Teacher’s Conference: Every Teacher a GEM.

Every a teacher a gem.

Therefore many teachers? HIGH SCORE.

A By-Reflection on a By-Election…

BEYOND HOUGANG: WHAT THE BY-ELECTION MEANS FOR 2016.

The Workers’ Party’s winning margin in Hougang has dipped, but it can still claim a record that no other, not even the People’s Action Party, is able to boast of. Since 1981, the WP has never been voted out of any seat that it held.* Today, this strong loyalty to the Hammer brand withstood internal ill-discipline, embarrassing leaks and allegations of flip-flopping, as Png Eng Huat beat the PAP’s Desmond Choo.After months of drama precipitated by the misconduct of former MP Yaw Shin Leong, the status quo has been restored, with the WP in charge of Houngang-Aljunied and the PAP enjoying an 81:6 majority in Parliament. But the 2012 by-election was never going to be about the Hougang seat alone. Its significance was always in its implications for 2016. In that regard, both the WP and the PAP are due for a sober post-mortem.

Fault Lines…again

Here’s a report from CNA on the IPS report concerning the integration of new immigrants. Why do you think the biggest incongruence between local and new citizen perception of what constitutes ‘integration’ lies with National Service? Why are the tertiary educated middle class supposedly more threatened?

National Service a key indicator of integration: study

SINGAPORE: A new study has placed National Service (NS) as a key indicator of integration for foreigners.

The report by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) seeks to examine what immigrants ought to do in order to be regarded as a full participating member of Singapore society.

The study covered some 2,000 local and foreign born citizens. Half of the new citizens got their citizenship just 10 years ago or earlier.

They were asked several questions on what they thought were social markers of integration. Such as – should a new citizen be gainfully employed, complete NS or be married to a local – to be seen as a Singaporean?

What’s in an Institution?

Same-sex union can’t be labelled ‘marriage’

MANILA-BASED world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao just got into hot water with advertisers and fans when he said ‘I’m not in favour of same-sex marriage’. That’s unlike United States President Barack Obama who, after years of fence-sitting, declared his support for it.

Honesty and Debating

Why On-going Arguments Show We’re Not Really Reasonable or Honest

If we have access to the same facts and evidence, we ought to reach the same conclusions about any topic. What does it mean when we don’t?

We’ve all encountered situations where we believe we are right and someone else wrong. Indeed, by our very nature, we hold beliefs that we think are true. However, says economist Steven Landsburg, when it comes to claims that involve others or the world, our access and knowledge of data ought to lead everyone to the same conclusion.

Got Space Anot?

Applying Spatial Justice in Singapore

Contesting Urban Spaces

The struggle over geography and place is not new to Singapore. It is just that the Internet has made it harder to ignore the voices of those who are embracing their right to shape the environment they live and work in and those who recognise the value of conservation and the necessity of sustainability. This has resulted in renewed vigour in urban spatial contestations.

Avengers: How many ways to save the world?

I know it’s hardly a secret that I’m a big fan of The Avengers. Admittedly, I don’t follow its comic book lore at all. I’m just a big fan of the movie project itself – from its inception to its glamorous execution on the big screen. While such superhero action flicks are often an opportunity for us to escape into a dream where good – in spandex, armor and green skin – struggles to prevail over evil, they also reflect, in some wildly exaggerated way, our values and attitudes. In this case, I see The Avengers as an assembly of heroes that represent different ways of ‘saving the world’; earth’s mightiest heroes are in fact hardly a unified homogenous group at all. They don’t belong together, but together they can do wonders.

1. Black Widow: Your token female hero? Perhaps. but she certainly stood out as an agent that played to her strengths and even leveraged on her perceived weaknesses. Are females – a highly underutilized and under-recognized human capital possessing tremendous emotional and intellectual aptitude – the answer to saving our world?

2. Iron Man: “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist”. Is the answer to our world’s problems in the hands of enlightened private, rather than public power? Does the future belong to the “privatization of world peace” as Stark exclaimed in Iron Man 2? Also, does it involve us fully embracing and harnessing the powers of science and technology? To embrace the possibilities, even, of singularity as well?

3. Thor: Do the answers to our growing pains lie in magic and gods? In believing in things, people and worlds bigger than us? Thor, a hammer wielding god of thunder and lightning from Norse mythology, seems a perfect idealization of that our belief in gods that look good and do good, but also look extremely good doing good. It sits well with prevailing cultural beliefs and norms, and putting our hope in deities and beings beyond our own understanding (because we often construct them to be that way) helps us know they would never fail us.

4. Captain America: Or, is the answer to our problems in the unparalleled bravery and heroism of soldiers, and by extension, the flags they fight for? Every nation makes it a point to exalt their heroes – both past and present – who donned their colors and made notable sacrifices to protect the sovereignty and freedom of their people. Are such people the answer to our problems? Or, perhaps, is America itself the answer? Pax Americana may be an irrelevant concept today but does it continue to wield a softer ideological power over us still? After all, how many countries can say they’ve managed to sell a hero named after their own country to a global audience? (Captain Singapore? I don’t think so…)

5. Hawk Eye: Had a rather muted role in the movies but still had a moment or two. It wasn’t really his pinpoint accuracy or his deadly skill with the (heavily modified) bow and arrow that enemies feared, it was his ability to see, to analyze the situation, identify patterns and call out strategic attacks. So how do we save the world? We need to see the world first. To analyze global patterns and make sense of indicators and data to determine how to best manage and channel our resources to alleviating the problems.

6. The Hulk: Looking at how a single human can turn into ferocious being of invulnerability raises the question: where does all the energy come from? The answer to earth’s problems may lie in harnessing untold energy to lower our dependence on fossil fuels and to complement the inadequate amounts of energy produced by current alternative sources like wind, solar and hydroelectric.

Paradoxical Sponsorships…

I once remarked to a friend how it was only on earth that one could find a fast food chain actively sponsoring a global sport event like the Olympics. Well I guess some people feel the same way too about the ironic mutualism of it all…

UK doctors blast McDonalds’ Olympic sponsorship

LONDON – McDonald’s is a sponsor for the London Olympics – and a British doctors’ group says that is sending the wrong message in a country with ballooning obesity.

Big Macs, fries and milkshakes will be part of McDonald’s exclusively branded menu at the Olympics and the fast-food giant will soon be opening its largest franchise in the world, a two-story cathedral-like restaurant that seats 1,500 customers, at London’s Olympic Park. McDonald’s will be the only restaurateur allowed to sell brand-name food at the Games and there will also be a separate McDonald’s within the Athletes Village – in addition to three others at the Olympic Park.

Alongside McDonald’s, Coca-Cola has the exclusive right to sell non-alcoholic drinks at Olympic venues. Heineken has been named the Games’ official beer.

“It’s very sad that an event that celebrates the very best of athletic achievements should be sponsored by companies contributing to the obesity problem and unhealthy habits,” said Mr Terence Stephenson, a spokesman for the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges. The group is calling upon the British government to restrict advertising by McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Heineken during the Olympic Games, which are being held in London from July 27 to Aug 12.

What’s in a Frame Rate?

I’m sure you’ve attempted essays on the media and entertainment. Often, you would comment on the content of the movies, the cinematography, the physical setting or the wider industry in anchoring your points. But, have you ever considered the filming technology itself? Things like frame rates and audio quality? How do these affect our perceptions of reality? Do you also subconsciously associate quality viewing quality with different types of content? I, for one, had immense problems watching my movies on my LED HD TV as they felt like karaoke videos.  

What is the difference between The Hobbit and the news? Not as much as there should be

Quick, close your eyes for a second and picture the 1920s. What did you see? If you’re anything like me, the projectionist in your head put on a newsreel consisting of black-and-white footage of flappers doing the Charleston, or a queue of men in flat caps patiently waiting for the great depression to kick off in earnest. And chances are the footage was jittery and slightly speeded-up.

Some infographics from TIME

Been looking at some infographics from TIME lately.

Here are two that quite noteworthy.

1. Catch up on 200 years of transformation with this visual timeline that charts key moments that had a big hand in steering the course of global human development. Take a look at follow key developments in politics, economics, science and tech, culture and sports (easily followed with the color codes) to broaden your understanding of how we got to where we are today – and perhaps make informed guesses on where we’ll be going in future. This knowledge will surely be useful for you to set the context for any GP essay pertaining to issues surrounding those topics.

2. TIME’s 100 most influential people of 2012 are not visually arranged on an infographic that represents their influences on a timeline as well. Such lists remind us of how the individual - as opposed to the group – continues to exert such influence over development and world events. While we try to perfect our systems and processes, Man ultimately looks to specific men and women to inspire and move us along.

Who would you name in your own list of moments that changed the world or most influential people?