Thursday 13 October 2016

Research Question: Which Alternative is more probable?

A scenario:
Linda is a teacher in elementary school.
Linda works in a bookstore and takes yoga classes.
Linda is active in the feminist movement.
Linda is a psychiatric social worker.
Linda is a member of the League of Women Voters.
Linda is a bank teller.
Linda is an insurance salesperson.
Linda is a bank teller and is active in the feminist movement.
Question:
Which alternative is more probable?
1) Linda is a bank teller.
2) Linda is a bank teller and is active in the feminist movement.
Your answer: 1 or 2?

Friday 1 April 2016

Toddler Learns Emotions. 婴孩学各种情绪。

The first time I met her, she showed me a grumpy face. The nurse was rocking her and said, "This little girl cries loudly. Congratulation!". The feeling of becoming a father for the first time was fantastic. While waiting for my wife, I guarded outside the ward. Giggled while looking at her, I was excited to have a beautiful daughter.

Growing up every day, she learns to drink, interact, roll, touch, crawl, sit, eat, stand, walk, play, run, talk, recognise, read etc. Watching her growing process is the most wonderful matter in my life. 

One day my wife told me about a Youtube video of a kid demonstrating various kinds of emotions. Teaching 18 months toddler emotions might be challenging. However, I decided to give it a try. Every day I communicated with her and showed her these emotions. After two months approximately, she picked up a few emotions. The emotions are happy, sad, Ke Ai (means cute in Mandarin), angry, laugh and confuse. To watch the video please click the link below and I hope you will enjoy it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1P4Cjm5iFs



Thursday 24 March 2016

How To Extinguish Peat Fires.

Peat fires are extremely difficult to eradicate. Peat fires penetrate deep into the ground and some cases at least 3 feet. Windy and hot weather contribute to the spreading of fires. Thousands of gallons of water is pumped, excavation of large area, manpower and equipment are required. In other words, cost. The worse case scenarios are death and damages of property.

How to stop peat fires?
1. Firebreak
Excavate ditches around the peat fires zone. Ditchwater will stop the fire from spreading. The width of the ditch is about 3 feet and the depth of water in the ditch is 1 foot. Ditchwater can be utilised as the water source for pumps, however, debris would be an obstacle. Another option is to construct a road to act as a barrier.

2. Water pumps
Pressurised water pumps are essential to ensure water able to penetrate into peat fires. 5 horsepower water pump, 1-inch diameter braid-reinforced PVC hose and a reducer would be adequate for a set of the water pump. The reducer is made of a steel pipe which the end is flattened according to the desirable opening. 

3. Manpower
One set of pump requires 4 to 5 workers depending on the length of the hose. Personal protective equipment is indispensable, the peat fires zone is covered with smoke and the ground is hot. 

4. Water source
Distant water source is a "nightmare" to extinguish peat fires. Transport of water using trucks is difficult and costly, however, this option has to be adopted. Hoping for rain is not an option, it would cause further damages.

We do not want peat fires to happen. I believe most cases of peat fires occur due to a certain irresponsible party, and not always naturally. For example, open burning and careless of human's activities. Education is the best solution and it has to be continued to prevent peat fires.