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Reuben Ng

Reuben Ng

Lead Scientist (Data and Technology), PhD (Public Health), Yale University

spprng@nus.edu.sg
Aging Scams Data Innovation

A trained behavioural scientist at NUS, Oxford and Yale, Assistant Professor Reuben Ng oversees the Institute’s work related to Data and Technology. He has spent 16 years in government, consulting, and research.

Asst Prof Ng is an expert in successful ageing, preventive health, psychometrics, the skills gap, and culture. He is credited with creating innovative techniques to measure societal perceptions/stereotypes that are applied to policy, and program evaluation. He teaches courses on data analytics, behavioural insights, and policy innovation, and works with senior executives (C-suite) on their organisations’ transformation strategy. He serves on the advisory boards of agencies in finance and homeland security.

published papers

  1. Ng, R. and Indran, N. (2023) ‘Granfluencers on TikTok: Factors linked to positive self-portrayals of older adults on social media’, PLOS ONE, 18(2). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0280281.
  2. Ng, R. and Indran, N. (2023b) ‘Impact of old age on an occupation’s image over 210 years: An age premium for doctors, lawyers, and soldiers’, Journal of Applied Gerontology, 42(6), pp. 1345–1355. doi:10.1177/07334648231155025.
  3. Ng, R., Indran, N. and Yang, W. (2023) ‘Portrayals of older adults in over 3000 films around the world’, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 71(9), pp. 2726–2735. doi:10.1111/jgs.18400.
  4. Ng, R., Indran, N. and Suarez, P. (2023) ‘Communicating risk perceptions through batik art’, JAMA, 330(9), p. 790. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.14278.
  5. Ng, R. and Indran, N. (2023c) ‘Innovations for an aging society through the lens of patent data’, The Gerontologist, 64(2). doi:10.1093/geront/gnad015.
  6. Ng, R. and Indran, N. (2023d) ‘Videos about older adults on TikTok’, PLOS ONE, 18(8). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0285987.
  7. Ng, R. and Indran, N. (2023) ‘Reframing aging: Foregrounding familial and occupational roles of older adults is linked to decreased ageism over two centuries’, Journal of Aging & Social Policy, pp. 1–18. doi:10.1080/08959420.2023.2238538.
  8. Ng, R. and Indran, N. (2023a) ‘Does age matter? tweets about gerontocracy in the United States’, The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 78(11), pp. 1870–1878. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbad113.
  9. Ng, R., Tan, Y., & Tan, K. (2022). Cohort profile: Singapore’s Nationally Representative Retirement and Health Study with 5 waves over 10 years. Epidemiology And Health, e2022030. doi: 10.4178/epih.e2022030
  10. Ng, R., & Indran, N. (2022). Not Too Old for TikTok: How Older Adults Are Reframing Aging. The Gerontologist. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnac055
  11. Ng, R. and Indran, N. (2022) ‘Hostility toward Baby Boomers on tiktok’, The Gerontologist, 62(8), pp. 1196–1206. doi:10.1093/geront/gnac020.
  12. Ng, R., Indran, N. and Liu, L. (2022) ‘A playbook for effective age advocacy on Twitter’, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 70(8), pp. 2363–2370. doi:10.1111/jgs.17909.
  13. Ng, R., Indran, N. and Liu, L. (2022b) ‘Ageism on Twitter during the Covid‐19 pandemic’, Journal of Social Issues, 78(4), pp. 842–859. doi:10.1111/josi.12535.
  14. Ng, R. and Tan, Y.W. (2022) ‘Media attention toward covid-19 across 18 countries: The influence of cultural values and pandemic severity’, PLOS ONE, 17(12). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0271961.
  15. Ng, R. and Indran, N. (2022a) ‘Age advocacy on Twitter over 12 years’, The Gerontologist, 64(1). doi:10.1093/geront/gnac183.
  16. Ng, R., & Indran, N. (2022). Hostility Toward Baby Boomers on TikTok. The Gerontologist. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnac020
  17. Ng, R., & Indran, N. (2021). Societal perceptions of caregivers linked to culture across 20 countries: Evidence from a 10-billion-word database. PLOS ONE, 16(7), e0251161. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251161
  18. Ng, R., & Indran, N. (2021). Role-Based Framing of Older Adults Linked to Decreased Ageism Over 210 Years: Evidence From a 600-Million-Word Historical Corpus. The Gerontologist, 62(4), 589-597. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnab108
  19. Yu, C., Koh, E., Low, J., Ong, M., Sim, A., & Hong, D. et al. (2021). A multi-site study on the impact of an advance care planning workshop on attitudes, beliefs and behavioural intentions over a 6-month period. BMC Medical Education, 21(1). doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02735-3
  20. Ng, R. (2021). Marginalization of Graduate Freelancers in the Gig Economy. The Japan Institute For Labour Policy And Training. Retrieved from https://www.jil.go.jp/english/jli/documents/2021/032-06.pdf
  21. Ng, R., & Tan, K. (2021). Implementing an Individual-Centric Discharge Process across Singapore Public Hospitals. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health, 18(16), 8700. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18168700
  22. Ng, R. (2021). Societal Age Stereotypes in the U.S. and U.K. from a Media Database of 1.1 Billion Words. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health, 18(16), 8822. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18168822
  23. Ng, R., Chow, T., & Yang, W. (2021). News media narratives of Covid-19 across 20 countries: Early global convergence and later regional divergence. PLOS ONE, 16(9), e0256358. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256358
  24. Tan, L., Le, M., Yu, C., Liaw, S., Tierney, T., & Ho, Y. et al. (2021). Defining clinical empathy: a grounded theory approach from the perspective of healthcare workers and patients in a multicultural setting. BMJ Open, 11(9), e045224. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045224
  25. Ng, R., Chow, T., & Yang, W. (2021). The Impact of Aging Policy on Societal Age Stereotypes and Ageism. The Gerontologist, 62(4), 598-606. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnab151
  26. Ng, R. (2021). Anti-Asian Sentiments During the COVID-19 Pandemic Across 20 Countries: Analysis of a 12-Billion-Word News Media Database. Journal Of Medical Internet Research, 23(12), e28305. doi: 10.2196/28305
  27. Ng, R., & Indran, N. (2021). Reframing aging during COVID ‐19: Familial role‐based framing of older adults linked to decreased ageism. Journal Of The American Geriatrics Society, 70(1), 60-66. doi: 10.1111/jgs.17532
  28. Ng, R., & Indran, N. (2021). Societal Narratives on Caregivers in Asia. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health, 18(21), 11241. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182111241
  29. Ng, R., Chow, T., & Yang, W. (2021). Culture Linked to Increasing Ageism During COVID-19: Evidence From a 10-Billion-Word Corpus Across 20 Countries. The Journals Of Gerontology: Series B, 76(9), 1808-1816. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbab057
  30. Ng, R., & Tan, Y. (2021). Diversity of COVID-19 News Media Coverage across 17 Countries: The Influence of Cultural Values, Government Stringency and Pandemic Severity. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health, 18(22), 11768. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182211768
  31. Ng, R. (2021) ‘Anti-Asian sentiments during the COVID-19 pandemic across 20 countries: Analysis of a 12-billion-word news media database’, Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(12). doi:10.2196/28305.
  32. Ng, R., Lim, S., Saw, S., & Tan, K. (2020). 40-Year Projections of Disability and Social Isolation of Older Adults for Long-Range Policy Planning in Singapore. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health, 17(14), 4950. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17144950
  33. Ng, R., & Lim-Soh, J. (2020). Ageism Linked to Culture, Not Demographics: Evidence From an 8-Billion-Word Corpus Across 20 Countries. The Journals Of Gerontology: Series B, 76(9), 1791-1798. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa181
  34. Ng, R., & Chow, T. (2020). Aging Narratives Over 210 Years (1810–2019). The Journals Of Gerontology: Series B, 76(9), 1799-1807. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa222
  35. Ng, R., Allore, H.G. and Levy, B.R. (2020) ‘Self-acceptance and interdependence promote longevity: Evidence from a 20-year prospective Cohort Study’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(16), p. 5980. doi:10.3390/ijerph17165980.
  36. Ng, R. and Chow, T.Y. (2020) ‘Aging narratives over 210 years (1810–2019)’, The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 76(9), pp. 1799–1807. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbaa222.
  37. Chan, M., Wong, Y., Ng, R., & Koh, G. (2019). Medical conditions and driving fitness of older Singaporean taxi drivers. Occupational Medicine, 69(3), 211-214. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqz025
  38. Giest, S., & Ng, R. (2018). Big Data Applications in Governance and Policy. Politics And Governance, 6(4), 1-4. doi: 10.17645/pag.v6i4.1810\
  39. Ng, R. (2018). Cloud Computing in Singapore: Key Drivers and Recommendations for a Smart Nation. Politics And Governance, 6(4), 39-47. doi: 10.17645/pag.v6i4.1757

ongoing projects

  1. “Analysis of Risk Perceptions Survey Data at the Individual Level across 140 Countries” This project leverages on the LRF commissioned study for Gallup to collect survey data from about 140 countries on risk and safety perceptions. We aim is to augment the dataset with country-level indicators from international organisations such as the World Bank, ILO and WHO that could include inequality, GDP, healthcare, etc. The key goal is the analysis the relationship between risk and other economic, social and health indicators, with focus on Asia. This project seeks to close the gap in the literature by an unprecedented investigation of risk perceptions across nearly 140 countries with these specific objectives: 1) Explore the cross-cultural perceptions of risk and safety; 2) Explore the relationships between risk and other economic, social and health indicators.
  2. “Risk GPS (Global Perception Study)” The Risk GPS research program consists of several phases. The first phase works on two sub-projects. First, building a data platform from online sources to analyse risk-related perceptions at the societal level across countries. Second, historical content analysis of risk perceptions over 200 years (1810-2009). Overall, these projects harness innovative methods to analyse risk perceptions where the unprecedented insights will lay the groundwork for risk communications and interventions to promote a safer world.
  3. "Promoting data-drive innovations in the public sector of Mongolia" The project will see IPUR and the National Academy of Governance (NAOG) of Mongolia:
    1. Co-design a short-term virtual training programme on the use of data and behavioural insights for public policy and risk communications.
    2. Build capabilities of the relevant authority through short-term advisory support.
    The partnership will see IPUR at NUS and NAOG of Mongolia commit to do capacity building in terms of data literacy and risk communication through Blended Innovation Masterclasses that look at strategic and technical perspectives of data policy and artificial intelligence. A Data Innovation Laboratory programme will be developed to actualise ideas and innovations from the masterclasses and translate them into projects and initiatives that help shape the data and technology landscape in the country. The Masterclasses and Data Innovation Laboratory programme are targeted at about 300 mid-senior government officials in Mongolia.
  4. "Promote successful ageing with test-bedding interventions in Queenstown, Singapore" By 2030, Singapore is expected to become a super-aged society where one in four people will be aged over 65 years. This is expected to rise to almost one in two people by 2050. This project will see IPUR work closely with care service providers and policymakers to seed and develop capabilities as well as gather data on ageing policies, operational challenges and aspirations. The goal is to make sense of the current state of ageing challenges using data analytics and design thinking to form solutions.
  5. "Risk Barometer" The IPUR Singapore Risk Barometer Report is a flagship initiative to gain deeper insight into the risks that Singaporeans feel are the greatest concerns in their daily lives. It spotlights the needs, expectations and demands of society and serves as an annual scorecard on the management of these risks. The report aims to provide valuable information to government, companies and the media regarding the public’s perceptions of these issues and their expectations about whether sufficient action is being taken to address them.
  6. "Risk networks and profiles of segments of media-reported risks in Singapore" Leveraging on the Risk Barometer data, this study delves into the public perceptions of media-reported risks in Singapore. We explore the networks of Singapore public’s concerns regarding various major media-reported risks. We also aim to identify key subgroups of populations in terms of their specific patterns in responding to media-reported risks. Identifying those distinct profiles will inform tailored communication strategies that cater to the unique needs of each group

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