News
Loneliness amongst seniors is increasingly recognised as an issue of pressing importance to public health. Dr Ad Maulod (Duke-NUS Medical School Centre for Ageing Research and Education) and Associate Professor Angelique Chan (Duke-NUS Medical School Centre for Ageing Research and Education & NUS Sociology and Anthropology) discuss salient causes of loneliness amongst the elderly in […]
According to Associate Professor Tan Ern Ser (NUS Sociology & Anthropology and IPS Social Lab) and Ms Sim Kai Lin (IPS Social Lab), Singapore imagines itself as a middle-class society. In ‘Why does everyone think they are middle class?’ (Straits Times, May 2023), they answer the titular question and provide some solutions to the pains […]
On May 27 1988, the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system was passed into law. GRCs have to be contested by multi-member teams with at least one member from the minority races. While the government maintains that GRCs help ensure racial representation, some have criticised it for straining the opposition’s talent pool due to the additional […]
The Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre was officially opened on 19 May 2017, with the express mission to nurture Singapore Chinese culture and enhance social harmony. On the academic front, however, Associate Professor Xu Lanjun (NUS Chinese Studies) argues that there is a lack of knowledge in Chinese Studies about non-elite cultures. Specifically, the study of […]
Stepping into a home, being greeted by an unfamiliar but friendly face and escorted to the dining room – this is what you usually expect at the start of a private home dining (PHD). In Singapore, PHD refers to a setting where guests enter the homes of amateur chefs for a shared experiential meal. Given […]
You have seen them around: food delivery riders on mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs ferrying food across Singapore’s streets and malls. In 2021, I had the opportunity to meet Adam and nineteen other individuals with disabilities to discuss their firsthand experiences in this line of work. Adam, born with cerebral palsy, arrived to the interview […]
Mother’s Day is celebrated on 14 May in 2023. Studies have shown that among the financially disadvantaged, women are more vulnerable to a public health emergency, and those with children suffered more severe mental health issues during COVID-19 lockdowns. Whether poor mothers in Singapore have encountered similar difficult times during the pandemic is an important […]
Support for the disadvantaged and vulnerable segments of Singaporean society has long been an issue of great importance. In response to recent parliamentary debates on this issue, Associate Professor Irene Y H Ng (NUS Social Work & Social Service Research Centre (SSR)), Senior Lecturer Dr Ong Ee Cheng (NUS Economics, SSR), and their co-author Michael […]
The Primary 1 (P1) registration exercise in Singapore has been the subject of much debate in recent years, with concerns that the current mechanisms reinforce pre-existing inequalities in society. In ‘Primary 1 Registration: Where alumni privilege and distance rules can accelerate inequality’ (The Straits Times, April 2023), Associate Professor Vincent Chua (NUS Sociology and Anthropology) […]
The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019 was passed by the Singapore Parliament on 8 May 2019, as part of the nation’s efforts to combat online falsehoods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, WhatsApp has played a critical role in risk communication because of its extremely large user group. However, this has also made it […]