New joint paper on factors associated with cessation of smoking in health professionals: a scoping review

This new joint paper by our Professor Stefano Occhipinti, published in Global Health Action under Taylor & Francis, addresses the issue of how smoking health professionals hinder optimal implementation of cessation support, aiming to inform policy and future research to better support smoking health professionals to quit. Offering cessation support to health professionals who smoke to ensure optimal implementation of cessation support for patients is a key recommendation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Article 14 guidelines. However, direct efforts to support this population to quit are limited. The research team synthesised the existing literature on the predictors and processes informing attitudes and beliefs about smoking health professionals' own cessation. The initial search yielded 120,883 articles, with 27 selected for synthesis. Prevalence estimates and predictors of smoking behaviour have remained the primary focus of smoking health professional research. This study concludes that although cessation support is needed for health professionals who smoke, evidence for factors predicting quit success is limited. Future research should identify relevant predictors and test them using prospective research designs to clarify targets for change. Open access to the article from HERE.

New book on Multimodal Chinese Discourse: Understanding Communication and Society in Contemporary China

In this new book published by Routledge, our Dr William Feng explores communication and society in contemporary China through systematic analysis of multimodal discourse at the national, institutional, and individual levels, as China experiences significant socio-political shifts and rapid development of new media. Dr Feng systematically investigates and discusses the new discursive features in relation to relevant socio-cultural contexts. The analysis and discussion provide researchers with a social semiotic perspective on various aspects of communicative and social changes in contemporary China. The book also contributes to the growing field of multimodality by developing a set of cross-disciplinary analytical frameworks to deal with complex discourse forms in print media, moving images, and new media. The research findings provide a unique Chinese perspective on a broad spectrum of issues such as discursive governance, nation branding, university marketization, and identity performance. The book is relevant not only to discourse analysis and multimodality, but also to other disciplines which will benefit from a systematic understanding of Chinese discourse, such as cultural studies, communication studies and area/China studies. More information about the book can be found on the website HERE.

Outstanding Alumni Award 2023 of the Department of English and Communication of PolyU – Announcement of awardees

We are delighted to share the list of the recipients of the Outstanding Alumni Award 2023 of the Department of English and Communication. The Department would like to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of four of our alumni in their fields. The four awardees listed below have all made significant contributions to PolyU, our Department, and society. The Alumni and Young Alumni awardees, in alphabetical order by family name, are: 1. Ms Candice LAU Lok Ying, Communication Officer, UNICEF Sudan (Graduate of 2019) Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Community Service Achievement Ms Candice LAU’s engagement with community service started when she was a student at PolyU, where she worked as a youth facilitator and programme assistant in several local NGOs. She joined UNICEF Vietnam after graduating in 2019 and was stationed in Hanoi as an Education Associate, where she worked to help ensure access to education for children. Her current role within UNICEF Sudan highlights her dedication to advocating for the rights of Sudanese children through her leadership in various campaigns. Ms Lau’s wholehearted devotion towards promoting the rights of various disadvantaged communities is truly commendable. Mr Paul Lee, Chair of the Departmental Advisory Committee and a member of the Judging Panel, said, “The essence of communication is to bring people together to hopefully achieve some meaningful objectives together. Candice, being a proud graduate of our department, has set a good example of doing meaningful things outside HK (i.e., in Vietnam and Sudan), bridging various communities around the world so those in need can be served. This is a great example of communication well lived and interpreted for the betterment of mankind!” "Receiving the Department’s Outstanding Award is an honour for me, especially given that young women are often less recognised for their contributions,” said Ms Lau. “I hope that this serves as a reminder that this award should celebrate diversity and challenge the definition of success, showing that the path to achievement is not limited to certain areas of work or demographics. This recognition has inspired me to continue my development and humanitarian work with the most vulnerable children, leading towards a more inclusive future". 2. Ms Doris LEUNG Shuk Yi, Co-Founder, Diamond Tech (Hong Kong) Limited, and Founder and CEO, Diamond Cab (Hong Kong) Limited (Graduate of 1993) Outstanding Alumni Award in Entrepreneurial Achievement Ms Doris LEUNG is an award-winning and pioneering social entrepreneur and founder of Diamond Cab, the first wheelchair-accessible taxi service company in Hong Kong. Over the past 12 years, Ms Leung’s work has inspired the taxi industry within Hong Kong to recognise the need for and to allow increased access to barrier-free taxis. Currently, with over 100 wheelchair-accessible taxis of different brands operating throughout Hong Kong, Diamond Cab has set the benchmark of running quality taxi services with empathy. Ms Leung’s work has demonstrated how commercial business can be improved by adopting a social mission, especially with the untapped need for ageing care. Professor Eric Friginal, Head of the Department and a member of the Judging Panel, said, “The innovative work of Ms Leung has contributed tremendously to supporting the social welfare and ageing care sectors, showcasing the potential for innovation and local ingenuity to bring about fundamental changes and policy shifts”. Ms Leung expressed it is a great honour to receive the award, and said, "I am grateful to have been empowered by the knowledge of Language and Communication at PolyU. I have practised what I have learnt to curate the social entrepreneurial journey of Diamond Cab with a long-lasting impact to make a better ageing world". 3. Dr Esterina NERVINO, Assistant Professor, Department of English and Department of Marketing, City University of Hong Kong (Graduate of 2018) Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Professional Achievement Dr Esterina NERVINO joined the retail industry after she completed her PhD studies within the Department. Dr Nervino went back to academia in 2021 and has incorporated her professional network and experience into her curriculum to benefit students by allowing them to interact with international corporations through their university studies. Dr Nervino is well recognised within luxury retail for her great contributions within the industry towards raising awareness about the role of discourse, particularly in discussions surrounding sustainability as a crucial component of corporate commitments, efforts, and achievements. Dr Amy Suen, Chairperson of the Department of English Alumni Association and a member of the Judging Panel, congratulated the success of Dr Nervino, “Your hard work, perseverance, and continuous pursuit of professionalism have led to excellence. By sharing your insights, you have inspired your fellow alumni to achieve their goals. Your invaluable perspective and positive mindset are truly an asset”. Dr Nervino felt honoured to be the recipient of this award and said, “I would like to express my gratitude to the Judging Panel and the staff of the Department of English and Communication for their nomination and support during my studies. Thank you also to all the people who have contributed to this achievement. This recognition further motivates me to pursue a greater integration between linguistics and marketing in my research and to strengthen the collaboration between academia and the business sector, highlighting the key role that discourse plays in society”. 4. Mr Phil WOO Pak Fai, Co-founder and Product Director, PREN (Graduate of 2008) Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Entrepreneurial Achievement Mr Phil WOO showcased his entrepreneurial acumen as Co-founder and Product Director of PREN by developing proprietary hardware and software solutions for multinational corporations and start-ups, achieving impressive financial results. Mr Woo co-invented ground-breaking products, such as an anti-infection waterless mobile toilet for caretakers and a smart toilet lid to facilitate primary healthcare, which have secured HK$700K in grants from the Hong Kong Government via the PolyU Maker Fund and Cyberport Creative Micro Fund. Mr Woo’s innovative ventures have not only driven growth and success in their respective industries but have also left a lasting impact on society as a whole. Dr Amy Suen said, “Your entrepreneurial achievements are shaped by your vision, determination, and hard work. We would also like to celebrate your positive disposition and the impact you have on others. Thank you for what you do. You are a shining example of an outstanding alumnus. Congratulations!” Mr Woo shared his excitement about receiving this award, “I am honoured to be recognised among such talented and accomplished fellows in our Department. This award will motivate more of us to continue pushing the boundaries of exploration and pioneering”. We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations again to this year’s awardees for their outstanding contributions and achievements!

PolyU and CityU Pioneer Success with Inaugural "Talking Across the World" Symposium

Our Department, together with our Research Centre for Professional Communication in English (RCPCE) and the Department of English of the City University of Hong Kong (CityU), successfully co-hosted the first-ever joint CityU-PolyU “Talking Across the World” (TAW) Conference. The conference aimed to elicit cross-cultural and interdisciplinary dialogue, with collaboration from the Asian Pacific Region of Association for Business Communication, the Italian Consulate in Hong Kong, and the China Business English Association. The two-day event commenced with a pre-conference talk under the theme “the language of sustainability: a discourse-analytic perspective” on 16 May. Professor Franca Poppi from the Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy, discussed “Communicating corporate sustainability performance: A linguistic analysis across cultures and genres”. On 17 May, the first plenary speaker, Professor Lifei Wang from Beijing Language and Culture University, mainland China, discussed the language management maturity of Chinese enterprises. The second speaker, Mr Jacopo Pesavento from Branding Records, Hong Kong, discussed building a lasting bond with Chinese customers. The conference was then divided into four sessions, with themes covering teaching practices, intercultural communication, and AI in business communication. A second round of parallel sessions included talks on professional discourse, globalisation, and digital media. The day concluded with a plenary talk by Professor Geert Jacobs from the University of Ghent, Belgium, discussing personal branding and leadership communication in podcasting. On the second day, Dr Yunxia Zhu from the University of Queensland, Australia, used an activity-based theory to discuss intercultural communicative competence for global managers. Other researchers presented studies on AI communications. The day was filled with presentations and discussions. Mr Charles Lankester from Ruder Finn Asia, Hong Kong, gave a plenary speech on reputation and risk management, with examples from the Balenciaga scandal and Lancôme, and closed the conference. The event attracted over 100 abstract submissions and 160 physical and online attendees. This successful joint conference is set to drive the future of business and professional communication research.

PolyU Taster Programme 2023: English Around You

We are happy that around 25 Secondary 4 to 5 students had a wonderful time participating in our two interactive workshops focused on the theme of "English Around You" at the PolyU Taster Programme 2023 on 13 April. The workshops were designed to help students grasp the versatility of the English language in various contexts. Through lively activities and discussions, participants gained practical communication skills that can be applied in their everyday lives. Additionally, they had the opportunity to meet our student ambassador and learn about the exceptional study experiences offered at PolyU and our programme. We hope they felt inspired to further explore English and Communication! Know more about our BA in English and Applied Linguistics (BAEAL)  

New joint article on regional varieties and diachronic changes in Chinese political discourse

This new joint article by our Professor Kathleen Ahrens, published in the journal of Humanities & Social Sciences Communications under Springer Nature, examines the political discourses in Hong Kong and Mainland China using the Menzerath-Altmann (MA) law to analyse the relationship between linguistic constructs. The study found that the parameters of the MA law can distinguish regional variants of political speeches and capture language changes over time. The results suggest that the law can account for the interaction of diachronic language change and synchronic variation in complex self-organising systems. Open access to the article from HERE.

Undergraduate ENGL conference PolyU-CALLS 2023 a resounding success

Organised by the Department of English and Communication (ENGL), the first-ever PolyU Undergraduate Conference on Applied Linguistics and Language Studies (PolyU-CALLS) was held on Saturday, 4 March 2023. The inaugural event, held on campus, was a resounding success, with over 100 students from PolyU and other universities in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area participating in the conference. PolyU-CALLS 2023 featured research presentations by undergraduate students as well as plenary speeches by ENGL faculty members Professor Dennis Tay and Dr Anne Schluter. In keeping with the conference’s focus on showcasing the work of ENGL undergraduate students, the conference was supported throughout the day by more than a dozen undergraduate student volunteers. PolyU-CALLS reflects ENGL’s increasing focus on undergraduate student research. "We saw a need for an event that was tailored to students' research interests, especially those who are completing their Capstone or Final Year projects. We hope that the conference will inspire Applied Linguistics and Communication students in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area to get involved in language-based research more actively and spearhead their own original research studies," said Professor Eric Friginal, Head of ENGL at PolyU. The breadth of topics and diversity of presenters at PolyU-CALLS 2023 brought in an audience that included faculty, postgraduate students, and undergraduate students. Attendees at the conference were able to listen to 32 different undergraduate presentations spanning subject areas that included language and social media; linguistic landscape and urban spaces; next generation workplaces; and language and European studies. Student presenters were competitively selected based on their submitted proposals or via nomination by their home departments. The organisers of PolyU-CALLS 2023 were thrilled with the level of engagement and energy at the event. A post-conference survey was sent to all participants to help the Department know what can be done to make next year’s iteration of the conference even better. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with respondents praising the content and organisation of the conference (and the catering and gift bags provided for all conference attendees). The majority of respondents said they would recommend PolyU-CALLS to friends and classmates, with one attendee saying “Great event, hope to have another chance to join that again in the future, even though I am not a presenter. Thank you!”. Praise for the event also came from presenters, who appreciated receiving “a lot of valuable suggestions for research”. Though all student presenters at PolyU-CALLS 2023 did an amazing job, ENGL would like to recognise those outstanding presenters whose work went above and beyond at demonstrating research excellence. After evaluating both abstract submissions and the presentations themselves, ENGL would like to announce the following PolyU-CALLS 2023 award winners: Best PolyU-CALLS presentation: Ashima Shukla from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Best ENGL presentation: Nok Lam Wong from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Best non-ENGL presentation: Sum Wai Li from Hong Kong Baptist University The level of student participation at PolyU-CALLS 2023 highlights an appetite for more student-oriented conferences in Applied Linguistics and Language Studies. “It’s amazing to see the level of enthusiasm present at the PolyU-CALLS 2023. We're delighted with how the event turned out,” said Dr Max Diaz, ENGL Undergraduate Programme Leader. “It's exciting to see students getting exposure to new research topics, receiving feedback on their studies, and experiencing an authentic academic conference. We're already planning next year's conference and hope to make it bigger and better.” With its first chapter coming to a successful close, students and the Department of English and Communication are already looking forward to PolyU-CALLS 2024.

Research article of Dr Phoebe Lin recognised by TESOL Quarterly as a top cited article in 2021-22

An article written by our Dr Phoebe Lin titled, "In Search of the Optimal Mode of Input for the Acquisition of Formulaic Expressions", has been recognised as a Top Cited Article in 2021-22 in a top-tier journal, TESOL Quarterly under Wiley. This article reports a controlled experiment to investigate the effect of input mode and frequency effects on incidental Formulaic expressions (FEs) acquisition by L1 and EFL learners. The results confirm that input modality affects FE learning. Visual input is more conducive to FE learning than aural input, for both L1 and EFL learner groups. More information about the article can be found on the website HERE.

Dr Ming Curran granted funding for research in Korea coffee culture

Dr Ming Curran, our Assistant Professor, has been awarded a grant for US$13,320 (HK$104,000) from the Academy of Korean Studies for his project titled From foreign luxury to domestic necessity: Coffee culture in Korea today. Dr Curran will use the grant to travel to South Korea to conduct research about the country’s vibrant and rapidly expanding coffee scene. Drawing on theories of globalisation and intercultural communication, Dr Curran will explore the multiple social functions that coffee and coffee shops play in contemporary Korean society. He will conduct interviews with customers to examine how coffee and the space of the coffee shop are differently understood and consumed by various demographic groups in South Korea. In addition, he will analyse how local city governments use coffee to promote domestic tourism. Dr Curran’s new project marks a continuation of his earlier research on coffee culture in Korea, which he conducted in collaboration with South Korea's Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Associate Professor Michael Chesnut and which was published last year in the Journal of Consumer Culture under Sage Publications. More information of the article can be found on the website here.

Opinion article published in the South China Morning Post about ChatGPT and Education

Our Department Head, Professor Eric Friginal, wrote an opinion article in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) examining the potential implications of the artificial intelligence application ChatGPT for high school and university academic activities. According to Prof. Friginal, AI technologies such as ChatGPT may present some challenges but can also provide positive teaching and learning opportunities if incorporated into the classroom with careful consideration. Prof. Friginal suggests that ChatGPT could be utilised by instructors to increase student engagement and prepare learners for an AI-driven future. However, he notes that most academic institutions in Hong Kong banned the use of ChatGPT due to concerns about academic dishonesty. In contrast, PolyU took a proactive approach by holding webinars demonstrating ChatGPT's capabilities and limitations. Based on Prof. Friginal's experiment using ChatGPT to evaluate essays, he identified major weaknesses in its feedback, particularly the inability to accurately cite sources or references. Despite concerns that AI tools will upend our traditions of education and learning, Prof. Friginal believes that ChatGPT and tools like it are transformative. They show the potential of AI's march from machine learning to machine consciousness, which can be leveraged and controlled by teachers and students in the writing classroom and beyond. Read the full article from the SCMP website HERE.