International and Area Studies Commons^™

The Politics Of Mental Health: A Comparative Study Of Policy Adoption And Implementation In Germany And Japan, Luis Diego Campos

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In the aftermath of World War II, the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan followed Germany’s blueprint in fashioning a universal health coverage system. Comparisons to Germany’s welfare state during this same time period reveal markedly different social and mental health policy practices, as Germany’s Christian Democratic Union and Social Democratic Party cooperated toward progressive policies while the Liberal Democratic Party largely neglected social welfare expansion. The effect of these practices is reflected in budgetary provisions, institutionalization practices, and mental health epidemiology. This research finds that a favorable economic climate allowed the Liberal Democratic Party to politically isolate the Social Democratic …

Getting To The Heart Of Great Public Spaces, Su Fern Hoe, Jacqueline Liu, Tan Tarn How

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has flaggedthe start of car-free Sundays in the Civic District and Central BusinessDistrict this year.This move to make the area people-friendly is part of a $740 millionplan, announced in the 2015 Budget, to revitalise the Civic District andtransform it into "an integrated arts, culture and lifestyleprecinct". Highlights of the plan include the Jubilee Walk - an 8km trailthat wraps around landmarks from the National Museum to the Esplanade - and thenewly opened National Gallery Singapore

China To The Rescue? Implications Of Chinese Aid And Trade In Latin America Based On Evidence From Sino-African Cases, Jamie Curran

CMC Senior Theses

The rise of China is shaping developing countries around the world. The infamous Sino-African relationship has highlighted the detrimental effects of unconditional Chinese aid and trade in developing regions. Corrupt countries are now able to access large amounts of aid with “no-strings attached.” Even more, China’s hunger for natural resources has caused many African economies to increasingly rely on primary products.

Despite the extensive coverage on Sino-African relations, little light has been shed on the long-term implications of Chinese unconditional aid and trade in Latin America. However, as Latin American economies are forced to “deindustrialize” and corrupt regimes remain intact, …

A Conflict-Sensitive Approach To Conditional Cash Transfers In Indonesia: Can Ccts Reduce Conflict?, Glenys Kirana

CMC Senior Theses

Given that conditional cash transfers (CCTs) can be a very effective social welfare program to reduce poverty and improve education and health outcomes, but may exacerbate conflict, this thesis addresses strategies for conflict-sensitive formulation and implementation of CCTs in Indonesia. This thesis raises the immediate need to address poverty in Indonesia and seeks to learn from the successes and challenges of other CCTs, such as those enacted in Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, and the Philippines. This thesis also looks into existing literature comparing the effectiveness of CCTs to other social protection programs (SPPs) and finds that CCT is one of the …

Youth In Crisis: Understanding The Surge Of Adolescent Suicide In South Korea, Caroline Porter

Scripps Senior Theses

The following thesis examines South Korean history, traditional values and the effects of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis in order to understand the political, economic, and social causes of the increase in adolescent suicides since the turn of the millennium.

Towards Sustainable Rural Japan: A Case Study On Urban-Rural Migration Motives, Lisa Kanai 16

Honor Scholar Theses

With Japan losing its overall population due to low fertility rate, rural depopulation has become a prevalent issue across the country. This thesis examines Oonan Town in Shimane Prefecture as a case study, as it is a rural town that has been successful in getting in-migrants back into the community. Through oral, biographical interviews, participants reported factors that played a significant role in the migration decision-making process. Data show that in-migrants in Oonan Town were largely affected by four factors, which are 1) family ties, 2) life course events, 3) lifestyle preferences, and 4) financial factors. The current study also …

Indian Women’S Uplift Movements And The Dangers Of Cultural Imperialism, Hannah K. Griggs

Audre Lorde Prize

Because women encounter unique geographic, social, political, religious, economic, and temporal conditions, applying the particular agendas of traditional western feminism to countries like India can easily become a form of cultural imperialism or lead to Orientalism. Therefore, in this essay I argue that in order to support the agency of Indian women, western feminists must step back; Indian women and men who seek women's uplift must claim post-patriarchal expressions of traditional Indian culture. Tradition does and should inform modern culture. However, Indian women's uplift movements and western feminism alike must utilize both ancient and modern wisdom in our quest for …

No U-Turn Needed On The Elected Presidency, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan cited the commentary "Let's talk about policy failures and the elected presidency" by Professor Kishore Mahbubani, where the latter argued that Singapore’s policy of an elected presidency should be revisited, and perhaps "the time has come to do a U-turn", stop having direct elections and go back to the previous practice of having Parliament elect the president. While Associate Prof Tan noted that Prof Mahbubani's concern is legitimate, he emphasised that the way forward is not a U-turn, but rather, a collective effort to determine how we can reduce the likelihood of electing …

Housing Satisfaction In South Korea, Yoo Gunseuk

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Since April 2013, the Korean government has implemented a series of plans to stabilize the housing market, which has suffered from falling housing prices and surging rent after the 2008 financial crisis. This study estimates the effectiveness of the government's plans by analyzing the housing satisfaction of 2012 and 2014 Korea Housing Survey (KHS). The data used in this study are collected from the KHS carried out by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT)

This study uses 2012 and 2014 KHS to show that some variables and subcategories of household and housing attributes have positive or negative correlation …

Corporate Reorganisation Of China’S Listed Companies: Winners And Losers, Zinian Zhang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article is the first empirical study investigating the corporate reorganisation of Chinese domestically-listed companies. Through examining these cases, it challenges the assertion made by most of these corporate reorganisation plans and by Chinese state-run media reports that creditors and general public shareholders were the major beneficiaries. Through an analysis of the data generated from all forth-three such cases, this articles reveals that: First, unsecured creditors could have, on average, received 61.37% more of their claims if the fundamental value distribution principle, the absolute priority norm, could have been complied with in these reorganisations; Second, if the general-public-shareholder-protection scheme issued …

A Closer Look At Ncmp, Elected President Reforms, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The proposed changes to the political system continue the Government’s narrative that political reforms ought to enhance Parliament’s representativeness and increase Singaporeans’ civic participation. They reinforce the Government’s abiding belief that the political system must produce a Government with a clear mandate, demonstrated through a strong parliamentary majority, for it to govern resolutely and decisively in the long-term interests of Singapore.

Going Beyond Exams In Educating A Nation, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Today’s the start of the new school year for thousands of students in Singapore: A new beginning, especially for those transitioning from primary to secondary schools. School is such a significant part of our lives, especially in today’s knowledge-based economy.

Folk Songs And Popular Music In China: An Examination Of Min’Ge And Its Significance Within Nationalist Frameworks, Belinda Li

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis examines the function of music within different theories of nationalism and the appropriation of folk music within the genre of min’ge. Min’ge, a term in Chinese which directly translates to “folk songs”, has generally been defined as oral musical traditions. However, due to the increased politicization of popular music since the 1930s, the nature folk music has fundamentally changed, reflecting its new significance within Chinese nationalism. Through the years, min’ge has become more useful to promoting the goals of the state than representing the musical traditions of the many different ethnic groups in China. This transformation …

Agents Of Change: The Role Of Foreign Financial Institutions In China’S Financial Transformation Since The Early 1990s, Anton Malkin

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

What role have foreign financial institutions (FFIs) played in China’s financial evolution since the early 1990s? My research finds that FFIs, which include foreign commercial and investment banks, as well as private equity (PE) firms, have played a role in China’s financial evolution in three respects. First, US financial institutions have leveraged their influence in the US government, their ties to other business groups, and mobilized connections with the Chinese elite, to help China to join the World Trade Organization in 2001. This outcome created a relatively open formal, legal environment to foreign actors—helping in the cause of liberalizing China’s …

Defining A Smart Nation: The Case Of Singapore, Siu Loon Hoe

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify the key characteristics and propose a working definition of a smart nation.Design/methodology/approach - A case study of Singapore through an analysis of the key speeches made by senior Singapore leaders, publicly available government documents and news reports since the launch of the smart nation initiative in December 2014 was carried out.Findings - Just like smart cities, the idea of a smart nation is an evolving concept. However, there are some emerging characteristics that define a smart nation.Research limitations/implications - The paper provides an initial understanding of the key characteristics and …

Enabling Carrier Collaboration Via Order Sharing Double Auction: A Singapore Urban Logistics Perspective, Handoko Stephanus Daniel, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A recent exploratory study on the collaborative urban logistics in Singapore suggests that cost reduction and privacy preservation are two main drivers that would motivate the participation of carriers in consolidating their last mile deliveries. With Singapore's mild restrictions on the vehicle types or the time windows for the last-mile delivery, we believe that with proper technology in place, an Urban Consolidation Center like the Tenjin Joint Distribution System in Fukuoka Japan may be implemented to achieve cost reduction with some degree of privacy preservation. Participating carriers keep their respective private orders and have the option to get their remaining …

Building Participatory Organizations For Common Pool Resource Management: Water User Group Promotion In Indonesia, Jacob I. Ricks

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

States are increasingly striving to create participatory local organizations for joint management of common pool resources. What local conditions determine success of such state efforts? What effect do these efforts have? Drawing on controlled comparisons between three districts in Indonesia and an original survey of 92 water user groups, I demonstrate that local political contexts condition the effectiveness of participatory irrigation policies. When irrigation is politically salient, local politicians pressure bureaucrats to better engage with farmers. The data also show that training programs are not as effective at increasing water user organization activity as frequent contact between bureaucrats and farmers.

Why Foreign Policy Principles Persist: Understanding The Reinterpretations Of Japan’S Article 9 And Switzerland’S Neutrality, Yuki Numata

Pomona Senior Theses

This study examines why Japan and Switzerland have chosen to keep the vocabulary of Article 9 and neutrality, respectively, and to reinterpret their definitions to suit their needs (policy reinterpretation), instead of simply abandoning the original policy and replacing it with a new, more suitably worded policy that clarifies the changing policy position of the government (policy abandonment). By analyzing the legal history of the overseas capabilities of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the Swiss Armed Forces, as well as the actions and influences of the government, political parties, and the public, this study finds the following trends. First, the …

Strategies For E-Commerce Platform Adoption In The Manufacturing Sector In Western India, Neeraj Parikh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While 95% of Indian SME leaders have not adopted an e-commerce platform, the few SME leaders having adopted such platforms reported 64% higher sales and 65% higher profits. The purpose of this multi-case study, guided by the diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory, was to explore the strategies that Indian SME leaders used to adopt e-commerce platforms to expand their businesses. Data for this study emerged from conducting face-to-face, semistructured interviews with 3 SME leaders who operated in the manufacturing industry in western India. The data analysis process included validating, coding, interpreting, and summarizing data and generating themes. Methodological triangulation of …

Introduction, Saikaew Thipakorn, Kanokphan Usha

Asian Review

No abstract provided.

The Cultural Significance Of Buddha Representations From Bangkok In A Japanese Buddhist Historic Site: A Case Study Of Nittaiji Temple Of Japan, Vannaporn Phongpheng

Asian Review

The image of Bangkok as a "Buddhist City" in Asian countries was propagated through the cultural diplomacy of King Chulalongkorn. In the case of Japan, Nittaiji Temple in Nagoya is the representative of a Thai-Japanese relationship developed from such a Buddhist idea. Much iconic Buddhist art was created to symbolically present Thai-Japanese Buddhist relations. Today, this temple is an iconic Buddhist attraction in Nagoya City because of the enshrinement of a Buddha image and Buddha relics given by the state of Thailand as well as because of the good management by Thailand and Japan to develop this relationship. This study …

Japan And The Development Of Thai Women's Needlework Skills In The Reign Of King Rama V, Dollaya Tiantong

Asian Review

In the reign of King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V), Japan was seen as a country which contributed to the development of traditional needlework and weaving for Th ai women in several ways. In addition to being the source of knowledge for Th ai women who studied further in the country, Japan also sent experts to Th ailand to teach Th ai women. Th ese contributions helped Th ai women develop expertise in traditional needlework and weaving that enhanced Thai women's status in that period.

Life During Wartime And Memories Of World War Ii In The Thai Novel, Chungking Sexpress, Hattakarn Areesilp

Asian Review

This article aims to investigate the Thai novel entitled Chungking Sexpress by Anusorn Tipayanon in terms of its themes, the devices employed to present these themes and the role of the novel as a forum in which memories of the Second World War are presented. The study found that the main plot of puzzle-solving and the love triangle sub-plot that presents the lives of the characters during the Second World War are devices that the author chose to present the novel's themes: accepting a compromise with the demarcation of norms which dictate the way of life while still preserving one's …

The Sufficiency Economy Philosophy Beyond Thailand: Sustainable Development Challenges In A Neo-Liberal World, Justin John Shone

Asian Review

The transition from socialism to state capitalism in the Lao PDR's socio-economic development has not as yet entirely resulted in the abandonment of the Suffi ciency Economy Philosophy (SEP)-like "ethically-based" development policies but today these policies struggle to gain traction alongside the confl icting conventional development polices of the very infl uential Lao PDR development partners. This research determined the positioning of the SEP and its application beyond Thailand in Lao PDR and involved a qualitative research methodology, included extensive literature reviews, direct observations, visits to SEP training centers and more than 70 semi-structured interviews. The research confirmed the international …

A Comparative Study Of Smiling Facial Expressions And Display Rules Of The Thai And The Japanese, Tippayarat Pothisitthiporn, Kiyoshi Maiya

Asian Review

This study aims at investigating the similarities and differences between Thai and Japanese smiling facial expressions. The interview was conducted with Thai and Japanese participants. The results show that Thais tend to experience happiness in situations related to excitement and stability signifi cantly more than the Japanese, while the Japanese tend to experience happiness in situations related to relief and self-concept to a signifi cantly greater degree than Thais. The results also indicate that, in situations where they do not feel happy, Thais tend to smile when they are greeting or apologizing signifi cantly more than the Japanese, who tend …

Rosenberg Institute For East Asian Studies At Suffolk University Annual Report For 2015-2016, Rosenberg Institute

Rosenberg Institute Annual Reports

These reports summarize the activities of the Rosenberg Institute during the academic year, including information related to public programming, visiting scholars, cooperation with the Asian Studies program at Suffolk College of Arts & Sciences, promotion of Suffolk's Asia-related activities, community outreach, and funding. Most reports also contain photographs of scholars, staff, and events.

The Illegality Defence In Corporate Law Claims Against Directors And Officers, Wai Yee Wan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

If a company incurs substantial fines or other pecuniary losses as a result of its unlawful conduct, can the company obtain an indemnity from its director/officer for having caused the company to incur such fines and losses? In particular, can the director/officer utilise the defence of illegality, notwithstanding that he has breached his duties owed to the company? The illegality defence, which raises the twin issues of the relationship between the unlawful act to the corporate claim and the attribution of the unlawful act to the company, has been the subject of detailed analysis recently in England, Singapore and Hong …

Are Primetime Diets Congruent With Dietary Recommendations? Content Analyses Of Food Advertisements In The United States, China, And Singapore, Su Lin Yeo, Wonsun Shin, May O. Lwin, Jerome Williams, Ying-Yi Hong

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Despite public programs to promote healthy eating among populations in developed and developing countries, the increase in obesity as a result of poor dietary patterns continues to persist. As food advertising has been implicated for contributing to this global health challenge, this study aims to provide empirical evidence on food advertising in a broader global context, across economically and culturally different nations. We conducted a large scale content analysis of the types of food advertised on primetime television in the United States, China, and Singapore, which resulted in the collection of 1,008 television hours. Using the dietary blue2376s proposed by …

Impact Of Technology On Learning And Scholarship, And The New Learning Paradigm, Arnoud Cyriel Leo De Meyer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Recently I took on the challenge of teaching a course to Undergraduate students at Singapore Management University. It had been more than 20 years since I had taught any Undergraduates, having spent most of my career at Graduate Business Schools. I did it partially because many of my younger colleagues had told me that teaching had changed tremendously. Deep down I may have felt that I was perhaps a little out of touch with what happened inside and, as I would soon discover, outside our classrooms. I was indeed intrigued by the experience. When I entered the classroom for my …

Film Tourism And Expectation: Using The Hallyu Wave To Model How Governments And Media Exports Influence National Image, Aishat O. Bello

UROP Posters

Film tourism encompasses the interest, investment and influence that exported media products can contribute to cultural globalization, and subsequent visitation of a nation. The Korean Wave or Hallyu wave has been studied and commended for its rapid spread and growing popularity within Asia and more recently, on a more global scale. By comparing and contrasting the methods used by the Korean government to enhance Hallyu, with several trade deals made by the US government to support Hollywood, we can see how the effects of film tourism were directed towards modifying perspectives on Korean culture. A few consequences of making trade …