The social context of Singapore is changing rapidly, and understanding how people think, feel and behave in various situations has become a key driver of effectiveness in addressing social issues. 50 Years of Social Issues in Singapore provides a comprehensive review and examination of various social issues at multiple levels of analysis including the individual, group and society.This invaluable book adopts a translational approach to social issues in Singapore by explicitly bridging intellectual and practical perspectives. Contributed by a distinguished team of authors, the chapters examine the critical ideas underlying public debates of social issues and their policy and practical implications.The book is organized into three parts. Part I examines issues of population and social fundamentals in Singapore such as ageing, marriage, urban planning, healthcare and racial and religious harmony. Part II analyses Singapore's social progress through issues of inclusivity such as social mobility, developing communities and marginal groups that deserve more attention. Part III focuses on core principles and social processes related to social justice, doing good, social media and approaches to understanding and addressing social issues in Singapore.Most importantly, the chapters in this book clearly identify many of the critical, unresolved and emerging questions on various social issues that will guide the next generation of public discussion and policy deliberations on what matter in Singapore.

This book is a collection of essays by thought and advocacy leaders, policymakers, and academics in Singapore who have been and are in positions of influence in shaping social policies, and hence the social context, in the country. These essays are meant to initiate discussion, promote debate and broaden understanding of the social issues at play, the challenges faced, and the trade-offs involved in enhancing social policies, strengthening the social compact, and shaping the social context in Singapore.This is done through addressing issues and challenges in (1) Government and Civil Society; (2) Education; (3) Employability and Employment; (4) Social and Family Development; (5) Demographics and Social Spending; (6) Healthcare and Healthcare Financing; (7) Urban Planning and the Environment; (8) Disruptions, New Technologies and Smart Nation.It is hoped this book will be useful for students of sociology, social policy or public policy, as they discuss the dynamics and trade-offs involved in planning, shaping and implementing social and public policies in Singapore. This book also hopes to inform and initiate dialogues among Singaporeans on the social issues and challenges we face in our city-state and which we have to collectively address as a nation.

An underpinning force in Singapore's remarkable 50-year transformation into a sophisticated world-class city, engineering has contributed significantly to the nation's economic, infrastructural and social developments.A joint publication by The Institution of Engineers, Singapore, and World Scientific Publishing, to celebrate Singapore's 50th birthday, 50 Years of Engineering in Singapore brings to life the extraordinary engineering feats across multiple disciplines and tells the stories of these exceptional engineers who, with their determinations and courage, turned the little red dot into a jewel of a city. A vibrant record of engineering excellence, the publication traces the goliath challenges impeding the nation's growth over the past five decades, and the engineering innovations that brought about wealth creation, higher standards of living, and enhanced liveability.This compendium covers land transportation (ERP system, MRT and LRT, roads and buses system); water management and engineering; energy (supply and maintenance); manufacturing in the areas of electronics, precision engineering, chemical and pharmaceutical/bio-medical engineering; housing/cities/infrastructure and land use (reclamation and underground); air and sea hub; and telecommunications, ICT and software.

50 Years of Urban Planning in Singapore is an accessible and comprehensive volume on Singapore's planning approach to urbanization. Organized into three parts, the first section of the volume, 'Paradigms, Policies, and Processes', provides an overview of the ideologies and strategies underpinning urban planning in Singapore; the second section, 'The Built Environment as a Sum of Parts', delves into the key land use sectors of Singapore's urban planning system; and the third section, 'Urban Complexities and Creative Solutions', examines the challenges and considerations of planning for the Singapore of tomorrow. The volume brings together the diverse perspectives of practitioners and academics in the professional and research fields of planning, architecture, urbanism, and city-making.

As Singapore enters its 50th year of independence, it is a good time to reflect on its past as well as look to the future. 50 Years of Singapore-Europe Relations: Celebrating Singapore's Connections with Europe is one such contribution to the wide collection of books commemorating Singapore's 50th birthday. The essays and articles in this edited volume capture historical moments, reveal the heartfelt wishes and thoughtful comments of Europeans who have made Singapore their home, chronicle some of the long-standing partnerships and ponder the future challenges of Singapore.This unique book contains a wide range of essays and articles reflecting on the strong connections that Singapore enjoys with Europe, not only at the official level, but also through the contributions that Europeans and European companies have made — and continue to make — which enrich Singaporean society. These essays provide a kaleidoscope of views on Singapore — they explore how close ties and partnerships are forged between nations, how businesses see Singapore as a trustworthy partner and place to invest and establish roots, and, at a more personal level, the articles also present different perspectives on the strengths, and at times, the weaknesses of Singapore as viewed through the eyes of Europeans who live and work in Singapore and consider it as their home.In commemorating Singapore's 50th birthday, this book will add to the understanding of the richness and diversity of Singapore society, and help readers appreciate and reflect on how openness and connectivity have contributed to the success of Singapore in its first 50 years.

How did Singapore's health care system transform itself into one of the best in the world? It not only provides easy access, but its standards of health care, not only in curative medicine but also in prevention, are exemplary. Fifty years ago, the infant mortality rate (IMR) was 26 per thousand live births; today the IMR is 2. Life expectancy was 64 years then; today, it is 83. The Singapore Medicine brand is trusted internationally, and patients are drawn to Singapore from all over the world. And while many countries struggle to finance their health care, Singapore has developed a health care financing framework that makes health care affordable for its people and gives sustainability to the health care system. Reliability is provided by a professional workforce that seeks to continually learn, improve and become ever more proficient with cutting edge technology while emphasizing the relational aspects of health care by nurturing compassion and maintaining high standards of integrity. Convenience and safety are enhanced by a unifying IT system that enables the portability of medical records across health care institutions. All these have been achieved not by chance but by careful planning, strong leadership and dedicated people who are prepared to learn from Singapore's own experience while adapting best practices from around the world. But the system is not without challenges — not least those of an aging population, and an increasing market influence. This book provides a fascinating insight into the development of Singapore's health care system from the early days of fighting infections and providing nutrition supplementation for school children, to today's management of lifestyle diseases and high-end tertiary care. It also discusses how the system must adapt to help Singaporeans continue to 'live well, live long, and with peace of mind.'

In conjunction with Singapore's 50th birthday in August 2015, 50 Years of Environment: Singapore's Journey Towards Environmental Sustainability takes the reader through Singapore's environmental journey over the past 50 years, to its present day challenges and solutions, and seeks to explore what lies ahead for Singapore's environmental future. This book is divided into three parts. The first, drawn largely from the book Clean, Green and Blue: Singapore's Journey Towards Environmental and Water Sustainability, will explore the historical developments in Singapore's environmental journey and the development of NEWater. The second part will be a collection of essays that examine the present environmental challenges that Singapore faces and the ways in which it is addressing those issues through community engagement, international engagement, research and technology, and industry solutions in order to develop sustainable strategies and solutions. Part Three will bring the book to a close by tying the historical and contemporary threads together and discusses the future challenges for Singapore's environment.

Singapore is known internationally for its successful economic development. Key to its economic successes is a variety of policies put into place over the past 50 years since its independence. Singapore's Economic Development: Retrospection and Reflections provides a retrospective analysis of independent Singapore's economic development, from the perspective of different policy domains each considered by different expert scholars in that particular field.The book is written by academic economists in a style that is accessible to non-experts. Each chapter includes reviews of past scholarship, current data on each policy area, and reflections on required or desirable future policy changes and outcomes.By examining the evolution of past and current policies which combined to make Singapore's development a success and exploring emerging developmental challenges, Singapore's Economic Development: Retrospection and Reflections gives readers a better understanding of Singapore's economic trajectory and future.

Our Lives to Live: Putting a Woman's Face to Change in Singapore explores and documents how women's roles, choices, and voices in Singapore have changed in the last 50 years; how women, from all sectors of society, have helped to shape the Singapore we know today. The 31 chapters, some with a more academic slant, others with a distinctly personal tone, reflect the rich diversity and depth of women's contributions to Singapore's evolution in the last half century, and also point to the problematical areas that still need attention.The perspectives in this book are provided by three generations of women, and they put a human face — the woman's face — to the tremendous changes in Singapore society over the past 50 years. The authors include some of Singapore's most accomplished women in many different fields — Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob, political scientist and diplomat Chan Heng Chee, global women's activist Noeleen Heyzer, sociologist and politician Aline Wong, food ambassador Violet Oon, sports legend Pat Chan, law lecturer and playwright Eleanor Wong, and novelist Meira Chand.

This fascinating and insightful volume introduces readers to food as a window to the social and cultural history and geography of Singapore. It demonstrates how the food we consume, the ways in which we acquire and prepare it, the company we keep as we cook and eat, and our preferences and practices are all revealing of a larger economic, social, cultural and political world, both historically and in contemporary times. Readers will be captivated by chapters that deal with the intersections of food and ethnicity, gender and class, food hybridity, innovations and creativity, heritage and change, globalization and localization, and more. This is a must-read for anyone interested in Singapore culture and society.