Asia Research Institute, NUS

02/06/2026

Parental migration is widely associated with parent–child separation, yet evidence on how such separation affects children's well-being and development remains mixed and context-dependent.

New research in 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 has found significant association between maternal absence and developmental delay in the receptive language domain, suggesting that receptive language development may require particular attention in cases of maternal absence.

Jampaklay, A., Vapattanawong, P., Tangchonlatip, K., Lucktong, A., Yakoh, K., Chamratrithirong, A., & Ford, K. (2026). Parental absence and the development of preschool children in a high migration civil conflict area. 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441730.2026.2680862

This article is Open Access.

https://doi.org/10.1080/17441730.2026.2680862

Parental migration is widely associated with parent–child separation, yet evidence on how such separation affects children's well-being and development remains mixed and context-dependent. This stu...

29/05/2026

Processes of “worlding” illuminate how smart cities are shaped not only by infrastructure and technology, but also by power, aspiration and exclusion.

Galuh Syahbana Indraprahasta's new ARIscope article is a critical examination of the techno-utopian vision underpinning Nusantara, Indonesia’s new capital city, focusing on how the idea of the smart city is imagined and materialised, while often overlooking the everyday realities of its citizens.

Smart Nusantara: Technological Worlding and the Overlooked Citizens?

Smart Nusantara: Technological Worlding and the Overlooked Citizens?13 May 2026By Galuh Syahbana IndraprahastaNusantarasmart citiesSoutheast AsiaUrban Asiaurban futuresurbanism Prologue In his presidential address to the House of Representatives (DPR) on the eve of the 2019 Independence Day celebrat...

28/05/2026

"There's also a lack of trust in the system. So even when people are recycling, or feel like they may be recycling, they may still think that there is no true or real recycling happening."

Drawing on qualitative interviews with ordinary residents in Singapore, new research by Qian Hui Tan and Brenda S. A Yeoh explores their predominantly inter-Asian references to cities perceived as having more effective household recycling and plastic reduction policies.

Tan, Q. H., & Yeoh, B. S. A. (2026). Circulating referencescapes: inter-Asian references to circular urban policies among ordinary residents in Singapore. 𝘜𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺, 1–24.

Whereas smart and sustainable urbanism has been well examined in the literature on inter-urban referencing, circular urban policies aimed at encouraging R-behaviors (e.g. reduce, recycle) have rece...

27/05/2026

Selamat Hari Raya Haji to all who celebrate 🌙 Wishing you and your families peace, joy, and blessings.

22/05/2026

📢 CALL FOR PAPERS
📍 At the Crossroads: Dunhuang and its Global Connections
🗓 8–10 January 2027
📌 ACM (Asian Civilisations Museum), Singapore
⏰ Submission Deadline: 15 July 2026

The ACM (Asian Civilisations Museum), in collaboration with the The Courtauld Institute, Asia Research Institute, NUS, Harvard-Yenching Institute, and the Dunhuang Foundation, will host a three-day international conference in Singapore from 8 to 10 January 2027. The conference will be held in conjunction with the special exhibition, Sacred Caves: Dunhuang, Buddhism, and the Silk Road, at the ACM (Asian Civilisations Museum).

This conference seeks to advance new scholarship on Dunhuang as a dynamic node of transregional exchange, situating it within broader networks of Buddhist, artistic, and intellectual circulation across Asia and beyond. While highlighting recent research on this UNESCO World Heritage site, the conference also aims to rethink Dunhuang’s place within a wider Buddhist world by foregrounding its global connections—across regions, media, and historical periods.

Suggested topics include:
• Archaeology, material culture, and conservation
• Manuscripts, texts, and literary cultures
• Dunhuang and the Indian Ocean world
• Transmission of ideas, practices, and iconographies
• Histories of collecting and dispersal
• Museum curation and stewardship
• Contemporary engagements, including digital humanities

Submission requirements:
• Paper title
• Abstract (max. 500 words)
• Short bio (~150 words)
• 2-page CV

Selected presenters will also submit a draft paper (3,000–5,000 words) by 15 December 2026.

Funding support:
Full or partial airfare support and 4 nights’ accommodation in Singapore are available for international participants.

For enquiries:
📧 Valerie Yeo — [email protected]
📧 Professor Tansen Sen — [email protected]

CALL FOR PAPERS DEADLINE: 15 JULY 2026 The Asian Civilisations Museum, in collaboration with the Courtauld Institute, the Asia Research Institute (National University of Singapore), the Harvard-Yenching Institute, and the Dunhuang Foundation, will host a three-day international conference in Singapo...

21/05/2026

A 'zero-toxic' health agenda may be more effective than a purely 'zero-waste' environmental health agenda when it comes to plastic avoidance in Singapore, write Qian Hui Tan and Brenda S.A. Yeoh in new open access research in 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘮. Published by ScienceDirect.

Plastic materialities in everyday geographies: Precautionary consumption, compromise and communicabilities in Singapore 10.1016/j.geoforum.2026.104658

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016718526001260

19/05/2026

Singapore imports almost all of its fruits and vegetables, but producing more food locally is not the only answer to food security. Part of the answer is much simpler: reducing waste.

Food waste happens across the supply chain, from wholesalers to households. Cutting that waste means less food needs to be imported.

Fridge Restock Community SG volunteer Jeffrey Seuntjens has been helping recover surplus produce at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre. FRC now rescues more than 10 tonnes of fruits and vegetables every week, with plans to grow further.

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗲 𝗦. 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘀𝗼𝗻, Asia Research Institute, and Department of Political Science, National University ...

15/05/2026

We're proud to share that Stefan Heuber's new book 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩'𝘴 𝘈𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦 has been published by Cambridge University Press and is available to download via Open Access on the CUP website: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/earths-amphibious-transformation/EE52FA4960AC14D70037A3886CA3162F

Stefan is a Senior Research Fellow in ARI's Science, Technology and Society cluster and President of the Society of Floating Solutions (Singapore) / SFSS and the Vice-Chair of the International Scientific Committee for the annual World Conference on Floating Solutions.

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
In the first history of the oceanic Anthropocene, Stefan Huebner explores the twentieth-century extension of human habitats into oceanic spaces. He shows how the effects of this amphibious transformation have followed a very different trajectory from human-driven change on land, in terms of both socioeconomic development and environmental degradation. The extension of the human habitat through artificial islands such as seabed-fixed and floating structures has granted vertical access to Earth's different spatial layers, from the fossil fuels beneath the seabed to outer space. Huebner asks why this transformation occurred; how it has been shaped by political, economic, and environmental factors; and how it has altered marine environments. A deeper understanding of Earth's amphibious transformation compels us to reconsider the history and future of climate change, sea level rise, energy transitions, human–marine species interactions, globalization, and even urbanization, including floating cities. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

Congratulations Stefan!

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/earths-amphibious-transformation/EE52FA4960AC14D70037A3886CA3162F

Cambridge Core - Global History - Earth's Amphibious Transformation

14/05/2026

Why Japan-China ties can benefit from promoting people-to-people exchanges Akio Takahara Akio Takahara is Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tokyo Woman's Christian University. 30 April, 2026 Japan and China are Asian powerhouses that should collaborate responsibly for the peace and prosperity of t...

13/05/2026

Great to see CGSEA Research Fellow yingshan lau contributing to conversations on carbon project development and MRV at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve 🌿