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The National Gallery Singapore opened to justified acclaim late last year. But will its efforts to represent a national art be hampered by the the constraints on expression for which [...]

Once considered the Asian country least likely to have any positive LGBT developments (Leong 1997), Singapore has witnessed a number of such advances in the last decade. Invoking the ideas of cultural and sexual citizenship to critically frame my examination of a failed gay pride parade and an immensely successful rally for the freedom to love called 'Pink Dot,' I make two assertions. First, I maintain that attempts at asserting one's citizenship succeed more often when they take into account the country's communitarian ideals. Second, I argue that Singaporeans once gave the state the right to determine the contours of their citizenship, but now take full advantage of every single loosening of the state's rules. This study illuminates the processes of queer cultural citizen-making in Singapore. [Keywords: Cultural citizenship, sexual citizenship, Pink Dot, Singapore] [Palavras-chave: Cidadania cultural, cidadania sexual, Pink Dot, Singapura], 'Singapore,' sociologist Laurence Leong (1997:142) writes, 'appears to be the last frontier in the Asian region for positive gay and lesbian developments.' While repression and sexual perversion characterize orientalist discourses [...]

Throughout the world, national policymakers are being pushed, by ageing populations, low fertility rates and changing cultural values, to find innovative and sustainable policy solutions to meet the needs of [...]

Author Affiliations: CRISPR-baby rules, fake-news law and kilogram retires EVENTS New definitions of SI units come into force Revised definitions of four scientific units -- the kilogram, the kelvin, the [...], The week in science: 17-23 May 2019. The week in science: 17-23 May 2019.

Americans have grown used to buying every kind of product from overseas. So why not 'buy' foreign ideas or social institutions? Why, for instance, hasn't the United States adopted the [...]

The issue of cultural heritage in urban settings is of increasing importance as cities seek a better future in a globalizing world. This article aims to explore how such heritage themes and assets are treated in rapidly urbanizing cities to redress the creation of tabula rasa. Using the case study of Singapore's latest attempt to build a distinctive global city, the article will analyze the changing images of heritage and discuss how heritage conservation may yet give urban redevelopment unique places. The challenge for Singapore, as in other cities, is to identify those parts of the urban environment most worthy of preservation while fostering a new and distinctive skyline. Keywords: heritage conservation: place-based planning; Singapore

In 1997, when the Ministry of Education in Singapore launched its first Masterplan for Information Technology (IT) in Education, a press release explained that the underlying philosophy of the plan [...]

In Hong Kong and Singapore, the latest higher education policy changes and reforms have emphasised quality assurance, managerial efficiency, cost-effectiveness, market relevance and public accountability. The rise of a more [...]

Singapore's labor market responded to the Asian economic crisis in the late 1990s by enacting short-term salary and benefit cuts. Once workers retrenched, 'model workers' were retrained as a medium to long-term response, a move usually presented by mass media in terms of modernity, national security, and developmentalism.

This article examines the impact the aging populations of affluent countries will have on the cost of health care. The author, using Singapore's health care financing policy in which community care is emphasized, evaluates the effectiveness of community care in regards to containing costs and quality of care and argues collective communities such as Singapore will offer better community care over individualistic societies.

Health care systems do not exist in isolation, but rather, as part of the larger social and cultural mosaic. In particular, perceived attitudes are major obstacles in health promotion exercises. This problem is especially true for non-white populations where little is known about the prevailing social and cultural perceptions towards western biomedical prescriptions. To further our understanding of Asian women's acceptance of mammograms, three attitudinal indexes are conceptualised, constructed and validated. Data from a prospective survey showed the significance of fatalistic attitudes, perceived barriers and perceived efficacy of early detection in predicting women's acceptance of a free mammogram at the National Breast Screening Project. In addition, findings reinforced the importance of social support from the family in the promotion of breast screening among Asian women. Keywords: Mammogram; Breast cancer; Social support; Singapore; Screening

Studying a multicultural society's approach to the teaching of second and foreign languages can give insight into how that society regards individuals. An examination of its language learning polices shows that Singapore values persons for their contributions to society and perceives education as an investment that will lead to economic growth. Australia views education as the right of all its citizens, taking an egalitarian approach. How and to whom language education is offered provides insight into nations' value systems.

As many nations in the developing world move closer to democratic political and economic structures, freedom of information has become an increasingly salient issue. But progress in areas of free [...]

In the evolution of public health policies in the countries of Asia, in particular, India and Singapore their respective social and cultural background have played an important part. Of equal importance has been the availability of resources, both human and material, to the growth of such policies. Since health has now emerged as an important dimension of development in these two countries there has been an enormous need for health personnel to run various services at different levels. Such a development has also provided women of those two countries with new opportunities. My paper is divided into two parts: 1. historical and cultural factors in the evolution of health policies, and, 2. medical personnel, their social background, and generational shifts., Evolution of Health Policies In the evolution of health policies of the countries of Asia, their own cultural heritage, the indigenous approaches to the preventive and curative aspects of health, [...]

Expanding longevity among elderly people and fertility decline are contributing to the ageing of Singapore's population. By 2030, the proportion of persons aged 60 and above will be 26% of the total population. A national policy on elderly persons was formulated in 1989 which incorporated four issues: employment of elderly persons in the workforce; attitudes toward elderly people; community care; and residential care. This paper discusses each of these agenda with the view of assessing their strengths and weaknesses. The section on residential care is supported by empirical data. The paper concludes that elderly people in Singapore suffer from a high degree of enforced dependence which will need to be reviewed. In particular, a consultative approach in keeping with the more liberal attitude of the second generation leadership will help Singapore to achieve higher standards of care for an increasingly affluent elderly population. KEY WORDS - national policy, employment, community care, residential care, attitudes.

This paper focuses on the intersection of state policies and popular attitudes towards urban conservation in Singapore. It first reviews changing state policies which have shaped the built environment from slum clearance in the 1950s and 1960s to the conservation of the city's historic districts in the 1980s and 1990s. It then explores the degree of convergence between the state and the public in terms of the meaning and purposes of conservation, the question of whose heritage to conserve and which strategies are appropriate. While there is general agreement on the need for conservation and the benefits it confers on the city, there are also divergences over specific issues such as the authenticity of the conserved landscape, the degree to which traditional trades and lifestyles can be retained, and the level to which public opinions are considered in state planning.

The social security system of Singapore and the government's delivery of social security services is examined. Singapore's social security programs involve income maintenance programs for the aged, and economically disadvantaged workers, a children's allowance program, and the Medisave and Medishield health care programs. The government's social security programs reflect a tendency toward greater private sector participation while the state expands its involvement with regards to the family, community and employers. This policy has its advantages but it may lead to inadeqaute social protection for the beneficiaries of the services.

The Singapore government decided in 1988 that employers were relying too heavily on cheap immigrant labor from Thailand and raised its wage levy on employers to discourage hiring non-citizens. However, many employers ignored these changes and hired undocumented aliens. The government responded by expelling the illegal workers. The Thai government reacted by opening negotiations to obtain legal status for their citizens desiring employment in Singapore. For a number of reasons, very few of the deported Thais were rehired and were replaced by workers of other nationalities.

A modern, 250-square-mile Southeast Asian city-state of 2.7 million people, Singapore's experience in vital organ transplants began with its first successful kidney transplant in 1970. Its program made another major [...]