Eugene - 12. The reality of sports is that it is unsporting. Do you agree?

Sports are becoming more and more unsporting as athletes become more competitive, and resort to dishonorable measures to win. Some athletes now resort to doping to give themselves an edge in competitions, despite it being against the rules. This tarnishes the reputation of sports as competitors who play fair have a disadvantage against the cheaters, hence making the sport unfair. However, just because cheating happens in sporting events does not mean that it is accepted. Rule breaking is frowned upon by the public and punished severely by the organizers of events, often with a ban. This ensures that athletes will comply with the rules and not do anything unsporting for fear of punishment and public backlash.

Jieyao 12 The reality of sports today is that it is unsporting.

Sports may be sen as increasingly unsporting when athletes , driven by the desire to win , resort to dishonorable means. Dishonourable means come in various forms such as taking drugs, or cheating during the game to gain an unfair advantage. The presence of such acts are detrimental to sports as a whole as it goes against the core value of sports, which is to have sportsmanship. Such acts are becoming more and more common in today's society, whereas in the past such cases are rare and athletes possess the desire to compete fairly and achieve recognition for their abilities fairly. An example of unsporting behaviour in today's world was when alex rodriguez, a baseballer, admitted to taking drugs to enhance his performances. Also, an F1 driver was instructed to crash in order for his teammate to achieve a better position and place the team in a better position to win the team's championship. Therefore, the reality of sports today is unsporting as the presence of dishonourable behaviour is increasingly common.

However, sports today is not unsporting as in the baseballer, Alex Rodriguez's case, the fact that he admitted to taking drugs shows that he feels responsible and guilty for taking drugs in order to gain an unfair advantage. This shows his sporting nature as it proves, deep down, he knows that it was wrong for him to take drugs. Therefore, Sports today is still sporting.

Jaron 11. Newspapers have become redundant in today's age of the internet

The Internet provides information updates round-the-clock while the newspaper has a time lapse in between publications, therefore, the Internet is a better mode of information dissemination in terms of updatedness. New York Times has both a daily newspaper and an online website and Twitter account to publish information. Information can be published rapidly on the Internet as can be seen by the constant updates on its website while in order for the same information to be published on the newspaper, we need to wait for at least the next day for it to be printed and sold. As such, the Internet can be used by people who want constant and almost instant updates regarding the most up-to-date and critical information in the world. Newspapers on the other hand require some time to be disseminated and the information between this time lapse may become outdated as the same information could have been published online several hours ago. Thus, newspapers have become redundant in today's age of the Internet as the Internet is a much efficient mode of information dissemination as compared to the newspaper.

Pinghao- Have the New Media changed our lives for the better?

New media has helped our society gain broader perspectives and become more knowledgeable about worldly matters instead of being restricted to their own countries and communities. This is due to the increased transparency and accessibility of information and ideas now shared, which was made possible by new media. For example, anyone who has a question can now simply post it on an online forum and receive their views answers from online users all over the world. Answers from various perspectives can then be obtained and discussed. An example of this is STOMP, a widely used forum page to discuss various issues pertaining to the world today. Online blogs by people on their views of various issues are also accessible to anyone who wants to read it, through websites such as Blogger and Livejournal. This allows readers to gain a new perception of things. Users may use this information and new ideas to improve their own lives. However, some may argue that information provided by online users are unverified and thus cannot be depended on. Users may end up receiving the wrong information as not all online answers come from professionals. However, our society is rapidly becoming media-literate and are able to discern what information is right and what is wrong for themselves. This is especially true for youths, who rely on new media the most. New media provides a platform for the sharing and discussion of ideas and information, but ultimately, it is up to the users to decide whether or not to use the information provided. Thus, new media has changed our lives for the better as it provides the opportunity for people to gain broader perspectives.

Eunice/ To what extent should the Singapore government be responsible for taking care of the elderly?

The government may be expected to be responsible for the elderly who do not have families by building relevant infrastructure and promoting community involvement. This is to ensure the elderly can assimilate into the society effectively and be a part of it, rather than be seen as a source of hindrance or burden. It will also aid the elderly's emotional well-being, because they will not be isolated but instead, actively involved. For example, infrastructures such as exercise corners and elderly-friendly HDB flats have been implemented in Singapore to take care of the elderly. Community centres have also catered to the elderly by engaging them in different activities and by doing so, provide opportunities for the elderly to interact with each other. Hence, the Singapore government should continue providing these facilities and amenities because they are expected to be responsible for taking care of the elderly who do not have families.

Brian -- "The reality of sports today is that it is unsporting." How far do you agree with this view?

The intense competition and pressure from traditional rivalry between athletes or teams to win may lead to players demonstrating undesirable behavior such as foul play as players start to get personal. Players, often on the impulse, are driven by the desire to win and may result in succumbing to act undesirably and dishonestly. They only focus about winning and forget about their morals by intentionally injuring another player. Also, they do not respect the sport itself and display unsportsmanlike behavior. For example, during the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, Zinedine Zidane, a French player, committed a serious offence by intentionally hurting an Italian from the opposing team. He walked straight into the Italian and head-butted him in the chest. As a result, Zidane was given a red card for the offence and was sent off the playing field immediately. That was the end of his soccer career as he retired after that world cup. The once renowned French star player had ended his career in shame. However, most athletes are aware of their obligation to the team and usually self-govern their own behavior. For all sports, foul play is usually accompanied by very serious consequences such as the banning of players from entering the sport again and so on. Such consequences act as a deterrent to players to commit such offences. As such , there has only been very few cases of players being banned from the sport due to offences committed during game-play. Therefore since only a minority of sportsman demonstrate such unsporting behavior, the reality of sports today is still sporting.

Ivy, To what extent should the Singapore government be responsible for taking care of the elderly?

The government may be expected to be responsible in taking care of the elderly when they are not physically able to stay in the workforce and are unable to financially support themselves. As long as the government is able to afford it and does not strain the economy, the government should be responsible for the elderly.The elderly are generally people who have reached an age whereby their physically health is deteriorating. They are less physically fit as compared to the younger workers in the workforce, hence many often get retrenched or get a pay cut during an economic crisis and to lose or have a drop in their source of income. This problem is serious especially to elderly living on their on as others in their household to turn to, as a result, these elderly are unable to even afford the basic necessities such as rice or a fan. This is when the government's responsibility comes in aiding the elderly who are facing such financial difficulties. This is often done through the use of subsidies in healthcare treatment and in giving them monetary aid once in a while, for example during special events or festive celebrations .
However, should the implementation of subsidies be proven to have a strain on society's economy, the role of the government should be minimised as there are other stakeholders for example the community that should share the responsibility in taking care of the elderly. The community may help financially-disabled elderly through charitable organisations in grassroot organisations whereby a person basic necessities are given monthly which are financially supported by the public through donations. This is when the responsibility of the government is shifted to the community and public.