Congratulations to the FASS Inter-Faculty Games 2016 participants for the excellent finish! They clinched second position overall and achieving a total score just one point short of the winning Faculty. In addition, they came in first place for seven events—including Men’s Volleyball, Women’s Handball, Table Tennis and even DOTA (a multiplayer battle arena video game)!
We are very proud of the enthusiasm and initiative they put into representing the Faculty in the sport/game they excel at, and greatly appreciate the hard work they have put in towards this achievement.
The team (from left) Liu Weiting, Jiang Xiaoshuang Grace, Raqibah Binte Abdul Razak & Fatin Farzana Binte Mishwan
FASS would like to congratulate the NUS team comprising of FASS Geography students, Liu Weiting, Jiang Xiaoshuang Grace, Raqibah Binte Abdul Razak and Fatin Farzana Binte Miswan, on winning the Grand Prize at the Geoscience Exhibition and Competition (GENC) organised by the University Technology Petronas! The Prize consisted of a Trophy, Certificates of recognition and a cash prize of RM1000.
The team of four geographers beat 26 other participating teams from universities in South East Asia, which is a commendable feat especially because the NUS team were exposed to geology through only one or two modules.
The competition, held on 19 and 20 July 2016, consisted of two parts: the first part was a team oral presentation and the second involved putting up an exhibition of a poster, related material evidences and videos on the same theme. The NUS team name was “SENTOSA 4G SECRETS” and their work was based on the rocks of Sentosa (the one and only rock outcrop in Singapore that is accessible to general public and exposed only at low tides).
We are delighted that Adalyn Heng from the Department of Psychology has been selected by the NUS as the sole FASS winner of the 2016 Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Prize (OURP), on the basis of her recent honours thesis research mentored by Dr Stephen Lim, Director of the NUS Cognition and Education Laboratory.
The researchers comment: “In educational settings, the ability to ask good questions is critical. In this study, we explored the extent to which retrieval practice can enhance learners’ ability to generate higher-order questions. Participants were randomly allocated to one of two learning groups, wherein they either studied a text per se (S_S_) or used a combination of repeated studying and repeated retrieval (SRSR). They returned a week later and generated questions based on the text which they had studied. We observed that participants in the SRSR group asked significantly more higher-order questions than did those in the S_S_ group. This observation has important implications for how we might improve classroom engagement and learning in the real world.”
In addition, Adalyn shares her research experience: “I have learnt the importance of reflection in the research process. At times, making progress on research requires one to take a step back to reflect on and reconnect with one’s initial purpose of embarking on the project. For example, the research process is often fraught with various methodological challenges, ranging from selecting (or developing) experimental materials, specifying the experimental task and conditions, to deciding what statistical tool to use to analyze the data. In addressing these methodological challenges, it is important to stay connected to the overarching purpose of the research and to not lose sight of the larger picture, which in this instance, is to ultimately enhance pedagogical practices. I owe what I have achieved thus far to Dr Lim’s patience and generosity in mentoring and nurturing me. I am beyond grateful.”
We extend our congratulations to Adalyn and Dr Lim!
This was a report on an inaugural series of talks titled ‘Inspire.Psych’ which was organised by the NUS Psychology Society in March 2016. Targeted at non-psychology students, the talks aimed to help students understand how psychology can be applied to everyday life and also to provide a view of the world from a psychological perspective. The talks titled ‘How to attract the Love of your Life’ by Mr Kelvin Teng and ‘The Right of Language’ by Dr Travellia from FASS Department of Psychology focused on the topics of love and language.
Congratulations to Mr Yan Yingwei, from the Department of Geography who has won the Esri Young Scholars Award 2016 for his PhD work titled: ‘Investigating potential distributional changes of invasive crop pest species associated with global climate change using Geographic Information System’.
This nation-wide competition, run annually by Esri, celebrates excellence in geospatial study, and more specifically, the creative use of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology – or smart mapping technology – to solve commercial and community issues.
Yingwei’s study aimed to secure sustainable agricultural productions and global food supply in the context of climate change and rapid human population increase. Specifically, the study involves using GIS to analyse the possible consequences of future climate change on the global distributions of invasive crop pest species; and mitigating potential pest invasion risks based on quality-controlled Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) which is a form of crowd sourcing or user-generated content.
His four-year PhD project is supervised by Associate Professor Feng Chen-Chieh, and by his thesis committee members namely, Associate Professor Wang Yi-Chen, and Professor Lu Xixi. The project generated research findings on four fronts:
(1) the overall global distributional patterns of invasive crop pest species;
(2) the spatial patterns of future distributional changes in pest species richness across different latitudes and altitudes;
(3) how temperature and precipitation variations across different regions will affect the distributional changes of the pest species; and
(4) how to utilize artificial intelligence (fuzzy logic) to assure the quality of VGI in order to better surveil crop pest invasions based on spatial crowdsourcing.
These findings may allow agricultural planners, policy and decision-makers to easily identify areas around the globe which need more attention about invasive crop pest control.
Yingwei’s enthusiasm in GIS drove him to pay attention to the Esri Young Scholars Award. As a final year PhD student, he submitted his four year’s research outcomes to Esri to compete for the award. By participating in the competition, he described himself as a young scholar with a quick uptake and an ever burning desire to outperform himself and raise his intellectual levels at every opportunity.
Yingwei will be receiving this award at the 2016 Esri User Conference in San Diego, California, this June and will have his work displayed alongside other Young Scholar winners from around the world.
Students from the Department of Communications and New Media held their annual flagship showcase from 24 to 27 March 2016 at the ArtScience Museum.
The exhibition centred on the theme “Construct-Destruct-Reconstruct”. It celebrates the fluidity of processes by evoking collective thoughts, feelings and hopes for the media, art and communication spheres in a way that is sustainable to Singapore through its artworks.
Isaac Lim Jue Hao, a final year Theatre Studies major from the Department of English Language and Literature, has won the top prize at the annual 24-Hour Playwrighting Competition with his play Between Consciousness.
The competition was organised by TheatreWorks Writer’s Laboratory Writing & Community in partnership with the South East Community Development Council. This year’s edition was held from 6 to 7 June at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) which boasts of lush greenery that provided a serene and calm environment for the promising playwrights to develop their plays.
Recently, we caught up with Isaac to congratulate him on his achievement and to find out more about his winning entry Between Consciousness.
1. Congratulations on the achievement! How do you feel about the award?
It came as a surprise! I was not expecting to win anything this year. This is my fifth time participating in the competition. I attempted a different style of writing this time round and am glad the work resonated with the judges. I’m very encouraged by the award as it recognises my effort as well as my craft. It pushes me to want to explore playwrighting and creative writing even more.
2. Why did you decide to join the competition?
I’ve always been interested in playwrighting and have been regularly taking part in the competition. This year, however, the impetus was definitely the unique venue – the IMH at Buangkok Green. It’s a place that I would not have visited if not for this opportunity. I’ve always treated the event itself as less of a competition and more of a writing retreat. I love to write and taking a weekend off to generate new work cannot be a more perfect break from everything.
3. Tell us more about Between Consciousness.
Between Consciousness is itself an exploration of mental illness and society. The play itself is non-sequitur and crazy. It runs as two parallel stories; one tells about a father and his autistic child and another a mental health doctor coming to terms with expectations of his patients, family and the society. I’d like to think people have alter-egos between different consciousness in their minds and one can never can quite tell fantasy from reality.
4. What was the inspiration behind it?
The father and child story was inspired by a teacher-mentor of mine, who regularly shares stories about his autistic child and their adventures. It has made me rethink about children with special needs and how society looks at them.
At IMH, we learnt that there are many “mental illnesses” that are not apparent to the society. I decided to attempt a pastiche of it all which was presented in a madcap way and hopefully is serious enough to shed light on the matter.
I myself have had episodes of epileptic seizures and a distant cousin with a mental illness thus my personal experiences or “adventures” contributed in part to my writing.
5. Describe the 24-hour playwriting competition experience. (The difficulties faced, the memorable bits etcetera)
We were given the – for the lack of a better word – craziest yet creative stimuli at different times throughout the 24-hour period. These items had to be incorporated into the play in chronological order of their appearance. This includes specific lines a character said and non-specific abstract “objects” like Mamee Monster snacks or a black thrash bag filled with air. They say experience makes it easier, but I’ll deny that. You can never quite expect what the game-masters throw at you, so you just have to keep writing.
It is interesting to make friends at such competitions. Everyone is there to indulge in the passion of playwrighting, so chatting and sharing snacks and drinks during the long night is really fun. It’s akin to a big sleepover party with the most diverse bunch of creatives. It’s nice hitting ideas off one another. Writing is not all that mundane and anti-social act.
6. What is your takeaway from the competition?
Everyone is a bit mental but we should never shy away from admitting or recognising that.
With regards to the competition itself, I believe there is no fixed way of writing for a competition but it is definitely best to try different styles. Even if we don’t emerge as winners, we will walk away with a piece of fresh writing and an experience that is unmatched. The accomplishment of finishing a writing under such constrains is in itself pleasurable in many ways.
7. What are your future plans with regard to theatre and the arts?
I’m currently a final year Theatre Studies major, so I will definitely will be involved in theatre and the arts in one way or another. I do hope that upon graduation, should I not find a job in a theatre organisation, I will still find time to play with like-minded peers. I like to write as much as I like to devise works thus hopefully I will continue to push my creativity and generate new works in the near future.
TheatreWorks 24-hour playwrighting competition winners with guest-of-honour Dr Maliki Osman
The Faculty wishes Isaac all the best in his future undertakings!
FASS Class Champions ready to take on the challenge to raise fund to support their juniors.
The Commencement Class Giving campaign at FASS took off to a heartening start with the recruitment of 34 class champions across the departments at the beginning of this year. The annual giving campaign is an initiative by NUS Development Office (DVO) that runs across the campus in a spirit of friendly competition to inspire commencing students to support bursaries or student programmes for their juniors. It is a collaborative effort with the External Relations and Student Life Division (ERSL) at the faculty.
Soliciting gifts from fellow students.
Class Champions in high spirit with Asst Dean A/Prof Loy Hui Chieh and Vice Dean A/Prof TC Chang of FASS’ External Relations and Student Life Division at the Class Giving Collection Booth.
Despite the busy schedule of their final semester at NUS, the class champions went all out to encourage their graduating classmates to make their gifts in support of the FASS Student Advancement Bursary Fund. In addition to setting up booths at the AS1 walkway and gown collection to solicit gifts, the class champions also reached out to their friends through various social media platforms and their departments’ social gatherings to raise funds. Though some of them found it challenging to fund-raise initially, many of the class champions felt the experience was meaningful and enjoyed the friendship they forged through the process. According to David Hoe, Economics Class champion 2015, “Though it was a short few months of fundraising, I feel I have grown and have been inspired through serving alongside my fellow passionate comrades. More than that, those who gave also encouraged me to go the extra mile”.
Appreciation Dinner to thank the class champions for their hard work in the semester-long campaign.
Class Champions receiving Certificate of Appreciation from Provost Prof Tan Eng Chye at the Annual Giving Appreciation Night (FASS Class Champions Varun and Darryl standing third and fourth from the right).
The hard work of our class champions paid off handsomely when the competition results were announced at the end of August. A total of 25.8% of the commencing undergraduate cohort made gifts of at least $10 each, totaling S$ 8,617 for the bursary fund. Their achievement led to FASS being awarded second place for the Best Participation Award (among large faculties with over 1,000 graduating students). Their enthusiasm and committed effort also won FASS the inaugural Volunteer Excellence Award as the faculty with the most number of active student champions.
FASS awarded the Inaugural Volunteer Excellence Award for the faculty with the most number of active champions.
We would like to thank the following class champions for their commendable efforts:
Kok Wang Lin (Chinese Studies)
Tong Wenxu (Chinese Studies)
Loh Sze Ming (Communications and New Media)
Louis Puah (Communications and New Media)
Grace Leong (Communications and New Media)
Lee Kai Shun (Communications and New Media)
David Hoe (Economics)
Roshan Kumar Belani (Economics)
Zachary Low (English Literature)
Timothy Joshua Ong (English Language)
Gladys Sim (English Language)
Wendy Ang (Environmental Studies)
Loo Wen Bin (Geography)
Kayley Ng (Geography)
Reuben Lim (European Studies)
Nathalie Ng (History)
Li Ling (History)
Philine Yong (Japanese Studies)
Nur’izzah Mohamad Afandi (Malay Studies)
Siti Nursamihah Jeffrey (Philosophy)
Daryl Ooi (Philosophy)
Darryl Lee (Political Science)
Varun Khemaney (Political Science)
Boris Wong (Global Studies)
Ace Ong (Psychology)
Ho Si Min (Psychology)
Elizabeth Chew (Psychology)
Ng Yi Ying (Social Work)
Muhammad Ilham Firdaus Omar Ali (Social Work)
Faris B. Ridzuan (Sociology)
Michelle Teo (Sociology)
Jayasutha Samuthiran (Political Science and South Asian Studies)
Diviyapriya Naidu d/o Vijayan (South Asian Studies)
Cindy Lin (Southeast Asian Studies)
Upon their commencement, the class champions now assume the role of class ambassadors. We take delight in knowing that FASS will remain connected to this wonderful group of selfless students, and we hope to be able to work with them on meaningful causes in the future.
Class Champions appointed as Class Ambassadors at the Investitute organized by OAR
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We are delighted that Adalyn Heng from the Department of Psychology has been selected by the NUS as the sole FASS winner of the 2016 
