Grantee Interviews
Chih-Chin Chou: Social Support for Indigenous People with Disability and Chronic Illness in Taiwan
Dr. Chih-Chin Chou came back to Taiwan with a specialty on Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling after she departed 25 years ago. She aimed to research the population that she is most passionate about – indigenous people. She found the majority of research in the field is either on indigenous people or people with disability but lack of ones that covered both. By face-to-face interactions and knowledge sharing, she gained people’s trust and built connects locally.
Dr. Chou is the Program Director for the Rehabilitation & Mental Health Counseling Program at the University of South Florida. Her research interests include psychiatric rehabilitation, research methodology, social support, vocational outcomes for people with disabilities, rehabilitation education, international rehabilitation, and positive psychology. She has published over 25 articles in peer-reviewed journals and eight book chapters. Dr. Chou has received numerous grants including three current training grants totaling almost $2.5 million.
Dominique Murdock, Jhih-Kai Yang, Alicia Bradley, Yuta Otake: English Teacher Training & Research
The role of TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Trainer is to support the ETA (English Teaching Assistant) by providing personal professional development, workshops, and observations. In addition to their routines, TEFL Trainers also helped to organize the first-ever in Fulbright East Asia Pacific Regional Workshop in 2019. Through these projects, ETAs and TEFL Trainers built a tight connection, picturing a fuller diversity of the culture through education.
Dominique Murdock holds an M.A. degree from the University of Southern California in TESOL. Jhih-Kai Yang has an M.A. degree from the University of Taipei in English Instruction. It’s both their second year as TEFL Trainers at Foundation for Scholarly Exchange. Alicia Bradley holds an M.A. degree from Columbia University in International Educational Development. Yuta Otake has an M.A. degree from New York University in TESOL. Four of them were grantees of the “FSE English Teacher Training & Research Awards” in 2018-19.
Chia-Chi Teng: Cyber Security Education and Deep Machine Learning
Dr. Chia-Chi Teng spent a semester at National Tsing Hua University to help develop a new Master degree program in cybersecurity. Dr. Teng utilizes laboratory experiments to strengthen students’ practical skills. In addition, machine learning is incorporated for detecting cyber intrusion. To Dr. Teng, handling cyberattacks is like solving a puzzle, which requires patience and dedication. He believes international cooperation on cyber education will lead governments to a more secure and self-protectable future.
Dr. Teng has 30 years of experiences in software research and development. During his 17 years tenure at Microsoft, he was part of the development teams for Windows 95, Internet Explorer, Microsoft TV, Microsoft Network (MSN) and Windows 7. He transitioned to academia in 2008 and became a professor in Information Technology at Brigham Young University. His primary research interests are in healthcare IT as he continues to consult and advise a number of healthcare technology startup companies internationally.
Human-Bird Sculpture in Taiwan: Cross-Cultural & Environmental Potential
Professor Sarah Haviland came to Taiwan in 2018 to look for human-bird images that cross culture and time. In her teaching at the Taipei National University of the Arts, she aimed to foster creative thinking in students and led them through a process that she goes through when designing sculptures. As for her research progress, she found rich connections between humans and birds in the society, which she explored through sketches and studies. Sarah hopes, by sharing these practices, that people will consider their own relationship with the environment and nature.
Sarah Haviland’s abstract-figurative sculptures and installations have been exhibited in NYC, nationally, and internationally in museums, nonprofit galleries, and private collections. Haviland earned an MFA from Hunter College and a BA from Yale University. She lectures independently and teaches at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York.
Find more at: www.becomingabird.com and www.sarahhaviland.com
Dominique Murdock: English Teacher Training and Research through Culturally Responsive Teaching
Dominique Murdock is currently serving her second term as a Fulbright Taiwan grantee. She originally journeyed to Taiwan in 2016 as an English Teaching Assistant
Chris Upton: Rights and Rule-Crafting Processes in Taiwan’s Special Indigenous Courts
J. Christopher Upton’s research focuses on Taiwan’s newly created special indigenous courts. Chris conducted an in-depth ethnographic project concentrating on one of these courts, studying
Lillygol Sedaghat: The Glitter of Garbage: Taiwan’s Innovation in Waste Management
Lillygol Sedaghat documented Taiwan’s waste management system and innovations in plastics and electronics recycling through film and digital media. She hopes to inspire conscious consumerism
Erich Hester: Effect of Floodplain Inundation on River Pollution in Taiwan
During his Fulbright year Dr. Erich Hester cooperated with his host, Angela Lin and discovered opening up the floodplain can be effective to help break
Michelle Phillips: Repairing (and Exploiting) the Underclass Image
Michelle Phillips spent her Fulbright year in Taiwan to research on the maid trade system and compares it with the one in Hong Kong. Because
