1. Description of Our Team
Our team is made up of 4 students as well as 1 adult-teacher-mentor. All of us are currently students in Hwa Chong Institution (High School Section). This team is made up of a mixture of students with differing talents and characteristics. However, what all of us have in common is our strong-will, great sense of responsibility and our ambition to understand and to contribute to the world that we live in. With all these qualities, our team hopes to understand the intricacies in the relationship between globalization and human rights issue and how globalization can and will help to resolve these human rights violation issues.
Yi Kai, “I am a highly capable 16 year-old. As the inspirational leader and webmaster (a very good one) for the group, I strive to maintain the constant synergy of the group. I take charge of all the information that my group members send me and organize them into more palatable chunks for readers (like you!) to digest. I have a wonderful ability to give everything that extra shine to it. As the vice-chairman of the ‘Mediatech Club’ in my school, I possess immense web-creation and design skills (beyond my group members). As the ex-Vice Chairman of the Ortus Council (House committee), I have the experience to boss other people around.”
Wei Pin, “I am 15, and am the chief concept manager of our group. My excellent ability to grasp complex concepts makes me the most suitable for this role. Participating in science competitions has allowed me to grasp otherwise complicated concepts with great ease. I am currently the Vice-President of the Roots and Shoots club in my school.”
Kai Qing, “I am 15 years old, and am the data assistant in our group. I am in charge of doing research and writing on ‘Honour Killing’ in Pakistan. I am a highly compassionate student and am the captain of the Badminton club in our school. My ability to take up great responsibility makes me a very suitable person for this job.”
Jia Xi, “Hi, I am 15 years old, am also the data assistant in our group. With my great passion in the area of humanities especially social sciences, I was left in charge with doing research and writing on ‘Trokosi’ in Ghana. I am also a highly devoted and responsible student. My active participation in discussions during lesson (or project discussions) makes me one of the most vocal in the group.”
2. Summary of Our Project
One day, during our discussion sessions (in front of workstations, televisions and radios), we coincidentally chanced upon a documentary on BBC. As we were reflecting on the news, we realised that Honour Killing is actually a violation of human rights and many are currently suffering under the cruelty of Honour Killing. This news sparked off our interest to find out more about Honour Killing and human rights. Our thirst for knowledge also led us to ponder, “Why are there such violations in our ‘modern’ society?” We then brainstormed for possible reasons and methods. We came to a consensus that Globalisation can actually be a possible method to promote human rights. At the same time, we also found another case study to work on – Honour killings.
Although gender equality has been almost taken for granted in the developed countries that we are living in, in other parts of the world women of all ages are still receiving unfair, unjustified treatment and physical abuses. These act of violence and abuse are still relatively prominent in certain places especially countries in the Middle East and Africa. Though such issues receive much global attention, little significant and long-term actions and progresses have been made. A recent international phenomenon, Globalisation, seeks to provide a long-term and sustainable resolution for these problems. Therefore, this project aims to increase awareness among the masses about the abuses women receive in certain countries and to study whether globalisation is able to resolve this social disparity.
3. Our Computer and Internet Access
A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:more than 6
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
There are many challenges and obstacles which we faced in the course of the project. One of which is the incompatible schedule that we all have. Therefore, in order to overcome clashes in our schedule, we often meet online when all of us are free to discuss on the progress of our project.
Secondly, one concern while doing our project is the reliability of the information that we have used. (e.g. Human Rights organisation websites might dramatise the issue, press might sensationalise the real situation, locals might tone down the impacts of the problem). Furthermore, information on Trokosi and Honour Killings are not readily available in our libraries so we turned to online journals and magazines which reported on these two cases of abuses. Although we were relying heavily on internet sources and press articles, we evaluated the information that we use with great caution so that the information presented on our website is not bias.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
Do you have rights? Many of us think we do, yet abuses infringing these rights are still happening. What exactly is Globalisation? Why is there such a big fuss about Globalisation? What are some of the most pressing human rights violation issues in the world? In what way can Globalisation solve these problems in the long run? These are just some of the questions that the students have to ponder over during the course of the project. Radical cultures and value systems of some countries infringe on the universal rights and privileges of a human. However, they are also receiving more and more condemnation from other countries. A long-term and sustainable resolution to these human rights violation issues could well lie on Globalisation. The promotion of human rights through globalisation would hopefully raise awareness and empower people to take actions against such abuses, and eventually marginalise and eliminate all human rights violation issues through the fostering of a common human rights value system among all humans.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
One of the main elements of our curriculum and coursework involves the studying of the intricacies of Globalisation and its effects (positive and negative) on various countries as part of our Integrated Humanities Core subject. This project is greatly relevant to our subject study. During the course of this project, we utilised many academic sources as well as non-academic sources. Hence, it is paramount that we sieve through these information and only take relevant, reliable and accurate information from each source. These research skills are not only pertinent to our school work (and this project), it would also help us greatly in the future when we enter the workforce.
Another important skill which we learnt was how to brainstorm for ideas, the first step in every project, the brainstorming session of my group, facilitated by our adult-mentor, was especially interesting and engaging and allowed us to understand each other’s interest better. The brainstorming session also allowed us to think flexibly and fluently.
During the course of the project, we also practiced extensive team support, helping one another out in our areas of weakness, and providing aid and advice to the work done by each other. This is a great chance for us to diversify the views of the group and also for one another to learn from our mistake, so that our bonds in the team and as such the team would be enhanced.
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