CPF changes in 2007

CPF is Singaporean Social Security. The first presenter spends 6:30 giving a recitation of minor details of the 2007 changes to the CPF, presented devoid of context or interpretation. Example: "By legislating re-employment by 2012, to require employers to offer re-employment to workers reaching 2 up to age 65, and eventually to 67".

Second presenter: Analysis. Will the reforms encourage people to work longer? will they benefit low/middle income/older? Will the resource be enough [sic]? More reading verbatim from slide.

Do the changes actually benefit low/middle? Not really.

Questions: What does it mean that the plan allows reduction of older workers' wages?

Joel's evaluation:

• Reading/reciting text from slides: check.
• Poor time management: check
• Slides filled with hundreds and hundreds of words in small text: check
• Overall thoughts: might be a good presentation to a group of Singaporean accountants. As a presentation of policy analysis, dry and difficult. Dives directly into excessively detailed exploration of minutiae without without any introduction, explanation of context.

Prof's evaluation: presentation doesn't refer to any economic concepts from class.

Public Housing Subsidy: UK vs Singapore

• Reading/reciting text from slides or notes: check. Softer-spoken reader, too, so the soporific effect is amplified. I want (as I do with most student presentations) to go up and rip the notes out of her hands and shout "snap out of it!" Next presenter in the group much better on this account. Update: no, I take that back. As she's gotten deeper into her time period, she's talking way too fast as she simply shovels out words in a stream. If you have 20 minutes, you need to reduce the number of ideas to fit, not just talk faster. And you need to present a hierarchical structure: here are my main ideas. Now I'm talking about the first main idea. Now I'm telling you three details in support of my first main idea. Now I'm telling you my second main idea. Etc. Instead, this is just a flood of words that goes on and on, almost in a chant, without any use of pauses or any other structure, so once you tune out, you're gone.
• Poor time management: No. finished 2 minutes early
• Slides filled with hundreds and hundreds of words in small text: check
• Overall thoughts: Once again, the presenters' focus is on the minute facts and details that they have researched, not on introducing an idea to the audience. These presentations are way, way, way too detailed in the wrong, wrong wrong places. All facts and data, little to no information or knowledge.

Singapore Healthcare Policies and Financing

In 2005 Singapore spent 3.8% of GDP (with government contributing a total of 0.9% of GDP, or about a quarter.) Would love to see that directly contrasted with other countries (the US as the most expensive, Japan, the other Tigers, etc). Oh, now we get some pointless small details.

• Reading/reciting text from slides or notes: Check. Just as painful as the last one. If you are reading your entire presentation verbatim from a piece of paper, you are failing. If you can't hold the ideas of your presentation in your head, how do you expect your audience to do so? Second presenter is much better on these terms, though he's picked up the hyperfast talking problem. (I also talk way too fast when presenting.)
• Poor time management: finished 4 minutes early. borderline between good and too short, but certainly far better than too long.
• Slides filled with hundreds and hundreds of words in small text: check. Bonus demerits for using clip art figures with incongruously pink skin. Further demerits for pointless animation. Credit for actually stating a conclusion more or less clearly, but still the same absurdly busy, pointlessly overformatted, essentially randomly organized slides as everybody else.
• Overall thoughts: