Every third Tuesday in March, the International Federation of Social Workers commemorates World Social Work Day in 116 member countries, including Singapore. Despite the dedication of social workers, are the odds stacked against them in helping to reduce socioeconomic inequality in Singapore? In ‘Being Poor in a Rich “Nanny State”: Developments in Singapore Social Welfare’ […]

Singaporean poet Ho Poh Fun passed away yesterday (March 14) at the age of 71. Ho’s notable works include the short story “When the Tabebuia Bloomed at Soo Chow Gardens” that won the 1982 Short Story Writing Competition organized by the former Ministry of Culture. Her anthology Katong and Other Poems (1994), for which she […]

Did you know that women in 14th century Singapore used to make their own pottery for cooking? Fragments of kitchenware were among the Temasek-period artefacts uncovered at an excavation at the Singapore Cricket Club. Currently, 2,000 items discovered in the dig have been listed in an online database developed by NUS Press, and the complete […]

Whether you’ve seen them, heard them, had the unfortunate pleasure of smelling them after their first outfield camp or perhaps you’ve even been one of them – we all know them. NSmen. Today in history, Singapore passed the National Service (Amendment) Bill in 1967, making conscription compulsory for young men. Apart from the practical necessities […]

What pricing strategies are used by developers in Singapore condominium market? Durability, price transparency and long sales period are the features that mark the Singapore condominium market. Given these features, dynamic pricing strategies are likely to be the most important consideration of Singapore condominium developers. Dr Eric Fesselmeyer (Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics) and his […]

“Who is Tua Pek Kong? The Cult of Grand Uncle in Malaysia and Singapore” is an attempt to examine the ubiquitous belief of Tua Pek Kong (大伯公) in Malaysia and Singapore. Dr Jack Chia (Senior Tutor, NUS History Department) suggests that Tua Pek Kong was far from being a standardized god in a bureaucratic pantheon of Chinese […]

The Singapore Research Nexus (SRN) is a unique academic resource covering the wide range of research on Singapore produced by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS). It can be found at http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/srn/. SRN is involved in assisting the FASS Research Division with event organization and research. In addition, SRN is currently engaged in […]

What was the Silk Road of the Sea? Throughout its history, Singapore has been regarded as an important port and trading hub, and is today one of the most significant economic centres of Southeast Asia. 29 January 1819 is sometimes considered as the starting point of Singapore’s history, as that was when Stamford Raffles arrived […]

This Lunar New Year, be sure to have ready a repertoire of compliments and auspicious wishes. Assoc. Prof. Lee Cher Leng (Dept. of Chinese Studies) suggests that these could come in handy as conversational topics when visiting friends and relatives only during the Lunar New Year season. With the right set of compliments and wishes, […]

What do housing estates in Singapore tell us about our cultural identity? The urban infrastructure of a city can be constructed of class, cultural and ethnic differences. In the case of Singapore, these differences are stitched together and even layered over by factors such as multi-culturalism, high-density living, and the intervention of various government agencies […]