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Chapter 1 provides an overview of the study. Scholarly interest in film discourse (Bateman and Schmidt, 2011; Tseng, 2009) have led to the development of semiotic resources as dependable model to anchor current film research. The application of semiotic multimodality to investigate “how film means” and unlock its “textual organization” through a specific film adaptation case study will be the main focus of the research. Chapter 2 reviews relevant literature in the domain of adaptation and multimodal studies. In particular, semiotic multimodal theories which inform the present study of Ackbar Abbas’ theory of déjà disparu in the context of Hong Kong New Cinema in general, and the cinema of Wong Kar-wai in particular are introduced. Chapter 3 outlines the research design. The theoretical framework underpinning the study include Metz’s grande paradigmatique, Barthes’ semiotic, and above all, Bateman’s multimodality principles of analytic units such as filmic units, syntagmatic and paradigmatic axes are set out. Chapter 4 analyses Liu Yichang’s modernist novella, Intersection (1972). Drawing upon adaptation theories, the chapter examines Wong’s radical re-working of Liu’s experimental fiction to produce an “abstract adaptation” that not only challenges issues of adaptation fidelity but opens “new theoretical dialogue” about the intersection of film and literature, with particular emphasis on “the formalism of tête–bêche (theory) into a social-historical critique” in his film adaptation of In the Mood for Love. Chapter 5 examines the filmmaker – Wong Kar-wai. In the 2012 Sight and Sound poll, critics and film-makers voted In the Mood for Love the 24th Greatest-Film-of-All-Time. Commercial and critical acclaimed aside, the film about unrequited love, the transmutation of time and memory, carries a “historical significance” in post-colonial Hong Kong. Abbas theorizes a culture of déjà disparu to covey film-makers, like Wong, who adopts cinematic techniques of “disappearance and ambivalence” to capture a global city, i.e. Hong Kong, that is imminently disappearing. Chapter 6 analyses In the Mood for Love in a stratified semiotic model. It explores the basic units of film, or the syntagmatic configurations of filmic units, through fine-grained, shot-by-shot analysis of the case study. The chapter employs extensive corpus of data coupled with rigorous annotation of filmic units and detailed analysis of paradigmatic systems. Chapter 7 applies the analytic framework for a closer analysis of In the Mood for Love by combining syntagmatic and paradigmatic organization that covers the entire target film fragment. Incidentally, Bateman and Schmidt’s seminal research, the results published in 2012, analysed D. W. Griffith’s The Girl and her Trust (1912), a silent film, 15 minute long, consisted of only 140 shots. Despite the level of complexity involved, the present study seeks to examine if a semiotic multimodal framework, specifically through the interaction of the two axes – syntagmatic and paradigmatic – could lead to fresh insights of “textual organization”, filmic meaning making and, consequently, filmic discourse. Chapter 8 and 9 summarizes the key findings, discusses its implications and its contribution to multimodal research. Limitations of the present study and directions for further research are proposed. Chapter 10 provides generalizations concerning In the Mood for Love, Wong’s film adaptation from Liu Yichang’s modernist novella, Intersection; as well addresses the research questions raised in the study. To summarize, the study builts on Bateman and Schmidt’s (2011) and Tseng’s (2009) research on film as a form of “cinematographic document,” and continues their efforts to construct a semiotic mode of film. The author recognizes the complexity of undertaking research in the domain of semiotic discourse. This study argues that as film analysis is about ways of seeing and synthesizing different cinematic styles, strategies; learnt cinematic conventions and reflective viewing is imperative. The interaction of robust multimodal resources, well-defined analytic units, based on dependable models, and conducted through a discursive process should align to produce fruitful filmic discourse. The study premised on the assumption that film is more than a “self-enclosed signification system” but a crucial “cultural practice” that “reflect and inflect culture.” Taken together, this view underscores the importance and interactivity of cinema, culture and society. To this end, the study contributes to filmic meaning making, the New Hong Kong Cinema, and finally, the present study invariably serves as a form of “social document” or “cultural artifacts” in its exploration of Hong Kong ever changing identity, culture and moods

Macao, a developing city, has been undergoing rapid and significant changes economically, culturally, and socially, partly as a consequence of the changes to the economy brought about by the gaming and tourism industry. Changes in Macao have had a major impact on its schools. Parents have a significant impact on students in school, and Macao’s secondary schools are having to handle a range of challenges and problems brought by students and their parents, many of these as a result of the changes in the wider society of Macao. The response of many schools to the challenges faced is limited, and they understate and under-use the important role played by more developed forms of parental involvement in schools. This study examines the nature, scope and extent of the problems that secondary schools in Macao are having to handle from parents and students, how the schools are handling them, and what needs to be done in order to address the problems and handle them more effectively. Through a large scale survey, interviews and a small scale questionnaire, the thesis identifies key problems facing the schools from students and parents, and it reveals that many of Macao’s secondary schools are ill-equipped to handle these, and there are many signs that the problems are becoming more acute. The thesis finds that negative parental behavior has had a stronger effect on students than positive parental behavior, and it finds that there are several reasons why the schools, in their present state, cannot address these matters effectively. A significant gap is found between what the schools indicate they should be doing and what they are actually doing to address increased parental involvement in order to impact positively on Macao’s students. Recommendations are made for intervention and action.

Macao, a developing city, has been undergoing rapid and significant changes economically, culturally, and socially, partly as a consequence of the changes to the economy brought about by the gaming and tourism industry. Changes in Macao have had a major impact on its schools. Parents have a significant impact on students in school, and Macao’s secondary schools are having to handle a range of challenges and problems brought by students and their parents, many of these as a result of the changes in the wider society of Macao. The response of many schools to the challenges faced is limited, and they understate and under-use the important role played by more developed forms of parental involvement in schools. This study examines the nature, scope and extent of the problems that secondary schools in Macao are having to handle from parents and students, how the schools are handling them, and what needs to be done in order to address the problems and handle them more effectively. Through a large scale survey, interviews and a small scale questionnaire, the thesis identifies key problems facing the schools from students and parents, and it reveals that many of Macao’s secondary schools are ill-equipped to handle these, and there are many signs that the problems are becoming more acute. The thesis finds that negative parental behavior has had a stronger effect on students than positive parental behavior, and it finds that there are several reasons why the schools, in their present state, cannot address these matters effectively. A significant gap is found between what the schools indicate they should be doing and what they are actually doing to address increased parental involvement in order to impact positively on Macao’s students. Recommendations are made for intervention and action

In Macao, the government has initiated a debate regarding revisions in the Decree Law in order to promote a more inclusive schooling system. In this Special Administrative Region of China, inclusive education is one of three possible types of special education that are likely be legislated in the future. The way the teachers perceive the different aspects related to inclusive education, namely the principles, concepts and law, is essential for its full implementation. The aim of this study is to understand teachers’ perceptions about the proposed amendments in the consultation document for changes in the special education regime. In particular, we focus on teachers’ acceptance of the recommended role of parents, the proposed placement models and expectations for teacher training. A mixed-methods approach with a survey of a sample of 500 teachers in private schools and interviews to a sub-sample of 20 provide the data. While agreeing in principle with the majority of the proposed changes in the Decree Law, there were several reservations made by the teachers, especially regarding the extent of parental choice, placement decisions and teacher training. Recommendations to continue the pathway for a more inclusive education system in Macao and for further research are made.

This thesis articulates the development of a holistic approach to enhance learning and teaching in an object-oriented programming course. Starting with the premise that it is not possible to improve teaching without understanding how students learn programming, this thesis embodies the processes and reflections experienced while applying knowledge of how students learn programming, to design a learning environment that enhances learning outcomes. First, a theoretically based framework for the teaching of the course is developed. A holistic approach using a plurality of pedagogic theories, taxonomies, and instructional designs is employed to bridge the gaps between the bodies of knowledge relating to the ways that students approach programming and the application of this knowledge to design the course. Second, in two cycles of action research, the course is implemented and the analysis of its outcome is conducted using mixed methods data collection techniques. The evaluation is integrative and seeks multiple forms of evidence for student engagement and improved learning. The original contributions from this research in the form of new initiatives, perceptions, and understandings, as well as implications for theory and practice are described. A claim to knowledge is established by explaining the significance of the research to student learning, personal practice and beliefs, institutional influence, and potential for influence on computing education research. Quality criteria are applied to assess the validity and rigor of the action research project, and the research is appraised as a scholarly enquiry and a transformative process that led to innovative forms of thinking and acting