Game of Words: View vs Counter View 2.13

IS DEMOCRACY A GOOD FORM OF GOVERNMENT?

Churchill once said, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." Essentially that democracy has many flaws and problems, but all the others have more problems. Authoritarian countries like China are now challenging this assumption by proving that authoritarian regimes are better at creating economic growth. Is Democracy still the best form of government?

VIEW 

Freedom: Democratic states nearly always have more free people than autocratic states. Since they have the right to vote for their government they also have a say while deciding the policy of their nation and what their nation should be like. Their freedom of speech and expression is more than that in autocracies. They are free to criticize their own government. 

Represents The  People: The biggest virtue of a democracy is that it is by the people, of the people and for the people. The government is a representative and holds the views of the people who elect them and can also be thrown out if they do things that the people do not like. Unlike other forms of government, democracy is about all the citizens and not only the rich who are often disconnected from how everyone else leads their lives.

Transparency: Democracy is as much about having checks and balances and having transparency of decision-making as it is about elections and the populace being able to throw governments out of power. In a democracy the parliament, the media and the judiciary all keep an eye on the executive and what is being done with the money of the people. They are therefore able to see if the executive is doing things that are bad for the country, are immoral, or even illegal. This can then be brought to a halt. Even where such actions are not visible on the surface there are separate institutions that have the power to investigate the executive and watch any ‘secret’ deals or actions that are going on away from public view.

Respect of Human Rights: Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people. If a democracy functions at it is meant to then all facet of human rights is respected. The citizens would have the right to exercise freedom of speech with regard to matters of the economy, education, health, infrastructural development, etc. The ability of the people to have a say in the running of the State, in the economy, education, health, infrastructural development, etc creates a balanced environment for governance to thrive in. This can only be achieved in democratic governance.

Economic Growth: The most developed and richest countries are all democracies. While they may have been developing their democracies during their initial industrialization, democracy and the freedom it brings increases the economic growth once the country has moved to being dependent upon services rather than natural source exploitation and manufacturing. Once this occurs creativity becomes important and the freedoms associated with democracy are needed to foster this creativity that is needed for industries such as information technology, creative arts, research and development etc.

SIDDHARTH S NAIR 

1 BBA C

COUNTERVIEW

Freedom: Except for the freedom to choose the government there is no reason why people cannot be as free under an autocracy as in a democracy.

Representative nature: A democracy does not do very well at representing its people. A democratic government may not necessarily have the support of a majority of its people including those who have voted and have decided to switch parties and many more who have not voted. This means that it is often a small minority of the population who determines which party forms the government. Once they are there, they are rarely a representative of the people as they have several years to do what they like. There is a need to think about re-election but that simply means they need to do more that pleases the citizens or else have a good advertising campaign.

Transparency: While this is mostly found in a democracy it is not something that has to be exclusive to them alone. Autocracies can potentially be transparent and have checks and balances. However, often they do not simply because an autocracy has the time, and the willingness to use force to prevent these from occurring.

Human Rights for Minorities: It is not possible for a state to accommodate all conflicting views on a subject. Thus, a majority rule prevails while the rights of minorities are put into jeopardy.

Economic growth: Autocracies are better at big projects, they can get things done and as such they are likely to be better at creating economic growth. In an autocracy there are no methods for disagreement that can block building projects and the police or troops can be used to clear protests that in the west would slow down large infrastructure projects. Because of this all the infrastructure that is needed to create a modern economy can be produced quicker and cheaper than would be the case in a democracy. The resources of the country can also be accessed faster and used more efficiently

Increasingly about money: In some countries democracy seems to be increasingly about money. The U.S. is the obvious example where millions of dollars are spent on elections, hosting big events and having glitzy advertising campaigns. This is not what democracy should be all about as it discourages other countries from moving along the path to democracy. Indeed, it undermines the very idea of democracy. Democracy when money is involved to the extent that it is in the U.S. becomes elitist and corporatist because only the elite and rich can afford to fund the campaigns for congress let alone for the presidency. The 2008 campaign for the White House cost $1.6 billion and the whole 2008 election including senate and house of representative’s races cost $5.3 billion. Autocracies thereby avoid this immense expense by avoiding elections.

Lack of electorate motivation: You can drag the electorate to the ballot box if needed but you cannot make them interested in most of the topics. It's an idea that seems appealing if you are one of those people who is interested (I would love it), but if you try to discuss political issues with most people they either tend to change the subject or nod politely without comment.

A lot of people are keen to express their views, but clearly have not done any research to prove their validity. An elected representative can take more time to consider the idea, discuss it with peers, and explain themselves if it is contrary to popular opinion. Of course, most politicians will support popular opinion over educated opinion, but the result of this is no worse than direct democracy.

Thus, through these points and views, we can conclude that Democracy is not a good form of governance.

Emmanuel Siby 

1 BBA C

Game of Words: View vs Counter View 2.12

When data is breached on the internet platforms, should the user be blamed for trusting the company?

The security breach has been on the news for a long time as it is becoming difficult for security officials to defend as cyber terrorists have always found a new way to attack the users with malware.  When an attacker hacks into a corporate website and steals sensitive data out of a database and that is when the data breach happens.  1) Weak passwords, 2) missing software patches that are exploited or lost, 3) stolen laptops and 4) mobile devices are the key for the criminals to breach the data.  Criminals can have direct access to sensitive systems and records this direct access goes undetected for months, if not indefinitely.

VIEW:
In this case I would say that users are not at all responsible for trusting the company, it is the company which has to be held liable for the data breach that happens in the company which puts data of thousands or sometimes millions of users at stake, but ironically users are finally held responsible which is completely unacceptable. Data breach prevention is the job of everyone in the organization.

With so many cybersecurity team roles and responsibilities, it’s rare that data breach responsibility falls on one person or group. However, a few bad decisions made by one or two people can easily snowball into a devastating breach. The result is often a loss of revenue and your customers’ trust.

Of course, instead of worrying about how to avoid blame for a data breach, it’s far better to reduce the chances that an incident will occur in the first place.

- Kaushik MV
- 1BBA ‘C’

COUNTERVIEW:
In this particular case, I would say it is the fault of the user. The justification for my opinion is explained below. Let's consider an example, whenever a user registers on any form of social media platforms these days, it asks for private data initially. But after that step, they also display lengthy terms and conditions after accepting which only the user becomes a part of the platform.
Usually what users tend to do is they just tick the 'I agree to the terms and conditions' without even reading it. This might be because of the ignorance of the user. Sometimes it is also because of the excitement that the user has to become a part of the platform.
From the above example what I'm trying to state is that if in the first place the user had glanced through the terms and conditions he would have mostly seen a point clearly stating that the company is not responsible for any breach of personal information.
Now, this is the whole reason why Mark Zuckerberg was scrutinized and not punished by the American Lawmakers in the Cambridge Analytica case.  Just not this particular point, also putting forth the basics of the web world is that you as a major should be aware of the limitations before signing up.
- Sujith S
- 1BBA ‘C’

Game of Words: View vs Counter View 2.11

The Use Of Mobile Phones

What is a Mobile Phone?
It has many names like, cell phone, mobile phone, smart phone or telephone. This is a portable device that has access to the cellular radio system. In simple devices we only have the access to make and receive calls and send and receive messages while in smart phones we also have the facility to access the internet with the above two facilities.

VIEW
Advantages of Mobile Phones include,
You are always connected to your family and friends with the help of a mobile. Cell phones provide access to connect people around the globe in spite of being thousands of miles away from each other.
Business- Smart phones help in the smooth transaction of business all across the globe while also providing job opportunities to the younger generation. With the help of cell phones we can control our business.
Student Applications- There is a lot of learning applications for students in the application store. With the help of these facilities students can learn and get the required application according to their subjects.
The Steve Jobs schools in Netherlands, founded by the O4NT (Education for a New Time) organisation provides the children with iPads to help them learn in a more interactive manner. Students are also allowed to play with their iPads at the Steve Jobs School.
Entertainment- Children are very fond of watching cartoons, games and other entertaining programs. Smart phones provide them with the access to these shows while enabling their elders to keep an eye on the content they watch.
Navigation- GPS technology allows you to get information of your location. You can easily find out your location with the help of GPS while travelling and also let your near and dear ones keep track of your location.
Fashion- In today’s world, smart phones have become a fashion statement and without a good smart phone model one would be hesitant to participate in social gatherings.
Alarm, Notes & Reminders- Need to be at work early the next day but find it hard to wake up, setting alarms on your phones the best solution for this problem. You can also add notes and reminders to help you keep track of the things that need to be done.
Additional Features- Several features are now available in one device. You can easily access the calendar and see the dates and years. The camera allows you to capture thousands of images and create videos. There is also no need to buy a calculator as this facility is available in every mobile. A lot of phones even have a built-in torch. Measures to record calls and retrieve lost SMS data have also been installed in most smart phones.
Data Transfer-Now you can easily transfer data from one device to another. Your photos, videos and other important documents can easily be transferred within seconds. You can also store your data in it.
Anish Hegde
1 BBA C

COUNTERVIEW

Disadvantages of Mobile Phones include,
The irony of using mobile phones is that, while the main motive of the device was to help bring people closer it has somehow managed to distance oneself from the people who are around us. It leads to strained relations among family and friends.
Waste of Time- Time is money and money is time. While the use of mobile phones helps us access information it can also lead to distraction and us wasting our time surfing the net.
Waste of Energy- While the excessive use of smart phones can be very damaging to our health it is also responsible for making us feel drained and fatigued. This is because of all the energy that is spent unnecessarily on our smart phones. This energy that goes to waste can be otherwise put into good use and help make us productive.
Health- The blue rays that are emitted from the screens of our smart phones can have adverse affects on our skin and eyes. Apart from that, there is also straining of the back and neck muscles which in the long run can be very harmful for the body.
Poor performance of students- While the use of mobile phones during class hours is strictly restricted in schools and colleges it does not stop the students from getting distracted by it otherwise. This then results in poor concentration making them perform badly in class.
Loss of life- Road accidents as a result of being engaged on the phone while driving or riding has increased over the last couple of years. The wireless systems on planes can be dismissed as a result of using mobile phones on a plane thus causing it to crash.
Stolen data- While the introduction of smart phones has improved the efficiency of sharing data, it can also be very dangerous when it comes to matters of privacy. Personal information can easily be transferred from one android device to another while on an IOS device it is slightly harder.
Expenses- With the introduction of newer and better models of mobile phones to the market, customer demand keeps on changing. In order to keep up with the changing trends a person may find the need to keep updating the model of his/her phone which is an expensive undertaking.
Pranay Bhargava
1 BBA C

Game Of Words: View vs. Counter View 2.10

SHOULD EUTHANASIA BE LEGALISED?

Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending one’s life to relieve pain and suffering.
View:
I believe that euthanasia is a good death. Euthanasia is usually carried out when a person is terminally ill, and there is no chance of him/her surviving without suffering.  Ending the patient’s life helps relieve this suffering, thereby letting the patient die a peaceful death. The patient’s relatives are also spared the agony of having to watch their loved one’s health deteriorate to an extent where he/she is in miserable pain. Moreover, hospitals are very expensive. The medicines, patient assistance, housing facilities all add up to huge amounts.
 Spending days and months in the hospital bed is a very expensive affair and not everyone can afford it. Euthanasia in terminally ill patients provides an opportunity to advocate for organ donation- thus giving a chance to live to organ needy patients.
 Countries like Belgium and the Netherlands have legalized euthanasia, and not many problems have risen. This shows that euthanasia is unproblematic and legalizing it won’t result in any consequences.
View by: Varsha Ravindranath – 18SJCCB247

Counter-View:

We all have the right to choose and make independent decisions.  Death is a private matter and if there is no harm to others, other people have no right to interfere. 

Euthanasia is offered to alleviate someone from pain. It is also offered to those suffering from mental and psychological agony. Even those who are miserable with their lives look to euthanasia as the 'only' solution. Therefore, 'euthanasia' seems to be more like a euphemism for 'suicide'. Those who suffer from chronic diseases tend to succumb to depression and emotional agony. However, pain can be minimalized or even eradicated through palliative care. Palliative care helps to relieve a person from depression and improves their quality of life through therapy.

With modern advancements in medicine, extricating a patient from pain and suffering through appropriate procedures and treatments isn't an implausible feat. A positive frame of mind let's you know that YOU are in charge of your destiny in spite of the innumerous obstacles life hurls at you. Cleansing the pessimism and despondency spiritually is the key to a lifetime of happiness. 

Sometimes it is easier to choose extreme and drastic measures instead of improving the current predicament by finding rational remedies.

Suggesting or coming across this so called 'assistance' as a plausible answer can blur the victim's focus on living a content life.

Nick Vujicic is a motivational speaker born with tetra amelia syndrome. It is a rare case where a person is born without any limbs. However, this didn't stop him from achieving his goals and aspirations. He swims, plays sports, skydives and enjoys the pleasures that everyone else does despite his condition. He turned all the impossibilities into possibilities and leads an extraordinary life with his family. The end to life is inevitable and rushing it is a farcical act to perform. Living life by demolishing every hurdle in your path makes it all the more worthwhile.

Counter view by: Niveditha Reddy – 18SJCCB257

Game of Words: View vs Counter View 2.09

                   Reproductive Education in Indian Schools

VIEW:
In a country that reports high rates of teenage pregnancies and physical abuse, one would think that the need to focus on gender equality and the importance of consent as a topic of discussion. The reality however is that education on physical gratification is a highly controversial topic in India. It is regarded offensive to Indian values and is falsely believed to lead to inappropriate behavior among the teenagers.
This is, however, not the case.  Reproductive education has several benefits. It helps students understand that attraction to the opposite gender is a natural biological phenomenon, does away with the taboo and stigma surrounding consummation, educates teens on health issues that rises from rash behavior and thereby lowers the rates of teenage pregnancy, prevents gender  related injuries and violence and enhances the psychological health of students.
As teens face important decisions about relationships and physical intimacy, the decisions they make can impact their health and well-being. It is important for schools to educate their students on appropriate behavior regarding physical intimacy to prevent students from future encounters with physically transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies so as to promote safety and wellbeing of the students.
  By Rahul S Vellara
   1 BBA ‘D’
   18SJCCB357

 
COUNTERVIEW   
Repeoductive education should be banned in schools as it goes against the Indian value system and corrupts the minds of the teenagers. It is taught to students at a very tender age and thereby promotes inappropriate thinking and behavior among the teenagers, and this may affect their school work, personal relationships and so on.
According to a new survey, which questioned more than 1,700 parents of children of ages ranging from five to eleven, found that 59% disagreed with the idea of venereal education being taught in schools while 41% thought otherwise, leaving it to the discretion of parents.
Copulation is a sensitive topic and more often than not it is misinterpreted and not taught effectively in schools and thus it is of popular opinion that reproductive education should be banned in all schools.
    By Ayush. J
     18SJCCB331
     1 BBA ‘D’

Game of Words: View vs. Counter View 2.08

CORPORATES GET LOANS WITH MORE EASE THAN FARMERS AND CITIZENS BELOW THE POVERTY LINE

VIEW
I believe that it is essential for banks to provide loans to individuals with high credit worthiness as this would help in reducing the bad debts or doubtful debts the bank would've had otherwise.
Industrialists efficiently use the loans for business which provide job opportunities to countless citizens across the country. These business organisations have steadily increased the GDP of our country and made our economy grow to what it is right now. Forty years ago, there was shortage of food in India but as of now, India has sufficient food and farmers generally tend to increase their crop growth because of the competition and their failure leads to loss of money and ends up taking loans. China for example, they have moved from an agriculture based sector to an industrial based sector and their economy has been booming from many years. They are the leading manufacturers in the world and provide products all over the world. India needs to adopt measures to move into an industrial sector to increase the GDP and have a flourishing economy to stand out in the world. Industrialists have formulated several business plans and provided employment to citizens and that's why industrialists and corporates are the DNA of our country, without them, India wouldn't be what it is right now.
Corporates are going to be using the loans to expand their business which thereby does increase our countries GDP but there is already sufficient food in our country and there is no need for farmers to have such immense competition and add more complexities to their life when they have no financial stability nor education on how to utilize finances.
With more industrialists and emerging entrepreneurs, India can grow economically and slowly emerge as one of the greatest economies the world has seen but this can only be possible when India shifts from the agrarian culture that it has been following to a more advanced industry based sector.
Harsh Balraj Asrani(18SJCCB209)

COUNTERVIEW
Waiving off loans by the government is a strictly sanctioned process, it requires previous records , reliable reputation , an upward trend in its previous business transactions and promising future projections for its growth in the coming years . These are required to exhibit to the government that not only is the company successful , it will continue to be so in the upcoming future as well. Maintaining an upward stock trend is not something that even companies like Facebook and Google can boast about . The simple sounding requirements mentioned above hide an enormous task which has to be completed by the company in order to maintain its foothold in their respective industries and in order to even be eligible for future loan waivers in times of crisis.
A corporate can further only choose to waive off its loan when it showcases to the government Its financial crisis and the government is convinced of the return they would get should the company not go bankrupt in the coming years. It can be taken to be a kind off stress removal for these companies as it enables them to not only temporarily boost their stock prices but also to perform without the stress of loan repayment. The government further receives interest upon the loan waiver should the company perform well which makes it a profitable venture for it.
Farmers and citizens on the other hand do not contribute in the slightest towards country GDP and its welfare. A citizen is only concerned with his/her lifestyle while a farmer is only concerned about his crops. While the crop growing farmers are very valuable to the country the profession the practise itself is based a lot around luck and the seasonal rains . loan waiving doesn’t guarantee the government any returns and neither does it help in the future crop plantations these farmers would undertake as they can provide no guarantee of a bountiful harvest next year. That being said loans being waived off have become more of a “ fashion” these days set up only to buy good will among farmer voters in the constituencies for the upcoming elections, the government now wants to ensure its seats in the coming election and hence is more inclined to buy off these relatively cheap farmers and citizens with their grand schemes and plans. The government now worries about its seats during times of elections rather than the countries GDP and hence is now ensuring stricter check for companies asking for loan waivers . Banks no longer have an independent reign to wield in this matter , any and every topic under company loans has to be directly brought under the governments notice as this has now become their prime source of income rather than investment. As a result loan waiving for farmers has become more of a semi-annual trend while that of a company as rare as sighting a blue moon.
Kavya Venugopal(18SJCCB211)

Game of Words: View vs Counter View 2.07

 SOCIAL MEDIA – A GOOD THING OR A BAD THING ?

View:
Social media is a website that allows people to share everything quickly and efficiently. For example, the principal of the school popularly known as the Dancing Uncle became a social media sensation overnight. In an interview, he said that he does not even get time to sleep and is offered from many TV shows. This shows the power of social media.
Social media is so fast that any person or any news can be spread within seconds. Examples for such are never-ending. The other uses of social media are – It helps us to communicate with anyone from any corner of the world. As we know international calls are expensive but with the help of social media we can call anyone for free. Some people don’t have a habit of reading newspaper and magazines but they gather a lot of information before newspaper through the help of social media, such as – UC news, Instagram.
 People can follow their role model, favorite actor/actress, sportsmen or anyone who inspire them. Apps like Twitter help us chat directly with them, but not always. It also helps us to watch live matches let it be any sport. Social media mainly captures the attention of the youth because everyone wants to keep themselves updated let it be news, movies or fashion. It helps the youth to start-up their own business with less capital and usually a free advertisement. Anyone can open a business page of their own in almost all the websites/apps. It not only helps start-up enterprises but also provide job and employment.
The most trending among the youths nowadays is web-series. Apps like Amazon Prime, Netflix showcase these web-series. The main advantage is that social media helps us to discover new places which we haven’t visited yet. It saves a lot of time which is equivalent to money. It helps us to know the surrounding and the people around us. We get to know about the new events happening around the world.
 It helps an introvert to become an extrovert by being socialized. It not only helps individuals but also small and big companies as well as hotels. It helps these organizations to promote themselves, advertise them and also attracts a lot of people at a time with discounts and other offers. Hotels and café usually require youth and through social media, they attract a lot of youth towards them. Technology has reached that level where slowly everything is becoming socialized with the help of the internet and also has acquired a lot of people. 
View By:  RISHAB JAIN D – 18SJCCB320

Counter-View:
Many studies have shown that the extensive use of social media can actually cause addiction to the users. It can help in many ways but in the same way, it has been a disaster that has ruined the lives of many people.
It helps people to post anything and everything in social media and they think it keeps them socially updated but they have forgotten that those posts or pictures can be easily used to make millions of fake ID's and it is been done also of which people aren't aware of them. This generation thinks that they should be socially updated to show that they are a part of the world too. People think they are connected to each and everyone through social media and their bond is strong enough but they forgot that the bond between their parents, the bond between their friends are becoming equally weak. They are so addicted to it that 24/7 they are on social media only. Throughout their day, they feel to post something on their pages or check others posts as it has become an important part of our life. Extreme usage of social media has reduced the level of human interaction. The more they are connected to the world the less they are connected to their parents. The communication between them and their parents is completely reduced.
Social media has been acted as a fraud many-a-times by showing different photos of the places. For example, people book a resort online by seeing the photos about the place, by seeing the ratings, by seeing the reviews but sometimes it so happens that there is nothing that was posted/related to the social media. This is how common people are targeted and their money is stolen.
Because of social networks, the interaction with other people has become effortless and people have isolated their lives behind their online identities. Face to face communication and meetings has been reduced and many of us have lost the flavor and charm to be together under one roof. Most businesses use social media to find and communicate with clients. But it is a great distraction to the employees, who may show more interest in what their friends are posting than in their work tasks, not only employees each and every person is interested in others life rather than looking into their own life.
I hereby conclude my topic with a quote: “LIFE IS LIKE FACEBOOK. PEOPLE WILL LIKE YOUR PROBLEMS AND COMMENT, BUT NO ONE WILL SOLVE THEM BECAUSE EVERYONE IS BUSY UPDATING THEIRS.”
Counter View by:  DIKSHIT BHANSALI – 18SJCCB311