Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Manual Of Sustainable Urban Practices Towards Long-Term Conservation, Haley Kilmer

Capstone Collection

This paper analyzes how urban living and design can be detrimental to the surrounding ecosystems and how it is directly affecting the biodiversity loss of an area. To answer this question, I first did extensive background research on urbanization, climate change, and biodiversity loss as it relates to urban ecosystems. Then, the public’s perceptions were collected through surveys and interviews in order to make meaningful suggestions in the construction of an interactive, biological corridor map. The results showed that increasing the biodiversity of an urban area can help to mitigate many of the common environmental challenges associated with living in …

The Long Migration Route: Exploring Social Implications For Asylees In The Us And Policy Creation In Transit Countries As A Result Of Immigration Patterns Of African And Haitian Asylum-Seekers Traveling Through Latin America To The United States, Brendan Rupprecht

Capstone Collection

The number of asylum-seekers from African nations and Haiti traveling from their origin countries, through Latin America, and then to the United States is increasing. This capstone explores why Africans and Haitians are choosing to embark on this journey, what the experience is like for the asylum-seekers (including mapping the physical route taken), and what policies have been developed in transit countries, specifically Panama and Mexico, as a response to this phenomenon. To fulfill the objectives of the study, data was collected by conducting semi- structured interviews with 4 individuals who currently work in the field of international migration and …

Does Microcredit Reduce Poverty? An Empirical Exploration In India, Aneel Karnani, Seema Sahai

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Microcredit has grown dramatically over the last few decades and its supporters have made extravagant promises about its potential impact on reducing poverty. However, much recent research has shown that microcredit has no significant impact on reducing poverty. In this exploratory study we interview 205 clients of for-profit microcredit to better understand the causes of why microcredit has not lived up to its promise. We find the basic problem is that the lending policies of the microcredit organizations are designed to lower the costs and risks, and hence increase the profits of the organization, and are not responsive to the …

The Eastern Atomic Rise: Defining Nuclear Hegemony In A Multi-Lateral World, Eric Rodriguez

Capstone Collection

Most existing literature in the field of international relations on the hegemonic dimension of nuclear technology is written from a realist, western perspective within the context of the Cold War. It focuses on its military, defense, and security dimensions, non-proliferation and safety, and some analyses of hegemony from a cultural media perspective. This theory-building paper offers contrasting understanding of nuclear hegemony, which recognizes three recent developments: 1) diminished Western Hegemony in nuclear technology; 2) growing Chinese nuclear capacity in energy geopolitics; and 3) growing concerns about global energy security. This paper begins with an overview of these developments and a …

Pro-Integration Policies And The Occupational Expectations Of Immigrant Youth, Volha Chykina

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Europe is experiencing heightened public attention toward anti-immigration policy reforms and restrictions. Despite the potential importance of these policy changes, we do not know whether these policies influence how immigrant children perceive their futures in their host countries. Employing secondary data analysis of the Program for International Student Assessment and the Migrant Integration Policy Index data, I show that a decrease in policy support for immigrant integration is associated with a decrease in how good of a job immigrant children expect to have when they are adults. Since students’ occupational expectations influence their eventual status attainment, this article shows that …

Canton Through Western Eyes: Resources & Wood’S Sketches Of China, Sai Deng

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This book talk was organized by the Guangzhou Book Club and it was aimed to introduce the newly translated and published book《洋记者的广州城记》(English title: Sketches of China: with Illustrations from Original Drawings). The original English book was written by William Wightman Wood (1804-), an American journalist, businessman and cartoonist, who went to Canton, China in 1825 and created one of the first English newspapers in China, The Canton Register. This book is about his impressions and experiences of Canton and the southern China in the 1820s, all based on his travel notes. Canton was the only city which was open …

A Platform To Speak And The World To Listen: Creative Freedom, Government Policy, And Chinese Film, Stefan Burns

Senior Theses

When considering the Chinese domestic film industry, debates often arise regarding government involvement and the degree to which this interferes with filmmakers’ creative freedom. A common assertion raises concerns of censorship and propaganda with the proposal that state control continues to be overbearing and manipulative, but others challenge this view and maintain that the film industry is closer to a free market now that government intervention has been scaled back. This dissension naturally raises the question: how do Chinese government policies towards their domestic film industry impact filmmakers’ creative freedom? This tension is examined with the claim that Chinese government …

Building Climate-Resilient Cities, Winston Chow

Perspectives@SMU

Besides the 3R’s of reduce-reuse-recycle, people should also consider ASI – avoid, shift, and improve

Yung Kee: A Roast Goose Chase, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

How a Hong Kong culinary landmark emerged stronger following a bitter family feud over succession disputes

Chinese Clan Culture And Its Influence On Family Business Ownership, Jiameng Cheng, Yanke Dai, Lin Shu, Haichun Ye

Perspectives@SMU

Research shows that, in China, business owners who hail from provinces with high clan cultural influence are more likely to share business ownership with family members

Open Access In Singapore, Pin Pin Yeo

Research Collection Library

The blog post outlines how academic libraries in Singapore support Open Access and Open Science trends. It covers open access repositories in Singapore, the content and growth of OA publications. It covers the libraries support Open Data and Open Science and the data repositories in Singapore. Some publisher agreements were negotiated by NUS, and further discussions with selected publishers are in progress.

The Belt And Road Initiative Policy: How Chinese Policy Influences Southeast Asia And South Asia, Chendong Wang

Sustainability and Social Justice

This article would be divided into two main parts. In the first part, this article introduces what is the BRI policy and the history of the BRI policy. The BRI policy is a Chinese strategy and network to connect with Chinese partners and potential partners through economic, political, and cultural three perspectives. In the second part, this article describes the BRI policy development and the response from Chinese neighboring countries which mainly include the Southeast and South Asian Countries. Southeast Asian nations and south Asian nations would first be directly impacted by politics, the economy, and culture. Southeast Asian countries …

Characterization Of Municipal Water Sources For The Mexico-Lerma-Cutzamala Basin Region, Ian F. Hirons

Sustainability and Social Justice

The Mexico and Toluca Valleys in central Mexico are part of one of the most heavily populated megalopolises in the western hemisphere where consistent access to safe, affordable, and quality water sources figures to be a decisive challenge in the era of climate change. This professional project report compiles a range of statistics and information about the vital liquid for 29 municipalities located in and around the Mexico City and Toluca areas. This contribution is derived from a broader team research endeavor that seeks to gauge the impacts and adaptive processes to climate change within those regions. By doing so, …

Amjambo Africa! (August 2022), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In this Issue

Amjambo Arts ......................2/3

Moonglade .............................4/5

Education .............................6-10

Free Community College

In 7 languages

Immigration fraud .................12

In 7 languages

Market Basket ...................14/15

Tips & Info ..............................16

All about the Workforce ........18

Community Happenings .20/21

Girls & women in Africa........22

Central America news ...........24

Health&Wellness. ..............26-27

In 7 languages

Service organization columns 32

Financial literacy ....................33

New Voices feature ...........34/35

Nonprofit updates .............36/37

Smu Founding Chairman Ho Kwon Ping To Step Down After 25 Years Of Distinguished Leadership, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

Mr Ho Kwon Ping (何光平), Chairman of the Singapore Management University (SMU) Board of Trustees (BOT), will step down on 11 January 2023 after an illustrious 25 years of distinguished leadership. Mr Piyush Gupta (高博德), currently a member of the SMU BOT, will succeed Mr Ho as the new Chairman of SMU from 12 January 2023.

The Commuting Patterns Of Older Adults, Yen Cong Wong, Yan Er Tan, Grace Cheong

ROSA Research Briefs

This research brief uses data from the Singapore Life Panel (SLP) and provides a general description of the commuting patterns of older adults in November 2021. By outlining the latter, we aim to provide some indication of whether Singapore’s transport infrastructure adequately supports the commute needs of older adults and how older adults’ commute fares against the Land Transport Authority (LTA) of Singapore’s Land Transport Master Plan (LTMP). Key findings: 1. Self-owned car (32.8%) was the most preferred mode of transport, followed by the public bus (25.3%), MRT (24.4%) and walking (8.3%). 2. In terms of utilization, public bus (50.3%), …

The Impact Of Line (Brand) Extension Strategies On Competition And In-Store Operational Performance In The China E-Commerce Environment, Er-Yung Stephen Chu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Line (brand) extension activity in the western markets may have tempered during the last decade, and most of the academic research that has been done is based on traditional brick and mortar stores. With the rise of e-commerce, line extension became a growth tool for brands. The study starts with the classification of line extension strategic types, which gives different tiers of Chinese e-commerce firms a good reference, especially in the rapidly changing e-commerce environment. It also seeks to give guidance for different aspects of launching new line extensions. Using this guidance, future brands can make better estimations of brand …

The Evolution Of Aid Protection: A Future Informed By Afghanistan, Tabitha Babcock

Capstone Collection

The need for protection during complex crises is unremitting. Studies spanning the past decade prove humanitarian aid workers are at great risk while working within conflict zones and insecure contexts. This influx is due to the proliferation of politicization of humanitarianism, donor involvement, and lack of communication between involved parties. This exploratory study uses longitudinal data collection by way of semi-structured qualitative interviews. The research examined how humanitarian workers’ need for protection, while providing aid to Afghanistan, will change the future of humanitarian response.

It was concluded that although in the past decade, on-site actors felt they had enough physical …

Weight Perceptions And Health Education On Obesity Among Older Adults, Seonghoon Kim, Vicky Mengqi Qin, Xuan Zhang, Kanghyock Koh, Mindy Eiko Tadai, Micah Tan

ROSA Research Briefs

The current brief presents preliminary findings from a special module that measures perceptions of weight and receptivity to health education among older adults. Singapore Life Panel® (SLP) data collected in January 2022 (n=2814) were utilized. Two policy recommendations were made: The main findings highlight that weight misperception is prevalent among older adults. More than a third of respondents (39%) incorrectly perceive their weight status, particularly among overweight and obese older adults, as well as Malay and lower educated respondents. This suggests the importance of public health education for older adults to reduce misperceptions about their own over- and under-weight status, …

The Dominican Population Of The New York Metropolitan Region, 1970 - 2020 (Revised), Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This study focuses on the demographic and socioeconomic changes occurring within the Dominican population of the New York metropolitan area between 1970 and 2019. By 2019 Dominicans had become the largest Latino nationality in New York City having surpassed Puerto Ricans a decade earlier in sheer numbers.

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew …

"Building The Plane As We Fly It": Tesmonios Of First-Time Mexican American Studies High School Teachers During The 2021-2022 School Year In Southwest Texas., Jesse Soledad Arrieta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Mexican American Studies, as a course, was approved by the Texas State Board of Education in 2019. However, there were no provisions on how the course would be implemented or supported by school districts in Texas. Further, in 2021, Texas House Bill 3797 and Senate Bill 3 were passed into law, aiming at the heart of Ethnic Studies - Critical Race Theory (CRT). Utilizing testimonio as methodology and method, I sought to understand the experiences of first-time Mexican American Studies high school teachers implementing Mexican American Studies during the 2021-2022 school year in Southwest Texas. Testimonio interviews with six teachers …

A Study On The Role Of Innovative Enterprise-Farmer Contracts In The Sustainable Development Of Agricultural Industrialization - A Perspective Based On Ghm Theroy, Yanjie Wu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Agricultural industrialization is the primary channel to promote large-scale agricultural production, intensive processing, and marketing, enhancing agricultural production efficiency. In the long run, promoting agricultural industrialization is conducive to the deep integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries. It can improve the comparative efficiency of agriculture and reduce poverty by promoting the employment of agricultural labor and the flow of production factors between urban and rural areas. The model of “leading enterprises+farmers” is a significant agricultural industrialization business model. In China, the development of agricultural industrialization is late and fast, and more problems have emerged in the development. The contractual …

Key Factors In The Strategic Transformation Of Traditional Food Enterprises In China, Hui Ching Lau

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The food industry is an important industry for China’s social development and one of the pillar industries of China's industrial economy. With the development of China’s urbanization, the victory of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, consumer demand has become diversified and rationalized from “seeking for fullness” to “seeking for good”. In this context, the supplier of food products, that is, food companies, has become more competitive in market segments. With the continuous improvement of China's market openness, many top international food companies have flooded into the food industry. Coupled …

Power Allocation And Reform Efficiency: The Distortions In Urban Renovations In China, 1992-2012, Gang He

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The world has been paying close attention to the achievements of China's industrialization and urbanization since it started reform and opening up in 1978. However, there have been considerable controversies about the repetitive development plans in major Chinese cities and the rough demolition and reconstruction in old urban areas. Systematic explanations for the underlying causes and in-depth studies are limited, especially on the division of powers, responsibilities, and interests between the government and the market especially from 1992 to 2012, when old city reconstruction swept across China. This paper focuses on the temporal and regional differences in land property rights …

Substantive Representation Of Women In Asian Parliaments, Devin K. Joshi, Christian Echle

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Combining data from nearly 100 interviews with national parliamentarians from ten Asian countries, the contributors to this book analyze and evaluate the advancement of gender equality in Asia. As of the year 2022, no country in Asia has gender parity in its parliament. Meanwhile, the proportion of national-level women parliamentarians in Asia averages a mere 20%. What is more important than simple descriptive representation, however, is whether outcomes for women are improving. Rather than focusing on numerical representation, the chapters in this book focus on the substantive representation of women. In other words, what do women and men parliamentarians do …

The Imaginary And Epistemology Of Disaster Preparedness: The Case Of Japan's Nuclear Safety Failure, Hiro Saito

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The Fukushima nuclear disaster was profoundly a man-made one, resulting from the organiza-tional failure of nuclear emergency preparedness. To fully understand the cause of this disaster, I propose to extend an organizational perspective on disasters into a macro-institutional perspec-tive on disaster preparedness. To this end, I borrow from science and technology studies the concepts of "sociotechnical imaginary" and "civic epistemology" to probe the deepest layers of meaning-making constitutive of disaster preparedness. I then apply these concepts to the history of nuclear energy in postwar Japan that was centered on the developmental state pursuing in-dustrial transformation. Specifically, I illustrate how the …

Realising Contingent Religious Subjects Through Relational Spaces Of Missionary Encounter, Orlando Woods

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper explores the ways in which the religious subject can be a contingent position that is responsive to the broader socio-religious context within which it is expressed. These contingencies are acutely observed amongst short-term missionaries (STM), who seek out encounters with difference in pursuit of a more cosmopolitan subjectivity. Yet, whilst spaces of missionary encounter are inherently relational, the missions literature has tended to downplay the effects of relationality on the realisation of these subject positions. By focussing on the experiences of Singaporean missionaries working amongst Christian communities in Southeast Asia, I contribute a more nuanced and less predetermined …

The Imaginary And Epistemology Of Disaster Preparedness: The Case Of Japan's Nuclear Safety Failure, Hiro Saito

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The Fukushima nuclear disaster was profoundly a man-made one, resulting from the organizational failure of nuclear emergency preparedness. To fully understand the cause of this disaster, I propose to extend an organizational perspective on disasters into a macro-institutional perspective on disaster preparedness. To this end, I borrow from science and technology studies the concepts of "sociotechnical imaginary" and "civic epistemology" to probe the deepest layers of meaning-making constitutive of disaster preparedness. I then apply these concepts to the history of nuclear energy in postwar Japan that was centered on the developmental state pursuing industrial transformation. Specifically, I illustrate how the …

The Impact Of Innovation On The Performance Of Chinese Listed Companies, Shaoying Luo

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Company innovation has significant consequences for the macroeconomic development of the nation as well as serving as a guide for the creation of innovation strategies at the micro level of enterprises. But because the mechanism linking R&D inputs to firm success has not been completely explored, findings for various samples and sample intervals have varied greatly. Therefore, using the data of listed companies in China from 2009 to 2017 as the research sample, this paper introduces mediating and moderating variables to empirically analyze the mediating effect of innovation output in the correlation between R&D input and firm performance and the …

El Niño And The Human-Environment Nexus: Drought And Vulnerability In Singapore 1877-1911, Fiona Williamson

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This chapter brings a climatic perspective to the study of Singaporean history by exploring the impacts of the strong El Niño inspired droughts of 1877, 1902 and 1911. The narrative focuses on unpacking the nexus of nature-inspired versus human-induced vulnerability to drought within the contexts of colonial urbanisation and looks at the short-to medium-term impacts of the events on society. It also explores how such events inspired new questions about the climate and regional teleconnections, as a wealth of evidence became available due to the increasingly connected nature of scientific institutions, scientific literature, and communications systems across the Indian Ocean …