The Last Post =)

The men don't get it. Why?

Section:	Prime - News
By:	LI XUEYING
Publication:	The Straits Times 20/08/2008
Page:	A3
No. of words:	724

Paternity leave would hit the bottom line
hard, say companies

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' Paternity leave in Singapore - To be or not to be? '

In the recent years, Singapore's fertility rate itself has been an issue for the Singapore Government, where in 2007, it was as low as 1.29 children born per women, making it one of the lowest in the world. Thus, there was clearly a need for the government to make a move in encouraging parenthood. Even though Singapore's government has taken many measures to encourage parenthood for Singapore citizens, such as baby bonuses and maternity leaves, it still misses out one form of encouragement that could very well improve the fertility rate in Singapore: Paternity leave for the working fathers.

Up till now, the Singapore Government does not recognize paternity leave as an official incentive for parenthood. While on the other hand, it is known that half of private-sector employers voluntarily give paternity leave. This then makes us wonder - Why not implement paternity leave? As fathers, especially for those who just had their first child, clearly had every reason to have a leave off from work and spend good quality time with their newborn child with their spouses. At the same time it will nurture family bonding, mutual understanding between husbands and wives and so much more. The very early stages of parenthood may very well be vital for family development.

Also as mentioned earlier, isn't the Government actually trying to encourage parenthood in Singapore in order to increase the fertility rate, slowly but surely? All the more for paternity leave to be recognized under the Government's offerings to encourage parenthood. Moreover, there is also the issue on the shared responsibility of childcare itself. With most fathers being the sole breadwinner of their families, certainly it is the mothers who spend more time taking care of their newborn child. By encouraging fathers to take infant care leave, it will thus send a strong message that childcare has to be the responsibility of both parents.

So then again, with all the reasons fathers could provide, why still not paternity leave? Is it a matter of disadvantages outweighing the advantages of implementing paternity leave? Or is there something at stake if paternity leave was ever recognized as an official incentive? Well the latter is the reason. Also, that 'something at stake' is basically Singapore's economy.

Will the economy really be hit so badly when paternity leave is implemented as a whole in Singapore? Well, the answer is a highly possible yes. With men forming more than half of the total people in the resident workforce of Singapore citizens compared to women as mentioned in the article, clearly there will be impact on Singapore's economy. Not only in numbers, but also with the higher salaries that most men earn compared to women, it suggest that men are the ones who hold the more senior positions of responsibilites in their respective companies, i.e the higher ups. On average, men earned $4,335 a month last year whereas women received $3,148 as mentioned in the article. Hence simply put, having men taking a time off could impact companies' operations harder.

With Singapore's economy at stake, it is reasonable enough for the Government to put off the idea of having paternity leave as an option for now. Well, at least in my point of view. As mentioned, Singapore just cannot afford to have their men in the workforce to be on leave for too long. However at the brighter side of things as mentioned in the article, the Government has declared that paternity leave is not entirely out of the option in time to come. So fathers out there do not be in despair yet, for the time may actually come when paternity leave will be implemented. But do not be too hopeful though. Also, I suggest you fathers hang in there and try to spend as much time with your families.

Social Studies Essay

'Democracy creates stability in a society'

Before we begin, I feel that there is a need for definitions of terms regarding the topic, in order to give a better view on it.

Democracy is defined as a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state. Members of the society would have equal access to power and universally recognized freedoms and liberties. Every citizen would have chances to express their views to the government, be it through pure or representative democracy. Equality - that is the very reason why democracy is commonly practiced in countries all over the world.

Stability itself on the other hand, is branched into economic and social stability, having shaped by political stability in democracy. Hence, there is clearly a need to define which stability democracy creates in a society. But before that, let’s see why democracy is the most suitable type of government.

Many believe democracy as the ideal type of government for every state, for it is clear that there is equality for everyone. Everybody’s views are taken into consideration by the government. With that, the connection between the citizens and the government are strong, unlike other forms of governance such as communism or autocracy, where there is a limit to what citizens can do. Compared to other forms of governance, in general, democracy is best at creating stability in terms of politics, economic and society. However, some may disagree for democracy has its cons. But let’s face reality. Nothing in this world is perfect, for everything has its cons. It’s the amount of disadvantages that matters. In other words, the best would be defined as having the least cons.

Politically, democracy is certainly able to create stability within a government in most occasions. Elected parties or individuals are chosen through majority of the citizen votes. This shows members of the government are elected fairly and justifiably. With that, there are no reasons to complain that elected parties/individuals are not suitable for governance. Though as it seems, it does not necessarily mean all elected ones are the worthy ones. In some occasions, elected ones do not keep their promises. After being elected and recognized as one with political power, one could actually abuse their powers and thus create instability.

In terms of economic stability, it all depends on the politics. Same goes with the social stability. The government determines the outcomes of social and economic stability.

And now I’ll be using Singapore largely as an example. Representative democracy is what we have in Singapore. So far, under Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, democracy has been very effective in shaping the nation into what it is as of now. And yes, Singapore is seen as one of the most stable and well managed countries in the world, economically, politically and socially. This is clear evidence that representative democracy has done its job in creating stability in the society. But then again, there had to be flaws in the ever-so democratic Singapore. In Singapore, PAP is seen to have the majority seats in the parliament, with landslide victories for every election. This could then also be seen as totalitarianism, where instead of having wide variety of parties in the government, PAP is dominating the government. Plus, to certain citizens, the dominance and ruling of MM Lee have stirred uproar in the society, with accusations of MM Lee being less democratic.

This example shows that democracy is determined by the people. It is not the political theory of democracy itself that creates stability in the society, but instead the people of a democratic society that creates the stability. Thus one can infer that democracy, as it seems, is just a one of the very tools to create peace and stability in the society. It is actually the very people in the society that matters.

Also not to mention, the very thing that makes democracy ineffective in certain occasions – tyranny of the majority. Though this occurs on rare cases, it clearly shows the downfall of democracy. Instead of trying to create stability, tyranny of the majority could actually result in further downfall of a particular state.

Hence in conclusion, though it is filled with cons, democracy is still able to create stability in a society. Though it may be seen as just a simple tool in order to create stability, with the right people and the right choices, democracy could eventually overcome the potential negative sides of political theory of democracy itself, and thus creating a stable society.

The reality of Online Gaming addiction

In this modern generation, online gaming has ‘taken the lives’ of not only teenagers, but adults too. In this generation where online gaming is a world-wide phenomenon, it wouldn’t be a surprise if in the near future people would fall into the likings of the virtual world and literally ‘discard’ their precious social life.

The addiction of online gaming is so great that teenagers would not only play for hours, but possibly for almost a day! And the only breaks an addict would have are toilet breaks (yes, one would even have his meal in front of his computer). Some cases of online gaming addiction are so extreme that they require psychiatric treatment. For online gaming to cause such problems, what actually makes it so exciting and addictive?

An article entitled ‘Fears of a PC game addict’, written by Joyce Lim, tells about a couple in their early 30s, though mainly regarding the husband, who are hooked on an online role-playing game, World of Warcraft (WOW). The husband, Rod, is known to spend at least six hours everyday on the game, before and after he goes to work. A married couple spends half of their time on the virtual world; now that’s amazing.

You might wonder,” is WOW really that amazing to the extent where married couples play for long hours?” Yes, in the gamers’ perspectives. WOW simulates the world environment. To Rod, it's almost like a magnified version of IRC (Internet Relay Chat) because he makes friends online. You form friendships which make your game a lot more enjoyable. With WOW’s great graphics and gaming features, now it’s no surprise if a gamer gets addicted to it.

However, in my opinion, the thrilling experience of online gaming is only short lived, for eventually one would have to face the real world. Regarding friendships being formed online, it isn’t really a real one, literally. Behind those computer screens, you wouldn’t know the true colours of those ‘friends’ u make online. It is still between the gamer and the PC, nothing else. It really isn’t worth spending long hours with a machine.

One may not realize it, but spending long hours on the PC really affects your social relationships, and its obvious what type of person you are. Normally those addicts aren’t socially active; they have fewer friends. One would neglect whatever happens outside in the real world. In the article mentioned earlier, though Rod and his wife spends long hours online, Rod realizes that their obsession with WOW is worrying. He confessed that online gaming has affected his sex life, and that his biggest fear was not having any children as they’d rather play games.

In all, whatever the reason may be, do not let the likings of the virtual world conquer over your social life. While I admit online gaming can be thrilling, do know how to manage your time to play sparingly. Treasure the real world.

496 words

The article can be accessed here.