Environment
Explain two ways that peoples' quality of life is negatively affected by environmental degradation. Name a country where these events are happening.
1: Air pollution
2: Water pollution/water source poisoning
3: Biodiversity loss
4: Rising sea levels
5: Coastal erosion
What is forced migration? Name two causes of this phenomenon.
Forced migration is where people are compelled to leave their home country due to reasons such as persecution, conflict, generalized violence or human rights violations.
One cause would be an increased trend in global armed conflicts - consider armed conflicts in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and Ukraine.
Another specific cause would be racial discrimination - consider the Rohingya crisis and the atrocities inflicted upon these people which spurred them to flee their home country of Myanmar.
Name the policy enacted by the Singaporean Government that requires a mixed-race quota of residents in HDB housing. Explain why this is important.
The Ethnic Inclusion Policy was created by the Singapore Government to promote racial harmony in public housing by creating diverse neighborhoods and preventing the creation of racial enclaves, which have historically resulted in rioting and disharmony.
Explain what is traditional media, and what is new media. Explain one difference between the two.
Traditional media refers to media formats and platforms that have been in use for decades, such as TV, radio and printed news.
New media refers to digital communication channels that proliferated with the Internet. These refer to social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook or Reddit, or content-sharing platforms such as Youtube or Tiktok.
Differences include:
Stakeholder participation: New media, unlike traditional media, allows individuals to not just consume content, but also easily create, post and disseminate their own content to others.
Editorial standards: Newspapers or television news are often subject to strict editorial standards, but new media allows anyone to speak their mind and post their opinions, regardless of factual accuracy.
Engagement: New media allows for ample user engagement, allowing for people to talk and react to other users in real time. Traditional media is largely a one-way communication channel, with media disseminated by media companies to consumers through their platform of choice.
Explain the concepts of absolute and relative poverty.
Absolute poverty refers to a state of poverty where people do not have enough income to meet their basic needs. This is usually an objective standard determined by international human rights organizations.
Relative poverty is the state where an individual's income is significantly lower than the average income in the country that they live in. They may be able to afford basic needs, but are unable to participate fully in the society where they live in.
Name two ways in which corporations contribute to the problem of environmental degradation.
1: Corporations, particularly those in the fossils fuels industry, create misinformation campaigns to affect public perception on environmental issues.
2: Corporate lobbies often exert influence on governments and policymakers to enact laws and policies that suit their economic activities at the expense of the environment, or collaborate with said governments on projects that have a significant negative impact on the environment.
3: Corporations often greenwash their products and services to capture a market share of environmentally conscious people.
Explain the social contract theory. Explain why it is important.
The social contract is an agreement between the citizens of a country and their governing body, where citizens agree to have some of their freedoms limited in exchange for their remaining rights being protected by law.
This is important because this creates safety and security - an over-abundance of freedoms can lead to undesirable outcomes, and the social contract forms a framework for mutual cooperation between citizens and the state for a stable, cohesive and morally uprights society.
Explain one reason why local food culture is an important aspect of the Singaporean identity.
Our food culture is something Singapore takes extreme pride in as it reflects our multicultural identity, where our ethnic food not only co-exists, but sometimes innovates and iterates to create new and exciting dishes.
Hawker culture is not just an important economic pillar for many Singaporeans due to its affordability, but also an important social space where people from all walks of life can gather, encouraging social cohesion and mingling from Singaporeans of all backgrounds.
Explain two of the unique negative impacts that arose with new media.
Bad actors: The anonymous and interactive nature of new media allows for individuals with ill intent to take advantage of the platform. These include child predators who trawl video games and social media, scammers or hackers that attempt to steal personal information, money or data, or extremists who use platforms to proselytize their views.
Fake news: As there is often no concept of journalistic integrity or barriers to entry to post online, this results in a torrent of misinformation being posted online. Some misinformation campaigns are even directly perpetrated by bad actors from other countries seeking to influence worldviews and opinions on certain geopolitical issues. This is compounded by social media sites that fail to moderate their communities well and people who are overly dependent on getting their news from these sites.
Cyberbullying: The anonymous nature of new media has allowed for a plague of cyberbullying, which is especially common among today's school-age children who have been brought up in this digital age. Cyberbullying can be difficult to detect and is ever-present, given the ease of which it takes to simply pick up a device and send an abusive message to someone.
Name two impacts of absolute poverty on people and societies.
Homelessness - People forced to sleep in unsheltered locations, public spaces, temporary accommodation or illegally squatting in homes.
Slums - Residential areas that are unsafe, unsanitary, overcrowded, have limited access to basic necessities or public services, and are usually hotbeds for vice activities and violence.
Undernutrition/Food insecurity: Being unable to afford or access a balanced diet often results in malnutrition and associated disorders, particularly prominent in children and infants.
Health problems/Mortality - As a knock-on effect from not having enough food/living in slums/homelessness, people living in absolute poverty often have a low life expectancy, increased vulnerability to illness with the most vulnerable demographic being infants and children.
Erosion of social cohesion - Poor people are disproportionately both the perpetrators and victims of crime, according to various surveys.
Name two world leaders that have contributed to environmental degradation through their irresponsible governance.
Describe the actions they have taken and explain how these actions have contributed to the problem.
Donald Trump - Reversed policies and cancelled funding on environmental protection, including air pollution monitors and clean energy.
Jair Bolsonaro - Approved the deforestation of the Amazon for agricultural and logging activities.
Explain, in detail, two ways in which an ageing population might affect a country's economy.
1: Increased pressure on taxpayers and public funds, particularly on pensions, diverting funds away from other fiscal objectives.
2: Strain on the healthcare sector, particularly beds in hospitals, and the general cost of treating old-age conditions such as lung and heart failure.
3: Labor shortages and a slow of economic growth due to gaps created in the workforce.
4: A loss of innovation of industries, as it is typically younger workers with diverse ideas that spark significant change.
Describe two ways in which Singapore embraces multiculturalism through its laws, policies or governance.
Legislation - the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act criminalizes inciting hatred or enmity along religious lines in Singapore.
Presidential Council for Minority Rights - Ensures laws do not discriminate against any racial or religious groups, enforcing equality.
Social engineering - Singaporeans are taught from a young age to appreciate and co-exist with other races, religions and cultures - This is why we celebrate Racial Harmony Day, as well as share festival spaces.
Education - Promoting multicultural interaction through a centralized education system, so students from different racial and cultural backgrounds will learn together from a young age.
Language - English was deliberately chosen as a common tongue to unify Singaporeans, while the mandatory learning of mother tongue preserves each person's cultural identity and heritage.
The media can be a powerful tool for people to rally for a good cause, or for marginalized groups to speak out. Name two instances where the media played an important part in these situations.
Especially in recent years, the media, particularly social media, has allowed people to speak out for causes they believe in. These include:
Black Lives Matter: A movement dedicated to protesting racism and discrimination against Black people.
#MeToo: A hashtag on Twitter for the rallying and empowerment of victims of sexual abuse.
Fridays for Future: A movement started by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and propagated through social media, protesting against climate change and demanding governments address this issue.
Afghanistan: Women in Afghanistan under the oppressive Taliban regime took to social media, particularly Twitter and TikTok, to post videos of them singing and dancing in protest of a law that forbids them from speaking or showing their faces outside their homes.
Name two solutions to addressing poverty. Explain why they address the problem.
Education - Formal education and upskilling empowers individuals with the experience they need to access better opportunities and improve social mobility.
Monetary aid - Welfare from governments, subsidies on housing and education, money from charities, microloans from banks can be a stopgap measure to immediately uplift the most vulnerable of the poor from dangerous circumstances.
Government intervention - Provision of welfare, adjustment of policies such as minimum wage, raising income through taxation, setting a poverty line. Government intervention is key to creating an economy where the poor do not fall through the cracks in society and are given ample opportunity and enough resources to uplift themselves.
Technology - Technology and the Internet can make it easier for the poor to access information, education and commerce easier. Technology in the form of machinery can also improve the ease and efficiency of farming/manufacturing, reducing the cost of production and making business expansion more feasible.
Name three ways in which people have contributed positively to tackling the problem of environmental degradation.
Also name one way in which people have contributed to the problem of environmental degradation.
1: People can contribute to saving the environment through changing their habits - recycling, saving electricity, conserving water, reducing use of single - use plastics, or opting to use sustainable transport where possible, such as public transport or bicycles.
People may also participate in climate activism and push for change at the national or even international level.
2: Many people, especially in the modern age, have a general apathy towards climate change. This leads to thoughtless and irresponsible behavior, such as the refusal to recycle, or participation in highly damaging industries, such as fast fashion, as a consumer.
Explain one benefit and one detriment of raising the age of retirement.
Benefits - Workers in countries with pension systems are able to contribute more to their funds and claim benefits for fewer years, which reduces pressure on such systems.
Working for longer can also translate to better financial security for the individuals, as they have a longer run-up period to retirement.
Working can be beneficial health-wise for ageing people, as it often encompasses not just the application of skill and mental acuity, but social contact and physical activity.
Detriments - Raising the retirement age is especially demanding on workers whose jobs entail physical labor, as their bodies are unable to keep up with the strain.
Retirement is not simply a cessation of work, but the acknowledgement that one has made their contribution to society and should now enjoy their twilight years - encouraging people to work longer can be seen as disrespectful or dismissive of this concept.
Describe two stereotypical character traits of the average Singaporean and explain your choices.
Kiasu - highly competitive amongst ourselves with a fear of missing out. Always wanting to be ahead of others and primarily concerned with self-interest. This attitude can manifest in school or in the workplace, but also permeates throughout how Singaporeans interact with each other.
Stress - Many Singaporeans describe their lives as stressful, in part due to the aforementioned kiasu culture in conjunction with long work or school hours. There is an unfortunate perception among many Singaporeans that grades define your success, which is why there is a thriving "arms race" for tuition and enrichment, which puts pressure on students to perform well in exams.
Lovers of convenience: Singaporeans are pragmatists and love to complete tasks efficiently and quickly, as this opens up valuable pockets of free time in their busy schedules.
Complain Kings: Singaporeans also love to grumble and complain about everything under the sun - public transport, ride-hailing fares, the cost of living, stress, food, healthcare, competition. This is not purely out of spite - Singaporeans connect and deepen their bonds through shared commiseration, and find catharsis in sharing their struggles with others who may be going through the same problems.
What is a digital footprint? What kinds of digital footprints do we leave behind? Why is it important that we are conscious of our digital footprint?
Active digital footprint refers to data we intentionally share, such as social media posts, comments online and forms with our personal information.
Passive digital footprint refers to data that we unintentionally leave behind - cookies on browsers, IP addresses, geolocation data, browsing data.
It is important to manage and be aware of one's digital footprint, as they give away a large amount of identifying personal information that may be used by bad actors. Additionally, undesirable behavior online may be linked back to you by potential employers or schools and result in the loss of opportunities.
How does Singapore manage the problem of income inequality? Name one example.
Taxation - Employment of a progressive tax model (higher-income earners are taxed more), with tax revenue diverted back into welfare spending.
Benefits - Various funds dedicated to uplifting the needy, such as the Workfare Income Supplement Scheme, the Community Care Endowment Fund, the Financial Assistance Scheme for schools.
Labor policies - the Progressive Wage Model helps to increase the wages of low-skilled workers through the upgrading of skills and improving productivity. There is also a focus on upskilling and retraining, such as through the proffering of SkillFuture courses at heavily discounted prices or paid for through free credits.
Explain how countries are not equally affected by environmental degradation. Provide at least one concrete example.
eveloping countries tend to disproportionately bear the brunt of environmental degradation as they are usually poorly equipped to find ways to prepare for and prevent environmental threats. To make matters worse, richer nations have used their wealth to their advantage to outsource environmental problems to poorer nations.
Additionally, developing nations often depend on natural resources to generate income (such as farming) and are disproportionately prejudiced when these resources are affected by climate change.
Consider plastic dumping in Indonesia, or the garment-making industry in India, where communities built around these industries have to contend with toxic fumes caused by the manufacturing process on the daily.
For example, flooding in rural areas of Bangladesh and Pakistan caused by rising sea levels and melting glaciers has killed thousands of people yearly and causing severe property damage to farmers who live off the land.
Explain what an authoritarian government is. Explain why it is generally considered a bad form of governance.
Authoritarianism or an autocracy is a system of government where one single person or their close associates hold absolute power.
It is generally considered a bad form of governance as:
1: Citizens have little say on how the country is run
2: There runs a high risk of abuse of power, as power is consolidated in a select few. This often results in nepotism and corruption.
3: As autocrats cannot be removed through legal mechanisms, they do not hold any accountability to their people.
4: Without a free flow of ideas or constructive criticism, policy decisions by the autocrat may result in fatal mismanagement, where the brunt of the effects are felt by the people.
Explain the concept of meritocracy. Describe one benefit and one detriment of meritocracy in Singapore.
Meritocracy is defined as a system of governance where opportunities and reward are given based on an individuals' ability, hard work or performance and not due to social class or wealth.
One major benefit of meritocracy in Singapore and the reason why this system was implemented was to allow for upward social mobility and the development of a strong middle class. The idea that hard work and dedication will allow one to independently earn their success is one that is deeply ingrained in Singaporean culture.
However, meritocracy has been noted even by top Singaporean politicians to have its downsides. Former Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing stated that Singaporeans must be aware of meritocracy's pitfalls -
1: Meritocracy may measure success with outdated yardsticks, causing us to stagnate if we refuse to change our goalposts, innovate and improve ourselves beyond established standards
2: Meritocracies risk rewarding success at fixed points, meaning a single test at one point will determine one's future
3: Meritocracies stratify over time, meaning that successful people can pass on their success to their children and perpetuate an inequality of opportunities
4: Meritocracy can lead people to mistakenly believe that their success was earned purely through their hard work and neglect the support they've received from others.
Explain how new media can be used as a tool by governments as a tool of governance. Provide at least one example.
Governments often use new media to surreptitiously surveil citizens. This has been used in Singapore to identify self-radicalized individuals through their activity on extremist websites and social media profiles, and their online purchases.
China operates a firewall that blocks many Western social media sites, such as Reddit and YouTube. They also participate in active and constant censorship even on their domestically approved social media sites, such as Douyin and Weibo. This has been criticized as a move to consolidate power and limit access to alternative views on the CCP's regime.
Governments also leverage the virality of new media to broadcast messages and promulgate policies to citizens, such as Singapore's anti-vaping campaign.
Name one barrier to eliminating poverty. Explain why it is a barrier, and provide a relevant and concrete example.
Systemic discrimination and racism - In certain countries, there are groups of people who, by reason of race, ethnicity or background, are discriminated against by other citizens and are denied opportunities and social support. They are often forced to work only the most undesirable and dangerous jobs, and are at worst outright persecuted. Examples include the Rohingya of Myanmar, or the Dalit caste in India.
Corruption - Corrupt governments often divert significant public funds to be personally used by leaders and their close associates, leaving critically poor communities without recourse or welfare. Many African countries have regimes considered to be largely corrupt, such as Chad, Niger and the Congo.
Political Instability - Ongoing global conflicts or internal strife can cause a country to neglect the welfare of its people in favor of addressing more immediate security concerns. Consider the current situation in Gaza as the Israel-Gaza war rages on.
Climate change - it is often the poorest communities in the poorest countries that are disproportionately affected by climate change. This is often because they rely on natural resources for their livelihoods and also live in areas with inadequate infrastructure to guard against natural disasters. Consider the flooding in Pakistan and Bangladesh, which results in thousands of deaths every year.