Lecture #5

 On the 16th of October we had a lecture from Mark Pollock. Mark Pollock is blind and paralysed (from the chest down) and he's a motivational speaker. Mark told us his story and about how we should learn lessons from his struggles.
  In 1998 Mark was a student in Trinity College. Over the space of a month or two Mark began to grow blind. Soon later, Mark was completely blind. Mark fell into depression and was in denial of his loss of sight. He most certainly did not bounce back from his injury. He stayed in his home for a while until he realised that being blind was just an inconvenience and a challenge. He decided to face up to the challenge and to live in the present. Mark told us how we too should be brave enough to accept reality.
 10 years later (2008) Mark was back working hard. He had just recieved a masters in college, he was giving lectures about becoming blind and he had been running marathons. He acheived all of these things while being blind. His biggest challenge was travveling to the South pole with a team of two other men.
   Marks life once again came crashing down when he fell of the balcony of a second storey. Mark was but in hospital and was there for 18 months. Mark was then completly paralysed from the chest down. He fell into depression again for a short while but people told him that he could recover from depression because he had done so before. Mark was then put in a wheelchair and he's accepted his disability.
 Mrk flew to California to visit a company called 'Project Walk'. This was an orgainisation set up to help people who are paralysed to walkn again. He worked hard in the gym and has begun to gain power of certain parts of his body. His friend Simon was trained at the gym and now helps Mark with his training everyday in UCD.
Mark also flew to Berkely in the USA where a robotic suit was being developed by a company called ESKO.The skeloton suit was attatched to Mark and this allows him to walk. He does not use this all of the time as the product is still being developed. Mark says that companies like ESKO and Project walk are excellent as they ware changing the rules of what can and can't be done.
Mark then wet on to tell us about the Run For Mark. This is a charity marathon set up in cities around the world.
   

Lecture #4

On Tuesday the 9^th of October we got a lecture from Dr. Rory E. Goodbody (PHD). He works with Astellas Pharma Co. LTD. He is a medical scientific liaison. He was telling us how he got his job and what you can do in the science industry.

    

     ‘’Pharmaceutical companies make the drugs that improve the duration and quality of life on a daily basis.’’. Dr. Goodbody told us how drugs and vaccinations decreased the number of cases in diseases such as measles. Before the vaccination came in place (in 1985) there were 99,903 cases of measles. Two years later there were only 201 cases.

    Dr. Goodbody told us about the various jobs within the science industry:

o   You could stay in college, gain a PHD and then become a professor.

o   You could become a consultant.

o   You could work in research and developments.

o   You could work in the supply chain of the drugs (transport ect.)

    Dr. Goodbody then gave us top tips of getting to work in these areas:

o   University is not just about your course so join societies.

o   Never stop learning so read regularly.

o   Make yourself interesting on your CV.

o   Plan ahead for the future.

o   Work smarter, not harder.

  

    Overall I thought the lecture was good but as I am not interested in a job in the science industry I was not really affected by it. I think the lecture would have been really interesting and useful for anyone who wants a career in any of the sciences.

Witness - Review.

Witness

 

 

Witness was released in 1985 and was directed by Peter Wier. The film tells the story of a young Amish boy who witnesses a murder in the city of Philedelphia. The policeman John Books hides undercover in the Amish Community until trial. The strengths of the movie are that t shows us the massive contrast of socirty between the Amish Community and the average modern day world. The weakness of the film is that Weir did not develop the realationship between John and Rachel enough and you could not tell that they were truley in love. I think that Harrison Ford gave an excellent performance in the film because he plays the part of a strong police man yet he shows his soft side.

A special moment in the film is the murder of the police man, near the beginning of the film. I think that this scene was precieved well because you could clearly tell that there was a tense atmosphere as soon as Samuel (the yound boy) entered the bathroom. Overall, I think that the movie was excellent as it was gripping due to the storyline and the characters were strong due to the actors. I would reccomend this movie to those over the age of 14 who are interested in the different societies and cultures in the world. I   think that people who enjoy crime movies.