Sociology

 NameResearch Interests
Vg Asst Prof Amporn JirattikornMy areas of research interest are media flows in Asia, popular culture, migration, nationalism and transnationalism with a focus on Burma and Thailand.
Asst Prof Andrew Corey YerkesProfessor Yerkes's areas of interest are nineteenth and twentieth century American literature and culture, realism, naturalism, modernism, postmodernism, narratology, sociological theories the novel, philosophical determinism, and ideological critique.
Asst Prof Arul Indrasen ChibDr. Arul Chib's research and teaching examines the impact of campaigns delivered via a range of communication technologies. The primary theoretical deliberation is around developing a robust explication of the mechanisms underlying the process of media effects. The analysis attempts to bridge multiple level of analysis: technology-mediated effects at the individual level and socially-mediated effects at the structural level. In terms of theorizing, the literature on health campaigns shows a paucity of documented learnings about specific projects. Much of the evidence is anecdotal, atheoretical, or at the global level of analysis. Further, while recently there is a trend towards looking at collective social-level phenomena, the theory lags the praxis. The notion that the process of social change brought about by communication technologies involves interaction between members of the social system, in addition to the direct effects paradigm, is far from new. Comparative testing of the mixed influence of communication technologies and interpersonal communication, and the process by which this occurs, has rarely been clarified in much detail, or linked to theoretical constructs. My research aims to develop quantitative models and methodologies that can capture processes at both individual and subgroup levels. I co-developed a stochastic, agent-based simulation model of information diffusion, called dFusion that examines these two influences: socially- and technology-mediated. It focuses on differential, rather than absolute, speeds of access to information. Specifically, the model demonstrates a clear causal link between social and/or media latency and the equality of information diffusion in a given network. The next step was to examine field-based data for testing theoretical validity. The model was tested using JHUCCP data collected during an HIV/AIDS media campaign in Namibia. Integrating traditional statistical analysis with social network analysis reveals the significance of socio-structural factors. Methodologically, limitations arise from missing attribute data of alters (individuals in one's network); diminishing validity of network measures of betweenness, a vital aspect of information flows. Further, the lack of panel data limits the ability to measure social influences. To address these concerns, my 2005 research project is designed as a pre-post health intervention located in the barrios (slums) of Lima, Peru. Multimedia games targeted at youth aid in sexual and reproductive health learning. We find that technology-mediated game-playing can be as, and in some cases are more effective than traditional health interventions. Further, the nature of a respondents' social ties (friendship, advice, and co-playing) determines the impact on efficacy and learning. Behavioral measures were inadequate for theoretical analysis due to the limited length of the intervention. Methodologically, self-reporting of social ties may be less revealing than measuring actual social interaction. My current research project presents an opportunity to address these limitations. I spent 2006-7 in the field initiating multiple ICT for development (ICT4D) projects in tsunami-affected countries. Foremost amongst these was a UNICEF/ UNFPA/ World Vision-funded cell-phone solution to improve maternal and infant mortality in the tsunami-ravaged regions of Banda-Aceh, Indonesia. This allows rural midwives to link up to hospital-based doctors to aid complicated pregnancies, receive training and support from coordinators at health centers, and instantaneously deliver medical indicators via SMS to a central database. This project, divided into test and control groups, has multiple data-collection points extending over 18 months. Traditional survey methodologies and social network analysis are triangulated with qualitative interviews, health-care statistics and telecommunication data.
Asst Prof Caroline PlussMy areas of expertise are: Identity, Contemporary Sociological Theory, Race and Ethnicity, Globalization, Culture, Transnationalism, Religion, Socialization, Migration, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Assoc Prof Chan Kim YinProf Chan Kim Yin's areas of expertise are psychological measurement, leadership, leadership development processes and methodologies, and individual differences. His current research works focus on multisource leadership assessment, values inculcation and organisational socialisation.
Prof Chew Soon BengWages, wage systems and wage determination in Singapore Industrial relations in Singapore and other countries
Vg Asst Prof Cho MihyeDr. Cho's research areas are cultural policy, creative cities, world cities and urban changes. Her current research is about Asian world cities and creative industries.
Asst Prof Eileen ReynoldsHer research interests include bioethics and emerging technologies, which raise scientific, social, and ethical concerns. Her most recent project embarked on a journey with 33 EEE students from NTU who helped in the creation of an animated film series called "Synchronicity Series". They performed, choreographed and animated their bodies using the stop motion technique called pixilation.
Asst Prof Genaro Castro VazquezProf Genaro Castro-Vázquez areas of expertise are sociology of health, reproductive health matters, HIV/AIDS, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, sociology of education and education and migration. His current research works focus on the education for foreign children from Latin American in Japan, HIV/AIDS and disability in Japan and male circumcision and HIV/AIDS.
Assoc Prof Geoffrey BenjaminProf Benjamin's areas of expertise are: (1) RESEARCH ON ASIA: (a) The anthropology and sociology of Southeast Asia, especially the Malay World; (b) The state in Southeast Asia; (c) Social theory with special reference to Asian materials; (d) Musical systems of the Malay World. (2) SOCIOLOGY: (a) The sociology and ethnography of Malay, Temiar, other Orang Asli, Singaporean and Indonesian societies; (b) The state in Southeast Asia; (c) The explanation of socio-cultural change in ecological, prehistoric and political terms; (d) Comparative social organisation; (e) Religion; (f) Language, culture and politicsl; (g) Sociolinguistics; (h) Social theory with special reference to Asian materials; (i) The cline of person in society and culture; (j) The nation-state and modernity. (3) LINGUISTICS: (a) The explanation of grammar in socio-cultural and semantic terms; (b) Mon-Khmer (especially Aslian) linguistics; (c) Austronesian (especially Malayic) linguistics; (d) The linguistic and sociolinguistic history of the Malay Peninsula.
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