As the prices of fuel continues to rise and the economy continues to struggle, engineers have now taken steps into using sunshine as a source of environmentally friendly power. There are basically three main advantages of using solar energy and they are the reduction in the release of green house gases, never-ending source of energy and the increase in employment.
Firstly, using solar energy, it is unlike using the other fuels where CO2 is released and hence causing global warming. Solar energy is just capturing the energy from the sun and then supplying energy without the release of anything harmful substance.
Secondly, because there is now a high demand in the usage of energy, the price of fuels are becoming more and more expensive and they are running low and the fuels that we have now will not be able to last us for long. Sun light is one source of energy that will constantly be there to supply us, all we have to do is to capture and provide them to the consumers.
Thirdly, according to BEN (2008), Florida’s solar rebate program has saved enough energy to power 31,000 homes for an entire month and hence, there are more jobs like manufacturing, marketing and installing of solar systems to capture more solar energy for usage in the long run.
In conclusion, using sunlight as a source of energy benefits us in many ways. It helps in lesser release of CO2, provides us with never-ending energy so we do not have to worry about running out of energy and it creates jobs for us. There is another major concern where consumers get to keep more money in their pockets as they do not have to worry about paying the increasing prices of the fuels.
Source:
Sunshine can fuel economic revival (Ben.B, CEO of the LeverEdge) 15 April 2008 [Online
Document] http://www.flaseia.org/Marketing/SunshineCanFuelEconomicRevival.pdf
Sunday, November 2, 2008
PortFolio Entry 5: Mapping the BRAIN
Brain mapping is a new discovery that is now a concern to the society if it will be put to unethical usage and will it be abused? Brain mapping is indeed a wonderful technology but there are still three concerns that I would like to talk about and they are the testing of this new technology, privacy when storing of a patient’s brain data and parents comparing the brains of their children to famous inventors.
Firstly, this is a new discovery where it should be put to the test and humans are the guinea pigs. Take for example, the case where Nancy’s license gets revoked for having her brain scanned with an image of Bill Clinton’s life at risk interpreted by those who saw her results. The question here is who are the people that should be tested with this technology and what are the implications for employment scanning?
Secondly, it is about the storing of a patient’s data after scanning their brains. Back to the example on Nancy’s case, she was not given any privacy. The results of scanning her brain caused her to lose her job despite her high qualification. Storing brain scan data is unethical as who should be the ones to ensure that the brain scans are kept confidential and will not fall into the hands of the wrong group of people intruding the privacy of the people? The results of the brain scan should only be made known to the person who took the scan.
Thirdly, parents are making use of the results of brain scans on their children to decide their fate on them which sounds wrong. It may be seen now that Johnny is good at violin so he should only concentrate on violin but what he is good at may not be what he likes as children are not yet exposed to many other things.
In short, I think that there should be some rules in place so that brain mapping will be put to proper use like treating of patients and should not be used for the sake of determining one’s fate. Now it is because many people are using it unnecessarily, therefore they are issues like intrusion of privacy that we have to look into. This technology should be controlled by the hospital for treating patients and one way to prevent people from misusing it, we can set it scanning of map to be high.
Firstly, this is a new discovery where it should be put to the test and humans are the guinea pigs. Take for example, the case where Nancy’s license gets revoked for having her brain scanned with an image of Bill Clinton’s life at risk interpreted by those who saw her results. The question here is who are the people that should be tested with this technology and what are the implications for employment scanning?
Secondly, it is about the storing of a patient’s data after scanning their brains. Back to the example on Nancy’s case, she was not given any privacy. The results of scanning her brain caused her to lose her job despite her high qualification. Storing brain scan data is unethical as who should be the ones to ensure that the brain scans are kept confidential and will not fall into the hands of the wrong group of people intruding the privacy of the people? The results of the brain scan should only be made known to the person who took the scan.
Thirdly, parents are making use of the results of brain scans on their children to decide their fate on them which sounds wrong. It may be seen now that Johnny is good at violin so he should only concentrate on violin but what he is good at may not be what he likes as children are not yet exposed to many other things.
In short, I think that there should be some rules in place so that brain mapping will be put to proper use like treating of patients and should not be used for the sake of determining one’s fate. Now it is because many people are using it unnecessarily, therefore they are issues like intrusion of privacy that we have to look into. This technology should be controlled by the hospital for treating patients and one way to prevent people from misusing it, we can set it scanning of map to be high.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Portfolio 4: What difficulties do you have writing in your engineering classes?
There are three reasons why I have difficulties writing in engineering classes. The first reason is lecture slides given by the lecturer is too brief and at times I cannot understand what the lecturer is teaching. The second reason is the pace of the lectures are going too fast for me, two chapters are covered each week and before I can finish the readings for the first chapter of the week, I have to prepare myself for the second. The last reason is about tutorials going through answers on topics that the lectures have yet to cover which makes the pace go even much faster. With these problems that I am facing now, I resolved them by working much harder, finish the readings of the two chapters before the start of the week so when I attend the lectures, I will not be so lost and if I have any doubts, I will clarify with the professor at the end of the lecture. Besides finishing the readins earlier, I also purchase the textbook so there are more examples for me to read through to understand the module better. For tutorials, I will also finish reading up the topic that will be covered and also attempt the questions. I will continue to improve by reading the topics again and clarifying problems with the tutors at the clinic, look up for more examples in books and the internet for me to practice and to form study groups with friends to catch up on the notes and tips given by the professor that I might not have managed to take down during lectures.
There are three reasons why I have difficulties writing in engineering classes. The first reason is lecture slides given by the lecturer is too brief and at times I cannot understand what the lecturer is teaching. The second reason is the pace of the lectures are going too fast for me, two chapters are covered each week and before I can finish the readings for the first chapter of the week, I have to prepare myself for the second. The last reason is about tutorials going through answers on topics that the lectures have yet to cover which makes the pace go even much faster. With these problems that I am facing now, I resolved them by working much harder, finish the readings of the two chapters before the start of the week so when I attend the lectures, I will not be so lost and if I have any doubts, I will clarify with the professor at the end of the lecture. Besides finishing the readins earlier, I also purchase the textbook so there are more examples for me to read through to understand the module better. For tutorials, I will also finish reading up the topic that will be covered and also attempt the questions. I will continue to improve by reading the topics again and clarifying problems with the tutors at the clinic, look up for more examples in books and the internet for me to practice and to form study groups with friends to catch up on the notes and tips given by the professor that I might not have managed to take down during lectures.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
14 Grand Challenges for Engineering
PortFolio 3: Water: Quality and Quantity
The world’s population is increasing therefore the quality and quantity of water has become more and more of a concern and there are three ways on ensuring that high-quality water can still be made available for future generations. The three ways are water recycling, desalination and conservation. Water recycling is about using well-treated waste water and an example is to use them for toilet flushing rather than using fresh water to flush toilets. Desalination is a process where salt is being removed from water. Though it is a very expensive process, engineers are doing research and developments to make it cheaper because it is still welcomed by places where there is a shortage of water. The last method is conservation and it basically means to save and reduce water usage. This method of conservation involves many parties, the residents, the farmers and industries so that high-quality water will still be made available for future generations. Residents are educated in water-saving habits and they can save water by changing their old 6 gallon toilets to 1.6 gallon toilets and it will greatly help the problem of insufficient water being faced in the world. Farmers are encouraged to help by using drip irrigation techniques and soil moisture sensor where water is provided to the soil by drip method only when the soil needs it. Industries help by installing water-saving devices so that the water usage is at its minimum. There are many challenges that engineers are working on, to come up with cheaper processes, more gadgets and ways for people on earth to apply to help improve the quality and quantity of water. In conclusion, the amount of water on earth is fixed and the world’s population is increasing, there are three ways where engineers have introduced to ensure that high-quality water can last for future generations. Everyone plays a role in conserving water and engineers will have to carry on working on ways to have sufficient water for the world.
Water: Quality And Quantity
Retrieved Sept 26, 2008 from
http://www.water-int.com/categories/water-recycling-desalination-and-conservation/water-quality-and-quantity.asp
The world’s population is increasing therefore the quality and quantity of water has become more and more of a concern and there are three ways on ensuring that high-quality water can still be made available for future generations. The three ways are water recycling, desalination and conservation. Water recycling is about using well-treated waste water and an example is to use them for toilet flushing rather than using fresh water to flush toilets. Desalination is a process where salt is being removed from water. Though it is a very expensive process, engineers are doing research and developments to make it cheaper because it is still welcomed by places where there is a shortage of water. The last method is conservation and it basically means to save and reduce water usage. This method of conservation involves many parties, the residents, the farmers and industries so that high-quality water will still be made available for future generations. Residents are educated in water-saving habits and they can save water by changing their old 6 gallon toilets to 1.6 gallon toilets and it will greatly help the problem of insufficient water being faced in the world. Farmers are encouraged to help by using drip irrigation techniques and soil moisture sensor where water is provided to the soil by drip method only when the soil needs it. Industries help by installing water-saving devices so that the water usage is at its minimum. There are many challenges that engineers are working on, to come up with cheaper processes, more gadgets and ways for people on earth to apply to help improve the quality and quantity of water. In conclusion, the amount of water on earth is fixed and the world’s population is increasing, there are three ways where engineers have introduced to ensure that high-quality water can last for future generations. Everyone plays a role in conserving water and engineers will have to carry on working on ways to have sufficient water for the world.
Water: Quality And Quantity
Retrieved Sept 26, 2008 from
http://www.water-int.com/categories/water-recycling-desalination-and-conservation/water-quality-and-quantity.asp
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Portfolio 2 - Sentence Fragments
As we all know, writing an essay is not just about using good vocabulary but also about making sure there are no grammatical errors. There are many kinds of grammatical errors but my common grammar mistake would be structuring of sentences. There are 3 points on structuring of sentences I would like to talk about.
The first point is called sentence fragments and they are incomplete sentences or parts of sentences. For example, because some students work part-time while taking a full load of classes. It is clear that the sentence is not complete, hence, it is not clear for the reader to understand. We can either express a clearer thought to the reader by reforming the sentence, because some students work part-time while taking a full load of classes, they have very little free time. Another way to correct this problem is to remove the subordinator (because) and it goes like this, some students work part-time while taking a full load of classes.
The second point is about run-on sentences that is also essential to writing a good essay. A run-on sentence is a sentence whereby there is no punctuation used when two or more independent clauses are written after one another. For example, My family went to China then they emigrated to Vietnam. We can correct it by saying my family went to China. Then they emigrated to Vietnam. Another way is to use a semicolon to replace the fullstop right in the middle of the sentences in the example. We can also use a coordinator (and) or we can use subordinator (before, After)
The third point is comma splice, it is an error when two independent inclauses are incorrectly joined by a comma without a coordinating conjunction. This is very similar to run-on sentences and to correct this error we can use the same ways used to correct run-on sentences for comma splice errors in sentences.
In brief, to produce a good essay, we must pay particular attention to grammar and not just about using good vocabulary.
The first point is called sentence fragments and they are incomplete sentences or parts of sentences. For example, because some students work part-time while taking a full load of classes. It is clear that the sentence is not complete, hence, it is not clear for the reader to understand. We can either express a clearer thought to the reader by reforming the sentence, because some students work part-time while taking a full load of classes, they have very little free time. Another way to correct this problem is to remove the subordinator (because) and it goes like this, some students work part-time while taking a full load of classes.
The second point is about run-on sentences that is also essential to writing a good essay. A run-on sentence is a sentence whereby there is no punctuation used when two or more independent clauses are written after one another. For example, My family went to China then they emigrated to Vietnam. We can correct it by saying my family went to China. Then they emigrated to Vietnam. Another way is to use a semicolon to replace the fullstop right in the middle of the sentences in the example. We can also use a coordinator (and) or we can use subordinator (before, After)
The third point is comma splice, it is an error when two independent inclauses are incorrectly joined by a comma without a coordinating conjunction. This is very similar to run-on sentences and to correct this error we can use the same ways used to correct run-on sentences for comma splice errors in sentences.
In brief, to produce a good essay, we must pay particular attention to grammar and not just about using good vocabulary.
Practice for Portfolio_Grammar Exercise:
Practice for Portfolio_Grammar Exercise:
Fill in the blanks with the correct punctuation: comma, semi-colon, colon or full stop. If you use a full stop, remember to change the following word into capital letter.
Passage 1:
Before my friends moved out of the city, they usually recite the advantages of suburban life (1)______ green grass, flowers, swimming pools, barbecues, and so on. Yet after my friends have lived there for a year or so, they realize that suburban life is not so pleasant as they were expecting. What causes this change? Their gardens! They soon learn that one unavoidable part of suburban life is yardwork. After they work all weekend in their gardens, they are much too tired to take a swim in their pools or even to cook some meat on their barbecues. And they have another complaint (2)________ they can’t live in the suburbs without a car. Most of my friends moved to the suburbs to avoid traffic, but now they have to commute to work downtown. They sit on a busy freeway two hours every day.
My opinion about urban life are very different from my friends’(3)______I live downtown, and I love it! Why? Well, first, I love nature (4)_______ flowers, green grass, trees and animals. In the city, I have all the advantages of nature (5)________ I can walk through the public park, smell the flowers, and sit on the grass under the trees. I can visit the animals in the zoo. Yet I have none of the disadvantages (6)_______ I don’t have to do yardwork or feed the animals (7) ______ Also, in the city, I can get everywhere by bus (8)_______ if there’s a traffic jam, I can walk home.
Passage 1.
(1) :
(2) :
(3) —
(4) — / :
(5) :
(6) :
(7) .
(8) ;
Passage 2:
A university is much larger than a college. It is larger for two reasons (9)_____ First (10) _______ a university in the United States usually has several different colleges in it. Sometimes, in a university, each college is called a “school” (11)_______ “The School of Liberal Arts,” “The School of Business,” or “The School of Education.” Second, the university always has programs for advanced or graduate study in a variety of subjects (12)________there may be a medical school, a law school, and other advanced programs.
The university may get money for its expenses from several different sources (13)_______ It may get some money from the state government. If so (14)________ it is a publicly funded university. The university may get money only from private sources (15)________contributions, tuition, investments, and other sources. If this is the case (16) ________ it is a privately funded university. Finally, a university may be funded by a religious group.
Passage 2:
(9) .
(10) ,
(11) :
(12) .
(13) .
(14) ,
(15) :
(16) ,
Adapted from Alice Horning. 1988. “ Higher education in the United States”. Readings in Contemporary Culture. McGraw-Hill, Central Library PE1128 Hor. NUS.
Fill in the blanks with the correct punctuation: comma, semi-colon, colon or full stop. If you use a full stop, remember to change the following word into capital letter.
Passage 1:
Before my friends moved out of the city, they usually recite the advantages of suburban life (1)______ green grass, flowers, swimming pools, barbecues, and so on. Yet after my friends have lived there for a year or so, they realize that suburban life is not so pleasant as they were expecting. What causes this change? Their gardens! They soon learn that one unavoidable part of suburban life is yardwork. After they work all weekend in their gardens, they are much too tired to take a swim in their pools or even to cook some meat on their barbecues. And they have another complaint (2)________ they can’t live in the suburbs without a car. Most of my friends moved to the suburbs to avoid traffic, but now they have to commute to work downtown. They sit on a busy freeway two hours every day.
My opinion about urban life are very different from my friends’(3)______I live downtown, and I love it! Why? Well, first, I love nature (4)_______ flowers, green grass, trees and animals. In the city, I have all the advantages of nature (5)________ I can walk through the public park, smell the flowers, and sit on the grass under the trees. I can visit the animals in the zoo. Yet I have none of the disadvantages (6)_______ I don’t have to do yardwork or feed the animals (7) ______ Also, in the city, I can get everywhere by bus (8)_______ if there’s a traffic jam, I can walk home.
Passage 1.
(1) :
(2) :
(3) —
(4) — / :
(5) :
(6) :
(7) .
(8) ;
Passage 2:
A university is much larger than a college. It is larger for two reasons (9)_____ First (10) _______ a university in the United States usually has several different colleges in it. Sometimes, in a university, each college is called a “school” (11)_______ “The School of Liberal Arts,” “The School of Business,” or “The School of Education.” Second, the university always has programs for advanced or graduate study in a variety of subjects (12)________there may be a medical school, a law school, and other advanced programs.
The university may get money for its expenses from several different sources (13)_______ It may get some money from the state government. If so (14)________ it is a publicly funded university. The university may get money only from private sources (15)________contributions, tuition, investments, and other sources. If this is the case (16) ________ it is a privately funded university. Finally, a university may be funded by a religious group.
Passage 2:
(9) .
(10) ,
(11) :
(12) .
(13) .
(14) ,
(15) :
(16) ,
Adapted from Alice Horning. 1988. “ Higher education in the United States”. Readings in Contemporary Culture. McGraw-Hill, Central Library PE1128 Hor. NUS.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Portfolio 1
I would say Article 1 has the most important idea to the engineering profession and that would be to acquire skills and knowledge to improve the life of people and also to meet society needs.
For instance, engineering has many fields and they are biomedical engineering and many others and they need to be extremely clear about their respective fields so as to provide a better living standard for the people.
In the past, engineering had always been a course with majority of men but in the modern era now, the ratio of ladies and men are quite close. I would say previously engineering always improve the living standards of people biasing towards male but now because we have a 50:50 ratio of male and female, the challenges faced by the females will be taken note and will be reacted upon to be overcome.
Meeting society needs is important to the engineering profession but must bear economic considerations in mind. Another thing about meeting society needs, it should target generally and not just a selective group of people. For instance, the car that is invented not to pollute the air, it targets the rich who own cars because the new invention is too expensive.
To conclude, there are so many things about improving the life of people, be it health, computer or machines to replace labour, we need engineers of their respective field to be professional enough to overcome challenges to meet the needs of the society.
For instance, engineering has many fields and they are biomedical engineering and many others and they need to be extremely clear about their respective fields so as to provide a better living standard for the people.
In the past, engineering had always been a course with majority of men but in the modern era now, the ratio of ladies and men are quite close. I would say previously engineering always improve the living standards of people biasing towards male but now because we have a 50:50 ratio of male and female, the challenges faced by the females will be taken note and will be reacted upon to be overcome.
Meeting society needs is important to the engineering profession but must bear economic considerations in mind. Another thing about meeting society needs, it should target generally and not just a selective group of people. For instance, the car that is invented not to pollute the air, it targets the rich who own cars because the new invention is too expensive.
To conclude, there are so many things about improving the life of people, be it health, computer or machines to replace labour, we need engineers of their respective field to be professional enough to overcome challenges to meet the needs of the society.
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