Asian Studies Commons^™

Full Circle: Historiography, Missiology, And Theology In Lin Yutang’S From Pagan To Christian, Teng-Kuan Ng

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Lin Yutang (1895–1976) is renowned for bridging the Chinese and Western worlds through his prolific writings, but the vital role of religion in his intercultural endeavors remains underappreciated. This article situates his seminal work of religious reflection, From Pagan to Christian (1959), within the context of World Christianity, defined as both movement and method. Lin’s departure from the Christianity of his youth into Chinese religions—and back again to the church in his later years—presents timely insights for the study of religious change and pluralism in global modernity. Analyzing the text’s decolonizing, dialogical, and polyphonic dimensions, this article brings Lin’s spiritual …

Direct And Indirect Experiences, Risk Perceptions, And Vaccine Booster Intention: A Mediation Study In Singapore Using Secondary Risk Theory, Sonny Rosenthal, Agnes S. F. Chuah, Hye Kyung Kim, Shirley S. Ho

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This study examined how direct experiences with COVID-19 infection and vaccination and indirect experience through government and media information predict individuals' intention to receive a COVID-19 booster dose. Drawing on secondary risk theory, we conducted a nationally representative door-to-door survey of 1000 adult Singapore residents in mid-2024. We used structural equation modeling to test whether risk perceptions and efficacy beliefs mediate the effects of experience and information exposure on booster intention. Booster intention was positively related to perceived susceptibility to infection, vaccine effectiveness, vaccination self-efficacy, and prior vaccination, and negatively related to perceived severity of and susceptibility to booster side …

Health And Weather In Unfavourable Environments: Exploring The Historical Dynamics Of Colonial Medical Meteorology In Nineteenth-Century Tropical Asia, Fiona Williamson

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Medical meteorology had a long precedent in medical thought across Eastern and Western traditions. This article considers the tradition of medical meteorology that was favoured by Western doctors in the nineteenth century, which was often applied within colonial contexts to the understanding of new climates and how they might impact on human health. Looking at British-held tropical and sub-tropical colonies of the Straits Settlements and Hong Kong respectively, medical meteorology was stimulated by the new pathological and atmospheric conditions that European explorers and settlers now inhabited in the name of the British Empire. They brought with them concepts of disease …

Understanding The Physical Health Associations Of Intra-Individual Variability In Life Satisfaction Among Older Adults, Frosch Y. X. Quek, Kenneth Tan, David Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

It is well established that inter-individual differences in life satisfaction positively predict health, but it is less clear how intra-individual variability in life satisfaction across time could influence health, particularly across individuals with different satisfaction levels. To address this gap, we analysed a large panel dataset from a national sample of 8,674 older adults, aged 50–70 (M = 59, SD = 5.42) in Singapore who completed surveys over 53 consecutive months. Results from multi-level modelling showed an interaction between variability in life satisfaction and life satisfaction mean on physical health. Specifically, there was no association between variability and health among …

Japan’S Military Transformation In Abe Era: A Revolution Or Something Else?, Ganesh Aji Wicaksono, Tangguh Chairil

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

After the World War II, Japan has been adopting a pacifist Constitution and established the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) for narrow self-defense operations. The JSDF are restricted from having offensive military weapons. However, Japan’s pacifism and restrained security policy have been evolving recently, especially during the term of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (2012-2020). The latest example is Japan’s plan to enable forward defense and counterstrike. This paper explores the transformation of Japan’s military through the revolution of military affairs (RMA) concept. The findings suggest evolutionary transformation of Japan’s military rather than revolutionary. The factors explored include international and domestic factors. …

Unveiling The Shadows: Exploring The Roles Of The Dark Web And Encrypted Messaging Apps In Facilitating Online Terrorist Networks, Eziho Promise Ogele

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

The paper examines the pivotal roles of the Dark Web and encrypted messaging apps in enabling online terrorist networks. These platforms have become essential tools for extremist groups, empowering them to communicate, coordinate, and share intelligence securely. The Dark Web, a hidden portion of the internet, provides a secure conduit for terrorist organizations to emerge, operate, and coordinate activities anonymously. This digital haven enables terrorists to share resources, plan operations, and execute attacks as part of their secret operations strategy. Encrypted messaging apps, such as Telegram and WhatsApp, offer an additional layer of security, allowing terrorists to send messages anonymously …

India As A Net Security Provider In South Asia: Challenges, Opportunities, And Geopolitical Dynamics, Ngo Tuan Thang, Tran My Hai Loc

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

India’s emergence as a net security provider in South Asia is a significant development, driven by its strategic interests and the region's shifting geopolitical landscape. This paper explores the challenges, opportunities, and broader geopolitical dynamics that shape India’s security policies and initiatives in South Asia. Through qualitative research and the lens of structural realism, the study assesses India's efforts to maintain regional stability, counter terrorism, and address security threats in its immediate neighborhood, including Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. The analysis delves into the complexities posed by India’s traditional rivalries with Pakistan and China, highlighting how these …

Convergence Of Indonesia-South Korea Green Economy Strategy: A Case Study Of Hyundai Motor Group's Investment In The Ev Industry, Darynaufal Mulyaman, Dwi Agustina, Rudolf Davier Figo, Gabriel Alexander Mahameru Sipahutar, Abdullah Akbar Rafsanjani

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

Hyundai Motor Group's investment in the electric vehicle (EV) industry in Indonesia reflects the convergence of green economy strategies between Indonesia and South Korea. The study aims to analyze the contribution of Hyundai investment in the development of the local EV ecosystem, including technology transfer, supporting infrastructure, and its impact on the bilateral relationship between the two countries. The research method used is a qualitative study with a case study approach. The results show that Hyundai Motor Group's investment supports Indonesia's green economy policy, despite challenges related to dependence on natural resources and infrastructure. This research contributes to academics and …

Indonesia In Brics: A Realist Perspective, Brice Tseen Fu Lee, Kotchaphop Kornphetcharat, Juan Pablo Sims

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

Indonesia’s 2025 accession to BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) appears at odds with the country’s long-standing bebas-aktif (“free and active”) tradition of non-alignment. This article explains the move through a layered realist approach and a purely theoretical, deductive method. First, the study integrates structural, offensive, and neoclassical realism to clarify four key mechanisms external balancing, hedging, relative gains, and status-seeking. It then maps propositions about what BRICS can offer Indonesia and tests them against existing realist scholarship on middle powers and emerging-power clubs. Analysis shows that BRICS chiefly serves as an external-balancing instrument, reducing Jakarta’s reliance on …

A Verdant Reading: On The Agency Of The Nonhuman Landscape In Apocalypse Now (1979), Christian Jil Benitez

Kritika Kultura

lack of sensitization, and fanatic adherence to tradition allow the illegal practice of prenatal sex

Neoliberal Society, Alienation, And Affective Crisis In The Answers (2017), Xiaoxiao Huang

Kritika Kultura

West finds a nemesis in sex-selective abortion in India. Unfortunately, the sociocultural baggage,

In Quest Of The “Sublime Paralytic”: Speculations On History, Identity, Andthe Emergence Of National-Class Consciousness, E. San Juan Jr.

Kritika Kultura

employing a focus on abortion in extending liberation for women since the mid-1900s in the

Maritime (Im)Mobility And Heterotopia: Jeju Island In South Korea, Taehee Kim

Kritika Kultura

Jeju Island, located on the remote periphery of the Korean peninsula and historically a site of exile, has become a popular destination for domestic migration over the past decade. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s notion of heterotopia as a methodological framework and taking Jeju Island as an example to reveal “islandness,” this paper discusses how the island is imagined and represented in Korean society. From this perspective, Jeju Island is regarded exteriorly as a place outside the ordinary and internally as a heterogeneous place. Further, in the heterotopia of “illusion” and “compensation,” a sojourn on Jeju Island is expected and experienced …

Love Is A Molecular Island, Chun-Mei Chuang

Kritika Kultura

When clarifying Spinoza’s concept of affect, Deleuze declares, “Hope as such or love as such represents nothing, strictly nothing.” In this paper, I approach the question of love by taking a detour of nonhuman affinity. First, I present this paper as an experimental becoming that weaves through heterogeneous lines of thinking and creating. Second, explicating the Deleuzian-Guattarian notion of “abstract machine” alongside Isabelle Stengers’s figure of “inappropriable unknown,” I argue for viewing the cosmos and art as interconnected abstract machines that foster novel realities and communities. Third, I weave planetary thinking with an interdisciplinary approach to propose a “planetary art …

Literary Study In The Era Of Artificial Intelligence In China, Fen Gao, Pengfei Zhang

Kritika Kultura

In view of the salient characteristics of technological innovation and human-machine symbiosis in the era of artificial intelligence, Chinese literary circles have purveyed a productive exploration of “literary study in the era of artificial intelligence.” Chinese scholars’ innovation of literary theory consists of three characteristics. First, they have established the original theory of “brain text,” systematically analyzed the definition, formation mechanism, and relationship between “brain text” and literature, language, text, and cognition, and applied this theory to literary criticism. Second, on the basis of sorting out and summarizing the core viewpoints of Western digital humanities theory, Chinese scholars have carried …

Editor's Introduction, Vincenz Serrano

Kritika Kultura

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Kritika Kultura

Kritika Kultura

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Colonialism On The Development Of Religious Life In Timor Leste, Abdul Kadirsyam Salampessy, Rahadjeng Pulungsari Hadi

International Review of Humanities Studies

Timor-Leste is the youngest country in the world with unique religious dynamics. The Catholic population increased rapidly after independence, while the Muslim population decreased drastically due to political dynamics. The presence of Mari Alkatiri, an Arab-descended Timorese Muslim who became Prime Minister (PM) twice, is a depiction of the presence of Islam in a Catholic-majority country. The long history of colonialism in Timor-Leste has greatly influenced the landscape of religious life there. In its development, the people of Timor-Leste live harmoniously and democratically.

This journal uses a qualitative research method that focuses on the social and cultural phenomena of the …

Graduate Student Paper: Aging In A Changing Japan: Gendered Adaptation To Changing Family Structure, Miki Izu, Clayton Chalmers

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Although Japanese seniors are very healthy, research shows that they are not very happy. Compared to seniors in other developed countries, Japanese elders have lower ratings of subjective well-being and are increasingly alone. This paper argues that changes to Japanese family life help explain why Japanese elders are struggling with low subjective well-being. Specifically, declining marriage rates and declining rates of elders living with their children (co-residency) have made it harder for elders to get the support they need. Moreover, the effect and the adaptations to these changes are not equal between men and women. While elderly Japanese men are …

Bihar Sir Threatens The Credibility Of Elections, Swati Narayan

Popular Media

Any arbitrary disenfranchisement of voters in the upcoming Bihar Assembly Elections will cast a shadow over the sanctity of elections in India.

Sensor Lag Adjustments On A Mobile Meteorological Cart In Tropical Environments: A Case Study From An Urban Park In Singapore, Moshe Eliezer Mandelmilch, Sin Kang Yik, Beatrice H. Ho, Graces N. Y. Ching, Peter J. Crank, Winston T. L. Chow

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This study adds to the growing literature on mobile platforms by examining the performance of the Singapore MaRTy (SMaRTy) in conducting mobile micrometeorological measurements along a designated route in an urban park in Singapore, reflecting a pedestrian walking experience. The main objective of the study was to calculate the sensor lag for the mobile climate measurements: Air Temperature (TA), and Relative Humidity (RH) of SMaRTy along a designated route in an urban park in Singapore based on data from fixed stations (HOBO sensors) in two significant synoptic meteorological periods during the Northeast and Southwest monsoons. Statistically significant regression models were …

The Basic Structure In Malaysia: Less Than Meets The Eye, Benjamin Joshua Ong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

At first glance, studying the basic structure doctrine in Malaysia can be frustrating due to its inconsistent judicial treatment. While early cases such as Loh Kooi Choon and Phang Chin Hock rejected the doctrine, it was later accepted in landmark decisions like Sivarasa Rasiah, Semenyih Jaya, and Indira Gandhi. In 2020, scholars such as Jaclyn Neo and Yvonne Tew suggested a judicial embrace of the doctrine and its global trend toward constitutional unamendability. However, the Federal Court’s 2021 decision in Maria Chin Abdullah appeared to reject it once more, illustrating the doctrine’s precarious status. The resurgence seen in Dhinesh a/l …

Smu Celebrates 25 Years Of Its Communityservice Programme During Silver Jubilee Year, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

The first university in Singapore to make community service a graduation requirement commemorates another major milestone in its 25th anniversary. SMU has consistently championed community engagement as a cornerstone of its educational mission.

Digital Economy Innovation In The Indo-Pacific: Towards A 'Singapore Effect'?, J.G. Allen, Qiu Xu Martin Liao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper examines the rise of Digital Economy Agreements (DEAs) in the Indo-Pacific as a strategic response to digital trade fragmentation and great power competition. Focusing on Singapore’s leadership, we introduce the ‘Singapore Effect’ – a model of regulatory influence distinct from others, such as the ‘Brussels Effect’ and ‘Beijing Effect.’ Unlike market-driven regulatory diffusion, the Singapore Effect emphasizes interoperability, norm entrepreneurship, and mini-lateralism, enabling middle powers to shape digital trade governance. We analyze DEA formation, implementation challenges in national law, and Singapore’s role as a bridge between diverse regulatory regimes. DEAs’ flexible, modular structure allows for incremental regulatory alignment …

The Role Of Private Law In Promoting Building Safety: The Case Of Singapore, Edward S. W. Ti

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Singapore is a tiny granite rock situated just north of the equator. Lacking land, and indeed any kind of natural resource, means that the trend for urban development in the city-state will always be densifi cation; 96 per cent of residents in Singapore already live in multi-owned housing, ie high-rise apartments. 1 Singapore is also a rapidly greying nation. 2 It has been observed that persons over 70 years old are four times more vulnerable in the event of a fi re, 3 and fi re safety is a critical aspect of building safety. Safety features and measures in the …

Governing Migration, Producing Skills: Emigration And Education In The Philippines, Yasmin Y. Ortiga, Roderick. Galam

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article examines skill as an integral yet understudied aspect of emigration governance. To date, migration studies have mainly focused on how the demand for migrant skills drive people's movements across borders, shaping the conditions for entry into popular destinations in the West. In contrast, less is known as to how skills also shape the way governments manage emigration, pushing would-be migrants to acquire certain capacities well before they leave their countries of origin. Drawing from the case of the Philippines, this article discusses how state agencies have used skills training to dominate specific markets for migrant professionals and demand …

Stockpiling, Forecasting And Protecting Skills: Skilling As Technique Of Preparedness In Times Of Crises, Rebecca Ye, Yasmin Y. Ortiga

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this comparative and situational analysis, we examine how nation-states use skilling as a technique of preparedness during crisis moments. By analysing two strategically selected country cases, Singapore and Sweden, during a critical phase of a global pandemic, we identify three techniques: stockpiling, forecasting, and protecting skills, and how these were enacted as a means to perform preparedness. Stockpiling skills was observed to take place as a rapid response; forecasting skills was a technique enacted with a view on the longer-term horizon and protecting skills was mobilised as a short-term future technique, where boundaries were assembled around skilling. While there …

A New City For A New Era: Xiong'an As Showcase Of China's Evolving Urban Ideology, Andrew Stokols

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Cities have long been expressions of political ideology in China and elsewhere. During China’s rapid urbanization over the past few decades, “new areas” became popular strategies to promote urban growth, following the success of Shenzhen, widely regarded as China’s first special economic zone. Today under Xi, Xiong’an New Area has become the latest “new area of national significance.” But unlike previous new areas in China, Xiong’an has become wedded to a distinct vision of the urban in Xi Jinping’s China, one in which the excesses of reform-era urbanization are controlled through new forms of affordable housing and finance, new ecological …

Singapore At 60: Home Truly Is An Idea That Never Stands Still, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

There are many new stories to embrace but also quiet distances between us that we must bridge.

In a National Day op-ed published in The Straits Times, SMU President Professor Lily Kong reflects on what ‘home’ means as Singapore marks its 60th year of independence — and how that meaning continues to evolve across generations. Prompted by a walk through a familiar playground now transformed, Prof Kong considers how Singapore’s changing physical and social landscape mirrors shifts in national identity. While progress and policy evolution signal a society in transition, she also notes the emergence of quieter divides – between …

Diaspora By Another Name: The Making Of Refugees In Cold War China, Jiaqi M. Liu, Clare Xiaoqian Wan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

By examining China’s refugee policies from 1949 to 1982, this article demonstrates how the Chinese state redefined “return” and “refugee” to serve shifting political objectives. While China is often perceived as a source, rather than a host, of asylum seekers, it hosted over 320,000 displaced migrants—primarily ethnic Chinese from Southeast Asia—during the Cold War. Through a systematic discourse analysis of 382 People’s Daily articles, we identify four state narratives—diaspora, diplomatic tool, ideological sanctuary, and legal duty—that structured how China labeled displaced migrants, interpreted their sentiments, and determined their settlement. These models evolved dynamically: from the 1950s to the late 1970s, …