Writing Feedback / Internet-based social networking sites are designed to help bring people together or bring drawbacks [2]

Internet-based social networking sites are designed to help bring people together. However, they have a negative effect on the way we communicate with one another.

Do you agree or disagree?

Most of people tend to use internet-based networking sites to communicate with others. Undoubtedly, this is because such sites provide easier ways to maintain human relationships. However, i agree that such communications should deteriorate individual ability to establish relationships offline and to have face-to-face interaction.

Building a networking online diminishes individual skill to socialize in the real condition. People who rely their relationships on the internet-based media accept less support in which they confront serious problem. A study performed by Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, has proven that using Line results in an increase of stressful level in people aged 21-45-year old. Despite this, a positive effect of online interactions is that people can obtain higher communication access to their family.

Another aspect which is affected by the Internet-based relationships is that teenagers are likely to have an online chat rather than real interaction. It is considered as a harmful effect because most of young people will face some difficulties when they want to have a direct speech with other. A study executed by the National Institute of Health found that youths who spend more than 10 hours on Facebook and twitter are more risky to fight other teenagers when they meet in the real situation. Meanwhile, other teens may be a good friendship with foreign youths via internet-based social media.

In conclusion, modern society may not be able to refuse the new way of establishing relationships like the Internet-based social networking, but they also have to aware with its drawbacks. I suggest that the Internet users should have better attitude and behaviour in order to create better online communities.

Writing Feedback / Refinement of mass transports and high tax regulation to solve the congestion and environment damage [2]

Writing practice for Cambridge 8 - Test 3

Increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution problem.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Traffic and pollution problems are become worse in the 10 recent years. Some government perceive that the best solution to overcome such issues is increasing the price of the gasoline which is one of the primary fuels. I personally cannot agree with this initiative solution because other ways such refinement of mass transports and high tax regulation can be more effective to solve the congestion and environmental damage of the motor vehicle uses.

The better quality and quantity of public transport such as train and bus should reduce the number of private car in the big cities. Most reason of citizen using car is that traveling by car is more comfortable, so government in this case have to provide such an excellent standard of those transport modes. Since 2005, Japan became one of the successful countries that reduce the high level of traffic problem and pollution by serving their people with high quality public services in trains, planes, even in buses. Despite this, expensive taxes that have to be paid by the car owners has significantly affected on lower tendency to use private car.

Another solution to address growing number of car and its damage impact is regulating high taxes. This should make workers with middle level of salary considering their choice to buy a private car more carefully. Tokyo is the best model of this regulation, which asks their people to pay the tax of a car as expensive as to rent an apartment for a year. Consequently, its citizens prefer to use train that costs cheaper than driving a private car. Having said that, the increasing petrol prices may be considered as the third solution not only to reduce congestion and emissions of carbon dioxide but also to preserve the source of fossil fuels around the world.

In conclusion, the best solution of traffic congestion and air pollution is not the high price of petrol, but it should be the providing qualified public transports and regulating high taxes of having motor vehicles. I suggest that the government of developing countries can apply this solution to improve their transport system and reduce amount of damaging gasses released.

Writing Feedback / The stages to produce cement including the equipment needed and the composition of the cement [2]

Writing TASK 1 practice for Cambridge 8 - Test 3

The diagram below shows the stages and equipment used in the cement-making process, and how cement is used to produce concrete for building purposes. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

The diagrams present the stages to produce cement including the equipment needed and the composition of the cement for building purposes. As seen, there are four steps of cement-making process; crusher, mixer, heater, and grinder. Furthermore, cement is one of the important compositions to produce concrete.

The process of making cement is begun with crushing the basic materials; limestone and clay. After that the powder consisting of those materials are mixed in an automated machine. The third step is heating the mixed material in a rotating heater. If the heating process completes, the material is poured into another machine that will grind it into the cement. Finally, cement is packed in bags and then ready to sell.

In the construction industries, cement in certain proportion is used to produce concrete. The composition of concrete consists of 50 % small stones, 25 % sand, 15 % cement, and only 10% water. All of these ingredients are mixed together in a concrete mixer.

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Writing Feedback / Health care resources and life expectancy in different countries [3]

The chart and table below give information about health care resources and life expectancy in different countries.

The bar graph shows how many hospital beds used to hospitalized patients measured in thousands in eight different countries while the table gives information about the expenditure of Japan, Netherlands, and US on the health care.

It is clear that the largest number of medical care is used in Japan. This contrasts to America that spends more money on the health sector.

14 thousand hospital beds have been utilized in Japan and it becomes the highest use among the other countries presented. Germany in this term is seen as the second largest country that serves amount of health facilities, with 8 thousand beds used in the hospitals.

The table reveals that The United States of America spends the most expensive health care for each citizen accounted for almost 7 thousand dollars per person, but it only reaches 78 of average life expectancy. This is slightly lower if it is compared to Japan which is expends under 3 thousand dollars per person to obtain higher expectancy of life made for 83.

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Writing Feedback / Some people now are used to work apart from their office due to the internet-based technology [2]

Information technology enables people to do their work outside their workplace (e.g. at home, when travelling, etc).
Do the benefits of this mobility outweigh the disadvantages?

It is generally known that some people now are used to work apart from their office due to the ease given by internet-based technology such as tablet, smart phone, and laptop. This new way of working has allowed people to save much time spending on commuting and it may lead to reduce amount number of air pollution. From my point of view, these mentioned advantages should outweigh the tendency to get bored of working alone.

Lots of evidences of high-level congestion in common big cities have lead people to spend too much time only on driving to their work place. Some research conducted proven that the terrible traffic jam can make the drivers and passengers suffer bad level of stress. For this reason, working in home with sake of internet connection should be a reasonable solution. Another severe impact of the huge number of motor vehicle existed in the streets is that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the air. Once again, companies which utilize advanced technology in daily operation may help the world to reduce the greenhouse gasses emitted.

Feeling bored may be the possible drawback of working apart from other partners. Generally, workplaces have suitable environment surrounding by many staffs, so each worker has some social interaction there. This atmosphere cannot be found by ones who work outside their company. Harvard University has proven that freelancer 2 times faster to become bored than those who work in their office.

In conclusion, the favourable effect brought by technology in the way people work including time efficiency and friendlier impact on reducing pollution should be outweigh its drawback to make the workers become unwilling to do their job in the shorter time.

Writing Feedback / The main role of women has changed altogether [2]

It is inevitable that in the 21 century, the main role of women has changed altogether. They are working women now and they have left their children in the pre-schools. This has been proven as the cause of many juveniles' problems such as free sex and drug abuse. I personally believe that women should stay at home in order to educate their children and control their environment.

''Mother is the first school for their children'', I always believe in that principle. In the earliest stage of children's live, they hear and see what their parents talk about and do. They begin to learn by imitating and the best role model for this process is a mother. A research from UCL has proven that children aged under 5 years old took care by their biological mother grow with 3 times cleverer than the pre-schooled kids.

In the followed stages, teen-age should be the most fragile phase for young people. They may be influenced easily by their friends. Therefore, mother in this situation has an important function to take her eyes on what their teenagers do outside home. She can be the closest figure who can help children face their transformation. Professor John from King College London said that a daughter who has intimate communication with her mother is 10 times less risky to be a drug abuser. However, when their children have grown up, a woman might have a small business in order to up to date her social live and avoiding loneliness.

In conclusion, high educated women can bring out excellent generation if they do their essential role. For this reason, I suggest that woman should spend their time on taking care of their kids as long as they can.

Writing Feedback / Advertisement has great influence in buyers' preferences [2]

It is generally believe that advertisement has great influence in buyers' preferences. This has affected them to purchase many items that they are not really need. I personally agree with the initial statement because the advertisements are designed in very attractive form, and those present many advantages of the products.

We can find many advertisements of a product or a service wherever: in the Internet, streets, televisions, and newspapers. One of the most common is the electronic advertisements showed in televisions. In Indonesia, Indomie, a noodle product advertising in tv has become very popular. It is due to the fact that it serves attractive and persuasive videos in their advertisement. Ordinary people are likely to choose this product than others which are not advertised well.

Advertisements have also succeeded to changes what people want to buy indeed. This usually happens when some go to a super market to buy their monthly needs. They may purchase extra items which are not includes in the list just because those get big sales or due to the promised advantages from such unnecessary products. Despite the negative effects of the advertising products, many of them may help consumers to be easy to find out such new products they are looking for.

In conclusion, the power of advertising can make a product very popular, and it can encourage buyers to waste extra budget to get such attractive products. However, it depends on the consumers their selves so that every of them should be wise to spend their money on what they need and not just what they want.

Writing Feedback / The decreasing figure of animals and plants in tropical forests / threats to plant life [NEW]

The graph and chart below give information about species extinctions and threats to plant life.

Data of decreasing number of animals and plants in tropical forests are illustrated in the line graph while threats to plant life are shown in the diagram. There are two different trends for the number of those extinctions over ten decades. Meanwhile, it is clear that human impacts have become the most dangerous threats to the plant life.

In the initial year there were almost 5,000 million species of animals and plants died. This decreasing rate of those creatures has predicted to increase dramatically by 6 decades onwards and will reach a peak at 50,000 million species extinct in 2060. Fortunately, after the horrible extinctions there will be a downward trend for this figure. By 20,000 million extinctions are going to fall considerably in 2100.

On the other hand, it has been proven that 81.3 % factors threaten plant life are human activities. 18.7 % of this proportion is caused by agricultural sector while harvesting is the third most hazardous aspects to plants. Besides that, natural events have 18.7 % probability to kill of the plants. It is seen only 7 % threats will be caused by natural disaster and 11.7 % may come from other natural events.

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Writing Feedback / An appropriate colour can result in comfort and motivation, therefore capacity for work and health [2]

Psychologists have known for many years that colour can affect how people feel. For this reason, attention should be given to colour schemes when decorating place such as office and hospitals.

How true is this statement?
How far does colour influence people's health and capacity for work?

It is generally believed that colour has significant influence in people mood. This is true as the evidence of appropriate colour can result in comfort and motivation. I personally believe that the power of colour may help people to get recovery faster than they should be and also it supports employees to increase their performances at work.

Since the invention of modern technique to produce chemical colour of purple, most patients' room in the hospitals have been designed in purple schemes. This is due to the fact that purple has healed power. In the earlier time of 1990s, a chemistry study on Cambridge University pointed out that many patients in purple-designed room left the hospital bed faster than those lied out in other coloured rooms. Comfortable atmosphere in their hospitable room has helped them thinking positively so that their mental health support their body getting well in shorter time than what it is expected before.

In addition, high-motivated colour like red and orange has been considered by many food companies as their main scheme. Warmer colour tends to serve higher spirit and more happiness. Chines people who have known as remarkable businessmen are more likely to decorate their home or work place with many red ornaments, which is believed to bring more luck for them. Moreover, it has proven by a research conducted by Prof. Lee from Hong Kong University that red can serve high level of encouragement for most people. Therefore, it is inevitable that colour is also able to increase worker performance.

In conclusion, every kind of colour has psychological effects on feeling of most people, so it should help some who need to be healed or others who want to get external motivation. It is supposed to be better if colour scheme becomes an important factor to install in a certain room or building.

Writing Feedback / Subjectivities in news make it gain less reliability. [2]

Most people think that truth should be objective rather than subjective when it comes to the news.
Do you think all news is true?
What is the function of a newspaper?

Most information broadcasting in television, newspaper, and the Internet are prone to be added with a lot of writers' or companies' opinion. As far as I'm concerned, there are a plenty of hoax presented in newspapers or TV news programmes. However, news virtually reports credible facts rather than spreads subjective perspectives.

Generally, news has become an effective weapon for most of politicians to influence broaden society with their visions. Therefore, it is no longer credible to serve a number of phenomena from real life condition. For instance, most Indonesian Presidential candidate in 2004 had some supported TV stations to create a good image for them, which was utilized to collect a huge number of votes. For this purpose, the media has to add some persuasive values to attract much more sympathy and appreciations from whole citizens.

Indeed, reporting what was really occurred has to be the primary function of the printed media. It is irrefutable that most people such as businessmen and educators need factual information in order to support them doing their jobs. A company's CEO basically has to know about the real condition of World's stock price in order to make a right decision of his business every day. In addition, teacher needs daily news to give up-to date information related to his subject when he teaches is students.

In conclusion, although the basic role of a newspaper is to share true conditions and information, not all news it contains tells the truth. I personally suggest that we have to be wiser as a member of huge society in order to consider which news we can trust.