Warren JD ( Jack Daniels ) Speaks

Jealousy

2011-06-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

This post is going to be different from my other posts. It would be more personal this time round. Should I be bearing my feelings on my blog? I have been pondering it for some time and have decided to have a go at it. People have told me not to reveal my feelings on the internet; however, I am who I am, so this is my first maiden post about what I have been feeling lately.

My girlfriend is in a job that gives her good opportunities. In fact, she likes her job a lot and feels that this job would make her go places. Indeed, the company has lifted up to it’s name, it has provided her opportunities to travel. In May, she went to Orlando and in late Jun to early August, she would be going to China. Some of you may want to be in her shoes and definitely I want to be also. This where lies the problem, I am jealous of her.

The feeling of jealousy began when she first informed me that she was going to Orlando. At first, I thought the feeling of jealousy would go away. However the pain began manifesting in leaps and bounds as the day of her departure reached closer and finally it reached full-circle on the faithful day. I broke down at the airport and I swore I would not feel this way again. I decided to end our relationship as not to feel this pain again, however, I failed.

Now I am feeling the same pain again. Unfortunately, I know the feelings will come again and it will not end unless she stops going on business trips. I have asked her to be friends with me so that I can at least soften the pain, however, that has failed too.

I have even asked her to leave her job and not to go on the business trip. I can’t deny that these are acts of selfishness. She has told me that I have become a person that she does not know anymore.

Now, anybody reading this post would think I am a selfish bastard. They would think that if I love her, I would support her and be happy for her. I do not deny I am happy for her. She has everything going for her. The root course of my jealousy is that she is able to do a job that she is proud of. She is able to enjoy her job and enjoy the achievements that come with it. As in my case, I do not have a job I am proud of. I am depressed at my job. I stare at the computer terminal and do nothing for days because once have I completed my tasks; I have nothing else to do. Basically, I am in deep depression.

I always console myself that one day I would be able to have the same achievements as her. I would be able to travel. However, in reality, it may not happen. I am already 37 and in about two weeks would be receiving my first degree if everything goes well. Can my degree help me to go places and build my career? The chances are slim because I am reaching 40. It is a reality I must face. It may be a case of being too late.

The following poem which was posted in my earlier entries depicts my true feelings about my life :

Wary I wake upThe sky ever so bright
The sun shines with much ferocity
A new dawn begins
but darkness only shines upon me
The darkness I feel
Is the feeling of being a plasticine man

Oh Plasticine Man, Oh Plasticine Man
For who I am
For what pleasure do I accept you in my life
The pleasure of being plasticine?
For I only know the plasticine wall of pain that surrounds me
Like a bear hug, ever ready to render a man breathless
As plasticine as I am, I still have to put on a smile and face the world

As my work makes me a plasticine man
The joy of building plasticine castles in the air makes me happy
As I know that it is the only way to prevent me from becoming a cement man
Oh my Oh my
I shrudder with fear as my air diminishes with each coming day
Will I ever break out of the iron cage I am in

With not much less to breath
Help!! Help!!! I shout with much desperation
Oh how plasticine I have become
Even my shouts cannot be heard
Oh when will my plasticine life be over
For I know I cannot carry on living this way
The pain is to hard to bear
Oh plasticine! Oh plasticine!Go away!
Never to return back
As thou needs to smile and laugh again

What should I do to solve my problems? If only and when I can get a job which gives me a sense of satisfaction and pride and make me go places, only then will my problems be solved. Some of you may think I am a selfish bastard and that my girlfriend does not deserve a guy like me. However, I am who I am and this is what I am made up off.

SINGAPORE AIRSHOW 2010

2011-05-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

Singapore Airshow
Asia's biggest for Aviation's Finest

The Singapore Airshow, among the world's Top 3 aviation events, is the largest aerospace and defence event in Asia.

Singapore Airshow serves as a global marketplace and networking powerhouse for the world’s aviation community and has always been greeted with tremendous support from industry players, solidly maintaining its position as Asia’s largest and top three aerospace and defence events in the world.

It continues to be the only event of its kind that brings together heads of the international aviation community, including key political and military leaders. For 2010, the Airshow again closed on a high note with deals and announcements worth about US$10 billion in spite of a recovering economy.

Singapore Airshow also features a series of high-level conferences dedicated to leading players in the global aviation industry - the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit (ALS), the Asia-Pacific Security Conference, Unmanned Systems Conference and the Land Defence Conference.

In its full glory, the Singapore Airshow is not all business and no play. The final weekend of the 6-day event will be open to public. Young and old, aviation enthusiasts and anyone who enjoys a day of adrenaline-pumping revelry under the sun will make it a must-watch. From masterful aerobatic flying displays to the excitement of fun fairground attractions, food, and collectables, the Singapore Airshow has the makings of a new calendar highlight that will give families and friends a weekend of fun

Singapore Airshow is organised by Experia Events Pte Ltd, which is engaged in the organising and managing of conferences, exhibitions and related activities that are of strategic national interest. The highly successful Singapore Airshow is recognised as Asia's largest and one of the top three global aerospace and defence exhibitions.

Experia Events also manages the Changi Exhibition Centre (CEC), a world-class multi-dimensional facility built on a sprawling 30-hectare seafront site.

Experia Events portfolio includes:

Singapore Airshow, Asia’s largest aerospace and defence show;

IMDEX Asia, Asia Pacific’s only international event dedicated to maritime defence;

Singapore International Water Week, a global platform for policymakers, industry leaders, experts and practitioners involved in the water world.

ScreenSingapore, an international cinema event offering policy makers, industry buyers, sellers, producers and creative talent from all over the world a platform to exchange ideas, business opportunities and showcase their wares.

Photos :

GE Election 2011 – Make Your Vote Count

2011-04-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

GE Election 2011 rallies have begun. Huge turnout at opposition rallies. Fiery speeches been lashed out. Life in Singapore will not be the same for the next eleven days. Singaporeans are now deciding who to vote for. Vote wisely they are informed. Their future depends on which political party they vote. However, Singaporeans are being short changed in a certain way. Some may think that if they vote in an opposition party, changes can be made immediately. Unfortunately, a new political party that takes up government ship in Singapore cannot change the present policies that are in place for the first term. They only can make changes if they are voted in for a second term. Therefore, Singaporeans still have to live with the present policies for five years. I apologise for this rude awaking.

Election rallies are rallies where political parties pledge to help their fellow countrymen in any way they can. They create manifestos to promise their supporters that they would make their lives better. Even come out with polices that can outdo the present policies. However, bear in mind, these polices may look workable but they have not been tried and tested. Everybody wants cheaper housing, cheaper transport, cheaper medical bills and a more affordable life style to live in. However, at the same time, they want to enjoy good food, good entertainment and be able to live a rather high standard way of life. Singaporeans want both sides of their bread buttered. It is not possible to do so.

There always has been a huge turnout at opposition rallies and not at PAP rallies. One reason is that speeches at opposition rallies are much more fiery than those at PAP rallies. Maybe the opposition feel that by using forceful speeches, they would win more votes. Well, they may be successful. If their supporters vote for them, all is well and good. However, on polling day, they may change their minds and vote for the PAP. It is actually good that the opposition give alternative ways to govern the country and if the PAP is smart, they can pick out certain points and tweak it to their advantage.

With 82 seats being contested out of 87, it shows that there are now more people willing to go into politics to challenge the ruling party. It is a good sign. It makes Singapore look more democratic. Singapore is a unique country. It is not a country whereby the Singaporeans are looking for an alternative government. Therefore, the “we need a change” shouts are just shouts encoring the “American” presidential campaign but without true substance. What Singaporeans want and which I have always wanted is to have a strong opposition in Parliament so that policies being implemented by the ruling party can be properly debated and not be one sided. This is a making of a true democratic country. Whether we become a true democratic country, we would have to wait and see. It may not happen in my life time but I hope it would one day. It will also help to strengthen the ruling party resolve to be more caring to their citizens and help the needy in one way or another.

For example, the implementation of the IR integrated resorts. There was protest against the building of the casinos due to religious grounds, the fear of our society becoming delinquent and the increase of gambling addiction which in turn would destroy the social moral fabric of Singapore.

However, gambling has been in the blood of Singaporeans since the early 1960’s, buying 4D comes in mind, so there were already Singaporeans being addicted to gambling and some even go as far to Macau to gamble. The creation of the IR’s was inevitable as countries around us were all re-inventing themselves into global cities (read my topic on Singapore’s urbanisation renewal – coming soon). Foreigners were going to other countries to enjoy the different exotic vibrant and exciting entertainment (theme parks, exotic food, shopping for branded goods and attending international exhibitions and concerts and night life – dancing and drinking ) that were being served to them on a silver platter. Singapore had only to offer the entertainment being served at Orchard Road to foreigners. To draw the who who’s in the entertainment, food and shopping industries, casinos had to be built. Profits earned by the Casinos also help to subsidize their operations. This happens to every other county. Our government knew that building the casinos was vital in order to attract investors to set up their restaurants, shopping and entertainment outlets to our shores yet we were told that building a casino was only secondary. This was to down play people’s fear of the disintegration of the social moral fabric of Singapore brought about by gambling and the objection of building a casino on religious grounds. If there was a strong opposition, this point could have been raised and we would not be “conned” by the ruling party.

There are more cons not to vote for the PAP. The opposition knows this. The world looks at Singapore as a country of great stability. Thanks to one man and his team in the 60’s. Investors and businessmen flock to Singapore shores to pump their money into our county to help them make more money and also improve Singapore’s economy. It is a win win situation. PAP has given foreigners great opportunities to make a good living it is shores. Singaporeans grumble that they cannot find jobs because foreigners are taking their jobs, however, do we have the talent to do certain jobs like running an MNC or taking up jobs in the health or construction industries like nursing and construction work. Foreigners like Filipinos and Indians flock to Singapore to find jobs because our dollar value is very strong as compared to theirs and they enjoy better security and stability in their jobs. They also face no corruption problems.
The government has helped most Singaporeans to have a good education. Hence, we have become choosy in our job search. How many Singaporeans would apply for jobs that are considered “low” class? If there are no foreigners who would do this “low” class jobs which actually make them rich due to our strong dollar value, who would do it?

Lets’ say if a new party is ruled in and they implement their policies of cheaper housing, cheaper transport, cheaper medical bills and a more affordable life style to live in ( bear in mind that they can only do it in the second term because a new ruling party can only make policy changes if they are voted in for the second term), their policies may survive in the short run. Prices of oil, gas, electricity & medical fees would always be on the rise. Eventually the opposition party would have to raise prices on goods, transportation and entertainment. It all goes back to square one. Furthermore, for Singapore to strive as a global city, they have to attract the who who’s in the restaurant, shopping and entertainment businesses and they do not come cheap. Therefore, in order for Singapore to grow, the rise in prices is inevitable. People must find a way to upgrade themselves. The opposition should concentrate on policies on how to raise the standard of those in the lower spectrum in order to meet the standard of the middle income or even those in the high income belt. They should help them rise above the poverty level. It would not speak well for a government if there is a high portion of its citizens that are below the poverty belt.
A few polices I can think that can help citizens are:-

- Free education to those who cannot afford. Be it in a government school or a private institution.

- Provide free medical treatment to those in the lower income. Relax on the rule and regulations on those who can be eligible for free medical treatment. Reduce red tape.
- Let singles buy brand new HDB flats. If we were to become a 1st world country, then the “ridiculous “ fear of not letting singles buy new HDB flats because it would encourage babies being born out of the wedlock should be abolished.

- Single mothers should be entitled to the same medical benefits that married mother have. This would further help increase the “greying” population of Singapore.

- Build bigger and spacious flats and not like those who make you feel like you are in the prison cell. This would encourage couples to have more children as they would have more rooms to sleep in and more space for their children to run about in their houses.

To end, I will provide a chain message sent by a friend that advises one and all to vote wisely as our vote would determine our future in Singapore. Take care and God Bless. Have a great weekend.

While walking down the street one day a political candidate is tragically hit by a truck and dies.The political candidate’s soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance."Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter.

"Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you.

""No problem, just let me in," says the political candidate.St. Peter says, "Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.

""Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven, I'm already dressed in white." says the MP."I'm sorry, but we have our rules", replies St.Peter.And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.Also present is the Devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St.Peter is waiting for him."Now it's time to visit heaven," St Peter says.So, 24 hours pass with the political candidate joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and the 24 hours in heaven passes by and St Peter returns.

"Well, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now which will you choose for your eternity?" St Peter asks.The political candidate reflects for a minute, then he answers, "Well, I never would have thought it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be happier and better off .. in hell.

"So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.The Devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder."I don't understand," stammers the political candidate.

"Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"The Devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning..Today you have voted."

Redevelopment Of The Singapore River

2011-02-27T23:50:00.000-08:00

The Singapore River was once a river that trading boats used to carry their cargo for the British Empire and to call at the trading companies lined at the banks of the river. Now in 2011, boats can still be seen at the river, however, their purpose for being there has been changed indirectly. The only thing that has not been changed is that they are still used as a “tool” to fuel the Singapore economy. How to they do that? They ferry tourists around the Singapore River at a price. For adults, the price is S$15.00, for children it is S$8.00. They are called River Cruisers.

These changes came about in the redevelopment project undertaken by the Singapore Tourism Board of Singapore to redevelop the Singapore River to become a food, entertainment and commercial establishment. This was to attract the youth, professionals and tourists to come and indulge in the range of activities that were organised around the Singapore river and to “part” with their money by feasting themselves to the various delicacies and indulge themselves in the entertainment provided by various fine dining outlets and entertainment establishments found at the Boat Quay and Clark Quay which is situated at the mouth of the river. This initiative was undertaken in order to enhance the night life of Singapore, to develop the surrounding areas of the Singapore River, to provide various activities at the Singapore River and to encourage people from all walks of life to go to the Singapore River. However, with the reference to the last point, can all people enjoy the “activities” that are found at the Singapore River. This point will be brought up later.

A city can resemble or symbolise culture. In the redevelopment of the Singapore River, one of its main aims was to retain its culture. For example, retaining old buildings of architectural merit and historical importance and developing new buildings as well as organising river – oriented activities like the River Hong Bao, Duck Race or dragon boat races.

There are some iconic landmarks situated at the river mouth. For example, the Fullerton Bridge and Hotel (which was once a iconic post office now refurbished for commercial use ), Cavanaugh Bridge & Anderson Bridge. There are also many dining & entertainment establishments. Two areas that were constructed along the Singapore area to provide these kinds of establishments were Boat quay and Clark quay. There is also an area which signifies Singapore’s increasing ambition to develop the Art’s scene in Singapore. Museums and Art houses are now situated near the Singapore River to house plays, concerts and exhibitions. With globalisation and our thriving economy, various international artists and renowned exhibitions come to Singapore to showcase their plays, concerts and exhibitions. Buildings that hold these activities are The Arts House, Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall and the Asian Civilisation Museum.

Few examples of food and entertainment establishments in Boat Quay and Clark Quay are Jumbo Seafood ( The Riverwalk), Rendezvous Restaurant, Billy Bombers classic, Waraku Japanese Restaurant, Hot Stores, Baize + China One, Crazy Elephant, Highlander, Pump Room, Penny Black and Harry’s.

Residential properties can also be found at the mouth of the Singapore River. For example, The River. It has 545 units, multi-storey sky gardens, lush green vista integrated with the Singapore River Promenade and various terraces overlooking the Singapore River. Units offered consists of 2, 3 4 bedroom units and penthouses. The price range for these units is around 1.5 million to 3 million. This residential property can only be bought by those with the “cash”. It mostly attracts expatriates, businessmen and those that are looking to buy property which they could sell in the future for investment.

Why do I describe what the Singapore River consists of? This is to help me to explain to you how the government uses what is called abstract spaces to create businesses, how the political economy approach reflect the development of the Singapore River. It will be illustrated using theories from Henri Lefebvre : Redefining the study of the cities & John Logan & Harvey Molotec : Urban Growth Machines

For those living in Singapore, you will be able to tell that those with the financial means would be able to visit the Food and Entertainment establishments found at Singapore River. Those who can’t, just got there to “walk around” and immerse themselves with the surroundings. Thus various of levels of social class are developed.

Why should several of levels of social class be developed? This can be found in the unevenness of the development of the Singapore River. This unevenness is theorised in Henri Lefebvre theory on urbanisation. He described this unevenness by creating two categories. He called it the primary circuit of capital and the second circuit of capital.

In a capitalistic system, the flow of money is the ability for manufactures to produce goods and sale of products to generate profits. In the case of the redevelopment of the Singapore River, food and entertainment establishments are created so that owners of these establishments can sell and even produce their own products to sell to their consumers, in the case of Brewerks, where the beer is brewed at its food and establishment to be sold to its consumers. Consumers with good purchasing power pay for such services. Thus these establishments make good profits on the sale of their food and entertainment services. Food and drink manufacturers, local or foreign, sell their products to owners of these food and entertainment establishments thus creating a two way business transaction. Prices and drinks are charged at a high price to cover the cost of the purchase of these products and also to make a profit on the sale of the products. For example, an Erdinger beer is sold at S$15 or the price of steak can reach up to S$50. Therefore, these facts re-iterate my point that those who have the financial means can visit these establishments and those who cannot can only stare and smell the aroma that is diffused from a lovely piece of Wagyu beef and watch others enjoy their dinner.

Another area of unevenness of urbanisation that Henri Lefebvre identified is the profit – oriented activity – real estate investment – the second circuit of capital. The Rivergate residential property built at the mouth of the Singapore River is a good example. Property agents cum businessman can acquire wealth by selling to the units to “people” who can afford it. As written in the 6th paragraph, the prices of these units are very high. The sales of these units are profit driven. The area around the residential property becomes private property or even gated property because people of certain status, wealth and power can acquirer these units and the units are closely guarded by sercurity men and cameras.Thus creating a social class divide once again. However, when it comes to housing, most Singaporeans are happy because the government has done a lot to help everyone to have a house even though they may not have the means to do so. With the Singapore HDB urbanisation project in 1968, Singapore is the only country whereby nearly 98% of it citizens own homes.

Those who own the properties at Rivergate can eventually sell them because residential property in most cases would appreciate in value. The sale of their units would in return provide them with good money. Therefore, in the short run, the sale of the units benefits property agents. In the long run, it will benefit the buyer. It is a win win situation. The buyer or the agent may use the money to invest in other properties or businesses, thus increasing their wealth. The sales of food and entertainment establishments to other investors also play a part in the increase of wealth for investors. As the saying goes, the rich can only get richer.

Henri Lefebvre explain these facts in his theory. I shall quote him.

“He said that investment in land always needs to profit and serves as an important means of acquiring wealth. One buys to make money by the sale of the property because one expects its value to rise. Investors take the money and invest on other projects in order to make more money “

The government’s good planning for the location of food and entertainment establishments drives the concept of abstract spaces. Henri Lefebvre explained that abstract spaces are what government, businessmen and investors have in mind when they want to plan where they can locate their businesses in order to reap the best benefits in obtaining profits for their businesses and the best location of the appreciation of the value for their establishments. They also consider the size of the location.

By locating Food and entertainment establishments at Boat Quay and Clark quay, the government has strategically placed these establishments near the CBD and shopping belt of Singapore. Coupled with many kinds of activities that attracts many kinds of different people Boat quay and Clark quay, there is never a time where these places are empty. Specially designing the food and entertainment establishments with decorative decor helps consumers identify themselves with their culture, attitude and identity and these concepts helps to attract consumers to the establishments.

Singapore has one great advantage and that is its size. It is a very small country therefore going to places is not a hassle. Furthermore, Singapore has a rather first class transportation system and this makes it even easier for people to go to Boat quay or Clark quay. As businesses grow for these establishments, the area around the Singapore River becomes a very popular for the establishment of restaurants and entertainment outlets to be located. The value of land increases thus the selling value of these outlets. Unfortunate, prices of food and drinks will also keep on rising. It may increase the gap between those who can afford or those that cannot.

Even the shopping centre, the Central built at Clark quay, caters to those who can spent. The merchandisers selling goods from clothes to computer accessories are rather expensive. It could be claim that the government only think of making money and do not care for the lower income. However, you still can see those who can’t afford go to Singapore River just to walk around and admire the surroundings, whether they are jealous of others is another matter.

Many a times, there is a “changing of hand” between these outlets. Therefore, it is to quite common to see a food and entertainment outlets to last only around six months to a year. Of course there are other reasons why these outlets also close down like economy downturn and lost of profit due to competition but we cannot ignore that profit driven motives are one the several factors that affect the sale of these establishments.

Jon logan and Harvey Molotch study on abstract space followed closely with Henri Lefebvre and held similar points of view with him.

They wrote that urban growth coalitions - typically made up of bankers, businesspeople, corporate property owners, developers, politicians, and investors - seek to spark population growth, increase the market value of land, and stimulate the city's economy through investment and development.To accomplish pressure the city's goverment to create a good business climate which are cleanliness, safety, tax incentives, low interest rate and relacation assistance. Isn't all these activities being down by our government to encourage local and foreign businesses and organisations to set up their " shops" here in Singapore.

Lee Kuan Yew once said this after a trip to England. He admired how the way the landscape around England's Heathrow airport was decorated. It was decorated by alot of flowers and plants and the atmosphere gave him a very good lasting expression of the country. If investors want to come to Singapore, the first place they will be at is the airport and they must have an instant feeling that Singapore is a wonderful and beautiful place to do business in. Why do you thing our airport is well decorated. Even the roads leading to and away from the airport are well decorated.

Around the Singapore River, you can see people from all walks of life, be it locals or foreigners. People follow a certain kind of conduct and behaviour when moving around the area so as to respect each other’s space. You can see office buildings and the office workers who occupy the office buildings. People with different income levels can still walk around as long they respect the privacy of others. This is what is known as social places. Henri Lefebvre calls this area a place where people live, work and play. Well there are people living in apartments living near the Singapore River also and you can see some of them jogging in the evenings with their dogs. However, for those really living, working and playing around the Singapore River are not your normal Singapore heartlanders. They kind of belong to a certain social class. Therefore it is not common to see them hang out in certain pubs that are “only meant of them” and exclude others.

The advantage of our government planning and zooming of areas for entertainment and residential activities is that it does not destroy unnecessary areas just for the development of such establishments. Every citizen’s social space is respected. The development of Singapore River in no way affects the residential lifes that normal Singaporeans enjoy. Most local residents would like to protect their own local community and may resist any development that would affect their local life.

Jon logan and Harvey Molotch wrote that “ local residents have a social space view of their community and may oppose growth as being against their own best interest”.

The re-development of the Singapore River was a project undertaken to develop the night scene, the arts scene and the retail scene in Singapore. Right down from Orchard Road to the Singapore River, similar fine, dining, entertainment and shopping concepts are being created. With on the onset of globalisation, international renowned brands such as YSL, Larvin and Giogio Armani have set up shops here. Identical shopping malls are created to house various shops that sell branded goods from clothes to computer accessories. Artificial cultural scenes that depict foreign cultures are created to serve foreigners. These can be seen in various culture themes that pubs and restaurants adopt. For example, the English pub called Penny Black.

However, these developments cater to the government’s aim of improving the Singapore economy. to make Singapore into a vibrant hip city buzzing with entertainment and night life. Those who can’t afford to buy the expensive goods and can only go to the cheaper shops. However, like every capitalistic country, in order to grow, re-development to make one country to an “exciting one” is inevitable, hence this would create a divide in the social class of people. Theories from Henri Lefebvre : Redefining the study of the cities & John Logan & Harvey Molotec : Urban Growth Machines describe the pros and cons of re-development.

However, not all is bad, the government’s planning and zooming of areas for entertainment and residential activities is that it does not destroy unnecessary areas just for the development of such establishments.

In these essay, I have shown how re-development of the Singapore River has helped the government to use what is called abstract spaces to create businesses and how the political economy approach reflect the development of the Singapore River.

Is It A Singaporean Problem Whereby They Do Not Help People In Distress?

2010-12-06T21:38:00.000-08:00

On a bright Sunday morning, Orchard Road shoppers were given a rude awakening that interrupted their normal enjoyable shopping routine. They witness a horrendous traffic accident whereby a SBS Bus knocked down an old lady. The old lady was pinned under the bus bleeding profusely. Onlookers flock to the scene of the accident like bees but nobody did anything to help the poor old lady pinned under the bus. As the day went by, the police and civil defence force came and rescued the old lady. As of the faith of the old lady, I do not know.

As I read the about the accident in the newspaper, I asked myself why the onlookers did not help the old lady. Were they afraid? Or is it about the complexities about how humans interact with each other in a cosmopolitan society like Singapore?

I think most of you must have read how other people, besides Singaporeans, have helped people on the streets. Singaporeans have been accused of not being helpful, however, after reflecting on the accident, I have come to realise that there is a much more deeper cause to why some people would help and others would not. It does quite not matter how one is brought up even though it still has a part to play. There are four factors that explain whether one would help someone who is in distress. They are strangeness, space, fear & objectification. It is not confined to Singaporeans only, other people of various races, religion, citizenship and culture can be affected.

Strangeness

It is natural to help someone that we know. When we do not know someone, we have a tendency to be more cautious about interacting with that person. A conflict resides in us about how he/ she or society would view us when we interact with the person. Therefore, we rationalise the consequences of interacting with that person. We rationalise whether it would be beneficial or detrimental to interact with the person. We also tend to see how other people interact with the person and we will try to discern the right and proper way to interact with the person.

The old lady was a stranger to the onlookers. They had their reservation in helping her. They could have rationalised the pros and cons of helping the old lady. As nobody helped her, other onlookers could have discerned that it is a common norm not to help when such an incident happens thus preventing them from helping the old lady. However, if others were to help the old lady, the other onlookers would follow suit.

Fear

Fear prevents someone from doing certain things that he or she wants to do. People sometimes fear how others would think of them if they did something. They also fear of getting to involve in a certain situation. They fear they may cause more harm than good to the person in distress. When people face situations that are strange to them, they are faced with the unknown. Fear grips them because all of a sudden they are not in their comfort zone. I will elaborate more about it in spaces.

Therefore, the onlookers may not have helped the old lady due to the fear of how others would look upon them. They fear that their actions may go against the norm of that particular society if they help the old lady. Adding to the strangeness factor, they also fear that if they go against society, they may not be accepted into it (please note that I am stating this as a hypo - technical situation). Just imagine, if there is a campaign to persuade people to help others in distress in public, there might be a possible situation where more and more people would start to help people who are distress in public.

They also fear that they would have to get more involved in the accident. For example, in being an eye-witness.
They may not feel that they have the necessarily skills in helping the old lady. They are afraid that their help would result in more harm than good.

Space

Humans have their own comfort and private spaces. Once these spaces are invaded or changed, they would become disoriented or frightened. If you are a stranger in a city, you most likely would want to go somewhere that is familiar to you or find some situation that would make you feel comfortable. For example, eating at Burger King, meeting people you know or people whom you know that will help you assimilate you into the city.

Therefore for the regular Orchard Road shoppers their normal comfort space of shopping was interrupted with the onset of the incident. Suddenly, they were faced with a situation they may not have experienced before. Fear as I mentioned before grips them. Therefore, they will find in a situation which will keep them safe and that is just doing nothing and look. They will find this activity safe because that would be the activity that other onlookers would be doing. Therefore, it becomes a norm. As they say, monkey see monkey do.

They also fear of implicating themselves in the accident because it impeaches on their personal space, especially if they are not able to identify themselves as being eye-witnesses.

Objectification

Objectification is something we cannot run away from. We always set objectives in our lives. It gives us a sense of direction in how to lead our lives. We weigh the pro and cons of our objectives to see whether it is beneficial or non-beneficial to carry out the objective.

Therefore, applying the situation to the accident, people may rationalise whether it is worth helping the old lady. They may rationalise whether their help would benefit the old lady. They may rationalise that it would better that the “experts” rescue the old lady (which may be too late at times). Therefore, you may see that some would help while others just watch and stare.

I deliberately left out how the onlookers’ upbringing and values will affect them in their decision in helping the old lady. This was done because I want to show that it is not only a Singaporean problem but it can also affect others around the world. Therefore, whether you are an American, African or English, everyone also may have the tendency of not helping the old lady. This tendency of not helping others in distress is due to the factors of strangeness, fear, space and objectification. With the inculcation of good values, may be the effect of the four factors would be diminish but not entirely extinguished.

Monday

2010-12-05T16:11:00.000-08:00

Monday is here
Monday will become Tuesday at 12.00am
Monday is a bright and shiny day
Monday is where we face the blues
On the contrary, facing the blues overcomes our misery
Like the women who sing the blues in the fields that they plough

As Monday goes by, we plough or devour of life at work
Beneficiary to some, unbeneficial to others
Yet, we still continue working in this mindless and cruel world
Which has no sympathy on our souls
Money is the only thing we work for but what is the use if it
only brings us misery and ends our lives in turmoil

Is Monday all that bad
No it would not be because we still have our love ones
Monday is a day which we should all pledge to the ones we love “ I love you”
For only they can give us a sense of living and give us a meaning to life

Do not hate Mondays
It can be a good day
Your faith has already been written, whether good or bad
It is already pre-destined

Monday, Monday
As long as I wish you would go away as fast as possible
I do not want you to because despite all the misery I face, Monday is the only day
Where I know there is a beginning to life

The Consequences of Objectification

2010-11-10T23:31:00.001-08:00

Dating agencies in Singapore are set up to help single Singaporeans to find their right partner in life. It also has a dual aim. It is also set up to help Singaporeans socialize. The government has always been worried that as Singaporean progress in their career, Singaporeans will become career minded and they may put marriage on hold. This would lead to declining birth rates. Dating agencies are therefore tasked to help increase the marital rate of Singaporeans. This essay focus on how dating agencies may default in their task accorded to them by the government with emphasis on the theories of Alfred Shultz, Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann.

Dating agencies are set up to help single Singaporeans find their life partner. This will help increase the marital rate of Singaporeans. These agencies create social functions like, movie gatherings, wine appreciation courses, sports activities and dinner gatherings cum speed dating activities, for Singaporeans to meet and interact with one another. Social courses are also conducted to teach Singaporeans how to socialise (Singaporeans are nowadays to occupied in their advancement of their career that they have forgotten the essence of dating).

As the achievement to meet KPI settings are just as common as our drive to meet our career achievements, dating agencies would have to meet the government’s KPI target in trying to get Singaporeans to marry.

The purpose of getting Singaporeans to marry and reproduce becomes objectified. The difficulties of Singaporeans interacting with one another ( one of the reasons why Singaporeans cannot find partners ) are ignored.

This also objectifies dating agencies purposes in getting Singaporeans to marry. In trying to meet the KPI set by the government, dating agencies may in-turn lose sight in their purpose of socialising Singaporeans. In this instance, I am not saying that dating agencies will overlook the processes of socialisation. The socialisation process becomes impersonal, only to meet the dating agencies objective.

I shall now explain how this social phenomenon comes about by using the theories of Alfred Shultz, Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann.

People interact with each other because they have a shared meaning in life. I know what you know and you know what I know. This is also called intersubjectivity. It is this shared meaning that helps us understand one another. It also helps us to typify a person (stereotyping). Typification of people helps us to “bracket” out of our personality in order to interact with others. “Bracket” here means that we isolate our own characteristic in order to meet the characteristics of the person we are interacting. For example, I might be a successful banker but when I go NTUC to shop, I try to adopt the characteristics of a typical shopper in order to get along with other shoppers.

We are able to typify someone because according the Alfred Shultz, we have a “stockpile of Knowledge”, that we accumulated throughout our life experiences, to help us understand the people that we interact with.

At this juncture, I do know that some of you might disagree to what is being written but I appeal to you to reserve judgement and just read what is written. This essay is not to counter argue the theories of the above mentioned.

Another example is when dating agents meet their clients; they have to adopt the characteristics of their clients so that the process of their interaction would not be impersonal. Dating agents can study their clients profile in order to learn how to adapt to their clients behaviour.

Dating agencies are formed by people who share the same goals of setting up a dating agency to help singles in Singapore to find their life partners. Their shared aims of setting up the agency are their common sense knowledge of one another. Together with the common sense knowledge that they share, combined with the roles and process they develop in the running of the agency, a social institution (dating agency) is formed.

We create roles and habits in our daily life. For example, brushing our teeth and carrying out duties as a dating consultant. These roles and habits are internalized. They become part of our lives and they are taken for granted until someone comes along and question us. For example, there may be a long procedure in processing an employee’s transport claim. The officer in – charge carries out his or her role as a claiming officer and apply these procedures dutifully every day. As this process is repeated every day, it becomes a habit and eventually becomes a norm. These procedures will be taken for granted until someone questions about the procedures.

Therefore procedures are created and carried out for a dating consultant to follow in dealing with his or her clients and for the daily operations of the dating agency. These procedures in time will become the norm for the dating agency. It may also become the vision and mission statements of the dating agency.

All activity is subject to habitualization as repeated action is inevitably become routinized. Action performed repeatedly brings about a stable background.

When the procedures of running a dating agency and the roles carried out by the dating consultant become a habit, objectification might take place. This happens when a dating agency loses focus of it’s goals and is only concern of meeting the KPI set by the government and earning profits. It becomes divorce from the social experiences of those who institutionalized the procedures or originated the procedures that are now regulated.

Interaction between the dating consultants and their clients becomes impersonal. Of course, the dating consultants cannot make it seem that their interaction is impersonal and that the only objective is for the dating consultants to set up dates for their clients and what happens after the date will be the client’s problem. However, in most cases, dating agencies care about their clients’ welfare. They do follow up to see whether their clients did meet their successful partners during the dates that were set up. Dating agencies can carry out these procedures in two ways. One is that they do it because they really care for their clients; the other is for their profit margin. The latter in most cases are detrimental to dating agencies because as humans, we have feelings and indirect impersonality behaviours can be detected. Clients would eventually lose trust in the dating agency that they go to.

The purpose of getting Singaporeans to marry and reproduce more becomes objectified when the government sets KPI for dating agencies to meet. Dating agency also face difficulties in pairing up partners when clients set objectives for them. If these objectives are not met, clients lose interest. Social gatherings planned for singles to meet may also end up in failure if their clients’ objectives are not met.

If the government and clients is target centric, then they may overlook the actual root problem on why they cannot meet their life partner. For example, the reason why singles cannot find partners is because they do not have the necessary skills to socialise. Dating agencies actually help in this area but setting up courses on how to obtain socialisation skills but if clients still remain objective, then these courses would not be beneficial to them.

In summary we are creatures of habit. Every habit we adopt becomes routinize. This is depicted in our roles that we carry out in our daily life. For example, our roles as a dad, banker, fireman and accountant. These roles that are rountinize will become institutionzed. It will become a norm and eventually be regulated. For example, people call Federal Express as FedEX regularly. Soon this became a norm in society and Federal Express change their name to FedEX.
We are able to typify someone because the stockpile of Knowledge”, that we accumulated throughout our life experiences, help us understand the people that we interact with. Typifying a person (stereotyping) helps us to “bracket” out of our personality in order to interact with others. “Bracket” here means that we isolate our own characteristic in order to meet the characteristics of the person we are interacting.

Institutions like dating agencies will eventually objectify their procedures and roles. However, objectification of their roles and procedures may not be a bad thing if dating agencies do not lose side of their main purpose and in still social responsibility in their organisation. Other factors like KPI set by the government may force dating agency to objectify their procedures. If meeting KPI is the only primarily objective set, then the government is not actually tackling the root cause on why some singles cannot find partners no matter how many social gathers or dates they attend to. Clients may also not see the root cause of their problems if their only concern is for dating agencies is to meet their objectives.

On this note, I still hope dating agencies will keep on striving in their mission to get singles paired up. As they say, no pain no gain.

The difficulty of meeting the Singaporean Standard and why people are jaded in their jobs

2010-09-30T01:51:00.000-07:00

This essay focuses on the Singaporean Standard, why it has to be met, the consequences if they do not meet the standard and why Singaporeans become jaded in their jobs.

Singapore is a society whereby an individual needs to be monetary sound in order to live a comfortable life. Due to globalization and its economic growth, we now are able to dine and shop at many restaurants and fashion boutiques. There are now many restaurants and fashion boutiques that cater to the upper middle class and above in Singapore. The number of Singaporeans who have the purchasing power to dine or shop at these restaurants and fashion boutiques are increasing. Therefore, it is common to see Singaporeans forming long queues at these restaurants or swarming to these fashion boutiques. It is also now common to see luxury cars cruising down our forever packed roads. Given the rosy picture on how Singaporeans live their lives these days, it would be safe to say that most Singaporeans now live a comfortable life.

As the number of Singaporeans that are now living comfortable luxurious lives increase, a standard way of living in Singapore has been formulated. For those who are not able to meet these standards, they are left out; thus creating an anomie for those that cannot meet the standard.

To have the standard of living that has been imposed on us, we have to work and earn a certain level of remuneration. An employee must aspect to earn around S$3000 or more and obtain promotion 2 to 3 years every time in order to meet a high standard of living, if not he or she would feel isolated from society.

Singaporeans have to work every day work from Mondays to Fridays or on Saturdays and Sundays in order to survive. Prices in Singapore for houses, car, books and other merchandisers will keep on rising. Young graduates who start working after their graduation will began to obtain loans like housing and car loans in order to meet up society’s standard of living. Therefore, they become slaves to car loans, marriage loans, housing loans and other financial loans. A good handful of Singaporeans are in debt for the rest of their lives. If you are “born” an elite in Singapore, you are lucky. If not, you are “born” unlucky.

In this world there will always be some who will not be able to live a comfortable life because they are not able to earn high salaries. The reasons for not being able to earn high salaries are as follows :-

Do not have the right qualifications and skills
By pass for promotion ( stuck in the same job for many years without promotion )
In the wrong job. No vacancies to transfer to another department for better job prospects
Long wait to be transferred to another department
Are not good enough in their supervisors eyes
Stuck in their careers with no prospect of promotion
Do not know how to find another job

What happens to those that are facing these problems? They may become jaded and lose interest in their lives. They may feel a great sense of emptiness. They may just live from day to day. They are left feeling indifferent and dehumanize. They may feel trapped in this Singaporean pressure cooker society. They will lose their ambition to improve themselves in their jobs; they will lose interest in setting and achieving goals for themselves and will begin to lose interest in other things in life. They will have no mood to look for another a mate because they would not have the financial capability to get married. They may begin to feel trapped in their jobs, may not be able to find a way to get a new job and may not have the motivation to change their life.

There have not been any reports on Singaporeans adopting these kinds of behaviors but there have been such reports in China. Therefore if this social phenomenon is happening in China, what is there to say that it is not happening in Singapore or other parts of the world. This social phenomenon can be found among doctors, bank employees, teachers, journalists, traffic policemen and taxi drivers. The following are quotes by some China citizens that are facing this social phenomenon. It is taken from a newspaper article published by the Straits Times called Rise Of The “ Plasticine’ generation on Monday, September 13 2010.

Kevin Tu 31, property agent, wakes up at 8 am each day. Drags himself to work, puts in 9 hours in front of the computer and with his clients. Then he goes home to his one-bedroom apartment in the South side of Beijing to stare at the TV shows alone. A go-getting executive in a multi- national company just a few years ago, just lives “one day at a time”. “Everything just feels very bland,” he said. “I have no ambition, no real goal in life and I just don’t feel interested in anything anymore, even in hobbies I used to have. Now that I feel stuck in my career, I am in no mood to look for a mate. Maybe this numbness is just a phase or maybe life will just be this bland for me and I’ll just have to accept that this is it”
Advertising executive Wang Win 29 had this to say : “ I feel very trapped in my job boring job of six years, but I keep thinking I have to find first find someone to marry, then move on in my career, so I keep trying. I feel stuck in life and I feel confused, trapped but I can’t find the motivation to do something about it. I want to change my life but I don’t know the way out.”

An outspoken sociology professor Zhou Xiaozheng of Renmin University in Beijing said that most Chinese become slaves when they buy a car or a house; thus becoming house slaves or car slaves. This is because they will be paying back the loans they purchased to buy the house or the car or both. Now transpose this situation to our situation in Singapore and you will see the big picture. To meet the Singapore Standard, one has to buy a car or a nice house. They end up repaying the loans they purchased to buy these items for a very long time. If one cannot buy a house or car, they do not really meet the “Singaporean Standard”. Furthermore, more young Singaporeans are used to being driven around, so what more if they find themselves not being able to buy a car.

He also said that young Chinese feel suppressed by pressure in many fronts. Once they graduate, they have to fight to find a job, male enough money to buy a house amid the soaring property prices and when they do that they are in debt for a very long time. Isn’t this also happening in Singapore as well? They have to meet the Singaporean Standard if not they feel like they are losers.

Some sociologists have written about why people become jaded if they cannot obtain what they want in life or become jaded in their jobs. They are Talcott Parsons, Karl Marx and Max Webber.

Talcott Parsons created the AGIL system to explain how systems ( political, law, business and family ) can work together to form social equlibrium in society. I will use it to explain the consequences if the Singaporean Standard is not met.

The AGIL System: Adaptation, Goal Attainment, Integration & Latent Pattern Maintenance

The explanations of how these five factors can explain the social phenomenon addressed at hand.

Adaptation : This is based on the physical or material environment. It looks at how individuals adapt to its physical environment.

If Singaporeans are able to adapt their lives and meet the expectations of the “Singapore Standard”, then they will be able to live comfortable lives. However, if they can’t due to the inability of obtaining good purchasing power, then they may face difficulty living in Singapore especially with meeting up with the Jones. They may start to lose any ambitions they have in life. They will lose the motivation to improve. They may just accept the fact that it is their destiny not to live a good life and die as a single men or women. In other words, they would just become walking zombies. However, they may still hope that there will be a better future for them.

Goal Attainment : Ability of individual or groups to identify and pursue goals. The individual’s need to achieve his or her goals to live comfortably in Singapore.

If Singaporeans are able to achieve their goals of obtaining good jobs, getting fast promotion and earning high paying salaries, they will be able to have good purchasing power and indulge in the various “luxuries” that Singapore has to offer. If they can’t, then they will left out. They may start to feel jealous and have resentment towards others who can live a “good life” in Singapore. They will lose the motivation to improve. They may just accept the fact that it is their destiny not to live a good life and die as a single men or women. In other words, they would just become walking zombies. However, they may still hope that there will be a better future for them.

Integration : the need to coordinate, adapt and regulate relationships among individuals and groups within the economy or country in order for the system to function.

In order for Singaporeans to properly integrate themselves in Singapore, they have the meet the “Singaporean Standard”. Of course, Singaporeans can still integrate with one another even though they do not meet the “Singaporean Standard” However, they may be in constant struggle with themselves in trying to think of ways to obtain the “Singaporean Standard”, however not all Singaporeans would feel this way. It all depends on their character. A sense of anomie will be felt in some Singaporeans if they cannot meet the “Singaporean Standard” in society. They may resort to crime to obtain the luxuries they want. Some may just accept the fact that it is their destiny not to live a good life.

Latent pattern maintenance : to maintain that individuals are motivated to fulfill their roles as clerks, bankers, cashiers and managers. Rewards are given for them to motivate them in their jobs.

Rewards are given to those that perform well. However, some employees may not be given these rewards because of favoritism. Rewards like salary increment are given to those that work hard and prove that they are efficient in their work. Due to office politics, some efficient workers may not be given the promotion or the just rewards they duly deserve. They will start to lose interest in their job. They will lose the motivation to improve themselves in their jobs. They will shun away from society because due to not receiving the salary increases they may not able to indulge in the comfortable lifestyle that most Singaporeans do. They may eventually live and die as a hermit.

Employees follow proper work procedures in their job everyday. Day in day out, nine to five, they follow the same work procedures. As mention before, some of them endure their “boring & torturous” job because what they earn may be barely enough for them to survive. The work that they do will become repetitious. They may perform their job just like a robot. Eventually they will become bored and alienated from their work. For example, a cashier cashing in the goods that customers purchase at a supermarket. The process of cashing in the goods never change. The cashier internalizes the process. The tools that she uses to cash in the goods and herself become one. She becomes alienated from her work. Companies may form unions to persuade their workers that their work life is normal when it is actually detrimental to their well-being and there is no need for self development. A false consciousness is formed among the workers. They will start to lose interest in their job if they are not promoted. They will lose the motivation to improve themselves in their jobs. They will be left feeling indifferent and dehumanize. They will feel trapped in this pressure cooker. They will lose their interest to improve themselves and will start to lose interest in life. They will start to avoid their friends because they may not have the financial capabilities to indulge in the “good” life that their friends do. Karl Marx called this alienation.

Max Webber looked at the bureaucratic rules that organizations have to explain why some employees are not happy with their work and thus may lose interest in their jobs. In every organization there are rules to follow. As a result, in every organization there is office politics. Some employees may not be given the promotion or salary increment that they deserve even though they are efficient in their work. Supervisors may show favoritism to some employees. What happen to those find who themselves in such situations? They will portray the same kind of behavior I have mentioned in the above paragraph when they are alienated from their work. Max Webber calls it the “iron cage” syndrome. The rules and regulations that govern the way employees work also make them feel like they are in an iron cage. Some employees may feel this constrictive effect. They may not be able to find ways to make their work more interesting and effective. If they do, their supervisors may not like it. This is especially so for employees whose supervisors go by the book.

Singapore will continue to grow and prosper. Cost will keep on rising. Income gaps will widen. All these are inevitable in a thriving capitalistic country. Singaporeans have to realize that in order to survive they have to find ways to help them live. Life is unfair. You cannot have everything in life. If you want to have a prospering country, then you have to face the facts that these social consequences will happen. For those facing difficulties, they have to sit back and think of ways to help them survive. It is not impossible. I believe that those that really sit back, think and act on what they must do to survive in a society in Singapore can succeed in whatever they plan to do. Singapore is a nice country to live in and I believe that most of us are happy to make Singapore our home despite the troubles we face in life. Life is what you make out of it. I have written why people feel jaded in their jobs, why the “Singaporean Standard” has to be met, its consequences if it is not met and why some cannot meet its standards. Read it carefully and see in which areas you can improve your life. With this note, I wish you all the best in life and your future endeavors.

Plasticine

2010-09-26T22:51:00.001-07:00

Wary I wake up
The sky ever so bright
The sun shines with much ferocity
A new dawn begins
but darkness only shines upon me
The darkness I feel
Is the feeling of being a plasticine man

Oh Plasticine Man, Oh Plasticine Man
For who I am
For what pleasure do I accept you in my life
The pleasure of being plasticine?
For I only know the plasticine wall of pain that surrounds me
Like a bear hug, ever ready to render a man breathless
As plasticine as I am, I still have to put on a smile and face the world

As my work makes me a plasticine man
The joy of building plasticine castles in the air makes me happy
As I know that it is the only way to prevent me from becoming a cement man
Oh my Oh my
I shrudder with fear as my air diminishes with each coming day
Will I ever break out of the iron cage I am in

With not much less to breath
Help!! Help!!! I shout with much desperation
Oh how plasticine I have become
Even my shouts cannot be heard
Oh when will my plasticine life be over
For I know I cannot carry on living this way
The pain is to hard to bear
Oh plasticine! Oh plasticine!
Go away! Never to return back
As thou needs to smile and laugh again

How Has Contemporary Sociologists Followed In The Footsteps Of Classical Sociologists

2010-09-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

Social fact is an entity that exits on its own. It has its own characteristics. It is separate from our social actions yet it constraint us in our behaviour and thinking. It may seem as part of our social actions but in reality it is not. Let me explain.

As a law abiding citizen, I do not steal or jaywalk because it is illegal to do so. As a family man, I know how to fulfil my family obligations and customs. These family obligations and customs are what that has been taught to me throughout my life. The laws and the customs I abide to are the social facts. These laws and customs will still be around when I am dead and gone. It has a life on its own. Therefore a social fact considered is an entity that has an existence of its own, independent of its individual manifestations.

Eventhough social facts have their own existence; they also control our behaviour and thinking. For example, if the law says that is illegal to smoke in a certain facility, I have to control myself and not smoke in that area. If I do so, I have to face the penalty. Therefore, a social fact whether fixed or not is capable of exerting over the individual an external constraint. Since it affects our behaviour and thinking, it can only exist in society, either in a political society, religious denominations, political and literary schools. If there is no society there is no social fact. It is not like the organic or physical phenomena that can exist without a society.

There is another type of social fact called social currents. They force us to act in a certain way that we on our own would not act. Let’s take peer pressure as an example. An individual may not indulge in smoking but if he or she joins a group and if it is a norm in that group to smoke, he or she may take up smoking because it’s the group social norm. The act committed was due to the peer pressure he or she relented to.

Since social facts affects our lives, therefore there is a cause and effect relationship with our social well – being. These causal relationships can be studied by using quantitative methods. Emile Durkheim said that society is a system and is made up of various parts that function together. The theory that society is a system and it is made up of various parts that function together was known as structural functionalism. Durkheim was one of the leading pioneers that developed the theory of structural functionalism. Another contemporary sociologists, like Durkheim, who was interested in finding how social order was possible used Durkheim’s theory of structural functionalism to develop his theories. His name was Talcott Parsons.

Society is made up various systems. They are the political system, legal system, family structures and marriage dyads. He concluded that social facts have an existenance of their own that transcends these systems. In order to study social facts one needs to collect data to study these facts. It is better to study the social facts that affect society than to study people’s behaviour ( at which interpretivist prefer ).

He used the collection of data ( suicide rates ) to study about suicide. He studied how well society was integrated and he based his findings on the rate of suicide one society has. He claim that if a society had high suicide rates, then the society had low social cohesion and was not very well integrated. The opposite was also true for him. He claimed that there Protestants tended to commit suicide more than Catholics because they hand a lower social cohesion then the Catholics.
The study of society by using empirical data was adopted by positivists. They foresaw, especially August Comte, that sociology could be studied in the same way as psychical science subject. By studying empirical data, universal laws that are applicable to all societies could be discovered

Weber took a different approach in the study of society. He theorized that society could be studied by observing people behaviour thus creating an interpretive understanding of human behaviour. As people’s behaviour is unpredictable, it would be very difficult to study patterns of people behaviours by using empirical data. Unlike Durkheim who studied the objectivity of social facts, Weber studied the meaning of people’s behaviour and actions. Durkheim argued that human behaviour and actions were shaped by society however Weber argued that people’s behaviour and action were shaped by the human interaction with other fellow human beings. Weber’s theories were instrumental in the development of phenomenology, symbolic interactionism and dramaturgical theory. One important contemporary sociologist that followed closely to Weber’s theories and also was the one that developed the theory of dramaturgical was Erving Goffman. The next few paragraphs will be on the two contemporary sociologists who based their work on Durkheim’s and Weber’s theories respectively; they are Talcott Parsons and Erving Goffman.

Like Durkheim, Talcott Parsons was also interested in how social disintegration effected society. He also believed that society worked as a system. He believed that society was made up of three systems; cultural systems, personality system and social system.

The cultural system looks at individual beliefs and values. It is concerned about how these beliefs and values shapes one individual life. Example of beliefs and values are religious beliefs, language, ethical values, national values and family values. It also looks at how individuals internalize these beliefs in their lives, use them to interact and socialize in society and maintain social control.

The personality looks at individuals’ attitudes, needs, motivation and self interest. How they obtain what they want and the behaviour they portray.

The social system looks at role interaction. It can be made up of two people, a community, a team or an organisation. It looks at how individuals interact with one another with emphasis being drawn towards the social values and beliefs that they adhere to.

There is however another system called behavioural organisms. This actually look at the behaviour of individuals in a certain situation. It encompasses all the other three systems.
Based on these systems, Talcott developed a set of concepts called the pattern variables which later was transcended to the AGIL System.

The pattern variables are made up of five pattern variables that individuals internalize and assist them to integrate into society. These five pattern variables have to work in accordance with each other for the achievement of social equilibrium. However, these five pattern variables also know as the social action theory is actually a grand theory because individuals do not always behave the way they should. This will be explained in Erving Goffman’s theory of dramaturgy.
The five pattern variables were divided into five dichotomies of factors that will explain individuals’ behaviour in a tradition (Gemeinschaft) and a modern society (Gesellschaft).

In a traditional society the factors are : Affectivity, collectively – orientation, universal, achievement & specificity

In a modern society the factors are : Affectivity – Neutrality, Self-Orientation, particularism, ascription & diffuseness

Affectivity

This action shows how people show their emotions. For example, when a child cries when he/she falls down.

Collectively – orientation

This action is based on decisions made by individuals that would affect their needs, motivation, and attitudes in a group. For example, a manager may resign on his own accord due to bad publicity on a certain issue that is affecting the company he or she is working for.

Universal

This action is based on general laws and moral values. For example, criminals are sentenced according to the laws set up by the court.

Achievement

This action is based on performance. For example, fulfilling all the requirements to graduate in UniSIM

Specificity

This action is based on individual roles and how these roles affects individuals in their socialization process with other people. . For example, a clerk’s role, banker’s role and cashier’s role.

Affectivity – Neutrality

This action is based on individuals being neutral in their emotions in certain situations. For example, board members of a company are not supposed to show any emotions when making decisions.

Self-Orientation

This action is based on individual needs, motivation and attitudes. For example, a student deciding what to study base on his or her own interest.

Particularism

This action is based on relationship of individuals in a given situation. Looks at how one would respond to another. For example, a friend defending friend accused of theft no matter whether he or she committed the offense.

Ascription

This action is based on an individual race, sex and age. For example, an individual not being able to buy cigarettes because he or she is underage.

Diffuseness

This is based on open guidelines of action. For example, a teacher and a student developing an intimate relationship even though theY have to respect the student and teacher role they are in.

This pattern variables were then transcended to four factors that Parson’s named as AGIL.

The explanation of AGIL are as follows :

AGIL

Adaptation : This is based on the physical or material environment. It looks at how individuals adapt to its physical environment. For example, the body adapts to heat by perspiring thereby cooling itself down.

The economy fulfils the requirement of adaptation. For example, one country may be producing rice therefore this country exports rice to another country in exchange for the refining of their oil because the other country specialises in oil refining.

Goal Attainment

Ability of individual or groups to identify and pursue goals. The system’s need to mobilize its resources and energies to attain system goals and to establish priorities among them. This system is essentially a problem for political institutions.

Integration

The need to coordinate, adapt and regulate relationships among individuals and groups within the economy or country inorder for the system to function.

Latent pattern maintenance

To maintain that individuals are motivated to fulfil their roles as clerks, bankers, cashiers and managers. Rewards are given for them to motivate them in their jobs.

All these factors need to work together for social equilibrium to take place. However, as I mention before, these factors are actually a grand theory because individuals do not always behaviour the way they should. We now look at why people behave differently. Max Webber defined dramaturgy as the art of dramatic composition and theatrical representations. On this note Erving Goffman looks at human behaviour in a theoretical setting. Individuals are known as actors and actresses. Individuals have different roles to play in society; therefore they are always wearing different hats. They act accordingly to the environment they are in. They adhere to the norms, values, antiquate and social behaviour that are approved in the group they are in. In doing so, their actions can be superficial. Goffman explored individual identity, group relations, the impact of the environment and movement and interactive meaning of life.

He looked at how items like insignia of office ranks would affect one’s behaviour. Other items were the clothes people wore, their age / sex / race, racial characteristics, facial expressions and body gestures. For example, a soldier in an army holding a rank of captain may portray a more authorative behaviour when he is in his camp where else when he is with friends at a pub he may be more friendlier.

An individual’s behaviour is shaped by the audiences ( people ) who surround him or her. An individual may perform an action no matter whether he has faith or lack of faith in it. For example, a doctor administers a “placebo” medicine to a patient even though the doctor knows the full impotency of the medicine. This is just to please his/her patient’s desire for more extensive medical treatment.

In human behaviour there is the front stage and the back stage. The front stage will most likely be the kind of behaviour an individual or group is required to portray. The back stage will be a more “truthful” kind of behaviour an individual or group will portray.

For example, Team members may present themselves in a behaviour that is approved by their other teammates and colleagues in a workgroup presentation. They will speak and act accordingly to what is required in the presentation. This is an example of a front stage behaviour.

After the meeting, since there is no more requirements for them to behave a certain way they had to in the meeting, they will let their guard down and behave a manner more natural to them. They may also start to show their frustration or voice their disagreement on matters they do not agree. This is an example of a back stage behaviour.

This theory is not far the most perfect theory. There are still other factors to look at. For example, Conflict. A team member may become angry and display inappropriate behaviour in the meeting room if he or she do not agree on what is being presented.

Therefore, there are various ways in studying society. The two most common methods adopted by contemporary sociologist are the positivist and interpretivist methods. The former is by using empirical data to study social facts and the latter is to the study the meaning of social behaviour. Contemporary sociologist like Talcott Parsons and Erving Goffman built their theories on the foundation of Emile Durkheim and Max Webber works. As time has progressed, there are now more than just these two ways of studying society and many more theories on how society function have been written. However, the foundation theories that classical sociologists like Emile Durkheim and Max Webber wrote will always be a basis where most sociologists will study from.

Extra Paternity Leave For Men

2010-09-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

Women have four months maternity leave and men are able to apply three days of paternity leave. No extra paternity leave was given to men because according to PM Lee Hsien Loong there was feedback by women that they prefer the extra month of leave ( previously it was three months) to be given to them rather than their spouse. Maybe women think that they would do a better job in looking after their children. Who knows? However, is this enough? Will it benefit mothers if extra paternity leave is given to their husbands? Before we can pursue this issue, we have to examine various reasons why women or men may or may not like extra paternity leave be given to men. I have divided them into seven categories.

First Category : Women who enjoy four months of maternity leave and do not mind staying at home to look after their children

These women are happy to have this incentive. It gives them more time to look after their children. They believe that a woman should be the one’s looking after their children.

They would not worry about losing their jobs or whether their job performance would be affected. This is true if they work in civil service agencies or statutory boards as these companies will comply to the government’s directive. However, if they work for a private company, there are higher chances that they may worry about losing their jobs or whether their job performance would be affected as some of these companies do not like their employees to go on long leave. There are however labour laws in Singapore to protect women who are wrongly dismissed because they are pregnant.

They may not see the need for their husbands to take any extra paternity leave to look after their children.

They may worry that their husbands may suffer a salary cut or their job performance may be affected if extra paternity leave is given to them. If women worry about these issues affecting them, there is also a very high chance that they may worry that these same issues will affect their husbands as well. Company pay women less because they have maternity leave. What is there to prevent them from doing the same thing to men if they are given extra paternity leave. Therefore, it would be better for them to apply maternity leave because men’s salaries are usually higher then women’s salary. Even if their husbands salary is less then theirs, they would still prefer to apply for maternity leave just so to prevent their husbands from getting a cut in their salary as these would cause family problems because their family income will be affected.

Second Category : Women who thinks that looking after their children are their duty and they would do it better than their men

These women prefer that they look after their children themselves.

They may want the independence in looking after their children.

They may not trust their husbands in looking after their children.

They may have the thinking that a woman’s role is to look after their children and that they are the best one’s for their job.

They may not see why men should be given extra paternity leave. They may worry that their husbands may suffer a salary cut or their job performance may be affected if extra paternity leave is given to them.

Third Category : Women who prefer that men have extra paternity leave so that they can go back to work earlier and their men may stay home to look after their children

These women may believe in the equality of women and men.
They may prefer that their men stay home to look after their children. Men in Sweden has no qualms in staying at home to look after their children while their wives go out and work.

They would prefer to go back to work as to improve their work performance. They may be afraid that too long a break may affect their chances of getting a job promotion and some may fear of job lost ( losing of job applies to private companies ).

They tend to lead the household and make household decisions. However, there is a chance that they may not trust their men to look after their children so the second category may apply to them also.

Fourth Category : Women who may not like their maternity leave to be shared with their husbands. For example, two months of maternity leave for her and the other two months for him

These women are the ones that really treasure their four months of maternity leave. They would prefer that the extra month of leave (previously they could only apply for 3 months of maternity leave) be given to them rather to their spouses.
They may be looking for a break from work.

They may think that they are in better position in looking after their own children.

They may worry that their husbands may suffer a salary cut or their job performance may be affected if extra paternity leave is given to them.

They may not see the need for men to have extra paternity leave because they may believe that it is a woman’s job to look after the children ( due to way they have been brought up as a women to know what the duties of a wife should be ).

Fifth Category : Men who may not want to have extra paternity leave

These men may think that looking after children is a woman’s job.

These men think that they are the one’s that must provide the financial stability for the family. Therefore they must work. If they do not work or take too much leave, their job performance will be affected and have less chance for job promotion. If they bring in less cash, the financial stability of the family will be affected more so if both spouses are not high income earners.

They may argue with their wives that there is no need to take extra paternity leave especially if they have a maid helping to look after their children. They may use the excuse of the chances of their job performances being affected if they apply for extra paternity leave as well.

Wives may argue back that they need more help or that they want to go back to work earlier but in a patriarchal society like Singapore, women are viewed as those that should stay home and bring up the children. In – laws ( husband side ) may interfere in the argument in telling wives that it is their duty to stay home to look after their children. Wives may feel guilty and not to want to cause any unhappiness. They may argue for awhile and feel angry but they will give in eventually.

Sixth Category : Men who like to have extra paternity leave and do not mind taking care of their children while their wives go out and work

These men believe that women and men should have equal rights. Most of these men are foreign men but there is still a handful of Singaporean men who are willing to stay home to look after their children. Therefore being house husbands. Why is this so? Well, Singapore is a patriarchal society therefore women are viewed as the one’s that should stay home and look after their children, therefore they should have maternity leave. These values have been inculcated in Singaporean Women from a very early age. The men are taught to be the head of the household and be in charge of household decisions. Even though children are now taught to share household duties, boys have more chances in escaping from doing household duties by making excuses like they have homework to do or that their favourite television program is about to begin. Girls may not have the same opportunities as boys.

Foreign men on the other hand are taught to share household duties from young. They are taught about equality between a woman and a man. Of course there are still exceptions to the cause however foreign men are more willing to look after their children and will mostly be the ones in favour of extra paternity leave. Men in Sweden have no qualms in being household husbands.

In a company in Singapore that I know of, their Australian Marketing Director and their Irish Chief Technology Officer each brought their respective babies to the office time to time to look after and nurse them because their wives do not have time to look after them. Their wives are just as capable as them yet they had no qualms in looking after their children. I wish to see the day that Singaporean men will do that. If extra paternity leave is given to both foreign and local men, then these men can take leave to stay home to look after their children.

Seventh Category : How would companies feel if men are given extra paternity leave? Is it going to affect their profits? Would they revise their salary paying scheme?

Companies may not favour extra paternity leave being given to men. They will complain that it will affect their bottom line. Furthermore companies may revise their salary scheme; cutting men’s salary for those men who opt to apply for extra paternity leave. Companies already pay women less because of their maternity leave scheme. If men are also given the extra paternity leave, they will feel justified in paying men less. If men bring in less income, this may affect their family financial stability especially if both spouses are not high income earners.

Companies have claimed that it would be more costly to allow men to take more that a month off work than it would be to allow women to do so because there is a bigger pool of men in the work force. Statistics have shown that 57% of the 1.9 million people in the resident workforce of Singaporeans and Permanent residents are men. Men hold higher salaries and senior positions than women. Men earn an average of S$4,335 per month where else women earn on the average of S$3,148 per month. The impact of men taking extra paternity leave is greater.

However, there is still light at the end of the tunnel. The government is still looking into how to give men extra paternity leave.

How could this initiative be implemented?

Surveys can be conducted to examine Singaporeans attitudes and views on whether men should have extra paternity leave. We need to survey a rather large sample of men and women so that we can cover the various categories of women and men I have indicated in this essay. Having a large sample will represent the voice of the majority.

As mention earlier, one of the reasons why the government did not give men extra paternity leave because due to feedback, women preferred to have the extra month leave rather then letting their spouse have it. A survey could be conducted on why they prefer to have it and see whether their mindset could be changed.

For this initiative to be implemented there must be a good number of supports by women and men. If there is minority support for the initiative, then it would be difficult to implement the initiative. The mindsets and attitudes of Singaporeans need to be changed also. It would not be easy because in an Asian society like Singapore, women are socially obligated to be the household guardians and caretakers of the children. Men are obligated to be the head of the household and to provide the financial means for the family. I am not saying it is wrong to believe in these values but we should be more flexible and try to help the women of our society in any way we can. After all they are the one who have to suffer during child birth so the most we can do is to make their life easier and happy. Road shows and public education could be conducted to educated Singaporeans about the benefits of extra paternity leave for men. A lot of work has to be done but the good news is that the government is still open to the idea of giving paternity leave to men. I hope in the future this initiative would be implemented.

Are health inequalities socially or individually constructed?

2010-08-31T01:50:00.001-07:00

Health inequalities are prevalent in societies as there is no society in the world that strives on equilibrium. Sociological theories, taken from a functionalist, conflict and Interpretative point of view, state that inequalities exist throughout society. They just differ on how inequalities exist in society and the role they play in society.

Durkheim stated that health inequalities do exist in society, However these inequalities will weaken the solidarity of a society. In order for a society to perform, there must be unity and cohesion. People would create changes in society so as to eradicate the inequalities that exist in society in order for society to perform properly.

Marx, however, challenged that eventhough changes can be made , it would be to the beneficiary of the upper class than the lower class. In order words, the capitalist would benefit more than the working class. Those in the upper class would benefit more in obtaining health benefits. For example, they can visit hospitals that have better facilities and doctors. Some working class workers can’t even enjoy these benefits as their income may be too low for them to pay to enjoy the benefits. Some companies may not want to give their workers health welfare incentives as they are afraid that it may affect their profit margin.

Weber found inequalities to exist in the form of people’s prestige, power and income Those with different prestige, power and income form different status groups and lifestyles. These various form of social groups and lifestyle that they form were also a way for them to have more social mobility and a way climb the corporate ladder. They excluded other groups that did not have the same social status as them. People with different prestige, power and income varied in their ways of obtaining health benefits. Those in the upper class could reap most of the health benefits that their country has to offer, however the lower class could not obtain the same benefits as the upper class. It is towards the theories of Marx and Weber that I will show how health inequalities are constructed.

Health inequalities affect us as individuals and as a society. Individuals make up a society and society consist of individuals. It is difficult to separate both of them as they influence each other. Health inequalities caused by individuals are due to their personal choice , health behaviour, health beliefs, their socio – economic status and skeptism in the health system.

There have been changes in which the kind diseases that were prevalent in the early 19th century to the 20th century. From acute diseases like Measles to chronic diseases like heart disease , cancer and stroke. Individuals are now more responsible for their own health. There are enough literature to teach people how to look after themselves. The internet is flooded with medical advice, some are genuine and others not. Therefore, when people fall sick , they are sometimes blame for bringing the sickness onto themselves.

Some individuals choose a healthy living and some choose an unhealthy living. There are various factors that influence the health lifestyle of these individuals. The social factors are age, gender, race, ethnicity, the social environment, material wealth and access to health care.
People from different ages view life differently. The elderly prefer to eat food that are nutritious and are more careful with their food. They prefer to live healthily as they are old. However, the kind of food they obtain also depends whether they have the economic means to obtain them or whether the area that they are staying provide such kind of food . Some elderly people might be poor and can’t afford to obtain good value food. Some cannot due to lack of financial support from their government. Distance in obtaining good value food maybe a factor as they will not be able to obtain the food if they do not have any transport. The elderly are more prone to chronic illnesses, if the elderly from low income groups do not have financial assistance in order to obtain medical care, they might suffer from these illness for the rest of their life until death. For those in the upper class, they have a better life. They are able to access the health care system that their country provides and live a longer life than those that find it a difficulty to access the health care system. There are, however, elderly people whether they are in the upper or lower class strata, who prefer to eat unhealthy. They adopt a fatalistic point of view as since they are old, there is great uncertainty in their life.

Young adults may adopt a healthy or unhealthy lifestyle. Their choice depends on their income, prestige, power and environmental factors. Those with high income may indulge in healthy living. They are able to join health membership club, access the best medical care, enjoy good health ( less chance to suffer from chronic diseases that those on the lower income strata ), eat healthily and able to take part in more sports ( depending whether the sport is high risk or low risk as there are more chances in injuries occurring in the latter than the former ). Those in the lower income strata will most likely adopt an unhealthy living. They will indulge in smoking, drug use, violence , eat unhealthily and participate less in exercise. As their income is low, they might not be able to access proper medical care as the cost maybe too high, in the case of United States. They may be living in the areas that are violent prone, therefore they may get involve in fights and either get injured or killed. Death rates are higher in these areas. As they are poor, they may not be able to obtain nutritious food. They have a higher rate of lung cancer due to smoking.

It does not mean that only those in the lower class would smoke. The upper class young adults also smoke. Smoking can be considered as having a high status, especially smoking cigar. They may still suffer form lung cancer. There are reports that there is a high rate of people with high income suffering from lung cancer. However, They may create a social group that will have in common certain kind of eating habits, sports preferences, music preferences and literature preferences. This people can create what Bourdieu’s call it, social capital within their group. These groups can exclude those from the lower class in joining their circle, prevent them from improving their socio-economic status and also prevent them from accessing health care. For example, in US, as medical costs increases and new medical innovations are created only those with high income can buy medical insurance , use the medication innovations and access good health benefits. The lower class may not be able to purchase medical insurance and therefore may not be obtain medical care or may be forced to visit low cost medical doctors which may not have the necessary means to cure their illness.

Health inequalities also exist with gender, male or female. Women from the middle class eat much more health food, drink less, smoke less, indulge in less dangerous activities and visit the doctor more often. For example, women in Britain prefer to eat more nutritious food, those with more fibre and low cholesterol as compared to working class women who would eat food with high cholesterol level and vegetable. Women greater use of the heath care system could be due to their gender socialization. For example, they are permitted to cry, be more caring and show more weariness. Males on the other had are told not to cry and to be brave. They are trained to bear more hard ships. Therefore their use sage of the health care system. Depending on how severity of their illness, male or females do visit the doctor when they have to. However, there are other factors that prevent them from visiting the doctor. For example, the cost and benefit of seeing one, whether they have enough income to visit a doctor, transportation, whether their company provide them with heath welfare schemes and whether they will get paid if they are on sick leave.

Males tend to indulge in more risky activities than women. This is due to their upbringing. They tend to indulge in smoking , violence and tend to commit suicide ( due to work stress, social isolation and lack of social support ) more than women. Therefore their rates of death or being injured are higher than women. There is a saying that actually more women attempt suicide but men are more likely to succeed.

Depending on what kind of job a men is doing, he can suffer from different diseases. If he is indulging in manual or unskilled labour, like mining job, he may suffer from chemical poisoning from inhaling to much carbon. If their jobs are stressful, they drink more or smoke more and eat more “junk food”. These creates high rates of lung cancer and liver cancer in men. However, those who have high paid jobs also suffer from stress and because they earn a high income, they are able to smoke more and drink more. This creates a high rate of lung cancer or liver cancer in affluent societies. There is always the counter argument that people with high income can cope better with stress and are able to participate in activities to relax more, it is however untrue.

Men in high paid jobs also may suffer from back pain due to uncomfortable chairs and wrong sitting positions. Women can also suffer from the same thing. However as there are more women secretaries, they may suffer more from eye – problems and headaches due to long viewing hours of the video display unit .

Men also suffer from heart diseases and stress due to unemployment. As they are brought up to be the breadwinner of the household, they have a huge responsibility in looking after their families. Those with high education maybe able to find another job faster than those with lower education. Those who are out of job for a long time may resort to robbery, more so if he comes from a poor family.

Women are prone to mental illnesses. This is due to the social isolation they suffer from doing house work and the “ double shift” Double shift means that they are full time or part-time workers and after work return home to do house work. They are less prone to cardio vascular diseases because it seems the oestrogen protects them from it. Those in professional positions may have more flexible time and therefore are able to cope better. They suffer less stress. They have more time in visiting the doctor if they are sick. Part time workers are also able to visit the doctor as they have more time on their hands. Women are taken less seriously by doctors than men, Doctors prefer to treat men as their illness are more treatable. Women’s problems tend to be much more difficult as it is most likely a psychiatric problem. They are also more emotional so a doctor must be more tactful when diagnosing an illness for a women. Reproductive and women’s sexual health are sensitive matters at which women prefer female doctors to handle.

New environments can create stress for some people. The level of stress that people cope depends whether they are able to access medical care, various techniques of relaxing ( like indulging in sports activities ) and social support. Usually those with higher income and education are able to cope.

Social support is important in helping people cope with stress. If you have somebody to communicate with and give you love and moral support, you will suffer less stress. However this social support may be only catered to the upper class people and the lower class people may lose out. There may even be a fee charged to join social support organizations. However there are now few organizations, like churches, which create mission groups to go to the poorest parts of the world like Africa to help out in supplying food, clothing and other essential needs. Work places, schools and community centres should have social support groups that cater to all classes in order to make the people feel wanted and valued.

Different people with different race face different health inequalities. The largest health disparities in US are between the blacks and whites. Life expectancy at birth for white was 77.6 years, 71.9 for blacks health inequalities increases due to risk factors that blacks face, like smoking, diet and exercise. It is said that white men exercise more than blacks. One possible reason could be that whites have a higher income than the blacks and therefore are able to access to more exercise facilities like gymnasiums.

Mortality rates for Blacks are higher than whites in countries like UK as they live in poverish areas of the UK. They also smoke more, indulge in drug use and are involve in violent activities. Blacks also have lower health knowledge as they have lower education. For those that are poor, they may not have enough income to place their kids to school. Furthermore, schools may practice racial segregation and may differ in their curriculum between the whites and blacks. Blacks may not have less access to medical books, medical magazines and the internet for medical knowledge.

Black women end up with low paid jobs due to low education. Therefore they most likely are going have poor housing, low socio-economic status, poverty and ill-health. They may also suffer from culture shock if they have just migrated to another country. With lack of social support, they may not be able to cope with the stress they suffer from the culture shock.
The Health sector labels different people from different countries as having bringing in diseases like Rickets and Tuberculosis. This is true for Asians. Therefore in Britain, Asian patients are treated and scanned for these diseases even though they go and see a doctor because they are having a flu. White people do not get scanned for the disease even though they might have gone to an Asian country.

Some people from different cultures have different health beliefs. Doctors may not approve some of these health beliefs especially when it is according to faith and tradition. Health professionals need to be informed about minority cultures and to acknowledge that they may have special needs to be met. They have different culture beliefs. If this criteria is not met, doctors would not be able to treat the patient correctly. There would be a communication problem. They may mistreat the patient or just push the patient around, passing the patient to the next doctor. For example, a patient from Hmong goes and see a doctor for stomach pain, he or she may think that her stomach problem is due to the imbalance of the universe. If the doctor does not know this, how is he going to treat the patient correctly?

Government policies like the one-child policy in China can cause health inequalities between the rich and the poor. The rich are able to go against the one-child policy and pay the find for having more than one child. The poor cannot. Furthermore, ladies have to scan to check the fetus of the baby and if it is girl, those from poor families usually abort their child as there is a strong emphasis on having sons.

The media can also create health inequalities between women, especially those from the upper and lower class. There are techniques to look healthy and beautiful, for example, breast augmentation ,liposuction and spa treatments. They are very expensive. Only those whose income are quite high enough can afford, those with low income cannot go for these treatments. However treatments are well know to cause side effects to health , for example breast cancer.

Individuals may be able to make decisions on their health lifestyle. They may choose a healthy or an unhealthy lifestyle. Their social factors, environment, age, gender and health beliefs influence their decision. Therefore health decisions cannot be sole made on individually decisions only. Inevitably there would be health inequalities when health decisions are made because socio-economic factors and social factors are in play. Therefore health inequalities cannot also be individually constructed. Different people with different race and ethnicity face different health inequalities. It depends on their socio-economic status. Social support is needed to help migrants cope with cultural shock and stress. Governments must help the lower income group rise out from the poverty belt in order for them to enjoy better health care. They would be able to buy medical insurance also. The ratio of blacks in the US not having medical insurance is rather high. There are signs that the rate of the white is also on the increase. Doctors must know their patients culture in order to treat them, if not there would be a communication barrier. Therefore there is a lot work to reduce health inequalities in the world but it is not impossible.

Woman’s Human Capital

2010-08-31T01:40:00.000-07:00

Human capital is defined in the area of research on how one is able to attain educational opportunities in order to increase their value in society. It is based on the notion that humans are individuals that make rational choice on how much education they obtain to increase their labor status position and their salaries. There are constraints in obtaining these values. The constraints are based on gender, ethnicity, race, age, urban/rural and government polices on health, education and access to work opportunities. In this essay, I will focus on how women obtain this human capital in order to increase their value in society, the consequences of increasing their status, the constraints they face with and on how the government can help to reduce the obstacles.

The ideology for women is that their place in society is to take care of the household, serve their husbands and childbearing and taking care of their children. Husbands were to be the breadwinner of the household and women were to be dependent on their husbands for monetary means. Therefore education was not seen as an important factor in women’s life. In India, sons were given first preference in educational attainment than daughters. They were seen as being more valuable than girls.

As societies progresses, attitudes have changed, women are now able to access more educational opportunities hence it is has brought forth the increase of women in the labor force. It can be argued that education is only one of the main factors that increased women’s role in the labor force. Due to industrialization, it was important for woman to participate in the labor force as it increased the income of their household. It also increased their bargaining power in the household as there have been studies that the younger and more educated women do less housework but that does not mean that men have been doing more housework. Across the board, household duties is still a woman’s job.

There are more equal opportunities of women in obtaining education. However, there was once a time where there were obstacles placed that made it difficult for women to obtain equal education with their male peers. They were segregated from different activities from their male peers. For example, they were not able to take part in the sports and share the same equipment with their male peers. Teachers gave more preference to boys than girls. Women were encouraged to do soft subjects like home economics and literature. Eventually the US government issued the Title IX to give women equal opportunities in education attainment with their male peers.

It has shown that education for woman has brought an increase in economic growth. It has increased the empowerment of women and thus led to the increase of women’s contribution to the political arena. It has shown that women are more likely to vote if their education levels were higher.

Even though there are equal opportunities in education attainment for women, they still tend to take up more business, arts and humanities subjects. Hard subjects like Engineering is still mainly a male dominated subject even though there has been an increase in women taking up the subject. Governments should persuade more women to take subjects like engineering so that they can contribute more to the labor force. Women’s value would also increase and be on par with their male counterparts. Women’s income will be increased as salaries for jobs like engineering are higher than jobs like teaching. Subsequently it will be a way to close the income gap.

Equal opportunities in education for women maybe more prevalent in developed countries, however the minority in developing and also in developed countries may be discriminated by their race and ethnicity and gender in education attainment.

Parents attitudes towards girls in education attainment are also important in increasing the human capital of their daughters. In some countries, like India, boys are given more opportunities to be educated than girls because they are viewed as being more valuable. Girls are married off earlier. As a result they will always be trapped in poverty as their education level will be low and if they go into the labour force, they will only be able to access low paying jobs. Together with their dependence on their husband, they will forever be in poverty.

Therefore parents must give their children, whether boys or girls, equal opportunities in education as to increase their status and hence providing to economic growth. Boys are also seen as those to bring in the dowry into their families on marriage. In poor countries, girls are seen as more useful at home than boys. Therefore, more boys are sent away to be educated. Girls are used in work in the fields like paddy fields. They do not have the time to go to schools.

Governments must persuade these parents to change their mindset by giving them incentives like monetary compensation and to show the benefits of educating their daughters. For example, if their daughters become educated, they can provide their families with a higher income. Hence pulling them out of poverty.

Governments can play it’s part in providing transportation to those who can’t attend school because they are staying far from the schools or build schools around where they stay if it is feasibility. Subsidies or free education can be provided to those that are unable to pay for an education. Accessibility one of the problem why some children do not attend school. This problem is more prominent in agriculture countries where most children are working in the fields. These countries also suffer from high rates of poverty.

Attitudes, tradition and culture must also be changed as some societies view education for women a threat to men’s superiority. There are views that if a girl is overly educated then it will be difficult for them to find a husband. Men prefer marrying a women with a lower status than him so that he can still be in control.

However, these ideas are changing as society advances. Governments must set up policies to debunk these fear of men marry some one of a higher status and vise versa. It is easier said than done. Men in Singapore are more likely to marry a women with their same status or lower. Minister of Mentor Lee Kuan Yew once said in order to produce intelligent babies, graduate women should marry graduate men. It created an up roar among the women in Singapore. Only with education and joining groups like Aware can women fight for such absurd suggestions.

With more education, women are able to obtain high paying jobs however their income level is still lower than their male counterparts. One reason is that the idea of women not staying as long as their male counterpart in the labor force still prevails. They are seen as those to stop working earlier in order to tend to household and child bearing duties. Another reason is that men in the work force tend to protect their job by preventing women to be promoted.

Therefore there are not many females in high decision making positions which is male dominated. The government should encourage officers to place more women in high decision making positions. When women are able to contribute in decision making, they can provide a better working environment for their fellow female work mates. More ideas can also flow in instead of ideas being male driven. The status of women also increases. Governments should also increase the incomes of the female labor force. This is to reduce the wage gap between men and women. This will encourage more women to work. More flexible benefits are needed to help cope women with their work and household duties without losing out the race with their male counterparts for career advancement. For example, if women find it difficult with looking after their children and working, provisions could be made for them to work at home. It could be on a case to case basis . Mobility for women to find jobs also increases. They will have more independence and also be more financial independent to go to other countries to work.

Upon obtaining higher human capital and education, women now plan their careers instead of finding jobs. They are willing to be entrepreneurs. They are more willing to be self – employed. The rate of women running their own business has increased to 35% of all businesses run in US. They are now more empowered and independent. They have also surpassed their male counterparts in terms of education attainment. Where once women were entering in tradition business sectors like retail and service sectors, they are now venturing into non traditional businesses like construction, technology, transportation, public utilities, business consulting and other types of services. Self – employment is another way to change careers for some women who feel discriminated against their male counterparts.

There are some women with low education who migrate to countries like Singapore, Indonesia, HongKong, Japan, US and Australia to work as maids. They also contribute to the economy of the country they work in. Policies are needed to protect these women. They should be given educational opportunities to upgrade themselves. Their salaries should also be increased so that their value as maids can be increased. With more purchasing power, they can contribute to the countries economy. These will also increase their status as women. Government should also protect these women from exploitation. With all said, sadly there are not many policies to protect these women as their work is seen as domestic work. Domestic work is regarded as unpaid work. For example, women are not able to join unions in some countries therefore they are more exposed to exploitation by their employers. The governments running the countries from where they come should provide educational opportunities for them also. With higher education, these maids can fight for their rights that will prevent them from being exploited. Unfortunately, educational and job opportunities are not readily able for them therefore they need to migrate in order to look for jobs.

As women increase their status, education level and become financial independent. They are able to have more say in decision making in household duties. Household duties are shared more equally. They would be not subordinated by their husbands. However, men still do not increase their share in the household duties. Women still view men as the breadwinner.

In the health arena, educated women would gain information about illnesses and would know how to seek proper treatment. They can also fight for their rights if they are being mistreated. There is a tendency for doctors to treat women’s illness as less serious than men. Doctors tend to attribute women’s illness to mental illnesses. Doctor’s may mistreat women by inserting pressure among them to go for unnecessary caesarean operations in order to give birth. They claim that since they are professionals in the medical field, they have the right of say of women’s health. In some countries women are placed in jail due to drinking when they are pregnant. They are accused for endangering their unborn child’s life. Surprisingly, the unborn child is regarded as a separate entity and the mother is just a temporary host. These are the several injustices against women. Educated women with the right information will be able to fight for these injustices. It is very important for governments to provide these information to women. However, some of these injustices are brought upon by the governments themselves so sometimes there is very little women can do. They do have other avenues like joining lobby groups to fight these injustices. Women will also be able to make decisions to become pregnant or not. With the availability of information on various methods of contraception, they can have more control over their bodies especially their reproductive system. The pill was one of the greatest invention for women in the 60’s.

Education has also increased the rate of female doctors in the medical field. However, some obstacles that they face were quotas place on them. These quotas have since been abolished after fighting for their rights. Singapore is one country that once placed quotas on female doctors. There has also been an increase of women joining the nursing profession. Governments have created schemes to promote the nursing professions. For example providing courses for women to attend professional qualifications as nurses. In Singapore, there are diploma courses for nursing and SIM have recently introduced a degree course for nursing. All these courses would increase women value and participation in the health field. They would not be so easily subordinated by doctors whom claim that they have a higher authority over nurses.
Higher education would also encourage women to vote. It was reported President Bill Clinton victory was the result of more women voting for him. Women tend to vote for Democrats. Democrats take women issues more seriously than the Republicans. Women with higher education would be able to take up political offices. However, more men are in political jobs than women. There are more male ministers then women ministers. In Singapore, all the cabinet ministers are men. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong mentioned that if there was a woman who had the qualifications and caliber to be a cabinet minister, he would appoint her. At the current, no action has been carried put to recruit a women minister into the cabinet. Is it all talk but no action? It is left to be seen.
Even if women take up political posts, they are given posts that look after family affairs.
Governments must not stop encouraging women to joint the political arena. They can appoint them higher post. For example, Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State for the United States of America.

Increasing women’s education is very important and it is something governments must take seriously. Women are also human. They can also provide to economic growth. They are also beneficial to political groups because educated women will vote. They will vote for whoever they think will address women issues seriously. With higher education, women have better job opportunities in fields like business, technology, construction, transportation, medical, and political. They will able to venture in the fields dominated by men. However, they may still feel discriminated as men like to protect their status from women. Sadly it is sometimes that families with traditional cultures and attitudes that prevent women from being educated. This can impede women from increasing their status and from being more financial stable. As a result they may forever be dependent on their husbands of monetary means, dealing them with the faith of forever being in poverty. More can be done to increase women status and value in society. I hope governments would not stop from encouraging women to upgrade themselves. As the saying goes, unless you are six feet underground, you can never stop learning.

How To Build An Effective Team

2010-08-31T00:41:00.000-07:00

In our everyday way of life, we have to consistently make decisions in our life that will effect they way we live, walk, talk and eat. Some times we have to make critical decisions that would effect a certain entity. For example, sometimes we have to decide whether to close down a certain food outlet in order to save cost and how are we going to compensate the workers who are going to be retrenched. Another example is whether a certain plot will be the best possible place to build our office.

We make decisions either independently and together as a group. It all depends on the situation. For the sake of this essay, I will concentrate on how an effective can be build in order to make good effective decisions.

You cannot build a great team without good team members. There is a saying “ You can lose with them but you cannot win without them.” In building an effective team, you also can improve yourself. You will be able to add value to your team. In a team it takes one to know one, show one and grow. Team players can be found or they can be natured to be effective players and have leadership qualities. Both approaches are possible.
I will touching on what is need for team members to be effective in a team. I hope will find this essay enjoyable to read and come back to it if you need any references so lets begin our journey!!!!!

Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape

- Michael McGriff

Let’s take a moment to reflect on this quote. Don’t you think it makes a lot of sense. Take a rubber band for example, it is flexible and it is very difficult to bent it out of shape but it can form a lot of shapes. The same thing goes for an effective flexible team. If the team is flexible it can adapt to changes make changes more easily. If there was rigidity, team players would find it difficult to adapt and makes changes. If team members are flexible and adaptable, they are teachable. They will be able to learn new things, try out new ideas and change with the time.

They have to be emotionally secure also so that they will not be afraid to change. They will be able to evaluate a new situation or change their responsibilities based on its merit. They will be able to accept addition members into to the team instead of being rigid or suspicious whenever a new member is added to the team.

Flexibilty aids in the creativeness of its members. They will able to create new ideas. They will be willing to try them out. By being able to have new ideas may also help a team get out of trouble during difficult times for example when a company is failing because of recession.

The team members have to be service minded. If they focus only on themselves they will likely make decisions that will be to their benefit and not to others

All your strength is in union,
All you danger is in discord

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Collaboration is mulitiplication

- John C. Maxwell

Great challenges require great teamwork, collaboration is needed. Each team member must bring something to the table that adds value to the relationship and synergy to the team.

To become an effective collaborative team few area have to be examined. Team members havfoe to work together and not compete with each other. However the most common scenario is that team members happen to compete with each other because they have goals, hopes and dreams to achieve but if members can complete one another then than they can function as a unit and not hurt each other. It will be productive for the whole team. Tasks can get moving faster instead of moving slowly because of each member trying to compete with another member.

Team members must be supportive and not suspicious of one another. They must learn to trust each other and complete each other. If team members are always working out for themselves and are suspicious of each other then they have to change their mind set in order to be effective.

Team members have to concentrate on the team and not on themselves only. They have to make decisions that will involve the team members. If the team works together, remarkable things will be able to be achieved. Working together helps to harness every bodies skills and one very important thinking that all team members must have is to think win win. King Soloman of ancient Israel observed “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Usually when you collaborate with others, you win, they win and the team wins. – taken from “The 17 Essential Qualities Of A Team Player by John C. Maxwell.”

An effective team had to be committed. If and only if they team is committed, they can move mountains. Just reflect on the quote below :-

Ordinary people with commitment can make an extraordinary impact on the their world.

- John C. Maxwell

Team members must have commitment. It helps when there are obstacles. Commitment will guide the team through difficult times. You need not have to be talented to have commitment or to be committed. Commitment is a choice. Team members have a choice whether to be committed or not. If the team members are able to work together and be committed to a common cause ; then it is possible to accomplish anything.

Team members must base their commitment on solid life values. For example, if team members have loyalty as their value, they will stay loyal. Team members will not abandon each other during troubled times.

Team members must commit themselves to long term achievement. Sometimes achievement do not come at once. They may come in small quantities. Committing to long term relationships is good for personal growth. Relationship building, financial investment or professional success.

Think like a wise man
But communicate in the language of people
- William Butler Yeats

Team members have to communicate with each other and they must do effectively if good results are expected. Team members cannot isolate themselves. If they do, there will be problems. Team members must know each other. For example, when we took a trip to Sentosa and worked together as a team. We discovered each others strength posses and weaknesses and a bond was formed. When team members know each other, goals and methods, the more they will understand and care about the team. Team members must be able to stay connected with their teammates. They must make sure that they are able to contact each other easily.

With communication, team members can discover if there are any problems or conflicts in the team. Some leadership Gurus like John C Maxwell states that these problems must be solved within 24 hours, if not the situation will fester. Sometimes there might be tension between team members. If there is tension then special attention is needed to solve the problem.

Communication between team members can become blurred at times. It is because sometimes team members have different backgrounds and interpret things differently. It is very important to keep the communicated information simple and there may also be a need to write in down in order for team members to understand.

Open communication fosters trusts. Trust increases ownership and ownership increases participation. Having hidden agendas, communicating via a third party and sugarcoating bad news will hurt the team relationship.

People usually remember how well you do a job and not how fast you accomplish it. Quality is very important. In order to produce quality results, one of the most important factor that team members must have is competency. If they don’t have sent them for training.

If team members are competent and possess the other factors that I have stated before then they will committed to excellence. They will never settle for average. They would not perform mediocre work. They will focus their energy and effort on what they do well, giving all they have got. They pay attention to details. They don’t take small issues or things for granted. Even small jobs are important to them. They perform with consistency and give their best all the time.

It is very important that the right jobs are delegated to the right members. Team members must pay attention to implementation and must come together to discuss how to improve on the tasks that the team is undertaking.ved

My next area of focus will be on dependability. I will start off with a quote from John C Maxwell.

Dependability is more that ability alone
- John C Maxwell

A successful and effective must always depend on each other. They cannot work as if they are in their own world. In life we cannot exist alone. Somehow we are always dependable on somebody. On a team, members who can be depended on are an asset. Those that cannot be depended are liabilities.
Team members must trust each others motives. If one of the team members continually puts himself or herself and his or her agenda ahead of what’s best for the team, he or she has proven himself or herself to be undependable.
Team members must be responsible for what they do. They must have the ability to take on responsibility. If a person is irresponsible we cannot depend on that person. Effective members must be able to use initiatives. They must use it to male good judgment.

There must also be consistency in a dependable team. To be effective, team members must have discipline. Being discipline is doing what you really do not want to do so that you can do what you really want to do. For example, you may not be a good dancer but your desire is to become one so you keep on practicing despite of the difficulties. Eventually you will become a good dancer.

In a team aspect, for example, if the team is not very good in defense but if they keep on practicing and correcting their mistakes, eventually their defense will become good. An effective must develop discipline thinking. They must think correctly and challenge themselves mentally. This will help the team in whatever the team endeavour’s to do. They must be able to control their emotions and must not lose their temper when they face difficulties. They also take action. There cannot be a situation where there is talk but no action. If you want milk, you must go and purchase it, you cannot wait for the milk to come to you.

To be an effective team, there must also be a leader who can imspire a team to do their best. The leader must believe in his team members as they can tell whether the leader believes in them or not.

Team members can also help each other. They can understand what their team members value. They listen to discover what their team members talk about and watch what they can spend their money on. That kind of knowledge, along with desire to relate to their fellow team members creates a strong connection between team members.

In this way, we help to develop each other in areas like gifts, talent and uniqueness. This on the whole will benefit the team. Team leaders must work to make themselves better, not only because it benefits the personally but because it helps the team to work together on his shooting skills so that one of his team members passes the ball to him he is able to score. He not only develops himself but helps the team to win.

Team members must be enthusiastic in their tasks if they are not, they will not give their best to their team. A team with enthusiasm takes responsibility for their own enthusiasm. They remain positive, upbeat and passionate on what they are doing. To be enthusiastic, you need to start acting that way. If you wait for the right time to be enthusiastic, you may never become enthusiastic.

Team members have to believe in what they are doing. This help to sparkle the fire of enthusiasm inside them and once that starts, all you need is to keep feeding the flames. Enthusiasm can be contagious, he or she can spread that enthusiasm to other members. When the whole team becomes enthusiastic, the possibilities for the team are endless.

A team with enthusiasm is willing to sacrifice their time in order to accomplish a task. For example, building floats for our national day parade. It takes a lot of men hours to build and decorate the floats but in the end the team takes pride in the completed float and is very happy to see their float being paraded before a huge crowd. They are willing to come back to build more floats.

For a team to be successful. It needs intentional people who are able to remain focus and productive, people who make every action count. Team members need a strong sense of purpose. For example, publishing educational books for the young. Team members must have a goal and it can be to publish three thousand educational books in three months.

Team members must learn how to say no. They cannot try and do everything. Sometimes there are tasks that are not relevant to the goals set. They must know how to say no to these kind of tasks. They must stay focus on their goals.

An effective team knows where the team is going. They know their mission well. They will develop enthusiasm and a burning desire to fulfill their mission. This kind of desire is indispensable.

An effective team will always follow their leader. Of course the leader himself or herself must lead the team correctly. There must be trust between the leader and his or her members.

For the team to be effective, it has to be prepared. The team need to be determine where they are heading. They have to examine the conditions that will be heading their way and determine what price they have to pay to get there.

Therefore to conclude, a team must have a strong relationship, commitment, trust, enthusiasm, respect, communicate well, be mission oriented and finally enjoy what they are doing.

How has religion affected the world

2010-08-19T23:37:00.000-07:00

Societies in the world have gone through many changes. Societies have gone through the various stages from being agrarian to post modern. There are various factors that have shaped society but none is more important than religion. Religion has also gone through various changes. During the agrarian societies, tribesmen and women use to pray to animals or to nature like the rain. They embrace animism. It kept the communities together. It gave them an identity. As society advanced, various kinds of religions emerged. For example, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism. Some say religion has lost its importance due to the advancement of science. Some have said that religion has lost the capability to shape one's identity and that mass media has taken over the task. Others have argued that religion is well and alive.

In the following paragraphs, I will try to convince you that religion still exist. I will also show how it has affected society and that it still shapes one's social identity. Mass media has also helped to spark people's interest in religion. However I also agree that there are certain groups of people that have turned away from religion. Ironically mass media has a part to play in this phenomenon.

All religions preached about good and evil. Materialism is seldom preached. However that was not the case in Calvinism. There are guides in religion that will teach how one should behave and live his or her life. These guides shape one's life. For example in Christianity, there are rules that state one should not steal, should not commit murder and should not commit adultery. Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam have their own guide lines. One of the major changes that society faced was the rise of industrial capitalism and religion had a hand in it. This was according to Max Weber. He claimed that industrial capitalism was the legacy of Calvinism – a Christian religious movement created by the Protestant Reformation. They believed that one's faith was predestined by God. Those that prospered were blessed by God. Therefore they work very hard in order to make profits. They associated poverty as being rejected by God. These principles were known as the Protestant Ethic which became known later as a work ethic. It was pretty narrow minded of Max Webber to view the birth of capitalism in this manner but it still bears some truth. Marx claimed that religion only encouraged people to think that there were no class inequality but in actual fact there was. Ironically religious fundamentalist have adopted Marxist's teachings and have created social change. For example, the Iranian revolution. In this case, I think Marx was not correct to say that religion does not bring about social change.

Like all good things there are also bad things. There are groups of people who have twisted their concepts of their own religion. They believe that their religion and its doctrines are the only correct teachings. They believe that they are the one's that can reinvent society and make it into a perfect society to live in. The rules and regulations of societies must be based on religious grounds. All people must live a religious way of life. They have brought about drastic changes to society. They have also been the roots cause of wars, revolutions and tragedies. These group of people are commonly know as fundamentalist. They have separated themselves from main stream religion. The three kinds of fundamentalist that I will concentrate on come from three religions in the world. They are Christianity, Islamism and Judaism

One good example of an Islamic fundamentalist is Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. When he took over Iran during the Iranian revolution he said he would enforce religious and traditional values. Women were required to wear the veil. Western music and alcohol were banned and the punishments described by Islamic laws were reinstated. He took control of the mass media as well as newspapers, television broadcasts and radio programs. These circumstamces forced the citizens of Iran to reassess their lives. They had to change their social identity and lifestyles to suit with the religious authority that was governing Iran. Please remember that before Iran was taken over by Khomeini, it was a capitalistic state and western lifestyles were adopted. To adopt to a religious lifestyle would be a great leap. There were those that were unhappy.

Islamic fundamentalist are good at brain washing people to make them agree with their teachings and doctrines. For example, they preach the rejection of western ideologies and that Jihad, holy war, is the only solution to fight against those that oppose Islam. These people shape their social identity according to the teachings of their fundamentalist leaders and will do whatever they say. Chaos and conflict are usually link with Islamic fundamentalism. The "brainwashed people" are willing to carry out bombings in the name of religion. For example. the Islamic Jihad held suicide bombings that killed two hundred-forty one U.S personnel in Teheran Embassy. These acts were not looked at as being bad acts of terrorism, but rather as acts of patriotic heroes. Other examples are the September 11 bombings and restaurants bombings in London.

In the wake of the bombings, Muslims and their non-Muslim colleagues revisited the concept of jihad. They strengthen the scriptural and traditional warrants for non-violent resistant to oppression and injustice by explaining the true meaning of Jihad. People around the world were stereotyping Muslims as terrorist. Muslims had to do something to get rid of the stigma of being labeled as a terrorist.

Christian fundamentalism was mainly formed by the Protestants in the early eighteen and nineteen centuries. They practiced polygamy. They had numerous wives and children. Some Fundamentalist have persuaded their followers to commit suicide. For example, there was a group called Heaven's Gate that persuaded their members to commit suicide because there was a sign (the sighting of the Hale Bopp comet) that indicated that it was their time to go to heaven.

Women are discriminated in Orthodox Jewish sects. It is basically patriarchal. They are excluded from any role in public prayer. Married women must cover their head, unmarried women and girls must keep their hair neatly braided and never dishevelled. All females must wear long-sleeved garments and stockings at all seasons and their clothing never reveal the contours of their bodies. They can't speak loudly. They can't pray in the same space as their husbands. They pray in separated rooms. All of these regulations have created a submissive identity in the women. They have become obedient towards their husbands. These fundamentalist Jews have tried to change the Jewish society in Jerusalem to follow their rules. They have thus only succeeded in certain areas of Jerusalem.

Religion has become popular. However, this is true in some countries but not in others. In Asian countries for example, religion is on the rise. This is mainly to due to the Asian culture where religion plays major part in the upbringing of children. Our parents emphasized the importance of religion to us at a very young age. Therefore religion is one of the factors that shape our identity and how we are suppose to behave in society. There are also factors that can dissuade us from our religion. Two major factors are education and mass media. They do also encourage us in becoming religious. I will explain these facts later on.

The decline of religion is more prevalent in western countries. In these countries, religion is not so much emphasize as being important. Those families that preach the importance of religion have a closer bonding with one another and are less likely to give up religion. However, factors like the persuading power of the mass media and friends can make them leave religion. An example of a country where religion is on the decline is Britain. Only 21 per cent of the British population say they have no doubts about the existence of God, whereas 26 percent either do not believe in God or do not know whether God exists. Churches have seen a fall in membership from about 9 million to 6.4 million. (Sociology – A global Introduction by John J Macionis and Ken Plummer)

I was recently in England and I noticed that there are many nice churches but unfortunately only the elderly and the very young attend church service. Where are the youths? Sad to say they are hanging out at the malls or are at some pubs. One of the contributing factors towards this phenomenon is the mass media and the advancement of technology. With advancements in the arena medical science and technology, illnesses that were not able to be cured are now curable. Unexplained phenomenon's can now be explained with scientific proof. More people believe the explanations science. They are moving away from religion.

The mass media plays a big part in our lives. In the wake of globalization, mass media technology has grown from leaps and bounds. There are now TV, radios, internet, computers, handphones & PDAs. All these equipments provides us the latest world news, latest movies, music and advertisements. Advertisements are shaping the identity of youths of today. For example there is the mp3 player identity & Nike identity. Youths must now at least own an mp3 player or wear the latest fashion in order to be hip. I have also become a victim of mass media in the sense that I also need to own the latest handphone. They have become more materialistic. Something that religion looks down upon. Therefore, youths stay away from church because being in church is not hip. However, various religions have used mass media to encourage youths to come back to church. Christian churches have invested heavily in broadcast media. They have taped into the various media technologies like the TV, radio, internet & print media to spread their teachings and reach out to many audiences as possible. Even Christian fundamentalist invest in the media. For example the Radio Bible Class & the Old Fashioned Revival Hour (The Freedom To Do God's Will – Religions Fundamentalism and social change by Gerrie ter Haar and James J. Buauttil). Therefore mass media also shapes one's own identity. It all depends on how well we are brought up and how strong our beliefs in religious value is. These believes will help us to resist the temptations that advertisements brings about. The first religious book to be printed was the bible. It was printed so that religion could reached a wider audience. Primitives societies used to write on the walls the writings of their religious teachings.

Religion and mass media have the power to create social change and shape one's own identity. Religious fundamentalism can create tremendous social change. They usually use force, violence and persuading speeches to spread their teachings and to force people to live the way of life that they want them to. Religion on the whole is good. It is just these minorities that have given religion a bad name. Mass media can also create social change by persuading youths to buy the latest fashion, listen to the latest music and own the latest gadgets. These youths form a sub culture whereby those in common will flock together like birds. Birds with the same features flock together as the saying goes. Scientist use mass media to publicize their works. They have proven unexplained phenomenon's using scientific methods. These scientific facts have brought about the secularization of religion. People are abandoning religion as there are now more scientific discoveries. TV documentaries have distorted religion's facts, informing people that certain biblical events may not be true or that it was not the act of God. Some documentaries have claimed that religion is still alive but there are now new discoveries with the existence of God. However, these claims do not run parallel with the ancient religious teachings.

Religions groups have used mass media to encourage youths to come back to church. They hold concerts that are youth like, organizing outings that will interest the youths and make the church a fun loving place to be. Therefore, It all depends on how well we are brought up and how strong our beliefs in religious value is that will help us to resist the temptations that advertisement brings about.

I hope this essay have convinced you that religion is still alive. It has the power to create social changes and social identity. Mass media also has a part to play in either encouraging people to be religious or not. It also has the power to change one's own social identity.

Is Obtaining A Higher Standard of Living A Danger To The Society of Singapore

2010-08-19T23:11:00.000-07:00

Singapore has seen many changes since it was founded in 1819. It has progressed from a third world country to a first world country. The government has managed to bring in many exciting events. Events that only developed countries can organize. For example, Formula One and The IMF World Bank Meeting. It has also created many interesting infrastructures like the Tunnel Expressway despite of our limited land space and the upcoming Integrated Resorts.

With all these many events and infrastructures being organized and created, many investors have flocked to the shores of Singapore to open up its businesses here. Expatriates come and work in Singapore. Some may start a family here. Standards of living have risen. In a bird eyes view, it is very good for the prosperity of Singapore. However, where there is a bright spot, there is also a dark spot. It is this dark spot at which I would want to write about and explain how this dark spot can become less dark. I will use the Formula One Event as a starting point.

It has been a very adrenaline rush weekend. First there was the Natinal Day Parade, second and at present running The Singapore Youth Olmpics 2010 and the next event to be held on the shores of Singapore is the Formula One. Now, the Formula One has brought excitement to the lives of many Singaporeans. Scores of foreigners have flocked to the shores of Singapore. Armed with cash, they have invaded our shopping centers. It has put Singapore on the world map. As mentioned in the above paragraph, this phenomenon has been good to the economy and it has contributed to the raising living standards of Singaporeans. Attending Formula One has now become one of the bench marks for Singaporeans to attend. There is now an F included in the 5 C’s that Singaporeans have always been trying to attend.

The dark spot I am referring to is the inevitable increasing strain of obtaining a high standard of living and the consequences of trying to obtain it. Obtaining a high standard of living may be out of reach to some Singaporeans. Two classes of people will be used to illustrate this phenomenon. They are the average working class and the youths in Singapore. I will use Robert K Merton theory on Anomie to explain.

He theorized that there are two kinds of structure in society. The first structure is culturally assigned goals and aspirations (Merton, 1938: 672). These are the things that all individuals should want and expect out of life. For example, obtaining a high paying job, earning a high salary, obtaining material goods and attending influential events like the Formula One.

The second aspect of the social structure defines the acceptable mode for achieving the goals and aspirations set by society (Merton, 1938:673). This is the appropriate way that people get what they want and expect out of life. Examples include obeying laws and societal norms, seeking an education and hard work. In order for society to maintain a normative function there must be a balance between aspirations and means in which to fulfill such aspirations (Merton, 1938:673-674).

According to Merton balance would occur as long as the individual felt that he was achieving the culturally desired goal by conforming to the “institutionally accepted mode of doing so” (Merton: 1938:674). In other words, there must be an intrinsic payoff, an internal satisfaction that one is playing by the rules and there must also be an extrinsic payoff, achieving their goals. It is also important that the culturally desired goals be achievable by legitimate means for all social classes. If goals are not equally achievable through an accepted mode, then illegitimate means might be used to achieve the same goal. There often times is a disparity between goals and means.

Too much emphasis is placed on the goal and not enough emphasis is placed on achieving it through acceptable means. For some citizens there is a lack of opportunity. This leads individuals to seek out the goal by whatever means necessary. According to Merton crime is bred through this process. Simply put, overemphasis on material success and lack of opportunity for such material success leads to crime.

For example, It is not common in Singapore for kids to learn that they have to obtain certain valuable items so that they would be deem influential. Parents may teach their kids that being influential is one factor that will help them achieve success in their goals. They may not teach their kids how to respect other people’s feelings. Therefore, a child may boast that he has the latest handphone in his/her school. This may bring about resentment among the children that can’t purchase the phone. A child may steal the handphone from the child.

In this case, there are two scenarios’ we can learn from the outcome of trying to become influential in society. One is due to the fact that the child had the best phone in order to be considered as an influential human being in society, other children become jealous of the child which resulted in the stealing of the phone. The second is that due to the fact that by having that phone makes one deem to be influential in society, the child stole the phone in order to meet society standards in order to be influential.

An average adult who may not earn enough to go and see the Formula One event may feel left out. As the media has place advertisements to promote the race, it will be become a common understanding that the press is creating an anxiety among Singaporeans to persuade them to go and purchase tickets to watch the race. Attending the Formula One race has become an essential activity that all Singaporeans should adopt. If they do not attend the race, then they are not part of the “Singaporean Society” . In such cases, those who cannot afford to go to watch the race will at first accept their situation. They will obey the law and find other legitimate ways to watch the race. For example, watching the race at home. However, they would not forget “the Singaporean Society” standard of watching the race and that is by actually buying the tickets and watching the race at it’s race venue. They will soon think of illegal ways of obtaining the tickets. For example, by stealing them. If in the long run, they still cannot get the tickets, they may form groups to campaign the abolition of the Formula Event.

Some of you reading this essay may think that these cases would never happen and are ridiculous. However, the feelings of people are not easy understood and observed. They are intangible. It may not happen here in Singapore as most Singaporeans are uncanny obedient and lawful but as Singaporeans prosperous, the income gap between the poor and the rich will widen. Resentments among between the rich and the poor may grow and such scenarios may happen in the future.

As more and more Singaporean become successful, there will be a minority that would always be trap in the poverty gap. It is a social phenomenon that happens in all capitalistic countries. The rich always get richer and the poor get poorer. For those who are successful, they must try to find a way to help those that are poor to climb out the poverty gap. However, some may say who am I to help the poor! Nobody touches my money!! However, you are called to be united in Singapore and one of the fundamental principles of being united is to help your fellow citizens. What I am suggesting may be an over idealistic idea but if only there is such thing as a utopian society, then what I have suggested may actually happen.

Some organisations may have employees who are obsessed with climbing the corporate ladder in order to earn more money and adopt a higher standard of living. They may indulge in scrupulous means without regarding the well of their fellow colleagues to obtain success. For example, they may indulging in backstabbing, insider trading and “robbing” other people’s project. Why should all these undesirable activities be happening? It is due to “Singapore’s” standard of living and the fact that more and more Singaporeans are meeting that “high” standard, it is not common to see Singaporeans trying to match up with their fellow Singaporeans eventhough they may not be able to achieve it. Again resentments will be felt with those who cannot achieve the “Standard” that Singaporeans have set in order to live “happily”.

To curb these scenarios’ from happening. Parents need to teach the right moral values to their kids. For example, they have to teach their children how to think for the unfortunate, help the weak, share their food, not to look down on those who are poor and to achieve their goals in the right way. If parents themselves do not practice good moral values, then their children would learn the wrong values.

If parents or maybe even advertisements teaches children that they have to obtain certain goods in order to be considered influential or that being number one is the most important thing in their lives and anything below that is unacceptable. In Singapore, where majority of Singaporeans are pretty influential ( just read the newspapers, there are more millionaires being sprung out ), the minority would definitely be left out and if parents do not teach their children to be considerate about people’s feelings, then there will be social anomie between the rich and the poor.

Therefore, we must always examine ourselves. Are we living happily? Are we trying to live a high life that we cannot achieve? In life there must always be a balance. At times we must accept that we cannot join the Jones and accept what we have. If we can’t, then there will be conflict in our lives. Yes, we can blame society for transforming who we are but in the words of Kar Marx, it is not the ideas that determine our lives but the lives that we live determine our ideas. Therefore it is up to us to live the way we want to.

The essence of being successful and it’s social consequences

2010-08-05T21:33:00.000-07:00

Singapore celebrates it’s 45th year of independence in six days time. As the celebration draws near we are reminded of Singapore’s achievements and the importance of united as a community of citizens hence the one of the themes for this year’s National Day Parade is One Voice.

The reasons of why it is important to be united are as follows :-
· We will be proud to be Singaporeans
· We will defend the country together
· We will live in harmony
· We will share the achievement made in Singapore as a united community of citizens.

This essay is not to dispute the importance of being united in Singapore as one community but it is based on whether being successful in Singapore is important and it’s social consequences.
Nowadays, whenever I roam around beautiful Singapore and breath in the “fresh” air that Singapore has to offer , I cannot help to feel the word “ONE” being wrapped around me like a cocoon shell. I feel so “protected” by the word “ONE” because I know our police force strives to be number one but due to it’s over achievements, let a very dangerous terrorist escape.

Why do I feel this way? Well, it is because I often see the word “One” around me. For example, I have been coming across condominiums using the word one. For example : One Leicester, One Shenton and One Tree Hill One Forth. Even some organisations use the word “ONE” for their Dinner and Dance Party Team or for some related enrichment programs to educated their employees on forming a corporate culture.

Is being successful in everything important? After all, Singapore is a country that strives to be successful at all times and it has made great achievements in areas in transportation, financial sector and corporate governance whereas some countries could not. For example, Singapore has the best airport in the world, clean efficient government and a pretty good transport system.
Aiming to be successful is not a bad thing. In fact, it is a good thing but in everything that we do, there must be a balance. We cannot go around being successful at other people’s expense, putting people down, blackmailing other people and adopting scrupulous means to achieve our goals.

Singapore is a very competitive country. Nearly all of its citizens are caught in the rat race to succeed however one must not lose his or her moral values. Parents need to teach the right moral values to their kids. For example, they have to teach their children how to think for the unfortunate, help the weak, share their food, not to look down on those who are poor and to achieve their goals in the right way. If parents themselves do not practice good moral values, then their children would learn the wrong values.

It is not common in Singapore for kids to learn that they have to obtain certain valuable items so that they would been deem influential. Parents may teach their kids that being influential is one factor that will help them achieve success in their goals. They may not teach their kids how to respect other people’s feelings. Therefore, a child may boast that he has the latest handphone in his/her school. This may bring about resentment among the children that can’t purchase the phone. A child may steal the handphone from the child.

In this case, there are two scenarios’ we can learn from the outcome of trying to become influential in society. One is due to the fact that the child had the best phone in order to be considered as an influential human being in society, other children become jealous of the child which resulted in the stealing of the phone. The second is that due to the fact that by having that phone makes one deem to be influential in society, the child stole the phone in order to meet society standards in order to be influential.

These scenarios’ happen when parents or maybe even advertisements teaches children that they have to obtain certain goods in order to be considered influential or that being number one is the most important thing in their lives and anything below that is unacceptable. In Singapore, where majority of Singaporeans are pretty influential ( just read the newspapers, there are more millionaires being sprung out ), the minority would definitely be left out and if parents do not teach their children to be considerate about people’s feelings, then there will be social anomie between the rich and the poor.

In Singapore, our education system has been implemented by scholars who have reached the top of their ladder. They attribute the Singapore education system to their success. Since they had succeeded in the education system, they enhance it to suit the needs of the more intellectual students. The educational programs that they create only cater to middle class families and above. Why? Most of these programs may require personal computers, televison, notebooks to accomplish the tasks. What about those that cannot afford to have the latest technological equipment in their house? To they fail because they are poor? They may be intelligent but because they are poor and the way education programs are created, they may not succeed in the Singpoare's education sysyem and fall by the road side. It is a very sad situation but it is happening. Children who may not have the same intelligence capabilities as others struggle and have to play catch up. Some teachers find it tough to implement some schemes recommended by these scholars as the schemes that worked for them may not work on others. The teachers in turn are blamed for not implementing the schemes. What an unfair world we live in. Our educations system is designed in a way that only the smartest and the materially sound would be able to survive. So if being number one is so very important, what happen to those that that cannot survive in the Singapore education system in order to be the best?

Well those that cannot make it have to find other ways to climb the ladder and be successful in Singapore. For children that are materially sound parents, they would be able to have an overseas education. For those that are less fortunate, they have to find other material means or ways to be successful and survive in Singapore. Singapore is a country whereby the cost of living will always rise. Therefore, Singaporeans must be materially well off to survive. The Singapore government do not hand out “welfare benefits” like other countries do. The saying only the strong survives applies very strongly to Singapore’s society.

Parents may be too overtly obsessed on finding ways that would help their children to be successful in their education and would want them to score straight “A” throughout their school life. Unfortunately, in Singapore, obtaining straight “A” s is rather the norm. Those who can’t obtain good academic results are left behind. Some parents may use extreme methods to make their children succeed in school. For example, they will cane their children if they obtain a grade less than A in their school work, they are banned from going out with their friends, they cannot watch television and they are not allow to play their favourite computer games. These reasons are not exclusively exhaustive. As a result, their children rebel against their parents. They may join street gangs and indulging in some undesirable activities. For example, glue sniffing, fighting and pre-marital sex.

Therefore, are parents to be blame for their children becoming delinquent due to their relentless persuade for their children to obtain the best academic results? Yes and No. Yes, if they apply extreme pressure on their children without regarding their children’s well being. No, if their parents subscribe to societies, especially Singapore’s society, norms on the importance of success in order to survive. Parents inadvertly apply stress on themselves by comparing their children’s success with other children’s success. It becomes a rat race to see who can finish first and it is their children who suffer. It is very sad. Children come in different shapes and forms. They have different abilities. If parents are not blinded with the obsession of being successful, their eyes would be “opened” and they would recognise their children’s talents and weakness. They will be able to help their children capitalise their strengths and try to turn their weakness into their strengths or eradicate their weaknesses. They would also be able to provide their children with a more and balance wholesome life and that does not include taking their children on holiday every year just to compensate the stress they press on their children to succeed.

As more and more Singaporean become successful, there will be a minority that would always be trap in the poverty gap. It is a social phenomenon that happens in all capitalistic countries. The rich always get richer and the poor get poorer. For those who are successful, they must try to find a way to help those that are poor to climb out the poverty gap. However, some may say who am I to help the poor! Nobody touches my money!! However, you are called to be united in Singapore and one of the fundamental principles of being united is to help your fellow citizens. What I am suggesting may be an over idealistic idea but if only there is such thing as a utopian society, then what I have suggested may actually happen.

Some organisations may have employees who are obsessed with climbing the corporate ladder. They may indulge in scrupulous means without regarding the well of their fellow colleagues to obtain success. For example, they may indulging in backstabbing, insider trading and “robbing” other people’s project. Why should all these undesirable activities be happening if we are taught the right moral values in how to achieve our goals in life? Unfortunately, that is life. There is always the good and the bad. We can however reduce these undesirable activities but not totally eradicate them from happening by teaching our children that success is not the most important thing in life and they have to achieve their goals in a proper and justifiable manner that is deemed appropriate by society.

The next scenario may not be a normal situation in organisations but it does happen. It is unhealthy to have such problems in an organisation. Some departments in an organisation may be dedicated more “privilege jobs” with more value to the organisations than other departments. In most cases, these departments may be more recognised for their work then others and if they are more successful in their performance, they may cultivate elitism behavioural patterns among their fellow colleagues thus segregating themselves from other departments. For the very fact that they are to obsessed with success and being better than the rest, they may disregard the work processes of their other fellow colleagues in other departments and may want other departments to cater to their working needs first beyond all others.

Top management in organisations should share their profits with their employees. If they are selfish and do not want to share their successes with others, their employees may become disgruntled. Too farfetched? It may not happen in Singapore, however, in countries like Britain and France, due to having strong union ties, employees have risen up against their employees if they feel that they are not being treated fairly. Top management must realise that their success is due to their employees hardwork. They must provide funds to help their employees to upgrade. Those in need of funds would be those who are not capable to have the material means to upgrade themselves. Organisations or even governments should pay for their education, be it if they are studying in a private or public institution. A better educated workforce may help an organisation be more successful and earn more profits.

Therefore, being able to set for goals and achieving goals is a good habit that all should adopt. Parents should cultivate in their children the right values and ways to obtain success. They must not subscribe to society’s pressure, especially ours, to be obsessed with success. They may inadvertly cause harm to their children if they apply pressure on their children to succeed without regarding their well being. Organisations must share their successes among their employees. Employees must not be obsessed in being successful in the expense of their fellow employees. Departments must not create an elitism atmosphere in their organisations. If not, boundaries of work would be drawn between departments. It is not good to be obsess with being successful and obtaining the required success without regarding the well being of other people. We should have balance in our lives. After all, all work but no play makes Jack a dull boy. If you have the time, relook at your life and ask yourself whether you are living a good and well balanced life. Is being successful the only think you want to achieve in your life eventhough it may harm your well being? I leave you with this question to ponder upon. Happy National Day.

Different Religious Views On Death

2010-07-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

Christianity

The three major monotheistic religions of the world – Christianity,Islam, and Judaism – all have definite theology related to issues of death and dying. Christianity is the largest of these and, in fact, the largest religion in the world. Although Christians may be divided in many ways over issues of theology, they do hold the same core values and beliefs. One of these is that there is an afterlife in which believers will spend eternity with God. Although there may be dissention over smaller matters, in issues of life and death, there tends to be more common ground. Sickness, suffering, and death are viewed by many Christians through their understanding of Christ’s suffering and death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection. Christians also believe that God participates in the affairs of humanity, another tenet that inform their views of death and dying. The New Testament teaches that one’s body is the temple of God, so most Christians believe that life is sacred, although not necessarily to be preserved at all costs. For example, in questions of withholding or with drawing treatment, the official position of the Roman Catholic Church is that there is a distinction between ordinary measures (i.e. those medical treatments that are intended to preserve life such as medicines, treatments, and operations that offer reasonable hope for preserving life and that can be obtained without excessive expense, pain, or other inconvenience) and extraordinary measures (i.e., medicines, treatments, and operations that do not offer reasonable hope of preserving life and which cannot be obtained without excessive expense, pain, or other inconvenience). There is, of course, no list of procedures that easily fall into one category or another; all such treatment needs to be made with informed consent on an individual basis by the patient or family. For example, a feeding tube or mechanical ventilation at one stage during the course of a disease or illness may provide sufficient time for other measures to take affect and enable the patient to life; given at another time, however, it may only preserve existence with no hope of recovery.

Islam

The second largest (and youngest) major monotheistic religion is Islam. Although Islam has legal rulings or fatawa (sg., fatwa) about life and death issues such as organ donation and euthanasia,there is not widespread agreement about these issues between Muslim jurists from different schools of Islamic law (Sachedina, 2005). In general, however, Islam teaches that death comes to us all and that how we die is of importance. According to Muslims, God is both the origin and destiny of life so that life is therefore sacred. According to the Qur’an, death does not occur except by God’s permission. Therefore, in Islam, it is necessary to do everything possible to prevent a premature death. The question of preserving life at any cost, however, is the subject of much debate within Islam. Although on the one hand there is the obligation to save or even prolong life, on the other hand there is the argument that one should limit life sustaining treatment if there is a lack of resources. Further, in Islam, the decision of life-prolonging treatment is not the decision of the individual alone. Islam emphasizes the link between the welfare of the individual and his/her family and community. Decisions about whether or not an aggressive or invasive treatment can prolong life without causing further harm, therefore, is a matter of concern not only for the individual but for all associated with him/her. Regarding pain, the approach of most Muslims is to act in such a way as to alleviate pain through actively removing its cause. As in Christianity, the human body is seen as a temple of God. Therefore, Islamic law does not recognize a patient’s right to die voluntarily (e.g., suicide, assisted suicide, or other types of active human intervention). There are, however, exceptions to this general principle depending on the circumstances: Specifically, the administration of medication to relieve physical and mental suffering in a terminal patient that has the side effect of shortening life or the withdrawal of futile treatment after informed consent (Sachedina, 2005).

Judaism

The smallest, albeit the oldest, of the major monotheistic religions is Judaism. As with Christianity and Islam, the Jewish religion holds that the body belongs to God. This means that human beings have the obligation to seek both preventative and curative medical treatment. However, as also with the other two religions, Judaism recognizes the fact that all human beings are mortal. Similarly, there is not widespread agreement across all Jewish traditions about how this is to be interpreted. In addition,
culture (in the form of country, generation, or family) may also affect the interpretation of these matters. Because the individual belongs to God, Judaism does not condone suicide or the enlistment of aid to end one’s life. Judaism has its own criteria for determining death. Traditionally, these have been the cessation of breathing and heartbeat (although sufficient time must be allowed before burial to determine that this is a permanent condition). After the development of the Harvard criteria for brain death, Conservative rabbis accepted these criteria as fulfilling the traditional requirements. Criteria for the acceptability of withholding life-sustaining treatment varies, with the strictest interpretation being the prognosis that the patient will die within 72 hours or less and more liberal interpretations allowing for withholding life-sustaining measures if the patient will live up to a year or more. However, most rabbis view artificial nutrition and hydration to be the equivalent of food and liquids required by everyone to live, and require them to be used even when other life-sustaining treatments are withdrawn. Regarding heroic measures, most view these as permissible as long as there is some hope of a cure; however, such measures are not required and the decision is to be made based on the risk/benefit ratio, the patient’s best interests, and the patient’s desires. Jews are allowed to sign advance directives for health care to specify their wishes in such cases should they not be able to communicate their desires at the time. Pain control, palliative care, and hospice programs in which the goal is to make the patient comfortable but not to cure are all acceptable under Jewish tenets.
Further, Jewish tradition holds it to be an obligation to visit the sick, treat them with respect, and pray for them. Ethical considerations continue even after death. Regarding autopsy and organ donation, the ruling principles are that the dead body should be honored as the property of God and that one has an obligation to save the lives of others. Because of the first principle, autopsies are not routinely performed unless required by civil law, three doctors agree that the cause of death cannot be otherwise ascertained, that the autopsy might helps save the lives of others with similar illnesses or that the results of the autopsy might be of benefit to surviving family members with a hereditary disease.
These criteria, however, are debated. Although the donation of cadavers to science or of organs to save others is permitted by most rabbis, there is also disagreement about the circumstances under which these actions are permissible.

Hinduism

Not every religion is monotheistic, however. In fact, the second largest religion of the world is Hinduism. Although this religion does not have an institutional framework or demand adherence to particular doctrines, most Hindus do hold certain tenets in common that apply to death and dying. Most Hindus believe that a living being (either human or animal) possesses a soul that moves on from one life to the next. In addition, most Hindus hold that there is a difference between a good death and a bad death. The former occurs in old age either on the banks of the sacred Ganges River or on the ground at home. (For this purpose, many Hindus keep a container of Ganges water to be offered to the dying person and placed on the lips of the corpse.) Hindus prepare all their lives for a good death and enter into it consciously and willingly. A good death requires the correct rituals in order to speed the soul on its way. Bad deaths, on the other hand, are premature, violent, or uncontrolled, happening at the wrong place and time (often signified by vomit, feces, urine, and an unpleasant expression). The worst type of death in Hinduism is suicide that happens for selfish reasons. There is a long tradition of voluntary death in Hinduism, typically where such an action is linked to a specific purpose such as gaining freedom. However, Hinduism makes a distinction between the willed death of an individual. Suicide for selfish reasons is considered to be morally wrong and cannot be sanctioned with the appropriate rites of death. Some Hindu authorities also argue that human beings should not take their own lives because of the karmic effect on the next life. In general, Hinduism stands strongly against involuntary euthanasia primarily because it goes against the principle of autonomy and can be easily abused. However, in all these matters, it is difficult to generalize the Hindu attitudes toward death and dying because they are highly correlated with education, class, and tradition.

Buddhism

Another major polytheistic religion (one, in fact, with more adherents than Judaism) is Buddhism. In this religion, the inevitability of death is recognized and emphasis is placed on the psychological preparation necessary to accept death with calmness and dignity. Buddhists place great value on mindfulness and mental clarity because they believe that it can affect the quality of their rebirth. This fact impacts their philosophy of dying. For example, some Buddhists may forego pain relieving drugs or sedatives sothat their mental facilities can be unimpaired. The Buddhist definition of death involves the loss of three criteria: vitality, heat, and sentiency. Although determining the loss of heat is a rather straightforward matter, determining the loss of the other two criteria is not, particularly given the tradition of yogic trance in which life signs may not be observable. On the other hand, there is no disagreement between Buddhist tradition and modern medicine on the status of patients in a persistent vegetative state: Individuals in this state are clearly alive according to both views. From the Buddhist perspective, irreversible damage to the neocortex is no different than damage to another organ when making ethical decisions regarding treatment. This typically means that unless there are secondary complications, the person should continue to be given nutrition and hydration. Further, Buddhists do not believe in taking a life. Therefore, they do not condone suicide or the incitement of someone to commit suicide. This prohibition also extends to assisted suicide and euthanasia, even though these actions might spare the person unnecessary pain. On the other hand, due to the Buddhist belief in the inevitability of death, Buddhists do not condone attempts to prolong life beyond its natural span through technology, but encourage adherents to prepare to accept death calmly when it comes. This, however, does not preclude hospice or other palliative care.

THE VIRUS WAR

2010-07-05T19:14:00.000-07:00

Wars are fought by brave men but the virus war is fought by men who think they are intelligent but in actual fact copycats. Very unfortunately we are the victims of these wars. Unlike some wars, this war is unstoppable, no matter how much effort we put in to stop the war. The only thing that we can do is to prevent less damage from being done is by unpluging ourselves from our computers. Can we do that? The answer is obvious. Who is to be blame? Look in the mirror and you will find the person.

As technology advances, the virus wars will continue to escalate, with output poised to exceed that of 2003 – year of the worm. Original virus writers used to write viruses just for the joy of experimentation and not for the joy of destroying your hard disk. Unfortunately time has changed and so has the reasons for writing a virus. Virus writers come in four categories. They are writers who write for the thrill of it, students who do it for research, script kiddies who write to impress but unfortunately their coding sucks and their scripts are copied from other virus codes and finally cyber terrorists who write viruses for destruction. There is no real need of spending hours to learn how to write a virus. It can be written with only a few lines of codes. You can even learn how to write a virus by visiting a website that teaches you how to write a virus.

Script Kiddies have taken full advantage of it. They can even weave together existing attacks from codes available from community resources. That’s why I say that they think they are cool and intelligent but in actual fact copycats.

One of the main reasons why viruses are written in the 21 century is money. Keyloggers are able to be installed in computers to act as backdoors in order to track passwords, credit card numbers and other confidential information. The valuable information can be stolen and sold for profit. Hackers can also use these methods to blackmail a company. After all what is losing a few thousands dollars compared to losing your customers which would result in a loss of a few million dollars.

There has been some rivalry between virus writers like Bagel and Netsky. They are using huge pools of zombie machines adapting exploits left by others like MyDoom and So Big to spread new variants with code containing taunts. They are also trying to get a better of the anti virus industry as well. For example, the ability for virus to be spread through attachments. In response the anti-virus industry created their software to scan for zip files and extensions. Virus writers then used password protected zip files at which anti-virus could not decrypt the password. Anti – virus companies followed up by creating a new AV program that could parse an e-mail message for the password and store it in memory so that they could decrypt the message and scan for virus. In retaliation, the writes use a bitmap file instead of using passwords. Other current trends include self-propagating codes with tie-ins with spammers, networks of bots created by organised crime to use in extortion and codes shared with other writers

Virus writers will invent more tricks in the future. The virus MyDoom is spread through attachments. The user had only to click on the e-mail in order to spread the virus. As I type these stories, there are talks of creating multiplatform viruses that would infect icons, cursors, or media files or damage CD-ROM and DVD-ROM viruses. As of now, viruses attack software but not hardware so don’t worry too much. As for the future whether it would attack hardware, only time will tell. Due to the advancement of technology, the terrain for viruses to exploit have widen. Viruses now target instant messaging, peer-to-peer networks, voice mail systems, handheld devices, Microsoft Xboxes and other consoles, and mobile phones..

With all these viruses running around, have you asked yourself why there has not been a Big One ( a rapid spreading virus that would destroy a lot of data) yet? The answer is that a virus has to find a exploit first and that is not very easy to find. If it runs too soon, it will destroy it self. If it runs too late, the AV companies will stop it.

There is an increasing need for viruses to elude the AV software. One such kind of virus is the metamorphic virus. It rewrites itself each time it mutates. The AV scanners have to decrypt it and then scan it to find the underlying code.

UnFortunately there are now many of these kind of virus because most virus are written using Visual Basic which is easy to use. The writers are of course yours truly script kiddies. That’s why I shall re-enforce my statement by saying that they think they are intelligent and cool but they are not. You need a more complicated program to write a metamorphic virus. Those who have succeeded are the intelligent ones.

Some writers are even annoyed with script kiddies because they create virus to trick people to open attachments inorder for the viruses to activate. They don’t write viruses to exploit various OS weaknesses. For example, Netsky let users believe that the mail they received came from someone they knew, by extracting e-mail addresses from files in a certain way and this is possible when an e-mail is sent using SMTP to anyone from any address. I could send a mail under your address to your girlfriend saying something horrible and she’d think you wrote it to her. Alright I won’t do that. Don’t worry!!!!!

There has been an increasing trend in the use of viruses to target specified groups like political ones to spread their messages. Viruses also have a great effect on businesses. If virus keep on increasing ( which they will do ), consumers’ confidence to do trading on the net will drop. Business could lose a lot of money. Isn’t it good to combat viruses and not to take for granted that you are save just because you have installed “ an out of date AV program”.

Yes, the signature engines for AV programs run out of date once they are shipped. It is our responsibility to update our virus engines once it is installed. We must not wait to update the engines only when we suffer a virus attack.

ISP can help us by protecting our incoming and outgoing e-mail but that does not mean we must rely on our ISP alone. We must develop a mult-tier protection concept. Some methods are protection from our ISP, protection from our updated AV program and last but not least encrypting all data in case if a hacker gains access to your data and files.

There are many encryption softwares in the market, like PGP. To describe their functions would be out of scope for this story. The good news is that Pacific Net and Singtel offer services to protect your e-mails but you have to pay for it. I think they should change this concept and provide it for free. After all protection of computer systems is every one’s effort.

AV companies now have more effective suites. The best suites are the ones combined with programs that monitor spam with AV and anti-spyware capabilities. They are aware that the technical challenges of neutralising viruses are shifting. They have to analyze what the entry points that virus could exploit and the speed at which viruses are spreading.

They have to change their mindset as well by creating reactive defenses and proactive defenses as well. Fortunately some companies have done that. For example, Cisco, Fotinet, Panda and others all have products that will detect threats and close down without interfering with the primary AV engine.

One strategy that has not been implemented yet is sandboxing. It creates a virtual OS so sophisticated that when a piece of code comes in, it’s fooled into operating on the virtual OS instead of on the actual one. The engine can then analyse what the code is trying to do and handle it without letting it ever reach the real OS. Other strategies could be to create all in one programs that address viruses, self-propagating e-mail worms, spyware and adware, the use of AV technology to track down virus writers or quarantine poorly managed networks; intrusion prevention integrated into firewalls to block malware at the border and systems that have security built – in rather that added on.

AV programs should be developed in such a way that it is user-friendly. There is an increase in less computer savvy people using computers. They should be skilled in the usage of AV programs. If they find that the AV program too troublesome to use, they will dread to use its functions.

We should not be too dependent on Microsoft OS and their applications. It is not easy to do away with Microsoft and it is also one of the reasons why we are easily attacked by viruses. We have become to predictable.

We must not target certain groups. Like Aids, we think only certain classes of people are prone to be infected by the deadly viruses. In reality, anyone of us is valuable to the disease if we are not careful so do not forget to wear a condom. AV programs must be created to protect all kinds of targets.

We must not be subjective and only scan certain files for virus. For example, we scan files that we are downloading from peer-to-peer networks for virus and not other files. Well maybe there are some that would scan every file that they have for virus but there are others who do not. I am the biggest culprit.

Finally we must question our moral judgement on creating viruses and using them for destruction, unauthorized entry of a computer system, stealing and tracking of information. For example, RIAA wanting access to hack into machines and send viruses to file shares. If we allow them to do that, we will open Pandora’s box. We will create a culture whereby anyone could write a virus program in order to hack somebody’s computer system. The best thing is that they would think it is a moral thing to do.

Therefore, let the wars continue because there is nothing much we can do but only prevent less damage from being done. So look forward to more viruses and new developments in the AV industry. It would be interesting to see how they combat the new viruses. The most important think is too stay alert and vigilant at all times. Don’t let our guard down as the virus will appear at an hour we would not expect.

How Does A Company or Department Kill Their Employees Self Development

2010-07-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

Singapore is a country whereby one must work for a living. The Singapore government does not believe in giving out social welfare benefits to those that do not work. At most, they would give out a small amount of cash to those that really cannot work due to disability or for reasons that make them incapable to find any job. The government believes that one must work in order to enjoy the benefits that Singapore has to provide. Therefore, most Singaporeans have to work until they are not able to work anymore. From nine to five, Singaporeans are indulged in work that they may have to do for the rest of their lives. Well, there maybe a lucky few that may not need to work because their partners are able to bring the bread home. As for the majority of Singaporeans, they may have to keep on working because the wages that they are earning may be barely enough for them to survive. For those, that are able to upgrade and earn a bigger salary, they may be able to retire early. Whether one is able to upgrade while one is working is another matter altogether. This issue will be addressed later on in this essay.

We are caught in a repetitive cycle of work because most work processors in government organisations and in some private companies are standardized. Some questions come to mind at this juncture. If work is repetitious, do workers enjoy their work? Do they have a chance to indulge in self-development at their work place? Why do workers submit themselves to boring and “tortuous” work if they are not able to improve themselves in their work place?

Singapore, like all other capitalistic countries, is rationalistic in nature. What do I mean by rationalistic in nature? They are rationalistic in nature by means of following certain set of rules and regulations. This applies to organisations set up in Singapore and other parts of the world. These rules and regulations make companies bureaucratic. These rules and regulations are important because they help the Singapore government to govern Singapore properly and orderly. It also helps in the proper running of businesses. Singaporeans have to follow these sets of rules and regulations. If not, they would be breaking the law and have to face the consequences. The same goes to those that are working in the various and bureaucratic organisations set up in Singapore. What’s the big deal of having rules and organisation? Isn’t that something that is given when you run a company or country? How do these rules and regulations affect people’s behaviour and the way they work? The following paragraphs will elaborate on these issues.

Rules and regulations are usually formulated by the “professional people” who are running their respective countries or organisations. They create the “attractive procedures” that govern our behaviour and the way we carry out our work. Most Singaporeans are groomed to be obedient at a very young age and do not question whether these rules and regulations are detrimental to their well-being. In every social environment, there is always the good and the bad. Therefore there will be rules and regulations that will be beneficial to some and to others not.

The “Professional people” or specialist, who set up the work procedures in how certain work should be done, actually adopted these work procedures when they were studying. Universities usually teach students how certain work, for example, accounting, should be done. They are taught to apply the same work procedures when they go out in the world and work. Therefore, the standardization of work actually starts when we are in school. Even the government set the standardization of work in order for government bodies to carry out work uniformly. These can be seen in uniform organisations, statutory boards and civil – service organisations.

Workers are surrounded by rules and regulations. They follow proper work procedures to do our work. Day in day out, nine to five, they follow the same work procedures. As mention before, some of them endure their “boring & torturous” job because what they earn may be barely enough for them to survive. The work that they do will become repetitious. They may perform their job just like a robot. Eventually they will become bored and alienated from their work. For example, a cashier cashing in the goods that customers purchase at a supermarket. The process of cashing in the goods never change. The cashier internalizes the process. The tools that she uses to cash in the goods and herself become one. She becomes alienated from her work. Companies may form unions to persuade their workers that their work life is normal when it is actually detrimental to their well-being and there is no need for self development. A false consciousness is formed among the workers.

On the bright side, more companies nowadays recognise the need of self – development and encourage it. However, even when self-development programs are being developed, some workers especially clerical staff (non-graduates) will still be stuck in their repetitious work, due to the fact that their education level is low and are earning a small salary. They would not have much chance to change to a better job. The only option is to further their studies. However, they also may not have enough money to upgrade themselves unless their companies are willing to sponsor them or they themselves find other means to pay for their education.

In some companies, eventhough one may have the means to further their studies, their company rules may make it difficult for them to do so. This is especially so when the subject that they are learning is not relevant to their work. Some workers lose their moral in studying because studying and working is not easy and if they fail because they were not able to obtain leave in order to study for their exams, their moral will further slide down south. They may all together give up studying thus thrashing the hope of ever getting a better job or promotion. This also puts a halt on their self-development. Therefore, companies should encourage and support those that want to study eventhough what they are studying may not be relevant to their job.

Their companies should grant them study leave for them eventhough what they are studying is not relevant to their jobs.Supervisors must have a change of mindset if these were to happen. They must realise that we are now in a ever changing world where the power of knowledge helps one to develop their self-development and help them to work better. They must not have the notion that if their workers upgrade themselves, they will take over their jobs. The rules and regulations that govern the way employees work also make them feel like they are in an iron cage. Some employees may feel this constrictive effect. They may not be able to find ways to make their work more interesting and effective. If they do, their supervisors may not like it. This is especially so for employees whose supervisors go by the book. Those in the accountancy department are mostly to portray this kind of behaviour. However, I am not saying that all organisations do not have avenues for their employees to make suggestions about ways to improve their work and how they can upgrade themselves. Even if companies have avenues for suggestion making, supervisors must also have an open mindset to implement the suggestions that are valid and feasible to implement.

Therefore rules and regulations are a must for the smooth running of a company or country. These rules and regulations may make employees feel alienated from their work or make them feel like they are in an iron cage. In order to counter these negative effects that will affect workers performances, employees must have a say in the work processors. They must be able to suggest changes that can be made to their work processors so that they will be able to perform effectively. There must also be flexibility in a company. For example, employees should be granted study leave for the subjects that they are studying eventhough it may not be relevant to their jobs. Supervisors must adopt an open mindset and encourage their workers to study and upgrade themselves. Employees must be given a chance for job rotation because some employees may become bored of doing the same kind of job for many years or it may be due to the fact that the job that some employees indulge do not match in what they specialise in. For example, an employee specialising in mass communication but is doing finance work. He or she may feel better off doing work regarding about mass communication. Therefore he or she should be allowed to job rotate.

For all these changes to take place, companies must adopt the correct working culture for their employees so that they would work effectively and not suffer from alienation from their work or even feel like they are in an iron cage. If workers feel alienated from their work or feel that they are in an iron cage, their self-esteem may dive south. The situation worsens if these employees are not given a chance to engage in self- development. Their thinking processors may fade and their brains may die a natural death. Ever wondered why at times you can see people doing things automatically without thinking. Most likely they are working in a government body or a company where it’s rules and regulations are rigid and non-flexible. They may not be able to improve themselves. I hope in the future all companies will become more flexible and allow their employees to indulge in self-development and upgrade themselves for better work opportunities and to earn higher salaries.

DEVELOPING INTELLIGENCE, PROBLEM SOLVING AND A THINKING NATION

2010-04-22T02:10:00.000-07:00

We are in the 21st century and globalization is on the rise. Globalization brings about a wave of innovation, advancement in technology, more entrepreneurs setting up businesses and barriers in communication being broken down. There will be greater competition between countries and cities. It will be a no holds barred competition. Whichever country that retains its competitive advantage edge will survive.

Knowledge and innovation will be important. The recent development of a computer programme called Deep Blue which beat Gary Kasparov in chess was a great achievement in human innovation. Companies use the latest technology that is available to them to their advantage and organize themselves in a way that their workers can use their creativity in order to accomplish their task. In this way, they can be more competitive and survive for a long time.

Our future will be a changing one. There will be rapid changes. New technology will come and go at a blink of an eye. The cycle will continue until the world cease to exist. As these changes can be unpredictable we must prepare ourselves for the future.

An Education and training culture must be created for us to prepare for the future. How countries and communities will distinguish themselves from the rest will be how well their citizens can learn and adapt to changes. Therefore the main task of education is to provide the fundamental skills and knowledge for our youths to survive in the future. It is also to help them to cultivate the habit of learning and how to be more creative.

Some people are more creative than others. The same goes with intelligence. People with good imaging abilities tend to be more creative. In being creative, people can be good at solving problems. There are various ways in solving problems. One of the common ways in solving problems is by trial and error. In an era of high speed computers, many trial-and-error solutions are best left to machines.

Another way of problem solving is by understanding the problem. Even if one discover the general properties of a correct solution, it is still not enough to guide further action. It could be followed up with other methods of problem solving like trial and error methods.

Some people solve problems by recollecting pass solutions. They have insightful knowledge on how to solve the problem. Therefore the ability to remember is very important. One good way of developing a good memory is by doing mind mapping. By mind mapping the solution you will be able to recollect how to solve the problem in the future.

The saying easier said that done is quiet true when it comes to problem solving. Some people have problems in problem solving. The problems are due to emotional barriers, cultural barriers, learned barriers and perceptual barriers.

Emotion barriers are inhibition and fear of making a fool of one self, fear of making a mistake, inability to tolerate ambiguity, excessive self criticism. For example, an architect is afraid to try an unconventional design because he or she fears that other architects will think it is frivolous.

Some people hold certain values like being playful which is only meant for children. Pleasure and humour are bad or have no value in serious business planning. Therefore when a corporate manager wants to solve a business problem, he becomes stern and angry when members of his marketing team joke playfully about possible solutions.

Learned barriers. They are conventions about users, meanings, possibilities and taboos. A cook doesn’t have any clean mixing bowls and fails to see that he could use a frying pan as a bowl. Their thinking is fixed. They cannot find alternatives. This is bad for problem solving. There must always be alternatives to problem solving.

Some people have habits that lead to failure to identify elements of a problem. For Example : An artist concentrates on drawing a vase of flowers without seeing the empty spaces around the vase are part of the composition.

Children with high IQ are considered to be smart, socially matured and well –adjusted. They tend to be very successful in life. However, most do not make genius-level contributions because these depend on a combination of intelligence, creativity and motivation.

Some research emphasizes the role of training and hard work to achieve eminence, but many theorists are reluctant to dismiss the importance of innate talent.Even the brightest may make wrong decisions. This is due to his or her experience thinking rationally. Their emotional intelligence is low. Some people might be high in Intelligence quotient but low in emotional quotient.

Thinking schools need to be developed in order to educate these youths to be leaders and harness their intelligence. They must learn how to put their intelligence into good use.

To learn something and applying it to life are two different things. Schools must develop future generations of thinking and committed citizens, capable of making good decisions to keep their country vibrant and successful in future.

Schools must develop a curriculum where thinking skills and learning skills are more emphasized. Students and teachers must spent more time doing more projects in order to help them develop these skills.

Lessons must be taken beyond the class room. On the job training is required for the students to gain insightful experience. Getting good grades in school is one thing but if they graduate with good grades but are unable to think and make good decisions than they might as well not study. In reality we only use 15% of what we learn in school when working in the outside world. The rest is by gaining experience by making good decisions and on the job training. Thinking schools must encourage more innovation.

A country must be a learning nation in order to cultivate a learning culture in the country. It must go beyond schools and educational institutions.

Learning goes beyond simply maximizing an individual’s potential. A nation’s culture and its social environment will shape what learning means. Environment does play a part in developing one’s own intelligence.

The other part is heredity. Researches have done experiment on the intelligence on identical twins. They have discovered that identical twins that develop from the same egg have identical genetic inheritance. Therefore if IQ is influenced by genes than the identical pair should have similar IQ compared to fraternal twins.

Other experiments were done on twins that were reared with different backgrounds. One being looked after educated parents and the other being looked after the orphanage. It was discovered that the one who was looked after by educated parents had greater IQ than the other one. I would say that genes and environment both are responsible for one’s intelligence.

A learning nation must begin by recognizing that education is a continuum, starting with the early pre-school years and continuing throughout life. Research on brain development in the last decade indicates that the early years in a child’s life are critical for developing the foundations of future intellectual and social development. The nation must train parents to provide their children with rich experiences to help them develop during their initial pre-school years.

There must be innovation at every level of society. Companies need to encourage innovation.

If students are encouraged to innovate in schools and later join a company that encourages innovation, they can apply their knowledge in innovation. It is a win-win situation. We acquire more skills and the company prospers.

Governments must get companies to be more involve in the educations of the young as part of a total environment. Many of the leading American companies have invested significant amount of their professional employees’ time in educational outreach activities – taking students from schools and giving them hands-on experiences and interesting them in real world technologies.

In encouraging creative thinking, we can change our mindset that only the top should be thinking and the job of everyone else is to do as told. By applying creative thinking to our work, we can do our job better. We can always think of improvements and better ways to accomplish our jobs.

Therefore developing one’s own intelligence and thinking is very important. It would lead to innovation and we will be to able adapt with society better. We as humans are constantly learning. Our brain is continually developing and growing more neurons!

Intelligence and creativity can be developed. We need not have to be born with it but those are that born with, well, it is a blessing. With the right teaching policies we can develop our intelligence and creativity. Therefore I hope all of you out there will use your intelligence and creativity more often.

HACKED BY A USB THUMB DRIVE

2010-04-22T02:05:00.000-07:00

Scenario

ABC company is a top-notch car-making manufacturer. Recently they came up with plans to create a car that can think, talk, jump over a truck and many more incredible feats that a normal car cannot do. They were on a blink of success and were ready to launch their super car in June 2004. Unfortunately a rival company, DEF, outsmarted them. They released the same kind of car that ABC had designed in May 2004.

Just imagine the look on the management staff when the car was released. All department heads were taken to task. The CEO shouted“ HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO US!!!! OUR DESIGN IS EXCLUSIVE!!!” HOW COULD ANYONE GET HOLD OF OUR BLUEBPRINT!!!”

Even the CIO was puzzled. He was wondering how such an unfortunate event could happen. They had a top-notch internal and external security system and they were right. ABC ranked no 1 in computer security and was the most difficult company to hack. They had a good and sound security policy. The CEO instructed the CIO to solve the problem and if he did not come out with an answer in two weeks, he would be FIRED!!!

Out of desperation he hired a detective to solve the problem. The detective managed to infiltrate the rival’s company ( how? I do not know, it’s their job anyway) and discovered that a former disgruntled employee of ABC had stolen the designs by storing them in five USB 2.0GB thumb drives!!!! Apparently he was the first person to design the blue print but it was given to somebody else to complete the job. He was not given the due recognition for his design.

Some organisations have no policy in place for detecting USB drivers or regulating their use. It is relatively easy for a visiting customer, technician, consultant, disgruntled employee, or anyone clever enough to gain access to a PC. Then they can plug a USB drive into any USB port and download dozens or hundreds of files at one go when nobody is watching. USB drives have surpassed 2GB of storage and are still growing. They are easy to hide as they are tiny. You can put it in your top pocket of your brand new shirt.

Another threat is that files infected with virus can easily be transmitted into networks through USB drives, completely bypassing anti-virus gateways or e-mail servers. Hackers can store a bevy of sophisticated tools on these tiny devices, including port scanners, spyware, password crackers, and keyword loggers.

A hacker can then use social engineering techniques to gain access the company and access a computer that has a USB drive to do all kinds of sinister attacks. Lastly, if any of these devices are lost by staff members, anyone who find it has easy access to all the stored files.

Preventions

1. Educate the staff on the proper and improper use of USB drives.

2.Have a good and sound security policy on the proper and improper use of USB drivers.

3.Permission needs to be asked first before the usage of USB drives

4.Store USB drives in a safe place.

5.Have a sign in and sigh out book for the USB drives.

6. Make sure all files store in the USB drives are encrypted. Therefore when any of the drivers are lost and found by someone else. The files would not be able to be accessed.

7. Make sure the screen-saver password-protect feature are implemented on all PCs. Locking out PCs when not in use after 3 to 5 minutes.

8. Set up anti-virus system to scan all drives and removable media for viruses and other malware. Confirm that the scanning takes place or run a manual scan before transferring files to the desktop.

9. Disable USB ports. You can do so via the system BIOS settings, which can be password protected.

10. A keep text file with the user name and phone number should be kept on the USB drives. This file need not be encrypted. To be access by anyone who has found a USB drive and return it to a appropriate owner. Extra information Third party utilities are available for locking a desktop.

They are :

1 TopLang Software’s Desktop Lock

2. Ixis’s PC Lockup

3. Spytech Software’s SpyLock

4. Tomorroware’s StayOut.

Provide users with secure USB drives. Media JumpDrive Secure is a USB flash drive with built-in password protection. SanDisk offers CruzerLock software with its USB flash drives, letting you password-protect and encrypt individual files. Sony offer products with fingerprint authentication.

SecureWave’S SecureNT lets you control end-user access to any number of I/O devices including USB flash drives, by using an access control list of company-approved devices, deny access to devices not on the list, and monitor the use of all such devices.

The uses of slang terms

2010-04-22T02:03:00.000-07:00

The uses of slang terms in society have been common since modern man began speaking. The usage of slang terms have been so common that it has been taken for granted. The degradation of one has been ignored when a slang term is used to describe or narrate one’s activity in life. For example, the use of the word Niger to describe a person of black ethnicity used to be an offending word. It is now more acceptable among the younger generation but the older generation still finds the word offending. During the apartheid days, blacks were separated from the whites. Lines were drawn to designate where blacks could or could not roam. The most common slang term to describe them was Niger. It was used by the whites to discriminate against the blacks.

The use of slang terms also describes whether one is a minority or a majority in society. In this instance, those that seldom use slang terms are thought to be educated and refined. The opposite is also true. For example the use of the word "pop” to describe a birth process. The word pop means to appear suddenly. It hardly describes the giving birth process of a human being. To the blacks, this word may be offending as it describe them as being of low class and hence giving birth out of wedlock. To some it is offending because to have a baby involves an intimate human activity and child is a symbol of love so therefore to use the word popped to describe the birth of the child means that their child was unplanned or it could have been conceived out of wedlock. One may argue, that some births are conceived out of wedlock, however, as humans we must always respect the integrity of the birth process of a human being.

Seldom do we notice slang terms in the press. Even if it use, it is in inverted commas. It is to indicate that slang terms is no part of the English Language. Journalist and Editors stand ten poles away from slang terms because by using them it would degrade their status. One of the main objectives of the press is to protect those that own the means of producing news and the media industry on the whole. Even governments fear the use of slang terms. In Singapore, there was a trend to use slang terms after Gurmit Singh, actor from the sitcom Puah Choo Kang popularized it. Instantly, our Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew mentioned the disadvantages of using slang terms as it would degrade the status of oneself and one country. However, Gurmit Singh was defended as being a person in having the right to use slang words because he was educated. The underline meaning of the defense comes in two folds. One is to protect the image of the media industry which is under the control of the government and to minimize the degradation of the status of an educated person if he accidently uses a slang terms. The non – educated is however not protected at all. The government knows that the eradication of the usage of slang terms in Singapore is totally impossible. So in order to minimize any damage, it is better to protect the elite than the non – educated Singaporeans. First impression last.

The use of slang terms is acceptable if it used appropriately. We must however use our discretion in using them. Some words may be insulting to different people of different races, religion and ethnicity. Some Governments use the power of language to protect the status quo through the power of the press. I do hope that Singaporeans do continue using “Singlish” but do so with restraint. Take care and have a good day.

My Eating Habits

2010-04-15T04:23:00.000-07:00

If anyone knows me, they would know that I love eating hence the reason why I am plump. Eating has always been my favourite pass time. If I have the time and sufficient expenses to spare, I indulge in occasional fine dining. Yet there was a time that I refuse to eat. Surprise? This essay will be on how I developed my eating habits.

When I was around six years old, my parents realized I had a difficulty in eating. I refused to have lunch or dinner. Even during breakfast time, I would try to hide my bread or throw it away. Whenever I was caught red-handed, they would either scold or cane me.

However, it came to a point that they realized that I had an eating problem. Therefore they made an appointment for me to meet with a psychiatrist to solve my problem. On the day of the appointment, they did not tell me that they were going to bring me to see a psychiatrist. One reason is that I was always afraid of hospitals. I viewed them as morbid institutions associated with death and sufferings.

After I was aware where I was going. I started crying and began to throw tantrums in the car. My dad shouted at me and at once I kept quiet. We walked silently towards the psychiatric clinic. In the meantime, my imagination was going wild. I thought my parents were going to abandon me. Tears flowed down but my mother comforted me and wiped away my tears. Somehow I always felt safe in my mother’s arms. I did not like the psychiatrist. He looked very stern. He is someone who you would not want to meet in a dark alley.

The psychiatrist just wished me good morning and told me to follow him. I looked at him in a daze. I refused to move an inch. My parents decided to follow me. I walked very slowly with my parents beside me. I felt like a condemned man meeting his end. The psychiatrist brought me to a children’s ward. The children looked very under nourished, like they were from some refugee camp. I was shivering with fear. The psychiatrist then spoke. I said to myself “Oh WOW!!! He could speak!!!!”. He told me that if I continued not to eat my meals I would have to stay in the ward for sometime. At once the thought of staying in this ward scared the hell out of me. I told my parents that I would start eating. This was the define moment that started my love for food.

I went home and started eating my meals. However, the meals that I ate were hawker food and I began to love them!! My parents thought that I would love eating hawker food like hokkien mee, fried kway teow, chicken rice, kway chap, fried rice and etc. They were not wrong. I grew very fond of this kind of food. My weight started to increase. My mother use to take me to hawker centres to eat hokkien mee and kway chap. These dishes were her favourite as well. My dad took me out to eat wanton mee, fried kway teow and chicken rice mostly. My dad and I also started an eating competition whereby we would see who could eat the most food. My mom did not like the idea and always chided my dad for initiating the competition. Therefore, everytime I went out with him I ended up eating more then one kind of food. However, there were consequences.

As one problem was solved, another one was created. I began to dislike eating home cook food. I only liked hawker food. Even at weddings or parties, I did not like to eat the food that was prepared. I began to reject the food my mother was cooking also. Some of you may be surprised that I would reject my mother’s cooking as my mother is rather known to be a good cook herself. To rectify the problem, I was prohibited from eating hawker food for two months. I hated it. I would sulk during lunch and dinner. The only thing that made me eat the food was the fear of being caned. Gradually I began to like home cook food and started to appreciate it. My parents were delighted and my mother always made a point to cook the food that I like.

I am going to side track a bit and write about how I got to like durians. At first, I hated them because of their smell. However, one fine day in Malacca, my dad forced me to eat a durian seed. Up till today, he considered what he did as one of his biggest mistake in life. Why? Well because I got to like it so much that at every durian season I would demand for durians.

My appetite kept on improving but I still stayed away from fast food as I only liked to eat Chinese hawker food. I only began eating fast food when I was in secondary one. I presumed I was getting more matured and was getting less fussy with food. As time went on, I became more adventurous in trying various kinds of food. I began to look forward towards going out with friends and relatives to try various kinds of food cuisines. For example, I love going to out to eat seafood with my food eating kakis. One of the best seafood restaurant I have been is Jumbo and for western food Morton’s gets my vote.

My favourite food cuisines are Chinese, French, Japanese, Indonesian, Korean, Indian, Eurasian and Brazilian. I will give a write up on the various kinds of restaurants I have visited and the various kinds of food that they serve in my next post. I do not intend to give my food tasting adventurous so for the meantime to all food lovers out there, be merry and keep on eating. Of course look after your health and weight also. Pot calling the kettle black.

The Plight of The Catholic Church

2010-04-06T05:15:00.000-07:00

The Roman Catholic Church has for decades been rocked with scandals of sexual abuse. It has been faced with criminal law suits. These scandals have deeply damaged the creditability of the church. However, as an open institution the Roman Catholic will always be open to scrutiny. It has to maintain it’s creditability as a Holy Place of Worship. Most scandals relating to the Roman Catholic Church were sexual abuse cases against minors.

Here is a list of sexual abuse cases committed by Priests around the world. The list is not exhaustive.

1. May 2009 – There was a report that priests abused children for decades in Catholic run Institutions.

2. Nov 2009 – There was a report on child abuse cases in Dublin from 1995 to 2004. The Church Authorities covered up the cases of child abuses until the mid 1990’s.

3. Feb 2004 – Independent researchers said 10,667 people accused US priests of child sex abuse from 1950 to 2002. More than 17% of accusers had siblings that were abused.

4. Germany – More than 250 people in Germany were abused at church – run schools in past decades.

5. Switzerland – The Diocese of Chur in Eastern Switzerland was investigating around 10 complaints of abuse cases committed by at least 3 monks. No action was taken.

6. Netherlands – 3 priests from Salesian order abused pupils decades ago at a boarding school near Dutch – German border.

7. Austria – A wave of reports of child sexual abuses were reported in Austrian Catholic Institution. The arch – abbot of Salzburg’s St Peter’s monastery in March admitted to sexually a boy 40 years ago.

8. Mexico – Legionaries Of Christ founder was discovered to be a sexual molester. He fathered atleast a child with his mistress.

Some of these cases were unreported to the civil authorities. Some of the offenders were reassigned to other locations at which they again had contact with minors. Psychiatrists believed that people with pedophile behavior can be cured through counseling.The Church has compensated in monetary terms to those that were abused. The Vatican have asked the Church in US to Institute reforms to check on the backgrounds of priests, church employers and volunteers.

These reforms should have been implemented along time ago so that child sexual abuses might not have occurred. It has been very unfortunate that the Church has to face such scandals. However, I think these scandals are not only confined to the Church. It can happen at any organization. There have been cases of sexual abuses at child care centers as well. However, as the Roman Catholic Church is a symbol of place of Worship, the impact face by the church would be greater than other organizations.

The media also gives extensive coverage on such cases. This aggravates the damage done to the Church’s reputation and creditability. One of the reasons why priests sexually abuse children is due to the strict code of celibacy observed my them. It is believed that Priest would be able to live a life celibacy through pray and the trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ. Though this practice sits well with most priests, there are some priests that may be exceptional to the course. Priests are after all human. The temptation of the flesh would definitely affect them. As many priests are assigned to orphanages and catholic run child care centers, young children are their easiest target to relieve their sexual attention.

Covering up of child sexual abuses by Priests that hold high ranking positions can occur just like in any organization. If this cover up goes undiscovered, it will be detrimental to the reputation and creditability to the Church. It is good that reforms have been implemented to curb sexual abuses from occurring but it will not eradicate the problem totally. Why? Because, humans are a difficult subject to study. We cannot know a person in a few days. It takes months and years to study a person’s behavior.

There is a substantial amount of people that are very angry with the church for covering up child sexual abuses for a very long time. Due their anger with the church, some have left the catholic faith or wish not to be associated with the Catholic Church. They have blame the way Bishops are appointed in the church as a factor to the occurrence of child sexual abuses.

As the Pope appoints who is to be a bishop, there is no check on the Bishop’s background and behaviour because he has been with the church for a good period of time. They feel that the public should vote the appointment of Bishops. However, would it solve the problem of eradicating child sexual abuses? I do not think so. How would you know that the Bishop chosen by the people is not a pedophile or a homosexual. Humans can easily hide their behaviors. For example, gays nowadays portray normal heterosexual behavior in public as not to be discriminated.

Some of the child sexual abuse offenses occurred long time ago. I feel it is because that the catholic community were not prepared to face such circumstances that they were greatly shocked when child sexual abuses were made known publicly. The fact that it is still occurring makes one lose further confidence with the church. The Catholic Community ask questions like how could the church let such offenses happen? Have they learnt their lesson and have measure been implemented to prevent these offenses from happening?

The Catholic Church is doing their best to stop these offenses from happening. They have implemented measures like doing background checks on their staff and volunteers, however, whether these measures are carried out is another question. There are so many Catholic Institutions around the word. Whoever is running these institutes must be responsible in implementing the measures passed down ny the Vatican. Integrity must be observed. It is like what is happening in China. The central government can pass laws and reforms but the country is so huge. It is up to the officials in the other states in China to carry out the laws and reforms properly. However, this is not done so.

Now is the time for us as Catholics to unite and preserve the good name of the Catholic Church and spread the Lord's word. We should not abandon the church just because of the set back's that it is facing. These set back's are just cause by a few rotten hats. In which organisation are there no rotten hats? Do you just abandon the church because of these set backs? Where is our faith and loyalty towards the Catholic Church? If Jesus was around, he would be very sad and he would all want us to support him in his grieve.

Let's look at the Catholic Church in totality. It has done more good than bad. The goodness that it has done outweighs the plight that it is now facing. I think Catholics can contest to that. We need to continue be good catholics and defend the name of the Catholic Church whenever we are called upon. I have made with so many good and warm friends at the Catholic organisations that I have joined. One of them is called Choice. By joining these Catholic Organisations, my faith has also grown. I do agree that asians tend to place greater importance towards their catholic religion then westerners. Just go to the Catholic Churches in Asian countries and compare it to the western catholic churches and you will know what I am talking about. The congregation at Asian Churchs are usually alot but in Western churches it is only a handful. Even so, I think we must never stop losing our faith and keep on defending the Catholic Church's name.

On this note, I wish for the lord the always look and shower his blessings upon you and you family.

How I Took up Sociology and How It Has Effected My Course of Life

2010-03-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

I undertook my Sociology course at Sim University in the year 2006. It was divine intervention that made me take up Sociology.

Sociology has always been a subject close to my heart. I first cross roads with the subject when I was taking a Diploma in Economics in 2001 at Stansfield. At first, I was baffled with the subject. I did not understand anything that was going on. Even the debates that my fellow classmates were indulged in were Greek to me. I found myself in a Labyrinth.

I searched for somebody to help me understand the subject. I found help in a retired Sociologist lecturer. She opened my eyes to social happenings occurring in society that I had never noticed before. The seed of interest in Sociology was planted in me on that very day. However, I think the seed was planted long time ago but I never knew it, it was when I was around 6 years old. Whenever my dad took me out, he would always ask me to look around me and ask me to describe the behavior of people. I read my dad's psychology books. Actually, I preferred to looked at people’s behaviour collectively and not as an individual. I regarded studying an individual's behaviour to subjective.

I knew what I wanted to be in the future. Class did not become a bore anymore. On the record, I am the only one that passed the subject. I searched for a course that only catered to Sociology. Unfortunately, the only courses that catered to Sociology were conducted only at NUS and NTU. I was not eligible to go to these institutions.

Therefore, I gave up the idea of studying Sociology and took other courses. In 2005, my life hit a crises. I was at a total lost but the only person that made me carry on was Our Lady. Somehow she was making me live through my life eventhough I was facing many obstacles.

On one faithful Sunday, a course on being a youth leader was announced in church. At once something in me told me to join the course. I was very reluctant. However, a voice kept disturbing me by telling me to join the course. It went on for a week until I could not take it anymore and decided to join. Only then did the voice stop disturbing me.

I never regretted joining the course because it was at the course that I found my life back and the life I was suppose to lead. An aspiring and powerful priest helped me to find my life back. During the prays, God spoke to me. He told me that my purpose on earth was to make known the inequalities and sufferings that society was facing. I asked him how in heaven’s name am I suppose to accomplish the task he asked me to do.

The answer came to me when I went home. Strangely, a sociology textbook which I have not read for 4 years laid on my bed. I opened the book and started reading it. I could not put the book down. Suddenly, my interest in Sociology was rekindled. I knew how to go about accomplishing the task he asked me to do, however, there was another question. How am I going to specialize in Sociology? If anybody was to publish my writings, I needed to be somebody who had good Sociology credentials. I decided to search on the internet to see whether there were any schools that were conducting Sociology courses besides NUS and NTU. Truth behold, SIM University was going to conduct a degree course in Sociology. I instantly jumped at the opportunity.

It has already been three years since I have been studying the subject. I totally immersed myself in the subject as a result I have become the subject itself. It actually changed my life because nowadays whenever people speak to me or whenever I view my surroundings, I start to analyze and evaluate them. I wonder whether it is a blessing or a curse. I have yet to find the answer.

This behavior of mine has not met with favorable response. People have told me that I have stopped being a human. Not everything in life needs analyzing and evaluating. That I have to separate what I have been trained for in order to communicate with other people. That I always impose my will on others and never listen to them. I am trying to correct these problems but find it very difficult to do so because I cannot see the problems myself. For all I know, I do listen to people and try to understand where they are coming from and then I give my opinion. Maybe it is because I refuse to bulge from my opinion but then again I do give in also. I am really at a crossroads because I really do want to interact with people and improve relationships with them.

I am still not giving up hope in improving my relationships with others. I am also very determine to accomplish the task God set for me. I can only now pray to Our lady to help me have a better life and also help me to be more human and understanding. On this note, I wish everybody Happy Easter!!!

Karl Marx : Biographical Sketch ( A Tribute to Karl Marx – 127th death anniversary )

2010-03-16T18:47:00.001-07:00

Karl Marx was born on the 5th of May, 1818 in Tier. Tier was a commercial city in Southwestern Germany Rhineland.

Marx’s father was a secularly educated lawyer so was Marx. When France ceded Rhineland to Prussia after defeating Napolean, Jews were faced with a repel of the civil rights granted under French Rule. In order to continue his practice, Marx’s father converted to Lutheranism in 1817.

Karl lived in a middle class home, he studied as a law student at the University of Bonn ( 1835 ) and at University of Berlin ( 1836 – 1838 ). He also studied history and philosophy.

In Berlin, Marx joined the Young Hegelians. It was a group of radical thinkers who followed the teachings of Georg W.F Hegal. They developed a powerful critique of Georg W.F Hegal. Georg W.F Hegal ( 1770 – 1831 ) was a dominant German Intellectual figure of day and one of the most influential thinkers of the 19th century.
Marx constructed the basis of his theoretical system, historical materialism, by inverting Hegal’s philosophy of social change. In 1841, Marx earned a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Jena. However, Berlin Ministry of Education black listed him due to his radical views. As a result this circumstance, he could not continue his education.

Marx accepted an offer to write for the Rheinische Zeitang, a liberal newspaper published in Cologue. He became an editor of the newspaper. He wrote on the social conditions of Prussia. He criticized the government’s treatment of the poor and exposed the harsh conditions of peasants working in Moselle wine producing region.
However his reports brought censors and condemnation by the Prussia government. He was forced to resign from his post.

He married his childhood sweetheart, Jenny Von Westphalen ( daughter of a Prussian baron ). They moved to Paris during the fall of 1843. Paris was the centre of European Intellectual and Political movements.

Marx became acquainted with a number of leading socialist writers and revolutionaries. One of them was Heri de Saint – Simon. Heri de Saint – Simon ( 1760 – 1825 ) ideas lead to the creation of Christian Socialism.
Christian Socialism is a movement that sought to organize modern industrial society according to the social principles espoused by Christianity.

To counter the exploitation and egoistic competition that accompanied industrial capitalism, Saint – Simonians advocated that industry and commerce be guided according to an ethic of brotherhood and cooperation.

By instituting common ownership of society’s productivity forces and an end to rights of inheritance, they believed that the powers of science and industry can be marshaled to create a more just society free from poverty.

Adam Smith believed that any and all are free to enter and compete in the market place of goods and services. Under the guiding force of the “invisible hand”, the best products at the lowest price will prevail.

Consumers will dictate what will be produced and bought. In the process, the potentially destructive drive for selfishly bettering one’s lot is checked by a rationally controlled competition for markets.

A system of perfect liberty is thus created that both generates greater wealth and promotes the general well being of society.

Marx shared much of Smith’s analysis of economics but Marx insisted that from establishing a system of perfect liberty, private ownership of the means of production will bring about alienation of workers ( more on that later ).
David Ricardo ( 1772 – 1823 ) wrote on a number of subjects including the condition of wages, the source of value, taxation, and the production and distribution of goods.

A leading economists in his day, his writing’s were influential in shaping England’s economic policies. It was from his critique of these writers that Marx would develop his humanist philosophy and economists theories.

Marx also began what would become a lifelong collaboration and friendship with Friedrich Engel’s, whom he met while serving as an editor of the Zeitung.
Marx stay in France was short-lived as his journalism inherited the irked of the government. He was expelled in January 1845 from the country at the request of the Prussian government for his antiroyalist articles.

Unable to return, he renounced his Prussian citizenship and settled in Brussels with his family until 1848. Marx extended his ties to revolutionary working – class movements through associations with members if the League of the Just and the Communist League.

In Brussels Marx and Engles produced two of their most important early works, The German Ideology and the Communist Manifesto.

1848, workers and peasants began staging revolts throughout much of Europe. As the revolution spread, Marx and Engels left Brussels and headed to Cologue to serve as co-editors of the radical Neve Rheinische Zeitung, a paper devoted to furthering the revolutionary course.

For his part in the protests, Marx was charged with inciting rebellions and defaming the Prussian royal family. Marx was forced to leave the country. He returned to Paris but soon was pressured by the French government to leave the country as well.
Marx and his family moved to London in 1849. In London, Marx turned his attention more fully to the study of economics. Spending some 60 hours per week in British Museum. Marx produced a number of important works including ( 1867 ), considered a masterpiece critique of capitalist economic principles and their human cost.
From 1851 o 1862, he was a regular contributor to the New York Daily Tribune, writing on such issues as political upheavals in France, the Civil War in the United States, Britain colonization of India and the hidden causes of war.
In 1864, Marx helped found and direct International Working men’s association, a socialist movement committed to ending the inequalities and alienation or “loss of self” experienced under capitalism.

The foundation had branches across the European Continent and the United States and Marx’s popular writing and activism gave him an international audience for his ideas.
In 1876, the Foundation disintegrated. Marx could not support himself. His health worsen. His family health was also worsening. Marx’s wife died in 1881, his daughter died of starvation a year later and Marx himself died on March 14, 1883.

His Intellectual and Core Ideas

By mid19th century, the industrial revolution that began in Britain 100 years earlier was spreading throughout Western Europe. Technology advances in transportation, communication and manufacturing spurred an explosion in the commercial markets for goods.

It resulted in the birth of capitalism and the middle class owners, better known as the bourgeoisie, to economic and political power. The size of the manufacturing force soon rivaled and then surpassed those working in the agriculture industry.
The change from Agriculture to Industrial was more prominent in Manchester, England. In Manchester England, its population exploded to 1000%. The extremely growing fast rates meant that families had to live in make shift housing without heat or light and in dismal conditions that fueled the spread of diseases. Conditions in the mechanized factories were no better.

The factories were poorly ventilated and lit. The environment was hazardous to one’s well being and factor owners disciplined workers to monotonous rhythms of mass production.
A 70 hour work week was not common for men and women. Children as young as six often worked as much as 50 hours a week. Yet the wages earned by laborers left families on the blink of beggary. The appalling living and work standards lead Engels to describe Manchester as “ Hell On Earth”

It was in reaction to such dire consequences the Marx sought to forge a theoretical model intended not only to interpret the world but also to change it.
He centered his analysis on the middle class. For Marx, classes are group of individuals who share a common position in relation to the means or forces of production. These refer to the raw materials, technology, machines, factories and land that are necessary in the production of goods.

Each class is distinguished by what it owns with regard to the means of production. Wage labourers, capitalists and landowners constitute three big classes of modern society based on the capitalist mode of production.

Under capitalism, there are “ the owners merely of labour power, owners of capital and landowners where respective sources of income are wages, profit and gound-cent
While wage owners are free to quit or refuse a particular job , the nevertheless must sell their labour power to someone in the capitalist class in order to live. Labourers have only their ability to work to exchange for money that can be used to purchase the goods necessary for survival.

However, the salary earned is far exceeded by the profits reaped by those who control the productive forces. As a result, classes are pitted against each other in a struggle to control the means of production, the distribution of resources and the profits. For Marx, this class struggle is the catalyst for social change and the prime mover of history.

This is because any mode of production based on private property bears the seeds of its own destruction by igniting ongoing economic conflicts that inevitably will sweep away existing social arrangements and give birth to new classes of oppressors and the oppressed. Indeed, as Marx states in one of the most famous passages in “ The Communist Manifesto”, “The history of all hitherto existing society, is the history of class struggles.”

Marx developed his theory in reaction to lassie – faire capitalism, an economic system based on individual competitors fro markets. It emerged out of from the destruction of feudalism in which peasant agricultural production was based on subsistence standards in the service to lords and the collapse of merchant and craft guilds, where all aspects of commerce and industry were tightly controlled by monopolistic professional organistions.

Labourers sell not only their labour power but also their souls ( alienation ). They have no control over the product they are producing while their work is devoid of any redeeming human qualities.

Although capitalism produces self-betterment for owners of capital, it necessarily prevents workers from realizing their essential human capacity to engage in creative labour.

In highly mechanized factories, a worker’s task might be so mundane and repetitive that she seems to become part of the machine itself. Here is the concept of alienation.

For example, a student once said she worked in a job in which she had a scanner attached to her arm. Her job was simply to stand by a conveyer belt in which boxes of various sizes came by. She stuck her arm out and “read” the boxes with her scanner arm.

Her individual human potential was completely irrelevant to her job. She was just a “cog in a wheel” of mechanization. Marx maintained that when human actions are no different than those of a machine, the individual is dehumanized.

Capitalism is inherently exploitative. It is the labour power of workers that produces the products to be sold by the owners of businesses. Workers mine the raw materials, tend to the machines and assemble the products.

Yet, it is the owner who takes for himself the profits generated by the sale of goods. Meanwhile, worker salaries hover around subsistence levels, allowing them to purchase only the necessities sold at a profit by capitalists – that will ensure their return to work the next day.

From the point of view of the businesses owner, capitalism is a “dog eat dog” system in which business owners must always watch the “ bottom line” in order to compete for market dominance.

Business owners can never rest on their laurels – for someone can always come along and create either a better or newer product or the same product at a lower price.
Business owner must constantly think strategically and work to improve her product or reduce her costs. Cutting costs can increase a business owner’s profit either directly or in-directly. Directly ( as she keeps more money for herself ). Indirectly ( enabling the businesses owner to lower the price and sell more of her products ).

Competition between capitalist may lead to greater levels of productivity, it also results in a concentration of wealth into fewer and fewer hands.
One of the basic truths of capitalism is that it takes money to make money, and the more money a business owner has at his or her disposal, the more ability he or her has to generate profit-making schemes.

For instance, a wealthy capitalist might temporarily underprice his product in order to force his competitors out of business. Once the competition is eliminated and a monopoly is established, the product can be priced as high as the market will bear.
The business owners who are unable to compete successfully for a share of the market find themselves joining the swelling ranks of property less wage earners or the “proletariat”

This brings not only economic consequences such as those just mention, but political consequences as well. Marx points out that the former capitalists bring with them a level of education not possessed by typical wage labourers. This adds to the revolutionary potential of the working – class movement in two ways.

First, the proletariat is transformed into an overwhelming majority of the population, making it class interests an irresistible force for change.

Second, those former members of the bourgeois class translate their resentment into a radicalization of the proletariat by further educating the workers with regard to both the nature of capitalist accumulation and the workers’ role in overthrowing the system of their oppression.

He sought to generate class consciousness – an awareness of the part of the working class of their common relationship to the means of production. Marx felt that this awareness would be the first step in instituting social change. More specifically, the development of class consciousness was a vital key in the evolution of society toward an ultimate, utopian end : communism. He believed that the epoch of capitalism was a necessary stage in this evolution – and the last historical period rooted in class conflict.

The class antagonism between bourgeois capitalist and the wage earning, property – less proletariat would climax in a communist revolution that would transform the proletariat in to the ruling class.

Using the power of the state to further its own class interest, the proletariat would wrest control of society’s productive forces from the hands of the bourgeoisie and create a centralized, socialist economy.

Socialism, however, would be but a temporary phase, as classes and class conflict would soon disappear. Capitalism would create the capital and technology needed to sustain a communist society, the final stage in history.

In this utopian society, the production of goods will be controlled collectively and not by private business elites. Without the private ownership of the means of production, society would longer be divided along class lines; and without antagonistic class interests, the social conditions that produce conflict, exploitation and alienation would no longer exist. Finally, without class conflict, the fuel that ignites social change, the dialectical progression of human history comes to an end, leaving individuals to cultivate their natural talents and actualize their full potential.

Many consider Marx’s theory as obsolete as the internal contradictions of capitalism has been checked by a number of practices and ongoing government interventions in the economy. None other the less, Marx theory on communism still does spark interest various intellectuals and it still holds certain truths.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T17:11:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a wonderful year and another great decade ahead!

~ From W & C

Happy Happy Christmas!

2009-12-24T18:10:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone, from both of us! May your year be full of splendour, peace, joy, happiness, and those who have not found love find it, and those who have found love, may your relationships blossom and grow!

Have a wonderful 2010!

2009-11-26T05:16:00.000-08:00

Euthanasia – Is It Good or Bad

Euthanasia is known as mercy killing. It is chosen death chose by terminally ill patients. It refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner. It may be volunteered, physician assisted or without consent. The use of Euthanasia has been in a centre of controversy for many years. Few countries have legalized Euthanasia. They are the Netherlands, Switzerland ( physician assisted suicide only ), Belgium and US ( Oregon ).

In Holland, in the event that a doctor has to perform Euthanasia on a patient, he or she can defend him or herself if theses conditions are fulfilled. The conditions are :-

1.) The request for Euthanasia must come from the patient and must be entirely free and voluntary.

2.) The patient’s request must be well – considered, durable and persistent.

3.) The patient must be experiencing intolerable ( not necessarily physical ) suffering, with no respect of improvement

4.) Euthanasia must be the last resort. Other alternatives to alleviate the patient’s situation must have been considered and found wanting.

5.) Euthanasia must be performed by a physician.

6.) The physician must consult with an independent physician colleague who has experience in the field.

In Singapore, Euthanasia is illegal but Singaporeans can still sign the Living Will if they wish not receive treatment if they become terminally ill and death is imminent. By signing the Living Will, patients authorize their physicians to remove them from the life support machine or stop taking measures to keep them alive . Relatives cannot stop the physician from carrying out the instructions requested by their patients once they sign the living will.

There have been a lot of debates on whether Euthanasia should be carried out on a terminally ill person. Some people support the use of Euthanasia some do not. The various debates that have been laid on the table regarding the use of Euthanasia are :

1.) It should not be done because only God has the right to take one’s life away.

2.) Will a terminally ill patient choose Euthanasia to end his or her life in order not to place any financial burdens on his or her family?

3.) Will a doctor take his or her own initiative to decide whether a person should die or not? This is in the case where an incompetent patient due to his or her own illness is not able to make any decision in how to relieve his or her own intolerable suffering

4.) Will a patient choose Euthanasia due to physical disorders?

5.) Will a patient choose Euthanasia because he or she thinks that he or she would die in dignity if they choose it?

6.) Do relatives have any say in deciding whether a terminally ill person should die by Euthanasia?

I shall address these issues one by one.

It should not be done because only God has the right to take one’s life away.

Euthanasia is rejected by various religious organizations. I will concentrate on Christanity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Christianity

The three major monotheistic religions of the world – Christianity, Islam, and Judaism – all have definite theology related to issues of death and dying. Christianity is the largest of these
and, in fact, the largest religion in the world. Although Christians may be divided in many ways over issues of theology, they do hold the same core values and beliefs. One of these is that there
is an afterlife in which believers will spend eternity with God. Although there may be dissention over smaller matters, in issues of life and death, there tends to be more common ground. Sickness, suffering, and death are viewed by many Christians through their understanding of Christ’s suffering and death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection. Christians also believe that God participates in the affairs of humanity, another tenet that informs their views of death and dying. The New Testament teaches that one’s body is the temple of God, so most Christians believe that life is sacred, although not necessarily to be preserved at all costs. For example, in questions of withholding or with drawing treatment, the official position of the Roman Catholic Church is that there is a distinction between ordinary measures (i.e. those medical treatments that are intended to preserve life such as medicines, treatments, and operations that offer reasonable hope for preserving life and that can be obtained without excessive
expense, pain, or other inconvenience) and extraordinary measures (i.e., medicines, treatments, and operations that do not offer reasonable hope of preserving life and which cannot be obtained without excessive expense, pain, or other inconvenience). There is, of course, no list of procedures that easily fall into one category or another; all such treatment needs to be made with informed consent on an individual basis by the patient or family. For example, a feeding tube or mechanical ventilation at one stage during the course of a disease or illness may provide
sufficient time for other measures to take affect and enable the patient to life; given at another time, however, it may only preserve existence with no hope of recovery.

Islam

The second largest (and youngest) major monotheistic religion is Islam. Although Islam has legal rulings or fatawa (sg., fatwa) about life and death issues such as organ donation and euthanasia,
there is not widespread agreement about these issues between Muslim jurists from different schools of Islamic law (Sachedina, 2005). In general, however, Islam teaches that death
comes to us all and that how we die is of importance. According to Muslims, God is both the origin and destiny of life so that life is therefore sacred. According to the Qur’an, death does
not occur except by God’s permission. Therefore, in Islam, it is necessary to do everything possible to prevent a premature death. The question of preserving life at any cost, however, is the subject of much debate within Islam. Although on the one hand there is the obligation to save or even prolong life, on the other hand there is the argument that one should limit life sustaining
treatment if there is a lack of resources. Further, in Islam, the decision of life-prolonging treatment is not the decision of the individual alone. Islam emphasizes the link between the welfare of the individual and his/her family and community. Decisions about whether or not an aggressive or invasive treatment can prolong life without causing further harm, therefore, is a matter of concern not only for the individual but for all associated with him/her. Regarding pain, the approach of most Muslims is to act in such a way as to alleviate pain through actively removing its cause. As in Christianity, the human body is seen as a temple of God. Therefore, Islamic law does not recognize a patient’s right to die voluntarily (e.g., suicide, assisted suicide, or other types of active human intervention). There are, however, exceptions to this general principle depending on the circumstances: Specifically, the administration of medication to relieve physical and mental suffering in a terminal patient that has the side effect
of shortening life or the withdrawal of futile treatment after informed consent (Sachedina, 2005).

Judaism

The smallest, albeit the oldest, of the major monotheistic religions is Judaism. As with Christianity and Islam, the Jewish religion holds that the body belongs to God. This means that human beings have the obligation to seek both preventative and curative medical treatment. However, as also with the other two religions, Judaism recognizes the fact that all human beings are mortal. Similarly, there is not widespread agreement across all
Jewish traditions about how this is to be interpreted. In addition, culture (in the form of country, generation, or family) may also affect the interpretation of these matters. Because the individual
belongs to God, Judaism does not condone suicide or the enlistment of aid to end one’s life. Judaism has its own criteria for determining death. Traditionally, these have been the cessation of breathing and heartbeat (although sufficient time must be allowed before burial to determine that this is a permanentcondition). After the development of the Harvard criteria forbrain death, Conservative rabbis accepted these criteria as fulfilling the traditional requirements. Criteria for the acceptability of withholding life-sustaining treatment varies, with the strictest
interpretation being the prognosis that the patient will die within 72 hours or less and more liberal interpretations allowing for withholding life-sustaining measures if the patient will
live up to a year or more. However, most rabbis view artificial nutrition and hydration to be the equivalent of food and liquids required by everyone to live, and require them to be used even
when other life-sustaining treatments are withdrawn. Regarding heroic measures, most view these as permissible as long as there is some hope of a cure; however, such measures are not
required and the decision is to be made based on the risk/benefit ratio, the patient’s best interests, and the patient’s desires. Jews are allowed to sign advance directives for health care to specify their wishes in such cases should they not be able to communicate their desires at the time. Pain control, palliative care, and hospice programs in which the goal is to make the patient comfortable but not to cure are all acceptable under Jewish tenets. Further, Jewish tradition holds it to be an obligation to visit the sick, treat them with respect, and pray for them. Ethical considerations continue even after death. Regarding autopsy and organ donation, the ruling principles are that the dead body should be honored as the property of God and that one has an obligation to save the lives of others. Because of the first principle, autopsies are not routinely performed unless required by civil law, three doctors agree that the cause of death cannot be otherwise ascertained, that the autopsy might helps save the lives of others with similar illnesses or that the results of the autopsy might be of benefit to surviving family members with a hereditary disease. These criteria, however, are debated. Although the donation of
cadavers to science or of organs to save others is permitted by most rabbis, there is also disagreement about the circumstances under which these actions are permissible.

Hinduism

Not every religion is monotheistic, however. In fact, the second largest religion of the world is Hinduism. Although this religion does not have an institutional framework or demand adherence
to particular doctrines, most Hindus do hold certain tenets in common that apply to death and dying. Most Hindus believe that a living being (either human or animal) possesses a soul that
moves on from one life to the next. In addition, most Hindus hold that there is a difference between a good death and a bad death. The former occurs in old age either on the banks of the sacred Ganges River or on the ground at home. (For this purpose, many Hindus keep a container of Ganges water to be offered to the dying person and placed on the lips of the corpse.) Hindus prepare all their lives for a good death and enter into it consciously and willingly.
A good death requires the correct rituals in order to speed the soul on its way. Bad deaths, on the other hand, are premature, violent, or uncontrolled, happening at the wrong place and time
(often signified by vomit, feces, urine, and an unpleasant expression). The worst type of death in Hinduism is suicide that happens for selfish reasons. There is a long tradition of voluntary death in Hinduism, typically where such an action is linked to a specific purpose such as gaining freedom. However, Hinduism makes a distinction between the willed death of an individual. Suicide for selfish reasons is considered to be morally wrong and cannot be sanctioned with the appropriate rites of death. Some Hindu authorities also argue that human beings should not take their own lives because of the karmic effect on the next life. In general, Hinduism stands strongly against involuntary euthanasia primarily because it goes against the principle of autonomy and can be easily abused. However, in all these matters, it is difficult to generalize the Hindu attitudes toward death and dying because they are highly correlated with education, class, and tradition.

Buddhism

Another major polytheistic religion (one, in fact, with more adherents than Judaism) is Buddhism. In this religion, the inevitability of death is recognized and emphasis is placed on the psychological preparation necessary to accept death with calmness and dignity. Buddhists place great value on mindfulness and mental clarity because they believe that it can affect the quality of their rebirth. This fact impacts their philosophy of dying. For example, some Buddhists may forego pain relieving drugs or sedatives so that their mental facilities can be unimpaired. The Buddhist definition of death involves the loss of three criteria: vitality, heat,
and sentiency. Although determining the loss of heat is a rather straightforward matter, determining the loss of the other two criteria is not, particularly given the tradition of yogic trance in which life signs may not be observable. On the other hand, there is no disagreement between Buddhist tradition and modern medicine on the status of patients in a persistent vegetative state: Individuals in this state are clearly alive according to both views. From
the Buddhist perspective, irreversible damage to the neocortex is no different than damage to another organ when making ethical decisions regarding treatment. This typically means that unless there are secondary complications, the person should continue to be given nutrition and hydration. Further, Buddhists do not believe in taking a life. Therefore, they do not condone suicide or the incitement of someone to commit suicide. This prohibition also extends to assisted suicide and euthanasia, even though these actions might spare the person unnecessary pain. On the other hand, due to the Buddhist belief in the inevitability of death, Buddhists do not condone attempts to prolong life beyond its natural span through technology, but encourage adherents to prepare to accept death calmly when it comes. This, however, does not preclude hospice or other palliative care.

Will a terminally ill patient choose Euthanasia to end his or her life in order not to place any financial burdens on his or her family?

Some older folks may choose Euthanasia if they become terminally ill. They may choose it as a way to relieve the financial burden’s of their family in looking after them. Their views were aired in a debate that was brought up by the Singapore government in whether they should legalize Euthanasia. At the present moment it is illegal but Singaporeans can still sign the Living Will to authorize their doctor to stop all treatment and let them die if they are terminally ill.

Readers wrote to Lianhe Zaboa calling for Euthanasia to be legalize. They claim that it is better for them to die in dignity when they are terminally ill. It will also be better for them to die in this manner instead of burdening their family members with high medical bills and care giving responsibilities.

My fear is that if Euthanasia is legalize in Singapore, the elderly may use it as an excuse to relieve their family financial burdens of taking care of them. Some family members may even encourage their elder family members to opt for Euthanasia. Why would they do that you may ask? Well there are two circumstances that may encourage some family members to encourage their elderly family members to opt for Euthanasia if they are terminally ill. They are:-

1.) As Singapore globalizes, the income gap between the rich and the poor will widen. Medical cost would increase. There will be those that will not be financially stable and will not afford the medical cost of looking after their terminally ill family members. They would encourage their elderly family members to opt for Euthanasia if they are terminally ill.

2.) As more Singaporeans become career minded, they may become self-centered and may neglect their elder family members. They may send them to the old folks home. They may become lonely and dejected in life. They may consider the use of Euthanasia when they become terminally ill because they will feel that there will be no one to look after them.

Therefore, even though I support Euthanasia, I think Singaporeans are not really ready for the legalization of the use of Euthanasia. I would encourage the government to create a way that would allow all Singaporeans to obtain medical insurance cheaply which would be able to cover their medical costs fully. Presently, Singaporeans can use their medi-shield to pay for their medical cost but it only covers 60% of the medical cost. If free medical coverage can be given to the British citizens in Britain, I do not see what Singaporeans cannot enjoy the same privilege.

The government always say that there is no free lunch in life but when it comes to medical care, I feel that the government has the duty to take care of the citizens and covering their medical cost fully is one way.

Will a doctor take his or her own initiative to decide whether a person should die or not? This is in the case where an incompetent patient due to his or her own illness is not able to make any decision in how to relieve his or her own intolerable suffering.

Critics have argued for the possibility of “ slippery slop” to Euthanasia without request. Doctors would be able to decide to perform Euthanasia on a terminally ill person without his or her permission. Doctors may deem them incompetent to make any decisions on their well being due to their nature of their illness. Doctors may thank that their decision to perform Euthanasia on their terminally ill patients is the best. They can also persuade their patient’s family members to agree with them on the use of Euthanasia.

According to Keown (1995) using data from the Remmelink Commission & Van Der Mass Survey :-

• Of the 1000 cases of Euthanasia performed without request : 14% were totally competent. 11% partially competent.

• Of the 8100 cases of accelerated death by palliative drugs, 60% of those indicated life termination were conmpetent.

• Of all cases where treatment was withdrawn or withheld without request, 11% were competent and 21% partly competent.

Therefore, there is a danger that doctors may make their own decisions on the life and death of their patients. Religious bodies like the Catholic Church are against these. Even though countries like Holland have strict guidelines in the use of Euthanasia, it may still be not enough to prevent doctors from making their own decisions on the life and death of their patient . The data above proves it.

Will a patient choose Euthanasia due to physical disorders?

There have been research that some terminally ill patients who choose Euthanasia had some psychological disorder.

A study was done by the researchers at the Oregon Health & Science University and found that 28 out of the 58 patients that were terminally ill suffered from depression and anxiety. They opted for physician assisted suicide or contacted an assisted death association. Of these 15 met the criteria for depression and 13 for anxiety. The number may be small but there is still a chance that the numbers may increase.

1.) Doctors may persuade them that by choosing Euthanasia they will have a dignified death.

2.) The terminally ill may find that it is the only solution for them.

However, is suffering from depression and anxiety a good excuse to choose Euthanasia? Is choosing Euthanasia a good way to die in dignity? I will address these issues in the next question.

Will a patient choose Euthanasia because he or she thinks that he or she would die in dignity if they choose it?

Some people define their quality of life according to how they can perform in life, serve society fruitfully and live a good life.

Examples of how people gauge how they perform in life are :-

1.) Their ability to take up sports.

2.) Their ability to support their family.

3.) Their ability to perform well in their job.

4.) Their ability to be recognized in society.

5.) Their ability to go on holidays.

6.) Their ability to do well in their studies.

However, once they are stricken down by a terminal illness or are born differently ( example without limbs ). They become depressed and may chose to die in dignity. There are some people even though they were born abnormally have found a way to overcome their depression and live in dignity. Here are some examples of how people have managed to overcome their difficulty & those who choose to end their life due to illness and depression.

One good example is Nick Vujicic. He is a 26 year old man who was born without limbs. He faced a lot of challenges. He even fell into depression when he was 8 years old. However, he found strength to survive. He attributed his strength to survive to God. God have given him a purpose to share his experience with other people who are experiencing depression due to loss of their limbs or born without them. He conducts seminars for them to encourage them not to give up on life.

Nick can now swim, do surfing and conduct talks. He has met some prominent people like Sir Richard Branson and Madeline Albright. He can now live in dignity.

However, there are other people who did not find the strength to survive like Nick. One example is Ramon Sampedro who was paralysed from a sea accident. He became depressed. He felt like he could not live in dignity. He asked his relatives to end his life. They refused. He then asked his girlfriend to feed him poison. There is a movie made about him. It is called the Sea inside.

Another example is Jean – Dominique Bauby. He was 43 years old and editor – in – chief of the world famous fashion magazine called Elle. He was living a good life. However, one day he suffered from Cerebro – Vascular accident which totally paralyzed him. He could not talk. He laid motionless but still could use his mental abilities. He only could use his left eye. He felt useless in life. Loss his dignity to live. Fell into depression. In 1997, he chose to die. A movie was made about his accident and life. It is called the Diving Bell and The Butterfly.

People may choose Euthanasia for different reasons. Reasons differ from people to people who have different belief value systems. Some are strong enough to overcome their difficulties and pain. Some cannot.

Do relatives have any say in deciding whether a terminally ill person should die by Euthanasia.

This question is basically a moral issue face by relatives of those who want to choose Euthanasia. Some relatives may be against the use of Euthanasia like in the case of Ramano Sempredo. However, in a country where Euthanasia is legalize, once a patient gives his or her consent to perform Euthanasia on him or her. Their relatives have no say in it.

In Singapore, where Euthanasia is not legalized, there is the living will for Singaporeans to sign in order to give their physicians authority to stop all treatment if they become terminally ill. If the will is signed when they are competent, accompanied by two witnesses, the will cannot be contested. 10,000 Singaporeans have signed the will.

Doctors may also persuade the relatives of terminally ill patients to let them carry out Euthanasia. They may persuade the relatives that it is the best way out.

Euthanasia is a very sensitive topic to debate on. There are a lot of issues to consider before Euthanasia can be legalized or performed. There is the issue of disapproval of Euthanasia by various religious organizations, whether Euthanasia carried out by doctors will be done ethically, whether relatives of terminally ill patients would have a say in the use of Euthanasia and whether Euthanasia would be carried out against the will of the person because he or she is incompetent to make any decisions.

If a country is going to legalize Euthanasia, then there should be strict guidelines in order to foresee the proper use of Euthanasia. Strict penalties must be imposed on doctors who perform Euthanasia unethically.

I do support the use of Euthanasia but I want it to be used properly and ethically. Doctors must obtain the permission from their patients to perform Euthanasia and family members must have a say in the use of Euthanasia on their terminally family members. It must also be used as a last resort.

Lessons That Can Be Learn From The Movie 2012

2009-11-19T06:37:00.000-08:00

Lessons That Can Be Learn From The Movie 2012

On Sunday, my darling and I went to watch the movie 2012. It is presently one of the hottest movies in town. However, I think New Moon will usurp it from it’s number one spot once in it is shown in Singapore in December.

Well, I enjoyed the movie a lot. It was an exciting movie. Nothing can go wrong with Hollywood’s creation of special effects. Technology used in creating special effects for movies have advanced so greatly that we can now stare and admire it’s wonder! The movie was pretty dramatic also. It really could capture the audience attention.

As I watched the movie, three questions came to my mine. They are as follows: -

1. ) Will the end of the world really be like the way the movie depicted it to be?

2. ) Will only the rich, intelligent and successful survive?

3. ) Will the government officials around the world put their interest first and try to save themselves first?

Let me address the questions one at a time. Various groups in society have predicted the end of the world in different ways. Some have predicted that the end of the world would be at the turn of the millennium.

Some religious cults have predicted that the end of the world would occur when the Hailey’s Bopp Comet fly across the earth’s surface making it visiable to the naked eye. This phenomenon resulted in a mass suicide conducted by a religious cult.

For example, there was a suicidical death of 39 members of Heaven’s Gate in California when they sighted the Hale Bopp Comet. Heaven’s Gate programmers posted a message on their website saying, “ We are happily prepared to leave this world.”

With all the predictions, the world is still around. If you are religious, you most likely think that God has a plan for us and that the end of the world is actually inevitable but it will happen according to God’s time. The bible has mention that the world will end in Mark 13: 24. It states what will happen when it happens. It is not as dramatic as depicted in the movie. The example of the description of what will happen when the world ends as stated in the bible is as follows (Mark 13: 24 ): -

“ But in those days, following that distress, the sun will be darken and the moon will not give it’s light, The stars will fall from the sky and the heavily bodies will be shaken.”

If you are a believer in the religion of Science, most likely you will be busy calculating for the rest of your life which year the world would end.

So would anyone ever know when the world would really end? Well you guess is as good as mine.

The second question is whether the rich, intelligent and the successful will be the only ones that would be save?

In the movie 2012, Arks were made to protect the rich, intelligent and successful. The cost of getting a place in an ark would cost you one billion euros. Therefore only the rich and successful would be able to afford it. The question here is that would there come a time when saving lives would be attributed to monetary value? If it comes to such a state, then it would be utterly sad. How low can mankind get?

Some may argue that space is limited and the importance of the continuation of human kind must take precedence above everything but to me even though there is truth in the argument, I find it lame. When it comes to saving lives, no monetary value should be attributed to it.

The words of Karl Marx comes into my mind at this juncture. He said that the rich would always exploit the poor and have an upper hand. They will always have an advantage in life. Sadly it is very true. Many people may link to Karl Marx to communism but it was not him that laid the foundation of communism. It was Lenin. I see knives been thrown at me!! To me, Karl Marx was man who could understand what was going on in society and he was right about it.

Government leaders around the world have the right to look after the welfare of its citizens. In the movie, the America President was selfness and refused not to join the rest in the ark. How many world leaders would actually do this selfness act? If I was at the APEC meeting, I would definitely ask them this question.

Now in the world of the rich and powerful, people are ranked according to the power and wealth that they have. There are internal scrabbles between them. As I have written earlier, they had to pay one billion euros to book their place on the ark. However, they still had to wait for their turn to board the ark. Those with high ranking accreditations in the government were allowed to board the ark first. Then when there was eminent signs that the government officials would be in danger of being drowned by a devastating tsunami, they decided to launch the ark despite that there were still a great number of “rich and successful folks” still waiting to get on board. When they realized that they were being left behind, they paniced and rushed towards the ark resulting in some deaths. Well, eventhough how rich and successful they were, they were still human.

It took a doctor to convince the government leaders to let them in. It would be sad if it ever reached to a stage where government officials would only think of their own self - interest. Luckily this situation was only depicted in the movie. I hope all government officials would watch this movie. They may be alive or dead when the world ends but there are lessons to learn from the movie. They are:-

1.) First Lesson : Always be prepared for the possibility of the world ending. Do not predict. Just prepare. Do good while you are alive.

2.) Second Lesson : When in crisis, be it the end of the world, earthquakes or tsunamis always include the whole population of a country when it comes to saving lives. Do not segregate, Do not treat one more equal than the other. Do not attribute monetary terms to saving lives.

3.) Third Lesson : Do not let self-interest cloud your judgment. Be selfness and think of others.

On the whole, the movie was a very good and entertaining movie. I would encourage my readers to go and watch the movie. If you can’t, there is always the DVD or VCD to purchase and borrow in order to view the movie. Take care and Carpe Diem.

Communism and Capitalism

2009-11-09T18:39:00.000-08:00

Communism and Capitalism

The word Communism comes from the word commune. The meaning of commune is a group of people who live together and share responsibilities. Therefore, there is nothing wrong in being a Communist. Unfortunately, society did not implement the true concept of Communism properly. They underestimated the true nature of the human race. There can never be equality because human beings have different needs and wants. No two people are the same. At most Communism can achieve short term successes.

The founder of Communism was Karl Marx. He was born into a comfortable middle-class home in Trier on the river Moselle in Germany on May 5, 1818. His theories were based on the exploitation of the working class ( Proletariat ) by those that controlled the means of production ( Bourgeoisies ). They were being exploited by being paid low wages whereby the owners took full advantage of the profits made by their company. Unions were formed in order to persuade the workers to accept whatever rule the owners implemented thus creating a false consciousness. They were persuaded to think that they were doing well in their jobs and that the company that they worked for cared for them.

These union leaders were chosen by the owners themselves therefore the workers had to obey them. He also stated that the workers also felt alienated in their work because there was no room for innovation. He envisaged that the workers in order to overcome their exploitation must first be aware of their exploitation. They must form unions to fight against their exploitation. The difference this time is that the unions that would formed by the working class would have leaders appointed by the working class and not the owners. They will take over the factories and the government. Ownership of private property will be shared out equally. All will have equal education. They will have to innovate and make changes to their lifestyle. However, innovations and changes to their lifestyle must be made across the board. There cannot be any inequality. As you can see, these concepts are actually short lived as equilibrium between man kind wants and needs can never be achieved.

Communist ideologies are actually short term ideas. That is why Communism was successful in the Soviet Union for a short period of time before the period of social unrest developed because the government of Soviet Union became a dictatorship. Influential leaders from various countries at one stage was romanizing the way Soviet Union was governed despite that there was repent poverty occurring. Even though there was repent poverty, most Russians had jobs and food compared to the times they were under the Tsar ruling. Men like Antonio Gramsci and Mao Zedong, strong believers of Marxism, saw the short term success of communism. They wanted to implement it in their respective countries – Italy and China. However as history has it Stalin twisted the concept of communism and became a tyrant. Executing those who oppose him including the Jews.

Dictatorship has been so internalized in Russian that when in became a capitalist country, their leaders like Boris Yetsin and Mikhail Gorbachev pivoted the country into deeper turmoil. These leaders , even though made changes to their countries, were still trained in the communist doctrines and were members of the Soviet Communist Party. Boris Yeltsin fired his government when they did not meet up to his satisfaction. At least it is better than killing them like what Stalin or Leon Trotsky did.

China had more success in implementing the concept of capitalism and communism. They have had rather a good success in implementing the concept. However, great economic inequality still do exist. In Shanghai, where there are tall sky-scrapers, there are also many poor people living on it’s streets. There are still provinces in China where people are still hungry and living below the poverty line.

Russia has accreted their ideology of dictatorship by attacking Georgia. There are sentiments of wanting to become a superpower. Will there be another Cold War? History repeats itself so do not be surprise if there is another Cold War or World War 3 in the future. With so many social unrest happening and nothing being done about it, embargoes may be implemented on violent – prone countries. Countries that are affected by the embargoes may go to war in order to survive. For example, in World War 2, Japan went to war with America because there was an embargo place on their oil exports.

The concept of capitalism encourages competition between business. Governments using the concept of capitalism to run its economy also promote democracy. However, even though a government can practice capitalism in a country , it does not mean that it can be totally democratic. For example, Singapore, even though its economy is based on capitalism it is not a very democratic country as it does not allow it’s laws to be challenged. It also increases the income gap between the lower and upper income population. Thus creating poverty. Therefore whether one uses Communism or Capitalism to govern a country , it is inevitable that poverty would be formed. For example in Britain, even though majority of its population are doing well, there are still areas in Britain where poverty flourish. Social unrest still occurs in countries that adopt capitalism. Another country in mind is India.

Discrimination between races and jobs also occur. For example, in Singapore, there was a call to segregate foreign workers and to do away with job advertisements that only advertised for Chinese workers. The latter is now not encouraged but there is no law against companies to choose what kind of race it wants to employ. Which concept works best? The answer is none.

Communism and Capitalism are theories that each different individuals theorize the best way to run a country. However both are without their flaws. The former would not work because there can never be equality in the world. The latter would not work either because capitalism feeds on man’s greed more one gets greedy. The most one can do is try to even the odds which implies the concept of Communism. Total balance in people’s socio economic status can never be achieved but a leverage to increase their status in economic terms can be achieved ( for those in the lower income region ). There must be more equality in the distribution of resources among the various races in one’s county and between the lower and middle income families.

Do note that I have left out the upper income, this is to reinstate my call for the welfare of the lower and middle income families to be more on par with the upper income families. The lower and middle income population however can never be on the same level playing field as the upper income as those with the money would generate more income for themselves. Of course , it can be argued that lower and middle income can rise to the level of the upper income with a sudden surge of monetary income ( striking the grand price of a big sweep and successfully investing in a business are two examples ) but how many would have such luck. I am more concern to those that are perpetually trapped in the lower and middle income range level. To govern a country properly, the concept of communism and capitalism must be applied.

First Attempt At Cross Posting

2009-11-01T19:16:00.001-08:00

Now that I have left my footprints here, hopefully it will make some variety to this space. I have been writing in my other space for a long time now, and this is my first time posting to someone else's space, so hopefully my efforts will not be too laid-back or extreme.

I must remember this is not essentially my own space, so I have to be careful what to say and what to divulge. All I can say is, my life is very happy of late. You know what others say about making the right choices in life?

This year I have made several right choices in life. Choices where if you go deep into them, they may not turn out good on surface but may turn out even better on hindsight. So I am very grateful to God for helping me make the right choices in my life!

Till then.... hope to see you soon!

A Poem Dedicated To My Darling

2009-10-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

Dedicated To My Darling

Once in a hot afternoon, I remember you were cooking as I stood near you to admire your beauty and kindness

Once in a hot afternoon, I wish so much to hug you while you were cooking and to tell you that I LOVE YOU

Once in a hot afternoon, I remember sitting beside you eating our noodles and wish I could feed you

Once in a hot afternoon, I remember my heart beating profusely just by looking at you

Once in a hot afternoon, I realized that the person I wanted to be with was by my side

As I remember walking home one night, my heart felt a lot of pain because I wanted to be with you

As I remember walking home one night, I sat down to think about the times we spent together. They were the best times of my life.

As I remember walking home one night, I teared because I was afraid I would not be able to see you again

Once during a normal office day, I sat in my office chair, staring blankly at my PC thinking about you

Once during a normal office day, I was trying very hard to think how to tell you that I liked you

Once during a normal office day, I went to the back of my office to imagine me being by side you and living our lives together.

Once during a normal office day, I expressed to you how I felt about you and when you agreed that was the happiest day of my life

Now in the care of morning, the first thing on my mind is about you.

Now in the care of morning, the first thing on my mind is to wonder how you are

Now in the care of morning, my first concern is that you are doing fine and having a good journey to work

Now in the care of morning, I wish I could also go to work with you together

Now in the care of morning. my heart beats very fast whenever you sms me or reply to my e-mails

Now in the ember of the night as I go to sleep, I always think about you and imagine you lying next to me

Now in the ember of the night as I go to sleep, I imagine hugging you to sleep and whispering in you ears I LOVE YOU

Now in the ember of the night, thinking of you makes me happy and me being happy because I am thinking of you is something I desire the most

Now in the ember of the night, I wish I could be with you forever as there is always sadness in my heart whenever I have to leave your house.

Oh dear, I pledge to you that I will always love you and be by your side
May thunder and lighting strike me down if I go against my word.
My love for you will always be eternal.
I love you dearest, my one and only, my desire and my one and only person I want to spent the rest of my life with

Time After Time ( A Song I listen Often )

2009-09-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick,
And think of you
Caught up in circles confusion
Is nothing new
Flashback warm nights
Almost left behind
Suitcases of memories,
Time after

Sometimes you picture me
Im walking too far ahead
Youre calling to me, I cant hear
What youve said
Then you say go slow
I fall behind
The second hand unwinds

If youre lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you Ill be waiting
Time after time

If youre lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you Ill be waiting
Time after time

After my picture fades and darkness has
Turned to gray
Watching through windows youre wondering
If Im ok
Secrets stolen from deep inside
The drum beats out of time

If youre lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you Ill be waiting
Time after time

You said go slow
I fall behind
The second hand unwinds

If youre lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you Ill be waiting
Time after time

If youre lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you Ill be waiting
Time after time

Time after time
Time after time
Time after time

A Song I Used To Listen When I Lost My 7 year old Relationship

2009-09-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

Surrender To Me

Is It That We Been Together Much Too Long?
The Answer May Not Be In Black & White.

We're Always Trying To Prove Whose Right Or Wrong,
And Now We're Giving Up, Without A Fight.

But I Know When Your Gone, I'll Wish I'd Held On.
So Baby Surrender To Me, (surrender).
They'll Be No Holding Back Now.
So Baby Surrender To Me, Tonight (tonight).

I don't want our love to cause you so much pain
If This Is How It's Gonna Be I'll Walk Away Baby.
No Neither One Of Us Should Ever Say Goodbye,
Let's Forget About The Past, And Whose To Blame.

'Cause When This Is All Gone, We'll Wish We'd Held On.
So Baby Surrender To Me (surrender).
They'll Be No Holding Back Now.
So Baby Surrender To Me Tonight (tonight).

How Could This Love Be In Danger?
It Used To Be So Good, So right.
To Think fate Could Make Us Strangers,
So hold me In Your Arms Tonight......
Whoa Oh Yea, Yea...Whoa

Whoa Whoa Now Now Now.

So Baby Surrender To Me (SURRENDER)
They'll Be No Holding Back Now....Nooooo.
So Baby Surrender To Me TONIGHT (TONIGHT).

Surrender, Baby Surrender
Surrender

Message to My Future Wife When She Appears In My Life

2009-09-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

Can't Help Falling In Love

Wise men say only fools rush in
But I cant help falling in love with you
Shall I stay
Would it be a sin
If I cant help falling in love with you

Like a river flows surely to the sea
Darling so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand, take my whole life too
For I cant help falling in love with you

Like a river flows surely to the sea
Darling so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand, take my whole life too
For I cant help falling in love with you
For I cant help falling in love with you

A message to my future wife if she goes before me

2009-09-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

The Flame

Another night slowly closes in
And I feel so lonely
Touching heat freezing on my skin
I pretend you still hold me
I'm going crazy, I'm losing sleep
I'm in too far, I'm in way too deep over you
I can't believe you're gone
You were the first, you'll be the last

Wherever you go, I'll be with you
Whatever you want, I'll give it to you
Whenever you need someone
To lay your heart and head upon
Remember, after the fire, after all the rain
I will be the flame
I will be the flame

Watching shadows move across the wall
I feel so frightened
I wanna run to you, I wanna call
But I've been hit by lightning
Just can't stand up for fallin' apart
Can't see through this veil across my heart, over you
You'll always be the one
You were the first, you'll be the last

Wherever you go, I'll be with you
Whatever you want, I'll give it to you
Whenever you need someone
To lay your heart and head upon.
Remember, after the fire, after all the rain
I will be the flame
I will be the flame

I'm going crazy, I'm losing sleep
I'm in too far, I'm in way too deep over you
You'll always be the one
You were the first, you'll be the last

Wherever you go, I'll be with you
Whatever you want, I'll give it to you
Whenever you need someone
To lay your heart and head upon.
Remember, after the fire, after all the rain
I will be the flame
I will be the flame

Whatever you want, I'll give it to you
Wherever you go, I'll be with you
And whatever you want, I'll give it to you

A message to my future wife if I die before her

2009-09-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

LEAVE OUT ALL THE REST

I dreamed I was missing
You were so scared
But no one would listen
Cause no one else cared

After my dreaming
I woke with this fear
What am I leaving
When I'm done here

So if you're asking me
I want you to know

When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

And don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest

Don't be afraid
I've taken my beating
I've shared what I made

I'm strong on the surface
Not all the way through
I've never been perfect
But neither have you

So if you're asking me
I want you to know

When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest

Forgetting
All the hurt inside
You've learned to hide so well

Pretending
Someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are

When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest

Forgetting
All the hurt inside
You've learned to hide so well

Pretending
Someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are
I can't be who you are

For Your Babies ( A song I that I would dedicate to my future wife and kids )

2009-09-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

You've got that look again
The one I hoped I had when I was a lad
Your face is just beaming
Your smile got me boasting, my pulse roller-coastering
Anyway the four winds that blow
They're gonna send me sailing home to you
Or I'll fly with the force of a rainbow
The dream of gold will be waiting in your eyes

You know I'd do most anything you want
Hey I, I try to give you everything you need
I can see that it gets to you

I don't believe in many things
But in you I do

Her faith is amazing
The pain that she goes through contained in the hope for you
Your whole world has changed
The years spent before seem more cloudy than blue
In many ways your baby's controlling
When you haven't laid down for days
For the poor no time to be thinking
They're too busy finding ways

You know I'd do most anything you want
Hey I, I try to give you everything you need
I'll see that it gets to you
I don't believe in many things
But in you I do

You know I'd do most anything you want
Everyday I, I try to give you everything you need
We'll always be there for you
I don't believe in many things
But in you I do

Treking At Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

2009-08-25T04:26:00.000-07:00

Treking at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve has been one of my latest activities. It has been rather fun but tiring activity. However, with good company, trekking can be a pretty fulfilling activity. While trekking I gathered some information about the natural habitat of Bukit Timah Reserve at which I will share with my readers. I also took some pictures to document the path that I trekked, the monkeys that I met and the unglamourous photos of me feeling extremely exhausted. Need to work on my fitness. One of my aims in life is to trek in Nepal and Mount Kota Kinabalu.

Here is the information I gathered at the site. Hope it would be educational and useful for you. It is also for general knowledge.

Colugos

Colugos are arboreal gliding mammals found in South East Asia. They are tree - dwelling mammals. They have short, soft grey or reddish brown, mottled with black & white markings. This provides excellent camourflage against the tree trunks and allows them to escape the attention of most visitors to the reserve.

The Colugos is strictly tree dwelling. It moves from higher to lower branches in the forest by gliding, aided by a membrane called the patagium which connects the neck, flour limbs and the tail spreads out like a parachute.

Growing to the size of a cat, the Colugo feeds on leaves. flower buds and fruits. Like many rainforest species, they are endangered by the loss of the habitat due to deforestation in South East Asia.

Painted Wings

Butterflies and moths belong to the same order of insects, called Lepidoptera. The name means "scaly wings" as most butterflies and moths are covered with tiny overlapping scales. The scales not only protect & strengthen their wings but also from attractive colours & patterns

Butterflies

- Generally active during the day
- Most are brightly coloured
- Usually rest with their wings closed
- Bodies usually slender and not hairy
- Antennae has a dubbed tip.

Moths

- Generally active at night
- Most are dull in colour
- Usually rest with their wings open
- Bodies usually bulky and hairy
- Antennae is usually feather light

Surving the Goom

Under the forest canopy, only one to five percent of available light reach the forest floor. Ferns, palms and other herbaceous plants thrive here. They adapt to the low light and damp environment through their dark green leaves which efficiently gather sun flecks.

Then, you also have many thin saplings of large forest trees with few leaves, which may be astonishing 20-year-old trees. Deprived of sunlight, they are unable to grow to their potential as magnificant trees. All they need is an opening in the canopy, created when an old tree or a branch falls. This opening allows sunlight to penetrate to the forest floor, giving the many saplings a chance to race up to the canopy.

Let Hissing Snakes Lie

Snakes have been around for about 12o million years and are perhaps one of the most misunderstood animals.

Snakes play an important role in nature. Snakes such as python, performs a free pest control service by gobbling up rats. Some snakes even feed on other snakes. Many of the snakes constitute a natural resource with culinary, medicinal and ornamental value.

Of 75 species of snakes found in Singapore, about 28 species ( 39% ) are found in reserves.

Insects

Insects are unvertebrates, which means they do not have a back bone, unlike birds, reptiles and mammals. They have three pains of legs and most adult insects have one or two pairs of wings

Insects are the most successful animals on Earth. They make up three - quarters of all animal species in the world.

Insects perform a vital role in decomposition, flower pollination, plant protection & they act as an important food source for many animals.

What's So Special about the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve Rainforest

Less then 200 years ago, Singapore was still an island covered mostly with luxuriant lowland topical evergreen forest. Today, you can catch a glimpse of what the original vegetation looked like back then at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

The reserve continues to support an amazing diversity of species. Many treasures still await discovery. A recent survey produced a checkist of about a thousand species of plants & 250 species of animals, many of which can only be found in the reserve.

Stately Seraya

They are amongst the largest trees in this forest and the most common of the dipterocarps. Easily recognised by its characteristic fissures on the bark, it has shuttlecock like fruits than can travel great distances when carried by the wind.

It fruits every five to ten years after a severe drought. Its timber is commercially known as dark red meranti.

Mimic Kins

Darting around in the forest canopy is one of the most conspicuous birds in the nature reserve.

It has black plumage, red eyes, with eye-catching rackets at the end of the elongated shafts of its outer tail feathers.

It is superb at mimicking the calls of other birds in the forest, and is often spotted in group of two to four, following monkeys & squirrels, feeding on the insects they disturb.

From The Forest To Our Homes

Rattans are versatile which are used for a wide of purposes by people. About 20 species of rattan are traded commercially. Large canes are used for making furniture, while smaller sized canes are used for binding and weaving.

Rattan harvesting is a tedious job, as it involves the dragging down of the spines and leaves. The stem is then cut into manageable length, tied up in bundles and transported to the process site. Rattan canes must be treated to prolong the strength of the cane. Large sized canes are boiled in diesal or palm oil, cleansed with rags or sand and stacked upright in the sun to dry. The smaller canes are laid out on racks to dry imnmediately after collection.

Terap

This species is related the Jackfruit and Chempedak. This mature tree has entire leaves which differ from the larger and lobed leaves of the sapling stage. At times, one may even find lobed, entire, and semi-lobed leaves all in one tree.

The tough bark that strips readily in big streets is used for lining baskets, making house walls and strings.

Nature Takes Time To Heal

The forest goes through cycles of change. When a tree dies and falls of old age, disease or lightning strike, many other plants compete to take its place. In nature the regeneration processes function as a repair process following disturbance.

On thing is certain, forests round the world are being destroyed for its timber at a faster rate than it can recover. Research has shown that full regeneration of a forest can take up 800 years or even longer if the disturbance is severe.

Vines & Lianas

Climbing plants, unlike trees, cannot stand up on their own. They begin life on the ground & stretch to the canopy for light.

A variety of adaptations such as tendrilos, thorns, adventitous roots and twining stems help them climb. They take nothing from their host except support.

Screw Pines

The twisted shape of the trunks, and branches terminating in a rosette of ong strap-like leaves give these trees ( not true palms ) a distinctive appearance. Woven fibres from pandanus leaves are traditionally used to make baskets, mats and strings

The better known pandanus is P.cimaryllifolus which is used in Asian cooking because of its fragrant leaves.

Petaling

This tree lands its name to Kuala Lumpur's twin - town, Petaling Jaya. Shallow depressions are found in the surface of the trunk after the dead bark is shed.

It is a well-known timber tree which producers hard and durable timber used as poles in construction.

I leave you now with the pictures for your perusal. Starting of with this monkey that decided to pose for me. Makes me wonder, did GOD create the world or is it evolution. I will leave this debate to another entry. In the mean time take care and Carpe Diem.

Being Authentic, Being Encouraging, Being Supportive, Being Forgiving, Being Sincere & Trustworthy, Being Humble, Being Respectful

2009-07-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

Being authentic

The meaning of being authentic to me is be my original self. Most people would say it is good to be yourself. It depicts honesty. It is easier to get to know somebody who is honest and do not hide in the bushes. It is easier to interact with people who are honest and show their true self in the presence of others.

However, in reality, society is made up of different people and values. People in society wear different hats everyday. Therefore, due to that fact that society shapes us, we inevitably at times have to be behave differently towards other people. This may be something difficult for us to do as it goes against our religious believes or principles. However, the secular world and the religious world at times do not see eye to eye. If we are to be honest with people, they may not like what they see or here. They may start to judge us. They may even backstab us. Spread rumours about us that are not true.

So I have encountered people telling me that is better not to be so open and honest. The question then is who should we be open and honest with. Well, we have to be selective. There will be people who appreciate who we are and others that will treat our friendship with them as superficial. That is not to say that those close to us may not betray us one day. One reason of betrayal can be due to financial reasons.

I like being authentic with people. However many a times due to me being authentic, I have lost friends. Some do not want to get to know me but I have also made very good friends. That is not to say that I am authentic to everybody. I do select those that I want to be open with and those that I do not want to be open with. It is a matter of surviving in this cruel world. I believe the lord would not judge me by my actions as he gave us the power to make choices and because of his love for us, he would respect the choices that we make. The consequences that the choices that we make is another matter. Therefore it is better to pray before we make a choice rather than after making the choice. I do know that the person I will be authentic too is my future partner and that if she accepts and loves me for whom I am then I will marry her.

Being encouraging

Being encouraging to people who needs encourage in life in many matters is important. To encourage somebody in need of help is great, however, we must not have any hidden agenda in our encouragement in helping people to cope with life, to be happy, to do better in life and the list goes on.

Why do I say we must not have any hidden agenda. Well, it is because encouragement must come from the heart. We cannot aspect any returns. Once we aspect something in return then we will become disappointed. There is not true honesty in our encouragement of others because we will also have an objective. Friendships may be lost. Same thing goes when you love someone wholeheartedly. Sometimes the person you love may not love you back but even though you know the fact that she may not love you back and you still encourage her so that she can be happy, then I feel that is true love.

Being supportive

Being supportive and being encouraging is more or less the same. So whatever I said about being encouraging also applies to being supportive. However, there is a question to ask. Would you support a friend in an activity that you know is not ethical?

For example : I did a survey on your people’s attitudes on Romance. I went round collecting data and asking them questions. The work I did was on my own effort. However, I had a friend in class who had to undertake the same project as me. He decided to call me at the last hour to give me the names and contacts of my interviewees in order to interview them. I do know that it is wrong to divulge personal information because he told me that he was having problems with his work and did not have the time to do the project. Well, I told him I can’t give him their contact numbers but can show him the information that I had collected. Told him that I do not support what he is doing but at the same time giving him the benefit of the doubt. Therefore I decided to help him. Therefore I formed a balance of helping a friend and at the same time not condoning what he was doing.

We may face difficult decisions time to time. It can be very painful when we have to be cruel to be kind but sometimes we have to do what is necessary, friend or foe. It is this times that we have to call on God t give strength to do what we have to do and help us to over any negative outcomes in the like of our decisions.

Being forgiving

Being able to forgive somebody provides food for our souls. However, it is easier said than done. There are some who can forgive totally, some who can forgive but cannot forget and some who cannot forgive at all. The level of hurt that we face from someone is also a deciding factor in how we are going to forgive a person.

God is the only one that can forgive totally. Does that mean we cannot do so? Actually we can but to do that is very difficult and if we really can do it than it shows that we have achieved a certain high standard in our spiritual life.

Most of the time if the hurt is severe, we forgive but we do not forget. After all we are humans, we are not perfect. We have to ask Jesus the grace to forgive someone totally. Only with his help and time can wounds be healed.

For those that cannot forgive at all, well if they do not learn how to forgive then their soul will just wither and die. They will always live with hatred in their heart. This will lead to anger and anger can destroy them.

Being sincere & Being Trustworty

Being sincere is a very important. It makes us trustworthy. We gain a lot of people’s trust and friendship. Most of the time we view being sincere as a righteous value however there are times that being sincere back fires on us.

For example : Sometimes we are too honest to our spouses. We may tell our spouse that he/she is not the first person that we had slept with. We trust them to accept it. Some may, some may not. Another scenario I can think of is when I told my ex that I had been with a Malay girl and this cause a friction between us whenever I wanted to eat Malay food. She accused me of still having feelings for her whereby it has been ages since I last saw her. My dad once told me that I could not tell everything to my future wife, however I disagree with him on this matter. I still believe in being sincere and honest to her. Another example, is went we have to report a wrong doing done by a collogue. He or she might be a close friend of yours. Friendship may be broken if you risk reporting on your friend’s wrong doing. So do you do it? Sometimes we have do if it is our duty.

Therefore being sincere can be one of the hardest things to accomplish in life. We need the lord guidance to guide us in our decisions and also to help us to overcome any mis - happenings due to our actions. Life isn’t fair. At one time society asks us to be sincere and on the other hand it can be a double edge sword.

Even though it is tough being sincere, I still think that being sincere is very important in one’s life. It makes us who we are.

Being humble

Being humble is another important virtue. Braging can be a real turn off. Some people may not like it. Jealousy may set in. For example, some children are born with the silver spoon. They may wear the latest fashion. Being young, it may be natural to show them off. However, these actions may cause jealousy among other students, especially those that cannot afford it. They may resort to fights and even stealing. If not corrected, showing off may be the catalyst for breeding would be gangsters and thieves!!!

Being humble also means reaching out to the less fortunate. We can do that by donating some unwanted goods like old watches, clothes and even money. Doing missionary work is also another way. I have always felt that our youths of today need to do missionary work and live among the poor. Only then would they know how precious life is.

Personally I am not a rich person. I do not travel much as there are financial constraints in my family. I admit I may be a bit spend rift and like to eat good food which may cost a lot. But that does not mean I am a bragger. I still like my favourite fried kway teow, wanton mee, hokkien mee and chay chap. I would like to do missionary work and frankly I do not mind giving up what I have to live among the poor, help them and write about their plight so that the world will know how they are suffering and yet can still smile. People living in 1st class countries have everything but they cannot smile. So WHAT is there to show off actually.

Being respectful

Well, there is really nothing much to say about respectful because it is something that should be in us. Our up bringing is very important. Parents must teach their children from young about respect and the respect of the elders. They cannot always give in to their children. Something is very wrong when you see a child shouting back at their parents and their parents just keep quite about it. Surprise? I have seen it in my own eyes.

Parents must also treat their children with respect. Punishment and reward needs to be administrated properly. If a parent punish their children to harshly to a state where it constitutes to child abuse then it is very bad. The children will grow up resenting their parents or worst still become violent people themselves because they may thing that abusing a person is a norm. If you treat your child with respect, they would most likely grow up loving you even more!!! Rewards can be used when a child performs a good deed or is obedient to his/her parents but parents also need to instill into them that they cannot take the reward for granted.

When it comes to religion, respect for the lord also needs to be taught from young. They need to be taught how to seat properly in church, dress properly in church and not run around. Sadly, these days I see parents allowing their children to draw in church, drink whenever they are thirsty and run around. In my younger days, my parents had to force me to seat quite in church and pay attention to the sermon. If I talk and looked distracted in church, my dad gave me a look that striked fear in me.

Children need to be taught the lords words in a simpler way so that they can understand and appreciate the lords teachings better. In this way, they can show more respect to the lord.