S'pore youths most wired in Asia

Aug 3, 2010
By Jalelah Abu Baker
In a regional survey of 11 countries by market research firm Synovate, Singaporeans aged eight to 24 came up tops in the ownership of laptop computers, television game consoles and smartphones.. -- PHOTO: NP
SINGAPOREAN youths are the most wired lot in Asia, according to survey results released on Monday, and - perhaps in keeping with their love of material goods - they are most receptive to mobile advertising.

In a regional survey of 11 countries by market research firm Synovate, Singaporeans aged eight to 24 came up tops in the ownership of laptop computers, television game consoles and smartphones.

Almost half of those surveyed here, or 47 per cent, own laptops, nearly three times more than the 18 per cent average in Asia.

Four in 10 own game consoles like an Xbox and PlayStation at home, compared to an average of 16 per cent for the region.

And one in five owns a smartphone, a mobile phone with Web access and high-tech functions. China and Hong Kong trail close behind.

The survey, which was assisted by Synovate's research partners Microsoft Advertising, Yahoo and Friendster, polled more than 12,000 young people in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Korea, among others.

My views:
Indeed Singaporeans youth are very privilege to be able to enjoy the use of such electronic gadgets. These gadgets also have make changes in our daily life and have influence us greatly. It is even more common to see a person possessing all of the three items-laptop, game console and smartphone. Or one would at least own one of these electronic gadgets. With all of this smart inventions coming out, youths today are more and more IT savvy as compared to before.

For example, students nowadays would carry laptops to school for lessons or for project work, especially those students studying in polytechnic or university.

When you are travelling on a public transport, you will also tend to see young children taking out their game console to play and to kill boredom.

Lastly, for smartphones, you will definitely spot someone using smartphone or at least a normal phone just awhile after stepping out of your house.

This regional survey also shows that generally, Singaporeans should be earning quite a lot and also financially stable to be able to afford these technologies. Thus, their children can enjoy and benefit from the information provided by the latest technology such as reading news or doing research using their laptop and also for leisure purposes. However, there are bound to be pros and cons in every situation. Therefore, one should not be too reliant on the technology and worst still, get hooked to it and unable to get rid of the bad habits such as being addicted to games or videos.

Colorado man delivers pizza and saves heart attack victim

Reuters - Thursday, July 22
DENVER - A laid off paramedic who turned to delivering pizzas to make ends meet is credited with saving the life of a man who went into cardiac arrest just as a pizza was delivered to his door.

Christopher Wuebben, 22, was delivering a pizza late last week to the suburban Denver home of George Linn, when he heard the man's wife screaming for help, according to Wuebben's boss, John Keiley.

"Chris told the woman that he was trained in CPR and knew what to do," Keiley, owner of Johnny's New York Pizza, said on Tuesday. "He got him on the floor and brought him back to life before the fire department showed up."

Linn was transported to Swedish Medical Center where he is listed in serious condition in the hospital's critical care unit, hospital spokeswoman Julie Lonborg told Reuters.

Keiley said Wuebben is a military veteran who recently moved to Colorado after he was laid off from his paramedic job in Illinois. He said Wuebben is not scheduled to work at the pizza restaurant until later in the week, but Keiley may not have his new employee for long. At least one local hospital and a fire department have called to offer Wuebben a job in his chosen field after hearing of his heroics.

"He's a good kid who was very nonchalant about what he did and hopefully this will work out for him," Keiley said.


My views:
This article has goes to show that learning first aid is helpful and it is extremely important that one should be equipped with some first aid skills. By knowing first aid, it enables you to provide medical aid immediately to someone in need rather than waiting for the paramedics to arrive. In some situation,it might be too late to wait for the paramedics to provide medical help and the victim might have just passed away before they arrived. If the victim is able to get immediate help from someone who is trained in this area, his or her life might be save. Learning first aid gives you an additional valuable skill which enable you to save life or help others in critical situation. By attending first aid courses, it not only teaches you how to perform CPR but also other knowledge such the correct way to treat a wound and to properly bandage it. Thus, you will be able to help yourself, your friends and family members and also the people around you.

Childhood bullying

By Channel NewsAsia, Updated: 17/07/2010
Some victims of childhood bullying still haven’t recovered from trauma: survey

SINGAPORE: Some victims of childhood bullying do not grow out of their trauma, according to a recent survey.

It polled Singaporeans between 25 and 29 years old and found that most victims have a weaker sense of personal well—being, compared with those who had not been bullied.

As a child, you might have come across the resident school bully, who could have verbally or physically abused you or your peers.

These unpleasant encounters sometimes never go away.

Winston Ong, research officer, Singapore Children’s Society, said: "Respondents who’ve been bullied before actually have lower self—esteem and lower levels of well—being. They’re also more depressed as compared to those who have never been bullied."

The survey was a retrospective one involving 600 young adults who had studied in a primary or secondary school. One key finding showed that Malays were being more bullied than Chinese.

Of those interviewed, 61 per cent of Malays said they had been bullied, compared with 48 per cent of Chinese respondents.

Researchers said they don’t have any information explaining why but they do not detect any trends.

One hot topic at this year’s Bully—Free forum was cyber bullying and schools are taking a serious stance on social networking platforms and blogs.

Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, Senior Minister of State for Law & Home Affairs, said: "All reported cases are investigated. Schools have the autonomy to decide on the disciplinary measures to take against the offenders as appropriate. More importantly, however, tough disciplinary measures should be accompanied by proper education and counselling for the bullies and victims."

Fortunately, the victims surveyed said their situation improved most of the time when they sought help from schools, parents and peers. — CNA/vm

This article is talking about people who were being bullied during their childhood time do not recover from their trauma when they grow up. This is actually a very sad case and they are two types of bullying. Verbally and physically. When people are being verbally bullied, it will cause them to be emotionally hurt, but when they are being physically bullied, they will be hurt both physically and emotionally. Physical injuries can be healed after a period of time but sometimes, when a person is emotionally hurt, it might not be able to recover even after a long time and the bad experience which the victims when through might be with them for a life time.

We should treat others like how we want to be treated and do not go around bullying others just because it is fun. It would not be fun if you were to imagine that you are the one who is being bullied. One should also be careful with the words they use and do not engage in cyber bullying. Victims should report any case of bullying and if necessary, do not hesitate to seek help from the parents, teachers or even the counsellor to get out of the unpleasant situation or trauma.

Recognising the work and sacrifice of foreign workers

By Angela Lim – June 24th, 2010
Two years ago, a Bangladeshi construction worker’s young, promising life disintegrated right before his very eyes when a 50-kg bag of cement fell onto his back and left him permanently paralysed.

The bag of cement fractured 29-year-old Hafizul Islam Kolfil Uddin’s spine while he was working inside a 4.5m deep trench in Woodlands Avenue 3. Upon returning home to Bangladesh, the paraplegic was forcefully separated from his fiancee by her parents and lived alone, often lying helplessly in bed for days on end, soiled and incontinent.

Now, Hafizul will receive what might be the highest amount awarded by a court to a foreign worker permanently disabled after an industrial accident.

After the Commissioner for Labour offered him a work injury compensation of a mere S$128,000, Hafizul — his future shattered and his life in pieces – took his case to the High Court. Employer Poh Huat Heng Construction, and two other firms have now been ordered to pay him a total of S$910,000 to cover his loss of future earnings, the cost of hiring a full-time nurse and other medical expenses.

But Hafizul is just but one of the many hundreds of thousands of unskilled and semi-skilled foreign workers from India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China and Malaysia who put their bodies in the line of danger in construction sites around Singapore everyday.

Two accidents involving foreign workers ferried in lorries in the past week have again put the spotlight on foreign worker safety. Nine were hurt in the latest crash that occurred Wednesday morning along Jurong Port Road.

In the first and more serious crash, Chinese nationals Li Jia Jun, 40, Li Xian Long, 45, and Qiu Min Jun, 46, were not lucky enough to survive.

The Tuesday morning accident left the trio of workers dead after the driver lost control of his vehicle and mounted a metal divider on the PIE. Police confirmed that there were 15 people riding in the back of the lorry even though it was only authorised to carry 13 in its cargo bay.

The lorry did not have a canopy and had yet to be retrofitted to comply with Land Transport Authority regulations, which come into effect only in 2012. As a result, fourteen of the workers were sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for treatment and three were left dead because of the oversight.

A friend of one of the dead workers Li Xian Long told the The Straits Times, “He worked hard and made sacrifices to send money to his family.” Li is survived by his wife and two sons in their 20s.

Foreign workers often leave home and family in the hope of getting decent, honest work in Singapore. What little they earn, they save and remit back to their family in order that they might have a chance of a decent life and education. When serious accidents happen, few are as lucky as Hafizul to obtain sufficient compensation.

Should Singaporeans be more appreciative of the risks and sacrifice migrant workers take when seeking employment in Singapore and the hard, oft-times back-breaking work they put into constructing our roads, buildings, condos and integrated resorts?

Or do we, all too often, take their sacrifice and sweat for granted?

I think that this construction worker is really lucky to obtain S$910,000 of compensation fee.However,it is actually an exchange of being separated from his fiancee,having to live alone and often lying helplessly in bed for days.I believe that if he was able to choose between the money and having the chance of living a normal life as before,he would want to be able to be with his fiancee and have the ability to work and look after himself instead of having so much money but not able to spend it happily.Sometimes,money is not every thing in life and it would be meaningless if you were to lose something that you cherish a lot such as your family members.

Migrant workers often come to Singapore to seek for employment opportunities and to improve their living conditions as well as to provide financial support for their family back in their hometown.They often take up jobs which Singaporeans find it to be tough and challenging such as being a construction worker.These job requires a lot of energy and they often need to work under the hot sun to earn a living. Actually,we should be appreciative of them as they risk their live and make sacrifices in order to build infrastructure for us to use and resorts for fun and leisure purposes.Without them,we would not be able to enjoy such facilities. Therefore,we should not look down on those people who are doing these kind of jobs and not to take them for granted.Lastly,proper safety precautions should be taken care of and the workers themselves must be careful when they are doing a dangerous job to minimise tragedy from happening.

Asian moms hooked on Internet for children, selves-study

SINGAPORE, May 20 - The Internet is a lifeline for Asian mothers, with a survey finding two-thirds use it to shop for themselves and their children and an even bigger number going online to research purchases and talk about them.

The study, by Microsoft Advertising and Starcom MediaVest Group, showed that mothers ultimately hold the purse-strings in the region, influencing purchasing decisions ranging from household staples to big-ticket items such as cars.

And their resource of choice to make these purchases is the Internet, with 58 percent saying they used online networks and online customer reviews before actually buying.

"Mums have become the one-stop shop for family purchases, and brands need to be aware of this influence," Kenneth Andrew, managing director of Microsoft Advertising Greater Asia Pacific, told reporters.

"Mothers are becoming increasingly digitally savvy, and conversely, much more cynical of advertising."

The survey was based on interviews with about 3,000 mothers in eight markets -- China, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. The respondents ranged from pregnant women to mothers with teenage children.

On average, the survey found that Asian mothers spend 17 hours a week online, and the sites they visited ranged from those offering media, such as music and video download sites, to social networks, to sites specifically catered to children.

But largely, the online activities of mothers depended on the age of their children, with expectant women relying on sites that allow them to interact with other mothers, while those with older children rely on the web for email and searches.

The research was intended to help advertisers focus on a demographic Andrew said had been so far neglected in Asia.

"There is an opportunity for mothers to become an unofficial brand ambassador, as they love to share their views and are very influential," he said.


My views:
I guess everyone uses computer(regardless of their age) to go into Internet almost everyday.Computers are one of the most advance technology that has become essential in our daily life.Some people might even think that they will not be able to survive for a few days without using the computers.No doubt the Internet has made our lives more convenient and better with its advantages,there are also some disadvantages.

Advantages:
1)Leisure activities such as gaming and watching videos.
2)Conducting online lessons or doing elearning home works.
3)Online shopping.
4)Research.
5)Blogging.
6)Chatting on MSN and so on.

Disadvantages:
1)Addiction on using the computer.
2)Causes poor eye sight due to spending long hours on the computer.
3)High electrical bills and so on.

I think that allocating a reasonable amount of time spend on computer everyday is important so that we would not neglect doing other important stuffs or get hooked using the Internet services.We should also be careful not to get hooked to the computer as it will not be easy to cure the addiction.Overall,the invention of the computer and the Internet is beneficial and it will be depended on how the users uses it to maximise the advantages for themselves.

LRT service disrupted after man tripped & fell

SINGAPORE : A man tripped and fell at Keat Hong LRT Station on Monday evening, causing the train service to be disrupted.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said the incident happened at 6.57pm.

The man’s left hand was trapped between the train and platform.

SCDF officers used a cutter and spreader to rescue him.

He suffered abrasion on his arm and legs and was sent to the National University Hospital.

44—year—old Mohamad Effandy Warma, who was at the scene, said: "There’s a lot of activities ... the civil defence (officers) were there, there were two fire engines and I also saw that there were ambulances plus the police.

"We saw ... the stretcher and then they pushed (it) into the ambulance, and then the ambulance goes off. We also saw that the LRT, the carriages were apparently not moving."

Normal LRT service resumed after more than an hour.

SMRT said about 860 commuters were affected by the disruption. It deployed bus bridging services to serve these passengers.

Those who were unable to complete their journey can get a refund at SMRT’s stations over the next three days.

— CNA/al

Over the years there are more and more cases of people jumping down the MRT platform or accidentally fall in.For people who are trying to commit suicide,i think that it is not worth it and they should think twice before acting on impulse.Life is precious and they should not result in committing suicide just because of some issues or problems.They can approach others for help and they must think of the consequences before committing suicide.Not only their love ones would be hurt but also the operations of the trains would be disrupted,causing inconvenience for many people.

People walking along platform should be careful,especially on those MRT stations which is above the ground and do not have platform doors installed as they might fall into the tracks accidentally.Children should not be playing or running around the MRT stations to avoid accidents happening.If there are any items dropped into the railway track,travellers should not attempt to pick it up on their own but approach the staff for help.

The Government had announced that platform doors would be installed in places where the MRT stations are above the ground due to the increase in the number of jumps since 2004.But this will increase the cost and by installing such platforms,the cost will eventually be passed on to commuters at the end of the day.I think that having platform doors might not necessary be useful althought it still helps in preventing people from falling into the tracks.Therefore,i feel that it is only right that people should think of their own safetly before doing any thing.

Burglars disguised as electricians target elderly

SINGAPORE : The number of cases of burglars posing as electricians to gain access into flats has been on the rise since 2006, but the trend reversed last year with a decline of 14 cases.

Many of the victims were the elderly.

77—year—old Madam Lee Phong Tee and her 82—year—old husband, who are victims of burglary, are now wary of strangers knocking on their doors.

"He (burglar) turned off my circuit breaker outside, before lying that my circuit breaker has tripped. He had intended to come and steal from me. I opened the door because he said the government sent him to repair the short circuit," said Madam Lee.

The thief made off with S$900 worth of jewellery and S$600 cash which was meant for their daily expenses.

The police have stepped patrols in various estates. — CNA /ls


Nowadays it is very common to hear that elderly are the victims of fraud cases.It is indeed very cruel to prey on elderly,just because they are old and gullible.The burglar is able-bodied and should go out to find a job for a living instead of committing a crime in order to earn money.The burglar should approach the government or organisations such as CDAC for help if he really requires financial assistance. Spending the money gained by illegal means would not be better than spending our own hard earn money as we would feel guilty about it and be afraid that we would be caught on day.I think that the burglar should spend a thought for the elderly as these jewelleries and cash was meant for their daily expenses and they do not have the physical ability to work and earn a living any more.

I hoped that elderly would be more alert in future and never open their doors to strangers to avoid such incident again.They should also consult their children before making any decision.Neighbours should also look out for one another and if possible,nabbed the burglar before he escapes.