Technology/People's efficiency/leisure time??

In today’s complex world of technologies, some people think that the development of technology should be to increase people's efficiency so that everyone has more leisure time. Conversely, some people argue that the problem is not the technology, but is because of individual habits. From my point of view, I think that technological advancement does not necessarily result in more spare time.

Admittedly, many people are more comfortable in today than in the past because of many innovations such as vehicle, computer and internet, to name but a few. Although these things reduce a lot of time that people have to spend in traveling, some people still have no spare time. This is because they lack in a good administration.

Moreover, not everybody has more free time owing to technological improvement. Nowadays, we are in the competitive world. To achieve their goals, some people take their leisure time to do other things or take another academic course to improve their qualities so that they are outstanding from others.

However, a lot of people benefit from the technological advancement. For instance, many urban citizens work so hard in order to reach their dreams, especially American Dream. That is having a nice car and a luxurious house. They, therefore, feel so pleasurable when they attain their goals. Also, they are pleasant with more leisure time that they have from the technological development.

In conclusion, many people get an advantage from the technological improvement, but not everyone. Some still keep themselves busy because they want to improve their quality all the time so that they can win over other opponents. Therefore, I do not agree that the technological advancement is not a primary goal to increase people’s efficiency so that everyone has more leisure time.

Lifetime employment

The economy recession still exists and many countries have been affected. There is an increase in unemployment rate in many countries all over the world since the downside of economy situation has caused numerous businesses have to shut down themselves and laid off lots of their employees. Many employees would love this practice at this time but it makes me still wonder whether the life-time employment is a good practice for an organization.

The lifetime employment is the practice that workers become employed right after their graduation from school with a particular company. The employers will not lay off his workers if possible even in a course of depression. The employees in turn will not quit his job at this company but tend to continue working at his company until he reaches his retirement age (Koshiro, 1997).

From my point of view, lifetime employment has some advantage sides. Lifetime employment grants a job security for employees. The job security is one of the most important things for employees’ motivation. When they feel secured about their job, they could be motivated to work efficiently. Moreover, lifetime employment could help creating loyalty to their organization among employees. They will commit and contribute to both their own and their organization’s benefits. In addition, there is an opportunity to grow in your career when you have committed to and have worked for one organization for a long-term. Japan is a good example for this practice and this quite work with their culture.

All plus has a minus; most people will argue that lifetime employees or job security can lead to decrease in productivity among employees. This is because when people know that they will never be fired from their job, they might perform less efficiently since no matter how they work, they still are employed so they might not work at their maximum level of efficiency. For instance, in Thailand, most of government officers are quite a lifetime-employee. For some organizations, their officers didn’t much effort to complete their work and sometimes there is too less work to do, so they had a lot of free time.

Another negative side is the organization might not get new ideas or opinions from the new generation employees. When an organization adopts lifetime employment, the turnover of their employee would be low. This means there’s quite few numbers of new or replaced employees leading to uncompetitive workplace. New young blood employees could bring the different or new ideas to the company.

For employees themselves, they could not move to another company which might be better. This makes them lose an opportunity to gain more knowledge and experiences.

For my opinion, I don’t think a lifetime employment is good for today competitive business world. Due to many disadvantaged stated above but it still consider other factors in order to choose the most suitable practice or strategy for an organization.

H1N1 Swine Flu

Listening assignment this week is a little bit different from what we have done before. There is another channel, Radio Boston, for practicing our listening skill. The topic that caught my attention is about a H1N1 swine flu. Some public health officials believe occurrence of the swine flu, or H1N1 flu, might be stop spreading already. But there still be more people are getting and there is a shortage of swine flu vaccine.

Swine flu has spread all over the world, regardless geography. People seem to be quite panic about this flu due to it is different from other flues they have known before. One significant different between seasonal pandemic and swine flu is the high risk group. High risk group for seasonal pandemic flu are older people aged 65 or more, but in contrast, the high risk group for swine flu is the children aged below 10. Even though there is a low death rate for people who caught swine flu, many parents are panic and worried about their children when they notice that their children are sick or have any symptom related to the swine flu.

In spring, Boston is the city that has a highest hit with the swine flu. This makes many people concern more and pay heavily attention it. There are a lot of people go to clinic or health center to get a shot for swine flu prevention, but there is not enough vaccine to be provided to everyone. Any clinic and medical center would like to provide vaccine for everyone not only young children but also older people. However, there is a shortage of vaccine and we have to wait until the end of this month.

Massachusetts is like other cities; we have to wait for the federal government to announce and distribute next lot of swine flu vaccine. Now there is an excess demand for getting a shot of swine flu vaccine. Unfortunately, there might be some delays for the distribution but in the next few weeks; we will have a lot more shots available. At this time, what we can do is to provide a shot to those patients who in high risk group, pregnant, infant and people who in underline health condition first. This is quite a large group of people. And for other groups of people, they will be provided the vaccine soon, not later than the beginning of next month.

Many people might be confused that why some people are still getting sick yet he already got a shot. This because vaccine just gives you an extra protection from the flu but it could not be 100% prevention. You might not get worst but you could still get some minor sick then.

What we can prepare for the spread out of swine flu are just basic things. First, wash your hand frequently and don’t forget to hand sanitizer. Second, stay home when you are sick in order to stop spreading out the flu to others. Third, stay in touch with your doctor if there is any person closed to you getting sick. And last thing; make your health always in a good condition. All of these things are a good preparation for the swine flu.

source: www.radioboston.org

Live longer...

For many people, their deepest desires might be to live longer since the life is happiness enjoyment and adventure. So they made an effort to make a span of their life longer. Nowadays, there are greater and greater number of people whose age is eighty years old or more. In fact, the life expectancy of the average human has gone up significantly, and is rising still. There are many factors that make people live longer.

The development of medical treatment is one of those factors. Diseases such as cancer, which used to result almost unavoidably in death, are now curable, provided they are diagnosed at a certain stage. New medicines had been developed to both prevent and cure people from many diseases. This will decrease the rate of mortality. What is more, in the past, the facilities were limited to exclusive fews. Only a fraction of people were able to afford the expenses on doctors and medicines Nowadays people are provided with basic health facilities and doctors by their government. Good medical helps are more accessible to more people now.

Besides the development of medical treatment, people have better quality of life in general. There is an access of information anywhere. People can search information about many diseases and how to prevent it. Moreover, the trend of health-conscious is rising dramatically. This means people care more about their health. They try to choose whatever is good for their health, including food they eat. Organic food and vitamin supplements are more popular at the present. Vitamin supplement could help fulfill the requirement for each people’s need.

Moreover, people also concern more about their physical health, so they have been doing more exercise. There are an increase in number of gym and fitness throughout the cities as well as up-country area. This can reflect the greater numbers of people do an exercise.

In addition, an enough sleep of 6 to 8 hours a day is one of a requirement for having a good health. Sleeping is the best way to relax both your physical and mental health. When you sleep, all functions in your body can take a rest as well as fix any organ or functions.

All of stated above are the factors leading to longer life. Most of them are just a basic thing that you can do it by yourself. So the length of your life is depending on you then.

Teacher-centered VS Student-centered

Instructors develop a teaching style based on their beliefs about personal preferences, their abilities, and the norms of their particular discipline. Some believe classes should be learner-centered, which the curriculum base on various type of student learning. Others take a teacher-centered, where the teacher is expert and authority in presenting information. I will compare the differences between two types of teaching style in three issues, which are the goal, teaching style and classroom environment.

On the one hand, learner-centered normally has constructivist teacher as leader to motivate the learners. Obviously, the goals of a constructivist teacher are not to cover the curriculum, but instead to engage students as active learners constructing their own knowledge within a content domain. Constructivist teachers start with very broad learning objectives and may even negotiate with the class to identify more specific learning goals, which makes students more interesting.

In addition, learner-centered teaching style focus on the needs and abilities of students and on topics that are relevant to the students’ lives needs, and interests; therefore, in this type of classroom, students are actively engaged in creating, understanding, and connecting to knowledge. The teacher shares control of the classroom and students are allowed to explore, experiment on their own.

In a student-centered environment, students are given choices and are included in the decision-making processes of the classroom. The focus in these classrooms is on options, rather than uniformity. Essentially, learners are treated as co-creators in the learning process, as individuals with ideas and issues that deserve attention and consideration.

On the other hand, in teacher-centered approach; there are some disparate teaching styles compare with one another. Trying to provide knowledge to the students by following fixed programmed is the goal of lecturer in this teaching style; the lecturers normally base their teaching in a single curriculum, which are completely designed by the teachers. Because the students in teacher-centered have fewer chance to discover tangible knowledge on their own, the lecturers in teacher-centered approach need expert. Expert teacher have case knowledge to show and make the students improve their understanding.

Teacher-centered teaching style is less focus on students than student-centered. Although teacher-centered environment still focus on making relationships with students that are help selecting teaching materials, they focus more on content than on student processing. Giving knowledge to reach the specific aim every times they teach is more essentials than pay attention to individual student. If the overall students’ understanding is more than 70%, the teachers feel successfully.

Furthermore, classroom environment in teacher-centered style is stricter than one another. The students have less chance to disclose their opinion than student-centered. Thinking is basically the responsibility of the teacher; students memorize and recite information given by the teacher. The teachers treat the students by the way they decide what they want their student to understand.

In conclusion, instructors should choose the style that can match and most appropriate with learners, so they can learn effectively.

Chiofaro harbor garage

There are a lot of skyscrapers in many big cities. Skyscrapers can represent the proud of leading in architecture’s design or to show how nice of the city’s scenery is. There is going be another skyscraper in Boston by tearing down the Boston Harbor Garage, located between the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway and the New England Aquarium. The current proposal calls for a 560-foot office tower and a 690-foot residential tower, which would translate to 40 and 59 stories, respectively. In addition, the two buildings would be connected by a 770-foot rectangular “sky frame” above the development. This project will consist of parking space, shopping stores, restaurants, hotel and residents.

This seems to be a mega project that everyone pays attention to. In construction of this project is promising $28 million in new taxes and 3,500 permanent jobs for the city. This will circulate an economy and generates lot of employments. When this project will be completed, it might be another attraction for the city that could bring many tourists to Boston. It sounds good for economic point of view; however, to pass the proposal, it is needed many processes of consideration and regulations. There are many people against this project for many reasons.

The major and critical issue is about the height of this pair of buildings. The proposal does not comply with either city or state regulations since the project exceeds its height guidelines for the waterfront by at least 145 feet. At this height, residents around that area argue that it would be too tall and overshadow the Greenway and surrounding building. Moreover, this project will cause an impact on air traffic as the Federal Aviation Administration has argued that the height could interfere with airplane maneuvers during emergencies. The site of this project located about two miles from Logan, and now the site of the Boston Harbor garage, is under the path of airplanes. This is the critical issue that should be carefully considered because it relates to the security of transportation.

In addition, the modern design of new building could be contrast with its surrounding building which most of them still maintain the old style of historical spirits. Many residents and neighbors around that are might want to keep this feeling and the scenery of original building which is a part of Boston’s uniqueness.

Therefore, before demolishing or constructing new building or architecture, project’s owner has to make sure that his project is compatible with its surrounding area and comply with both city and state regulations and laws.

I BELIEVE IN FREEDOM OF SPEECH

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This is the First Amendment to the United States Constitutions.

I believe in freedom of speech. To me, we live together in one place in which is called world. I believe without freedom the world wouldn’t be like the world we live in today. I believe that freedom is the deepest need of every human soul. In my opinion, I strongly believe that freedom of speech could help solve many problems. Speech by Dr.Martin Luther King had ever helped solving the problem with racism. I know we all remember that powerful speech “I have a dream”. It is the popular name given to the public speech he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination.

Compared to my country, there are some laws which limit a freedom of speech. Thailand is quite a conservative country and pay extremely respect to our monarchy, so in our constitution, there is a law called Thai lese majeste law. It stated that “The King shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the King to any sort of accusation or action”. Due to the different in culture and lack of understanding of Thai law, an Australian writer was sentenced to three years in prison since he wrote a novel of his deemed to defame the Thai monarchy.

Besides a law, freedom of speech is sometimes limited by the norm and culture of the society. In conservative society, it is considered improper to say frankly what you think. Some organizations do not allow their employee to express their opinion that much. Everything should follow the consideration of their superior. This kind of limitation will obstruct the development of an organization. In my opinion, the more freedom of speech we have, the more developed organization is. This is because when an organization allows its employee to express their opinion, it will generate many new ideas which could be practical to an organization.

Even though I believe in a freedom of speech, I think that we should emphasize on an importance of the word meaning we used. Some words should be left unsaid as it could offend others and it can lead you into some troubles.

Every people have their own opinion and beliefs. For me, I believe that one day I can use my words to make a speech that can change the world.

Should we legalize gambling in Thailand?

Should gambling be legalized? Legalized gambling is a controversial issue. Many countries have legalized gambling such as the United States but in my hometown, Thailand, it still infringes the law. However legalized gambling can bring many advantages to a country and it can be easy to control. It has been claimed, “The government is trying to legalize gambling for economic reasons. It expects to get more tax and money from foreign tourists, and also from Thais who go to gamble in neighboring countries” (Sangsit, 2004). On the other hand, gambling can destroy the old culture of a conservative point of view because it may be an easy way to increase the number of criminals in Thailand. This essay will describe the main similarities and differences between gambling in the US and in Thailand.

People begin gambling for a variety of reasons including fun, relaxation, excitement, and the hope of being a millionaire. After a whole week of working hard, people turns to other things for relaxing so gambling is an alternative. According to Phongpaichit (1999) “an estimated 70 percent of adults gamble regularly and spend money possible, over 200 billion a year”. Players can be a part of the game and gambling makes people feel excited. Moreover, most gamblers believe gambling is an easy way to be a millionaire compared with working hard at a job.

To begin with, similar types of placing bet in Thailand and the US is the national lottery which is legal. In the US, the government provides the national lottery and an online website for gamblers. Everyone can join the lotto except children who are younger than 16 years old. The prize of the lotto will depend on how many tickets are sold and how many people match the same quantity of numbers and then the jackpot will be split between the winners. For example the estimated jackpot online lottery reported is 4,500,000 dollars that was divided into many equal amounts for each winner. Compared with Thailand, The government lottery office (2008) said, “The maximum prize already set at 92,000,000 baht”*. The lotto has drawn twice a month on the 15th and the 30th of every month.

On the other hand, Thailand and the US still have some differences in this issue. Casinos were legalized in the US; in contrast, gambling problems have been found in Thailand including underground lotteries, football gambling, cock fighting and casino because all of them are illegal.

For the future trend, if Thai government will push to legalize gambling, the government can save the time needed to quell the illegal gambling that has spread in all areas in Thailand. However, if this business is easy to launch, then they may face many problems of it such as mafia gangs, increased compulsive gambling and lower household savings. Both Thailand and the United states have to manage and look carefully with very stringent laws.

In conclusion, there are many strong arguments both in favor and against legalized gambling. The Thai government needs to think carefully and find a way to learn from the problems occurred of the United States and other countries if the government passes gambling acts.