Asian Studies Commons^™

Research@Smu: Sustainable Living, Singapore Management University

Research Collection Office of Research

Sustainable Living is one of the three key priorities of the SMU 2025 Strategy, and the University is committed to develop it into an area of cross-disciplinary strength. The articles in this booklet highlight impactful sustainability research accomplishments at SMU, which spans five broad pillars: Sustainable Business Operations; Sustainable Finance and Impact Assessment; Sustainable Ageing and Wellness; Sustainable Urban Infrastructure; and Sustainable Agro-business and Food Consumption.

Contents:

Sustainable Business Operations

• Managing the Load on Loading Bays
• Going the Last-mile
• Feeding a Growing World
• Pooling the Benefits of Sharing a Ride

Sustainable Finance and Impact Assessment

• When Going Green Becomes a …

Seeing The Unseen: Bridging Realities Of Experience Through Dependent Origination, Shubham Sapkota

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Overall, this project looks into the problem and history of colonialism, the impact of it on the people and knowledge coming from South Asia, and offers an alternate view to understand our world. The notion of seeing the unseen acknowledges that there are facets of our day-to-day reality that we are often unaware of when thinking about our communities and ourselves. Yet, being able to fully acknowledge and understand the seen and unseen aspects of our community is necessary if we are to work towards improving our communities for the long run. By relying on the Buddhist teaching and discourse …

Vaccination Inequities Among Children 12-23 Months In India: An Analysis Of Inter-State Differences, Octavia K. Goodman, Abram L. Wagner, Dakota Riopelle, Joseph L. Mathew, Matthew L. Boulton

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background

Previous research has shown that socioeconomic and demographic risk factors in children are additive and lead to increasingly negative impacts on vaccination coverage. The goal of this study is to examine if different combinations of four risk factors (infant sex, birth order, maternal education level, and family wealth status) vary by state among children 12-23 months in India and to determine the impact of ≥ 1 risk factor on differences in state vaccination rates.

Methods

Using data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted in India between 2005 and 2006 (NFHS-3) and 2015-2016 (NFHS-4), full vaccination of children …

Smu Receives S$20 Million Landmark Gift From Family Of The Late Dr Yong Pung How, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

Singapore Management University (SMU) has received a significant gift of S$20 million towards the Yong Pung How School of Law (YPHSL). Generously gifted to SMU by Mrs Yong Wei Woo in Dr Yong’s honour, this gift forms part of the 15th anniversary celebrations of SMU’s law school, which was established in 2007. The announcement also coincides with the third anniversary of the passing of the late Dr Yong Pung How (11 April 1926 – 9 January 2020). The S$20 million gift will be used to establish a financial aid programme, a fellowship programme and a research fund.

Northeast Delhi Riots Of 2020: Contesting And (Re)Claiming The Western Media Narrative, Sumanth Inukonda

Publications and Research

The New Delhi Riots of 2020 dominated the news cycle for days, even as U.S. President Trump visited India. This article is based on news coverage of these riots during and immediately following their occurrence between February 23 and March 10, 2020. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, this article investigates the discourse on India and its minorities that frames the understanding of these riots to argue that Western media coverage betrays biases and contradictions. This article analyzes the varied alternative narratives of these riots in the Indian media, including secular and Hindu nationalist media, to critique the Western media narrative. This …

Exploring The Expansion Of Chinese Students In Thailand: Situations And Motivations, Kulnaree Nukitrangsan

Asian Review

This research had the following objectives: 1) To explore the situation of Chinese students in Thailand; and 2) To study the motivations of Chinese students to study in Thailand. This research was a qualitative study. Data were collected through a literature review, focus group discussions, and interviews. The study found that, in 2020, there were 14,423 Chinese students studying higher education in Thailand.  Most were from the southern China, but students from other parts of China are also appearing in greater numbers. There are many reasons why Chinese students choose to study abroad. For example, there is the lack of …

Chinese Diaspora And Cultural Heritage In Mueang Ubon, 1780 To 1918, Sutida Tonlerd, Nattapat Taecharungpaisan, Praphaphon Sasiprapa

Asian Review

This study has combined historical and anthropological methodologies. Historical process analysis has incorporated and analyzed historical documents, both primary and secondary sources. Anthropological study has been employed in field work, through observation, survey and interview. The study classifies the migration wave of Chinese to Mueang Ubon, into two periods as related to their cultural heritage. The first period was between 1780 and 1868 A.D. and the second between 1868 and 1918 A.D., both of which underlined the importance of the Chinese diaspora in bringing their various ways of life to the town. The article also emphasizes how the legacy of …

Lao Local Government, Sutida Tonlerd, Vethang Masong

Asian Review

Before the promulgation of the first constitution of the Lao state in 1991, Laos was perceived by a number of Thai scholars as barbaric and lawless. The information about Lao politics during the Cold War was very limited to the outside world. The objective of this article is to reflect on the political system from Lao perspectives by using the analysis of local government in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR). From 2 December 1975 onwards, historiography and document analysis suggest that Lao local government has been one mechanism in the structure of the state that moves towards socialism. It argues …

Democratization, Conflict And ‘Act East’ Policy: Challenges To Mediate Non-State Armed Actors Of Northeast India In Southeast Asia, Athikho Kaisii

Asian Review

Non-state actor in Northeast India is a pre-independence phenomenon, and with the exception of Assam, the seed of institutionalizing violence was sown prior to the formation of the states. In course of time non-state actor has turned into non-state armed actor. Experience has proved that the formation of states as the process of democratization is yet to soothe the conflict in the region. With this salient reality, “Act East” seen as a path-breaking policy with a multi-prong strategy aiming to overhaul the image of the Northeast through rebuilding India’s historical ties with Southeast Asia, needs to embed a viable action-oriented …

Cambodia Watching Down Under, Geoffrey Gunn

Asian Review

With Cambodia Watching Down Under published by the Institute of Asian Studies then under the direction of Dr. Khien Theeravit at a time when the push for conflict resolution to the “Cambodia problem” reached a critical mass, three decades later this article looks back at the reception and impact of the book in a double sense. First, the question is posed as to the relevance of the book already made partly redundant by the signing of the landmark Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia of October 23, 1991, several months after publication. Second, the article reflects upon the major thesis of …

From Government-Centric To People-Centered Government: A Reform Of The Administrative Services In Zhejiang Province, China (1992-2018), Orachorn Saechang

Asian Review

The government plays a critical role in providing public services and serving the interests of the public. However, the traditional government-centric mentality tends to prioritize what the government can do rather than considering the needs of the public. This article aims to explore the transformation of the Chinese government from a government-centric approach to a people-centric approach and evaluates the reform efforts. Based on a content analysis of both Chinese and English literature, this study reveals that the Zhejiang government has been engaged in a continuous administrative reform process since 1992, consisting of five distinct phases, leading to a gradual …

Book Review: Animal Care In Japanese Tradition: A Short History, James Stone Lunde

Asia Pacific Perspectives

No abstract provided.

Research On Chinese Language Education Policy And Chinese Language Education Development In Thailand, Mengyao Zeng

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Development of Chinese language Education in Thailand is highly typical, not only leading in global Chinese language education but also pioneering numerous firsts. Thailand was the first country to incorporate Chinese into its national education system, the first to invite Chinese language teacher volunteers from China, and the first to establish Confucius Classrooms. Over a century, Thai Chinese language education has experienced both prosperous "springs" and challenging "winters." In recent years, with the warming of Sino-Thai relations and the increased attention from the Thai Ministry of Education, the number of Mandarin learners has surged, marking a period of significant development …

Representation Of South Asia In American Television, Zahin Zaima

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Examining Gandhian Ideals And The Feminized National Allegory In R.K Narayan's Waiting For The Mahatma, Fatama Zarin Khanam

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the character of Bharati in R.K Narayan’s novel, Waiting for the Mahatma, as a prominent female figure of political agency and representation of the role Indian women took during the revolutionary movement. Yet, also argues that problems arise when the author uses a feminine character as a national allegory and represents her as “Mother India,” because it makes the category of woman homogenous, neglecting to recognize the intersectional identities that make the lives of women diverse and incomparable. Additionally, another aspect of this argument is that Narayan’s depiction of Bharati fits into …

Nuclear Weapons In Japanese Strategic Culture, Logan Joseph Douglas Campbell

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Acquiring nuclear weapons of its own has been inconsistent with Japan’s post-Cold War strategic culture, which is heavily based on an identity and associated norms grounded in nuclear pacifism. However, Japan’s strategic culture has been evolving with changing threat perceptions, eroding international nuclear nonproliferation norms, and declining confidence in US security guarantees. As Japan’s strategic culture shifts towards a more pragmatic interpretation of its national interests, acquiring nuclear weapons may become a more easily legitimized option, one that would be entirely consistent with a remilitarized strategic culture. Scholarship on Japanese strategic culture is vast but lacks a strategic culture explanation …

The Persistence Of Ethnopopulist Support: The Case Of Rodrigo Duterte's Philippines, Dean C. Dulay, Allen Hicken, Ronald Holmes

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The past few years have seen an emergence of populist leaders around the world, who have not only accrued but also maintained support despite rampant criticism, governance failures, and the ongoing COVID pandemic. The Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte is the best illustration of this trend, with approval ratings rarely dipping below 80 percent. What explains his high levels of robust public support? We argue that Duterte is an ethnopopulist who uses ethnic appeals in combination with insider vs. outsider rhetoric to garner and maintain public support. Moreover, we argue that ethnic affiliation is a main driver of support for Duterte, and …

Towards Smart Cities As Innovation Systems: The Case Of Macau Sar, Yujia He

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

Smart cities are emerging as major engines for deploying intelligent systems to enhance urban development and contribute to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The rise of smart city initiatives is not only seen in North America and Europe but also increasingly in Asia and across the developing world which faces rapid urbanization and technological change. Home to the UNU Institute in Macau, the city of Macau is a special administrative region (SAR) of China where “the East meets the West” in local governance, economy, and society. Our research article, recently published in the Journal of Urban Affairs, …

Postmaterialism And Corporate Tax Avoidance, Yujia Cui, Jiwei Wang, Kangtao Ye

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using a proprietary dataset of China tax audits, we found that firms owned by investors from countries with higher postmaterialism values were less likely to engage in tax-avoidance behavior in China. In addition, we found some evidence that the negative association between postmaterialism and tax avoidance is more pronounced when tax enforcement is stronger, indicating that national culture and formal institutions act as complements. To check the external validity of our main results, we further used a cross-country sample from 21 countries over 22 years. The evidence from the cross-country sample was consistent with the findings obtained from the China …

Pakistan, India And The Indus River Basin, Muquadas Ilyas

Dissertations and Theses

Water is a fundamental need of all living things. The right to clean water is classified as a human right under United Nations Resolution 64/292.As such it is the responsibility of governments to ensure its citizens are not deprived of this essential resource. In doing so, effective water management is crucial to provide clean water that is accessible to everyone regardless of any challenges such as geographical constraints or political disputes. This thesis explores the water management efforts of Pakistan and India. These countries are facing a water crisis, whereby numerous citizens have died due to dehydration and diseases contracted …