Friday, January 7, 2011 @ 7:11 AM
>
As a country, Singapore has grown much from what it was when it was a young, independent nation. From a small colonial trading port, it has grown to become one of the world’s finest cities. Over the years, globalization is continually redefining Singapore and its people.
As a small nation, Singapore as a limited population and faces a shortage of manpower. Thus, foreign workers are often brought in to do unsavoury jobs which otherwise no Singaporean would be willing to do. Foreign talent is also brought in to help add value to the workforce. Students from various nations overseas are also sent here to complete their education.
Over time, these people are exposed to the Singapore way of life and are slowly but surely, integrated into Singapore’s society. Bringing in their own culture and experiences into the Singapore society.
However, many Singaporeans are unhappy with how the government is handling the influx of foreigners into the country. Workers overseas were taking jobs and were willing to worker for longer for a lot less. High level jobs are also going out to foreigners instead of locals with similar qualifications. In fact, many Singaporeans feel that their country is changing so fast that they feel displaced.
As an Indonesian-born Chinese, I migrated herewith my parents when I was 2 years old. Singapore has been my home ever since. However, I do understand why Singaporeans feel displaced. With more foreigners coming into Singapore daily, competition for jobs is bound to get fiercer.
@ 4:53 AM
>
The Singapore Children’s Society has been organizing bully-free campaigns over the past few years to raise awareness among schoolchildren.
Bullying is a prevalent problem found in primary and secondary schools in Singapore. In a survery conducted, out of 4000 children, 95% said that they were bullied.
As youths become more tech savvy in this age of increasing affluence, the emergence of cyber bullying has surfaced. Unlike bulling in school, this type of bullying can be anonymous, making bullying even easier to carried out.
Negative effects felt by victims include having low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, anger, school failure and school avoidance.
Links : Bullying in Singapore Schools
@ 3:28 AM
>
Pop music, pop (music of general appeal to teenagers; a bland watered-down version of rock'n'roll with more rhythm and harmony and an emphasis on romantic love)
-as defined by http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=pop%20music
Mention 'Pop Music' to someone, and for most people, the image of Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake spring to mind. Channels like MTV which have been around since the 1980’s has since popularised pop music culture over the years.
More recently, Korean pop has become a huge hit among teens in Singapore with many fans obsessing over their Korean Idols. In October 2010, there was a Korean Pop Night concert held at the Singapore Expo, drawing over 9000 fans.
The impact of pop music on teens is really dependent on the individual. Those who simply. adore pop music and embrace the culture may go to extreme lengths to meet their idols or even try to emulate how their idols act or dress
.
"Music can provide many positive and negetive effects on the teenage psyche. The effects of music include and are not limited to the altercation of study habits, introduction and development to slang, and damages eardrums."
Excerpt from -
@ 1:12 AM
>
Recently, floods in Australia have caused devastation in its wake. As torrential rain continues to pour across Queensland and other parts of Australia, many homes have been completely wrecked many are still left underwater and it is expected that it will take weeks before the waters start to recede. Thousands of families abandoned their homes for relief centres set up on high ground as relief pours in from the Australian military.
The Economic damage caused by the floods has estimated to be in the billions. Industries affected heavily such as coal mining have been totally obliterated as floods have swamped mines which have halted the operations of 35 percent of Australia's estimated 259 million tonnes of exportable coal in Queensland.
We are witnessing an increasing frequency of natural disasters around the world; even Singapore has its share of floods! I was personally affected by this when my family car was left submerged in one of the floods in late 2009.
In 2010 alone, more than a hundred natural disasters have occurred worldwide.
With this, one might be led to believe that 2012 really could be the end of the world.
Link to :