On Wednesday October 9th, 2019, the Faculty of International Studies organized a seminar led by Asst Prof Dr Steven Martin aimed at sharing and fostering dialogue and knowledge on how to conduct appropriate research for publication in international journals.
The seminar received broad interest from teachers and staff, and the Faculty of International Studies (FIS) plans to host future workshops on research and publication at the newly opened Research Room 3302, Floor 3, Building 3.
Writing articles for international journals
The seminar was aimed at sharing and fostering dialogue and knowledge on how best to conduct appropriate research for publication in international journals...
Steven’s experiences studying at National Chengchi University, Taiwan inspired him to become a lifelong learner and teacher. He has documented his personal journey in the form of a series of journals, videos, and Website instruction for his students. This has now grown to include a wide range of content: Steven Andrew Martin / International Education Online
Steven has dedicated several Web pages to his scholarship in Taiwan, including unique ethnographic fieldwork with the Bunun, fortunately being present at just the right time to document a traditional ethnic Taiwanese lifestyle and culture:
Martin, S. A., & O'Brien, D. (2017). Part 2: A systems approach – Chapter 2. Surf resource system boundaries. In G. Borne and J. Ponting (Eds.), Sustainable surfing (pp. 23–38). Routledge.
Plymouth Sustainability and Surfing Research Group (PSSRG)
In 2013, Steven was invited by the Gold Coast City Council, Australia, to present a new research methodology – the Surf Resource Sustainability Index (SRSI). Speaking at the Global Surf Cities Conference at the Kirra Hill Community and Cultural Centre, Gold Coast, Queensland, Steven brought to light the topic of coastal resource sustainability in Phuket, Thailand.
Based on Steven’s presentation, Doctor Gregory Borne, Director of the Plymouth Sustainability and Surfing Research Group (PSSRG), offered Steven to participate in a new book titled Sustainable Surfing.
After four years of communication and collaboration, the university’s book is published and available to English readers.
About the research
Steven’s research explores the concept of a ‘surf resource system boundary’. His work develops a theoretical concept in environmental science, representing the intersecting and interrelated human and physical elements in the natural world at a given surf site. In the study, Co-authored with Assoc. Prof. Danny O’Brien at Bond University, Australia, Steven explores numerous stakeholder interests and factors related to the ‘whole’ surf system as a sustainable and dynamic model. The research addresses a knowledge gap in this area, broadening the understanding of surf system boundaries and providing clarity in two sets of dimensions: the physical boundaries of surf sites and the key resource stakeholders.
Please visit Steven's Surf Tourism Research page for more information.
Martin, S. A., & Blundell, D. (2017). Cultural continuum among the Bunun of Laipunuk (Nei Ben Lu), southern Taiwan (pp. 215–246). In H. Chang and A. Mona [C. Tsai] (Eds.), Religion, law and state: Cultural re-invigoration in the new age. Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines and SMC: Taipei.
20th anniversary of Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines
In 2014, Dr. Martin, was invited to Taiwan to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines in cooperation with Academia Sinica, the foremost research institute in Taipei, ROC. The Museum offered Steven a place in their upcoming publication, a book to commemorate their 20th anniversary: Religion, Law and State: Cultural Re-invigoration in the New Age.
After three years of communication and collaboration, the Museum’s book has been published and is now available to English and Chinese readers.
Steven’s research was focused on the remote, high-mountain jungle valley of Laipunuk (內本鹿), in the inaccessible mountains of southern Taiwan, home of the Bunun tribe, the last Taiwanese headhunters.
Having lived with the Bunun tribespeople for five years, he recorded their ways of life, their songs, their traditions and their histories, as part of an oral ethnography project.
According to Steven, “Taiwan is the source of the centuries-long process of the peopling of the Pacific, the so-called ‘Pacific Rainbow’ that maps the migration of peoples, materials and languages across the islands of the Pacific, from Taiwan all the way across to Hawaii.”
Speaking for the Faculty of International Studies (FIS), Steven shared his experience:
“Their stories are the last of their kind, and it was an immense privilege to have the opportunity to document their lives.”
The Art of Welcome, with Edward E. Vaughan, is a new video series featuring hospitality and tourism students and their experiences abroad.
The concept is registered with the Writers Guild of America and features the lives of students who study and work in the hospitality and tourism industry. Each episode takes palace in a different country.
Dr Steven Martin wrote and hosted What Makes a University Great? under the direction of Edward E. Vaughan. The video explores the Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) and focuses on the story of leadership and the Dean of School, Prof. Kaye Chon. The video was produced by University Filmworks.
At SHTM, Steven discovers a little universe where students, teachers and industry professionals come together with outstanding synergy, uncovering a story of outstanding educators and leadership.
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Assistant Professor of Asian Studies in Sociology and Anthropology
Course Objectives
In this course, I share the meaning and significance of academic methods and methodologies in personal, educational, and professional contexts through personal and practical experience and research across a variety of topic areas and disciplines.
Learning and mastering research methods strengthen and validate our objective minds while gaining self-respect and self-confidence.
Given the importance and complexity of understanding, developing and applying research methodology, it is inevitably one of the least welcomed or understood courses among undergraduate and graduate students alike.
However, Research Methodology is one of the best courses to take at university! It opens the mind to the ways and means of deep learning, and opens the door to the meaning and experience of science, including the scientific method, that is, exploring our observations, and carrying out experiments in order to address the mysteries of life, and answer important and meaningful questions.
Social science research methods are no exception – they are profoundly significant life-long skills.
Learning how to engage in academic discourse and innovate original work are dynamic life-long skills. In this way, conducting research strengthens and validates the objective mind while gaining self-respect and self-confidence.
A research adviser provides structure and guidance throughout the research process, including topic selection, identifying appropriate methods, and helping you to organize field results into narrative discussion worthy of publication.
A research adviser may also help to:
The Maragrita Philosophica [pdf] (the philosophic pearl) is an outstanding starting point to understanding the disciplines of study and from where methods of research developed. The book provides deep historical perspective and imagination into the seven Liberal Arts, featured as seven angels on the cover (see below).
The Margarita is a magnificently illustrated encyclopedia compiled in 1503 by a Carthusian monk named Gregor Reisch (c.1467-1525). Reisch produced what is essentially the world’s first interdisciplinary textbook, covering all seven liberal arts and providing appropriate background across disciplines and courses.
Widely used as a university textbook in the early sixteenth century, particularly in Germany, it is a book of historical significance and sheds light on university curriculum and collective scientific knowledge at the close of the Middle Ages, 500-600 years ago.
Separated into twelve chapters, Maragrita Philosophica covers traditional subjects of the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) and quadrivium (arithmetic, music, geometry, astronomy); and four chapters address natural philosophy, including the elements, meteorology, alchemy, the plant and animal kingdoms, optics and memory. The final sections and topics include heaven, hell, purgatory; and the book concludes with a chapter on moral philosophy, reflecting the period when church, state and education were closely integrated.
When looking to publish our research, the scientific method should be formatted in nine sections.
For the scholar who studies or works in a university, doing scholarly research and publishing the findings in the form of articles in peer-reviewed international journals are some of the most important academic activities. It is important to learn how to do it yourself so you can set-up your own career.
This workshop includes a number of advanced topics regarding how to publish a paper in international journals. It is very good opportunity for learning from the experience and techniques of an experienced publisher of papers. Emphasis is on practical information on how to do it, and what Dr. Ritchie has leant from experience, that is, what works and what does not.
Assoc. Prof. Raymond J. Ritchie is a Ph.D. graduate of the University of Sydney and has post-doctoral experience in Scotland, USA, Canada and Australia. He has published 98 peer reviewed academic papers on a wide variety of topics, including animals, bacteria, plants, science education, social sciences, and theoretical biology.
The aim of this workshop is to teach students and staff how to publish papers in international journals rather than simply writing in English. The complete procedure of getting a paper published will be covered step by step. Conceiving the paper, getting organized, how to use references and choosing the most suitable journal. The problem of nefarious journals will be discussed, including the use of Beall’s List and the Thomson-Reuters ISI rating to identify journals which you should, or should not, submit papers to.
The core of the workshop will consist of choosing a journal that you judge to be suitable, how to write the introduction, how to write the materials and methods, how to describe your results with its graphs, tables and captions for figures, and how to write a proper discussion of your results and their implications from what the results show and compared to what was already known. The critical importance of using and formatting references correctly, and making sure that all references are included, will be discussed.
Submitting a paper using online systems, such as Scholar-One, will be demonstrated, as will the standard journal procedures required after you submit a paper. Lastly, ethical practices will be discussed including plagiarism, self-plagiarism, double publication, and the delicate issue of scientific fraud.
Personal interviews are good way to collect original information from individuals and experts on a given topic. Recording personal interviews on video provides an accountable record which can be reviewed and shared with others.
Please visit my Personal Interview Page for more examples.
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Assistant Professor of Asian Studies in Sociology and Anthropology
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An international academic, and a native speaker of English, originally from Cleveland, Ohio, USA, I have written over 50 published articles in research areas including environmental resource management, surf tourism, Thai geography, and the history of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan.
I have a proven track record of conducting high-level multidisciplinary research, including systematic literature reviews, as well as popularizing difficult subjects through my lectures and online articles for a wide range of audiences.
2007 – 2022: Lecturer and Assistant Professor Emeritus (retired) of Asian Studies in Sociology and Anthropology at the Department of Thai & ASEAN Studies, Faculty of International Studies (FIS), Prince of Songkla University (PSU), Phuket Campus, Thailand.
I have designed and delivered many courses in the fields of environmental studies, geography, ancient civilizations, interdisciplinary studies, qualitative research methodologies, and English language acquisition.
As an enthusiastic supporter of the movement towards digitization and globalization of education, I have developed a range of online learning materials, including professionally produced videos and other multimedia, complete university courses and my Learning Adventures series. These are all curated on my bio website and YouTube channel at:
Page/ Courses ; Page/ Learning-Adventures ; YouTube/ University-Filmworks
Complete listings of all my peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, theses, proceedings, and magazine articles are available online at any of the sites listed above. Please also visit the Taiwan Ethnographic Research and Surf Tourism Research pages to learn more about my current projects and publication areas.
In 2013, I earned my PhD in Environmental Management from Prince of Songkla University by developing an index for coastal management. The surf resource sustainability index (SRSI) I developed is a methodology which is now used for assessing the conservation aptitude of surfing areas globally.
In 2010, I obtained my MBA in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Prince of Songkla University (PSU) in Phuket, and subsequently received a full scholarship for PhD research in Environmental Management.
Through the support of a Taiwan Scholarship from the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Los Angeles, I completed a Master's of Arts in Taiwan Studies (currently Asia-Pacific Studies) in 2006 at National Chengchi University (NCCU), Taipei, ROC.
I graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Liberal Studies (Chinese Culture & Philosophy) with the University of Hawaii at Hilo (UHH) in 2001, after earning my Associate in Arts degree from the Hawaii Community College (HCC) in 2000.
The study abroad programs listed below all counted towards either my BA degree from the University of Hawaii or my MA degree from the National Chengchi University, Taiwan. Full details of each of these courses, including the relevant accreditations and my photo journals, are available at: Page/ Study-Abroad
A full list of all my awards, scholarships, press and media appearances, and letters and documents of recognition are available at: Page/ Awards-Scholarship
When I was living in Taiwan, I was approached by an agent for a Taiwanese film production company. They recruited me to appear in various TV commercials, including some for blue-chip companies such as Nissan. This led to my being offered a leading role in the successful made-for-TV Taiwanese drama film Numbers.
One of my classmates introduced me to American filmmaker Tommie Williamson, who invited me to fly to Taitung in southeastern Taiwan, to work as a researcher and writer on an oral history project. We would be documenting on film the life-histories of a unique indigenous people who were among the last to be contacted and subjugated by the Japanese colonists.
The project changed the direction of my life, and I spent the next four years making ethnographic films for the Bunun, an ethnolinguistic group who had lost their traditional lands during the Japanese Colony on Taiwan (1895-1945).
In recent years, I worked with Edward E. Vaughan (1942-2018), an accomplished Associate Director (CBS News) and Assistant Director, Production Manager, Producer and Director on many popular TV shows and movies. The work focused on creating educational content including Course Portraits®, education media, and personal video-taped interviews of students and professors, exploring the diverse range of leadership and international education experiences currently available in Asia, particularly in Hong Kong, as well as Cambodia,Thailand and Vietnam.
Through Ed Vaughan's mentorship, I was able to develop University Filmworks Production and Learning, a video production entity offering educational film production and learning opportunities for students through workshops and short courses.
Inspired by reading the Swiss Family Robinson, I left home in the Ohio rustbelt in 1978, at 15 years old, and flew to Hawaii, where I planned to live in a treehouse. I found work as a cook, and trained to become a chef. At the same time, I discovered Hawaii's big waves and surfing. Over the next few years, I learned American Red Cross lifesaving skills, became a County of Hawaii Water Safety Officer, and went on to start a surf school. I taught water safety and surf skills to hundreds of people including international celebrities, movie stars and astronauts from NASA.
My love for traveling, learning, and meeting new people led me to the University of Hawaii's Chinese culture summer program at Peking University. It was a great way to travel and earn a B.A. at the same time. This path led to study abroad in China, Costa Rica, South Africa, and Spain.
After graduating, I was fortunate enough to obtain a prestigious Taiwan Scholarship to study for a Master's degree. My research took me to the mountains of Taiwan to live among the world's last headhunters, the Formosan aborigines, and document their lives in ethnographic films.
Surfing remained my true passion, and after discovering perfect uncrowded waves on the Andaman Coast, I moved to Phuket, Thailand, to join the Faculty of International Studies at Prince of Songkla University. My ongoing research on surf tourism and the environment has led to an MBA, a PhD, and a growing list of publications.
I hope others can benefit from my story and find success in their own lives.
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Assistant Professor of Asian Studies in Sociology and Anthropology
Study Abroad Journal (SAJ) encourages international education for social transformation across countries and economies. Our mission is to build goodwill between America and the world through enlightened engagement in global issues among diverse peoples.
I developed the Journal to promote and support international studies, educational and cultural exchanges, and all aspects of learning which foster a better understanding of the world and cultivate environmental responsibility.
