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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Retrospective: A Historiographical Aesthetic In Contemporary Singapore And Malaysia, Kian Chow Kwok Dec 2018

Retrospective: A Historiographical Aesthetic In Contemporary Singapore And Malaysia, Kian Chow Kwok

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In an interview published a month before his passing, Hayden Whitesuggested historical studies had finally arrived at an “era of the image,” givenhow long it took for historians to recognize the potentialities of photographyand subsequently cinema and post-cinema as not just historical objects butalso modes of doing history. White cited queer history as an example ofcomplicating the binary between the object and method of historical study,enabling new approaches to understanding history and historiography(Ethan Kleinberg and Hayden White on the Practical Past, Part 2, published onYouTube, February 5, 2018).


Book Review: Becoming Better Muslims: Religious Authority And Ethical Improvement In Aceh, Indonesia (By David Kloos) & Chinese Ways Of Being Muslim: Negotiating Ethnicity And Religiosity In Indonesia (By Hew Wai Weng), Charlotte Setijadi Dec 2018

Book Review: Becoming Better Muslims: Religious Authority And Ethical Improvement In Aceh, Indonesia (By David Kloos) & Chinese Ways Of Being Muslim: Negotiating Ethnicity And Religiosity In Indonesia (By Hew Wai Weng), Charlotte Setijadi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Indonesian Islam has earnedsomething of a bad reputation in recent times. Amid reports of risingintolerance against religious minorities, terrorism attacks, high-profileblasphemy cases and the growing political influence of hard-line Muslim groups,it is easy to take an alarmist stance and assume that Indonesia’s approximately225 million Muslims are heading down the path of puritanism. Indeed, evenseasoned analysts of Indonesia often forget that Indonesian Islam isheterogeneous, and that the everyday experiences of Muslims from differentsocio-cultural backgrounds are extremely diverse. This is why Hew Wai Weng’sand David Kloos’ respective books are much-needed additions to contemporaryscholarship on Islam in Indonesia.


The Relationship Between Future Goals And Achievement Goal Orientations: An Intrinsic-Extrinsic Motivation Perspective, Jie Qi Lee, Dennis M. Mcinerney, Gregory Arief D. Liem, Yasmin Y. Ortiga Dec 2018

The Relationship Between Future Goals And Achievement Goal Orientations: An Intrinsic-Extrinsic Motivation Perspective, Jie Qi Lee, Dennis M. Mcinerney, Gregory Arief D. Liem, Yasmin Y. Ortiga

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This research aimed to study the relationships between students’ future goals (FGs) and their immediate achievement goal orientations (AGOs) among 5733 Singaporean secondary school students (M age = 14.18, SD = 1.26; 53% boys). To this end, we hypothesized that the relationships between like valenced FGs and AGOs (both intrinsic or both extrinsic) will be stronger than those of opposite valenced FGs and AGOs (intrinsic–extrinsic) and tested two alternative models: Model A positing the prediction of AGOs by FGs and Model B positing the prediction of FGs by AGOs. Structural equation modeling showed the heuristic superiority of Model B in …


Multiculturalism On Its Head: Unexpected Social Boundaries And New Migration In Singapore, Yasmin Y. Ortiga Dec 2018

Multiculturalism On Its Head: Unexpected Social Boundaries And New Migration In Singapore, Yasmin Y. Ortiga

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This study investigates how discourses of multiculturalism shape publicdebates surrounding new migration in Singapore. Singapore’s immigration policiesled to the influx of Chinese and Indian professionals, many of whom share race andclass identities with local Singaporeans. However, Singaporeans of Chinese and Indianbackgrounds rejected these presumed similarities, using discourses of multiculturalismto differentiate themselves from co-ethnic migrants. Based on a content analysis ofnews reports and online forums, this study shows how local actors portrayed newmigrants as too prejudiced or bigoted to adapt to Singapore’s multiracial society,thereby creating a paradoxical application of multicultural ideals. This example high-lights how contemporary immigration is creating diverse forms …


Parenting And Inequality In Insecure Times. A Comment To The Symposium, Aliya Hamid Rao Dec 2018

Parenting And Inequality In Insecure Times. A Comment To The Symposium, Aliya Hamid Rao

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This comment highlights how high income inequality and economic uncertainty produce new dimensions to intensive parenting amongst the middle-class. Parenting practices encourage children’sdevelopment of behaviors and values which are coveted in élite professions. Amongst the advantaged,these parenting practices encourage neo-traditional family structures as a means of coping with economic uncertainty.


Book Review: Becoming Better Muslims: Religious Authority And Ethical Improvement In Aceh, Indonesia (By David Kloos) & Chinese Ways Of Being Muslim: Negotiating Ethnicity And Religiosity In Indonesia (By Hew Wai Weng), Charlotte Setijadi Dec 2018

Book Review: Becoming Better Muslims: Religious Authority And Ethical Improvement In Aceh, Indonesia (By David Kloos) & Chinese Ways Of Being Muslim: Negotiating Ethnicity And Religiosity In Indonesia (By Hew Wai Weng), Charlotte Setijadi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Indonesian Islam has earned something of a bad reputation in recent times. Amid reports of rising intolerance against religious minorities, terrorism attacks, high-profile blasphemy cases and the growing political influence of hard-line Muslim groups, it is easy to take an alarmist stance and assume that Indonesia’s approximately 225 million Muslims are heading down the path of puritanism. Indeed, even seasoned analysts of Indonesia often forget that Indonesian Islam is heterogeneous, and that the everyday experiences of Muslims from different socio-cultural backgrounds are extremely diverse. This is why Hew Wai Weng’s and David Kloos’ respective books are much-needed additions to contemporary …


Behavioral Instruments In Renewable Energy And The Role Of Big Data: A Policy Perspective, Sarah Giest, Ishani Mukherjee Dec 2018

Behavioral Instruments In Renewable Energy And The Role Of Big Data: A Policy Perspective, Sarah Giest, Ishani Mukherjee

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

There has been a surge in the application of behavioral insights for environmental policymaking. It is often presented as an easy and low-cost intervention to alter individual behavior. However, there is limited insight into the cost effectiveness of these attempts and the impact of inserting behavioral policy instruments into an existing mix of traditional tools in a particular policy sector. Furthermore, there has been little focus on the intersection of large behavioral datasets and how they could complement behavioral insights. We present a conceptual overview of how the intersection of big data and behavioral knowledge would work in the renewable …


Creating Singapore’S Longest Monthly Rainfall Record From 1839 To The Present, Elaine Gao, Bertrand Timbal, Fiona Williamson Dec 2018

Creating Singapore’S Longest Monthly Rainfall Record From 1839 To The Present, Elaine Gao, Bertrand Timbal, Fiona Williamson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Currently,the identification of decadal variability is limited by the lack of long-termmeteorological datasets; Singapore’s reliable contemporary network of automaticmeteorological stations (AWS) provides only about 30 years of rainfall data for thewhole island. In this study, rainfall data, sourced fromhistorical archives and recording monthly rainfall pre-dating the start ofofficial MacRitchie observations, are compiled from various locations acrossthe island. By making use of the contemporary AWS network, we evaluate thespatial relationship of rainfall between the historical sites and the currentMacRitchie site. This enables us to reconstruct historical rainfall atMacRitchie using the archive data, thereby building a single-location extendedrainfall record (though discontinuous) from …


Looking Beyond The Obvious: Power, Epistemic Culture And Student Migration In The Knowledge-Based Economy, Yasmin Y. Ortiga Dec 2018

Looking Beyond The Obvious: Power, Epistemic Culture And Student Migration In The Knowledge-Based Economy, Yasmin Y. Ortiga

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The emergence of the knowledge-based economy revived the brain drain debate of the1970s, calling for the recruitment of scientists and researchers in the interest of national development.International students find themselves in the middle of this debate, as developing countries struggle toaddress the growing number of those choosing not to return home after graduation. While mostresearchers explain student migration in terms of economic opportunity and incentives, this articleargues that this approach ignores the epistemic culture of graduate training and the differential powerof academic institutions in developed and developing nations. Based on a sample of Filipino PhDstudents in science, technology, engineering or …


Professional Problems: The Burden Of Producing The ‘Global’ Filipino Nurse, Yasmin Y. Ortiga Dec 2018

Professional Problems: The Burden Of Producing The ‘Global’ Filipino Nurse, Yasmin Y. Ortiga

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper investigates the challenges faced by nursing schools within migrant-sending nations, where teachers and school administrators face the task of producing nurse labor, not only for domestic health needs but employers beyond national borders. I situate my research in the Philippines, one of the leading sources of migrant nurse labor in the world. Based on 58 interviews with nursing school instructors and administrators, conducted from 2010 to 2013, I argue that Philippine nursing schools are embedded within a global nursing care chain, where nations lower down the chain must supply nurse labor to wealthier countries higher up the chain. …


The Flexible University: Neoliberal Education And The Global Production Of Migrant Labor, Yasmin Y. Ortiga Dec 2018

The Flexible University: Neoliberal Education And The Global Production Of Migrant Labor, Yasmin Y. Ortiga

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article demonstrates how neoliberal higher education has come to play a distinct role in the global market for migrant labor, where a growing number of developing nations educate its citizens for overseas work in order to maximize future monetary remittances. Located in the Philippines, this study shows how local colleges and universities attempt to impose an ideal notion of flexibility, quickly shifting academic manpower and resources to programs that would produce the ‘right’ types of workers to address foreign labor demands. Based on qualitative interviews with Filipino college educators and students, the article then discusses how such ‘flexible’ strategies …


Do Male And Female Soccer Players Differ In Helping? A Study On Prosocial Behavior Among Young Players, Paul A. M. Van Lange, Zoi Manesi, R. W. J. Meershoek, Minglian Yuan, Mengchen Dong, N. J. Van Doesum Dec 2018

Do Male And Female Soccer Players Differ In Helping? A Study On Prosocial Behavior Among Young Players, Paul A. M. Van Lange, Zoi Manesi, R. W. J. Meershoek, Minglian Yuan, Mengchen Dong, N. J. Van Doesum

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Acting prosocially can be quite challenging in one of the most salient intergroup contexts in contemporary society: Soccer. When winning is the ultimate goal, balancing self-interest with helping a fellow player in distress can be a tough decision; yet it happens. To date, we know little about what motivates soccer players to offer such help in the heat of the game. We propose that sex and what is at stake will matter in such prosocial dilemma situations. A pilot study (N = 107) indicated that female players may be more likely to help than male players, but this difference was …


Producing The Self-Regulating Subject: Liberal Protection In Indonesia’S Migration Infrastructure, Andy Scott Chang Dec 2018

Producing The Self-Regulating Subject: Liberal Protection In Indonesia’S Migration Infrastructure, Andy Scott Chang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Labour protection has become a dominant agenda in global migration governance, particularly for sending countries whose diasporic citizens are denied political rights in host states. Despite having limited authority to arbitrate extraterritorial disputes, sending countries like Indonesia have deployed novel techniques of statecraft to improve migrant protection. Through the prism of the professional competence exam and pre-departure orientation seminar, this article investigates the Indonesian state's regulatory practices that focus on migrant conduct. Although outbound domestic workers are subject to a prolonged process of skill formation, other Indonesian contract workers pursue emigration upon acquiring basic legal knowledge without undergoing accreditation. While …


Smart Eldercare In Singapore: Negotiating Agency And Apathy At The Margins, Lily Kong, Orlando Woods Dec 2018

Smart Eldercare In Singapore: Negotiating Agency And Apathy At The Margins, Lily Kong, Orlando Woods

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Around the world, smart technologies are being embraced as a cost-efficient means of enabling the elderly to be cared for in new, more non-proximate ways. They can facilitate ageing-in-place, and have the potential to relieve pressure on the providers of care. Yet, the fact is that the interface of technology and society is a negotiated one. These negotiations are most acutely felt when technology is used to supplement the hitherto human-centred process of caregiving, especially amongst “marginalised” societal cohorts, like the elderly. With this, there is a need to better understand the ways in which smart eldercare technologies are used, …


Caring For Thai Older Persons With Long-Term Care Needs, John Knodel, Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, Wiraporn Pothisiri Dec 2018

Caring For Thai Older Persons With Long-Term Care Needs, John Knodel, Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, Wiraporn Pothisiri

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Objective: To provide a situation analysis of recent long-term care (LTC) needs among older persons in Thailand. Method: The 2014 Survey of Older Persons in Thailand (SOPT) provides data to assess patterns of caregiving,whether care needs are met, and who are main caregivers for older Thais. We examine how types of familial and non-familial caregivers are associated with the wellbeing of older persons. Results:The need for LTC increases sharply with age and is more common among women than men. Spouses and children constitute approximately 90% of main caregivers. The association of a family member as the main caregiver and education …


Inducing Development: Social Remittances And The Expansion Of Oil Palm In The Philippines, Marvin Joseph F. Montefrio, Yasmin Y. Ortiga, Ma. Rose Cristy B. Josol Dec 2018

Inducing Development: Social Remittances And The Expansion Of Oil Palm In The Philippines, Marvin Joseph F. Montefrio, Yasmin Y. Ortiga, Ma. Rose Cristy B. Josol

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper investigates the relationship between social remittances andland-use change in the context of South–South migration. Focusingon the cyclical movement of Filipino oil palm workers between thePhilippine province of Palawan and the Malaysian State of Sabah, weshow how migrants transmit social remittances, such as ideas of pros-perity associated with oil palm development and knowledge of pro-duction practices and land impacts of oil palm plantations. Thesesocial remittances affect farmers’ decisions to engage in oil palmdevelopment within the migrants’ home province, possibly transform-ing subsistence agricultural systems into large-scale, monocrop planta-tions. We argue that such land development outcomes are anunderstudied aspect of how …


Thirty Years Of Instrument Research: What Have We Learned And Where Are We Going?, Michael Howlett, Ishani Mukherjee, J.J. Woo Dec 2018

Thirty Years Of Instrument Research: What Have We Learned And Where Are We Going?, Michael Howlett, Ishani Mukherjee, J.J. Woo

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Anyone interested in policy studies, policy analysis, policy evaluation and policymanagement should be aware of, and knowledgeable about, the origins, nature andcapabilities of different policy tools. They are a critical part of policy-making, providingthe ‘means’ by which to achieve policy ‘ends’ but also often becoming ends-inthemselves. Policy instruments are and have been the subject of inquiry in many policyrelated fields, including public administration and ‘governance’ studies, but also variousbroader disciplines such as political science and economics. Additionally, they have beena research topic in various policy-specific areas of study such as policy analysis andpolicy studies, as well as in sector-specific areas …


Bilingualism Confers Advantages In Task Switching: Evidence From The Dimensional Change Card Sort Task, Hwajin Yang, Andree Hartanto, Sujin Yang Nov 2018

Bilingualism Confers Advantages In Task Switching: Evidence From The Dimensional Change Card Sort Task, Hwajin Yang, Andree Hartanto, Sujin Yang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

We examined the influence of bilingualism on task switching by inspecting various markers for task-switching costs. English monolinguals and Korean–English bilinguals completed a modified Dimensional Change Card Sort task based on a nonverbal task-switching paradigm. We found advantages for Korean–English bilinguals in terms of smaller single-task (pure-block) switch costs and greater reactivation benefits than those of English monolinguals. However, bilingual advantages in mixing costs were relatively weak, and the two groups did not differ on local switch costs. Notably, when we approximated the cue-based priming effect in single-task (pure) blocks, we found no evidence that the locus of bilingual advantages …


Has Patronage Lost Its Punch In Malaysia?, Sebastian Carl Dettman, Meredith L. Weiss Nov 2018

Has Patronage Lost Its Punch In Malaysia?, Sebastian Carl Dettman, Meredith L. Weiss

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The personalistic linkages that generally define Malaysian politics come into sharp relief when candidates confront the imperative of winning office. Malaysia’s 14th general election (GE14), as other previous iterations, saw politicians emphasize their ‘personal touch’ and offer a barrage of targeted promises. Yet these relationships are not confined to elections and reflect deep connections between voters and politicians – not only for politicians in the long-dominant Barisan Nasional coalition, but also for the newly victorious Pakatan Harapan parties. The authors of this article draw on original survey data to show the embeddedness of these relationships beyond elections. In GE14, the …


Effects Of Cultural Tightness-Looseness And Social Network Density On Expression Of Positive And Negative Emotions: A Large-Scale Study Of Impression Management By Facebook Users, Pan Liu, David Chan, Lin Qiu, William Tov, Victor Joo Chuan Tong Nov 2018

Effects Of Cultural Tightness-Looseness And Social Network Density On Expression Of Positive And Negative Emotions: A Large-Scale Study Of Impression Management By Facebook Users, Pan Liu, David Chan, Lin Qiu, William Tov, Victor Joo Chuan Tong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Using data from 13,789 Facebook users across U.S. states, this study examined the main effects of societal-level cultural tightness–looseness and its interaction effects with individuals’ social network density on impression management (IM) in terms of online emotional expression. Results showed that individuals from culturally tight (vs. loose) states were more likely to express positive emotions and less likely to express negative emotions. Meanwhile, for positive emotional expression, there was a tightness–looseness by social network density interaction effect. In culturally tight states, individuals with dense (vs. sparse) networks were more likely to express positive emotions, while in culturally loose states this …


An Integrative Approach To Investigating Bilingual Advantages In Cognitive Decline: The Australian Longitudinal Study Of Ageing, Wei Xing Toh, Andree Hartanto, Joanne Qin Ying Tan, Hwajin Yang Nov 2018

An Integrative Approach To Investigating Bilingual Advantages In Cognitive Decline: The Australian Longitudinal Study Of Ageing, Wei Xing Toh, Andree Hartanto, Joanne Qin Ying Tan, Hwajin Yang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

A commentary on “The relationship of bilingualism to cognitive decline: The Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing” by Mukadam N, Jichi F, Green D, Livingston G (2018). International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 33(2), e249‐e256, .


Too Much Of A Good Thing – When Virtue Becomes Vice, David Chan Nov 2018

Too Much Of A Good Thing – When Virtue Becomes Vice, David Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.


A Different Perspective: Feature Interview With Professor David Chan, David Chan, Shi Ping Low Nov 2018

A Different Perspective: Feature Interview With Professor David Chan, David Chan, Shi Ping Low

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Psychology professor David Chan advocates the importance of walking in the shoes of others to build and strengthen relationships across cultures.


Build Your Own Nest: Singapore's First Study On Matched Savings Schemes For Lower Income, Older Women, David Chan, Benedict S. K. Koh Oct 2018

Build Your Own Nest: Singapore's First Study On Matched Savings Schemes For Lower Income, Older Women, David Chan, Benedict S. K. Koh

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Matched Savings Scheme is a research study, commissioned by the International Longevity Centre – Singapore (ILC – Singapore) of the Tsao Foundation and funded by the Tote Board, found that a monthly matched savings scheme is effective in sustaining the retirement savings behaviour among a group of 377 elderly women from low-income households over the study period of 18 months. The research, conducted by principal investigator psychology professor David Chan and co-investigator finance professor Benedict Koh, used an experimental design and longitudinal tracking to examine the effects that different factors of a matched savings scheme have on the participants’ decision …


Candidate-Centric Systems And The Politicization Of Ethnicity: Evidence From Indonesia, Colm A. Fox Oct 2018

Candidate-Centric Systems And The Politicization Of Ethnicity: Evidence From Indonesia, Colm A. Fox

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

When and why do electoral candidates politicize ethnicity? From the literature, we might expect this behaviour to occur during democratic transitions or under proportional rules. However, empirical support for these arguments is mixed. This article presents a new approach, arguing that candidate-centric rules offer candidates incentives to politicize ethnicity. The argument is tested in Indonesia with empirical evidence drawn from coding newspaper reports on campaign events, endorsements and group appeals. Indonesia used party-centric rules from 1997 to 2004, and even though the country democratized during this period, the politicization of ethnicity actually declined. I show how party-centric rules, coupled with …


Process-Tracing Research Designs: A Practical Guide, Jacob Ricks, Amy H. Liu Oct 2018

Process-Tracing Research Designs: A Practical Guide, Jacob Ricks, Amy H. Liu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Process-tracing has grown in popularity among qualitative researchers. However, unlike statistical models and estimators—or even other topics in qualitative methods—process-tracing is largely bereft of guidelines, especially when it comes to teaching. We address this shortcoming by providing a step-by-step checklist for developing a research design to use process-tracing as a valid and substantial tool for hypothesis testing. This practical guide should be of interest for both research application and instructional purposes. An online appendix containing multiple examples facilitates teaching of the method.


The Politics Of Disaster: The Great Singapore Flood Of 1954, Fiona Williamson Oct 2018

The Politics Of Disaster: The Great Singapore Flood Of 1954, Fiona Williamson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Singapore in the 1950s was a deeply divided society. Struggling to recover from the hardships ofthe Second World War and fighting an internal battle that the British government termed an‘emergency’, it was a time of hardship, tension, and anxiety. In the midst of this crisis, Singapore’sinhabitants continued to manage the natural elements of their climate and environment, especiallythe dangerous combination of heavy monsoonal rains, low-lying marshland, and tidal flooding.This article examines the circumstances surrounding a particularly severe episode of flooding thatoccurred in December 1954. It explores how the flood’s impact was exacerbated by humanexigencies, especially recent government resettlement plans and …


Adjusting Bilingual Ratings By Retest Reliability Improves Estimation Of Translation Quality, Dustin Wood, Lin Qiu, Jiahui Lu, Han Lin, William Tov Oct 2018

Adjusting Bilingual Ratings By Retest Reliability Improves Estimation Of Translation Quality, Dustin Wood, Lin Qiu, Jiahui Lu, Han Lin, William Tov

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The quality of cross-language scale translations is often explored by having bilingual participants complete the scale in both languages and then correlating their scores. However, low cross-language correlations can be observed due to score unreliability rather than due to poor scale translation. McCrae, Yik, Trapnell, Bond, and Paulhus suggested that a better indicator of translation quality can be formed by dividing the raw cross-language correlation by the same-language retest correlations over a similar measurement interval. Here, we illustrate how this method can be extended to evaluate the translation quality of individual items. We translated the English version of the Inventory …


Evolutionary Mismatch: Getting To The Root Of Modern Problems, Norman P. Li Oct 2018

Evolutionary Mismatch: Getting To The Root Of Modern Problems, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Humans have experienced an enormous amount of technological progress in recent years. Owing to this progress, we are globally connected and can instantly communicate with family, friends, co-workers and multitudes of strangers. We are increasingly sheltered from harsh natural elements, dangerous animals and deadly wars, and have an incredible array of medicine to treat whatever ills us. Our entertainment options now include thousands of satellite television channels and millions of video games and videos. Our food options are just as numerous. Transportation is so fast and easy that we can visit places and do business with people all around the …


Review Of Daniel Chua, Us-Singapore Relations, 1965-1975: Strategic Non-Alignment In The Cold War, Wen-Qing (Wei Wenqing) Ngoei Oct 2018

Review Of Daniel Chua, Us-Singapore Relations, 1965-1975: Strategic Non-Alignment In The Cold War, Wen-Qing (Wei Wenqing) Ngoei

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The history of U.S.-Southeast Asian relations during the Cold War is dominated by studies of American involvement in Vietnam. If understandable, this state of affairs is nevertheless regrettable. For, even though U.S. cold warriors viewed the fates of Southeast Asia’s states as interconnected and pursued a containment strategy focused on the entire region, scholars of U.S. foreign relations with Southeast Asia pay outsized attention to Vietnam. There remain disappointingly few major works on U.S.-Indonesian relations despite years of American interference in Indonesia due to its huge population, the one-time prominence of its Beijing-oriented communist party, and firm American support for …