Portfolio 5:My new technology---Minder Reader
Reading the two articles is the first time I heard about the mind reader technology and I feel it is mysterious. By the general introduction from the two articles I know there are both positive and negative effects. A question raised is how we can make use of this cutting edge technology and what should we do to minimize the potential unethical abuse of it. That is a problem needs to be solved.
If I am a researcher on this field, firstly I would guarantee that technology itself does not have any flaws so that it will not cause bad influence on its users. Achieving this requires researchers to be responsible and careful, which are the characteristics I need to have.
After making sure it is safe, I can put it into market. I am glad to see that my technology benefits a lot of users, but it is possible that some lawless people would make use of it to some illegal things, which is not what I want to see. For example, terrorist may use it to steal the national confidentiality. Because of this potential threat of abusing my technology, a new task comes to me. I would develop a powerful and intelligent program which can detect the abuse of my technology. Once someone wants to do bad things by it, this mind reader can tell by itself and loss its function immediately.
Human develop new technology by hoping that it can help us rather than harm us. We should aware the possible results brought by our innovation. If there is any potential threat, we need to think about it and make it safer.

Portfolio 4:Difficulties in My Engineering Classes
As an engineering student, I encounter lots of new knowledge which contains various fields of subjects. My real feeling is that these new-learned knowledge is quite hard and it is uneasy for me cope with them well. More than the professional knowledge, because English is not my first language, so this is another difficulty for me.

Take EG1108 as an example, this is a fundamental module for electrical engineering students so it is very important for me to learn it well. This module mainly covers the field of electricity and its application. Before entering university, I have gained some basic knowledge about it, which makes it easier for me to learn this module. I found that the difference between this module and things I have learned before is that EG1108 is more specific and more focused and it broadens my previous knowledge. As a consequence, its difficulty will definitely increase. I think it is impossible to handle it well if only attending the lecture and doing the tutorial. So after each lecture, it is necessary for me to think carefully about things taught by the lecturer, I will look for help from textbook, friends and tutor if I cannot understand something and solve them as soon as possible. I become more proficient by doing this. Also I will see lots of technical words every lecture, to avoid the difficulties in understanding the knowledge caused by these new words, I gradually form the habit of preview. I will read the lecture notes before class so I have a rough idea about what I’m going to learn that lecture and I will look up those technical words at the same time so that I would not feel confused about the knowledge because of language.

Learning is a process and everyone has his own difficulties. To me, by taking the suitable methods, I am confident that I will improve gradually.

Porfolio 3:A summary for Listening to the Language and the Voices of Terrorists
After the “nine-eleven” event, on September 14, Present Bush gave a speech to the rescue workers on the ruins and ashes who were shouting “USA, USA, USA”, telling them that their voice will be heard by people from all over the world including those terrorists who plotted this attack. President expressed his anger and this speech was regarded as a warning on terrorism.

Soon after that, US declared war on Afghanistan in the name of eliminating terrorist. This was thought by the author Noa Zanolli as acts of violence. She raise a very distinctive opinion that incessant exchanges of acts of violence on either side. By convention, we never think about what the terrorism is telling us. We just think that terrorist hate us and we only communicate with each other through mutual mass murder. The author gives us a question: why we do not think it from another perspective and listen to the voice of terrorism?

The author stresses that listening to the voice of terrorism never mean harm our citizens. She raises several assumptions and asks why not we think in that way and point out that if we and terrorist can understand each other, the situation may become better and there may not be any violence on either side. Understanding is the most important factor for both sides and we need mediators to translate the language of terrorism and vice versa translate the Western responses.

At last, the author mentions the two US presidential candidates. According to her opinion, compared with Senator McCain’s policy, Senator Obama’s is much suitable which offers hope and a chance to silencing terrorism by listening and by dealing with it with a lot more understanding of its complexity and in a more effective manner.

The following link to find the the original article: http://www.mediate.com/articles/zanolliN2.cfm#bio