Research Interest Output of New Academic Staff

FH Newsletter 2022/23 Issue 2

Research Interest/Output of New Academic Staff

Research & Scholarly Activities

Dr Adel CHAOUCH-OROZCO

Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies

Research Assistant Professor

Dr Chaouch-Orozco holds a PhD in Psycholinguistics from the University of Reading (UK). His research investigates lexical-semantic processes and their implications for broader cognition while considering the impact of cross-cultural factors too. He approaches these questions by combining computational methods such as language models and network science tools with behavioural experiments. His research has contributed to the understanding of semantic memory in bilinguals, among other areas in second language research. His ongoing work continues this investigation, integrating two novel fields of study: the relationship between semantic memory and verbal creativity, and the exploration of emotion concepts across cultures. His work has been published in international peer-reviewed journals including Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, Second Language Research, and PLOS ONE. Moreover, he is one of the editors of the Cambridge Handbook of Third Language Acquisition, where he also co-authors two chapters.

Dr Hassan NEJADGHANBAR

Department of English and Communication

Research Assistant Professor

Dr Hassan Nejadghanbar is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Communication. He previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the same department under the supervision of Prof. Hu Guangwei, where he investigated academic publishing practices among PhD students in Hong Kong. Dr Nejadghanbar’s PhD dissertation, supervised by Prof. Atai (Kharazmi University) and Prof. Snow (Harvard University), focused on advanced academic literacy development among postgraduate students.
In addition to his work on academic literacy, he has also focused on promoting reflection among language teachers and developing models in this area. Currently, his research focuses on language teachers' identity (re)construction and their emotional vulnerability as a structural condition of teaching.
His research has been published in journals such as Language Teaching, System, English for Academic Purposes, RELC, TESOL Journal and Learned Publishing, among others.

Dr Jeffry OKTAVIANUS

Department of English and Communication

Research Assistant Professor

Dr Jeffry Oktavianus holds a PhD in Media and Communication from City University of Hong Kong. His research revolves around new media and its impacts on social change. Specifically, he investigates the potential of new media technologies in addressing health and political issues, particularly those concerning health disparities, misinformation, and disinformation. Additionally, he explores how new media can facilitate public campaigns and foster participatory communication. He also delves into the experiences of marginalised communities, such as migrant groups. His research has been published in journals, including Information, Communication, and Society, Health Communication, Computers in Human Behavior, and International Journal of Communication.

Dr Bony SCHACHTER

Department of Chinese Culture

Assistant Professor

Dr Bony Schachter is a Daoist studies scholar. As the recipient of a generous scholarship from the China Scholarship Council, he studied modern and classical Chinese at Nanjing Normal University as well as read Chinese history, Sanskrit, and Tibetan at Fudan University. Subsequently, Schachter pursued specialized training in Daoism at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he studied under the famous Daoist studies scholar Lai Chi Tim. His PhD dissertation, “Nanji Chongxu Miaodao Zhenjun: The Tianhuang zhidao taiqing yuce and Zhu Quan’s (1378–1448) Apotheosis as a Daoist God,” won the ICS Mok Hing Cheong Postgraduate Scholarship (2018–2019). His articles have appeared in top sinological journals, including T’oung Pao, Bulletin of SOAS, Monumenta Serica, and Daoism: Religion, History and Society. Schachter is currently working on several book projects. His first book manuscript will examine the significance of Daoism for ritual theory. Other book projects include the first English translation of the Scripture of the Jade Sovereign (Yuhuang jing 玉皇經) and books about the role of Daoism in Ming politics. Schachter has contributed to several international projects, including the Daozang Jiyao, Chinese Religious Text Authority, and Zhonghua Xu Daozang.

Dr WENG Yu

Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies

Assistant Professor

Dr Weng Yu holds a PhD in Translation Studies from Durham University. Prior to joining the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies at PolyU, she worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at South China University of Technology. Her background includes translation process research, linguistics and sociology, translation and technology, and specialised translation practices. Her current research interests lie primarily in the cognition and psychology of translation and interpreting, with a particular focus on the micro-level components (e.g., reading and writing) and environmental factors (e.g., stress) involved in these cognitive activities. These issues have been approached mainly through empirical research methods such as eye-tracking, keystroke-logging and a range of psychophysiological measures. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Target, Foreign Language Teaching and Research and Linguistica Antverpiensia. She has participated in and led national and provincial research projects in this area. Her on-going research project is concerned with the working mechanism of the “default” translation and interpreting process in the human mind, drawing on the theoretical frameworks from positive psychology, emotional psychology and neuroscience.

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