* FIELDTRIP AND SEMINAR (SEPTEMBER 20-24, 2011) *

Fieldtrip Overview

            Fieldtrip and Seminar is a subject in our curriculum wherein only students with “3^rd Year Standing” are allowed to enroll in, to which I am happy to be part of. We are composed of nine (9) 3^rd year students and eleven (11) 4^th year students who did not take this subject last academic year.  At first, we were given the chance to choose which set we want to have and majority of us chose the set which is comprised of 1 seminar, 1 minor fieldtrip (inside Mindanao) and 1 major fieldtrip (outside Mindanao). Our FTS president, Karlo Bueno collaborated with Institute of Computing’s organizations, the Society of Information Technology Students (SITS) and the Computer Science Students (CSS) to organize a Developer’s Connect in USeP.  That DevCon will be considered as our seminar and team building activity at the same time. And it was successfully held on September 7, 2011. On the other hand, we had Maynilad Tours & Educational Services Inc. to help us arrange our appointments for the companies that we chose for our major fieldtrip in Metro Manila which is set on September 20-25, 2011. They arranged our schedule and gave us our final itinerary. Last year’s batch that also had their fieldtrip in Metro Manila went to Tagaytay and Enchanted Kingdom as their side trips, but we did not include those in our itinerary since it would be more costly. And to compensate for those side trips, after our company visits during the day, we were scheduled to have some malling and shopping, before going back to Kabayan Hotel in Pasay City, and we were also allowed to go out at night by ourselves, given that we go in groups and go back to our hotel by 10 in the evening.

For our first day, right after our arrival in Manila, we are bound for the PLDT INNOLAB in Mandaluyong for the whole morning and in SPI Global in Parañaque City in the afternoon. For the second day, we are scheduled for the Y4IT Seminar in UP Diliman for the entire day. For the third day, we are to go to Fluor Daniel in Alabang in the morning and in DOST-STII in Bicutan in the afternoon. And for our last day for company visits, we are bound for SSS in East Ave., Quezon City in the morning and to Exist Global in Ortigas Center in the afternoon. For our last day in Manila, we are to plan where we would like to go and spend the last day of our fieldtrip, before going back to Davao in the evening.

Day 1

Today, I went on a company visit to:

PLDT, Mandaluyong

SPI Servisoft, Parañaque City

What I learned:

In the morning of September 20, 2011, we went on a company visit to PLDT INNOLAB - Innovation Laboratory and Telecommunications Education Center of PLDT in Mandaluyong right after we landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and ate our breakfast on our way to our first destination. We were still quite dizzy and sleepy because of our very early flight via the Air Philippines Express, whose boarding time is 6 in the morning, which means we have to be at the airport at 4 in the morning. When we arrived at PLDT INNOLAB, We were briefed with some facts about the PLDT Company, and a little bit of its background by Ms. Anita Ferrer. After some discussions about its current management, we were toured and taught with its amazing history and how it survived every obstacle it has experienced, from the Japanese era to the Marcos regime and until now. PLDT Company remains strong and unyielding.

            After the tour on PLDT’s timeline, Engr. Edmund Mamboyo gave us a lecture entitled “PLDT business yesterday, today and tomorrow”. He talked about PSTN also known as Public Switch Telephone Network, PLDT Fixed business, Datacom, VoIP (Voice over IP) and the NGN (Next Generation Network), which PLDT Company aims to do in the future. We were taught about the basics of telecommunications, how it evolved from its early forms to what it is in the present time. I learned about the Simple, Half duplex and Full duplex and its differences.

            After our company visit in PLDT INNOLAB, we had our lunch inside the bus. We are off to our next destination which is SPI Global in Parañaque City. We were just a couple of minutes ahead of our target arrival time in SPI. We were curious what SPI Global is, and our questions were answered as Ms. Jade gave us an overview of what SPI Global is. SPI Global, as what they briefed us, is a Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) company. Outsourcing is the process of contracting to a third party or, in layman’s term, making people do a job for you, which BPO companies such as SPI Global is good at. When I first heard the term BPO, I instantly thought SPI as a call center, since most of the BPO companies in Davao City are call centers. But they said that their company is nothing like a call center. After hearing more words from Ms. Jade, I came to understand more about their company and what outsourcing means. An example of a BPO company that the Philippines is rich at are the numerous Call centers. But unlike call centers that mostly provide sales support for their client companies, a BPO company like SPI Global focuses on Knowledge Processing Outsourcing (KPO) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in terms of the service they provide to their clients.

            After Ms. Jade briefed us about their company, she was followed by Joselito de Luna, one of their Network Engineers. He gave us a brief talk about the network topologies that their company uses, CISCO IP communication and other things about networking. He was then followed by Mr. Justine who discussed about the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Waterfall, which comprises of the basic phases that software developers undergo when developing an application program but the difference of SDLC Waterfall from a normal SDLC, is that in a Waterfall, one it’s done, you can never go back. This means that a software developer must finalize and make sure that his software is bug-free and fully-functioning before implementing it, or else, he has to do the same things over again since he cannot go back to change what he has done wrong.

What I liked:

            After the IT lecture that Engr. Edmund Mamboyo gave us, we were shown with the latest technology that PLDT has. I was specifically impressed with the one which will help you monitor your appliances at home, where you can turn your lights, Television set, electric fan and other appliances on and off. It is also helps you monitor the electricity that you consume. I also liked the one that will help you monitor your business without being physically present. And that is possible with the use of surveillance cameras.

            One thing that I liked about the whole experience in SPI Global is when they toured us to their workplaces. We were introduced to almost everybody in the company during that time, from the project managers, to the software engineers, to the graphic designers and all other project teams and departments in SPI.

What I didn’t like:

            Though the company showed us their new technologies and explain to us how telecommunication works, I would have preferred if they let us see their data center and explain to us how it really works. Maybe a little demonstration or some simulation would have increased our interest and understanding about everything that they have discussed.

            The whole tour including the IT talks and the workplace tour took a long time before we’re finally done. I would have liked it more if they showed us a sample or a little demonstration on how they operate, rather than just merely explaining it to us in plain view. Since almost all of us are new to such work environment, not all of us can imagine well how exactly a KPO type of BPO works. I would have appreciated the tour more if they gave us a sample of their past or even present projects and let us see how they do things even just for a little time, just to give us a better understanding about it.

Day 2

Today, I went on a company visit to:

Y4IT, UP Diliman, Quezon City

What I learned:

            In the morning of September 21, 2011, we woke up at 4 in the morning and had a very healthy breakfast at our hotel. As scheduled, we were bound for UP Diliman for the whole day to attend to the 2^nd day of their 5-day annual Y4IT Seminar, wherein they will be hosting different talks and events in their campus for more than 26,000 delegates from all over the country. When we arrived in UP, there are already a huge crowd of people in different parts of the campus. Before we got out of our bus, our president distributed our Y4IT name tags which contain the stubs for our AM and PM meals, and our certificate, which will be given at the end of the day. We all decided to go inside the UP theatre in the morning to witness our beloved FTS instructor, Dr. Randy S. Gamboa as he gives his welcome remarks. As we were still entering the venue, we were given freebies like the Y4IT bag, Y4IT ball pen and a copy of the Y4IT programme. We were all surprised when the name of Sen. Tito Sotto was called to give a key note talk about the development of ICT and how IT changed the world to become what it is now. It was a pretty sensible and a very light talk, as expected from the respected and well-known senator. We went outside to see the booths outside of the theatre and signed up for My Developer Works and received ID slings in return. When we got back to the theatre, the topic was about game development in Cloud Computing, that anything can be made as a game.

            When we went to the UP Film Institute in the afternoon, Christy Tsang, the speaker has already started in her talk. I learned that there is an existing global certification organization for Linux professionals called Linux Professional Institute, and IT Certification Council (ITCC) wherein Microsoft and Oracle are members. I was moved by what the speaker said: “What you are thinking today will determine your future”. I started thinking what my plans are and goals that I want to achieve in the near future. I learned that we should really plan our future to stay ahead of the game. The next speaker, Yong-Cheol Byun talked about Smartphones, Android applications and how these mobile applications became a part of his daily routine. After that, Dr. Rafael Saldaña talked about competitive computing. As what I have learned from him, competitive computing is an elective wherein the development of strategies, technologies and skills used in competitive programming contests are the core of it.

           

What I liked:

What I liked about the Y4IT congress was the variety of the topics that are discussed all at the same time but on different venues. Delegates like us had the chance to choose which venue we would like to go and which topics we would like to listen to. That way, we would have the freedom to go inside and listen, and also go out and find something more interesting to listen to. It was like the Software Freedom Day that was held in Ateneo de Davao University, wherein different topics are being discussed simultaneously in different venues.

What I didn’t like:

            But every advantage has its corresponding disadvantage. With that kind of system, we would not be able to hear every discussion about all the topics. There is a big possibility that 2 or more topics that we would have liked to listen to are being discussed simultaneously in different venues. There are venues that are really crowded and could no longer cater more delegates, and the organizers need to stop them from entering since there are no longer seats for them, which I think is disappointing for those who really want to listen to that discussion but were not able to because they were not allowed to enter.

Day 3

Today, I went on a company visit to:

Fluor Daniel, Alabang

DOST-STII, Bicutan

What I learned:

            On the third day of our major fieldtrip, September 22, 2011, we were set to go to Fluor Daniel in Alabang to have our first company visit for that day. For the first discussion, we were taught about making resumés, what to write and the order of the content. We were given some points to remember whenever we try to apply for a job and have our interviews, like playing safe with our appearance by being well-groomed. And I think the most important point that I learned was “Ask yourself about what you want to do”, which I realized is right. The next discussions are about “How to survive in a trapped elevator” and “6 things successful teams have in common”. I noted about the latter and with that, I learned that having a purpose is really important since it is the reason of our existence and having an order of process makes a team more organized since we will know the ways to get things done. Furthermore, I also learned that communication is also vital since having the chance to exchange and share ideas with one another is important for a team. Also, one person’s involvement and participation in the team is also needed together with his/her commitment to what he does and building trust with one another.

            In the afternoon, we went to Department of Science and Technology-Science and Technology Information Institute (DOST-STII) in Bicutan. They gave us different kinds of journals and journals that DOST have been releasing. It contains current news and facts about science and technology. There were also journals about the activities and recognitions that DOST has received for the past few months. Mr. Muleta, an IT Specialist in DOST gave us a short discussion about networking, the difference about IPv4 and IPv6, demo graph and more. He also introduced to us about DOST-STII’s digital library wherein it provides information about science and technology, and even livelihood programs. This stand alone onsite research kiosk is called STARBOOKS.

What I liked:

            We were toured around their highly-protected and secured workplace. And since Fluor Daniel is an international company that provides engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance (EPCM), and project-management services to global clients in diverse industries, their facilities are really top of the class. I liked how they pay close attention to security measures with the use of biometrics and the fact that no one unauthorized can go inside and out of the workplace. I was also very much impressed when they showed us their data center, especially with their 55,000 terabyte-hard drives whose price is equivalent to a Ferrari sports car for every piece. They have 12 of it, which means that it was worth 12 pieces of Ferraris.

            After the short lecture, we went to the DOST museum. We were briefed with some informative facts about the Filipino scientists and the development of science and technology in the Philippines. After that, we walk around the museum and looked at the different displays that I think are entertaining and informative especially for children. What I liked most in the museum is the part wherein they gave tribute to our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal by noting his professions and making it an informative and interactive one using light bulbs and buttons to press.

           

What I didn’t like:

            There was nothing not to like about the whole company itself. Facilities and system-wise, they are already doing well. I just wished that they should have let us see how their IT department works and operates, since Fluor Daniel is an engineering-based company, which means that they are more focused on engineering, procurement and construction. I would have liked to have a view on what IT professionals or IT engineers do in such kind of company. Other than that, I was satisfied with our tour.

            I was really shocked with how short the time that we spent in DOST-STII. I expected that we will take at least 3-4 hours before we are finally done with our tour in DOST. I would have wanted to take a longer tour and, see and observe how DOST-STII operates and works in a day-to-day basis.

           

Day 4

Today, I went on a company visit to:

Social Security System, East Ave., Quezon City

Exist Global, Ortigas Center, Pasig City

What I learned:

            In the morning of our fourth day, September 23, 2011, we were bound to go to Social Security System (SSS) in East Ave., Quezon City. Our appointment was scheduled to be at 9 in the morning. The first speaker, Annie Hugo talked about what is SSS all about and the importance of Social Security Protection. We were encouraged to get our own SSS number and be a member, and gladly, I am already a member of SSS because the company that I was employed to last summer required us. She also talked about the feature of SSS such as compulsory coverage, shared contribution between the employer and employee, funds for the member’s benefits and intergenerational cross-subsidiary. Even though I am already an SSS member, it was the only time when I really realized that being a member is really beneficial for me and for my beneficiaries too. After that, Ms. Malto from the Information Technology Management Group of SSS talked about the history of SSS computing and how secured and protected their databases are.

            In the afternoon, we were scheduled to have our last company visit for the day and for the duration of our major fieldtrip to Exist Global in Ortigas Center, Pasig City. I have already heard of the company “Exist” before our fieldtrip and I was curious what that company is all about. The first speaker talked about what Exist Global is all about. And as what I have understood with what she said, Exist Global is software engineering services firm that develops, designs and delivers enterprise-class products and cutting-edge web applications. It is a software provider since 2001 that uses Open-Source softwares as their platform. Mr. Jools talked about building a career in the ICT industry. He talked about what are our possible options when we graduate such as network systems, information support and services, programming and software development, and interactive media.  Mr. Nelvin Driz discussed what open source means and what its benefits are. We also learned about the things that we gain from developing open-source softwares such as the motivation, since we have the pressure of the fact that anyone can see our code and at the same time, we will be a better developer since we can always learn from others as well as share some to others. I also learned some tips for a newbie like me to survive in ICT industry: (1) Be Patient, (2) Practice, (3) Respect, (4) don’t get intimidated.

What I liked:

            After the lectures, we were toured to where SSS members pay and have their transactions with SSS. I liked it when they showed us what’s new in SSS such as their SSS e-center which helps members be guided with the system in SSS. We also learned that members can check for their own accounts/membership just by visiting SSS’s website and logging in to My.SSS by entering their SSS user ID and password.

            What I liked about Exist global is their program called “Exist Code Camp” wherein it is a free camp for those who want to learn Java and Ruby on Rails. For 6 weeks, campers learn on the training sessions, build up technical skills and practical knowledge, and become more exposed to the actual world of software development.

What I didn’t like:

            What I didn’t like with the tour in SSS was we were not able to see their data center. I would have wanted to see the different hardware that they are using.

            I was interested on their Exist Code Camp but was disappointed when they said that they only hold their camp in Manila and in Cebu, but not in Davao. And when we asked whether they would be opening it in Davao, they answered us with honesty and said that it is still not in their plans for this year, and may not even be for next year. I believe that there are interested IT students in Davao like us who are interested to attend the camp but would not be able to because they still need to find a place to stay in either Cebu or Manila.

Day 5

            On our last day of our major fieldtrip, we were not scheduled to have visits on any company, since most of the companies are closed during Saturdays. So, we planned before that day as to where we would like to go and spend the last day of our fieldtrip. We agreed to go to Luneta Park and then to the National Museum. When we arrived at Luneta Park, the first thing that came to our minds was to take pictures. We had some solo pictures taken just right across the monument of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal wherein 2 soldiers are guarding the monument day and night. We also had some group pictures and our official photographer, Sir Randy told us to do some jump shots, we gladly followed. We also saw the Quirino Grandstand, the place where the presidents of our country were inaugurated. It was also the place where the hostage taking of Chinese nationals occurred. We were amazed when we saw that there were horse-drawn carriages in the park. There was one that resembles the carriage of the famous fairytale character, Cinderella. We were captivated by that white carriage, especially us, girls. So we negotiated with the carriage driver and were able to ride the carriage to tour us around the Luneta Park. And as usual, we made sure to have our moment captured by the lenses of the camera.  As we had our tour, we also saw one carriage whose design resembles the American flag.  Around the park, there were also stalls selling different kinds of things for very low prices like key chains, purses, bracelets and other kinds of accessories. After that, we all gathered back inside our bus to go to our next destination: the national museum. On the first room where we entered, we saw the different artifacts that were discovered and found after the San Diego was wrecked in Fortune Island, Nasugbu, Batangas. There were canons, pots, plates, anchors and others. We also saw some miniatures of the excavation done on the San Diego wreck site.  We saw more artifacts when we moved from one room to another. By only looking at the different artifacts that were gathered from the ship, we had a view of Spain’s culture during that time. There was also a Crucifixion of Jesus Christ Statue, which indicates the Spanish’s religion. When we went to the other floors of the museum, the rich culture and history of our country were represented by some artifacts like pots, miniature of balangay, Philippine native costumes, weapons, bahay kubo and more.

           

            In the afternoon, right after we had our lunch, we were given the time to go to Tutuban to buy to have another round of shopping. We were given until 3pm to buy everything that we want to buy for our friends and family back in Davao. We separated ways, some went to the tiangge part, some just walked randomly around the place to explore, and some also went to Tutuban Mall and 168 like us. We tried to look for cheap things to buy before we go back to Davao. When it is already time for us to go back to our bus, I felt a little nostalgic, most especially when we were already on the way to NAIA. The trip from Tutuban to NAIA took a long time because of the sudden heavy traffic. I recalled and reminisced our fun moments in the duration of the fieldtrip. I could only smile when I think of those things. Then we arrived at NAIA, bid our goodbyes to the people from Maynilad and finally went inside to board and get ready for our flight.

            The whole fieldtrip was really full of learning experiences. We did not only gain knowledge about the IT industry, but most importantly, we gained more friends. We became friends with those from BSCS, from the evening program, and 4^th years. We did not expect that in just a short time and with only 19 of us, we would be able to build that friendship. We had so many things to share regarding the whole experience and the learning that we got in our company visits.

ICEAN Congress 2011

            The 3^rd ICean Congress with DevCon was held last September 7, 2011. As part of our Fieldtrip and Seminar program, that event would be considered as our seminar. It was organized by our president, Karlo Bueno in collaboration with SITS and CSS. After the opening remarks, the certificates of recognition were given to students who had 2.0 and above GPA last semester. The whole morning is scheduled for the IT Project final presentation and defense of the 4^th year students. One project that caught my attention and interest was the proposed compiler wherein when you try to run the code, there will be a simulation pane which will show animated simulation of that certain line of block of code that is currently executed. In my opinion, a compiler like that would be a very big help for beginners. It could also help programmers ease the job of debugging since the simulation helps you see instantly which part the error occurred.

            In the afternoon, lightning talks were given. The first speaker discussed about what is DevCon about. Another speaker talked about Open Street Map, which looks and works alike with Google Maps. But among all the speakers, I was most entertained with fellow ICean, Irwin Rod Adesna, a 4^th year BSIT student. He talked about “Sex of Ideas” or the Social Exchange of Ideas. Mr. Adesna is one of the founding members of Y.I.U Inc., a group of Institute of Computing Students who specializes in different kinds of fields in Information Technology industry. Whether it is Mobile and Web Applications, Animation and Design, Systems and Network Administration or Computer Security, Y.I.U Inc. is proud to have skills in those fields. The main point in his lightning talk was a single idea is not enough to make something big. We need the ideas of other people combined with our ideas for a greater chance of success. He said that once you have a certain idea or concept about something, you must seek other people’s opinions and suggestions because you may never know what good it may bring to you once you do. After all the lightning talks, Birds of Feathers was started with the top Operating Systems: Windows, Linux and MacOS as the topic.

What can I recommend for the improvement of the Fieldtrip and Seminar Program?

            Last semester, I can remember that incoming 3^rd year students were all gathered to have a meeting regarding the Fieldtrip and Seminar Program in the following semester. We already choose what set we want to have, wherein most of us chose the one that the previous batch took. We talked to our parents and guardians right after and briefed them about the program. Some of my classmates already started making solicitations and some already prepared the estimated amount. But during the enrolment, we were all shocked when most of our classmates were not allowed to enroll into the program because of the “3^rd year standing” prerequisite of the program. Many were really disappointed and devastated with the happenings. We were also saddened with the event and were worried since only few students will be able to take the FTS program, which means that the amount to be paid will surely increase and we only have a few months to prepare. It is undeniable that the preparation for the said fieldtrip was stressful especially for the part of our president. I can only suggest that the preparations should be done ahead of time. Most ideally, there should be no big and drastic changes to be done along the way like what happened during the enrolment period, since it was already good enough that we had our meeting last semester, but still not well enough because of such incident. But still, as part of the second batch who took the program, I can say that our experience was a lot better and more organized than the first batch. And there is still a lot of room for improvement for next batch to take the program.

My advice to those who will take their Fieldtrip and Seminar program in the near future:

            Unquestionably, the whole experience was something that every one of us would always remember for the rest of our lives. All the knowledge and learning experiences, the excitement we feel as we go from one company to another, the bond that we built during our trips at night, the fun and enjoyment that we had for every mall and shopping centers that we go to, the piles of smiles and laughter for every picture taken, for every moment captured and every jump shot made, everything was worth remembering. We all had a great time, all because we did not hesitate to do the things that we want to do. We were never afraid to explore and gave our minds the chance to be curious about many things to learn from it afterwards. For those who will be having their turn for the Fieldtrip and Seminar Program in the near future, all I can give is a simple piece of advice: Seize the moment and make the most out of it because you may never have the chance to go back and experience it all over again.

2011 SONA REFLECTION

                On July 25, 2011, The Philippine President Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III has spontaneously delivered his second State of the Nation Address as the president of the country. The SONA was all about the transformation that the country has experienced in his first year of service as the president. He was expected to convey to the people the developments in the country and the accomplished promises he made when he was still a candidate and during his inauguration as the newly elected president of the Philippines. He emphasized some salient points in his speech. One of these is the one he promised to stop in his administration: “Wang-wangs”. He was referring not only to the abusive use of vehicle sirens by government officials but also to the undeniable corruption in the government.  He wanted not only change in the streets but also change in the society. When he was still a presidential candidate, he emphasized the straight path that he wanted the Philippines to take, for, he believes that if there is no corruption, there will be no poverty, and eliminating corruption in the government will lead to the country’s prosperity.

                He said that the administration has been doing its job well, and as a result, the president said that there are fewer families that are suffering from starvation today compared to the previous years. This lowered self-rated hunger represented the administration’s accomplishment regarding the poverty issue. But in my personal opinion, nothing much has changed. The prices of basic necessities are still high, even the fare rates have increased, so I barely believe that the number of starving families has lessened. I think there are more families that are eating less than 3 meals a day than what has been reported.  I think this is because not all have been given the opportunity to rate their selves as to how often they starve and not eat 3 meals a day. So in order to acquire accurate statistical data, I think it would be best to have the automated self-rated hunger, where not only selected families are surveyed, but everyone will be given the chance to rate their selves. This may not help lessen the number of starving families in the country nor help feed those who are hungry, but I believe that being able to get the accurate data will be advantageous to the administration because it will help them think of better ways to stop poverty, since they are aware of the real status of the society, and not only some selected scope.

                The president also mentioned that there are a lot of self-employed and professional tax-payers who are not paying the right amount of tax. It is in the taxes where the government gets the money that they use in every project or funding they need to have. Therefore, paying the right tax is very important. I think some get away with that by not declaring the right assets and income. So to be able to assess the right amount to be charged from a certain person, the Bureau of Internal Revenue needs to have a software programmed to track every asset, land or business, whether big or small-scaled business, and it will automatically calculate and generate the right amount of tax a citizen needs to pay according to the assets and income that the tracker have traced. The tracker will have to ensure that every land, establishment or property, whether it is for public or for private use, will be considered for the calculation of the tax. If some corrections have to be made, then the citizen can file a complaint regarding the matter. In this way, no tax-paying citizen can defraud the BIR by not declaring some of his assets just to minimize the tax he needs to pay. This way, taxation will be fair to everyone, especially to those law-abiding citizens that are paying the right amount of taxes.

                President Aquino also talked about the excessive importing of rice in our country. We import more than what is needed, when in fact, we have our own rice planted and grown in our fields. And because the imported rice is unnecessarily abundant, these will be stored in storage houses, thus forcing us to allot more money for the budget in preserving the quality of these sacks of imported rice. The past administration has been doing this for a couple of years, making the people think that we do not have enough of our own local rice when in truth, they have been storing it and reserving for the time when the demand of rice has increased, thus making the price increase too, which results to increase in income. This technique can be eradicated if all areas where rice grains are planted have a certain technology that will calculate the target and expected tons of harvested rice at the end of a certain period. This will be achieved through inputting the right tons or kilos of rice grains to be planted. The sacks of rice grains will be weighed in front of the farmers, laborers and the one who manages the field and will be verified by the authority. With that, we can ensure that the right figures will be recorded and thus accurate calculation on the harvest will be done. And by the time of their harvest, the amount of calculated and expected amount of harvest will be compared to the actual amount of harvest. In that case, cheating about the actual harvest and storing it in storage houses will be avoided. And if ever there will be some anomalies and imbalance on the figures compared, then we can know what exactly happened to the other harvests and who are the ones involved in such anomaly. I believe that if we can solve the problem in the hoarding of our local and imported rice, and excessively importation of goods, then we can save more money and budget, and make use of it in other important projects of the administration. Noting on what the president said in his speech: we do not want unnecessary importation of rice and we do not want to rely on international suppliers; we want our rice to be planted, grown, harvested and bought here in our land, not only to save but also to promote our own products. This can be done through using the said program that I have suggested which will eradicate those people who are taking advantage for their own personal interests.

                In his speech, the president also mentioned the decrease in the number of car napping cases in the first half of year 2011. He also said that even though the media do not show it, the percentage of car napping incidents in which the cars are returned to the owners has increased. He said that it was because of the dedication and effective security that our armed-forces that are giving. But even though the car napping cases have decreased and there are more cars that are returned to their respectful owners, there are still cases wherein the cars are never returned at all. And I believe that it would be the best if the administration and all authorities assigned to take care of those cases to think of better ways to completely solve every car napping case in the country. The government can issue high-end CCTV cameras in every street, parking spaces and especially those car napping hotspots, wherein it will monitor every car in the area and when it detects that there is something unusual on a certain vehicle, then it will send a signal to the server and a certain alarm will inform the nearest security in the area about it. In that way, the security will be able to respond quickly to the incident and will prevent the car napping to happen. He may even get hold of the suspect and send him to jail. And if ever time will come when a certain situation takes place where the suspect successfully car napped the vehicle without getting caught by the CCTV cameras or by the authority did not get in time to catch the suspect in action, then every must have built-in GPS tracker that no one can tamper or disable unless a password will be inputted correctly, and this password is known only by the owner of the vehicle. That way, the owner can report about the incident to the nearest police station and let them track down his car’s location and he will be able to get his car back successfully. These technologies may be costly, but it ensures better security for the citizens, which is not only beneficial to the people, but to the country also, since if the country will be known as a safe country, then more investors and tourists will come and visit our country and it will help promote our tourism.

                The president also talked about the country’s environmental problems in the latter part of his speech. He especially emphasized on the flood which are mainly caused by the illegal logging and deforestation. He mentioned that many of the politicians have tree-planting programs, which are evidently just for publicity. They do plant trees but they do not make sure that those seedlings will remain and successfully grow into trees. I believe that the government cannot maintain proper security and protection for our forest and mountains, which is why there are still illegal loggers lurking in the forests, finding trees to cut and gain money. If I may suggest a technology that will ensure the protection and security in our forests, I think having an alarm that will detect the sound coming from chainsaws would be a good idea. These will be placed on certain spots in the vicinity and the alarm will be activated once it detects a sound coming from a chainsaw or any tree-cutting machine. It will release a very loud siren enough to inform the security about the incident and, from the alarm placed on top or a high post, a red light will be turned on and will be focused to the area where the sound was detected. And it will trail the suspect if he tries to move or run away from his current location. And on every station where an alarm is placed, a security in-charge will also have to be present 24/7 inside a station or a control room to monitor the vicinity using the CCTV cameras placed on different spots of the forest, and the other security personnel will be present for any emergencies.  That way, they will know the exact location of the suspect and because if any of the alarms will be activated, high fences will appear encircling the area, making sure that no one will be able to go far away from the area. I believe with those kinds of innovations together with the dedication of the security personnel present, the illegal logging and deforestation will surely be eradicated, thus giving a permanent solution to the endless problem of flood in our country.

                The Philippines still has too many problems to face, and our current president’s 6-year term in service is too short to solve everything all at once. We still need more years to spend to be able to experience real prosperity in our country. These problems would not be solved by just a number of honest and hardworking politicians and public servants. We need every human resource have. Our country needs to be more exposed to the beauty of technological advancements that will be of great help for everyone, which is unfortunately still very far and vague in our present status. But then, mere technology is still not enough to successfully execute the task, dedicated and efficient work from the people, most especially those given the authority and position to do so is still needed, especially during the times when those technological advancements encounter technical problems. We must all be vigilant and concerned for our country and not only for our own personal interests, and help think of better ideas to improve our country and make it all possible in our own simple ways.

Reflection: Pirates of Silicon Valley

Steve Jobs is a well-known technopreneur. He is the chairman and CEO of the Apple Company. Upon witnessing Steve Jobs’ success story unfolds in the movie “Pirates of Silicon Valley”, I discovered that I have developed an admiration towards his brilliance and passion in his work. As a technopreneur who ventures in a fast-changing world, I can say that one of the significant factors that makes Steve Jobs as one of the best technopreneurs in the world, thus bringing success to him up until now is his uniqueness. He can think of unbelievably bright and new ideas and concepts for a certain thing. He does not think in a way that is normal and traditional. As much as possible, he challenges himself to think out of the ordinary, which at first, sounded like absurd or unimaginable, but turned out to be a very smart idea. He did not stick on the norms or the standard pattern that rules the world, especially the world of technology. In the movie, his partner Steve Wozniak even said that Steve Jobs was never like anyone else and always sees things differently. He has a clear aspiration and an unyielding goal to put Apple and its products at the forefront of Information Technology through setting trends in technological advancements and innovation, and one of Apple products’ trademarks: Style. I can say that he is a risk-taker yet a very clever one. He is the type of person who is never shaken up by people who looks down on them just because they are nobodies. He knows what he wants to achieve and knows exactly how to get it. He knows the things to do whether it is just or not, in order to induce the people around him into following and doing whatever he wants, whether they are his subordinates, employees, partners, or possible investors. And I believe being able to make your people follow and recognize you as their superior is a very vital factor in business. I can say that he is the kind of person who is never contented nor settled with the present technology and with what he has achieved, thus making him more eager to be better, which is a very good characteristic to develop. But every technopreneur has its own downside. A lot of people who knows or works with Steve Jobs say that he has an aggressive and demanding personality. He is also temperamental and an egomaniac, someone who has exaggerated estimate of one's intellect, ability, importance, appearance, wit, or other valued personal characteristics. In the movie, it showed how he throws tantrums on his employees and sometimes says unreasonably improper comments. I believe this is one of the factors of his failures then. He was not able to build a good rapport with his partners or employees. He treats his subordinates improperly and lowly, which is not good for a leader. I believe that in order to have good and dedicated followers, the leader must show respect to his people in order to gain their respect and loyalty in return. The people must also have trust on their leader in order for them to support him in his ventures, one thing that Steve Jobs was not able to achieve back then. Lucky enough that Jobs realized his shortcomings and he then changed the way he treats his men after his great comeback in Apple.

Being such a submissive and passive person as I am, I have never been interested in putting up a business even a small one. I did not even choose entrepreneurship as my elective back in my high school days. My worst enemy regarding things like that would always be communication. I admit that I lack good communication skills and I have no talent in making a good rapport with others. Whenever I was asked what I would want to do after I finish my college degree, I would normally say that I want to land a high-paying job, either as a programmer, a web-developer or any job that is inclined with my degree. So I have never thought of putting up a business of any kind or being a technopreneur.  I never considered a career like that for myself. But everything changed when I watched the movie “Pirates of Silicon Valley”. It made me think that it would be so nice if I could be like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. I was inspired by the story of Steve Job and Bill Gates’ success as technopreneurs, and it made me imagine myself being on their shoes. The movie made me reflect on the personal changes that have unknowingly occurred in my life ever since I went to college and took up Information Technology. Being able to encounter different kinds of people every day and being able to somehow survive every trial that I have so far encountered day by day as an IT student, I realized that my personality have changed over time. I am no longer that very aloof and excessively shy person. And having that summer job that I had last April, which has something to do with communicating and dealing with different kinds of people in different kinds of status in life, I have gained more confidence and developed my interpersonal skills. I have noticed that I am more confident with myself, thus making me sound very confident and reliable, which I think could be very helpful when I venture technopreneurship in the near future.  I believe that if I was able to do something with my weaknesses so it would not be a hindrance in my life, then I can also develop my strength and be better with the knowledge that I gained. With my skills and knowledge with Information Technology as of now, I must admit that I would not be a good technopreneur yet. I am honest enough to myself to admit that my knowledge is still not enough and very much lacking. I am still not globally competitive especially in the demanding world of Information Technology, but I am very much determined to be better and be the best that I can be with the field that I chose and I love. I can say that if I continue the improvement that is happening to me, whether personality-wise or knowledge-wise, I will be an effective and successful technoprenuer. I believe and I have the confidence to say that I can be the boss of my own company someday, not just a high-paid employee. I believe that someday, I will be able to put up my own company and be respected by my subordinates and partners.

Given the chance in the near future to be a technoprenuer, I would like to take the same career path as Steve Jobs took because I really admire him or his brilliance in his field and his dedication to what he has been doing for the past years. I hope I could also be bold and fearless like him with regards to the decisions that I am will make.  I was amused with how his fascination in computer technology led him to a very successful career as a technopenuer and I hope that someday, my love and passion for Information Technology would also lead me to something as big as it took Steve Jobs, or even much bigger. Someday, I would also want to be somebody with high ideals like Steve Jobs. I remember in the opening part of the movie “Pirates of Silicon Valley”, Steve Jobs, played by Noah Wyle, delivered this line: “We’re rewriting the history of human thought with what we're doing.” Steve Jobs made history with his unique thinking and ideas, and I, as a future technoprenuer would like to take part in rewriting and making history too. He was the type of person who never gives up on every trial and he also never gets discouraged when competitors come across his way. I also want to make a name for myself and my future company like Steve Jobs who wants his products as well as his whole company to be distinguished from other companies not just as a mere competitor but as one of the pillars and discoverers of new and outstanding architecture for software and, incomparable, stylish and up-to-date designs for devices. I would also like to be someone who takes note and pays attention to other people’s idea and try to think of new ideas to improve the previous one, just as Steve Jobs did. Even though at some point in Steve Jobs’ journey to success, there were times that he tried and did some pirating schemes and acts with the ideas and concepts, he still managed to do something about it to make it his own. I dream to somehow follow his footsteps and be exceptionally good in this field because Steve Jobs is really one of a kind. Like Steve Jobs, I also want to be out of the ordinary, distinct and someone who envisions and reaches way higher than everybody else, someone who defies everything just to be one step ahead of everybody else. There is a reason why Apple is a world-renowned company whose products are known to anybody in any walk of life. The reason why Fortune Magazine named Apple as the most admired company not only in the United States, but also in the world for 3 consecutive years since 2008: They’ve got Steve Jobs as their CEO. Steve Jobs will always be the man behind Apple, and as an aspiring technoprenuer, I am seeing him as an inspiring model, whom I would like to set as an exemplary and ideal of brilliance.

TECHNOLOGY FOR THE NEW MILLENIUM

According to Wikipedia, technology is the making, usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or serve some purpose. Most commonly in the modern time, technology’s purpose is mainly to serve as a helpful tool to improve our operations and make our jobs and tasks easier. It may be for doing some things that we are hired for, or some school work, or even doing the simplest tasks in our household. Whenever we do things that we think as very tiresome, time-consuming or even when we feel too lazy to do it, we sometimes wish that there is someone or something else that can make it easier, less time-consuming or the best option is to do that certain task for us. Most especially those people who are always “on the run” or in other words, busy with their lives that they do not want to spend nor waste their own precious time doing things that they would prefer technology to do all those things for them. One of the things that technology has brought the modern world is automation.  The term “automation” refers to a system of manufacture designed to improve the capacity of the different kinds of machines to perform certain tasks originally done by humans. These are created to operate independently without or nearly independently without human intervention. An example of it is the country’s first automation of the counting of the ballots last national election. Counting of the votes is traditionally done manually. But because of many essential and critical factors to be considered in this manual process, the government decided to have automation. It gave the election officers, poll watchers and all other people assigned in the manual counting ease and relief in that election. Thus, automation’s goal and purpose has been achieved. Statistics show that technological advancement in the Philippines is far behind the first-world countries in the world. That is why the operations here in the Philippines are a lot more slow-paced than those in other countries. And because of that, I believe that it would be better if we could improve the slacking operations that we are all grumbling about using technological advancements such as automation. And that is what I will be sharing about on the succeeding paragraphs: technologies that will help improve the operations in fastfood chains, malls, home and in our beloved university, USeP.

FAST FOOD CHAINS:

I really like going to fast food chains to have lunch or to have something to eat whenever I visit the mall or even just walking around the city with some friends. I find it advantageous since it supposed to serve “fast food” to the customers. Last week, my two friends and I went to a fast food chain in Victoria Plaza to find something to eat. We placed our order and then found a table to dine on. As we were waiting for our orders, I looked around the place and tried to observe their operation. Everything seemed ordinary and common for a fast food chain. The crew were serving, cleaning and working as fast as they can and it seemed like they are all very busy attending to the orders and needs of the customers. It took more than 10 minutes before our order has been served but we were not that bothered by it since our stomachs were not yet grumbling. We enjoyed our good food and ate it happily. When finally we finished our meal and were about to leave, I took a glance at the table across ours. There was a saucer left on the table and on that saucer are words written through catsup by the last customer who dined on that table. Those words best described the customer’s disappointment with the fast food chain’s operation: “LATE SERVICE!”. It was quite tough for the crew who were working as fast and as efficient as they can yet they still fail to achieve the customer’s satisfaction. It’s sad to say that the customer was right with what he wrote. Their service was really late and I’m quite sure that that was definitely not the first time that they have received such feedbacks from their customers and no matter how hard they try to improve their operation through intensively training their staff and crew, the negative feedbacks and comments of customers were still inevitable. I believe that those unhappy and very upset customers would not be coming back to that place soon.  I believe the company’s goal in order to earn money is to meet every customer’s contentment and happiness through their efficient and fast service together with their scrumptious meals. And in order to successfully achieve that goal, I suggest that they could improve their operation by replacing their manpower into machines. They could make use of something that works like a vending machine for each table. It would be called “Happy Meal Mini Vending Machine”.

The customers would just choose from the various meals and then officially order it by clicking its images on the touch-screen LCD of the vending machine. After they have finished ordering, the customers would insert their payment on the slots provided for money bills and coins. The change will also be given back to the customer and a receipt will be issued afterwards. And seconds after they have given their money, the machine will immediately dispense the customer’s orders placed properly on a tray, complete with utensils.

I am always irritated by untidy tables whenever I dine in any restaurant or fast food chain. I ask myself if the crew really needs to wait for a customer to call and ask them to clean up the mess left by the previous customer who dined on that table. I hate mess on the table because I easily get disgusted with the food and I hardly get my appetite back. So before the crew can start cleaning the table, I will instantly feel like I do not want to eat anymore. So I was thinking, in order to make amends regarding that issue, then maybe the establishment can have an automatic clean-up table.

It would work like this: after the customers are done with eating their meal, they could just press a certain button on the machine that will turn the top of their table upside down and all of their waste and unwanted mess will immediately be taken care of. Their table would not be the same as the tables now. It would be a customized yet bulky one. The dishes that need to be washed, such as plates, spoons, forks and breadknives, will be transported to the sink where a dedicated employee will wash it. The disposable ones will be forwarded to the garbage bins. Not only will the customers benefit from this technology, but also the employees, since their work will be less tiresome. This way, “fast” food service with 100% satisfaction guarantee will definitely be given to the customers of that fast food chain.

There were also times when I go to a fast food chain to dine, I always have a hard time in looking for vacant tables, especially at McDonald’s in Abreeza Mall, since that branch of McDonald’s is always jam-packed with people eating and ordering. Sometimes, I needed to roam around the area only to be disappointed to see that there are no vacant tables or it would take me long before I could find a vacant table. I think most of the customers does not want to wait until there is a table available and will end up leaving the place instead, leaving a bad impression on the minds of the customers. There were couple of times when I really did not find a vacant table to dine on; I just decided to take out my meal, instead of eating it happily and comfortably on a table.

 I suggest they could have a table finder system incorporated with a touch-screen LCD on the entrance of the restaurant where the customers entering the restaurant can choose which table they want to dine on. And after they have chosen and reserved a table for them, there will be seats on the entrance ready to transport them to their table. In that way, time spent by the customers in finding for tables and walking around the area will be lessened because of this table finder system.

MALLS:

There are times when we just want to have fun, stroll or shop at our favorite malls during weekends to relieve our stress during the weekdays. No one would ever want their perfect weekend to be ruined by unnecessary events or situations. And that is what happened to me when I went to a mall the other day. I wanted to unwind and have fun with a friend of mine. So we ate to our heart’s content. Then I suddenly wanted to go to the comfort room badly. The so-called “call of nature” is really strong enough that I cannot resist it any longer. I was so frustrated when I entered the comfort room only to find a couple of cubicle that is not defected. More than 50% are out of order. I was shocked not by the fact that there are so many which cannot be used but by the fact that it has always been the situation whenever I go to that comfort room. It seemed like nobody in the management thought of taking care of that situation which is really giving a hard and bad time to the ones using the toilet. It took me more than 5 minutes waiting for my turn to use the cubicle. And instead of having a comfortable time inside, I was disappointed to see that the proper toiletries are still absent on each cubicle. I believe those are very important when one is using the toilet because one would never know if something unexpected or unpredictable scenario will happen. So in order to be prepared to whatever situation one may encounter inside the toilet, one would not be caught off guard and will automatically be provided with the appropriate toiletries one would need. And he would go outside the comfort room as if nothing happened. I believe one of the most common reasons why a cubicle is out of order is because of the waste stuck in the toilet bowl because some people were too careless to leave the toilet without flushing off their waste. Or in some instances, the flush is not working that is why the toilet is out of order.

To compensate for these irresponsible acts and, unexpected and inevitable events, malls could have thermal sensors on every toilet bowl which would detect whether someone is still using it or he is already done with what he had to do. If the sensor would detect that the person already stood up, meaning he is already done with what he has to do, the toilet bowl would automatically flush the waste. And there will also be a part inside the cubicle that will hand the toiletries to the user. I believe it would be very helpful to everyone, not only the ones using the toilet but also to the ones doing the maintenance of the comfort room. It will give ease of use to the users and less job to do for the personnel. However this technological advancement will not eliminate the irresponsibility of the users who are leaving their waste without flushing it off, this will definitely settle the problems caused by them. This will be a long-term investment for the maintenance of the comfort rooms and thus will bring contentment and ease to everyone.

I have also observed that there were some instances where shoppers in malls who have their own cars experience difficulties in finding vacant space for them to park at. Some car owners spend a long time in searching for vacant spaces, only to find out that there is no extra space left for them. Some would have to park at other places outside the mall’s vicinity. It would be troublesome for them to walk an extra distance going to the mall and when returning to their respective cars. Plus, if they park their cars outside the mall’s area, then whatever happens to those cars, whether it will be car napped, damaged, or hit by something while it is idle, the mall and its management is not anymore liable for any charges. So it is best if the cars will be parked inside the establishment’s locale, for safety and practicality purposes.

 With those given concerns, I think it would be advantageous if the parking lot of the malls have a system wherein every car entering the parking lot would have to check the availability of the spaces. There would be like a guard house wherein the guard will check whether there is still parking space. It there is, then he would mark that space on the system stating that it is already allocated to a customer. Then through the surveillance camera on the parking lot, the guard could monitor if the customer has parked on the right space allocated for him or if the customer has parked safely. If the customer parked at the wrong space, then the guard assigned would have to unmark the original space and then mark the space occupied by the customer. That way, customers do not need to look for an available space himself. It would be less time-consuming and less tiresome for them.

I am a very thrifty shopper. I manage my budget for shopping in a very cautious way. Whenever I see something that I am interested in, the first thing I check is its price. If it is too expensive, I always choose to forget that I was interested with it and search for another item that is more suitable for my budget. Most of the time, for example I wanted to find something I could wear for a specific event, I would normally seek for something simple, fits my color preference, matches the motif or theme of the occasion, but with a cheap and affordable price that my budget can handle. It normally takes me more than 3 hours of searching before I could find the perfect item for me, since my budget is very tight and I am very specific and particular with the kind and type of clothes I want to wear. It is very tiresome for me since I am not fond of strolling around for hours. And there were a couple of times when I have to spend half of my day at the department store, roaming around and endlessly searching for an item with my desired price range, only to be frustrated because at the end of the day, I end up going home and buying nothing instead. I think that would be one of the worst case scenarios for a shopper.

So in order to save time, effort and avoid those kinds of scenarios, I think it would be better if malls have online catalogs wherein buyers could just surf the internet to check whether the mall’s department store has what the customer wants. In that catalog, the customer can specify his desired price range, brand, type, color and the likes. After he hits enter, the catalog would then display the items available for the specifications the customer has entered. Then he can already look up and choose the one that he likes.  And if a certain item catches the interest of the buyer, then the buyer could just go to the mall and buy that item in an instant. It aims to save the customer’s time and effort in shopping and still promote the mall’s services since this catalog would not serve as an online shop. Instead, it would serve as a very helpful guide for the mall’s beloved customers. There should also be computers inside the department stores that are solely for this online catalog purposes only, in case the customers forget the item that he is searching for or he changed his mind and wants something else. The sales personnel inside the department stores should also be trained in using this online catalog so that they will be able to help the customers as efficiently as they should be. Surely, customers would be impressed with how efficient and innovative the management of that certain mall is and they would definitely be satisfied with the service and will become loyal customers to that department store. Leaving a good impression on the customers is very important because customers are very powerful on their own ways. They could make or break the establishment’s image and reputation. Positive feedbacks means possible increase of profitability, but negative feedbacks means loss of income and low profitability for their business.

HOME:

When my classmates and I went to the house of one of classmates, we were impressed by the cleanliness and orderliness of the home, given by the fact that he is a boy and his mother is busy with work. No other person is assigned to daily household chores but him. I saw him as a very diligent and obedient son, which is the exact opposite of me. I barely do the household chores and only clean the house when no one else can. Then I asked him how hard it is to do all those things and still be able to study. He said that it was not an easy task. I was surprised when he said that he often fights and argues with his mother about those things especially when it comes to watering of the plants and, bathing and feeding their dog. When I looked outside, I saw that they had plenty of plants neatly and orderly placed near the fence. I thought that watering them all everyday takes much of his time. And he often forgets to water them first thing in the morning, which makes his mother upset about it. I also saw their dog named Bubbles, a very cute and furry shi tzu-poodle. Now I know why they fight about who will bathe their dog. It sure is hard to bathe since it has long and thick fur. My classmate said that they had to blow-dry its fur while patiently and repeatedly combing it so that it will dry. It was a hard job to do because he should be really careful in combing its hair or else it will all be tangled with each other. And that will be another problem to solve. Indeed, it is very hard and quite challenging to maintain the neatness of a dog like that.

I suggest, they could have a machine attached directly above the plants that will have a timer and every 7 in the morning, the machine will turn on automatically and dispense the right amount of water for the plants. And since the Philippines is a tropical country, and the weather gets really hot especially during summer season or when we have el niño, every pot of the plants will also have thermal sensor that will detect whether or not the weather is already too hot for the plants. And when it detects that it is already too hot, the device will control the humidity in that area and later, water will automatically gush out of the machine above the plants. That way, my classmate would not need to worry about forgetting to water the plants in the morning and risking that the plants may wilt due to the hot weather.

And for the case of their dog, Bubbles, they could also have a machine that when turned on, it will do the task of bathing the dog. There will be a pipe where water will gush out and a pair of hand-like part of the machine that will out shampoo on the dog and will rub it all over its body. Afterwards, water will come out of the pipe again to rinse the dog. Then the pair of hand-like part of the machine will hold the dog and another pair of hand-like part will blow-dry and comb the dog’s fur. There will be a detector on that pair of hands which will know if the dog is already dry or not. With that kind of technology, the people in the house will save some time to do other important things while their beloved dog is being taken care of that machine.

I believe every household sees finding lost things in the house as a big bother for them. It may be just a pair of slippers slipped beneath the bed, a broom left somewhere, a pair of eyeglasses, school textbooks, shirts, or even a misplaced air freshener. No one wants to search for something for hours, yet he still couldn’t find it no matter how hard he tried. And then feel completely annoyed after remembering where he last saw it and when you looked, the item he has been searching for is there all along. I believe it is very irritating to think that the time you wasted on looking for a broom, for example, could be used for sweeping and cleaning the entire house instead. You could have saved some time in cleaning if only you have found or remembered its right location.

So in order to give solution to that concern, I think it would be best if every household will have a device that would track down the lost things in the house. It will be just as small as a regular cellular phone and it has tracker installed on it and this will be sound operated. You can just simply command the tracking device to find that certain item and then the tracker will scan the whole house, let us say, and when it has already detected and tracked down the desired item, the device will then produce a hologram that shows the exact place of that specific item. With that, the person will no longer search all day for that certain item. And when the item has already been found, it will now be one of the many things that the device will list down to keep track of its whereabouts, who used it and where it has been used, and where it will be placed next after it has already been used by the person. That way, whenever another person is in need of that item, the device will no longer scan the whole area all over again and will just get the data from its memory on where that specific item is. With that helpful tracking device, the people in the household can utilize their time and effort in doing their household chores and other errands.

USeP:

Spending the past three years of my college life in the University of Southeastern Philippines made me aware of the good and bad things this university has. When I came to USeP to take my entrance exam, I find it as a nice school though its facilities are nothing compared to those of the private schools. I find it as normal since the school is a state university and funded by the Philippine government. I understand its situation since I came from a public school when I was in high school. And its facilities were really worse and more unstable compared to other public schools like Davao City National High School. But I still hoped USeP is better than my high school alma mater. I was really disappointed and frustrated when enrolment period came. Very long lines and stressed out freshmen were the first things that greeted me that morning. I was really shocked when I realized that it is still 7 in the morning and yet the line of people leading to UGTO is really long to the point that it extended and reached the University Evening Program’s Local Council office. It looked like I was playing the game “snake” in my cellular phone and the line of people is the snake itself. Their operation is really slow due to lack of enough personnel to assist during the whole enrolment process. It took me the whole morning to get through that step in the enrolment process. And the encoding part was not any better. There were so many freshmen inside the nodal to have their subject encoded and printed on a temporary COR. The process was also slow and poor since there is only one personnel assigned for that process. When I went to the Student’s Account and Registrar section, the lines were also very long and the students looked more stressed and upset with the hassle that they have experienced. For the past semesters, the enrolment process improved and became more organized than the first time that I undergone that process. But the very long lines are still very inevitable especially the ones leading to the cashier and registrar. No one would want to experience the same situation. I believe technology is the best solution to that seemingly endless problem of the enrolment process of the university.

I could suggest that they could have a machine that would automatically evaluate the student’s grades according to what is written on the passbook and would automatically save it on a database and a temporary COR will be printed and issued by the machine. There will also be another machine that would collect the student’s payment and issue a receipt and there will also be a slot wherein they will insert all the needed requirements for the registrar and will issue an official COR afterwards. Each department will have at least 2 or 3 of each machine to accommodate everyone in that department. I believe having a separate machine for the encoding process and, payment and passing of documents/credentials would increase the productivity and speed of the processes. If this would be implemented, I believe there will be less stress and unfortunate events during enrolment process. Though falling in lines will still be inevitable, I believe the students will not be bothered by that because of the fast queuing during the operation. Not only the students will be relieved form stress but also the staff and other personnel assigned to do those jobs manually.

Almost every student, teacher and staff in the university who have been going in and out of the Engineering building from time to time probably despise having to take every step of the stairs leading to the 5^th floor. Panting and heavy breathing after reaching the desired floor of the building, especially the 5^th floor, is most likely observed to every single person climbing the stairs. Yes, it can be considered as a good exercise habit for everyone, but let me admit that I do not like to get sweaty, graceless and tired especially in the morning. This goes the same with my classmates. We all want to be fresh and graceful as we greet each other. And unfortunately, the long journey from the engineering lobby to the 5^th floor is a big hindrance for us in achieving that fresh look. I have also observed that it is really hard and extra tiresome to carry heavy and big items from one floor to another and only using the staircase.

With those situations mentioned, I think it would be very helpful if we could have a portal on the staircase of every floor that would serve as a transporter. There will be buttons to be pressed on the side of the staircase for us to indicate what floor we want to go. And after pressing, we can just simply walk through that portal and the next thing we will know is we are already on our desired destination. The process of transporting would follow the so-called “quantum teleportation” wherein an object or a person would undergo disintegration in one place while an exact replica of it will suddenly appear somewhere else. The perfect manifestation of it is the “teleportation technique” of Son-goku in the hit anime series, Dragonball Z. The staircases would not be omitted because there will still be some who wants to take the stairs since it is a good form of exercise and a calorie-burning activity. So the people would still have the liberty to choose whether he would use the stairs or the “teleporter”. Errors in teleportation could occur in such high-end innovation, so in order to give solution to that, each student, teacher, staff and visitors would be provided with an identification bracelet with a corresponding identification number so that whoever presses the button for his choice of destination, only he will be teleported to that area. Unlike if they would not have such identification bracelet, the portal might be confused with the right destination for the right person due to the numerous people using it all at the same time.

They say technology in the modern world has its own good and bad effects. Advantages and disadvantages are inseparable. These are coexistent no matter what people do to improve technology. From day to day, our world has been changed gradually form one condition to another. The revolution of new ideas always comes up to the minds of every person, especially the idea to improve technology which people need to make the living better. As the result, modern technology has been bringing people certain advantages such as ways for fast communication, the improvement of traveling, and good health care medical treatment. However, loneliness, world destruction weapons, pollution, and sameness of lifestyle are brought by modern technology, too. The booming of industrialization and development causes pollution to our world. For example, the smoke for all kinds of vehicles affects the air, especially ozone layer. As the result, people suffer illness like cancers.

 And with regards to the ones I have suggested above, those also have their own set of disadvantages. And yet with the fast evolution and innovation of technology in the modern world, there is still no certainty whether or not these concerns will be resolved. And to conclude, although modern technology brings us some good benefits, it also gives a lot of bad results. So, to make our world prosperous, we should use the modern technology in the good ways and utilize every resource that we have in order to make more technological advancements that will be of good help in our daily living.