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.     

Asian multiculturalism in communication: Impact of culture in the practice of public relations in Singapore

This study aims to understand the role of cultural values in influencing public relations practice in Singapore. Given that Singapore exhibits a hybrid of cultures, it purposes to comprehend how multiculturalism is operationalized and to uncover if the values that have a greater influence on organizational communication resemble those in individualistic or collectivistic societies. Using Gudykunst’s (1998) seven dimensions that influence individualism-collectivism on communication as a guide, this study interviewed 20 public relations practitioners in Singapore. Our findings showed that although the patterns expressed is slightly more consistent with those found in collectivistic cultures, it does not resemble collectivism in entirety. Multiculturalism in Singapore displays a blend of certain cultural hybridity, which is aligned with it being a multicultural cosmopolitan city that embodies Western modernity while retaining its Asian values. Our findings further reinforced the idea that public relations professionals need to be multicultural themselves to effectively communicate with culturally diverse stakeholders in today’s globalizing era of multiculturalism.     

族群住房配额制：各民族互嵌式社区建设的新加坡实践与启示

作为一项公共政策,族群住房配额制主要被那些不仅将族群隔离居住视为贫困问题更视为一系列社会问题的国家所采用。新加坡作为少有的公开采用这一政策的国家,有其自身特殊的历史原因,其具体政策内容也主要基于新加坡具体国情而自成特色。尽管其政策效果颇有争议,中国的国情与新加坡也大不相同,但新加坡的实践也启示我国,在各民族互嵌式社区建设过程中,抓住当前城市化进程中大量保障房建设的重要契机,科学合理规划公共住房,以增量改革为策略,秉持多元一体理念,完善相关政策体系,形成政策合力,不失为明智之举。     

新加坡高校创业教育特点与启示

新加坡是亚太地区较早系统开展创业教育且取得较为显著成效的国家。其高校的创业教育具有宏观的视野、明确的思路和鲜明的特色。研究新加坡高校进行的创业教育具有很强的理论研究意义和实践指导意义。     

新加坡廉政之道的全方位剖析

新加坡廉政制度与措施是一个有机的整体.本文以大量的第一手资料为基础,从使人不必贪、使人不想贪、使人不能贪和使人不敢贪等4个方面全方位剖析新加坡廉政之道.     

论新加坡人民行动党群众基础的构建

新加坡人民行动党执政以后注意扩大自己的群众基础,加强少数种族、青年和妇女工作,赢得了绝大多数选民的支持,在历次大选中能轻易问鼎,不战而胜,从而为其执政提供了合法性依据,进而巩固了自己的执政地位。人民行动党执政以后,致力于少数民族政治参与机制的构建;进入20世纪90年代以后,鉴于青年越来越在新加坡社会中发挥作用,把其中的优秀人才吸收进人民行动党中来;在世纪之交,人民行动党面对日益涌动的民主浪潮和执政合法性的挑战,日益加强妇女工作,按照人民行动党的标准塑造他们的思想。     

国际交通拥挤收费管理的经验和启示

世界上许多国家一直在道路拥挤收费政策的实施上进行探索,也有很多国家的管理策略取得了显著的效果。各个国家和地区之间出于不同的考虑,所采用的具体实施措施也不尽相同,但主要目的都是为了限制高峰期进入城区的车辆数,从而缓解城市交通拥挤现象,有效利用道路资源。本文主要通过介绍新加坡、伦敦和斯德哥尔摩等城市道路拥挤收费政策的实施案例,研究国外道路拥挤收费系统的成功经验,构建中国实施道路拥挤收费的设想,以期对缓解道路交通拥挤有所帮助。