Summary-Response Essay for “We should all be working a four-day week. Here’s why”

In his article”We should all be working a four-day week. Here’s why”, Owen Jones gives us a couple of reasons about why workers should work four-day a week. Because overwork has caused significant damage, and it is always the reason why workers demand liberation. As far as I learned, I agree with all the author’s points.

Jones makes two points in the article. The first point is that the idea of four-day week benefit workers. Jones suggests that four-day week could improve all the manner of the nation’s health. He further states that four-day week could encourage men to do more household tasks to promote the equal relationship between men and women. And Jones makes her second argument by saying that the idea of four-day week benefits the society. He asserts that a four-day week would force a redistribution between “overtime” workers and “underemployed” workers. Then he states that a four-day working week could also help tackle climate change and boost productivity. Jones ends by saying that on its own the demand is not enough, more worker self-management can control also should be created.

Jones’s article contains lots of convincing points by giving us professional research, examples, and authentic data. For instance, he says”While some are working too much, … there are 3.3 million or so “underemployed” workers who want more hours” to prove his idea that a four day week can create more poorly paid work and more underemployment. He also states a real case as an example to make the point that a four-day week can increase economy more convincing by saying that “Indeed, a recent experiment with a six-hour working day at a Swedish nursing home produced promising results: higher productivity and fewer sick days.”

In conclusion, Jones makes his argument that we all should work four-day a week very strong and convincing by analyzing reasons and showing research and data. It’s necessary that working four-day a week should be demanded not only to benefit workers by improving their health condition and making them happy but also for a better society with good environment and rational distribution of work time.

 

Does technology make us alone or connected?

It is a beautiful morning with singing birds and bright sunshine. Charlene wakes up and cradles in her boyfriend’s arms silently while her boyfriend pays no mind and checks his smartphone. After breakfast, they go out running. Charlene’s boyfriend talks with someone on the phone so long that Charlene has to stop to wait for him. During lunch, she tries to communicate to colleagues looking into their eyes, but nobody cares by saying simple words because they care about more their phones. After work, with friends, Charlene goes to bowling. When she finishes her round and offers her hands to have a high five, nobody responds to her. Without a doubt, all the people are staring at phones.

These are the plots shown in the video ‘I Forgot My Phone,’ which had been viewed more than 50 million times on Youtube. This two-minute clip depicts a typical day that is downright dystopian: people ignore Charlene as they stare at their phones. At the end of the video, Charlene goes back in bed with her boyfriend; he is still checking his smartphone. Although her boyfriend puts his arm around her, there is quite a feeling of loneliness crushed out from the screen when I watched it. We should face the fact that technology makes us more alone, in spite of technology is supposed to make us more connected.

It is not an uncommon thing to see that people’s lives are getting occupied by phones during family meetings, at cinemas, while having meals with friends, in classes, and even while walking across streets. We spend too much time in experiencing life through a four-inch screen every day.

I still remembered that last summer when I attended my high school class reunion, instead of talking to others, everyone was paying attention to check their smartphones and take pictures for dishes for posting on Wechat and Instagram. I tried to begin a topic to make them get involved in sharing and discussing, but only a few responded to me. After some perfunctory words, they stared at phones again. It should be a memorable time for us to stay together with high school classmates. However, I doubted the meaning of why we spent time in organizing a reunion because we even can have a group video call at home. I will never forget that moment. I had millions of words and questions to talk and discuss with my classmates who I have not seen for a long time after graduation, but the only thing I could do was keeping in silence. The feeling at that moment will never be forgotten. Familiar classmates and friends surrounded me, but I felt lonely deeply. As what Ms. deGuzman said in an interview, ” It makes me sad that there are moments in our lives where we’re not present because we’re looking at a phone.”

Someone may claim that technology makes us more connected by providing another platform to make new friends on the internet. But, it is not the real life. The number of your friends on Facebook or Instagram cannot replace the happiness you get by having a face-to-face conversation with people in daily life.

Think about it. How long haven’t you hang out with your close friends？We can send hundreds of “hug emoji” to anyone on the internet, but all of them are not worth a real hug in real life. We should admit the advantages and conveniences brought by technology, but we also should have boundaries and limits on using them. When you are in public, and you start to feel bored, step away from the phone, divert your attention from the contact list on Facebook, just talk to the one next to you, and enjoy the feeling of existence in reality.

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On the TED Talk which we watched in class, the speaker argues that companies should hire “scrappers,” who don’t have many advantages, rather than “silver spoons,” who achieve success. She gives us some examples and research to illustrate that a scraper can also succeed and even better than a silver spoon.

To be honest, I was moved by this video. It sounds like to encourage scrapers and make them believe that the world is still beautiful, although they were born in a dysfunctional family. Life is ALWAYS hard, especially for the people who are suffering. Silver spoons have enjoyed too many advantages in the world. And we should indeed do something to scrappers, not only to give them a chance to succeed but also to make them feel warm and be loved. They also deserve advantages and opportunities.

What Gentrification Brings？

Gentrification, a common and controversial topic, is a trend in urban neighborhoods, which results in increased property values and the displacing of lower-income families and small businesses. In ” Five myths about gentrification”, Lance argues that”Gentrification is painted alternately as a destroyer of neighborhoods or a savior of cities.” What Lance means is that gentrification has both advantages and disadvantages.

From the article” Old Confronts New in A Gentrifying D.D Neighborhood” I learned that longtime residents who decide to see their house benefit from the exploding home prices. The author gives us an example” Pyatt’s old next-door neighbor bought her house for $42,000 in 1981. In 2017, the property’s tax assessment was more than $888,000″. Many longtime residents sold their family homes and moved to the suburbs and as a result, they can take advantage of the vast sum of money. For example, they can have a college fund for children and improve the quality of life. However, the leaving of longtime residents results in a hard situation for shops and churches in the neighborhood, because very few of their congregants and membership still live in the community. And Moreover, while “improved resources and services such as lighting, a new library, and a renovated recreation center are welcome changes by gentrification, there are lots negative aspects longtime residents who choose still live in the neighborhood facing. For example, they can’t afford the expansive money for surviving because of the improving living standard, as Domonic Moulden says, “If you can’t spend $100 to eat, $5 or $7 for coffee, you can’t buy anything in your own neighborhood”.

But there is still another positive aspect in ” Old Confronts New in A Gentrifying D.D Neighborhood”. Valentine, a longtime resident who still lives in the neighborhood, recognizes that”The neighborhood’s changing demographics have created a space where identities such as race, age, and class are constantly brushing up against each other.”

In ” Five myths about gentrification,” Lance summaries four positive and negative effects brought by gentrification based on his professional and powerful research. First, gentrification leads to increases in crime, as Lance states”wealthier residents might be more lucrative targets for robbers”. Second, gentrification does not play a role in helping poor place. Then, as longtime residents don’t want to see their neighborhood change, lots of them appreciate good aspects of gentrification, such as increased retail activity and good services. Last, Lance argues, “In a 2009 study, I found that gentrifying neighborhoods are more racially diverse than non-gentrifying ones.” This is means that gentrification brings diversity.

It took me much time to read these two professional articles because I am able to get the meaning of words and sentences but I can’t understand them deeply. And I tried to make a relation between this situation, gentrification, in the US and China based on what happens during this whole process, not the definition, then I got it, the same thing but different descriptions. I feel gentrification is very common in the development of cities. Beijing is facing it, too. When you walk around on streets, it’s very easy to see a big character “拆(Chai) demolition” posted on the wall of Siheyuan, a historical type of residence. Government persuade longtime residents to move out of their old family houses by giving them a new expensive apartment, and then destroy the house and rebuild new buildings or skyscraper to keep the style of the modern city. Who lives in “Siheyuan” are old people, and it’s unacceptable for them to leave their house where they spend whole lives and move to a new building. What they leave is not the place where they sleep, but their memories. And without doubts, Siheyuan is a traditional symbol of Beijing, I think that what government has done is not improving the city, but destroying history and culture. We should do something for the development of the city, but at the same time, we also should consider what we have sacrificed.

 

 

Is it true about China？

As a hook, the author of “THE 2 CULTURES OF CHINA” introduces an idea that Westerners and Asians have different perspectives about themselves and the world. But of course, compared to the north part and south part of China, they do have different cultural traditions, too.

Based on plenty of research, evidence, and tests about geographical positions, agricultural traditions, and underlying thought patterns, the author states that the southern people in China “take a more holistic view of life, emphasizing interdependence and context”(Tom) while northern residents are much closer to Westerners, who are more individualistic, independent, and analytical. And, furthermore, the author believes that the keys to these divergent cultural traditions are their different agricultural traditions, which are then passed down from generation to generation.

Actually, at first I felt a little bit angry and confused about what the author tries to define and explain, and then I spent a night on thinking about the ideas about the article and my reaction to it.

We have to admit that there are lots inauthentic comments about China, and as a Chinese, I am alert to all kinds of them, so that I object all the judgments about my country, no matter positive or negative, for protecting it. But as a college student, I should accept diversity sounds and think critically, and I believe that existence is reasonable, which means there must be reasons for why people give conclusions from this or that angle.

Without a doubt, based on professional research and tests, this is a very persuasive article. And actually, I never think about the differences between northern Chinese and southern Chinese from the historical agricultural angle. I have never been a peasant, so I am not familiar with the process how to produce rice and wheat, but it makes sense. It is really interesting to call us rice people and wheat people and in daily life southerners prefer eating rice while northerners would like to choose noodles or buns as the staple food. I pretty admire the way how author analyses his topic, but I can’t agree with the characters he defines northerners and southerners.

I was born in Shandong province, and then my whole family moved to Beijing when I was 10 years old. Both of Shandong and Beijing located in the north part of China, so it took me not too much time to adapt to the new life. Because of the same geological position, these two places have the same climate and the same habit of eating. But I still have had lots of opportunities getting along with southerners. I still remembered that my best friend in primary school is from Anhui province where located in the northern part of China. She always spoke slowly and gently in her sweet voice with big smiles on her face. And our teachers often asked her to do complicated tasks because she is more careful than I, northern girl, was. So for me, I would like to regard people from north part of China are soft and gentle.

I am a Chinese, and I have to admit that to some extent, I am an inner when I have to think about something related to my country. But it is really interesting and illuminating to get new ideas and angels from an author who is the outer of China, more rational and logical.

 

Hello, it is Echo!

This is Echo, my Chinese name is Zhan Liu (刘展). I come from Beijing, the capital city of China, but I was born in another northern province Shang Dong. Now I’d love to introduce some stuff that makes me. This is my second year in Theater major, and I am trying to emphasize in directing.

For me, studying theater is like dreaming every day, because I can create everything, even a new world that I have never thought or I will never face, through the stage which I would like to call magic machine. It is true that all my free time are occupied by hanging out with friends, visiting art museums, watching plays, listening to folk music, and watching plays. I can’t imagine my life without FRIENDS and ATRS! Both of them are magic pills that make me completed and help me be better.

I am beginning my second year in UCSB, it took me a long time to adapt the life in the USA because it is very different from Beijing where I have lived for more than 10 years. Without doubts, Beijing is filled with skyscrapers, but it is very rare to see tall buildings in Santa Barbara, even in LA. I have been to NYC and Chicago during vacations and I think these two cities are more similar to Beijing where provides millions of choices for citizens. But I have to say that the natural view, especially the ocean and trees, surprised me when I arrived at UCSB, and they always make me calm down and appreciate the present what I am going through. Furthermore, culture is different too. People here value extroverts more by couraging us to speak ideas in class and public, but in China people would like to keep their thoughts own. It seems that extroverts are the mainstream in America, so everyone here is very passionate and enthusiastic, and most importantly, Americans love to smile：）

That is all I wanna share in my first blog, I am Echo, a full-time dreamer.