Current Affairs Sabbatical

The Newsroom Current Affairs Sabbatical

Term 3, 2010 Student Handbook

Prepared By Laura Ng, Timothy Ng and Matthew Koh Dear Students,

Welcome to this year’s Current Affairs Sabbatical!

This week we’re pitting four teams against each other, in a bid to find Hwa Chong’s best newsgroup. Be prepared to work as a newsroom to create a comprehensive and impressive multi-media portal that brings Current Affairs to life to the rest of Hwa Chong Institution.

In the next one week, you will find yourself challenged and stretched in ways you never thought possible, to prepare you for your future role as Current Affairs Student Assessors. You will learn to think critically and creatively about the things that happen in the world around you. You will never be able to read the news the same way again, having been involved in the process of presenting news yourselves.

We hope that this week will be as fulfilling for you as it has been for us to attend it. We hope that you will enjoy yourself thoroughly and that what you see and learn will stick with you for a long time.

And don’t forget, exciting prizes await the best newsgroup!

Regards,

Hwa Chong Institution Current Affairs Team

Prepared By Laura Ng, Timothy Ng and Matthew Koh Things to bring:

1. Laptop computer

2. Video Camera (if available)

3. Sound Recording Equipment (if available)

4. Cameras

5. Stationery to design board game

Prepared By Laura Ng, Timothy Ng and Matthew Koh Your Roles In this week you will be divided into the following news groups:

News Group 1 News Group 2 News Group 3 News Group 4

Lim Yu Yang Tham Kah Loon Eugene Chee You Jin Ulric Teo Wei Jie

Yu Zhuoxin Jarel Tang Jun Ren Andrew Cheong Tien Lua Jiong Wei Hao

Leong Sheu Xiang Eliel Rong’en Howard Yang Haowen Tsang Bao Xian Simatupang

Tan Jing Ling Kyle Foo Sean Heng Ming Hoe Gareth Lim

Wong Yi-Wen Jonathan Ng Shen You Tan Teik Jun

And be given the following positions: 1. Editor 2. Researcher 3. Journalist 4. News Anchor 5. Publicity representative

The Editor: The editor is in charge of producing the final product to be uploaded onto the wikispaces, and overseeing the entire project, ensuring that the members work closely with one another to fulfill their individual responsibilities. He is responsible for the quality of every component of the product – the research, the reviews, the

Prepared By Laura Ng, Timothy Ng and Matthew Koh vodcast/podcast, and the board game, and will do the final presentation at the end of Sabbatical Week.

Apart from the final presentation, the editor will also be responsible for presenting each final product to the facilitators at the end of the day. He must be able to defend, adequately, his group’s work. This is not an easy task, and thus should be assigned to a Sec 3.

The Researcher: The researcher is responsible for providing and verifying the knowledge used, he forms the backbone of the newsroom. His responsibility is to scour every form of media to obtain resources regarding the current affair, and to verify their reliability and authenticity.

The researcher is expected to provide articles, journalistic pieces, data and statistics, academic research and analysis surrounding the issue, and any other forms of information that would be relevant to the final product. These should be reproduced, properly cited and acknowledged, and submitted to the editor. He should also work very closely with his team members to provide and support them with insightful data and alternate viewpoints, especially the Journalist.

The Journalist: The Journalist is responsible for generating articles that engage the current affair at hand critically. He will be required to produce:

1. A summary and report of the current affair at hand 2. A review that critically analyses the current affair 3. A critical piece that engages another group’s review of a current affair

Prepared By Laura Ng, Timothy Ng and Matthew Koh The journalist will have to work very closely with the researcher to produce these articles. He should also assist the researcher in obtaining quotes and statements from the relevant people.

News Anchor: The News Anchor will be responsible for presenting the current affair in the form of a video. He should think about how to accurately present the key facts, data, and opinions surrounding the current affair. He should employ graphs and pie charts, video footage, and other forms of media within the video. He is also responsible for organizing interviews, talk shows, or any other forms of presentation that lend itself to a video presentation of the topic at hand.

Again, the News Anchor too will work closely with the Researcher. However, he is also responsible for compiling the data that the Researcher provides into a presentable format.

Publicity Representative: The publicity representative is in charge of selling the newsroom to the public. Currently, he will be working on a project to create a board game that will appeal to the masses, and, at the same time, encourage greater awareness of current issues.

The publicity representative needs to work very closely with all other departments in order to have a good feel of the overall product, so that he can infuse this into the board game. In addition, the Publicity Representative will also collaborate with other representatives from the other newsrooms on the board game.

Prepared By Laura Ng, Timothy Ng and Matthew Koh The Task Your newsroom is involved the creation of:

Current Affairs Wikispaces page A wiki is a website where content is user-generated. This results in a dynamic and interactive interface. Hwa Chong Institution has purchased its own domain from a leading wiki website known as Wikispaces.

The Current Affairs department has its own wiki within our school’s wiki. Part of our wiki is dedicated to news reviews and critiques that are submitted by students on pertinent news of today. You will be creating your own page on three issues that interest you, and they will form part of the content on our wiki.

Current Affairs Video Presentation In addition to just written content on the wiki, you will be creating an audio or video resource to supplement your writing. This will teach you to exploit technology to bring a message across to your target audience. Today, more than anything else, the mass media holds immense influence to sway hearts and minds. We want you to learn how to tap into this resource.

Your video can take the form of a talk show, a news broadcast, an interview or some other audio-visual production. It must be filmed and structured creatively, using original animation or music where appropriate.

Prepared By Laura Ng, Timothy Ng and Matthew Koh Current Affairs Articles and Reviews You will also be writing reviews that provide in-depth and critical analysis of the current affairs discussed. This will teach you to think intelligently about what is happening around us.

You will also be given the opportunity to critically engage another group’s opinions on another Current Affair, to prove that your insights are better than theirs.

Current Affairs Board Game As part of your publicity and marketing efforts, you will be working closely with other representatives from the newsgroup to create a board game that will bring Current Affairs to the masses.

Prepared By Laura Ng, Timothy Ng and Matthew Koh Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

0800 – Introduction: Review and Review and Review and discussion Gp 0900 discussion of discussion of of material gathered Presentation  Briefing on what material gathered material gathered with facilitators (60 min) is required with facilitators with facilitators (Board   Assignment of Groups Game,  Assignment of wiki) CA. 0900 – Breaking the Ice: Current Affairs Quiz Continue work on Continue work on Gp 1000 via Class newscast: newscast: Presentation Timeline of historical Performance system (60 min) (CPS), scores of Compilation of Compilation of (Board Events, inventions etc each students will be research/filming/ research/filming/ Game, writing writing articles/design redeemed as starting wiki)  money for their articles/design of of board game  (Cards game) board game through board game this quiz

1000 – BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK 1045

1045 –  Groups to Continue work on Continue work on Continue work on Gp 1145 discuss the newscast: newscast: newscast: Presentation assignment of (60 min) roles Compilation of Compilation of Compilation of (Board Groups to present and research/filming/ research/filming/ research/filming/ Game, introduce their writing articles writing articles writing articles newsroom concept to wiki) the rest of the class. 11:30: All 11:30: All 11:30: All components components to be components to be to be submitted to submitted to editor submitted to editor editor for uploading. for uploading. for uploading.

Technical Training: Board Game : a Presentation of Presentation of entire Presentation hybrid of Risks and entire newscast to newscast to of prizes 1145 –  Mass Briefing on the latest popular facilitators. facilitators. 1300 Wikispaces Dividend Game. Debrief  Groups to then Presentation of Presentation of work with (70 min) break up into Students will start to work on Board on Board Game to individual summary of play the game based Game to Facilitator Facilitator ) classes that will learning equip them with on the prescribed Assignment of next points the technical rule. They are to skills required make improvement CA to the board game.

Prepared By Laura Ng, Timothy Ng and Matthew Koh Appendix - Suggested Topics

1. Hosting sports events in Singapore – boon or bane?

2. The environment and man – can we ever tame it?

3. Gambling – lucrative money-spinner and social ill.

4. Immigration – Singapore’s lifeline and Singaporeans’ grouse.

5. Singapore’s mandatory death penalty – a necessity or an evil?

6. Religious organizations under fire – is faith just a cover for making fortunes?

7. North Korea – a perpetual Gordian knot.

8. Technological rise of China – where does this leave the U.S.?

9. Advance Medical Directives

10. BP Oil Disaster – the cost of our energy.

11. Social networking – changing the way we live and work.

12. 2010 FIFA World Cup – A success story or farcical show

Prepared By Laura Ng, Timothy Ng and Matthew Koh 1. Hosting sports events in Singapore – boon or bane: With the annual Singapore Grand Prix and the inaugural 2010 Youth Olympics in the bag, Singapore is clearly seeking to carve a reputation as a host of major sporting events. Even now, Singapore mulls a bid at co-hosting the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups. These events are ostensibly aimed at promoting sports in Singapore, though some believe that they are merely mercenary attempts at generating local income. What do you think? Are these truly directed at promulgating professional sporting in Singapore? In fact, is hosting such events in the best interest of our nation? Or should the money and effort spent be invested in something else with longer-term benefits?

2. The environment and man – can we ever tame it? : Singapore has experienced unusually heavy rain, resulting in a series of costly floods in unexpected places, and a tragic freak accident where a man was killed when his car was crushed by a falling tree. What can we learn from these episodes? Can man ever completely bring his natural environment under his control? Or are we under the delusion that we can tame nature, and are ill-prepared to live alongside the elements?

3. Gambling – lucrative money-spinner and social ill. : The two newly opened casinos in Singapore report hefty takings. As hoped, they are proving to be a great boost to Singapore’s tourism industry. However, having the casinos may come at a social cost: the National Addictions Management Service says that the number of gambling addicts it sees has tripled. Though this may be linked to heightened awareness rather than the opening of the casinos, many still fear a wave of problem gambling in Singapore. Explore the complexities of this issue. Why did the government choose to build the casinos? Was this a shrewd decision or a practical mistake?

4. Immigration – Singapore’s lifeline and Singaporeans’ grouse. : The government has promoted immigration as the solution to Singapore’s meager birth rate (now the lowest in Asia). In particular, the Singaporean government seems to be promoting immigration from mainland China. However, this has raised the ire of many Singaporeans who see foreigners as competing with them for jobs and schools. In many places, immigrants are also outcast for their habits and traits that Singaporeans find hard to accept. Does Singapore really need immigration the way the government says we do? Is immigration really that great a solution? Or are Singaporeans being too xenophobic?

Prepared By Laura Ng, Timothy Ng and Matthew Koh 5. Singapore’s mandatory death penalty – a necessity or an evil? : Singapore has repeated and frequently come under fire from international human rights organizations for its mandatory death penalty (MDP) policy: any convicted of trafficking drugs above a certain quantity will be punished with death. However, Singapore’s government has attributed the city-state’s low crime rate to the MDP. Singapore’s highest court also upheld the constitutionality of the MDP in a recent 2010 decision. Examine the arguments for and against the MDP. Is the MDP here to stay, or is it a “cruel and unusual” punishment that must be done away with at all costs?

6. Religious organizations under fire – is faith just a cover for making fortunes? : While investigations into alleged misappropriations of funds in City Harvest Church are still ongoing, another religious organization, this time a Hindu temple, is revealed to have serious management lapse and irregularities in its accounting. Why have so many religious organizations come under the scrutiny of the authorities? Is it because temples or churches are often a good cover for dishonest behavior? Or is it because fame and power, coupled with the trust vested in them, often corrupts religious leaders? Can human nature never resist the temptation to exploit unsuspecting others?

7. North Korea – a perpetual Gordian knot. : In March 2010, a South Korean warship sank under suspicious circumstances. It was later revealed to have been torpedoed by a North Korean submarine. This is the latest episode in a long history of conflict that stretches all the way back to the Korean War. Recently, at an Asian security meeting, the US announced even harsher sanctions against the hermit state. The problem of North Korea is one that has plagued East Asia for decades, and has strained relations between nations, particularly the US and China. Is there any lasting solution to this thorny issue? Can we hope for peace on the Korean Peninsula?

8. Technological rise of China – where does this leave the U.S.? – In 2009, China developed and launched a second global independent navigation satellite system in space to rival that of the US. In July 2010, China succeeded in testing a new nuclear technology as part of its ambitious plans for a nation-wide network of nuclear power plants. One cannot deny that while this may not be read as a military arms race, it is a technological race. In the light of these changes, the super power blocs are under tremendous pressure. Can we also not see the possibility of China becoming the new super power in Asia and perhaps even of the world? Where then will this place the US in their policing role, and as a regulating power with the UN?

Prepared By Laura Ng, Timothy Ng and Matthew Koh 9. Advance Medical Directives: The Ministry of Health allows Singaporeans to make Advance Medical Directives (AMDs). These allow a person, when terminally ill and unconscious, to refuse extraordinary medical treatment that will prolong life. Instead this patient will be allowed to die naturally. What are the ethical considerations behind this legislation? What are the reasons for and against making an AMD? Is this the creation of this legislation a positive thing? Substantiate your answer with concrete examples and data.

10. BP Oil Disaster – the cost of our energy. : The environmental impact of the sinking of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig is possibly incalculable. Hundreds of millions of barrels of oil have been emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, leaving dead dolphins, oil-covered birds, damaged coastlines and ruined livelihoods in their wake. Is this the high price we must pay for our thirst for oil? Already, we know that oil is a finite and fast-dwindling resource. Examine the impact of the Gulf Coast Oil Disaster. What solutions are there to meet our long-term energy needs? And at what costs do these come?

11. Social networking – changing the way we live and work. : Facebook announced recently that it has now over 500 million users. Many people can testify that the advent of social networking has changed the way they live their lives: the way we communicate, structure our lives, make friends or make enemies, have all changed. But at what costs do these come? There are well- publicized fears over the privacy-infringements that social networking may make possible. How about the fundamentals of society? Will the quality and depth of our relationships change if we frequently resort to communicating through status updates and Twitter posts? Comment on the advantages that social networking provides, as well as the attendant risks.

12. 2010 FIFA World Cup – A success story or farcical show? : Was the 2010 FIFA World Cup a boon or a bane to South Africa? It’s hard to tell. Its economy was temporarily boosted through the extensive constructions projects the country embarked on, but what will become of all these large stadiums now? Consider that South Africa lacks a strong program for training young athletes and that millions in this country still live below the poverty line. Also, examine the ramifications that hosting the World Cup had on the marginalized in African society, with some allegedly being forcibly relocated or removed from the places where they ply their trade.

Prepared By Laura Ng, Timothy Ng and Matthew Koh