Facebook and Our Lives

Here is a link to look at:
Facebook's wikipedia page

And here is a questionnaire:

1.     Do you have a Facebook account?

(1)Yes.

(2)No.

If your answer is (1) 'Yes ', please jump to question  3. If your answer is (2)'No', please jump to question  2.

2.     Why do you not have a Facebook account?

(1)Do not know about Facebook.

(2)Do not require Facebook to interact.

If your answer is (1)”Do not require Facebook to interact”, you already finish all the questions. If your answer is (2)”Do not know about Facebook”, you already finish all the questions.

3. How many friends are there in your Facebook account?

  (1)Less than 50 persons

  (2)Between 50~100 persons

  (3)Between 100~500 persons

  (4)Between 500~1000 persons

  (5)More than 1000 persons

  What is the maximun number of the most friends? _____________

4. How long do you spent on Facebook?

(1) Less than 30 minutes each time

(2) More than 30 minutes each time

 (3) Less than 2 hours per week in average  

(4) More than 2 hours per week in average

5. How do you feel about Facebook?

(1) It is very interesting and I like it very much.

(2) It is very nice and I like it .

(3) So-so.

(4) It’s a waste of time and unnecessary.

6. What do you use Facebook for? Please rate the following 7 activities according to the frequency of usage with 1 being the most frequent and 7 being the least.

Habit	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Find new friends
Play interactive games
Play non-interactive games
Chat (including comments and wall)
Check out how your friends are doing(photos, walls etc)
Update your profile
To pass time

7. As listed, which statement on Facebook don`t you like?

8. As listed, which statement on Facebook do you like?

9. What are the advantages of using Facebook?

10. What are the disadvantages of using Facebook?

11. How does Facebook affect my life ?

~Thanks for your feedback~

ESL Games

In case anybody liked those computer games we played in class, here is the link:
ESL Games

Facebook Makes Us Sadder

An article from the Economist about a recent study:
http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21583593-using-social-network-seems-make-people-more-miserable-get-life

Another article about the study (a little easier to read):
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/08/19/213568763/researchers-facebook-makes-us-sadder-and-less-satisfied

And a list of bad habits to fix if you want to be happy (something about facebook in #10)
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-10630/21-bad-habits-to-avoid-if-you-want-to-be-happy.html

Tainan residents protest land grab, claim Lai lied

Original Article

Greater Tainan residents affected by a project to move a railway underground yesterday protested a government decision to expropriate their land and houses for the project, accusing Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) of lying when he said that they had changed their minds after talks with the city government.

“I’m an architect, I built my house more than 50 years ago and have lived here most of my life, and now the government wants to tear it down and take my land, despite my objection,” 85-year-old resident Chen Ko (陳割) told a press conference in Taipei. “Mayor Lai claims to be open-minded and willing to listen to the people, but he never came to talk with us before making the decision, and he leaves us with no choice.”

Chen’s wife, Tsai Hsin-mei (蔡信美), agreed.

Tsai said most of the more than 400 households who face forced expropriation support the project to move the railroad underground and are willing to sacrifice their own interests for the public good, but they oppose the Greater Tainan Government’s decision on Monday to permanently expropriate their properties.

“We are willing to make some sacrifices, to have our houses demolished to make way for temporary tracks as the construction is in progress, as long as the city government removes the tracks and returns the land to us after it has been completed,” Tsai said. “Lai lied when he told the [Greater Tainan] City Council on Monday that he has negotiated with us and that we changed our minds and now support the Executive Yuan’s version of the project.”

According to the Executive Yuan’s design, houses on the east side of the current tracks would be demolished to make way for new underground tracks. When the project is completed, the original surface tracks are to be removed to make way for a park and a commercial district.

Wang Wei-min (王偉民), a senior civil engineer, made a presentation at the press conference of an alternative plan that he and his team have proposed that would only “borrow” land from residents during the construction phase.

“What I have done is prove that another option is feasible from a professional’s point of view. I made the same presentation to [Greater Tainan] officials, but they simply ignored it,” Wang said.

Chang Hui-chin (張惠津), another resident affected by the proposal, was worried about what would happen to her after her house has been flattened.

“I am old, I don’t know how to drive it’s convenient for me to live in the center of the city, because I can go to the bank, the post office or the market on foot,” Chang said. “The [Greater Tainan] government said that they will build new apartments for us outside the city and sell them to us at a discounted price — but will I be able to go to the bank, the post office or the market if the new apartments are in the middle of nowhere?”

Resident Wang Chin-luan (王金鑾) said her family has worked hard for decades to pay off the mortgage on the house where they are currently living.

“Now the [Greater Tainan] government wants us to buy a new apartment, which means I would have the burden of debts on new loans,” Wang said.

Tainan residents decry rail plans

Residents of Greater Tainan yesterday protested at the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) in Taipei against an underground railway project they said would lead to the loss of about 400 households and called on the government re-evaluate the project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA).

On Tuesday afternoon the same group of people gathered in front of the offices of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and later marched to the Presidential Office and the legislature. 

During the half-day protest in Taipei, the group’s spokesperson, Chen Chih-hsiao (陳致曉), said the planning for the underground railway project had been going on for more than a decade and that the route was originally planned to be built underneath the current railway line.

However, the Executive Yuan approved a renewed plan in 2009 to move the project east, which meant taking 5.1 hectares of private land, Chen said, adding that the plan would result in the loss of about 400 households from the neighborhood.

The association said it doubts the ministry’s reasons, which include protecting the city’s historic railway station and cost reductions. Many residents suspect the change is so that the government can benefit by developing the land.

Chen said that some people believe the residents are only protesting because they were not offered the compensation they demanded.

“In fact, we never discussed monetary compensation — our only demand is to stop the project from moving eastwards,” Chen said

Chen said the railway project should be limited to its original plan to reduce the amount of land that is being expropriated and that the economic and emotional impacts on the local residents, as well as the impact the project will have on the environment, should also be taken into consideration.

The association said the land expropriation in the new project plan is unnecessary and lacks legitimacy because it is forcing residents to sacrifice their homes.

The original article

Here are some links from Simon's group:

http://www.rrb.gov.tw/04100.aspx?id=8&lan=en

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/local/tainan/2013/08/23/387133/Tainan-Railway.htm

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/10/18/2003545486

http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=2284288

http://hanjies.blogspot.tw/2010/09/south-tainan-station.html

Please check them out and be ready for the discussion on Wednesday!!

If you want English subtitles, you can click on these links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onKVeZaDzWg

You can click on "Captions" and select "English" (unfortunately, I can't find anything with Chinese subtitles)

Here is the article about the "Class Divided" Project: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/ (click on the word "Introduction" first and then "Watch the Full Program Online")


Here is a wikipedia article about Martin Luther King, Jr.
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.

If you have time, please read this article, which is an interview with the teacher:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/crusade.html

September 18 – Pete’s presentation – “A Class Divided”

September 25 – “Mass Transit in Tainan” Lily, Simon, and Justin, Magdalena

October 2 – “Facebook and Our Lives” Amy, Linda, Rita, and Claire

October 9 – “Tainan - the International Luxury Brand”  Cecilia, Catharina, Juliana, Emily

October 16^th – MIDTERM (no class)