...Gender Research Question: How migrant Chinese women cope with life in Singapore. As a migrant nation, the issue of immigration has always been an immanent theme in Singapore. In recent years, migrant workers in Singapore have come under scrutiny due to the scale at which foreigners are entering the country, with almost 1.5 million non-residents living in Singapore making up more than a quarter of our population of 5.4 million (Ministry of Manpower, 2013) of which many are also new citizens and permanent residents, who might be considered outsiders in some contexts. This influx of foreigners has always been a hot topic in Singapore, ranging from the common discourse of jobs being ‘stolen’ to domestic altercations being blown up by the media (see the curry incident; The Telegraph, 2011). Additionally, the recent announcement of the Population White Paper by the Singapore government was taken very negatively by the civil population as it initially planned to bolster the workforce by greatly increase the number of foreigners such that native Singaporeans would only comprise of a small percentage of the population (Population White Paper, 2013). As such, media and public discourse regarding immigration has been largely Singaporean-centric in nature, revolving around how foreigners have affected Singapore and its occupants; not enough has been done to investigate the experiences and conditions of migrants living in Singapore. This paper will focus on migrant Chinese women in Singapore...
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...Men in Double Marginality--Chinese Diaspora “at home” . . . ! ! ! Ping Lin ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (2007 *! Men in Double Marginality--- Chinese Diaspora “at home” Ping Lin Abstract This paper uses data gathered from research project partially sponsored by Oriel College in Oxford and Academia Sinica in Taiwan to explore the adaptation of Mainlander Taiwanese in China. They moved from China to Taiwan in 1949 and back “home” with their descendents in 1990s. By examine the life of seventeen respondents in Dongguan/Shanghai in 2004-2005, we argue that they were in sense of double marginality despite the diversity of the sample. Whilst foreigners regarded China as a new territory to explore more economic benefits, these returnees were more likely to regarded China as a place with sense of belonging, not sense of colonising. However, they found that the real China was different from what they expected before return. They felt being excluded from Taiwan, but they also felt unwilling to participate in China due to this home disillusion. Further discussion on the adaptation of other type Taiwanese in China will be displayed in separated papers. Keyword: return migration, Taiwan, China! 1. Introduction Whilst most migration research focuses on why people move from poorer countries to richer countries and how they overcome the widely cultural gap in migration, there is little research stressing on migration either on the opposite direction or between countries with cultural proximity...
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...(2008) 1152–1166 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Clinical Psychology Review Gambling among the Chinese: A comprehensive review Jasmine M.Y. Loo a,⁎, Namrata Raylu a,b, Tian Po S. Oei a a b School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia Drug, Alcohol, and Gambling Service, Hornsby Hospital, Hornsby, NSW 2077, Australia a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Despite being a significant issue, there has been a lack of systematic reviews on gambling and problem gambling (PG) among the Chinese. Thus, this paper attempts to fill this theoretical gap. A literature search of social sciences databases (from 1840 to now) yielded 25 articles with a total sample of 12,848 Chinese community participants and 3397 clinical participants. The major findings were: (1) Social gambling is widespread among Chinese communities as it is a preferred form of entertainment. (2) Prevalence estimates for PG have increased over the years and currently ranged from 2.5% to 4.0%. (3) Chinese problem gamblers consistently have difficulty admitting their issue and seeking professional help for fear of losing respect. (4) Theories, assessments, and interventions developed in the West are currently used to explain and treat PG among the Chinese. There is an urgent need for theory-based interventions specifically tailored for Chinese problem gamblers. (5) Cultural differences exist in patterns of gambling when compared with Western samples; however...
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...ANALYSIS OF BUDDHISM’S APPEAL TO THE WEST INTRODUCTION “When you come back as a whale, you’ll be bloody glad you put Greenpeace in your will.” — Greenpeace advertisement on billboard in Taylor Square, Sidney, Australia As the above quotation from the advertisement indicates, there is no question that Buddhism has a certain appeal to the West. Donald S. Lopez, Jr. author of Prisoners of Shangri-la: Tibetan Buddhism and The West provides a cultural history of the “strange encounter” between Buddhism (especially Tibetan Buddhism) and Western countries, most notably Britain, Australia and the United States. It is no longer questionable that Buddhism, and again, especially the Tibetan stream, has permeated popular culture: since China’s invasion and occupation of Tibet in 1950, which will be discussed further, but most significantly since the 1990s. This is most likely accredited to the Dalai Lama’s receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, which brought him and Buddhism much exposure. In fact, every stream of Buddhism announces growing public acceptance in the West since the Dalai Lama first visited two decades ago. The Complete Guide to Buddhist America, written in 1998 for which the Dalai Lama wrote the preface, reports that the number of worship centers in the United States more than doubled from 1987 to 1997 to over one thousand. Several examples illustrate the recent exposure of Buddhism in Western popular and political culture. Firstly, one of the most popular films...
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.....:: Jordan Research - Publications ::.. http://www.jordanresearch.co.uk/pubs.html NAVIGATION Home UK Consultancy Overseas Publications GLOBALISATION AND BIRD'S NEST SOUP David Jordan This is an amended version of an article first published in International Development Planning Review, Volume 26, Number 1, Liverpool University Press, 2004 Summary Almost un-noticed by outsiders, an extraordinary industry has emerged in Indonesia to meet a specialised demand from the nouveau riche of the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC). This industry produces the prime ingredient of the famous bird’s nest soup, also used in traditional Chinese medicines and cosmetics. It is an urban industry, using substantial specially designed buildings, that has transformed a number of Indonesian towns. So far there has been little serious research into this phenomenon. The Indonesian government statistical agency (Badan Pusat Statistik) confesses that the industry output, though considerable, is not captured by its GDP estimates. Enquiries are hampered by the secretive behaviour of the practitioners, who jealously guard their trade secrets. The author is an economist/planner who first observed the phenomenon when conducting fieldwork for an urban development project in North Sumatera. He is currently preparing a research project on the subject to be carried out in association with Badan Pusat Statistik. The nests of bird’s nest soup are produced by the genus aerodramus (formerly collocallia)...
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...[pic] Course Syllabus Managing International Business Graduate Program in General Management Class of Executive July 2008 Course Leader: Handry Satriago Oct 2009 – Feb 2010 IPMI Business School Graduate Program The Indonesian Institute for Management Development Jakarta, Indonesia Course Name : Managing International Business (MIB) Class : Executive Program, July 2008 Facilitators : Handry Satriago (Course Leader) Guest Speakers : Subject to confirmation from the guest speakers - Riri Riza/Mira Lesmana, MILES Film (Session 5) Topic: Indonesia Movie Industry - Richard Matalon, President Director L’Oreal Indonesia (Session 12) Topic: L’Oreal strategy entering Indonesia - Vikram Reddy, GM Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta (Session 16) Topic: Four Seasons Global Strategy Background Companies today confront an increasing array of choices of markets, of locations for value adding activities, and of modes of crossing borders. This course focuses on the international dimensions of strategy and organization, and provides a framework for formulating strategies in an increasingly complex world economy, and for making those strategies work effectively. Operation in an international environment gives the manager access to new markets, additional natural resources, and low-cost-factor...
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...The Chinese Economy The People's Republic of China is the world's second largest economy after the United States. It is the world's fastest-growing major economy, with average growth rates of 10% for the past 30 years. China is also the largest exporter and second largest importer of goods in the world. China became the world's top manufacturer in 2011, surpassing the United States. For 2010, inbound foreign direct investment into China surpassed $100bn for the first time, and investment overseas by Chinese companies in non-financial sectors totaled $59 billion. The country's per capita GDP (PPP) is $7,518 (IMF, 93rd in the world) in 2010. The provinces in the coastal regions of China tend to be more industrialized, while regions in the hinterland are less developed. China and the Political Economy of Global Engagement In many respects it was not until 1992 that China really began to engage with the global economy in a significant way. In an inspection tour of development in southern China in 1992, Deng Xiaoping praised the emergence of proto-capitalist practices in open areas and called for further opening. Following Deng’s exhortations, the CCP declared in October 1992 that China now had a ‘socialist market economy’—the ideological battle appeared to have been won, and this victory was given further force when 1993 saw more FDI flood into China than in the preceding 14 years of reform put together. A trade deficit in 1992 was turned into surplus as exports doubled in the...
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...Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 28, No. 1, April 2008 Islam in Britain and Denmark: Deterritorialized Identity and Reterritorialized Agendas KIRSTINE SINCLAIR Abstract This article is based on case studies of two Muslim groups: Hizb ut-Tahrir and Muslimer i Dialog (Muslims in Dialogue). In the article, basic elements in the ideology and activities of the Islamist and fundamentalist Hizb ut-Tahrir are outlined and the Danish and British sections of the group are compared in terms of agendas, members and image. Furthermore, a comparison between the Danish section of Hizb ut-Tahrir and another and more recent Danish Muslim organization called Muslimer i Dialog is made. In the article, it is argued that there are distinctive differences between the national sections of Hizb ut-Tahrir which indicate that the group is not entirely immune to national agendas (media, political or otherwise). Based on the comparison between the Danish Hizb ut-Tahrir and Muslimer i Dialog, it is also argued that a new understanding of the relation between religious, ethnic and national identity is evolving. Groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir and Muslimer i Dialog seem to thrive and recruit new members on a combination of a transnational, deterritorialized understanding of the Muslim religious community and reterritorialized agendas. Introduction In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington D.C. in September 2001, Hizb ut-Tahrir started making headlines in Denmark. In the...
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...RESEARCH PAPER 06/36 19 JUNE 2006 A Political and Economic Introduction to China “If the 20th century ended in 1989, the 21st began in 1978” Martin Jacques, The Guardian, 25 May 2006 China’s political and economic rise and what it means for the world is now a central preoccupation of analysts and policy-makers. Public awareness of China is likely to increase as the 2008 Olympics in Beijing draw near. This Research Paper is intended to act as a resource that Members of Parliament and their staff can draw upon when engaging with China’s remarkable transformation. Part I provides key facts and figures about China. Parts II and III review recent developments and future prospects by addressing four key questions. Is political authoritarianism sustainable? Can China’s development be peaceful? What are the main domestic economic challenges facing China? What is China’s impact on the world economy? Part IV summarises key aspects of UK and EU relations with China. The Paper ends with a select bibliography of key sources. The Research Paper is intended to act as a platform for a series of Library Standard Notes that will address in more depth specific issues about China that there is space here only to discuss briefly. Jon Lunn, Maria Lalic, Ben Smith and Claire Taylor INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE SECTION Ed Beale, Ed Potton, Ian Townsend and Dominic Webb ECONOMIC POLICY AND STATISTICS SECTION HOUSE OF COMMONS LIBRARY Recent Library Research Papers include: List of 15...
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...Globalization Note Series Pankaj Ghemawat and Sebastian Reiche National Cultural Differences and Multinational Business The eminent Dutch psychologist, management researcher, and culture expert Geert Hofstede, early in his career, interviewed unsuccessfully for an engineering job with an American company. Later, he wrote of typical cross-cultural misunderstandings that crop up when American managers interview Dutch recruits and vice versa: “American applicants, to Dutch eyes, oversell themselves. Their CVs are worded in superlatives…during the interview they try to behave assertively, promising things they are very unlikely to realize…Dutch applicants in American eyes undersell themselves. They write modest and usually short CVs, counting on the interviewer to find out by asking how good they really are…they are very careful not to be seen as braggarts and not to make promises they are not absolutely sure they can fulfill. American interviewers know how to interpret American CVs and interviews and they tend to discount the information provided. Dutch interviewers, accustomed to Dutch applicants, tend to upgrade the information. To an uninitiated American interviewer an uninitiated Dutch applicant comes across as a sucker. To an uninitiated Dutch interviewer an uninitiated American applicant comes across as a braggart.”1 Cultural differences, while difficult to observe and measure, are obviously very important. Failure to appreciate and account for them can lead to embarrassing...
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...I FINAL DRAFT The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. FOREWORD This paper was written as part of the Accelerated Microenterprise Advancement Project (AMAP) Business Development Services Knowledge and Practice (BDS K&P) research initiative. The AMAP BDS initiative’s major objective is “integrating micro and small enterprises into productive value chains to create wealth in poor communities.” The research draws on experience and insights from: • Interviews with leading handicraft buyers in the United States, the European Union, and the Caribbean, including importers and retailers currently sourcing from Haiti, those who have done so in the past, and those who source handmade products from other destinations; • Interviews with market experts, such as product development consultants, designers, enterprise development consultants, and marketing specialists who work with handicraft producers in developing countries; • Discussions with market experts and USAID at a roundtable conducted in Washington, D.C., on April 12, 2006; and • Existing literature on the handicraft market and home accessory industry. This study provides an overview and analysis of the global market for handicrafts and the key trends that affect producers in developing countries, with the ultimate objective of offering practical recommendations...
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...Globalization Note Series Pankaj Ghemawat and Sebastian Reiche National Cultural Differences and Multinational Business The eminent Dutch psychologist, management researcher, and culture expert Geert Hofstede, early in his career, interviewed unsuccessfully for an engineering job with an American company. Later, he wrote of typical cross-cultural misunderstandings that crop up when American managers interview Dutch recruits and vice versa: “American applicants, to Dutch eyes, oversell themselves. Their CVs are worded in superlatives…during the interview they try to behave assertively, promising things they are very unlikely to realize…Dutch applicants in American eyes undersell themselves. They write modest and usually short CVs, counting on the interviewer to find out by asking how good they really are…they are very careful not to be seen as braggarts and not to make promises they are not absolutely sure they can fulfill. American interviewers know how to interpret American CVs and interviews and they tend to discount the information provided. Dutch interviewers, accustomed to Dutch applicants, tend to upgrade the information. To an uninitiated American interviewer an uninitiated Dutch applicant comes across as a sucker. To an uninitiated Dutch interviewer an uninitiated American applicant comes across as a braggart.”1 Cultural differences, while difficult to observe and measure, are obviously very important. Failure to appreciate and account for them can lead to embarrassing...
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...DETERMINANTS OF FDI IN CHINA DETERMINANTS OF FDI IN CHINA Shaukat Ali and Wei Guo1 ABSTRACT Why and how firms take advantage of foreign opportunities, especially via foreign direct investment (FDI) has been much documented. China, as a major emerging market, has attracted significant flows of FDI, to become the second largest receipt. This paper briefly examines the literature on FDI and focuses on likely determinants of FDI in China. It then analyses responses from 22 firms operating in China on what they see as the important motivations for them to undertake FDI. Results show that market size is a major factor for FDI especially for US firms. For local, export-orientated, Asian firms, low labor costs are the main factor. The paper concludes with managerial implications for businesses wish to exploit opportunities in China. INTRODUCTION The past few years has seen a tremendous growth of foreign direct investment (FDI) that has exceeded both world output and world trade. China is by far the largest recipient, and in 2004 surpassed the USA as host destination. It has consequently attracted an increasing attention from multinational businesses. Since China adopted the reform and opening-up policy in the late 1970s, foreign investment has played an increasingly important role in its economic growth. According to the World Investment Report for 2004 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, China absorbed a total of US$53.5 billion worth of ...
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...Expatriates in China Experiences, Opportunities and Challenges Ilaria Boncori ISBN: 9781137293473 DOI: 10.1057/9781137293473 Palgrave Macmillan Please respect intellectual property rights This material is copyright and its use is restricted by our standard site license terms and conditions (see palgraveconnect.com/pc/connect/info/terms_conditions.html). If you plan to copy, distribute or share in any format, including, for the avoidance of doubt, posting on websites, you need the express prior permission of Palgrave Macmillan. To request permission please contact rights@palgrave.com. Expatriates in China Experiences, Opportunities and Challenges Ilaria Boncori Expatriates in China 10.1057/9781137293473 - Expatriates in China, Ilaria Boncori Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to University of Wollongong - PalgraveConnect - 2014-05-17 This page intentionally left blank 10.1057/9781137293473 - Expatriates in China, Ilaria Boncori Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to University of Wollongong - PalgraveConnect - 2014-05-17 Expatriates in China Experiences, Opportunities and Challenges Ilaria Boncori University of Essex, UK Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to University of Wollongong - PalgraveConnect - 2014-05-17 10.1057/9781137293473 - Expatriates in China, Ilaria Boncori © Ilaria Boncori 2013 Foreword © Heather Höpfl 2013 All rights reserved. No reproduction...
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...SAFM_1.1_05_art_Jha 1/9/09 3:25 PM Page 65 Studies in South Asian Film and Media Volume 1 Number 1 © 2009 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/safm.1.1.65/1 Looking for Love in All the White Places: A Study of Skin Color Preferences on Indian Matrimonial and Mate-Seeking Websites Sonora Jha Seattle University Mara Adelman Seattle University Abstract A preference for light skinned females is a global bias that affects all areas of human relationships, especially in marital mate selection. Further intensified by the meteoric rise in Internet dating and mate selection, this bias often serves an invalidating function for darker-skinned women. This study (1) analyzed ‘profiles’ and ‘preferences’ of brides and grooms (N=200), and (2) coded ‘success story wedding photos’ (N=200) posted on four Indian matrimonial websites. Results showed an overwhelming bias among males for brides lighter-skinned than themselves. Males were also more likely than females to state a preference for skin color in their prospective brides, and to use qualitative words like ‘beautiful’ and ‘lovely’ to describe their preferred match. Most significantly, the ‘success story’ wedding photos consistently had lighter-skinned brides than grooms. Darkskinned women were almost non-existent in these ‘success stories.’ This research points to a technology-abetted intensification of colorism. That is to say that the powerful profile ‘menu’ options and the visual imagery of predominantly...
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