Difficulties in Writing

The difficulties I face in my university class are how to organise my various points and how to generate ideas that are relevant.

For generating ideas, I found it difficult as I will not be sure about whether those ideas are sufficient for the essay or are too general. Therefore I will need more specific ideas as well to expand on the general ideas. To solve this problem, I will need to pick a topic which I feel most comfortable with. I will also need to brainstorm more ideas and try to link similar ideas together. By doing so, and having all these similar ideas together, it will expand the general idea.

While writing an essay, I will have the ideas generated out already. However, while writing, new ideas may pop up and I will therefore not be sure where to put in or if I should remove an idea to accommodate this new idea. My 1st draft will usually be very messy with the ideas all over the essay.

In order to solve this problem, I will have to decide a stand which I will be taking at the beginning. After which, I will need to decide how many points to support and rebut my stand. These ideas need to be carefully considered and not just anyhow being put into the essay. I will also need to decide which type of method I will use. Most of the times I prefer to use the block method. By having a proper “plan” before writing the essay, the organisation will be much better. If a new idea appears while the essay is being written, I will need to consider if this new idea is relevant to the supporting points or the rebuttal points. If it is, I will then need to try to link this idea with the current ideas. This will not be easy and will require practice.

In order to improve my writing skills especially for essays, one good way is to read more articles. By doing so, I can see the different styles of different authors and learn from them. By having a better general knowledge will also enable me to generate more ideas quickly. But most important of all is to continue to practice writing.

3 most common grammar mistakes

The three main grammar mistakes made are sentence structure (fragments), punctuation (mainly comma) and the use of the wrong word.

Fragments are incomplete sentences. They are pieces of sentences that have become disconnected from the main clause. In order to correct the fragment, we need to remove the period between the fragment and the main clause. Punctuation may also be needed. Example of a fragment is “NUS offers many courses in engineering. Such as electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering.” It should be written as “NUS offers many majors in engineering, such as electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering.” Another example of a fragment is “Why the use of solar energy?” It should be written as “Why use solar energy?”

Commas should be used after introductory clauses, phrases or words that come before the main clause. Commas are used to separate independent clauses when they are joined by the coordinating junctions (FANBOYS). Examples of comma errors are “Consequently the economy would be stimulated and benefit from the increased industrial activity” and “The match was over but the crowd refused to leave.” The correct usage of the comma should be ““Consequently, the economy would be stimulated and benefit from the increased industrial activity” and “The match was over, but the crowd refused to leave.”

Finally it is the use of the wrong word. Therefore, the correct word should be used for the right occasion. One example of the use of the wrong word is “From the industry perspective, this will enable more trained personal in the area of green chemistry.” Instead of using the word personal, the word personnel should be used as personnel refers to a body of persons. Another example is “I found less coding errors this week than last week.” The word less should be replaced by fewer since coding errors can be counted.

I believe more practice is needed in order to minimise the various grammatical errors.

Summary of Round Table Discussion

One of the roundtable discussions was the use of biodiesel and should it be implemented more widely. The supporting side agreed that biodiesel should be used and could be used in cars. They claim that biodiesel is not only more environmental friendly but at the same it will not have much effects on the cars’ engines. However the against side claimed that people may not receptive to such a change yet. They also claim that biodiesel will have effects on the cars engines such as the cars will lose its horsepower and certain parts could be damaged as well. In short, biodiesel can be implemented but should be done on a small scale first.

Another roundtable discussion was the use of bio-engineering in humans and does it goes in line with government policies. The supporting side said that it can be done and should be done to allow parents to choose the gender of their children. However the against side claimed that this could result in a gender imbalance and will not be good globally. The supporting side also said that it should be allowed as parents should be allowed to choose what they want their child to specialise and how he/she will look like. The against side claimed that by doing this, it is like taking the rights away from the child and he could be forced to do something which he does not enjoy. The child may also not like the looks which the parents chose. The supporting side claim that the high cost will only allow certain parents to be able to afford this and will not have much impact globally. The against side also said that due to the high cost, only parents who are rich will be able to afford and this could further divide the rich and the poor. The use of bio-engineering should be used only to a certain extent and not be allowed on a large scale.

The 3rd round table discussion was the implementation of Carbon Capture Storage (CCS). By using this technology, it will greatly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air and reduce global warming. The against side argued that this technology is not feasible as those poor countries may not be able to afford it and those developed countries are the ones contributing the highest amount of greenhouse gases. It was also discussed that those countries not near oceans or seas will not be able to implement this technology. The supporting side however said that the greenhouse gases could be transported by vehicles. The supporting argument is also that once the CCS has been implemented under the ocean, there is no way that there can be any leakage as carbon is denser than water. CCS is still in the infant stage and more research and testing needs to be done in order to show that it is really reliable.

Summary on Green Chemistry

My round table discussion is should my home country (Singapore) adopt Kirchhoff’s claim that “a collative effort industry, academia and government will promote the adoption of green chemistry technologies that are necessary to achieve a sustainable society.

In the first article “'Green chemist' shows the way for Singapore”, its author Shobana Kesava gives examples of the benefits of green chemistry. Mainly more efficient manufacturing and better waste conversion are some benefits of green chemistry. The use of green chemistry can also bring about profits and they are renewable and safe. In his article he stated that” Dr Keith Carpenter, executive director of Singapore's Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, felt that although Singapore is a newcomer to research and development in this field, it has a key role to play.” This shows that green chemistry has potential to be successful in Singapore. Another example was the use of bio-degradable lightweight trays which are safe and will protect both the people and the planet.

Green chemistry can bring about huge economic benefits to the country. Singapore’s collaboration with Japan will only enhance the possibility of making green chemistry a reality in Singapore. Government is putting money into research as A Star is currently involved in this. For the industries such as petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, the author stated that these industries are widely using green chemistry. Therefore industries in Singapore can know that green chemistry is tried and proven in those areas and should also implement them. However the author did not mention anything about academia on green chemistry but he did mention about a joint workshop by A star-Riken and NTU on another issue. The issue of green chemistry should also have workshops at the universities to expose the students to this issue and its benefits.

The author Mark Pratt stated that Terry Collins is hoping science will help to overcome all the pollutants that the Earth has been receiving. Terry Collins also stated that green chemistry will help to implement products that are safe to the environment. In both Yale and Cambridge, have both started offering courses in green chemistry while others like Carnegie Mellon and University of Oregon have been offering this course for years. Most of us have been brought up without considering how to “save the environment”. We can see more courses are being related to green chemistry as it is also a moral issue.

By having more students in green chemistry, the industries will also have better trained personal and may be more willing to explore the issue. Academia plays a key role to enabling the industries to take this step to make the change to green chemistry. We can see this from “Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. is developing new ways of making drugs that eliminate millions of pounds of waste, and S.C. Johnson & Son Inc.'s has reformulated some consumer cleaning products. “ In Singapore, this issue should be more exposed and focussed on only then will the industries benefit.

From both articles we can see that if academia, industries and the government all work together, green chemistry can be a success in Singapore.

Kesava , S. (19th May 2007). 'Green chemist' shows the way for Singapore. Retrieved on Feb 28th 2009 from http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20070506/070519-2.htm

Pratt, M. (9th Oct 2007) Green chemistry joins college curriculum. Retrieved on Feb 28th 2009 from http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20070910/071009-7.htm

Tackling Climate Change

The 3 lecturers gave their views about global warming. Global warming is global issue and therefore we have to respond to climate change. By being fuel efficient, conserving energy, mitigation, adaption and capture and storage of Carbon Dioxide (C02) are ways in which we can do so. There are many actions we can do to save the environment such as the use of biomass fuel replaces petroleum based fuels and the lesser usage of cars.

There had been suggestions to store C02 and the two options are to store C02 in depleted oil or gas field or in the ocean known as ocean storage. I found this idea very interesting as instead of now allowing the greenhouse gases to be diffused upwards. The excess greenhouse gases are now going downwards. Another option is the Geo-engineering option. The atmosphere is well mixed, reducing the C02 content of the atmosphere requires international collaboration, and most of the big emitters have to take part.

There are many potential consequences of global warming. This is very interesting as well as only one problem which most of us do not take seriously can actually lead to many other problems which can affect our everyday lives. Intense storms and hurricanes can occur. Extinctions of animals may occur. There may even be economic and social disruption. The possible effect of global warming is Some areas will benefit from a warmer climate and other will suffer from melting ice, rising sea level and more extreme weather events, increase drought and flood, and shift in location of wildlife habitat and agricultural areas.

Governments will have to play an important role in reducing global warming. Governments can tax greenhouse gas emissions, subsidise energy efficiency and renewable energy use and cooperate internationally and individual and institutions can sharply reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. We can all do our part but it is a known fact that there are many difficulties in dealing with climate change. The difficulties include change can disrupt economies and lifestyles, it will have a long-lasting effect and Impacts are not spread evenly. The basic approach is to drastically reducing greenhouse emissions and develops strategies to reduce its harmful effects.

Renewable Power is now being used as alternative source to traditional such as coal. I find the “rise” of renewable power rather interesting. Politics and Regulatory affects technology. Research was at a low percentage and people used to reject clean or renewable technology. However, economics and marketing cause of change in approach to technology. Competition among countries leads to the rise in technology. Even wars are one of those which contribute to the rise. Imagine without all these factors, we will not have any technology such as renewable power to counter global warming.

To conclude, the points which all 3 lecturers gave were very real issues in today’s world. However, I am very surprised the very first car was an electrically-powered car instead of the fuel-powered car. Global warming could be delayed if only the electrically-powered car was used widely today.

An Inconvenient Truth

Global warming is the observed and projected increase in the Earth’s temperature. This rise in temperature will have a far-reaching effect on the Earth’s climate patterns and on every living creature.

We could lose many natural sites and even our way of life if nothing is being done to control global warming. The eco-system will be affected, lakes will dry up, many species of insects and animals will be lost and even outbreak of diseases will happen. The rise in sea level due to global warming will lead to floods and many will be displaced from their homes.

The government will therefore play a crucial role in controlling global warming. For example, In Singapore, there are currently tax incentives given to those who buy and use hybrid cars. This will encourage people to purchase such cars as they are energy efficient and have higher mileage. In Singapore, there have also been advertisements to inform people to switch off their lights when not in use and not to set their air-conditioners below 25 degrees Celsius. This is being done to inform people to save energy and in turn this is part of controlling global warming. Heavy fines should be imposed on those who burn forests down illegally as this will contribute to global warming. Tax incentives should also be given to industries which use electric efficient equipment and renewable technology. Students should also be educated about the effects of global warming and we can see that students are getting interested in this topic as more students do take on renewable energy projects. The Kyoto Protocol is a measure which almost every nation on the Earth is part of and agrees to cut down on greenhouse gases emission. This shows that global warming is being considered as an important issue around the world.

Basically, it comes down to the economy versus environment. From the video”An inconvenient truth”, Mr Gore stated that without the Earth, there will not be any economy. Therefore, leaders around the world will have to take important measures to find balance between the economy and the environment. Scientists will need to continue their studies on the climate change and present their findings to the world. This will allow us to know whether global warming is getting worse or is under control. By showing statistics and images on the effects of global warming, it gives us a clearer picture of the severity of global warming in today’s world.

Therefore, by educating the public on global warming, measures taken to control global warming and promoting the use of clean and renewable energy will definitely help to reduce the problem of global warming. Global warming is a moral issue and should be taken seriously.

References: http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20060910/061009-3.htm

The Expanding World of Engineers

The roles of engineers have been increasing rapidly over the years. In today's context, they are not limited to only technical duties but they are highly sought after in other industries such as the finance and service sectors.

In an engineering tertiary education, the students will have to undergo various trainings and practical assignments. These assignments will train them to detect problems and come up with the solutions. Precision and accuracy are very important in engineering. Therefore the trainings engineers received enable them to develop an analytical skill. Engineers not only have to enable that the device which they are required to create works but also have to factor in a lot of other factors such as time constrain, cost of the device and user-friendliness.

The education engineering students receive not only focus on technical issues. There are electives available for students to receive an all round education at various universities. I recalled someone once told me that if a salesman market a technical product, his knowledge will be limited to what he had read or heard. However, if an engineer markets or sells the product, his knowledge will be much more and will be able to explain the various features better to the customer. As technology is part of our everyday life, engineers will always be in demand as society will depend on them to improve our standard of living.

Globalisation also plays a part in the roles of engineers. In this fast-paced society, we want information at the shortest possible timeframe. The invention of the internet and electronic mail is one such example of how engineering has benefited the world. Without engineers, society will remain stagnant. Since an engineering education is flexible and diversified, engineers will be a great asset to the economy and are important for future success of any organisation.

Therefore, I believe that the education and trainings that engineers receive will be vital to an ever changing and challenging world we live in.