Aims: To examine the extent of social stigma toward diabetes among Singapore's multi-ethnic general population and determine whether this differs across socio-demographic sub-groups.Methods: Data for this study came from a nationwide cross-sectional study. A diabetes stigma questionnaire comprising Social Distance Scale and Negative Attitudes and Stereotyping Scale was administered to those respondents who had not been diagnosed with diabetes. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to determine the dimensionality of the instruments and validated using confirmatory factor analysis. Multiple linear regression analysis (...) was conducted to examine associations between socio-demographic factors and measures of diabetes stigma.Results: In all, 2,895 participants were recruited from the general population giving a response rate of 66.2%. Factor analyses found that a one-factor model resulted in an acceptable fit for both stigma scales, which measured social distance and negative attitudes and stereotyping, respectively. Multiple linear regression analyses identified Indian ethnicity, higher personal income and having close friends or family members who had been diagnosed with diabetes to be significantly associated with lower social distance scores while those aged 50–64 years and those with secondary and vocational education were significantly associated with higher social distance scores. Those with a personal income of SG$2,000–3,999 and SGD $6,000 and above, and those with close friends or family members diagnosed with diabetes were significantly associated with lower negative attitudes and stereotyping scores. In contrast those aged 35 years and above, those with primary education and below, and those of Malay ethnicity were significantly associated with higher negative attitudes and stereotyping scores.Conclusions: The study found a relatively low level of stigma toward diabetes in the general population of Singapore, although some stigmatizing beliefs emerged. While greater knowledge of diabetes could reduce stigma, anti-stigma messaging should be incorporated into the “War on Diabetes” programme in Singapore. (shrink)

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based virtual influencers are now frequently used by brands in various categories to engage customers. However, little is known about who the followers of these AI-based virtual influencers are and more importantly, what drives the followers to use AI-based virtual influencers. The results from a survey support the notion that compensatory mechanisms and the need to belong play important roles in affecting usage intentions of AI-based virtual influencers. Specifically, the study finds that usage intentions are mediated and moderated (...) by compensatory mechanisms that arise from the perception of AI-based virtual influencers’ functional benefits and existential threats to human identity. Furthermore, the need for belonging moderates the effects of the following status (following versus non-following) on perceived personalization benefits of AI-based virtual influencers and behavioral intentions to use AI-based virtual influencers. This study provides important implications for academia delving into the social, cultural, and philosophical implications of AI-based virtual influencers for human societies as well as for brands that plan to use AI-based virtual influencers and gain a better understanding of their customers in AI-driven digital marketing. (shrink)

Formal charge and oxidation state are two means of estimating the charge of an atom in a molecule. Though these concepts have very different origins—formal charge is derived from the ball-and-hook model of bonding and oxidation state is based on the ionic approximation of molecules—they are used to predict reactivity and other molecular properties through their properties as charges. In this submission, it is shown that formal charge and oxidation state are two extreme descriptions of bonding: formal charge represents zero (...) charge transfer between atoms while oxidation state represents complete charge transfer in each bond. These ‘localised electron approximations’ form an incomplete picture of atomic charge. Electronegativity measures the extent of polarity in real bonds; this concept can be introduced to polarise bonds relative to the ‘equal sharing model’. It is shown that the various electronegativity models are fundamentally related. We chose two models to demonstrate numerically that polar bonds yield charges intermediate between the localised electron approximations: Pauling and Mulliken. It is shown that probabilistic interpretation of the Pauling scale (‘scaled Pauling’ method) and use of asymmetric chemical potential (‘modified Mulliken’ method) lead to atomic charges that closely approximate experimental values using simple ‘back of the envelope’ calculations. It is seen that formal charge, oxidation state, and electronegativity-interpolated charge lie on a continuum and are mathematically related. It is therefore concluded that electronegativity introduces (quantum) delocalisation to the localised (classical) picture of electron bonding. (shrink)

This manuscript explores the orthogonality constraints on configurations and orbitals subject to the property that states are mutually orthogonal. The orthogonality constraints lead to properties that affect the description of chemical systems. When states are described as linear combinations of configurations, the coefficient matrix diagonalises S−1H. Therefore, single-configuration states are only possible in one-electron systems: non-orthogonal configurations yield single-configuration states only if S−1H is diagonal, but this would violate the orthonormalisation constraint. Further, the coefficient matrix is not constrained to be (...) square. Similarly, the orbitals used to construct configurations may also be orthogonal or non-orthogonal; orbitals are only required to be mutually orthogonal at the one-electron limit. Orthogonal orbitals are generally preferred due to their mathematical and conceptual simplicity, leading to fictitious unoccupied orbitals. Since the Fock operator is orthogonality agnostic, non-orthogonal orbitals can be generated by solving the Fock equation independently for each electron; the virtual orbitals produced by this conception are true excitation orbitals as they are eigensolutions of the Fock operator. Additionally, we show that the number of molecular orbitals generated is not restricted to the number of atomic orbitals employed in the computation. This manuscript explores the mathematical relationships that need to be satisfied under the various orthogonality regimes. We also present mathematical relationships that provide results that are independent of the orthogonality approximation within a particular computational method. (shrink)

A bottom-up approach grounded in micro-level understanding of the thinking, feeling, behavioral, and social aspects of living with low income and associated low literacy can lead to greater understanding and improvement of interactions in the health arena. This paper draws on what we have learned about marketplace interactions in subsistence economies to inform innovations in medical education, design and delivery of healthcare for lowincome patients, outreach education, and future micro-level research at the human-healthcare interface.

Philosophical Investigations, Volume 45, Issue 3, Page 297-319, July 2022.

Papers presented at the 4th BRICS Academic Forum held in New Delhi on March 5-6, 2012.

Slater’s method is an integral part of the undergraduate experience. In actuality, Slater’s method is part of an atomic model and not simply a set of rules. Slater’s rules are a simple means for computing the effective nuclear charge experienced by an orbital. These rules are based on the shell-like structure of the Slater atom in which outer shell electrons are incapable of shielding inner electrons. Slater’s model provides a qualitative description of the valence electrons in multi-electron atoms with tremendous (...) ease. The model is useful for explaining atomic properties such as ionisation energy, electron affinity and atomic radius qualitatively. Slater’s rules also correctly reproduce the Madelung rule of filling and the ionisation sequence (4s before 3d); however, these rules are not able to reproduce the anomalous configurations of atoms such as Cr and Cu. It is found that the atomic properties that Slater’s model reproduces are all related to the exponential decay factor of the Slater orbital. We find—from estimating the polarity of a diatomic molecule using a simple model—that molecular polarity is related to the difference in the exponential decay factors of the valence orbitals of the two atoms, implying that the decay factor acts as the electronegativity of the atom. (shrink)

This research examined the role of thought suppression in the formation of mental blocks. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to generate a series of creative associates for two target words after initially suppressing a word that was semantically related to one of the two target words. Participants produced fewer responses, and experienced a greater sensation of being mentally blocked, when attempting to produce associates for the target word that was semantically related to the suppressed word. In Experiment 2, participants (...) either thought about or suppressed a series of words prior to completing a word fragment completion task. Each word either corresponded exactly to one of the word fragment solutions or resembled one of the solutions but was slightly different in its orthographic properties. Participants performed most poorly on the items for which they had initially suppressed negative primes. (shrink)

In this article, we draw on feminist trauma studies with the aim of deconstructing the theoretical and methodological binary between individual and collective trauma. Based on first-hand interviews with Bosnian survivors of rape, we attempt to ‘think against’ the private/public split that trauma studies work often unintentionally reifies. We draw upon recent methodological innovations that have been influenced by thinkers such as Derrida and Deleuze. Specifically, we work with what Jackson and Mazzei call rhizomatic and trace readings in the threshold. (...) Through a rhizomatic and trace reading of narrative pieces extracted from the interviews, we engage with the following questions: 1) How do we theorise what Davoine and Gaudilliere call ‘the sociopolitical faultlines’ between collective/public accounts of trauma and those traditionally constructed as private/personal? 2) How do accounts of war rape, which narrate the eruption of the past into the present, elucidate the myriad links between the private and public in a number of ways; among others, the echoes or traces of the everyday ‘before’ in subjects’ stories of the monstrous ‘after’? And 3) What is the relationship between the ‘unspeakable’ in the traumatic memories of the survivors and the ‘speakable’ collective memories of traumatic humanmade events? How does the collective desire ‘not to know’ or ‘to forget’ impact on the individual survivor’s ability to reconstitute their post-trauma identity in a personal as well as a social context? The aim of the analysis is to show that the multifaceted nature of the traumatic reality demands a multifaceted approach that resists binary constructions relating to self/other, private/public, individual/collective. (shrink)

This research examined the role of thought suppression in the formation of mental blocks. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to generate a series of creative associates for two target words after initially suppressing a word that was semantically related to one of the two target words. Participants produced fewer responses, and experienced a greater sensation of being mentally blocked, when attempting to produce associates for the target word that was semantically related to the suppressed word. In Experiment 2, participants (...) either thought about or suppressed a series of words prior to completing a word fragment completion task. Each word either corresponded exactly to one of the word fragment solutions or resembled one of the solutions but was slightly different in its orthographic properties . Participants performed most poorly on the items for which they had initially suppressed negative primes. (shrink)

A prevailing issue in clinical research is the duty clinicians have to treat or prevent the progression of disease during a study that they are conducting. While all clinical researchers have a duty of care for the patients who participate in clinical research, intervening at the onset or progression of disease may skew results and have a negative impact on the scientific validity of a study. Extreme examples of failures to intervene can be found in the Tuskegee syphilis study and (...) in an attempt to determine if cervical smears were an accurate predictor of cancer, which was uncovered by the Cartwright Inquiry. However, the issue arises in all research where delay in intervention can cause harm. A current study in Singapore is investigating the significance of an ‘ultra-high risk’ state that may constitute the prodromal phase of psychosis. This project called ‘The Longitudinal Youth at Risk Study’ is potentially contentious because it is recruiting young people who are identified as being ‘at risk’ of developing psychosis. In this paper, the decision to offer treatment to all participants as well as a fast track for those who are assessed to have developed serious mental illness into treatment is discussed. It is argued that this approach is ethically justified because of the duty of care that is owed to research participants, and suggests that the principle of equipoise may be used to guide intervention decisions in other clinical research protocols. (shrink)

This is an exploratory paper of the ethical implications for genomic research and mental illness with specific reference to Singapore. Singapore has a unique context due to its social and political systems, and although it is a relatively small country, its population is religiously and culturally diverse. The issues that we identify here, therefore, will offer new perspectives and will also shed light on the existing literature on psychiatric genomics in society. We contextualise issues such as risk and stigma in (...) the identification and diagnosis of psychosis in the way they relate to Singaporean society, and use a current study as a case example. Genomic research has the potential to change significantly he practice of clinical medicine if, as expected, fast and inexpensive sequencing becomes a reality. It will likely also change how society thinks and acts in respect to multi-factorial diseases, conditions, traits, and syndromes that have a genetic component. Genomic research already raises a number of ethical concerns relating to the privacy of individuals, including the disclosure of research results and incidental findings, surreptitious tests, third party access to data, and the re-emergence of genetic determinism. These issues are potentially exacerbated when genomics - the study of whole genomes to understand complex illness and behavioural traits - is applied to psychiatric research, because of the stigma that is often attached to mental illness. In this paper, we discuss some of the issues that have arisen in the context of a study in Singapore that is currently investigating the genomics and biomarkers of psychosis. We argue that although a genomic study rarely creates data that is directly useful to the participant, it can have incidental benefits to the individual who is identified during the study as being at high risk of developing psychosis and its related states. Understanding these potential benefits requires us to examine the implications that this type of research may have on public understandings of genomic data and risk. (shrink)

This is an exploratory paper of the ethical implications for genomic research and mental illness with specific reference to Singapore. Singapore has a unique context due to its social and political systems, and although it is a relatively small country, its population is religiously and culturally diverse. The issues that we identify here, therefore, will offer new perspectives and will also shed light on the existing literature on psychiatric genomics in society. We contextualise issues such as risk and stigma in (...) the identification and diagnosis of psychosis in the way they relate to Singaporean society, and use a current study as a case example. (shrink)

The most pressing issues of the twenty-first century—climate change and persistent hunger in a world of food surpluses, to name only two—are not problems that can be solved from within individual disciplines, nation-states, or cultural perspectives. They are predicaments that can only be resolved by generating sustained and globally robust coordination across value systems. The scale of the problems and necessity for coordinated global solutions signal a world historical transit as momentous as the Industrial Revolution: a transition from the predominance (...) of technical knowledge to that of ethical deliberation. This volume brings together leading thinkers from around the world to deliberate on how best to correlate worth (value) with what is worthwhile (values), pairing human prosperity with personal, environmental, and spiritual flourishing in a world of differing visions of what constitutes a moral life. Especially in the aftermath of what is now being called the Great Recession, awareness has mounted of the imperative to question the modern divorce of economics from ethics. While the domains of economics and ethics were from antiquity through at least the eighteenth century understood in many cultures to be coterminous and mutually entailing, the modern assumption has been that the goal of maximizing human prosperity and the aim of justly enhancing our lives as persons and as communities were functionally and practically distinct. Working from a wide array of perspectives, the contributors to this volume offer a set of challenges to the assumed independence of the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of human and planetary well-being. Reflecting on the complex interrelationship among economics, justice, and equity, the book resists "one size fits all" approaches and struggles to revitalize the marriage of economics and ethics by activating cultural differences as the basis of mutual contribution to shared human flourishing. The publication of this important collection will stimulate or extend critical debates among scholars and students working in a number of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, including philosophy, history, environmental studies, economics, and law. Contributors: Roger T. Ames, James Behuniak Jr., Steve Bein, Nalini Bhushan, Purushottama Bilimoria, Steven Burik, Amita Chatterjee, Baoyan Cheng, Gordon Davis, Jay L. Garfield, Steven F. Geisz, Peter D. Hershock, Larry A. Hickman, Kathleen M. Higgins, Heidi M. Hurd, Thomas P. Kasulis, Workineh Kelbessa, Lori Keleher, Oliver Leaman, James McRae, Jin Y. Park, James Peterman, Naoko Saito, May Sim, Robert Smid, Paul Standish, Kenneth W. Stikkers, Karsten J. Struhl, Meera Sushila Viswanathan, Wu Shiu- Ching, Xu Di, T. Yamauchi, Yang Liuxin. (shrink)