News
How do archives shape our understanding of history and heritage? International Museum Day (IMD) is celebrated annually on 18 May to acknowledge the importance of museums in facilitating cultural exchange and promoting mutual understanding between peoples and societies. IMD is especially relevant to Singapore given the large number of museums it hosts — each with …
Does a mother’s touch affect the development of a child’s ‘social brain’? It is no longer debated that our personalities are a product of both nature and nurture. Yet what aspects of nurture are critical and how they interface with nature are still open issues. Maternal Touch Predicts Social Orienting in Young Children (2016) is …
Maternal Touch Predicts Social Orienting in Young Children Read More »
A Year in the Life of Singapore is now out in ebook form! Read it here at: http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/…/a-year-in-the-life-of-singapore/ Enjoy!
Yesterday we commemorated Labour Day to honour the contributions made by workers and celebrate the industrial peace we enjoy today. Turning the clock back to the 1950s and early 1960s, industrial relations in Singapore were more antagonistic and labour unrest was pervasive. Little known to many of us, this labour unrest invited the intervention of …
Why did the United States of America intervene in Singapore’s labour politics? Read More »
Should Singaporeans be discouraged from using Singlish in order to promote the use of Standard English? The government-initiated movement entitled Speak Good English Movement (SGEM) began in April 2000. Seeing the rising popularity of Singlish as a threat to English language competency, the government sought to educate people on the importance of using Standard English. …
Linguistic chutzpah and the Speak Good Singlish Movement Read More »
There has been a growing debate among some FASS colleagues about whether a decision to focus on Singapore-specific research (that might impact public policymaking) comes at the cost of publishing internationally for wider recognition. This dilemma stems from the increasing pressure to publish one’s work in internationally-recognised journals. Discussions about this dilemma (including whether this is a false dilemma) are especially timely given …
Panel Discussion: Singapore-Relevant Research or International Impact: A False Dilemma? Read More »
On April 30 2013, the National Environmental Agency launched the “Do the Mozzie Wipeout Campaign” encouraging the community to clear stagnant water in their homes by practicing the 5-Step Mozzie Wipeout. The aim of the campaign was to slow the spread of mosquito-borne dengue epidemic. With the Zika outbreak last year, this annual campaign is …
How can we prepare students to face challenges to integrity and ethical dilemmas? On 15 April 2015, the Ministry of Education introduced the Framework for 21st Century Competencies and Student Outcomes, which outlines the competencies that have become increasingly important in this century. One of the six core values of the framework is integrity. Ms …
Lineage is commonly thought to be irrelevant among the Chinese community in contemporary Singapore. In a 2014 article (Gods and/or Ancestors: Practicing Lineage in Contemporary Singapore) published in the “Journal of Chinese Overseas”, A/P Koh Khee Heong and A/P Ong Chang Woei (both from the Dept of Chinese Studies) argue against this. They point out …
Gods and/or Ancestors: Practicing Lineage in Contemporary Singapore Read More »
Singapore’s strong and well-conceived economic policies have kept it safe from the wrath of unbridled international capital flows in the past few decades. In Capital Flows and Exchange Rate Volatility: Singapore’s Experience (published by University of Chicago Press for National Bureau of Economic Research, 2007) Prof Basant Kapur (Department of Economics) first discusses the 1998 …
Capital Flows and Exchange Rate Volatility: Singapore’s Experience Read More »