International and Area Studies Commons^™

Arts-Based Sustainability: From New York To Malawi, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Recognizing that libraries serve multiple constituencies and subject areas, this chapter documents and advocates for development of transdisciplinary arts-based research (ABR) and culture-related projects linked to environmental challenges. Libraries contribute collections and spaces, as well as the research of library and information scientists. Libraries are currently among invisible contributors to sustainability planning and services. The chapter will link this invisibility to the value of what visual arts refer to as negative space elements in subjects ranging from traditional ecological knowledge to environmental science. Library collections, projects, and research contribute to education for sustainable development (ESD) as required to achieve the …

Australia’S International Education Policy Reform: Implications For Study Abroad And Working Holiday Pathways For Japanese Students, Yuka Jibiki

Critical Internationalization Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Internationalisation Zen, Kalyani Unkule

Critical Internationalization Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Reassessing Policy Responses To Irregular Migration In Receiving Democracies: A Process-Tracing Analysis Of Transactional Migration Governance, Otoniel Ramos

Student Research

This policy brief analyzes the growing use of transactional migration agreements (TMAs) by receiving democracies—bilateral arrangements that exchange financial or diplomatic concessions for the external enforcement of migration control. While politically expedient, TMAs often generate long-term strategic liabilities: they reduce state control over enforcement outcomes, expose receiving states to coercive leverage by partner states, and weaken normative commitments to transparency and rights protection. Using analytic process tracing and formal modeling, this paper identifies four recurring mechanisms by which TMAs evolve into systems of asymmetric dependence. It then evaluates three alternative policy frameworks—Exit Doctrine, Legal Category Reform, and a Structured Conditionality …

Negotiating Migration In The Mediterranean: A Comparative Study Of Morocco And Italy’S Border Policies And Their Humanitarian Impact On Irregular Migrants, Shennel Ep Henries

Master's Theses

Serving as both a barrier and a bridge that connects Africa and Europe, the Mediterranean is today the focal point of global controversies around migration, where humanitarian interests balance against border policing and meet securitization policies. This thesis examines the questions: How do irregular migrants adapt, interpret, and maneuver around securitized Moroccan and Italian migration policies, and what do their strategies tell us about the relationship between humanitarianism and securitization in Mediterranean bordering processes? Drawing on qualitative evidence, including expert interviews with organization employees and volunteers in Morocco and Italy (Fondazione Solidarietà Caritas, Nosotras Onlus, and Caritas Maroc), field observation, …

A Tale Of Two Organizations: San Francisco & Tokyo, An Analysis Of Urban Youth Poverty In The Developed World, Arturo Paredes

Master's Projects and Capstones

This study analyzes the experiences of low-income youth in terms of their access to educational opportunities in connection to their social mobility, the study focuses on two highly prosperous cities: San Francisco and Tokyo specifically dwelling into some affected population groups and overall neighborhoods where low-income populations are clustered in. The study delves into youth poverty as a complex phenomenon facing communities and its direct implications for the lives of youth in the context of educational experiences and its connection to socio-economic outcomes. By focusing on two organizations addressing this issue in each of the contexts, the study highlights interventions, …

The Global Classroom: A Phenomenological Study Of International Student Experiences In A Reimagined Intercultural Communication Course, Crystal Bock Thiessen

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation examines the experiences of multilingual international student participants who took part in a semester-long intercultural communication course that was purposefully designed and implemented with half enrollment each of domestic and international students at a Midwestern American university. Despite university efforts towards internationalization, they often fall short of the meaningful engagement needed truly promote intercultural and mutual understanding. International and domestic students share classroom and other spaces on campus, yet they remain overwhelmingly disconnected from one another. Using phenomenology and Baker’s (2011) model of Intercultural Awareness, this study analyzed the international students’ experience in this course to learn more …

Smu Appoints Professor Zhang Liandong As New Dean Of School Of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

The Singapore Management University (SMU) has appointed Professor Zhang Liandong [张连栋教授] as the new Dean of its School of Accountancy (SOA), effective 1 July 2025. With over seven years of leadership experience at SOA, Professor Zhang will lead strategic initiatives to elevate the School’s academic reputation and impact.

Educating Indians, Learning ‘Indianness’: Navigating Pluralistic Educational Infrastructures In Diasporic Singapore, Emma Grimley, Orlando Woods, Lily Kong

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This paper advances the idea of ‘educational infrastructures’ to explore the slippages created by national education frameworks and the everyday ways in which citizen-subjects learn to be part of an ethno-cultural community. In doing so, we tease apart the differences between education as a top-down process of citizen-making and learning as a poly-directional assemblage of behaviours and influences that permeate the socio-spatial landscapes of ethnic belonging. We illustrate these theoretical arguments through an analysis of Singapore’s diasporic Indian community and the collapse of linguistically and culturally complex community backgrounds under the Mother Tongue policy. This leads to a pluralisation of …

Honors Students’ Perceptions Of The Strength And Growth Areas Of Liberty’S Honors Program: An Ethnography, Nyah V. Gray

Senior Honors Theses

In her pursuit of both exploring and documenting Liberty University’s Honors culture, the author takes an ethnographic research approach; surveying existing literature on the history and development of Liberty’s Honors Program, expounding upon the concept of honors culture, surveying the effects of the new Honors College track’s implementation, and identifying honors students’ perceptions of the strengths and growth areas of the Honors Program. This study includes a literature review, the collection of 12 formal interviews, and use of the participant observation research method to analyze Liberty honors students’ perceptions of the program; ultimately ascertaining what they believe to be the …

Digital Literacy For Participating In Presidential Election: A Study On Indonesian Students, Marwiyah Marwiyah, Labibah Zain, Aliva D. Kamila, Thoriq T. Prabowo

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Digital literacy is needed during the presidential election. This study aims to determine the level of digital literacy of Indonesian students concerning what they do with social media information in facing the 2024 presidential election. We conducted a survey in which questionnaires were used as a research instrument to measure the four digital competencies: technical skill, information usage, communication, and creation. The questionnaires are sent to four Indonesian public universities. One hundred ninety-seven students from four State Islamic Universities (Universitas Islam Negeri) participated in this study. We used the mean and percentage score for the data analysis. The research result …

Conducting Effective Literature Searches And Writing Strong Abstracts, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This invited presentation for students at Poland's War Studies University communicates ideas on how Ph.D. students at this institution can enhance their research quality. Specific content includes formulating your research question, determining research aims and methodology, reviewing a research question checklist, understanding the meaning of search terms you propose to utilize, devising effective search strategies, consulting multiple varieties of information resources from multiple countries, finding gaps in literature, being able to distinguish between nuances in literature and data, writing succinct abstracts, and enhancing the clarity of your prose.

Smu Wins Prestigious The Awards Asia 2025: Teaching & Learning Strategy Of The Year, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

Singapore Management University (SMU) is proud to announce that it has been named Winner in the ‘Teaching and Learning Strategy of the Year’ category at the prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) Awards Asia 2025. The accolade was awarded in recognition of SMU-X, the University’s flagship industry project-based experiential learning.

Challenges In Higher Education For Latino U.S - Born Children Of Undocumented Immigrants, Lupita Gomez Benitez

Senior Theses

Latino native-born children of undocumented immigrants in the United States occupy a unique position within American society. They are citizens by birth and therefore, entitled to all the rights of a regular citizen. However, society does not treat them as such due to their parents' legal status. This paper analyzes the barriers that these students face during the higher education process, specifically in South Carolina. The study uses a review of existing literature and qualitative interviews to uncover some of these challenges and why these students do not ask for help. The findings suggest that these students do have certain …

Right To Education And Access To Schooling: Understanding The Role Of Students’ Transportation Challenges In Selected Junior Secondary Schools In Ilorin, Nigeria, Usman Bolaji Abdulkadir, Egbinola Temitope Anuoluwa

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Empowering Educators, Transforming Futures: An Explanatory Multiple Case Study Of The Smou Schools In Saudi Arabia, Hana Ali Alzandi Alghamdi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 emphasizes educational reform as a critical pathway for national development, highlighting the role of educators in fostering student success. The Smou program, a professional development initiative, seeks to enhance the instructional and leadership capacities of school leaders and teachers in elementary public schools. This study explores how school leaders navigate their role in supporting teachers’ application of Smou program strategies and how teachers perceive their preparation for implementing these strategies in their instructional practices. Using an explanatory multiple case study approach, the research explores two elementary schools in the Mecca region—one high-performing and one low-performing—selected based …

Nurture Asia-Ready Singaporeans To Tap Growing Opportunities In The Region [Interview With The Straits Times], Sandra Davie, Piyush Gupta

Oral History Collection

In an interview with The Straits Times, as chairman of Singapore Management University, DBS Bank chief executive Piyush Gupta said the university should aim to become the “quintessential Asian university”, emulating DBS, which he had turned into the “quintessential Asian bank” since he took over the helm in 2009.

The Shock Doctrine And Internationalization Of Higher Education, Santiago Castiello-Gutiérrez Ph.D., Melissa Whatley

Critical Internationalization Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Intra-Africa Student Mobility From A Critical Perspective, Tibelius Amutuhaire

Critical Internationalization Studies Review

No abstract provided.

What Is An ‘International Student’ In Transnational Higher Education?, Jason Lane, Jessica Schueller, Christine Farrugia

Critical Internationalization Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Reflections On Canada’S First International Student Cap, Lisa Brunner, María E. Cervantes-Macías

Critical Internationalization Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Practice Implications For Supporting International Students’ Racial Learning In The Us, Mianmian Fei

Critical Internationalization Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Skills For The Future, Soon Joo Gog

Asian Management Insights

How Singapore’s SkillsFuture Movement delivers skills and employment outcomes. Dr. Gog Soon Joo, Chief Skills Officer at SkillsFuture Singapore, speaks about the country’s strategy to drive upskilling and reskilling at scale amidst an environment of accelerating technological change.

On/ In The Ground With Vietnamese Communists: The Cu Chi Tunnels In The Classroom, Wen-Qing Ngoei

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Undergraduates often arrive in my classes convinced that great men, and a few exceptional women, are the ones who make history. Here, they think of power wielded by presidents, generals, and self-styled geniuses of strategy and diplomacy. (Henry Kissinger’s name invariably bubbles up in class discussions, like it or not.) Perhaps this happens elsewhere? In Singapore, this mindset likely takes root because the country’s record of benevolent authoritarianism underpins the legitimacy and influence of political elites. Equally, male citizens of Singapore perform compulsory military service before entering university and internalize, readily or grudgingly, that rank confers power—it is power—and that …

Importing Educators: A Phenomenological Study Examining The Community Mentorship Experiences Of First-Year Jamaican Immigrant Teachers Across Schools In The Southeastern United States, Nadralee Bixler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the community mentorship experiences of first-year Jamaican immigrant teachers at schools in the Southeastern United States. The theory guiding this study is McMillan and Chavis's theory of sense of community, which provided a framework for understanding the critical factors of community, a sense of belonging, shared values, influence, and fulfillment of needs that contribute to an inclusive community for first-year Jamaican immigrant teachers. This qualitative research utilized a transcendental phenomenological approach, which enabled me to delve into the shared elements and the essence of the participants' experiences around community mentorship. Jamaican …

Technology-Enhanced Personalized Learning: Lessons From Online Teaching At Three South-East Asian Universities, Kiran Kaur, Rohaida Mohd Saat, Lieven Demeester, Magdeleine Lew, Wei Leng Neo, Nopphol Pausawasdi, Thasaneeya Ratanaroutai Nopparatjamjomras

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic compelled many instructors to seek efficient and effective ways to stay connected with their students and improve the learning experience by using a wide range of available technologies. This multiple-case study, in three South-East Asian universities, investigated whether the use of technology in university teaching and learning during that period influenced personalized learning, and if so, how. The study also explored the kinds of institutional support for teachers and learners that led to increased technology-enhanced personalized learning (TEPL). Using a qualitative approach, the study analyzed 23 individual interviews and 3 document analyses (circulars, announcements, …

Exploring The Contribution Of Transformational Leadership In Non-Formal Peace Education Initiatives In Sri Lanka, Janith Prabashwara Perera

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

The transformative power of Peace Education cannot be undermined in the volatile era in which we live. Through cultivating knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values, Peace Education aims to shift the mindsets and behaviours of individuals and groups away from violence toward peace. In recent times, many youth have stepped up to lead Peace Education programmes, particularly targeting youth in their local communities. Their leadership often aligns with the 'Transformational Leadership' model, which fosters change in followers and society.

This research examines youth leaders in Non-Formal Peace Education in Post-War Sri Lanka, focusing on their adoption of the Transformational Leadership Model …

Redefining Success: Insights From Lebanese Women Leaders In Higher Education, Lina H. Safa

Education Division Scholarship

This presentation explores how Lebanese women leaders in higher education define and measure success, emphasizing their innovative approaches and transformative impact. By examining personal narratives through a phenomenological lens, the study reveals how these leaders navigate cultural challenges, offering insights into leadership dynamics in a patriarchal society and contributing to global discussions on gender equity and academic leadership.

Understanding The Nexus Between Food Insecurity And School Readiness: A Comprehensive Analysis In Ghana, Michael Atuahene Djan, Emmanuel Yeboah, Isaac Sarfo, Michael Kpakpo Allotey, Abraham Okrah, Desmond Nii Ayitey Mettle-Nunoo, Ben Emunah Aikins, Asante Vincent Antwi, Clement Issaka Anaba, Clement Kwang

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

This study delves into the multifaceted challenges of food insecurity and its profound impact on school readiness among children in Ghana. Utilizing data from the Ghana Statistical Service and the Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis, and employing ArcGIS for spatial analysis, the research maps high food insecurity areas and overlays population density to prioritize interventions. Findings reveal a stark concentration of food insecurity in northern Ghana, worsened by adverse weather conditions, underscoring the urgency for targeted interventions. The study highlights how food insecurity extends beyond nutritional deficits, affecting socio-economic structures and family dynamics. Children in food-insecure households face significant …

Singapore Management University Report To Stakeholders 2024/25, Singapore Management University

Report to Stakeholders

Titled “SMU at 25: Celebrating Innovation and Impact”, this year’s report marks the University’s 25th anniversary alongside Singapore’s 60th year of independence. It showcases SMU’s progress in education, research, innovation and societal engagement, and how the University continues to shape meaningful impact in Singapore and across Asia.