Sociology Commons^™

What Happens After The One-Child Policy?, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

The option to have multiple children could transform China’s economy.

What Women Want: Work-Life Balance, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Madhabi Puri-Buch offers advice on how women can strike a balance between family responsibility and career development.

The Strength Of Sibling Ties: Sibling Influence On Status Attainment In A Chinese Family, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

What allowed eight siblings from a politically disadvantaged rural family to overcome institutional barriers and achieve upward mobility during Maoist China? What then restricted their children’s chances of upward mobility during the Reform era, when both family background and institutional environment were more favourable? In studying this anomalous case, whose experiences contradicted the well-documented effects of state policies and yet cannot be explained by parental influence, this study examines how adult siblings influenced each other’s status attainment processes, an issue largely neglected in the literature. Through comparing the micro-level mobility processes of the two generations in this family, I propose …

Innovating Without A Brief: Tackling Urban Poverty Through Anthropology, Data, Design And Lean Methods, Bernise Ang

Social Space

Social innovation labs are witnessing a new entrant in an unexpected form: civic initiatives reflecting the rigour of social sciences, the analytical power of data, the innovation frameworks from design, and the agility to span the innovation of Silicon Valley to grassrootsdriven change. Bernise Ang deconstructs a composite methodology blended with a complexity that matches the issues the method seeks to tackle.

Contextualising The New National Narrative: Building On The Social And Emotional Capital Of Singaporeans, Tong Yee

Social Space

Singapore commemorates 50 years of nationhood in 2015. What’s next? Tong Yee discusses how understanding and building on the social and emotional capital in our people can direct us towards building a new inclusive narrative for the nation.

Are We Really Making A Difference?: Lessons From Nesta’S Innovation Lab, Philip Colligan

Social Space

Are public and social innovation labs achieving impact? Philip Colligan from Nesta’s Innovation Lab looks at how we can answer the most important question of whether labs are indeed making a difference to societies.

Are We Really Making A Difference?: Lessons From Nesta's Innovation Lab, Philip Colligan

Social Space

Are public and social innovation labs achieving impact? Philip Colligan from Nesta's Innovation Lab looks at how we can answer the most important question of whether labs are indeed making a difference to societies.

Levers For Change -- Philanthropy In Select South East Asian Countries, Prapti Upadhyay Anand, Crystal Hayling

Lien Centre for Social Innovation: Research

Explosive economic growth in South East Asia has resulted in unparalleled wealth creation. Forbes magazine reports there are 386 billionaires in the Asia Pacific region. While the region’s emerging economies report hopeful signs of a broadening middle class, income inequality is rising faster than living standards for the majority. There is widespread agreement that the stark income disparity must be addressed or it risks threatening political and social stability. For those interested in the social economy, key questions remain unanswered: first, will philanthropic giving match the fast pace of wealth accumulation, and second, will that philanthropy be strategic and targeted …

Working It Out: Migrants’ Perspectives Of Social Inclusion In The Workplace, George Major, Agnes Terraschke, Emily Major, Charlotte Setijadi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper explores the concept of social inclusion from the perspective of recent migrants, from language backgrounds other than English, at work in Australia. We adopt an understanding of social inclusion that acknowledges the importance of economic independence, while also considering migrants’ feelings of connectedness at work and their sense of belonging. Based on qualitative interviews with migrants collected two years apart, we explore the ways language and language practices can lead to feelings of inclusion or exclusion at work. The data suggests that migrants who felt included at work often had colleagues and/or bosses who actively supported and encouraged …

Intrasexual Competition And Other Theories Of Eating Restriction, Norman P. Li, April R. Smith, Jose C. Yong, Tiffany A. Brown

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Various forms of disordered eating and unhealthy eating practices, including excessive dieting, vomiting, binging and purging, and diet-motivated drug use, negatively affect and are potentially fatal to millions of individuals. We describe the etiology of disordered eating as well as various hypotheses on this phenomenon, both from traditional, non-evolutionary perspectives and from evolutionary perspectives. In particular, we explore in detail the intrasexual competition hypothesis, which draws on a broad evolutionary theory: intrasexual selection. From this perspective, women are thought to have evolved to compete intrasexually on thinness, which would have indicated youth and nubility in the ancestral past (Abed, 1998). …

European Cosmopolitanism In Question [Book Review], Hiro Saito

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

European Cosmopolitanism in Question offers a critical and timely intervention in the emerging research on cosmopolitanism. Specifically, contributors to the volume collectively explore solutions to two major problems in the sociology of cosmopolitanism proposed by Ulrich Beck, arguably the most influential scholar in the field. Book review of European Cosmopolitanism in Question, edited by Roland Robertson and Anne Sophie Krossa. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. 204pp. $28.00 paper. ISBN: 9780230302631.

Civil Service Reforms And The Development Of Korea, Soo-Young Lee, Seulki Lee

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Human resources in government have been recognized crucial elements for national development in that civil servants make policy decisions and implement them. Especially in the case of economic development, high levels of expertise and experience are required for civil servants. Korea’s economic development provides good example of the importance of public human resources. The Korean government recruited new civil servants through the civil service exam, a very difficult and competitive test. Most civil servants who pass this exam have a high degree of knowledge of economics, public policy, and public administration. During period of industrialization in Korea, civil servants used …

Stepping Up To The Plate, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Rajesh Chakraborti talks about how CSR is embedded in everything that Reliance does, in an attempt to limit poverty in India.

Power Motivates Interpersonal Connection Following Social Exclusion, Jayanth Narayanan, Kenneth Tai, Zoe Kinias

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Research has systematically documented the negative effects of social exclusion, yet little is known about how these negative effects can be mitigated. Building on the approach-inhibition theory of power (Keltner, Gruenfeld, & Anderson, 2003), we examined the role of power in facilitating social connection following exclusion. Four experiments found that following exclusion, high power (relative to low power) individuals intend to socially connect more with others. Specifically, following exclusion, individuals primed with high power sought new social connections more than those primed with low power (Studies 1–4) or those receiving no power prime (Study 1). The intention to seek social …

The Uneven Representation Of Women In Asian Parliaments: Explaining Variation Across The Region, Devin K. Joshi, Kara Kingma

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Although home to the majority of the world's women, Asia is the continent with the smallest proportion of women in Parliament. Rarely studied from a comparative perspective, this article examines the uneven representation of women in the lower houses of contemporary Asian parliaments. While socio-economic modernization and industrialization are generally expected to increase the proportion of women in positions of political influence, we find that differences in electoral and party systems across Asia play a greater role than levels of female literacy, urbanization, or per capita income. In particular, Asian parliaments with strict quotas and a higher number of (three …

Mate Preferences Do Predict Attraction And Choices In The Early Stages Of Mate Selection, Norman P. Li, Jose C. Yong, William Tov, Oliver Sng, Garth J. O. Fletcher, Katherine A. Valentine, Yun F. Jiang, Daniel Balliet

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Although mate preference research has firmly established that men value physical attractiveness more than women do and women value social status more than men do, recent speed-dating studies have indicated mixed evidence (at best) for whether people’s sex-differentiated mate preferences predict actual mate choices. According to an evolutionary, mate preference priority model (Li, Bailey, Kenrick, & Linsenmeier, 2002; Li & KENRICK, 2006; Li, Valentine, & Patel, 2011), the sexes are largely similar in what they ideally like, but for long-term mates, they should differ on what they most want to avoid in early selection contexts. Following this model, we conducted …

The Next Step For Myanmar, Michael Shank, Vani Sathisan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Last week, the Elders, led by ex-U.S. president Jimmy Carter, called for an end to impunity over the anti-Muslim attacks in Myanmar and the "meaningful realization of the right to freedom of religion." But their three-day visit with reformist President Thein Sein, religious leaders and civil society groups was not the only international appeal for increased attention. In her first visit to Singapore, this month Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi also offered up a solution to current problems of sectarian violence, corruption, a crippled judicial system and illegal land grabs that plague her …

Playing Hard-To-Get: Manipulating One's Perceived Availability As A Mate, Peter K. Jonason, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

‘Playing hard-to-get’ is a mating tactic in which people give the impression that they are ostensibly uninterested to get others to desire them more. This topic has received little attention because of theoretical and methodological limitations of prior work. We present four studies drawn from four different American universities that examined playing hard-to-get as part of a supply-side economics model of dating. In Studies 1a (N = 100) and 1b (N = 491), we identified the tactics that characterize playing hard-to-get and how often men and women enact them. In Study 2 (N = 290), we assessed reasons why men …

Gender Disparities In Self-Employment In Urban China's Market Transition: Income Inequality, Occupational Segregation And Mobility Processes, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper presents the first quantitative analysis of gender disparities in selfemployment in urban China. It documents the extent of gender income inequality in selfemployment. By disaggregating self-employment into three occupational classes, it shows the gender segregation within self-employment—women were concentrated in the financially least rewarding segment—and identifies it as a main source of the gender income inequality. It examines a range of determinants of participation in self employment—family structure, family background, and career history—and how their gender-specific effects contributed to gender segregation. Although using data from a 1996 national survey, this study captures two key processes that shaped the …

Floating Hope, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

It was 1994 when aristocrat Runa Khan and her soon-to-be husband Yves Marre sailed a decommissioned oil barge from the waters off France to her home country of Bangladesh. They had intended to propose to charitable organisations of a revolutionary plan they had: to turn the shipping vessel into a mobile medical station.

The ship would bring medical help to the unreachable islands, or chars, that make up much of Bangladesh. It was a brilliant plan, and would have solved the problem of reaching isolated char communities, most of whom had been neglected by the government and NGOs (non-governmental …

Bo Xilai’S True Crime, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

After more than a year in detention, Bo Xilai, the former Communist Party chief of China’s Chongqing city, has been officially charged with accepting an “extremely large amount” of bribes, embezzling public funds, and abusing public office. But, while the charges may sound severe, Bo’s situation may not be as serious as it appears.

Actualizing A Mobile Integrated System For Geriatric Care, Han Ei Chew, Johannes Faber, Zhiming Liu, Vanessa Madera, Nafees Qamar

Research Collection Office of Impact

Population aging looms over countries all over the world. The social and economic implications of this phenomenon extend beyond the individual person and the immediate family, affecting broader society and the global community in profound ways. Aging populations increase pressure on already over-burdened public health care services and expenditures. To address this impending predicament, many health care providers and countries have turned to technological solutions. The near-ubiquity of mobile devices entails that mHealth will rapidly become a key component of technologically-enabled health care delivery services. This poster presents research and engineering challenges for a sustainable ICT solution that supports information …

Nursing Homes: Insure To Ensure Quality Care, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Women are more likely to need nursing care, but few – men or women – can afford it in old age

Retirement Villages: Golden Years In A Golden Community, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Putting the folks in a retirement home might actually be the best thing you can do for them, if you can afford it

Winning The Global Contest For Talent, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Knowing what workers want help keep them at your company. But don’t forget about your managers.

Locating The Social Ladder Across Cultures And Identities, Michael W. Kraus, Jacinth J. X. Tan, Melanie B. Tannenbaum

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

It is rare to have the opportunity to write a theory paper on a topic that, we believe at least, will become a very important part of psychological research in the future. That this target article has sparked such a high level of sophistication in the commentaries is indicative of this possibility; psychologists have truly arrived at the forefront of the social class discussion, and we are very excited to be a part of it! In the spirit of moving forward this discussion, each of the commentaries raises a number of important points that intersect with our own theory. Engaging …

The Social Ladder: A Rank-Based Perspective On Social Class, Michael W. Kraus, Jacinth J. X. Tan, Melanie B. Tannenbaum

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Scholars across the social sciences have studied social class for centuries. In this review, we suggest that social class is a fundamental means by which individuals are ranked on the social ladder of society. A rank-based perspective on social class shines light on several future areas of research: Specifically, understanding how social class ranks individuals vis-à-vis others leads to predictions about how class is signaled in interactions, influences social cognition and health, is shaped by global economic inequality trends, and changes across the life course. Importantly, our theory highlights the potential of experimental manipulations of social class rank for testing …

Are Women Ready To Lead?, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

In a world where Sheryl Sandberg and Hilary Clinton regularly steal headlines, it’s easy to think that the world has become a more egalitarian place for women. Not so, says Marina Mahathir, who goes on to speak about lack of opportunities for women in politics.

When I'M 64: The Aging Of Southeast Asia, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Family structures in Southeast Asia are changing, presaging a need for sound policies to cover its rapidly aging citizenry.

Military Service, Exposure To Trauma, And Health In Older Adulthood: An Analysis Of Northern Vietnamese Older Adults, Kim Korinek, Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The long-term, indirect effects of war on older adult health are poorly understood, especially in less developed societies where armed conflict concentrates. In this paper we analyse the determinants of self-reported health, chronic conditions, somatoform symptoms and depressive symptoms in a sample of northern Vietnamese ages 55 and older, who encountered mass mobilization for war and widespread exposure to war traumas in early adulthood. Results of multivariate models indicate that service in combat roles predicts poor self-reported health, health complaints and chronic illness in late adulthood. No such relationship is observed for depressive symptoms, a pattern consistent with previous research …