Sharing his views on how older children can learn to manage their finances, SMU Assistant Professor of Finance (Education) Aurobindo Ghosh said that below the age of 21, children’s brains do not function like mature adults, and are often driven by reward-seeking impulses or instant gratification, rather than exercising discernment and patience through delayed gratification. Hence, parents should expose their children to more challenging concepts such as credit and investment only when they are of tertiary education age, he said.
Commenting on the impact of the United States government's aim to end entertainment giant Live Nation's alleged monopoly on Singapore, SMU Associate Professor of Marketing Hannah Chang said that should the lawsuit result in the need for concerts to engage several ticketing platforms, it might be more complicated for concert-goers to buy tickets. She also explained how the move could hurt artistes.
Commenting on the teething issues surrounding unmanned shops, SMU Lee Kong Chian Professor of Marketing Kapil Tuli said the technology has not caught up with the promises of artificial intelligence-operated shops, including cost savings from not having to hire people to man the shops round the clock. Although unmanned stores require no queueing, most customers still need the security of having a person to speak to about products. Human staff are also important to maintain order in shops, he added.
With banks cutting interest rates on saving accounts, SMU Assistant Professor of Finance (Education) Aurobindo Ghosh discussed how this will impact consumers’ investment choices and offered insights on potential investment strategies. As an advocate of saving before spending, SMU alumnus Martin Layar shared how he managed to save $10,000 in just nine months. He emphasised the need for sound financial management from the outset of one's career.
Commenting on dynamic pricing creeping into Singapore's ticket sales, SMU Associate Professor of Marketing Hannah Chang said dynamic pricing allows companies to streamline their offerings according to market demand and maximise profits. However, she said, "Though it might help improve efficiency and profits in the process… if fans or concertgoers do not expect it or see it as unfair, this may lead to unhappiness in the market demand side."
Commenting on Singaporeans prioritising flexi-work, SMU Senior Lecturer of Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources Paul Lim cautioned against thinking of freelance work as a panacea to conventional workplace frustrations, as there are key drawbacks to consider, like fewer benefits and less protection, and a greater dependence on one’s self-discipline and motivation.
Public universities in Singapore, including SMU, have embraced artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance teaching methodologies, foster innovation and address the diverse learning needs of students. The integration of AI into coursework at SMU has yielded tangible benefits, said SMU Professor of Communication Management (Practice) Mark Chong. He added that his students have become “far more efficient and productive in creating preliminary ideas for their video script”.
In an interview, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan discussed the unique features of the upcoming Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) system and whether a multi-tiered ART system could benefit Singapore's transport infrastructure.
Commenting on multi-currency e-wallets, SMU Assistant Professor of Finance (Education) Aurobindo Ghosh said banks typically have sizable teams monitoring user data and patterns to detect fraudulent transactions in real time. Such capabilities are also being enhanced by technology like artificial intelligence. But these are “costly”, and banks will have to pass on some costs as fees to its card holders in order to keep providing extensive security and other features, he said.
Commenting on how the United States (US) ban on TikTok will affect users in Singapore and globally, SMU Senior Lecturer of Communication Management Tracy Loh said that in the short term, TikTok users in Singapore will not be significantly impacted. Should the ban take effect, TikTok will be removed from Apple’s and Google’s app stores in the US, so new users would not be able to download it, while existing TikTok users would still be able to use the app but would miss updates, security patches and bug fixes.
