Most Influential Event

The most influential event that happened to me recently must have been my Overseas Community Involvement Programme (OCIP which I participated in last December. Back in my secondary school and junior college, we were also offered OCIP; however I always thought it was a waste of time. Now that I am a more mature than before especially after serving the nation, I decided it is time for me to try something new and give something back to our community.

After two and a half weeks in a village in Yunnan China, I have attained so much more then I set out to achieve.. It was really an eye opener for me when I saw the elderly of the villagers working in the construction with us, what is surprising is that they could do more heavy lifting than some of our ‘gym rats’ from Singapore. Even with all the hard work and lack of material wealth, the villagers never complained and some of them even felt that they were the lucky ones. Although the trip was short, however I believe that the lesson to cherish what we have every day would last a long way.

Reflections on Presentations

This semester, I took up the module 'the introduction to public speaking'. Taking up that module really gave me confidence I needed during the presentation. However, that does not mean that I have not learnt anything during the exercise. On the contrary, was able to learn a lot from my peers and take away some skills from them. Take for example, the confidence and organizational skills of Zhenda.

During the presentation, I was told that I was able grab the audience’s attention throughout the presentation. However, was also told that my pace was too fast. Pace of presentation had always been a problem for me even during my public speaking class. This exercise would defiantly serve as a reminder when I am practicing for my future presentations.

Critical feedback on Peer and Tutor Review

Throughout the semester in ES1102, we had many essay writing assignments. The tutor and peer feedback came hand in hand. We are supposed to read and analyse our peers essay in order to give constructive feedback on their grammar, organization and the main points of their essays. However it’s not only about giving feedback, each of us also received a fair share of feedback.

In the beginning I thought the system was a waste of time and useless. On the contrary, the feedback system was not as time consuming as we expected as we are provided with the guidelines and outlines. This was incredibly helpful as it eliminated most of the brainstorming and it prevented us from missing out any topics by letting us know what we are supposed to look out for. I believe this would be incredibly useful when I write my final paper at the end of the semester, as I am better equipped to spot my own mistakes when I review my paper before submission due to the amount of practice we had throughout the class.

While giving and receiving feedback from my peers, I was able to gather the opinions from different people not only from the Mr Blackstone. And by doing so, it provided me with different perspectives to the same essay such as how we could better formulate our thesis statement or how we could have phrased the same point better. In a way it gave us more opportunity to learn compared to writing and reflecting on just our paper.

The process might not be as enjoyable as some other modules that I have taken but Mr Blackstone really made learning English more bearable that I imagined.  He made us understand why is writing academically important to us, especially when are we expected to write a lot during our university career. And when we give feedback on our peers view on their English learning journey, it gave us a feeling of comradely in the class which really made this class enjoyable. Which I felt was one of the perks of having the peer and tutor feedback system.

Even though ES1102 is an ungraded module, I am glad I took it seriously as the skills that were obtained from the peer and tutor review is applicable to my other elective modules such as sociology and public speaking which I am taking this semester.

Han Zhengguang’s Problem Solution essay

With the rapid advancement of technology in our modern era, internet and social media had become a very integral part of our life. Internet and social media provided us with faster information exchange making it easier to spread news and information around the world. Accompanying the habit of people sharing news on their social media websites, it has made social media one of main sources of world news for the internet savvy. However with the ease of news sharing and lack of regulation, there is a stark increase of news spreading throughout social media regardless of the truthfulness of it. False news would then give rise to false information which is detrimental to the society and in some cases causing social and economic loss to the country.

The spread of false information of the Ebola virus in the United States of is a great illustration of the negative effects of social media. In most cases, the rumours of the Ebola virus are widely exaggerated such as its death rate being an astounding 90 percent (McLysaght, 2014). All these rumours have caused an irrational fear of the virus, leading to social and economic losses which are caused mainly by the fear of the virus and not the virus itself (Marcelo, 2014). To address this problem, the White House and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have attempted to educate the public of the true nature of Ebola by releasing public statements on mass media such as the news and the newspapers (Edelman 2014). However, the CDC and White House efforts to calm the fears by announcing public statements on the news are not as effective. These efforts do not target the ill-informed people who usually do not watch the news in the first place.

 Due to the ineffectiveness of the current solution, a better solution would be for the government to conduct a viral campaign on social media platforms to target these social media savvy people. Another solution would be to have seminars in schools and public places such as shopping malls.

The first solution, which is to conduct viral campaigns on social media sites, is to target and educate these social media savvy people who are spreading the false rumours in the first place. One way is to create a very interesting video featuring some of the popular artistes from the music industry talking about the true nature of the Ebola virus. A very good example of a viral campaign can be seen from Singapore’s ‘Sar-Vivor Rap’. It is a song performed by the iconic Singapore drama character Pua Chu Kang played by Gurmit Singh in 2003. The ‘Sar-Vivor Rap’ managed to squeeze all the important information about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus which was a cause of worry in Singapore at that time into a 4 minute rap. Being humorous and catchy, the song became an internet sensation and a common topic of discussion in Singapore in a short span of time. Through this example we could see the effects of a social media viral campaign, and which at that time was more effective than any public announcement the Singapore government could give. This confirms the practicality of such a campaign.

Another solution would be to have seminars in schools and public places such as shopping malls around the country by health officials. The students and the shoppers would less likely leave half way through the seminar. This enables the officials to bring across their point, informing the students and shoppers about the true nature of the virus. Another benefit of this arrangement is that the students and shoppers could ask questions on the virus, thus debunking the many speculations and rumours surrounding the virus once and for all. When the students and the members of the community centres return home, they educate their families regarding the information they gathered earlier. By doing so the seminar would be able to reach out to a wider audience other than just the students or the shoppers, making it an economical solution to the problem.

In conclusion, the problem faced by the White House and the CDC looks tough because the rumours are spreading like wild fire on the social media platforms fuelling the fear caused by the virus. However, by taking on some unorthodox methods such as conducting a viral social media campaign to spread the correct information and having seminars in schools and community centres, the CDC and the White House could disperse the vast amount of speculations and rumours that surround the virus. This would reduce the social and economic losses caused by the Ebola virus due to fear, by showing the public that the Ebola virus is not as fearful as described in the rumours.

Reference

Mulvey, J. (2015). Why Fear Spreads Faster Than Facts on Social Media. Retrieved April 4, 2015, from http://blog.hootsuite.com/citizen-engagement-crisis-management-on-social-media/

Edelman, A. (2014). White House, health officials try to calm a terrified public over Ebola outbreak fears. Retrieved April 4, 2015, from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/white-house-health-officials-calm-terrified-public-ebola-outbreak-fears-article-1.1963948

World Health Organisation. (n.d.). Health sheet on the Ebola virus. Retrieved April 4, 2015, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

McLysaght. (2014) Ebola: Misinformation can spread like virus. Retrieved April 4, 2015, from http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/ebola-misinformation-can-spread-like-virus-285367.html

Problem and Solution Essay Draft 2

In most cases, the rumours of the virus nature are exaggerated such as its death rate being an astounding 90 percent (McLysaght,2014). All these rumours cause an irrational fear of the virus, leading to social and economic losses which are caused mainly by the fear of the virus and not the virus itself (Marcelo, 2014). To address this problem, the White House and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have attempted to educate the public of the true nature of Ebola by releasing public statements on mass media such as the news and the newspapers (Edelman 2014).

Due to the false information circulating around the net, an irrational fear has gripped the ill-informed citizens of the United States of America .Even though the obvious solution to the problem which is to educate the masses on the correct information on the virus. The CDC and White House efforts to calm the fears by announcing public statements on the news are not as effective as it does not target the ill-informed people who usually do not watch the news in the first place. A better solution would be to conduct viral campaign on social media platforms to target these social media savvy people, and another solution would be to have seminars in schools and community centres.

The first solution which is to conduct viral campaign’s on social media sites is to target these social media savvy people who are spreading the false rumours in the first place. One way is to create a very interesting video maybe featuring some of the popular artiste from the music industry talking about the true nature of the Ebola virus. A very good example can be seen from Singapore’s ‘Sar-Vivor Rap’ by the iconic Singapore drama character Pua Chu Kang in 2003. The ‘Sar-Vivor Rap’ managed to squeeze all the important information into a 4 minute rap which was humorous and catchy. Before we know it, it became an internet sensation in Singapore, you could even see children singing to that song while you walk down the streets of orchard road. Through this example you could see the effects of a social media viral campaign, and which at that time was more effective than any public announcement the Singapore government could give.

Another solution would be to have seminars in schools and community centres around the country by giving talks in school and community centres, the people who are in these institutions cannot just leave half way through the seminar , thus the officials are able to bring across their point which is the true nature of the Ebola virus. Another benefit of this arrangement is that the people in these institutions could ask questions on the virus, thus debunking and putting a halt on the many speculations and rumours surrounding the virus once and for all. And when the students and the members of the community centres return home, they could give their families a rundown of the virus. By doing so the seminar is able to reach further than just the students or members of the community centres, making it an economical solution to the problem.

Although the problem faced by the White House and the CDC looks tough were by the rumours are spreading like wild fire on the social media platforms fuelling the fear caused by the virus. However, By taking on some unorthodox method such as conducting a viral social media campaign to spread the correct information and having seminars in schools and community centres, it could help disperse the vast amount of speculations and rumours that surround the virus and in turn showing the public that the Ebola virus is not as fearful as described in the rumours.

Reference:

Why Fear Spreads Faster Than Facts on Social Media by James Mulvey 2015 http://blog.hootsuite.com/citizen-engagement-crisis-management-on-social-media/

White House, health officials try to calm a terrified public over Ebola outbreak fears by Adam Edelman 2014: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/white-house-health-officials-calm-terrified-public-ebola-outbreak-fears-article-1.1963948

WHO health sheet on the Ebola virus: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

Ebola: Misinformation can spread like virus by McLysaght 2014: http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/ebola-misinformation-can-spread-like-virus-285367.html

Problem and Solution Essay Draft 1

In the United States of America, information tends to spread through social media with great speeds. This is especially true if the information generates fear, such as the dangers of the Ebola virus (Mulvey, 2015). There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Ebola is a very deadly virus. According to World Health Organisation, the Ebola virus is often fatal when untreated. However, it is not as contagious as depicted in the rumours floating around the social media platforms such as being airborne; it can only transmit from one person to another by direct contact and exchange of bodily fluids of the infected person.

 In most cases, the rumours of the virus nature are exaggerated such as its death rate being a astounding 90 percent. All these rumours cause an irrational fear of the virus, leading to social and economic losses which are caused mainly by the fear of the virus and not the virus itself (Marcelo, 2014). To address this problem the White House and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) attempts to educate the public of the true nature of Ebola by releasing public statements on mass media such as the news and the newspapers (Edelman 2014).

Ill-informed people in the United States of America are having irrational fear of Ebola due to the false information circulating around the net. Even though the obvious solution to the problem which is to educate the masses on the correct information on the virus. The CDC and White House efforts to calm the fears by announcing public statements on the news are not as effective as it does not target the ill-informed people who usually do not watch the news in the first place. A better solution would be to conduct viral campaign on social media platforms to target these social media savvy people, and another solution would be to have seminars in schools and community centres.

The first solution which is to conduct viral campaign’s on social media sites is to target these social media savvy people who are spreading the false rumours in the first place. One way is to create a very interesting video maybe featuring some of the popular artiste from the music industry talking about the true nature of the Ebola virus. A very good example can be seen from Singapore’s ‘Sar-Vivor Rap’ by the iconic Singapore drama character Pua Chu Kang in 2003. The ‘Sar-Vivor Rap’ managed to squeeze all the important information into a 4 minute rap which was humorous and catchy. Before we know it, it became an internet sensation in Singapore, you could even see children singing to that song while you walk down the streets of orchard road. Just by this example you could see the effects of a social media viral campaign, and which at that time was more effective than any public announcement the Singapore government could give.

Another solution would be to have seminars in schools and community centres around the country by giving talks in school and community centres, the people who are in these institutions cannot just leave half way through the seminar, thus the officials are able to bring across their point which is the true nature of the Ebola virus. Another benefit of this arrangement is that the people in these institutions could ask questions on the virus, thus debunking and putting a halt on the many speculations and rumours surrounding the virus once and for all. And when the students and the members of the community centres return home, they could give their families a rundown of the virus. By doing so the seminar is able to reach further than just the students or members of the community centres, making it an economical solution to the problem.

Although the problem faced by the White House and the CDC looks tough were by the rumours are spreading like wild fire on the social media platforms fuelling the fear caused by the virus. However, By taking on some unorthodox method such as conducting a viral social media campaign to spread the correct information and having seminars in schools and community centres, it could help disperse the vast amount of speculations and rumours that surround the virus and in turn showing the public that the Ebola virus is not as fearful as described in the rumours.

Reference:

Why Fear Spreads Faster Than Facts on Social Media by James Mulvey 2015 http://blog.hootsuite.com/citizen-engagement-crisis-management-on-social-media/

White House, health officials try to calm a terrified public over Ebola outbreak fears by Adam Edelman 2014: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/white-house-health-officials-calm-terrified-public-ebola-outbreak-fears-article-1.1963948

WHO health sheet on the Ebola virus: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

Reader Response Draft 3

In the article “Writing Your Way to Happiness”, Parker-Pope(2015) states that it is possible to achieve happiness through writing in terms of improvement in mood disorder, health and memory. The author claims that, by writing and editing daily stories, people can change the way they view themselves and eventually identify the real problems that prevent them from obtaining a better health and life. These claims were illustrated by research. Students showed positive improvement on their studies after the story-changing intervention and prompting them to edit their own narratives about college. Parker-Pope (2015) also mentions that writing leads people to think optimistically and hence solve emotional issues. Research has been done among 120 couples by making them write narratives after their quarrel. The results showed great improvement on marital happiness as they reflected on their own mistakes through writing and thinking.

‘Writing Your Way to Happiness’ by  Tara Parker-Pope claims that by writing and editing daily stories, people can obtain better health and life. While writing and editing daily stories can lead to a happier life in some cases, the author’s views seem simplistic.  It only targets a specific audience mainly the ones people who are capable of being in control of their situation.

Parker-Pope suggests that most of our problems can be solved by merely writing about our life and editing it. She demonstrates this by listing down a large number of examples of people benefiting from writing and editing their daily stories. However by further inspection it is possible to see that most of these stories are very similar. The subjects are at least in the middle class economical class. Take for example the students that showed positive improvement in their studies after their story changing intervention. This is only possible as the problems with these students are their lack of self-confidence and by writing, they are encouraged to think they could do it eventually. However, if their circumstances were to change, let’s say being situated in rural villages in Laos, the students won’t even have the means to study hard for their test, as they won’t have time due to their work in the farms or lack of a proper study environment. They will never be able to escape their predicament by just writing and rewriting their stories. Thus in this example, the solution by the article is not able to solve the same problem but in a different location. This is due to the fact that the article assumes that the students are all well off and not hindered by financial problems. Therefore, Parker-Popes thinking are too idealistic and they only target a specific audience.

Another example in the article states that writing can allow people with problems to review their actions and act upon them. She further illustrate the point by using the example on Siri, a woman who used her kids and work to excuse herself from exercising, although her real reason was that she hated exercising. From this point and example that she made, it further supports my view that she has only a small target audience. This solution can only apply if the target has the capability to change his or her way of life, but they do not act on it. If the same experiment is repeated on people with problems out of their control such as abuse victims, they might not have the same response as Siri.

As the passage by Parker Pope is not completely wrong, it would be better if the author included a disclaimer that writing can only help if the target already has the physical capability to solve the problem.

References:

Tara Parker-Pope. (2015, Jan 19). Writing Your Way to Happiness [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/writing-your-way-to-happiness/?_r=1&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Health&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=Blogs