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 2: Big Data: Are We Making a Big Mistake? (Andrea + LingXuan 4C)

SUMMARY

Big data was seen as a quick, accurate, cheap to collect relative to their size and theory-free mode of arriving at a conclusion. Big data is also considered data points collected for disparate purposes and the possibility of updating it in real time is noteworthy. Big data is also seen as a gateway to better integration and analysis if data, a factor contributing to cost efficiency. However, when it comes to data, size isn't everything. Big data is closely linked to the sampling error and it's tendency to not reflect the underlying population purely by chance. Sources that provide the collated data, that then form Big Data, are biased, not representative of the population as a whole and thus unreliable. Big data also tends to be messy and to contain systematic biases. It is difficult to figure out what biases lurk inside the data. Notably, errors produced by Big Data are related to the fact that the data set is not based on the favored "N = All" theory, where the sample includes everyone. Big Data is only an illusion of a comprehensive conclusion.

READER’S RESPONSE

Big Data will continue to be useful to us by being able to solve problems and find answers using the sheer scale of data sets that now exist. For example, Google was able to track the spread of influenza across the US faster than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Google was faster because it used the digital exhaust of web searches to track the outbreak. Big Data will continue to be useful because it is cheap to collect relative to their size and can be updated in real time. As our daily lives have moved more to the Internet, life can be recorded and quantified by Big Data in a way that would have been hard to imagine in the past.
We can be better at using Big Data by ensuring that we are gaining answers from Big Data in a stable environment, without making statistical mistakes on an even larger scale.
When examining a pattern in Big Data, we need to ask whether such a pattern might have emerged by chance. Also, there must be a question about who and what is missing, especially with a large and messy pile of data. Furthermore, we need to be aware of the problem of sampling bias, where the sample in which the data was collected from is biased. Due to data sets from Big Data being so large and messy in nature, it can be hard to figure out what biases lurk inside them. Lastly, we cannot submit to the notion of “With enough data, the numbers speak for themselves " and ignore problems like sampling bias.

Assignment 2: School league tables 'encourage the selling of souls' by Xin Ni (09) and He Ying (13) 4C

Summarise some of the arguments the author raises against School league tables.

120 educationalists from around the world have signed a letter attacking the OECD's Pisa rankings and their undue influence on education systems worldwide. Pisa compared the data without any caveats or explanation, making tests the driving force in teaching and learning and inhibiting learning. Schools are turned from centres of learning into marketing enterprises seeking instant results; students often have nothing to fall back on but a good examination technique which has limited value except for passing tests.  The league tables encourages student to focus on learning a prescribed body of knowledge, to accept that education is all about passing exams. It is a disgraceful yet significant factor in the marketing of many selective and independent schools. Even the 100 global schools questioned the OECD'S Pisa so as to remove the naming or shaming for themselves.

Do you agree with the author that schools should not be ranked? How are these ideas reflected in your society?

Without a doubt, I agree with the author that schools should not be ranked. Ranking of schools can have immediate detrimental effect on the society or in a long run as well. As schools will become results driven, and start encouraging teachers to adhere to a prescribed body of knowledge, usually only what will be tested, often without hesitation or deviation. Students’ curiosity will be smothered; tangential questions are avoided, just as to maximize the marks attained by the student body. Education will then be just about passing exams, and nothing else. Students are often left with nothing to fall back on, other than a good examination technique which has absolutely no value in the in the workforce, despite receiving education since the age of three or four. Important life skills are neglected for schools are only interested in their academic performance on the league table. However, realizing the harmful effects of ranking of schools, the Singapore government had decided to abolish the ranking system in our education. "These include abolishing the nearly decade-old system of banding secondary schools based on their academic results, which has led to keen and sometimes unhealthy competition among schools. Some awards which schools currently get from the ministry for academic achievements will also be scrapped." This was quoted from an article by the Ministry of Education (MOE). Thus, top scorers of the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) as well as ‘O’ Levels were no longer being announced since 2012. Thus, I agree with that author that schools should not be ranked as it comes along with extremely harmful effects. 

Assignment 2: Big Data: Are we making a big mistake? Ryan & Anping 4C

Summarise Some of the reasons the author offers as to why using Big Data is popular and also why it may not be so useful in 150 - 200 words.
Google was able to track the spread of influenza across the US in just a day’s delay, which was much quicker than the Centre's for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Moreover, cost for tracking was extremely cheap as it was done by the collation of the digital exhaust of web searches updated in real time. Yet, results were uncannily accurate and fast. This, along with credit card payments and mobiles pinging the nearest phone mast, is a result of Big Data, making it very popular due to the success of the Google Flu Trends. By wising up to the potential of big data, costs can be reduced in factors such as health, through better integration and analysis of the data produced by everything from clinical trials to health insurance transactions to smart running shoes. However, there are a lot of small data problems that occur in big data, which was worsened when so much data comes so easily. Furthermore, it aims to merely find statistical patterns in the data, caring more for correlation rather than causation. It also heightens the chances of vast electronic surveillance and threatened personal security. Thus, Big data may not so useful after all.
READER RESPONSE QN: How will Big Data continue to be useful for us? How can we be better at using Big Data?Provide reasons for your answer in one paragraph, with reference to a specific argument in the article, within 200 – 250 words.
Although ‘Big Data’ can be rendered useless upon careless handling, it can still be useful if we choose to heed the familiar statistical lessons. Despite the setbacks faced leading to the failure of the Google Flu trends after the many success, it will bounce back, recalibrated with fresh data. Big Data opens up broader opportunities due to the ease with which we can gather and analyse vast data sets. Without needing the results of a single medical check-up, they were nevertheless able to track the spread of influenza across the US. What’s more, they could do it more quickly than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Google’s tracking had only a day’s delay, compared with the week or more it took for the CDC to assemble a picture based on reports from doctors’ surgeries. The speed, accuracy and reliability of the results derived from Big Data for the past many winters are still very useful to us. However, there are faults in the Data, and unless we learn the lessons of this failure, and further develop the potential of Big Data, we must not pretend that the traps have all been made safe. A theory-free analysis of mere correlations is inevitably fragile, and thus we must find both causation and correlation. This way, one would have an idea of what might cause that correlation to break down. From here, one can then find a solution for the problem, and receive more accurate data.

Assignment 2: Big Data: Are we making a big mistake? (Ng Wei Qing, Tiffany Tsui and Cherri Chan)

Summary:
Big Data is popular as they are quick, accurate and cheap. Also, it interest many companies with their "found data". For example, the data set of Facebook is bigger than the LHC data. Despite the size, they are actually cheap to collect and can be updated on real time. Besides all these, it is theory free. However, other than size, there is other factor to consider when collecting data - sample error and sample data. Thus, it may not be so useful as we often put the emphasis on the results only. In addition, the sites collecting data only care about the correlation rather than the cause. This is actually very risky as the correlation can break down if we do not find out the cause.

Reader's Response:
Big Data aka Google Flu Trends is the data analysis that produces uncannily accurate results; that every single data point can be captured, making old statistical sampling techniques obsolete. It is absolutely useful in pinpointing the area of any kind of outbreaks, regardless of the geographical location. It is faster as it tracks the outbreak by finding a correlation between what people searched for online and whether they had any symptoms related to the disease. It could be used for that purpose to reduce the amount of time needed, which is from a week based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention need for piece together a picture, to just merely a day. With outbreaks happening now and then, time is a necessity because we may never know it decides to hit one of our closest kin. However, as much as we love to rely on something new, digital and of the 21st century which we all live in,  we have to realise that Google is not accurate in a sense where it required to do systematic collation of the data and organized the data themselves. It only collects a messy tad of data, puts into a collage and it's up to the people analyzing it to make it precise. Thus I say, we use it as a reference, maybe not as the main data, but as a data which brings us to more precise data.

Sexism in sports- Christine Yep and Joycelyn Chuah 4C

Summary

Sexism is still prevalent in sports as it was not until 2007 that organizers of tennis tournament Wimbledon paid male and female champions the same prize money. Women were also banned from the pavilion of Lord’s cricket ground until 1999 and golf’s Open Championships is played at courses where there are no women members. Also, women’s soccer is considered inferior to men’s football. The idea of women boxing was not entertained until 1997, and female athletes are not exempted from female stereotyping, mostly appearing with husbands, children or boyfriends, which follows the ‘stay-home mother’ stereotype. Furthermore, female athletes earn fifteen percent less than men for the same hour’s work. Finally, Marylebone Cricket Club only recently relaxed a 212-year ban on allowing women to enter the pavilion, and that was only because it would not be allowed to apply for National Lottery funding if it did not do so.(148W)

Reader's response 

Yes, I do. Many female athletes struggle to gain equality with male athletes as sexism is very much prevalent in many sports, though there has been slight improvements made with efforts by the government.  However, many women are still victimized and continue to fight for equal rights as male athletes. In the article, it was mentioned that  boxing’s “ring girls" have been around for decades, but the idea that women could actually box themselves was not entertained until 1997, when the British Boxing Board of Control sanctioned its first female bout.  It sends a message loud and clear to people- that sexiness rather than athleticism is ultimately valued in women. Also, female boxers face other issues such as their pay, media coverage and the number of rounds they have as compared to men. ‘Your average male boxer earns between $6,000 and $15,000 per fight. A woman is lucky to get $3,000. Women are also seen as the warm-up act. They fight 10 two-minute rounds, whereas men are considered better value because they go 12 three-minute rounds. Female boxers also rarely receive any media coverage " says chairman of the Women’s International Boxing Council. I think that the government should have stricter laws and regulations to ensure fairness to female athletes. They should receive the same pay, have equal opportunities in competitions and equal media coverage as males. Female athletes put in the same amount of hard work and they deserve to be equally respected and treated as male athletes. (244w)

ELA Reading Assignment 2 ( Chua Zheng Qian (18) and Wang Rizhao(23) )

ASSIGNMENT 2: “When Governments Attack --- Online”

SUMMARY QN:

 Summarise the key points of the news article in 100-150 words.

This article brings to our attention the increasing severity of the threat that the cyberspace poses in recent years, in particular the use of malware or bugs to disrupt or perhaps even shutdown targeted cyber systems and intercept specific data to disadvantage a particular group or nation. Cyberspace provides the very platform that the governments of belligerent states seek, to manifest their desires of surveillance, disruption and dominance into lethal bugs and spyware, so as to instil fear into any who stand against them. Be it a lack of prudence or simply ignorance, one could easily fall prey to the malicious software disguised as a benign site. Unsuspecting companies or employees are then lured into these sites in a moment of folly, and unknowingly fall to their demise at the hands of vicious hackers by providing access to highly classified information. Therefore, discretion and vigilance is highly recommended by the author to safeguard oneself in the risky cyberspace.

READER RESPONSE QN:

 Discuss the importance of online security for individuals, companies and governments and how might this be achieved. Provide reasons for your answer in one paragraph, with reference to a specific argument in the article, within 200 – 250 words.

 For an individual, online security entails one’s very existence in the cyberspace, as online security is the only line of defence between one’s privacy and the rest of the world in the cyberspace. With the growing popularity of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Skype, millions have flocked online to indulge in the pleasures of cyberspace, unwary of its vulnerability and susceptibility to hackers. As such, they openly divulge personal secrets and details of their life in their profile pages, with the false mentality that the fragile security network would ensure maximum privacy, unbeknownst to them though, the online security provided by social media platforms can be easily shattered with a few taps of a keyboard. Controversial images and racist remarks could be uploaded in a moment, which could blacklist the individual and ruin his or her reputation in the eyes of the public in an instant. For activists such as the Mamfakinch, a pro-democracy citizen media project in Morocco, the risk is even greater as the details of their private life on social media can be easily used as blackmail and intimidation on individual members, leading to an eventual breakdown of the group in its entirety.   

As for companies and government bodies withholding classified and essential information regarding other nations or economic investments, massive stalls of data can be wiped in a blink of an eye (as evidenced from the South Korea Shinhan Bank cyber-attack whereby tens of thousands of computers were wiped of their data, leading to $756mil economic loss), dealing a huge blow to corporations and government bodies alike and stalling their economic, social or political progress by a great deal. The enormity of the stake at risk here is in the millions, billions and possibly trillions, and one can barely imagine the magnitude and severity of consequences if highly classified data is lost or delivered into the wrong hands.

Therefore, the above examples have highlighted to us the utmost importance and urgency regarding the implementation of measures pertaining to online security. If we are to secure our very existence in the cyber world, and very possibly in the real world, then we ought to realise how huge a potential and asset the cyberspace is, but also be aware and vigilant to the threat it entails as a double edged sword, and subsequently focus on online security to avoid unnecessary backlash and undesirable consequences.

Assignment 2: Why we shouldn't worry about teenagers using mobile phones

Assignment 2: Why we shouldn’t worry about teenagers using mobile phones

READER RESPONSE QN:

Discuss, with reference to this article and to any other sources of information you may gather, the impact of technology on youths nowadays. Provide reasons for your answer in one paragraph, with reference to a specific argument in the article, within 200 – 250 words.

Living in a revolutionizing digital age where everything is fast, instant and, most importantly, on-the-go, people are disengaged from having one-on-one face interactions. Technologies impact negatively on youths nowadays, they get so obsessed with them. Researchers have indicated that 77 percent of people aged 14 to 24 are nomophobic, having an addiction with mobile phones. An average teenager spends 144 minutes a day on their mobile devices. For those who suffer from nomophobia, the fear of being disconnected from the virtual world is heightened when they are restrained from checking their phone. The lives these teenagers that are addicted to mobile devices are so contingent on their need to feel socially connected on their phones that without mobile technology, they begin to express a sense of vulnerability that can trigger certain moods and behaviors like anxiety. Many are fanatical about being always available and are extremely uneasy if unable to contact their friends countless times each day. If the trend continues, teenagers will soon be incapable of forming and maintaining relationships without the help of a mobile devices. One study showed that Japanese children didn't make friends with peers who didn't have mobile phones. This shows how important technologies are to teenagers. Therefore in conclusion, technologies impact negatively on youths nowadays as they have become obsessed with them.

SUMMARY QN:

Summarise the key points for why people worry about teenagers’ use of mobile phones and why they shouldn’t be in 100-150 words

People think that mobile phone technology harms teenagers by making them stupid and stopping growth in terms of the way they think. People are also worried about their addiction to their phones and even health problems it might bring like brain tumour. Yet, people should not be worried as teenagers become more self-reliant and are able to do many things at one time, resolve challenges, attain data and think quick with their mobile phones, and these are all important and valuable characteristics for a teenager. This shows that mobile phones in fact better their cognitive development, instead of stopping it. As for addiction, the reason why teenagers check their phone so often is due to boredom and insecurity and adults are like so too. Everyone is struggling with the unfamiliarity of mobile technology, thus the reason why teenagers are doing some things wrong may be because of bad examples set by adults.

Done By: Loo May Chie & Tang Fan Xi 4C

Assignment 2 : school league tables 'encourage the selling of souls' - Felicia Yee & Leandra Nair 4B

Summarise some of the arguments the author raises against School league tables.
The author states that schools are turned from centres of learning into marketing enterprises seeking instant results. Although testing is indeed an essential way of gauging attainment, it is abused when the results are used for comparative purposes with no explanation, where the test becomes the driving force in teaching and inhibits the process of learning. It is also where teachers encourage adhering to a prescribed body of knowledge, often without hesitation or deviation. The league tables encourage students to accept that education is about passing exams and that nothing else counts. It also encourages parents to look for schools that get results, however short term they may be.

Do you agree with the author that schools should not be ranked? How are these ideas reflected in your society? Provide reasons for your answer in one paragraph, with reference to a specific argument in the article, within 200 – 250 words.
I agree that schools should not be ranked. Ranking of schools will firstly push every school to pressurize their students to achieve the best results academically in order for the school to be among the top ranks. Therefore, the school would drive each student to perform well and attain excellent results in tests, which may result in rote memorisation and spoon-feeding of knowledge. Not only is this useless as students will not retain what they learnt, but in the long-term, it causes students to be overly stressed in an attempt to cram as much information in their head as possible. In an article by the Ministry of Education, "These include abolishing the nearly decade-old system of banding secondary schools based on their academic results, which has led to keen and sometimes unhealthy competition among schools. Some awards which schools currently get from the ministry for academic achievements will also be scrapped." This shows that the government is trying to move the focus of schools away from academic achievements and more on the holistic aspect. The government recognises the adverse effects of a ranking system and hence has abolished it. Schools are trying to develop students whollistically with activities such as an Arts Festival week, leadership camps, sports programs and so on. In Singapore, the focus of schools has shifted from academics to ensuring students get a well-rounded and fulfilling education that allows them to pursue their different interests.

Yeo Yong Liang and Travis Tan Teenagers using smartphones

Reader response
I agree with the author in the viewpoint that we should not worry about teenagers using smartphones. As a teenager myself, I must agree that using smartphones has had many large beneficial effects on my life. For example, smartphones can easily kill boredom during inevitable timeframes of the day, like riding on a train where smartphones can allow you to occupy yourself by doing things like listening to music, playing games, reading e-books, instead of blankly staring into space while waiting for the train to arrive at your destination. The use of smartphones have also allowed students to be able to complete work quicker and easier. When they are unable to remember a mathematical formula, a quick press on the smartphones will give them their answer, instead of having to flip through every single mathematics textbook in order to find out the formula. However, smartphones are also definitely a double-edged sword. In a scenario where one is searching for solutions to a problem regarding his work, a single message from a good friend might lead you into endless chatting between both of you, and before you know it, precious time has been wasted and the task is still not completed. Smartphones can bring easy access to the unlimited amount of information on the web, but surely major distractions will also be more accessible to teenagers. This will significantly lower their work productivity if one is easily distracted. Only with one's clever use of these smartphones can they keep focused on their work and abstain from being easily distracted by the smartphone. Yet, the occasional distraction is still necessary, to prevent one from being labelled as a workaholic and for one to live life to the fullest. Therefore, the use of smartphones by teenagers is not a major concern to the livelihood of the young generation.

Summary
People worry about the teenagers' use of mobile phones because they are afraid that teenagers might get addicted to using mobile phones for social networking and for online games, none of which benefit them. However people should not only look at the disadvantages of using mobile phones as using mobile phones come with many advantages as well. By using mobile phones, teenagers are able to sharpen their quick-wittedness, multitasking skills, problem solving skills and also the ability to gather information from a bountiful of sources. Furthermore, they can learn to be independent as information is just a touch away. In a nuthsell, using a mobile phone brings about many positive effects and helps in the development of teenagers.

Assignment 2: school league tables "encourage the selling of souls"

Summary
When there is the presence of school league tables, learning is inhibited, breadth diminished and advantage embedded. The school league tables encourage teachers to adhere to a prescribed body of knowledge, often without hesitation or deviation. It also encourage students to focus on learning a prescribed body of knowledge, to accept that education is about adding exams and that nothing else counts. It complicates the parents selection of schools by looking for schools that can get results. This may lead to the growth of a predatory tutoring system industry which will give the extra help necessary. Schools league tables encourage the selling of souls for the sake of publicity and creating a market edge. It has had a considerable drip down effect on publishers as they play on the anxieties or a captive market. It also provides an inaccurate means of selection for universities and employers.

Reader Response
I agree with the author that schools should not be ranked. When schools are being ranked, it can have detrimental effect on the society as a whole. The teachers will only be teaching students things that will increasing their ranking in the school league tables. On the other hand, the students can only learn from this prescribed set of curriculum and nothing else. This will prevent the curious students from asking tangential questions and limit their quest for knowledge. With the schools league tables present, the test becomes the driving force in teaching and learning and the process of learning in inhibited. In Singapore, there was a system that announced the PSLE and O'level top scorer every year since 1992 but it was abolished in 2012. Even in Singapore, the harmful effects of having such a system is quickly recognized and abolished before more harm could be caused. Thus, I agree with the author that schools should not be ranked.

Cheryl Goh 4C Shernice Phuah 4B

Assignment 2: "Barbie, Sexualisation and Body Image: The Debates Rage On" - Cheryl Chua Xin Ting & Hum Kai Ting (4B)

Summarise the criticisms made against Barbie by the author or from the links provided in the article.

The author feels that issues such as barbie's proportions creating unrealistic body standards, her whiteness, her role in the fight against the pink aisle, against gendered toys, have always been surfacing. She also feels that the live action film starring Barbie would definitely inspire debate, between feminists for this sexualised image of impossible beauty and others about empowerment and feminism. The author also feels that the feminist debate about Barbie might gradually be the factor in keeping her iconic if sales continue to plummet and the mother's attitude that has the most impact on their children's health, not the toy. The author also feels that Barbie is symbolic to all, symbolizing a vessel to contain our stories and she is just a doll not feminist or role model unless we choose her to be one.

If the author is correct, what can people do to resolve the issues raised in the article about the sexualisation of dolls, like Barbie?
Like the author's opinion, I feel that ultimately, Barbie is nothing but a doll. The way adults and children view things differently, causing adults to be paranoid over things that should not exist- until it has been brought under public attention. Children, being pure-minded and innocent, see Barbie as a playmate and nothing more, occasionally wanting to "dress up" their dolls or give them a "new look". There are no thoughts of feminism in their minds. However, with the adults' view on the clothes and jobs "given" to Barbie considered feminist, these innocent children are constantly exposed to the side of their toys they would have never thought of. Hence, I feel that before condemning Barbie as a symbol of feminism, adults should first view toys as just toys, not symbols. The author stated that mothers are using Barbie the way their daughters do, as a symbol, a vessel to contain their stories. I feel that the author is implying that the way Barbie is actually used is different, as mothers use them as a symbol of feminism, or a vessel keeping their past memories filled with feminist ideas, while their daughters use them as a symbol of their pure childhood filled with increasing ideas of women independence. Therefore, I feel that instead of harping on the past ideas, mothers should acknowledge that now Barbie is just a doll, and nothing more.

Assignment 2: "Barbie, Sexualisation and Body Image- Ong Shi Qing & Renise Ngo Shu Ning (4B)

SUMMARY:
The author feels Barbie creates unrealistic body standards for girls. The upcoming film featuring Barbie would spark off a debate within feminists, on whether Mattel would have promoted a sexualised image of impossible beauty or that they sent a message of empowerment. The author felt the Barbie house she did not hope much for in the first place, fell even lower in terms of expectation. The author feels that perhaps Barbie thrives on this everlasting debate regarding feminist issues, keeping her an iconic subject. Furthermore, the negative effects of Barbie's plastic dimensions on girls proves that it is the attitude of the mother that has the largest impact on health.
READER'S RESPONSE:
I agree with the author's perspective that Barbie is only a doll, until we choose whether it is a role model or isn't a feminist. The author has addressed both sides of the issue, with point of views and arguments from both feminists and people who support the Barbie, but I personally feel that it is obvious that sexualisation of dolls is very prominent in today's society. The author mentioned evidence that "shows Barbie's plastic dimensions can have negative effects on girls' body images", as well as evidence of anecdotes of girls making their dolls have sex, get tattoos and lose their hair in Hoover accidents. I feel that feminist organisations, such as Femen, can advocate for more accurate representations of the female body on dolls. Female celebrities or females in power can do the same, for these are the ones who can impact and influence the most people. However, it is clear that since most of the problems caused by sexualised dolls occur in children, parents and teachers should teach them that dolls are sexualised and not in any way normal. Lessons about these can be instilled into sexuality education for older female students as well. These will inculcate in young children the correct mindset, and will effectively resolve the issues of sexualised dolls. I think these would resolve the issue because it is the easiest to change mindsets when children are young, which will make the change more effective. Nonetheless, adults need to be educated on this as well because of the fact that they are the ones who will impact and influence their children the most, with their children seeing them as their greatest role models during their most tender years.

Assignment 2 : why we shouldn't worry about teenagers using mobile phones by Alicia and Qi En 4B

Summary: People worry about teenagers' use of mobile phones because of addiction, as well as the fact that killing time with the usage of mobile phones will not be of any benefit to them, as with the games and social networking. However, these people should not worry so much about the negativity of using mobile phones that would be inflicted upon these teenagers. There are advantages that come alongside using mobile phones, such as sharpening one's quick-wittedness, multitasking skills, problem solving skills, and also the ability to gather information from a bountiful of sources. One can also learn to be independent while using the mobile phone, as information is just a touch away, and is virtually available and accessible to anyone who has the mobile phone.

Reader's response: Technology can be seen in every aspect of the modern society. The impact of technology on youths has been said to be positive and that negative effects only occurs when technology is not used in moderation.

Technology has made our youths much more abled in multitasking, thinking fast and can help home problem solving skills as well as information gathering skills. Technology has also made our youths much more independent. As Joanna Moorhead observes, her daughter can do all sorts of task by herself that would require her parents to do in the past due to technology, making her much more independent on herself instead of being too overly reliant on her parents.

However,  with autocorrect, shortcuts and chatrooms present in the technology they use, students may become dependent and use short forms. They may rely too much on digital communication and forget about their writing skills after long term usage. Also, with the lack of physical interactivity, the physical interaction skills of many students would be hampered as they do not know how they should act in social situations. Not only so, recent studies show that with increased use of technology, the amount of tolerance in students is vanishing quite increasingly due to the improper use of technology.

Thus, technology may be used to bring about more efficiency and develop skills but as youths are addicted to using technology so often that these positive effects are rarely seen, only a plethora of negative effects.

Assignment 2: qn 3 Online Security ( Lee Si Yun 8 and Chng Jiu Hui 5 ((4c)))

SUMMARY:

A malware was likely created by a well-known government supplier called Hacking Team, to hack several industries' systems. Emails sent to targets contained links to apparently benign websites. With each click, spy software, known as malware, was surreptitiously downloaded onto the computers of each staffer who tried to open the document. That program was designed to steal workers’ files, intercept their emails and snoop on their Skype communications, leading to devastating impacts.

According to research by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Citizen Lab, both activist bodies focused on internet freedom, and a broad range of industries fall into the bull’s-eye of such attacks. The most likely targets are those who have direct lines into the most valuable information on a business’ network. The US has charged five Chinese army officers with hacking into American companies. 

READERS RESPONSE:

In modern day where many important information is transmitted and stored online and everyone, including companies and even governments reply on technology, computers and the internet to carry out important duties, online security is extremely crucial. Passwords and documents that appear to be safe and secure might not be so at all, as many online hackers and hacking or spying software exist that can be used (without the victims knowing) to retrieve “private” and “protected” information. A spy software known as a malware is designed to intercept workers’ files, intercept emails and snoop on even their Skype communications without the victims’ knowledge as it is deviously hidden in seemingly harmless forms such as emails or links. This leads to devastating impacts and consequences. For an individual, he or she may suffer from identity theft or have their bank accounts manipulated, but for major companies and industries which rely on online means to carry out their duties, it is much direr than that, as it includes failure of online systems and services and loss of thousands of dollars. For governments, confidential files and information might be leaked that might lead to political issues. The threat of online security being challenged should be dealt with or at least prevented. To prevent cyber-attacks workers and even individuals should learn to identify suspicious looking emails, being cautious about using public wifi (as information can be infiltrated by a hacker) and using strong passwords for their online accounts.  

Assignment 2: When governemnts attack - Online (Lucia and Yuling 4C)

Summary

The article discusses how widespread cybercrimes are and its ability to manifest in harmless and subtle ways, which causes the unknowing user to openly invite spyware and bugs. It also highlights the potential lethality of a single computer virus, being able to wreck havoc to banking networks, causing online services to fail. Beyond the digital complications, it creates hardware and monetary issues by rendering infected hardware unusable. The author closes by reinstating the importance of personal discretion and user awareness; users should not underestimate their chances of being a cybercrime victim and exercise caution when dealing with passwords and emails.

Reader Response

Online security should be of paramount importance to users at all levels, from the individual to the major institution. In this day and age, a lot of important information, e.g. passwords, confidential files, reports, is processed, transmitted, received in a binary form, it is all the more crucial that we recognize what is at stake, what we could potentially lose to hackers, and take action to protect this medium at which information flows.For individuals, online security is important, mostly as a p rotection of one’s privacy and confidential files. The advent of social media websites has made sharing one’s life experiences a lot more convenient, and at the same time it dangles the bait of personal information to potential hackers. The past few years have been marked by a number of “lows” in social media history, like Facebook stalkers gleaning off personal particulars from user accounts, user Skype chat being leaked to other terminals, Facebook accounts being hacked into and used to post obscene and controversial content. This shows that we are not as protected as we thought, only a password separates all our private data from the hungry hacker, and the ways hackers can abuse, manipulate what they sift out seem inexhaustible. For the typical user of the internet, he has an online bank account, social media account, email. He has a lot at stake here, there is very little that separates him from cases such as identity theft and bank account fraud. As such, individual online security is all the more needed in such an age where nearly everything goes through the net. 

For corporations and governments, online security means more than protecting ones privacy, it is about keeping sensitive information and protecting daily online operations. Businesses and government have too made the quantum leap into using technology and the digital world to run their operations. Banks have their own online transaction system; shops have their own buying platform, and governments store info in databases rather than on paper. Compared to the individual, the magnitude of what is at stake is a lot higher. Think WikiLeaks, when Julian Assange leaked diplomatic cables online, it sparked a backlash of public defamation on the government. Think “Messiah” (Singapore hacking organisation), that disrupted multiple local government pages, and posted nasty and harsh remarks under the name of Singapore government. From the above, we can tell that online security is not just important; it is a necessity, to protect us from all the potential infinite repercussions.

Assignment 2:Barbie,sexualisation and body image Hew Ying Xin(4) and Jodie Suwe(13) 4B

READING PROJECT ASSIGNMENT 2
Summary qns: Summarise the criticisms made against barbie by the author
Firstly, the author thinks that Barbie’s proportions creates unrealistic body standards for girls due to her whiteness, skinniness etc. Also, Barbie has a sexualised beauty that is used to sell sun, sex, and sand, and is now being used to sell a magazine bought by (mostly) men in search of titillation. Furthermore, the Barbie House fell short of the author’s already low expectations. Haribo secured beneath see-through plastic was the ultimate insult for her. A pretend toilet that opens to reveal Barbie's pet dolphin. A selection of "photo ops". And, in the last room, a catwalk where children are invited to dress up and be papped. The author felt that the experience was similar to walking through a haunted house with the lights on.

Reader response qns:
If the author is correct, what can people do to resolve the issues raised in the article about the sexualisation of dolls, like Barbie? Provide reasons for your answer in one paragraph, with reference to a specific argument in the article, within 200 – 250 words.
I think instead of people arguing where barbie portrays unrealistic body standards and is a bad influence on young girls.We should instead look at the bigger picture and think of ways to solve the problem instead of talking about it all the time,making people constantly curious as to what is so bad about barbie dolls.People should understand that barbies are just dolls,not living things.We should not use them as a a symbol,a vessel to contain our own stories.Barbies cant be portrayed as a feminist or a role model cause she is just a doll.It is people's thinking and arguments that affect peoples' opinions of barbie dolls which results in barbie dolls being portrayed in a negative light.I feel that if young girls are sensible enough they will know how to differentiate between the living and the non-living.Furthermore,if parents were to have taught their child well,their child would know how to love herself no matter what external circumstances there maybe.In addition,do not forbid your child from buying barbie dolls cause the more you forbid them the more they will be curious about the negative aspect of barbie dolls.In conclusion,people should stop arguing and stop thinking so negatively about barbie dolls.If their child seem to be confused about the perception of beauty,then as a parent instead of arguing,it would be more sensible of them to guide their child towards the "correct path".

Assignment 2 Thaddeus Jun Han

Summary