International and Area Studies Commons^™

Whether In The Classroom Or The Marketplace, There’S No Perfect Formula For Innovation And Entrepreneurship, Havovi Joshi

Asian Management Insights

Successful innovation is never easy, and the fine line between creating the next tech unicorn and the next failed start-up often lies in the founders’ capacity to learn from both their successes and setbacks.

Innovating Today To Build A Sustainable Tomorrow, Daryl Ng

Asian Management Insights

Daryl Ng, Deputy Chairman of Hong Kong-based real estate property developer Sino Group, speaks about his ideas and ideals on the built environment, sustainability, and how business and innovation can be a force for good.

Foreword, Pey Woan Lee

Singapore Law Journal (Lexicon)

No abstract provided.

Report On Findings From Household Needs Study, Paulin T. Straughan, Mathew Mathews

ROSA Research Briefs

The Household Needs Study (HNS) aimed to capture public perspectives on essential items and activities that are deemed necessary for a normal life in Singapore and to understand the extent to which Singaporeans are able to access these items and activities. To do so, the study adopted the Living Standards Approach (Saunders, Naidoo & Wong, 2022), which purports that individuals experience relative deprivation and/or social exclusion if they do not have access to items and activities that are deemed to be essential by society. In this study, a survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of around 4,000 respondents …

The Growth Of Southeast Asia’S Msmes, Shoeb Kagda

Asian Management Insights

Funding winter presents opportunities to reboot for the future.

Staging Singapore’S Cultural Economy, Buck Song Koh

Asian Management Insights

Growing and cultivating soft power is the name of the game.

Nurturing Entrepreneurship And Growing Entrepreneurs, Sun Sun Lim, Abdullah Khurshid, Dexter Ye Kai Tan, Gabrielle Lay Khim Tan

Asian Management Insights

How Southeast Asia’s universities can pave the way.

Universities in Southeast Asia:

1. Can unlock the potential of changemakers in driving economic growth through entrepreneurship education.

2. Accelerate the growth of the ASEAN start-up ecosystem by facilitating technology commercialisation, leveraging regional networks for mentorship and funding, and fostering cross-border collaborations.

3. Have birthed at least five of Southeast Asia's unicorns and are set to lead the way in producing more.

Broken Kinship: Family Property Disputes And The Common Intention Constructive Trust In Singapore, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

There has been a proliferation of common intention constructive trust claims in Singapore. The main reason is that families have acquired real estate using their collective earning power without explicitly considering the individual entitlement of each family member. When a dispute arises, the claim is often pleaded as a common intention constructive trust. The complication with applying the law on the common intention constructive trust is that this is an English doctrine developed to deal with a different social context i.e. the breakdown of the relationship between cohabiting couples. In Singapore, the common intention constructive trust applies primarily in a …

Building Responsible And Sustainable Supply Chain Frameworks: Limits Of International Investment Law And The Csr Initiatives Taken By The Eu And China, Stefanie Schacherer

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Supply chains play a pivotal role in global economic relations, fostering growth, employment, and poverty alleviation. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are central actors in these chains, bearing responsibilities towards workers and the environment. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) standards guide MNEs in assessing the societal and environmental impacts of their activities, though these standards remain largely voluntary. Recent investment treaty practice shows a trend to incorporate CSR provisions in international investment agreements (IIAs), but such clauses fail to impose direct human rights, labour and environmental obligations on investors. Amidst this landscape, the EU and China, major players in global trade and investment, …

Bridging The Nature-Cultural Heritage Gap: Evaluating Sustainable Entanglements Through Cemeteries In Urban Asia, David Ocon, Wei Ping Young

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The expanding footprint of urban Asian settlements and increasing living standards have put pressure on cemetery sites. Public health narratives and the sanctity associated with death matters in Asian urban landscapes have fed into the rhetoric of cemeteries as undesirable heritage spaces. Often lacking protection, many cemeteries have been exhumed, cleared, and relocated to allow room for new developments and infrastructure, risking the survival of this quiet element of the urban cultural patrimony. Within an Asian context, synergies between nature and cultural heritage preservation are not prevalent in major cities like Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok. …

Gamified Bodies And The Illusory Meaning Of Muscle, Orlando Woods

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This paper foregrounds the agency of the body to explore how it is “gamified” in the pursuit of a desired self-image. Gamified bodies are those that are tricked into metabolising in ways that suit the representational aspirations of the self. The aspirations that I consider in this paper are those of muscle, and how individuals trying to build muscle pursue various metabolic tricks to try and overcome, or otherwise suppress, the in-built agency of the body. Exploring and understanding these tricks contributes to feminist understandings of the body generally, and of muscle specifically, and its unruly nonconformity to the gendered …

Impact Of Rainfall On Air Temperature, Humidity And Thermal Comfort In Tropical Urban Parks, Juan A. Acero, Philip Carl Kestel, Hieu T. Dang, Leslie K. Norford

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Urban areas in hot and humid tropical regions are frequently exposed to uncomfortable thermal levels. A well-developed urban heat mitigation strategy is increasing vegetation infrastructure, even though the impact differs based on regional climate. In this study we have evaluated the impact of rainfall on air temperature, humidity and thermal comfort inside a large urban park in Singapore, based on measurement campaigns. A comparison between the park and an urban site is presented. Results show that rainfall significantly reduces air temperature and improves thermal comfort levels, not only right after the rain event but also in the after-event dry period. …

Of Light And Shadows: Buddhism, Cinema, And The Question Of Diffused Religion In Modern China, Teng-Kuan Ng

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

While the scholarship on premodern Chinese Buddhism has explored the tradition’s rich diffusion throughout various realms of sociocultural life, the study of modern Chinese Buddhism leans heavily towards its monastic, institutional, and overtly “religious” forms. This split mirrors the logic of modern secularization, whereby religion should be rationally differentiated from the broader social fabric, institutionalized, and delimited within its own discrete functional sphere. This article rethinks the putative rupture between Chinese Buddhism’s past and present incarnations. Through the prism of cinema, a technology that arrived on Chinese shores at the same moment as the Western concept of religion, I illuminate …

Fine-Grained Passenger Load Prediction Inside Metro Network Via Smart Card Data, Xiancai Tian, Chen Zhang, Baihua Zheng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Metro system serves as the backbone for urban public transportation. Accurate passenger load prediction for the metro system plays a crucial role in metro service quality improvement, such as helping operators schedule train timetables and passengers plan their trips. However, existing works can only predict low-grained passenger flows of origin-destination (O-D) paths or inflows/outflows of each station but cannot predict passenger load distribution over the whole metro network. To this end, this paper proposes an end-to-end inference framework, PIPE, for passenger load prediction of every metro segment between two adjacent stations, by only utilizing smart card data. In particular, PIPE …

Legal Governance Of Artificial Intelligence In Healthcare Devices And Services In Singapore, Warren B. Chik, Haran Sugumaran

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare applies across a spectrum of goods and services that support the industry. The main benefits of developing and applying AI to healthcare are: (a) the potential for it to perform functions beyond what can be done manually by the natural person; (b) the greater efficiency and accuracy that it can give to detection, diagnosis and medication/recovery; (c) the minimisation of risk and the possible lowering of cost (in the long term); and (d) in appropriate cases, minimal human intervention or involvement, especially in situations or conditions that may present a risk of …

Green Bond Premiums In The Asia-Pacific And European Markets, Parath Wongaree, Chiyachantana N. Chiraphol, Kuan Yong David Ding, Wasin Siwasarit

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examine green bond premiums in the primary and secondary bond markets in the Asia-Pacific and Europe. In both regions, green bond yields are significantly lower than those of conventional bonds in the primary market, indicating that a green bond premium exists. Asia-Pacific investors in the secondary market are more willing to accept lower yields than European ones. We find that green bonds have a lower risk than conventional bonds. Investment grade issuers, financial sector issuers, and local currency green bonds are associated with lower yields due to their stronger reputation, higher credit ratings, and absence of foreign exchange risk.

Insourcing The Smart City: Assembling An Ideo-Technical Ecosystem Of Talent, Skills, And Civic-Mindedness In Singapore, Orlando Woods, Tim Bunnell, Lily Kong

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This article examines an alternative model of smart city formation, one based on the principle of insourcing technical competencies and capabilities to those responsible for city governance. This model counters the logic of technological outsourcing upon which many assumptions and critiques of the smart city rest, and thus reveals ways in which a more generative discourse can be forged. Drawing on a series of in-depth interviews with senior stakeholders from public and private sector organizations, we develop a case study of Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative. Through coordinated efforts to reorganize the public sector’s technological functions, develop nation-wide skills upgrading programs, …

The Importance Of Theory And History In Understanding And Developing The Common Law Of Contract – Some Further Preliminary Reflections, Hon. Andrew Phang

Singapore Law Journal (Lexicon)

In a previous essay, an attempt was made to demonstrate the important role that both theory and history play in helping us to understand and develop the common law of contract. As pointed out in that essay, a comprehensive treatment of the subject would require lengthy discourse in a book or even several books. This essay follows-up on that previous essay, again by way of preliminary reflections only, to correct the dominant perception that the development of the common law in general and contract law in particular is premised mainly on doctrinal development based on logic and analogy with the …

Veil Piercing In Singapore: A Proposed Approach, Ivan Wu Hwan Tang

Singapore Law Journal (Lexicon)

Since 2013, the English courts have departed from the Singapore courts in their approach towards the doctrine of veil piercing. Notwithstanding this departure, as well as the general increase, over the years, in the number of cases in Singapore where veil piercing has been argued, the English approach has yet to be considered definitively by Singapore’s Court of Appeal. The other Singapore courts have thus generally also been unwilling and unable to decide on the applicability of the English approach in Singapore. Against this context, this article aims to consolidate and analyse the law on veil piercing in Singapore and …

The Effect Of Choice Of Court Agreements On Third Parties, Tiong Min Yeo

Singapore Law Journal (Lexicon)

The effect of choice of court agreements on the exercise of jurisdiction of the Singapore court between contracting parties at common law has received clarification in Singapore law in recent years. The position is also clear under SICC Rules and the Choice of Court Agreements Act. The effect on third parties is less clear. In this article, the effect of choice of court agreements on the position of third parties under the legal regimes above will be considered, from the perspective of both conflict of laws and the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act in domestic Singapore law. This article …

Doctrinal Basis Of Delay As A Bar To Equitable Rescission Of Contracts, Tse Loong Ryan Low

Singapore Law Journal (Lexicon)

The 2015 EWCA decision of Salt v Stratstone Specialist Ltd (t/a Stratstone Cadillac Newcastle) [2015] EWCA Civ 745 casts doubt on the proposition that an inordinate lapse of time alone could operate as a bar to rescission. The court grounded the operation of delay in the doctrine of laches, but as this paper will find, laches is an unsatisfactory explanation for the effect of mere delay on one’s powers of rescission, requiring something more than lapse of time alone. Other competing theories like reference to the Limitation Act 1959 by analogy, and the Sale of Goods Act 1979, have been …

An Updated Account On The Similar Fact Rule, Siyuan Chen

Singapore Law Journal (Lexicon)

The number of local decisions on the similar fact rule has increased quite significantly in the last few years. However, fundamental questions, ranging from the foundational (such as the existence or operation of any residual judicial discretion to exclude relevant evidence) to the discrete (such as whether the rule works differently in civil proceedings as compared to criminal proceedings, and how the rule operates vis-à-vis related rules of evidence), continue to be answered in rather different, arguably irreconcilable ways by the courts. This article analyses some of the recent key decisions in the light of established precedents and proposes that …

The Application Of The Totality Principle In Singapore, Zi Yang Wong

Singapore Law Journal (Lexicon)

When dealing with an offender who has been convicted of two or more distinct offences, the Court is faced with the issue of determining an appropriate aggregate sentence to be imposed. An aggregate sentence may offend the totality principle if it exceeds the length of the sentence imposed for the most serious offence, or if the sentence is “crushing” and not in keeping with the offender’s past record and future prospects. In deciding whether to vary a sentence on the grounds of the totality principle, the Courts have considered an offender’s overall criminality, advanced age, precedents and the possibility of …

An Abiding Commitment To The Death Penalty? Centrality Of The Rule Of Law In The Administration Of Capital Punishment In Singapore, Eugene K. B. Tan

Singapore Law Journal (Lexicon)

Capital punishment remains in use in Singapore. The Singapore government’s position is that the death penalty works in deterring the most serious crimes. Public trust and confidence remains healthy that the death penalty regime in Singapore has the requisite deterrent effect on criminals and has sufficient safeguards to prevent any miscarriage of justice. In 2012, the Singapore Parliament made significant amendments to the Penal Code and the Misuse of Drugs Act, marking a shift from the longstanding mandatory to a discretionary death penalty system for some of the most serious crimes. It demonstrates the authorities’ belief that the mandatory death …

The Limits Of Reliance On Reliance Damages? Case Comment: Liu Shu Ming And Another V Koh Chew Chee, Yu Jie Isabelle Lim

Singapore Law Journal (Lexicon)

In Liu Shu Ming v Koh Chew Chee [2023] 1 SLR 1477 (“Liu Shu Ming (AD)”), the Court considered two questions on damages. These were, firstly, when a claimant would be able to claim reliance damages and secondly, whether a claimant would be able to claim reliance damages in the alternative to expectation damages. After considering these two issues, the Court seemingly expressed a preference for limiting claims for reliance damages to where it would be “impossible” or “extremely difficult” to prove expectation damages and not permitting claims for reliance damages in the alternative to expectation damages, or at the …

Preparing Accountants Of The Future: Examining An Accounting Data And Analytics Undergraduate Program In Singapore, Poh Sun Seow, Gary Pan, Clarence Goh, Duan Ning, Magdeleine Lew

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Due to technological innovations, there is a need for universities to produce accounting graduates who are proficient in data and analytics, in addition to core accounting skills. A university in Singapore launched the accounting data and analytics (AD&A) second major program to provide students with skillsets in data and analytics. The aim of this study is to examine the efficacy of the AD&A program. 100 participants were surveyed, involving 70 graduates of the program and 30 employers. The results show that both graduates andemployers were satisfied with the program. The results also show that the program adequately equips graduates with …

City Shape, Commuting Time And Workplace Choice: Analyzing Urban Spatial Form In China, Shen Fu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This paper investigates the relationship between city shape, commuting time, and workplace choice within the context of Chinese cities. Using an urban form measure, nCohesion, and nighttime light data, I constructed the China City Shape Database for 263 Chinese cities. The empirical analysis reveals a counterintuitive finding: cities with less compact shapes, despite having longer within-city distances, are associated with shorter commuting times. This is because residents in poorly shaped cities tend to select workplaces closer to their homes to mitigate commuting difficulties. The findings suggest that improving city shape alone may not reduce commuting times; instead, enhancing transportation infrastructure …

How Is Our Mobility Affected As We Age? Findings From A 934 Users Field Study Of Older Adults Conducted In An Urban Asian City, Yi Zhen Tan, Ngoc Doan Thu Tran, Sapphire Lin, Fang Zhao, Yee Sien Ng, Dong Ma, Jeonggil Ko, Rajesh Krishna Balan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we analyze the results of a large study involving 934 older adults living in an urban Asian city that collected their mobility patterns, in the form of logged GPS data, along with a multitude of demographic and health data. We show that mobility, in terms of average distance travelled per day, is greatly affected by age and by employment status. In addition, other factors such as type of day, household size, physical and financial conditions and the onset of retirement also play a significant role in determining the mobility of an individual. These results will have high …

Horizontal Concentration And Vertical Concentration In Capitalist Agriculture: Re-Interpreting Marx And Chayanov, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

How capitalism transforms peasant farming is a central question in agrarian studies. The two most important theoretical perspectives on this question—Marxist and Chayanovian theories—both have limitations. The former overlooked how commercial capital can transform smallholders’ production through vertical integration and extract surplus from smallholders through commodity relations; the latter neglected how labor commodification transforms smallholders’ family economic behaviors. These two theories, however, complement each other on these two fronts. Through critically re-interpreting Marxist and Chayanovian theories, this paper offers a synthesis that integrates the two perspectives into a coherent theoretical framework and proposes that capitalist agriculture expands through both “horizontal …

Producers’ Transition To Alternative Food Practices In Rural China: Social Mobilization And Cultural Reconstruction In The Formation Of Alternative Economies, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The shift from the conventional agri-food system to alternative practices is a challenging transition for agricultural producers, yet surprisingly under-studied. Little research has examined the social and cultural processes in rural communities that mobilize producers and construct and sustain producer-driven alternative food networks (AFNs). For AFNs to go beyond just offering “alternative foods” or “alternative networks” and to be constructed as “alternative economies”, this transformation in the producer community is indispensable. This paper presents a case study of a rural cooperative in Shanxi, China. The discontent with both productivist agriculture and the social decay in communities motivated a group of …