UST-AB Assignment: 2013 Onward - A Perspective

Dr Abe V Rotor

Assignment UST Arts and Letters, Communication Art (3CA1, 3CA3, 4CA5)
Choose one group of topics from the list and briefly give your perspective to each item, say Future Cities.  Cite references, use one regular bond, handwritten.

2013 - Year of the Water Snake

1. Political developments.
    a. After Obama, a multi-racial nation - .  Who is going to be an American?
    b. Post-Arab Spring in Egypt and Libya, post-austerity Greece and Spain? 
    c. North Korea's successful satellite launching - repercussions.  
    d. Syria's in present civil war
    e. Fiscal Cliff in the US Congress
  
2. Science and Technology
    a. Landing on Mars - by robots, next humans.
    b. DNA and genes, not our destiny. New science of Epigenetics.
    c. Higg's Boson or God's particle, gives matter its mass. 
    d. Human Genome map - genetic defects to cure before they occur.  

3. Old Guards and New Guards
    a. Nelson Mandela, living hero of South Africa
    b. Fidel Castro of Cuba 
    c. Angela Merkel of Germany 
    d. Park Geun-hye of South Korea, new president 
    e. North Korea's new successor

4. Future Cities
    a. "Futurecity" Models in Japan after the Fukushima disaster
    b. Ultra modern city in Kazakhstan 
    c. Green cities
    d. Space and undersea cities
    e. A race for the tallest building on earth

5. Food and Agriculture 
    a. Vertical farming  (multistory), and self-contained
    b. Immortal food (to last long)
    c. "Healing through eating," non-medical approach
    d. Back to natural food  
    e. Frankenfood (genetically modified)

6. Education and communication
    a. The world in the palm of your hand (Tablet, e-Pod, etc)  
    b. University without walls
    c. More women in workplaces and schools
    d. Fabiola Gianotti, physicist
    e. Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid

7. Mad on the Rise
    a. Connecticut school massacre
    b. Norway Massacre
    c. China stabbing spree
    d. Maryland school massacre

8. Global Warming and Force Majeure
    a. Superstorm Sandy
    b. Compostella Valley super typhoon
    c. Winter storm in US
    d. Flooding in China, India, other countries
    e. El Niño and La Niña phenomena

9. Economy
    a. America under Obama's second term
    b. China's economy on the rise after eclipsing Japan
    c. Philippine economy forecast
    d. Saving the EU
    e. Russia on the rise
    F. Africa - business destination  

10. Energy
   a. Alternative energy sources - global search
   b. Spratly group of islands sitting on a huge oil deposit
   c. Future of nuclear power after Fukushima
   d. Wind farms, solar farms
   e. Biofuels
   
Others

• Acculturation
• Persons of the year that was
• Population control
• Extra-Olympic games on the rise   
• Corporate Greed and Ultra capitalism (Pope Benedict's 2013 Message)