ACP2017


“Identity: Personalising & Situating Psychology”

March 22–25, 2017 | Art Center Kobe, Kobe, Japan

Journal-of-Psychology-COVER-woman-subwayThe study of Identity in Psychology was pioneered by Erik Erikson in his early work in the 1950s and 60s, such as Identity: Youth and Crisis and Identity and the Life Cycle. He looked at three aspects of identity – ego identity, personal identity and social identity. Developing a strong sense of ego identity, a coherent sense of who one is and isn’t, that is consistent and stable over time, is a key task in adolescence. Ego identity can also be equated with the personality level of identity. One’s personal identity is based on one’s abilities, goals and possibilities for the future and can be seen as the level of identity influenced most by one’s primary relationships while one’s social identity is formed through identification with groups or secondary relationships, and shows one’s position within the social structure.

In most societies in the past, forming an identity – a self-definition within a community – was a straightforward process. People adopted roles that were already decided for them by their family and their community. In most modern global societies today the possibilities, choices and dilemmas young people face make this process of identity formation much less simple.

This partly explains the explosion of studies on Identity in Psychology since Erikson’s day. This has happened within all areas of psychology and has also incorporated theoretical ideas from sociology. In one sense, this integration of the Identity or Self with diverse areas of psychology has helped to personalise these areas of study by focusing on the whole person with their contradictions and complexities with specific contexts and relationships.

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ACP2017 Conference Photographs

Human interaction is at the root of all knowledge creation, and hence the great importance of the conference in introducing, testing and spreading ideas through challenging, rigorous and thought provoking discussion and debate. But beyond that, a conference is also a great chance to meet people from around the world, and to extend and grow ones’s professional network, and above all, to make friends.

It may be impossible to tell the story of the conference, or rather the many hundreds of interlocking stories that go to make up the conference, but the documentary photography in this slideshow aims to give a taster of the more serious academic side of the event, as well as the lighter side…

[envira-album slug="acp2017-conference-photographs"]

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Programme

  • Beyond Cuteness: An Emerging Field of the Psychology of “Kawaii”
    Beyond Cuteness: An Emerging Field of the Psychology of “Kawaii”
    Keynote Presentation: Hiroshi Nittono
  • A Poverty of Hope: Towards a Psychology of Humanitarian Success
    A Poverty of Hope: Towards a Psychology of Humanitarian Success
    Featured Presentation: Ronald Mellado Miller
  • Free Speech and Hate Speech – History, Story, Narrative
    Free Speech and Hate Speech – History, Story, Narrative
    Plenary Panel: Frank S. Ravitch, Colin Jones, Koji Higashikawa & Shiki Tomimasu
  • Battles of Ideas: Identity and Alienation
    Battles of Ideas: Identity and Alienation
    Plenary Panel: Brian Victoria & Dexter Da Silva
  • Adolescent Depression and Identity Development
    Adolescent Depression and Identity Development
    Featured Presentation: Keizo Nagao
  • Freedom’s Edge: Balancing Religious Freedom and Equal Access to Facilities and Services for Transexuals
    Freedom’s Edge: Balancing Religious Freedom and Equal Access to Facilities and Services for Transexuals
    Featured Presentation: Frank S. Ravitch
  • Military Conscription, Slavery and the Modern State
    Military Conscription, Slavery and the Modern State
    Featured Presentation: Brian Victoria
  • Perspectives on Natural Religion
    Perspectives on Natural Religion
    Featured Panel: T. Brian Mooney, Wayne Cristaudo, John N. Williams & Dixon Wong Heung Wah
  • Buddhism and Non-Discrimination: The Rise of Black Buddhist Feminism
    Buddhism and Non-Discrimination: The Rise of Black Buddhist Feminism
    Spotlight Presentation: Sokthan Yeng
  • Life Changes, Identity Loss and Psychological Problems
    Life Changes, Identity Loss and Psychological Problems
    IAAB Presentation: Monty Satiadarma
  • Identity Constructs as Drivers of Persecution and Obstacles to Justice
    Identity Constructs as Drivers of Persecution and Obstacles to Justice
    Spotlight Presentation: David Matas

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Speakers

  • Koji Higashikawa
    Koji Higashikawa
    Kanazawa University, Japan
  • David Matas
    David Matas
    Author & Human Rights Lawyer
  • Ronald Mellado Miller
    Ronald Mellado Miller
    Brigham Young University – Hawaii, USA
  • Thomas Brian Mooney
    Thomas Brian Mooney
    Charles Darwin University, Australia
  • Keizo Nagao
    Keizo Nagao
    Nagao Mental-health Clinic, Japan & NHO Sakakibara Hospital, Japan
  • Hiroshi Nittono
    Hiroshi Nittono
    Osaka University, Japan
  • Frank S. Ravitch
    Frank S. Ravitch
    Michigan State University College of Law, USA
  • Monty P. Satiadarma
    Monty P. Satiadarma
    Tarumanagara University, Indonesia
  • Dexter Da Silva
    Dexter Da Silva
    Keisen University, Japan
  • Shiki Tomimasu
    Shiki Tomimasu
    Kamogawa Law Office, Japan
  • Brian Victoria
    Brian Victoria
    Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, UK
  • Sokthan Yeng
    Sokthan Yeng
    Adelphi University, USA

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Organising Committee

The Conference Programme Committee is composed of distinguished academics who are experts in their fields. Conference Programme Committee members may also be members of IAFOR's International Academic Board. The Organising Committee is responsible for nominating and vetting Keynote and Featured Speakers; developing the conference programme, including special workshops, panels, targeted sessions, and so forth; event outreach and promotion; recommending and attracting future Conference Programme Committee members; working with IAFOR to select PhD students and early career academics for IAFOR-funded grants and scholarships; and overseeing the reviewing of abstracts submitted to the conference.

  • Joseph Haldane
    Joseph Haldane
    The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Japan
  • Frank S. Ravitch
    Frank S. Ravitch
    Michigan State University College of Law, USA
  • Monty P. Satiadarma
    Monty P. Satiadarma
    Tarumanagara University, Indonesia
  • Dexter Da Silva
    Dexter Da Silva
    Keisen University, Japan
  • Brian Victoria
    Brian Victoria
    Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, UK

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Review Committee

  • Dr Monty P. Satiadarma, Tarumanagara University, Indonesia
  • Professor Abdulaziz Malik, University of Khartoum, Sudan
  • Professor Abhishek Goel, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, India
  • Professor Frieda Mangunsong, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia
  • Dr Hui-Wen Chen, Chang Jung Christian University, Taiwan
  • Dr Marco Vassallo, Council For Agricultural Research and Economics, Italy
  • Dr Miyako Kimura, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Japan
  • Dr Yoshihiko Yamamoto, Shizuoka University, Japan

IAFOR's peer review process, which involves both reciprocal review and the use of Review Committees, is overseen by conference Organising Committee members under the guidance of the Academic Governing Board. Review Committee members are established academics who hold PhDs or other terminal degrees in their fields and who have previous peer review experience.

If you would like to apply to serve on the ACP2019 Review Committee, please visit our application page.

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ACP2017 Virtual Presentations

The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) is a research organisation, conference organiser and publisher dedicated to encouraging interdisciplinary discussion, facilitating intercultural awareness and promoting international exchange, principally through educational exchange and academic research.

Virtual presentations afford authors the opportunity to present their research to IAFOR’s far-reaching and international online audience, without time restrictions, distractions or the need to travel. Presenters are invited to create a video of their presentation, which is then uploaded to the official IAFOR Vimeo channel and remains online indefinitely. This is a valuable and impactful way of presenting in its own right, but also an alternative means for those delegates who may be unable to travel to the conference due to financial or political restrictions. The same publishing opportunities apply to virtual presenters, with final papers being included in the ACP Conference Proceedings.

 This video archive is best viewed on a desktop computer with a strong Internet connection. 

Personality Factors Assessing Emotional Intelligence and Creative-Potential as Predictors of Job Satisfaction among Managers in Karachi, Pakistan
Sonia Mairaj Ahmad, Institute of Professional Psychology, Bahria University-Karachi Campus, Pakistan
Zainab Fottowat Zadeh, Institute of Professional Psychology, Bahria University-Karachi Campus, Pakistan

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IAFOR Grant & Scholarship Recipients

We are delighted to announce the first recipients of financial support as part of the IAFOR grants and scholarships programme, newly launched for 2017.

Our warmest congratulations go to Wachrapong Foophrateepsiri, Wen-Pin Leow and Ashu Tiwari, who have been selected by the conference Organising Committees to receive grants and scholarships to present their research at The Asian Conference on Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences 2017 and The Asian Conference on Ethics, Religion & Philosophy 2017.

IAFOR’s grants and scholarships programme provides financial support to PhD students and early career academics, with the aim of helping them pursue research excellence and achieve their academic goals through interdisciplinary study and interaction. Awards are based on the appropriateness of the educational opportunity in relation to the applicant’s field of study, financial need, and contributions to their community and to IAFOR’s mission of interdisciplinarity. Scholarships are awarded based on availability of funds from IAFOR and vary with each conference.

The Organising Committee of the relevant IAFOR conference awards scholarships to eligible applicants who have submitted exceptional abstracts that have passed the blind peer review process and have been accepted for presentation at the conference.


Wen-Pin Leow, Singapore Bible College, Singapore

Stuart D. B. Picken Grant & Scholarship Recipient

Wen-Pin Leow is Director of the Centre of Excellence at Singapore Bible College. He is also a Master of Theology candidate at Aberdeen University, UK, researching into the Hebrew Psalter. His current research interests include Hebrew poetry, disability theology and theological education. Wen-Pin graduated from the University of Cambridge, UK, with a BA (Natural Sciences) as a Corpus-Taylor scholar, followed by an MPhil (Comparative Education). He then served in Singapore’s education, defence and industry ministries. After leaving the government, he graduated with a Master of Divinity (Biblical Studies) from Singapore Bible College as valedictorian. He has served in various volunteer advisory and governance positions in Singapore’s youth, education and special needs sectors. Currently, he is the supervisor of a school for children with special needs, and chairs the advisory panel for Singapore’s first fully inclusive preschool.

National Identity and the Story of the Jewish Exile: A Narrative Reading of the Psalms of Ascents
Wen-Pin Leow, Singapore Bible College, Singapore

The seventh- and sixth-century BCE exiles of the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel and Judah by the Assyrians and Babylonians respectively were, identity-wise, a severely dislocating experience. This forced migration, and the sociological turmoil that accompanied it, caused a crisis of national identity as the exiles were forced to confront the apparent collapse of the traditional pillars of the Israelite narrative, such as the loss of their land and the destruction of the poignant symbol of the temple of YHWH in Jerusalem. After Cyrus the Great allowed the Jewish exiles to return to their homeland in the late sixth century BCE, a renewed national narrative needed to be woven in order to make sense of this history of exile. But what tools could be used to weave such a narrative? The general consensus of the scholarly community is that the Psalms of Ascents (Psalms 120–134) are a product of this post-exilic era, demonstrate a high degree of literary unity and exhibit narrativity as a corpus. Building on these features, this paper studies the language of these psalms through a narratival lens to identify interpretative concepts frequently found within the corpus. The relationship between these concepts is then studied to see if and how they contribute to a coherent narratival worldview. The paper concludes that the Psalms of Ascents could have contributed to the shaping of a post-exilic national identity by contributing to the formation of new communal narratives.


Ashu Tiwari, Indian Institute of Management, India

IAFOR Scholarship Recipient

Ashu Tiwari is currently a fellow scholar in business environment at the Indian Institute of Management Rohtak. Before attending IIM Rohtak, she worked as a research assistant at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. She has completed her Master of Business Administration and has four years of professional experience in the field of insurance.

Evolution of Insurance and Religious Philosophy: An Exploration
Ashu Tiwari, Indian Institute of Management, India
Venktesh Murthy, Indian Institute of Management, India

Most of the literature available in the domain of the origin and history of insurance starts from 4000 BCE, which is the period of development of the Babylonian civilisation, one of the oldest civilisations in the history of human race. The reason for frequent references to such time periods is that these time horizons have certain archeological evidence. The paper argues that the mechanism of protection is far older than archeological evidence and has its roots in various religions; however, away from economic orientation, they were governed by religious faith for collective survival. The concepts of collectivism, protection, mutual bearing, pooling and temporal diversification of resources are discussed intensively in all religions; however, the process varies in terms of a strict adherence to faith and to social laws of collective survival. The purpose of the present paper is to explore the religious text and related scholarly literature to understand the relative position of various religious texts based on the proximity of forms and philosophies to the four concepts of protection, namely religious insurance, political insurance, mutual insurance and institutional insurance. The study shows that the Vedic texts, the Avast and the Old Testaments are conceptually closer to the concept of religious insurance, while Hindu epics are closer to the concept of political insurance, and the Talmud, the Tripitaka and the New Testament are closer to the concept of mutual insurance. The Quran is peculiar in the sense that it has comprehensive systems resembling institutional insurance but guided by strict religious laws.


Wachrapong Foophrateepsiri, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

Stuart D. B. Picken Grant & Scholarship Recipient

Wachrapong Foophrateepsiri is currently a postgraduate student of counselling and clinical psychology at the Faculty of Psychology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. He earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Chulalongkorn University. Later, he became interested in the field of psychology and wanted to become a counselling psychologist. His research interests are in couple relationships, cognitive behavioural therapy and existential-humanistic therapy. Currently, he is doing an internship at the Center for Psychological Wellness Services, Chulalongkorn University, the very first university-based psychological centre in Thailand.

The Relationships Among Couple Bond, Family Responsibility, and Couple Satisfaction in Thai Couples
Wachrapong Foophrateepsiri, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
Somboon Jarukasemthawee, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

With the increased number of couple relationship problems within Thailand, it becomes necessary to find ways to enhance these relationships. One such way is to clarify the expectation that the partners have regarding their relationships, or relationship standards. These standards are generally viewed as relevant to two domains: 1) couple bond and 2) family responsibility (Hiew, Halford, Liu, & van de Vijver, 2015). Couple bond involves behavior that facilitates emotional closeness and communicates caring within the couple whereas family responsibility involves representing the partner’s and family’s face and maintaining relationship harmony with the partner's extended family. This research study hence aims to examine how relationship standards are associated with couple satisfaction in Thai couples. How the association is manifested in male and female will be compared. Data was collected in 260 Thai individuals who had been in intimate relationships at least for a year (aged 18–40 years). Participants responded to relevant measures. Multiple Regression Analysis was conducted. Findings suggested that for male participants, couple bond and family responsibility are significantly and positively correlated with couple satisfaction (r=.51, p<.01 and r=.48, p<.01 respectively) and accounted for 26% of the total variance of couple satisfaction (R2=.264, p<.001). In their female counterparts, the two factors significantly and positively correlated with couple satisfaction (r=.32, p.01 and r=.74, p<.01 respectively) and accounted for 10% of its total variance (R2=.104, p<.01). Findings were discussed in terms of research contribution and clinical implication in couple relationship enhancement.

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Beyond Cuteness: An Emerging Field of the Psychology of “Kawaii”
Keynote Presentation: Hiroshi Nittono

“Kawaii” is one of the most popular words in contemporary Japan. It is often translated as “cute” in English, but the nuances and connotations of the two words seem to be different. The psychology of cuteness has its roots in Konrad Lorenz’s (1943) concept of Kindchenschema (baby schema), which assumes that specific physical features – such as a round head and big eyes – serve as key stimuli that instinctively trigger perceptions of cuteness and protective behaviour in humans. However, after over 70 years of research, we are beginning to see that the perception and feeling of cuteness are not directly related to nurturance. It goes beyond a response to infantile stimuli and is better conceptualized as a more general, positive emotion related to sociality and approach motivation. In this talk, I will introduce the current status of kawaii/cuteness research in the cognitive and behavioural sciences and discuss the importance of this emotion in a mature society of symbiosis. In particular, I would like to discuss which aspects of kawaii are unique to Japanese culture and which aspects seem to be universal to all humans.

Read presenter biographies on the Speakers page.

A Poverty of Hope: Towards a Psychology of Humanitarian Success
Featured Presentation: Ronald Mellado Miller

In today’s world, we find that efforts to better the world accomplish much, but lacking an understanding of psychology and its potential implementations, leave the greater good yet undone. For example, there are many efforts to build schools around the world, but by not supplying committed teachers, the building is only a shell for what it could have been. Are the students being given the hope that they will be able to change at least their world and rise to intellectual, social, and economic heights? Or is the psychology of hope missing and they feel that while many will be benefited, it will not be for them to succeed? Other examples, are curing malaria, but leaving people in both psychological and economic poverty. They will live longer, true, but in poverty, with poor quality of life. While NGOs receive funds, they often do not do the good they aim for because they give things, but do not impart or change the self. A number of studies now show that hope is a powerful predictor of future success. A classic example is that of college students, who are often young, poor, some married with families, and how, though financially and healthwise they are the same, they differ from people who live in inner-city projects. In the students, there is the hope that their current work and poverty will end and they will join the middle class. Those in projects, with similar levels of poverty, lack hope for a better future which leads to greater crime, depression, and drug abuse. This talk concerns the research that shows how programs and implementations can meet both physical and psychological needs, how taking into account psychology can enhance humanitarian success and achieve far more than simply extending life. Psychology, so implemented, can make life worth living.

Read presenter biographies.

Free Speech and Hate Speech – History, Story, Narrative
Plenary Panel: Frank S. Ravitch, Colin Jones, Koji Higashikawa & Shiki Tomimasu

Panel Chair: Frank S. Ravitch
Panellists: Colin Jones, Koji Higashikawa & Shiki Tomimasu

This interdisciplinary plenary panel will look at some of the important ethical issues surrounding issues of free speech and hate speech, and how they relate to both contemporary and historical stories and narratives. Questions of censorship, power, control and oppression will be raised and include comparative legal, ethical, religious and political discussions relating to legislation against hate speech and the protection of freedoms, including, among others, the examples of Japan’s recent Hate Speech legislation and the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong.

Read presenter biographies.

Battles of Ideas: Identity and Alienation
Plenary Panel: Brian Victoria & Dexter Da Silva

Panel Chair: Brian Victoria
Panellists: Dexter Da Silva

For much of the previous quarter of a century, Europe and North America has seen a liberal politics in the ascendent, moving towards full legal equality of the LGBT community, and an increased international engagement in cooperative unions. But the past few years have seen a remarkable comeback of a conservative and religious right within these countries, leading to huge debates over such fundamental questions as what it means to be a human, a citizen, or even an assigned gender.

Militancy or activism fighting power structures has been harnessed in the form of populist movements defining themselves against the “Establishment”, and this Establishment is no longer able to exercise the same level of control through traditional instruments of power, including previous near monopolies on communication. Populist movements now, as in the past, have used various forms of scapegoating to harness and direct popular sentiment and anger towards easy solutions. Regionalism, nationalism, and divisions of faiths and ethnic groups has lead to huge divisions and conflict in this globalised world.

Historian and religious studies scholar, Brian Victoria, and Educational psychologist, Dexter Da Silva, speaking from within their own fields, will lead this interdisciplinary panel that will look at questions of identity in the context of a divided and divisive global system, to included questions related to how humans are capable of both cooperation and dissent, and how they can be societally alienated, and come to define their identities against, as opposed to with, other members of the human race, inviting input from the diverse disciplinary backgrounds represented at the conference.

Read presenter biographies on the 2017 Speakers page.

Adolescent Depression and Identity Development
Featured Presentation: Keizo Nagao

When depression develops during adolescence, it hinders thinking from developing. Even when thinking is developed, a positive outcome can’t be brought because the individual tends to think negatively. When they want to do something, they can’t act as they intend to. Therefore, they lose confidence. They become too sensitive in interpersonal relationships and feel uncomfortable going out in a crowd. Then, they lose confidence in their interpersonal relationships. Sometimes they become more dependent ("amae"). They start to present regressive behaviour and consequently their self-esteem is lowered. This leads to a crisis in identity formation. In order to cope with this problem, they need to understand the nature of depression. There are several points to this. Firstly, because depression is an illness, they need to keep a distance from themselves. That is, they need to objectify the depression. They should think of it as nothing to do with their own personality. This is quite difficult to do, though. The less they have self-affinity, the better they become. It is estimated that the prevalence of depression is 6‐8% in adolescents. Hence isn’t it required that such a high-frequency disease should be taught in educational institutions from the perspectives of self-esteem and suicide prevention?

Read presenter biographies.

Freedom’s Edge: Balancing Religious Freedom and Equal Access to Facilities and Services for Transexuals
Featured Presentation: Frank S. Ravitch

On the heels of the continuing culture wars in the United States and elsewhere over balancing religious freedom and sexual freedom for members of the LGBT community in the context of marriage equality, a newer issue has arisen. Are transexuals able to be recognized by their gender identity even if it differs from the gender on their birth certificate? In many US states this is not a problem and people can access facilities based on the gender with which they identify. In other states, however, this has become a battleground issue. In many states these battles are stoked and supported by certain religious organizations. In other states which protect equal access based on gender identity, religious entities have not been exempted from these new laws, even when failure to exempt could lead to serious violations of religious freedom. Thus, in some cases religious organizations have been pushing for laws that create discrimination and inequality for transexuals. In others, forces on the other side are creating serious religious conflicts by failing to exempt religious entities from equal access laws. It is a new chapter in the culture wars. I argued in the well-received book, Freedom’s Edge: Religious Freedom, Sexual Freedom, and the Future of America (Cambridge University Press 2016), that we should protect both religious freedom and sexual freedom on issues such as same-sex marriage. In this talk I will likewise argue for protecting interests on both sides.

Read presenter biographies.

Military Conscription, Slavery and the Modern State
Featured Presentation: Brian Victoria

Although illegal “human trafficking” still exists, there are no modern, internationally recognised states that either condone or allow slavery, i.e., allow human beings to purchase, own, sell or use other human beings as they see fit. Thus, traditional slavery can safely be called a relic of the past. Or can it? That is to say, does a system still exist in which human beings are forced, on pain of death, to follow the orders of other human beings (their ‘superiors’), even to the point of killing, or being killed by, still other human beings with whom they are unacquainted? The answer is, of course, yes, such a system presently exists (or has a legal basis to exist) in many countries of the world. The name of this system is “military conscription.” This presentation explores the history and present-day structure of military conscription in comparison with traditional slavery, seeking to discover what, if anything, is the difference between them.

(Image courtesy of Boston Public Library).

Read presenter biographies.

Perspectives on Natural Religion
Featured Panel: T. Brian Mooney, Wayne Cristaudo, John N. Williams & Dixon Wong Heung Wah

Panel Chair: T. Brian Mooney
Featured Panellists: Wayne Cristaudo, John N. Williams, Dixon Wong Heung Wah & T. Brian Mooney


The “Natural” in Natural Religion and What is Mythic about Modern Faith

Wayne Cristaudo

This paper draws upon the insights of Giambattista Vico, J. G. Hamann and Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy amongst others. It explores the relationship that gods and spirits play in orientation in humanity’s earliest social formations. It emphasises a number of “natural” insights into “world-participation” that are driven out by metaphysics (especially in its modern incarnation) with its reconstitution and “disenchantment” of the “natural”. It also makes the argument that Judaism and Christianity as world-making powers incorporate, and are thus continuous in important ways with, some fundamental features of “natural” religion. It concludes by contrasting archaic and modern faith in light of the secularised horizon of humans as natural beings.


Proving the Non-existence of God

John N. Williams

I consider three arguments for the non-existence of God that appeal to the nature of God rather than to contingent features of the world. I call the first of these the Humean argument from non-necessity, roughly that since no thing exists necessarily, and if God exists then he exists necessarily, God necessarily does not exist. The second is the argument from omnipotence, roughly that any omnipotent being has the power to do anything logically possible, including the power to relinquish her omnipotence, but since God is necessarily eternal, she lacks that logically possible power and so cannot exist as an omnipotent being. The third is the argument from the “ungodly proposition”, (UG) inspired by G. E. Moore’s example of believing both that it is raining and that I do not believe that it is raining. (UG) is (UG) I do not believe this proposition UG enables a proof that there can be no being that is both omniscient and rational in all her beliefs. I show that the soundness of the Humean argument is objectionable and that the argument from omnipotence can be derailed via a principled restriction on God’s omnipotence plus a distinction between the divine office of God and the individual that occupies it. But I also show that there is no escape from the argument from the ungodly proposition. In particular, that argument is undamaged by appeals to self-reference.


Reflections on Commonalities in Natural Religions

T. Brian Mooney

This paper examines some key commonalities in the theory and practice of Natural Religion.


Ancestor Worship, Gift and Kinship are Magic in Chinese Culture

Dixon Wong Heung Wah

This paper attempts to challenge the assumed idea of the separation among the categories of religion, kinship and gift-giving through a symbolic analysis of the native concepts of Chinese kinship: fang/Jia-zu, ch’i, and tsung. fang emphasises a son’s conjugal status, designating the son or the son and his wife as a unit or all his male descendants and their wives as a kin set (Chen 1986: 55-6). Metaphorically, fang thus takes on the meaning of the genealogical status of a son as a conjugal unit in relation to his father. Jia-zu is a blend of jia and zu. Jia refers to a co-resident, commensal group, whereas zu is a genealogical notion referring to the sets of agnates and their wives regardless of their functional aspects (Chen, 1986: 64). Taken together jia-zu refers to the genealogical status of father in relation to son. Ch’i refers to the vital essence of human life which flows from father to son and to all of his male descents (Shiga, 1978, p. 123). Tsung means a genius of people referring to the membership of jia-zu (Chun, 1985). By delineating the meaningful relationship among these three native concepts about kinship, this paper is going to argue that the cultural logic that underlines these concepts is parallel to that of ancestor worship. In the second part of this paper, I shall analyse the idea of the gift and gift-giving behaviour in the Chinese societies of mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan for a more ambitious argument: kinship, ancestor worship and gift-giving can be seen as different modes of magic in Chinese societies, which is also to say that kinship, ancestor worship and gift-giving are on the same ontological plane, all of which can be understood as magic in Chinese culture. The final part will spell out the implications of this argument for the study of natural religions.

Read presenter biographies.

Buddhism and Non-Discrimination: The Rise of Black Buddhist Feminism
Spotlight Presentation: Sokthan Yeng

Known for their analysis on compound identities, Black Feminists reveal how multiple layers of power act through discourses of gender, sexuality, race, etc. Their engagement with Buddhism, therefore, has the potential to move Buddhist feminism beyond issues of sex and gender. To this end, I will explore why Buddhism is attractive to some in the black community. I further suggest that Buddhism’s appeal to the black community can help to expose Buddhist communities’ allegiances with and point to a possible path of transforming Buddhism in resistance to dominant society. By surveying the landscape of black Buddhist practitioners, I hope to gain insight into the possibility of reconciling the Buddhist ideal of non-discrimination with the constitution of its Western membership (largely from white middle-class backgrounds). I look, in particular, to critiques made by bell hooks to examine possible ways for political change through Buddhism. Although bell hooks identifies as Buddhist, she believes that belonging to a Buddhist community does not necessarily guarantee a break with narratives of domination. She has publicly admonished the lack of diversity within Buddhist leadership and communities. Yet hooks believes that Buddhism can challenge the focus on material gain and help combat feelings of anger that arise from dealing with injustices. Of all the Western feminists who engage with Buddhism, she has arguably done the most to shine a light on feelings of anger and sought to transform anger into loving-kindness via Buddhist mindfulness.

Read presenter biographies.

Life Changes, Identity Loss and Psychological Problems
IAAB Presentation: Monty Satiadarma

Life changes may not merely challenge people with transitional life issues, but also with changing identities. Identity issues correlate with various life aspects. Erik Erickson (1902-1994) explained that during normative development the influence of experimentation and exploration in personality and vocational roles became the important aspects in constructing individual identities (Santrock, 2007). Smart (2007) noted how the mind and brain of the individuals materialize into behavior and influence the identities of the individuals. Problems of losing identities start when people experience dramatic life changes such as losing their social relationships (for example losing family members or their loved ones), their jobs or employment, and in general when they lose their sense of self, of self-worth (Alger, 2014). This presentation will discuss on issues of how people may lose their identities due to living conditions and various psychological problems they need to be aware of, besides it will discuss possible solution to deal with such condition.

Read presenter biographies.

Identity Constructs as Drivers of Persecution and Obstacles to Justice
Spotlight Presentation: David Matas

Identity can be viewed both objectively and subjectively. Subjectively, identity can be self-constructed or constructed by others.

Persecution often flows from divergences in identity constructs. When that happens, what constraints do those conflicting perspectives pose for legal remedies? In this context, where can justice be found?

This paper will address these questions through a case study – the persecution of prisoners of conscience in China and, in particular, practitioners of the spiritually based set of exercises Falun Gong. The search for justice will focus on the evidence of killing of Falun Gong for their organs.

Bringing justice to the Falun Gong community and bringing to justice the persecutors of Falun Gong becomes impossible in China, not only because perpetrators seek immunity, but also because the pervasive view of the identity of Falun Gong the Communist Party brings to China immobilises justice. The search for justice for the victimisation of Falun Gong then falls to outsiders.

Yet, even for those outside China, the search for justice is constrained by the views outsiders have of what the Falun Gong community is and who Falun Gong practitioners are. The purpose of the paper will be to consider these identity constraints to justice in the context of efforts to address the evidence of the killing of Falun Gong for their organs, and suggest ways in which the constraints could be overcome.

This presentation will follow a screening of the documentary film Hard To Believe.

Read presenter biographies.

Koji Higashikawa
Kanazawa University, Japan

Biography

Koji Higashikawa is a professor of law at Kanazawa University, Japan. He teaches Anglo-American law to Japanese students with particular emphasis on American law, and also teaches Japanese law to international students. He earned his Ph.D. with the dissertation on American election law system and minority voting rights from Kobe University Graduate School of Law in 2001, and published a dozen of academic articles in the field of election law. As a free speech scholar, he has been interested in reconciling possible conflict between free speech right of aggressive, violent, and offensive speakers and the victims of such speech. He is the author of case notes on recent cases from the Supreme Court of the United States including Snyder v. Phelps (funeral picketing), Brown v. EMA (violent video game regulation), and US v. Alvarez (false speech). He has given presentations on hate speech issue both in Japan and in the United States, one of which is “Recent Development on Hate Speech Controversy in Japan” in the Law and Society Association Annual Conference of 2015 held in Seattle where he discussed the impact of Zaitokukai case, the first judicial ruling on hate speech in Japan. His research interests include comparative analysis of judicial system as well as free speech issue and election law in the United States. He is a councilor and a member of editorial board at Japanese American Society for Legal Studies.


Previous Presentations

Featured Panel Presentation (2017) | Free Speech & Hate Speech – History, Story, Narrative
David Matas
Author & Human Rights Lawyer

Biography

David Matas is a lawyer in Winnipeg, Canada, practising international human rights, immigration and refugee law. He has produced eleven different books, including Bloody Harvest: the Killing of Falun Gong for their Organs, co-authored with David Kilgour in November 2009, and State Organs: Transplant Abuse in China in August 2012, co-edited with Torsten Trey. He is a member of the Order of Canada. In 2010, he and David Kilgour were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for their work on Falun Gong and organ transplant abuse.


Previous Presentations

Spotlight Presentation (2017) | Identity Constructs as Drivers of Persecution and Obstacles to Justice
Ronald Mellado Miller
Brigham Young University – Hawaii, USA

Biography

Dr Ronald Mellado Miller received his PhD from Purdue University in Experimental Psychology, USA, and is currently a professor at Brigham Young University in Hawaii. Dr Miller’s main interests have been in the area of applied statistical analysis and predictive modelling. As a result, his research and work have been quite eclectic. He has research published in journals ranging from Animal Learning and Behavior, Learning and Motivation, Applied Neuropsychology, TechTrends, and the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, out of Oxford University Press, where he has also served as a reviewer. He has worked for a number of major airlines (Fedex, United, US Airways, etc.) in the area of safety. His international projects have ranged from India and the Philippines, where he was able to assist NGOs established to aid those in poverty, to China, where he worked with the largest entertainment company in the country. He has led research in Tonga, Fiji, and Samoa, working with governments and NGOs to improve educational and other social outcomes. He has a great love for teaching and mentoring. His students have participated in each of his consulting projects and have been accepted to prestigious schools around the world, including Oxford University, MIT, and Columbia University, among others.

Featured Panel Presentation (2018) | Psychological Literacy: The Most Important Literacy for the 21st Century

Previous Presentations

Featured Presentation (2017) | A Poverty of Hope: Towards a Psychology of Humanitarian Success
Thomas Brian Mooney
Charles Darwin University, Australia

Biography

Thomas Brian Mooney is Professor of Philosophy and Head of the School of Creative Arts and Humanities, Charles Darwin University, Australia.

His major research interests are in Moral Philosophy, Political Philosophy and Ancient Philosophy, and his recent books include Aquinas, Education and the East (2014), Understanding Teaching and Learning (2012), Meaning and Morality: Essays on the Philosophy of Julius Kovesi (2013) and Critical and Creative Thinking (2014).

Originally from the North of Ireland, he received his BA and MA from The Queen’s University, Belfast before moving to Australia to continue his doctoral work. He was awarded his PhD in 1993 on the “Philosophy of Love and Friendship” at La Trobe University. Since then he has taught at a number of Australian institutions including Melbourne University, Deakin University, Swinburne University, Edith Cowan University and the University of Notre Dame. He has also taught at the University of Ghana and prior to his current post was at Singapore Management University.


Previous Presentations

Featured Panel Presentation (2017) | Perspectives on Natural Religion
Spotlight Presentation (2015) | Powers of the Soul – A Very Different Theory of Justice
Keizo Nagao
Nagao Mental-health Clinic, Japan & NHO Sakakibara Hospital, Japan

Biography

Dr Nagao is a child and adolescent psychiatrist, and his interest is in school mental-health, local organization, and child psychiatry education. He has been a chairperson of the school mental-health committee from 2004 in the Mie Prefecture Doctor Association. After retiring from the National Hospital Organization Sakakibara Hospital in 2010, he organized a regional network in Mie Prefecture called MCMN (the Mie Child Mental-health Network), consisting of multi-disciplinary professionals including school teachers, investigators, child welfare staffs, health care officers, and pediatrician and child psychiatrists. It has regular meetings every six months. To learn more about child psychiatry for young psychiatrists, he translated as a supervisor the Rutter’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 4th and 5th Ed. His clinical specialty is on infant language development, PTSD, and childhood depression. His book Pre Linguistic Ability Test has been published three times.


Previous Presentations

Featured Presentation (2017) | Adolescent Depression and Identity Development
Hiroshi Nittono
Osaka University, Japan

Biography

Professor Hiroshi Nittono received his PhD in Human Sciences (Experimental Psychology) from Osaka University in 1998. From 2005 to 2016 he was an Associate Professor and Director of the Cognitive Psychophysiology Laboratory at Hiroshima University. In April 2016 he moved to the Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, as Full Professor of Experimental Psychology. His research interests include psychophysiology and engineering psychology. It was only by chance that he started research in the area of kawaii. In 2007, an undergraduate student happened to ask him whether it was possible to do some psychological research on kawaii as part of her graduation thesis, simply because she was keen on kawaii things. At that point, there were few serious studies on kawaii in the field of psychology. Since then he and his students have conducted both theoretical and empirical studies on this topic. A journal article published in 2012 entitled ‘The Power of Kawaii: Viewing Cute Images Promotes a Careful Behavior and Narrows Attentional Focus’ was covered by more than 70 newspapers and journals around the world. Currently he also serves as General Advisor of the Kawaii-Mono Kenkyukai (Research Society for Kawaii Things) sponsored by a government agency, Chugoku Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry. The society aims to create high-quality products that combine Japanese traditional craftsmanship and feelings of kawaii or cuteness.


Previous Presentations

Keynote Presentation (2017) | Beyond Cuteness: An Emerging Field of the Psychology of “Kawaii”
Frank S. Ravitch
Michigan State University College of Law, USA

Biography

Frank S. Ravitch is Professor of Law and the Walter H. Stowers Chair in Law and Religion at the Michigan State University College of Law, and Director of the Kyoto, Japan Summer Program. He is the author of several books: Marketing Intelligent Design: Law And The Creationist Agenda (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011); Masters Of Illusion: The Supreme Court And The Religion Clauses (NYU Press 2007); Law And Religion, A Reader: Cases, Concepts, And Theory, 2nd Ed. (West 2008) (First Ed. 2004); Employment Discrimination Law (Prentice Hall 2005) (with Pamela Sumners and Janis McDonald); and School Prayer And Discrimination: The Civil Rights Of Religious Minorities And Dissenters (Northeastern University Press, 1999 & paperback edition 2001). Professor Ravitch has also published a number of law review articles addressing US and Japanese constitutional law, law & religion, and civil rights law in leading journals. Moreover, he has written a number of amicus briefs addressing constitutional issues to the United States Supreme Court.

In 2001, Professor Ravitch was named a Fulbright Scholar and served on the Faculty of Law at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. Currently, he directs the Michigan State University College of Law Japan summer programme. Professor Ravitch regularly serves as an expert for print and broadcast media, and speaks on topics related to US Constitutional Law, Japanese Law, and Israeli Law to a wide range of national, international and local organisations. He speaks English, Japanese and Hebrew.

Keynote Presentation (2018) | Law, Religion and Authoritarianism: From State Shinto to Religio-Trumpism

Previous Presentations

Featured Presentation (2017) | Freedom’s Edge: Balancing Religious Freedom and Equal Access to Facilities and Services for Transexuals
Featured Panel Presentation (2017) | Free Speech & Hate Speech – History, Story, Narrative
Keynote Presentation (2016) | Freedom’s Edge – Religious Freedom, Sexual Freedom, and the Future of Justice in America
Featured Presentation (2015)
Keynote Presentation (2014)
Monty P. Satiadarma
Tarumanagara University, Indonesia

Biography

Dr Satiadarma is a clinical psychologist who has taught psychology at Tarumanagara University since 1994. He was one of the founders of the Department of Psychology at Tarumanagara, as well as the Dean of Psychology, Vice Rector and Rector of the university. He graduated with a degree in Psychology from the University of Indonesia, Art Therapy from Emporia State, Kansas, Family Counselling from Notre Dame de Namur, California, and Clinical Hypnotherapy from Irvine, California. He has published a number of books and has a particular interest in educational psychology and music & art therapy – methods with which he treated survivors of the Indonesian tsunami on behalf of the International Red Cross and the United Nations. He is a board member and area chair of the International Council of Psychology, and a founder and board member of the Asian Psychology Association.

Featured Presentation (2022) | Perceived Stress of Students During Online Learning

Previous Presentations

Featured Panel Presentation (2019) | “The Value of Internationalising Psychology” or “The Value of Indigenous Psychologies”
Featured Presentation (2018) | On Being Tolerant and Acceptant to Survive Life Changes
Featured Panel Presentation (2018) | Psychological Literacy: The Most Important Literacy for the 21st Century
IAAB Presentation (2017) | Life Changes, Identity Loss and Psychological Problems
Spotlight Presentation (2016) | Fairness and Happiness
Spotlight Presentation (2015) | The Lucifer Effect in Indonesian Educational Settings
Featured Presentation (2014)
Featured Presentation (2013)
Featured Presentation (2012)
Dexter Da Silva
Keisen University, Japan

Biography

Dr Dexter Da Silva is currently Professor of Educational Psychology at Keisen University in Tokyo. He has taught EFL at junior high school, language schools, and universities in Sydney, and for the past two decades has been living and teaching at the tertiary level in Japan. Professor Da Silva was educated at the University of Sydney (BA, Dip. Ed., MA), and the University of Western Sydney (PhD) He has presented and co-presented at conferences in Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States, and written or co-written articles and book chapters on education-related topics, such as trust, student motivation, autonomy, and content-based language teaching. He is a past editor and current associate editor of On CUE Journal, regular reviewer for conferences and proceedings, and recent co-chair of the 2011 CUE Conference on Motivation.

Featured Panel Presentation (2018) | Psychological Literacy

Previous Presentations

Featured Panel Presentation (2017) | Battles of Ideas: Identity and Alienation
Featured Presentation (2015)
Featured Presentation (2014)
Featured Presentation (2012)
Shiki Tomimasu
Kamogawa Law Office, Japan

Biography

Born in Japan, Mr Tomimasu went to high school in the United States, and graduated from Stanford University in 2000 with a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies, before returning to Japan to commence legal studies. He completed the judicial apprenticeship training program conducted by the Legal Training and Research Institute of the Supreme Court of Japan in 2005, and was admitted to the Kyoto Bar Association in the same year.

He has a wide area of legal experience, but has gained a reputation in representing the rights of foreign citizens, and won particular acclaim for his role as the lead counsel successfully representing The Kyoto Korean Elementary School, which had been targeted by anti-Korean protestors shouting racist slogans. This was to be an important free hate speech test case that made its way to the Japanese Supreme Court, and was widely covered in the domestic and foreign press.


Previous Presentations

Featured Panel Presentation (2017) | Free Speech & Hate Speech – History, Story, Narrative
Brian Victoria
Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, UK

Biography

Brian Victoria is a native of Omaha, Nebraska and a 1961 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska. He holds a MA in Buddhist Studies from Sōtō Zen sect-affiliated Komazawa University in Tokyo, and a PhD from the Department of Religious Studies at Temple University.

In addition to a second, enlarged edition of Zen At War (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006), Brian's major writings include Zen War Stories (RoutledgeCurzon, 2003); an autobiographical work in Japanese entitled Gaijin de ari, Zen bozu de ari (As a Foreigner, As a Zen Priest), published by San-ichi Shobo in 1971; Zen Master Dōgen, coauthored with Prof. Yokoi Yūhō of Aichi-gakuin University (Weatherhill, 1976); and a translation of The Zen Life by Sato Koji (Weatherhill, 1972). In addition, Brian has published numerous journal articles, focusing on the relationship of not only Buddhism but religion in general, to violence and warfare.

From 2005 to 2013 Brian was a Professor of Japanese Studies and director of the AEA “Japan and Its Buddhist Traditions Program” at Antioch University in Yellow Springs, OH, USA. From 2013-2015 he was a Visiting Research Fellow at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, Japan where he is writing a book tentatively entitled: Zen Terror in 1930s Japan. Brian currently continues his research as a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, and is a fully ordained Buddhist priest in the Sōtō Zen sect.

Featured Presentation (2019) | Is Religious Tolerance Always Desirable: The Case of Shinto and Buddhism

Previous Presentations

Featured Presentation (2018) | Shinto: Window on Universal Religion
Featured Presentation (2017) | Military Conscription, Slavery and the Modern State
Featured Panel Presentation (2017) | Battles of Ideas: Identity and Alienation
Featured Presentation (2016) | Abstract for Religion and War – The Wartime Tribalization of Universal Religions
Featured Presentation (2016) | Holy War – Its Causes, Nature and, if possible, its Solutions
Spotlight Presentation (2015) | Powers of the Soul – A Very Different Theory of Justice
Sokthan Yeng
Adelphi University, USA

Biography

Dr Sokthan Yeng is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Adelphi University, USA. She has research interests in the areas of French contemporary philosophy, feminism, and critical race theory. Her book, The Biopolitics of Race: State Racism and U.S. Immigration, was published with Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefield in 2014. She is also writing a book on Buddhist feminism and the transformation of anger.


Previous Presentations

Spotlight Presentation (2017) | Buddhism and Non-Discrimination: The Rise of Black Buddhist Feminism
Joseph Haldane
The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Japan

Biography

Joseph Haldane is the Chairman and CEO of IAFOR. He is responsible for devising strategy, setting policies, forging institutional partnerships, implementing projects, and overseeing the organisation’s business and academic operations, including research, publications and events.

Dr Haldane holds a PhD from the University of London in 19th-century French Studies, and has had full-time faculty positions at the University of Paris XII Paris-Est Créteil (France), Sciences Po Paris (France), and Nagoya University of Commerce and Business (Japan), as well as visiting positions at the French Press Institute in the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas (France), The School of Journalism at Sciences Po Paris (France), and the School of Journalism at Moscow State University (Russia).

Dr Haldane’s current research concentrates on post-war and contemporary politics and international affairs, and since 2015 he has been a Guest Professor at The Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) at Osaka University, where he teaches on the postgraduate Global Governance Course, and a Co-Director of the OSIPP-IAFOR Research Centre, an interdisciplinary think tank situated within the university.

He is also a Member of the International Advisory Council of the Department of Educational Foundations at the College of Education of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

From 2012 to 2014, Dr Haldane served as Treasurer of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (Chubu Region) and he is currently a Trustee of the HOPE International Development Agency (Japan). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society in 2012, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2015.

A black belt in judo, he is married with two children, and lives in Japan.

Frank S. Ravitch
Michigan State University College of Law, USA

Biography

Frank S. Ravitch is Professor of Law and the Walter H. Stowers Chair in Law and Religion at the Michigan State University College of Law, and Director of the Kyoto, Japan Summer Program. He is the author of several books: Marketing Intelligent Design: Law And The Creationist Agenda (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011); Masters Of Illusion: The Supreme Court And The Religion Clauses (NYU Press 2007); Law And Religion, A Reader: Cases, Concepts, And Theory, 2nd Ed. (West 2008) (First Ed. 2004); Employment Discrimination Law (Prentice Hall 2005) (with Pamela Sumners and Janis McDonald); and School Prayer And Discrimination: The Civil Rights Of Religious Minorities And Dissenters (Northeastern University Press, 1999 & paperback edition 2001). Professor Ravitch has also published a number of law review articles addressing US and Japanese constitutional law, law & religion, and civil rights law in leading journals. Moreover, he has written a number of amicus briefs addressing constitutional issues to the United States Supreme Court.

In 2001, Professor Ravitch was named a Fulbright Scholar and served on the Faculty of Law at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. Currently, he directs the Michigan State University College of Law Japan summer programme. Professor Ravitch regularly serves as an expert for print and broadcast media, and speaks on topics related to US Constitutional Law, Japanese Law, and Israeli Law to a wide range of national, international and local organisations. He speaks English, Japanese and Hebrew.

Keynote Presentation (2018) | Law, Religion and Authoritarianism: From State Shinto to Religio-Trumpism

Previous Presentations

Featured Presentation (2017) | Freedom’s Edge: Balancing Religious Freedom and Equal Access to Facilities and Services for Transexuals
Featured Panel Presentation (2017) | Free Speech & Hate Speech – History, Story, Narrative
Keynote Presentation (2016) | Freedom’s Edge – Religious Freedom, Sexual Freedom, and the Future of Justice in America
Featured Presentation (2015)
Keynote Presentation (2014)
Monty P. Satiadarma
Tarumanagara University, Indonesia

Biography

Dr Satiadarma is a clinical psychologist who has taught psychology at Tarumanagara University since 1994. He was one of the founders of the Department of Psychology at Tarumanagara, as well as the Dean of Psychology, Vice Rector and Rector of the university. He graduated with a degree in Psychology from the University of Indonesia, Art Therapy from Emporia State, Kansas, Family Counselling from Notre Dame de Namur, California, and Clinical Hypnotherapy from Irvine, California. He has published a number of books and has a particular interest in educational psychology and music & art therapy – methods with which he treated survivors of the Indonesian tsunami on behalf of the International Red Cross and the United Nations. He is a board member and area chair of the International Council of Psychology, and a founder and board member of the Asian Psychology Association.

Featured Presentation (2022) | Perceived Stress of Students During Online Learning

Previous Presentations

Featured Panel Presentation (2019) | “The Value of Internationalising Psychology” or “The Value of Indigenous Psychologies”
Featured Presentation (2018) | On Being Tolerant and Acceptant to Survive Life Changes
Featured Panel Presentation (2018) | Psychological Literacy: The Most Important Literacy for the 21st Century
IAAB Presentation (2017) | Life Changes, Identity Loss and Psychological Problems
Spotlight Presentation (2016) | Fairness and Happiness
Spotlight Presentation (2015) | The Lucifer Effect in Indonesian Educational Settings
Featured Presentation (2014)
Featured Presentation (2013)
Featured Presentation (2012)
Dexter Da Silva
Keisen University, Japan

Biography

Dr Dexter Da Silva is currently Professor of Educational Psychology at Keisen University in Tokyo. He has taught EFL at junior high school, language schools, and universities in Sydney, and for the past two decades has been living and teaching at the tertiary level in Japan. Professor Da Silva was educated at the University of Sydney (BA, Dip. Ed., MA), and the University of Western Sydney (PhD) He has presented and co-presented at conferences in Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States, and written or co-written articles and book chapters on education-related topics, such as trust, student motivation, autonomy, and content-based language teaching. He is a past editor and current associate editor of On CUE Journal, regular reviewer for conferences and proceedings, and recent co-chair of the 2011 CUE Conference on Motivation.

Featured Panel Presentation (2018) | Psychological Literacy

Previous Presentations

Featured Panel Presentation (2017) | Battles of Ideas: Identity and Alienation
Featured Presentation (2015)
Featured Presentation (2014)
Featured Presentation (2012)
Brian Victoria
Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, UK

Biography

Brian Victoria is a native of Omaha, Nebraska and a 1961 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska. He holds a MA in Buddhist Studies from Sōtō Zen sect-affiliated Komazawa University in Tokyo, and a PhD from the Department of Religious Studies at Temple University.

In addition to a second, enlarged edition of Zen At War (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006), Brian's major writings include Zen War Stories (RoutledgeCurzon, 2003); an autobiographical work in Japanese entitled Gaijin de ari, Zen bozu de ari (As a Foreigner, As a Zen Priest), published by San-ichi Shobo in 1971; Zen Master Dōgen, coauthored with Prof. Yokoi Yūhō of Aichi-gakuin University (Weatherhill, 1976); and a translation of The Zen Life by Sato Koji (Weatherhill, 1972). In addition, Brian has published numerous journal articles, focusing on the relationship of not only Buddhism but religion in general, to violence and warfare.

From 2005 to 2013 Brian was a Professor of Japanese Studies and director of the AEA “Japan and Its Buddhist Traditions Program” at Antioch University in Yellow Springs, OH, USA. From 2013-2015 he was a Visiting Research Fellow at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, Japan where he is writing a book tentatively entitled: Zen Terror in 1930s Japan. Brian currently continues his research as a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, and is a fully ordained Buddhist priest in the Sōtō Zen sect.

Featured Presentation (2019) | Is Religious Tolerance Always Desirable: The Case of Shinto and Buddhism

Previous Presentations

Featured Presentation (2018) | Shinto: Window on Universal Religion
Featured Presentation (2017) | Military Conscription, Slavery and the Modern State
Featured Panel Presentation (2017) | Battles of Ideas: Identity and Alienation
Featured Presentation (2016) | Abstract for Religion and War – The Wartime Tribalization of Universal Religions
Featured Presentation (2016) | Holy War – Its Causes, Nature and, if possible, its Solutions
Spotlight Presentation (2015) | Powers of the Soul – A Very Different Theory of Justice