Get moving lah!
Possible points for do women enjoy equal rights in your society
• Is the society male-dominated?
• Are male children preferred to female children?
• Do females enjoy the same educational opportunities as males?
• Are women free to take appropriate jobs?
• Any evidence of ‘glass ceilings in the workplace?
• Are women in the relevant society respected and valued?
• Any aspects of life/society closed to women?
Possible points for/against is public transport reliable and affordable
• Road and rail links. Is the infrastructure good and conducive to swift and safe journeys across the country and in urban areas?
• Who is the provider of public transport?
• Are the costs bearable for the average citizen?
• What kind of vehicles are used? Standards of cleanliness and safety?
• Is there a timetable and is it adhered to?
• What, if any, are the shortcomings and what improvements are feasible?
Possible Points for the claim that carbon emission controls hamper the progress of developing countries.
• It has been generally accepted that industrialisation promotes climate change bad health by overloading the air with carbon.
• The developed countries want developing countries to adhere to minimum carbon emissions which will impede their rate of progress and thus their prosperity.
• Developing countries see this as unfair and a hindrance on their path to industrialisation.
• Recently, some scientists have questioned that high levels of carbon in the air is a problem.
Possible Points for/against why is fast food popular when it is considered unhealthy
• The other name of junk food is a measure of its perceived lack of healthy content.
• Condemned by many nutrition experts and doctors for being extremely calorific.
• Marketing strategy targets children (parties and free toys) and people in a hurry.
• It is readily available and the taste appeals to many and is always virtually the same everywhere.
• Opening hours run from first thing in the morning until late at night.
• No waiting and competitively priced.
Possible Points for and against is travel for business purposes of any real use
• Business purposes include a wide variety of activities.
• Instant communication by telephone, email and video conferencing are important for getting and staying in touch regarding day to day issues without wasting time.
• Other ‘business’ activities require a personal and specialist presence, e.g. choosing a site for a business venture, assessing damage to buildings or equipment, facilitating protracted negotiations through trust arising from social interaction, interviewing candidates for top jobs and the testing and trialling of all kinds of engineering products.
• Instant communication is a welcome tool as a complement to necessary travel for business purposes.
Possible points for and against no more can be done, nationally and internationally, to control pandemics.
• More can be done, particularly in developing countries, re: animal hygiene (the cause of recent pandemics).
• Pandemic preparedness has made good progress in recent years thanks to partnerships at regional and global levels which keep early warning communication channels open. Thus authorities in different parts of the world can heed warnings on possible causes for concern.
• Pharmaceutical companies are geared up to finding speedy answers to various viruses, albeit at a considerable cost which may not be affordable to developing countries.
• Efforts at the national level to meet health crises and control pandemics will vary because of awareness, organisation and financial clout and should be closely geared to international monitoring.
Possible points for civilisation is essentially an attitude of equal respect for all people
• Has any civilisation ever attained this ideal?
• How far are we away today from achieving this ideal?
• Was George Orwell correct in claiming “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others”?
• What progress, if any, has been made to date on the journey towards equal respect?
• Civilisation is essentially an attitude – How closely is it linked with social mobility and equality of opportunity?
• Does respect stem from such things as status, wealth, celebrity, professional success, family, honesty and integrity, which makes it unattainable for all?
Possible points for/against democracy must grow naturally
• Democracy must grow naturally as it is a tender plant that takes time to take root and flourish in new soil.
• Recent examples illustrate the above point clearly, e.g. constituent countries of the post-war eg North Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan.
• However, natural growth needs time and patience – most of the established Western democracies have evolved over centuries and are still far from perfect.
• Any imposition of democracy against the will, culture, wishes of the people will encounter major difficulties and can easily result in all kinds of conflict.
Possible points for how effective are diets in helping people to lose weight.
• To be effective diets need to help people lose weight gradually and steadily to achieve permanent weight loss.
• This generally means adopting healthy eating habits and lifestyle with some form of fitness exercise (appropriate for the age and interests of the person involved).
• Weight loss is a multi-million-pound industry and includes some of the ‘fad’, crash and celebrity diets which are often ineffective because they are unsustainable over time and weight is piled back on when they are discontinued (yo-yo effect).
• Some crash diets can be injurious to health and medical advice should always be sought before embarking on any diet.
• How effective are diets in helping people also depends on the will-power of the participants to stick to them – sometimes joining in with others on diets on structured programmes such as Weightwatchers can help people succeed in achieving their dietary goals.
Possible Points for Multi-national companies often exploit the resources of other countries
• They have a responsibility to protect weak states
• Responsibility to local communities (e.g. BP in the Caribbean)
• Compensation for disruption of local livelihoods
• Fair wages
• Environmental (e.g. pollution/destruction of wildlife)
• Outside monitoring
• Neglect of health and safety to cut costs
• Natural disasters
• Shared responsibility with local contractors
• Allowance for mechanical failure
