academic writing

Summarize Frank Jackson’s article, “Epiphenomenal Qualia,”

Jackson talks about how his “Knowledge argument” proves that Physicalism is false and compare the “Knowledge argument” with the Modal and “What is it like to be” argument to find the argument with the “greatest polemical utility.”

In his “Knowledge argument”, he gives an example of Fred being able to see colours that nobody else can. He states that even if we know all every physical nature of Fred, it does not mean we know everything about Fred. This shows that Physicalism is incomplete.

The example for the Modal argument is an alternate world with humans without conscious mental life. Everything physically is the same yet there is something more in us than just purely physical. Hence, Physicalism is false. The problem of the Modal argument is that it rest on a disputable modal intuition. And not everybody agree with the intuition after thinking about it again. Hence, “Knowledge argument” is better.

The “What is it like to be X” argument shows that we cannot imagine what it is like to be X regardless of the amount of physical information we have. However, it is not a problem for Physicalism as it does not claim that such extrapolation is possible.

(200 words)

Critical Reflection

The role of peer and tutor feedback.

When I thought about ES1102, I expected a standard General Paper (GP) lesson where the tutor is going to reteach the English language. This sound boring to me. However, this course was not an ordinary English lesson. There is a fun and interactive way of learning through group discussion, peer evaluation, writing many drafts where different people are evaluating and lastly one to one consultation with the tutor regarding on how to improve my essay. Because of the importance of feedback which allow one to become a better person by learning about what others think about him, peers and tutor should take initiative to give feedback to one another.

The thought of having a peer to review what I had written is very intimidating as I am afraid that I may make mistakes that are considered trivial. However, the peer review made me realised that I am not the only person who is making the same mistake. Many of us do in fact make such a mistake and we are not voicing out because we do not want to embarrasses ourselves. Since I know that I am not the only one who is making the same mistake, I am willing and able to express myself infront of the class to clarify my doubts regarding certain problems I face in this lesson. In addition, peer reviews encourage giving feedbacks to others.  These feedbacks are important as they show me my areas of improvement and I am able to find both my strength and weakness. Reading other's post too make me feel like I understand them better personally.

The tutor feedback is also very important as the tutor serve as a role model to us. The tutor's feedback is very detailed and he focus on both our mistakes and good points. Through his feedback, I've learn many things such as how to do references and citation, how to make a good topic sentence and presentation skills. Such skills are important in both our university life and working life.

In conclusion, feedbacks are important. When in doubt, ask questions. When we find something is wrong, ask questions. Life is about questioning and understanding it from everyone's experience.

With that, I am glad I came into this class because of our tutor and the friendship that I've made. Thank you for the very fun first semester this course had created for me. :D

Presentation Reflection

I felt that the presentation went well. There is good interaction with the audience, self-confidence, good flow and tone. However, i find that it i abit messy during the middle of the presentation and my audience lost my train of thoughts. This can be improved by organising my slides in a better way and remembering keywords to prompt me whenever I am blank out during a presentation.

Essay draft 3

“Youths in Singapore are spending more time online now than ever.” (Sim, 2013) This has adversely affected youth’s social interaction within their family as they are spending less time on face-to-face social interaction. This leads to a widening of the generation gap and there is a chance that youth will be unable to interact with senior citizens in the future. (Yeo, 2002) Because of the increase in young people's reliance on ICT (Information and communication technology), which takes away family time and communication with members of the older generation, the Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC) should organise large scale events to bridge the generation gap. This essay will talk about how the digital divide between grandparents and grandchildren in a family leads to miscommunication as well as a generation gap and evaluate the solutions taken by some group of people in Singapore to bridge the gap.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) states that “family is the basic building block of society.” However, the over reliance of technology by youth is hindering the “building blocks” within the family which threatens the stability of the Singapore society. According to the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), statistics show that over 95 per cent of teenagers used the Internet in 2012. Many youth use the internet to play online games, browse social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr and watch their favourite shows online. On the other hand, IDA statistics show that less than 20 per cent of the elderly, 60 years and above, used the internet. This results in youth exchanging social interaction for online satisfaction. The lack of face-to-face interaction leads to miscommunication and misunderstanding based on stereotypes. These stereotypes were created within the family, such as grandparents being frail and not techno-savvy. The differences in attitude between each other will lead to a widening of the generation gap (Serra, College, & Barracks 1971). This can cause grandparents and grandchildren may conceive negative images of each other which will inevitably build an invisible wall within the family.

According to the Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, a Brazilian study published in 2007(as cited in Stepp, 2008), by bringing unconnected teenagers and grandparents together, grandparents could be closer to their own grandchildren. The youth who took part in the project thought that the elderly were “not able to do anything”, impatient, callous and demanding while the elderly people within the project deemed teenagers to be disrespectful. After interacting with each other for two hours, interviews with the two groups shows that the perception of the opposite group became better. The teenagers found the elderly knowledgeable and admired them for working so hard to survive in the past. On the other hand, the elderly felt appreciated by the teenagers and had an enjoyable time.  Therefore, overcoming the “intergenerational barrier” and becoming familiarised with unknown elderly broke the invisible wall and made it easier to communicate within their own families (Stepp 2008). This solution may not work out for Singapore as Singapore is a more developed country as compared to Brazil. According to IDA’s statistics, at least 87% of the population in 2013 have access to a computer at home. Computers and cellphone acts as catalyst to distract teenagers from focusing on their task (Richtel, 2010). It requires more than two hours of interacting with strangers to change the mind-sets of Singaporeans where technology is already deeply ingrained into a child’s life ever since they are born. Nonetheless, it still holds some good points such as getting teenagers and elderly together. If we could remove the gadgets from teenager, they will be more focus on communication on the elderly. 

To raise communication levels between grandparents and grandchildren in Singapore, the CDC can organised an annual movement to bring them together to socially interact with one another. Doing so can help break the invisible wall within the family that prevents grandparents and grandchildren from communicating. In the year 2013, a similar project, The Silver Yarn Project, was created by four students from Nanyang Technological University for the same purpose. This project is a “youth movement” whose goals are to get more young people to socially interact with their seniors (Zhuang, 2013). Communicating with their grandparents allow youths to form closer bonds with them. The internet was used to promote the movement and it received "600 Likes on Facebook which translate to about 200,000 people reached". This includes roadshows at universities and an annual Instagram competition. Today, the four graduates are actively searching for more schools participate in their project. This project could be a basis for a more effective solution in the future. It was started in the year 2013 and received quite a number of positive responses from their targeted audience. Looking at the Pink Dot movement, a movement to raise awareness regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT), it has grown significantly since 2009. According to statistics from the Pink Dot, it had about 2500 supporters in 2009. However in 2014, it has garnered over 26000 supporters. This shows that it requires a lot of time and effort to raise awareness for a cause. If the CDC is able to actively promote and organise an annual event to bring about related grandparents and grandchildren together, it may be successful in breaking the invisible wall between the two groups and improving family ties.

In conclusion, to achieve cohesiveness within the family, both parties (grandparents and grandchildren) should take initiative to communicate with each other. The younger generations can teach the elderly on how to make use of technology while the elderly can be optimistic to learn more about technology. If one party is not interested, miscommunication is bound to occur. It also requires the collective effort of other family members and government sectors such as CDC. As the saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Communication between people will not change overnight and it may take years of using campaigns to bond members of families together. If everyone involved believes in the same purpose, slowly but surely the miscommunication and generation gap in Singapore will be reduce.

(1018 words)

References

Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. (2012). Statistics of individual usage of computer and internet. Retrieved from http://www.ida.gov.sg/Infocomm-Landscape/Facts-and-Figures/Infocomm-Usage-Households-and-Individuals#4 

Ministry of Social and Family Development. (2014, July 30). Family Protection & Welfare. Retrieved from http://app.msf.gov.sg/Policies/Strong-and-Stable-Families/Supporting-Families/Family-Protection-Welfare

Richtel, M. (2010, Novmember 21). Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/technology/21brain.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Serra, R., College, A., & Barracks, C. (1971). A conflict of generations: The generation gap. Retrieved from http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/766107.pdf

Sim,F. (2013). S'pore youths spending more time online: study. Yahoo! News. Retrieved from https://sg.news.yahoo.com/s-pore-youths-spending-more-time-online--study-100333925.html

Stepp, G. (2008, October 21). Grand cultures: strengthening grandparent and grandchild ties. Retrieved from http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/grandparents-generation-gap/4742.aspx

Stepp, G. (2007, October 21). Mind the gap. Retrieved from http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/bridging-the-generation-gap/3870.aspx

Fletcher, S. “Intergenerational Dialogue to Reduce Prejudice: A Conceptual Model,”Journal of Intergenerational Relationships (Vol. 5, No. 1, 2007).

Yeo.A. (2002, March 5). Growing generation gap a concern. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.populationasia.org/Events/2002/Event_040302/news1.pdf

Zhuang. Z. (2013, August 9). Bonding across the generational divide. Today. Retrieved from http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/bonding-across-generational-divide?page=1

Essay draft 2

“Youths in Singapore are spending more time online now than ever.” (Yahoo news, 2013) This has adversely affected youth’s social interaction within their family as they are spending less time on face-to-face social interaction. This leads to a widening of the generation gap and there is a chance that youth will be unable to interact with senior citizens in the future. (The Straits Times, 2002) Because of the increase in young people's reliance on ICT (Information and communication technology), which takes away family time and communication with the older generation, the Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC) should organise large scale events to bridge the generation gap. This essay will talk about how the digital divide between grandparents and grandchildren in a family leads to a generation gap as well as evaluate the solutions taken by Singapore to bridge the generation gap.

According to the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), they believe that “family is the basic building block of society.” However, the over reliance of technology by youth is hindering the “building blocks” within the family which threatens the stability of the Singapore society. According to the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), statistics show that over 95 per cent of teenagers used the Internet in 2012. Many youth use the internet to play online games, browse social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr and watch their favourite shows online. On the other hand, IDA statistics show that less than 20 per cent of the elderly, 60 years and above, used the internet. This results in youth exchanging social interaction for online satisfaction. The lack of face-to-face interaction could create stereotypes within the family, such as grandparents being frail and not techno-savvy. The differences in attitude between each other will lead to a widening of the generation gap. (Serra, College, & Barracks 1971) Hence, grandparents and grandchildren may conceive negative images of each other which will inevitably build an invisible wall within the family. This can lead to a breakdown in the family structure in Singapore.

According to the Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, a Brazilian study published in 2007(as cited in Stepp, 2008), it suggests that by bringing unconnected teenagers and grandparents together, grandparents could be closer to their own grandchildren. The youth who took part in the project thought that the elderly were “not able to do anything”, impatient, callous and demanding while the elderly people within the project deemed teenagers to be disrespectful. After interacting with each other for two hours, interviews with the two groups shows that the perception of the opposite group became better. The teenagers found that the elderly were knowledgeable and admired them for working so hard to survive in the past. On the other hand, the elderly felt appreciated by the teenagers and had an enjoyable time.  Therefore, by overcoming the “intergenerational barrier” and becoming familiarised with unknown elderly (Stepp 2008), it broke the invisible wall and made it easier to communicate within their own families.

In order to bridge the generation gap in Singapore, the CDC can organise large scale events to bring random grandparents and grandchildren to socially interact with one another. By doing so, this can help break the invisible wall within the family which was preventing grandparents and grandchildren from communicating. In the year 2013, a similar project, The Silver Yarn Project, was created by four students from Nanyang Technological University for the same purpose. The difference is that this project brings related grandparents and grandchildren together. This project is a “youth movement aimed at getting young people to communicate with their seniors.” (Zhuang, 2013) By communicating with their grandparents, youths form closer bonds with their grandparents and understand them better. The project was a success as it received "600 Likes on Facebook which translate to about 200,000 people reached", including roadshows at universities and an annual Instagram competition. Today, the four graduates are actively searching for more schools participate in their project. The problem they faced was a lack of funds and advertising for their movement. Hence, if the CDC is able to actively promote and organise an annual event to bring about unrelated grandparents and grandchildren to interact with one another, it may be successful in breaking the invisible wall between the two groups and hence maintain the building blocks of the family in the Singapore society.

In conclusion, to keep the generation gap as small as possible, it requires the collective effort of the families as well as government sectors such as CDC. As the saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. To reduce the generation gap will not be an overnight event and it may take years of repeating the same event just to project the purpose of it. If everyone involved believes in the same purpose, slowly but surely the generation gap in Singapore will be reduce.



References
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. (2012). Statistics of individual usage of computer and internet. Retrieved from http://www.ida.gov.sg/Infocomm-Landscape/Facts-and-Figures/Infocomm-Usage-Households-and-Individuals#4 

Ministry of Social and Family Development. (2014, July 30). Family Protection & Welfare. Retrieved from http://app.msf.gov.sg/Policies/Strong-and-Stable-Families/Supporting-Families/Family-Protection-Welfare BUILDING BLOCKS.

Serra, R., College, A., & Barracks, C. (1971). A CONFLICT OF GENERATIONS: THE GENERATION GAP. Retrieved from http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/766107.pdf

Sim,F. (2013). S'pore youths spending more time online: study. Yahoo! News. Retrieved from https://sg.news.yahoo.com/s-pore-youths-spending-more-time-online--study-100333925.html

Stepp, G. (2008, October 21). Grand cultures: strengthening grandparent and grandchild ties. Retrieved from http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/grandparents-generation-gap/4742.aspx

Stepp, G. (2007, October 21). Mind the gap. Retrieved from http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/bridging-the-generation-gap/3870.aspx

Fletcher, S. “Intergenerational Dialogue to Reduce Prejudice: A Conceptual Model,”Journal of Intergenerational Relationships (Vol. 5, No. 1, 2007).

Yeo.A. (2002, March 5). Growing generation gap a concern. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.populationasia.org/Events/2002/Event_040302/news1.pdf

Zhuang. Z. (2013, August 9). Bonding across the generational divide. Today. Retrieved from http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/bonding-across-generational-divide?page=1

ESSAY 1 draft

Introduction

“Youths in Singapore are spending more time online now than ever.” (Yahoo news 2013) This suggest that youth are spending less time in face to face social interaction which will lead to a widening of the generation gap and there is a risk that tomorrow’s youth will not know how to interact with senior citizen.’(The Straits Times, 2002) Because Singapore’s youth are spending too much time on the internet which may result in widening the generation gap, a movement should be created to bridge the gap. This essay will talk about how digital divide between grandparents and grandchildren in a family leads to a generation gap. This essay will also evaluate the solution taken by Singapore to tackle the problem of generation gap.



Generation Gap
To be continued..


Bridging the generation gap
To be continued..

Conclusion
To be continued..

References

To be continued..

Reader Response draft 3 (Why students need a global awareness and understanding of other cultures)

In Picardo article (2012), he states that it is essential for students to have a strong sense of global awareness and better understanding of other cultures. He believes that by understanding and interacting with other people from another culture, opportunities that were once unknown to us are now open. He agrees that due to globalisation, there are new methods to bring the world into the classrooms. Examples are social networks, video conferencing, google maps and many more. To allow students from his school to have a strong sense of global awareness and understanding of other cultures, his school had organised many student exchange programmes such as: "The history trip to Berlin, the French exchange and the cultural visit to Andalucía." He also mentions that both Britain and the EU, "through the Comenius and eTwinning programmes", are supportive regarding international partnerships between schools. He conclude that students from the foreign exchange programme became more knowledgeable, capable in decision making and the students acquired new life long skills that they can pass on to people.

In the world today, globalisation has inevitably changed everything. It is so powerful that it shapes our culture, life and economy due to better technology such as the internet. Because the world is becoming more interconnected, it is important for students to have global awareness and better understanding of other cultures and the student exchange program is one of the methods which can provide them with the opportunity to study overseas. In the next few paragraphs, I will talk about why it is important for students to have a global awareness and understanding of other cultures and the benefits of student exchange programmes.

Globalisation has led to a rapid increase in migration. To be successful in this globalised world, it is important to be able to adapt and communicate when being placed in a foreign environment. According to Campbell (2012), a principal from Impington College, he argued that "In an increasingly interconnected world, today's young generation need to learn to be able to engage in communication with people from a wide range of different cultures and traditions." For students to do that, schools provide many opportunities for them to cultivate their global awareness and understanding of another culture. An example would be the student exchange programme.

The benefit of the student exchange programme can be separated into 3 parts. Educational, personal and future benefits. Educationally, students are able to experience a new culture and maybe even learn a new language. By picking up a new language, one would gain insight into another culture. Hence, being exposed to a new way of life due to the many differences such as festivals, family tradition, cuisine, dressing and beliefs. This is a great opportunity for students to see the world from a different angle.

On a personal level, the student exchange programme can improve students’ self-confidence and self-esteem. Being exposed into an unknown world, they will face many difficulties in their everyday life which they have never experienced before.  For example, being separated from their family forces a student to step out of his comfort zone to become independent.

In the future, students who participate in the student exchange program gain an advantage in getting a job. The Global Skills Gap: preparing young people for the global economy, reveals that employers are more likely to hire people with experience and knowledge of another language and culture rather than just looking at a candidate’s degree certification.

In conclusion, I personally feel that the student exchange programme is an important tool to flourish cultural and global awareness in students.
(597words)

References

Picardo, J. (2012, September 25). Why students need a global awareness and understanding of other culture. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2012/sep/25/students-global-awareness-other-cultures

Sutcliffe, J. (2012, November 5). Why global awareness matters to school. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2012/nov/05/global-awareness-schools-education

Think Global & British Council. (2011, December 8). The Global Skills Gap: Preparing young people for the new global economy. Retrieved from http://think-global.org.uk/resources/item/6404