Asian Studies Commons^™

Global Reform Of Investor-State Arbitration: A Tentative Roadmap Of China’S Emergent Equilibrium, Mark Mclaughlin

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Investor-State arbitration is in a state of flux. In recent years, doubts about its adequacy have become apparent: questions of coherence, consistency, legitimacy, and utility have rendered fragile the central place of investor-State arbitration in global foreign direct investment (FDI) governance. Three threads of reform have been advanced as a corrective to these deficiencies, encompassing incremental reform, institutional reform, and fundamental reform. China is perhaps the most influential nation not to have declared a preference for one future or another. For over a decade, the Chinese approach to investor-State arbitration has been in a state of disequilibrium: bilateral investment treaties …

How Might The European Union Engage Constructively With China In The South China Sea?, Nengye Liu, Qi Xu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article addresses the following questions: How does the South China Sea matter to the European Union? What roles could the EU play in the governance of the South China Sea? In particular, how could the EU effectively engage with China in the South China Sea? The article provides an analysis of the legal basis and policy background for the EU's involvement in the South China Sea governance and explores the EU's interests in the South China Sea.

Mareva Injunctions Under Singapore Law, Adeline Chong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Whether the Singapore court has the jurisdiction or power to grant a Mareva injunction in aid of foreign court proceedings was recently considered by the Singapore High Court in PT Gunung Madu Plantations v Muhammad Jimmy Goh Mashun [2018] SGHC 64. Both plaintiff and defendant were Indonesian and the claim related to alleged breaches of duties which the defendant owed to the plaintiff. The plaintiff had obtained leave to serve the writ in Indonesia on the defendant. The defendant thereupon applied, inter alia, to set aside service of the writ and for a declaration that the court has no jurisdiction …

Towards A Beautiful Japan: Right-Wing Religious Nationalism In Japan's Ldp, Andrew Weiss

Student Work

A 2017-2018 William Prize for best essay in East Asian Studies was awarded to Andrew Weiss (Davenport College '18) for his essay submitted to the East Asian Studies Program, "Towards a Beautiful Japan: Right-Wing Religious Nationalism in Japan's LDP” (Frances Rosenbluth, Damon Wells Professor of Political Science, advisor).

Andrew Weiss, a double major in East Asian Studies and Global Affairs, spent several months of field work in Japan over the summer and winter of 2017 to understand the role of right-wing Shinto in the thinking and politics of the Liberal Democratic Party. Why is the LDP and Abe in …

Alternative Marriage Practices Of Wartime Urban China In Discourse And Practice (1937-1949), Charlotte Cotter

Student Work

A 2017-2018 William Prize for best essay in East Asian Studies was awarded to Charlotte Cotter (Grace Hopper College '18) for her essay submitted to the East Asian Studies Program, "Alternative Marriage Practices of Wartime Urban China in Discourse and Practice (1937-1949)” (Peter C. Perdue, Professor of History, advisor).

Charlotte Cotter’s thesis, “Alternative Marriage Practices of Wartime Urban China in Discourse and Practice (1937-1949)” is an excellent study of how women in Shanghai during wartime explored different modes of intimate life, including alternate forms of marriage, when the upheaval of war tore apart families and disrupted personal relations. Throughout …

Inherent Multiculturalism: An Ancient Chinese Practice Becomes A Part Of The Indonesian Everyday, Margaret Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Several methods are used to trace cultural transfer between countries. The time-honoured methods are chronicles of early travellers and archaeology. We can also look to epigraphs and loan words. Present-day ethnic communities also suggest earlier settlements. Edward B. Tylor proposed the world distribution of games as anthropological evidence. Tylor's method combined with an archaeology into the Everyday provides evidence of earlier cultural transfer and present-day applications of the game enables analysis to draw socio-cultural knowledge of inter-ethnic, inter-cultural reception to foreign influences in host societies.

From Habits To Habitus: Chinese Elites Attempt To Create An Aristocratic Class Along The British Model, Karina Salomatina

Master's Projects and Capstones

Lately, new trends have appeared in the spending habits of Chinese elites, which include money spent on etiquette classes, butler service, British afternoon tea, debutante balls, education in boarding schools, and immigration to Britain. These new consumption patterns of Chinese elites signify their desire and attempt to adopt the British aristocratic lifestyle portrayed in popular TV series, classical novels and mass media. This study examines anthropological research, documentary videos, news reports and interviews with Chinese elites and applies Bourdieu’s theory of habitus as the main analytical tool in order to explain this phenomenon. Considering that forty years ago all Chinese …

“At War For Oppa And Identity”: Competitive Performativity Among Korean-Pop Fandoms, Brittany Tinaliga

Master's Projects and Capstones

Literature surrounding K-Pop is mostly focused on the reactionary, participatory, promotional, consumer and identity-forming roles of the Korean-Pop fandom. However, this research sheds a light on the dark side of the K-Pop fandom and the structures that sustain it: namely toxic practices and values. The study determines what practices and beliefs are at the core of competitive performativity and subsequently toxic fan conduct among international Korean-Pop fans and whether fans engage in reflexivity regarding these practices. To address this gap, this study incorporates a multi-methods approach, including CDA analysis, online corpus analysis, qualitative and quantitative data. The results reveal that …

Currents Of Consumption: How National Narratives Of Japanese Cuisine Collide With Localized Forms Of Sushi In Northern California, John Ostermiller

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper examines how national narratives of Japanese cuisine collide with the expectations, preferences, and perceptions of American consumers (particularly Northern California). The global economy has benefited the circulation of positive images of Japan managed by the Japanese government, but the commercialization of Japanese cuisine is also at odds with government efforts. In Japan, sushi is often synonymous with nigirizushi: sliced seafood and a daub of wasabi atop vinegared rice. As part of Japan’s washoku tradition, this singular image of sushi (allegedly) reflects the deepest essence of Japanese cultural sensibilities tied to simplicity, perfection, and nature. But in America, consumers’ …

起死回生(Resuscitation): Japan's Search For Machines And Their Meanings, Justin P. Mcdonnell

Master's Projects and Capstones

Japan’s lost decade(s) ushered in a new era of economic and societal malaise, marked by a shrinking population, an increased proportion of elderly people, inequality, neo-nationalism(s), uncertainty, and isolation. This project seeks to understand how Japan is trying to address these issues and reconstruct itself from the lost decade(s) with the use of artificial intelligence (jinkou chihou) and robotics along with the societal implications of this technology. This interdisciplinary research utilizes innovative, historical narratives (Morris-Suzuki,1988, Hornyak 2006), and the socio-cultural milieu of Japan and its traditions (Allison 2013; Katsuno 2010) to further appreciate and acknowledge Japanese perspectives and …

Strange Woods, Song Park

Graduate School of Art Theses

I am interested in searching for images of women that have not been adequately represented in visual art. As a visual artist, I am directed by my sense of sight to investigate and know something. I like to challenge myself to visualize things that do not already have a visual representation. It has been frustrating for me to create images of women, and I have experienced a deep ambivalence in response to the different images of women I have encountered. The socially and culturally constructed images of women that I have internalized and those that have developed from my own …

Navigating The Singapore’S Private International Rules In The Age Of Innovative Cross-Border Commercial Litigation Framework, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In the last decade, Singapore has been consistently working on consolidating its position as a leading dispute resolution hub in Asia. China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative affords, in principle, an invaluable opportunity for Singapore to foster its role in dispute resolution services. Conversely, the success of the OBOR is in part dependent upon the availability of reliable and efficient dispute resolution mechanisms to handle commercial disputes that will invariably arise. Singapore looks poised to contribute to the success of the OBOR in that respect, in light of its mature and business-friendly legal system.

Coincidentally, China announced its OBOR …

Consumer Involvement In Japanese Pornography Production, Yukino Yamamoto, Caroline Norma, Ruwan Dep Weerasinghe

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The authors examined two pornographic film series produced in Japan in the first decade of the twenty-first century, as well as their DVD box cover advertising copy. Additionally, and crucially, these data were examined in light of online forum posts made by the producers and consumers of the two film series before, during and after their production. These posts indicate consumer-producer cooperation and collaboration in all aspects of the series’ planning and execution, in addition to consumer involvement in the perpetration of the filmed sex acts and abuses themselves. The discussion of the article emphasizes the accelerating effect of online …

From The Tartan Tories To Scotland’S Social Democrats: The Remaking Of The Scottish National Party, Natalie Jayne Mauchline

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The United Kingdom is entering a period of great uncertainty, with the future of Scotland’s membership still in question. Following personal work experience in the Scottish Parliament, it became apparent to me that the Scottish National Party currently finds itself in a unique position. By utilizing constituency maps, this study will trace the evolution of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and explore how its changing nature allowed it to grow from a minute populist group seeking independence to a social justice party hoping to appeal to a more diverse group of voters by increasing credibility at the local level and …

The Socio-Cultural Implications Of The Aging Population In Japan, Jacqueline Banas

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone research looks at how Japan, as a nation, is dealing with aging populations as a society, what problems and solutions work for the Japanese, and how future studies and research on Japan’s elderly population could help lead for possible solutions for the global elderly. Through this capstone, I wanted to bring awareness to the Japanese elderly as well as generate light on the topic.

On The Politics And Conceptualization Of Gender Non-Conformity : Exploring Thailand’S Kathoey Population., Macey E. Mayes

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the politics and conceptualization of gender in Thailand, drawing specifically on the Thai understanding of sex and gender with regard to the kathoey population. This work considers the solidification of a third-gender category and looks to the ways this solidification can inhibit the fluidity of gender and sexuality. It also analyzes the dangers of transnational advocacy and the superimposition of Western queer advocacy and theory on Thai gender identities. I approach this issue from an interdisciplinary framework that seeks to include historical, cultural, and theoretical perspectives. In examining anthropological research, critiques of …

Security Is Local: An Analysis Of The Use Of Community-Based Security Forces During Counterinsurgency Operations, Alexander Stephenson

Dissertations

Counterinsurgency (COIN) operations are the most common type of military operation conducted by the United States and other Western powers. In most cases, conventional forces intervening in an insurgency are limited in personnel and turn to local community-based security forces to mitigate this shortcoming after initial attempts fail to defeat an insurgency with the conventional forces available. While the use of community-based security forces is a common element of COIN operations, little research has been conducted to determine the factors that contribute to their successful employment. A synthesis of existing COIN and community-based policing theory provides a model to evaluate …

Vietnam: Reaping Long-Term Gains From Agricultural Land Reforms, Pham Chi Lan

Asian Management Insights

Agriculture in Vietnam is in need of flexibility, efficiency, modernisation and innovation.

Asia: Embracing Disruption Confidently With Farsighted Policies And Progressive Ideas, Amit Gupta

Asian Management Insights

Farsighted policies and progressive ideas will stand Asia in good stead as it embraces disruption with confi dence.

Exploitation And Social Reproduction In The Japanese Animation Industry, James Garrett

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Japanese animation, or ‘Anime’ is considered a unique creative cultural product that has become a global phenomenon, but little attention is paid to its industrial production process, the poor working conditions of domestic animators, and their position within the structure of labor organization in Japan. By analyzing research concerning the current stakeholders in the industry, historical conditions that led to the creation of television broadcast animation, overseas subcontracting networks, and the development of commercial fan cultures through Maurizio Lazzarato’s concept of Immaterial Labor, Michael Hardt’s concept of Affective Labor, Laikwan Pang’s concepts of the intensification of contradictory creative logics and …

How Collective Memories And Divergent Historical Perceptions Influences Sino-Japanese Relations, Kenneth Chevreaux

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This project is looking to provide a comprehensive study of how history has influenced and structured modern Sino-Japanese relations.China and Japan are two of the East Asian powerhouses with economies that account for a majority of the region’s economic activity. They are two of the most influential countries within the East Asian region and arguably the world, but Sino-Japanese relations have a history of tension and conflict that spans back centuries. It is my intention with this research project to develop a multi-perspective analysis of the structure of Sino-Japanese relations with a basis in constructivist theory. This research can assist …

Japan: How Abenomics Is Impacting Business, Odd Per Brekk

Asian Management Insights

How Abenomics is impacting business.

Merging Subsistence Perspective And Buen Vivir: An Alternative To Damming The Mekong, Aaron B. Eisenberg

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper will examine the planned development on the Mekong by looking at the historical, political, and economic reasons why largescale hydroelectric dams are now being pushed upon the river. It will then critique the international state sovereignty system focusing directly on the Mekong River Commission and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) for their inabilities to mitigate environmental impact while pursuing development. I analyze how the “global city” discourse cannot rationally be applied to Southeast Asia and how the urban-rural divide in Southeast Asia creates only greater problems as dam production on the Mekong accelerates. I propose an alternative …

Domestic Workers In Hong Kong: Their Stories, Self-Perception, And Their Portrayal In Hong Kong And Filipino Media, Lauren Ernst

Senior Theses

Foreign domestic helpers are one of the most common and unique sights in current-day Hong Kong. On the weekdays, they can be seen walking dogs, taking children to school, and completing chores around the house. On Sundays, they flood the streets in full force, relaxing and taking advantage of their one day off a week. This population faces many challenges during their time in Hong Kong – these challenges are modern as well as historical and include financial, governmental, emotional, and social challenges. Along with the challenges of day to day life, they also face challenges in that their stories …

The Effect Of Non-Contributory Pensions On Labour Supply And Private Income Transfers: Evidence From Singapore, Yanying Chen, Yi Jin Tan

Research Collection School Of Economics

Non-contributory pensions are becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide. As their effects are likely to be context-dependent, evaluating their effects in a wide range of settings is important for establishing the external validity of the non-contributory pension literature. We use a new monthly panel dataset and a difference-in-differences strategy to study the effect of a new non-contributory pension in Singapore (the Silver Support Scheme or SSS) on labour supply, work expectations, private cash transfers, and expenditure, 1 year after its implementation. We find no evidence that receiving SSS payouts led to a fall in labour supply, work expectations, or the receipt of …

Unpacking Public Sentiment Toward The Government: How Citizens’ Perceptions Of Government Communication Strategies Impact Public Engagement, Cynicism, And Communication Behaviors In South Korea, Soojin Kim, Arunima Krishna

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In this study, we explore the relationship between two types of public sentiment toward the government (i.e., public engagement and cynicism) on publics’ information transmission behaviors, i.e., megaphoning, about the government. In doing so, we unpack how citizens’ perceptions of the communication strategy adopted by the government, as well perceived authenticity of the government’s communication impact their sentiments toward the government. An online survey was conducted in South Korea (N = 1112) to understand these relationships. The results revealed that perceived use of bridging strategy by the government is associated with public engagement, and perceived use of the buffering strategy …

Singapore Income Taxation, Vincent Ooi, Irving Aw, Joanna Yap

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

28.1.1 Section 10(1) of the Income Tax Act (Cap. 134, 2014 Rev. Ed.) (“ITA”) is the charging provision which provides for income tax to be payable for each year of assessment (“YA”) upon the income of any person. Income is taxable if it falls within one of the enumerated heads of charge under sections 10(1)(a) to (g).Income is taxable only if it is sourced in Singapore, i.e. accruing in or derived from Singapore, or received in Singapore from outside Singapore, subject to variations.Only revenue (and not capital) receipts are taxable, and only revenue (and not capital) expenses are deductible for …

When Secular Universalism Meets Pluralism: Religious Schools And The Politics Of School-Based Management In Hong Kong, Junxi Qian, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article examines the politics of school-based management (SBM) in Hong Kong, with a specific focus on the conflicts between the state and three Christian churches (Catholic, Anglican, and Methodist) running state-funded religious schools. Although the state based its advocacy for SBM on neoliberally driven ideas of participation, transparency, and accountability, religious groups expressed worry about the loss of control over schools as an institution of value transmission anchored in religious beliefs. This article uses the SBM controversy as a case study to advance geographical debates on religious schools and argues that neoliberalism forms a necessary lens through which to …

Politics And The Price Of Rice In Thailand: Public Choice, Institutional Change And Rural Subsidies, Jacob Ricks

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Despite the Thai state’s long record of rice market interventions, historically politicians failed to leverage rice subsidies in their pursuit of political support, notwithstanding the large number of farmers in the country. Since Thaksin Shinawatra’s election in 2001, though, each government has subsidised rice producers, although at varying degrees. What explains this change? This article traces the four-decade history of rice price support programmes. It is proposed that these policies be interpreted through the dual lens of institutionalism and public choice theory, demonstrating how political institutions have shaped incentives for politicians to cater to different constituencies. During the pre-1980 period, …

Is All Politics Local? Determinants Of Local And National Election Campaigns, Colm A. Fox

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In recent decades election campaigns have shifted their focus from the local to the national level, increasingly featuring party leaders, labels, and national platforms. Despite this trend, there remains significant variation in the local/national orientation of campaigns across countries and parties. This article tests several propositions on why campaigns adopt a local or national orientation by analyzing a unique collection of more than 12,000 geocoded Thai election posters. Specialized software was used to measure the spatial proportions of visual and textual content on each poster. Using Thailand’s mixed electoral system to enable a controlled comparison of electoral rules, I demonstrate …