examples Flashcards
environment - burger ?
Impossible burger is made entirely out of plant-based materials, including wheat. It helps to reduce the demand for meat and cut down the equivalent of 81,000 tonnes of emissions by the livestock sector.
environment - plastics in supermarkets
Most major supermarkets in Singapore have started charging a minimum of 5 cents for plastic bags. There has been a 50 per cent to 80 per cent drop in the number of disposable carrier bags used by consumers.
environment - bridge
The Eco-Link@BKE is an ecological bridge for animals to cross safely between the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Central Catchment Nature Reserve. It allows wildlife to expand their habitat and genetic pool and increase their survival chances. Some of the animals which have been seen using the bridge include the Common Palm Civet, pangolins and macaques.
environment - ngo in sg
Nature Society Singapore is dedicated to the conservation of Singapore’s natural heritage. It runs the Bird Group, which conducts bird watching activities and research. They also organise guided nature walks which engages the community and fosters a deeper connection with local biodiversity.
environment - UN campaign
The Trillion Trees Campaign led by the UN aims to plant, restore, and conserve one trillion trees globally by 2030 to combat climate change and restore ecosystems. The initiative encourages collaboration across governments, businesses, and communities to drive large-scale environmental impact.
environment - person in sg arrested
Jolovan Wham was arrested for participating in an unlawful assembly. He held up a smiley face sign outside the Toa Payoh Neighbourhood Police Centre in March 2020 to show solidarity with climate activist Greta Thunberg.
social media hashtag women
The rise of the international #MeToo hashtag movement after many women came forward about being sexually abused by renowned filmmaker Harvey Weinstein. The movement has brought to account the countless men who have committed sexual abuse and harrassment against women.
social media hashtag forest
PrayForTheAmazon hashtag trending on social media after the Amazon rainforest fires. It was used to raise awareness and call for action to protect the world’s largest tropical rainforest. This led to donations to non-profit organisations that champion environmental conservation.
social media platform eyes
Be My Eyes, a social media platform that allows the visually impaired to seek help in viewing certain objects through video calls with volunteers and to submit community posts about what living with such different ways of experiencing the world is like.
social media NUS
Monica Baey faced sexual harassment in NUS and shared the incident on Instagram. Many Singapreans questioned the stringency of punishments meted out again sexual offenders and demanded for justice for victims of sexual assault. Universities imposed harsher regulations against male-on-female crimes to ensure that offenders face appropriate punishments.
social media hawker
Instagram account @wheretodapao raises awareness about the predicament of local elderly hawkers during the pandemic following the ban on dine-in at F&B outlets. This initiative has brought about an increase in footfall for some hawkers, thus demonstrating that seemingly miniscule acts of online interaction can promote meaningful concrete action in reality as well.
censorship covid
In 2019, Dr. Li Wenliang, warned colleagues at Wuhan Central Hospital about the coronavirus but was reprimanded by police for “making false comments.” He was being forced to sign a letter admitting misconduct and later died from the virus. His death sparked widespread outrage on Chinese social media Weibo, with two trending hashtags: “Wuhan government owes Dr Li Wenliang an apology” and “We want freedom of speech”. Both hashtags were quickly censored. Hundreds of thousands of comments had been wiped.
censorship Saudi arabia
Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian government critic was assassinated. This was a premeditated attack orchestrated by the Saudi Arabian government in order to prevent any opposing voices from making their way to the citizens that might threaten the perspective and image of the government.
censorship China tang ping
The Lying Flat movement in China gained momentum in 2021. The movement advocated for rejecting societal pressure to overwork and prioritising personal well-being over the relentless pursuit of success. With the unprecedented reach of social media, the message about lying flat was quickly spread. Authorities have used all available tools at their disposal to silence these voices to reinforce the narrative that promotes hard work and social mobility through career advancement.
media violence - boy
An 11 year old boy influenced by a first-person shooter game, “Natural Selection,” had worn a t-shirt emblazoned with its name when he shot a teacher and himself to death and left 6 others injured. The governor of that state in Mexico where the shooting happened said he believed the boy had tried to “recreate” the game.
media violence - children show
Children cartoons like Happy Tree friends and Gumball initially seem really kids friendly but display extremely uncomfortable gory scenes.
tech - chess AI
Alphazero beats the champion chess program after teaching itself in four hours. Alphazero is the game-playing AI created by Google’s sibling DeepMind. Its machine-learning approach is given no human input apart from the basic rules of chess.
tech - loneliness robot
Robot ElliQ is a device created by Intuition Robotics using AI specifically designed to alleviate loneliness among older Americans. It remembers users’ interests and conversations, shares jokes, and plays music. ElliQ leads exercises, checks on the owner’s health, and gives reminders for medications. It can also host video calls and contact relatives, friends, or doctors in emergencies.
tech - weapon
South Korea and Israel have developed Lethal Autonomous Weapons (LAWs) which are unmanned machines that use facial recognition and artificial intelligence to kill. They can be used by governments on battlefields, as a warning to rival nations, or even for ethnic cleansing.
tech - restaurant robot waiter
Restaurants like Haidilao, Din Tai Fung, Swee Choon have robot waiters to take orders, serve food and even interact with customers.
At Haidilao, soup for hotpots are prepared by customised automatic soup base machines, and the information is stored in the database for the customer’s next visit. Hotpot ingredients are then delivered by robot waiters from the kitchen to the tables autonomously, and human waiters will focus on just serving the customers.
tech - food donation
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 work with volunteers, partners, and beneficiaries given limited resources.
tech - healthcare heart surgery
A team of surgeons in Southampton managed to perform a complex heart surgery on a newborn kid due to AI. 3D printing technology allowed them to print an exact 3D replica of her heart, and practise the surgery and incisions precisely on the model. They successfully perform the open heart surgery on the infant herself, saving her life.
tech - healthcare vaccine
Recently, (20 Sept 2024) the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a nasal spray flu vaccine for self-administration. FluMist, will be available to ordinary Americans through an online pharmacy. It provides a new option for receiving a safe and effective influenza vaccine with greater convenience, flexibility and accessibility for individuals and families
