Social sciences Sociology

Erwin James A. dela Cruz (he/they) or Alonzo, is a graduate student and researcher in Philippine Studies with a sub-specialization in Development Studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman and also serves as the Secretary General of the Southeast Asian Media Studies Association (SEAMSA). Their research interests are political economy of media, media industry studies, Boys’ Love studies, and development studies. They intend to engage with Asian media industries and their production of LGBTQ+ media.

Dr. Randolph Chan's research areas focus on the mental health and positive development of youth from marginalized populations with a particular emphasis on sexual and gender minorities.

Professor Joshua Mok Ka-ho is the Vice-President and concurrently Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Comparative Policy of Lingnan University. He researches and publishes on higher education policy and governance, comparative development and policy studies, and social development in contemporary China and East Asia

Professor Beena Giridharan is the Dean for Learning and Teaching at Curtin Malaysia, and provides academic leadership to Curtin Malaysia, with a particular focus on academic operational efficiency. Her research and academic interests include: vocabulary acquisition in ESL, educational administration and leadership; higher education practices, transnational education (TNE), ethno-linguistic studies in indigenous communities, and social and cultural studies. As a member of an OLT (Office of Learning and Teaching, Australia) funded project entitled ‘Learning without Borders’ she has investigated leadership roles in Trans-National Education (TNE) and internationalization of the curriculum.

Ms. Nagal is an alumnae of the University of Santo Tomas, who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the College of Education and a Master in Business Administration major in Entrepreneurship from the UST Graduate School. An academician with more than 10 years of experience in several capacities, she is currently a full-time academic staff for the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management, and concurrently the College Coordinator for International Relations and Programs and an Affiliate and Associate Researcher for the UST Sentro Turismo.

Dr. Olivia Tan Swee Leng was a Legal Counsel at Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA) and in charge of the Domain Name Dispute Resolution for both .com from Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre and .my cases, as well as Mediation/Arbitration case management.  She obtained her Bachelor of Law Degree with honours in 1993 from University of London (UK) and completed her Certificate of Legal Practise (CLP) in 1996.  She was the book prize winner for the Civil Procedure Paper and General Paper awarded by the Certificate of Legal Practise Board (Malaysia) in 1996.  She practised as an advocate and solicitor in Malaysia in the area of Corporate Litigation, Intellectual Property (Trademark), and Banking and Conveyancing. She continued to pursue her Masters in Law at the National University of Malaysia (UKM) in 2002. Later that year, she ceased legal practise to lecture Company Law, Business Law and Commercial Law at Nilai University in Malaysia as a Senior Lecturer in Law and headed the Department of Admission and Records as a Deputy Registrar.  She obtained her PhD in Law at the National University of Malaysia (UKM) in 2014.  Presently, she is the Director Technology Transfer Office (TTO) at Multimedia University (MMU). One of her main duties at TTO is to manage the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of the academic researchers as TTO. Dr Olivia Tan is also involved in Erasmus+ Spire, European grant project as Quality Manager in 2018 to 2020. SPIRE’s overall objective is contributing to the effectiveness of Research and Innovation management at HEIs by enhancing IPR capacities at three complementary levels, thereby addressing major difficulties identified in the target ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand). She is also currently a legal consultant for Valiantlytix Sdn Bhd (a Data analytic platfom) .

May Sabe Phyu is Director of the Gender Equality Network and a recipient of International Women of Courage Award as well as the Global Trailblazer Award for her role in advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda in Myanmar.

I am a sociologist studying domestic violence and sexual violence situations and measures in Japan, and am the director of two NGOs, All Japan Women’s Shelter Network and Rape Crisis Center in Hiroshima. As an NGO activist, we, All Japan Women’s Shelter Network, submitted “The Request for the Prevention of DV and Child Abuse under the Condition of Novel Coronavirus Countermeasures” to the Japanese government on March 30. This letter of request drew more attention than we expected, and many newspapers and TV quickly covered the issue. A lot of people have talked about this online. The prime minister and minister of gender equality have since addressed the issue in statements, and the Cabinet has approved emergency funding for expanded consultation services.

Professor Nilanjan published a study which yielded findings on how individuals with a higher socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to have jobs that provide opportunities for remote work to be performed, which allows for social distancing during the pandemic. Her study also explores how likely individuals with low SES will begin to break social distancing measures and be exposed to a greater risk of infection, but those with high SES are able to circumvent this problem.

Women leadership to support access of sexual and reproductive health issues and stunting for women and youth very important issues in Indonesia as well as violence against women and stop child marriage. Particularly in Indonesia religious issues and culture are important to be stressed in these issues besides government policy.

In my research on urban poor communities and families, I have highlighted the leadership roles of women in organizing and demanding services. I have written many academic and advocacy articles to show why passage of the Reproductive Health Bill in 2012 was essential especially for women’s wellbeing.

My research is on women migrant factory workers as well as women in fisheries in the Mekong region, Thailand, where I have been studying for the last decade through various research projects. These group of women workers are the most dynamic as well as vulnerable in the region.

Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation (EMReF)

Roosli is a lecturer and researcher in Disaster and Development at Universiti Sains Malaysia. He focuses on settlement in ASEAN countries in normal and emergency situations.