Is Facebook infantilizing your mind?

Professor Greenfield of Oxford University: Facebook creating a generation hungry for constant attention

At last, I heard someone echoing my thought! Yes, FB serves some people’s purposes, but it certainly doesn’t serve mine. So, I didn’t have an FB account until 2009, and that was only because I needed to contact someone who is only accessible via FB! These days, I peek into my FB page occasionally, and do not have over 200 friends like the average Malaysian is said to have. I simply do not have the time to deal with such a big volume of almost constant exchanges….

According to a recent report by Reuters (London), Professor Greenfield of Oxford University has warned that Facebook is creating a generation of vain people with short attention span, who are self-obsessed, and behave almost like young children vying for constant attention and response from others. In fact, this was what she told Daily Mail way back in 2009: “My fear is that these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment.” Although I think she was then not referring to Facebook specifically.

She went on to say that obsessed users of such social networking sites crave for approval from others, about everything big and small (trivial) happening in their daily lives. They suffer from a kind of "identity crisis", in that they are like toddlers and small children constantly vying for attention. It’s almost like they are crying out all the time: "Mom, look at me, I can do this…. I did this" etc. They want immediate gratification, and generally do not possess good oral communication skills, because they only need eyes or sight to “communicate” via keyboarding in the social networking sites on the Internet.

Greenfield said this is like living in a virtual world, where what is important is what other people think of you, or if they can “click”on you, or in Facebook lingo, “add” you or “like” you.

Currently, more than 7.5 billion people worldwide use Facebook, to share photos and videos, and regularly update ideas or information about themselves.

Latest News From the East-West Center:

Malaysia's Political Awakening: A Call for U.S. Leadership

Former U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia John R. Malott writes about the internal political changes unfolding within that country that culminated in the large "Bersih 2.0" democracy rally on July 9

http://www.eastwestcenter.org/publications/search-for-publications/browse-alphabetic-list-of-titles/?class_call=view&pub_ID=3906&mode=view

More about Tiger Mom & Kids

I did a feture story for The Star (29 June 2011) about the Malaysian Tiger Mom and her twin cubs.
Here's the link where you can read the story -
http://parenthots.com/features/Raising-purr-fect-kids.aspx

Tiger Wives, East & West

After all the news about Tiger Moms, recent headlines have been hogged by Tiger Wives!

So, Wendi Deng is now the subject of tweets in the world of twitter….where snide remarks and wisecracks are aplenty….Examples, apparently from the West, are: Time to get a Chinese wife, not only can she help build your business empire (alluding to biz in China), she can be a Tiger Mom (alluding to Amy Chua) to bring up your children, and even double as your body guard!” and "Marry a kungfu bella!"

Wendy has lots of credentials, a smart cookie no doubt. She was born in Shandong (tall and strong), went to study in the US at age 19, got her business degree from Yale, moved on to work in HK, where she caught the eye of her then big boss, Rupert Murdoch. The rest is history….

After the valiant and gallant act of protecting her doddering hubby from a foam pie, a British MP remarked that she has a great left hook. But no, it wasn’t a left, it was in fact a right hook…or more precisely, a right-hand slap, accurately and speedily delivered by an accomplished ex-volley ball player from China, no less! J

Wendi’s sensational and meteoric rise to media stardom reminds us of other Tiger Wives of Western origin: Carla, First Lady of France; Cherie, wife of Tony Blair; Anne, wife of the infamous IMF ex-CEO Strauss-Kahn; and last but not least Melania, wife of Donald Trump with her famous words:  “I have a big boy, Donald, and a little boy, Baron. I take care of both very well.”  That sums up what a Tiger Wife is….as The Daily Telegraph said, The Tiger Wives’ Club is small….she knows that her spouse is less than he seems, and she, in fact, is rather more. She’s plucky; he’s lucky. J 

NOT suicide, NOT homicide... Now it is suicide

Logically, if a person is found to have died of an “unnatural” cause, what can it be if it’s neither suicide nor homicide? How about accident? If someone threatens you, pushes you towards an open window, where you lose your balance and fall through by “accident” and die, is this homicide? No? At least it is a case of manslaughter? No? How about using one of Simon Winchester’s favorite words” chance-medley”?

The following paragraph caught my attention when I was reading Winchester’s book “The Professor and the Madman”, not least because I was so intrigued and upset by the two cases of bizarre death – for want of a better description --at MACC office. 

According to Simon Winchester: “… chance medley is a wonderful legal word – the language of law offers up a profusion of delights – is ancient (first seen in 1494) and is defined as an

accident or casualty not purely accidental, but of a mixed character.

Chiefly in manslaughter by chance-medley (for which later writers have used chance-medley itself): “the casual killing of a man, not altogether without the killer’s fault, though without an evil intent; homicide by misadventure…….”

My questions are: Shouldn’t someone be held culpable for a chance-medley? The Bar Council claims that the foreign forensic expert did not conclude that Teoh Beng Hock committed suicide. So, it was RCI who made this conclusion, but substantiated by what evidence? Will there be another RCI for the case of Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed? I am waiting with bated breath….

Dr. Sun Yat Sen a U.S. Citizen?!

Oh My God! The Founding Father of Republican China (國父　孫中山先生)was a U.S. citizen! This is really interesting and intriguing news.

According to recent news reports, The American Institute in Taiwan will, for the first time, on 4^th July, make public an official document to prove that Sun Yat-sen was a U.S. citizen. 

This official document was issued in 1904, at a time when Sun Yat-sen was actively campaigning to call on all overseas Chinese to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. However, whenever he tried to enter into the U.S. for this campaign via San Francisco, he was continuously being blocked and harassed by the Customs & Immigration officials. To facilitate his multiple entries into the country, the U.S. government released documents to prove that Sun Yat-sen was born in Hawaii, and therefore he was a U.S. citizen; and that he was only temporarily residing in China. Actually from history, we all know that Sun was born in Zhongshan county of Guangdong Province, China. This fact is NOT disputable. However, he did spend some years in Honolulu when he was a teen and studied in Iolani School and Oahu College (now known as Punahou High School.) BTW, Obama also spent a few years as a student at Punahou.   

After a long history of animosity and distrust towards the Americans, today, the Father of Republican China is revealed to be a U.S. citizen, and just as China is celebrating the centennial of the Red Revolution. This new revelation is best considered a beautiful joke in history, but it is quite certain that the angry youths of this huge nation are not likely to be amused by this “announcement”.

Charting the way forward: Technical & Vocational Education for Chinese Youths in Malaysia

By Dr. Gan Siowck Lee

 Preamble 

First, there is a need to make a distinction between technical and vocational education. Technical education refers to the preparation of students for jobs involving applied science and modern technology. It emphasizes the understanding and practical application of basic principles of science and mathematics, rather than the attainment of proficiency in manual skills that is properly the concern of vocational education. The goal of technical education is to prepare people for occupations that are classified above the skilled crafts (from vocational education) but below the scientific or engineering professions (from more academic tertiary institutions). In short, technical education produces mid-level technical workforce or technicians, while vocational education produces craftsmen or artisans whose jobs are based on manual or practical activities, related to a specific trade or vocation.  

In the Malaysian context, students who exit from high schools (at SPM level) may opt for technical education. Depending on their subsequent performance and attained formal qualifications, there is a progression path for further education to obtain higher degrees as technical professionals. However, vocational education as defined above, usually target students who exit earlier from high schools (probably PMR?) or even primary schools. There is usually no progression path to further or higher education.    

Some suggestions 

My suggestions are based on the assumption that the main objectives of this symposium (as per  your article in Nanyang) are:

1.     To find ways of encouraging Chinese youths to attend government technical & vocational schools (funded by taxpayers’ money!) for effective participation in the nation’s industrial development.

2.     To increase the participation of Chinese youths in technical & vocational education from the current 3% to a projected 25% or more.

3.     To identify ways of integrating the various efforts and expertise of the Chinese community (especially in vocational training e.g. apprenticeship) into the government vocational education scheme.     

I don’t know how much data/info you already have about the state of technical & vocational education within the Chinese community. I don’t have much info myself, except the perception (from observations and hearsay) that the Chinese youths are generally NOT interested to attend government technical & vocational schools. (Many choose to learn their skills through apprenticeship.) Do we have enough data or info to strategize to get a fair share of the cake i.e. getting Chinese youths trained in the government technical & vocational schools? If not, I propose that the symposium focus its discussion on coming out with an action plan for the following:  　

1.     Obtain data/info about government technical & vocational education: how many schools, where, courses offered, duration, student intake policies (quota?), staff profile, medium of instruction etc. Compile and disseminate relevant info in schools through pamphlets, talks, and counseling. 

2.     Obtain information about school leavers & drop-outs at various stages, and compile list. Identify potential drop-outs and compile list. Disseminate info about technical & vocational education to them, organize talks and provide counseling. 

3.     Do a survey with these students to find out reasons for early exit or drop-out (before SPM or at primary schools), identify their interests in vocations, their perceived difficulties/problems related to government technical & vocational schools. 

4.     Set up centers (in schools or communities) to assist students in their application for entry into government technical & vocational schools,  monitor and follow up with regard to eventual intake/admission. 

5.     Monitor students’ progress in the government technical & vocational schools and provide assistance and counseling as and when necessary, to arrest and prevent early exit or dropout.

6.     Conduct extensive interviews with Chinese youths who have attended and successfully graduated from government technical & vocational schools, engage or involve them in promotion campaigns, or make video recording of such “success stories” to use as promotional materials in schools, community centers etc.

 7.   Engage the various associations (of people in various industries) to help identify expertise and vocational skills that can and should be passed on through more formalized channels of training, rather than mere apprenticeship. 

8.     Strategize towards integrating the expertise and skills identified in (7) above into the government technical and vocational education scheme to attract more Chinese youths to participate.

Conclusion

One of the anticipated outcomes from this symposium should and would be a viable and workable action plan. This plan may need to be initiated, co-ordinated or even implemented by 华社研究中心 with the assistance of MCA’s deputy education minister Dr. 魏家祥。A special operational unit has to be set up to carry out the plan, taking into consideration the need to source for funds.  

(Written on 26 May as a response to Mr. Tan Chin Gim, prior to the symposium on 29 May 2011. Chinese version will be made available shortly....)