Asian Studies Commons^™

Strong, Cohesive Leadership Must Emerge From Cabinet Rejig, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan opined that “a total of 13 ministries having new ministers in two Cabinet reshuffles within a span of nine months is significant” and “these significant moves underscore not only the urgency of leadership renewal and succession, but also the need for certainty and confidence as Singapore transitions to the 4G leadership which will coincide with the post-Covid era”. He highlighted the need for a strong, cohesive leadership to emerge from the Cabinet reshuffle amid these exceptional times, as he believes that “a leadership that can galvanise the people will enable …

Enhancing Cultural Intelligence And Digital Literacy In Accounting Education: Insights From A University’S Global Student Consulting Programme, Clarence Goh, Yuanto Kusnadi, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Recent literature has advocated for the use of project based learning to engage students in active learning. This study examines how students’ learning of cultural intelligence and digital literacy are enhanced through an overseas project-based learning (PBL) programme at a Singapore University (UNIS), called the UNIS-XO pedagogy. Specifically, this study provides a framework through which students, faculty members, and industry partner can collaborate through consulting programs with the aim to provide feasible recommendations to the clients. Our findings suggest that an experiential PBL with an overseas client is an important learning experience through which students can strengthen their digital literacy …

Impact Assessment And Measurement With Sustainable Development Goals, Hao Liang, David Fernandez, Mikkel Larsen

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

With the rapid growth of sustainable and responsible investment and widespread adoption of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting and integration by organizations, how to assess and measure ESG impact has become a critical issue. Although the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a useful framework for investors and organizations globally to align their standards, the SDGs are vague on how to implement them at an organizational or activity level. Current practice relies heavily on third-party ESG rating providers, whose scores mostly apply to public equities only. They also suffer from biases, inconsistencies, and a lack of sufficient disclosure. …

Tackling Regional Climate Change And Food Security Issues: An Introduction, Md. Saidul Islam, Edson Kieu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Regional organizations are central to effectively addressing the current and future impacts of climate change and food security issues. Climate change and food security issues can only be dealt with through extensive policies that adopt a multi-sector, multi-stakeholder approach. An examination of three regional organizations (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Pacific Islands Forum, and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) can provide new insights into current climate change mitigation policies that will ensure food security for future generations. This opening chapter thus begins with the premise that regional organizations are optimally positioned to address climate change and …

Tips For Sme Transformation Amid Covid-19 Pandemic, Siow-Heng Ong

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The author shared that following the economic downturn in 2020, revival in 2021 can only be very gradual. SMEs in different sectors of the economy face different challenges and have different options for response. Overall, SMEs are hopeful rather than confident. SMEs are generally hoping to manage cash flow and stretch their current funds for immediate business sustainability. Inevitably, their focus is on meeting critical business needs. Turnover and profits are not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels so any increase in hiring or other planning for the future will be slight. He suggested that for pragmatic managers of SMEs …

Nomadic Life Archiving Across Platforms: Hyperlinked Storage And Compartmentalized Sharing, Yang Wang, Sun Sun Lim

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

People are today located in media ecosystems in which a variety of ICT devices and platforms coexist and complement each other to fulfil users’ heterogeneous requirements. These multi-media affordances promote a highly hyperlinked and nomadic habit of digital data management which blurs the long-standing boundaries between information storage, sharing and exchange. Specifically, during the pervasive sharing and browsing of fragmentary digital information (e.g. photos, videos, online diaries, news articles) across various platforms, life experiences and knowledge involved are meanwhile classified and stored for future retrieval and collective memory construction. For international migrants who straddle different geographical and cultural contexts, management …

Indian Media Narratives In Gang Rape, Astha Bhandari

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Violence against women is a worldwide phenomenon, and while brutal crimes shock us, it is nothing exceptional. This social construction of violence against women is displayed through the media's language. The language then portrays structures of power dynamics, fueling patriarchal discourse, where masculinity becomes the king, and femininity denigrated, birthing a rape culture. This study explores the impact of media reporting of gang rape cases of women in India and investigates the media reporting of nine different gang rape cases, post 2012 Delhi gangrape.

The research looks to identify the media semantics used in portraying the victims in the print …

Focus On The Busy Intersections Of Culture And Cultural Change, Laura Elder

Journal of Global Catholicism

The dynamics of religious resurgence reveal the important ways that religious ritual and performance are meaning making spaces which are not self-contained or cut off from the rest of culture, but rather are a key locus of cultural change. A renewed emphasis on the busy intersections of meaning making – as rituals are connected, disconnected, and reconnected to other domains of social life – would improve the utility of the Catholics & Cultures website for understanding global cultural change. And a renewed emphasis on cultural change would also provide a better means for exploring reflexively by seeking to understand both …

A Widened Angle Of View: Teaching Theology And Racial Embodiment, Mara Brecht

Journal of Global Catholicism

Today’s undergraduate students are digital natives, shaped by constant access to information and countless experiences of encountering the world through the convenience of a screen. The ostensible comfort students have with difference gives way to a paradox, and one that’s made especially apparent in the theology classroom: Students are comfortable with seeing difference and particularity at a distance, but not adept at locating difference and particularity “at home.” I contend that Catholics & Cultures can help students from the dominant culture—namely, white students who comprise the vast majority of Catholic college students—destabilize their notion of the Catholic tradition as tightly …

Abenomics’ Effect On Gender Inequality In Japanese Society And The Workplace, Arianna C. Johnson

Honors College Theses

In this study, I determine the extent to which Japan’s shrinking workforce population has been affected by gender roles. Many Asian countries are experiencing a prominent decline in birth rate and population, which has increased global interest in these issues. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Japanese government officials have eagerly responded, pushing Japanese women into the labor force as a possible solution. However, this decision has unanticipated drawbacks, which require officials to address Japanese women’s concerns in and outside of the workplace. I argue that the Japanese government will have more success by addressing these needs, creating a more gender-equal …

Us Media’S Coverage Of China’S Handling Of Covid-19: Playing The Role Of The Fourth Branch Of Government Or The Fourth Estate?, Wenshan Jia, Fangzhu Lu

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The present study is an analysis of a sample of reports on China’s handling of COVID-19 by several major US media with a focus on a controversial op-ed by the Wall Street Journal. It is found that instead of covering it objectively as a public health crisis, these media reports tend to adopt the strategy of naming, shaming, blaming, and taming against China. In other words, they seize the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan as an opportunity to serve Trump’s “America First” doctrine by a coordinated attempt to destroy the Chinese dream and arresting China’s ascendency. First, the naming/shaming …

Covid-19 Pandemic And Opportunities For Digitalisation Of Smes, Yuanto Kusnadi, Gary Pan

Perspectives@SMU

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about disruptions in all sectors of economy. With lockdown being implemented in most of the countries around the world, it has necessitated changes in the business models of SMEs. A glaring area of business opportunity focuses on online business. For instance, retailers who do not yet have an online presence or have not been paying much attention to conducting sales online were caught off-guard during the circuit breaker period which has resulted in decreased footfall and plummeting sales in most physical stores. Therefore, having an online retail presence has become critical for businesses, as they …

Digital Learning And Innovative Possibilities From The Pandemic As Part Of Singapore Management University (Smu) Libraries’ Digital Transformation, Rajendra Munoo

Research Collection Library

No abstract provided.

Customer Satisfaction Index Of Singapore 2020: Full Year Overview, 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 and across countries. The fourth quarter results mark the end of measurement for CSISG 2020. Singapore’s 2020 national score was computed using the data collected during these four quarters.

Haptic Heritage And The Paradox Of Provenance Within Singapore's Cottage Food Businesses, Orlando Woods, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper offers a “more-than-representational” understanding of how heritage value is reproduced by cottage food businesses in Singapore. It advances the notion of haptic heritage to highlight the importance of touch and feel in inculcating food with a sense of heritage value. Haptic heritage is reproduced through the physical handling of ingredients in ways that contribute to more “authentic” products. However, it also foregrounds food production processes that are more tactile, time-consuming and thus unscalable than their automated counterparts. Accordingly, the reproduction of haptic heritage is becoming increasingly unviable in Singapore’s competitive economic landscape. These ideas are explored through a …

Regional Economic Impacts Of China's High-Speed Rail Development And Its Institutional Challenges, Hankun Zhao

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This article studies the impact of connecting to high-speed rail (HSR) network on regional development and the replication and sustainability of China’s GIUR system, aiming to summarize the experience of China’s HSR, which can provide several policy references for developing countries. This article conducts two research: (1) explore the impact of connecting to HSR network on the urban industrial structure, urban creativity and urban-rural income gap of cities in different regions and cities with heterogeneous locations along the HSR lines in the long and short term; (2) explore the advantages and disadvantages of the Government-Industry-University-Research (GIUR) system in the process …

Wto Reform: A China Round, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Since its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), China's exports have been growing exponentially. In 2009, China became the world's top goods exporter. Four years later, China unseated the United States as the top trading nation in the world. In contrast to the burgeoning Chinese economy, the United States and Europe have been suffering from economic decline since the global financial crisis in 2008. China regards its rise as a long overdue restoration of its rightful position, as it has been the largest economy in the world for most of its history, except the brief aberration over the past …

Data Regulation In Trade Agreements: Different Models And Options Ahead, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

“Data is the new oil”. Just like oil, which powered the economy in the last century, data are what moves the world today. This is especially true for international trade. The crucial role played by data can be observed at every step of the process, from the conception of a new product and the sourcing of raw materials and parts, to the manufacturing process and the transportation of products across borders, until they finally reach the hands of consumers from every corner of the world.

Examining The Impact Of Logistics On Military Strength Among East Asian Nations Using Data Envelopment Analysis, Meaghan E. Crandell

Theses and Dissertations

The current narrative in logistics revolves around modernization and the rapid development and deployment of capabilities, which is a sentiment echoed across the Air Force and the DoD alike. However, the combination of intangible and tangible aspects of logistics can make it challenging to find a foundational place to start the process. The purpose of this study is to evaluate logistical factors to include land area, infrastructure, labor force, and GDP and their relationship to military power. This foundation will provide a baseline of areas for improvement and replication. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and linear regression were leveraged to analyze …

Choice Of Law Governing A Contract Where Its Existence Is In Dispute: Clarifications From The Singapore International Commercial Court In Lew, Solomon V Kaikhushru Shiavax Nargolwala, Shou Yu Chong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The Singapore International Commercial Court’s judgment in Lew, Solomon v Kaikhushru Shiavax Nargolwala [2020] 3 SLR 61 is noteworthy as it heralds a modest development in Singapore private international law, especially in respect to the not uncommon issue of disputes over cross-border contracts where its existence is challenged. This case represents one of the handful of Singapore precedents which directly addresses the difficult conundrum where both the governing law and the existence of the underlying contract are in dispute. Under this context, it articulates a default choice of law position – the lex fori – where it is impossible to …