Portfolio V: Predict and Minimize Potential Unethical Abuse of Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is a technology which enables researchers to detect and locate brain activity when a person thinks about a specific word. By using this data the researchers come up with a computational model that enabled a computer to correctly determine what word a research subject was thinking about by analyzing brain scan data. With the development of this technology, mind mapping may finally be able to “read” the mind of a person by analyzing his/her brain scan data. This is very useful in helping a person to reveal the contents of his memory and in criminal investigating. But mind mapping also raise some ethical problems. And the potential abuse of mind mapping may have a negative effect on the society.
Firstly, analysis what a person is thinking may seriously violate his/her privacy. Privacy is the freedom from interference or public attention. To dig something specially or personally sensitive for someboby by implementing “mind-reading machine” is one of the possible abuse of mind mapping technology. Many countries have laws to protect privacy. If mind mapping technology is developed in the future, it will be very difficult to protect privacy.
Secondly, nobody can guarantee the accuracy of mind mapping. Mind mapping technology has not been widely applied in crime investigation just because the technology is not advanced enough, so the prediction of mind mapping is not powerful evidence. However, with the development of this technology, the prediction may be more and more accurate. Police may rely on mind mapping to handle a case. Is it fair that people are convicted and imprisoned solely based on the testing result of a machine?
If I am a researcher, I think my work will be quite challenging. If I want to minimize the potential unethical abuses of my work, I think the first thing I will do is to collect a lot of data and do a well study on these data. I think the most important thing is to put forward a well theory. If the prediction according to the brain image is correct, it will be easier for people to accept. Also, I think there should be some laws to limit the use of mind mapping even though I am a researcher on this field. I think this will cause some serious society problems if mind mapping is not limited.
In short, technology is a double-edge sword. The most powerful technology probably leads to the most serious result if it is abused. Therefore, a new technology, such as mind mapping, should be tested carefully before it is implemented in real life. And if it is used in a proper way it will contribute a lot to the society.

My Difficulties in English Writing

We may need a lot of writing in some of the modules we take. In the writing I find the biggest difficult I meet is that I can not master the style well. In most of my writing I find it is hard to make it like a academic level writing. Some of my sentances are more like everyday talking or translated from Chinese. I can express my meaning well, but it doesn't look professional enough. For example, when we did our project in GEM2901, there are two Singaporeans in our group. I did the second part of the project, after I finished the essay, I found it was not good enough since the language I used was too simple. So I asked the two Singaporeans to help me correct it. After they corrected the essay, I found it more professional and looked so good. Then I find that a effective way to improve my writing is to read more local students' essay. I find that local students' English writings are quite diifferent from most of our writings, in both language and organization. So I find it quite helps to read more local students' writings. Since we are facing the same writing task in our study, reading more of their writing is a direct help. Another way to improve my writing I find is that I can read textbooks more. I was wondering that why it was very hard to explain one thing clearly in English, which I can explain well in Chinese. When I read the textbooks, I find that it is quite clear. Then I find it is because of the language used. From the textbooks, I know better how to choose the word when I want to explain one thing. So this also quite helps. So I think the two points above can help my English writing a lot. If I keep doing these, my English writing will be improved, I think.

Summarization- Inroduction of the Grand Challenges for Engineering

Throughout human history, engineering has made great accomplishments to prosper the human civilization. Meanwhile, engineering still faces grand challenges in this century due to the increasing of population and the expanding of spiritual desire of people. According to the article, 14 most widely recognized grand challenges for engineering in this century fall into four main area of human concern: sustainability, health, vulnerability, and the joy of living.
The greatest concern is the future of human and the earth. The resources on the Earth are finite, but the nonrenewable resource, like petroleum is consumed by people at a constant or even increasing rate. Therefore, someday people will use them up. The challenges of sustaining civilization are urgent. To sustain human civilization ensure a bright future, engineering should accept the challenges of making solar energy economical, providing energy from nuclear fusion, developing carbon sequestration methods and managing the nitrogen cycle.
The second concern is related to personal and public health. The health threat in this century requires more effective treatment. The challenges in this area include providing access to clean water, advancing health informatics, engineering better medicines and reverse-engineering the brain.
The third concern is about vulnerability to biological disaster. To ensure the quality of life, engineering should accept the challenge of preventing terrorist attack. The more general challenge of improving life quality is to restore and improve urban infrastructure.
Last but not least, the joy of living takes a part in a high-grade life quality. There are two grand challenges in this realm including enhancing virtual reality and advancing personalized learning.
Moreover, there are barriers stop these grand challenges from being overcome, such as political obstacles, and the lack of understanding from public. Without conquer these obstacles the challenges are hardly solved.
In conclusion, the challenges engineering facing today is not unconquerable, as long as the public support is provided and the engineers from all over the world are standing together facing and solving them. Meeting all these challenges, our world will become a better place for living.


From:
National Academy of Engineering. (n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2008,from http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9221.aspx

Writing Assignment 1

Q1: One of the sub-challenges listed in [1] was overcoming people’s “resistance to new ways of doing things.” Understanding the reasons for resistance will very likely help engineers overcome it. Briefly explain why you think people resist new technology.

One of the main reasons that people resist new technologies is that they fear the “potential risk” of new technologies. “Potential risk” refers to the future danger or side-effects of a new technology. Public need time to accept a new technology. Moreover, to the public, a successful general application is also a basic element of a successful technology. People cannot forecast the future risk of using a new technology, so it usually takes a period of time for people to accept it. For instance, genetically-modified (GM) food has become a main source of food; however, some people still refuse to eat it. Conventional food is more acceptable for these people. One reason may be that our ancestors have eaten conventional food for centuries. People who consume GM food are alive and healthy now. But the people who resist GM food are worried about what will happen in the future. Therefore, people resist GM food technology because they fear its future risk. Moreover, a new technology needs to be used successfully by many people for it to be easily accepted by the public. For example, when the computer was invented in 1946, few people or companies wanted to buy it because people were concerned about the possible low reward for their investment in this new technology. With the development of technology, computers are now more have an increasingly wide application in all fields. Since computers have been accepted by the public and have become an irreplaceable part of our daily life. In conclusion, many people resist new technologies because they are concerned their potential risk. A new technology needs to be widely applied so that it would be more easily accept by the public.

Task 2: Grammar--Verb Tenses

Verb Tenses

I have some problems in verb tenses, especially in THE PERFECT TENSES & THE PROGRESSIVE TENSES.(Wish I will not make any verb tenses mistakes in this blog...)

What are the Perfect Tenses and the Progressive Perfect Tense? The Perfect Tenses give the idea that one thing happens before another time or event. The Pefect Progressive Tenses give the idea that one event is in progress immediately before, up to, untill anoter time or event. The tenses are used to express the duration of the event.

Then, I will analyze my mistakes in the grammar excercise in the appendix below.

1. I was studying for three hours when I finally quit. ( had been studying have been studying)

In this sentance, I use the Present Perfect Progressive, but the correct verb tenses should be the Past Perfect Progressive. I will list all the events in this sentence in progress: studying When? before I quit. Therefore, the verb tense in this sentence is Past Perfect Progressive Tense.

2. By 1890, he (19)had published (publish) his first book on Esperanto, ...
The correct tense of this sentence is the Past Perfect tense. Because his book had been published before 1890, and "1890" is in the past, so the tense is the Past Perfect. In general, when "by + a point of time" appears in a sentence, the tense of the sentence is usually the Perfect Tense. Another example in the exercise: ...by 2100, English (40) will have become (become) the first truly universal language.


Appendix(these words are not counted in portfolio task 2)

I am not sure about the sentence in this light purple colour. I think my answer(in black) is also correct. What do you think? Thanks for all comments.
Grammar Exercise retrieved form http://courses.nus.edu.sg/courseware/ITSELF/
SELF Worksheets for Verb Tenses
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

1. Error Analysis. Each of the following sentences contains an error related to verb tense. Identify the errors by underlining them and correct them by putting the correct form in the brackets. (10 marks)
Example: I am thinking that English is impossible to learn. (think)

1. Before I studied English, I thought it was an easy language. ( my ans:had been thinking ans given:had thought)
2. Now I am knowing that it isn't easy. ( know )
3. My language has only a little slang. But I am studying English since April, and I only begin to learn some of the common slang words in English. ( have been studying)
4. I have been tried to learn more of these words every day. ( have been trying )
5. Last night, for example, I have studied from 9:00 Pm. to midnight. ( had been studying studied (or was studying))
6. I was studying for three hours when I finally quit. ( havehad been studying)
7. I had gone to my teacher last Monday and she was telling me to see her after class. ( went, told )
8. But when I went to her classroom after school, she already left. ( hashad already left )
9. It's now May 15; by the middle of June, I will be studying English for three months. ( will have been )
10. On June 23, I will be studying German. On June 30, I will be studying German for one week. ( will have been )

2. General Review. Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the verbs in parentheses. In some cases, more than one verb form may be appropriate. In these cases, you should be able to explain any differences in meaning that may occur. (30 marks)

Esperanto

The idea of a universal language (11) has intersted (interest) people since the time of Babel. In the 1870s, a Polish teenager named Luclwik Zamenhof (12) began (begin) to develop such a language. He (13) called (call) his new language Esperanto, which (14)means (mean) "hope." At that time, he (15)livedwas living (live) in a Polish town where Poles, Russians, Germans, and Jews all (16) spoke (speak) their own languages. Zamenhof (17) believed (believe) that language differences (18) were(or are)(be) the major cause of difficulties among different ethnic groups. By 1890, he (19)had published (publish) his first book on Esperanto, and within a short tiny, thousands of people (20) learnedwere learning (learn) this new language.

Esperanto (21) is (be) simple to learn and use. The grammar is based on 16 fundamental rules. There (22)are(be) no ex­ceptions and no irregularities. In addition, the accent or stress always (23) falls (fall) on the last syllable of a word, and every letter (24) has (have) one and only one sound.

At first, Esperanto (25) was (be) a great success. Within a few years, hundreds of thousands of people (26)spokewere speaking(speak) Esperanto. (in fact, people (27)have written (write) over ten thousand books in Esperanto since 1900.) However, after a few decades, interest in the language (28)declinedhas declined/has been declining(decline). Today, it is still popular among thousands of people, but few (29)think(think) that Esperanto (30)will become (become) a universal language.

This (31)does not mean(not mean), however, that there (32)will never be (be/never) a universal tongue. In fact, English (33)is likely(be/likely) to become just such a lan­guage. Unlike Esperanto, English (34)has(have) thousands of exceptions and irregularities. But it (35)also has(have/also) the greatest number of speakers, and this number (36) is rapidly growing(grow/rapidly). Today, there (37)are (be) close to a billion speakers of English. By the year 2010, well over a billion and a half people (38) will speak(speak) English. Some experts (39) predict(predict) that by 2100, English (40) will have become (become) the first truly universal language.

Task 1

"Public understanding of engineering and its underlying science will be important to support the calls for funding, as well as to enhance the prospect for successful adoption of new technologies."(Introduction to the Grand Challenges for Engineering)

Engineers have been working for centuries on improving the standard of human life and the quality of future living environment. Engineering is a profession that aims to benefit the public. Therefore, public understanding of engineering is an essential element for engineering profession. This article will look on the reasons for the importance of public understanding.

Firstly, with a good understanding of engineering, people will be more easily to accept new technologies and make an ample use of them. Through the ages, engineering’s products have become an important part of people’s daily life. For example, people live in the high-risen building, drive home, travel by airplane. In general, engineering’s products have met people’s basic needs for survival, including food, water, shelter, health, and communication. It is because public understanding of these technologies, these technologies can survive and thrive. Hence, Public acceptance and adoption of new technologies will motivate and promote the development of engineering.

Secondly, public understanding of engineering will be necessary for supporting the funding for engineering development. In order to meet all the grand challenges, to carry out projects, public funds are needed. For instance, when computer engineering first came out, few companies feel like investing on it. However, the use of computer became more and more widespread in the 20^th century, people accept computer engineering very well. Nowadays a plenty of companies all over the world invest on computer engineering. Computer engineering has become one of the most prosperous industries in the world.

In brief, a good public understanding is very important to the engineering profession.