Week 13

This week is the last lesson of our TWC, which comprises three web report presentations. The topics which were discussed today were on healthy living, language and communication, and the internet, which is my group's project.

The web report on healthy living was particularly relevant to all of us. After all, healthy living is an essential aspect of general life. The session on sleep drew my attention as it is apparent that young adults these days, especially those in tertiary education, have issues with getting regular and timely sleep. Personally, I belong to that category. The impacts of lack of sleep were brought up. It is definitely worth putting in the effort to get proper rest, but frankly, it is still unlikely to happen. For me, the main reason for not getting enough sleep is the presence of readily assessible internet connection which poses as huge distraction to me. Pertinently, the group mentioned how we need to use technology optimally to improve our lives instead of allowing it to be a hazard.

The second presentation dealt with language and communication, which was actually a topic that is similar to one of the individual oral presentation that was presented before. The same issue was mentioned - the potential of a universal translator. The main question that was raised was whether if a universal translator would preserve or erode culture and language. Several interesting ideas surfaced during the discussion. I would have to agree with the general consensus that it would preserve language as it allows one to retain their own language and still be able to communicate with people speaking a language that is from a whole other world.

My group's presentation was about the different aspects of impacts the internet  has brought about to the world. We felt that this is a topic worth exploring as the incorporation of the internet into our modern lives has caused it to be an indispenable tool. The internet has not only impacted our lifestyle, but also has several very valid political, ethical and social issues. In the political arena, the internet has aided Obama in winning the election. Considering the ethical aspects, our team has also identified the proliferation of pornography on the internet. For more information, our website is situated at: http://www.wix.com/twcwiw/webbedintheweb

This 13 weeks has been an enriching experience and the wealth of knowledge and insights gained from this course have been immense. Although the workload was not light, especially the stress and uncertainty in writing the review paper. It definitely would be beneficial for us as undergraduates to learn the skills of writing a professional paper which requires in-depth research and analysis. I am sure all of us have take away plenty from the course.

With that, this is my last post for TWC.

-ZhiShu of G22