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Articles 1 - 16 of 16

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Reiterated Commemoration: Hiroshima As National Trauma, Hiro Saito Dec 2006

Reiterated Commemoration: Hiroshima As National Trauma, Hiro Saito

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article examines historical transformations of Japanese collective memory of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by utilizing a theoretical framework that combines a model of reiterated problem solving and a theory of cultural trauma. I illustrate how the event of the nuclear fallout in March 1954 allowed actors to consolidate previously fragmented commemorative practices into a master frame to define the postwar Japanese identity in terms of transnational commemoration of "Hiroshima." I also show that nationalization of trauma of "Hiroshima" involved a shift from pity to sympathy in structures of feeling about the event. This historical study suggests that a …


With The Grain Or Against The Grain? Energy Security And Chinese Foreign Policy In The Hu Jintao Era, James T. H. Tang Oct 2006

With The Grain Or Against The Grain? Energy Security And Chinese Foreign Policy In The Hu Jintao Era, James T. H. Tang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Are China’s growing energy needs insatiable, and is a resource war between China and other major energy-consuming countries, such as the United States, inevitable? China’s pursuit of overseas energy resources to feed its fast-growing economy has given rise to observations that energy is now the driving force behind Chinese foreign policy and predictions that potential conflicts between China and other countries are likely to arise as China becomes more aggressive internationally in search of resources.


The Development Of Social And Cultural Geographies In Taiwan: Knowledge Production And Social Relevance, Hsin-Ling Wu, Sue-Ching Jou, Lily Kong Oct 2006

The Development Of Social And Cultural Geographies In Taiwan: Knowledge Production And Social Relevance, Hsin-Ling Wu, Sue-Ching Jou, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Social and cultural geographies have long occupied a marginal position in Taiwan's scholarship in the humanities and social sciences. Despite the influence of the so-called ‘cultural turn’ that has characterized much of Anglo-American scholarship since the 1990s (Barnett 1998), Taiwan's scholarship in the social sciences in general and human geography more specifically has remained relatively untouched by these intellectual currents till very recent years. This paper seeks to examine the social, intellectual and institutional contexts that explain this marginalization, and consider the possibilities for social and cultural geographies' emergence from marginality in Taiwan in the future. This possibility is considered …


Knowledges Of The Creative Economy: Towards A Relational Geography Of Diffusion And Adaptation In Asia, Lily Kong, Chris Gibson, Louisa-May Khoo, Anne-Louise Semple Aug 2006

Knowledges Of The Creative Economy: Towards A Relational Geography Of Diffusion And Adaptation In Asia, Lily Kong, Chris Gibson, Louisa-May Khoo, Anne-Louise Semple

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Recent dialogues in geography and the social sciences have reminded researchers of the extent to which academic and policy knowledges are socially and spatially embedded-that is, they circulate through formal and informal systems of publishing, exchange, commodification and cultural influence. Academic and policy knowledges are, in short, very much a part of the creative economy. In light of this, our paper surveys knowledges of the creative economy itself, as reflected in a geography of industry reports and government policy statements in selected Asian countries. Using a post-positivist framework adapted from diffusion theory, we critically interpret the circulation, mutation and adaptation …


The Sociality Of Cultural Industries: Hong Kong's Cultural Policy And Film Industry, Lily Kong Aug 2006

The Sociality Of Cultural Industries: Hong Kong's Cultural Policy And Film Industry, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this article, I explore the sociality of cultural industries by analyzing the film industry in Hong Kong. In particular, the social networks and relationships at multiple scales – across national boundaries, within local settings and on production sets – are examined, revealing their critical role in contributing to the health of the film industry. The risks faced at various steps of the production, marketing and distribution process are ameliorated by trust relations, built up through time between social actors in spontaneous ways. While Hong Kong cultural policy in part seeks to create the social and spatial contexts within which …


The Political Economy Of Poverty Reduction: A Comparative Study Of Two Chinese Provinces, John A. Donaldson Aug 2006

The Political Economy Of Poverty Reduction: A Comparative Study Of Two Chinese Provinces, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Is growth good for the poor? In theory, yes. As one influential report on China’s “War on Poverty” suggested, ”Obviously robust economic growth helps reduce poverty, as long as the gains are reasonably distributed” (Rozelle et al. 2000). In practice as well, growth is often a crucial ingredient in the poverty reduction recipe. While this relationship is well founded, important exceptions present themselves – some areas grow, but poverty persists; the economies of other areas remain apparently stagnant, yet poverty diminishes. These exceptions, if studied, will not only illuminate further the causal relationship between these two concepts, but also provide …


Temporal Dynamics Of The Urban Heat Island Of Singapore, Winston T. L. Chow, Matthias Roth Jul 2006

Temporal Dynamics Of The Urban Heat Island Of Singapore, Winston T. L. Chow, Matthias Roth

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The temporal variability of the canopy‐level urban heat island (UHI) of Singapore is examined for different temporal scales on the basis of observations during a 1‐year period. Temperature data obtained from different urban areas (commercial, Central Business District (CBD), high‐rise and low‐rise housing) are compared with ‘rural’ reference data and analysed with respect to meteorological variables and differences in land use. The results indicate that the peak UHI magnitude occurs 3–4 h (>6 h) after sunset in the commercial area, (at other urban sites). Higher UHI intensities generally occur during the southwest monsoon period of May–August, with a maximum …


'A Hundred Flowers Bloom': The Re-Emergence Of The Chinese Press In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon Jul 2006

'A Hundred Flowers Bloom': The Re-Emergence Of The Chinese Press In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

During the whole 32 years of Suharto’s regime (1966–98), Chinese publications and the use of Chinese language in public were officially banned in Indonesia. As a result, printed matter in Chinese characters that entered Indonesia was classified as ‘prohibited imports’ (Heryanto 1999: 327). This prohibition came to an end after the fall of Suharto, as part of the process of democratization and Reformasi. The post-Suharto era of Reformasi is thus celebrated for the dramatic revival of the freedom of the press and media in Indonesia and many previously banned as well as new publications have emerged since Suharto’s fall. The …


Assimilation, Multiculturalism, Hybridity: The Dilemmas Of Ethnic Chinese In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon Jun 2006

Assimilation, Multiculturalism, Hybridity: The Dilemmas Of Ethnic Chinese In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The dominant discourse in accommodating the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia during Suharto's regime was one of assimilation, which forcefully aimed to absorb this minority into the national body. However, continuous official discrimination towards the Chinese placed them in a paradoxical position that made them an easy target of racial and class hostility. The May 1998 anti-Chinese riots proved the failure of the assmilationist policy. The process of democratization has given rise to a proliferation of identity politics in post-Suharto Indonesia. The policy of multiculturalism has been endorsed by Indonesia's current power holders as a preferred approach to rebuilding the nation, …


Religion And Spaces Of Technology: Constructing And Contesting Nation, Transnation, And Place, Lily Kong May 2006

Religion And Spaces Of Technology: Constructing And Contesting Nation, Transnation, And Place, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this paper, I focus on one particular technological development that has come to influence religious practice in significant ways-religious broadcasting. Whereas computer-mediated communications now garner growing research attention, I have chosen to remember the influence of the older technology of broadcasting for its continued influence on myriad lives. In bringing this focus to bear on another major phenomenon, that of trans nationalism, I have come to understand how religious broadcasting does not contribute in a straightforward, linear fashion to perpetuating transnational identities and communities, but is instead implicated in the assertion of the national in the face of transnational …


Impact Of War And Military Service On Income Inequality In Northern Vietnam, Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan Mar 2006

Impact Of War And Military Service On Income Inequality In Northern Vietnam, Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

During the 1940s-1970s Vietnam experienced nearly continuous wars. Military service was almost a rite of passage for young men growing up during these decades. Evidence indicates that families during wartime viewed military service as a locus for upward mobility, as the socialist regime promised veterans various incentives, including educational benefits, employment preference, and Communist Party membership. While this series of wars over the span of three decades has left a profound imprint on the early life course trajectories of men in Vietnam, there is surprisingly little research detailing the long-term consequences of military service. Based on the Vietnam Longitudinal Survey, …


Music And Moral Geographies: Constructions Of "Nation" And Identity In Singapore, Lily Kong Feb 2006

Music And Moral Geographies: Constructions Of "Nation" And Identity In Singapore, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this paper, I attempt to pull together sociological and geographical perspectives in the study of music to understand the ways in which pop and rock music are socio-cultural products with political and moral meanings and implications. I examine state engineering of moral panics, focusing on a case study of pop and rock music in post-independence Singapore. Such engineering is aimed at political and ideological ends, in particular, "nation"- building outcomes. In engineering moral panics through both discursive and legislative acts, the contours of a moral geography are delineated at various spatial scales. First, at the scale of the national …


Southeast Asian Warfare, 1300-1900, Handbook Of Oriental Studies, Section Three: South-East Asia, Volume 16 By Michael W. Charney [Book Review], Tobias Frederik Rettig Jan 2006

Southeast Asian Warfare, 1300-1900, Handbook Of Oriental Studies, Section Three: South-East Asia, Volume 16 By Michael W. Charney [Book Review], Tobias Frederik Rettig

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.


Defining (Multiple) Selves: Reflections On Fieldwork In Jakarta, Chang Yau Hoon Jan 2006

Defining (Multiple) Selves: Reflections On Fieldwork In Jakarta, Chang Yau Hoon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The 'Self' in late-modernity is never singular but multiplies across different discourses, practices and positions. It is constructed through difference. It is only through a relation to the 'Other' that the 'Self' can be defined. This paper endeavours to map the endless negotiations of my 'Self' as male Australian academic of Chinese descent, a Malaysian citizen, a Bruneian resident, and an Indonesian specialist, over a period of fieldwork in Jakarta in 2004. It discusses how I defined my multiple 'Selves' to different individuals and communities, how they in turn defined me, and how these constructions were always shifting. Depending on …


Westernization Of Business Organizations In Japan And China. Continuity And Change, Wai Keung Chung Jan 2006

Westernization Of Business Organizations In Japan And China. Continuity And Change, Wai Keung Chung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.


A Code Of Conduct For Indonesia: Problems And Perspectives, Riccardo Pelizzo, Bernice Ang Jan 2006

A Code Of Conduct For Indonesia: Problems And Perspectives, Riccardo Pelizzo, Bernice Ang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The purpose of the present paper is fairly straightforward. We want to show that institutional reforms, such as the adoption of a conduct code, represent a necessary albeit insufficient condition to curb corruption and promote good governance. As several scholars have pointed out the success of institutional reform in general and the success of codes of conduct in particular depends, among other things, on ideational conditions. With regard to codes of conduct, parliamentary ethics experts believe in fact that the success of a code of conduct depends on whether the individuals who are supposed to be regulated by the disposition …