2007 KS Bull Issue 1

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ksbll rae 1 2007] RaffLes lunior College "A prollt-driven mas media c more vibrant than atovernment regulated onel'Discuss. lchowWen Xin,075038] "The puEuit of equalit), of rhe sexes is not only futile but foolishl' Do you aSree? luang Wilaye, 07A I 3Al "The pursuit ofequality ofthe sexes is not only futile but foolishi Do you agree? lAsiyahA.Ari(07503O] "An educaled society s a civiised onel'ls this a wa/s true? [Lee SuatYlnt, 07503 Q] "covernments should pay attention to what art and anists have to sry.' Discuss. lchunt l'4ing see,07Al3A] "Social change has diminkhed the importance ofthe famil/ todayl' Discuss. lcheryn'ann Chew' 07S03K] ls fr€€dom always good? lwang Hanchen,07s06N] ln your opinion,how important i5 an opposition in tovernmentto a coLrntry's progressl lEllza Sin,07S03G] ln your oplnlon, how imponant ls an opposition in Sovernment to a counlrlt progressl lDavid Chan Tarwei, 07A I 3A] "Censo6hip k an insult to mant int€llitencel' Discuss. lsamuelWon€ , 07503 H1 "CensoBhip is an insult to man! intelligencel' Discuss. lAmelia Chan8,07503Ql 'Technoloty has made our lives busiei not betterl'How tar do you agree with thi5 stztem€ntl lcherie chue Xue Li,07s03F] "Technolosy has made our llves buslei nor betterl'How tar do you atree with this statementi lchiaYan l'1in,07503F] How far should the media be held responsible for the problems faced by youft people loday? ljanice Heng,?S031] "D€mocracy ls essentlally about'people powel". Discus. fhn Zhi Feng, 2A0 I Al "DemocEcy is e$entially about'people power"'. Dkcus. lChua WelYuan, 2s03Ml 'The moal man is invariably put ai a disadvantaBeii! h always better to be amorall Dis.uss. IWee Shu"min ,2A0lA] 'The moral man is invariably put a! a disadvantate; i! is aLways bener to be amorall Discuss ryicbr Siek, 2A l 3Al 'Life 15harder,not easi€rl How far is this rue? IHan Huiqing,2S06Kl ls it true that rne more w€ have,the less happy we are? ljanaki d/o Shanmutam, 2503 H] Do you agree thar as technoloSy advances, the arts get more enriched and more inte.estintl lshirin Nadira,2A0lA] Do you agree that as technology adhnces,the ans g€t more enrlched and more interestint? lliew Shant Zhao,2Al3A] 'S.ience, unlike religion, promises more $an it deliveElTo what extent do /ou agree with thc statementl [f1 Aditya, 2s03c] ou!with the l4eat,Turn over to th€ Leaf lHont Yanci, 07s0614] Do you think society is better off with the libeEtion of women from theh $aditlonal rolesl lBensen Koh,07A0lA] Consider the view that the studl of mathematics k intellectualb/ satisting, but of little practical use [FonSling Hent,2A038] Kl Essays k .t r sSuided to hold th{ reasoning i the p'ima'y soJrce of knowledte? lNlcol. Joh., OTAOlBl k it mlsgulded to hold that reasonint is the prlmary sour.e of knowledge? lchongWanlin&075060] ls it misguided to hold that reasoning js the primary soLrrce of knowledge? [Xin8 zhenron8,07S03S] h ir missuided to hold that reasonlns is the prima.y source of knowledtel [Nt ShiQian Rachel,075060] How mitht doubr be overcome? lAditi Shivaramakrishnan,07A I 34] How misht doub! be overcomel [Poh sun Zhi jonathan, 07S03Q] How mirht doubt be overcome? flanWenYi,oTSO3PI Compare the roes piayed by reason and experience in at least tlvo academlc disciplines. lsim Jintwel,07S03Al "No man's knowl€dge here can to beyond his experiencel' To what extent do /ou agreel ltan Bee Neo Melissa, 075031] "No manl knowledre herc can 8o beyond his expe.iencel' To what extent do you asreei lNicole Quah , 07S06R] A priori knowledse should always be preferred overa poreriori knowledge. Discu$. lchery Q!ah,07S06R] A priorl knowledse should always be preferrcd overa posleriori knowledge. Disct,$. [Lim Jiii, 07S07A] 3 6 8 t0 l2 t4 t6 t8 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 47 46 4A 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 76 78 80 83

Ratrles lunior Co lese ksbulhsre 1 2c0/ re3 Foreword Message from the Principal "l moy be wran| ond you moy be righL and by on effort,we moy get neorer to the truth." - Sir Korl Roimund Popper Philosopher John Stuart Mill noted, "He who knovr's only his own side of the cose knows little of thot" . ln so succinct a manner, Mill summed up the case for understanding different viewpoints and the free exchange of ideas. It is with this view in mind that the KS Bull is produced - to compile a collection of well-reasoned General Paper (GP) and Knowledge & lnquiry (Kl) essays by RJC students in the hope that these essays will inspire new arguments and divergent ideas among readers- We hope that the KS Bull will Play a significant role in spawning many more good arguments and essays among students in Singapore. ln writing the essays, the studenls have engaged in research to understand an issue in dePth and exercised critical thinking to consider an issue from different angles. ln presenting their arguments clearly and coherentl/, their intent is to persuade readers !o aPPreciate their Point of view. For the reader, the benefits of reading a well-crafted essay are evident. Through reading such an essay, the reader will have to analytically assess the validity of the argument presented, judiciously refine his insights, creatively think of counter-arguments, and finally, thoughtfully form his own conclusions. This rigorous mental process is perhaps akin to what AnSlo-Austrian philosopher,Sir Karl Raimund Popper, had in mind when he said,"l moy be wron g ond you moy be right, ond by on effort, we moy get neorer to the truth". lndeed, in being cognizant of the varyin8 views, we can hoPe to understand an issue more completely and craft a better argumen!. Read and Enioyl Auspicium lYelioris Aevi rwinston Hodge Principal Raffles Junior College

4lcGciiE+|:rfiEffidrmEil ksb! $!c 1 7007 Ratrles Junior College Essav n I T lle A profir-d ven mass media is more vibranr than a government reguiated onel Discuss. w I Name Clowwen Xrn Cl,rr:07S0rB Both the profit-driven mass media and government-regulated mass media are manifestations of what extremely parochial molives can do to transform a medium thatshould serve multiple purposes.The profit-driven rnass media is inextricably bound to the economic context and flnancial imperative ofthe media industry;the governmenr-regulated mass media is devoted to perpetuating a specific set of beliefs and values.When money or politics serves as the sole impetus for the production of mass media, it eventuates in the ending of all variety, choice and vibrancy. ln this essay,l will discuss how these two extremes impinge on the vibrancy of the mass media,and why the true solution for sustaining life in the media industry lies in the use of the media to disseminate a wide variety of information and knowledge. Even in today\ society,we can see the potential harm an economically-driven mass media might impose on broadcasting qualif/.This is because in most developed countries like the United States ofAmerica, the modus operandi of the mass media is governed by corporate sponsors.Television shows are produced so thata certain number ofaudiences will watch the advertisements durinS commercial breaks. Corporate sponsors pay rhe broadcasting firms based on the number of people they would expect to be watching the showThis has resulted in the trite banality and lack of innovation we see in today! media, what broadcasters term as "cookie-cutte." programmes. We do not have to lookfar for evidence ofthe €conomy\ role in the declininS tastes and standards of broadcasting. The wildly successful birth of the "Survivor" series cemented the place of reajityTV in toda/\ culture.ln the pursuit of profit maximisation, numerous broadcasting firms have churned out reality series,whose formulaic, insipid nature makes the discerning viewer queas), from lhe monochromatic excesses of cat-fighting, sex and cheap sentiment. For instance,The Bachelor has spawned Joe lYillionaire,Who Wants to l'4arry a Millionaire, and Average Joe.The invariable formula has attracted millions ofviewers, who desperately want the "stars" in