The Rationale for Visual Arts Education in Singapore: Analysis of Policies and Opinions

Abstract This thesis focuses on the rationale for visual arts education in the context of Singapore. It does so by examining key policy documents and interviewing key stakeholders. In the mid 1960s, Singapore was separated from the Federal of Malaya, leaving the country in uncertainty because of the lack of natural resources. Also the withdrawal of the British colony had left the Singapore economy in turmoil. The only pragmatic solution for the government was to resort to human capital to develop the economy, which mainly centred on promoting science, engineering, commerce and technology learning. Mathematics and science were given the highest priority as these subjects offered skills that were desirable for the economy. In the 1990s, the government realised that for the Singapore economy to continue to grow steadily, foreign talent would play a crucial role. One way to attract these talents was to develop Singapore into a vibrant arts and cultural scene. The government began to pay attention to arts education as it was felt that the arts could offer skills for potential cultural manpower to contribute in the cultural industry for the purpose of enticing talents to work, live and contribute to the Singapore economy. There has therefore been a shift in attitudes to the arts. The conflicting interests motivated me to seek to establish the rationale for visual arts education in Singapore. The research was carried out using two research methods: documentary analysis to examine key documents pertaining to the Ministry of Education (MOE) arts syllabuses and Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) reports and qualitative interviews to seek the views of the art teachers, arts scholars/academics and policy makers. The research findings show that the rationale for visual arts education is related to three broad areas: (i) the development of personal developmental skills (ii) the development of ‘extended logic’, ‘self-confidence’ and ‘art history’ (iii) the contribution to the cultural and creative economy. These three areas at first appear to be in conflict but are in fact inter-connected. The thesis makes recommendations for the coherent presentation of arts policy in Singapore

A moderating effect of leadership and innovation on the relationship between product development, diversification and market development with the business growth performance of mature organisations: Critical instance case study of a flavour business of food industry in Malaysia.

This research was aimed at two key areas: (1) whether the business development strategies of product development, diversification and market development drive business growth performance; (2) whether leadership and innovation are main drivers for product development, diversification and market development to drive business growth performance. A flavour business in the food industry of Malaysia for one of the top 10 global flavour industry leaders was selected for the critical instance case study in this research. This flavour organisation in Malaysia was named as GFM. Exploratory sequential mixed-method approach was applied in this research where an email interview was conducted for the exploratory primary qualitative data collection first, then an online survey was created based on the qualitative data analysis of the email interview for the explanatory primary data collection and quantitative data analysis to test the hypothesized theoretical framework. Pragmatism was used as the research philosophy and radical structuralist was used as the research paradigm in this research. Findings from this research confirmed diversification (independent variable) drove business growth performance (dependent variable), while leadership (moderating variable) was the main driver strengthening diversification for higher success rate to lead for the stronger business growth performance. Today, many studies reveal the importance of business growth for the survival and future successes of mature organisations in the current turbulent, hyper-competitive and complex business environment especially when facing a catastrophic business crisis. Many studies show different drivers that can help to foster the success rate of different business development strategies for driving business growth performance. However, there are limited studies existed to link and explain the relationship between the business development strategies of product development, diversification and market development with the business growth performance of mature organisations, and the moderating effect of the drivers of leadership and innovation on the relationship between product development, diversification and market development with the business growth performance of mature organisations. Those limitations can be the factors why today there are less than 20% of organisations in worldwide are successful in new business developments for business growth, over 50% of new ventures fail within five years and about one-third of all new organisations fail within the first few years of operation in business developments, while another significant percentage fail within four years. Findings from this research which includes a new generated and verified research model of business growth performance and the real case study of GFM eventually will contribute for closing the research gaps, and will be significant and beneficial to mature organisations from different industries as they will be able to learn and apply those findings in their real-life business challenges, and their business plan design, implement and execution, leading for successful diversification to drive business growth for the business resilience and further growth for survival and future successes

Synthesis, characterizations and applications of metal-oxide nanostructures

Master'sMASTER OF SCIENC

The Durability Properties And Mechanical Strength Performance Of Coal Ash Hybrid Geopolymeric Composite

Pengunaan Portland simen dalam penghasilan konkrit semakin meningkat dalam industri pembinaan. Pada masa yang sama, prestasi simen juga menghadapi pelbagai cabaran seperti memerlukan kekuatan yang tinggi, ketahanan yang baik dan sebagainya. Oleh itu, bahan binaan geopolimer telah digunakan untuk mengatasi caraban-cabaran teknikal ini. Kajian eksperimen ini dijalankan untuk mengaji sifat-sifat fizikal dan kimia seperti prestasi ketahanlasakan dan kekuatan mekanikal mortar yang mengandungi Bahan binaan seperti sanga daripada penghasilan besi iaitu GGBS dan sisa habuk daripada pembakaran arang batu iaitu PFA bersamaan aktivasi beralkali daripada simen Portland yang mengandungi batu kapur yang tinggi. Dengan proses aktivasi penggilingan selama 2 jam di antara PFA dan GGBS dalam pengisar bola besi selama dua jam, keputusan kajian ini menunjukan sebanyak 50-60% kandungan simen Portland batu kapur dicampurkan dalam penghasilan mortar, prestasi mortar dari segi mekanikal and ketahanan dapat dipertingkatkan sekiranya berbanding dengan sampel mortar kawalan iaitu mortar yang mengandungi 100% simen Portland dan mortar yang mengandungi 100% bahan hibridan sanga dan abu arang batu. Penyelidikan ini menunjukkan bahawa mortar yang mengandungi 60% simen Portland batu kapur, 32% GGBS dan 8% PFA dapat menunjukkan kekuatan sebanyak 19% pada 7 hari and 34% pada 90 hari lebih tinggi dalam kekuatan mekanik sekiranya berbanding dengan sampel mortar kawalan 100% simen Portland batu kapur. The utilization of Portland cement in concrete production is increasing. At the same time, the performance of Portland cement poses different kind of challenges such as high mechanical strength and good durability performance. Thus, geopolymeric material has been incorporated to overcome these technical challenges. The experimental investigation was conducted to characterize physical and chemical properties of hybrid geopolymer binder material which consist of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and pulverised fuel ash (PFA) with the activation of Portland limestone cement (PLC) in different aspect such mechanical strength, durability performance and dimensional stability. By the process inter-grinding of 2 hours duration, it shows that with the inclusion of 50-60% of PLC in the production of mortar, the mechanical and durability performance of mortar mix was found to be exceptionally better as compared to both control mortar mixes produced using 100% PLC and 100% of geopolymeric binder material. The hybrid matrix of cement and geopolymer with the ratio of 60% PLC, 32% of GGBS and 8% of PFA shows improvement of 19% at 7 days and up to 34% at 90 days of increment in compressive strength as compared to control mix with only PLC

Hu Shi: A Chinese pragmatist and reformist.

The name Hu Shi (1891-1962) would inevitable arise in the minds of scholars and students of Chinese intellectual history who wish to trace the development of Chinese modern thinking which encompasses such ideas as scientific attitude, democracy, cultural criticism and freedom of speech. Although studies on Hu are quite abundant, it is obvious that more profound research has yet to be done, especially since a prodigious amount of primary sources has appeared in recent years. This dissertation has three objectives: (1) to show that Hu's thought was more complicated than had been reviewed, (2) to analyse the contribution and limitation of his Pragmatic approach to Chinese scholarship and politics; (3) to explore the dilemmas and mental tensions of Hu both as a intellectual and a scholar. My study will first provide a brief account of Hu's education in China and in America with emphasis on Hu's adoption of Pragmatism. Then I shall recount how Hu spearheaded the New Cultural Movement by his application of Pragmatic and scientific approaches to the Literary Revolution and the reform of Chinese scholarship. The "scientism" in Hu's thought is illustrated in Chapter III, which will be followed by a discussion on Hu's predicament in his effort to integrate the concept of "use" (yong) of Chinese classical philosophy into his Pragmatism and how he used "scientific method" as an excuse to justify his textual research. I shall also argue that although Hu was apparently a leading advocator of Westernisation, he was indeed profoundly imbued in Chinese philosophical legacy. The last two chapters will focus on Hu's dilemmas as a political critic and the ideological conflicts between his political stand and that of Chinese Communists and explain why the conflict could be said to be part of the definition of Pragmatism. Nevertheless, my study will attempt to prove that, ultimately, Hu's career as scholar and thinker was determined by the course of modern Chinese history that was beyond his capability to alter

Amplitude-only measurements of a dual open ended coaxial sensor system for determination of complex permittivity of materials

This paper describes a novel permittivity measurement technique using dual open ended coaxial sensors. The magnitudes of the reflection coefficient from two open ended coaxial sensors were used to determine complex reflection coefficients and permittivity of a sample under test

An Under-recognised Rare Purple Urine Bag Syndrome

CASE DIAGNOSIS: Purple Urine Bag Syndrome (PUBS) CASE DESCRIPTION: We report an under- recognised PUBS in a 69-year-old male nursing home resident who has underlying brainstem cavernoma and PUBS risk factors of chronic urinary catheterisation and constipation. During his hospital follow-up, he raised concern of mental disturbance by his purplish urinary bag appearance which was suggestive of PUBS. Prior to hospital visit, he had sought treatment from a clinic whereby he was misdiagnosed as due to food dye. He had developed suprapubic pain and low-grade fever during hospital visit and treated as symptomatic PUBS. His urinary catheter and bag were changed. He was empirically prescribed on oral co-amoxiclav antibiotic for one week as per local guideline and stool softener to aid bowel evacuation. Urinalysis showed urinary tract infection (UTI) picture with urine culture grew Proteus mirabilis which was sensitive to oral co-amoxiclav. His symptomatic PUBS resolved after two days of antibiotic initiation. DISCUSSION: PUBS is a rare manifestation of UTI whereby urinary bag and catheter turn purplish which can be mentally disturbing. PUBS is a spot diagnosis to a keen-eye clinician, but PUBS may be overlooked by unaware clinician. Often described as benign, PUBS can however cause life-threatening complications like urosepsis. PUBS has been reported to occur predominantly among chronic disabling people in nursing or rehabilitation facilities. PUBS risk factors include female gender, constipation, and chronic indwelling urinary catheterisation. Asymptomatic PUBS management should aim at mitigating risk factors; regularly change of urinary bag and avoid constipation. Treatment of symptomatic PUBS involves appropriate antibiotic. Reassurance of PUBS natural course can ease patient’s mental distress. CONCLUSION: As the world is rapidly aging, nursing and rehabilitation facilities will proliferate with increasing population with chronic catheterisation and at risk for PUBS. Thus, this case report aims to increase awareness of PUBS for optimal prevention and management

Gamma irradiation of corn starches with different amylose-to-amylopectin ratio

Corn starches with different amylose-to-amylopectin ratio (waxy, normal, Hylon V, and Hylon VII) were treated with five doses of gamma irradiation (1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 kGy). The effects of gamma irradiation on the physicochemical properties of starch samples were investigated. Waxy samples showed an increase of amylose-like fractions when irradiated at 10 kGy. The reduction in apparent amylose content increased with amylose content when underwent irradiation at 25 and 50 kGy. Low amylose starches lost their pasting ability when irradiated at 25 and 50 kGy. Results from thermal behavior and pasting profile suggested that low level of cross-linking occurred in Hylon VII samples irradiated at 5 kGy. Severe reduction in pasting properties, gelatinization temperatures and relative crystallinity with increasing irradiation intensity revealed that waxy samples were affected more by gamma irradiation; this also indicated amylopectin was the starch fraction most affected by gamma irradiation. Alteration level was portrayed differently when different kind of physicochemical properties were investigated, in which the pasting properties and crystallinity of starches were more immensely influenced by gamma irradiation while thermal behavior was less affected. Despite the irradiation level, the morphology and crystal pattern of starch granules were found remain unchanged by irradiation

Preparation and characterization of polysulfone membrane coated with poly(ether block amide) for oxygen enrichment process

Oxygen enriched air (OEA) is widely applied in various areas such as chemical and medical applications. Currently, cryogenic distillation and pressure swing adsorption are the two common technologies that being commercially used for the production of OEA. However, these two techniques are not economically favorable due to required intensive energy and large built-up area. With the advancement of membrane technology in separation process, it garners the interest from both industrial and academic to explore the feasibility of membrane in gas separation. In this study, polysulfone (PSF) hollow fiber membranes with poly(ether block amide) (PEBAX) coating were used for the separation of O2/N2 gas. The hollow fiber membranes used in this work were fabricated by phase inversion spinning process using PSF pellet, along with N,Ndimetyhlacetamide (DMAc) and ethanol (EtOH) as solvent and co-solvent, whereas tetrahydrofuran (THF) as additive. The fabricated membrane exhibited dense structure in the inner layer whereas finger like layer at the outer surface. The formation of this structure was attributed by rapid phase inversion of the solution arose from strong solvent used. The EDX surface mapping analysis confirmed the formation of PEBAX coating on the membrane surface. Gas permeation study in this work illustrated that the pristine PSF membrane exhibited better gas separation performance relative to the PEBAX coated membrane with 20% higher in terms of permeance. The results obtained from this work suggested that the PEBAX coating enhanced the membrane surface but not certain to improve the gas separation performance. Further study on the PEBAX materials for the membrane coating is essential to polish its potential in gas separation

p53-Dependent Transcriptional Responses to Interleukin-3 Signaling

p53 is critical in the normal response to a variety of cellular stresses including DNA damage and loss of p53 function is a common feature of many cancers. In hematological malignancies, p53 deletion is less common than in solid malignancies but is associated with poor prognosis and resistance to chemotherapy. Compared to their wild-type (WT) counterparts, hematopoietic progenitor cells lacking p53 have a greater propensity to survive cytokine loss, in part, due to the failure to transcribe Puma, a proapoptotic Bcl-2 family member. Using expression arrays, we have further characterized the differences that distinguish p53−/− cells from WT myeloid cells in the presence of Interleukin-3 (IL-3) to determine if such differences contribute to the increased clonogenicity and survival responses observed in p53−/− cells. We show that p53−/− cells have a deregulated intracellular signaling environment and display a more rapid and sustained response to IL-3. This was accompanied by an increase in active ERK1/2 and a dependence on an intact MAP kinase signaling pathway. Contrastingly, we find that p53−/− cells are independent on AKT for their survival. Thus, loss of p53 in myeloid cells results in an altered transcriptional and kinase signaling environment that favors enhanced cytokine signaling