you must know this....

france

Mothers can take up to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave for the first two children and 26 weeks for the third child. At the end of the maternity leave, the mother or father can take parental leave, or opt to work part-time till the child reaches the age of three. Women are guaranteed full-time jobs when they choose to return. Maternity leave, both prenatally and postnatally, is mandatory

Weeks after giving birth, French women are offered a state-paid course to help them start having sex again as soon as possible. Other freebies include a personal trainer and computer games that help them exercise.This is in addition to other perks such as free nursery schools, tax deductions for each child and generous family allowances

sweden

In 1974, Sweden became the first country to replace maternity leave with parental leave, which covers maternity, paternity and adoption leave. Parents are entitled to 480 days of parent leave for each child. Parents who have twins are entitled to an additional 180 days and are encouraged to split these days equally between them. If this is done, they will be entitled to an additional equality bonus. At least 60 days of the parental leave must be claimed by fathers.

All legal Swedish residents are entitled to the basic parental leave payment of 180 Swedish kroner (S$33) a day. Working parents can continue to receive 80 per cent of their salary while on leave. In the Scandinavian countries, it is written into law that women have the right to return to their jobs on a part-time or full-time basis after maternity leave.

switzerland

All women workers in Switzerland qualify for a minimum of 14 weeks of maternity leave. Both full-time and part-time workers are paid 80 per cent of their normal salary, or up to 196 Swiss francs (S$274) a day. The individual cantons may provide additional benefits. For instance, in the Canton of Geneva, maternity leave lasts for up to 16 weeks. 

Paternity leave is not governed by the legislation and is left to the discretion of the father's employer. Swiss companies grant new fathers on average between two and five days of paid leave.

japan

Paid maternity leave in Japan covers a total period of 14 weeks at two thirds of the monthly salary. Mothers are not allowed to return to the workplace within the first eight weeks following childbirth, although under a doctor's approval, she may return after six weeks.

Low-income families earning less than 7.8 million yen (S$120,900) a year receive 5,000 yen (S$77.50) each for the first and second child and 10,000 yen (S$155) for the third child until their children complete the third year of primary school. Local authorities offer additional incentives.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants men to take time off after their children are born, under a campaign dubbed the Ikumen Project, which translates as men raising children. The goals is to raise the percentage of men taking paternity leave from 1.9 per cent in 2012 to 13 per cent by 2020.

south korea

n South Korea, working mothers are entitled to three months of maternity leave - the first two with full pay and the third month capped at 1.35 million won (S$1654). Following childbirth, mothers can opt for unpaid leave of up to a year.

In 2009, flexi-work arrangements were introduced for women. Bosses must give paternity leave of three days, in what is seen as a big move in a country where cultural attitudes dictate that children are a mother’s concern.

ageing and the silver dollar

JAPANESE companies are hawking 

everything from funeral services to a

humanoid robot, hoping for a slice of the 

silver-dollar pie. 

what science and education can do for the elderly

A program called Lumosity, developed with the help of neuroscientists and cognitive psychologists from Stanford University and the University of California at San Francisco, is specifically designed to help aging people improve their memory, concentration, alertness and even mood. Free online registration gives you access to more than 30 games; paid registration lets you track your progress and get feedback about your results.

ABOUT THE DIFFERENT GENERATIONS...ARE U ANYTHING LIKE WHAT IS DESCRIBED OF YOU

Traditionalists : Born before 1946

BABY BOOMERS
Baby Boomers : Born 1946 - 1964
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom. The term "baby boomer" is sometimes used in a cultural context, and sometimes used to describe someone who was born during the post-WWII baby boom.

GENERATION X
Gen X : Born 1965 - 1976
they grew up in the shadow of the boomers and are pretty independent. they are a resilient lot who have entered into the workforce when companies and governments were downsizing. This led to remaining marketable as an employee, positive and determined but also gave us a love for more in life than simply working for another company. They place high value on life outside of work and are unsure of our retirement standings. Generation Xers are independent and are more adapt to change careers or jobs and remain competitive in the marketplace because of this. They love working from home and so managing this group differs from Boomers. They love technology but are also used to old school methods

Generation Y –Born 1977-2000.. This generation has been born into a culturally more diverse community with more acceptance of everything different from themselves which is a great thing. They have been encouraged to have their own voice. However they have been surrounding by a lot of violence and support from adults other than their parents which has added to them being used to receiving a lot of guidance. They have been told yes but with options, almost to the point of a barter system, and do not place the same value on work as the other generations. With technology changing at a rapid rate they also not used to many traditional methods and may need more direction around certain company “methods” with an explanation why. They want absolute instant gratification and are used to calling the shots and love being seen and so job shadowing and mentoring programs can work well for this group. They are used to learning about technology on their own and need that informal constant gratification so let them know when they are doing a good job… often. They are also multi-tasker oriented when it comes to communication and technology so forming teams and collaboration can work well. Since unrealistic expectations on salary may be present let them know that the position will help their resume and support bonuses and creative pay methods

Should Singapore allow euthanasia?

Say you are dying of an illness and your doctor pronounces that you have no more than three months to live. Worried that your last days will be racked with unbearable pain, you ask to die.
Two doctors certify that you are of sound mind and have made the request voluntarily. They administer you with a drug overdose. Several minutes later, you are dead.

Two weeks ago, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan raised the issue of whether euthanasia should be allowed in Singapore.

He had posed this question after reading about a debate on the topic that raged in the Chinese press.

One man even sent the minister a letter, written in red ink, asking that euthanasia be made legal.

Earlier, Mr Khaw had said that as Singapore comes to grips with an ageing population, it was time to talk about death and 'not sweep it under the carpet'.

Several MPs and doctors interviewed by The Sunday Times welcomed discussion on the highly controversial practice, even as they all said they were personally against euthanasia.

Jalan Besar GRC MP Lily Neo, a medical practitioner, said: 'By discussing it, we can understand how we can be more compassionate towards those who are suffering.'

But some were wary that the discussion would lead to more confusion about the procedure.

Dr Chin Jing Jih, executive director of the Singapore Medical Association's Centre for Medical Ethics and Professionalism, said there must be a consistent definition of euthanasia to ensure a good discussion.

He said this was especially relevant to discussion in the Chinese language, where euthanasia is known as an le si. Literally translated, the phrase means 'a peaceful and painless (or joyful) death'.

Unfortunately, this has led to confusion in the Chinese-speaking community as many tend to confuse euthanasia with palliative care, which involves the management of pain and suffering for terminally ill patients, he said.

As a result, many who merely advocate peaceful death end up on the record as saying they want euthanasia when they are actually not asking to be killed by their doctor, he said.

On the discussion of end-of-life issues, all interviewed said the focus should be on palliative care, which the Government is already looking into.

Dr Fatimah Lateef, an MP for Marine Parade GRC and a doctor for 18 years, said: 'I am more for counselling, proper pain control, and family and peer support in those with advanced disease.'

She added that she supported the Advance Medical Directive, which came into effect here in 1997 and allows an individual to say he does not want extraordinary life-sustaining treatment should he be terminally ill.

Dr Chin said the medical fraternity in Singapore has always been against the practice of euthanasia.

'We take the position that the solution to suffering in terminal illness is to continue to further develop and upgrade palliative care rather than legalise euthanasia,' he said. 'This is consistent with the role of the medical profession as healers and comfort providers, our professional values and underlying ethical tenets.'

Their concern is not only about the ethics involved but also about preventing abuse.

Madam Halimah Yacob, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, also felt the ground was not ready for the legalisation of euthanasia.

She said the feedback from her grassroots is that Singaporeans do not want euthanasia.

'I'm not quite sure if this is an area that we want to lead in,' she said.

jamieee@sph.com.sg

Do you think euthanasia should be legalised in Singapore? Have your say on straitstimes.com or send your views to suntimes@sph.com.sg

some comments by others
Euthanasia affords a person to die with dignity if he so wishes. It is the ultimate human right in a modern world where the fortunate already enjoy many other rights.

Not meant for the spineless, obviously, who believe that their life does not belong to them.

But has to be approached with some care, lest the right to die becomes the pressure to die. The proper safeguards will have to be in place.
Posted by: witness at Sun Oct 26 08:05:18 SGT 2008


Rebirth, karma, god -- quite a bunch of superstitions contained in a mighty short note. Impressive!
Posted by: witness at Sun Oct 26 08:02:10 SGT 2008


Today's sufferings is the cause of of last life's bad karma. Be brave and the only way is to seek God's forgiveness. Two wrongs do not make a right.
Posted by: xiao_hong at Sun Oct 26 06:40:33 SGT 2008

just pick out the good and bad - relevant to your society?

• Ageing is something to be delayed and this is reflected by the boom in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries from baby boomers trying to delay the visible signs of ageing e.g. the brisk sales of collagen products like SK-II and anti-wrinkle creams.

• The baby boomers are still the dictators of trends and ‘youth culture’. The media companies still cater to the baby boomers’ need for popular media through prime-time TV shows like Nip/Tuck and Extreme Makeover.

• Cosmetic surgery is becoming more common and Singaporeans are actually travelling to Thailand for cheaper procedures.

• All the government campaigns like the Senior Citizens’ Week and Grandparents’ Day seem to have little effect on changing society’s mindset towards ageing.

• Industrialized countries have not been able to provide economic and social resources for the elderly to lead a more satisfying life in old age e.g. the elderly are still being discriminated against for job opportunities.

• The knowledge that the elderly have is anachronistic and the aged are still seen as being outdated and upon able to keep up with times especially in matters pertaining to information technology.

kidney transplant and age

Health Correspondent THE number 60 is a critical one for kidney patients.

A patient is taken off the queue for a cadaveric kidney under the Human Organ Transplant Act (Hota) when he turns 60 years of age.

Hota also has another caveat: Kidneys cannot be harvested from the bodies of those who die above the age of 60, unless their families agree.

So it works both ways: Above 60 and no cadaveric kidney for you. And no kidney can be automatically taken from an over-60 who has died.

Underpinning the latter is the supposition that it would be morally wrong to take a kidney from an older person, while not giving someone of a similar age the chance to get a kidney in return.

If not for the law, how many people in Singapore would need a transplant and how many organs would actually be available? Or, in market terminology, what's the true demand and supply situation?

The queue for a cadaveric kidney stood at 563 last year, and anecdotal evidence suggests that it could be twice as long if the above-60s joined it.

Why 60?
One guess: The state does not want to have a large number of older people queueing for the limited number of kidneys that become available each year. Only 47 cadaveric kidneys were harvested last year.
The desire to skew priority for cadaveric kidneys in favour of younger patients is understandable, since they have longer lives ahead of them.
But what if cadaveric donors above 60 were included? The chances are the pool of cadaveric kidneys available here would balloon to 63 - or 16 more a year.
The cut-off age for other organs is different, largely because of the shorter waiting list and because patients who don't get an organ within months usually die.
Hota allows cadaveric hearts to go to people up to the age of 65, and cadaveric livers to patients as old as 70. Waiting times for these organs range from two to five months.
Some have called for the removal of the age cap for cadaveric kidneys. Spain, which has a very robust cadaveric transplant programme, gets a third of its kidneys from people over the age of 60.
There is no reason why Singapore cannot do the same and give older kidney patients hope.
One worry is that kidneys taken from older cadavers might not be of very high quality. If so, why not divide potential recipients into two age-based groups?