News
Though Good to Have Four Self-help Groups Under the Same Roof, Experts Say We Must Take Into Account the Cultural Sensitivity of Different Ethnic Groups (summarised translation)
Four self-help groups will be working together to promote racial integration, a move that was praised by experts. However, the groups must not be too hasty in promoting racial integration, and miss out on taking into account the sensitivity of different ethnic groups.
Years of Dividends from a Three-minute Investment
The 3MT competition helps nurture a critical skill for academics, scientists and researchers who must ensure that academic research and its benefits for society are effectively communicated to the public.
The Science and Sensibilities of Smart Cities
As Asian countries develop smart cities, residents must contend with their benefits and drawbacks. While connected systems have the potential to deliver better urban planning and conveniences, they can also introduce inequalities and undermine inclusiveness.
11 Social Science Research Projects Received $15 Million Grant (summarised translation)
The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) has allocated $15 million to fund 11 social science research projects covering topics such as productivity and innovation, social integration, and the impact of digital technology on society, for the next three to five years.
To Combat Online Falsehoods We Need to Restore Mainstream Media to Former “Glory”
Lianhe Zaobao, 30 Mar 2018, To combat online falsehoods we need to restore mainstream media to former “glory” (summarised translation)
Nicholas Fang, MD of Blackdot Media and Professor Lim Sun Sun, Head of HASS at SUTD, were the final expert witnesses to present evidence to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods.
Both spoke in their personal capacities. Both experts agreed that fact checking efforts needs to be stepped up as a critical bulwark against online falsehoods.
Prof Lim added that the most ideal situation is for multiple stakeholders to engage in fact checking, and this includes media and technology companies as well as civic society organisations and groups. She noted that in the preceding weeks, many witnesses had highlighted the importance of media literacy as a solution to online falsehoods. However she explained that this would not be easy to achieve because the dramatic transformations in our media landscape mean that media literacy is an increasingly multi-faceted competency.
She also stressed that for media consumers to be completely discerning, they need to constantly learn new apps and new technological affordances, they need to understand industry shifts in the forms of mergers and acquisitions among media and technology companies that have implications for how users’ personal information is shared, and they need to keep up with different emerging media genres as well.
Prof Lim shared that as a media professor herself, she finds it challenging to constantly keep up with all of these changes, let alone the average media consumer. Hence she argued for more resources to be poured into media literacy education in order to make it more sophisticated so as to better help consumers adapt to the increasingly complex media landscape.
Communications and Information: Leading Smart Nation push while curbing database breaches
Fake news, the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal, and fears over abuse of surveillance data amid plans by the Government to roll out an interconnected network of smart lamp posts here.
The Big Read: In the war against fake news, public needs to get in the trenches
SINGAPORE — It was over dinner on an evening in December 2016 when a sales manager at a printing company decided that he must make a stand…
Scholars: The public should be made aware of the motivations behind the online fake information (Summarised Translation)
The parliamentary Select Committee to study the problem of deliberate online falsehoods and to recommend how Singapore should respond has invited local scholars to submit proposals. Some of the invited scholars disclosed that they will share their views on the media literacy of the general public, the motives of fake news creators, and the social costs of deceptive information.
Media Coverage on Women in Technology and Design Conference
This conference focuses on a key issue: how do we attract, support, and retain women in the technology and design sectors so as to ensure greater diversity in these critical realms? Extensive research has been undertaken on issues confronting women in the STEM disciplines to understand how their career advancement may be compromised by various factors at the structural, institutional, and individual levels. The conference features notable academics and industry professionals who will share their rich insights.
The conference discussion will be organised around four themes:
- Attracting women to join the technology and design sectors
- Supporting girls and women in school as they prepare for careers in technology and design
- Retaining women in these industries through concrete policy and workplace interventions that can mitigate attrition
- Thriving! When women are well supported at every stage of their technology and design trajectory, their chances of having successful and rewarding careers is boosted, and these industries will also benefit from their continued participation.
The conference will be more than a forum for the exchange of ideas. It can also play a critical role in signalling the importance of the issue, as well as providing a mentoring opportunity for the women who participate. In view of SUTD’s strong and consistent efforts to recruit female students, the university has been able to maintain a healthy gender distribution that makes ours an inclusive and diverse technology and design-centric university. To set the agenda on this critical issue, our conference involving academics, industry professionals, and students, and focuses on how we can enhance gender diversity and support women’s advancement in the technology and design sectors. We will also be launching the Women in Technology Special Interest Group of the Singapore Computer Society at our conference.
Visit conference page here
50 “influencers” promote Singapore’s Budget; Young netizens feel “insulted” (summarised translation)
Lianhe Zaobao, 21 Jan 2018, 50 “Influencers” Promote Singapore’s Budget; Young Netizens Feel “Insulted” (summarised translation)
In an effort to reach out to younger Singaporeans, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has paid for over 50 social media “influencers” to post on Instagram to promote the Budget process. However, this move has triggered controversy among internet users, who questioned and ridiculed the action.
In a report that appeared the day before yesterday, AFP News said that Singapore had sparked mockery with Instagram ‘influencers’ for budget. Regarding this, Prof Lim Sun Sun, Head of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at the Singapore University of Technology and Design said in an interview that internet users’ criticism may stem from the fact that these influencers “lack real understanding of the budget details”, and some even misspelt the name of the Ministry of Finance, giving the impression of being unprofessional.
“For these influencers who rarely comment on current affairs, they may be unable to convey the gravity of the Budget process. I do not think that our young people are apathetic towards politics; therefore they may feel insulted when the Budget is conveyed to them in such a superficial manner.”
