college life

There are many similarities between the college life in Taiwan and the college life in the US. They all have beautiful campus, advanced research facilities, quiet environment, and convenient accommodations. In Taiwan, college students can display their talents in different fields. They can organize different groups or clubs to pursue their interests and personal goals. For example, people who enjoy playing music instruments can get together and practice with each other. College students not noly aquire academic knowledge from the school but also gain social experiences from these activities.
In the US, college students also have lots activities beside the classes. The most significant difference is that they have more variety in their activities. In the US colleges, they can give students more resources to support their activities, most are helpful and advantageous to the school, and have students from different countries and different cultures. This unique characteristic of the US college give students a great opportunity to explore the world and gain numerous international experiences, an advantage which is lacking in the colleges in Taiwan. Through the college life, students can learn how to deal with people from different backgrounds and have an open mind to face the dramatic change in the future, a change which is caused by the globalization. That is why the graduates from the US college can adapt to different working environments and fit in different foreign societies so quickly and easily.
In Taiwan, most college students are native residents and they share the same cultures and social experiences. But in the US, most students are from different countries or races and have different cultures and backgrounds. I think the diversity of the student body in the US college is a big advantage to their college students. They can learn more from their school mates and realize why people have different point of view about the same event. In Taiwan, there is still a long way to go to help our college students gain more international experiences and have a global view. In sum, the diversity of the student body in the US college is the biggest difference comparing to the college in Taiwan. This difference make the college life in these two countries become quite different.

what if

In history, there are plenty of events that affect the world right now. If some events had happened differently, the world would have been very different. For the US, if the northern allies, led by president Lincoln, had not won the Civil War and the black population would not have been freed by the government, then the US would have become a very different country.
In 1860, the Republican candidate Lincoln won the presidential election and his anti-slavery proclamation led to defiance to the prevailing belief in southern states that slavery status is the most suitable stauts to the large black population. At the beginning of the Civil War, Lincoln's priority was to maintain the unity of the country, not to free the black population. But later the civil war did become a war to end the slavery in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation, announced on September 22 and put into effect on January 1, 1863, freed slaves in territories not under Union control. After the northern allies won the war, the llarge black population became legal citizens and had equal rights like white people.
Coversely, if Lincoln had not won the battle and freed the black people in the US, the severe slavery and human right issue would have become a big problem to the US. The virtue of the American spirit is to tolerate and integrate different races and cultures. If the large black population had remained in the slavery status, these blcak people would have fought for their rights and would have caused more social disturbances in the US. Then the US would have had no peace and the economy in the US would have not developed so quickly and stably. Furthermore, some black people have talent in sports and music. If these black people had not been freed by Lincoln and had not given the equal rights to take education and join these specific professional fields. These telented athletes and singers would have no chance to contribute their talent to these fields. Then, we would have no chance to watch these amazing athletes, like Michael jordan or Barry Bonds, playing on the fields and presenting their incredible skills to people around the world. Also, we would not have these super stars, like Michael Jackson or Mriah Carey, to entertain us and bring us so much fun in our life. In sum, Lincoln government made a big move in the US histroy. He maintained the virtue of American spirit and gave American people a progressive view about the human rights, which helped the US become a diverse society and the strongest country whcih they had not imagined before.

Criteria for Evaluating a Documentary

1. The point of view should be objective
2. The documentary should have a coherent point of view
3. It sholud provide strong evidences to support his argument
4. It should not simplify the question
5. It should make a reasonable connection between cause and effect
6. It should provide some solution to deal with this situation

In the documentary "Bowling for Columbine", the director tried to use Columbine tragedy to argue against the gun abuse. The director first presented how easily people can buy guns and ammunition from the stores, then he compared the gun shooting statistical data from different countries to support his argument that gun abuse is the main cause causing these tragedies. He also mentioned some other influences like racism and violent TV shows, which might cause schoole violence. At first glance, this documentary seems to be an impressive one, but after a closer examination, it has some falwed points and wrong connections between cause and effect.
First, this documentary mentioned about school tragedies and gun shooting problems. He then attributed the main cause to the NRA organization and loose gun regulations. But by looking at most research and academic papers, we can find out there are numerous causes associated with school violence. Like physicological problem, violent family background, isolation from peers, etc... In this documentary, the director did not mention anything about these important issues. He just tried to simplify the problem and made people believe that "gun" is the only one cause to trigger these school violence events. There is also no coherent point of view in this documentary. It seemed to discuss school violence at the beginning, but it does so in a shallow manner and superficially. Then he talked about the gun shooting in US and other countries, and then make an argument that gun abuse is the main reason to cause these differences. But these connections between cause and effect are not reasonable and convincing. We should do more interviews and comprehensive investigations to figure out what caused these gun shooting events and school tragedies. Whithout doing these surveys, we cannot conclude a reasonable connection between the gun abuse and these tragedy events. In other words, we cannot just use the gun shooting statistical data in different countries to infer that loose gun regulation in US is the main cause leading to these differences.
At the last, this documentary didn't provide a good solution to deal with this problem. The director believed that these tragedies can be halted if selling guns is prohibited in US. But obviously, it is not the best solution to solve the problem. Because people can always find other tools to commit these crimes if we don't help them to release their anger and rage. We need to pay more attention to family and school environment to prevent these school violence events. Maybe a good counseling program can be a more effective way to help our child to deal with their anger and prevent the tragedy happening.
According to these points we discussed above, we can see that this documentary has no coherent point of view. And the director is too subjective, making a suspicious argument that the gun abuse is the original cause causing these crimes. There is also no convincing connection between cause and effect. The director oversimplify the problem and provide no effective sloution to this problem. In sum, We cannot persuade ourselves that this documentary is a good one.

Bowling for Columbine Questions

1.Micheal Moore opens a bank account so that he can get what item instead of interest?
Ans: Guns
2.where did Michael Moore grow up?
Ans: Michigan
3.Charlton Heston is president of what organization?
Ans: National Rifle Association (NRA)
4.Who are Timothy McVeign amd Terry Nichols?
Ans: They carried out Oklahoma City bombing which claimed 168 lives on Apri 19, 1995.
5.Why does the man from Michigan militia say you must carry a gun?
Ans: You need to protect yourself first, or no one will protect you.
6.James Nichols was arrested in connection with which booming?
Ans: Oklahoma City Bombing
7.James Nichols says, "I use the pen, because the pen is mightier than the sword. But you always have to keep the sword handy for when the pen fails." What does this statement mean?
Ans: Everyone still needs a gun to protect himself.
8.Does James Nichols believe that nuclear weapons should be restricted? Does he contradict himself?
Ans: He believes that nuclear weapons should be restricted, but he contradict himself because he agree to use nuclear weapon to defend the United States.
9.Describe the Littleton community
Ans: Residents claimed that the community is a good place to live in and raise their children.
10.The security expert in Littleton talks with Michael Moore about security in houses. What is a safe room? Why would you want one?
Ans: A safe room is made of concrete and steel, and it is hard to break in. Because they are afraid of people who want to robber or hurt them.
11.This security man gets emotional and says that Columbine did something. What did Columbine do?
Ans:
12.What does the Lockheed spokesman mean by "We are Columbine"?
Ans:
13.Why did Lockheed donate $100000 toward anger-management programs?
Ans:
14.What happened in Kosovo on April 20, 1999? what happened one hour later?
Ans: The NATO bombed Kosovo on April 20, 1999. After one hour, the tragedy in Columbine high school happened.
15.What organization held a major rally in Denver 10 days after the shooting?
Ans: NRA
16.How did Matt Stone and Trey Parker choose to respond to life in Littleton?
Ans:
17.What were some of the responses form schools nationwide to the tragedy at Columbine?
Ans:
18.Who were some of the people/things blamed for the tragedy at Columbine?
Ans: Movies, vedio games, Mrilyn Manson
19. How does Marilyn Manson respond to allegations that he is to blame? Who does he imply was influential?
Ans: He sais he just did what he want to do, and he didn't mean to ignite any violent events. He thought the family is influential to their children's behavior.
20.What class were the boys enrolled in the morning before they killed at Columbine?
Ans: Bowling Ball class
21.What other countries besides the U.S. have violent pasts?
Ans: Japan, Germany, Canada...
22.When was the Colt revolver created?
Ans: 1836
23.When was the NRA founded?
Ans: 1871
24.What does the news media want people to feel?
Ans: They want people to feel fear and unsafety.
25.How many kids have been killed by Halloween candy? Was it on purpose?
Ans: Only two kids have been killed by Halloween candy, and they were killed by their relatives not by other people.
26.Who is the most common suspect on television?
Ans: Black man
27.Who most often gets in trouble for gun possession--kids in the city or kids in the suburbs?
Ans:
28.Who conditions people in the United States to believe that their communities are dangerous?
Ans: When there are many black men living around them.
29.What does the former TV producer of Cops say sells in the media?
Ans: violence
30.How many gun murders were there is Sarnia, Canada, in the past three years? How many in Windsor?
Ans: Only one in Sarnia, and zero in Windsor.
31.What are some misconceptions about Canada? What is the truth?
Ans:
32.Does Canada have guns? In 2001, could they get guns/ammunition easily? Explain.
Ans: No
33.How is Canadian TV news different from TV news in the United States?
Ans: No different
34.How is the health care system in Canada different from health care in the United States?

35.How long did it take the news crews to show up in Flint, Michigan, to cover the youngest school shooting?
Ans:
36.How did the Welfare to Work program impact Tamarla Owens, the mother of the boy who shot the little girl, Kayla?

37.How did people capitalize on September 11?
Ans: Because people fear another terrible attack, so they purchase many weapons or equipments to protect themselves. Firearm companies can sell more guns and relative equipments to people and profit from it.
38.What does Michael Moore take Richard and Mark to do at K-Mart headquarters?
Ans: To ask for stopping selling ammunition in K-Mart.
39.What do Mark, Richard and Michael convince K-Mart to do about selling ammunition in their stores?
Ans: K-Mart decided to stop selling ammunition in their stores.
40.Whom does Michael Moore visit at his house in Hollywood? What is the outcome of their discussion?
Ans: Charlton Heston. He refused to take Michael Moore's advise and refused to apologize to the victims of the former tragedy.
41.What did you learn from the film?
Ans: When we take some actions to protect ourselves, somehow the negative impacts will exceed our expectation. We need to do a complete analysis before we take some obscure actions, or we might be harmed by our unwise decision.
42.What are some of the questions this film poses?
Ans: Racism, gun control, violence movies and vedio games, Marilyn Manson.
43.After watching this film, what else do you want to know?
Ans:

Definition

Education
The word "education" derives from the Latin educare, meaning "to raise". It indicated a more systematic and effective process that can teach people some specific knowledge or skill. Most people will attribute education to the school system. Schools do play an important role in educating our children and providing knowledge through adequate training process. In broad meaning, education can take place in many different ways. In a family, parents teach their children how to behave. In the working place, new employees will be led and trained by veterans before they can master their jobs. No matter what way the education take place in, education can facilitate people's acquisition of knowledge more quickly and help people develop skills and master their work.

Bullying
Most people think bullying is a behavior in which people harm others through physical assault or other violent action. But nowadays, Bullying can occur in many different ways. When people do any kind of action that is harmful to others, whether it is physical or psychological, then we can say that is a bullying behavior. In the workplace, when male staff harasses other female colleagues, even if they do not hurt their female colleagues physically, this constitutes bullying. Because the female colleagues feel uncomfortable and distressed about their male colleagues' behavior. In addition, when a country attacks others without any reasonable justification. we can also say that is a bullying action. In short, bullying represents an action that is harmful to other people physically or psychologically and this kind of action can happen in any place and not restricted to individuals.

Terrorism
Terrorism represents a negative act associate with a group of people intending to reach their political or religious goals. Perpetrators will take terrible actions without any notice and make people fear and panic, that will force people to compromise with them and allow them to achieve their ultimate goals eventually. Most terrorism violent actions can be regarded as illegal actions. Because most of them are not formal government organizations or legal entities. They might be an armed political party or a radical religious organization. They take illegal violent actions against countries or people who are opposite to them. Sometimes, their intention or purpose might be an important issue and we should take it into our consideration and help them to deal with these complicated problems. But shomehow these terrorist use an inappropriate means to get people's attention and put them into an arduous dilemma.

A Capacity for Joy

Outline:

1. Animals indulge in playing may be a form of practice or of learning to perform tasks.

2. Animals tend to play with something which interested them, like swings to the elephants.

3. Alaskan buffalo enjoy playing on the ice.

4. Animals like play with objects:

4.1 Komodo dragon play with a shovel

4.2 A meter-long wild alligator play with the drops of water falling from a pipe into a pond

4.3 Gorillas and chimpanzees enjoy playing with dolls and spend time in imaginative play

4.4 Dolphins play with a feather

5. In a few instances trainers have successfully taught formalized games to animals.

5.1 Elephants understand throwing objects

5.2 Dolphins were trained in the skills of water polo

6. Animals sometimes find playmates across the barrier of species

6.1 red kangaroos and dogs

6.2 Dogs and cats

6.3 Dogs and human



Summary

Play, which seems to be both a sign and a source of joy, has been increasingly studied in recent years. Theorists argued that animals indulge in playing may be a form of practice or of learning to perform tasks. A numerous of evidences show that animals exercise developing social, neurological, or physical capacities during they play with objects or other campanions. Animals tend to play at a particular palce where they are living, like Alaskan buffalo enjoy charging down to the shore and plunging onto the ice. Furthermore, animals might like playing with objects which is interesting to them. For example, captive animals in the zoo do enjoy playing with many stuffs around them. Furthermore, the object play may becomes social play. In oceanarium, dolphins are enjoying playing feather together and learn how to join the game in an implicit rule, which is still under investigation by scientists. In a few instances trainers have successfully taught formalized games to animals, for example, teaching elephants to play simple cricket in the circus. Except playing with their own species, animales tend to play with other animals. This point of view is supported by the relationship between dogs and human. Play, laughter, and friendship burst across the species barrier.

Columbine High School massacre

On April 20, 1999, two young students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a shooting rampage at Columbine high school, killing 12 students and a teacher, as well as wounding 23 others, before committing suicide. This tragedy led to a broad debate regarding the gun control, school violence, goth culture, etc... People try to find out the reason why these two young student commit a such terrible incident. Many argued that the isolation of Klebold and Harris from the rest of their classmates prompted feelings of helplessness, insecurity and depression, and eventually caused them to take a revenge to their schoolmates. In the aftermath, lots of rumors around this tragedy spread out through the media, some press potrayed these two young as part of a goth cult, such characterization were found to be questionable afterward, and people started to discuss this issue and deplore the 'goth' subculture.

In July 1999, the FBI organized a major summit on several severe school shooting incidents. And the experts who participated in this project argued that these two who commited Columbine high school shooting had psychological disease that caused them to commit this crime. But recently, a US psychiatrist, provided a different view , arguing that the killers' actions were affected by computer games like Doom. Once they are banned from their computers, the two teens became homicidal and began documenting plans to attack the school. However, there were still some warning signs to notify people some information regarding the coming shooting incident. Right now, many schools instituted new anti-bully policies as well as so-called "zero tolerance" approaches to weapons and threatening behavior and raised the security level to prevent any violence. But the most important thing is to focus on students who fit a profile or show warning signs and help them release their anger and range.

find academic sources that discuss the causes of school violence

References

Bennett-Johnson E. (2004). The root of school violence: Causes and recommendations for a plan of action. College Student Journal, 38(2), 199-202. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from ProQuest Education Journals database. (Document ID: 669336291).

Boulter L. (2004). Family-school connection and school violence prevention. Negro Educational Review, 55(1), 27-40. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Education Module database. (Document ID: 780332581).

Frisby C. L., Kim S-K., Wolfmeyer, M, A,. (2005). Identifying core profiles in attitudes toward school violence. Journal of School Violence, 4(4), 5-29. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Education Module database. (Document ID: 1015948481).

Kim Y. S., Leventhal B. L, Koh Y-J, Hubbard A., Boyce T. (2006). School bullying and youth violence. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63(9), 1035. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Health Module database. (Document ID: 1149835321).

Stancato F. A. (2003). The columbine tragedy: Adolescent identity and future recommendations. The Clearing House, 77(1), 19-22. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Education Module database. (Document ID: 575970271).

Watkins C., Mauthner M., Hewitt R., Epstein D., Leonard D. (2007). School violence, school differences and school discourses. British Educational Research Journal, 33(1), 61-74. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Education Module database. (Document ID: 1234482891).

Zhang L., Johnson W. D. (2005). Violence-related behaviors on school property among Mississippi public high school students, 1993 - 2003. The Journal of School Health, 75(2), 67-71. Retrieved October 17, 2007, from Health Module database. (Document ID: 823982521).

“Effect on Biodiversity” and “Substantial Equivalence”

Effect on Biodiversity
There is a bacterium that is naturally toxic to certain beetles and insects. Scientists have taken the gene that produces the toxin in the bacterium and engineered it into potato and corn plants. Now the potato and corn plants produce the same toxin, so any of the beetles or insects that eat them are poisoned by the toxin in the potato and corn plants. As the plants produce their own insecticide, farmers do not need to spray them with conventional insecticide, with the result that there is less pesticide residue on these plants. In this sense, these GE plants are better for us. But they now contain a gene that produces toxins. Is this good for us?
As well as the target pests, many beneficial beetles and insects are killed. Monarch butterfly larvae died when they came into contact with pollen from GE corn. What will be the effect on beetles, mice, birds, etc. that eat the beetles and insects that have been poisoned by the toxin in the potatoes and corn? In other words, what will be the effect on the environment? Some fear that proliferation of GE crops may result in huge losses of biodiversity and all the dangers that entails.
The GE potatoes and GE corn just mentioned are meant to reduce the need for pesticide. Other plants are genetically engineered to withstand pesticide. A gene that is naturally resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide has been inserted into canola. So a farmer can spray a field of GE canola with almost as much Roundup as he/she likes, and while the weeds will be killed, the canola will be unaffected. So herbicide-resistant GE crops may encourage farmers to use more pesticide. There would be more pesticide residue on these crops.
In some places, the bacteria needed for breaking down vegetable matter so that the soil is fertilized are being wiped out by excessive use of Roundup. The soil is becoming inert, and so much so that dead weeds do not rot.
When a farmer harvests a crop like soy, some falls on to the ground and may remain there till the following growing season, when it may grow spontaneously. If the farmer is growing a different crop, the soy is now unwanted, a weed, and the farmer may want to kill it with herbicide. Herbicide-resistant GE soy cannot be killed with ordinary herbicide and farmers in Argentina, for example, use a potent cocktail of different chemicals, including 2-4,D and, it is thought, Paraquat. This cocktail is causing environmental havoc. Some of the chemicals are blown by the wind on to neighboring fields, into streams and lakes, and on to people. It is causing skin blemishes on children, farm animals to be born deformed, bananas to sprout from the middle of the branch instead of the top, lakes filled with dead fish.

Substantial Equivalence
The biotechnology industry claims that genetic engineering is just like traditional breeding, i.e., GE plants are substantially equivalent to non-GE plants and, therefore, that they do not need any extra regulation. This is obviously misleading.
In traditional breeding, members of the same or very similar species are crossed to create offspring with some novel trait. This greatly limits the genes that can be combined. Furthermore, when different but similar species are crossed, their offspring are generally infertile, preventing inter-species gene combinations from propagating in the wild. For example, a donkey and a mare can make a mule, but the mule will be infertile, the end of the line for the combined genes.
Genetic engineering smashes these natural barriers. Using gene insertion, any gene from any plant, animal, bacterium, fungus or virus can be inserted into the DNA in reproductive cells of any other organism. If the resulting organism survives, it generally can pass on its altered DNA, along with and new traits, through normal reproduction. For example, genetic engineering enables scientists to create pigs which have human genes, genes which will be passed on to future generations.
So GE plants and animals are not substantially equivalent to non-GE varieties. But are they safe for us to eat? Do they need extra regulation?
There are indications that they may not be safe. An English scientist reported that rats fed GE potatoes developed cancerous tumors. The rats' brain size also decreased. The same scientist also fed GE tomatoes to rats. 7 out of 20 rats developed stomach lesions and died.
There are also problems within the Food and Drug Agency, the US agency with responsibility for regulating food. Because of inadequate legislation in the US, Monsanto's New Leaf Superior GE potato is not regulated. The potato has been genetically engineered to poison and kill the Colorado potato beetle. Because it produces its own toxin, the potato is registered as a pesticide. The FDA does not regulate the potato because it does not have authority to regulate pesticides. That is the Environment Protection Agency's job, but the EPA says the potato is a food.
The first GE crop to be commercialized, the Flavr Savr tomato, did not pass the required toxicological tests. Secret memoranda from the FDA reveal that the agency ignored warnings from its own senior scientists who pointed out that GE is risky. What is behind this situation? For one thing, there is a very close link between the biotechnology industry and the US government. The biotech industry has been well represented in President Bush's cabinet. Secretaries of Defence, Health, and Agriculture, the Attorney General and the chairperson of the House Agriculture Committee have had connections with Monsanto or the wider industry.
But would the manufacturer be irresponsible? Monsanto president has been quoted as saying, "Safety is the Government's responsibility."
So we do not know for sure if GE foods are safe. They may turn out to be harmful. There are many examples of new technologies hailed at first as great benefits to humankind, but later realized to be anything but a benefit. The effects of DDT were not known for decades. Likewise Thalidomide, which caused deformities in more than 100,000 babies. At the time of its approval in the EU and Canada, tests in laboratory animals showed no negative effects. Thalidomide's damage was revealed only over time, not in the drug's users, but in their children.
There is already at least one new disease linked to GE food. In 1989 eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS) hit the US. 37 people died and 1,500 were permanently disabled. EMS was linked to the consumption of a dietary supplement called L-Tryptophan. The batch of L-Tryptophan implicated in the outbreak was traced to Showa Denko, which had recently introduced a new genetically engineered bacterium into its production process.

Resumptive and summative modifiers

Many different school systems are making a return to traditional education in the basics, an education focusing on hand-on experiences and interactive learning process.
Many different school systems are making a return to traditional education in the basics, a change will make our students a more interactive learning environment.
Many different school systems are making a return to traditional education in the basics, leading our education system to a new direction.

Within the preiod of the last few years or so, automobile manufacturers have been trying to meet new and more stringent quality control requirements, requirements are designed to protect the consumers from suffering a great damage in a car accident.
Within the preiod of the last few years or so, automobile manufacturers have been trying to meet new and more stringent quality control requirements, a challenge that few auto makers could successfully overcome.
Within the preiod of the last few years or so, automobile manufacturers have been trying to meet new and more stringent quality control requirements, lifting the car quality in America and improving the competition strength of these manufacturers.

The majority of young people in the world of today cannot even begin to have an understanding of the insecurity that a large number of older people had experienced during the Great Depression, insecurity about whether they can get enough sources or money to support their living when they are getting older.
The majority of young people in the world of today cannot even begin to have an understanding of the insecurity that a large number of older people had experienced during the Great Depression, a failure that will make these young people spend more than they have earned.
The majority of young people in the world of today cannot even begin to have an understanding of the insecurity that a large number of older people had experienced during the Great Depression, causing the economy system to a more dangerous situation.

The reasons for aging are a puzzle that has perplexed humanity for millennia, a puzzle that has been studied and investigated by lots of scholars for years.
The reasons for aging are a puzzle that has perplexed humanity for millennia, a mystery that is still under investigated by scientists.
The reasons for aging are a puzzle that has perplexed humanity for millennia, making people looking for more advanced technologies to prevent getting older or weaker.

The successful accomplishment of test-tube fertilization of embryos has raised many issues of an ethical nature that continue to trouble both scientists and laypeople, issues that might take many experts for years to resolve it.
The successful accomplishment of test-tube fertilization of embryos has raised many issues of an ethical nature that continue to trouble both scientists and laypeople, an event that not only caused a progress in bio-tech, but also caused a great debate on the humanity.
The successful accomplishment of test-tube fertilization of embryos has raised many issues of an ethical nature that continue to trouble both scientists and laypeople, giving people a new challenge on human right.

Many who lived during the Victorian era were appalled when Darwin put forth the suggestion that their ancestry might have included creatures such as apes, a theory that no one could imagine before that era.

In the period known to scholars and historians as the Renaissance, increases in affluence and stability in the area of political affairs had the consequence of allowing streams of thought of different kinds to merge and flow together, causing people in the Renaissance period to be open mindset and tolerance to different culture.

The field of journalism has to place its focus on that kind of news stories and events that at one time in our history were considered to be only gossip of a salacious and sexual nature, leading the society to an undesirable situation.

In his documentary Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore has put the spotlight on the American penchant for violence, a documentary recorded his observation and point of view.

Al Gore has tirelessly urged world governments to develop policies in response to global warming, governments refuse to face the truth and prevent affecting the economy system.

Paraphrase

Source: Leary, Kowalski, Smith, &Phillips (2003)
1. Based on some particular researchs, scholars argued that people who are ostracized often become angry and react violently to people who ignore or reject them. In a research about "unrequited love," We can find out there are lots of evdiences to support this point of view that people will feel anger and tend to lash out at people who does not care about them when they encountered some kind of rejection or ignorance.


2.People usually do not intentionally ignore some peers who behave differently to most people. It is because when people possess some undesirable social characteristics, or are particularly shy or eccentric, they will be easily ignored by others according to their specific personality. This kind of ignorance is not due to intention or purpose, but due to simply disinterest.


3.In a tragedy of Columbia high school, 13 people were killed and 21 people were injured. The most stunning part is that the criminals who commited this tragedy were two young students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. They planned for a year to do this severe massacre and finally committed suicide at this tragedy. The possible reason that caused them to behave in this way is to revenge on their classmates who ignored or bullied at them. Before they commited this severe accident, one of them had been rejected by the Marines and was turned down by a girl, which made him more angry and commited this tragegy on an impulse.

Source: David M. Kennedy in a New York Times editorial
4. Since ancient Greeks to American revolutionary War, the obligation to serve in the military and the privilages of citizenship is intimately linked for a long time. Until nowdays, the modern military has been separated from American society and it might cause a disturbance to the society. People worried about standing armies which Samuel Adams warned were "always dangerous to the liberties of the people."

5. It is an unusual situation that we can wage war without puting any risk or significant burdens on our children. Since our children don't need to sever in the military and we can just put the military force into the field that scarcely cost much to do so. In other words, warfare can be waged without laying any burdens or risk on the most citizens in whose name the war is waged.

Sara Beale(2006)
6. Sara Beale argued that news media's current treatment of crime and violence are under the commercial pressures. In this circumstance, the resulting reports has acted as a tool to reshap the public opinion, and eventually , criminal justice policy. Right now, the news media are no longer simply reflecting the truth in society, but are used to publish content which is shaped by economic and marketing considerations that frequently override traditional journalistic criteria for newsworthiness.

An essy on causation

Before the 1940s, Taiwan is a agriculture oriented country and most people make living by cultivating rice or vegetables. After the KMT government, whcih fail in the fighting with the communist army, moved to Taiwan in 1949 and started to build up the infrastructure there, Taiwan steped into a new era and started to develop the industry like textile industry, auto industry, iron and steel industry, and high tech industry, which prop up the economy in Taiwan for years. The KMT government not only brought the talent and scholars to do these business but also bring some political issues to Taiwan. Since the KMT government deemed that their ultimate goal is to unite the mainland China, they don't want to share their political power to the original inhabitant in Taiwan, that caused a big opposing conflicit between the non-native and native. Until now, the political issue still disturb the society in Taiwan. Furthermore, the historical event, KMT government flee to Taiwan, made Taiwan become involved in a vague situation. No one can assure that Taiwan is an independent country or a regional government. Until now, even the DPP acquired the control of the government, they still can not solve the dilemma.

The case of "Martin"

Discuss the case of “Martin” (p. 163, 3a). What should the family do? What factors and values influenced your decision?

In this case, Martin is in a situation that he must rely on the feeding tube and a respirator to keep his living. Maybe this kind of situation doesn't cause a vital danger to Martin, but Martin might fall in unconscious forever and not wake up anymore, suggested by the doctor. It is really a difficult situation to Martin's family. Because they are in a dilemma that they must make a decision whether to release their financial burden on the expensive medical expense by giving up the curing to Martin or to look for funding to keep their family member alive. In my opinion, Martin's family must do anything they can to keep Martin alive. Since there are many government agencies and charities that can help family who has a heavily ill family member like Martin. I think they should call for help from these institutions first. If they can not get enough help from these agencies, they can call for help from some public media, like TV stations, talk show programs, newspapers. Making this story to a public issue and gain more attention from the public and government. Then people will realize this issue and do something to help Martin's family to deal with their difficulty. In Taiwan, we can see some stories like this from the news channel everyday, and people will aid these poor people via indicating account. I think Martin's family can get more help from these actions and release their financial burden more easily. Since I am a humanist, I think life is given by God, and also only God can take it from people. We should do anything to take care these ill people and do everything we can to help them. Because life is precious and priceless, no one can decide who should live or die, unless they commit a unforgivable criminal. There is no doubt that Martin still have chance to wake up someday in the future. All Martin's family can do and shold do is to wait for the miracle, and pray to God for Martin's health.

discussion about the prodigies

Q: Image you discover that your young son or daughter is a child prodigy. What will you do? How will you encourage your child? How will you protect your son or daughter's childhood?

A: If I had a son or a daughter as a prodigy, I think it would be an pleasant amazement to me, and I will do anything I can to discover their potential and encourage them to do anything they like. I don't think every prodigy need to finish their regular education in a very short time to prove their inborn telant. Conversely, child prodigies need more time to discover their real interest and then can be trained in an appropriate way to suit their individual need. For me, I will give my son more time to try anything which might interested him, like music, mathematics, painting, physics, etc... I will not set any bound on him, and will not factitiously sharp him as another Newton or Einstein. Furthermore, I will give him a normal childhood like other children have. Every child need to explore the world by their own hand and learn how to communicate with other people in a relatively natural environment. If we have these prodigies spending much of their time to take the training programs to be some kind of experts. These prodigies may not be able to have enough time to play with other children and have friends to spend time with. These prodigies may eventually become longly experts and complain the inborn talent which ruin their whole life.
I will give my children a normal childhood no matter they are prodigies or not. If they are indeed prodigies and desire to learn more things, I will totally support them and give them the best training programs. But I will also encourage them to play with other children and take them to do some outdoor activities. Be another Einstein is a good thing, but be a infantile autism Einstein is not good at all.

1997 Asian Financial Crisis

The outline

1. Financial collapse of the Thai Bahtin in Thailand in July 1997 --> Affected currencies, stock markets, and other asset prices in other Asian countries.

2. The price volitatility increased --> credit crunch

3.credit crunch --> companies suffer higher funding cost and even borrow no money --> companies go bankruptcy --> many people lost their jobs --> economy step in a recession

4.government decrease interest rate --> stimulate the capital market and encourage new investment

5.companies start to gain revenue --> peolpe have new jobs and start to spend more money--> economy step in a recovery

Essay:

In July 1997, the Thailand government gave up sticking their currency, Thai Baht, to a fixed price to US dollar. Then this decision led to a financial collapse of the Thai Baht and affected other currencies in a number of Asian countries. Not surprising, Taiwan was one of the victims,too. According to this turmoil in the currencies market, Taiwan stock market and other economy activities also suffered a big price volatility which make the banking system hastened the procedure to collect their default lending. Just like a chain of collapse buildings, the serious price volatility caused the credit crunch and made companies suffer more pain on the higher interest expense and harsher funding criteria. During this hard time, some companies could not keep their operating and went bankruptcy one afer one. People started to lose their job due to the unpredictable economy environment and also this situation made the Taiwan economy step in a long recession period.

To slove this economy problem, the government took a aggressive action, decreased the interest rate to a historical low, to stimulate the maret and investment. This monetary strategy encouraged the market participants to borrow cheaper money to do some new investment. Then most companies begun to profit and furthermore hired more employees, which decreased the unemployment rate and increased families' disposable income. Eventually, the economy in Taiwan stepped into the recovery period and became stable after the currency turmoil.

The language of graphs

The graph depicted the average daily us of D.C. Metro. The number of commuters increased to 200 at 7:00, then reached a peak at 8:00, whcih indicating the rush hour for people go to work or school. From 8:00 to 10:00, the number decreased to 200 and then slightly went up to 300 at 12:00. The number then remained a plateau to 14:00 and further plunged sharply to 100 at 16:00. After that, the number suddently surged to a peak to 400 commuters per hour at 18:00, which consisting with the time that people get off their work and come back to their home. Afterward, the number of commuters dramatically declined to 100 and then remained steady until the end of metro service at 22:00. In conclusion, we can tell that there are two peaks in the graph. One is at 8:00; the other is at 18:00. After the first peak, the number stabilized and remained constant from 12:00 to 14:00. After the second peak, the number of commuters stabilized again and was eventually unchanged.

Small Wonders

Anderw Marshall, in his article "Small Wonders", provided a extensively discussion about the causation to prodigies. He cited some expert's point of view to argue that sometimes the environment might be a issue to affect children's learning ability, but the functioning of the brain's neural circuitry that appear to differentiate prodigies from their ordinary peers. In American psychologist Michael O'Boyle's research, he discoveried that prodigies tend to have more metabolic activity in the right side of their brains and hightened activity in the frontal lobes. These characteristics make these children manage complex things more easily and able to focus better. Until now, scientists aren't sure that the prodigies are gifted by genetic accident to be mentally more efficient or just are born different. The author also pointed out that there is no inborn talent for any specific ability and the role adopted by parents is vital. Because most prodigies are stimulating by the environment in which their parents create for them. At the end, the author argue that prodigies should not put away childish things simply because they perform as adults. They should be treated as other children and give them more time to enjoy their childhood.

More Senior Citizens, Fewer kids

In this article, the author pointed out that the trend of aging population in Taiwan will become a serious problem if there is no adequate policy or supporting system to deal with. In Taiwan, lower birth rate and long life span lead to a situation that young peolpe should take more responsibility to take care the huge aging population. Also, the government should spend more money on the health care system to support the need for the graying people.

Because the trend toward fewer children and more senior citizens is expected to continue, there are lots stakeholders will be affected by this situation. First, the health care system will shift to take care of the old population in place of take care the young people. Second, the taxpayers will carry a heavy burden if there are no enough young men to support the old people. Third, The army can not recruit enough soldiers to protect our country if there is no young men to hired. Fourth, the education system will suffer a big change if the number of students is keeping decreased. Teachers might lose their jobs and the school might not enroll enough new students. At the last, the entertainment industries will also face a big change. These companies will put their focus on the old people and design something new to satisfy them.

I think if it is a big problem, we should do something to adjust this population trend. The government should take some effective policies to encourge couples to have more children, and prepare well to face the inevitable population trend in several years later. No matter what consequences will we meet, I think well preparation is always the best solution.

The End of Suburbia

In this documentary, the director claimed that oil depletion and energy crisis might make a big change to the suburbia life in america. About 50 years ago, accorging to the cheap oil price and rapidly growth of auto industy and wholesale stores, people in America can afford the expense to live in the suburban area to avoid the terrible city life and can drive to anywhere they want by car. Somwhow, the lifestyle in suburbia reflects some kinds of American Dream. People can live in a spacious house in nice neighborhood , own a large garage and garden, and buy anything they need in the large wholesale store. They used to the lifestyle and never think about whether the environment will change or not. Nowdays, the situation is totally different. The whole world is facing a energy problem and shortage of fossil fuels, and there will not be enough oil to support the extravagant lifestyle.

The director cited some reasons to support his claim. First, the world had been encountered the oil peak situation and inevitable decline of oil energy. In this documentary, it cited lots expert and scientists to support this argument. Second, because American people who live in suburbia rely on cars heavily. If there is no cheap oil to support their transportation need, it will cause a big problem to the life in suburbia. We can tell the issue from the daily life of the suburbia civilian. Peolpe who live in suburbia need drive cars to buy anything they need or to go to work or school. If they can't afford the oil price, they will not be able to live in suburbia any longer.

In this documentary, the director also cited some counter-argument to this issue. Some people might claim there will be other alternative energy to replace the oil energy, like bio fuel. But the director argue that bio fuel will not be able to replace the oil energy. Because people need fertilizer and some chemical peticide to cultivate the corn or other plants to produce the bio-fuel. But the original source to produce the fertilizer and chemical pesticide is the crude oil. So we just use oil energy to produce other energy, and that is why we can't solve the energy problem in this way. Some people claim that hydrogen can produce clean energy by advanced technology, but it still not been successfully implemented yet until now. The energy generation process is too complicated and too expensive. It also can not fully replace the oil energy in a short time. Some people argue that the estimate about the crude oil in the world is not accurate. But the director cited other expert and scientist's opinion to support the argument that the world is really facing a energy crisis and should prepare to face the situation or it might cause a great panic to the economy.

Right now, the director indicated that some people start to build a new lifestyle different to the suburbia. They live in the urban area and walking distance to the downtown. They don't rely on cars heavily and also avoid consuming too much oil energy in daily life. People also start to realize that the energy is limited and learn to save energy and prepare to face this problem. If American don't take any action to deal with this situation, they will be shocked by the suddenly energy crisis which they never think of before.

mixed marriages

Q:Discuss whether you think mixed marriages are good or bad. If you were going to do research on mixed marriages, what factors would you investigate?

Nowdays, we can reach and know lots of people outside our country via the internet or through overseas travel. People are also more open to developing friendship with different culture or with different language. In accordance with the globalization and culture change, we feel more comfortable to have some foreigners as our friends, even to become our spouses.

I think it might not be easy to maintain a mix marriage if they were growing up in quit different societies. In the beginning, The exotic relationship might be novelty to them and make them feel more excited about the relationship. But in the end, especially after they get married, they will encounter lots of problems and culture shock which they had never thought about before. I think there is something good and also somthing bad to the mixed marriage. The good thing is that they will have more broader view about the world and feel more comfortable with the diversity of people. It is not easy for people to tolerate the different cultures and living habits. But people who are in a mixed marriage, will become more tolerant to these issues.
On the contrary, if they don't fit in the mixed marriage quit well, their failure in marriage might cause a big problem to their families and also to the society.

I think there are some issues to which we should give more attention to if we wnat to realize the impacts and causes of the mixed marriages. First, we must investigate what kind of environment will make people have motivation to have a mixed marriage. Like culture, population diversity, society structure, kind of. Second, what is the consequence of the mixed marriage? Will the mixed marriage have any impact on their original families? How will their offspring affect our society. These questions should be addressed if we want to reach a further understanding of the mixed marrage issue. Third, we must understand what factors will help people to have a successful mixed marriage. If we can find out these factors and make some action plans to deal with these problmes that might be encountered in the mixed marriage. Then we can decrease some conflicts and adverse impact from the mixed marriage.

The idea age for children to be introduced to computers

For this generation,computer technology has been indispensable to our life. According to this inevitable trend, we need to teach our children how to manage this technology and make them feel more comfortable with the rapidly changing world. But for the young children, they need more stronger bonds between them and adults. Also, they need more time to play with other children and get more hands-on experience about the real world. Computer technology might assist these young children to learn things more effectively and facilitate the teaching process. But I think the most idea age for child to be introduced to computers is about 12~13. At this age, children can learn something more complicated and they also have some ability to distinguish between good and bad. They can be taught to use computers to help them get more information and explore the world in a very different way. Furthermore, since they have some ability to make judgement, so they can be taught to use the computers more properly. It will prevent our children from being harmed by the detrimentally effects on the improper web content and make sure that children will eventually benefit from the computer technology. At this age, children have alreafy familiar with other information sources like text books, newpapers, TV, journals, etc... If we introduce them to use the computer technology at this moment, I think it will be a great help to them and make them learn things more effectively and efficiently.

Responses to the three questions on p.15

1.The Alliance for Childhood cites "health concerns" as one reason why young students should not have computers in the classroom. What might these health concerns be?
Ans: If children stare at the computer monitors for a long time, it might cause some damage to their eyes. Also, computers might emit some radiation and it might be likely to affect children's health. Besides, if children addict to the computer, it might cause some mental disease and obstruct children's mental development.

2.Read lines 27-30. Why do these parents have a "grudging guilt" about their children?
Ans: These parents might think they should not make their children spend so much time to learn the computer or force them to learn something that parents can make a parade of their performance. For example, parents in Taiwan like to compare their children's preformance with others'. If their children can perform some special skill or talent. Parents will pride thselves on their children's performance. But it also cause these children to spend much of time on the training courses. Eventually, these children don't have much time to play with other children and also lose some opportunities to get more firsthand experience about the real world. I think that is why these parents might have "grudging guilt" about their children.

3.Read lines 38~43. This paragraph states, "Various studies show different effects of computer use in the classroom." According to this paragraph, what factor can determine how useful computers are in the classroom?
Ans: 1. well trained teachers, 2.use computers in elicitation method not primarily for "drill and practice".

Summary of "Beyond Rivalry"

Elizabeth Stark, in her article "Beyond Rivalry," discussed some factors affecting relationship between siblings. She argued that people may drift apart as they become involved in their own social connections, but eventually will have stronger connection with their siblings in their late lives even though they have rivalry relationship with them in the early stage. The author cited other psychologists' study to pointed out that some critical events might bring siblings together or deepen an existing rift. But no matter what kind of rivalry or hostility between siblings, very few of them had completely broken up with their siblings and become more involved with and interested in their siblings as they age. She also cited psychologist Gold's finding to bring out some emotional issues and specific requirements that make people to increase contact with their siblings. By Cicirelli's study, she found out some factors might affect the contact frequencies between siblings and she pointed out that even though siblings can't get together quite often, they seems to evoke positive feelings based on the images or feelings inside. Although siblings seem to have stronger connections with each other as they age, Cicirelli pointed out that rarely do they call for help or offer instrumental support to each other. For this issue, psychologist Gold pointed out that some physical or psychological factors might cause this phenomenon. In conclusion, the author argued that siblings will find unexpected strengths in this relationship in later life.

Summary of "State Lotteries are Needed"

In this article, the author described that states and local commnuities were facing a shortage of funding and lotteries provide essential funs for state programs through voluntary taxation. Buy citing the history events, lotteries have been used for over 500 years and is still an attractive option to legislators. The author also cited the essey "Financing Public goods by Means of Lotteries", written by the economist John Morgan, to support his argument that lottery is a useful and viable financial resource for states. Through the successful lottery program in Georgia, it provided funding sources to education and created job opportunities for the citizens. The author also pointed out that states without lottery program might face a problem that large amount of money flee to the neighboring states which do provide lottery program. Besides, states can also profit from lotteries because of the economic benefits of providing relief to state taxpayers. The author also provide a counter-argument that sometimes lottery might cause adverse effects on those who routinely consume this product. But if effective administration of lottery revenue is achieved, the proceeds can accomplish a great deal of good.

Alter the following sentences

1.Physical attraction is important for marital happiness.
Most people think physical sttraction is important for marital happiness.

2.Economic sanctions are ineffective.
Almost 90% of the economic sanctions are ineffective.

3.Alcohol causes people to become violent.
Alcohol can probably cause people to become violent.

4.Passive smoking causes cancer.
Passive smoking can very likely cause cancer.

5.Recycling is the best solution to the waste disposal problem.
Recycling might be the best solution to the waste dispodal problem.

6.Physical exercise lessens the severity of depression.
Sometimes, physical exercise lessens the severity of depression.

7.Great novels do not make great films.
Great novels do not definitely make great films.

7.Private schools provide better education than do public schools.
There is a good possibility that private schools provide better education that do public shools.

Examples of hedging

1.Our analyses of cases of school violence since 1995 support the hypothesis that social rejection was involved in most cases of lethal school violence.

2.Twelve of the cases involved an ongoing pattern of teasing, bullying, or ostracism, and at least six of the perpetrators had experienced a recent romantic rejection.

3.In only two of the incidents did we find no clear evidence of rejection;
Several of the perpetrators explicitly explained their actions as a response to being mistreated by other students.

4.Of course, a murderer’s stated reason for his behavior may reflect nothing more than a self-serving justification.

5.However, independent evidence from other students and teachers corroborates the presence of rejection in most of the cases.

6.It is also noteworthy that, to our knowledge, few of the perpetrators attributed their violent behavior to other equally plausible causes, such as disinterested parents, a broken home, child abuse, academic failure, or psychological problems.

7.Few individuals navigate their way through adolescence without being teased, bullied, or rejected in some manner, but the vast majority do not exact retribution on their classmates.
Rejection may be frustrating, angering, even maddening [Buckley, unpublished data; Twenge et al., 2001], but it is rarely sufficient to provoke premeditated violence even if the victim feels like killing people.

8.In particular, most of the perpetrators displayed at least one of the other three risk factors (psychological problems, interest in guns or explosives, or fascination with death).
Thus, we speculate that rejection, combined with one or more of these other factors puts an individual at higher risk to perpetrate aggression against peers.

9.First, a variety of psychological problems may be associated with an increased tendency for aggressive behavior.

10.Thus, some instances of school violence may reflect extreme manifestations of an ongoing pattern of antisocial and aggressive behavior.

11.Many of the shooters had been in trouble previously for aggression against their peers, and two had allegedly abused animals.

12.In addition, people who are depressed and perhaps suicidal may behave in desperate ways, feeling that they having nothing to lose by acting aggressively [Marano, 1998].

13.Second, individuals who not only have access to guns but who are fascinated by firearms and explosives may be more likely to act on their aggressive impulses because they are comfortable dealing with instruments of destruction than those who are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with guns and explosives, who do not have the means to perpetrate violence with firearms and bombs.

14.Third, people who are fascinated by themes of death, and whose identity is linked to Gothic, Satanic, and other ‘‘dark’’ lifestyles may find the idea of carnage less revolting than most other people do.

15.It remains unclear whether death-rock music and other aspects of popular culture that glorify death cause otherwise peaceful adolescents to be violent or whether individuals who are already inclined toward aggression are simply more interested in death-related music and activities.

16.Thomas [1995] suggested that the painful feelings of shame that often result from rejection may provoke anger and aggression, much in the same way in which physical pain (such as slamming one’s own hand in a door) can make people angry.

17.Other writers have suggested that aggression may result from a desire to show that one is not a person to be trifled with [Nisbett, 1993] or to maintain self-esteem and buttress one’s positive self-concept after an ego-threatening event [Baumeister et al., 1996].

18.Without discounting other explanations, we believe that the primary motive in most of the school shootings seems to have been retribution, either for an ongoing pattern of ostracism and teasing or for an acute rejection such as a romantic breakup.

19.In fact, many of the cases were characterized by both an ongoing pattern of rejection and a specific rejection experience, suggesting that the recent rejection may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

20.At the same time, however, the evidence suggests that at least some of the perpetrators were seeking respect as well.

21.In particular, the evidence that we obtained about the episodes from press reports may reflect reporters’ implicit theories about the link between rejection and aggression; we may have found evidence of such a relationship because writers in the mass media selectively reported evidence consistent with their implicit theories.

22.We cannot discount this possibility but find it noteworthy than only a few of our sources drew an explicit connection between the rejection that the perpetrators had experienced and their subsequent violent behavior.

23.In most cases, information regarding the perpetrator’s relationships with other students was mentioned only in the context of describing the kind of person he or she was.

24.Only after the Columbine shootings in April of 1999 did many writers begin to explore the role than ostracism or rejection may have played.

25.Although we can document that most of the perpetrators of these school shootings had been subjected to teasing, bullying, or other types of rejection, we do not know for certain whether they experienced an exceptionally high level of mistreatment compared to other children and adolescents.

26.Given that roughly 75% of elementary and middle school students are occasionally bullied at school [Kass, 1999], the perpetrators of the school shootings were by no means unique.

27.Even so, from reading descriptions of their peer relationships, our sense is that most of the shooters had experienced an unusually high amount of bullying or ostracism that was particularly relentless, humiliating, and cruel.

28.Furthermore, when an individual has psychological difficulties, an affinity for guns and explosives, or a fascination with death and gore, such peer mistreatment may evoke a catastrophic reaction.

Clever Behavior of Some Animal

Most animals can not be trained to do some performance but some animals can be. The reason is that some animals are clever enough and can be taught to do these performance by some training process. The key to make the trainging process success is the incentive.

Take a example of dolphins, they are the super star in the sea park. They can perform lots of tricks and make people laugh. But how can the trainer teach these dolphins to do these performance? The reason is obvious, dolphins can learn things and know what the trainer want them to do. The key of the training process is the incentive. Each time dolphins do the right action or obey the instruction given by the trainer, they will get something to eat. During the training process, dolphins learn about that if they follow the instructions, they will get some food as a prize. If there is no incentive to lure them to follow the instructions, dolphins might not learn these tricks quickly and effectively. That is why each time when dolphins do an excellent performance in the sea park, they are fed by the trainer immediately.

Besides dolphins, there are some other animals can be trained to do some performance. Like parrots, seals, dogs, bears, etc... They all can be trained to be a super star if they are given a adequate training and right incentive.

Compulsive Shopping

In my experience, normal shoppers and compulsive shoppers behave quite differently. First, the normal shoppers know what is their budget constraint and they will try to seek goods with cheaper price and better quality. But compulsive shoppers don't have a budget in mind, and they will buy anything they like no matter what the price or the quality is. When normal shopper look for something to buy, the first step is to look at the pricee tag. If the price is too expensive to be afforded, they will look for another substitute. But compulsive shoppers may not take a look at the price tag. All they care about is the "feeling" for this stuff. In the second, normal shoppers only buy what they really need, but compulsive shoppers might buy something they don't really need. Sometimes, compulsive shoppers might buy something just according to the advertisement or persuaded by the salesman. In the contrast, normal shoppers might have a shopping list or some idea in mind before they go shopping.

I have a friend who is addicted to the eBay. Sometimes he will buy somthing he don't really need. He buy things in eBay just because he like the feeling to be a "winner." In the eBay, he like to review some items and can't help to bid something which he don't need but he think it is really a bargain. Each time he buy something he don't need, he will persuade himself that "someone around me might need this stuff." I think the main cause is that he really like to be the winner when he participate in the auction competition. To be the winner is exactly what he want, not the stuff. By this example, I think sometimes compulsive shoppers want to pursuit some specific status (like auction winners) to satisfy his longing. It is just like an endless circle that they can't jump out and stop shopping. The only way to stop them is to shut down eBay I think.

I think Culture affect our shop behavior quite a lot. When people live in a big city, most of them think buying some luxury goods for themselves is appropriate. But people who live in a little town, most of them will think that is a evil thing. The difference between their attitude toward the shopping behavior is due to the different culture between their environment. Culture will affect people to do things like the others living in the same place. Take my father as an example. In his age, people think borrowing money is a shame and should save all the money they earned. So they only buy useful and necessary stuffs for their living. In my age, we use credit card and installment payment frequently. We might buy something which we can not afford, but we think we will earn enough money to pay the bill in the future. The different culture lead to different attitudes toward shopping between the two generation.

In the recent years, advertisement is almost everywhere. They can approach you via internet, email, TV, billboard, etc... These advertisements will brainwash us and persuade us into buy something we don't really need, especially the luxury goods, like expensive clothes, precious diamonds, new cars, electronic products, kind of. They will create lots of fancy slogan and enchanting image to lure you to agree with them and buy their new stuff and become their loyalty customers. That is why so many girls like buy new clothes of GUCCI, COACH, ChANEL etc... Even they already have lots of dressing in their wardrobe. Just like the slogan said "girls always lack something in their wardrobe." But the good thing is, we can get more information from these advertisements. Right now, the advertisement not only give us a brainwash to buy their new stuff, it also give us some information about the product we really want, like price comparison, where to buy, etc... We can buy something really cheaper and higher quality from these information.

I think a compulsive shopper might have some characteristics below. First, they don't have a clear financial plan. They don't consider what if they can afford the thing or not before they buy it. That is why they always feel shock when they get the credit card bill. Second, they can't help buy things which they don't really want. In contrast to the normal shoppers, impulsive shooper don't have a idea about what is necessary or not. Third, they are easily affected by the advertisement and persuaded by the salesman. They might don't know how to avoid giving into the temptation. Fourth, They spend much of their time on shopping and neglect other important things like their family, job, kind of.

The author can cite the sources of these argument to convince the readers. In this article, the author made lots of arguments but there is no specific citation to indicate the sources of these arguments. If the author can cite some other experts to support the arguments. It will make the essay more powerful and solid. Besides, there is no data to support these arguments. In the second paragrapgh, the author said " unfortunately, when shopping becomes an addiction, it can destory lives. It has therefore come under increased scrutiny by scientists in terested in..." If the author can provide some statistic about these scrutiny to support his argument. It will make the essay more stronger and more convincing.

The differences between Academic and nonacademic writing

First of all, acadmeic writing is focus on a specific field or a academic category. But nonacademic writing might be a general issue or someone's idea or someone's thinking. When we refer a article as a academic writing, it should have a unique structure and tone. At the beginning of a academic writing, there would be a research background and research object. Then, there would be a literature review to demonstrate other scholars's contribution and achievement about this topic. Atfer that, the author may come out a new hypothesis or a new proposition. And then, the author will take a methodology to collect data or conduct some academic interview to act as a evidence to support his point and argument. The examining process should be objective and rigid. At the last, the article will lead to a new conclusion and application. Other researchers in the same field will realize the author's idea and research result quickly and precisely by this standard structure.

When we refer a article as a nonacademic writing, there would be no statndard structure and rigid logic in it. It might be a free style and sometimes reflects the author's style and personality. Like a newspaper report or criticism, we can sometimes tell the author by the content structure or the vocabulary he uses in the article. Also, nonacademic writing will not focus on any specific field or topic. It might be a general issue or a life story. It might be a funny story or a heart touching story, but it would not become a theory in any specific academic field.

The tone of a academic writing is also quite different from that of the nonacademic writing. The tone of a academic writing is rigid, objective, and fixed. It would only talk on the facts and gain the result by the evidence it provides. The tone of a nonacademic writing is relax, humor, and free style. Since it might be someone's opinion or idea, so the tone of the writing would be more flexible and reflects the atmosphere that the author want to create in his article.

In conclusion, an academic writing is a rigid, logical, and well-structured article in a specific academic field. It also provide a good point and insight for the further research. A nonacademic writing is just a report or a free style writing. It only tell someone's opinion or idea, and it might not make much contribution to any further academic research. If we want to be a outstanding academic researcher or expert. We should be able to tell the differences between the two different type articles. Then we can write a right article in a right format and right tone.

Introduction

My name is Cheng Chung, Chang. I come from Taipei, Taiwan. I graduated from Chiao Tung University in Tawain, and my major is business administration. Before I came to GWU for my graduate study, I worked for a local bank in Taiwan for four years. My profession is financial analysis and risk management. I hope I can learn something different and explore more about the financial maket and financial products here. In addition to study here, I also hope to take a tour around the United State. It was my dream since I was a high school student. Since there are so many amazing and beautiful cities here, like Boston, Ner York, Chicago, etc... I would like to take time to visit these places and gain more experience about the great country.

I have a brother and a sister. My brother is a computer engineer and my sister is a physican. My father retired last year, and enjoy learning things like internet and computer kind of. My monther is housekeeper and she always care about our career and our future. No wonding she is the first one who encourage me to study abroad this year. Anyway, They all support me to pursuit my graduate study in America. I really appreciate that and I feel lucky to have such a wonderful family during my life.

I like going to the movies, hiking, reading books , and outdoor activities kind of during my free time. I think DC is a good place to study and stay in. I am looking forward to have som new friends and learn somthing new here. After I finish my study here, I think it would be a unforgotten experience during my whole life.