New Dating Trend by using Tablet PC

Have you ever been on a blind date? If we enter the university, we will get a lot of opportunity to have a blind date in Korea. Actually, I have had a blind date 5 times. A blind date is a date between two people who have not previously met. You will look forward to meet a perfect match for you so you get dress up and go to the appointed place. But after meeting, presumably you are disappointed by your partner's character or personality because you didn't know well about her or him. If you get tired of this traditional blind date, I will tell you new way to meet your mate. 

A new way of finding romantic matches using tablet PCs installed at a bar in Seoul in Korea is catching on as young people find that technology enables them to overcome their reluctance to approach strangers.

The bar lends the digital hardware to each party of customers, who can communicate with people they take a shine to at other tables because of a special program that intra-links the tabs. They first talk on an instant messaging service, then move on to video chatting. Furthermore eventually, if all goes well, elect to share a table. 

Some customers have positive feedback. This is because at ordinary bars, people are reluctant to meet someone, because they can only judge them based on their looks, but this bar is great because we can talk online before they meet.

However not all of the customers leave satisfied, and fewer find their knight in shining armor or dream girl.

Others feel very uncomfortable. Many people often cut off their interlocutor mid-stream because the Internet allows them to short-circuit entrenched rules of social etiquette. 

Not only tab pc users but also smart phone users can meet strangers by using applications like "Hi there" and "who's here". As mentioned above, even if some people like to meet person with this way, other people are worried about negative effect such as sexual innuendo and meeting for enjoy. Therefore, we should carry out real-name system to overcome this problem. In addition, it will allow adults to use this way and be limited to minors by making adult certification. And then, this new dating way is used in accordance with the original purpose which is to find person who is good for me. 

Written by: Minjy Han

WSU International Student

South Korea

College Education in China

Compared to the American education system, the Chinese have a completely different system. It’s more strict and rigid than that in America. First of all, the Chinese college system divides universities into different standards of levels. These levels indicate strictly which university is good or bad. Therefore, this makes all high school students, who want a good studying environment, have to study hard to prepare for the National Admission Examination. Only if the students get a good score on this exam, and stand out among a large percentage of participants, they could have a chance to get into their preferred university. 

Secondly, students who are studying in colleges are not as free as students that are in America, because they don’t have choices on what courses they are majoring in. Their college of choice has already arranged all the courses for each certain major- the Chinese student doesn't get a choice in choosing classes.

                

Thirdly, there is a totally different grading system which gives a different leading on how to study, and when to study. In a Chinese college, students always study very, very hard when finals are coming, because the final exam is what determines the grade a student will get for each class. If a student gets below 60 percent on their exam, they fail that course and have to take the exam the following year.

              

 Lastly, it’s rare to see students having a double-major, because when students apply for colleges, they can only choose one certain major that they can get into. All in all, the Chinese have a very specific college education system. But, personally, I think the Chinese college educational system needs to be improved. 

Written by:  Jiayi Liu

WSU International Student

China

The War Against Gas Prices

          

When it comes to gas prices increases, the least said about it the better. For a country that suffers from lots of economic hardships, the news of the discovery of gas reserves in Ghana came as a huge relief to Ghanaians. Ghanaians were made to believe that with this discovery there was going to a reduction in gas prices and therefore an overall drop in standard of living. With the advent of the 2008 election campaign, promises were made by the incumbent government to reduce prices of gas. The politics of gas prices is a never ending battle in Ghana. A multi-party state with two main oppositions, the NPP (New Patriotic Party) and the NDC (National Democratic Congress) between who power is changed every four years. These political parties use gas prices to do politics promising during their campaigns to reduce prices of gas but do the exact opposite when elected but in the bid to be re-elected they lower prices.

       

As of the 4^th of January, 2012 gas prices saw a 15% increase with the price of gallon of gas being $1.348. To an American that might not seem like a lot of money but converting it to the local currency, it is enough money to provide a person with almost three square meals. So why Ghanaians concerned with are increase gas prices? First of all the per capita income for a family is really low and most Ghanaians are not so well to do. Many depend on public transport to go on with their day to day activity. An increase in gas prices means an increase in bus fares and an increase in goods and services available.

   

In the defense of the government, gas prices are subsidized but the government is under intense pressure to pay off debts owed by the country whilst making sure that the country is running well in terms of its finances. The recent increase according to the government is as a result of following the advice of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). I believe the way forward is for the government to be straight forward with Ghanaians in regards to how and why gas prices are increased. People are still going to complain whenever gas prices are increased but really who doesn’t? My only problem is that the politics of gas prices needs to end because no political party really has the power to control how prices of gases are regulated.

Written by: Nadia Koranteng

WSU International Student

Ghana

Bangladesh and Climate Change

The beautiful tropical weather, the picturesque natural forests, the longest beach in the world, and the committed hospitality of the people are just a few reasons among many why Bangladesh is such an inviting place to be in. Furthermore, the existence of a diverse culture that consists of many traditional practices, most of which have a long history, is a delight that is worth experiencing not just for foreigners but also those who are born and brought up here. However, the other side of the coin reveals that Bangladesh is a country with a lot of problems. These problems encompass various social, economic, and political issues. The poor economic stability, high population number, and high illiteracy rate are just a few of the problems. But it can be safe to say that the recent concern with climate change and global warming is all set to overshadow most other problems that can bring about dire consequences to the country as a whole.

Before going over the effects of climate change on Bangladesh, it would be appropriate to concisely explain the reason for Bangladesh’s vulnerability to global warming. Bangladesh is a low lying deltaic country with over 200 rivers. These rivers are a source of vital natural resource but are also susceptible to slight climatic changes. Thus the problem of flooding and drought already exists. The country’s geographical position makes it a magnet to tropical cyclones and hence the problem of a vulnerable coastline is also already there. Moving on to social vulnerability, approximately fifty percent of the 144 million population lives below the poverty line. This indicates that people can barely gather their own food let alone owning a house or adapt to tackle a disaster. This makes them most vulnerable to any natural disasters. Under these circumstances, the last thing needed is the deepening of the crisis.

Global Warming is causing a rise in sea level. A predicted increase in sea level of 1 meter will inundate 17% of Bangladesh coastline. The intruding saline water will halt agriculture production in massive areas and cause food shortages. The relocation of coastal people will be difficult, extremely expensive and virtually impossible. It is likely that such problems will have a ‘chain effect’ on the social, economic, and environmental dimension. To put it shortly, they would add fuel to the fire and deeply aggravate the existing poverty issue. What this means is that millions of poor people barely hanging on to their lives will no longer survive, literally speaking.

On the global scene, there have been important developments regarding the global warming issue. The climate conferences involving the developed and developing countries have tried to work towards collective mitigation and adaption measures. There has also been talk about compensation to least prepared countries. Diplomatic efforts from Bangladesh have been made to highlight the fact on its vulnerability to climate change. One such interesting and a vital point that has been raised, is the liability of the richer nations. Based on scientific studies, Bangladesh’s contribution to global warming is very insignificant, yet it is set to bear the worst effects.  This introduces an ethical aspect to the debate. So far, progress has been made on paper only. Unless this is translated into actual work, millions of people are looking at a bleak future.

Written by: Shah Mohammad Raiaan

WSU International Student

Bangladesh

Korean New Year

Korean New Year is on the first day of the lunar calendar. It is one of the most important traditional Korean holidays. This day celebrates the beginning of a New Year. Normally, new years is celebrated for three days.

Korean New Years is typically a family holiday. This day is a kind of formal day for Koreans to return to their hometowns, to visit their parents, and other relatives. Koreans perform an ancestral ritual on January 1^st in the lunar calendar. After sending a greeting to the ancestors, relatives greet each other. It is difficult for families to meet except on special occasions like the New Year’s day. Young children are given an offering words of wisdom, and paper money by their relatives.

Many Koreans dress up in colorful traditional Korean clothing, called hanbok. But as time passes by, small families have occupied most of Korean society, and have become less formal. More recently, Koreans wear other formal clothing instead of hanbok.

Tteokguk is a traditional Korea food eaten on new years day. It is a soup with sliced rice cakes, and is considered as the symbol of New Years Day. By eating Tteokguk, Koreans are considered one year older. Now a days, they also play various Korean traditional folk games such as Yunnori,  a board game, flying a kite, and Neolttwigi, a game of jumping on the seesaw. 

Written by: Sukyoung Kim

WSU Inernational Student

South Korea

The Year of the Black Dragon

In Korea, we celebrate New Year’s Day by the lunar calendar, and also count the year by the ten celestial stems and the twelve terrestrial branches, same as the Chinese zodiac signs. By this traditional calculation method, this year is called “the Year of the Black Dragon” which has intervals of sixty years. People welcome the New Year and wish good luck and health, saying “this will be a lucky year for you under the powerful influence of the ascending black dragon.”

     According to Oriental theory, the number sixty has a special meaning; the cycle of birth. The year a baby is born is their special zodiac symbol. After sixty years, it is the sign they were born under, again. Therefore, Koreans regard the 60^th birthday as an important milestone in life and hold a grand feast.

     In Asian cultures, since ancient times, the dragon is regarded as a sacred creature. Having magical powers,  it is also known as a symbol of rising and hope. The black dragon, especially, is called the dragon of all dragons. There is a myth that: a baby having an aura of nobility becomes born after a birth dream of the black dragon. In past years, in 2007, it was the Year of the Gold Pig. In Korea, the pig is believed to bring wealth and good fortune, therefore, there was a baby boom.

     The craze for the Year of the Black Dragon can be explained by Korea’s peculiar cultural tradition. Also, it is a social phenomenon related with people’s psychology, hoping that their new year will become more prosperous, and they can manage through the difficulties of the year with help from the dragon’s strong vigor and wisdom.

Written by: Jihye Lim

WSU International Student

South Korea

Scottish Independence from the United Kingdom

Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party is pushing for a referendum in 2014, as David Cameron looks to act quickly. Polls show that 43% of Scottish people wish to remain in the union of the United Kingdom.

The debate of whether or not the union is likely to split will run for a long time. It is therefore important to look at some key issues that would be affected if a split were to happen, economically, politically and socially.

If Scotland were to gain its independence from the United Kingdom they would wish to keep the British Sterling as their currency, claims Salmond. Economically, this would mean that the Bank of England would still tightly control their monetary policy.

A lack for economic independence proved to be the downfall of Irish, Greek and Portuguese economies over the last few years and Scotland would put themselves in a similar situation if they were to follow this route. The other economic alternative would be to join the Euro, though this would mean that Scotland would adopt the same debt of many Eurozone countries and would be obligated to contribute to Greek recovery.

One thing going for Scotland is that it controls the North Sea oil rigs which give it vital capital to trade in Europe and across the world. This is something the people of Scotland believe would help economic stability if they were to break from the United Kingdom.

The separation of the United Kingdom could also lead to further alienation between the people of both countries. The separation of friends and families would make it more difficult to visit one another if independence was given to Scotland.

Scotland’s interests are protected by the British armed forces, though independence would mean funding an entirely new defense program. All weaponry from the Navy, Army and Air Force will still belong to the United Kingdom of England, Northern Ireland and Wales. It would also mean that a new network would be created for a foreign ambassador for every country in the world. 

Scotland’s borders would also come under fire, if it chooses to sign up to the Schengen Agreement in Europe, its borders will be open to the 25 other European countries for free movement and immigration. If it does not sign up to the agreement, Scotland will find itself isolated from the single market. Scottish people would require a passport if they were crossing southern boarders, due to the UK’s opt out from the Schengen agreement in 1995.

Whatever Scotland decides to do when they come to vote on their independence, they must look at both the short-term and the long-term impacts on their economy and society. 

Personally I believe the United Kingdom should stay as one, we are better and stronger together on all things socially and economically. It’s been 300 years; lets make it another 300 years. 

Written by: Nicholas Donnelly

WSU International Student

United Kingdom