Privacy rights may become next victim of killer pandemic

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Hong Kong ordered people arriving from overseas to wear tracking bracelets, and Singapore has a team of dedicated digital detectives monitoring those living under quarantine.

China gave people smartphone codes displayed in green, yellow, and red, determining where citizens can and cannot go.

authoritarian regimes are using COVID-19 as a pretext to suppress independent speech, increase surveillance, and otherwise restrict fundamental rights, going beyond what is justified by public health needs

Some activists cite the precedent of the September 11, 2001 attacks, which opened up the door to more invasive surveillance in the name of national security.

For qns on privacy and govt's intereference in the lives of its people.....

Report shows rising sea levels hitting close to home in S'pore

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Useful stats for BANGs!
Island's average sea level at 14cm above pre-1970 levels brought on by warming oceans, melting of glaciers

Characteristic feature of Singapore:
Singapore, as a low-lying nation with about 30 per cent of the island less than 5m above the mean sea level

For 'your society' qns and AQ relating to climate change and the envmt.....

Police probe Facebook post linking holy texts, toilet paper

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Recall the episode by Amos Yee where he uploaded a clip of of him 'doing it' to the Koran? here's another equivalent of an offensive post concerning religion:

the Facebook page named NUS Atheist Society had posted an image of the Bible and Quran, which are holy texts in Christianity and Islam respectively. An accompanying caption read: "For use during toilet paper shortages."

For qns on media, censorship. religious harmony.....

Food stock adequate if people buy responsibly, says Chan

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When reliant on others, one subjects oneself to their mercy and cedes control to others....
The article shows how our lack of manpower and natural resources and land area causes us to be dependent on others....We depend on Malaysia for our manpower needs: more than 300,000 commute across the causeway to work in Singapore daily.....90% of our food supply is imported, with a lot of perishables like vegetables and poultry coming from Malaysia....and let's not forget water.
For water, at least we can still use technology to overcome reliance, but for the other two, we can only diversify our sources so that we are not over-reliant on any one country...

Qns: How far should countries aim to be self-sufficient? (Cam. 2011)

Giving out patient details in South Korea: Serving public good or invasion of privacy

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In highly connected South Korea, people know immediately when a new coronavirus case emerges in their neighbourhood. A government alert, accompanied by a shrill emergency alarm, will pop up on their mobile phones, giving details such as the new patient's age, gender and travel history.

concerns have been raised about the infringement of privacy, stigmatisation and doxxing as patient data is scrutinised and dissected.

invokes the Infectious Diseases Act to do contact tracing using cellphone records, the Global Positioning System, credit card use and closed-circuit television camera footage

two infected members of the same church in Busan were accused of having an extramarital affair after their travel history revealed that they spent a night in the same condominium resort on Feb 21.

Singapore: Disease investigators work tirelessly with the police to map out a patient's travel history, using all kinds of resources, from surveillance footage to mobile phone data and ATM records. Information such as patients' age, gender, nationality, the street where they live, and the places they visited, are then released by the Health Ministry in a bid to curb the spread and keep the public safe.

China: QR codes must be scanned before people can enter residential compounds, mobile phone apps record your daily temperature, while other apps show if there are cases nearby or if patients have been in close proximity.

Qns:

1. To what extent can the regulation of scientific or technological developments be justified? (Cam. 2014)

2. To what extent has technology had an impact on both privacy and security in your country? (Cam. 2009)

Mass Surveillance Threatens Personal Privacy Amid Coronavirus

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As governments look to contain the spread of COVID-19, they’re turning to every tool at their disposal, including large surveillance networks, personal cell phone tracking, and AI and facial recognition. 

In Russia, facial recognition technology has been deployed to ensure that quarantined individuals do not leave their homes or hotels. 

It’s not just external cameras being used to track individuals. It’s also the very device many people take with them everywhere, our smartphones. Telecom companies in China are handing over records of customers’ movements to the government as well as letting users know if they have been in an impacted area recently, while places such as Singapore have worked to trace infected individuals’ movements through data from ride-sharing apps

Qns:

1. To what extent can the regulation of scientific or technological developments be justified? (Cam. 2014)

2. To what extent has technology had an impact on both privacy and security in your country? (Cam. 2009)

Using tech well in learning is not about giving every student a laptop

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Qns:

1.     Do electronic devices, such as tablets or smart phones, help or hinder students in their studies? (Cam. 'O' lvl 2015)

2.   'Books serve little purpose in education as technological developments become more sophisticated.’ How far do you agree? (Cam. 'A' lvl 2015)

HDB's Green Towns plan ambitious but doable: Experts

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Note the various 'greening' features in public housing....how design and the use of science and tech can help combat global warming.....Relate also to qns on city living.....

One involving a new type of paint containing pigments that reflects the sun's heat may go a long way in helping to cool estates. Preliminary studies by the HDB suggest that the paint could reduce ambient temperature by up to 2 deg C when applied to building facades, roofs and pavements....cool paints on the building facade can help reduce the air-conditioning load very significantly

cool paint is a cost-effective way to tackle the urban heat island effect - a phenomenon in which buildings and pavement surfaces release heat into their surroundings, particularly at night.

The Green Towns programme will involve more housing precincts being fitted with an urban water harvesting system that collects, stores and treats rainwater to be recycled for non-potable uses such as irrigation and washing of common areas.

Smart LED lighting will be installed in all common areas in HDB estates. It uses smart sensors to progressively illuminate the user's path in advance, without causing a sudden brightening effect.

Moves to install solar panels in 70 per cent of HDB blocks by 2030 will further reduce energy consumption.

Greenery will be introduced to the top decks of multi-storey carparks, where urban farms, skyrise greenery and community gardens can be housed.

Schools to help students navigate the digital world

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devices - which could be a tablet, laptop or Chromebook - will be affordable, and students can pay for them through their Edusave accounts. Students from lower-income households will get further subsidies to ensure they do not have to pay any cash.

In an online world, you can be anonymous, and there are no policemen, no editors, no verifiers. A child can choose to be nasty and then get away with it, with very little consequences..."Whereas in the real world, it is not as easy to say something nasty to your friend to his face."

Qn: ‘Books serve little purpose in education as technological developments become more sophisticated.’ How far do you agree? (Cam. 2015)

Shanmugam: People's trust in Govt crucial for strong security agencies

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2 useful ideas to walk away with:
1) combating crime is not just about having a strong police force, but also ensuring that the causes of resorting to crime, are dealt with by the govt; i.e. effective governance in addressing people's discontentment such as employment, corruption in govt, lack of freedom and rights....
2) how the media influence our perception of reality, as in the case of the HK protests where the media unfairly demonised the police force and 'lionised' the protestors.....

Singapore's security agencies can only be as strong as the government in power, Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam said yesterday, as he spoke on how proper governance must underpin peace and order.

Singaporeans also have to trust that the political, economic and social systems are fair and will benefit them, so that they will support the police force

global risk consultancy Maplecroft, said it is estimated that nearly 40 per cent of the world's 195 countries will experience civil unrest this year

A police force can succeed only if it operates in a well-governed, functioning society, where people trust that the government will do what is best for them

government leaders must be attuned to people's needs and be accountable to the public, and they must also develop policies based on sound principles and create a fair and honest system.

if a significant section of your population believes that the system is fundamentally unfair... and that it is set up to benefit a few at the expense of the majority, at the expense of the many, then no amount of strict policing and strict laws, are going to keep people off the streets

the one-sided portrayal of the situation in the international media - with the depiction of police as brutal and protesters as champions of democracy - has not helped

Qn: Having a strong police force is the best way to prevent crime. Do you agree?

Law now protects religious groups and LGBT community

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A good example of the law (MRHA) that protects the rights of the LGBT...

the new provisions in the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA) not only reduce conflicts between and within religious groups, but also prevent religion from being used as a basis to attack groups that may not be of a religious persuasion, such as the LGBT community.

Qn: In your society, how far is equality for all a reality? (Cam. 2012)

2400 monkeys injected with virus

2400 monkeys have been injected with the Mers virus in a bid to find a vaccine for it. As a result of this, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US has managed to develop an effective vaccine that can prevent the monkeys from contracting the Mers virus.

According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), 3000 monkeys are used yearly in the UK to test the safety and effectiveness of food and vaccines consumed by humans.  

Qns:
1)To what extent should animals enjoy the same rights as humans?

2)Can the use of animals for scientific research ever be justified? (Cam. 2017)