Thursday, June 18, 2009

News entries ( third week)

Pc show climbs to new heights
News summary:
The four day Pc show pulled in a record 1.13 million visitor. This was higher than last year, before the economy began its plunge and Pc show organiser Lines Exposition and management services project manager Gillian Loh said that she's confident that they can topped last year's figure($51.7 million). A lot of people make their purchases in the last few hours as they believe vendors would go out to secure sales. The belief that the worst was over stirred consumers out of their spending stupor and into the fair, spread out over multiple floors of the suntec convention centre.
Opinions:
I think that the reason for the crowd was most probably because of the bargins they can get. At the Pc show, they can compare prices and bargin, especially at the last few hours of the show. Indeed, the Pc show was useful to those who need computers, printers etc. and the prices are usually cheaper. However, such show could also caused problems like traffic jams and overcrowding. News had reported due to Pc show, there was a heavy traffic outside suntec but exibitors said that it's normal when there are such Pc shows and they are confident that there would be more people coming for the show after the first day. Overall, I think that such Pc shows are useful as people can buy stuffs cheaper and save more during this period of time.

News entries ( second week)

News summary:
The Straits time peeked into 80 recycling bins in public area and found that all of them contained non-recyclable waste which include decomposed chicken briyani, soggy tissue paper, prawn shells and chicken bones. According to NEA, about 1/5 of the waste in recycling bins cannot be recycled and such waste contaminates the recyclable materials and renders the non-recyclable. The waste also increases the cost of maintaining the recycling bins, which have to be washed more often when they get dirty. Another problem that the workers clearing the recycling bins faced is that they have to sort through the contents in the bin and grouped them correctly before putting them in the right conpartmentin the trucks.
Opinions:
I think that those who throw non-recyclable waste are inconsiderate. They should know that the recycling bins are different from the normal ones and that they are meant for people to deposit items that are recyclable but not their rubbish. The waste they have thrown into the recycling bins can contaminate the recyclable materials and renders them non-recyclable. Besides that, throwing waste like decomposed chicken, soggy tissue paper,prawn shells and chicken bones would make the recycling bins smelly and dirty. Money have to be spent to clean the bins and workers will have to bear with the stench.All these waste should be tied in a plastis bag and thrown into the dustbins which is available amost every where. They should also try their best to recycle waste that are recyclable. It would be better if those waste are being bagged according to materials before they are deposite in the recycling bins. Like that, not much money would be spent and it would be easier for workers collecting the waste!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

News entries ( first week)

11-month old drowned while his mum slept
News summary:
A baby boy drowned in a pail of water at home when his mum was asleep. His father,Mr Ong was out to look for a job when it happened. The child's maternal grandma was also out to buy a present for his grandson's birthday. Mr Ong said that he left the baby beside his girlfriend and asked her to take care of him. When Mr Ong reached home, he saw his girlfriend still sleeping and his son was not beside her. He started to look for his son in the house and was shocked to find him half-submerged in a pail of water in the toilet. Mr Ong immediately pulled his son out of the water and woke his girfriend before bringing their son to Raffles Hospital. Their son was pronounced dead after one and a half hour. Ms Tan said that she went clubbing the night before and went to sleep after she got home. She did not no that no one was at home and assumed that someone would look after her son. Mr Ong was angry with his girlfriend for not taking care of his son and broke up with her after this accident.
Opinions:
In my opinion, I think that both Mr Ong and his girlfriend were reponsible for the death of their child. They are the child's parents and have the responsibility of taking good care of their child. Mr Ong should not put the blame on his girlfriend because in the first place, he should not leave the child with her girlfriend who was sleeping.As for his girlfriend, I think that she was irresponsible. Since she decided to give birth to the baby, she should be prepared to take care of it but not go clubbing. The news had reported that Mr Ong had pleaded with his girlfriend not to go clubbing and stay at home to look after the child but her girlfriend was reluctant to 'abandon' her friends and she still goes clubbing every weekend. If she had not gone clubbing the previous night, she might be able to prevent this tragedry from hapenning.
This accident showed that even the house posed a danger when children was left unattended. Thus, parents should be more careful with their children. Sharp objects like knife and scissors should be kept in a place where it is out of reach for toddlers and children and water in pails should be poured out to prevent drowning. Parents should always ensure that there is always someone to take care of their children to prevent such things from happening.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Summary of Article

Graciousness on public transport:
A graciousness campaigh was held on 23/05 at a community event in Bishan. Commuters had a chance to take a free train to familiarise themselves with five new circle line MRT station. Besides that, updated queue lines have been drawn on platforms in 11 MRT stations and some seat signs had been changed from 'priority seating' to 'reserved seating' to remind everyone that the transport system belongs to everyone but not only themselves.

Monday, May 25, 2009

News article

Graciousness drive on public transport:
10,000 people turned up for free rides to familiarise themselves with the circle line at a community event in Bishan MRT station yesterday.Bishan and Serangoon, will connect commuters to the North-South and North-east lines respectively.
Opinions:
I think that this programme is in a way useful to commuters as it helps them to familiarise themselves with the new circle line. If they are familiarise with it, they are able to know which way to go when they need to go to certain places.Of course it will be better if there are more people turning up for the free ride so as to know the new circle line well especially if they are people who takes MRT often.
Here comes the second main point:
The public transport council (PTC) will launch a public education programme titled 'A Happy Journey Starts Like That!' to promote graciousness on public transport. New and updated queue lines have been drawn on the platforms in 11 MRT stations. Besides that, some seat signs have been changed to read 'Reserved Seating' instead of 'priority seating'.
Opinions:
I think that that this programme is good as it remind the commuters that the public transport is meant for everyone but not only themselves. Through this programme, commuters can learn to:(a) give way to alighting train passengers (b) give up reserved seating to people who need it more than ourselves. Besides that, to ensure a pleasant and comfortable journey to all commuters, we can move to the middle of train cars or rear of buses, to optimise the passengers carrying capacity and at the same time reduce waiting time.
As for the changing of 'reserve seating' to 'priority seating', i think that it would be a good way to remind the commuters to spare a thought for others who need the seat like the elderly, pregnant woman and children. If they slip and fall during the journey, the consequences would be dire. The new floor queue line is also useful as it suggest the right way for exiting commuters and boarding commuters.
If everyone practices graciousness when they are taking public transport, people like the elderly would not have to stand while the bus/train is moving and it can prevent incidents from happening. Besides that, foreigners will have a good impression of Singapore and would want to visit our country again if they have a chance.