For censorship:
`With the abolition of censorship, everything goes now. As a result, we get the worst, artistically speaking, in all media. ' -Henry Miller
I disagree with the statement as my opinion is that perception of art is up to individuals. There is no clear cut standard to judge what is the worst artistically.Everybody have the own mindset, their own way of thinking and perceiving things. Hence, what is viewed as a beautiful piece of art by someone could be viewed as visually unacceptable by another. Hence, without censorship, there will be a larger scope of art which can be view by people.
However, without censorship, there will be undesirable pictures or sights on the Internet, videos or movies such as that of violence, sex and drugs.
`Censors are necessary, increasingly necessary, if America is to avoid having a vital literature.' -Dan Marques
What exactly is vital literature? Vital literature of a society is what society views or reads generally as a whole. Hence it could be in the positive or negative sense. For example, one positive type could be dramas, poetry, novels and current affairs, and a negative type could be undesirable content on the Internet, blogs,and other `junk' information or even online gaming online virtual world.
I agree that censorship is necessary so as to prevent vital literature. Through censorship, it will prevent society from consuming too much `junk ' information on the Internet and also games,hence avoiding a vital literature.
As America is a liberal society, it definitely needs censorship to prevent its society from consuming all the negative aspects of literature from the Internet and other `junk' information which will result in negative vital literature.
Against censorship:
`I have never heard of anyone who was really literate or who ever really loved books who wanted to suppress any of them. Censors only read a book with great difficulty, moving their lips as they puzzle out each syllable, when someone tells the that the book is unfit to be read.' -Rorbertson Davies
I do not agree with the statement totally as i think that vulgarities and undesirable expressions in books should be censored. Also, some books are censored before they are sold to ensure that it is desirable for the audience reading it. I think that censoring books is not a form of suppression but rather to ensure that the content is beneficial and not offensive to readers. It is important to ensure that there are no sensitive issues ,such as political,religious and cultural issues, in books that are sold.
However, I think that books should not be over censored as the beauty of language used may be lost .
`To suppress the freedom of the arts is not only to cut off knowledge of the actual movements of human feeling but also,and more disastrously,contacts with reality of life' -Joyce Cary
I think i agree with this statement to a certain extent as by suppressing the freedom of the arts, people do not get the full picture of what is happening in the world and the true values that society as a whole possess. It is difficult to trace the mindset and feelings of society towards certain issues that are censored as they are not openly discussed. It prevents people from having the full perception of the reality of life such as social problems like violence ,drugs and sex.
However, I think that suppressing the freedom of arts is not cutting off contacts with the reality of life of but rather to protect and prevent people from viewing undesirable content which can corrupt the human mind.
`The censor-moron does not really hate anything but the living and growing human consciousness' -D.H Lawrence
I partially agree with this statement as the main role of censors is to prevent people from viewing and hearing what is deemed to be `sinful', and censors do not like it when humans become more conscious of the realities of life such as politics , crimes,violence and other social issues. They only like people to know the nice aspects of life such as love and kindness.
However, it is more of the overall welfare of society that there is censorship, even though social problems cannot be resolved through censorship alone.
`In some respects the life of a censor is more exhilarating than that of an emperor.The best the emperor can do is snip off the heads of men and women, who were mere mortals.The censor can decapitate ideas which but for him might have lived forever.'-Heywood Brown
I agree that that ideas would not be killed without censors. However, some ideas that are not killed by censors may grow in society and even become a negative social trend.Hence, it is not necessarily a negative thing when ideas are killed by censors. I believe that ideas are ever changing and will not last forever, it will only keep developing and changing.
The negative aspect is that certain good ideas may be killed off by censors due to political, social or cultural reasons. This may result in lost of opportunities to develop the good ideas.
Posted by: Dora
Friday, April 18, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
What are your views on the drive to get women back to work? What more can be done to help them get a job?
In Singapore, getting women back to work has been an issue for more than a decade. The Government had previously set up a Back To Work Advisory Committee to look into among other things, the kinds of incentives that would motivate employers to introduce flexi-work arrangements, including part-time work, job-sharing and home-based work for these women. However, recent studies show that the participation rate of Singapore women in the labour force is only 54.3 percent, which is still lower than the rates in the United State, Australia and Hong Kong, which are around 60 percent. Therefore, it can be clearly seen that is a pressing need to get women back to work.
If women can be cajoled back into the work force, they can help the economy in two ways: ease the labour crunch by filling the record number of new jobs created and reduce the heavy reliance on foreign workers. Also, it will address the increasingly important social concern over their retirement savings. Looking around us we can see that women tend to live longer than men; sometimes out living their husbands for decades, thus by staying jobless, these women may face the prospect of a bleak future, without having sufficient savings on their own.
A recent government survey has also found that one in three women mid-lifers has never held a job and the 2007 Report Singapore’s Labour identifies three main reasons: housework, poor health and raising children. A significant number of women leave the work force in their 30s or 40s; dropping out of the labour force after marriage and childbirth and many do not rejoin the workforce there after. This is in stark contrast with situations in other countries, likes South Korea where most women will return to the workforce when their children are older; in United State and Britain, most women continue to work even after becoming mothers. So what is it that is holding back the women in our society from rejoining the workforce?
As mentioned previously, women are actually worried they can juggle family and jobs demand at one go. Their main concern lies in the availability of flexible work options and greater childcare support for them. Men are also a stumbling block for some as the husband often makes decisions at home. Hence women have to stay at home to take care of the children. Some others have the fear that their skills have gone irrelevant, as they have been jobless for a long time. What can be dome to help these women, most of them, housewives or retirees rejoin the workforce?
A possible solution is changing the attitudes, for example, husbands who forbid their wives from working. Open discussions with social workers and MPs could be held to coax these husbands to change their ways, however it will not be easy to tackle as this more of private family matter. Still, similar attitudes are actually appearing to decline with more men showing greater willingness to help the housework nowadays.
Currently, a work group led by labour MP the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) had set the goal of helping 2000 women enter the workforce this year. This will thus make it easier for those who need jobs to find employment. The fact is that most women find themselves freed from time-consuming demand of childcaring when their children turn older, but they face the greater financial demand on the family as their children enter the college, polytechnics or university. With the cost of living rising, dual income family will gradually become a necessity in many households.
Consequently, it is important to equip women with the right skills and jobs. As most of the women left the workforce for sometime, they will need to keep their skills up to date. A recent initiative, Women Enterprise Works, will serve to help these women work from home. This co-operative will match women with courses that will train them on how to sell their products. With such creative initiatives in place, more women will be able to work, be it in the office or at home
Most importantly, knowing what women want and meeting their needs may be the best solution to the problem. The main worry to most women will be the tussle between work and family. Hence women mostly want jobs near their homes and with flexible options so that they can take care of their children. Therefore, employers may offer part-time jobs, which have family friendly hours. For the greater childcare support, the government should lower the childcare and student care fees.
With the continual effort of the government providing remedy to the situation, more women will definitely be convinced to get back to work.
--references from "wooing women back to work",Strait Times, March 15 2008
If women can be cajoled back into the work force, they can help the economy in two ways: ease the labour crunch by filling the record number of new jobs created and reduce the heavy reliance on foreign workers. Also, it will address the increasingly important social concern over their retirement savings. Looking around us we can see that women tend to live longer than men; sometimes out living their husbands for decades, thus by staying jobless, these women may face the prospect of a bleak future, without having sufficient savings on their own.
A recent government survey has also found that one in three women mid-lifers has never held a job and the 2007 Report Singapore’s Labour identifies three main reasons: housework, poor health and raising children. A significant number of women leave the work force in their 30s or 40s; dropping out of the labour force after marriage and childbirth and many do not rejoin the workforce there after. This is in stark contrast with situations in other countries, likes South Korea where most women will return to the workforce when their children are older; in United State and Britain, most women continue to work even after becoming mothers. So what is it that is holding back the women in our society from rejoining the workforce?
As mentioned previously, women are actually worried they can juggle family and jobs demand at one go. Their main concern lies in the availability of flexible work options and greater childcare support for them. Men are also a stumbling block for some as the husband often makes decisions at home. Hence women have to stay at home to take care of the children. Some others have the fear that their skills have gone irrelevant, as they have been jobless for a long time. What can be dome to help these women, most of them, housewives or retirees rejoin the workforce?
A possible solution is changing the attitudes, for example, husbands who forbid their wives from working. Open discussions with social workers and MPs could be held to coax these husbands to change their ways, however it will not be easy to tackle as this more of private family matter. Still, similar attitudes are actually appearing to decline with more men showing greater willingness to help the housework nowadays.
Currently, a work group led by labour MP the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) had set the goal of helping 2000 women enter the workforce this year. This will thus make it easier for those who need jobs to find employment. The fact is that most women find themselves freed from time-consuming demand of childcaring when their children turn older, but they face the greater financial demand on the family as their children enter the college, polytechnics or university. With the cost of living rising, dual income family will gradually become a necessity in many households.
Consequently, it is important to equip women with the right skills and jobs. As most of the women left the workforce for sometime, they will need to keep their skills up to date. A recent initiative, Women Enterprise Works, will serve to help these women work from home. This co-operative will match women with courses that will train them on how to sell their products. With such creative initiatives in place, more women will be able to work, be it in the office or at home
Most importantly, knowing what women want and meeting their needs may be the best solution to the problem. The main worry to most women will be the tussle between work and family. Hence women mostly want jobs near their homes and with flexible options so that they can take care of their children. Therefore, employers may offer part-time jobs, which have family friendly hours. For the greater childcare support, the government should lower the childcare and student care fees.
With the continual effort of the government providing remedy to the situation, more women will definitely be convinced to get back to work.
--references from "wooing women back to work",Strait Times, March 15 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
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