GP essay evidence (J1CT1) Mass Media Stereotypes - In 1954, investigations done by Dr.

Kenneth Clark, which consisted of interviewing American children whether they preferred the white or black doll placed before them, revealed that most children still view the white as the more beautiful being. It is evident as most black children felt embarrassed to point out that they look like the black doll which they previously deemed as the uglier one. - 50 years later, Kiri Davis carried out the same experiment and made a video on it, named A Girl like Me. Appallingly, the results are uncannily the same, suggesting that the mindset of Americans have not changed despite the various movements against discrimination against the black community and that the whites still stand superior in the eyes of the people. Impact of Advertising on Children (Documentary Consuming Kids) - Marketing encourage consumerism and materialism o Viral marketing by product placement o Partnership (e.g. Macs Fox Kids; BK Nickelodeon) o Lifelong Branding builds brand awareness, brand preference and brand loyalty - Children are impressionable (ADHD, Obesity, Depression, Diabetes) - Children have purchasing influence Influence parent (e.g. Advertisement of cars, mobile phones and holidays on children channels) - Insinuate kids so that they will purchase the product when they grow older Censorship (YES) National security - Arab Spring protesters managed to galvinise support via Facebook and Twitter o Nearly 9 in 10 Egyptians and Tunisians surveyed in March said they were using Facebook to organise protests or spread awareness about them. o All but one of the protests called for on Facebook ended up coming to life on the streets. o On Twitter, the hashtag Egypt had 1.4 million mentions in the three months of the year. Other hashtags which are essentially search terms Jan25 had 1.2m mentions; Libya had 990,000; Bahrain had 640,000; and protest had 620,000. The flurry of tweets spiralled during the turning points of the uprisings. - Changed the course of history o The government of the People's Republic of China has set up a system of internet censorship, intending to block internet users within Mainland China from accessing material deemed undesirable, such as foreign news sites, sites with dissident political content, many Hong Kong and Taiwanese websites, and pornography. o Some search tags like jasmine are also banned. (YES) Public Morality - Many pornographic sites found by just entering certain key words in the search engine. - Sensitive issue about homosexuality and its consequences - War videos or footages of wrong doings during war times that may impact childrens minds or cause disturbance to one (e.g. the video named The Carnage of the Iraq War which was censored before being uploaded onto the net) - In 2007, a global effort by law enforcement agencies worldwide smashed an online child pornography ring, in an operation codenamed, Operation Wickerman. It brought more than thirty people to justice; they had been trading pictures and videos of their own children being sexually abused. The criminals family members either engaged in a dark conspiracy of silence or were truly ignorant of it.

GP essay evidence (J1CT1)

(NO) Democracy requires free flow of ideas - Yaw Shin Leong scandal sparked off with an allegation posted on socio-political website Temasek Review Emeritus, where the writer, claiming to be from the church Mr Yaw Shin Leong attends, sparked talk of his alleged affair with a married woman, a colleague from the Workers' Party (WP). On Jan 30, another e-mail popped up suggesting yet another indiscretion. This highlights the importance of such free flow of information as undeserving officials can be removed from the government and members of the public can be informed about what their leaders are like. - Beijing authorities have gone to staggering lengths to hide SARS patients from visiting World Health Organization (WHO) inspectors, according to TIME magazine. At one of the most reputable of the city's hospitals, 31 patients suffering the potentially lethal disease were driven around in ambulances for the duration of the WHO visit, said TIME. And at a military hospital, 40 SARS patients were said to have been moved to a hotel for the duration of the WHO tour, in an apparent attempt to deceive inspectors about the true extent of the outbreak. (Letting the world know will hinder the progress of Hu Jintaos reform in China then) - Pertaining to the Szechuan Earthquake, journalist Tan Zuo Ren was punished for writing articles called the Tofu Dreg Project which directed the peoples attention to the poor materials used for building. He was jailed for 15 years. dealt with by the Central Propaganda Department which controls censorship. - 5-6 years ago, a Danish cartoonist drew Prophet Mohammad in the form of a terrorist and this led to the torching of Danish Embassies in some parts of the world. (NO) Media bias (commercial interest) - 2 producers of FOX TV were fired for refusing to publish untrue reports on Borine Growth Hormone, a man made, non-natural product by Monsanto. Online Media - In the recent Singapore General Elections 2011, a phenomenon observed was the online media and its netizen. Candidates fought for attention, both during normal activities and on online platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Social political website such as The Online Citizen, and Temasek Review regularly posted commentaries, some biased, some fair, some providing interesting insights on the sentiments of the electorate. - The photos of the badly mutilated corpse of an American girl who died in an accident went viral after two employees of the funeral company posted it online. As such, the family was harassed by some members of the online community, forcing them to take legal action. - In the recent earthquake in Japan, Google cooperated with Red Cross to set up a platform for victims of the earthquake to find their families by posting information about missing individuals online. Many people also offered their prayers and well wishes through social networking platform, showing that while it can be abused for cyber bullying and other purposes, it can also be used to unite people for a charitable cause. - Online media is hailed as one of the catalysts of the Jasmine Revolution, where it used to rally the masses and coordinated them for protest. While it was agreed that online media was not the main factor of success of the revolution, it was seen as a catalyst.

Cyber Bullying - Phoebe Prince, a 15 year-old girl who had recently emigrated to the USA from Ireland with her family, hanged herself in January 2010 after being taunted by her schoolmates on

GP essay evidence (J1CT1) Facebook. indicates how online media, when being abused, can have serous impacts on the victim. - In 2010, an Australian girl posted an online invitation to her birthday party on Facebook intended for her friends only. However, she unknowingly allowed this invitation to be seen publicly. It soon went viral and attracted more than two thousand participants online. The police in this case had to intervene and set up guards at her house, lest any unsavoury characters come to her party. Gender Inequality Honour Killing - Young Journalist, Nirupama Pathak was strangulated and smothered by her mother when she was 15-weeks pregnant. Her parents were apparently unhappy with her after she fell in love with a boy of a different caste. - Samia Imran, 28 years old, wanted to seek divorce from her violent husband after 10 years of marriage. Her family opposed divorce and considered it as a shaming to the familys honour. She met up with her mother at a lawyers office in Pakistan and got shot to her death there. Corrective Rape - Eudy Simelane, equality rights campaigner and one of the first woman to live openly as a lesbian was gang raped and brutally beaten before being stabbed 25 times in the face, chest and legs. - Triangle, a gay rights organization, said that it deals with up to 10 new cases of corrective rape every week. Child Brides - 2001 National Census revealed that some 300,000 girls in India who were under the age of 15 had already had at least 2 or more children. - Families are able to cement political and/or financial ties by having their children to marry - Theres an estimated 60 million child brides worldwide, some as young as 7 years-old.

Family More Singaporeans are remaining single - Singapore Census of Population (2010) found that 41% of males and 36% of females aged 35-44 in 2010 were single, which is an increase from the 37% of males and 30 percent of females in 2000. - It is also found that singlehood is prevalent among Singaporean males with less that secondary education and graduate Singaporean females. Marriage rates are falling - Absolute number of marriages has declined by 1,718 from ~26,000 in 2009 to ~24000 in 2010 partly due to the economic crisis, showing that financial stability is important for number of marriages to increase. - General marriage rates continued to decline. Singaporeans are marrying later - Median age of men first marrying increased from 29.8 in 2009 to 30 in 2010. For women, it increased from 27.5 in 2009 to 27.7 in 2010.

GP essay evidence (J1CT1) Singles surveyed in the Singles Attitude Towards Courtship and Marriage Survey (2009) said that the two most important goals to achieve before marriage is obtain financial stability (82%) and establish a successful career (71%).

Most Singaporeans intend to marry - Singapore Family Survey (2010) found that 83% of Singaporeans felt that marriage was not an outdated institution and many are considering marrying. Birth numbers are increasing but birth rates are falling - Increase in resident births from 2005 to 2010, whereby the numbers increased from ~37000 in 2009 to ~38000 in 2010. - Singapores total fertility rate continued to decline from 1.22 births per female in 2009 to 1.15 births per female in 2010. Family violence - Research quoted by the US association of Research Ethics Committees in 2009 has shown that US children who experience or have seen violence happening in their families can become abusers themselves, or are likely to marry abusive people, resulting in intergenerational family abuse Taking care of the Elderly - As the country leans towards an ageing population, the Singapore government finds it necessary for them to intervene in family matters, resulting in the implementation of the Maintenance of Parents Act. This act ensures that care is given to the elderly who are neglected by their own kin be it via housing or monetary forms. - There are also similar laws on the maintenance of parents in China, Canada, Israel and India that prevent elder abuse. Gambling Statistics show that after a casino opened in Atlantic City, USA, the total number of crimes within a thirty-mile radius increased by a hundred percent. It is also found that sixty-five percent of pathological gamblers committed crimes to support their gambling habit. - In South Australia, the Independent Gambling Authority (IGA) regulates commercial forms of gambling via legislations, and the Gamblers Rehabilitation Fund established in 2006 under the responsibility of the Minister for Families and Communities funds services to support and rehabilitate those affected by Problem Gambling. - Similarly, in the United States, the National Council on Problem Gambling assists problem gamblers and their families and also encourages research and programs for prevention and education. Poverty Effect of External Aid (from IMF and WB) Cast Demands on Country - IN TANSANIA, people are charged for hospital visits and education, which increased the illiteracy rate and led to a fall in medical treatment provided by 53%. - IN ECUADOR, 26,000 jobs were slashed as an effect of privatization. Also, real wages halved and external party also demanded sale of water system to foreign owners. - IN BENIN, cotton sectors were liberised and performance pay packages were introduced. (so good or bad?) - IN ZANBIA, copper mines were privatized and 60,000 jobs were lost.

GP essay evidence (J1CT1) Lack of Education - A study by Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2001 found that a year of schooling raise the earnings potential of welfare recipients in America by 7%, suggesting that education does help alleviate poverty. - In African countries like Ghana, education has offered many children a brighter future, a means to escape from the vicious and never-ending cycle of poverty. - In South Africa, 98% of 18 year olds have completed grade seven or above. These statistics however, are not indicative of the countrys ability to provide quality education. South Africa remains fourth from the bottom in ranking of global education systems and according to UNICEF in 2010, 27% of public schools do not have running water and 78% are without libraries and computers. Corrupt governments - In Nigeria, organisations and programs to ensure and enhance the education of the people to find a lasting solution to poverty have long been beset with corruption. These organisations include Operation Feed the Nation (OPN) and Live Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO), programs with lofty ideas and aspirations did not succeed because the government was corrupt. - In 1960, the poverty level in Nigeria was about 15% of the population. This percentage skyrocketed between 1980 and 1996 with its poverty level hitting 66% even with concurrent programs developed to introduce education to eradicate poverty. Employing the poor - In the USA, according to the occupational projections by the bureau of Labour Statistics in 2009, the low wage sector of the economy will be the source of much job growth over the next decade. In other words, it predicts that the American economy will continue to employ significant numbers of the lowly paid workers. Religion Is GOOD - A famous Christian speaker, Beth Barone, who suffered mental disorders and sexual abuse and eventually wound up in a mental hospital by the time she was 18, professed that she could only be set free and enjoy true freedom when she sought solace in and cried out to God. She proclaims that only by the grace of God could she be saved. Today, she pastors churches and goes around the world to share her testimony. Religion brings about an avenue for emotional release and personal rejuvenation, enabling the broken to find a new lease of life. - In the recent uprising in the Middle East, Muslims and Christians banded together on the basis of Egyptian solidarity, and religious leaders used their influence to curtail any infighting between the protestors against Mubarak so as to make the revolution a more resounding and effective one. Religion can act as a unifying force. - In Singapore, a non-profit organization called Willing Hearts, established and supported by numerous religions Buddhists and Christians for instance, has brought great benefits and granted much help to the less fortunate in the society. (delivering packet food to the elderly and needy who cannot afford to purchase their own meals each day) religion and religious groups can band together to enable greater god for society and the betterment of lives all around the world. Is BAD/ NOT GOOD

GP essay evidence (J1CT1) Recent bestsellers by Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and others suggest that religious faith is a sign of backwardness, the mark of primitives stuck in the Dark Ages who have not caught up with scientific reason. Catholics have a firm belief that contraception should not be used by couples because it is anti-life and against Gods will. Such a belief has since led to many nations with a Catholic majority suffering from birth control related problems. In Brazil and Philippines, the increasing population has been deemed problematic by authorities. Yet, many attempts at introducing contraception or birth control methods have proved to be of no avail. Traditional beliefs assimilated within the religion can be a threat to the advancement of a society. The Arabs, under the solidarity of Islam have continually waged war on Israel, on the pretext that a Jewish nation has no place in a majority Arab Muslim land. India and Pakistan have likewise been tangled in a similar dispute. Hindus from India fight for Kashmir as part of the Hindu Kingdom whereas Pakistanis seek the accession of Kashmir to create a greater Muslim statehood.

Useful quotes John Rockefeller: I believe every right brings responsibility, every possession an obligation we need to exercise self-responsibility. Antoine de Saint Exuperys famous French novel The Little Prince writes: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye True beauty is seen not just by the naked eye.