National Service - How can this be amended or improved further to alleviate the problem of dodging?

Recently, the problem of people dodging their National Service (NS) is getting more and more serious. These dodgers are able to come up with all kinds of methods and excuses to prevent themselves from having to serve NS. What I think is the main problem now is people do not understand the importance for us to serve the NS.

There is a need for schools and the government to inform its people about the importance of serving NS. Singapore is a small country, if unfortunately Singapore needs to be engaged in a war, we will need all the people that we can get. Singapore needs to get its people ready, and through the National Service, it achieves the objective of training. If we are able to include the importance of NS in our education, hopefully, teens will be able to understand the purpose and decrease the number of dodgers. The government also need to help to convey the correct picture of NS to the public. As most of the teens get to know more about NS through their seniors, this may not be accurate as some of these "seniors" can be biased and detest NS too. The government can depict NS as fun and adventurous to the public to increase the interest in it.

One reason why people dodge NS is because they feel that it is a waste of time when they can continue to have better educations. After going through NS, some will find that they couldn't find a decent job as they do not have the education level for certain jobs. They will instead need to spend a few more years in universities studying unlike some other friends that need not go through NS and is already enjoying a stable job. I think that the government can help to solve this problem. Singapore can award scholarships to some of its NS men to help them in their studies and life after NS, and the government can also provide certain jobs for NS men. This will help to ensure those that want to study after NS will be able to do so.

Giving harsher punishment to NS dodgers can be another method to prevent NS dodgers, though I discourage it. The government can cane and jail those that dodged NS to show that NS is not a joke and important. However, this may cause more to dislike NS as people feel forced to join NS. Those parents that helped their children escape NS need to be punished too for conveying the wrong idea to the children.

In conclusion, in order for the Singapore to guarantee her safety during war, a strong army is needed and dodging is a serious case that may cripple the army from within. We need to solve the root of the problem.

Integrated Resort/ Free will's a gamble

The issue on whether Singapore should open a the IR has been a very hot topic among Singaporeans recently. Regarding this issue, a lot of other aspects such as the traditional moral values are dragged into it. Singaporeans now have to make the choice, do they want economic benefits or traditional values?

Opening up the IR will cause Singapore to gain a lot of economic benefits. As we all know, there is an economic crisis happening in the world now, and a lot of companies were forced to fire some of their workers to save cost. The building of IR itself will provide a lot more jobs to those people that is retrenched. Like Hitler that built the autobahn to boost Germany's economy during the Great Depression, Singapore can do something similar by building the IR. After the building of the IR is done, they will need to employ even more people to work in it.

The IR generally acts as a new tourism hot spot for foreigners to visit Singapore. Besides the casino, there will also be other different facilities available in the IR which includes shopping malls for women, hotels for families, and them parks for children. Through this, it can also boost all other aspects of Singapore's economy such as the hotels, restaurant and shopping centre industry. With the flow in currency, Singapore can in turn upgrade it's facilities and improve Singaporeans' life. Singapore will be able to develop faster and improve the quality of life.

Yes, I do know that having a casino in Singapore will make a very heavy social impact. By opening up the IR, I'm sure that there will be more undesirable activities such as illegal money lending that will happen in Singapore. People are afraid that this will tarnish Singapore's brand name. But think of it this way, if someone really wants to gamble, it doesn't matter if Singapore builds the IR, he can always go to Genting Highland in Malaysia, to Macau or even Las Vegas. Having the IR built here have the advantage that the government can control their gambling. I'm sure that the government will come up with some sort of policies that can control the gambling habits of Singaporeans effectively.

After so many years under the leadership of the government, I'm sure that we can see what the government has done that can so effectively improve all of our lives. We have to put some trust into the government and believes that they can address the non-economic issues. Generally, I believe it all lies in what Singaporeans really think of themselves, will they be able to resist the casino? For me, gambling with computer programs, yes, but gambling in the real world? Never. I know how bad can gambling's effect be, and I know that I will avoid them and will never gamble in a casino when I grow up. This is also part of the reason why I rarely touch card games that involves the element of gamble, or basically, luck. Gamble or not, it all lies in your own choice. I believe that Singaporeans that are often viewed as having better education, will be able to make the right choices.

All in all, I feel that the government should think through the proposal of having an IR built and must be ready to solve the problems that it will bring if they decide to open it. I also urge Singaporeans to think twice before stepping into a casino.

How advertising informs to our benefit

Well, I think that writer's viewpoint on advertisement is partly true. Yes, I do think that through advertisements, we are able to gain some very useful information. Advertisements serve the purpose of giving details and packaging a product such that the viewer will be attracted to the product and maybe, try it. Advertisements usually don't give us the details in full, if viewers are interested in the product, by curiosity, it will led them to do more research into it. Through this, the viewers get to know the product even better. This plays a veryimportant role in promoting a product.

It is true that we as viewers get information at no extra cost. When we watch TV, surf the internet or look at signs along the road, it doesn't cost us anything, well, except the electricity and energy where necessary. In fact, sometimes we'll be able to gain a lot of extra knowledge from advertisements. For example, through a advertisement for milk powder, you'll know that DHA helps the development of the brain and etc. However, if the advertisement is able to convince you to try the products, through paying for the product, you are indirectly paying for the advertisement.

Switch on your TV, sometimes, you'll be able to see competing advertisements that's promoting a product of a different brand. Through this competitive nature of advertisements, the manufacturer of the products will definitely try to better than the other. This often leads to them lower the price of their product and improving the quality of their product. Knowing this, the other competing brand will also do the same. In the end, this benefits the consumer as we can try the product at a lower price and a better quality.

However, viewers need to be more careful with health products or something for consuming. Advertisements will try not to cover the harmful side effects of consuming the health product, as this would obviously stop the viewer from trying the product. If a viewer doesn't know about the effect and in the end, got harmed by it, this will require responsibility from the manufacturer, and sometimes the advertiser too. One very obvious example will involves slimming pills. The advertisements that we see doesn't include everything that we should know, and to profit from it, the advertisers will not let us know.

Advertising is a very hard job because you'll always face the problem of integrity and honesty. Integrity, in my view point, is the most important thing in doing business. If you're unable to gain people's trust, no matter what kind of product you have, people will not try it. However, do remember that integrity is something that you should have, not have it because you know that your customers would want it.

If I were to be the creative director of a company, I would definitely try my best to provide truths and show the bad points, however, not highlighting them. The viewers will be able to know the harmful effects of my product if they pay attention to my advertisement, and I'll likely be able to gain their trust for providing two sides of the picture to them.Although we might not be able to profit much from other brands, but at least we have integrity and I'm sure that customers will know who to trust in the long run.