B e y o n d the K n o w n Terrain: Sociology in Singapore S~LtA R. QuArI

As the twenty-first c e n t u r y approaches, it is o p p o r t u n e to assess h o w m u c h sociology has advanced during the past five decades, b e y o n d the k n o w n terrain of its W e s t e r n origins. The seeds of sociological t hought w e r e first pl ant ed in Europe in the e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y and e x p a n d e d w e s t w a r d on the n o r t h e r n h e m i s p h e r e during the s e c ond half of the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y and the first half of the twen tieth . These W e s t e r n roots and early pat h of e x p a n s i o n of sociology are u n co n tr o v er si al historical facts of the discipline's origins, w i t h t w o interesting e x c e p t i o n s . One e x c e p t i o n is r e p r e s e n t e d by the f o u r t e e n t h c e n t u r y Tunisian scholar Abdel Rahman Ibn-Khaldun whose work included "sociological thought and historical observation" (Ritzer, 1992:8). The o t h e r e x c e p t i o n is the introduction of sociology into Japan in the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y t o g e t h e r with some asp e c t s of W e s t e r n philosophy. Sociology b e c a m e "a part of the formal c u r r i c u l u m at T o k y o Imperial University," the oldest university in Japan, in 1881 (Kosaka, 1994:iv-v). After the Second World War, the expansi on of sociology took on a faster pace, moving East and engaging the Southern hemisphere. In Asia, the American p r e s e n c e was decisive to the rapid g r o w t h of sociology in universities in Japan and the Philippines. But in f o r m e r British colonies such as Singapore, Malaysia and India, the universities followed the British system of e d u c a t i o n and sociology was i n t r o d u c e d with a distinct European flavor. This article focuses on Singapore, a p r o s p e r i n g city-state 1 with a challenging c o m b i n a t i o n of tradition and mo d er n ity , striving to attain the culture of Athens with the d e t e r m i n a t i o n of Sparta 2 and a multi-ethnic league of mandarins at the helm. The s co p e o f this discussion is d e m a r c a t e d by t hree questions: (1) What do sociologists do in Singapore? (2) Are t h e social norms of sociology as a social science followed? and (3) What are the structures of o p p o r t u n i t y for sociology in Singapore? These t hr e e questions are not exhaustive but, based as t hey are on key c o n c e p t s from the sociology of knowledge, t hey c o v e r the internal and external dimensions of the discipline in a m a n n e r that facilitates cross-cultural Stella R. Quah is an associate professor, Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, SINGAPORE 0511. 88

The American Sociologist/Winter 1995

comparison. While the emphasis will be on the situation of sociology in the 1990s, I will begin with a brief historical background that will help to explain the current stage of d e v e l o p m e n t of the discipline in Singapore. A Historical Note

Sociology was formally introduced to Singapore in 1965 w h e n the first (and thus far t h e only) Department of Sociology was established within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Singapore ( n o w the National University of Singapore). A British professor was appointed as Head of the n e w department with a faculty of one (a lecturer on loan from another department), a secretary, and an office messenger. By 1969, the department had five more faculty members: t w o anthropologists (one British, one American), and three sociologists (two Americans and one Asian, from Pakistan). The multinational and bidisciplinary composition of the sociology faculty during those early years delineated three features of the d e v e l o p m e n t of sociology in Singapore that persist today. First, the department has represented consistently the institutional base of sociology and the intellectual "home" to the majority of sociologists with doctoral degrees working in Singapore. Second, given the international training of the faculty, 3 sociology students are nurtured by the combined influence of European and American styles. Third, a close relationship has b e e n established b e t w e e n sociology and anthropology as the Department of Sociology has h o u s e d the t w o disciplines under one roof from the outset. Still, as the department's name indicates, sociology has been the predominant discipline in terms of courses offered (for example, 25 sociology courses out of 32 in 1995) and n u m b e r of faculty (25 sociologists in a faculty of 31 in 1995). In contrast to these three constant features, three significant aspects have changed radically since the department was set up thirty years ago: the combination of local and foreign faculty, the n u m b e r of courses offered, and student enrollment. On the combination of local and foreign expertise, there w e r e no Singaporeans in the department's faculty from its creation in 1965 to 1975. The first Singaporean with a Ph.D. in sociology joined the faculty of eight in 1975. T w e n t y years hence, the department has 31 faculty members, 16 of w h o m are Singaporeans. Building up local faculty is a long process as a first year undergraduate student may take b e t w e e n ten and twelve years to get the Ph.D. degree. The university set up the Senior Tutorship Scheme 4 (STS) in the early 1980s to support this endeavor. By 1995, the STS has contributed five of the sixteen local faculty members, with another three currently completing the doctorate degree in American universities. If one thinks of the sociologists in the group that formed the departments' faculty during its first fifteen years of existence as the first generation of sociologists, then t w o other generations have b e e n trained over the past fifteen years. 5 The second generation is made up of seven of the pioneers' former students w h o b e c a m e part of the faculty after obtaining their Ph.D.s. Seven of the latter's students form the third generation of faculty members today, five of w h o m w e r e sponsored by the STS.

Quah

89

The t w o other major changes since 1965 concern the n u m b e r of courses offered and student enrollment. The first academic year c o m m e n c e d in 1966 offering three courses on basic sociology and anthropology; 174 students 6 sat for the first final examination in sociology. The discipline has g r o w n steadily over the past thirty years. For the academic year 1994-1995, 32 courses are offered for the four-year Bachelor (Honours) degree. These courses cover the major areas of sociology (for example, theory, methodology, industrial sociology, social stratification, social psychology, urban sociology, sociology of education, family, deviance, ethnic relations, organizations, professions, language and communication, development and social change). The department also awards Master and Ph.D. degrees. Student enrollment has increased significantly since the first batch of 174 students took the first-year sociology course in 1966. In 1994, there were over one thousand students taking sociology courses from the first to the fourth year levels. Areas of W o r k

What do sociologists do in Singapore? To answer this question one needs to examine five areas of their work, namely, the main theoretical perspectives taken by sociologists in their published work; the type of sociological problems they investigate; the main methodological approaches they follow; the available avenues of dissemination of their research findings; and their main areas of professional activity. The analysis of four of these five areas of work (theoretical perspectives, sociological problems investigated, methodological approaches, and avenues of dissemination) is based on the department's faculty publications from 1990 to 1994. The rationale for the selection of the 1990-1994 publications as the data base for this analysis is three-fold: the faculty's publications constitute a reliable and verifiable set of material for analysis; the current state of sociology is best portrayed by the latest w o r k p r o d u c e d but a period of five years is likely to be more representative of a sociologist's scholarly output than a single year's publications; and, considering that some people do not publish every year, a fiveyear range captures a w i d e r n u m b e r of authors than a single-year selection. 7

M a i n Theoretical Perspectives The analysis of theoretical perspectives requires an international outlook. Three trends may be discerned in the state of sociological theory worldwide: dissension and conflict among sociologists from a variety of theoretical and ideological persuasions; a g e n e r a l - - b u t not a b s o l u t e - - a g r e e m e n t on the right of dissenting theoretical perspectives to coexist; and the a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t of close links b e t w e e n theoretical concerns and research methodology (Quah, 1993a). The same trends are evident in the work of sociologists in Singapore. Given the international training of the faculty, it is not surprising that the dissension

90

The American Sociologist/Winter 1995

on theoretical approaches characterizing sociology w o r l d w i d e is also found in Singapore. The corpus of sociological w o r k published by the faculty from 1990 to 1994 exhibits a division in theoretical perspectives similar to the rough dic h o t o m y found in North America and Europe b e t w e e n mainstream sociology and critical sociology (including phenomenology, e t h n o m e t h o d o l o g y and feminist theory). Only a minority--four a u t h o r s m a d o p t the perspectives of phenomenology and e t h n o m e t h o d o l o g y in most of their w o r k and one adopts the feminist ideology, s The majority of sociologists in Singapore make the effort to analyze their research subject conceptually within the realm of mainstream sociology although, as e x p e c t e d , there is no consensus on what are the best theoretical perspectives. The mainstream authors address their w o r k implicitly or explicitly to the ideas of classical and contemporary theorists and to sociological c o n c e p t s from an array of conceptual frameworks including interactionalist theory, role theory, neofunctionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interaction, and others. However, a c o m m o n feature throughout the publications studied is that the discussion and analysis of the subject matter remains at the level of empirical generalizations and tends to be centered on the building blocks of theory rather than on the construction of theoretical frameworks. There are no major contributions to general sociological theory in the body of w o r k under study. Still, it is evident from these publications that much effort is made to dissect, reformulate and test old and n e w c o n c e p t s and conceptual propositions empirically. In this sense, sociologists in Singapore are contributing to the g r o w t h of sociological knowledge. This is indeed the pattern of the bulk of sociological w o r k around the world (North America and Europe included), considering that outstanding theorists are f e w and far b e t w e e n in the history of sociology. Another interesting comparison with w o r l d w i d e trends may b e made on the inclination of sociologists following different theoretical orientations "to v i e w each other with suspicion, if not a c r i m o n y . . . [and] . . . lob insults and criticisms at each other" (Turner, 1990:395). Jonathan Turner sees this as a serious obstacle to theoretical integration in sociology. The same destructive attitude has b e e n lamented by other c o n c e r n e d sociologists (Ritzer, 1975; Smelser, 1988). The Singapore scene presents this issue in a different manner. Emulating the confrontational style of their counterparts in Europe and North America, the f e w authors w h o use p h e n o m e n o l o g y and e t h n o m e t h o d o l o g y in their w o r k justify their positions by attacking other theoretical perspectives. In contrast, mainstream sociologists in Singapore present and explain their choice of conceptual and methodological approaches by highlighting the merits of those approaches and their relevance to the subject matter of their investigation. Mainstream authors usually c o n c e n t r a t e on the critical discussion of alternative c o n c e p t u a l and methodological approaches, but none mentioned e t h n o m e t h o d o l o g y or phenomenology. Thus, the majority of sociologists in Singapore appear to agree with Turner's (1990:389) view that these critical sociology approaches are "something to be ignored."

Quah

91

Sociological Problems Investigated A wide variety of research problems were covered in the body of publications from 1990 to 1994. They ranged from macrolevel issues such as housing, nationbuilding and family policy, to microlevel studies of biographies and w o r k stress. The overall picture of the range of research topics is presented in Table 1 w h e r e the 116 publications in this study are presented according to sociological field and type of authorship. The descending order of these fields follows their respective n u m b e r of publications. The most active field of research is ethnic relations with 21 of the 116 publications dealing with ethnicity and related aspects such as ethnic groups' migration and adaptation, ethnic values and culture. The attraction of ethnic relations as a subject of research is understandable in Singapore given the multiethnic composition of Singapore's population and the relevance of ethnic harmony to the country's political and socioeconomic stability. With the exception of ethnic relations, the ranking of the other research fields does not reflect their relative importance as social issues in Singapore. Being an industrialized urban metropolis reaching global city status, more publications on aspects of urban and industrial sociology would be expected, but their numbers are lower than those in social stratification, family sociology and political sociology. One possible reason for the difference in the n u m b e r of publications across research fields is the n u m b e r of sociologists specializing in each field. While there are eight authors working regularly on ethnic relations and six on social stratification, only two of five authors in family sociology publish regularly on this field. Similarly, there are only three authors doing research on industrial sociology; two on urban sociology, and two on medical sociology. The other sociology fields have one or at the most two active researchers each. The other possible reason for the variation in n u m b e r of publications is that each scholar may differ in the emphasis given to publishing as o p p o s e d to other professional activities. This is a universal trait and Singapore is not an exception. Accordingly, the average n u m b e r of publications per author for the period 1990-1994 was 4.4 publications, but there was a large variation in the actual n u m b e r of publications contributed by each individual (standard deviation -- 4.578). Table 1 also suggests a general preference for sole authorship in all research fields with the exception of publications on religion, w h i c h include the collaboration b e t w e e n sociologists and anthropologists. This collaboration is also found in some of the studies on ethnic relations. A related feature is the range of interests of sociologists in Singapore. Although there is a t e n d e n c y towards specialization in one field, it is c o m m o n to be involved in more than one area of sociology given that the n u m b e r of sociologists in Singapore, as in most Third World countries, is small compared to the potential and actual research themes that require investigation (Quah, 1993c).

92

The American Sociologist/Winter 1995

TABLE 1 Publications by Field of Sociological Research and Type of Authorship, Singapore, 1990-19941

Research Field

Sole Authorship

Joint Authorship

Total

15

6

21

2. Social stratification, occupations & professions

9

6

15

3. Sociology of the family (including gender issues)

9

4

12

4. Political sociology

9

1

10

5. Urban sociology

8

-

8

6. Sociology of knowledge and science

7

1

8

7. Sociology of health (medical sociology)

7

-

7

8. Industrial sociology (sociology of work)

2

4

6

9. Crime and deviance

3

1

4

4

4

11

1

13

8

-

8

88

28

116

1. Ethnic relations (migration, adaptation, values)

10.Religi0n 11 .Other~ 12.Anthropology All fields

1. Figures refer to 116 publications p r o d u c e d by the sociology faculty from 1990 to 1994. 2. This group includes topics with less than four publications each: historical sociology, fashion, sexuality, language, stress, and theory.

Quah

93

Main Methodological Approaches Methodological approaches applied by sociologists in Singapore--as demonstrated by the set of 116 publications studied h e r e - - c o v e r the full range of possibilities found in international sociology, although some approaches are more popular than others. The general inclination, however, is towards a combination of historical, quantitative and qualitative approaches. Examples of this variety of approaches are: research designs based on case studies and survey techniques with large representative samples, or a combination of both; m e t h o d s of data collection such as oral and written historical records, biographic studies, ind e p t h case studies, and structured interviews; and methods of data analysis ranging from the qualitative (such as critical content analysis, interpretive narrative, and ethnography) to the quantitative (including analysis of census data, nonparametric and parametric statistics, analysis of variance, regression, automatic interaction detection (or CHAID), path analysis, and factor analysi s, among others).

Avenues of Dissemination of Research Findings The Department of Sociology has t w o regular publications. One is the Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science that has been in circulation for the past twenty-two years. The other publication is the Sociology Working Papers Series that began in 1972 and has p r o d u c e d 123 papers thus far. However, these are not the only or even the main outlets for sociology w o r k p r o d u c e d locally. Sociologists and other social scientists in Singapore have one important advantage over their counterparts in other Third World countries: the advantage of proficiency in the English language. English is one of the four official languages in Singapore and it is the medium of instruction in tertiary education institutions. Moreover, all the sociologists with doctorate degrees in Singapore have c o m p l e t e d their postgraduate training in English-medium institutions and have lived for some years in English-speaking countries. Their c o m m a n d of this international language gives sociologists direct access to information on publishers and professional journals in their respective fields of interest as well as enhances the probability of writing manuscripts in the style set by international standards. They can concentrate on the quality of their ideas and on the substance of their papers w i t h o u t being distracted by language difficulties. Thus, the array of publication outlets for sociologists working in Singapore is wide, as suggested by the 116 publications studied here. Half of them have b e e n published locally, 9 and one third of them have been published in North America and Europe, 1~ while the rest have appeared in sociology and social science journals in other Asian countries.

Areas of Professional Activity As indicated earlier, the overwhelming majority of sociologists with Ph.D. degrees in Singapore are employed as faculty members of the Department of

94

The American Sociologist/Winter 1995

Sociology at the National University of Singapore. For them, teaching is a fundamental part of their contractual obligations. As a rough indication, in a regular 44-hour week, from 75 to 80 percent of the time would be dedicated to teaching (including class preparation and student consultation), and about 20 to 25 percent of the time to research and consultation. While teaching is very important, research cannot be neglected because research output (publications), constitutes an important criterion for promotion, among other things. Research is usually linked, directly or indirectly, to professional consultation activities. The areas of consultation for sociologists in Singapore are primarily, but not exclusively, in the public sector and pertain to such areas as public housing, environmental problems, health care provision, medical ethics, family policy, c o m m u n i t y organizations, industrial automation, labour productivity, and mass media. While these areas of consultation apply to sociologists teaching in the two universities, it it is difficult to ascertain the specific areas of consultation of sociologists with Ph.D. degrees working outside the university setting because there are no figures on the total number of sociologists w i t h Ph.D. degrees working in Singapore. ~2 The Social Norms of Sociology The second main question guiding this discussion is: Are the social norms of sociology as a social science followed? This question refers to one of two types of norms encompassing the ethos of science (Zuckerman, 1988). One type refers to the importance of adequate and reliable empirical evidence and logical consistency as a "prerequisite for systematic and valid prediction." This type of norm has been the bone of contention of phenomenology and ethnomethodology. This position has its representatives in Singapore, as indicated earlier. Nevertheless, the majority of sociologists in Singapore reflect in their publications their acceptance of this type of norm. Most authors refer to the need for empirical verification of assumptions and conceptual propositions and many provide factual information of various kinds, for example, ethnographic material, biographical records, historical documentation and interview data. The local situation, then, is similar to the description of the American scene given by Ritzer (1992:10): "[ethnomethodology] has certainly not swept across the sociological domain [but] it has succeeded in moving beyond its Southern California enclave" and p h e n o m e n o l o g y "does not appear to have gone far beyond the work of Husserl, Shutz . . . . Berger and Luckman." The second type of norm that comprises the ethos of science refers to four social norms: (1) the norm of universalism indicates that "pre-established, impersonal criteria" must be applied to assess social science contributions, and that social scientists must be rewarded according to the extent of their contributions to social science; (2) the norm of communalism requires that social science knowledge "must be s h a r e d - - n o t kept secret"; (3) the norm of disinterestedness refers to the "curbing of personal bias" by requiring "institutional control over the motives for doing science so as to advance scientific knowledge"; and (4) the n o r m of organized skepticism refers to the need for "arrangeQuail

95

ments such as refereeing and other critical appraisals of work by c o m p e t e n t peers" as evidence of the quality of scientific work (Zuckerman, 1988:515; Quah, 1993a:16). These norms are, in my view, accepted as part of the scholarly process by the large majority of sociologists in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. The question at this point is w h e t h e r sociologists outside this "Western" sphere of the discipline, and specifically sociologists in Singapore, are also inclined to accept these norms. Again, I will refer to the views and positions taken by Singapore sociologists in their o w n published w o r k as the best source of information on w h e t h e r they accept these four norms. This decision is, in itself, indicative of my o w n acceptance of the two types of norms. My use of published records p r o d u c e d by the subjects of this study facilitates the verification of my analysis by other scholars. There is general agreement with the norm of universalism, that is, acceptance of pre-established impersonal criteria to assess sociological work. This is evident in the participation of all the sociology faculty in the process of refereed publication of their work. By submitting a manuscript for publication to an editorial committee, an author is acknowledging the presence of impartial assessment rules and demonstrating the willingness to participate in the competition for the "reward" of publication. This point also suggests the e n d o r s e m e n t of the norm of organized skepticism (acceptance of critical appraisals by qualified peers). However, as I elaborate below, there is a certain inclination to perceive immediate colleagues as less qualified arbitrators of one's work than fellow sociologists from distant institutions. A related macrolevel manifestation of the endorsem e n t of the norms of universalism and organized skepticism is the institutional arrangement of "external examiners." This university procedure requires each academic department to appoint prominent experts in their respective disciplines from respected foreign universities to assess and advise on the academic standing of the faculty, the objective evaluation of students, and the students' o w n academic performance. The Department of Sociology's external examiners are appointed every two years. Sociologists in Singapore accept the norm of communalism (that knowledge must be shared), as suggested by several practices, two of w h i c h are the most c o m m o n . One of these practices is precisely w h e n sociologists seek publication of their work. There is no indication of any subject in this study actively avoiding the publication of his or her manuscripts. On the contrary, even the preliminary version of a paper may be deemed important enough to be published as a Working Paper to elicit feedback that the author may find useful for subsequent refinement of his or her ideas. The second practice is the systematic citation of relevant literature in one's own work. Only two in the sample of 58 publications analyzed in detail had no citations. The analysis of citations reveals the intellectual orientation of the authors towards three possible spheres of scholarly activity: the "local" sphere, w h i c h covers sociological and other research published by Singaporeans; the "Asian" sphere, referring to work by Asian authors and the occasional citation of authors from other Third World countries; and the "Western" sphere, or publications mostly by North Americans and Europeans (only a few by Australians and New Zealanders). 96

The American Sociologist/Winter 1995

TABLE 2 Intellectual Orientation of Literature Cited 1 Singapore, 1990-1994 (in percentages)

R e s e a r c h Field

1. Ethnic relations (migration, adaptation, values

Local

Asian

Western

Total

8.0

23.0

69.0

100.0

(36O)

. Social stratification, occupations & professions

16.0

8.0

76.0

100.0 (109)

. Sociology of the family (including gender issues)

50.0

4.0

46.0

100.0 (323)

. Political sociology

30.0

20.0

50.0

100.0 (101)

41.0

6.0

53.0

100.0 (163)

5.0

20.0

75.0

100.0

5. Urban sociology . Sociology of knowledge and science

(165)

. Sociology of health (medical sociology)

16.0

Industrial sociology

46.0

.

9. Other2

5.1

2.0

26.7

82.0

100.0 (63)

54.0

100.0 (26)

68.2

100.0

(314) 10. Anthropology

100.0

100.0

(48)

1. The figures in this table refer to the citations found in a sample of 58 out of 116 publications produced by the sociology faculty from 1990 to 1994 (see endnote 7 for further details on the sources). All the citations in these publications were classified into three orientation categories: L o c a l authors (i.e., Singaporean); A s i a n authors, including a handful of authors from other Third World countries; and W e s t e r n authors. Nearly all citations in the latter category were from North American and European authors. 2. This group includes religion, language, stress, theory, deviant behavior, and historical sociology. They are listed here jointly because there were only three or less publications for each topic.

Quah

97

Table 2 shows the trends in intellectual orientation of Singapore sociologists as revealed by the pattern of citations in their publications. As expected, given the magnitude of Western sociological output and the comparatively slimmer body of literature from Asia, the overall trend in authors' intellectual orientation for most of the fields in sociology is towards the Western sphere of research. This is particularly noticeable in the sociology of health (82 p e r c e n t of all citations were of Western literature), social stratification (76 p e r c e n t of all citations), and sociology of knowledge (75 percent of all citations). Sociology of the family is the only exception to this trend: the citations cover almost evenly the "Local" sphere (50 percent) and the "Western" sphere (46 percent). Industrial sociology and urban sociology follow a similarly dual orientation. This trend in family, industrial and urban sociology may be due to the greater availability of relevant local studies. A more likely reason, however, is the stronger inclination of the respective authors to incorporate Singapore data and, to a lesser extent, the w o r k of Singapore authors into their own studies. This brings me to the norm of d i s i n t e r e s t e d n e s s (curving personal bias). It appears that this norm is m u c h less accepted than the other three norms. The evidence of this is, admittedly, only indirect. Citations of local data sources (for example, population statistics) occurred significantly more often than citations of local authors. Indeed, with very few exceptions, authors omitted relevant colleagues' publications from the literature they cited. There are many possible reasons leading authors to ignore their colleagues' work, including the authors' assessment of such work as irrelevant or of poor quality. Still, the sociology c o m m u n i t y is rather small in Singapore and most sociology publications deal with issues related to Singapore society. These two aspects make it difficult for any sociologist-author in Singapore today to argue that no other sociological w o r k has been done on the subject matter of his or her research. If the sociologist-author considers the available work contributed by colleagues of poor quality, it w o u l d be e x p e c t e d that he or she provides an impartial, critical appraisal of such work, thus contributing to the advance of sociological knowledge. This interesting pattern of ignoring colleagues' work may be seen as an indication of the failure to curb personal bias. It is tempting to propose several possible theoretical interpretations of this p h e n o m e n o n (for example, small group dynamics within the framework of cultural values that discourage confrontation, conflict theory, field theory, exchange theory and other perspectives, may offer some engaging explanations) but, unfortunately, this issue demands careful analysis and more attention than it can be given in the present discussion. Suffice it to offer two suggestions. First, my personal observation of other academic settings in Europe, North America and Latin America, suggest that this pattern of colleagueal interaction (characterized by a t e n d e n c y to disregard the contributions of colleagues within the same institution) and weak disinterestedness, are not unique to Singapore. Second, considering the significance of small group dynamics in sociology, one glaring research gap in international sociology is systematic introspection: we need crosscultural studies of collegial relations and networks among sociologists.

98

The American Sociologist/Winter 1995

Structures of Opportunity The final question in the analysis of sociology in Singapore is the identification of the local or internal structures of opportunity for the practice of the profession. Structures of opportunity refer to the availability and distribution of rewards and resources, including the presence or absence of conducive social arrangements and obstacles to the practice and g r o w t h of sociology (Zuckerman, 1988:527-28; Quah, 1993a:16-20). Singapore provides positive structures of o p p o r t u n i t y for the growth of sociology. In the c o n t e x t of the Third World's universities, the structures of opportunity for sociology in Singapore are actually optimal. 13 The details mentioned earlier point clearly to the conclusion that sociology has g r o w n significantly during its past thirty years of formal presence in Singapore. The n u m b e r of sociology courses have increased from three to thirty-two; the n u m b e r of faculty from one to thirty-two; there is already a substantial amount of sociological research done by sociologists in Singapore as well as by graduate students; and the n u m b e r of sociological publications continues to increase every year. As NUS is a state university, the financial support that has sustained the growth of the Department of Sociology (including the infrastructure, facilities, and all other matters related to the provision of "means of intellectual production") over the past three decades is directly the result of the political leadership's decision to support the discipline. One cannot discount the favorable contributions of sociologists themselves towards sustaining the government's support. For example, as a result of the contributions of sociologists (as researchers and authors as well as honorary and paid consultants), the public image of sociology has been positive. One sociology professor is currently a m e m b e r of parliament and minister of state for health and education. The present acting minister for c o m m u n i t y development is a sociology graduate. Sociologists from the faculty are frequently called upon to serve as consultants to public sector bodies, nongovernmental and private sector organizations. Conclusion Albrow's (1989:197) c o n c e p t of the threefold space for sociology (structural, institutional and cultural) offers a helpful insight to conclude this discussion. As w e have seen, there is a structural space for sociology in Singapore in the sense that there are "people with an interest in the development of sociology in positions and with resources such that that interest can be realized." Both the national government and the university are aware of and receptive to the contributions that systematic sociological research may offer. Similarly, there is an institutional space for sociology considering that Singapore meets Albrow's criteria of "a relatively open educational system" and "a developed research function in government and large organizations." The third kind of space is "cultural" space or "a set of ideas" that permit "reflexible social knowledge" and the study of "social relationship per se." While the first two kinds of space are fully devel-

Quah

99

o p e d i n S i n g a p o r e , t h e t h i r d o n e is i n t h e p r o c e s s o f f o r m a t i o n . B e i n g a r e l a t i v e l y young discipline in the local scene, sociology has focused on a wide range of s o c i a l i s s u e s o f i m m e d i a t e c o n c e r n t o t h e p o p u l a t i o n . As s o c i o l o g i s t s m a t u r e collectively, t h e y will be able to a d v a n c e in their c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n of r e s e a r c h issues and thus become

a c t i v e b u i l d e r s o f a w i d e r c u l t u r a l s p a c e f o r t h e disci-

p l i n e . H o w d y n a m i c is t h e t h r e e f o l d s p a c e f o r s o c i o l o g y is, i n m y o p i n i o n , t h e o u t c o m e of the c o l l a b o r a t i o n b e t w e e n sociologists t h e m s e l v e s and their socioeconomic and political environment. Finally, the larger p i c t u r e suggests that the majority of sociologists in S i n g a p o r e i m p l e m e n t i n t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n a l w o r k t h e d u a l m a n d a t e o f s o c i o l o g y , t h a t is, t o c o n t r i b u t e to t h e s c i e n t i f i c g r o w t h o f t h e d i s c i p l i n e a n d t o t h e s o l u t i o n o f s o c i a l p r o b l e m s ( R u b i n g t o n a n d W e i n b e r g , 1989). M a n y o f t h e m t r y t o c o m b i n e b o t h m a n d a t e s b y a d d r e s s i n g t h e i r r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s a n d p u b l i c a t i o n s to policy-orie n t e d i s s u e s a n d o t h e r e m p i r i c a l a s p e c t s a f f e c t i n g t h e e v e r y d a y life o f S i n g a p o r e a n s , w i t h o u t n e g l e c t i n g to p l a c e t h e i r w o r k in the c o n t e x t of a c o n c e p t u a l framework or some conceptual propositions from the body of knowledge of international sociology. T h e p r i n c i p a l i d e a d e r i v e d f r o m t h e p r e c e d i n g d i s c u s s i o n is t h a t s o c i o l o g y n o l o n g e r h a s a " h o m e " t e r r i t o r y as w e a p p r o a c h t h e t w e n t y - f i r s t c e n t u r y . S o c i o l o g y has m o v e d b e y o n d the g e o g r a p h i c a l a n d figurative "West" a n d has b e c o m e an i n t e r n a t i o n a l s o c i a l s c i e n c e . I n t e r e s t i n g l y , t h i s v e r y i d e a is d i s p u t e d b y s o m e g r o u p s o f s o c i o l o g i s t s w h o c o n t e n d t h a t t h e r e are o r s h o u l d b e m a n y " n a t i v e " s o c i o l o g i e s . Yet, t h e p r e s e n c e o f d i s s e n s i o n a m o n g s o c i o l o g i s t s a d v o c a t i n g diff e r e n t p a r a d i g m s a n d t h e o r e t i c a l p o s i t i o n s is p r e c i s e l y o n e o f t h e m a n y c o n s t a n t features of sociology around the world. The case of Singapore's small community of sociologists illustrates well this dynamic and challenging aspect of the discipline. Notes 1. See Appendix 1 for the most relevant socioeconomic indicators in Singapore. 2. I borrowed this comparison from Milne and Mauzy (1990:178) who wondered whether Singapore would be successful in combining "the civilization of Athens with Spartan discipline." 3. Of the 31 faculty members in the Department of Sociology in 1995, 30 obtained one or both of their postgraduate degrees (Master and Ph.D.) in Western countries: 22 in the United States; three in the United Kingdom; three in Canada; one in Australia; and one in New Zealand. 4. The first Singaporean to join the faculty obtained his doctorate from an American university on his own, without financial support from the University of Singapore. The univecsity was restructured and became the National Universityof Singapore (NUS) in 1980. NUS put in motion the Senior Tutorship Scheme (STS) to address directly the need of building up the faculty's Singaporeanexpertise in all disciplines. Under the STS, graduates with the best academic performance at the Bachelor's (Honours) level are given full financial assistance to obtain the Ph.D. degree in an overseas university of their choice (most choose top universities in the United States and the United Kingdom), and a faculty position at NUS upon the successful completion of their degree. Students under the STS are included in the university's payroll as junior faculty members. Usually they complete their Master's degree at NUS while doing some teaching as tutors before proceeding abroad for their Ph.D. degree. 5. Anthropologists came to Singaporebefore the Department of Sociologywas established. Two of them were brought to Singaporefor a brief period by the British colonial government in the 1950s to do some research on Chinese and Malay customs and kinship. But the first generation of sociologists is represented by the faculty that joined the department during its first fifteen years. 6. Figuresprovided by NUS's Deputy Registrar from records of the former University of Singapore. 7. The main source of information for the compilation of this data set were the publications listed under

100

The American Sociologist/Winter 1995

8, 9.

10.

Department of Sociology in Theses & Publications (Singapore: National University of Singapore), annual volumes for the years 1990 to 1993. Each annual volume includes all publications reported by every faculty member for that year. The 1994 volume had not been published when this article was being written. Thus, the list of 1994 publications was compiled from the Department of Sociology Handbook 1994-95, but not all the publications listed there were available at the time of writing this article. In all, 116 publications were identified. Of these 116 publications, 58 formed the sample used for detailed analysis. The bibliography of the 116 publications is provided in Appendix 2. Publications representing these approaches constitute 5.2 per cent of all the 116 publications for the period 1990-1994. Examples of refereed professional journals in Singapore in which sociologists have published during the period 1990-1994 are: Singapore Medical Journal, Journal of the Singapore Institute of Architects, Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, and Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. The latter two are international refereed journals. The others are regional refereed journals. Examples of international journals in which Singapore sociologists have published between 1990 and 1994 are: International Migration Review, Pacific Affairs, Journal of Refugee Studies, Current Sociology,

Canadian Journal of Criminology, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Environment and Planning, and Critical Sociology. 11.

12.

13.

In addition to the National University of Singapore (NUS) founded in 1905, Singapore has a second university, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), which is only five years old. There is no Department of Sociology at NTU but a sociology professor from NUS was seconded to NTU as dean of its school of communication studies and another sociologist from NUS has joined him to provide some sociology courses at the school. The census figures on occupations for 1980 and 1990 give two categories that may involve sociologists. One category is "University teachers" (1,120 in 1980 and 3,194 in 1990). The other category is "Social and political scientists" (42 in 1980 and 174 in 1990) as reported in Singapore Census of Population Release No. 4 (Singapore: Department of Statistics, 1981. Pp. 162, 164) and Singapore Census of Population, Economic Characteristics (Singapore: Department of Statistics, 1993, pp. 125-126). No figures are available on the number of people with Ph.D. degrees in Singapore. Illustrations of the positive structures of opportunity are: strong and consistent financial support to the university with the government providing 76.6 per cent of the NUS' revenue for the financial year 1993/ 94; faculty salaries competitive with those of American and British universities (salaries corresponded to 74.5 per cent of total expenditure of S$378,902,823 for the financial year 1993/94); a computerization program comprising student computer workstations throughout the campus, a personal computer for every faculty member, access to world electronic networks and supercomputer facilities; and generous university research grants and conference travel grants to faculty members.

References Albrow, Martin. 1989. "Sociology in the United Kingdom after the Second World War." Pp. 194-219 in National Traditions in Sociology, edited by N. Genov. London: Sage. Kosaka, Kenji, ed. 1994. Bibliography of Japanese Sociological Literature in Western Languages. Tokyo: Japan Sociological Society. Milne, R.S. and Mauzy, Diane K. 1990. Singapore. The Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Quah, Stella R. 1993a. "Sociologists in the International Arena: Diverse Settings, Same Concerns?" Current Sociology, 41:1-23. Quah, Stella R. 1993b. "The Native Sociologist and the Challenge of Science: National, Indigenous and Global Sociologists," Current Sociology, 41:95-106. Quah, Stella R, 1993c. "The Socioeconomic Milieu of Scholarship: A Comparative Analysis of Family Sociologists in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand," Current Sociology, 41:41-68. Ritzer, George. 1975. Sociology. A Multiple Paradigm Science. Beverly Hills: Sage. Ritzer, George. 1992. Sociological Theory. Third Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. Snlelser, Neil. 1988. Handbook of Sociology. Newbury Park: Sage. Rubington, E. and Weinberg, M.S. 1989. The Study of Social Problems. Six Perspectives. 4th Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. Turner, Jonathan H. 1990. "The Past, Present and Future of Theory in American Sociology." Pp. 317-391 in Frontiers of Social Theory. The New Syntheses, edited by G. Ritzer. New York: Columbia University Press. Zuckerman, Harriet. 1988. "The Sociology of Science." Pp. 511-574 in Handbook of Sociology, edited by N. Smelser. Newbury Park: Sage.

Quah

101

APPENDIX

1

Main S o c i o e c o n o m i c Indicators, S i n g a p o r e ,

Indicators

1983,

1983

1993

tI

Ii

!

I

Population (in millions)

1993 a

2,406,200

2,873,800

78.2 14.2 6.6 1.0

7Z5 14.2 Z1 1.2

3,893 l

4,481

26.1 ,

31.0

9.4

4.7

Ethnic composition (% population in each ethnic goup) Chinese Malay Indian Other

Population per square kilometer

!

Median age Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live-births)

I

Per capita indigenous Gross National Product

S$12,533 I

Exchange rate of S$ per US$ (average) Literacy rate

S$24,871 I

2.1136 85.5

1.6158

!

91.6

Unemployment rate (of population 15 years and over)

3.2

2.7

Domestic electricity consumption per resident (kilowatt hour)

545.7

1,087.2

Graduates of institutions of higher learning

6,951

18,317

S$9,369

S$9,349

Government recurrent expenditure per student in tertiary institutions

a. Source: D e p a r t m e n t of Statistics (1994) Yearbook of Statistics Singapore 1993. Singapore: D e p a r t m e n t of Statistics.

102

The A m e r i c a n S o c i o l o g i s t / W i n t e r 1995

APPENDIX 2 Bibliography of Sociology Faculty Publications 1990-1994 Abaza, M. and Stauth, G. 1990. "Occidental Reason, Orientalism, Islamic Fundamentalism: A Critique." Pp. 343364 in Globalization, Knowledge a n d Society. Readings f r o m International Sociology, edited by M. Albrow and E. King. London: Sage. Alatas, S.F. 1993. "On the Indigenisation of Academic Discourse." Alternatives. 18:307-388. Alatas, S.F. 1994. "Indigenisation and Social Science: The Role of Culture in Development." Pp. 79-112 in Culture a n d Development in a N e w Era a n d in a Transforming World, edited by M. Lee, S.H. Lee, F. Fournier, and T.H. Yoo. Paris: Unesco. Aguilar, F.V. 1994. "Of Cocks and Bets: Gambling, Class Structure and State Formation in the Philippines." Pp. 147-196 in Patterns o f Politics a n d Power in the Philippines, edited by J. Eder and R. Youngblood. Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University. Aguilar, F.V. 1994. "The Opening of Philippine Provincial Ports in 1855." J o u r n a l o f Southeast Asian Studies 25:70-90. Aguilar, F.V. 1994. "Nouns That Sail Through History: Reified Categories and Their Transcendence in Marx' Social Theory." Sociology Working Papers, No. 120. Singapore: Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore. Baber, Z. 1994. "Beyond Hyper-constructivistic Fads and Foibles: Toward a Critical Sociology of Science, Technology and the Environment." Critical Sociology. 20:125-138. Benjamin, G. 1991. "The Department of Sociology Past and Present: A Photo Essay." Pp. 7-15 in Explorations in Asian Sociology (Working Paper No. 100), edited by K.B. Chan and K.C. Ho. Singapore: Chopman. Benjamin, G. 1993. "Grammar and Polity: The Cultural and Political Background to Standard Malay." Pp. 341392 in The Role o f Theory in Language Description, edited by W.A. Foley. Berlin: Mouton De Gruyer. Benjamin, G. 1993. "Temiar." Pp. 265-273 in Encyclopedia o f World Cultures. Vol 5. Southeast Asia edited by P. Hockings. Boston: GK Hall. Benjamin, G. 1993. "Orangasli: Original Peoples of the Peninsula." Pp. 152-153 in West Malaysia a n d Singapore. Singapore: Periplus Editions. Benjamin, G. 1993. "Temiars and Other Orang Asli: A Personal Appreciation." In Orang Asli: An Appreciation, edited by H.M. Salleh, H.M. Nor, and M.S. Kamaruddin. Kuala Lumpnr: International Convention Secretariat, Prime Minister Office. Chan, K.B. 1991. "Refugee Camps as Human Artefacts: An Essay on Vietnamese Refugees in Southeast Asian Camps by Linda Hitchox." J o u r n a l of Refugee Studies 4:284-290. Chan, K.B. 1991. "Review of the New China Town by Peter Kwong." International Migration Review 25:200201. Chan, K.B. 1991. Smoke a n d Fire: The Chinese in Montreal. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press. Chan K.B. 1992. "Ethnic Resources, Opportunity Structure and Coping Strategies: Chinese Businesses in Canada." Revue Europeenee des Migrations lnternationales 8:117-137. Chan, K.B. 1993. Review of Behind the Bamboo Hedge. International Migration Review, 213-214. Chan, K.B. and Chiang, S.N. 1994. Stepping Out. The Making o f Chinese Entrepreneurs. Singapore: PrenticeHall. Chan, K.B. and Ho, K.C., eds. 1991. Explorations in Asian Sociology. Singapore: Chopman. Chan, K.B. and Ko, Y.C. 1991. "Coping with Work Stress: A Comparison of Teachers and Life Insurance Agents." Chinese J o u r n a l o f Mental Health 5:49-62. Chan, K.B. and Tong, C.K. 1993. "Rethinking Assimilation and Ethnicity: The Chinese in Thailand." International Migration Review 27:140-168. Chiew, S.K. 1990. "Nation-Building in Singapore: A Historical Perspective." Pp. 6-23 in In Search o f Singapore's National Values, edited by J.S.T. Quah. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Chiew, S.K. 1990. "National Identity, Ethnicity and Nation Issues." Pp. 66-69 in In Search o f Singapore's National Values, edited by J.S.T. Quah. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Chiew, S.K. 1990. "Major Socio-economic Changes of Public Housing Estates in the 1990s." Pp. 18-23 in National RC Seminar: Residents Committees in the 1990s. Singapore: Ministry of Community Development. Chiew, S.K. 1991. "Ethnic Stratification." Pp. 138-182 in Social Class in Singapore by S.R. Quah, S.K. Chiew, Y.C. Ko and M.C. Lee. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Chiew, S.K. 1991. "Social Mobility in Singapore." Pp. 183-219 in Social Class tn Singapore by S.R. Quah, S.K. Chiew, Y.C. Ko and M.C. Lee. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Chiew, S.K. 1991. "Ethnicity and Ethnic Relations." Pp. 37-54 in Explorations in Asian Sociology, edited by K.B. Chan and K.C. Ho. Singapore: Chopman. Chiew, S.K. and Hing, A.Y. 1990. National Automation Survey 1989/90. Singapore: Singapore Industrial Automation Association. Chiew, S.K. and Ko, Y.C. 1991. "The Economic Dimension." Pp. 116-137 in Social Class in Singapore by S.R. Quah, S.K. Chiew, Y.C. Ko and M.C. Lee. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Chiew, S.K. Ko, Y.C., and Quah, S.R. 1991. "Occupational Prestige and Occupational Structure." Pp. 74-115 in Social Class in Singapore by S.R. Quah, S.K. Chiew, Y.C. Ko and M.C. Lee. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Choi, A.S.K. 1991. "Policing Domestic Disturbances. A Research Review of Police Responses." Sociology Working Paper No. 105. Singapore: Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore.

Quah

103

Choi, A.S.K. 1993. qnjures to Police Officers Attending Domestic Disturbance: An Empirical Study," Canadian J o u r n a l o f Criminology 35:149-168. Chua, B.H. 1990. "Steps to Becoming a Fashion Consumer in Singapore." Asia Pacific J o u r n a l o f M a n a g e m e n t 7:31-47. Chua, B.H. 1990. "Fashion Shopping: Programmes, Stages and Audience." Sociology Working Paper No. 102. Singapore: Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore. Chua, B.H. 1990. Revitalised Asian Confidence: Implications for Asian Architects." J o u r n a l o f the Singapore Institute o f Architects 158:18-25. Chua, B.H. 1991. "Not Depoliticised but ideologically Successful: Public Housing Programme in Singapore." International J o u r n a l o f Urban a n d Regional Research, 15:24-41. Chua, B.H. 1991. "Modernism and the Vernacular: Transformation of Public Space in Singapore." J o u r n a l o f Architectural a n d Planning Research 8:3. Chua, B.H. 1991. "Singapore 1990: Celebrating the End of An Era." Southeast Asian Affairs 1991:253-266. Chua, B.H. 1991. "Urban sociology7 Pp. 20-25 in Explorations in Asian Sociology, edited by K.B. Chan and K.C. Ho. Singapore: Chopman. Chua, B.H. 1993. "Changing the Shape of Civil Society in Singapore. ~ C o m m e n t a r y 11:9-14. Ellis, D., Choi, A.S.K. and Btaus, C. 1993. "Injuries to Police Officers Attending Domestic Disturbances: An Empirical Study." Part Two. Canadian J o u r n a l o f Criminology 35:149-168. Erb, M. 1991. "Construction, Sacrifice, Rumors and Kidnapping Scares in Manggarai: Further Comparative Notes from Flores." Oceania 62:114-126. Erb, M. 1991. "Stealing Women and Living in Sin: Adaptation and Conflict, Morals and Customary Law in Rembong, Northeastern Manggara." Anthropos 86:59-73. Erb, M. 1993. Review of From the Shattered Sun. J o u r n a l o f Southeast Asian Studies 24:413-416, Hing, A.Y. 1993. "Executive Membership in Trade Unions." NTUC Annual, 97-99. Hing, A.Y. and Chiew, S.K. 1993. National Automation Survey 1991/92. Singapore: EDB/SIAA. Hing, A.Y., Wong, P.K., and Kao, M.L. 1992. "Organizational and Workforce Management Issues in Automation: A Review. ~ CMTCBRD Working Paper 02-92. Ho, K.C. 1991. "Studying the City in the New International Division of Labour." Sociology Working Paper No. 107. Singapore: Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore. Ho, K.C. 1993. "Industrial Restructuring and the Dynamics of City-state Adjustment." E n v i r o n m e n t a n d Planning A, 25:47-62. Ho, K.C. 1993. "Industrial Restructuring and the Dynamics of City-state Adjustment." Pp. 47-62 in Workshop on Industrial Restructuring a n d Regional A d j u s t m e n t in Asian NIEs, edited by East-West Center. Honolulu: EWC. Ho, K.C. 1994. "Industrial Restructuring of the City-State and the Regional Division of Labor." E n v i r o n m e n t a n d Planning A 26:33-51. Ho, K.C. 1994. "Adolescence in Singapore." Pp. 20-25 in International Handbook o f Adolescence, edited by K. Hurralman. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Jesudason, J. 1993. "Review of Growth and Ethnic Inequality." Ethnic a n d Racial Studies, 16:750-751. Jesudason, J. 1993. "Statist Democracy and the Limits of Civil Society in Malaysia." Sociology Working Paper NO. 119. Singapore: Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore. Khondker, H.H. 1990. "A Comparative Study of the Problems of Spinsterhood among Educated Women in Singapore and Thailand." Singapore: NUS Research Report, Khondker, H.H. 1993. "Urban Disaster Prevention and Mitigation in Southeast Asia." Pp. 429-441 in Proceedings o f lDRC Workshop on Urban E n v i r o n m e n t Management: Developing a Global Research Agenda. Ottawa: IDRC. Khondker, H.H. 1993. "Democracy and Development: Bangladesh" Ethnic Studies Report 9:191-212. Khondker, H.H. 1994. "Globalization Theory: A Critical Appraisal." Sociology Working Paper No. 123. Singapore: Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore. Ko, Y.C. 1991. "Status Attainment." Pp. 220-243 in Social Class in Singapore, by S.R. Quah, S.K. Chiew, Y.C. Ko and M.C. Lee. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Ko, Y.C., Chiew, S.K. and Quah, S.R. 1991. "Notes on Research Procedure." Pp. 220-229 in Social Class in Singapore, by S.R. Quah, S.K. Chiew, Y.C. Ko and M.C. Lee. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Kuo, E. and Tong, C.K. 1994. Religion in Singapore. Singapore: Department of Statistics. Kwok, K.W. 1993. "The Moral Conditioning of Democratic Society." Commentary 11:20-29. Kwok, K.W. 1993. "Review of Moral Perspectives by K.C. Chong," Southeast Asian J o u r n a l o f Social Science, 120-122. Kwok, K.W. 1993. "The Problem of Tradition in Contemporary Singapore." Pp. 1-22 in Heritage a n d Contemp o r a r y Values. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Leong, W.T. 1993. "Power/Knowledge: The Social Dimension of AIDS." The Act 6:14-17. Leong, W.T. 1993. "AIDS and Sexuality." The Act 5:2-6. Lin, T.K., Ho, KC. and Tong, C.K. 1990. "A Multivariate Approach to Studying Chinese Customs and Rites in Singapore," Southeast Asian J o u r n a l o f Social Science, 18:70-84. Lian, K.F. and Rajah, A. 1993. "The Ethnic Mosaic." Pp. 234-259 in Asta's Cultural Mosaic. Singapore: PrenticeHall.

104

T h e A m e r i c a n S o c i o l o g i s t / W i n t e r 1995

Mak, L.F. 1990. "Chinese Immigrants: Differentiation and Integration." Bulletin of the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, 69:27-44. Mak, L.F. 1993. "The Rise of the Singapore Middle Class: An Analytic Framework." Pp. 307-336 in Discovery o f the Middle Class in East Asia, edited by M.H.H. Hsiao. Taipei: Academia Sinica. Mak, L.F. 1993. ~Occupation and Chinese Dialect Group in British Malaya." Pp. 8-27 in Chinese Adaptation and Diversity. Singapore: Singapore University Press. Mak, L.F. and Leong, C.H. 1994. "East Asian Middle Class Project: The Singapore Middle Class." Research Report. Mani, A. 1993. "A Community in Transition: Indians in Negara Brunei Darussalam." Pp. 1-30 in Indian Communities in Southeast Asia, edited by K.S. Sandhu and A. Mani. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Mani, A. 1993. "Indians in North Sumatra." Pp. 46-97 in Indian Communities in Southeast Asia, edited by K.S. Sandhu and A. Mani. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Mani, A. 1993. "Indians in Jakarta." Pp. 98-130 in Indian Communities in Southeast Asia, edited by K.S. Sandhu and A. Mani. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Mani, A. 1993. "Indians in Singapore Society." Pp. 98-130 in Indian Communities in Southeast Asia, edited by K.S. Sandhu and A. Mani. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Mani, A. 1993. "Indians in Thailand." Pp. 911-949 in Indian Communities in Southeast Asia, edited by K.S. Sandhu and A. Mani. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Ong, J.H. 1993. "Prostitution in Singapore." Pp. 242-272 in Prostitution: An International Handbook on Trends, Problems and Policies. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. PuruShotam, N. and Siddique, S. 1993. "An Exploration of Spouse Selection Patterns in the Singaporean Indian Community." Pp. 810-829 in Indian Communities in Southeast Asia, edited by K.S. Sandhu and A. Mani. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Quah, S.R. 1990. "Family as Hindrance or Asset?" Pp. 1-22 in Family as an Asset. An International Perspective on Marriage, Parenthood and Social Policy, edited by S.R. Quah. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Quah, S.R. 1990. "The Social Significance of Marriage and Parenthood in Singapore." Pp. 247-289 in Family as an Asset. An International Perspective on Marriage, Parenthood and Social Policy, edited by S.R. Quah. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Quah, S.R. 1990. "Family and Social Policy: The Shared Experiences." Pp. 378-384 in Family as an Asset. An International Perspective on Marriage, Parenthood and Social Policy, edited by S.R. Quah. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Quah, S.R. 1990. "Gender Roles, Family Roles and Health Behavior: Pursuing the Hidden Link." Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science, 18:51-69. Quah, S.R. 1990. "Review of J. Salaff's Family and the State in Singapore." Pacific Affairs 63:124-126. Quah, S.R. ed. 1990. Family as an Asset. An International Perspective on Marriage, Parenthood and Social Policy. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Quah, S.R. 1991. "Education and Social Class in Singapore." Pp. 38-73 in Social Class in Singapore by S.R. Quah, S.K. Chiew, Y.C. Ko and S.M. Lee. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Quah, S.R. 1991. "Introduction." Pp. 1-22 in Social Class in Singapore by S.R. Quah, S.K. Chiew, Y.C. Ko and S.M. Lee. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Quah, S.R. 1991. "The Realities of Social Class." Pp. 244-270 in Social Class in Singapore by S.R. Quah, S.K. Chiew, u Ko and S.M. Lee. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Quah, S.R., Ko, Y.C, and Chiew S.K. 1991. "Occupational Prestige Scores SOPS and SNORC, Mean, Standard Deviation and Sample Size for 109 Occupations, Singapore 1983-1984." Pp. 281-284 in Social Class in Singapore by S.R. Quah, S.K. Chiew, Y.C. Ko and S.M. Lee. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Quah, S.R., Chiew, S.K. Ko, Y.C., and Lee, S.M. 1991. Social Class in Singapore. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Quah, S.R. 1992. "AIDS and Us: Are We Failing to Prevent a Highly Preventable Disease?" Singapore Medical Journal 33:484-488. Quah, S.R. 1992. "Social and Ethical Aspects of Organ Donation." Transplantation Proceedings, 24:2097-2098. Quah, S.R. 1992. "Review of Sociology of Health and Health Care in Israel," Contemporary Sociology 20:469. Quah, S.R. 1993. "The Family Court--A Sociologist's Perspective on Enlightened Collaboration Between Law and Social Sciences." Singapore Journal of Legal Studies (July):102-120. Quah, S.R. 1993. "Sociologists in the International Arena: Diverse Settings, Same Concerns? ~ Current Sociology 41:1-24. Quah, S.R. 1993. "The Socioeconomic Milieu of Scholarship: A Comparative Analysis of Family Sociologists in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand." Current Sociology 41:95-106. Quah, S.R. 1993. "The Native Sociologist and the Challenge of Science: National, Indigenous and Global Sociologies." Current Sociology 41:95-106. Quah, S.R. 1993. "Bibliography of Studies on Family in Southeast Asia, Written in English, 1950-1989 ~ Current Sociology 41:107-127. Quah, S.R. 1993. "Marriage and Family." Pp. 20-85 in Singapore Women. Three Decades of Change. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Quah, S.R. 1993. "Ethnicity, Health Behaviour and Modernization: The Case of Singapore." Pp. 78-107 in Health and Health Care in Developing Countries, edited by P. Conrad and E.B. Gallagher. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Quah

105

Quah, S.R. 1994. The Family in Singapore. Sociological Perspectives. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Sandhu, K.S. and Mani, A., eds. 1993. Indian Communities in Southeast Asia. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Stauth, G. 1990. "Women, Properties and Migration: Access to Land and Local Conflicts in Rural Egypt." Zeitschrfft der Deutschen Morgenlandtschen Gesellschaft 140:32-50. Stauth, G. 1990. "Sociology of Islam: Iguaz, Goldsziher and Max Weber." Osterretchtsche Zettschrtftfur Soziologte 15:38-51. Straughan, P.T. 1992. ~ for Early Detection of Cervical Cancer: The Relationship Between Social Integration and Preventive Health Behaviour." Sociology Working Paper No. 111. Singapore: Department of Sociology, NUS. Tan, E.S. 1992. "Local Graduates and Foreign Graduates Compared: Employers Perception of Graduate Recruits for Entry Level Positions." Pp. 23-29 in NUSSU Education Commission 1991: Survey Report, edited by NUSSU. Singapore: NUS. Tan, E.S 1993. "Theorising the Dynamics of Industrial relations and Trade Unionism: Lessons from Singapore. ~ Pp. 188-209 in Malaysia a n d Singapore: Experiences in Industrialization a n d Urban Development. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya. Tan, E.S. 1994. "State Policies and Career Structure and Strategies in an Asian NIE: The Singapore Case." In N e w Approaches to Employment Management. Volume 3. Pittsburgh: JAI Press. Waterson, R. 1990. The Living House: An Anthropology o f Architecture in Southeast Asia. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press. Waterson, R. 1993. "Houses and the Built Environment in Island Southeast Asia: Tracing Some Shared Themes in the Uses of Space." Pp~ 220-235 in Inside Austronestan Houses: Perspectives on Domestic Designs f o r Living, edited by J. Fox. Canberra: Research School of Pacific Studies. Wong, A. and Leong, W.K., eds. 1993. Singapore Women. Three Decades o f Change. Singapore: Times Academic Press. Zhang, X.X. 1991. "A Methodological Critique of Marx's Theory of Surplus Value." Sociology Working Paper No. 109. Singapore: Department of Sociology, NUS. Zhang, X.X. and Wang, H.S. 1993. "Social Stratification in China After 1949." Sociological Research [in Chinese] 47:13-22.

106

T h e A m e r i c a n S o c i o l o g i s t / W i n t e r 1995