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During the colonial period, the Straits Settlements government formalised through law the declaration of public holidays marking religious festivals for the different communities. This practice was continued by the post-colonial state, apportioning public holidays "equally" amongst its citizenry. Adopting a historical perspective, this paper theorises the Singapore state's allocation of public holidays for its citizens with a specific focus on the Singaporean Hindu community. The paper traces the journey of Tai Pucam as a declared public holiday in colonial Singapore to the 1950s when the Hindu community had two gazetted public holidays to 1968 when Tai Pucam was removed from the list of public holidays, a situation which persists into the present. The "making and unmaking of Tai Pucam as a public holiday" remains a controversial issue for Singaporean Hindus who express unhappiness over the fact that their religious community is granted only one religious holiday, when the norm in Singapore is such that each ethnic community has two holidays. This inequality is cited by Hindus and Indians in Singapore as a discriminatory practice. In 2015, a recent case, Vijaya Kumar s/o Rajendran and Others v. Attorney General , the controversial ban on musical instruments during a Tai Pucam celebration triggered yet again the sensitive issue of Tai Pucam as a "non holiday". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to Granovetter, weak ties link individuals to other social circles that place them in strategic positions to gain access to job information and opportunities otherwise not available in their innate networks. This paper affirms that weak ties, as a form of social capital, matter and that they assist in explaining variations in status attainment between ethnic groups in Singapore. I show that access to weak ties affects status attainment differently across ethnic groups and that the Malay's weaker performance in the labour market is partly due to their lower access to weak ties. This paper would be of interest to scholars concerned with the intertwining of social stratification with social capital and ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teenage marriage within the Malay community of Singapore was thrust under the national spotlight by the government in recent years. Though identified as one of the major social challenges confronting the Malay community, there is still at present, a gross lack of research necessary for an objective understanding of the phenomenon. The adverse implications of the lacunae are reinforced by instant solutions and prescriptions aimed at eradicating the problem. Utilising data obtained from interviews and responses to a survey administered to Malay teenage married couples, this paper examines dominant perceptions of teenage marriage in Singapore and their ramifications on policies and programmes. It is hoped that this paper can contribute towards a more objective understanding of the problem so vital for effective policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I develop a detailed consideration of ways in which Chinese religious practitioners, including Daoists, Christians, and spirit mediums, deploy syncretism in complex fields of practice. Rather than focusing on doctrinal blending, this study emphasises the ways in which these practitioners combine elements from diverse religious traditions through the media of ritual performance, visual representation, story, and landscape. After considering the diverse ways in which syncretic processes may be deployed in a field of practice, the paper investigates three ethnographic cases, exploring ritual co-celebration at Wudang Mountain in South-central China, charismatic Christian practices in Singapore, and the recent development of Holy Mount Zion as a Christian pilgrimage site in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studied the work stressors and coping strategies of lawyers in Singapore. Data collection involved the use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods — a survey of 450 lawyers and in-depth interviews with 27 lawyers. This study found that while time pressure and work overload were the most stressful aspects of lawyering work, social interactions and interpersonal relationships at work proved to be a salient work stressor, when lawyers were dealing with clients, fellow lawyers and judges — that is, interpersonal stress. This study explains how lawyers constantly monitor and adjust their actions to negotiate for control or 'power' over others in their attempts to cope with work stress. In examining the correlation between lawyers' perceptions of work stress and their coping behaviours, this paper reveals that while lawyers tended to report more problem-focused than emotion-focused coping ways, the correlation analysis informed that emotion-focused and help-seeking coping ways were significantly correlated with interpersonal stress, such as in dealing with clients and colleagues. This study further shows that lawyers invoke social and psychological coping resources to position themselves strategically within prevailing power relations to cope with their interpersonal stress at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalization has influenced the conduct of scientific research in a number of expected and unexpected ways. At the same time the emergence of specific scientific fields has also influenced the texture and trajectory of globalization. In this paper the relationship between globalization and genomics is analyzed. Much like the globalization of traditional manufacturing, genomics research represents a phase of global bio-capitalism. With specific reference to Singapore, the possible social, economic and political effects of the rapid global circulation of scientists, knowledge, capital and DNA are examined in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the concept of state autonomy in the context of globalization. Earlier literature either considered state autonomy from the social forces in broad institutional and cultural terms or from the dominant classes in a restrictive sense. However, in either case the focus remained on domestic/national society, not the global society. The discussion of relative autonomy of the state began among the Marxists in the 1970s and then graduated into the mainstream social sciences in the 1980s and 1990s. In the upshot, the notions of developmental state and the embedded autonomy have significantly added to our knowledge of the role of the state. This paper broadens the idea of embedded autonomy by locating the sources of embeddedness in both local as well global institutions and norms. The paper uses the Singapore case to illustrate some of the possibilities and limitations of the reconfigured role of the state in the face of globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lived, and oftentimes silenced, experiences of "foreign workers" articulate the negotiation of power relations between "citizen" and "foreigner", and "Us" and "Them". These are translated into discursive practices that, in effect, legitimize and entrench differences — hence, inequalities — that effectively discipline the "foreign worker" as "not one of Us". By taking the example of Bangladeshi construction workers in Singapore as a case study, I argue in this paper that the workspaces of "foreign construction workers" in Singapore typify that of a "total institution", which correspondingly moulds the worker into a discursive ideal — the "good, docile Other". Such impositions and productions of Otherness, however, face rupture as workers (re)negotiate, (re)work, and (re)inscribe their everyday lives through the employment of what James Scott (1985, 1987) terms "everyday 'resistances'" in rising above that which subjugates them. I will present in this paper primary data elicited and collated from direct participant observation, fieldwork, and in-depth interviews conducted in a construction project in Singapore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent discussions, the role of the Internet in facilitating democratization has been either exaggerated or underestimated. The general consensus seems to be that that the Internet will eventually go the way of other technologies of communication such as the radio and television that failed to live up to their expected role of agents of democratization. Rather than empower marginal groups and constituencies, the Internet could even contribute to more subtle and omnipotent forms of social control through surveillance. This paper examines these positions by focusing on the Singapore case. The possibilities for the expansion of civil society and the emergence of a robust public sphere as a consequence of the wiring up of the country are examined. The key argument of the paper is that although the Internet does indeed contribute to enhanced surveillance capabilities, its potential for circumventing existing forms of regulation and expanding the limited public sphere in Singapore is also very real. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to map the sociological context in which the cultural economy of technology of Singapore exists. Taking a socio-historical perspective, this paper argues that the development of Singapore as a technological 'intelligent island' must take centre stage in relation to the sociological analysis of modern Singapore's political, economic, and socio-cultural structure. This involves a critique of theories of the information society and empirical research on East Asian developmental states. The aim is to chart the development of technology in Singapore, from its founding as a colonial port-city to its current status as an 'intelligent island', and to situate this development in its social context. In addressing the issue of the global expansion of localized technological knowledge hubs, I argue that while these technological 'hubs' are increasingly linked in complex political, economic and social networks, one must also account for the developmental trajectory of each particular 'hub' and to explain the socio-cultural complex of societies, which promote themselves as such. This paper intends to demonstrate how this construction of a technological nation state is neither a context-free project nor one that is free of complex historical antagonisms and contradictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the socio-economic role of pawnshops in Singapore. It suggests that pawnshops are a barometer of socio-economic changes in Singapore. The changing style and operation of pawnshops es explored, as is the changing varieties of the items pledged. The research shows that pawnshops have adopted a new image and continue to have a significant role in modern Singapore. This paper also suggests that pawnshops serve cash strapped individuals, who ironically are not necessarily poor. Through data collected on redemptions and pledges, it is found that a high redemption rate both in number and amount reflects a period of economic growth; the reverse in true when the redemption rate falls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having limited land, manpower and natural resources to rest on, Singapore's government decided in the early 1980s to focus on high-level human resource development, knowledge and creativity for long-term economic growth. The subsequent government actions were often framed under the notion of 'knowledge society,' commonly called 'knowledgebased economy.' This paper assesses the construction of knowledge society via Singaporean state activities as a social construct of reality that - in Weber's understanding - orients and motivates actors. It is argued that this construct 'knowledge society,' today is not only a technological and economic programme, but furthermore is offered as means to explain and justify economic and social changes that are taking place. Therewith, it is offered as a visionary guide for collective action and a focal point of collective identity reducing feelings of insecurity and uncertainty in Beck's second modernity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious pluralism is the norm rather than the exception in contemporary societies but this is by no means a recent phenomenon. This is also an empirical field that students of religion have long engaged theoretically. Such scholarly attention has generated a plethora of conceptual tools to make sense of religious encounters in multi-religious settings. As such, a number of phrases — 'religious pluralism,' 'religious diversity' and 'multi-religiosity' — abound in the relevant literature and the notions of pluralism, multiplicity and diversity inform these discussions. Such expressions as 'religious syncretism' and 'religious hybridisation' have also been proposed to address the various interactions witnessed across a variety of religious traditions. I argue that this terminology and the conceptual frames it advances need to be queried in order to assess their value and relevance for theorising interactions amongst religious traditions. This paper focuses on everyday forms of Hindu religiosity in urban Singapore and the kinds of engagement and participation that occur across religious traditions in this multi-religious context. Through my ethnography, I problematise the above-mentioned noted categories, as well as the sense-making strategies they have led to, while proposing alternative modes of approaching the realm of everyday religiosity at the level of practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of filial piety is not static and is subject to interpretations. The concept of filial piety also has evolved over time and adapted to local cultures. In this paper, we examine the practices of filial piety among Chinese Singaporeans. Using in-depth interviews collected in 2006 and 2007, we find that the idea of filial piety still resonates among Chinese Singaporeans, though in some cases it may merely be symbolic. While intergenerational co-residence is not the only way for children to demonstrate their filial piety, most participants view it as the epitome. However, filial piety, as demonstrated through intergenerational co-residence, may be hiding other issues that are detrimental to the quality of life for all parties. Nonetheless, positive intergenerational relationships bind the family together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This ethnographic study of the Sathya Sai Baba Movement in Singapore situates itself within the sociological study of New Religious Movements (NRMs). Studies on the expansion of “cults” and NRMs are well documented, but little has been done to explore how such movements proceed after the initial foothold has been established in the host country. Patterns of interaction with the highly plural socio-ethnic and religious elements that exist in multicultural nations, as in Singapore, and the attendant social implications have not been sufficiently addressed. The Sai Baba movement preaches and practises ethno-religious ecumenism and allow adherents to maintain the religious affiliations and practices of their parent or current religion. This paper explores the nature of the Sathya Sai Baba Movement's religious framework and its apparent success in pluralistic Singapore by studying the impact of syncretism and ritual variations on the identity of the movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2001, due to Singapore's low level of entrepreneurship, the state introduced an economic policy known as the Technopreneurship 21 programme. Along with many economic incentives and structural changes, the state has also embarked upon an ideological campaign to create a more pro-entrepreneurial society. This study focuses on examining the attitudes of undergraduates towards entrepreneurship as a means of understanding the Singapore state's ability to 'change' mindsets. It finds that although the respondents still feel that Singapore is currently still un-entrepreneurial, they are very positive for the future. Indeed, the undergraduates even felt that the best way for Singapore to become pro-entrepreneurial was for more state intervention. This paper concludes that because of the capacity and capability of the highly interventionist Singapore government, it is a key agent in the process of cultural transition in Singapore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the Chinese Diaspora, ancestor worship is an important cultural element that binds a group of people together and provides them with a sense of comfort, kinship and communal identity as they sink their cultural roots in a new country, luodi shenggen. Thus, ancestor worship is widely reproduced and practised by the Chinese in the Diaspora, as it is central to the Chinese understanding of the continuation of family and lineage. However, in Mainland Chinese villages, the practice of ancestor worship, which is still considered important by the villagers, was not allowed until the Open Door Policy in 1978. With this policy, emigrant villages, (qiaoxiang) embarked on an aggressive campaign to woo the Chinese in overseas communities to return to their native villages to help with economic development through various strategies. One of the strategies is to allow for the revival and practice of ancestor worship in the rural villages. This paper explores how ancestors continued to be regarded as important members of a transnational lineage in the Fujian Province in South China, and also in Singapore. Because of the central focus on ancestors and ancestor worship in the Chinese society, ancestors are moralised as a significant social capital by the Chinese State, local government and rural villagers, in an attempt to establish transnational guanxi linkages between the ancestral villages in rural China and their Diaspora members in Singapore. The Chinese State, with instrumental consideration, sees this transnational guanxi networks and the revival of ancestor worship as a strategy to encourage the Chinese Diaspora to visit their ancestral home and help with village development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practices of saint-veneration among Muslims are often perceived as thoroughly localized traditions, which cannot be transplanted to other localities. For this reason, much of the scholarship on the diasporic Muslim communities has assumed that practices of saint-veneration would decline in the Diaspora. Yet, most of this scholarship focused on the relatively young Muslim communities in Western countries. This paper aims to assess this theory by investigating saint-veneration among Tamil Muslims in Singapore, who have been a part of Singaporean Muslim society since the early nineteenth century. It will argue that, contrary to current theories, saint-veneration among Tamil Muslims did not decline among the Singaporean Tamil Diaspora. Rather, Tamil Muslims participated in creating a landscape of shrines in the city by inking their practices with those of other Muslim communities, while at the same time maintaining attachments to saints and shrines back in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a personal account of the attempt to expand the scope and effectiveness of civil society in Singapore through the creative deployment of the Internet and other communication technologies. The narrative seeks to convey the experience of the attempt to open up the possibilities of informed, active and engaged citizenship in Singapore and beyond. Both the possibilities and possible bottlenecks are examined in the context of globalization and the emergence of new communication technologies and globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the use of merger and separation as a textual construction of a nation. According to the author the history is not neutral. It is rendered ideological by the very act of being conveyed in a narrative form for language is both the purveyer of meaning and the principle locus of ideology. The paper explores the idea of history as discourse, and its deployment in the cultural symbolic construction of Singapore. To this end, the author has chosen to analyze a key moment for Singapore history, the years 1963-65, when Singapore for first merged with the nation of Malaysia and then separated form it. The way that these events are described in official histories is used by the government of Singapore to justify the policy of multiracialism, which also serves as a legimitating device confirming the state in its political and ideological hegemony. The author thus has examined the events through the analysis of local newspapers, to see in what ways their reporting may be helped to mould popular understandings to what was happening.

This paper will first provide a historical and sociological overview of the "Chinese community" and the "Chinese-educated" in Singapore, after which I shall turn to the personal experience of marginalization on the part of older Chinese-educated intellectuals. I then focus on the social memory of Nanyang University as a means in which such amrginalization is contested. In conclusion, I highlight the efforts of younger Chinese-educated intellectuals in responding to the condition of marginality by taking on contemporary issues, rather than by refighting old battles, in effect returning Chinese language discourse to issues of modernity- this time set in a radically changed environment from that of earlier decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southeast Asia has come under scholarly focus for the contradictions of rapid development and environmental protection, and the ensuing politics. Most give Singapore a miss because it is a "strange" case that does not fit into a region where affected local peoples, "middle class" activities and developmental states struggle over the exploitation of natural resources and environmental degradation. This paper claims that analysis of the "quit" politics of environment in Singapore is instructive, and can correct the materialist bias evident in the understanding of Southeast Asia political economy/ecology. It argues that urban "middle class" environmental activism is a manifestation of resistance to enlarging systems of governance allied with capital. Environmentalism can be seen as a response against the encroachment of the system into the intimate living places of the lifeworld. This response is embedded within an international public sphere that enables environmental politics. These activists derive their motivation and political strength from public moral discursive actions. Environmentalism is a contemporary reflection of a fundamental sociological theme, the discontents' moral struggle for the good society, not necessarily reflecting parochial class interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]