ARUPS 2010

2 Oct 2010 - 3 Oct 2010

Finally ARUPS 2010 is over. Although I am still not very happy with the way things were planned and executed, I am very happy about the presentations that I have heard so far. It's really an eye opener and heartening experience to know that psychologists at the very core are still pretty good people (or at least people who come to conferences are).

Let's first say some of the things which I am unhappy about

1) THE VENUE CHANGE!! - i understand y they need to change the venue, but some insider told me that the committee knew a little bit earlier that the venue has to be changed. However, the committee didn't want to announce until like... 4 days before the conference. I was thinking WHY, but seems like this question is never going to be answered.

2) The seemingly last minute preparation - ok i have to give credit to those who did try their very best to organize ARUPS. I know it's a big conference, and it's not easy. But to me, it seems there are so many things being done last minute. helpers and volunteers are being recruited last minute. Schedule of presentations are changed. venue changed. and i was asked to be chairperson only during the very VERY last minute. I don't mind chairing. It's a great experience, just that i don't like it so last minute.

Also, i think it's really unfair that the helpers are treated as free labor. they need to pay, and they still need to work. not having the luxury of going to sessions that they wanted to. and the food is just.... poor!! I really pity them.

Now let's not delve on the negative side, and move on to the positive side. There is only one positive side to ARUPS, which are the presentations being done. So below are some presentations which i think are really heartening.

1) Novel Ways of Understanding the Mind - Dr. Robyn Young

So this presentation talks about autism and how her team of researchers managed to develop a scale to better diagnose autism in children younger than 12 months. It's really a great achievement because the earlier a child is being known, the earlier the intervention can be. And it's not really a diagnose per se, cause a children that young, you can't really know for sure whether he/she is autistic. But the special thing about this is that it assess some of the behavioral deficits, and instead of labeling the child as autistic, tries to improve those behavioral deficits. really cool!

2) Research on contemporary issues affecting youths in Malaysia - HELP lecturers (Dr. Hera, Dr. Albert and Dr. Anansuya)

Probably the most enjoyable out of all the presentations in ARUPS. It's good to know some of the research that is being done in Malaysia and what HELP's staff trying to do to make things better. Very nice

3) Economic Empowerment: Sustainable Support System for People with Learning Difficulties in Employment - Ms. Clarissa Chang

I chaired for this session, and it's really another very heartening presentation. Ms. Clarissa has been in the field for 20 years, advocating for people with learning difficulties. The things she does are just angelic la. It is said that nowadays, Giant no longer hire foreigners and they shift this quota to employing people with learning disabilities. Great right? That's hard work!

4) Promoting Children's Personal Strengths: Integrating Positive Psychology with Child Development.

Dr. Albert presented in this session, and the way he laughs is SO FARNEE. he sounds like he's asthmatic, but a happy one. XD So Dr. Albert constructed a scale to measure personal strength and in his session, he said that personal strength (or noncognitive ability XD) is equally important, if not more important to predict success in life. And yes, eventhough knowledge is important, being able to control and manage one's emotion and interpersonal skills definitely will bring a person a loooong way. if not, even with all the knowledge in the world, you would still end up in jail, simply because u cannot control your emotions and end up fighting with other people. lol

5) Stress Level, Life Regard and Coping Strategies of Wives with Alcoholic Husbands in Kartanaka, India: A basis for an Intervention Program - Ms. Judy Lewis

So Ms. Judy managed to find wives whom are married to alcoholic husbands (which treats them pretty badly like using verbal abuse) and measure all the things she wanted to, like meaning of life and stress level. After identifying those who have high stress level, and low meaning of life, she invented a logotherapy intervention. So these females at the end of the day manage to lower their stress level, and also mange to find more meaning in life. so cool huh?

Man, these people are the people who change the society around them. I want to be like them too! muahahaha.. it's good to see that there are advocates who are doing things to change society for the better. Often times, they work background and nobody recognizes them.

I guess i did chose a right course after all!

My supervisor Dr. Albert and me

God Bless~