Asian Studies Commons^™

Winter Is Still: An Analysis Of The Chinese Game Industry, Jiahui Sheng

Master's Projects and Capstones

This capstone essay aims to analyze the current situation of the game industry in China. Most of the data has been collected from databases, newspapers, interviews, journals and governments reports. This essay especially addresses China’s current game industry strengths and limitations to position it for the future. This essay clarifies the challenges of game industry in innovation based on the scale of companies. My perspective also considers the continuous development of China’s game industry as well as the conflict between the teenagers and government restriction towards games. Meanwhile, the opportunities of the game industry are based on two unique aspects …

China's Global Influence In 2025: Projected Foreign Policy Strategies, Melissa Toman

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Many political scientists contend that the rise of China is inevitable. Through expanding political, economic, social, and military channels, it appears clear that China desires to increase its status in the global community. Through this analysis, China’s various policies will be assessed in order to outline their objectives for growth by 2025. In addition, through the use of Counterfactual Reasoning, four scenarios are presented to hypothesize what the future of Chinese foreign policy objectives could mean to regional and global actors.

China: Do The Uighurs Represent A Serious Threat?, Bridget Read, Ryan Walters

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) utilization of harsh ethnic control policies coupled with extreme and violent enforcement by the People’s Armed Police (PAP) will likely drive the Uighurs to become a security threat to the PRC and disrupt international relationships. The Uighurs do not currently constitute a security threat to the PRC based on their limited connection to terrorist organizations and attacks. Due to several underlying factors, the Uighurs represent a political concern to the PRC and the conflict between the PRC and the Uighurs is fueled by ethnic tensions. Ongoing security operations in the Uighurs’ home province of …

Kumain Na Tayo! Exploring The Role Of Food In Communicating Tradition And Instilling Familial Values, Aaron Negrillo

Student Research

As a core part of Asian values, family plays a huge role in developing the individual’s identity. Family strongly contributes to the passing down of traditions and values. The expression of cultural values can be observed through many surface-level interactions such as food and meal rituals. This auto-ethnography explores the link between food and culture, specifically how it serves as a vehicle of communication that passes down traditions and values. The underlying core values of hospitality, respect, and sacrifice stand emerged from the thematic analysis conducted. Overall, food can be understood as a tangible expression of love: creating something for …

Decentralization And The Provision Of Public Services: A Case Study Of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Mishaal Afteb

Honors Scholar Theses

The effective provision of public services is integral to a functioning democracy as it connects the public to the government and grants it legitimacy. Public services are ones that are provided by the federal and local governments and paid for with constituent taxes. Public services provided by the state are education, health, water/sanitation, environmental measures, security, policing, labor and legal guidelines and so on. Whether the structure of the government is centralized or decentralized is an important factor which impacts the provision of services. Decentralized governments are state or local governments which receive monetary and institutional resources from the federal …

Cardio-Metabolic Disease Risk Factors Among South Asian Labour Migrants To The Middle East: A Scoping Review And Policy Analysis, Shiva Raj Mishra, Saruna Ghimire, Chandni Joshi, Bishal Gyawali, Archana Shrestha, Dinesh Neupane, Sudesh Raj Sharma, Yashashwi Pokharel, Salim S. Virani

School of Public Health Faculty Research

This paper aims to explore the burgeoning burden of cardiovascular and metabolic disease (CMD) risk factors among South Asian labor migrants to the Middle East. We conducted a qualitative synthesis of literature using PubMed/Medline and grey literature searches, supplemented by a policy review of policies from the South Asian countries. We found a high burden of cardio-metabolic risk factors among the migrants as well as among the populations in the home and the host countries. For example, two studies reported the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) ranging between 9 and 17% among South Asian migrants. Overweight and obesity were highly …

Keep Calm And Collaborate For Impact, Gulcin Cribb

Research Collection Library

No abstract provided.

Small Data, Small Steps: Lessons From Assessing The Investment Studio, Jiaxin Low

Research Collection Library

Singapore Management University’s (SMU) Li Ka Shing Library was renovated in 2014. During the renovation, the Investment Studio was created within the library to house high-end financial databases such as Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters (now Refinitiv). Usage of the space was assessed using quantitative and qualitative data, comparing the first academic terms across two academic years, 2017 and 2018. The data provided evidence to support anecdotal evidence and library staff’s knowledge and observation. The assessment resulted recommendations for further action. It also provided opportunity to engage with users and stakeholders of this unique space.

Infiltrating The Business School … How We Lounged Our Way!, Sumita Govindan, Redzuan Abdullah, Rajendra Munoo

Research Collection Library

The Business Librarians Team at SMU Libraries tested out embedded librarianship at the School of Business. The objectives were to: a. Bring closer support for faculty, especially in research productivity, teaching and information needs to where they are and when they need help. b. Be available for face-to-face consultation with faculty, staff and postgraduate students. c. Build a closer working relationship with the LKCSB community.

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

Sastra Buruh Migran Indonesia: Crossing Borders And Proposing A New Concept Of Indonesian Domestic Workers, Tri Murniati

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, Indonesian migrant women who seek employment as domestic workers in foreign countries have caught the Indonesian reading public’s attention with their novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction writings. Creative work by migrant domestic workers was established as a genre when Denok Kanthi Rokhmatika, a domestic worker who works in Hong Kong published her collection of short stories Negeri Elok nan Keras dimana Kami Berjuang (Beautiful and Tough Country where We Struggle) in 2002 (Insani and Raihan iii). The publication marks the birth of a new genre, which has become known as “Sastra Buruh Migran Indonesia” (Indonesian migrant …

Gender Differences In Child Care And Household Tasks: An Exploratory Study From An Indo-U.S. Perspective, Danielle Lippman

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The rate of immigrants coming from Asia in to the U. S. is growing at a rapid rate. However, research on Asian-Americans is scarce, particularly South-Asian-Americans. This group of immigrants face the same issues that the majority of immigrants coming to the United States face, but also face some additional unique challenges due to cultural background, religion, family expectations, and heritage. Most of these immigrants belong to transnational families. There are many discrepancies between what is expected of husbands and wives, especially when it comes to raising children and doing household chores in the Indian context. It is important to …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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).”

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 …

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 …

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 …

An Assessment Of The Strategic Domestic And Foreign Policy Goals Of North Korea Under Kim Jong Un, Youngju Moon

Student Theses and Dissertations

North Korea’s drastic shift in foreign policy in 2018 focused the world’s attention on Kim Jong-un. This thesis examines the intention of Kim Jong-un, who plans to make North Korea a socialist economic powerhouse; it also analyzes the changes in his foreign policy decisions. This analysis is based on literature reviews and external statistical data suitable for North Korean studies. As a result of analyzing five potential economic growth factors that will bring economic development to North Korean society, it is derived that Kim Jong-un intends to establish a foothold for North Korea’s economic growth through mitigation of relations with …

Ua3/10/2 Confucius Institute At Wku, Wku President's Office - Caboni

WKU Administration Documents

Email from WKU president Timothy Caboni to faculty & staff regarding the Confucius Institute.

Do Private Household Transfers To The Elderly Respond To Public Pension Benefits? Evidence From Rural China, Plamen Nikolov, Alan Adelman

Economics Faculty Scholarship

Aging populations in developing countries have spurred the introduction of public pension programs to preserve the standard of living for the elderly. The often-overlooked mechanism of intergenerational transfers, however, can dampen these intended policy effects, as adult children who make income contributions to their parents could adjust their behavior in response to changes in their parents’ income. Exploiting a unique policy intervention in China, we examine using a difference-in-difference-in-differences (DDD) approach how a new pension program impacts inter vivos transfers. We show that pension benefits lower the propensity of adult children to transfer income to elderly parents in the context …

Culture Without Borders: Intercultural Awareness Through Interviews And Images From International Asian Students, Zhi Xin Wee

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand and raise awareness of international Asian students’ culture and experiences at Western Michigan University. As an immigrant, I am interested in listening to personal stories about people’s culture and upbringing. I want to give students an opportunity to share their narratives and a chance to help contribute to a better understanding of culture and inclusion on campus.

Through this study, I will explore the unique stories from international Asian students at Western Michigan University to encourage and bring awareness of the many dimensions of diversity. At the end of this research, I …