Portfolio5, a short summary of two articles

A summary of two articles "A computer that can 'read' your mind" and "Ethics and mapping the bran". 

The two articles describe the positive sides and negative sides of brain mapping technologies. In "A computer that can 'read' your mind", the author explains the positive effects.  For example, a computer model can foretells the brain activation patterns associated with things people experience with their senses. Or in frontal areas associated with planning functions and long-term memory, the work might be used to identify thoughts and could have applications in the study of autism, disorders of thought such as paranoid schizophrenia, and semantic dementias such as Pick's disease. All those positive results show that with correct studies on brain pattern, researchers could analyse human thought processes, which could help a great deal in fighting with brain-related diseases. On the other hand, in the article "Ethics and mapping the brain", negatives effects are explained. Although the brain mapping technology could reveal the contents of a persons memory, predict mental disorders or giftedness, and tell whether a person is lying, there can be a lot more to worry about, mainly on how do we use the technologies. There would be huge problem if those technologies are misused. For example, people might be fired just because of the bad result shown by the technology, without further integation or expalination. And parients might be too eager to check out what's in their childrens' brain, as to predict the children's futhur. Furthurmore, questions like who will be given the right to use the technologies, how and in what condition can we use them, how do we deal with the results from the technologies and so on should be paid great attention. 

In conclution, brain mapping technologies surely could bring us a big step forward in understanding the relationship between brain pattern and human thought processes, so furthurmore help us with certain mental diseases. However, what caution us all is that in case these technologies are not properly used, serious consequences could happen, and innocent people may have to bear extra pain. Therefore when brain technologies are put in practise, we must pay great attention about how to use them, and how to deal with the results. 

Portfolio 4, writing in engineering classes

This portfolio is discussing the difficulties we have writing in engineering classes, how to resolve the difficulties and how will us continue to improve.

Take my work in MLE1101 as an example, the greatest difficulty I face is lacking of vacabulary. In MLE1101, i.e. Material Sceince and Engineering, there are lots of abstract names and difficult concepts. When the lecturer is teaching, I often encounter a lot of doubts because i cannot understand what the lecturer is refering to. It is not becouse I don't understand the knowledge, but because I can't recognise all the new words. My vocabulary has restricted me from learning the knowledge effectively. 

In terms of writing, despite the problem of difficult abstract words, another major problem is that it is difficult to describe the knowledge itself. When I want to explain an idea, often what happens is that I can't make myself understood. For MLE1101, or any other sceintific subjects, there are certain specific ways of describing, illustrating, and communicating the concepts. Instead of everyday English, acadamic English is typically necessary.

Therefore we can see that the major problem is writing acadamic English, from both the aspect of vocabulary and way of speaking. The way of overcoming this problems is to practice more on certain subject, on its typical vocabulary and waying of describing, explaining and discussing the ideas. The more we get used to their acadamic tune, the better we can understand the knowledge and make ourselves understood in writing. 

Portfolio 3: Summary

This portfolio is a summary of a 500-1000 words article related to the 14 grand challenges. I chose the topic "renewing and sustaining the aging infrastructures of cities and services". The article is "Restore and improve urban infrastricture", from http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9136.aspx.

The definition of infrastructure given by the author is "the combination of fundamental systems that support a community, region, or a country". Infrastructure means the facilities that support human reactions on the planet. Take a look at the place where you live, it has basic facilities such as houses to live in, drinkable water, public transportations, energy supplies, sewer and waste systems so on and so forth.  Nowadays  nearly most of the infrastructures are facing aging problems, that is, they are in need of repairing or replacing, especially for urban infrastructures, which are rather complex and are changing rapidly.

Firstly, as civilization has become more and more complex, a great challenge to today's engineers is to design and build elaborate fundamental structures. Nowadays blooming communication technologies are adding difficulties to the design of fundamental infrastructures. For example when building houses, there must be some cables for telephone lines, internet access, TV cables so on and so forth. On the other hand, as new pursuits of energy are in need, the applications of solar energy program, remote wind program and so on willalso make a difference in the design of infrastructure in modern society.

Secondly, the aging infrastructures are in need of updating and repairing. The underground pipes and cables are not so easy to cope with as they are buried deep inside. Therefore, the approach of mapping and labling these underground infrastructures is quite significant and challenging. Also, engineers should take note that the approaches and projects should be economically feasible not only for developed countries, but for most developing countries as well. 

Thirdly, as one of society's favourate words describes :' sustainable'. Infrastructures are not biscuit something, they would most probably retain for over several ten years. In that way, engineers should pay great attention to the sustainability of the infrastructures. This requires a big picture or a blue print which considers future developments. Furthermore, it is urgent also to consider how will human live in harmony with nature. Cities are causing troubles for nature by producing great deal of sewers and wastes. Protecting the environment is one of the top priorities.

In conclusion, modern infrastructures are facing aging problems, and quite a number of them are in need of updating or repairing. Today's engineers are required with the abilities to design and build sustaining infrastructures that can both meet the need of developing civilization and of living in harmony with nature. 

Portfolio2: Grammer exercise--Verb Tenses

In Engish lanuage, verbs have different forms in different situations (mainly depends on the time) and should be paid carefully attention. The different forms are called Verb Tenses. Verb tenses can be described in four different categrates. They are Simple Tenses, Progressive Tenses, Perfect Tenses and Perfect Progressive Tenses. It's absurd to talk about grammer without examples, so let's have a look at the following sentenses:

I am a couch potato.

I was a couch potato.

I'm going to become a couch potato. (too bad)

The three sentenses are all in Simple Tenses. The first one is in "Simple Present" tense. It can be used to describe the situation at present, like i am now a cough potato. Or it can also express events or situations that exits always, habitually. For example, "The earth is one of the planets of the Sun." The second one is in "Simple Past" tense. It indicate that what the sentence is descrbing happened and ended in the past. Therefore in the past I was fat but now no more. The third one is in "Simple Future", which indicates what is going to happen in the future. Thus it is quite bad for me to become a cough potato if I continue eating so much.

With the knowledge of Simple Tenses, lets move on to Progressive Tenses. Its form is "be + -ing(present participle)". For instance:

I am writing portfolio 2 right now.

I was writing portfolio 2 at this time yesterday.

I will be writing portfolio 3 tomorrow morning.

These sentenses are in "Present Progressive" tense, "Past Prograssive" tense, and "Future Progressive" tense respectively. They all describe my progress of writing portfolio. The difference is that in the first sentense, I am doing it at present; in the second one the progress is in the past; in the third one the progress is to happen in the future.

For the Perfect Tense, it also has three types, "Present Perfect", "Past Perfect", and "Future Perfect". The Perfect Tenses give the idea that one thing happens before another time or event. For instance:

I have been a couch potato for a year already.

I had been a couch potato last year but now I am slim.

I will already have been a bigger couch potato if I didn't insist on jogging everyday since last year. 

Last but not least, for the Perfect Progressive Tenses, the form is "have+ been + -ing", as the sentenses below:

I have been studying since morning.

I had been studying before friends called me to have lunch.

I will have been studying for the whole morning by lunch time.

Through the examples we can see that Perfect Progressive tense gives the idea that one event is in progress immediately before, up to, until another time or event. The tenses are uesd to describe the duration of the first event. In the first sentense, I have been in progress from moring up to present. In the second one the progress was before lunch time. In the third one, until lunch time I would have been in the progress for the whole morning.

The exersise below is from "Purdue University Online Writing Lab". 

In the following passage from Alex Haley's Roots, some of the verbs have been deliberately omitted. Supply the appropriate tense for each missing verb, the plain form of which is given in parentheses.

In Banjuh, the capital of Gambia, I met with a group of Gambians. They __(tell)___ me how for centuries the history of Africa has been preserved. In the older villages of the back country, there are old men called griots, who __(be)__ in effect living archives. Such men ___(memorize)_____ and, on special occasions, _(recite)____ the cumulative histories of clans or families or villages as those histories __(have)____ long been told. Since my forefather _(have)___ said his name was Kin-tay (properly spelled Kinte), and since the Kinte clan __(be)___ known in Gambia, the group of Gambians would see what they could do to help me. I was back in New York when a registered letter __(arrive)___ from Gambia.

Word ____(have)___ been passed in the back country, and a griot of the Kinte clan _(have)____ , indeed, been found. His name, the letter said, __(be)__ Kebba Kanga Fofana. I __(return)___ to Gambia and __(organize)_____ a safari to locate him.

Answers: told; are; memorize; recite; have; had; was; arrived; had; had; was; returned; organised.

Basically this exercise is testing on Past Tense. In order to get correct answers, to read carefully between the upper and lower sentenses is very important and effective. If the whole sentense is in Past Tense, like the first sentense, then the verb should be in Past Tense as well. 

I am still looking for some more difficult exercises which test all the verb tenses. :)

Portfolio 1

The Premium of engineering

In the 2ed article "The expanding world of engineers" by Prof Seeram Ramakrishna, he enphasized one point which I think is the most important one, that "companies, organizations and even nations need a workforce that does not 'fear' technology but embraces and thrives on it".

Modern everyday life can hardly break away from technology and eveyone has a close relationship with it. For example, the first thing to do after one woke up is usually turning on the computer; losing cellphones is much worse than losing wallets; the water we drink is disposed by NEWater; and even in classrooms projectors had taken the place of traditional blackboards and chalks.

Howerver, only few of modernists can really master the magic of technology. Most of the time we just need to press a few buttons and care nothing about how these work. With a shallow experience of learning technology, it is easy to be scaried by the complex, complicated knowledge and its depth and broadness. Nonetheless, don't panic! As Prof Seeram said, "engineer's training helps to systematically analyze complex information and apply a holistic (systematic) approach in designing solutions." With the help of engineering training, analyzing and applying scientific techniques is feasible.

Furthermore, nowadays engineering scope is not limited as manufacture only, but has been broadened to encompass the Service sector. Health-care systems, data and information managements, supply chain systems, transportation systems and even water and energy supply managements, all are demanding engineers with great abilities as a forceful support to thrive on and solve the increasing challenges.

In a nutshell, this exciting century is calling for engineers with systematic and critical thingking minds. To fulfill the magic of technology, engineers are highly encouraged to embrace and thrive on changing situations and various challenges.