SCIENCE AND ETHICS

Why science should not be kept separated from ethical issues:  Ethics and Science should be morally intertwined. Ethics is necessary in providing a blueprint for what is morally permissible. This prevents the abuse of science, for reasons of human greed or power. Scientific progress that is unbridled and unchecked may not be a good thing. E.g. ethical concerns and controversies surrounding the issue of reproductive cloning result in laws to prevent the abuse of cloning technologies.

 Ethics emphasises the moral obligation which scientists have towards the community. Lab ethics, for example, demands that findings are based on truth (facts and empirical proof) and any breach of ethics is morally and legally unacceptable. The scientist should have a moral responsibility for his inventions/discoveries and should consider ethics against his perceived notion of the greater good. This ensures that scientific studies/findings are not fraudulent as this may lead to abuse as well as deceit and have an impact on public policy and in some cases, patient care. o South Korean scientist, Hwang Woo-Suk, was discovered to have fabricated his stem cell breakthroughs in 2005. He was fired from the prestigious Seoul National University and charged in court for research fraud. o Two Merck virologists were required by Merck to fake the efficacy test of a mumps vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gives Merck monopoly on certain vaccines but it must maintain a high efficacy rate of about 95% (which is near impossible). Huge level of criminal fraud was discovered when human blood samples were spiked with anti-bodies from animal blood samples to inflate the vaccine’s efficacy findings.

 Ethics can help to ensure that Science is wielded for beneficial ends rather than for destructive purposes. Since the fundamental purpose of science is to improve man’s well-being, ethical guidelines, laws and policies must be implemented to keep it in check. o For example, ethics can ensure that Science is used for the good of mankind in areas like cures for diseases, uses of technology, nuclear technology, genetic engineering and eugenics policies. This ensures that scientific practice or progress is not undertaken at the expense of people’s detriment.  Might cause some resentment in some religions which are against the idea of human scientists playing God. To preserve the sanctity of life (for example, to embark on stem cell research) we must first guarantee its integrity. Ethical guidelines that prevent the abuse of scientific research and development should be suggested and even enforced by the relevant authorities. Other examples of such issues that threaten the sanctity of life include euthanasia and abortion.

Why science and ethics should be kept separate: Ethics and Science are fundamentally different and therefore, frequently come into direct conflict with each other. Ethics is subjective being concerned with values and morals which do involve a certain degree of personal judgement while science is objective and has the utilitarian aim of improving the lives of people.

Ethics can limit and hinder scientific progress. o Stem cell research, whichbestfreepapers.com involves the creation and destruction of human embryos, is banned in parts of the US and some EU nations despite its potential to alleviate pain and save lives by replacing defective stem cells with healthy ones. In addition, some critics in America argued that embryonic stem cell research could not expand under the 2001 Bush policy that barred the National Institutes of Health from funding research on embryonic stem cells beyond using 60 cell lines that existed at that time. (In 2009, President Obama has since overturned the policy by lifting the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research but pledging strict guidelines to ensure that this research will not involve reproductive cloning.)

The enforcement of laws to uphold ethical standards greatly undermines personal freedom/individual autonomy as seen in the case of euthanasia, where one’s right to die is usurped by the state. This is a violation of human liberty, or the right of an individual to decide what to do with one’s life – one of the most fundamental rights of free societies. o Chantal Serbire (France) who suffered from a rare form of cancer and fought for the right to die through euthanasia.

The interpretation of ethics is subjective and at times even problematic. In the case of a terminally ill patient, is it more ethical to introduce measures to prolong the person’s miserable life or mercifully end his suffering? o Chantal Serbire’s cancer severely disfigured her face, caused her to become blind and left her in great pain.

Science is amoral. This means the job of the scientist is just to come up with scientific inventions and not decide how they should be used. Government agencies, religious leaders and the society should make such decisions.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! How a fine balance can be achieved without compromising ethical concerns as far as possible: ‘Stem cell research will one day be a boon to humanity. We owe it to posterity to pursue it. But we also owe posterity a moral universe not trampled and corrupted by arrogant, brilliant science.’ (Charles Krauthammer) It is because of this that we need strict regulation: no human cloning, no embryos created solely to be harvested. Only discarded ones from abortion clinics.

Sometimes moral compromises have to be made to ease human suffering and for the greater good: o Animal testing which is considered a form of cruelty to animals is necessary in testing certain life-saving drugs for the safety of humans. Every day, thousands of people are saved from painful diseases and death by powerful medical drugs and treatments. This incredible gift of medicine would not be possible without animal testing. o Euthanasia vs sanctity of life: Life-prolonging technology with its ability to prolong a patient’s life long after the quality of life had gone, has become a problem with late-state terminally ill patients or those for whom dying is prolonged torture. This has made euthanasia an issue today. For e.g., the Terri Schiavo case - after a long 7-year legal battle, her feeding tube was removed. Although euthanasia is illegal in many countries for ethical and other reasons, ultimately, end-of-life decisions are a question of choice: it must really depend on a case-by-case basis. o Ethical concerns might have to give way to pragmatism in a highly competitive and globalised world. For example, some may regard the use of embryos in stem cell research as unethical, but Singapore regards such research as crucial for Singapore’s biomedical industry, and there are profits to be made. For e.g., Singapore has Biopolis which is an international research and development centre for biomedical sciences. Summary Points:  Ethics should be the very basis of science.  However moral compromises may sometimes have to be made for the greater good.  The best approach is to strike the balance between sound science and moral values.  Contentious Issues : Pro-life vs Pro-choice  Science should complement religion – but not always the case, sometimes there are controversial issues such as stem cell research, euthanasia etc.  Human testing has been condemned as it goes against human rights (for example from WWII, Hitler using Jews as test subjects in concentration camps)  inhumane biological experiments, goes against the moral fabric of the society. Animal testing too has been criticised for the pain and cruelty inflicted on animals when they are used as test subjects in laboratories.  Solutions: Why can Science not complement religion? o Mutual understanding is required. o Not to deny that there have been scientists who are religious (Galileo Galilee who was a great scientist and a staunch Catholic) o Science and Religion acquire the same results but through different means. o When it comes to medical research, we should : make it affordable not contravene ethics not dehumanise (man/animal) ensure that there are no ulterior motives ensure no marginalisation of the weak/sick/poor have internationalbestfreepapers.com cooperation have State intervention (i.e. the State should ensure ethical concerns are addressed).

SINGAPORE: BIOETHICS ADVISORY COMMITTEE and the ethical guidelines for Human Biomedical Research

The Ethical Guidelines for Human Biomedical Research are intended to serve as an ethical resource for researchers and members of ethics committees or institutional review boards (IRBs). Institutions have the overall responsibility of ensuring the proper conduct of human biomedical research carried out in their premises or facilities; or by their employees or on their patients; or involving access to or use of human biological materials, medical records or other personal information in their custody. They are also responsible for ensuring research integrity.

Ethical Guidelines: ( not full list) Consent – Consent for participation in research must be voluntary. There should be no coercion, deception or undue influence. Participants may be reimbursed for legitimate expenses. Any other payment, whether monetary or in kind, should not amount to an inducement, and should be approved by an IRB. Consent to participation in research should be documented in writing.

– Keeping research participants in ignorance of a research hypothesis, or of which intervention group they have been assigned to, does not amount to deception. However, the need to keep participants ignorant of a research

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! hypothesis should be disclosed and justified to the satisfaction of an IRB. It is also best ethical practice to highlight to the participant the fact that, for methodological reasons, not all information concerning the research hypothesis and protocol will be revealed.

– Prospective research participants or their legally authorised representatives should be provided with sufficient information in an understandable form and appropriate manner, to enable them to make an informed decision.

– Consent could be specific to a particular research project, or general for the storage and future use of biological materials or personal information in research. In any general consent, donors should be allowed to impose some limits to the use of their biological materials or personal information. IRBs should have the discretion to decide, when considering a research proposal, whether specific consent is required or general consent is sufficient, if previously given.

– For research involving minors with decision-making capacity, consent from both the minor and a parent should be obtained; such a minor’s refusal of consent should be respected. Apart from this, it is still important to engage the minor in ways that respect his or her current level of understanding. Parents or guardians of minors lacking decision-making capacity are authorised to consent to their participation in research that involves no more than minimal risk and is not contrary to their best interests. For research that does not involve more than minimal risk, such as surveys seeking information relating only to the minor, IRBs should be able to waive parental consent for minors who have decision-making capacity, where there is otherwise no prohibition by law and parental consent is not a reasonable requirement for the protection of the minor’s interests.

– IRBs may consider a waiver of the consent requirement for research done in the public interest, typically in epidemiological or public health research carried out with medical records or with data from national registries.

Personal Information in Research – All biomedical research involving personal information, whether identified or de-identified, should be reviewed by an IRB and approved, or granted an exemption from review, before it commences. IRBs should have the discretion to decide whether specific consent is required or general consent is sufficient for the particular project.

– It is not practicable to give research participants a right to view, amend, delete or otherwise control data they have provided for research purposes. Information created through research should be managed in ways that respect the need to observe confidentiality and care in use. It should remain in the care of and for the use of the researcher, subject to ethics governance procedures, rather than being treated as the continued property of the research participant or ‘donor’.

– Personal information used for research should be de-identified as early as possible, and stored and managed as de-identified information. The principle of proportionality applies, such that the level of care and urgency regarding de-identification and data protection should be consistent with the sensitivity of the data. IRBs should consider the suitability of the extent and means of the de-identification in proportion to the risk.

– Research information maybestfreepapers.com not be definitive, and research participants are entitled to expect that their data will not be used for purposes other than those for which they have given consent. Thus, such information should not be disclosed to any third party, including employers or insurance companies.

Biobanking and Research Involving Human Biological Materials – Informed consent must be obtained before any human biological materials are taken for use in research. If the materials are intended for storage and future use in research, consent should also be obtained for this purpose.

– Under the Medical (Therapy, Education and Research) Act, any person who is not mentally disordered and who is 18 years of age or above may give all or any part of his or her body for research or for therapy. The gift will take effect upon death. Legally authorised relatives of deceased individuals (which include still-born infants and foetuses) may also give all or part of the deceased person for research after or immediately before death.

– For research using foetal tissues, consent for the termination of pregnancy should be separate from the consent for obtaining foetal tissue or any tissue related to the pregnancy for research. Where possible, an attending physician should not also seek consent for research participation from a patient in this situation. Consent for the use of foetal tissue for research could be obtained from either parent, as provided for in the Medical (Therapy, Education and Research) Act.

– Specific and personal consent from the donors must be obtained before any gametes or embryos are to be used for research. Potential donors should be provided with sufficient information to make an informed decision and

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! be given at least a week to decide.

– For women undergoing fertility treatment, consent for the donation of surplus oocytes or embryos for research should be separate from the consent for treatment. The treating physician should not also be the researcher seeking consent for the donation of oocytes or embryos for research. Donors should confirm in writing that they do not require the oocytes or embryos for future use.

– Women wishing to donate eggs specifically for research must be interviewed by an independent panel. The panel must be satisfied that they are of sound mind, clearly understand the nature and consequences of the donation, and have freely given explicit consent, without any inducement, coercion or undue influence.

– If complications occur as a direct and proximate result of the egg donation, the donor should be provided with prompt and full medical care. This provision is the responsibility of the researchers and their institutions.

– Trans-species fertilisation involving human gametes is not allowed for the purpose of reproduction unless done to assess or diagnose sub-fertility, in which case, the resultant hybrid must be terminated at the two-cell stage, and must have written approval from the Director of Medical Services.

– Human embryos created for research through in vitro fertilisation of human eggs by human sperm, or created through any form of cloning technology, should not be allowed to develop beyond 14 days in vitro, or to be implanted into the body of any human or animal.

– Human cytoplasmic hybrid embryos created for research should not be allowed to develop beyond 14 days in vitro, or to be implanted into the body of any human or animal.

Human Genetic Research – All human genetic research should be reviewed by an IRB and approved before it commences. A written approval from the MOH is also required if the research involves human eggs and embryos.

– Participation in genetic research should be voluntary, whether directly or by contribution of biological materials or personal information.

– When clinically significant findings are discovered in the course of any genetic research, researchers should ensure that affected participants are informed, if they have indicated their desire to know.

– In whole-genome research, participants should be provided with as much detailed information as possible that is specific to such research, during the consent taking process. They should be informed of the mechanisms for data security, and given an explanation on the nature of whole-genome research, highlighting the difficulty in guaranteeing their anonymity with complete certainty. As the dissemination of information in whole-genome research is likely to be rapid and wide, there will also be practical limitations on withdrawal from such research. Participants should be informed of these limitations and the implications of their withdrawal.

Human Stem Cell Research bestfreepapers.com – Human stem cell research that is not ethically contentious, such as research using established pluripotent stem cell lines and confined to cell culture or research that involves routine and standard research practice with laboratory animals, should be exempted from review. All other human stem cell research should undergo full or expedited review by an IRB. Approval from MOH must also be obtained if the research involves the use of human eggs, human embryos, or human-animal combinations.

– In human-animal combinations research involving live animals or resulting in the creation of live animals, the IRB should also ensure that the proposal has been approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, whose remit covers the welfare of laboratory animals.

– Where human embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, or any other kind of pluripotent stem cells are introduced into animals at any stage of development, particular attention should be paid to the need to avoid the creation of entities in which human sentience or consciousness might be expected to occur.

– Animals into which human embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, or any other kind of pluripotent stem cells have been introduced should not be allowed to breed.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! SPORTS

Issues surrounding Sport

Sports should not be commercialised The commercialisation of sports directly harms the sports themselves. Team loyalties that were once a major factor in many sports have been replaced by modern transfers, by which sportsmen and women move from one team to another in pursuit of a higher salary. Often they abuse the system by not competing for significant stretches of time owing to ‘injuries’, confident in the knowledge that they are nevertheless being paid seven- figure sums. Some absurd events are staged for purely commercial purposes, especially in boxing, where aged fighters are brought out of retirement and mismatched against younger opponents. Other sports are under pressure to alter their rules to make them more ‘watchable’. These monetary considerations undermine the ethos of sport. For e.g., in January 2013, seven-time winner of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong, recently confessed to doping. One of the biggest names in the sporting arena, Armstrong, there was widespread disappointment in him for his conduct.

The sheer cost of high-profile sport is squeezing out less well-known ones. The potential commercial returns from sponsoring the likes of the Premier Division, or Rugby Super League, and the massive amount of money involved starve other sporting activities of investment. Those that remain amateur – in which it is truly the talent of the competitor rather than the price of his or her training that is being tested – are particularly hard hit.

Commercialised sport is also bad for the viewer. As covering major events has become more expensive, rights to do so have been bought by subscription-only and pay-per- view channels; public broadcasting can compete only with the aid of state intervention, which is heavily opposed by sporting bodies greedy for more cash, leaving fans out of the pocket. Coverage is in danger of becoming ever more revenue-led – football in particular is under pressure to become a game of four quarters to allow more advertising. As sports clubs become money-making machines, their ability to hire the best players and the best coaches makes team sport increasingly predictable, as with the NBA in America.

Sportsmen and women simply do not deserve the inflated salaries they earn. For basketball players such as Michael Jordan to earn some $80m in a year is obscene when teachers and nurses are paid barely enough to make a living.

Commercial interest in the investment made in major sporting figures ensures that even the most horrific behaviour goes excused. Modern sport sets a bad example. Mike Tyson is a case in point: in the two years after being released from prison for rape, he made some $142m. Despite biting off an opponent’s ear on live television, his ability to bring in revenue suggests that vested interests will not allow his career to end. Moreover, the pursuit of sports-star salaries tempts many children to abandon their education, despite the fact that only a handful can succeed. These are not the role models our society needs.

Sports should be commercialised Far from harming sports, commercialisation aids them. With new money come better facilities and better training for sportsmen and women, allowing thembestfreepapers.com to perform at their very best and fulfil their potential. Better competitors make for better events; therefore increasing investment in sport can only be a good thing for the sports themselves. Although there are occasional abuses, the spirit of sport – and the desire to win on the field as well as in the bank-balance – is as vibrant as ever. Indeed, major sports bodies such as the Football Association have chosen to resist reforms that would damage the sport in pursuit of greater profits.

The extra money in sport is in fact good for the sports fan. Obviously, the more highly trained athletes result in a more exciting spectacle. Also, major sporting fixtures have become national events. For those dedicated enough to attend in person, expensive new stadia provide room for more fans in more comfort and safety than ever before; for others, well thought-out comprehensive coverage is provided on television and radio. Even though rights are increasingly bought up by satellite and cable channels, deregulation of the broadcasting market means that ever more people have access to these. Finally, events of national significance – for example, the Wimbledon finals, the Cup final, the Olympic Games – have, since 1990, been protected by parliament form becoming ‘pay-per-view’.

Modern sportsmen and women deserve the money they are paid. Their activities entertain millions worldwide, yet their professional lives are often short. Recognition should be given to those who have given their all in pursuit of a sporting ideal, and who are often heroes to many members of the public.

Although it may be a cliché, sport does provide a route out of the ghetto for many poor children. Sportsmen and women can become powerful symbols of talent over background, and of racial and social integration. Many people bemoan the commercialisation of American sports, yet the fact that seven of the top ten earners in sport in the US are black (1998) provides a set of role models for disadvantaged children to look up to. Although some do behave inexcusably, the vast

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! majority are successful, respectable and even admirable people. Compared with the alternatives, there are some of the finest role models for the victory we can have.

Today’s athletes are more of a celebrity than a sportsman The media and public attention that was accorded to celebrities are now extended to sports stars. Fan clubs/ fan blogs and website/ product endorsement by sports celebrities/ sports celebrities as icons in popular culture (e.g.. appearing in MTVs). For example, basketballer, Jeremy Lin, has a professional team of Public Relations personnel who will help him to manage companies that want him to endorse their products.

Sportsmen are used to endorse products like celebrities. Athletes like Tiger Wood, David Beckham and Caroline Wozniacki enjoy multi-million contracts with marketing companies and multi-national companies to endorse and promote their products.

Social media and media entertainment industry/ landscape augment sportsmen’s status as celebrities. Social media and the advent of the media entertainment industry further blur the line between athletes and celebrities where athletes are enamoured for their looks and stage presence more than their actual performance. Social media help to promote these sport celebrities’ latest fashion statements when they guest appear in public events and variety programmes.

‘Sport celebrities’ has been established as a conventional term. They have personal managers who help to sculpt their public image, as that is in itself a commodity. For example, David Beckham’s Public Relations Manager, Simon Fuller, is also the manager of artistes like Spice Girls, Annie Lennox and Steven Taylor.

Sport celebrities enjoy the same kind of salary and monetary perks as conventional celebrities (from sponsors, product endorsements and even the music and movie industries). Tiger Woods earned an average of US$75 million in a year.

Sport celebrities behave like celebrities too, expecting sponsors, sports clubs and fans to pander to their needs and demands. They have similar ‘star temperaments’.

Sports skills are just a springboard and need not be sustained. Some athletes would use their sports skills as a springboard to catapult them into stardom before they retire from their official field of sport. Given the short span of career that athletes have (especially for high impact sports like boxing and soccer), athletes who are ‘marketable’ would naturally choose such a glamorous exit option.

Today’s athletes are more of a sportsman than a celebrity Athletes are still being enamoured solely for their sports skills rather than for their looks or charisma. Some athletes still shy away from media attention and refuse to be treated as celebrities per se (although they are deemed to be stars by their fans).

Some athletes who have retired from their professional game would no longer enjoy the same celebrity status (not everyone is Beckham); i.e. their popularity ends together with their sports careers.

Some athletes, who are extremely competent, simply do not have the intrinsic traits of a celebrity (i.e. lack of good looks, charisma or presence to be made into a celebrity). For example, Mike Tyson, the former heavy weight champion of the world, no longer enjoys any celebrity statusbestfreepapers.com simply because he does not have any appeal beyond his athletic prowess. Athletes cannot be denied to be talented in their field of sport and put in hours of hard work into their training regimens in order to be at the level they are at. The discipline to refine their skills and maintain their physical and mental conditions are commendable and expected of sportsmen, and that they fulfil. Today’s athletes cannot attain ‘celebrity’ status in the sporting arena without some measure of good showing in their sport.

As sportsmen, athletes are expected to uphold good measure of sportsmanship and the values that sports espouses like integrity, fairness, respect, teamwork, humility, graciousness, honour and empathy. o During a cross-country race in Burlada, Navarre in December 2012, Spanish runner, Ivan Fernandez Anaya exemplified honesty and sportsmanship. He was trailing behind Olympic bronze medallist Abel Mutai of Kenya. Mutai had slowed down near the finish line believing he had won the race despite being several metres from the tape. Fernandez approached from behind and guided Mutai to the finish line. He later said “I didn’t deserve to win it…[Mutai] created a gap that I couldn’t have closed if he hadn’t made the mistake.”

Sports stars are subject to strict sporting standards and requirements regardless of their celebrity status. They do not simply get away with anything they do based on it. Similarly, sporting organisations do not exist to perpetuate the commercialisation of sports but are subject to similar standards to uphold the integrity and meaning of sport. o Maria Sharapova, five-time Grand Slam champion, was dropped by Nike from her $70m contract after the tennis star admitted to having taken performance-enhancing drugs for ten years. The drug, Meldonium, was added to the list of banned substances since January 1, 2016 but Sharapova had not looked at the list

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT, SAJC 2

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! closely and did not realise the medicine she took for ‘health issues’ was then on the list. Her carelessness cost her her endorsement deal. o Allegations of widespread corruption were brought against FIFA, world soccer's governing body, in May 2015 and the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) stunned the world by announcing it had indicted nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives. The defendants were charged with a range of offenses including racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies. In December, the DoJ indicted 16 additional FIFA officials. Plus, FIFA's Ethics Committee banned FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, president of UEFA, from soccer for eight years in relation to a payment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2 million) made by FIFA to Platini in 2011.

SINGAPORE: Sport Singapore is a statutory board of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Sport Singapore. Its core purpose is to inspire the Singapore spirit and transform Singapore through sport. Through innovative, fun and meaningful sporting experiences, the mission is to reach out and serve communities across Singapore.

It has set out a Vision 2030 – Singapore’s sports master plan to go beyond winning medals. It aims for a more united, resilient, patriotic Singapore; using sport to rejuvenate and empower Singapore and Singaporeans. Sport Singapore also uses sport to create greater sporting opportunities and access, more inclusivity and integration as well as broader development of capabilities amongst Singaporeans.

The Various Programmes: The Leadership Development Department (LDD) of Sport Singapore was invited to conduct a workshop session on the Game for Life (GFL) toolkit at the ACT! Conference on At-Risk Youths in Nov 2014. The Game For Life Toolkit features the use of game activities and specific role playing for the learning and development of performance, social and moral values and attributes. This enables training, education and coaching professionals to create teaching moments, where learning values can be infused into any sporting experience for every individual.

TeamUP-Team Development Through Sport enables companies to engage their staff through fun and exciting sporting activities and having reflective conversations that are constructive and useful to develop more effective teams.

Sport Singapore has launched a nation-wide programme called ActiveSG. It recognises the value of sport in advancing the national priorities of developing our people and bonding our communities. ActiveSG is an all-encompassing and inclusive national movement for sport. Poised to be a lifestyle destination for Singaporeans, ActiveSG offer individuals, families and communities ample opportunities to experience and share the joy of living better through sport. Sports facilities are conveniently located all over Singapore and are open to all. All Singaporeans and Singapore PRs can sign up for ActiveSG membership registration for free.

Singapore Sports Institute was set up to support Singapore’s rising athletic stars. Efforts are in the following areas:  Athlete Services & Development to support athletes in their education, career, and personal development alongside their sporting goals.  A Sports Science Centre to help talented athletes optimise their performance through direct application of leading- edge science, performance testing and monitoring, applied research and education.  A Sports Medicine Centrebestfreepapers.com focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of injuries associated with athletic training and participation.  Sport Singapore focusing on the important R&D to promote the application of science and technology (S&T) in sports to provide athletes with the edge for podium success in international games. Anti-Doping Singapore (ADS) was established by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports in 2010 as the national anti-doping organisation for Singapore to promote and support the eradication of doping in sport in Singapore

Singapore’s Participation in International/ Regional Games ( not full list) Singapore has been involved in hosting the Asian Youth Games 2002 Asian Games in Busan 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing Youth Summer Olympic Games in 2010 2015 Southeast Asian Games ( hosted) 8th ASEAN Para Games ( hosted)

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT, SAJC 3

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore!

TECHNOLOGY

The following table presents a list of general pros and cons that are commonly associated with technology:

Pros Cons  Increased integration of the world  May have high maintenance cost  Increased entertainment value  Over-reliance (on the Internet/technologies)  leading to an  Rise in productivity increasingly mechanised society  Reduced waste  Results in a homogeneous society  Better quality goods  Loss of privacy – for e.g., tracking and surveillance devices.  Save lives (safety precautions)  Increased unemployment due to less value placed on human workers  Harness other forms of energy  Potential for misuse. For e.g., nuclear weaponry (encourages conflict)  Better security (surveillance) Hackers (threatens security of classified information/bank accounts  Prevent casualties in natural disasters etc.). Biological warfare (anthrax).  Improve accessibility  Spread of terrorism. For e.g., the use of the Internet to spread a  Enhance communication and sharing home-made video on the “Innocence of Muslims” resulted in  Eradicates global poverty protests and demonstrations. About 80 people died including the US  Increased convenience (e.g. online shopping) ambassador to Libya.  Development of new internet-related illnesses. For e.g., Internet addiction, Facebook depression  Leads to disasters (For e.g., Chernobyl disaster  radiation poisoning)  Increasing isolation (For e.g., heavy Internet users or video game players). May cause barriers to real-life and face-to-face communication.

Uses and benefits of IT Education  Multimedia is a widely used method of transferring knowledge to the current and future generation by providing them with the technology (for example, the Internet) to research, engage in projects and communicate with ease.  The new technologies allow students to have more control over their own learning, to think analytically and critically, and to work collaboratively. This new approach is inspired and improvised to make learning easier for students as well as teachers.  Traditional lecture methods are often behind time as more time is wasted on preparing lessons and copying notes.

Impact of technology on learning For e.g., The Apple Classroomsbestfreepapers.com of Tomorrow (ACOT), a 10-year project in the US where students and teachers were each given two computers, one for school and one for home, illustrates some of the gains made in students’ advanced skills. ACOT reports that students:  Explored and represented information dynamically and in many forms  Became socially aware and more confident  Communicated effectively about complex processes  Became independent learners and self-starters  Worked well collaboratively  Knew their areas of expertise and shared expertise spontaneously  Used technology routinely and appropriately  Displayed greater problem solving and critical thinking skills

Business Field  Recent developments in IT have altered the way organisations handle businesses. Today, companies are minimising costs using advanced technological gadgets and software to carry out administrative processes such as accounting and multimedia presentations to clients.  Improving services for customers by leveraging the Internet (e-commerce). For e.g., clothing company, Lands End.com, uses teleconferencing to conduct meetings with parties from several different companies simultaneously. In addition, outsourcing processes such as call centres in India for the American market has cut down the costs of hiring more expensive workers in the US. Some companies save on rental and advertising costs by selling online such as Amazon.com.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore!  Taking advantage of new business models such as distributed auctions and trading hubs, for e.g., eBay.  Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of a wide range of computer-based tools that assist engineers, architects and other design professionals in their design activities. Some products that would be enhanced by CAD are automotive, aerospace, consumer and electric products. It creates savings and enable ease, reuse, modification and generation of multiple design copies and link up with automated processes of manufacture easily.

Medical Field  The use of IT ensures reduction of costs associated with medication errors, communication and documentation of clinical care and test results, staffing and paper storage, and processing of information. Other benefits include improved quality of care, more accurate and complete medical documentation, more accurate capture of codes and charges, and improved communications among providers to respond more quickly to patients’ needs.

Information Management  Automated information retrieval (IR) systems were originally used to manage information explosion in scientific literature in the last few decades. Many universities and public libraries in the US, Canada and Europe use IR systems to provide access to books, journals, and other documents.  We have vast amount of information to which accurate and speedy access is becoming ever more difficult. One effect of this is that relevant information gets ignored since it is never uncovered which in turn leads to much duplication of work and effort. With the advent of computers, a great deal of thought has been given to using them to provide rapid and intelligent retrieval systems. In libraries, many of which certainly have an information storage and retrieval problem, some of the more mundane tasks, such as cataloguing and general administration have successfully been taken over by computers.  Digital libraries such as Project Gutenberg, ibiblio and the Internet Archive enable universal access while enjoying cheaper storage costs than traditional libraries with a larger capacity for storage. They can digitise out of copyright works.

Empowerment of People e.g. Women  Women in Africa are engaging in formal and informal entrepreneurial activities on a large scale. There is no doubt that women are the main economic force in developing countries. As economies become more and more information-driven, the issues of women’s access to introduce and disseminate it will be increasingly important to Africa overall. Despite the conception that women engage in solely domestic activities which require a lower level of skill and innovation, NGOs and policy bodies are beginning to recognise and highlight the knowledge, innovation and abilities possessed by women. Surveys of women innovators in Kenya and the Philippines show that women’s inventions tend to have direct application to improving family and community well-being or increasing efficiency. Examples include a power tiller built to women’s physical specifications and their agricultural practices, an improved cloth diaper and a fireless cooker.  Utilising ICTs (Information & Communication Technologies) for communication, coordination and information and experience sharing help women to develop confidence and experience in expressing their viewpoints publicly by allowing space for experimentation and enabling them to find allies across communities, nations and regions. o The African Women’sbestfreepapers.com Entrepreneurship Programme, a group of African women entrepreneurs, communicate with US policy makers, companies and industry associations as well as non-profit organisations using communication technology to advocate for women’s economic opportunities and business alliances.

IT-related Problems The Internet is frequently used as a means to illegally procure licensed information for free or at a reduced price. o Some fans of Japanese cartoons (anime) and Japanese comics (manga) sub anime and scaniate (scan and translate) manga for illegal distribution online. o The existence of websites like www.emp3world.com provide free downloads of the latest English pop songs. These sites also link to websites that offer full album downloads at a low price ($0.10 per song). o Peer to Peer (P2P) shareware programs like PirateBay, btjunkie are facilitating the sharing of licensed movies and songs. o The services that these websites offer are an infringement of copyright laws. o Information stored in computer networks has proven to be quite vulnerable to hacking and ending up in the wrong hands. Apart from identity theft, stealing confidential information for ransom is also a possibility. For e.g., in 2014, more than 100 million South Korean credit card and account details were stolen by an employee of the Korea Credit Bureau and sold to marketing firms.

The information explosion has made it more urgent to address the problem of ‘reading’ (as a human does) and characterising a document (for storage and retrieval purposes).

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! o But automatic characterisation in which the software attempts to duplicate the human process of ‘reading’ is near impossible. More specifically, ‘reading’ involves attempting to extract information, both syntactic and semantic, from the text and using it to decide whether each document is relevant or not to a particular request. o The comparatively slow progress of modern linguistics on the semantic front and the conspicuous failure to accurate machine translation show that these problems are largely unsolved.

Availability and access to ICTs: Since personal ownership of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for the vast majority of people in the third world is not feasible for the forseeable future, this means the question of where and how they can gain access to ICTs is central. This includes institutional, sectorial and geographical contexts. Currently, it is only middle-class and professional women who use ICTs.

The cost of Internet access at all levels makes it inaccessible for the majority of poor people. The cost of online access is prohibitively expensive for most. Other problems include lack of access to training, lack of technical information, lack of computer parts and repair, high rates of technological obsolescence and lack of human skills and know-how. In addition, language is a barrier, since most training packages, software, and electronic conferences and journals are in English. These problems are representative of many developing countries.

The use of the Internet for storage, retrieval or purchase of information and certain goods online has posed a challenge to many brick and mortar businesses. The convenience of being able to compare prices and make purchases online has put certain stores out of business, especially those which have seen a shift to digital format. For example, physical music and book stores like HMV and Borders have seen declining sales with online rivals like iTunes and Amazon booming in their digital entertainment.

Technology has also made it easier to gain access to classified records, which may be used to create social unrest and tensions within a nation and also between nations. o Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks project is actually a whistleblowing website that discloses confidential state papers and classified information to the public through the Internet. Although its sources are varied, one way in which it gets its information is through technologists who are able to gain access to computer records and hence obtain information that way. One of WikiLeaks’s “leaks” is a collection of 274 diplomatic, confidential cables from US embassies all over the world, concerning matters from political manoeuvring in climate change talks and nuclear disarmament, to comments about various diplomats from all over the world. Subsequent reactions from the public included ridicule, dismay and sympathy, showing that the power of technology to get information and disseminate it to the masses can actually cause the undermining of an institution’s legitimacy, which may in turn lead to the disintegration of social cohesion. o Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA used Internet surveillance programs such as PRISM, XKeyscore and Tempora to conduct surveillance programmes within the US as well as globally on other countries, including allies of America. By October 2013, Snowden's disclosures had created tensions between the US and some of its close allies after they revealed that the US had spied on Brazil, France, Mexico, Britain, China, Germany, and Spain, as well as 35 world leaders, most notably German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said "spying among friends" was "unacceptable".bestfreepapers.com

Measures countries adopt to deal with IT related problems  In modern times, the Internet has become an avenue for hackers to gain access to personal data stored on personal computers. In reaction to that, the latest trend is to install spyware detection software (for e.g., Spyware Doctor) in order to uncover programmes which interfere with the operation of the computer.

 Through the Internet, child pornography/pornography is now accessible to a younger audience. To deal with this problem there are many programs available online that when installed, will block the access to pornographic websites. SonicWALL is used in many public libraries in the United States to block content classed as objectionable because of pornography or advocacy of violence. Others include Safe Eyes and Net Nanny.

 The exodus of intellectual property available online for illegal download is an infringement of copyright. For instance, not only songs are available for download, but even music videos and whole seasons of sitcoms are available on Peer to Peer (P2P) file-sharing programs. On Singapore’s part, the Copyright Act has been amended to align it with American law as part of “Singapore’s obligations under its bilateral free trade pact with the United States”. Under the revised Act with effect from January 2005, the unauthorized downloading of songs at a “commercial scale” makes it a criminal act.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore!  The ever-widening gap between the haves and the have-nots is accentuated by the fact that the rich are getting richer in business world due to their advantage of more IT knowledge as compared to the poor. This will result in an unfair distribution of wealth that may lead to an unbalanced social situation.  The Internet is a popular place to disseminate misguided and dangerous occult ideas. The existence of occult beliefs and the spreading of them can be a dangerous thing as can be seen in the Jonestown incident where a mass suicide occurred under the orders of Jim Jones. To reduce this risk, cyber-police subdivisions of major agencies like the CIA and FBI monitor the information being put online and would investigate suspicious activities and take suitable actions

 The Stop Online Piracy Act was a US Federal bill that was introduced in 2012 to stop online piracy. However, International response was mostly that of outrage. Many prominent online websites staged protests. For example, there was the Wikipedia blackout from Jan 18-19 2012, where Wikipedia did not display any articles but instead showed a message that urged people to “imagine a world without free knowledge”. Also, websites such as Tumblr, Mozilla and Techdirt protested by displaying black banners over their logos with the words “STOP CENSORSHIP” on 16th Nov 2012.

SINGAPORE: THE SMART NATION INITIATIVE: The Government is in process of putting in place the infrastructure, policies, ecosystem and capabilities to enable a Smart Nation and encouraging a culture of experimentation and building, and working with citizens and companies to co-create solutions. These could range from innovations impacting how Singaporeans travel, where they live, their daily transactions, and exploring how the lifelong needs of citizens could be supported. Smart city applications often collate and analyse distinct sources of data in order to improve government services to operate more efficiently and effectively using sensors and surveillance technologies deployed throughout the urban environment. The rapid developments in info-comm technology (ICT) will have a profound impact on the way we live, work and play. By harnessing ICT, networks and data, the Smart Nation vision seeks to support better living, create more opportunities, and support stronger communities.

Co-creating Solutions with Anyone for Everyone The Smart Nation initiative adopts a people-centric approach by rallying citizens, industries, research institutions, and the government to co-create innovative solutions. Government agencies facilitate this by sharing extensive real-time data in the public domain. This way, anyone can access the data resources and participate in generating solutions to real challenges. A variety of avenues are available for people to contribute ideas and feedback towards building a better Singapore. These include:

Mobile Applications As part of efforts to improve public services, a number of Apps have been developed to facilitate communication between the public and the providers of public service. For example, the Beeline app draws on aggregated data to provide a demand-driven service to create new transport routes to meet public needs. Other Apps are MyTransport, MyResponder, OneService and iHealth SG.

Hackathons Organised by government agencies or corporations in collaboration with schools and industry partners, hackathons offer budding technologists bestfreepapers.com the opportunity to ideate and develop solutions to tackle real-world challenges. Hackathons organised in recent months include:

Code::XtremeApps:: 2016 | July 2016 GeoHackathon | December 2015 Hyper Haze Hack | October 2015 Hackathon@SG | July 2015 Shell STEM Youth Innovation Challenge | July 2015 School of Science and Technology Hackathon | June 2015 Transport & Youth Hackathon | April 2015 hackathon SG, Smart Nation Singapore

Opportunities for big ideas to be supported To enable the growth of innovation-driven tech start-ups, technopreneurs can tap on existing partners and resources available. This includes Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd, who works with corporations, universities and professional accelerators to bring promising tech start-ups to accelerator programmes that are tailored to suit start-ups at different stages of maturity and/or industry verticals.

Smart Mobility As part of efforts to create a more seamless transport experience, we are exploring new travel options, and

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! providing greater access to real-time transport information so that citizens can better plan their journeys. Also being explored are how autonomous vehicles can be deployed here in Singapore.

Commuters can now book a seat on Beeline for a fuss-free, direct shuttle to their destinations. This trial utilises crowdsourced requests and anonymised public transport data to offer a ‘demand-driven’ way of commuting.

Trials for self-driving shuttles using AV technology will begin in Gardens by the Bay (slated for December 2015) and on Sentosa (from January 2016).

Since announcing the one-north district as Singapore’s first test site for self-driving vehicle technologies and mobility concepts, the Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) have been carrying out trials along the six-kilometre test route. More transport data sets have been released to the public via LTA's Data Mall. This includes real-time data on bus arrival timings, space availability, and taxi availability data. The Land Transport Authority's (LTA) MyTransport App features enhanced bus availability times and bus loading information. LTA also launched a six-month trial for contactless mobile payment using wearable technology. SmartBands worn on wrists are being tested as a convenient and faster mode of payment for public transits and partner merchants.

Smart Living: Smart HDB Home Smart technologies are also being introduced to our housing estates. A Smart HDB Town Framework has been developed to guide the development of Smart HDB Towns across 4 key dimensions; Smart Planning, Smart Environment, Smart Estate and Smart Living.

Following encouraging response received from the smart-enabled homes trial where ten households at Yuhua estate experienced "Smart Living", HDB and IDA, with partnering agencies NEA, PUB, and MOH have extended the smart solutions to the rest of the residents in 3,200 Yuhua households. These smart solutions include elderly monitoring systems that provide peace of mind to caregivers of loved ones, and Utility Management Systems that help manage household utilities usage.

HDB's first Smart and eco-friendly district in Punggol Northshore has been launched for sale in May 2015. Smart technologies will be used for estate planning and various Smart technologies will also be introduced for car parks, lighting and waste management

Singapore's iN2015 strategy To establish an ultra-high speed, pervasive, intelligent and trusted infocomm infrastructure To develop a globally competitive infocomm industry To develop an infocomm-savvy workforce and globally competitive infocomm manpower To spearhead the transformation of key economic sectors, government and society through more sophisticated and innovative use of infocomm Goals To be #1 in the world in harnessing infocomm to add value to the economy and society To realise a two-fold increasebestfreepapers.com in the value-add of the infocomm industry to $26 billion To realise a three-fold increase in infocomm export revenue to $60 billion and To create 80,000 additional jobs To achieve 90 per cent home broadband usage To achieve 100 per cent computer ownership in homes with school-going children

How will the Smart Nation Platform help... Citizens: Offer greater citizen-centric services • Through better understanding of citizens’ needs and expectations, an anticipatory Government will be able to serve citizens better through better policy planning and creation of citizen-centric services. Empowerment • At an individual level, the access to greater and meaningful information will enable citizens to make better decisions, be it for transport, health and other services. • At a community level, the access to rich data and innovative products, suggestions and ideas can help to create actionable solutions that can benefit society as a whole.

Businesses: Enable innovation • More conducive and networked environment from which to do business • Provides useful data sets for businesses to improve their operations • Creates opportunities to innovate and build new services for citizens • Enable new market possibilities such as through new infrastructure locations for connectivity

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Public Agencies: Achieve Greater efficiency • Minimise duplication of efforts and disruption to citizens • Catalyse rollout of systems where they are needed, such as at the street level, or to transport or security resources • Support faster deployment of systems Stronger inter-agency cooperation • Facilitate closer and more efficient inter-agency collaboration and data sharing, strengthening government’s ability to provide an integrated service delivery

Examples of cutting-edge technology (Ponder the implications of these in the context of the world today)  Touch screens are a thing of the past. Touchless gesture control gadgets which allow users to use their gadgets with little or no physical contact with a screen or mouse. Other similar gadgets have operating systems which allow users to use their eyes to control functions within the interface.  Caption phones which display real time captions of what the other person on the line is saying. This is especially useful for people with hearing loss.  Brain implants with electrodes that interpret brain signals are now able to allow quadriplegics to guide robots to move arms. A brain-computer interface (BCI) allowed quadriplegic Jan Scheuermann to move a prosthetic arm and manipulate objects for the first time in nine years.  iPhones are smart phones are now able to have devices that allow one to monitor his pulse, temperature, perfusion index readings, oxygen intake and other vital signs.  A revolutionary brain booster, Synapsyl, is touted as the discovery of a lifetime and boasts an ability to increase IQ, memory, and focus up to 100%. Engineered with all the ingredients containing vitamins and minerals the brain needs to ensure cognitive growth, it boosts total brain performance and has begun to be used by sportsmen and celebrities and in Stephen Hawking’s words “will change humanity”. Other examples of “smart drugs” include Ritalin, Adderall and Modafinil, all of which boost mental performance giving students an edge over others.

SINGAPORE: As Singapore pushes forward to becoming a Smart Nation, cyber security has become a top priority.

The Cyber Security Agency was set up in 2015 to work with various sectors to ensure that Singapore stays resilient against cyber attacks. A new five-year National Cyber Security Masterplan 2018 has been launched by the Infocomm Development Authority, aimed at strengthening Singapore’s cyber security efforts.

Cyber attacks may not just be the work of individuals or institutions. A form of cyber espionage is evolving, where nation states routinely penetrate foreign government agencies and private sector entities to steal valuable data. Cyber espionage may have the same serious consequences as those of a terrorist attack. There are about 50 nations that have offensive cyber capabilities, and Singapore's economic prowess could entice rogue entities to develop sophisticated attacks

Interpol’s Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) set up a Digital Crime Centre in Singapore to enable more information sharing between bestfreepapers.comlaw enforcement agencies and the private sector to combat cyber crimes.

Today's intelligence agencies rely heavily on cyber techniques to gain access to the information they want: intelligence about politics - what's happening in terms of trade negotiations - or what's happening in the boardroom of a major company. Today most of the intelligence gathering is done through cyber means and it can be done from an armchair from the other side of the world without putting anyone at risk.

For Singapore, even a breach on a Government system could see sensitive data of its citizens compromised and thus magnifying the threat. The Government has to look at ways to protect data meaningfully:- to start looking at defences beyond simple things like anti-virus and looking at ‘defence in depth’, where governments are not only protecting the external systems, but also protecting the inside, monitoring and tracking what's going on inside the data networks to identify the hacker and the threat of data before the information leaves.

As cyber attacks get more sophisticated, Singapore has even looked beyond its shores to strengthen its cyber defences, partnering with countries such as India and the United States in information sharing in this field.

Examples of cyber security attacks ( list not exhaustive) 2013: – A hacker who called himself "The Messiah" was jailed for four years and eight months after targeting computer servers of at least seven organisations in 2013. James Raj Arokiasamy had pleaded guilty to 39 computer misuse offences and one count of drug consumption. The 36-year-old Singaporean operated from an apartment in Kuala Lumpur. He had absconded to Malaysia after skipping police bail in 2011 for

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! drug offences. – The websites he targeted included those of the PAP Community Foundation, Ang Mo Kio Town Council and three linked to City Harvest Church. Many were defaced with taunts or threats. He used software to scan various government servers, including those of the Prime Minister's Office and the Elections Department. He also hacked a Straits Times blog, and illegally accessed a server that contained bank statements of Standard Chartered Bank clients. Affected organisations spent about $1.36 million assessing, repairing and restoring the relevant computer systems. To investigate the cyber attacks, the police alone expended more than 2,465 man-hours. 2014: – the hacking of a local karaoke chain’s member database in which personal data, such as phone and NRIC numbers, of more than 317,000 members were stolen, and the unauthorised access of SingPass accounts where 1,560 user accounts were compromised. – The Ministry of Foreign Affair’s IT system was breached, although no harm was reported as the remedial steps to rectify the breach were taken in time. 2015, – it was reported that a website, “www.dncpdpc.com.sg”, had been taken down by Singapore’s domain name registry for impersonating the Personal Data Protection Commission (“PDPC”). Two key incidents involving malware resulted in financial losses being suffered by the victims. – a local businessman lost more than S$7,000 after malware residing in his computer re-directed him to a phishing site that posed as an internet banking website. – approximately 50 individuals were affected when malware posing as a software update for Android smartphones tricked the users into providing their credit card details. Some of the victims lost thousands of dollars as a result of fraudulent transactions made with their stolen credit card details. 2016 – hackers used the credit card details of an individual, including the authentication codes issued for online transactions from his credit card, to make purchases, amounting to S$12,327, for flight tickets in Europe. The credit card details were ostensibly stolen through the malware that was residing in his smartphone. – the Ministry of Education sent out an advisory warning relating to several fake websites of various polytechnics in Singapore. These websites adopted the look and feel of the official websites and were made to mirror them almost exactly.

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bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! TERRORISM

Definition: It is a term with no agreement amongst government or academic analysts but almost invariably used in a pejorative sense, most frequently, to describe life-threatening actions perpetrated by politically motivated self- appointed sub-state groups. But if such actions are carried out on behalf of a widely approved cause, then the term “terrorism” is avoided and something friendlier is used. In short, one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter.

Also:

The calculated use of unlawful violence to inculcate fear, intended to coerce or intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious or ideological.

Causes of Terrorism Terrorists often seek to draw attention to their fight for recognition and win international sympathy and concessions. Many groups accused insist they are not terrorists but freedom fighters.

Political motives based on the desires for freedom, liberty, justice, revenge, resistance or self-defence o The military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the New People’s Army is a Maoist group formed in March 1969 with the aim of creating a Communist state through overthrowing the corrupt Philippine government via guerrilla warfare. One attack carried out was the 2011 attack on three mining corporations in the province of Surigao del Norte that caused a great deal of material damage. o The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia was a Marxist-Leninist Armenian terrorist group formed in 1975 with stated intention to compel the Turkish government to acknowledge publicly its alleged responsibility for the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915, pay reparations, and cede territory for an Armenian homeland. They have generally targeted Turkish companies and Turkish officials both in Turkey and in other countries, such as the 1983 bombing of the Turkish Airline check-in terminal at Orly Ariport, France, which killed 8 persons, only 2 of whom were Turkish. Poverty & economic/social inequality o More common in developing countries where there is rapid modernisation than in merely poor or rich ones as economic change creates conditions that are conducive for instability and the emergence of militant movements and extremist ideologies. The Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army quoted above are motivated by these causes, since there in the Philippines, most politicians are themselves landowners who generally refuse to implement reforms for more equitable distribution of resources since reforms would affect their own livelihoods. Religious motives o Al-Qaeda’s former leader, Osama bin Laden, believed that the West and Communists who invaded Islamic states were stealing their wealth and attacking their religion. He thought he had Allah on his side and had used the Quran to justify his actions in attacking first the Soviet Union’s occupation of Afghanistan, then the USA for its various offences against the Muslim religion. Of these, a notable grievance was the stationing of US troops in Saudi Arabiabestfreepapers.com from 1991. Although this was meant by the US to protect Saudi Arabia from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, Osama and other Islamist leaders felt that having infidel and ostensibly Christian soldiers in Islam’s holiest land on the planet was making Islam impure. o Bat Ayin Underground is a movement in the Jewish settlement of Bat Ayin in the West Bank that perceive the Israeli government as acting against the interest of Jewish culture. They reject the government’s secularism and attempts to negotiate with the Palestinians. They have attacked Palestinians and also Israeli politicians and soldiers, and attempted to blow up the mosques on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In one of their latest attacks, in 2012 they flung a Molotov cocktail at a taxi carrying a Palestinian family, severely burning several members although no lives were lost. o In January 2015, two radicalised brothers attacked the offices of satirical French magazine, Charlie Hebdo, killing 17 people over 3 days. Charlie Hebdo features cartoons, reports and jokes that are stridently irreverent and non-conformist in tone, is strongly anti-religious, secularist and left-wing in mocking publishing articles which mock Catholicism, Judaism, Islam and other groups as local and world news unfolds. The motive of the attackers were absolutely clear as trying to shut down a media organisation which lampooned the Prophet Muhammad. More the 3 million supporters joined demonstrations across France and the following issue of Charlie Hebdo ran 7.95million copies in six languages compared to a typical print run of 60,000 in only French. Ethnic tensions

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! o Sikh terrorism is sponsored by expatriate and Indian Sikh groups who want to carve out an independent Sikh state called Khalistan (Land of the Pure) from Indian territory. Active groups include Babbar Khalsa, International Sikh Youth Federation, Dal Khalsa, Bhinderanwala Tiger Force, and the Saheed Khalsa Force. o Another example is the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia above.

Terrorism as instrument for state policy: terrorist groups are deliberately used by some governments as foreign policy tools. With enhanced resources at their disposal, such terrorists are more capable of carrying out more deadly attacks than other terrorists. o The Abu Nidal Organisation. Named after its leader, a veteran Palestinian terrorist, this was an international terrorist group that was sponsored by Syria, Libya and Iraq and has attacked a wide range of Western, Israeli and Arab targets. The organisation ended in 2002 when he was assassinated by Iraq’s secret police (he had fallen out of favour by then). o The Hezbollah, a Shiite political organisation in Lebanon fighting for Shiite Palestinian rights and listed as a terrorist organisation by Western governments, has been supported by Shiite parties like the Iranian government and Shiite organisations in Syria. Receiving substantial amounts of such external aid, Hezbollah fighters were able to counter the traditional superiority of the Israeli military in the 2006 Lebanon War, started by Israel to stop Hezbollah attacks on its territory, and inflicted unprecedented victories on the Israelis. Israeli forces reported that Hezbollah soldiers were equipped with sophisticated Iranian, Chinese and Russian equipment like body armour, night vision equipment and communications gear. Most surprising of all, a modern Israeli warship was struck and damaged by a C-802, a sophisticated Chinese anti-ship missile, demonstrating the ability of the Hezbollah to obtain such high-technology weapons (thought to be through Iran) and then to use them so effectively. Since 2012, Hezbollah has helped the Syrian government during the Syrian civil war in its fight against the Syrian opposition, which Hezbollah has described as a Zionist plot to destroy its alliance with Assad against Israel. It has deployed its militia in both Syria and Iraq to fight or train local forces to fight against ISIS.

Terrorism stemming from anti-Capitalism. Left-wing terrorists sought to destroy capitalism and replace it with a communist or socialist regime. Generally, they limit the use of violence to avoid hurting victims they say they want to save, so have focussed on tactics like kidnapping tycoons or bombing monuments o The weathermen, also known as the Weather Underground Organisation. It was a US-based “revolutionary organisation of communist women and men” and conducted several attacks in the 1970s, such as detonating a bomb in the Pentagon in 1973, the US military headquarters, in retaliation for the US bombing of North Vietnam in the ongoing Vietnam War. Although no lives were lost as a direct result of Weather Underground activities, three of their own members died in 1970 when their bomb exploded prematurely.

Tactics of Terrorism  Demoralising and paralysing of enemy with fear through the use of violence.  Blackmail to apply pressure on governments.  The use of surprise to keep up the fear factor.  Terrorists often find shelter behind a section of a local population which may be sympathetic to their cause, although sometimes this may be provided under duress.  Terrorists often rely on organised crime to fund their activities bestfreepapers.com Methods of Counter Terrorism Detainee policy: Countries under terrorist threat often enact special laws that allow them to detain enemies who have engaged in combatant actions, including terrorism, until the end of hostilities. A famous example is the Internal Security Act passed by the British authorities in Malaya and Singapore to help fight the Communist Emergency in the 1950s, but retained by both these countries even after they became independent of British rule and after the Communist threat ended.

Combating Terrorism Financing: Private sources of financial and logistical support for terrorists must be subjected to the full force and sweep of US and international laws. As well as supporting international anti-terrorism efforts generally, Australia has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with several Southeast Asian countries. The most recent agreement with Thailand builds on the existing strong links between Australian and Thai law enforcement, defence and security agencies. Under the MOU, Australian and Thai agencies will exchange information and intelligence on international terrorist activities and related transnational organised crime. Agencies will also focus on combating the financing of terrorism and countering money laundering.

Military Force: the militaries of many countries raise special forces to deal with terrorism, even though strictly speaking these acts fall under the jurisdiction of the police, it being recognised that the threat raised by terrorist organisations require more skills and resources that domestic police forces can provide. There have been many dramatic successes of the use of military forces against acts of terrorism.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! o After an Israeli airliner was hijacked by Palestinians and diverted to Entebbe, Uganda, the Israeli military launched an elaborate raid to rescue them. The Israeli raiders flew to Entebbe, stormed the airport, freed the hostages and flew to safety in Israel. The 7 terrorists were killed, along with 33 Ugandan soldiers who tried to stop the Israelis, one Israeli paratrooper, and one hostage executed by the Ugandans in a Ugandan hospital – a unusual case when a sovereign nation spontaneously supported a movement to which it had no prior direct connections. o In 1980, the British Special Air Service, the elite unit of the British Army, launched a highly publicised rescue of hostages held at the Iranian embassy in London by terrorists. All but one of the hostages still alive when the rescue was launched were freed unharmed, although all 6 hostage takers were also killed. o When a Singapore Airlines airliner was hijacked in 1991 and landed in Singapore, the Commandos of the Singapore Armed Forces stormed the plane after negotiations broke down and rescued all hostages safely, killing all three hijackers in the process. o In the devastation of the Somali Civil War, many Somalis were forced to resort to maritime piracy for a living, hijacking ships in international waters off Somali and selling the ships and crew for ransom. The international community sent warships to patrol the Red Sea & Indian Ocean around Somalia, including Singapore. But due to the small numbers of warships available and the large expense of water to be covered, many attacks have been unstopped. Nevertheless, some successful rescues were carried out. 2009: US Navy SEALs special forces retrieved the container ship Maersk Alabama and rescued its captain taken captive by the pirates, killing 3 pirates and arresting a fourth. 2010: the Indian warship Cankarso defeated pirates attacking the container vessel Verdi, killing 10 and arresting 15 pirates and subsequently rescuing 21 Thai and Burmese sailors previously kidnapped by the pirates. In 2012, pirates mistook the Spanish navy oiler Patino for a civilian tanker and suffered heavily in the hail of return fire, losing one pirate killed and 5 arrested to the Spanish navy. Pirates arrested by the international community were tried in various courts, although the European Union has sought to ensure that pirates taken by its vessels be tried in countries near Somalia out of consideration for Somalia’s sovereignty. Penalties for convicted pirates tend to be very heavy: life imprisonment for those convicted of piracy in US courts; death or 6 year’s imprisonment meted out by a Yemeni court, 16 to 19 years by a Netherlands court.

The United Nations Security Council imposes sanctions on countries thought to be harbouring terrorists. It imposed sanctions on Afghanistan for harbouring Osama bin Laden. After the 9-11 attacks, the militaries of the US and its allies invaded Afghanistan and expelled its leaders.

Obtaining information about the identity, goals, plans and vulnerabilities of terrorists is extremely difficult. Yet no other single policy effort is more important for preventing, pre-empting and responding to attacks than obtaining information. For instance after the humiliation of mishandling the 1971 Olympic Games Hostage Crisis in which kidnapped Israeli athletes were killed in a shootout between their Arab kidnappers and German police trying to free them, Germany works with the United Nations, NATO, the G-8 and the European Union to coordinate anti-terrorism efforts across borders.

Diplomacy is an important instrument, both in gaining the assistance of other nations in particular cases and convincing the international community to condemn and outlaw egregious terrorist practices. Japan’s diplomatic efforts have been stepped up to strengthen international solidarity towards the prevention and eradication of terrorism. For example, the Association of Southeast Asian Nationsbestfreepapers.com (ASEAN) announced increased cooperation at its annual ministerial meetings in July-August 2002. During these meetings, the United States also signed an anti-terrorism agreement with ASEAN members on 30 July.

Reduce terrorists’ freedom of movement by encouraging countries to stop admitting and tolerating the presence of terrorists within their borders. Nations should bar terrorist groups from activities such as training, recruiting, raising funds or hiding behind political asylum. Pakistan recently started to ban fundamentalist Islamist groups from operating freely in the country due to international pressure and diplomacy.

Alleviation of social/economic disadvantages which fuel radical groups Terrorism in Southeast Asia is being pursued in an environment in which locally-derived issues have contributed to the basis of support for the groups involved. Increased efforts are needed to pursue law-enforcement measures in regional states – a task which is likely to be especially difficult in the case of Indonesia. However, further attention will also be needed to alleviate the social and economic disadvantages which have fuelled radical groups, especially in certain regions such as the southern Philippines.

SINGAPORE THE THREAT TO SINGAPORE How we may be hit: • Attacks planned just outside of Singapore, but carried out in the country • Attacks involving weapons smuggled into Singapore for use by radicalised Singaporeans or foreign militants

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! • Lone wolf attacks by self-radicalised people • Radicalisation of foreign workers in Singapore

THREATS FROM THE REGION Malaysia • More than 100 people suspected of having links to ISIS were arrested last year. Four of them were army commandos. • Clean skins - potential attackers with a clean record - also form a substantial threat, with 12 arrested last year. They could have crossed over to Singapore undetected.

Indonesia • Some pro-ISIS groups are coming together under the banner of Jamahh Ansharul Khilafah (JAK). Other groups outside JAK will compete for attention and increase the possibility of one-upmanship attacks. • The Jemaah Islamiah network in Indonesia also seems to be reviving. • Due to the lack of adequate security laws, radicalised people cannot be arrested and prisoners have to be released even though they may still have radical and violent tendencies.

Returnees from Syria/ Iraq: • About 1,000 South-east Asians, mainly from Malaysia and Indonesia, have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight for ISIS. At least 100 have returned battle-hardened with combat skills, violent tendencies and extremist ideologies. Another 200 were barred from crossing into Syria and deported by Turkey.

OTHERS • The 100,000 Rohingya refugees in Malaysia and 120,000 in Thailand have been targeted by ISIS and are vulnerable to radicalisation.

Counter-terrorism in Singapore A series of measures implemented in Singapore to detect and prevent terrorism, and to minimise damage from such terrorist acts should they occur. These measures involve all levels of society, including defence, internal security, border and infrastructure security, civil defence, medical readiness, and psychological preparedness. Singapore also participates actively in international counterterrorism efforts.

At the forefront in the fight against terrorism are specialised military, law enforcement, and civil defence units, namely:  Singapore Special Operations Force,  Special Operations Command,  Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosive Defence Group

1984 Concept of Total Defence was introduced. The Singapore Special Operations Force (SOF) was formed . 1990 – The elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) is formed 1991 bestfreepapers.com 26 March – Four Pakistanis hijacked Singapore Airlines Flight 117 and demanded the release of Pakistan Peoples’ Party members from Pakistani jails. 27 March – Members of the Singapore Special Operations Force stormed Singapore Airlines Flight 117, killing all hijackers and freeing all passengers and crew members.

1992 10 September – Special Operations Command (SOC) was formed, combining the Police Tactical Team (PTT), Police Tactical Unit (PTU) and Police Dog Unit under one wing.

2001 11 September- attacks happened at World Trade Centre of New York City in the United States, resulting in the death of 3,000 people. 9 December – 15 militants of Jemaah Islamiyah are arrested for the Singapore embassies attack plot Maintaining social cohesion after the arrests: Following the crackdown on the local Jemaah Islamiyah cell, then-Deputy- Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong held dialogues with the leaders of the Muslim community. Details of the investigation were shared to explain that the arrests were not targeted at the Singapore Muslim community, or Islam. In schools and workplaces, inter-racial confidence circles were formed to promote inter-racial and inter-religious understanding between the different racial and religious communities, while Islamic scholars and counselors in Singapore participated in the rehabilitation of the detained JI members.

2002 August – Singapore arrests another 21 members of Jemaah Islamiyah. 12 October – Bali car bombing by Jemaah Islamiah kills 202 people in the Indonesian island. Following the crackdown on the local Jemaah Islamiyah cell, then-Deputy-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong held dialogues

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! with the leaders of the Muslim community. Details of the investigation were shared to explain that the arrests were not targeted at the Singapore Muslim community, or Islam. In schools and workplaces, inter-racial confidence circles were formed to promote inter-racial and inter-religious understanding between the different racial and religious communities, while Islamic scholars and counselors in Singapore participated in the rehabilitation of the detained JI members.

2003 17 January – Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosive Defence Group conducts Exercise Diamond Shield to demonstrate chemical and biological defence capability. 14 August – Air Marshal Unit is formed to counter terrorism threats against civil aviation 1 October – The first Special Rescue Battalion of the Singapore Civil Defence Force is formed

2004 11 March – Coordinated bombing of commuter trains in Madrid, Spain, kills 191 people and injures more than 1,500. 6 May – Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong delivers a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. titled "Beyond Madrid: Winning Against Terrorism".

2005 7 July – London suicide bombings on one double-decker bus (London Buses route 30) and three London Underground trains, killing 55+ people and injuring over 700. 15 August – The newly established Police MRT Unit (now known as the Public Transport Security Command) begins operational patrols on the Mass Rapid Transit network to enhance the security of Singapore's public transport 15 August – Singapore hosts a multi-national maritime interdiction exercise, codenamed Exercise Deep Sabre as part of the Proliferation Security Initiative. 25 August – French investigating magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguière singles out Singapore along with Tokyo and Sydney as potential terrorism targets of the Al-Qaeda. Ministry of Home Affairs later denied receiving any specific information on imminent terrorist threat. 1 October – A series of explosions kills at least 23 in resort areas of Jimbaran Beach and Kuta in Bali, Indonesia. 21 November – 25 – Singapore hosts the Regional Special Forces Counter-Terrorism Conference.

2006 8 January – Exercise Northstar V, a large scale counter-terrorism exercise similar to 7 July 2005 London bombings, was held in Singapore. It involved 22 agencies and 2,000 emergency personnel. An additional 3,400 commuters also participated in the exercise. The exercise involved a simulated terrorist bomb attack on four MRT stations and one bus interchange. There were 500 mock casualties suffering from "injuries" caused by the "explosions" as well as chemical agents. The exercise is the largest civil emergency exercise ever staged in the country.

2009 6 July to 30 September – Exercise Northstar VII, large scale counter-terrorism exercise was held in Singapore . This exercise was designed to manage events similar to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, and the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. Places that had been involved were VivoCity, Sentosa, Raffles Place, Bedok, Tampines, Choa Chu Kang, Jurong East, and Orchard Road. bestfreepapers.com 2010 9 November – Exercise Times Square Conducted. The exercise, named after a car bomb attack in May 2010 at New York's Times Square which was foiled by public vigilance, involved similar circumstances whereby suspicious looking cars were placed in nine locations across Singapore. The findings of the exercise revealed that public vigilance was extremely low, as only 52 out of 7,200 passers-by contacted the authorities.

2012 3 October to 15 November – Exercise Heartbeat 2012 was conducted. It was placed at locations, such as ION Orchard, Marina Centre, Marina Bay and Sentosa.

2013 18 November – Exercise Heartbeat 2013 was conducted, placed at random locations, such as Greenview Secondary School, ITE College Central, Plaza Singapura, one-North and Raffles Place SSWG buildings. In this exercise, two "gunmen" car- jacked the police car after opening fire at Raffles Place, and then drove away. The gunmen were later shot dead by the police officers at Queenstown Secondary School. Police officers later confiscated the explosive devices.

2014 3 April - Exercise Heartbeat 2014 is conducted at Temasek Polytechnic. 10 October - Exercise Heartbeat 2014 is conducted at ITE College East. 26 October & 27 October - Exercise Heartbeat 2014 was conducted at Tampines GreenTerrace, Downtown MRT Station, Marina Bay Link Mall, IMM Building, Blk 287A Jurong East Street 21, ITE College West and Fengshan area.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! It had simulated grenade explosion at IMM Building and Downtown MRT Station, hostage-taking and gunmen firing at Marina Bay Link Mall, IMM Building, Blk 287A Jurong East Street 21 and ITE College West. Next to Blk 84 Bedok North Road Market had the car on fire. At Tampines GreenTerrace; a Traffic Police car caught fire.

2015 27 January - Due to the Charlie Hebdo shootings and the Sydney hostage crisis; Exercise Heartbeat 2015 was conducted at Eastpoint Mall and Northpoint Shopping Centre.

2016 SECURITY PROTECTION AND VIGILENCE EXPANDING CLOSED-CIRCUIT TELEVISION (CCTV) COVERAGE • The installation of police cameras at 10,000 Housing Board residential blocks and multi-storey carparks will be completed this year. • From 2016, cameras will also be installed in common areas in the heartland that have high human traffic, like walkways and hawker centres. • The CCTVs will be a greater deterrence and will give the police better sense-making and situational awareness. The footage will also help the police identify perpetrators, arrest them in a shorter period of time and prevent them from launching more attacks. • A network infrastructure will be set up to allow the police to have on-demand access to CCTV data in more areas, like those monitoring the public transport system and government buildings. • The public will be able to submit videos on crowdsourcing platforms - a necessary, strategic and direct response to the evolving mode of attacks.

ENACTING LAWS WHERE NECESSARY • Premises owners and major event organisers may be required to put in place security measures, such as installing CCTV systems and screening event-goers.

• Soft targets, like entertainment centres, sports facilities and shopping centres, need to be better protected. Terrorist attacks have been staged at soft targets in major cities because of the little or no security protection.

SECURITY RESPONSE NEW TEAMS TO RESPOND TO TERRORIST ATTACKS • New Emergency Response Teams (ERTs) formed to respond quickly, engage the attackers and minimise casualties. These police officers will patrol the terrain and engage stakeholders to become familiar with the areas they look after. They will be specially trained with counter-assault skills and will carry more potent weapons.

• The second wave will be the Special Operations Command and the Gurkha Contingent. Their capabilities will be enhanced and measures will be taken to ensure that they arrive on the scene faster.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE SG SECURE • It represents Singapore's national strategy to safeguard our homeland and the Singapore way of life against the threat of terrorism and community strife.bestfreepapers.com The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will roll out this movement in late 2016.

SG Secure is three-pronged: • Stay alert: Be vigilant and alert to unusual behaviour or items in our surroundings. • Stay united: Cherish and safeguard Singapore's social fabric. • Stay strong: Be ready to deal with crises if they occur, be resilient and help one other overcome adversity.

• MHA will reach out to Singaporeans in neighbourhoods, schools, workplaces, the national service community and community groups. Then it will work with partners to develop or enhance programmes to sensitise, train and mobilise different groups of Singaporeans.

FIGHTING SELF-RADICALISATION • try to inoculate Singaporeans from the influence of preachers who advocate intolerance or other online influences

WHY EXTRA COSTS ARE NECESSARY A lesson learnt from the attacks in Paris and Jakarta is that premises with heightened security can help lessen the impact of the attacks.

The proposed increased security measures, which include installing police cameras or imposing mandatory screening at major events, will increase building and operating costs. There will be some inconvenience to visitors to events, malls or other premises, and people will have to get used to security and bag checks.

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bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! THE AGED

Problems faced by the aged: Having to deal with transition from mid-life to senior citizen status including physical, mental and social changes

Physical Negligence, Mental/Psychological, Sexual, Economic Abuse  Japan – 1008 cases of abuse reported in 1998-1999. Some cases have resulted in murder. There is often improper distribution or unjust obtaining of property of the elders, physical neglect and use of violent or injurious speech or behaviour towards the elderly. Causes for abuse in Japan include a lesser sense of responsibility by community caregivers as opposed to individual caregivers.

Unemployment  India – due to adoption of new technology or methods of production, it is difficult for elderly to adapt. The vast majority of elderly people in rural areas are not covered by social security.  Unfair dismissal due to age Age-related diseases  India – cough and joint problems, high blood pressure and heart-related problems. Elderly have no money to obtain medical attention. They may also suffer from a combination of several diseases and senescent changes.  Switzerland – one quarter of population between 60 and 65 suffers from fragile health. Illiteracy  India – many elderly remain illiterate especially females. Age-based prejudices  Unofficially imposed restrictions on older people by society like the refusal to hire older workers because of conceptions about their productivity and efficiency levels, the inability to pick up new skills quickly, stubbornness, a burden, etc. Abandonment / self-neglect  Australia has been facing a high rate of neglect of the elderly by their children with many of the aged ending up in homes or shelters. Pensions not reaching the whole of the workforce  Indonesia – Pensions scarcely reach more than 10 percent of the workforce.  Japan – misappropriation of pension payment by the social insurance agency in 2002. There are some constraints faced to ensure that family networks continue to be reliable  Indonesia – migration, especially urbanisation from the villages to cities of the young generation in the families looking for jobs. The increasing distances between family members tend to make enduring networks more difficult to build or maintain. Lack of healthcare facilities for the elderly  Sweden – Lack of specialised geriatric units while existing units have long waiting lists  Australia – Old age homes and facilities lack funds leading to problems with upkeep of facilities and patients/residents. Suicide rates bestfreepapers.com  The past decade has seen astonishing spikes in the rate of Asians over 65 choosing to end their lives early, particularly in the region’s economically successful countries. o In South Korea, for example, suicides in that age group have risen more than fivefold, from 14 per 100,000 in 1990 to 77 per 100,000 in 2009, according to Hallym University's Institute of Aging. o In Taiwan, seniors took their lives more than twice as often as any other age group, at a rate of 35.8 per 100,000 in 2010, versus 17.6 for the national average. o Suicides among city dwellers in China aged 70 to 74 surged to 33.76 per 100,000 in the mid-2000s, up from 13.39 in the 1990s. And these numbers are expected to rise. A 2011 report found that mental well-being would likely worsen over the next two decades in Asia, with suicide rates expected to continue climbing. o The World Health Organization found higher-than-average suicide rates among the elderly in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore. The irony: Wealth and economic growth over the past quarter-century has given families greater financial resources to take care of their elderly. By contrast, the rate remains both stable and far lower in less-developed countries, such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The changing vision of society from extended family to nucleus family  There has been a global detachment, both emotionally and physically, of the individual to his extended families. Poverty and lack of sufficient funds for retirement  India – estimated population of people over 60 years about 67.2 million, only a fraction of which is covered by the old age pension and other schemes meant to address destitution.

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Increased life expectancy and the subsequent inadequacy of funds for retirement  USA – average life expectancy has increased by about 23 years (from 60 to 83) and pension schemes that were designed to handle people who lived to 60 are unable to cover the elderly.

Measures countries have taken to meet the needs of the aged: Prevention treatments for age-related ailments improved Switzerland has set up clinics to detect senile dementia early, an effective way of delaying the onset of the disease.

Access services to help ensure that the elderly are linked with appropriate services in the community.  India – NGOs mandated to set up a voluntary network at district level throughout the country, compile data and information relating to aging and older persons and carry on advocacy and awareness programs.  The USA has such services providing: o Transportation / Escorts – Volunteers help to transport the elderly or to escort them around o Outreach – Volunteers help to reach out to the elderly o Information and referral – This provides legal information for the elder o Case management – A free service provided to help the elderly to find appropriate elder care services o In-home services / home healthcare o Homemaker services / chore service / home delivered meals Community services set up to enable the aged to maintain their dignity and independence within their homes and communities  The USA has services such as: o Adult / senior daycare centres – these provide support for the elderly who suffer from geriatric problems like dementia o Legal assistance / state health insurance counselling and assistance programs o Housing – subsidised housing for the aged o Energy assistance – Subsidies for energy during cold and hot months o Self-help / support groups o Respite care – Inpatient care for the elderly in hospitals o Protective services – Abuse hotlines and case workers for the aged o Employment services – Employment opportunities for the aged o Nutrition education and physical fitness / exercise o Pension counselling

Anti-abuse organisations set up  Japan has set up organisations such as the Centre for Prevention for Elder Abuse (1996) as well as the Elder Abuse Prevention Act.

Improvements in the Social Security Systems  Japan set up a social insurancebestfreepapers.com system to help lessen the impact of aging on its population, similar to the CPF system in Singapore.  India set up the Government Pension Scheme to ensure that older people have money to fall back on when they retire. This is for all federal employees. Setting up of infrastructure for the aged  Japan has created a series of specially designed houses that are divided in two – half for the elderly couple and the other for the sons and daughters.  Sweden has built group living homes for the aged. These are clusters of houses with facilities provided for the aged. Increase in retirement age  The USA is gradually increasing the retirement age from 65 to 67.

Avenues for redress: Unfair dismissal  In Singapore, an elderly person who feels he/she has been unfairly dismissed because of age can appeal in writing to the Minister for Manpower within 1 month of dismissal. Education  India – Educational and informational material to provide elderly with information about the process of aging and the changing roles, responsibilities and relationships at different stages of the life-cycle.

SINGAPORE: The National Council of Social Services ( NCSS) is the main body which looks to Eldercare Services which are aimed at:

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! o helping all seniors lead lives with dignity and remain integrated within the community. o helping seniors stay physically and emotionally healthy, socially engaged, cognitively intact and financially secure for as long as possible o reaching out effectively to at-risk seniors for them to ‘age-in-place’. o helping improve options for greater independence, participation and security through innovations.

The NCSS oversees:  Caregiver Support Services : Caregivers experience considerable stress while providing care for their family members and loved ones. Social trends such as Singapore's rapidly ageing population, a decreasing family size, dual-working parents and increase in the dependency ratio contribute to the increase in stress on caregivers. Services for caregivers are designed to meet their needs and to support them in their caregiving journey.

 Community Homes: residential facilities catering to the needs of adults who are semi-ambulant and have some form of permanent disabilities despite recovery from major sickness. They do not have family support, or are unable to live with family members for certain reasons. Residents are supported to maintain their independent living skills within the Home and the community. Socio recreational activities are also organised for the residents.

 Counselling : Counselling Services for seniors, their family members and significant others to manage their personal and family challenges. Helps seniors to seek help and care for their psychological, social and emotional health

 Senior Care Centres: provide supervision and support to seniors while their caregivers are at work. Socio- recreational activities and meals are provided. The Centres also cater to frail seniors who require follow-up with maintenance programmes after their discharge from the Day Rehabilitation Centres.

 Day Rehabilitation Centres: provide custodial and active rehabilitation for frail seniors who require follow-up rehabilitative care after discharge from hospitals, as they are affected by conditions such as stroke, arthritis, amputation, dementia and frailty. Offers programmes such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and recreational activities for the elderly.

 Senior Home Care (Home Help Service and Home Nursing/Medical Services): provides a range of services to assist seniors who are living in the community, such as meals delivery, housekeeping, laundry, medical escort and care in personal hygiene. The Home Nursing/Medical Service is for seniors who need medical and nursing care in their own home.

 Hospice Home Care and Day Cares : provide care to patients with life-limiting illnesses, allowing them to stay at home and within the community for as long as their conditions permit. The service also provides support for families and caregivers in their efforts to cope with the life-limiting illnesses of their loved ones.

 Nursing Homes: residential nursing care for seniors who require assistance with their activities of daily living and/or nursing care. Nursingbestfreepapers.com homes are viable residential option for caregivers and families who could not provide the level of care required by senior family members. Regular therapy services and socio-recreational activities are organised to engage the seniors. The nursing homes are either run by voluntary welfare organisations or private operators.

 Befriending Services: promote the physical and psycho-emotional well-being of vulnerable seniors, with limited or no family support, through community participation. The programme involves home visitations and social activities by trained volunteers. It also provides support in areas such as running errands, ad hoc escort services, referrals to appropriate services and coordination of programmes with external parties, where applicable.

 Neighbourhood Links:- are focal points where seniors and other residents come together for activities and community services that enhance their social well-being and support network in the neighbourhood. Offer opportunities for volunteerism, inter-generational activities and serve as links between residents and service providers in the community.

 Senior Activity Centres:- drop-in centres for needy and vulnerable seniors staying in one- and two-room HDB rental flats in service cluster. They form the hub for socio-recreational activities that provide a warm, receptive and familiar environment for the seniors to drop by during opening hours and also provide support services such as monitoring of frail and/or homebound elderly, befriending, emergency alert response calls, guidance, advice, information and referral.

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 Sheltered Homes:- residential facilities that cater to the needs of ambulant seniors, who do not have family support or are unable to live with family members for certain reasons. Located within HDB neighbourhoods and seniors are supported to maintain their independent living skills within the Home and the community. Socio-recreational activities are organised.

 The Seniors Helpline provides tele-counselling and information on the availability of community resources for anyone aged 50 years and above and their caregivers.

Financial help for seniors: The Pioneer Generation Disability Assistance Scheme is part of the Pioneer Generation Package, which honours what Singapore's Pioneers have done for the country. Under this scheme, Pioneers who have disabilities can receive $100 a month, which they can use for expenses.

The Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF) provides holistic support for seniors to age in place within the community by extending subsidies to Singaporean seniors who are: o Requiring mobility and assistive devices for daily independent living and to remain ambulant in the community. o Receiving government funded home care and care within the community, needing home healthcare items for their care, and o Attending MOH-funded eldercare, dialysis or day hospice services who require specialised transport. The caregiver can apply for subsidies for assistive devices, home healthcare items, or transport

The Enhancement for Active Seniors Programme: The Housing and Development Board introduced Enhancement for Active Seniors in 2012, which subsidies home modifications (slip resistant tratments to floor tiles, grab bars for the bathrooms and ramps) so that old folks can live at ease in their own homes.

Why do countries succeed/fail in meeting the needs of the aged? Reasons for the success of measures: Nationally implemented governmental policies that benefit the old  Switzerland – Priority given to the care and concern of the aged in the situation of violence, armed conflict and forced migration Shared values and care and concern for the aged  Switzerland – Care and concern for the aged are shared common values among all citizens Good publicity  USA – Well-publicised rights for the aged  Sweden – Responsibility for the aged is promoted Sufficient resources  USA – Adequate resources to care for the aged  Japan – Able to set upbestfreepapers.com centres to prevent abuse of the aged and maintain the pension/health insurance system Stable systems supported by government  USA – Aged care system very stable due to government support  Japan – Pension system is stable and provides a steady income. Health insurance system able to offset a vast majority of medical bills Increase in personnel to take care of the aged  Sweden – Increased personnel to increase efficiency in taking care of the aged Greater sense of responsibility for the aged  Sweden – Improved education in inculcating a sense of responsibility for the aged  India – Increased education in social responsibility User-friendly and affordable services  India – NGOs such as Agewell and Helpage provide services such as telephone hotlines, legal services and mobile medical units (MMUs) that are user friendly and affordable. Creation of a supportive environment for the aged  Indonesia – Advancement of a supportive environment for the aged.

Reasons for the failure of measures: Co-ordination problems among countries with a large number of states  USA – A lack of cohesiveness between different states in terms of laws for the elderly.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore!  India – Many rural areas still do not have access to either services set up by NGOs and the government or pension schemes due to the nature of their work. Pensions are only available to civil servants. Failure to address certain issues  USA – Measures do not address the senior citizens needs for close relationships with families and do not encourage children to care for their parents Budgetary constraints  India – Insufficient budget restricts government measures to enable pensions for the aged. India – NGOs have limited resources that limit their care of the aged to a small percentage of the population.  Indonesia – The 1997 economic crisis severely restricted the ability of the Indonesia government to implement national policies and programs. Corruption  Japan – Scandals involving politicians not paying their taxes have set up precedence for citizens to follow suit. This cuts the budget for social security for the aged.

SINGAPORE Ageing population: Challenges faced  The number of citizens aged 65 and above will triple to 900,000 by 2030 and will be supported by a declining base of working-age citizens. It is projected that for every 0.7 citizens that enter the work force then, 1 will exit/retire. In 2012, for every 2 citizens that entered the workforce, 1 exited/retired.  We currently have 5.9 working-age citizens for each citizen aged 65 and above. This ratio will fall to 2.1 by 2030.  For society as a whole, a declining old-age support ratio would mean rising taxes and a heavier economic load on a smaller base of working-age Singaporeans.  A shrinking and ageing population would also mean a smaller, less energetic workforce, and a less vibrant and innovative economy. Companies may not find enough workers. Business activity would slow, and job and employment opportunities would shrink.  It would become more difficult to match the higher aspirations of a better educated and mobile population. Young people would leave for more exciting and growing global cities. This would hollow out our population and workforce, and worsen our ratio of younger to older Singaporeans.

Singapore’s efforts to address the challenges of an ageing population: Immigration Policy to address the Age-Balance of our Citizen Population.  Immigrants:- taking in new citizens and permanent residents (PRs) who are in the younger age groups also helps to make up for the smaller cohorts of younger Singaporeans, and balance the shrinking and ageing of our citizen population. They bring with them diverse talents, skills, experiences, and knowledge. The diversity in our population supports innovation and entrepreneurship, and adds to our strengths as a society and economy. Helping older workers stay in the Singapore workforce  Employers encouraged to redesign jobs and workplace processes to better match older workers’ abilities and skills.  Employers urged to upgrade the skills of their older workers to ensure that they stay relevant and productive.  Younger workers encouragedbestfreepapers.com to learn from, and tap on, the deep skills and knowledge of more experienced workers.  There were changes to the Retirement and Re-employment Act in January 2012, and schemes such as the Special Employment Credit for older workers and ADVANTAGE! encourage and help companies to employ older workers by offsetting some of the costs involved in training and job redesign. These efforts have resulted in more older workers remaining in the workforce. Creating more opportunities for Singaporeans to continue working beyond the current retirement age and encouraging employers to tap this increasing pool of experienced older workers.  Under the Retirement and Re-employment Act (RRA), the minimum retirement age is 62 years.  However, employers are required to offer re-employment to eligible employees who turn 62, up to age 65, to continue their employment in the organisation.  In September 2014, the Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Workers (Tricom) recommended that the Government encourage employers to voluntarily raise the re-employment age from 65 to 67 years old. The tripartite partners have issued a Tripartite Advisory on re-employment of employees from age 65 to 67 to guide employers who do so.  Special Employment Credit (SEC) o Through the SEC, employers who voluntarily re-employ workers aged 65 and above will receive an additional offset of up to 3% of an employee’s monthly wages. o The SEC enhancement will help employers manage their overall costs and encourage them to voluntarily re-employ older workers aged 65 and above.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! WAR AND CONFLICT

Causes of War Class Conflict This refers to the friction that accompanies social relationships between members or groups of different social classes and the underlying tensions and antagonisms which exist in society. It is thought to play a pivotal role in history of class societies (such as capitalism, feudalism, Soviet-type societies, etc) by Marxists who refer to its overt manifestations as class struggle. An example would be the Johnson County War in Wyoming in the 19th century. Recent e.gs of class conflicts/struggles: 2006 Oaxaca protests in Mexico 2008 Greek riots Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010 Egyptian Revolution of 2011 2011 England riots

Economic Theories Another school of thought argues that war can be seen as an outgrowth of economic competition in an anarchic international system; that war begins as a result of the pursuit of new markets, of natural resources, and of wealth. For example:  WWII: Japanese invasion of South-East Asia in order to mine valuable natural resources such as rubber and tin which Malaysia had in abundance. Due to their long war campaign, resources in Japan were being depleted at an alarming rate and they needed nearby territory that could help sustain their war efforts.  Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in pursuit of oil.  Iraqi invasion of Kuwait [1991]: Iraq seized control of oil rigs along the Iraq-Kuwait border and would have proceeded to occupy all of Kuwait had the USA not stepped in and aided Kuwait forces in driving the Iraqis out.

Culture of Violence Our society is intertwined with the culture of violence. It has been a long standing primordial instinct of man to glorify war and conquest rather than advocate peace, non-violence and international cooperation. For example:  WWII: Obsession of the German and Japanese society who had become overwhelmed by the supposed prestige and honour that came from war to fight in one.

Racial, Ethnic, Religious and Gender Intolerance Man has always been suspicious of what is unknown and mysterious to him and such differences between men have undoubtedly contributed to war. For example:  Long standing aggression between Israel and Palestine: hatred that can stem from such intolerance is a serious cornerstone for war amongst nations.  Sri Lanka conflicts and unrest: Struggle between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil have always been present in Sri Lanka but tensions escalated when the Sinhala-only Act [1956] was introduced with other education policies thatbestfreepapers.com blatantly favoured Sinhalese over Tamils. After an attack on the military in 1983, Tamils were blamed and killed in the ensuing violence and thus began the real ethnic conflict.  Conflict between the Hutus and the Tutsis in Rwanda that resulted in genocide.  The Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) began attacking government targets in early 2003, accusing Khartoum of oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs. Darfur has faced many years of tension on over land and grazing rights between the mostly nomadic Arabs, and farmers from the Fur, Massaleet and Zaghawa communities.  It is important to realize that most of the world's current "hot spots" have a complex interaction of economic, racial, ethnic, religious, and other factors. Listed below some conflicts which have as their base at least some degree of religious intolerance:

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! Country Main religious groups involved Type of conflict

Osama bin Laden( now deceased) headed a terrorist group called Al Qaeda (The Source) headquartered in Afghanistan. Extreme, radical Fundamentalist They were protected by, and integrated with, the Taliban Afghanistan Muslim terrorist groups & non- dictatorship in the country. The Northern Alliance of rebel Muslims Afghans, Britain and the U.S. attacked the Taliban and Al Qaeda, establishing a new regime in part of the country. The fighting continues.

A Roman Catholic country. About 30% of the population died by murder, starvation or disease after they were forcibly annexed by Indonesia (mainly Muslim). After voting for independence, many Christians were exterminated or exiled East Timor Christians & Muslims by the Indonesian army and army-funded militias in a carefully planned program of genocide and religious cleansing. East Timor won its independence from Indonesia in 2002. The situation there is now stable.

This is a country with three main ethnic and religious groups: Shiites, Sunnis & Kurds. For decades, one group has Kurds, Shiite Muslims, Sunni controlled the government, and the other two groups have Iraq Muslims, Yazidi suffered. In 2014, a new group invaded the country: ISIS. Its goal is to create a caliphate in the region and are now controlling large areas of Iraq and Syrai.

Peace enforced by NATO peacekeepers. There is convincing Serbian Orthodox Christians & evidence of past mass murder by Yugoslavian government Kosovo Muslims (mainly Serbian Orthodox Christians) against ethnic Albanians (mostly Muslim)

This is a country with a tenuous existence in parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. It is involved heavily in a war with ISIS. Primarily Alevis, Muslim, with Parts of northeast Syria are under Kurdish control and set up Kurdistan Christian, Jews, Yarsan, and Yazidis a government there. Some Kurds have autonomy in those bestfreepapers.comareas where they form a majority. Others are attempting to establish Kurdistan as a separate company.

Israel and Gaza have experienced repeated cycles of a tenuous peace followed full scale warfare. This has resulted in Gaza Jews, Muslims, & Christians the deaths of thousands, mainly in Gaza. Major strife broke out in 2000-SEP and again in 2014. Flare ups continue. No resolution appears possible.

The Burmese public had experienced massive human rights abuses under a military dictatorship that was replaced in 2011 with a nominally civilian government. The Muslim Myanmar (formerly Buddhist & Muslims Rohingya a 4% to 10% minority (estimates differ) is suffering Burma) major oppression by the 80% Buddhist majority. Even though some of the Rohingya have lived in the country for three or more generations, the government witholds citizenship from them. About 400,000 -- half of the total population of

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! Rohingyas -- have been expelled.

The country is divided between Yourubas and Christians in the south who live in an uneasy peace with Muslims in the north. Meanwhile, a terrorist group called Boko Haram (roughly translated as "western education is forbidden." The Nigeria Christians, Animists, & Muslims country is struggling towards democracy after decades of Muslim military dictatorships. Meanwhile, Boko Haram is attempting to establish an Islamic State in the northern states.

Low level mutual attacks, overshadowed by Taliban Pakistan Suni & Shi'ite Muslims insurrectionists.

A low level conflict between the mainly Christian central Philippines Christians & Muslims government and Muslims in the south of the country has continued for centuries.

Complex ethnic, racial, religious conflict in which the Muslim regime committed genocide against both Animists and Christians in the south of the country. Slavery and near Sudan Animists, Christians & Muslims slavery were practiced. A ceasefire was signed in 2006-MAY between some of the combatants. Warfare continues in the Darfur region, primarily between a Muslim militia and Muslim inhabitants.

Muslim rebels have been involved in a bloody insurgency in Thailand Buddhists & Muslims southern Thailand -- a country that is 95% Buddhist.

EFFECTS OF WAR Deaths and Casualties In addition to military casualties, violent conflicts also unfairly cause deaths and injuries to civilians. For example:  Iraq War 2003, codenamed Operation Iraqi Freedom: Estimated civilian deaths ranged from 23,209 to 26,264 (including ’03 invasion of Iraq and following post-invasion Iraq, ’03-’05). Estimated US forces combat deaths around 1847, combatbestfreepapers.com wounded around 13,657.  Since the Darfur conflict started, some 2.7 million people have fled their homes since the conflict began in the arid western region, and the UN says about 300,000 have died - mostly from disease.

Effects on Economy Military spending on developing high tech weaponry (in preparation for war) diverts resources away from other needs of the country.  North Korea: Openly budgeting 40% of its GDP for military expenditure. Communist Pyongyang admits to practising a ‘military-first’ policy, neglecting the needs of the people.  In 2003, world military spending was US$956 billion, half of which was spent on the war in Afghanistan, Iraq and the war on terror. Nevertheless, military spending has acted as economic stimulus before.  USA, WW11: Recovery from the Great Depression ensued mainly due to increased production of tanks, fighter planes, etc. increasing employment and utilisation of factories.  China’s Communist Party rulers plan to boost military spending by 11 percent in 2012, passing the $100 billion mark for the first time and renewing questions about the country’s long-term intentions. The widening rural-urban divide is not getting as much attention as it should as the income gap continues to rise.  The United States has sustained significant war damages in human lives and casualties as well as loss of wealth. We lost approximately 4000 lives of young men and women and sustained approximately 40,000 war injuries with varying degrees of disabilities. The long term effects will be pervasive for medical care treatment of injured veterans and loss of their earnings at market value. Of the $14+ trillion national debt of the United States, nearly one trillion dollars or 7.5%% was the direct and explicit cost of the Iraq war.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore!  The economy of Iraq lost 27 years of economic progress. The decline in lost Iraqi GDP caused by the Iraq war is estimated at $309.5 billion.

Damage to Infrastructure/Services War wrecks a society’s human service systems and physical infrastructure by disrupting delivery of food, water, and medicine and energy supplies. The loss of these necessities of life leads to infection, disease, malnutrition, and starvation on a massive scale. For example:  East Timor conflict (1975-2002): Indonesia invaded and occupied East Timor destroying basic infrastructure without restoring it. Soon, the East Timorese faced massive starvation as farmers were forcibly recruited into the Resistance Army to fight against the Indonesians. An estimated 200,000 people died (1/3 of East Timor’s population) by the time Indonesia finally withdrew.  Afghan War (2001 – present): War damage depleted Afghanistan’s energy generation infrastructure, particularly generators and power lines. In 2004, energy shortages were a critical obstacle in resuming economic activity.

Environmental Damage Bombings result in the destruction of vegetation and habitats or flora and fauna and increased use of nuclear warheads has led to radioactive fallout.

 NATO bombings of strategic petrochemical plants in Yugoslavia during Kosovo War (1999): Toxic cloud produced by the explosion spread toxins everywhere; civilians not killed by the bombs were plagued with vomiting, fever, etc. as food and water supplies were poisoned by the chemicals. After two years, the number of miscarriages of pregnant women in the area was still twice the normal number.

Social Problems Large-scale migration caused by war inflicts stress on other countries both economically [because they have to feed and shelter refugees], and socially [difficulties in integrating refugee population with indigenous people]. For example:  Vietnam War [1950s]: Mass emigration from Vietnam to USA after Communist takeover. More than 1 million refugees came, pleading asylum in the States. Integration of these groups generated tension within society.

However, war has directly helped the social status of some to change for the better.  For example: USA, WWII: When most men enlisted in the army, there was a sudden drop in workers available, with no one to man the factories and sustain production of military weapons or supplies, the country finally had to turn to the women to support the war effort. Allowing them to reverse traditional gender roles, the females met the challenge head-on and did not disappoint their men or country resulting in society’s acceptance of women as being as useful as men and paving the way for the eventual emancipation of women.

Justification for War Formulated in the 13th century, there is an international law doctrine that postulates that a war can be just only if it satisfies a set of moral or legal rules, namely, attacking a sovereign government instead of individuals, to avenge wrongs, or having the right intentions. bestfreepapers.com Case Study: Gulf War 1991 Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991, first seizing control of the oil rigs along the shared border, and moving to take over all of Kuwait. Egypt initiated negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait in Saudi Arabia, hoping to alleviate the situation without the intervention of the United States and other outside powers. The UN Security Council immediately demanded that Iraq withdraw. Bush echoed the Carter Doctrine by declaring that the integrity of Saudi Arabia, now exposed to Iraqi invasion, was a vital American interest, and two-thirds of the 21 member states of the Arab League likewise condemned Iraq’s aggression. Within days, the United States, the European Community, the Soviet Union, and Japan all imposed an embargo on Iraq, and the Security Council voted strict economic sanctions on Iraq (with Cuba and Yemen abstaining). The war’s stated purpose was not to liberate Kuwait but to deter Iraq from attacking Saudi Arabia and seizing control of one-third of the world’s oil reserves. The UN, USA and Kuwaiti forces combined finally drove back the Iraqi Army, and the oil rigs were returned to Kuwait. The changing political environment has led some to believe in the soundness of preemptive war. Wars of prevention, undertaken to prevent a threat not realised from ever becoming a realised threat, seemed to be a sensible policy for uncertain times. However, it also opens up the possibility of many more wars, since wars very seldom bring conclusive results on their own and leaves issues festering to become future causes for conflict. Also, preemptive wars by their nature are unfair since they are started without declaration of hostilities.

Case Study: Iraq War 2003 The United Nations Security Council refused to authorise the war. Yet the Bush administration went ahead, alleging that:

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore!  The war was justified based on military intelligence that the ‘dictator Saddam Hussein’ harbored 500 tonnes of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs). Therefore in the interest of the free world, the USA was ‘justified to attack Iraq in a preemptive strike before the Iraqis could display their nuclear power.  Iraqis were living under the ‘tyrant Saddam Hussein’, hence in the name of humanitarian intervention, the US had every right to invade and ‘liberate’ the Iraqis from his dictatorship. According to figures provided by the US, Saddam unjustly killed 400,000 people from the period 1992-2002, thus justifying the need for him to be forcibly removed from the seat of power.

However, after the war ended, we now know that:  There were no WMDs or any concrete link between Saddam and the production of WMDs found.  After investigating the reliability of military intelligence, it was discovered that only 50,000 Iraqis had been murdered due to Saddam’s cruelty, over a 10-year period. Yet from 2003 to February 2005, there were roughly 20,000 deaths from various causes related to the war. Obviously, the numbers did not add up to the claim that the Iraq war was waged because of humanitarian concerns.

Therefore the Iraq war was proven to be completely unjustified on both counts. Now the USA is saddled with a crippled Iraq which has cost at least US$400b so far. Neither has their intervention tangibly stabilised Iraq – the underground resistance movement constantly causes more deaths by attacking American troops and inadvertently endangering innocent Iraqi civilians as well.

Preventive measures developed against war Deterrence Buildup of military defences to discourage potential attackers from engaging them in hostile military action. United States and the Soviet Union  Both deterred nuclear attack by promising to respond to any nuclear strike with devastating counter strike.  The assumption was made that neither country would actually allow a conflict to escalate far enough to initiate an actual war between the two superpowers.  However, deterrence strategies led to an uncontrolled arms race. The Kashmir Conflict  Began with the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent into the independent states of India and Pakistan. Kashmir refused to accede to either nation hoping instead to remain independent. Pakistani forces promptly invaded Kashmir.  Kashmir acceded to Indian rule in exchange for military aid in repelling the Pakistanis and quelling domestic rebellion.  Pakistani forces retained control over the western third of Kashmir.  India and Pakistan are at a military stalemate along the Line of Control.  A relatively small team of UN observers oversees Indian and Pakistani compliance with the cease-fire. Balance of military force has deterred India and Pakistan from violence.

International Cooperation  Cooperation betweenbestfreepapers.com countries reduces possibility of armed conflict due to improved ties between countries and interdependence.  Countries can also cooperate to give aid in preventing conflict in other regions:

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development  The DAC Guidelines Helping Prevent Violent Conflict were published in 2001 to provide ways for donor governments to honour their commitment to conflict prevention as an integral part of the quest to reduce poverty.  Identity concrete opportunities for donor assistance in support of peace that include: Cross-cultural training Human rights training Access to information Reintegration of uprooted populations Demobilisation of former combatants

Resolution of wars & conflicts Peace Zones  Offers a strategy for dealing with conflicting claims about the ownership of a particular piece of land or water.  Rather than attempting to resolve the dispute by giving one side ownership, sovereignty for the area would be granted to a neutral body that administers the area e.g. UN.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! Examples: Cyprus, Maldive Islands, Palestine, North/South Korea, Kurdistan. Note: UN is in charge of security (through the United Nations Board of Trustees). Peacekeeping  Putting a neutral intermediary between the fighting factions to physically keep them apart.  Most often peacekeeping is done by military personnel and in international conflicts it is done with a neutral, usually multi-national force. United Nations, Organisation of American States (OAS), Organisation of African Unity (OAU).  Monitor cease-fires, patrol demilitarised zones (DMZ) and to create buffer zones between fighting forces so that the fighting will stop. E.g. Gulf War.

MILITARY AND SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY Uses of Satellite Technology Astronomical Satellites are satellites used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects like the Hubble Telescope.  NASA’s Mars rover, Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012, has been providing many close-up images of Mars making investigation into and appreciation of the planet more possible.

Communications Satellites are artificial satellites stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications using radio at microwave frequencies. Agencies from 17 other countries came together in 1964 to form the International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium (Intelsat) for the purpose of establishing a global commercial communications network.

Earth Observation Satellites are satellites specifically designed to observe Earth from orbit, similar to reconnaissance satellites but intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, meteorology and map making.  In the destruction of the environment, the satellites allow the pinpointing of factors of global warning by carbon gases, ozone holes and acid rain.

 But to find out what is causing these problems and coming up with solutions to deal with them, it is necessary to collect data about them. Earth observation satellites regularly thoroughly observe land and sea and collect data from across the globe. Algeria uses earth observation satellites for disaster monitoring. Japan and India have weather observation satellites and Japan uses them to track whale movement as well.

Navigation Satellites are satellites which use radio time signals transmitted to enable mobile receivers on the ground to determine their exact location.  The relatively clear line of sight between the satellites and receivers on the ground, combined with ever- improving electronics, allows satellite navigation systems to measure location to accuracies on the order of a few metres in real time. China put a navigational satellite in orbit to provide all-weather, round-the-clock navigation information for highways, railways and shipping.  The Global Positioning System uses this technology to determine accurate positions. This is used for car and road side recovery systems. Digital Angel, a GPS implant that can be implanted onto a pet allows the owners to keep track of the pet’sbestfreepapers.com whereabouts. Similar systems are used to keep track of endangered wildlife as well as track animal migration patterns.

Reconnaissance Satellites are Earth observation satellites or communications satellites deployed for military or intelligence applications. Little is known about the full power of these satellites as governments who operate them usually keep information pertaining to their reconnaissance satellites classified. There are four types:  Early warning satellites to warn of enemy missile launches  Nuclear explosion satellites to detect explosions in space  Photo-surveillance to monitor enemy activity – During the Cold War, 95 Corona satellites were deployed to conduct espionage activities for the US  Electronic reconnaissance to intercept airwaves and messages in enemy countries

Solar Power Satellites are proposed satellites built in high Earth orbit that use microwave power transmission to beam solar power to very large antenna on Earth where it can be used in place of conventional power sources.  Japan is exploring the feasibility of a satellite-based solar power system in space.

Space Stations are man-made structures that are designed for human beings to live on in outer space.  A space station is distinguished from other manned spacecraft by its lack of major propulsion or landing facilities – instead, other vehicles are used as transport to and from the station.  Space stations are designed for medium-term living in orbit, for periods of weeks, months, or even years.  Mir (meaning ‘world’ or ‘peace’ in Russian) and the International Space Station are examples.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore!

Weather Satellites are satellites that primarily are used to monitor the weather and/or climate of the Earth.  By early 2000, more than 40 countries owned satellites, a significant number of them for meteorological purposes.

Uses of Military Technology Robots  Military support in the form of robots in the field to aid in detention and removal of explosive devices.  It has been deployed side by side soldiers in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Despite their general primitiveness at the moment, their single best virtue is the fact that they remove their operators from exposure to battlefield dangers and so have proven to be very popular among their users.  As robots become more sophisticated and intelligent, there is the obvious temptation to equip them with weapons rather than just sensors and grappling equipment. However, there is a moral question of whether robots should be armed, even with non-lethal devices. There is the hazard that robots do malfunction and may run amok, hazarding innocent life. Even when the devices operate as intended, it is by no means certain that the weapons’ programming will be sufficient to distinguish targets from innocent civilians and friendly soldiers under all circumstances, or that their controllers will be able to remain in full control of their weapons, or intervene in the event that an armed robot has chosen an inappropriate target.

Unmanned vehicles (drones)  Today the attention is on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), but there are projects for unmanned ground vehicles (like the US Army’s Autonomous Mobility Applique System that allows current transport vehicles to be self-driven) and water-borne vessels (called Unmanned Surface Vessels, like the Israeli-made Protector that Singapore’s navy uses to guard its ships against terrorists and pirates). Vehicles that are remotely-piloted and lack an on-board human crew have been around for a long time, but in recent years, due to improvements in technology, their use has spread beyond the major militaries to even include members of the public, as smaller and cheaper drones are produced.  One controversy of drone technology overlaps with that of robot weapons. Before long, it would be possible to remove the remote human pilot and let drones operate totally independently according to programmed commands. The use of autonomous drones in war create the same moral issues as the use of combat robots – will they target non-combatants indiscriminately, and will they be totally controllable by their users at all times.  Another controversy with drones is over the sovereignty rights of countries and privacy rights of organisations and individuals. The main benefits of drones are that they do not endanger their users’ lives and they are stealthy due to their small size and mobility. This encourages their use for espionage or assassination. With nanobots – microscopic robots – their stealth value increases exponentially since they are nearly invisible to the naked eye.  The US has been using its UAVs to attack terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, but this has been fiercely criticised by the international community for a variety of reasons (see “Problems associated with military and satellite technology: Infringement of rights” below).  Open-source technologiesbestfreepapers.com are available commercially for small UAVs. They have been used to scan terrain with cameras and ground-penetrating radar, to spray crops and help park rangers monitor wildlife, but they have also become popular with paparazzi to take pictures of celebrities in their most private moments. Privately-owned UAVs pose a particular problem for domestic law enforcement and national security.

Bio-chemical Weapons  Many nations have a considerable variety of lethal and incapacitating chemical agents and the means to deliver them.  The technology needed to produce these chemicals is similar to that used to make plastics, fertilisers and detergents. As this knowledge spreads throughout underdeveloped countries, the increased possibility of chemical warfare has become a harsh reality. It is suspected that countries like Sudan, Algeria and Ethiopia have research programs into both chemical and biological weapons. Iran and Russia have such technology beyond the means needed for defence.  Chemical warfare agents are poisonous chemicals that can produce irritating effects, make materials or areas unusable, and cause death. Agent Orange was used in the Vietnam War to clear massive amounts of jungle to expose the enemies. The effect of the gas affected people as well with many Vietnamese children born with severe birth defects.  The severity of the injuries depends on the type of agent, concentration of the agent used and the method of dissemination. The Sarin gas released into the Tokyo underground by the Aum Shinrikyo killed 12 people.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore!  The Ghouta chemical attack occurred during the Syrian Civil War in the early hours of 21 August 2013. Several opposition-controlled areas in the suburbs around Damascus, Syria, were struck by rockets containing the chemical agent Sarin. The attack was the deadliest use of chemical weapons since the Iran–Iraq War.  Chemical agents can be generally classified into four categories – nerve, blister (Mustard gas – causing severe itching, blistering of the skin and lungs and blindness), choking (Chlorine gas – preventing oxygen from entering respiratory system) and blood agents (Hydrogen cyanide – attacking the function of cells in the body causing them to shut down and die).  Many countries in the world have the capability to launch bio-war. Most countries, however, are bound by the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention of April 1972. Countries that signed the treaty include Japan, Brazil, South Korea, the US and New Zealand.

Nuclear Weapons  The greatest development in weaponry since World War II has been the combination and further development of two weapons first developed in that war – nuclear weapons and the ballistic missile – leading to its ultimate configuration, the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).  After the USA became the first country to create such weapons, the USSR also created their own in 1949, followed by the UK (1952), France (1960) and China (1964).  The mutual possession of these by the United States, the Soviet Union and their respective allies ensured that either nation could inflict terrible damage on the other, so terrible that neither nation was prepared to instigate direct, all-out war with the other. However, in the post-Cold War world, there is no such attitude of restraint, sense of global responsibility and rational calculation observable in countries that have recently acquired nuclear weapons (India & Pakistan in 1998) or are seeking to acquire them (North Korea & Iran. Libya & Iraq were in the 1980s and 1990s interested in acquiring nuclear technologies too)  The massive and indiscriminate nature of their effect has made nuclear weapons essentially useless for the smaller wars fought since the Second World War.  North Korea is in the midst of developing their missile response system. They mean to use it to guarantee aid from other countries such as the US and also as a means of deterrence to prevent any attacks from South Korea. In April 2009, reports surfaced that North Korea has become a "fully fledged nuclear power", an opinion shared by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei. On May 25, 2009, North Korea conducted another nuclear test, which is believed to have been the cause of a magnitude 4.7 seismic event. In December 2012, it also launched a satellite named Shining Star-3 into space much to the consternation of the USA and its Asian allies. Sanctions on North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities have largely been unsuccessful and believed to have military purposes that could put the whole Asia-Pacific region in danger.

Problems associated with military and satellite technology The militarisation of space  With the invention of ballistic missiles during World War 2, the USA & the USSR competed against each other to create ever more powerful missiles, as these were the most practical way of delivering nuclear weapons into the enemy’s homelands (previously, they were dropped from aircraft, but aircraft was becoming increasingly easy to shoot down, and with the growing sizes of the nuclear bombs, finding it more difficult to escape the detonation of their own weapons after dropping them).  The resultant ‘Space Race’bestfreepapers.com which officially was the attempts by both superpowers to explore space, was in reality the testing ground for such ballistic missiles and their related technologies. Indeed, the Soviet R7, the world’s first inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), was used to put the world’s first man-made object into orbit: the Sputnik satellite. Later versions of the R7 were used to send Soviet cosmonauts into space. Similarly, the rockets that the US used for their own manned and unmanned space flights were modified Atlas and Titan ICBMs.  Weapons were not the only military application that space was used for. The descendants of Sputnik were meant to enhance communication capabilities by relaying communication signals which hitherto were hampered by the curvature of the planet. More ominously, satellites also provided a way of spying on the enemy.  Inevitably, with more and more applications of space being utilised, the concept of arming satellites and weaponising space was explored, similar to the way initially unarmed aircraft in the early 20th Century started to be equipped with ever-sophisticated weaponry. It led to fears that space would become yet another battleground, much as the sea and the sky had been,  The danger of this was the great kinetic energy that objects in space possess, plus the impossibility of defending against such objects entering the planet’s atmosphere, given their speed and short warning time available. By way of illustration, the great damage caused by the 1908 Tanguska Event was wreaked by a comet or meteoroid as small as 60m across exploding in the Earth’s atmosphere, releasing energy1000 times that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, which flattened trees for a distance of 8 kilometres. The damage would have been far greater had the event taken place over an inhabited area, or physically struck the earth. To date, there are few reliable ways of destroying such incoming projectiles, whether man-made or

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! natural, at a safe distance in space. Such a threat would lead to a dangerous space race of constructing offensive weapons in space to threaten the other side, increasing not just the threat of direct threat of deliberate use, but also the problem of accidental launches.  Furthermore, many satellites have beneficial civilian applications, not just in communications but also including navigation, like the ubiquitous US-designed Global Positioning System, now used by everyone and in nearly everything, including the average smart-phone user in any random city on the planet. In a state of war, innocent parties may be at risk from losing such important non-military services when relevant satellites are destroyed.  Lastly, the clutter of numerous satellites and the debris of obsolete or destroyed satellites create a barrier of objects that future users of space would have to deal with. Mapping the current space debris field that exists today after decades of Space Race and post-Space Race littering is expensive, let alone clearing it, but the damage caused by colliding into an object as small as a ring-nut may be catastrophic, especially for a manned space vehicle, posing considerable problems for the future use of space.  The main international agreement to prevent the militarisation of space is the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. In the succinct language of the Wikipedia article last accessed on 23 Feb 2014, “it bars states party to the treaty from placing nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction in orbit of Earth, installing them on the Moon or any other celestial body, or to otherwise station them in outer space. It exclusively limits the use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes and expressly prohibits their use for testing weapons of any kind, conducting military maneuvers, or establishing military bases, installations, and fortifications. However, the Treaty does not prohibit the placement of conventional weapons in orbit. The treaty also states that the exploration of outer space shall be done to benefit all countries and shall be free for exploration and use by all the States.  The treaty explicitly forbids any government from claiming a celestial resource such as the Moon or a planet, claiming that they are the common heritage of mankind. Art. II of the Treaty states that "outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means". However, the State that launches a space object retains jurisdiction and control over that object. The State is also liable for damages caused by their space object.”

The Arms Race  An arms race always occurs with the development of military technology.  An arms race is a competition between two or more countries for military supremacy.  Each party competes to produce superior numbers of weapons, larger armies, or superior military technology in a technological escalation.  The most well-known arms race was during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.  Even though that has officially ended, there is still great concern about the nuclear weapons stockpiles and the illegal sale of weapons that were meant to be destroyed.  The current concern, as made obvious in movies like the Broken Arrow and The Peacemaker, is that this information, technology and resource get sold to terrorists. The lack of security and inadequate company compliance has led to Russian enterprises and individuals selling nuclear related equipment and materials to rogue nations like Iraq, Iran and North Korea. Yugoslavia has been accused of selling nuclear weapons to Iraq illegally. bestfreepapers.com  More prosaically, obsolete Cold War weapons, including land mines and weapons of mass destruction like cluster bombs, have been sold to numerous countries, including those that were hitherto too poor due to instability to afford them, as a convenient way for their makers to get rid of outmoded weapons profitably. Many of these weapons were then used in wars and civil wars, elevating the lethality of wars and civil wars and creating human rights abuses due to their destructiveness, ease of use by untrained users (i.e. guerrilla forces and terrorists), unreliability (a large percentage of bombs, missiles and rockets do not explode as intended by their users but may later) and the irresponsibility of their users (who shoot at innocent targets or in conditions which may not cause their weapons to detonate, such as into soft mud that would not trigger bomb/rocket/missile fuses. That dud bomb/rocket/missile would then become a buried boobytrap for future passers-by to trigger).

The military industrial complex  This is the term most used to describe the informal conglomerate that was created when various weapon and military vehicle companies grew in great strength in the United States after WWII. Since these companies had similar interests and benefitted from the same sort of governmental directions, they came together in an unofficial association to push their common interests.  It flourished in times of prolonged military conflict, such as the 1960s during the Vietnam War, and has generally been in favour of overseas intervention, which often involved military participation, to boost their business. It has been said that the complex helped to pressure the US government into getting more involved in Vietnam.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore!  President Eisenhower (1953-1961), in his final address to the nation before handing office to John F Kennedy, warned of the influence that the Military Industrial Complexes might have over liberty, freedom and the democratic process, with little success.  The issue of the arms producing economy is not just specific to the US but is also an issue for other countries like North Korea and Russia which have strong interests in military affairs.  North Korea’s launching of a satellite in Earth orbit in December 2012 was viewed as thinly disguised missile tests which threatened countries like South Korea, the USA and other countries. The unpredictable advances and capabilities of North Korea’s weapons and nuclear-armed regime together with their refusal to abide by the UN resolution barring Pyongyang from ballistic missile tests have been a cause for concern for regional security.

Measures adopted to deal with the problems associated with military technology Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaties Three pillars to the prevention of nuclear proliferation: i. Non-proliferation treaties: These 5 Nuclear Weapons States (NWS: the US, the UK, China, Russia and France) agree not to transfer nuclear weapons technology to other states, and the non-NWS state parties agree not to seek to develop nuclear weapons. ii. Disarmament – Countries with nuclear stockpiles should attempt to reduce and liquidate them. iii. The Right To Use Nuclear Weapons In A Peaceful Manner It allows uranium production for fuel reasons is a major loophole. This is only a small step away from developing nuclear warheads and this can be done in secret or by withdrawing from the NPT (like North Korea). The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear regulatory body has said that if they wanted to, 40 countries could develop nuclear bombs. An alternative to the third pillar would be the requirement that all states, including the NWS parties, not only disarm, but also completely close down the nuclear fuel cycle.

Legal restrictions on the possession and use of certain weapons The weapons involved are usually of an indiscriminate nature that affects civilians and which continue to pose a threat long after the fighting has ended. Landmines  These weapons are considered a major humanitarian problem. Wars do not continue indefinitely, but landmines continue to pose a threat unless they are removed – but it is not easy, affordable nor safe to do so. They are by nature cheap and easily mass-produced, presenting a physically challenging job of finding them all after hostilities have ended, even if accurate logs were kept of where they were placed – not always possible in the heat of battle. Furthermore, soil movements and erosion may displace the mines, increasing the difficulty of finding them. Post-WW2 mines were often made out of non-ferrous metals like wood, glass or plastic. They were meant to defeat metal detectors and remain very useful. Even today there are few mechanical of detecting non-ferrous metals that are cheap enough to be used to clear all the minefields in former battlefields; similarly, the training of mine-sniffing animals has been expensive. The single most effective and cheap way to clear mines is to have individuals prod gently in the ground with rods, which is a highly unreliable and dangerousbestfreepapers.com task. Using mine-clearance vehicles using flails, rollers or ploughs to either detonate the mines or unearth them is no replacement, because vehicles cannot go everywhere where mines have been emplaced, plus the vehicles themselves are only mine-resistant, not mine-proof. Eventually the cumulative damage will necessitate the replacement of the vehicle. So years after the fighting stopped, innocent people still die or are maimed (modern anti-personnel mines were intended to be powerful enough only to remove a limb – it was calculated that a wounded enemy soldier would be more burdensome to his army than if he was dead) due to unremoved mines. Even today French farmers die in their fields when their tractors run over mines first placed in either of the two world wars. Even the suspicion that a piece of land is mined prevents that land from being used for any purpose, becoming a particularly serious problem in developing countries like Cambodia, Afghanistan, the Congo and Libya that particularly needs to use land to provide for their population needs because they cannot rely on industries and imports like richer countries can.  The Ottawa Treaty (or the Mine Ban Treaty) of 1997 to rid the world of the scourge of mines and deal with everything from banning the use, production and trade of such weapons, to the provision of victim assistance, mine clearance and stockpile destruction.  161 Treaty members include the UK, Australia, Thailand and Japan. However, 36 countries, such as China, Israel, Russia, the USA, Singapore and both Koreas, have not signed the treaty, because they are producers of land mines or claim that such weapons are indispensable to their national defence. This has been a major limitation to the Treaty’s effectiveness. As of January 2005, the UN’s appeal to these non-signatory countries to sign the Ottawa fell on deaf ears.  Groups like International Campaign to Ban Land Mines and the Mines Advisory Group continue to actively trying to eradicate the use of anti-personnel landmines. The late Princess Diana was an active and effective

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! crusader against land mines. She visited war-torn Angola and Bosnia-Herzegovina and went into an active minefield to bring attention to the severity of the issue. Cluster munitions  These are smaller-sized explosive weapons (called submunitions) housed inside a normal artillery shell, rocket or bomb, which would scatter over the enemy. They have been popular in modern warfare because they offer the twin benefits of improving the probability of hitting the intended targets plus provide a means of dealing with large numbers of enemy simultaneously.  However, the humanitarian problem arises due to the high failure rate of such submunitions. As one example, the standard US M26 rocket used with the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MRLS) in Iraq and Afghanistan contains 644 submunitions, which have been found to have a failure rate of between 2 to 23%. All explosive weapons require fuses to detonate; the smaller the weapon the greater the likelihood of such delicate mechanical devices to be damaged and thus fail. In effect, unexploded cluster munitions behave like landmines to kill or maim civilians. In addition, many submunitions are painted a bright colour like yellow so that friendly forces may notice them more easily after they are used and fail to detonate. However, their bright colour and unusual shape (to make them more aerodynamic to facilitate their spread in the air when used) make them look like toys. In one highly publicised case from the War in Afghanistan, NATO submunitions were confused with airdropped US humanitarian food packages which were also packed in yellow, causing casualties when the uninitiated retrieved unexploded submunitions thinking they were part of the food packages. Since then, US humanitarian food packages have been repackaged in clear materials.  In 2008, the Convention of Cluster Munitions was adopted by the UN, after the UN determined that some 40% of Israeli submunitions failed to detonate in the 2006 Lebanon War. The Treaty bans the use, transfer and stockpiling of cluster weapons.  108 countries have signed the Treaty, and the countries that have rejected it include those that also reject the landmine ban, such as the USA, Russia and China.

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How the roles and status of women have changed in modern societies Marriage is not necessarily a means of support or protection for women. More recently, in the 1980s and 1990s, it has become common for many families to have two wage earners.  From 1970-1993, the proportion of dual-earner couples increased from 39% to 61% of all married couples in the United States.

There are increasing opportunities for women in various institutions, workplaces and marketplaces  For example in traditional Korean society, women’s roles were confined to the home. Today, Korean women are actively engaged in a wide variety of fields, including education, medicine, engineering, scholarship, the arts, law, literature and sports.  In the United States, the number of women in full-time jobs increased and there is significant growth in the proportion of women in high-paid professions, like law and medicine.

While educational attainment of women has increased in general. Woman delay marriage in order not to cut short their formal education. Doing so traps women in a cycle of low education, high fertility and poverty. Even countries with strong cultural and traditional values (with Islamic or religious cultures) have seen a sharp delay in childbearing practices and lower fertility. While it was rare, in the past, to be single and childless, the average age for marriage is slowly increasing with wider acceptance of education and family planning services. o For example, some 1,500 non-formal schools for girls and women, set up under the late prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto and President Zia ul-Haq, continue to function in rural areas. o The total fertility rate (TFR) or average number of children born per woman declined from seven in the 1970s to three in 2006 in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Women’s suffrage in many countries New Zealand – 1983 Britain – 1918 Soviet Union – 1917 France – 1944 Italy – 1945 China – 1947 India – 1949 Switzerland – 1971

Enhanced rights for women in general. Violations are publicised not as individual and cultural problems but as violations of human rights.  Marital rapes were legal until the 1980s when most states in the US eliminated, or at least limited, the spousal exemption from rape. In 1976, Nebraska was the first state to abolish the Marital Rape Exemption.  New Delhi brutal and fatalbestfreepapers.com gang-rape of medical student in 2012 sparked off protests in the country over crime against women, and a lot of soul-searching and national awakening against sexual harassment, women’s rights and misogyny in India.

The availability of the contraceptive pill after 1960 meant that women faced greater freedom from child-care responsibilities.

Ironically, standards of female beauty have become more stringent in recent years; while some women do not elect to follow the dictates of the fashion industry, many do.  Many point to the recent increase in sales of beauty products and service.  In Korea, the number of plastic surgeons surged 400 per cent from 276 in 1990 to 1,102 in 2004. It has been estimated that between one-fifth and one-third of women in Seoul have gone under the knife, and one poll reported by the BBC in March 2015 put the figure at fifty per cent or higher for women in their twenties. Men, by one account, make up fifteen per cent of the market, including a former President of the country, who underwent double-eyelid surgery while in office. Statistics in this field are iffy because the industry is not regulated and there are no official records.  Beauty pageants also capture much worldwide attention. From America’s Favourite Pre-Teen to Miss Nude World, America offers a plethora of beauty contests and competitions for females.

Nevertheless, media is increasingly being used to change or debunk sexist stereotypes of women and give them greater recognition for who they are and what they can do.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore!  Ashley Graham was the first plus-sized model to be featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue which typically features tinier and tinier bikini-clad women. The women on its pages are starting to diversify after a long push from women of all shapes and sizes to expand the narrow standards of beauty embraced by the fashion and modelling industry.  Social media has been able to organise and collaborate, sharing stories and strategies that challenge traditional ideas of beauty. Dove, producer of beauty and haircare products encourages women to embrace their authentic and unique selves regardless of shape, size and colour. A recent movement was to help little girls who did not like their curly hair love their curls by showing them how others felt about theirs through a song and dance with a refrain that went “Oh, I love it, love it….We all love our curls—our curls are perfect this way!”

Positive effects of the changing role of women in modern societies Higher education and per capita income for women: Increasingly, women are being empowered to break out of their poverty cycles with higher education and job choices. Married women are increasingly encouraged to work.  In the US, in 2009, women held 49.9% of all nonfarm labour jobs and 51.5% of high-paying management and professional paying positions.  Married female labour force participation increased from 32.9 percent in 1960 to 61.1 per cent in 2001.

More choices are given to women in their jobs and life choices:  They can choose not to work if they should not want to. Within less than a decade, the number of children raised by stay-at-home moms has increased by 13 per cent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Ivy League- educated women are rebelling against the workforce.  According to the commission’s study, 44 per cent of all jobs in the United States were held by women in 1873. By 2003, that level of participation had risen slightly, to 47 per cent.  Women increased their representation in all the natural science professions in the United States, especially medical science, where they accounted for more than half of all employment in 2002, according to the report.  When it comes to engineering, 10 per cent of the jobs in 1983 were held by women, according to the commission. That figure rose to 14 per cent in 2002.  Singapore appointed its first woman Speaker of Parliament, Halimah Yacob in 2013. She is known to have a strong legal background, calm, collected and very well-respected by the House.

More legal rights at work: One of UK’s largest public sector union, Unison, promised to take the cases of tens of thousands of women to employment tribunals if employers refuse to pay them the same as men.

More freedom and acceptance about marriage issues: Studies show that Thai women have a relatively high degree of freedom regarding the timing of marriage and the choice of marital partner.

Negative effects of the changing role of women in modern societies A rising divorce rate in more countries is partly due to changing perceptions about gender roles. Among married couples the degree to which men exercise direct control over issues now wavers. This fundamental shift in social power has resulted in unprecedented social consequences within marriages, families, the work place and more.  In the United States, the number of divorces per 1,000 women age 15 years or older increased from 9.2 in 1960 to 18.0 in 2001, reachingbestfreepapers.com a high of 22.8 in 1979.

An increased number of women in the workplace and women who delay childbirth until their thirties and beyond. Many women believe that they can have it all—education, career, lifestyle, and playing the field, and a man waiting to marry them when they are done. Many countries continue to witness falling birthrates not just because families delay childbirth but because high-powered women are finding it increasingly difficult to find men of equal calibre to them to marry.  Birth rates in countries like Italy, Spain, Japan and Germany are dropping and in much of Eastern Europe as well where levels are well below 1.5 births per woman.  In Australia, the proportion of degree-educated women aged 25 to 34 rose from 37.7 per cent to 40.3 per cent, according to the Bureau of Statistics, while for males the figure remained below 30 per cent, having risen only 0.5 per cent in 2012.

Eating disorders are much more common now.  Anorexia – a disorder that affects women disproportionately – is twice as common as doctors once thought. Changing social roles and expectations have caused confusion in many—both men and women. Products and lifestyles sell a certain type of image or “right body” that will bring success, happiness and a better life. Such unrealistic body image and food fears can also often stem from insecurity about roles and sexuality.

Problems of women in conservative societies

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! Poverty. 70 per cent of the 1.3 billion people living in abject poverty are women; 600 million of the world’s women are illiterate. Yet even the poorest and most marginalized women have the responsibility of raising children. Women with no marketable skills can be forced into prostitution or surrogacy  For example, the London-based pro-Tibet advocacy group, the Free Tibet Campaign, estimates there are 1,000 brothels in the Tibetan capital Lhasa. Women were also plagued with the growing problem of cross-border prostitution in the former Soviet states.  Increasingly so, women from poor societies are renting their wombs to couples from developed nations for a much cheaper price as compared to those in their own countries. “Hiring” a womb in USA would cost US$70,000 compared to hiring one in India for US$12,000. This puts them at risk of exploitation considering Indian women earn only $5-7k in salary for 10 years of work.

Differences in political ideologies prevent women from getting all the help they need.  In January 2013, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) failed to be reauthorized because of a politically and ideologically divided Congress. The failure to protect Native women and provide critical resources and protection for them means many vulnerable communities do not receive equal rights and protection under the law. The failure of Congress to agree on the need to protect all women including lesbians, undocumented immigrants and American Indian women living on reservations led to it not being reauthorized.

Infanticide.  The traditional preference for boys has led to a widespread abuse of pre-natal scans in countries like India to abort girls.

Women are perceived mainly in the context of child rearing and family caring. High school drop-out rates and early marriage perpetuate the situation.  For example, 77% of rural women in Egypt are still illiterate.  In India, girls are often excluded from primary education by deeply rooted social customs. Independent sources and educational experts place the overall literacy rate for girls and women at 12 per cent in Pakistan.

Fundamentalist interpretation of the religious texts and traditions  A system of gender apartheid has turned women in some Middle East communities into virtual prisoners. Abusers, cruelties or acts of violence against women in the Middle East are sometimes sanctioned in the name of religion.

Culturally, social practices to women are still extremely unfair.  “Honour” killings can even occur among immigrant populations in Western countries.

Politically, women are not represented.  Women are still denied the vote in Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Burundian women are not much represented at the executive and judiciary level owing to the burden of tradition combined with a low level of education.

Lack of social rights in the Middle East.  Saudi Arabia’s Commissionbestfreepapers.com for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice also informally known as Hai’a, employs “religious police” or Mutaween to enforce Sharia Law within the Islamic nation. They petrol streets enforcing dress codes and separation of men and women and other behaviour believed to be commanded by Islam. They are empowered to detain and berate offenders. A recent recording in Nakheel Mall in Riyadh shows a woman being beaten in front of the shopping mall as people in the crowd call for the mutaween to stop hitting her.  In 2015, Farkhunda, a 27-year-old Afghan woman was publicly killed by a mob in Kabul for arguing with a mullah who had falsely accused her of burning the Quran. She was mercilessly beaten and kicked, run over by a car, dragged and her corpse burnt. The initial death sentences of some of the men arrested for the killing were later reduced to as little as 10 years’ imprisonment. What had looked like a rare moment of justice for Afghan women turned to deep disappointment and outrage.

How countries protect the rights of women Increasing awareness among men and women of women’s rights under international conventions and national law.  In 1980, China was one of the first countries to sign the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the most important international women’s rights document.

Increasing the proportion of women in decision-making in the economic, social and political spheres  In terms of participation in the labour force, college education, managerial positions and incomes, Thailand accorded most equality to women among the Asia Pacific region.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore!  In Bolivia, ACOBOL (Association of Women Councillors of Bolivia) was set up in 1999 to strengthen the capacities of women standing for, and already elected to, municipal posts in areas like legislation and equitable municipal administration. It also serves as a forum for women from all political parties to confront challenges they face as women politicians.  Strengthening worldwide efforts to end illiteracy among women and girls Improving the conditions of women and girls living in poverty  If a woman has equal access to health care and the paid workforce, she is better able to provide for her family. As history has shown, an educated woman will have fewer children than an illiterate woman – and that helps ease poverty too.

Implementation of policies to prevent, control and reduce violence against women and girls in the family, the workplace and society  In 1994, Congress enacted the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) which responded to the inadequacies of state justice systems in dealing with violent crimes against women.

Establishment or strengthening of national institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women  In Japan, the legislature approved a basic law to promote equal participation in society for both males and females. On April 1, 1999, a new law banned sexual discrimination in the workplace.  In 2008, a historic law granting social security to unorganised workers in India was passed by both Houses of Parliament. SEWA (the Self Employed Women's Association) played a major role in getting the law passed. The law gives millions of unorganised workers in India access to health and maternity benefits, pensions and disability cover and other benefits.

Establishment of special programs to meet the needs of refugee, displaced and migrant women and girls, and those living in conflict areas  In 2000, the United Nations Security Council passed a historic resolution on women, peace and security that aimed to protect women in times of war while ensuring their participation in peace talks.  Increasingly, there are non-governmental organizations, like the Refugee Women’s Network in the United States, formed to protect women’s refugees.

SINGAPORE: The Rights and Protections for Women

The Women's Charter is a legislative act that was passed in 1961 to protect and advance the rights of women and girls in Singapore. It is a wide-ranking charter that brings together the regulation of the relationship between husband and wife and the relationship between parents and their children, termination of marriages and division of matrimonial assets. Furthermore, it provides protection against family violence and penalty for offences against women and girls.

The Women’s Charter applies to all men and women in Singapore, with the exception of persons married under Muslim law who are excluded from parts of the Women’s Charter concerning divorce, division of matrimonial assets and maintenance. bestfreepapers.com

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bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore! WORK AND LEISURE

Why work is important to an individual “Work that is pure toil, done solely for the sake of the money it earns, is also sheer drudgery because it is stultifying rather than self-improving.” Mortimer Adler, from the ‘Ideas of Work and Leisure’

For some, it is a decree from God, the Protestant Work Ethic This is a biblically based teaching on the necessity of hard work, perfection and the goodness of labour. Protestant preachers saw this as a salve or a correction for original sin. This term was coined by Max Weber. This work ethic was employed to great effect in the America of the 19th century and early 20th century.  The early American pioneers and current religious communities like the Dutch Pennsylvanians or the Amish as they are better known are current practitioners of the Protestant Work Ethic.

The Pleasure Principle This is where workaholics identify business with pleasure. They normally make up the class of the entrepreneurs, the managers, and the businessmen. To these people, joy is an element of their enjoying the work they do because they possess the vision and the energy to do well in their work.  Many famous capitalists like Henry Ford, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, etc.

Work as a means of survival People work because they have to earn a living. These people normally constitute the working-class and are normally not as highly educated. Work is important because they are able to earn a living and sustain a family even if the work is meaningless.  Many miners in working-class communities in Poland, China, Russia and other countries who work twelve hour days with great risk to life and limb with minimal pay.

Work allows for the acculturation of an individual into his community Individuals need work as it allows them to feel part of their community. Work is seen as an important element in cementing their place in their own hierarchy.  The East Asians of the early and mid-20th century saw the function of work as an important process in cementing their own worth in the eyes of their elders.  The Ibo tribe of Africa place great premium on the man attaining his male hood in the eyes of the village elders through his hunting skills.

Work as a means of self-actualisation According to Abraham Maslow, an American Behaviourist of the mid-20th century, all individuals aim for self- actualization. This is where individuals seek to attain their sense of self in their own psyche and in their own esteem. Work is one avenue through which individuals seek such self-actualisation because they spend a large amount of time on it. Unlike the Pleasure Principle, this sense has more to do with intrinsic worth rather than just emotional feelings of well-being.  Examples of people includebestfreepapers.com Mother Teresa of Calcutta who built shelters for the downtrodden.  Professionals who leave their profession to work in other areas. Dr Albert Shweitzer was once a pastor, seminary principal, and university professor with a doctorate but never felt satisfied. At 30 and aware of the desperate need in Africa for medical care, he became a medical doctor in Africa for the rest of his life.

Changes in the lifestyles of the modern worker/employee The rise of a new social phenomenon known as workaholism Professionals today are capable of putting in an 80 hour week. Some of the consequences include the disruption to family life, the narrowing of intellectual horizons, the increase in stress levels and a distinct lack of exercise. As opposed to America, this phenomenon is now growing in Western Europe  Streamlining of the market structure has seen a shorter working week  The 2015 Ministry of Manpower (MOM)’s quarterly Labour Market report revealed that Singapore has an average of 2389.4 hours per worker per year in 2014. The result places Singapore in the number one position in the longest working hours in the world. From results in recent years, Singapore’s nearest Asian competitors in long working hours are Taiwan (2,163), Japan (1,735 hours) and South Korea (2,193 hours).  Trends like new management techniques, new production technology, innovative inventory control methods, automatisation, robotisation, plant modernisation, telecommunications and new design concepts have seen productivity gains making humans redundant. No amount of restraining could cope with the incredible rate of technological change. Hence, modern employees have to take pay cuts, or have their work weeks shortened to 35 hours a week.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore!  The working week in France has been streamlined to 35 hours.

The territorial separation between ‘work-place’ and ‘home’ has been blurred or even vanished The idea of going to work is quickly losing its sense of importance because technological changes have rendered many work-place habits and rituals truly meaningless. Hence, many functions of work have now been usurped by technology and people are able to work as effectively or even more so from home.  Finland is an example where technology has allowed the individual to work very effectively from home.  Employers are now cutting back on having employees being on call all the time. Eg Google encourages good work-life balance.

The idea of the ‘company servant’ mentality is being eroded The young generation in particular is leaning towards the ‘conscientious worker’ mentality which values their special skills and abilities. The idea of a company hierarchy is not as entrenched today as it was in the past and the idea of an obsequious and subservient employee is not well-received in today’s world of employment.  Japan has seen a seismic shift in worker attitudes especially where company loyalty is no longer as strongly entrenched.

Cuts in pay/removal of pension scheme/reduction in health benefits Many employers are now in a position of strength where remuneration is concerned. Many employees have had their pay cut, pension plans reduced or even converted to a capitalisation scheme. Many workers cannot plan for retirement because of the uncertainty of it all. Taxation has been reduced which ultimately affects the unemployed and those on worker benefits.  The United States of America has just dealt a blow to the Social Security system which acts as a pension plan for its citizens. SINGAPORE: Highlights of the Labour Market report 2015 ( source: Ministry of Manpower website) Employment: In December 2015, locals formed two in three (or 66.3%) of all persons in employment, with foreigners making up the remaining one-third (33.7%). There were 1,387,300 foreigners in employment, or 1,155,800 excluding foreign domestic workers.

Redundancies: For the whole of 2015, 15,580 workers were laid off, up from 12,930 in 2014. The annual number of redundancies has been on an uptrend since 2010, reflecting on-going business restructuring, as well as softer economic conditions in 2015. Layoffs increased across all sectors in 2015. Services formed the bulk of redundancy (55%), followed by manufacturing (33%) and construction (11%). Based on Central Provident Fund (CPF) records, 50% of residents made redundant in the third quarter of 2015 secured employment by December 2015, down from 55% from the previous quarter, and 59% from the same period a year ago.

Job vacancies Amid softer economic conditions and continued efforts to restructure towards a more productive and manpower-lean economy, the number of job vacancies declined. While the number of vacancies remained higher than job seekers, the ratio had moderated to 113 job openingsbestfreepapers.com for every 100 job seekers in December 2015, from 116 in September 2015 and 142 in December 2014.

Changing landscape of the way Singaporeans work in the future: Present: The need to travel to a physical office to work and the practice of working to a set of common "office hours", have created some impact on lives of workers. The majority of the workforce commutes daily to offices away from residential areas, some require additional travelling for childcare and increasingly, eldercare arrangements. There are others who have to make the difficult decision to leave the workforce when work options do not allow them to fulfil family commitments. At the same time, companies face challenges with staff attraction and retention as traditional labour pools tighten with an aging population. They must also manage business costs while facing increased global competition, yet still allocate sizeable budgets for increasing real-estate costs and combat a never-ending space crunch to accommodate more staff to grow their businesses. They may also take in younger workers from the generation of digital natives who prefer more flexible working arrangements.

Future: Singapore is poised on the brink of grasping a new way of working, a brink enabled by the enhanced infocomm infrastructure IDA has helped build such as the Next Generation National Broadband Network (NGNBN), Wireless@SG, and Cloud Computing. This opens up new possibilities for companies and their employees to enjoy New Ways of Work (NWoW). Companies will be able to save on office costs while employees can opt for more flexible work arrangements.

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Creating the communications infrastructure to enable new ways of work is a team effort between many agencies, including IDA, Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Social and Family Development, Employer Alliance, National Library Board, National Trades Union Congress – Women's Development Secretariat, and the Singapore National Employers Federation. There are a wide range of new opportunities for businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, to transform themselves through new uses of information technology and communications.

Smart Work Centres ( new) Between the office and the home is a workplace choice that is sometimes called the "Third Place". This can be in the form of Smart Work Centres or professional workplace facilities shared by employees from different companies. Smart Work Centres can refer to any general professional work environment outside of the "normal" office, and yet nearer to home. With such professional facilities, employees and individuals who do not have conducive working environments at home can choose to work in a Smart Work Centre nearby. By working close to home, employees are able to reduce travel time and better manage work-life commitments, especially when combined with other forms of flexi-work options.

With Smart Work Centres, companies can grow without constraints of space. Companies can also derive long-term cost savings by leveraging shared facilities in Smart Work Centres.

Network(s) of Smart Work Centres located in the residential areas across Singapore could help companies reach out to the untapped talent pool that was not available to them previously due to the physical location of the office and the travelling time required between home and office.

Smart Work Centres can then become alternative workplace options for employers. The economy may also benefit from the increased levels of labour force participation.

In terms of workspace design, the Smart Work Centres may offer diverse settings to meet a variety of work needs. There could be open plan work desks, such as “partition-less” work desks or long bench tables for individuals, partitioned and enclosed spaces for private collaborations and enclosed offices for short term lease. There could also be collaboration areas such as pantries and seating areas for casual discussions amongst users and shared office amenities such as meeting rooms, printers and lockers for rental.

Smart Work Centres are usually set up and operated by third parties, or with other types of businesses such as childcare centres and cafes, providing complementing services to the Smart Work Centre users. There can also be Smart Work Centres with a specific theme or community. Often, an anchor person would curate the community within the Smart Work Centre and facilitate the networking of its members, assisting its users to build an ecosystem with partners.

Smart Work Centres can also differentiate themselves from others through niche service offerings such as job intermediary services, human resource consultancy, office space planning consultancy and work-life consultancy for companies. With more Smart Work Centres set up across Singapore, individuals, employees and employers can look forward to having network(s) of Smart Work Centres where the nearest and available facilities can be identified through central booking systems and where work can be done effectively. bestfreepapers.com

The positive and negative effects of changes on the individual and society Positive effects Workers are now more mobile Employees today can take their skills across the globe because of the technological innovation and the fluidity of market forces. Globalisation has also meant that people are now able to share information and work practices.  Malaysian fire-fighters were able to assist in putting out the fires in Sumatra.  More experts in IT are all over the world.  Silicon Valley is not the only place for technological innovation. India’s technological drive is up and coming.

Cross-cultural practices The hybridisation of cultural practices has meant a huge leap in the understanding of global and regional cultures. This understanding has led to an increase in tolerance and even innovation in the workplace.  M&C Saatchi, an advertising firm, has constantly used cultural anomalies as a means of driving across its message.

Gender and racial stratification is less of an issue Women are able to choose between a greater variety of lifestyles. People who were once disadvantaged are now capable of obtaining jobs and employment opportunities because of education.  In Japan, it was once far more difficult for a women to choose an unmarried lifestyle.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore!  Children and women are now not bound by their community rules and are able to make individual choices.  The 2012 ranking of the 500 largest corporations in the United States includes record 18 firms helmed by female CEOs, up from 12 companies in 2011. The previous record for women-led companies in the Fortune 500 was set in 2009, and included 15 firms run by female executives. Just seven Fortune 500 companies had female CEOs in 2002 and 2003.  In Singapore: Singapore’s Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Ms Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, urged women of the city-state to push to be chief executives at large companies. She noted that women already hold prominent places in smaller and midsize enterprises but more should play ever-more- active roles at companies, including multinationals. Banking and finance in particular are sectors where women can thrive, especially in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region. Technology has made it easier for women to pursue careers and also address their familial roles.  An example of such use of technology by working women would be meetings via video-conferencing with the delegates at the APEC Forum with those from South Korea. This link will be a first for the event, letting female staff and students of Sookmyung Women’s University to take part in the forum in real time.  The SingTel chief executive, Ms Chua Sock Koong, one of most prominent woman CEOs in Singapore said that there are no barriers exist to stop women from reaching the same levels at work as men. “In this global war for talent,” Ms Chua said, “no country or organisation can afford to ignore the female population.” She cited SingTel’s own flexible working arrangements for female executives with family obligations as a way to balance work and life.

More opportunities to indulge in family life This seems like a truism as employees have a shorter working week, work from home or even run their own businesses as modern day capitalism has seen a quantum leap in overnight millionaires.  In Sweden, many people are able to enjoy benefits of the modern work life.  In Singapore, the five-day work week is aimed at allowing Singaporeans to achieve better work-life balance.

Negative effects Workplace mobility has seen an increase in the disruption to family stability Many workers have to travel vast distances in order that they could earn large sums of money or even in search of basic employment. However, this has seen the disruption to family life as children hardly see their parents at home because of their having to travel these distances for work.  MNCs with employees in countries overseas e.g. Texas Instruments.

Increase in stress levels as the nature of employment changes Many employees are now being asked to multi-task or have been set deadlines which are sometimes almost impossible to meet. This has seen a rise in people dying from stress-related diseases. The rise in technology such as 3G and wifi, and the development and use of smartphones, tablets and laptops, means that work can be taken around wherever one is and this has created expectations amongst employers that employees are available after office hours, increasingbestfreepapers.com the stress on workers. The blurring of work-life boundaries and inability of employers and employees to respect after-work hours contribute to stress and burn-out.  In the UK, stress-related diseases are now the top-ranked diseases in the country  In Singapore, 22% of respondents of a survey said they worked from home while on sick leave and one-fifth worked while on holiday.

Loss of traditional practices Despite the benefits of globalisation, many cultures have found it disconcerting that many traditional practices are being lost to modernisation.  In Malaysia, many Malays are imitating Western practices and have been criticised for the decline in moral and traditional values.

Lack of tolerance Many countries are now witnessing an influx in migrant workers to their own countries and this has led to a growing hostility and discontent within countries with worries of foreigners competing with locals for jobs.  In Germany, neo-Nazi movements have grown in response to the influx of migrant workers from Turkey.

Measures countries take in dealing with the negative effects of changes Employee schemes Governments and employers are trying to come up with schemes which allow for employees to either have their families with them or take long leave to spend time with their families.

bestfreepapers.com - The BEST website to download FREE exam papers, notes and other materials from Singapore!  Adidas, a German sports manufacturer, has a pro-family policy where an employee can take his entire family on a sponsored account if he were to be posted overseas.  “Eat Dinner with Your Family” Day is an initiative supported by various corporate companies.  In Singapore, authorities have 2 funding schemes—Work-Life Works! fund (WoW!) and Flexi-Works! fund. The former is a one-time grant given to businesses to encourage employers to implement work-life strategies in the work place. It funds up to 80% of costs incurred for approved work-life projects related to leave benefits, employee support schemes, etc.

Many government bodies and firms of employment conduct seminars and an exercise regimen The fact that many employees have suffered fatal heart attacks and even diseases has led to a realisation of the need for exercise and health-oriented regimens.  In Hyundai, Korea, workers are taught to live healthily.  Capital Group Companies in Singapore encourages associates to participate in fitness and sporting activities and get reimbursed up to $480 per annum. They provide counselling services, financial and legal advice to employees to help them manage the complexities of everyday life.

Revival of traditional customs and practices Governments are now trying to revive cottage industries in the traditional arts and customs. This is because they have responded to the public clamour for the reestablishment of the lost traditional art forms.  In Indonesia, ancient art forms like playing of the gamelan and the angklung have found favour with the Indonesian public.

Laws to curb racism and ultra-nationalism In light of the latest problems that are plaguing many Western European nations, governments are now enacting laws to make racial intolerance a crime.  Since the end of WW2, Germany has banned Nazism and the use of Nazi symbols, although, ironically, in the interest of maintaining democracy, it is having difficulties formalising laws that will officially outlaw Neo- Nazism itself.

The importance of leisure Economic status According to Thorstein Veblein, in his seminal work, ‘The Theory of the Leisure Class’, people generally seek leisure as a means of reinforcing their economic status as superior beings in society, as they are able to afford periods of leisure while many of the poor, unemployed and even the working-class cannot really afford it.  Finland, where many people are able to afford three to six months of holiday, paid for by their employers.

Display of social status Many of the wealthy are also known as ‘people of leisure’, a term that is ascribed to those who can afford to do anything they want, and to reinforce their standing in society, known as ‘conspicuous consumption’.  The Rothschilds in Europe and the Rockefellers are definitely well-known for their wealth and leisure activities. These families were rich enough to bankroll governments, which contributed to the Nazi accusation that Jews backstabbed Germany in the First World War through back-door deals.  In the Middletown studiesbestfreepapers.com America, it was learnt that many lower-middle class families were willing to go without basic necessities such as food and new clothes to maintain a certain level of ‘conspicuous consumption’.

Psychological relief Many leisure activities are carried out to provide a certain level of release from the drudgery of daily living.  The Danish, who love the great outdoors, have been well-documented in remaking that the idea of spending their entire weekends outdoors in order to provide an incentive to work hard when the work week arrives.

Develops the holistic needs of the individual Many psychologists and sociologists have found that leisure activities do provide a means for an individual to meet his esteem needs.  H.L. Mencken remarked that the individual can only profit from it as esteem is an important facet of a person’s make-up.

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