Las Vegas in Singapore

Las Vegas in Singapore

Author: Kah Wee Lee

Publisher: National University of Singapore Press

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789814722902

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Las Vegas in Singapore looks at the collision of the histories of Singapore and Las Vegas in the form of Marina Bay Sands, one of Singapore's two integrated resorts. The first history begins in colonial Singapore in the 1880s, when British administrators revised gambling laws in response to the political threat posed by Chinese-run gambling syndicates. Following the tracks of these punitive laws and practices, the book moves into the 1960s when the newly independent city-state created a national lottery while criminalizing both organized and petty gambling in the name of nation-building. The second history shifts the focus to corporate Las Vegas in the 1950s when digital technology and corporate management practices found each other on the casino floor. Tracing the emergence of the specialist casino designer, the book reveals how casino development evolved into a highly rationalized spatial template designed to maximize profits. Today an iconic landmark of Singapore, Marina Bay Sands is also an artifact of these two histories, an attempt by Singapore to normalize what was once criminalized in its nationalist history. Lee Kah-Wee argues that the historical project of the control of vice is also about the control of space and capital. The result is an uneven landscape where the legal and moral status of gambling is contingent on where it is located. As the current wave of casino expansion spreads across Asia, he warns that these developments should not be seen as liberalization but instead as a continuation of the project of concentrating power by modern states and corporations.


You'll Die in Singapore

You'll Die in Singapore

Author: Charles McCormac

Publisher: Monsoon Books

Published: 2015-12-01

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 9814625388

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Weakened by hunger, thirst and ill-treatment, author Charles McCormac, then a World War Two prisoner-of-war in Japanese-occupied Singapore, knew that if he did not escape he would die. With sixteen others he broke out of Pasir Panjang camp and began an epic two-thousand-mile escape from the island of Singapore, through the jungles of Indonesia to Australia. With no compass and no map, and only the goodwill of villagers and their own wits to rely on, the British and Australian POWs’ escape took a staggering five months and only two out of the original seventeen men survived. You’ll Die in Singapore is Charles McCormac’s compelling true account of one of the most horrifying and amazing escapes in World War Two. It is a story of courage, endurance and compassion, and makes for a very gripping read.


Hard at Work

Hard at Work

Author: Gerard Sasges

Publisher: National University of Singapore Press

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789813250505

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For most of us, work is a basic daily fact of life. But that simple fact encompasses an incredibly wide range of experiences. Hard at Work takes readers into the day-to-day work experiences of more than fifty working people in Singapore who hold jobs that run from the ordinary to the unusual: from ice cream vendors, baristas, police officers and funeral directors to academic ghostwriters, temple flower sellers, and Thai disco girl agents. Through first-person narratives based on detailed interviews, vividly augmented with color photographs, Hard at Work reminds us of the everyday labor that continually goes on around us, and that every job can reveal something interesting if we just look closely enough. It shows us too the ways inequalities of status and income are felt and internalized in this highly globalized society.


A Tiger Remembers

A Tiger Remembers

Author: Ann Wee

Publisher: NUS Press

Published: 2016-10-21

Total Pages: 26

ISBN-13: 9814722375

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Born in the Year of the Fire Tiger, Ann Wee moved to Singapore in 1950 to marry into a Singaporean Chinese family. One of Singapore’s pioneering social work educators, Ann shares her experiences frankly and with great humour. She remembers the things that history books leave out: questions of hygiene, the emotional nuance in social relations, stories of ghost wives and changeling babies, rural clan settlements and migrant dormitories, what was lost and gained when families moved into HDB estates. Affectionately observed and wittily narrated, with a deep appreciation of how far Singapore has changed, this book brings to life the country’s social transformation by talking about the family, “in its 101 different shapes and sizes, with its capacity to cope which ranges from truly marvellous to distinctly tatty: still, in one form or another, the best place for most of us to be”.


Special Needs In Singapore: Trends And Issues

Special Needs In Singapore: Trends And Issues

Author: Meng Ee Wong

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2021-07-26

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 9814667153

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The fields of special needs education and disability in Singapore have witnessed significant changes and developments especially during the past two decades in the wake of Singapore's evolution towards its vision as an inclusive society. This collection of chapters presents information, knowledge, research, and perspectives across a wide range of topics and issues that are relevant to the lives of persons with disabilities, their families and their communities. This book offers a compendium of local knowledge and research on special needs and disability and integrates international literature, exemplary practices, and innovative ideas for considering future directions and efforts for the fields of special needs education and disability in Singapore.


Social Capital in Singapore

Social Capital in Singapore

Author: Vincent Chua

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-12-27

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 1000335275

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How can social cohesion be achieved in a meritocratic and multicultural global city-state? Meritocracy poses a paradox: On one hand, it integrates individuals through frameworks of equal treatment, equal justice and opportunity regardless of race, language or religion. On the other hand, individuals are then segregating through academic sorting, they are rewarded based on credentials and performance which also results in elite identification and bonding. After a generation, without mitigation action, social stratification can result. Distinctive circles differentiating social elites from non-elites, the professional classes from non-professional classes emerge. The remedy the authors propose is network diversity which is the organic forming of ties across class and other social boundaries built on deliberate policies, programmes and platforms designed to facilitate that. This social mixing, forged in social infrastructure such as schools, workplaces, and voluntary associations pays off by producing the collective goods of national identity and trust. This hypothesis has been tested in the case of Singapore society and the empirical results from the research on the power of network diversity and bridging social capital are found in this volume. An insightful read for scholars and practitioners in public policy and social network analysis looking to understand the challenges faced by and the experiences that have emerged from the case of Singapore with its multicultural and cosmopolitan setting.


Chinese Street Opera in Singapore

Chinese Street Opera in Singapore

Author: Tong Soon Lee

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 2024-02-12

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 0252055896

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Since Singapore declared independence from Malaysia in 1965, Chinese street opera has played a significant role in defining Singaporean identity. Carefully tracing the history of amateur and professional performances in Singapore, Tong Soon Lee reflects on the role of street performance in fostering cultural nationalism and entrepreneurship. He explains that the government welcomes Chinese street opera performances because they combine tradition and modernism and promote a national culture that brings together Singapore's four main ethnic groups--Eurasian, Malay, Chinese, and South Asian. Chinese Street Opera in Singapore documents the ways in which this politically motivated art form continues to be influenced and transformed by Singaporean politics, ideology, and context in the twenty-first century. By performing Chinese street opera, amateur troupes preserve their rich heritage, underscoring the Confucian mind-set that a learned person engages in the arts for moral and unselfish purposes. Educated performers also control behavior, emotions, and values. They are creative and innovative, and their use of new technologies indicates a modern, entrepreneurial spirit. Their performances bring together diverse ethnic groups to watch and perform, Lee argues, while also encouraging a national attitude focused on both remembering the past and preparing for the future in Singapore.


State And The Arts In Singapore, The: Policies And Institutions

State And The Arts In Singapore, The: Policies And Institutions

Author: Terence Chong

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2018-08-13

Total Pages: 566

ISBN-13: 9813236906

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This book covers Singapore's key arts policies and art institutions which have shaped the cultural landscape of the country from the 1950s to the present.The scholars and experts in this volume critically assess arts policies and arts institutions to collectively provide an overview of how arts and culture have been deployed by the state. The chapters are arranged chronologically to cover milestone events from the forging of 'Malayan culture'; the government's 'anti-yellow culture' campaign; the use of 'culture' for tourism; the setting up of the Advisory Council on Arts and Culture, the Renaissance City Report, the setting up of the School of the Arts, and others.Putting to rest the notion that Singapore is a 'cultural desert', this volume is valuable reading for students of cultural policy, policy makers who seek an understanding of Singapore's cultural trajectory, and for international readers interested in Singapore's arts and cultural policy.


Clinical Psychology in Singapore

Clinical Psychology in Singapore

Author: Gregor Lange

Publisher: NUS Press

Published: 2015-08-10

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 9971698544

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This casebook is a unique resource, offering never before documented insights into the practices and principles of clinical psychologists within local mental health services in Singapore. The 20 fascinating chapters provide comprehensive coverage of the assessment, formulation and treatment for clients across the lifespan. It includes accounts of clients with common mental health problems such as depression and panic disorder as well as more unusual problems like pyromania, exhibitionism and frontal-lobe epilepsy. The authors describe their successes and challenges and share how they grapple with tensions in the therapy room and with cultural and ethical issues. This casebook is an ideal complement to abnormal, counseling or clinical psychology courses. Features: Case studies on real Singaporean clients and families and authored by clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists working in Singapore. In-depth coverage of cultural and contextual factors relating to each case. Comprehensive case formulations and discussions in the context of the DSM-5 classification systems. Discussion questions at the end of each case study for individuals or groups to critically analyse issues relating to the case. Fact boxes outlining interesting or unique information relating to each case. Useful resources section on relevant organisations, websites and support groups for each case.


Critical Issues In Asset Building In Singapore's Development

Critical Issues In Asset Building In Singapore's Development

Author: S Vasoo

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2018-06-19

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 9813239778

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Singapore's progress as an independent nation and the uplifting of its people's livelihood have been made possible by stable social and political conditions. A more important factor in driving these positive changes lies with people-centric leadership. One can contrast the case of Singapore with societies led by self-serving leaders whose lack of honesty and integrity brings about immense social and economic hardships to various communities. When people suffer under undesirable circumstances, they often migrate to seek better future for themselves and their families.This book reveals how Singapore's governance grounded on the principle of asset building facilitates the country's growth and development. Policies being discussed in this volume include multi-culturalism, accessible housing, social mobility for low-income families, water resource management, and national conscription.Highly relevant for students, policy makers and the general public interested in socio-political and economic development issues, this unique piece of work not only gives readers a documentary account of what has been undertaken to empower and assist citizens in the last 50 years or so, but also prompts them to reflect on Singapore's future trajectory.Related Link(s)