Information happenings: Performing reflexive organizational research 1

This article is an experiment in organizational narration. The adoption of a novel literary form enables the author to address certain contemporary themes in the reflexive presentation and reporting of organizational research. In pursuit of an alternative mode of expression, the notion of the ‘Happening’ is found to be a helpful rhetorical device. ‘Happenings’ serve as a vehicle for the theatrical reframing of important epistemological issues concerning the nature of ‘organization’, ‘research’ and ‘reporting’. This textual strategy is not, however, an end in itself. In substantive terms, it is used to explore and give voice to key thematic elements of the author's ethnographic study of a high technology project. The work of literary critic Kenneth Burke and his method of Dramatism, reflexively reframed, is employed to examine the social motives which inform ‘computer identity’, ‘information Utopias’ and ‘technicism’.     

新加坡的教师和教师教育状况

新加坡的教师和教师教育现状，尤其是新加坡唯一的教师培养机构——国立教育学院的师资培养模式值得进一步探讨。新加坡非常重视教育，教师的待遇以及培训机构的状况都在不断改进，其师资培养模式和做法等有诸多可以借鉴的地方。     

Economic growth and inequality in Singapore: The case for a minimum wage

In the context of Singapore's ageing population, the employment of large numbers of low‐skilled foreign workers is proving to be a major challenge to inclusive growth because of the stagnation of low‐wage workers' incomes. In order to address this problem, the author makes the case for introducing a minimum wage to complement existing in‐work benefit schemes. After addressing the commonly voiced objections to a minimum wage system, he suggests ways in which a minimum wage could be implemented in Singapore. New measures to enhance the social safety net and foster more sustainable economic growth are also proposed.     

Producing and reconstructing knowledge on China in Singapore: perspectives from the academics and mass media

In Singapore, intellectuals, especially those in media and education, are considered as the driving force of formatting public opinion over the social imagination of China and Chineseness. This article, largely based on oral histories of some Singaporean scholars and media professionals and memoirs of related figures, analyzes the choice and acquisition of their knowledge on China. Through the analysis and comparison of their construction of knowledge on China, this article also discusses the accuracy of their understanding of China and how such understandings were formed along with their personal experiences from domestic socialization, education, and professional accumulation. The authors consequently map out the process of how public intellectuals from mass media and academia transform their knowledge imagination of China into the professional opinions that help to reconstruct and shift Singaporean’s impression and understandings of China.     

Granny as Nanny: Positive Outcomes for Grandparents providing Childcare for Dual-Income Families. Fact or Myth?

The proliferation of dual-income families has led to the prevalence of grandparents providing child care in Singapore. The Chinese culture and values have tasked grandparents to fill the role of providing child care while mothers seek employment. Literature on grandparents providing informal care posits this situation to be a rewarding experience and a protective factor for grandparents’ stability in old age. This study uses the Social Relational Theory framework to examine the experiences of Chinese grandparents who provide care for dual-income families in Singapore. In-depth interviews were conducted to understand the experiences of the grandparents and common themes guided by the framework. Through the exploration of the narratives of grandparents, this study sieves out the issues they face in the Singaporean context and analyzes the motivations that spur grandparents to provide care for their grandchildren. Despite informal caregiving being positively framed in many studies, this study found that grandparents also faced a variety of challenges. Chinese grandparents were bound to the caregiving roles by cultural and familial obligations despite the high costs associated with providing care.     

Strict versus flexible categorizations of mixedness: classifying mixed race in Singapore and New Zealand

ABSTRACT

Classifying and recording population data along racial and ethnic lines is common in many multiethnic societies. Singapore and New Zealand both use racial and ethnic categories in their population records and national censuses, although on different scales, using different methodologies and to different ends. Mixed race identities are particularly difficult to classify within traditionally singular racial categories, and each country has dealt with this in various ways. This paper explores the effects of different forms of classification on mixed racial and ethnic identities. Narratives from 40 men and women of mixed descent highlight the tangible and intangible impacts of categorization along racial lines, and the ways in which mixedness can be tied with belonging. The contrasting examples of Singapore and New Zealand illustrate the ways in which individuals of mixed heritage navigate both strict and fluid forms of classification, and how stories of identity are closely intertwined with institutional classificatory structures.     

How Lesbian and Heterosexual Women View Relationships,Sex, and Virginity: Explorations With a Singapore Sample

Thirty-eight lesbian and 38 heterosexual women in Singapore (ages 21 to 35) discussed relationships, sex, and virginity in focus groups. Views were mostly similar between the two groups, although there were differences. All participants defined relationships as romantic involvement. However, while heterosexual participants equated commitment with monogamy, lesbian participants distinguished them. All participants differentiated between having sex (for thrill and fun) and making love (for expressing love), although there were differences in the purposes of making love. Primacy of penetration was found in defining virginity loss, but for many participants, virginity was important only insofar as it indicated sexual permissiveness.     

Inclusion in Singapore: a social model analysis of disability policy

A rhetoric of inclusion and increased social spending within a global context of austerity cuts has dominated disability policies in Singapore today. However, there is a lack of academic works that take a critical disability studies view towards the analysis of disability in Singapore. This work aims to address this gap by adopting a critical social model-led analysis of disability policies in Singapore. The article examines the rhetoric of inclusion, how disability is defined and its implementation through various policies in Singapore. It will examine the underpinnings of disability in Singapore today and its impact on the lives of disabled people.     

浅析新加坡高等教育的国际化发展战略

20世纪90年代,为配合国家21世纪的国际化发展战略,新加坡明确了高等教育的国际化战略,要求努力提高高等教育质量,充分利用国际资源和人才,增强国际间的学术交流与合作,以使新加坡发展成为国际学术文化中心。本文对新加坡高等教育国际化发展战略的社会经济背景、主要表现及存在的问题进行了介绍和分析。     

新加坡中央公积金制度的经济效应分析及对中国的启示

新加坡中央公积金制度 (CPF)自 1 95 5年正式实施以来 ,对促进新加坡社会经济发展 ,加强政府对经济的调控 ,维护社会稳定都起到了十分重要的作用。本文介绍了新加坡中央公积金制度的主要内容及特征 ,重点分析了中央公积金制度的经济效应 ,以希对中国正在进行的养老保险制度改革提供一些有价值的建议。