Globalization and the global economy - the GPN

A video illustrating the role of global production networks within globalization processes

On the current status of the world economy (2012-2013)

Globalization Forward: Growing Green Economies

Introduction to Globalization (2013 Sem 2)

Please note we will be doing this video watching exercise as introduction into economic globalization, our final topic in this module.

 For basic starters: Let's examine some theories associated with the flow of capital, goods, people and information in economic globalization.

Video 1: 60 seconds combined video of global economics by the Open University

Q1. Which theory do you think affects the flow of capital around the world to most? Explain your answer briefly. (Answer should be about 100 words)

Video 2: The environmental impact of the globalization and capitalistic production


Q2. What does Video 2 suggest about the way production is being done around the world? Who is in control? (Answer in about 100 words)

Video 3: Globalization Crash course 1 (warning: this guy talks FAST, but it's a really good crash course)

  Q3. What enabled global production as discussed in the video? (30 words)
Q4. What aspects of globalization was discussed? (50 words)

Video 4: Globalization Crash course 2 (it's the fast talking teacher again)


Q5. Which institutions try to control globalization? You will need to infer a bit. (Just state.)
Q6. What are the positive and negative effects of globalization? Who benefits the most? Who doesn't? Why? (200 words to state your opinions on this question)
Q7. What do you think individuals like us can make choices to lessen the negative impacts of globalization? (50 words)

Submission of responses REQUIRED. This exercise is GRADED as part of CA.
You will need to submit your responses HERE.

Environmental Sustainability Post Lesson Individual Activity (After watching Story of Stuff)

Dear Yr 2 Students,

We are starting off the topic on Environmental Sustainability with the Story of Stuff! You would have watch this video in class (it is 20+ minutes) and the class would have done a simple discussion based on what you have seen.




Now as you go home, write down the thoughts you have in answering the following questions. This reflection should only take up 1 writing paper.

Question 1:

From the video, list and explain one part about the "materials economy" that does not surprise you but you now realise is very wasteful in terms of rationalization of resources. (make a point and elaborate on it in about 50 words)

Criteria for Q1:
Reflection on why "we can't see the environmental damage": 5m

Question 2: (requires reading of http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/the-human-cost-of-stuff/annie-leonard-more-than-a-mindful-consumer)

"We can't avoid buying and using stuff. But we can work to reclaim our relationship to it. We used to own our stuff; now our stuff owns us. How can we restore the proper balance?"

What kind of problems do you personally feel you have to overcome to try to be a "thinking consumer"? Is this still about being a "consumer"? What has citizenship got to do with environmental sustainability?
Pen down your thoughts about this as you read Annie Leonard's article for inspiration. Write this down in about 1 page (without leaving lines)

Criteria for Q2:
Reflection on personal lifestyle: up to 5m
Reflection on materials economy: up to 5m
Reflection on sociology of consumption: up to 5m

Singapore River Walk 2013 for GE4102 students

Dear GE4102 students,

I hope you are getting all excited about our fieldwork to Boat Quay, Clarke Quay and Marina Bay Sands.

Please bear in mind the following:

Bring:

1. COMPLUSORY: Umbrellas or rain poncho to shelter you from rain (Any group who have group member without rain protection gets a 1 mark penalization straightaway)
2. Color pencils (at least 8 different colors)for field work

3. 1 L water bottle of water for drinking
4. Small snacks to munch on in case you are hungry

5. Notebook or recording devices to help you with writing down field notes or record possible interviews

6. A small backpack to keep your things and free up your hands  

PRE-FIELDWORK INSTRUCTIONS
Remember to nominate a group member or members to Mrs Lim to gain access to the shared functions survey google spreadsheet to input the functions survey for your group. The whole class is sharing the data later.

Also, please kindly familiarise yourself with the URA legend for Singapore Masterplan, so you know which ones to include if it is not covered under the function A to H that I have for your use in the little fieldwork booklet issued to you. It's really A LONG READ if you choose the text form but you can go to URA Integrated Map System to check the color version by clicking on the legend icon (3rd icon from the search bar from the left side).

BRING your BOOKLET for fieldwork trip.

Click here to see the consolidated excel form populating as the input person from each group puts in the data on the same night of the fieldwork.

Terrorism - is there global terrorism?

To IH2103 students in 204, 205 and 206:

For this short class activity, please note you need to view the interactive map at http://www.nctc.gov/site/map/index.html.

You will also need to complete your individual worksheet after discussion with your pair or trio. And yes, you can choose your preferred working partner this time round.

The questions here are in your worksheet. So if you lose your worksheet, you can still respond by referring to the questions here.

The big picture:
Q1. How will you describe the global distribution of terrorist groups? (3 marks, 3 points to make)

Q2. Discuss, using geo-political factors, how terrorist groups survive elimination despite efforts made by the UN, US and local governments to clamp down on them. (9 marks, 3 elaborated points + a case study to illustrate your point)

Focusing on the ASEAN region:
Q3. Read up on THREE terrorist groups in the ASEAN region.
a) Explain their common motivations for staying as terrorists. (6 marks, 3 elaborated points)
b) Are these other means of getting what they want without using terrorism as a method? (4 marks, 2 elaborated points)
c) Discuss the common traits of the attacks they are responsible for. (3 marks, 3 points)

Remembering the hazy days in Singapore during June 2013 (Singapore's role in ASEAN - providing the technologies?)

As many of you can recall from your ("not too long ago") IH module on ASEAN, Singapore exist in a region where peace is actively negotiated at the regional level, where trans-boundary conflicts are constantly being negotiated as and when they arise. The recent haze episode in June essentially brings back the living memories of having to yet negotiate with our neighbors....

The first thing that crossed my mind however was....

BUT, to move on to the real issues of resolving conflicts, as any good diplomats will focus on....













PM Lee Hsien Loong's 20 June press conference on the haze, especially after it hit the unhealthy range for a few days.


Our PM himself took the time to address the nation and assure the population that Singapore will do its best to negotiate with the Indonesia authorities on finding the (Singaporean)companies responsible for any burning.

The video coverage of the environmental ministers who met later on in mid-July 2013.


Amongst the ASEAN countries, Indonesia is the only country that has not ratified the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, but has recently this year reported that they will raise the ratification issue in parliament after causing the PSI to cross into the unhealthy range in Singapore, registering the highest PSI levels above 370s, a historical high in Singapore, and sent Muar, Malaysia into a state of emergency with PSI levels over the 700s range.

Many people in Singapore were angry with the situation and many point fingers at the palm oil companies that were responsible in allowing their workers to persist in using the slash and burn method of clearing plantations and getting them ready for the next batch of palm oil planting.

As Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan had pointed out, Singapore's advanced satelite imagery technologies basically provide all the tools available to pin-point the errant companies. Singapore also obviously have to diplomatically work with the other governments in ASEAN to handle the transboundary haze issue.

ACE discussion on Singapore and ASEAN:

Discussion 1:
In your MGs, let's focus on discussing if there were other alternatives Singapore could have taken. Can you agree with the course our Ministers have taken so far?

Discussion 2:
Do you remember a comment made by a senior Indonesian minister that Singapore was "behaving like a child" over the haze situation? Singapore decided not to engage that comment. Think about such diplomacy exercised in the spirit of unity in the region. What kind of character/strength does a government office holder need to show such restrain?

Discussion 3:
Palm oil is actually commonly used in the manufacturing of many food items and sold as "vegetable oil". It is the cheapest form of cooking oil and you can imagine not only most households will buy it, but many food manufacturers use it because of its relative cheap price. The crop needs to be cleared, i.e. slashed and burnt down, after about 25 years of growing, which means there will be smoke produced every time a large tracts of Indonesian palm plantations reach their 25 years shelf lives. Is this something we want to "live with"?

Singapore has recommended naming the errant companies to allow a form of commercial pressure to operate, and possibly make the companies think twice about using the slash and burn method of clearance. How effective do you think this is in place of diplomatic ties? Will you modify your own consumption to avoid food items prepared using "vegetable oil"? 

This looks like a regional problem but it seems consumers like you and I can "do something about it"?

E-learning for 20 August Lesson (GE4102 students)

Dear students,

You would have collected the video comprehension handout from the 13 August lesson. Please watch the following videos (China Children Left Behind - 3 parts), Urban Migration for Young Chinese on the Rise and China's Migrant Children.

The questions for reflections are here, but do note that it has been physically given to you as well in fixed box space (to help control your writing).

Video 1: China Children Left Behind

PART 1



PART 2

PART 3

Video 2: Urban Migration for Young Chinese on the Rise

Video 3: China's Migrant Children

Video 1:

Q1. Explain at least 3 socio-psychological impacts on the children of the migrant workers when they are left behind with their elderly parents.

Q2. Explain 2 main reasons for migrant workers leaving their children behind in the rural areas.

Q3. Discuss 3 issues you think rural Chinese society is facing because of the prevalent rural-urban migration.

Video 2:

Q1. Describe the typical Chinese migrant who will take migrate from rural provinces into cities for work.

Q2. Explain the sociological changes the video is trying to describe.

Video 3:

Q1. What is the social injustice that is happening to the migrant children in Beijing?

Q2. To what extent do you feel the "houkou system" is sabotaging Chinese society? (You can include reflections from the first 2 videos too).

Submission of your physical handout for this activity is essential.
DEADLINE: 21 August 6pm to my pigeonhole (86).

What GE4102 Students need to do on 13 August (Mrs Lim away on training)

Dear Students, (Amendments as of 13 August 3pm)

Please note the order of the lesson should go this way. I will like De Rong to help facilitate the flow.

(first 20 mins)
Please sit in class for the McGee and Latin American Groups to present their powerpoints on delimiting the CBD in their assigned urban model and chosen case studies.

These groups should send in their powerpoints earlier, so everyone gets a copy of the presentations done for this lesson unit on urban models.

(next 100 mins)

Take time to research and create your Diigo cloud library to search out relevant information for your assigned topic. You should focus on searching and annotating using 1 common user you can create for the purpose of this activity. You should watch the demonstration video and play around with the interface. It's not too difficult to figure out how to do highlights, put in sticky notes, and send the library as a link to me.

A tip to deal with PDFs - you can cut and paste the text into a blog entry OR you can capture images directly.

Link to your migration lesson handout: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0NH1U79c6yJVmlneXAyU2RqX0E/edit?usp=sharing

Administration:

1. Collect back Assignment 1(marked)
2. Collect Model Answers for Class Activity and Assignment 1
3. Collect Print Outs of Urban Models Group Presentations (if everyone emails me their presentations then)
4. Collect Handout for E-learning activity (Video Comprehension) and Tutorial Assignment 3 on migration (Data Response Questions and Essay Question) to be done during E-learning Day. Tutorial 3 is "class work". Assignment 3 is graded work to be done in place of lesson.
5. Remind representatives of Tutorial 2 readings on fertility and mortality rate to input answers for the class to have a collective summary. Link here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SsS53C0r1sP6AUL-cJ2RFr68l-MOJo6IOU3qULWo_Ig/edit?usp=sharing 

Deadlines to meet in the next 2 weeks, submit work to pigeon hole 86:

By 16 August 6pm: 

• Tutorial 2 collective answers should be filled up. If representatives do not fill this up, the whole class does not get answers to Tutorial 2.
• Migration topic has been granted a week's extension as requested.

By 21 August 6pm:

• Submit your Assignment 2 (3 essays) in physical copy to my pigeonhole. Assignment 2 (soft copy) is available here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0NH1U79c6yJTWFKRVpkaFJfdW8/edit?usp=sharing Please note that you were issued this assignment on 6 August.
• Submit E-learning activity handout (video comprehension). This is a physical submission of the handout given on 13 August. You are expected to watch the videos, and capture your own reflections. This should only take 1 hour.
• Submit via email to madzious(@)gmail.com (1) link to your Diigo library and (2) 2-page handout on assigned migration topic in DOC.Format.

By 23 August 6pm:

• Submit Assignment 3 on Migration DRQ to my pigeon hole. This is a physical submission of your written responses. Also note, this is to be done as part of the lesson time allocated for E-learning and part of the 1 hour of the allocated lesson time ought to be spent on this assignment.

To be continued: E-learning Activity will be posted soon over the August long weekend.

Terrorism Learning Activity 1 (For classes M13204, M13205, M13206)

Dear Students.

Here are your topics.

Group 1: Prepare a 5 min presentation on the Al Qaeda, its history, ideology and significance as a global terrorist group and the attacks done by the Al Qaeda so far, using a world map in the end to sum up where these attacks had taken place.

Group 2: Prepare a 5 min presentation on how the US government has treated terrorism so far and the debates on how the US government had looked into Al Qaeda as a US threat. 

Group 3: Prepare a 5 min presentation on the Jemaah Islamiyah, its history, ideology and motivations as a terrorist group in Southeast Asia.

Group 4: Prepare a 5 min presentation on terrorism acts that had happened to Singapore from just before independence to present day.

Group 5: Prepare a 5 min presentation on how Singapore, alongside ASEAN has responded to terrorism threats in Southeast Asia.

Harnessing the power of bacteria for good (31 July e-lecture)

In view of the fact we only have 30 mins together as a class, let's aim for something inspiring, interdisciplinary and also, intellectual. :)

To DV2105 students: please watch this video and discover what it takes to have an interdisciplinary angle to investigating issues. I like the fact that the girls decided that plastic, something that is a man-made creation, need not have a man-made solution to its destruction (or breakdown). And guess what, they went and dug up mud samples from their nearby river for strains of bacteria that were surviving plastic pollution.

The lesson for this lecture is quite simple - that solutions to many man-made problems we have today need new paradigms of thinking, thinking beyond the natural containers of social or natural sciences. Think and imagine solutions that will cut across various disciplines (from social sciences, engineering, natural science or even design).

TASK FOR TODAY:
Today, all you need to do is to look at your two proposals and the methods you have been thinking about. Try applying the "containers" of other sciences you ARE NOT THINKING of. Are there other possible ways of investigating your research questions?

Important note:
Email your proposals by 6pm today to dvsciencejunior@gmail.com. You can indicate in the project title of your proposals which of them you prefer working on. Number the proposal (1) for the one you better prefer and a give a (2) to the one you next best want to work on. So essentially, your group proposal 1 is prefer than proposal 2. Get it?

For starters, anyone interested in growing bacteria that will breakdown petroleum oil spills in Singapore? That's our local solution right?

What's up with Northern Ireland now?

So the parades continue to remind the 2 communities of their differences, yet ironically represent their own cultures. It is interesting to see that the conflict now is physically visible as gates separating the Catholics from the Protestants.

Lecture on Energy, the Economy and the possible "futures" we face.

Dear Students,

This is for your enrichment, a lecture on the state of energy consumption by Dr Scott Tinker. It's very informative and set you thinking about your future in the global economy ahead, an economy that has to be powered by energy.

Listen to how he uses indicators to make his points.

Here's a link to another one of his talks: http://www.beg.utexas.edu/presentations/presentations/2012_presentations/SPE_Oct2012.pdf

GE4101 E-learning activity and worksheet

Dear Year 4 Geography students,

For this E-learning lesson lasting 2 periods, we are going to cover earthquakes and tsunamis. You are to use the timetabled lesson slot only.

Please also note that a reading pack will be distributed to you in your classes on Wednesday morning. The reading pack is for weathering, soils and slopes processes. Please read weathering and soils by next lesson, 2 April. The usual reading check for evidences of reading will apply.

You are to submit the following via the Google Form HERE.

*NEW* Here are your responses. Please view and look for your own, as well as view some others' to have a better idea.

For ideas on earthquake management: Visit the following:

How Southern California copes with earthquakes: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1995/fs225-95/ 
How US citizens prepare for earthquakes: http://www.ready.gov/earthquakes
Japan case study: Look at pages 41 and 42 for table summary of mitigation and agencies involved: http://www.oecd.org/japan/37377837.pdf 

Task 1: a description of the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami (200 words).
Task 2: a description of the 2004 Boxing Day Indian Ocean Tsunami (200 words).
Task 3: Watch the earthquake and tsunami video in this entry, be ready to give comments when I see you on 2 April.

Task 4: After visiting the websites allocated in this entry, prepare a discussion which we will have as part of module recap -To what extent can national governments prepare for natural hazards like earthquakes and tsunamis? [10m].

This is not graded but you need to show proof of preparation closer to exam revision. 
Prepare a 1 page list of what governments can do and associated challenges with the measures. Best to do it now, rather than later.

A note of caution FIRST:
A word about searching youtube for earthquakes and tsunamis. 1. You WILL SEE PEOPLE DIE, and they are NOT fictional movies. As such, please be emotionally prepared that these natural hazards do cost human lives, and living in today's information-age means we now get to see footage of actual destruction. Personally, I was quite traumatised watching a multi-parts documentary on the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami. As such, I decided to only let you watch the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami video below, which does not depict people dying, but do know that there was slightly more than 15,800 confirmed deaths from this tsunami.

Video: Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, 2011 (some parts had weirdly placed music, just bear with it)


Please only make use of the resources provided here to do your 200-word descriptions. To search up more information will only take up more of your time, which you do not want to do so in your allocated 2 periods.

Useful links on the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. Do note you are encouraged to visit the other links presented in these websites.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2011/usc0001xgp/#summary
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/2011_Earthquake/Information_on_2011_Earthquake.html
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fast-facts-japan

Please do check out the following websites, which when taken together, gives a good overview of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Do visit the related links cited in these websites.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1227_041226_tsunami.html 
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2004/us2004slav/#summary
http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/tsunami/indianocean.html

Compare and contrast class practice (This is NOT homework)

Source 1: “What Doha did” from the Economist magazine

Since 2007 the annual negotiations by the parties to the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change have run on two “tracks”. One has been devoted to the Kyoto protocol, which limits the emissions of the rich countries that have ratified it, but nobody else’s. The other tries to set up long-term mechanisms to combat climate change. Doha’s achievement was to sort out this mess. The rich countries still signed up to Kyoto (Japan, Canada, Russia and some others have, in effect, left it) accepted ultra-modest new emissions targets for the period to 2020, which is when the new deal to be agreed in 2015 is meant to take effect. This leaves nothing more to negotiate under the Kyoto protocol. The catch-all second track was closed down. Just one lot of talks will now lead up to the 2015 conference in France.

Source 2: “Why the Doha Climate Conference was a success” by The Guardian (UK) newspaper

The EU wanted Doha to mark the transition away from the old climate regime, where only developed countries have the legal obligation to reduce emissions, to the new system where all countries, developed and developing alike, will for the first time make legal commitments under the new global agreement. Check. This is not a small achievement. Today, the average emission per capita in China is already 7.2 tonnes and increasing. Europe's is 7.5 tonnes and decreasing. The world cannot fight climate change without emerging economies committing. That is why crossing the bridge from the old system to the new system was so important. And we did it.

From sources 1 and 2, to what extent is the Doha Climate Change Conference seen as a successful conference? (7m)

Sustainable development timeline in-class exercise

Dear students,

Here's the link for our in-class activity:

A comparison of sustainable development international and singapore's timeline.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkNH1U79c6yJdGpTU3hkak5xQ29icXhuNV8tZGR3VHc&usp=sharing

In class, we will be reading http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2012/sd_timeline_2012.pdf

Videos on Volcanoes

USGS's video on Mount Saint Helen, which they did not allow to embed... http://youtu.be/xP2dreOI8gI

This is definitely worth watching.


And for our class activity, we are going to answer (A) and (B) in groups

Crossing the lava video clip



The "pyroclastic flow"



(A) Explain the extent these video clips are representative of the destructive nature of acidic lava type volcanoes.

Traffic jams... a town in big trouble!


(B) Explain how volcanic hazard management has failed in this movie clip and explain how you will go about setting in place a volcanic hazard management program for a town like the one portrayed in the movie.

COP18/CMP8 Climate Change Conference Doha 2012

Learning how to use excel to analyse data better

Dear Students,
 For this class exercise, we are looking into how we can use simple graphs and charts to represent data and understand relationships between different data better.

 We usually use a simple co-relation efficient to talk about relationship between data.

It is a simple qualitative approach that gives people an idea of the strength of the relationship between 2 different sets of data.

 The degree of the relationship (positive or negative) can be quantified by calculating the R ( correlation coefficient).

Excel provides a very quick way of calculating the "line of best fit" to allow us to see the R value very fast.

A "R value" that is close to 1 means there is a strong positive relationship between the sets of data. As X increase, Y also increase.

A "R value" that is close to -1 means there is a strong negative relationship between the sets of data. As X increase, Y decreases.

Pay attention in class as Mrs Lim demonstrates the use of excel for item 1 and 3 in TASK B.

TASK A: THINK TIME:
What happens when you get a value that is close to 0? Discuss!

TASK B: EXCEL TIME (Work in pairs or trios, according to sharing of computers in class)
Download the data file from Espace IH2013 module workbin.

Open the file in Excel.

As a class, we will discuss the best way to represent data to aid the following investigations:

1. Co-relation of population size and energy consumption per capita
2. Co-relation of GDP per capita and energy consumption per capita
3. Comparison of types of countries and their energy consumption per capita
4. Comparsion of GDP per capita and energy consumption per capita according to types of countries 

Preparation for first lesson in Week 8:

1. Discuss the data representations and the implications of what you observe.
2. What do the analyse suggest about the distribution of resources? 
3. How do the implications affect the way these countries tackle global issues on the environment?

Gdrive link: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0NH1U79c6yJSDZaNU5kWUNRelE/edit?usp=sharing

Class Activity for Yr 4 students in GE4101

Dear Year 4 students, Please prepare individual answers to the following questions as a follow up to the presentations on "Help Indonesia" module project. This will be covered after the magma lecture.

 Q1. With the aid of well annotated figures,
(a) Explain how composite volcanic cones are formed, (6m)
(b) how different types of lava give rise to different shaped volcanoes (9m)
(c) how lakes and volcanic plugs maybe formed from previously existing volcanic cones (6m)

*NEW*
Suggested answer for 1(c). Link: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0NH1U79c6yJa3NIdHdkb25ZWm8/edit?usp=sharing 


 Q2. Refer to the video embedded below.


(a)  What information do you think has been covered in this video? Has it been done adequately?
(b) What other information would you think should have been included to help online viewers understand earthquakes better?
(c) To what extent do you think this is a good video on earthquakes?

(Come to class prepared with your own critique, using 2(a-c) as a basis for preparation.)

Pre-project feedback: module project grouping concerns

In line with the spirit of learning and overcoming challenges in groupwork, your module project groupings will be decided by me too. If you have issues with certain individuals in your class, use the form below to submit your concerns to highlight your past experience of working with the particular student. I will look into your feedback and consult the particular student or/and guide that group with the individual more. Information submitted is confidential. Of course, after this feedback exercise, I will check with you personally on your feedback to verify the authenticity of the feedback submission. Your mentors will also get to see the feedback as part of each student's pastoral/character growth.

Groupings for topic on terrorism presentation ONLY

Dear students,

the groupings here is only for the presentations on terrorism and is not your module project groupings. I will observe each students' behaviour more before deciding on your module project groupings.

201

1	2
Aditi Saayujya	Elijah Yap Ming Loong
Lim Jia Ler	Ng Yong Sheng
Bryan Ng Dawei	Yeoh Tze Xuan
Yap Teng Chiong	Low Xi Zhi
3	4
John Zhou Erli	Thirrisha Murugan
Janarthanan Dharun	Choo Yi Kai
Ng Zi Xuan	Teo Jin Qi, Gavin
Ang Yu Hui	Cheng E Sheen
5	6
Woo Ze Ming, Joshua	Jedidiah Koh Kee Hao
Leong Keng Hoy	Sim Rui En, Daniel
Moon Jo Hyun	Ong Zhi Xuan
Park So Hyun	Tam Wai Yong

202

1	2
Belle Sow Miaoer (Belle Su Miaoer)	Isaac Tay Zhi Xian
Lim Jun Long	Zhang Shi Chen
Au Wei Liang William	Huang Feiyang
Lee Yeu Hann	Clarence Chew Xuan Da
3	4
Chen Hongpo	Tan Jun Heng Daren
Sanil Kumar Ashwin	Lim Jun Wah Jonathan
Yeo Shen Kai	Loo Wei-Hao Nicholas
Goh Shuen Yi, Shenny	Wang Nian Jing Ryan
5	6
Lim Kia Teng	Shi Shu Yuan
Calvin Chang Zuo Wei	Chen Zeyu
Felicia Tai Ying Fei	Sneha Ram
Chandrasekaran Hema	Ng Kwan Hian, Kenneth

203

1	2
Lai Kai Wen	Jiang Jiahui
Ong Hong Ming Teddy	Darell Chua Yun Da
Lee Dosang	Neo Tze Kay
Lee Zheng Han	Cheah Yu Min Dayna
	Shawn Chang
3	4
Bryan Low Wei Sheng	Justin Fidelis Wong Jun Wen
Aw Khai Loong	Wu Jiarong
Chermaine Bok	Wa Thone
Periasamy Sabareesan	Lim Yan Ling
5	6
Tho Jian Xiong	Chng Xian Mao, Samuel
Tay Jing Xuan	Venkatesh Vijay Narayanan
Khaarthik Kumar Amuddhu	Yong Ray Wen Joshua
Lee Yu Hao	Chan Gerald

Topic on terrorism

We are now embarking on looking at "Manifestation of Conflicts", in particular, we are examining terrorism around the world. In this lesson unit, we will examine the characteristics of terrorism, its motivations, social, economic and political impacts and finally, how different countries have managed the terrorism activities and conflicts in their territories.

 To start off, we are on a "secret mission" with a very important but secretive government department to train up a group of young Singaporean government officials to go into nearby countries as interns in our own Singaporean Embassies. While they seemingly look like young officials who are tasked to learn the administrative duties in our embassies, these officials are also tasked to make friends with certain groups of foreigners in the countries they had been sent to find out more about the networks of possible terrorism groups in that country.

  LESSON 1: What is terrorism?
As part of their training, you need to cover the following with them: 

1. They need to be very clear about the characteristics of terrorism 
2. When investigating probable terrorism operations, they must know what important information to note and report back to you 
3. They should be able to report on the way terrorists interact and operate in that country 

 Brainstorm as a "department" on the 3 things. We will come up with as many things we can think of and enter them into the google form so we can view our items collectively. We will then figure out the categories to classify the information so as to better guide ourselves in understanding terrorism.

Key in your responses in the 3 text boxes in the google form below. The form can be scrolled down. Remember to "submit".
  LESSON 2: Training our young government officials
To avoid having them become ignorant fools, you also should cover some essential information with them. To do so, your department will need to be split into groups to more efficiently teach them. *groups to be given in class and will appear in a separate post later*

 Group 1: Prepare a 5 min presentation on the Al Qaeda, its history, ideology and significance as a global terrorist group
Group 2: Prepare a 5 min presentation on the attacks done by the Al Qaeda so far, using a world map in the end to sum up where these attacks had taken place.
Group 3: Prepare a 5 min presentation on the Jemaah Islamiyah, its history, ideology and motivations as a terrorist group in Southeast Asia.
Group 4: Prepare a 5 min presentation on JI activities and incidents that happened in Singapore
 Group 5: Prepare a 5 min presentation on terrorism acts that had happened to Singapore since independence.
Group 6: Prepare a 5 min presentation on the history of recent Singapore's terrorist hunt, Mas Selamat.

LESSON 3: The actual training day (Presentation Day)

LESSON 4: A possible 24 hours before 9/11 (1 lesson given for project time) *to be updated*
You recently discovered your class has some talented actors who can rise up to the occasion.  Prepare and act out a 5 min video, complete with script, props and blocking instructions (where to start, stand, move), video editing techniques. This vidoe should be an imaginary or real scene based on newspaper reports on the September 11 attacks back in 2001. In other words, it is historically informed and to a large extent believeable.

More information will be given soon! Project members are determined by Mrs Lim.

Northern Ireland (Activity Instructions and link to notebook)

Dear students,

As we revise our IH critical thinking skills, we are moving unto North Ireland as our second case study of conflicts at the regional scale within a country.

The link to notes on North Ireland is here: https://www.evernote.com/pub/maddiechen/northernireland

To start this topic, we are going to have presentations on different aspects of the conflict in Northern Ireland.

Activity: Presentations to classmates (Peer teaching and learning)

1st lesson: Prepare your answers to your allocated questions. 

Group As to work on criteria on how to 'mark' Group Bs in this lesson, as your tasks are shorter in preparation. Be ready to share and explain with Mrs Lim your criteria for marking the answers Group Bs will be presenting in lesson 2. You can prepare an actual rubric and explain your criteria to your respective group B.

Group Bs to work out a short 10 min presentation to present their answers to their allocated questions. Your partner Group A will be grading you.

2nd lesson: Exchange Knowledge Time

Group As to present their answers to Group Bs in the 2nd lesson. Group Bs to 'mark' Group As based on your background knowledge, which you prepared as part of your own learning. Group Bs will be given assessment score cards to mark your respective Group As. This section is only 10 mins.

Group Bs to present your topic using 10 mins. Group As are given sweets and will vote on the "best, well prepared" presentation at the end of the lesson, AFTER their respective grading.

Group 1:  

TASK A: With reference to Source 1 in this exercise, What is the message of the picture in Source 1? Explain how you derived your answer.

TASK B: Who are the IRA? Which disputes and clashes was IRA deemed to be responsible for? Do you agree?

Source 1. A T-shirt design promoting the Irish Republican Army.



Image taken from: http://vector.us/files/images/2/1/217451/ira_t_shirt_vector.jpg, last accessed 16 Jan 2013.

Group 2: 

TASK A: To what extent can the photograph in Source 2 represent conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland? Explain how you derived your answer.

TASK B: Explain how the history of Ireland complicates relationship between North Ireland, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Source 2: A police stopping a protester from crossing an area in Belfast.



Image taken from: http://metro.co.uk/2012/12/08/belfast-police-hurt-in-northern-ireland-union-flag-riots-3307492/, last accessed 16 Jan 2013.

Group 3: 

TASK A: What does the mural in source 3 suggest about the process of conflict in Northern Ireland? Explain how you derived your answer.

TASK B: Explain and discuss the 'Troubles' and the impact it has on contemporary events in North Ireland.

Source 3: A wall mural depicting the Troubles in North Ireland


Image taken from: http://cdn.insightonconflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/FallsRoadMural.jpg, last accessed 15 January 2013.

Take note of your new groups here.

Learning Groups for topic on North Ireland

201

1A	1B
Aditi Saayujya	Choo Yi Kai
Elijah Yap Ming Loong	Woo Ze Ming, Joshua
Park So Hyun	Ng Yong Sheng
Sim Rui En, Daniel	Leong Keng Hoy
2A	2B
John Zhou Erli	Moon Jo Hyun
Cheng E Sheen	Ng Zi Xuan
Jedidiah Koh Kee Hao	Janarthanan Dharun
Tam Wai Yong	Bryan Ng Dawei
3A	3B
Ang Yu Hui	Teo Jin Qi, Gavin
Lim Jia Ler	Ong Zhi Xuan
Yeoh Tze Xuan	Yap Teng Chiong
Low Xi Zhi	Thirrisha Murugan

202

1A	1B
Sneha Ram	Isaac Tay Zhi Xian
Goh Shuen Yi, Shenny	Belle Sow Miaoer
Tan Jun Heng Daren	Felicia Tai Ying Fei
Chen Zeyu	Clarence Chew Xuan Da
2A	2B
Chandrasekaran Hema	Wang Nian Jing Ryan
Yeo Shen Kai	Lim Kia Teng
Au Wei Liang William	Shi Shu Yuan
Calvin Chang Zuo Wei	Zhang Shi Chen
3A	3B
Sanil Kumar Ashwin	Lim Jun Wah Jonathan
Lim Jun Long	Loo Wei-Hao Nicholas
Huang Feiyang	Chen Hongpo
Lee Yeu Hann	Ng Kwan Hian, Kenneth

203

1A	1B
Wu Jiarong	Tay Jing Xuan
Lai Kai Wen	Venkatesh Vijay Narayanan
Aw Khai Loong	Shawn Chang
Cheah Yu Min Dayna	Wa Thone
2A	2B
Ong Hong Ming Teddy	Darell Chua Yun Da
Bryan Low Wei Sheng	Yong Ray Wen Joshua
Khaarthik Kumar Amuddhu	Justin Fidelis Wong Jun Wen
Neo Tze Kay	Lee Dosang
3A	3B
Jiang Jiahui	Lee Yu Hao
Tho Jian Xiong	Lee Zheng Han
Chan Gerald	Lim Yan Ling
Chermaine Bok	Chng Xian Mao, Samuel
Periasamy Sabareesan

Responses on presentations

A quick introduction to the LTTE (contributed by Lee Yeu Hann)

After Sri Lanka gained its independence, a coalition government with Tamil representatives was formed. However, there was growing dissent among Tamils which led to the formation of insurgent groups. One of them was Tamil New Tigers (TNT), formed in 1972.

Tension eventually escalated and an armed insurgency spearheaded by the LTTE was started. This was sparked by the Policy of standardization that favoured Sinhalese for entry to university education. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were a union of four different insurgent groups and fought for a Tamil Eelam, an independent Tamil State in the north east province of Jaffna. They were later defeated in 2009 after a long bloody civil war. However, in order to finance these activities, the LTTE resorted to sea piracy, arms and people smuggling, drug trafficking, extortion, money laundering and credit card fraud. 

Disappointingly, it also carried out attacks on civilians, used women as suicide bombers, recruited children as soldiers, engaged in ethnic cleansing including innocent Muslims, executed fellow Tamils and prisoners of war (POWs) and violated international law. It is no surprise that they are classified as a terrorist group by the CIA.

Ever note Notebook on Sri Lanka (fist class group activity)

Dear students,

Please follow this link to a live version of Mrs Lim's evernote notebook on Sri Lanka, with all the up to date clippings of articles covered in class.

https://www.evernote.com/pub/maddiechen/srilanka

Please also look at "The Hindu" article and work in your allocated groups to discuss the following:

source origin
author
tone
perspective
purpose/ intention
influence

Capture your discussion on the A3 paper allocated to your class. The groupings will be published on this blog by end of Thursday (10 Jan).

*Update as of 2.40pm on 10 Jan 2013*
Here is the groupings for 201 and 202 and 203

Please note that I will rotate you around VERY OFTEN. The key growing areas in groupwork is to pick up skills of negotiation and knowing how to be a contributing team player. You will be better equipped in groupwork skills by the end of this module. :)

201

1	2
Aditi Saayujya	Choo Yi Kai
Woo Ze Ming, Joshua	Elijah Yap Ming Loong
Cheng E Sheen	Ng Yong Sheng
Jedidiah Koh Kee Hao	Janarthanan Dharun
3	4
Park So Hyun	Tam Wai Yong
Leong Keng Hoy	Moon Jo Hyun
Sim Rui En, Daniel	Ng Zi Xuan
John Zhou Erli	Yap Teng Chiong
5	6
Teo Jin Qi, Gavin	Ang Yu Hui
Ong Zhi Xuan	Lim Jia Ler
Yeoh Tze Xuan	Bryan Ng Dawei
Low Xi Zhi	Thirrisha Murugan

202

1	2
Belle Sow Miaoer (Belle Su Miaoer)	Isaac Tay Zhi Xian
Chen Hongpo	Lim Jun Wah Jonathan
Tan Jun Heng Daren	Sanil Kumar Ashwin
Chandrasekaran Hema	Lim Jun Long
3	4
Sneha Ram	Zhang Shi Chen
Clarence Chew Xuan Da	Loo Wei-Hao Nicholas
Yeo Shen Kai	Goh Shuen Yi, Shenny
Felicia Tai Ying Fei	Ng Kwan Hian, Kenneth
5	6
Au Wei Liang William	Huang Feiyang
Calvin Chang Zuo Wei	Lee Yeu Hann
Chen Zeyu	Lim Kia Teng
Wang Nian Jing Ryan	Shi Shu Yuan

203 (to be used from the 11 Jan lesson until discussion lesson the following week)

1	2
Lee Dosang	Periasamy Sabareesan
Lai Kai Wen	Bryan Low Wei Sheng
Lim Yan Ling	Neo Tze Kay
Chng Xian Mao, Samuel	Wa Thone
3	4
Darell Chua Yun Da	Jiang Jiahui
Lee Yu Hao	Justin Fidelis Wong Jun Wen
Lee Zheng Han	Khaarthik Kumar Amuddhu
Tay Jing Xuan	Venkatesh Vijay Narayanan
5	6
Wu Jiarong	Yong Ray Wen Joshua
Shawn Chang	Tho Jian Xiong
Chan Gerald	Aw Khai Loong
Chermaine Bok	Cheah Yu Min Dayna
Ong Hong Ming Teddy

Please have your discussion ready by first lesson next week. Thanks!

Mrs Lim