pastyearprojects

Love every body: minimising potential negative effects of media on children’s perception of body image

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Authors
Sivanangai Thirumeni Muthu Karuppan, Zarifah Binti Mohmad Azhar, Lam Siew Ying, Sri Divya Bharati D/O Mohan

Supervisor
Asst Prof Kim Hye Kyung

Year
2016

Abstract
The Love Every Body campaign aimed to minimise the potential negative effects of media on children’s perception of body image through education. Children today are exposed to negative body images at an early age through media. They also play and interact with media merchandise such as action figures and dolls that promote and normalize thinness. This campaign set out to educate both parents and children on the negative effects of the media, and to teach children how to appreciate different forms of beauty.

The primary target audience for this campaign was children aged 7 to 12 years old, as they were the most impressionable. By using theatrical and narrative approaches, Love Every Body developed strategies such as drama-based workshops, a drama performance and an electronic storybook to help children learn about the issue effectively.

The secondary target audience was parents of children aged 7 to 12 as these parents were the greatest influencers of children at developmental stage. A parent’s talk was held and informational brochures were given out to inform parents of several methods they could utilise to educate their child.

Findings indicated that children viewed their bodies positively after the campaign. Parents were also aware and informed of how media could affect their children’s perceptions of body image. Overall, the strategies used in the campaign proved to be effective and useful in achieving the campaign’s objectives.

Click link to view
http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66685

Down the sound: a safe listening campaign for youths

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Authors
Catherine Anne Chew Xian Hui, See Wei Ni Dionne, Elizabeth Au Rui Lin, Navina Thiyagarajan

Supervisor
Asst Prof Kim Hye Kyung

Year
2016

Abstract
This project report presents Down the Sound, a health communications campaign by final year students of Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI). Recreational Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is increasingly prevalent amongst Singaporean youths. It was predicted in a recent research that if the rising trend persists, there could be as many as 1,308 new cases of NIHL per year locally, amongst the younger population (Lee, Lim, Kuan, 2014).

NIHL is the only form of hearing loss that is preventable (NIDCD, 2014). However, loud and prolonged exposure to loud noises can lead to permanent damage. In a survey conducted amongst 375 youths aged 18-25, 96% of youths lacked proper knowledge of NIHL. Majority of youths also believed they are not susceptible to hearing loss at their current age.

Thus the team designed a campaign to increase risk awareness amongst youths and to stress the importance of practising safe listening habits. To communicate the risk of NIHL, a three-pronged strategy using social norms approach, experiential components, statistical evidence and narratives was adopted. Tactics were carried out both online and offline. To ensure the credibility of their messages, the team partnered with hearing aid provider Sivantos and also consulted Changi General Hospital.

The report concludes with an evaluation of the campaign through a post-campaign survey, analysis of media coverage and appraisals from stakeholders. Plans beyond the campaign’s timeline are also highlighted. Visuals of the campaign’s execution, collaterals and partnerships can be found in the appendices.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66861

Coming home SG

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Authors
Tan Min Er Vivien, Chan Mei Yu Jethra, Lee Rou Urn Sarah, Giam Yi Xin

Supervisor
Asst Prof Liew Kai Khiun

Year
2016

Abstract
The Coming Home SG campaign was launched as Singapore’s first campaign to raise awareness of foster care among young adults and promote volunteering opportunities as a stepping stone towards fostering. It was also the first to use social media as an outreach platform for foster care.

The campaign engaged 3,948 young adults via a mix of online and on-ground platforms such as a campaign website, art-jamming sessions, a local makers’ fair, sharing sessions by members of the fostering community and university roadshows. 220 volunteer interests were raised, and nearly half of the participants indicated strong willingness to foster in the future.

This project report summarised the research that underpinned campaign strategies, detailed the campaign’s execution and evaluated its effectiveness. Finally, it gave recommendations on how the campaign’s pioneering initiatives could be sustained.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66801

Savvy silvers: a campaign to teach senior citizens aged 50 and above learn how to use their smartphones efficiently and subsequently, independently

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Authors
Isadora Ong Min Li, Jaime Goh Shi Hui, Sai Fengjia, Elissa Teo Shiting

Supervisor
Ms Kairiah Mohd Tamin

Year
2016

Abstract
Savvy Silvers was a campaign to help senior citizens above 50 to use their smartphones efficiently and independently. It also aimed to dispel fear and increase confidence of senior citizens who are hesitant about embracing smartphone technology. The campaign stemmed not only from personal experiences with senior citizens, but was also in accordance with Singapore’s digital inclusion efforts and national move towards being a Smart Nation.

To find out what senior citizens wanted to learn, the team conducted a survey and subsequently designed a comprehensive smartphone curriculum. This culminated into a series of lessons where senior citizens learnt how to use their smartphones in a conducive and interactive environment in the heartlands. Inter-generational learning between senior participants and youth volunteers was also one of the key features of these smartphone lessons.

The project report examined the rationale for this campaign, discussed the executional tactics implemented in rolling out the campaign and the impact of strategies used. Significant achievements and recommendations to widen the scope of the project were also discussed. The lifespan of Savvy Silvers would be extended beyond its intended duration as partners, including the People’s Association and the Infocomm Development of Authority, expressed interest in rolling out the Savvy Silvers smartphone lessons to other parts of Singapore and developing it into a nation-wide movement.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66838

Moving on from mental illness

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Author
Neo Wee Kang Daniel

Supervisor
Mr Lim Wui Liang

Year
2016

Abstract
The photojournalism project, Moving On From Mental Illness, seeks to highlight the importance of caregiving in mental illness recovery through featuring the lives of three mental outpatients along with their caregivers. It shows their journey together in coping and moving on from mental illness. This project also offers a glimpse behind the ward doors of Institute of Mental Health.

Through a visual representation of their stories, the project hopes to raise awareness and promote empathy for the mentally ill and their caregivers. Being marginalised by stigmatisation, they need the society’s acceptance and understanding while they battle their illness towards recovery. With or without their illness, they are still a part of our society. As fellow Singaporeans, they deserve just as much help as any other patient who is facing a terminal physical illness along with their caregiver.

This project report highlights the author’s thought processes and various challenges faced in the different phases of the project, such as basic research, actual photographing, and the production of a photo book and exhibition. It also includes his insights on the stigmatisation of mental illness in Singapore’s present-day society.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66687

Jafar Panahi: a conversation with humanity

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Author
Lee Kit Ying Evelyn

Supervisor
Assoc Prof Stephen Teo Kian Teck

Year
2016

Abstract
In recent times of great conflict and intolerance in the world, Jafar Panahi’s films, focusing on the human being in Iran, strips away the boundaries we construct that divide and distinguish one human being from another. An unfamiliar culture and distant place becomes a real experience for us, and one film at a time, Panahi continues his ongoing conversation with humanity, even as he faces difficult restraints within his home country. This dissertation, in honour of Jafar Panahi and Iranian cinema, is a conversation with humanity alike, drawing from various scholarships and sources without discriminating time and place, to compare and supplement Panahi’s view of Iran and the human being, his love for people and the streets they cross every day.

Click link to view
http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66856

Image Credit
Featured image Jafar Panahi by Flickr user Aslan Media. CC BY 2.0.

The Marvel cinematic universe: uncovering the secrets behind its big bang

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Author
Goh Si Han

Supervisor
Assoc Prof Stephen Teo Kian Teck

Year
2016

Abstract
Eight years since its inception, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become the highest-grossing film franchise worldwide in the history of film. While critics have attributed the franchise’s commercial success to the rise of the comic book movie genre, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s exceptional popularity in a market saturated with similar superhero competitors cannot be explained by genre alone. This paper argues that the franchise’s comparative advantage comes from its world-building processes constructing a complete and consistent world that assimilates genre signifiers without disturbing audiences’ conceptual immersion and that is structured for synergistic growth, ultimately leading to the diegetic world’s applications in audience engagement that ranges from the self-conscious management of audience expectations to the transmedia extension of cinematic audience engagement. Concurrently, this case study also demonstrates how world-building concepts can be integrated with an approach to film genre to derive a more effective approach to analysing contemporary blockbuster franchises as the industry shifts towards world-building practices.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66682

The phantom referent: perceptual realism in cinema

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Author
Aloysius Boh Chee Kai

Supervisor
Assoc Prof Stephen Teo Kian Teck

Project year
2016

Abstract
We live in an age where photorealistic objects in films do not necessarily have physical referents — look no further than the dinosaurs in Jurassic World (2015), and the wormhole in Interstellar (2014). Yet when people watch Jurassic World or Interstellar, their typical response is, “That looks so real!” This is an implicit attempt to locate real-world referents of the aforementioned cinematic objects. If we are to retain this persisting intuition that there is an indexical relationship between the photograph and the photographed object in the context of films, then a new type of referent has to be posited, called the “phantom referent”. This thesis offers an ontology of the phantom referent.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66858

The hidden scar: uncovering Singapore’s trauma preparedness

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Authors
Tiffany Goh Qi Qi, Steffi Koh Min Xuan, Amir Bin Yusof, Goh Rui Qi

Supervisor
Asst Prof Debbie Goh Pei Chin

Year
2016

Abstract
This is a feature writing project on how different sectors of Singapore’s society manage post-traumatic stress, and it looks into whether the country is psychologically prepared for crises. Collated into a feature magazine, the stories are split into three main segments, spanning from the preparation measures taken by nation to the social and legal challenges faced by trauma survivors. The stories are interspersed with snapshots showcasing healing options that trauma survivors turn to, aside from conventional psychotherapy and medication.

Click link to view 
http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66870

The caregiver crunch

mtan050

Authors
Rebecca Faith Iskandar Tjoa Shu Fei, Rahimah Beghum Bte Abdul Rashith

Supervisor
Asst Prof Debbie Goh Pei Chin

Year
2016

Abstract
An aging population without the caregivers to match. Singapore is ageing at an unprecedented rate. There is a lot of talk about letting the elderly lead a more dignified life but largely absent from the conversation are the people who support these seniors.

People who are not dying but still battle sickness around them each day. People who worry about the health of others as their own. People who are caregivers of the elderly. These are not the healthcare professionals who spend years in training but every day people who dedicate years of their lives to caring for their loved ones as age catches on. Caregivers are women, men, daughters, sons, in-laws, spouses, maids, friends, colleagues and family members, who are pillars of support in times of their loved ones’ old age. Yet, each faces unique hurdles in his or her circumstances.

Half a century of increasing life expectancy has spread the weight of caring for a growing number of elderly over the smaller families of today. Caregivers are stretched thin as family sizes shrink and some become the default choice as caregiver in the family. They can feel like a population abandoned— aching bodies, lost time, vanishing savings— they shoulder the burden of looking after their loved ones, ignoring the strain on their own backs. In return, they lose out at work, miss important social gatherings and worse, neglect their own needs.

As a modern society entrenched in conservative values, it has become shameful to ask for help. Ageing issues are kept behind closed doors even as families struggle to cope with caring for their elders.

In this research, the project team spoke to experts, counsellors and researchers, and gathered stories of caregivers who shared their trials and tribulations, strength and sorrows. Here are the stories.

Click link to view
http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66686

Lit nation

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Authors
Ng Li-Ting Andrea, Catherine Jane Nicholas, Nur Diyanah Binte Abdul Aziz, Smita Wee Shu Min

Supervisor
Asst Prof Debbie Goh Pei Chin

Year
2016

Abstract
The roots of literature in Singapore stretch back to the island’s colonial past, when it was used to teach students the values of their English colonial masters. When Singapore gained independence in 1965, there was less of a need to study such values, neither was there space for an art form seen to contribute little to the economic progress of pragmatic Singapore. Snuffed by society in its decades-long push for progress through math and the sciences, and by students for being a “hard to score” subject, literature’s place fell behind.

Yet, despite that, the literature scene has been quietly blooming on its own, with passionate characters doing their part to push literature further to the forefront of society and into the hearts of Singaporeans. This feature writing final year project thus seeks to explore the different characters in the close-knit Singapore literature scene as they work to keep literature alive in Singapore. All the while, overcoming the challenges of old and new times, particularly, the notorious enemy of the pen and paper – electronics and digital platforms.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66796

Uncaged: combat sports in Singapore

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Authors
Cynthia Choo Xin Le, Fiona Lam Ke Fang

Supervisor
Asst Prof Debbie Goh Pei Chin

Year
2016

Abstract
Uncaged is a journalism feature about combat sports in Singapore. It delves into the adrenaline-filled world of combat sports to uncover the revitalisation of traditional disciplines, the shattering of gender norms, the journey of elite Singapore fighters, the dangers of crash weight losses, the flourishing of related businesses, and the intricate planning that goes into organising fight extravaganzas.

Underneath Singapore’s sterile facade bubbles a rowdy, passionate community jostling for acceptance and official recognition. Made up of mostly youths and young working adults, the combat sport circle is expanding at an explosive rate in Singapore and making the move from niche to mainstream.
Not many sports are able to gather 10,000 paying spectators at the Singapore Indoor Stadium but mixed martial arts is one of them. The Singapore fight circuit is seeing multiple upward trends: more practitioners, more combat gyms, more competitions, more rising homegrown stars, and more global fight organisations setting up shop here. But along with the dizzying growth also comes uncharted waters which the fight community must navigate. Concerns over safety, health and injury are growing as inexperienced weekend warriors jump on the fight bandwagon without understanding how to protect themselves. Some combat sports also wrestle for official support, an uphill task due to Singapore’s focus on performance and the sports’ seemingly violent nature.

Click link to view
http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66848

Multiracialism: are we there yet?

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Authors
Nicole Chia Hui Ming, Ng Xiang Ting Charmaine, Ng Gewen Godwin, Constance Yeo Hui Ting

Supervisor
Asst Prof Debbie Goh Pei Chin

Year
2016

Abstract
This feature writing project is a culmination of stories on Singapore’s multiracialism and progress in achieving equality for all races. It is brought together by more than 60 interviews with individuals, experts, politicians and activists.

Throughout Singapore’s 50 years of independence, multiracialism has been one of the core tenets of the country’s governance, and has been continually emphasised by the government as a key to the country’s social stability and economic success. But recent stocktakes of interracial relationships among Singaporeans and notable pushback from minority races hint at room for improvement in racial relations. While the government has put in place measures to combat racial prejudice from surfacing in areas such as politics and public housing, stereotypes, prejudices and even discrimination still manifest among Singaporeans on the ground.

Through the themes of discrimination, representation and identity, this project looks at the state of interracial relations among students, teachers, colleagues and families. It highlights the types of racism experienced every day by minority races; the actions taken by activists to bring these issues to light in a society where talking about race is considered taboo; and the efforts by minority groups trying to assert their ethnic identity.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66859

融合与冲突：新多元化的挑战: Integration and conflict: challenges in the new multicultural Singapore

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Author
Liu Ting Ting

Supervisor
Prof Hao Xiaoming

Year
2016

Abstract
This is a Chinese language feature on immigration and integration policies in Singapore. The immigration and integration issue is one that is complex and difficult to unravel. Numerous government policies have been mooted and implemented to better integrate immigrants into Singapore society, to varying degrees of success.

Out of the many recent policies, none is perhaps as controversial as the Population White Paper of 2013 (National Population and Talent Division, 2013) which suggested amongst many things – that a population of 6.9 million is necessary for Singapore’s economy to remain competitive (National Population and Talent Division, 2013). The groundswell of opinions that arose from the incident solidified it as one of the most important events that highlighted the tension that existed between Singaporeans, new citizens and the migrant workforce. Incidents such as the Little India riot in the later part of the year and local protest against the Philippines Independence Day event, the following year, only served to further divide public opinion on the matter (Tan K. P., 2015).

While the mainstream media have addressed the issue of immigration and integration in the aftermath of these incidents, commentary of these incidents have often been single dimensional. News reports addressing immigration and integration concerns usually take on the format of a group of scholars discussing the issue alongside government officials (Lim, 2015). What these reports tend to overlook are the alternate voices that have found a platform and audience via social media. While these voices have a tendency to project controversial sentiments and/or populist ideas, what is undeniable is that these voices, together with the narratives supplied by the mainstream media form a collective opinion on the issues of immigration and integration (Chong, 2015).

It has been three years since the controversial Population White Paper and it is a good time to take stock of the various initiatives that have since taken place. Through the interviews with members of the academia, “controversial” figures and the “men/women-in-the-street”, the author collected a compilation of stories and ideas in an attempt to provide a clearer picture of the current challenges and issues surrounding immigration and integration, as well as point the way forward for the future.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66872

妳不再孤独-前女囚犯的重返社会旅程: She’s no longer alone: re-integration journey of female ex-offenders

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Authors
Choy Xin Ying, Lu Yawen

Supervisor
Prof Hao Xiaoming

Year
2016

Abstract
This is a Chinese journalism feature series on female ex-offenders in Singapore which focuses on the self, family and community effort in their rehabilitation journey. It explores the different challenges faced by female ex-offenders (as compared to male ex-offenders) in reintegrating into society successfully.

A series of features tells of how imprisonment changed an ex-offender’s attitude to life and how being employed played an important role in her reintegration journey (摆脱毒品 争得自由); how opportunities of employment through rehabilitation programmes helped ex-offenders get back on track (重回职场 自力更生); how family played different roles in two ex-offenders’ life and the relationship of incarcerated mothers and their children (为了家 不再回头); how volunteers provided ex-offenders with social support in their reintegration (义工故事: 让她们找回灵的归宿); how an ex-offender used her background to connect easily with other ex-offenders and the reasons behind her avid volunteering work (迷途知返 不再孤‘毒’).

Click link to view
http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66837