Social Studies (Final Revision SEQ)

In addition to the questions I gave you previously, please study these as well. I have given you some points but you need to elaborate on them.

These questions are based on how the history SEQ is like. And as you know, history and SS are kind of the same.

Lesson Learnt Questions

1. What are the lessons Singapore can learn from Venice? (Refer to notes.)

- Must always be innovative and enterprising (so as not to lose out to competition, esp. due to globalisation)

- Need to have a leadership that is incorruptible

- Must always have spirit of lifelong learning (Venetian society became complacent.)

- Must always have a strong defence force to keep country secure from external threats

2. What can Singapore learn from the experiences of the British healthcare system?

- Never to implement the welfare system because it is difficult to remove once implemented. Demand will exceed supply; people lose incentive to work / take care of their health; taxpayers pay very high taxes to support the free healthcare.

- Must allocate resources efficiently – in NHS hospitals, doctors and nurses dispensed medicine freely without consideration for cost.

- Must sub-contract non-essential services like hospital catering and laundry. Saves cost and hospitals can focus on their core business. Also govt. must not control public goods such as healthcare completely because there is little incentive to be profitable. Must allow the private sector to play a bigger role as it is profit motivated and when there is competition, patients stand to benefit from better treatments and services.

3. What lessons can Singapore derive from the conflicts in Sri Lanka or/and N. Ireland?

(Refer to notes.)

‘Necessary’ Questions

1. The hiring of mercenaries by Venice was necessary. To what extent do you agree with this statement? / It was necessary for Venice to switch alliances. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

2. It is necessary for Singapore to practice deterrence / to have a citizen armed force / to build a defence industry etc. To what extent to you agree with this statement?

3. It was necessary for Britain to make improvements to the NHS. To what extent to you agree with this statement?

4. It is necessary for Singapore to attract foreign talent. To what extent to you agree with this statement? (Agree – Singapore

***The word ‘necessary’ may also be replaced by the word ‘justified’.

‘Failure / Success’ Questions

1. The Venetian political system was a failure / success. To what extent to you agree with this statement?

2. ASEAN is a successful regional organization. To what extent to you agree with this statement? / Diplomacy is more successful than deterrence in conflict resolution. To what extent to you agree with this statement?

3. The ‘Stop at Two’ policy was a failure/success. To what extent to you agree with this statement? (Success – Prevented social problems resulting in the lack of education, jobs and housing. When policy was implemented, Singapore was a developing country and did not have adequate resources to take care of its people’s needs. Failure – When Singapore began industrial expansion in the 1970s, it faced worker shortages. This meant it had to rely on foreign labour which was mainly unskilled. Additionally, shortage of labour meant that you had to pay the local workforce more to entice them to work which would cut into profit margins.)

‘Inevitable’ Questions

1. The fall of Venice was inevitable. To what extent to you agree with this statement?

2. The failure of the British healthcare system was inevitable. To what extent to you agree with this statement?

3. The ageing population Singapore is facing is inevitable. To what extent to you agree with this statement?

Help vs Hindrance’ / ‘Benefit vs Disadvantage’ Questions

1. Deterrence is more of a help than a hindrance to conflict resolution. To what extent to you agree with this statement? // The benefits of diplomacy outweigh those of deterrence. To what extent to you agree with this statement?

2. The intervention of the Indian peacekeepers / British army in the Sri Lankan / N. Ireland conflict was more a help than a hindrance in maintaining peace and order in the country. To what extent to you agree with this statement?

3. Singapore’s rapidly ageing population is more of a help than a hindrance to its economic growth. To what extent to you agree with this statement? // Singapore is disadvantaged by its rapidly ageing population. To what extent to you agree with this statement?

4. Venice’s political system / geographical location /trade monopoly etc. was more a help than a hindrance to it. To what extent to you agree with this statement? // Venice benefitted from its political system / geographical location / trade monopoly etc. To what extent to you agree with this statement?

5. Singapore’s healthcare system / Britain’s healthcare system has more benefits than disadvantages. To what extent to you agree with this statement?

6. Singapore’s membership in ASEAN is more a help than a hindrance to it. To what extent to you agree with this statement?

7. Singapore has benefitted from its membership in ASEAN. To what extent to you agree with this statement? (Benefit: More trade opportunities, opportunities to expand market reach; industries thrive because more goods can be sold in ASEAN nations, more collaboration with other countries on environmental and security issues such as terrorism); Did Not Benefit: Singapore already trades with larger countries like USA and China through bilateral relations so not that much loss economically; Singapore’s reputation gets tarnished through ASEAN because ASEAN countries cannot resolve disputes effectively and by association with ASEAN, Singapore’s image gets tarnished.)

Note: Please study Page 39 of Book 4. You can use this portion to answer why Singapore’s membership in ASEAN is necessary or why ASEAN was a success. Combine with points from Book 3.

What are the hindrances / problems of deterrence?

- Arms buildup in the region causes distrust and instability. Case in point: Pakistan and India.

- Country spends much of revenue to acquire weapons which could have been spent to develop other areas, eg. Education, housing, healthcare etc.

please stay tuned for more notes from Miss Khoo :D

Jialin