2010

A Level GP Revision Guide

[GP QUICK REVISION: SOCIAL/OTHERS]

Category 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2003 2003 2003 2003 2004 2004 2005 2005 2005 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2009 2009

Social Questions/Others 1 Is there a case for keeping animals in zoos 4 if people become ill it is largely their own fault 9 do you agree that city life is becoming increasingly unattractive 10 Air travel creatse more problems than benefits. 11 is friendly rivalry ever possible 6 the only worthwhile form of discipline is self-discipline. 1 To what extent are small businesses preferable to large ones 2 a good leader must always look beyond the needs of his or her country. Do you agree 10 statistics measure everything but prove nothing. Discuss 3 Do the past and present offer any guidance for the future 12 Far too much attention is given to beauty products and treatments. Do you agree? 2 There is no such thing as luck. People determine their own lives. Do you agree 9 Instead of speeding up the pace of life, we should be slowing it down. What do you think 10 Consider the view that the study of mathematics is intellectually satisfying, but of little practical use 1 Is there still a place for charity in todays world 2 Can a belief in the supernatural be sustained in our modern world 5 Mass production inevitably means a loss of craftsmanship and quality. Is this true in your society 2 Can a belief in the supernatural be sustained in our modern world 5 Mass production inevitably means a loss of craftsmanship and quality. Is this true in your society 2 How important are dreams 7 Air travel should be discouraged, not promoted 9 Discuss the view that too much faith is placed in statistics 2 How important are dreams 7 Air travel should be discouraged, not promoted 9 Discuss the view that too much faith is placed in statistics 12 As long as people in the public eye do their job well, does it matter what they do in private? 11 Fashion is as much a good thing as a bad thing. To what extent do you agree?

Social Issues Social Issues Others Others Others Social Issues Others Others Others Others Others Social Issues Others Others Social Issues Others Others Others Others Others Others Others Others Others Others Social Issues Others

3. Are avenues for healthy recreation for young people too limited in Singapore? Expectations Explain what healthy recreation entails, giving varied examples. Show understanding of avenues as referring to more than just physical areas, including opportunities or even organizations that organize such recreational activities. Discuss reasons for limitation of these avenues in Singapore. Consider how unhealthy activities result (e.g. drug addiction, gambling) as young people seek outlets for recreation Students may take a stand in this essay since it is phrased as a question but an extreme viewpoint (i.e. too limited or not too limited) will be challenging to defend although they may take the stand of whether the avenues are limited or not (i.e. attention is paid to the word too) Exceeding Expectations Better essays will understand limited to mean not just physical limitations but also psychological and perhaps even cultural limitations. Better essays will attribute one of the reasons for such limitations to perhaps the subjectivity of healthy, especially between cultures. Better students will acknowledge that although the question is with reference to Singapore, they can compare and contrast with relevant international examples to illustrate their arguments of whether we do limit such avenues or not. 6. Family Matters. To what extent does the Singaporean society reflect this? Expectations Credit should be given to students who recognize that Family Matters was a campaign aimed at promoting the importance of marriage and family and promoting positive attitudes among Singaporeans towards the family. Existence of the campaign shows need for attitudinal and mindset change with regards to family matters Raise points with regards to Singaporeans attitude towards marriage and raising a family as a natural part of the life cycle/ Marriage being a lifelong commitment/ Family friendly work environments to support family life (Pro- family business programme/ Grandparents and inter-generational bonding Exceeding Expectations Recognise that family serves as an important pillar of stability and support for the individual as well as the nation. Better essays will show that the ways in which this generation embraces the family may not necessarily be in the ways prescribed

1. Attitude, not aptitude determines ones altitude. How far do you agree? Assumption(s): The two are mutually exclusive. Clarification of terms: Attitude - approach, perception or mindset Aptitude - ability, skills, talent and qualifications Altitude how far you go, i.e. success, achievement or accomplishment. Student need to provide a wide interpretation of success, not just in terms of material possession. Not implies comparison between the two factors. Possible Interpretations/Approaches: Agree to a large extent: Motivation determines your success more than intelligence. Agree to a small extent: Success rests on intelligence rather than motivation. Agree to a small extent: You need both to go far in the world. Possible points: Largely agree that attitude is key to success With information technology and fast pace of life, information and knowledge get obsolete very fast and changes take place swiftly. There is a constant need to upgrade knowledge and skills. The ever-changing world favours those who are nimble and forward-looking. Those with the right aptitude but are resistant to change will be left behind. Life and business are about people. Individuals need to learn to negotiate their way through every social interaction, especially in the working world. While knowledge is important, it is even more important to have the right attitude that will allow the individual to fit with the corporate culture. Aptitude can be achieved through training and experience but attitude is more difficult to shape and change. To go far in the world today, and to survive lifes ups and downs, a person does not only need IQ (Intelligence Quotient) but also EQ (Emotional Quotient) and AQ (Adversity Quotient). Both EQ and AQ make up ones attitude towards life.

Largely disagree that attitude is key to success A forward-looking person who is able to adapt to changes will not be able to compete in the labour market if he has no basic skills or qualifications.

Many countries and corporations still function on meritocracy, which is best determined by ones aptitude. It determines who the best person for a job is. Therefore, the better your aptitude, the higher your altitude.

4|P age

Effects of Gaming Introduction: Gaming both video and computer has become more than a fad, it is a part of life. First generation video game players have now become adult and carry their passion to adulthood. Parents and teachers worry about games having negative effects on children and a great deal has been written about games leading to violent behavior and addiction. However, all is not negative about gaming, studies by leading researchers have shown that video and computer games have many benefits: Advantage: Point 1: Games help students acquire life skills Games help pupils to develop key learning skills such as: cognitive processing, logical thinking and independent decision making. (Some strategic games) Computer games encourage interpersonal relationships, thus encouraging cooperative and competitive behaviour within a strategic context (Dota, where group of 5 needs to work together and win the game) Griffiths a professor at Nottingham University wrote in a medical journal that playing games could help children with attention deficit disorders. Research indicates that the children could gain social skills. According to Van Deventer and White (2002) use of computer games is linked to 'expert' behaviours such as, problem solving, principled decision-making, and superior short-term and long-term memory. Many games enable players to embody different characters thus helping to breed attitudes of tolerance and understanding. Video games and computer games are known to improve hand-eye co-ordination and help players gain many skills. Point 2: Gaming can be used by educators to enhance learning Incorporating computer games within education provides a valuable link between activities within the classroom and life outside school. Such a connection will help to reinforce learning and may encourage pupils to continue to develop their skills outside the classroom environment. Computer games provide a safe artificial environment within which learners with low self esteem may feel more inclined to explore investigate and express themselves. The games enable engagement in activities otherwise too costly to resource or too difficult to implement in the classroom Many medical departments are using computer games as a form of physiotherapy. Games help people who are recovery from physical injuries gain motor skills and coordination too. Make learning more fun (Use in class room) Games have educational uses, for example, teaching economic skills like negotiating and purchasing strategies, and are used in college level economics courses to do so. For example, many games allow players to accumulate points or money and then purchase things that will advance their interests in the game. These features simulate markets, and in fact can become commodities outside the game. Disadvantage Point 3: Gaming may distract students from learning (Spend a lot of time on gaming) Computer games can distract from learning as players concentrate on the objective of completing the game rather than using them as a learning tool. Excessive time spent gaming could negatively impact on schoolwork (Griffiths 1996). Some games which are highly engaging and motivational can become addictive (Anderson & ford, 1986), and lead to social isolation, (Selnow, 1984) low self-esteem (Domnick, 1984) and poor social interaction skills. In fact, game addiction is a problem in many countries such as Korea. This addiction can even be deadly as game addicts die from 5|P age

Point 4: Promote socially undesirable traits In many games characters and environments tend to be violent. Such games can encourage negative and socially unacceptable behaviours such as violence and aggression. Spending many hours in front of the monitor and not going out enough could also cause social problems thus resulting in them becoming shy and introvert. Apart from that the games developed nowadays happen to be a lot more violent thus the gamers do have a tendency to lose control and become more aggressive. To the extreme, youths are too engrossed in their games and may not be able to differentiate reality from virtual world. In 2008, two boys who jumped nine storeys to their death because they were convinced that they could come back to life with the ability to slay demons and save the world.

6|P age