Technology is playing an increasingly important role in improving the quality of care for the elderly, be it enhancing aged care patient experience, developing home-care for an ageing population, or automating clinical processes. Associate Professor Tan Hwee Pink from SMU’s School of Information Systems, together with his team, have extensive ground experience in developing and deploying senior-centric technologies, from previous research projects at SMU. They are now collaborating with NTUC Healthcare Co-operative Ltd, a key provider of community programmes for seniors in Singapore, to use smart technology to enhance the operational efficiency and productivity of NTUC Healthcare’s centres. In this podcast, he discusses the type of technologies deployed in the project with NTUC Healthcare, the preliminary results achieved, and the challenges faced.

Building on research conducted in 2018 on the clear and positive link between high levels of psychological safety and a strong teamwork culture, Richard Smith, Professor of Strategic Management and Deputy Dean (Programmes) at the SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business, has now dug deeper by focusing on diversity. How does closing the gender gap within organisations in Asian countries impact overall company performance? Are employees more productive, or less, with a sense of belonging to the workplace? In this podcast, Professor Smith discusses the key findings of his research conducted in collaboration with consultancy group Great Place to Work Institute Singapore. The rigorous study, one of the largest in Asia to highlight gender differences, surveyed over 400,000 employees from more than 800 organisations located across eight countries in the Asia Pacific.

Global warming and climate change have created an unprecedented global interest in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially in energy production. Biomass, or organic matter, which is a renewable energy source that can replace fossil fuels in energy production is gaining popularity. Consequently, commercialising agricultural residues as biomass is gaining momentum in many countries. In a pioneering study, Onur Boyabatli, Associate Professor of Operations Management and DBS Sustainability Fellow at SMU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business, together with Assistant Professor of Operations Management Buket Avci, and PhD student Li Bin, studied the economic and environmental implications of biomass commercialisation in agricultural processing industries. In this podcast, Associate Professor Boyabatli shares his insights into this trending subject and the policy implications of their research findings.

Singapore is a small and open economy, with its economic growth highly dependent on international trade. With the momentum of global trade growth being buffeted by increased economic uncertainties and rising trade tensions, does Singapore’s position in the global value chains, or GVCs, stand it in good stead to navigate choppy waters ahead? In this podcast, Associate Professor of Economics and Lee Kong Chian Fellow Chang Pao-Li from the SMU School of Economics, discusses the key findings of her research jointly conducted with Phuong T. B. Nguyen, Postdoctoral Research Fellow from SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business. They evaluate how intensively the Singapore economy has participated in the GVCs, and characterise Singapore’s key upstream and downstream trade partners in the international production network. They also analyse the position of Singapore in the GVC, and how its position has shifted over the years. The pattern of Singapore’s position is compared with those of major regional exporters including China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the US, and the world as a whole.

Rapid urbanisation, coupled with the lack of coordination in the use of resources, such as taxis and security personnel, has negatively affected a wide array of quality-of-life metrics. These include waiting time in queues, response time for emergencies, and the number of traffic violations in cities. Using AI and Machine Learning methods, aggregation systems have been developed and adopted to improve the matching of resources and demand, thereby enhancing the efficiency of real-world transportation, emergency response and security systems. In this podcast, Associate Professor Pradeep Varakantham from the SMU School of Information Systems shares how AI can be used to improve transportation and security.

Data has emerged as the most important driver for modern economic development. New industries have arisen from the use of data with personal information as the core asset, while many traditional models of business are ‘disrupted’ or drastically transformed. Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) has also become an integral tool for the management and processing of data, including personal data, as it provides greater accuracy and capability. How should the use of A.I. in data management be regulated and should it be treated any differently under the data protection regime? What role can A.I. play in regulating the use of personal data and as a cybersecurity tool? Is creating a form of propertisation of personal data and ‘data ownership’ useful? These are just some of the lingering questions that regulators and organisations are currently grappling with. Central to the issue is how A.I. can best serve and safeguard humanity’s interests. Warren Chik is Associate Professor of Law at SMU School of Law, and concurrently Deputy Director at SMU’s Centre for AI and Data Governance. In this podcast, he shares his recent research into Artificial Intelligence and Data Protection in Singapore, which takes a deeper look into consumers’ trust, organisational security and government regulation.

With the advent of new technologies, rapidly changing customer needs and emerging competitors, companies across industries are facing disruptions like never before. To succeed, they will need to innovate by harnessing the power of a wide range of partners who can bring different skills, experience, capacity, and their own networks to the task. In this podcast, SMU University Professor Arnoud De Meyer, who is also co-author of The Ecosystem Edge (https://ecosystemedge.com/) and The Ecosystem Advantage, shares riveting lessons from organisations poised to innovate successfully in this age of disruption. His case-based research reveals how ecosystem leaders bring companies together with complementary abilities to redefine value, serve more customers and create an overall larger pie for each to partake from.

As the climate crisis looms, how can we build a more sustainable future? While the establishment of the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) provides a helpful compass to achieve sustainability, they tend to be viewed and applied in isolation from each other. This glosses over what sustainability really means for those most vulnerable to its impacts. In this podcast, SMU Associate Professor Michelle Lim demystifies the dense jargon of the UN SDGs, and argues how viewing them as a set of integrated and interconnected goals is essential to empower us to chart a meaningful path forward for the planet and people. [About the SMU CP Podcast Series] SMU City Perspectives brings together researchers from Singapore Management University (SMU) for insightful conversations exploring the pivotal trends in digital transformation, growth in Asia, and sustainable living. Get inspired and discover solutions that will help you drive more impact in your work and shape the future of cities.

As the effects of climate change continue to grow, the world is more aware than ever about the concept of being sustainable. Most people's entry point to sustainability consists of the ‘Three R’s’, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The question is, what makes waste reusable and recyclable? And what role does informal labour have to play in this journey to sustainable living? In this podcast, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies (Education) at the Singapore Management University, Aidan Wong, explains his research on the value creation process within e-waste recycling networks, including the role of the karang guni, in Singapore and Malaysia. [About the SMU CP Podcast Series] SMU City Perspectives brings together researchers from Singapore Management University (SMU) for insightful conversations exploring the pivotal trends in digital transformation, growth in Asia, and sustainable living. Get inspired and discover solutions that will help you drive more impact in your work and shape the future of cities.

Because of climate change, cities have been grappling with stronger and more frequent storms as well, most recently being Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam and Hurricanes Helene and Milton in America. But many people remain apathetic to climate change. SMU Associate Professor Terry Van Gevelt explains the intricacies of climate change communication and what needs to be done to get urbanites facing climate change to become more aware. . [About the SMU CP Podcast Series] SMU City Perspectives brings together researchers from Singapore Management University (SMU) for insightful conversations exploring the pivotal trends in digital transformation, growth in Asia, and sustainable living. Get inspired and discover solutions that will help you drive more impact in your work and shape the future of cities.

Ice, my friends, is anything but basic.  It does strange and unexpected things, foiling even modelers. This week's #AntarcticLog reviews an essential principle or two. 

The post #AntarcticLog: Ice is cool appeared first on The Plainspoken Scientist.

So you've always wanted to be an iceberg, to travel the world, bestowing fresh water and, just in general, being awesome? Here's how: 

The post #AntarcticLog: Being Berg  appeared first on The Plainspoken Scientist.

Coral keeps on doing the unexpected -- as in this week's two stories from vastly different coral ecosystems. 

The post #AntarcticLog: Branching Out  appeared first on The Plainspoken Scientist.

It's on! What's on? The Iditarod -- 98 years after the history-making dog sled run, the dogs are off again, and that means it's on. 

The post #AntarcticLog: To the dogs appeared first on The Plainspoken Scientist.

TikTok catapulted in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic and has now come to dominate the social media landscape. With over 1 billion monthly active users, science communicators have the potential to capitalize on TikTok’s success and share their science with a broad, engaged audience.

The post Harnessing the power of TikTok for science communication appeared first on The Plainspoken Scientist.

#AntarcticLog is a series of comics by Karen Romano Young, intended to educate and inspire through sciart. You can find the originals here. Since the National Science Foundation sent me to Antarctica, I’ve written and drawn #AntarcticLog comics about once a week.  The very first shows why I started it — and why I keep going.  People often assume that because there are pictures — comics — that #AntarcticLog is …

The post #AntarcticLog: Two Hundred Fifty  appeared first on The Plainspoken Scientist.

I've never been to Greenland or the North Pole—but one of my guilty pleasures is investigating how I'd get there if I went. This week's #AntarcticLog is a product of this kind of woolgathering. 

The post #AntarcticLog: On the trail to science appeared first on The Plainspoken Scientist.

The poles make the difference in the size of certain animals.  Here the colossal squid speaks about why it’s so, well, colossal!

The post #AntarcticLog: Something in the water appeared first on The Plainspoken Scientist.

“Many STEM professionals hold the misconception that engaging in science communication can hinder the progress of budding and established research careers. However, it is not necessary to choose between engaging in outreach and conducting research.

The post Science Communication: How it benefits a STEM research career appeared first on The Plainspoken Scientist.

Close your eyes and picture a river…go on, do it!

What did you see? Did you picture a clear, deep mountain stream? A raging river in a steep gorge? A creek with grassy banks and forest? Whatever you pictured, it probably included water.

The post What makes a river a river? appeared first on The Plainspoken Scientist.

In recent days, multiple landslides have been triggered by intense rainfall in South Korea. killing many people.

Over the weekend, quite a large mudflow occurred on the banks of Loch Broom in the Wester Ross area of northern Scotland

The devastating 17 July 2023 debris flow at Quetame in Colombia, which killed at least 14 people including three children.

The 19 July 2023 landslide at Irshalwadi in Khalipur, in western India, which has killed at least 16 people.

An update on the 19 July 2023 Irshalwadi landslide in India and the 20 July 2023 debris flow at Ungar in Bhutan

Thanks to @Rock_Avalanches and @Planet, the location of the 20 July 2023 debris flow at Ungar in Lhuentse, Bhutan has now been identified.

As heavy rainfall continues to affect many areas, two interesting new mudflow videos have been posted to Twitter.

On 30 July 2023 a one million tonne rock slope collapse occurred close to Bisisthal in Switzerland. It was captured on several videos, which show the initial pillar collapses and the transition to a rapid rock avalanche.

A video posted to social media shows three people having a very lucky escape from a debris flow in Arunachal Pradesh, northern India.

The Landslide Blog will move to a new location from 7 August 2023, becoming part of AGU EoS.

As chair of the AGU Leadership Development and Governance Committee, I am pleased to announce the proposed slate of candidates for the 2024 AGU Elections.   In accordance with our bylaws, AGU elects new leaders every two years. This year’s slate showcases a diverse and exceptional group of leaders ready to guide AGU’s future and further our commitment to discovery and solutions in the Earth and space sciences.  The proposed slate …

The post Presenting the Proposed Slate for AGU’s 2024 Elections appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

AGU is an organization committed to a culture of Experiment / Learn / Adapt. In response to voter input over many elections, the Leadership Development / Governance Committee chose to test ranked choice voting in 4 elections – International Secretary, Board Director, Council Students and Council Early Career Scientists. In case you’re not familiar, this is an increasingly popular electoral system that allows voters to rank candidates by preference, meaning …

The post Experiment. Learn. Adapt.: Ranked Choice Voting in the 2024 AGU Elections appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

We are pleased to announce the approval of three updated position statements that will help shape the future of climate action, science communication and data sharing. AGU position statements—created, revised and approved by members with feedback and support from experts in related fields—are what enable AGU to take adaptive stances on significant policy issues ranging from climate change to national security. These statements, which are updated in a recurring four-year …

The post AGU Updates Critical Position Statements on Climate, Communications and Data appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

The scale and scope of Hurricane Milton’s destructive path is overwhelming. Communities along Florida’s west and east coasts, as well as Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, are just beginning to assess the damage. This event comes on top of the widespread damage of Hurricane Helene and its mounting death toll across North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. In just the past few months we have also witnessed the effects of Typhoon …

The post Weathering Storms Around the World appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Devon Gorby, PhD, was AGU’s 2023-2024 Congressional Science Fellow. She is now a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of State. From September 2023 to September 2024, I worked in the office of Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico as AGU’s Congressional Science Fellow. I used my scientific background in climate science, geology and hydrology to cover his water and environment portfolios. The experience was the …

The post A year in the life of a Congressional Science Fellow appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Record heat, devastating storms, punishing drought. Our world continues to see the unrelenting impacts of climate change. It clearly requires urgent action but as the research community increasingly investigates climate intervention methods to address this challenge, we see an alarming lack of ethical guidance.   This is why, powered in partnership and driven by broad collaboration, AGU facilitated the Ethical Framework Principles for Climate Intervention Research. Through a two-year process that included an open …

The post Ethical Framework Aims to Counter Risks of Geoengineering Research appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

AGU24 is just around the corner and our Science Policy and Government Relations team has a jam-packed agenda for our members at this year’s meeting in Washington, DC. From science policy 101 to understanding how scientists can engage with congress after the election to exploring science policy careers, we are here to help you make the most of your meeting. Explore our day-by-day schedule below:  Monday, 9 December  What’s Next for …

The post Join AGU Science Policy at AGU24 in DC appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

AGU24 is just around the corner and our Science Policy and Government Relations team has a jam-packed agenda for our members at this year’s meeting in Washington, DC. From science policy 101 to understanding how scientists can engage with congress after the election to exploring science policy careers, we are here to help you make the most of your meeting. Explore our day-by-day schedule below:    Monday through Thursday, daily: Free …

The post Join AGU Science Policy at AGU24 in Washington DC appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

The United States presidential election presents new realities for the world and for our work in building a vibrant community for Earth and space sciences. And AGU is committed to meeting this moment. We stand ready. Ready to continue being a voice for sound science policy and funding priorities. Ready to provide wider pathways for inclusivity and opportunity. Ready to support and amplify discovery and solution science. And ready to …

The post Post U.S. Elections: What’s Next for Science? appeared first on AGU Blogosphere.

Planetary scientists are using a volcanic flow field in New Mexico to puzzle out how long past volcanic eruptions on Mars might have lasted, a finding that could help researchers determine if Mars was ever hospitable to life. People don't usually think of New Mexico as a volcanically active place, but it has some of the youngest (geologically speaking) large lava flows in the continental United States.

The post New Mexico badlands help researchers understand past Martian lava flows (video) appeared first on GeoSpace.