Sociology Commons^™

Project Silverlight: Community Based And Participant-Led Initiatives To Increase Civic Engagement Among Older Adults, Paulin T. Straughan, William Tov, Wensi Lim, Rachel Ngu, Yan Er Tan, Mindy Eiko Tadai

ROSA Research Briefs

Project Silverlight was a year-long project aimed at redefining social engagement and participation of older adults in the community. In this report, we share our findings from the project and key recommendations to community partners who are looking to adopt a similar model of participant-led programs. Our study found that by engaging student volunteers as a key partner in this initiative, participants showed a significant improvement in their perceptions of youth, and that participants derived a great sense of satisfaction from being involved in the curation of their activities.

Challenges Of Ethnic Party Adaptation In Power-Sharing Systems: Evidence From Malaysia, Sebastian Carl Dettman

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In authoritarian systems, ethnic power-sharing arrangements include important ethnic groups in government and decision-making while putting restraints on political competition. However, under conditions of democratization, we might expect power-sharing arrangements to fragment as political parties seize opportunities to expand their base and appeal across ethnic lines. This article draws from the case of Malaysia, where multiethnic coalitions built around ethnic parties ruled for 61 years but where increasing electoral competitiveness has destabilized coalition politics. I focus on the Democratic Action Party (DAP), one of the country's most successful parties, which has sought to build a more multiethnic support base. I …

The Illusory Infrastructure Of Ink: Machinic Bodies And Epidermic Affects In Singapore, Orlando Woods

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This paper advances recent theorisations of the body-as-infrastructure by exploring the premise that there are multiple bodily infrastructures at play at any one time. It focusses on three infrastructural formations – the body, the skin that encases the body, and tattoos as visual inscriptions on the skin – that jostle against each other for representational primacy. The layering of infrastructure-upon-infrastructure leads to understandings of the self that exist in a state of tension with societal norms and the illusions of self-representation. Indeed, it is the intersecting gazes of society and the self that cause these infrastructures to become disaggregated, and …

Ten Years As Boundary Object: The Search For Identity And Belonging As 'Hongkongers', John Lowe, Espena Darlene Machell, George Wong

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This article examines the complex process of symbolic boundary-making of ‘Hongkonger’ cultural identities through the lens of the controversial 2015 film Ten Years, which is a celebrated omnibus production comprised of five short segments that picture a dystopic end to Hong Kong’s cherished way of life in the year 2025. The article is premised on an interdisciplinary approach engaging with cultural studies and film studies. On one hand, it explores how Ten Years functioned as a boundary object, a vast terrain within which cultural identities of what it means to be a Hongkonger are constructed, banished, imagined, and performed under …

An Overview Across Three Generational Packages: Pioneer Generation, Merdeka Generation, And Young Seniors, Paulin T. Straughan, Yi Wen Tan, Rachel Ngu, Zidane Tiew, Wensi Lim

ROSA Research Briefs

In Singapore, there has been a concerted effort to implement diverse programs and initiatives to cater to the needs of the ageing demographic. In Singapore, it is expected that those aged 65 and above will make up 27% of the population by 2030 (Soh et al., 2020). It is also crucial to acknowledge that within this ageing population, each cohort follows a distinct life trajectory (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2010). For instance, older generations in Singapore may have navigated through uniqueevents like World War II, profoundly impacting their life trajectories. Meanwhile, newer generations are likely to experience remarkable economic growth alongside …

Why Do Farmers’ Cooperatives Fail In A Market Economy? Rediscovering Chayanov With The Chinese Experience, Zhanping Hu, Qian Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In The Theory of Peasant Cooperatives, Chayanov develops the theories of differential optima and vertical integration, which stress the vulnerability of peasant farming in capitalist markets, and argues that cooperatives can support smallholders only if they operate as ‘a cooperative movement’, are buttressed by a strong ‘cooperative culture’, and achieve ‘vertical integration’. Based on extensive fieldwork in China, we identify six major obstacles that explain the failure of most cooperatives. Chayanov’s arguments caution us to not only the vital importance of cooperatives to the resilience of peasant farming, but also the apparently insurmountable obstacles that cooperatives face in market economies.

Singapore Resilience Study, Paulin T. Straughan, Grace Cheong, Wensi Lim, Rachel Ngu, Yan Er Tan, Yen Cong Wong

ROSA Research Briefs

This study was conducted in partnership with Income Insurance and ROSA to establish the baseline measurement of resilience in the Singapore population so as to provide the benchmark for future longitudinal studies and render visible the significance of resilience to well-being. In view of the COVID19 pandemic, notable emphasis has been placed on resilience as a vital quality to better prepare our population against future uncertainties and maintain well-being in spite of adversity. Through this study, a set of validated measures were developed to assess resilience levels across the four domains – mental, social, physical and financial resilience. The present …

Producers’ Transition To Alternative Food Practices In Rural China: Social Mobilization And Cultural Reconstruction In The Formation Of Alternative Economies, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The shift from the conventional agri-food system to alternative practices is a challenging transition for agricultural producers, yet surprisingly under-studied. Little research has examined the social and cultural processes in rural communities that mobilize producers and construct and sustain producer-driven alternative food networks (AFNs). For AFNs to go beyond just offering “alternative foods” or “alternative networks” and to be constructed as “alternative economies”, this transformation in the producer community is indispensable. This paper presents a case study of a rural cooperative in Shanxi, China. The discontent with both productivist agriculture and the social decay in communities motivated a group of …

Public Sentiments And The Influence Of Information-Seeking Preferences On Knowledge, Attitudes, Death Conversation And Receptiveness Towards Palliative Care: Results From A Nationwide Survey In Singapore, Su Lin Yeo, Raymond Han Lip Ng, Tan Ying Peh, May O. Lwin, Poh Heng Chong, Patricia Soek Hui Neo, Jamie Xuelian Zhou, Angel Lee

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Background: Low awareness about palliative care among the global public and healthcare communities has been frequently cited as a persistent barrier to palliative care acceptance. Given that knowledge shapes attitudes and encourages receptiveness, it is critical to examine factors that influence the motivation to increase knowledge. Health information-seeking from individuals and media has been identified as a key factor, as the process of accessing and interpreting information to enhance knowledge has been shown to positively impact health behaviours. Objective: Our study aimed to uncover public sentiments toward palliative care in Singapore. A conceptual framework was additionally developed to investigate the …

Neighbourhood Satisfaction And Networks Among Older Adults In Singapore, Rachel Ngu, Micah Tan, William Tov

ROSA Research Briefs

The built and social environment surrounding one’s place of residence is an important factor that shapes well-being and quality of life. This is especially so for older adults as their sphere of mobility decreases and their functional capacity may decline as they age, making their immediate environment more vital in shaping their lives. Studies have established the importance and impact of the physical environment on health and well-being of older adults across various communities (Addae-Dapaah 2008; Alidoust and Bosman 2015; Gale et al. 2011; Oswald et al. 2007). A study on older adults in Singapore found that living environment and …

Key Determinants Of Life Satisfaction In Older Adults, Barry Nuqoba, Yi Wen Tan, Yen Cong Wong, Wensi Lim

ROSA Research Briefs

Life satisfaction constitutes a fundamental facet of wellbeing, exerting an influence on an individual's mental and emotional state (Zissi & Barry, 2006). Among older adults, elevated levels of life satisfaction are frequently linked to a more optimistic outlook, contributing to improved health and resilience (Khodabakhsh, 2022; Zheng, Huang, & Fu, 2020). This in turn enhances societal involvement, both in the professional and social domains (Khodabakhsh, 2022). It is also vital to acknowledge that life satisfaction is a multifaceted construct, intricately influenced by an array of external and internal determinants. Life satisfaction is essentially a subjective judgement and assessment of one’s …

3 Groundless Myths That Get In The Way Of Workforce Inclusivity, Kenneth T. Goh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Kenneth Goh discussed and debunked three groundless myths that get in the way of workforce inclusivity. He also called for companies to seek expert advice from relevant agencies and explore partnerships with institutions of higher learning, such as SMU, to pursue inclusivity in a sustainable manner. He added that SMU provides its students opportunities to work with companies and examine the feasibility of their inclusivity initiatives as part of their coursework.

Future-Proofing Healthcare Systems, How Choon How

Asian Management Insights

This includes tackling climate change challenges too.

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.

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, …

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.

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 …

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 …

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, …

Dyadic Positive And Negative Religious Coping Among Older Singaporean Couples And Marital Satisfaction, Gloria J. Lai, Kenneth Tan, Micah Tan, Grace Cheong, Cheng Cheng, Mathews Mathew

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Difficulties faced in life can affect marital relationships and such troubles may be dealt with in a multitude of ways, including coping religiously. The present study examined how religious coping, either in a positive or negative manner, may have an impact on marital satisfaction. Importantly, this association was studied dyadically in a sample of religiously diverse (Buddhists, 32.3%; Taoists, 17.6%; protestant Christians, 14.1%; and others who did not identify with a specific religion, 19.1%), married older Singaporean adults (N = 1928; 964 couples). Using actor-partner interdependence modeling, we found significant actor, partner, and combined actor-partner effects for positive and negative …

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). …

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) …

An Exploratory Study On Museum Visitor Ship Trends In Singapore, Aldy Gunawan, Chentao Liu, Heranshan S/O Subramaniam, Melissa Tan, Ranice Tan, Clarence Tay, Tasaporn. Visawameteekul

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The COVID-19 outbreak has unpredictably disrupted the operations of numerous museums. Museum visitor experience has a physical, personal, and social context, which are not achievable during the pandemic. Despite the depreciation during the Circuit Breaker period, the disruption also presents an opportunity for local museums to develop new strategies of audience engagement to accommodate the altered audience behavior. This exploratory study analyses data from six Singapore-based museums to understand the visitorship patterns across different ages and genders. The impact of COVID-19 is also analysed. Using R-studio and relevant packages, we conducted statistical tests such as hypothesis testing, Chi-square testing and …

The Health And Social Impacts Of An Ageing Population In Singapore, And Why It Matters, Paulin Tay Straughan, Chongsheng, Micah (Chen Chongsheng) Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Singapore’s population is ageing rapidly, with the National Population and Talent Division estimating that about one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above by 2030 (National Population and Talent Division 2022). It is anticipated that these demographic changes will have wide-reaching implications for the country that will span all sectors and dimensions of society. In this article, we focus in on two specific dimensions of the impact that an ageing population will have for society; health and social impacts. Using data from the Singapore Life Panel® (SLP) that has been running for the past seven years at the …

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 …

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

The Political Ecology Of Death: Chinese Religion And The Affective Tensions Of Secularised Burial Rituals In Singapore, Quan Gao, Orlando Woods, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper explores the political ecology of death and the affective tensions of secularised burial rituals in Singapore. Although scholars have recently acknowledged the roles of biopower and affect in shaping environmental politics, religion and death as socio-affective forces have not been substantively engaged with by political ecologists. We argue that death is inherently both a spiritual and ecological phenomenon, as it exposes not only the spiritual geographies that structure how people see the natural world, but also the affective tensions and struggles over what counts as a “proper” form of burial in relation to religion and nature. First, we …