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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Making Babies: Getting Into The Mood For Love, Knowledge@Smu
Making Babies: Getting Into The Mood For Love, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
Within a span of 50 years, Singapore had to worry about its fertility rate for two very different reasons. Its development years in the 1960s and 1970s saw a baby boom, with the country’s maternity hospital even earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest number of birth in a single maternity facility— a record it held for ten years. However today, the country’s fertility rate has fallen below the replacement rate. SMU professor Norman Li provides a take on this phenomenon.
Finding The Medicine For Healthcare, Knowledge@Smu
Finding The Medicine For Healthcare, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
Health care costs are escalating rapidly in countries with aging populations and is often a source of headache for policymakers. Singapore, which has one of the world’s acclaimed healthcare systems, also faces the same issues of balancing social and economic objectives in its healthcare system. A healthcare expert has now proposed a radical policy shift for the Republic to meet the medical needs of its citizens.
When To Say “I Love You”: Before Or After Sex?, Knowledge@Smu
When To Say “I Love You”: Before Or After Sex?, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
There are no hard and fast rules on when one should say 'I love you', or who should say it first. Yet, the implications either way can be profound. Taking an evolutionary-economics perspective, these words, for men, could be taken as "bids for sexual access". Women, on the other hand, might view it differently, depending on whether the words were uttered before or after sex. SMU associate professor Norman Li examines what it is that romantic partners really mean when they say "love".
Quenching Thirst Through Policy And Planning, Knowledge@Smu
Quenching Thirst Through Policy And Planning, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
Water is fundamental to human survival. Yet, for many people in the world, clean water may not necessarily come as easy as simply turning the tap. It is estimated that some 20 percent of the world's population do not have access to water – a reality not perpetuated by a lack of water, but rather, ineffective policies and politicians. Speaking at a SMU Social Sciences seminar, Eduardo Araral shares the story of how a city overcame the odds to supply clean water to its masses.
Money And Its Effects On Life, Behaviour And Happiness, Knowledge@Smu
Money And Its Effects On Life, Behaviour And Happiness, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
Happiness cannot be bought, some people might argue. Yet, money certainly allows people to buy things and experiences that can ultimately bring joy and happiness. Results from this year's Gallup World Poll, for instance, ranked Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands – all wealthy countries – as the top five for happiest inhabitants. A recent SMU Social Sciences Capstone Seminar also pointed out that wealthier countries have cleaner water, better infrastructure, fewer diseases, and higher IQs. Could the old adage, that money is the root of all evil, be out of touch with the realities of our capitalist, consumerist …
Accidental Leaders No More: Challenges Facing Healthcare Leaders Of Today And Tomorrow, Knowledge@Smu
Accidental Leaders No More: Challenges Facing Healthcare Leaders Of Today And Tomorrow, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
Singapore’s ageing population means healthcare costs are going up at faster than ever. The heavier workload and growing business opportunities within this essential industry also means that on-going tensions between the public and private sectors are unlikely to go away anytime soon. Yet, at the same time, the industry faces multi-dimensional challenges, like rapidly-changing technology and fierce competition for talent. How can healthcare organisations prepare themselves for the challenges ahead? For a start, they could use a pipeline of formally-trained leaders.
Singhealth Ceo Says Leadership Is About Compassion And The 'Cha Cha Cha', Knowledge@Smu
Singhealth Ceo Says Leadership Is About Compassion And The 'Cha Cha Cha', Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
That a leader ought to choose compassion over profits is a position unlikely to be popular with shareholders. However, that may well be the only kind of leadership that will command a following – because people gravitate towards ethical leadership. Leaders can attempt to inspire with a show of record profits and shareholder value. Yet, such successes can still seem somewhat empty. According to Prof. Tan Ser Kiat, Group CEO of SingHealth, Singapore's largest healthcare group, leaders that possess and display compassion inspire at a different level. They tap right into the heart.
Compassion: Why It Is Better To Eat Fish, Knowledge@Smu
Compassion: Why It Is Better To Eat Fish, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
Compassion was probably the farthest notion from Colonel Sanders’ mind when he became the global poster boy for delicious fried chicken. He had started his business in the early twentieth century – a period marked by the great depression and two world wars. Prejudices festered under the hostile global climate then, where little consideration was given to the suffering of human beings, much less animals. However, with the progress of time, scientific advancements have urged us, increasingly, to be kinder to fellow humans, animals, the environment… and that we really ought to be munching on fried fish instead.
Booty Calls: Is It Just About Sex?, Knowledge@Smu
Booty Calls: Is It Just About Sex?, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
It may seem that booty calls serve men more so than women. After all, men desire sex more than women – a notion often rationalised by the lower biological cost of sex to men, compared to women. However, if booty calls favour men more than women, why might women be inclined to entertain calls for casual sex? Psychology professor Norman Li believes that booty calls should be looked upon as more than just sex; that it is, in fact, a strategy employed by both sexes in negotiating between their needs.
Male Metal Goat Wanted: Why Our Children’S Futures May Lie In The Stars, Knowledge@Smu
Male Metal Goat Wanted: Why Our Children’S Futures May Lie In The Stars, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
The birth of a child is usually a joyous occasion. In many Asian societies, it also represents an important milestone for families - so important that spiritual mediums have to be consulted and fortunes told, for there are auspicious and inauspicious times to bear a child. While the idea of birth planning by means of star-gazing may sound ludicrous, research has shown that ‘auspicious children’ do indeed fare better. Are there mystical powers at play? A study of child births and children in Vietnam provides an unusual take on the motivating factors behind a child’s future.
Penny For Your Pint: The Tricky Art Of Buying Kindness, Knowledge@Smu
Penny For Your Pint: The Tricky Art Of Buying Kindness, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
Do material incentives influence blood donations? A commonly held view is that people donate their blood out of a pro-social motivation. But not everyone is willing to offer their blood for nothing. Material incentives might persuade some to step forward, yet they could very well alienate those who believe that such acts must not be motivated by selfish gains. Indeed, blood banks thread a fine line between motivating the ‘selfish’ and pandering to the ‘selfless’. Economist Alois Stutzer shares the results of a field experiment involving more than 10,000 potential blood donors with Singapore Management University.
Has Vietnam’S Economic Progress Bypassed Its Ethnic Minorities?, Knowledge@Smu
Has Vietnam’S Economic Progress Bypassed Its Ethnic Minorities?, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
In Vietnam, young people account for about one-third of the country’s 85 million population, a historic peak for this age group. While previously with the Population Council in Vietnam, sociology professor at the Singapore Management University (SMU), Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, conducted studies of ethnic minority youths as well as health-seeking behavioural practices of minority parents with children less than five years. The findings raised concerns that the benefits of the country’s rapid progress as well as improvements in living and health standards have not filtered through to those living in the remote areas.
Dealing With 'Messy Policy Problems' In The Health Care Sector, Knowledge@Smu
Dealing With 'Messy Policy Problems' In The Health Care Sector, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
In his new book, Dealing with Messy Policy Problems, to be published in April 2009, political science professor Steven Ney of the Singapore Management University offers insights on how to make sense of complex, messy and often overlapping policy problems. Ney contends that having conflicts is a necessary part of the process of finding solutions to complex policy issues. He spoke to Knowledge@SMU on policy issues relating to the crisis in global health care. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Singapore Company Promises Dialysis Treatment Breakthrough, Knowledge@Smu
Singapore Company Promises Dialysis Treatment Breakthrough, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
If all goes well, two years from now kidney patients will get a new lease of life when a portable, artificial kidney is launched by a Singapore-based company. AWAK Technologies was formed in 2007 to commercialise a technology that allows people suffering from kidney failure to lead a life that is close to normal. AWAK CEO Neo Kok Beng spoke recently on “Disrupting the Kidney Dialysis Market: Revolutionary Technologies & Business Models” at a CEO Talks forum organised by the Wee Kim Wee Centre, Singapore Management University.
Gene Patenting In The Life Sciences Industry: Boon Or Bane?, Knowledge@Smu
Gene Patenting In The Life Sciences Industry: Boon Or Bane?, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
Does gene patenting encourage or hinder knowledge diffusion and take-up in the life sciences industry? Research by Singapore Management University management professor Kenneth Huang, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology management professor Fiona Murray found that patenting can have a negative impact on scientific progress. Huang spoke to Knowledge@SMU about the implications of his research findings in the Singapore context.
The Business Of Healthcare: A Slippery Slope?, Knowledge@Smu
The Business Of Healthcare: A Slippery Slope?, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
In Singapore, healthcare consumes 3.7% of GDP and is rising. Jeremy Lim, director of policy and research at Singapore Health Services (SingHealth), was the featured speaker at a recent Singapore Management University Wee Kim Wee Centre event. Lim trained as a surgeon before moving into healthcare management and health services research. He talked to Knowledge@SMU about the business opportunities and challenges in Singapore’s healthcare sector.
How Doctors And Patients Get Better, Knowledge@Smu
How Doctors And Patients Get Better, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
In Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance, Atul Gawande, a surgeon who also is a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine, examines both the utilitarian and the human sides of medical practice. In the book, he examines what goes right in American medical care, what goes wrong, how things either succeed or fail, and what might be done to improve the system. Among the examples he provides: A polio "mop up" in Karnataka, where Indian health care workers deployed 37,000 vaccinators to immunize 4 million children – in three days.
Novartis's Alex Gorsky: Ensuring That Patients Get Access To The Medicines They Need, Knowledge@Smu
Novartis's Alex Gorsky: Ensuring That Patients Get Access To The Medicines They Need, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
Alex Gorsky was named head of Pharma North America and CEO of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., the U.S. affiliate of Swiss drug giant Novartis, in the fall of 2005. Since joining the company in 2004 as chief operating officer and head of general medicines, Gorsky has overseen the continued growth of Novartis's industry-leading cardiovascular franchise, notably the blockbuster drugs Diovan and Lotrel. The company sells a variety of products, including those that treat endocrine and respiratory disease, gastrointestinal illnesses, cancer and blood disorders and bone and joint conditions, among others. Prior to joining Novartis, Gorsky was company group chairman for Johnson …
Can't Afford To See A Doctor? The Difficulties Of Reforming China's Healthcare System, Knowledge@Smu
Can't Afford To See A Doctor? The Difficulties Of Reforming China's Healthcare System, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
An article co-published on May 22 by China Social Science Literature Publishing house and China Medical Industry Magazine, entitled “Healthcare Greenpaper,” reviews a series of problems associated with China’s healthcare reform over the past 10 years. Of the five biggest problems identified by the paper, the worst one is prohibitively expensive treatment. To examine this issue, Knowledge@Wharton interviewed a variety of experts and officials on the state of health care in China and the changing relationships between hospitals and patients.
Industry Leaders Debate Big Pharma R&D (Too Little Hope?) And Stem Cell Research (Too Much Hype?), Knowledge@Smu
Industry Leaders Debate Big Pharma R&D (Too Little Hope?) And Stem Cell Research (Too Much Hype?), Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
Different points on the research spectrum were under the microscope at the Wharton Health Care Business Conference last month as two panels of biotech, pharmaceutical and investment leaders discussed the state of R&D among big pharmaceuticals and the progress of stem cell research. While disappointing results in both sectors have dominated the news lately, panelists at each session also noted some promising developments -- and causes for optimism -- in their respective fields.
Older Workers: Untapped Assets For Creating Value, Knowledge@Smu
Older Workers: Untapped Assets For Creating Value, Knowledge@Smu
Knowledge@SMU
The days when an executive could look forward to a leisurely retirement out on the golf course are over, thanks to a possible looming job shortage, a graying population, low savings rates and an insecure Social Security system. The impact of these factors on both workers and companies was the subject of the Symposium on Older Workers, co-sponsored recently by the AARP Global Aging Program along with Wharton's Center for Human Resources and Boettner Center for Pensions and Retirement Research. Speakers included AARP CEO William D. Novelli, Olivia Mitchell, executive director of Wharton's Pension Research Council, and Thomas Dowd, a …