International and Area Studies Commons^™

Getting Sick Where Karma Is Gravity: Disease In The Tibetan Perspective, Moreau Hadley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Karma is the Buddhist idea that our actions from current and previous lives affect our fortune in this life. In particular, if we suffer in the current life, it is due to negative action in the past. Likewise, if we prosper, it is due to past positive acts, such as compassion. The idea of karma extends to illness; in simplification, sickness is attributed to negative past action.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the belief of karmic disease in the Tibetan Buddhist community of Shangri-La. Although disease is often used as an example of karmic suffering, and there …

The Women Of Dho Tarap: Gender Roles, Challenges, And Change In Dolpo, Nepal, Luke Testa

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

By collecting and examining first first-hand accounts of women and men from Dho Tarap, this report illustrates the many challenges that women report facing throughout their lives in Dolpo, offers a conceptual framework for understanding the significance of gender, and highlights women’s thoughts on change. The difficulties that women face appear to be due to cultural concepts that suggest that women are less capable than men, social norms that provide various learning and growth opportunities to men but not to women, and customs that result in women experiencing discriminate treatment in the home and community. Through an analysis of the …

The Lives Of Smart Phones: People’S Relationships With Technology Along The Tamor Valley, Candice Jiang

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The way people interact with smart phones and technology in their everyday life can reveal a whole lot about a culture, history and politics of a given place. In the Taplejung district in Northeastern Nepal, the Tamor valley has been a historical pathway for trans-Himalayan trade, business, and commerce (Saxer: 2015). However, it is also considered one of the most virtually and physically remote places in Nepal due to lack of physical and Internet infrastructure that enables all kinds of access. Nevertheless, smart phones have become an essential gadget in most people’s lives in this part of Nepal. In a …

Tibetan Perceptions Of Lgbtq, Lauren Champagne

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project is aimed at understanding the perceptions of LGBTQ identities, people, and issues within the Tibetan exile community in Dharamsala, India. The project starts by contextualizing feminism in Tibetan spheres as well as Buddhist conceptions of gender and sexuality, as many Tibetans are practicing Buddhists. The focus then turns to the reactions to and experiences of queer Tibetans and how Tibetans talk about and conceptualize queerness. Finally, this project looks at the formation of various networks that have formed amongst a small community of out LGBTQ Tibetans. The main objective of this paper is to provide a context for …

Development Of Health Rehabilitation In Mainland China: From Traditional Chinese Medicine To Modern Western Rehabilitation Methods, Michelle Moy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The aim of this study is to understand the changes occurring in China, leading to the development of health rehabilitation. This study will portray the shift of traditional Chinese medicine to modern influences of Western rehabilitation, and will also introduce the idea of an integrated model of TCM and Western Rehabilitation.

Observations were held at a TCM hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, as well as a TCM hospital that provided modern rehabilitation services. Two online questionnaire surveys were sent out to rehabilitation health professionals working in mainland China, one of which collected quantitative data while the other collected both qualitative and …

Sets, Modular Systems And Interconnections: Comparing Singapore Law With Eu Legislation, Gordon Ionwy David Llewelyn, T. Prashant Reddy

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Singapore registered design law is largely based on UK legislation and, notwithstanding subsequent amendments, the underlying principles remain broadly similar. This article aims to compare Singapore registered design law with EU legislation in relation to sets, modular systems and interconnections.'Sets of articles' are afforded protection under both Singapore law and EU registered design law. Under both regimes such protection can prove problematic, as under Singapore law it may require a court to make an artistic assessment as to whether the goods are of the same 'general character' and under EU law the Guidelines issued by the EUIPO appear to go …

Inflation Expectations In Singapore: A Behavioural Approach, Alexander Clark, Aurobindo Ghosh, Samuel Hanes

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The expectations of economic agents have significant impact on their decisions and are key determinants of macroeconomic outcomes such as inflation, economic growth and unemployment. For example, if a worker believes that consumer prices will rise sharply next year, she would demand a wage increase. Similarly, a homeowner with a fixed interest mortgage might make an early repayment if she expects price levels to fall, knowing that the real value of her mortgage debt will increase. In these cases, expectations about inflation could lead to changes in behaviour and in the aggregate, influence prices and become self-fulfilling.

Interview With Tan Chin Tiong: Creating A New Management University, Chin Tiong Tan

Oral History Collection

The interview covered:

• Involvement with SMU
• Private university
• Collaboration with Wharton School
• Challenges

Interview With Howard Hunter: Creating A New Management University, Howard Hunter

Oral History Collection

The interview covered:

• Involvement with SMU
• Law school
• Support from the government
• Curriculum
• Board of trustees
• Private university

Addressing Hydrocephaly In Viet Nam: A Plausible Prevention And Intervention Medical Support Program Proposal, Chelle Mcintyre-Brewer

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Families affected by hydrocephalus in Viet Nam have few options for sustainable treatment for a myriad of reasons, primarily centering on barriers to care prevalent to minority, underserved, and economically disadvantaged populations. High morbidity and abandonment rates often result from these circumstances. An interdisciplinary examination of the factors contributing to causal concerns reveals unique cultural considerations, language and literacy barriers, ethnic and geographic differences, as well as economic and governmental issues greatly impacting patient outcome for this condition. The author contends that a program that addresses sociological concerns, along with the medical treatment of the patient, proffers the opportunity for …

Customer Satisfaction Index Of Singapore 2017: Full Year Overview, Institute Of Service Excellence, Smu

Research Collection Institute of Service Excellence (2007-2024)

The Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) computes customer satisfaction scores at the national, sector, sub-sector, and company levels. The CSISG serves as a quantitative benchmark of the quality of goods and services produced by the Singapore economy over time and across countries. The fourth quarter results mark the end of measurement for CSISG 2017. Singapore’s 2017 national score was computed using the data collected during these four quarters.

"They Chase Us Like Dogs": Exploring The Vulnerabilities Of "Ladyboys" In The Cambodian Sex Trade, Jarrett D. Davis, Glenn Miles

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

While the vulnerability of women and girls continues to be the subject of research and concern among social service providers, few attempts have been made to understand the vulnerabilities and lived experiences of transgender persons in the sex industry. Among the studies that have been done, most have focused on sexual health and their likelihood to contract or spread HIV/AIDS, often ignoring other potential vulnerabilities. This study aims to provide a broad baseline of data on the perspectives and experiences of transgendered persons in the sex trade in Phnom Penh, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of their needs, and …

Global Ambitions: Positioning Singapore As A Contemporary Arts Hub, Su Fern Hoe

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This chapter has two objectives. The first is to critically interrogate the state’s efforts in utilising the visual arts as a means to position Singapore as an international arts hub and marketplace. As Kwok Kian Woon and Low Kee-Hong have noted, “Singapore’s cultural policy has everything to do with staying on top as a focal node in the late-capitalist world system of the new millennium” (Kwok and Low, 2002, p. 154). This chapter offers an overview of the programmes and initiatives introduced by the state from the 1990s to the present in order to encourage the entry of international art …

The Arts And Culture Strategic Review Report: Harnessing The Arts For Community-Building, Su Fern Hoe

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The Arts and Culture Strategic Review (ACSR) was initiated in 2010 to chart the next phase of cultural development in Singapore. The final report, which was released in 2012, appears to propose a paradigm shift in focus for arts and cultural policy making in Singapore: from the desire to manage the arts and cultural sectors into profitable creative industries to the utilisation of the arts and culture as expedient tools for social cohesion and community building in Singapore. This shift has resulted in government programmes placing (renewed) importance and emphasis on “community arts” as a cultural activity. This chapter critically …

The Reduction Of Mass Atrocity Crimes In East Asia: The Evolving Norms Of Asean's Prevention Mechanisms, David A. Frank

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

ASEAN member states represent a region that has experienced a dramatic reduction in mass atrocity crimes in the last forty years. Scholars have identified three structural explanations for this reduction: the decrease in the use of mass atrocities as a tool of war, rising incomes, and the spread of democracy. The evolution of complex and contested human rights norms during this same period contributed significantly to the positive role played by the three structural factors in the decline of atrocity crimes. This paper highlights the human rights norms that anchor ASEAN atrocity prevention mechanisms and suggests that the association can …

The Admiral's Carrot And Stick: Zheng He And The Confucius Institute, Peter Weisser

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As the People’s Republic of China begins to accumulate influence on the international stage through strategic usage of soft power, the history and application of soft power throughout the history of China will be important to future scholars of the politics of Beijing. This study will examine Beijing and its government official’s perceptions of its soft power and how there have been historical parallels between the modern People’s Republic of China and the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in regard to soft power politics and China’s search for its legitimacy as a rising global power. This study will use two examples that …

Book Review: Multinational Maids: Stepwise Migration In A Global Labor Market By Anju Mary Paul, Andy Scott Chang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

From Singapore and Tel Aviv to Rome and Vancouver, Filipina domestic workers have captured the hearts of international employers, thanks to their English proficiency, educational attainment, and cosmopolitan outlook. Though confined to indentured servitude in nearly every country, Filipinas trot the world scouring for higher salaries, job security, and even pathways to citizenship. Their Indonesian counterparts likewise undertake multinational journeys, beginning in neighboring Malaysia and concluding in high-wage economies like Taiwan. But while Filipinas view employment in newly industrial economies as a springboard for the West, Indonesians display limited interest in settlement outside origin communities, content as they are with …

Nurturing The Cultural Desert: The Role Of Museums In Singapore, Su Fern Hoe, Terence Chong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The absence of official platforms and institutions such as museums and visual arts spaces; while the artistic amateur scene was flourishing, there were no museums or national galleries where collections of the best local and regional artworks could be found, appreciated and studied by artists and citizens. This cultural desert was the result of the government’s attention to bread and butter issues. How, then, did Singapore transform from “cultural desert” of yesteryear to a city with 51 museums and 118 art galleries in 2013, as well as an arts scene that saw more than 3.2 million visitors to the national …

Whose Blue Heaven? Musicality In The Early Japanese Talkies, Richard M Davis

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article focuses on the advent of synchronized sound production in Japan in 1931 – three years later than the United States – and the generative ambiguities of how sound and music’s relationship to film was figured in that year’s anxious discourse. I argue that this ‘belatedness’ is echoed in relationships of on-screen image and offscreen sound, noise, and music in two important early sound films, The Neighbor’s Wife and Mine (Gosho 1931) and A Tipsy Life (Kimura 1933).

Lessons In Global Commerce (From An Early East India Company Employee), Emily Soon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

International trade hurts local communities. It causes economic hardship at home and destroys the environment, while the culture of consumerism it fuels is destroying our values and way of life. Similar sentiments to these recur across the media today: this so-called backlash against globalisation is said to have contributed to Brexit and the rise of Trump, and to have transformed the shape of political movements across the world. This pent-up frustration seems to be quintessentially twenty-first century, the disillusioned rant of a world no longer charmed by the siren song of free trade and borderless commerce. And yet, the sentiments …

Public And Private Enforcement Of Corporate And Securities Laws: An Empirical Comparison Of Hong Kong And Singapore, Wai Yee Wan, Christopher C. H. Chen, Say Hak Goo

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

Smu Will Ensure That Every Graduate Enters The Workforce With Overseas Experience, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

In view of the strong competitive edge that its undergraduates stand to gain from global exposure, the Singapore Management University (SMU) will ramp up opportunities and support for its students, and ensure that every single one of them enters the workforce with overseas experience.

It officially announced today that beginning with the incoming cohort joining the University from August 2018, global exposure participation will be a graduation requirement. To this end, the University will augment its existing opportunities, introduce new forms of global exposure activities, as well as enhance its support to make sure no student will miss out on …

Using Data Analytics To Raise Productivity And Profitability: 4 Key Steps For Smes, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

It is widely believed that effective data analysis may create newbusiness opportunities as technological advancement may offercompanies greater ability to predict what their customers want.

The Quest For Recognition: Taiwan’S Military And Trade Agreements With Singapore Under The One-China Policy, Pasha L. Hsieh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the evolution of Taiwan’s relationship with Singapore since the 1960s as a unique case study in the Asia-Pacific. The theoretical concept of recognition in international relations (IR) and its nexus with international law are used to analyze the conclusion of the bilateral military and trade agreements absent diplomatic relations. The article argues that beyond security dimensions, the two states’ struggles for recognition exhibit the formation of national identities, which invigorate the claims for sovereign state status in global politics. First, this article explores the emerging notion of recognition in IR and sheds light on the significance of …

The New Additional Conveyance Duties Regime In The Stamp Duties Act, Vincent Ooi

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The new additional conveyance duties regime has gone beyond attempting to achieve tax neutrality between direct transfers of residential property and indirect transfers through the use of property-holding entities. It taxes an entirely new tax base and raises issues such as: the extremely broad concept of an “associate” relationship; definition of “unit in a property trust”; anti-avoidance provisions; liability for providing false information; tax neutrality; and the considerable flexibility that the section 23 Order provides the Government. This article analyses the regime in detail and considers the implications of various changes to the prescribed values in the section 23 Order.

How Do Small Business Innovate And Improve Competitiveness, Anirban Mukherjee, Hannah H. Chang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

No abstract provided.

Interview With Ho Kwong Ping: Creating A New Management University, Kwon Ping Ho

Oral History Collection

The interview covered:

• SMU history
• SMU startups
• Singapore education system
• Autonomous universities
• Strategic decisions
• Differentiating SMU
• Millennials
• Top ranking institutions
• Board of trustees

Interview With Lily Kong: Creating A New Management University, Lily Kong

Oral History Collection

The Interview covered:

• Liberal arts education
• Business schools
• Professional education
• Liberal management education
• Education management
• Ethics courses

The Value Of Green Certification In The Singapore Housing Market, Eric Fesselmeyer

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

In Singapore, a real estate developer sells new apartments in the same high-rise development before and after obtaining green certification. This allows the use of within-development variation in prices over time to measure the effect of green certification on housing prices, controlling for differences across developments. I find that green certification increases prices by around 3%, suggesting that buyers value certification, possibly because it signals the presence of less-salient green features. Moreover, the effect of certification is biggest for developments that receive the lowest green rating, which likely have fewer green features and are thus less obviously green.

Smu’S School Of Accountancy Alumna Shereen Williams Recognised As Aacsb’S 2018 Influential Leader, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

Shereen Williams, an alumna of SMU School of Accountancy, was recognised at AACSB’s 2018 Deans Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, among a group of 29 business pioneers, from 13 industry sectors, whose careers are addressing today’s most pressing social, economic, environmental, and educational challenges. She has been honoured in the “Alumni Business Leaders Working in Non-profit or Community-Based Organisations” category for her active contributions and commitment to battle hate crime, terrorism and inequality in the Wales community.