Tang Yuan Festival

Have you ever heard of the Tang Yuan festival? Also known as “Winter Solstice (or Dong Zhi) festival”, Tang Yuan festival is celebrated by the Chinese to “signify family reunion and to mark the arrival of winter.” It is a Chinese traditional celebration where glutinuous rice balls are made and family members gather to enjoy them in bowls of sweet ginger soup.

“The glutinous rice balls are meant to symbolise family unity and perfect health — the rounder the balls, the stronger the family ties are. On the day of the festival, the whole family will gather together for prayers. The tang yuan will be placed on the altar and once prayers are over, family members will have the sweet dessert together.”

Some families now still practice this tradition and my family is no exception. My mother would make the glutinuous rice balls on every Tang Yuan festival. I feel that this festival act as a good reminder for people to make it a point to visit home. This is especially useful for those working in large countries where there are numerous provinces and those leading a hectic city lifestyle. This is a good chance for people to take time off and visit their family after “slogging” for a year.

I hope this practice will not vanished as it not only allows the Chinese to get in touch with their roots but also helps family members strengthen their bond. It is a tradition that is unique and special where other races can also learn to appreciate it.

Now that you know more about the Tang Yuan festival, hope it would be more enjoyable for you next year!

Credits:
(News Source)
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/12/22/central/7664184&sec=central, 22 Dec 10

Done By: Kwek Wan Ling
Admin Number: 103503L

Robot Teacher VS Mankind

With today's technology advancement, is it a luxury for mankind to rely on robots or a disaster to do so?

Robot teachers are advantageous as they do not discriminate against any students. According to sociological research, it has been proven that students tend to perform poorly should the teacher be biased against them. This is known as “self-fulfilling prophecy”. Hence, such prejudice can be avoided by employing robot teachers as they objectively impart knowledge to students – void of emotions and sarcastic remarks.

In addition, robot teachers are good as they can serve as a substitute should the teacher be on medical leave. This ensures that lessons can go on as usual and would not result in a delay in the lesson plan. Furthermore, robot teachers are “inhuman” – they do not “fall sick” or require medical leave. As such, they prove to be more cost-effective as a workforce.

Having mentioned the benefits of robot teachers may lead us to think that these machines are failure-proof -- it is a fallacy to think so. Robot teachers are after all invented by humans whom are intrinsically born to err. Hence, robot teachers also have their downsides despite its advantages.

Since robot teachers are machines, they lacked emotions and thus cannot express care and concern for the students. In this sense, they are inferior compared to human teachers who are able to empathize with the students and attend not only to their intellectual needs but also cater to their emotional well-being.

After weighing the pros and cons of robot teachers, I am against the idea of having robot teachers. This is because the aim of education is not to only impart knowledge, but also provide students with a holistic and wholesome cultivation of their character. Hence, in order to achieve this aim, a human teacher, not a robot one, has the capability of nurturing the students’ character and cultivate them into good citizens.

Credits:
(News Source)
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/12/28/english-teaching-robots-invade-s-korean-classrooms/, 28 Dec 10

Done By: Kwek Wan Ling
Admin Number: 103503L

Japan's robot suit offers hope to disabled

In contrast to my previous thoughts about technology, I have found a great advantage of technology today. According to the article, “Japan firm, Cyberdyne, produces an exoskeleton robot device called the Hybrid Assistive Limb, or HAL, which gives power to its wearer by anticipating and supporting the user's body movements using sensors monitoring electric signals sent from the brain to the muscles.”

Upon reading this news, I was happy and amazed by the invention of such robot. This robot device may not mean anything to the healthy and able ones but is hope and dream of the disabled. With this device, the disabled would be able to move about with more freedom, without the bulky wheelchair. “In one case, three weeks of training with HAL enabled a man who had suffered brain injuries to stand on his own feet after nine years in a wheelchair, said Cyberdyne CEO Yoshiyuki Sankai, professor at the University of Tsukuba.”

Through this article, I started to respect professor Sankai for his purpose of research and development. He had put his knowledge to good use and helped those more unfortunate. His creation had given hope to those physically disabled to be more able again and accomplish their dreams. Take for instance Mr Seiji Uchida. He lost the ability to walk in a car accident 27 years ago. He said that “he has long dreamed of visiting the picturesque abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, set on a rocky islet in Normandy.” Now, he can accomplish his dream more easily and it is all thanks to researchers and scientists like Professor Sankai.

I hope there would be more people taking Professor Sankai as their role model, repaying to the society with their knowledge. As the saying goes, “sharing is caring.”

Credits:
(News Source)
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/lifestylenews/view/1098712/1/.html, 12 Dec 10

Done By: Kwek Wan Ling
Admin Number: 103503L

Technology Getting Into The Way

According to the news report, researchers studying the health effects of cellphones say they have found evidence that when pregnant women use them regularly, their children are more likely to have behavioral problems.

Behavior and technology. It seems like both variables are independent isn’t it? But studies have shown that the two are intriguingly related. With technology advancement, it is no doubt that people are getting more and more reliant on cellphones. Cellphones have many functions such as music player, games, camera and many more. Besides its convenience to contact one another, now, it also provides one with access to the internet anytime, anywhere as long as there is internet connection. Thus, almost everyone owns a cellphone nowadays.

It sounds so good to have a cellphone right? But everything has it pros and cons. Cellphones also has its down side. Because of its multi-functional appeal, some consumers use their cellphones so frequently that it almost did not leave them an inch for a minute. I have friends who do not turn off their phones when they are asleep even in the late night. They even put their phones right beside them while they are asleep. I feel that they should learn about the harmful effects of radiation on humans and think twice about their time spent on the phones.

According to http://library.thinkquest.org/3471/radiation_effects_body.html,

doses above 100 rems cause the first signs of radiation sickness including: nausea, vomiting, headache and some loss of white blood cells. Doses of 300 rems or more cause temporary hair loss, but also more significant internal harm, including damage to nerve cells and the cells that line the digestive tract. Severe loss of white blood cells, which are the body's main defense against infection, makes radiation victims highly vulnerable to disease. Radiation also reduces production of blood platelets, which aid blood clotting, so victims of radiation sickness are also vulnerable to hemorrhaging.

In the article, it states that “children whose mothers used cellphones while pregnant and who also used the phones themselves were 50 percent more likely to have behavioral problems, the researchers reported in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.”

Since studies have shown that the child would be affected should the mother used cellphones while pregnant and radiation would affect one’s health, I feel that one should try to refrain from using their cellphones all the time. This is for the benefit of health.

After all, nothing is more valuable than a healthy body, isn't it?

Credits:
(News Source) 
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20101207/ttc-tech-us-cellphones-children-96247d2.html, 07 Dec 10
http://library.thinkquest.org/3471/radiation_effects_body.html

Done By: Kwek Wan Ling
Admin Number: 103503L

Pablo Picasso

I am sure all of you have heard of Pablo Picasso, the famous cubist artist in the 20^th century. He co-founded the Cubist movement and is known for the wide variety of styles embodied in his work. Do you know that when an artist dies, his art works becomes so valuable that it can fetch up to millions of dollars? Well, Pablo Picassos’ works are an example of such.

Recently, hundreds of unknown Pablo Picasso works worth tens of millions of Euros have surfaced in France in the hands of a 71-year-old retired electrician who says they were gifts from the master. Dating from the first third of the 20th century -- considered Picasso's most fertile period -- the 271 pieces are valued by experts at more than 60 million Euros, France's Liberation newspaper reported. The artist's heir who believe they must have been stolen and have filed for charges.

It is unavoidable that one would be suspicious of the fact that the artist had given hundreds of artworks to an electrician, who claims to be Picasso’s long time friend. Many people have read about the artist’s biography and assume that they know every detail of his life. They had not heard of the electrician before hence having doubts about him. But how could people be so sure that all they have read are every bit and pieces of Picasso’s life? After all, the biographies are written by other people.

So what is the truth? The court results?

Pablo Picasso once said, “Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.”

Maybe the truth lies in his art.

Credits:
(News Source): http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/lifestylenews/view/1096170/1/.html, 29 Nov 10
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20101130/twl-lifestyle-france-art-probe-6b0205e.html

Done By: Kwek Wan Ling
Admin Number: 103503L