R & D ANNUAL REPORT 2016

Organised by the Institute of Postgraduate Studies and Research (IPSR) for the fifth time, the biannual R&D Colloquium continued to strengthen and nurture regular communication between researchers from the 28 research centres in UTAR through establishing research collaborations and reinforcing cross disciplinary research. It also served as a platform for continuous updating on research outcomes to research centres, faculties, IPSR, and the Vice-President’s office for R&D and Commercialisation.
Themed ‘Social and Economic Wellbeing for Nation Building’, the R&D Colloquium served to allow the research participants to network, present, and share their research efforts. It saw more than 150 participants comprising local and foreign researchers from UTAR research centres, lecturers, staff, and postgraduate students.
There were three sessions held concurrently with three different subthemes, namely ‘Innovation and Sustainable Development in Health’, ‘Diversity, Sustainability and Nation Building’, and ‘Education for Tomorrow’, chaired by Chairperson of Centre for Research on Non-Communicable Disease Prof Dr Shelly Soo; Chairperson of Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Social and Policy Studies Dr Chin Yee Mun represented by Faculty of Arts and Social Science Tutor Noew Hooi San for morning session, and Faculty of Business and Finance Lecturer Dr Abdelhak Senadjki for afternoon session; and Chairperson of Centre for Learning and Teaching Er Pek Hoon respectively. There were a total of 31 presentations at the R&D Colloquium (1.0) 2016. The topics included developments in the health system, stress management, tourism, communication and social behavior, leadership management, and the role of multimedia elements in teaching as well as nation-building.
Among the highlights were Dr Yan Naing Soe’s presentation on ‘Stress Hormone Level and Insight Meditation’, Dr Alan Ong’s presentation on ‘Interaction of MSC on Cancer Cell Properties and miRNA Profiles of CSC Enriched Breast Cancer Cells’, Noew Hooi San’s presentation on ‘Interethnic Leader-Member Exchange in Malaysia Organisations: Similarities and Dissimilarities in Their Needs’, Dr Abdelhak Senadjki’s presentation on ‘Is Elderly Spending More Than Non-Elderly? An Assessment of Household Income Expenditure Data’, Mok Tuck Hau’s presentation on ‘Teaching of Chinese Classical Language in Higher Education’, Dr Hung Chen Wei’s presentation on ‘Authoring Robot-Assisted Instructional Materials for Improving Learning Performance and Motivation in EFL Classroom’, and Foong Soon Seng’s presentation on ‘Exploring the Theme of Nationhood in Malaysian Upper Secondary English Literature Components’.
In line with the Strengthening of Cross Disciplinary Research Centres under the UTAR 10-year Strategic Plan, IPSR organised UTAR’s maiden R&D Colloquium in 2014 at its Kampar Campus. The colloquium is supported by the UTAR Strategic Research Funding Scheme to promote continuous excellence in research that expands the boundaries of knowledge, especially in cross-disciplinary research.

Language plays a significant role in nation building as it contributes toward the forging of a national identity. Malaysia’s complex multicultural background has given birth to unique linguistic choices, such as rojak, a distinctive Malaysian speech that incorporates words borrowed from Malay, Mandarin, Tamil and others.
Assoc Prof Dr Mary Susan Philip from the Department of English Language, UM said language choice remains a highly debated issue, as some individuals in various ethnic groups still prefer to express themselves in their own languages.

From left: Dr Kamila, Dato' Dr Saran and Dr Susan speaking on the importance of language in nation building

Using her research on Orang Asli languages, Prof Dr Kamila Gazali, also from UM’s Department of English Language, showed that a majority of the Orang Asli communities still maintain a positive attitude towards their languages but also acknowledged the importance of learning languages that are used for trade. However, she also found out that their minority languages and even cultures are sometimes sacrificed in pursuit of attaining competence in the lingua franca.
“Multiethnic and multilingual countries like Malaysia are currently facing the challenge of creating the essential balance that is needed between national, ethnic linguistic and cultural identities,” said Prof Dato’ Dr Saran Kaur Gill from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

This symposium was jointly organised by the National Council of Professors (MPN), together with UTAR's Centre of Modern Languages and Literature (CMLL) and Faculty of Creative Industries’ Department of General Studies.

Ms Christina Ong, Ms Joanna Tiffany, Ms Deepa, Cik Siti Ummaizah, Puan Nurullashkeen together with students from Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, Kampar campus

The R&D Colloquium (2.0) 2016 was held at Sungai Long Campus on 22 October 2016. The colloquium was the sixth instalment which saw researchers nationwide, including from UTAR’s 28 research centres, convene to share and exchange research ideas and findings, as well as to collaborate on multidisciplinary research.
The sub-themes were ‘Sustainable Tourism in the Digital Age’ chaired by Centre for Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility in Business Chairperson Dr Mohammad Falahat Nejadmahani, ‘Innovation in Society and Education in the Digital Age’ chaired by Centre for Modern Languages & Literature Chairperson Dr Nadya Supian, ‘Improvement in the Quality of Our Lives through Innovation’ chaired by Centre for Research on Non-Communicable Disease Chairperson Prof Dr Shelly Soo, and ‘Innovation in Infrastructure Monitoring and its Socio-Economic Impact - Smart City’ chaired by Centre for Disaster Risk Reduction Chairperson Prof Dr Yasuo Tanaka.

Among the presentations that stood out were “Edu-Tourism: Exploring Perceived Risk and Risk Reduction Strategies in the Pursuit of Higher Education Abroad” by Lam Mun Soon from Multimedia University, “Digital Economics Throughout the Construction Lifecycle” by Ir How Yoke Teng from Brunsfield International Group, “Smart City by IBM” from IBM Country Manager for Watson Internet of Things Razim Malek Othman, and “Practice Led Research: Virtual Reality (VR) in Medicine” by Centre for Immersive Technology & Creativity Chairperson Aloysius Yapp.

This colloquium was organised by the Institute of Postgraduate Studies and Research (IPSR), in line with UTAR’s 10-year Strategic Plan on cross-disciplinary research.

A talk titled “The Role of Language in Promoting Heritage” by Assoc Prof Dr K. Srinivasan was held at Sungai Long Campus on 17 November 2016. The talk aimed to raise awareness of the importance of heritage preservation through language.
Language acts as a central element in the expression of identity and is of key importance in the preservation of a group’s identity.  It is particularly important to linguistic minorities seeking to maintain their distinct group and cultural identities.

“It is important to protect native languages because they are not only mediums of communication but also serve as the vehicle of transmission for the history, culture, and traditions of a group,” said Dr Srinivasan.

However, Dr Srinivasan also said learning another language enables a person to have two different world perspectives and cultural experiences. It builds bridges between peoples of different colour, creed, culture and language.
“Language is a symbol of cultural and personal identity. If we do not learn our native language, we risk becoming alienated from our families and communities. Teach your mother tongue to our future generations to help them stay connected to their culture,” he said.

Assoc Prof Dr K. Srinivasan holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Education (BEd) in English from Madras University. He later obtained his Masters of Arts (MA), Masters of Philosophy (MPhil) and PhD in English from Bharathidasan University.

His areas of research interest include literature, cultural studies, effective teaching practices and effective communication. His teaching experience spans over thirty years and he is currently teaching in Bharathidasan University in Tamil Nadu, India.

This talk was jointly organised by the Department of Modern Languages of the Faculty of Creative Industries (FCI) and the Centre for Modern Languages and Literature (CMLL).