International and Area Studies Commons^™

If These Walls Could Talk: Restoring 15th Century Paintings In Upper Mustang, Ellie Penner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Thupchen monastery, or gompa, in Lomanthang is a site that hosts monumental 15th century Buddhist artworks, which reflect an abundant history from the key trade region of Upper Mustang, Nepal. This site, after neglect and use as a storage space until the 1990s, has seen radical change in the past two decades through an ongoing painting restoration project. Since these restorations began, there have been discrepancies between how scholars and restoration artists believe the work should be done, and how the local community of Lomanthang wants their monastery to be restored. This study aims to examine why the temple …

Using Remote Sensing Technologies In Relocating Lubrak Village And Visualizing Flood Damages, Ronan Wallace

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As weather patterns change across the world, there are communities impacted by climate change that are left unnoticed. In the Himalayan mountain range, communities have suffered, experiencing an increase in flash flooding and droughts. For Lubrak Village in Lower Mustang, the community faces the threats of flash flooding. Over the last ten years, the amount of flash flooding has increased, occurring more than once each monsoon season. After every flood, concrete-like sediment is left behind, hardening across the riverbed and increasing its elevation. As the riverbed elevation increases, this sediment encroaches on Lu-brak Village’s agricultural fields and ancient mud buildings, …

From Green To Gold: Community Along Lines Of Trade Between Dolpo And Mustang, Jack Cantor

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mustang and Dolpo are at a tipping point of connectivity and community change as road development brings the districts closer to Nepal’s economic centers. In this independent study, I document contemporary trade relationships between Mustang’s Sangda and Dolpo’s Chharka, currently separated by three days of unmotorable trail. Through in person interview, archival research, and photography, I document methods of economy and community in three villages- Mustang’s Phelag and Sangda, and Dolpo’s Chharka. I focus upon future community prospects of Sangda and Chharka as road development between the two progresses.

As the two villages exchange goods, develop familiarity, and host traders …

Carpets, Education, And Documentation: A Case Study Of The Jawalakhel Tibetan Handicrafts Settlement, Diana Hewitt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Jawalakhel Handicrafts Center has been the economic center of the Tibetan community in southern Kathmandu since its founding in 1961. The success of the carpet industry in Nepal allowed the Tibetans in Jawalakhel to become economically self-sustaining, the carpet factory provided livelihood for the refugees who fled from Tibet and their children. The young generation, however, has difficulties finding stable jobs due to the fact that they have no documentation and all formal sector jobs in Nepal require proof of documentation. This lack of opportunity among the younger generation has been a major driver of outmigration from Nepal. The …

Comparing Amphibian Species Diversity And Abundance In Natural Forest And Cacao Agroforest At Finca La Magnita, Changuinola, Bocas Del Toro, Panamá, Lake Barrett

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Amphibians are currently undergoing rapid and drastic biodiversity loss worldwide, largely due to the disease Chytridiomycosis. Because of this, efforts to conserve amphibian biodiversity are urgent and have been given increasing importance. However, studies investigating the effectiveness of agroforestry systems, a commonly used agricultural method in which trees and other elements of forests are retained on land used for agriculture, for amphibian conservation are uncommon. As a result, the capacity of agroforests to serve as a tool for amphibian conservation is unclear. To determine if agroforests can serve as a habitat for amphibians and a tool for their conservation, this …

Healing In The Himalayas: Mustangi Medical Practitioners’ Perspectives On Integrative Approaches To Chronic Illness, Lucia Morey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this Independent Study Project is to capture a snapshot of the opinions and experiences of 13 health practitioners from 7 villages and towns in Mustang. Specifically, I asked independent healers (IH), amchis and health post workers about their practices and perspectives on chronic illness, integrative medicine and the intersection of the two. I found that there is a flow of information in one general direction, with practitioners along a continuum of most to least globally recognized. Understandably, the least well known (independent healers) are aware of Traditional Tibetan Medicine (TTM) and conventional Western medicine (CWM). Subcategories of …

Natural Disasters And Domestic Violence?: A Study Of The 2015 Nepal Earthquake, Arpita Khanna, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

This study estimates the impact of exposure to the 2015 Nepal Earthquake on intimate partner violence with two rounds of Demographic and Health Surveys data. Using differences-in-differences estimation, we find that exposure to the earthquake lead to a statistically and economically significant increase in intimate partner violence in the urban areas but not in the rural areas. This is possibly due to an increase in the stress felt by the earthquake victims. We also offer some evidence that the impact heterogeneity between the urban and rural areas is attributable to the differences in the reconstruction processes and assistance provided.

Making Universal Digital Access Universal: Lessons From Covid-19 In Singapore, Irene Y. H. Ng, Sun Sun Lim, Natalie Pang

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Digital resources—which include devices, internet connection and digital literacy—have become basic needs. Thus with the global COVID-19 pandemic having accelerated digitalization, the urgency for universal digital inclusion has hastened. Otherwise, digital inequality will lead to social inequality and impede social mobility. Using Singapore as a case study, this article applies the insights learned from a participatory action research to recommend a policy framework for universal digital access, with practical humanistic steps towards full digital inclusion. Singapore is a digitally advanced nation with almost universal digital availability, yet when COVID-19 forced rapid digital adoption, gaps in access by vulnerable groups such …

Beem: Data-Driven Building Energy Benchmarking For Singapore, Pandarasamy Arjunan, Kameshwar Poolla, Clayton Miller

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Building energy use benchmarking is the process of measuring the energy performance of buildings relative to their peer group for creating awareness and identifying energy-saving opportunities. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of BEEM, a data-driven energy use benchmarking system for buildings in Singapore. The peer groups for comparison are established using a public energy disclosure data set. We use an ensemble tree algorithm for accurately modeling building energy use and for identifying the most influential factors. Our models reduce the prediction error from 24.39% to 6.04%, on average, when compared to the baseline linear regression models, …

Estimating Stranded Coal Assets In China's Power Sector, Weirong Zhang, Mengjia Ren, Junjie Kang, Yiou Zhou, Jiahai Yuan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

China has suffered overcapacity in coal power since 2016. With growing electricity demand and an economic crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic, China faces a dilemma between easing restrictive policies for short-term growth in coal-fired power production and keeping restrictions in place for long-term sustainability. In this paper, we measure the risks faced by China's coal power units to become stranded in the next decade and estimate the associated economic costs for different shareholders. By implementing restrictive policies on coal power expansion, China can avoid 90% of stranded coal assets by 2025.

Žene Iz Ukrajine: Žrtve Putinovog Rata I Predatora Seks-Industrije, Dona M. Hjuz

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Developing Future-Ready Talent Through ‘Real-World’ Digital Projects, Gary Pan, Benjamin Huan Zhou Lee, Yuanto Kusnadi

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

A close collaboration between university and industry partners through ‘real-world’ digital projects could help develop future-ready accountants

Important To Me And My Society: How Culture Influences The Roles Of Personal Values And Perceived Group Values In Environmental Engagements Via Collectivistic Orientation, Tengjiao Huang, Angela K. Y. Leung, Kimin Eom, Kam Pong Tam

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Despite extensive works examining the influence of personal values on environmental engagements, scarce research has examined the influence of group values that are perceived as important in the society. To address this lacuna and recent calls for more cross-cultural environmental research, we investigated whether and how culture, via collectivistic orientation, influences the roles of personal values and perceived group values, namely egoistic and biospheric values, in motivating environmental engagements in a Western (the U.S.; N = 469) and an Asian (Singapore; N = 410) country. To highlight a few findings, the study showed that personal values and perceived group values …

Class(Ify)Ing Christianity In Singapore: Tracing The Interlinked Spaces Of Privilege And Position, Orlando Woods, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper considers how two facets of identity – religion and class – are performed, (re)produced and negotiated within the spaces of the Christian school, home and church in Singapore. We show how the social structuring of one space can inform and influence the structuring of another. Spaces of Christianity in Singapore tend to be mutually reinforcing, strengthening the linkages between religion and class, and in particular reifying the position of Christianity as a religion of the privileged classes. However, the ways in which Christian spaces are reified can become problematic when space is in fact shared with less privileged …

Aestheticized Temples, Rationalized Affects: Sacred Modernities And The Micro-Regulation Of Hinduism In Singapore, Orlando Woods, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper develops the idea of “sacred modernities” to explore how the state- led regulation of religion shapes religious communities and religious subjects therein. Sacred modernities define the ways in which sacredness is understood and engaged with under conditions of secular modernity, and in particular, how sacredness is experienced within a context of micro-regulated religious space. We illustrate these ideas through an empirical examination of how Singapore’s Hindu community engages with the idea of sacredness in and through the temple. By contrasting the experiences of Singaporean and non-Singaporean Hindus, we argue that Singapore’s temples offer an aestheticized experience of the …

Regional Mapping: Digital Provisions Play A Key Role In Asia Pacific Agreements, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

IT HAS become more commonplace for trade agreements in the Asia Pacific to include a variety of digital trade provisions. To understand the salient features of these agreements, it is helpful to map out their main baseline features. Doing so also indicates where digital trade agreements may be going or need to go. This mapping covers all free trade agreements (FTAs) with chapters on e-commerce or digital trade since 2000 by the main players in the region-China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Will The European Union’S New Anti-Coercion Instrument Work With China?, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Recent years have witnessed the growing use of trade measures as geopolitical weapons. In response, the European Union is introducing a new instrument.

Ce Qui Reste: Legacies Of Decolonization In Guinea And Gabon, Andrew Tietz

Honors Projects

By most metrics, many African states underperform. Some scholars argue that neo-colonial systems established after independence are to blame, as they perpetuate dependence on former overlords. Others contend that continued failures of African leaders and political institutions prevent their countries from succeeding. I analyze two specific cases from French Africa diametrically opposed in their experiences of decolonization. In Guinea, the French left abruptly, taking everything they could carry. In Gabon, they stayed, and continued to direct the country’s politics and economy. What differences does this disparity have on state success after independence? To answer this question, I assess the impacts …

The "Politics Of Trauma": National Trauma In Poland And Hungary And The Othering Of Queer Identities, Keira Hoeferle

Honors Projects

The governments of Poland and Hungary, under the parties Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice) and Fidesz (Alliance of Young Democrats), respectively, have deliberately implemented policies and utilized rhetoric to marginalize the LGBT+ community, a dramatic reversal from years of social progress in the European Union. In investigating this shift, prior scholars have explored social factors and authoritarian, populist politics as causes, yet these cannot explain the extent and viciousness to which both parties attack sexual and gender minorities. In this paper, I demonstrate that both governments have utilized “national trauma” to construct a nationalist space that excludes LGBT+ people, …

Vedantic Basis And Praxis Of The Integral Advaita Of Sri Aurobindo, Debashish Banerji

Monsoon: South Asian Studies Association Journal

The integral nondualism of Sri Aurobindo can be traced to the great pronouncements (mahāvākya) of the Upanishads and later commentaries. This study examines teachings on the Supermind (vijñāna) and the other four kinds of consciousness that define human reality: Matter (annaṃ), Life (prāṇaḥ), Mind (manaḥ), and Bliss (ānanda). Through Yoga and Tantra, one learns and embodies the pathway to the divine.