An analysis of Singapore’s aware case

Our case involves the women’s group Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), founded on 25 November 1985, which has proven itself to be a tireless long-term campaigner for women’s rights in Singapore. In this ‘AWARE case’, the executive committee of AWARE was surreptitiously taken over by fundamentalist Christian women from Church of Our Saviour at AWARE’s 28 March 2009 Annual General Meeting. In the second phase of this saga, the Extraordinary General Meeting on 2 May 2009 led to the secular ‘Old Guard’ recapturing AWARE and the Church of Our Saviour group being removed from power. This AWARE case shows the rise in power of fundamentalist Protestant Christianity within Singapore and its growing influence upon English-educated Chinese-Singaporeans. The fact that this upper middle-class demographic traditionally has supported the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) is probably one key reason why the government decided not to intervene in this particular case as part of ‘the more consultative style of government’ first introduced by former PM Goh Chok Tong. The PAP government’s non-intervention in the takeover and recapture is extremely significant given its past record of authoritarian micro-management of dissent and oppositional opinions. It suggests more freedom for some NGOs in the contemporary era of Lee Hsien Loong’s prime-ministership. Significantly, PAP may be splitting into ‘reformist’ and ‘hardline’ factions headed by, respectively, Lee Hsien Loong and the MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Mr Wong Kan Seng

Radioactive Source Localisation via Projective Linear Reconstruction

Radiation mapping, through the detection of ionising gamma-ray emissions, is an important technique used across the nuclear industry to characterise environments over a range of length scales. In complex scenarios, the precise localisation and activity of radiological sources becomes difficult to determine due to the inability to directly image gamma photon emissions. This is a result of the potentially unknown number of sources combined with uncertainties associated with the source-detector separation—causing an apparent ‘blurring’ of the as-detected radiation field relative to the true distribution. Accurate delimitation of distinct sources is important for decommissioning, waste processing, and homeland security. Therefore, methods for estimating the precise, ‘true’ solution from radiation mapping measurements are required. Herein is presented a computational method of enhanced radiological source localisation from scanning survey measurements conducted with a robotic arm. The procedure uses an experimentally derived Detector Response Function (DRF) to perform a randomised-Kaczmarz deconvolution from robotically acquired radiation field measurements. The performance of the process is assessed on radiation maps obtained from a series of emulated waste processing scenarios. The results demonstrate a Projective Linear Reconstruction (PLR) algorithm can successfully locate a series of point sources to within 2 cm of the true locations, corresponding to resolution enhancements of between 5× and 10×

Radiological Mapping of Post-disaster Nuclear Environments Using Fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Systems:A Study from Chernobyl

In the immediate aftermath following a large-scale release of radioactive material into the environment, it is necessary to determine the spatial distribution of radioactivity quickly. At present, this is conducted by utilizing manned aircraft equipped with large-volume radiation detection systems. Whilst these are capable of mapping large areas quickly, they suffer from a low spatial resolution due to the operating altitude of the aircraft. They are also expensive to deploy and their manned nature means that the operators are still at risk of exposure to potentially harmful ionizing radiation. Previous studies have identified the feasibility of utilizing unmanned aerial systems (UASs) in monitoring radiation in post-disaster environments. However, the majority of these systems suffer from a limited range or are too heavy to be easily integrated into regulatory restrictions that exist on the deployment of UASs worldwide. This study presents a new radiation mapping UAS based on a lightweight (8 kg) fixed-wing unmanned aircraft and tests its suitability to mapping post-disaster radiation in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ). The system is capable of continuous flight for more than 1 h and can resolve small scale changes in dose-rate in high resolution (sub-20 m). It is envisaged that with some minor development, these systems could be utilized to map large areas of hazardous land without exposing a single operator to a harmful dose of ionizing radiation

Catholicism and alcoholism: the Irish diaspora lived ethics of the Dropkick Murphys punk band

This paper discusses the contemporary Irish-American punk band, the Dropkick Murphys, and in particular the band‘s most recent studio album 2007s The Meanest of Times. We find that the band‘s resurgent Irish nationalism is both uniquely a product of the Irish Diaspora, and, although the band might be unwilling to admit it, American culture and its self-confident jingoistic patriotism. The band‘s attitude to Roman Catholicism is, in Sartre‘s (2003) words, a unique synthesis of facticity and transcendence in that they acknowledge its reality as a shadow overhanging both their pasts and their presents. However, the band seems to go beyond simply acknowledging its spectre by adopting, expressing, and/or reflecting some degree of religious faith themselves without going so far as to be clearly a 'Catholic band‘ like, for example, the Priests. The shadow of a religious culture, and some degree of actual religious belief set the backdrop for and indeed inspire the band‘s world-weary tales of urban alienation, family breakdown, and brotherly affection; complex, metaphysical accounts of a culture imbedded in Diaspora. Yet, due to their status as a punk band, the Dropkick Murphys render this attendant religious metaphysic eminently graspable by de-mythologising it. In particular, the band explores what 1970s punk journalist Caroline Coon described as ‗personal politics‘ sharing this with other ‗postmodern‘ contemporary punk bands NOFX (see James 2010) and the Offspring as well as their predecessors such as the Sex Pistols. Through our ethnomusicological reading of The Meanest of Times (2007) they remind us that it is equally important to understand the experience of migrant security, Diasporic or otherwise, as oscillating between what Giddens (1991) termed 'ontological security‘ and 'existential anxiety‘ alongside geo-political readings of the same phenomenon

Poverty in paradise city: when the jester has a broken heart

Via detailed personal interviews, this paper canvasses the views of leading Singapore opposition politicians and grassroots activists about poverty and income inequality in Singapore society. The role of opposition internet activism is also explored. Semi-structured personal and group interviews, with politicians and grassroots activists; literature search; and attendance at opposition party functions. The opposition in general and Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and National Solidarity Party (NSP) in particular have repeatedly highlighted the growing income inequality and poverty in the country. Pictures in the SDP’s promotional literature skillfully and dialectically present wealth and poverty in Singapore within the same pictorial image. Interviewees speak of the Dickensian living conditions in the one-room rental flats in Bukit Merah, just a taxi ride from Changi Airport, in the Minister Mentor Harry Lee Kuan Yew’s constituency of Tanjong Pagar GRC. The SDP’s Alternative Economic Programme It’s about You (2010) utlines the Party’s proposals for minimum wage and unemployment insurance. The researchers obtain direct and personal access to Singapore’s grassroots opposition community, including people that are not party leaders and who are difficult to access. The views of this community have rarely been heard because of the Singapore Government’s hegemonic control of mainstream media within the country

The rejuvenation of the NSP and the rebranding of the SDP: conversations with Singapore's Opposition politicians

Via detailed personal interviews, this paper canvasses the views of leading Singapore oppositional grassroots activists about the state of play in Singapore politics and likely developments over the next ten to fifteen years. We focus on two activists who are internet-focused and who have recently switched political parties. Although still strong poll performers in 2011, the Workers’ Party of Singapore (WP) has lost three important members from its 2006 campaign – Chia Ti Lik, Goh Meng Seng, and James Gomez. In this paper Goh and Gomez reflect upon their reasons for leaving WP. Goh points to the lack of emphasis placed by the WP upon internet activism which he views as a strategic error. In one key respect Gomez differs significantly in strategy from Goh, arguing that the latter’s Malay Bureau within the National Solidarity Party (NSP) reflects outdated, old-school politics which can be contrasted sharply with Gomez' Singapore Democratic Party’s (SDP) post-modern multicultural ethos