Social sciences

To encourage the university community to take regular exercise and think positively through physical activities, Lingnan University in Hong Kong held a fundraising film screening of the documentary Four Trails in Yuen Long yesterday, 7 March. A group of runners, along with the film’s production team, attended the post-screening sharing session, where they chatted with students and faculty, sharing behind-the-scenes stories. The event attracted an audience of about a hundred, and all proceeds will be donated to the Outstanding Athletics Awards Fund for students at the University.

A new framework formulated by SUTD researchers helps ensure digital citizen participation does not just end with feedback collection, but translates into real-world urban decisions.

Life-course perspective of households with children

- A pioneer of systems biology who challenged Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene, appointed as the first Chair Professor of DGIST Biomedical Engineering Department opening in March.

DGIST Undergraduate Alumni Demonstrate Academic Excellence by Securing Professorships at Major Universities in Korea

- grants degrees to 60 PhD, 72 master’s, and 128 bachelor’s students, fostering 260 talented individuals of science and technology

Researchers used motion capture technology to create a database of body language – ranging from happiness to contempt – targeted towards an Asian population for the first time.

Unveiling the acceptance of new public mobility services for older adults

The intersection of technology and psychological health has become a critical area of enquiry in interpersonal, workplace and organisational contexts in the digital era. With the support of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao University Alliance, the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University in collaboration with Sun Yat-sen University and Renmin University hosted the inaugural International Conference and Workshop on Health and Well-being in the Digital Era on the Lingnan campus yesterday, 21 February. The conference continues today, 22 February, on Sun Yat-sen University’s Shenzhen campus. It highlights the crucial role of psychological science in shaping AI applications across work, healthcare, and daily life, and attracted about 160 participants on the first day.

New evidence suggests that ancient seafarers in Island Southeast Asia had a technological sophistication comparable to much later civilizations.

Scientists know that natural disasters have negative health effects on survivors, but long-term observations are lacking. To help fill this gap, a Japanese research team has investigated the connection between the degree of housing damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and all-cause mortality, using the data from a cohort study conducted by the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project. Using long-term observation periods, this research project shows no significant relationship between the degree of house damage and all-cause mortality.

- DGIST to Host Guest Lecture by Prof. Victor Ambros, 2024 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine - Pioneer in MicroRNA Research to Present the Mysteries of Gene Regulation at DGIST

DGIST Professor Su-il In Named Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry

DGIST Professor Park has been selected as the Wireless Communications Division Editor for the Journal of Communications and Networks

Many Japanese mothers are reluctant to send their children to childcare before the age of three due to the 'Three-Year-Old Myth,' which suggests that healthy development requires a child to stay at home and be raised by their mother. However, a recent study has shown that enrolling a child in kindergarten before they turn three may actually benefit their social, motor, and problem-solving skills.

The recent LA fires drove home how dangerous wildfires can be when they encroach on urban areas. So-called 'wildland-urban interface' fires are on the rise. However, building codes and standards have long been based on fires that spread from building to building. To address this, a Tohoku University professor has updated international standards for large outdoor fires.

A hedonic price model incorporating street view images processed by machine learning and existing property data achieves nearly 75% accuracy for rent prediction in Osaka City

- Suggestion for a sustainable economic model to overcome the crisis of today’s capitalism - Researchers led by DGIST from Korea, Italy, and Australia contribute to innovating global urban policies

Mental health in the young has become a growing concern in recent years. To improve the psychological wellbeing of university students in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University has conducted a five-year longitudinal study through a series of mental health education courses. The programme aims to enhance students' resilience, psychological knowledge, and basic counselling skills. Using questionnaires, the study seeks to find out the effect of such interventional mental health programmes on their psychological wellbeing. Results show that participants’ resilience, prosocial behaviour, and growth mindset have improved significantly, and their negative mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety have diminished.

In a study on public psychology with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers from Osaka University found no significant differences among regions of Japan regarding either risk perception or infection-prevention behaviors during the “state of emergency,” suggesting spillover effects between targeted and non-targeted regions. However, risk perception diminished after restrictions were lifted, and both risk perception and hygienic behaviors saw further reductions after the downgrading of the legal status of COVID-19 to that of a common seasonal flu.

How people decide to confront or avoid unfairness

Tsuyoshi Watanabe uses corals to understand the environment of the past and what it can tell us about people living then.

An inclusive Myanmar must include all voices. One voice is from the Rohingya, who have faced persecution for many years. IDRC’s Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar supports scholars and research from and about the Rohingya people to generate evidence-based policy advice and empower a new generation of thought leaders.

To celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year of the Snake, Prof Cai Zongqi, Director of the Advanced Institute for Global Chinese Studies of Lingnan University, and Mr Jerry Wang Junzhe, Research Officer of the Advanced Institute for Global Chinese Studies, searched the rich anecdotes related to the snake zodiac sign. They explained that while contemporary literature and religious stories often fuel fear of snakes, the symbolism in ancient Chinese mythology paints a different picture. Snakes were not only revered as tribal totems and royal symbols, but also regarded as emblems of health and good fortune.

DGIST Professor Hongsoo Choi Selected as a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), One of the World’s Most Renowned Academic Societies

- Delivered 9,313 briquettes to four vulnerable families - Donated 668 loaves of bread baked by DGIST employees to the local community

- Takes the lead in global academic research into solar power - Leads the Korea Photovoltaic Society for one year starting in January 2025

—Recognized as a talented individual in research on combined ultrasound and light technology to lead advances in biomedical engineering—

DGIST Professor Hongsoo Choi Selected for One of 2024’s Top 100 Outstanding National R&D Achievements! Noted by the World for Technology Connecting Neural Circuits in the Brain

Our study uses Hong Kong as a case study to elucidate migration intentions in the context of political polarization and increasing authoritarianism. We investigate how individuals facing the same political conditions exhibit varying inclinations to migrate. Our analysis is based on dyadic data from a representative household survey involving 1003 married couples. The findings reveal that spousal pro‐democratic attitudes and affective polarization are associated with stronger migration intentions, with significant implications for predicting migration patterns. Moreover, the study highlights the significance of the interactive role between individuals’ and the spouses’ political attitudes in shaping migration intentions.