News

Gods and/or Ancestors: Practicing Lineage in Contemporary Singapore

April 4, 2017

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 …

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Capital Flows and Exchange Rate Volatility: Singapore’s Experience

March 28, 2017

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 …

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Skyjacking of SQ 117: Causes, Courses and Consequences

March 21, 2017

Is it possible for Singapore to be free from terrorism?  On 26 March 1991 at 10:15 pm, SQ117 flying from Kuala Lumpur touched down at Singapore’s Changi Airport. The flight had been skyjacked fifteen minutes ago. The next morning at 6:50 am, commandos from the Singapore Armed Forces stormed the plane after hours of intense …

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Effects of Good Life Program on Singaporean Older Adults’ Psychological Well-Being

March 14, 2017

In their article, Effects of Good Life Program on Singaporean Older Adults’ Psychological Well-Being (published in Activities, Adaptation & Aging in 2008), Dr Kalyani Mehta (former faculty member at the Department of Social Work) and Mr Joey Cheang Ching Ee (Marine Parade Family Service Centre) explain that population ageing is a demographic trend and a …

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Are You a “Woman”? Representation of Femininity in Two Women’s Magazines in Singapore, Cleo and Her World

March 7, 2017

How do Singaporean women’s magazines represent women? International Women’s Day (IWD) falls on 8 March and celebrates women’s economic, political, and social achievements, and advocates accelerating gender equality. The Singapore Council of Women’s Organizations marked IWD in 2016 with the theme ‘Marching to our own beat’ and inducted 14 outstanding women–two Supreme Court Judges, six …

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Why did the impregnable fortress fall in a week?

February 20, 2017

February 15th 2017 marked the 75th anniversary of the Fall of Singapore. On this day, Singapore surrendered to Japan, marking the beginning of the Japanese Occupation which lasted nearly three and a half years. Despite being called the ‘impregnable fortress’, Singapore surprisingly surrendered in a week. In his book “The Defence and Fall of Singapore …

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Partner’s understanding of affective–cognitive meta-bases predicts relationship quality

February 14, 2017

Never mind the chocolates and the roses. All you need is love and a little bit of social science. This Valentine’s Day, findings from Assoc. Prof. Michelle See et. al (Dept of Psychology) can not only help fan the flames of romance but also ensure that it is a love that lasts. Building upon previous …

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Critical literacy, self-protection and delinquency: the challenges of participatory media for youths at-risk

February 7, 2017

Do social networking websites facilitate delinquent behaviour amongst Singaporean youths? Thanks to the internet, we have formed global communities from the comfort of our homes and offices. However, there are several risks associated with these online social communities that are not so apparent, but necessary to know of in a country like Singapore where almost …

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Challenging Southeast Asian development: The shadows of success

January 31, 2017

The growing economies of the Southeast Asia have transformed themselves into middle income countries over the past few decades. Challenging Southeast Asian development: The shadows of success (Routledge, 2016) by Prof Jonathan Rigg (Department of Geography) looks at how the very success of these economies has bred new challenges, novel problems, and fresh tensions. Talking …

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Bringing back the old ways: Enacting a goddess festival in urban Singapore

January 22, 2017

Contemporary worship of the South Indian Hindu goddess Samayapuram Mariyamman in cosmopolitan and urban Singapore does not go against the grain. Instead, local devotees have adequately prepared themselves to sustain traditional worship in a bureaucratic, multi-ethnic and religious environment. In “Bringing back the old ways: Enacting a goddess festival in urban Singapore”, Prof. Vineeta Sinha …

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