Background of The Study

Homelessness continues to be a great social issue in the world. On a daily basis more people succumb to the problem due to varying reasons. The United Nations attempted a worldwide survey of the same issue in 2005 and they uncovered that it is a grave global concern. Findings from the research approximated that more than one hundred million people were homeless. Additionally, more 1.6 billion individuals lack adequate housing. Thus, this issue continues to haunt the worldwide population.

Recent pictures flooding the internet display the dire situation in Singapore with a fraction of its people found on the street. Thus, the government is concerned about this issue and requires to collect national data in regard to the same problem. A social research project is essential to provide information on the ways to formulate the design of the study, methods of data collection and analysis and review of the same. Therefore, this is a submission of that nature.

Background of The Study

The republic of Singapore is an Island country in the Southeast Asia. It is surrounded by water and has no land connection to neighboring countries. It is located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and with some Indonesian islets to its south. The total population of the nation is approximately 5.3 million. The total area of Singapore is 660 square kilometers with the country making reclamations from the surrounding waters. The country was once a British territory and functioned as a trading post but gained independence in 1963 under the blanket of Malaysia but separated in 1965 because of ideological differences.

It is a wealthy country because today it has become a financial hub in the Asia region. Additionally, it is considered one of the economic ‘tigers’ of the continent. This is based on the country’s political stability and peace. However, it also has very strict laws and operates in a very conservative manner. Singapore is a multiracial nation but the Chinese dominate with about 75 percent of the population. The Malay make up 14 percent while the Indians are 9 percent. The rest of the population is comprised of several smaller races.

It is similarly a multilingual nation with English and Mandarin as the official languages. The former makes up 37 percent while the latter comprises 35 percent. Other small Chinese dialects make up 12 percent, Malay, Tamil and other languages include 11 percent, 3 percent and 2 percent respectively. Freedom of religion guarantees many religions including Buddhists, Christians, Muslim, Taoist, Hindu and other minute ones with shares of 33 percent, 19 percent, 14 percent, 10 percent, 5 percent and 0.6 percent. Another 18 percent do not identify with any particular religion.

Literature Review

Singapore is one of the countries in the world where people live in the urban areas. In fact, the CIA world Factbook considers the country as 100 percent urbanized. The people of Singapore are highly educated with at least 97 percent of them educated. The life expectancy in the country is 85 years. The country has managed to pose positive figures for its annual growth and the GDP amounts to 323.9 billion dollars making a rich state nation.

This republic managed to move from a poor country to a rich one within a single generation. In fact, the CIA Factbook records that there are no people living below the poverty line. In 2015, the world bank provided the international poverty line to be 1.90 dollars a day. Therefore, the people of Singapore comfortably use more than that in a day. However, a study conducted in early 2017 by Montfort Care, a volunteer organization in collaboration with group SW101, a similar type of organization that conducts research on issues that affect low-income people found that 180 people sleep on the streets in Singapore (Madalina, 2016).

Data was collected over a period of five hours by one hundred volunteers. The selected hours were between 9 pm and 2 am (Madalina, 2016). The many people interviewed were found sleeping in public spaces such East Coast Park and at HDB blocks. Some offered to answer some questions while the rest filled the entire questionnaire. A bunch refused to participate in the survey. It targeted personal information such as education level, the duration that they slept outside, age, and home ownership.       

Findings indicate that these people sleeping in the street are totally different from the usual ones found on the streets of cities in many other countries. The surprising fact is that 60 percent of the ones interviewed had jobs. Of these, 58 percent of them worked on a full-time basis while 38 percent were on casual labor (Madalina, 2016). Majority worked as cleaners and security personnel. Additionally, the survey discovered that some of them had registered addresses with some of them owning apartments.

Some of the reasons of these people sleeping in the streets include running from the family disputes in their homes, renting out their units to people to make extra cash, some of them work shifts and would rather wait till their next shift and some just want to be close to their working areas (Tan & Forbes-Mewett, 2017). Another surprising perspective of the those sleeping in the streets of Singapore include the fact that they individually make the decision to live in the streets and do not seek help from shelters or the authorities (Cheng, 2018). Thus, the study served to illuminate the plight of the homeless on the streets of the state nation. It allowed the public to know there are people who actually live on the streets in this country.

Research Design

Literature Review

A library internet search was used to locate some of the studies that are done on homelessness. One of the most important tools used in this process was google scholar that proved an asset in finding relevant content for this proposal. Other important databases include JSTOR and the library database. Furthermore, a general search on the internet was similarly useful in compiling some keywords that were essential in the gathering of information on the topic. Vital phrases and words used in the search include ‘homelessness’, ‘temporary housing’, ‘sleeping in the streets’, ‘homes’, ‘housing costs’, ‘shelter for the poor’, ‘urban living’ and ‘street life’.

The efforts unearthed many studies done on this particular issue indicating that it is a stubborn problem in many countries. In fact, researchers have used multiple designs ranging from empirical, qualitative to quantitative ones, and social studies. Many disciplines are also involved in understanding the phenomenon and its causes. They include psychology, sociology, education, urban studies, architecture, nursing and social work. European countries dominate the space of research in homelessness (Hill & Lian, 2013). Others include the United States and Australia. Some Asian countries have also done similar investigations on the same.

The timelines of these studies is also important because some European countries conducted them as early as the 1970s. However, those of interest to this study range from about two decades ago because they can reflect homelessness in the modern society. One of the most noticeable factors is the fact that the studies conducted on homelessness in Singapore are few and conducted quite recently (HUI, 2018). Thus, this social plight is a newer problem in the country.

One of the most concerning issue with the literature available includes defining what homelessness encompasses. It has been difficult to establish a consensus about what homelessness describes. The United Nations defines this phenomenon using two descriptive terms. Primary homelessness is the group of persons that are often found living in the street, including the ones without living quarters. A second definition is called secondary homelessness. It includes those individuals that lack a usual place of residence and often move from one quarter to another. Additionally, it encompasses those that are accommodated in shelters for the poor on a transitional basis.

Furthermore, it also includes those individuals without their own living areas and are accommodated by friends or relatives. Another definition considers homelessness as the phenomenon of being without a permanent place of residence and spend their lives s great deal of time out on the streets living in abandoned buildings or centers for the homeless (Guirguis-Younger, McNeil, & Hwang, 2014). (Guirguis-Younger, McNeil, & Hwang, 2014) investigated the phenomenon of homelessness among youth in Canada. Their research focused on the youths aged between 12 and 24 living in the streets.

Ethical issues

The study made by (Guirguis-Younger, McNeil, & Hwang, 2014) provides a comprehensive look into the situation of homelessness of youth in both Canada and the United States. In fact, it presents one of the most concerning issues with living in the streets. They link problems of health to this state of living. Additionally, they provide give the issue of homelessness as the result of the youth running away from traumatic experiences or various problems in their environments rather than searching to live in the streets. In fact, among all the studies made in homelessness in youth, one of the common denominators is the fact that these youths often come from strained families (Guirguis-Younger, McNeil, & Hwang, 2014).

Some of these families are affected by drug and alcohol abuse. Domestic violence, poverty, neglect and emotional abuse are among the problems they experience in their families and they thus choose to live in the streets. Others who have been through the foster care environments consider them to be unfavorable because they are perceived as delinquents and treated as such (Smith, 2012).  Thus, they choose street life.

Street cultures are a major concern of the social researchers that investigate the issue. For subsidence these street youths engage in various activities such as panhandling, borrowing, survival sex, prostitution and seeking employment. They regularly lack food and shelter for nights (Guirguis-Younger, McNeil, & Hwang, 2014). These situations create enormous stress for them and to cope some of them end up abusing drugs. Some social issues that haunt these populations include addiction, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal tendencies (Guirguis-Younger, McNeil, & Hwang, 2014).

Another significant problem includes their interactions with the public where they face abusive people because of their dressing and appearance. It contributes to stigmatization and often leads to rejection by potential employers. Thus, this literature provides that the health of the homeless youths deteriorates because of the difficulty and stress of their living situation and many experience bad sexual health, mental disorders and often fall sick. (Guirguis-Younger, McNeil, & Hwang, 2014) suggest that the plight of homeless youths is as a result of systematic problems and they suggest a systematic response to it can cure the problem.

Economic adversity is the major contributor of homelessness in many countries in the world (Cross, Seager, Erasmus, Ward & O’Donovan, 2010). (Cross, Seager, Erasmus, Ward & O’Donovan, 2010) conduct a cross sectional study across multiple nations including the United Kingdom, the United States, India and South Africa. This research unearths the fact that there are many contributing factors including poverty and unemployment. One of the major discoveries is the fact that spatial access to street living is a contributing factor.

Limitations of research

Similarly, access to metro core zones is a housing issue that is directly linked to poverty. Thus, this research provides a comprehensive study of economic phases of a country as a contributing factor to the problem of housing. Thus, (Cross, Seager, Erasmus, Ward & O’Donovan, 2010) seek political and economic solutions to the homelessness in the South African context.

Tan & Forbes-Mewett (2017) investigate homelessness in Singapore as a major concern in the state. The island state prides itself as being a pioneer in the creation of affordable housing for its public that live in the urban context. However, Tan & Forbes-Mewett (2017) are concerned about the rate at which the elder population in the country is slipping through the cracks and becoming homeless in these Singaporean cities. One of the perspectives that the article provides is the perspective from many online articles published by the general public that is concerned and government publications (Clarilyn, 2017).

Furthermore, the media has greatly covered the issue and provided great content from various forms of research. Tan & Forbes-Mewett (2017) conducted a two-year ethnographic study that provided various findings that show homelessness for the elderly in the nation state as a result of personal decisions and structural factors. Additionally, Tan & Forbes-Mewett (2017) discovered that there are multiple factors involved in the process but they appreciate the fact that there is a breakdown of structures of work, family, and friends. Similarly, the lack of governmental assistance is a constant issue.

(ONLINE, 2017) also discovered that the homeless situation in Singapore is different from the usual stereotypes in that the elderly people above fifty years make up majority of this group living in the streets.  (ONLINE, 2017) similarly uncovered great breakdown in personal relationships of these men with their families as a major reason as to why they live in the streets.

The perspective of homeless families is another one that has received little attention from social researchers. (Teo & Chiu, 2016) provide an account of nine families in Singapore that this problem by living through various transitional homes. It is one of the strengths of this research in that they follow married couples with children instead of the more common ones that involve single people. In conducting the research, the scientists used the definition of homelessness as the lack of complete control, privacy and comfort, and nonexistence of physical, emotional or financial support from kin. Additionally, a comprised sense of family and decision making and and the sense of hope and belief while interacting with the societal system in place (Teo & Chiu, 2016).

Findings of this study associate homelessness with structural factors arising in a systemic manner from kin support and housing policies. Another major strength of this study comes from the fact that they investigated various issues associated with non-housing elements that contribute to the homeless situation of this families. They include policies that govern citizenship, welfare and education. However, the research did not look into the number of years that these families had been surviving on the basis of homelessness.

The exercise of understanding available research literature on homelessness provides quick understanding of it. It is an issue that cuts across the multiple academic philosophies. It has been investigated in various ways using different techniques to uncover the social issue. All studies mentioned in this proposal are relevant for this proposal that will takes a sociocultural approach to this problem. Singapore is one of the most urbanized states in the world and therefore urbanization is one of the issues that the proposal seeks to address (Akinluyi & Adedokun, 2014). Similarly, there is a great deal of inclusion in the country for all races. Therefore, the proposal seeks to answer questions in regard to which ethnic groups are affected by homelessness.

Research Question

What contribution does urbanization, inequality and ethnicity affect the rising homelessness in Singapore?

Objectives

• To find out the rate of urbanization in Singapore and detail its effect on the culture of the people.
• To understand inequality in the context of the urban centers.
• To find out the distribution of homelessness among the ethnic groups in the country.

Research Design

This study assumes an empirical design of research to investigate the problem at hand. It will use the qualitative techniques that are useful to uncover the various processes that are involved in a social relationship. It is a useful design to populate data and provide extensive understanding of the issue. Kazdin (2011) suggests that qualitative techniques are essential when attempting to understand human functioning in a society. Thus, it is ideal to study some issues concerning homelessness in Singapore.

This study intends to make research in all the regions of Singapore. There are five regions in the state and each has urban centers that make the ideal study area. The central and east regions are the ones with the highest population density. The North, North-east and West regions sum up the remaining regions (Neuman, 2013). The central and east ones will provide two centres each for the study while the rest provide one. The selected metropolitans in the East include Bedok and Tampines. Those in the central area include Bukit Merah and Toa Payoh. Woodlands, SengKang and Bukit Panjang are selected from the North, North-east and the West respectively.

Each city will include three focus areas for data collection. Therefore, a total of twenty-one centres provide data for this research (Berg, Lune & Lune, 2004).  The assigned data collection officers must focus on vehicular and foot bridges, parks, abandoned cars and empty buildings and the unfinished ones. Data collection instruments include questionnaires that will be used to film 10 minute interviews.

Random sampling method will be used to select participants depending on their location. Some of the focus questions will enquire about the length of homelessness, occupation, meals per day, age, family ties, ethnicity, and access to residential places (Bryman, 2016). Similarly, the issue of housing will be covered through questions that ask about their previous shelters. This will establish knowledge about awareness on public housing. All data collected will be analyzed in a single center using various qualified analysts.

Ethical Issues

One of the issues concerns approval from the governmental office to conduct the research. The ethical concerns cover the process of research from the beginning, during the research and after the research (Walker, 2007). Data collection process must include the privacy and the approval of each interviewee. They must provide consent on camera at the beginning of the filming (Ritchie, Lewis, Nicholls, & Ormston, 2013). Confidentiality is another ethical concern of the research. All videos compiled must be kept in storage and only the results of the research released after analysis. Thus, no individual will be seen to the outside world (Fouka & Mantzorou, 2011).

Limitations of the Research

 Time is one of the constraints of this study. Data collection is an intense process and so is the analysis stage. The duration assigned may prove to be an obstacle of the study. Therefore, ampleness of time is essential.

The data collected for this research plays a significant role in assisting security officers to respects and guarantee privacy of participants (Fowler Jr, 2013).  Therefore, it plays crucial role in establishing the credibility of the research as well as the profession.

Costs of this study can also prove to be a problem because of the selected locations that the data collection officers must visit. A total of 21 locations must be visited for collection purposes. Further costs are incurred for transport, equipment and labor. Machines needed for data analysis are similarly essential and they will drive up the costs. 

References

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Aw, S., Koh, G., Oh, Y. J., Wong, M. L., Vrijhoef, H. J., Harding, S. C., … & Hildon, Z. J. (2017). Explaining the continuum of social participation among older adults in Singapore: from’closed doors’ to active ageing in multi-ethnic community settings. Journal of aging studies, 42, 46-55.

Berg, B. L., Lune, H., & Lune, H. (2004). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences (Vol. 5). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods. Oxford university press.

Cheng, J. C. K. (2018). Moralities of Public Housing: The Public Rental Scheme and the Perception of Homelessness in Singapore (Doctoral dissertation).

Clarilyn, K. E. P. (2017). How to Make a Home: Space, Memory and Narrative in Singapore Literature (Doctoral dissertation).

Fouka, G., & Mantzorou, M. (2011). What are the major ethical issues in conducting research? Is there a conflict between the research ethics and the nature of nursing?. Health Science Journal, 5(1).

Fowler Jr, F. J. (2013). Survey research methods. Sage publications.

Guirguis-Younger, M., McNeil, R. & Hwang, S. W. (2014). Homelessness and health in Canada. Canada. University of Ottawa Press.

Cross, C., Seager, J., Erasmus, J., Ward, C., & O’Donovan, M. (2010). Skeletons at the feast: A review of street homelessness in South Africa and other world regions. Development Southern Africa, 27(1), 5-20. doi: 10.1080/03768350903519291

Hill, M., & Lian, K. F. (2013). The politics of nation building and citizenship in Singapore. Routledge.

HUI, K. (2018). 180 found sleeping on streets

Kazdin, A. E. (2011). Single-case research designs: Methods for clinical and applied settings. Oxford University Press.

Leng, T. (2015). EXPERIENCES OF HOMELESS FAMILIES ON THE INTERIM RENTAL HOUSING SCHEME IN SINGAPORE. 

Madalina, M. (2016). Urbanization and homelessness | UrbanizeHub. 

Neuman, W. L. (2013). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Pearson education.

Ooi, G. L., & Phua, K. H. (2007). Urbanization and slum formation. Journal of Urban Health, 84(1), 27-34.

Orb, A., Eisenhauer, L., & Wynaden, D. (2001). Ethics in qualitative research. Journal of nursing scholarship, 33(1), 93-96.

Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., Nicholls, C. M., & Ormston, R. (Eds.). (2013). Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. sage.

Sheng, Y. K., & Thuzar, M. (Eds.). (2012). Urbanization in Southeast Asia: issues & impacts. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

Smith, S. J. (2012). International encyclopedia of housing and home (Vol. 7). Elsevier.

Tan, H., & Forbes-Mewett, H. (2017). Whose ‘fault’is it? Becoming homeless in Singapore. Urban Studies, 0042098017743723.

Teo, P., & Chiu, M. (2016). An ecological study of families in transitional housing – ‘housed but not homed’. Housing Studies, 31(5), 560-577. doi: 10.1080/02673037.2015.1106064

Walker, W. (2007). Ethical considerations in phenomenological research. Nurse researcher, 14(3).