Poorer families use more water to keep cool: Study (21 Dec, Home, Page B2)

The Straits Times

It was reported that a study conducted by Associate Professor Alberto Salvo from the Department of Economics at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has found that lower-income households tend to use more water when the weather is hot, while higher-income households consume more electricity. The study tracked the water and electricity bills of about 130,000 households living in apartments from September 2012 to December 2015. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications on 20 December 2018, can contribute towards improving demand forecasting for water and electricity in water-stressed cities in tropical Asia, where incomes are rising. It can also facilitate better design and allocation of water and electricity grids.

Read the article here.

Mangroves can help countries mitigate their carbon emissions, study

This was a report on a study by researchers from the Department of Geography at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences which found that coastal vegetation such as mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes may be the most effective habitats to mitigate carbon emissions. The results indicate that nations with large coastlines could expand these ecosystems to further counteract their fossil fuel emissions. These findings were published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters on 24 October 2018.

Love And Betrayal In Balingkang (Friday, 16 November 2018, 7:00PM)

The Department of Southeast Asian Studies presents “Love and Betrayal in Balingkang“, The story of King Sri Jayapangus and his Chinese wife, performed by students of SE3230 Seen and Unseen: Explorations in Balinese Theatre.


Synopsis:

Prembon was first performed in Bali in 1942 and combines some of the quintessential elements of Bali’s most famous theatrical genres – topeng (masked drama), gambuh (classical drama) and arja (sung opera). Prembon performances narrate stories from Balinese history and include dance, singing, narration, drama and comedy. All Prembon performances are accompanied by a full Balinese gamelan ensemble.

The story is taken from the Babad Bali/Dalem – the chronicles of the Kings of Bali. It tells of King Sri Jaya Pangus (1181-1269), ruler of Pejeng (currently a small town near Ubud) who was from the Warmadewa dynasty. He had fallen in love with Kang Ching Wie, the daughter of the Subandar Cina (Chinese port administrator). Their marriage was opposed by the court priest, Begawan Siwagana who believed that Sri Jaya Pangus was going against the rules of the royal house by marrying a non-Hindu non-Balinese. Angered by Sri Jaya Pangus’ stubborn refusal to call off the marriage, he cursed the kingdom with heavy rain and floods. Sri Jaya Pangus decides to leave Pejeng and establish his own kingdom called Balingkang (named after Bali + Kang, his wife’s family name). Despite having been married for a long time, Kang Ching Wie did not produce children and Sri Jaya Pangus decided to meditate and seek help from the gods so his wife could conceive. He travelled up the slopes of the Mountain Batur. It was here that he met Dewi Danu, the goddess of Lake Batur. Sri Jaya Pangus fell in love with Dewi Danu, never telling her about Kang Ching Wie. Dewi Danu had a son with the king whom they named Mayadenawa. Kang Ching Wie waited patiently for her husband to return but he never did. She eventually decided to search for him on Mount Batur. When she found out that he was with Dewi Danu, Kang Ching Wie was devastated. Dewi Danu was angered at the betrayal she felt as Sri Jaya Pangus had never informed her of his wife. In a fit of anger, she made both Sri Jaya Pangus and Kang Ching Wie disappear from the face of the earth. The residents of Balingkang who loved their king and queen, made two giant puppets (barong landing) to remind themselves of their rulers.

Performers: There will be musicians from Bali and dancers accompanying the NUS students in this 2 hour production.

Tickets: Priced at $15 each at the official booth set up along the Central Library Walkway from 22 Oct – 26 Oct 2018. Tickets can also be purchased directly from A/P Irving Johnson.

Be sure to join us for Singapore’s first ever Prembon performance on Friday 16 November 2018 at 7.00pm at LT13

FASS Bookshare, Fall Semester: Southeast Asian Art, Culture, and Colonial History

The 10th session of FASS Bookshare was held on Thursday, October 11th, 2018, and featured Professor Maurizio Peleggi (NUS Department of History), Assistant Professor Gerard Sasges (NUS Department of Southeast Asian Studies), and Associate Professor David Teh (NUS Department of English Language and Literature) speaking about their research experiences and motivations for their recently published books.
Sasges presents his latest book, Imperial IntoxicationThis edition of Bookshare focused on Southeast Asian Art, Culture, and Colonial History, highlighting Prof Peleggi’s Monastery, Monument, Museum: Sites and Artifacts of Thai Cultural Memory (University of Hawai`i Press), Dr Sasges’ Imperial Intoxication: Alcohol and the Making of Colonial Indochina (University of Hawai`i Press), and Dr Teh’s Thai Art: Currencies of the Contemporary (MIT Press).

Emerald Buddha
Emerald Buddha, Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand by Gremel Madolora

After Associate Professor Itty Abraham, Head of the NUS Department of Southeast Asian Studies introduced the authors, Prof Peleggi discussed how he bridged cultural history with art theory when writing a cultural history of Thailand using art and artifacts.

Rượu cần
Rượu cần (rice wine) in a shop in Vung Tau, Vietnam by Genghiskhanviet

Next Dr Sasges shared how he was inspired to write a book about Vietnam that does not focus on communism. He explained that one reason Vietnam’s alcohol monopoly came to be is because the state was unresponsive to citizens, but worked closely with industry.

Vasan_Sitthiket
Self portrait of Vasan Sitthiket, Thai painter and performance artist, before a stage performance in Trang province, Thailand.

Lastly Dr Teh talked about how he conceptualized the social,cultural, and institutional currencies that contemporary artists in Thailand circulate. He shared how he as a curator engaged with these artists and their work, and how he characterized their relationships with their homeland.

The event ended with a lively question and answer session, followed by refreshments and informal discussions between the authors and audience members. Stay tuned for the next session of Bookshare, scheduled for Friday, 8 March, 2019!

University students studying regional languages up 10% from 5 years ago

According to Lianhe Zaobao on 9 October 2018, MOE reported that university students taking courses in ASEAN languages have gone up 10% compared to five years ago. Around 1,730 students at NUS, NTU and SMU took these courses last year, compared to around 1,550 in 2013. The languages include Bahasa Indonesia, Malay, Thai and Vietnamese.

Assoc Prof Titima Suthiwan, director of the NUS Centre for Language Studies, said the centre offers classes in those ASEAN languages. An average of 1,350 students take these classes each year. Courses in Bahasa Indonesia, Malay, and Thai languages have been popular with students in the past 10 years.

Tang Renxuan, a fourth-year student at NUS, became interested in learning ASEAN languages when she was doing voluntary work around the region in junior college. She is currently taking Southeast Asian Studies in NUS and is learning Thai , after completing a course in Bahasa Indonesia.

A/P Chris McMorran’s new podcast – This little dot we call home

Associate Professor Chris McMorran from the Department of Japanese Studies, together with a team of students, recently produced a podcast series called “Home on the Dot” and the project was featured in NUS News.

The podcast consists of 10 episodes, each revolving around a particular aspect of Singapore related to the idea of home, such as public housing and hawker centres.

The podcast is available at the Home on the Dot blog or via iTunes by searching for “Home on the Dot”. Six episodes, each about 20 to 25 minutes in length, have been posted, with another four to be shared in the weeks to come.

 

Ann Wee NUS Social Work Alumni Award Ceremony & Graduate Diploma in Social Work Graduation Celebration 2018

On 31 August 2018, the Department of Social Work held the inaugural Ann Wee NUS Social Work Award Ceremony. The Award is named after Mrs Ann Wee, a pioneer social work educator and the longest-serving Head of the Department, was present at the ceremony. The Award serves to recognise NUS Social Work alumnus who have made major contributions to social work education and practice. The three alumna who received the award were Ms Goh Song Eng, a senior medical social worker at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH); Ms Lilian Mark Fong Eng, Head of Medical Social Work Department at IMH; and Ms Lim Wan-Li Melissa, Social Work Clinical Director and Principal Social Worker at Shine Children and Youth Services.

Ms Goh was with the Students Care Service for close to 30 years. She was responsible for the agency’s maiden publication ‘Systemic practice in social work’ in 2001. She also established the REACH Counselling Centre during her headship at the REACH Community Services Society. In her current position in IMH, she provides clinical work to patients and their families and conducts supervision and systemic training to younger social workers. Her adaptability, continuous learning stance and willingness to mentor younger social workers leaves behind an inspiring legacy.

Ms Mark has been a social work practitioner since 1986, primarily in the healthcare field. She also spent a few years at the then Ministry of Community Development where she was involved in the funding and service development of policies relating to elder care in the community. She has made pivotal impact to the field at different levels and is instrumental in expanding services for mental health patients through networking with the Ministry of Health, Agency for Integrated Care and many Intermediate and Long Term Care Services. She has demonstrated extraordinary ability in fostering inter-sectorial synergy to reduce service gaps and enhance services for patients. For instance, most recently, she initiated the close partnership between MSF Child Protection Service and IMH in management of patients who are parents and their children.

Ms Lim’s social work career started from the Students Care Service. She went on to lead the School Social Work at Assumption Pathway School prior to joining her current organization, Shine Children and Youth Services. She has conducted workshops for students, teachers, parents and fellow practitioners and contributed professional opinions in the media. She is an inspiring supervisor who never fails to go that extra mile to extend her care and concern. Her enduring presence has also created a nurturing environment that allow colleagues to develop openness and keenness to learn and grow professionally.

Professor Jill Manthorpe, S R Nathan Professor in Social Work, gave a speech at the event titled ”Social Work Education: History and Role of Alumni”. In her speech, she explored the social work journey of the late former President SR Nathan, who served his fieldwork placement first with the Red Cross in Malacca and second in rural Kedah, the heart of rice farming. According to Prof Manthorpe, “such experiences are at the heart of social work training – placing students in positions so that they are ready to be newly qualified social workers and not just new graduates.”

The Department also took the opportunity that day to celebrate the graduation of the cohort who completed the Graduate Diploma in Social Work. Associate Professor Loy Hui Chieh, FASS Vice Dean of External Relations and Student Life presented the certificates to the GDSW graduates. The event ended with a short sharing of their social work education journeys by Ms Amanda Lim, senior youth guidance officer at Ministry of Social and Family Development, and Ms Ranitha Govindasamy, a medical social worker at National Cancer Centre Singapore.

 

FASS Bookshare – Thursday, 11 October 2018

FASS Bookshare celebrates and showcases books authored by faculty members who have dedicated years of research into their publications.

In previous years Bookshare has highlighted single-authored books in a range of disciplines and topics, such as Development, Migration, and Protest in Asia, Southeast Asian Cosmopolitanism, Urbanism, and Tourism, and Religion, Diaspora, and Travel.

This edition of Bookshare focuses on Southeast Asian Art, Culture, and Colonial History. 

 https://0.academia-photos.com/62407/17746/121289/s200_maurizio.peleggi.gif Professor Maurizio Peleggi will be speaking about his latest book, Monastery, Monument, Museum: Sites and Artifacts of Thai Cultural Memory.
 
 https://0.academia-photos.com/17225187/4761598/5488149/s200_gerard.sasges.jpg Assistant Professor Gerard Sasges will talk about his new book Imperial Intoxication: Alcohol and the Making of Colonial Indochina.
 
  Associate Professor David Teh will present on his recent book, Thai Art: Currencies of the Contemporary.

 

 

Date and Time: Thursday, 11 October, 12-1:45pm

Venue:  FASS Research Division Seminar Room, Level 6, Room 42, AS7 Shaw Foundation Building, 5 Arts Link, 117570

Attendance: If you would like to attend Bookshare, RSVP with your full name and email at the Eventbrite page. Seating is limited, so do RSVP early and if your plans change, please cancel the reservation.

Programme

12:00pm-12:15pm Registration and Refreshments
12:15-12:20pm Introduction by Chair, Associate Professor Itty Abraham
12:20-12:35pm Monastery, Monument, Museum: Sites and Artifacts of Thai Cultural Memory by Professor Maurizio Peleggi
12:35-12:50pm Imperial Intoxication: Alcohol and the Making of Colonial Indochina by Assistant Professor Gerard Sasges
12:50-1:05pm Thai Art: Currencies of the Contemporary by Associate Professor David Teh
1:05-1:20pm Q & A Session
1:20-1:45pm Refreshments