General Paper: Question Requirements and Brainstorming - Common Keywords and the Singapore Context

A Singapore factsheet to assist brainstorming for AQ/Essays Show how the following characteristics can affect the debatable issue in the AQ. Characteristic plus Discussion Politics Political scene dominated by one party. Democratic Socialism. Survival discourse. National insecurity. Need to leverage and overcome small geographical size by forming strong relationships with global political/economic powers. Government leaders are seeking to put Singapore on the world map, to be equal (or superior) to other global cities. Pragmatic politics. Social Contract dominated by the programme of improving the standard of living and quality of life for all Singaporean systems. Politics wedded to a high-functioning civil service. Singapore is a city-state which works great things are achieved in the shortest possible time. Citizens are to a large extent dependent on the government to create opportunities for them. Increasing levels of citizen activism. Economics Geographical context of Singapores economics: Singapore is a small country with no natural resources. Singapores economic miracle from independence to the present day: Singapore started off with a small manufacturing base and little industrial know-how, to a highly developed, diverse economy. Fairly diverse economy pillars of the Singapore economy are manufacturing (emphasis on electronics) and services (emphasis on financial and business services, and commerce). Singapores economic development was foreign-direct investment (FDI) driven in the past, now seeking to develop local industry/enterprise. High premium placed on regional/international trade merchandise trade is 3x the national GDP. There is a need to expand into foreign markets due to small domestic market. Very open economy, susceptible to global economic trends. Singapore feels insecure and slightly threatened by the rise of large new global players such as China and India. Economics is a central feature of national life, economic considerations drive policy formation in other areas e.g. education, social policy. Economics at an individual level the Singaporean Dream of material acquisition is one of the dominant national ideologies. Culture of economic self-reliance, govt strongly opposed to the idea of a welfare state. Society Multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious social environment. Chinese majority. Malay is the national language for historical reasons but English is the official working language this has both economic and social implications. Great premium placed on certain social values: inter-racial, inter-religious harmony, and meritocracy the rewarding of individuals based on achievement or talent. There is a tension between being an economically progressive society and being an inclusive society there are social safety nets ensuring that no one is left behind, that economic inequality does not worsen. There is a tension between global/predominantly Western (liberal) culture/values and Asian (conservative) culture/values. Although the materialistic culture in Singapore may have bred politically/socially apathetic youths, there is an increasing sense of social responsibility / social conscience / social activism amongst the youth. Notoriously difficult to define the Singapore identity or Singapore Spirit. Arts and Culture / Mass Media Western and Asian (Chinese/Japanese/Korean) popular culture has a great degree of influence, because of the mass media. Traditional arts and culture may be diminishing in Singapore. Emerging homegrown arts and culture scene local theatre, film, music. Although entertainment in Singapore is increasingly global, local mass media still has a significant following. Export of local media overseas. Science and Technology following the developed West, Singapore believes in advancement through science and technology. Research in the life sciences / biotechnology set to become a new pillar of our national economy. Development of new research hubs, drawing of top international scientific talent to Singapore. Development also in ethical bodies which regulate research e.g. Bioethics Advisory Committee. Strong emphasis on info-comm technology in Singapore: IDA seeks to transform the government and economy through infocomm, and develop an improved national infocomm structure (wired and wireless). Education seen as one of the main vehicles for national/individual progress. Education system is constantly evolving to produce students who are able thinkers and are equipped with a range of 21st Century skills. Education system in Singapore still driven by assessment assessment standard is one of our pillars of success. Education has traditionally focused on mathematics and science Singapore schools have achieved high standards according to international tests. Broadening of educational landscape in Singapore multiple paths to success, emergence of new specialized schools to nurture talent in Sciences/Maths, Arts, Sports, growing awareness of the importance of the humanities/liberal arts new Yale-NUS liberal arts college. Singaporean psyche / behaviour +ve hardworking/strong work ethic, law abiding, conservative, cooperative, honest, independent, non-violent, willing to compromise, ambitious, high achiever/expectations, willing to learn/upgrade, -ve kiasu, competitive, afraid of change, materialistic, not creative, not original in thought, afraid to get into trouble with the law,