Asian Studies Commons^™

Introduction: Ideological Aspects Of Development, Empire And Inter/Nation: Selected Cases From Southeast Asia, Michael K. Connors

Asian Review

No abstract provided.

Urban Resilience And The Neo-Liberal Subject Of Climate Change In Thailand, Robert A. Farnan

Asian Review

This paper analyses the ideology of resilience, as it is manifested in Thailand, through the relationship between urban climate change security and the neo-liberal subject. The neo-liberal project of resilience that is commonly advocated by ideologues and policy makers in response to catastrophic events, such as floods, has generated considerable debate in architectural and urban design circles but has largely failed to consider the ontology of vulnerability that underwrites neo-liberal notions of political responsibility and its attendant practices of (in)security. Although the literature in political ecology has fruitfully interrogated urban climate change resilience from the point of view of disaster …

The Bandung Ideology: Anti-Colonial Internationalism And Indonesia's Foreign Policy (1945-1965), Ahmad Rizky Mardhatillah Umar

Asian Review

In this paper, I introduce the concept of "anti-colonial internationalism" as the ideological source of Indonesia's foreign policy between 1945 and 1965. This concept has been neglected by international relations scholars in favor of the rival idea of "liberal internationalism." I argue that anti-colonial internationalism in Indonesia's foreign policy has been rooted in three aspects, namely 1) decolonial thought that was developed by Indonesian anti-colonial intellectuals in early 20th century, 2) the political thoughts of nationalist leaders and debates during the state formation process in 1945, and 3) the memory of the diplomatic struggle during the revolutionary era (1945-1955). The …

Awkwardly Included: Portugal And Indonesia's Politics Of Multi-Culturalism In East Timor, 1942 To The Early 1990s, Kisho Tsuchiya

Asian Review

This article explores the history of East Timor from 1942 to the early 1990s, examining how ideological tolerance of racial and cultural diversity functioned as a state policy under Portuguese and Indonesian regimes to limit the appeal of separatist movements. The Portuguese policy shift towards multi-racialism in the middle of the 20th century reflected their experiences of Timorese hostility during the Pacific War and the rise of international anticolonialism in the post-war period. Portuguese multi-racialism (1951-74) justifi ed their "European" presence in Asia and Africa, and it resulted in the promotion of Portuguese citizenship among the Timorese. Th e Indonesian …

The Unbound Postcolonial Leviathan, Pranoto Iskandar

Asian Review

This paper discusses the overlooked dimension of the aboriginal discourse that serves as the genesis of Indonesia as a postcolonial state. More pointedly, it argues that the nationalist's appropriation of European romanticism should be seen as the last attempt of the local aristocracy to preserve their hegemony in the postcolonial order; post-coloniality does not necessarily mean positivity. In fact, in Indonesia's case, the repeated failure to embed liberal values is arguably a result of the half-hearted commitment to enlightenment values of the early nationalist intellectuals. Some of the early nationalist fi gures blatantly imbued the 1945 Constitution with pre-colonial feudalism. …

Is Islamofascism Even A Thing? The Case Of The Indonesian Islamic Defenders' Front (Fpi), Stephen Miller

Asian Review

Although a term with roots going back to 1933, "Islamofascism" did not gain wide-spread use until the beginning of the 21st century. In the West the term has often been associated with conservative and far right-wing politics, giving it Islamophobic overtones. However, in Indonesia and other Muslim majority countries at times it can emerge in public discussion and debates as a rhetorical weapon of liberal intellectuals when discussing conservative and far right-wing "Islamist" organizations—although in Indonesia the more common term is "religious fascist." This paper examines theories of fascism built up in "Fascist Studies" (the so-called "New Consensus"), as well …

Taiwanese Perceptions Of Refugees: Results Of An Experimental Survey, Stella Treumann

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This research paper deals with perceptions of refugees, with the intent to demonstrate what factors influence perceptions of refugees in general, and specifically in the context of Taiwan. The paper is divided into two larger sections. The first section functions as a literature review with the aim of providing the reader with existing background information on the topic of perceptions of refugees. The second section contains an experimental study on perceptions of refugees in Taiwan. While the effects of individual-level factors on perceptions of refugees have been examined by many studies and in different countries, their effects have never been …

Social Order And The Culture Of Corruption In India, Arunodhaya Jebamani

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Corruption is rampant in India and is prevalent in every sector of the Indian society. The purpose of this paper is to discuss selected cases to understand the widespread corruption that occurs in various sectors of the society such as academia, business, banking, law enforcement and other everyday services. This paper will address how the social order contributes to these corrupt practices, and tries to shed some light on how corrupt practices have been socially accepted and have become an unavoidable norm in many cases. The paper also studies the structures that exist and aide in augmenting corruption in India …

The Expansion Of The Mandarin Mind, Tyler Okney

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study will examine and contrast two periods of xenophobia and stagnation, late Qing dynasty China, and the PRC under Mao, with a genuine market place of ideas, Shanghai and the other foreign treaty ports in the period 1849 to 1949, and explain how this period of cosmopolitan ferment has had beneficial effects on China today. Countries that have shut themselves off from the outside world have frequently suffered first stagnation, and then decay. While this might appear a commonplace in the abstract, the application of this insight in the development of particular nations has been neither as thorough or …

Making The Gigantic Suburban Residential Complex In Beijing: Political Economy Processes And Everyday Life In The 2010s, Pengfei Li

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Suburbanization is an ongoing development process in China. Hundreds of thousands of construction projects are being undertaken in outskirts of most Chinese cities, despite the increasing domestic and international concerns over China’s housing oversupply (Xu, 2010; Gough, 2015; Li, 2015). The suburbanization of China, however, is fundamentally different from the suburbanization of most Western countries, especially the United States, whose massive post-war suburbanization took place as a continuation of its pre-war industrialization and urbanization movements. In the Chinese context, suburbanization is the process of urbanization as well—urbanization and suburbanization have been promoted simultaneously since the 1990s. It is …

Customer Satisfaction Index Of Singapore 2017: Q1 Results, 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, sub-sector, and company levels. The CSISG serves as a quantitative benchmark of the quality of goods and services produced by the Singapore economy over time. 2017 marks the 11th year of measurement for the CSISG national study.

From Apathy To Multi-Stakeholder Action For Our Biodiversity, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan highlighted that the public consumption of sharks’ fin in Singapore has declined in recent years as a result of successful "say no to shark fin" campaigns. However, Singapore was the third largest importer of shark fin between 2005 and 2013. Shark conservation is not about sharks alone but about sustainability, oceanic health, and robust commercial fisheries. It's also about enlightened self-interest at its core. As a major food source, the oceans are critical to our food supply and security. As a maritime nation, commercial fisheries are important to us as well. Much more …

Critical Evaluation Of Action 14 Recommendations And The Suggested Way Forward For Singapore, Luis Coronado, Jerome Van Staden

Research Collection School Of Economics

The final report on Action 14 of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, Making Dispute Resolution Mechanisms More Effective presents a commitment by countries to implement certain “minimum standards” on dispute resolution. In many ways, Action 14 is the linchpin to the success of the entire BEPS project. To implement the significant changes developed under the BEPS project and make certain that there is neither unintended double taxation nor double non-taxation, there must be a strong and effective mechanism in place when disputes do (inevitably) arise. While the goal of the BEPS project is to create a more …

Book Review: Fearless In Tibet: The Life Of The Mystic Tertön Sogyal By Matteo Pistono, M. Alyson Prude

Philosophy & Religious Studies: Faculty Publications

Book review by M. Alyson Prude of Fearless in Tibet: The Life of the Mystic Tertön Sogyal by Matteo Pistono.

Threat Of Deportation As Proximal Social Determinant Of Mental Health Amongst Migrant Workers, Nicholas Harrigan, Yee Koh Chiu, Amirah Amirrudin

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

While migration health studies traditionally focused on socioeconomic determinants of health, an emerging body of literature is exploring migration status as a proximate cause of health outcomes. Study 1 is a path analysis of the predictors of mental health amongst 582 documented migrant workers in Singapore, and shows that threat of deportation is one of the most important proximate social determinants of predicted mental illness, and a mediator of the impact of workplace conflict on mental health. Study 2 is a qualitative study of the narratives of 149 migrant workers who were in workplace conflict with their employers, and demonstrates …

Trust Is Vital In Efforts To Counter Terrorism, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan highlighted inter-faith ties in many parts of the world are visibly under stress. Minority communities increasingly find themselves under a pall of suspicion, distrust and danger. Too often, moral panic and probing questions have been raised over the viability of multiculturalism as the integrative social glue in diverse societies. He pointed out governments do not defeat terrorism on their own. Instead, societies defeat terrorism by nurturing from the ground up an effective and sustainable bulwark against violent extremism and the divisive forces that seek to destroy our way of life and our common …

Independent Directors In Singapore: Puzzling Compliance Requiring Explanation, Dan W. Puchniak, Luh Luh Lan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

At first blush, the rise of independent directors in Singapore provides a straightforward example of a successful legal transplant from the West to Asia. In 2001, Singapore implemented a U.K.-inspired Code of Corporate Governance, which required the adoption of American-style independent directors on a "comply or explain" basis. Shortly thereafter, an overwhelming 98% of Singapore-listed companies reported full compliance. This, combined with Singapore's world-leading economic success, ostensibly confirmed the Anglo-American-cum- global conventional wisdom that American-style independent directors are required for good corporate governance.Using hand-collected data from 245 codes of corporate governance from eighty-seven jurisdictions, this Article reveals, however, that Singapore's …

Why Are We Willing To Pay S$20 For A Bowl Of Ramen But Not Bak Chor Mee?, Margaret Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Earlier this month, Singapore’s Hill Street Tai Wah Bak Chor Mee emerged first in the annual Top 50 World Street Food Masters list, making it the second time the hawker has been lauded internationally; it was one of two hawkers here to be awarded a Michelin Star earlier. Out of the top 50 in the World Street Food Masters list, 14 were Singapore hawkers. It says something about the high standards of our hawker fare in Singapore. Yet, Singaporeans are a spoilt lot when it comes to food, and the people we take most for granted are hawkers.

Soft Law And The Development Of Norms And Trust In Countering The Terrorist Threat: Engaging The Faith Communities In Post-9/11 Singapore, Eugene K. B. Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

On July 6, 2010, Singapore's Internal Security Department (ISD) announced that a “self-radicalized,” full-time national serviceman had been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) since April 4, 2010. Muhammad Fadil bin Abdul Hamid (Fadil), age 20, would be detained under the ISA for two years in the first instance. According to the media statement, Fadil had become convinced that “it was his religious duty to undertake armed jihad alongside fellow militants and strive for martyrdom.” According to local media reports, Fadil was the sixth known case of self-radicalization. Fadil was subsequently released on a Restriction Order on April 4, …

The Association Of Hospital Governance With Innovation In Taiwan, Chen-Wei Yang, Yu-Hua Yan, Shih-Chieh Fang, Noorein S. Inamdar, Hsiencheng Lin

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Hospitals in Taiwan are facing major changes and innovation is increasingly becoming a critical factor for remaining competitive. One determinant that can have a significant impact on innovation is hospital governance. However, there is limited prior research on the relationship between hospital governance and innovation. The purpose of this study is to propose a conceptual framework to hypothesize the relationship between governance mechanisms and innovation and to empirically test the hypotheses in hospital organizations. We examine the relationship between governance mechanisms and innovation using data on 102 hospitals in Taiwan from the Taiwan Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation and Quality …

The Power Of Prayer, Victoria Dawn Thompson

Capstone Collection

If words are arbitrary, how does prayer have power?” is the question of inquiry in this paper. An unobtrusive Content Analysis inquiry methodology was used to answer this question. The answer lies in the finding that words and thoughts are not the same thing, and our thoughts expand beyond the audible and visible. The implication for professional practice these findings present is that a deeper awareness of “Self” is needed to understand people’s miraculous way of resolving conflict via prayer.

Chinese Wines And Foreign Urns: Making Objects Of Lyric, Ryan Matthew Hintzman

Student Work

A 2016-2017 William Prize for best essay in East Asian Studies was awarded to Ryan Matthew Hintzman (Silliman College '17) for his essay submitted to the Department of Comparative Literature, "Chinese Wines and Foreign Urns: Making Objects of Lyric.” (Edward Kamens, Sumitomo Professor of Japanese Studies, advisor.)

Ryan Hintzman’s essay, Chinese Wines and Foreign Urns: Making Objects of Lyric is a work of awe-inspiring erudition, vision, and ambition. Ranging far and wide among traditional and more recent theories of the lyric and moving boldly from 8th century poems in Japanese to 19th and 20th century poems in English, Hintzman …

The Heart Of Experience: The Education Of A Practitioner's Journey, Tai Mesches

Capstone Collection

This Capstone, The Heart of Experience: The Education of a Practitioner’s Journey, is an illustrative reflection of myself experiencing my learning cycle, taking the reader through my own journey of growth as an experiential education practitioner. To engage the reader, I first shine light on the context of what role experience played in my life as a form of education, specifically reflecting on my time living abroad in China and my cross-cultural work with Chinese youth in Manhattan, New York, emphasizing basketball’s involvement as a tool for engagement. I describe how such experiences helped me return to school. To portray …

A Coffee-Scented Space: Historical, Cultural, And Social Impacts Of The Japanese Kissaten, Claire A. Williamson

Student Work

A 2016-2017 William Prize for best essay in East Asian Studies was awarded to Claire Williamson (Jonathan Edwards College '17) for her essay submitted to the East Asian Studies Program, “A Coffee-Scented Space: Historical, Cultural, and Social Impacts of the Japanese Kissaten.” (William Kelly, Professor of Anthropology and Sumitomo Professor of Japanese Studies, advisor.)

Japan has a long and well-documented history as a tea culture, from everyday practices to the refined aesthetics of the tea ceremony and its associated arts. Yet modern Japan is also a highly developed culture of coffee, and this is the topic that Claire Williamson …

Enclave Of Ingenuity: The Plan And Promise Of The Beijing Intellectual Property Court, Max Goldberg

Student Work

A 2016-2017 William Prize for best essay in East Asian Studies was awarded to Max Goldberg (Pierson College '17) for his essay submitted to the Ethics, Politics, & Economics Program, "Enclave of Ingenuity: The Plan and Promise of the Beijing Intellectual Property Court.” (Frances Rosenbluth, Damon Wells Professor of Political Science, and Paul Gewirtz, Potter Stewart Professor of Law, advisors.)

Max Goldberg’s thesis, Enclave of Ingenuity: The Plan and Promise of the Beijing Intellectual Property Court, examines in depth one of the most interesting institutions in today’s China – an experimental court that stands at the intersection of …

Phenomenal Marks, Ruptured Spaces, Relearning Language, Crossing Cultures, Meelee Ahn

Graduate School of Art Theses

The form of my thesis is one of interruptions, or “Ruptures,” as I call them. These are events of my personal history, or stories from the lives of artists, that intervene against my narrative through graphic and language devices meant to be understood as equivalent to the material affects in my painting. Important artists and movements mentioned are Gerhard Richter, Franz Kline, Helen Frankenhauler, Lee Ufan, Doho Suh, and Abstract Expressionism. Writers and philosophers Maurice Merlou-Ponty, Gaston Bachelard, Joan Banach, Sigmund Freud, John Gage, Brian Massumi, Allen Weiss, Clement Greenburg, Shin-Chulgyu, and Yoon-Dongju are also discussed. The idea discussed include …

How Japan’S Cultural Norms Affect Policing: A Side-By-Side Comparison With The United States, Katrina Tran

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The ways of policing have been critiqued throughout the years—some have advocated for a direct approach while others value diplomatic techniques. Consideration is emphasized by how culture affects policing in the United States and Japan. In the United States, the customs of policing involve violence, individualism, pragmatism, social mobility, and low power distance, whereas Japan encourages non-violence, face-saving, conservatism, and high power distance. The difference in these cultural norms reflects how policing is conducted in these two countries. To understand how policing in these two countries are different, this paper examines the difference of cultural norms and its impact on …

Goh Chok Tong [Singapore, Prime Minister], Chok Tong Goh

Digital Narratives of Asia

ESM Goh Chok Tong tells DNA how he overcame his reluctance and became the second Prime Minister of Singapore. He believes in consultative, participative decision-making approach, which differs from his political mentor, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. He dealt with leaders of regional countries in his adaptive and pragmatic style.

Delia Albert [Philippines, Secretary Of Foreign Affairs], Delia Albert

Digital Narratives of Asia

Former Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs and a respected champion on women’s issues, Delia Albert, tells of how she got her big break entering the foreign services, and set a precedent for gender equality. She also presents the Asian style of leadership, ASEAN way of mitigating conflicts, and describes a highly stressful case of saving a Filipino man in Iraq.

Threats And Opportunities For The Aec, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Gains need to be redistributed equitably to keep societies invested in the AEC's success