IPS Update Issue May 2021

8th S R Nathan Fellow Ms Corinna Lim delivered her first and second IPS-Nathan lectures on 29 April and 14 May, titled “Herstory: The Road to Equality” and “The Caring Economy” respectively. The Q&A session of the first lecture was moderated by Dr Kanwaljit Soin, founding member of AWARE and former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP), while the second lecture was moderated by Lin Suling, Executive Editor at Channel News Asia.

The Lecture series, titled Gender Equality: The Time Has Come, will consist of three lectures. The third and final lecture, titled “Reset: Men, Women, Violence”, will take place on 24 May 2021 — the 60th anniversary of the Women’s Charter. It will be moderated by former NMP Eunice Olsen. 

Commentary — Worries over rising COVID-19 cases are fuelling racially charged comments
(CNA)
By Mathew Mathews and Shamil Zainuddin
• 5-min read

“The pattern is clear: With a spike in COVID-19 cases, negative sentiments of the xenophobic and racist variety increase.” With the current increase in community cases in Singapore, what can we do to combat this “invisible virus”? IPS' Mathew Mathews and Shamil Zainuddin tells us more on CNA

Commentary — The global campaign to combat ageism
(The Straits Times)
By Tommy Koh
• 4-min read

"Should Singapore have a law to make age discrimination illegal?" IPS' Special Advisor Prof Tommy Koh writes about combating ageism in Singapore and how various organisations have attempted to do so.

Commentary — The challenges ahead for Singapore's new Minister for Finance 
(The Business Times)
By Christopher Gee and Kunal Pawa
• 5-min read

“While Singapore's fiscal position remains sound and the country retains a top-rated AAA sovereign credit rating from all the major rating agencies, the new Minister for Finance will have to grapple with a number of significant challenges.” What challenges will Minister Lawrence Wong face following this new appointment? IPS’ Christopher Gee and Kunal Pawa write for The Business Times.

Commentary — Rise of the VTubers: A lesson for Singapore’s industry-fixated innovation
(IPS Commons)
By Shazly Zain 
• 4-min read

A VTuber uses virtual avatars instead of their real faces to represent themselves in their videos, with streams hosted on platforms such as Twitch and YouTube. What lessons can Singapore policymakers learn from them? IPS' Shazly Zain explains more in this IPS Commons piece.

Commentary — Are Singaporeans really politically apathetic?
(TODAY)
By Teo Kay Key
• 5-min read

"It appears to me that the term “politics” intimidates many because they narrowly define it in terms of elections and political ideology." IPS' postdoctoral fellow, Dr Teo Kay Key, writes for TODAY about her experience talking to ordinary Singaporeans about their views on politics. Are Singaporeans politically apathetic?

The Institute of Policy Studies held a closed-door discussion (CDD) on 31 March 2021, titled “Economic, Business Implications and Financial Costs of COVID-19”. In general, the East Asian region fared better due to the efficacy of governmental policies. The business community were consulted for their views on economic recovery, which included CEOs, SMEs, women entrepreneurs and workers. Business transformation through digitalisation of business model enabled companies to function better through the pandemic. Despite uncertainties, it was possible for various stakeholders to share risks burden. Nonetheless, this would involve cooperation among key stake holders such as governments, industry and the insurance companies.

The psychological well-being of younger respondents appeared to be more impacted by the pandemic than older respondents, according to an IPS study by Mathew Mathews, Syafiq Suhaini, Mike Hou, and Alex Tan.

At least three in 10 Singaporeans aged 21 to 29 years old were found to be rather or very worried about losing their purpose for living, as opposed to only one in 10 of those aged 60 and above.

Digital technology can bring about tremendous benefits, especially in times when safe distancing is mandatory. But it can also compound and worsen existing economic and social inequalities.

This working paper by IPS' Chew Han Ei and Carol Soon specifically addresses the second-level digital divide of digital literacy in Singapore and proposes a Unified Framework for Digital Literacy (UFDL).

Recommendations are made for the formulation of a set of career-related digital competences and the implementation of a national digital literacy curriculum.

Quality communication during incarceration is important for re-integration, but the security requirements of prisons tend to place heavy constraints on the form and frequency of contact. In this study, the Singapore Children’s Society and IPS’ Justin Lee examine how families negotiated these constraints, the effect it has on their relationships, and discuss the significance of family-centric policies in correctional settings.