Group Project: About the Clock

UP Diliman, STS THX 2013-2014
STS5ever
Music by Phoenix - 1901

Time has always been a perennial concept in society, seeing as it is always linked to anything we do, may it be going to class, meeting other people, or as simple as waking up. Having this realization, for our final project for STS, we decided to tackle the concept of time. Our short video shows the evolution of time telling devices, and how one man decided to "unsubscribe" to time. We hope you enjoy this video.

Sources:
A Brief History of Time Measurement. n.d.. : nrich.maths.org. http://nrich.maths.org/6070. March 15, 2014.
Bellis, M. 2014, March 5. The Invention of Clocks - Time Standards and Atomic Clocks. About.com Inventors. http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa080701a.htm March 15, 2014.
- Corona, Steven. 2012. Living Without Time. Stress. http://lifehacker.com/5943923/living-without-time . 16 March 2014.
- Ford, Paul. 2012. 10 Timeframes. Issue No.3. http://contentsmagazine.com/articles/10-timeframes/ . 16 March 2014.
Vice, Tom, 2007. Understanding Analog and Digital. Inside Technology 360. http://www.insidetechnology360.com/index.php/understanding-analog-and-digital-35456/. March 15, 2014.
Bulaevsky, Jacobo. 2008. The History of Clocks. Retrieved from http://web.archive.org/web/20081013135550/ Accessed March 15, 2014.
http://www.accuratesundials.com/site/591582/page/143772

Time Enough at Last

I am not familiar with the setting of the episode of Twilight Zone and what society was like at the time, but I found it quite strange that the main character, Henry Bemis, was being bullied by his own wife into stopping reading. I did not understand what the big deal was for her, and I felt sad for Henry. He seemed like such a mild-mannered man who was deprived of his passion: reading.

After the explosion, Henry was alone and was at a loss of what to do. He was so confused, he wasn't even sure if he wanted to live. I would have felt the same thing if I were him. Not knowing what to do and not having anything to do would probably drive anyone to think of suicide. When he stumbled upon the books, I felt his sense of relief. His joy was evident that he had all the books he wanted, and all the time he needed. But his happiness was shortlived as he broke his glasses, rendering all the time and all the books useless to him.

If I were to write the ending to this story, I would have wanted it to end right before his glasses broke. I think that his fate is much worse than death in the ending shown in the episode, it was just torture. I liked his character, and I see no reason or point for him to have a sad ending. However, that's coming from me, and personally I never like sad endings.

Lizabeth Ann Franco
200929329

Blade Runner

Blade Runner is a 1982 American sci-fi film directed by Ridley Scott. In 2007, the director decided to edit the ending of the original film, and release in DVD Blade Runner: The Final Cut. This is what I was able to watch in the CS Auditorium last February 19. 

The movie started with a paragraph providing the context of the movie. Set in 2019, the advanced world shown in the movie has replicants, rebots used for labor in off-world colonies. These replicants are confined to such work, and if they come back to earth, they will be “retired” by police officers Blade Runners. Deckard, played by Harrison Ford, is one of the Blade Runners in the movie, and is assigned to do one last job of finding the 4 replicants who remained on Earth.  What I would like to do with this reaction paper is investigate how close we are to such technological breakthroughs shown in the film. Considering that the movie was set only 5 years from now, it would be safe to assume that whatever technology seen there must at least have a prototype by now. Let's start with the advertisements shown on the buildings. 

The advertisements shown are like billboards with moving photos.   This type of advertising is not uncommon anymore at this day and age, and thus the movie’s presentation of advertising is accurate.  Also seen in the movie is the equipment used by Harrison Ford to enhance and analyse a photo. As seen in the film, it has a grid on the screen (which is not flat), and it pans from left to right using voice command and using coordinates on the grid. This seems backward for the technology that we already have today. For one, almost all screens now are flat, and the grid won’t be necessary now as touchscreen is very prevalent in today’s gadgets.  

Next, the flying cars. As we may already know, these do not exist yet on Earth. However, the technology to create such already exists, but is not made commercially available due to safety reasons.  

The next biggest technological breakthrough shown in the film is the existence of off-world colonies. This has been a topic of most sci-fi movies but it seems we are still too far out for this kind of reality.  

Finally, we have the existence of the replicants themselves. Again, this is another sci-fi film favorite: the idea of creating a robot with artificial intelligence and human-like characteristics. This is something I’m not sure how close scientists have come to, but some suggest that it is still too complicated to do. To create an artificial mind, one must completely understand the inner workings of a natural one, and it seems that scientists have not been able to accomplish that yet.  

To sum it up, I think Blade Runner has not accurately predicted the future (which is almost the present now). However, who knows, maybe this kind of future is possible, and it’s only a matter of when it would happen.

Futurama

I've never watched full episodes of Futurama, I've only seen commercials and flipped through it when it's on TV. I don't think I ever would have watched it if it weren't for STS because I always thought it was kind of shallow and I thought it was just set in the future and that there was no backstory to the main characters.

From seeing the first episode, I realized I was wrong to judge it immediately without even trying to watch it. The cartoon was set at the turn of the millenium and Fry, the main character, while delivering pizza from a prank call to a Cryogenics facility, accidentally froze himself for 1000 years (it is of course assumed that the viewer suspends disbelief and accepts that the cryogenics facility does last until 2999). The time lapse shown in the window was interesting to me because it showed what would be quite accurate for societies for the passage of a hundred decades. It showed societies rising and falling, new societies, and new technologies. It also showed that time travel was possible, but only forward, and it was not technically travelling, but just prolonging life enough to reach the year that one desires to "travel" to.

I think that Futurama is a fun cartoon to watch, much like The Simpsons, and I would not flip through it the next time it's on TV.

Lizabeth Ann Franco
200929329

A Trip to the Moon

I must be honest, I do not have the attention span to watch silent films. Much like podcasts, I tend to drift away in the middle, finding it hard to come back when I realize it. Given the premise of the reaction paper, I did my best to focus on the movie, put myself in the shoes of a person living at the start of the 20th century, never having seen 3D movies, colored movies even, or movies with dialog.

Each scene makes me wonder how much time and effort goes into completing all the props and the backdrops. The face of the moon still amazes me, it's the first time I've ever seen such kind of animation. The pain in the face of the moon was so human-like! When the bullet spaceship then opened on the surface of the moon, I was in awe because it looked like a tiny bullet that was just focused really closely, and when the people came out, for a second I wondered how they shrunk the people. The umbrella turning into a mushroom, and the moon alien turning into dust is also something new to me. The movie was so entertaining and it kept me hooked. I want to see more films like this in the future!

Lizabeth Ann Franco

2009329329

Rhetoric of Cancer

The idea of this podcast really caught my attention when it was first mentioned in class. I have never been a fan of podcasts because I find myself spacing out in the middle, only hearing things and not listening.

When I heard about it, I was surprised that it was even considered a topic of concern. I have never been in direct "contact" with cancer, because fortunately I have not lost anyone close to cancer, and only distant relatives have had it. Given my lack of exposure, I’ve always thought that that was just the way it was spoken of, and I’ve never really bothered to ask why.

Listening to the podcast piqued at my curiosity, because the speaker did present a good point. It was unclear why a person would want to wage a war against himself, after all, cancer was just part of one’s body, but it was considered a whole being on its own.

I think that the language that people use to describe cancer has been more for the benefit of the loved ones of the cancer patient. Trying to understand what they experience, I think that they would want their loved one who has cancer to fight, and to get through it. It would be a foreign idea to them for someone to not dislike their cancer. I think if I were to have a close family member diagnosed with cancer, I would want him/her to hate it and the circumstance as much as I would, and I would also want him/her to want it gone ASAP.

The problem however with this kind of thinking is that it makes personifies cancer as a big villain with a mind of its own, when it should be treated just like the rest of other chronic diseases, and that was what the podcast was trying to say. Cancer should be put back into perspective as a disease, and nothing more.

Overall, the podcast made me think about the way I thought of cancer, and although the way I see it has somehow shrunk it to a smaller size, I still would not wish to be in direct “contact” with it for as long as I can avoid it.

Lizabeth Ann Franco

2009-29329

List of Reaction Papers For STS

1. Catching Fire
2. The Fly
3. Futurama
4. Mind Museum
5. All the Time
6. Science and Music
7. Rhetoric of Cancer
8. Travel to the Moon
9. Imelda

Imelda

Imelda Marcos, known as the Steel Butterfly" is of course legendary to the Philippine Politics. The woman who acts like Evita Peron in lavishing fashion and jewelry also played an important role in the history of our society. Since all roads and discipline lead and aim to make our lives easier, the political state of the country also affects whatever progress there is in the field of scientific research.

There is not much to say about her or how was the society, then. But the money spent into futile could have been a usable fund for technological advancements that we could have enjoyed now.

But still, it is so funny to think, that in the early times, a woman  (Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, etc) is one of the major reasons of the fall of an empire.

Science and Music (Reaction Paper)

As we all know, people usually classify our intelligence in terms of  what brain hemisphere is predominant and how we think. People who are left brain-ers are considered to be logical, systematic, formula-based and most likely to succeed in math and sciences. People who are right brain-ers are considered artistic, creative and most likely to succeed in the field of arts.

But since all have the left and right hemisphere, it is also logical to think that we can operate in the two fields. We can even actually combine them together.

Who says that there is no Science in Music? Based on a recent study and written by Beth Cooper, scientific research says music can do a lot of stuff to our brain. Which is to say, music/ arts science can actually intertwine in the study of our nervous system. 

at the same time Science can also be explained in terms of Music. I can still remember the time when the people from Mind Museum demonstrated and explained the particles in each state of matter using different genres of songs. Awesome.

Come to think off it, We can only learn so much, listen, sing and live.

ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD

I remember when I was a kid, I would sneak the flashlight in my room and continue reading even after my mom scolded me. When I saw this film, I remembered those times when I would just stay in my room and re-read all of my books for a couple of times. My love for books started at an early age, and I could relate to the main protagonist of the movie. I used to dream about building a personal library and filling it with plenty of books. I wanted do do nothing more than to read and read and read. For the main character, reading was his paradise, books are his life. And when he stumbled upon a ruined library after the great earthquake (where he was the sole survivor), he was so happy to have found so much treasure. Everything will  be okay as long as he have plenty of books to read. But when his glasses got broken, it's like his whole world shattered into millions of pieces. In the end, he was alone and scared. He will never be able to read books again because there is no one who will help him get a new pair of glasses because he is the only living human being left. 

Imagine being left alone for the rest of your life!

All in all, I slightly enjoyed the movie. But I sure don't want to end up like that man. I wouldn't trade the pleasure of being with fellow human beings for all the books in the world if it means that I have to be alone for the rest of my life.

Kay Noreene P. Dula

2013-68905

MIND MUSEUM

Upon hearing the words "mind museum", I thought it was going to be another boring lecture about some museum that showcase enlarged features of the brain. But boy was I wrong. It caught my interest and made me learn lots of things. Personally, I am not a fine of science and I am not a science geek. But the lecture that the folks from the museum was able to rekindle my interest in science. And that's something that rarely happens. They made me see science in a new light and it made me want to visit it. Just hearing about it made me curious. I am sure that the Mind Museum will help people learn more and be more interested in science. That way, it will make learning fun and worthwhile.

Kay Noreene P. Dula
2013-68905

IMELDA

As the first lady, Imelda Marcos was supposed to be the embodiment of what true Filipina beauty and values are. At least, that's what I personally think. But history told us a different story. A story of how this woman lived her life and used her wealth, power and beauty to gain what she wanted. I see the young Imelda as a narcissistic, fashion obsessed woman who just don't know how to spend money wisely. Her nickname "steel butterfly" suits her well. After watching that film, I now see Imelda in different shades. Indeed, she has done rotten things like spending the national funds for her materialistic desires, but she has also done good things for our country. If only she changed her lavish lifestyle and narcissistic attitude, she would have been an almost perfect embodiment of what Filipina beauty is. But then again, she chose to be like that.

I enjoyed watching the film and it was pretty informative in a way. It made me see a different side and story to what history books told me.

Kay Noreene P. Dula

2013-68905

Reaction: Rhetoric of Cancer

Cancer and the language used behind it.

           The number of people diagnosed with cancer has continued to increase over the past years. Research about its cure is still ongoing. In the BBC World Service documentary, Rhetoric of Cancer, a survivor from cancer talks about the language used in referring to the cancer disease.  

Andrew Graystone described his personal experience with having to live with the disease because it is inevitable. When something is already there or when something is already in occurrence, just like having this lethal disease called cancer, the patients will not be able to avoid it. They will have to face it and try to make it through. Like a war that they will have to live by, fearing what may happen next. However, from what Andrew has said that he learned to accept it as part of him and the concept of war, having cancer can be compared to a nation having a struggle within its own territories, among its own people; a war caused by inside forces and eventually the nation will have to resolve it and continue as a strong nation.

Cancer patients are really brave to have been living like this with cancer. I have heard of a lot of stories about people (famous ones and commoners alike) diagnosed with it and fighting it. Many were able to overcome it. And I must say the courage demonstrated by these people is so admirable. I even wonder how after all they have been going through a lot of them can still smile and remain optimistic.

Judy Lynne Fabula

2013-39641

Reaction paper: Imelda

I enjoyed watching the documentary on Imelda. It was an interesting look on how she perceives herself with a side by side comparison on how other people, especially the masses, perceives her too. During some parts she kind of reminded me of Marie Antoinette. I feel that if only there were people who disagreed with her and did not enable her, she would have done many more good than harm. It is alarming to see how out of touch she is with the realities of the Filipino people and the extent of her extravagance. There are many aspects of Imelda that are condemnable but I must admit that at some point we have to give her just an ounce of credit.


NAGUIAT, Maria Felicia T.
2011-17398

The Music of Science

Music has always been my passion ever since the age of three, singing along with songs. But today, I am mainly interested in and listening to orchestral music, movie soundtrack, and of course my favourite band ever, Queen. So when Sir started to play Queen's Flash in class, I just fangirled, hard. That has been one of my favourite Queen songs, telling about Flash Gordon. I also enjoyed the rest of the lecture because I have recognised many of the music played as well as the artists, or composers. The Planet by Gustav Holt was used in BBC Sherlock's The Great Game episode, so i instantly recognised it. Movie soundtracks like the Star Wars and Star Trek were also examples of Science and Music.

I also liked the songs telling about their envisioned space exploration. I remembered yet another Queen song that is very very related and in tune to this topic. The song '39 in the album A Night at the Opera tells the story of space explorers who found Earth to be very different from the one they've just left behind. When they came back to earth, what feels like a few years for them, but in Earth, it has been decades or even hundreds of years.

Evidently, Music and Science has influenced one another. Composers have been inspired by science, creating a whole lot of music dedicated to science and its wonders. Also Music has influenced Science by making it appealing and relevant to people, because music is a great avenue to capture peoples' hearts and mind, so music has helped science a lot by having a science theme in music.

Aleczandra S. De La Paz
2013-70869

The Bride of Frankenstein

One of the main differences of Mary Shelly's novel, Frankenstein and James Whale's film The Bride of Frankenstein. was that how the Monster was portrayed and showed. The Monster was portrayed as dumb, ignorant, and uncivilized, that does not have the capacity to think rationally without the guidance of a human. I think that this shows the need of the human to be the superior or the higher being, in which he is the mentor and creator of the Creature. Meaning he has the conmplete control of this creature that he has created via mean that is very questionable and exceeds the line of morality. Frankenstein tackles this issue in which, do we, the humans, have the right to create something that violates the peace of the dead and then then doing such act not to serve as an advantage for the people but just to satisfy one's desire.The story really reflects on how people see themselves as; a superior being than other living creatures of this world. As such humans tend to think that they also have the power to bend the rules of nature.

As a film, I think that The Bride of Frankenstein certainly captures the viewers attention even though compared with today's latest cinematic advances, it is still treated as one of the classics. The effects were not as bad and cringe-worthy as I expected. Acting-wise, it is ranging from very good to okay. So as a whole, I think the film has done its job to tell their version of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein.

Aleczandra S. De La Paz
2013-70896

All the Time in the World: A Reaction Paper

I related quite well with the main character actually, because of my love of reading. He was a man who loved to read but was always forbidden by his wife not to. He loves reading soooooo much, one day he hid in one of vaults in the bank where he works just to read in peace. Luckily or unluckily, he was protected from the bomb the exploded, killing everyone within the vicinity, leaving him all alone. Despite all the depression, hos love for book was always there, it prevented him form killing himself, instead he started to read again when he found new books littered along his path. He was quite content now, he has his books, ready to read and read. And suddenly, he stumbled upon a former library, oh heaven! He was just about to start his goal of reading everything because he had all the time in the world, when tragedy struck, his glasses fell,  broke and shattered, like his heart, because he can't fulfill his goal and dream ever.

It was quite heartbreaking when, you had all the time to sit back, relax, and read a book, with no one to disturb you, then suddenly, you can't read because your glasses broke. it was like everything and everyone was just against him, preventing him from doing what he likes.Now he had all the time in the world to do nothing but weep and sulk.

Aleczandra S. De La Paz
2013-70869

Le Voyage dans La Lune

Le Voyage dans La Lune or A Trip to the Moon features an early representation of what people,or specifically, Georges Méliès, of what life would be in the moon. Created in 1902, from a perspective of today, the short film would seem ridiculous and weird as opposed to our very high-tech visual effects, science accurate or near accurate sci-fi. However, when I imagine myself into that time, my first time watching it en France, it would be so marvelous and exciting, since cinema and film was just starting, and this film had coloured film, manually coloured film in fact. This shows the creativity and the dedication to making this, and present it to the public. Despite the limited visual effects and props making in the 1900s, the creators have managed to deliver their message in an entertaining way.

Aleczandra S. De La Paz
2013-70869

Time Travel

I am a big fan of shows and movies that feature time travel, so I always believed that one day we will invent time traveling machines like the TARDIS in Doctor Who, the idea did not seem to be incredulous and ridiculous to me. I have always dreamed of traveling into the past, mostly because I want to watch my favourite band 'Queen' live, and also I wanted to travel in the past just to see how people lived, interacted with each other, the way they dress and see old sites and buildings to satisfy the curiosity in history. I also wanted to travel to the future just to see what it would be like. HOw advanced would our technology be in a hundred years time, or maybe the Earth will be destroyed in the next hundred years.

Time traveling is an exciting yet compelling and tempting concept. There are many theories on parallel universes, paradoxes and other major failures that can happen when time traveling. You can prevent the World Wars on happening but you may not be born at all. Time traveling is very sensitive, it can make or break your past, present, and future. That's why people who are discovering ways to time travel are very great and brilliant yet at the same time, their invention may be dangerous as we are unprepared of what the result of it would be.

Aleczandra S. De La Paz
2013-70869

Blade Runner

According to the opening credits, the movie was set during the year 2019, which is around 5 years from now. It was assumed during the production of the film that during this year, we would be very advanced in technology and space exploration. There are flying cars and all those huge companies and a commercial superpower specializing in making genetically designed robots which look like actual humans (and animals).

Surprisingly, for me, they actually thought in the 80’s that in the near future we will be looking far and wide for another planet to live in; as if there is a very big possibility that there could be many planets out there where we could actually inhabit. Moreover, it becomes odder because it was assumed that at some time transferring from our planet to another will be the talk of the town and people would dream of going to “off-world colonies”, as suggested by the advertisements shown in the city.

But the more centralized theme of the movie probably revolves around the “Replicants” which came (back) to Earth in hopes of finding a way to extend their life through their manufacturer. I somehow interpret this as robots trying to be more human but in the end humans are humans and robots are robots. They can’t live like us or more like they can’t outlive us. We made them and they can’t be more superior to us. 

Judy Lynne Fabula

2013-39641

Mind Museum

Bloody Amazing! At first, I thought, Mind Museum's lecture/demo would be kind of boring and elemetary-ish. Because it kind of had the vibe of an elementary science lecture where the teacher puts this and that, then bam! the children goes "ohh!" So I was not expecting much about their lecture.

But I was proven totally wrong, and blew me away. It really exceeded my expectations, because not only did then demonstrate new science-y things, but then executed it well and it suited their audiences, us the college level students. And not only did they entertain me, they also made me suddenly very interested in science again, after hours of boring technicalities and computations in high school. Their demo has rekindled my interest in science and how it works.

So, I would say that their demo was great, because they've done their goal of making the people interested in the subject and also giving a lecture and at the same time having fun. And also, I was so encouraged and delighted, I immediately bought tickets for an all-day pass.

Aleczandra De La Paz
2013-70869

Reaction Paper on Mind Museum Lecture

2013-14349
Monica Rivera

I really loved the Mind Museum lecture. I've always wanted to go to the Mind Museum, and the lecture has made me want to go there even more. I learned that the Mind Museum was made to "move" or stimulate minds. This is very important because most people get discouraged to study science or go to museums because it's too difficult or boring. Also, this is important because the state of Science Education in the Philippines is very poor. However, I believe that the establishment of the Mind Museum is one step towards improving this. Not only will the Mind Museum teach its visitors about different Science concepts, but it also stimulates our curiosity by making Science more engaging. I guess this is why the museum is very popular among kids and kids-at-heart alike.

Right after the talk, I bought an All Day Pass to the Mind Museum. I can’t wait for my mind to be moved!

Unang Ginang: Imelda

Imelda Marcos' glam and presence has never dissipated throughout the years, since her teenage years up until now, Imelda's presence, influence, and legacy still lingers.

We all know about the luxurious life of the Marcoses during their "reign" of 21 years here in the Philippines. We all heard about the jewels the lavish costumes and shoes that Imelda had as well as her passion for the arts, but I've never heard of her life story. All I knew that she was from Leyte and she married Ferdinand Marcos.

The documentary was very very interesting, it shows different sides of the stories about Imelda and the Marcoses. And also the commentaries are very amusing and funny at times. The documentary also shows a lot about Imelda's character. She's very narcissistic, meaning she often, well frequently, thinks of herself and about herself only. Everything is all about her, and everyone else little roles in her world. She regales the tales of all her works, her ideas and ideals, her life, basically everything. Her world only revolves around her and her family.

She shows her power and influence that can capture absolutes anyone, from international leaders like Muammar Gadaffi, to international singers, and the Filipino people, who some of them still support Imelda. She wields great power of influence to these people, which in some ways very good, because essentially and supposedly it was all for the greater good of the Filipino people.

The documentary was an interesting watch, whether or not you agree with Imelda, it really captures your attention and it show you her life, work, and dreams. And also whether you support or like Imelda or not, you can not deny, Imelda's got style.

Aleczandra S. De La Paz
2013-70869

SOLARIS (Individual Project)

SOLARIS
(WHY CONSIDER USING SOLAR ENERGY?)

Electricity access is a basic prerequisite for satisfying basic human needs, improving living standards, maintaining good human health, alleviating poverty and facilitating sustainable development (Tully, 2006).

Indeed, it is our right to have access to clean, cheap, and sustainable energy. As human beings living in the modern times, electricity is a necessity. But because of ridiculously expensive power rates, many of us, especially those who are living in remote areas such as towns or barangays located in the interior parts of provinces among other factors, do not have access to electricity. Those who are living in cities and other urban areas are constantly scratching their heads because of the latest power hikes. The government is barely doing anything to this problem. . According to an article written by Harry Roque, “Lack of electricity denies people equal opportunities in the matter of education and consequently suitable employment, health, sanitation and other socio-economic rights. Right to electricity of a person. . .is integral to the achievement of socio-economic rights. . .It is the fundamental duty of the authorities to show compassion to those who are living in huts and tenements for long. When social and economic justice is the mandate of the Constitution, it is a travesty of justice to deny electricity to the petitioners.”

Power plants are heavily dependent on non-renewable energy sources (e.g. coal, oil) to produce electricity. According to Dr. Laurie Johnson, “Burning coal is a very costly way to make electricity. There are more efficient and sustainable ways to get power,… We can reduce health and climate change costs while reducing the dangerous carbon pollution driving global warming” (as cited in Caulfield, 2013). But these sources will soon disappear, and we will be doomed to a life of darkness because of the lack of electricity.

In order to give people access to cheap, clean and sustainable energy, today’s scientists discovered new ways to produce electricity. One of these is solar energy. Solar energy is the technology used to harness the sun's energy and make it useable. Today, the technology produces less than one tenth of one percent of global energy demand (NatGeo). Why consider solar energy as a substitute? The electricity produced can be used to power communities, it is clean and does little or no harm to the environment, and reduces bills among many other contributions that it gives to the community. It is renewable and sustainable. It even powers the satellites that orbits the earth! This marvellous invention is very helpful indeed. Because of this, more and more people are being drawn into using solar energy as a substitute to traditional and non-renewable energy sources (fossil fuels). It is environment friendly and is constantly being improved. This could be very helpful to developing countries in Asia and other parts of the world such as Africa.

But there are also factors that needs to be considered. We have to think about the availability of the technology, the cost of the solar panels (which depends on the brand and manufacturer), its efficiency and features (such as how much electricity it can generate and the amount of solar energy it can catch), and the weather and location (there are countries in the world that gets little sunlight and have long winters).  

People ask, “Why even bother with this kind of technology when not all of us can afford it after all? Why even bother buying solar panels when it the sun barely shines for ten minutes in my place?” Well, folks, solar energy is only one among many other renewable energy sources which are available in the planet. We have wind energy (which is suitable to windy places) or hydro energy. We are merely looking at solar energy as a possible substitute to electricity coming from fossil fuels.  All of these are designed to help people gain the right to access to clean, cheap, and sustainable electricity. But in the end, it is the person’s choice whether they will use this technology or not.

Kay Noreene P. Dula

2013-68905

BA Psychology

References

Roque, Harry, 2014. Why access to electricity is a human right. The GMA News Online. http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/344464/opinion/why-access-to-electricity-is-a-human-right. March 4, 2014.

Tully, Stephen, 2006. Access to electricity as a human right. Netherlands quarterly of human rights. http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/nethqur39&div=46&id=&page=. March 4, 2014

Caulfield, M, 2013. Renewable Energy Now Cheaper Than Fossil Fuel. EXPOSING The Truth. http://www.exposingthetruth.co/renewable-energy-cheaper/#axzz2vT9HHwD3. March 2, 2014

National Geographic, n. d. Solar Energy. National Geographic. http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/solar-power-profile/. March 1, 2014

 

Individual Project: Person of Interest

During weekends and breaks from doing academic requirements, I enjoy watching a a number of TV Series, one of them is Person of Interest. When I first saw the show and heard its premise, I did not think too much about it. I was in a suspension of disbelief, so to speak, and I just decided to see the show as a science fiction series. When we were asked to think of a topic, I was really lost an I couldn't think of anything to do a project on. Luckily, I decided to watch TV. While watching one of the episodes I decided to go for it and do my project about Person of Interest. Because of this project, I have a strange and newfound appreciation for the show, for its seemingly science fiction yet eeriely real premise, and for the future it holds for society.

Imelda

The Philippines has a rich history of government and politics and none is probably as controversial and famous as the former first lady, Imelda Marcos. The film is a good portrayal of the inside life of the Marcos’ —the couple known for dictatorship and embezzlement of billions of dollars. The documentary is narrated by Imelda herself, with an interview of her son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and other third party interviews. In her own words, Imelda recounts the past and tells an entertaining, and a bit intriguing tale.

The documentary tells of her rise to power from being an orphan girl in the province to a beauty queen to first lady, and of her affairs in the governance of the country during the presidency of her husband.  Marcos and Imelda’s partnership was such a good combination (Marcos was seen as the future president, and Imelda belonged to the Romualdez clan, a very powerful, political family) that one of her relatives commented, “It was the beginning of the end.” Add to it Imelda’s charm, good looks and voice, Marcos won the presidency of which they stayed in power for two decades.

Journalists and critics all had their fill of how they felt about the Marcos’ and now, Imelda, in her own words now tell of her version and one thing is certain, she has this obsession of beauty. For her, beauty is everything. Beauty is love, God, harmony, etc. She is quoted to have said that to be beautiful is inexpensive, and yet, she had made a lot of women go blind doing hand embroidery of dresses she demands in such short notice, and not only that, she has a collection of over 2,500 shoes and lots and lots of costly jewelry, all in the sake to look beautiful. She also has this convoluted thing of representing the people. She said it takes her an hour to prepare when meeting with kings and queens and double the time when she’s in the provinces because the poor people needed a role model like her, a star in the darkness, which was contradicted by her daughter Imee, who said that she just wore a tee shirt and denim shorts when going from village to village because she doesn’t think it appropriate, and that it would have been funny, which I totally agree. It is a nice thing that she identifies with her people but she has an absurd way of representing the people. An interview with someone on the film said that Imelda told him of how she serves as the representative of the people and that she felt the poor Filipinos experienced life through her, that when she lived well, they felt good. It’s like saying, I won’t go hungry if Imelda has eaten in full because Imelda represents me.

But then, in all of her self-centeredness and obsession with beauty, she has done good things too—she led the building of theaters and museums we probably wouldn’t have had before. She has a point when she said that we had a crisis of identity. She also built hospitals, heart, kidney, and lung centers, population control program, roads, housing, settlements, social welfare, etc. In a way, she has been a mother to the Filipino people when she had been the first lady, but as it goes with people who are in power and in possession of the excess money in government budget, turn corrupt and all.  

People have called Imelda many names—her children called her a political animal, others called her the Steel Butterfly, but more appropriately perhaps is for being known as Imeldific. To quote Imelda,  "I was born ostentatious. They will list my name in the dictionary someday. They will use Imeldific to mean ostentatious extravagance." 

Geshabelle B. Apura                                                                                                                           2012-49906

Rhetoric of Cancer

I found the podcast very interesting. It made me realize how powerful words really are. Andrew Graystone's perspective in dealing with cancer is refreshing. I always hear about "battling", "fighting" and "surviving" cancer but never really "living with cancer". However at one point, when he was talking to the director of marketing for cancer research, it seemed to me that he founded like he has given up. He wanted the cancer to go away but he did not want to declare "civil war" on his body. It made me think about what my loved ones would feel if I had cancer and I had Andrew Graystone's perspective with dealing with it. I imagined that my loved ones would be very frustrated because it would seem like I had already given up.



Maria Felicia T. Naguiat
2011-17398

Mind Museum

I think it’s a great thing that we have a science museum in the Philippines. It means we are surely progressing a step ahead for having such a museum that imparts science and technology in a fun and entertaining way. Not only is it child-friendly but it aims on opening the minds of children to have a passion for science in its quest for answers to life.

The demonstration the mind-movers did was entertaining. It awakened my curiosity. It made me ask how such things were possible. It applies the principles in science and made it practical for everyone to share and delight with. How many times have we asked ourselves, what use are Boyle’s Law? Where am I going use it in? I won’t be able to use it in my job in the future. The mind museum changes this concept and applies our knowledge in science, the theories and laws that we just memorized and forgot, in a practical way. Isn’t it true that we are interested in things that have a practical use for us in the future? That’s what the mind museum does—makes you interested in science because science is important. It has a practical application that improves our lives.  People are amazed at what science can do but not the questions that answers why. This shouldn’t be the case; people should be interested in not only the what questions of science but also in the why. I am already in college and a science major, and yet I am still amazed about what science can do, how much more with children?

Geshabelle B. Apura2012 - 49906

STS Individual Project -- Surgical Glue

Geshabelle B. Apura

2012-49906

STS Individual Project

Newly-developed Surgical Glue Brings Hope to Broken Hearts

                Scientists and researchers have recently discovered and developed a new adhesive patch that could greatly help solve and minimize the problems associated with infants born with congenital heart disease.

                                   

                The new adhesive patch or glue, as reported in medical science journals, will help reduce the period of operation and the inappropriateness of surgical procedures and thus, improve the result of surgical operation on the patient (as cited in Science Daily).

                In most cases, infants born with congenital heart diseases or defects need to undergo repeated surgeries as they grow. These surgeries need to be applied with sutures and staples. In many cases, sutures and staples have problems and disadvantages. Sutures are employed by piercing tissue which may cause damage. Moreover, putting in sutures consumes a lot of time in the operation. For some time now, scientists and researchers have been looking for alternative materials that could replace or improve the performance of sutures and staples to achieve more efficient and with very minimal drawback surgical procedures in treating infants with congenital heart disease.

                Not so long ago, a series of studies related to cardiac adhesive development has been done and still continues at the Gecko Biomedical, a privately-owned medical device company based in Paris and France, by a biomaterials researcher at Brigham and Women’s  Hospital in the person of Jeffrey Karp. This study was prompted by a request to Jeffrey Karp by Dr. Pedro del Nido, a cardiac surgeon at the Boston Children’s Hospital, to develop new materials to be used for repairing congenital heart defects with the following criteria: the material should not only be very sticky, but biodegradable, able to work in the presence of blood, which can interfere with the action of some glues, and elastic enough to move with the heart (as cited in Bourzac, 2014). Just like cardiac surgeon Pedro del Nido, the utmost desire of heart surgeons who work on babies, is to attach things without damaging the normal underlying tissues (as cited in Yong, 2014).

               

                The said study has successfully resulted in the development of a cardiac surgical glue or adhesive that contain revolutionary properties for minimal invasive heart surgery and vessel repair. The said glue was formulated based on the combination of safe, naturally occurring compounds that form a biocompatible pre-polymer with tunable adhesive and mechanical properties. The said developed surgical glue or adhesive was termed as hydrophobic light-activated adhesive (HLAA).

               

               The above-mentioned developed surgical glue is described by Gecko Biomedical as “soft and elastic when applied to the wet surfaces of the wounds where it adheres gently to the tissues, permitting fine adjustments or repositioning when used with the patch. It is activated (polymerized) upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light to form a strong, leak-proof but flexible seal, giving the surgeon full control of the process. The adhesive can be engineered with mechanical characteristics similar to arteries and the digestive system, where initial applications are targeted. The authors also describe how the composition of the pre-polymer can be adjusted for strength or rate of biodegradation to suit the wound being repaired” (Gecko Biomedical).

             

       Katherine Bourzac (2014), writer of MIT Technology Review reported that “Microscopy studies show that the polymer becomes physically entangled with collagen and other proteins on the tissue surface.” Ed Yong (2014), one of the authors of The National Geographic, reported that HLAA was formed from two biomolecules, glycerol and sebacic acid, a substance Karp’s team created earlier called PGSA. It was originally made to create scaffolds on which they could grow new tissues and organs. One writer reported that HLAA was found to be successful in repairing heart-wall defects in mice creating a watertight seal. It was also tested in pigs in attaching patches to their hearts and shows that the patches remained attached even at increased heart rates and blood pressure. It was further reported that it was found to be successful in sealing damaged carotid arteries. (Bourzac, 2014)

              

            The development of the said surgical glue, when perfected, could bring in great improvement in the surgical processes involved in infant patients with congenital heart disease. Hundreds of thousands could benefit with this new technology.

Reference List

Brigham and Women’s Hospital. 2014. Bio-inspired glue keeps hearts securely sealed. Science Daily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140108154458.htm. March 3, 2014

Bourzac, Katherine. 2014. Surgical Glue to Mend Broken Hearts. MIT Technology Review. http://www.technologyreview.com/news/523356/surgical-glue-to-mend-broken-hearts/. March 3, 2014.

Gecko Biomedical. 2014. Innovative adhesive technology published as a cover feature in the high impact journal, Science Translational Medicine. http://www.geckobiomedical.com/news/gecko-biomedicals-co-founde.html. March 3, 2014

Yong, Ed. 2014. New Blood-Resistant Glue Mends Broken Hearts Without Sutures. National Geographic. http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/01/08/new-blood-resistant-glue-mends-broken-hearts-without-sutures/. March 3, 2014