GIPPY BLOG [:

(Research) Globalisation and Culture

2007-09-10T14:19:00.000+08:00

GLOBALISATION is an economic activity where businesses in domestic markets are allowed to move beyond itself to other markets around the world, thus interdependence among different markets. This has not only caused international trade, it has also caused CULTURAL exchange.

'States of Discord' - debate on the definition, impacts of globalisation between Friedman, Thomas and Kaplan, Robert

http://utminers.utep.edu/blaynep/states%20of%20discord.htm

'Globalization and its Discontents' - Political economist, Marvin Zonis and his thoughts on globalisation with NEWSWEEK

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3606142/site/newsweek/

'Poor among Plenty' - Poverty moving into the suburbs of USA for the first time

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16960673/site/newsweek/

'The opportunity cost of Globalization' - Al-Ahram Weekly

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1999/415/op5.htm

'Measuring Globalization: Who’s Up, Who’s Down?' - Globalization index

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/wwwboard/g-index3.php#

Discrimination (Research) ; Gender Discrimination

2007-09-01T21:21:00.000+08:00

BRIDE BURNING is is a form of domestic abuse practiced in parts of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh that is often disguised as a kitchen accident or suicide.

- brides are burnt over wealth, due to husband or in-laws not being satisfied with the amount of dowry that is brought by the bride or if dowry arrives late.
- accompanied with other forms of emotional abuse
- prevailing because of Hindu attitudes on the status of a woman in a marriage is always lower than her husband.
- offenders normally go unpunished.
- Roughly 1200 women die from dowry-related deaths in Bangalore yearly,

Sources/Articles: http://www-cgi.cnn.com/WORLD/9608/18/bride.burn/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/431607.stm

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SATI/SUTTEE is an illegal act or practice of a Hindu widow's cremating herself on her husband's funeral pyre in order to fulfill her true role as wife.

- practiced mostly by Hindus although there is no scriptures condoning such an practice, it originated in Greeks instead.
- been made illegal in 1829 but is still being practiced now

Article: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/08/07/1028157964815.html

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GLASS CEILING is an unacknowledged discriminatory barrier that prevents women and minorities from rising to positions of power or responsibility, as within a corporation.

Articles: http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/reports/glassceiling/index.html (Statistics)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0208/p01s02-ussc.html

Discrimination ; Sexuality - Gay Marriages

2007-09-01T21:02:00.000+08:00

Is same-sex marriage a practical consideration in this age of globalisation?

Same-sex marriages are the communing of two people with the same gender and forming a family. While many countries still do not have laws which supports such practices, the recent trend is that more countries are in the process of adopting it. Even amidst the general public’s opposition, governments are undergoing to changing federal laws and penal codes. Hence there seems to be a vested interest in their constant pushing for talks for legalizing of gay marriages. It simply could not be just because of giving homosexuals their supposedly, human rights.

Currently, only 5 countries in the world allow same-sex marriages. Yet, it is safe to say there are large volumes of gays judging from the turn outs at gay parties and the many gay rights movements that have been set up, although it is impossible to give an exact figure due to the fact that some people avoid the topic of sexuality. It is impossible for them to get married in their own countries due to the laws, thus the only solution is to migrate and tie the knot in countries where it is legalized. It has been said that many of the talented people are prone to be homosexuals, thus being able to attract huge amounts of such couples into any country will benefit the country economically. When one side is benefiting, other countries will inevitably be losing out. Consequently, something has to be done in order to prevent these people from migrating. And the only way is by legalizing same-sex marriage.

Moreover, in countries like Denmark, gay couples do not have to worry about their welfare. They need not cope with the opposing expressions of passer-bys while strolling down the road hand-in-hand with their partners. As they are provided with equal rights, saving them from the risk of being victims of hate crimes or discriminated. Conversely, in their hometowns where homosexual acts are banned, they would not be able to enjoy such freedom.

However, looking from the perception of the population where values are emphasized by their religions or family, same-sex marriage seems like a no deal issue. No matter the economic benefits that might be brought in or even if they are living in an age of globalization where developments are stressed, they do not agree to homosexual relationships, needless to say, the legalization of gay marriages.

In conclusion, there are different responses to whether same-sex marriage is a practical consideration. As such, it is dependent on the government and their priorities, if it will be economic benefits or values that are to be retained in the country.

More Article: (The Global View of Gay Marriage) http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/04/world/main604084.shtml
(Legal in Unlikely Places)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20647865/site/newsweek/page/0/

Discrimination ; Poverty, Crime & Revolution

2007-08-10T00:24:00.000+08:00

"The mother of revolution and crime is poverty"(Aristotle) Do you agree?

Revolution is a sudden and drastic change that happens almost overnight either in terms of social or politically while crime is an act that is against the law. Mostly, both takes place when the welfare of the people are not being taken care of, feeling dissatisfied or they feel threatened by the current situation, thus wanting change.

Money is the root of all evil, which is a common saying that supports Aristotle’s point of view. As people are poor, hungry, unsheltered and jobless, but nothing is seemed to be done by the government to help them, after a period of time, people’s tolerance level are reached and start to resort to methods to protect their welfare or get their so called, rights. Nonetheless, there is a limit to the types of crimes and revolutions that are caused by poverty. Crimes such as vandalism, arson, rape cannot be linked to poverty in any way just like revolution against any types of discrimination.

One good example of crime caused by poverty will be human trafficking in various developing countries in Asia such as China, India and North America’s Brazil and Africa. From a report by the U.S Department of State in 2004, an estimated of 600,000-800,000 people are being trafficked across international borders illegally. Including activities that are not discovered, it is actually adds up to even more people and with 50% of them being children and 70% women. This is only possible when people are desperate to earn a living but unable to do so, pushing them to believe in tricks of agencies that are responsible for the huge volume of human trafficking.

As for revolution, taking China’s Cultural Revolution will be a good example when the current government wants to develop the country so much, in hope to deliver the country from poverty and make it one of the major powers. Conversely, it did much harm than good for the people, who became even poorer than before. Thus the possibility that revolutions and crimes are causes of poverty is present too.

However, it is definite that poverty is not the only factor. Other factors will be the lack of education and personal moral standards. Taking Singapore for example, we are considered one of the “better-off” countries with little poverty, compulsory education and with an acceptable standard of living. Ironically, youth crimes, thefts, embezzling and drug trafficking activities are rife in Singapore. Also compared to other countries, Singapore is one of the six countries which prison has consists of more than 10% women.

In conclusion, as much as poverty does accounts for various crimes and revolutions, it is unfair to say it is the only factor. On the whole, I will like to believe that most people are kind in nature and will not kill or rob unless forced to, apart from people who are mentally-ill. Nonetheless, such things are not absolute in this world where moral standards are dropping due to the chasing after of material wealth.

SOURCES:
http://www.primaryresearch.org/bh/research/morse/index.php (Opposing View)
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/ncvrw/2005/pg5l.html (Statistics on Human Trafficking)
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/sn-singapore/cri-crime (Singapore’s Crime statistics)

Discimination (Research) ; Other Forms Of Discrimination

2007-08-06T14:31:00.000+08:00

LOOKISM is prejudice towards people because of their appearance.

ABC News: The Ugly Truth About Beauty (Commentary)

Chicago Sun Times: Some say it's pretty ugly: Real life is full of 'lookism' (Commentary)

Personnel Today: Overweight and underpaid as 'lookism' sweeps the world

Looks could kill your cahances of a landing a job

Star Bulletin: An Ugly War (Real life story)

AGEISM is the unfair treatment of people on the basis of their age.

BBC News: How Age Laws Work Across the Globe

Quick guide: Age discrimination

Fighting Ageism

The Australian Business: British Statue may allow ageism

Informatics: UK operators shun mobile for the elderly

DISABLISM is discrimination against disabled people who are deemed as inferior to others.

BBC News: Disablism ain't the same as racism (Commentary)

Guardian Unlimited: Attacks on disabled people are hate crimes, too

XENOPHOBIA is the unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or simply, strangers.

Financial Times: Rights group hits at Malaysia worker crackdown

* Reuters: South Africa takes practical steps to combat xenophobia

allAfrica.com: South Africa: Inaction By Mbeki Government On Zimbabwe Forces Border Farmers to Form Vigilante Groups

China Daily: Xenophobia at heart of product panic in US

Discrimination (Research) ; Racial Harmony

2007-07-28T16:15:00.000+08:00

Ideal:
- Currently racial riots are curbed and have not happened for a long time. In 1964, Singapore had a few tragic occasions of racial riots when many were killed and injured, including the Maria Hertogh Riots. Thus compared to many other countries where social stability is not present, Singaporeans are fortunate.

- Especially important now as Singapore faces the threats of terrorism; relationships of different races are under strain due to suspicion. With racial harmony, education on the different teachings of religions of different races will reduce such suspicions.

- To promote racial harmony, the cultural heritages of different races in Singapore had been preserved over years, contributing to the economy as revenues are brought in by tourists.

- When integration of races takes place, people can live together harmoniously and accept the way people are.

Not Ideal:
- When it is solely based on tolerance, no true harmony, empathy and understanding of different races is present. This means racial harmony which is present is just an illusion and might escalate into riots when there are small disputes.

- When the government tries to improve racial harmony by ensuring all races have equal standing in the economy through giving a certain race more aids. Causing the possibility of other races viewing it as biasness.

- When segregation takes place, awareness on the presence of different races being present is Singapore is raised. People become more cautious in the sense of being “more careful of their backs”. For example, recently in US, people are once again reminded of the stark difference between blacks and white in terms of lifestyles and quality of life. [ST; 7/7/07; Integration just a pipe dream in US?]

Conclusion:
Of course racial harmony has it positive consequences but when it is overdone, it becomes something that is done deliberately and insincere. This is when it loses its meaning, instead of fostering better relationships; some races might even be offended in the process which leads to the negative effects. Therefore I think the more difficult question to think about will be, when will racial harmony be deemed as enough.

June Blog Task ; Free Speech

2007-06-08T21:44:00.000+08:00

In the context of Singapore, I would agree that Szilagyi’s view of being socially responsible is more applicable. Compared to Szilagyi’s point of view, Singer believes that without the element, freedom of speech, countries will not be considered as having democracy.

On the other hand, having four major races (Chinese-77%, Malay-15%, Eurasian and Indian-8%) and different religions in Singapore, we are not able to survive in places where freedom of expression is given priority over the welfare of the citizens. Though we are considered a democratic country. Come to think of it, Singapore is only a small little red dot on the world map but we’re one of the most heavily diversified countries. If our media pushes for similar freedom of speech in Singapore, the effects will not be imaginable. As a group of people will eventually get offended by what another said in the process of freely expressing themselves. Moreover, cultural and religion matters have always been an issue close to the people’s hearts causing us to be especially sensitive.

Citing the racial riots in Singapore in 1964, it happened due to various reasons. One of the unanimous reason by Singapore and foreign bodies was agitation by Syed Jaafar Albar(a malay politician) and United Malays Nation Organisation(UMNO) who allowed ran the campaign. The agitation and carrying out of the campaign were evidences of freedom of expression. And the prices paid for this freedom were the lives of many people and the peace in Singapore. Come to think of it, which is more important?

People may argue that through all the education and information on racial harmony in Singapore, citizens are already sensible enough to react correctly to the comments communicated through the media. Unlike the Muslims that reacted violently to the Danish cartoon which was interpreted as insulting Prophet Muhammad. If that was so, why did Singapore ban the publishing of the cartoon in Singapore’s newspapers? The ban was an action against the freedom of expression. It was not because Singapore wasn’t in favour of democracy but instead to prevent any turmoil to brew. Through all the education, people have learnt to live with other races but it cannot ensure that emotions will not be stirred when insulting comments are hurled at oneself. Thus accounting for the measures taken in Singapore.

Singer mentioned, “Without that freedom, human progress will always run up against a basic roadblock.” I would beg to differ with this statement, as there were more bad consequences than good in the practicing of freedom in Singapore. Apart from the death toll and turmoil, Singapore’s economy was affected too. A curfew had to be enforced in order to control the situation thus causing trading, businesses had to be stopped at the same time. With Singapore being such an unsafe place, business partners would stop investing here. Obviously the roadblock for human progress will be the freedom of speech instead.

Although Singer is right to say that all human should be given the right to have a mind of their own without any interference from the government or borders. Nonetheless humans have proved themselves to be unable to be responsible for whatever they said whenever sharing their views on sensitive issues. Taking the case of the two young adults that were jailed because of the racist comments published in their blogs, although it did not cause any hurt physically, the Malays were affected mentally. Upon the fact that they were not little children but adults with a mind of their own, it proved Singapore is not ready for total freedom of expression.

Thus all of us have to prove ourselves to be responsible when communication before freedom of expression can be considered. Before this happens, Szilagyi’s viewpoint is a better solution for Singapore.

Life/Death Issues (Research); Advanced Medical Directives

2007-05-18T00:26:00.000+08:00

Advanced Medical Directives are decisions made by someone regarding medical treatments they want to take in future, in precaution if they are unable to make any mentally sound decisions for themselves when needed. There are 3 types of directives, living will, power of attorney and health care proxy.

LIVING WILL: This is a written document that specifies what types of medical treatment are desired. A living will can be very specific or very general. Most of them are stating if life-preserving measures should be used when he/she is suffering some incurable disease and so on. While the more detailed one will consist of what kind of drugs is preferred by him/her.

POWER OF ATTORNEY: In this case, individuals may write legal documents providing power of attorney to others in the case of serious weakening medical condition. The power of attorney allows an individual to make bank transactions, sign Social Security checks, apply for disability, or simply write checks to pay the utility bill while an individual is medically incapacitated.

HEALTH PROXY: This is a legal document when one decides and appoints someone to decide for him/her in the future when he/she is unable to make decisions on health services required.

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2158

Life/Death Issues (Research) ; Pro Life, Pro Choice, Ritual Suicide, Jack Kevorkian

2007-05-16T23:45:00.000+08:00

Pro-Life is the self-description for those in North America and Great Britain who are of the general political opinion that abortion, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning and other issues regarding the sanctity of life are morally wrong and should be illegal in most cases
Pro-Choice people are people who believe that the government should not outlaw abortion and believe that the choice of terminating pregnancy should be an option for pregnant women use a common self-description.

Ritual suicide is the act of suicide motivated by a religious, spiritual, or traditional ritual.
An extreme interpretation of Hindu custom historically practiced, mostly 2000 onwards, was self-immolation (suttee) by a widow as an assurance that she will be with her husband for the next life. This is displayed as she burns herself at her husband’s funeral or prior to that.

Other rituals of self-immolation or self-starvation were used by Hindu, Jain and Buddhist monks for religious or philosophical purposes, or as a form of extreme non-violent protest. In China, some groups would practice suicide for similar reasons.

In Japan, rituals of suicide like seppuku were practiced. Zooming into case of Japan, Seppuku was popular in the sense as people considered death much better than dishonor. It involves the disembowelment with the use of a sword.

Jack Kevorkian a.k.a Dr. Death has assisted many people in committing suicide. He believes that everybody have the right to decide if they should live or die and there should not be any interference from the government laws.

Jack Kevorkian sits with his "suicide machine," a device consisting of tubes, hypodermic needles, saline solution, a muscle relaxant, and a lethal drug.

Life/Death Issues (Research) ; Euthanasia

2007-05-16T22:21:00.000+08:00

WHAT IS EUTHANASIA?
http://www.euthanasia.com/argumentsagainsteuthanasia.html

It is the INTENTIONAL killing to a dependant human being supposedly for his/her benefit. There are two kinds, active and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia involves the direct causing a person’s death either by a lethal injection or “pulling the pluck”. While passive euthanasia is purposely not giving the necessities to a patient in order to kill him/her. Any medical action that does not intend to take the life of the patient, it will not be considered euthanasia.

AGAINST:
- Euthanasia activists say it is for the terminally ill BUT it is hard to define the term “terminally-ill” and now it is used on people who are not under that classification too.
- It is the rejection of importance and value of human life
- It can become a means of cost containment in the medical industry. Comparing to resources needed to cure a person, euthanasia is a much cheaper alternative.
- Currently, you have to sign the AMD to agree to go through euthanasia when needed but it is feared that euthanasia might become involuntary. As things will be different once it is made legal.
- Simply, humans should not play God. It can never be predicted for sure when is the patient going to die. There might even be a cure that will be developed in time to come?
- It is not foolproof that the person who is approving to euthanasia is in the right state of mind.

FOR:
- A person who is going to die in immediate future has the choice to deny treatment and die, as operating against a will of a person is not right.
- Patient is already unable to think for himself, living in that kind of state will not be any better than dying. It is helping the patient to relieve his pain at the same time.
- Patients should have the right to die with dignity, as euthanasia offers.

For graphs and charts on Euthanasia statistics: http://www.euthanasia.com/charts.html

Crime and Punishment ; Death Penalty

2007-05-03T00:21:00.000+08:00

Personally i feel that death penalty is deterrent not murder and i believe i am not alone. According to a survey done by Harris Interactive (2004 Jan), more than 2/3 of Americans actually support death penalties to be carried out in their country. Since human rights have been introduced and emphasised to the public, abolishing of the death penalty has been pushed for. Especially in democratic countries such as USA, UK and Europe where everyone is supposed to "have a say".

The capital punishment is deemed as not the perfect solution. As quoted " two wrongs do not get a right". Taking the example of China, it has executed at least 3400 people in 2006. This was a alarming figure and had led to much disputes. People had argued that it was unfair punishment as most people who got executed were people who could not afford lawyers or get anyone to stand as witness. Executing them creates the possibilty of executing someone who is magligned, in other words, innocent. Which contradicts the fundamental purpose of the law which is to bring justice. Also that immediately violates the basic human rights which is the right to life and a right not to be punished in a cruel way.

Nonetheless to counter the argument, think. Would you prefer to execute murderers even though there might be no deterrent effect or not to execute any murderers and allow them killing a bigger group of innocent victims? Any rationale being will choose the former, which is to execute the murderers. Indeed there might be a slight possibility that the innocent might get executed but isn't it better than to let one escape and continue with his wrong doings and harming more people in the process? Thus it is a risk and sacrifice that must be taken in view of the public's interest.

Rehabilation and life imprisonment has been suggested as an better alternative of death penalty. As criminals might not be sure of what they are doing at that point of time and some feel that life imprisonment is worse than death penalty actually. These might be true to a certain extent but whether if life imprisonment is worse is not for us to decide. Taking into consideration the example of USA, there is a yearly average of 15000 murders, the fact that 1000 executions is done in 30+ years is proof that capital punishment is reserved for the worst of the worst lot. What is there to be worry about then?

All in all, i would not deny that criminals who commited crimes such as drug trafficking, 1st degree murder, treason should be executed. There is one takeaway from the difference in statistics in China and USA and i believe it is very much due to the country's own jury system. Therefore, China cannot be used as a basis for argument to prove that death penalty is more of a murder than deterrent. Thinking about it, if i were a murderer, i would really think twice in doing something that would make me lose my life, won't you?

Mass Media ; Censorship

2007-04-28T02:02:00.000+08:00

When is censorship really necessary? This is one question that not only the person who is in charge of censoring struggles with, even civilians like us are both affected and bothered with what is being censored and what is not.

Taking up the recent example of Thailand blocking YOUTUBE for a clip that mocks the Thai King, the entire site was blocked from the citizens of Thailand, as GOOGLE has not agreed to remove it from YOUTUBE. In this case, the government was the middleman and was in charge of "censoring" this video clip for the Thai people, while GOOGLE is the "protector" of the general public who surfs on YOUTUBE. Thus sparking the argument on who is right, Thailand officials or GOOGLE?

Indeed, the Thai officials have plenty of valid reasons to block this entire site from their people. The Thais since history has been known for their immense respect for their king, the king is practically being worshipped. Actions such as stepping on the coin, which has the king’s face on it, can really upset the Thais. Needless to say, having a 44 seconds video that consists of King Bhumibol’s images being altered and insulted was far too much for the Thais to handle, especially the government. It was deemed as specially humiliating and disrespectful. Imagine the conflict and commotion that will arise if most Thais get to see this video. Hence, the government has reasons such as preventing conflicts from sparking, prevent negative influences and uphold positive values such as to respect their king. I am sure they would never want their next generation of Thais to be a bunch of adults that don't give two hoots about their king being insulted or worse off, be the ones who is insulting.

On the other hand, I perfectly understand why GOOGLE refuses to remove the video too. Being the most popular source of user-generated videos, by removing videos from the website, they are depriving users of their freedom to post videos. With a tagline, YOUTUBE - “Broadcast Yourself”, it is all about the freedom of expression on the internet. They are supposed to give users a platform to say whatever they want, therefore going against their own motto if they remove the video.

All in all, it is always a tough decision to make. Nonetheless, being a third-party, I prefer standing in the safe side that is to prevent conflicts from happening. Which is to censor the video and protect the people. Thailand does not exactly have a small population so any hard feelings, which develop into conflicts, will have dramatic consequences. Thus I feel that we as individuals play an important role in the process of exercising our right in “freedom of speech” too. In this case, the user who posted the video is not tracked down. I feel that he plays a relatively large responsibility for causing such inconveniences, depriving the Thais of entertainment from YOUTUBE and giving the two parties a headache on censorship.

Mass Media ; Media's subjective Perception

2007-04-25T00:39:00.001+08:00

In this case, the media's subjective perception affected the way this incident progressed in a great deal. According to the article "Singapore Swimmers in hot water", it all started when a reporter saw Bryan and Zach smiling when they saw the US team being disqualified. The reporter published this news on the Associated Press, which is a renowned news company. He "thought" and "inferred" on his own that since those 2 Singaporean boys are there for competition, they must be gloating upon seeing the US team lose a chance of winning another medal. Indeed, the thoughts and inference of that reporter landed our two young swimmers into hot soup.

What bothers me is that just with one reporter’s report, a huge impact is brought upon the two swimmers. This not only shows the power of mass media, it also once again reinforce the danger of the media’s subjective perception. SSA’s team manager, David Tay, asked a good question. Why didn’t the reporter go up and ask the boys why were they smiling? This brings the whole incident to a whole new level, which is the motive of the reporter who reported such matters without clarifying with the “accused”. Is he doing it just for the sake of increasing the news selling rates? If so, doesn’t he know that the future and reputation of not only the two young boys but also the whole Singapore Team are at stake here? Or that he might be responsible for sowing discord between countries? All these questions are sure mind bogging. Nonetheless, I do hope that this is not the case.

I am relieved that they are able to clear up the misunderstanding through the media. Instead of smiling in mockery at the US team, the boys actually were in shock. It was the media, which landed them into such trouble; ironically it was the media, which helped them out of it too. Therefore, I would not make a sweeping statement and say the media’s perception is all bad and harmful. Nonetheless, in this case, it was a bad example of media perception. It also serves as a reminder for us audience to always look at the “bigger picture” and not just the picture painted for us by one solitary newspaper.

Mass Media ; Reliabilty of news

2007-04-06T20:25:00.000+08:00

After reading these two articles, "Spilling blood with oil in Iraq" and "TVBS scandal points to credibility problems in Taiwan's media industry" I realised I have to really think twice before believing what the media reports. No matter how established the media company seems to be, we should still assess the news report carefully, especially when it talks about political issues.

In the case of the article "Spilling blood with oil in Iraq", the media always pictured the campaigns as good but when the author went to Iraq, he realised that was not the case. Instead of helping the poeple in Iraq, they were being bombed and killed. For so long, most people who tuned in and follow-ed up on the situations in Iraq by watching the news, were severly misleaded. A totally different picture was painted for them. In other words, the media withheld the truth from the people.

As for TVBS, they are a very popular and one of the more established television company in Taiwan that has been operating for 14 years. Yet, they did up a false report on a robbery. If not for the investigation that has been done, the people will be still kept in the dark. It seems like the media would do anything just to get a good viewership, as it was not the first time such false reporting was made. If the scheme was not discovered, the poeple would still have to fear when walking in the streets at night. Who would account for all these fear that is caused by a false report?

Therefore I have learnt that I have to evaluate and be more careful when reading the news. Indeed what is perceived by the news may not be real.

2007-04-03T22:13:00.000+08:00

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