Professor Yow Wei Quin, Head of HASS, writes about confidence in use of technology in seniors.

HASS congratulates Professor Yow Wei Quin and Dr Li Xiaoqian on the publication of paper in Q1 journal, Child Development

The connection between a livestream host and viewers is an example of a “parasocial” relationship, a one-sided relationship formed with a media persona, said Assistant Professor Andrew Yee (Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences).

In psychology, theory of mind is an important social cognitive skill that involves the ability to think about mental states, including emotions, desires, beliefs and knowledge, and to recognise that other people’s thoughts and beliefs are not necessarily the same as one’s own.

Some couples in Singapore are going beyond conventional fertility procedures like IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) in their quest for conception.

When you think of the elderly, does the image of a grumpy old man complaining about his children getting in the way, or a lonely old lady with a stern expression pop up in your mind? This stereotype often appears in videos, movies and pictures.

The Singapore University of Technology and Design has introduced Ami, short for Advancing Mental Invigoration developed by Associate Professor Yow Wei Quin and her team; which aims to leverage gamification to harness the cognitive benefits of bilingualism or multilingualism in the elderly.

Move over Super Mario and Candy Crush, Ami is set to take the game world by storm – for the mature audiences at least. Ami operates on the scientific hypothesis that bilingualism or multilingualism has positive effects on the cognitive abilities of the elderly.

Called Ami, the app is a simple and interactive touch-screen game suitable for the elderly. It currently offers three games and supports six different languages including dialects, which are Chinese, English, and Malay, Tamil, Hokkien and Cantonese.

What are the benefits of bilingualism? It turns out that in addition to educational benefits, work convenience and maintaining connections with family and cultural traditions, bilingualism also has a positive impact on the brain and even delays the onset of dementia.