Portfolio 5nally

Some doctors suggested that brain mapping could help doctors in the study of autism, paranoid schizophrenia and Pick’s disease. (National Science Foundation) It might seem great that brain mapping can actually benefit those people who suffered from these illnesses; however this is just one side of the story. There are people who fear that brain mapping might be abused by some people and use it unethically. Since brain mapping can actually allow doctors to take a peek into one’s brain, some unscrupulous people can use it to forcefully obtain personal information like passwords, bank account numbers etc. However, there might be some ways to minimize this abuse.

Firstly, access to this equipment and technology must be safe guarded by the government, and certain set of laws must be drawn up to deter anyone from trying to abuse it. Everyone should be given a choice whether to allow doctors to use this technology on them. However there are some exceptions like during the interrogation of criminals or suspects, in order to save time and get the truth out as quickly as possible, the police will have to use brain mapping.

Secondly, those scientists should try to maintain the complexity of using this technology so that not any person can use it easily like the way they use handphone. This will reduce the number of people who are able to use therefore further reducing the possibility of it being abused.

In conclusion, there are no doubts that brain mapping will actually benefit the society but we must also be careful of the potential of it being abused. Although the potential of it being abused cannot be totally eliminated, there are steps which can be taken to minimize it. To end off, whether will it be abused really boils down to individuals, if one really wants to abuse it, he will fine means and ways to do that.

Portfolio 4

If EG1471 is considered an engineering module, this will be the only module whereby I will write a lot and indeed I face a considerably lots of difficulties. For the rest of the modules I m currently undertaking i.e. MLE1101, CS1101C, PC1431, MA1505 and EG1108, these modules do not require much of writing, instead a lot of calculations are involved. Therefore, I do not have many difficulties in writing for these engineering modules, perhaps it’s too early to tell for MLE1101 which I see a decrease in the number of formulas given during lectures and more explanations for certain properties a material possesses.

Back to EG1471, the reason why I m taking this module is very obvious, I cannot write well enough to pass the QET therefore writing itself is already a difficulty for me. EG1471 not only emphasized on writing alone but writing academically, those who take this module will know, you need to have citations to support your essay. This means that you have to read broadly and hopefully find some author who wrote some articles which actually support your own argument. Needless to say, in order to overcome this problem, you have to simply do more research and read broadly which means lots of man hours will be used up. Luckily for me, we are given a few articles for writing assignment 2 which saves me the hassle of searching over the internet for articles on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). Another difficulty is memorizing the APA style for referencing whether the day comes before the month or the year comes before the day and four other combinations. Furthermore, different type of sources has different way of writing them in APA style. To overcome this difficulty, simply practice more.

Portfolio 3: The Bad News About Green Architecture

Green architecture has been overly promoted whereby in some buildings, they actually do not achieve true sustainability. Some supposedly green offices are actually built in somewhere secluded so employees have to drive miles to reach the office which is not environmentally friendly. There has been an increased on the number of architects who registered with US Green Building Council (GBC) for LEED (Leadership on Energy and Environmental Design) certification because they will be given up to 35% of tax rebates. However, not many of these buildings are environmentally friendly at all. Houses are increasingly advertised as green although there is an absence of national standards to quantify what is a green house. The California Academy of Sciences is one of the few buildings which is not only green but also beautiful on the outside. It has a roof which planted 40 native species which do not need any irrigation. Surprisingly, the building is not air-conditioned at all because breezes that blow off Pacific help to cool the building down. There are weather sensors which adjust the brightness according to the weather, solar panels which store solar energy and recycled old jeans used as insulation. Architects in the future will be taught to fuse green with design, in the hope that some of them will come up with buildings which are even more environmentally friendly. Furthermore, the US GBC has changed its standards on what constitute to a green building like easy access to public transport will gain credit than the necessity of cars.

Reference
McGuigan. C. (2008, September 22).The bad news about green architecture. Newsweek, pp. 50-52.

Portfolio 2: Subject-Verb Agreement

Basic Principle: Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects need plural verbs. My brother is a nutritionist. My sisters are mathematicians

I assume everyone knows and follows the Basic Principle mentioned above. I will be looking at special cases of SVA.

1. Indefinite Pronouns
   

The indefinite pronouns anyone, everyone, everybody, someone, no one, nobody are always singular and, therefore, require singular verbs.

• Everyone has done his or her homework.
  
• Somebody has left her purse.
  

Some indefinite pronouns — such as all, some — are singular OR plural depending on what they're referring to. (Is the thing referred to countable or not?) Be careful in choosing a verb to accompany such pronouns.

• Some of the beads are missing.
  
• Some of the water is gone.
  

On the other hand, there is one indefinite pronoun, none, that can be either singular OR plural; it often doesn't matter whether you use a singular or a plural verb — unless something else in the sentence determines its number

• None of you claims responsibility for this incident?
  
• None of you claim responsibility for this incident?
  
• None of the students have done their homework. (In this last example, the word their precludes the use of the singular verb.
  

1. Pronouns
   

The pronouns neither and either are singularand require singular verbs even though they seem to be referring, in a sense, to two things.

• Neither of the two traffic lights is working.
  
• Which shirt do you want for Christmas?
  Either is fine with me.
  

1. Phrases
   

Phrases such as together with, as well as, and along with are not the same as and. The phrase introduced by as well as or along with will modify the earlier word (mayor in this case), but it does not compound the subjects (as the word and would do).

• The mayor as well as his brothers is going to prison.
  
• The mayor and his brothers
  are going to jail.
  

1. Conjunction
   

The conjunction or does not conjoin (as and does): when nor or or is used the subject closer to the verb determines the number of the verb. Whether the subject comes before or after the verb doesn't matter; the proximity determines the number.

• Either my father or my brothers are going to sell the house.
  
• Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house.
  
• Are either my brothers or my father responsible?
  
• Is either my father or my brothers responsible?
  

1. Others
   

The words there and here are never subjects.

• There are two reasons [plural subject] for this.
  
• There is no reason for this.
  
• Here are two apples.
  

Some words end in -s and appear to be plural but are really singular and require singular verbs

• The news from the front is bad.
  
• Measles is a dangerous disease for pregnant women.
  

On the other hand, some words ending in -s
refer to a single thing but are nonetheless plural and require a plural verb.

• My assets were wiped out in the depression.
  
• The average worker's earnings have gone up dramatically.
  
• Our thanks go to the workers who supported the union.
  

Portfolio 1

I think the idea in article one on improving the security of cyberspace is the most important to the profession. Nowadays, most of the systems in this world have been computerized, even important personal particulars which governments around the world require their citizens to update, are done through the internet. In another words, we seem to be unable to live without computers and internet, therefore our dependence on cyberspace will no doubt increase in the future at a very fast pace. One must also not neglect that that cyberspace can affect our reality adversely. Thus it can be seen that a lapse in security will definitely result in all these important documents to fall into the wrong hands.

Being the creators of the cyberspace, engineers must take one step further to be its guardian too. Like what the author has discussed, systems which are created to increase security of cyberspace must be easy and convenient for every individuals in this world, therefore everyone will want to adopt and use this system. Furthermore, engineers who are tasked to create these security systems must consistently upgrade them to ensure that they are up to date and be able to withstand attacks from hackers.

In conclusion, engineers must know their importance in ensuring the security of cyberspace so as to ensure that critical systems in the cyberspace can run smoothly in real time.