International and Area Studies Commons^™

Are You Happy? Local Economic Development In Northern Thailand, Katherine Sorensen

Master's Theses

Thailand has had a long history of economic development. In recent years, Thailand began to focus on economic development initiatives a local level. The implementation process has been slow, but the introduction of social enterprise programs has proven a promising strategy in local economic development. Successful examples of economic development can be found in Thailand wherein this paper argues through collaboration between government agencies and local communities lies the key to success.

Qualitative techniques including a two months of fieldwork in Thailand, first hand observations, and appreciative inquiry interviews are used to analyze economic development initiatives in the communities of …

Vol. 2, Issue 1 Table Of Contents

SAIPAR Case Review

No abstract provided.

Daniel Pule And Others V Attorney General And Others 2017/Ccz/004 Selected Judgment No. 60 Of 2018, Elias C. Chipimo

SAIPAR Case Review

In a case brought to determine the eligibility of President Edgar Lungu to stand as a presidential candidate in 2021, having served less than three years in his first term, the Constitutional Court determined that: ‘…the presidential tenure of office that ran from January 25, 2015 to September 13, 2016 and straddled two constitutional regimes, cannot be considered as a full term.’

In doing so, the Constitutional Court effectively backdated the application of the ‘New Clauses’ to a time when there was already a law governing: (a) the eligibility of a person to stand again as a presidential candidate who …

Kilolo Ng’Ambi V Opa Kapijimpanga Appeal No. 210/2015 (Judgment Of 9th October 2018), O'Brien Kaaba

SAIPAR Case Review

This was an appeal against the High Court decision relating to succession disputes for the Kapijimpanga chieftaincy in North Western Zambia. The incumbent chief died on the throne in 2008. Duly following the traditional succession process, the traditional electoral college (composed of certain members of the royal family) gathered in September 2010 to choose the next chief. Six contenders emerged and were all considered eligible. The electoral college could not agree on which one of them should be chief and the process ended in a deadlock. In consequence, the electoral college executed a written agreement among themselves to enlist a …

Vol. 2, Issue 1 Masthead

SAIPAR Case Review

No abstract provided.

Nelson Chamisa V Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa And Others Ccz 42/18 (August 2018), O'Brien Kaaba

SAIPAR Case Review

Zimbabwe held its first post-Mugabe general elections on 30th July 2018. On 3rd August 2018, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) declared Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa as the candidate who received the requisite ‘more than half the number of votes cast’ and declared duly elected President of Zimbabwe. Aggrieved by this development, Nelson Chamisa, the main opposition contender, challenged the validity of the election of Mnangagwa in the Constitutional Court. After hearing the case, the Constitutional Court unanimously: 1) Dismissed the application with costs; and 2) Declared Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa as duly elected President of Zimbabwe.

The Creative Path To Peace: An Exploration Of Creative Arts-Based Peacebuilding Projects, Mary L. Clark

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

ABSTRACT OF PROJECT

The Creative Path to Peace:

An Exploration of Creative Arts-based Peacebuilding Projects

There is a strong connection between creative arts and building capacity for peaceful transformation of entrenched conflict. While governments, warlords, militias and bureaucrats may control or dominate the overt peacebuilding process, artists of all disciplines work behind the scenes, in communities, cultural centers, refugee camps and war zones, building resiliency and peace from the personal level. This project explores how the creative arts stimulate and support peacebuilding: the nature and definition of peace itself, and the aspects of creative arts that render them powerful in …

Cosmopolitan Democracy: Re-Evaluation Of Globalization And World Economic System, Muhammad Dalhatu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines cosmopolitan democracy theory as a method of addressing the problems of globalization. I begin by introducing the concept of “cosmopolitan democracy.” I then proceed to discuss contemporary political climate and its relation to critiques of globalization. Finally, I conclude by examining the elaborations of cosmopolitan democracy by various theorists as a way of addressing these problems. Chapter 1 introduces the work of David Held who introduced the concept in his book, Cosmopolitan Democracy and the Global Order: Reflections on the 20^th Anniversary of Kant’s “Perpetual Peace.” Cosmopolitan democracy refers to global governance through democratic theory. Held …

How Black Lives Matter Has Influenced And Interacted With Global Social Movements, Arelle A. Binning

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a chapter-based and member-led organization created out of grief by three queer black women. This thesis examines the international impact of BLM. I conducted telephone interviews with activists and advocacy organizations who have organized activist networks and/or won struggles against institutional racism outside of the United States. These activists are located in Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, Australia, India, Spain, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Paris. I conclude that BLM has inspired the creation and supported the continued development of organizations advocating for national and transnational social and racial justice on a global scale. BLM in spite …

The Role Of The Intelligentsia In The Collapse Of The Ussr: Soviet Intellectuals And The Idea Of The West, Alma Boltirik

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A lot of scholars wrote about the causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union, paying close attention to economic, social, political, institutional, and external forces, which are undoubtedly important. Yet, almost none of them sufficiently addresses the essential cultural and ideological aspects, which gave rise to the new thinking embraced by Gorbachev and ultimately influenced his policies of glasnost and perestroika. This thesis argues that the revival of a particular social stratum known as the Soviet intelligentsia developed new critical ways of thinking about the country’s present, future, and its domestic problems. The main claim is that the process …

Cultural Heritage Preservation In The Context Of Climate Change Adaptation Or Relocation: Barbuda As A Case Study, Martha B. Lerski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This case study introduces an arts camp methodology of engaging communities in identifying their key cultural heritage features, thus serving as a meta study. It presents original research based on field studies on the climate-vulnerable Caribbean island of Barbuda during 2017 and 2018. Its Valued Cultural Elements survey, enabling precise identification of key tangible and intangible art forms and biocultural practices, may serve as a basis for further studies. Such approaches may facilitate future research or planning as climate-vulnerable communities harness Local or Indigenous Knowledge for purposes of biocultural heritage preservation, or towards adaptation or relocation. I report on findings …

Poetic Representation Of Immigrant Bengali Women From Queens, New York: A Qualitative Exploration Of Narrative In Relation To Physical And Cultural Migration, Tabashshum J. Islam

Publications and Research

Poetic Representation of Immigrant Bengali Women from Queens, New York: A Qualitative Exploration of Narrative in Relation to Physical and Cultural Migration is a qualitative poetic inquiry and collaborative creative writing project. Five participants were interviewed and invited to engage in a collaborative writing process with the themes of immigration, cultural negotiation, and oral family history. All participants identified as college-educated Bengali women with a connection to Queens, New York, as well as being an immigrant or relative of an immigrant in the United States. From transcriptions of one-on-one interviews and personal notes, research-poetry was created to center on the …

Conceptions Of Modern Egyptian Childhood During The Period Of The “Liberal Experiment” In Egypt, 1922–1952: A Comparative Study Of Taha Hussein’S, “An Egyptian Childhood,” And Sayyid Qutb’S, “A Child From The Village”, Nora Elgabalawy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Counter to French social historian Philippe Aries’ argument, the concept of an Egyptian childhood has its own traceable history, separate from the modern Western European concept of childhood. As shown, with the presence of language on childhood, in a number of pre-modern Arabic/Islamic literature, notions of childhood had a rich history outside of modern Western Europe. But, depictions of an Egyptian childhood in modern Egyptian literature, specifically two childhood autobiographies/memoirs, Taha Hussein’s An Egyptian Childhood and Sayyid Qutb’s A Child from the Village, do not emerge seamlessly from these early pre-modern depictions of childhood. Both Hussein and Qutb wrote …

Death Of The Caliphate: Reconfiguring Ali Abd Al-Raziq’S Ideas And Legacy, Arooj Alam

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The demise of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924 generated vigorous debates throughout the Muslim world regarding the political future of the Ummah. While several prominent Muslim thinkers contributed to this “Caliphate debate,” none left as contested a legacy as the Egyptian intellectual, ‘Ali ‘Abd al-Raziq(1888-1966). In his scholarly publication, Islam and Foundations of Governance,Abd al-Raziq argued against the revival and resurrection of the Caliphate by redefining it as coercive, monarchal, and as the antithesis of the community first established by Prophet Muhammad. While Abd al-Raziq’s book attracted tremendous criticisms in 1925, numerous scholars today have commended and …

Perspectives On The 21st Century Urban University From Singapore: A Viewpoint Forum, Jean-Paul D. Addie, Michele Acuto, K. C. Ho, Stephan Cairns, Hwee-Pink Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this Cities viewpoint forum, we argue that there is a need to rethink U.S./U.K.-centric approaches to the urban university in policy and practice. Gathering three critical commentaries by practitioners from within the Singaporean higher education system, the forum responds to the challenges of: (1) broadened expectation placed on higher education institutions; (2) the pressures and possibilities of global urbanization; and (3) the provocation to theorize the urban, and thus the urban university, from beyond the 'Global North'. Following an introduction detailing the history and relevance of the Singaporean case, the three viewpoints seek to illustrate the various dimensions of …

Building Safe, Secure And Sustainable Futures In The South China Sea, Michelle Mei Ling Lim

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This essay argues that by framing security in the South China Sea through the lens of territorial claims and power relations the bigger picture of a safe, secure and sustainable South China Sea is neglected. The essay reflects on a photograph from my childhood on the shores of the South China Sea. In the photograph, I have a little red bucket in my hands and a wide grin on my face as I prepare to build a sandcastle. In the intervention, I recall how it feels to be truly secure. By returning to the joys of childhood experienced on the …

Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey [2018], Paulin Straughan, Mathews Mathew

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The Singapore Management University undertook the second wave of the Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey (PCSS) with over 2000 Singapore resident respondents.

The 2018 wave of the PCSS continued to reflect the overall satisfaction with public cleanliness in Singapore. There was a slight increase in the proportion of Singaporeans satisfied with the overall cleanliness of public areas which they had recently used (82% in 2017 vs. 84% in 2018).

Significantly more Singaporeans are satisfied with the cleanliness of spaces after public events (63% in 2017 vs. 74% in 2018).

Satisfaction with the cleanliness of food outlets is still the lowest among …

Maternal Criticism: Reading Two Middle Eastern Women Writers As Nonviolent Peace Activism, Charlyn Marie Ingwerson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation advocates for reading the literatures of two Middle Eastern women writers through a Maternal Critical lens that recognizes the demands of universal vulnerability in characters who resist violence, and responds in Maternal communities of Readers that connect readers to characters, readers to writers, and readers to other readers, carrying the struggle for equity forward. My unfolding argument, centered on Maternal Critical activity in the novels of Palestinian writer Sahar Khalifeh and Israeli writer Ronit Matalon, demonstrates how literature by these Middle Eastern women is part of a narrative context of women’s peacemaking and resistance to violence, a part …

Of Facts And Falsehoods, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan shared his views on the proposed Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill (POFMB). He surmised that POFMB is “a necessary but insufficient tool” against the scourge of “fake news” and that it must be applied sensitively in order not to undermine but enhance Singaporeans’ resilience and bottom-up drive to fight deliberate harmful falsehoods.

Looking Beyond The Vague Terms In Singapore's Fake News Laws, Benjamin Joshua Ong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Protection from Online Falsehoods andManipulation Act (Pofma), some criticised it for being too vague. Pofma contains words and phrases whose meaning is not explicitlyclear, e.g. statements that are “falseor misleading”, but does not define “misleading”. But case law gives us aclearer understanding of what “misleading” means

Does India's Growth Matter? Evidence From The Saarc Nations, Rohan Ray, Cledwyn Fernandez

Research Collection School Of Economics

The study estimates the extent of spillover effects that India's real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate has on the growth rates of other countries in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region for the period 2003–2016. It also identifies whether the conventional trade channel is the means through which growth is transmitted from India to her neighboring countries. Using a random effects model, we conclude that on average, a 1 percentage point increase in India's real per capita GDP growth rate results in 0.46 percentage point increase in the per capita GDP growth rates of …

Housing Equity And Household Consumption In Retirement: Evidence From The Singapore Life Panel, Lipeng Chen, Liang Jiang, Sock Yong Phang, Jun Yu

Research Collection School Of Economics

We utilize data from the Singapore Life Panel© survey to empirically investigate the impact of housing equity on consumption of elderly households. Based on panel analysis, we find housing equity value has no significant impact on non-durable consumption for elderly people. The conclusion holds for a battery of robustness check. Moreover, heterogeneity analyses based on subsamples by age of household head, house type, and number of property possessed also show no significant impact of housing equity on consumption in general. Finally, we use scenario analysis to study the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS), a novel housing equity monetization scheme which allows …

Mobilising Dissent In A Digital Age: The Curious Case Of Amos Yee, Orlando Woods

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Political containers frame opinions. They play a formative role in establishing the terms ofinterpretation, in distinguishing between assent and dissent, and in determining the extent towhich dissent is publicly tolerated. Whilst it is by now widely acknowledged that the powerand influence of political containers has been relativised by interconnection, the effects ofmoving within and between containers – and thus mediating between different framings ofopinion – is undertheorised. Also, the enabling role of digital media in disseminating dissent,and in bringing about disproportionate reach and impact, remains understudied. Addressingthese lacunae, this paper explores the ways in which dissent can be reproduced, reframed, …

Making Ethnic Tourism Good For The Poor, Jean Junying Lor, Shelly Kwa, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

How can ethnic tourism alleviate rural poverty? Due to the difficulty of simultaneously expanding tourism while promoting pro-poor tourism, most villages traverse one of two developmental pathways: 1) ensuring an inclusive structure before expanding, or 2) expanding before building an inclusive structure. This study compares four comparable cases in Southwestern China to understand the politics behind the decision to choose different pathways, and the impact each pathways has on local residents. While the first pathway requires a careful balance to maintain a pro-poor structure as tourism volume expands, the second pathway presents apparently insurmountable barriers to poverty reduction due to …

Neo-Daoism In Stanford Encyclopedia Of Philosophy, Alan Kam Leung Chan

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

The term “Neo-Daoism” (or “Neo-Taoism”) seeks to capture the focal development in early medieval Chinese philosophy, roughly from the third to the sixth century C.E. Chinese sources generally identify this development as Xuanxue, or “Learning (xue) in the Profound (xuan).”

Disruptive Innovation: The Rise Of The Knowledge-Sharing Market In China, Yaqing Lan

International Studies Honors Projects

Innovation is a major subject of international political economy, but mainstream discussions focus on scientific research and development and detach innovation development from their social contexts. In response to this view, this project reveals the importance of cultural and social factors in influencing innovation development by examining the rise of the knowledge-sharing market (KSM) -- a social-network-site-based economy in China. It suggests the KSM is a disruptive innovation not only because it is pioneered by a latecomer in the global innovation market, China, but also because its emergence from the changing Chinese consumer demands disrupts the mainstream thinking of innovation.

The Effect Of Foreign Aid On Political Violence: Learning From Case Studies Of Nigeria And Sierra Leone, Charlotte Rohrer

Politics Honors Papers

Policymakers in OECD countries regularly cite reducing political violence as a fundamental purpose of foreign aid. For example, countries such as Pakistan and Iraq have received considerable amounts of aid meant to address the root causes of political violence. This project analyzes quantitative and qualitative evidence to assess whether foreign aid can reduce political violence. The quantitative and qualitative analyses study Boko Haram in Nigeria and the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone to focus on regional and country-wide political violence. The study further focuses on aid projects in Sierra Leone and Nigeria as a means to reduce or curb …

The Wealth Of Nations And The Advancement Of Collective Security, Kerry Daniel Good

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis will address the economic development of countries from the strategic perspective of the United States, and consider how this development will progress overlaid in the context of the Chinese framework for the projection of national power. Using an inter-disciplinary approach, this research will synthesize sources on national security policy and economics, while seeking a Christian apologetic framework to answer these questions: How can the United States promote the economic development of countries in the Asia-Pacific region using a biblical economic-development model, as a part of its national strategy? This thesis focuses on some of the political and socio-economic …

Modernizing The Hermit Kingdom: Bridging The Economic And Cultural Gap Through Soft Power Diplomacy, Jane Son

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

Modernizing the “Hermit Kingdom”:

Bridging the Cultural and Economic Gap through Soft Power Diplomacy

Following the Korean War, the Republic of Korea embraced modernization and rose as an economic power while its Northern counterpart employed isolationist policies and acquired the name “Hermit Kingdom.” In recent years, however, the “Hermit Kingdom” is exhibiting potential for change in under the Kim Jong-Un regime. In the wake of continued economic strife, shifting East Asian political dynamics, and insecure power consolidation, Kim appeared in the international scene with a different attitude: eagerness for dialogue. Such change in Pyongyang’s political stance engenders renewed hope for …

Once Upon A Time...When A Revolution Evolved To A Civil War In Syria, Crystal M. Myers

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

This paper gives an overview of how the conflict in Syria has evolved from a revolution into a sectarian civil war. Power is maintained by the ruling Assad family through promotion of the Alawite minority within the government and military. Methods of persecution on the Sunni majority by the Assad government are discussed as well as a policy of strategic expulsion of the Sunni enclave to Idlib, a city on the outskirts of Syria (bordering Turkey).