ALS IceBucketChallenge

ALS, also known as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is actually a progressive neuro-degenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord which can bring much discomfort to a person.

The ALS ice bucket challenge was meant to get normal people to understand and feel how it is to be diagnosed with such a disease, to help essentially raise awareness for this kind of disease and most importantly, help raise funds for people diagnosed with it.

In my opinion,i find such a campaign effective in raising awareness because if we solely look from the number of people who did this challenge alone, there are many of them and that will prove that it succeeded very well. The funds raised have also been of very high numbers. Currently, it has raised over a $100 million, which is quite an achievement considering how many have not heard of ALS before.

However, i also personally feel that this challenge, with its main aim of raising awareness for the disease,has failed to some extent. What sounded like a very meaningful and creative way to raise awareness ended up becoming something that most people now do it for fun, tagging and nominating their friends on social media platforms to do the challenge as well. It has gotten to the point that people are just doing the challenge for fun, to try to get more “LIKES” on their Facebook or Instagram or simply just trying to become more popular on social media platforms. Many celebrities have already completed the challenge, and although it is supposed to be meaningful and all and they too donated money, some may question about their motive in doing so. They may be doing so simply just to get more popular themselves. That alone, is enough to prove that the ALS ice bucket challenge has lost its purpose and ultimate motive already.

The media has definitely spearheaded this project and enabled it to be very successful, what started out from a few people ended up spreading to the entire world from every single continent, thereby showing the power of harnessing social media to get a message across.

NDR 2014

Singapore has went through thick and thin in order to get to where we are today. It is, to many, one of the safest countries to live in where there is a stable government that not only takes care of the well-being of all. especially the elderly, but is development-oriented in ensuring that a small country like ours continues to stay relevant in today’s society and ensuring that everyone has a roof over their heads.

The living standards in Singapore are considered to be good, where people of all ages are able to enjoy many facilities and amenities such as supermarkets, shopping malls, community centers etc all within close distances to their homes. The Singapore government has also put in a lot of effort to ensure that in a cramped country roughly the size of New York, Singaporeans are still able to enjoy sufficient amounts of greenery around the island. The Bishan- Toa Payoh Park is on such addition in the parks development projects that our government has proceeded with.It provides people with the greenery and space they need to unwind from the hustle and bustle of the city. Plans have also been made to turn the Chinese, Japanese and Jurong Lake Park in the western parts of Singapore into one single Jurong Lake Gardens, adding on to the greenery spaces we have in Sngapore.

However, apart from all the green spaces mentioned,being able to make Singapore a home for all ages will come with its own problems. In the property market now, housing prices are skyrocketing like mad. Just a few years ago, a three room condominium in the east only cost roughly S$900,000. In just a matter of a few years, prices have skyrocketed for condominiums to have hefty price tag of S$800,000 thereabout for just a one room apartment!!! What’s worst is that these prices, even for HDB flats, are not going down anytime sooner. This concerns me a lot as when i grow up and want to own a flat, i might not be able to. In addition, all though all these green spaces seem like a good idea, it is only time when all of them might have to be removed to make way for more housing for our ever growing population, currently at 5.4 million as of 2013.
Singapore is definitely going to be a very cramped country and this might pose a whole range of social problems to our country.
All in all, i am not convinced that our government will be able to make Singapore a home for all ages. But as technology advances, most probably there might be a breakthrough that can allow for this dream and objective to be ahchieved.

DOES MODERN TECHNOLOGY ALWAYS IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF PEOPLE”S LIVES?

Modern technology has definitely brought much spice to our lives. The quality of our lives have been greatly improved as with technology’s assistance,  it has made our lives much easier and more convenient than it was before. In other cases however, it has open up a new world of possibilities to endanger our lives and create tense relations with countries. Therefor, although the majority may feel that modern technology always improves our lives, others might beg to differ, thinking that it has brought more complications to our already complicated world.

Modern Technology, in the case of automobiles, have indeed improved our quality of lives. Sure, cars produce harmful emissions from the exhaust that pollutes our environment and brings about atmospheric and environmental complications. However, with the automobile industry constantly developing and improving on vehicles, the possibility of eradicating this negative externality from cars is now possible, with the advent of hydrogen fuel-cell technology. In the recent years, new models of vehicles are now running on such a technology that does not harm the environment. Such special vehicles produce water as an emission!! More electric vehicles are sprouting in automobile markets and becoming more common. These vehicles run entirely on electricity and do not produce any emissions. Other types include vehicles that run on solar energy as well. All these variations backed up by new modern technology is able to solve the environmental problem posed by conventional cars. So yes, modern technology does improve the quality of people’s lives as the environment does not get polluted with harmful gases that can affect human health and lead to other complications.

However, does modern technology REALLY improve the quality of people’s lives?

Modern technology had enabled for the development of dangerous weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons. These were first seen when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan that devastated wide areas affected by the blast. Yes, modern technology has allowed for nuclear weapons to be developed. Such weapons can wipe out the phase of humanity. Apart from the health and environmental problems posed by nuclear weapons, keeping hold of such weapons also can lead to countries relations to become tense and worsened. If complicated, it can even lead to wars, that will kill people and destroy nations and world peace. Modern technology in this aspect clearly does not improve quality of our lives as socially, our lives are in constant danger as such weapons of mass destruction can be launched in our direction.

MEDIA SHAPES WHO WE ARE SUPPOSE TO BE IN A NEGATIVE WAY. DISCUSS.

Introduction

In this new age of media, we are constantly exposed to the different kinds of things that the media has to throw at us. Some of them are depicted in a positive way, and can hence act as a role model and shape who we are suppose to be positively. However, some forms of media exude negativity, and can hence bring across the wrong message and cause people, especially the young, to be negatively influence. The media can thus shape us to someone with kindness and compassion, or someone who is violent and anti-social perhaps.  Whether or not the media shapes who we are suppose to be negatively or positively is a highly debatable topic. Hence, although some may believe that the media shapes who we are supposed to be positively in terms of character, attitude or behaviour, others, like me, may beg to differ, argueing that the media portrays negative influences that shapes us to become a person for the worse.

SVs and OVs

SV1: The media shapes people, especially the younger generation, to become  narcissists. A generation where everything is about me, myself and I. A generation where people get so obsessed with themselves and are so sensitive about how they look, what they wear and how they behave. The media has opened up a world of stars and idols that portray the perfect image that everyone should have, which the young people are constantly chasing.

SV2: The media also shapes us to be insensitive people. People who do not care about other people’s feelings. Media in the form of  social media has influenced us to be people who lack self-awareness and common sense, simply because one will always think that their identity will be sealed and they can thus comment and say about anything they want without thinking through their actions.

SV3: The media has also shaped some of us to become violent . People who live in a world of their own and are heavily influenced by violence in media from movies and video games that results in them mimicking such actions that ultimately puts them in deep trouble.

SV4: Lastly, the media shapes some of us to become anti-social people, who are too afraid to socialise  with society and thus coop themselves all day in front of the computer screen.

OV2: The media can also shape us to become a loving and caring person, someone who spares a though for others, simply by portraying positive things online that can influence others to react and behave in a positive way.

OV2: The media can make us become more responsive as well.  By paying attention to world affairs and keeping us up to date with whatever is happening around the world, making us more knowledgeable.

 

Can Singapore “electrify” the world?

This article talks about how Singapore can actually be able to become the world’s first country to run free of any petrol-powered  vehicles. Although one major weakness of Singapore is it’s small land size, its greatest strength paradoxically is that such a project and movement can prove to be successful.

With the advent of green technology, all electric vehicles can finally be the solution to ending the endless damage to out environment. All electric vehicles ( not hybrids that run on half electric and half petrol) are healthy for the environment as they produce NO carbon emissions which means that no harmful greenhouse gases are produced!! Such vehicles run on an electric engine that only produces water as emissions, hence eradicating the polluting air problem that conventional vehicles do to our environment.

Such an introduction of electric vehicles to our country may seem like nothing or even worse, a bad idea given the fact that COE prices today are equivalent to a price of a car. However, the benefits of such green technology that science has provided us with outweighs the drawbacks that they bring about. For one, since such vehicles run on electricity, it means that completely NO engine noise is produced like that on a conventional vehicle. It means that therefore, noise pollution will be kept to a minimum and there will be no longer any occurrence of  people complaining about noisy expressways. Whats more, is that even sports cars are adopting such technology, thus people living close to expressways will no longer have to worry about noisy engines late in the night.

Secondly, think of the HUGE environmental benefits that can arise. Singapore’s air will be SO much better and everyone can breathe properly!! Demand for petrol will also drop until they cease to exist in the long run when every single vehicle runs on electricity.

The cost of owning such a car may seem silly currently, given the fact that electric cars are still not so receptive towards Singaporeans, partially due to the biggest flaw in such vehicles, the range which it can go and the cost of it. They are generally much more expensive than conventional cars and hence is not worth for money to own one unless you are really so environmentally-friendly that you will do anything just to protect the environment.

In conclusion, i really do hope that such technology will continue to advance and eventually, such a dream that Singapore has will eventually become a reality. 🙂

Selfies almost killed me: Schoolboy who took 200 photos of himself every day because he wanted perfection describes how addiction drove him to attempt suicide

This article is talking about how a UK school boy, age 19, got so obsessed with selfies( taking photos of one’s self) of himself that he attempted suicide, but failed doing so when his mother managed to stop him.

Danny Bowman, is like the average teenager anyone would know of. His obsession for selfies first started in 2011 when a successful casting session he had ignited his obsession for achieving his dream of becoming a male model but was being rejected by the company.

His obsession first started when he was 15 years old, where his desperation for attracting girls made him spent close to 10 hours a day , taking over 200 selfies of himself, hoping to get the perfect image. He did not leave his house in Newcastle upon Tyne for six months as he was unable to take the perfect shot. So he tried killing himself by taking an overdose of medicine. Thankfully, his mother managed to save him and ever since then, Danny has been receiving treatment at the hospital and is on his way to full recovery.

Doctors that treated Danny for his illness says that his obsession for taking selfies has now become a mental illness. When Danny first received treatment, he was diagnosed with Body Dysmorphic disorder, an illness where a person becomes so obsessed with their loos that they spend lots of time worrying about how they look. This illness can potentially grow and reach a stage like Danny’s, where thoughts of suicide sets in.

Although such a situation has not occurred in Singapore yet, as well as the fact that such a type of mental illness is still relatively new, it can show just how media age has influenced and affected us negatively. Selfies are a very recent thing, but getting people to like photos that one has posted has existed for quite some time already. People of today are so obsessed with posting pictures of themselves on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook or twitter that it has gotten out of control. Getting a like for your photo has now become something that represents how popular you are, and one could argue that getting a like for your photo means that you have been accepted by society in some ways. In Danny’s case, it is quite similar. He is so obsessed with the perfect self-image  that he has no limits. Social media and media as a whole has damaged our current generation of youths. It has resulted in us feeling bad about ourselves personally. Media has definitely done more harm than good.

Canine controversy: Chinese Festival serves up dog meat

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/22/world/asia/china-yulin-dog-meat-festival/

 

This articles is talking about an annual traditional festival that parts of China celebrate. Known as the Yulin Dog-meat festival, tens and thousands of dogs are being culled and killed for their dog meat. It is known to be a delicacy in certain parts of China and in fact, part of a diet of certain people in China. This article emphasizes whether such a disgusting act should be banned and properly enforce by the government. On one hand, it is part of a tradition that has been going on for many years and on the other, is being questioned as to whether such a festival should be put to a stop as the animals themselves have rights of their own, rights to not have to succumb to such terrible abuse by people.

In  pictures shown all over the web, numerous dogs are being trapped in tiny cages, only waiting to be shaved off their hair and cooked for the many hungry customers awaiting such a delicacy. Based on the article, one of the vendors was interviewed, and here is what she said, quoted by the link above. “This is our tradition and we are used to eating dog. It’s our culture and we won’t change … It’s tasty! But we won’t kill our pet,” she says, referring to her own dog who is cowering in the other side of the shop. Her dog tucks his head under a freezer, shielding his eyes from the carcasses of the dogs and cats hanging from hooks. To me, killing dogs for their meat and not killing your own dog, who is petrified by the scene in front of them, does not prove that your actions are justified. Sure, dogs do have a special emotional attachment to humans and hence, there are numerous animal rights activists in China who are challenging this tradition and festival and trying to put a stop to it.  Although putting a stop to this festival will be hard, as the people are already so used to eating dog meat, it does not mean that it is not possible. Animal Rights Activist have successfully stop the dog meat festival in certain parts of China such as Jinhua, in the Zhejiang Province.

 

Although eating dog meat incident are not prevalent in Singapore ( I hope it is not), it does link to one very important point, and that is the issue of animal rights. Killing dogs and eating their meat is wrong, because we as humans have no right to put a living thing under abuse and pressure and pain for our own benefits. We have no right to end a living thing’s life by selfishly taking it away from them. In the case of Singapore, animal abuse cases are on the rise. Within the last five years, AVA ( Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore) stated that the number of animal welfare and cruelty cases have surged 65 per cent, considerably alot more compared to previous years. Therefore, i am happy to hear that people convicted of animal cruelty will face a s$40,000 increase in the maximum fine that can be charged against repeated offenders, up from the usual s$10,000 maximum fine.
Its nice to know that enforcement of laws pertaining to animal abuse it getting better and more people are now more aware of animal abuse and how they can play a part in stopping it. In China for example, the government has actually banned the use of the word dog on certain signboards, prove that the Chinese government i aware of the gravity of the issue. Hopefully, better and stricter laws can and will be enforced on such animal abuses in the near future.

FAMILY STRUCTURE IN INDIA: COMPARISON TO SINGAPORE

The family structure in India is very special and traditionally structured. Their families often consist of an entire line of family members, each with his/herown role in the family.

Children are cherished and considered to be gifts from God. The family structure in India is typical. There are many wedding customs which have to be strongly followed by everyone. Religion, caste, traditional practices, and regional differences influence family structures. Indians are more emotionally attached to the members of their family.

The Indian family is one of the best examples of the joint family. 

It is formed by brothers, their spouses, and children.  There is a “joint ideal” in Indian society.  Any given family will actually move through a whole sequence: nuclear, 3-generation extended, then (when the grandparents die) a joint family. 

Once the children approach maturity, the joint family will divide property, separate from each other, and become a number of separate nuclear families who will then start the process all over again. 

 

The family unit starts off as a nuclear family.

 

As time passes, the daughters move out, while the sons remain as their wives move in and bear children to form an extended patrilocal 3-generation household. 

“Dada” is the head of the 3-generation unit and his wife, “Dadi,” is in charge of coordinating the activities of all her daughters-in-law and grandchildren.  Sons work under their father’s direction and must turn over all their income to him. This responsibility applies even to income earned outside of the household.

Upon Dada’s death, land and other property will remain jointly held by all the sons. The oldest son will assume the role of household head but does not own the household’s property.

When the brother’s own children reach the age of marriage, the joint family will break apart into family units. All property will be equally divided, and they will each go on to build their new nuclear unit with their wives and children. If Dadi is still alive, she will get a share of the property and will move in with one of her sons.

These nuclear families, with the sons bringing wives in and the daughters marrying and moving out, quickly become 3-generational families again, with the parents becoming the new Dada and Dadi. 

 

However, India population on the other hand, is booming at a very fast rate, with the population growing at a present rate of 1.8%.

In 1951 India implemented a national family planning program to help slow their booming population. In the year 2000, India’s one billionth baby was born making the country home for one sixth of the entire population of the world.  With the current rate of growth, India’s one billion people will double to two billion by the year 2040. 

One major population problem in India is families preferences for boys over girls. Because of India’s dowry system, which is now officially outlawed but still takes place, it is expensive to raise girls. Also when a girl marries she becomes part of her husband’s family and contributes nothing further to her parent’s future welfare. One common Indian proverb relates, “raising girls is like watering someone else’s lawn. Hence, it can be clearly seen that the preference for boys over girls is clearly one of the reasons for families in India to continue to try again and again until they get a boy.

With a large percentage of people India trapped in extreme poverty, having too many children often times leads to increasing financial burden on the families. In some cases, the family planning policies issued by the government often does not reach out to the majority, who are living in slums and run down communities that do not have access to televisions and electricity.

In Singapore, such a tradition by some families of preference of boys over girls is evident as well.  But our country’s population story is entirely opposite of India’s. While India is trying hard to do whatever they can to curb population growth, Singapore on the other hand, is doing all we can to encourage population growth. Some reasons why Singaporeans may not want to have babies includes the higher cost of living, more women being career-orientated and the burden of taking care of a child which not many Singaporeans can handle. The list goes on, but one thing is for sure. As much as Singapore wants to increase our population size, control is still needed. If not, the same situation happening in India can happen to us as well.

Acknowledgements:

http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/faculty/hodgson/Courses/so142/India/india.htm

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/family-life-in-india.html

http://www.d.umn.edu/~lars1521/India&birthcontrol.htm

“So many young adults today are selfish monsters- And we parents are to blame,” says Yasmin Aibhai-Brown

The article basically talks about how the youths of today are becoming increasingly selfish and having increasingly horrible attitudes. The author describes youth today as  a” monstrous” “me” generation, where everything is always about the, where they care only about themselves, where they push the blame on others and never admit their wrongdoings whenever things do not go their way. Youths today are different from those in the past, and one main reason that changed youths today to be who they are is because parents spoil their child. In the past, our parent’s were brought up the strict way, where rules were rules and talking back was a serious offense. Life then was hard, many families struggled to put food on the table. Our parents never had the best, which has taught them on how to be grateful for life and not demand too much. However, it is also this very reason that parents spoil their child. They do not want their child to end  up in the same state as they previously were, they wanted what was best for the child. Spoiling their kids hence let to them thinking that the whole world revolves around them and they MUST be at the center of attention.

This reality is true in the Western countries, and is also true in Asian countries as well. As globalization occurs and social media is more prevalent, cultures of different people can spread and hence, such terrible behavior can spread to other nations, causing all teenagers to become rude and blatantly selfish.

However, I still sincerely believe that our Asian values, where we were taught from young to be respectful towards our parents, is what has nurtured us Asian children to be respectful, obedient children, much better than Western countries one, where children are free to do whatever they want and they parents adopt a free lifestyle, where their children have freedom and hence, even if they did something wrong, the level of punishment they give is never sufficient enough to let the child understand. Most significant point i find is that Western parents NEVER use a cane to beat their children, unlike Asian parents who do so. There is a Chinese that says, when our parents beat us, they actually are fond of us, and when they scold us, they actually love us.

MID-EAST VIRUS: 64 JOHOR RESIDENTS IN QUARITINE

This article is basically talking about the recent spread of MERS, also known as Middle-East Respiratory syndrome. The Malaysian government is putting 64 residents of a village in the Batu Pahat area in west Johor under quarantine for a week after some showed symptoms of the virus. Johor Health and Environment executive committee chairman Ayub Rahmat says that this is the first such case to occur in Malaysia and that he takes the matter seriously. The Ministry of Health on Wednesday said that a 54-year old man from Batu Pahat died after contracting the virus. The man had apparently visited Mecca to perform the umrah,a Muslim pilgrimage and returned with virus.

The World Health Organisation said that the virus was first discovered in 2012, and had not been previously detected in humans. Little is known about the virus as well. Authorities are definitely stepping up measures to ensure that the virus does not spread and is contained as much as possible.

 

Zoom this situation to the Singapore context, how can it affect us should there be a victim of the MERS virus in Singapore? Would Singaporeans panic, feeling that the virus can easily spread to the entire population, given our small land size?  How would Singaporean authorities have reacted to this situation if it happens in our own country. In my opinion, viruses make me scared. The word “VIRUS” gives that eery feeling that it will take over your body and become zombie (although that’s because I’ve played too many games pertaining to such creatures). But truthfully speaking, can Singapore handle this issue that might potentially be similar to SARS? SARS had already caused so much trouble for our country already. But on the bright side, this probably means that we maybe able to better handle this situation should it worsen.