Tuesday, 11 April 2017

Lianhe Zaobao

In today’s edition of Lianhe Zaobao, it was reported that the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences established the Mrs Lee Choon Guan Endowed Research Fund on 10 April 2017 to promote applied social work research with the aim of enhancing social service provision and delivery at social service agencies. The new research fund is established through a philanthropic gift of $2.37 million from the Mrs Lee Choon Guan Trust Fund, and the gift is eligible for the Government matching grant. The fund, which will be administered by the NUS Department of Social Work, will support practice research projects that promote collaboration between practice and research. Depending on the viability and impact of the projects, successful applicants can expect to receive funding that ranges from $20,000 to $30,000 for each practice research project. Each project is expected to be completed within a three-year period, with the first call of applications for the fund to be announced in 2018.

NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan said that the University will benefit greatly from this programme because through the close interaction and work with practitioners and professionals on the ground, we will obtain a deeper and more complete understanding of the major issues in the social work arena, where we can create and produce greater positive impact in the practice arena and also in terms of education and research programmes.

Wednesday, 12 April 2017

The Straits Times

In today’s edition of The Straits Times, there was the monthly “Ask: NUS Economists” series in which Mr Chua Yeow Hwee from the Department of Economics at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences discussed whether dynamic pricing increases efficiency. He noted the merits of dynamic pricing and cited the taxi industry as an example, but also highlighted that there is the issue of asymmetric information and lack of transparency that put users at a disadvantage. Mr Chua opined that one way to increase efficiency in dynamic pricing is to increase data transparency in the new economy, and added that with the decentralised digital revolution, we could leverage on blockchain technology to match passengers with drivers without a centralised intermediary.

Click here to read the article.

Thursday, 6 April 2017

The Edge Markets

This was an article contribution by Associate Professor Syed Farid Alatas from the Department of Sociology at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, in which he noted that the recently released Racial Discrimination Report 2016 by Pusat KOMAS, a non-profit social outfit, concluded that there has been a rise in racial and ethnic discrimination in Malaysia. Assoc Prof Alatas said there are many reasons that can be brought up to explain this state of affairs, one of which was the rise of hate speech and the opportunity that social media provides for the spread of hate speech.  He also added that one factor that goes into the making of prejudice and discrimination along the lines of race and religion is religious extremism, which can be said to be a threat to inter-religious and inter-ethnic harmony in society to the extent that extremism advocates an exclusivist attitude towards religion and race.

Assoc Prof Alatas felt a balance between an inclusivist and exclusivist approach is needed, and that as far as Muslims in Malaysia are concerned, there is a need for them to become more acquainted with their religious tradition such that they develop a more inclusivist orientation towards other religious communities. He surmised that if they fail to be guided by the ideals of Islam and the practice of the Muslims of the past, Malaysia will eventually be dragged into inter-religious and inter-ethnic unrest.

Click here to read the full article.

Thursday, 6 April 2017

The Business Times

This was an article contribution by Associate Professor Terence Lee and Professor Theodore Hopf, both from the Department of Political Science at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. The authors made reference to the recent street demonstrations against corruption and demand for the resignation of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, which occurred across Russia. They noted that popular demonstrations can lead to the collapse of authoritarian rule, and discussed whether the Russian demonstrations will succeed if they persist, as well as the critical aspects to watch for in the months ahead. They opined that Russian President Mr Vladimir Putin at present retains control over segments of the Russian population that could cause him trouble, and that people power is not powerful enough to threaten his removal.  However, to quell increasing public unease over corruption, the President may be forced to get rid of some of his highly placed allies or risk facing more mobilised anti­corruption protests in the run­up to presidential elections in 2018.

Click here to read the article.

Sunday, 2 April 2017

Lianhe Zaobao

This was an article contribution by Assistant Professor Mu Zheng from the Department of Sociology at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, in which she discussed the link between Singapore’s low birth rates and the role of women in the family and at the workplace. She cited a talk given by Harvard sociologist Professor Mary Brinton at NUS earlier this year, which classified the relationship between couples based on their roles in the family and at work into four types. Asst Prof Mu opined that birth rates will rise when the father takes on a more active role in childcare and when the mother does not have to choose between work and familial demands.