionable policies, and evaluation metrics overlooking hybrid outcomes like part-time work plus subsidies. 

Research gaps include evaluations of public-private partnerships for scalable transitional units, and pragmatic assessments of integrated outreach teams' impact on employment-housing links. 

Public media-reported issues spotlight NGO-government funding delays stranding street sleepers, and calls for rent controls amid rising evictions.

Case 4: Critical Realism

Critical realism examines underlying structures and mechanisms behind observed homelessness exits. 

Housing issues involve neoliberal policies generating housing insecurity as a root mechanism (68% of cases), and stratified access where singletons face deeper exclusion from family networks. 

Research issues entail positivist empiricism missing generative structures like inequality, and interpretivist focus neglecting real causal powers of policy regimes. 

Research gaps cover stratified analyses of how economic precarity mechanisms interact with gender in exit pathways, and investigations into hidden structures of NGO-government power imbalances. 

Public media-reported issues address critiques of welfare cuts post-1997 exacerbating structural traps, and advocacy for rights-based housing amid rising inequality."


My question 2: "Suggest an organized sequence to briefly introduce these four topics, i.e. housing issues, research issues, research gaps and public media-reported issues in Chapter 1: Introduction of a Housing Studies dissertation report."

The reply: "In a Housing Studies dissertation's Chapter 1: Introduction, introduce housing issues, research issues, research gaps, and public media-reported issues in a logical sequence that builds from broad context to specific justification, ensuring a concise flow within 1-2 pages.

Suggested Sequence

Follow this four-step progression to create a cohesive narrative funneling toward your research aims:

  1. Housing Issues: Start here to ground the topic empirically. Describe key structural and experiential challenges (e.g., high rental costs and hostel stigma in Hong Kong homelessness journeys) using statistics or trends for immediate relevance.

  2. Public Media-Reported Issues: Transition next to highlight societal visibility. Reference prominent news coverage (e.g., street sleeper evictions or post-COVID surges) to show public urgency and policy debates, bridging real-world problems to academic scrutiny.

  3. Research Issues: Move to methodological critiques. Discuss flaws in existing studies (e.g., cross-sectional surveys or biased narratives under positivism/interpretivism) to reveal limitations in current knowledge production.

  4. Research Gaps: Conclude with unmet opportunities. Identify specific voids (e.g., longitudinal models or stratified mechanisms) tied to your philosophical stance (positivism, etc.), directly leading into your study's objectives and contributions.

Implementation Tips

  • Use transitional phrases like "While media spotlights these symptoms..." or "These issues expose broader research shortcomings..." for smooth links.

  • Limit each subsection to 2-3 cited sentences or bullets, reserving deeper analysis for later chapters.

  • End the sequence with a paragraph synthesizing how addressing these justifies your "journey out of homelessness" focus."


My question 3: "Recommend 3 YouTube videos that briefly explain these 4 topics (i.e. housing issues, research issues, research gaps and public media-reported issues. Also highlight the key ideas on each of the 3 YouTube videos recommended."

The reply: "Three YouTube videos provide concise explanations of housing issues, research issues, research gaps, and public media-reported issues in the context of Hong Kong's homelessness, particularly relevant to a "journey out of homelessness" theme. These selections draw from recent documentaries highlighting structural challenges, data limitations, and media coverage.

Video 1: Housing Crisis Persists (TRT World, 2:32 min)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoJog_EZcZ0

Key ideas: Housing issues focus on unaffordable rentals and evictions skewing official stats; public media-reported issues emphasize post-COVID surges and NGO critiques of government figures; research issues note voluntary registries undercounting hidden homelessness; research gaps highlight mismatches between stats and reality, calling for better tracking of transitional housing uptake.

Video 2: Homelessness Crisis 2025 Documentary (Globe Path, ~15 min)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdqNJ50oYiw

Key ideas: Housing issues cover skyrocketing prices and cage homes trapping the vulnerable; public media-reported issues spotlight inequality and policy failures like long public housing waits; research issues involve over-reliance on visible counts ignoring systemic precarity; research gaps stress underexplored socio-economic pressures and government responses' inadequacies for exit pathways.

Video 3: Surviving Coffin Homes (NVL Travel Documentary, ~20 min)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSwLCrnC7Nc

Key ideas: Housing issues detail subdivided flats and coffin homes as poverty traps; public media-reported issues address rising homelessness amid wealth gaps; research issues critique limited data on subdivided units (220,000+ affected); research gaps point to unexamined social costs, inequality mechanisms, and failed land supply solutions blocking journeys out of homelessness."



A collection of blog notes on using chatgpt for research purpose.




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