National Day Rally 2014

Watch the National Day Rally Speech. What 3 things have you learnt and can you link these 3 items to themes or topics in what you have learnt in Social Studies?

Humanities and you

The Imam and the pastor - Managing perceptions between religious groups

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

Attack on Twin Towers - Managing External Forces

Days of Rage - managing perceptions between races

Northern Ireland Video

Answers to SBQ on "How far can Skills training ensure that retrenched employees find jobs?"

a) Study Source A
Why do you think the Ministry of Manpower issued this advertisement? Explain your answer.

The Ministry issued this advertisement to convince the older Singaporean workers that they should take responsibility of their own skills upgrading and not be ashamed of learning even when old so that these older workers will attend courses to improve in their skills and continue to be employable even as the Singapore economy changes and companies restructure. I say so because Source A shows middle-aged Singaporeans with L plate signs around their necks at what appears to be a training course. From their facial expression, we can see that they glad to be at this training as they are all smiles. The poster has the words "L (Learning) and proud of it" followed by the words "Anyone can be a learner..." and "You are never too old to learn". Hence, the advertisement is aimed at encouraging the older Singaporean workers to develop the habit of life-long learner so that they will attend skills upgrading and be able to be employable.

Note: Read the answer above. All the ingredients for an inference of purpose is there - Message, Audience and Desired Outcome. Evidence and explanation is also provided to support what the answer is saying.


c) Study Source C and D. How similar are these 2 sources? Explain your answer. 

Chapter 2 consequences of an ageing population

Chapter 2
Good Governance - Ageing population

Causes à a falling birth rate in Singapore à the Population control measures e.g. The Stop at 2 Policy.

An ageing population is indicated by an inverted population pyramid.

Consequences

Type II ( 2 factor comparison SEQ?) “Having a weaker defence force[F1] a more serious consequence[Hurts/harms Singapore] of an ageing population[Issues to be explained] than the inability to attract MNCs/a reduction in competitiveness[F2]. How far do you agree? Explain your answer. Structure Thesis statement P1 = Explain how a weaker defence force[F1] is a serious consequence of an ageing population [Point; Elaboration/explanation; Example; Link] P2 = Explain how the inability to attract MNCs/a reduction in competitiveness [F2] is a serious consequence of an ageing population [Point; Elaboration/explanation; Example; Link] P3: Weighing – compare the relative seriousness of F1 vs. F2 using a common criterion – which is more serious OR compare which is the more serious/harmful consequence.
Possible consequences	Why is this serious?
1.    Insufficient young people to support the elderly à There are fewer economically active Singaporeans à Less Singaporeans paying income tax and other indirect taxes ( e.g. GST ) à Government has less revenue available.	Less revenue means à less money available to care for the elderly at the national level à with more elderly, more healthcare service and expenditure needed at the national level à hence, the government has to divert money from other national needs e.g. Defence, education, transport à place the money into healthcare à other national needs less taken care of à could lead to serious problems e.g. an ageing transport system. At the family level à married couples will feel stressed because they have to care for their elderly parents and in-laws (medical needs) plus care for their children financially à hence, it is a financial struggle à fewer young adults caring for more elderly family members.
2.    Weaker Defence à Insufficient young men to serve national service or to join the armed forces à the military needs a high level of fitness in order to operation effectively.	This is a serious consequence because conducting military operations/warfare requires a high level of physical fitness à if there is a lack of younger men in Singapore, we will not have enough young citizen soldiers to defend Singapore à Singapore cannot depend on mercenaries à Hence if we cannot have a strong locally manned defence force à potential aggressors may think of attacking Singapore à We will be unable to deter them à we can lose our independence à Hence this is a serious consequence.
3.    Inability to attract and retain MNCs(Mutli-national Corporations) and TNCs(Transnational national corporation) à Reduction in competitiveness à Too many jobs and insufficient workers à Singapore becomes less competitive.	When MNCs cannot find the workers to fill jobs à the MNCs will relocate to another country à Singaporeans will lose their jobs à Massive unemployment à Families have no income à quality of life falls à Serious situation. Jobs are also lost when MNC leaves à Many Singapore companies ( SME = small and medium enterprise and GLC = Government Linked Companies) will lose business à Singaporeans will lose jobs à quality of life falls à Hence inability to retain and attract MNCs is serious.
4.    Increased demand for healthcare and social services à these services include medical as well as counselling and rehabilitative services.	With increase in demand for healthcare and social services à the government revenue will be strained and may be insufficient to build enough quality services to serve the needs of the ageing population à Hence, many elderly citizens may not have enough professional care available especially for the average elderly citizen à Hence this is a serious consequence.
Which is the more serious consequence? The more serious consequence is the consequence which will hurt Singapore the most and in this case it would be a weaker defence force. Hence, Singapore is hurt the most by a weaken defence force because once Singapore loses its independence, it loses everything else including its economic competitiveness and its ability to attract MNCs.

Consequences of a falling birth rate in Singapore I

Watch this video and consequences of a falling birth rate in Singapore II Answer the following Type II SEQ Which of the following is a more serious consequences of a falling birth rate - a weaker defence force or inability to attract MNCs/TNCs to Singapore. Explain your answer. [10mins]

Practice Paper/Textual Sources - possible answers

Practice Time for Social Studies

Practice paper 1

Section A (Source-based Case Study)

Question 1 is compulsory for all candidates.

Study the sources carefully, and then answer all the questions.

You may use any of the sources to help you answer the question, in addition to those sources you are told to use. In answering the questions, you should use your knowledge of the topic to help you interpret and evaluate the sources.

b	Study Source B Why was this source published? Explain your answer.	[6]
c	Study Sources C and D. How different are Source C and Source D in their views towards the Baby Bonus scheme? Explain your answer.	[7]

Does the Baby Bonus Scheme help to encourage Singaporeans to give birth?

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The Singapore Baby Bonus scheme was first introduced in April 2001 and improvements were made to the scheme in August 2004. The purpose of the government introducing this scheme was to support parents’ decision to have more children by helping ease the financial costs of raising children. The government further reviewed the scheme in August 2008 after obtaining various feedback with increased benefits. How effective was the Baby Bonus Scheme in encouraging Singaporean couples to give birth? Study the following sources to find out.

Source B

An extract of a posting by a Singaporean on a local blog website, 2004.

Please do not rush to get another child just because of Baby Bonus. You Should only have a child when you can afford to have one. Do bear in mind that the Baby Bonus can only help in a small way. There are other factors to consider when having a child in Singapore. Even if the government offers me an extra $10000 a year till the day my kid turns 20 I will not consider having a child in Singapore. Expensive public transport fares and being in an education system that is boring are sufficient discouragement.

Source C

An extract of a blog posting by a Singaporean, 2009.(+)

In spite of these, the Baby Bonus Scheme does help settle the worries of couples who find the financial burden of raising a child too heavy to bear. These monetary rewards given out to parents can be used to subsidise the child’s early years of education or medical needs. The bonus cannot be simply thought of as encouragement using money but it helps to speed up the decision of couples of whether to have a child. The scheme also provides subsidies for childcare services. Thus, the Baby Bonus Scheme resolves the financial worries of couples, increasing birth rates.

Source D

An extract of a blog posting by a Singaporean lady on motherhood, 2009.

Couples who have not studied the Baby Bonus scheme may think the government is very generous in giving out money. The fact is that it is a huge investment by the government, with possibly with no increase in births.(-) The Baby Bonus is just to attract those who do not understand the hardship and effort that is needed to raising a child. Comparing a few thousand dollars of baby bonus that is used to help pay hospitalisation for childbirth, on baby care at child care centres, etc, we will find that the care and attention that a baby needs can nowhere be compared.

Study Sources C and D. How different are Source C and Source D in their views towards the Baby Bonus scheme? Explain your answer.

[7]

Sources C and D differ in their views towards the Baby bonus scheme considerably/ to a large extent. Source C supports the Baby Bonus scheme and believes that it can help encourage couples to have more children BUT Source D does not support the baby bonus scheme and feels that it is not helpful in encouraging couples to have children.

Source C and D,however, are similar in stating that the BBS does subsidize the cost of raising a child. Source C states that the BBS can be used to "subsidize the child’s early years of education or medical needs." This means that the BBS can pay for part of a child's needs when growing up. Similarly, Source D states that "baby bonus that is used to help pay hospitalisation for childbirth, on baby care at child care centres" indicates that the BBS can be used to pay for part of the child rearing cost. Hence, Source C and D are similar in their view that BBS can be used to pay for part of the cost of raising a child. 

Practice Paper 2

1	(a)	Study Source A. What does this source tell you about the attitude towards having a family in Singapore? Explain your answer.	[5]
	(b)	Study Sources B and C. How similar are the two sources? Explain your answer.	[7]

Possible Response 

Both sources are similar is telling us that it is challenging to balance work and caring for one's children. Source B states that it is challenging to have children and work at the same time. I say so because Source B states that "Job too stressful? Quit." This means that once children arrive, one may find it difficult to cope with the present job and so that is why the writer is advocating quitting the job to achieve better balance. This indicates that it is difficult to balance work and caring for one's child.  Likewise, Source C states that there is great difficulty in balancing work and rearing a child. Source B states that, "Where is there time to raise a child? " and " We see our friends who dump their kids in childcare centers or with a maid. They spend maybe one full day during the week with them." This means that working couples are unable to balance work and caring for their children because there is no time to do so and even when there is some time, it is insufficient as most of the time is spent at work and this indicates the inability to balance work and taking care of one's children. 

Source B and C are different in the attitude towards having children with Source B having a positive attitude towards having children and Source C having a negative attitude. Source B states that no matter how difficult it may be adjust one's life to accommodate having children, the writer as a parent is willing to do so.  Source B states " Even if we were not prepared for our baby boy, who is arriving in two months’ time, we will cope and adapt as each obstacle comes our way." This means that the writer is willing to overcome every challenge that comes along with having children. On the other hand, Source C has a negative attitude towards having children. Source C states "  ‘We see our friends who dump their kids in childcare centre or with a maid. They spend maybe one full day during the week with them. It seems meaningless." This indicates that the parents in the source do not believe that having children is of any value especially if they will have trouble spending enough time with them. Hence, this indicates a rather negative attitude in having children. 

Source B and C have a different purpose. The purpose of Source B is to influence young couples to have more children despite the challenges whereas the purpose of Source C is to influence the Singapore government that their current efforts to raise the population growth rate is not adequate and, hence, the government should improve upon its current policy beyond simply giving incentives. 

Why is there a slow population growth in Singapore?

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Read this carefully. It may help you to answer some of the questions.

The government is concerned that if this trend continues, there will be some serious problems related to the economy and even national security.

Study the following sources to find out Singaporeans views on having children.

Source A:	A comment by a young Singaporean, published in The Straits Times.
The mere thought of having to be responsible for another human being for the rest of my life is enough to make me break out in cold sweat. Am I too self-centred? Maybe. But I’d rather be a self-centred single than a self-centred mum. So I guess that is why marriage never came my way. Since babies are not on my list of “must haves”, there is no pressing need to grab a husband. Give me the joys of romance and companionship, but spare me the nitty-gritty stuff of marriage, please. With the current job that I have and my lifestyle, I have no time and energy for that.
Source B:	Views expressed by a young Singaporean civil servant - Forum Page, The Straits Times.
Even if we were not prepared for our baby boy, who is arriving in two months’ time, we will cope and adapt as each obstacle comes our way. Home too small? Move back with parents. Money not enough? Rent out our empty flat. Job too stressful? Quit. But I will never quit having him. I refuse to fret over what I have to give up, or whether I have enough money to give the baby the best. I would like to think that my parents’ generation did a fine job with child rearing and they never strained so hard to think about how to do it. They just had them. Now I am having one, I intend to have more simply because the kid might get lonely. My husband wants four. We’ll see.

Source C:

Views expressed by a Singaporean couple – New Paper, Singapore

The husband explained, ‘I’m in the office by 8.30 am and often come home close to midnight. Between marking and preparing lessons and extra committees, my wife who is a teacher sleeps four to five hours a night. Where is there time to raise a child? I can’t ask my firm to scale back my hours. They’ve cut jobs in the past three years. We’re all taking on extra duties to keep our jobs.’ His wife added, ‘We see our friends who dump their kids in childcare centres or with a maid. They spend maybe one full day during the week with them. It seems meaningless.’

Response to the following questions

Social Studies Practice Paper – Pictorial Source Analysis

Q1. Why was this source published? Explain your answer.

Source A A blogger’s view of the government’s attempts to motivate Singaporeans to have more children.

Possible response

Source A was published to alert the Singapore government[Audience] that the current set of population growth policy incentives is not helping in raising the birth rate and instead hindering it.[Message] so that the Singapore government will do change the current policy to include other measures other than monetary incentives. Source A shows a stork carrying a baby which represents birthing being weighed down by incentives that represent the government's attempts to raise the population growth through monetary rewards such as the Baby Bonus Scheme but this has not made it easier for the stork to do its duty of ferrying more babies but it has instead created more problems for the stork as the stork looks distressed by the weight of these incentives.[Evidence] This means that the current government policy is somehow hindering the raising of the birth rate rather than helping to boost it.[Explanation] Hence, when the Singapore government realize this, they may decide to tweak the current population growth incentives and use other methods to motivate Singapore parents to have more children.[Desired Outcome]

Q2. What is the intention of creating this cartoon? Explain your answer.

Source B A cartoonist view of the Baby Bonus Scheme

Possible Response 

The intention of creating this cartoon is to convince Singapore parents that the Singapore government is already doing its best to raise the birth rate by readily providing incentives for married couples when they have children but somehow this has not led to more children being born, so that Singapore parents will play their part and plan to have a larger family/have more children. Source B shows that the government represented by the man is looking disappointed because despite handing out money to the lady who represents married ladies/couples in Singapore, the birth rate has not increased significantly as represented by the doctor who declares " No.Nothing yet." which indicates that the intended policy outcome of raising birth rates has not yet been realised. This means that the government's incentives to Singaporean couples to help married couples who wish to have children but who may be financially strapped, do not appear to be raising the birth rates as hoped and Singaporeans parents do not appear to be doing their part in trying for more children. Thus when the Singaporean parents realise that they need to play their part since the government is already doing theirs, the parents may redouble their efforts to have more children. 

Q3. Why was this poster created?

Source C Poster for population control ( Poster on the left in yellow)

Possible response 
The poster was created to convince parents in Singapore that having too large a family will lead to a less comfortable life so that parents in Singapore will practice family planning and have no more than 2 children. Source C shows a poster with a family of 5 squeezed into a house and looking very uncomfortable. This means that with a larger family(The more you have), the more resources are needed to care for them( The more you need) and in this poster, the family does not have the resources and so they are leading a less comfortable life as represented by being squeezed into the small home. Hence, when Singapore couples see this poster, they will decide to have a smaller family so as to avoid having a less comfortable life.

Population Policy in Singapore: Consequences of a falling birth rate II

Consequences of a declining population

Consequences of a declining population

What are the consequences of declining population?

Consequences = Impact of a declining population on Singapore

Key questions:
Q1. “Being unable to attract and retain MNCs/TNCs [Given Factor] is a serious consequence a declining population.” Explain. [5m]

Q2. The following are consequences of a declining population for Singapore:
- Weak defence force
- Ageing population
Which of the following is the more serious impact? Explain your answer.[10m]

Stand	I agree to a large/small extent.
Being unable to attract and retain MNCs/TNCs [P]	Insufficient young workers as population gets smaller à foreign companies/TNCs will not have enough manpower to hire à TNCs will not want to set up operations in Singapore + existing TNCs may leave Singapore à fewer jobs à unemployment in Singapore rises àrecession à standard of living falls [EE]à hence being unable to attract and retain MNCs/TNCs serious.[Link] If unable to attract or retain TNCs à local SMEs which depend on TNCs for business will close down à further unemployment à economic slowdown [EE]à standard of living falls à hence reduction in economic competiveness serious[Link]
Weaker security force[P]	Fewer young people available to serve in armed forces à this causes a smaller and weaker defence force à less deterrent à enemies will invade Singapore à lose our independence à citizens will become subjects to the invader [EE] à hence having a smaller security force[P] is a serious consequence. [Link]
Ageing population	More elderly à more people need medical attention à higher percentage of ill people in the country à more resources are needed for the elderly in Healthcare and Social Services à more money channeled to these services à less funds available for other needs e.g. infrastructure, education, housing and defence àless resources in HC and SS for citizens in other age groups à medical and SS services will not be meeting the needs of the other segments of the population à hence serious. Fewer taxes collected since there are fewer working adults à less money for national needs à e.g. education, infrastructure à standard of living and quality of life falls.  At the family level à fewer young people per family supporting more elderly family members[ medical cost could be high for the family since elderly fall ill more often] àfinancial strain on the working adults à family will also have other needs à insufficient money in the family.
Weighing	Criteria  Being unable to attract and retain TNCs is the most serious consequence of a declining population à leads to economically weaker country à unemployment in Singapore will rise and unable to collect enough tax à government and citizens will not have the money to care for an ageing population or meet our defence needs. With a smaller population, technology can help keep our defence force strong even with fewer soldiers and even with an ageing population, enough public funds can ensure that the ageing population can be cared for provided we have strong economic growth.