Critical Reflection

When I first took up this module, I felt burdened by the prospect of having more workload than what I already have. It seemed like a useless module for the fact that it does not offer any credits. It was just something I had to get rid off. Although I do still feel burdened by the workload still, I would not dismiss it entirely. I felt that I’ve somewhat benefited from it, though not as significantly.

What was great about this module was that it encourages students to review their own work and work of others’. It was great receiving constructive feedbacks that personally I would not be able to think of. The guideline given by Brad was a major help in the reviewing process. I’d always thought that someone with proficient mastery of the English language could only do such reviewing. Reviewing and editing are useful skills that would serve me well in the future. Though I still feel that I’ve yet to be able to properly and accurately edit and review, at least the flaws would not be as obvious at they were previously. I do still hope to improve on it.

Also, I felt that the practice, although burdensome at times, were great help in improving my academic writing. The formality of things, structure, and citing, are things that took me some time to grasp and was at times confusing. Practice, was just the hard way of doing things. I doubt that anyone in the right frame of mind would just practice for the fun of it. Therefore, I’m glad that I’ve been made to practice over and over again, to grasp the dynamics of writing better. I’m grateful to Brad for that.

Presentation Reflection

Personally, I felt that I did not deliver my ideas effectively. I realised how visual aid could have improved my presentation by a great deal. Reflecting upon some presentations I saw on the day of my presentation, visual cues played a  huge part in terms of emphasising a point and also giving structure to my presentation. Although I did not craft a script, I felt like I’ve missed out some points that could help me form better sentences in delivering my speech.

On a more positive note, I felt that my essay becomes much clearer after I having gone through the process in my head repeatedly. Probably, I feel that coming up with ways to deliver the idea verbally would also helps in crafting better structure in terms of problem solving essays.

Essay Draft 3

Cyberbullying has become a problem in social media in the current modern environment that we live in. Cyber sexual harassment, a form of cyberbullying, is an act to intentionally disturb or upset a person repetitively online with sexual taunts. Often, the victims of cyberbullying are women. In Singapore, there are measures implemented to curb cyber sexual harassment. However, more needs to be done to ensure effectiveness of the current measures.

Cyber sexual harassment is a problem that many modern state faces, not just Singapore. The social media has allowed for the ease of access and transfer of information, and has allowed people to gather an individual’s personal data. The accessibility photos and private information on social media and its frequent use has allowed for sexual harassment to take place easily. The over-sharing mentality that many have today has only further add on to the problem rather than curbing it. Current efforts suggest that something has been done to help curb the issue. However, the focus and follow up of the efforts are still needed to ensure better addressing of the issue currently.

The Parliament of Singapore has passed on an anti-harassment bill recently in 2014 (2014, March 3). The bill has made harassment of various forms, including cyber harassment, punishable and enforceable in court. Although these are laws that intend to punish perpetrators, the effectiveness remains in question. The boundary or extent of cyber harassment remains in question. For example, innuendos or double entendre may have a different meaning and cannot be deemed as harassment. The issue with laws against cyber sexual harassment is that it is not feasible to be enforced. It only acts as deterrence for future perpetrators to prevent them from misusing social media. The laws passed only acts as deterrence instead of addressing the issue itself. Deterrence does not address the problem of sexual harassment on social media.

To solve the issue of enforcement, the government should have a system of reporting on cyber sexual harassment. A stronger reporting culture amongst the people would lift the burden off the victim of cyber sexual harassment that may or may not know of the legislations passed or even too afraid to act on their own. As a follow up action, the appropriate media authorities such as the Media Authority Development (MDA) or the Social Network companies can freeze the social media account of the alleged offender until investigations are carried out. It can work the same way as a spam reporting whereby the various Social Network companies pro-actively block or freezes the user temporarily. This would have been effective in cases of cyber sexual harassment in Singapore such as the suicide of Khine Thazar. Khine, a 16-year-old Myanmar student studying in Singapore, who killed herself following comments made by her boyfriend on Facebook (Chen, 2011). The boyfriend, also from Myanmar, deleted the alleged comments made towards the victim, and as a result, investigations were halted, as there are no evidences to substantiate the cause of Khine taking her own life. Hypothetically, with proper reporting and freezing measures, it would have prevented such an incident, as actions can be taken earlier by friends of the victim on social media instead of Khine having to deal with the issue alone. Although the culture must first be imbued to the society first before it is able to be in effect, the time to start has to be immediate rather than waiting for more of such cases occurring.

Singapore also adopts a soft approach as a complement to the current harassment laws. The ongoing “Let’s Create a Better Internet Together” campaign by the Media Literacy Council (MLC) promotes the socially conscious use of social media, a soft power approach against cyberbullying. The campaign that was launched on 10^th February 2015 as part of the Safer Internet Day that originated in Europe. This is one of many campaigns launched by various government and non-government bodies to curb cyberbullying that were given a great attention. However, it does not specifically address the issue of cyber sexual harassment specifically. Although campaigns on cyber sexual harassment exist and in operation, the platform given to these campaigns are limited and lacks reach to the general audience.

Currently, there is no legislation or sanctions on cyber sexual harassment in employment or education specifically. Campaigns run by non-government bodies such as the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) that pro-actively raising awareness of sexual harassment on social media in various forms amongst women should be given more attention. The government could fund these initiatives to run programmes and have legislation for companies and schools to induct it as part of their workplace training or curriculum respectively. The confirmed audience would provide a greater reach to individuals in raising awareness.

The steps suggested are simply to improve the current measures already been implemented. The effectiveness of the measures suggested may vary and may not help to address the issue. However, the current measures still lack the effectiveness, as there are still flaws. Instead, the government should be proactive to improve on the current measures as to address to prevailing issue of cyber sexual harassment on social media.

References

Chen, E. (2011). Ex-boyfriend called her a ‘loose woman’. The New Paper. Retrieved from http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20110408-272533/2.html

Protection from Harassment Bill. (2014, March 3). Retrieved from http://www.parliament.gov.sg/sites/default/files/Protection from Harassment Bill 12-2014.pdf

Essay Draft 2

Cyberbullying has become a problem in social media and is prevalent throughout the age group. The ease of access and transfer of information has allowed people to gather an individual’s personal data on social media platforms. Cyber sexual harassment, a form of cyberbullying, is is an act to intentionally disturb or upset a person repetitively online with sexual taunts. The accessibility of social media and its frequent use has allowed for sexual harassment to take place easily. Often, the victims of cyberbullying are women. In Singapore, there are measures implemented to curb this form of harassment. However, the effects of it on women need to be addressed. This essay will discuss the problem of cyber sexual harassment of women in Singapore and discuss possible measures that can be implemented to address the problem.

Women are often highly sexualised in the media, be it magazines, films and advertisements, which is fed to the public on a daily basis. Repeated exposure to such portrayal of women in the media may contribute to a range of problems including sexual harassment against women (Lazier-Smith, 1989). The Parliament of Singapore has passed on an anti-harassment bill recently in 2014 (2014, March 3). The bill has made harassment of various forms, including cyber harassment, punishable and enforceable in court. Although these are laws that intend to punish perpetrators, the effectiveness remains in question. The boundary or extent of cyber harassment remains in question. For example, innuendos or double entendre may have a different meaning and cannot be deemed as harassment. The issue with enforcing laws against cyber harassment is that it is not feasible to be enforced. It only acts as deterrence for future perpetrators to prevent them from misusing social media to sexually harass an individual. Deterrence might have a split effect on individuals due to the weak or subjective law that is not followed up with a system of checks or even legislation.

Currently, there is no legislation or sanctions on sexual harassment in employment or education. The Singapore government should adopt a softer approach to tackle the issue. Public education on sexual harassment would be key in raising awareness. Although there are non-government bodies such as the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) that pro-actively raising awareness of sexual harassment in various forms amongst women, the government should instead adopt a legislation that allows for private bodies or even private companies to actively participate in raising awareness or even educate their members or employees on the issue to ensure a wider reach to people.

Censorship measures have also been taken apart from just the laws being passed on. Currently, the Media Development Authority (MDA) has blocked pornographic websites and deemed as harmful to the social fabric of Singaporeans. These sites were blocked as they promote the objectifying of women, which as a result, would curb the tendency of men from sexually harassing women on social media. This method may seem effective as it ultimately restrict access to such materials. However, it still does not solve the issue of sexualised portrayal of women on media in general. Although films are being censored in cinemas, sexual connotations still exist and widespread in many media form. It seems almost impossible to restrict everything that is on the media, as most of it does not originate locally. Restricting access to the bulk of media form can be detrimental to social stability that Singapore currently enjoys.

Alternatively, Singapore should try to abolish the concept of women being viewed as sexual objects. Removing a legalised red light district could be the first step. Licensed brothels that contribute to the objectifying of women in the society would only contribute to the outcome of sexual harassment probably not just on social media, but also sexual assault or rape. Swift action is needed to tackle the prevalent issue of sexual objectification of women. Also, the control of local media is needed. Stricter measures on censorship of sexual ideas should be given priority instead of literal sexual references. Media forms presently are littered with sexual innuendos and sexualised portrayal of women. Condoning such behaviour should not be allowed and the government should remedy the issue that is currently rooted deep in the society.

The discussed measures that Singapore currently adopts mainly focuses on stemming out the problem physically. They seem to lack depth in tackling the issue of sexual harassment on social media platforms. The issue is deeper rooted than what was implemented. As a result, it might not be able to achieve the intended target. Everyone has a part to play in this issue. Legislation on deterrence and restriction of access may seem inappropriate. The Singapore government should be more pro-active in solving the issue from its source and think of measures to change the perception of men on women. If the mindset and attitude of men is not addressed, the likelihood of the problem becoming deeper rooted and unsolvable grows as time goes by.

References

Lazier-Smith, L. (1989). Advertising: Women’s place and image. Women in mass communication: Challenging gender values. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Protection from Harassment Bill. (2014, March 3). Retrieved from http://www.parliament.gov.sg/sites/default/files/Protection from Harassment Bill 12-2014.pdf

An Influential Event

The most influential event for me so far was a military exercise I had in Brunei when I was a serviceman. That experience has taught me to appreciate the simplest of comforts that we tend to take for granted. The exercise lasted for 8 days in the dense rainforest that was very unforgiving at that time and during which it rained every day. The harsh conditions made me realised just how I really missed all the comforts that I usually enjoy. One example is food. Our food that we had were not favourable given the condition of the rainforest. The rain made it very hard to start a fire to cook any form of food. Having warm food, is a luxury in the field. Having that phase made me realised how lucky I am to have whatever that I enjoy at this period of time. It serves as a reminder to me to keep grounded and always appreciate whatever that i enjoy currently.

Essay Draft 1

Social media has emerged to become the most widely used tool in a modern society such as Singapore. The users ranges from children to even senior citizens and has a great impact on the society. Cyberbullying has become a problem in social media and is prevalent throughout the age group. The professionals are also affected by this problem and the Singapore Government should do more to curb this issue that affects productivity in a working environment.

 

Cyberbullying affects all users of social media, including the working class. In a professional environment, team dynamics and personal relations have to be on a good end to maintain productivity and quality of work. Cyberbullying can cause strains on relationships between co-workers and also between the employees and their employers.

 

The Singapore government passed on an anti-cyberbullying bill recently in March 2014. This bill is an amendment to the harassment law that includes cyberbullying as a punishable offence. The bill looks to target the issue of, stalking, bullying, sexual harassment, and the harassment of children. This legislative action provides a deterrence to cyberbullying as it would be enforceable in court. This bill is introduced to supplement the soft approach the government has been adopting, which is to educate citizens and promote awareness.

 

However, the effectiveness in targeting to curb cyber bullying remains in workplace remains in question. The bill coupled with the soft approach was mainly targeting children as campaigns or awareness programmes are common in schools rather than the workplace as the companies are still independent of certain government initiatives. Apart from the law that is enforceable in court, there are no proper alternatives to curb this issue, apart from deterrence which the extent of cyberbullying that is recognised by the court is still unknown.

 

Alternatively, the Singapore government could release a legislation on the monitoring or even educating on the issue of cyberbullying for the private companies. A compulsory workshop for the working class to raise awareness and implications of cyberbullying on work environment could be implemented and organised by various government bodies such as the Media Development Authority (MDA) or the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MFS). The concern on the welfare of the employees should be made a responsibility of the employers instead of concerns over remuneration or health benefits.

Essay (Outline)

Main problem

Cyber bullying amongst professionals affecting productivity and work environment in Singapore

Affected target group

-Working professionals in Singapore

Agents of change

-Singapore govt

-MDA

-MOM

-Individual companies

Solution1

New legislations on cyberbullying has been passed on in parliament which is enforceable in court.

http://nobullying.com/new-law-takes-on-cyberbullying-in-singapore/

http://www.international.ucla.edu/asia/article/103624

Evaluation

This is a great step towards curbing cyberbullying in Singapore from its soft approach previously that has affected many including working professionals

However, its effectiveness is still in question as the bill was only introduced in March 2014. Law protects against stalking, bullying, sexual harassment and harassment of children. The degree cyberbullying is still not explicit enough.

Solution 2

Companies HR department should work closely in monitoring work environment and provide social support to workers if such issues arises.

Implications/conclusions

Companies might be unwilling to spend more to ensure welfare of the employees. Unless the government makes it a requirement under the employers act.

Government should release legislations to curb the act rather than simply deter through state laws that punishes cyberbullying

Thesis

Cyberbullying has emerged to be the main form of bullying in the current digital age in Singapore and is also prevalent in the working class. The government should do more to curb the prevalence of this issue.

Reader’s Response Draft 3

Levi (2012) categorises various areas where social media is not widely used in his article, “Where ISN’T social media ubiquitous?”. He categorises these locations into a few main areas: areas where the locals’ “native language” is not supported by the more developed social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) and areas where internet is not widely made available. However, he asserts that the problem is aided by the presence of second languages that are spoken in some areas. Additionally, “native languages” are omitted at times due to political complications they bring.

The political complications here refers to recognition of language in contested regions. A “native language” that is recognised by an organisation might be interpreted as a form of political support. In contested regions, this might raise a few questions on whether the stand of a big international firm is appropriate in a regional conflict or if it is appropriate for large corporations to identify themselves politically. I personally feel that these corporations should not take any form of political stand. Instead, they should maintain a secular and neutral approach when faced with political issues.

Big corporations that identify politically had their fair share of protests. One such instance is companies that recognise Israel as a state. The conflict between Israel and Palestine has been ongoing for decades. When Amazon.com was revealed to have been involved in funding the Israeli military, it caused an uproar and mass boycott of the online store for its supposed involvement in the conflict (Armbrsuter, 2002). Although Amazon.com denied and claimed that their involvement was due to false advertising by external parties, it has caused them to suffer losses and damaged reputation. People generally identify themselves with their political stand and opposing views are often rejected by individual groups. This would lead to an unhealthy bank balance for the corporations and would not be justified for such a corporation to be doing so, having built their reputation and size of the company. By denying, Amazon.com clearly feels that it was unhealthy to be associated to the political stand. Therefore, economically, it is not appropriate for big corporations to have such political association.

Although taking a stand might raise strong protests, there are times when it proves to be profitable. In the United States of America, private companies are allowed to fund a candidate’s election campaign. This is a form of political stand whereby the funding represents their alignment in thinking. This form of political stand allows the companies to invest in the candidates that would have jurisdiction or voting rights in matters that might benefit the company (Welsh & Young, 2010). Though it might be bold, I personally feel that it is manipulative on the companies’ part as future policies might favour their businesses at the expense of other companies in the market.

Corporations make decisions based on their profitability albeit political or not. Although making a political stand could be a double-edged sword, ethically, I personally feel that secularity is best in political issues as it shows neutrality and prevents any form of opposition against the companies while promoting a level playing field in the market.

 

References:

Armbruster, S. (2002, November 15). Amazon denies backing Israel. Retrieved  from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2473005.stm

Levi, D. (2012, July 24). Where ISN’T social media ubiquitous? [Web log post].Retrieved from http://www.etondigital.com/where-isnt-social-media-ubiquitous/

Welsh, H., & Young, R. (2010). How Companies Influence Elections-Political Campaign Spending Patterns and Oversight at America’s Largest Companies. Available at SSRN 1692739

Reader’s Response Draft 2

Levi (2012) categorises various areas whereby social media is not widely used in his article, “Where ISN’T social media ubiquitous?”. He categorises these locations into a few main areas: areas where their “native language” is not supported by the more developed social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) and areas where internet is not widely made available. However, he asserts that the problem with “native language” is aided by the presence of second languages that are spoken in some areas, additionally, “native languages” are omitted at times due to political complications they bring.

The political complications here refers to recognition of language in contested regions. A “native language” that is recognised by an organisation might be interpreted as a form of political support. In contested regions, this might raise a few questions on whether the stand of a big international firm is appropriate in a regional conflict or if it is appropriate for large corporations to identify themselves politically. I personally feel that these corporations should not and instead, maintain a secular and neutral approach when faced with political issues.

Big corporations that identify politically has had their fair share of protests. One of such instance is companies that recognises Israel as a state. The conflict between Israel and Palestine has been ongoing for decades. When Amazon.com was revealed to have been involved in funding the Israeli military, it caused an uproar and mass boycott of the online store for its involvement int the conflict (Armbrsuter 2002). Although Amazon.com denied and claimed that it was due to false advertising, it has caused them to suffer losses and damaged reputation. People generally identify themselves with their political stand and opposing views are often rejected by individual groups. This would lead to an unhealthy bank balance for the corporations and would not be justified for such a corporation to be doing so, having built their reputation and size of the company. By denying, Amazon.com clearly feels that it was unhealthy to be associated to the political stand. Therefore, economically, it is not appropriate for big corporations to have such political association.

Although taking a stand might raise strong protests, there are times when it proves to be profitable. In the United States of America, private companies are allowed to fund a candidate’s election campaign. This is a form of political stand whereby the funding represents their alignment in thinking. This form of political stand allows the companies to invest in the candidates that would have jurisdiction or voting rights in matters that might benefit the company (Welsh & Young, 2010). Though it might be bold, I personally feel that it is manipulative on the companies’ part as future policies might favour their businesses at the expense of other companies in the market.

Corporations make decisions based on their profitability albeit political or not. Although making a political stand could be a double-edged sword, ethically, I personally feel that secularity is best in political issues as it shows neutrality and prevents any form of opposition against the companies while promoting a level playing field in the market.

509 words

References:

Armbruster, S. (2002, November 15). Amazon denies backing Israel. Retrieved February 9, 2015, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2473005.stm

Levi, D. (2012, July 24). Where ISN’T social media ubiquitous? [Web log post].Retrieved from http://www.etondigital.com/where-isnt-social-media-ubiquitous/

Welsh, H., & Young, R. (2010). How Companies Influence Elections-Political Campaign Spending Patterns and Oversight at America’s Largest Companies. Available at SSRN 1692739.

Reader’s Response Draft 1

Levi (2012) categorises various areas whereby social media is not widely used in his article, “Where ISN’T social media ubiquitous?”. He categorises these locations into a few main areas: areas where their “native language” is not supported by the more developed social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) and areas where internet is not widely made available. However, he asserts his point that the problem with “native language” is aided by the presence of second languages that are spoken in some areas. Also, “native languages” are omitted at times, due to political complications they bring.

The political complications here refers to recognition of language in contested regions. A “native language” that is recognised by an organisation might be interpreted as a form of political support. In contested regions, this might raise a few questions on whether the stand of a big international firm is appropriate in a regional conflict or if it is appropriate for large corporations to identify themselves politically. I personally feel that these corporations should not. Corporations should maintain a secular and neutral approach when faced with political issues.

Big corporations that identify politically has had their fair share of protests. One of such instance is companies that recognises Israel as a state. The conflict between Israel and Palestine has been ongoing for decades. When Amazon.com was revealed to have been involved in funding the Israeli military, it caused an uproar and mass boycott of the online store for its involvement int the conflict (Armbrsuter 2002). Although Amazon.com denied and claimed that it was due to false advertising, it has caused them to suffer losses and damaged reputation. People generally identify themselves with their political stand and opposing views are often rejected by individual groups. This would lead to an unhealthy bank balance for the corporations and would not be justified for such a corporation to be doing so, having built their reputation and size of the company. By denying, Amazon.com clearly feels that it was unhealthy to be associated to the political stand. Therefore, economically, it is not appropriate for big corporations to have such political association.

349 words

References:

Armbruster, S. (2002, November 15). Amazon denies backing Israel. Retrieved February 9, 2015, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2473005.stm

Levi, D. (2012, July 24). Where ISN’T social media ubiquitous? [Web log post].Retrieved from http://www.etondigital.com/where-isnt-social-media-ubiquitous/