Social Issues

How is the Singaporean society possible? This is a key question Singaporeans – new and old – need to face together, for the sake of their common home and nation.

This is the story of how the food industry have used three essential ingredients to control much of the world's diet. Michael Moss uncovers the truth about the food giants that dominate our supermarket shelves and reveals how the makers of processed foods have chosen, time and again, to increase consumption and profits, gambling that consumers and regulators wouldn't figure them out.

This systematic account of Singapore's healthcare by a US specialist in medical science and healthcare. It is clearly set out and makes clear how the challenge of financing, public health and individual patient care are being met, so that now Singapore ranks 6th in the world for heathcare while spending proportionally less than others high-income countries. Summaries, graphics, and charts contribute to easy comprehension. Some unresolved issues, such as increasing obesity and the provision of diabetes care, are highlighted but the general conclusions are congratulatory. In the Appendix, the Ministry of Health answers searching questions on the methods, adequacy and workings of the healthcare system. Bibliography and index.

This lively spiral-bound lesson book uses as tools recent articles on current issues from the Straits Times and Little Red Dot newspapers together with graphics and illustrated summaries for the course in "Character Development". The three sections, each of 16 lessons, focus on Relationships, Identity and Choice. The approach is innovative and participatory and could well be useful at home as well as in school courses.

In Thailand, migrant writers have documented the social and cultural impacts of fifty years of rural-urban migration through hundreds of stories, poems, and novels. Bangkok Bound is the first book to examine this body of literature and the messages that Thai migrant writers convey about their experiences. These stories powerfully describe the ways in which migrants who leave their homes bound for Bangkok are quickly bound to Bangkok through the transformative force of modern city life. And they show the ways in which those who remain behind in the village are transformed, too, as they struggle to maintain a rural way of life in a rapidly urbanizing world. Bangkok Bound will be of interest to anyone working on migration or urbanization, as well as to scholars of Thailand and Thai literature.

This book examines the identity in Macau from not only a local Chinese perspective but also from a Macanese viewpoint. Society, culture and religion among the Chinese of Macau and in particular the roles played by various Macau social, cultural and religious associations are each studied in the context of economic circumstances. With references and index.

The 19 articles in Social Space Issue 5, 2012, explore many aspects of the thinking, finance and activities involved in ongoing, non-profit social developments in Singapore and beyond. Interviews with three thoughtful and at times iconoclastic activists in Singapore and Thailand are followed by: three articles on design thinking and design systems based in Denmark, in Singapore and among the beneficiaries of a Singapore NGO; five articles are on social finance experiences worldwide; and five on aspects of financing advocacy and sustainability in charitable and social causes with a final exploration of today's civil society trends in Singapore.

The 17 articles in the 2011 Issue Four of Social Space, the Journal of the Lien Foundation, Singapore Management University explore many aspects and the ideas and ongoing activities of the non-profit social organisations of today. Interviews with three of Singapore's leading social innovations precede wide-ranging articles on: business, activities in the international "enlightened marketplace"; advocacy and human rights developments in Singapore and ASEAN; new social models in innovative plans and developments; and on activities of the Social Innovation Exchange of the European Commission, Change Fusion of Thailand and the Hope Institute of South Korea. The final article ruminates on death and dying well in today's world.

In these 101 parentiing stories many different situations, issues and attitudes are revealed by expat mothers in Indonesia and elsewhere. Readers of other backgrounds could well gain from the situations or attitudes described. (Profits to a library charity).

This substantial study of the style and quality of the lives of Singaporeans incorporates results from surveys done in 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2011. The research methodology is described and the findings discussed in chapters dealing with: subjective wellbeing as satisfaction with life and living in Singapore; wellbeing as happiness, enjoyment and achievement; personal values and spirituality; value orientations; and national identity, rights and politics. Wellbeing and the role of government is discussed and then the final chapter looks at some of the general implications of the study (which throughout focuses on Singaporeans and not residents in Singapore). With tables and charts, bibliography and index.

This book presents a systematic study of social stratification processes in urban China, from 1949 to 1994. Based on the life histories of a sample of urban residents from 20 Chinese cities, this book addresses two themes: the interplay between redistribution and social stratification under state socialism in urban China, especially the impact of the state and state policies on individual life chances, in such areas as education, labor force participation, promotion in organizations, and the distribution of manifest and latent economic benefits; and an assessment of sources and extent of China's economic transformation since the 1980s. The author blends sociological analysis and sensitivity to the historical context in interpreting changes and continuity in the 45-year history of state socialist China.

By examining youth cultures around three historical points - 1968, 1988 and 2008 - this book argues that present-day youth culture in China has both international and local roots. Paul Clark describes how the Red Guards and the sent-down youth of the Cultural Revolution era carved out a space for themselves, asserting their distinctive identities, despite tight political controls. By the late 1980s, Chinese-style rock music, sports and other recreations began to influence the identities of Chinese youth, and in the twenty-first century, the Internet offers a new, broader space for expressing youthful fandom and frustrations. From the 1960s to the present, this book shows how youth culture has been reworked to serve the needs of the young Chinese.

This wide-ranging volume is the first to examine the characteristics, dynamics and wider implications of recently emerging regional production, dissemination, marketing and consumption systems of popular culture in East and Southeast Asia. Through discussions of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Philippine and Indonesian culture industries, the authors in the book describe a major shift in Asia's popular culture markets toward arrangements that transcend autonomous national economies by organizing and locating production, distribution, and consumption of cultural goods on a regional scale. With bibliography and index.

This volume makes an important and unique contribution to scholarly understandings of migration and diversity through its focus on Asian contexts. This book fills this significant gap in the literature on migration studies with a concentrated focus on communities, cities and countries in the Asian region that are experiencing increased levels of population mobility and subsequent diversity. Not only does it offer analyses of the policies and processes of migration, it also addresses the outcomes and implications of migration and diversity -- these include a focus on multiculturalism and citizenship in the Asian region, the emerging complex forms of governance in response to increased diversity, discussions of different settlement experiences, and the practices of everyday life and encounters in increasingly diverse locales.

Processes of transformation typically defined as "modernising" have been pervasive in Indonesia and Malaysia over an extended period of time and have played a central role in shaping the societies of both countries. Questioning Modernity in Indonesia and Malaysia engages critically with the concept of modernity considering the way it has been used in the analysis of cultural, social, economic and political processes in the two countries. The book argues that while Indonesia and Malaysia can both be considered fully modern, their modernities are not merely derivative of the Western understanding of the word. Written by scholars from both "inside" and "outside" the region, the case studies presented in this volume highlight the extent to which the intellectual tools, concepts, and theories commonly used in academic research reflect a European/Western modernist imaginary.

Directed social change is of course a major component in most government and public policies. These papers explore theories which underpin approaches to social change action and policies in both theory and practice. After the introduction five papers rethink many of the theories used in the communication and directed social change. Three papers then look at macro and micro contexts in social change communication. The four case studies are drawn from experiences of: Gender Divides in Development in Ghana; in Digital and Social Change in India; in Graduate Research, Los Banos, Philippines, and in the Fisheries Research Management Project of the Philippines. Index.

This book attempts to provide a deeper understanding of Singapore's largest minority group - its struggle in the change from being the majority to being a minority; the symbiotic relationship between the government and the community leaders; and how Malay activists as well as community leaders garner support within and outside the community, working hard to ensure the development and success of the Malay community in the period 1980 to 2010. With important facts on vital developments within the community, this book will shed light on a number of myths about Malay Muslim Singaporeans in Singapore.

This book argues that using social capital to eradicate poverty is less likely to succeed because the mainstream neoinstitutional approach mistakenly assumes that social capital necessarily benefits poor people. This inadequacy calls for a re-assessment of human motivations, institutional dynamics and structural complexity in social capital building. Using ethnographic and participatory methods, this book calls for an exploration of 'unseen' social capital which is intended to challenge the mainstream understanding of 'seen' social capital. As such this book is useful to policy makers and practitioners.

Controversies and problems with regard to language policy and language education still exist in Malaysia. Despite the attempts of language policy makers to promote multilingualism, the implementation has been marred by political and religious affiliations. This book gathers the work of researchers working in the field of language change in Malaysia for over two decades, and is a timely contribution not only to an understanding of Malaysian linguistic pluralism and its undercurrents, but also to an understanding of the Indian Diaspora. With bibliography and index.

For most people, getting into a relationship and getting married is easily achievable. However, staying married or staying committed in a relationship is another matter altogether. It is an excellent and wonderful growing experience if we make it that way. So, this little book explores this with the brilliant advice of a great master and the candid conversation between four very unique individuals. Their conversation explores real issues and practical solutions that are relevant and applicable to any couple today.