Understanding Brain Mapping

The brain mapping technology has been developing these years. It is quite controversial since the technology can be beneficial as well as being harmful to human being.

First of all, brain mapping technology should have some advantages. As stated in the articles, one important implication of this technology is to overcome some diseases. Brain mapping can use computational modeling to understand how brains activate and process human thoughts. Hence, mental diseases like paranoid schizophrenia, semantic dementias and melancholia could be dealt with since brain mapping may help the doctors to understand what patients are thinking and then apply appropriate treatment. What’s more, this technology also has implementation in criminal investigation since it can predict mental disorders and consequently tell whether a person is lying.

On the other side, brain mapping may raise some ethical problem. If the technology is misused, people’s privacy cannot be secured. If someone uses this technology to invade brains, some private information could be known by others. In addition, the article told us that the technology has not been well developed yet. Hence, when the technology is used in a court or criminal investigation, it may lead to misunderstanding of the suspects, which is really unfair to them.

It is important to predict and minimize the potential unethical abuses regarding brain mapping. First, scientists should set standards for how far the technology can be implemented in order to avoid misuses. Second, some agreement about the admissibility of the technology should be applied from court. In this way, the implementation is legally proved. Third, when we want to map a person’s brain, we should ask for his or her consent before hand.

To conclude, brain mapping technology has both positive and negative effects to the society. Once the technology is misused, some unethical abuses may be caused. Hence, to use the technology properly is a moral issue. Scientists should cooperate with the society to minimize the unethical abuses to the largest extend.

Problems in Writing in an Engineering Class

Writing in engineering class is totally different from writing a letter to a friend or publishing a novel to readers. When I first time started to write an engineering writing, I stared at my paper without writing a single word for ten minutes. Engineering writing mostly focuses on an engineering problem or a scientific theory, which requires a logical and academic writing method. Personally speaking, I find that using proper jargons, being precise and logical are the major problems for me.

First of all, in order to write a professional engineering writing, one must use jargons. Jargons are those short words which contain a precise meaning in scientific field, which help to make an essay short but meaningful. It’s not easy to use jargons properly though. I usually use a wrong jargon and that brings a lot of troubles. In order to avoid such situation, I make sure I understand the theory and jargons before I start to write. Secondly, an engineering writing usually follows a fixed format, which makes it easier for readers to find useful information and makes the writing itself well-organized. Sometimes I am busy explaining my view such that to forget to leave an indication to readers that I’ve already reached the second point. To solve this problem, good habit helps. I make a draft before writing, stating all the points in bullet form. That helps me to state them one by one without missing any. Conjugation words also help. “first of all, secondly, moreover, in addition…” these words naturally guide my essay in a logical manner.

I enjoy writing engineering essays. I find reading others’ essay a good way to improve. And I reread my essay after I complete it to correct mistakes and make improvements. After all, practice makes perfect.

Restore and Improve Urban Infrastructure

Infrastructure plays an important role in maintaining the basic operation of cities. The current situation of the infrastructure in USA is not optimistic, especially in the urban areas. The most important reasons lie in the expanding population and the insufficient financial support. The expanding population has brought along serious pollution. Hence, the main task should focus on maintaining a sustainable development.

Maintaining infrastructure definitely involves the extremely complicated telecommunications systems, especially those underground. As a result, one major issue is to precisely locate the buried infrastructures, including pipes and cables. New technologies are required here to detect the underground network using devices from above the ground. What’s more, completing the transportation system is another major task to improve the infrastructure. There already have some approaches towards this issue. Improving the transportation systems involves the approach of establishing transportation hubs to make an easier life for both the transportation agents and the citizens. Some other approaches have been done to improve transportation systems.

In order to build a better infrastructure, it’s important to find noel construction materials and also improve the aesthetics of infrastructure design. New construction materials help to maintain the sustainability of development and the more pleasing design of infrastructure would promote a more comfortable environment for people.

To sum up, although there are some approaches to improve the infrastructures in US, this is still a grand challenge ahead of engineering. Better solutions are badly required.


Original source:
National Academy of Engineering (NAE). (2008). Restore and improve urban infrastructure. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2008, from
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9136.aspx

Why Do People Resist New Technologies?

One important reason people resist new technology is that most new technologies are not maturely developed at present. Firstly, inconvenience occurs in the implementation of some new technologies. For example, the solar water heater is now widely used. However, some disadvantages exist. The most crucial one is that not enough hot water is supplied during rain and winter time. In addition, solar water heaters are not available during power outages because they are electricity based (Technology, 2006). Realizing such limitations, many people would rather use traditional water heaters. After all, to the majority, convenience is the most important criterion when choosing a household appliance. The reliability of products should be better developed. Secondly, some new technologies have not been widely publicized yet. People tend to resist something they barely have knowledge about. One example is genetically modified food (GM food). We seldom see any advertisements about this new technology in the media. People are afraid of buying GM food, which is thought to bring potential danger to human health. However, many of the advantages are not seen. GM food contains more nutrition than ordinary food. Less pesticide is used on GM crops, which is good for human health. If people know more about the positive side of GM food, and many other new technologies, they may feel more secure about leaving their comfort zone to accept new things. In conclusion, the immaturity in both the reliability and publicity of new technologies results in people’s resistance.

Grammar Mistakes on Word Form

One of my common grammar mistakes is the word form. Generally, I know which form of word to use in a certain situation, but sometimes I cannot find the exact word. For example, in my assignment 1, I wrote a sentence “The most crucial disadvantage is that not enough hot water is supplied during raining days and winter time.” In this sentence, the word “raining days” can be simply replaced by “rain”. In addition, in the text editing exercise I did online, I was asked to correct the italic word in the following segment: “in which technological discoveries occur with regularly”. I replaced the word “regularly” by “regular”, but the answer is “regularity”. I knew that a noun is required here, and both “regular” and “regularity” can be used as a noun, but the word “regular” has different meanings when it is used as a noun and an adjective. As far as the correct meaning is concerned, “regularity” is more appropriate in this sentence. To correctly use the word form, we should firstly, decide whether a noun, an adjective, an adverb or another word form is needed in a certain place and secondly, choose the word with the right meaning. The most important reason why I tend to make mistakes on word forms is due to the poor vocabulary. In order not to make such mistakes, I should be more familiar with all the transformations of one simple word and identify the meanings. Undoubtedly, I need to do more exercises on this subject.


The grammar excercise:
Errors in word forms are indicated in italics.

From the living room and family car to the supermarket and office, it's impossible to escape the electronic revolution that is transforming the way people live and work.
Already, 1.technology gains are bringing to people products, services, and recreation they never dreamed of just a few years ago: stereophonic television, TV sets that can be 2.carrying in a coat pocket, portable radios with stereo sound, home telephones that signal when another caller is on the line and forward calls from home to business, bill paying without the paperwork.

Outside the home, the dazzle of electronics is no less brilliant, a 3.perfect typed letter at the touch of a button, building and auto designs from a com­puter, cash from the bank at any hour and instant access to thousands of ref­erence sources.

All this comes at a price. Robbery by computer now is the primary white-­collar crime according to some criminologists, and costs society anywhere from $100 million to S3 billion a year. Another problem raised by the use of more computers is the risk of 4.invaded of personal privacy. There is also concern on the part of many workers that their jobs will be taken by 5.computer robots or some other form of automation.
The computer industry can trace its beginning to 1906, when inventor Lee DeForest perfected the three‑element vacuum tube. This device, the triode, made it possible to use one electric current to control the flow of another. From that development, seventy‑six years ago, has 6.evolution a $120‑billion‑a‑year electronics industry that includes everything from laser beams for medicine and industry to guidance systems for weapons and video games.

This business, in which technological discoveries occur with 7. regularly is on its
way to becoming a bedrock of the U.S. economy. By the end of the decade, according to some estimates, its sales will rival those of America's basic industries‑steel, autos, and chemicals.

Currently, about 10 percent of all electronic‑products sales are in consumer rather than business ‑oriented, products. But at the rate advances are made in radios, TVs. computers, and telephones, people's lives will be 8.changeable more and more by electronics. For example,
§ The gradual computerization of the telephone means that in the not­ too‑distant future, a single phone number will be enough to reach a person no matter where in the world he or she is. Or consumers call­ing a firm's single 9.nation number will be routed automatically to the nearest office.
§ Computers will be essential to the smooth and efficient operation of the home by regulating room temperatures, 10.control lights, and activat­ing security systems. People will be able to use them to leave mes­sages with other households.
§ Videotex systems will permit people to use television sets, telephones, and computers to shop and pay bills electronically, tap into reference and referral services and take advantage of popular home computer programs such as games and foreign‑language 11.instructor. New York's Chemical Bank has a system that allows users to pay bills and mort­gages by computer.
§ Parents may be led by their children in computer literacy. Already, at least 173,000 computers are in public schools‑ an average of 2.2 per school and rapid increases are 12.expectation. Also, some colleges now require that new students have their own computers, a trend bound to spread.
In short, America is at the beginning of a computer revolution, not only in the business world but also in the home.

Answers:
1. technological
5. computerised
9. national
2. carried
6. evolved
10. controlling
3. perfectly
7. regularity
11. instruction
4. invasion
8. changed
12. expected


Link to the relevant grammar exercise:
http://courses.nus.edu.sg/courseware/ITSELF/downloadexercise/Computers%20for%20the%20Masses%20Intermedwf2.doc

Sustainability-----The Most Crucial Challenge

As far as I am concerned, the most important challenge ahead of engineering is to maintain a sustainable development along with the fast progressing civilization. The sustainability I mentioned here refers not only to solving environmental problems while pursuing economic growth but also earning people’s long time support for the development of engineering.

On the one hand, it is undeniable that the world is suffering from serious environmental pollution. Most crucially, the large emission of carbon dioxide has already driven the ecosystem into an imbalanced condition and hence, resulting in global warming, acid rain and many other problems. These effects will possibly threaten lives by causing the shortage of food and clean water, the flooded land and even the irregular natural disasters. There is an urgent call for new technologies. Nowadays, renewable energy has been promoted to substitute fossil fuels, which will definitely help to decrease the emission of carbon dioxide. However, the technology is not advanced enough to be widely applied (National Academy of Engineering, 2008). Thus, in order to maintain the sustainability of the environment, engineers still bear a huge burden.

On the other hand, the successful existing technologies have not been widely accepted and implemented. If the effort of engineers can only benefit a small scale of people, there will be a big deviation from men to men which is likely to draw back world’s advancement (ibid). As a result, it is of great importance to let more people learn the knowledge about engineering and use them to benefit their life (Ramakrishna, 2008). Only by doing so can people show more support, both economically and mentally, to the sustainable development of engineering.

What’s more, comparing to the problem I explanted above, other grand challenges for engineering introduced in the two reference article are either not as important or being difficult to deal with. The challenges to guarantee human health and increase the joy of living are not as crucial as maintaining the sustainability which decides the fortune of all the living creatures on the earth. In addition, facing the nature dangers, what engineering can do is mostly about prediction but not prevention.

All in all, how to achieve the sustainability of environment and the development of engineering is the most crucial task for the engineers, and there is still a long way to go.

Reference:
1.National Academy of Engineering. (2008, Feb.). Introduction to the grand challenges of engineering. Retrieved Aug.22, 2008, from http://engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9221/.aspx
2. Ramakrishna, S. (2007, August 5). The expanding world of engineers. The Sunday Times, p. 25.