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What changes in terms of spending festivals and holidays have taken place in the past decade?
Well, there are lots of changes in the trends of celebrating festivals. Earlier, people used to celebrate the holidays with their friends and almost all the activities were out of the home. But currently, the celebrations have involved the family members as well in line with the friends. Besides, the celebrations are taking place in indoor spaces too. When it was about the national rituals or traditional celebration in the past, people used to gather in open spaces and still they do the same for such large events like observing the International New Years Day, or the celebration of the Lunar Year etc. Small-scale celebrations did not take place in the past decades but now they have covered a notable space in the lives of the people. The majority of the people like to celebrate small-scale events at their homes like birthday or marriage day celebration etc. But when it is a national issue, the celebrations are made in large scale and people of all strata participate in those events. In the past decades, the concept of private parties was absent but now they have emerged as an influential element to pass holiday. Many of the modern citizens arrange for private parties at different times, especially on the holidays.
- What is the difference as regards celebration in different parts of the country?
Umm! In fact, there are some differences found regarding the celebrations. But those differences are not too much important to consider and they are not harmful actually. Usually, the differences take place for regional cultures but all the other primary methods remain the same. The theme of the celebrations cannot be changed rather the celebration systems slightly differ from place to place in Vietnam. Besides, some of the festivals take place in some of the parts of the country while those are not found in other parts. Take an example- the parts of Vietnam that grow paddy or other crops usually celebrate the Autumn Festival of harvest festival while the other parts do not celebrate as the regions do not grow the crops. Usually, the activities of any festival include social gathering, taking meals together, praying and thanksgiving to each other. It is evident that all the things are same but the food menu may get changed based on regions which may seem unusual or the indicator of difference. So, neither the differences are huge nor those are made in such manners that may alter the celebration meaning to others. The slight differences could be adjusted and already people have adapted them to their lifestyle.
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- What causes environmental problems?
Well, the environment consists of a wide number of elements including man-made and natural. But most of the cases, the environment is troubled with the activities undertaken by the humans. Besides, there are some other natural disasters that also cause the problems. To make it clearer let’s take some real-life examples. Generally, the environment is made of air, water, soil, rocks, fire, animals, plants, humans, climate and other available elements. The natural environment is also known as the ecosystem and when there is some imbalance in the entire environment, it gets degraded. The imbalances have serious impacts on the environment. The non-environment friendly activities like rapid changes in the technological sectors, engineering, transportation, shipping industries, mills and factories, increased use of metals and plastic in home and offices, changes in the manufacturing sectors, wide use of chemicals and pesticides on food crops, indiscriminate deforestation, mining etc. are responsible for the degradation. As a direct result of the environmental problem, each of its elements is getting affected directly. The climate has started changing while the natural disasters are appearing more frequently than the past days. You know, earlier there were six seasons on the planet earth but now the seasons have been reduced. Besides, the many of the wildlife species have been extinct as they lost their space owing deforestation. Moreover, due to global warming for the increased use of chemicals and gases, the sea level is on the rise which is also a great environmental disorder and may bring a disastrous impact on the low-lying countries of the world.
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What should the government do to protect the environment?
A government is the sole and legal body of the country that owns the right to make decisions about any issues and thus the government can do lots of things to protect the environment inside its legal boundary. It just needs to formulate the necessary rules and regulations and implement them in the right manner. Besides, a mass awareness against the environmental degradations should be formed so that people could abide by the law. Moreover, some practical actions should also be taken like polluter pay the fine. In this way, the one who pollutes the environment should pay taxes to reduce the damages caused towards the environment. It should be kept in consideration that once the damage is done to the environment, it cannot be undone anymore but we can reduce the extent of the damage. So, the government may formulate principles and rules which comply with the situations and inspire all in protecting the environment. Raising public awareness is one of the most important factors in the protection of the environment and it should be emphasised more and more. It is not possible for the government alone to solve all the problems rather it needs assistive hands to support the initiatives. Additionally, the government could also arrange for regular monitoring of the activities if they are functioning well or needs improvement.
- What should we do to protect the environment?
It’s a very good question. There are a large number of steps which we could adapt to protect the environment. Usually, goods and products are produced for consumption. So, we should check before consuming if those goods or services are produced in an environment-friendly manner. If the goods are non-friendly to the environment, we should start rejecting the products. Secondly, we need to be aware of the negative consequences of environmental degradation. We are to keep in mind that if the environment is degraded or polluted, in the long run, we are to suffer the consequences. With the name of development, we are cutting down forests and marching towards a new era of modernization. But we never think that the deforestation is damaging the environment and gradually warming the planet which will raise the sea levels and after a certain time the earth will be uninhabitable for all. We are polluting the air, water and the soils. We throw our wastes here and there which pollute the soil. Oil spinning, the mixture of chemicals from industrial wastes, throwing wastes into water etc. are causing water pollution. So, we have to check the things and never act like foolish by throwing such materials in open space or in places that could damage the environment. Besides, if there is any state regulation about the environmental protection, we should abide by the directives.
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- What other measures can you think of to protect the environment?
Environmental protection is a large issue and it is impossible for the government’s monitoring agencies to check all the places at a time if there is the violation of environmental protection rules. So, the responsibilities are on the shoulder of the commoners. Only raising public awareness is not enough to prevent the environmental problems. I think the issue of environmental protection should be injected to the young generation and it could be done by adding the issue to their curriculum and textbooks. Besides, massive consciousness-raising campaigns should also be initiated. Sometimes there are some conferences and meetings held over the environment protection but no traces were found about the outcomes of those events. If the decisions of those events are implemented and outcomes are regularly monitored in respective regions where the events took place, then it would be nicer. Long-term social campaigns could also be initiated on mass media so that the commoners become aware of the environmental issues. Sometimes, the campaigns should be undertaken with an interval and thus it will be effective to remind people of the environmental problems. - How should we educate children to protect the environment?
Well, as I said before that environmental issues should be included in the texts of the kids, it will be helpful for them to know about the environment and the types of disorders it experiences. The texts will be illustrated with simple descriptions of the types of pollution, natural and man-made hazards, causes of pollution and other necessary things to make the children aware of environmental degradation. The texts should be made clear to the students by some well-trained teachers as they could entirely comprehend the meaning and velocity of the environmental issues. Gradually, when they will be aware of the issues, they will start taking responsibilities by them to prevent the environmental pollution and other associated problems.
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What’s the difference between the old and the young as regards environmental protection?
Yes, there are some basic differences here. The young people are inexperienced with the issue of environmental protection. They did not meet with such issues before while the old or senior people have seen numerous environmental degradation issues and some of them also can testify few of the major disaster that they have experienced in their early days. Since the young generation is not familiar with the disastrous impacts of the environmental degradation, they cannot imagine the real situation while the older people can comprehend it completely. As a result, the old people are always aware of the issue and always try to protect the environment by all possible means for them. On the other side, the young people are almost reluctant over the protection issue and keep spoiling the environment by all possible means. They perform the acts frequently which cause damage the environment. They are in fact not serious over the issue as they needed to be like the experienced people.
- What is the difference between letter and e-mail?
Well, letters and e-mails are different in several ways. Though both of them are used for communication, they differ in their nature. The first one is manual while the later one is electrical. To write a letter, you’ll need a pen and a paper, then you are to go for the post office to post the letter yet sometimes it remains unknown whether the letter will be delivered or not in some cases. But to compose an e-mail, you need a computer with an active internet connection. You also need to have an e-mail account to send the mail while the recipient also needs the same – an e-mail address to receive the e-mail. But sending emails have some benefits which are not found in posting letters. The important issue about e-mail is that it is much safer than sending letters. Only the intended recipient is able to read the e-mail while the letters could be read by anyone as those are sent using envelopes which are insecure. You can send e-mails to any parts of the world where there is an internet connection, but on the other side, postal service is not enriched around the world and sometimes letters go missing for several reasons. Earlier, people used to send letters and wait for months for the reply but those days are over now for the dint of e-mail. An e-mail can reach its recipient within a couple of seconds after it is sent. - Do you often keep diaries?
Umm! No. I do not keep diaries at all now. But when I was a teen, I used to keep a dairy and penned all the events of the day on that. Sometimes I used to read the diary in my leisure hours and remembered all the events through my imagination. I gave up keeping a diary after I got promoted to my high school; I had to be very busy with my studies and extracurricular activities and sports events. My engagement on different events increased that made me highly occupied and I hardly could manage time for keeping the diary. Earlier, when I kept the diary, I spent around one hour in a day to remember all the happened events and then wrote them in the diary. And it was night time when I wrote. But I tried to reduce the time and someday I found that I’m unwilling to keep it. The writing appeared troublesome and with a tired body, I could not write well. Since then, I gave up the habit of keeping my diary.
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What is the difference between the diary and the letter?
There are huge differences between a diary and letter. First, the difference is about purposes. A letter is written for someone to inform over any specific issues who is living far away from the letter writer, and a diary is basically the combination of all the events that someone has experienced throughout the day. There are a few similarities are found as well like the letter is sent with information while the diary is also filled with information but the uses are different. Moreover, a diary is always private while the letter may not be private always. Diaries provide pleasure to the diary-keeper while the letter could carry either good or shocking news. Diary keeping is a habit for many of the people who want to save the past events of the day on the pages while a letter is not used unless it turns necessary. A letter is written on a sheet of paper while diary is written on a small-sized book with empty pages. The letter needs to be sent using envelopes and stamps while the diaries could be kept at any place at home as those are not need to send for others. Additionally, a diary contains the thoughts and emotions and many necessary or unnecessary facts and information of an individual while the letter contains only the essential information.
- What is the difference in the past and at the present as regards communications?
Thanks for your question. Communication has experienced the greatest change and there are wide ranges of communication systems. The humankind started to progress with the invention of the wheel and since then the communication has gained many ups and downs. We can see a good number of communication modes now like telephone, telex, e-mail, letter social networking websites etc. but those underwent different upgrades from time to time and they were not in the situation as we are experiencing them now. I also have heard that a long ago people used a pigeon to send messages from one place to another, though a bit risky communication mode. After the initiation of postal service, it was a kind of relief for the people and communication became easy for them in the then context. But when the modern communication modes got invented, it becomes easier for them. The modern communication modes spread rapidly within a few decades and now people rely more on the modern modes instead of the traditional communication modes.
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What is the role of letter 20 years ago and at the present?
Umm, if I want to say the importance of letter about 20 years ago, I have to recall the memories and stories that I heard from my parents. My father once told me that letter was the only mode of communication and it worked well for the international communication. He said that people living abroad used to send letters to their near and dear ones and a letter usually took about one month to reach the destination from the country it was sent. The recipients became highly happy after receiving the letters. But the scenario is different in the current days. Letters have lost their importance almost across the globe. It has happened for the advancement of technology and the invention of modern communication modes. Letters are still being used in some parts of the world but they are being replaced with e-mail, telephones and social networks. The internet and computers are available around the world and people are tending more to communicate electronically than writing a letter and wait for that being sent to the recipients. But there is none to blame for the letters to be replaced by the modern modes. This is quite natural and if something more interesting and important is discovered, people will turn to use those as they are currently using the modern modes.
- What do you think of the role 20 years later?
Well, letters are is unable to play important roles in the current days as they did 20 years back. In those days, letters were written for numerous purposes and even people composed letter to let their near and dear ones know about the slightest issue of their life. But now the scenario is different. People are using modern communication modes telephones, cellular phones, e-mails, social networking websites etc. to communicate and share their issues. Moreover, the modern modes are speedy and can send the messages within the shortest possible time while the letters took longer times to be delivered. But letters are still important to some of the people, especially the senior citizens who have experienced the golden age of letters. They like to get and send letters to their near and dear ones even in the modern days.
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What do you think of creative writing?
Umm, to me the meaning of creative writing is something different. I think this is beyond the usual writing genre like academic or professional writing. In fact, the definition of creative writing is not well defined. It is basically different from the academic writing and become creative when a writer comes up with the ideas and issues which are nonconventional in type and never been used before. Sometimes it is used to earn living for the writer as well. Scriptwriting could be a notable example in this case. The writing style is different and does not follow any rules. It could be connected and compared with literature. Usually, in literature, the literary pieces are few and in some cases, only a single piece is composed. So, they remain unique always. Similarly, creative writing does not produce the same thing twice. It is also different from the other types of writings for the theme of such pieces is unusual and difficult to comprehend for the people except for the targeted group.
- Would post office disappear 20 years later?
No, I don’t think that post offices will disappear after 20 years. If there were even tiniest chances of the post office being disappeared, they would have been disappeared right after the invention of e-mail or the telephone. Post offices are maintained by the government and it is up to the government’s consideration to close the post offices. But I think the governments will not do so. Letters are sent through the post offices and thus the post offices are the traditional sources of communication. It has played a very important role earlier and now it is also important in some cases. The governmental documents are transferred from place to places through the postal departments. Besides, it cannot be said that the postal department is entirely inactive. Further, there are always some underprivileged people found in every society and they do not have access to the modern communication modes, and so use the services offered by postal departments. So, for all such reasons, I think post offices will survive even after next 20 years. - What role does computer play in our society?
The computer is the greatest invention of modern science and it plays numerous roles in the society. In the current times, you cannot think of a house without a piece of computer regardless of size and shape. It has occupied the entire world randomly. The use of computers is not limited to counting or word processing only; the uses are limitless and cannot be listed as well for its vast applications. Computers are used for everything including designing needles to sketching a rocket or aeroplane. It is of great use to everyone in the society. The educative value of the computer is also great and helps spread education easily using its multimedia features. The people of the modern world cannot do without a computer for a single moment as they are habituated to rely on the computer for everything. Despite being a machine, it has occupied us like an ever-present companion. So, in a word the benefits and importance of computer are countless in the society.
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What changes have been brought by the computer? What is professors’ attitude?
Well, computers have brought revolutionary changes in the present world than ever before. This is a machine and no other machines turned as popular as the computer on the planet. Earlier, people used to analyse data or count them manually but with the invention of computers, data processing or analysis has become easier than ever. It has changed the world like a storm and almost all the changes are positive for humans. Now there are not single sectors where computers are not used for. The professors are also positive over using computers. They use the machine to spread knowledge among the students and use it as a medium to store their knowledge as well as gathered resources. So, it is also a blessing for them, I think.
- In what ways have families in your country changed in recent years?
Well, you know change is the word of the day. Everything is changing around us and families are not an exception to the trend. Nuclear families have been flourished across European countries and the number of such families in Greece is notable. The changes have taken place in the recent years, immediately after the year 2000. Most of the large families have broken down into smaller units and a few members live in such families. Such families consist a father, a mother and their kids. If they do not have any kids, the family turns smaller. It has happened for several reasons and to me, it appears that the rising of the daily expenses is a primary cause of the separation. Sometimes the other family members do not want to bear the skyrocketing expenses of the members and thus they split from the family and make their own family. Besides, with the modernisation, people want to live in modern and smaller houses filled with the modern amenities. But they do not get so in the large houses where the extended families usually live in. Moreover, mental complexity among the extended family members is also a potential cause for the separation.
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Should husbands and wives have different roles within the family? Why / why not?
Umm, yes, I think that the husbands and wives have different things do in a family. Humans cannot live alone, they need companions and I think a husband or a wife is the best company ever found for each other on the planet. So, to run the family, both of them should share the responsibilities. Without sharing the roles, a family cannot run well and consequently, the relationship turns bitter. For instance, a family is like a vehicle where the husband and the wife are like the wheels of that vehicle. If one of the wheels does not fit with the body or becomes larger than the other wheel, it becomes impossible to run that vehicle. All the wheels need to be equal. Thus, the husband of a family should share roles and responsibilities with his wife. Wage-earning was the key responsibility of a man, but that idea fitted in the primitive age. The current day situations are different. We are moving fast and a wide number of needs have emerged which is not possible for a woman to meet for her family. She needs a hand to share the responsibilities and this is the husband who needs to extend the helping hand to her wife and the family.
- Which is more important to you – your family or your friends?
Ahh! This is a sensitive question for me as I prefer both in my life. But if you want me to be strict, then I should favour my family. The family is the place where a man begins his life. It is the first institution to teach and socialise. It is more than an institution. The members of a family play the roles of teacher and guide the other members till they get matured. But the scenarios are not similar with friends. You may need friends but you may not get them when you need them most in your ‘situations’. But if you ask for help to your family members, they will be there always to help you. So, they are playing the role of protector as well in life. Besides, the family is taking care of yourself after your birth and been provided with all the necessary services and supports without any conditions or benefits. But sometimes, in my personal experiences, I have seen that many of my friends were with me for their benefits and when I could not serve them well, they left me. So, in a deep sense, I prefer my family than my friends but I want to be all of my friends as well.
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- What conflicts can arise between a person’s family and a person’s friends?
Umm, this is a thought-provoking issue for me. Yes, there are some situations that when a man has to experience a conflict between family and friends. I think the most prominent conflict might be the issue of being with family or friends. Let’s make it clear. You are with your friends and your mum told you to be at home by evening. But you could not make it go home within the prescribed time and had to experience some bitter words from your mum. It may also happen that she starts banning your movement with your friends. Again, you are with your family and passing a quality time. Your friends are continuously calling you to be with them. You failed to go there. It will also create a sense of misunderstanding between you and your friends. These are the potential and usual conflicts that may arise between friends and family. - What responsibilities do parents have towards their children?
Well, parents are the best teachers in the world for their kids. So, they should play their roles properly and the roles are not limited only rearing the children. The parents’ first and foremost role is to socialise their kids. Socialising helps the kids to be familiar with the social environment and behave accordingly in different changed situations. Secondly, the children should be taught to be patients over any of the issues and exercise the other human qualities in their real life. By this process, the parents will build a sense of perseverance among the kids and children that will help them to go ahead in their future without having any trouble or compromising with the situations. Besides, the parents should also take necessary measures to educate their children, the other important factor for the kids. Education is the most important thing that a human can gain in life and if the kids remain uneducated, they surely cannot survive in the absence of the parents. Moreover, the issue of morality should also be considered and the parents should inject the moral issues among their sons and daughters from the early childhood. When they will be older, it will be impossible to bring them on track if they get morally derailed from the early stage of their lives.