International and Area Studies Commons^™

Cointegration Of Matched Home Purchases And Rental Price Indexes: Evidence From Singapore, Badi H. Baltagi, Jing Li

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper exploits the homogeneity feature of the Singapore private residential condominium market and constructs matched home purchase price and rental price series using the repeated sales method. These matched series allow us to conduct time series analysis to examine the long-term present value relationship in the housing market. Three key findings are obtained. First, we fail to establish a cointegrating relationship between the home purchase price and rental price based on nationally estimated indexes. Second, area-specific indexes demonstrate strong cross-correlations, invalidating the use of first generation panel unit root tests that ignore these cross-correlations. Third, Pesaran's CIPS test indicates …

Intelligshop: Enabling Intelligent Shopping In Malls Through Location-Based Augmented Reality, Aditi Adhikari, Vincent W. Zheng, Hong Cao, Miao Lin, Yuan Fang, Kevin Chen-Chuan Chang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Shopping experience is important for both citizens and tourists. We present IntelligShop, a novel location-based augmented reality application that supports intelligent shopping experience in malls. As the key functionality, IntelligShop provides an augmented reality interface-people can simply use ubiquitous smartphones to face mall retailers, then IntelligShop will automatically recognize the retailers and fetch their online reviews from various sources (including blogs, forums and publicly accessible social media) to display on the phones. Technically, IntelligShop addresses two challenging data mining problems, including robust feature learning to support heterogeneous smartphones in localization and learning to query for automatically gathering the retailer content …

Vital Yet Vulnerable: Mental And Emotional Health Of South Asian Migrant Workers In Singapore, Nicholas Harrigan, Chiu Yee Koh

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Numbering nearly one million persons, low-waged, low-skilled migrant workers are a vital yet vulnerable part of Singapore’s economy and society. This study, undertaken several months before the Little India riots of December 2013, measures the psychological distress of 261 South Asian Work Permit holders, and 344 South Asian injury and salary claim workers. While most regular Work Permit holders are relatively happy and healthy, our study finds that 62 per cent of injury and salary claim workers meet the screening conditions for a Serious Mental Illness. We find that the three main drivers of psychological distress are (1) the housing …

The Un, Regional Sanctions And Africa, Andrea Charron, Clara Portela

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Africa is the continent most targeted by sanctions. During the Cold War, when the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was all but paralysed, the only sanctions regimes that the UN imposed were directed at countries located on the African continent: Southern Rhodesia and South Africa, penalized for their apartheid regimes. In the post-Cold War era, Africa has continued to register the highest frequency of sanctions, applied not only by the UN but by other organizations as well. Africa’s own regional bodies, such as the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), are active in wielding …

Living Arrangements And Psychological Well-Being Of The Elderly After The Economic Transition In Vietnam, Ken Yamada, Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Objectives: We examine the relationship between living arrangements and psychological well-being of the older adults in Vietnam, where there is an influence of Confucian values and a lack of close substitutes for family care of the older adults, by exploiting a great deal of regional variation in economic development. We also examine the role of living arrangements in well-being differentials across regions. Method: We estimate a triangular simultaneous-equation discrete-response model, which accounts for the simultaneity between living arrangements and psychological well-being (happiness, depression, loneliness, poor appetite, and sleep disorder), using a nationally representative sample of 2,225 adults aged 60 and …

Magna Carta Then And Now: A Symbol Of Freedom And Equal Rights For All, Eugene K. B. Tan, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Magna Carta became applicable to Singapore in 1826 when a court system administering English law was established in the Straits Settlements. This remained the case through Singapore’s evolution from Crown colony to independent republic. The Great Charter only ceased to apply in 1993, when Parliament enacted the Application of English Law Act to clarify which colonial laws were still part of Singapore law. Nonetheless, Magna Carta’s legacy in Singapore continues in a number of ways. Principles such as due process of law and the supremacy of law are cornerstones of the rule of law, vital to the success, stability and …

The Singapore International Commercial Court: A Challenge To Arbitration?, Kc Lye, Darius Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

Taking Sino-Singapore Ties To A New Level, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

With China’s President Xi Jinping’s first State visit to Singapore last weekend, there is no doubt that the establishment of an “all round partnership” is catalytic in taking Sino-Singapore bilateral ties to a new level.

In Search Of Peace: Restructuring The Us-Iran Relationship In Light Of The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action, Samuel E. Winkler

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis attempts to ask how the United States should conduct foreign policy towards Iran given the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), agreed to on 14 June 2015. The 2015 JCPOA initiated a drastic shift in US foreign policy toward Iran. It is now up to US policy makers to craft a coherent Iran foreign policy moving forward from the agreement. In order to accomplish this, the vitriolic relationship between Iran and the United States, which contains two concurrent narratives, must be examined. The dual narratives are the history of the successive US Presidential administrations’ relations with Iran, and …

Lecture Transcript: Ambassador Bolewski-Oxford Speaking Notes, Wilfried Bolewski

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

Ambassador Wilfried Bolewski, who teaches the Diplomacy and International Law classes at AGS was invited by Oxford University to give a Public Lecture on “Diplomacy and Crises: A practitioner’s insight and outlook” in the Global Governance and Diplomacy Public Speaker Series on February 9, 2015. “I am looking forward to this academic venue to explore new perspectives for the role of Diplomacy as facilitator for Global Governance,” says Professor Bolewski.

Lecture Transcript: Female Genital Mutilation (Fgm), Lorraine Koonce

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

On 4 February 2015, Ms. Koonce was invited to the American Graduate School in Paris (AGS) to give a lecture as part of the AGS’s continued work on violence against women, with a discussion on female genital mutilation (FGM). The following is the transcript of her speech.

Bad News For Refugees By Greg Philo, Emma Briant And Pauline Donald London: Pluto Press, 2013. 203 Pp. (Isbn 978 0 7453 3432 5), David Feldman

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

A project of researchers associated with the Glasgow Media Group, Bad News for Refugees seeks to shed light on the role of the media in shaping public opinion of refugees in the United Kingdom. Activists have denounced the increasing vilification of refugees by politicians and the press over the past decade and a half, and highlighted its coincidence with a shift towards a more punitive state response (Webber 2012). In view of the anti-migrant Ukip party’s triumph in the EU parliamentary elections of May 2014, this book is an especially timely study that could prove useful in the fight against …

Corporate Europe: How Big Business Sets Policies On Food, Climate And War By David Cronin London: Pluto Press, 2013. 216 Pp. (Isbn: 9780745333328), Steve Mcgiffen

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

David Cronin’s book is based on years as a journalist in Brussels looking at the way in which the European Union’s institutions really work. This reviewer spent thirteen years working at the European Parliament and, before that, five years sharing his time between academe and work as an advisor to a Member of that same Parliament. Cronin and I have come to very much the same conclusions. If our analysis is not largely reflected in that of the vast majority of academic ‘experts’ on the European Union, it has become almost ubiquitous out there on the streets and in the …

Engaging Global Civil Society: Shifting Normative Frameworks, Moral Diplomacy, & The Future Of International Relations, Jozef A. Kosc

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

The following exposition outlines a synthesized account of diplomatic relations in the 21st century, highlighting the crucial importance of engaging the Global Civil Society (NGOs and civil society) in an age of global communication, and stressing the importance of the development of a new system of diplomacy, drawing upon the best elements of existent theories. A comparative qualitative framework of analysis—cross-referencing historical cases, political psychology, as well as the writings of diplomatic practitioners—synthesizes the most accurate elements of two contemporary theories of international relations: Lyn Boyd-Judson’s Strategic Moral Diplomacy, and Mervyn Frost’s Constitutive Theory of International Relations. The paper concludes …

U.S. Pakistan Relations During The Cold War, Lubna Sunawar, Tatiana Coutto

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

Since the end of British India’s colonial rule in 1947 and the subsequent partition of the South Asian subcontinent, Pakistan’s foreign policy has been driven largely by geopolitical and ideological concerns. Located at the crossroads of the Middle East and South Asia, and relatively close to the Soviet Union (USSR) and Europe, Pakistan emerged not only as a potential bridge between the oil-rich Persian Gulf, energy-hungry East Asia, and the West[1], but also as a channel to ‘the Muslim World’. Such potential, however, has never been fulfilled: unsettled territorial disputes with India, along with irreconcilable national identity claims, weak intra-regional …

Environmental Imperatives And International Relations Canada’S Challenge To Environmental Diplomacy, Mark Stoller

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

Successful negotiation of multilateral environmental treaties poses a formidable challenge to the diplomatic community. The spread of environmental concerns through domestic and international politics has been steady since the late 1960s. Often, efforts to implement measures to protect the natural environment have pitted traditional sources of economic strength and political power against popular demands of active constituents and local communities. For the politically disenfranchised, the environment has provided access to discussions concerning industrial growth and the adverse impacts on communal living.[1] Many of the impacts felt from environmental politics stem from local affairs, but they have implications for global politics …

Waging War On The Citizen: State Sovereignty, Citizen Death And The War On Terror, Lina Nasr El Hag Ali

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

One of the defining features of the contemporary era is the occurrence of non-localized warfare, in which the enemy can be considered fluid and always changing. The above quote reminds us that history has provided multiple examples of how wars are apt to change and shift the foundations of states; but there is something unique to be said about the qualities of modern war and the change it has prompted. A military technological revolution has culminated in the unprecedented use of drones as primary agents of war (specifically in the “War on Terror”), which has in turn shifted the traditional …

Authoritarian Breakdown In The Arab World: Linkages, Leverage And Regime Type, Natasha Ezrow

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

Scholars (see Levitsky and Way, 2005) have highlighted the importance of linkages and leverage in facilitating authoritarian breakdown. By linkages, we are referring to the ties that authoritarian regimes have to the United States, the European Union and other Western dominated international institutions and leverage refers to how vulnerable authoritarian regimes are to external pressure from these actors. But what previous scholars have failed to emphasize is that the type of authoritarian regime (i.e., personalist, military and single party) affects how much power international actors have in facilitating the ousting of an autocrat. With the recent events of the Arab …

Overview Of The Diplomatic Landscape, Patrick Bratton

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

This essay outlines a so-called paradigm shift that is occurring in regard to diplomacy and global politics in general. This is a paradigm shift away from the nation-state towards both non-state actors and individuals, and towards regional and global movements and organizations. In terms of diplomacy, this is seen as moving away from the images of old men in striped pants at formal summits to social movements uniting through social media, sometimes called “citizen diplomacy” or “digital diplomacy”. This inaugural issue, with contributions from AGS students and faculty, will explore and problematize many of these issues. To put the issues …

Inaugural Issue Introduction, Eileen Servidio

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

The American Graduate School in Paris is introducing its inaugural issue of the Journal of International Relations, Peace & Development Studies.

Associated with Arcadia University’s M.A. program in Peace and Conflict Resolution, this journal aspires to encourage discourses that promote non-violence in all aspects of international affairs. Nevertheless, keeping with AGS’s standard of respecting and listening to “the other”, all articles that meet AGS’s high standards of research will be considered for publication, no matter the opinion.

Interview With Adisa Omerovic (Fa 1137), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcript of oral history interview with Adisa Omerovic conducted by Ann Ferrell on 21 October 2015 at the Pioneer Log Cabin as part of Western Kentucky University's 2017 International Year of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Click on "Additional Files" to access the audio file of the recorded interview. File may take several minutes to download.

Interview With Amer Salihovic (Fa 1137), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcript of oral history interview with Amer Salihovic conducted by Virginia Siegel on 21 October 2015 at the Pioneer Log Cabin as part of Western Kentucky University's 2017 International Year of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Click on "Additional Files" to access the audio file of the recorded interview. File may take several minutes to download.

Interview With Senida Husic (Fa 1137), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Oral Histories

Transcript of oral history interview with Senida Husic conducted by Kate Horigan on 21 October 2015 at the Pioneer Log Cabin as part of Western Kentucky University's 2017 International Year of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Click on "Additional Files" to access the audio file of the recorded interview. File may take several minutes to download.

Crossing The Color Line : Race, Sex, And The Contested Politics Of Colonialism In Ghana, Carina E. Ray

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

Interracial sex mattered to the British colonial state in West Africa. In Crossing the Color Line, Carina E. Ray goes beyond this fact to reveal how Ghanaians shaped and defined these powerfully charged relations. The interplay between African and European perspectives and practices, argues Ray, transformed these relationships into key sites for consolidating colonial rule and for contesting its hierarchies of power. With rigorous methodology and innovative analyses, Ray brings Ghana and Britain into a single analytic frame to show how intimate relations between black men and white women in the metropole became deeply entangled with those between black women …

Calcaneal Quantitative Ultrasound Indicates Reduced Bone Status Among Physically Active Adult Forager-Horticulturalists, Jonathan Stieglitz, Felicia C. Madimenos, Hillard Kaplan, Michael Gurven

ESI Publications

Six months of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is considered optimal for infant health, though globally most infants begin complementary feeding (CF) earlier—including among populations that practice prolonged breastfeeding. Two frameworks for understanding patterns of early CF emerge in the literature. In the first, maternal and infant needs trade-off, as “maternal-centric” factors—related to time and energy demands, reproductive investment, cultural influences, and structural barriers— favor supplanting breastfeeding with earlier and increased CF. A second framework considers that “infant-centric” factors—related to infant energetic needs—favor CF before six months to supplement breastfeeding.

We apply these two frameworks in examining early CF among the Tsimane—a …

Life Is Calling ... How Far Will You Go ... Back In The Closet? Identity Negotiation And Management Among Queer, Peace Corps Volunteers, Kate Elizabeth Slisz

Theses and Dissertations

There is little to no research surrounding the experiences of queer, foreign-aid workers. To address this gap, a study was conducted to explore how compulsory heterosexuality affects the social construction of sexuality in societies where queer, foreign-aid workers serve and how this influences their identity negotiation and management processes. Participants consisted of ten self-identified queer, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), as well as, the researcher herself who also identifies as queer. Data was gathered through both semi-structured interviews and autoethnographic research. Meaning structuring through narratives was used to analyze the data. Analysis revealed that strategies of silencing, counterfeiting, and lying …

Explaining The Arab Uprisings: Transformations In Comparative Perspective, Steven Heydemann

Middle East Studies: Faculty Publications

Drawing on the research presented by contributors to this special issue, this article assesses the analytic opportunities that emerge when the Arab uprisings are conceptualized as moments of transformation rather than as incipient, awed or failed transitions to democracy. Highlighting critical issues that cut across and link the experiences of political relevant elites (PREs) and mobilized publics in the cases of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen, it identifies three sets of issues that warrant further comparative research: the effects of stateness and patterns of state-society relations on the trajectory of Arab uprisings; the role of identity politics and non-state forms …

The Figure In Art: Selections From The Gettysburg College Collection, Yan Sun, Diane Brennan, Rebecca S. Duffy, Kristy L. Garcia, Megan R. Haugh, Dakota D. Homsey, Molly R. Lindberg, Kathya M. Lopez, Kelly A. Maguire, Carolyn E. Mcbrady, Kylie C. Mcbride, Erica M. Schaumberg

Schmucker Art Catalogs

The Figure in Art: Selections from the Gettysburg College Collection is the second annual exhibition curated by students enrolled in the Art History Methods class. This exhibition is an exciting academic endeavor and provides an incredible opportunity for engaged learning, research, and curatorial experience. The eleven student curators are Diane Brennan, Rebecca Duffy, Kristy Garcia, Megan Haugh, Dakota Homsey, Molly Lindberg, Kathya Lopez, Kelly Maguire, Kylie McBride, Carolyn McBrady and Erica Schaumberg. Their research presents a multifaceted view of the representation of figures in various art forms from different periods and cultures.

Sino-U.S. Relations After The State Visit, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

China wants to be seen as a global superpower. Dealing with it will require acknowledgement that it is one

Peru: Open For Business, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

South America’s third-largest economy seeks to capitalise on growing global trade