AQ content Flashcards
In Singapore, fathers are in fact more hesitant to take on domestic roles in the household, because of the pervasiveness of traditional mindsets regarding work and family.
Singaporean fathers have come a long way from being the distant breadwinner and disciplinarian of my parents’ generation, and are now more involved in their children’s education and recreational activities. However, fathers here are careful about over-investing their time in family life. For instance, although take-up rates for paternity leave have doubled since 2013 to around half of all employed fathers, this number is far below that of Nordic countries like Denmark and Sweden, where work-life balance is privileged and both genders are seen as equal contributors at the workplace. This comparatively low take-up rate could be attributed to the rather tokenistic two weeks of government-paid paternal leave given in Singapore, which is woefully insufficient for new fathers to adapt to living with their newborns or to handle their wives’ baby blues.
In Singapore, divorces have become more commonplace over the decades, in accordance with global trends of liberalisation.
The number of divorces per married male resident has doubled since 1980. However, because of the dominance of traditional Asian values that uphold the institution of marriage, divorce remains highly discouraged except in extreme cases of marital strife.
Indeed, the percentage of marriages ending in divorce in Singapore is easily a tenth that of liberal countries such as France and the United States, where the pursuit of individual happiness is prioritised greatly over traditional values.
Even though Singaporean millennials are earning higher incomes and enjoying greater economic prosperity than their Generation X counterparts, divorce rates among Singaporean millennials are actually on the decline.
For instance, the wedding ceremony for Chinese Singaporeans is usually a very formal affair,
with business partners, colleagues and close friends of the family being invited to a banquet to witness the couple’s union. In addition, along with bridal dowry, a
sum of money, called ‘pin jin’, is also offered by the groom’s family to the bride’s family as a symbol of respect. A tea ceremony is also customarily held, where both bride and groom will offer a cup of Chinese tea to their parents as thanks for their
upbringing.
in cases of extreme marital strife, adequate support is provided for divorce. For instance, the Ministry of Social and Family Development has been carrying out the Mandatory Parenting Programme, which comprises consultation sessions to better help couples intent on divorce make the best arrangements for their children’s wellbeing.
This is largely true in Singapore, where longer working hours for both parents significantly reduce time spent between parents and children,
especially on weekdays.
The Families For Life Council found that the main
barriers keeping families in Singapore from spending time together are long working hours, which suggests that changes in terms of work commitments in
the modern Singaporean family has resulted in fewer opportunities for family time, as parents are less frequently available at home.
A survey by the Families for Life Council found that a whopping 92% of Singaporeans ranked
family as their most important priority, and family activities that increase quality of family time are popular amongst Singaporeans, such as having meals together, celebrating family occasions such as birthdays, or going on vacations together.
While it is true that children in Singapore spend much less time in the home, given Singapore’s long schooling hours, after school extra-curricular activities, and the increasingly prevalent enrichment lessons such as academic tuition and music lessons, it has not reduced the opportunities that parents in Singapore capitalise on to influence their children.
This is evident from the prevalence of “helicopter parenting” in Singapore, where parental involvement is considered essential when drilling a child for examinations and success in life. Helicopter parents in Singapore can be seen doing their best to get their children to succeed, which can be seen from
instances where local outlets like The New Paper gush over parents who helped their children excel in school by revising with them and the proliferation of
tellingly-named websites such as Kiasu Parents and the Asian Parent, where anxious parents eagerly trade tips about recent curriculum trends, how to ace
admissions interviews, or where to find the best tutors or nutritional supplements.
Yet, taking into account less time spent at home by children, large amounts of parental involvement may in fact stifle a positive family environment, as evident from the fact that Singaporean students are among those who have the highest levels of stress.
Disruptive technology in Singapore
In Singapore, the emergence of other peer-to-peer ridesharing startups (which copied many of Uber’s concepts) such as Grab eventually eroded
away the monopoly power of Uber. To avoid competition, a merger eventually occurred between Grab and Uber in Singapore as Uber pulled out of
the South East Asian region, signifying the short-lived dominance of Uber (a Trans-National Cooperation) in Singapore’s market as Grab (a regional startup) were able to more effectively cater to the local market.
E.g. Airbnb, an online marketplace which lets people rent out their properties or spare rooms to guests, is completely banned in Singapore as it was found to be unable to fit into local communities. A survey by the URA found that nearly 7 in 10 felt short-term rentals would raise security concerns in their estate (68%) and result in loss of privacy (67%) for residents, and more than 6 in 10 felt short-term occupants could misbehave and cause noise and other disturbances.
Given that disruptive technologies require the use of big data, governments ought to make systems more robust by improving not only verification, validation, and control over the information collected, but also security against malicious software and hacks, so that personal data—especially so for highly sensitive information—can be protected.
E.g. Singapore’s 2018 HIV data breach: leaked information included names, identification numbers, phone numbers, addresses, HIV test results, and medical information, leaving those affected highly stressed and even traumatised due to the high sensitivity of this information.
New Technologies allows us to address societal problems more efficiently (through Big Data, better algorithms and sensors)
Smart mapping tech helps deliver more food to Singapore’s most needy. A local non profit organisation Food from the Heart (FFTH) is working with Esri Singapore, to develop a smart mapping application to not only plot collection points, uncover patterns and inefficiencies in their operations but also allow them to better plan how they can best work with volunteers, partners, and beneficiaries given limited resources.
The use of this technology has increased FFTH’s productivity
Technology allowing education to become more personalised and interactive (but also makes it easier to plagiarise)
Accommodate curriculums to match learning pace based on individual needs which may not have been possible when teaching was only done using textbooks (set material) that could not be as conveniently modified eg. adaptive learning software, tailor-made programme.
MOE’s Student Learning Space (SLS) allows for customised learning, with interactive features for feedback from teachers and peer collaboration. It also includes videos, games and quizzes to enhance learning.
New inventions in security technology provide governments and citizens with new means to monitor and better communicate potentially dangerous
situations, help building a safer society.
The Singapore Police Force uses drone-equipped vehicles, called the SKY Aerial Response Command (Sky ARC) for security events and search missions. Drones can be used to track suspects across large areas and can detect human presence through thermal imaging.
Security applications such as SGSecure allow authorities to mass disseminate security threats to citizens to better prepare them for emergencies.
Singapore. Being a country forged from a melting pot of cultures originating from different places of the world, Singapore would not have what is now called the Singaporean identity if not for the government’s
far-sightedness in spending massive amounts of resources to preserve our memories of the past
in various forms.
our society also curates our collective memories in the performing arts, providing a visceral aspect that tugs at our heartstrings. A significant example is the annual National Day Parade where performers representing our four key races - Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian would weave together a mesmerising fantasia of our collective memories to show our journey from humble disparate beginnings to a harmonious, united society that thrives on the same enduring values of our forefathers.
These shared experiences are formed from our childhood memories of growing up in our Housing and Development Board estates which gives our society a distinctive character we can call our own. The National Museum of Singapore curates many artefacts that are commonplace objects which give us a sense of nostalgia of what our lives used to be like. In the Growing Up Gallery section of the museum, visitors are able to see the popular toys and games children used to play growing up, such as the hoop throwing game and wind-up toys. The conservation of these memories in these artefacts is one way for Singapore to retain its character and soul, instead of being just
another generic modern city.
Our collaborative flair stems from empathy: the capacity to share, understand, and care about what
others feel.
Record donations and rise in volunteerism on Giving.sg due to COVID-19. Contributions of various
necessities, emotional support, caring for elderly Singaporeans who live alone and providing tuition for
students from vulnerable families during HBL “provide a strong momentum for building a caring, cohesive and confident Singapore.” (MCCY website, 2021)
Platforms to encourage and nurture a culture of sharing and empathy. Eg; Collaborate for Good facilitates partnerships between organisations in
order to create social impact. Provides Singaporeans from all walks of life to be samaritans and ambassadors of doing good acts.
Living in a competitive world, people in modern societies are often caught up with the realities of modern life and might not instinctively display or
show empathy, generosity and genuine care to others. This make society individualistic and entitled - me-first attitude evident in how they are unwilling to share resources.
In the earlier reponses of Singaporeans to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, hoarding of face masks, hand sanitisers and disinfectants indicate extreme lack of empathy for others who may need these items more. Such self-preservation and self-centred behaviours are an outcome of a lack of empathy.
Heavy reliance on technology, coupled with a quick pace of life leaves the unprecedented number of city dwellers very much engrossed in the hustle and bustle of their daily lives and lacking the capacity or the time to exercise empathy for their fellow man.
It is not uncommon to observe representatives of charitable causes being snubbed by passers-by at
MRT/bus interchanges, even on weekends when people are off work and you would expect them to be able to spare a bit more time. Many have been conditioned by their busy lives to remain within their own bubbles and not to bother even about genuine
requests for help.
Urban settings have actually bolstered our societal empathy as the interconnectedness of these environments mean that we are confronted daily with cries for help and opportunities to show understanding for our fellow man.
Hawkers were badly affected by the lack of foot traffic
amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, where many worked from home and did not eat out as much. However,
during this period, a number of concerned citizens, many of whom were regulars or people who live
nearby, took notice and leveraged their online networks to garner support for these stalls. There was
even an Instagram account @wheretodapao dedicated to this cause, expressing solidarity with the difficulty of tiding through such an uncertain and trying period.
Empathy is other-centric and makes people look beyond themselves and their present situation. This has
become increasingly prominent in these few years, with stronger focus on social issues of discrimination and inequalities, breaking down social stigmas about
mental wellness and people with disabilities / special needs, and more attention on embracing diversity and
celebrating differences, and looking ahead to the future.
The SG society which has always prided itself on meritocracy in our aspirations and achievements has
begun to pay more attention to unmerited stigmas and structural inequalities in our society which may disadvantage certain social groups, with more open conversations and investigation into their circumstances. Some companies have even taken
concrete action to be more empathetic and compassionate. E.g. CNA Insider episodes on singleparent families, social perceptions of different education streams, mental conditions; Teo You Yenn’s book This Is What Inequality Looks Like; Yellow
Ribbon Project; rising number of social initiatives for foreign workers; Food for Thought / Eighteen Chefs
