During my first year at university, I have encountered many problems writing in my class. Below are two of my main problems.
My first problem is that I do not know how to generate ideas for my writing. I try to practice thinking in a simple and clear way. This way of thinking helps me a lot in not getting lost in the complicated problems of science modules like math, physics or chemistry. It also helps me to find the main ideas for my writing. However, although main ideas are important, they themselves are not enough. For the main ideas to be fully conveyed to the readers, they must be followed by well-founded supporting arguments and specific examples. This point is my problem. Sometimes, I forget the rule, I even cannot remember that a main idea must be accompanied by supporting ideas and examples and after having the main ideas, I am stuck not knowing what to do next. Other times, I remember the rule but I cannot think of the appropriate supporting arguments and examples. This is partly because my knowledge is too meager. There are many things that I have heard of but have not actually known; none of these things can serve as a suitable example for my essay and therefore, I do not have anything to write. So, from these thoughts, there are at first two things that I can do for a better idea generation. First, I must learn by heart the simple but important rule: every main idea must be followed by supporting ideas and examples. Second, I must widen and deepen my knowledge. I realize that as a human being, I cannot remember everything but there is something that I should understand and remember as the base of my knowledge for a better communicating which in this case is a better writing.
My second problem is that even when I have had the ideas fully generated, I do not know how to verbalize them. This is mainly because my vocabulary is too limited. I usually has to struggle to figure out the words that match my thoughts and many times I fail. It is rather uncomfortable when you just can partly convey your thoughts; the ideas are there, very clear, burst from your inside but do not know how to get out in words. I have tried many ways to lessen this difficulty. I learnt word lists. However, the lists seemed to be too difficult for me. I learnt the words one day and forgot them the day after. I tried many times, but the result got more and more frustrating. Finally, I found out that I was too impatient. I learnt so many words a day that I just could have some vague ideas about the words and many of those vague ideas are wrong. Now, I try to learn just a few words a day, learn the words in the context and get them involved in some of my writings. I also have tried reading to enrich my vocabulary. My teacher in my high school taught me that reading is the most efficient way to broaden my vocabulary. However, the same rule of learning word list seems to apply to reading. At first, I chose to read very difficult books for my level. I almost understood nothing; the words were too difficult for me to guess; I must use dictionary all the time but after a long time, I realized that I had learnt very little from those reading. These days, I read book with vocabulary at a more manageable level. This way, I still can learn the words while enjoying the stories and something more important is that I feel less intimidated by English; this does help me a lot in my writing.
Everything is difficult at the start. This is the first time I learn how to write in English. Even though I want, I cannot get everything out of nothing in just one or two days. Just want to wish myself more courage, more patience to overcome the obstacles on the road ahead.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Three of my most common grammar mistakes.
So far, while writing English, I have made many mistakes. Three of my most common ones are mistakes in subject verb agreement for third person singular subjects, articles and prepositions.
The first type of my mistakes which I want to mention here is in subject verb agreement for third person singular subjects. In simple present tense, if the subject is third person singular such as she, he, it or Daisy, the verb which is other than ‘to be’ must be added an ‘s’ or ‘es’ ending but if that verb is followed a modal, it must be in its bare infinitive form; in simple future tense, a bare infinitive form of the verb is also required to follow ‘will’. Here are some examples:
Incorrect: He work 40 hours a week.
Correct: He works 40 hours a week.
Incorrect: He can works 40 hours a week.
Correct: He can work 40 hours a week.
Incorrect: He will works 40 hours a week.
Correct: He will work 40 hours a week.
I usually forget to add the ‘s’ or ‘es’ endings to the verb which is in simple tense sentence while adding these endings to the verbs which do not require them. To avoid such mistakes, each time I meet a subject which is third person singular, I should remind myself the rules: simple present – ‘s’, can – no ‘s’, will – no ‘s’.
The second type of my common mistakes is in articles. The general rule is for a specific noun, ‘the’ is required; for a nonspecific noun, if it is singular countable, ‘a’ or ‘an’ is required; if it is plural countable or uncountable, no article is required. Here are two of the mistakes which I made in my blog’s entries and my writing assignments:
Incorrect: In some extreme cases, ‘felt need’ might even lead people to paralysis.
Correct: In some extreme cases, the ‘felt need’ might even lead people to paralysis.
Incorrect: If these withdrawals happen on large scale, the effects will be damaging.
Correct: If these withdrawals happen on a large scale, the effects will be damaging.
In these two examples, ‘felt need’ and 'large scale' are singular countable nouns, so they need to be preceded by articles; ‘felt need’ is specific, so the article is ‘the’ while 'large scale' is nonspecific, so the article is ‘a’. As can also be seen, it is very often that I do not include an article before a singular countable noun. I must be much more careful to not make a mistake like that again.
The third type of my common mistakes is in prepositions. ‘In’, ‘on’ and ‘at' are three of the most used prepositions. They are usually used to refer to time and space. For time, ‘in’ is used with long periods of time like a month, a year or a century, ‘at’ is used with a point of time like 2 am or 6 pm and ‘on’ is used with periods of time which are too short to use with 'in' while too long to use with ‘at' like a day. For space,’ in’ refers to three dimensional space, ‘on’ refers to two dimensional space while ‘at’ refers to one point in space. These are two examples of my mistakes:
Incorrect: She is always free in Wednesday.
Correct: She is always free on Wednesday.
Incorrect: If these withdrawals happen in a large scale , the effects will be damaging.
Correct: If these withdrawals happen on a large scale, the effects will be damaging.
In the first example, 'Wednesday' is a day, so ‘on’ is the correct preposition; in the second example, 'scale' is two dimensional, so again the preposition should be ‘on’. Sincerely, I find that preposition is really a hard part of grammar. I must read more to get familiar with the way prepositions are used and write more to really remember and understand what I have learnt.
Those are three in many of my common mistakes. The lessons here are that I must be more diligent and more careful to minimize the mistakes and if mistakes occur, I must learn them well to not make similar ones again.
The first type of my mistakes which I want to mention here is in subject verb agreement for third person singular subjects. In simple present tense, if the subject is third person singular such as she, he, it or Daisy, the verb which is other than ‘to be’ must be added an ‘s’ or ‘es’ ending but if that verb is followed a modal, it must be in its bare infinitive form; in simple future tense, a bare infinitive form of the verb is also required to follow ‘will’. Here are some examples:
Incorrect: He work 40 hours a week.
Correct: He works 40 hours a week.
Incorrect: He can works 40 hours a week.
Correct: He can work 40 hours a week.
Incorrect: He will works 40 hours a week.
Correct: He will work 40 hours a week.
I usually forget to add the ‘s’ or ‘es’ endings to the verb which is in simple tense sentence while adding these endings to the verbs which do not require them. To avoid such mistakes, each time I meet a subject which is third person singular, I should remind myself the rules: simple present – ‘s’, can – no ‘s’, will – no ‘s’.
The second type of my common mistakes is in articles. The general rule is for a specific noun, ‘the’ is required; for a nonspecific noun, if it is singular countable, ‘a’ or ‘an’ is required; if it is plural countable or uncountable, no article is required. Here are two of the mistakes which I made in my blog’s entries and my writing assignments:
Incorrect: In some extreme cases, ‘felt need’ might even lead people to paralysis.
Correct: In some extreme cases, the ‘felt need’ might even lead people to paralysis.
Incorrect: If these withdrawals happen on large scale, the effects will be damaging.
Correct: If these withdrawals happen on a large scale, the effects will be damaging.
In these two examples, ‘felt need’ and 'large scale' are singular countable nouns, so they need to be preceded by articles; ‘felt need’ is specific, so the article is ‘the’ while 'large scale' is nonspecific, so the article is ‘a’. As can also be seen, it is very often that I do not include an article before a singular countable noun. I must be much more careful to not make a mistake like that again.
The third type of my common mistakes is in prepositions. ‘In’, ‘on’ and ‘at' are three of the most used prepositions. They are usually used to refer to time and space. For time, ‘in’ is used with long periods of time like a month, a year or a century, ‘at’ is used with a point of time like 2 am or 6 pm and ‘on’ is used with periods of time which are too short to use with 'in' while too long to use with ‘at' like a day. For space,’ in’ refers to three dimensional space, ‘on’ refers to two dimensional space while ‘at’ refers to one point in space. These are two examples of my mistakes:
Incorrect: She is always free in Wednesday.
Correct: She is always free on Wednesday.
Incorrect: If these withdrawals happen in a large scale , the effects will be damaging.
Correct: If these withdrawals happen on a large scale, the effects will be damaging.
In the first example, 'Wednesday' is a day, so ‘on’ is the correct preposition; in the second example, 'scale' is two dimensional, so again the preposition should be ‘on’. Sincerely, I find that preposition is really a hard part of grammar. I must read more to get familiar with the way prepositions are used and write more to really remember and understand what I have learnt.
Those are three in many of my common mistakes. The lessons here are that I must be more diligent and more careful to minimize the mistakes and if mistakes occur, I must learn them well to not make similar ones again.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Summary of my EG1471 class’s roundtable discussion
My following summary is partly based on some of the ideas which I can recall and mostly on my classmates’ summaries. For I just can recall very few details, I want to say a thank to all of my friends.
On 9th March, my EG1471 class had a roundtable discussion. The main topic was Technologies and their adoptions in the real world. For this main topic, my class was divided into four groups; each group discussed one of the four subtopics of biofuels, green chemistry, microchip implantation on human and carbon filter process.
The first discussion was about biofuels. Biofuels, in recent years, emerge as promising alternative sources of energy for fossil fuel. Although, biofuels have been promoted by many countries, their real efficacy is still questionable. The proposition argued that biofuels are good choices from many aspects including their environmental-friendly nature, their competitiveness in price and their easily-adapted ability. Biofuels controlled in a right manner can be clean, renewable sources of energy; therefore, they more or less contribute to the worldwide fight against climate change. Their price, at an acceptable level of around $70 a barrel, quells the doubt of many people that new technology products are always expensive. And lastly, for biofuel crops can be grown on the desert, biofuels maximize the world’s efficiency in utilizing the scarce resources. However, the opposition remained unconvinced with these seemingly persuasive benefits. They challenged the environmental-friendly nature of biofuels by drawing evidence which shows that a rise of 10-15 percent in NO2 (a greenhouse gas) emission level is noticed when biofuels are used in place of fossil fuel. Furthermore, biofuel crop plantation can narrow the food availability while widening the risk of mass deforestation. Transportation and storage are other disadvantages which hinder biofuels’ application in colder climates. Then, from these analyses, the opposition suggested that instead of investing on biofuels, we should focus more on available alternative resource which is many times more efficient than biofuels like solar energy.
About biofuels, the first thought came up to my mind when knowing of their negative effects on food prices and the environment is to oppose, but after a while, I change my ground thinking that maybe in the future with the invention of many new types of crops, biofuels can overcome their temporary drawbacks to serve human with their best.
Green chemistry is the topic of the second discussion. Through the remodelling of chemical products and processes, green chemistry aims to lessen or eliminate the negative effects of chemical productions on human. Because global warming, according to the proponents, is an urgent problem, it is crucial that a technology like green chemistry is implemented as soon as possible. An example was also drawn out to illustrate the magic of green chemistry. According to this example, green chemistry can turn used plastic bottles, one kind of highly-difficult-to -degenerate rubbish into carbon microspheres, materials which are harder than diamond. Despite all those advantages, the opponents insisted that green chemistry should not be adopted by developed countries because for these countries, a high expense will be entailed in the reconstruction of the already-settled system of technologies. On my part, I just think that being a very promising technology, green chemistry should be adopted by every country to the greatest reasonable extent.
Implanted microchip in to human is the problem in the third discussion. The issue was addressed from three prospects: control, convenience and care. In each prospect, the proposition and the opposition respectively pointed out the pros and cons of microchip implantation. While microchips offer us a more powerful tool for controlling in security, management and social control fields, they could also pose great dangers to individual privacy. While having microchips implanted brings us great convenience of no longer having to carry along ID cards or passports, losing the microchip brings home the equivalent inconvenience of retrieving all the lost data. And finally, while microchips facilitate the process of accessing information for medical purposes, uncontrolled moving microchips bring about the jeopardies of having these microchips stuck in our inner organs. Given such information, I think that although microchips, with their privacy-touching nature, may be too far from being planted on every human, it might do a good job if planted on people in times of medical treatments for it will give the doctors closer views of the patients’ conditions.
In summary, this roundtable discussion has helped me a lot to have a broader view of technology adoptions in our world. And one thing more, I find it is very encouraging that all of my classmates had tried hard to prepare for their own topic and pay attention to other groups during the discussion.
On 9th March, my EG1471 class had a roundtable discussion. The main topic was Technologies and their adoptions in the real world. For this main topic, my class was divided into four groups; each group discussed one of the four subtopics of biofuels, green chemistry, microchip implantation on human and carbon filter process.
The first discussion was about biofuels. Biofuels, in recent years, emerge as promising alternative sources of energy for fossil fuel. Although, biofuels have been promoted by many countries, their real efficacy is still questionable. The proposition argued that biofuels are good choices from many aspects including their environmental-friendly nature, their competitiveness in price and their easily-adapted ability. Biofuels controlled in a right manner can be clean, renewable sources of energy; therefore, they more or less contribute to the worldwide fight against climate change. Their price, at an acceptable level of around $70 a barrel, quells the doubt of many people that new technology products are always expensive. And lastly, for biofuel crops can be grown on the desert, biofuels maximize the world’s efficiency in utilizing the scarce resources. However, the opposition remained unconvinced with these seemingly persuasive benefits. They challenged the environmental-friendly nature of biofuels by drawing evidence which shows that a rise of 10-15 percent in NO2 (a greenhouse gas) emission level is noticed when biofuels are used in place of fossil fuel. Furthermore, biofuel crop plantation can narrow the food availability while widening the risk of mass deforestation. Transportation and storage are other disadvantages which hinder biofuels’ application in colder climates. Then, from these analyses, the opposition suggested that instead of investing on biofuels, we should focus more on available alternative resource which is many times more efficient than biofuels like solar energy.
About biofuels, the first thought came up to my mind when knowing of their negative effects on food prices and the environment is to oppose, but after a while, I change my ground thinking that maybe in the future with the invention of many new types of crops, biofuels can overcome their temporary drawbacks to serve human with their best.
Green chemistry is the topic of the second discussion. Through the remodelling of chemical products and processes, green chemistry aims to lessen or eliminate the negative effects of chemical productions on human. Because global warming, according to the proponents, is an urgent problem, it is crucial that a technology like green chemistry is implemented as soon as possible. An example was also drawn out to illustrate the magic of green chemistry. According to this example, green chemistry can turn used plastic bottles, one kind of highly-difficult-to -degenerate rubbish into carbon microspheres, materials which are harder than diamond. Despite all those advantages, the opponents insisted that green chemistry should not be adopted by developed countries because for these countries, a high expense will be entailed in the reconstruction of the already-settled system of technologies. On my part, I just think that being a very promising technology, green chemistry should be adopted by every country to the greatest reasonable extent.
Implanted microchip in to human is the problem in the third discussion. The issue was addressed from three prospects: control, convenience and care. In each prospect, the proposition and the opposition respectively pointed out the pros and cons of microchip implantation. While microchips offer us a more powerful tool for controlling in security, management and social control fields, they could also pose great dangers to individual privacy. While having microchips implanted brings us great convenience of no longer having to carry along ID cards or passports, losing the microchip brings home the equivalent inconvenience of retrieving all the lost data. And finally, while microchips facilitate the process of accessing information for medical purposes, uncontrolled moving microchips bring about the jeopardies of having these microchips stuck in our inner organs. Given such information, I think that although microchips, with their privacy-touching nature, may be too far from being planted on every human, it might do a good job if planted on people in times of medical treatments for it will give the doctors closer views of the patients’ conditions.
In summary, this roundtable discussion has helped me a lot to have a broader view of technology adoptions in our world. And one thing more, I find it is very encouraging that all of my classmates had tried hard to prepare for their own topic and pay attention to other groups during the discussion.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Summary of two articles for roundtable discussion
In preparation for my group's roundtable discussion topic_The appropriate attitude for citizen groups towards one specific climate change mitigation technology adoption, I have read two articles. Both are about biofuel technology.
The first article is titled Biofuels Ignite Food Crisis Debate from Science Daily (2009, Jan 29). According to this article, a group of scientists from Cornell University of New York State had done a research on the availability and use of land, water and current energy resources globally and in US specifically and the results they found show that although planned to be productive, biofuels turn out to be economically and environmentally costly. These high costs result from three main reasons. First, biofuel crops compete with other human food crops for scarce essential energy and resource. Second, biofuel crops absorb more energy than they produce. Third, biofuel crops still have common negative effects on ecosystem like water pollution from fertilizers and pesticidies, global warming, soil erosion and air pollution. These reasons lead to the fact that US depends more on oil, and global environment and world food system are further damaged.
This article is helpful for our roundtable discussion because it has given us a view from the negative side of the problem of developing biofuel technology, also because it is a recent article (published in 2009, Jan 29) and the research which results were reported in the article was conducted by scientists from a reputable university (Cornell University) over worldwide scale and in US, the world's largest producer of biofuels.
The second article is titled Government Support for Ethanol and Biodiesel in China (Global Subsidies Initiatives [GSI], 2008). First, this article demonstrated China, our home country in the roundtable discussion, as a fervent supporter and promoter of fuel for transport through detailed official data on biofuel production and subsidies in China. Then , beside certain expected benefits like more job creation in impoverished rural areas, more likelihood of improvement of soil health of degraded saline or arid lands, the three drawbacks of biofuel raised in the first article were again mentioned, but this time in a more specific context, China, with more specific data. And, lastly, basing on analyzed information, the authors pointed out viable, effective and also urgent advices for China in its pursue of biofuel technology.
Along with the two common helpful factors with the first article of its recency (published in 2008, November) and its reliability (conducted by Global Subsidies Initiatives [GSI] of the International Institute of Sustainable Development [IISD]), the second article's more specific property is another noticeable point. For example, instead of just generally saying that biofuel development threatens biodiversity, the article clearly pointed out that biofuel development in China can jeopardize the biodiversity of Southwest China through the growth of large-scale jatropha plantation and the higher subsidy to farmers for growing biofuel crops purpose compared with conservation purposes. The place the phenomenon occurs and the way it happens are so well mentioned that they help me a lot in sketching the clear image of the ongoing problem.
In conclusion, the two articles which I have read about biofuel technology have enabled me to have a better understanding of the problem of biofuel technology development and therefore, a clearer notion of what citizen groups should do in response to this technology adoption in China.
References:
Springer Science+Business Media (2009, January 29). Biofuels Ignite Food Crisis Debate.ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090128074830.htm
Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) of the International Institution of Sustainable Development (IISD) (2008, November). Biofuels - At What Cost? Government Support for Ethanol and Biodiesel in China, pp 1-5. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from http://www.thebioenergysite.com/articles/209/government-support-for-ethanol-and-biodiesel-in-china
Vocabulary:
1. biofuel (n) : fuel, as wood or ethanol, derived from biomass.
2. biodiversity (n) : diversity among and within plant and animal species in an environment.
3. ecosystem (n) : a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment.
4. Jatropha curcus (n) : small tropical American tree yielding purple dye and tanning extract and bearing physic nuts containing a purgative oil that is poisonous in large quantities.
(Jatropha curcus is used as a biodiesel feedstock).
5. saline (adj): of, containing, or resembling common table salt, salty or saltlike.
The first article is titled Biofuels Ignite Food Crisis Debate from Science Daily (2009, Jan 29). According to this article, a group of scientists from Cornell University of New York State had done a research on the availability and use of land, water and current energy resources globally and in US specifically and the results they found show that although planned to be productive, biofuels turn out to be economically and environmentally costly. These high costs result from three main reasons. First, biofuel crops compete with other human food crops for scarce essential energy and resource. Second, biofuel crops absorb more energy than they produce. Third, biofuel crops still have common negative effects on ecosystem like water pollution from fertilizers and pesticidies, global warming, soil erosion and air pollution. These reasons lead to the fact that US depends more on oil, and global environment and world food system are further damaged.
This article is helpful for our roundtable discussion because it has given us a view from the negative side of the problem of developing biofuel technology, also because it is a recent article (published in 2009, Jan 29) and the research which results were reported in the article was conducted by scientists from a reputable university (Cornell University) over worldwide scale and in US, the world's largest producer of biofuels.
The second article is titled Government Support for Ethanol and Biodiesel in China (Global Subsidies Initiatives [GSI], 2008). First, this article demonstrated China, our home country in the roundtable discussion, as a fervent supporter and promoter of fuel for transport through detailed official data on biofuel production and subsidies in China. Then , beside certain expected benefits like more job creation in impoverished rural areas, more likelihood of improvement of soil health of degraded saline or arid lands, the three drawbacks of biofuel raised in the first article were again mentioned, but this time in a more specific context, China, with more specific data. And, lastly, basing on analyzed information, the authors pointed out viable, effective and also urgent advices for China in its pursue of biofuel technology.
Along with the two common helpful factors with the first article of its recency (published in 2008, November) and its reliability (conducted by Global Subsidies Initiatives [GSI] of the International Institute of Sustainable Development [IISD]), the second article's more specific property is another noticeable point. For example, instead of just generally saying that biofuel development threatens biodiversity, the article clearly pointed out that biofuel development in China can jeopardize the biodiversity of Southwest China through the growth of large-scale jatropha plantation and the higher subsidy to farmers for growing biofuel crops purpose compared with conservation purposes. The place the phenomenon occurs and the way it happens are so well mentioned that they help me a lot in sketching the clear image of the ongoing problem.
In conclusion, the two articles which I have read about biofuel technology have enabled me to have a better understanding of the problem of biofuel technology development and therefore, a clearer notion of what citizen groups should do in response to this technology adoption in China.
References:
Springer Science+Business Media (2009, January 29). Biofuels Ignite Food Crisis Debate.ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090128074830.htm
Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) of the International Institution of Sustainable Development (IISD) (2008, November). Biofuels - At What Cost? Government Support for Ethanol and Biodiesel in China, pp 1-5. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from http://www.thebioenergysite.com/articles/209/government-support-for-ethanol-and-biodiesel-in-china
Vocabulary:
1. biofuel (n) : fuel, as wood or ethanol, derived from biomass.
2. biodiversity (n) : diversity among and within plant and animal species in an environment.
3. ecosystem (n) : a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment.
4. Jatropha curcus (n) : small tropical American tree yielding purple dye and tanning extract and bearing physic nuts containing a purgative oil that is poisonous in large quantities.
(Jatropha curcus is used as a biodiesel feedstock).
5. saline (adj): of, containing, or resembling common table salt, salty or saltlike.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Summary of the second EG1471 lecture
The second EG1471 lecture took place at lecture theatre 7, on January 30th. The lecture was comprised of three presentations of three professors from three different departments in NUS. The main topic of the lecture was Global Warming.
The first presentation,Carbon dioxide capture and storage - Technology and Politics , was by Professor Andrew Palmer, Department of Civil Engineering. There were two main points mentioned. First, for the question: Which kinds of technology can be applied to reduce the level of CO2 emission to 500 ppm?", Prof. Palmer suggested two options: storing CO2 in depleted oil or gas field and storing CO2 in oceans. In each option, he offered a brief description then an analysis of practical pros and cons. Second, for the question: " What about the political part in making CO2 capture and storage actually happen?", professor first pointed out some difficulties in political side, of which stood out the governments' apathy for the problem, then he gave a list of actions which should be done by governments. What I like most about Prof. Palmer's presentation is his objective way of approaching problems. In most of the points he made, there were two points of view: storing CO2 in depleted oil or gas field _advantages and disadvantages, reduction in CO2 emission in UK_ good reasons and bad reasons... This enabled us , the engineering students, to enjoy a comprehensive view of the mentioned problems without having the feelings of being forced to absorb the knowledge.
The second presentation, Using STS (Science & Technology Studies) to Address Energy (and Technological) Problems, was by Assistant Professor Benjamin K.Sovacool, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. The presentation began by a quick introduction to STS, followed by Case study 1: Renewable Powers and Case study 2 :Electrical Vehicles. According to Dr K.Sovacool, different from Traditional Analysis of Technology, where technology was considered the dictator which stood on its own, STS approached the problems of technology in genenal and problems of energy in particular by a holistic way. In STS approach, technology was a part of a system which included economic, educational, legal, administrative and technical elements. This point was vividly clarified by the two case studies which delineated the STS approach's differences by respectively analyzing the challenges in Renewable Power industry and the fall in the level of popularity of electric vehicles during the period of 1900 to 1920 from economic, political and social viewpoints. With me, it is very meaningful to know that technology and sociology, two areas which seem so far apart, have such close a relation. I think this way of thinking from different viewpoints will serve me well in my study as well as my future as an engineer.
The third and also the last presentation, Climate Change - Assessment and Mitigation, was by Professor Rajasekhar Bala, Division of Environmental Science and Engineering. Prof. Bala had given us an overview of climate change by respectively presented the points of: nowadays signs of climate change and enhanced greenhouse effects, evidences supporting global warming, potential consequences of enhanced global warming, then difficulties in dealing with climate change and options to deal with it. One point in Prof. Bala' s presentation which is rather interesting to me is that the point of "some areas will benefit from a warmer climate". For a long time, I forgot that fact. And indeed, in the long term, global warming will narrow the global economy; therefore, no nation can truly benefit from a warmer earth. But as long as some nations still have something to benefit from climate change, they will deny to fight against this great enemy . So, thank to Prof. Bala, by realizing this fact, I also realize one more obstacle in our combat against climate change.
In conclusion, through the second EG1471 lectures, by different ways of presenting, our three professors had done so well the job of waking up our awareness of global warming and contributing to build up our ways of systematic and comprehensive thinking.
The first presentation,Carbon dioxide capture and storage - Technology and Politics , was by Professor Andrew Palmer, Department of Civil Engineering. There were two main points mentioned. First, for the question: Which kinds of technology can be applied to reduce the level of CO2 emission to 500 ppm?", Prof. Palmer suggested two options: storing CO2 in depleted oil or gas field and storing CO2 in oceans. In each option, he offered a brief description then an analysis of practical pros and cons. Second, for the question: " What about the political part in making CO2 capture and storage actually happen?", professor first pointed out some difficulties in political side, of which stood out the governments' apathy for the problem, then he gave a list of actions which should be done by governments. What I like most about Prof. Palmer's presentation is his objective way of approaching problems. In most of the points he made, there were two points of view: storing CO2 in depleted oil or gas field _advantages and disadvantages, reduction in CO2 emission in UK_ good reasons and bad reasons... This enabled us , the engineering students, to enjoy a comprehensive view of the mentioned problems without having the feelings of being forced to absorb the knowledge.
The second presentation, Using STS (Science & Technology Studies) to Address Energy (and Technological) Problems, was by Assistant Professor Benjamin K.Sovacool, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. The presentation began by a quick introduction to STS, followed by Case study 1: Renewable Powers and Case study 2 :Electrical Vehicles. According to Dr K.Sovacool, different from Traditional Analysis of Technology, where technology was considered the dictator which stood on its own, STS approached the problems of technology in genenal and problems of energy in particular by a holistic way. In STS approach, technology was a part of a system which included economic, educational, legal, administrative and technical elements. This point was vividly clarified by the two case studies which delineated the STS approach's differences by respectively analyzing the challenges in Renewable Power industry and the fall in the level of popularity of electric vehicles during the period of 1900 to 1920 from economic, political and social viewpoints. With me, it is very meaningful to know that technology and sociology, two areas which seem so far apart, have such close a relation. I think this way of thinking from different viewpoints will serve me well in my study as well as my future as an engineer.
The third and also the last presentation, Climate Change - Assessment and Mitigation, was by Professor Rajasekhar Bala, Division of Environmental Science and Engineering. Prof. Bala had given us an overview of climate change by respectively presented the points of: nowadays signs of climate change and enhanced greenhouse effects, evidences supporting global warming, potential consequences of enhanced global warming, then difficulties in dealing with climate change and options to deal with it. One point in Prof. Bala' s presentation which is rather interesting to me is that the point of "some areas will benefit from a warmer climate". For a long time, I forgot that fact. And indeed, in the long term, global warming will narrow the global economy; therefore, no nation can truly benefit from a warmer earth. But as long as some nations still have something to benefit from climate change, they will deny to fight against this great enemy . So, thank to Prof. Bala, by realizing this fact, I also realize one more obstacle in our combat against climate change.
In conclusion, through the second EG1471 lectures, by different ways of presenting, our three professors had done so well the job of waking up our awareness of global warming and contributing to build up our ways of systematic and comprehensive thinking.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
What can environmental and special interest groups do to help solve climate change?
Nowadays, global warming is an aching problem and combating it is an urgent need which requires may collaborative efforts. In these collaborations, environmental and special interest groups play an important role. And the film "An Inconvenient Truth" is a vivid example of what they can do.
Firstly, environmental and special interest groups can help provide the facts of global warming. People cannot react to something which they have no idea about. What is global warming? What are its companion disasters? And what are their effects on people's daily lives? All are the questions needed to be answered. In "An Inconvenient Truth", the film makers have answered them in a lively way. Charts of changes in temperature overtime, of its relation to changes in CO2 concentration give a notion of what are going on. The animation of the frog and of land-based and sea-based melting ice are also conducive to this purpose. The clips of disaster all over the world bring memories of what our planet and our fellow human beings have suffered. And the popular cartoon The Simpsons then Al Gore's childhood with the moving story of his sister have really brought home the 'felt need' of acting against global warming. Global warming is no longer something miles away in the arctics, people now feel its threats right there in the daily lives of them, their own, and their beloved brothers and sisters.
One step further, environmental and special interest groups can contribute by showing people what they need to do. The 'felt need' is important but the 'felt need' itself is not enough. And in some extreme cases, 'felt need' might even lead people to paralysis. A step-by-step guide is a necessary helping hand expected from the activists. The makers of "An Inconvenient Truth" are well aware of this step. The scene of Al Gore pointing on the chart: US Emission: Carbon Capture and Storage showing people the really-can-do effect of reducing the level of CO2 emission from 2006's to 1970's by their actions of raising the efficiency of electricity use and passenger vehicle... is a good example for activists to study.
And finally, for a successful anti-global-warming campaign, encouragements are the things that should not be ignored by environmental activists. Fighting against global warming is a long and difficult process in which the spirit of the winners is necessary. Encouragements are required to serve this purpose. There are many options of encouragements. One of which, waking up the national pride by reminding the nation's historic achievements has been successfully used in "An Inconvenient Truth". In reality, constant appreciating of short-term accomplishments is also a recommendable advice.
In short, in fighting against global warming, the roles of environmental and special interest groups can be demonstrated by three steps: creating the 'felt need', giving a step-by-step guide and providing constant encouragements.
Firstly, environmental and special interest groups can help provide the facts of global warming. People cannot react to something which they have no idea about. What is global warming? What are its companion disasters? And what are their effects on people's daily lives? All are the questions needed to be answered. In "An Inconvenient Truth", the film makers have answered them in a lively way. Charts of changes in temperature overtime, of its relation to changes in CO2 concentration give a notion of what are going on. The animation of the frog and of land-based and sea-based melting ice are also conducive to this purpose. The clips of disaster all over the world bring memories of what our planet and our fellow human beings have suffered. And the popular cartoon The Simpsons then Al Gore's childhood with the moving story of his sister have really brought home the 'felt need' of acting against global warming. Global warming is no longer something miles away in the arctics, people now feel its threats right there in the daily lives of them, their own, and their beloved brothers and sisters.
One step further, environmental and special interest groups can contribute by showing people what they need to do. The 'felt need' is important but the 'felt need' itself is not enough. And in some extreme cases, 'felt need' might even lead people to paralysis. A step-by-step guide is a necessary helping hand expected from the activists. The makers of "An Inconvenient Truth" are well aware of this step. The scene of Al Gore pointing on the chart: US Emission: Carbon Capture and Storage showing people the really-can-do effect of reducing the level of CO2 emission from 2006's to 1970's by their actions of raising the efficiency of electricity use and passenger vehicle... is a good example for activists to study.
And finally, for a successful anti-global-warming campaign, encouragements are the things that should not be ignored by environmental activists. Fighting against global warming is a long and difficult process in which the spirit of the winners is necessary. Encouragements are required to serve this purpose. There are many options of encouragements. One of which, waking up the national pride by reminding the nation's historic achievements has been successfully used in "An Inconvenient Truth". In reality, constant appreciating of short-term accomplishments is also a recommendable advice.
In short, in fighting against global warming, the roles of environmental and special interest groups can be demonstrated by three steps: creating the 'felt need', giving a step-by-step guide and providing constant encouragements.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Engineering Students and Systematic Thinking
Engineering and systematic thinking are the companions that seem cannot be separated. How can we imagine an engineer without systematic thinking? And how can we think of "systematic thinking" without "engineering" comes to our minds? But what happens behind the scene? How can engineering students acquire their treasure - systematic thinking?
Like almost other skills, systematic thinking is the result of a long process which requires much effort and an environment for this effort to flourish.
An engineering course is a good environment for systematic thinking to develop.
Through lessons from basic to advanced levels, the course respectively introduces and orients its students to the way of thinking systematically. Indeed, in that world of complicated definitions and challenging problems, systematic thinking serves as the only right course of action, the indispensable skill that without it students will get lost sooner or later. So, an engineering course does its job by making systematic thinking a must. But fortunately, it doesn't stop there, it does its job by giving a helping hand to its students whenever necessary. Involving in an engineering course, an engineering student is not alone. He has his lecturers, his tutors and his friends out there to give him useful advices, encouraging feedback,... and even share him his personal difficulties. This makes the way to systematic thinking a more enjoyable experience and therefore a more feasible aim.
The soil is ready, then comes the students' effort to flourish .
The strongest tree is the tree that makes the most out of itself and its mother earth. Likewise, the best student is the one who makes the most out of himself and his environment. Given the fact that his engineering course is there to serve every student to success as analyzed above, there are only three things left to do. Firstly, he must be well aware of his(environmental) advantageous fact. Then, set his mind and his heart on the goal for no one can force a person to places that he doesn't want. And finally, simple but important: take actions, dreams will be dreams forever if they aren't at first turned into actions.
Like almost other skills, systematic thinking is the result of a long process which requires much effort and an environment for this effort to flourish.
An engineering course is a good environment for systematic thinking to develop.
Through lessons from basic to advanced levels, the course respectively introduces and orients its students to the way of thinking systematically. Indeed, in that world of complicated definitions and challenging problems, systematic thinking serves as the only right course of action, the indispensable skill that without it students will get lost sooner or later. So, an engineering course does its job by making systematic thinking a must. But fortunately, it doesn't stop there, it does its job by giving a helping hand to its students whenever necessary. Involving in an engineering course, an engineering student is not alone. He has his lecturers, his tutors and his friends out there to give him useful advices, encouraging feedback,... and even share him his personal difficulties. This makes the way to systematic thinking a more enjoyable experience and therefore a more feasible aim.
The soil is ready, then comes the students' effort to flourish .
The strongest tree is the tree that makes the most out of itself and its mother earth. Likewise, the best student is the one who makes the most out of himself and his environment. Given the fact that his engineering course is there to serve every student to success as analyzed above, there are only three things left to do. Firstly, he must be well aware of his(environmental) advantageous fact. Then, set his mind and his heart on the goal for no one can force a person to places that he doesn't want. And finally, simple but important: take actions, dreams will be dreams forever if they aren't at first turned into actions.
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