Assignment 4 Ri Zhao and Zheng Qian 4C

Wang Ri Zhao (23) Chua Zheng Qian (18) 4c

Summarise from Paragraphs 6-9 why education might not be the best solution to poverty in about 100 to 150 words.

A research done presents a new look that contradicts traditional views of education enabling social mobility. Students believed that diligence is the main factor in deciding academic and career achievements. It is obvious however the opportunities, options and future of each pupil depend on the social class they are born into and their affluence. Education put up clearer border between each level of the social hierarchy. Students are categorized according to their abilities the day they arrived at schools. This is so even in top schools, whereby less affluent students are more likely to get lower GCSE grades than their compatriots.  The level of education parents have and the careers they are in have a great impact on the options taken up by their children. They welcome the idea of taking up jobs their parents once did instead of preferring to become much more affluent.

145 words

Do you think the author’s views on why education might not be the best solution is applicable to Singapore? Provide your reasons in 1 paragraph of no more than 200 words.

The author’s view on education is applicable to Singapore. Singapore’s education system is shaped to endorse the brighter minds. Higher ability students are sent to better schools with more resources and better learning environment to enable them to achieve their fullest potential. Students are separated according to their abilities since the start of secondary school after their PSLEs. This creates a social gap due to the fact that the higher ability students in top schools generally come a more affluent social class. These students inherited their richer parents’ “better” genes and have more opportunities for expensive tuition classes to be better academically than their poorer peers. With a better education received and more interaction with fellow bright minds in their elite schools presenting them better working opportunities in the future, students belonging to this exclusive group grows up be like their parents becoming richer than the average. The less affluent students stay in their social class as their families are unable to provide them with enrichment classes and also because poorer families generally care less about academics and advancing up the social class as they can be happy living in their social class given the high standard of living experienced by all Singaporeans regardless of their social status. This poorer group of students also have less opportunities in the future as their fellow schoolmates also belong to these less ambitious groups due to the segregation at the start of their secondary school lives. Hence education is not a tool to solve the problem of social immobility in Singapore and in fact may even encourage it to further develop. The author’s view on education might not be the best solution enable social mobility is thus true in the Singapore context.

198 words

Assignment 4 (Jun Han and Thaddaeus)

Summary 

School readiness reflects a child’s ability to succeed both academically and socially in a school environment.

Poverty decreases a child's readiness for school through aspects of health, home life, neighbourhoods and school life. A child's home has a large impact on school readiness. Children from low income families are do not receive the stimulation and learn social skills to prepare them for school. Main reasons for this is due to parental inconsistency and the parents lack support. schools with the largest proportion of children with low school readiness were from neighbourhoods of high social risk, including poverty.

Thus, the evidence is clear and unanimous that poor children arrive at school at a cognitive and behavioural disadvantage

Reader Response

I believe early intervention is the key intervention strategy to help children excel in their studies. There is a direct link between early childhood intervention and increased social and cognitive ability. Decreasing the risk factors in a child’s environment increases a child’s potential for development and educational attainment. Prevention and intervention programs that target health concerns (eg, immunization and prenatal care) are associated with better health outcomes for low-income children and result in increased cognitive ability. Also, the parent-child relationship during a child's early development impacts greatly a child's early development. Parental involvement, such as frequency of outings and problem-based play, creates greater intellectual stimulation and educational support for a child, and develops into increased school readiness. Early intervention helps to develop the skills lacking in children in poverty, that have already developed in other children who are of a similar age. Early interventions have have sustained success for children when they increase intellectual skills, create motivational changes, create greater environmental opportunities and/or increase continued access to supports. Children that had early intervention had greater academic achievement in reading and math, had completed more years of education and were more likely to have attended a four-year college. Also, children who received the intervention were more likely to have graduated high school, hold a job, have higher earnings and have committed fewer crimes. Therefore, I agree that early intervention is the key intervention strategy to help students excel in their studies.

Assignment 1: The Voting Situation in Afghanistan by Ling Xuan andAndrea

Summarise the voting situation of Afghanistan in this article within 100 – 150 words.

On Saturday, an estimated 7 million Afghan voters turned out to vote at the presidential and provincial elections, despite threats from the Taliban to disrupt the vote and punish all involved in the first democratic transfer of presidential power in the country's turbulent history. Afghan voters were determined to vote as they wanted to enjoy their democracy, and needed a good president who will help the people and bring positive change and improved security to Afghanistan. Afghan security forces foiled several attacks against voting centers and ensured that the vote went largely smoothly. Electoral officials hope that this election is free of the allegations of fraud that marred the last vote in 2009. Afghanistan is a nation of diverse cultures and languages, which harbors potential for ethnic divides, but campaigns have crossed ethnic lines with contenders from Uzbek, Pashtun and other ethnic groups.
Reader Response Why is there a need to establish proper and secure voting rights for all?

To citizens, voting rights are seen as a key platform in individual preference to a country's decision making process. A capable and reliable leader will be voted into power based on the majority confirmation of the chosen leader's ability. Proper and secure voting rights would definitely have positive consequences. Afghanistan's continued political instability has been deemed intolerable by the public and the public views the elections as a crucial step to improving the situation. Proper and secure voting rights would mean that every citizen, regardless of background and religion, would be offered an equal vote; a fair say in the country's management. A vote is seen as a responsibility towards one's country as well as the future generation and it gives the citizens faith in their country’s future. For the Afghans, faith is derived from having a key role in deciding the next leader of their country and the possibility of the voted leader’s decisions ending the turmoil that Afghanistan has plunged into. The Afghans have expressed that “improved security is their main concern” and they have faith that the elections was a step in the right path to solving their country’s political state. Proper and secure voting rights have indeed proved to be beneficial for a country’s growth and advancement. Notably, under then Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s leadership, the third world nation flourished and stands as the first world metropolis that we know of today.

Assignment 4 'Is Education the cure for poverty?' Ryan and Anping 4C

   Is Education the cure for poverty?

 

Summarise the impact of education on poverty and the challenges education faces in equipping people for the new workplace (paragraphs 7-14) in 150 to 200 words.

Education, upon combining with multidimensional job training, readiness, and a quality job search, results reaped are more than double. An increase in earnings, employment and a reduction of time spent on welfare are just some of them. However, the challenges that have presented themselves are abundant, making education only a partial cure for poverty. Recent changes in the labor market has led to at least half of the inequality increase taking place within groups of comparably educated people. Even among the highly educated, only some are getting ahead, and lots aren't. Additional mechanisms are needed to nudge the invisible hand toward outcomes that are more meritocratic and just. Education improves the quality of workers, not the quality or the quantity of jobs. A danger of over-reliance on education is that skilled workers end up unemployed. Technological change is one of the reasons we've doubled the share of college grads but continued to see their unemployment rates in the 2 percent range, as our economy is still very much structured to produce lots of low-wage jobs.Thus what matters is the quality of jobs to aid in reducing or reinforcing working poverty, rather than the quantity that requires an educational degree. (199 words) 

Do you agree with the author whether if education is only part of the answer to poverty? Write your response with reference to the arguments in the article, within 200 to 250 words.

Yes, I agree with the author that education is only part of the answer to poverty. It is true that education is the ticket out of poverty. However, it is not the only method to escape poverty; various other factors also determine whether one is going to remain poor and get out of the penniless pithole. In fact, it is even arguable whether education is the most important factor in getting a decent job with a decent pay in contrary to popular beliefs. If a man is highly-educated and is equipped with high level of skills but lacks an economic context wherein they can realize the economic returns from their improved human capital, he is still going to stay poor. Education alone isn’t successful in raising employment and earnings prospect, rather education combined with a strategy of focused job training), "soft skills," and holding out for quality jobs will be much more successful. Moreover, strawn reports showed complementation of multidimensional job training, readiness, and a quality job search with education causes the returns (income) to double. Not forgetting to mention the great influence of rate of technological change, rate of change and demand shift have on the amount of wages one can have. Between 1969 and 2000, improved education lowered family poverty by quite abit. But economic growth and inequality had considerably larger effects. Family structure and race also played roles in lowering family poverty, although not as much as education. Thus, education is only part of answer to poverty

Assignment 4 Ri Zhao and Zheng Qian 4C

Wang Ri Zhao (23) Chua Zheng Qian (18) 4c

Summarise from Paragraphs 6-9 why education might not be the best solution to poverty in about 100 to 150 words.

A research done presents a new look that contradicts traditional views of education enabling social mobility. Students believed that diligence is the main factor in deciding academic and career achievements. It is obvious however the opportunities, options and future of each pupil depend on the social class they are born into and their affluence. Education put up clearer border between each level of the social hierarchy. Students are categorized according to their abilities the day they arrived at schools. This is so even in top schools, whereby less affluent students are more likely to get lower GCSE grades than their compatriots.  The level of education parents have and the careers they are in have a great impact on the options taken up by their children. They welcome the idea of taking up jobs their parents once did instead of preferring to become much more affluent.

145 words

Do you think the author’s views on why education might not be the best solution is applicable to Singapore? Provide your reasons in 1 paragraph of no more than 200 words.

The author’s view on education is applicable to Singapore. Singapore’s education system is shaped to endorse the brighter minds. Higher ability students are sent to better schools with more resources and better learning environment to enable them to achieve their fullest potential. Students are separated according to their abilities since the start of secondary school after their PSLEs. This creates a social gap due to the fact that the higher ability students in top schools generally come a more affluent social class. These students inherited their richer parents’ “better” genes and have more opportunities for expensive tuition classes to be better academically than their poorer peers. With a better education received and more interaction with fellow bright minds in their elite schools presenting them better working opportunities in the future, students belonging to this exclusive group grows up be like their parents becoming richer than the average. The less affluent students stay in their social class as their families are unable to provide them with enrichment classes and also because poorer families generally care less about academics and advancing up the social class as they can be happy living in their social class given the high standard of living experienced by all Singaporeans regardless of their social status. This poorer group of students also have less opportunities in the future as their fellow schoolmates also belong to these less ambitious groups due to the segregation at the start of their secondary school lives. Hence education is not a tool to solve the problem of social immobility in Singapore and in fact may even encourage it to further develop. The author’s view on education might not be the best solution enable social mobility is thus true in the Singapore context.

198 words

Assgn4 The impact of poverty on educational outcomesTravis and Yongliang

Summary

Children who come from poverty-stricken households are usually less ready for school due to difficulties faced in health, home life, neighbourhoods and schooling. This is primarily because of the duration of poverty, timing of poverty, community characteristics and also the impact that poverty has on the child's network. When these children who come from lower-income families attend school, the majority score significantly lower in vocabulary and communication skills compared to children who come from higher-income families. From this, it is evident that children from low-income families arrive at school at a cognitive and behavioural disadvantage because of the poor living environment that they were brought up in.
Reader response:What do you think should be the key intervention strategy to help children in poverty to excel in their studies.
I feel that having parental involvement and a good parenting style should be the key intervention strategy to help children in poverty to excel in their studies. With good parenting since young, the values that help in their pursuit of knowledge like being hardworking can be instilled into them, allowing them to grow up to strive towards doing better in their studies through hardwork and perseverance. The article mentions about the Chicago Child Parent Center programme, where a research found out that children whose parents were more involved with their studies had greater academic achievement in reading and mathematics, teacher ratings of the school adjustment, grade retention and special education placement. After these children grew up they also generally had higher rates of school completion and attained more years of education. I also feel that the demands that parents have on children's academic progress serve as a motivation for children to work hard in order to achieve the desirable results that parents expect from them in order to appease their parents. Thus it can be said that parental involvement in the form of setting demands for their children can prove effective as it serves as a driving force for them to do well in studies.

Assignment 4: The impact of poverty on educational outcomes for children (Alicia & Qi En 4B)

Summary: 
In about 100-120 words, summarise the impact of poverty and readiness for school 

Children who come from poverty-stricken households tend to be less ready for school due to difficulties faced in health, home life, neighbourhoods and schooling. These children often lack the interest and are not socially-skilled to be prepared to attend school, which may also be caused by poor parental inconsistency and the lack of support. When these children who come from lower-income families attend school, the majority score significantly lower in vocabulary and communication skills compared to children who come from higher-income families. As such, these children tend to perform poorer and will have a cognitive and behavioural disadvantage. Also, the degree of school readiness of children represents their proficiency for excelling academically or socially. 

Reader's Response: 
What do you think should be the key intervention strategy to help children in poverty to excel in their studies. Write your response with reference to one strategy proposed by the author in 200-250 words.

Poverty affects a child's education adversely, causing a cognitive and behavioural disadvantage to the children in poverty as compared to the children who are not. This causes a general lower level of understanding and results in children who are in poverty.  However it was recently revealed that parent-child relationships have been the method with the greatest influence to reverse the impact of poverty on a child's education. Thus I think having parental involvement and a good parenting style should be the key intervention strategy to help children in poverty to excel in their studies. The article mentions about the Chicago Child Parent Center program. This intervention targets young children and includes the extensive involvement of parents. In a research, it was later found out that children in this program had greater academic achievement in reading and mathematics, teacher ratings of the school adjustment, grade retention and special education placement. After these children grew up they also generally had higher rates of school completion and attained more years of education. Parent involvement in a children's early intervention creates a greater intellectual stimulation and educational support for the child and this develops an increased school readiness which is lacking for those who are in poverty. Thus, parental involvement should be the key intervention strategy to help children in poverty to excel in their studies.

Assignment 4 - Education not a sure way out of poverty ( Christine Yep and Joycelyn Chuah - 4C)

Summary: 
Based on in-depth interviews with 88 children in two high-performing academies on education and how academics affects one's social level in the society, results showed that most people have the mentality that good education brings about one's success in the future. Even though hard work is said to be the key factor towards work success, the choices of these pupils are clearly restricted by their family back grounds as well as the wide economic forces. Once the children start schooling, they are academically sorted and poorer children tend to be likely to get GCSE results that are as good as their wealthier classmates. Inevitably, a child's choices depends on their parents' education and work. Thus, even though with hard work, education may not be the best solution to bring one out of the poverty cycle. 


Reader Response:
No, we do not agree that the author's view is applicable to Singapore. In our country, there is definitely no separation of social classes based on one's family background.  Every child has an equal opportunity to attain education as entry to schools is based on meritocracy and not his background. Students are strictly streamed into schools and classes based on their academic abilities and it does not matter how rich or poor his family is. Education can thus be a solution to poverty and can in fact be a route out of poverty for the children they come from poorer families. So as long as they work hard and attain good results, they will have a chance of getting into good schools and obtaining a good job in future, to allow them to escape poverty. Also, no child will be denied of education due to their financial status as the Singapore  government provides great financial assistance to the students. For example, there is the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) which provides students from lower income families with free uniforms and books, and also subsidies majority of the school fees, allowing every child to attain education regardless of the family background and have a chance to escape poverty.

The impact of poverty on educational outcomes for children (fanxi and Maychie)

SUMMARY QN:

In about 100-120 words, summarise the impact of poverty and readiness for school (paragraph 5-6).

Summary:
It has been shown that poverty lowers a child's school readiness. This is primarily because of the duration of poverty, timing of poverty, community characteristics and also the impact that poverty has on the child's network. Children from low-income families often do not receive the stimulation and they do not learn the social skills required to prepare them for school due to parental inconsistency, lack of supervision and poor role modelling. It is found that children from low-income families arrive at school at a cognitive and behavioural disadvantage due to the environment that they were brought up in. These differences between children from low-income families and children from more privileged families were already evident by grade 3, yet schools are not in the position to equalise this gap.

READER RESPONSE QN:

What do you think should be the key intervention strategy to help children in poverty to excel in their studies. Write your response with reference to one strategy proposed by the author in 200-250 words.

In my opinion, developing a child early is the key intervention strategy to help children excel in school. By development, I mean in different aspects that could aid a child in school, such as social skills or cognitive thinking. I feel that developing a child early is essential for this intervention strategy to be key, as one absorbis the most when he or she is young, and since education is something that happens throughout a person's life, including when the person is young, thus starting early is important to ensure that children learn while they are young too. One example would be the High Scope Learning Approach, where children aged 3 and above develop skills with the concept of 'learning by doing', and are split into groups and interact with each other in the process of learning. I feel that this method is effective as it helps develop a child's cognitive thinking when they learn by doing, improve social skills when they interact with other children in group work and last but not least, this is aT class for young children when their brain is like a sponge. The effectiveness is even proven by statistics, as children who went through this program were more likely to have a better pay and a secure job. Being an example of a strategy where kids are developed, I thinks that this have shown how starting early can be the most important key intervention strategy. From this, I think that starting early is the key intervention strategy for kids to excel in schools.

Assignment 4 : Felicia Yee (4B) and Leandra Nair (4B)

Summarise from Paragraphs 2-4 why ecological modernism believes that technology is the solution to environmental problems in about 100 words.

Ecological modernization believes that harnessing innovation and entrepreneurship can save the planet, and while modernists are still all for being environmentally friendly, they are all for making use of nuclear energy, genetically modified crops, urbanisation and geoengineering to help solve the problem of climate change. They state that they embrace these technologies to give nature room, to allow nature to rest while we are able to narrow our human activity through more efficient technology. With technology, more land can be freed up, and modernists want to cut the links between mankind and nature, and restore large spaces of habitats and reintroduce species that once lived in those habitats.

READER RESPONSE QN: Do you think technology is going to help Mankind solve all environmental problems? Your response should be between 200 and 250 words.

I do not think that technology is going to help Mankind solve all environmental problems as it might lead to other problems, and might cause the sustainability of the industry to decrease. For example, one of the biggest technological innovations in aquaculture and fishing in the last half century has led to a near total breakdown of all saltwater fisheries worldwide. Instead of increasing the stocks and providing greater resource management, it has done the exact opposite. In this case, technology has not made life easier for the fish, but has made life easier for the fishermen. With mile long nets, city-sized drag lines, sonar fish-finders and huge commercial harvesting boats, the stocks have been reduced to the point where they could be reaching total collapse. This shows that even though technology can indeed solve some environmental problems, it could lead to more problems in the same industry. With technology, there is decreased sustainability as well, when there is an increased rate at which the fishermen catch the types of fish they catch, what will happen to the other organisms that feed on the fish or the organisms that the fishes feed on? There will be an imbalance in the ecosystem and the ecosystem might not be able to sustain itself any longer. Therefore, I do not think that technology can solve all environmental problems as it will inevitably lead to other problems, and affect the sustainability of the industry as well.

Assignment 4: Technology is the solution to environmental problems. Xin Ni and He Ying (4C)

[Summarise from Paragraphs 2-4 why ecological modernism believes that technology is the solution to environmental problem.]

Ecological modernism believes that harnessing innovation and entrepreneurship can save the planet. The modernists are pro-nuclear, pro-genetically modified crops, pro-megadams, pro-urbanisation and pro-geoengineering of the planet to stave off climate change. They say they embrace these technologies to give nature room. Modernism hope to do their business through smarter, greener and more efficient technologies. The modernists want to cut the links between mankind and nature and carry out rewilding. With technology, ushering in the return of the wild will be more painless, because more land can be liberated. But without technology, it can only be done by culling humanity.


[Reader Response - Do you think technology is going to help Mankind solve all environmental problems?]

Undeniably, technology has brought about benefits to the environment, however it is not going to help mankind solve all environment problems partly due to the side effects that technology can bring about, and giving rise to more environmental problems. Technology is likely to cause an unsustainable and unstable environment. Take for instance, alternative energy such as the nuclear energy posses an extremely harmful side effect when the nuclear plant melts down. The nuclear disaster in Japan had caused deaths, and the radiation that have caused health problems, and severe environmental problems. This simply shows that we cannot set nature free from the impact of humans, specifically the impact of technology. These impacts are irreversible, and that technology is definitely unable to eradicate them. We may be able to recreate the woolly mammoths, but remaking their habitat is beyond us and what technology can do. These problems have already been made, and it is no easy deal to solve these problems. Going back is a physical impossibility, and hence, my stand is that technology cannot help mankind solve all environmental problems.

Assignment 4: Is Education the Cure for Poverty? (Andrea Ang + Ling Xuan 4C)

SUMMARY: Summarise the impact of education on poverty and the challenges education faces in equipping people for the new workplace.

The impact that education has on poverty can be described as the “education premium” which is the earnings boost associated with more education. Improved education lowered family poverty by almost 4 percentage points. Education also rewards it’s students with increased premiums and more incentives.

The challenge education faces in equipping people for the new workplace is that there is a need to combine general education with multidimensional job training, readiness, and a quality job search. Education also has to combine general education with training specific to both the individual and his or her local labour market work. Another challenge education faces would be the recent changes in the labour market of which meritocracy, where we can reliably count on people being fairly rewarded for their improved skills, is not celebrated. Additionally, education solely improves the quality of workers, not the quality or the quantity of jobs. The workplace of the future is still very much structured to produce lots of low-wage jobs which are the most abuundant opportunities offered to the new graduates.

READER’S RESPONSE: Do you agree with the author whether if education is only part of the answer to poverty? Write your response with reference to the arguments in the article, within 200 to 250 words.

I agree with the author that education is only part of the answer to poverty, because education itself is insufficient without other contributing factors in place. Firstly, education needs to be coupled with job trainings and searches in order to alleviate poverty. According to the article, strawn reports that when education is combined with multidimensional job training and a quality job search, the returns more than double. This shows that when specific job training is provided alongside education, individuals become better at working in their local labour markets and people are now aided with job searches to relieve their unemployment. Secondly, the extent to which education is useful would also depend on the situation of the economy. Quoted from the article, "they also need an economic context wherein they can realize the economic returns from their improved human capital". Education merely moves people closer to the poverty line, but if we want to push people significantly above it, we would need additional institutions that would reward people for their skills and hence, incentivize them to work towards economic returns for themselves. Lastly, reforms, regulations and institutions need to be enforced in order to supplement the insufficient but necessary anti poverty tool of education. According to studies, in the late 1990s, poverty fell to historic lows because of the introduction of welfare reforms and a significant expansion of work supports, like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the minimum-wage increase. This shows that education itself is not enough, but we also need regulations and concrete mechanisms to push people above the poverty line. Hence, I agree with the author's stand.

Chng Jiu Hui (5) Lee Si Yun (8) 4C - assignment 4

assignment 4 article 3: Stop the deluge of science research

SUMMARY:
The rapid growth of scientific literature is often seen as evidence that the pace of human discovery is accelerating.
However there are now far too many science research papers to read in far too little time. Even in the absence of any genuine increase in scientific activity, research papers are continually published.
The only practical solution to managing the quality and relevance of scientific papers is to take a more differentiated approach to publishing the results of research. On one hand funders and employers should encourage scientists to issue smaller numbers of more significant research papers. This could be achieved by placing even greater emphasis on the impact of a researcher's very best work and less on their aggregate activity.
On the other they should require scientists to share all of their results as far as practically possible.

READER RESPONSE QN:
The author suggests that one possible solution to the problem of unread scientific research papers is to get funders and employers to encourage scientists to publish less, but significant, research papers. Do you think this is a good idea? Provide reasons for your answer in no more than 200 words.

Yes, I think this is a good idea. The problem of unread scientific research papers can be solved by placing even greater emphasis on the impact of a researcher's best work, instead of focusing on their aggregate activity. By publishing less, but significant research papers, it allows readers to get the latest information of impactful and meaningful research, instead of just flooding readers with every single research done, regardless of its success or failure. In today's "time is money" context, where one's pace of life is getting increasingly faster and busier, by placing even greater emphasis on the impact of a researcher's best work, instead of focusing on their aggregate activity saves time as one does not have to read through every single research, but instead, is informed of the more significant ones first. This makes it convenient for readers to access information on important scientific researches, and alleviates the problem of scientific research papers going unread.

Assignment 4 (Cherri Chan, Tiffany Tsui, Ng Wei Qing)

Summary:

When education is combined with multidimensional job training, readiness, and a quality job search, it resulted in an increase in earnings and employment, and reduction of time spent on welfare. However, education is only a partial cure for poverty because of all the other recent changes in the labour market. At least half of income-inequality increase has taken place within groups of comparably educated people, and only minority of the highly-educated people are paid high wages. There is no meritocracy, where we can reliably count on people being fairly rewarded for their improved skills. Education improves the quality of workers but not the quality or the quantity of jobs, and the low rate of technological advance does not decrease the unemployment rate and increase the wages. At the same time, another problem is that our economy is still very much structured to produce lots of low-wage jobs, which will become the source of much job growth over the next decade. While we will be able to produce many more college graduates in the future, the quality and quantity of jobs that are for the less educated will not increase due to the economic status. As a result, education will not be able to alleviate poverty.

Reader's response:

I agree with the author that educations is only  part of the answer to poverty. Education itself is insufficient to eliminate poverty, it can only reduce poverty. Relying on just eduction alone can possibly result in many people not being able to find jobs despite having a eduction qualification as the quantity of jobs does not increase even though more people receiving education means that the quality of workers increases. In this case, the poor would still remain in poverty as they are enable to find jobs to earn money. Even with eduction, the poor still require their strength and status restored in order for them to reap the benefit of their education and escape poverty. While education is one factor to reduce poverty, economic growth, reducing inequality and restoring the strength and status of the poor is still needed to reduce poverty. Therefore, I agree with the author that eduction is only part of the answer to poverty.

Assignment 4: "International Surrogacy is Dangerous and Unfair" — Ong Shi Qing (9) and Renise Ngo Shu Ning (11) 4B

Summary:

There is ruthless exploitation, and women are pressured, deceived and cheated into surrogacy by others who make the real money. Surrogates are seen purely as a commodity. There are repeated pregnancies, abortion, complications from fertility drug use, non-payment, lack of legal advice to surrogate mothers. Foreign parents are in the illusion that this is somehow an altruistic service. The bodies of poor women and men are used for the benefit of the rich, preventing individuals from climbing out of the quagmire of poverty and disadvantage. Governments in poor countries adopt unacceptable laws in the hope of developing lucrative niche markets.

Reader's Response:

We feel that all people should be given the opportunity to have children only when all parties involved benefit from it. This includes three parties - the parents, the surrogate mother, and the children born from the surrogacy. Naturally whenever there is a successful surrogacy the parents paying for the birth will benefit from it. They will get the children that they want. However it is the children and the surrogate mother who might not benefit from it, and even be harmed in the process. The children born might be abandoned or the embryo aborted if they are found to have diseases or deformities, as was the suspected case mentioned in the article. The surrogate mother might also have to take care of the unwanted child if the parents do not want it anymore, because the reasoning is that she gave birth to them, so she should keep them. I feel that everybody has the right to want children and have them through legitimate means, but all parties need to considered when doing so.

Assignment 3

Summary:

Out of all the published research works, probably between a quarter and a third of all the research papers go uncited, while a large proportion is cited only by their own authors or by one or two others. This is partly a result of the imperative for researchers to publish in order to continue to secure funding and employment, and the accompanying incentive to salami-slice research results so as to secure the maximum number of publications from any given piece of work. However, this is the bane of a scientist’s existence as there are too many papers but too little time to finish reading through all. This situation is however only getting worst due to the rise of author-pays open-access publishing which has the benefit of allowing anyone to read the research in question without paying the publisher, but also has the disadvantage of giving publishers a strong commercial incentive to issue as much content as possible.

Reader’s Response:

Yes, I agree that it is a good idea to get funders and employers to encourage scientists to publish less, but significant, research papers. As cited from the article, the rate of growth of cited scientific publications has risen from less than 1% before the middle of the 18th century to 2-3% in the first half of the 20th century, and 8-9% today. That last figure is equivalent to a greater than doubling of scientific output every decade. With too many research papers being published, but there is limited time for people to be able to read through all the research papers and filter out the important and significant ones. The purpose of scientist publishing so many research papers is to secure maximum publication. By publishing lesser work, but just the significant ones, it will help save the time people takes to read through all the research papers, enabling them to be able to spend more time to analyse each and every research paper published.

Assignment 3: The Flight from Conversation (Ng Wei Qing, Tiffany Tsui, Cherri Chan)

Summary:
Technology has definitely decreased human interaction significantly. People have sacrificed conversation for mere connection and accustomed to a new way of being “alone together.” We do not want to be interrupted and we prefer working alone, fearing the start of endless conversations. We have learned the habit of cleaning messy and demanding human relationships with technology, tempted to think that our little “sips” of online connection add up to a big gulp of real conversation, but they do not. They are unlike face-to-face conversation, they diminish chances to learn skills of self-reflection and do not instill patience in us. As we get used to being shortchanged on conversation and to getting by with less, we seem almost willing to dispense with people altogether. As Siri, the popular digital assistant on Apple’s iPhone, becomes more advanced, “she” will be more and more like a best friend — one who will listen when others won’t. This habit of seeking comfort from technology may be caused by the sentiment that "no one is listening to me", hence people tend to have an illusion of companionship and that machines are better than face-to-face conversation, avoiding conversations with others around them, and as a result increasing the distance of relationship between people.
Reader's Response:Do you agree with the author and is this happening in your society? If so, how can we improve
This is definitely true in our society. We see handheld devices everywhere, including at restaurants, when customers are waiting for their food to arrive. One may think that food would be the only thing that would make them raise their heads from their own devices. Face-to-face conversations are every bit as important as having a device. They reveal things about the other party that would not be revealed easily through a device. They build up bonds between friends, strengthening them. They let you confront your enemies, frightening them. Thus, to promote face-to-face conversations, a family could have a rule where there would be a no-device day per week; employers could suggest a Conversational Day, and lastly, friends could discourage each other from using phones when in others' presence. Although we could come up with the excuse of having no time or "there's a really important message I have to to get to", we have to keep in mind that human conversation is good for our mental health. There are days when we feel particularly depressing and we need someone's shoulder to cry on, I'm pretty sure that the handheld devices that we all have won't be great to cry on. We cannot deny the benefits they bring to us but sometimes it is good to note that it is okay to take a break from them once in a while.

Assignment 3: artificial intelligence Cheryl and Kaiting

Summary
Artificial-Intelligence (AI) brings about many possible benefits to the society. Currently, we are already surrounded by AI systems in the technology that we own. Recent breakthroughs include self-driving cars, digital personal assistants Siri and robots that function like humans. A huge benefit would be the magnification of human intelligence through the many tools that AI could provide. However, other than the many benefits AI has, in near the term, world militaries are considering autonomous-weapon systems that can choose and eliminate targets although the UN and Human Rights Watch have advocated a treaty banning such weapons. In the new upcoming age of AI, the short-term impact of AI depends on who controls it, the long-term impact depends on whether it can be controlled at all. AI may transform our economy to bring both great wealth and great dislocation.
Readers Response Do you think Stephen Hawking’s fears are unfounded? Whose stand do you take and why?
Stephen Hawking's fears are refutable. I acknowledge the potential risks he has raised, however, in order to attain success for anything, be it in education or science or life, one cannot avoid taking risks, and the same applies to artificial intelligence. In the future, with the aid of artificial intelligence, many manual work can be replaced by artificial intelligence systems. Although this would bring about much convenience and raise efficiency and productivity in industries, many will become jobless as a result as well. This is just one of the many prominent problems advancements in artificial intelligence could bring about. However, we cannot overlook the fact that artificial intelligence has created many things which we rely on heavily today, from providing services to aid in healthcare to reducing labour in household chores. Therefore, as long as we can effectively cope with these potential risks, we can still take venture and advance more in artificial intelligence and come up with more creations to benefit mankind. Laws and policies can be strongly enforced to ensure that creations of artificial intelligence are not misused. Thus, I take the stand of Adam Gibson because he feels that although such technology has many drawbacks to it, without it, we cannot possibly face and resolve many of the complex problems today. Even if artificial intelligence is dangerous to venture into, we have already gone too far into this field and there's no more turning back, we can only go further and try to avoid the dangers lurking along the way.

Assignment 3: artificial intelligence – but are we taking AI seriously enough?’ - ShiQing and Renise

Summary:
Potential benefits include eradication of war, disease, poverty, and improvement of design of arrangements of particles for performance of more advanced computations than the human brain. Unfortunately, there are risks. World militaries are considering autonomous-weapon systems that can choose and eliminate targets; AI may also transform our economy to bring both great wealth and great dislocation. AI can outsmart financial markets, out-invent human researchers, out-manipulate human leaders, and develop weapons we cannot understand. Whereas the short-term impact of AI depends on who controls it, the long-term impact depends on whether it can be controlled at all. Little serious research is devoted, in order to ensure the best outcome, to these issues outside non-profit institutes. We have to improve the chances of reaping the benefits and avoiding the risks.
Reader's Response:Do you think Stephen Hawking’s fears are unfounded? Whose stand do you take and why?
Personally, I believe that Stephen Hawking's fears are unfounded and I take the stand of Adam Gibson. Recently, there can be no question that mankind has taken tremendous strides into the field of robotics, developing inventions with the use of artificial intelligence (AI). As Stephen Hawking has feared, AI has potential in causing an immense amount of harm to mankind in the future. However, AI is still considered to be only in its developing stages, and despite having potential to harm us in the future, those are only mere predictions. Presently, AI has provided us more benefits than harm. One such example of a benefit can include the accurate predictions of weather using AI. Meteorologists analyze large volumes of data in order to predict the weather, and even the most experienced weatherman may not always be accurate. With an AI software, scientists can sift through complex data and spot patterns missed by the human eye. When this software sees a big storm coming, it will automatically issue alerts to warn residents and the media, and this may help save lives. Not only, a rise in accuracy of weather predictions may also offer crucial benefits regarding agriculture and crop development. That said, yes, I can say with no qualms, that AI is powerful indeed. But when used in the right way, we are able to produce inventions which can definitely be used to bring mankind more benefits than harm, therefore I agree with Adam Gibson's stand.

assignment3 Travis and Yong Liang 4c

Educated girls are the greatest threat to extremists because there's no force more powerful than educated girls to transform a society. They change the demography. Educated girls help curb birthrates effectively which leads to social stability. Educating girls can double the formal labour force, which leads to a boost in the economy, and a rise in living standards and helpts to promote development. Furthermore, when a country educates and unleashes these women, they often become force multipliers for good. They also tend to become the backbone of large companies, development organizations and the garment industry.

I agree with the author that one of the best ways to bring a country to greater heights and oppose extremist groups would be to educate women. Educating women can bring out many benefits like easing the youth bulge in the population, and also double the formal labour force, thereby boosting the economy. I also feel that women have more forgiving mindsets than men and are able to calmly think over things better than men, and thus can make more informed decisions that can benefit the country. Educating women with the right social skills needed to lead the society is also important because this will allow them to recognise the ways extremist groups are desperately trying to make their country remain as a backward society. However I also feel that just education is not enough, women also need support and empowerment for them to shine at the opportunities they are given. They require the support and trust of their people in order to lead, and also require funds from third parties in order to bring peace to their countries and better standards for living for the people, otherwise all these educated individuals would have their potentials wasted away.

Assignment 3: Putting a price on the value of art Joycelyn Chuah & Christine Yep 4C

Summary:
Enjoying the arts boost the economy. The people who are more attracted to the arts are highly educated and mobile which helps go increased consumption and increase the local tax base and bring employers to the area.Being in a more artistic, lively cultural place during leisure time allows people to be smarter at work and gives them ideas. Thus, in order to survive in the world, the citizens and their workforce must be prepared with the creative skills required to become accustomed to the environment.When a place undergoes art and culture development, it is likely to attract talents and raise income. The arts brings things together and is self-amplifying. Value of art should not be measured in economic terms, but we should understand the financial impact it has.

Reader Response:
Yes, I feel that arts subjects should be given as much curriculum time as the Science and Math subjects. It is an equally valuable and important aspect of education and should definitely not be neglected. Firstly, art brings about a positive economic impact. As quoted from the article, "arts and culture in the US generated $135.2 billion and supported 4.1 million jobs in 2010." Many people have thought that being in the art industry does not generate much income, and one would not be able to go far in this career, but these statistics have clearly shown that it is not the case. Also, art brings about many other positive impacts. "Does it make non-arts companies more innovative? Are people smarter at work because they're in a more creative, vibrant cultural scene when they're not at work? Does it bring ideas to them? My hunch is that the arts do have these kinds of positive effects." Michael Rushton said. Skills that one can learn from art can be applied to daily lives, even if they do not work in the art industry. Thus, I feel that art should be given the same curriculum time as Science and Math subjects.

Assignment 3: Stephen Hawking: ‘Transcendence looks at the implications of artificial intelligence – but are we taking AI seriously enough?’

Summary: 

AI might be able to eradicate war, disease, and poverty.However we must learn how to avoid the risks.AI can help world militaries whereby they can choose and eliminate targets. AI may transform our economy to bring both great wealth and great dislocation.Such technology can outsource humans and develop weapons we cannot even understand. Although the short-term impact of AI depends on who controls it, the long-term impact depends on whether it can be controlled at all.However,little serious research is devoted to these issues outside non-profit institutes.

Reader's Response: 

I believe that Stephen Hawking’s fears are unfounded and i take the stand of Adam Gibson. As artificial intelligence is still currently developing new technologies and inventions, it is true that this machine oriented intelligence might end up harming us in the future, but up till now, there has been a lot more benefits that artificial intelligence has created for the earth and her people. And as we do not know what will happen in the future, we cannot be sure that artificial intelligence will only cause harm to us. In fact, artificial intelligence has helped humans in many ways that humans ourselves cannot achieve without the help of such technology. For example, artificial intelligence can limit the effects of air pollution from manufacturing and industrial processes. The USA Environmental Protection Agency has stated that many factories have started using these software to capture dangerous chemicals before they enter the smokestack and end up in the air outside. Without artificial intelligence, it is impossible that humans ourselves can detect such things as we do not have the ability to. In turn, with this intelligence, factories can reduce a lot of air pollution and in both short and long term help to save the planet. Thus I take the stand of Adam Gibson. 

Assignment 3: putting the price on the value of art - Lim Cherith and Roxanne Yew

SUMMARY QN:Summarise the importance of the arts and the benefits it brings in about 100 to 150 words.

The arts are of a great importance and has many benefits. The arts give people something to do when they're not at work, and they attract people to want to live in those communities. Often the people who are most attracted to the arts are highly educated and mobile. They will increase consumption, the local tax base and bring employers to the area. The arts also make people smarter at work because they're in a more creative, vibrant cultural scene when they're not at work and it brings ideas to them. Engagement with the arts is essential to building a creative environment and when a place develops a critical mass of arts and vibrancy it tends to attract talented people,and it tends to raise income. The arts has a centripetal pull that brings things together and then is self-amplifying.

READER RESPONSE QN:

Do you think that arts subjects (e.g. music, visual arts, performing arts, Literature) should be given as much curriculum time as the Science and Math subjects? Provide reasons for your answer in one paragraph, with reference to a specific argument in the article, and do not write more than 200 words.

Yes, I do think that arts subjects ought to be given as much curriculum time as the other subjects. the arts not only provides entertainment and the ever subjective "happiness" factor, but also boosts productivity, which is essential in the workforce. the arts is a form of free expression, stimulating minds and injecting vibrancy into mundane life. Hence, by introducing arts subjects to school life, not only does it expose students to a different spectrum of study, but helps boosts the brain for use in other subjects, and also allows the students to be able to stretch, train and make better use of their right brain, giving them the space and opportunity to practice expression and creativity, which are important skills in the 21st century. with the possession of skills in this area, they can also apply it to mathematical and science subjects and also in their future jobs, which will hence be able to increase productivity, especially in problem solving. 

Roxanne Yew and Lim Cherith 4B Assignment 2: Sexism and the lies of the level playing field

Despite the progress in women's rights in sport, women are still very much looked down up in the world of sport, where even men of well known faces and supposedly high calibres make sexist jokes, inequality is ingrained in the country's most popular sport.
the media are often willing conspirators of the culture of casual sexism, demeaning women, and portraying sports to be played, by default, by men, and that women's versions are adulterated and essentially inferior.
at the most basic level, humans act on incentive and deterrent, which may go some way in explaining the cause of the prevalence of open sexism to this day, because who would dare to go against the big shots handing you the money?

I did not realise the problem of sexism in sports until the facts in the article are laid down right in front of me. I agree with the author that sexism is still prevalent in sports and a very obvious example would be the manager of Manchester United's manager, Mr Alex Ferguson. He felt that football is a "men's" sport and women should not be involved and hence he declined a female physiotherapist's application for a work placement. He also sent sexist emails to his friends. I feel that to resolve this situation, it should all start from ourselves. We should all believe that females and males should be given the exact treatment. The council can also set a rule where in the staff managing for example, Manchester United, there must be a certain number of females working there. We can all also choose to show females playing sports more respect and recognition.

Assignment 3: The flight from conversation Ryan & Anping

Anping & Ryan  4C

Summarize the impact of technology on human interaction

Human interaction has been drastically minimised due to technology. Indeed, technology changes what we do and who we are, making us forget how to interact with one another. Fear of conversation induced by technology has been prominently displayed in workplaces, where young people nowadays go to work wearing earphones, avoiding any chances of real conversation. Many a times, even though people are gathered together, they are barricaded in their own bubble, furiously connected to their electronic gadgets.The cause of all this is due to the comfort technology brings. Through technology, people are comforted by being in touch with a lot of people while keeping at distances we can control; not too close, not too far, just right. Humans treat online interaction as a substitution for real life conversation; making us seem disregard the importance of human interaction. As we ramp up the volume and velocity of online connections, we start to expect faster answers. Now, we are more willing to dispense everyone altogether. We lose the confidence that we will be there for one another; simply saying we now expect less from human interaction as we have find no motivation to meet the demands of relationships. (196 words )

READER RESPONSE QN:

Do you agree with the author and is this

happening in your society? If so, how can we improve the way we interact with

one another? Provide reasons for your answers in one paragraph, with reference

to the arguments in the article, within 200 to 250 words.

I fully agree with the author's stand on technology reducing human interaction greatly. From youth that seem to be physically attached to their smartphones to even children who find it hard to pry their eyes away from the tablet showing their favourite cartoon, it is evident that there has been a decline of human interaction in our society. To improve human interaction, we can create ‘scared spaces’ to encourage our children to interact with each other.  By making places like the kitchen, dining room and cars “device-free zones’’, the value of conversation presents itself. As for employees at work who may lack the time to talk about things that are of utmost importance, a period of time could be set aside for them to talk so that they have more opportunities for human interaction. Most importantly, we need to cast aside communication through technology, and really listen to each other. Regardless of the conversation topic, we have to listen as it is often in these unedited movements, moments in which we hesitate and stutter and go silent, that we reveal who we really are. Improving interaction can be as simple as kicking away some of our bad habits when we walk outdoors. Nowadays, we often walk with our heads down, typing messages or searching the web. Even when we are with friends, partners, children, everyone is focusing on their devices. We simply have to gaze at the sceneries, look up at our companions, and start the conversation. (247 words)

Assignment 3: what's so scary about smart girls? Fanxi Maychie 4C

Summary:
Educated girls are the greatest threat to extremism because they have a force powerful enough to transform a society. Firstly, they can change demography. Educated girls help curb birthrates which leads to stability, by reducing the youth bulge. An uneducated girl on average, will have a significantly smaller family than educated buys. Secondly, educating girls can double the formal labour force, boosting the economy, raising living standards and promoting a virtuous cycle of development. Lastly, when a country educates and unleashes women, those educated women often become force multipliers for good. They tend to become the backbone of large companies like Grameen Bank, development organizations like BRAC and the garment industry.

RR:
In my opinion, those countries mentioned in the article has to firstly educate their girls, and also then unleash them with their knowledge, into the working population. Only educating them is not enough, but it definitely is the primary step towards liberating the countries, bringing them better economies, better standard of living and also ridding them of oppressive extremist groups. Educating girls will double the labour force and bring about better economy, and an example will be in Bangladesh, which emphasised on education, causing them to have more girls than boys in high schools. These girls then grew into women who formed the backbone of Garmeen Bank, developmental organisations like BRAC and the garment industry. Girls should be accorded the same right to education as boys and this is no longer just a moral problem that is about equality or rights, but in fact, it is an obvious solution that can solve many of the pressing problems in those societies mentioned in the article. Only when girls and boys work together with their knowledge gathered from school, these societies can truly escape the poverty cycle and even escape from the claws of those extremist groups and celebrate their country. They will not be forced to remain under the oppressive Boko Haram or Taliban after they have knowledge to think and plan for themselves. These girls will also have to be free to use their knowledge for their country as opposed to being kept at home after that, which is equally important as educating them. According to the article, countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran refused to empower their women despite educating them, causing their country to continue to stagnate in the past, unable to move forward. Many women have already shown their capabilities with their knowledge, thus it is key for the countries to starting educating girls. In conclusion, the battle against the groups opposing this idea will be tough, but it definitely is something worthy for other countries like USA to invest in as it is a straightforward solution to many problems within those countries in the article.

Assignment 3: Can genetically modified food feed the world? (Xin Ni and He Ying of 4C)

Summary
One of the main benefits that genetically modified (GM) food have is its ability to help alleviate world hunger. The growth of biotech crops is the fastest growth segment in agriculture. These crops are used for animal feed and biofuel, and also processed foods. It's clear genetically engineered traits make plants and animals more resistant to disease, stay ripe longer, and grow more robustly in a variety of conditions are effective in reducing costs and providing economic benefits to food producers. 
Reader's Response
I do not think genetically modified food alone can solve the problem of hunger in poor nations. Even though it has been said that one of the main benefits of genetically modified (gm) food have promoted is its ability to help alleviate world hunger, however, I beg to differ. GM are cheaper to grow, increase yields, and extend the time food remains edible, it seems reasonable that GM plants should provide more food to a hungry world. However, many of the poorest countries most strongly affected by famine, such as many Africa nations, have set up onerous regulations that prevent the growth and import of GM food and crops. Hence, even with the creation of GM, third world countries do not accept and consume them due to political and social situation. Also, major crop development companies use genetic engineering primarily to improve large cash crops with the most potential for profits, such as corn, cotton, soy, and wheat with. Little investment is put into crops, such as cassava, sorghum, millet, which are more relevant for cultivation in poor nations. From the commercial point of view, production of GM food is for profit, it has helped make many wealthier in the industrialized work. Even though GM food should be able to improve starvation situations in third world country, however, o conclusive evidence was found that GM crops have so far offered solutions to the broader socioeconomic dilemmas faced by developing countries.

Assignment 3 : What's so scary about smart girls? By Alicia & Qi En

In about 100-120 words, summarise the impact of educating girls.
Educating girls changes the demography. Social unrest increases when there is a large amount of youths that exist in a society. By educating both girls and boys, it curbs the birthrate much more effectively and this can help to maintain social stability. Also, by attaining education, it doubles the labor force. This in turn boosts the economy, raises living standards and helps to promote development. Asia's economic boom was due to educating girls and moving them to the cities to do more productive work. Also, if girls were empowered while receiving education, a country can unleash these women and they can become force multipliers for good.
Do you agree with the author that an effective weapon to counter the extremist groups in those countries is to educate the girls
I agree with the author that educating girls is an effective strategy for opposing extremist groups. Since one of the greatest threats to extremism in transforming a society is education, fanatics will definitely be wary and afraid of how large an impact education of girls can do for the future. Girls with an educational background changes demography, such as a youth bulge, and also double the formal labour force, boost the economy, raise living standards, as well as promote an upstanding cycle of development. Such examples of the benefits of girls' education can be seen in countries like Bangladesh and Oman. These countries are able to step out of their backwardness after emphasising education for not only boys, but also girls. Consequently, those educated women have become the pillars for certain organisations, and has helped their country advance tremendously. However, educating girls is not enough for a country to progress. Even though countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia have educated girls, they are unwilling to authorise them. So both countries are unable to progress and remain mired in the past. In the case of Oman, which is once a severely underdeveloped country back in the 1960s, educating and empowering women brought about stability and by far better off than its neighbour Yemen. Hence, I agree that education for girls, together with the empowerment of women can help counter extremist groups.

Assignment 3: The Flight from Conversation

Summarise the impact of technology on human interaction in 150 to 200 words.
We now live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating. However, in the midst of our communication, we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection. We have embraced technology as we can use technology to keep one another at distances we can control and present the self we want to be. However, this very technology we embrace has now made us fear conversation. Human relationships are messy and demanding, so we have learned the habit of cleaning them up with technology and thus, moved from conversation to connection. However, we fail to notice that online connections do not substitute for conversation and forget that there is a difference between conversing and connecting. We close our eyes to the fact that online communication doesn’t work as well when it comes to understanding and knowing one another compared to actual conversation where we can attend to tone and nuance and are called upon to see things from another’s point of view. When people are alone, even for a few moments, they fidget and reach for a device. We become so busy "communicating" that we often don’t have time to talk to one another about what really matters.

Do you agree with the author and is this happening in your society? If so, how can we improve the way we interact with one another? Provide reasons for your answers in one paragraph, with reference to the arguments in the article, within 200 to 250 words.
I agree with the author and this is explicitly happening in our society. One way we can improve the way we interact with one another is by understanding the benefits of having real life interaction. As quoted from the article, conversation allows us to "tend to one another", it culminates patience and encourages the learning of "skills of self reflection." Society fails to understand that only through real life conversation can two individuals accurately understand each other on a significantly meaningful level. This is done through tone perception, facial expression and body gestures which are simply masked behind our devices when we "connect" with others. The beauty of real life interaction is undermined and disregarded by the modern day perception of "technology keeping one another at distances we can control" and it is crucial that this mindset is addressed and corrected to improve our way of interaction. Another way we can improve the way we interact with one another is by creating "sacred places" that restrict the use of digital devices. Such a method would forcibly engage all individuals in the household in active conversation and promote real life connection. The inclination to engage in real life conversation will progressively develop once the individuals personally experience the benefits of real life communication. The "anti gadget rule" will allow individuals to see the value in the little updates they are provided with and will encourage a more open and inclusive environment for the organisation.