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Articles 7891 - 7920 of 8024

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Evolution Of International Norms, Ann Florini Sep 1996

The Evolution Of International Norms, Ann Florini

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article puts forward a theoretical explanation for why norms of international behavior change over time. It argues that the mainstream neorealist and neoliberal arguments on the static nature of state interests are implausible, as the recent empirical work of the growing constructivist school has convincingly shown. But the constructivists have not yet provided a theoretical basis for understanding why one norm rather than another becomes institutionalized, nor has learning theory yet provided an adequate explanation. An evolutionary approach that draws its hypotheses from an analogy to population genetics offers a promising alternative. This article briefly outlines the constructivist critique …

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Libsearch: A Window-Based Frontend To Remote Bibliographic Databases On The Internet, Ee Peng Lim, Soo-Yin Cheng Jul 1996

Libsearch: A Window-Based Frontend To Remote Bibliographic Databases On The Internet, Ee Peng Lim, Soo-Yin Cheng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Over the past several years, a number of wide-area information navigation and discovery tools have been introduced, including WAIS[1], Gopher[2], World-Wide Web[3], etc. In this paper, we describe a graphical query interface to remote bibliographic databases that can be found on the internet. A library query client, called LibSearch, has been designed and implemented using a set of APIs based on Z39.50 protocol standard[4]. Z39.50 is an application-layer protocol within the OSI reference model designed to allow library users to remotely access the bibliographic records in the library systems. As increasing number of OPAC systems are being established as Z39.50 …

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The Notion Of Place In The Construction Of History, Nostalgia And Heritage In Singapore, Brenda S. A. Yeoh, Lily Kong Jun 1996

The Notion Of Place In The Construction Of History, Nostalgia And Heritage In Singapore, Brenda S. A. Yeoh, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this paper, we investigate the links between place and time, and the intersections between the geographical imagination and the historical mind. These issues are explored in the context of Singapore by looking at the links between place and three concepts usually associated with the temporal sense - history, nostalgia and heritage. We argue that the two imaginations can be simultaneously engaged by means of a focus on the concept of place. The making of a place is closely intertwined with individual biographies and collective histories; at the same time, place does not record history in an unproblematic way. We …

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Ideology, Social Commentary And Resistance In Popular Music: A Case Study Of Singapore, Phua Siew Chye, Lily Kong Jun 1996

Ideology, Social Commentary And Resistance In Popular Music: A Case Study Of Singapore, Phua Siew Chye, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Popular music as a site of struggles over meaning is focused upon, where the social and political relations between different groups in Singapore society are mirrored. How ruling elites and everyday people make use of the same cultural form--popular music--for different purposes is examined.

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Trading Networks Of Chinese Entrepreneurs In Singapore, Thomas Menkhoff, Chalmers E. Labig Apr 1996

Trading Networks Of Chinese Entrepreneurs In Singapore, Thomas Menkhoff, Chalmers E. Labig

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The entrenchment of entrepreneurs in local, regional, or global business networks based on kinship, clanship, territorial, or ethnic ties has often been cited as characteristic of Chinese business communities in Southeast Asia. Qualitative interviews with Singaporean Chinese merchant-exporters were conducted in order to examine this thesis. The findings reveal that there is a strong tendency among Chinese entrepreneurs in Singapore to rely on external commercial relationships with ‘outsiders’ and ‘friends’ rather with those related by blood or marriage. It is suggested that kinship reciprocity may under some circumstances curb the autonomy and freedom of the transacting actors, thus limiting their …

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Pluralism, Multiculturalism And Group Rights, Chandran Kukathas Apr 1996

Pluralism, Multiculturalism And Group Rights, Chandran Kukathas

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

However prevalent may have been the longing for homogeneity, or at least social unity, in political thinking, the fundamental point which must be recognized is that cultural diversity or pluralism has been the most notable feature of society in the history of human set tlement. "Marginality and pluralism were and are the norm of civi lized existence."1 There are several reasons why this is the pattern revealed by history.2 The first has to do with the ubiquity of military conflict. Even among barbarians ethnic political unity was fragile because military conquests resulted in the mixing of peoples. But throughout history …

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Against The Communitarian Republic, Chandran Kukathas Apr 1996

Against The Communitarian Republic, Chandran Kukathas

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Communitarianism has risen to prominence in recent debates in political philosophy largely on the strength of its criticisms of liberalism. Among its more important criticisms is the charge that liberal political thinking does not properly appreciate the value of community. At a deeper level, communitarian ism asserts that liberalism is infected by confusions about the nature of community, thinking?mistakenly?that it is no more than an associa tion of separate, isolated, 'atomistic' individuals. Communitarians thus advance not only certain claims about value but also other claims about how the human world should be understood.

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Organization Structure And Structural Change In European Manufacturing Organisations, Derek Pugh, Timothy Adrian Robert Clark, Geoff Mallory Jan 1996

Organization Structure And Structural Change In European Manufacturing Organisations, Derek Pugh, Timothy Adrian Robert Clark, Geoff Mallory

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The paper considers two approaches to thestudy of the impact of national cultures on thestructure of organizations; viz: culture free andculture bound approaches. Af ter a discussionof the problems of obtaining comparable datain cross-cultural research, the preliminary results of a comparative study of large manufacturing organizations in six countries in Europeare presented. The results suggest that whileformal organizational authority structures appear to be culture free reflecting the impact ofstrategic contingencies, use of coordinationtechniques, such as regular top managementmeetings and task forces, is more affected bycultural factors.

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The Commercial Face Of God: Exploring The Nexus Between The Religious And The Material, Lily Kong Jan 1996

The Commercial Face Of God: Exploring The Nexus Between The Religious And The Material, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper explores the nexus between the cultural and the material by examining the ways in which religion and the economy are integrated in the context of economy-driven Singapore. The mutually constitutive relationships between the cultural and the material are explored through a discussion of the role of the state, capital and religious institutions in pulling together the sacred and the secular. Specifically, the analysis focuses on how the state harnesses religion ideologically in its economic development strategies; how capital harnesses the potential of religion in commercial enterprises in practical terms; and how religious institutions themselves behave as financial institutions. …

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Remedies Available For Breach Of Contract Under The Un Convention On Contracts For The International Sale Of Goods, Locknie Hsu Jan 1996

Remedies Available For Breach Of Contract Under The Un Convention On Contracts For The International Sale Of Goods, Locknie Hsu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article, which is complementary to the previous one [(1996) 8 SAcLJ 104], examines in detail the remedies available under the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, which recently came into force in Singapore. Where appropriate, brief comparisons are made with the remedies available under the Sale of Goods Act.

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Tourism Growth In Singapore: An Optimal Target, Habibullah Khan, Sock-Yong Phang, Rex S. Toh Jan 1996

Tourism Growth In Singapore: An Optimal Target, Habibullah Khan, Sock-Yong Phang, Rex S. Toh

Research Collection School Of Economics

No abstract provided.

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Popular Music And A Sense Of Place In Singapore, Lily Kong Jan 1996

Popular Music And A Sense Of Place In Singapore, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper illustrates how popular music written, produced, and performed by Singaporeans provides a means through which the culture and society of Singapore may be understood. Music with English language text conveys a sense of place and reflects a distinctively Singaporean spirit and identity. The paper examines four themes: the portrayal of Singapore's multiracial population which reflects a unique cultural synthesis; the Singaporeans' concept of urbanity, manifested as the simultaneous attraction and repulsion towards the city and the desire for nature and the rustic; the distinctive social engineering in Singapore; and the way in which global issues are imported into …

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Temporary Equililibrium Dynamics With Learning: The Stability Of Random Walk Beliefs, Shurojit Chatterji Jan 1996

Temporary Equililibrium Dynamics With Learning: The Stability Of Random Walk Beliefs, Shurojit Chatterji

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper examines the stability of deterministic steady-states with a one dimensional state-variable and a smooth, recursive updating rule. It is shown that the only possibly stable steady states are those associated with random walk beliefs, provided there is motion on a center manifold, which is the case when a key parameter is non-zero; In the extant literature, there is no motion on the center manifold (the parameter is zero), a consequence of the specific assumption that the expected value of the state variable next period determines its current value. The stability properties are seen to be robust with respect …

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Making "Music At The Margins"? A Social And Cultural Analysis Of Xinyao In Singapore, Lily Kong Jan 1996

Making "Music At The Margins"? A Social And Cultural Analysis Of Xinyao In Singapore, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Formalist critics and aestheticians have argued that music does not possess any kind of "extra-musical" significance, that there is no meaning beyond the form and structural relations of the notes. For them, music exemplifies the laws of mathematical harmony and proportion rather than the social and political contexts within which it is produced, reproduced and consumed. This view has been challenged by a number of social theorists: Max Weber, Theodor Adorno and Edward Said have all argued for an understanding of music within its social, cultural, economic and political contexts. Such analysis of popular music is now unquestioned. Indeed, it …

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Medical Investigation Of Suspects By The Police, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee Jan 1996

Medical Investigation Of Suspects By The Police, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Although medical examinations and samples taken from suspects' bodies in the course of police inquiries often lead to the discovery of important evidence, Singapore criminal procedure does not appear to empower the police to carry out such medical investigations. Neither does it safeguard the interests of suspects. It is submitted that the Criminal Procedure Code and other statutes should be brought up to date with modern science.

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Temporary Equilibrium Dynamics With Bayesian Learning, Shurojit Chatterji Dec 1995

Temporary Equilibrium Dynamics With Bayesian Learning, Shurojit Chatterji

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper examines the stability of deterministic steady states in a class of economies where the state variable is one dimensional and where agents use Bayesian techniques to form expectations. The dynamics with learning are locally convergent if the prior mean is close to a stable perfect-foresight root having modulus less than 1 and if the prior beliefs are held with enough confidence. The dynamics are, however, divergent if the prior mean or the variance of the prior distribution is sufficiently large

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Folktales And Reality: The Social Construction Of Race In Chinese Tales, Lily Kong, Elaine Goh Sep 1995

Folktales And Reality: The Social Construction Of Race In Chinese Tales, Lily Kong, Elaine Goh

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper illustrates how folktales are a repository of primary material for the geographer. Using the example of The Strange Tales of Liaozhai, we discuss how these tales are not purely fictive constructs but constitute instead fictive, historical and projected realities. As an example of the value of such analysis, we discuss Chinese constructions of race as revealed in the tales.

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Popular Music In Geographical Analyses, Lily Kong Jun 1995

Popular Music In Geographical Analyses, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

As an area of geographical inquiry, popular music has not been explored to any large extent. Where writings exist, they have been somewhat divorced from recent theoretical and methodological questions that have rejuvenated social and cultural geography (see, for example, Cosgrove and Jackson, 1987; Jackson, 1989; Cosgrove, 1989; 1990; Anderson and Gale, 1992; Bames and Duncan, 1992). In this article I will focus on the interface between geography and popular music, focusing specifically on the contributions of such exploration towards cultural and social understanding. In what follows, I will first discuss the reasons for geographers’ relative neglect of popular music …

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For Better Of For Worse: The Statutory Derivative Action In Singapore, Pearlie Koh Mar 1995

For Better Of For Worse: The Statutory Derivative Action In Singapore, Pearlie Koh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Managerial accountability (or the lack of it) to shareholders has been described as “one of the major socio-legal problems of the twentieth century”. That such a comment has come to be made seems inevitable given the fact that common law courts have consistently upheld, in the absence of fraud, the managerial authority of the Board against the shareholders in general meeting. The Directors have almost absolute authority to decide what is, in their opinion, in the commercial interests of the company. The concerns of shareholders are obvious in public companies where, for the sake of economic efficiency and as a …

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The Multiplier Effect: Singapore's Hospitality Industry, Habibullah Khan, Sock-Yong Phang, Rex S. Toh Feb 1995

The Multiplier Effect: Singapore's Hospitality Industry, Habibullah Khan, Sock-Yong Phang, Rex S. Toh

Research Collection School Of Economics

Tourism's contribution to Singapore's economy has increased over time. Tourism contributed 11.9% to Singapore's GDP in 1992, about half of that from direct revenues. Indirect and induced sources contributed about equally to the other half. While the direct effect of tourist expenditures on the Singapore economy are predominant, the indirect and induced effects are also significant, indicating strong sectoral linkages within the local economy, especially with respect to the hospitality industry.

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Vertrauen Und Chinesisches Wirtschaftshandeln In Singapur: Zur Kulturellen Und Sozialstrukturellen Bedingtheit Von Vertrauensbildung Und Kooperation In Chinesischen Geschäftsbeziehungen, Thomas Menkhoff Jan 1995

Vertrauen Und Chinesisches Wirtschaftshandeln In Singapur: Zur Kulturellen Und Sozialstrukturellen Bedingtheit Von Vertrauensbildung Und Kooperation In Chinesischen Geschäftsbeziehungen, Thomas Menkhoff

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Based on in-depth interviews with Chinese merchant exporters in Singapore, the article explores why personal forms of trust (the Chinese translation is xinyong) are key elements in the complex web of business and associated social relationships.

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Towards An Understanding Of Chinese Business Networks In Asia-Pacific: The Singapore Case, Thomas Menkhoff, Chalmers Labig Jan 1995

Towards An Understanding Of Chinese Business Networks In Asia-Pacific: The Singapore Case, Thomas Menkhoff, Chalmers Labig

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The embeddedness of entrepreneurs in local, regional or global business networks based on kinship, clanship, territorial or ethnic ties and solidarities has often been cited as characteristic of the Chinese business community in Southeast Asia. Qualitative interviews with Singaporean Chinese merchant-exporters were conducted in order to examine this thesis and shed light on the various "guanxi bases" of their international trading networks. The findings suggest that there is a strong tendency among these Singaporean entrepreneurs towards external commercial transactions with "outsiders" and "friends" rather than with "kin" whether by blood, marriage, or ascription. Kinship reciprocity may curb the autonomy and …

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Port Multipliers For Singapore: Impact On Income, Output, And Employment, Rex S. Toh, Sock-Yong Phang, Habibullah Khan Jan 1995

Port Multipliers For Singapore: Impact On Income, Output, And Employment, Rex S. Toh, Sock-Yong Phang, Habibullah Khan

Research Collection School Of Economics

This article examines the contribution of the activities of the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), a government-owned statutory board which operates almost all of the port related activities in Singapore, to the prosperity of the entire country, by way of multiplier analysis. Input-output analysis is used to compute the income, output, and employment multipliers of port activities, broken down into direct, indirect, and induced effects. The policy implications on port investment and maritime policy follow.

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Music And Cultural Politics: Ideology And Resistance In Singapore, Lily Kong Jan 1995

Music And Cultural Politics: Ideology And Resistance In Singapore, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper focuses on popular music written and produced by Singaporeans to illustrate the nature of social relationships based on ideological hegemony and resistance. Analysis is based on two groups of music: 'national' songs supported by the government in the 'Sing Singapore' programme; and songs brought together in Not the Singapore song book. Interviews with local lyricists and analysis of video productions provide supplementary information. Music is used by the ruling elite to perpetuate certain ideologies aimed at political socialization and to inculcate a civil religion that directs favour and fervour towards the nation. Music is also a form of …

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Electoral System And Minority Representation, Kenneth Benoit, Kenneth Shepsle Jan 1995

Electoral System And Minority Representation, Kenneth Benoit, Kenneth Shepsle

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

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Frustration Of Contracts For The Sale Of Land In Singapore, Andrew B.L. Phang Jan 1995

Frustration Of Contracts For The Sale Of Land In Singapore, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The recent Singapore Court of Appeal decision of Lim Kim Som v. Sheriffa bah bte Abdul Rahman' is significant for at least two specific (and related) rea in the context of the doctrine of frustration: first, because it pertains to the m particular issue as to whether a contract for the sale of land can be frustrated; second, because it also raises certain significant questions with regard to m general aspects of the doctrine itself.

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Equal Protection And Sexual Orientation, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee Jan 1995

Equal Protection And Sexual Orientation, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Equality is the thread running through the fundamental liberties enshrined in our Constitution. ... Equality, expressed in Art 12 of the [Singapore] Constitution, is also a specific right enforceable by the court. The difficulty comes in applying this deceptively simple concept to real-life situations. ... In considering the validity of legislation, Singapore and Malaysian courts have generally favored rational review, a modest conception of equal protection, unlike their American counterparts which have adopted a more expansive reading in the form of strict and intermediate review. This article examines how these three levels of equal protection review operate, and argues that …

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Rediscovering The Constitution, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee Jan 1995

Rediscovering The Constitution, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The fundamental liberties in our Constitution involve a study of tensions: between an individual's rights and the community's interests, between the role of the judiciary on the one hand and the executive and legislature on the other. How we should interpret them depends on where we think equilibrium should be established. This depends on two main factors. The first is the proper function of the judiciary as laid down by our Constitution, which is discussed in Part I of this article. The second is the nature of our fundamental liberties, for they are worded with varying degrees of generality. ... …

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Beyond Pepper V. Hart: The Legislative Reform Of Statutory Interpretation In Singapore, Robert C. Beckman, Andrew B.L. Phang Dec 1994

Beyond Pepper V. Hart: The Legislative Reform Of Statutory Interpretation In Singapore, Robert C. Beckman, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

One of the major controversies in the area of statutory interpretation has centred on the use of parliamentary materials as extrinsic aids by courts in interpreting legislation. The English courts long prohibited any reference to parliamentary materials.' Legislation was passed in Australia in the 1980s to allow liberal reference to parliamentary materials in the courts. More recently, a seminal decision of the House of Lords in 1992 in Pepper (Inspector of Taxes) v. Hart' introduced significant flexibility into the hitherto rigid proscription followed in the English courts, although it did not go as far as the legislative reforms in Australia. …

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Defending Negative Liberty, Chandran Kukathas Dec 1994

Defending Negative Liberty, Chandran Kukathas

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

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