News

Heritage Boutique Hotels as ‘Experienscapes’: Three Views from Singapore

September 24, 2019

World Tourism Day, marked every 27th of September, recognises tourism as a key sector of the global economy, contributing to 10% of the world’s GDP and providing one in ten jobs. A key part of a tourist’s travel experience is their chosen place of stay. Whether you see yourself as a penny-pinching backpacker or a …

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Tuition has ballooned to an S$1.4b industry in Singapore. Should we be concerned?

September 17, 2019

According to the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) in 2017/18, Singapore households spent S$1.4 billion on tuition, up from S$1.1 billion in 2012/13. The tuition industry has expanded over the years, with an increase of tuition and enrichment centres from 700 in 2012 to more than 950 today. In an editorial in the Straits Times, Dr …

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Kumar’s Gender Transgressing Performance: Combining Drag and Comedy

September 16, 2019

Not many Singaporeans may remain unaware of Kumar and his position as an iconic local drag comedian, with Kumar sharing his personal journey in his memoir, From Rags to Drags (3-Monkeys Cafe, 2011). Kumar’s success, in his adoption of drag as part of his performance, reveals the stark contrast between society’s prejudice against sexual and …

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The history of the Group Representation Constituency

September 13, 2019

With talk of the 14th General Election (GE) round the corner, Associate Professor Bertha Henson and Ms Christalle Tay (NUS Department of Communications and New Media), in an editorial in Yahoo! News, offer a timely introduction to the history of the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) scheme in Singapore and its place in the political scene. …

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Boundaries review committee formed…so now what?

September 12, 2019

The formation of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) in August 2019 suggests that the 14th General Election (GE) will be held soon. In an editorial in Yahoo! News, Associate Professor Bertha Henson (NUS Department of Communications and New Media) presents the pre-elections landscape in Singapore, past and present, and the implications of the EBRC’s …

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In the workers’ own words

September 10, 2019

Seeking to create an intimate narrative of working lives in Singapore, Associate Professor Gerard Sasges and Ms Ng Shi Wen (NUS Department of Southeast Asian Studies) explore in their new book, Hard at Work: Life in Singapore (NUS Press, 2019), the real-life stories of those who fuel Singapore’s development and progress. Together with a group …

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Social Media and Elections in Singapore: Comparing 2011 and 2015

September 9, 2019

The 2015 Singaporean General Election (GE), held on 11 September, signified a political revitalisation of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) as it won 70% of the votes. This result came after the ‘watershed’ 2011 GE, where the PAP received the lowest number of votes (60%) since Singapore’s independence in 1963. Associate Professor Weiyu Zhang …

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NUS study: Languages and dialects heard in infancy are never really forgotten

September 5, 2019

What are the effects of exposing children to languages and dialects during infancy?   A recent study by NUS researchers led by Associate Professor Leher Singh (NUS Department of Psychology), “The impact of foreign language caregiving on native language acquisition” (Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 2019), showed that a language or dialect heard during infancy …

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How the new Point-to-Point Transport Industry Bill levels the playing field for ride-hailing operators

September 3, 2019

On 6 August 2019, the Parliament of Singapore passed the Point-to-Point Passenger Transport Industry Bill, which mandates that all ride-hail and street-hail service providers with a fleet size of more than 800 vehicles will have to be licensed from June 2020. In essence, the government is making moves to exercise oversight and regulation over such …

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Evaluating Mandarin Education in Singaporean Preschools

September 3, 2019

On 7 September 1979, the Singapore government launched the Speak Mandarin Campaign, an initiative which aimed to improve proficiency in proper Mandarin and unify various Chinese dialect groups. This focus on Mandarin proficiency, alongside an emphasis on fluency in English during the foundational years of Singapore’s independence, was part of a bilingual language policy that …

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