How Has COVID-19 Affected the Fashion Industry?

 Written By 簡芝伶 Edited By 宋子瑜 傅暄淇 吳冠瑩

(English Full Names, please!)

     In the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Paris Fashion Week went on as usual. This event is held biannually. The purpose of this event is for designers to present their latest projects. October 6th marked the last day of the event, and it was also the day Paris was put on maximum alert. Although safety measures were claimed to be taken during the show, some people still questioned if this gathering would intensify the second wave of coronavirus that struck Europe.

          On October 6th, the city of Paris was raised to maximum alert after a spike in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. All the bars in town were forced to shut down, and restaurants could only stay open if they complied with strict rules imposed by the French government. Despite this, the safety regulations still allowed up to 1,000 guests to attend a public event. However, the exact number of guests at Paris Fashion Week was not confirmed.

           A global pandemic certainly did not stop fashionistas from gathering at the biannual event. The press claimed that social distancing was practiced; the seats were evenly distributed in the venue, and attendees were spotted wearing face masks. Nonetheless, the general public still questioned the safety measures of the event. This might be due to the fact that models on the catwalk were not wearing face masks while there seemed to be more than 1,000 people at the venue.

     Aurélien Rousseau, the director of the Regional Health Authority, stated that nearly 3,500 people on average have tested positive every day in Paris. Apart from that, 36% of the beds in the ICU are currently housing patients infected with COVID-19. The severity of this outbreak has changed the lives of many people, especially fashion designers. As the second wave of coronavirus strikes Europe, how will the fashion industry overcome this difficulty?

Peer Review：劉聖英 洪鈺瑄 卓悅銘 解如意

The Lungs of the Earth Have Started to Supply Carbon Dioxide

 Written By ??? Edited By ???, ???, and ???

     Environmentalists have always been concerned about preservation of the Amazon rainforest. It plays an essential role in the battle against climate change. August usually indicates the beginning of the fire season in Brazil, with most fires occurring in September. However, the wildfires in the Amazon rainforest this year are even more devastating than the previous year, as it has been emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide. 

     These wildfires are not simply natural disasters; in fact, they are ascribable to human activities which were encouraged by Brazil's President, Jair Bolsonaro. Owing to the fact that Brazil is one of the main suppliers of commodities in the world, residents earn a living by mining, farming, and animal husbandry. What’s more, to plant soybeans and raise cattle, they need to cut down trees, and this has led to environmental degradation. According to the research done by the INPE on August 20, the number of fires in Brazil in 2019 was 77% higher than in 2018. With the intention to boost economic development, the President of Brazil did not properly control the exploitation of the rainforest. This is deemed the main reason behind the ecological imbalance in the Amazon. 

     The damage done to the Amazon, also known as the Lungs of the Earth, has become the major cause behind the acceleration of climate change, as it is releasing carbon dioxide rather than oxygen to the Earth's atmosphere. Besides, due to the widespread fires in the Amazon, the rainforest has gradually lost its function of contributing 6% of the Earth’s oxygen each year and has emitted 500 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, which amounts to a 20% increase (2018). Every minute, a soccer-field size of rainforest is lost to wildfires and it will take more than a century for every loss to grow back. If the world's largest rainforest disappeared, it could bring catastrophe to weather patterns and air quality worldwide. 

     Regarding deforestation in Brazil, the Brazilian government has been criticized by European countries, as Brazil failed to abide by the Paris Agreement. Brazil promised to lower its emissions by 37% from 2005 levels by 2025, yet last year’s emissions already exceeded 17%. To deny the criticism, the Brazilian Vice President, Hamilton Mourao, planned a three-day visit to the Amazon for foreign ambassadors; however, it is claimed by the visitors that the flying route was strategically planned to avoid the damaged part of the forest. With the growth of international concern about the wildfires in the Amazon, can the Brazilian government truly implement the regulations and solve this global crisis? 

T 組 組長 ：傅暄淇 組員：宋子瑜、簡芝伶、吳冠瑩

(Peer Review) 解如意 劉聖英 卓悅銘 洪鈺瑄

An Eleven-Year-Old Iranian Boy Commits Suicide Because He Cannot Study

 Written By ??? Edited By ???, ???, and ???

An eleven-year-old Iranian boy, Mohammad Mousavizadeh, commits suicide because he does not have a smartphone to facilitate distance learning. The teacher of Mohammad Mousavizadeh asks him to turn in the homework by his smartphone. However, Mohammad Mousavizadeh does not get the smartphone that his teacher promised to give him. Therefore, Mohammad Mousavizadeh commits suicide a few days later. Iranian society is shocked after the news is released. The news highlights the issue of poverty in Iran.

Because COVID-19 has broken out all over the world, most students have to study by distance learning. Students have to use smartphones and computers to facilitate distance learning. However, more than three million students in Iran do not have electronic devices. Mohammad Mousavizadeh does not have a smartphone to access the distance-learning class due to his bad financial condition.

Recently, a similar incident occurred in the slum area. The suicide of children in slum areas becomes more common than before. For example, a twelve-year-old boy, Armin, committed suicide by taking pills the week before. His mother died of cancer because his family cannot pay the expense of medical treatment. The incident shows the poverty of Iran is quite serious.

To achieve distance learning in the slum area is hard. The people from the slum area are too poor to afford any electronic devices. By contrast, we live in a well-developed country and we have to cherish everything around us.

T組:周星池、李沛澄、邱國誠、張容慈

2020 California Wildfires

 Written By ??? Edited By ???, ???, and ???

California wildfires in 2020 have burned 4,000,000 acres of forest across the State of California. The area burned by the California fire has reached 33.5% of Taiwan. The year 2020 has witnessed the largest wildfire season in the history of California.

California wildfires have become an annual phenomenon. In the past, the fire season started from May to October. In 2020, the fire season started from January 16th to November 6th. Obviously, the California fire season in 2020 had started earlier and ended later than before. By the way, some wildfires were caused by thunderstorms; others by arsons, and still others by droughts.

The wildfires in 2020 have killed more than 26 people and have burned hundreds of houses. The California wildfires in 2020 are unprecedented gigantic wildfires in history. In addition, the scale of the wildfires is twice as big as what happened in 2018. As stated above, the wildfire in 2020 is a serious incident.

Everyone must pay more attention to both ecology and greenhouse effects. Everyone can improve the effects together. Everyone must develop good habits. For example, everyone turns off the lights before leaving home and takes the MRT instead of driving cars. Everyone can make their contribution to improving the environment. Everyone can help the earth get better by reducing the environmental pollution.

T組:周星池、李沛澄、邱國誠、張容慈

These DIY Videos Might Not Be As Good As You Think They Are

 Outlined By Harry Written By 張志皓 Edited By Judy, 郭育均

(English Full Names, please!)

            Ann Reardon, the YouTuber who hosts the channel How To Cook That, is making debunking videos to inform her viewers of the danger from viral DIY videos. The purpose of DIY videos should be harmless and helpful. In contrast, the fake DIY videos are harmful and useless. Children could hurt themselves while trying dangerous things without parents supervising. As a result, Ann decided to end this ridiculous cycle of fake DIY videos by creating debunking videos.

Several DIY videos on Youtube channels have been proven fake. For example, So Yummy and 5-Minutes Craft are the most notorious Youtube channels famous for making fake DIY videos. Both of them have an amount of 8.97 million and 69.5 million subscribers. Their videos are usually carefully edited, making it hard for viewers to distinguish truth from falsehood. 

            Although those malicious channels are still making fake DIY videos, 5-Minutes Craft has taken up a new calling and begun to debunk other questionable channels. Because 5-Minutes Craft has uploaded more than ten debunking videos this year, viewers start to believe this channel has realized the consequences of fake videos. It is thought that if 5-Minutes Craft has cared enough to improve, other channels will recognise the mistakes they made as time goes by. 

Because of Ann’s dedication to educating her viewers, they have grown aware of these fake DIY videos. Every time she uploads a debunking video, it gets millions and millions of views. In her videos, she always teaches her viewers scientific facts to prove her points. Thanks to Ann’s effort in making debunking videos, we will be more discerning when watching other DIY videos on YouTube.

 

Outline written by Harry

Article written by Harry, Judy, 張志皓, 郭育均

Articles edited by Team T & E

Team E (Entertainment & Enjoyable)

Member: Horace, Joanna, Messi, Amy

Ｔ組：

嚴仁傑、曹瑋庭、郭育均、張至皓 第一篇

Restructuring Global Supply Chain After the Covid-19 Pandemic

Written By 張志皓 Edited By Harry, Judy, 郭育均

(English Full Names, please!)

            The global supply chain crises are emerging and happening worldwide during the pandemic of Covid-19. As the Covid-19 has been deeply disturbing and hurting many companies around the world, some companies are concerned about restructuring their business partners' relationships. For example, many enterprises from the U.S. consider bringing their manufacturing factories back and reducing reliance on China. Based on the damage caused by Covid-19, companies must manage risks to prevent possible problems.

 To maximize profits, companies will consider their locations, transportation networks, and the workers' salaries. By combining these three points, the concept of an efficient global supply chain is formed--making a good product at the right place. With an efficient global supply chain, companies can gain benefits from better quality control and demand. For instance, companies need to ensure every product is checked before shipping them out overseas. If companies do not have any optimized or efficient supply chain, they may ship out defective products. Those companies are prone to lose profits after being charged with faulty products. Thus, companies should always optimize the global supply chain to maintain profits.

              On the other hand, some businesses and productions are frustrated so incredibly that the producers could no longer provide products to those who desperately need them. And this caused chain fractures. For example, Alberta, one of the Canadian beef processing places, has been impacted by Covid-19 seriously. Therefore, many workers lost their jobs, causing beef productivity to decline. Thus, the beef supply for retail, restaurants, and consumers has fallen dramatically. 

            Once the global supply chain has formed, the alternative cost will be relatively high. New companies would substitute for the old ones if the supply chain failed, resulting in irrevocable damage. During this pandemic, the stability of the global supply chain is more crucial than anything else. Thus, companies should not always consider the cost. Working together to maintain the global supply chain's stability is a pivotal move to prevent the world economy from entering a recession. It is also a fundamental solution to maintain the overall strength of the world economy.

E-books (too weak)

 Written By Joanna Edited By Horace, Amy, and Messi

(Full Names, please!)

 With the rapid development of modern technology, innovative ideas are happening every day. When it comes to cultural changes, E-books are the most representative products in this generation. E-books have replaced paper books in several areas, such as education and literary entertainment. E-books have brought a lot of convenience to our lives. 

E-books promote paperless lifestyles and workplaces that are good for the environment. E-books are also portable; all you need is a smartphone or tablet. Moreover, E-books have multimedia features, including audio, videos, and animations. With these features, E-books can increase the pleasure of reading and learning. 

            E-books have many advantages, but they still have some downsides. When we need to read two different books for comparison, paper books may be a better choice. When compared with endlessly switching screens on your mobile, paper books are a lot easier to read. You can display the contents from both of the books simultaneously in front of you.  

The invention of E-books does not eliminate the usage of paper books. Neither does television replace radio and radio stations. Nor does the video game console, Wii, make people stop playing actual sports. E-books and paper books are both evolutionary inventions. Both of them are incredibly useful to provide people with information. Therefore, we might as well grab one of them and start reading. 

E組：張皓翔 曾靖芸 吳之勻 江秉宸 第二篇