NTU Convocation 2011 Ceremony 14 Closing Speech
Closing Speech by NTU School of Communication and Information Valedictorian.
P.S. Watch for the expletive ‘f**king’ at the end of Ms Trinetta Chong’s speech.
EMOTION : An exhibition featuring paintings by Andy Yang (Singapore)
Presented by INSTINC
The Emotion series came about as a reaction to music soundscapes composed beforehand and repeated to create a trancelike painting style strongly rooted in Abstract Expressionism. Raw emotions are invoked as layers upon layers of paint are laid down like tracks on a musical score creating a visual map of emotions.
Andy is a multi disciplinary artist as well as a professional illustrator. He graduated in 1994 from the Malaysian Institute of Art, majoring in Illustrations. Drawing, painting, performing and fiddling with different medium are his passions and he has been doing these for the last 10 years. For commercial illustrations, Andy has worked with a number of agencies where some of his commercial works have won him some awards like from D&AD UK, Communication Arts US and Cannes Lions.
Dates/ Duration:
Opening reception 2 September 2011, Friday 6.30pm-9pm
*Artist will be present at the opening reception*
Exhibition 2-4 September 2011, 11am -6pm (Admission is free)
*By appointment only*
INSTINC
Address: 12 Eu Tong Sen Street #04-163 soho2@central
Singapore 059819 (Clarke Quay MRT station)
Phone : (65) 6227 9487
Web : www.instinc.com
Email : enquiries@instinc.com
INSTINC Opening hours
Mon-Fri: 11am-6pm (By appointment only)
ABOUT ANDY YANG
http://andyyangsookit.wordpress.com/
http://andyyangillustrates.wordpress.com/
Andy is born 1973 in Johor, Malaysia. He has graduated from the Malaysian Institute of Art, majoring in Illustrations in 1994. Residing in Singapore, Andy is an artist as well as a professional Illustrator of 10 years supporting local and international advertising and design agencies. A few prestigious advertising awards under his wings span from D&AD London to Communication Arts US. The latest buzz on his work is collaboration with DDB Singapore for the Breast Cancer Foundation campaign.
His participation in RAW Art Singapore 2010 in conjunction with Sotheby’s Institiute of Art Singapore has his work selected to exhibit at Sculpture Square. One of his pieces has been selected for exhibition with an auction by Standard Chartered Bank for a charity organization “Seeing Is Believing 2010? curated by Singapore Contemporary Young Artists (SCYA). Other group exhibitions include “Art Fare” organised by Project Midas at House@Dempsey Hill; Online exhibition collaborations with Tiger Translate, PageOne The Bookshop and TRUST Museum; in an enclosed art installation space outside ION@Orchard in a joint arts event organised by Night+Day Gallery in 2008; “Le Monde est A Nous” at Night + Day Gallery in 2007. Andy’s solo shows are held at The Asylum, Singapore (“Attachments 1 & 2?).
Andy is constantly exploring new medium and pushing boundaries. His latest fascination in human emotions and nature has led him to his latest series of acrylic paintings interpreting emotions, with hints of surrealism, heavily influenced with his strong interests in music. His ongoing passion to paint with music makes him collaborating with Singapore art-rock band The Observatory in January 2011. An experimental performance exploring the relationship between music and a non-musical art form.
Simpler Content Ratings from MDA help parents make better media choices
The Media Development Authority (MDA), backed by strong industry support, is deepening its efforts to give parents more and better
quality information to make informed decisions about protecting their children from inappropriate content in the media.
Through MDA’s new content classification initiatives and outreach efforts launched today, parents will now have clearer and consistent information tools made accessible to them, to guide their children’s media habits. These initiatives include a new PG13 rating for film, television and video which offers a finer demarcation of content suitability for parents of young teens; content rating symbols that are easy to recognise; and Internet filters that Internet Service Providers must now promote to subscribers at point of sale and upon contract renewal. Also available is a version of the film, video game and arts performance database containing rating decisions that the public can access through their handphones, by end this year. The rollout of these initiatives addresses various recommendations proposed by the
Censorship Review Committee (CRC) in September last year.
Said Mr Michael Yap, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Media Development Authority,
“We are creating a more conducive environment for parents to make informed
media choices. Through these information tools we are introducing today, such as
the revised classification system for film, television and video, we are now better
able to support parents in guiding the young on safe and responsible use of the
media.”
1) Introduction of PG13 as a New Classification Rating
With effect from today, a new content rating – PG13 (Parental Guidance 13) – will be
introduced for film, television (Free-to-Air and Pay TV) and video. The PG13 advisory,
which indicates that the content is suitable for children aged 13 and above, aims to
bridge the gap between the PG (Parental Guidance) rating and NC16 (No children
under 16) rating in the current film classification system. PG13 is an advisory rating.
This means that parents have a choice and under-13s can still watch the programme,
but Parental Guidance is advised.
Currently, MediaCorp uses PG (Parental Guidance) for content not suitable for
children, but the PG rating is not similar in standard to that of films. By introducing
film ratings such as PG and PG13 for free-to-air broadcast, this harmonises with and
introduces film classification to television. PG13 will now be the highest rating on
MediaCorp programmes. Effective today, MediaCorp will be able to use the new
PG13 rating on films and dramas scheduled between 10pm and 6am daily. The rating
will be displayed for one minute at the start of the programme, and after each
commercial break, also for one minute. This makes it easier for viewers to know the
rating of a film or drama. Viewers can expect to see the first PG13 programme on
Free-to-Air television from 23 July onwards.
Pay TV will adopt film ratings from PG to M18 including the new PG 13. Adopting the
same film ratings will allow viewers to understand film ratings across various media.
In the area of film, where the full spectrum of ratings applies, PG13 will serve as an
additional rating within the current range of G, PG, PG13, NC16, M18 and R21 film
ratings, giving the public even more choices.
For videos, the public can look forward to PG13 videos, adding to the current range
of videos up to M18.
2) Standardised Rating Symbols
With effect from today, there will also be one common set of rating symbols for film,
television and video, for easier recognition. These ratings used to come in different
symbols, depending on the media platform. They have now been revised for greater
clarity and consistency, and are also more easily identifiable. The circular green
symbols – “G/PG/PG13” – are advisory ratings, while the age-restricted
“NC16/M18/R21” ratings come in orange boxes.
3) Internet Filters
According to a CRC survey in 2010, 71% of Internet users who are parents with
young children (14 and below) are not subscribers of Internet filters.
MDA encourages parents to install Internet filters to manage their children’s online
consumption habits. From September onwards, MDA will require Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) to promote Internet filters, including mobile filters, at point of sale
and upon renewal of contract to its subscribers.
Industry players are also doing their part to take on shared responsibility for the
online protection of children and families. Beginning from September this year,
StarHub will be the first ISP to offer a new mobile Internet filtering service to its
subscribers.
4) Parental Involvement and Public Education
To educate parents on safer use of the media, MDA will be stepping up its third
public education effort this year, working with industry players such as StarHub,
SingTel, MediaCorp, cinema operators including Shaw and Golden Village; as well as
community groups and voluntary welfare organisations such as TOUCH Community
Services.
Parents can look forward to a 30-second educational clip on Free-to-Air television
and Pay TV; as well as a parent’s handbook, which is also available online at
(http://www.mda.gov.sg/Public/Parents/Documents/Handbook.pdf) to guide
children towards responsible media use; a webpage
(http://www.mda.gov.sg/Public/Parents/Pages/Parents.aspx) which serves as a onestop
resource on media classification and cyberwellness; classification workshops as
well as a hotline number 1800 3772252, with experts on call for advice on how to
keep children safe on the Internet.
More Choices and Co-regulation Moving Forward
The consumer-friendly initiatives announced today are aimed at providing content
rating tools and information to help parents better protect their children in a
dynamic media landscape. In the coming months ahead, MDA will also be rolling out
pro-industry initiatives. Details will be announced by end 2011.
Source: www.mda.gov.sg
Posted in Channel E, Laws and regulations
Leave a comment
The Great Expression : An exhibition featuring artworks by artist Laudi Abilama (Lebanon)
The Great Expression: An exhibition featuring
artworks by artist Laudi Abilama (Lebanon)
Presented by INSTINC
‘The Great Expression’ is intended to create what Laudi sees as an expression
of Singaporean society whereby individuals are free to express their thoughts on
boards similar to the ones people used in the 1930s during The Great Depression.
In true ‘Pop Art’ style, Laudi’s screen-prints on rice paper show her subjects
in a more intriguing cultural context and a reflection of her surroundings
throughout her residency.
Artist Laudi was born in England and spent much of her life there before
returning to Beirut, Lebanon several years ago. Orientalism and Arabism have
greatly influenced Laudi’s works. Laudi’s work is currently showing in Sotheby’s
bond street London, ‘Al Bab: A gateway to contemporary Arab Art’.
Exhibition Visitor Info
Dates/ Duration:
Opening reception 29 July 2011, Friday
7pm-9pm
*Artist will be present at the opening reception*
Exhibition 30-31
July 2011, 11am-6pm by appointment only (Admission is
free)
INSTINC
Address : 12 Eu Tong Sen Street #04-163 soho2@central
Singapore 059819 (Clarke
Quay MRT station)
Phone : (65) 6227 9487
Web : www.instinc.com
Email : enquiries@instinc.com
INSTINC
Opening hours
Mon-Fri: 11am-6pm (By appointment only)
Source: www.instinc.com
Release of the Third Town Council Management Report (TCMR) and Review of the TCMR framework
The Ministry of National Development released today the third Town Council Management Report (TCMR). To enhance the TCMR framework to better reflect residents’ experience and to cover other areas in estate management, MND has started to review it. Minister of State for National Development, Lee Yi Shyan, will lead a public consultation exercise to seek the views and suggestions of residents, town councils and industry experts. MND hopes to complete the review in six months.
Results of the Third TCMR
2 The third TCMR covered the period from Oct 2010 to Mar 2011. It was based on the pre-General Election town boundaries. The key results for all 16 towns in this half-yearly report are summarised in Table 1, with the details in Annex A. The results cover four areas, based on five banding levels as shown in Annex B. There was no change to the top five cleanliness and maintenance observations, as shown in Annex C.
Table 1: Summary of Third TCMR
Review of the TCMR Framework
3 The TCMR framework was introduced in 2009 to provide residents with objective information on the key areas of estate management and to facilitate informed discussion between town councils and their residents on how they can jointly improve the upkeep of their estates over time. Since its implementation, improvements have been seen in the results of town councils. MND has also received many useful suggestions from residents on how the TCMR framework can be enhanced to better reflect their experience, and to cover other areas in estate management of interest to them.
4 The town councils have been reconstituted from 27 May 2011 to take into account changes in town boundaries following the General Election. Future reports will be based on the new town boundaries and the results of the MND review of the TCMR framework. They may include new indicators of interest to residents.
5 The review will be led by MOS Lee Yi Shyan who will spearhead a public consultation exercise. More details of this consultation exercise will be announced later. Meanwhile, members of the public can send their suggestions on how to enhance the TCMR framework to tcmr_feedback@hdb.gov.sg.
Enquiries
6 Members of the public can learn more about the TCMR at the TownCouncils.sg website at http://www.towncouncils.sg. The results of all reports can also be found on the website.
7 They can also call the hotline at 1800-8663078 if they require further clarifications on the TCMR. The hotline is open from Mondays to Fridays, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.
Issued by:
Ministry of National Development
Date:
8 Jul 2011
Annex A
Results of the Third TCMR
(Oct 2010 to Mar 2011)
Annex B
TCMR Indicators and Banding Levels
Annex C
Third TCMR: Breakdown of Cleanliness and Maintenance Observations (Up to Top 5 Categories)
The breakdown of cleanliness and maintenance observations found during estate inspections from Oct 2010 to Mar 2011 are shown in the tables below. These figures represent the breakdown of observations at the national level.
Source: www.mnd.gov.sg
New legislation on conveyancing measures gazetted on 8 July 2011
1. On 11 April 2011, Parliament passed the Conveyancing (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill. This Bill amended the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act and the Legal Profession Act to introduce new measures to better protect clients’ conveyancing money against misappropriation. The legislation is gazetted on 8 July 2011, and the new conveyancing measures will be implemented on 1 August 2011.
Key features of the new measures
2. The key features of the measures are:
a. Lawyers will no longer be allowed to receive and hold conveyancing money in their normal client accounts. A breach of this prohibition will result in a fine of up to $50,000 and/or an imprisonment term of up to three months.
b. Conveyancing money can only be held by lawyers in three ways:
i. In a new type of account known as a Conveyancing Account. This account is distinct and separate from the normal client account, and can only be opened with Appointed Banks designated by the Minister for Law. CPF money will be stake-held in a Conveyancing (CPF) Account.
ii. Through the Singapore Academy of Law’s (SAL) new Conveyancing Money Service.
iii. For complex transactions, lawyers can receive and hold conveyancing money under escrow agreements between both buyers and sellers’ lawyers.
c. Buyers or sellers who wish to place money in Conveyancing Accounts have to add the suffix, “-CVY”, to the payee name on their cheque/cashier’s order – “<Name of law firm>-CVY”. Money placed with SAL must be made payable to “Singapore Academy of Law”.
d. Withdrawal or pay-out of money from Conveyancing Accounts will require two-party authorisation. Typically, the counter-signatory will be the lawyer representing the other party in the conveyancing transaction.
3. The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has also set up an electronic Payment Instructions service (ePI) to provide an efficient and secure electronic environment for lawyers to initiate and counter-sign payment instructions, and for the Appointed Banks and SAL to retrieve and process these payment instructions.
Preparation for lawyers
4. To prepare lawyers for the new measures, two pilot trials were conducted from April to August 2010, and from November 2010 to February 2011. The Law Society has also commenced a series of briefing sessions on the new measures for conveyancing lawyers and their staff.
5. Law firms that wish to hold conveyancing money in Conveyancing Accounts from 1 August 2011 are reminded to open a Conveyancing Account with one or more of the Appointed Banks before 1 August 2011. The banks listed below have been appointed with effect from 1 August 2011:
a) Bank of China Limited
b) DBS Bank Limited
c) Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited
d) The Bank of East Asia, Limited, and
e) United Overseas Bank Limited.
6. SLA also has a service to remind law firms to open their Conveyancing Accounts early, and further provides an opportunity for lawyers to use the ePI to familiarise themselves with the system, and to resolve any technical issues.
Information on new measures
7. To help members of the public understand the new conveyancing measures, posters will be displayed at Community Clubs and Residents’ Committees’ notice-boards. Pamphlets on the new measures will be distributed via the relevant agencies, such as the Law Society, SAL and Association of Banks in Singapore.
8. The public can find out more about the new measures and download a copy of the pamphlet from the one-stop portal, www.conveyancing.sg, or call the conveyancing measures hotline at 68381 CVY (6838 1289).
Source: www.mlaw.gov.sg
Building Greater Public Confidence in the Private Education Sector
1. A total of 302 private education institutions (PEIs) have been registered with the Council for Private Education (CPE) under the Enhanced Registration Framework (ERF) as of 20 June 2011. Of these, 66 have acquired EduTrust Certification. Since December 2009, PEIs are required to meet a set of academic, student protection, and governance standards before they can be registered under the ERF. This is to ensure the PEIs will be able to provide students with a quality private education. The EduTrust is a voluntary certification scheme with more stringent requirements than the ERF.
2. The CPE is currently processing the ERF applications of another 68 PEIs that were only submitted in May and June 2011. Extension has been granted to the PEIs to continue operations for another three months while the CPE processes their applications. The extension should not be taken with any prejudice. The status of ERF registration and EduTrust certification of PEIs, as of 20 June 2011, is as follows:
3. The full list of ERF-registered and EduTrust PEIs is on the CPE website at www.cpe.gov.sg.
Landscape of the Private Education Sector
4. When the Private Education Act was introduced in December 2009, it had been estimated that the private education sector comprised 1,000 PEIs[1]. The updated number of PEIs, as of 20 June 2011, is shown in the table below.
Assistance During the Transition Period
5. During the transition period2 , the CPE conducted a total of 21 workshops to help familiarise more than 530 PEIs with the requirements for the ERF and EduTrust. The EduTrust Support Scheme (ESS) was also launched, together with SPRING Singapore and IE Singapore, to assist PEIs in strengthening their capabilities to attain EduTrust certification. The ESS benefited a total of 36 PEIs.
6. The CPE cancelled the registration of three PEIs3 during the transition period. In these cases, the CPE stepped in to assist affected students (numbering over 200), allowing them to continue with their studies in other PEIs.
Plans for the Sector
7. The CPE will continue to actively facilitate PEIs in achieving registration under the ERF and EduTrust certification. In addition, the CPE is working with members of the private education industry to improve the capabilities of PEIs. Following feedback from PEIs, the CPE is planning to refine administrative requirements under the EduTrust Certification scheme to reduce the load on PEIs, without compromising student protection.
8. The CPE has launched a Fee Protection Query tool on its website to allow students to check online on whether the fees they have paid are protected under the Fee Protection Scheme4.
9. The CPE will also introduce guidelines on PEIs’ advertisements and promotional materials to protect existing and prospective students from being misled.
————-
[1] The estimate of 1,000 PEIs was derived from the list of 800 private schools and external degree programme providers on MOE’s register at the time. The remaining 200 was an estimate of the number of private vocational schools in the market, which were previously not required to be registered.
Source: www.cpe.gov.sg
Labour Market, First Quarter 2011
15 June 2011
1.The labour market tightened further, amid healthy economic growth in the first quarter of 2011. Fewer workers were laid off and unemployment improved to a three-year low. With strong manpower demand, the ratio of job openings to job seekers rose to pre-recessionary levels.
2.Employment creation was fairly strong in the first quarter of 2011, though it has eased from the robust gains during the initial rebound from the 2009 recession. Total employment rose by 28,300 in the first quarter of 2011, down from the seasonal high gains of 33,900 in the fourth quarter of 2010, driven by year-end hirings for the festive season. The growth was also lower than the robust 36,500 in the first quarter of 2010, supported then by hirings arising from the Integrated Resorts and the strong job market rebound from the recession.
3.Most of the gains in the first quarter of 2011 came from services (26,500). All services industries expanded their workforce, led by community, social & personal services (9,000), professional services (4,400) and wholesale & retail trade (3,400). Construction added 1,500 workers, recording an increase for the second consecutive quarter, supported by increase in public sector building activities. Manufacturing registered small gains of 100.
4.The overall unemployment rate fell from a seasonally adjusted 2.2% in December 2010 to 1.9% in March 2011. The resident unemployment rate declined over the same period from a seasonally adjusted 3.1% to 2.7%. Both the overall and resident unemployment rates were the lowest in three years. An estimated 54,300 residents were unemployed in March 2011. The figure was 57,000 after adjusting for seasonality.
5.Long-term unemployment also improved over the year, amid the favourable economic conditions. 11,800 or 22% of the unemployed residents in March 2011 had been looking for work for at least 25 weeks, down from 14,600 or 23% a year ago. These long-term unemployed residents made up 0.6% of the resident labour force, compared with 0.7% in March 2010.
6.Redundancies declined from the preceding quarter. 2,380 workers were retrenched and 370 workers had their contracts terminated prematurely, resulting in a total of 2,750 workers made redundant in the first quarter of 2011. The overall redundancy figure fell from 3,190 in the fourth quarter of 2010, driven by declines from construction and services, while layoffs from manufacturing were comparable to the previous quarter.
7.Based on CPF records, 53% of the residents laid off in the fourth quarter of 2010 secured employment by March 2011, up slightly from 51% in December 2010. The improvement in re-entry into employment over the quarter was generally observed across the board.
8.Job vacancies rose substantially by 32% over the year to 49,300 in March 2011. After adjusting for seasonality, job vacancies rose by 17% over the quarter to 54,000, a new high since comparable series started in March 2006. With the substantial rise in job vacancies and lower unemployment, the seasonally adjusted ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons rose over the quarter from 104 to 139 job openings for every 100 job seekers in March 2011. This was comparable to the pre-recessionary high of 140 openings for 100 job seekers in December 2007.
9.Labour turnover held steady in the first quarter of 2011. The monthly recruitment and resignation rates averaged 2.6% and 2.0% respectively, which was the same as a year ago. After adjusting for seasonality, the rates had largely stabilised since the first quarter of 2010, after increasing from the recessionary-low in the second quarter of 2009.
10.Growth in labour productivity moderated. Labour productivity growth over the year was 4.5% in the first quarter of 2011 compared to 7.8% in the previous quarter, as output growth eased from the initial strong cyclical rebound.
11.Nominal average monthly earnings rose by 8.5% over the year in the first quarter of 2011, accelerating from the growth in the preceding four quarters. Factoring in inflation, real average monthly earnings rose by 3.2%. This was slightly lower than the growth of 3.4% in the previous quarter, but was still higher than the 2.1% to 2.8% in the first three quarters of 2010.
12.Reflecting emerging cost pressures, the unit labour cost (ULC) for the whole economy edged up for the third straight quarter, after declining significantly in the preceding four quarters. The increase of 2.3% in the first quarter of 2011 was higher than the 1.8% in the previous quarter but lower than the 2.8% in the third quarter of 2010.
13.In summary, reflecting an increasingly tight labour market, the unemployment rate and the ratio of job vacancies to job seekers have approached pre-recessionary levels. Cost pressures on businesses have emerged, amid a moderation in labour productivity growth.
For More Information
14.The report is available online on the Ministry of Manpower’s Statistics & Publications Page.
Source: www.singstat.gov.sg Retrieved 3 July 2011