International and Area Studies Commons^™

Former Top-Ranking Civil Servant Appointed As Chancellor Of Smu, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

The Singapore Management University is pleased to announce that Mr J. Y Pillay has been appointed Chancellor of the University with effect from 1 September 2015. His appointment is made by the Minister for Education for a term of five years. Mr Pillay takes over from Mr Yong Pung How, former Chief Justice of Singapore.

Building A Better Model: Variable Selection To Predict Poverty In Pakistan And Sri Lanka, Marium Afzal, Jonathan Hersh, David Newhouse

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

Numerous studies have developed models to predict poverty, but surprisingly few have rigorously examined different approaches to developing prediction models. This paper applies out of sample validation techniques to household data from Pakistan and Sri Lanka, to compare the accuracy of regional poverty predictions from models derived using manual selection, stepwise regression, and Lasso-based procedures. It also examines how much incorporating publically available satellite data into the model improves its accuracy. The five main findings are that: 1) Lasso tends to outperform both discretionary and stepwise models in Pakistan, where the set of potential predictors is large. 2) Lasso and …

Five Phases Of Brokered International Marriages In South Korea: A Complexity Perspective, Jiyoung Song

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The paper examines the evolution in international commercial marriage migration from Southeast Asia to South Korea from a Complexity Theory (CT) framework, originally from natural sciences but vastly entering the field of social sciences. CT stresses the non-linear nature of complex systems that are composed of a large number of individual components operating within a conditioned boundary whose interactions lead emergent properties in an unpredictable way. The study is based on the author’s fieldwork interviews and participatory observations of marriage migrants, government officers, and social workers in South Korea in 2010-2013, which establishes five phases of brokered marriages, namely, (1) …

An Asian Perspective On Policy Instruments: Policy Styles, Governance Modes And Critical Capacity Challenges, Ishani Mukherjee, Michael Howlett

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Does Asia have a distinct policy style? If so, what does it look like, and why does it take the shape it does? This article argues that in the newly reinvigorated emphasis of policy studies on policy instruments and their design lies the basis of an analysis of a dominant policy style in the Asian region, with significant implications for understanding the roles played by specific kinds of policy capacities. There is a distinctly Asian policy style based on a specific pattern of policy capacities and governance modes. In this style, a failure to garner initial policy legitimacy in the …

The Singapore Legal System, Eugene K. B. Tan, Gary Kok Yew Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The Singapore legal system is a rich tapestry of laws, institutions, values, history and culture. Like the Singapore-made quilt, each strand of the legal system is woven together to form a jurisprudential kaleidoscope bounded by a unique national identity.

The legal system will inevitably undergo tension as socio-economic and politico-legal changes unfold with increased globalisation and regionalisation. Thus, Singapore has to respond swiftly and deftly in creating new laws and institutions or adapting existing ones.

In this regard, Singapore is and has been ready and willing to learn from the legal developments taking place in foreign jurisdictions with similar aspirations. …

Singapore Accounting Professors Receive International Honour For Innovative Teaching, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

Seow Poh Sun, Associate Professor of Accounting (Education) and Associate Dean (Teaching and Curriculum) and senior lecturer Wong Suay Peng of the School of Accountancy at Singapore Management University recently were honoured with the 2015 Innovation in Accounting Education Award from the American Accounting Association (AAA). The award, sponsored by the Ernst & Young Foundation, was given to Prof Seow and Ms Wong in recognition of their outstanding achievement in innovative teaching in the use of a mobile game app. Their work "Accounting Challenge: Mobile-Gaming App for Learning Accounting" is the first mobile-gaming app developed for teaching financial accounting. It …

Death And Photography In East Asia: Funerary Use Of Portrait Photography, Jeehey Kim

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation expands and elaborates upon my 2009 project, 'Korean Funerary Photo-Portraiture,' which examined the uses of portrait photography in funerals and ancestor worship in Korea. By extending the geographic scope of the earlier project to encompass East Asia, its aim is to investigate how funerary photo-portraiture is intertwined with geopolitical issues across the region.

In order to explore the historical and socio-political layers of vernacular photography in East Asia, this dissertation compares the practice of funerary photo-portraiture in five countries by examining the basic concepts underpinning it. China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam all incorporate portrait photography into funerals …

Assessment Of Damages In Intellectual Property Cases: Some Recent Examples Of "The Exercise Of A Sound Imagination And The Practice Of A Broad Axe"?, Gordon Ionwy David Llewelyn

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

There are few cases outside the US that deal with the assessment of damages for infringement of intellectual property rights. When they do, as Lord Shaw said: “[It involves] the exercise of a sound imagination and the practice of the broad axe.” This article discusses decisions where the infringer has ended up paying at the low end of what it would have paid as a legitimate user. One of the fundamental rights of the owner of an intellectual property right is the freedom to decide if others can use it, so the courts’ concern to avoid high awards can mean …

Recent Developments In International Mediation: Singapore’S Unique Approach, Josephine Hadikusumo, Eunice Chua

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Singapore’s vibrant dispute resolution sector has been growing on the back of a significant rise in commercial transactions in Asia and a corresponding increase in the number and complexity of cross-border disputes. In particular, Singapore has achieved significant success in the field of international arbitration. Singapore has been recognised as the third most preferred seat of arbitration, after London and Geneva, and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) is the fourth most preferred arbitral institution worldwide despite being a relatively young institution. In recent years, Singapore law firms have also ranked amongst the top international arbitration practices in Asia.In order …

Why Ahpetc Is A National Issue In 2015, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

With tomorrow being the last day of the hustings, the battle for the hearts and minds of 2.46 million Singaporean voters takes on greater urgency and poignancy. Any misstep by the nine political parties and their candidates at this late stage might well be game changing.

Impact Of International Remittances On Schooling In The Philippines: Does The Relationship To The Household Head Matter?, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

We study the impact of international remittances on schooling in the Philippines, taking into account the school-age individual's relationship to the household head. This consideration is important because employment opportunities abroad may be taken at the expense of the quality of child rearing. Our estimation results indicate that there are, indeed, significant negative guardian effects on school attendance and education expenditures when children with overseas parents are looked after by a relative other than a parent or grandparent. However, these negative effects tend to be outweighed by the positive impact of remittance flows from overseas.

Lucky To Be Singaporean, Ee-Ing Ong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Op-ed about being Singaporean, in our historic 2015 elections.

"In the midst of our historic elections, I would like to remind Singaporeans that there remains a wider world out there. That our concerns about CPF money, high housing prices, rising income inequality, foreign workers, transportation woes, and the AHPETC saga, while important, are nonetheless First World problems. We have the luxury of arguing about them because we don’t have to worry about the fundamental problems of survival. Literally.

Thus, as we consider what we would like our country to look like in the coming years, I suggest that we first …

Rural Households' Social Reproduction In China's Agrarian Transition: Wage Employment And Family Farming, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Wage employment has penetrated deeply into rural households’ livelihoods and has become acentral pillar in China’s rural economy. In the past three decades, three developmentspropelled the growth of wage employment: rural industrialization, rural-to-urban migration,and rise of capitalist agriculture. These developments brought in a decisive break to thetrajectory of China’s agrarian transition: the traditional model of household reproductionbased on family farming and handicraft production has now been replaced by a new one inwhich wage employment and family farming are closely bonded in a myriad of ways –through both the household-level division of labour and individual-level circulation of labourbetween the two.

Breach Of Agreement Versus Vexatious, Oppressive And Unconscionable Conduct: Clarifying Their Relationship In The Law Of Anti-Suit Injunctions, Wei Yao, Kenny Chng

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Cases warranting the grant of an anti-suit injunction can be divided into three main categories: breach of agreement, vexatious, oppressive, or unconscionable conduct, and abuse of process. A series of Singapore cases have demonstrated that the boundaries between the first two categories are ambiguous in Singapore law. This ambiguity reflects a lack of clarity about the principles underlying anti-suit injunctions and creates uncertainty as to the applicable analysis for each category. This article argues that the two categories should be distinct in kind, with both categories remaining part of the court’s equitable jurisdiction. Such an approach will provide a good …

President Xi Jinping, This Is How You Can Win The Nobel Peace Prize, William A. Callahan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Xi Jinping. Demotix/Gregor Fischer. All rights reserved. After a summer full of bad economic news, Chinese president Xi Jinping enjoyed a successful September, starting with a military parade in Beijing to mark the seventieth anniversary of the end of World War II, and finishing with the pomp and circumstance of a state visit to the US and a speech at the UN general assembly. These three carefully choreographed events confirmed Xi Jinping as a strong leader at home and a respected figure abroad.

Impact Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Among Sri Lankan Men, Ruvani W. Fonseka, Alexandra M. Minnis, Anu Manchikanti Gomez

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

In Sri Lanka, over one in three women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization in their lifetime, making it a serious public health concern. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as child abuse and neglect, witnessing domestic violence, parental separation, and bullying are also widespread. Studies in Western settings have shown positive associations between ACEs and IPV perpetration in adulthood, but few have examined this relationship in a non-Western context. In the present study, we examined the association of ACEs with IPV perpetration among Sri Lankan men surveyed for the UN Multi-Country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the …

Corporate Complicity In Human Rights Violations Under International Criminal Law, Danielle Olson

International Human Rights Law Journal

This paper examines the main legal elements of corporate criminal responsibility for involvement in serious human rights violations, focusing specifically on the mens rea, or mental element requirement of a crime. It analyzes in detail what it means for a business to be complicit, the degree of knowledge corporations and their officials must have to be implicated in accomplice liability, and a case study demonstrating the consequences of such liability on corporations.

The Zen Of Charity Giving In China: An Understanding Of The Chinese Philanthropic Sector And Recommendations On Moving Towards Sustainability, Li Zheng

Capstone Collection

China has shifted from a centrally planned to a market based economy in 1978. Since then, the country has experienced rapid economic growth and social development. With a more liberal economic environment, the voice of civil society becomes stronger, which incentives the emergence of philanthropy and charitable giving. As a result, the government has begun to encourage private donation and development of foundations, while watching carefully and constraining its activities. By analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data, this paper explores and evaluates the effectiveness of this emerging sector. The paper further advocates for improving current charity law and developing a …

Singapore In 2065, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Immigration is crucial for upholding property prices but embracing new technology is key to maintaining Singapore’s edge going forward

Research Consultations And Co-Location Adds Value To The Reference & Information Services And Instruction Continuum: Towards To Holistic Learning Experience At The Singapore Management University Library, Rajendra Munoo

Research Collection Library

Research Librarians at the Li Ka Shing Library perform multifunctional roles in the areas of collection, information, learning, research and outreach. In this presentation, participants will learn more about the information and learning roles where the former includes the provision of reference and information services and the latter involves the design, development and delivery of instruction and information literacy programmes as part of their student and faculty engagement strategy. They will also learn more about the library’s grounded service offering through a learning roadmap for every student which encompasses the following components: Matriculation [Orientation] > In Class Instruction [Information Literacy] > Research …

Singapore’S Housing Policies: Responding To The Challenges Of Economic Transitions, Sock Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Singapore has developed its own unique state-driven housing system, with more than three quarters of its housing stock built by the Housing and Development Board and homeownership financed through Central Provident Fund savings. As a result, it has one of the highest homeownership rates amongst market economies. This paper provides a historical perspective of the main housing problems faced by successive prime ministers and their respective policy responses. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (1959-1990), the government established an integrated landhousing supply and housing finance framework to channel much needed resources into the housing sector to deal …

The Role Of The State In Singapore: Pragmatism In Pursuit Of Growth, Kim Song Tan, Manu Bhaskaran

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper looks at how government intervention shapes the evolution of the Singapore economy and accounts for its successes and failures over the past 50 years. Compared with other dynamic Asian economies, the Singapore government's approach to intervene in the economy is both more extensive and more intrusive, but with a narrow focus on GDP growth and surplus accumulation as the primary objectives. The ruling government's near complete dominance in politics has enabled it to mobilize resources to create the preconditions for strong GDP growth and high savings. But the impact on the broader development of the economy and the …

One-Child Policy And Family Firms In China, Cao, Jerry X., Douglas Cumming, Xiaoming Wang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Family business plays important roles to fuel economic growth in China. Due to the one-child policy, family firms are increasingly facing human capital constraints for within-family succession. Having only one heir decreases the probability of continuing family management by over 3%, reduces the probability of adult children working in family firms by 14%, and significantly decreases founders' expectations of having young heirs for succession. Having fewer children negatively affects founder's expectation to go public, reduces family firm's reinvestment rate and R&D. Overall, the evidence suggests that the human capital constraints due to the one-child policy impose significant negative impacts on …

Some Thoughts On A Record-Breaking 2014/15 Season For Singapore’S International Mooters, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Singapore has an extremely proud tradition in international moot court competitions. The famous NUS’82 team which won Singapore’s first Jessup championship comprised members who have all gone on to become Senior Counsel; one is now a High Court Judge (Steven Chong) and another, the Attorney-General (VK Rajah). Videos of championship finals featuring Singapore mooters continue to be used as training tools by universities all over the world, especially the 2001 Jessup final featuring the first and only person to have ever won the two largest moots, the Jessup and the Vis. And in that same year (2001), NUS won arguably …

State Political Identity And Meta-Governance: Comparative Analysis Of Governance Modes In Vegetable Retail In Urban China, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

A government's political identity is a key factor in meta-governance; it powerfully shapes a government's policy aims and implementation preferences at the most abstract level and forms a stable governance mode. Dissonance between a pre-existing governance mode and the government's evolved political identity will lead to governance failures and pose political challenges to the government. In the case of vegetable retail in Shanghai, the neoliberal developmental state transformed the hierarchical governance into market governance; but as it evolves into a corporatist welfare state, market imperfections come to be perceived as governance failures, and the government responds by reintroducing hierarchical measures.

Oral History Interview With Ruth Chiang: Growing Smu, Ruth Chiang

Oral History Collection

The interview covered: first involvement with SMU, first batch of SMU students, student creed, CIRCLE values, student community service, finishing touch program, career services including OnTrac, internship, graduate employment service, Dato’ Kho Hui Meng Career Centre.

Biography:

Director of the Office of Student Life and the Office of Career Services, SMU, 2000-2015

Ruth has a Master Degree in Communications Management from the University of South Australia; a graduate Diploma in Business Administration from NUS and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Economics from Singapore University. She is also an accredited administrator of personality inventories like MBTI, DISC, MAPP, Proscan, …

Forms Of Pilgrimage At The Shrine Of Khāled Nabi, Northeastern Iran, Mehdi Ebadi

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage (religious tourism) is one of the fastest growing forms of tourism. Nevertheless, there is still a gap between abstract theory and empirical research about this form of tourism in the literature. This dearth of tourism studies is even more glaring in the field of Ziyārat or pilgrimage in Islam which in spite of its importance and wide extended practice have been mostly ignored in tourism and geographic literature. The present study features one such area that is (almost) unknown within the community of tourism and geography researchers. In Iran, religious pilgrimage has a long tradition. Numerous sacred places with …

Oral History Interview With Rajendra Srivastava: Growing Smu, Rajendra K. Srivastava

Oral History Collection

The interview covered: role of provost, AACSB accreditation, evolution of SMU undergraduate program, development of postgraduate program, executive development program, faculty recruitment, development of research effort, research centres and institutes, areas of excellence, start of case writing initiative, India Desk.

Biography:

LKCSB Chair in Marketing Strategy and International Business, SMU, 2015 - Present

Provost and Deputy-President (Academic Affairs), SMU, 2009 - 2015

Rajendra Srivastava was Provost and Deputy President at Singapore Management University (SMU) from 2008 to 2015. Prior to joining SMU he was the Roberto C. Goizueta Chair in Marketing and Digital Commerce, Goizueta Business School, Emory University where …

Catalyst Asia Issue 02, Institute For Societal Leadership

Catalyst Asia

STORIES FROM THE GROUND

Food Aid, Powered By Technology

Myanmar’s Microfinance Leader Says Rules Are Too Tight

Empowering The Disenfranchised

Kitchen On A Mission

A Year On, Somaly Mam Scandal Still Raises Questions

Dili 360°

Closing The Accessibility Gap

Pattern Recognition

It Takes A Village To Raise Haiyan’s Children

For The Love Of Gems – A Photo Story From The Streets Of Jakarta

Philanthropists And Trust In Mainland China

The American Known In North Korea

IN THE HOT SEAT

Bridging Two Worlds Through Conversation

The Gift Of Sight

Seeing With New Eyes

Sarus – Hope Is The Thing With Feathers …

Supporting Research Through Information Literacy Programmes: Smu Libraries' Learning Journeys, Yuyun W. Ishak

Research Collection Library

Singapore Management University (SMU) has been building its research programmes towards high-impact and larger scale research. The number of postgraduate students has grown from 615 students in 2010 to 1,260 students in January 2015. The growing population of postgraduates, especially those with research requirements, has posed both opportunities and challenges to library’s resources, facilities and services.

Library is committed to provide resources and services that support research. This includes developing and implementing Information Literacy (IL) programmes that are relevant to researchers and postgraduates. The IL programmes were structured and offered within an Information Literacy Framework that SMU Libraries have been …