CID- Education in China

Non-CID post : Biology Practical Reflection

On the 7th of July, I attended my second biology practical lesson to learn more about food test. We carried out 4 different tests to see if the presence of proteins, starch, oil/ fats and reduced sugar.  Before we carried out the experiments, the demonstrations of each test gave us a better understanding of the conduct of proving the biological molecules in food. Thus, I learnt to spend five minutes reading the procedures of each test and prepare the apparatus and materials to make them ready for use for the various experiments. With the Bunsen burner boiling a 150ml-filled with water beaker, I added drops of starch suspension, glucose solution, egg albumin solution and copper(II) sulfate solution to four cleaned test tubes respectively to make good use of every minute, with the hopes of completing the four tests as fast as possible. In addition, I filled up four other test tubes with distilled water which were acting as control set-ups to prove the results of the tests reliable and accurate. The conduct of each tests were relatively easy and manageable. I gained deeper insights to the important minor things to look out for. For example, from the carrying out of the test for reducing sugar, I learnt that the level of liquid in the test tube should never be above the water level in the beaker. However, if such situations happen, it would be best recommended to remove the test tubes and beaker from the set-up, fill up the beaker until water level is higher than that in the test tubes and wait for the water to boil before adding the two test tubes into the beaker back again. I have also discerned the most effective method of pouring water, simply by wrapping a towel around the beaker and pour the contents into the sink. Although this technique might seem very mundane, this was my first time conducting the test involving a boiling water bath individually and that fact that I could execute it made me feel a sense of achievement and satisfaction. Aside from the positive things from this practical, there were many cases of breakage during this lesson and the sound of glass breaking no doubt lowered my confidence and made me hectic, resulting in trembling hands. Despite this, I am glad that I was still able to finish all of the tests on time (even with a time limit!).   

Economics Part 4: One Child Policy

Population.

More important than it looks.

Population is an important aspect of nation building and planning and not forgetting, economy. Economy, as we all know, is a complex factor where population indirectly plays a huge and vital part in. To illustrate this, between 1970s to 1980s, Singapore's two child policy was implemented. This was because Singapore had an unstable economy back then and needed a controlled population in Singapore. With the population taken under control, lesser social problems will rise and lesser people being unemployed so as to achieve a firm economy. But bear in mind that, with higher the population living in a country, the GDP per capita will still be low per capita even if it is factually high. This means that population takes on an extremely important role and so if Singapore had not implemented such a policy back then, people would be giving birth to as many children as they could and lead to a high TFR (Total Fertility Rate), resulting in a not so firm economy for then Singapore due to the low GDP obtained. Therefore, population is essential for the progress of a country. However, is it that necessary for a country?

In this insight, I will be touching on China and the existing and growing issue of the famous one child policy and the aging population. China, home to one of the biggest and largest population in the world, is no doubt facing various economic and social issues. Although the one child policy has been changed to two child, the problems rising from both the younger and older generation have been greatly affecting the working class. Indeed, the working class have to withstand the biggest burden of society, working to pay more for the older generations through different platforms like taxes in Singapore's context, given that the elders need more financial care and the injuries that they beamorer are normally long-term recovery. However, with that, more and more adults are choosing not to giving birth and this has led to the Chinese government changing the one-child policy. Therefore, from this paragraph, we can see that the population has internal problems and conflicts as well.

A longer life span but lesser babies being delivered every year. Good yet bad news at the same time. Now a question to have could be, "What has happened to the 21th century?" or "What has changed the mindsets of those now with those of the past?" Well, i think it is because of the escalating cost of living. To fathom this situation in depth and rationally, let us be in the perspective of an adult of a working class. I work almost everyday to earn enough income to support my family and carry out daily activities like buying household items from a supermarket occasionally. However, some percentage of my income is reserved to pay for taxes to fund the government to pay for more hospitals to cater to the needs of the ageing population. Hence, I need to work on a regular basis to survive in an ever rapid changing environment which means I would have a tight schedule and a busy life. Now, all  we will be mostly likely thinking will be WORK, and not ENTERTAINMENT. Other than that, the cost of raising a child is quite exorbitant, factors like education, and my income might not be able to allow me to afford such things for the child. Besides that, since it is a competitive education system, i need to provide him a holistic learning environment so that he can excel and become successful in life, getting a high pay job. As I continued to ponder over such things, it dawned on me that the working class in general is the one supporting and carrying the society forward and when they are in stress, it is expected that there is a growing population that is ageing and a dwindling population of babies.

Therefore, it is no doubt the issue of a longer life span of human but a decreasing population is happening now.

But, are policies really required for the betterment of society? 

            

Heritage Part 1: Preservation and Modernisation

So, to demolish or to preserve? 

For the sake of history or for the sake of space and other reasons? 

In this week's CID lesson, the class touched on final topic of CID before we headed off to Suzhou and Shanghai for our OELP trip. We got to reflect on the importance of heritage sites towards a city and from there, we felt that heritage sites were important in local and international terms. In local's perspective, heritage sites gave a sense of belonging and space, cultural identity to our country and were a great way to understand and reflect on the history behind those monuments. However, in tourist's perspective, the heritage sites were unique features representing the country's culture, making the country unique and that would appeal to me in general. As we gained deeper insights of the importance of having heritage sites, I soon realised the tension between modernisation and preservation and the ways to make full use of preserved heritage without destroying any bits of it. To illustrate such concept, in Singapore's context, this can be represented by the things we are able to enjoy and see everyday. The playground, a strong and fond memory of many Singaporeans when they were a child, is a great example of modernisation and preservation. In the past, the ground of the playground used to be full of sand, however, it has been changed to foam for hygiene and safety purposes. This example got me thinking. In the 21st century, the society is rapidly advancing and changing so much that we have so much trouble catching up and so what are the relevance and cost effectiveness of heritage sites? Do we really have time and space to appreciate heritage and history?   

As we continued on with the lesson, we found ourselves in the debate that was still in question. Should we demolish or preserve Mr Lee Kuan Yew's house at Oxley Road? To discern on this hot topic of debate a few years back, the perspective of various stakeholders were needed to fathom the conflicting factors towards the debate. People taken in account ranged from LKY family to the URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority) As I stepped into the shoes of the neighbours living near the house, I found myself in a dilemma, interpreting the house in various context, along with the Singaporean children and adults. As much as I wanted to preserve the house as history of one of the founding fathers of Singapore, the house's demolish would allow the land value to escalate as the HDB flats around it no longer need to not hover over LKY's house. So the big question still remains. To keep or to remove?
   
Personally, I feel that the house should be demolished. Mr Lee Kuan Yew, a simple and humble national leader, had said in an interview that the house was to be demolished as part of his last will. So, as Singaporeans, it is only right that we pay due respect to this incredible leader that helped change the fate of Singapore, from a third world country to a first world country that we live and enjoy today. It is of his selfless contributions to the nation and the number of sacrifices done that we can live in this metropolis in comfort and in harmony. Thus, it is only fair we play our role as the younger generation to listen and adhere to his wishes, his wishes of not having his privacy opened up and invaded by trudging visitors from everywhere. It is also for the sake of the neighbours as well. By demolishing the house in great need of renovation, the land can be redeveloped and would lead to the fluctuate in land value. I strongly believe that the history of one of our great founding father can be learned through test books, videos or a replica of the house in one of the national museum. Although the impact of Mr Lee Kuan Yew would not be as strong as having the house preserved as a heritage site towards the younger generations, the house would still be better off demolished because to be truthful, the house would require lots of money to renovate the substandard of the foundation of the house. Besides that, with visitors swarming in to observe the house, the house might not be able to withstand such a weight and the items on displays might get damaged along the way as well. The house, though precious and special, will remain as a living history of Singapore when preserved but the quality or standard of it would not be ideal when opened to visitors for a long period of time. Therefore, with that in mind, I then feel that the house being demolished would be a better option to the fate of it. 

From the discussions held in class, I realised that heritage sites play an important role in a society because it is a living historical reminder of the past and that history can be represented as heritage as well. Although Mr LKY's house received various points of views and comments, all i can say is that before we do anything, we should ask ourselves: 
"Is there real value in being at the actual location and seeing the actual artefacts?" and 
"What difference in the impact would be brought about from seeing it in person or seeing it in various platforms of delivering messages?"

Heritage sites hold numerous memories and stories that would benefit future generations but would future generations appreciate and protect them? 

Economy Part 5: Factory to the World

The dilemma. 
Should we strive for higher economic growth or for protection of our environment? Does wealth really value more than environment?

China, as we all know, is the factory to the world. Almost everything we own is branded with indications 'Made in China' or is it? Despite the many products manufactured in China, there are also stamps like 'Made in Japan' or 'Made in Thailand' and the list goes continuously. So, what makes China stand out from other countries that produce goods too? Is it the weak currency? Is it due to the large land area that China has compared to the rest? 

In this week's CID lesson, we discussed about the various comparative advantages of China through videos that go in depth to discern what are the factors of China's success. Confused i was as a student, the perspective of a businessman was necessary for me to fathom the whole situation. 
Firstly, I would need easy access to manpower to have sufficient number of people who are willing to work in and run my factory for money. High unemployment rate would then be one of the criteria i look out for. Other than that, i would also want the country that i am investing in to have somewhat cheap currency. The aim of building a factory on a foreign piece of land is to be able to produce as many goods as i can within a short period of time to cater to the growing demands of the people all across the world. Thus, when the currency is lower, I can produce large amounts of goods to be shipped into millions of supermarkets but only need to pay cheap utilities bill of electricity, water so on and so forth. The only expensive part of this process of production would be the shipping rate iand maybe the corporate taxes instead of the bills, allowing me to gain more profit and make even more goods. Lastly, I will look out for the access and availability to natural resources. Let's face it, you can't make anything with nothing. You can't plant a tree without soil or a seed. You can't have a easy time running a factory when there is an absence in natural resources. Why would do i want to manufacture my goods at a place where there is scare natural resources and fork out additional money just to acquire them for smooth production of goods? Therefore, it becomes one of the key priorities in the consideration on the best location to build my factory. And with that, as a businessmen, i view a country with questions like 'Are there a large demand of jobs by the people there?', 'Is the currency there able to benefit my factory and I?' and 'What are the types of natural resources I have access to there?' 

These thoughts that i had showed one common understanding. Wealth. Wealth to the country and my company. China indeed, compared to other countries, has more attractive offers. It has one of the largest land space, a good number of population, a decent unemployment rate, provides access to natural resources that will assist in my production of goods, a reasonable corporate tax and the monthly minimum wages per worker is quite low. It is hence no doubt that many pick China over the rest. Financial burden will be greatly reduced, more supply of goods and many space to build infrastructures. Such comparative advantages will attract foreign investors to invest in China over the rest.

However, is it just the pursuit of economic growth that China enjoys from the wide attraction of foreign investors? In life, it is certain that in order to enjoy something, you will need to pay a certain amount of price and China is no exception. As i played the role of a businessman, it got me thinking. There is surely advantages and disadvantages to everything on the world and so, why are there so many factories from big companies like Apple choosing China as their place of production? Is wealth the only thing they pursuit in?

Truly, it is more than meets the eye. Manufacturing products may seem like a easy, harmless process, but in reality, it is not. Many environmental pollution, byproducts of production, will be produced and this has become an issue to many European companies, restricting their mass production of goods. China, on the other hand, has little enforcement on environmental laws and this, no doubt, resulted in an another huge attraction to the European companies. Thus, can you imagine China's effective way of attracting foreign investors is actually bringing more and more harm to themselves? More factories set up by various foreign investors, more cheap goods produced at a faster rate, more carbon dioxide being released as greenhouse gas. Indeed, China has suffered terribly from the consequences she has brought upon herself. On 3 Jan this year, China had to issue the first national 'red alert' for the severe fog, haze and smog. Many northern, eastern and central China had been blanketed in a thick layer of grey haze, reducing visibility to nearly nothing. 

Image source

Therefore, the dilemma. The blind pursuit of higher economic growth? The protection for our environment?

Economics Part 3: Standard of Living

Standard of living. What does it actually mean? Cost of living. What is the difference between these two phrases?

Should you be unable to put it to words, standard of living simply means quality of life and cost of living means the minimum cost needed to survive. These two phrases may seem rather mundane but it holds great significance. 

Firstly, let's talk about the standard of living. To makes things easier and simpler, through discussions held in class, many of us describe Singapore's standard of living as modernised, comfortable and decent. However, what is being used to measure the standard of living of countries in the world? Well, no fret! I have got you covered! With reference to resaerch, from a long list of factors, GDP ,or gross domestic product, access to education and climate are some of the few points that contributes to the quality of life of the people be it living or visiting a country. 

Now, let's talk about cost of living. It is the maintaining of basic level of life like water, food, shelter, clothes and last but not least, transportation. It also means the level of wealth, comfort, material goods and necessities available to a certain group of people in a certain location. Most of us will likely have different opinions towards the cost of living in Singapore's context. Some would say it is expensive, while others say it is affordable. 

Nonetheless, despite the different response from the general people, there is no doubt that there is no such thing as a 'perfect thing'. So, there are possible consequences of a high cost living in Singapore. Firstly, i feel that pollution is brought about by the high cost of living. With a considerable amount of wealth earned by many normal Singaporeans, we are inclined to getting the latest out of everything for the sake of reputation and the sack of keeping up with the advancing world. Thus, we are able to afford more and the same thing happens with our wastage. We throw even more. Therefore, a high cost of living will likely result in an increase in pollution produced by each and every people living in Singapore. Other than pollution, the bills for basic items like water and electricity will also be high. Since we own a good sum of income, we will feel no qualms to the amount of utilities used and so it will not solve the problem of the water scarcities happening around the world. With such problems rising, there will be a need to alter the prices of utilities to instill the mindset of the need to save water and cherish every drop of water we use.

Pre-Trip Preparation [Economy Task]

This is the list of things that can be used to take note of the different standard and cost of living in Singapore and China,thus, allowing me to have an easier time to spot the similarities and differences between these two countries.

In Singapore's context: