One writeup from other module (PC1322)

This photograph was captured on 30^th January 2015 during the first star gazing session of Understanding the Universe.

The equipment used to capture the photograph is a combination of my phone’s camera and the telescope borrowed from the stargazing session. The model of the telescope is a VixenR130sf Newtonian telescope from Vixen Optics. It has a light gathering power of 345X and resolving power of 0.89 arc sec. The focal length is 650mm and has a focal ratio of 5.0. The model of the phone camera is iPhone 5s from Apple. It is 8 megapixels and has an f/2.2 aperture.

The setting was at night around 9pm under non-cloudy weather condition, when Jupiter is clearly visible from the skies above NUS.

This is a picture of the planet Jupiter and three of its four Galilean moons. There are a total of 67 confirmed moons of Jupiter but the biggest 4 among them are named the Galilean moons. They are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Calisto. The instruments that I used, however, are not powerful enough to let me see the features of the moons to determine which moons are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Calisto. As the moons are orbiting around Jupiter, the fourth moon should be behind Jupiter, out of our line of vision when this photo is captured. I can see the features of Jupiter with my naked eyes through the telescope itself, but Jupiter appears bright in this photo because of the manual exposure settings. Although my iPhone camera has a good resolution, it does not have the manual exposure control settings that is needed to capture planetary features such as the cloud belts and the Great Red Spot. A moon filter is needed is reduce the brightness of Jupiter’s disc for us to observe the planetary features through the smartphone. Also, the moons appear to be the same in size in this photo but they differ very much in size. The largest moon is Ganymede, with a diameter of 5262.4km. The smallest moon is Europa, with a diameter of 3121.6km. This huge difference in diameter is not distinct to us on Earth as we are very far away from Jupiter.

Problem Solution Essay Draft 4

Because of the increased use of social media amongst Singaporean teenagers, there is also an increase in cyberbullying cases since explicit and detailed information can be retrieved easily by anyone in cyber space. The definition of cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating nature (Goh 2013). These cases are especially prominent in Singapore, where internet access is readily available island wide. 87% of the total households in Singapore have internet access, not counting wireless hotspots in public spaces (IDA n.d.). The Ministry of Education (MOE) should play a part in educating teenagers through schools regarding the dangers of social media and the importance of cyberbullying.

During the recent years, there has been a large influx of cyberbullying cases amongst teenagers. As of 2014, a survey was conducted on the state of cyberbullying in Asia Pacific covering around 12,500 kids aged between 8 to 17 years. 58% of youths in Singapore reported that they had been bullied online, which is the second highest in the world with China ranking first (Mak 2014). Many of these bullying cases take place on online through social media such as Facebook, Twitter and ask.fm. Many of the cyber bullies assume that they can get away with cyberbullying as it is done over the internet. They feel that when they are committing the act of bullying in cyber space, they are not under the jurisdiction of Singapore's law. Since Singapore is a first world country, internet connections are readily accessible by teenagers. That, along with the increasing use of social media platform amongst teenagers over the recent years, has contributed to the high statistics in cyberbullying for Singapore. Cyberbullying is a serious matter as it can eventually turn into something physical if left alone. There are negative effects for both the bully and the victim. The bully may become more violent in real life if he is allowed to continue his tyrannic acts while the victim may develop depression and anxiety problems such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In the most extreme cases, the victims may even commit suicide (Stopbullying.gov n.d.).

To counteract this problem, the government has passed a the Harassment Act as of 2014 that states that cyber harassment and cyberbullying arer now chargeable offenses and that legal lawful actions can be instituted against the cyber bullies (Shanmugam 2014). Victims of cyberbullying can now sue for damage compensation and file to the court for personal protection against the cyber bully. This is only effective to a limited extent as shown by the statistics as of 2014. The number of cyberbullying cases have not decreased to a favorable range. This is likely due to the victims being threatened by the cyber bully to keep quiet about the matter. Another reason could be that the cyber bullies themselves are ignorant about the consequences that they will face due to the fact that they are still teenagers. Even though legal actions can be taken against them, most of the teenagers will not be intimidated by the law as they are still too young to realize the severity of the consequences that they will face.

At the micro-level, the MOE has been organizing cyber wellness talks island-wide across all primary and secondary schools. Police officers and agents from various cyber protection organizations have been invited to host the talks at various schools. One possible reason why this solution did not lower the statistics on cyberbullying is that the students who are attending these talks are not taking them seriously. The attendees for the talk are still young and ignorant. Many of them see the talk as a break from school work. The students do not really pay any attention to the speaker; some may even choose to take a short nap while some spend the time talking to their friends. The problem of the students not paying attention during such assemblies can be alleviated by adding elements that will catch the attention of the students during the cyber wellness talks. Famous cyber space celebrities such as "WAH BANANA", Naomi Neo, Jian Hao and Tosh Zhang can be invited to give the talks to the school instead. Most of the teenagers would know, or at least heard of these online celebrities.

As another means to increase the effectiveness of the existing solutions, the Internet itself can be used against the bullies. The Ministry of Education should enforce the law on cyber bullying and take a more active approach to sieve out the cyber bullies instead of attempting to deter them from the act of cyberbullying itself. Volunteers from the cyber wellness organization can take on the names of victims that are being bullied on cyber space. After verifying and catching the cyber bully, his or her details can be handed over to the respective school for actions to be taken against the cyber bully.  Repeated offenders who show no remorse can be called up to the stage in front of the entire school during cyber wellness talks or school assembly to share with the school, why cyberbullying is not acceptable. This would instil fear onto the cyber bullies and even those who are not caught would think twice before they commit the act of cyberbullying. This solution would solve the problem as the punishment delivered is more psychological than physical. The bullies would be made infamous in the school and most teenagers would likely wish to avoid that. The victim would also not be pressured to keep quiet about the situation as most of the operations is done behind the scenes.

The main reason for the existing solutions being least effective is that the main target group are teenagers. The punishment that is delivered to them should be a psychological one rather than physical because teenagers are usually in the rebellious stage of their growth, where physical punishment would only make matters worse. The psychological impact will amplified several more times if they are being reprimanded on stage in front of the whole school rather than receiving a counseling session in private. In conclusion, the MOE should change the method of approach if they truly wish to reduce the cases of cyberbullying in Singapore.

References:

Goh, J. (2013, May 22). Cyberbullying among children in Singapore - What can we do about it? The Asian Parent. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://sg.theasianparent.com/our-expert-talks-about-cyberbullying-among-children-in-singapore/

Mak, W. (2014, January 22). A teen's-eye view of cyber-bullying. AWARE. Retrieved March 3, 2015, from http://www.aware.org.sg/2014/01/a-teens-eye-view-of-cyber-bullying/

Shanmugam, K. (2014, July 8). Cyber bullying in Singapore: Guide to new online laws -Expat Living Singapore. Expat Living. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://www.expatliving.sg/kids/growing_up/Cyber-bullying-in-Singapore-Guide-to-new-online-laws-53840.ece

Stopbullying.gov (n.d.). Effects of Bullying. Retrieved March 13, 2015, from http://www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/effects/

IDA (n.d.). Infocomm Usage. Retrieved April 2, 2015 from http://www.ida.gov.sg/Infocomm-Landscape/Facts-and-Figures

1034 words

Presentation Reflection

My presentation could have been better. I did not rehearse before that because time was very tight for me that day. As a result, my presentation was not very fluent and I stutter quite often. After receiving feedback from my peers and tutor, I realize I also have this habit of not maintaining eye contact with everyone in the room. I tend to look at the tutor more than the rest of the audience. One suggestion given was to sieve out audience who show interest in their facial expression, and focus on them while looking at the people beside them at the same time. Knowing your content really well is of utmost importance because it allows you to deliver your presentation confidently. It makes you really knowledgeable and makes your audience believe in everything you say. For my future presentations, I will review my content for a few times before the actual presentation. This way, I would feel less nervous and be much more convincing when delivering my speech.

Critical reflection

In ES1102, most of our reader response drafts are being reviewed by our peers and most of the essay drafts are reviewed by our tutor. 

When I receive feedback from my classmates, I accept it with an open mind. I feel that there is always room for improvement in my writing and every feedback counts. However, in the event the feedback given is inaccurate, it will result in a waste of time. That being said, the chances of it happening are quite slim as the English standard of all the students in ES1102 are about the same.

The peer and tutor feed backs are very helpful in improving my English writing skills. However, it seems that peer to peer feed backs are only helpful to a certain extent because most, if not all of the feedbacks given by my peers are not up to the tutor's standard. The same could also be said for me. When tasked to give feedback to my peer, I feel that my English writing skills are still inadequate to be correcting another of my classmate's English. The feedback given by me may be inaccurate and may even point out mistakes that are in fact, correct. There are two things that I can take away from the peer to peer review. One is that it forces me to think critically and spot any grammatical errors that my peers may have. This will allow me to improve my writing skills as it raises my awareness of grammatical errors and other errors the sentence may have. Another point is that it actually gives the tutor more time to review our essays and give even higher quality feedback for our essay drafts

APA citations, academic writing and editing are skills that I have picked up in ES1102. These are skills that will help me in GEK1549 and ES2331. They are critical writing and English communication modules that I will have to take in the next academic year.

In conclusion, I think this system of peer and tutor review is good in a sense it efficiently allocate the resources (time) in class. This is a good system and it should continue in ES1102 for the future classes.

Critical reflection outline

In ES1102, most of our reader response drafts are being reviewed by our peers and most of the essay drafts are reviewed by our tutor.

The peer and tutor feed backs are very helpful in improving my English writing skills. However, it seems that peer to peer feed backs are only helpful to a certain extent because most, if not all feed backs given by peers are not up the tutor's standard. When tasked to give a feed back to my peer, I feel that my English writing skills are still inadequate to be correcting another of my classmate's English. The feed back given by me may be inaccurate and may even point out mistakes that are in fact, correct. There are two things that I can take away from the peer to peer review. One is that it forces me to think critically and spot any grammatical errors that my peers may have. This will allow myself to improve my writing skills as it raises my awareness of grammatical errors and other errors the sentence may have. Another point is that it actually gives the tutor more time to review our essays and give even higher quality feed back for our essay drafts.

In conclusion, I think this system of peer and tutor review is good in a sense it efficiently allocate the resources (time) in class. This is a good system and it should continue in ES1102 for the years to come.

Essay Problem-Solution draft 3

Because of the increased use of social media amongst Singaporean teenagers, there is also an increase in cyber-bullying cases since explicit and detailed information can be retrieved easily by anyone in cyber space. The definition of cyber-bullying is the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating nature. These cases are especially prominent in Singapore, where internet access is readily available island wide. 87% of the total households in Singapore have internet access, not counting wireless hotspots in public spaces (IDA n.d.). The Ministry of Education (MOE) should play a part in educating teenagers through schools regarding the dangers of social media and the importance of cyber-bullying as every teenager and adolescent will have to go through official educational institutions at some point of time in their life.

During the recent years, there has been a large influx of cyber-bullying cases amongst teenagers. As of 2014, a survey was conducted on the state of cyber-bullying in Asia Pacific covering around 12,500 kids aged between 8 to 17 years. 58% of youths in Singapore reported that they had been bullied online, which is the second highest in the world with China ranking first (Mak 2014). Many of these bullying cases take place on online social media such as Facebook, Twitter and ask.fm. Many of the cyber bullies assume that they can get away with cyber-bullying as it is done over the internet. They feel that when they are committing the act of bullying in cyber space, they are not under the jurisdiction of Singapore's law. Since Singapore is a first world country, internet connections are readily accessible by teenagers. That, along with the increasing use of social media platform amongst teenagers over the recent years, has contributed to the high statistics in cyber-bullying for Singapore. Cyber-bullying is a serious matter as it can eventually turn into something physical if left alone. There are negative effects for both the bully and the victim. The bully may become more violent in real life if he is allowed to continue his tyrannic acts while the victim may develop depression and anxiety problems such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In most extreme cases, the victims may even commit suicide (Stopbullying.gov n.d.).

To counteract this problem, the government has passed a the Harassment Act as of 2014 that states that cyber harassment and cyber-bullying is now a chargeable offense and that legal lawful actions can be instituted against the cyber bullies (Shanmugam 2014). Victims of cyber-bullying can now sue for damage compensation and file to the court for personal protection against the cyber bully. This is only effective only to a limited extent as shown by the statistics as of 2014. The number of cyber-bullying cases have not decreased to a favorable range. This is likely due to the victims being threatened by the cyber bully to keep quiet about the matter. Another reason could be that the cyber bullies themselves are ignorant about the consequences that they will face due to the fact that they are still teenagers. Even though legal actions can be taken against them, most of the teenagers will not be intimidated by the law as they are still too young to realize the severity of the consequences that they will face.

At the micro-level, the MOE has been organizing cyber wellness talks island-wide across all primary and secondary schools. Police officers and agents from various cyber protection organizations have been invited to host the talks at various schools. One possible reason why this solution did not lower the statistics on cyber-bullying is that the students who are attending these talks are not taking them seriously. The attendees for the talk are still young and ignorant. Many of them see the talk as a break from school work. The students do not really pay any attention to the speaker; some may even choose to take a short nap while some spend the time talking to their friends.

To increase the effectiveness of the existing solutions, the Internet itself can be used against the bullies. The Ministry of Education should enforce the law on cyber bullying and take a more active approach to sieve out the cyber bullies instead of attempting to deter them from the act of cyber-bullying itself. Volunteers from the cyber wellness organization can take on the names of victims that are being bullied on cyber space. After verifying and catching the cyber bully, his or her details can be handed over to the respective school for actions to be taken against the cyber bully.  Repeated offenders who show no remorse can be called up to the stage in front of the entire school during cyber wellness talks or school assembly to share with the school, why cyber-bullying is not acceptable. This will instil fear onto the cyber bullies and even those who are not caught will think twice before they commit the act of cyber bullying. This solution would solve the problem as the punishment delivered is more psychological than physical. The bullies will be made infamous in the school and most teenagers would likely wish to avoid that. The victim will also not be pressured to keep quiet about the situation as most of the operations is done behind the scenes.

The problem of the students not paying attention during such assemblies can be alleviated by adding elements that will catch the attention of the students during the cyber wellness talks. Famous cyber space celebrities such as "WAH BANANA", Naomi Neo, Jian Hao and Tosh Zhang can be invited to give the talks to the school instead. Most of the teenagers would know, or at least heard of these online celebrities.

The main reason for the existing solutions being least effective is that the main target group are teenagers. The punishment that is delivered to them should be a psychological one rather than physical because teenagers are usually in the rebellious stage of their growth, where physical punishment would only make matters worse. The psychological impact will amplified several more times if they are being reprimanded on stage in front of the whole school rather than receiving a counseling session in private. In conclusion, the MOE should change the method of approach if they truly wish to reduce the cases of cyber bullying in Singapore.

References:

Goh, J. (2013, May 22). Cyberbullying among children in Singapore - What can we do about it? The Asian Parent. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://sg.theasianparent.com/our-expert-talks-about-cyberbullying-among-children-in-singapore/

Mak, W. (2014, January 22). A teen's-eye view of cyber-bullying. AWARE. Retrieved March 3, 2015, from http://www.aware.org.sg/2014/01/a-teens-eye-view-of-cyber-bullying/

Shanmugam, K. (2014, July 8). Cyber bullying in Singapore: Guide to new online laws -Expat Living Singapore. Expat Living. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://www.expatliving.sg/kids/growing_up/Cyber-bullying-in-Singapore-Guide-to-new-online-laws-53840.ece


Stopbullying.gov (n.d.). Effects of Bullying. Retrieved March 13, 2015, from http://www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/effects/

IDA (n.d.). Infocomm Usage. Retrieved April 2, 2015 from http://www.ida.gov.sg/Infocomm-Landscape/Facts-and-Figures

1054 words

Reader's Response draft 4 (final)

In the article "Who's the true enemy of internet freedom - China, Russia, or the US?", Morozov(2015) implies that the United States is the true enemy of internet freedom instead of the less liberal Russia and China. The author states that the difference between the US and the rest; is that the US wants to access the database of the users that were using products developed by US companies. China and Russia only request for access to the database of their own citizens. Morozov uses the recent debate between Microsoft and the US government, where the US government demands Microsoft to grant them access to their database in Ireland, as a stepping stone to his argument.

The author's claim that the US is the true enemy of internet freedom is biased because the argument is only based on one case study, which in fact, justifies why the US is not the true enemy of internet freedom.

It is widely agreed upon that the US is liberal in terms of freedom of speech and censorship. While it is true that the US government requested the database of the personnel using software developed by the US, the government only did what they did because they needed the data stored on Microsoft’s servers in Ireland for ongoing investigations. Another difference between the US, China and Russia is that the US did not actually hold the data of the people. This is further proven to be true from the case study where the US had to request the data from Microsoft, which ultimately led to the author's argument. On the other hand, China and Russia could access the database of their citizens at any given point in time.

Webpages such as Facebook and Google are also restricted in China and Russia. I believe that these acts of restrictions are the true terror of internet freedom. Although the definition of internet freedom may vary, I personally feel that internet freedom means having the option and liberty to choose what one can browse and say on the internet. China and Russia fail to allow users to do just that. There are many factors to consider pertaining to internet freedom. The case study concerning Microsoft and the US government should not be the only piece of evidence to place judgment upon the US.

Other than banning popular sites, China and Russia also practice heavy censorship on the content that one could discuss on forums or other web pages. China also did a lot of cover up in the past on the internet regarding the more sensitive issues, such as political corruptions. The US is more liberal in this aspect as they do not enforce such heavy censorship on their social media and on the public. In a nutshell, what Morozov pointed out in this article is not exactly invalid. Truth remains that all three countries that are being discussed practice restrictions on internet freedom, but the US is not as bad as the author claimed. However, what the US did cannot be overlooked as it is, after all, wrong of the US government to demand the information of a client from Microsoft just because Microsoft "belongs" to them.

Morozov, E. (2015, January 4). Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom - China, Russia, or the US? The Guardian. Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/04/internet-freedom-china-russia-us-google-microsoft-digital-sovereignty

531 words

Essay Problem - Solution Draft 2

Because of the increased use of social media amongst Singaporean teenagers, there is also an increase in cyber bullying cases since explicit and detailed information can be retrieved easily by anyone in cyber space. This case is especially so in Singapore, where internet access is readily available island wide. The Ministry of Education (MOE) should play a part in educating teenagers through schools regarding the dangers of social media as every teenager and adolescent will have to go through official educational institutions at some point of time in their life.

Over the recent years, there has been a large influx of cyber bullying cases amongst teenagers. As of 2014, Singapore topped the charts for cyber bullying where 58% of youths have been bullied online. This statistics is the second highest in the world, with China ranking first (Mak 2014). Much of these bullying cases take place on online social media such as Facebook, Twitter and ask.fm. Many of the cyber bullies assume that they can get away with cyber bullying as it is done over the internet. They feel that when they are not directly involved in the crime, they are not considered criminals. Since Singapore is a first world country, Internet access is only a stone's throw away for teenagers. That, along with the increasing use of social media platform amongst teenagers over the recent years, has contributed to the high statistics in cyber bullying for Singapore. Cyber bullying is a serious matter as it can eventually turn into something physical if left alone. There are negative effects for both the bully and the victim. The bully may become more violent in real life if he is allowed to continue his tyrannic acts while the victim may develop depression and anxiety problems such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In most extreme cases, the victims may even commit suicide.

To counteract this problem, the government has passed a the Harassment Act that states that cyber stalking and cyber bullying is now a chargeable offense and that legal lawful actions can be instituted against the cyber bullies (Shanmugam 2014). Victims of cyber bullying can now sue for damage compensation and file to the court for personal protection against the cyber bully. This is only effective only to a limited extent as shown by the statistics as of 2014. The number of cyber bullying cases have not decreased to a favorable range. This is likely due to the victim being threatened by the cyber bully to keep quiet about the matter. Another reason could be that the cyber bullies themselves are ignorant about the consequences that they will face due to the fact that they are still teenagers. Even though legal actions can be taken against them, most of them will not be intimidated by the law as they are still too young.

At the micro-level, the MOE has been organizing cyber wellness talks island-wide across all primary and secondary schools. Police officers, agents from various cyber protection organizations have been invited to host the talks at various schools. One possible reason why this solution did not lower the statistics on cyber bullying is that the students who are attending these talks are not taking them seriously. The attendees for the talk are still young and ignorant. Many of them see the talk as a break from school work. The students do not really pay any attention to the speaker; some choose to take a short nap while some spend the time talking to their friends.

To increase the effectiveness of the existing solutions, the Internet itself can be used against the bullies. The Ministry of Education should enforce the law on cyber bullying and take a more active approach to sieve out the cyber bullies instead of attempting to deter them from the act of cyber bully itself. Volunteers from the cyber wellness organization can take on the names of victims that are being bullied on cyber space. After verifying and catching the cyber bully, his or her details can be handed over to the respective school for actions to be taken against the cyber bully.  Repeated offenders that show no remorse can be called up to the stage in front of the entire school during cyber wellness talks or school assembly to share with the school, why cyber-bullying is not acceptable. This will instil fear onto the cyber bullies and even those who are not caught will think twice before they commit the act of cyber bullying. This solution would solve the problem as the punishment delivered is more psychological than physical. The bullies will be made infamous in the school and most teenagers would likely wish to avoid that. The victim will also not be pressured to keep quiet about the situation as most of the operations is done behind the scenes.

The problem of the students not paying attention can be alleviated by adding elements that will catch the attention of the students during the cyber wellness talks. Famous cyber space celebrities such as "WAH BANANA", Naomi Neo and Jian Hao, Tosh Zhang can be invited to give the talks to the school instead. Most of the teenagers would know of these online celebrities as most of them would have internet access at home.

The main reason for the existing solutions being least effective is that the main target group are teenagers. The punishment that is delivered to them should be a psychological one rather than physical. The effect is amplified several more times if they are being reprimanded on stage in front of the whole school rather than receiving a counseling session in private. In conclusion, the MOE should change the method of approach if they truly wish to reduce the cases of cyber bullying in Singapore.

References:

Goh, J. (2013, May 22). Cyberbullying among children in Singapore - What can we do about it? The Asian Parent. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://sg.theasianparent.com/our-expert-talks-about-cyberbullying-among-children-in-singapore/

Mak, W. (2014, January 22). A teen's-eye view of cyber-bullying. AWARE. Retrieved March 3, 2015, from http://www.aware.org.sg/2014/01/a-teens-eye-view-of-cyber-bullying/

Shanmugam, K. (2014, July 8). Cyber bullying in Singapore: Guide to new online laws -Expat Living Singapore. Expat Living. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://www.expatliving.sg/kids/growing_up/Cyber-bullying-in-Singapore-Guide-to-new-online-laws-53840.ece


Effects of Bullying. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2015, from http://www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/effects/

 960words

An Influential Event

It was the first time I launch a F-15 fighter jet solo, back when I was still serving my National Service. I was a RSAF air force engineer (AFE) of 149 squadron. I was given the opportunity to experience something that the others could not even if they wanted to. However, the responsibility for the safety of the plane, safety of the pilot and the residents of Singapore all lies on my shoulder to conduct the checks on the jet diligently. I could not afford to make any mistakes as it would be detrimental to the safety of the nation and the pilot. The very first time I launched and received the aircraft solo was the turning point in my life. The pilots whom I barely knew trusted me and placed their lives on my hand as they did not even bother to do an inspection on the aircraft. It taught me to be responsible and professional for everything that I do. Honestly, I am very grateful that I got to experience something that others may not in their entire life. Looking at my own fighter jet take off at the runway has always been what I've enjoyed the most during my service.

Essay Draft 1

Because of the increase use of social media amongst the teenagers, there is an increase in cyber bullying cases since explicit and detailed information can be retrieved fairly easily by anyone. Ministry of education should play a part in educating teenagers regarding the dangers of social media as every teenager will receive education at some point of time in their lives.

Over the recent years, there has been a large influx of Cyber bullying cases amongst teenagers and adolescents. As of 2014, Singapore topped the charts for cyber bullying where 58% of youths have been bullied online. This statistics is the second highest in the world, with China ranking first (Ian 2014). Much of these bullying cases take place on online social media such as Facebook, Twitter and ask.fm. Many of the cyber bullies assume that they can get away with cyber bullying as it is done over the internet. They feel that they when they are not directly involve in the crime, they are not considered a criminal Since Singapore is a first world country; internet access is only about a stone throw away for teenagers. That, along with the increasingly use of social media platform amongst teenagers over the recent years have contributed to the high statistics in cyber bullying for Singapore.

To counteract this problem, the government have come to pass a law that states that cyber stalking and cyber bullying is now a chargeable offense and legal, lawful actions can be taken against the cyber bullies. Victims of the cyber bully can now sue for damage compensation and file to the court for personal protection against the cyber bully. This is only effective only to a limited extent as shown by the statistics as of 2014. The number of cyber bullying has not decreased to a favourable range. This is likely due to the victim of the cyber bully being pressured by the bully to keep quiet about it for fear that the bully take a turn for the worst. Another reason could be that the cyber bullies themselves are ignorant about the consequences of the matter due to the fact that they are still teenagers. Even though legal actions can be taken against them, how many of them actually know what “legal actions” are?

At a micro-level, the ministry of education have been organizing talks regarding cyber bullying island wide across all the primary and secondary schools. Police officers, agents from various cyber protection organization have been invited to host the talks are various schools. One possible reason why this solution did not lower the statistics on cyber bullying is that the students who are attending these talks are not taking them seriously. The attendees for the talk are still young and ignorant. Many of them see the talk as a break from school work. The students do not really pay any attention to the speaker; some choose to take a short nap while some spend the time talking to their friends.

To increase the effectiveness of the existing solutions, the internet itself can be used against the bullies. The Ministry of Education should enforce the law on cyber bullying and take a more active approach to sieve out the cyber bullies instead of attempting to deter them from the act of cyber bully. To fight poison with poison, the people from anti-cyber bullying organization can take on the name of potential targets of cyber bullies on the internet to catch the cyber bully. After catching the black sheep, the details of the cyber bully can be handover to the respective school for actions to be taken against the cyber bully. The punishment is up to the discretionary of the school. Repeated offenders or cyber bullies that show no remorse can be called up to the stage in front of the entire school during cyber bully talks or school assembly to share with the entire school why cyber-bullying is not acceptable. This will instil fear onto the cyber bullies and even those who are not caught will think twice before they commit the act of cyber bullying. This solution would solve the problem as the punishment delivered is more psychological than physical. The bullies will be made infamous in school and teenagers would likely wish to avoid that. The victim will also not be pressured to keep quiet about the situation as most is done behind the scenes. The problem of the students not paying attention during assembly or during cyber bully talks can also be solved since it might be the one of their peers giving the talk on cyber bullying instead.

The main problem for the existing solution being least effective is that the main target group are teenagers and adolescents. The way to deliver a punishment to them should be more psychological rather than physical. The feeling of sense of shame is amplified several more times when they are being reprimanded on stage in front of the whole school. However, this method of approach is considered to be quite aggressive. As much as cyber bullying being unacceptable, should teenage cyber bullies be subjected to this of punishment? Is reducing cyber bullying cases in Singapore important enough for the Ministry of Education and the government to execute this approach?

Reference:

Goh, J. (2013, May 22). Cyberbullying among children in Singapore - What can we do about it? The Asian Parent. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://sg.theasianparent.com/our-expert-talks-about-cyberbullying-among-children-in-singapore/

Mak Wei, I. (2014, January 22). A teen's-eye view of cyber-bullying. AWARE. Retrieved March 3, 2015, from http://www.aware.org.sg/2014/01/a-teens-eye-view-of-cyber-bullying/

Shanmugam, K. (2014, July 8). Cyber bullying in Singapore: Guide to new online laws -Expat Living Singapore. Expat Living. Retrieved from http://www.expatliving.sg/kids/growing_up/Cyber-bullying-in-Singapore-Guide-to-new-online-laws-53840.ece

 880words

Problem solution essay outline

Main Problem: Large influx of Cyber bullying cases amongst teenagers and adolescents

Affected Target group/stakeholder : Teenagers and adolescents in school

Agent of Change/stakeholder : Ministry of Education, Schools, Family of the bullied and Family of the bully

Solution 1 : Law by the government that states cyber stalking and cyber bullying is now an offense and actions can be taken against cyber bullies. Victims of cyber bullying can now sue for damage compensation and file to court for personal protection.

Evaluation 1 : Cyber bullies now have to face consequences for their actions. They will think twice before acting but it all depends on whether the cyber bully is sensible enough to think for themselves.

Solution 2 (my solution) : To enforce more on this law and take a more active approach to sieve out those cyber bullies instead of just coming up with a law that states cyber bullying is an offense. Much like in one of the show in the US "To Catch a Predator". Where people actually act as adolescents to lure out pedophiles. Ministry of Education can do the same where teachers can take the names of unpopular students in school on the internet to lure out potential cyber bullies. After catching the black sheep, they can be called up to the stage in front of the whole school during assembly to be reprimanded. This will instill fear onto the cyber bullies, even those who are not caught will think twice before they act.

Evaluation 2 : Those who are not caught will also have the fear that they might be next. Punishment is a psychological type that makes the cyber bully feel a sense of shame. It is more severe especially to teenage cyber bullies as they will be criticized by their peers since they will be made infamous.

Thesis: Because of the increase use of social media amongst the teenagers, there is an increase in cyber bullying cases since explicit and detailed information can be retrieved fairly easily by anyone. Ministry of education should play a part in educating teenagers regarding the dangers of social media as every teenager will receive education at some point of time in their lives.


http://sg.theasianparent.com/our-expert-talks-about-cyberbullying-among-children-in-singapore/
http://www.aware.org.sg/2014/01/a-teens-eye-view-of-cyber-bullying/#sthash.6KEiZrLT.dpuf
http://www.expatliving.sg/kids/growing_up/Cyber-bullying-in-Singapore-Guide-to-new-online-laws-53840.ece

Reader Response Final Draft (edited)

In the article "Who's the true enemy of internet freedom - China, Russia, or the US?", Morozov(2015) implies that the United States is the true enemy of internet freedom instead of the less liberal Russia and China. The author states that the difference between the US and the rest; is that the US wants to access the database of the users that were using products developed by US companies. China and Russia only request for access to the database of their own citizens. Morozov uses the recent debate between Microsoft and the US government, where the US government demands Microsoft to grant them access to their database in Ireland, as a stepping stone to his argument.

The author's claim that the US is the true enemy of internet freedom is biased because the argument is only based on one case study, which in fact, justifies why the US is not the true enemy of internet freedom.

It is widely agreed upon that the US is liberal in terms of freedom of speech and censorship. While it is true that the US government requested the database of the personnel using software developed by the US, the government only did what they did because they needed the data stored on Microsoft’s servers in Ireland for ongoing investigations. Another difference between the US, China and Russia is that the US did not actually hold the data of the people. This is further proven to be true from the case study where the US had to request the data from Microsoft, which ultimately led to the author's argument. On the other hand, China and Russia could access the database of their citizens at any given point in time.

Webpages such as Facebook and Google are also restricted in China and Russia. I believe that these acts of restrictions are the true terror of internet freedom. Although the definition of internet freedom may vary, I personally feel that internet freedom means having the option and liberty to choose what one can browse and say on the internet. China and Russia fail to allow users to do just that. There are many factors to consider pertaining to internet freedom. The case study concerning Microsoft and the US government should not be the only piece of evidence to place judgment upon the US.

Other than banning popular sites, China and Russia also practice heavy censorship on the content that one could discuss on forums or other web pages. China also did a lot of cover up in the past on the internet regarding the more sensitive issues, such as political corruptions. The US is more liberal in this aspect as they do not enforce such heavy censorship on their social media and on the public. In a nutshell, what Morozov pointed out in this article is not exactly invalid. Truth remains that all three countries that are being discussed practice restrictions on internet freedom, but the US is not as bad as the author claimed. However, what the US did cannot be overlooked as it is, after all, wrong of the US government to demand the information of a client from Microsoft just because Microsoft "belongs" to them.

Morozov, E. (2015, January 4). Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom - China, Russia, or the US? The Guardian. Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/04/internet-freedom-china-russia-us-google-microsoft-digital-sovereignty

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