Using the thesaurus (SkRW3, p96, Study Skills)

What we read

The study skills page that follows Unit 9 of Bixby and Scanlon (2013, p. 96) gets us to think about and gives some suggestions on using a thesaurus.

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My response 

To be honest, I don't often use a thesaurus, even though it's very convenient. And what I liked most on page 96 was actually Bixby and Scanlon's question 2 in the "Getting Started" section at the top. Why I liked this is because it focuses attention on skillful use of a dictionary, which seems to me a more important skill set in writing. (And I've now written my quota of cleft sentences.) I have, consequently, also added that question below. 

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Bixby and Scanlon's questions

In a comment, respond to these questions. 

• Do you use a dictionary to help you when you are writing? 
• What type of dictionary do you use?
• What do you use it to check? That is, how does it help you?
   
• Which type of thesaurus would be most useful for you? (e.g., paper or online? alphabetical or topical?) Why?
   
• What are the potential disadvantages of using a thesaurus? 
• How might we avoid these possible disadvantages? 

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Reference

• Bixby, J, & Scanlon, J. (2013).  Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 3. London: Macmillan Education

Has Law persuaded you?

What we read

We have now read and thought about Stephen Law's defence of his controversial thesis that "it's morally wrong to eat meat" (2018, p. 1, line 7). We know this is controversial because almost everyone on our class initially said that Law was wrong. However, Law presents a strong argument, so we need an equally strong reason to say that he is wrong. 

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My response 

As I've already said, I like this essay by Law because although written for a general audience, it displays many of the features common to academic writing. For example, on page 46 of Skillful Reading and Writing 2, Stella Cottrell (2013) lists nine features that collectively distinguish academic writing from the various non-academic versions of English; Law's essay displays all of these. That is, in this essay written in a traditional dialogue form that copies that of such past greats as Plato, Galileo and Hume, we see all of the following: 

• the use of sources (Law cites three) 
• comparing and contrasting of theories and models 
• the use of criteria to evaluate opinions 
• showing awareness of complexities, especially of opposing arguments 
• following an argument (Law does this very well, as we expect from a philosopher) 
• making a decision (taking a stand — there is no doubt what Law's stand is) 
• following a set structure 
• being discursive to smoothly lead readers from point to point
   and 
• being emotionally neutral  

And as I've also mentioned previously, I like Law's essay because it gives us a solid opportunity to practice critical thinking, a further essential element on academic work, on a topic that is relevant to our own daily lives: most of us probably eat meat, but if Law is right, we are doing something morally wrong and should stop doing it. 

Last week, when we looked at the expected formatting for academic work, I used the example of Ali K's response on an online discussion board, which is on page 9 of Skillful 3 (Bixby & Scanlon, 2013), noting also that on online discussion boards, we relax some of the usual requirements for submitting academic work. Over the past few weeks, we have used the online discussion board that is this blog to practice a range of important academic writing skills, especially summarizing and using sources appropriately. If you have looked through Skillful, you might already have noticed that Bixby and Scanlon draw our attention to this modern aspect of academic work on page 66, where the Study Skill that concludes Unit 6 is titled "Participating in Online Discussion Boards" (Bixby & Scanlon, 2013). 

And now it's your turn. 

Answer the question below in a comment on this discussion of Law's thesis that it is morally wrong to eat meat. 

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My question

• Has Law now persuaded you that eating meat is morally wrong? 
• If he has, what made you change your mind? 
• If he has not, why is Law wrong? 

Citing Law

In your response, you will need to cite Law. It is probably enough to use such language as: 

• Law says that ... / According to Law, ... / Law's idea is that .... and so on, although you might also like to cite the page for the idea you paraphrase, or perhaps very briefly copy and paste in "quotation marks."

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References

• Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education
   
• Cottrell, S. (2013). Common features of all academic writing. In L. Rogers & J. Wilkin. Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 2 (p. 46). Oxford: Macmillan Education
   
• Law, S. (2018). Carving the roast beast. In The Xmas Files: The Philosophy of Christmas [MS Word edition prepared by Peter for use in EAP classes at AUA] (pp. 124 - 140). Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Retrieved from https://1drv.ms/w/s!AvLRvG3dUEtbw3Fm4_Mn-_T6Be_S
• Taken from Kindle edition (2003) available from https://www.amazon.com/Xmas-Files-Philosophy-Christmas-ebook/dp/B006FW1FFG/ 

Common features of all academic writing (SkRW2, p46, Study Skills)

What we read

In "Common Features of All Academic Writing" (2013), Sandra Cottrell introduces nine features that typically make academic writing distinct from other forms of writing. There are:

• the use of sources
• comparing and contrasting options 
• the use of criteria to evaluate 
• showing awareness of complexities 
• following an argument
• making a decision (taking a stand) 
• following a set structure 
• being discursive
  and
• being emotionally neutral 

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My questions

• Which of the nine elements that Cottrell introduces do you think is the biggest problem in your culture? Why?
   
• Which one do you think you need to work on more in your own writing? 

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Reference

• Cottrell, S. (2013). Common features of all academic writing. In L. Rogers & J. Wilkin. Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 2 (p. 46). Oxford: Macmillan Education

Scale: reading 2, "The Sky's the Limit" (SkRW2, p41, Developing critical thinking)

What we read

We have now read and checked our understanding of the reading "The Sky's the Limit" (Rogers & Wilkin, p. 41, 2013).

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Our response 

Rogers and Wilkin now invite us to respond to the ideas in a critical thinking exercise.

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Rogers and Wilkins' questions

Think about the ideas from "The Sky's the Limit" and write a comment to respond to these questions.

• Why do you think some countries and cities see modern developments as positive and others see them as negative? 
• It is probably a good idea to give examples in your comments here.
   
• Why do you think the construction of large buildings is often closely linked to financial disasters? 
• Is it mere correlation, or is it causation? 

___________________________________ 

Reference

• Rogers, L. & Wilkin, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 2. London: Macmillan Education 

Scale: reading 1 "The Superconsumer Generation" (SkRW2, p39, Developing critical thinking)

What we read

We have just read and checked our understanding of "The Superconsumer Generation," the first reading in Unit 4 of Skillful RW2.

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Our response 

Having read the text a couple of times, Rogers and Wilkin now invite us to respond to the ideas in a critical thinking exercise.

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Rogers and Wilkin's questions

Comment on the following questions, which are the two critical thinking questions on page 39 (Rogers & Wilkin, 2013).

Think for a minute or two before you start writing. 

• Think of your parents' and grandparents' generations. Are they different from you in the way they shop? Why do you think that older generations are often slower to accept technological changes? (Do you think they are slower?)
   
• Do you think the change in retailing is positive or negative? Think of at least two positives and negatives.  

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Reference

• Rogers, L. & Wilkin, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 2. London: Macmillan Education

Getting into Unit 4 = Scale (SkRW2, p37, Discussion point)

What we read

On page 37 of Skillful, Rogers and Wilkin (2013) give us the usual large photograph and some discussion questions to introduce unit 4, which is titled "Scale."

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Rogers and Wilkins' questions 

• Look at the picture on page 37. How would you describe the building? Where do you think it is?
   
• What are some of the biggest buildings in your country? Do you know what's in those buildings?
   
• What are the advantages and disadvantages for consumers of buying from large companies? 

As usual, Rogers and Wilkin also suggest some language to help you start your sentences, but it's up to you whether you use that or not. 

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Reference

• Rogers, L. & Wilkin, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 2.  London: Macmillan Education

Improving Reading Comprehension (SkRW2, p36, Study Skills)

What we read

The study skills page that follows Unit 3 of Rogers and Wilkins (2013, p. 36) gets us to think about and gives some suggestions on strategies to improve reading comprehension, an essential part of academic work. 

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My response 

Following her five questions to get us reflecting on our current reading habits, Cottrell suggests eight strategies that can help to improve our reading comprehension. 

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My question

Read Cottrell's eight suggestions. Then choose two that seem most useful to you. Which two would you like to try in future? Write a comment that explains what you do now in your reading and what you would like to work on changing in future. Will you do exactly what Cottrell suggests, or modify it a bit to better fit your reading situation? 

Cottrell's eight strategies 

• Start with something general
• Monitor your comprehension
• Guide your reading
• Re-read difficult passages
• Highlight key words and phrases
• Colour-code information
• Ask "depth questions"
• Relaxed reading 

Cottrell's questions

• How do I approach reading tasks now? 
• How could I spend my time reading more effectively? 

The instruction I gave with my questions above is a slightly more specific version of Cottrell's general questions. 

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Reference

• Cottrell, S., (2013). In L. Rogers & J. Wilkin, Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 2. London: Macmillan Education 

A Real Good Plot For A Movie, Not In Real Life

What I read

According to the “The LAPD Couldn’t Find Her Son – And Tried To Send Her Home With A Replacement” by Lamoureux (2018), in 1982, The Los Angeles Police Department suggested Christine Collins to take an impostor child back home instead of her missing son.  As Collins tried to tell the police it was not her son, she was sent to an asylum by Captain J.J. Jones. Collins was released from the psych ward after the impostor child had confessed. She then spent the rest of her life searching for her son and die at the age of 75 without any satisfied conclusion from the case.

Collins acted happy with the impostor child for the press. 

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My response 

Changeling (2008), starring Angelina Jolie

“I have seen a movie that is very similar to this story before.” This was my very first thought after reading the article. I later searched and found out that Changeling (2008), the movie I watched, is actually based on this true event. It is sad to know that the tragedy in the movie was once happened in real life. The event was a sorrow but Christine Collins’s motherhood was something to be praised.

After bringing Christine Collins an impostor child, The LAPD linked the case to the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders. A lot of boys, probably around 20, were kidnapped and killed at Wineville. Collins, with extraordinary courage, went to talk with the killer whether he killed her son or not. Although the killer admitted that he kidnapped and killed some boys, he told Collins that he did not kill her son. With the fact that the police didn’t find the body of her son and a tiny bit of hope, Collins kept searching for her son ever since.

 

Walter Collins, the one went missing (left) and Arthur Hutchins Jr, the impostor (right)

How long would someone keep waiting with such a slight hope? Christine Collins kept searching for her son for 36 years until she died! She didn’t lose her hope even a bit. Not even after a police sent her to a psych ward. Not even when the police linked the case to the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders. This is what a mother can do for her child, not just in a movie, but also in a real life.   

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My question

What is your favorite based-on-true-story movie? Why?

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Reference

• Lamoureux, A. (2018, March 22). The LAPD Couldn’t Find Her Son – And Tried To Send Her Home With A Replacement. Retrieved from http://allthatsinteresting.com/christine-collins

Feudalism no longer fit for purpose

What I read

In "Phone in the right hand? You're a hacker!" (2018), the BBC's Mark Ward writes that the old metaphor where cyber defence was a feudal castle looking only to repel outside invaders is being replaced by more sophisticated approaches using big data, for example, recording typing patterns, to turn all connected devices and the network itself into a constantly self-monitoring entity to more rapidly detect and respond to intrusions so that even if an attacker gets into a system, it is possible to "limit the blast radius." Known as "Beyond Corp," this more sophisticated cyber-defence system was initially created by Google in response to attacks on them and other major US corporations in 2009. 

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My response 

The two metaphors made this article hard to resist blogging. Actually, although Ward describes it as a metaphor, which it can be, the way he presents the comparison of system security to a mediaeval castle protecting a dictatorial king or nobleman is as a simile. But it's still a great example of a metaphor used to describe something by comparing to something different. And the castle metaphor is extended throughout the article: it isn't just one sentence in one place. The second obvious metaphor is the bit I quoted from the source in my last sentence, which was also a quotation in my source: the blast radius describes the damage that hackers can do. This descriptive comparison to the area blasted by an explosion is presented as a metaphor in the article. 

The other thing I thought of as I read was how cool these things are. I like to do online courses through Coursera, and for the past couple of years, they have authenticated me and some of my assignments by doing exactly what the article describes: their system monitors how I type on my keyboard to confirm that it's me doing the work, not someone I've paid to cheat for me. I don't know whether the TOEFL-iBT test does this or not, but it seems an obvious application, one which universities generally could start using to detect one form of cheating by students. And of course, universities have been using increasingly sophisticated programs to scan submitted work for plagiarism for many years now. 

But the above got me thinking more generally about how rapidly the world is changing, and how things that were normal in my childhood are now seen as feudal hangovers from the bad old days, old customs and attitudes that should not exist in modern society. For example, sexism, racism and the like were common when I was in primary school. Australian society went through great upheavals as the blast radius from better ways of thinking spread from feminist groups to the rest of society, and continues to shake up the rotten prejudices of traditional ways of thinking that would have women submissively serving despotic husbands at home instead of getting out and running the world as full equals to men. And as Minnie's recent blog post reminds us, the world has been making great progress in recognizing and eradicating the poisonous prejudices against gay and lesbian people, although there still remain many old customs to be blasted away. (I couldn't resist extending the metaphor just a little.) 

However, I don't agree with all responses to bad elements in our history. In the US a few months ago, there was a lot of controversy about the removal of statues honouring people who had been guilty of slave owning, and in a more internationally known case a couple of years ago, Oxford University was under great pressure to remove a statue that had been set up to honour Cecil Rhodes, who in addition to funding the famous Rhodes Scholarships program for foreign students to study at Oxford, made his fortune from diamonds through brutal imperialism in South Africa. I think Oxford's Oriel College made the right decision to keep the statue in place, but ensure that the historical record was updated to reflect the very real prejudices and other abuses that Rhodes and those like him committed, quite possibly by mistakenly believing themselves to be doing good deeds at the time. 

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My question

If the bad old ways of our ancestors are no longer fit for purpose in the modern world, what should we do with them? That is, what should our response to traditional social customs, attitudes and once-revered (respected) relics be when those things can no longer usefully serve us or our society? (This is one question. It's just written as two sentences for clarity.) 

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Reference

• Ward, M. (2018, July 13). Phone in the right hand? You're a hacker! Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-44438808

Sound: reading 2, "The Loudest Sound You've Never Heard" (RW3, p91, Developing critical thinking)

What we read

We have just read and checked our understanding of "The Loudest Sound You've Never Heard" (Bixby & Scanlon, 2013). 

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Our response 

Having read the text a couple of times, Bixby and Scanlon now invite us to respond to the ideas in it in a critical thinking exercise.

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Bixby and Scanlon's questions

Having spent a couple of minutes planning, respond to these questions in a comment. 

• Would it be advantageous for humans to be able to hear infrasound? Why or why not? Briefly explain the  pros and cons that you thought of. 

• In our daily lives, we are surrounded by  all sorts of sounds. What sounds are the most pleasant of relaxing? Do you enjoy being in complete silence? 

___________________________________ 

Reference

• Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education

Happy Meetings

What I read

According to “Grindr? Doodles? What do you do during boring meetings?” (2018) by Padraig Belton. It is a bad news for meeting holders to know that meetings are boring for most people  and they do many other things instead while in meetings. To solve this problem, many ideas using artificial technology(AI) have been proposed such as moderator bot, secretary bot, or meeting avatar bot, which might make meetings more interesting and effective. Some of these are already in action for example, AI that can help taking notes and making meeting summary which can significantly decrease time for doing mundane task. Although most companies still conduct meetings in conventional ways, it is not surprising that there must be a lot of demand for any solutions that can improve meetings.

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My response 

To be honest I am also another one who feel that meeting is a boring and sometime counterproductive activity. I have attended meetings many times. And whenever I have to go to a meeting, I always bring a book or something to read, just in case if it turns out to be a boring meeting. It seems like most of us know there is something goes wrong somewhere somehow about the ways we conduct meeting, but we still have meetings as usual events in many organizations. 

Apparently, meeting is a sensible method when we have problems to solve we would like to gather people up and let everyone contribute their ideas in which we might find the best solution. And I think this is why it is a very common procedure in almost everywhere. Though meeting can be a powerful tool, but it also takes up a lot of manpower and can backfire if we use it too often without a good plan.

So the problem is not about why, but how we should do a meeting, so that everyone will enjoy meetings. Among all ideas mentioned in the article, the idea I like the most is the software that can hold an anonymous meeting, because I think it can help meeting attendees speak their mind and make discussion focus only on idea itself, not whose idea it is. If you attend an in-person meeting and you’ve got something to say, but you might not say anything because you might get it the way of someone, especially senior staff that might cause them lose face and might have conflict later on. But with this software we can focus on pros and cons of each idea and don’t have to worry much about hierarchy. And hopefully we will end up with the best one. Moreover, with privilege of anonymity it might make meetings more engaging because everyone feels that they have equal voice regardless of their status. So everyone are equally important in the meeting.

However, I don’t expect any dramatically changes in the ways we conduct meetings in near future because changes are always take time.  Normally, learning new thing takes time, effort and maybe money. So at the beginning, only a few companies are willing to try a new method, until it reaches a certain number that most people agree to adopt the new method and turn it into a new norm. Anyway, as many tech companies keep coming up with new promising solutions, it is not a bad idea to try them all. 

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My question

Have you ever attended any meetings? How was that?

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Reference

• Belton P. (2018, June 29). “Grindr? Doodles? What do you do during boring meetings?”. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44642167

Discovered the temple.

What I read

According to "Mexico earthquake leads to discovery of ancient temple"(2018). The archaeologist in Mexico have discovered the new temple in the pyramid which is damaged by the terrible earthquake in September 2017.

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My response 

In my opinion I think that the ancient places or sculptures are important for us to learn about. I think many ideas of thinking or believing in the old times are interesting to read or do some research. According to this news, the new temple that they have found are build to worship the god of rain which could be refer to the Aztec's life.

In addition, I think many ancient places around the world are still uncharted and will help us to learn about what human did in the past to survive. Maybe we will need to use their guides in the future which have no technology.

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My question

How about your country ? Do you think there are some ancient places beneath us ?

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Reference

• Mexico earthquake leads to discovery of ancient temple. (2018, July 12) Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-44806790

Sweeten the bitterness

What I read

According to "A Matter of Taste: Can a Sweet Tooth Be Switched Off in the Brain?," Simon Makin (2018) showed that it might be able to block perception of tastes which could turn your sweet taste to bitter taste. Amygdala, a brain's part, was found to play an important role in"brain's taste circuitry", Many experiments, whether they be activating sweet connection in amygdala which made mice drink more bitter quinine, motivating bitter connection which mice disinclined to drink sweet solution, or even switching off amygdala functions, could be inferred that "different components of taste experiences are dissociable and can be independently modified, or even removed." So, these researches could be useful to broaden and help people with obesity or eating disorder problem by restraining those reactions to the tastes.

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My response 

I think brains are attractive. They are amazing containing many mysterious secrets waiting to be explored. With countless neuron, they are the source of our thoughts, movement, behaviors, etc. I always wonder and be curious to know how the brain works, how their synapses talk to each other and transfer information.

Like from the article, understanding each brain part's duties would expand our knowledge to help more people both in physical and mental health or to optimize your brain's capability as well. Those researches in the article also showed that everything is from your brain, like when the mice felt like they were tasting some particular flavors, despite they didn't eat anything but were urged by a technique directly to their brain. However, any trials on humans should be considered the safety and there would no severe side effects. This is only one example of what brains can do or what can we do to the brains, and how wonderful they are.

Brains could be tricked? This also makes me interested in psychology. I think brain and psychology are related. It is fun to understand how or why a person acts or reacts in different situations and how it mechanism works. After reading the article, it reminds me some videos I used to watch long time ago, it was about making someone who was afraid of spiders, to be able to touch them. So I think if the response to tastes could be changed, so does the responses to the spiders. And another video was about to trick the participants to think that they had done some bad things. They kept telling the participants some stories. It seemed like changing or modifying their memories about themselves. Finally, they really thought that they had committed a crime which the truth was they didn't.

Brains are always amazing for me and it could really make change in our behaviors. Anyways, receiving these kinds of information has to be careful, also check the sources that they can be reliable.

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My question

What brain's stories you've heard?

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Reference

• Makin, S. (2018, May 30). A Matter of Taste: Can a Sweet Tooth Be Switched Off in the Brain? Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-matter-of-taste-can-a-sweet-tooth-be-switched-off-in-the-brain/

Buy teddy bear by your age

What I read

According to Build-A-Bear 'pay your age' offer abandoned amid 'chaos' (2018). Build-A-Bear shops have a promotion for children. The promotion is  that you can pay the teddy bear by your age. For example, if your child is 5 years old, you can pay only £5 for any teddy bear. This promotion  causes chaos because many families that have young children interest to buy cheap teddy bear. So, there are very long queues, some children wait more than 4 hours among chaotic scene.

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My response 

In Thailand,this situations always occur when the shops in the department store have many promotions such as buy 1 get 1 free or up to 70 percents discount. In the past, if the shops have promotion,you will see many people in the shops. But today, the shop have promotion every month so people don't exited seemed as in the past.
Some shops, you may see it on sales all the times such as Eve and Boy which is my favorite cosmetic shop.


For me, when I heard the news about big sale festival, I am not excited because I do not have endure enough to wait a long time queues or wake up early for the first queue. I not like to buy promotion price because I think it's waste my time to do anything better. I prefer to buy normal price. On the other hand, if the shops have promotion price without any queue or not crown of people, I prefer to buy promotion price to save my money.

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My question

Do you prefer to buy at normal price or promotion price with a long..long time queues ? and why?

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Reference

Build-A-Bear 'pay your age' offer abandoned amid 'chaos.(2018, July 12). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-44809213

Sense of fear

What I read

In "China investigates why plane dropped more than 6,000m", the news reported that a plane of China was flying from Hong Kong to Dalian, on the trip, the plane reported that they met emergency due to cabin pressure, they must drop to the lower height to make sure about the crew and passengers securely. Then the oxygen masks dropped. Passengers calm to face to this situation. The plane lost height of 6500m. Later, it came back to the normal height and arrived on time. Someone inferred to the crew was smoking in the cockpit and wrong operating of the ventilation system. Now Chinese aviation is surveying the specific reason.

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My response 

When I read this news and saw the picture, I felt scared. I wasn't afraid of flying by plane before, but while I watched a movie named Final Destination and heard about Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 accident, I began to fear flying. But I can't refuse traveling by plane because it's faster than other transportation. So when I was flying, usually, I felt nervous at takeoff and landfall. Other times, if the flying was steady, I would forget my scared feel and do something for fun. Sometimes, I met unstable airflow, the plane began to shake, my heartbeat would be accelerated.

I checked some news of media coverage in China, it said that when the plane broadcast the message, the passengers didn't know why the plane was losing pressure, because they flew stable, and they thought the plane met some accidents and broken. When the oxygen masks dropped, the cabin was very quiet, they could hear the sound of each breathing. The plane recovered normal air within ten minutes of the passengers taking oxygen from the oxygen mask. But the plane broadcast the same message twice when they were flying, but they couldn't use the oxygen masks again, because it could be using for only one time. Fortunately, the second broadcast was a mistake. Maybe I shouldn't see this news, I will nervous about my flying.

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My question

Are you afraid to take plane?

___________________________________ 

Reference

• China investigates why plane dropped more than 6,000m. (2018, July 12). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-44803726

Equality under discrimination

What I read

According to Single sex marriage law on way by Apinya.(2018),The Civil Partnership Bill is supposed to be completed by the Ministry of Justice no longer than September this year. Consequently, it can be approved by the cabinet and subsequently be promulgated by the legislative body. This bill provides single sex spouses with the same rights as those protected by the marriage law applied on heterosexual couples. However, the same-sex couples will still be barred from using their partner’s surname, although this bill have come into effect.

The seminar on the partnership bill was arranged and Australia is a good example of the country whose law recognizes same sex marriage on the basis of equality for all genders. 

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My response 

At first when I saw this news, I was so excited about the development of Thai legal system because in Thailand, homosexuality is not socially acceptable for many people and some still insist that the sanctity of marriage only exists in different-sex marriage. However, when I read the article I think that Thailand really cannot get over this discrimination againstLGBT because even the law that is expected to grant marriage equality to the same sex couples, they are not entitled to all rights received by different-sex couples. It seems to me that Thailand has not been serious about dignity of same-sex couples. 

Another question also occurs to me while reading the news; why marriage of the LGBT has to be recognized by law different from the ordinary marriage law. Why don’t we revise the marriage law to cover all single-sex couples? Through this way, I think it will decrease persecution suffered by LGBT community and diminish difference between LGBT and straight man or woman among Thai public. Even if people in this generation will not be fully accustomed to this, it is a good start to pave a way for next generations to understand and be more open-minded about LGBT group. 

___________________________________ 

My question

Isn’t it better to use the same law to recognize marriages between same-sex and different-sex spouse? Or it is necessary to use different law?

___________________________________ 

Reference

• Apinya. (2018, Jul 8). Single sex marriage law on way. The Bangkok Post. Retrieved from https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1499498/single-sex-marriage-law-on-way

Croatia Beats England

What I read

According to World Cup 2018: Croatia fans ecstatic after ousting England by Bell B.(2018), Croatia beating England is good news ever for Croatia fans in World cup 2018. Due to just over 4 million people of Croatia country,  no one hopes that Croatia team football can get through in the final round. Also, many media of England predict that English will win in those time. That is the talk of their town since the semi-finals in 1998.

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My response 

I am proud of Croatia team. With pleasure, I heard that Croatia team has a good performance in this year. They played it all of their hearts, and it is definitely success ever they had it before. Although Croatia country is not in forecasted ranking, it proved that they have a great potential more than other people's judge. Thus, it is such a lucky news for their fans extremely.

Like Thailand, we do not have the different amount of population comparing to Croatia. In the same way, we always hope that Thai football team will participate in World Cup once day, and it seems everyone is ready to support and our football player have been practising with high willingness. We are sending some players to other foreign teams also such as Japanese team to improve their abilities by degree. I think that the amount of good Thai player is not still enough for World Cup. However, it is good developed than our past and we never get them walk alone.

___________________________________ 

My question

Which team do you cheer in Final round? Why?

___________________________________ 

Referenceat 

• Bell B. (12 July 2018). World Cup 2018: Croatia fans ecstatic after ousting England. Retrieve from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44801849.

Invisible murderer; air pollution

What I read

According to “Why does India's air look different from space?” by Jonathan Amos (2018), Europe's new Sentinel-5P satellite was launched to observe air quality worldwide. This satellite is the most modern tool that can show the data of air quality faster than ever. From this satellite, it shows an increase in concentration of formaldehyde, a colorless gas that is released from vegetation, fires and polluting activities, in India and the surrounding countries in South Asia. It is the result of Indian use of wood for cooking and heating. Formaldehyde can also react with nitrogen dioxide and many other pollutants and sunlight to produce ground-level ozone which can cause serious health problems and climate change.   

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My response 

Since most air pollution comes from energy use and production such as burning fossil fuels, so the reduction of these fuels can drastically reduce the air pollution problem like the director of clean air project, John Walke, has said "The less gasoline we burn, the better we’re doing to reduce air pollution and harmful effects of air pollution and climate change." So, we all can help our world and ourselves by making good choices about transportation. If you can walk then walk, if you can ride a bike then ride. If you could use public transportation, then please use it without hesitation. Moreover, I think, buying our food locally can reduce the fossil fuels burned in trucking or flying food from across the country. Not only reducing the use of electricity and energy but we also should find and develop other effective and clean sources of energy such as solar or wind as soon as possible and as much as possible as well. 

In my opinion, air pollution can be considered as an invisible murderer, because many hazardous air pollutants are colorless, transparent, odorless and soundless. We cannot kill or destroy them, thus they are very dangerous murderer to deal with. From statistics, there are more and more people who were born with an allergy. I am pretty sure that an allergy is highly related to the air pollution. Air pollution can cause premature deaths according to its increase in risk factor for serious pollution-related disease such as respiratory infections, heart disease, COPD, stroke and lung cancer. That's why I call it "invisible murderer."

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My question

We all have realized about air pollution and climate change for a long time, but the problem seems to get worse. Are there any resolved and effective solutions to this problem?   

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Reference

• Amos, J. (2018, June 22). Why does India's air look different from space? Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44550091

Digital technology that improves farmers’ life

What I read

In “The trick that turned seven bags of cocoa into 25”, Jessica Bown (2018) says that digital technology such as information system technology and blockchain technology can help famers improve a new way of doing agricultural business in the current digital economy, as these two innovation facilitate farmers in be equipped knowledge on a better farming and be able to gain higher profits on selling agricultural products. According to the news article, Olam Farmer Information System (OFIS) App, which developed by Olam, has enabled a cocoa farmer from Ghana to increase his productivity by collecting farm data and recommending how to increase harvest. Another example is using blockchain technology for selling agricultural products and lending money from banks.

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My response 

I think this is good news that some technology firms have invented creative tools that enable farmers to compete with other giant competitors such as multinational companies and supermarkets in the era of digital economy. Since new digital technology and FinTech was introduced in late 2016, I have heard some bad news about how disruptive of the digital technology are and potential risks that would be causes by them.  Majority of my colleagues in banking industry believe that transformation of digital technology would really affect human’s employability. In the other words, Robotic technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are going to replace human in job market. It is true about that change, as we work in banking industry; we are facing disruptive change in the way we work. In financial service industry, AI has been developed and used to replace human in analytical job positions such financial analyst or credit analyst. The reason is that AI never tries of calculating lager data while human usually does. Another reason is that AI has no emotion when it comes to evaluate loan approval while human usually has. What do to with those credit analysts? Banks will re-train them to be a sale representation instead. 

For banking industry in Thailand, the government has been working to transform its financial system to be cashless society.  I have been involved in nationwide e-payments project from Bank of Thailand. My bank has successful in launching Prompay and QR Payment. By the way, I was wondering about what if all Thai people be ready for cashless society. I think it would be great if the nationwide e-payment project would facilitate Thai farmers in doing their business too.

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My question

To what extent famers in Thailand would be competitive in digital economy?

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Reference

• Bown, J. (2018, July 3). The trick that turned seven bags of cocoa into 25 Retrieved from https://bbc.com/news/business-44642175

Getting into Unit 3 = Space (R&W2, p27, Discussion point)

What we read

On page 27 of Skillful, Rogers and Wilkin (2013) give us the usual large photograph and some discussion questions to introduce unit 3, whose title is "Space."

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Rogers and Wilkin's questions

• What do you think fascinates people about space?
   
• Why is it important to study our universe?
   
• Some people think that space exploration is a waste of money and that we should focus on solving problems on Earth. What's your opinion? Which side do you support? And why? 

As usual, Rogers and Wilkin also suggest some language to help you start your sentences, but it's up to you whether you use that or not. 

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Reference

• Rogers, L. & Wilkin, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 2.  London: Macmillan Education 

"Are you a numbers person?"

What I read

In "Why it matters if we become innumerate", Adrienne Bernhard (2018) says that we have to face on simple mathematics questions in daily life. The number sense helps us solve lots of daily problems. But we also need to understand complicated numeration, such as how to manage and spend money. If we don't know rules, it may have some impacts on our lives. This kind of numerations is different from school math course. In a survey, the numeration level of the country citizens may influence the unemployment, productivity and physical health. We can't completely believe the big data, the computer just counts the data, but people can judge and find differences. We need to use computers and phones wisely. Don't rely on the statistics and keep doubt.

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My response 

I'm not a numbers person, usually, I think the math questions are too difficult. Since I graduated from school, I felt that math was far away from me. Sometimes, I even thought why we must learn the complicated mathematics of our younger age, we don't need this higher skill to solve problems in our lives, we just knew basic math was enough. Because buying food don't need Trigonometric function knowledge. If someone talks about mathematics, I feel a headache and want to walk away. It's me, I didn't like math in the past.

I have a hobby that I like to communicate with others. Sometimes, I think my knowledge has 50 percent from communicating, if someone talks to me about an interesting topic, I will check for more information about this topic on the internet. I like traveling, so I met some people they are very different from my friends' circle. One day, I met a person of Master of Mathematics, he told me a lot of different opinions from math, he said, "we learned math since our six years old, but this is not math, math include a wide range, we just learned a little, higher math is like a philosophy problem", I am not sure about this opinion, but if he wants to arouse my curiosity about mathematics, then he succeeded. I became less annoying about mathematics. It's a good thing for me because I realized that managing my money is a big important skill in my life. I need to learn math skills to help my deposit money increase rather than rely on work salary merely. But I still use the smartphone to do the basic arithmetic problem, because I really can’t count it.

Finally, he told me something interesting. He said that ants are similar to two-dimensional creatures and this is a math question.

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My question

Do you think mathematics is important?

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Reference

• Bernhard. A. (2018, July 9). Why it matters if we become innumerate? Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180706-why-it-matters-if-we-become-innumerate

Changing way to buy medicines

What I read

According to "Pill-popping: Amazon takes a big step into online pharma" (2018), last year Amazon got into medicine business by selling over-the-counter medicines such as aspirin and vitamins and launched Basic Care line to sell medical supplies. Now it has expanded by taking over PillPack, an online pharmacy. This deal make Amazon be able to sell drugs in 50 states where PillPack has licenses. Most prescriptions has be to picked up in person, but if Amazon can make the process easier, it will be easily sell medicine like its other retail products. It will possess medical health records; therefore, by combining Big Data to this, Amazon might generate more revenue and might eventually disrupt American health-care system.

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My response 

It can be seen from Amazon's logo that it conveys a hidden message of A-to-Z, meaning that anything can be found in Amazon online store. Now it has confirmed its ambition by buying PillPack and now sells medicines. Other brick-and-mortar pharmacy might have to make a change to survive. Though it might take some time before people feel comfortable buying drugs from a website, but the past few years have shown that people are more open to technology than they are before. Though it is still hard to elderly to accept these big changes in life, but the next generation will definitely comfortably go with the flow.

I don't think this would happen soon in Thailand, but it is a sign that someday in the future we might be able to buy drugs online as well. However, some people might also find it easier to but drugs they shouldn't such as morphine or cough syrup which can be used as an ingredient in making an addictive drug. Theoretically, buyers need prescription to purchase, but it might be easier for these people to come up with a fake prescription and deceive into buying it if the transaction is done online. Hence, selling medicine via internet should be closely monitored.

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My question

How do you think your life would be like if you can simply buy any medicines online?

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Reference

• Pill-popping: Amazon takes a big step into online pharma. (2018, July 5). The Economist. Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/business/2018/07/05/amazon-takes-a-big-step-into-online-pharma

The Angel

What I read

According to “Searching for the 'angel' who held me on Westminster Bridge “  (2018).  In a car terror attack on the Westminster Bridge. Will was going to a meeting with his team. He had walk to be on time. The quickest route is to cross the bridge. Suddenly while he walk , a car crashed him from behind. Then the woman that later becomes his angel comes to support him by a basics nursing skills. Will can’t remember anything but only her face. Will was helped by Cristina who biking around there. She said that she heard a scream on the bridge and some people obstructed her to go on the bridge. She left her bicycle , run to Will and checked  him. After that they were separated. Cristina didn’t give him a contact or anything else that can make Will know who was his angel.

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My response 

           After reading this news. Firstly I have to tell that Will is lucky and unlucky also. If Cristina didn’t come to help him. Maybe he’ll died as the five people who lost their lives in this terrorism. I think Cristina was a hero. She not only good at nursing but she also brave to run on the bridge that has a terrorism. She was brave to exchange her life to the risk. Cristina had shown the power of a woman to every witness and everyone who follows the news.

              This make me realize to the importance of a basics  nursing skills. Everyone can learn this to help people as Cristina. An accident can happen every time. So if we know the basic nursing. In the emergency that maybe sometimes the doctor or nurse can’t reach the injured on time, the basics nursing is indeed may be required.
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My question

Do you agree with the idea the basics nursing skills are important ? Why or why not? 

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Reference

• Bates, C. (2018 July, 8). Searching for the 'angel' who held me on Westminster Bridge. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-44602069