Professionals In Singapore Research Articles

Health Promotion Board-Ministry of Health Clinical Practice Guidelines: Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence

The Health Promotion Board (HPB) has updated the clinical practice guidelines on Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence to provide health professionals in Singapore with evidence-based interventions for smoking cessation. This article reproduces the introduction and executive summary of key guideline recommendations (with recommendations from the guidelines) from the HPB-MOH Clinical Practice Guidelines on Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, for the information of SMJ readers. Chapters and page numbers mentioned in the reproduced extract refer to the full text of the guidelines, which are available from the Health Promotion Board website: http://www.hpb.gov.sg/cpg-smoking-cessation. The recommendations should be used with reference to the full text of the guidelines. Following this article are multiple choice questions based on the full text of the guidelines.

Driving Forces behind and Barriers to Relational Transaction Practices in Public Construction Projects

AbstractRelational transactions, comprising relational contracts and network strategies, could contribute to better outcomes for general construction projects. However, public projects seem to face more constraints when adopting relational transactions because of the fear that close relationships may be construed as corruption. The aim of this study is to identify drivers of and barriers to relational transaction practices in public projects. A questionnaire-based survey of public projects was administered to construction professionals in Singapore. It is found that the adoption of relational transactions in public projects is motivated by (1) increased value proposition, (2) improved business competitiveness, and (3) improved project time and cost performance. Meanwhile, contracting parties attempting to adopt relational transactions are restricted by (1) a lack of capabilities, (2) ethos of public service, (3) a lack of continuity, and (4) institutional constraints. The implication is that with a better...

A context-based investigation into source use by information seekers

An important question in information-seeking behavior is where people go for information and why information seekers prefer to use one source type rather than another when faced with an information-seeking task or need for information. Prior studies have paid little attention to contingent variables that could change the cost-benefit calculus in source use. They also defined source use in one way or the other, or considered source use as a monolithic construct. Through an empirical survey of 352 working professionals in Singapore, this study carried out a context-based investigation into source use by information seekers. Different measures of source use have been incorporated, and various contextual variables that could affect the use of source types have been identified. The findings suggest that source quality and access difficulty are important antecedents of source use, regardless of the source type. Moreover, seekers place more weight on source quality when the task is important. Other contextual factors, however, are generally less important to source use. Seekers also demonstrate a strong pecking order in the use of source types, with online information and face-to-face being the two most preferred types. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

What do renal health‐care professionals in Singapore think of advance care planning for patients with end‐stage renal disease?

Previous studies have focused either on advance medical directives rather than advance care planning (ACP), or on patient's perspectives on ACP rather than those of the health-care providers. This study aimed to explore the knowledge, attitudes and experience of renal health-care professionals in Singapore on ACP for patients with end-stage renal failure. A 41-item questionnaire was distributed to physicians, nurses, medical social workers (MSW) and other allied health professionals working in renal units. The questionnaire had four sections: demographics of the respondents, knowledge of, attitudes to and experience with ACP. Of a total of 620 survey forms, 562 were returned, giving a response rate of 90.6%. Medical social workers and physicians had higher knowledge scores than the rest. Of doctors and MSW, 82.4% and 100%, respectively, considered ACP discussions as part of their role, but only 37.1% of nurses and 38.1% of other allied health-care professionals thought likewise. Nurses appeared to be the least confident in conducting ACP discussions, and most fearful of upsetting patients and families. Medical social workers were the most confident. The main barriers for physicians appeared to be lack of time, concerns regarding family backlash and the perception that patients were not prepared to discuss ACP. Training of renal health-care professionals in ACP should aim to correct misunderstandings surrounding ACP, address potential barriers and impart communication skills. In particular, renal nurses will need encouragement to initiate discussions and be equipped with the skills to do so.

Graduate Real Estate Education in Singapore: What Prospective Students Look For

A survey of 102 real estate professionals in Singapore was conducted to identify key factors in their assessment of a graduate real estate program. From the perspective of respondents, the three mo...

Determinants of the need for homophily in referral criteria: The case of clergy referrals to mental health professionals in Singapore

Homophily, the tendency to seek out those who are similar, is a powerful force in structuring the relations that people have in a variety of social settings including the selection of partnerships. Despite this, attitudinal homophily has seldom been discussed in relation to referral practices, an important consideration in health care delivery. In this paper Christian clergy in Singapore are examined as to the extent they impose homophily as a selection criteria for referrals to mental health professionals. This is an important consideration as clergy are popular sources of help though they seldom refer their clients to mental health professionals due to the competition between health sectors. This study based on survey data collected from a representative sample of Singaporean clergymen predicts that those who expect referral partners to be homophilous include those with greater Christian conservatism, professional ideology and beliefs in clergy competence in handling emotional and mental problems. These ministers tended to come from smaller congregations and had more psychological education. In essence clergy who value homophily in referral partners are concerned about the relational risk involved in the referral process and use homophily in the hope that they can find referral partners who do not undermine their authority or jeopardize laymen's faith.

Entrepreneurial intentions: The influence of organizational and individual factors

An individual's intent to pursue an entrepreneurial career can result from the work environment and from personal factors. Drawing on the entrepreneurial intentions and the person–environment (P–E) fit literatures, and applying a multilevel perspective, we examine why individuals intend to leave their jobs to start business ventures. Findings, using a sample of 4192 IT professionals in Singapore, suggest that work environments with an unfavorable innovation climate and/or lack of technical excellence incentives influence entrepreneurial intentions, through low job satisfaction. Moderating effects suggest that an individual's innovation orientation strengthens the work-environment to job-satisfaction relationship; self-efficacy strengthens the job-satisfaction to entrepreneurial intentions relationship.

Views, Values and Perceptions in Geographical Fieldwork in Singapore Schools

This article suggests that there is an overwhelming support for fieldwork among a prominent group of professionals in Singapore. Professionals were surveyed to assess how fieldwork is viewed amongst the subject leaders (heads of departments, subject heads and geography coordinators) and the various stakeholders (school leaders comprising principals/vice-principals, curriculum officers from the Ministry of Education (MOE) and geography lecturers at the National Institute of Education) in Singapore. The article concludes that the majority of the fieldwork was only of the ‘traditional field excursion’ type which did not allow much geographical enquiry and discovery. There were also divergent views on the adequacy of training for teachers. The article also highlights the current level of fieldwork undertaken in schools and the current level of training for teachers. It also offers a number of recommendations based on a deeper understanding of challenges and issues faced by schools.

Effects of leadership and leader‐member exchange on innovativeness

Purpose – The role of research and development (R&D) in a knowledge‐based economy like Singapore is of paramount importance to the sustenance of its competitive advantage. R&D not only requires huge investments in time and capital but also in a committed pool of talent. The present study attempts to integrate both behavioural and relational perspectives using Bass's Multi‐Factor Leadership Theory and Liden and Maslyn's Multi‐Dimensional Model of Leader‐Member Exchange (LMX) and test their applicability in determining employees' innovativeness.Design/methodology/approach – Using the responses from 201 R&D professionals in Singapore, it is found that R&D superiors demonstrate predominantly transformational leadership but at lower frequency than observed in past studies. Practical implications arising from the findings for R&D managers, human resource managers, and training and education are discussed.Findings – The findings from hierarchical regression analysis reveal that transformational leadership has po...

Firm‐specific human capital and compensation organizational tenure profiles: An archival analysis of salary data for it

AbstractWe examine determinants of IT compensation using archival salary data from 2,251 IT professionals in Singapore. Consistent with human capital theory, we find that professionals in IT jobs requiring more firm‐specific human capital are paid more than those in jobs requiring less firm‐specific human capital. Moreover, compensation increases with organizational tenure at an increasing rate for professionals in higher firm‐specific human capital IT jobs, but at a decreasing rate for those in lower firm‐specific human capital IT jobs. Our results reveal firm‐specific human capital as a primary determinant of compensation and a moderator of IT compensation‐organizational tenure profiles. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Public Disclosure of Healthcare Performance Information and Its Application to the Singapore Context

The increasing worldwide trend towards publicly and actively disclosing healthcare provider performance information requires that healthcare professionals in Singapore understand the relevant issues and implications. The current evidence suggests that there needs to be caution in any related move here in Singapore, since the benefits have not been entirely established and the associated problems not inconsequential. This article identifies public accountability and the commercial need to demonstrate value as possibly the main drivers for local public disclosure. It concludes that a proper needs analysis and true stakeholder involvement are necessary in contemplating such an initiative locally.

A comparative mental health literacy survey of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals in Singapore

Objective: The objectives of this study are, first, to replicate and extend an Australian approach to assessing mental health literacy by studying a sample of Singapore mental health professionals, and to focus on differences between judgements made by the psychiatrists in comparison with the other mental health professionals. Second, to compare the psychiatrists' judgements with those of Australian psychiatrists.Method: The Australian questionnaire, assessing responses in relation to vignettes of major depression and to schizophrenia was extended by adding a third vignette of mania, and by the addition of several region-specific response options. Nearly 500 questionnaires were distributed to representative staff (psychiatrists, nurses and allied health) of a large psychiatric institution in Singapore, with a response rate of 81%. Psychiatrists' judgements were compared with all other hospital staff, and with Australian psychiatrists' judgements.Results: The two principal contrast groups (Singapore psychiatrists and other Singapore mental health professionals) differed slightly in terms of diagnostic accuracy. The psychiatrists differed in favouring a more professionally focused model of intervention, while both professional groups viewed traditional healers and their practices as distinctly unhelpful. Direct comparison of psychiatrist ratings generated in Singapore and in Australia revealed quite similar response profiles.Conclusions: In addition to generating data of some intrinsic importance, comparison with Australian survey data allows the potential impact of regional and cultural differences, as well as of varying psychiatric practices, to be identified. Responses identified more similarities than differences in the judgements of the psychiatrists from the two countries.

Work stress among six professional groups: the Singapore experience

Recent developments in stress research have called for attention to how social structures influence the stress and coping processes. This paper examines the experience of work stress among professionals in Singapore and argues that workers' experiences in the workplace are influenced not only by individual personality and job nature, but also by structural forces shaping the profession, the social organization of work institutions and the development of the economy. Data were collected from a survey of professionals in Singapore conducted in 1989–1990. The sample consisted of 2570 men and women from six different professions and para-professions, namely general practitioners, lawyers, engineers, teachers, nurses and life insurance personnel. Results showed that performance pressure and work-family conflicts were perceived to be the most stressful aspects of work. These two stressors also significantly contributed to the experience of overall work stress. Further, stress arising from work-family conflicts, performance pressure and poor job prospects was negatively associated with the level of work satisfaction. These findings were discussed in the contexts of increasing professionalization and de-professionalization and the growing emphases on productivity and efficiency in a quickly developing economy.

Job orientation, perceptions, and satisfaction a study of information technology professionals in Singapore

In this paper, we develop a conceptual model for job satisfaction vis-a-vis technical or managerial orientation of the information technology (IT) professional's job. We suggest that the linkage is mediated by perceptions of the professional on the “micro-environment” of the job (occupational pay fairness and occupational advancement prospects) as well as on the “macro-environment” of the job (organizational progressiveness posture and organizational cohesiveness). The model was supported empirically by testing a sample of 140 IT professionals in Singapore. We found that a high degree of technical orientation results in the perception that moving into management would bring better pay and advancement prospects; this then leads to job dissatisfaction. Further, a technical orientation brings a perception that the organization is a less progressive place and is held together by an emphasis on procedures rather than on accomplishments. On a broader perspective, our findings would be useful for Singapore policy makers in national IT manpower planning as well as in fine-tuning its implementation of the current vision of Singapore as an “intelligent” island by the turn of the century.

Turnover and remuneration of information technology professionals in Singapore

The rapid growth of technology in Singapore and the shortage of IT professionals had an impact on the country's competitiveness. The study shows that the turnover rate among IT professionals is still high, particularly among software professionals. There are large differences in the salaries of IT professionals. Salaries vary by job title (category), sector, working experience, nationality, education, and in some jobs by gender. The turnover rate and the number of job openings fell in 1990 and is expected to fall more in the near future. Apparently, the main reasons for turnover are competition from other employers in remuneration and limited advancement opportunities. The managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

Public and Private Sector Professionals

Despite the emergence of the public and private sectors as the main employers of professionals, few empirical studies have compared the work experience of professionals in the two sectors. Data obtained from public and private sector professionals in Singapore (N = 262) were used to compare the quality of their perceived work experience in terms of realization of professional work expectations, job characteristics, job satisfaction, internal work motivation, turnover intentions, and career facilitation. All three hypotheses predicting differences in perceived experience of these variables were supported. On the whole, private sector professionals perceived a better quality of work experience than their public sector counterparts. The findings were interpreted in terms of the defining characteristics of the public-private dichotomy and the resulting internal structure and management practices. Implications of the findings for enhancing the perceived quality of work experience and thereby attracting and retaining professionals in the public sector and directions for future studies are discussed.

Career Orientations and Work Outcomes Among Industrial R&D Professionals

The competitive global marketplace and the need for technological leadership in achieving competitive advantage have made it necessary to understand the factors that influence the performance and work attitudes of research and development (R&D) professionals. Data obtained from 165 industrial R&D professionals in Singapore were used to examine the relationship between career orientations and selected work outcomes. Factor analysis revealed two factors that underlie career orientations—professional/scientific and managerial. Both career orientations showed a significant and negative relationship with turnover intentions. Zero-order and partial correlation analyses indicated managerial career orientation to be related to organization-based performance and professional/scientific career orientation to be related to scientific performance. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Factors associated with attitudes towards telecommuting

A survey of the attitudes of female computer professionals in Singapore towards telecommuting was carried out. Seventy-three percent of the 459 respondents were in favour of telecommuting. Most would prefer to work at home 1 to 3 days a week and at the office on the other days, rather than working at home full time. They would telecommute only in times of need (e.g. when they have young children) and were concerned with work and interaction-related problems which might arise from telecommuting. The findings suggest that telecommuting will be of particular interest to employees who are married, those with a high proportion of work that can be done at home, those who find their journey to work frustrating, and those with supervisors and coworkers who are supportive of telecommuting. Respondents who are single and have a study room at home are also likely to favour telecommuting. Implications are discussed.

The architect as a purchaser of CAD systems: a study of potential cognitive dissonance

The cognitive dissonance experience in buying a CAD system by the architectural professionals in Singapore was studied in terms of the factors considered in an acquisition, the features looked for a system, the aspects of vendor support required and the reasons for making the acquisition. Several items in each of the above areas of study were investigated. The study found that although no cognitive dissonance exists for each item taken separately, when taken together the ranking of the items does suggest that some changes occur before and after the purchase.