Types of concepts

Concepts can be classified into:

• Concrete vs abstract
• Relative vs absolute
• Philosophical vs ? 

句摘：《中国能否赶超日本：日本人眼中的中日差距》

作者：（日）唐泽一

• 通过一系列问题上与中国的对立来体现其大国地位。
• 远交近攻外交力学的作用和以攻为守的岛国危机心理的萌动。。。
• 在国际政治关系中，感情用事是没有任何益处的，尤为重要的是千万不能妄自尊大。。。
• 习惯于那种来自文化优势的心理盲目藐视，以及感性上被欺凌的怨恨情绪，甚至表面上的强势表现和外交的敌对意识流露。
• 盲目的心理强势和片面的强大意识，只会误导国民思潮的走向和引起仇外情绪的泛滥，结果最终在实际对抗事态发生时。。。
• 资本的本质从来就不是善意，而是获取最大的利润。
• 马克思主义：人类提高生产力的最终目的是将人从生产活动中解放出来。

How to brand UPSI, UERL or myself?

I read an article in Interbrand Blog, titled "Lose the name, become an icon: the future of the packaging logo today". This leads me to think about how to brand UPSI, UERL or even myself.

The author suggested to "create an icon and let it speak for itself"--which could enable the brand conveys its essence to those who speak and write in different languages. In the context of Malaysia, this involves Malay, Chinese and Indian languages.

The importance of learning Epistemology or Theory of Knowledge

I was confused at the beginning of my doctoral journey--mainly due to the fact that I did not study "Theory of Knowledge" during my pre-university time. 

In Western countries, this course is compulsory and it expects students who had completed this course successfully to justify the following:

• How they know what they have known. 
• Which domain of knowledge they gain what they know
• What kind of proposition they use to form a statement

After reading "Theory of Knowledge" and taking a series of courses on philosophical studies alongside my PhD journey, all my confusion disappeared by themselves. 

Source: http://www.acs.edu.lb/uploaded/High_School/Images/IB/knower[1].JPG 

It's a pity that I do not see any courses alike in Malaysia, but I have been sharing this with my students since my return from UK in 2011. 

Research should start by determining the research issue rather than the choice of research method

A lot of the postgraduate students that I met were focusing on the choice of research method rather that one research issue (unsolved problem) that is worth solving within a preset time frame. 

Postgraduate students should have determined the research issue in the domain of study first, formulating the hypotheses (quantitative approach) or hypothetical propositions (qualitative approach) based on initial literature review, before choosing a research method or a combination of several methods that they believe can answer the research question. 

For doctoral research student, this process may take 3 to 9 months, in which the students would establish an epistemological paradigm that affords the creation of new knowledge--an essential element that qualifies the award of PhD or DPhil. 

Dilemma faced by Western educational researchers

Western educational researchers generally regard experimental studies as "unethical" now. 

I see this as a result of the debate between Chomsky and Skinner: conducting experiments on human beings is like treating human beings as animals. However, probably due to this ethical consideration in the Western academia, I hardly see ground breaking educational research outputs conducted in Western countries nowadays, as compared to early and middle of the 20th century. 

Having said so, I participated in several experimental studies conducted under the Psychological Department when I was studying in University of Warwick. In other words, Experimental studies are allowable under the domain of psychological studies, but not educational studies in certain universities. 

In UPSI, my colleagues in Sports Science also conduct experimental studies that involve blood test--as long as they follow ethical protocol set by the university and the Sports Council. So whether you can conduct experiment studies or not depends on which department or domain of study you are studying your PhD.  

Choosing a PhD supervisor

It is indeed a difficult matter to determine who should be your supervisor in the doctoral journey. Once you are awarded the doctorate degree, academics would normally ask "who is your supervisor" instead of "which university you receive your PhD". Although the actual supervision would be around three years, but the implication of the relationship is lifelong.

Herewith a good guide for those who are pursuing or intend to pursue a PhD:

https://www.vitae.ac.uk/doing-research/doing-a-doctorate/starting-a-doctorate