ES1102 Critical Reflection

The Role of Peer and Tutor Feedback

It had been a short but fulfilling twelve weeks with class A05 and our tutor Brad. In this module, we were given numerous assignments to complete both individually and in pairs or groups. As a result, there had been a lot of peer discussions and evaluations going on throughout the course of this module. This was also one of the learning features of this module that I particularly liked about, and which has also benefitted and enriched my learning of the English Language.

The idea of having peer evaluation is crucial for a student to understand themselves more, to write and to analyse more effectively in academic style on a tertiary level education.

It might be a little taxing at the start as we had to constantly comment and give opinions or feedbacks on an issue discussed during class or on a certain piece of writing by one of our classmates. Nonetheless, it became a norm for us at the end of week three. By engaging in peer evaluation, we were able to learn and pick up mistakes on our own writing as our peers would evaluate our work after each completed assignment. As everyone has differing ideas and opinions, we were able to relook at our writing in a different light whenever one of our classmates comments and points out our mistakes. It was actually really effective as there were instances whereby my peers pointed out some obvious errors in my essay which I overlooked while drafting it. It then allowed me to quickly amend the errors accordingly and my essay make more sense thereafter.  

Besides allowing myself to self-assess my work through the eyes of my peers, peer evaluation also allowed me to assess and look at academic essays and writing critically. This was so as the syllabus of this module taught us skills and tips on how to write, evaluate and assess academic writings more effectively and efficiently. The in-class discussions together with Brad and the class were also informative and interesting as learning took place in a more engaging manner, and I believed it set out the right tone and environment for conducive learning to take place. In addition, Brad was also friendly and approachable. We felt really comfortable to look for him regarding any issues during and after classes, This module has allowed me to not only hone my writing skills but also my oral and communication skills with people. Through presentations and peer evaluation time during classes, I had to communicate and interact with different people and it has greatly helped me to convey my ideas across more convincingly. 

All in all, the module has allowed me to learn a lot about the English Language. The skills and knowledge I have gained in class were also applicable to other modules in my course. The things I have learnt during class were not solely restricted to this module but also other modules (South Asian studies) as I have to write essays for my upcoming exams. It was indeed a fun-filled yet tedious module but also the most enjoyable one amongst my other modules I had in my first semester. Before I conclude, I would also like to wish all my fellow friends good luck and hope that everyone will do well in their studies from here on. It was really nice knowing the people from class A05 and I had a great time here.

ES1102 Essay Prompt Final Draft

Singapore is facing a rising greying population, with baby boomers entering their golden years (Tham, 2014). The term baby boomers indicates people who were born between 1947 and 1964 (Ministry of Social and Family Development, 2009). As the country progresses toward a technologically advanced era, a group of these baby boomers and those older than them are unintentionally left behind as they are not technologically connected, which puts them at risk of social isolation.

Since a group of independent-living elderly faces social isolation as they are deprived of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) support due to their lack of knowledge and access to technology, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) should implement a series of TV commercials in different languages to educate and promote the use of Internet so as to encourage the elderly to be plugged in and to take the first step out by having Internet installed on their computers or to purchase a home computer together with Internet connectivity.

Because of their lack of awareness in technology, this group of independent living elderly are not connected to the cyber world. When the elderly are connected, they are able to access a wide variety of information and knowledge pertaining to their interest or pick up something new through the mass information that were placed online. This in turn allows the elderly to be active and be intellectually healthy as they learn and enrich themselves with new knowledge every day through the Internet. In addition, the Internet provides the elderly communication means with their friends or family members as well. Communication tools like webcam or Skype can allow the elderly to stay connected with their loved ones as they are able to engage in real time video conferencing over the Internet. Webcam and Skype are not just communication platforms to the elderly but it suffice as a medium to help ease emotional isolation of the elderly. The elderly can be aware and kept updated with the life of their children and this helps to put them at ease. The ability to engage in real time video conferencing also eases the social isolation of the elderly as they would be able to interact and communicate with people at a click of their fingers. All in all, the elderly will thus be able to live a more enriching and fulfilling lifestyle with the help of ICT support. Therefore, it is obvious that without ICT, the elderly will not be able to enjoy the benefits and are highly at risk of social isolation.

In 2009, there was a whopping 30,000 elderly who are at risk of social isolation. These elderly are poor, living alone, divorced or widowed, or in poor health (The Straits Times, 2009). It could be likely that this figure would have gone up in the year 2014. Preliminary results from an MCYS-commissioned survey has also indicated that those living alone and those with weak social networks outside of the household were more likely to be at risk of social isolation (Ministry of Social and Family Development, 2010). If the elderly do not engage in any form of community activities and interactions with other people, it is probable for these elderly to be isolated as they would be cooped up at home every day doing nothing. To add on, these elderly might be bothered by their physical impediments such as difficulties in walking long distances and thus leaving their homes to engage in a certain activity or hobby would be tedious for them. The mundane and monotonous lifestyles the elderly get by with daily is unhealthy and detrimental to their emotional well-being, and thus ICT should be the solution to help the elderly get out of this vicious cycle of isolation.

Currently, there are many efforts undertaken by the government to promote a healthy aging environment for the elderly, and Seniors Activity Centres is one of them. These Seniors Activity Centres (SACs) are key communities agencies which provide social support and care for seniors in that community, MCYS reported (Ministry of Social and Family Development, 2010). However, there are shortcomings to these SACs. Even though these centres are located in the vicinity where the elderly reside, elderly who are obstinate and refuse to socialise and make friends would not make a trip to these SACs as it would seem pointless to them. Elderly who have difficulties walking due to their old age would also not frequent these SACs as it would be a tedious process for them. Without going to these SACs, the elderly would still be isolated and walled up within their homes as they would not be able to enjoy the activities and benefits SACs brought about. As such, the proposed solution has to be implemented within the households of the elderly so that it could raise awareness while educating them about the benefits of ICT. This is in hope that the elderly would be encourage to start having Internet installed on their computers or to even purchase a computer together with Internet connectivity.

Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) should implement a series of TV commercials to raise awareness about ICT for a start. The commercial would be crafted and designed to be visually appealing with simple words, catchy slogans and taglines coupled with flashy images. In order for them to understand the content, the commercials would be made in the three major spoken dialects by the elderly, Mandarin (not a dialect), Hokkien, Cantonese and Teochew. Also, in order to boost viewership by the elderly population, the commercials would be broadcasted during the morning and afternoon period when most of the elderly will be active throughout the day. The commercials is a primary step to educate the elderly by helping to raise awareness of the importance of ICT through its commercial message. This is in hope that they would be encouraged to get in touch with ICT. It is however not adequate if the efforts are stopped here. Campaigns and community events need to be followed up to boost the actual commitment of the elderly to stay connected. Infocomm service providers such as Singtel or Starhub can partner with community centres to organise events to promote about ICT and to offer Internet service packages at a friendly rate to the elderly who attend these events. The solutions to getting these elderly to be connected have to be progressive to see results and the implementation of the commercials is the first step in trying to catch the attention and eyeballs of these elderly.

The digital divide in Singapore is real with a group of elderly who are still not connected. The digital gap between elderly who are aware of technology and are plugged in and those who are unaware is important. Those who are plugged in are likely to live a more active and informative lifestyle whereas those who are unplugged are at risk of social isolation. It is thus essential for IDA to do something to allow these group of elderly to update their status from “offline” to “online” and to reduce the possibility of more elderly being socially isolated.

References

Ministry of Social and Family Development (2010, March 04), Neighborliness is best defence against social isolation, Retrieved from
http://app.msf.gov.sg/Portals/0/Summary/pressroom/Neighbourliness%20is%20Best%20Defence%20Against%20Social%20Isolation.pdf 

SG Press Centre (2009, January 09), Singapore's Baby Boomers Wish To Age Meaningfully And Stay Active In Their Golden Years, Retrieved from http://www.news.gov.sg/public/sgpc/en/media_releases/agencies/mcys/press_release/P-20090109-1

Tham, Irene (2014, March 13), Bridging the digital divide. The Straits Times.
Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/case-you-missed-it/story/bridging-the-digital-divide-20140317

GEK1007 Essay Topic

The Warring States period saw the rise of a number of schools of thought (Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism, etc.) that fundamentally differed in their visions of political governance and social conduct. Using primary sources and historical background, evaluate the relative success and failure of two or more of these ideologies.

In contemporary times, many can witness that Confucianism is the core in which many Chinese education based their teachings and values on. As quoted, “There is no denying the deep and encompassing influence of Confucianism in Chinese society” [1], the presence of Confucianism in the Chinese society is imperative and the influence is strong. The advocation of Di Zi Gui is one of the examples of Confucianism influence in our modern society. Confucianism is not just an ideology but also a way of life for the Chinese people and to analyse it, the extent of how ingrained and widespread the practices are have to be examined[2]. Confucianism dates back to the ancient period when the ideology has its roots ingrained since the Warring States period in 475 BC – 221 BC by the famous philosopher, Confucius. Amidst states fighting and competing to attain power and to seize the throne of China, Confucianism ideology was thought to be contrastingly inferior to the prospering ideology of Sun Tzu (Sun Tzu Bing Fa) which advocated war fighting strategies. It was often ridiculed for being overly philosophical and unrealistic. Notwithstanding such criticism, Confucianism emerged as one of the most influential ideology till date.

Because Confucianism advocated intrinsic values of human beings such as the art of benevolence, righteousness, filial piety and one’s personal values, in time to come, these qualities still hold true to everyone and was able to sustain and spread its ideology, and even became a way of life for the Chinese people that is still prevalent in today’s society.

ES1102 Essay Presentation Reflection

I am a person who really enjoys designing presentation slides. I suppose this was cultivated within me a few years back. I was really impressed and inspired by one of my classmates back at my Poly years. Whenever she does her presentation, her slides were always really pretty and just catches the eyeballs of the class. Also, due to the curriculum of our modules in Poly, most of the assignments required us to present or pitch our ideas/proposal. It was from that moment when I started to really enjoy doing up slides and would often invest large amount of effort and time to make my slides look amazing. So, it was really heartwarming and a huge mental boost to know that the class liked my slides. (Thank you guys!)

To be honest, I was actually very nervous and my heart was beating like crazy from the point when Sean started his presentation. I always have this adrenaline rush and my heartbeat will rocket sky high before any presentations. However, today I was glad I managed to pull off quite well (at least I did not blank out) and finished my presentation. Truth be told, I actually took this mini presentation as an opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone. I have always presented with a script or at least cue cards to guide myself and straighten out my flow of thoughts. Today's presentation was really my first time trying to do something different and I was really happy and satisfied with my presentation today as I was able to accomplish something I have always dreamt of. (I would always be secretly impressed with people who can articulate and present really well)

The class have also gave some comments and suggestions regarding my presentation and I would take them into considerations so that I can improve and use them on my future presentations. Brad have also mentioned my floating eye-contact during my presentation. This was actually a distraction trick for myself which I adopted in my Poly years to prevent myself from being too nervous during presentation time. However, I understand and agree that if I was able to look into the eyes of my audience, it would certainly help to bring my presentation skills to the next level. I would definitely work on that.

Good job for the rest of the people who presented and those who have presented on Monday! :)
And all the best to those who have yet to present as well ^_^ 

ES1102 Essay Draft 4 (Edited)

Singapore is facing a rising greying population, with baby boomers entering their golden years. (Tham, 2014) The term baby boomers indicates people who are born between 1947 and 1964. (MCYS, Jan 2009) As the country progresses toward a technologically advanced era, a group of these baby boomers and those older than them are unintentionally left behind - they are the group of independent living elderly who are not technologically connected.

Since a group of independent-living elderly are deprived of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) support due to their lack of awareness in technology, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA)  should implement a series of TV commercial in different languages to educate the use of Internet to allow these elderly to be plugged in.  

Problem

Because of their lack of awareness in technology, this group of independent living elderly are not connected to the cyber world. Being connected for these elderly meant myriad access to information and knowledge of their interest. Elderly can also make use of the Internet to communicate with their friends or family members. Communication tools as simple as webcam is good enough for these elderly to stay connected with their loved ones. However, many are unable to do so as they simply do not understand the system and the controls. Without ICT, it is obvious elderly are not able to enjoy these benefits. As adapted from Straits Times, 2009, “They are elderly, poor, living alone, divorced or widowed, or in poor health - and there are 30,000 of them in Singapore. These are the numbers at risk of social isolation, said Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan as he gave an update on the day-to-day conditions of the elderly poor and what the Government was doing to help them.”, these are elderly who are at risk of social isolation. “Preliminary results from an MCYS-commissioned survey indicated that those living alone and those with weak social networks outside of the household are more likely to be at risk of social isolation.” (MCYS, March 2010).  It is therefore common for these elderly to be stuck at home and do nothing every day if they do not engage in any form of community activities, hobbies or interaction with other people, and this could result in social isolation of the elderly. To add on, these elderly might also be bothered by their physical impediments such as difficulty in walking long distances and thus leaving their homes to engage in a certain activity or hobby would be tedious. If an elderly is placed in the above mentioned conditions, it is likely that this elderly would be depressed and lonely as he/she is unable to engage in something meaningful, and is unable to communicate and interact with other people.

Solution
Currently, there are many efforts undertaken by the government to promote a healthy aging environment for the elderly, and Seniors Activity Centres is one of them. “The Seniors Activity Centres (SACs) are key communities agencies in providing social support and care for seniors in the community.” (MCYS, March 2010). However, there are shortcomings to these SACs as well. Even though these centres are set up in the vicinity where the elderly reside, elderly who are obstinate and refuse to socialise and make friends would not make a trip to these SACs as it would be pointless to them. Elderly who have difficulty walking due to their old age would also not frequent these SACs as it is a tedious process for them. Without going to these SACs, the elderly would still be isolated and walled up in their homes as they could not enjoy the activities and benefits SACs brought about. As such, it is important to address the issue from home. The implementation of TV commercials is a possible way to educate the elderly about the importance of staying connected and the value of having ICT in their homes. IDA could design a series of commercials that would be broadcasted during the morning and afternoon period when most of the elderly will be active throughout the day. The commercials would be in the three major dialects spoken by the elderly, Mandarin (not a dialect), Hokkien, Cantonese and Teochew, in order for them to understand the content. The commercials would be made to appeal visually with a lot of images and minimum characters as the targeted audience is a group of not well educated or illiterate elderly. The TV commercials is a primary step to educate the elderly and to encourage them to get in touch with ICT. It should also be used to complement the several existing policies implemented by the government to allow elderly to purchase computers at an affordable rate.

The digital divide in Singapore is real with a group of elderly who are still not connected. The digital gap between elderly who are aware of technology and are plugged in and those who are unaware is important. Those who are plugged in are likely to live a more active and informative lifestyle whereas those who are unplugged are at risk of social isolation. As technology advances, Singapore is expected to progress along. This will put our baby boomers and those older than them at a disadvantage for their lack of knowledge with Information Technology (IT). It is thus essential to do something to allow these group of elderly to update their status from “offline” to “online” and to reduce the possibility of more elderly being socially isolated.

References

MCYS, (2010, March 04), Neighborliness is best defence against social isolation, Retrieved October 20, 2014 from http://app.msf.gov.sg/Portals/0/Summary/pressroom/Neighbourliness%20is%20Best%20Defence%20Against%20Social%20Isolation.pdf 

SG Press Centre, (2009 January 09), Singapore's Baby Boomers Wish To Age Meaningfully And Stay Active In Their Golden Years, Retrieved Date, October 6, 2014

The Straits Times, (2014 March 13), Bridging the digital divide, Retrieved October 4, 2014 from http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/case-you-missed-it/story/bridging-the-digital-divide-20140317

The Straits Times, (2009, October 29), Retrieved October 20, 2014 from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Page/today20091021-2.1.10.aspx  

  

Something Interesting to share

I am not quite sure if this source is reliable as it's adapted from 9GAG. However, the photo of the guy seems pretty reliable and trustworthy! Just something interesting i came across and thought I could share it with you guys :)

ES1102 Essay Draft 3

Singapore is facing a rising greying population, with baby boomers entering their golden years. (Tham, 2014) The term baby boomers indicates people who are born between 1947 and 1964. (MCYS, Jan 2009) As the country progresses toward a technologically advanced era, a group of these baby boomers are unintentionally left behind - they are the group of independent living elderly who are not technologically connected. This is also the focal point of this paper, which discusses the divide between independent living elderly who receives home based healthcare and those who do not due to the insufficient technological infrastructure in their homes.

Home-based healthcare is when medical assistance is provided for at the comfort of the homes of the elderly. In the present hi-tech society, home-based healthcare includes the use of highly intelligent devices, however majority of these independent living elderly do not have any form of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) support in their homes. With this incapacity, it deprives them from enjoying the full benefits of home-based healthcare. In contrast to those who have ICT support in their homes, these group of elderly are definitely losing out. Pinpointing the cause for the lack in ICT support, the most apparent is that they are technology ignorant. As these elderly are technology ignorant, they would not have had any knowledge about ICT. It is also these group of elderly who falls on the other end of the spectrum. As we look at how technology has improved and benefited our daily lives, we have to also consider the technology divide existing among our elderly population. With this divide, these group of elderly are on the disadvantageous side and can be easily neglected by the country. 

In Singapore's present healthcare scene, she have gone so far and established many milestones and breakthroughs in the medical field. We are currently in the era where sophisticated and state-of-art equipment or machinery are working hand in hand with doctors and professionals to treat and provide basic healthcare services for people. Looking at home-based healthcare services, some of these home-based medical devices for the elderly are specially designed to have a tracking or monitoring system so that movements can be instantaneously detected and then recorded. This is helpful as user can be notified with the situation in an independent-living elderly home. e-Guardian is one such example which uses this system. The degree of efficiency and convenience these intelligent devices brought about is commendable. It is obvious that without ICT support, elderly are unable to enjoy these benefits.  

A group of independent-living elderly are deprived of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) support due to their ignorance in technology, Ministry of Health can implement a "limited free wifi zone" in the building where these elderly reside to allow connectivity for approved medical devices so as to help these elderly be connected and to enjoy the full benefits of home-based healthcare. 

Limited free wifi zone

Ministry of Health (MOH) can help these elderly "be connected" by implementing a free wifi zone in their residential building. This proposed solution however would be exploited as anyone can connect to it. In order to prevent this, the free wifi would be limited only to those who qualifies for it.  This means that only qualified and approved households and medical devices by the MOH can be connected via the "limited free wifi zone". Elderly who require the use of ICT support intelligent medical devices and are technology ignorant are those who qualifies for this scheme. The medical devices that they use will also have to be endorsed and authorized by MOH before it can be use through the "wifi zone". Helping these elderly stay connected, family members can also tap on the intellectual and efficient system of the medical devices created for home-based healthcare. MOH will have to work together with communications service provider, namely Singtel or Starhub to provide the connection in these residential building. The concept of having "limited free wifi zone" is to serve as a primary tool to help these group of unplugged elderly "be connected" as technology is made available to them instead of doing it themselves. 

The digital divide in Singapore is real with a group of people who are still not connected. The digital gap between elderly who can afford home-based healthcare and those who cannot is an existing issue and the government play a crucial role in the efforts to bridge this gap. As technology advances, Singapore is expected to progress along as well. This will put our baby boomers or late bloomers at an disadvantage for their lack of knowledge with Information Technology (IT). It is thus essential we do something to help these group of baby boomers. 

References

Health Exchange, 2013 January 01, Keeping a Watch on Seniors Living Alone, Retrieved October 3, 2014 from http://www.healthxchange.com.sg/News/Pages/keeping-watch-seniors-living.aspx

Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, http://www.ida.gov.sg/Infocomm-Landscape/Facts-and-Figures/Infocomm-Usage-Households-and-Individuals

SG Press Centre, 2009 January 09, Singapore's Baby Boomers Wish To Age Meaningfully And Stay Active In Their Golden Years, Retrieved Date, October 6, 2014

The Straits Times, 2014 March 13, Bridging the digital divide, Retrieved October 4, 2014 from http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/case-you-missed-it/story/bridging-the-digital-divide-20140317

ES1102 Mid Term Appraisal

Initially, I was a little apprehensive about ES1102 and felt that it was a burdensome module. To add on, the module even took up two days of my weekly schedule. I felt even sour for having to attend this module as it meant that my English was bad. After nine weeks into this module, I am glad I “qualified” for it. This module has enriched and honed my written and analytic skills. The materials provided were very informative and it was applicable to my other modules as well.

What I really liked about this module is that the class is small in size. Although it was really awkward for the first few sessions as everyone was foreign to me, a few sessions later helped cleared up the awkwardness amongst the people in the class. Our tutor Brad, was also a funny and approachable guy who makes our learning more conducive. Brad would often pair us up with different people in class or group us randomly according to our height or age. I feel that this is a very good way to encourage conversation and interaction between different people in the class as we have to work together with our new weekly partners to complete the in-class assignments. The amount of work assigned for this module is however, relatively heavy considering that it is a zero module credit course. Luckily, Brad was very understanding if we failed to meet the datelines for our essay submission in class.

I feel that the class as a whole, has a very positive learning vibe as I see that my peers are really enthusiastic during classes. The in-class activities are also interesting and informative, such as grammar editing for essays. The in-class assignments are also easy to absorb and understand as they are all in the form of bite size information. I especially like the fact that the class often engages in discussion. We will share thoughts and doubts relating to each other’s work or on certain academic essays. To date, I feel that the class has progressed and improved significantly as compared to the very first time we met in this class. It is also heartening to see the class progress together. In all my other modules, I feel that learning is very individualistic and competitive. Whereas in ES1102, I feel that everyone learns and errs together and the learning environment is very positive and encouraging. I hope this module will continue to enrich and benefit more people in the future. 

Essay Prompt Draft 2

Introduction 
Singapore is facing a rising greying population, with baby boomers entering their golden years. (Tham, 2014) The term baby boomers indicates people who are born between 1947 and 1964. (MCYS, Jan 2009) As the country progresses toward a technologically advanced era, a group of these baby boomers are unintentionally left behind - they are the group of independent living elderly who are not technologically connected. This is also the focal point of this paper, which discusses the divide between independent living elderly who receives home based healthcare and those who do not due to the insufficient technological infrastructure in their homes.

Problem
Home-based healthcare is when medical assistance is provided for at the comfort of the homes of the elderly. In the present hi-tech society, home-based healthcare includes the use of highly intelligent devices. Majority of these medical devices are intentionally designed to have a tracking or monitoring system so that movements can be instantaneously detected and then recorded. This is helpful as user can be notified with the situation in an independent-living elderly home. e-Guardian is the epitome of such intelligent device. It takes the form of a wrist watch and picks up signals when the wearer has fallen down or fainted at home. These signals are transmitted wirelessly to a base station which then sends out messages to family members or even doctors about the accident at home. In other instances, some medical devices may require substantial technological infrastructure support in the homes of the patient - such as the support of fiber broadband. This is when the gap between those who can afford and cannot afford such home-based healthcare becomes apparent. It is reasonable to understand that some independent-living elderly are not able to afford broadband as they are poor. On the flip side, we have to also consider a small group of elderly who does not wish to be plugged in as they do not see the need to, or elderly who are not educated at all to understand the concept of Internet. It is this group of elderly that lies on the other end of the spectrum.

The group of independent-living elderly who does not wish to be connected and those who are technology ignorant is the ones who are unable to receive home-based healthcare due to the absence of broadband or relevant technological support in their homes, Ministry of Health can implement a "limited free wifi zone" in the buildings these elderly reside in to allow connectivity for approved medical devices and the initiation of IT campaign to educate the elderly about Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to help these elderly stay connected to enjoy full benefits of home-based healthcare

Limited free wifi zone
The proposed solution can be deem as a luxury for these group of elderly, and as such, it should not be exploited to the use of those who are not under this scheme. This means that only qualified and approved households and medical devices by the Ministry of Health (MOH) can be connected via the "limited free wifi zone". Elderly who uses intelligent medical devices which require broadband support and are technology-ignorant are those who fall under this qualified households category. The medical devices that they use will have to be endorsed and authorised by MOH before it can be use through the "wifi zone".  Helping these elderly stay connected, family members or doctors can tap on the intellectual and efficient system of the medical devices created for home-based healthcare, and also allow them to monitor and assist when out of compound. The concept of "limited free wifi zone" will serve as a primary tool to help these group of unplugged elderly stay connected while not allowing them to exploit the notion of "free wifi" by limiting their usage.

IT campaigns for the independent living elderly
Another group of these independent living elderly are those who are not willing to be plugged in. Statistics from Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) in 2012 have also shown that 60 years old and above individuals who uses a computer and internet is only a meager 16% compared to 51% for individuals aged 50 to 59. Based on statistics and personal experience at an independent living elderly home, most of these elderly do not have the support of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in their homes. With such absence of ICT, it does not entitle the elderly to enjoy the full benefits of home-based healthcare as they will not be able to support certain hi-tech medical devices or equipment that require technical support. The initiation of an IT campaign for the elderly can help to tackle this issue. MOH can work together with welfare organisation and community centers to launch series of events that educates the use of ICT through talk show and hands-on workshops. Such initiation will only drive enthusiasm amongst the disinterested elderly about ICT but the implementation of financial aids, ICT schemes and packages will help to encourage use. Subsequent follow through will have to be made in order to ensure these elderly will upgrade their status from "offline" to "online".

Conclusion
The digital divide in Singapore is real with a group of people who are still not connected. The digital gap between elderly who can afford home-based healthcare and those who cannot is an existing issue and the government play a crucial role in the efforts to bridge this gap.



References

Health Exchange, 2013 January 01, Keeping a Watch on Seniors Living Alone, Retrieved October 3, 2014 from http://www.healthxchange.com.sg/News/Pages/keeping-watch-seniors-living.aspx

Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, http://www.ida.gov.sg/Infocomm-Landscape/Facts-and-Figures/Infocomm-Usage-Households-and-Individuals

SG Press Centre, 2009 January 09, Singapore's Baby Boomers Wish To Age Meaningfully And Stay Active In Their Golden Years, Retrieved Date, October 6, 2014

The Straits Times, 2014 March 13, Bridging the digital divide, Retrieved October 4, 2014 from http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/case-you-missed-it/story/bridging-the-digital-divide-20140317

ES1102 Reader Response Draft 4

Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue?

Lu (2013) discussed the increasing prevalence of English being recognised as their mother tongue in Singaporeans over the years. He also observed that there were efforts to encourage Mandarin, Melayu or Tamil learning but Singaporeans still regard English as their sense of core identity. Sadly, he noted that such identification of the English language by Singaporeans did not gain consensus from the local government and the international crowd. He then mentioned that the divide between older generation Singaporeans and younger generation Singaporeans was also the cause of the current linguistic and ideological segregation. He stated that with such divide, conflicts amongst different linguistic and ideologies groups would slump progressively. He then went on to highlight that Singaporeans proved to be of a better caliber by outdoing most nations in international tests in English proficiency and literacy. To conclude, he asserted that the acceptance of English language as our mother tongue would only be feasible with the government’s recognition of the English language and the alteration of the language policies and stances to match the linguistics context. 

English should be recognized as the rightful mother tongue language in Singapore but due to the nature of Singapore being cosmopolitan with different racial groups co-existing together over the years which resulted in a pool of distinctive languages, it is hard to determine this stance. 

I recollected asking my friends over leisure talk which language was representative of Singapore and the answers I got were obvious. I had answers like Singlish and Chinese. Making up 75% of the population, Chinese is the largest population in Singapore followed by Malays, Indians and other racial groups. It is therefore reasonable to claim that Mandarin can be our Mother Tongue given the racial composition but however, we have to consider that not many are fluent in Mandarin. This is in fact what makes it tough to establish English as the rightful mother tongue language of Singapore - the competition of the Mandarin language. Mother tongue, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is the language that an individual speaks while growing up. Although many had always been speaking Mandarin since their childhood days, there has been a visible shift in the "mother language" spoken at home by many new young generation Singaporeans. The advocation of English as their mother tongue by these young generation Singaporeans would show increasing trends as more choose to identify themselves as a "English speaker" than "Mandarin speaker". 

I also observed that with this gradual shift, many Singaporeans had also shifted away from their Chinese roots. As these Singaporeans move away from Mandarin to English, they no longer value the importance of Mandarin anymore. I have friends who feel that Mandarin is totally useless for their future and are not even bothered to spend time reading anything written in Chinese. It is saddening that such scene is common across the young generation nowadays. 

As Singapore develops and flourishes with the effects of globalization, she has well integrated into the diverse social practices, cultures and linguistic influences different countries bring about. However, I feel that she is ambiguous in the eyes of the foreigners. Many still have the perception that Singaporeans are not skillful in written and spoken English and that we converse mainly in Singlish. In resonance with Lu (2013), I agree that Singapore should quickly establish a firm stand on our sociolinguistic reality and make English our mother tongue in order to make known our local English standards and to gain recognition for it across the globe. It would also be an excellent opportunity for the locals to rethink about their roots and origin instead of going along with the globalization wave. 

Reference:

Lu, L. (2013, July 15) Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue? Today Online. Retrieved from
http://www.todayonline.com/commentary/can-english-be-singaporean-mother-tongue?singlepage=true

Oxford Dictionary, (n.d), Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/mother-tongue

Essay Prompt Draft 1

Over the years, there is a  __% rise in the numbers of elderly living alone in Singapore. The figures are worrying as there are concerns over the elderly being able to take care of themselves while living alone. With the increased statistics, it also meant that there will be more elderly who are prone to accidents or health risks when they are at home as they are unable to take care of themselves properly. In order to tackle the problem of these accidents or health issues occurring in the elderly's home, home-based healthcare is looked into in this paper as one of the possible solutions to address this problem.

Home-based healthcare is when the elderly at home can receive any form of medical assistance or attention without having to go to a clinic or hospital. These healthcare services are manifested in the form of highly intelligent devices which are also easy-to-use and require minimal or no human effort. (Will include an existing example of such devices, still researching) Devices like the ____, is the collaboration between engineers and medical professionals, and more similar products are suggested to be developed in time to come. The main concern over these products is the ability of the elderly to afford them and the existing technological infrastructure and support in the homes of the elderly. The collaboration between the engineers and medical professionals is able to produce user-friendly medical devices that allow one-stop assistance and immediate call-to-action for elderly who faces health issues at home, yet the monetary incapacity of the elderly is the cause of single-living elderly not being able to receive immediate medical attention for their health issues at home.

ES1102 Essay Prompt (Edited)

Main topic area:  

Independent-living elderly who receive home based healthcare and those who do not

Main problem identified:  

Elderly who are technology-ignorant or does not wish to be connected are unable to enjoy full benefits of home-based healthcare due to technological impediment such as the absence of fiber broadband at home

  

Proposed solution:  

Ministry of Health to implement limited free wifi zone in buildings to allow connectivity of approved medical devices

Proposed thesis:   

A group of independent-living elderly are deprived of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) support due to their ignorance in technology, Ministry of Health can implement a "limited free wifi zone" in the building where these elderly reside to allow connectivity for approved medical devices so as to help these elderly be connected and to enjoy the full benefits of home-based healthcare. 

ES1102 Reader Response Draft 3

Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue?

Lu (2013) discussed that there has been an increasing prevalence of English being recognised as their mother tongue in Singaporeans over the years. He also observed that there are efforts to encourage Mandarin, Melayu or Tamil learning but Singaporeans still regarded English as their sense of core identity. Sadly, he noted that such identification of the English Language by Singaporeans did not gain consensus from our local government and the international crowd. He then mentioned that the divide between older generation Singaporeans and younger generation Singaporeans is also the cause of the current linguistic and ideological segregation. He also stated that with such divide, conflicts amongst different linguistic and ideologies groups will slump progressively. He then went on to highlight that Singaporeans proved to be of a better caliber by outdoing most nations in international tests in English proficiency and literacy. To conclude, he asserted that the acceptance of English language as our mother tongue would only be feasible with the government’s recognition of the English language and the alteration of our language policies and stances to match our sociolinguistic entities. 

Growing up in a Chinese speaking family, I always pondered about the possibility of speaking or performing better in my English language if I was born into an English speaking family. I have friends who speak and write proficiently in English, and interestingly most of them are from English speaking families. There are also friends who do not have any English speaking background and yet they are adept in their English. I believed that such anomaly is due to some English-speaking influences which thus molded their English speaking and writing skills. 

With globalization, I believed Singapore has became more recognized on the world map with her rich diversity and culture, which also brought about the confusion of Singapore's language culture of being solitary. Many foreigners actually believed that Singaporeans spoke either Singlish or Chinese and it was in fact the nation's language.

On the contrary, being cosmopolitan, Singapore has a pool of different languages and it can be perplexing to determine which language actually represents her mother tongue. However, it is clear that Mandarin, Melayu, Tamil is representative of the Chinese, Malays and Indians respectively. I recalled asking my friends over leisure talk which language was representative of Singapore and the answers I got were obvious. I had answers like Singlish and Chinese. In light of this, Singlish is actually a term created due to the warp English many Singaporeans speak today.

I feel that in today's Singapore, with the influx of foreign linguistic and culture, it has slowly obscured her roots. Many Singaporeans are also gradually deviating off as they progressed with the society, a lot are moving away from Mandarin to English and they no longer value the importance of their mother tongue anymore. I have friends who feel that Mandarin is totally useless for their future and are not bothered to spend time reading anything written in Chinese at all. It is saddening that such scene is very common across teenagers nowadays. Such are the effects of globalization and I believed Singapore will not escape it unscathed. 

I feel that as Singapore develops and flourishes, she has well integrated into the diverse social practices, cultures and linguistic influences different countries bring about. However, I feel that she is ambiguous in the eyes of the foreigners. In resonance with Lu (2013), I strongly feel that Singapore should quickly establish a firm stand on our sociolinguistic reality in order to make known our local English standards and to gain recognition for it across the globe. It would also be an excellent opportunity for the locals to rethink about their roots and origin instead of going along with the globalization wave. 


Reference:

Lu, L. (2013, July 15) Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue? Today Online. Retrieved from
http://www.todayonline.com/commentary/can-english-be-singaporean-mother-tongue?singlepage=true

ES1102 Reader Response Essay Draft 2

Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue?

Lu (2013) discussed that there has been an increasing prevalence of English being recognised as their mother tongue in Singaporeans over the years. He also observed that there are efforts to encourage Mandarin, Melayu or Tamil learning but English is still regarded as their sense of identity. Sadly, he noted that such identity did not gain consensus from our local government and the international crowd. He highlighted that Singaporeans proved to be of a better calibre by outdoing most nations in international tests in English proficiency and literacy. In conclusion, he asserted that the acceptance of English language as our mother tongue would only be feasible with government’s recognition and the alteration of our language policies and stances to match our sociolinguistic entities. 

Growing up in a Chinese speaking family, I always pondered about the possibility of speaking or performing better in my English language if I was born into an English speaking family. I have friends who speak and write proficiently in English, and interestingly most of them are from English speaking families. There are also friends who do not have any English speaking background yet they are adept in their English. I believed that some point in their lives they must have came across a certain English-speaking influence which help molded their English speaking and writing skills. This also brings me to a particular point highlighted in the article by Lu (2013) – “The notion “native speaker of English” is tied to particular nationalities and ethnicities — that is, Anglo-Saxons — and this is still prevalent throughout the world.”

Personally, I feel that such association is incoherent and it deviates from what I have always believed. I believed that English is a very complex art and anyone can master English and called it their first language. However, once you put a definition into it, it can be controversial and sensitive.

Quoted from Lu (2013), “Those who argue that Singaporeans lack intelligibility in spoken English must not have heard the British in their “Cockney”, “Geordie” or “Brummie” dialects.”, I presume that there are thorns among the roses and yet they represent the native speakers of English. On the contrary, Singaporeans who proved to be better are condemned for their inadequateness. I feel that such statements made on Singaporeans are biased and unfair. Is there a definite circumference to determining who belongs to this pool and who does not, and who defines these circumferences? Who has the rights to define such circumferences as well? The English language is universal and should not be used to classify people into groups based on their demographics. 

I feel that as Singapore became more globalized and recognized on the world map, she has well integrated into Singapore the diverse social practices, cultures and linguistic influences different countries bring about. In resonance with Lu (2013), I agree that Singapore should quickly establish a firm stand on our sociolinguistic reality in order to make known our local English standards and to gain recognition for it across the globe. 

Being cosmopolitan, Singapore has a pool of different languages and therefore it can be perplexing to determine which language represents her mother tongue. However, it is clear that Mandarin, Melayu, Tamil is representative of the Chinese, Malays and Indians respectively. I recalled asking my friends over leisure talk which language was representative of Singapore and the answers I got were obvious. I had answers like Singlish and Chinese. In light of this, Singlish is actually a term created due to the warp English many Singaporeans speak today. Therefore, is it not understandable and reasonable that English be representative of Singapore? 


Reference:
Lu, L. (2013, July 15) Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue? Today Online. Retrieved from http://www.todayonline.com/commentary/can-english-be-singaporean-mother-tongue?singlepage=true

Reflective post: An event that has shaped your life and the person you have become (Edited)

When I was doing my internship with EXPERIA Events Pte Ltd during my poly years, I was exposed to my very first big scale international event. As I was studying Integrated Events and Project Managment, the event was a stepping stone for me into the corporate events sphere in Singapore.

I was part of the organizing committee that ran the Singapore Airshow last year. It was a crazy and tiring six months stint at the office in Changi Airport. However, the event did help to change me in different ways. I became more extrovert in character as I had to liaise with many people from all walks of life with regards to running the show. I used to be afraid to strike conversations with strangers and would definitely fade into the background whenever there was an ongoing discussion. I simply did not enjoy sharing and conversing with people I didn't really know. But the event forced me out of my comfort zone and made me accomplish things I thought I was not able to. I can still recall addressing a foreign attendee with regards to her needs for the show. It was really not easy for me but I had to display professionalism and had to attend to her with poise. I also became more meticulous and organized in my work as compared to before, where I would make mental notes instead of writing it down on my scheduler. To date, many qualities and attributes I have developed stemmed from this six months of once in a lifetime work experience.

ES1102 Reader Response Essay Draft 1

Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue?

Lu, L. (2013, July 15) observed that there has been an increasing prevalence of English being recognised as their mother tongue language in Singaporeans over the years. Despite efforts to encourage Mandarin, Melayu or Tamil learning, it had become predominant that Singaporeans have regarded English as their sense of identity. However, such identity was not able to gain consensus from our local government and the international crowd. On the contrary, Singaporeans have proved to be of a better standard by outdoing most nations in international tests in English proficiency and literacy. As Lu (2013) alleged, the acceptance of English language as our mother tongue would only be feasible with government’s recognition. Our language policies and stances should also be altered to match our sociolinguistic entity to convince the international crowd.

Growing up in a Chinese speaking family, I have always pondered about the possibility of speaking or performing better in my English language if I was born into an English speaking family. I have friends who speak and write proficiently in English, and interestingly most of them are from English speaking families. There are still friends who are good in English, yet they are not from an English speaking family. However, they are the minorities and I believed some point in their lives they must have came across a certain English-speaking influence. As a result, it molded their English speaking and writing skills. This also brings me to a particular point highlighted in the article by Lu (2013) – “The notion “native speaker of English” is tied to particular nationalities and ethnicities — that is, Anglo-Saxons — and this is still prevalent throughout the world.”

Personally, I felt a certain degree of stereotype present in this particular notion and I am rather bemused by it. Meaning to say, if someone who does not originate from that particular nationality, they are not considered to be native speakers of English even with high level of proficiency in the language? It is pretty saddening that the notion of “native speaker of English” is tied to specific nationalities and ethnicities. As quoted from Lu (2013), “Those who argue that Singaporeans lack intelligibility in spoken English must not have heard the British in their “Cockney”, “Geordie” or “Brummie” dialects.”, there are still thorns among the roses and yet they represent the native speakers of English and Singaporeans are condemned for not being proficient enough. Such presumptions are biased and can be unfair to English practitioners who may have spent most of their life trying to master the language. As such, is there a definite circumference to determining who belongs to this pool and who does not, and who defines these circumferences? I have always believed that English is a very complex art and anyone can master English and called it their first language. However, once you put a definition into it, it can be controversial and sensitive.

Being a cosmopolitan country, Singapore has a pool of languages and therefore it can be tough to determine which particular language represents her mother tongue. I recalled asking my friends over leisure talk which language is representative of Singapore and the answers I got were pretty obvious. I had answers like Singlish and Chinese. However, if we were to think about this, Singlish was actually a term we came up with due to the warp English many Singaporeans spoke today. So could we actually confidently claim that English is our mother tongue language? Surprisingly, the answer would be no. As we all know, Mandarin is representative of Chinese, Melayu is representative of Malay and Tamil is representative of Indian, so what about Singapore? Isn’t it understandable and reasonable that English is representative of Singapore?

If we were to go out on the streets of Singapore and observe the language spoken by most Singaporeans, I would definitely place my bet on English. I feel that it is pretty obvious that as Singapore became more globalized and recognized on the world map, she have grown and changed so much. With the diverse social practices, cultures and linguistic influences different countries bring about when their countrymen set foot in Singapore, Singapore should quickly establish a firm stand on our sociolinguistic reality in order to make known our local English standards and that Singaporeans are actually pretty adept in our English language. It is quite sour to actually hear foreigners commenting that Singapore is just a “Rojak” country with rich diversity. As much as it adds color to our country, it can be affecting down under. It is especially so for people who are studying overseas and are looked down upon for their language inferiority. As the future pillars of the country, many students have definitely done a lot, worked really hard and went far. It is really unfair that these students are already not getting recognized for such efforts, yet getting criticized by “native speakers of English” or by the Caucasian population. Shouldn't we start doing something in our homeland and change this perception the world has on Singaporeans students? For me, I will do so by going back to the basics to hone and perfect my English skills.


Reference:
Lu, L. (2013, July 15) Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue? Today Online. Retrieved from http://www.todayonline.com/commentary/can-english-be-singaporean-mother-tongue?singlepage=true 

D1 Summarizing Information Selectively: ( Facebook fans do worse in exams ) Edited

The Ohio Report stated that students who use Facebook excessively do not score as well for their studies as they allocated lesser time for revision. This was apparent in students obtaining lower cumulative grade and achieving lesser work productivity (Leake, & Warren, 2009).

References:
Leake, J., Warren, G. (2009, April 12) Facebook fans do worse in exams. The Sunday Times, from  http://www.timesonline.co.uk

Descriptive Writing: My English Language Journey (Edited)

My English language journey has been an arduous one. To date, I am still trying to improve my command of the English language. Going back in time, I can still vividly remember that I used to fail every single English CA tests. I was really bad. I could hardly understand the comprehension passages and was not able to answer the questions accurately. I could do well for my other subjects like Humanities and Sciences but not for English. Fortunately, it was during Secondary Four that I realised the importance of the English language. The requirement for a pass in English language in the O level was a big deal for me back then. I was really determined to improve and buck up.

Subsequently, my parents got me enrolled into English tuition as she could not stand seeing the red mark in my report book anymore. The initial stages were tough as I really did not like the idea of learning English from outside classes. However, I am thankful to my tutor who made the learning process an enjoyable one. We were always given essay topics to write on and we would be assessed at the end of the week. Things started to change when I found myself gaining interest and curiosity in English. I must have found the silver lining amidst the long hours of drafting and writing. My English grade then went from a D7 to B3. The grades did not improve overnight. It took a few months. It was definitely not easy but I managed to tide through.

My command of English was still not excellent even when I got into Polytechnic. However, day to day communication and interaction with my peers did help greatly to improve my English. I was also tasked to be the "editor" in my project group. I had to edit the English for all our tutorial assignments before submission as my group felt that I was the better one in English amongst them. My friends were also a huge part of the motivation wheel that introduced me into reading novels.

As of now, I am still on my quest to master my English language as I find it really attractive and charismatic if one can speak and write fluently in English. Hence, even though I have an additional module than my peers, I am actually glad as I believed it would be beneficial. Its indeed a blessing in disguise, I must say.