Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Insourcing The Smart City: Assembling An Ideo-Technical Ecosystem Of Talent, Skills, And Civic-Mindedness In Singapore, Orlando Woods, Tim Bunnell, Lily Kong

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This article examines an alternative model of smart city formation, one based on the principle of insourcing technical competencies and capabilities to those responsible for city governance. This model counters the logic of technological outsourcing upon which many assumptions and critiques of the smart city rest, and thus reveals ways in which a more generative discourse can be forged. Drawing on a series of in-depth interviews with senior stakeholders from public and private sector organizations, we develop a case study of Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative. Through coordinated efforts to reorganize the public sector’s technological functions, develop nation-wide skills upgrading programs, …

Future-Proofing Healthcare Systems, How Choon How

Asian Management Insights

This includes tackling climate change challenges too.

Conceptualizing Condominium Law And Children: Comparing The State Of Strata Titles Law In New South Wales And Singapore, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Purpose: This article conceptualises the legal relations embedded within condominium housing and the various theories of property ownership to ascertain how children’s interest fit within this framework. The laws of two jurisdictions, New South Wales and Singapore are examined to determine how their strata law responds when children’s safety is at stake. Design/methodology/approach: A comparative method using case law, statutes and secondary literature across both jurisdictions is adopted. This article also draws on various theories of property ownership. Findings: Drawing on pluralist moral theories of property law, the thesis advanced is that children’s issues within condominiums should not be subject …

Singapore's Hospital To Home Program: Raising Patient Engagement Through Ai, John Abisheganaden, Kheng Hock Lee, Lian Leng Low, Eugene Shum, Han Leong Goh, Christine Gian Lee Ang, Andy Wee An Ta, Steven M. Miller

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Because of their complex care needs, many elderly patients are discharged from hospitals only to be readmitted for multiple stays within the following twelve months. John Abisheganaden and his fellow authors describe Singapore’s Hospital to Home program, a community care initiative fueled by artificial intelligence.

Singapore Management University (Smu): Tracking The Strategy Evolution Of A Start-Up University, Michelle P. Lee, Howard Thomas, Alex Wilson

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The year 2020 marked the 20th anniversary of the Singapore Management University (SMU). SMU exists in an ecosystem for higher education that is quite unlike what one might find in other parts of the world. The supportive and stable environment the Singapore government provided in terms of its funding and policies meant a more predictable environment within which a university can make long-range planning. Singapore's development since its independence in 1965 has been undergirded by the belief that a strong educational system is the backbone of the country's economic development. The Era of Evolution is a story of both implementation …

Asset-Rich And Cash-Poor: Which Older Adults Value Reverse Mortgages?, Joelle H. Fong, Olivia S. Mitchell, Benedict S. K. Koh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Home equity represents a substantial share of retirement wealth for many older persons, particularly in Asia where national housing policies have encouraged home-ownership. This paper explored the potential for reverse mortgages to help 'asset-rich and cash-poor' older Singaporeans unlock their home equity while ageing in place. The empirical analysis was based on a nationally representative survey of home-owners age 50+ in the 2018 Singapore Life Panel (N = 6,258). Our analyses showed that the average older home-owner holds some 60 per cent of total net wealth in housing equity, suggestive of high demand potential for reverse mortgage products. Nevertheless, actual …

Transforming The Volunteer Experience In The Social Service Sector, Dalvin Sidhu, Weng Lin Ng, Thilanga Dilum Wewalaarachchi

Lien Centre for Social Innovation: Research

Transforming the Volunteer Experience in the Social Service Sector is the first analysis report of its kind that focuses on investigating and enhancing volunteerism in Singapore. Through the perspectives of volunteers and volunteer managers via surveys and in-depth interviews, this report reveals a framework depicting five key features that contribute towards a quality volunteering experience. The study also makes recommendations on the actionable steps and strategies that Social Service Agencies can adopt to engage their volunteers more strategically, so that they can play a more significant role in delivering enhanced quality services to service users.

Monoracials’ Perceptions Of Biracials In Singapore, Sheila Xi Rui Wee, Chi-Ying Cheng

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Objectives: Drawing on social identity theory, present research examined the effects of overlapping racial membership on monoracials’ categorization of biracials as in-/out-group members, as well as its impact on monoracials’ social perceptions of biracials in Singapore. Within Singapore, it is hypothesized that biracials who share racial membership with monoracials would be rated more as monoracials’ racial in-group and be evaluated more positively. Furthermore, monoracials’ positive perceptions of biracials with (vs. without) shared racial membership would be less influenced by biracials’ confrontation of racial prejudice. Method: Studies 1 (N = 242) and 2 (N = 153) sampled Chinese Singaporeans to assess …

Digital Literacy Among Older Adults In Singapore, Mindy Eiko Tadai, Micah Tan

ROSA Research Briefs

Singapore stands as the fourth most digitally competitive country, after Denmark, USA, and Sweden, in the latest edition of the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking (IMD World Competitiveness Center, 2022). This global ranking measures the capacities of 63 nations to adopt and explore digitally transformative practices across government, industry, and wider society. Among households in Singapore, an astounding 99% have Internet access and 92% have computer access (Infocomm Media Development Authority, 2023). Even within the eldest surveyed cohort, proportions of smartphone usage have risen from 28% in 2017 to 48% in 2021 among resident Singaporeans aged 75 and above, and …

Kiasu (Fear Of Losing Out): An Indigenous Psychological Construct In Singapore And Its Impact, Chi-Ying Cheng, Sheila X. R. Wee

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

“Kiasu,” a Hokkien term, which directly translates as the “fear of losing out” is synonymous with the Singapore identity. Yet, there has been little empirical research investigating this indigenous psychological construct in Singapore. This paper first delves into Singapore’s Kiasu culture and existing research of Kiasu, which diverges on the operationalization and measurement of Kiasu as a psychological construct. While early research conceptualized Kiasu as a behavioral tendency, more recent investigations have begun to construe Kiasu as a mindset. Next, we review Kiasu-related outcomes in four domains: academic performance, learning strategies, well-being, and creativity. Finally, we propose a new theoretical …

Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey 2022, Paulin Straughan, Mathews Mathew

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The Singapore Management University undertook the fifth wave of the Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey (PCSS) with 2,020 Singapore residents providing responses to the survey from July to October 2022, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2022 wave of the PCSS continued to reflect an overall satisfaction with public cleanliness in Singapore, similar to the last PCSS in 2021. Majority of survey respondents (92%) were satisfied with the cleanliness of public spaces that they had recently visited, with no change from 2021. Satisfaction with the cleanliness of food outlets saw the largest decrease (by 2.1%) among all location types, to 82.7%. Nevertheless, …

The Doctrine Of Unilateral Severance And Its Potential Development In Singapore, Zhi Jia Koh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Co-ownership of land is commonplace in Singapore, and the manner of holding among co-owners has important practical implications. Joint tenants are subject to the rule of survivorship, but what if a joint tenant does not wish to be locked into the survivorship wheel of fortune? A joint tenant may unilaterally sever the joint tenancy by an act operating upon his or her share of the land, but questions remain as to when that occurs and the consequent duration of severance. This article attempts to address these questions with the current alienation-based approach and suggest the possibility of an intention-based approach.

Accelerating Business Transformation In The Digital Age, Gary Pan, Shankararaman, Venky

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Business Transformation involves making fundamental changes in how business is conducted in order to help cope with shifts in market environment. This chapter focuses on the role played by digital technology in business transformation and the mindset shifts required to embark on a digital transformation journey. More relevantly, this chapter also highlights how data analytics is driving digital transformation.

The Social Well-Being Of Older Adults In Singapore, Micah Tan, Paulin T. Straughan, Grace Cheong, Wensi Lim

ROSA Research Briefs

The concept of social well-being has been of interest especially when studying older adult well-being given that problems of social isolation and loneliness are more prevalent and have greater consequences for older adults (Waite 2018). However, much is still to be understood about the social well-being of older adults with most research being conducted on social predictors of health, rather than on social well-being as a specific “component of health” (Waite 2018:100). As such, the current research brief provides a preliminary examination of social well-being among middle-aged and older adults in Singapore based on Keyes’ social well-being framework (Keyes 1998). …

Creating The Capacity For Digital Government, Cheow Hoe Chan, Steven M. Miller

Asian Management Insights

This article explains how a well-thought-out data policy, supported by a tech stack and cloud infrastructure, an agile way of working, and coordinated whole-of-government leadership, are fundamental to successful government digital transformation efforts, as exemplified by the Singapore government’s digital journey. As part of explaining how to create the capacity for digital government, the main sections of this article cover:

• The origins of GovTech
• How thinking big, starting small and acting fast is a practical strategy for organisational learning
• The importance of horizontal platforms and other enablers of a horizontal approach
• Data architecture and policy
• “Shifting left” with internal technology …

Participatory Digital Futures, Mark Findlay, Sharanya Shanmugam

Asian Management Insights

How digital transformation can be made good for all.

Falsehoods, Foreign Interference, And Compelled Speech In Singapore, Kenny Chng

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Online misinformation endangers the infrastructure of fact essential to public discourse and presents an even greater threat where it is being utilised as a weapon by hostile state actors. In recognition of these dangers, Singapore has implemented legal measures to combat online misinformation, enacting in quick succession the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) and the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (FICA). These statutes open up novel frontiers of development for Singapore's free speech jurisprudence. Indeed, these statutes confer upon government authorities the power to compel the authors of certain material to display notices stating that the material contains …

Concerns Over The Cost Of Living Among Older Adults In Singapore, Rachel Ngu, Micah Tan, Paulin T. Straughan, Seonghoon Kim, William Tov, Grace Cheong, Xiaoyan Zhang

ROSA Research Briefs

A post-National Day Rally survey conducted in August 2022 found that the rising cost of living and health-related issues were ranked among the top concerns of Singaporeans (Baharudin, 2022). This comes as no surprise as global crises such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, has resulted in global and domestic inflation (Gov.sg, 2022). In May 2022, Singapore reported a 13-year high core inflation of 3.6% (Channel News Asia, 2022), while in September 2022, Singapore’s core inflation had risen to 5.3% (Ang, 2022). Additionally, the government announced that Singapore residents will see a goods and services tax (GST) …

Are Markets Interested In Adapting To Climate? Insights From Singapore, Stella Whittaker, Tran Bao Phuong Nguyen

Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics

We have collected the views of leading practitioners and academics in Singapore involved in funding and financing urban climate change adaptation1 (thereon referred to as urban adaptation). Throughout this paper we discuss several vital perspectives on adaptation financing, namely responsibility for adaptation investment, the extent of government adaptation investment, private sector adaptation investment appetite and prospects for experimentation in adaptation financing. We also attempt to shed light on the existence or not of an adaptation financing gap2 in Singapore.

The Effects Of Ses, Social Support, And Resilience On Older Adults’ Well-Being During Covid-19: Evidence From Singapore, Mindy Eiko Tadai, Paulin Tay Straughan, Grace Cheong, Rachel Ngu Wen Yi, Yan Er Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The COVID-19 pandemic has rendered visible many socioeconomic inequalities and the lengthy period of dis- ruption to everyday life had disproportionate effects on the most vulnerable groups in Singapore and across the world. Utilizing data from the Singapore Life Panel ® (SLP) collected in September 2021, this study examined a sample of 6667 older adults to assess the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) on well-being, and the mechanisms through which social support and resilience may mediate its influence. Overall, our results suggest significant direct and indirect effects of SES on well-being and provide evidence for the pivotal role that social …

Singapore Management University Report To Stakeholders 2022/2023, Singapore Management University

Report to Stakeholders

This year, we were delighted to welcome Mr Piyush Gupta as SMU’s second Chairman of the Board of Trustees, as well as to see the start of Professor Lily Kong’s second term as SMU President. There were a number of important senior appointments as we introduced new offices and restructured to enhance our research, partnerships, engagement, and transformation capabilities. The title of the Annual Report, “Sustainable Growth”, points to the University’s commitment to economic, social, and environmental sustainability in how we work, learn, and play as an Engaged City University, even as we continue to maintain growth and development. The …

Personal Service Companies And The Tax Avoidance Surcharge In Singapore, Vincent Ooi, Ben Chester Cheong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Incorporation of personal service companies provide tax and non-tax advantages. With the introduction of a tax avoidance surcharge in Singapore, incorporation for non-tax advantages risks additional “tax costs” if challenged by the revenue authorities, introducing uncertainty and litigation costs. Instead of relying on a GAAR, targeted measures should restrict tax advantages to the first company incorporated by each individual taxpayer.

The Demands Of Displacement, The Micro-Aggressions Of Multiculturalism: Performing An Idea Of "Indianness" In Singapore, Orlando Woods, Lily Kong

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This paper explores the ways in which state-defined discourses of multiculturalism can unintentionally create a framework through which micro-aggressions are enacted against those interpreted as "other". These definitions cascade down from the state to majority and then minority ethno-national groups, who leverage positions of relative dominance to establish the terms of acceptance and integration into society. By negotiating these terms, ethnicity becomes a performative construct through which difference is asserted and reified. We illustrate these ideas through an empirical analysis of Singapore's minority Indian community, and how Singaporean Indians perform an idea of "Indianness" in response to their Singaporean Chinese …

Hawker Culture And Its Infrastructure: Experiences And Contestations In Everyday Life, Lily Kong, Aidan Marc Wong

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Hawker foods characterize urban Asia, with similarities and differences across cities that forge both cultural commonalities and distinctions. From the itinerant to the fixed location, from the temporary sites to the purposebuilt, hawker foods are served in informal settings, with varying degrees of tradition and innovation, hygiene and squalidness, local authenticity and globalized influence. In the side-streets of Beijing where local delicacies such as scorpion are served, to the abundant food cart vendors on Bangkok streets, to the warung (small, typically family-owned eateries) in Surabaya, and the carefully planned and designed hawker centres in Singapore, hawker culture is a distinctive

Lee Kong Chian School Of Business Year In Review 2021-2022, Singapore Management University

SMU Corporate Reports

As Singapore and the world reopens, this has led to changes, especially as people feel safe to travel abroad again. This has impacted us of course. We have seen an 8.9 percent drop in undergraduate applications from our 2022 high. This decline is due in no small part to the relaxation of travel restrictions. However, despite the drop, the quality of applications this year is similar or maybe even slightly better than the year before. In the end, we matriculated 884 students, above our target. This includes 38 scholarship recipients who accepted our offer, representing a record yield. We have …

Singapore Management University Report To Stakeholders 2021/2022, Singapore Management University

Report to Stakeholders

The title of the annual report, “Our Evolving Garden”, points to how the University continues to develop and progress as “One SMU”. With the world now learning to live with COVID-19 as endemic, the last year has been one in which SMU students have been able to resume many of the activities that contribute towards providing a transformative education. For example, they were able to attend many more events on campus and to travel overseas for internships, exchanges, and community service projects. Faculty too were able to attend academic conferences and meet with educational partners, business connections and research associates …

Resulting And Constructive Trusts In The Contemporary Singaporean Family Context, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The legal rules that emerge in a society are shaped by the conditions of that society. In the area of trusts law, this chapter argues that the English principles of the presumed resulting trust and the common intention constructive trust have been adapted to suit the Singaporean family context. At first sight, given that Singapore law has declined to follow the Stack v Dowden line of developments that have taken place in English law concerning beneficial ownership of family property, it may appear that Singapore trusts law is more conservative and that pre-Stack English law is better preserved on Singapore …

Toxic Effect Of Fear Of Losing Out On Self-Esteem: A Moderated Mediation Model Of Conformity And Need For Cognitive Closure In Singapore, Sheila Xi Rui Wee, Chi-Ying Cheng, Haelim Choi, Ciping Goh

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Kiasu (fear of losing out, FoLO) is considered the single most defining adjective that captures Singapore identity, and it is well-observed in other Asian cultures as well. Despite the widespread endorsement of kiasu in Singapore, there is limited empirical research on the theoretical conception of kiasu as a psychological construct. To empirically investigate kiasu, we validated the construct and measurement of the FoLO mindset in Study 1. In Study 2, we hypothesized and found a negative association between FoLO and Singaporeans’ self-esteem, which was mediated by a higher tendency of conformity. In addition, we hypothesized and found that individuals’ need …

From 'Pandemic' To 'Endemic' And Beyond: Key Aspects Of Research On Older Singaporeans In A Year Of Transition, Nadya Haifan, Jane Tan, Rachel Wen Yi Ngu, Mindy Eiko Tadai, Yan Er Tan, Grace Cheong, Micah Tan, Wensi Lim

ROSA Research Briefs

The past year has been one marked by transition – as a country we have moved from treating COVID-19 as a pandemic to living with it as an endemic disease. Research conducted by the Centre for Research on Successful Ageing (ROSA) has taken a similar trajectory, expanding the scope of investigations from COVID-19 topics to other areas that are important for the general well-being of older adults in Singapore. This report showcases ROSA’s research involving older Singaporeans and the partnerships that have been forged in the past year. These developments will be presented in two sections. The first outlines the …

Multi-Functional Job Roles To Support Operations In A Multi-Faceted Jewel Enabled By Ai And Digital Transformation, Steven M. Miller

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this story, we highlight the way in which the use of AI enabled support systems, together with work process digital transformation and innovative approaches to job redesign, have combined to dramatically change the nature of the work of the front-line service staff who protect and support the facility and visitors at the world’s most iconic airport mall and lifestyle destination.