International and Area Studies Commons^™

Volkswagen And Volkswagen: The Concept, The Car And The Company In Four Germanies And The United States, Stuart Treavor Bailey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the changing cultural meanings that the Volkswagen took in Germany in an attempt to understand the cultural exchange between the United States and Germany. In sum, it establishes that the car takes a distinct cultural form in the two countries governed by unique and particular historical developments. Over the last decade researchers working with car cultures have realized the long standing error of taking American values associated with the car as a normative marker of global car cultures, yet no one has suggested a working methodology to ensure that non-normative meanings are captured in analysis. I suggest …

Cultural Influences On Attitudes Toward The Criminal Justice System: A Focus On The Filipino American Community, Moises Osias Mina Jr.

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Based on the Individualism-Collectivism (I-C) perspective and elements of Cullen's social support theory, the present exploratory analysis tested for differences in individualism and collectivism and the potential impact of such differences on attitudes toward criminal justice constructs. Survey participants were Philippine residents, Filipino immigrants to the United States, and US-born Filipino Americans. Initial results suggested minimal variations in individualism and collectivism among the three groups, however, more significant differences were found when respondents were grouped by country of birth, with US-born Filipino Americans exhibiting lower scores in collectivism and, unexpectedly, in individualism. Measures of specific I-C traits, such as independence, …

Fair Value Hierarchy Measures: Post-Implementation Evidence On Ifrs 7, Pearl Tan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using a balance sheet valuation model, this study examines if information on the fair value hierarchy of on-balance sheet financial assets and financial liabilities are incorporated in the market’s valuation of companies’ equities in Singapore. The results of the study show significant associations between as-reported Level 1 and Level 2 fair value measures of financial assets and market values. However, the results are not significant for Level 3 fair value measures of financial assets and each of the three levels of fair value measures of financial liabilities. The results also show that returns are more positively associated with as-reported gains …

Eu Sanctions In Context: Three Types, Thomas Biersteker, Clara Portela

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

All international sanctions are embedded in larger contexts of overlapping policy instruments and other sanctions regimes. Yet we tend to look at sanctions and evaluate their effectiveness from the vantage point of a single sender of sanctions – whether it is the UN, the EU, or an individual country like the United States – rather than consider the combined and interactive effects of different, co-existing sanctions regimes. EU sanctions tend to be imposed in conjunction with measures by other actors: their interplay deserves closer analysis in terms of sequencing, objectives, complexity and legitimacy. The latter is particularly important, given recent …

How Do Living Arrangements And Intergenerational Support Matter For Psychological Health Of Elderly Parents? Evidence From Myanmar, Vietnam, And Thailand, Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, Wiraporn Pothisiri, Giang Thanh Long

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Living arrangements and family support for older persons have become an increasingly important policy concern in developing and rapidly aging Asia. Formulating a sound elderly care policy for the region will benefit from empirically examining how living arrangements, particularly coresidence, and intergenerational exchanges of financial, instrumental, and emotional support are associated with old-age psychological health. This study analyzes data from nationally representative aging surveys in Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand for 2011-2012 to offer a comparative perspective from Southeast Asia where various kinship systems coexist. Results suggest that coresidence with a child of culturally preferred gender significantly improves the emotional health …

J. Y. Pillay [Singapore, Civil Service], Joseph Yuvaraj Pillay

Digital Narratives of Asia

In this DNA interview, Chancellor of Singapore Management University and former top Singapore civil servant, J.Y. Pillay, tells of qualities of good leaders, and the leadership styles of his former bosses Hon Sui Sen and Goh Keng Swee. Known for being a leader who listens and focuses well, he reveals his process of making controversial decisions in the past.

Kaset Rojananil [Thailand, Royal Thai Armed Forces], Kaset Rojananil

Digital Narratives of Asia

Kaset Rojananil was the Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces during the Black May riots of 1992 and was involved in the 1991 coup to overthrow the government of Chatichai Choonhavan. He gives DNA his take on those events as well as what it takes to be a leader in the military.

Anan Kalinta [Thailand, Royal Thai Airforce], Anan Kalinta

Digital Narratives of Asia

Anan Kalinta was the Deputy Commander-in-Chief for the Royal Thai Airforce as well as Minister of the Interior in 1991-1992. He shares with DNA his thoughts about what it takes to be a leader in the military, as well as military intervention in politics.

Clare Byarugaba Won't Be Silenced: Clare Byarugaba Fights For Gay Ugandans

Colby Magazine

Clare Byarugaba, the 2014 Oak Human Rights Fellow at Colby, is a prominent advocate for LGBT rights in Uganda, where there is widespread anti- gay fervor and a law was passed that outlawed homosexuality and promotion of it. She continued to work under threat of arrest and violence, and her photograph was published in a popular Ugandan tabloid, identifying Byarugaba as “a gay recruiter.” She is spending the fall semester at Colby, where her presence was immediately felt. Byarugaba was interviewed by Colby Magazine this summer, prior to a court ruling in August that the anti-gay law was invalid. The …

Consumer Perceptions Towards Package Designs: A Cross Cultural Study, Romica Chandra Lal, Fritz Yambrach, Lucy Mcproud

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

The choice of one package or the other can be an economic decision or can be influenced by cultural acceptance or perception of individual convenience. Product package systems can be designed for one-time use or multiple-use purposes. Package perceptions in different countries typically develop from a variety of factors, including climate, lifestyle, and cultural acceptance with regard to particular products. In an increasingly global economy with multinational firms marketing products worldwide, it is important to understand the differences between consumer needs and consumer responses to product-package systems.

The objective of this research was to examine consumer perceptions of different product …

Parental Involvement, Students' Self-Engagement, And Academic Achievement: A Structural Equation Model, Cuirong Wu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the ever-evolving landscape of China's education system, the gap between the rural and urban was always an important issue, not only the multifaceted interplay of parental involvement, student self-engagement, and academic performance. This study utilized a comprehensive national survey dataset through a thorough understanding of cultural nuances and educational intricacies specific to the Chinese context. Its aim was not only to decipher the underlying constructs of parental involvement and student self-engagement but also to investigate how these factors impacted academic achievement among students. The research unfolded in several stages using a representative sample of 10750 students from 112 schools …

Puerto Rico’S Long Fall From ‘Shining Star’ To The ‘Greece’ Of The Caribbean, Pedro Caban

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Faculty Scholarship

An article titled "Puerto Rico’s long fall from ‘shining star’ to the ‘Greece’ of the Caribbean" by Pedro Caban.

Wang Gungwu [Hong Kong, Vice-Chancellor Hku, Historian], Wang Gungwu

Digital Narratives of Asia

Renown historian Wang Gungwu has helmed several academic institutions, including the University of Hong Kong (HKU) as Vice-Chancellor from 1986-1995. In this DNA interview, he tells of how he worked to help HKU manage the historic transition from colonial British rule to the Chinese "One-country-two-systems" rule, and along the way, grow the university's research side of the house as well.

Expect The Unexpected: An Autoethnography Of Typhoon"Yolanda"( Haiyan ), Ashley Conrad

Theses and Dissertations

On November 8, 2014 one of the most powerful typhoons in recorded history made landfall in the Philippines leaving the country in a declared state of national calamity (NPR 2013; BBC 2013). This research seeks to place in sociological context my experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in the Philippines during the landfall of typhoon "Yolanda". I utilized autoethnographic methods with a focus in personal narrative to analyze my experience.

Sweet Sacrament: Where Myth Meets Story In Ethiopian Christianity, Kelsey Ann Chase

Honors Projects

Tell me your favorite sports team is the Cinderella story of the century, and I understand they come from humble origins, the odds were stacked against them, and—in a serendipitous turn of events—they achieved victory. In this way, humans use the structure and vocabulary of cultural stories to make sense of their lives and describe their experience. Through three creative nonfiction short stories, this project aims to capture the synthesis of myth and personal story in the narratives of Ethiopian evangelical Christians. Gathered in Ethiopia in summer 2014, the narratives of torture, persecution, and conversion are each paired with an …

Shaving India, Making Profits, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Gillette was having trouble making inroads into the Indian grooming market for men...until they roped in the women

The Thailand Report: National Landscape, Current Challenges And Opportunities For Growth, Institute For Societal Leadership, John W. Ellington, Serene Chen

Institute of Societal Leadership Research Collection

Thai migrants first began trickling into the Chao Phraya river valley from Southern China in the eleventh century. Thai chieftains established petty kingdoms in modern-day Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, initially as tributaries to more established Burmese and Khmer rulers. However, both the diminishing influence of the Khmer Empire and the Mongols’ sacking of the Burmese capital Bagan in 1287 left a political vacuum in mainland Southeast Asia, which was soon filled by Thai kingdoms such as Sukhothai (1238–1463), Chiang Mai (1296–1775), Ayutthaya (1351–1767) and eventually Bangkok (f. 1 782). In the process, the up-and-coming Thai polities supplanted the Khmer Empire …

The Indonesia Report: National Landscape, Current Challenges And Opportunities For Growth, Institute For Societal Leadership, John W. Ellington

Institute of Societal Leadership Research Collection

A maritime analogue to the silk road running through Central Asia, the Indonesian archipelago was a key ancient trade route linking Chinese goods to markets in India and farther west into the Mediterranean. Its cosmopolitan ports attracted significant numbers of Arab, Indian and Chinese merchants and holy men and fostered the exchange of goods as well as cultural and religious ideas. Cultural appropriation had a clear Indian bias. Starting in the early eighth century, the various islands saw the rise and fall of several Indianised Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms, including Mataram, Singhasari and Majapahit in east Java and Srivijaya in …

Customer Satisfaction Index Of Singapore 2015: Q1 Results, 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. 2015 is the CSISG’s ninth year of measurement.

Elderly Population In Singapore: Understanding Social, Physical And Financial Needs, John A. Donaldson, Catherine J. Smith, Balambigai Balakrishnan, Mumtaz Md Kadir, Sanushka Mudaliar

Lien Centre for Social Innovation: Research

Who are Singapore’s low-income elderly? What makes some resilient in the face of multiple challenges? What are their social needs that might be filled by additional interventions via civil society or government programmes? These are some of the questions this publication tries to understand.

It does so not by surveying the elderly, but via intensive interviews with 100 residents of one low-income neighbourhood in Singapore. Whereas surveys can help gather generalisable data, interviews can help us see the ‘story behind the story,’ illuminating potential causal connections and providing hints regarding possible effective ways to intercede. We followed this up with …