The Response to "More Than Job Satisfaction"

Kirsten Weir’s statement about the significance of work to most adults is right on point, and I agree with it. To me, labor shall give the humankind the feeling of existence, and plays an important role in our lives. Thus, the author indicates that people should create meaning in work as much as possible.

Weir points out several ways to find the meaning in work which I find useful such as taking pride of one’s job, thinking of the families, the obligation, and the relationships with one’s partners. From my own perspective, I think the thinking of family is the most significant way through which one can find the meaning in work.

The author says, “The people who are the most content are those who believe their work has a higher calling,” to some degree, her point of view is true. As long as ones believe that their jobs are meaningful to society, they shall devote more to their works just like the story of the bricklayers or the example of the zookeeper. However, ones cannot put all their heart onto the work with little return. Therefore, sustainable financial support shall encourage laborers in their jobs. That is why I say that what Weir claims above is just partially right.

Specifically, Kirsten Weir mentions about a few ways to practice “job crafting” through which workers may find meaning in their work such as prioritizing on favorite tasks, spending more time on positive relationships, and thinking of one’s work from a different angle. I, personally, find these methods acceptable, although I think it is not easy to practice them at work places. Firstly, one cannot just favor one task to another one due to the requirements of work, which are the pressure from one’s superior officers and from the expected results. Secondly, it’s hard for one to change his/her perspective on something, especially on work. Most adults tend to avoid changing their routines, habits, and even their ways of thinking.

In conclusion, Kirsten Weir’s ideas in the article are substantial that I find them reasonable and pragmatical. 

Summary

Summary of “More Than Job Satisfaction”

Kirsten Weir, the author of “More Than Job Satisfaction,” begins the article with a fact that the adults spend most of their time to work, and that the works are considered to be their identity. However, according to a 2013 report of Gallup Inc. the author points out that two-third of American workers are not devoted to their jobs, and she calls it “disengagement” which costs U.S. companies hundreds of billions every year. She implies that one of the causes to the problem is how great the meaning that the American workers find in their jobs.

The author claims that there are ways to increase meaning and improve the life quality through work. She mentions about Michael G. Pratt, Boston College’s professor who uses a story of the bricklayers to strengthen his ideas that every job has its own meaning, and that there are various ways to create or seek for the meaning in work. Additionally, she brings up the study of Douglas Lepisto and Camille Pradies in their book “Purpose and Meaning in the workplace,” that employees can find the meaning of work through their prides, responsibilities to family, duties to fulfill, and even the relationship among the colleagues. Weir says that those who believe in what they are doing is good to humankind, are the most content people. And she gives example of the work of the zookeepers who, even though, earns not so much, they still love their job. The author explains that because the bond between the job and the zookeepers, which encourages them to do their best. Next, she mentions about “job crafting,” which is the term used by Jane E. Dutton, PhD, a professor at the University of Michigan indicating the way to create meaning through work. The author, then, lists out several ways to create meaning which are prioritizing to the tasks that ones are interested in, concentrating on positive relationships, and actively thinking about one’s work from different angles. At the end, Weir warns that the enterprises might use job crafting to exploit their employees. She concludes that the enterprises and companies should help their workers to find meaning in works which is good for both sides.

Cause and Effects - Final Draft

The Effects of Internet

The Internet is one of the most important inventions in the history of humankind. Since the early 2000s, the Internet has developed and become the indispensable factor in the modern world. It has completely changed our world and societies in many aspects in both positive and negative ways. The Internet not only connects people all around the world, creates new types of professions, changes the communication and trading methods in the past, makes our lives more comfortable and convenient, but also causes negative effects to societies.

Internet connects and brings people all over the world closer. By the births of a number of interactive social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, people now can easily interact and contact each other just by some simple clicks. According to statista.com, there were 2.46 billion social network users worldwide in 2017. Indeed, the Internet has eradicated the distance between peoples all around the world. What’s more, the Internet saves its users a lot of time and expense involving searching information and communication compared to those of the past.

With the birth of the Internet, a variety of new professions is born along with it. That is e-commerce, web site designing, blogging, vlogging and so on. These types of professions create more jobs and contribute to reduce the unemployment rate. In addition, the Internet is also a digital market in the world. It offers a platform for users to trade and do business quickly and easily.

The Internet is replacing the traditional trading and communicating methods in the past. Traditionally, if you want to purchase something at some certain places, you have to physically go there to get it, or if you want to pay your phone bill which is overdue quite a long time, you must go to the phone company to pay by yourself. Now, those nuisances can be easily swept away just by a simple click. With online shopping, you can check and buy literally everything you want on countless of online shopping sites such as Amazon, Alibaba, Walmart, etc. As for bill paying, many banks, nowadays, offer online bill paying service to their customers; besides, the internet users may pay their bills by using their smartphones that are connected to the internet. Indisputably, the Internet has been utilized to make a revolution of trading methods, so as to communication methods. Before the popularity of the internet, the majority of communication is “offline.” For example, it took days or even weeks for senders to send a letter to the recipients in the past, but now, the task is just a piece of cake by using e-mail. Besides e-mail, video calling through the Internet is the most forceful proof for the importance of the internet. Internet users can face to face talk to others regardless of where they are.                  

Undoubtedly, the Internet is changing the living standard of its users. It makes the majority of people’s lives more comfortable and convenient. Internet users may search and acquire a huge amount of information and data for academic, recreational, and business purposes in an amazingly short of time compared to the past. How convenient the internet is that its users can literally do anything they like at home, without moving their feet an inch.

In spite of the positive effects of the internet, there are, inevitably, negative ones. First, the Internet can make people addicted to it. In 2014, a study from the University of Hong Kong revealed that about 420 million people around the world are addicted to the internet. The statistical figure indicates the seriousness of internet addiction that is getting worse. The Internet addiction not only negatively affect mental and physical health, but also the behaviors of those who are addicted to it. As a result, the online addicts get trouble in balancing their lives between the digital world and the real one; they cannot focus on their works or studying; they lack the need to socialize with other people; their physical health is getting worse. What’s more, the majority of addicts are youths who are the most important human resources, the key factor to the futuristic development of the world. Side by side with internet addiction, hackers are also a threat to internet users. The bad hackers use their skills of programming and knowledge of the internet to steal, extort, damage, etc. Therefore, the internet world is not a completely safe place as people may think.

Despite several negative effects, the internet, indeed, has brought into our world too many advantages, and benefits. From education to the economy, the internet has played an important role in their developments. It connects peoples around the world, changing the traditional communication and trading method, satisfying our needs, and taking the civilization of humanity to a new level. To conclude, the internet has changed our world.      

Movie Review

The Princes Switch

     "The Princess Switch" is a romantic and funny movie. The storyline is about the encounter of Stacy, a baker from Chicago, the United States with Margaret, an English Duchess of Montenaro. Stacy and Margaret find out that they look like a twin. Then, Margaret wants to switch her identity with Stacy, in order to experience a life of a "commoner" just for a few days. And that is when a lot of troubles occur. Stacy falls in love with Edward, the dashing prince who is Margaret's fiancee and Margaret realizes that she has fallen in love with Kevin, Stacy's handsome friend.

     The movie's motif is not new to movie fans. There's a bunch of films which is similar to this movie such as "A Christmas Prince," "Christmas Switch" etc. From my own opinions, Vanessa Hudgens did a good job in this film. She had to play two roles at the same time, Stacy - a baker from Chicago and Margaret - An English Duchess of Montenaro. What's more, Stacy and Margaret have different characters, accents, and background which are the challenges for Vanessa Hudgens to deal with this film.

      Generally, this is a watchable movie. Christmas is coming and this film is not a bad choice for a warm, sweet, and romantic night with your beloved. 

Assignment 2 - Comparison and Contrast Final Draft

Viet Nam and Taiwan

Viet Nam and Taiwan have been strengthening their relationship in recent years. Two sides are mutually profiting from the cooperation of all aspects, from economy to culture. So as to acquire that achievement, both governments have got to overcome many obstacles and differences. Even though the two countries are different in terms of standard of living, economic progress, political system, yet they still share several cultural features.

Viet Nam’s living standard is inferior to Taiwan’s. Statistical figures prove that most of all aspects related to the cost of living in Taiwan are higher than in Viet Nam. There are many reasons that explain the difference, and one of them is the exchange rate. Right now, $1000 NT is equivalent to nearly 755.000 VND. The figure says it all. Besides the exchange rate, a standard of living can also be assessed through the market’s price. Taiwan’s commodities are more expensive than Viet Nam’s. What’s more, Taiwan’s average salary and minimum wage are higher than Viet Nam’s. These basic reasons tell us that Viet Nam’s living standard still needs to be improved compared to Taiwan’s.

The gap in living standard between Taiwan and Vietnam are due to economic progress. Taiwan is a developed country while Viet Nam is a developing one. While Taiwan is a familiar name in the list of developed countries in the world every year, Viet Nam is trying to reach that goal. Although Viet Nam has achieved a great improvement in the economy since 1986, its government is facing with challenges, which cannot be addressed in a short time. One of those challenges is to increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Per Capita. According to ceicdata.com, Taiwan’s GDP Per Capita reached over 24 thousand USD in Dec 2017, Viet Nam’s GDP Per Capita was only 2,389,000 USD during the same period. Hopefully, this gap of economic progress between two countries will be filled in the future.

Apart from economics, the political system of two countries is different too. While Viet Nam is a Communist country, Taiwan follows Capitalism. While Viet Nam is being ruled by a one-party regime, the power of ruling Taiwan is shared by many parties. Consequently, their ways of running the country are likely opposite. Notably, Taiwan is one of the most democratic countries in the world, of which free speech right is very well protected. Unlike Taiwan, Viet Nam’s free speech right is limited and sometimes is oppressed. In short, this contrast between the two nations is inevitable.

As two countries are different in many aspects, their cultures, nevertheless, are analogous. Firstly, the culture of two countries imbues an oriental spirit. Taiwanese and Vietnamese annually celebrate the same traditional festivals such as the Lunar New Year and Dragon Boat Festival. Obviously, two peoples respect their traditional rites and culture. Besides, they also give prominence to the importance of family and relatives. Secondly, Viet Nam and Taiwan have a distinctively attractive and unique food culture. Food of each country is not only delicious but also various. People can easily enjoy a variety of delicacies from street vendors, night markets to luxury restaurants. Moreover, two food cultures also deeply imbue ethnic identities. To conclude, Taiwanese culture and Vietnamese culture are similar at some certain points.

Taiwan and Viet Nam, although, contrast each other from economics to politics, their cultures are similar. Two countries are like two ends of a spring which are connected to one another by the elastic part of the spring itself, which is the culture. In order to make two ends of the spring close together, people must use force to squeeze it, just as Vietnamese and Taiwanese need to cooperate to efface the differences and to bring two countries closer.       

Environmental Issues

Plastic Bags and Their Harms to Environment

            One trillion of single used plastic bags are consumed every year, which is equivalent to two million per minute. This stunning statistical figure might shock you but it’s true. Plastic bags have been used for a long time because of their convenience. They are seen everywhere from a huge supermarket to some small vendor stores on the street. The problem is that not all of them are collected and recycled entirely. As a result, plastic bags which are thrown at wrong places causing harms to the ecosystem in different ways: polluting the soil, killing wildlife, and even affecting our health.

Plastic bags are poisoning the soil. Their toxic chemicals pollute the soil and plants. A piece of paper towel or a piece of plywood degrades in approximately a month, but it takes decades or even centuries for plastic bags to decompose. In this degradation process, plastics bags obstruct the flow of minerals and nutrients which plants and trees take from the soil. As a result, the growth of the plants and trees will be affected. Subsequently, the stability of the soil is broken, making it easy to erode. That phenomenon is called soil erosion. The erosion is the key factor causing landslide which is one of the deadly calamities in the world. Generally, plastic bags are dangerous to the environment. The longer they remain the more harmful they cause to our ecosystem.

Wild lives are probably the most directive victims that are affected terribly by plastic bags. Many animals have suffered a great deal with plastic bags and their remains. Fishes die from accidentally eating those toxic remains and choking to death. Cows are sick when they pasture on the land in which those small plastic particles lay. Out in the ocean, the creatures are suffering like terrestrial animals, too. According to greenerideal.com, 100.000 marine animals are killed each year as a result of plastic bags pollution, which is caused by 46.000 plastic pieces found in every square mile of ocean. As we are discussing this issue right now, wild lives are dying from plastic pollution.

Human coexists with nature and environment. Therefore, when our environment is hurt, so are we. As the animals are directly killed by plastic bags, we are affected by eating those animals from our food chain indirectly. That toxic debris and remains are eaten by animals, such as fishes or cows, will not be digested in their bodies completely. Then, as we eat those fishes or cows by chances, the toxic substances are absorbed into our bodies naturally, and we get sick. Moreover, this “poison eating” routine keeps occurring again and again without our awareness. As a result, our health is affected badly. In short, we can’t live without nature and the surrounding environment.

Many protecting environment activists say that one of the easy and convenient ways to destroy our planet is keeping using plastic bags. They are not only destroying the ecosystem but also are downgrading our living quality. Although many developed countries are banning or reducing the using of plastic bags, that is not enough. They should help those poor and developing countries to establish or to perfect their recycling systems with financial packages, technology, and human resource. To conclude, protecting our planet is a collaborative work, everyone in every country should have the responsibility to save our planet.

Plastic Bags and Their Harms to Environment

            One trillion single used plastic bags are consumed every year, equating to two million per minute. This stunning statistical figure might shock you but it’s true. Plastic bags have been used for a long time because of their conveniences. They are seen everywhere from a huge supermarket to some small vendor stores on the street. The problem is that not all of them are collected and recycled entirely. As a result, plastic bags which are thrown at wrong places causing harms to the ecosystem in different ways: polluting the soil, killing wildlife, and even affecting our health.

            Plastic bags are poisoning the soil. Their toxic chemicals pollute the soil and plants. A piece of paper towel or a piece of plywood degrades in an approximately a month, but it takes decades or even centuries for plastic bags to decompose. In this degradation process, plastics bags obstruct the flow of minerals and nutrients which plants and trees take from the soil. As a result, the growth of the plants and trees will be affected. Subsequently, the stability of the soil is broken, and the soil is easy to erode, and that phenomenon is called soil erosion. The erosion is the key factor causing a landslide which is one of the deadly calamities in the world. Generally, plastic bags are dangerous to the environment. The longer they remain the more harmful they cause to our ecosystem.

Wild lives are probably the most directive victims that are affected terribly by plastic bags. Many animals have suffered a great deal with plastic bags and their remains. Fishes die from accidentally eating those toxic remains and choking to death. Cows are sick when they pasture on the land in which those small plastic particles lay. Out in the ocean, the creatures are suffering like terrestrial animals too. According to greenerideal.com, 100.000 marine animals are killed each year as a result of plastic bags pollution, which cause by 46.000 plastic pieces found in every square mile of ocean.

           Human lives can’t be departed with the nature and the environment. Therefore, when our environment is hurt, so are we. As the animals are directly killed by plastic bags, we are affected by eating those animals from our food chain indirectly. Those toxic debris and remains are eaten by animals, such as fishes or cows, will not be digested in their bodies completely. Then, when we eat those fishes or cows by chances, the toxic substances continues to get in our bodies, and we get sick. Moreover, this poison eating is keeping occurring again and again without our notices.

            Many protecting environment activists say that one of the easy and convenient ways to destroy our planet is keep using plastic bags. They are polluting our environments and are destroying the ecosystem around us. I agree with them partially. Although many developed countries are banning or reducing the using of plastic bags, that is not enough. We have got to do more to protect our planet.