Chester Tang's Blog

Module Learning The effective communications module has been eventful and incredibly meaningful for me. In the beginning, I was confident in my communication skills and believed that I had little to nothing to learn. However, I was quickly proven wrong after learning about critical thinking and critical reflections.  The Paul-Elder framework was deeply insightful as it showed me how to make use of intellectual standards like clarity and precision, and intellectual traits like humility and fairmindedness. One such example was the summary reader's response assignment. I was trained to collect information relating to porous asphalt and analyse its relevance and significance so as to convince my audience. I must then apply the elements of reasoning to convey the key concepts while keeping the audience's assumptions in mind. Finally, I am able to develop intellectual traits and develop intellectual courage while holding intellectual integrity. With Professor Blackstone's help, I...

The article “Porous Asphalt Is King of the Road” (PaveGreen, n.d.) presents the benefits of porous asphalt surfaces and explains its utility in improving stormwater management and road safety. Rainfall naturally sinks into the soil and is filtered through it. However, in cities, rainfall or “runoff” causes flooding on roads and parking lots, along with contaminants, such as oils and minerals. It then flows straight into drains without being filtered naturally. The article states that porous asphalt is a natural material consisting of rocks combined with asphalt cement. However, there are fewer fine aggregates to provide space for water to pass through open spaces between large aggregates, as compared to conventional roads. Underneath, a “recharge bed” composed of spaced-out stones with 40% voids retains rainwater until it is filtered into the soil. Hence, the rainwater is cleaned. Hence, porous asphalt is extremely beneficial as it reduces stormwater drainage costs and increases road s...