• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.277-281
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• 2021

Singapore's construction sector employs more than 450,000 workers. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore from April to June 2020, migrant workers were disproportionately affected, including many working in the construction sector. Shared accommodation and construction worksites emerged as nexuses for COVID-19 transmission. Official government resources, including COVID-19 epidemiological data, 43 advisories and 19 circulars by Singapore's Ministries of Health and Manpower, were reviewed over 8 month period from March to October 2020. From a peak COVID-19 incidence of 1,424.6/100,000 workers in May 2020, the incidence declined to 3.7/100,000 workers by October 2020. Multilevel safe management measures were implemented to enable the phased reopening of construction worksites from July 2020. Using the Swiss cheese risk management model, the authors described the various governmental, industry, supervisory and worker-specific interventions to prevent, detect and contain COVID-19 for safe resumption of work for the construction sector.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.201-224
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• 2020

The term Anthropocene encapsulates the idea that the human impact on earth has already reached the level of a geological force with catastrophic consequences, such as global warming or climate change. The envisioning of an apocalyptic future of the possible demise of the human race is central to this idea. This paper seeks to explore the implications of the Anthropocene on the very idea of history and area studies. Does the planetary scope of the Anthropocenic condition, and the concerted effort in the global scale in the need to address it, mean the end of area studies, which is premised on a particularity of an area? Is a posthumanist history feasible? If yes, how can it really help address the problem? Or, it will merely muddle the issues?

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.57-85
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• 2018

The debates continue on the conceptualization of Southeast Asia and the ways in which those of us who are concerned to attempt scholarly interventions in the region define, conceive, understand and engage with it. But, in an important sense, the region has now been defined for us by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and whatever academic researchers might wish to impose on Southeast Asia in regard to their priorities and interests, it may make little difference. Given the politically-derived, nation-state definition of Southeast Asia, are all our problems of regional definition resolved? In some respects, they have been. ASEAN has constructed and institutionalized a regional organization and an associated regional culture. But in certain fields of research we still require academic flexibility. We cannot always be confined by an ASEAN-derived regional definition. The paper will explore other configurations of 'region' and its sub-divisions and propose, that in the spirit of academic freedom, we can continue to generate imaginative depictions of Southeast Asia and its constituents both within and beyond the region.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.55-76
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• 2016

In this paper, I offer a reflection on two cases to assess in preliminary manner the viability of an indigenous methodology for Southeast Asian Studies. The first is Kaupapa Maori Research (hereafter KM) as spelt out in the much talked about book by Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous People (Smith 1999). The second case is Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology, SP), which began to take shape in the late 1960's and 1970's in the Philippines. Arguably these are among the most developed efforts at decolonization or indigenization of methodology. I intend to use these cases to explore the factors that made possible the flourishing and stagnating of indigenous methodologies. I shall argue that the broader context of knowledge consumption, not epistemological and methodological concerns, poses the most formidable challenge to the viability of indigenization efforts.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.77-94
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• 2016

The paper examined Southeast Asia as a whole and focused on similarities among countries composing what is now known as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In order to determine these similarities, the analysis focused on the fact that during World War II the whole of Southeast Asia was occupied by one political power: Japan. The policies the Japanese implemented in the region were to a degree very similar in terms of pressures and tensions that occurred in the different countries. The paper argues that these pressures and the responses of the various peoples of Southeast Asia instilled a nucleus of common identity in Southeast Asia as a whole. Basically, the policies that the Japanese implemented all over Southeast Asia were the following: the setting up regional administrations; the extraction of resources and emphasis on local self-sufficiency; the implementation of cultural Japanization; and local indigenization policies. The Southeast Asian responses that crystalized this joint Southeast Asian identity may be described as: accommodating and resisting the Japanese; commemorating portraying; and collectively remembering the era. The process of action and reaction between Japan and Southeast Asia was formative of this joint Southeast Asian identity.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.35-49
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• 2017

This paper will concentrate on how various particular Southeast Asian conditions created a distinct Southeast Asian cultural identity despite a very challenging geographical and historical diversity in the region. The paper will argue that Southeast Asians demonstrate an ability to adapt to changes and new values but also exhibit fatalism through a very high degree of passive acceptance to political and other changes that affect their society. The paper identifies a degree of environmental and geographical uniqueness in Southeast Asia that shapes context and gives rise to very distinct cultural traits. The historical transformation in the region brought about by colonialism and nationalism, combined with this geographical and political make-up of the region, had an immense impact on Southeast Asian society as it fostered adaptability. Finally, the political transitions brought about by various conflicts and wars that continued to affect the area in rapid succession all throughout the 20^th century likewise contributed immensely to a local Southeast Asian fatalistic response towards change. Historically, Southeast Asia demonstrated these socio-cultural responses to such an extent that these are argued to permeate the region forming a distinct aspect of Southeast Asian culture.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.266-272
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• 2021

The aboveground biomass (AGB) was estimated in mixed dipterocarp forests (MDF), peat swamp forests (PSF), and heath forests (HF) in Brunei Darussalam. A total of 81 (20 m×20 m) plots were established for MDF, PSF, and HF in three regions. The diameter at breast height(DBH) of all live trees (DBH≥10 cm) was measured within the plots. The AGB was calculated using an allometric equation with the measured DBH. The AGB(Mg ha^-1) for MDF, PSF, and HF was 603.3±159.9, 305.9±23.4, and 284.3±19.3, respectively, and was significantly different among the forest types (p<0.05). The greater AGB in MDF than those in PSF and HF was due to the presence of emergent trees in MDF. The results showed that the number of emergent trees varied by forest type. Consequently, the appearance of the emergent trees could be one of the main factors affecting AGB in Southeast Asia's tropical rain forests.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.218-224
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• 2021

This study was conducted to determine the mass-loss rates and the changes in carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio of dead woods, which were of following species: Dryobalanops aromatic, D. rappa, and Cratoxylum arborescens. These were dominant tree species in mixed Dipterocarp forests (MDF) and peat swamp forests (PSF) in Brunei Darussalam. In May, 2019, 48 dead wood samples (15 cm×4.8 cm×5 cm) were placed in MDF and PSF sites, and all the samples were collected after 16 months. The effects of species on mass loss were statistically significant (p<0.05); however, no difference was observed in the mass loss obtained from the two forest types (p>0.05). The initial density (g·cm^-3) of the dead woods D. aromatic, D. rappa, and C. arborescens, was 0.64±0.02, 0.60±0.00, and 0.44±0.01, respectively. Also the annual mass loss rate (%) was estimated to be 6.37, 8.17, and 18.53 for D. aromatic, D. rappa, and C. arborescens, respectively. The proportion of dead woods in decay class III was only 25% of C. arborescens samples, which were attacked by wood-feeding invertebrates, such as termites. The C/N ratio decreased significantly in D. aromatic and D. rappa, but the decreasing trend of C/N ratio was not statistically significant in C. arborescens. The results indicate that physical traits of dead woods, such as density, could be one of the main factors causing the decomposition of dead woods initially, as invertebrates such as termites are one of the key decomposers of dead wood in tropical rainforests. In the samples of C. arborescens, which was attacked by invertebrates, nitrogen immobilization occurred to lesser extent as compared to that observed in D. aromatic and D. rappa.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 2002.10b
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• pp.165-166
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• 2002

Hydrogen free diamond like carbon (DLC) films were prepared on steel substrates by using a single ion beam in a configuration that allowed sputtering of a graphite target and at the same time allowed to impact the substrate at a grazing angle. The DLC films so prepared have improved properties with increased disorder and with modest hardness that is slightly higher than previously reported values. We have studied the effects of $N_2^+$ ions implantation on such films. It is found that the implantations of nitrogen ions into DLC films lead to chemical modifications that allowed N atoms to be incorporated into the carbon network to produce a nitrogenated DLC. Nano-indentation experiments indicated that the nitrogenated films have consistently higher hardnesses ranging from 30 to 45GPa, which represents a considerable increase in surface hardness, compared with non-nitrogenated precursor films. The investigations by XPS and Raman spectroscopy suggests that the $N_2^+$ implanted DLCs had undergone both chemical and structural modifications through the incorporation of N atoms and the increased ratio of $sp^3/sp^2$ type bonding. The observed high hardness was therefore attributable to these structural and chemical modifications. This result has implication for the preparation of super hard wear resistant films required for tribological functions in devices.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 2002.10b
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• pp.157-158
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• 2002

A surface hardenable low alloy carbon steel was implanted with medium energy (20 - 50KeV) $N_2^+$ ions to produced a modified hardened surface. The implantation conditions were varied and are given in several doses. The surface hardness of treated and untreated steels were measured using depth sensing ultra micro indentation system (UMIS). It is shown that the hardness of nitrogen ion implanted steels varied from 20 to 50GPa depending on the implantation conditions and the doses of implantation. The structure of the modified surfaces was examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that the high hardness on the implanted surfaces was as a result of formation of non-equilibrium nitrides. High-resolution XPS studies indicated that the nitride formers were essentially C and Si from the alloy steel. The result suggests that the ion implantation provided the conditions for a preferential formation of C and Si nitrides. The combination of evidences from nano-indentation and XPS, provided a strong evidence for the existence of $sp^3$ type of bonding in a suspected $(C,Si)_xN_y$ stoichiometry. The formation of ultra hard surface from relatively cheap low alloy steel has significant implication for wear resistance implanted low alloy steels.