Wednesday, September 21, 2016

3 things to improve for this trimester

1) To check and eliminate any dangling modifier in my sentences

2) To improve on my verb tense consistency

3) To reduce repetition of a particular word

Readers response on The Detroit House Draft #1

In the article "This Detroit house is being turned into a living model of cost-saving sustainable design", Peters (2016) introduced Motown Movement as an initiative undertaken by three architecture students to design a sustainable living environment through affordable means. She then shared that the students were inspired to increase public awareness of sustainable and cost effective ways to reconstruct houses, through workshops conducted in the revamped Detroit house - a living exhibition filled with green ideas. People will be imparted with knowledge of green sustainability tricks which they could easily replicate in their houses through the planned workshops aimed at addressing sustainability and cost effectiveness.Peters summed up on how the students collaborated with local organizations and their university to create projects flexible enough to accommodate varying conditions and spread the idea of Motown Movement to a worldwide level. While their efforts in trying to promote sustainability by making it easy for the community were commendable, the success of their plan worldwide will be highly dependent on factors such as the living condition, culture and mindset of the targeted community which the article failed to address.

The first factor which the article failed to address was the living and environmental condition of the focused area. 'Motown Movement' was based purely from the culture and living condition of Detroit with the article only focusing on factors pertaining to it which might not be the same case with other areas. Meanwhile, in developing countries like Brazil, basic necessities such as drinking water and healthcare were already lacking which makes promoting sustainability to them a challenge as they have different priorities. In Brazil, natural calamities were common on slums which were built on unstable ground such as hill slopes. Thus, the plan for sustainability there will be deemed as unfeasible.


As the people in Detroit ''were much more positive'' and were more open to new ideas given to them despite their bad living conditions, this made executing the plan in Detroit feasible while it may not be the case in other areas. This leads to the last factor which would be the mindset and culture of the people. One of the challenges faced by the Vietnamese government in promoting sustainability was influencing organizations and the general public in utilizing eco-friendly products and implementing green measures to save energy. In Vietnam's case, organizations were not keen in implementing eco-friendly measures as resources had to be spent unnecessarily while the local people were more focused on preserving the natural state of the land and were not open to change. In order for sustainability to flourish, fostering cooperation between the different involved parties by coming up with sound policies which benefit all parties will affect the success rate of the plan. Even for developed countries, implementing sustainability can be a challenge due the mindset of the people. In the United States, negative perceptions on the greenness of a green product and the performance quality of a green product as compared to their conventional counterpart was one of the factors hindering the growth of sustainability in the country.

In conclusion, while Detroit was a successful case on how sustainability can be implemented, Peters failed to consider other potential factors which may affect the success of the plan worldwide.n conclusion, while their efforts in trying to promote sustainability by making it easy for the community were commendable, the success of their plan worldwide will be highly dependent on factors such as the living condition, culture and mindset of the targeted community which the article failed to address. As the focus was on Detroit, it made the article fell short on information which could have made it relevant to more people. While there may be plans for sustainability to thrive, the success of the plan will be highly dependent on the people in the focused area.



Bonini, S & Oppenheim, J. (2008). Cultivating the green consumer. Retrieved on 24 September 2016 from http://ssir.org/articles/entry/cultivating_the_green_consumer

Puritt, J. (2012). Challenges to being sustainable, and how to over them. Retrieved on 24 September 2016 from http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/08/14/challenges-to-being-sustainable-and-how-to-overcome-them/

Vinh, L.D. (2013). Urban blueprints: Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam. Retrieved on 24 September 2016 from http://www.worldcitiessummit.com.sg/urban-blueprints-khanh-hoa-province-vietnam

Peters, A. (2016). This Detroit house is being turned into a living model of cost-saving sustainable design. Retrieved on 19 September 2016 from https://www.fastcoexist.com/3061563/world-changing-ideas/this-detroit-house-is-being-turned-into-a-living-model-of-cost-saving-s

Readers response on The Detroit House Draft #2

In the article "This Detroit house is being turned into a living model of cost-saving sustainable design", Peters (2016) introduced ''Motown Movement'' as an initiative undertaken by three architecture students to design a sustainable living environment through affordable means. She then shared that the students were inspired to increase public awareness of sustainable and cost effective ways to reconstruct houses, through workshops conducted in the revamped Detroit house - a living exhibition filled with green ideas. People will be imparted with knowledge of green sustainability tricks which they could easily replicate in their houses through the workshops planned on addressing sustainability and cost effectiveness.Peters summed up in how the students collaborated with local organizations and their university to create projects flexible enough to accommodate varying conditions and spread the idea of Motown Movement to a worldwide level. While Detroit was a successful case on how sustainability can be implemented, Peters failed to consider other potential factors which may affect the success of the plan worldwide.


The first factor which the article failed to address was the living and environmental condition of the focused area. 'Motown Movement' was based purely from the culture and living condition of Detroit with the article only focusing on factors pertaining to it which might not be the same case with other areas. Meanwhile, in developing countries like Brazil, basic necessities such as drinking water and healthcare were already lacking which makes promoting sustainability to them a challenge as they had different priorities. In Brazil, natural calamities were common on slums which were built on unstable ground such as hill slopes. Thus, making the plan for sustainability there unfeasible.


As the people in Detroit ''were much more positive'' and were more open to new ideas given to them despite their bad living conditions, this made executing the plan in Detroit feasible while it may not be the case in other areas. This leads to the last factor which would be the mindset and culture of the people. One of the challenges faced by the Vietnamese government in promoting sustainability was influencing organizations and the general public in utilizing eco-friendly products and implementing green measures to save energy. In Vietnam's case, organizations were not keen in implementing eco-friendly measures as resources had to be spent unnecessarily while the local people were more focused on preserving the natural state of the land and were not open to change. In order for sustainability to flourish, fostering cooperation between the different involved parties by coming up with sound policies which benefit all parties will affect the success rate of the plan. Even for developed countries, implementing sustainability can be a challenge due the mindset of the people. In the United States, negative perceptions on the greenness of a green product and the performance quality of a green product as compared to their conventional counterpart was one of the factors hindering the growth of sustainability in the country.

In conclusion, while their efforts in trying to promote sustainability by making it easy for the community were commendable, the success of their plan worldwide will be highly dependent on factors such as the living condition, culture and mindset of the targeted community which the article failed to address. As the focus was on Detroit, it made the article fell short on information which could have made it relevant to more people. While there may be plans for sustainability to thrive, the success of the plan will be highly dependent on the people in the focused area.



Bonini, S & Oppenheim, J. (2008). Cultivating the green consumer. Retrieved on 24 September 2016 from http://ssir.org/articles/entry/cultivating_the_green_consumer

Peters, A. (2016). This Detroit house is being turned into a living model of cost-saving sustainable design. Retrieved on 19 September 2016 from https://www.fastcoexist.com/3061563/world-changing-ideas/this-detroit-house-is-being-turned-into-a-living-model-of-cost-saving-s

Puritt, J. (2012). Challenges to being sustainable, and how to over them. Retrieved on 24 September 2016 from http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/08/14/challenges-to-being-sustainable-and-how-to-overcome-them/

Vinh, L.D. (2013). Urban blueprints: Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam. Retrieved on 24 September 2016 from http://www.worldcitiessummit.com.sg/urban-blueprints-khanh-hoa-province-vietnam

Revised at 5.23 pm on 09/10/2016.

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Formal Email For Brad

To: Brad Blackstone

From: Muhd Azrie Bin Sazali

Subject:  Azrie's Introduction

Dear Brad,

I would like to to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Muhd Azrie Bin Sazali from Tutorial Group 5. Previously before entering Singapore Institute of Technology, I was from Ngee Ann Polytecnic pursuing the course Hotel and Leisure Facilities Management. Its a course where we were taught on every aspect, ranging from engineering to marketing to manpower management, on how to manage a facility efficiently and effectively. Example of such facilities are shopping malls, office building, hotels, etc. Other than just studies, I also engaged myself in a CCA during polytechnic days. I held a presidential team member role in the CCA which was in-charge of student affairs. This includes holding events such as bonding camps, night cycling, etc.

During my free time away from studies, I like to spend time with the my family and friends. This can range from going for a simple meal with them to doing activities with them such as bowling, cycling, etc. As I consider time to be one of the most valuable things in life, I make sure I do not let it go to waste. So on days that I do not have plans with people, I engage myself in gaming or self learning a new skill.

Initially when I was in polytechnic, I had zero interest in what I was studying and my aim was to just do my best and hopefully be able to change my line of study. But as I explored the course further, I found one aspect of the course that got me interested and that was the engineering aspect of it.This helped me decide which field that I would like to further pursue in. As such, my goal pursuing this SIT programme is to further develop and improve my knowledge not just in terms of the engineering aspect but also skills which are relevant and can help me to achieve my goal in becoming a consultant in the future.

I would like to express my gratitude for your time in reading this email.

Yours Sincerely,
Azrie (Group 5)

Revised at 9:16pm on 20 September 2016

Monday, September 5, 2016

Reflection Topic : My English Language Learning Journey

Living in a country full of people with different race and religion, it is only natural that we have a common speaking language to communicate between one another. Most people would think that living in such country, it is only natural that every single citizen is fluent in writing and conversing in our common language but that wasn't the case for me.

Living and being brought up in a Malay speaking family, I had little opportunity to practice conversing in English at home. At home, everyone speaks Malay to one another as my parents are not very well verse in English. Due to the little exposure to English, it is inevitable that I will be weak in English.

With English being my weakest subject in primary school, I started hating English and it continued snowballing as time passes. Despite all my efforts in trying to improve, my score remained stagnant and it demoralized me even more. Not long, I gave up in trying to improve my English and decided to focus more on my other stronger subjects.

However, somehow I managed to pull through primary school and achieved a decent PSLE score which allowed me to go Express stream in Hua Yi Secondary. Being in a non-malay dominated school, I was exposed to people of other races and this maximized my usage of English. It was here that I realized I was pulling myself down all these while as my English improved significantly compared to primary school. Thereafter, I started gaining interest in learning English again and my English learning journey changed for the better. Till today, I make it a point to at least read one article per day and one book every few months to keep improving myself.


Revised at 7:16pm on 17/09/16

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