Development Aid in the South Pacific Region
[alaya_dropcap]N[/alaya_dropcap]CCU was happy to recently have Prof. Baiq spoke about aid politics in South Pacific Region (SPR). As the South Pacific is a huge region, for the sake of ease, it is sometimes divided into three sub-regions: Melanesia (the word Mela means Black); Micronesia (Micro meaning tiny) and Polynesia (the word Poly means many). In the South Pacific Island region, there are 28 major island countries, and the first country to gain its independence was Cook Island in 1962. Challenges: The whole region faces numerous challenges, such as food shortages, rising sea
New Southbound Policy Workshop I: Regional Perspectives
Visiting Scholars from the Philippines and Indonesia share their perspectives of the Tsai administration’s New Southbound Policy two years after its implementation [alaya_dropcap]O[/alaya_dropcap]n May 11, 2018, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) at National Chengchi University (NCCU), in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (ROC), hosted a workshop which showcased research from visiting scholars from the Philippines and Indonesia to analyze the Tsai administration’s New Southbound Policy. Two years have passed since the initial announcement of this policy by current Taiwan President Tsai
Cross-national Comparisons of Industrial Relations Systems (IRS) Considering Union Membership Growth in India and Finland
[alaya_dropcap]O[/alaya_dropcap]ne of NCCU’s visiting professors, Dr. Santanu Sarkar gave a presentation about the cross-national comparisons of industrial relations systems (IRS) considering union membership growth in India and Finland. He is currently a senior research fellow at the ILR school at Cornell University in New York. He is also a professor here at NCCU in the Institute for Labor Studies. The main topic of his speech was about the difference in worker unions between the two countries. During his speech, he talked about how if business systems are converging, then there
Assessing the Gesture Politics of the DPRK in the Post-Olympic Period
[alaya_dropcap]N[/alaya_dropcap]ational Chengchi University’s College of Social Sciences had the honor of welcoming back one of its alumni, Dr. Niki Alsford, who graduated from the International Master’s Program in Asia Pacific Studies, and is now Reader in Asia Pacific Studies and Director of the International Institute of Korean Studies (IKSU) at the University of Central Lancashire. On May 22, Dr. Niki Alsford held a lecture titled “Assessing the Gesture Politics of the DPRK in the Post-Olympic Period”. It addressed the recent political developments between South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of
Can Universities Serve the Public Good?
[alaya_dropcap]W[/alaya_dropcap]hat is the value of social science? Why do I do the research I do? And what value does it have for policy making, and in general for society? These are the kinds questions that we might ask ourselves as active participants in the academic field of social science. On Tuesday 22nd May, students and staff of the Social Sciences department were lucky enough to have a lecture by Prof. Adam Gamoran, the MacArthur Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Educational Policy Studies of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to help us
NCCU’s 91st Anniversary Sports Day
[alaya_dropcap]O[/alaya_dropcap]n May the 18th of 2018, the hottest day of the year at that point, National Chengchi University celebrated its 91st anniversary with its annual symbolic Sports Day. University officials, staff, faculty, students, and members of the community were in attendance at the event and joined in the fun of different sports activities and games organized to promote a healthy balance between studies and physical activity. NCCU’s president Edward Chow (周行一) held the opening ceremony, in which he honored the school’s achievements in numerous different sports. Chow also asserted that doing
IDAS 2018 India Studies Serial Workshop
Taiwan Fellow, Dr. Sumit Kumar, discusses U.S.-India Relations under the Trump Administration [alaya_dropcap]T[/alaya_dropcap]his spring, National Chengchi University’s International Doctoral Program in Asia-Pacific Studies (IDAS) welcomes 2018 Taiwan Visiting Fellow, Dr. Sumit Kumar (PhD). Dr. Kumar is a Research Fellow at the Chennai Centre for China Studies at Pondicherry University in Chennai, India. For Dr. Kumar, this is his first time in Taiwan and his first academic venture abroad. With sponsorship from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Kumar hopes to have a fruitful academic experience in Taiwan to enrich his academic
Designing for Generosity
[alaya_dropcap]S[/alaya_dropcap]mile! You’ll live longer. With his pay it forward attitude (讓愛傳出去), Mr. Nipun Mehta preached what he spoke by extolling the virtues of volunteerism and encouraging people around the world to participate in small acts of kindness and service. Mr. Mehta helped start Service Space, an incubator of projects that combine volunteering and technology to help people use the power of giftivism -- The practice of radically generous acts that change the world. While not everyone can create radical generous acts, Mr. Mehta says that everyone can do small acts
Welcome to the College of Social Sciences, Stephan van Gasselt!
Happy Hour at the College of Social Sciences [alaya_dropcap]T[/alaya_dropcap]he College of Social Sciences warmly welcomed its newest faculty member Professor Stephan van Gasselt. As customary, the director of IMES program (International Master’s Program of Applied Economics and Social Development), Professor Wang Shinn-Shyr, and with the help of both directors of IMAS (International Master’s in Asia-Pacific Studies) and IDAS (International Doctoral Program in Asia-Pacific Studies) program, organized a Happy Hour event in honor of the new faculty member. Since Professor van Gasselt hails from Germany, a variety of German delicacies, such as
The South China Sea Disputes
Convergence and Divergence in Perceptions from ASEAN, Australia, and India [alaya_dropcap]F[/alaya_dropcap]or the last part of the three-part India Studies related workshops, the College of Social Sciences invited Professor Dr. Christopher Roberts, who joined the College of Social Science as a fellow researcher in February and will stay in Taiwan until the end of the year. He is originally from the University of New South Wales in Canberra, where he is the director of the National Asian Security Program. He specializes in the Indo-Pacific region, South-East Asia, and in particular, the ASEAN