Academic Articles in 1st week of Jan 2014

New Year Period, sorry for the lateness.

Here is the list of the article published in the 1st week of 2014!

Moe Thuzar. 2013. Is Myanmar Ready for the ASEAN Chair? ISEAS Perspective 2013/66, http://www.iseas.edu.sg/documents/publication/iseas_perspective_2013_66_is_myanmar_ready_for_the_asean_chair.pdf.
Executive Summary
- Myanmar assumes the ASEAN chairmanship in 2014 under the theme “Moving Forward in Unity towards a Peaceful and Prosperous Community”. Throughout 2014, it will chair from about 240 to over 400 working-level to senior-official, ministerial and Summit-level meetings.
- As an indication of its readiness for the chairmanship, Myanmar has had experience in chairing high-level ASEAN and other regional/sub-regional meetings, some of which required Myanmar to confront difficult issues. A new-found confidence generated by the on-going political and economic reforms also serves as motivation for Myanmar to participate more actively in the ASEAN scene. The heightened awareness and expectations in the country over the reforms have created greater interest in how ASEAN’s priorities are relevant to Myanmar’s reforms.
- Domestic issues such as the communal and religious tensions, the delicacy of ceasefire negotiations, and concerns over current economic reforms measures may distract Myanmar from its chair responsibilities.
- Issues that may affect Myanmar’s performance in 2014 include the rising preference among members of parliament and the public in Myanmar for populist/protectionist economic measures, and the perception from some in the international community over Myanmar’s bilateral relations with China, and how that affects its management of ASEAN’s discussions on the South China Sea.
Lee, John. 2013. China's Economic Engagement With SEA: Indonesia. Trends in Southeast Asia 2013 (#3),
http://www.iseas.edu.sg/documents/publication/Trends_2013-3.pdf.
Executive Summary
- There is little evidence that Beijing is attempting to use economics to seduce or else compel Jakarta to make strategic decisions that the latter would not otherwise make.
- Even if China attempted to do so, the structure of the Indonesian economy and trend of its economic development model and open approach suggests that Beijing would have little capacity to significantly influence Jakarta’s strategic decisions.
- An entrenched mindset of maximising strategic independence and autonomy means that Indonesia will continue to avoid overtly ‘picking sides’ and avoid strategic entanglements even as it seeks outside assistance to accelerate economic development.
- This will likely mean that Jakarta will continue with a posture of offering ‘friendly ambivalence’ vis-à-vis China as a defensive and small-target hedging strategy.
Ha, Hoang Hop. 2013. More Change Awaits Vietnam's Political Economy. Trends in Southeast Asia 2013 (#4), http://www.iseas.edu.sg/documents/publication/Trends_2013-4.pdf.
Executive Summary
- Vietnam embarked upon its economic renovation (Doi Moi) policy in 1986 out of economic necessity, and the reforms led to impressive economic growth until about 2000, after which it slowed down. The economy is now facing various problems.
- Doi Moi aimed for a mixed economy wherein the state would accept different forms of property right. However in reality state-owned enterprises have been favoured at the expense of private ones.
- Endemic corruption within the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) is endangering its legitimacy in the eyes of the public. Intra-party factionalism has also been on the rise and reforms attempted in recent years have not been effective.
- In the meantime, the National Assembly has gradually evolved to act more like a parliament in non-communist countries. In 2013 it carried out a survey among its members to determine their level of confidence in national leaders. The results were publicised.
- In recent years the CPV’s traditional control and supervision of the government has weakened. Mass organisations play an important role in the system and are CPV-led.
- Traditional media are all government-owned, but there are a few blogs that reflect discontent and voice criticism. Factionalism within the party affects the media as its outlets take sides in factional rivalry, often through sensational reporting.
- Vietnam’s foreign policy continues to emphasize independence, self- reliance, multilateralism and diversification of external relations.

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Tuyen, T. Q., and V. Van Huong. "Farmland Loss and Poverty in Hanoi‘s Peri-Urban Areas, Vietnam: Evidence from Household Survey Data." Agris On-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, 5 (4), pp. 199-209.
http://online.agris.cz/files/2013/agris_on-line_2013_4_tuyen_huong.pdf
Abstract
Using a dataset from a 2010 field survey involving 477 households, this paper has contributed to the literature by providing the first econometric evidence for the impacts of farmland loss (due to urbanization and industrialization) on household poverty in Hanoi's peri-urban areas. Factors affecting poverty were examined using a logit regression model. Our econometric results indicate that the one and two-year effects of farmland loss on poverty are not statistically significant. These results, therefore, confirm that farmland loss has had no impact on poverty in the short-term. This study also found that factors contributing to poverty reduction include households' education, access to credit, ownership of productive assets and participation in nonfarm activities before farmland loss. We propose some policy implications that can help households escape poverty and improve their welfare.
Villoria, Nelson B., Alla Golub, Derek Byerlee, and James Stevenson. "Will Yield Improvements on the Forest Frontier Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions? A Global Analysis of Oil Palm." American Journal of Agricultural Economics (2013), 95 (5), pp. 1301-1308. doi: 10.1093/ajae/aat034
Abstract
The potential impacts of technical change in oil palm on the forest frontier of Indonesia and Malaysia were studied. The Global Trade Analysis Project model with differentiated Ago-Ecological Zones model (GTAP-AEZ), a multi-sector, multi-region comparative static computable general equilibrium model that estimates production, consumption, trade, and price effects, was used. It is found that locally, isolated TFP growth in oil palm in Indonesia and Malaysia is likely to lead to slight regional deforestation. However, globally it may encourage forest reversion and lower global emissions. As technological progress becomes global, the local land expansion effects of TFP growth in Indonesia and Malaysia are counteracted, for a net forest reversion and emissions reduction both locally and globally. This suggests that increases in global crop productivity will be much more effective in saving forests, including those at risk from oil palm expansion in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Amer, Ramses. "Domestic Political Change and Ethnic Minorities–A Case Study of the Ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia." Asia-Pacific Social Science Review 13, no. 2 (2013): 87-101.http://ejournals.ph/index.php?journal=dlsu-apssr&page=article&op=download&path%5B%5D=7345&path%5B%5D=7648
Abstract
The study analyzes the impact of domestic political change on ethnic minorities through a case study of the ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia. The study examines the major political developments and changes in Cambodia since the 1950s and their impact on the situation of the ethnic Vietnamese in the country. Anti-Vietnamese sentiments have not only been regularly displayed by the Cambodian elite but also reflected in the policies of the Cambodian authorities. The roots of these attitudes and their effects on policies are explored in the study. The domestic political discourse in Cambodia has displayed anti-Vietnamese rhetoric directed not only at Vietnam but also at the ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia. The continuity and/or change in such discourse and its implications are explored in the study. © 2013 De La Salle University, Philippines.
Liu, Yan, and Romeo B. Lee. "Prevalence and Associated Factors of Suicide Ideation among University Students: Evidence from Large-Scale Surveys." Asia-Pacific Social Science Review 13, no. 2 (2013), pp. 79-86.
http://ejournals.ph/index.php?journal=dlsu-apssr&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=7344
Abstract
Although it constitutes a highly reliable predictor of successful suicide attempt, suicide ideation has received scant attention in terms of research and prevention in much of Asia. Given the high levels of burgeoning suicide cases among Asia's youth populations, such as those in Japan and the Philippines, there is a need to seriously focus on the phenomenon of suicide ideation. If those young people who are seriously thinking about committing suicide are identifed and given prompt interventions, the numbers of persons dying from suicide can be effectively reduced. This review article seeks to provide a research perspective on suicide ideation among university students in order to help guide the region's research and interventions on youth suicide. Cross-sectional evidence from nine large-scale surveys on the prevalence and associated factors of suicide ideation among university students was reviewed. The surveys, which had sample sizes ranging from 1,181 to 16,000 and were selected either randomly or conveniently, were conducted in various countries. The surveys measured suicide ideation by asking university students a lone question/statement or two or more questions/statements. Some only had one specifc time reference for their measure while one study had multiple time references. Suicide ideation only formed part of the range of mental health issues examined by the surveys. Considerable numbers of university student populations were reported to have thought about killing themselves. A variety of factors, ranging from socio-demographic characteristics to psychological/mental health conditions to social conditions, were identifed as statistically signifcantly related with suicide ideation. This report elaborates on the details of the review evidence on prevalence and associated factors vis-à-vis other related research information, and in its fnal section, underscores major points that future research in Asia may consider. © 2013 De La Salle University, Philippines.
Lanuza, Gerry M. "Agency and Governmentality: The Regulation and Resistance of Muslim Students in a Public High School." Asia-Pacific Social Science Review13, no. 2 (2013), pp. 63-78.http://ejournals.ph/index.php?journal=dlsu-apssr&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=7343
Abstract
This paper is an attempt to show how Michel Foucault's notion of governmentality can be used to illustrate the regulation of Muslim students while engaging in self-making in the context of the disciplinary feld of a public high school. Using ethnographic data, this paper argues that Muslim students are not just passive subjects; rather, they are active agents in constituting their identities while simultaneously subjected to the power relations in the school. Towards the end of the paper, I propose certain policy recommendations that could address the problems generated by current specifc form of rationality of government that normalizes Muslim students in public schools. © 2013 De La Salle University, Philippines.
Sarmiento, Ramon Felipe A. "Depictions of Culture in Filipino Independent Films." Asia-Pacific Social Science Review 13, no. 2 (2013), pp. 120-138.http://ejournals.ph/index.php?journal=dlsu-apssr&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=7347
Abstract
The concept of culture is arguably Anthropology's most important contribution to the popular mind. It had become a staple in taking account of the human condition, both in private discourses and in the public sphere, notably in the various media. While popularization of knowledge and frameworks of an academic discipline should be desirable, anthropologists remain wary about reduction or outright misrepresentation in the transit of their ideas from the specialist to the lay. But the non-specialists who deploy the notion of culture are not of the same sensitivities. Independent filmmakers seem to be quite keener than others. Free of commercial considerations, indie films pose much promise in making good use of the cultural lens as they depict human condition with nuance and depth. This study attempts to verify that hunch by analyzing the films entered in the main competition of the Cinemalaya festival from 2005 to 2011. While all 64 films contained aspects of culture, 23 of them proved substantially cultural in their representations. More specifically, the sort of culture portrayed is in step with contemporary anthropological theorizing, that is notions lumped under the purview of the practice framework, wherein culture is held to be dynamic, historically embedded, and largely contingent on human agency. What can explain this hospitality of the indies to practice theory of culture is the fact that feature filmmaking is essentially story-telling, and stories thrives on conflict and change. © 2013 De La Salle University, Philippines.
Cordero Jr, Dalmacito A. "Moral Decline in Teens: The Application of Contextual Theology." Asia-Pacific Social Science Review 13, no. 2 (2013), pp. 24-40.http://ejournals.ph/index.php?journal=dlsu-apssr&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=7340
Abstract
In today's modern world, the decline of morality among our teenagers is very evident. Three main causes were pointed out in this study: mass media, peer pressure, and poor family involvement. With this, there is an urgent need for an effective evangelization, and this is the task of contextual theology, a kind of theologizing that adapts the context of our teens' culture. The use of contextual theology enables religious educators to use an approach which is characterized by the process of engagement. This process aims to understand first the context, together with the kind of culture that they are immersed and the meaning of expressions that they utter. After engaging, the purification of this sad reality begins by highlighting and integrating the gospel values, which is the life-giving spirit of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Finally, this paper hopes to provide for future researchers a clearer perspective on how to make an effective approach in addressing this problem. This task is an ongoing endeavor not only for religious educators but also to those who are involve in the formation of our teens' values. They can enhance and innovate the used theological techniques according to the signs of the times. © 2013 De La Salle University, Philippines.
Aguilar, Susan Marie, Marcus Antonius Ynalvez, John C. Kilburn, Noriko Hara, Ruby A. Ynalvez, Kuo-Hua Chen, and Yoshinori Kamo. "Research Productivity of East Asian Scientists: Does Cosmopolitanism in Professional Networking, Research Collaboration, and Scientific Conference Attendance Matter?." Asia-Pacific Social Science Review 13, no. 2 (2013), pp. 41-62.
http://ejournals.ph/index.php?journal=dlsu-apssr&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=7342
Abstract
Our study (in the area of sociology of science) examines how cosmopolitanism in three spheres of scientific engagement - networking, collaborating, and conferencing - influences total journal productivity (TOTAL) and productivity in high impact journals (HIJ; impact factor ≥ 4). We hypothesize that scientists who exhibit cosmopolitanism in these spheres of scientific engagement have higher HIJ and TOTAL publication counts. To test this hypothesis, we conducted face-to-face interviews with a sample of n=84 life scientists in doctoral granting institutions in Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan. We analyzed our data using a set of generalized linear models (i.e., an over-dispersed Poisson regression for HIJ and a negative binomial regression for TOTAL) with publication counts as the outcome variables, and measures of professional networking, research collaboration, and scientific conferencing as our main predictor variables. To increase the precision of our regression estimates, we incorporated variables pertaining to contextual and personal attributes as multivariate statistical controls. Our results indicate a positive association between HIJ productivity and proportion of foreign contacts, and no association between productivity and collaborations involving foreign participants. Although conference attendance in general is linked with increased productivity (HIJ and TOTAL), conference attendance abroad is not. These findings appear to suggest that the formal collaborative research group with its instrumental ties may not be conducive to productivity, but the informal professional network with its affective ties may be conducive; and having a cosmopolitan professional network is a strong predictor of productivity in high quality outlets. © 2013 De La Salle University, Philippines.
Syamsuddin, M. A., and Azlinda Azman. "Vulnerable Runaway Children to Trafficking in Makassar, Indonesia." Asia-Pacific Social Science Review 13, no. 2 (2013), pp.139-143http://ejournals.ph/index.php?journal=dlsu-apssr&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=7348
Abstract
Children are the most vulnerable age group to be the victim of human trafficking (Asis, 2008; Meadows, 2010; Reid & Jones, 2011). The World Human Rights Organization and UNICEF estimated that there were about 50,000 girls being trafficked for prostitution to Cambodia in 2003 (Shelley, 2010). About 40,000 to 70,000 Indonesian children are also the victims of sexual exploitation and at least 100,000 women and children were trafficked annually from, through, and to the territory of Indonesia itself (http://www. humantrafficking.org/countries/indonesia, 2012). The United States Department of State (2011) clearly distinguished three forms of child trafficking, namely child labor, child soldiers, and child prostitution. Trade of sex or child prostitution has destroyed the lives of many children, leaving the children to experience long term physical and psychological trauma, contracting sexually transmitted disease, including HIV/AIDS, involved in drug addiction, exposed to unwanted pregnancy, malnutrition, social isolation, and death.
Sprenger, Guido. 2013. Transcultural Communication and Social Order Comparisons in Upland Southeast Asia. Asian Ethnology 72 (2): 299-319, https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/4305.
Abstract
In mainland Southeast Asia, the center-periphery relation structures both upland and lowland socialities and provides a background on which current ideas of indigeneity unfold. This relation is articulated in rituals, in the structure of settlements, and in myths and other cultural representations. However, there has been little attempt to compare types of center and periphery relations between ethnicities. This article proposes such a comparison between the Rmeet of Laos and the Yao/Iu Mien, an ethnicity that has migrated from southern China across Laos to Thailand. It proposes that at least two types of center-periphery relation can be found among these groups, one characterized by continuity and replication, the other by contrast and boundary maintenance. It also proposes that besides the dominant method of articulating center and periphery in each society, subordinate models exist. This comparison is enabled by a synthetic series of theoretical models that structure analytical terms. © Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture.
Chaudhuri, Sarit Kumar. 2013. The Institutionalization of Tribal Religion Recasting the Donyi-Polo Movement in Arunachal Pradesh. Asian Ethnology 72 (2): 259-277, https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/4305.
Abstract
Arunachal Pradesh, the erstwhile North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), is the homeland of a large number of tribes with distinctive identities spread over sixteen districts. This state shares boundaries with Tibet, China, and Myanmar and is known for its cultural diversity. This is reflected in the different tribes living there, although some commonalities can also be seen and have been used as a basis to make some broader classifications and connections between the tribes. The majority of the tribes can be classified as "animists," but tremendous heterogeneity is evident in the nature of deities, spirits, religious specialists, festivities, and oral traditions. With the emergence of new faiths and practices, new reformist movements are gradually gaining ground among the tribes in order to protect and preserve their indigenous religious beliefs and practices. This article deals with the major reformist movement known as Donyi-Poloism. This movement was initiated by the Tani group of tribes to understand the contested domains of religious transformation; this, in turn, may shed some light on the emerging realities of the frontier state. © Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture.
Rasiah, Rajah, Vignes Gopal, and Puvanesvaran Sanjivee. "Export and innovation in Cambodian clothing manufacturing firms." Asian Journal of Technology Innovation 21, no. 2 (2013): 305-316.DOI: 10.1080/19761597.2013.866312
Abstract
This paper uses embodied measures of innovation with a focus on changes in machinery and equipment, material inputs and plant layouts and products to analyse the incidence of participation and the relationship between exports and innovation intensity in Cambodian clothing firms. Contrary to claims that foreign cut, make and pack clothing operations are unlikely to stimulate innovation, this paper tests the industrial policy exponents' argument that there is a positive relationship between exports and innovation (division of labour). The results show that Cambodian clothing firms show a strong participation in innovation; in addition, the relationship between exports and innovation intensity is strong and positive. The positive relationship between exports, innovation and employment suggests that efforts should be initiated by poor populous economies to stimulate technological upgrading even in the lowest value-added segments of production. © 2013 © 2013 Korean Society for Innovation Management and Economics (KOSIME).
Tan, Christine Nya-Ling, and Shuhaida Md. Noor. "Knowledge management enablers, knowledge sharing and research collaboration: a study of knowledge management at research universities in Malaysia." Asian Journal of Technology Innovation 21, no. 2 (2013): 251-276.DOI: 10.1080/19761597.2013.866314
Abstract
Universities need to be aware of the impact of knowledge management (KM) in order to become world-class academic institutions. This research fills an unexplored gap in regards to the impact of KM enablers (i.e. trust, knowledge self-efficacy, reciprocal benefits, top management support, organizational rewards, organizational culture, KM system infrastructure and KM system quality, openness in communication, and face-to-face (F2F) interactive communication) on knowledge sharing (KS) that supports research collaboration by faculty members. No prior research has focused on the impact of KM enablers that influence research university members to share knowledge. A self-administered questionnaire was employed on members of five research universities in Malaysia to collect data; subsequently, 421 usable responses were analysed using partial least squares path modelling. KS by members was influenced by trust, organizational rewards, organizational culture, KM system quality, openness in communication, and F2F interactive communication; in addition, research collaboration was strongly influenced by KS. The KM-KS-collaboration model shows a KM influence of individual-organizational-technological-communication constructs that encourages KS by members to support research collaboration. © 2013 © 2013 Korean Society for Innovation Management and Economics (KOSIME).
Henry, Iain. 2013. "Unintended consequences: an examination of Australia's ‘historic policy shift’ on East Timor." Australian Journal of International Affairs no. 68 (1):52-69. doi: 10.1080/10357718.2013.803032.
Abstract
The Howard government's foreign policy objectives concerning East Timor remain the subject of intense historical debate. Given that some Indonesians harbour suspicions about Australia's role in East Timor's independence, it is important to reflect on Australia's diplomacy throughout this period. This article draws on 15 interviews with former politicians and officials-including Prime Minister John Howard and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer-to argue that in 1998, Australia's foreign policy was focused on supporting Indonesia's democratisation process and maintaining the bilateral relationship. It was only when Indonesia moved towards a 'special status' of autonomy for East Timor that Australia reconsidered its own position. Although rarely acknowledged, Australia's policy shift actually precipitated outcomes that it had sought to avoid. As such, Habibie's decision to allow self-determination in East Timor can only be viewed as an unintended consequence of Australian diplomacy-independence was never the objective of Australian foreign policy. © 2013 Australian Institute of International Affairs.
DOI: 10.1080/10357718.2013.803032
Fettling, David. "JB Chifley and the Indonesian Revolution, 1945–1949."Australian Journal of Politics & History 59, no. 4 (2013): 517-531.DOI: 10.1111/ajph.12030
Abstract
This article traces the role of the Prime Minister, Joseph Benedict Chifley, in Australia's response to the Dutch-Indonesian colonial conflict. It argues for Chifley's centrality to the formation of Australia's eventual policy to support Indonesian nationalist aspirations, a policy often in antithesis to the views of H.V. Evatt. This is significant because a focus on Evatt has distracted historians from ascertaining the causes of Australia's policy. Examining Chifley's attitude and role reveals that Australia's response to revolutionary Indonesia stemmed from an application to the Southeast Asian colonial question of a labourist and post-war reconstructionist ethos, an idea of sweeping reform to rectify deep economic and social grievances. © 2013 School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics, School of Political Science and International Studies, The University of Queensland and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.
Strassler, Karen. 2014. "Seeing the Unseen in Indonesia's Public Sphere: Photographic Appearances of a Spirit Queen." Comparative Studies in Society and History no. 56 (01):98-130. doi: doi:10.1017/S0010417513000637.
Abstract
Ratu Kidul is a legendary spirit queen who plays a significant role in Javanese political ontologies and has come to be an icon of Indonesian public culture. In this paper, I trace the history of her mediation as image via paint, photography, television, film, and the Internet in order to ask how this queen of the unseen world came to be so visible a feature of the postcolonial landscape and to interrogate the nature and effects of this visibility. I argue that becoming accessible via the image was necessary to her continued political agency within a mass-mediated national public sphere in which visibility and circulation are preconditions of political recognition. Yet popular reception of images of Ratu Kidul as auratic conduits of her spiritual power reveal the continued presence of a visuality within Indonesian national modernity that runs counter to dominant logics of transparency. I offer an ethnographic examination of images of Ratu Kidul across a range of media, attending to their material qualities as mediums by which the spirit queen appears and circulates. Broadly, the essay argues that national political orders and their public spheres cannot be understood apart from a history of visual mediation. © 2013 Society for the Comparative Study of Society and History.
Kortright, Chris. "On Labor and Creative Transformations in the Experimental Fields of the Philippines." East Asian Science, Technology and Society 7, no. 4 (2013): 557-578.DOI: 10.1215/18752160-2392710
Abstract
Through an ethnography of the C4 Rice Project's sorghum experiment in the Philippines, this article analyzes particular practices in experimental rice fields and how rice researchers understand their work through specific material practices and engagements with the plants. Returning to the critiques of disembodied science, the author looks at the particular, situated, and subjective labor that researchers do in the fields to argue that these relationships offer different and richer ways to understand scientific knowledge production and practices. Drawing out a distinction between working on plants (the human as producer and plant as passive raw material) and working with plants (a process of humans and plants working together in a situated and particular relationship), the article offers an different approach to Marx's concept of labor by incorporating nonhumans as active and relational actors in the labor process. Labor, then, can be seen as a creative relationship between humans and nonhumans situated in particular times and places. © National Science Council, Taiwan 2013.
Abid, Ilyes, Olfa Kaabia, and Khaled Guesmi. "Stock market integration and risk premium: Empirical evidence for emerging economies of South Asia." Economic Modelling 37 (2014): 408-416.DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2013.11.015
Abstract
This article investigates the dynamics of regional financial integration and its determinants in an international setting. We test a conditional version of the International Capital Asset Pricing Model (ICAPM) accounting for the deviations from Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) as well as temporal variations in both regional and local sources of risk. Using data from five major South Asian markets (Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka), our results support the validity of an ICAPM and indicate that the risk is regionally priced. Furthermore, we show that changes in the degree of regional stock market integration are explained principally by the U.S. term premium, and the level of market openness, whatever the measure of currency risk. Finally, and as expected, the degree of stock market integration varies considerably over time and from one market to another. As intense market integration induces both benefits and risks, our findings should have significant implications for economic policies and market regulations in emerging, frontier-emerging and transition countries, particularly for countries from the same region. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.
Chong, Chin Wei, Pei-Lee Teh, and Booi Chen Tan. 2013. "Knowledge sharing among Malaysian universities’ students: do personality traits, class room and technological factors matter?" Educational Studies no. 40 (1):1-25.DOI: 10.1080/03055698.2013.825577
Abstract
Active and voluntarily sharing of knowledge is an essential element of effective and meaningful learning at university level. Recognising the role and importance of Big Five personality traits (extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, emotional stability and openness) in encouraging knowledge-sharing behaviour, this paper adds the classroom (instructor support and degree of competition) and technological factors (technology availability and support) to model general knowledge-sharing patterns. Survey instrument was used to collect from six private and six public universities in Malaysia. Out of 700 surveys distributed, 474 data were used for analysis representing the response rate of 67.71%. Extraversion, conscientiousness, instructor support, degree of competition and technology support are found to have positive relationship with knowledge-sharing patterns. However, emotional stability is found to have negative relationship. A practical implication of these results is that instructors could advance knowledge sharing via personnel screening in forming assignment groups in their class as well as providing sufficient support and technology support to promote knowledge sharing among students. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.
Humphreys, Gareth, and Mark Wyatt. "Helping Vietnamese university learners to become more autonomous." ELT Journal 68, no. 1 (2014): 52-63.DOI: 10.1093/elt/cct056
Abstract
Autonomy is an important educational goal in international universities in countries with Confucian heritage cultures, such as Vietnam. However, approaches taken to support autonomy can sometimes be limited by overgeneralizations about culture, dependence on pre-packaged materials, and a focus on technical practice. This can result in the slow development of learner autonomy. We report on an attempt to stimulate autonomous practices among EAP learners in Vietnam. This collaborative action research first focused on discovering how learners perceived and experienced autonomy, with data collected through questionnaire and focus groups. Data were analysed and discussed with teachers, autonomy levels identified, and strong autonomy-supporting strategies selected for use. Priorities included developing goal setting and self-reflection. An independent learning journal that included focused autonomy-supporting tasks was developed, trialled, and evaluated. Although this was a small-scale intervention, it provided evidence that socially mediated support for autonomy can help Vietnamese university learners take greater control over their own learning. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press; All rights reserved.
Schou, Arild. 2012. "Conflict resolution attempts in self-determination disputes: the significance of local minority groups concerns in the Philippines and Sri Lanka." Ethnic and Racial Studies no. 37 (2):302-321. doi: 10.1080/01419870.2012.729670.
Abstract
The way in which the minority within minority question is solved has implications for settlement of self-determination conflicts. This paper examines how this question plays out in connection with negotiations of peace agreements. It focuses on the negotiations on the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity in the Philippines in 2008 and the Fifth Peace Process in Sri Lanka in 2002-06. By analysing constitutional design options in terms of integration, power sharing and power dividing, it outlines how minority concerns are articulated and eventually how they have implications for negotiations. The absence of power-sharing guarantees was a major concern among elites not associated with the self-determination project, both at the national and the local level. They blocked implementation of the deals, insisting instead on integration and power dividing. These findings highlight the shortcomings of negotiations that overlook the multifaceted majority/minority conflicts at national and local levels and how they are interlinked. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis.
du Rocher, Sophie Boisseau. 2013. "How Does the Past Shape the Present? The EU Policy towards Myanmar in Inter-Regional Context." European Journal of East Asian Studies no. 12 (2):191-216. doi:10.1163/15700615-13120208.
Abstract
The EU is active in Southeast Asia to enhance its profile as a major ASEAN partner. But in order to be perceived as a full-fledged partner, the EU has to convince ASEAN countries of its changing style and tone. This is a difficult endeavour since the 'Burmese experience' has produced much unease and a lasting irritation on the ASEAN side. After 20 years of sanctions escalation and clumsy declarations on Burma/Myanmar, the EU diplomacy has produced mixed results: on the one hand, it has enhanced its credentials as a global promoter of democracy and human rights, but on the other hand, it has done so in such a controversial way that its credibility and influence have been challenged. Vis-̀-vis both ASEAN and Myanmar, it has produced widespread doubt on the EU capacity to become an actor of political influence in Southeast Asia, a doubt that is often underestimated by European circles. The recent evolution, both from regional and inter-regional angles, offers the EU a window of opportunity for new policy orientations as a path to regain legitimacy in Southeast Asia. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2013.
Patapan, Haig. 2013. "Modern Philosopher Kings: Lee Kuan Yew and the Limits of Confucian ‘Idealistic’ Leadership." European Journal of East Asian Studies no. 12 (2):217-241.doi:10.1163/15700615-13120204.
Abstract The paper explores the question of whether modern states, especially in Asia, need philosophical or 'ideological' bases for their founding and continuation. It takes as its case study Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, who appeared to succeed in founding a modern prosperous state that avoided grand philosophical foundations in favour of 'performance'-security, stability and prosperity. The paper argues that a closer look at Lee's conception of leadership reveals a more complex picture. Lee's concern for the future prosperity of Singapore, and therefore his legacy, meant that he needed to secure what he calls 'idealistic leadership' that was essential yet lacking in Singapore. His recourse to 'Asian values', and especially Confucianism, was intended to provide such idealistic leadership. The lack of success of his Confucian initiatives reveals the inherent problems of Confucianism as a moral foundation for modern legitimacy and statebuilding, and the limits of performance for founding of modern nation-states. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2013.
Yahya, Faizal. 2013. "Transmigrant Identities and Human Capital Flows in Singapore." European Journal of East Asian Studies no. 12 (2):243-267. doi: 10.1163/15700615-13120205.
Abstract
Singapore provides a useful model of how the flow of transnationals and their economic, political and social impacts are managed. Singapore is one of the world's most open economies but its low total fertility rate (TFR) has threatened its economic growth and survival. As a result, the government has been recruiting foreign human capital in order to expand its working population and economic growth. The imperative was business to leverage on global growth in 2005 but the city-state was not adequately prepared for the huge influx of foreigners or non-resident workers. The number of non-resident workers increased by 100 per cent to more than 1.3 million in about five to six years from 2005. Some of the unintended 'spillover' effects have been rising inflation, increasing competition for jobs, escalating property prices and overcrowding on public transport. Societal tensions have emerged around the concept of 'us' and the 'other' in Singapore. The paper discusses how the state and companies have implemented programmes to reduce the 'gaps' between local and foreign human capital in Singapore. Some of these have included orientation programmes, activities with voluntary welfare organisations and other interactions under the overall integration policy the state has implemented. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2013.
Lee, Hyun-Hoon, Insill Yi, and Donghyun Park. "Impact of the global financial crisis on the degree of financial integration among East Asian Countries." Global Economic Review 42, no. 4 (2013): 425-459. DOI: 10.1080/1226508X.2013.860712
Abstract
This paper aims to gauge the impact of the global financial crisis on bilateral holdings of financial assets among East Asian countries. For this purpose, this paper uses the International Monetary Fund's Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS) data. We first present information about financial linkages between the CPIS-participating eight East Asian economies and other East Asian economies before and after the global financial crisis of 2008. We then apply the gravity model to assess the determinants of the cross-border holdings of foreign securities for four major East Asian financial investors - Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Singapore. We find only few changes in the bilateral holdings of financial assets among East Asian countries in the post-crisis period. In particular, our evidence does not indicate that intra-Asian financial integration has increased noticeably since the global crisis. © 2013 © 2013 Institute of East and West Studies, Yonsei University, Seoul.
South, Andrew and Hutchings, Mark, "Unintended Social and Economic Consequences Resulting from the Implementation of New Construction Technologies in the Developing World", The International Journal of Social Sustainability in Economic, Social and Cultural Context, (2013), Volume 8, Issue 4, pp.1-15http://ijsesc.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.273/prod.44
Abstract
One of the key components of international development is to provide adequate shelter for citizens of developing countries. This is often accomplished by governmental, non-governmental, and private organizations that seek to lower the cost, increase the quality, and expand the availability of safe, sustainable housing through the use of innovative technologies. These new technologies can affect the social and/or economic structure within communities. This paper is a case study resulting from the construction of a seventy-one-home village, including infrastructure, near Yogyakarta, Indonesia by a foreign, aid-based non-governmental organization (NGO). The village was relocated less than two kilometers from its original site after a massive landslide, triggered by the 2006 earthquakes of Central Java, virtually destroyed the entire community. Four years after construction the researchers took an inductive inquiry approach through interviews with residents of the community and residents of neighboring communities to explore the unintended consequences to the community resulting from the NGO's use of innovative housing technologies (steel reinforced concrete domes and planned community development) without a thorough understanding of underlying community culture and interactions. © Common Ground, Andrew South, Mark Hutchings, All Rights Reserved.
Shatkin, Gavin. "Reinterpreting the Meaning of the ‘Singapore Model’: State Capitalism and Urban Planning." International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 38, no. 1 (2014): 116-137.DOI: 10.1111/1468-2427.12095
Abstract
For city planners and policymakers in many parts of the world, Singapore has come to embody a model of efficient and growth-oriented urban development. Yet there has been very little research that goes beyond descriptive assessments of urban design and urban policy and understands the political economy that has produced the current system of planning in Singapore. This article explores the role of land acquisition and land management in Singapore's urban development. It argues that Singapore is best understood as a model of urban planning under state capitalism. Drawing largely on academic studies, reports of Singapore government agencies and government-linked corporations, and interviews the article analyzes the mechanisms through which the Singaporean state has used direct involvement in the commercial real-estate market as a powerful tool to gain access to revenue, achieve urban redevelopment objectives and exert powerful influence over the Singaporean society and economy. Through the commercial exploitation of state landholdings and through stakes in state-owned and private enterprises, the Singaporean state has harnessed urban development to an agenda of political hegemony, nation building and economic development within a framework of globalization. © 2013 Urban Research Publications Limited.
Lee, Kah‐Wee. "Feeling like a State: Design Guidelines and the Legibility of ‘Urban Experience’in Singapore." International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 38, no. 1 (2014): 138-154.DOI: 10.1111/1468-2427.12102
Abstract
This article examines how 'urban experience' is objectified and transformed into something that is legible to the state and its experts. It conceptualizes design guidelines as a political technology where bodies of expert knowledge, emplaced in a planning bureaucracy, shape the way the built environment is produced and experienced. Using Singapore as an example of a centralized planning bureaucracy, I analyze how lighting, public art and advertisement signs are targeted to produce a total environment with normative narratives. This article makes two contributions. First, it unpacks the processes that translate different modes of legibility in an attempt to make 'experience' legible for planners. The political efficacy of guidelines and pre-established bureaucratic boundaries means that planners can only intervene through a series of combinations, mediations and approximations. Thus, legibility proceeds in a way that is akin to 'feeling around'. Second, it foregrounds the 'middle layer of urban governance' that is often ignored in the discipline. Guidelines represent one coordinate in a system of political technologies that is concerned with producing the norm, that substrate of urban production mechanized through a series of repetitions, gradations and classifications. © 2013 Urban Research Publications Limited.
Kaartinen, Timo. "Handing Down and Writing Down: Metadiscourses of Tradition among the Bandanese of Eastern Indonesia." Journal of American Folklore 126, no. 502 (2013): 385-406.DOI: 10.5406/jamerfolk.126.502.0385
Abstract
The topic of this article is the reproduction of tradition among the Bandanese, an Eastern Indonesian people. I analyze the style and rhetoric of songs that tell about ancestral sea voyages. The question I address is what happens to the value of the songs as tradition when they turn from oral performances into circulating texts. I explore several contexts of performance and transmission and argue that the songs can be embedded in lived realities in different ways. By writing the songs down, the Bandanese reorganize their tradition into new genres of text and performance. Their metadiscourse of tradition affirms that these genres represent the exemplary, complete language of the ancestors. Although singers and writers affirm the artistic, textual, and cultural completeness of their arts, they are reluctant to pass on their knowledge in an already integrated form. Copyright © 2013 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.
Ahmad, Fauziah, et al. "Interethnic tolerance among multiethnic youth: Accommodating differences in the construction of social citizenship." Journal Of Asian Pacific Communication 23, no. 2 (April 2013): 270-285DOI: 10.1075/japc.23.2.08ahm
Abstract
A pluralistic nation like Malaysia needs an extremely organised and sensible society in order to be fruitfully tolerant. Living in a plural community demands a strong willingness to accommodate different ethnic expectations. Tolerance is crucial for the achievement of the right kind of community. It takes a collective voice among all the communities on the character of the nation they want to live in, and the respective rights and obligations within it to overcome the challenge of managing a diverse society, more so in a multiethnic one. The nature of a tolerant society inclined its members to be attentive and open to form a relationship that is continuous and reliable. To understand youth's life experience in regards to growing up amidst a multi-ethnic milieu, we have to explore their experiences to see how they are able to adapt and assimilate. This is an important aspect of fostering understanding with the different ethnic groups with motives that contribute to the formation of social citizenship and a participatory democracy. This research will focus on how Malaysian youth make sense of the seemingly calm and peaceful nation and how their negotiations and resolutions relate to their qualitative citizenship in a multi-ethnic society. © John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Ibrahim, Faridah, et al. "Peace journalism: Implications of war and peace news amongst Malaysian audience." Journal Of Asian Pacific Communication (John Benjamins Publishing Co.) 23, no. 2 (April 2013): 258-269. DOI: 10.1075/japc.23.2.07ibr
Abstract
The dilemma between war and peace has often created continuous debates among many people even though their countries are not involved in the act of war. What they see on television or read on the Internet and in the newspapers are enough to incite emotions and feelings. Some took to the streets and joined street demonstrators who demonstrate against the act of aggression and war in certain countries. While others, would be glued to the television or the Internet, following minute details on the act of war and silently condemning the perpetrators of war. There are also groups of individuals who are indifferent to what is happening around them. In other words, people react to war news in many ways. Moreover with the potential of the mass media to provide neutral and objective reporting of war and peace, one may ask, how do the media perform in times of conflicts and war. Based on a survey of the Malaysian audience, this paper tries to dwell into how the people of a non-warring country like Malaysia, perceives the act of war. To what extent do they see the role of the media in propagating peace and how do they conceptualise the notion of Peace Journalism. © John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Salman, Ali, Mohd Yusof Hj. Abdullah, Jamaluddin Aziz, Abdul Latiff Ahmad, and Chang Peng Kee. 2013. "Utilising information and communication technologies (ICT) for development: What research contributes." Journal Of Asian Pacific Communication 23, no. 2: 237-248.
DOI: 10.1075/japc.23.2.01moh
Abstract
Malaysia concept is a vision to create a harmonious Malaysian society, which is vital for Malaysia to attain a successful and developed country status. The concept stresses on the acceptance and inclusion of other cultures within the Malaysian realm and unity is vital for a country with plural society like Malaysia. Prime Minister Mohd Najib Tun Razak asserted that the 1Malaysia concept is unique as it celebrates the diversity of cultures grounded within a unique potpourri of living patterns that is steeped in traditions yet able to accommodate and withstand the winds of change without losing her local cultural balance. Siapera (2010) opined that it is without doubt that the media is an important tool which ensures diverse cultures in a country are equally represented without neglecting the universal and common values practised by everyone. The 1Malaysia concept places importance on both celebrating the diversity of cultures and inculcating common values amongst its citizen. This is where mass media, especially television, can play a big role. Syed Hussin (2008: 171) commented that mass communication has not been used to its full effect to promote a better understanding of people of different cultures and values. How true is this notion? This paper will shed some light into these issues: how the culturally diverse society and the concept of 1Malaysia are being represented on television and how audiences make meanings from these representations. The methodology employed in this research is twofold, comprising content analysis and focus group discussion. The objective of content analysis is to analyse how the concept of 1Malaysia is being represented on local television programmes. The focus group discussion, meanwhile, discovers how adolescents negotiate the television text in the process of understanding the 1Malaysia concept. © John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Mahbob, Maizatul Haizan, Wan Idros Wan Sulaiman, Samsudin A. Rahim, Wan Azreena Wan Jaafar, and Wan Sharazad Wan Sulaiman. 2013. "Acceptance of social innovation in Malaysia: Advocacy and the impact of government transformation programme (GTP)." Journal Of Asian Pacific Communication 23, no. 2: 222-236. DOI: 10.1075/japc.23.2.04mah
Abstract
Innovation is a key factor to bring about change. The government should formulate policies that are innovative to bring change to the nation. A government that enhances transformation, is a dynamic and progressive government. The Government Transformation Programme (GTP) in Malaysia, that is implemented in three phases started in 2010, is studied to examine how the programme is being accepted by the people. GTP is a programme that has never been implemented before. This programme emphasises more on performance and results of civil servants rather than budget spending. It also emphasises more accurately on planning. The aim is to produce high levels of accuracy and accountability of public employees and to provide rapid results in a short time as desired by the people. The 2011 GTP report showed that more than three million people have been positively impacted by this programme although it has only been implemented for two years. However, empirical studies found that people did not really feel the impact of the GTP programme. Although this programme was advocated through electronic and on-line media, many people still do not understand what is exactly the GTP and what are to be achieved through this programme. © John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Salman, Ali, Mohd Yusof Hj. Abdullah, Jamaluddin Aziz, Abdul Latiff Ahmad, and Chang Peng Kee. 2013. "Utilising information and communication technologies (ICT) for development: What research contributes." Journal Of Asian Pacific Communication 23, no. 2: 237-248. DOI: 10.1075/japc.23.2.05sal
Abstract
Research in ICT has contributed significantly to the needs of the country in terms of policy formulation, programme implementation and hence the volume of investments in the sector. When Malaysia embarked on ICT as a tool for development of the country with the introduction of the Internet in 1987 by the Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic Systems (MIMOS) through its Rangkaian Komputer Malaysia (RangKom) project, research on the impact of ICT was encouraged and done aggressively. Studies on the impact of ICT have helped in identifying factors that may influence the adoption of ICT and the resulting benefits to the society. This paper discusses the factors that affect the acceptance of ICT among users. The discussion is based on the findings from a quantitative study conducted on 300 internet users. This study gauges the users' opinion on what motivates them to use ICT and the perceived usefulness of ICT usage. From the findings, 'perceived usefulness' and 'personal factors' are the main motivating factors in accepting and using ICT. Thus, it encouraged them to use ICT positively in their daily lives as the findings revealed. The findings are crucial for the country in shaping future ICT policies, strategising steps in improving ICT implementation, and in revealing the challenges that need to be addressed. It also enriches the literature on technology acceptance by way of extending the Technology Acceptance Model to include other factors responsible for technology acceptance. © John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Ahmad, Abdul Latiff, Michael Bromley, and John Cokley. 2013. "The social reality of blogging and empowerment among Malaysian bloggers." Journal Of Asian Pacific Communication 23, no. 2: 210-221.
DOI: 10.1075/japc.23.2.03ahm
Abstract
The study focuses on the issue of empowerment among Malaysian bloggers. In Malaysia, there are issues considered as taboo and are not discussed openly in the mainstream media. The rise of blogs in the earlier part of the 21st century has led to the discovery of a new platform of interaction. Malaysia is unique in the sense that it has its own interpretation of press freedom, a multicultural society and Islam as the official religion. Though there is a general awareness on 'what is illegal offline, should be illegal online', there are those who found new freedom in this new realm. The new world of blogosphere is considered as a haven for self-experimentation, discourses and sharing of opinions where it allows individuals to express themselves openly with or without considering the legal, religious or even cultural restrictions. Some people have used the new avenue positively and found empowerment which they would never have found if the blog had never existed while others may take advantage of this new platform for malicious activities. Forty Malaysian bloggers were interviewed during the course of this study where they share their personal blogging experiences and how blogging has brought about changes to their lives. © John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Mohamad, Emma. 2013. "Normalising breastfeeding: What can media do to help?." Journal Of Asian Pacific Communication 23, no. 2: 196-210. DOI: 10.1075/japc.23.2.02moh
Abstract
This paper argues that the media can play a role to help normalise breastfeeding in society, particularly in Malaysia. This deduction is reached following an analysis of local media portrayals of breastfeeding, particularly by observing where and how breastfeeding is being portrayed, as well as delving into the division of space between breastfeeding and formula feeding. In addition to the media analysis, the study also looks into several media production issues by interviewing a parenting magazine editor. Findings suggest that local media plays an important role to reinforce breastfeeding as a private activity and subtly divide public/private space through the way producers locate breastfeeding stories and images. The study suggests that in order to normalise breastfeeding, the media should make an effort to portray local women in breastfeeding images and highlight these images in general media outlets. © John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Aziz, Norzalita A., and Nor Asiah Omar. "Exploring the effect of Internet marketing orientation, Learning Orientation and Market Orientation on innovativeness and performance: SME (exporters) perspectives." Journal of Business Economics and Management 14, no. sup1 (2013): S257-S278.DOI: 10.3846/16111699.2011.645865
Abstract
This study explores the relationship between Internet Marketing Orientation, Market Orientation, Learning Orientation, Innovation Capabilities and Performance. The study also investigates the role of Internet Marketing Orientation integration in the linkage between Market Orientation-Innovativeness and Learning Orientation-Innovativeness. From an analysis of usable survey data from 101 Bumiputera SMEs-Exporters, three dimensions of Market Orientation (Customer Focus, Inter-Functional Coordination, Information Dissemination), two dimensions of Learning Orientation (Shared Knowledge, and Vision and Commitment to Learning), one dimension of Internet Marketing Orientation and one dimension of Innovation Capabilities and Performance are extracted from the factor analysis results. The results of regression analysis show that Customer Focus, Shared Knowledge and Vision, and Internet Marketing Orientation directly influenced SMEs' Innovation Capabilities. However, Internet Marketing Orientation is more influential in developing innovation capabilities among SMEs compared to others. While, Shared Knowledge and Vision is the crucial factor in enhancing the business performance among SME (exporters). The relationship among a firm's Internet Marketing Orientation, Learning Orientation, Market Orientation and Innovation Capabilities and Performance are considered a crucial research area in developing countries. The implications for Malaysian SMEs are discussed. © 2013 Copyright Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU) Press Technika.
Ndubisi, Nelson Oly, Rajan Nataraajan, and Rebecca Lai. "Customer perception and response to ethical norms in legal services marketing." Journal of Business Research 67 (3) (2013), pp. 369-377.DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.01.001
Abstract
The study here examines the relationship between ethical marketing norms, relationship quality (RQ), and commitment in the context of legal services. Through a survey of customers of legal services providers in Malaysia, data were collected. Results from a standard analysis of data show that the four dimensions of ethical marketing norms contribute significantly and explain a significant amount of variance in RQ and commitment. The results further show that three dimensions of ethical norms namely price and distribution norm, information and contract norm, and general honesty and integrity norm are significantly associated with relationship quality and commitment. Product and promotion norm has no significant relationship with relationship quality and commitment. RQ plays a mediating role in the relationship between marketing norms and commitment. The study reveals that the same three dimensions of marketing norms predict both RQ and commitment, and are useful for effective legal services marketing. These findings lead to research, managerial, contextual and policy implications that conclude the paper. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.
Dang, Hai-Anh, Peter Lanjouw, Jill Luoto, and David McKenzie. "Using repeated cross-sections to explore movements into and out of poverty." Journal of Development Economics 107 (2014): 112-128.DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2013.10.008
Abstract
Movements in and out of poverty are of core interest to both policymakers and economists. Yet the panel data needed to analyze such movements are rare. In this paper we build on the methodology used to construct poverty maps to show how repeated cross-sections of household survey data can allow inferences to be made about movements in and out of poverty. We illustrate that the method permits the estimation of bounds on mobility, and provide non-parametric and parametric approaches to obtaining these bounds. We test how well the method works on data sets for Vietnam and Indonesia where we are able to compare our method to true panel estimates. Our results are sufficiently encouraging to offer the prospect of some insights into mobility and poverty duration in settings where historically it was judged that the data necessary for such analysis were unavailable. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.
Pinyopusarerk, Khongsak, Thi Thu Ha Tran, and Van Dien Tran. "Making community forest management work in northern Vietnam by pioneering participatory action." Land Use Policy 38 (2014): 257-263.
DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.11.019
Abstract
Transfer of land-use rights from the state to individual households and groups of households to encourage community forest management (CFM) and use of forest resources for livelihood improvement, has been in place in Vietnam since the 1990s. However, to date there has been no evidence of allocation to groups of households as community entities with joint ownership. This paper examines the success of processes tested in four villages in mountainous northern Vietnam to officially secure joint ownership of and exclusive rights to community forest land. After four years, implementation of CFM led to enhanced equality and distribution of benefits, and better protection of forest resources. Household income remained largely unchanged, in part because of loss of income from activities which were now illegal, but also because it was too early for benefits to flow from new forestry initiatives. Active participation of and between village communities in land-use planning and allocation, and a willingness to compromise, particularly on the position of land boundaries, were essential elements to ensuring equity in the distribution of benefits. Lack of enabling processes and experience in the implementation of government policies mean that further support for village communities is needed to fully realize the benefits from joint management of the allocated community forest. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
Tuan, Luu Trong. "Corporate governance and brand performance." Management Research Review 37, no. 1 (2014): 45-68.
DOI: 10.1108/MRR-08-2012-0183
Abstract
This investigation into listed companies at the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) in Vietnam aims to discern whether such constructs as trust and ethics act as precursors for brand performance with the mediating role of corporate governance. Design/methodology/approach: Three hundred and twelve responses returned from self-administered structured questionnaires relayed to 1,163 middle-level managers were dissected via ANOVAs and structural equation modelling. Findings: From the findings emerged the interconnections between ethics of justice and calculation-based trust. Ethics of care, on the other hand, tends to cultivate knowledge-based trust and identification-based trust, which in turn positively impact corporate governance. The findings also paved the path from strong corporate governance to high brand performance. Originality/value: From the findings of the study, the insight into the interconnection pattern of brand performance and its antecedents highlights the magnitude of ethics training program as well as the construction of knowledge-based trust, identification-based trust as well as strong corporate governance in optimizing brand performance in listed companies in Vietnam market. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
SHIMAZU, NAOKO. 2014. "Diplomacy As Theatre: Staging the Bandung Conference of 1955." Modern Asian Studies no. 48 (01):225-252. doi:10.1017/S0026749X13000371.
Abstract
As a significant 'moment' in twentieth-century international diplomacy, the rise of post-colonial Afro-Asia at the Bandung Conference of 1955 is replete with symbolic meanings. This paper proposes a conceptual approach to understanding the symbolic dimension of international diplomacy, and does so by ruminating on the newly unearthed Indonesian material on the Bandung Conference. To this end, 'diplomacy as theatre' is introduced as an interpretive framework to re-cast the conference as a theatrical performance, in which actors performed on the stage to audiences. Focusing on the city of Bandung, this paper reconstructs some examples of the 'performative' dimensions of international diplomacy, and elaborates on the notion of 'staging' the city and the role played by the people of Bandung, including the significance of conference venues, as well as the impromptu creation of a ritual citation that contributed to an iconic 'performative act' during the conference. Sukarno, Nehru, Zhou Enlai and Nasser all understood the importance as performers in their role as new international statesmen, representing the esprit de corps of the newly emergent post-colonial world. In deconstructing the symbolic, it will become evident that the role played by Indonesia significantly influenced the underlying script of the diplomatic theatre which unfolded at Bandung. © 2013 Cambridge University Press.
Nurbanum, Marini, Aizzat Mohd Nasurdin, Noor Hazlina Ahmad, and Wai Peng Wong. "What affects the extent of business process management implementation? An empirical study of Malaysia’s manufacturing organizations." Operations Management Research 6, no. 3-4 (2013): 91-104.
DOI: 10.1007/s12063-013-0081-6
Abstract
This study seeks to examine the factors that affect the extent of Business Process Management (BPM) among manufacturing firms in Malaysia. The factors comprised of internal and external drivers. Data was gathered from a survey of 200 manufacturing companies of which 59 respondents participated in this study. Our statistical results indicate that business environment is the key driver that affects the extent of BPM implementation, followed by organization strategy. The findings provide insight to managers that business environment, organization strategy and BPM programs are closely linked. To promote the adoption of BPM in Malaysia, these critical drivers should be emphasized. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.
Storey, Ian. "Japan’s maritime security interests in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea dispute." Political Science 65, no. 2 (2013): 135-156.
DOI: 10.1177/0032318713508482
Abstract
Japan's principal security interest in Southeast Asia is the safety and security of regional sea lanes. Over the past several years, Japan has expressed growing concern at rising tensions in the South China Sea and the lack of progress by the claimants to negotiate effective conflict management mechanisms. Japan is not a claimant in the dispute, but as a major maritime trading nation, it is a significant stakeholder. Japan has two major concerns over the South China Sea. First, that instability has the potential to disrupt the free flow of maritime trade on which the country's economic prosperity depends, and, second, that if China is able to persuade or coerce other Asian nations into accepting its claimed 'historic rights' in the South China Sea, existing international legal norms would be undermined. Moreover, Tokyo is alarmed at China's increasingly assertive posture in the maritime domain, and views the disputes in the South and East China Seas as linked. To mitigate its concerns over the South China Sea, Japan is pursuing a number of strategies: it raises the problem at regional security forums; it seeks to enhance cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on issues of maritime security and encourage unity within the organization on the South China Sea; it discusses the problem bilaterally with Southeast Asian countries and has started to provide capacity-building support to selected claimants (principally, the Philippines); and it seeks closer ties with other external stakeholders that share its concerns. © The Author(s) 2013.
Mukherjee, Kunal. "Prospects and Challenges of ASEAN." Strategic Analysis37, no. 6 (2013): 742-757.
DOI: 10.1080/09700161.2013.847035
Abstract
Regionalism has been an important force in international relations since 1945. The aim of this article is to make an assessment of one of the major regional organisations from the Asia Pacific, the ASEAN, or Association of South East Asian Nations. The article attempts to give readers an overview of the problems and prospects of the ASEAN. Although the ASEAN has been successful to a large extent as a regional body, regionalism in South East Asia has been considerably undermined by a number of factors since its creation in 1967. However, in the final analysis, it has been argued that with increasing democratising tendencies in the region and with increasing economic liberalisation, the ASEAN seems to have a bright future. © 2013 Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.
Simpson, Adam, and Susan Park. "The Asian Development Bank as a Global Risk Regulator in Myanmar." Third World Quarterly 34, no. 10 (2013): 1858-1871.
DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2013.851911
Abstract
The Asian Development Bank (adb) is engaged in development projects throughout the Greater Mekong Subregion, although for most of the past two decades it has boycotted Myanmar (Burma) because of donor government sanctions. Despite being criticised for its neoliberal focus and its lack of transparency and accountability, the adb's operations compare favourably to those of the Myanmar government and many transnational corporations constructing and financing projects there. This article engages with the concept of risk, which increasingly frames how development in fragile states like Myanmar is understood, to critically analyse the adb's nascent re-engagement in Myanmar according to the risks this poses for five constituencies: the adb itself; donor states; the Myanmar government and military; private capital; and marginalised communities. While deeper engagement in Myanmar poses different risks for each group, critical analysis suggests that the adb must increase the genuine participation of civil society actors in its activities to address the most significant risks of all, those facing marginalised communities. © 2013 Southseries Inc.,
Huijsmans, Roy. "‘Doing Gendered Age’: older mothers and migrant daughters negotiating care work in rural Lao PDR and Thailand." Third World Quarterly 34, no. 10 (2013): 1896-1910.
DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2013.851952
Abstract
In this article I analyse the reconfiguration of the intersection of relations of gender and age manifesting between older mothers and their migrant daughters. For this I study the negotiation of care work between differently positioned women, drawing on material from Lao PDR and Thailand. Theoretically I draw on the constructivist notion of 'doing gendered age', which allows us to integrate the performance of gender-age subject positions with structural changes, most notably the generational dynamics of rural transformation, an expanding neoliberal labour market and demographic transition. I conclude that gender-age subject positions hold women accountable for 'doing gendered age' in a particular manner. This forms an important basis for informal mechanisms of social protection. However, these subject positions are neither pre-given nor voluntary but are enacted through everyday social interaction and subject to change. © 2013 Southseries Inc.
Yeoh, Brenda SA, Heng Leng Chee, and Grace HY Baey. "The Place of Vietnamese Marriage Migrants in Singapore: social reproduction, social ‘problems’ and social protection." Third World Quarterly 34, no. 10 (2013): 1927-1941.
DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2013.851959
Abstract
While the literature on 'global care chains' has focused on the international transfer of paid reproductive labour in the form of domestic service and care work, a parallel trend takes the form of women marriage migrants, who perform unpaid labour to maintain households and reproduce the next generation. Drawing on our work with commercially matched Vietnamese marriage migrants in Singapore, we analyse the existing immigration-citizenship regime to examine how these marriage migrants are positioned within the family and nation-state as dependants of Singaporean men with no rights to work, residency or citizenship of their own. Incipient discussions on marriage migrants in civil society discourse have tended to follow a 'social problems' template, requiring legislative support and service provisioning to assist vulnerable women. We argue for the need to adopt an expansive approach to social protection issues, depending not on any one single source-the state, civil society and the family-but on government action to ensure that these complement one another and strengthen safety nets for the marriage migrant. © 2013 Southseries Inc.,
Daddis, Gregory A. "Out of Balance: Evaluating American Strategy in Vietnam, 1968-72." WAR & SOCIETY 32, no. 3 (2013): 252-270.
DOI: 10.1179/0729247313Z.00000000026
Abstract
This paper examines the ineffective implementation of American military strategy in the Vietnam War's final years. While the Nixon administration conceived a comprehensive strategic concept aimed at winding down the war in South Vietnam, civilian and military leaders struggled to realize, in an effectual manner, Nixon's wide-ranging political objectives. American official s in Saigon and Washington found it near impossible to balance the competing strategic imperatives of combat operations, diplomatic negotiations, Vietnamization, and the withdrawal of US forces from South-east Asia. This inability to reconcile imbalances within the American strategic framework helps explain more fully the outcome of US political and military efforts in South Vietnam. © 2013 School of Humanities & Social Sciences, The University of New South Wales.
Resosudarmo, Ida Aju Pradnja, Stibniati Atmadja, Andini Desita Ekaputri, Dian Y. Intarini, Yayan Indriatmoko, and Pangestuti Astri. "Does Tenure Security Lead to REDD+ Project Effectiveness? Reflections from Five Emerging Sites in Indonesia." World Development (2013).
DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.01.015
Abstract
In the REDD+ debate, tenure security is often linked to equity concerns. Yet REDD+ is also about the effectiveness of reducing emissions. We propose a conceptual framework linking tenure with REDD+ effectiveness, taking into account that tenure security equally protects the right to reduce and to increase emissions. Survey-based research, at five emerging REDD+ sites in Indonesia in 2010, revealed that tenure is ambiguous and contested, thus insecure. Low dependence on forest-based livelihoods suggests limited interest in reducing emissions. Securing community tenure does not necessarily lead to REDD+ effectiveness unless it can compete with other economic interests that emit GHGs. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
William D. Sunderlin, Anne M. Larson, Amy E. Duchelle, Ida Aju Pradnja Resosudarmo, Thu Ba Huynh, Abdon Awono, Therese Dokken, How are REDD+ Proponents Addressing Tenure Problems? Evidence from Brazil, Cameroon, Tanzania, Indonesia, and Vietnam, World Development, Volume 55, March 2014, Pages 37-52
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.01.013
Abstract
This paper assesses proponent activities to address tenure insecurity in light of actions required for effective and equitable implementation of REDD+. Field research was carried out at 19 REDD+ project sites and 71 villages in Brazil, Cameroon, Tanzania, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Results show proponents addressed tenure insecurity by demarcating village and forest boundaries and identifying legal right holders, but were limited in their ability to resolve local tenure challenges that were national in origin and scope. Still needed are national tenure actions, integration of national and local tenure efforts, clarification of international and national REDD+ policies, and conflict resolution mechanisms. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.01.013