Bad dog!

Sunny asked an excellent question after class today. It was about the passage in Golding's novel where we first meet the twins. In this passage, Golding describes them with enough detail, and at sufficient length to tell us that they will play an important role in the story. The passage is:

The two boys, bullet-headed and with hair like tow, flung themselves down and lay grinning and panting at Ralph like dogs.  They were twins, and the eye was shocked and incredulous at such cheery duplication.  They breathed together, they grinned together, they were chunky and vital. They raised wet lips at Ralph, for they seemed provided with not quite enough skin, so that their profiles were blurred and their mouths pulled open. (p. 19)

I've quoted a fairly lengthy section because I think you need to read the everything here to make sense of it. And  doing that also makes a good example of Golding's brilliance as a writer.

The last sentence is the challenging one, especially the clause: "they seemed provided with not quite enough skin".

• First, what is Golding doing in this passage, these four sentences? What is his purpose? 
• What image forms in your mind as you read these sentences? What does it look like? 
• How does the last sentence fit into your mental image? Does it fit? 
• So, what does  "they seemed provided with not quite enough skin" contribute to the picture in your mind? How does it fit in? 

• Once we are clear about the plain, literal meaning as a direct physical description, we can then worry about other possible meanings, such as the symbolic meanings that it might have.
  What do you think? What might the fact that  "they seemed provided with not quite enough skin" symbolically foreshadow? 
• How does this symbolism work? 
• There is also more symbolism going on in this short passage. What is the animal symbolism telling us? 
• And you might also like to analyse how Golding uses his words and symbolism to efficiently achieve several purposes at the same time. 

Please feel welcome to share your ideas on the twins as introduced in the quoted passage. You can refer to other parts of the novel, but only to support an idea about the four sentences quoted above. 

• Finally, are they a bad dog? 

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References

Golding, W. & Epstein, E. (1954). Lord of the Flies. New York: Perigee.

Controversy about the Controversy.

Vee is currently thinking about the euthanasia controversy, which is causing heated argument in several countries around the world as increasing numbers demand a legal right to be killed whilst opponents are equally insistent that the law absolutely forbid killing human beings who want to die.

In his reply to my comments on his initial clarification of terms, Vee made a comment that I thought was rather good:

Thank you for your comments. According to your comments, I think the controversial word is healing.
If that is right, I think healing in this term focus on mental conditions of patients, not physical condition.
But I still confuse some points: I think a form of healing is just a process in euthanasia, and euthanasia is more controversial than healing (bold added).
Euthanasia has turned out to be a most controversial issue for many conutries for a long time.

The text I've marked in bold seems to me to address an important issue, one that applies to all of these questions on controversial issues, and one that it might be very helpful to be clear about so as to avoid an answer that does not actually answer the question being asked. (This might be another good time to use the word not.)

What do you think? What is your response to the important point raised by Vee's thoughtful comment?

Why is matters
You can probably already see from the questions on the list that seemingly academic discussions on the meaning of words can have very practical consequences for people's lives. If you would like another example, from the generally not so exciting world of insurance, answer the following question:

• When terrorists flew planes into the two towers of New York's World Trade Centre on 9/11, 2001, how many events occurred in that attack, or attacks? 

Billions of dollars in insurance payouts hinged on the definition of the words event and occurrence. Like all of the other words that these essays ask you to define, we all use these common words all of the time, but can you give a solid definition of either term that will allow you to convincingly answer the insurance question?
How much would you pay out: $3.5 billion, or $7 billion? Both parties were sure that this difference was not a small matter.
For a bit more on this example of the importance of defining terms, see "What does it mean: II - a real and controversial example = 9/11 terrorism insurance" (Peter, 2011).

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References

Peter. (2011, March 14). What does it mean: II - a real and controversial example = 9/11 terrorism insurance. Class Blog - AEP at AUA. Retrieved January 31, 2011 from http://peteraep.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-does-it-mean-ii-real-and.html

Why children become obesity?

Junk food is known that it is not good for people's health because it does not have enough and good nutrient because it is full with fat and carbohydrate which can make children and adult to be obese. Moreover, there are many disease that caused by junk food such as high blood pressure, heart disease and cholesterolemia etc. So we should concern about the food consumption for decreasing the risk to be fat.

According to "No Obesity Link to Junk Food in Schools" in The New York Times, the state try to find the method for solving obesity in childhood by banning the sale of sweets and salty snacks in public schools but the study shows that it is ineffective. Researchers compared children's weight in school where junk food was sold and in school where it was banned but they find that there are no correlation at all between obesity and attended schools where sweets and salty snacks were available.

When I studied in school, it did not sell any junk food because my principal worried about children's nutrition so the sweets and salty snacks were not sold. However, I agree with this article because I think selling junk food in school is not involve with children's weight. Some of my friend are fat even though they eat same food like other friends who have normal shape at school so I think the obesity in childhood is from the family who look after their kids by letting them eat good and delicious food without limiting.

From my point of view, the suitable method to solve obesity problem in children is parents should suggest and caution their children to choose the food which is good for health such as vegetables, fruits, low-fat food and avoid junk food. Besides this, children who are obese should exercise to lose and control their weight for reducing some diseases and living in the society with happiness.

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References

Bakalar, N. (2012, January 23). Nutrition: No Obesity Link to Junk Food in Schools. The New York Times. Retrieved January 29,2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/health/research/study-finds-no-childhood-obesity-link-to-school-junk-food.html?scp=1&sq=no%20obesity%20link%20to%20Junk%20food&st=cse

The Temples' Souls

 

        When I was young, I saw this temple for the first time in a magazine. Even though I didn't have any information about the temple, I was fascinated by its mysterious and charming look. After that, I got to add one more place to the list to visit when I grow up, which has always been in my mind as one of the precious things in the wrold. Today, this is the reason why this article about the ancient temple, Angkor Wat ,captured my eyes.

        According to " Near Cambodia's Temple Ruins, a Devotion to Learning"  in The New York Times, the ancient temple ruins of Angkor Wat, in Siem Reap, Cambodia, have contributed to something unpredictable, a devotion to learning of Cambodian youth. Even a decade ago, there was not any university,but now the city has firve private universities, which makes the city the second largest educational city, after the capital, PHnom Penh. The young people whose parents can not support them with enough money as to enter university gather here to work in many positions related to tour businesses at day and at night they study mostly finance, English, ans accounting. Hem Sophoan, a 31-year-old tour guide who is now studying says "I never imagined that I could go to university, There's been so much changes and opportunities for young people." The article also says that even though the the quality of the universities there is uneven and the shareholders still waste their money for the schools, many youth have dreams and their degrees made them have better prospects for managerial roles. Mr. Kong Soeun, the deputy of the local tourism office and having dreams of becoming a crusading lawyer, says "We should remember their souls," "These temples are a very great thing" about his forebears who built Angkor Wat.

         Actually, I have a plan to go to this temple in February, so when I saw the title, I was interested in this article.While the articles about tourist places consist of mostly negative views of making the historic remains worse or advertisements about the places to gather people's attention, I like the reporter's social view of dealing with the historical ruins. Of course, thriving tourism has impacts on the whole nation and the people who live there in many positive ways. The case of Angkor Wat, however, seems to affect more importantly to their citizen.The tourism not simply makes the people earn money, but builds the basic human resources, who can contribute to developing their country. On someday in February, I am likely to remember this article again.

References

Fuller,T. (2012,January 24). Near Cambodia's Temple Ruins, a Devotion to Learning. The New York Times. Retrieved 2012, January 29 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/world/asia/cambodias-angkor-wat-temple-ruins-brings-tourists-and-higher-education-opportunites-for-tour-guides.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Near%20Cambodias%20temple%20ruins,%20a%20devotion%20to%20learing&st=csexxxxx

It is good to have ibook or not in your ipad?

Education is very important for everyone in this world today. Parents are willing pay so much money in order for their children to enter the school that they think is excellent. Many workers are doing the same things. For example, they will take courses in the morning or in the everning after working hours. Parents like moms some times they will go to course like english or mandarin while their kids in the school. That is happening to me now in AEP 5. When I read the topic from Economist " Difference engine: Let the games begin", I am thinking other tools that can help us today to imporve our learning beside in the class.

The Economist reports that In USA now, Apple company provides new way for publishers, teachers and writers to produce interactive texbooks with video, audio and 3D graphics that we can read by touching in the sreen in your ipad. Before that the user must download ibook2 from  ITunes, Apple online store. The students from primary and seciondary school who use it have higher score than the students only textbook in school. Students who can use this tool absolutely from middle class. "At the end of the year, 78% of pupils using the interactive text scored “proficient” or “advanced” on the California algebra test, compared with only 59% scoring likewise with the standard textbook."
Apple is improving not only in primary and secondary schools, but forall degree education as well. “That’s a rising tide that floats all boats,” notes Mr MacInnis. “The future of digital-learning content isn’t a book on a screen, but an engaging multimedia experience,” he says. In other words, the flat e-book is dead. Sorry, Amazon."

Although this is a good news for us as a user, other companies will have problem with their business in the future. I like to buy DVD from Amazon for my son who is 4 years old now. The things that I bought are concentrate for learning like phonics, math and science. Beside that I also bought puzzles, flash card or books that I can't have it in bangkok. After I understand the benefit from using smart phone, I bought Ipod and Iphone. They are become my partner in learning when I have to do my homework. My girl uses for dictionary. I am buying some games to improve James's skill for math, geography, phonics and mandarin.
To compare my spending in Amazon before and now, it is less. When I realized that Ipad can use for textbook in USA, I really want to buy ipad in the future. I hope I can buy textbooks that I need it for my girl. I bought used textbooks from Amazon now.

The are some reasons that I don't like from this tool. For example, before James uses Ipod or Iphone, he likes to do puzzles, flash card or other acitvities that use hand. He is attending Montessori that emphasize hands on. Children who do things like this can learn to be patient and concentrate. After using Ipod or iphone, he expect to get the result faster from coloring. If he touch blue spot, the picture turns to be blue. Whe he need to sit and do coloring, he need to color with his hand and the reult is not nice as in ipod. He is not patient and satified with this. NOw I only let him to use it when we need to wait in hospital or in the airplane and weekend.

What do you think do you think it is good for you to have ibook in Ipad or not?
I am so excited to hear from you in different angles.

References:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2012/01/future-teaching

Convenient to Find a Job

Currently, there are many people who want to get the jobs, but most of them likely to be disappointed because they failed in the interview that may be the cause of the unemployment rate increased. Therefore, some companies have figured out how the interview was to provide facilities for the candidate.

According to "When the First Interview Is a Phone Call" on The New York Times website, in some companies have phone interview by the employer will call or e-mail you to set up an interview time, they usually use landline phone more than mobile phone because it's more reliable. Ms. Doyle said that the interview take about half an hour to an hour, and you will need to ensure that you have the personal profile and important informations in front of you because the interruption of the interview that it may make you lose your chance (¶4). The telephone interview enables the employer can save time and money, and the candidates will not have to worry about what to wear to the job interviews.

I think that this is a good choice as well because it provide benefits to both employers and job seekers, even they will tell you that landline phone interview will be more reliable than cell phone interview, but I think interview or talking about something which are important by the phone is not reliable anyway. Although their profile or evidence of their job are complete, during the interviews with them, we don't know that how are their personality or what do their face look like. I think these are also important to get people to work in our company; if they have an excellent track record, but have a bad personality that might make them work not efficient. Therefore, I still think the interview directly to be a good choice because we can know that they have a personality that suited to the job or not. What do you think? Do you agree with me or not?

References

Korkki, P. (2009, December 31). When the First Interview Is a Phone Call. The New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/business/31searchweb.html

Tablets, The Most Popular Devices

In the technology world these days, one of the most interesting devices is the tablet computers such as iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab. With wider touching screen, it makes users convenient for using such devices. Also, E-reader devices are very popular because size is very small compared with real books. However, the devices cannot do some things that real papers or computer laptops can do.

According to Tablet and E-Reader Sales Soar in The New York Times, tablet computers and e-readers are very popular gift for adults. Owners of tablet computers in adults is dramatically increasing especially in highly educated people who have househole incomes more than $75,000 (2012, ¶ 6). Many of tablet computer companies tried to push sale of tablet computers, but, Apple iPad, which have the highest price, is still popular among consumers (2012, ¶ 9).Publisher, app developers ,libraries and tech companies are improving the ways to get benefit from increasing users (2012, ¶ 10)

I think tablet computers are very interesting devices for this modern day because such devices are very convenient to use. The device can do exactly what smart phones do, but the size of tablets makes the users easily to see contents in the tablets and press on the screen accurately. Unlike smart phones, users have to magnify every time to read contents or press on screen in a wrong position. Moreover, users can bring it with them anywhere. Size of the tablets is nearly the same as real books, so it can use as books without carrying any thick books.

Last year, I decided not to buy iPad2, which I would use it as books, because I still loved to read in the real papers. I can write whatever I like or make any note on papers which I cannot do on the tablets. It is true that there are some formats of document files that allow readers to highlight or add note on the document, but it is still slow and hard to use, and file format in Pdf (users cannot edit) is still popular among the readers.  After that, I bought computer laptop instead of iPad2 because it was more necessary for me.

Anyway, although I don’t have any tablets or e-readers for now, in very near future I am pretty sure that I will get one to help my life more convenient in communication and education. I cannot stand the popular trends of technology, so I will be another person who raises the sales.

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References

Julie Bosman (2012, January 22). Tablet and E-Reader Sales Soar. The New York Times. Retrieved January 23,2012 fromhttp://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/tablet-and-e-reader-sales-soar/?ref=technology

Too much High-tech Appliances

The picture of the refrigerator with a LCD screen catches my eyes, so I start reading this piece of news and find it a bit strange. Do we want a refrigerator which allows us check a weather and listen to musics? Why not listen to a radio?

In "Not Quite Smart Enough", Martin says that because selling smartphone is very successful, many manufacturers try to apply the concept of smart electronics to another devices (2012). As a result, at the recent International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, customers saw a lot of high-tech but queer household appliances, such as "refrigerators that spew out recipes based on what’s inside, robotic vacuum cleaners with remote-controlled cameras, and washers and dryers you can monitor from your phone" (¶1). Undoubtedly, the efforts to sell these smart products mostly flopped because the "technological wizardry"(p.1) came together with far more expensive prices, and customers considered it pointless to buy smart appliances with extra functions they did not require.  


I like those customers, refusing to buy smart electronics unnecessary for their life because they do the opposite thing I did. When I was about ten years old, I asked my mother to buy a digital watch as my birthday gift because that watch was a waterproof one with  glow-in-the-dark display and a calculator and . After buying it, I never wore it while swimming, nor used the calculator function. I latter found that I want it just because it looked hi-tech, not because I needed a tool that help me calculate something.

Nowadays, I also have a couple of smart devices that are too smart to use them. I have a laptop, many bottoms of which make me confused because I don't know why they are here. In my living room, the cable television gives me more than two hundred channels to enjoy, but I spend less than hour a day watching TV.  High technology may not be a problem. The problem is that people always don't know what they exactly need to use and end up finding things useless for them.    

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References

Martin, A. (2012, January 12). Not Quite Smart Enough. The New York Times.Retrieved January 25, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/technology/not-quite-smart-enough.html?pagewanted=1&ref=technology

Please take care of your beloved parents

The number of older people in the society is increasing so these people must be concerned about the illness which can occur by aging and the most popular illness is osteoporosis. So that why the state try to encourage these people prevent it by checking bone density.

According to "Patients with Normal Bone Density Can Delay Retests,Study Suggests" on The New York Times, experts try to find the suitable interval for people to receive bone density retests because it is unnecessary and waste money for checking it too frequent. So they set up an experiment by following 5000 women ages 67 and older for more than a decade; the researchers divide women into four groups: those with normal bone density, those with mild osteopenia, those with moderate osteopenia and severe osteopenia. The results show that people who have normal and mildly low bone density develop osteoporosis in the ensuing 15 years while moderate and advance osteopenia develop osteoporosis within 4.7 years and one year orderly. This study can predict when people have to get bone density test again after 65 years old.

I think this article is useful for every families who have old people in their house because from my direct experience, I have two grandmothers and one of my grandam has a problem with her knee. My grandmother is 82 years old now,she has operated on her left knee around 20 years ago and after that she has never checked her bone density until the last 2 months, her right knee was pained and cannot walk. My father took her to the hospital immediately and doctors told us that she had to receive an operation for changing her knee again. Moreover, doctor told us that my grandmother did not receive enough certain substances for her bones and I think that because of she does not like to drink milk or takes vitamins so these make she get osteoporosis easily; and the most important thing is she did not get a bone density retest for a long time so we cannot know the real physical state of her bones that are weak or not. This situation makes me start to concern about the health of our beloved relatives or parents and try to keep them healthy by taking them to the hospital for checkup duly.

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References

Gina Kolata (2012,January 18). Patients with Normal Bone Density Can Delay Retests,Study Suggests. The New York Times. Retrieved January 24,2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/health/bone-density-tests-for-osteoporosis-can-wait-study-says.html

Women' life!

The wedding is the biggest ceremony for women’s life. Absolutely, all women want to have the perfect wedding. Also, the wedding dress is the most important for a bride. It shows the appearances or styles of hers.

According to “Wear a Denim Bridal Gown? Not Yet, but ...” on The New York Times, the first thing to do on bride’s checklist is shopping the bridal gown. Nowadays, the bridal gown has many choices and becomes more fashionable which can appear a bride’s personality. Last year, Kate Middleton’s wedding is the biggest moment of 2011. Her bridal gown is a lace sleeve, becomes popular which designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. Not only the royal, but also celebrities wore sleeves. Therefore, many designers have adopted this trend in their latest collections. On the other hand, some designers still believe that many brides still choose a strapless style which is the most widely beautiful. Although, the bridal dress is more fashionable than before, the color is not quite change, it is still white, ivory or not a lot of difference from skin tone. Another necessary thing for a bride is the headpieces. Ten years ago, wearing the veil and tiara were very popular but now many brides choose to wear some headpiece that is easy and good-looking for the ceremony such as boho halo(bohemian style), silk flower headbands, or feathered headbands instead of the veil but tiara is still popular in the royal.

I remember that when I was a child, I went to the wedding ceremony, I saw the bride dress and I though one day I must become a stylist. I like to look when people choose the clothes and wear it. Also, I always guess personality from their clothes. In my family, I am a stylist for them because they are very busy and they think I have a good style. So, my job is choosing and buying the clothes. I love to do it. Honestly, I am a lazy girl but after that I found out that thinking about style makes me more diligent than before. That's why, I want to study in master degree of fashion merchandising. Now, I register at Academy of Art university. I hope they will accept me and I wish I'll belong to this field.


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References

Tatiana Boncompagni (2012, January,20). Wear a Denim Bridal Gown? Not Yet, but ... . The New York Times. Retrieved January 23, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/fashion/weddings/wear-a-denim-bridal-gown-not-yet-but.html?_r=1&ref=fashion

Life or Death by Indirection

I usually take note of news reports that might be relevant to essays I set, and "Dangerous abortions 'on the rise', says WHO" is worth noting because of the fact that it's not directly relevant.

According to this BBC News story, recent World Health Organization (WHO) statistics show that although the rate of abortions appears to have stabilised worldwide, the rate of unsafe abortions continues to increase, especially in developing and undeveled countries. According to Dr. Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, who published the United Nations Organization (UN) report, the "cruel and failed strategies" of "condemning, stigmatising and criminalising abortion" are largely to blame for this rise in unsafe abortions (Maternal mortality sect., ¶ 11).

As I've already suggested, my main reason for blogging this news report is that it is not directly relevant to the abortion question on the set of argumentative essays from which you are now choosing to write an answer. However, it does show why such questions matter: they are of more than academic interest, with people literally dying or living as a result of decisions that are made by law makers and others, so that although only indirectly, such reports as this one might be a useful source for someone who chooses to write on that particular question.

I don't think my own answer to that question, nor my response to the BBC report, are especially needed here, so will abstain from giving them now. When you read my essay answering the question, you will likely be able to correctly infer my response to the WHO statistics as reported.

In the meantime, you might like to consider why this report is at best only indirectly relevant, why it cannot directly support an answer either way to the question as asked. I thought it might help you to clarify your ideas answering the questions on "Understanding the Question", as will arguing your case on the question of whether wearing blue jeans is Thai culture.

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References

Dangerous abortions 'on the rise', says WHO. (2012, January 19), BBC News. Retrieved January 20, 2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16618156

Them fruit

There are several reasons for us reading Golding's very famous novel, which is, as Wikipedia suggests, read and studied by almost every British high school student, and by enough in the US that it continued to rate highly on the list of books people in the US want banned to the end of last century, as the American Library Association (ALA) records (2009), although I notice that it's been replaced this century by such evil and dangerous books as Harry Potter, which is the current number 1 (ALA, 2010).

First, it's a great novel, and not too long. I'm hoping we see why it's seen this way as we work our way through it.

Second, it provides excellent practice for a range of important reading skills, as we have already seen: using context to guess meaning; understanding how writers create connections that unify a piece of work, within and  between sentences as well as across paragraphs and between chapters or larger sections; understanding organization; understanding a writer's purpose; and so on.

Third, as you will realize even more clearly after reading and answering the questions on "Symbolic Systems and Meanings" (Hartmann & Blass, 2007, p. 12 - 16), it fits very well with the ideas in our readings in cultural anthropology.

Finally, and following all of the above, it's a fruitful source to also practise academic writing on.

Even if you haven't already read up on it, you would already have realised, as Sunny did, that Lord of the Flies is full of symbols and symbolic meanings, containing examples of all three types of symbolism discussed in the reading Hartmann and Blass have adapted from Rosman and Rubel's university textbook on cultural anthropology (2007, p. 12 - 16). "Them fruit" pretty clearly fits into the symbolism of food type of symbol. But before worrying about the symbolic meanings, I suggest you get the concrete, non-symbolic meaning clear first. As Hartmann and Blass's explanation clarifies, symbols only work when the non-symbolic half of the symbolism is understood. So on page 9, the first thing we need to understand is that there is edible fruit on the island, that Piggy has been eating it, that he has a stomach ache and diarrhoea as a result of his indulgence, and has to hurry off to shit, not just once, but twice (Golding & Epstein, p. 9 - 12). Once this is understood, you can worry about what "Them fruit" and this whole passage, to which Golding devotes a lot of detail, might symbolize. And right from start, in "The Sound of the Shell", we can see examples of Golding using space symbolically (what?), as well as symbols of politics and authority (what?).

I hope you are enjoying the novel as you read "Fire on the Mountain" over the weekend. It's probably a good idea to read the whole chapter first, trying to get an idea of what's happening, and then read it again, section by section (not sentence by sentence), with that overall context in mind. Looking at single sentences out of context is unlikely to be a useful reading strategy.

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References

American Library Association (ALA), (2009, July 29). 100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999. Retrieved January 20, 2012 from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/1990_1999/ 

American Library Association (ALA), (2010. April 6). Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009. Retrieved January 20, 2012 from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/2000_2009

Golding, W., & Epstein, E. (1954). Lord of the Flies. New York: Perigee.
(Note: Why are there two authors listed here?)

Hartmann, P. & Blass, L. (2007). Quest 3 Reading and Writing (2nd. ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill 

Lord of the Flies. (2012, January 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 02:18, January 20, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lord_of_the_Flies&oldid=472129273

Note on Wikipedia: whenever you use Wikipedia as a source, always use the "Cite this page" tool in the right-hand column to create the References list entry. Do not write it yourself. We are using the APA style reference citation, so just copy and paste that one (it's first) from the Wikipedia page. And while you're there, you might like to read Wikipedia's "IMPORTANT NOTE" at the top of the page.

Economic Issue__

There are many problems in the world today, such as political crisis, widespread famine in the some countries, pollution crisis. Every problem are linked to one main reason that is economic crisis. The affects of Economic crisis can impacts the living style, stabitlity and survival of each society and ethnic. Because of that, economic issue has already became a mian subject to every pepole and governments. Every government has to pay closed attention to internal and external economic situations in order to prevent themself from economic crisis.

According to "World Bank warns developing world to prepare for shocks" in BBC online news, World bank has warned that the developing countries should prepare for slow down of global economic growth in year 2012, altough it can relieve inflation that still higher in many developing countries. World bank has predicting economic growth rates in 2012 of developing country from previous 6.2% down to be 5.4%, and 2.7% down to be 1.4%. (2012, ¶ 8). European debt crisis is main reason to trigger low growth rates. The situation may continue for long-term. Developing countries are more affected than developed countries.

Economic low growth rate is a very dangerous signal to global economic system, it can turn out to be economic crisis. The weak growth rate is caused by many factors, such as low demand for product or low consumption, severe public debt,severe inflation, and high pirces of commodity. Each factor is linked together and influence each other. If the governments could not increase or maintain growth rate , Eventually, other problems would appear unpleasantly. The main problems are high unemployment rate, low domestic demand, and high criminal rate. All causes and effects like a vicious circle. Some people think that the main direct affect of low growth rate is low prices of products, and it may be a good for consumer and market. I don't agree this idea, even though product prices are reduced, but more people lose their jobs and the following question is that how can they purchase that products. Some governments invest lots of money in infrastructure in order to promote their domesitc demands, that can directly create many jobs. I think that is a effective measure to stimulate economic growth in the some countries, but not suitable for the other countries, because the situations of each country are different. Improving low carbon industry become a popular solution for many government recently. Because it uses clean and green energy to run its process and don't have to use high polluted fuel like oil or coal. This kind of industry can save the cost and creat lots of job.

References

Andrew, W. (2012, January 18). BBC News. Retrieved January 20,2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16602033

Dangerous solution

People form cities and in turn, cities  gather more people, which makes big cities. Even though people form big cities to live better and more conveniently, there are some inconvenient situations in big cities if the facilities for their people are not much enough to use. When I saw the article of BBC NEWS  "Indonesia concrete balls combat train surfing" , it reminds me of terrible times when I was a student who commuted every day by subway which was called the Hell's train.

According to BBC NEWS, Indonesian Railway stuff have started setting up concrete balls like the picture above train tracks near a station outside Jakarta to prevent passengers who have ridden on trains' roofs during the rush hours. The official says that in 2008, at least 53 commuters died and last year, 11 people were killed by riding on trains' roofs. BBC says that " Most victims are electrocuted by overhead power cables, but some fall off train carriages while trains are moving". The officials say that they had tried other measures to stop the problem, but they didn't work, so they wish that the newest one will be successful, which makes them expand the project.

As I already said  above, 20 years ago in Korea, the subways were called the Hell's train. Especially, rush hours in the morning and in the evening, there were too many people in trains. Passengers couldn't move only a little, so they had to stay in same position until they got off. Very often, I had to miss my station, because I couldn't go through the path stuck with too many people. After that, the government realized the seriousness of the subway problem and tried to solve the problem by devising other measures, such as building other subway lines, making public buses road for only themselves, and promoting companies to change the starting and finishing times.

Jakarta is one of the big cities in Asia like Seoul. Too many people move in rush hours. Usually in big cities, there is not any room for roads for cars, so there are subways in big cities. Trains are the best transportation which can carry many people at a time in Jakarta not subways. It is definitely because  there are not enough transportation to move a multitude of people, many people ride on the train's roof even though they know the possibilities of accidents. Also, it is true that the behaviors people ride there are illegal. However, devising concrete balls seems to be a rather rough and primitive way. As they said, the officials already tried other dangerous methods,even putting rolls of barbed wire on train roofs- but nothing has worked.

As the roof surfers says, "They have tried everything to keep us from riding...but in the end we always win", I don't think that the newest method will work. It dose not make sense that more dangerous manner should be put to save people from the dangerous situation. I hope that the Indonesian government should make safer projects to solve the problems, looking into other big cities around it.

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References

Indonesia concrete balls combat 'train surfing'.(2012. January 19). BBC 
NEWS. Retrieved January 19,2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16596181

The Blue Jeans Poll

The voting on whether wearing blue jeans is Thai culture looks pretty one sided, with the "No" voters in a large majority so far.

Perhaps the lonely "Yes" voters would like to add a comment below presenting their reasons to persuade a few people to change sides.

Women with Painful Periods

In "Women feel pain more than men", the study shows us that the women feel pain much sooner than the men and are able to endure it for far less time (2005). Unfortunately, the evolution of human has given women  unavoidable pains every month. When women have periods, most of them suffer from dysmenorrhoea. However, I think this piece of news will make women more relaxed when they face the problem of period pains.

According to "The pill 'does ease period pain'", for some women, oral contraceptive pills may reduce their painful periods (2012, ¶1). After conducting a 30-year study, Dr. Ingela Lindh points out that more than half of young women have suffered from a condition of pain during menstruation. However, about thirty of those poor women consider this condition a "moderate" pain, not a "severe"one after using birth-control pills (¶8). The researcher also says that painful periods seriously harm our society because a lot of women cannot go to work when they have periods. Therefore, Dr. Lindh suggests that the European Medicines Agency should officially include oral contraceptives as a medical treatment of period pain.

I hope Dr. Lindth will be able to support his study so strongly that European Medicines Agency is convinced. Also, I hope he will continue doing his research and then find another kind of pill which is more effective. It may not just alleviate the pain, but can completely stop the painful periods. If it occurs, it will be a pretty good news for women around the word, especially my younger sister. When she has a period, she always has severe backache and wants to vomit all the time. Most importantly, she sometimes suffers from stomachache ,which makes her face look very pale. Besides my sister, I myself will be pleased with an improved version of Dr. Linfth's study because I find it difficult to deal with a woman having a period. My girlfriend, for example, gets angry more easily because of having menstruation. No matter what I do, it seems to go wrong. If I ask her how she feel, she will blame me on making her aware of her pain. In contrast, if I do not say anything, she will still blame me on my cool aloofness and heartlessness. Actually, she also feels annoyed about her emotional turbulence, but she cannot control it while having period.

Furthermore, I agree with Dr. Lindth that painful periods badly affect not only women themselves but also their society. Because of monthly pains, my mother being an enthusiastic teacher turns to be an unproductive one. She becomes easily fatigue and cannot give her exciting lecture to her students. If the pain increases, she sometimes has to take a break and heads to the medical room of her school. It seems the painful periods always interfere women's life and their working.

However, I think women can handle the problem of painful periods better than men. Although men have physical endurance greater than women, I think we cannot be tolerant towards severity every month. For me, many women have strongly mental endurance. Despite having painful period, my mom still goes to work.In contrast, if I have a bit headache, I will not hesitate to get up late and refuse going to work.

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References

The pill 'does ease period pain'. (2012, January 18). BBC News. Retrieved January 18, 2012 from  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16597692

Women feel pain more than men. (2005, July 4). BBC News. Retrieved January 18, 2012 from   http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4641567.stm

Anti-privacy movement

Have you ever illegally downloaded or bought softwares, musics or movies? Today, everything is easy to find on the Internet such as softwares, books, or whatever you want. You just search on the search engine and click them to download. What do you think is it right to do or not, if not what should we do to deal with piracy?

According to Wikipedia joins blackout protest at US anti-piracy moves in BBC online news, Wikipedia, online encyclopedia website, expresses opposition to the anti-piracy legislation, SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act), of the US by being offline for 24 hours from midnight Eastern Standard Time (05:00 GMT) on Wednesday 18. The legislation would allow US department and content owners to require search engine not to show the results associated with piracy. Jimmy Wales, the site founder, says "the bill is so over broad and so badly written that it's going to impact all kinds of things that, you know, don't have anything to do with stopping piracy"

I think it is hardly possible to control the piracy or content on the Internet without violating freedom of expression and human right. For example in Germany, the law requires two years in prison for downloading illegal movies or mp3. In order to make this law effective, the government has servers to monitor illegal traffic in the country. That means whatever people in this country surf on, the government is watching them as well. In my view, I do not appreciate this approach much because it violate my privacy. I think there may be other ways to deal with piracy problem. I like the way Apple do in iTunes Music Store by selling 99 cents per song instead of whole album and making customers easy to use and purchase. With these approach, it makes iTunes Music Store the largest music retailer in the US today. Apple does not only in musics, but also in software as well. For me, I do not need to go to Pantip to buy illegal software or try to search for a crack anymore. I just sit in front of my computer and click to buy the one I really want for a few dollars. It will be better to cope with piracy by putting the burden on merchants to figure out the way, like what Apple do, instead of violating the right of customers.

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References

Wikipedia joins blackout protest at US anti-piracy moves (2012, January 18). BBC News. Retrieved January 18, 2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16590585

The Women's Pain

Normally, every young and middle-age woman has to deal with the menstrual period every month. Intensity of the pain is different which can be no pain to very severe pain in each person. The pain may affect some women so much so that they cannot spend a normal life in the period. One who suffers from the pain generally takes pain-killer medicines to relieve their pain. The person with the severe pain may take stronger pain-killer medicines than usual. Using oral contraceptive to relieve the pain is not new, but in an article “The pill 'does ease period pain'” (2012) make us sure via the study that it may help to relieve the pain in addition to prevent pregnancy. However, some people use it in wrong indications because the drug is easily to get in Thailand.

According to “The pill 'does ease period pain'” (2012), oral contraceptive medicines may lessen the pain who suffer from menstrual period. Although the medicine have no indication for this case, the study of Dr Ingela shows us that severity of the pain is significantly different between woman who take the drug and women who do not take the drug. This is very significant because the pain leads to problems not only to the individuals but also to the nations.

Normally, in menstrual period, women may be easily angry or feel uncomfortable with no pain to moderate pain. In unusual cases of very severe pain, my girlfriend is a good example. In some of her menstrual period that pain-killer drugs cannot help, when she is suffering from the pain, she cannot do anything even standing. I think women who likely to have very severe pain in the period should prepare themselves to confront the emergency situation by carrying the drugs all the time or finding a good man to take care of. Moreover, I have heard that after the first pregnancy this symptom will be better.

From my education and experiences as a pharmacist student, women who have a pain in menstrual period will take pain-killer medicines. In mind pain, they take simple drug, Paracetamol. In more pain patients, they take stronger NSAIDs (Non Steroidal Anti Inflammation Drugs) such as Ibuprofen, Mefenamic acid, and Naproxen Sodium. In some severe cases, the women additionally take oral contraceptive drugs, 21 tablets mixed Estrogen and Progesterone, every day for 4 courses and stop for 7 days to let menstruation occur, which means that 84 days women will have menstruation only 1 time. This will reduce the chance of severe pain. In case of my girlfriend, she had taken Dian^®-35(one of oral contraceptive drug) every month for 1 year. Throughout that year, she had no sign of severe pain.

Sometimes people do not use oral contraceptive drug for medical purposes. This might be a problem of people in Thailand since the medicine is easily to get at drugstores. Some men and women want to take the pills just because they want to have big breasts or good shape. Since public advertising of dangerous drugs is illegal, pharmaceutical companies try to avoid it by using some symbols and colors to let people know that they are particular drugs. For example, in some advertisement, there is a woman who has a good shape telling audiences to fine “Y” symbol in orange color. Then, the ad displays telephone number for viewers to get more information about a particular brand of medicine that they can get it at drugstores. Everything is a business, isn’t it?

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References

The pill 'does ease period pain' (2012, January 18). BBC News. Retrieved January 18, 2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16597692

Can legislation stop piracy?

Nowadays, there are many useful websites that people have freedom to access for getting the knowledge and information especially most of students use it to do their homework or reports while other people use it for entertainment. However, US government try to stop the illegal website by legislation Stop online piracy act(Sopa) and Protect Intellectual Property Act(Pipa) which cause displeasure among some search engines such as Wikipedia, Google and Yahoo etc. and some users.

According to "Wikipedia joins blackout protest at US anti-piracy moves" on the BBC News website, Jimmy wales who is the Wikipedia site's founder disagree with the Sopa and Pipa because the purpose of the law is giving authority to the state and private individual to close and prosecute websites that involve both direct and indirect violation such as search engines or links which are relate to illegal sites etc. So, this law may become a tool of the state for charging of various website unfairly.

I think US want to promulgate the Sopa and Pipa to control some websites such as Torrent that allow people loading violative movies and musics but this law will affect the connection and right in using Internet widely. It not only make the online business lose their profit which are from the online advertising but also search engines that have to cancel the link which connect to illegal websites. So, these websites such as Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia will lose their efficiency in searching the information because some important data may be inserted in not allowance site.

As a student and user, I disagree with the legislation because I think this method cannot solve problem directly. Although US try to suppress the existent illegal sites, after this, other new websites will be created again and again so it is the cycle which not has the end. Moreover, if every sites turn to be legal sites, people who want to get into the websites for finding some information will have to pay for using it that I think it not fair. Since US should concern about the education in their country by supporting students to access the information without payment. The important and necessary thing for US government to do is try to find the suitable measures which benefit for both consumers and producers or encourage them to participate and solve the problem together

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References

Wikipedia joins blackout protest at US anti-piracy moves. (2012, January 18). BBC News. Retrieved January 18, 2012. from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16590585

Good health, good you

Not only parent but also school always care about the health of their children. In school, we have to check on our health every year. Some schools have a vaccination program for students. And I am the one of them who have been receive vaccine from school.

According to "Meningitis jab 'protection hope'" on BBC News website, a Chilean study found out more evidence of the new vaccine against the meningitis B which is the most common disease of childhood in the UK. However, it is difficult to develop a single jab that can cover them all because the meningitis B is a group of thousands different bacteria. While vaccine developers can find vaccines which include four other major types, the danger of the meningitis B still remains.

Last year, I was sick. At First, I though I just got a cold but two days passed, the symptom was worst. So, I decided to go to hospital and I was admitted. My body temperature was very high but the result tested was not H1N1. The doctor sent me to ultrasound my stomach and the result was nothing happen. Day 4 in hospital, the blood test came out that I was Hepatitis. In that time, I scared because I know it is a serious disease. Fortunately, I have the vaccination of Hepatitis against the B from my school(also the vaccination of Meningitis against the B). The doctor assume two things why I was Hepatitis. The first is I ate unclean or not fresh food. Another thing is I told him that I took an acne pill and he though this is the reason of Hepatitis because liver will work hard when you take too much pills. After that, I avoid to take any pill as I can. I have an experience of careless of myself. At that time, I just think that I want to treat acnes on my face. I suggest that you have to be careful of choosing food or if it is unnecessary, you should avoid to take a pill.

I think healthy is the most important. If you have a good health, you can work, you can play and another good thing will come to you. Do you agree with me? I hope you all guys have a good health.

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References

Meningitis jab 'protection hope'. (2012, January 18). BBC News. Retrieved January 18,2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16613608

The Dangers of Cyberspace

Currently, everyone needs to use a computer to work and sometimes need to communicate with other people, especially young people that Surf the Internet than any other age whether talking with friends or playing online games. However, in fact, letting the children Surf the Internet at a long time, it can affect their body as well.

According to "Web addicts have brain changes, research suggests" on the BBC News website, Web addicts can cause our brain changes similar to an addiction to drugs or drink alcohol. The symptoms of this disease is the lack of control to Surf the Internet which affects mood, decision-making and self-control. Moreover, These symptoms have appeared in people who addicted to playing video games as well. Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, consultant psychiatrist and honorary senior lecturer at Imperial College London, said the symptoms of addiction to the Internet must be studied in more patients to confirm the discovery of this disease.

I think Surfing the Internet or playing computer games at a long time is a bad thing. I admit that I'm the one of those people who likes to play computer for a long time as well. On average, I play the computer about five to six hours per day, but on the weekend, I play a computer more than seven hours per day. When I was young, my mom told me that you shouldn't sit in front of a computer at a long time because it sends a negative effect on the eyes spine and neck bones. At first, I didn't believe her, so now I have to wear glasses because I'm sit in front of computer for a long time (I'm not just Surf the Internet but I have to sit to work and write novels as well).

Therefore, after I read this article, I was very surprised that Surfing the Internet or playing computer games can affect our brain. I always wondered why it's difficult to control my own feeling such as, want to do something, angry, or sad. I think perhaps as a result of using computer for a long time but I still suspect that it also affects human's memory or not, for I always forget something, for example, when I opened the refrigerator, sometimes I forget what I want to pick. How about you? Have you ever had the symptoms like these? and In one day, how long do you Surf the Internet or use the computer?

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References

Briggs, H. (2012, January 12). Web addicts have brain changes, research suggests. BBC News. Retrieved January 18, 2012 from

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16505521

Lessons from Loss

One of my abiding interests is Darwin's theory of evolution, so the title "Lost Charles Darwin fossils rediscovered in cabinet" on the BBC News this morning caught my eye.

According to "Lost Charles Darwin fossils rediscovered in cabinet", no one even knew that the "hundreds of beautiful glass slides", prepared from fossils collected by Charles Darwin and other scientists, existed (2012, ¶ 6). The fossils were shipped to England in the 1830s to be prepared as slides to be examined under a microscope. However, after preparation, they were not recorded and were forgotten until their "remarkable discovery" by Dr Howard Falcon-Lang.

I don't think the slides are particularly important for science, but more so as history. In fact, their unimportance for science demonstrates one of the great strengths of science. It shows yet again why the modern Darwinian theory of evolution, which explains how every single living thing on this planet is related because it all came from a single ancestor, is greatly superior to every alternative explanation of the origin of the vast variety of life on Earth today, from carrots, to humans, to cats, to bacteria, to poison ivy: we all related, and the modern scientific theory that began with Darwin's publication of the The Origin Of Species in 1859 explains how it is so.

Intriguingly, Darwin was not the first to have this idea. I remember my amazement when at university I read a very similar idea in the long philosophical poem De Rerum Natura by the Roman poet Lucretius, in which he imagines mindless particles first bumping into each other, then sticking together in ever more complex arrangements until we get human beings. And then again, there are similar ideas in the 18th century philosopher David Hume. But Darwin is special because he did what no one else had done before: he turned a great idea into a  great idea with a mass of solid, factual support. Darwin made the idea solid science. And since Darwin's day, the amount of evidence supporting the theory of evolution has grown enormously.

It amazes me that so many, especially in the US, hate and refuse to believe that the theory if true - they tend to be Christians and other religious types completely blinded by their strong faith in non-existent supernatural beings.  (Sorry, but I can't think of a single good reason to believe that any of the thousands of gods, demons, ghosts, spirits, pixies, elves, santas, fairies and other supernatural beings that humans have believed in might actually be real). Of course, all they need do is present a single piece of evidence that conflicts with Darwin's theory, and that will be the end of it. But after more than 150 years of trying, no one has ever presented any solid evidence, or even a strong reason, against the Darwinian theory of evolution. And as is usual with scientific theories, this one has itself evolved as more research has suggested refinements and new developments.

Even without the fossils that Darwin collected, his ideas lasted because, provided the relevant conditions are met (you might, for example, need a billion dollar Large Hadron Collider to do the experiment or make the observation), every scientific theory can be tested anywhere at any time - experiments and facts have to be verifiable and repeatable, and they can always be proven false. The loss of Darwin's fossils for 165 years was unfortunate, but it was not a problem for science: this theory has not yet been proved wrong. Their recovery is lucky for history, especially the history of science and culture.

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References

Lost Charles Darwin fossils rediscovered in cabinet. (2012, January 16). BBC News. Retrieved January 18, 2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16578330

Another helping of Korea

On Sundays, I usually meet up with friends for lunch at one of the hotels near my home, so I do also browse the food section of the local papers, and sometimes something in The New York Times food section also catches my eye, even if it's only of academic interest.

A couple of days ago, Sam Sifton wrote about the joys of David Chang's version of bo ssam, a Korean pork dish, as served his Momofuku Ssam Bar in New York's Manhattan district (2011). In "The Bo Ssam Miracle", Sifton not only presents Chang's basic recipe, but also praises his magnanimity in including the recipe in a recently published cookbook, thereby making it possible for home cooks to make it at considerably less than the $200 price in Chang's restaurant, although as Sifton notes, you get enough for 6 to 10 people for your money. According to the article, the popularity of Chang's version of  bo ssam is no longer limited to New York. The owner has recently opened a restaurant in Sydney, where the dish has also gone down extremely well.

I was very relieved when I read the last bit: that Chang has opened a restaurant in Sydney. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Sifton's rough account of how to prepare bo ssam, but it seemed a bit time consuming and involved. I'll be perfectly happy to pay someone else to do it for me, and probably rather better than I'm likely to manage. Or perhaps I can give the book to my youngest brother as a gift: he loves cooking and has an extremely well equipped kitchen. $23 for the book at Amazon seems like good value for money.

But one of my traditions is to go back home for a week over Songkran, and my family has grown accustomed to us eating out at least three or four times during that week, and Korean would make a nice change to the French and Italian restaurants that are our custom, along with daily visits to coffee shops. As I was reading the recipe and description, it also reminded of one of my mum's traditional ways of cooking duck - long, slow cooking, so that the meat almost falls apart into a rich pool of juices. Every year when I'm back, we have a family dinner at her home, and she always cooks that dish, although these days, "cooking" really means "inviting the immediate family and a few extended members to a bit meal". My youngest sister and my brother end up doing the actual cooking. Mother and the rest of us enjoy watching and smelling as we wait.

And although I had a large lunch today, now I'm hungry again. Fortunately, I have another food custom: I visit Siam Paragon after class on Saturdays (too crowded on Sundays, but Saturdays are OK), where the supermarket has an excellent soup bar, amongst other things, so I have a couple of tubs of soup to enjoy with bread and butter.

And I'm looking forward to Songkran, when "The Bo Ssam Miracle" can become of more than academic interest.

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References

Sifton, S. (2012, January 12). The Bo Ssam Miracle. The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/magazine/the-bo-ssam-miracle.html