Asian Studies Commons^™

Key Factors In The Strategic Transformation Of Traditional Food Enterprises In China, Hui Ching Lau

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The food industry is an important industry for China’s social development and one of the pillar industries of China's industrial economy. With the development of China’s urbanization, the victory of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, consumer demand has become diversified and rationalized from “seeking for fullness” to “seeking for good”. In this context, the supplier of food products, that is, food companies, has become more competitive in market segments. With the continuous improvement of China's market openness, many top international food companies have flooded into the food industry. Coupled …

Power Allocation And Reform Efficiency: The Distortions In Urban Renovations In China, 1992-2012, Gang He

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The world has been paying close attention to the achievements of China's industrialization and urbanization since it started reform and opening up in 1978. However, there have been considerable controversies about the repetitive development plans in major Chinese cities and the rough demolition and reconstruction in old urban areas. Systematic explanations for the underlying causes and in-depth studies are limited, especially on the division of powers, responsibilities, and interests between the government and the market especially from 1992 to 2012, when old city reconstruction swept across China. This paper focuses on the temporal and regional differences in land property rights …

The Imaginary And Epistemology Of Disaster Preparedness: The Case Of Japan's Nuclear Safety Failure, Hiro Saito

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The Fukushima nuclear disaster was profoundly a man-made one, resulting from the organiza-tional failure of nuclear emergency preparedness. To fully understand the cause of this disaster, I propose to extend an organizational perspective on disasters into a macro-institutional perspec-tive on disaster preparedness. To this end, I borrow from science and technology studies the concepts of "sociotechnical imaginary" and "civic epistemology" to probe the deepest layers of meaning-making constitutive of disaster preparedness. I then apply these concepts to the history of nuclear energy in postwar Japan that was centered on the developmental state pursuing in-dustrial transformation. Specifically, I illustrate how the …

The Evolution Of Aid Protection: A Future Informed By Afghanistan, Tabitha Babcock

Capstone Collection

The need for protection during complex crises is unremitting. Studies spanning the past decade prove humanitarian aid workers are at great risk while working within conflict zones and insecure contexts. This influx is due to the proliferation of politicization of humanitarianism, donor involvement, and lack of communication between involved parties. This exploratory study uses longitudinal data collection by way of semi-structured qualitative interviews. The research examined how humanitarian workers’ need for protection, while providing aid to Afghanistan, will change the future of humanitarian response.

It was concluded that although in the past decade, on-site actors felt they had enough physical …

The Impact Of Innovation On The Performance Of Chinese Listed Companies, Shaoying Luo

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Company innovation has significant consequences for the macroeconomic development of the nation as well as serving as a guide for the creation of innovation strategies at the micro level of enterprises. But because the mechanism linking R&D inputs to firm success has not been completely explored, findings for various samples and sample intervals have varied greatly. Therefore, using the data of listed companies in China from 2009 to 2017 as the research sample, this paper introduces mediating and moderating variables to empirically analyze the mediating effect of innovation output in the correlation between R&D input and firm performance and the …

El Niño And The Human-Environment Nexus: Drought And Vulnerability In Singapore 1877-1911, Fiona Williamson

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This chapter brings a climatic perspective to the study of Singaporean history by exploring the impacts of the strong El Niño inspired droughts of 1877, 1902 and 1911. The narrative focuses on unpacking the nexus of nature-inspired versus human-induced vulnerability to drought within the contexts of colonial urbanisation and looks at the short-to medium-term impacts of the events on society. It also explores how such events inspired new questions about the climate and regional teleconnections, as a wealth of evidence became available due to the increasingly connected nature of scientific institutions, scientific literature, and communications systems across the Indian Ocean …

Limitation Period For Unjust Enrichment Claims, At The Claimant’S Expense, Lack Of Consent, Illegality, And Vindication Of Property Rights: Esben Finance Ltd And Others V Wong Hou-Lianq Neil, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Even though unjust enrichment has been recognised by English law for several decades, this branch of the law continues to be a highly contested area. Debate rages on with respect to many facets including the formal structure of the subject, the ambit of unjust factors and its relationship with the law of property. The decision of the Singapore Court of Appeal in Esben Finance Ltd and Others v Wong Hou-Lianq Neil (‘Esben Finance Ltd’) explores many of these difficult areas. In a wide-ranging judgment, Esben Finance Ltd covers an astonishing variety of issues namely limitation period, at claimant’s expense, illegality, …

Conclusion: Comparing Women's Representation In Asian Parliaments, Devin K. Joshi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This chapter explains important findings from this study while identifying common trends across Asia and the sub-regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. It examines to what degree Asian parliamentarians have prioritized substantive representation of women (SRW). It assesses whether SRW was a primary reason or motivation behind why members of parliament (MPs) entered politics in the first place and whether they viewed SRW as a pressing issue for their governments to address. MPs interviewed in this study expressed what they felt were the most important issues today that need government’s attention. MPs were asked whether they make …

The Exchange Rate System Reform In China: Some Important Results, Paul S. L. Yip, Yiu Kuen Tse, Yingjie Dong

Research Collection School Of Economics

We provide a review and empirical study on the exchange rate system reform in China. In the initial stage of the reform the Chinese central bank PBoC's implicit promise of gradual appreciation helped to contain the appreciation rate and volatility of the renminbi. Subsequently, under US pressure for faster appreciation and hence the PBoC's moderate violation of the implicit promise, there was a significant rise in the appreciation rate and the volatility of the renminbi. The moderate violation deteriorated further, forming a vicious cycle of speculative flows and faster exchange rate changes. Upon the onset of the global financial crisis …

A Chinese Perspective, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Many factors have been driving regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific in the past two decades, but the main driving force in the past decade has been the strategic competition between the two biggest powers in the region — the United States and China. This paper discusses the Chinese perspective of how the US-China strategic competition has shaped regional economic cooperation, along with the disruptions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. It concludes with some thoughts on post-pandemic economic cooperation in the region.

Realising Contingent Religious Subjects Through Relational Spaces Of Missionary Encounter, Orlando Woods

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper explores the ways in which the religious subject can be a contingent position that is responsive to the broader socio-religious context within which it is expressed. These contingencies are acutely observed amongst short-term missionaries (STM), who seek out encounters with difference in pursuit of a more cosmopolitan subjectivity. Yet, whilst spaces of missionary encounter are inherently relational, the missions literature has tended to downplay the effects of relationality on the realisation of these subject positions. By focussing on the experiences of Singaporean missionaries working amongst Christian communities in Southeast Asia, I contribute a more nuanced and less predetermined …

Substantive Representation Of Women In Asian Parliaments, Devin K. Joshi, Christian Echle

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Combining data from nearly 100 interviews with national parliamentarians from ten Asian countries, the contributors to this book analyze and evaluate the advancement of gender equality in Asia. As of the year 2022, no country in Asia has gender parity in its parliament. Meanwhile, the proportion of national-level women parliamentarians in Asia averages a mere 20%. What is more important than simple descriptive representation, however, is whether outcomes for women are improving. Rather than focusing on numerical representation, the chapters in this book focus on the substantive representation of women. In other words, what do women and men parliamentarians do …

Inflation Expectations Can Be A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Aurobindo Ghosh, Khyati Chauhan, Muskan Bagrodia

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In a commentary, SMU Assistant Professor of Finance (Education) Aurobindo Ghosh, SMU postgraduate student and Research Assistant for the SInDEx Project Muskan Bagrodia and International Monetary Fund Economic Research Assistant Khyati Chauhan weighed in on why inflation expectations matter as much as economic data. They discussed how inflation expectations can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, and shared the key takeaways of the quarterly DBS-Sim Kee Boon Institute’s Singapore Index of Inflation Expectations (DBS-SKBI SInDEx) survey. They concluded that effective communication on inflation control measures, in addition to credible policy decisions, will help consumers feel assured and refrain from basing purchasing decisions …

The Rise Of Asian American Discrimination During The Covid 19 Pandemic, Kelsey June Ramstad, Monifah Erykah Darsaw, William Wesley Phillips, Joshua Natkin

Immigration Scholarship: History, Trends and Development in Global Immigration

Since the start of the pandemic, there has been an increase in discrimination and prejudice against the cultures and identities of Asian Americans. The United States has a long history of discrimination against Asian American immigrants predating the Civil War, from People vs. Hall to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The modern-day effects have even spread to social media, as shown in an article consisting of a group study of 274 Americans. This paper seeks to uncover the causes and effects of the rise in discrimination against Asian Americans that affects their culture, identity, and diaspora. The paper also …

Work Conditions And Problems Of Former Care Workers After Returned To Indonesia, Eldwita Nofrelia

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

Based on Indonesian-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA), Indonesia sends some nurses (perawat) who would be employed either as hospital nurses (perawat rumah sakit) or as care workers for the elderly (perawat lansia). Nurses who work in Japanese hospitals are required to meet Japanese nursing standards, through a competency test of Japanese nursing standards. This article discusses how Indonesian care workers adapt to working conditions while being in Japan and about the problem of nurses with Indonesian qualifications working with Japanese competency standards. This study is qualitative research using a survey method. The data collection technique used in this study was …

Summary Report Of Discussions At The Forum “Nepali Diaspora Organizations In North America: Achievements, Opportunities, And Challenges”, Coppell, Texas, Usa July 2022, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

The forum “Nepali Diaspora Organizations in North America: Achievements, Opportunities and Challenges” was held at the annual convention of the Association of Nepalis in the Americas (ANA) in Coppell, TX, USA on July 2, 2022. Nepalese Society of Texas (NST) hosted the convention and forum. As studies related to diaspora have become important topics in the fields of development, community culture, sociology and anthropology, ANA decided to include this topic in the forums organized at the national convention.

The global Nepali diaspora population in 2022 is estimated at 800,000. Although no authoritative statistics is available, the Nepali diaspora in North …

Riverine Plastic Pollution In Asia: Results From A Bibliometric Assessment, Peter Yang

Faculty Scholarship

Rivers are important ecosystems, vital to the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of humans and other species. Despite their environmental, social, and economic importance, current use of rivers is unsustainable, due to a combination of solid waste and high levels of pollutants. Plastic materials are among the most predominant of such pollutants. Based on the need for additional research in this area, this study examines pressures put to rivers and explores trends related to riverine plastic pollution, with a focus on Asia. Apart from the bibliometric analysis, and relying on the collected information, examples describing the drivers of riverine plastic …

Keynote Address: Building Excellence In Higher Education: Singapore's Experience, Arnoud De Meyer

17th AUNILO Meeting 2022

Using the research done on higher education in Singapore, he identified some drivers of the success of higher education: a system that is fit for purpose, a signification investment in R&D, good governance, active learning from overseas partners, and flexibility in implementation. The future challenges that higher education could face included: the role of technology, the changing nature of work, jobs and careers, the challenge of life-long learning, and translating research into innovation.

China: The Next Big Market For Soft-Branded Hotels?, Elisa Ka-Yan Chan

Perspectives@SMU

A wave of deal-making in China’s hotel investment sector is expected to encourage more independent hotels to rebrand as chain affiliates

Older Adult Healthcare Utilization Patterns And Receptiveness Towards Healthier Sg Initiative, Micah Tan, Grace Cheong, Wensi Lim, Paulin T. Straughan

ROSA Research Briefs

The Healthier SG (HSG) initiative was launched by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung in March 2022. HSG marks a distinct departure from existing healthcare models as under this new initiative, greater emphasis is placed on preventive healthcare rather than reactive treatments. This shift in approach is envisioned to have a significant influence on the healthcare system in Singapore – for instance, by focusing on “health care” rather than on “sick care” it is hoped by some that this new model will discourage the ‘over-service’ of patients by doctors in Singapore (Lim, 2022). An integral component of the HSG initiative is …