I Living in a 21st century, we lived in a world surrounded by the many forms of technology with the purpose of making our lives more efficient and comfortable. Our daily lives revolve around the use of technology, be it simple ot advanced such as the broom, or vacuum cleaner. Ironically, following in the wake of advancing technology, more problems cropped out instead of decreasing. Ethical debate issues, environmental problems and even social problems had been increasing though the years.
II First problem the modern technology has created is the environmental issues it causes.
A: Automobiles
1. invented to increase efficiency
2. allow comfortable journey in shortest time
3. but, increases rate of CO2 emission, contributing to air pollution
4. contribute to the depletion of natural resources- fossil fuels
5. green house effect leading to global warming
B: Oil rigs
1. occurance of oil spillage in the sea, water pollution
2. water pollution leading to the death of many marine animals
C: nuclear fallout
1. cause of air pollution
2. endangered the population within the area due to exposure to radiation
III Second problem is the social problems
A: people and machine
1. automated vending machines, banks
2. computerised dating services
3. tape recording and answering machines
4. lack of interaction between the individuals, lack in interrelationship skills
B: health
1. obsession with computer games apparent in youth
2. increase in use of handphones, relying on them
3. more time spent indoors playing these computer games, lack of exercise leading to increase in rate of obesity
IV Ethical issues
A: technology, life sciences (cloning, IVF)
1. debate on human playing god-- cloning
2. no clear stand due to presence of the grey areas
B: Abortion
1. pro life or pro choice
2. lack of clear definition-- are we killing cells or a human baby?
3. the women having the choice, ensure guilt-free conscience or are they going to regret it?
V not all technology advances results in more problems
A: improvement in the communication tools
1. HP, telephones, help in bridging the distance, allowing communication to be more efficient
2. e mails, no longer to be dependent on letters, message is passed on faster.
B: learning tool
1. internet can be a form of information safe. information can be obtained from world wide
2. computerised machineries in the factories, efficient, higher yielding in productivity
however, as far as handphones are concerned, there had also been instances where without hp, the individual is literally rendered useless, feeling uneasy and unable to function in their normal daily lives as per usual, which indicate the probability of dependence on hp. internet can also be full of loop holes, and parents unable to monitor on what the children is doing, maybe led astray, went to pornography sites or get to know people who preyed on these innocent children.
IV
in conclusion although technology has helped to solve some of the problems we faced today, it had ironically also created more problems which awaits for solutions such as the unending ethical problems, environmental issues and also the social issues. It cannot be helped that human continues to strive to find the solutions for all of our problems. And due to our ignorance, we will still in the course, create more problems even as others are solved. thus it will still be quite some time before we would ever manage to find a solution for all of our problems.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Women will never enjoy the same rights as men. Do you agree?
For the purpose of this essay, 'women' refers to the female human population through all the age groups. 'will never' refers to the futility of the action in the past and future situation; 'same rights' refers to the equality of treatments and what is due to anyone by just claim, legal guarantees and moral principles. Based on the above statement, i agree to a large extent that women will never enjoy the same rights as men.
Millions of women throughout the world live in conditions of abject deprivation of, and attacks against, their fundamental human rights for no other reason than that they are women. For example, in the past, only the males of the family had the chance to further their studies while women were not given the choice, for simple reason that they did not see the need for women to have a high education when they were going to be housewives, and mother to the children.
'Combatants and their sympathizers in conflicts, such as those in Sierra Leone, Kosovo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, and Rwanda, have raped women as a weapon of war with near complete impunity. Men in Pakistan, South Africa, Peru, Russia, and Uzbekistan beat women in the home at astounding rates, while these governments alternatively refuse to intervene to protect women and punish their batterers or do so haphazardly and in ways that make women feel culpable for the violence.'
Even as we studied the histories, often we stumbled upon the cruel fact that indeed during the World War II, women often bear the brunt of it. Many were caught by the soldiers, sold, bought and forced to work into prostitution, or even killed when they resisted. 'As a direct result of inequalities found in their countries of origin, women from Ukraine, Moldova, Nigeria, the Dominican Republic, Burma, and Thailand are bought and sold, trafficked to work in forced prostitution, with insufficient government attention to protect their rights and punish the traffickers.'
'In Guatemala, South Africa, and Mexico, women's ability to enter and remain in the work force is obstructed by private employers who use women's reproductive status to exclude them from work and by discriminatory employment laws or discriminatory enforcement of the law.' However, the fact is, this does not only occurs in these countries. Even in Singapore, similar situation could be seen, as many women were dismissed from their work or passed over promotions just because they were pregnant or planning to start a family.
Though it is understandable that being businessmen, many would not wish to disrupt the productivity of the company just because the women in the workforce were taking maternity leaves or leaves to take care of their sick children etc. However, would it be fair to them? especially in Singapore where the government encourage the women to bear more children to counter the effect of the aging population on the society. but if by doing so, they have to forgo their career, would the women still want to start a family? Then what is the effectiveness of the message of 'Have 3 or more' children, when instead they act as a stumbling ground for these women.
Furthermore, in some countries, the women worked more but are paid less than men. 'Women cultivate, plough, harvest more than half of all the food in the world.
According to Inter Press Service, “On a global scale, women cultivate more than half of all the food that is grown. In sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, they produce up to 80 percent of basic foodstuffs. In Asia, they account for around 50 percent of food production. In Latin America, they are mainly engaged in subsistence farming, horticulture, poultry and raising small livestock.”
Yet women often get little recognition for that. In fact, many go unpaid. It is very difficult for these women to get the financial resources required to buy equipment etc, as many societies still do not accept, or realize, that there is a change in the “traditional” roles.'
In Singapore, any male who are of Singapore citizens or Permanent Resident are required to serve the NS, thus in effect, the men enters the workforce later then the women. To make up for the loss, usually the men received higher salary than women in the same job and with the same qualification. It is understandable if this measure is only applicable for a certain period of time. However it isn't the case as throughout the working careers, usually men get their promotions and higher salary then their counterparts.
Though attempts had been made to raise the awareness and there's progress in giving the women equal rights as the men, such as 'Poor women gaining greater access to savings and credit mechanisms worldwide, due to microcredit.' and the protocol set up to protect the women's rights, still, the effects are but small. Countries such as China and India still valued the traditional values, prefering male child over the female, thus causing the situations where female babies are killed over male, thus causing gender ratio inequility, social problems etc.
For women to trully enjoy the same rights as the men is never possible, as men and women are different by nature, however what can be done is instead to give equal opportunitues and rewards to both the male and female and to stop the general assumptions that women are only good at home making. Isn't cooking a job usually associated to women, but many top-notch chefs are men! thus, in conclusion, i agree to the above statement that women will never enjoy the same rights as men.
http://www.globalissues.org/HumanRights/WomensRights.asp
http://hrw.org/women/
Millions of women throughout the world live in conditions of abject deprivation of, and attacks against, their fundamental human rights for no other reason than that they are women. For example, in the past, only the males of the family had the chance to further their studies while women were not given the choice, for simple reason that they did not see the need for women to have a high education when they were going to be housewives, and mother to the children.
'Combatants and their sympathizers in conflicts, such as those in Sierra Leone, Kosovo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, and Rwanda, have raped women as a weapon of war with near complete impunity. Men in Pakistan, South Africa, Peru, Russia, and Uzbekistan beat women in the home at astounding rates, while these governments alternatively refuse to intervene to protect women and punish their batterers or do so haphazardly and in ways that make women feel culpable for the violence.'
Even as we studied the histories, often we stumbled upon the cruel fact that indeed during the World War II, women often bear the brunt of it. Many were caught by the soldiers, sold, bought and forced to work into prostitution, or even killed when they resisted. 'As a direct result of inequalities found in their countries of origin, women from Ukraine, Moldova, Nigeria, the Dominican Republic, Burma, and Thailand are bought and sold, trafficked to work in forced prostitution, with insufficient government attention to protect their rights and punish the traffickers.'
'In Guatemala, South Africa, and Mexico, women's ability to enter and remain in the work force is obstructed by private employers who use women's reproductive status to exclude them from work and by discriminatory employment laws or discriminatory enforcement of the law.' However, the fact is, this does not only occurs in these countries. Even in Singapore, similar situation could be seen, as many women were dismissed from their work or passed over promotions just because they were pregnant or planning to start a family.
Though it is understandable that being businessmen, many would not wish to disrupt the productivity of the company just because the women in the workforce were taking maternity leaves or leaves to take care of their sick children etc. However, would it be fair to them? especially in Singapore where the government encourage the women to bear more children to counter the effect of the aging population on the society. but if by doing so, they have to forgo their career, would the women still want to start a family? Then what is the effectiveness of the message of 'Have 3 or more' children, when instead they act as a stumbling ground for these women.
Furthermore, in some countries, the women worked more but are paid less than men. 'Women cultivate, plough, harvest more than half of all the food in the world.
According to Inter Press Service, “On a global scale, women cultivate more than half of all the food that is grown. In sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, they produce up to 80 percent of basic foodstuffs. In Asia, they account for around 50 percent of food production. In Latin America, they are mainly engaged in subsistence farming, horticulture, poultry and raising small livestock.”
Yet women often get little recognition for that. In fact, many go unpaid. It is very difficult for these women to get the financial resources required to buy equipment etc, as many societies still do not accept, or realize, that there is a change in the “traditional” roles.'
In Singapore, any male who are of Singapore citizens or Permanent Resident are required to serve the NS, thus in effect, the men enters the workforce later then the women. To make up for the loss, usually the men received higher salary than women in the same job and with the same qualification. It is understandable if this measure is only applicable for a certain period of time. However it isn't the case as throughout the working careers, usually men get their promotions and higher salary then their counterparts.
Though attempts had been made to raise the awareness and there's progress in giving the women equal rights as the men, such as 'Poor women gaining greater access to savings and credit mechanisms worldwide, due to microcredit.' and the protocol set up to protect the women's rights, still, the effects are but small. Countries such as China and India still valued the traditional values, prefering male child over the female, thus causing the situations where female babies are killed over male, thus causing gender ratio inequility, social problems etc.
For women to trully enjoy the same rights as the men is never possible, as men and women are different by nature, however what can be done is instead to give equal opportunitues and rewards to both the male and female and to stop the general assumptions that women are only good at home making. Isn't cooking a job usually associated to women, but many top-notch chefs are men! thus, in conclusion, i agree to the above statement that women will never enjoy the same rights as men.
http://www.globalissues.org/HumanRights/WomensRights.asp
http://hrw.org/women/
Friday, April 6, 2007
Discuss the qualities you would look for in an ideal parent
In my own opinion, before deciding what are the qualities we would like our parents to have, we have to define 'ideal', 'qualities' and 'parent'. From the question, it was obvious that the ideal qualities are only meant for 1 parent. that is, either mother or the father.
in ideal, though it is tempting to look for a parent who gives us much freedom, but still we have to consider the realistic-ness of the qualities. i mean, we cant possibly look for a super parent. one that can do anything and everything. not only its hard, it is virtually impossible. but there are some of the qualities that we as the children hope to see in our own parents.
so, the qualities i would look for in an ideal parent is one that knows the needs of the child. this refers mostly to the mothers as usually they are the ones who spend the most time with us, children or rather, teenagers. and also the one who get the brunt from our selfish tantrums as we grow up. so, by knowing our needs, maybe it wont be so hard on them then.
also, contrary to some beliefs that money can solve anything, it cannot replaced the time to be spent with us. lack of communication will definitely break down the relationship between us and the parent. only with communication, can we build on the understanding and trust, isnt it so? so, without the time to really sit down and talk about anything or even your day, it is difficult to expect the parent to know our needs too which then relate back to the first quality.
next is for the parent not to be too strict. everyone needs their freedom. so do the children. however it does not mean that the parent should just set their mind free and no longer cares or know what the children are doing outside. but just the right amount of freedom. to allow us to learn to be more indipendent to learn to stand on our own feet.
these are only some of the ideal qualities all children look for in a parent. some may say it's impossible. time constraint, work, generation gap or even pressure may not allow these parents to have this qualities. however, it is not necessarily so; there are still some ideal parents around. and many aspire to be one. but to have a happy family, it is no longer enough to have only an ideal parent. but it is the whole family who have to work towards it.
in ideal, though it is tempting to look for a parent who gives us much freedom, but still we have to consider the realistic-ness of the qualities. i mean, we cant possibly look for a super parent. one that can do anything and everything. not only its hard, it is virtually impossible. but there are some of the qualities that we as the children hope to see in our own parents.
so, the qualities i would look for in an ideal parent is one that knows the needs of the child. this refers mostly to the mothers as usually they are the ones who spend the most time with us, children or rather, teenagers. and also the one who get the brunt from our selfish tantrums as we grow up. so, by knowing our needs, maybe it wont be so hard on them then.
also, contrary to some beliefs that money can solve anything, it cannot replaced the time to be spent with us. lack of communication will definitely break down the relationship between us and the parent. only with communication, can we build on the understanding and trust, isnt it so? so, without the time to really sit down and talk about anything or even your day, it is difficult to expect the parent to know our needs too which then relate back to the first quality.
next is for the parent not to be too strict. everyone needs their freedom. so do the children. however it does not mean that the parent should just set their mind free and no longer cares or know what the children are doing outside. but just the right amount of freedom. to allow us to learn to be more indipendent to learn to stand on our own feet.
these are only some of the ideal qualities all children look for in a parent. some may say it's impossible. time constraint, work, generation gap or even pressure may not allow these parents to have this qualities. however, it is not necessarily so; there are still some ideal parents around. and many aspire to be one. but to have a happy family, it is no longer enough to have only an ideal parent. but it is the whole family who have to work towards it.
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