Technological Adoption as a Social Process in Food Centres in Singapore

Abstract

Technological advancements in the digital economy have affected work cultures and labour displacements. Technological adoption is a highly social process, which involves resistance and failure to adapt by individuals in the midst of it. Therefore, there is a need to understand the everyday experiences of individuals who are impacted by technological changes in their work practices. Through ethnographic accounts of five field sites, this article aims to examine the effects of technology on work cultures in food centres in Singapore. Food centres were observed to be heavily dependent on complex human interactions, which often hindered technological implementations that were meant to simplify work processes. Nonetheless, the challenges can be mitigated through consultations with relevant social groups to improve technological incorporation.

Implementation of a Sense of Home in High-Density Multicultural Singapore Nursing Homes: Challenges and Opportunities

“…This behavior resembles the particularly Singaporean practice of chope -ing, i.e., reserving a table at a food center using personal belongings. This chope -ing is a socially acceptable practice when claiming a personal territory in a shared space in Singapore [ 46 ]. While the residents managed to establish territorial boundaries to create their own “personal zone” visually, the excessive noise from the common room interfered with auditory privacy.…”