Asian Studies Commons^™

From Hearts And Roses To Gore And Ghouls: Student Engagement At Li Ka Shing Library, Priyanka Sharma, Joseph Kennedy

Research Collection Library

The Li Ka Shing Library at Singapore Management University, SMU, employs various techniques for student engagement. SMU students are required to attend a compulsory orientation session at the library. A large number of SMU freshmen then attend an intensive library training session as a part of their Academic Writing course. Students also get to know us within the classroom environment – where librarians go to conduct ‘in class’ library training sessions focused on the very specific information and research needs of individual courses. This interaction – even though it is formal and regulated – sets the tone for the more …

Customer Satisfaction Index Of Singapore 2012: Full Year Overview, Institute Of Service Excellence, Smu

Research Collection Institute of Service Excellence (2007-2024)

The Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) computes customer satisfaction scores at the national, sector, subsector, and company levels. The CSISG serves as a quantitative benchmark of the quality of goods and services produced by the Singapore economy over time and across countries. Singapore’s performance in the CSISG relative to a select group of countries that deploy the same or similar methodologies, are shown in Figure A for reference.

This results overview concludes the scores of CSISG 2012 that comprises nine services sectors.

Smu Launches Southeast Asia’S First Regional Institute Focused On Family Businesses, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

The Singapore Management University (SMU) today launched Southeast Asia’s first regional institute set up specifically to serve the needs of business families in this part of the world. The Business Families Institute, or BFI@SMU, will be an educational, engagement and research platform to bring together business families in Asia. SMU will leverage on the vast experience of faculty who have worked closely with business families and thus understand their strengths and challenges, as well as the University’s strong expertise in business and management, to help them deal with business family-specific issues such as family ownership, business succession, business diversification and …

Decomposing The Changes Of The Divisia Price Index: Application To Inflation In The Philippines, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

We decompose the logarithmic change in the Divisia price index into the pure price, substitution, and preference effects, although the latter two effects are hard to distinguish in practice. This decomposition allows us to identify the incidence and contributing factors of inflation. In the Philippines, we find that the preference effect is much smaller than the pure price effect in all provinces. We also find that rich deciles have experienced a higher inflation than poor deciles between 1988 and 2006. However, the gap in the standards of living has actually widened because poor deciles lagged behind in consumption growth.

Presidential Pardon In Singapore: A Comment On Yong Vui Kong V Ag, Shubhankar Dam

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper critically analyses the decision of the Singapore Court of Appeal in Yong Vui Kong v Attorney-General in relation to presidential pardon. Two questions were central to the case. First, is the President bound by the decision of the Cabinet in pardon-related matters? Secondly, are decisions regarding pardon—whether made by the Cabinet or President—subject to judicial review? In relation to the first question, the Court based its reasoning on Singapore's political system being a Westminster-inspired model and, therefore, that the President generally undertakes the same functions as the British monarch. However, this paper identifies the unique features of Singapore's …

Influences Of Environmental Factors On The Physical Functioning Of Older Adults In Urban China, Fei Sun, Chuntian Lu, Jordan I. Kosberg

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examined the influence of municipal-level environmental factors (i.e., economy, pollution, health care) on the physical functioning of the elder population in urban China using a two level hierarchical linear model (HLM) method. Data came from the 2005 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, including 3,830 older adults (Ma, - 86.4) randomly selected from 152 cities across China. Municipal-level data retrieved from the Chinese Statistical Yearbook 2005 include indictors of economic development, pollution, and health service availability. Higher gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and more doctors were associated with fewer functioning limitations. The effect of selfrated …

Perceived Discrimination And Subjective Well-Being Among Rural-To-Urban Migrants In China, Juan Chen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using data from a 2009 national household survey (N = 2,866), this study investigates the differential experience of perceived institutional and interpersonal discrimination among rural-to-urban migrants in China, and the consequences of these two types of discrimination on measures of subjective well-being. The results indicate that rural-to-urban migrants perceive institutional discrimination more frequently than interpersonal discrimination. However, perceived interpersonal discrimination has a more detrimental effect than perceived institutional discrimination for rural-to-urban migrants, and this effect takes the form of self-rated physical health and depressive distress. The research calls for a more equitable social environment and equal distribution of resources and …

Interim Relief In Aid Of Arbitration Against A Sovereign, Darius Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In Maldives Airports Co Ltd v GMR Malé International Airport Pte Ltd [2013] SGCA 16, the Singapore Court of Appeal discharged an interim injunction in aid of arbitration granted by the High Court against, inter alios, the Government of the Republic of Maldives. In doing so, the Court of Appeal not only gave helpful guidance on the granting of interim relief under s 12A of the International Arbitration Act, it also touched upon issues of public international law.

Reassessing Apec's Role As A Trans-Regional Economic Architecture: Legal And Policy Dimensions, Pasha L. Hsieh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the two-decade evolution of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the future prospects for Asian regionalism. It argues that while APEC retains advantages over competing regional structures, it should undergo reforms to accelerate the Bogor Goals and ensure its complementarity with the World Trade Organization (WTO). The article first analyzes the impact of stake-holding countries’ trade policies on APEC’s structure and development. By assessing APEC’s soft-law mechanism, it explores APEC’s WTO-plus contributions that reinvigorated the International Technology Agreement negotiations and improved supply chain facilitation. APEC’s goal of creating a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) can …

Prosecutorial Discretion And The Legal Limits In Singapore, Gary Kok Yew Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Article 35(8) of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore states that the Attorney-General, as the Public Prosecutor, “shall have the power, exercisable at his discretion, to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for any offence”. This prosecutorial discretion, though extremely wide, is not an unfettered one and must not be exercised in bad faith or in breach of constitutional rights. With respect to the equality provision in the Constitution, the Prosecution has to give unbiased consideration to all potential accused persons and avoid any irrelevant considerations. The article considers whether the presumption of the constitutionality of prosecutorial decisions and …

Walmart In China [Book Review], John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

China’S Agrarian Reform And The Privatization Of Land: A Contrarian View, Qian Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Many media and scholars outside China are advocating for the privatization of land ownership in China, claiming it to be a necessary step before China can transform its agriculture into large-scale, market-oriented and technology-intensive modern agriculture. Chinese scholars advocating land privatization, on the other hand, typically argue that land privatization would offer farmers more protection of their rights. In this paper, we present a contrarian view to these calls for land privatization published in both mainstream media and academic journals. We argue that, under China’s current system of collective land ownership and individualized land use rights, the aforementioned goals can …

Singapore Food Seriously On My Mind, Margaret Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Asean–Eu Relations: From Regional Integration Assistance To Security Significance?, Anja Jetschke, Clara Portela

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

The 2012 Amendments To Singapore's Evidence Act: More Questions Than Answers As Regards Expert Opionion Evidence?, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Singapore amended the expert opinion evidence provisions in its Evidence Act (EA) in 2012. The criteria for admissibility have been broadened, but the courts are now also expressly given the discretion to exclude relevant expert opinion evidence if it is ‘in the interests of justice’. This article explains why the 2012 amendments have raised more questions than answered them. First, Parliament did not appear to have properly appreciated the distinction—as conceptualised by the EA—between legal and logical relevance and relevance and admissibility. Second, it did not appear to have appreciated the distinction between general and specific relevance. Third, the introduction …

A Reconsideration Of The Shareholder's Remedy For Oppression In Singapore, Pearlie Koh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The statutory remedy for oppression plays an important role in minority shareholder protection in Singapore. Both the scope of its application and the court's jurisdiction to make remedial orders must necessarily be wide in order for the remedy to be effective. Nevertheless, the remedy is not without limits. Indeed, it is crucial that the boundaries of the remedy be made clear so that legitimate rule of the majority is not too often, and erroneously, equated with tyranny by the majority. This paper considers a number of issues as to the scope of the oppression remedy in Singapore through a careful …

Is There Confusion In The Law Of Trade Marks In Singapore? Staywell Hospitality Group Pty Ltd V Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc [2013] 1 Slr 489, David Llewelyn

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The wording of s 8(2)(b) of the Trade Marks Act – which sets out the relative ground for refusal of a trade mark application for a mark that is the same or similar to an earlier mark registered in relation to the same or similar goods or services as long as there is a likelihood of confusion – is identical to that in s 27(2)(b) relating to infringement of a trade mark. The wording is taken from ss 5(2) and 10(2) of the UK Trade Marks Act 1994 (which in turn derives from the European Council Trade Marks Directive). The …

Faith, Freedom, And Us Foreign Policy: Avoiding The Proverbial Clash Of Civilizations In East And Southeast Asia, Eugene K. B. Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the primary weakness of US foreign policy, particularly in Southeast Asia which is home to the largest Muslim community in the world, was that it was driven by concerns over archipelagic Southeast Asia as the “second front” in the “global war against terror.” Military warfare and coercive legislation and enforcement are grossly inadequate in winning the hearts and minds of a community. Religion-wise, Asia is not a tabula rosa. Many religions have long co-existed in Asia. The virtues of religious freedom are not alien to Asia but need nurturing given the dominant imperatives of …

Using Enterprise Level Software For A Large Scale Compulsory Course In An Information Systems Undergraduate Program: An Example From Singapore, Ilse Baumgartner

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This conference contribution describes the design and delivery of a course on enterprise portal implementation at the senior undergraduate level at the School of Information Systems (SIS), Singapore Management University (SMU). In this course (entitled Enterprise Web Solutions), the focus is put on the design, development, deployment and governance of an enterprise portal as a way to understand the full life cycle of a complex enterprise-level solution. The Bachelor of Science (Information Systems Management) degree program offered at SIS has been designed to contextualise the study of information systems and business management and to acquire practical competencies and skills though …

How Is Med-Arb Regulated In Hong Kong?, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In this post on the Kluwer Mediation Blog, the Arbitration Ordinance (AO) and the Mediation Ordinance (MO) to the multi-tiered dispute resolution (MDR) practice in Hong Kong are analysed.

Having A Ball In Japan: Larry Rocca Helps Stoke The Rising Interest In Japanese Baseball, Paul Karr

Colby Magazine

Larry Rocca ’90 made the jump just in time. The former baseball beat writer, now in the front office of the Chiba Lotte Marines baseball team in Tokyo, is a catalyst in the historic melding of two baseball cultures

The Last Page: My Baldness, Tibet's Bareness, Tenzin Dawoe Tsewang

Colby Magazine

Tenzin Dawoe Tsewang ’07 on Tibet’s travails.

Views On China: Colbians Offer Varied Perspectives On One Of The World's Most Fascinating Places, Cultures, Economies, Peoples, Martin Connelly

Colby Magazine

Alumni and students with strong ties to China reflect on that vast nation’s fascinating past and fast-changing present.

Population Priorities And Perceptions, David Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

K-Pop Live: Social Networking & Language Learning Platform, Thomas Chua, Chin Leng Ong, Kian Ming Png, Aloysius Lau, Houston Toh, Feida Zhu, Kyong Jin Shim, Ee-Peng Lim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

K-Pop live is a social networking and language learning platform developed by an undergraduate student team from Singapore Management University. K-Pop live aims to combine social media together with gamification to promote Korean culture. It consolidates all relevant Tweets from Twitter as well as videos from YouTube. The platform allows the user to connect with his friends who share similar interests in terms of K-pop artists and music.

Schemes Work Hand In Hand To Boost Wages, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

Professor Hoon Hian Teck discussed how this year's Budget helps both workers and companies push for higher productivity. The Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme in 2007 provided one answer to boost the earnings of low-wage workers. The Wage Credit Scheme (WCS) introduced in Budget 2013 is another innovative policy instrument that works in tandem with the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme to help SMEs on their journey to becoming more productive. Under WCS, the Government covers 40 per cent of the wage increase from increased productivity (obtained through the PIC scheme), leaving the firm with a higher profit. Since …

The Future Of Wages In Singapore, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

Prof Hoon discussed the future of wages in Singapore and identified major trends affecting Singapore's labour market over the past decade. He noted that in the future, SMEs that are unable to raise workers' productivity to match the higher labour costs will exit the industry, thus leading to job destruction. Also, for there to be a steady supply of jobs with good pay for Singaporeans, the country would need to continue to attract MNCs by harnessing its relative strength in institutional quality and the availability of a highly skilled workforce. Success in helping SMEs to raise their productivity levels and …

Why It’S A High-Speed Game Changer, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

SMU Assistant Professor of Law Eugene Tan said that the agreement to build a high-speed rail (HSR) link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore marks a milestone in bilateral relations. He noted that the HSR project is a manifestation of the imperative for Singapore and Malaysia to collaborate closely, leveraging on each other’s complementarities and strengths. Ideally, the HSR link would have a knock-on effect in engendering confidence and momentum in bilateral ties. In the meantime, with the HSR in the making, both governments should work resolutely on other existing plans, such as the Rapid Transit System (RTS) link between Singapore …

For Wp, The Challenge Of Great Expectations, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

SMU Assistant Professor of Law Eugene Tan commented on the Workers’ Party’s (WP) rapidly rising political stock and analysed its future. In many ways, the WP has been able to capitalise on the fading lustre of one-party dominance, as well as on a growing demand for a healthy opposition parliamentary presence as an enabler of good governance and to make the Government more responsive. But now, flush with success, the WP has wasted no time in deftly managing growing expectations. Also, WP has to carve out its own brand in politics to win votes in its own right. It needs …

The Creation Of A Hybrid Arbitration From A Pathological Arbitration Clause, Darius Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In HKL Group Co Ltd v Rizq International Holdings Pte Ltd [2013] SGHCR 5, the Singapore High Court was asked to grant a stay of proceedings in favour of arbitration under the International Arbitration Act. One of the two issues in that case was that the arbitration clause suffered a drafting defect.