
ii
Acknowledgement
I would to thank my supervisors Dr Angela Wei Hong Yang, Dr George Binh Lenon and
Professor Eddie Pang for their guidance in research. In the course of my research project, I have
tapped on the experiences of my supervisors immensely. I would like to extend my sincere
thanks to Angela and George for coping with all the hard and grinding queries thrown their way
as well as Eddie for his invaluable input on my project. In turn, I like to extend my gratitude to
Dr Brian May for reaching out amidst the cold hard-thriving intellectual environment. My
workload in the challenging undertakings of the classical data-mining was eased owing to a
content list of the classical texts provided by both Dr Brian May and Ms Su-Yueh Chang.
My Master’s research was a continuation of my supervisor, Dr Angela Wei Hong Yang’s
Cochrane systematic review project. Angela’s project was partially funded by the RMIT
Emerging Researcher Grant and Grant Number R24 AT001293 from America’s National
Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). The contents of this
systematic review are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent
the official views of the NCCAM or the National Institutes of Health. Angela’s project also
received the support provided by the Cochrane Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders
Group (searching, editing and feedback), particularly Ms Gemma Sandberg for searching
English databases, Ms Miranda Cumpston for training and advice, as well as Ms Jenny Bellorini
for ongoing support. I thank Miss Amy Hsiewe Ying Tan for data extraction of the Japanese
paper.
Last, my husband, Kevin, for without his continuous encouragement and support, I would not
even embark on this journey of research.