Letters from Ian Castles, Visiting Fellow, Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government, the Australian National University to Dr Francois Bourguignon, Chief Economist and Vice President, Development Economics, World Bank

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-356
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Development Economics ◽  
Vice President ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
National University

scholarly journals Dialogue: In Conversation with Elizabeth Minnich

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-72
Author(s):  
Huang Hoon Chng
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Vice President ◽  
Associate Professor ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Learning Center ◽  
Excellent Teaching ◽  
National University

At the ISSOTL Conference in Bergen, Norway (October 2018), we were privileged to have heard a lecture by Professor Elizabeth Minnich, on “People who are not thinking Are capable of anything: What are students learning, how are students learning it, and does it make them better people?” As a follow up, in November 2019, Chng Huang Hoon (then-ISSOTL Vice President - Asia Pacific) invited the ISSOTL community to field their questions for Professor Minnich. Questions from four ISSOTL members were received. TLI has provided the platform to enable us to continue that important conversation. The participants are: Elizabeth Minnich, philosopher, author, teacher, Distinguished Fellow (Association of American Colleges & Universities). John Draeger, Professor of Philosophy and Director, Teaching and Learning Center, SUNY Buffalo State, USA. Torgny Roxå, Associate Professor and Academic Developer, Excellent Teaching Practitioner, Centre for Engineering Education, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, Sweden. Johan Geertsema, Associate Professor (University Scholars Programme) and Director, Centre for Development of Teaching and Learning, National University of Singapore. Chng Huang Hoon, Associate Professor (English Language & Literature), Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education) and Director (Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Centre), National University of Singapore. This conversation is in 3-parts: 1) Part One: Thoughtfulness, Thoughtlessness, Thinking and Teaching 2) Part Two: Thoughtlessness, scholarly reflection, and Outcomes-based teaching and learning 3) Part Three: Intensive and Extensive SoTL

Safety leadership—Weatherford Asia Pacific

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 738
Author(s):  
John Raine ◽  
Robert Massy
Keyword(s):  
Vice President ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Personal Safety ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Performance Review ◽  
Training Course ◽  
Safety Leadership ◽  
General Managers ◽  
External Training ◽  
Training Provider

This paper will explain the steps that Weatherford Asia Pacific took to change a safety performance that had remained static for the preceding five years. Weatherford Asia Pacific has in place five key result areas (KRA): HSE performance. Financial performance. Operational performance. Growth. People and resources. The vice president of Weatherford Asia Pacific, Mr. Alistair Geddes, made a decision to personally involve himself in the improvement of the key performance indicators for KRA 1. Believing that leadership was the key to improvement, he set about developing an internal safety leadership training course—this was done alongside the regional learning and development manager Mr. Robert Massy. This approach was unique for a variety of reasons: It was spearheaded by the region’s vice president who not only assisted in the preparation of the slides, but personally delivered five sessions in a variety of countries in the region. It was linked to the Weatherford International’s five core behaviors, thus linking safety leadership to other corporate initiatives. It required each leader to complete a personal safety pledge card detailing the activities that they were going to undertake for that performance year. Completion of their pledges is mandatory and linked to performance review. It was pushed further down the organisation by the general managers of each Geomarket. There have been some very positive indicators that point to the success of this approach. For the first five months of the year, Weatherford Asia Pacific remained recordable incident free (though that situation has now changed). An easy solution would have been to bring in an external training provider to deliver an established training course. This was not viewed as the preferred option as the strength of this approach comes from the person who is delivering the message.

scholarly journals Jorge Sahade: First Latin American IAU President

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (S349) ◽  
pp. 147-152
Author(s):  
Lydia S. Cidale
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Binary Systems ◽  
Committee Member ◽  
Vice President ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Uv Astronomy ◽  
La Plata ◽  
National University ◽  
The Creation

AbstractProf. Jorge Sahade (1915–2012) was the first Latin American President of the International Astronomical Union (1985–1988). From then on, he had a very active participation as president, vice-president, and organizing committee member of several Commissions and Divisions of the IAU, related to stellar astrophysics and exchange of astronomers. Prof. J. Sahade was born in Argentina and was one of the first students graduated in astronomy at the National University of La Plata. He served as director of the Astronomical Observatory of Córdoba (1953–1955) and of the Observatory of La Plata (1968–1969). He was the first Dean of the Faculty of Exact Sciences of the National University of La Plata. He promoted the purchase of a 2.15-m diameter telescope, today located in the Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito, San Juan, Argentina. He founded the Institute of Astronomy and Physics of Space (IAFE) in Buenos Aires and was its first director (1971–1974). He was also director of the “Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales” (the Argentina Space Activity Agency) and promoted the inclusion of Argentina as a partnership of the Gemini Observatory. Prof. Sahade also focused on the development of the astronomy in Latin America and this led to the creation of the “Liga Latinoamericana de Astronomía” (nowadays LIADA).His research field was interacting binary systems and he published about 150 papers, among them is the well-known discovery of the “Struve-Sahade effect”. I met him when he was 70 years old; he was a very enthusiastic astronomer, who travellled everywhere to promote the astronomy in Latin America (Argentina, Perú, Honduras). Among his last dreams was the creation of a Latin American Institute to develop and enhance astrophysics in South and Central America, the revival of UV astronomy and many more impressive works that he would have liked to end and publish.

Financing small and medium enterprises in Asia and the Pacific

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masato Abe ◽  
Michael Troilo ◽  
Orgil Batsaikhan
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
South Asia ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Severe Constraint ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose policy suggestions for the financing of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Asia-Pacific region. Recent literature suggests that lack of capital is the most severe constraint for SME survival and growth. Enabling policymakers to assist SMEs in their search for financing will boost economic growth. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology includes both quantitative and qualitative components. Current World Bank data on the strength of various financial institutions in the countries of interest is analyzed to discover areas of improvement. Additionally, 32 experts from East and South Asia were interviewed several times to determine areas of concern in financing SMEs. Their responses and the evidence from the World Bank data form the basis of the policy prescriptions in the paper. Findings – Financing is a critical constraint for SMEs for several reasons. Many SME owners do not manage working capital effectively, information asymmetry between banks and SMEs retards the loan application and approval process, and underdeveloped equity markets deny SMEs future growth opportunities. Policymakers can ameliorate conditions by serving as facilitators and communicators; governments should not provide financing directly if possible. Practical implications – It is hoped and expected that the policy prescriptions offered herein will enhance the growth and survival prospects of SMES, thereby creating more employment, innovation, and economic growth. Originality/value – The main contribution of this work is its scope. While the financing of SMEs is a familiar topic, the review of issues and policies in East and South Asia, and their distillation into practical advice for officialdom, is what makes this manuscript unique.

scholarly journals Coping with Growth Transitions: The Case of Chinese Family Businesses in Singapore

2001 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wee-Liang Tan ◽  
Siew Tong Fock
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Chinese Family ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Growth Transitions ◽  
National Boundaries

Families control more than half of the corporations in East Asia (World Bank, 1999; World Bank, 1998). The contribution of family businesses to Asia's economic growth is predicated upon successfully growing their businesses. Many family businesses in East Asia, spanning countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia, are Chinese owned and managed. Some claim that these businesses will never develop into full-fledged multinational enterprises because of their cultural heritage (Redding, 1990). However, some Chinese family businesses have successfully made the transition. This paper presents an in-depth study of five Chinese family businesses in Singapore that have successfully made the transition in growth and size and across national boundaries and family generations. Their business empires extend into the Asia Pacific region. This paper highlights the key success factors of these five noteworthy family businesses that enabled them to make these growth transitions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document