Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
25 results
Search results
Publication HOME SPACES ACROSS HINDU WOMEN IN SINGAAPORE(2000) CHRISTINE SRIKALA; GEOGRAPHY; PEGGY TEOThis study would hopefully open the readers and the women's minds about the different interpretations of Singaporean Hindu women. It should inspire women to consider their home in a new light and arm those who are facing abuse and restriction with new strategies at negotiation. This paper provides a critical view of home as gendered spaces. It is argued that home is a gendered space because it is not only socially constructed, but also constructed by religion. In studying home spaces of Hindu women, we must consider other important structures like ethnicity, religion, and race as these are often marginalised in gender geography. Home supports a set of values, symbols, and unquestioned assumptions about female gendered notions. Respondents have classified home as physical, family, ceremonial, sacred and private spaces. These spaces are interactive and are played out simultaneously by the members of the household. I would like to highlight that women regard family space as the most important space at home. Under family space, the significance of power relations and patriarch, inherent in household tasks, household management and space-activity usage is significant. These spaces are then reinforced by two agents; women and Hindu religion. These two are active agents in constructing and reinforcing, gendered identities for Hindu women. They legitimise home as a woman's place and dictates identities for the women. Hence, Hindu women see themselves primarily as mothers and wives linking their roles to reproduction. The state too plays a part but is not considered as powerful as the other two. I draw attention to the fact that not all women regard home as a constraining space. There are women who have employed various strategies of negotiation to either liberalise or destabilise their identities. Thus women are active agents but choose not to destabilise these structures, as they see no reason to. At the present situation, they are satisfied in supporting home as a woman's space.Publication BEYOND TRANSNATIONAL RETAILING: A CASE STUDY OF TAKASHIMAYA IN SINGAPORE(2013) HO HUITIAN; GEOGRAPHY; ZHANG JUNThis thesis is a discussion on how Japanese retailers are engaged in transnational development in Singapore, using specifically the case study of Takashimaya department store. Given the high levels of exchanges with Japan in numerous sectors, Sino- Singapore relationship has received high attention. Thus, this paper will ground the empirical study in the various exchanges between Japan and Singapore, specifically in the retail sector. While the rich literature in new retail geography has charted numerous possible approaches in tackling this issue, this thesis will also look at concepts from the urban design as well as business literature. Such a purpose is to first appropriate more attention to the importance of physical setting of department stores in this transnational engagement, and second, to discuss the common interests of state and retailer in the negotiations of transnational retailing. Adopting a networked/ relational and historical approach, this paper has traced the spatial and temporal processes that have contributed to the multi-faceted nature of current transnational retailing nature of Sino-Singapore exchange.Publication REALISING THE RENAISSANCE CITY? A STUDY OF ARTS SPACES IN SINGAPORE(1999) LEE WAI KIN; GEOGRAPHY; CHANG TOU CHUANGDespite the protracted and intimate relationships between society, space and the arts, there are surprisingly few geographical explorations of arts spaces. Indeed, the arts have only been paid lip-service in the study of cultural, urban and economic geography. This study aims to fill this intellectual lacuna by re-centering the arts and making it the protagonist in the interrogation of arts spaces. It also provides an alternative conceptualisation of arts spaces by proposing to look beyond physical manifestations of the arts to the social and creative realms. These objectives are attained by examining Singapore's quest to become a Renaissance City. At the dawn of a new millennium, the government has envisaged Singapore as a Renaissance City. This is an unprecedented move as the arts have never been accorded high priority in this nation. This goal is however not easily achieved. I argue that while Singapore has developed much potential through government initiatives, the vision of the Renaissance City will remain an illusion unless more holistic and nuanced approaches are adopted in providing arts spaces in the country. Using a realist-informed methodology that embraces both qualitative and quantitative methods, data are collected to propound this argument along three major thrusts. Firstly, I demonstrate that the government's endeavours to provide physical spaces for the arts are checked by the suitability of these spaces. Secondly, I show that the Singaporean society remains unprepared for a renaissance despite the government's attempts to cultivate an artistically appreciative society. Finally, I illustrate that while the government has attempted to nurture creative talents in Singapore, these efforts are daunted by various constraints. With the insights gleaned from the study, I conclude that there is a need for greater sensitivity in dealing with arts spaces in order to gain a perceptive understanding of the arts.Publication THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN SINGAPORE(2001) THERESA WONG SOO MUN; GEOGRAPHY; TIM BUNNELLPublication HOME IS(N'T) WHERE THE FOOD IS: TRANS-LOCAL PERFORMANCES OF SINGAPOREAN IDENTITY THROUGH FOOD(2012) TAN WEI JUN; GEOGRAPHY; WOON CHIH YUANFood in Singapore is often seen as a strong marker of Singaporean identity. The Singaporean food culture is often promoted by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) as one that is multicultural and representative of the major ethnicities in Singapore. Eating is a national pastime and most Singaporeans share a common love for food. Singaporean food culture is hence constitutive of particular performative and sensory ways of preparing and consuming food in a local setting. However, simply examining how Singapore's food culture is enacted in local spaces ignores the significance of how national identities may be (re)worked in a trans-local context. As one moves overseas to live in a different country, they are required to adapt to new cultures and lifestyles. In such overseas settings, national identity may either be accentuated or be weakened under the influence of overseas cultures. Singaporeans may continue to perform their Singaporean identity through the way they (re)imagine and (re)produce aspects of the Singaporean food culture overseas. By engaging in familiar sensory experiences of food overseas, memories of being at home in Singapore are evoked, affirming one's national identity through the frequent imagined connections to home. However, the influence of overseas food cultures may also lead to a negative re-imagination of Singaporean food culture due to a new¬ found appreciation of the overseas food culture.Publication SANDY BEACH MEIOFAUNA IN SINGAPORE(2000) NG WANG FENG; GEOGRAPHY; PETA SANDERSONMeiofauna are small organisms that thrive in many habitats. They are known to be resilient and exist in large numbers. As meiofauna are the most abundant animals in marine sediments, they are touted as sensitive pollution indicators that can inform us about the state of health of the beach. This study examines the meiofauna on four sandy beaches of Singapore from a geographical-environmental perspective. It is a pioneer study of sandy beach meiofauna. Previous studies done in Singapore dealt with benthos as a whole, never specifically meiofauna. Also, they examined the seabed or streambed rather than the beach. I aim to examine whether meiofaunal abundance and diversity can be correlated to the health of the sandy beach. In addition, I hope to demonstrate that meiofauna are easily collected and processed. Meiofaunal abundance was found to be greater on the low beach than on the high beach. Nematoda dominated the meiofaunal community in all samples, with Crustacea being the next most represented meiofaunal group. Meiofaunal diversity of Changi or Labrador beaches was the highest (depending on the diversity index used- Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index or Simpson's Dominance Index). It is noted that the use of diversity indices was problematic. In addition, while associations between sediment characteristics (grain size and degree of sorting) and meiofaunal abundance were found with some certainty, associations with other environmental factors proved more elusive. A positive correlation between salinity and copepod abundance was found. It was also demonstrated that meiofaunal collection and processing is easy.Publication VARIATIONS OF HEAVY METAL CONCENTRATIONS IN RESERVOIR SEDIMENTS(2000) EE KEAN LUI RANDALL; GEOGRAPHY; DAVID TAYLORThere is growing concern on the impact of urbanisation and economic development on the environment in Singapore. The situation is compounded by the lack of existing studies that could serve as a source of baseline data on the environmental history of pollution in Singapore. A study was undertaken to determine the variations of heavy metal concentrations in the reservoir sediments of the Lower Peirce Reservoir in Singapore. Standard palaeolimnological techniques were used to recover the sediments. The analysis of the heavy metal concentrations was carried out using the inductively-coupled plasma - atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP -AES). Results obtained from the study shows increased concentrations of Cu, Pb and Zn in the surface sediments. Peak Cu concentration is 19 mg/kg at sample depth (3 - 4 cm). Peak Pb concentration is 89 mg/kg at sample depth ( 4 - 5 cm) and the peak concentration of Zn is 64 mg/kg at (6 - 7 cm). Assuming that surface sediments represent those most recently deposited, the source of Cu, Pb and Zn is likely to be the result of recent changes in the reservoir catchment or its surroundings. These changes may include changes in landuse in the reservoir catchment or changes in the inputs of Cu, Pb and Zn from human activities in the catchment or the surrounding region.Publication ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF COASTAL BEACHES FOR NEST SITE SELECTION OF HAWKSBILL TURTLES (ERETMOCHELYS IMBRICATA) IN SINGAPORE(2019) CHIOK PEI WEN; GEOGRAPHY; GOURAMANIS CHRISTOSDespite being heavily modified and utilized, the beaches in Singapore support tremendous biodiversity and wildlife. In particular, the hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) has been perpetually coming onto Singapore’s shores to nest. Hawksbill turtles in Singapore belong to a population in the West Pacific Ocean, where genetic studies have revealed the importance of genetically-distinct microhabitat preferences when choosing a nest site along a beach. Given the lack of studies regarding the nest site selection of hawksbill turtles in the Asia-Pacific region, this study is the first to analyse the influence of several beach parameters that could affect the nest placement of hawksbill turtles across four beaches in Singapore (East Coast Park, Changi Beach, Big Sister’s Island, Small Sister’s Island). These parameters include: beach slope, elevation, width, type of vegetation and sand, and presence of coastal development. A total of 62 points were surveyed, which comprised 28 nesting sites and 34 beach survey points. Results indicate that nests at East Coast Park had a lower elevation than those in Sisters’ Islands, owing to coastal development and coastal retreat from rising sea level. Most nests were also found in vegetated areas. This study also used principal component analysis to interpret multiple environmental variables and suggest that hawksbill turtles in Singapore may follow a sequential threshold hypothesis when selecting nest sites. Comparisons across nesting and non-nesting sites also showed that nesting sites were further away from beachfront lighting. The constant resurfacing of coastal development, which affects the nest site selection of hawksbill turtles, indicate the urgent need for proper nest management and policy decisions in order to conserve these critically endangered species. This would be beneficial for the long-term sustainability of nesting beaches and hawksbill turtles in Singapore.Publication LOCALLY-THEMED SOUVENIRS AS REPRESENTATIONS OF SINGAPORE’S NATIONAL IDENTITY(2019) LIM HUI YI; GEOGRAPHY; NEIL MARTIN COEThis thesis focuses on locally-themed souvenirs as mainly bottom-up expressions of national identity. First created in 2009, these quirky, uniquely-designed souvenirs, which aimed to reinforce the Singapore identity, gradually rose in popularity amongst both tourists and locals. Today, there are 148 brands in the market. Differentiated from cheap, kitschy souvenirs, these locally-themed souvenirs produce geographical imaginations through their portrayals of Singapore. Taking national identity as a social construct, I argue that the representations in these souvenirs can supplement and complicate state-defined notions of national identity within the ‘national image space’ (Whitehouse, 2007). Nonetheless, the locally-themed souvenir market has also undergone changes since 2009, with seemingly opposing trends of commercialisation and SG50, Singapore’s 50th year of independence. Through textual content analysis of souvenirs and interviews with producers, I seek to explore how the nature and meanings of these souvenirs have developed over time from producers’ perspectives. I seek to show how locally-themed souvenirs can represent the agency of the ordinary citizen in constructing Singapore’s identity, highlighting the contested, complex and personal nature of national identity through the souvenir as ‘text’ (Shenhav-Keller, 1993).Publication SCULPTURESCAPES : A STUDY OF ART SPACES IN SINGAPORE(2001) LOW CHELSIA; GEOGRAPHY; CHANG TOU CHUANG
- «
- 1 (current)
- 2
- 3
- »