Friday 20 September 2013

Reader's Response Draft 2

In “The Double Edge of Globalization”, Chanda (2007) highlighted that global-warming news are claiming front-page attention globally and the use of human suffering images in evoking our sympathy and support. Chanda is thus implying that the increase in global awareness to environmental degradation can stimulate responses from us to tackle environmental problems. However, I believe that this increase in awareness will make us less incline to respond to environmental problems.

News on environmental degradation are ubiquitous in our everyday lives. Frequent exposure to such news has led to desensitization in many of us. Gradually we become increasingly insensitive to environmental problems and therefore it is unlikely that we will respond to such issues.

Due to the hyperconnectivity of today’s world, we are certain that many people are aware of environmental problems. Inevitably some people will assume that others will take action, thus absolving themselves from the responsibilities of environmental problems mitigation. This has led to the phenomenon of “Diffusion of Responsibility” (Darley and LatanĂ©, 1968), resulting in a decrease in the actual amount of people responding to environmental problems.

Increase in global awareness to environmental degradation may not stimulate responses from us. Instead, it decreases people’s sensitivity and responsibility towards environmental problems, resulting in us being less incline to respond to environmental problems.

Wednesday 18 September 2013

Reader's Response on "The Double Edge of Globalisation"

In “The Double Edge of Globalization”, Chanda’s (2007) illustrations about global-warming news claiming front-page attention globally and images of human suffering evoking our sympathy and support is use to imply that increase in global awareness to environmental degradation can stimulate responses from us to tackle these problems. However, this increase in awareness can actually decrease the chances that we will respond to such problems.

Based on personal experience, news on environmental degradation are ubiquitous in our everyday lives. Frequent exposure to such news has led to desensitization in many of us, gradually we become increasingly insensitive to such issues and therefore it is unlikely that we will respond to such issues.

Due to the hyperconnectivity of today’s world we are certain that many people are aware of environmental problems and we assume that others will take action. Thus, we absolve our responsibility towards environmental problems. This led to the phenomenon of “Diffusion of Responsibility” (Darley and LatanĂ©, 1968), causing a decrease in the amount of people actually taking action.

Increase in awareness to environmental degradation has led to a decrease in our sensitivity and responsibility towards environmental issues causing a dip in likelihood that we will respond to such problems.

Tuesday 10 September 2013

Thesis Statement on "The Double Edge of Globalization"

Hello, I'm really not sure about the thesis statement though. Feel free to advice/comment if there is anything wrong. Thank you.

Improvement in communication and technology has increased the spreading and accessibility of natural disaster and human suffering images, which arouses our sympathy. However, constant exposure to such images can lead to a decrease of our sympathy towards human suffering.

Sunday 8 September 2013

ES1102 Final Draft for Summary Exercise On "The Double Edge of Globalization"

In “The Double Edge of Globalization” (Chanda, 2007) states that globalization brought about positive and negative impacts. Improvement in cooperation among influential parties in the world is paramount in dealing with these global negative impacts.

Positive impacts consist of rapid industrializing of countries, increase trading among countries and split-second relaying of information worldwide. The increase in trade and industrialization also resulted in adverse environmental impacts such as deforestation, pollution and global warming.

These adverse environmental effects are not localized and thus, raise global concern. Efforts by non-governmental organizations in alleviating environmental impacts have had limited success due to their lack of influence. Therefore, to ensure better success at dealing with environmental impacts, countries, global powerhouses and international bodies in the world should learn from past success. For example, The Montreal Protocol, where cooperation among countries and international bodies led to the reduction in size of the ozone hole.

Friday 6 September 2013

Es1102 Summary Exercise On "The Double Edge Of Globalization."

In “The Double Edge of Globalization” (Chanda, 2007) states that globalization brought about positive and negative impacts and improvement in cooperation among influential parties in the world is paramount in dealing with these negative impacts, which is a global affair.

Positive impacts consist of industrialization, increased trade among countries and split-second relaying of information worldwide. However, industrialization and increased trade also resulted in adverse environmental impacts such as deforestation, pollution and global warming.

These adverse environmental effects are not localized and are thus a global concern. Efforts by non-governmental organizations in alleviating environmental impacts have had limited success due to their lack of influence. Therefore, to ensure better success at dealing with environmental impacts, countries, global powerhouses and international bodies in the world should learn from past success.For example, The Montreal Protocol, where cooperation among countries and international bodies led to the reduction in size of the ozone hole.

Monday 2 September 2013

ES1102 English Language Experience Draft 2

English has never been a subject that I can score well since I started my education. It could be attributed to my Chinese-speaking family background and also my lack of interest in the subject. My lack of interest in English began in my primary school days.

During primary school, I had problems with grammar, verb, sentence structure and many more, therefore I usually had to stay back after school for remedial lessons. My English teacher took the effort to explain the meaning of verb, adjectives and all that stuff. However at the end of the lesson I did not absorb anything she said. This eventually led to a weak English foundation, which translated to poor results and subsequent lack of confidence and interest in the subject.

In previous years of education that I went through, all an individual needed was a pass in English to advance to the next stage of education. However, the university education which I am presently in poses a huge challenge to me since heavy emphasis is placed on writing. Thus a good command of English is vital to survive this education system.

There is indeed regret that I did not take English seriously when I was younger, however since it’s never too late to learn, I hope that by doing my best for this module, there will be improvements in my English.

ES1102 Paraphrasing Exercise

Butler (2004) states that the “expected” general features of nuclear reactors should work in environment of high temperatures to increase their productivity. It should have easy to use safety mechanisms that are preferably machine-operated and have the ability to regulate its own temperature in the event of overheating. Also nuclear reactors should only operate in places which are inaccessible to terrorist. There is a need for nuclear reactors to reduce the creation of unwanted radioactive products and lastly it should be less costly.