The Importance of English Language to Engineering Students

English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As , a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century, it has become the communication language between people not sharing a mother tongue in many parts of the world. Therefore, it is used in various activities in life, from trade to media and even research and development. That is the reason why I think that English language competence is a significant aspect of an engineering student’s academic life and prospective career.
English language competence is important to engineering students as they need to cooperate with engineering students of different nationalities in certain projects especially during their final year. The importance of English language becomes more significant when students further their studies up to Phd level where they need to work under a professor who most probably of different nationality from the students. Engineers often have to present their work to their clients and those clients might not share the same mother tongue as the engineers. If the engineers do not have a certain level of efficiency in English language, they might not able to present their ideas to their clients properly and might cause their companies to lose the clients.
Engineers will also involve in research and development where scientists and engineers from all around the world will work together. Since they are of different nationalities, English language is a important tool to communicate. In short, the main purpose of mastering English language is to overcome the language barrier of different nationalities where people have different language as their first language.

By: Sara Liew Kar Mun

On the primacy of the English language in the hard sciences

Today, as the globalization continues, English plays an increasing important role in our lives. And nowadays English language competence also somewhat determines a student’s academic life and prospective career. Therefore, as for us engineering students, it seems to be essential and beneficial to crack this universal language.

Firstly, an opportunity for peer communications would be offered if engineering workers obtain good English language skills. It is generally acknowledged that academic exchanges have greatly motivated the process of scientific and technical innovations. As a potential engineer, if we study alone and seldom communicate with others, we will unavoidable narrow down our creativity and repeat the work already done by others. Moreover, it would be frustrated when we try to acquire the experiences of our predecessors, which may waste us a multitude of time and energy. However, when a potential engineer excellent In English meet questions, he can make a consultation to the pros in other countries; when he try to work out a problem or make a project, he can team up with his peers in other countries and communicate well with his teammates; and more importantly, thanks to English, an academic platform for intellectuals who care the some issues can be gathered together, so that they can be understood and progress the technology forward together.

Secondly, Academic integrity in the Anglo-English culture is often misunderstood by non-native English users because of varying cultural beliefs or differing academic and cultural backgrounds, but good English can eliminate this gap as much as possible. Compared with western education systems, textbook knowledge is more commonly emphasized and exams are more commonly used to gauge what students have learnt in the semester in the Mandarin-based education system. And since the cultural difference, oriental students are less encouraged to express their own thoughts and discuss or doubt the knowledge they get from books. As a result, students from different educational backgrounds tend to perform in different way in the upcoming work, which will influence their prospection in their future work, especially to those individuals who prefer to work in the foreign country. But a good language skill may offer you some cultural background, which may help you adjust quickly; and also a good foreign language makes you easier to be admitted by an foreign college, which may bring you devising culture and education backgrounds.

Thirdly, Plagiarism, collusion, and similar practices are shaped by a student’s educational background and cultural beliefs, and organizational ethics. But an uniform language environment may minimize these side-effects. Suppose that if every scholar uses the same language to write their research paper, once someone plagiarize others ideas, he will be found soon and become notorious; if every researchers of social science knows some Anglo-English language and background culture, the collisions and academic assaults will become fewer so that researchers can put more energy onto their studies; and if every workers know more about English, colleagues can be respected by each other, a more tied relationship will be formed and less misunderstood will be caused.

To conclude, learning English well would be the prior for us potential engineer of hard science in the current society. So it is better for us to make more efforts on it.

Is English Important for Engineering Students?

In this last blog entry, I am going to comment on the issue of whether English language competence is a significant aspect of an engineering student’s academic life and prospective career. I find the discussion of this issue is of great relevance to me as it allows me to see the importance of this course EG1471 in preparing me for my future engineering career.

English language is an important language during my undergraduate study in NUS because it is the main mode of communication used and most of the teaching contents are presented in English. Hence, I would face great difficulty in understanding certain concepts explained in English if I do not possess the necessary English proficiency level. This is probably the reason why NUS makes it compulsory for those engineering students who do not possess the necessary English proficiency level to undergo the module EG1471 so as to prepare them better for their engineering curriculum.

After graduation, English language is also an important language because it is the official language used in the workplace. For instance, when we apply a job through job interview, it is essential that in the job interview, we can express ourselves properly and efficiently in English within the very limited amount of time available in front of the interviewer so as to secure the job. It is also important to note that even if we possess the necessary technical knowledge for the job but cannot convey our ideas clearly to our higher management, our ideas might not be understood clearly by other people.

In addition, the criteria to be a successful engineer do not only depend on the ability to perform calculations or experiments, but also the ability to present an idea convincingly. An engineer may perform the most miraculous experiment in the laboratory but if he fails to present his discoveries in a language that can be easily understood by other people, it would be very difficult for the discoveries to be materialized for practical usage. Hence, it would be desirable if an engineer who has the technical background is able to interpret the technical facts upon which modern civilization is based (i.e. English Language) into language which everyone can understand.

Lastly, engineers always need to surf the Internet for ideas and information. In spite of the growth of Internet in various languages, English is still the mainstay of the Internet users. It is the language where most of the information and websites are available. It is also very difficult for each and every relevant web page to be translated into the language of various countries. Even if translation is possible, the accuracy of the content may not be guaranteed too.

In conclusion, I find that English language competence is a significant aspect in my academic life and prospective career. While some may argue that we should focus on learning and be competent in Chinese language so as to tap on the plethora of potential economic benefits that may come along with the rise of China in recent years, we should realize that English language is still likely to be the universal language for the next few years and hence maintaining competence in English language is still as important. Being bilingual and competent in both English and Chinese should be what we should be striving for if we were to become successful engineers.

Written by Teo Kian Siong

English language competence is a significant aspect of an engineering student’s academic life and prospective career

After Mandarin, English is spoken by more people than any other language in this world and it is widely known as the international language of business, diplomacy, science, technology and many more. Therefore the importance of English cannot be ever neglected especially for engineering students like us. We have to master this art and not only we do have to know how to write and read it, but as well speak it fluently. This is because I believe English language competence is a significant aspect of an engineering student’s life and prospective career.

English proficiency is essential for an engineering student because nowadays lectures are all conducted in English. Therefore inadequate English language competency will cause student to suffer understanding lecturer’s explanation especially in certain technical subjects such as physics and mechanics. In addition, assignments are all passed on in English and because of this if we do not posses good English we will have to take longer time to finish the woks as we have to waste our time finding the meaning of all the words from dictionary where others do not have to. Moreover as an engineering student, we have to conduct many experiments and eventually we have to write it down in report format. Therefore if we do not learn English how can we expect tutor to assess our experiment report?

English language is as important when we go out for work after graduation. Boss does not want workers with poor communication skill. English skill is essential for workers to deal with external and internal customers. Also at times we have to do presentation and fluent English skill is crucial to convince people about the works we have done. Even if our work is good, but our presentation is bad, people will eventually doubt your ability after all.

In conclusion, I think that as engineering student we have to master English language if we want to success, whether we like it or not.

Nuclear power and its background economics

By Desmond Wen Yida

In the roundtable discussion, a spirited debate has been spirited upon which generation ⅵ reactor is the best one. From this discussion, I have not only expanded my knowledge but broaden my horizon. And I can also realize an energy revolution is being happened in near future.

However, when we check out the background economics of nuclear power, we may find sometimes it is not rational to construct nuclear power plants extensively and overdepend on nuclear energy.

In order to meet increasing demands of energy and estimate side effects to the environments, recently many countries accelerate the pace of developing nuclear energy. From the green energy infrastructure report from World Economic Forum 2009, the 2008 global net investment of clean energy has peaked 155 billion U.S. dollars, while in 2004 this figure was only 30 billion U.S. dollars, which means that from 2005 to the end of 2008, the global clean energy investment within four years turned five times.

So the future would be predicted. The nuclear power would be developed and invested dramatically. However, same as all non-renewable energy sources, the prerequisite for the development of nuclear power - uranium mining, is scarce and unevenly distributed, which means that, if there is a global short supply of uranium, the prices would rise up sufficiently just like the soaring of oil price in 2008.

The uranium sources are highly concentrated. The world's major uranium producing countries are Canada, Australia and Kazakhstan, which accounts for 23.0%, 20.9% and 16.1%, together accounted for 60.0% of the world uranium output. However, the production of uranium fuel for nuclear reactors can only meet the world's demand by 60%. In 2007 the uranium produced was 41,279 tons, growing 4.7% compared with 2006. And by 2007, there are only 18 countries mining the uranium resources in total.

Uranium prices have already staged a new peak. From the end of 2006, the global uranium price was going up sustainably, from December 2006 72.00 U.S. dollars / lb to June 2007 138 U.S. dollars / lb. a monthly average increase even reached 10 U.S. dollars / lb and over.

So the hunting for the nuclear fuel will become a tough job for most countries. At present, a million-kilowatt-class nuclear power generating units required every year 27 tons of uranium fuel, which means 160 tons of natural uranium ore. As for China, annual uranium production of uranium is about 700 million tons, which means about 50% of fuel need to be imported. By 2020, with the completion of new mega nuclear plants, this figure will become 90%. So once the imports disrupted, the nuclear security would be challenged and even the national economy would be dampened in a devastating way.

The cost of nuclear waste treatments is also likely to affect the competitiveness of nuclear power. Since the treatment of nuclear waste require advanced technologies, a lot of money need to be consumed to ensure the environmental safety. And it is also a universal formidable problem of how to prevent the nuclear leak from violent earthquake or some exogenic actions.

To summarize, the nuclear energy may not have distinct advantage of price. The constructions of nuclear plants are advised to be carefully considered and calculated instead of following the trend of new energy blindly by governments. And it is also wisely for the governments to invest in more Uranium when it is at low prices and make a shortage in case of being controlled by others. On the other hand, the technical improvements of nuclear waste treatments and thermal efficiency may also cost a multitude of capital, which requires governments to tradeoff carefully and act according to the nation’s capability.

Generation 4 Nuclear Reactor: Safety Feature

Last 2 weeks ago, under the guidance of Miss Souk Yee, we had our round-table discussion held during her tutorial class. The aim of the discussion is to find out the most suitable generation 4 nuclear reactor concept for funding of further research and development. There are actually 6 new nuclear reactor concepts in total but for that discussion purpose we only discussed 2 of them, which are super-critical water cooled reactor and very high temperature reactor. During the discussion, we argued on some areas, mostly on safety factors as it is inevitably the most influential factor to think of before deciding the outcome of the discussion.
Safety factor is heavily considered because if accident occurs at nuclear reactor sites, it can result in massive releases of radioactivity. So, scientists have made a good job to introduce those nuclear reactors by accounting the possibility of occurrence of accidents. For example, the VHTR has passive heat removal systems, low power density and easily cool-able geometry, which are vital to prevent reactor from over-heating. Helium is used in the heat removal system as a coolant because it is an inert gas and it will not react chemically with any other material. The VHTR will also be equipped with graphite-moderated core which has tiny pellets of uranium fuel encased in it and they will absorb heat without failing and will not release radioactive elements as its waste. This is important because if radioactive waste is produced, extra facility has to be built to eliminate these wastes and cost of the nuclear reactor will eventually become even higher.
With the safety feature developed in VHTR and other reactor concepts, I believe that nuclear reactor will soon replace conventional fuels as our main supply of electricity energy.

Written by,
Chin Kah Fai

Generation IV Nuclear Power : Fuel Of The Future

Since the partial reactor meltdown in 1979 at Three Mile Island and 1986 accident at Chernobyl, the idea of conventional nuclear power had been held back for about two decades. Now, the United States of America, United Kingdom, Switzerland, South Korea, South Africa, Japan, France, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, European Union, China and Russia, a total of 13 countries are working together as the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) to lay the groundwork for the Generation IV nuclear reactor which is said to be a nuclear energy system that offers advantages in the areas of economies, safety and reliability, sustainability and could be deployed commercially by 2030. Due to the increasing cost of fossil fuels, nuclear power has been considered as the best alternative fuel. But, what most people are concerned of is whether nuclear power is safe to be used.

Due to the accidents mentioned earlier, safety features is the main concern of scientists when developing the Generation IV nuclear reactor. Even though these reactors operate at high temperatures, heat produced will be transferred to other production plant and an inert coolant will be used to cool the reactor down. For example, heat produced by the very high temperature reactor (VHTR) is transferred to hydrogen production plant and helium gas is used as coolant. Another issue that rises from the usage of nuclear power is the nuclear waste. Generation IV nuclear reactor is designed to produce nuclear waste that lasts decade instead of millennia. Furthermore, it has the ability to consume existing nuclear waste in the production of electricity. With these safety features, I believed that the Generation IV nuclear power definitely has the potential to be the fuel of the future.

Written By:
Sara Liew Kar Mun

Should we even consider nuclear power in the first place?

From the roundtable discussion, I observe that no matter which nuclear reactor we are going to choose, there are bound to be some aspects in which the design of the reactor will fail to address adequately. Safeguard against nuclear weapon proliferation is one such aspect that sparks off a contentious debate among our group.

For example, VHTR though promises to produce nuclear waste that is low in radioactive content and difficult for extraction of trapped fission products for use as nuclear weapons, has failed to address the problem of producing large volume of low-radioactive waste. The difficulty in extracting trapped fission products also does not necessarily render the terrorists incapable of utilizing these products as potential nuclear weapons.

Moreover, we also observe that majority of nuclear technologies and materials needed for the construction of a Generation IV nuclear power reactor are at the same time essential to develop a nuclear weapons program. As such, claims made by the proponents of Generation IV reactor with regards to safeguarding against nuclear weapon proliferation can never be valid.

Another issue is whether nuclear power really the solution to global warming as claimed by proponents of Generation IV reactors. In my opinion, even if these reactors were environmental-friendly, nuclear power could do little or nothing in the fight against global warming. This is because nuclear power is used only to generate electricity (except for VHTR that produces hydrogen as well) and its contribution to the world’s electricity only represents a mere 16%. Electricity itself, however, only accounts for approximately one third of greenhouse gases. Furthermore, nuclear power is not at all emissions free, if emissions in relation to uranium mining, transportation, plant construction and decommissioning and waste storage are included in the calculation. Hence, construction of any nuclear reactors is unlikely to be the solution to the global climatic change.

In conclusion, while Generation IV reactors are still unable to adequately address the issues of weapon proliferation and radioactive waste management, we should not embark on the construction of nuclear reactors so eagerly. Funding should instead concentrate more on research for renewable energy resources such as wind and solar energy which are more practical and realistic solutions to our energy demand problems.

Written by: Teo Kian Siong

Do you think homosexual sex should be criminalized?

When seeing a couple of homosexuals kissing or hugging or doing other ‘crazy’ things in the public, I think many people would shout inside their hearts: ‘My god! How can they do that? It is really terrible!’ Although many people feel uncomfortable with homosexuality and take it as immoral, it is still too early to make conclusion that homosexual activities for example, homosexual sex, should be criminalized.
First, is homosexuality really immoral? Let’s see what happened in our ancestors. In ancient China, wives’ disobedience to their husbands was considered as immoral, and what is happening now in the world is that our Muslim brothers agree that polygamy is moral while many others do not think so. Morality is such a thing that different people in different time would have different voices about it, and in most cases, the judgment of morality does not depend on whether it is right or not, it depends on what most people in a group think about it.
So, whether homosexuality is right or not?
Once again, it is hard to define right and wrong, as it is hard to define moral or not, it is not a case of mathematic problem. The ones who believe in God would answer without thinking that what the God says is right, but do they hear what the God says? I do not know because I am not one of them. So please tell me when you come across with God and hear what he says, and please tell him that I really want to know him, or her.
Debating about what is right or wrong can take one’s whole lifetime, that’s why we need some basic rules to obey without arguing all the time. Laws appear. Voting is the most common way to pass laws, so it is right to say laws reflect the willing of most people, more accurate, people who have the right to vote, right? So if homosexual sex harm the benefits of most people or just make most people feel uncomfortable, it is not strange that it should be criminalized.
To persuade the voters not to vote homosexual sex of being criminalized, we need to convince them that first, it do no harm, second, it is not a terrible thing, no need to take it as a monster. Some people believe that homosexual sex spread AIDS, but all sexual activities can spread AIDS, and the reason why homosexual sex has a high rate of AIDS spreading is that the society does not accept it so it takes place underground without safety actions. The case is like the prostitution, it is considered as immoral and it helps to spread many kinds of disease, but it would still exit even if the government applies laws to ban it. Maybe the best way is to recognize it so that the government can have better administration on it and help the prostitutes to resist the diseases. Homosexuality can not be banned, if somebody told you that you can not love who you love, would you accept? Homosexual sex, as the byproduct of homosexuality, can not be banned, too. The best way is to guide, guide them to safety actions.
Imagine that, when an alien who come from a planet where there is no such thing as ‘love’ see a man chasing after a woman like crazy, it will think that ‘love’ is a monster. And to it, homosexual love and common kind of love are definitely the same. Another example, people who love to collect stamps are always aliens to people who love to destroy stamps. The fact is that, we should not define people as aliens only because they have different interesting and behaviors from us. Homosexuality is not a monster, so just try to understand it and understand the homosexuals.

Written by
Xuan Xiaodoag

Do you think that homosexual sex should be criminalized?

Homosexual sex has been stigmatized century upon century, and in many cultures across the world and through time, mostly seeking to stigmatize relationships between members of the same sex. Almost invariably, when it is criminalized, those who criminalize it (or would do so) refer to it as the "crime against nature" or the "sin against nature." However in my opinion, homosexual sex should not be criminalized, even if some argued that future generations would cease to exit.

Over years, people are misled by the fact that homosexual sex contributes most to the rise of AIDS and many other sexually-transmitted diseases. Apparently some have stood out and defended those who we call gays and lesbians by arguing both are completely unrelated. However surveys conducted has shown that both, although not directly related to each other, seem to have certain extent of connections. For instance, over in India, where inevitably its gay community is large, about 2.4 million people have been tested to be HIV positive. This shows the relation between the two and indeed in my opinion I think the same as well. However, even both are related, it does not mean that homosexual sex should be criminalized. According to Jeffrey O'Malley, director of the United Nations Development Programme, countries protecting men who have sex with men from discrimination are better able to curb the transmission of the virus. Countries where homosexuality is not illegal, such as China and Brazil, have seen greater success in preventing the spread of HIV. This is because if homosexuality has never been illegal, there will not be any legal barriers to stop prevention work.

Furthermore, homosexual sex should not be criminalised as this is part of other people’s lifestyle and freedom. The principal justification advanced by lawmakers for denying homosexual sex asserts that it is immoral, and therefore law should be imposed to ban it. However as human being, we can choose to live our own life and do things freely as we want as long as law permits us. Therefore, we cannot interfere other people’s life and by means no laws or rules should be imposed to restrict their freedom. In fact, some countries are now reviewing their city-state’s ban on sex between men and many more including Singapore have been urged by local law society to decriminalize homosexual sex, which they view as outdated and archaic. They also claim that while homosexual sex is not widely accepted in their country, authorities must take pragmatic approach, and therefore no strict law should be imposed to ban gay sex.

In conclusion, I think that gay individuals are entitled to the same legal rights and the same respect and dignity afforded all other individuals. “Moral disapproval” and “tradition” of human being, as being claimed by lawmakers, standing alone is simply an insufficient justification for discrimination and invalid reason for upholding a law prohibiting homosexual sex. Therefore, I strongly oppose the fact that homosexual sex should be criminalized.

Written by,
Chin Kah Fai

Do you think homosexual sex should be criminalized?

Homosexuality refers to romantic or sexual attraction or behaviour among members of the same sex. Studies suggest between two and twenty percent of the population exhibit some degree of homosexual tendency, though in many earlier cultures homosexual relations were highly prevalent. Since the middle of the 20th century, homosexuality has been gradually delisted as a disease and decriminalized in nearly all developed countries. However, the legal status of homosexual relations varies widely by country and there remain jurisdictions in which certain homosexual behaviours are crimes with severe penalties including death. That is why until today, arguments on whether homosexual sex should be criminalized still exist and I think that homosexual sex should not be criminalized.

The reason I think that homosexual sex should not be criminalized is because I believed in freedom. Over the years, people have been talking about freedom of speech, freedom in almost everything but why can't people have freedom to choose who they want to be with? This is because most people still cannot accept homosexuality. I agree that love is blind because once a person fall in love, they do not care who that person is. Love is the best thing that god gave human and I think it is so pure that made homosexuality acceptable even it is against the norm.

Some people are homosexual not because they want to, but they were influenced by surroundings. Most homosexual couples adopt children because they cannot give birth. So, these children will most likely be influenced by their homosexual parents. That is why we cannot blame gay or lesbian for being homosexuals. Even though what I have mentioned above only involved homosexuality, sex is a need for human and most couples perform sex. So, homosexuality I mentioned above is equivalent to homosexual sex. In my perspective, homosexual sex is acceptable as long as it does not create disturbance to the public and that is why I do not agree in criminalizing homosexual sex.

Written by : Sara Liew Kar Mun

Do you think homosexual sex should be criminalized?

In this entry, I would use Singapore as the context to address the issue of whether homosexual sex should be criminalized.

In Singapore, homosexual sex is criminalized. According to Section377A (Outrages on decency) of the Penal Code, any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years.

This section of the Penal Code, which was previously left over by our former colonial master, had sparked much controversy in the public recently when the government sought public opinion on whether to keep this section in the reformed Penal Code.

Proponents of criminalization of homosexual sex argue that if homosexual sex were to be decriminalized, it would encourage young people to try out the “homosexual lifestyle”, which threatens our moral and family values. I do not agree with this. Take Netherlands as an example, it is the first country in the world to legalize gay marriage, but its birth rate (10.90/1000) is still higher than Singapore’s (9.34/1000) in 2006.

In addition, I also do not agree with those people who use ‘safeguarding our traditional Asian values’ as a reason to decriminalize homosexual sex. In fact, if we examine classical Chinese literature carefully, we actually find that ancient China has been much more tolerant towards homosexuality than Europe in the medieval era, with many poems and passages about love between men.

Furthermore, the act of criminalizing homosexual sex just because it is intolerable to certain religious groups or individuals, is unacceptable because it undermines the freedom of expression (a basic human right) which a democratic country is supposed to uphold.

However, it should be noted that this freedom of expression should be pursued by showing due sensitivity to others who may not be receptive to homosexual sex. This ensures that the homosexual’ rights to express themselves freely are not pursued at the expense of others who may not be receptive to it.

By decriminalizing homosexual sex, we can also give the homosexuals reassurance that they possess equal rights under our laws, whose fundamental purposes are to ensure that justice is being served, and that the citizens feel that way. This would help to reduce the society’s stigmatization on the homosexuals and allow them to integrate better with the mainstream society.

In conclusion, I understand the rationale behind criminalizing homosexual sex in Singapore and I see that as a wise move by the government as our society is not yet matured enough to tolerate the existence of a group whose sexual inclination differs from the majority at large. It ensures that it does not ‘incur the wrath’ of the majority who are against homosexual sex. However, as our society becomes more receptive and tolerant towards homosexual sex, this act may become outdated and that would be the time we should start decriminalizing homosexual sex.


Written by Teo Kian Siong

whether the homosexual sex should be charged

Whether the homosexual sex should be penalized
The issue of whether the homosexual sex should be charged has been sparked a spirited debate in our English group. Personally, I think homosexual sex should not be punished until it brings externalities to others.
Firstly, whether individuals do homosexual intercourse is their own business and their privacies should be respected. It is true that the homosexual sex is not a nature way people tend to act. And some religious people also argue that homosexual sex would spread some lethal diseases such as AIDS and cause several social problems so that homosexual sex should be severely forbidden. However, actually, in this world, not all the people do have such twisted sex orientations and also not all the gays and lesbians are AIDS virus carriers. Although people who do homosexual intercourse may be risky to be affected AIDS and spread it to others, we still ought not to harshly interfere their personal affairs unless they required protection by the society. (On Liberty, John Stuart Mill, 1859) Therefore, in truly enlighten countries, the right for individuals to choose sexual partners should be respected as a part of human right and they should not be penalized if they do it personally.
However, homosexual behavior should not exert externality to others. It means people who tend to have homosexual intercourse should not impact other’s life and thinking especially for children. For instance, if a ‘couple’ make homosexual love publicly, and let a multitude of people including kids surround and watch, they should be charged. Firstly, after all the homosexual sex is not a nature way of sex people acts to, so when people make it openly, witness would feel disgusted about their behaviors and do harm to other’s mental health. Secondly, the homosexual issue is a blessing or curse has not been decided yet and it still cannot be accepted by our main stream society. So when people do homosexual sex aboveboard, they may be denounced and assaulted by the public opinions. And in some religious such as Christian and Muslim, the homosexual sex is strictly prohibited. So when people act it openly, some believers may be infuriated and unnecessary conflicts and troubles would be caused, which may lead to social restlessness and broke the unity of people of different believes.
Thirdly, it should be penalized for people who act homosexual sex openly because the general mood of society would be sleazed by their ill-mannered behaviors. From the statistics, it can be seen that more than 70% of the homosexual persons are not inherited but educated or affected by their living surroundings or families. (www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/.../statement_on_homosexuality.htm) So when a couple of gay or lesbian make love openly, it will be much likely make others especially children carious and accept homosexual sex gradually. Then increasing people who have such tendencies would act the same thing which would accelerate the spreading of AIDS which make a disaster to our society or even entire human beings. In our economics course when have been taught that a good policy-maker should reduce the externality to attain a desirable outcome for our society. But on the other hand, we are obliged to determine that a democracy society should not roughly interfere in individuals’ personal life and tendencies. It is quite a tragedy that thousands of people for homosexual behaviors are persecuted, held behind bars, even burnt to death in the past history by religions or Nazis. But now that age has passed and their right should be preserved. However, the homosexual sex also should not be encouraged in case it would taint people’s mind especially for children. Hence, the homosexual sex should be charged if it exerts bad influence to others.

NUS Formula SAE

EG1471 Lecture

Last Friday was the one and only lecture for this module and indeed some parts of the lecture were interesting, but I hate to admit that it was only barely some parts which were entertaining as sometimes it can really cause me drowsiness and sleepiness. And expectedly some friends of mine were even snoring beside me. Apparently the first two speakers could not entertain them enough to resist the temptation to fall asleep. But the last speaker, an associate professor who I already forgot his name, he brought up an issue which alerted us to stay awake and remain conscious, which is RACE CAR!

First of all, he started off with the viewing of 2005 race car model's video, which its audio somehow quite effective to wake people up from their wonderland. As per mentioned by the speaker himself, currently seven race cars have been produced and the eighth is still under construction. At that particular moment, I was thinking to ask the speaker the recruiting date of the ninth team, however I just did not have the courage to do so that time. After all, it really excites me when I could witness the speed of our very own self-produced race car and hopefully I can be part of the team when I reach my second year as mechanical engineering student.

Then, the speaker introduced to us many other videos related to the NUS race car, and it was quite complete as those videos displayed includes the process of making it, test run or we can call it maiden run as well, and finally those marketing videos. However if there can be any rooms of improvement, I would strongly suggest emphasis to be put on the making of race car rather than those fancy marketing videos in the part of lecture.

In conclusion, I gained a lot from this lecture even though at first I was forced to come just to prepare for this portfolio. But at last , I did not regret it as I have learnt at least something from it. Hopefully the racing team we have this year can help us to fight and reach to top ten, perhaps set another new height among universities in Asia and make us all proud of NUS!

Written by,

Chin Kah Fai

NUS FORMULA SAE

I just skipped the only lecture of EG1471 in Friday. I went to a concert instead. However, I still assert that I have learnt something, and felt something more than I could get from lecture.

First, I know it is quite amoral to skip class. And it is also irresponsible to skip lecture which can give us both new knowledge and outlooks. However, I still decided to go to the concert instead of attending the lecture though it is a nice opportunity for me to receive the edification from the remarkable scholars and engineers in NUS. However, I think it is worthwhile to go to concert because I have admired the music of Mayday for many years.

The concert of Mayday is not usual but outstanding. It quite gave us good refreshment and a place to enjoy ourselves and exhale all pressure. In the concert, a important idea seems to emphasized constantly: trying to get back your original dream. The concert is a theme concert and tells a movie story that Mayday struggled hard to steal the gene of John Lennon from a private room. Unfortunately, when they successfully got it, meanwhile, they were discovered by polices. Then they played ‘need for speed’ with police and managed to get rid of cops although their car has seriously damaged; Eventually they transferred the gene to a boy who looks like John Lennon. After the boy receiving this, they told him a famous saying of Lennon: “You are what you do”. Then the boy smiled sweetly on a green lawn, and look at blue sky in great happiness. When seeing this, Mayday just drove away by the nearly destroyed car.

As far as I know, owing to Beetles and John Lennon, Mayday could be absorbed in rock music and believe that the music can terminate the warfare in this world. Because they always hold the original dream they could be as good as beetles, they just have overcome difficulties one after another. They gathered together because they love music, though sometimes they need to take apart temporarily because Masha need to execute his national service. When they were available again, good friends reunited quickly and sake for their original dream again. After 10 years, now, although they already have family and children, they seem still contain their original dream and be confident as they used to be.

When heard some familiar songs ringing, I just could not help following the rhythm singing and shouting in an almost crazy way. After few hours, I lost my voice, but I still tend to insist. Meanwhile, I noticed that Xing is so tired that his check was full of sweat. But I think we were all in happy. At that time, I have released all my repression, grievance, and frustration in these several hours. Just as Xing said: “today we will definitely bring happiness to you!” I can touch this feeling because we are both dream hunters.

The concert was continuing until a quarter past twelve although the concert is supposed to be finished before 12:00. What Mayday care are not money but their fun and fellows. At twelve’ o clock, Xing just joked on the concert: “I notice that my boss of Rock Records burst into tears; however, we need to sing more to commemorate this day ten years ago which my mum left me alone to play music.” When he said this, all the funs began to scream and gave him a round of applaud loudly. The concert just continued in this kind of exciting way. After the last song finished, all the members of Mayday made a bow in a right angle almost 2 minutes.

Maybe just as mayday themselves said: “what have changed are just the stage, special effects, and assistant to the music, but not the sprite that Mayday tends to pass to their fun.” Maybe because of dream, because they seek, strive, but not to yield , 10 years later, they finally turn a small show which only two hundreds watching at the counterpoint of Orchard Road into two grand concerts of almost 145,000 people participating in two days at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
This is the power of dream.
Written by
Desmond Wen Yida

NUS FORMULA SAE

Last Friday, there was a lecture session for EG1471 module students. Three speakers were invited to talk on different topics related to engineering but the topic presented by Professor Seah who is the last speaker caught my attention the most. He talked about our very own NUS Formula SAE team. In fact, he is the founder of the team which was established in year 2001. In his presentation, he talked about the background, problems and the annual cycle of the team.

Professor Seah mainly presented on the problems faced by the FSAE team. There are two types of problem faced by them and the first is the problems faced during the production of the race car. Every year, they have to come up with a new design as required by the competition. Furthermore, there are no automobile production in Singapore so they have to purchase some raw materials outside Singapore and sometimes there are delays in delivery of the materials. The lack of race car engineering knowledge also causes more problems to the FSAE team. In addition, there are no suitable venues for them to test their race car.

Secondly, Professor Seah discussed on the problems faced by them in the competition held in the United States of America. The team faced the problem of lack of motor sports culture and racing experience. In order to prepare for the race, the team need to practice but there are no suitable venues for them to train their drivers in Singapore. Since the competition were held in the United States of America, the FSAE team experienced jet lag due to the time difference. Furthermore, pressure vessels which are essential to the race car were not allowed on plane. Therefore, they have to purchase it there. Lastly, the team also did not know the condition of the track and it caused more difficulties to them.

With all these problems mentioned above, our FSAE team still manage to perform so well in the competition especially this year which is the best so far and I hope our NUS FSAE team will be able to be on the top position in the near future.

Written by:
Sara Liew Kar Mun

NUS FORMULA SAE TEAM

On last Friday’s lecture, the guest speaker Professor Seah talked about the process of designing and building a racing car. He gave us a short summary of the cycle of events which involved conceptualization, computer stimulation, fabrication of parts, assembly, test drive, modification and finally the competition.

Professor Seah also pointed out the reasons which make this project of building racing car challenging. Every year, the team has to conceptualize a new race car and design every component of the car. The team also needs to deal with the technical aspects such as calculating the required dimensions for optimum performance and deciding the best material to fabricate each component so as to make the racing car a success.

In addition, he also shared with us several problems the team members and he faced last year during the process. These problems included the lack of race car engineering knowledge as NUS only started this project of building racing car in 2001 and as such, was still considered a ‘greenhorn’ in the realm of race car building. The lack of motor car sports culture and racing experience in Singapore further increased the difficulty of this project.

Professor Seah and his team members also had difficulties finding a suitable venue for testing the race cars and a suitable venue for training the drivers. Sometimes, the slow delivery of materials from overseas hampered the process of building the race car and the team had no choice but to work throughout the night so as to ensure that they would still be on schedule and were ready for the competition.

Professor Seah and his team’s efforts paid off when the team eventually came in 5th in last year competition. This is the best result ever since NUS embarked on this project.

Written by: Teo Kian Siong

Welcome to WE LOVE EG1471!!!

Welcome to this new blog set up by me(kian siong) and my the other 4 group members!!!!!!They are sara, chin, xiao dong and yida.At this blog,we will air our opinions on certain important issues and comments from anybody are welcomed. Feel free to share your views with us!!!=)