Showing posts with label globalisation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label globalisation. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
If America knows whats good for her....advice from the little red dot
PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong has urged the business community in the United States to put its weight behind the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which he described as "vital" to America's international standing and engagement in the Asia-Pacific.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
a picture paints a thousand words
While magazines and TV chains report about the lives and love affairs of movie actors and actresses, football players and other celebrities, the Chief of the Kayapo tribe heard the worst news of his entire life:
Mrs. Dilma, the president of Brazil, has given her approval for the construction of an enormous hydroelectric central (the world’s third largest one).
This means the death sentence for ALL the tribes living at the shores of the river because the barrage will flood more or less 988,421 acres of the forest. More than 40 000 natives will have to find other living surroundings where they will be able to survive. The destruction of the natural habitat, the deforestation and the disappearance of several species of plants and animals will be a fait accompli.
We know that a simple image is the equivalent of a thousand words, it shows the price to be paid for the “quality of life” of our so-called “modern comforts.” There is no space in the world anymore for those who live differently. Everything has to be smoothed away, that everyone, in the name of globalization must lose his and her identity and way of living.
Monday, July 26, 2010
are we progressing too fast
"SLOW DOWN", A MUST READ
"It's been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It's a rule."
Globalized processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate results. Therefore, we have come to posses a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold x quantity of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields better results.
1. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants..
2. Stockholm has 500,000 people.
3. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, are some of its renowned companies. Volvo even supplies NASA.
The first time I was in Sweden , one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees drive their car to work).
The first day, I didn't say anything, neither the second or third days. One morning I asked him, "Do you have a fixed parking space?
I've noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot."
To which he replied, "Since we're here early we'll have time to walk, don't you think that whoever gets in late will need a place closer to the door?" Imagine my face.
Nowadays, there's a movement in Europe named Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart, Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week.
Basically, the movement questions the sense of "hurry" and "craziness" generated by globalization, fuelled by the desire of "having in quantity" (life status) versus "having with quality", "life quality" or the "quality of being".
French people, even though they work 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity driven up by 20%.
This slow attitude has come to the notice of USA , the pupils of the fast and "do it now" brigade.
This no-rush attitude doesn't represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, productivity, perfection, with attention to detail and less stress. It means re-establishing family values, friends, free and leisure time. Taking the "now", present and concrete, versus the "global", undefined and anonymous. It means taking humans' essential values, the simplicity of living.
It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more productive work place where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do.
It's time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence.
In the movie, 'Scent of a Woman', there's a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, "I can't, my boyfriend will be here any minute now". To which Al Pacino responds, "A life is lived in an instant". Then they dance the tango!
Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious to live for the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists.
We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".
Congratulations for reading this till the end of this message. There are many who will have stopped in the middle so as not to waste time in this "Globalized" world..
"It's been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It's a rule."
Globalized processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate results. Therefore, we have come to posses a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold x quantity of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields better results.
1. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants..
2. Stockholm has 500,000 people.
3. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, are some of its renowned companies. Volvo even supplies NASA.
The first time I was in Sweden , one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees drive their car to work).
The first day, I didn't say anything, neither the second or third days. One morning I asked him, "Do you have a fixed parking space?
I've noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot."
To which he replied, "Since we're here early we'll have time to walk, don't you think that whoever gets in late will need a place closer to the door?" Imagine my face.
Nowadays, there's a movement in Europe named Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart, Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week.
Basically, the movement questions the sense of "hurry" and "craziness" generated by globalization, fuelled by the desire of "having in quantity" (life status) versus "having with quality", "life quality" or the "quality of being".
French people, even though they work 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity driven up by 20%.
This slow attitude has come to the notice of USA , the pupils of the fast and "do it now" brigade.
This no-rush attitude doesn't represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, productivity, perfection, with attention to detail and less stress. It means re-establishing family values, friends, free and leisure time. Taking the "now", present and concrete, versus the "global", undefined and anonymous. It means taking humans' essential values, the simplicity of living.
It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more productive work place where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do.
It's time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence.
In the movie, 'Scent of a Woman', there's a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, "I can't, my boyfriend will be here any minute now". To which Al Pacino responds, "A life is lived in an instant". Then they dance the tango!
Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious to live for the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists.
We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".
Congratulations for reading this till the end of this message. There are many who will have stopped in the middle so as not to waste time in this "Globalized" world..
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
2004 article - according to recent articles - not so common now
South Korean parents are turning to surgery to give their children a leg up in mastering the English language.
The problem for the youngsters is sorting out L and R surrounds which they find difficult to pronounce.
Now, doctors can snip the thin tissue under the tongue to make it longer and supposedly nimbler even though the government discourages the operation.
The National Human Rights Commission has made a movie to scare the public into ceasing the practice.
It shows a young mother, obsessed with her son’s pronunciation at the kindergarten’s all-English Christmas play, rushing him to the clinic.
The boy screams as the mother and nurses hold him down, the mother insisting: “It’s all for his future.”
“Many viewers close their eyes at the surgery scenes,” said director Park Jin-pyo, who used footage from a real operation. “I wanted them to see how our society tramples our children’s human rights in the name of their future.”
The English craze among pre-school children took off in 2000 when the government made English classes mandatory from third grade.
Flawless English was once ridiculed as snobbish and even unpatriotic. Now it’s a status symbol and prized by business and colleges.
“Many parents have an illusion that good English could change their children’s lives,” said Song Young-hye, who runs Wonderland, one of the thousands of English language schools that have mushroomed in South Korea’s multi-billion English-teaching industry.
The procedure called a frenulotomy is used in the West in cases where the tissue under the tongue is abnormal and causes a speech impediment. No statistics exist on how many Korean children undergo go it. While local media say it is widespread in Seoul’s wealthier districts, doctors call the reports exaggerated.
Doctors scoff at the notion that the Korean tongue is too short or too inflexible for proper English, noting that thousands of Korean-Americans speak unaccented English without surgery.
“Doing the surgery on a normal kid just for English pronunciation doesn’t make anatomical sense at all,” says Park Bom-chung at Seoul’s Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital.
The operation takes 20 to 30 minutes under local anaesthetic.
The problem for the youngsters is sorting out L and R surrounds which they find difficult to pronounce.
Now, doctors can snip the thin tissue under the tongue to make it longer and supposedly nimbler even though the government discourages the operation.
The National Human Rights Commission has made a movie to scare the public into ceasing the practice.
It shows a young mother, obsessed with her son’s pronunciation at the kindergarten’s all-English Christmas play, rushing him to the clinic.
The boy screams as the mother and nurses hold him down, the mother insisting: “It’s all for his future.”
“Many viewers close their eyes at the surgery scenes,” said director Park Jin-pyo, who used footage from a real operation. “I wanted them to see how our society tramples our children’s human rights in the name of their future.”
The English craze among pre-school children took off in 2000 when the government made English classes mandatory from third grade.
Flawless English was once ridiculed as snobbish and even unpatriotic. Now it’s a status symbol and prized by business and colleges.
“Many parents have an illusion that good English could change their children’s lives,” said Song Young-hye, who runs Wonderland, one of the thousands of English language schools that have mushroomed in South Korea’s multi-billion English-teaching industry.
The procedure called a frenulotomy is used in the West in cases where the tissue under the tongue is abnormal and causes a speech impediment. No statistics exist on how many Korean children undergo go it. While local media say it is widespread in Seoul’s wealthier districts, doctors call the reports exaggerated.
Doctors scoff at the notion that the Korean tongue is too short or too inflexible for proper English, noting that thousands of Korean-Americans speak unaccented English without surgery.
“Doing the surgery on a normal kid just for English pronunciation doesn’t make anatomical sense at all,” says Park Bom-chung at Seoul’s Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital.
The operation takes 20 to 30 minutes under local anaesthetic.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
a race to change their race...why is categrising so impt for us?
EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD student Sarah Lin Ting Al-Idros, classified as 'Arab' on her identity card, bristled at the suggestion that she might change her race to 'Chinese' for pragmatic reasons.
'I'm proud of my ancestors,' said the daughter of a Saudi Arabian father and a Singaporean Chinese mother.
Instead, with a new proposal to allow double-barrelled race classifications, Ms Lin will change her race to 'Arab-Chinese', putting 'Arab' before 'Chinese' for alphabetical reasons.
'It's only fair to reflect both parents in the same identity card,' she said.
Children of mixed marriages will soon have greater flexibility over how they want their race to be recorded on their identity cards, where before they had no choice but to take their father's race.
However, for a double-barrelled race classification, they and their parents must decide which race is listed first. Administratively, the child will then be identified with that race, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee told Parliament on Tuesday.
More details will be announced later.
Sociologists interviewed say it will be difficult to choose which race comes first, as the child is more likely to identify with both his parents' ethnicities, or see himself simply as 'Singaporean'.
Practical considerations like which mother tongue to take in school could be the deciding factor in the choice.
In successive years, one unintended consequence could be 'an increasing amount of negotiation and challenges by parents and their growing children seeking variously to get out of any constraints resulting from this policy, or to extract the maximum personal advantage from it', said Nanyang Technological University sociologist Geoffrey Benjamin.
Sociologist and Nominated MP Paulin Straughan, however, welcomed the option as a mark of Singapore's 'appreciation of cross-cultural and inter-ethnic identities'.
It also signals a shift away from a paternalistic notion of race as something inherited from the father, said Associate Professor Straughan, a Chinese married to an American.
Her view was echoed by Mr Silva Nathan, 46, parent of two teenage daughters who are one-quarter Indian and three-quarters Chinese.
He liked the idea for being 'more equitable across gender and race', and will leave it to his daughters to decide if they want a double-barrelled classification.
Critics, however, say the move is an exercise in futility. With growing intermarriage, the multiple ethnic identities cannot be captured sufficiently even in double-barrelled race classifications.
In Singapore, mixed marriages made up 16.4 per cent of all marriages in 2007, compared to 8.9 per cent a decade earlier.
Analysts believe a good number of these parents are likely to adopt a hyphenated race classification for their child, as a better reflection of his heritage.
Singapore Management University (SMU) assistant professor Hoon Chang Yau, who studies ethnicity, argued that race and ethnicity can never be 'neat and watertight categories'.
'Especially with globalisation, we shall see more and more mixing. The CMIO model seems too restrictive to accommodate the proliferating complexity,' he said.
CMIO refers to Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others, the four race categories used widely in government administrative measures.
Mr Edward Zaccheus, a counsellor of Indian ethnicity who has a Chinese wife, said the identity of his two teenage daughters is not based exclusively on race.
'Our religion, Christianity, plays a part in shaping their identities,' he said.
'Moreover, when curious Chinese aunties and uncles ask them for their race in public places, they describe themselves as Singaporean, rather than Indian or Chinese,' he added.
Doing away with racial categorisation will be a more accurate reflection of diversity in Singapore, he said.
For the record, however, his 21-year-old daughter Melody would like to change her racial identity from 'Indian' to 'Indian-Chinese'.
'It would be more accurate,' she said. 'People keep asking if I'm Malay.'
Other observers are concerned that the flexibility that children of mixed parentage enjoy may create envy in those whose parents are of the same race and thus cannot 'pick and choose' their race.
National University of Singapore (NUS) sociologist Tan Ern Ser gives an example of a Chinese-Malay child. 'If Chinese is considered a more difficult language, and he is allowed to choose Malay as a second language, would his 'Chinese-Chinese' friends feel unfairly treated?'
And for the adult Chinese-Malay, 'what if he chooses to be Chinese to maximise his chances of buying a flat in a particular HDB precinct?'
Other analysts think, however, that these concerns are overblown. They believe that the authorities are likely to restrict the number of changes a person can make to his race classification, and that once decided on, that classification will have to be used for all situations.
On ethnic quotas in Housing Board estates, NUS sociologist Chua Beng Huat thinks those with a double-barrelled race classification should not be given a choice. For example, a Chinese-Indian should be placed on a Chinese quota, rather than given a choice to use 'Chinese' or 'Indian' to purchase flats, which could give him a strategic advantage over others.
What of candidates in a general election in a group representation constituency (GRC)? The law requires at least one to be from a minority race. Will a Chinese-Malay count as one, or will he be considered a Chinese?
SMU law lecturer Eugene Tan believes the first listed race will continue to undergird the GRC policy.
Overall, the debate stirred up by the change is healthy, Associate Professor Tan Ern Ser believes.
'It forces us to think about whether race is indeed something we should continue to emphasise,' he said.
'I'm proud of my ancestors,' said the daughter of a Saudi Arabian father and a Singaporean Chinese mother.
Instead, with a new proposal to allow double-barrelled race classifications, Ms Lin will change her race to 'Arab-Chinese', putting 'Arab' before 'Chinese' for alphabetical reasons.
'It's only fair to reflect both parents in the same identity card,' she said.
Children of mixed marriages will soon have greater flexibility over how they want their race to be recorded on their identity cards, where before they had no choice but to take their father's race.
However, for a double-barrelled race classification, they and their parents must decide which race is listed first. Administratively, the child will then be identified with that race, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee told Parliament on Tuesday.
More details will be announced later.
Sociologists interviewed say it will be difficult to choose which race comes first, as the child is more likely to identify with both his parents' ethnicities, or see himself simply as 'Singaporean'.
Practical considerations like which mother tongue to take in school could be the deciding factor in the choice.
In successive years, one unintended consequence could be 'an increasing amount of negotiation and challenges by parents and their growing children seeking variously to get out of any constraints resulting from this policy, or to extract the maximum personal advantage from it', said Nanyang Technological University sociologist Geoffrey Benjamin.
Sociologist and Nominated MP Paulin Straughan, however, welcomed the option as a mark of Singapore's 'appreciation of cross-cultural and inter-ethnic identities'.
It also signals a shift away from a paternalistic notion of race as something inherited from the father, said Associate Professor Straughan, a Chinese married to an American.
Her view was echoed by Mr Silva Nathan, 46, parent of two teenage daughters who are one-quarter Indian and three-quarters Chinese.
He liked the idea for being 'more equitable across gender and race', and will leave it to his daughters to decide if they want a double-barrelled classification.
Critics, however, say the move is an exercise in futility. With growing intermarriage, the multiple ethnic identities cannot be captured sufficiently even in double-barrelled race classifications.
In Singapore, mixed marriages made up 16.4 per cent of all marriages in 2007, compared to 8.9 per cent a decade earlier.
Analysts believe a good number of these parents are likely to adopt a hyphenated race classification for their child, as a better reflection of his heritage.
Singapore Management University (SMU) assistant professor Hoon Chang Yau, who studies ethnicity, argued that race and ethnicity can never be 'neat and watertight categories'.
'Especially with globalisation, we shall see more and more mixing. The CMIO model seems too restrictive to accommodate the proliferating complexity,' he said.
CMIO refers to Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others, the four race categories used widely in government administrative measures.
Mr Edward Zaccheus, a counsellor of Indian ethnicity who has a Chinese wife, said the identity of his two teenage daughters is not based exclusively on race.
'Our religion, Christianity, plays a part in shaping their identities,' he said.
'Moreover, when curious Chinese aunties and uncles ask them for their race in public places, they describe themselves as Singaporean, rather than Indian or Chinese,' he added.
Doing away with racial categorisation will be a more accurate reflection of diversity in Singapore, he said.
For the record, however, his 21-year-old daughter Melody would like to change her racial identity from 'Indian' to 'Indian-Chinese'.
'It would be more accurate,' she said. 'People keep asking if I'm Malay.'
Other observers are concerned that the flexibility that children of mixed parentage enjoy may create envy in those whose parents are of the same race and thus cannot 'pick and choose' their race.
National University of Singapore (NUS) sociologist Tan Ern Ser gives an example of a Chinese-Malay child. 'If Chinese is considered a more difficult language, and he is allowed to choose Malay as a second language, would his 'Chinese-Chinese' friends feel unfairly treated?'
And for the adult Chinese-Malay, 'what if he chooses to be Chinese to maximise his chances of buying a flat in a particular HDB precinct?'
Other analysts think, however, that these concerns are overblown. They believe that the authorities are likely to restrict the number of changes a person can make to his race classification, and that once decided on, that classification will have to be used for all situations.
On ethnic quotas in Housing Board estates, NUS sociologist Chua Beng Huat thinks those with a double-barrelled race classification should not be given a choice. For example, a Chinese-Indian should be placed on a Chinese quota, rather than given a choice to use 'Chinese' or 'Indian' to purchase flats, which could give him a strategic advantage over others.
What of candidates in a general election in a group representation constituency (GRC)? The law requires at least one to be from a minority race. Will a Chinese-Malay count as one, or will he be considered a Chinese?
SMU law lecturer Eugene Tan believes the first listed race will continue to undergird the GRC policy.
Overall, the debate stirred up by the change is healthy, Associate Professor Tan Ern Ser believes.
'It forces us to think about whether race is indeed something we should continue to emphasise,' he said.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
ATTACKS AGAINST INDIANS IN MELBOURNE
indians in australia being attacked
indians say australians are racists
australians say -indians are showy and easy r
targets for crimes
protests...
indian community feels neglected
indian govt has also called for action
becos many indian students study there
education is australia's 3rd biggest income earner...
the chinese govt has joined in the appeal with india...
asking that the chinese students, who have also been a target of racism, be protected
indians say australians are racists
australians say -indians are showy and easy r
targets for crimes
protests...
indian community feels neglected
indian govt has also called for action
becos many indian students study there
education is australia's 3rd biggest income earner...
the chinese govt has joined in the appeal with india...
asking that the chinese students, who have also been a target of racism, be protected
Saturday, April 4, 2009
MIGRANT WORKERS SUFFFER TOO
THANK YOU ADELINE
Overseas domestic workers are probably the group of workers that experience the most systematic form of abuse - sexual, physical, mental," Kejser said, explaining that their work situation often rendered them powerless and completely dependent on their employers.
Indonesian migrant workers are among the least protected in the world. From high placement fees and poor training to lack of legal papers and government support, low salaries and lack of benefits, Indonesian migrant workers fare worse than those from countries such as the Philippines.
Overseas domestic workers are probably the group of workers that experience the most systematic form of abuse - sexual, physical, mental," Kejser said, explaining that their work situation often rendered them powerless and completely dependent on their employers.
Indonesian migrant workers are among the least protected in the world. From high placement fees and poor training to lack of legal papers and government support, low salaries and lack of benefits, Indonesian migrant workers fare worse than those from countries such as the Philippines.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
deglobalisation?
One of Singapore's greatest strengths is that it is the world's most globalised nation. The Foreign Policy magazine has a globalisation index. Singapore ranks No.1. There is no doubt that Singapore has succeeded in a spectacular fashion because it has been the best surfer on the tidal wave of globalisation.
READ ARTICLE 5
READ ARTICLE 5
Friday, October 24, 2008
is singapore really a global city
class - i was so excited to see this article - the question we just did yesterday i think
about singapore's stregths
What the infrastructure-rich, efficient city state excels in is giving a great first impression, with the tree-lined expressway from Changi Airport to the city centre as 'one of the most beautiful drives to and from any airport, anywhere in the world'.
Singapore is also moving towards increasing cultural vibrancy and openness, but here, there is room for improvement.
what we are lacking in
'If Singapore wants to push itself from a creativity perspective and wants to build a greater design community, you don't have to read Richard Florida's book on the creative class to know that cities need to be much more tolerant of other lifestyles, be they gay or otherwise.'
cities that have the right balance of strong government and ground-up creativity include Zurich, Copenhagen, Munich and Tokyo - this year's top four liveable cities according to Monocle.
so what makes a global city
MONOCLE'S editor-in-chief offers five suggestions for Singapore's urban planners:
A shopping street to challenge Orchard Road
A second hub would keep the retail scene 'interesting and dynamic'. Singapore could take its cue from central Tokyo, which is about three times larger and has many shopping districts, including the upmarket Omotesando avenue, the integrated live-work-shop Roppongi Hills development, bustling Shinjuku and youth fashion mecca Shibuya.
Get life onto the streets round-the-clock
Mr Tyler Brule's vision of a perfect high street is that it has something 'for young and old, early risers and night owls - a metabolism that runs seven days a week'. He thinks Singapore could take a leaf here from Taipei, known for its teeming night markets selling street food, as well as 24-hour bookshops, snack bars, businesses and convenience stores.
Add a little light industry into the mix
He bemoans the fact that in many of the world's major cities, 'you've got these design industries but they can't make anything' because the carpentry or tailoring has been outsourced elsewhere. A good neighbourhood should also 'make things and not just generate ideas'.
Develop your own architectural vernacular
Create distinctive indoor and outdoor spaces suited to the weather and lifestyle here. One good design idea for a tropical climate is Bal Harbor in Florida, a shopping mall in a tropical garden setting with coconut palms and ceiling fans.
Leave some things to chance
Singapore's brand of efficient planning is both its strength and weakness. 'Great cities work because they are full of surprises. You can't plan everything to the nth degree, you have to leave some space at the margins.'
Monocle's criteria:
Good flight connections and airport
Low crime rate
Strong public services such as education and health care
Ample sunshine and bearable average annual temperature
Excellent communications and connectivity
Tolerance of different races and lifestyles
Attractive architecture
Quality, affordable public transport and taxis
Strong local media and availability of international media
Access to nature and green areas
Innovative environmental initiatives
Cultural vibrancy
Ease of opening a small business
Ease of getting a drink after 1am.
Which city scores
2008 rankings
1. Copenhagen 2. Munich 3. Tokyo 4. Zurich 5. Helsinki 6. Vienna 7. Stockholm
8. Vancouver 9. Melbourne 10. Paris 11. Sydney 12. Honolulu 13. Madrid 14. Berlin
15. Barcelona 16. Montreal 17. Fukuoka 18. Amsterdam 19. Minneapolis 20. Kyoto
21. Hamburg 22. Singapore* 23. Geneva 24. Lisbon 25. Portland
about singapore's stregths
What the infrastructure-rich, efficient city state excels in is giving a great first impression, with the tree-lined expressway from Changi Airport to the city centre as 'one of the most beautiful drives to and from any airport, anywhere in the world'.
Singapore is also moving towards increasing cultural vibrancy and openness, but here, there is room for improvement.
what we are lacking in
'If Singapore wants to push itself from a creativity perspective and wants to build a greater design community, you don't have to read Richard Florida's book on the creative class to know that cities need to be much more tolerant of other lifestyles, be they gay or otherwise.'
cities that have the right balance of strong government and ground-up creativity include Zurich, Copenhagen, Munich and Tokyo - this year's top four liveable cities according to Monocle.
so what makes a global city
MONOCLE'S editor-in-chief offers five suggestions for Singapore's urban planners:
A shopping street to challenge Orchard Road
A second hub would keep the retail scene 'interesting and dynamic'. Singapore could take its cue from central Tokyo, which is about three times larger and has many shopping districts, including the upmarket Omotesando avenue, the integrated live-work-shop Roppongi Hills development, bustling Shinjuku and youth fashion mecca Shibuya.
Get life onto the streets round-the-clock
Mr Tyler Brule's vision of a perfect high street is that it has something 'for young and old, early risers and night owls - a metabolism that runs seven days a week'. He thinks Singapore could take a leaf here from Taipei, known for its teeming night markets selling street food, as well as 24-hour bookshops, snack bars, businesses and convenience stores.
Add a little light industry into the mix
He bemoans the fact that in many of the world's major cities, 'you've got these design industries but they can't make anything' because the carpentry or tailoring has been outsourced elsewhere. A good neighbourhood should also 'make things and not just generate ideas'.
Develop your own architectural vernacular
Create distinctive indoor and outdoor spaces suited to the weather and lifestyle here. One good design idea for a tropical climate is Bal Harbor in Florida, a shopping mall in a tropical garden setting with coconut palms and ceiling fans.
Leave some things to chance
Singapore's brand of efficient planning is both its strength and weakness. 'Great cities work because they are full of surprises. You can't plan everything to the nth degree, you have to leave some space at the margins.'
Monocle's criteria:
Good flight connections and airport
Low crime rate
Strong public services such as education and health care
Ample sunshine and bearable average annual temperature
Excellent communications and connectivity
Tolerance of different races and lifestyles
Attractive architecture
Quality, affordable public transport and taxis
Strong local media and availability of international media
Access to nature and green areas
Innovative environmental initiatives
Cultural vibrancy
Ease of opening a small business
Ease of getting a drink after 1am.
Which city scores
2008 rankings
1. Copenhagen 2. Munich 3. Tokyo 4. Zurich 5. Helsinki 6. Vienna 7. Stockholm
8. Vancouver 9. Melbourne 10. Paris 11. Sydney 12. Honolulu 13. Madrid 14. Berlin
15. Barcelona 16. Montreal 17. Fukuoka 18. Amsterdam 19. Minneapolis 20. Kyoto
21. Hamburg 22. Singapore* 23. Geneva 24. Lisbon 25. Portland
Friday, September 5, 2008
foreign workers - not in our backyard please
LAST year Singaporeans objected to the dead being sited near them when people in Sin Ming estate protested against the building of a funeral parlour there.
This month they are objecting to the living. Serangoon Gardens residents are up in arms about foreign workers being housed in a vacant school building within the estate.
You can bet on it: 'Not in my backyard!' will be heard more frequently in Singapore in the coming years. With land already scarce and the population still growing, the contest for space can only get more intense.
Anecdotally, I have heard of protests against columbariums, kindergartens, car parks, childcare centres, playgrounds - necessary facilities all, just 'not in my backyard'.
The real contest is however not about space. It is about power, pride and prejudice.
Power, because the ones most vocal in these protests and petitions tend to be middle-class folk, the socio-economic equals of their MPs and the bureaucrats who make decisions on siting of facilities.
Pride, because inherent in any group's attempt to push some facility away to another part of Singapore is an implied statement that their area is superior and entitled to the right not to be encumbered with undesirable amenities - or what one blogger has called 'disamenities'.
Prejudice, because underlying many of these protests are stated and unstated fears and assumptions.
In the Serangoon Gardens case, all three came together when residents got together to start a petition against turning the Serangoon Gardens Technical School building into a temporary dormitory for 1,000 foreign workers.
Serangoon Gardens is a staunchly middle-class estate that dates back half a century. Unlike nouveau riche middle-class Singaporeans, its residents are largely English-speaking and socially conservative.
Their spoken and unspoken fears: The foreign workers will litter, loiter, spit, steal, speak loudly, molest children and rob old people.
This month they are objecting to the living. Serangoon Gardens residents are up in arms about foreign workers being housed in a vacant school building within the estate.
You can bet on it: 'Not in my backyard!' will be heard more frequently in Singapore in the coming years. With land already scarce and the population still growing, the contest for space can only get more intense.
Anecdotally, I have heard of protests against columbariums, kindergartens, car parks, childcare centres, playgrounds - necessary facilities all, just 'not in my backyard'.
The real contest is however not about space. It is about power, pride and prejudice.
Power, because the ones most vocal in these protests and petitions tend to be middle-class folk, the socio-economic equals of their MPs and the bureaucrats who make decisions on siting of facilities.
Pride, because inherent in any group's attempt to push some facility away to another part of Singapore is an implied statement that their area is superior and entitled to the right not to be encumbered with undesirable amenities - or what one blogger has called 'disamenities'.
Prejudice, because underlying many of these protests are stated and unstated fears and assumptions.
In the Serangoon Gardens case, all three came together when residents got together to start a petition against turning the Serangoon Gardens Technical School building into a temporary dormitory for 1,000 foreign workers.
Serangoon Gardens is a staunchly middle-class estate that dates back half a century. Unlike nouveau riche middle-class Singaporeans, its residents are largely English-speaking and socially conservative.
Their spoken and unspoken fears: The foreign workers will litter, loiter, spit, steal, speak loudly, molest children and rob old people.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
absent dads
More married men are abandoning their families as they "disappear" overseas without a word, reported The Straits Times.
Eight private investigation firms The Straits Times spoke to say they are getting inquiries on more such cases. Of these, half say they each get up to 50 inquiries every year, twice the number five years ago.
Like the case of Mr Robert Lee, a 40-year-old construction worker whose last trip brought him to Vietnam in September last year.
In the same report by The Straits Times, Mr Lee was last known to have taken some documents from the family safe, and promising his three young daughters that he would return for good in a month's time.
But he did not show up again.
Now, his seven-year-old daughter, Sally, cries for him every night and writes letters in her childish scrawl, pleading for her father to return home.
These 'missing' men, mostly in their 40s to 50s, usually have found a new love - and life overseas. Some would have also cashed out their CPF savings. They may stay in touch with their families in Singapore for the first few months, but will suddenly cut off all means of communication with them later.
Mrs Lee suspects that was exactly what happened to her husband, though she has no proof. After all, the couple does not fight over money and married life was relatively trouble-free.
Some women, who can afford private investigators' fees that can run up to as much as $500 a day, pay to find out where their errant husbands have gone. But not all can do so.
Eight private investigation firms The Straits Times spoke to say they are getting inquiries on more such cases. Of these, half say they each get up to 50 inquiries every year, twice the number five years ago.
Like the case of Mr Robert Lee, a 40-year-old construction worker whose last trip brought him to Vietnam in September last year.
In the same report by The Straits Times, Mr Lee was last known to have taken some documents from the family safe, and promising his three young daughters that he would return for good in a month's time.
But he did not show up again.
Now, his seven-year-old daughter, Sally, cries for him every night and writes letters in her childish scrawl, pleading for her father to return home.
These 'missing' men, mostly in their 40s to 50s, usually have found a new love - and life overseas. Some would have also cashed out their CPF savings. They may stay in touch with their families in Singapore for the first few months, but will suddenly cut off all means of communication with them later.
Mrs Lee suspects that was exactly what happened to her husband, though she has no proof. After all, the couple does not fight over money and married life was relatively trouble-free.
Some women, who can afford private investigators' fees that can run up to as much as $500 a day, pay to find out where their errant husbands have gone. But not all can do so.
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