Predicting and minimizing potential unethical work in brain mapping technologies

New technologies have been emerging almost without an end. This phenomenon is comparable to the situation where scientists in the 19^th century had continuously discovered new atomic particles and thought that they were all elementary particles! Everyone is concerned about emerging new technologies as they have a perception that these technologies will increase the quality of life as well as bring more benefits than harms. However, this may not applies on some technologies such as the brain mapping technologies. One such technology is functional magnetic resonance or commonly known as fMRI which could detect brain activity by tracking changes in blood oxygen level. These technologies are capable to ‘read’ one’s mind and hence it can be easily abused unethically. Employers may use fMRI to check the condition of the potential’s employee mental health before deciding whether or not to employ him or her. This may not be ethical as the analysis of the fMRI report may reveal the employee’s personal lifestyle and other private information. Moreover, someone convicted of crimes may request for fMRI screening to prove that he or she is innocent. For instance, a woman convicted of child abuse has requested to use fMRI to justify that she is innocent (Madrigal, 2007). Before vested interests could abuse the application of brain mapping technologies for their own benefits, according to Marano (2003), standards should be set particularly by scienitists. Perhaps researchers should start thinking of who should be permitted to use brain mapping technologies and up to what extent it should be applied? Furthermore, research on these technologies is still on the primary stage, thus analysis of brain activity may not be completely accurate. Hence, it is not ready to be used globally. An organization consists of government and NGO representatives as well as scientists should be formed in order to discuss and set the standards for the application of brain mapping technologies. This organization should also be responsible on the regulations of these technologies even when they are practiced globally in the future. Brain mapping technologies may be beneficial to human in the near future. These standards and regulations are crucial in making sure unethical abuses of these technologies do not surface.

Reference:

Madrigal, A. (May 5, 2007). Woman convicted of child abuse hopes fMRI can prove her innocence. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/11/fmri_lies.

Marano, L.(June 3, 2003).  Ethics and mapping the brain. Retrieved from http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/neuro/brain_mapping_ethics.htm

Resolving Writing Problems in Engineering Class

Knowing all about the subjects taught in a module does not mean you will score well in an examination. One must be able to convey his or her answers in an organized manner and this requires good writing skills. Materials Science and Engineering (MLE 1101) for instance, is a module that requires its students to write a lot. One could not escape from answering conceptual and application questions in MLE 1101 such as “Explain the difference in temperature dependence of the conductivity for metals and intrinsic semiconductors.”

 I have always had a problem in writing my answers in short and simple sentences with precise information. During the examination, I tend to write lengthy sentences, trying hard to explain what I understand with regard to the question. This will eventually lead to the insertion of other minor information which is not important or irrelevant in answering the question. In order to overcome this problem, I first outline all the main points that are important. Following this, I will read the question again as it is crucial to understand what the question requires us to answer. Then, I will eliminate any points that are irrelevant. For example, referring to the question above, the main points needed are “conductivity of metals decreases with temperature”, “conductivity of intrinsic semiconductors increases with temperature” and explanations of the theory behind this difference. Having outlined all the main points, I will start to construct sentences to link all the information in a short paragraph.

Another problem would be not being able to organize the sequence of the sentences. Improper organization of sentences can lead to confusion among readers especially when the ideas do not flow fluently. I find it most effective to read the answers for these questions. In this case, I do not encourage students to read answers before putting their own questions, but rather, to read the answers after writing theirs so that they can analyze the structure and the organization of the sentences used in the answers. Also, comparison between both answers can be made to detect and correct errors made. After several practices, one should be able to understand the proper sequence of how information should be organized. Referring to the same question, the ideal way to answer is to start by stating that metals and intrinsic semiconductors have opposite temperature dependence of conductivity. Subsequently, one should explain how intrinsic semiconductors behave when temperature changes: increasing or decreasing, then continue to explain what happens at the atomic level that leads to these changes. Lastly, explain about metals in the same context as how temperature dependence of the conductivity of intrinsic semiconductors was explained.

Practice makes perfect. Progressive improvements can be achieved by continuously doing exercises. With this, one can be familiar with the way a question is answered. Besides that, reading scientific materials can also be helpful.  Prominent improvements in writing skills cannot be possibly seen in a short period of time but with sufficient patience and perseverance, those improvements are inevitable.

Summary of Article on "Develop Carbon Sequestration Methods"

Excessive amount of carbon dioxide is harmful as it causes rise in global temperature which will eventually sparks off other problems. Therefore, carbon dioxide especially those produced from the burning of fossil fuels; the world’s main energy source must be captured and stored underground safely. There are several ways to capture carbon dioxide. In one of the ways, two towers are used: one contains chemicals that could segregate carbon dioxide from other gases where as the other separates carbon dioxide from the chemical. Another approach is by burning fossil fuel with pure oxygen. This eventually makes storage of carbon dioxide easier as it can be done by just condensing water vapour. However, it is expensive to obtain pure oxygen; hence it is not feasible. A more advanced method to generate power from coal introduces a simpler way to capture carbon dioxide. Synthetic gas produced by burning coal is added with steam and catalyst, consequently converting carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide which can then be filtered out. Several underground storage sites have been investigated. Depleted oil and gas fields serve as good storage sites. Meanwhile, carbon dioxide helps to recover oil trapped by underground rocks. Nevertheless, this method is not practical as the amount of such fields is insufficient to accommodate increasing amount of carbon dioxide. Perhaps, using sedimentary rocks that contain brine and formed at more than 800 meters deep is a better alternative. Sedimentary rocks are abundantly available but the main concern lies on the reliability of these sites to securely store carbon dioxide without releasing it to the atmosphere after a period of time. The problem of leakage has lead to another possible storage site: sediments beneath the ocean floor. High pressure from the sea water keeps carbon dioxide stored without leaking. Other than the above methods, technique based on natural processes could also be developed. Carbon dioxide can be injected to the sea to form other safer chemical compounds. In conclusion, thorough strategies and storage locations must be mapped out carefully to solve this problem as the excessive amount of carbon dioxide emitted is harmful.

References:

National Academy of Engineering. (2008). Develop carbon sequestration methods. Grand challenges for engineering. Retrieved March 27, 2008 from http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9077.aspx

Ammendments on Task 2(Usage of Articles)

Referring to the previous post regarding the usage of articles, I would like to clarify some part of the portfolio which is not clear. Due to technical problem, I realised that exercise Part I is not posted completely. Also, the answers for Part I are incorrect. Below, I am re-posting the questions for Part I,the correct answers for it and the complete answers for part II. My apologies for making such mistakes and regret for any inconvenience caused.


Part I

1. Soh Bee often goes to (a/an/the/-) temple with her parents.
2. We had a wonderful holiday at (the/a/-) Lake Toba in Indonesia.
3. He said it was (a/an) useful book for English examination.
4. I went to (a/an/the/-) school to give my brother his English book.
5. He didn’t have (a/an) umbrella with him so he got very wet.
6. She is (a/an) honest girl so she took the purse she found to the school office.
7. When my father arrived home, we were all in (a/an/the/-) bed.
8. Do you spell your name with (a/an) f for ph?
9. There are plans to build a second bridge over (the/a/-) Straits of Johor.
10. Joanna goes to (a/an/the) church every Sunday with her family.

ANSWER
PART I
1. the 2. - 3. a 4. the 5. an 6. an 7. - 8. an 9. the 10. the
PART II
1. the 2. - 3.the 4. a 5. a 6. - 7. - 8. -

Usage of Articles

Grammar is a field of linguistic. It governs the rules of using a particular language. Among all the topics in grammar, the usage of article caught my attention as I have always had difficulties in deciding the correct articles to use when writing an essay. Articles consist of “a”,”an” and “the”. “A” and “an” are also known as indefinite articles. Rules governing the usage of article are very subtle. It is not easy for non-native English speaker to use articles correctly in writing. Only years of experience in the language can help one to use articles in writing proficiently.

In order to use articles correctly, one must be able to understand two important concepts: countability and definiteness. Countable nouns refer to people, things, places, animals and abstract ideas that can be counted where as uncountable nouns refer to food, beverages and abstract things that cannot be counted. Countable nouns can be classified as singular or plural, depending on the amount of the subject but uncountable noun is always singular. Below are some uncountable nouns that are often misused by students:

Baggage, chalk, clothing, equipment, information, furniture, machinery, staff, underwear, luggage, litter, homework and housework.

A noun is definite if it is known to both the writer and reader. Refer to the table below for more clarifications.

		Knows what is being referred to?
Definiteness	Sample sentence	Writer/speaker	Reader/listener
Definite	Can I eat the piece of cake you bought this evening?	Yes	Yes
Indefinite	I came across an interesting story book today.	Yes	No
Indefinite	I heard that you once owned a five storey bungalow.	No	Yes
Indefinite	I need to get a dress for my mum.	No	No

With thorough understanding of what are countable and uncountable nouns, I will continue with the rules on choosing the appropriate article. For singular noun which is countable and definite, use “the”. If the noun is indefinite, use “a” or “an” as the article. For plural or uncountable noun and given that it is definite, use “the” as the article. However, do not use an article if the noun is indefinite.

The last topic I will be discussing about is the difference between “a” and “an”. There is only one simple rule on using the appropriate indefinite article. The choice of using “a” or “an” depends on pronunciation and not spelling. Refer to the table below for proper usage of “a” and “an”:

Vowel sounds	An	apple/orange/umbrella/interval / elephant
Silent “h”	An	honest boy(‘h’ is not pronounced)
‘w’ sound	A	one (pronounced ‘w’ one)
‘yiu’ sound	A	uranium (pronounced ‘yiu’ranium)

However there are some exceptions on the usage of article regardless of the rules above. When referring to a specific place or rivers, seas and other water ways, “the” is used as the article. Generally, when referring to a country, article is not applied but there are some exceptions in this case. Study the table below for more clarifications.

Place	Articles used	Examples	Exceptions
Country	-	Malaysia, England, Singapore, China, Thailand	The Philippines, the Netherlands, the United States of America, the United Kingdom
Cities and Towns	-	Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, London, New York,	The Hague
Water ways	the	The Klang River, the Amazon,	-
Buildings	the	the SingPost, the Golden Village Cinema,	Special names like ‘Orchard Plaza”, ‘Lucky Plaza’,
Mountains	-	Mount Kinabalu, Mount Everest, Lake Toba	The Matterhorn, the Himalayas, the Andes. The Great Lakes

It is hoped that the explanation above is useful in helping those who have doubts in using appropriate articles. Please try the exercises below to test your understanding on using articles. (These exercises are extracted from Remedial English Grammar for KBSM)

Part I

1. Soh Bee often goes to (a/an/the/-) temple with her parents.

2. We had a wonderful holiday at (the/a/-) Lake Toba in Indonesia.

3. He said it was (a/an) useful book for English examination.

4. I went to (a/an/the/-) school to give my brother his English book.

5. He didn’t have (a/an) umbrella with him so he got very wet.

6. She is (a/an) honest girl so she took the purse she found to the school office.

7. When my father arrived home, we were all in (a/an/the/-) bed.

8. Do you spell your name with (a/an) f for ph?

9. There are plans to build a second bridge over (the/a/-) Straits of Johor.

10. Joanna goes to (a/an/the) church every Sunday with her family.

Part II

NAZRI : Hello, Dickie. Not seen you for a while.

DICKIE : Yes, I’ve been to 1(the/-) United Kingdom with my father.

NAZRI : Great! What were you doing there?

DICKIE : My father wanted to visit my brother who is at 2(the/-) university in London. So, I went with him.

NAZRI : Did you find time for some sightseeing?

DICKIE : Oh, yes. We took a boat down 3(the/-) River Thames and I saw all the palaces and old buildings. I even saw a game of soccer between Arsenal and Manchester United.

NAZRI : Wow! That must have been 4(a/an) once-in-a-lifetime experience.

DICKIE : Yes, United have always been my favourite team, but I never thought I would ever see 5(a/an) United game live.

NAZRI : How is your brother getting on? He’s been there for more than two years now, hasn’t he?

DICKIE : Yes, he has. He’s okay now but he had been in 6(the/-) hospital, so we want to see how he was. He’s fine again now. In fact, he says he enjoys studying in 7(the/-) London so much he doesn’t ever want to go to 8(the/-) work.

NAZRI : What did your dad say about that?

DICKIE : I think you can guess!

ANSWERS

PART I:

1. - 2. the 3. - 4. an 5. the 6. an 7. - 8. an 9. the 10. the

PART II

1. the 2. - 3.the 4. a 5. a 6. - 7. - 8. -

References

1. Kohl, John, and Susan Katz. Article Usage.2002. 21 May 2002. 7 September 2008.

2. Singh, Jagjeet, and Adrian Holden. Remedial English Grammar for KBSM. Selangor Darul Ehsan: Penerbit Fajar Bakti Sdn. Bhd., 2006.

Task 1

As civilization develops, engineering has never failed to prove its contribution in making the Earth a better place to live in. For the past century, engineering has shown great achievements in various fields be it agriculture, automobile, construction or service sectors. These innovations have certainly enhanced humans’ standard of living.

In this modern civilization, growth of populations and demand of a better lifestyle have brought much challenges to the engineers. Standard of living has risen tremendously causing more people to use private cars rather than public transportations. This eventually causes the green house effect to take place due to the large emission of carbon dioxide. Rapid growth of population causes insufficient clean water. Other than these, imbalance nitrogen cycles in the atmosphere have also given a big challenge to engineers.

Among all these challenges mentioned above, having to control the excessive amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is seen as the most important idea. Carbon dioxide, like glass, traps sunlight without allowing it to be re-radiated as heat from the atmosphere, eventually heating up the Earth. This process contributes to global warming.

Global warming causes rise in average global temperatures which eventually cause a lot of problems to surface. Sea levels will rise resulting in the evacuation of coastal population. Agriculture will also be affected as plantations cannot withstand drastic change of climate brought about by the global warming. Most alarmingly, the ecosystem will also be affected. Species will become extinct due to the inability to adapt with climate change. According to a new study on massive species extinctions due to global warming which is published in the scientific journal Conservatory Biology, “ A quarter of the world’s species would be committed to extinction by 2050 as a result of global warming”(Conservation International, 2006). It is clear that global warming is disastrous.

The main factor of global warming, which is the excessive amount of carbon dioxide, must be controlled and reduced to a safe amount. It is not easy to capture the carbon dioxide produced in the combustion of fossil fuels and store it in a safe place, away from the atmosphere. This process which is called carbon sequestration must be economic, safe and efficient. Finally, it is most crucial to the engineering profession to design an ideal carbon sequestration method so that the tranquility of all the living organisms is insured.

Reference:
Conservation International (2006, April12). Global Warming Capable of Sparking Mass Species Extinctions. Science Daily. Retrieved August 20, 2008 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060411230548.htm