Recommending Books for Purchase (Bulletin 104 - Aug 2020): Social Issue

The book carries a collection of articles written by Professor S Vasoo over the past three decades or so on community development work and its issues in the Singapore context. Organised around seven themes that can be or are being addressed by community development, the articles illustrate how community development intervention has been applied on social issues like juvenile deliquency, ageing population, family values, and urban dwelling. Topics on volunteer management and grassroots participation are also discussed. This volume concludes by sketching the future of community development in Singapore.Community and social workers can find some resonance to the work and challenges they are facing in community problem-solving and meeting the needs of people in various neighbourhoods. The readings will give them a framework to find innovative ways for encouraging community problem-solving.

eBook Price : $148

In the last two decades or so, community development efforts in Singapore have strongly focused on task-centred community activities namely short-term projects revolving around socio-educational and recreational activities. Such an emphasis is further reinforced by the outsourcing of community services to the private sector which is contracted to deliver services or activities. Although the consequences are not seen immediately, they will in the longer term reinforce learned helplessness of the participants or beneficiaries who are usually relegated to passive or dependent roles.Through the insights of contributors who are practitioners in the community development field, this book argues that more resources and initiatives must be accorded to community organisations so as to redirect to a community- or resident-centric approach towards community work intervention. In short, more reaching out to people or community groups should be undertaken.Covering a broad range of arenas including health, housing, ageing, community integration and bonding, among others, this book will open up a wider horizon for community development efforts and provide a reservoir of ideas and strategies to build a stronger and resilient community for more effective community problem-solving.

eBook Price : $88

Crime and Behaviour: An Introduction to Criminal and Forensic Psychology is the first textbook to provide a detailed overview of criminal psychology in Singapore. The textbook puts together ideas relating to crime, crime prevention, and criminal psychology, as it occurs in the Singaporean context. While leveraging on psychology as an anchor, the book adopts a multidisciplinary perspective and examines the forensic sciences angle, legal issues, and the investigative perspectives of crimes.The chapters cover criminal justice agencies in Singapore, theories of crime, deception and lying behaviors, sex crimes, violent crimes, crime prevention, terrorism, and psychology applied in legal settings. Each chapter contains case studies of actual cases and ends with questions for discussion and research, making this a valuable text for courses in university and in law enforcement settings.This textbook has several unique features, such as:

eBook Price : $118

Screen-obsessed: Parenting in the Digital Age is the first book solely focusing on parental supervision of children's media use. This book distills important information regarding how parents can effectively guide their offspring living in the multimedia environment. This book discusses an extensive range of theories, issues, and subjects of parental mediation. Readers will discover how parental mediation works, new and traditional theoretical facets, and how this knowledge can be applied in various settings pertinent to the family.

eBook Price : $48

This unique book provides an easily comprehended overview of facts about gender inequality and contains a valuable introduction to economic theories of this inequality, the applicability of which is assessed in the light of empirical evidence. A special feature of this book is its adoption of a multidisciplinary approach to the study of gender inequality. Both economic and sociological influences on gender inequality are taken into account in an innovative fashion.The scholarly coverage of this book is broad and focuses mainly on female disadvantage; both that suffered by female children and by women. Subjects covered include economic theories of gender inequality and critiques of these; sex selection, preferences for boys and the value of females; measures of gender inequality and their application; the occurrence of poverty and its relationship with the deprivation of women and children; implications for the status of females of their access to different forms of capital (taking into account modern concepts of capital); the need to take into account little explored relationships between gender inequality and the achievement of sustainable development; ecofeminism; and the abuse of women by men. The discussion is reinforced by case studies and examples drawn primarily from South Asian and Northeast Asian countries. Some attention is given in the case studies to the diverse practices of 'tribal' people and minorities. This is done in order to better assess existing theories about gender inequality. The value of adopting a multidisciplinary approach to the study of gender inequality is well demonstrated. Consequently, this book provides a more holistic and balanced view of gender inequality than other available books.

eBook Price : $138

A rising proportion of the global population are moving to cities in search of a better standard of living. However, although urbanisation has its benefits, unchecked urbanisation can lead to a host of challenges, such as congestion and limited access to public services. As such, the concept of urban liveability has been garnering more attention from policymakers and academics who are interested in mitigating the negative effects of urbanisation.In this context, the Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI) has released the 2018 Global Liveable and Smart Cities Index (GLSCI), the third in its series of liveability indices. The GLSCI attempts to measure the liveability of an average resident in a city. More importantly, this year's edition has added considerations to the concept of smart cities and the role that these technologies can play in augmenting the liveability of a city's residents. It also builds on ACI's past liveability indices by expanding the number of cities in the index to 78, notably with African cities for the first time. In addition, this book includes two case studies on liveability. The first one concerns the relationship between a city's liveability, smartness, connectivity, and agglomeration, while the other is a case study on the 99-year lease of public housing in Singapore.

eBook Price : $208

The Global Nexus: Political Economies, Connectivity, and the Social Sciences is a provocative critique of the social sciences in the age of neoconservative and alt-right globalisation sweeping across modern democracies globally. The writer persuasively argues that the mainstream western social science modality of describing indigenous knowledge and sub-altern discourses as 'alternative knowledge' is due for serious review, for it describes, devalues, and renders it the same renegade status as the 'alternate realities' of the alt-right, neo-conservative agencies of Western and Asian governments. The abuse of indigenous knowledge by neoconservative governments to promote racism, ethno-centricities, and misogyny has also reduced vital sources of local knowledge to fodder, only salvaged by 'the good press' -- specialists of the media in investigative journalism, communications, and literature, who propose that worldviews and ideas of the underclasses, including women, migrants, minorities, refugees, war prisoners, and refugees should be brought to the fore and 'mainstreamed' for the reader to understand that the stories they tell and their reasons why tell them, are closer to truth than fiction. These lost voices, often silenced, suppressed, and understated, generate new knowledge of the marginalised and disadvantaged sectors of modern society, reflecting the social realities of globalisation.Focusing on Southeast Asia with comparisons across nations in the Levant and the Middle East, Europe, and the United States, Wazir Jahan Karim vividly demonstrates how plural political economies have emerged and rendered flaws in the globalisation process. As powerful elites compete to accumulate and control wealth, power, and vital global resources, the growing phenomenon of global agencing, wealth- and poverty-generating institutions exist together in complex networks of hierarchical relationships, strategies, and alliances, with dire consequences for those on the receiving end of the global spectrum.

eBook Price : $158

Foreword by Lee Hsien Loong (Prime Minister, Republic of Singapore)This book is about the art and science of finding solutions to helping families in crisis, and making a real and lasting positive difference in their lives. It is about helping people in need, as well as lessons on adversity, aspiration and action when multiple different stakeholders work together in the helping process. The book is organised into two parts. Part 1 discusses the issues in an unprecedented real-life interim housing project in Singapore that helped families in crisis over several years. Part 2 contains chapters critically reflecting on the experiences and lessons learned from the helping process in this project. Collectively, the chapters in this book address salient questions on helping people in need and implications for building a strong Singapore society.

eBook Price : $58

Academic abilities play a critical role not only in school settings but also in practical work situations and other problem-solving contexts that involve important intellectual task demands. However, we will not achieve the intended positive outcomes if we give too much emphasis to academic abilities and neglect non-academic attributes such as personality, interests, motivations, values, information-processing styles, self-concepts and attitudes.What non-academic factors do we need to pay more attention to? How do we approach the issues and effect changes with meaningful impact? What is the relationship between education, work and various notions of success? How are academic and non-academic factors related to civil society and politics, and what lessons can we learn from mistakes and successes in the ways we use or treat these related abilities, attributes or attitudes?This book explores these and other issues about going beyond academic abilities. The book is organised into four parts. Part 1 provides an overview of the issues in conceptualising and assessing academic abilities and non-academic attributes. Part 2 discusses education in Singapore and the adaptive Singapore workforce. Part 3 analyses the relationships linking academic abilities and non-academic factors to civil society and politics. Part 4 addresses specific questions on staff and public engagement, similarities and differences across public, private and people sectors, dealing with feedback and viewpoints, political and public service leadership, and relationships between people and government.This book will provide new perspectives and possibilities on what it means to say 'much more than academic abilities', as we aspire to live a better life, make a positive difference to others, and build a stronger society.

eBook Price : $36

It is clear that public trust plays a critical role in developing a vibrant economy and a strong society. A reasonably high level of public trust will enable the public, the Government, and the various organisations and groups in the different sectors in Singapore to work together to build a cohesive and adaptive community. This means a community characterised by constructive relationships embedded in positive economic, human, social, political and psychological capital.Public trust is important because it affects how people think, feel and behave. Trust takes time to build, is easy to lose, and once lost is difficult to restore. Trust is multi-dimensional, having to do with distinct aspects relating to competence, integrity and benevolence. Trust is also dynamic -- it changes over time and the direction of change is not pre-determined.Given how critical and complex the concept of trust is, we need to have a valid and honest understanding of trust, if we want to shed light on how and why public trust changes, and how we can repair public trust violation and develop public trust in Singapore.The book is organised into four parts. Part 1 provides an overview of issues involved in thinking about public trust. Part 2 examines public trust in the context of upholding public accountability and discusses specific issues of public transport in Singapore. Part 3 analyses the relationships linking trust to social media analytics as well as healthcare. Part 4 addresses specific questions on public trust in Singapore in terms of social harmony, race and religion, education, civil society, social inequalities, dealing with differences and disagreements, political leadership, and relationships between people and government.This book will provide the reader new perspectives and possibilities related to questions that have become more salient in recent years as Singapore society underwent significant changes that likely impact on the nature and level of public trust.

eBook Price : $58