Asian Studies Commons^™

Rethinking Baloch Secularism: What The Data Say, C. Christine Fair, Ali Hamza

Peace and Conflict Studies

Since 1947, Baloch have resisted inclusion into the Pakistan and have waged several waves of ethno-nationalist insurgency against the state. Scholars and Baloch nationalist leaders alike generally assert that Baloch are more secular than other Pakistanis, more opposed to the political Islamist policies pursued by the state, and less supportive of Islamist militancy in the country. However, these claims lack empirical support. We employ data derived from a large national survey of Pakistanis from 2012 to evaluate these conventional wisdoms. Contrary to claims in the literature, we find that Baloch resemble Pakistanis generally with few important exceptions.

Hello Keikan-Chan: The Implications Of Female Japanese Police Mascots, Gage Meyers

Asian Studies: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

The concept of yuru-kyara, a mascot character designed by towns and prefectures to boost tourism, has been a trend in Japan for two decades. Overtime Japanese police adopted the trend and created their own mascot characters to improve public relations. For the decade since the first police mascot was created only male police mascots were created and it was not until the late 90s early 2000s that female police mascots were being made. These female mascots were not original characters, but rather female counterparts of the already existing male police mascots. This paper explores the cultural, political, and social …

East Asia Pacific Economies: Looking Good, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

The World Bank expects recovering global trade and commodity prices to buoy regional prospects

Chinese Company Shareholders Revolt Against Communist Control, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Shareholders of low-profile Chinese property developer Tianjin Realty Development recently made news by voting to keep party politics out of the Shanghai-listed company's organisational structure. Such action has never been heard of before at any State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) in the history of China's economic modernisation.

Smu Libraries: “Sensory” In Library Spaces, Nursyeha Yahaya, Devika Sangaram, Salihin Mohammed Ali, Aaron Tay

Research Collection Library

The Li Ka Shing Library recently included a new section, “Heat Maps” on the library website, providing users instant access to the physical occupancy spaces across all the different levels in the library. The indoor location-aware system is one in the latest slew of additions in tracking the library patrons’ visitations. It is the first of the many forms of library usage data sources that seek to provide an impetus in engaging the SMU community through real-time data visualizations. This enhances the perception of SMU Libraries as a creative nexus that nurtures and champions innovative methods of information access through …

Do Faculty And Librarians See Information Literacy In The Same Way? A Study Of Alignment, Melody Chin, Daniel Walker

Research Collection Library

Faculty and Librarians are two distinct professional groups each with their own subcultures, values and experiences. Hardesty (1995) noted the existence of a "faculty culture" amongst faculty members, which quite likely shapes and influences the way these individuals perceive a highly subjective concept such as Information Literacy (IL). Faculty and Librarians in higher education institutions often work together in the development of IL Programs. However, despite this collaborative relationship, it is not clear as to whether the two professional groups perceive the concept of IL similarly, or whether there exists a divide. Understanding how both professions perceive IL should be …

Fostering Parasocial Relationships With Celebrities On Social Media: Implications For Celebrity Endorsement, Siyoung Chung, Hichang Cho

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School of Business

The purpose of this study was to explore the underlying mechanisms through which the use of social media affects endorser effectiveness. Based on theories related to parasocial relationships,self-disclosure, and celebrity endorsement, this study proposed a theoretical research model and empirically tested the model using online survey data collected from 400 Korean Wave fans in Singapore. The results showed that consumers’ parasocial interactions with celebrities though social media have a positive impact on celebrity endorsement. Specifically, we found that: (1) parasocial relationships mediated the relationships between social media interactions and source trustworthiness, (2) social media interactions influenced parasocial relationships via self-disclosure;and …

Investigating Preferences For Patriarchal Values Among Muslim University Students In Southern Thailand, Mahsoom Sateemae, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Suhaimee Sateemae

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Recent research on Muslim populations has offered interesting but limited insights about values preferences. This mixed-methods study examines the prevalence of support for patriarchy among a sample of religious Muslim university students in Southern Thailand using items from the World Values Survey. It also investigates the durability of these preferences by examining correlations between support or opposition to patriarchal values with preferences towards courtship practices, and elements that influence respondents’ views on gender roles, particularly related to the contemporary socioeconomic and political situation facing the Muslim minority of Southern Thailand.

Kali Gandaki: The Road From Lower Mustang To A Global Food Market, Austin Van Wart

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Development in Nepal continues to be a major issue in both metropolitan and rural areas of the country. Of the many obstacles standing in the way of this objective, one of the most challenging is the mountainous geography that shapes the country’s lands, culture, and people. To overcome this obstacle, Nepal has followed many other developing countries by making rural road development a main priority in hopes of increasing connectivity, travel, trade, education, and accessibility to other benefits. One such example of this is the Kali Gandaki road in Lower Mustang.

The purpose of this research paper is to identify …

The Business Of Brandy: The Changing Roles Of Women In Apple Brandy Production In Lower Mustang, Nepal, Madeline Sachs

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Lower Mustang, Nepal is famous across the country for its well-known trekking circuit and an agricultural climate especially suitable to apple cultivation. Home to the indigenous Thakali ethnic group, the region was made accessible by motor vehicle via the Jomsom-Beni road just ten years ago. While before the road transportation of fresh apples was nearly impossible, necessitating the production of dried apples and apple brandy, now farmers make a lucrative profit off of high demand throughout the country. Additionally, the production of apple brandy has boomed, and the region has four to six distilleries in production at any one time. …

Developed Toast, Modern Laundry: Nepali Household Appliance Discourses, Maureen Mccord

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project investigates discourses of modernity, globalization, class identity, and social change in Kathmandu, Nepal, through the lens of ten Nepali women’s purchase and usage of home appliances. Four weeks of ethnographic research sought to identify prevailing practices and attitudes toward household appliances in the city, situating them in broader discourses of globalization, modernity, class identity, and social change. The project is composed of participant observation in Nepali homes, including informal interviews, with project participants sourced from my own social network. My collaborators’ practices and opinions on appliances engage discourses of the developmentalist and modernizing South Asian state, fluid and …

Power To The Period: The Role Of Menstruation In Nepal’S Formal Workplace, Johannah Mitchell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Within the greater context of Nepal, menstruation is a topic that has long-held significance as a taboo topic due to religious and cultural connotations. However, over the past five years, there has been a push in Nepali schools to acknowledge menstruation and menstrual hygiene management as legitimate aspects of health curriculums. This is a great step forward for the country, but also begs the question of whether this educational movement is being recognized in other areas of society, such as the formal workplace. Through discussion with various individuals- from government officers to healthcare employees- this research examines attitudes towards menstruation, …

Remembering Negdels: Nostalgia, Memory & Soviet-Era Herding Collectives, Maya Sutton-Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

During the socialist period Mongolia’s nomadic herders were grouped into collective herding units called negdels. Today, over twenty years after Mongolia transitioned to democracy, herding has been privatized completely and negdels are a distant memory. This study explores the history of negdels by conducting twenty-five oral interviews with herders about their memories of collective herding. This study focuses on a soum in the Mongolian countryside, Bayandelger, while also incorporating interviews with people from Ulaanbaatar. Bayandelger is a unique location for this project because it was selected by the Soviets to receive assistance in an effort to make it a model …

Barriers To The Diffusion Of Renewable Energy Technology In Mongolia Lee, Madeline Academic Director: Sanjaasuren, Ulziijargal Claremont Mckenna College International Relations Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan, Salkhit, Hatgal Nomadism, Geopolitics, And The Environment Sit Study Abroad Spring, Madeline Lee

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the international community looks promote sustainable development in developing countries, many policies have focused on the introduction of renewable energy technology (RET). For Mongolia specifically, RET is both a viable and optimal option, considering the country’s vast natural resources and the unsustainability of the country’s existing energy system. However, Mongolia has faced challenges with the development of its RET sector and still largely relies on international assistance and funding to develop largescale projects.

This study analyzes the barriers that Mongolia faces to the effective diffusion of RET into Mongolian society. Over the course of four weeks, 10 individuals were …

Here There Be Herders: Comparative Archaeological Survey Of Bronze Age Monumental Landscapes, Charles Ronkos

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Within our global understanding of the human story, nomadic pastoralists are often featured as marginal, or at best ancillary, to a narrative on sedentary civilizations of increasing complexity. Research on these groups has been limited by this conception, and by a minimal signature in the archeological record. However, revolutionary technological and methodological advances in the field have allowed for increased complexity in current research on the emergence of pastoralists in antiquity. As a region with an extensive nomadic pastoral history, and as a nation reviving its interest in the past, Mongolia is ideal for such studies. However, for large swaths …

Panji's Present Predicament: The Artistic Prominence And Tension Of The Malat In Painting And Contemporary Balinese Performance, Emily Austin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Malat is a Balinese oral tradition and text composed of numerous episodic stories based on Javanese and Balinese courtly life of the pre-Dutch intervention era, when kings and princes dominated the political sphere and the court system governed aspects of social life. Many art forms blossomed out of this epic, notably in painting and in performance, known as gambuh. Through an exploration of the Balinese epic, the Malat, as a Balinese text, history, fine art, and performance, this study analyzes the modern cultural importance of this ancient pre-Indonesian courtly epic. Gambuh is an ancient dance-drama that serves as the …

Equity And Community-Based Health Insurance: How Does Insurance Coverage Affect Health Seeking Behavior Among Disadvantaged Groups In India?, Hazel Hering

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The objective of this study is to examine how Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) can promote equity by improving health seeking behavior across gender and geography. Using a CBHI scheme from the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) as a case study, trends in claims filed between October 2016 and March 2017 are compared to the distribution of memberships in order to investigate whether health insurance coverage positively impacts health seeking behavior among disadvantaged groups, and what barriers to access exist when the burden of medical costs are reduced. This study concludes that the number of male and female claims in the sample …

Access To Information And Services Regarding Maternal Health And Healthcare Within Tribal Communities Around Udaipur, Rajasthan, Arista Jhanjee

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The following study seeks to investigate access to antenatal and delivery-related services and information among women residing in rural, tribal communities around Udaipur, Rajasthan, and to analyze determinants that affect such access. More specifically, it seeks to evaluate one determinant in particular: that of association with and use of the services provided by the nonprofit organization Seva Mandir, which works with rural communities throughout southern Rajasthan in order to facilitate the improvement of health and development activities and outcomes. Methods used for the collection of the data upon which the study draws were qualitative: interviews were conducted with 27 women …

Daycare, Decision-Making, And The Determinants Of Health: A Mother-Centric Approach To Understanding Childcare And Child Health In Rural Dharamshala, Arielle Rawlings

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Indian children have long suffered from some of the world’s worst rates of malnutrition. However, there is an evident mismatch between the macro proliferation of India’s intergenerational cycle of malnutrition and the micro ways in which it is often approached, as established views that place blame on mothers for the poor health status of their children have systematically removed blame from underlying structural determinants of health such as government policies, social inequalities, and economic conditions. Taking a mother-centric approach, this study examines the links between childcare practices and maternal decisionmaking in the context of Dharamshala, Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh. Interviews …

Tourism In Raja Ampat: New Chances And Challenges, Chloe King

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study focuses on the ways in which the tourism industry in Raja Ampat has contributed to local livelihoods and encouraged the preservation of marine resources, looking specifically at the case of a dive operator and a volunteer tourism operation. The study illuminates the challenges that these operators face when engaging with the local community to protect the environment, and recommends more effective strategies for improving relations between tourism operators and the communities in which they reside. The study ultimately makes the case that the legacy of colonial rule in Western Papua must be a consideration in tourism planning, as …

Agrarian Reform In Sumber Klampok, Emma Trainor

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agrarian reform in Indonesia is part of a movement beginning after independence was gained in 1945. Farmers have been fighting to obtain rights to their land from a government that has a history of violence, repression, and corruption for decades. Environmental, indigenous peoples’, peasant, and agrarian movements were given a legitimate, legal framework to work within after 1960 when the Basic Agrarian Law was passed, protecting the rights of the people to their land. However, during both the Old Order and especially New Order regimes, the law was often ignored by the government, and many grassroots organizations had to work …

Pluralism And Religious Education In Bali: How Lack Of Implementation Of Educational Reform Threatens Indonesian Identity In The System Used To Construct It, Nikolai O. Birch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Indonesia’s education system was developed with the construction of the Indonesian as a cohesive people in mind. In doing so, the system adopted the practice of mandatory religious education as a means of developing the character of the Indonesian student through religion, a component imperative to the nation’s statehood. In the years and decades following, the education system, and subsequently its program of religious education, has been reformed and changed many times. This research attempts to look at how and why this changed system has struggled to implement these changes in the classroom, and why pluralism has been included in …

Environmental Education In Post-Green Revolution Punjab, Qing Fan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In India, environmental education (EE) became compulsory for Classes I-XII nationwide in 1991, with curricula designed by central and state governments. Meanwhile, in the interest of food security, the government-promulgated Green Revolution of the 1960s brought about commercial agriculture practices have led to environmental degradation, with negative impacts on farmers’ livelihoods. This paper presents a case study in a rural region in the state of Punjab, the heartland of the Green Revolution. Through interviews with students, teachers and community members as well as a review of school curricula, it seeks to understand how EE in schools is impacting the perceptions …

Munnar Plantation Strike, 2015: A Case Study Of Keralan Female Tea Workers’ Fight For Justice, Shoshana Levy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the southern state of Kerala, tea leaf pickers are nearly all women. They work 14 hour days, six days a week, rain or shine. What’s more, they earn the lowest minimum daily wage of any sector in the state, bringing home a meager average of Rs. 231 a day. With women constituting more than half of the workforce on tea plantations across India it is becoming increasingly crucial to understand the challenged, yet integral role they play. Through a case study of the Munnar Plantation Strike of 2015 - a strike organized by the Pempilai Orumai women, against the …

Gender Socialization In Chinese Schools: Teachers, Children And Gender Roles, Connor Swan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the first major social environment most children will encounter outside the family, school plays a pivotal role in the socialization of gender roles for young children. The aim of this research is to examine how young children learn and practice gender roles in Chinese school environments. In what ways do teachers and adults communicate messages about gender to children, and how do children receive and internalize these messages? What do teachers consciously intend to teach children about gender, and what do they unconsciously teach through their actions? Over the course of one month, I attended classes and observed teacher-student …

Berita Spring 2017, Eric C. Thompson

Berita

Table of Contents

Chair’s Address ... 2

Editor’s Foreword ... 3

John A. Lent Prize Commendation ... 4

Ronald Provencher Travel Grant Commendation ... 5

Announcements ... 5

“Democracy and Development at Risk” – A Panel Report (J. Saravanamuttu) ... 7

Field Report: Kebun Culture (E.C. Thompson) ... 11

Remembering J. Norman Palmer (C.A. Lockard) ... 16

Member Notes ... 17

The Jagori Rural Charitable Trust Model: Menstrual Education Of Women And Adolescent Girls In The Villages Of Rural Dharamsala, Madelon Morford

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Reproductive rights and education of women in rural communities is of lesser importance in India’s patriarchal society. Reproductive health is a conversation that is rarely discussed, and the health status of women is of little priority behind that of men and children’s health. Education about the health and hygiene of menstruation allows for women and adolescent girls to play a role in their own health maintenance, as well as normalizes the discussion of menstruation and reproductive health. Studying Jagori Rural Charitable Trust’s efforts to disseminate knowledge about reproductive health, with specific focus on menstruation, allows for an understanding of the …

A Review Of 57 Zone: A Social Media Network For Tb Consultation And Communication In Kunming, China, India Medaris

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Yunnan, a predominantly agricultural province in southwest China, is a province with a high rate of both tuberculosis (TB) and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB), with nearly 25,000 cases of pulmonary TB reported each year. Former TB/MDR TB patients in Yunnan, with the support of Family Health International 360 NGO (FHI) are trying to combat this problem. They have created a social media network for TB consultation and communication, 57 Zone, where TB patients can talk about their medication, adverse drug effects, and nutrition and psychosocial concerns. The goal of this study was the look at what aspects of the …

The Model Minority Myths: Racism And Sexism Against Asian-American Community, Yingda Guo 17

Honor Scholar Theses

This project aims to investigate the negative influences of the model minority stereotypes to Asian Americans. The model minority myth is the idea that members from a minority group with Asian heritages are considered to achieve a higher degree of educational and socioeconomic success than the average population. Asian Americans are usually perceived as model minorities who achieve high educational and socioeconomic success without many negative experiences in the U.S. However, a closer examination of the model minority myth indicates that this idea is quite generalized and misleading, which cannot stand for the diversity and complexity of Asian American experiences. …

From The Margins To The Frame: Social Identities And A “Pan-Pacific” Moana, Keara Sternberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper investigates the implications of Pacific representation and regional identity in Disney’s film, Moana. It evaluates if the film successfully represented a broad range of Pacific cultures and peoples. It weaves together 20 secondary sources, 8 interviews and 56 surveys. The sample population involved college-aged students from universities throughout the Pacific along with academic professionals and involved members of the Oceanic Story Trust. Overall, the study found that Moana successfully captured a pan-Pacific identity on several indicators, while it also found dissenting reactions toward the film by some respondents on measures of cultural representation. To Pacific students, Moana appears …