Asian Studies Commons^™

Development And Mental Health Care Services: A Case Study At Rtccd, Hanoi, Michelle Lafortune

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Vietnam’s rapid development since 1986 has had both positive and negative impacts on Vietnam’s mental health services. A health system was put into place and is expanding to overcome many challenges. Conversely, development has also brought with it new amenities and technologies that, in some cases, are being abused – one such is example is video games. As Vietnam deals with disturbing violent video game related episodes, parents and community members are searching for answers. This study project focuses on understanding the mental health care system in Vietnam and its current growth and advances. Three weeks were spent in Hanoi, …

Nông Thôn Mới And Rural Development In The Mekong Delta: A Comparative Study Of Bàu Môn And Hòa Phụng C Hamlets, Alex Lintz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Vietnam’s Nông Thôn Mới or New Rural Development program is a relatively new target program introduced in 2010. As of yet there has been little research done on its effects on the economies in rural areas. This paper attempts to analyze the economic situation in the Bàu Môn and Hòa Phụng C hamlets with a particular emphasis placed on income and factors that affect income in terms of Vietnam’s Nông Thôn Mới or New Rural Development program. In order to assess the economic situation in the hamlets, a survey was administered to 25 participants in each hamlet and leaders from …

Evaluating The Effectivesness Of Information Sources Regarding Hiv Among Gold Miners In Quảng Nam, Noah Landesberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Young migrant males in strenuous manual labor environments represent a high-­‐risk population for the transmission of HIV/AIDS. In Vietnam, gold miners are representative of this high-­‐risk population. Phước Sơn district, Quảng Nam province is home to much of Vietnam’s mining activity and has a comparatively high rate of HIV. Previous studies have been done on HIV/AIDS prevalence in Quảng Nam as well as related knowledge and practices. This analysis of a 2014 questionnaire examines the effects of varying information sources on HIV/AIDS knowledge. The sample of workers was mostly male and between 25 and 49 years old. Migrants made up …

Food And Identity Formation Among Jain Laywomen, Kristin Mcconnell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Jains are a small but influential minority community in India. Their religion is structured around the concept of ahimsa, the strict adherence to nonviolence in one’s every under taking. The ideal Jain diet does the least amount of harm to both oneself and one’s environment, including plants and microscopic organisms. Many foods — including meat, honey, alcohol, and underground vegetables — are forbidden. While Jain philosophy is adamant about avoiding foods that are obtained through violence, it says little about the perspectives and lifestyles of those most often charged with maintaining this diet: Jain laywomen. Because these women are …

Visionaries, Architects And Pioneers: Conceptualising Smu, Pin Pin Yeo, Patricia Meyer

Research Collection Library

The Singapore Management University (SMU) Library was tasked with documenting the early history of SMU by the chairman of its board of trustees. An oral history project to interview the pioneers involved in the formation of the university began in 2011. The project team included the Library, the Information Technology department, and a researcher/interviewer who was familiar with SMU. It was a steep learning curve for the team. As they conducted and processed the interviews, they learned about and made decisions on interviewing, recording, transcribing, storage, website design, discoverability, usability, and sustainability. The resulting oral history website presents the interviews …

The Vientiane Report: National Landscape, Current Challenges And Opportunities For Growt, Institute For Societal Leadership, Lai Cheng Lim

Institute of Societal Leadership Research Collection

Laos is a small, landlocked, mountainous country in Southeast Asia. As a country, it shares borders with Myanmar and the People’s Republic of China to the Northwest, Vietnam to the East, Cambodia to the South and Thailand to the West.

The Dili Report: National Landscape, Current Challenges And Opportunities For Growth, Institute For Societal Leadership, Lai Cheng Lim

Institute of Societal Leadership Research Collection

Timor-Leste, Asia’s newest nation, is located in Southeast Asia, on the southernmost edge of the Indonesian archipelago. The country was colonised by the Portuguese for over 450 years, occupied by the Indonesians for 24 years and administered by the United Nations for two and a half years. As a nation, Timor-Leste has had a very traumatic birth.

Singing With A Sanxian: A Study Of The Principal Instrument In Bai Musical Tradition , Christian Stanbrook

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Bai people, a minority group in the People’s Republic of China numbering at least 1.8 million, are heavily concentrated in Yunnan Province’s Dali Autonomous Prefecture. Music has historically been a significant part of Bai culture, as Bai musicians across the region enjoy performing Baizu diao, or popular Bai folk tunes, in the form of singing or on various instruments. These diao, or melodies, often describe the lifestyle of Bai people and the region in which they live in and are commonly performed on a threestringed member of the lute family called a sanxian. This study uncovers both the history …

Evaluating Current Management Of Drug-Resistanttuberculosis In Mumbai, India, Meryl Kus

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research was aimed at analyzing the current state of drug resistant tuberculosis in Mumbai and how effectively different actors in the realm of public health are managing DR-TB. The methods for this project involved a variety of semi-structured interviews as well as field observation. Key findings show a very present and largely negative private sector influence, effective NGO models for disease control, a burden of DR-TB/HIV comorbidity, and a rapid increase to transmission-based spread of DR-TB. Key implications of conclusions include the necessity of increasing the private sector’s compliance with WHO standards, adaptation of community and education based NGO …

Media For The Masses The Usage Patterns And Social Consequences Of A Mobile-Phone Based Citizen Journalism Platform In Madhya-Pradesh , Sarah Corsa

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In a country as diverse and hierarchical as India, certain marginalized populations are bound to be excluded from the mainstream media. In particular, the adivasi and lower caste populations in rural regions receive either no representation or biased coverage. CGNet Swara, a citizen journalism initiative, seeks to remedy these disparities by utilizing cellphone technology to report and distribute news in the Central Gondwana region. Each citizen with a cellphone in his or her hand, regardless of religion, caste, age or literacy level, can disseminate information he or she sees as valuable by leaving a voice recording at a certain number. …

Autism Spectrum Disorder In An Indian Context: Impact Of Socioeconomic Factors On The Experiences Of Individuals With Asd And Their Families, Kendall Harman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

While Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition that appears in comparable rates across social, ethnic and geographic groups, the quality and quantity of ASD-related resources and services is significantly lower in developing countries, including India. Moreover, sociocultural factors play a major role in the experiences of people with ASD. Yet, the bulk of ASD-related research has been conducted in developed countries. This study aimed to examine how social, cultural, political and economic factors impact the experiences of people with ASD living in India and their families. Seventeen parents of children with ASD were interviewed, and semi-structured observations of different …

Index-Based Insurance And Risk Management Among Nomadic Mongolian Herders , Kelsey Larson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mongolian herders must contend with the risk of dzuds, harsh winters that can kill large numbers of livestock. To do so, they use a mixture of formal financial tools and traditional risk mitigation techniques. This paper is a study of the interaction between the Mongolian Index-based Livestock Insurance Program and traditional informal risk mitigation techniques. The researcher interviews herders in Bulgan soum, Arhangai aimag and Galuut soum, Bayanhongor aimag to compare the IBLI program’s impact in a community that has had IBLI since 2006 and one that only received IBLI in 2012. This study finds that insurance purchase is positively …

Nepali Corporate Culture Of Giving: Investigating Practices Of Corporate Social Responsibility, Taylor Knoop

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this research is to explore corporate Nepal’s definition of corporate social responsibility (CSR), how these definitions influence corporations’ activities and the motivation and rationale behind giving. Multiple factors are impacting the practice of CSR, such the historical influence, personality of industry sector, post-conflict recovery efforts, and trust and transparency in giving. However, corporations’ definition of CSR contradicts the type and level of activities they engage in. The rhetoric is often stronger than the action undertaken, although there is slight trend towards a more incorporated social responsible business model, particularly in the financial and tourism industries. The primary …

Financial Literacy And Financial Inclusion Of Women In Rural Rajasthan, Emily Levi-D'Ancona

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Financial inclusion is an important step in development, as access to finances can help the poor build money and lift themselves out of poverty. In many parts of the developing world, and especially in India, microfinance is seen as a new approach to fighting poverty by bringing financial services, including low-interest loans, to the poor so that they can afford to start a business or invest and eventually gain self-sufficiency – in other words, a method of financial inclusion for the poor. However, microfinance in India cannot sufficiently reach the poor populations, especially those in rural India, and many of …

Exploring The Preservation Of Pastoralism And The Natural World In Western Mongolia , Josephine Brownell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

At a time when Mongolia is experiencing the intense effects of land degradation, human activity, and climate change, it is crucial that a new land management framework is developed with conservation in mind. Pastoralism’s unique relationship with the land serves as a method of protecting the natural world for the future. This study focuses on a pastoral community in Western Mongolia while considering a main research question: Is a herder’s historically deep connection with the land enough to protect the modern pastoral lifestyle in Mongolia for years to come? In answering this question, a review of related previous studies on …

An Examination Of Governmental And Nongovernmental Organizations In Nepal: A Partnership In Managing And Eliminating Waste In The Solukhumbu, Kristen Kelliher

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study, examined whether governmental organizations and nongovernmental organizations in Nepal can effectively work together on eliminating trash and establishing waste management systems in the Solukhumbu region. Historically, the overwhelming presence of discarded items has detracted from tourists’ enjoyment of the Himalayas as well as caused severe environmental ramifications. In the last twenty years however, NGOs and GOs have begun to work together to address these issues and this project looks at whether their working relationship is effective as they often have different objectives and methodology for reaching those goals. Conducting ten personal interviews, visiting GOs and NGOs in Sagarmatha …

Women's Health And Abortion Culture In China: Policy, Perception And Practice , Naomi Bouchard

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since China’s implementation of the Family Planning Policy in 1973, much research has been dedicated to analyzing the effects of a policy that strictly controls the reproductive lives of a population now comprisedof 1.35 billion people. Analyses focus on the rise of abortions in China, now at an annual rate of at least 13 million, but offer little insight into the perceptions of the population in regard to China’s new abortion culture. This study aims to shed light on current perceptions through a range of in-person, qualitative interviews conducted in Kunming, China. The study is limited to a sample size …

Economic Equity In The Annapurna Conservation Area: Effects Of Government And Community-Based Organizations, Hanna Seltz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research addresses the impact of community-based and government organizations on rural livelihoods in protected areas (PAs) by investigating whether benefits of such organizations involved in conservation and community development reach more marginalized members of communities in the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) of Nepal. I conduct a case study focusing on two villages within ACA, Kagbeni and Phalyek, examining how local groups interact with each other and with the government in trying to promote equity through the ACA Project primarily through indepth, unstructured interviews. Locally-created and locally-based groups in these communities appear to be successful in managing local resources and …

Siemens Industry Software Pte Ltd V Lion Global Offshore Pte Ltd [2014] Sghc 251: Further Issues In Contractual Formation And Duress, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

For a second time in a month, the High Court decision of Siemens Industry Software Pte Ltd v Lion Global Offshore Pte Ltd [2014] SGHC 251 (“Siemens Industry Software”) gives us valuable guidance on the application of trite principles of contractual formation to a practical fact pattern. The case also discussed whether enforcing one’s legal right can ever amount to duress.

Beyond The Digital Divide: Language Factors, Resource Wealth, And Post-Communism In Mongolia, Undrah Baasanjav

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

This chapter explores the interplay between society and Internet technology in the context of the developing former socialist country of Mongolia. This chapter goes beyond questions of access to the Internet and explores three factors of the global digital divide. First, this chapter explores how language factors such as non-Roman domain names and the use of the Cyrillic alphabet exacerbate the digital divide in the impoverished country of Mongolia. ICANN’s initiation of international domain names is an initial development toward achieving linguistic diversity on the Internet. Second, this chapter explores how post-communist settings and foreign investment and aid dependency afflict …

China And Central Asia's Transnational Concerns Require Multilateral Solutions, Blake Tobin

HIM 1990-2015

After seven decades of regional domination, the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 put the whole continent in a state of political and economic uncertainty. The sudden absence of a strong, yet generally predictable hegemon initiated an intense debate centered on whether or not the rise of China posed a grave threat to the region or whether it would bring stability and cohesion to the region. After 23 years of observation, it is now safe to presume that China does not pose a military threat to the region. Simply because China does not have expansionist or aggressive political …

The Sacrality Of The Mountain, Manuel Rivera Espinoza

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I explore the conception of the mountain as a "sacred space" based on the definition provided by Mircea Eliade in The Sacred and The Profane and other works. I recognize three major elements in Eliadean sacral spatiality: a) order and orientation b) liminality and c) reality. Using various sources but mainly the oracle bones inscriptions, the Yugong ("Tributes of Yu") of the Shujing ("Book of Documents") and the Shanjing ("Classic of Mountains") of the Shanhaijing ("Classic of Mountains and Seas"), I demonstrate how the three basic components of sacrality are to be found in each of the …

Was Singapore Airlines Liable For Business-Class Seats Sold At Economy Rates?, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Much has been reported about Singapore Airlines (“SIA”) mistakenly charging economy rates for around 900 business-class seats due to a computer input error. Yesterday, SIA said that it would honour those tickets at economy rates, reversing its previous position that it would not, and closing the episode on a note of goodwill. This blog entry explores the legal analysis behind the episode on the assumption that Singapore contract law applies, so as to maintain its general relevance to a Singaporean audience and its specific application to online retailers concerned about making similar pricing errors. Of course, the analysis would differ …

R1 International Pte Ltd V Lonstroff Ag [2014] Sgca 56: Lessons In Contractual Formation, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The rules relating to contractual formation are easy to state but difficult to apply in the varied circumstances of practice. It is therefore helpful that the recent Court of Appeal decision of R1 International Pte Ltd v Lonstroff AG [2014] SGCA 56 (“R1 International”) provides much guidance in this area of the law.

R1 International concerned whether a set of terms to arbitrate in Singapore, found in a detailed contract note sent by the appellant to the respondent shortly after their deal (“the deal”) was concluded, was incorporated as part of the contract between the parties. The answer …

Consumer Acceptance And Willingness To Pay For Genetically Modified Rice In China: A Double Bounded Dichotomous Choic Contingent Valuation Survey Calibrated By Cheap Talk, Jing Jin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Considering population growth, limitations on land and water resources, and contamination to the ecosystem due to agricultural activities, current rice production in China is facing pressure to fulfill national demand. Self-sufficiency of rice has been a long-held political objective of the Chinese government and it is national goal to maintain the equilibrium between the national production and consumption or even achieve a supply surplus in rice. With the developing bio-technology of genetic modification (GM), scientists believe that using genetically modified cultivars may ease the pressure mentioned above. However, both the government and the people are very cautious about large-scale cultivation …

Introduction To Issue On Education For A Tolerant And Multicultural Indonesia, Lyn Parker, Chang Yau Hoon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity is intrinsic to the concept of Indonesia. The national motto of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, often translated as ‘Unity in Diversity’, though more directly translatable as ‘Diverse but One’, is emblazoned on the national symbol, the Garuda, which appears in classrooms, offices, statues and even living rooms all around the country. Indonesia has long enjoyed the reputation of a diverse and tolerant country. However, after the fall of Suharto in May 1998, it seemed to erupt in a conflagration of violence. Religious and ethnic conflicts alerted both citizens and scholars of Indonesia to the danger of …

Executive Overreach By Minority Governments, Madhav S. Aney, Shubhankar Dam

Research Collection School Of Economics

A provision in the Indian constitution allows the executive to make laws in the event oneof the two houses of parliament is not in session. This provision was intended to allow theexecutive to act in case there’s an immediate legislative necessity and the parliament cannotbe convened. Using a bargaining model with asymmetric information we show how partieswithin the parliament may reach an agreement on legislations when the ruling party does notcommand a majority (minority government). The model makes predictions about lawmakingpatterns by the legislature when the parliament is in session, and ordinances by the executivewhen the parliament is not in …

God And Discipline: Religious Education And Character Building In A Christian School In Jakarta, Chang Yau Hoon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

A school is an institution in which student subjectivity is constituted and reinscribed through various 'disciplinary technologies'. The interplay between discipline and discipleship in the practice of Christian education is mutually constitutive. Through the study of a Protestant Christian school in Jakarta, this article explains the disciplinary technologies deployed by the school in its inculcation of discipline and character building. By examining the school's religious education practices the study provides insight into the perceptions of the school management, teachers and students with regard to various ethical, moral and religious issues. The author considers how Christian schools can develop critical reflective …

Young People's Attitudes Towards Inter-Ethnic And Inter-Religious Socializing, Courtship And Marriage In Indonesia, Lyn Parker, Chang Yau Hoon, Raihani Raihani

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper presents the attitudes of high school students in Indonesia towards inter-ethnic and inter-religious socializing, courtship and marriage. It also explores how different personal characteristics and social conditions such as gender, ethnicity, type of school and community affect these attitudes. The basic findings come from a survey of more than 3,000 students in senior high schools in five provinces of Indonesia: Jakarta, Yogyakarta, West Sumatra, Central Kalimantan and Bali. Survey data were supplemented with data from interviews and focus group discussions with students and from participant observation in and around the same schools. The authors found that most students …

Rbc Properties Pte Ltd V Defu Furniture Pte Ltd [2014] Sgca 62: Restatement Of Law Relating To Misrepresentation In Singapore, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The recent Court of Appeal decision of RBC Properties Pte Ltd v Defu Furniture Pte Ltd [2014] SGCA 62 (“RBC Properties”) contains an invaluable restatement of the law relating to misrepresentation in Singapore. This entry aims only to summarise that restatement of law. The interested reader may find the facts of the case succinctly discussed by the Court of Appeal in its judgment here and also in this blog entry on the High Court decision.