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Commentary: Is Singapore’s complaint culture helping us or hurting us?

January 12, 2024

The frequent act of complaining has been characterised as a defining trait of Singaporeans, from moaning about the incessant heat and humidity, to grumbling about rising inflation or increasing the Goods and Services Tax (GST). While complaining is commonly understood to be a negative way of speaking, there might be another side to complaining that …

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Cooling Singapore 2.0 – Digital Urban Climate Twin

January 8, 2024

As climate change continues to drive temperatures around the globe steadily upwards, Singapore finds itself in a precarious situation. Doubly hit by greenhouse gas emissions and the urban heat island (UHI) effect, it faces a problem of high temperatures that promise to continue soaring beyond livable standards. Further increasing temperatures promise to be detrimental to …

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Stamford Raffles and the “Founding” of Singapore: The Politics of Commemoration and Dilemmas of History

January 1, 2024

On 1 January 2018, the Singapore government announced the establishment of a Singapore Bicentennial Office under the Prime Minister’s Office to commemorate 200 years of Singapore history, beginning from Raffles’ founding of Singapore. This way of remembering Singapore’s history has been contested in various ways. In ‘Stamford Raffles and the “Founding” of Singapore: The Politics …

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Wall dressed up: Graffiti and street art in Singapore

December 23, 2023

On 23 December 2013, the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the National Arts Council (NAC), and the Singapore Land Authority announced plans to make two walls along Rail Corridor available for street artists to develop their work. In 2014, the NAC established the Public Art Trust with funding from the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, which …

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Salvaging Mandarin Education in Singapore Through Community

December 22, 2023

Dongzhi, the Winter Solstice, is traditionally celebrated by ethnic Chinese all over the world. However, an increasing number of Chinese Singaporeans no longer understand its cultural significance or partake in the festivities. This is part of a growing trend of Singaporeans feeling disconnected to their ethnic roots and a decrease in Singaporeans’ proficiency in their …

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(Cr)Immigration and Merit-Based Migration in Singapore: The Permanent ‘State of Exception’

December 18, 2023

As the world observes International Migrants Day on 18 December, Singapore is once again reminded of its dependence on migrant labour, as well as the issues surrounding migrant workers in the city-state.  Dr George B. Radics (NUS Sociology and Anthropology) reckons with the state of precarity that migrant labourers live in in Singapore, and delves …

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(Re)constructing Ageing Futures: Insights from Migration in Asia and Beyond

December 15, 2023

As International Migrants Day approaches on 18 December, we ought to ponder how migration affects Singapore’s society. Research on migration includes extensive research on younger populations’ concept of futurity. The concept is not usually tagged to older adults as they are seen to be nearing the end-of-life and are less concerned with making future plans. …

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Breadth of University Curriculum and Labor Market Outcomes

December 8, 2023

    8th December marks the anniversary of the founding of the National University of Singapore’s College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS). The CHS introduced a new undergraduate curriculum structure that places an emphasis on drawing from different intellectual approaches and tools across disciplines from the humanities, social sciences, and the sciences. The new curriculum …

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Heart of the Matter – Do high cost of living concerns in Singapore affect everyone the same way?

December 3, 2023

In ‘Heart of the Matter – Do high cost of living concerns in Singapore affect everyone the same way?’ (Channel NewsAsia, November 2023), Dr Ong Ee Cheng (Senior Lecturer, NUS Economics) explores the intricate factors influencing the prices of necessities, shedding light on the often-overlooked role of geopolitical issues. Dr Ong acknowledges that events such …

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Civil society collective action under authoritarianism: divergent collaborative equilibriums for political reform in Malaysia and Singapore

December 2, 2023

SG Cares Giving Week is commemorated from 1 to 7 Dec every year, encouraging businesses and non-profit organisations to celebrate their volunteering and philanthropy efforts. Civil society organisations, or CSOs, play a key role in promoting political reforms, notably, in autocracies. Assistant Professor Elvin Ong and Syazwi Bin Rahmad (both NUS Political Science) explore the …

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