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Publication SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PATTERNS OF FLOODS IN SINGAPORE FROM 1950 TO 2015(2017) XU YUTING; GEOGRAPHY; Lupascu, MassimoSingapore experiences frequent floods owing to its tropical location and low-lying terrain. In the past, floods have been studied in individual disciplines for differing interests and purposes. Uncertainty prevails in how climate change and urbanisation have altered the spatial and temporal patterns of flood occurrences over the decades. In this study, a flood database has been constructed for the period of 1950 – 2015 using a wide range of documentary data sources. Based on the data collected, this paper adopts a spatiotemporal analysis framework to study the temporal and spatial patterns of floods. In total, 266 rainfall-related flood events occurred within the study period, causing 1109 unique flood incidents. Floods have increased significantly in the recent years. Seasonal distribution of floods generally follow that of seasonal rainfall amount. A growing percentage of floods in typically drier months have occurred in the recent decade. Spatial analysis was conducted on GIS platform. Flood distribution in Singapore is non-homogeneous and non-stationary. The central and south of Singapore show the densest floods over the entire study period, a situation attributed to long history of urbanisation and poor drainage. Recently, floods have come to affect a larger spatial extent. Mapping of flood incidents shows a sprawling pattern with emerging flood hotspots outside the flood-prone regions. Despite inherent issues of data accuracy, this study demonstrates that spatiotemporal flood analysis using documentary data can reveal valuable insights on how flood patterns have evolved over space and time. The resultant patterns capture the influence some of the key factors that may have an impact on flood occurrences and nature of floods. With the rise of big data and data analytics, capability of spatiotemporal analysis and the use of flood database can be enhanced expanded to provide more accurate assessment of patterns and changing nature of floods.Publication HUMAN IMPACT ON CORAL REEFS IN SINGAPORE(1992) WILLIAM HO YOON HEAN; GEOGRAPHY; CHIA UN SIENThe survival of coral reefs in Singapore has been threatened by the heavy utilisation of the coastal resources and has virtually left all of the reefs degraded to a various extent. The main focus of this academic exercise is to examine the ecological threat imposed by human activities upon coral reefs and their ecosystem in the Southern Islands. Reclamation, oil pollution, recreation and tourism, subsistence and commercial fishing activities are main aspects of human impact considered. Their impact on the coral reefs will be based on the extent to which these activities have disturbed the natural environment of the coral reefs. A survey of 100 divers was conducted to determine their perception of the causes of damage and their valuation of coral reefs in Singapore. The results of the survey are discussed at several juncture of the academic exercise. The study of human impact on any natural system necessarily requires an appraisal of man's actions along with the understanding of the ecological systems in which he interferes. Hence, a discussion on the ecology of coral reefs and those found in Singapore is included. As an ecosystem, coral reefs support an intricate and complex network of relationships and interactions, that sustains a fascinating myriad of lifeforms in terms of its productivity, species diversity and abundance. Besides its ecological value, man has derived many benefits from coral reefs as natural resources. They are used as a source of food, medicinal products and construction material. Acting as a natural breakwater, natural laboratory and tourist attraction, coral reefs are also valuable non-extractable resources. The lack of proper management of coral reefs will consequently forfeit these benefits. In the recent years, greater attention has been focussed to the consequence of our actions that damage the reefs. Conservation efforts are emerging among the non-government organisations (NGOs) calling for the proper management of our reefs. In Singapore, positive actions to save the reefs from further deterioration and to enhance their natural habitat will be considered. The study of man's impact on our natural environment is deeply rooted in the geographical approach of the man-nature relationship. Therefore for the successful management of the coral reefs, it will require us to examine and understand this distinct tradition of approach in GeographyPublication APPLICATION OF THE RIVER CONTINUUM CONCEPT ON SINGAPORE RIVERS(1998) JACQUELINE SIM MEI-LIN; GEOGRAPHY; GREER, ANTHONY GORDONThe River Continuum Concept (RCC) was first developed in a temperate country by Vannote et al., 1980. The RCC describes that along the long profile of the river, there are distinct biological niches created by the physical environments in a natural surrounding. The invertebrates that inhabit these niches are fashioned to capitalise on the inefficiencies of the upstream communities to minimise energy loss within the lotic system. Together they form the River Ecosystem. The RCC proposes that the Concept provides a predictable working framework for the biological feature in the lotic system. The RCC thus sets out various implications on the stability, structure, and function of the river system. This concept has contributed greatly to the growing research field in Stream Ecology. The RCC has been tested several times with varying degrees of success in various temperate countries. However, it has not been tested in a tropical environment let alone an urbanised one. As we progress, many rivers are facing an alteration of their natural environment. It is increasingly important to take into consideration these changes, as they are becoming a common occurrence in urban areas. This research project attempts to apply the RCC on modified rivers in Singapore. The results did appear to coincide with the RCC, but there were distinct differences that the RCC was unable to explain.Publication A GEOGRAPHY OF HEALTH CARE : DIALYSIS PROVISION AND THE LIFEWORLDS OF WOMEN PATIENTS(1997) LIM SWEE KENG; GEOGRAPHY; BRENDA YEOHSpace and time form the fabric on which is inscribed the dynamic relationships and processes which human beings as active agents form with the underlying structures of society. Placed in the social context of Singapore, this thesis examines the nexus between state, mediating structures and individuals in the meeting of needs of dialysis patients as a group of chronically ill people requiring regular treatment for a malfunctioning body part. The investigation of the structural influences underlying the management of the country's social welfare needs of which health care is an integral component begins the analysis. The restructuring of the health care system focuses attention on the allocative principles adopted by the state. These are justified through the "Many Helping Hands" approach to spread the burden of social welfare. This also signifies the apparent relaxation of parameters bounding political and social space with the state-induced creation of a civic society. The rise of voluntary welfare groups attending to the dialysis provision of kidney failure patients is complementary to the state's thrust. However the cleft in the veneer of mutual existence is evident as each carves out and safeguards a space to situate itself. On another level of analysis, these organisations act as mediating structures between the state and the individual, ameliorating the distance between the two and more significantly, reconfigure the lifeworlds and spaces of the individuals by returning them their productivity and sense of well-being. All of the above are carried out through the analyses of published state reports, interviews with the organisations and 41 in-depth interviews with men and women patients to discern the reconfigurations of individual lifeworlds. This study also argues that the subjective experiences of dialysis patients are closely related to social roles and relations. Hence, individuals' management strategies are structured along the gender divide with subsequent ramifications on the renegotiation and remapping of the patients' lives.Publication A TRIANGLE LOVE AFFAIR? : TOURISM IN THE INDONESIA-MALAYSIA-SINGAPORE GROWTH TRIANGLE(1999) LIM LAI HENG; GEOGRAPHY; CHANG TOU CHUANGTourism in the Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle has emerged as a powerful force in shaping regional economies, societies and environments. Touted as the 'Caribbean of The East', the IMS-GT is developed as a resort-style getaway coupled with the full convenience of urbanised living. This unique blend stems from the need to be different from countless holiday destinations in Southeast Asia. The tourism triangle is expected to see tremendous growth in visitorship from Southeast Asia and even the West as it takes advantage of the combined attractiveness of Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. The complementarity between the countries, in terms of tourism collaboration, hides the true face of relational dynamics between the three countries in the IMS-GT. In my study, I will employ a three-tier analysis involving the subregional level, business level and local level. At the sub-regional level, Singapore is far more advanced in economic standing compared to Malaysia and Indonesia. This creates complications as the tourism triangle which results, becomes a partnership among unequals. Simply put, Singapore exerts inordinate influence over developing locales like Riau and Johor. This sets the question of whether Singapore has an advantage over them. Political relationships between the countries also play a role in the workings of the growth triangle. Politics often smears the good name of tourism and influences the flow of tourists within and into the tourism triangle. Needless to say, tourism offers a platform upon which political relationships between the countries are played out. The tourism triangle serves as a viable holiday destination for many Singaporeans. In fact, due to their higher spending power, Singaporeans are among the largest leisure groups visiting Bintan and Johor. As a result, local businesses have benefitted. These benefits have made the Singaporean market a viable one to cater for. However, there are many pitfalls as well. Issues like price increases, the spill over of political problems into the business sphere and over-reliance on Singaporeans are problems that small shopowners face. The locals are the voices of the growth triangle. They form the words upon which changes are 'translated' into impacts. They are also the recipients of any social or economic changes created by tourism. With the influx of Singaporeans, their lives have changed for the better and the worst Consequently, hosts and guests are involved in the politics of dealing with each other where many a time, their interaction emerges from a 'love-hate' relationship. In the final analysis, exploring the 'love triangle' between Singapore, Riau and Johor will demonstrate the uneven relationships between these three countries. Most cooperative gestures between countries are not genuine. They are often plagued with political rivalry and competition. Caught in an emerging politics of space in the growth triangle, each country is but ultimately a standalone space whose boundaries occasionally dissipate in anticipation of gains.Publication LIVING THE KATONG LEGACY : CULTURE, IDENTITY AND PLACE IN SINGAPORE(1993) ROY PHUA YUE KENG; GEOGRAPHY; LILY KONGLiving the Katong legacy is a study in cultural geography. At a general level, my primary concern is with documenting Katong culture in the context of a fast-changing modern Singapore. Specifically, my aims are as follows. Firstly, I seek to determine if Singaporeans recognise the existence of a distinctive culture in Katong. If so, I shall attempt to delimit the areal extent of the Katong culture area and to define what this culture is in their terms. Finally, I shall explore their views of the future of Katong culture. In each of these instances, I shall examine differences in the views of those who live in Katong ("insiders") and those who do not ("outsiders"). In order to fulfil these aims, a variety of methods were used. These include a questionnaire survey, in-depth interviews and participant observation. The results of this combined strategy reveal that for many, a distinctive Katong culture existed in the past as well as today although some feel that it was more prevalent in the past. This culture manifests itself most strongly in the heart of the culture area, diminishing gradually in intensity towards its outer boundary. The uniqueness of the culture and the identity of the culture area stem from various elements: material and non-material aspects of culture; distinctive ethnic cultures; and an elusive quality embodied in its spirit or atmosphere. Each of these elements have, however, been eroded gradually over time. The future of Katong culture hinges on factors internal to individuals (such as their ability and willingness to share in the Katong spirit) as well as external structural factors (such as the emphasis on economic development and government policies). In order to maintain the cultural identity of the area, conservation of the built environment is recommended, but only if preserved in tandem with the atmosphere. My results demonstrate that there may be distinct local cultures which have evolved naturally in discrete" places in Singapore. These cultures deserve more explicit attention and appreciation than has thus far been accorded them. Katong, in particular, embodies a unique culture that should be preserved in the face of modernising Singapore. What is more, it is a distinctive unself-conscious showcase of local identity, in contrast to state efforts which have consciously attempted to forge a national identity.Publication APPLICATION OF DECISION TREE METHOD IN LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION: A CASE STUDY OF LAND COVER CHANGE IN THE CAMERON HIGHLANDS, MALAYSIA(2017) ALVIN HOH GUAN HUAH; GEOGRAPHY; Paul Frederic PassyLand cover classification and land cover change monitoring are crucial in the understanding of human environment transformation and study of their following impacts. Recently, Decision Tree method in land cover classification has increased in global usage due to its high accuracy, fast computation speed, ease of use, high interpretability and strong compatibility with various types of remote sensing data including multispectral imagery and indices. However, besides Decision Tree method was rarely applied in the study of Southeast Asia countries, most previous studies on this method used multispectral imagery as input data rather than indices, which had been identified to be far superior in land cover identification. Hence, through Landsat imagery, this thesis explores the use of Decision Tree method in harness with three indices, namely Soil-Adjusted and Atmospherically Resistant Vegetation Index (SARVI), Automated Water Extraction Index (AWEI) and Tasseled Cap Transformation–Brightness (TCTB), to evaluate land covers in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia and their changes over a 21-year period from 1995 to 2016. Accuracy assessment indicates that the Decision Tree shows exceptional accuracy of 85% and the resultant land cover maps intimately align with actual events and development projects. In addition, a complementary study on correlating landslides occurrences with land cover changes is carried out using the resultant land cover maps. Although the influence of rainfall and slope on landslide failures is confirmed, the correlation between land cover changes and landslide occurrences will be better illustrated with an improved representation of landslide data. Ultimately, this thesis contributes to the expansion of Decision Tree practice on land cover mapping in Southeast Asia and demonstrates the promising potential of the method and the three indices in land cover classification, change evaluation and many land-cover-related complementary analyses.Publication OIL POLLUTION AROUND THE COASTAL WATERS OF SINGAPORE(1990) MARIA GOH; GEOGRAPHY; CHIA LIN SIENOver the past three decades, ship-generated marine pollution has received national and international attention. Oil is the main marine pollutant, and marine transportation, the major source of oil spills in the world. The geographical configuration of Singapore and her status of being the busiest port in the world increases her vulnerability to oil pollution. In this study, oil pollution refers to the damaging effects of oil on the marine environment due to human activities. This Academic Exercise attempts to provide an overview of oil pollution in Singapore’s coastal waters. Ship-generated sources of oil pollution incidents are found to be more significant than land-based sources. The majority of these vessel-source oil pollution incidents are due to careless bunkering practices. However, the major incidents, which require the mobilisation of national resources such as the PSA, Ministry of the Environment, and the oil companies for cleaning up procedures, are largely caused by collisions and groundings. Over the last 15 years or so, there has been a general decline in the frequency of oil pollution incidents. This trend is likely to continue through the effective implementation and enforcement of legislations and control measures. This, nevertheless, will not ensure the elimination of such casualties unless the element of human error or negligence, which has been identified to be the main cause of oil pollution incidents, is eliminated. The ecological impacts of oil pollution range from aesthetically unpleasing shores to serious aquatic animal mortalities. Sea birds, plankton, intertidal and benthic organisms are usually killed by the oil spills. However, free-moving fish and marine mammals are normally unaffected as they can swim away from the affected areas. So far, there has been no oil pollution incidents that resulted in any known severe ecological impacts except for the Stolt Avance case in 1987 where some of the aquaculture farms were affected. The economic impacts of oil pollution include the loss of earnings for commercial fishermen, operators of coastal resorts, recreational facilities, tourist industry as well as the cost of cleaning up the oil spill. Of these, the cost of cleaning up the oil spills and compensation claims are the more significant losses in the case of Singapore. The stringent legislations, control measures and effective enforcement by the government agencies, statutory boards, oil companies and others contributed to the low level of oil pollution around the coastal waters of Singapore. The level of oil and grease in Singapore's coastal waters are well within even the most stringent limits set by the United States. Besides, Singapore is also actively committed in regional co-operation with regards to the control of oil pollution. This is because of her belief that such co-operative efforts will further enhance the effectiveness of the control.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 LAND USE MONITORING IN SINGAPORE USING REMOTE SENSING AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS(1992) WEE HONG LING; GEOGRAPHY; JANET NICOLProper land use management is particularly essential to a small country like Singapore. The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) of Singapore presently maintains an Integrated Land Use System (ILUS). Unfortunately, ILUS is found to be ill-suited for land use management, despite the high costs of its development. We, therefore propose a more flexible and more cost effective alternative to ILUS; that is, the amalgamation of satellite imagery with desktop computer-based geographic information systems. In part, we have used the powerful combination of SPOT HRV imagery and the ERDAS GIS package (Version 7 .4) to conduct a land use case study in the southwestern region of Singapore, covering an area of 10 km by 10 km. The case study not only achieves a USGS Level II classification, but also produces an overall classification accuracy of 85.7%. Furthermore, we show how land use changes can be very effectively detected using straightforward extensions of the techniques developed in the case study. Numerous critical advantages over ILUS are clearly indicated. This study embodies a concrete demonstration of the feasibility of using satellite imagery and GIS to form an operational system for land use management in Singapore. The main argument is that Singapore should exploit the appropriate technologies that are available and affordable for effective monitoring and planning. It is hoped that the relevant authorities will consider this alternative.