Portfolio 5: If I am a Researcher on Brain Mapping

If I am a researcher of brain mapping, it is very important to think of the possible aspects of unethical abuses of my work. Hence it is necessary to predict as well as to come out preventions to minimize these potential unethical abuses. The following issues are some possible kinds of unethical abuses I should be taking care of.

Firstly, it is unethical to leak out information on a patient’s brain scanning results to other sources besides the hospital itself. This is because the main reason for brain scanning is to check for brain related diseases. If other people manage to obtain that patient’s brain scan data, no one knows what will be done to the data. It might be used for some unethical acts that intrude the privacy of the patient. Although hospitals can store patients’ brain scan data, it should only be used to treat the patients and certainly not be allowed to let other sources obtain the data.

Next, scanning on children should be prohibited at all cost. It may seem reasonable that parents want to know if their children’s brain scans are similar to famous people so that they could understand their children’s talents (Marano, 2003). But I feel that it is still unethical to do so as these children are too small an age to understand brain scanning and it is unfair to them. Therefore, there should be a minimum age to undergo brain scans.

Consent to undergo such brain scanning is a must to every individual. It is unethical to scan someone’s brain without that his/her consent. The uses of the brain scan data should also be known to the person too. As stated in the first point, data should not be leaked out besides authorized personal and should be destroyed after usage of it. Violation of these rules will result in severe punishment.

From the three areas of discussion, it is true that my work will certainly result in potential unethical abuses. Therefore it is important that preventions can be set up to counter the areas of abuses. Scientists, as well as politicians should play a part in deciding the laws with relation to these abuses. After that it is up to the government to set the laws and regulations up so as to prevent and minimize potential abuses of my work.

Lou Marano (2003, June 3). Ethics and Mapping the Brain. (The Washington Times). Retrieved November 8, 2008 from http://www.cognitiveliberity.org/neuro/brain/brain_mapping_ethics.htm

Portfolio 4: CS1101C: Writing C Programming

CS1101C is a C Programming module that I have to take during this first semester of my first year in university. It is a programming language that I have never learned before and I find it very challenging. Nevertheless, I have encountered several difficulties in writing C programs since the start of the module.

Learning C programming is just like learning another language as there are a lot of special signs and keywords to learn, and each of them represents a different meaning. Although English is used in writing C programs, the style of writing is completely different from normal English writing. In addition, we were taught to use C programming to solve problems. Tutorial and lab questions come out every week and students have to rack their brains to solve the given problems using C programming. In every program, I have to determine the number of variables and the techniques available for me to choose. After that, I will have to write down the pseudo code for the program before converting it to C Programming language. These processes need deep thinking and I might get stuck sometimes depending on the difficulty of the question. Furthermore, the debugging process is also troublesome when errors have to be checked manually and edited so that the program will run smoothly.

I will seek help from my friends when I get stuck somewhere in my thinking process or when I have difficulties in writing the program. Doing some research on the internet might help too. The internet is a good source of getting extra information and helps me resolve my difficulties in writing C programs. To me, the only similarity of writing C programs and writing English is to keep practicing writing to improve and familiarize with the style and rules of writing. Therefore, it is important that I do my tutorials and labs diligently so that I get as much practice as possible.

Portfolio 3 : Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage

Carbon dioxide capture is the extraction of it from industrial infrastructures like power plants. The carbon dioxide is then purified and compressed for transport and storage. Methods of storage include putting it underground within layers of rocks, or converting it to a solid form (mineral carbonation). Statistics have shown that the worldwide carbon dioxide emission is increasing rapidly. Due to this, the overall temperature in the world is gradually increasing. Carbon dioxide dissolves in water and this will make oceans acidic. As a result, there will be a rapid change in the nutrients for planktons and thus affecting all the invertebrates and water creatures down the food chain. Therefore, to prevent worse case predictions of the oceans becoming a layered green soup and the continued warming of the earth, capture and storage of carbon dioxide should be done as quickly as possible. Carbon storage is estimated to raise the cost of electricity by 20% to 50%. But if nothing is done to store carbon dioxide, money will also be wasted due to the damage by rising sea levels and extreme weather events. To conclude, carbon dioxide capture and storage is technologically feasible and it plays a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Government interventions might be required to make it economic. Suggestions include taxing and limiting carbon dioxide emissions and legalization of carbon storage. The scientific consensus predicts that the cost of stabilizing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will be reduced by 30% or more if carbon storage is implemented widely.

Citations
1) Greenfacts (2007). Scientific facts on CO2 capture and storage. Retrieved 21 September 2008 from http://www.greenfacts.org/en/co2-capture-storage/index.htm#1

2) School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, part of Scottish Center for Carbon Storage (2008, July 7). Carbon capture and storage. Retrieved 21 September 2008 from http://www.co2capture.org.uk/

Grammer Practice for Portfolio 2

The Uses if Science - an Opinion

Science is important to most people living in the modern world for a number of reasons. One of the major reasons 1.are that science is important to world peace and understanding, to the understanding of technology, and to our understanding of the natural world. Science is also an interesting area of study. Some areas of science 2.is especially interesting because they deal with questions all men and women ask themselves. Scientists try to provide some explanations for what 3.happen to people.

Science is important to world peace in many ways. On one hand, scientists have helped to develop many of the modern tools of war. On the other hand, they have also helped to keep the peace through study and research which 4.have improved life for people everywhere. In our time, scientists have been able to help us understand the problem of supplying the world with enough energy. They have begun to develop a number of solutions to the energy problem, using energy from the sun and from the atom, for example, 5.are one. Scientists have also analyzed the world’s resources. We are going to have to share the resources we have, and we can begin to do this with the knowledge that 6.are provided to us by science.Science is also important to everyone who 7.get affected by modern technology. Many of the things that 8.makes our lives easier and better are the result of advances in technology. Almost everything in the world 9.have been improved or changed in the last hundred years as a result of technology. While some people would ask whether all these changes are good, it is still true that technology 10.affect all of us. And, if the present patterns continue, technology will affect us even more in the future than it does now. In some cases, such as the technology for taking salt out of ocean water, technology may be essential to our lives on earth. In order to understand the modern world and developments in it in the next century, an understanding of science and technology 11.are necessary.

The study of science also provides us with an understanding of the natural world. Scientists are learning to predict such things as earthquakes. This may someday help to save hundreds of lives. Scientists are also continuing to study many other natural events such as storms of various kinds. Scientists are also studying people. They are trying to understand not only what makes people human, but also the things that affect people such as illness. They are studying various other aspects of human biology, also. The study of the natural world by scientists and by students of science help to make the world easier to understand. It has also saved many lives, and 12.improves life for many people all over the world.

Some of the things one 13.study in a science course are extremely interesting questions about people and their lives. Some of these questions are: what are men and women, essentially? What information 14.help us to understand all people better? What information explains where human beings 15.comes from and why they act the way they do? These are all questions that interest scientists and that, when answered, will surely have an effect on our lives.One of the reasons science is hard to study is that there are so many questions without answers. Much of science 16.involve asking questions, and then studying and doing research to try to find the answers. Some questions have been studied by research scientists for many years and the answers are still not known. However, scientists are slowly but surely able to answer more and more questions about life, and these answers change our lives and also 17.explains them.
All of the many different kinds of science 18.is important and interesting. Scientists are asking and answering many interesting and important questions about people and their lives. A basic knowledge of science 19.enable you to understand both the questions and the answers. In the modern world, this ability 20.are essential for everyone.

Passage taken from: Alice Horning, 1988. The Uses of Science-an Opinion in Readings in Contemporary Culture. McGraw-Hill. (Central Lib. PE1128 Hor)

Answers :
1. is
2. are

3. happens
4. has
5. is
6. is

7. gets
8. make
9. has
10. affects
11. is
12. improve
13. studies
14. helps
15. come
16. involves
17. explain

18. are
19. enables
20. is

Portfolio 2: Subject Verb Agreement

To me, the usage of correct grammar is vital when writing an essay. It is of no use trying to use bombastic vocabulary and adjectives to write an essay but with a lot of grammatical errors. One of my common grammar mistakes is the subject word agreement. Subject word agreement is the correct matching of a subject and a verb, singular or plural. This may seem very easy on the surface but some of the rules are actually quite confusing. The two points below are some of the more confusing structures that I need to take note of in the future.

Firstly, the pronouns ‘neither’ and ‘either’ are singular and require singular verbs even though they seem to be referring to two different things. For example: Either is fine. However, when ‘either or’ or ‘neither nor’ is used, the subject closer to the ‘nor’ or ‘or’ determines whether the verb is singular or plural. For example: Either my father or my brothers are going to sell the house.

Sometimes, nouns have weird forms and can fool us into thinking that they are plural when they're really singular and vice-versa. Collective nouns such as glasses, pants, pliers, and scissors are regarded as plural and require plural verbs unless they are preceded with ‘pair’ where the word pair becomes the subject. Example: My glasses were on the bed; a pair of plaid trousers is in the closet.

To conclude, grammatical mistakes must be avoided as far as possible when writing an essay. We need to deduce for ourselves to match the correct verb to the subject where subject word agreement is concerned. These skills can be improved through practice on writing or during normal conversation.

Timed Writing Topic: Why You Do A Certain Sport?

Soccer is a sport that I like very much that can improve my physical health and endurance as well as strengthening my social circle. Soccer, a strenuous sport, requires energy and stamina because a lot of running is involved. Hence playing it often pushes me to my physical limits. It will, in turn, increase my physical endurance and at the same time, it will get me ready for my upcoming IPPT (Individual Physical Proficiency Test) in the years to come. Playing soccer regularly is also a good form of exercise that can reduce the amount of calories and fats in my body. This is especially good for someone who loves to eat like me. On the other hand, soccer can strengthen my social circle too. Friendship often starts with a common interest and bonds will be formed between me and the people I play with. Soccer requires team building and interaction is very important between players. That will further foster closer bonds between me and my team members as we will strive hard to win every game. In short, soccer is a sport that has many benefits to me either physically or socially and I will continue to play it regularly.

Portfolio Task 1: Evolving engineering

I feel that the revolution of engineering throughout the years stated in article 2 is important to the profession. Engineers are now being recruited by large corporations in banking, finance, logistics and commerce. This is due to the flexible and diversified engineering education system as stated by the former dean of engineering at NUS, Prof Seeram Ramakrishna. According to him, a majority of engineering-trained graduates will take up jobs in manufacturing and associated sectors while others venture into the service sector. Women too are getting more active in the engineering profession which was previously considered the bastion of males. Reports show that some engineering courses of study have female student enrolment of nearly 50 per cent, making their overall proportion increase(Ramakrishna, 2007). New challenges for engineering continue to exist as civilisation continues to advance and increase in threats to health, social and environmental issues. These challenges range from the capturing of energies from the sun to methods of preserving buildings(National Academy of Engineering, 2008). But to the article, the main issue is to spread the fruits of engineering throughout the globe. Examples include access to clean water and proper medical care. Hence, the diversified engineering profession with a greater pool of females coming along with new challenges marks the evolution of engineering.


National Academy of Engineering. (2008, February). Introduction to the grand challenges of engineering. Retrieved June 3, 2008, from http://engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9221/.aspx

Ramakrishna, S. (2007, August 5). The expanding world of engineers. The Sunday Times, p. 25.