Asian Studies Commons^™

Cosmopolitan Cinema: Cross-Cultural Encounters In East Asian Film [Book Review], Espena Darlene Machell

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this exceptional book, Felicia Chan dives deep into the complexities of cosmopolitanism and cinema, questioning the meaning of ‘foreignness’ and aspirations of ‘belonging’ in the global context. Grounded on the premise that transnational cinema, or cinema in general, is an important platform for the production, imagination, and interrogation of cosmopolitan ideals, the book focuses on East Asian cinemas from China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore, challenging notions of definitive cultural boundaries. The book offers a way to understand cross-cultural encounters that emphasises the nuances and subjectivities of cultural imaginaries that cinema itself advances and challenges at the same time. …

Doubling Down On Asia Victor D. Cha, Power Play: The Origins Of The American Alliance System In Asia (Princeton University Press, 2016). Michael R. Auslin, The End Of The Asian Century: War, Stagnation And Risks To The World's Most Dynamic Region (Yale University Press, 2017)., Wen-Qing (Wei Wenqing) Ngoei

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

With the Chinese government aggressively militarizing the South China Sea and U.S. President Donald Trump scuttling the Trans-Pacific Partnership, there appears no clear answer to Beijing’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative. In fact, U.S. foreign policy thinkers are casting about for a strategy in Asia. What is to be done? Victor Cha’s Power Play and Michael Auslin’s End of the Asian Century recommends that the United States “double-down,” an expression Cha uses repeatedly, on its time-tested strategy of containing Chinese power in Asia.

Lack Of Dream-Capital Among Korean Youths: Rationally Chosen Or Culturally Forbidden?, Seokho Kim, Hongjung Kim, Sangkyu Lee, Eunji Kim, Ohjae Gowen

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper attempts to provide empirical evidence in understanding the ways that contemporary youth pursue their dreams in Korea. This paper examines the rational aspect of "dreaming" or "non-dreaming" by employing two concepts: dream-capital and penetration. In this paper, dream-capital is conceptualized as a seed that facilitates the accumulation of other capitals. It is the total capacity to dream and is composed of four dimensions: imagination, hope, optimism and resilience. Penetration is defined as the "cognitive judgment about the (un)realizability of dream." It refers to the discrepancy that exists between judgment about the capacity, condition and qualification required to fulfill …

Real-World Large-Scale Iot Systems For Community Eldercare: A Comparative Study On System Dependability, Hwee-Pink Tan, Austin Zhang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The paradigm of aging-in-place — where the elderly live and age in their own homes, independently and safely, with care provided by the community — is compelling, especially in societies that face both shortages in institutionalized eldercare resources, and rapidly-aging populations. Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies, particularly in-home monitoring solutions, are commercially available, and can be a fundamental enabler of smart community eldercare, if they are dependable. In this paper, we present our findings on system performance of solutions from two vendors, which we have deployed at scale for technology-enabled community care. In particular, we highlight the importance of quantifying actual system …

Rosenberg Institute For East Asian Studies At Suffolk University Annual Report For 2017-2018, Rosenberg Institute

Rosenberg Institute Annual Reports

These reports summarize the activities of the Rosenberg Institute during the academic year, including information related to public programming, visiting scholars, cooperation with the Asian Studies program at Suffolk College of Arts & Sciences, promotion of Suffolk's Asia-related activities, community outreach, and funding. Most reports also contain photographs of scholars, staff, and events.

Singapore Approach To Develop And Regulate Fintech, Sai Fan Pei

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper starts with a brief introduction of the recent organizational support established by The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to promote the fast developing FinTech (financial technology) sector. Basing on its existing “balanced” approach in promoting financial development and ensuring a safe and sound financial sector, and in sync with its objective to harness technology to improve the efficiency of the financial markets, the paper elaborates on the insights of MAS' policy intent in regulating the FinTech sector. The paper then focuses on MAS' proposed “Regulatory Sandbox” – an innovative regulatory framework which helps to strike a good balance …

Indonesia's Role In Humanitarian Crisis In Rakhine State Of Myanmar (2012- 2017), Muhammad Indrawan Jatmika

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This thesis begins with the question of why does Indonesia consider the humanitarian crisis that occurred in Rakhine State of Myanmar as a very important issue and needs to be taken seriously by conducting soft power diplomacy and humanitarian assistance to address the crisis? Indonesia has the rational choice of conducting soft diplomacy in the form of bilateral and multilateral responses, as well as providing humanitarian assistance in the crisis that occurred in Rakhine state. Theoretical discussion of this paper is carried out on the theory by William D Coplin on various factors that influence the process of foreign policy …

Education And Identity Of Myanmar Migrant Children In Samut Sakhon Province, Shan Li

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The purpose of this research is to explore the educational status and identity of Myanmar migrant children in Samut Sakhon Province and to analyze the different roles and influences of formal and informal educational models on these children's identity. For Myanmar migrant children who live in Thailand, due to their living environment are different from their parents, they seem to face identity challenges. The analysis of the identifying characteristics of Myanmar migrant children is not only contributing to the understanding of the current situation of Myanmar migrant children in Thailand but also can broaden the understanding about the factors that …

From “Burmese Brides” To Burmese Wives : Analyzing Transnational Marriages Of Women From Myanmar To Chinese Men Along The Myanmar-Yunnan Frontier, Xuanyi Luo

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Since around 2000, there has a growth of Myanmar women who have married men in Yunnan, China. Media reports from China, Myanmar and the West typically call these women "Burmese brides" and link them to human trafficking, fake marriages, HIV-AIDS, among other issues. This gives the public a negative impression of these women, and views them as mostly vulnerable victims caught in a faceless transnational marriage process. This thesis seeks to correct this limited view and provide a fuller picture of these women and to stress the role of their choice or "agency" in forming their transnational marriages beyond the …

New Chinese Migrants Enterpruner In Thailand: The Case Study Of Jong-Thai Jianming Eiw Ea (Group) Co., Ltd., Yuge Liu

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The study of the overseas Chinese in Thailand has been broadly conducted by many scholars. However, such have mainly focused on the overseas Chinese who came from the southeastern part of China, as they were the major part of the Chinese migrants to the Southeast Asian region from the ancient to modern times, and today they still play a great role in this region. Major themes in these studies include the identification of the Chinese migrants (who they were or where they had come from), various Chinese associations, big families of Chinese entrepreneurs and etc. On the contrary, the study …

Roles Of Actors In The Development Of Organic Farming In Baan Non-Yang, Amphoe Kud-Chum, Yasothon Province, Yan-Ting Huang

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Organic agriculture in Thailand has been shaped by the agency factors with contestation on development in structural contexts since the 1970s. It emerged and developed as a part of alternative agriculture movement, and transformed in dynamic contexts with involvement of various actors. Organic farming in Non-Yang community can be perceived as the microcosm of the development. POs, NGOs, GOs and private sectors are involved into the community as actors of organic farming network. With negotiation and cooperation in the network, the movement has persisted and become viable until today. The thesis was conducted with a stakeholder analysis on the case …

The Effect Of Tranforming From A Colony To A Nation-State On Chinese Diaspora Identity In Southeast Asia : Case Study Of The Chinese Emigration From The Malay Peninsula, 1945-1979, Huiwen Xue

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

During the period between 1945 and 1979, the Malay Peninsula was under a chaotic and turbulent social situation. Decolonization, ideological confrontation, and ethnic conflict all happened in this period. This research adopts the documentary research method to analyze how the turbulent social situation affected Chinese society in Malaya/Malaysia and how the problems that the ethnic Chinese of the Malay Peninsula faced affected the Chinese emigration from the Malay Peninsula. During the anti-colonial period, part of the ethnic Chinese of Malaya identified with China and sympathized with the Chinese Communist Party. Hence, China was the most important destination for them. Afterward, …

The Adaption Of Phở In Vietnam After 1986, Kunyarat Saengul

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Phở is known as a national dish of Vietnam. It is originated in the north of Vietnam as a labour food. With its popularity, phở spread all over the country adapted to ingredients and way of cooking in each place. After the socio-economic reform (Đổi Mới) in 1986, Vietnam's economy was shifted from centrally planned to market-based. As a result, there are changes in the growth of 3 groups of people; the middle-income class, the overseas Vietnamese, and the rural-urban migrants and low-income class in urban Vietnam. Meanwhile, the reform encouraged the growth of tourism in which pho has been …

Tea Culture Tourism In Southeast Asia : A Comparative Study Of Mae Salong In Thailand And Thai Nguyen In Vietnam, Yanling Guo

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study attempts to explore the development of tea planting and producing, and tea culture tourism in Mae Salong in Thailand and Thai Nguyen in Vietnam. The findings reveal that tea planting in Mae Salong is derived from KMT villagers in northern Thailand who initially planted tea for livelihood, later developed as a cash crop for substituting opium and reducing soil erosion under the cooperation between the Royal Project and Taiwanese organizations. Nowadays, tea in Mae Salong is selected as "OTOP" and marketed as tourism resources to attract tourists. The tea culture tours in Mae Salong are usually organized with …

The Doctrine Of Severability In Constitutional Review: A Perspective From Singapore, Benjamin Joshua Ong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The Singapore Court of Appeal’s decision in Prabagaran a/l Srivijayan v Public Prosecutor represents a substantial development in Singapore’s law on the doctrine of severability in constitutional review. An examination of Prabagaran reveals rich theoretical underpinnings relating to the nature of legislative intent. The case rightly locates the crux of the severability inquiry in secondary legislative intention, i.e. the legislature’s intention, at the time a statute was enacted, as to what should happen in the event that part of the statute is later held to be unconstitutional. This approach is preferable to the approach of asking whether excision of unconstitutional …

China’S Rise: How It Took On The U.S. At The Wto, Greg Shaffer, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This Article builds from original fieldwork to show what lies behind China’s remarkably successful use of international trade law to take on the United States and Europe. The World Trade Organization (“WTO”) is unique in China’s international relations as it is the only forum where China, with its anti-legalist traditions, has resolved its disputes through law and the use of third-party dispute settlement. After China acceded to the WTO in 2001, it invested massively in building trade law capacity to transform itself and defend itself externally. Through these investments and its increased market power, China became a serious rival to …

China's "Mercantilist" Government Subsidies, The Cost Of Debt And Firm Performance, Chu Yeong Lim, Jiwei Wang, Cheng (Colin) Zeng

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

China has been adopting a “mercantilist” policy by lavishing massive government subsidies on Chinese firms. Using hand-collected subsidy data on Chinese listed companies, we find that firms receiving more subsidies tend to have a lower cost of debt. However, such firms fail to have superior financial performance. Instead, firms with more subsidies tend to be overstaffed, which demonstrates higher social performance. These results are mainly driven by non-tax-based subsidies rather than tax-based subsidies. Overall, our results suggest that the Chinese government uses non-tax-based subsidies to achieve its social policy objectives at the expense of firms’ profitability.

The Indigenization Of Crisis Response Strategies In The Context Of China, Augustine Pang, Yang Hu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Crisis communication, which has been dominated by a practical perspective, has become a nexus where theory meets application. Despite mounting interest in theoretical studies, crisis communication lacks cultural contextualization. Asian communication researchers have advocated for the need to indigenize communication, drawing relevance to cultural influences. In this study, the authors explored indigenous corporate crisis response strategies in the context of China through nine cases. Three Chinese indigenous strategies were identified through qualitative content analysis of corporate crisis responses. These strategies are “barnacle,” “third-party endorsement,” and “setting up new topics.” The differences with Western frameworks were also discussed.

Pricing For A Last-Mile Transportation System, Yiwei Chen, Hai Wang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The Last-Mile Problem refers to the provision of travel service from the nearest public transportation node to a home or other destination. Last-Mile Transportation System (LMTS), which has recently emerged, provide on-demand shared transportation. We consider an LMTS with multiple passenger types—adults, senior citizens, children, and students. The LMTS designer determines the price for the passengers, last-mile service vehicle capacity, and service fleet size (number of vehicles) for each last-mile region to maximize the social welfare generated by the LMTS. The level of last-mile service (in terms of passenger waiting time) is approximated by using a batch arrival, batch service, …

Migration And The Challenges Of Social Inclusion And Integration, Supaporn Phokaew

Asian Review

No abstract provided.

International Retirement Migration And Cultural Assimilation: A Study Of Western Retirees In Thailand, Kanokwan Tangchitnusorn, Patcharawalai Wongboonsin

Asian Review

No abstract provided.

Peace In Abstract: Re-Integration Of Internally Displaced Persons In Northeastern Nigeria And Its Emerging Socio-Economic Challenges, Abiola Ruth Adimula

Asian Review

This study examines the challenges associated with the re-integration of internally displaced people in Boko Haram insurgency-ravaged Northeast Nigeria. It traces the root cause of socio-political and ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria to 1914, when the British colonial administration merged the incompatible Protectorate of Northern Nigeria and the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria as one entity. After the return to democracy in 1999, the country witnessed growing insecurity, culminating in the growth of ethno-religious militias and separatist groups, including the dreaded Boko Haram terrorist sect, whose activities led to the deaths of many and the displacement of about two million …

The Chinese Cultural Influence On Filipino Cuisine, Brandon Chase Lantrip

Master's Theses

This paper illustrates the impact of the Chinese cultural influence upon the Philippines with the primary focus being on Filipino cuisine. It examines how the Chinese cultural influence not only contributed to the development of Filipino cuisine, but how Chinese culture has also influenced the everyday life and culture of the Philippines through language and customary practices for over a millennium. The first section of the paper analyzes the cultural connection between China and the Philippines. The second section illustrates the Chinese language influence and it’s effect upon Filipino cuisine and culture. The third section explores the contested origins of …

Japan's Employment 'Catch-22': The Impact Of Working Conditions For Women In Japan On Japan's Demographic Population Crisis, Mary Perkins

Master's Theses

This thesis examines Japan’s aging population crisis and gender inequalities in the workplace. This topic presents an interesting and challenging phenomenon for Japan, as Japan’s economy and technology have developed more rapidly than almost any other country, establishing Japan as one of the Group of Seven industrialized nations. Yet Japan still significantly lags behind other industrialized nations when it comes to women’s rights and opportunities for advancement in the workplace. This is in turn hampering efforts for Japan to address a population crisis, with an older population growth rate far outpacing the growth of demographic groups that would support the …

A Way Of Reflecting On Identity: The Five Stories Of The Conflicting Relationships In Nepal, Tomoki Yamanaka

Capstone Collection

Conflict studies show that the components of identity are interrelated to sources and dynamics of conflict in intricate ways. This study self-reflectively explores a way of reflecting on identity from the links between conflict and identity through a qualitative study of the five stories of the conflicting relationships in Nepal. By analyzing the stories collected through in-depth interviews with Nepali peace workers, an element of power in group differences was noted. This illustrated the challenge of having the voices of those being marginalized heard amongst conflicting issues around them. Those that were interviewed also struggled with the challenge of having …

Poverty Mapping Using Convolutional Neural Networks Trained On High And Medium Resolution Satellite Images, With An Application In Mexico, Boris Babenko, Jonathan Hersh, David Newhouse, Anusha Ramakrishnan, Tom Swartz

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

Mapping the spatial distribution of poverty in developing countries remains an important and costly challenge. These “poverty maps” are key inputs for poverty targeting, public goods provision, political accountability, and impact evaluation, that are all the more important given the geographic dispersion of the remaining bottom billion severely poor individuals. In this paper we train Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to estimate poverty directly from high and medium resolution satellite images. We use both Planet and Digital Globe imagery with spatial resolutions of 3-5 m2 and 50 cm2 respectively, covering all 2 million km2 of Mexico. Benchmark poverty estimates come from …

Innovations In Asia: Selected Case Studies, Institute Of Innovation And Entrepreneurship, Singapore Management University

Research Collection Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

This book is a compilation of seven case studies written by faculty and staff of Singapore Management University (SMU) and has been edited in conjunction with the inaugural Asia Pacific Innovation Forum organised by the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM) and hosted by SMU in December 2014. These cases have been carefully selected to illustrate the various challenges inherent in creating entrepreneurial and business innovations.

The first five cases are related to start-ups by experienced professionals and students. Jayashree is an excellent case that shows how an individual with very little education was able to design and implement …

Multinationals In Emerging Markets: A Test Case Of The Banking Industry In India, Havovi Joshi

Dissertations and Theses Collection

Multinational firms play a significant role in the world economy, accounting for over 30% of the world stock market value. In the past decade or two, these firms have demonstrated a renewed wave of interest in the Emerging Asian markets. This is not surprising, given the attractive demographics, growing middle class and leapfrogging technology of these markets. But the optimism of these western firms heading eastward often gets quickly subdued by the realisation that these emerging Asian markets are far more complex—or at the very least, different—than western ones. They are more volatile, there is frequently a lack of institutional …

Smu Establishes Fruitful Collaborations With Six Leading Chinese Partner Universities, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

Leading a senior delegation from 18-23 November 2017, SMU President Prof Arnoud De Meyer visited six partner universities in Shanghai and Beijing. The trip culminated in productive meetings with the leaders of these reputable Chinese universities and the signing of a number of partnership agreements that would strengthen the links of SMU and its schools with their Chinese counterparts. The universities are: Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University, China University of Political Science and Law.

Volatility Spillovers And Linkages In Asian Stock Markets, Hwee Kwan Chow

Research Collection School Of Economics

Diebold–Yilmaz spillover indexes are computed for weekly return volatilities based on daily benchmark stock indexes of the US, the UK, and 10 Asian countries. We found (i) the strengthening of overall volatility spillovers is not a temporary surge but persisted after the crisis; (ii) the susceptibility of individual Asian stock markets to inward volatility transfers is linked to its degree of openness; and (iii) the Asian bourses are becoming more important emitters of financial shocks since the crisis. Rolling regressions on volatility linkages reveal the relative dominance of the US over the Japanese and Chinese bourses, and the level of …