Term 3 Blog Entry: Plagiarism - Hundreds may lose Aussie visas

Many students in the University of New England in New South Wales were found to have plagarised material on the internet. Among them, there were some who simply pasted work from the Internet. The plagiarism was discovered last November when an academic alerted the university after suspecting the work of a student. Most of them were believed to have come from Asian countries, but surprisingly, no Singaporeans were involved. Completion of the course usually guarantees a student permanent Austalian residency in addition to the degree. This could be the main motivation behind the eagerness to succeed. However, although I understand that success is important, I strongly believe that plagiarism is not the right way to achieve success. Firstly, plagiarism makes it unfair to those who had diligently and painstakingly brainstormed for ideas and completed the work by themselves. Furthermore, as plagiarism is the copying of ideas or work of other people, the students would have lost this opportunity to improve themselves, whether in terms of character, knowing themselves better, or knowledge, which is what I feel is the main purpose of school work. When the students plagiarize, they do not work their brains, thus do not benefit from the work.

Plagiarism would also encourage actions without integrity, and might cause the students to lose their sense of integrity. Plagiarism creates an environment of mistrust, where teachers are always suspicious of the integrity of the students, and students who do not trust each other.
I believe this incident has also showed us how successful the Singapore education system is. Many people coming from our neighbouring countries, like Malaysia and China, were found out to have plagarised, but no Singaporean was involved. I believe the success in the education system in Singapore is because of its emphasis on character development and its dedicated, professionally trained and constantly improving teachers.

We can see the emphasis of Singapore’s education system on character development as in primary schools, children are taught during curriculum time on how to be good citizens. Even in some secondary schools, activities are planned and curriculum time spent on helping students develop their character. Therefore, I believe these are very effective in instilling the right values into our young.

Singapore’s education system also educates our young on the consequences of plagiarism. Therefore, our young have grown up in an environment where they know that plagiarism is wrong. With the help of strict laws to act as deterrents, our young know that success cannot be obtained by underhand means, like plagiarism.

As Singapore has already succeeded in developing our country and our people well, I feel that we should go further to help our neighbouring countries, especially in teaching them about our education systems. Our help might be able to help them improve their education systems, so that many more people would benefit from these systems. Furthermore, this might help boost political ties and maintain the friendly relationship with our neighbouring countries.

Term 3 Blog Entry: Firms redesign jobs for older workers by trial and error

January 1, 2012, will be the date when employers would need to offer jobs to workers who have reached the retirement age of 62, as said by the prime minister in the National Day Rally Speech. The message that the government is serious about retaining older workers has been very successful as 13 out of the 14 companies which were checked by the Straits Times had already started retaining old workers. Companies are redesigning jobs, redeploying workers and changing working hours to get ready for this new legislation. However, without any specific guidelines to go about these changes necessary to suit the old workers, companies are using trial and error.

I feel that this policy will be beneficial to Singapore and its people in the long term. With advanced technology and increasing knowledge on staying healthy, more people are living to a very old age. Therefore, the money in the central provision fund might not be able to last them for the remaining time in their life. In the long term, when more and more people grow to a ripe old age and lack enough money to survive, they would live an unhappy and painful life, and at that age, it would already be too late to start saving money. In addition to these, they might also become burdens to the society, as the government would have to spend a lot of time and money solving this problem. Therefore, with this new legislation, more old people would be able to work and save enough money for retirement.

There are many benefits of older workers. As said by many employers, old people tend to be more serious about their work. They do not take unnecessary leaves and would work overtime without expecting extra payment. Furthermore, they are hardworking, determined and most are sincere about helping companies succeed.

I believe this trial and error method used by companies to make changes to the jobs to suit the needs of the old is an effective method. As this legislation is new to Singapore, the companies have to find out what modifications to the jobs would suit the needs of the old workers, without compromising on the companies’ ability to achieve results. Furthermore, different old workers encounter different problems carrying out ordinary jobs that younger ones are having. Some have knee problems, which do not allow them to bend, while others have back problems, which results in them not being able to carry heavy items. Whatever their problem may be, the job should be changed to suit their needs. Companies are already starting to do so. In the Yusen Air and Sea Service, older workers contribute by helping younger staff develop skills. New office-based jobs, such as filing clerks and quality control manager, are also created for older workers. With these modifications, old workers can have a comfortable environment to work in, and also be of much use to companies.

However, in the future, I hope that proper guidelines would replace this trial and error method. Research should be done on the needs of different types of elderly with their different difficulties in carrying out ordinary work. With previous experience, this knowledge could be used to set guidelines on redesigning jobs to account for the different difficulties of old workers. This would be more useful as research and experience of others had been used to design the guidelines. Furthermore, this would help save time, as the companies would not need to trial and error, thus giving them more time to work on developing their skills or equipping them with new skills, so that they can be of good use to the companies.

Education issue - Singaporean anime enthusiast realises his dream in Japan

This article tells us that Vong Yonghow is the first foreigner to work at a top animation firm in Japan. His journey to success tells us a lot on how the education system in Singapore can be improved.

Firstly, he said learning Japanese has benefited him. I agree with him as being able to speak Japanese is important for good communication and acceptance. To be readily accepted as one of them, you must be able to communicate with them. However, the three years was still insufficient as his level of Japanese was not good enough to know all the technical terms.

In the future, there is a high possibility of jobs requiring us to work overseas, with the rise of many nations like China and India. To avoid the difficulty of not being able to communicate, I feel that Singapore should not only continue enriching students with other languages like Japanese, but also ensure that Singaporeans are capable of speaking advanced Chinese and proper English, as India and China would be important business partners in the future. I suggest that the education system should place an emphasis on language by helping students to master English and their mother tongue, and making it compulsory to learn a third language.

On top of language, knowledge of culture is important to cope when working overseas. In order to succeed overseas, we need an understanding of cultural values and practices, so that we can be accepted as one of them. Thus, schools should enrich students with knowledge of different cultures, so that they can blend into a society with a different culture in the future.


Another reason for his success was motivation, which came from a music video. Motivation is important as it encourages us to work hard and persevere. The education system should include activities or talks to motivate students to work hard. For example, students should know about the benefits of working hard, such as a luxurious life and a good job, and also success stories so that they are motivated and know the importance of working hard.

One other reason was his interest in animation. From young, he had a “burning desire” to become an animator. Thus, he took subjects related to it. Students should have a clear idea of their interest as taking jobs of interest will cause us to not only be motivated to work hard, but also have less difficulty enjoying the job, thus making life more meaningful and enjoyable. Planning is also important as it will enable students to choose the appropriate subjects, which will determine the type of job in the future.

However, being merely a student, I have no experience in working overseas and my understanding of it is entirely based on this article. This article does not provide me with all the details and thus, I may miss out other factors when suggesting improvements on the education system. However, I still hope the government would consider and implement my suggestions if possible.

Teenager Issue - Looking Kohl

This article tells us that teenagers are now paying a lot of attention to their looks, with many using kohl, a black eyeliner. In my opinion, this is not beneficial to the society.

There are some benefits of this trend. Firstly, paying attention to looks will occupy them and reduce the chances of them creating trouble. Thus, the society will be a safer place to live in, and the low crime rates will attract more tourists and investors, boosting Singapore's economy. This trend also creates another similarity between men and women, thus making both sexes seem more equal. Presently, women are discriminated as inefficient, and they have less chances of getting promoted or hired. However, these teenagers will grow up to see women as more equal, and thus reducing the discrimination against women.

However, I feel that the consequences outweigh the benefits. In my opinion, teenagers, both boys and girls, should not waste their time on appearances, but instead, concentrate on their studies. With an increasing number of people using kohl, more people will get influenced and less will focus on their studies. Singapore’s economy and politics will be badly influenced as these teenagers will grow up to take over the workforce and govern the city. With focus on appearance, these teenagers will be less capable and efficient of bringing Singapore to success.

As a result of peer influence, more eyeliner, costing up to sixty dollars and finishing in about two months, will be bought. As most parents find this behaviour unacceptable, it will result in quarells and relationships will be strained. Furthermore, with expenditure on eyeliner, some might not be able to afford educational classes, resulting in them not being able to develop fully their potential.

Research done has showed that one cause of this behaviour is being influenced by the subculture Japanese Goth and emo-punk music. This shows us how culture can influence teenager behaviour. Thus, I believe it is necessary to develop teenagers’ analytical skills and also teach them about culture, thus enabling them to see the consequences of such a trend.

Another cause is the desire to look good. As mentioned by Kenneth Teng, “eyeliner helps to define your eyes”. Although it is human nature to desire good looks, I believe there should be a limit and using eyeliner is not encouraged at this age, because of its consequences. Schools should teach teenagers the importance of studying hard, which would change their attitude and priorities so that studying will become the highest priority, which will be beneficial to the society.

However, the things that are most beneficial to the society cannot be decided by me, as I do not see the entire situation, unlike the government which has the experience and maturity to consider all the different factors and decide on the most appropriate actions to take. Thus, this is my opinion on the article and I hope the government would take into account my views when deciding whether to take action.

Politics/societal: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6330715.stm

This newspaper article tells us that the Iraq vice president is asking for deployment of more troops from United Sates, which he believes will ensure security in Iraq. Politicians say the deployment of troops has to be fast as the situation would deteriorate even further.

An Iraqi politician said that Iraq's government response to the violence was "slow and unprofessional". From my contextual knowledge, the Iraq's government is not very experienced as Iraqi Prime Minister only took power in May and thus needs support from United States to pacify the capital.

However, despite the urgent need for troops, deployment will happen most probably several months later. I believe United States should listen to the request for a speedy deployment as the Iraqi government knows the situation in Iraq best as they are experiencing it. However, there may be political reasons for the slow deployment which I do not know of. There could be difficulties in arranging for the deployment or support problems as this idea would not gain support from many people whose son’s lives would be in danger. However, I believe the United States is trying their best to help and we should respect their decision of the arrangements.

This decision of deployment has caused debates. This deployment of troops is using military force to stop the people's acts of violence. However, I feel this is not good in the long run as the unhappy masses might create trouble in the future. I believe a better approach is to settle the unhappiness peacefully, with both sides giving in to one another. However, politicians may not want to talk terms with "terrorists", who are criminals who create trouble. Furthermore, politicians may feel that giving in will make them more daring in opposing governments.

This article taught me the importance of having countries to help you in crisis. Thus, I realised we should always maintain friendly ties to increase our chances of survival. The importance of having an experienced government is also displayed. Iraq's government is inexperienced as they have only taken power in May. Thus, the inexperience could have caused the lack of control of the people. However, my belief may not be true. The United States has recently invaded Iraq and this might have caused angry people to become terrorists. Furthermore, I am assuming that the government is inexperienced in making decisions because of the short period they have been in control, but the politicians might have a lol of experience in making major decisions before taking control. Thus, the cause of this mess might not be the government.

My views on this article are shaped by me, someone who is ignorant of political affairs and with a mindset that Iraq’s government is inexperienced. This might have made me misunderstand the reasons for the delayed deployment of troops and the mess in Iraq. I can learn more from articles like this by reading newspapers to gain awareness of political issues and by having an unbiased view.

Environment: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/02/02/warmingreport_pla.html?category=earth&guid=20070202091500&dcitc=w19-502-ak-0000

Reports have shown that increased rate of global warming can greatly damage our environment. This article tells us that human activities are the cause of this increase, causing "fewer cold days, hotter nights, killer heat waves, floods and heavy rains". Its main aim is to inform countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and adapt to "a warmer world with wilder temperature".

From my contextual knowledge, greenhouse gases cause global warming. Human activities has greatly increased the production of these gases. This is the point of view of experts and thus I feel can be trusted. Therefore, I believe blaming us, humans, that we have caused this increased rate is reasonable.

However, as we have caused the problem, we should solve it. With the combined effort of everyone, we will be able to make a difference. It is ironic that some people may not agree that humans are the cause of this despite the reports that have proven this. Perhaps it is assumed that it is not natural for the rate of global warming to increase so quickly. However, I believe it does not matter who caused this increased rate as we should just focus on helping our environment.

This article's main aim is to inform governments to reduce emission of greenhouse gases. However, I believe we also have a part to play in helping our environment. From my contextual knowledge, carbon dioxide, a major component of greenhouse gases, is produced from fossil fuel burning to generate electricity. Thus, we can help by reducing the need to generate energy by saving electricity.

Deforestation is another main producer of carbon dioxide. As the abundance of trees declines, less carbon dioxide can be recycled through photosynthesis. Thus, we can help by reducing the need to cut down trees, by using recycled paper or reducing the use of paper.

I believe this article serves as a "wake-up call" for us. The experts know the consequences of our actions and are eager to inform the world. They are trying to make us see the damage our actions are causing to the environment. From the changes in weather, they can see the causes of it while we cannot. Global warming concerns our environment and thus concerns us. Thus, we should listen to the advices of these concerned experts who are afraid that the world will become a dangerous place to live in, and do our part in helping the environment, which we will be living in for the rest of our lives.

These are my views on the article. However, these views are from me, a person who has always believed everything an expert says because I believe he knows more as he has done necessary research. Thus, I already had a mindset that humans are definitely the cause of global warming, resulting in me not considering other possibilities. I can work on this by trying not to be influenced too much by words and views of experts, and think about the other possibilities.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6330715.stm

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/02/02/warmingreport_pla.html?category=earth&guid=20070202091500&dcitc=w19-502-ak-0000

About Me

Kevin Sim (23) Sec. 3Q